1. Introduce yourself. Games you love, movies you love, Experience gaming. Whatever you want us to know.
2. Something you want to see in this game (or like in games in general).
3. A moment you love from an action movie or show.
4. Anything you don't want to see in this game. (If you want to Private Message me anything, please do.)
My answers:
1. Introduce yourself. Games you love, movies you love, Experience gaming. Whatever you want us to know.
I'm a straight cis white man (he/him) who teaches English and Theater. Have played games my whole life. Have run a few successful campaigns here on the boards. Mostly play Pathfinder 1.0 in face to face games, but love Star Trek Adventures, Mutants and Masterminds, and now Everyday Heroes.
2. Something you want to see in this game (or like in games in general).
I hope to see the players really run with the campaign. I set up the problems, you work the solutions. Sometimes I overcomplicate plots, so I'm going to try to keep things more straightforward here. Also hope players do a good job listening to each other and communicating. I'll try to help facilitate that.
3. A moment you love from an action movie or show. I'll say two. The Burj Khalifa climb in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Beautiful stunt and camera work. Great tension.
The drinking/Indianapolis scene from Jaws. Acting, writing, depth.
4. Anything you don't want to see in this game. (If you want to Private Message me anything, please do.)
No sexual assault.
No explicit torture scenes. You can threaten people and rough them up. 24 is the line. Saw is too far.
Romance is fine with me. Physical stuff is fade to black.
Violence involving children is threatened or off screen. Stranger Things is probably past the limit.
I will only mind control characters with player consent, and I will leave player's in charge of the character (in consultation with me) even though the character's motivations may have changed because of the mental influence.
I'm a white lesbian from the American south, I work in tourism and have been playing ttrpgs since I was 12 y/o, most of my experience as a player is in PF1 and 5e, but I've also played 3.5, oWoD, PF2, lots of Star Wars systems (WEG 3d6, Saga, FFG, SW5e), Numenera, FFd20, et al. I've run games in Star Wars Saga, PF1 and 5e.
Love roleplay and combat equally, however I have no immediate goals in mind for Angelyna. I hope to see her flex her fame and her vast wealth to her advantage, for it to bite her in the ass, for both to completely abandon her in parts (with her wealth largely gone for a lot of it as earlier discussed)
Part of the combat model I was thinking of for Angelyna is pretty Jackie Chan improvised weapons inspired, here's a remarkable sequence from Project A
I don't have any no thank you's that go beyond what you have stated
1. Introduce yourself. Games you love, movies you love, Experience gaming. Whatever you want us to know.
I'm from a planet far, far away. A planet called krypton. As a Kid, I loved Robotech game and cartoon. d&d. Stopped with pathfinder. Nothin live for decades. Stephen King, Dean R Koontz, Michael Crichton, Douglas Adams, etc. Grew up in the 70's and 80's.
2. Something you want to see in this game (or like in games in general).
Moral conundrums
3. A moment you love from an action movie or show.
SuperT and I have played together before, but it's good to introduce to all... Apologies in advance for the verbosity. Coffee hasn't kicked in yet which weirdly makes me MORE babbly.
1. Introduce yourself. Games you love, movies you love, Experience gaming. Whatever you want us to know.
I'm DQ, I'm a 47 y.o. queer woman from the U.S. East Coast. I am a professional copywriter and editor in public health. I can edit anyone's work but my own. I love role-playing, exploration, and strategy. Been familiar with TTRPGs since I was 12 but couldn't find anyone to play with until college. Have played AD&D2e, D&D 3.x, Pathfinder 1e, old World of Darkness, Exalted, Star Warsd20, Star Wars Fantasy Flight, Mutants and Masterminds 2e and 3e, Champions, BESM, and other stuff more briefly and/or a long time ago. For about 5 years I worked freelance for Paizo editing Pathfinder 1e and Starfinder.
