Things get more relaxed today with Ryuutama, a strongly Ghibli inflected game that calls itself “natural fantasy role play”. Think cozy mystery vs police procedural & you’ll have a pretty good idea how the tone of Ryuutama compares to the bog standard fantasy game we’ve come to know. In this game world it’s a tradition in every land for each person, from the Emperor to the stable hand, to leave home & Walk The Earth at least once in their lives, getting to know the world & hopefully serving the common good.

To begin with, choose a class. There are seven classes in Ryuutama, four of which are recommended for beginners & three that are better for those “with a little experience”. I don’t have to worry about actually playing this character so I’m not gonna sweat that. I like crafter classes so let’s go with Artisan. Each class gets three skills at first level; the Artisan’s are Trapping (which is actually used to extract valuable bits from slain monsters), Crafting, & Repair.

Next choose a type. There are three types that express your character’s basic approach to adventuring: attack type for the brawlers, technical type for the thinkers, & magic type for the casters. Technical type sounds good for an Artisan.

Determine starting ability scores. There are four abilities in Ryuutama – Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Intelligence (INT), & Spirit (SPI) – each of which is rated by die size. There are three starting sets to choose from: average (all 6s), standard (4, 6, 6, 8), & specialized (4, 4, 8, 8). I’m envisioning a metalworker so the 8 goes to Strength. This is a bold & clever person, so Intelligence & Spirit get 6 each, leaving the 4 for Dexterity. I guess fine filigree isn’t their specialty.

Hit points equal STR x 2 = 8 x 2 = 16. The artisan is tough as the nails they forge. Mental points (MP) equal SPI x 2 = 6 x 2 = 12. That’s how much mental strain the artisan can suffer before passing out. Carrying capacity equals STR x 3 = 8 x 3 = 24. That’s an abstract value that represents “loadedness” rather than a count or amount of weight.

Each type gets three special abilities. Technical types get Accurate (get an extra +1 on checks when using concentration, for a total +2), Quick (+1 to Initiative in combat), & Pocket (carrying capacity increases by 3). The Artisan is apparently covered with at least half a Liefield of pouches, with a CC of 27!

Every character has a mastered weapon, one whose use they’ve concentrated on above all others. The Artisan is jacked so a weapon that capitalizes on strength sounds like the way to go. That’s the greataxe, with its accuracy of STR + STR -1 & its damage of STR. As you might expect that means the Artisan will roll 2d8-1 to hit & d8 for damage.

Every character also carries a personal item, something with emotional resonance to them but no particular monetary value or powers. The artisan carries their tools in a leather roll handed down from generation to generation until it’s soft as butter, stained, scorched & scuffed but still holding strong.

Characters get 1000 gold to spend on equipment. They get their mastered weapon for free, which leaves the artisan free to drop 350 on walking shoes, 150 on a basic kit (a large backpack, sleeping bag, wooden mess kit, waterskin, & two days’ rations), 20 for two insect repellent candles, 180 for a sun hat, 20 for a firestarter kit, & 100 for a repair kit. That leaves 180 for expenses on the way.

The great majority of the items on the equipment list are creature comforts, not weapons or armor. That’s because the focus of Ryuutama is on the walking part of the Walk The Earth trope. Your preparedness for the environment you’re walking through has a direct impact on the Condition you’ll be in the next day. Your Condition, in turn, directly influences your

Last of all is to fill out the background details: name, gender, home town, reason for traveling, & so on. As usual I leave gender to an odd/even roll & it comes up male. I grab “Varlin” from a list of video game character names. In keeping with the JRPG feel of Ryuutama each character has an “image color”; Varlin’s is oxblood red, a good industrial color. He wears a thick tunic & sturdy trews that protect from sparks, splinters & flying metal shavings, but aren’t full on armor.

Varlin

Level: 1
XP: 0
Gender: M
Age: 25
Class: Artisan
Type: Technical

Skills:
Trapping (DEX + INT), Crafting (STR + DEX), Repair (STR + DEX)

Type Abilities:
Accurate, Quick, Pocket

Equipment:
walking shoes, basic kit (a large backpack, sleeping bag, wooden mess kit, waterskin, & two days’ rations), two insect repellent candles, sun hat, firestarter kit, repair kit

Mastered Weapon: Axe (Accuracy STR + STR, Damage STR)
Personal Item: tool wallet
Image Color/Appearance: oxblood red; sturdy worker’s clothing; hands constantly nicked, scratched & chapped
Hometown/Reason for Travel: Like everyone else in his family Varlin has been tinkering & fixing things since he learned to work a pair of pliers. Manufactured things from every corner of the world have passed through the family shop & the time came when the urge to see the places where these miraculous gizmos came from grew too strong. Varlin laced up a sturdy pair of shoes & set off down the dusty trail to everywhere.