Greetings, all. Loup Blanc here with another harebrained campaign, one that I've been thinking of and planning for a while now. If you like tales of adventure and grit, stories where the heroes are hardened men and women who do what they have to in pursuit of the right thing, mash-ups of different themes and a dash of history, this game might be of interest to you. This game is probably not for everyone, though, as it involves a couple of different facets that are a little different.
Beneath that surface, though, that evil is combated by those brave or just dedicated enough to take up arms. The most widespread of these groups are the Rippers, a secret society with a troubled history dating back to the Renaissance. They've had their trials, and not so long ago the entire organization was thrown into turmoil and seemed on the brink of collapse from within. With the death of their greatest enemy and the destruction of his own wicked organization, though, the Rippers have rebuilt, and lead the global fight against the darkness.
In the Americas--which remain divided between the Union to the North and the Confederacy in the South--there are two other organizations which battle supernatural forces. The USA's mysterious Agency serves in a secret capacity, their men in black hunting down monsters and disappearing them before the public has any idea what's gone on. In the CSA, the Rangers have spread far beyond their origins in Texas, and their "shoot it or recruit it" strategy has led to many victories against evil, if some are more pyrrhic than they'd want to admit.
In general sweeps, history remains much the same. Major events take place more or less when they did in our world, or at least in the same order, and although Weird Science has resulted in technological advancements before their time, the general technology remains similar. The Devil is in the details, as they say: wars tend to last longer with supernatural influence, and many famous folks have a little more to them than simple luck or mundane skill.
In the thick of this mess is a small group of hardboiled men and women, working at a private detective agency in a city with more crimes and secrets than most. This agency has a secret of its own, however: they are not only detectives, but Rippers, forging the way for the newly founded Las Vegas Lodge. Though they take many cases, they have a special interest in the stranger events that crop up with odd frequency in the American West, and even the city authorities sometimes send a case their way if it doesn't make sense.
This setting will be the bulk of the campaign, with the PCs serving as the Ripper detectives in the city. Their cases will be a mix of "regular" detective work and supernatural investigation, although in a world where nothing is quite what it seems, the occurrence of a truly mundane event is unlikely. There's no end to the concepts that will work here, so long as the character has come to the Rippers and to Las Vegas, in whichever order. Rippers come from all walks of life, from all nations and creeds; the main links that tie them together are special skills and the will to use them.
Among these forces is a small, special company nicknamed after its commanding officer, Lieutenant Warren "Triple U" Updike. The Triple U, the man, is a skilled Australian soldier, a proud warrior reputed for his leadership skills and his ability to turn supposed suicide missions into fantastic successes. The Triple U, the unit, is a collection of men who want to serve with a bonafide war hero, and are willing to lay down their lives in high-risk missions to make a difference in the fight. Just now they're in the final moments of the Battle of Amiens--and their role in the war and in history is about to change forever.
This setting will also play a role in the campaign, in played-out flashbacks of events that effect the Rippers fifteen years later. Many games might include a written clue in the form of a diary entry that characters read; in this game, you will instead play out the very events as you discover them. The soldiers you play might coem from any nation, although Western European Allies are the most likely; both American nations also joined the war, on the same side for once. Although the Triple U is technically part of the Australian Expeditionary Force, organization has broken down to some extent during the battle, and individuals from any nation or platoon join the unit through volunteering or absorption.
That's a bit of a crash course in things, and there's more to be said especially for the Rippers' knowledge of things, but it gives you the basics you'd need to get a sense for the idea of the game. If this sounds interesting to you, please read on and put in your interest! If you have any questions on things, whether something I've said that isn't clear or something I've missed, please ask away.
For Your Ripper
All I need here from you at the moment is a concept! We'll be fully building the team of Rippers in Discussion once we have the group together, while we start off with a scene in the World War I period. For your concept, I'd like to know your Ripper's nationality, what their particular skills and specialties may be, and how they came to be part of the new Lodge posing as detectives in Las Vegas. You might be a native to the area who had a run-in with something strange in the desert, or you might have been with the group for some time and you've just recently come out to the city. For this part you're selling me on background and character, so make it interesting and unique!
If you're knowledgeable of the system and want to build a full character, use standard Savage Worlds rules: 5 points for Attributes, 15 points for Skills, a free Edge for being human, Hindrances as you take them. Keep in mind that as this takes place in the Great Depression, we'll be using Deadlands Noir's setting rules, including the one on Poverty; use prices from that book for your gear, as well. There's one bonus, though: you get an additional free Edge to be spent on an Arcane Background, a Faction Edge for your Ripper Faction, or the Harrowed Edge--these round out your character with something special about them.
As an added note, due to the mixed nature of this setting, almost every Arcane Background is available. I don't mean the basic versions in the Savage Worlds core book, I mean the versions from the Deadlands line as well as Rippers. Pretty much the only ones not available are Martial Arts Magic from Deadlands due to rarity, and Mad Scientists from Deadlands because they've become the Patent Scientists of Deadlands Noir.
For Your Soldier
This character does need to be built for the game start, so if you're knowledgeable of the system, certainly build it! (If you're not, we can work it out.) These are also standard Novice characters, with 5 points to spend on Attributes and 15 for Skills. You get the free Edge for being human, although the only Arcane Background available to a soldier is Weird Science, to serve as one of the company's Tesla Engineers (see below). Don't do equipment, because that will be given to you based on your role in the unit.
And that brings me to the roles! When you submit your Soldier, include the role they serve in the Triple U from the list below. Note that the numbers are hard limits that will continue throughout the 1919 campaign: the Triple U is a field company without time to get reinforcements once we're started, so when soldiers inevitably die, it cuts down on the numbers of the squad. Pick your part carefully! Each role has requirements to serve in it, listed below; some are definitely more intensive than others.
Infantry Rifleman (16): Shooting d6
Machine Gunner (6): Strength d8 OR Brawny Edge
Medic (4): Healing d6, Knowledge (Medicine) d6
Scout Sniper (4): Notice d6, Shooting d8, Stealth d6
Tesla Engineer (2): Arcane Background (Weird Science) Edge, Military Engineer Edge
Trench Gunner (14): Fighting d6, Shooting d6
In terms of background, you can give as much as you want, but I only ask for basics: your character's nationality and name, and perhaps a brief idea of what they did before the war, if anything. I fully expect deaths to occur in the 1919 campaign, so be aware of that when creating your character--no matter how lovingly crafted, I make no promises that they will live to the end. In fact, I think it's very unlikely that all (or even any) of the characters you start with will be around at the end. (Don't worry, you'll make replacements.)
Finally, I note the Military Engineer Edge above, and it's available both in the 1919 campaign and for the Rippers if it makes sense that your character to have it (for example, being a veteran). The Edge requires Arcane Background (Weird Science) as well as Repair at d6, and has the following benefit:
Thanks to training with the military's foremost engineers, you've learned to make devices that will stand up to the rigors of a battlefield and keep working when others might not. Devices you create only suffer a Malfunction when the skill die rolls a 1 and the roll fails. Additionally, the device will only suffer a Catastrophic Malfunction if the roll was a snake eyes--otherwise, treat the result as a Major Malfunction.