I love anything nerdy, particularly classic fantasy, sci fi, and superheroes. I also like spy stories and the occasional murder mystery. My favorite subgenre of the above is low-level heroes in a superheroic world, particularly with a spy edge. I am not fond of horror, typically (though I make exceptions). My top five favorite television shows ever made are, in no particular order, Doctor Who, Agent Carter, R.O.D the TV (an anime), Xena: Warrior Princess, and the Bionic Woman (the original 70s one, not any one you might have hallucinated existed in the early 2000s).
2. Something you want to see in this game (or like in games in general).
Roleplay amongst ourselves and with some fun, recurring NPCs, including at least one reliable ally. Some challenges to overcome that involve more cooperation and strategy than combat, but of course combat is fine too. I'd like us to have some kind of HQ, mobile or stationary.
3. A moment you love from an action movie or show.
The first one that came to mind was in Agent Carter: Peggy Carter fighting Leet Brannis on top of the moving milk truck packed with explosives, driven by a very nervous Jarvis. Even though you knew the heroes had to survive, absolutely nailbiting suspense, amazing fight choreography, spiked with humor.
I also love any heel-face-turn moments where a penitent villain repents of something and helps the hero.
4. Anything you don't want to see in this game. (If you want to Private Message me anything, please do.)
It should go without saying but I've had problems with this in prior games so: I request folks NOT assume actions or reactions from fellow PCs or NPCs, particularly with regard to violence or intimacy. Attempts can be described, but not consent assumed. I.e., "Bob offers Sally a hug" rather than "Bob hugs Sally."
Given we are a room full of strangers, technically, I prefer to avoid flirtation/romance, PC or NPC, for my own character, until or unless I say otherwise (though I played a character with a romantic interest in another game of Tumbler's). I'd ask any folks wanting to initiate an intimate scene with anyone else do so under a spoiler.
Descriptions of sexual assault and abuse are triggering for me. In a gritty real world story it might happen so I don't mind if references to it exist in the game, but if it's a major point in a scene, I'd ask for trigger warnings and no graphicness.
1. Introduce yourself. Games you love, movies you love, Experience gaming. Whatever you want us to know.
My name is Jeff, I'm also 47. I'm a cis white guy. I live in Houston. I'm married with two kids, 9 and 12. I've been playing RPGs since high school. D&D 1, 2, 3.0, 3.5, 5; PF 1 and a tiny bit of 2; and a few others over the years. (I've had experiences with Rolemaster so bad they're good!) I'd love to give Numenera a try.
I used to enjoy video games pretty regularly, but I've found that I don't want to prioritize them over other aspects of my life. The same would normally go for TV, but I've dialed that back a bit in recent years now that the kids have gotten older and we can enjoy them together.
My son just asked me about The Office, last night! I'm excited to show him!
I love action, sci-fi, fantasy, and comedy (and just enough indie films to sound pretentious). I prefer Trek over Star Wars, but my indifference towards Star Wars makes some fans think I actively dislike it, which isn't true. The best Star Trek movie is Galaxy Quest.
2. Something you want to see in this game (or like in games in general).
It can be difficult to pace in a PbP, but I like character interaction in the midst of the action. Sure, long talks over a drink or during a car ride are great, but two PCs arguing over a past slight during a chase through an abandoned warehouse is *chef's kiss*.
I also like making sure the PCs have a certain level of autonomy. Most campaigns that are set in modern times that I've been in tend to have the PCs joining some sort of shadowy organization, which is usually fine so long as it doesn't turn the PCs into company drones whose every action is scrutinized.
3. A moment you love from an action movie or show.
The elevator fight scene in Captain America: Winter Soldier. When Keanu Reeves jumped out of the plane without a parachute to catch Patrick Swayze in Point Break. The Texas Hold 'Em game in Casino Royale (2006). The phone call in John Wick where Viggo just replies "Oh" before he hangs up.
I'll stop before I have to pick out one Jason Bourne scene.
4. Anything you don't want to see in this game. (If you want to Private Message me anything, please do.)
I'm not interested in any romance or flirting between my PC and another PC. It just feels awkward for me. My PC and an NPC is fine, but not necessary. Children dying due to violence is something I don't want to see.
