Where do people live? Do they live inland, away from the conquered coastal cities? Do they live in the submarines? Where is the center of governmental power? Where would a family bring their child when the time came to submit to the process?
William Younger Jr. (Junior)
Strength 8 +2
Dexterity 10 +0
Constitution 8 +4
Body 8 +4
Intelligence 14 -4
Ego 8 +4
Presence 8 +2
Comeliness 8 +1
(PD): 2.8 -1
(ED): 1.6 +0
(SPD): 2 +0
(REC): 2.6 -2
(END): 20 -2
(STUN): 10 -2
Total Points 56/50
Skills?
Bill Sr. served two combat tours in the USMC as a young man before he was discharged due to combat injuries (shrapnel in the back and a spinal injury). He returned home to Chicago to work as a mason in his family's contracting business. He married and started having children a bit later in life (around 35) and his wife gave birth to four girls before Bill Jr. came along when he was 43.
Bill was delighted to have a son. He projected all his hopes and dreams on to his young namesake, and promised himself that Bill Jr. would have the military career that injury had denied him.
A year later, the invasion happened.
Flash forward several years. Chicago has been destroyed, and Bill Sr., three out of his four daughters, and his only son are living in a community in the woods of northern Wisconsin, where he used to hunt with his brothers and father. Bill Sr.'s skills as a mason are incredibly valuable, and his military experience have helped him train the people of the small community (a hundred or so people) to defend themselves. He is a leader in the community, and thus has enough influence to realize his vision: training the children of the community to be combat capable from an early age.
Now, Bill Sr.'s best years were behind him, and his eight years of service lay more than twenty years in the past. On top of this, he had no experience in how to train people, much less children, save the half remembered treatment he got in recruit training. As a result, the training the children of the community received was uneven to say the least. They were physically fit and knew how to shoot and maintain the hunting rifles and other non-military small arms the community had, but they were lacking in military tactics and their hand to hand training was rudimentary at best.
Bill Sr.'s hopes laid with Bill Jr. Precociously large and coordinated (for a thirteen year old), Bill Jr. showed greater aptitude than his fellows under his father's training. The younger Bill's greatest strength, however, was his intellect (largely ignored by his father). In the old world, he'd have been a phenom, excelling in the arts and sciences, but in the small wilderness community, what few books they had mostly taught Bill Jr. what he was missing.
Bill saw enough of the other adults in the community to take many of his father's jingoistic platitudes with a grain of salt. What he did take seriously was the notion of duty. The people of his community, the people of all communities, large and small, needed to be protected by those willing to put their lives on the line for them. Lacking practical experience himself, Bill Jr. was keenly aware how poorly the community would fare against an attack. discipline was lax this far in the wilderness, and most of his fellows were still children at heart: unaware of and unprepared for the danger's that awaited them. Bill Jr. needed to find a way to get better, to be better. To be good enough to protect people so they could live their lives in peace.
Military patrols came by the community periodically to check on things and provide more advanced medical care if it was needed. This time, Bill Jr. sought out the commanding officer (in conference with the community leaders, including his father) and told him that being of age, he wanted to volunteer for The Treatment. Bill Sr. beamed with pride, and Bill Jr. pitied him, knowing that his father's overestimation of his own abilities could lead to disaster if the enemy ever came out this way.
Bill left with the patrol two weeks later. It would be another two weeks before they returned to base, and the boy took the opportunity to learn from the men of the unit. Their weapons and equipment were far more advanced than anything he had ever had the opportunity to train with,and Bill knew that if he passed the entrance test, if he received The Treatment, if he survived and was one of the tiny minority to develop abilities, and if he made it into Battle School, he would have a lot to learn, despite his father's attempts at training him. And he would learn, because there was a war to be fought, and humanity needed the best to fight it.
How long should submissions be? I have mine outlined and its about 2-3 paragraphs, maaaaybe 4.
I strongly recommend against new players insisting they build their characters; learn the system in smaller pieces, as character generation is just spending ## XP all at once. If you yet feel you absolutely must build your character yourself, then I just as strongly recommend acquiring Hero Designer, which will help you immensely.
Early character sheets for prior characters (including a couple of those who are applying here) can be found in the PDF International folder.
Unless your character was 100% on-board with joining the UN PDF by Stage 3, they would not make it in.
I am flexible enough to have a corrupt adult in some chronically-poor location force you to put your thumb on the print scanner for your application, and even answer all 500-1000 questions on the psych eval for you (or with you). But when you get into that room, unless you and you alone convince the two trained psychologists (who have been doing this for at least six months) that you honest-to-god want to join up, you are going to be either back out on the street (unlikely) or delivered to a local orphanage (most likely).
Your focus on the dastardly adult, however, makes me wonder why. As such an NPC, no matter how rich or socially powerful, is vanishingly unlikely to come to interact with you in the campaign, what is your goal in making the corruption of and 'attempted murder by injection' by this individual such a core element to your background story? An Alexander Hamilton 'homeless smart and scrappy ambitious street kid' background is acceptable; the 'lazy smarmy responsibility dodger there by chance' is not.
Thank you for the feedback.
Would it work for the Younger family to have been from Denver and relocated to a cousin's cattle ranch in Wyoming, building a community of families, making a living off the land and animal husbandry? The rest of the story (Bill Sr.'s delusions of resistance) could unfold from there.
As for the incompatibilities of power preferences and character development, could you elaborate? I'd prefer the character track (becoming the best soldier and leader he can be out of a sense of duty) over the power suite. Would it seem as if I were lazy or disengaged if I asked you to determine the skills and powers my character develops as befits the story?
As for the patrol, I was making assumptions about the military I should not have. Bill Jr. would instead lite out from the settlement after his thirteenth birthday, with his father's approval (accompanied by his father?) and make for Chicago (on horseback, then by train) where he might contact the PDF program.
SUBJECT NAME: TAALITUA, AFA K.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED STATES
ETHNICITY: POLYNESIAN
DATE OF BIRTH: 7/14/2062
SEX: M HGT: 5'8" WGT: 176 LBS.