I think that covers everything for character creation, but I'm sure I've missed something, so let me know if you have any questions.
That's all for this post, I believe. Hope to see some interest and let me know if there's anything you need to know!
Excellent. I've been waiting for this for a while.
Every word of that story is true, but it leaves out some very, very important details. She is a widow, because she's the one who stabbed her husband in the chest then blew out his brains and burned the house down for good measure. Not that he didn't deserve it. After all, he was just as bad as the rest of their family. Yes their family, considering he was her first cousin. Eliza's darkest secret is that Eliza doesn't really exist. It's nothing more than an alias to hide the fact that she didn't die with her husband that night. She was born Lilith Curwen, a member of the wealthy and powerful Curwen family in Providence, Rhode Island. And, unknown to their neighbors, a branch family of the Whateley clan, a family of black sorcerers who can trace their degenerate, inbred history back to Morgan le Fey herself. After the disaster in Gamorrah, the remaining Whateley's moved back East to join with one of their stronger branches and rebuild their power base so they could attempt to fulfill their demonic patron's plans again and bring Hell to Earth. As a member of a particularly genetically stable branch of the family, she was chosen to marry the heir of the Whateley main branch and provide the next generation of their bloodline.
Lilith played along as long as she needed to. In truth, she has discovered the relics of Nicodemus Whateley, the family patriarch before the Gamorrah branch was nearly annihilated, when she was young. In his later years, Nicodemus had come to the conclusion that their patron, the incredibly powerful demon Knicknevin, would simply use them as step stones to manifest on Earth, then toss them aside as tools that had served their purpose. However, their long history of careful breeding had granted them incredible arcane power in their blood, hundreds of years of black magical knowledge, and generations of wealth and influence. Why both serving Hell when they could rule on Earth with their own power? Lilith took his lessons to heart, drinking down all the magical knowledge her mother could give her while secretly experimenting with hucksterism, blood magic, and grifting.
Lilith went along with her family's plans until she was in her marriage bed on her wedding night. Then she stabbed her husband in the chest with the very ritual dagger her mother had given her as a wedding gift. Just to be sure, she blew out his brains then she tossed the body of some poor drifter who looked enough like her that the family wouldn't know the difference into her bed with the corpse and burned the whole building down to cover her tracks. With the corpses horrifically burned, no one knew that Lilith Curwen lived. Taking an alias, she went West to get as far from her family as she could. She made decent money as a singer, but took the chance to get in good with the local mob when she saw it. She was planning to work her way through the ranks and get in good with the local bosses. Unfortunately, he lover's death at the hands of a monster ruined that plan. She signed on with the Rippers as a chance to gain influence with another powerful organization, one that would certainly be happy to help her oppose her family if she was forced to confront them.
Attributes: Agility D8, Smarts D4, Spirit D8, Strength D6, Vigor D6
Skills: Fighting D8, Intimidate D4, Notice D6, Shooting D10, Stealth D6, Survival D6
Charisma: 0 (-2 with non-Indians)
Pace: 6
Parry: 6
Toughness: 6
Hindrances
Cursed:
Lyin’ Eyes:
Outsider:
Edges
Knack (Spirit Touched - Deflection):
Hard:
Skills: Fighting D4, Intimidate D4, Knowledge (Occult) D6, Notice D4, Perform (Sing) D4, Persuasion D8, Shooting D4, Spellcasting D8, Stealth D4, Streetwise D4
Charisma: +4
Pace: 6
Parry: 4
Toughness: 5
Hindrances
Dark Secret:
Cautious:
Vengeful (Minor):
Edges
Arcane Background (Huckster):
Attractive:
Whateley Blood (Exotic):
Powers
Armor:
Bolt:
Confusion:
Power Points: 10
Gear: Lugar (2d6, 12/24/48, RoF 1, Load 8, Semi-Auto), Ritual Knife (2d4), 100 9mm rounds, Dress, Gloves, Handbag, Hat, Pants, Shirt, Shoes, Women’s Two-piece Suit, Wristwatch, $9.50
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Count me interested. Have played some Savage Worlds in RL and on a PBP campaign.
My Ripper idea is a Chinese miner who went to the US to join the gold rush and ended up realising the promise of gold isn't what he thought it'd be. He's skilled in pugilistics and a worshipper of the Monkey King. He's heard of the Chinese government trying to hunt down some political opponents that have traveled to the US and offering a good bounty, so he's contemplating a change in career.
Soldier idea is an Australian soldier who admires Ned Kelly. Probably be an Infantry Rifleman.
My current idea might be a little difficult to pull off in-game, so if you think it'd be a pain let me know and I'll come up with a different idea. My Ripper and my soldier (the first one, at least) are actually father and son. Private Aaron Nikhols is newly enlisted into the military as part of an agreement with the government to leave his son alone; at eight years old, the boy has begun to manifest psychic powers that the government wants to experiment with. A prodigy in mechanics who might have gone onto higher education if not for the birth of his son at a young age, Private Aaron Nikhols only hopes to use his inventions and mechanical knacks to keep his fellow soldiers (and himself) safe, so that they might all return home to their families. He's a reluctant soldier who simply wants to try and make it back to the son who's freedom he's fighting for back home.
Aaron Nikhols Jr. is a man who lived a troubled life. He was born in New Orleans but was forced to flee to Nevada with his mother not long after his father left for war. Hunted by the CSA government for his psychic powers, he and his mother took up residence in Las Vegas in the beginning of the 1920's. Unable to contact his father for fear that the government might track them via the post, he developed his powers in secret and was eventually approached by a group who called themselves the Rippers; knowing he was a Syker, they convinced him to join their ranks as a private investigator looking into paranormal crimes in the area.
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Father will be a Patent Scientist, while the son is a Syker. Obviously we don't know if his father survives or not, so my thoughts are that Aaron would find out for the first time if his father died in the war or not when it happens in-game. My justification is that he's unable to contact his son or vice versa due to them moving, so even if he survives and heads back to the States it's possible they'd never see each other again. His mother left a note with a family friend to explain to her husband if he showed back up, but no one has any idea what happened afterward.
I'm up for any game done in SW, but while I've heard a lot about Deadlands and Rippers, I don't own either book.
Can I just create "plain vanilla" core SW characters? But I worry about what special Edges or AB's I might miss out on...
kamenhero25: Looks solid to me! It's perfectly fine to post mechanics for the Ripper if you like--that goes for everyone--I'm just not requiring it of people for the recruitment process. The Whateleys are always interesting to involve in things, and I can imagine some fun that will come of that.