A couple of thoughts about tone and some of your posts so far.
There is probably going to be too much PC autonomy. The only thing I will probably force is the setup at the beginning of an episode. Because sandboxes can be so tough in PbP, I'm going to include some rails that you can stay on if it keeps the game going, but it is a big open world. Feel free to spin up your own plots or tell me in character or out what direction you want to go.
This is definitely going to be an action series reality. So if we end up being a team that travels around in a distinctive RV, as long as people are making some effort to conceal yourselves you won't be immediately shot or incarcerated. Sometimes that will drive some action, but I'm working in a world where the A-team can somehow drive around in their van, Airwolf is never seen going to its hiding place, and Ethan Hunt can always be a rogue agent.
I will try to keep things consistent or at least let you know what your character would understand about the world.
1. Introduce yourself. Games you love, movies you love, Experience gaming. Whatever you want us to know.
I'm a straight (He, Him), white man and father of four. Early 50's, and happily married. I have played in all sorts of pbp formats, and even run a game for a few years for my college friends (we still talk). My favorite roleplaying games/systems are 3.5 D&D, Marvel Superheros, and Star Wars d6. I'm a Star Wars fan, Live in the Shire, and I'm a Trekkie as well. I consider myself a full-fledged, all around geek.
2. Something you want to see in this game (or like in games in general).
Good interplay between characters (Banter is the best), interesting action and things to puzzle out, as well as a sense of group cohesion. Its fine to have stress and drama between characters, but at the end of the day, everyone's pulling for each other. Also, a least a little bit of quirkiness in the vein of Supernatural or X-Files.
3. A moment you love from an action movie or show.
Several different moments from Firefly/Serenity ("I aim to misbehave!"). OR The Rock's "Boomshakkalaka!" moment from the Rundown.
4. Anything you don't want to see in this game.
Pretty much like everyone else, not really looking for flirting or romance.
This is definitely going to be an action series reality. So if we end up being a team that travels around in a distinctive RV, as long as people are making some effort to conceal yourselves you won't be immediately shot or incarcerated.
This is definitely going to be an action series reality. So if we end up being a team that travels around in a distinctive RV, as long as people are making some effort to conceal yourselves you won't be immediately shot or incarcerated.
instead of RV, we could use motorbikes instead
I thought you wanted to be the ambulance driver? :)
I worry with something like motorbikes we'd be easily separated. I sort of like the idea of being in a giant vehicle somehow nobody notices.
But whatever works for the group is fine... since this is going to be a bit sandbox we might find something ridiculously cool in the moment.
This is definitely going to be an action series reality. So if we end up being a team that travels around in a distinctive RV, as long as people are making some effort to conceal yourselves you won't be immediately shot or incarcerated.
instead of RV, we could use motorbikes instead
I thought you wanted to be the ambulance driver? :)
I worry with something like motorbikes we'd be easily separated. I sort of like the idea of being in a giant vehicle somehow nobody notices.
But whatever works for the group is fine... since this is going to be a bit sandbox we might find something ridiculously cool in the moment.
A 18 wheeler with a reefer. Then build an ops inside
The three other personnel who operate the mobile clinic, the driver, another nurse, and a medical technician, sit locked inside the clinic, eating their lunch in peace.
Why am I locked inside the clinic, and not eating in the diner?
Sorry! Didnt know if you were actually really going to be the driver (I wasn't clear if you were suggesting you were joining her "day job" or helping her in her covert nursing). If you want to be, by all means retcon that out and join me! I was leaving "the youth" open to be you if you wanted.
Sorry! Didnt know if you were actually really going to be the driver (I wasn't clear if you were suggesting you were joining her "day job" or helping her in her covert nursing). If you want to be, by all means retcon that out and join me! I was leaving "the youth" open to be you if you wanted.
No, No It's cool. I just had come to other conclusion.
Sorry! Didnt know if you were actually really going to be the driver (I wasn't clear if you were suggesting you were joining her "day job" or helping her in her covert nursing). If you want to be, by all means retcon that out and join me! I was leaving "the youth" open to be you if you wanted.
