For this entry in the #CharacterCreationChallenge I am using version 0.17 beta of Ashes Without Number (AWN) by Kevin Crawford to create the physician and survivor Clark Chisolm.

Although the asteroid strike was anticipated, very few recognized the sheer devastation that would result nor the chaos of survival that came next. Clark Chisolm was a well-respected physician, fortunate to be working in a hospital built for surviving natural disasters, such as earthquakes.

When the hospital became a target of many surviving war bands, Clark realized he would have to leave and find a band that met his standards for compassion. He was fortunate to find just such a group and, recognizing the value of his presence, took it upon themselves to protect him from danger. That said, healing the sick and wounded put Clark into dangerous situations regularly, forcing his to develop his strength to at least defend himself.

Ashes Without Number

Like the other games in the Without Number family, the character build follows a common and easy-to-understand process. I used random generation when possible, since I like to go in with no preconceived notion of who I’ll play.

It starts with rolling the normal six attributes, with no bonus dice, and putting them into each attribute in order. You can use a standard array and assign as you wish but, again, I wanted the random nature of the build.

Next, you roll for or pick a background, and I rolled Healer. I also chose to use the three rolls for Skills and Growth, picking one Growth (+2 Mental) and two Skills (Heal, Connect). The dice were really focusing me on a friendly physician.

After that, a selection of two edges. I could have added a an extra Foci or some mutation, but I went pretty normal, since I picked the After the Fall genre, which I’m basing on Lucifer’s Hammer – an excellent, classic science fiction novel from way long ago (I’m old).

Finally, Foci and a free skill, and roll for Hit Points.

I love the OSR design with modern gaming sensibilities in the Without Numbers family – it’s deadly and encourages smart play. I’ve never been a big post-apocalyptic fiction fan, particularly zombies, so I’m unlikely to play this for any length of time, but definitely want to do other games in the family.