PHYSICAL CONDITION: EXCELLENT
MENTAL STABILITY: ABOVE AVERAGE
THREADING POTENTIAL: AVERAGE
SUBMITTED BY: TAALITUA, LEAFA PHD
NOTES: Based on preliminary analysis of subjects medical and academic history there is a low chance of undergoing the threading process without severe cognitive regression noted in failed candidates. I don't suspect he will be a viable threading candidate, but he could be useful in a research capacity.
PROJECT STATUS: RESERVE
SUBJECT NAME: TAALITUA, AFA K.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED STATES
ETHNICITY: POLYNESIAN
DATE OF BIRTH: 7/14/2062
SEX: M HGT: 6'0" WGT: 207 LBS.
PHYSICAL CONDITION: EXCELLENT
MENTAL STABILITY: ABOVE AVERAGE
THREADING POTENTIAL: OUTSTANDING (SEE NOTES)
SUBMITTED BY: WADE, HARLAN PHD
NOTES: This is an addendum to the report filed by Dr. Taalitua on 6/24/2075. Based on tests administered during a routine check-up the subject is now to be considered a prime threading candidate (estimate 60-65% chance of success). Results show several characteristics that are virtually identical to the Prof. Schein's first batch of viable candidates. Given the subjects age the window for performing the procedure is closing rapidly and it is my opinion that he should be bumped to the top of the waiting list.
Concerns over the candidates mental stability have been raised in the past. However, examinations show that he has strong tendencies towards concepts such as self-sacrifice and loyalty along with a deflated sense of self-worth. Compounded, this gives the candidate several altruistic qualities that should make control simple. To ensure stable growth candidates evaluation period should be increased to every four weeks instead of every six.
The investigation into the subjects sudden increase in viability is still ongoing.
SPECIAL NOTES: Recommend that the subject undergo the Psychokinetic Manifestation Threading (PMT) procedure. Currently the program has very few viable subjects to work with and I believe that this candidate is highly compatible with this specific threading process. Past administration of PMT has yielded the following results:
I have earmarked this candidate for further consideration and will be personally filing an injunction to have them immediately added to the program.
PROJECT STATUS: ACTIVATE IMMEDIATELY
Here's the first two parts of my character submission. I've decided to try and approach things from an "authentic" angle. I've tried to maintain some ambiguity (I think it's an important aspect of any character) while hopefully providing plenty of background information. That said any feedback, comments, or concerns that anyone may have is absolutely welcome and appreciated.
I strongly recommend against new players insisting they build their characters; learn the system in smaller pieces, as character generation is just spending ## XP all at once. If you yet feel you absolutely must build your character yourself, then I just as strongly recommend acquiring Hero Designer, which will help you immensely.
Not entirely sure what this all means but right now I'm moving on to start on the 0/50 crunch of my character. I don't plan on shelling out $20 for the designer so I'll be doing things the kind-of-hard way.
Hey Wyrm! So, as one of the players with a(n) previously existing character, could I simply use Corwin in this newer version of the campaign?
Corwin is fine, Barrier. You might revisit your background, however, in light of the fact that you now have two options - joining the US armed forces, or joining the UN PDF. Consider examining what it means for him to decide to NOT join the US forces as is tradition for his family. (And unless your family member is in the Navy or Marine Corps, it's very unlikely they'll have moved over to the PDF themselves.)
My main note - concern, really - is the 'low-tech, remote, out-of-contact' element you seem to want to use. Is this required for your character background?
At current times, you can get standard internet (hell, even cellphone) pretty much everywhere liveable in the continental US and Canada; in 2065, only the most truly remote locations would be cut off. With the need to preserve humanity, the UN has determined that people need to be intelligent and aware, therefore education is of prime importance, and thus a high level of interconnectivity with a heavy redundancy element (in case of an attack) is required. While you may have had schools of 30-60 people per grade, classes often participate in online seminars and interact with classes in distant locations. Similarly, getting started with the UN PDF application is a simple matter of going to the website.
Knowing how to ride a horse is great, though having a horse as primary transportation is ... unusual. Not out of the question, just unusual.
In regards to the power suite, no, it is not lazy. You say 'I'd like to become a leader sort, and I'd like telepathy'; the leader-sort is actually up to you as you progress your character and, most importantly, roleplay with your fellow students; the telepathy ... is taken under advisement. ;)
Archive File #062475:
It appears to be implied that your mother is a PhD - don't know in what, to be submitting the report, but presumably either psychology or genetics. However, no individual would be either a) allowed to submit a report or analysis on their own children, or b) even be permitted access to such reports.
And given the DoB on the subject, if he was born in mid-2062, they're a year and more too old, he having to have applied in early- to mid-2077.
Archive File #040177:
5'8" tall at age 13? 6'0" at 15, or even younger? Where in 'Polynesia' are you thinking of having this young man be from?? Is he going to hit 6'8" by the time he stops growing at age 30?
Next, understand that the only capacity they possess for even remotely accurate testing is in the psychological study. The PDF does not indulge in 'how we can control him/her'; that's what military training is about, and these are not supervillians, thank you.
The PDF also does not have specific 'manifestation' serums, where they inject you with something that'll trigger a specific set of powers.
While I like the writeup - it reminds me of things I've done in the past - it is (very regrettably) inaccurate in most of the Threading-specific regards.
I do like the 'personally filing an injunction to have them immediately added' bit; unfortunately for Dr. Wade, his superior would probably shoot him down in flames. (Though probably _not_ shoot him literally.)
FYI, the main issue PDF Science is facing is that the KS serum does not appear to have any 'rhyme or reason' when it comes to whom it gives powers; they have several supercomputers trying to crack the code, but the best they've come up with is 'the kid was ready for it'.
What you might do instead is focus on your character's side of the background - his application, his psychological profile, school reports by teachers, that sort of thing.
And you should move the date of his birth up by at least a year. A 15-year-old would be accepted into the PDF, but not receive the KS Serum injection, and thus not make it into the game. (You might also revisit his height and weight in comparison to his age ...)
It appears to be implied that your mother is a PhD - don't know in what, to be submitting the report, but presumably either psychology or genetics. However, no individual would be either a) allowed to submit a report or analysis on their own children, or b) even be permitted access to such reports.
