Let's Burn Up a Character

I guess I'd vote for Shrewd Appraisal. Or Drunking. Getting drunk is social right?

EVERYTHING-WISE! EVERYTHING!

(And no, I actually don't know the game well. Just sort of know of it and the core concepts, but actual skill listings are beyond me)

>Hammer

i like stentorious debate, just because we get to use the word stentorious

we're probably going to end up with drunking though

So, that's one point for Hammer, pushes for Shrewd Appraisal, Stentorious Debate and Drunking, and Boyd claims his Burning Wheel-wise skill has a low exponent, but it's at least high enough to know that wises are awesome. Except you can't do Everything-wise, Boyd. That's SILLY.

(Would it be valid? I guess so, but obstacle numbers are partly based on how specific the wise is. So everything-wise would be absurdly hard to use and generally less worthwhile than just taking the admittedly harsh penalty for using skills you have no points in to use a more specific wise.)

There are still two points remaining. Either a second vote for one of the Dwarven Arts or two more votes for non-Arts skills are required.

Second vote for stentorious debate

Cool! Then it's settled.
Stats:

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Spoiler
Stock: Dwarf
Age: 80 Years

Lifepaths:
Born Artificer
lead to Clansman
Tinkerer
lead to Guilder
Wordbearer
lead to Dwarven Host
Horncaller

Stats:
Will: 4
Per: 5
Pow: 4
Forte: 5
Agi: 5
Spd: 4

Skills:
Dwarven Rune Script: B2
Stuff-wise: B2
Hold-wise: B2
Links: B2
Scavenging: B4
Rumor-wise: B3
Conspicuous: B2
Cadence-wise: B2
Mending: B3
Oratory: B3
Suicidal Bravery-wise: B2
Hammer: B2
Stentorious Debate§: B2

Resources: 49 pts
Trait Points: 4

Trait List:
(Dwarven Common Traits)
*Curious
*Quirky
Tinkerer
Iron Memory
Quick-Step

Time to spend those trait points! First, some of his lifepaths have required traits, so he has to buy Curious and Quirky. These are both Character Traits, and have no direct mechanical effect. They just mean the dwarf is curious and quirky. There are also Die Traits and Call-on Traits with direct mechanical effects, depending on the trait.

(So, what does it mean that the dwarf gets "curious" and "quirky" on his sheet, then? Why are we expected to spend points on these simple descriptors when there are solid mechanical benefits we could buy instead? I'm glad you asked! I'll explain it under the following spoiler. It's maybe not hugely relevant to this character creation process, so if you don't actually care, you can ignore it. Short version is, you can get points for bringing them up in play.)

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Spoiler
This is one of my favorite parts of Burning Wheel, which is why I'm taking the time to explain it. Please forgive me if I rave on a bit - I'm hopelessly in love with this system.

Many tabletop roleplaying systems have character traits (generally, character flaws) as an option. These are usually a joke. The systems let you take flaws and get other bonuses as a result, which is really just a playground for rampant munchkinism. ("I have 'fidgety', 'unusually tall' and 'hates goblins' as my character flaws. This allows me to take '+3 to everything I do' and 'shockingly broken sword combo from an old, out-of-print sourcebook' for free!") Even when the players take the flaws in good faith, with every intention of incorporating them into gameplay, it's never very clear what they're supposed to do with the flaws. If the situation where the flaw is applicable never comes up, are they neglecting to play it? If it does come up, is it enough for them to just mention it and then move on? "Oooh, my guy is claustrophobic. He's uncomfortable this whole time!" But after he says that, the game proceeds exactly the same way it would have if he weren't claustrophobic? What if there is disagreement between the player and the GM? "You totally forgot to play your claustrophobia!" "What do you mean? My guy was standing in the back being quiet the whole time! He couldn't open his mouth for fear of barfing!" What if the GM takes control of the character to play the flaw - is that okay? "Your guy is claustrophobic, right? He turns and flees the room." "What!? No he doesn't! He's not THAT claustrophobic!" And if the flaw is ignored, assuming it's even possible to determine that reasonably, what's the punishment? How much does it have to be ignored before the punishment is triggered? What if the player just happened to forget? What if the player held back because he didn't want to disrupt an awesome scene - should he be penalized for that?

There are numerous problems here.

The issue is that the systems almost inevitably base their flaws system on punishment. Either you get punished for not using the flaw, or the GM punishes you for having it by invoking it himself. This is dumb and also stupid. It doesn't lead to fun gameplay or good roleplay, or if it does, it's only by accident. Being punished for not using the flaw just gives you something to worry about, not something you'll feel good about doing, and as for the GM taking control of your character - good grief! He already has control of everything else! Your character is the one thing you have control of. If the GM uses your flaws as an excuse to short circuit that, it certainly doesn't count as good roleplay on your part, and if it results in an entertaining time at the table, it will inevitably be at your character's expense. At best, you'll be good-natured enough to not feel resentment. Character traits of this sort are often mocked, and for good reason.

