1 Character, 13 Systems - Part 13: Rolemaster

    I described my character, Korsanian, in a previous post here. 
    I almost decided against using this system, since I remember how long it takes to make a character, but if I survived GURPS then I can survive the Rolemaster system:

Books Used: Rolemaster core rulebook
Approximate time to create: 2 hrs

Korsanian Vambrae  -  Wood Elf, Magician

Agility               35  /  86  /  +4
Constitution      40  /  63  /  +0
Memory            90  /  92  /  +7
Reasoning         90  /  100  /  +5
Self Discipline  90  /  99  /  +0
Empathy           90  /  96  /  +7
Intuition           90  /  97  /  +5
Presence           60  /  83  /  +2
Quickness        40  /  72  /  +2
Strength            35  /  80  /  +0

Racial Abilities:  Cold Resistance, Disease Resistance, Immortality, Rest Requirements, Night Sight, Superb Hearing

Background Options:
+10 to 2 skills
+1 spell adder or +10 magic item
daily 4 item or +2 spell adder or +15 magic item or 5 doses of potion (level 1-5)

Loremaster:  Book (+10 to one Lore category)

Skill Categories:
Athletics/Brawn  1  (+6)
Athletics/Endurance  1  (+6)
Athletics/Gymnastic  1  (+6)
Awareness/Searching  1  (+12)
Awareness/Senses  1  (+12)
Communication  2  (+23)
Lore/General  10  (+40)
Lore/Magical  4  (+37)
Lore/Technical  2  (+23)
Lore/Obscure  2  (+23)
Outdoor/Animal  1  (+20)
Outdoor/Environmental  5  (+22)
Power Awareness  1  (+36)
Science/Analytic - Basic  1  (+19)
Subterfuge/Stealth  4  (+17)
Tech and Trade/General  1  (+14)
Weapon/Missile  3  (+14)
Weapon/1H Edged  1  (+6)

Skills:
Swimming  3  (+15)
Climbing  2  (+12)
Alertness  6  (+16)
Body Development  1  (+6)
Own Region Lore  3  (+49)
Own Race Lore  3  (+49)
Riding  1  (+23)
Stalking  4  (+29)
Hiding  4  (+29)
Short Sword  1  (+9)
Short Bow  4  (+26)
Power Point Development  1  (+19)
Dispelling Ways (closed)  3  (+15)
Detecting Ways (open)  3  (+10)
Fauna Lore  3  (+49)
Flora Lore  3  (+49)
Herb Lore  1  (+26)
Demon/Devil Lore  1  (+26)
Spell Lore  3  (+46)
Alchemy  1  (+22)
Research  1  (+22)
Wood-crafts  1  (+16)
Leather-crafts  1  (+16)
Foraging  1  (+25)
Survival  1  (+25)
Hunting  1  (+25)
Weather-watching  1  (+25)
Tracking  1  (+15)
Animal Handling  1  (+23)
Direction Sense  1  (+15)
First Aid  1  (+17)
Basic Math  1  (+22)

Level- 1  XP- 10,000
Age- 16 yrs +40 mos

Equipment:  clothes, weapon belt, belt pouch, scabbard, 2 weapons, 2 GP

Power Points: 19
Hits: 6
Defensive Bonus: 6

Known Spells:
Detect Essence
Detect Channeling
Detect Mentalism
Cancel Essence
Cancel Channeling
Cancel Mentalism

Resistance Rolls:
Channeling  +10
Essence  +16
Mentalism  +1
Poison  +10
Disease  +100
Fear  +0

Base Movement Rate:  36'  (for being 4"2' tall)