Araj the Raven: Sounds neat, although a tad old-fashioned. There hasn't been a Gold Rush in this region since the mid-1800s, so I'm not sure that how well that might work as a reason for arriving in the area. That said, it could be altered slightly--maybe he's come for a different kind of work, or even better, he was already involved with the Rippers in some capacity beforehand, and was part of the group that came to start up the Lodge. Let me know your thoughts.
JDPhipps: Sounds like a neat link between characters, and I'm fine with a father-son connection. I don't know that anyone's considering it or would, but it is worth pointing out you wouldn't be able to play the same character for both (for multiple reasons); family is fine, though! We discussed some of the finer details of the concept in person, so that's good.
ZenFox42: You could create a plain Savage Worlds character, but yeah, it would really limit your options--especially since most of the Arcane Backgrounds are altered in these settings, and you'd be missing out on the specific Edges and such that are available. I'd say read up on the settings if you can, and come up with a concept and we can try and work from there.
Also hoping this continues to garner some interest from folks. I know it's a different kind of game and it might be a little foreboding if you're not familiar with everything, but I'll do my best to make it accessible to anyone who's interested!
The idea for this interests me hugely. Especially the 1919 aspect. There is one catch, I have NO IDEA how the system works. I'd love to find out though. So far I only have one idea for this.
The idea deals a little with what some may consider to be slightly touchy subjects, but it is fictional and no disrespect was meant in anyway.
In the run up to the 1916 Easter Rising, Seán was recruited by the Republicans, to aid them in securing the Lord Mayors estates. Seán was trained in the use of guns and was outfitted with a rifle by the organizers of the resistance, along with a signal flare that he was instructed to use, when the gateway was secured and the resistance troops could move in.
The plan never came to fruition however, as Seán had a sudden bout of conscience and refused to carry out his part in the scheme. The Lord Mayors estates were taken and Seán received a wound in the process, but his faith was sealed. He had sided with the rebels, even though he had not taken part in the plan, and had signed his name to the cause.
Sean was taken in to custody and was set to receive his punishment, before the timely intervention of the Lord Mayor Gallagher who, because of Mister Caseys loyalty to the city over the years, argued for a lighter sentence for the boy.
Sean was sentenced to conscription. Shipped off to England he was enlisted in the Corps of Royal Engineers where he was trained and eventually shipped off to the front. Sean spent the remaining years of the war, thigh deep in the mud and blood of the trenches, where he grew to understand the machines and tools of war, as he had the tools of his fathers trade.
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Loup Blanc: Sounds good. Perhaps he was looking for his grandfather and learns that his uncle was a Ripper. He's learned that he has some ability against the supernatural and has joined the fight against the dark. Now he's gone out to Las Vegas to help start the chapter, but also looking for more clues about his grandfather.
I'll try to stat him up this weekend.
Any family that's named after a family of Elder God worshiping loonies from Lovecraft is always going to be interesting. Not necessarily good for anyone involved, but certainly interesting.
Oh, and if anyone has setting questions, I have most Deadlands and Rippers books and a slight obsession with the setting, so I'm happy to help with whatever as well, mechanical or setting stuff.
I'm up for any game done in SW, but while I've heard a lot about Deadlands and Rippers, I don't own either book.
Can I just create "plain vanilla" core SW characters? But I worry about what special Edges or AB's I might miss out on...
I own all the books and I've GM'd Deadlands for going on eight or so years. With Loup's permission (the settings suggest keeping the players in dark about aspects their characters wouldn't know about, and diferent GMs tend to stake that line at different places), I can give you a breakdown of anything you're curious about. :)
(I am also super interested in this, but I need to brainstorm and consider my schedule)
I'm dotting here as well. I also have a bit of a weird idea: I'd like to play the same character as both a soldier and a ripper.
As a soldier, he was a simple infantryman in the fields of France, until....something happened to him.
Flash forward to present day, and my character would be harrowed. He is unsure how he died (as his memories of those times would be fuzzy at best) but he definitely knows that he is harrowed (even if he doesn't share that with anyone).
I also know quite a bit about both these settings and can help people if they wish.
Thanks to all those who offered to help, but since I don't even know what the settings' *options* are, the only thing I could do is ask "what are all the available new Edges?", which would take too long to type out (and would probably be a copyright violation).
So, I shelled out the $15 for the two Player's Guide PDFs (at least PEG's prices are really reasonable!).
I'm working on picking character concepts, will post with more info when I can. I'm thinking *maybe* a Cleric for the Rippers campaign...
kamenhero25 - I'm curious about your AB/Huckster Edge. I couldn't find it in either player's guide, and it sounds more like a Deadlands thing than a Rippers thing. Where did you find it?
Vrog - in an earlier post the GM said that the soldier and Ripper can't be the same character...
Loup Blanc - considering Rippers is all about the Victorian-era, and we're in 1933 Las Vegas, how do we handle weaponry (and items for purchase in general)?
Also, many people complain that the encumbrance limit in SW is too low - would you consider making the STR multiplier *6 or even *8?
ZenFox42 - Yeah, there are a lot of edges, especially since Loup is combining three settings, all of which have their own unique stuff. I'm assuming you got the Deadlands Noir and Rippers Resurrected Player's Guides, which is a very good start. They should have a majority of the stuff to take a look at, though the Deadlands Reloaded Player's guide has some more things and a few thematic Wild West edges that might be interesting to look at.
Base Deadlands Reloaded has different Arcane Backgrounds than Noir: Huckster, Blessed, Voodooist (originally a sub-type of Blessed, but became its own thing in the third campaign book), Mad Scientist, Shaman, and Martial Artist plus Hexslinger in Stone and a Hard Place and Metal Mage in Good Intentions. Hucksters are similar to Grifters, in that they're taking advantage of the evil spirits to get some magic out of them, though it's through games of chance instead of addiction (I think the fact that we're playing monster hunters should make knowing that demons exist okay for everyone). They're big thing is that they can play a hand of poker (literally) to get free power points by challenging a demon to a game of chance instead of indulging a vice to get the demon to fork over some extra power.
Noir has updates to Blessed and Voodoo which replace the old version, Mad Science has become Patent Science, Martial Arts has basically died out in America but some of their training methods has led to Sykers (and many Sykers have intense martial arts training on top of their mental training if they've been trained by the government). Hucksters technically became Grifters for the most part, but Loup said that it's still fine to use, just that Hucksters are very rare (which is why my character learned it through notes from someone from the late 1800s) and technically Hexslinger and Metal Mage should be okay as well (though the GM can of course tell us otherwise), though Hexslingers were really rare even in the old West and Metal Mages are black listed by most American governments at this point, so I'd imagine they're both extremely rare at this point as well.
Also, I believe that Loup said we're using the equipment list from Deadlands Noir since that's the time period we're playing in.
Glad to see we've still had interest cropping up with the website difficulties!