Enter Burning Wheel.

Burning Wheel has a currency called Artha that is super-important during gameplay and pretty much irrelevant during character creation, so we probably won't get into it much. It's sort of a combination between "Hero Points" and experience points. There are a number of ways to earn it, but one of the simplest is by invoking your own character's trait to alter the course of the story or get him in trouble. "I'm claustrophobic, remember? As soon as the king lowers his hood and opens his mouth to speak, I can't take it anymore. I run screaming from the secret meeting room, out into the marketplace." "Woah! Okay, you're going to attract some attention doing that. The guards will come and question you - and your character isn't there during the negotiations." "But I get a point of Artha, right? Sweet!"

You can do this whenever it is relevant, or choose to ignore the trait instead. If you ignore it, nobody thinks any less of you, except maybe that you're stupid for ignoring it and should have gone for the Artha. There are no punishments. It's pretty clear what the trait means, when it comes into play and what you have to do with it to earn the point. It's a button that you can push to trade an in-game situational disadvantage for a meta-game currency. And because of this, players are more likely to remember their traits and use them deliberately. They get rewarded for doing so!

Some traits in Burning Wheel give direct mechanical advantages, but even the ones that don't are valuable. Even the ones that give penalties. It costs 1 point to have bad eyesight and 4 points to be deaf!

This is, in my opinion, awesome.

So, here's what he already has:
Dwarven Common Traits
-Bearded (Char)
-Accustomed to the Dark (Die)
-Greed (Die)
-Oathsworn (Die)
-Shaped from Earth and Stone (Die)
-Stout (Die)
-Tough (Die)
Other Traits
-Curious (Char)
-Quirky (Char)

This leaves him with two more points. His lifepaths allow him to buy Tinkerer (C-O), Iron Memory (Die) or Quick-Step (C-O) for one point each. Character traits are also all one point each. Other traits cost more points.

So the first question is, should these points be spent on lifepath/character traits? Or do you want to use both points together to buy a two-point trait? I'll give a list of two-point traits if the latter is chosen.
This is a vote. Whichever gets the majority, we'll figure it out from there.

I think we've got enough traits now. Can we hold on to those points?

i'd like to buy a vowel please

vowel is dwarvish for two-point trait

The points cannot be held onto. The options are to spend them or lose them.
The dwarven common traits, however, basically boil down to "You are a dwarf." It's the other traits that make the character distinct.

Okay, I am in support of a two point trait as well!

yeah, lets go with two point traits.

Sold.
Here are the options:

Alert
Aura of Innocence
Bookworm
Bottomless Stomach
Charismatic
Charming
Cold Blooded
Contortionist
Cool Headed
Dexterity of the Cat
Dramatic
Dreadful
Driven
Estimation
Familiar Face
Fleet of Foot
Fortitude
Glib
Healthy
Inspirational
Iron Stomach
Light Sleeper
Lithe
Louis Wu
Meticulous
Nimble
Palsy
Perfect Pitch
Plain Faced
Poker Face
Practiced Precision
Quiescent
Quiet
Rainman
Resigned (to Death)
Rower
Scavenger
Scheming
Sea Legs
Sense of Direction
Sickly
Slow
Sonorous Voice
Thousand-Yard Stare
Tongueless
Tough
Weak-Willed
Weather Sense

Sheesh, that's a lot of them! Everyone vote for, like, your top three I guess? And we'll have a run-off if need be?

Dexterity of all kitties
914.4m Stare
Can't Read My Poker Face

Charismatic
Bottomless Stomach
Rainman

bottomless stomach
iron stomach
tough

Bookworm
Glib
Resigned to Death

I just really want to know what Louis Wu is.

No, don't tell me. I want to blindly vote for it.

Louis Wu
Familiar Face
Bottomless Stomach

dexterity of the cat
perfect pitch
rainman

Dramatic
Aura of Innocence
Thousand-Yard Stare

Calculating vote...
*bzzt bzzt whirr click*

It's down to these 4:
Dexterity of the Cat
Thousand Yard Stare
Bottomless Stomach
Rainman
Pick your two favorite, ranked.
(Boyd, should I tell you what Louis Wu is?)

1. Thousand Yard Stare
2. Bottomless Stomach

1. Kitties!
2. I WARNED YOU ABOUT STARES BRO

Stare
Rainman

Bottomless Stomach
Rainman