    Two hours, the longest yet to make a character (and it felt like 4).  Rolemaster is a harsh mistress.  This is system knowledge taken to the most ridiculous degree possible (thank god I've made a few characters in the past).  It is extremely hard to just pick up the book and whip out a character.  The complicated relationships, the tables - oh dear god the tables - the complex relationships, and all the information you need is scattered in multiple locations (you cannot simply start at page 1 and go on, you have to jump to page 80 for your race, back to page 2 for the next step, then page 90 for your class, back to page 3 for the next step, then page 100; no, no, it's killing me thinking about it again, you get the picture).  It is horrible and terrible and traumatizing.  It is character creation as torture test.  If you think Pathfinder is too complex, look at Rolemaster and you'll quickly change your yardstick.
    So for all this work, did we get a better character than any of the other games?  No, not really.  He did come out well, I'll give him that.  He's a good mix of smart guy wizard and a little ranger/fighter.  He hit almost every point except for the animal companion and alchemy (again there's a skill but no real items to buy/make/use).  But while he was complete, was he any better than the hour-average for the other systems?  No, not really.  Hero System and GURPS did at least as well, and took a little less time (and a bucketload less aggravation).  The sad part is that for all the extra detail and insane calculations he still ended up about the same as most of the other games.  So without any significant improvement there's no way to justify the extra time and headache (literally, I had a tension headache after making him) in using this system.  Rolemaster is a good idea, it has some nice concepts, that is way, way, way too bloated with numbers.  Divide all stats by 10, using a single d10 for resolution (instead of percentile), and make the levels have a direct 1-to-1 relationship to effect (instead of each level being so many percentage points to whatever) - and maybe then you'd have a really good system.  It's just funny that this took only about 15 min longer than GURPS or Hero System, but felt like far, far longer.  Though, actually, I didn't completely finish him- I still have to choose my item bonuses for my background choices and buy my gear and stat my weapons, but I won't, I refuse, I give up - I can't take it any more.  I don't want to spend one more second working on him and I really don't even want to bother playing him.

1 Character, 13 Systems - Part 12: Heroes Unlimited

    I described my character, Korsanian, in a previous post here. 
    I have always loved Palladium's settings, from Robotech to TMNT to Rifts, so let's try Heroes Unlimited:

Books Used: Heroes Unlimited (1st ed)
Approximate time to create: 40 min

Korsanian Vambrae  - Magic Hero (Mystic Study)

IQ  13
ME  13
MA  11
PS  8
PP  9
PE  11
PB  10
Spd  7

Alignment: Principled
HP:  15
SDC:  33

Education Level: Doctorate or PhD
Skills:
Archery
Prowl  81%
Swimming  85%
Climbing  85%
WP Staff
WP Sword
WP Targeting
Computer Operation  95%
Intelligence  77%
Photography  85%
Writing  69%
Criminal Science/Forensics  70%
Paramedic  85%
Pathology  80%
Medical Doctor- diagnose 105% treat  95%

Secondary Skills:
Cook  50%
Fishing  60%
Land Navigation  40%
Wilderness Survival  40%
Basic Electronics  40%
Basic Mechanics  40%
Auto Mechanics  50%
Pilot: automobile  80%
Language  55%
Art  40%

Wizard Abilities:
Astral Projection
Familiar Link
Recognize Enchantment  60%
Sense Evil  100'
Sense Magic  200'  24%
Magic Combat  (can cast 2 spells per turn, max 8 spells per day)

Spells Known:
Anti-magic Cloud
Dispel Magic Barrier
Negate Magic
Exorcism
Expel Demons/Devils
Invisibility (self)
Globe of Silence
See the Invisible
Sphere of Invisibility
Decipher Magic


    The thing about Palladium games is that while I love their settings, the mechanics leave something to be desired.  Attributes are pretty much useless, unless they are 16+ (and you roll 3d6 for them) at which point they give benefits to other scores.  I didn't waste the time writing them out, each one is  two words but after you play a bit you get used to just using the abbreviations.  The system is modern, so instead of riding the faelynx he has a car, or would if I could find where to roll my starting cash.  I lucked out on the education level with the PhD, it gave a huge bonus to all my skills.  But the fixed skill percentages is a screwy system.  I like the idea of hit points and SDC, you lose SDC first as fatigue and bruising and hit points last as actual wounds and death.  SDC is a big number (usually) that increases easily, hit points stay small.  It's not a bad idea, and works okay in practice (though has some quirks like all point-based health systems) - however when they added the mecha-level MDC things went sideways fast.
    I did not expect this character to convert well, this system was for nostalgia's sake like Marvel, but it actually did not do too bad.  I had extra spells to learn so I went with the invisibility and exorcism and silence - but they do kind of fit the concept.  The biggest shift was from fantasy to modern era, but otherwise he stayed fairly close.  I did play a whole lot of Palladium in my younger days, and while it is an okay system I am not dying to play it again.

