Usurper: Claim to Power (Sukeribi's Revenge)

A few years ago, I stumbled  across the little indie RPG title, "Usurper", but I honestly was not impressed. However, recently it has received some praise on the internets, so I thought I would give it a second look.

How can I describe this? The core system is a sort of minimalist thing. Encounter a problem? Say what you're trying to do and then roll on this table. That's it. No modifiers. No penalties. Just roll and deal with the consequences (or rewards). But that table, and its many variable results, and context, make for a game where the story can really go anywhere, and even the GM doesn't know exactly what's going to happen next. And that's exactly the kind of game I like.

But before I even play,  I'll need a character. I can just make something up,  but Usurper allows me to randomly generate the background that will help me describe the character, the "story method", which itself is a fun activity. A character is made up of six Traits, and three Convictions, and these phases help to determine them.

The first table is "Factors of Birth". I roll d100 and get 29: "Memory/Analysis/Recall". Choosing a Trait based on that result, my character now has:

   • Keen Memory

Not super interesting, but I'm just getting started.

Next is "Culture of Origin", where I roll for Families, Laws, Religion, Economics, and Politics. I get a society that values close-knit families, has laws enforcing codes of honor, a mixed bag of gods, a changing economy, and a strict caste system. I imagine this to be something like a fantasy, feudal, pseudo-Japan, where guilds are just starting to be a thing. Choosing a Trait to go with this, I choose:

   • Honorable

I know, that seems obvious,  but not everything needs to be radical, and it does a fine job of showing that he embraces his culture. I also need to choose a Conviction here. I'll just make something up:

   • I will restore honor to my fallen house.

What  house? How did it fall? I don't know. Let's see if something comes of it.

The next step is to roll for his job training. The result is "Artist, Poet". I decide to make him a fine calligrapher, painting the beautiful,  complex letters of his people. For this, I also get a Trait. Going with the obvious, I choose:

   • Calligrapher

Honestly,  that's not a Trait that's likely to come up often (or is it?), but I like what it says about him. At this point, I decide that his name is "Sukeribi".

Now I roll three times for background events, getting "sided with an unpopular cause", "met his hero", and "nearly died". Shuffling that around a bit, and considering what I have so far, here's what happened:

Sukeribi's hero, the mighty warrior "Zaphiru", visits his town and ends up staying at Sukeribi's family's estate (House "Imber", why not?). Unfortunately, Zaphiru is a total cad, and does something awful and dishonorable, and blames it on Sukeribi's father. Sukeribi stands up for his family, but nobody would believe that the hero Zaphiru would do such a thing, and even more disgrace is heaped upon his house, until his entire family is run out of town by a mob, and Sukeribi is nearly killed! He only survives by dragging his bloody body across the broken ground until he is found by a friendly peasant, who nurses him back to health. From all of this, I get another Trait and another Conviction:

   • Resilient
   • I will kill that lying dog Zaphiru!

I also have the option to choose a few "acquaintances".

   • "Erimi", his uncle, who hides with a few other family members in the wilderness near town.
   • "Melani", a former sweetheart who has witnessed Zaphiru's villainy in the past.
   • "Bo", the friendly peasant who rescued Sukeribi.

Next, I roll once or twice (I chose once) on the "Personality Quirks" table, and get "Aloof".  This isn't a Trait, necessarily, just a quirk, to add a little depth to the character.

Now, having finished rolling on the tables, and considering everything that's been revealed so far, I must choose two more Traits and a final Conviction.

Sukeribi's really in a bind, and while he's trying to maintain a calm front, things really suck for him, and I'd say he's pretty...

   • Desperate

So desperate, that he's willing to take on a known hero in combat, despite being a...

   • Novice Swordsman

I'm kind of at a loss for a final Conviction.  I could probably wait and pick one later, but I think I'll go with:

   • By my wits and my sword, I will become a TRUE hero (you know, unlike that dog Zaphiru).

So, that's it.

---

Sukeribi of House Imber
A calligrapher from a disgraced family, seeking redemption and revenge.

Traits:
   • Keen Memory
   • Honorable
   • Calligrapher
   • Resilient
   • Desperate
   • Novice Swordsman

Convictions
   • I will restore honor to my fallen house.
   • I will kill that lying dog Zaphiru!
   • By my wits and my sword, I will become a TRUE hero (you know, unlike that dog Zaphiru).

In a story-centric game like this one, an inventory list isn't really a thing.  Suffice to say that Sukeribi would have some clothes and traveling supplies, a calligraphy set, and his training sword.  He might have to look into acquiring some actual steel.

---

Remember when I said that you can't modify the dice rolls when rolling to do things?  That's true, but you do have the option to burn an applicable Trait, temporarily using it up, in order to roll two dice and keep the better result.  Convictions work similarly, though they can also cheat death, or sway an NPC to your side, but they are also harder to recover.

So, already I have an interesting character in an interesting situation in an interesting hint of a setting.  Next time, I'll roll on some of the world-building tables and see if I can flesh out the region that Sukeribi calls home.

Oh, and a link to the game, for them what are interested:
Usurper: Claim to Power (Roleplaying Game)

Ĝis la revido!

C;E Jason "Ludanto" Smith