DarkestHeart: That background sounds very cool to me, and I dig it. I'm assuming it's for the 1919 soldier... but then, you can also build Rippers for 1933 who fought in the war, just a while back, so it could go either way, I suppose! It's neat whichever you choose.
Araj the Raven: Sounds good! Remember I don't necessarily need stats for the Ripper, but I do for a soldier.
Aloha-Shirt-Samurai: Glad to hear your interest!
Vrog Skyreaver: Alas, I don't want people playing the same character both times around. For one thing, it would kind of rob the plot and tone I'm going for. For another, the PCs in the 1919 section won't have a chance to Harrow. (Mostly for ease of gameplay, but also because it makes sense in the setting: you're fairly regular folks in a war that has them dying en masse, and the manitous don't bother trying to Harrow everybody in a situation like that.) That said, playing a Harrowed Ripper is fine, and even playing one who died in the war could make sense.
ZenFox42: He's using Huckster from Deadlands Reloaded, because I'm allowing as mentioned pretty much all the Arcane Backgrounds available from all the settings up to this point. Noir is a continuation of the Reloaded timeline, and while in base you can't play a Huckster, I wanted the option to remain available. I'll work on getting a player document online or in the campaign info tab so people can see what all is available, but as a list off the top of my head...
Blessed: Works as in Deadlands Noir. (Includes Miracles from Rippers Resurrected)
Grifter: Works as in Deadlands Noir.
Hermetic Magician: Works as in Rippers Resurrected.
Hexslinger: Works as in Deadlands Reloaded.
Huckster: Works as in Deadlands Reloaded.
Metal Mage: Works as in Deadlands Reloaded.
Patent Scientist: Works as in Deadlands Noir.
Syker: Works as in Deadlands Noir. (Includes Psionics from Rippers Resurrected)
Voodooist: Works as in Deadlands Noir.
Re: Available Knowledge: Since the PCs are Rippers, they'll have a better working knowledge of some things than normally might be expected in Deadlands; likewise, since this is set further along than base Rippers is, they'll have a little more understanding of this sort of stuff their recent history. I'll be getting this sort of stuff in the player document as well, hopefully later today or tomorrow.
Re: Equipment: For the most part, equipment will just come from the tables in Deadlands Noir. If something from another book interests you, we'll work a conversion into the game--Rippers in particular includes a lot of neat equipment not seen in Deadlands, so I'll probably get started on that. To keep things simple we'll also be using base stats for most weapons to resemble other weapons of that type--while there are tiny details that affect the performance of the various rifles used in World War I, for example, we'll use more or less the same stats for most of them, changing important things as needed (like capacity or damage if they've been rechambered).
kamenhero25 - thanks for all the info!
Loup Blanc - do we start with the usual $500 from SW, or the measly $75 from Deadlands Noir?
And, the *only* armor to choose from is a bulletproof vest, which costs $500??? Not even the $80 Flak Jacket from SWD, or the Leather Coat or Leather Vest from Rippers? Really?? (I'm ranting at the manual, not at you!)
Also, about the encumbrance (FYI, there's a discussion of it HERE)...???
Rippers in 1933 will begin with 75 dollars to spend on their equipment. You do get a set of clothing for free, but everything else comes out of pocket. The Depression has hit hard, and Vegas is no exception, even for Rippers. (After all, by this point it's well and truly a global crisis.)
As far as armor... Leather jackets and their like weren't actually very popular in America until a little later on, but they existed. I'll allow them to be available for $20, providing +1 Armor to the torso and arms. The Rippers used to use heavier armor but they've been fazed out with the rising prevalence of modern firearms and an increasingly urban world where it's difficult to get away with wearing mail armor or boilerplate inserts. Personal armor isn't very advanced in this period--they experimented with protective gear in World War I, but it was mostly thick metal plating and even that was far from perfect. The flak jackets in base Savage Worlds are a lot more modern given their function--even in World War II, there was a common saying that your "armored jacket" was less likely to protect you than the Bible in your pocket. (Because at least that much paper might slow the bullet down.)
Keep in mind most firearms have at least AP 1, so even a leather jacket isn't going to protect you if you get shot. There's a reason personal armor faded out of existence, more or less, for quite some time.
As far as encumbrance, for this game I'm leaving it as is. Without heavy armor and big heavy swords and stuff most Ripper PCs should be pretty okay. As for the soldiers... well, that was part of life on the front.
Are the extended books for Deadlands Reloaded (particularly, the 1880 Smith and Robards Guide) fair game for creating a character for the Las Vegas side of the campaign? I have an idea for a scrapper/moonshine runner if I can make it work with the lower-cash setting in Noir. Edit: Also, is Veteran of the Concrete Jungle allowed?
For the Soldier side, how's racial/gender integration working out in the extended setting? I know in Deadlands the South integrated early on in the Civil War to make up their manpower deficit (the Union followed later IIRC), and there's mention of female sheriffs and whatnot due to the overall lower population/more rough and tumble nature of the frontier. I am most likely going to play a CSA civilian who got drafted, but still waffling about the backstory fluff, dependent on how integration worked out. Probably shooting for the Scout Sniper archetype. :)
How did I just now see this!!?!!?
Ripper: I ah, I dunno. I'm tinkering with the idea of an antihero that dabbles with Rippertech. Seems to fit the Deadlands Noir theme a bit...
Soldier: I have an idea for a "kid" soldier. A fresh faced 16 year old very unprepared for the horrors of battle.
Aloha-Shirt-Samurai: That guide is fine by me. I have most if not all of the books, so as long as you can point out what something does and where it is if I can't access it myself, it should be okay. Veteran of the Concrete Jungle is allowed if you want to risk it--it's a perfect way to replicate a Veteran of the Great War, too, albeit one who's picked up knowledge of the occult along the way. I will say that I usually reduce XP gain rate for people who take that style of Edge, though, often to the tune of 1 or 2 XP for each Advance other PCs get. It keeps one character from always being better than the others, and when you link up in power levels you go back to the regular progression, of course.
Re: Integration--This is one of the tricky things about the setting, especially trying to balance fun for gameplay with historical accuracy (which itself is skewed by alternate timelines). For our purposes, let's say things are fairly integrated on the race scale at this point, at least in terms of legalities. American Indians still get the short end of the stick in most cases, especially Coyote folks in the CSA, but they're allowed to serve (and can even get benefits for their families for doing so). Discrimination is very much around, but it isn't as wide-scale or enforced as it was in our world.
So for example, there are very few mixed-race regiments in the war, especially from the Americas, but they're more due to regional makeup than a code saying they can't happen. In fact, they do, and the Triple U is a perfect place for such an occurrence: you're judged solely by merit and willingness to participate, not by background or ethnicity or even nationality (well, at least not much).