It could also have been a sister or some other relative. Doesn't matter, it's a simple as a change of a name.
5'8" tall at age 13? 6'0" at 15, or even younger? Where in 'Polynesia' are you thinking of having this young man be from?? Is he going to hit 6'8" by the time he stops growing at age 30?
You ever met a Samoan?
Next, understand that the only capacity they possess for even remotely accurate testing is in the psychological study. The PDF does not indulge in 'how we can control him/her'; that's what military training is about, and these are not supervillians, thank you.
I may be misled, then. Based on the "Campaign Background" in the drive you linked to earlier the PDF does provide their candidates with live bomb-collars. I figure a little bit of psychological conditioning would at least be attempted given the alternative.
The PDF also does not have specific 'manifestation' serums, where they inject you with something that'll trigger a specific set of powers.
This confuses me. They have had something like 40 successful trials. At some point I would think they'd try and classify their different experiments, even if such a classification ultimately proved meaningless. Besides, I was more angling at "hey GM, this is the power profile I'm going to be striving for".
While I like the writeup - it reminds me of things I've done in the past - it is (very regrettably) inaccurate in most of the Threading-specific regards.
When I wrote it there didn't seem to be any conflicts with what had already been provided. If there are any more inaccuracies that you have not already mentioned I'd appreciate if you could let me know.
I do like the 'personally filing an injunction to have them immediately added' bit; unfortunately for Dr. Wade, his superior would probably shoot him down in flames. (Though probably _not_ shoot him literally.)
What can I say? Apparently Dr. Wade is very ambitious in the way he operates.
FYI, the main issue PDF Science is facing is that the KS serum does not appear to have any 'rhyme or reason' when it comes to whom it gives powers; they have several supercomputers trying to crack the code, but the best they've come up with is 'the kid was ready for it'.
I can certainly appreciate that, but I would also think that some manner of correlation to previous successful candidates is worth more than nothing. Even if they can't properly identify what the catalyst may be there could still be hope to accidentally bottle lightning twice.
What you might do instead is focus on your character's side of the background - his application, his psychological profile, school reports by teachers, that sort of thing.
I have a couple of reservations doing that. Firstly, I have very, very little information on how any of those processes may work. As is apparent, my assumptions of how they might work will likely vary wildly from yours.
Secondly, I prefer to save that sort of characterization for in-game where my character can act and give his own explanations. Maybe it's just me.
Do you feel that you do not have a good understanding of the character from the information provided so far? I expect there are a few holes but I still have the crunch to write those in.
And you should move the date of his birth up by at least a year. A 15-year-old would be accepted into the PDF, but not receive the KS Serum injection, and thus not make it into the game. (You might also revisit his height and weight in comparison to his age ...)
I thought I had read 15 as the maximum successful age. The point was "getting close to no longer being eligible". Height and weight I can reconsider.
Thank you for your feedback. Please feel free to PM if we're approaching tangent territory.
Theta Thief has withdrawn.
You ever met a Samoan?
Not in person, but considering that the difference between average adults in the US and Samoa is an inch and a half (5' 9.3" vs 5' 10.8"), having a 15-year-old at 6' 0" when the US average for that age is 5' 1" seems ... more than a bit extreme.
More to the point, a child at that height has clearly already undergone the majority of their pubescence, and would not be a viable candidate for the process.
I may be misled, then. Based on the "Campaign Background" in the drive you linked to earlier the PDF does provide their candidates with live bomb-collars. I figure a little bit of psychological conditioning would at least be attempted given the alternative.
That portion of the campaign background is out of date, as the post-Injection timeline has changed. It used to be 'kids live a normal life until they either Thread or don't'; now it's 'kids continue through boot camp', which means there's armed response on-site and at this point in time always within shooting distance.
However, you presumed 'control', when in fact it is instead 'prevent mass murder in case the kid Threads and goes totally psycho'.
This confuses me. They have had something like 40 successful trials. At some point I would think they'd try and classify their different experiments, even if such a classification ultimately proved meaningless.
... I can certainly appreciate that, but I would also think that some manner of correlation to previous successful candidates is worth more than nothing. Even if they can't properly identify what the catalyst may be there could still be hope to accidentally bottle lightning twice.
They've had something in the nature of 770,000 injections of varying success - 1.7 million, if you are just looking for reactivity - over 10 years. They've also had over 11 million unsuccessful, non-reactive ones. They have a huge amount of data, and of course they've tried to classify experiments, what works and what doesn't with which genetic profile. But you are correct - as I stated, all their classifications are meaningless, and a scientist doesn't continue to use something that has proven noninformative or worse.
Therefore, the best they've come up with is 'the kid was ready for it'.
Besides, I was more angling at "hey GM, this is the power profile I'm going to be striving for".
Which is fine, but may be better served by telling me straight up instead of, well, coming up with deep-background aspects of my world.
What you might do instead is focus on your character's side of the background - his application, his psychological profile, school reports by teachers, that sort of thing.I have a couple of reservations doing that. Firstly, I have very, very little information on how any of those processes may work. As is apparent, my assumptions of how they might work will likely vary wildly from yours.
Considering that psych profiles and school reports from teachers are things that are commonly done today - while genetic experimentation on adolescents is not - I would think that the former two items would be able to be written within the bounds of believability. "Harold has a bit of a temper; please talk to your son about self-control."
Secondly, I prefer to save that sort of characterization for in-game where my character can act and give his own explanations. Maybe it's just me.
If you aren't wanting to give anything other than a vague description - and the only part that actually applies to the character, as far as I can figure, is 'examinations show that he has strong tendencies towards concepts such as self-sacrifice and loyalty along with a deflated sense of self-worth' (which, I should note, makes him sound like a maudlin / depressed goth black labrador) - I wouldn't think you have really defined the character in your own mind.
Do you feel that you do not have a good understanding of the character from the information provided so far? I expect there are a few holes but I still have the crunch to write those in.