1 Character, 13 Systems - Part 11: Riddle of Steel

    I described my character, Korsanian, in a previous post here. 
    I wanted to try as many different magic systems as possible, so now let's go to The Riddle of Steel:

Books Used: The Riddle of Steel core rulebook
Approximate time to create: 55 min

Korsanian Vambrae
Priorities:
A- Skills (6/6)
B- Gifted Human
C- Proficiencies & Vagarities (6)
D- 1 minor gift and flaw
E- Attributes (31)
F- Prisoner/Slave

Strength  2
Agility  2
Toughness  2
Endurance  2
Health  2
Willpower  5
Wit  4
Mental Aptitude  4
Social  3
Perception  4

Spiritual Attributes:
Luck  1
Conscience  2
Drive (break the curse)  2
Faith (nature deity)  1
Passion (freedom and life)  1

Reflex  3
Aim  3
Knockdown  2
Knockout  4
Move  3
Kaa  4
Form  4
Art  3
Discipline  4
Draw  3

Skills:  Woodsman/Ranger + Academic
Hunting  5
Tracking  7
Survival  6
Scrounging  6
Animal guise  6
Herbalist  7
Orienteering  5
Sneak  7
Camouflage  7
Climbing  7
Swimming  5
Ancient Languages  6
Read & write  5
Orate  6
Research  6
Etiquette  5
Arcane Knowledge  6
Occult Lore  6
language  6
language  6
Arcane Theory  6
Craft/Trade   6
Meditation  6
Disguise  6

Flaws: Little
Gifts: Allies (minor)

Proficiencies:
Combat Pool- 3
  Missile weapon (crossbow) 1
Missile Pool- 4

Vagarities:
Banishing  2
Imprisoning  2
Vision  1


    This was my first Riddle of Steel character, but I can't say that I'm terribly impressed.  There are way too many attributes; do toughness, endurance and health really need to be three different measures?  Plus all the derived attributes on top of the basic 10?  The spiritual attributes are a great idea, but I'm not too impressed in execution.  The Fate system of 5 aspects would go a lot better there instead.  And there are a lot of skills.  Riddle is most noted for its very detailed combat system, and since I'm not making a combat-based character I am not a good fit.  I do like the priorities, I liked it when I first saw it back in the original Shadowrun game.  I ended up making a human just because I didn't like the sidhe/elves in this setting.  And while the combat system may be incredibly detailed, the magic system is incredibly vague.  From reading the sorcery section I'm not entirely sure what the hell I could cast or how.  This seems like GURPS to me, a whole lot of detail but I don't really feel that I've gained anything worthwhile from it.
    On the other hand, since this is my first character and I've never played the game before, I just might not be experienced enough to appreciate what the system has to offer.  It may be a great game, the character creation has just left me a little unimpressed.

1 Character, 13 Systems - Part 10: Marvel Super Heroes

    I described my character, Korsanian, in a previous post here. 
    While I'm messing around with systems I decided to go with a blast from the past and the original Marvel Super Heroes system:

Books Used: Advanced Player's Handbook, The Ultimate Powers Book
Approximate time to create: 30 min

Korsanian Vambrae  -  Humanoid Race
Origin of Powers: Energy Exposure

Fighting-  Good (8)
Agility-  Typical (5)
Strength-  Feeble (1)
Endurance-  Excellent (16)
Reason-  Amazing (46)
Intuition-  Excellent (16)
Psyche-  Remarkable (26)

Health: 30
Karma: 88
Resources: Poor (3)
Popularity: Good (8)

Weakness: Energy Allergy, Fatal, Limited Duration After Contact (to positive/holy energy)

Powers:
Magic Detection-  Excellent (16)
Magic Control: Negation-  Remarkable (26)
Force Field vs Magic-  Good (8)

