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Xena: Warrior Princess FT. Bivius RPG (Part 1)

I've recently discovered a solo RPG system that surprised me due to its simplicity and potential. I'm talking about Lostpangolin's creation: BIVIUS.

It's an RPG that is comprised of only 8 simple rules, 14 total if you add the advanced rules. If you're looking for a quick RPG that can offer you unlimited possibilities, look no further. Also, if you want more depth, the author offers a more detailed version titled "Tunnels & Dragons". It revolves around the same 8-14 rules, but it adds other goodies such as more detailed character creation and advancement, adventure and dungeon generation, journeying and exploration by land-water-air, campaign creation, sandbox mode for both wilderness and urban locations, sidequests, a bestiary, NPC guidelines, and guidelines for creating a funnel adventure!

It's 31 pages, but don't let yourself be fooled by that! As a system, it is gold! It took me a few minutes to read it, and I immediately loved it. It has the feeling of an OSR, plus all that I liked about Scarlet Heroes, PLUS an incredibly simple set of rules.

Nonetheless, what I liked the most was that it made me think of my favorite series of all time (Xena: Warrior Princess), and of how easy it would be to play in its universe using Bivius! So, here's this post: XWP, Bivius edition!

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From left to right: Gabrielle, Argo, Callisto, and Xena
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For this first entry, I will focus just on character creation. As you'll see, it's a fast and clean process. I'm using the "Tunnels & Dragons" variant, which adds more detail to each profile (the standard character profile would only include name, high level stats, low level stats, and basic data).

My main cast of characters will be: Xena (main), Gabrielle (sidekick), and Callisto (nemesis). I will be controlling Xena and Gabrielle throughout the adventure. Callisto will be there to cause trouble, and hopefully, my heroines will encounter her eventually.

Instead of choosing stats at random (as the rules suggest), I've decided to adapt skills, data, and equipment from those the characters have in the actual show. I'm thinking about the early seasons of XWP, so Xena's skills are not overpowered.

Results are as follows:

XENA:

STATS
  • Rank: 1
  • Kinship: Human (high)
  • Class: Warrior (high)
  • Career: Bounty-hunter (low)
  • Background: Amazon (low)
  • Advantage: Intuition (low)

DATA
  • Gender: Female
  • Age: Adult
  • Personality: Rough
  • Objective: Redemption
  • Disadvantage: Hunted past
  • Languages: Common, Amazon
  • Literacy: Yes
  • Commitment: Fight for the greater good

EQUIPMENT
  • Weapons: Chakram, sword, breast dagger.
  • Armor: Leather armor
  • Basic equipment: adventure kit, sharpening stone, horse (Argo)


GABRIELLE:

STATS
  • Rank: 1
  • Kinship: Human (high)
  • Class: Commoner (low)
  • Career: Bard (low)
  • Background: Villager (low)
  • Advantage: Charisma (high)

DATA
  • Gender: Female
  • Age: Young
  • Personality: Kind
  • Objective: Justice
  • Disadvantage: Naïveté
  • Languages: Common, Academic, Poetic
  • Literacy: Yes
  • Commitment: Finance your guild (Bard)

EQUIPMENT
  • Weapons: Staff
  • Armor: None
  • Basic equipment: iron pan, writing kit (scrolls, ink, and quill), adventure kit


CALLISTO:

STATS
  • Kinship: Human (high)
  • Class: Warrior (high)
  • Career: Mercenary (low)
  • Background: Villager (low)
  • Advantage: Followers (low)

DATA
  • Gender: Female
  • Age: Adult
  • Personality: Impulsive
  • Objective: Vengeance (against Xena because she burned her village in the past)
  • Disadvantage: Alignment (chaotic-evil)

EQUIPMENT
  • Weapons: Sword, crossbow, dagger
  • Armor: Leather armor

I did not include any extra details for Callisto, because it's not relevant at the moment.

I will be posting the second part soon!
Cheers!
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