DIMR: Building the Perfect Beast..., [Closed Game] |
DIMR: Building the Perfect Beast..., [Closed Game] |
Dec 2 2004, 08:11 PM
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
I'm hoping to try something new with this game: semi-freeform character creation. In a nutshell, I'm going to let you create your character's stats based upon the needs of your character rathern than forcing you to following a crippling set of hard rules. That this does not mean that you have free reign to get crazy with the rules. I'm trusting you to create a good character; not a god amongst metahumanity. I would also like to see as many weaknesses as strengths, too, keeping in mind that a weakness doesn't have to be a crippling one and a strength have to be a phenomenal one. I'll leave it up to you to figure out exactly what I mean by that. But, basically, if your character is good at something, your stats should reflect that. If not, your stats should reflect that, too. Does this mean that I'm going to leave you completely without guidance? Ha! Not a chance, Buckwheat. Below you'll find a handful of guidelines to not only keep you on track but to also help insure that everyone else will be in roughly the same ballpark as your character. Keep in mind that these are all very rough guidelines, however, and you have permission to sway from them (in any direction) if you need to in order to insure your character has all the talents he or she deserves to have. The most important rule here is this: Have fun and create the character you want to play. If you're not happy with your character, I won't be happy with it either. It should be noted that I tend to be very proactive during this phase of the game, so expect numerous suggestions or requests as we work together to build your character. Most of the time these suggestions will be a beneficial change, but sometimes I may ask you to tone something down or explain why you made certain choices. Don't take any of it as an insult; I'm simply trying to do my job while making sure everything about the same "power level" for lack of a better phrase. Also, don't be afraid to argue with me if you think I'm being a complete tool. I'll totally respect that, especially if you argue a good case. But by the same token, respect my final decision after all is said and done. Or else. <insert ominous music here> There. With all of that out of the way, let's get to work on building these perfect beasts... Race Most of you have already chosen which metahuman or metahuman variant race you want to play. Guess what? That's all you have to do. Once you choose your race, move on to the next step. There are no costs to worry about whatsoever. Note, however, that only your physical attribute modifiers and secondary traits (vision types, gear adjustments, movement speeds, reach, etc.) are the only characteristics you will retain. Mental attribute modifiers will be ignored whether they're positive or negative (quit whining; you'll see why when you hit the "Attributes" section of this post). And, yes, humans will still be getting a rather nice surprise, too. What about prejudice? I've never been partial to the hardcore dystopian vibe the Sixth World has, so I tend to tone racism down quite a bit. In most situations and in most places, it will hardly ever crop up. But if you go somewhere that's notoriously racist — such as Japan, the Middle East, the Deep South, or a troll bar with a "NO HOOMANS OR ELFS ALOUD!" sign stabbed to the front door — you might want to watch your back. Oh, please be sure to indicate your ethnicity and culture in addition to your race. For purposes of this game, consider ethnicity to represent what we mean today when we say race, and consider culture to represent the culture or part of the world you were raised in. Example: A Hindi (ethnicity) Human (race) who was born and raised in England (culture). If you're of mixed heritage, just list the two most prominent ones with an emphasis on the one you most consider yourself to be. "Mutt" is perfectly acceptable, too. Magic For those of you who have decided to play a magician, I'm going to need to know a minimum of four characteristics that describe your style of magic. 1. Type: This is basically asking you if you're a full magician, an aspected magician, or an adept (or magician adept). If aspected, be sure to include what your aspect is. 2. Tradition: Hermetic, Shamanic, Wujen, Path Magician, Psychic, blah blah blah. 3. Specialization: Elemental Water, Dragonslayer Totem, The Silent Way, and so on and so forth. If you're a Generalist, list that instead. Note that with as many magicians as we have in this game, specialization is a good thing. 4. School or Paradigm: Black Magic, Norse Magic, Wicca, Unified Magical Theory, and so on and so forth. If you're not sure what I mean by any of these characteristics, ask! Just about every tradition has a specialization and school or paradigm available, even amongst hermetic mages. The more information you put into describing your magical flavor, the better. Don't be afraid to try new things or create interesting variants of existing characteristics. I'm always willing to help with that, too. The last thing I want to see is something as dull and uninspired as "dog shaman" or "hermetic mage." I mean, come on... you can do better than that! If you can't, I'm going to have to hurt you. In the bad kinda way, not the good kinda way. YOU GOT THAT?! <shakes his fist in the air> How about initiation, ally spirits, and all that hullabaloo? I'll get to that in the "Other Resources" section below. Attributes All right, now we're getting to some of the more important stuff. How on earth are you supposed to assign your attributes when we're not using any points? The easiest way, and the way I highly recommend, is to first describe your character relative to the quintessential "average everyday man," doing so from a human vs. human perspective. From there, you should be able to assign your base attributes using the following guideline. I'm going to use Strength in all of my examples simply because that's the easiest one to describe.