Talents:
Bows  (+1 CS to hit)
Occult Lore (+1 CS to Reason involving magic)
Detective/Espionage (+1 CS to discover clues)

Contacts:
Wizard's Guild (mystic)
Agent who's infiltrated a dark cult (espionage)


    Boy this brings back memories.  I only played a little Marvel back in High School, but making this character reminds me of happy times (and some very crazy adventures).  But, more importantly, how did he turn out?  Pretty good.  I rolled all his abilities, and got almost exactly what I wanted except for his Endurance being a little higher than I'd like (no big deal).  I used the character creation rules in The Ultimate Powers Book, which included having to roll a weakness, but I actually like how it turned out.  Because of the curse within him he takes damage from holy energy, but only up to a point (the 'limited duration' means it doesn't hurt the whole time exposed, just for a few turns) - I would not have thought of that, but it works.  I rolled his number of powers but picked them so I could get the right character (with over 100 powers in the ultimate book I'd guarantee not getting the ones I wanted on a random roll).  I like the force field vs magic, it limits all magic in an area around him, along with the specific magic control:negation to do his counterspell effects.  Likewise I rolled his number of talents and picked them, and the Detective talent worked well with his concept, again in a way I had not imagined.  The idea that he is searching for whomever made the curse could be played as a detective story - and the talent gave an extra contact who was 'espionage' so I thought up an undercover agent in an evil cult, which added another nice touch to the character.  I have always loved, loved, loved how Marvel used descriptive ranks along with specific numbers.  It's why one of the first things I created for Travellers Beyond was our own descriptive ranks system.  Adding a little word just makes everything easier to see.  Of course +3 is better than -2, but Amazing compared to Feeble is much more intuitive and adds something nice to the sheet (Fate does something similar but only uses it in one specific place on the character sheet).
    There is not a lot to the sheet, but it makes good use of what's there.  Stayed pretty close to the concept, just missing the alchemy and his animal companion, which is sad.  Overall it is satisfactory.  And even with me stumbling around the book it did not take long to make.

1 Character, 13 Systems - Part 9: Ars Magica

    I described my character, Korsanian, in a previous post here. 
    Low-detail, sort of, again with the Ars Magica system:

Books Used: Ars Magica (4th ed) core rulebook
Approximate time to create: 55 min

Korsanian Vambrae  -  Magi, House Ex Miscellanea

Intelligence  +3
Perception  +3
Strength  -2
Stamina  0
Presence  0
Communication  0
Dexterity  -1
Quickness  -1

Flaws:
Hedge Wizard (-1)
Slow Caster (-1)
Susceptibility to Infernal Power (-4)
Enemies (-2)
Tainted with Evil (-1)

Virtues:
Magical Animal Companion (2)
Second Sight (1)
Magic Sensitivity (1)
Magic Resistance (4)
Herbalism (1)
Alchemy (1)

Abilities:
Magic Theory  +3
Parma Magica  +2
Scribe Latin  +1
Speak Latin  +3
Speak own language  +4
Longshaft Weapons  +2
Crossbows  +3
Animal Handling  +2
Survival  +3
Occult Lore  +3
Northern Kingdom Lore  +2
Alchemy  +3
Herbalism  +3
Magic Sensitivity  +3
Awareness  +3

Magical Training:
Techniques-
  Intellego (perceive)  +8
  Perdo (destroy)  +10
Forms-
  Imaginem (image)  +1
  Mentem (thought)  +2
  Vim (magic)  +10
Spells: 150 levels

Health:
  6 Body levels
  6 Fatigue levels
Soak: 0

Weapons:
Quarterstaff-  Initiative +3,  Attack +1, Defense +3, Damage +1, Combat Fatigue -2, Space: 3, Range: Reach
Light Crossbow-  Initiative -4, Attack +6, Defense -5, Damage +10, Combat Fatigue -1, Space: 1, Range: Far


