by Colin MacIntyre

1

Phrasing Odes

Filling out a character's odes is not always easy. What is the anatomy of a good character? As seen in this article by S. John Ross, one of the most straightforward ways to start is by asking questions.

Questions like:

• What is my character's profession?
• Their race or species? Human, Elf, Merfolk, Avian
• Living background? Shantytown, Upscale District, Remote Village, Underworld
• Personal history? Rightful, Former, Once Known As, Haunted by, Defrocked, Last of the
• Level of dedication? Amateur, Veteran, Devoted, Zealous, World-Weary, Reluctant, Diehard
• Religion, philosophy, or ideology? Mystic, Worshiper of, Pious, Impious, Extremist, Anti-magic
• Social class? Heir, Aristocratic, King of the, Freeman, Commoner, Slave
• Group or organization? Guild, League, Alliance, Legion of, Would-be, One of, Initiate
• Demeanor? Jolly, Surly, Gentle, Starry-eyed, Sinister, Haughty, Stalwart
• Appearance? Square-jawed, Beady-eyed, Pale, Voluptuous, Scarred, Giant
• Self-image? Legend in His Own Mind, Humble, Unfit to Live
• Relationships? Father/Mother/Son/Daughter of, Adopted by, Disciple of
• Dreams? Determined to, Bent on, Eager to, Plotting to, Secretly in Love With (see Dreams)
• Pain? (see Pain below)
• Flaws? (see Flaws below)

Or, flesh out your PC in another way with questions based on Guy Hoyle's Maximum Risus Fun!

• Who are you?
• Where are you from?
• Why are you here?
• What are you looking for?
• 3 things you do better than average.
• 3 things you do worse than average.
• 3 things everyone knows about you.
• 3 things no one knows about you.
• 3 things you believe are true.
• 3 things you want but don’t have.
• 3 things you have but don’t want.

 2 

Legendary Battles

“I just want you to feel you're doing well. I hate for people to die embarrassed.” —Fezzik

Before we get to the dreams, pain and flaws that make up an Ode character, let's take a detour into Ode combat.

Risus, and by extension Ode, are among the few systems that, at a mechanical level, allow for the sort of face-offs film buffs dream about roleplaying. Risus fan h3rne777 gives the example of one of the most legendary swordfights ever to grace the silver screen—the cliff-side encounter between The Masked Man In Black A.K.A. Dread Pirate Roberts (d6) and Inigo Seeking-Revenge-For-the-Death-of-His-Father-at-the-Hand-of-the-Six-fingered-Man Montoya (d6).

As we saw in Rule 3.6.1, here, damage to a character is not necessarily wounds or HP. This is one of the most elegant features of Risus/Ode and quite unlike most traditional “trading-blows” style RPG's. For the GM decides how ode damage affects the story, whilst the players decide what victory entails.

To illustrate, here's the Ode to that battle between the two master swordsmen:

Inigo (d6): You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you.
Man In Black (d6): You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die.
Inigo (d6): Begin.

Inigo rolls 1d6 = 3. MiB rolls 1d6 = 5. Inigo falls to (d8)

Inigo (d8): You are using Bonetti’s defense against me, uh?
Man In Black (d6): I thought it fitting, considering the rocky terrain.

Inigo rolls 1d8 = 6. MiB rolls 1d6 = 6. A draw—no effect.

Inigo (d8): Naturally, you must expect me to attack with Capo Ferro.
Man In Black (d6): Naturally, but I find that Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro, don’t you?
*Jumps down*

Inigo rolls 1d8 = 2. MiB rolls 1d6 = 3. MiB falls to (d8)

Inigo (d8): Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa, *Jumps after him* which I have!

Inigo rolls 1d8 = 4. MiB rolls 1d8 = 3. Inigo falls to (d10)

Inigo (d10): You are wonderful!
Man In Black (d8): Thank you. I’ve worked hard to become so.
Inigo (d10): I admit it, you are better than I am.

Inigo rolls 1d10 = 5. MiB rolls 1d8 = 2. Inigo falls to (d12)

Man In Black (d10): Then why are you smiling? *Forces Inigo toward the cliff’s edge*
Inigo (d12): Because I know something you don’t know.
Man In Black (d10): And what is that?

Inigo rolls 1d12 = 2. MiB rolls 1d8 = 7. MiB falls to (d10)

Inigo (d12): I am not left-handed. *Switching hands, moves his opponent up the stairs*
Man In Black (d10): You’re amazing!
Inigo (d12): I ought to be after twenty years.
*Begins to force Man in Black toward a balcony. His body moves the rocks*

Inigo rolls 1d12 = 8. MiB rolls 1d10 = 3. Inigo falls to (d14)

Man In Black (d10): There is something I ought to tell you.
Inigo (d14): Tell me.
Man In Black (d10): I’m not left-handed either. *Switches hands, flourishes sword*

Inigo rolls 1d14 = 12. MiB rolls 1d10 = 6. Inigo falls to (d16)

The Man in Black knocks Inigo’s sword from his hand.
Inigo jumps down to retrieve it.
The Man in Black tosses his sword into a patch of grass.
He flips over a beam and lands next to his sword, plucking it from the ground.
Inigo (d16): Who are you?
Man In Black (d10): No one of consequence.
Inigo (d16): I must know.
Man In Black (d10): Get used to disappointment.
Inigo (d16): *Shrugs* Okay.