One, MAYBE two of your base attributes should break the 6 barrier, and you should have at least one or two in the 3 or lower range if you really want to be practical about it. But if you're playing a character who would reasonably have pretty high attributes, run it by me and we'll see how it looks. Now, once you have all six of your attributes assigned, modify your Physical Attributes by your normal racial modifiers (+1 Body and +2 Strength for dwarves, +1 Quickness for elves, +3 Body and +2 Strength for orks, +5 Body -1 Quickness and +4 Strength for trolls, etc.) while ignoring the Mental Attribute modifiers. If playing a metavariant, use those modifiers instead. When you're done — well, you're done! Yay! Skills Second verse, same as the first. Describe your character's expertise and training, then build your skill list based off of that. You can find a good table that describes the various ratings and what they reflect on pages 98-99 of SR3, but because those descriptions kinda suck, I'm going to list my own below.
Note that you may take as many specializations as you like, but your specializations cannot exceed the 8 barrier anymore than your base skill can. But also keep in mind that this "limitation" only exists during character creation. Once the game is up and going and the karma starts rolling in, you'll have the opportunity to improve your character however you see fit, even if it means breaking any of the limitations given here. Also, feel free to ask me or the other players (via this thread) their opinion on what some of your skill or attribute ratings should be if you're not sure where you should place them. All I ask is that you sincerely try to reflect your character's abilities rather than let that natural tendency to be the best you can be take hold of you. Trust me, I know how hard it is to resist that temptation, but part of the reason I chose you guys was because I was certain you could pull it off. :) Contacts This is probably the one part of character creation where I'm going to give you a more solid set of rules to use. Take your Charisma score, multiply your base Etiquette score by two, and add them together. Your total represents the number of levels of contacts you have to work with. Level 1 contacts cost one point, Level 2 contacts cost two points, and level 3 contacts cost five points. If you wish to belong to a "gang" (including magical groups, a gypsy clans, or Amerind tribes), that costs three points and everyone in that "gang" is considered a Friend of a Friend (see the Shadowrun Companion for more details on FOFs). In addition to these contacts, you will receive two completely free contacts of my creation. I will post there stats in the near future, but for now all you need to know is that one is named Anthony Roccamorra, a troll who's effectively your boss and liason with the DIMR, and Edna Kravitz, a dwarven chick serving as your quartermaster. You may increase these two contacts from Level 1 to a higher level by paying the difference with your aforementioned points. While these rules sound pretty hardcore, they're merely a guideline for you just like everything else here. If you don't have enough points to get all the important contacts you would likely have gained during your career, add a few more. If you can't think of enough contacts, don't worry about it too much. Just be reasonable. I will expect a complete write-up for each contact you select, however, so don't you even think about just throwing up some lame archetype and expect that to pass. :D At least give me a name and one paragraph that describes the contact's abilities and experience, and another one describing your relationship with them. Be sure to list their base of operations, too, while keeping in mind that you guys are going to be going global quite a bit. Equipment Select only those items you would legimately own yourself. Just as a reminder, here's a quote from my original post in the recruitment thread:
Once you're done, assume you have 10,000¥ in savings available via your credstick account and another 50,000¥ available if you liquidate all of your other assets not worth mentioning here (savings accounts, stocks and bonds, a baseball card collection, whatever — there's no need to describe them unless you want to). Grab whatever implants you think are genuinally appropriate for your character (as opposed to ones that simply give you the most benefits), and go ahead and assume that they've all been upgraded to betagrade during your time with the DIMR. You can take one positive and one negative surgical option per implant, though none of the ones that improve or worsen Essence losses or Bio Index gains should be taken. For other equipment that has