Actually, I have NO understanding of the character from what you wrote. The writing itself is great, but it gives very little sense of the fellow you wish to play. Write more about the character you'll be piloting, and less about the world he's in or the people who interact with him. I get a greater sense of Dr. Wade than I do of TAALITUA, AFA K.
And here's the thing: I think you DO have an idea of who Afa is, what he's like, what he likes to do, what his best classes in school are, and why he wants to join the PDF. It's just that in your writing so far, Afa Taalitua is a subject of examination/observation - not a real person.
Show me the real person.
Something you might do - something I had everyone else do last time - is to write out his Interview or an essay that he sent in with his initial application. Write out something that establishes his voice, that gives a sense of him.
I thought I had read 15 as the maximum successful age. The point was "getting close to no longer being eligible". Height and weight I can reconsider.
I've written repeatedly in this thread that it's 12-14; what's written here, until I write differently (here), trumps anything anywhere else. However, with you going for the 'getting too old for this' aspect, then yes, late 14 is appropriate.
That portion of the campaign background is out of date, as the post-Injection timeline has changed. It used to be 'kids live a normal life until they either Thread or don't'; now it's 'kids continue through boot camp', which means there's armed response on-site and at this point in time always within shooting distance.
However, you presumed 'control', when in fact it is instead 'prevent mass murder in case the kid Threads and goes totally psycho'.
Those two things seem synonymous to me. I can reconsider my wording to make it seem slightly less nefarious at face value.
Considering that psych profiles and school reports from teachers are things that are commonly done today - while genetic experimentation on adolescents is not - I would think that the former two items would be able to be written within the bounds of believability. "Harold has a bit of a temper; please talk to your son about self-control."
I haven't had something like that written about me in the past. I'm sure I could come up with something but at this exact second I'm at a loss.
Actually, I have NO understanding of the character from what you wrote. The writing itself is great, but it gives very little sense of the fellow you wish to play. Write more about the character you'll be piloting, and less about the world he's in or the people who interact with him. I get a greater sense of Dr. Wade than I do of TAALITUA, AFA K.
That's kind of what I was going for. I had alluded to it but I vastly prefer providing characterization in the actual game. I think backgrounds are better when they provide a framework of how a character would fit into the world.
Something you might do - something I had everyone else do last time - is to write out his Interview or an essay that he sent in with his initial application. Write out something that establishes his voice, that gives a sense of him.
I'll try, but another problem I have is writing from first-person view points. Also early-teens aren't really what I'm used to writing for. I'll try and come up with something clever.
Which is fine, but may be better served by telling me straight up instead of, well, coming up with deep-background aspects of my world.
I'm sorry, that wasn't necessarily my intention. However, I think a simple fix would to be change the tense from "past applications have resulted in X" to "the goal of this trial is to induce X". That way it could be chalked up to yet another failed attempt at categorization of the Threading process by an overly-eager scientist.
The Younger family would be in a community in the boonies near Steven's Point Wisconsin. The community would get by by hunting, subsistence gardening, and trade in services (Along with Bill Senior, there are several other skilled tradesmen).
Bill Junior would have taken advanced online classes. He has a knack for the theoretical sciences, but the lack of lab materials has limited his development in applied sciences and engineering. He acutely feels this lack and his continuing education is part of what fuels him to join the PDF, where he hopes to develop these skills.
We can scratch the whole horse aspect of the community. He would have made his way to Steven's Point on foot, then by bus down to Chicago to link up with the PDF.
Your point about not being able to choose to be a leader is well taken. Bill Junior just feels and acute need to use his skills however she can to help people. Since the other kids in his community we are so inept in their training, he naturally fell into a leadership role. I'm sure he'd be delighted to meet other kids capable enough to manage on their own without him having to manage them.
As for powers, I've been playing superhero RPGs for a long time. I have developed many characters with many sets of powers in the past decades. What I want to do is have my powers develop in accordance with my character's personality and idiom, not to mention to suit the story. Many times I have had to tell a player "no" when he came to me with a particular power suite because I felt it would unbalance what I had planned for the game. Bill Junior has no control over what powers he develops. As such, I think it would add to the game's versimilitude for you to determine his powers as the game develops.
If you would rather this not be the case, please let me know.
TWO, I'm just going to roll with Mei as she was in the original game.
Glad to hear I can stay with Corwin.
Re: the changes in the military options. While it is a family tradition to serve in the US military, the invasion by the Thunder, the subsequent unification, and creation of the Threading program, have caused many members of Corwin's family to believe that service in the PDF is an acceptable extension of that tradition to a larger scale.
As before, Corwin himself is seeing this as an opportunity to destroy The Enemy and earn honor for his family (and himself) as a solider.
Those two things seem synonymous to me. I can reconsider my wording to make it seem slightly less nefarious at face value.
They aren't synonymous. 'Control' implies active manipulation; the other is last-ditch stopping of a superpowered psychotic. Doesn't matter so long as you understand that the PDF isn't after 'how to control these people.'
I haven't had something like that written about me in the past. I'm sure I could come up with something but at this exact second I'm at a loss.
I expect the truth is 'of which you're aware'. There are always teacher comments to parents, which is what you'd be looking at.
That's kind of what I was going for. I had alluded to it but I vastly prefer providing characterization in the actual game. I think backgrounds are better when they provide a framework of how a character would fit into the world.
Actually, I have NO understanding of the character from what you wrote. The writing itself is great, but it gives very little sense of the fellow you wish to play.
However, I think a simple fix would to be change the tense from "past applications have resulted in X" to "the goal of this trial is to induce X". That way it could be chalked up to yet another failed attempt at categorization of the Threading process by an overly-eager scientist.
The issue I have with the approach you're using is that the personality of the character lies at the core of the application. This is something that I've seen a number of GMs here at Paizo.com talk about: 'characters will be chosen on their background, not on their stats'. Without knowing the system, you deciding to build your character on your own suggests to me that you care more about the numbers and 'how a character would fit into the world' than how they react to the world around them.
I want a character; you're giving me everything but. However, at this juncture I think it'll be best for me to wait for you to finish up what you're doing, assemble the entirety of your application, and adjudicate it then. I definitely don't want to get into a prolonged discussion / debate / argument about what is or isn't appropriate for the world, as I let myself be uselessly drawn into with Theta Thief. So put Afa Taalitua together, post it, and I'll go from there.