Inigo rolls 1d16 = 9. MiB rolls 1d10 = 3. Inigo falls to (d18)

They continue to fight until the Man In Black knocks Inigo’s sword from his hands.
Inigo (d18): *Kneeling* Kill me quickly.
Man In Black (d10): *Circling Inigo* I would as soon destroy a stained-glass window as an artist like yourself. However, since I can’t have you following me either...

Inigo rolls 1d18 = 15. MiB rolls 1d10 = 1. Critical hit. Inigo falls 2x to (d0)

Man In Black hits Inigo over the head with the hilt of his sword. He hits the ground, out cold.
Man In Black (d10): Please understand I hold you in the highest respect. *Runs off*

For his next encounter with Fezzik, the Lumbering Giant (d6), the GM might rule that the Man In Black's ode has recovered, since all damage taken was essentially tactical.

    3    

Dreams

“I will never doubt again.”
“There will never be a need.”

As introduced in Rule 4.2, a dream is a lifelong goal; a quest that surpasses earthly desires to move directly on a person's soul. Throughout history, heroes and heroines have left behind their past and forsworn the present in order to heed the siren song of their future. Dreams are why people strive to do great things, but are a source of frustration if unacted upon. Over time, dreams will be challenged, and the character will have to make a choice to either stay true to their dream, or to compromise and squander it.

Remember, shaping your PC's dream into ode form gets you 1 extra point at character creation. Come up with your own, choose from the following table, or roll against it to get a dream at random:

1. Ascend to the Spiritual Realm
2. Assassinate the Unjust Prince
3. Avenge the Death of My Wife
4. Become a White Wizard
5. Become Immortal
6. Blot Out the Sun
7. Bring My Enemies to Ruin
8. Bring Peace to My Nation
9. Build the Tallest Ziggurat
10. Conquer the New Frontier
11. Complete My Pilgrimage
12. Deliver My Village Out of Poverty
13. Discover the Lost City of Gold
14. End the Royal Bloodline
15. Eradicate the Faithless
16. Find My Long Lost Children
17. Find the Holy Grail
18. Find the Meaning of Life
19. Free My People from Slavery
20. Hunt Down the White Whale
21. Keep My Sister Safe
22. Kindle Ragnarok
23. Leave These Lands and Never Look Back
24. Never Need Again
25. Outlast My Oppressors
26. Raise a Crusade Against the Invaders
27. Repay My Debt
28. Reconcile With My Family
29. Reconcile My Faith
30. Reform the Ruling Regime
31. Rescue My Father
32. Restore My Family’s Honour
33. Repay My Crushing Debt
34. Return Home Again
35. Rise to the Top
36. See the Edge of the World
37. See the Face of God
38. Surpass My Mentor
39. Take Back the Throne
40. Unfetter Myself From This Contract
41. Win Back Her Heart

    4    

Pain

“Do you hear? That is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound when Rugen slaughtered my father. The man in black makes it now.” —Inigo Montoya

As mentioned in Rule 4.3, a past left behind has the tendency to ambush one's future. In this sense, a character’s pain has the potential to really spice things up, for it is their unspoken agony; a deep-seated emotional wound from their personal history into which brokenness came. Whereas a dream is something a character wants to achieve in their future, their pain is something they wish could be removed from their past. Pain functions as a negative motivator; to avoid or prevent something similar from happening again. Though tragic, pain is the foundation for true epic storytelling, for when one's Shadow is faced squarely, pain has the potential to become strength, and fear, opportunity.

Remember, shaping your PC's pain into ode form gets you 1 extra point at character creation.

Some examples to choose from here, or roll to get one at random:

1. Abandoned My Post
2. Abused By My Father
3. Accidentally Killed Someone
4. Accused of Witchcraft
5. An Innocent Paid For My Crimes
6. Bastard Child of a Prominent Noble
7. Betrayed My Best Friend
8. Born in a Bawdy House
9. Called Worthless My Whole Life
10. Cursed by a Gypsy
11. Disappointment to My Parents
12. Dishonored My House
13. Entire Childhood Was a Sham
14. Excommunicated From My Order
15. Failed to Protect my Children
16. Fathered an Illegitimate Child
17. Fled the Battle Like a Coward
18. Gambled and Lost Everything
19. Left at the Altar
20. Lost My Only Child
21. Shunned By My Family
22. Sold My Soul For a Pittance
23. Suffering From an Incurable Disease
24. Too Late To Achieve My Dream
25. Unjustly Imprisoned
26. Unrequited Love
27. Unwittingly Unleashed a Plague
28. Wife Left Me For Another

    5    

Flaws

“They were great men with huge flaws, and you know what, those flaws almost made them greater.” —Harry Potter

Pain tends to bear inconvenient fruit, which in Ode are called flaws. A flaw can be a vice, a shortcoming, a character defect or other negative trait that diminishes your PC, even in their moments of glory. Though not the disease, flaws are often the visible symptoms of pain.

