Following on from http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=13377&st=25entry411431, I'd love to hear your ideas for badly messed-up characters. In as much or as little detail as you like.
Stuff like:
Oddly, I was just getting ready to post something like this. It's been on my mind a lot, recently.
How far have you pushed character creation? What's your most off-beat character? How badly can you break Archetype molds?
Very curious to see what follows.
R
extreme graphic designer.
The look on the last player join my games face when he heard that.
"well she's doing and ex ganger sammie, she's doing a stealth adept hacker, he's doing a rigger."
"What's she playing?"
"A graphic designer."
Calling him an 'extreme' graphic designer is almost an understatement. The more you poke him, the scarier he gets....
Teach her to play an amnesiac, my favorite type of whipping boy.
Ooh ooh.. a dwarf elf-poser!
"Aren't you a little short and hairy to be a faerie prince?"
I have a friend who always plays elves in his games and dresses like one for ren fests... so when he played shadowrun for a bit and played an elf poser, we all couldn't stop laughing.
The aggressive yet sexually-confused ork-poser elf with crotch-mounted cyberhorns.
A street samurai whose special weapon is an Ares Squirt installed in his phallus.
The beginning sorceror who designed all her own spells and has to explain their effects.
A laser and crossbow-wielding troll with quickened shapechange (Sasquatch) spell.
I made an overweight, 5'2", pimply faced decker who was an elf poser. He always wore a long cape (that he regularly tripped over), carried a katana he didn't know how to use, shades that framed his face wrong, and loved making 'dramatic poses'.
He wasn't a bad decker though.
I had a friend who wanted to run a decker who is constantly hounded by a mentor spirit trying to turn said person into a shaman.
I played a Decker with no deck, had to do runs to pay off his former employers and buy an abbacus deck to get started with. Did have some other skills like programing to fall back on. The idea was that it would be tough not impossiable....
A rent-a-cop security guard who has the cyber-rejection flaw was crippled in an industrial accident on the site he was guarding, the shock of which awakened his magical talents. The trauma of being unable to walk in a day and age of cybernetic miracles has affected his magical outlook, his spells center around pain inducing, physical/mental manipulation and physically debilitating spells, and of course levitaion for his own mobility to free him from his hated wheelchair.
A full mage with spirit bane on every type of spirit available, he didn't ever astrally project cause the astral hated him so much
| QUOTE (Witness) |
| Ooh ooh.. a dwarf elf-poser! "Aren't you a little short and hairy to be a faerie prince?" |
I think someone should write a bunch of NPCs who are porn stars; make a story arc that involves porn stars and porn studios. It would be interesting to base the NPCs on real-life historic porn stars, such as Traci Lords and Linda Lovelace.
I had a shapeshifter who was originally a Fox shaman and her pet fox who got trapped in Bug City. She managed to rig up a powered glider and was on her way to escaping the Quarantine when the Cermak blast went off directly underneath her. Little-known fact: the reason the blast's radiation was muted is because the wards channeled most of it straight upwards.
She underwent a magical mutation that fused her with her pet, and left her psyche nearly shattered. It also made her incredibly powerful, though it had the nasty side effect of driving anyone who examined her aura too closely insane and making every one of her spells emit a not-insignificant quantinty of radiation.
I played her a bit like a magical Megaera- always sort of out of focus, never sure why her friends wanted to confuse that guard or battle this spirit, but a primal force when she descended from her near-permanent light daze and actually decided to do something.
Well, that's certainly a unique character design but the character sounds way too powerful for my taste as a GM. Shapeshifters are bad enough, but add to that extra-powerful radioactive shapeshifter?
My most messed-up character would probably be Rat, although that's mostly because he was created for a 40 build point game. He had two of the most crippling flaws, computer illiterate and uncouth, but I picked them because they were very fun flaws to roleplay. Especially the uncouth flaw, since he was the self-described "face" of the group.
I wanted to make a Troll Swordsman Adept with a horrible case of Tourettes. Thought it would be a "good roleplaying challenge" heh. Never got around to playing him though.
One of the players in the game I'm about to run has created a Porn-Mage.
Background of the character is that he was having a bit of financial difficulty paying his way through university, so the Mob gave him some loans. He's paying off those loans by assisting the Mob in the porn industry, casting "appropriate" spells for them!