options — Matrix utilities, skillsofts, spells, etc. — feel free to take whichever ones are most appropriate without worry, just make sure you can use them and note them clearly on your sheet. Customized gear is perfectly acceptable, though brand new gear created from scratch is not. If there's some kind of specialty item you're interested in but which the rules don't currently have available (such as walker or anthroform drones, underbarrel shotguns, etc.), run a complete description of your idea by me and I'll put together some stats and rules for them if I think they're appropriate. Did I miss anything else? If so, just smack me around and ask for clarification. Other Resources Let's see, what else is there? Most of this is going to deal with magic, so if you're playing a mundane you can probably skip past. Spells: If you're a magician capable of using Sorcery, pick whatever spells you think are more appropriate. Then, select the Force of that spell based upon the same guidelines listed in the "Skills" section of this post. Yes, that means you can have spells ranging from Force 1 to Force 8. Assume you have the spell formulae for all of your spells at your disposal in both digital and hardcopy formats. As a house rule, you may apply geasa to individual spells as a Spell Limitation (see SR3 p. 180, "Limited Spells," for more details). Each geas functions as a -1 modifier, and replace Fetishes with the Talisman geas. In addition, add the following two spell limtiations to that list:
Traditional Geasa: If you select any geasa to offset magic loss, and I highly encourage that you do, feel free to have fun with creating your own in addition to using any of the standard geasa. If you want to discuss a new idea for one, just run it by me and we'll hash it out if it's cool. Note, however, that you will not be able to shed and of your geasa as part of any initiations you have undergone in the past. Once the game begins, you can begin shedding them as it progresses if you so desire, however. I'm adding this restriction for two reasons; 1) because it'ls going to add some style to the game and 2) to help keep magicians from stocking up on implants this early in the game. Initiation & Metamagic Techniques: Yes, you will be allowed to begin the game as an initiated magician, and yes you will be able to have metamagic techniques. However — and this is very important to me — I want you to *only* initiate enough times to secure the *bare minimum* metamagics you need to reflect your character's expertise. Masking and Shielding, for example, are two highly coveted metamagics for most players, but they're not really necessary for most concepts. So please, please keep that in mind and be as reasonable as you can. Other than that, there won't be any restrictions regarding how many grades you can initiate at this point, or whether or not you do it with a group or undergoing an ordeal. Magical Groups: If you wish to be a member of a magical group, you will not only need to buy that group as a "gang contact" (see above) but you will need to describe it in full just as if you were designing a new piece of equipment for the game. Once you have your description written up, send it my way and I'll put together the game-related stats for you. In addition, those of you who are magically inclined will be able to join a special magical group put together by the DIMR itself. Yes, you can be in more than one magical group at a time as long as none of them have the Exclusive Membership and/or Exclusive Ritual strictures. If you're interested in joining this group in addition or in lieu of another group, let me know and I'll type it up for you guys. Final Words Okay, I think I covered everything. As I said before, if I missed something just smack me around some and call me Cinderella. Err, I mean... smack me around some and ask me for clarification. Yeah,t hat's what I meant. <coughs> EDIT: Damn, I knew I was going to forget something! What was that Human Surprise I mentioned earlier? Well, after you guys finish all of your characters, I will be assigning you your Karma Pools (and a few token Good Karma points) based upon your overall strength. Humans, as you might have guessed, will be getting a hefty bonus to this Karma Pool. Once the game is underway, Karma Pools will advance as per the standard rules. Assume you have a Karma Pool of 0 at this point. |
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Dec 2 2004, 08:11 PM
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
As a quick reference, here's everyone's character concept as of this writing. If major changes are made during the course of the character creation process, I'll probably edit this post to reflect those changes.