As with JohnnyCat, I'm not wanting to get into a prolonged discussion / debate / argument about what is or isn't appropriate for the world; I do think that you have an idea of humanity 'barely surviving / under the boot-heel / struggling to rise up' that doesn't quite mesh with what I'm imagining, and what I'm hoping has gotten across.
Just to clarify, then: if he has the communications network to take classes (or additional classes) online, and if his family (pre-Invasion) had a business and enough wealth to have a cottage in Central Wisconsin (Stevens Point isn't really Northern Wisconsin - gotta go north of Wausau for that), I don't think there would be much likelihood of him having to walk himself to Stevens Point; his father would undoubtedly own an electric vehicle with enough juice to get him to a local interview location.
Realize that the former 'rural' areas have had to absorb the population of the larger cities. Formerly smaller towns have expanded to about Stevens Point's size at 27,000, and the formerly moderate ones, like Wausau (at 40,000), are about as big as cities get these days - maybe a bit larger (to 50k), but not by much.
I'm not saying that your 'remote, barely-getting-by' community of 250-500 souls can't exist - it's just going to exist a lot further out, and outside of a resource-rich area; give Stevens Point a glance on Google Earth or something like that, and you'll see that though it's 'northerly', it's actually fairly well surrounded by farms and the like.
Still, Denver-to-Wyoming would work like you proposed, if that's what you want to do. Either way, if Bill Sr. is still remotely physically capable, he would at the very minimum be a part-time volunteer for the town watch, because even though Wyoming (or where-ever) is hundreds of miles from any big body of water, you never know where the Thunder may send a drone next.
In any case: bright, technically-interested, outdoorsy. Put a pin in the map where you're gonna be, and I'll bang something together.
Give me a person; I'll give you the stats to match.
For everyone - I'm going to officially keep applications open through 7/4 (technically, it'll be early morning on 7/5; like this posting shows, I'm something of a night-owl). I may go with all of you, as the number of roommates I'm shoving into each 'common area' is higher than the previous game; gives me NPCs I can kill off, too, if necessary. ;)
I expect to begin the game by the 8th, and will start with your individual Threading experiences.
Hmmm,.. interested. (No experience with HERO so i'll need some help).
Considering:
Jodie Price: a girl who is a bit of a tom-boy. She loves soccer, baseball and acrobatics despite her need to wear glasses, and is into comics and gaming in a big way. At 13 she's fairly average in height for her age (5ft.) and is starting to develop physically. She wants to join up because her older step-brother (a hero figure for her) did so several years ago (successfully) and she wants to follow in his footsteps (he joined up because The Thunder killed his father in their attack on New York). She's an above-average student at school, particularly enjoying history and science but really hating languages. She's no stronger than average, but is fit and athletic. She loves (and misses) her pet cat and is embarrassed about her fear of spiders.
I see her statistics as (something like):
Str: 6
Dex: 10
Con: 7
Bdy: 6
Int: 10
Ego: 8
Pre: 8
Com: 7
probably with high speed, recovery and endurance? - Need help to get any further.
That'll work, Hy. Probably comes from Upper New York State, or thereabouts? Just as an FYI, while the older step-brother can by all means go into the PDF, the odds are very, very low that he'll have actually fully Threaded. A lesser Threading is fine, though.
That'll work, Hy. Probably comes from Upper New York State, or thereabouts? Just as an FYI, while the older step-brother can by all means go into the PDF, the odds are very, very low that he'll have actually fully Threaded. A lesser Threading is fine, though.
No problem with either the place (I'm from Australia, so i'm not familiar with the area, other than what I've seen on TV etc.) or the brother having lesser Threading (she possibly hopes for that herself, given her hero-worship) - who knows how she (or he) will react when she's fully threaded. I'll leave it up to you whether he's still at the academy or has gone into active combat....
To add to her personality, She dislikes 'girly-girls' and bullies (including instructors who act that way.)
Let us instead say that Bill Sr. moved the remains of the family up (kind of) north to be away from any population centers that might appeal to the invaders, and taught a group of local kids survival and combat skills out of fear that things may get worse.
Thus, Bill Jr. would be an intelligent kid put through his physical paces and taught survival and basic combat skills by his father, who does indeed serve as a block commander (or whatever you prefer to call the next level above "regular guy") with the local watch.
His father also instilled in him a belief that the aliens are biding their time, consolidating their gains before an escalation of aggression, and that he has a duty to humanity to serve.
His father would have driven him to Steven's Point in his truck, and Bill Jr. would have proceeded by train to Chicago (or it's outskirts if the trains no longer run all the way there.
In your first post your description says humanity holds the low ground.
As the rest of that sentence explains, it's a reference to submarines.
** spoiler omitted **...
Ooops, didn't notice that your reason for joining up was top follow an older sibling.... Since that bit's a little too similar to mine, I'll try to come up with an alternative reason for joining the PDF
Jodie hauled her battered kit bag to her shoulder. The khaki bag was a hand-me-down from older step-brother Mike from his first year at the PDF, and she'd been using it for just about everything since he'd given it to her four years previously. Dressed in old sneakers, a faded sweatshirt and denim shorts, it would have been hard to tell that the slim thirteen-year-old was a girl, were it not for her long red hair, tied into two messy pigtails. Adjusting her glasses with one hand she grinned at her mother as they said their good-byes, reluctantly letting the older woman envelop her in a hug. Jodie turned to her stepfather and repeated the embarrassing process once again, before finally giving her mother a final kiss and boarding the train, finally on her way to the UN PDF boot camp.
Finding a seat amongst the other passengers, she thought back over the last few months. It had been an exciting time - Her soccer team, where she played on the right wing had won the local school championship, and her baseball team, on which she was the pitcher, had done pretty well too, making the finals, but dropping out in the semi. And then there had been the examinations for entry into the Threading program - they had been gruelling, although she'd known a bit about what would happen from what Mike had told her on one of his visits home. The psyche test had been OK, boring, but not too harsh (although there had been some weird questions), but the interview had been horrible! She had thought there was no way she'd get through OK after she had yelled at the examiners but, apparently, things had gone well. After that had been the physical stuff - blood tests, urine tests, speed tests, balance tests, strength tests and endurance tests. That's all been pretty familiar from sports, although having to strip off in front of the doctor was embarrassing.