These spells include Antidote, Cure Disease and Detox (to make sure the stars are clean), Heal (for fairly obvious reasons), Increase Body (Body = Endurance, so...), Resist Pain (also fairly obvious), Physical Mask and Trid Fantasm (to make the stars and locations look however they want), Control Actions (lets not go there) and Shapechange (lets also not go there!).
So is it still bestiality if it's really a shapechanged mage that you are, erm, having relations with?
Paraplegic rigger in a JIM suit?
(I mean, if it's okay to have a 1000lb troll running around, why not a paralyzed dude in a supposed-to-be-underwater-but-now-it's-not power suit?)
| QUOTE (Wounded Ronin @ Jun 14 2006, 10:08 PM) |
| I think someone should write a bunch of NPCs who are porn stars; make a story arc that involves porn stars and porn studios. It would be interesting to base the NPCs on real-life historic porn stars, such as Traci Lords and Linda Lovelace. |
| QUOTE (Vaevictus) |
| Paraplegic rigger in a JIM suit? |
| QUOTE (Glyph) |
| My most messed-up character would probably be Rat, although that's mostly because he was created for a 40 build point game. He had two of the most crippling flaws, computer illiterate and uncouth, but I picked them because they were very fun flaws to roleplay. Especially the uncouth flaw, since he was the self-described "face" of the group. |
| QUOTE (Ancient History) |
| The aggressive yet sexually-confused ork-poser elf with crotch-mounted cyberhorns. |
| QUOTE |
| I think someone should write a bunch of NPCs who are porn stars; make a story arc that involves porn stars and porn studios. It would be interesting to base the NPCs on real-life historic porn stars, such as Traci Lords and Linda Lovelace. |
I haven't actually played them, but
The human http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarfism dwarf poseur.
The elf poseur Elvis shaman.
The burned out blood mage who SURGED into a demonic form.
The Troll Rat shaman-who has developed Rat's sense of self-preservation.
The multiply initiated Adept (Athelete's Way) who goes on runs in a football uniform complete with helmet and pads.
The Dragonslayer Shaman, who's currently gunning for Ghostwalker, Masaru, and Soņador.
The Gunslinger Adept who carries around bananas in his/her holsters.
| QUOTE (Kalvan) |
| The Troll Rat shaman-who has developed Rat's sense of self-preservation. |
| QUOTE |
| Well, that's certainly a unique character design but the character sounds way too powerful for my taste as a GM. Shapeshifters are bad enough, but add to that extra-powerful radioactive shapeshifter? |
You can get really low by creating characters who try but fail to immitate 80s cartoon characters.
Mum-Ra the Everliving
An infirm and physically disfigured magician who surrounds himself with vaguely Egyptian trappings. He augments his unimpresive physical abilities by channeling "Ancient spirits of Evil" which are neither ancient nor evil. He would be slightly less comical if not for the fact that geasa require him to run screaming back to his lair if he ever sees his reflection. Unlike his namesake this Mum-Ra is completly mortal and can easily be killed by any idiot with a gun.
Copper Kid
A human-looking Dwarf mime with 4 copper-colered cyberlimbs, a matching cybertorso and a cyberskull. He forgoes the classic physical pantomime and instead communicated with electronic whistles produced by a cyberimplant in his mouth. Copper Kid is an expert with throwing weapons, specializing in the discus. He has several throwing disks attached to his cyborg body.
| QUOTE (hyzmarca) |
| Mum-Ra the Everliving An infirm and physically disfigured magician who surrounds himself with vaguely Egyptian trappings. He augments his unimpresive physical abilities by channeling "Ancient spirits of Evil" which are neither ancient nor evil. He would be slightly less comical if not for the fact that geasa require him to run screaming back to his lair if he ever sees his reflection. Unlike his namesake this Mum-Ra is completly mortal and can easily be killed by any idiot with a gun. |
there's always the http://www.shadowland.org/Shadowland/21/objects/page1728.html.
How about a Dwarf Face who has surged so that he has an elongated snout and is covered in tan fur, has special dietery requirement: cats, a brutally sharp tounge, and the hunted flaw.....
Name: Gordon Shumway
I feel we are perhaps just one step away from this already, so I'll go ahead and burst the dam:
Shamanic Drop Bear paratrooper with dikoted Wombat ally spirit. ![]()
EDIT: No wait... Shamanic elf-poser Drop Bear paratrooper with dikoted Wombat ally spirit. And a BTL addiction.
we were no where near it .... now you have to go back and edit that trash out.