PROF. ANDREW "ANDY" JONES Treasure Hunter (Fomori Hermetic Mage)
Reason for Recruitment: Normally, Andy's experience and education would have been enough to have the DIMR seek him out to join their little club, but it was a paper he wrote on a strange something or other he discovered in the African jungle that really got their attention. Especially when it was revealed to be a petrified invae cocoon proving that was at least six thousand years old, thus lending evidence of a time of magic in our distant past. Professional Flaw (Infirm 3): As a child, Andy suffered from a rare bone disease that stunted his physical maturity. His goblinization, when he hit his late teens, helped cure the disease, but to this day he's still not quite as physically adept as other orks. This flaw also includes the Exceptional Attribute and Bonus Attribute Point edges for Intelligence, reflecting how he turned to study and playing on the Matrix while all of his childhood peers were outside playing suburban brawl. Random Flaw (Ophidiophobia, Mild): Andy has an irrational but mild fear of snakes. They're just icky, dangit! CORINA "JINX" IULIAN Former Stunt Driver (Elf Rigger)
She liked cats, and when a black one tried to cross her path, she tried to avoid it. Normally it would have been an easy task, no problem. But for some reason, her car just couldn't handle the sudden change of direction and went out of control. When she woke up, she was in the hospital, The Cat curled up next to her in bed, having defied all the attempts of the nurses to have it removed. Getting out of the hospital, nothing went right. Anything electronic she touched simply ceased functioning. Things went out of her way to trip her. Dorin showed up owing more money than ever before. If only he wasn't her brother... She was getting quite a reputation as a jinx. Reason for Recruitment: DIMR approached her, attempting to claim The Cat. She was more than willing to get rid of it, once they explained to her just what it was. However, The Cat was less than willing. Even when captured, it always managed to free itself, and make it's way back to her, to continue to plague her existance. Giving up on that, they offered her a job so that in addition to acquiring a good rigger, they could keep an eye on The Cat. Background Flaw (Clumsy, Gremlins, Bad Reputation): The Cat just seems to enjoy making her life miserable. Random Flaw (Pirate Family): Family can be good...but it seems that her brother, Dorin is always managing to get himself into trouble. And you can't turn down family when they ask for help. DAVID LLOYD Former MIT Grad Student in Vehicle Research and Topics in Drones, Robots, and AI (Human Programmer/Rigger)
Reason for Recruitment: David knows his stuff. He is, while not world-class, an unquestionable authority on artificial intelligence of any form, from dumb frames to robots to Semiautonomous Knowbots. In the ever-continuing quest to make magic accessible for mundanes, David builds and rebuilds, programs and reprograms the simulations and software tools that magical researchers use to try to unlock the connection between magic and existing science. With the help of a colleague, he even devised a program to model the flow of mana corruption around a radioactive source that, while deeply flawed, is accepted to be better than any similar effort thus far. Background Flaw (Day Job analogue): David has become, while not an integral component, an important figure in the day-to-day magical research of the DIMR. He is continually bombarded by requests for this or that piece of software or simulation, this or that feature, or some timesaving program to make the use of computers even more transparent for the technophobes amongst the researchers (while not numerous, they are certainly vocal). While not an obligation per se, David feels a personal responsibility to fulfill these requests and will often choose them over sleep or similar needs. Random Flaw (Compulsion): David is a compulsive coder. You give him some free time and something to write on, he'll start scribbling out some code. Don't give him something to write on, and he'll start looking for something. Keep him from writing anything, and he'll start calculating powers of two in his head without the math SPU. JACQUE "SINJIN" SAINT JOHN Deep Sea Explorer, Oceanographer, Archeologist, Anthropologist, Atlantis Expert (Menehune Hermetic Mage)
Reason for Recruitment: For years Sinjin has searched the depths of the ocean looking for Atlantis. He has used every mean magical and technological to find the ancient city. He has published a number of papers on drowned cities and ancient civilizations in general. Last year while on a dive in the med, he made his greatest discovery. An ancient temple guarded by a great serpent. The battle was as surprising as it was fierce, but when it was over, Sinjin was still standing. After exploring the temple he found an ancient document that was perfectly preserved. The language on the document has thus far defied translation, nor has the materiel it is written on been carbon dated or even identified. Sinjin is confident that the document is from the Lost City. Background Flaw (Pacifism): Sinjin is an academic, an adventure for sure, as well as a powerful hermatic mage, but still an academic. Violence just doesn’t cross his mind as a way to solve a problem. Though he can defend himself and others if the need be. Random Flaw (Curiosity): Buttons, levers, switches, knobs, toggles, dials, these things BEG to be turned, pulled, pushed, thrown and otherwise moved. PRESTON CHASE "Freelance Internal/External Security Consultant and Personal Expeditor" (Human Mercenary)