Examples abound in fiction:

• Lord Macbeth of Overambition and Hubris (d12) assassinates the king, becoming King Macbeth the Guilt-ridden and Paranoid (d12)
• Oskar Schindler the Greedy Industrialist (d10) experiences an epiphany and becomes Daring Rescuer of the Oppressed (d8)
• Captain Hook the Pan Obsessed (d12) and Ahab, Fanatical Whale Hunter (d8)
• Iago the Cruel and Manipulative (d8) exploits Othello the Unreasonably Jealous (d12) to drive him to murder
• Veruca Salt the Unbearable Brat (d10) receives her just desserts upon meeting Willy Wonka the Eccentric Chocolatier (d8)
• Marty the Valiant but Accident-Prone (d12) is on a quest to save George the Painfully Timid (d12) with the help of Doc Brown the Absent-Minded Genius (d10)

For the purpose of the game, physical abnormalities have also been categorized as flaws. Nevertheless, if played well, flaws can be as much a boon as a hindrance. In one campaign, for example, we realized that though he could not read, our illiterate ex-crusader character had developed an unusally keen memory and also a natural ability to pick up dialects.

Browse the list below for a flaw that would be compelling in your character, then work it into a descriptive ode. Or, roll 1d100 for a random touch.

1. the Absent-minded
2. the Addicted
3. the Aggressive
4. the Aimless
5. the Anxious
6. the Arrogant
7. the Big Mouthed
8. the Bigoted
9. the Blind
10. the Callous
11. the Childish
12. the Close-minded
13. the Controlling
14. the Cruel
15. the Cursed
16. the Cynical
17. the Deaf
18. the Dependent
19. the Delusional
20. the Deranged
21. the Dishonest
22. the Disloyal
23. the Drunk
24. the Dyslexic
25. the Eccentric
26. the Entitled
27. the Erratic
28. the Fanatical
29. the Fickle
30. the Fierce
31. the Flirtatious
32. the Foolish
33. the Frail
34. the Gluttonous
35. the Gruff
36. the Gullible
37. the Hedonist
38. the Humourless
39. the Hysterical
40. the Illiterate
41. the Impatient
42. the Impudent
43. the Incompetent
44. the Indecisive
45. the Jealous
46. the Judgmental
47. the Klutz
48. the Lame
49. the Lazy
50. the Liar
51. the Manipulative
52. the Meddlesome
53. the Megalomaniac
54. the Melodramatic
55. the Mute
56. the Naïve
57. the Narcissist
58. the Neurotic
59. the Nosy
60. the Obsessive
61. the Overambitious
62. the Overprotective
63. the Overzealous
64. the Pacifist
65. the Paranoid
66. the Passive
67. the Perfectionist
68. the Pessimist
69. the Phobic
70. the Predictable
71. the Prudish
72. the Rebellious
73. the Reckless
74. the Remorseless
75. the Sadist
76. the Self-destructive
77. the Self-pitying
78. the Self-righteous
79. the Selfish
80. the Senile
81. the Shallow
82. the Short-tempered
83. the Soft-hearted
84. the Spineless
85. the Squeamish
86. the Stubborn
87. the Superstitious
88. the Tactless
89. the Thin-Skinned
90. the Timid
91. the Unkempt
92. the Unlucky
93. the Unreliable
94. the Vain
95. the Vengeful
96. the Violent
97. the Weak-willed
98. the Wounded
99. the Withdrawn
100. the Xenophobic

(Dreams, Pain and Flaws based on The Epic of Dreams by Drew Cochran)

    6    

A Brief Ode

The dozen lists and tables below are essentially all you need to run a game of Ode. Enjoy!

1 . Select an ode (it's now active)
2. Roll 1dx, where x is the ode's level
3. Compare the result with your opponent or target number
4. Damage the loser's ode by one level (if a tie, both sides take damage)

1 . Select an ode
2. Decide the number of dice x you want to pump it by
3. Add x identical dice
4. Roll all the dice together, keeping the lowest result
5. Once the action resolves, “damage” the ode x levels

1 . Declare the team
2. Each team member selects an ode
3. Roll together now!
4. The lowest roll is the team's result

1 . Before play begins, each player rolls the Fortune Die
2. This is the number of Fortune chits available to him or her for that session

1 . Permanently damage the Fortune Die by one level
2. Replenish your Fortune as per H. Roll Today's Fortune
3. Attempt to “reverse” your last roll by re-rolling it
4. The new roll may be pumped or accompanied by feats

1 . Cast the Fortune Die
2. Did you roll a 1?
3. If so, level up the Fortune Die

1 . Select the ode you wish to advance
2. Convert it temporarily to its opposite:
d20⇒d2, d18⇔d4, d16⇔d6, d14⇔d8, d12⇔d10
3. Roll the die against the following table:

And sometimes dragipedes

03/18/2020 COVID-19