"Potty mouth"
| QUOTE (stevebugge) |
| How about a Dwarf Face who has surged so that he has an elongated snout and is covered in tan fur, has special dietery requirement: cats, a brutally sharp tounge, and the hunted flaw..... Name: Gordon Shumway |
*smacks head*
| QUOTE (winterhawk11) | ||
Oh...an ALF Poser! |
| QUOTE |
| How about a Dwarf Face who has surged so that he has an elongated snout and is covered in tan fur, has special dietery requirement: cats, a brutally sharp tounge, and the hunted flaw..... |
| QUOTE (Digital Heroin) | ||
Does my addled memory fail me, or was the the game where I played Jimmy "Underfoot" the 40BP decker? Also created with the same amount of BPs was Mr. G, the Ghoul Pimp... sad, how my brain works at times... |
So I had an idea for a ghoul catholic priest... That might be awful enough...
There's a joke about transubstantiation in there somewhere, but I'm too lazy to find it.
How very Nightcrawler.
One thing I've been wanting to do for a while is a magic user with no magic. A master of prestidigitation and ledgerdemain. While the awakening lead to a new age for mankind, for him it mostly just emptied seats. But being a con artist means never having to give up a wacky scheme. As such, he's decided to continue using his skills, this time in a slightly less legal venue.
High social and chemistry skills, quickness through the roof, perhaps a little cyber and bio to give him that edge, but ultimately a character with no chrome more obvious than a datajack, absolutely adamant that he is magically adept, but without the slightest trace of awakening ("I'm just an initiate with masking!")
I'd love help making him, if anyone is up to the challenge
| QUOTE (nezumi) |
| One thing I've been wanting to do for a while is a magic user with no magic. A master of prestidigitation and ledgerdemain. While the awakening lead to a new age for mankind, for him it mostly just emptied seats. But being a con artist means never having to give up a wacky scheme. As such, he's decided to continue using his skills, this time in a slightly less legal venue. High social and chemistry skills, quickness through the roof, perhaps a little cyber and bio to give him that edge, but ultimately a character with no chrome more obvious than a datajack, absolutely adamant that he is magically adept, but without the slightest trace of awakening ("I'm just an initiate with masking!") I'd love help making him, if anyone is up to the challenge |
| QUOTE (Tiralee) | ||
The Gods are watching what you do stevebugge... And they are most displeased. -Tir |
What I will say here is when you ask for the worst I can think of expect to get it.
Nightcrawler doesn't eat people.
And ghouls aren't usually furry.
| QUOTE (Sahandrian) |
| Nightcrawler doesn't eat people. |
Sahandrian, A.H.:
You could probably create Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner as a SURGED Night One Elf.
(IIRC, there's a variant with dark-blue fur.)
Of course, there'd have to be some method of explaining his OTHER unusual physical characteristics--namely his pointed tail, fangs, solid-yellow eyes without pupils or irises...
I have NO idea how you'd account for his teleportational ability, though.
(Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that there is a canonical teleportation ability in SR. I suppose a spell that would temporarily allow him to move faster than can be tracked by Metahuman senses and electronic means *might* work.)
In the comics, he was the son of a mutant shapeshifter (Raven "Mystique" Darkholme) and an otherdimensional demon whose name escapes me.
Edit: A.H.: Now that you mention it, I recall him saying something to the effect that his father was a mutant from Biblical times, or something of the sort. I'd forgotten it.
--Foreigner
The "Demon" was actually another mutant.
Anyway, it's obvious. Nightcrawler is an acrobatics adept, skilled in fencing, and possesses the Fading faerie power that allows him to quickly move into another plane and then reappear in our own. The cloud is the result of his love of Saeder-Krupp "Brimstone" brand sausages, an unintentional byproduct everytime he uses his ability.
| QUOTE (Ancient History) |
| The "Demon" was actually another mutant. Anyway, it's obvious. Nightcrawler is an acrobatics adept, skilled in fencing, and possesses the Fading faerie power that allows him to quickly move into another plane and then reappear in our own. The cloud is the result of his love of Saeder-Krupp "Brimstone" brand sausages, an unintentional byproduct everytime he uses his ability. |
how about a sam who woke up with cyber fangs and had a mental health issue to believe they were a vampire? they still tried to drink others blood.
| QUOTE (Ancient History) |
| The "Demon" was actually another mutant. |
| QUOTE (NightmareX) | ||
[ Spoiler ] |
NightmareX, A.H.:
Sabretooth's real name is Victor Creed. His son by Mystique was the late Graydon Victor Creed, a non-mutant, and the leader of a rabidly anti-mutant group called "Friends of Humanity."