Taking the advice, Preston went to Boston College where he majored in Psychology with a minor in History. All on Ares' dime. After graduation he "enlisted" with Ares' paramilitary per the rules of his scholarship for a 6 year "tour". Three quarters of the way through his Officer's Canditate School training the Chicago Incident occured. He was offered a one time deal: advanced training and a cancelation of the tour length if he agreed to serve for as long as the CZ was inplace. Preston accepted. He was later attached to (but not actually a member of) a FireWatch unit charged with various seek and destroy missions against the Bugs and the occasional human warlord within the CZ. When the CZ went down and his "tour" was up, Preston did a stint on the indy circuit and bounced around from global hot spot to global hot spot with a variety of mercenary units. DIMR found out about him form the same friend of the family that suggested he join up with Ares. wink.gif Reason for Recruitment: Every corp needs men with special talents. Preston came highly recomended. Despite alleged differences in opion between the higher ups of Ares and DIMR, the latter realized that there is a need for highly trained individuals with certain hard to find skill sets. Background Flaw (Dossier on File): There was ork named Max Steele in Preston's unit durning the CZ. He was charged with and latter imprisoned for aiding several warlords during the incident. He has since escaped custody and strongly desires a chance to discuss Preston's testimony with him....Muw-ha-ha-ha-ha! Random Flaw (Compulsion): Preston's time in the CZ has left him with a compulsion to..um, well, kill insects of any sort should the opportunity present itself. [GM Note: We gotta work on a better random flaw, dude. :)] REMBRANDT QUADESH Dragon Hunter (Ork Negamage)
Reason for Recruitment: Rembrandt arrived in Denver to aid the fight against Ghostwalker. It was during a pitched battle with one of the attacking Wyverns that he was struck by the beast’s poisonous barb. While he defeated it, he knew death was not far for him, though he was surprised by how beautiful she was. When next he awoke, the sterile walls of a bleeding edge hospital surrounded him. It was there that a representative of the Draco Foundation informed him of his situation, and of his contractual agreement. It seems this particular Wyvern had manifested a powerful paratoxin, which now coursed through his veins. Without continuous injections of anti-venom, he would die. Worse, the Wyvern he had almost killed was the only source of this serum. The Foundation agreed to keep the creature alive in return for ten years of service, which was effectively the rest of his life by averages. Rembrandt often wanders down the dark stairs, through the thick steel doors, along the long narrow corridors, and to the room over looking the Wyvern’s prison where he watches the steady rise and fall of the creature’s chest. He watches and wonders what god or gods planned this twist of fate. Background Flaw (Serum Requirement): The use of the serum has induced a vulnerability to Wyvern venom as well. Random Flaw (Aviophobia): Flying in planes is by far the worst form of transport to Rembrandt; the horrible shaking and swaying, the roaring engines, and the flimsy wings make it all the more like traveling in the belly of a devil beast. A flask of alcohol is always in his hand for such trips in the flying sardine cans. Well to be honest, a flask of alcohol is always near to him. |
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Dec 2 2004, 08:11 PM
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
<reserved space>
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Dec 2 2004, 08:18 PM
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
Okay, before you begin you guys might want to hash out a "pecking order" for the group. Who's going to be specializing in what, what role you each will serve on the team (leader, face, recon, etc.) and all that stuff.
I would prefer all characters (when I ask for them) to be sent to me via email in plain text format. You should be able to just cut-and-paste it straight into the mail. Do try and make it presentable and easy to read, please; aesthetics may garner you a bonus Karma Pool point or two. ;) And, for the love of god, if any of you send me an NSRCG web page... well, you don't wanna do that. Trust me. :D |
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Dec 2 2004, 08:21 PM
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Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill. Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,545 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Gloomy Boise Idaho Member No.: 2,006 |
I am out of breath reading through all that :)
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Dec 2 2004, 08:23 PM
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Jesus Freak Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,141 Joined: 23-April 04 From: Anaheim, CA Member No.: 6,274 |
I had to print it out, reading that much from paper is easier on the eyes.
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Dec 2 2004, 08:28 PM
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
Oh quit your bitching. :P
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Dec 2 2004, 08:30 PM
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Jesus Freak Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,141 Joined: 23-April 04 From: Anaheim, CA Member No.: 6,274 |
Dude, its 13 pages printed out.