As a sort of sidestep to the question, though, I don't plan on anything like that being a major point of the game. The closest we'll come is a vague sense of nationality being important, if only because it was such a huge part of the war. Slang like Tommies and Yanks and Aussies and Jerries will be used in the 1919 campaign; slurs against races or ethnic groups, not so much. As for the Rippers in '33, their organization has long been one of the most globally integrated in the world, with members from all origins even in xenophobic Victorian Britain.
As far as gender/sex integration goes, it's on the way but not there yet. Combat soldiers are, overwhelmingly, men--I'd presume all submissions for this game will be the same. Historically there were women soldiers in the war, but they were a handful in millions of combatants, and their stories are a different kind than what I'm looking to tell here. (For one thing, it'd be a shame to have a one-in-a-million female soldier PC who's probably going to die before long.) The soldiers you're playing in the 1919 campaign aren't Big Damn Heroes and aren't going to go down in history as such; they're unfortunate souls in an unfortunate war who will be plunged into something far beyond what they expected.
GM Niles: I'm not sure, but I'm glad you did! Hopefully this will be a continuing sentiment--I of course am happy with the interest we have so far, but the more the merrier! A gritty character for the Rippers is fine by me, and Rippertech is still around. And fresh-faced kids got thrust into the war all too often, so that concept works fine as well.
I'll also mention here some general things people may want to know in terms of logistics for this campaign.
When will Recruitment end? When I say so. I don't like putting hard caps on things and I'll wrap it up when I think we've got a solid group of submissions and/or all the interest we'll have. I do give forward warning on that end point, though!
How many people will play? Anywhere from three to six, as a soft upper limit. Again, I don't like hard numbers for things like this. I find that five or six is usually a good number for PbP, though, so that's my rough goal.
How much of a commitment is this game? I cannot say it will be a post a day environment, because I won't always be able to keep that up. I'm in my final semester of college, and among other coursework is a class where we're writing (and editing) a solid portion of a novel. As such, there are days when I don't have the time or mindspace to put up a good GM post, and I'd rather take my time to write it out well than do it quick and dirty--it's simply my preference and style. That said, unless unforeseen circumstances arise, I'm in this for the long haul. I do not promise a fast game, only one that is well-loved.
Whew, that's much more than I originally anticipated. But keep asking questions and poking in, guys! I like to see active participation.
I wish that I was familiar with this ruleset. This game sounds great!
Yeah, the integration thing is just kind of waved off by the books. I think the official party position basically boils down to "discrimination was a real part of those times, but we don't want to force you to play a racist or sexist, so... GM's call!" :P No worries, and that answer makes perfect sense.
A couple more questions: Since we're mixing and matching from all three of those books, which version of Guts do we use? Is there a Grit stat? Sanity? Status?
Backstory: The Thorn family has begat some of of the most powerful chual in the history of voodoo. Some of them have gone out as adventurers, some sought their fortune with Baron LaCroix during the rail wars, or rushed westward in search of ghost rock. But they've always had a strong presence back home in the bayou, and the folks of New Orleans, for years turned to them for hoodoo, voodoo and gris-gris as needed.
When Desmond was born, he was fated to take over the family business. For a time, he worked hard at his craft, and took to it with an unmatched verve. Nobody's faith in the Loa was greater than his, and it made all the greater of a blow when his powers began to fail. No longer able to work his magic, he left the family home to his cousins who's powers, more measured and ritualistic, still worked.
But by the time he lost his power and faith, Desmond already had a wife and a daughter to look after. As the early events of the Great War began to unfold, Desmond volunteered, hoping to forge a new path for his family, an honest path where he could rely on himself and his new brothers, and not the spirits who betrayed him. Finding a natural talent for gunwork, he learned to shoot, and shoot well, from a distance. Now, he stays as far back as he can, wearing his new disbelief as armor, and hoping he can make it back to his family.
Crunch:
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Knowledge (Occult) d6, Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Shooting d8, Stealth d6, Throwing d4
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Cautious, Code of Honor, Loyal, Poverty
Edges: Arcane Resistance, Brave
Note: I absolutely do not expect him to live, and I will write out a heartbreaking scene of a CSA flag and set of dusty boots being presented to his wife. :')
Backstory: Practically born on the wrong side of the law, Jorge Guerra dreamed of a bigger life north of the border in the CSA. As a teen in the roaring 20s, he got himself thrown back south a half-dozen times by getting in trouble with the law--the beatings he got from Rangers on patrol didn't do much to curb his tongue, even when they beat him so bad sepsis set in and he lost his arm. By the time prohibition set in for the Union, Jorge was a little older, a little wiser, and an expert at crossing borders. He hopped three of them to get from Mexico to the CSA, the CSA to the Union, and then dropping back down into the Republic of Deseret. What he didn't realize was that he was being followed.
Between himself and a group of like-minded muchachos, Jorge hatched a plan to sneak liquor from the CSA into the Union and Salt Lake City. Taking up some deep debts to get himself a new mechanical arm, Jorge snuck quality liquor across the border for years, always keeping a private reserve of the best stuff stashed in his mechanical arm. But all around him, his friends kept getting dead, in weirder and weirder ways. Once one of his oldest friends was found drained of all his blood, the rumor got out that Jorge was cursed. Burned from his own cartel, he figured the only way to prove his name was to find out who was really behind the killings.
After studying both every murder he'd been connected to and ancient books, he found his answer--the Chupacabra that had followed him from Mexico. Unfortunately, in trying to track the beast down, he got himself cornered, and only just barely saved by the Rippers Lodge of Deseret. Sensing potential in him, they took him in. Now with connections, a real green card and a rap sheet as long as the CSA border hanging over his head, he works a day job as a bartender, and by nights works for the Rippers.
Crunch: None yet! Would you like to draw him a card for Veteran of the Concrete Jungle? :)
Here's my Ripper PC concept so far :
Sent to a Christian orphanage when she was very young, her entire family having been killed by vampires (her mother stuck her in a cupboard and told her to stay *very* quiet - she heard her entire family being slaughtered, but didn't make a sound), when she reached legal age she formally joined the Church as a nun.
However, when her own nunnery was *again* attacked by vampires, she prayed for divine help, and her Powers emerged. She was able to repel most of the vampires, and even kill a couple of them, but she was the only human who got out alive. However, a fire broke out during the battle, burning one side of her face and leaving her badly scarred.
It was then that she decided to mount her own crusade against vampires, and did so on her own for some time before discovering the Rippers. Oddly enough (or maybe not so much), she joined the Slayers faction rather than the Order of St. George.
Her superiors have ordered her to Las Vegas, in order to represent the Slayers in the newly-started Rippers lodge there. Her Ripper superiors contacted her Church superiors to get her a position at a homeless shelter in Las Vegas.
Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Charisma +0, Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 6(1)
Reason 6, Status 2 (from Rippers)
Faith d10, Fighting d6, Healing d6, Notice d6, Shooting d6
Hindrances : Ugly, Loyal, Heroic
Edges : Two-Fisted, Holy Warrior, Righteous Fury(Slayers)
Righteous Fury : The slayer adds +1 to all Strength-based damage rolls versus supernaturally evil creatures. She has also learned how to transform her pain into power, adding an additional +1 bonus for each wound level she’s sustained.