In addition to her foster daughter Anna-Marie (surname unknown, a/k/a "Rogue") and Nightcrawler, she has two daughters by a Senator Brickman, in her guise as his wife, Mallory.
As far as is known, neither girl is a mutant.
--Foreigner
She really gets around.
Nightcrawlers father was Azazel, the immortal leader of a race of demonic mutants that fought a war against a race of angelic mutants during Biblical times. He and his entire race were exiled to another dimension but he can teleport so that wasn't a problem for him. He had hoped that his children would be able to free his people but Archangel ruined everything. OF course, if there's a 5,000-year-old race of them I don't think they really qualify as being 'mutants'
After Shadowbeat came out, I had an investigative reporter that used to go on runs to find out what the corporations were really up to.
After she got wacked (who knew getting a datajack and video camera eyes wouldn't be as useful on a shadowrun as wired reflexes) I used an elf ex-basketball player that was once drek-hot, but slowly slid down hill after getting hooked on 2XS chips. The best part was I had it worked out with the GM so my guy would either have to use a chip during the game or stat getting the shakes. He was using a chip when he was supposed to be watching the back door incase some cops showed up, didn't let the team know the law was on the way, and ended up blowing the run.
The Street Samurai in the group took offense to his lackadaisical work ethic and turned his skull into a pretty interesting cereal bowl.
| QUOTE (hyzmarca) |
| Nightcrawlers father was Azazel, the immortal leader of a race of demonic mutants that fought a war against a race of angelic mutants during Biblical times. He and his entire race were exiled to another deminsion but he can teleport so that wasn't a problem for him. He had hoped that his children would be able to free his people by Archangel ruined everything. OF course, if there's a 5,000-year-old race of them I don't think they really qualify as being 'mutants' |
The X-Men family trees are nasty things with fractal roots. The worst of the lot are the Summers clan and the House of M/Mystique clan.
Hi, I'm Sven Summers, you're alternate-reality future third cousin twice removed from the plane of Limbo.
Hi, I'm Talia Josephine Wagner. In an alternate reality, my mother is the Scarlet Witch (which means my uncle is Quicksilver and my aunt if Polaris), and my father is Nightcrawler (which means grandma is Mystique). Both of my grandfathers are powerful, evil, megomaniacal mutants (Azazel and Magneto), my cousin Luna is half-inhuman and half-mutant, which makes her a human. Go figure, huh?
Hi, I'm Vulcan, the third Summers brother no one knew about. My dad is a space pirate, and my brothers are Cyclops and Havoc. My nephews include Cable (son of Cyclops and a clone of Jean Grey), Stryfe (clone of Cable), X-Man (deceased in vitro son of Cyclops and Jean Grey from an alternate reality), and my neice is Rachel Summers (daughter of Jean Grey and Cyclops from an alternate future...er, reality. Something) who in an alternate reality married Franklin Richards and gave birth to my great-nephew Hyperstorm, who is currently being used as a power source by an alternate Galactus. One big happy family.
| QUOTE (Ancient History) |
| Hi, I'm Talia Josephine Wagner. In an alternate reality, my mother is the Scarlet Witch (which means my uncle is Quicksilver and my aunt if Polaris), and my father is Nightcrawler (which means grandma is Mystique). Both of my grandfathers are powerful, evil, megomaniacal mutants (Azazel and Magneto), my cousin Luna is half-inhuman and half-mutant, which makes her a human. Go figure, huh? Hi, I'm Vulcan, the third Summers brother no one knew about. My dad is a space pirate, and my brothers are Cyclops and Havoc. My nephews include Cable (son of Cyclops and a clone of Jean Grey), Stryfe (clone of Cable), X-Man (deceased in vitro son of Cyclops and Jean Grey from an alternate reality), and my neice is Rachel Summers (daughter of Jean Grey and Cyclops from an alternate future...er, reality. Something) who in an alternate reality married Franklin Richards and gave birth to my great-nephew Hyperstorm, who is currently being used as a power source by an alternate Galactus. One big happy family. |
Gawd, this is why I love the restart by Marvel in the Ultimate series. We'll see how it goes before it too gets too convoluted.
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)