GURPS Past, Present, Future-tense (Inactive)

Game Master WhtKnt

Here you go!

WhooHoo!!! LOL Ok...guess I should make a proper alias...

Ok..here is my alias (Daniel Stewart)....

Game on!

Hey Daniel - I don't have they full GURPS book, and I'm sure there are more advantages and disadvantages I'd like to consider. Does your program have a template for a professor or lawyer or some kind of IQ-based professional? That would be a big help, if you can find one. Thanks!

yes it does...it prompts you through choices for selections of skills and advantages and such...I can throw one together for you if you like...what area of study were you thinking of specializing in? Either professor or lawyer is available..

Hmmm... the character I had in mind was actually an accountant-type - a fraud examiner. Not sure which fits better here, maybe make him an accounting professor? I had tentativley identified skills like research, mathematics, computer operation, criminology, observation,etc. I thought of him as a bit of a receational outdorsman, so I had first aid and hiking to complete the former Boy Scout model.

I had Acute hearing +2 and Charisma +1 as my only advantages currently (not much that I thought appropriate in GURPS Lite). Disadvantages so far are Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents); Sense of Duty (Small Group); and Truthfulness. Maybe could take Phobia (acrophobia) and/or Poor Vision.

I just wanted to get some more ideas to flesh him out a bit. I had put IQ at 14 - it use a lot of points, but lessens the skill point requirements for almost every skill I have. Thanks for offering to help!

hello all!

Hi Derek, what are your character's hobbys? That will help with looking at advantages.

Appearance, wealth, charisma. well no charisma for accountants, they all suck socially anyway :)

Another option is a talent, like Mathematical ability 10 pts/lvl +1 to Accounting, Astronomy, Cryptography, Engineering, Finance, Market Analysis, Mathematics, and Physics.

Depending on how many of those skills you have, you could drop a level of Int and pick up a level of mathematical ability and have an extra 10 pts.

Hi Derek
I made up a character who is basically a math nerd, but has used his skills to create wealth and power for himself. He also is knowledgeable in computers and has a number of outdoor skills, including gun-rifle. He also has cryptology skills...so maybe he worked with the government for awhile as a code breaker...whatever background you want to make, this character I hope will have the skills you were looking for.

Thanks dude! That is a HUGE help and gets me a lot closer to what I wanted than what I was getting just from GURPS Lite. Now to finalize things...

no problem..if you need anything else just ask!

You mught consider replacing the three acute senses with perception. A +1 perception covers all senses and costs 5 pts, the math wiz has 6 pts spent for a +1 to each sense. There are a few occasions where you might get a +2 or rarely a +3 from a general perception roll.

Your choice on having teh bonus for those unusual occasions, or another pt for a skill.

Might think about spending a point in English, it is one of the widest spoken languages int he world.

I knew there was a skill that took in all senses!! For some reason I just could not find it!! As for English...he should have had it under cultural familiarity...weird...don't know why it did not show up!!

So my guy is a little less attractive to free up a few points for his hobby of back country hiking.

After the terrorism convention in London he has a 4 day trek scheduled in Norway.

Here is mine, a character originally intended for a Wild Cards game...

The nice thing about being an air marshal, I get to pick my seat.

Sylar is a young rookie agent, and according to what I could find on the regs, there would be another air marshal on the flight.

Tall average joe kinda guy. Not too chatty. Probably reading a Skymall magazine.

Okay, if your character is done, go ahead and report to the Gameplay thread and check in for your flight.

Is this a standard overwater flight where emergency lifeboats are required on the flight?

http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.509
http://www.winslowliferaft.com/fars.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549

http://www.lifesupportintl.com/products/Life_Raft_T46_FAA_Type_I_46_Man-347 1-541.html

http://www.eamworldwide.com/eam-media/Brochures/EAM_CA_Life-Raft-Series.pdf

Yep.

so much for getting off the ground...