Powers : Deflection, Healing
PP : 10
Gear : 2 Machetes (STR+d6, 3 lb, $2 each), 2 Mausers M1896 (2d6, 2 lb, $25 each), Leather jacket (+1, 3 lb, $20)
Encumbrance : 13/30
Cash : $1
I'll probably be going for a Tesla Engineer in the War campaign. Will post him in a day or two.
This is a really cool idea and I may need to submit for it...
Questions for the GM
I'm looking at taking the Rippertech Edge to represent my character beginning as a failed US?CSA?government experiment.
Question 1) Can this edge be my "free" edge?
Question 2) Can I take the Rippertech "Hardened Hands" but reflavor them as claws.
I think you might be able to see where I'm going with this character...
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OK my two character concepts. Let me know if there's anything I should fix.
Ripper Concept: Lao Sun
Descendant of a Chinese miner, Lao Sun grew up in a family that kept their Taoist ways. He learned to fight with a stick, and developed a talent in detecting the supernatural. He has heard the legends of the Monkey King, and though his father tells him that the spirit of the God runs in the family, he doesn't quite believe so.
He joined the Rippers as there were few options other than working in restaurants or laundry, hoping to pull the family out of poverty. He's in Las Vegas looking for opportunity and learn to further develop his martial skills.
Soldier: Garvin Tomkinson - Trench Gunner
Garvin worked as a street sweeper in Norwich before he joined the army. He loved to get into a street fight, but the brutality of the war is more than enough. He bides the time waiting for battles cleaning up the area, and even sewing and repairing or asking someone to tell him stories.
[size=200]Garvin Thomkinson[/size]
Human Male
Rank: Novice
Attributes: Agility: d8, Smarts: d6, Spirit: d4, Strength: d6, Vigor: d6
Skills: Boating: d4, Climbing: d4, Fighting: d6, Investigation: d4, Lockpicking: d4, Notice: d4, Riding: d4, Shooting: d6, Stealth: d4, Streetwise: d4, Survival: d4, Swimming: d4, Tracking: d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Edges: Alertness, Killer Instinct
Hindrances: Big Mouth (minor), Illiterate (minor)
Gear:
Alternatively GM.
I can take the Harrowed Edge as my "free" edge, and take the Claws edge as my human edge....
GMDeathbySuburbs: If you're interested, don't let that put you off! As I've said, Savage Worlds isn't that difficult a system to pick up and run with, and a few of us have said we're happy to help out if need be. Toss out a concept and if you're accepted, we'll work to make it a reality.
Aloha-Shirt-Samurai: Characters both look very interesting! I'm assuming that Desmond is indeed a scout sniper for the unit? As for Jorge, perhaps he's dipped into that private stock more often than he should--he's got a Major Addiction, of your choice of course.
Re: System Details: I did forget to include these in the first post; they'll also be in the player's doc for reference once I get that up. We will be using the Grit system from Deadlands Reloaded, including the True Grit Edge. (I like the system, and it also interacts with Dueling via the Duelist Edge, both of which we'll use.) Guts is not a separate Skill, and Fear tests will be based on Spirit. We will include Reason/Sanity as a statistic, with associated Edges and Hindrances from Rippers Resurrected, for both groups. We won't use Status, though--as much as class was a big debate and issue in this era, gameplay wise I just don't want to mess with it.
ZenFox42: Character looks interesting--I'll look over the soldier when you post him.
GM Niles: I'm fine with Rippertech being used as your free "background" Edge so you can play Wolverine, yes :)
Araj the Raven: Both characters look good. I'd love to see more for Lao Sun, but what you have is a solid start. Garvin is spread out a little in stats--you could probably afford to consolidate some if you like, but feel free to keep them as they are if you prefer!
Because I'm bored and can't let things lie, I was looking at other people's characters and noticed a couple of small things.
ZenFox42 - This isn't a big deal right now since we don't need our Rippers built until the GM makes selections, but I think you miscounted a couple of things. You have four edges (Two-Fisted, Miracles, Holy Warrior, and Righteous Fury), which is theoretically fine (1 free, 1 for human, 2 from spending hindrance points), but you also spent 6 points on attributes (2 agility, 2 spirit, 1 strength, 1 vigor by my count) so you can't possibly have enough hindrance points for both. Also, I think we're using the Deadlands Noir version of miracles (step in and correct me if I'm wrong GM), which means you have the protection power as well.
Araj the Raven - First, playing a Taoist sounds really cool. They actually discuss Taoist and Buddhist characters (including blessed) in classic with some interesting details. Second, and this is a bit more important since soldiers need to be done ahead of time, Killer Instinct requires Heroic rank, which we don't qualify for since we're starting characters. Also I second Loup's suggestion to try to consolidate your skills a little more.
^
Both good suggestions, and things I missed as I was looking at things kind of quickly and in broad strokes rather than particulars. We are indeed using Noir's Blessed, so anyone with that Edge gets protection for free.
Ripper: Kirstophe Kristophson. Kris is an American, at least he thinks so anyways. His recollection of his youth is a bit fuzzy. He "thinks" he grew up near the Great Lakes, but that might be part of his programming. What he does know is that he is an experiment, probably a failed one since he hasn't ever met anyone else like him. He was given unnatural claws and armor, and a bestial rage and sent over the lines to engage in the worst of trench fighting. He remembers some of those horrors, and then he drinks a bottle of whiskey to forget. He also thinks he's in his mid 30's, but he can't be sure since he doesn't know what year he was born in. Anyways, after the War he remembers being kept, and yes kept is the word, in some base in North Dakota (He thinks, he knows it was cold but remembering is hard). One day, he'd had enough and he killed six guards escaping. He found out what they put in him, the parts of monsters, so I guess that makes him a monster now. In the course of finding out what he was part monster, he ran across a group of folks that killed these monsters. So, he fell in with them for a promise to keep him out of the clutches of the military, or whomever did this to him. However, when he's ready, and his rage cannot be sated any long...he's coming for whoever is responsible.
Note: It doesn't have to be the USA/CSA, it can be any sort of group the GM wants.
Soldier: Nilan Milarne (Young Texan Cowboy)
Human Male
Rank: Novice
Attributes: Agility: d8 Smarts: d4 Spirit: d6 Strength: d6 Vigor: d8
Skills: Climbing: d4, Fighting: d6, Notice: d6, Riding: d6, Shooting: d8, Survival: d6, Swimming: d6,
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Charisma -1
Edges:
Quick Draw: This Edge allows a hero to draw a weapon as a free action (and thus ignore the usual –2 multi-action penalty if he chooses to fire as well). If the character must make an Agility roll to draw a weapon he adds +2 to the roll.
