[Note: with my permission, Kreios cut images from the sample draft and posted them to his site showing the wrestler build he used. I’m going to let you link over there so you can check out his stuff too…but you can more than get the gist of it from what he’s written below.]

Delvers to Mow Down II Supplement: Example Wrestler Build

The following is the Wrestler I built for Exxar’s meatgrinder game (session report). It is based on a prerelease version of Gaming Ballistic’s Delvers to Grow project (written by Kevin Smyth, whose work is again amazing). And when I say prerelease I mean basically done content-wise, with only edits and interior art missing. It’s essentially ready to go.

First off, I want to stress how amazing that book is. The following character was built at the beginning of the session and took about ten minutes to build (most of which was spent to build the sheet into GCS). I cannot stress this enough: To me, the book is a gamechanger. I will not only use this for my own DF games (including introducing new people to DF), I will also likely build similar modules for other games I’ll run. They won’t be as good as Kevin’s (which are well-built, amusing, and quite evocative), but they’ll make building characters so much faster.

In fact, even in DF games I’ll play in that don’t use those modules, I will still build my character using them. Ten minutes to build a character and another twenty to finetune them is far better than spending an hour building my character and then finding out in the first session I forgot to buy the climbing skill.

The book is available on kickstarter. Back it, enjoy it. This post’ll wait.

Building a Wrestler

Building a character using DtG uses five steps:

1. Choose a category and point level
2. Choose basic and advanced modules
3. Choose upgrade modules
4. Choose disadvantage modules
5. Choosing equipment.

I had already decided on a concept – I wanted to give Fantastic Dungeon Grappling a spin and therefore would choose a wrestler.

Choose a Category and Point Level

Strong journeyman template, clocking in at 125 points.

Point level was given by the scenario, at 125 points. And since the wrestler is surprisingly a Strong template (you wouldn’t guess it, right?), that gives us the 125-pt strong template pictured to the right.

You can note a few things there: First, the modules: Two disadvantage modules give you additional points (for optimizers) and roleplaying opportunity (for roleplayers). The basic module and advanced module together give you 75 points of your character-defining abilities. And the upgrade module allows you to specialize your character.

I’ll be spending the required one point on Brawling, and chose Staff as a secondary weapon skill to spend two points on (you’ll see the choices in a bit). Most of the other professions get a ranged choice here; for the Wrestler, it’s melee weapons for foes you do not want to touch. That’s why I decided on Staff: More reach to stay away. The 12 points for main weapon goes to – you guessed it – wrestling.

Choose Basic and Advanced Modules

Wrestler basic module

My choice was already defined: Wrestler. So, I’m picking Wrestler and Wrestler II as the basic and advanced module respectively.

The Wrestler basic templace gives us the defining advantage for a wrestler: Wrestling Master, whose benefits include increasing control points inflicted by wrestling significantly and making your arms count as weapons for attacks and parries.

Wrestlers also get Judo which, together with Enhanced Parry, allows them to parry enemy weapons or limbs, followed by improving the grip and then tearing them limb from limb. Judo’s nice for that because (a) you parry for each hand separately, and (b) you get a bonus of +3 instead of +1 to parry when retreating. Judo takes encumbrance penalties, but you’re the strongest delver – my wrestler ended up at no encumbrance.

Wrestler II advanced module

The basic template gives you basic competence (and is all that 62pt characters get, plus one upgrade module). The advanced modules, though, is where each profession really begins to shine. For the Wrestler, Lifting ST increases total strength for grappling to 15 – that would inflict 1d+1 CP. Except that we have Wrestling Master, and will have Wrestling at DX+3, which boosts it by another 3 – for a final total of 1d+4 CP. Both the 187pt Knight Doug posted and his the 125pt Swashbuckler will probably suffer -4 to DX after just one successful attack. Of course, you first have to be in close combat.

Also very nice is the Tough Skin. At three levels, my armour (on which I spend most of my quirk points) usually protected me for 8 DR. Whenever you read “none of the three attacks on the Wrestler penetrate armour” in the session report, that right there is why.

The three skills usually found on the Martial Artist template in basic DFRPG are a nice addition, but I did not get to use them.

Choose Upgrade Module

Hulk upgrade module

Remember when I gushed about the CP my wrestler could inflict? What if we made that even more? The Hulk upgrade module is very straightforward. At a total of another three levels of lifting strength, that gives me 18 and therefore 1d+2 base CP, increased to 1d+5. If I were to spend three of my quirk points on another level of Lifting ST, I’d have ended up with 2d+2, even.