    Since Ars Magica is based in "Mythic Europe" there are not any races other than human.  Also all magi belong to the "Hermetic Order" which has various Houses, the character's (Ex Miscellanea) is for random magic users.  I like and hate this system at the same time.  I like how some things turned out.  His weapons worked perfectly, I love that Ars gives a defense bonus to melee weapons (since keeping someone at sword-point is inherently defensive), so the quarterstaff is defensive but with his strength penalty not very offensive.  The crossbow on the other hand is very offensive (uses his perception score to hit) and damaging, but leaves him defenseless.  His Perdo Vim, or 'Destroy Magic', is nicely impressive; but the system is also flexible.  So Perdo Imaginem is 'Destroy Image', or invisibility.  Perdo Mentem 'destroys thoughts'.  This opens up lots of creative ways he can use his power with a simple verb/noun structure.  What stinks though, is while the essence of magic is simple, the exact effects and spell lists are terribly complex.  It is easy to have a level 40 spell (compared to Pathfinder's max of level 9, which was god-like power).  There are not quite as simple ways to determine your exact effect, and here's where that system knowledge is essential.  After a quick read-through I gave up trying to pick his specific spell levels.  Again we have alchemy and herbalism but no real solid numbers or items to use.  The Flaw/Virtue system is nice, you have to take flaws to afford virtues; but the lists are terribly long and convoluted (I totally forgot to get his small size as a flaw) - even though the lists are far shorter than GURPS or Hero System they are somehow harder to read (I guess this is another place where system knowledge is needed).
    Overall the character came out pretty good.  He hit the right feel, and got the key abilities.  I love his magic the best of all, the flexibility of the system is awesome, but I'm not sure how easily or well it would play at the table.  It might look nicer than it rolls.  I wouldn't mind trying him out, though he was made for a much higher fantasy setting than what Ars is based on.  I'm genuinely mixed on this, I like him and I'm kind of disappointed at the same time.  I guess only playing would really say how good he came out.

1 Character, 13 Systems - Part 8: Hero System

    I described my character, Korsanian, in a previous post here. 
    Back to high-detail with the Hero System rules:

Books Used: Hero System Basic Rulebook (6th ed)
Approximate time to create: 1 hr, 40 min

Korsanian Vambrae  -  Cursed Wood Elf, Magic-Negating Alchemist
Heroic (175 pts, 50 pts Complications)

Strength  5  [-5]
Dexterity  5  [-5]
Constitution  5  [-5]
Intelligence  15  [5]
Ego  15  [5]
Presence  10

Offensive Combat Value  3
Defensive Combat Value  5  [10] (bonus due to small size)
Offensive Mental Combat Value  3
Defensive Mental Combat Value  5  [6]  (strong-willed)
Speed  2  (acts on Segments 6, 12)

Physical Defense  2
Energy Defense  2
Recovery  4
Endurance  35  [3]
Body  10
Stun   20

Movement:  12m Running, 4m Swimming, 4m Leaping

Skills:
Animal Handler  11-  [3]
Deduction  12-  [3]
Knowledge (arcana)  11-  [2]
Navigation  12-  [3]
Survival  12-  [3]
Tracking  12-  [3]
Inventor (alchemist)  12-  [3]
Science (alchemy)  11-  [2]
Weapon Familiarity:  Common Melee  [2], Common Ranged  [2]

Perks:
Contact- Wizard's Guild  12-  [3]
Follower- faelynx  (75 pts total build)  [15]

Talents:
Eidetic Memory  [5]

Powers:
[15 pts, 2 END]  Dispel Magic - dispel any one magic spell/power at a time, 5d6  [15], 150m range
[20 pts, 3 END]  Suppress Magic Item - must pay END cost every phase to maintain, 3d6  [30], 300m range, Costs END (maintenance, -1/4)
[20]  Detect Magic [5] - Discriminatory  [5], Ranged [5], 360-degree [5]
[10]  Mental Defense 10 pts  [10] (since powers get sucked into him)
[4 pts, 1 END]  Quarterstaff - +2d6 HtH Damage [10], Based on Str (-1/4), Obvious Accessible Focus (-1)
[13 pts]  Crossbow - Ranged Killing Attack 2d6  [30], Physical damage, 300m range, Obvious Accessible Focus (-1), 12 Charges (bolts, -1/4)
Alchemy Multipower:
[15 pts]  30 pt Reserve, 10 Charges (-1/4), Obvious Inaccessible Focus (bags, pouches, bottles, -1/2), Range Based On Str (-1/4)
  [3]  1) Potion of Strength - Aid (strength) 5d6
  [3]  2) Fire Bomb - Blast 6d6 energy (fire) damage
  [3]  3) Glue Bomb - Entangle 3d6 BODY, 3 PD/ 3 ED
  [3]  4) Flashbomb - Flash (sight group) 6d6
  [3]  5) Healing Drought - Heal 3d6