As the train pulled away from the station Jodie waved goodbye to her parents through the window and then settled herself back in her seat, pulling a battered book, War of the Worlds - a really old one, made of paper that her brother had given her for her birthday just last week. Opening the first page, she began to read.
This is the final version.
He came home, his notoriety affording him great success with the ladies, and began working for the family construction business, aided by a relatively elaborate back brace. In the decade that followed, he married and had five children, four girls and, finally, his only boy and namesake, Bill Jr.
Life went relatively smoothly, and the Younger family lived in the relative comfort a working class life provided, until the Thunder attacked. After the coastal cities were attacked, and the aliens' link to the water became obvious. Conventional wisdom indicated that Chicago, positioned on one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, might also be a target. As a result, Bill Sr. moved his family up to his hunting cabin in north central Wisconsin, hoping that moving away from a large population center would protect his family from alien attack.
Having been brought north when he was two, Wisconsin is the only home Bill Jr. has ever known. His father trained him to shoot and hunt when he was eight, and by the time he was thirteen, Bill Jr. was precociously intelligent (being halfway through his mother's home school curriculum: developed by the nearby university at Steven's Point). He particularly excelled at the sciences, taking particular enjoyment from his introductory mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering classes (Junior level classes in the mid 21st century). He was also prodigiously large (standing nearly six feet tall and a hundred and seventy pounds).
Bill Sr. is a local in the local militia/guard infrastructure, and after successfully conducting classes in rudimentary combat readiness and tactics for the guard, began instructing a class of children his son's age in hopes that the skills and discipline would be that much more developed by the time they reached adulthood. He emphasized to the children the need for physical excellence and mental clarity, as well as the duty for those with the skill and ability to defend their community, locally, nationally, and globally to do so.
Most of the children, being children, did not take many of the more esoteric lessons seriously (though they enjoyed shooting). Bill Jr. found this immensely frustrating, and found himself in the role of motivator and director to his fellow "recruits". His sense of duty weighted heavily on his mind as he approached his thirteenth birthday. He wanted to be of some help, but did not want to wait until he turned eighteen to do so. Thoughts of the PDF program churned in his stomach. Most likely nothing would happen, but there was the slim chance that he would develop abilities to help the fight against the Thunder (and a slim chance that he would die or be driven insane). After discussing it with his family, his mother packed him a lunch, his father drove him to Steven's Point, and he boarded a train bound for Chicago.
William Younger Jr. (Junior)
Strength 8 +2
Dexterity 10 +0
Constitution 8 +4
Body 8 +4
Intelligence 14 -4
Ego 8 +4
Presence 8 +2
Comeliness 8 +1
(PD): 2.8 -1
(ED): 1.6 +0
(SPD): 2 +0
(REC): 2.6 -2
(END): 20 -2
(STUN): 10 -2
Total Points 56/50
|
Just the stats for now
Australian stranded USA aised by parents, never had much, basically wanted to join to make the world a better place and get his parents home, they so miss Australia.
STR 6
DEX 10
CON 8
BOD 8
INT 15
EGO 12
PRE 10
COM 6
str/5 PD 1.2
con/5 ED 1.6
SPD 3 (+1/10pts)
pd+ed REC 2.8
c*2 END 16
s/2+c/2 STUN 17 (+10)
Run 6"
Swim 2"
Leap s/5 = 1.2
Skills 9+char/5
Power skill
Science 11* Physics
Systems Operation int
security systems int
Climbing agi
Computer programming int
cryptography int
Persuasion pre
Paramedic int
(24)
Basic Training Package
Kn UN PDF Military 10-
Navigation 8-
Tactics 8-
Teamwork 10-
WF-Assault rifles, Handguns
Improved Attributes 2pts Con
11pts left
Review away GM sir..
All right, this was originally for Lectryk, but it's useful for everyone, so heads up. For you, Lectryk, a quick consult of Google Maps and a word of warning: your place-of-refuge, Canton, has a high probability of being destroyed (or very heavily damaged) during the Night of Fire.
I've uploaded an image file to the Drive folder, showing North America's light pollution problem; you can use it as a guide for what area got pounded during the strikes. If the city is named - Chicago, Detroit, or Atlanta - everything that's white or pink got hammered hard, and what's red or deep red-orange (but not lighter red-orange or orange) was damaged. For Chicago, that's from Gary - maybe Valparaiso - in the east to Naperville and Schaumberg in the west, and up to probably Waukegan. For Atlanta, everything inside the 285 belt gets mashed, as well as Forest Park to the south-east and general destruction around the fringes. For Detroit, that means everything from Auburn Hills in the north to Woodhaven or Flat Rock in the south, and west to Ann Arbor.
The kinetic strikes in the case of International are less 'precision strike' and more 'I pumped a few thousand tons of asteroidal stone at this big cluster of light/radio radiation.' When all you're trying to do is cover a 40-mile-wide target with two hundred semi-trucks from a range of a couple-three hundred miles, but you have the math to do it (barring minor things like atmospheric peturbation), you pretty much blast your target with only a few minor outliers. ;)
As a side note, having gone through that list on Page 1 and paying attention, I'll be going through and editing which ones are actually occupied by the Thunder. For the most part, actual occupation will be primarily restricted to a) water-heavy locations, and b) key perceived tactical spots; I noticed that Denver was on the list, and while Denver experienced a heavy assault (mostly designed to wreck the place), the Thunder are not going to be occupying it. So ... err, my bad, there. :P Will edit as I get the chance.
Anyhow. Going through ideas/intentions. Working evenings, the usual RL stuff, etc. Will probably do build-work on Saturday, though Friday during the day is possible.
In the leading []-box, use the text you want to see. In the 'how to format your text' button underneath the input box, anything in light blue is user-defined.