No, No It's cool. I just had come to other conclusion.
I do feel bad for your NPC hostages though. :P
They locked themselves in. :) Rosa's the only one who wants to be with people off duty. *hides bullwhip*
We should work out formally: do you want to help Rosa in her covert night nurse visits? Or do you want to work for the same company during the day she does? Or neither?
On the cliff's edge speeds along the most obvious and identifiable vehicle this town has ever seen, a BMW i8 Roadster in holographic pink. Every day it makes the drive to and from the film set, a veritable beacon, blindingly reflecting the desert sun in all directions.
On the cliff's edge speeds along the most obvious and identifiable vehicle this town has ever seen, a BMW i8 Roadster in holographic pink. Every day it makes the drive to and from the film set, a veritable beacon, blindingly reflecting the desert sun in all directions.
I apologize if I misunderstood our earlier conversation. But if that's what you'd like to do, that's fine with me.
No, no you're good. It was a confusing start. I thought we'd all be meeting in the diner before getting on the story train rails. But It looks like that it will actually start via the van rescue.
It's funny, but I have just the skill(THE RIGHT TOOL) which says that I have climbing rescue equipment in my trunk. If only there was someone athletically inclined(Just Angelyna, No Last Name) to use it. :)
Just realized that there's a time differential between Rosa and Fabian's posts, so I sort of did a timey-whimey thing and still have them meeting at the door of the diner. Wasn't sure what else to do without further delaying the mass exodus to the crash scene.
Rosa's 28. Only been working for a few years since grad school. Hardly middle aged! (Says her definitely middle-aged player.) A middle-aged PRN would have the good sense to be working in a nice neat clinic and getting better pay. ;)
Rosa's 28. Only been working for a few years since grad school. Hardly middle aged! (Says her definitely middle-aged player.) A middle-aged PRN would have the good sense to be working in a nice neat clinic and getting better pay. ;)
You can enact this plan in combat as a bonus action to ensure your next ranged attack this turn automatically hits your target. You must know the location of the target. You can also use this plan any time you make a roll to use explosives or drugs, or in any other situation in which you might need an ability check to measure out the right amount of something to use to achieve a desired effect. You automatically succeed at the ability check. You must finish a long rest before you can activate this plan again.
I figure that I have a pellet rifle in the car. Could I ping king kong is the eye with it?
Could we say Angelyna at least hooked the winch to the van before the chimp attacks so, say, a completely nonathletic nurse could try to kill herself ziplining down to try to rescue the driver?
Do we have story points or fate points or something to edit a scene?
I mean, if the goal was to save anyone's life, it makes sense that attaching the cable was the first thing you'd do, especially since this plan was talked about beforehand.
In other news, I assume there's two ropes, one holding Angelyna and a separate one attached to the winch on the cop car, which is either in Angel's hand or attached to the van.
Could we say Angelyna at least hooked the winch to the van before the chimp attacks so, say, a completely nonathletic nurse could try to kill herself ziplining down to try to rescue the driver?
Do we have story points or fate points or something to edit a scene?
Those sorts of edits pretty much come from class abilities like Rex and Angelyna have.
Also noticed that you should have initiative +3 rather than +0 because Sleuth uses Wisdom instead of Dexterity. Woohoo!
You can enact this plan in combat as a bonus action to ensure your next ranged attack this turn automatically hits your target. You must know the location of the target. You can also use this plan any time you make a roll to use explosives or drugs, or in any other situation in which you might need an ability check to measure out the right amount of something to use to achieve a desired effect. You automatically succeed at the ability check. You must finish a long rest before you can activate this plan again.
I figure that I have a pellet rifle in the car. Could I ping king kong is the eye with it?
Well it looks like the only viable action I can take is hold my action until more options appear, as Rosa is not the person holding the rope or operating the winch.
Ernest has posted, Rex is waiting to know if he can pull a pellet rifle out of his... erm, trunk, and Angelyna and the Sheriff can act.
I figure that I have a pellet rifle in the car. Could I ping king kong is the eye with it?