Steady Hands: Your hero ignores the “unstable platform” penalty for firing from the backs of animals or while riding in moving vehicles. In addition, when performing actions while Running his penalty is –1 instead of –2.
Hindrances:
Habit (Minor) Has a thick accent and says Y'all.
Clueless (Major) He suffers –2 to Common Knowledge rolls.
Illiterate (Minor)
Gear:
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Both good suggestions, and things I missed as I was looking at things kind of quickly and in broad strokes rather than particulars. We are indeed using Noir's Blessed, so anyone with that Edge gets protection for free.
Thanks to you and kamenhero25. Was using the online Savage Worlds Builder. I'll try to tweak them in the next couple of days.
Okay, take 2:
Soldier: Anya "the Iron" Dobriev is a Russian born woman who fled Russia with her family, most of which were loyal to the Romanov family and doctors (several of whom treated the prince before Rasputin). Unlike her parents, Anya was always good with machines, and so she joined the push against the Germans, wanting to be a tanker. Her massive size and inability to speak clear English or French limited that however, so she was assigned to the infantry as a Machinegunner.
On the battlefield, she is a terror, wielding Her massive hammer and squad automatic weapon to good effect taking down doors and walls. and people.
Agility d4
Smarts d6
Spirit d6
Strength d8
Vigor d8
Charisma 0
Grit 1
Pace 6"
Parry 6
Toughness 7
Hinderances: Short Temper (Minor), Outsider (Minor), Heroic (Major)
Edges: Brawny, Berserk
Skills: Shooting d6, Fighting d8, Repair d6, Notice d4
Equipment: Machinegun, Sledgehammer
Still working on my ripper.
D'oh! In my spreadsheet, I forgot to count the AB/Miracles Edge (and I didn't include it in my post, either), I just put points into the Faith Skill. Thanks!
Also, my copy of Deadlands Noir Player's Guide does not mention the Blessed AB, nor any mention of "protection". Do these perhaps come from the original Deadlands?
Can someone copy-and-paste the descriptions of Blessed and Protection here? Thanks!
Here's my militia man :
Born in the ghettos of Alabama, Abe is an African-American whose father named him after the man who freed the slaves. That was about the only thing his father did for him. When he was about 12, Abe met "that weird old guy in the weird old house" that every neighborhood has. To Abe's surprise, the old man was an inventor, who was quite good but never made his inventions public for fear of them being ripped off by the greedy corporations.
Abe had a natural talent for inventing, and when his Power appeared in his early teens, he really took off! So far, his "light pistol" is the only thing he's invented that's been worth keeping.
The World War broke out when he was 21, and he was drafted soon after. He actually took his light pistol with him, and showed it to the processors. He was taken aside and originally put into a special unit of inventors like himself, but after a year of training the group was split up, in order to provide every team with an inventor (the name "Tesla Engineer" was invented during his first year).
Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d8
Charisma +0, Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 7(1)
Reason 5
Skills : Fighting d6, Healing d6, Notice d6, Repair d6, Shooting d8, Weird Science d8
Hindrances : Heroic, Loyal, Cautious
Edges : AB/Weird Science, Military Engineer
Military Engineer : Devices you create only suffer a Malfunction when the skill die rolls a 1 and the roll fails. Additionally, the device will only suffer a Catastrophic Malfunction if the roll was a snake eyes--otherwise, treat the result as a Major Malfunction.
"Powers" : light pistol (Bolt)
Gear : Colt M1911 (.45, 2d6+1, $40, 3 lb, 7 shots, AP 1, semi-auto)
Machete (STR+d6, 3 lb, $2)
Standard military issue stuff
Also, my Deadlands Noir Player's Guide does not reference "Grit" at all. Can someone please copy-and-paste the Grit info (and related Edges)? Thanks!
Loup Blanc-if the military doesn't issue at least leather jackets for "armor", Abe will buy his own. Do they?
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Araj the Raven - ....Also I second Loup's suggestion to try to consolidate your skills a little more.
Actually, putting a d4 into every skill you even *think* you'll want to boost up later is a pretty good idea in SW, given that it takes a whole advance to get *just* a d4 in one *new* skill, but you can boost two *existing* skills (whose values are lower than their linked Attributes) with one advance. It also avoids the nasty -2 penalty to any "untrained" skill rolls that might come up occasionally. I've heard of many players who do this...
@Zen you can add me to that list. It's been my experience that starting with a bunch of d4 skills and maybe one or two d6/8 skills is preferable. However, that doesn't make much sense with a character that isn't expected to live long...
GM Niles: Both characters look solid to me. Plenty to work with in the backstory for your Ripper there, and the Soldier looks finished. I'm guessing he's a Trench Gunner?
Vrog Skyreaver: Character build is fine, but as I mentioned, the soldiers should all be men. I'm aware there were some women combatants in the war, but they were very few and far between.
ZenFox42: Blessed were introduced to Deadlands Noir in its first companion/expansion book. I'm not sure how Paizo would like pasting stuff from that onto the forum, so I'll get stuff like that to people as needed once the game's started. (Same with Grit.) The short of it is that they work similarly to regular Miracles with a couple changes, and protection is a basic power that makes enemies roll Spirit to attack them while they're using it--their faith protects them, that idea. Grit, meanwhile, adds as a bonus on Fear checks (helpful, since in Deadlands a lot of places and creatures give penalties to them.) Your soldier looks alright, although I'll note most militaries already had begun a corps of Tesla Engineers by the time the Americas joined the war effort.
Re: Armor: Various militaries have experimented with body armor, but nothing's been effective enough for it to be mass-produced and work as general issue. The main problem is they have to pick two between cheap, lightweight, and functional, and going for the middle ground of all three doesn't work well either. Thus, armor is more or less nonexistent for the general soldier at the time--specialized units might have some, but not (for example) the Triple U. Since your equipment is all coming directly from the unit, nobody has armor. (Again, it wouldn't exactly help much, since the vast majority of weapons you run into have AP.)
Re: Spreading Skills: I agree to some extent that in a regular Savage Worlds game, spreading your skills out some is a helpful idea. It gives you places to go and room to grow. However, there are limitations to belief and functionality: you should keep your skills within a realm that makes sense for your character to have, and if you spread yourself too much, you wind up being the jack-of-all-trades who's master of none. Especially in a game like this, where you're pretty aware of what you'll be doing and you might not be doing it long with one character, I'll say up front you can rest easy focusing on certain, more important skills.
Also, one of my common house rules for Savage Worlds that I'll be using at least in the Rippers section is that you can pick up a new skill at a d4 and increase a skill below its Attribute as a single Advance. I prefer characters who are competent and can learn things as they go in a heroic-feeling game, even a gritty one. (This and other house rules will be presented in the doc, which I've started and should be available by tonight, although possibly late tonight.)
Also, we're at the one week point of the recruitment, so I'll post a recap of what I'm seeing from various interested parties.
kamenhero25: Ripper Concept complete; Soldier complete. Ready
Araj the Raven: Ripper Concept complete; Soldier complete (with tweak). Ready.