You can use this with the 'quote' and 'dice' functions as well:
Used 'quote=Some Moron'.
And for dice, put your explanation as 'dice=Why I Roll':
This seems really cool. Never played HERO before, but it sounds relatively similar to Mutants and Masterminds?
Regardless, I'm happy to let you build a character once I come up with one...it'll give me more time to focus on the character rather than juggling it and the build. Never played a game where the GM builds the character.
I have no problem leaving the numbers to the GM in their entirety. My idea is very loose.
I decided to tone down her stats a little from the original version.
Character: Mei Cartwright
Player: Psycho Effer
Val Char Cost
6 STR -4
9 DEX -3
7 CON -6
7 BODY -6
13 INT 3
10 EGO 0
10 PRE 0
12 COM 1
1 PD 0
1 ED 0
1 SPD 0
2 REC 0
14 END 0
14 STUN 0
6" RUN 0
2" SWIM 0
1" LEAP 0
Characteristics Cost: -15
Cost Martial Arts Maneuver
5 Running Stroke: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Weapon +v/5; FMove
5 Sacrifice Stroke: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, -2 DCV, Weapon +4 DC, Strike
4 Lightning Stroke: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, Weapon +2 DC Strike
1 Weapon Element: Empty Hand
Martial Arts Cost: 15
Cost Skill
3 Breakfall 11-
2 CuK: Japanese Culture and History 11-
5 Language: Japanese (completely fluent; Custom Adder, literate)
4 BS: Zen Meditation 12-
2 KS: Kendo/Kenjutsu 11-
3 KS: Samurai History and Tradition 12-
2 PS: Calligraphy 11-
2 KS: Tea Ceremony 11-
2 PS: Tea Ceremony 11-
4 Penalty Skill Levels: +2 vs. Hit Location modifiers with Kenjutsu
3 +1 with Kenjutsu
3 Fast Draw 11-
1 WF: Blades
Everyman Skills
0 1) AK: Jacksonville, NC 8-
0 2) Language: English (idiomatic; literate) (5 Active Points)
0 3) TF: Custom Adder, Two-Wheeled Muscle-Powered Ground Vehicles
0 4) PS: Student 11-
0 5) Acting 8-
0 6) Climbing 8-
0 7) Concealment 8-
0 8) Conversation 8-
0 9) Deduction 8-
0 10) Paramedics 8-
0 11) Persuasion 8-
0 12) Shadowing 8-
0 13) Stealth 8-
Skills Cost: 36
Total Character Cost: 36
Val Disadvantages
5 Social Limitation: Minor (Under 18) (Occasionally; Major; Not Limiting In Some Cultures)
15 Psychological Limitation: Save Humanity (Common; Strong)
20 Psychological Limitation: Sees Herself As A Modern Day Samurai Warrior (Common; Total) [Notes: Mei models herself after the samurai of old. She sees herself as a knight in service to the human race in a war to prevent their extinction. All of her efforts are put toward becoming the best warrior that she can be. This is her motivation for the practice of Kendo and Zen Buddhism. All of these facets of her life are means to the end of becoming a samurai warrior, as she sees it. This is the lens that colors all her perceptions, but really is still just a means to make herself a weapon against the Thunder.]
10 Social Limitation: Reticent (Frequently; Minor) [Notes: Mei's reticence is a really a combination of Psych-Lim and Soc-Lim. She does not wish to reveal her thoughts or feelings to others, lest they are used against her in battle. It's an extension of her martial arts. A major part of martial arts is reading your opponents intentions and emotions. Mei uses rigid discipline to contain herself from revealing anything that could be exploited. This causes her to give off the perception of being cold and detached. She rarely initiates conversation. She does not make friends easily.]
Disadvantage Points: 50
Base Points: 0
Experience Required: 0
Total Experience Available: 0
Experience Unspent: 0
Background:
Lance Cartwright was a US Marine Officer based at Iwakuni Airbase in Japan when he met Eiko Takakura, a language teacher. Lance was a student in Emi's Japanese language and history class and they began dating immediately afterward. Lance was deeply interested in Japanese culture and Emi was steeped in the history, being descended from a long line of samurai. Their mutual interest was the bud that bloomed into love. They married within a year, and soon after, Emi gave birth to their first child, Mei. 2 years later they had a son, Ken, named after Lance's father. Soon after his birth, the family transferred back to the U.S. to Camp Lejeune North Carolina. Soon after that, the Thunder attacked.
Mei grew up steeped in the warrior culture, her father being a Marine fighting the Thunder, and her mother reciting the history of her family's military exploits through the centuries. Lance was a practitioner of Kendo and began training Mei when she was only 4 years old. She loved Kendo, initially because her father did, and they could do it together. She took readily to the discipline and concentration training, as well as the Zen meditation techniques her father taught her. They didn't have much time together, since Lance had a war to fight, so they made the most of what time they did have. Mei's favorite times were spent training Kendo with her father when he was on leave. Most of her other time was spent studying, painting calligraphy, or practicing the tea ceremony.
She was 8 years old when the PDF officer came to tell them that her father had been killed in action. Mei buried her face in the folds of Emi's kimono and wept for a long time. When there were no more tears left, she turned away from her mother, and the first thing she saw was the display case containing the Takakura family daisho and armor that they had taken with them before leaving Japan. They were relics from the Tokugawa era when their ancestor wore them in service as a retainer to the Shogun. It was then that she chose the warrior's path in order to honor both sides of her family.
From that day on, her single-minded focus was to hone her mind and body into a weapon in the service of the human race in opposition to the Thunder. She threw herself into her martial arts and Zen training, seeking to become the perfect model of a modern samurai warrior. Her mother supported her all the way, providing the best teachers available. By the time of her 13th birthday, Mei was more than ready to test for her first Dan, which she passed easily. Tradition prevented her from advancing further, not for lack of skill. She had learned of the KS Serum, and her goal was to become a volunteer for the treatment. To Mei, there was no choice in the matter. To do otherwise would be to shirk her duty as a samurai to serve her people in their time of need, and defy the legacy of her father's service. Her mother was worried about the potential downsides to the treatment, but in the end, could not gainsay her strong-willed daughter. Emi gave her grudging consent for Mei to volunteer for the treatment.