Any ruling?
You can have a pellet rifle in your car. It will take you a full round to get to your car, retrieve it, and get back over here.
There are plenty of guns in the scene already. Police side arms and tasers, both of those vehicles should have shotguns, and whatever else folks are carrying.
Ok, I doubt you're telling me to steal a cop's shotgun. I'm really talking about the skill. If I can pop it's eyeball using the skill...it would make Donkey Kong less aggressive to Angelyna. Plus not killing it.
Welcome.
This is a recruitment for a campaign using the new Everyday Heroes game by Evil Genius Games. The game is a spiritual successor to d20 Modern using the 5E creative commons. The rules are designed to play like an action and adventure movie or series.
In this campaign, you will play normal (read normal as action movie normal) people drawn into a conspiracy and forced to become fugitives in the tradition of The Fugitive and The A-Team. As in shows like The X-Files and Fringe, some adventures will involve the party rolling into town to help out with the problem of the week and some will tie more directly to the overall plot.
The genre of the campaign is intended to be a combination of action, adventure, and intrigue. Fun, not dour.
Right now looking to build a team of players, then a team of characters. But I know people like to jam on characters, so go for it.
Characters should be created at 1st level.
Choose a Background, a Profession, Ability Scores, a Class and an Archetype.
Ability Scores can be chosen with either:
Standard Set: Assign scores to your abilities as you choose, from the following set: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.
Point Buy: All your ability scores start at 8. You have 27 points to spend to buy higher scores. This method offers more customization but takes longer. Use the following table to determine the point cost to increase each score.
The core book has an SRD HERE. I also have other supplements that have additional backgrounds and professions. I am happy to help with character creation or rules questions.
Expectations:
Post rate of 1 per week day. More are welcomed. My games tend to be slow, but a post a day even to say “I am happy with the way things are going, checking in” is preferred.
LGBTQIA+ friendly
PG-13
Session 0 questions will be addressed once we are assembled
I like the call out of "fun, not dour," which goes along with the character I've been thinking of building over the past couple days.
This could be subject to change based on what other PCs people want to play (and if I'm selected, of course), but I'd like to go with a young guy who grew up in the inner city. He doesn't consider himself a con artist, but he did whatever questionable work he could cook up, and he learned a variety of skills from that life that brought him to where he is today. He's smart enough to think up schemes, but not quite smart enough to reliably pull them off, so he's learned to be quick, and sometimes he had to learn how to take a licking.
So, that would be an Agile Scoundrel, obviously, with the Juvenile Delinquent background. I'm undecided on Profession, but I like the idea of him trying to make it with a legit job. I think it's funny to imagine him in the break room trying to convince coworkers to invest in this great real estate tip he's heard about. Not, this isn't like the crypto thing, honest! (I may end up deciding profession based on abilities or skills I'm lacking at that point.) I like to play characters that aren't taken too seriously.
About me: I've been playing ttrpgs since high school. I loved d20 Modern and had a lot of fun with that, so an updated successor sounds awesome. I play in a number of PbPs on this board (not too many, though). I understand that the momentum required to keep a game rolling needs to come from all the players, not just the GM. I have terrible luck with dice, either physical or the Paizo forum's dice roller.
My only red flag is that I don't have a lot of experience with 5E. I play with some friends, but we play so infrequently that I have to re-look up some of the rules every time they come up.
I looked through the SRD and what I'm most tempted by is an Icon, a celebrity on the run from the authorities after getting caught in the same tangled up web as the rest of the party.
These skew very much toward crime, which is not what I'm going for in the campaign. Many of them came from Escape from New York, where people are mostly in prison.
Just take them as examples of what we can do with custom professions and backgrounds.
OK, I've been thinking about what kind of character I'd like to play.
I have an idea about a young kid, maybe 16, who figures out how to manipulate gravity. And he is tracked down after sharing his theory online.
How would I build such a character?
What kind of things do you imagine him doing in the game?