Some food for thought if a timetable on the plane hanging around hasn't been determined...

http://www.airsafe.com/events/ditch.htm

Some planes like Airbus, include systems to seal up the plane for ditching.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditching
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549

The hudson plane floated long enough for the passengers to be rescued from the wings, and for the plkane to be towed to a dock.

I don't mind if you just ignore me too.

For plot convenience, the fore section of the plane is sinking fast. The rear section, not so much, as the buoyancy of the fuel tanks helps keep it afloat. However, that won't be the case forever. I will tell you that as smart as it might be to stay with the aircraft, that isn't where the plot leads...

As long as it's not to some island that may or may not be Purgatory where new plot invalidates old with alarming regularity...

Well, I won't guarantee that some mighty strange things won't be happening, but there is a solid plot and I promise it won't end in a church. :)

While much of what occurs may seem random and contrived, I do have a storyline that I am following, and it will all make sense... eventually. I will say that your characters' ingenuity, abilities, and wits will be severely tested.

Daniel, not that it matters, but do you speak French? Obviously, the young lady will be using that language a lot, and I freely admit that mine is very rusty, so I'll be relying on Google to do the work for me. Please forgive any glaring grammatical errors.

As I said, it matters little if you do speak it; I trust you to keep character knowledge and player knowledge separate. But enjoy the behind-the-scenes glimpses she may offer. :)

Growing up in Canada we take French for several years in school...it is slightly different than Parisian French, but pretty close none the less. And no worries about passing on info...my character does not know it, so he will not be giving anything away

Ok, so I made some broad assumptions about a "modern" game when I made my character. I did not want to build a "cop" or ex-military person for reasons I won't get into, but if that's what we need, then I'm not going to enjoy just sitting around watching people do stuff.

We're still early on, but without a need to use computers, explore secret files, piece together clues, etc. my character is not going to contribute very much or at least not be able to do it easily or often.

I'm not intending any of this to sound like a complaint - and I'm not beggin for spoilers, I just need to know if this campaign even has a use for my character or not.

And I now how tricky this can be! In my homebrew fantasy campaign, so far the casters haven't had much to do yet. But that will change very soon, so I just want to know if being patience will bring rewards ;)

Yes, very definitely you will be of use, with the caveat, before too long. For the moment, the focus is on the action guys, but you too will find a niche to fill. Who knows? Even that retired watchmaker or the homemaker may prove useful (well, maybe not the homemaker). It's still a bit early yet for real spoilers, but I will say let's see what some exploration turns up. (I'm hoping the group won't just decide to camp on the beach.)

That aside, have I managed to garner everyone's interest? You guys seemed rather calm, almost mechanical, about the T-Rex, so I'm curious. Was it expected, or just something that needed to be dealt with so you did so?

It was kinda obvious to me that it was going to be some sort of "lost" kickoff. (Just about any time all the players start on a boat or plane)

Not that I don't mind. I know there is the whole "I want to surprise the players thing." But there is also the "those that don't have a lot of luck, or the right skills, die anyway" aspect.

Making a character that the player "knows" is going to be in some sort of altered existence may be metagaming, but it also symbolizes the innate preparedness or luck of the character. (The players already know they are going to play fantasy, or star voyaging, or gritty steampunk, etc.)

I look at my sheet and I still took a lot of abilities that in a "lost" setting immediately become moot (wealth, law enforcement, etc). The game has mechanics for dealing with those kind of situations, if they are unlikely to be of use for the foreseeable future.

The question becomes, is this going to remain some sort of "modern" genre, or will it be changing?

Be careful that you didn't tell the players to make star trek officers and the game is actually Faerun. Some players like that, and will try to plan for it, others won't.