JDPhipps: Ripper Concept complete; Soldier not submitted. Needs soldier.
ZenFox42: Ripper Concept complete; Soldier complete. Ready
DarkestHeart: Ripper Concept not submitted; Soldier concept complete. Needs Ripper concept
Aloha-Shirt-Samurai: Ripper Concept complete; Soldier complete. Ready
Vrog Skyreaver: Ripper Concept not submitted; Soldier complete (with tweak). Needs Ripper concept
GM Niles: Ripper Concept complete; Soldier complete. Ready.
GM DeathybySuburbs: Interest expressed.
YoricksRequiem: Interest expressed.
If I missed you or something you've posted in that list, I apologize, but that's what I'm seeing so far in the thread. At the moment it looks like we have five people with finished-level submissions, a few more on the way, and a couple more that have expressed interest. I'm not going to close this down just yet; it'll remain open at least through the weekend, and quite possibly into next week, so people have time to continue working on submissions and getting them around.
@Loup blanc, I am just tossing out brief concepts in case they won't work. If approved, I will flesh out more details.
Joseph Boyer was a young American farm boy, who fantasized incessantly about flying. When war broke out, he left home and harrowedly, but successfully stowed away on a steam ship to join the British Royal Air Corps. (If he needs to go infantry, he cold have failed the training and joined up with infantry after making a friend.
Flora Bryant had a very brief film career in silent pictures before running out of money and work. Street-smart, but classy, she turns to brothel work and jazz singing gigs to boost her coffers. She is making a play to run a night club in Vegas, but the boss is smarter (and more paranoid)than she anticipated and his henchmen are everywhere.
Okay, going to rethink character submission again...
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Reworked Garvin's stats. Hope they're fine now. GMed first game of Deadlands Reloaded (the one sheet adventure Lynched) and was a total blast with great RPing from the players. Can't wait to GM Night Train.
[size=200]Garvin Thomkinson[/size]
Human Male
Rank: Novice
Attributes: Agility: d8, Smarts: d6, Spirit: d4, Strength: d6, Vigor: d6
Skills: Climbing: d4, Fighting: d8, Lockpicking: d4, Notice: d4, Shooting: d8, Stealth: d4, Streetwise: d6, Survival: d4, Swimming: d4, Tracking: d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
Edges: Extra Edge (racial), Alertness, Two-Fisted
Hindrances: Big Mouth (minor), Illiterate (minor), Quirk (minor)
Gear: Bayonet (Damage: d6 + d4 ), Billy Club/Baton (Damage: d6 + d4 ), Blanket, Bedroll (sleeping bag; winterized), Canteen (waterskin), Normal Clothing, Shovel, Trail Rations, Winter Boots, Winter Gear
So I didn't get the player's doc finished and up last night--got caught up in some other stuff and our weekly game night was Smash rather than Pathfinder, so I didn't have the time I expected to finish it off. I'll hopefully have it up by late tonight, but it might be tomorrow.
GM DeathbySuburbs: The soldier concept looks okay to me, although the Triple U is an infantry unit, so they don't have pilots. That said, you could be a pilot whose plane crashed during the battle and the Triple U found you, and that's how you've joined up with them. The Ripper concept as a base is interesting, but I'd definitely want to know how Flora came to join a group that fights monsters (and solves crimes).
Vrog Skyreaver: The concept in itself is great, if you want to swap it to just being a guy instead of a woman. I don't want to send you through hoops, here.
Araj the Raven: Glad to hear you had fun with it! Deadlands is one of my favorite settings/systems, and it's what brought me to finding Savage Worlds. (I was looking for a good Western RPG system and it came up as one of the best, which I wholeheartedly agree with.) I find it lends itself very well to fun roleplaying, and I've always enjoyed running it. As far as your character, it looks to me like you have 2 unspent points from Hindrances, and I haven't mentioned it but I roll Tracking into Survival, so you have an extra skill point to spend--I might suggest Throwing for the odd grenade toss. Don't worry about equipment, as I'll assign that once the game starts (although your list is fairly close to what that looks like).
@Loup Blanc, I will fix it tonight. I was going to suggest that Joseph was shot down. Thank you for your help. I will look for a SW core rules pdf to learn them as well.
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Hi there! =D
I am also wanting to be registering the interest!
Couple quick questions:
1) So, we're not doing Guts, yeah? But are we doing Reason? I'm just asking because it looks like we're doing Rippertech.
2) I see that the Order of St. George doesn't let you use RipTek(tm) but it compensates by letting you use "several religious artifacts". Ummmmm, and, and, and...and which thingys would those be? I can't quite see which world-destroying halo-inducing items pulsing with holy power would be worth giving up RT, so a little help would be appreciated. ^_^
3) Since we're Rippers can we/do we have a Lodge? Can we/should we take some Lodge Edges?
Atlas, by the rules I think we don't have our own Lodge until we're Seasoned, until then we're at another Lodge that we aren't heading up. Loup may change that, but that's the general rule.
I'm almost finished with Jorge's crunch as well, but since Atlas brought it up, I should probably ask. How will my Scrapper augs interact with Rippertech? I will most likely not be starting him off with any Rippertech, but I figured I'd ask just in case. :)
Flora Bryant had a brief film career in silent pictures before running out of work and then money. Street-smart, but classy, she turns to brothel work and jazz singing to pay the bills. She lives alone in a room above the Vegas club where she works. She is making a play to take over the night club from a boss who is smarter and more paranoid than she expected.
Growing up in Kern County, California, Flora always tagged along with her older brother, catching snakes, or shooting cans with a pellet gun, and developing a rather un-ladylike self-confidence that most men still find off putting. Her brother Roy taught her how to shoot a gun and work on cars.
One summer, Roy ran into trouble with a gang of local boys who called themselves the "Lobos." After Roy went to confront one of the Lobos about a stolen motorcycle that went missing from his garage, they tormented Roy and his sister relentlessly. One weekend, on a fishing trip, Roy disappeared. Flora has a gut feeling that the Lobos are somehow involved. An old man from town told the local sheriff that he saw some sort of "wolf man" drag Roy off. Dismissed as a crazy fool, the man drank himself into oblivion.
Flora overhears a lot of conversations working in the club. Once, she overheard a couple of men quietly discussing their experience with the a secret crime-fighting society when they thought that no one could hear. She invited one of the men to her room to talk after getting to know him better over several more evenings frequenting the club.
She confided in him the story of her brother and the unusual tale of the upright wolf abduction which seemed to strike a nerve. A matter made urgent by the appearance of a man, though older now, wearing the gang's golden wolf's head ring. He has become a regular customer all of a sudden, which has left her unable to focus at work and constantly think of her brother.
@Loup Blanc, How's this?
Aldo, which pdfs do you recommend purchasing for this?