I'd see him likened to a Nikola Tesla. An autodidact who dropped out of school and with a falsified ID (To make himself appear older) gained a job with a Space X equivalent.
Hmmm. The link to the backgrounds and profession is blocked by GoogleDocs. No access. :(
Tenatively, I'm thinking of a Smart (or possibly Wise) 25-ish year old man, either a paramedic or someone going through the police academy. In any event, he'll currently be on trauma related leave, as he was involved or witnessed a shooting while in the course of his job.
Hear me out on the next part: While on leave, he was advised by his therapist to get away, so he went camping. While hiking near his campsite, he encounters...a Bigfoot. JUST a sighting, but enough to freak him out.
And then whatever happens to jumpstart the campaign happens...how's that work for a background?
I'd see him likened to a Nikola Tesla. An autodidact who dropped out of school and with a falsified ID (To make himself appear older) gained a job with a Space X equivalent.
Honestly that sounds to me like Smart Hero with Field Scientist from the Skull Island book. I'll try to get it to you.
Hmmm. The link to the backgrounds and profession is blocked by GoogleDocs. No access. :(
Tenatively, I'm thinking of a Smart (or possibly Wise) 25-ish year old man, either a paramedic or someone going through the police academy. In any event, he'll currently be on trauma related leave, as he was involved or witnessed a shooting while in the course of his job.
Hear me out on the next part: While on leave, he was advised by his therapist to get away, so he went camping. While hiking near his campsite, he encounters...a Bigfoot. JUST a sighting, but enough to freak him out.
And then whatever happens to jumpstart the campaign happens...how's that work for a background?
Wise-Sleuth is a pretty cool class for a cop. That's how I built my version of Roger Murtagh.
Some possible custom professions I'm considering here, posted for approval, just testing the build rules
Custom Profession: Action Movie Star
+1 to STR (1)
Acrobatics, Athletics proficiency (1)
Basic, Historic, Improvised Equipment proficiency (1)
Special Feature: I Do My Own Stunts You gain expertise in either Acrobatics or Athletics. You must be proficient in a skill to gain expertise in that skill. (.5) (from Investigator's Investigative Expertise)
Iconic Equipment (nunchaku, tracksuit) (0)
Wealth Level 4 (2.5)
Custom Profession: Celebutante
+1 to CHA (1)
Basic Equipment proficiency (0)
"Fancy" foreign language from travel abroad (.5)
Social Sciences proficiency (.5)
Special Feature: Famous for Being Famous You know how to wheedle favors from others and gain advantage on Charisma checks to receive special privileges, such as backstage access, tickets to a sold-out show, or a meeting with a public official (.5) (from Independent's Pulling Strings)
Iconic Equipment (Luxury vehicle, smart phone, tiny and useless pet animal) (0)
Wealth Level 5 (3.5)
I've been trying to come up with different concept ideas. One was a detective type (but more investigating everyday stuff like for divorce cases, who then witnesses weirdness), but I think that might be overlapping too much with some other ideas.
Other thoughts were a grassroots urban aid worker, someone who ministers to the poor, perhaps she's witnessed disappearances no one else cares about.
Another thought was just sort of an Arthur Dent type, total everyman who gets caught up in the absolute ridiculous and somehow survives through sheer tenacity and luck. This person might be really good at boring but necessary things like navigating bureaucracy.
Have not dived deep into the classes to we if these could be fleshed into proper adventurers.
Misfit
For whatever reason, you never fit in with your peers. While growing up was sometimes lonely, your isolation made you a keen observer of your surroundings.
Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20
Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Insight or Perception
Iconic Equipment: A one-of-a-kind jean jacket from an iconic band
Special Feature: Devil in the Details. You gain advantage on Wisdom checks made to discern personal details about someone by directly observing them.
Student
You’re currently a student in high school, college, or graduate school. You might have a job, but you put your focus and energy into your studies.
Side Gigs: Blood donor, intern, part-time work, teacher’s aide, volunteer
Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and three other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20
Skill Proficiencies: Computers, and choose either Natural Sciences or Social Sciences
Iconic Equipment: A small backpack full of books and school supplies, a library card
Wealth Level: 1
Special Feature: All-Nighter. You can remove one level of Exhaustion from yourself. You must finish a long rest before you can do this again.