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Dec 2 2004, 08:35 PM
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
Then be happy I decided to go freeform. You wouldn't wanna see my guidelines if it were a more structured form of character creation, buddy!
Oh, and for those who need to talk to me personally but don't know how to get in touch with me beyond here, you can pester me at any of the following locales: AIM: Necrotic Monkey Yahoo!: feed_my_funkenstein (I'm usually invisible, but almost always online even when I'm afk; just say hi and see how it fares) If you don't have either of those services, just lemme know which one you do and I'll set up an account or something. You damn lazy bastard. |
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Dec 2 2004, 10:28 PM
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,006 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
It wasn't all that long.
Doc: is Rich Text Format ok? I typically make a decent amount of use of bolding and tabbing for layout reasons. ~J |
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Dec 2 2004, 10:38 PM
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
Sure, but I may mock you and your Macintosh ways because of it. Oh who am I kidding? I'd do that anyway.
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Dec 3 2004, 12:48 AM
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Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill. Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,545 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Gloomy Boise Idaho Member No.: 2,006 |
It wasn't super long, but it is chocked full on information.
On to Sinjin. He is going to be a hermetic mage, his specialty will be water related. He will probably have one or two spells with combat applications. However if we are on, near or close to water he will be of infinite usefulness. |
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Dec 3 2004, 01:12 AM
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#13
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,006 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Hush, you :P
Any guidelines on edges and flaws? Also, since there's no direct benefit from it in freeform chargen, can we take incompetencies in skills we don't have? ~J |
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Dec 3 2004, 01:20 AM
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#14
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
I knew there was going to be something I forgot. I just knew it.
Edges & Flaws Basically, choose whichever edges and flaws best reflect your character. It's that simple. You can ignore all of the ones that grant a bonus Attribute point or increase your Racial Modified Limit since neither of those are really going to do anything for you with these house rules, though the ones that lower your maximum ratings (like Infirm) are still in play. If you need some kind of guidance, try not to go over five edges and/or five flaws, and try to keep them within five points of each other. Again, that's just a guideline. And, also again, I want to emphasis that you should only pick those edges and flaws that are genuinely appropriate to your character. Edges like Ambidexterity and Pain Resistance should be exceedingly rare, for instance, but if it fits the character (as opposed to how you desperately would love to see the character) -- go for it. Oh, and sure, feel free to cook up alternative edges and flaws or variations thereof. I'm totally hip. Same goes for skills, martial arts, etc. If it's reasonable, chances are I'll let it in. |
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Dec 3 2004, 03:26 AM
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#15
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Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill. Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,545 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Gloomy Boise Idaho Member No.: 2,006 |
Cool, Ill have to think up some really crazy edges.
Like - Aptitude: Sea Shell identification The character with this edge is so adept at identifying sea shells, he can tell you what part of the world below they are from. |
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Dec 3 2004, 03:27 AM
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#16
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
Now that's just frivilous. :) But if you want it, I'm cool with it.
That does remind me of another houserule, however. I allow everyone to take a maximum of ONE Aptitude edge. The trick is, only one person in the group can have an Aptitude in any single skill. That means even if you have three magicians, only one of you can have an Aptitude in Sorcery. The Aptitude also doesn't have to be in your friend of expertise -- it's an natural aptitude, afterall, but not necessary an aptitude for what you like to do. So if you want one, speak up and claim yours. If more than one of you want the same one, fight it out. :D |
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Dec 3 2004, 05:05 AM
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#17
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,751 Joined: 8-August 03 From: Neighbor of the Beast Member No.: 5,375 |
I didn't think it was that long.
