Day Eight: Kids on Bikes

This is probably the RPG book I've used the most, though I have never played it...

Kids on Bikes is a rules-light system in which children (or teenagers, or adults) investigate small-town mysteries. Think Stranger Things or The Goonies or It. There are expansions to be Teenagers in Space, or Kids on Brooms, or Dads on Mowers. It was recommended to me for the excellent section in the appendix for developing links between characters - there are lists of questions to ask a player about how their character feels about or relates to the others. I was impressed, got a copy of the game, and have used them in all my games since then. They're really great at building connections between the characters!

Character Creation: I started thinking about child characters that I like, and came up with two very different ones. I absolutely adore Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables, who I think is one of the greatest characters in fiction. I'm also reading the manga series Case Closed right now. What if Anne Shirley was a detective? The thought amused me so much that I knew that was going to be my character!

Character creation was very straightforward. There's a number of stereotype templates which you can edit. Otherwise, you allocate six different dice sizes amongst your six stats. You get bonuses based on whether you're a Kid, a Teenager or an Adult. Because she's a kid, Maud Allingham gets +1 Charm and Flight and the Quick Healing ability. I also get to pick a few more abilities, and I went for Intuitive and Skilled at Detective Work - specifically, asking adults nosy people questions. She also has two flaws -Maud is Insecure and Nosy. The rest of the questions are all about her personality. I decided that her fear would be spiders, her motivation is curiousity, and she'd look and act like Anne Shirley. All characters also have a Backpack, which is what they have literally and also metaphorically. Maud has a magnifying glass and a flashlight, and also an instinctive sense for injustice.

The last part of character creation I couldn't finish, because it's answering questions about the other party members. Maud's questions are "What is the kindest thing this character has ever done for you?" and "What does this character do that immediately makes you lose your temper?" I can easily imagine other party members filling these roles for her! 

Final Thoughts: I'm a big fan of simple character creation that focuses on character, personality and relationship. Kids on Bikes delivers in a big way. Also, the thought of Maud Allingham investigating a Cthulhu cult is hilarious and I feel sorry for the cultists. Of all the characters I've made so far, this is the one that I most want to play!