Str 8
Dex 14 (+1)
Con 13 (+1)
Wis 16 (+1)
Int 16 (+1,+1)
Cha 10
I've been trying to come up with different concept ideas. One was a detective type (but more investigating everyday stuff like for divorce cases, who then witnesses weirdness), but I think that might be overlapping too much with some other ideas.
Other thoughts were a grassroots urban aid worker, someone who ministers to the poor, perhaps she's witnessed disappearances no one else cares about.
Another thought was just sort of an Arthur Dent type, total everyman who gets caught up in the absolute ridiculous and somehow survives through sheer tenacity and luck. This person might be really good at boring but necessary things like navigating bureaucracy.
Have not dived deep into the classes to we if these could be fleshed into proper adventurers.
I can see urban aid and Arthur Dent as Tough-Bodyguard or Charisma-Manipulator. Might need some reflavoring.
Sleuth is the best detective, but you can do any profession with any profession, so you can make some interesting combinations.
Hmmm. The link to the backgrounds and profession is blocked by GoogleDocs. No access. :(
Tenatively, I'm thinking of a Smart (or possibly Wise) 25-ish year old man, either a paramedic or someone going through the police academy. In any event, he'll currently be on trauma related leave, as he was involved or witnessed a shooting while in the course of his job.
Hear me out on the next part: While on leave, he was advised by his therapist to get away, so he went camping. While hiking near his campsite, he encounters...a Bigfoot. JUST a sighting, but enough to freak him out.
And then whatever happens to jumpstart the campaign happens...how's that work for a background?
Wise-Sleuth is a pretty cool class for a cop. That's how I built my version of Roger Murtagh.
Ok, police officer, Wise-Sleuth, an aspiring police detective it is! (And this is the avatar for him rather than MyImaginaryCrayon :D)
I've been trying to come up with different concept ideas. One was a detective type (but more investigating everyday stuff like for divorce cases, who then witnesses weirdness), but I think that might be overlapping too much with some other ideas.
Other thoughts were a grassroots urban aid worker, someone who ministers to the poor, perhaps she's witnessed disappearances no one else cares about.
Another thought was just sort of an Arthur Dent type, total everyman who gets caught up in the absolute ridiculous and somehow survives through sheer tenacity and luck. This person might be really good at boring but necessary things like navigating bureaucracy.
Have not dived deep into the classes to we if these could be fleshed into proper adventurers.
Some Background with Charity Profession and Tough Hero/Bodyguard could be pretty interesting. Probably a background that boosts Constitution.
Some possible custom professions I'm considering here, posted for approval, just testing the build rules
Custom Profession: Action Movie Star
+1 to STR (1)
Acrobatics, Athletics proficiency (1)
Basic, Historic, Improvised Equipment proficiency (1)
Special Feature: I Do My Own Stunts You gain expertise in either Acrobatics or Athletics. You must be proficient in a skill to gain expertise in that skill. (.5) (from Investigator's Investigative Expertise)
Iconic Equipment (nunchaku, tracksuit) (0)
Wealth Level 4 (2.5)
Custom Profession: Celebutante
+1 to CHA (1)
Basic Equipment proficiency (0)
"Fancy" foreign language from travel abroad (.5)
Social Sciences proficiency (.5)
Special Feature: Famous for Being Famous You know how to wheedle favors from others and gain advantage on Charisma checks to receive special privileges, such as backstage access, tickets to a sold-out show, or a meeting with a public official (.5) (from Independent's Pulling Strings)
Iconic Equipment (Luxury vehicle, smart phone, tiny and useless pet animal) (0)
Wealth Level 5 (3.5)
Those seem reasonable. I'll have to ponder how Wealth Level will work with Fugitive status. You won't be able to buy big things that require a credit check, I wouldn't think. But we can finagle something.
Everyone, in Professions, Iconic Equipment is just a suggestion and a way to get to playing quickly. You can ignore that.
