Kids on Bikes (2nd Ed) lets you play one of those precocious kids you always see in movies and tv shows like The Goonies and Stranger Things. Y’know, kids who face unspeakable horrors, then go home to finish homework. The ones who ride bikes everywhere.
Lucky you, you’ve found a Kids on Bikes (KoB) game on StartPlaying Games! So let’s build a character!
Before You Begin
Before anything else, you need to know the setting of your KoB game: a small town in the 1980s? Now? Chicago in the 1930s?
Your group will probably have a Session Zero where you’ll decide these things together. However, premade adventures have a setting built in. It’s best to talk to your Gamemaster beforehand to find out.
What You’ll Need
In KoB, you can either select a predefined character Trope or build your character from scratch. Ask your GM which method your game will use.
If you’re using a Trope, you’ll need a physical or .pdf copy of the KoB core book–they have the Tropes already prepared. There’s also digital versions of some (though not all) of the Trope playbooks on the publisher's website. If you’re building from scratch, generic sheets can also be found on that website, and, of course, the book has one in the back you can copy.
Choosing a Trope
The core book includes a number of pre-made characters to choose from, called Tropes: genre staples like “The Cunning Detective,” “The Laid-Back Slacker,” “Prom Royalty,” and “The Mysterious Transfer.” There's even an adult character or two thrown in, such as "The Blue Collar Worker,” and “Overprotective Parent.”
I highly recommend selecting a pre-made, as each of these Tropes comes with pre-determined Stats, a short list of Strengths and Flaws to choose from, and some background-building questions to get your creative juices flowing.
For instance, let’s say I’ve decided to play a version of Georgie from Stephen King’s IT. I look through the Tropes and, after deciding that neither Adventurous Scout nor Aspiring Wannabe quite fit, I decide to go with Overeager Enthusiast, as here is a kid that will go out into a torrential downpour to play with his paper boat.

With 24 Tropes to choose from, you’ll be playing a game faster than you can click "Join Campaign" on StartPlaying.Games!
Stats
Kids on Bikes characters have six Stats: Brains, Brawn, Fight, Flight, Charm, and Grit. Each is assigned a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, or a d20. Sorry, no repeats! When you make a Stat Check, you roll the Stat’s die and try to beat a Difficulty Number set by the GM. Don’t worry if the DN is 6 and you only have a d4 in that Stat: if you roll a die’s highest possible number, you get to roll again and add that to the total. Dice can keep exploding as long as you’re rolling hot!
If you’ve chosen a Trope from the book, you don’t need to worry about distributing your dice among your Stats; that’s already done. But if you’re building from scratch, you’ll want to consider your character’s strengths and weaknesses. Is your character an extremely smart, but not very likeable, character? Maybe a d20 in Brains and a d4 in Charm. A scrappy fighter, but not particularly strong? Put a high-value die in Fight, and a low-value die in Brawn.
Age
Now to decide your character’s age. KoB has three age groups: Child, Teen, and Adult. Many Tropes have the choice of Child or Teen, but others are limited. Overprotective Parent and Stoic Professional, for instance, are Adults, while Seasoned Babysitter and Prom Royalty are examples of Teen only. Each comes with benefits and possibly penalties.
You’ll want to pick an Age that fits your character concept. My Georgie character is 6 in the books, so is obviously a Child. Good thing I didn’t pick the Aspiring Wannabe Trope: they’re Teens! As a Child, Georgie can’t take the Rebellious Strength, but does get the Quick Healing Strength for free. He’ll also get +1 to Flight and Charm rolls.
Strengths
If you’ve chosen a Trope, you get to pick two Strengths–things you’re very good at–from the list provided. There’s a larger list to choose from if you’re building from scratch. Check with your GM.
In addition to giving you insight into what sort of person your character is, Strengths have mechanical advantages in the game, so you’ll want to choose carefully. I picked Skilled at Arts and Crafts and the Treasure Hunter Strength from Georgie’s Overeager Enthusiast lists.
Flaws
Like Strengths, Flaws help you figure out your character’s personality, but they also have a mechanical effect. Think about how the Flaws listed might reflect your character concept. For me, Georgie’s Flaw is easy: Impatient. He doesn’t have time to waste, waiting on his brother; he wants to play with his boat NOW!
Names
Go ahead and fill in your character’s first name, or nickname. The last name comes later, after finding out what the character’s relationships are to one another. Maybe two of you are siblings and therefore have the same last name!
If you’re having trouble coming up with a name, try using a Baby Name book such as you can find at the library or at babynames.com. Online name generators like the one at name-generator.org.uk are also handy.
Mine’s easy enough. I’ll just go with Georgie.
Introduce Your Character
During this step, your group gets to find out about one another’s characters. First, you’ll share your names and a short description. Afterwards, you’ll develop the Relationships between characters and form possible Bonds, which give mechanical advantages during the game. The book gives some prompt questions on potential relationships your characters might have with one another, such as “What tremendous act of bravery did you see this character do?”, or “What does this character often do that makes you irrationally angry?”
For most games, you’ll answer a positive question and a negative question for each of the other characters.
Full Name
Now your character gets their full name. Since my Georgie character isn’t related to anyone else in the group, we’ll go with George Elmer “Georgie” Denbrough. If you’re having trouble, you can always use a last name generator like this one.
Motivation
Motivations can be something specific, like, “I want to find the lost treasure of Palo Verde!”, or more general, like, “I wanna find treasure!”. It could also be negative: “I don’t want Mrs Rolands to find out what I did.” Consider your character concept and what it is that drives them at this point in their lives.
Fear
Fears should be something that could possibly come up during gameplay. Are you afraid of aliens? Spiders? Losing a friendship? Not getting that promotion at work? Georgie is scared of clowns, so I write that down on my character sheet.
Obligations
An obligation a kid has might be something like keeping your basement laboratory tidy, or letting your parents know where you are at all times. These obligations don’t have mechanical effects in-game, but they let you learn more about your character. Georgie, for example, isn’t supposed to embarrass his brother; but it happens a lot anyway.
Knack
A knack, however, does have in-game effects. A knack is something your character is very good at. Whenever you use your knack, you probably won’t have to roll a Stat Check. Maybe you’re really good at performing bike tricks; or maybe you have a knack for playing baseball; or maybe you’re great at cooking. Write this down on your sheet.
Backpack
What’s in your character’s backpack–both physical and metaphorical? Could be school books, a paper boat, a rain slicker, and your pet frog. Or binoculars, a bag lunch, and some cool sticks. Metaphorical things “in” your backpack are things you consider advantages: loving parents, an excellent education, or a good relationship with your boss. Write these down.
Bike
At last! A bike! If you’ve chosen a Trope, the sheet will tell you what color your bike is and what modifications it has. These have in-game effects, so if you’re building from scratch, talk to your GM about what’s right for your character. Since Georgie is an Overeager Enthusiast, his bike is black, with a bell. This means he’ll get +1 on Fight checks and, if I explain how ringing the bell could help an ally, I can give them a +1 on their check.
Time to Play
You've got your character! Now get on your bike and ride on over to StartPlaying to find yourself a game!

C. Patrick Neagle is a writer, podcaster (The Gothic Podcast, currently in its 6th season with Ghost Hunt TV), and professional gamemaster currently living just outside of Portland, OR.