Grimm

Grimm is a game about fairy tales, which you might have gathered from the title; many of the fairy tales that a character might encounter are straight out of Grimm's tales. What's interesting about Grimm, though, is who you play; rather than playing an average adventurer looking to make a fortune or fame off of the stuff of fairy tales, you play a child, probably around 12-13 years old, that has somehow managed to step into the world of fairy tales, and must team up with other children to survive and get home. It's a fun idea, though probably one not a lot of players would like - I know a number of people who wouldn't want to relive those years of their lives again. But it is a cool idea, which is why I ended up buying the game; it's made by Fantasy Flight Games, who has made a number of very cool products.

OK, as a Grimm character, I have a few choices to make. First, I have to pick an Archetype for my character to belong to; my choices are The Bully, The Dreamer, The Jock, The Nerd, The Normal Kid, The Outcast, and The Popular Kid. The Archetyoe I pick determines what abilities I start with and at what level, as well as giving me a special archetype bonus and weakness, as well as a list of things I can gain as I progress. I think I'll choose the Archetype that would have fit me most closely at that age, and go with Dreamer. Dreamers are the kids with their heads int he clouds, always thinking up some col new story or playing with a new idea, often ignoring what happens around them for the things in their head. In Grimm, all of that suddenly becomes real, and so they have a bit of an advantage there. The Specialty of Dreamers is that they roll an extra die on all initial tests of Imagination; their Flaw is that they take a -1 to all tests made against charms, illusion, or other mind-altering effects; and their initial Archetype Ability is called I Think I Can - I can choose two iconic Core abilities, one of which must be Imagination, or I can choose Imagination twice, meaning that any time I generate something real with the power of my imagination, it is more powerful. I think I'll go with that.

There are three categories of abilities - Core, Playground, and Study - and each ability has a grade. As a Dreamer, my Core abilities start as: Cool 1st Grade, Pluck 1st Grade, Imagination 4th Grade, Luck 2nd Grade, and Muscle 1st Grade. My Playground abilities start as: Hide 2nd Grade, Seek 4th Grade, Scamper 2nd Grade, Scrap 1st Grade, and Throw 2nd Grade. Finally, my Study abilities are: 4-H 1st Grade, Book Learning 2nd Grade, Boy Scouts 1st Grade, Gaming 3rd Grade, Home Ec 1st Grade. I have no Grade in the Study abilities of Country Club, Industrial Arts, or Juvie. I get 8 points to increase these abilities; Core abilities cost 3, Playground cost 2, and Study cost 1. I think I'll put another grade in Pluck, another grade in Scrap, 2 grades in Boy Scouts, and 1 in Book Learning.

Finally, I get a choice of Talents; I get one at character creation, and may choose an Origin Talent as well. Talents allow for a bit of customization and a unique feel to your character. After looking through the Origin Talents, I think I'll pass on them, leaving me with just my initial Talent. After looking through my options, I think I'll go with Hawk-Eyed; this gives me a +2 advantage on all Seek tests to notice or find small or hidden things. It sounds like it could come in handy. So, aside from some fleshing out, at the end my character looks like this:

Tommy Taylor
Shape: Person-shaped
Stature: Kid-sized
Speed: Average

Dreamer
Dreamer Skills: +1 on initial Imagination tests, -1 to all charm/illusion/mind-affecting tests, I Think I Can

Core Abilities: Cool 1st, Pluck 2nd, Imagination 4th, Luck 2nd, Muscle 1st
Playground Abilities: Hide 2nd, Seek 4th, Scamper 2nd, Scrap 2nd, Throw 2nd
Study Abilities: 4-h 1st, Book Learning 3rd, Boy Scouts 3rd, Gaming 3rd, Home Ec 1st

Talent: Hawk-Eyed