Not surprisingly, that mountain of muscle is intimidating, and is trained to lift even more: He can bench-press almost half a ton!

Choose Disadvantage Modules

Fortune’s Fool disadvantage module

Hero disadvantage module

A big hulking wrestler in a heap of armour? I’ve chosen two modules that fit quite well: Fortune’s Fool and Hero. There’s two levels to every disadvantage package in DtG: First, there’s the descriptions which in this case tell me that my wrestler is straightforward bordering on foolish while being extremely certain of himself. At the same time, he’s heroic, ready to carry everyone back if necessary (with his strength, he should be able to still walk at Move 2 while carrying two or three wounded delvers).

At the same time, the disadvantages contained within the module give you (and the GM) a more rules-based approach to the disadvantage.

In-game, due to the scenario we played, these disadvantages didn’t really surface. Overconfidence might’ve, due to the large number of all-out attacks I threw, and Sense of Duty certainly would’ve come into play once we didn’t have constant combat to play with.

Choosing Equipment

All that remains now is choosing our equipment. Luckily, we don’t need a weapon (that’s what hands are for). I have five quirk points available to trade for armour, which means at most $3500. Usually, I’d buy a Basic Kit for $233, but in that pure combat scenario, it was unnecessary. Knight’s Armour would’ve been nice, but clocks in at almost $6,000; even bought as cheap (a new option in DtG), it would’ve been too expensive. Instead, the Huskarl’s Armour ($1,905 and 47.4lbs) must serve. Primarily made up of light mail with more armour for limbs and head, it gives DR 6/4 to the skull, DR 4 to hands and feet, and DR 3/1 everywhere else. That’s a total of 9/7, 7, and 6/4 respectively with tough skin. Another $1,000 I spent on the Fortify I enchantment, for another 1DR for everything. That’s about $3,000 spent, and $480 buy me four minor healing potions. Add a quarterstaff to that at $10, and we’re done. That’s a total of less than 55 lbs, so the wrestler is at no encumbrance.

Writing Everything Up

How does the character look like?

How does the character look like?

ST	14	HP	14	Basic Speed	6
DX	12	Will	10	Basic Move	6
IQ	10	Per	10	Sw	2d
HT	12	FP	12	Thr	1d
Dodge	9	BL	65lbs

Attacks:

• Wrestling: 1d+5 CP; reach C, Parry 14. Skill-16
• Judo: 1d+2 CP; reach C, Parry 12. Skill-12
• Quarterstaff: 2d+2 cr; reach 1, 2; Parry 12. Skill-12
• Parry Missile Weapon: Parry 11

Advantages: Enhanced Parry (Unarmed) 3 [15]; Wrestling Master [10]; Lifting ST 4 [12]; Tough Skin 3 [9]; Spent for Money [5]

Disadvantages: Curious (CR 12) [-5]; Impulsiveness (CR 9) [-15]; Overconfidence (CR 12) [-5]; Chummy [-5]; Sense of Duty (Adventuring Companions) [-5]; Xenophilia (CR 9) [-15]; Undefined Quirks [-5]

Skills

• Wrestling (DX/A)-16 [16]
• Judo (DX/H)-12 [4]
• Brawling (DX/E)-13 [2]
• Staff (DX/A)-12 [2]
• Immovable Stance (DX/H)-10 [1]
• Parry Missile Weapon (DX/H)-10 [1]
• Push (DX/H)-10 [1]
• Intimidation (Will/A)-9 [1]
• Lifting (HT/A)-11 [1]

Summary

The Wrestler was really nice to play, and I enjoyed doing so immensely. I just wish I’d have actually damaged somebody using wrestling instead of throwing them down the wall. That was undoubtedly more effective, but I could’ve spent 9 CP on some of the attacks to do 3d cr damage. That would’ve been nice.

In retrospect, I also might’ve chosen Fortunate Son (more money would have been nice, and Luck is always good), or Veteran for that sweet combat reflexes. That would’ve meant more than the one more damage I got from more strength.

However, I am and continue to be impressed by Delvers to Grow’s ease of character generation (the character above took about ten minutes to create, most of that clicking it together in GCS; with the announced release of GCS and GCA files, creation time will probably be less than five minutes for a fully-fledged and well-rounded character. (Well, the wrestler is basically restricted to “wrestling” and “carrying heavy loads”, but that’s a class feature).

It’s a game changer. Really.