HP Lovecraft Preparatory Academy RPG exists in three different versions: using either Prose Descriptive Quality as a system, the publisher’s own PIP system, or the generic pulp system Savage Worlds. During the next three days, I will make the more-or-less same character in all three systems, mostly to see which one seems most fun. This is a kind-of semi-humorous version of Harry Potter meets Cthulhu Mythos - Madness, Elder Gods, Weird Science, Aliens, Detention, Boarding School, Nasty and Evil Teachers….
Let’s dive into the PDQ version first.
We will create a typical PC for this game, a kid from New England called Dante Harrison, 12 years old. Dante is a strappy, athletic kid, with a bit of a deep-seated inferiority complex, but a good friend to his pals. He likes to laugh, though his humor sometimes veers a bit to the dark side, especially for a kid his age. Books are a passion of his, and a short while back he found a dark hut in the woods behind the family farm, and in there a cool book, bound in weird leather… one attempt at recreating a little thing from his grandmother's journal later he had a special pet. In other words - he is a Summoner. When joining the academy he will have the clear goal of finding out what his pet actually is, and if possible get more of them! Who knows, maybe he even finds out how to get the little one to follow basic commands, like not sliming on the carpet.
Dante has the following mundane skills, measured in US school grades, and chosen by a simple distribution of grades:
Education A (biology, Sanskrit, history, math), Delinquent B, Brawn B, Phys. Ed. B, Empathy B, Hobby (cricket statistics, horror novels) B. He has a C in all others, except for First Aid and Art, where he has a D. Art especially is something he has no feel for, at all (it is marked as very hard to learn for him). Terms in brackets are chosen specializations. I doubt any skills need a lot of explanation, with the possible exception of Delinquent. Think about thievery, and you are essentially there.
As a Summoner, Dante also has a C in Summoning; my little “pet” (that follows me everywhere) is a Servitor. This one appeared in the attic of the family farm when Dante tried his little experiment in his bedroom. On the plus side, no more rats. It is an amorphous, cat-sized, leathery blob that sometimes shows humanoid features for moments while moving. The faces that appear usually look like they are screaming. It also leaves a slime trail, though it isn’t clear from where. It is rather affectionate, and sometimes that leads to suffocation issues for Dante late at night. It is also easily distracted, often vanishing for a short while when something interesting happens close by.
Dante found its name in the book, on the page where he found that cool diagram. The one he had to draw in his own blood and pin the 9 mice in while chanting the pet's name. It responds to Az’Agg-go-orth. It has 11 Physical Damage boxes and 9 Mental ones. It has an Awareness, Scare, and Rend of B. All other Servitor skills it has a C. Finally, it can change its coloration and texture, helping it hide when necessary. Again, all of that is done via simple distribution of stats, in this case in the chapter for Servitors that is specific for Summoners. Mad scientists and others get their own fun parts to play with.
Back to Dante. He has a Sanity of 9, essentially hard to faze in general. I also have to fill in some other secondary stats, boring. If we had a party we would now create a dorm, mentors….
Find the character sheet here.
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