As an aside - max EGO for Mei is an 8.
Minimum Int is 10. No higher than 15 without a -good- reason, if I recall.
10 is correct. The thread information takes precedence over the files.
I've come up with an alternative if my previous one was, maybe, a bit too close to Arcturas Advent's character.... If you've already statted out my previous character then happy to go with her instead.
I'll stick with the same name (Jodie Price) but the new concept is:
A girl (13 years old) who's mother is a scientist on the KS Serum project, her father a highish-ranking officer in the military . She's headstrong and idealistic and has had many arguments with her parents about the ethics of the threading project, specifically the high mortality rate and the fact that the vast majority of the candidates are from lower socio-economic groups with the more well-off (like her family) making up only a small minority . In one of their arguments she threatened to join the program, a threat which her parents dismissed as ridiculous. Nevertheless, she signed up the next day, not really expecting to be accepted.
She has no combat training (other than a bit of karate when she was younger) but has a very good education, especially in the sciences. She's tall for her age (5'4"), skinny, with brown hair and freckles. At school she's an excellent student, diligent with her work and having been assessed as well above average intelligence. She can, however, get in trouble for questioning her teachers' instructions, not being afraid to object when she thinks these are unreasonable or, especially, if she thinks they're bullying other students.
Whilst not being generally great at sports, she's always done well at long-distance running and swimming, though not at ball-games. She is known around school as a bit of a social warrior, organizing food-drives, relief fudn-raisers, and so on, for refugees from the war.
I see her stats as (something like):
Str: 6
Dex: 8
Con: 9
Bdy: 7
Int: 15
Ego: 12
Pre: 8
Com: 8
Feedback?
As an aside - max EGO for Mei is an 8.
Who doesn't want 4 more points back?
Val Char Cost
6 STR -4
9 DEX -3
7 CON -6
7 BODY -6
13 INT 3
8 EGO -4
10 PRE 0
12 COM 1
1 PD 0
1 ED 0
1 SPD 0
2 REC 0
14 END 0
14 STUN 0
6" RUN 0
2" SWIM 0
1" LEAP 0
Characteristics Cost: -19
Sorry for being quiet - family plans took up more of my time than expected. While applications are soft-closed (meaning if there's another decent application, I'll probably take it, but 'dotting for interest' ain't gonna happen), I'm going to need a bit of time to work things out. Offhand, I think I may well run with all of you - because you never know what might happen to one of you. (*cough* Mr. Arkinson *cough*)
Hm. Well, I did dot earlier. Suppose it can't hurt to dump this here then. Was waiting for one of my days off to actually make a submission.
Name: Sebastian "Bas" Stein
Age: 13
Bas' father was a boxer of some renown (Emmerich "The Power" Stein) before the Thunder made such an occupation meaningless. When the devastation started, his dad was one of the first in line to sign up for the army, and as a result one of the first to die.
Nevertheless, Bas and his younger brothers looked up to the man, and played soldier with more fervor than most, to the dismay of their mother. Bas in particular idolized him, and spent a lot of time at his dad's old gym with his few surviving friends (either too old or suffering injuries that kept them out of service), learning the sporting art Emmerich excelled at and expecting to follow in his footsteps when he was old enough, dreams of singlehandedly turning the tide of the war dancing in his head.
When the opportunity came even sooner than he'd thought, Bas didn't hesitate. He bid farewell to his family and joined the Threading project without a second thought.
I don't know how the stats work for this game, so a short description of his attributes:
Bas is athletic, with some bit of combat skill. He's of average intelligence, perhaps slightly below, but stubborn as a mule and quick to learn any new trick that he thinks will help in a fight.
I see him primarily as strong, tough, fast, and skilled, with him not having much use for the mental side of things except how they let him soldier better. So the "applied physics" would interest him greatly, whereas supposedly frivolous knowledge would not.
As for a power set, I'm unsure. I'd like something that lets him utilize his boxing in a practical capacity, so probably some manner of enhanced strength, speed, and endurance to let him get in and punch tanks or whatever before they can get a shell off. More cool to me would be something based around manipulating gravity or force, letting him pull off tricks like a Vanguard's Charge from Mass Effect, and firing crushing ranged or AoE punches.
I like that high risk/high reward playstyle a lot.
Hey! Welcome back! Its so nice to have another one of the originals from the previous incarnation of PDF International I look forward to having Harper (and especially her player) back for this new incarnation.
Okay now I'm sure we have enough interest for this version of the campaign, Wyrm. ;)
Sorry about the delay; still putting characters together. TP, you can put your own dang character together, and Psycho Effer, I'll get Mei's revision into my file ASAP.
Our current list is:
PsionicHamster: Adolescent, Unnamed Male
Psycho Effer: Cartwright, Mei
Lectryk : Kingsley, Jer
Arcturas Advent: Lannings, Dakota Annabelle
Trickster Priest: Marshall, James
Hymenopterix: Price, Jodie
Sundakan: Stein, Sebastian
Barrier: Talmadge, Corwin
Tharasiph: Walker, Bruce
GoatToucher: Younger, Bill Jr.
3 girls, 7 guys. With the exception of Corwin, I will give a cookie to any currently-male character who wants to switch gender; it'd balance out my room arrangements better. ;)
And, as an FYI, I believe I can work with everyone. The two of you who requested particular powers will ... get something similar, albeit perhaps not exactly what you were asking for / expecting.
The rest of you ... power ideas are already churning around in me skull. For everyone, though, just needing to complete putting together character technicals.
BTW, I have no problem with multiple people having similar backgrounds, e.g. following an older sibling (or whomever) into the military.
A note for Trickster Priest: you should consider why you're going into the PDF when you could just as easily (or rather, far MORE easily) go into the US Armed Forces, to follow 'Aunt Mags'.
BTW, I have no problem with multiple people having similar backgrounds, e.g. following an older sibling (or whomever) into the military.
Cool. I'll leave it up to you whether Jodie mk1 or mk2 is better for the game. Kind of interested to see what happens!