A few things: Preston's current background doesn't reflect that he has a prison record. What I meant in the Quick BG was that the Ork went to prison--it was supposed to be "Hunted" or "Extra Enemy." Since enemies rarely come into play in DS games I can offer two solutions that might be to your liking: 1) A variation on Prison Record. I think I saw it here somewhere, "(Corp) Military Record." It similar--there's a big file with Preston's name on it somewhere at Ares but he doesn't have to check in with anyone. 2) I can alter his background (and toy with some skills) to reflect Preston was the one that allegedly aided the warlord (I haven't deciced yet ;)). I don't like the idea of him sitting in jail for the past 4 years or so but your the boss. Tell me what you want. I'd perfer that he did some globe trotting while trying to aviod the Ares/UCAS authorities but was eventually captured. DIMR arranged for his release on the condition that he work for them...bla, bla, bla...indentured servitude...bla, bla, bla...You get the idea. :) Either way Doc, I'll set up for whatever you perfer. On the topic of Edges and Flaws: Can I take "Apptitude: Linguistics," or something similar? I was thinking that inorder to be of a little more use to the team, Preston would be a wiz with languages and since we don't actually have BPs I could finally have a character that is well traveled and speaks more than 2 languages proficiently. Oh, and I'll come up with a better "quirk" flaw. :P One more thing, was there a deadline in those 13 pages? Edit: after reading this, I'm leaning towards option 2 since it sounds kinda cool and option 1 sounds pretty lame out loud. (it sounded like such a good idea in my head...) |
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Dec 3 2004, 05:27 AM
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#18
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,751 Joined: 8-August 03 From: Neighbor of the Beast Member No.: 5,375 |
Group Questions:
1) Have we worked together before? 2) If "yes," for how long? Do we know eachother well? 3) If "no," have we at least met before? (Company mixer or some such?) 4) Do any of us have mutual histories? Do we want to? 5) I don't want to be the boss. Who does? Who's Qualified? Does that matter? |
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Dec 3 2004, 05:51 AM
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#19
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
Post #1:
1) Sorry, I musta misread that part. :) But the lesser variant I think you're looking for is called Dossier On File. It's a -4 point flaw found in State of the Art:2064 which is basically what you described; your record on file. 2) No, it's fine. It was my mistake. But if you wanna redo parts of your background, go for it. 3) No, no deadline. 4) Did I miss anything? Post #2: 1) Yes. 2) At least a few missions in the past, and up to a year or two for some of you. I'll let you each decide how long you've been a member of the team. 3-5) That's for you guys to decide, obviously. :) |
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Dec 3 2004, 05:57 AM
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#20
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,751 Joined: 8-August 03 From: Neighbor of the Beast Member No.: 5,375 |
The Aptitude thing. :) No deadline? Crap. Can you give me one at least. I'm a terrible procrastinator. ;) |
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Dec 3 2004, 05:58 AM
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#21
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
Fine. Tomorrow night. ;)
And you know, sure, I'll allow Aptitude: Linguistics. I like that. I'd probably consider it for a few other grouped skills, too, like Build/Repair and things like that. Run it by me if you're interested. |
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Dec 3 2004, 06:14 AM
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#22
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Beetle Eater Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 4,797 Joined: 3-June 02 From: Oblivion City Member No.: 2,826 |
Well Rembrandt's join date is pretty set from his story, becoming an employee of the DIMR somewhere soon after January 28th 2061.
However, unless the character [meaning any one of your characters] has a reason to know the truth, the justification for his "partnership" is a simple business arrangement, services for money. His skills as a negamage make him a useful bodyguard and a good Toxic or Blood hunter, but his mannerisms and such don't lend themselves to general leadership. This post has been edited by Kanada Ten: Dec 3 2004, 06:21 AM |
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Dec 3 2004, 06:31 AM
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#23
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,751 Joined: 8-August 03 From: Neighbor of the Beast Member No.: 5,375 |
Slave driver. :P
Cool. 8)
Hmmm...we might have something in common there depending on how Preston's background turns out. Other than that, Remmy seems to be the only other combat oriented character on the team. |
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Dec 3 2004, 06:59 AM
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#24
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,006 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
David Lloyd will probably have a few points (3 at most) in Gunnery and then a crapload more points in "Crazy MIT Prototypes That No One Will Ever Use" specialization, but he'll at least have a jumping-off point for future combat applicability. Personal combat, though, he'll be useless in. Just don't meet him on the Matrix…
So are things like Aptitude: Sorcery or Aptitude: Computers going to be allowed? *Angst angst angst* ~J |
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Dec 3 2004, 07:08 AM
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#25
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
A-yup. If people diversify enough, I might even have my arm twisted to where you could apply them to entire subsets of skills (Vehicle, Technical, Magical, Ranged Combat, Melee Combat, Social, Physical, Knowledge, Linguistic, etc.). You guys are supposed to be the best of the best in your respective fields, afterall.
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