Level 0 Character Tumbler (2013)

designer's comment:
…one bit of DCCRPG really captured my imagination: The character funnel, which turns four sad-sack level-0 characters into one level 1 PC by the power of dice and almost-certain death.

The character funnel brings a very OSR approach to a very OSR problem. The problem is that most retro-styled games have very swingy character creation. The beloved Iron Man stat generation system (roll 3d6 in order for each ability) is particularly bad in this regard. …

DCC’s OSR solution is very nifty: It accelerates the building of that character history. Let’s outline it briefly: Each player creates four level-0 PCs. Each of these receives a tiny fragment of personality and backstory: A race, profession, and a few meager possessions. You then send these sadsacks through the meat-grinder of a typical D&D dungeon. The few who manage to claw their way from -100 XP to 1 XP attain level one, and get a class and a proper place in the campaign.

The idea, then, is that players learn to love the idiots who survived simply because they’re the ones who managed to beat the odds. …

It’s a damned great idea. But I wanted to use it with my system of choice, rather than DCC, and I wanted a free version of the idea so even non-DCC players could enjoy it. So I wrote up a Basic Fantasy version (.pdf; .odt also available).1 This should work just fine with most other OSR games, as well, though you’ll need to adjust saves and AC.

This sourcebook is available as a free download from the designer's website.