Complications:
[10]  Distinctive Features - concealable with effort [10]  (his body has been twisted by the curse, does not resemble his own race)
[20]  Hunted by dark forces - as powerful [10], PC is easy to find [5], frequently [5]  (evil cults and the creator of the curse would like to release its power (by killing him))
[10]  Negative Reputation - almost always [15], known only to a select group [-5] (his curse makes him stink of dark magic to anyone sensitive)
[10]  Physical Complication: Small - 0.5m Reach, +6m Knockback - Infrequently, Slightly Impairing


    Another long character to make, but amazingly this time I don't mind.  The thing about the Hero System is that it takes a long time to make a character, but you can totally customize everything about that character - in a way even more than GURPS or other detailed games.  The first hour was making the standard character, hitting all the points I wanted.  Then I had a thought.  I had a few points leftover, and I read the Multipower rules, which let you share different effects under one main power; and I realized this would be perfect for his alchemy.  He has only so many powders and potions and ingredients on hand, but can mix them in creative ways depending on his need at the moment.  It took a while to read over all the multipower stuff and make sure I had it right (which I'm not totally sure of, this game more than any other yet rewards system knowledge).  So I managed to add a little coolness to the character by letting him make and throw a few bombs or potions that could give him special effects.  I was almost able to do this in Pathfinder, there is a pretty long list of alchemical items, but I didn't have enough money.  So this version is great since he can do his main thing, shutting down other magic users, and has a few extra options with his alchemy multipower.
    Also, with the Hero System you have to take a certain number of complications (ie, disadvantages).  You don't get any extra points for them however, which is a great way to limit the usual power inflation of people stocking up on too many limits (that usually end up not being limits at all).  I mention this just because the system made me think of something.  Trying to find things to take I saw the Hunted complication- which just means you have people after you.  So I thought, if he has this evil curse that's very powerful inside him, it makes sense some evil wizards are out there trying to steal its power (most likely having to kill him in the process).  Which adds a nice twist to his tale.  There was an Enemies (or similar) disadvantage in GURPS, but the lists were so long and unorganized (sorry, alphabetical does not count as organization, really wish some game book designers would realize that), plus I didn't need any extra points.  Here I had to take them and they were in one fairly short section.  So the system actually added something to his story.  I also liked that I could easily get his animal companion (something other systems have had trouble with).
    Oddly, while this took as long as GURPS to make, I would play this character instead of the GURPS one.  With GURPS all that detail didn't seem to really add anything, it was just a ton of numbers.  With the Hero System I feel like I actually got something for my time and effort, and managed to make a character that hit every single ability I wanted plus a few I hadn't thought of.  I am impressed.  I always liked the concept of the Hero System (basic powers you tailored to your needs) but last time I made a character for it was in High School when it was Champions.  I'd have to say this new system is even better.  Not sure how it plays, but it totally rocks for making a character.  Out of the bunch I think this wins for closest to concept (so far, plenty of systems to go).

