Over the past few weeks, I’ve worked out a timeline for the Danassos setting, through the end of that world’s equivalent of the Peloponnesian Wars. I think I have enough material to sketch out the plot of two complete novels.

Next step is to work out some character details. At this stage in my world-building process, I often make use of the GURPS role-playing game to lay out characters, so I can be consistent about their capabilities while I write. That exercise also helps me define the fantastic elements of the story – what futuristic technology is available, what non-human species might appear, how magic and the supernatural will work. So that’s what I’m going to be working on over the next week or two.

Here’s an example, who will likely be familiar to the audience.

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Sokrates, son of Sophroniskos (190 points)

Age 54; Human; 5′ 5″; 155 lbs; Stocky and muscular, bright brown eyes, balding with a fringe of grey hair, long beard, dresses very plainly.

ST 11 [10]; DX 11 [20]; IQ 15 [100]; HT 11 [10].

Damage 1d-1/1d+1; BL 24 lbs.; HP 11 [0]; Will 18 [15]; Per 15 [0]; FP 11 [0].

Basic Speed 5.5 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0]; Block 6 (DX); Dodge 8; Parry 8 (DX).

Social Background

TL: 2 [0]. CF: Hellenic (Native) [0]. Languages: Attic Greek (Native) [0].

Advantages

Fearlessness 2 [4]; Intuition (Daimonic advice) (Divine) [14]; Reputation (Among intellectuals, as a wise and honest man) 4 (All the time; Small class) [6].

Disadvantages

Appearance (Unattractive) [-4]; Honesty (6 or less) [-20]; Odious Personal Habit (Relentless questioning) -1 [-5]; Overweight [-1]; Reputation (Among conservatives, as a questioner of tradition) -2 (All the time; Large class) [-5]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10].

          Quirks: Dresses very plainly in shabby clothes; Quirky sense of humor; Spends all his time on philosophy; Strong moral principles; Uninterested in money and possessions [-5].

Skills

Area Knowledge (Athens)-15 (IQ+0) [1]; Brawling-11 (DX+0) [1]; Carousing-12 (HT+1) [2]; Current Affairs/TL2 (Mainland Hellas)-15 (IQ+0) [1]; Dancing-10 (DX-1) [1]; Detect Lies-15 (Per+0) [4]; Diplomacy-14 (IQ-1) [2]; Fast-Talk-14 (IQ-1) [1]; Hiking-11 (HT+0) [2]; History (Athenian)-14 (IQ-1) [2]; Law (Athenian)-13 (IQ-2) [1]; Literature-14 (IQ-1) [2]; Occultism-14 (IQ-1) [1]; Philosophy (Sokratic)-18 (IQ+3) [16]; Psychology (Human)-13 (IQ-2) [1]; Public Speaking-15 (IQ+0) [2]; Religious Ritual (Hellenic)-14 (IQ-1) [2]; Savoir-Faire (High Society)-15 (IQ+0) [1]; Shield (Shield)-12 (DX+1) [2]; Shortsword-10 (DX-1) [1]; Singing-11 (HT+0) [1]; Soldier/TL2-14 (IQ-1) [1]; Spear-11 (DX+0) [2]; Streetwise-14 (IQ-1) [1]; Survival (Mountain)-14 (Per-1) [1]; Swimming-12 (HT+1) [1]; Tactics-13 (IQ-2) [1]; Teaching-16 (IQ+1) [4]; Theology (Hellenic)-14 (IQ-1) [2]; Wrestling-10 (DX-1) [1].

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The starting point here is the character profile I did for Sokrates in GURPS Greece a long time ago (see the sidebar on p. 90 of that book). This version is suitably updated for GURPS Fourth Edition, of course. Some notes:

• This version of Sokrates is a few years older, in his early fifties, past the time when he would have served as a hoplite solider in the Peloponnesian War. He’s still in decent physical condition, but his DX has declined a bit, and he starting to go a bit soft around the edges.
• More recent research suggests that Sokrates was probably not a member of the lower class of thetes. If he could serve as a hoplite, then he wasn’t a poor laborer by birth, even if neglect of his finances left him struggling in his later years. This version of Sokrates has Status 0.
• In this setting, Sokrates doesn’t have the minor Delusion that a daimon occasionally gives him advice. There actually is a daimon that watches over him and gives him advice when he stops to think about things! I’m modeling this as Intuition with the Divine (-10%) power modifier; it’s the only supernatural power he has, but it’s more reliable than the Spirit modifier would indicate. What god has sent his tutelary spirit to him, not even Sokrates knows for sure.
• The skill list is polished up a bit from the one I wrote up twenty-plus years ago. Most of the skills have been trimmed back, although he still has Philosophy (in his own school) at very high level. He has a good array of knowledge and social skills. One surprise may be the set of Occultism, Religious Ritual, and Theology. We know that Sokrates never served as a formally invested priest, but he was quite knowledgeable about esoteric mysteries and the Hellenic gods, and he taught some of his students (such as Xenophon) the art of divination through omens. He still has some of his old military skills, although those are starting to degrade for lack of use.
• On the other hand, some of the skills we might expect him to have, he’s operating at the IQ-based default. These include Politics, Masonry, and Sculpture. Sokrates certainly understood politics, and he began his adult life working as a stonecutter and sculptor, but he seems to have refused to develop or use any of those skills.

More to come, as I develop more of the characters that my protagonist will meet in her journey. Not to mention Alexandra herself!