I will say that if you find some of your skills, advantages, disadvantages, etc. to be useless, you will be given the chance to retrofit for something more appropriate. Wealth, for one example, is one advantage that, while not useless in this setting, is probably best swapped for something else. That said, don't be too quick to discard a skill or advantage because you think it may be useless. I can be very imaginative in finding uses for skills and advantages, and I believe that you folks can as well. Law Enforcement may not seem to be of use in a low-tech society, for example, but I feel that such an individual will naturally resonate an aura of authority and people would look to them for guidance even if they have no actual authority.

I was expecting something, but that could have been anything from Atlantis to aliens....the T-rex was a surprise in that it was a T-rex!!!

I am making a preemptive apology to everyone with whom I am involved in games. My posting for the next month or so will be sporadic. For games I am playing, I will try to check in once a day. For games I am running, there may be gaps of a few days between moves. I ask that folks not give up on me.

This is convention season for me. I am scheduled to attend four conventions in the next month, one as staff. This means a LOT of prep time (as I am running at least three games at each convention, all of which I need to actually write).

Anyway, this is just a heads-up to let you know what is happening. If you must drop me, I understand. I would prefer that if I get behind, you just have my character do what seems logical. Thanks.

Hey guys,

I've been getting stuck in a bind at work lately and so I have to cut back on my online gaming. I have definitely overcommitted, and now unfortunately need to pull back.

I'm going to resign my spot in this game. It seems like a great concept, but with everything going on, I need to kind of reboot a bit.

Thanks WhtKnt for putting this together! Good luck, and good gaming everyone!

I hope things work out better for you.

Good luck, Derek. Come back any time. For the rest of you, expect an update tomorrow.

ok, i'm having fun with the character, but where is everyone?

Let's get this show going!

I'm here...LOL

Will pick up on Monday, as I am going to Pensacon (Pensacola, FL) for the weekend.

Two days to go before we put on CoastCon. This is the big one for me (as I am the Game Room Director). I will try to check in on games I am involved with tomorrow and Thursday, but may not be able to do so. I will not be on at all Friday through Sunday. I should be able to resume normal posting on Monday. Please bot me as necessary.

If you are in one of the games I am running, I ask that you remain patient and we will resume on Monday with a more regular schedule. And, of course, if you are in the Mississippi area, feel free to stop by CoastCon in Biloxi this weekend. We are a sci-fi/fantasy convention in our 37th year and our Gaming Guest of Honor is none other than Mike Brock (our Media Guest of Honor is John de Lancie)!

It was an awesome con! This was my wife's first year as Con Director, and for the most part, everything went smoothly. Everyone I've spoken to seemed to enjoy it.

Mike Brock (yes, THAT Mike Brock) was our Gaming Guest of Honor and spent every free moment at the Pathfinder tables, playing with the gamers. He was nothing short of fantastic! Terrific guy, as well. He had some great stories about GenCon and PaizoCon.

My wife, Gods bless her, put her money where her mouth is. Our charity is the Pink Hearts Fund, a group that provides wigs, breast prostheses, and other medical supplies to those recovering or suffering from various diseases, free of charge.

My lovely and kind wife stepped up and put her hair into our charity auction, taking bids to allow it to be cut. In the end, she raised $500 for the charity AND then donated the cut hair to make a child's wig! You can see the photos on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202171392060135&set=pcb.10202 171402220389&type=1&theater.

Since FB wants to be stupid, I have provided a few photos:

My wife in Starfleet uniform (we are members of Starfleet International, U.S.S. Neptune chapter, my wife is the one in the middle)

Doing the deed.

Her new do!

June check in!

Ditto!!!

We need to pick up the momentum!

Same here...just waiting on info for our trip to the nearest town

I'm here, but I'm dealing with some personal issues at the moment. A friend is losing his home in less than a week and is in panic mode, so I'm trying to help out (being in no position financially to carry him myself).

From my perspective, I'm not quite sure where I want to go with this. It's clear that what I thought was pretty thorough planning is now requiring suspension of disbelief. I'll keep it open and going so long as the players are interested (just give me a week or so to get things straightened out offline) and I'll try to solidify things a little.