1 Character, 13 Systems - Part 7: Fate Core

    I described my character, Korsanian, in a previous post here. 
    Swinging from the high-detail of GURPS let's go low-detail with the Fate Core system:

Books Used: Fate Core rules
Approximate time to create: 40 min

Korsanian Vambrae  -  Cursed Wood Elf, Devourer of Magic
High Concept: Carries a powerful burden
Trouble: The darkness inside

Phase 1- adventure:
    While patroling the forest he encountered a necromantic curse which he has taken into himself.
Aspect: Can no longer be a Ranger

Phase 2- crossing paths:
    Left the forest for the largest northern human city.  Met a wizard who helped him gain the trust and support of the Wizard's Council.
Aspect: Stranger in a strange land

Phase 3- crossing paths again:
    While investigating the curse's origin he stumbled across an evil cult, was saved by a paladin.
Aspect: Doesn't count the cost

Skills:
Great (+4)- Will
Good (+3)- Lore (arcane), Lore (nature)
Fair (+2)- Contacts, Craft, Notice
Average (+1)- Deceive, Fight, Investigate, Shoot

Stunts:
Absorb Magic- can use Will to counter magic spellcasting or suppress effects
Detect Magic- can use Notice to detect sources of magic
Alchemy (?)

Refresh: 3
Physical stress- [1] [2]
Mental stress- [1] [2] [3] [4]
Consequences- mild [2] moderate [4] severe [6]


    Fate is quite the change of pace from the other games so far.  I both like and dislike the open-ended nature of it.  On the one hand, thinking of trouble for the character got me thinking about how his curse was basically an evil spell, so having it bottled inside him much be doing something bad.  Which I had sort of in the back of my mind, but with the free-form definitions it sprang out as something to think on more carefully.  On the other hand, when picking his Stunts I had no idea what exactly to make up.  The absorb and detect magic seemed obvious, the only other stunt I could think he might have would be something related to his alchemy, but I don't know mechanically how to use it.  I thought afterwards of maybe letting him substitute Craft for Shoot (saying he throws bombs), then I'd drop the Shoot skill and have to think of something to replace it.  And while Lore is just one skill, I felt it worked better if his wizardly arcane knowledge and his ranger nature knowledge were two separate skills.
    As with 13th Age I like how the character sheet actually has something about the character, through all the Aspects (which do a far, far better job of showing one's nature than the simplistic alignment system).  I like how Fate also has something about the rest of the party on your sheet with the background phases (though, it's hard when you're making a character alone like I am).  Since this was my first Fate character ever, I'm sure with practice I could turn them out in 20 minutes or less.
    Since Aspects are so crucial to Fate, in how they generate positive and negative plot twists, I want to do a quick rundown of each Aspect I took and how it is good and bad:

⦁    Carries a powerful burden - positive: that powerful part, he constantly absorbs magic which has expanded his mind and senses; negative: that burden part, he didn't want this, and it is an evil he has to keep contained (also which others may want to release)
⦁    The darkness inside - positive: it shows his strength of will and determination, negative: who knows what it is whispering into his soul?
⦁    Can no longer be a Ranger - positive: has the knowledge and skills and reflexes of a ranger, negative: no longer has the body of one, has accepted his fate but is not exactly happy about it
⦁    Stranger in a strange land - positive: no one really knows him or what he is capable of, though an elf his shrunken form makes him look more like a gnome; negative: this is his first time out of the forest, and studying other cultures is not the same as knowing them
⦁    Doesn't count the cost - positive: mostly fearless, willing to sacrifice for a cause, negative: tends to get in over his head, has a hard time knowing when to stop

    This Aspect system is what I love about Fate, and why I'd like to play it.  It is a character dynamic, about conflicted choices, rather than most games that are role dynamics, ie, do your job.  Not many games have these character elements.  You'll notice, there is no equipment listed on the sheet- it's all about the character.  I do like that a lot.  However, these kind of character dynamics are harder to deal with; because they are ambiguous it takes some negotiation on what applies to which situations.  But it opens up an extra layer of possible gameplay.  My only wish is that the "role" side of stunts and skills was a little more traditional RPG, there the open-ended nature made it really hard to choose.
    Overall I'm quite happy with how this version turned out.  A lot of his story and nature made it onto the character sheet, and it stayed true to the concept.

P.S.- you know, after all the time making this character and writing it up, it only just now occurred to me that I'm missing his animal companion.  I guess I'd drop the Alchemy stunt and make Sovan the faelynx a +2 bonus to fighting (only when attacked/defensively) as an Animal Companion stunt; I think that would work mechanically and it would fill in a part I somehow overlooked.