Also, the game has a concept I love called stuff that is like "car stuff,"
"bag stuff," "pocket stuff." Things you would reasonably have. Not nitpicking every item of equipment.
Those seem reasonable. I'll have to ponder how Wealth Level will work with Fugitive status. You won't be able to buy big things that require a credit check, I wouldn't think. But we can finagle something.
The whole point is to play someone uprooted from their former status and class privilege and now entirely unprepared for life on the run (or only tangentially prepared in the case of the action hero), so that works fine.
Str 8
Dex 14 (+1)
Con 13 (+1)
Wis 16 (+1)
Int 16 (+1,+1)
Cha 10
Misfit
Skill Proficiencies: Insight
Special Feature: Devil in the Details. You gain advantage on Wisdom checks made to discern personal details about someone by directly observing them.
Student
Skill Proficiencies: Computers, Natural Sciences
Wealth Level: 1
Special Feature: All-Nighter. You can remove one level of Exhaustion from yourself. You must finish a long rest before you can do this again.
FIELD RESEARCHER
PROFICIENCIES
Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Investigation, Perception, Social Sciences, Survival
Equipment: Basic
Explorer’s Expertise: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
THE RIGHT TOOL
When you enact this plan as a free action, you produce the perfect tool for the task at hand. You brought it with you, had it brought to you, or knew just where to find it. The tool can be any piece of equipment that you can carry and afford. If it is a weapon, it is fully loaded.
Thinking of shifting to a tough-based character rather than Wise, since I think we have a lack of physical prowess for the assembling characters. Still a police officer, or rather, a sheriff's deputy.
Are we formally building characters for this now or is this still all in the conceptual phase?
I admit for something like this I tend to overbuild for skills and not so much combat indeed... in fact while I overall think this system looks cool and I loved a lot about d20 Modern, I dislike (and have always disliked) basing the classes on ability scores. I think it urges too much minmax/overfocusing on one ability, and tends to make the physical classes solely combat focused (which pushes toward the "my fighter can't do anything but fight" paradigm). This is particularly IMO a problem with the Tough hero as I think there's other ways to make an archetype involving resilience than just having different flavors of tank.
I think the system does a lot to round things out, mind you; this is a superficial issue and I think digging into things you can make what you need to work, work. It's just hard to do some at-a-glance concept building.
Note am heavily biased as I had once started homebrewing my own d20-Modern-inspired system (which is a mess and entirely unfinished, mind) that moved away from the Ability-Score-Classes. You could see the classes' ancestry in the d20 Modern classes but they focused less on the scores and more on archetypal heroic abilities.
Are we formally building characters for this now or is this still all in the conceptual phase?
I'd also like clarity on this!
Quote:
I dislike (and have always disliked) basing the classes on ability scores. I think it urges too much minmax/overfocusing on one ability, and tends to make the physical classes solely combat focused (which pushes toward the "my fighter can't do anything but fight" paradigm). This is particularly IMO a problem with the Tough hero as I think there's other ways to make an archetype involving resilience than just having different flavors of tank.
In the Interest Check thread for this campaign, I linked to this review from the GitP forums. I can't quote from it right now, because I'm at work where GitP is blocked, but in that review a discussion emerged about some of the things you're talking about, DQ.
Sigfried Trent, one of the lead designers joined the discussion, and he points out that they tried to mitigate the focus on any particular "super stats" by making decisions like having Defense based on the PC's primary attribute, and decisions like while Dexterity is the ranged attack stat, certain classes where it makes sense (like the Heavy Gunner) use Strength for relevant ranged attacks. Smart characters can use Intelligence for attacks. Also, non-Tough characters have options for avoiding attacks and generating temporary HP.
Your point stands that it can be hard to visualize a character in a new system at a glance, but I thought it was interesting to bring up
I think we have a small enough group of interest that we can take everyone, so let's go ahead and start working on characters.
I haven't played the game a lot, but I've played several one shots and a few multi-session games. I've seen pretty much every character type be effective in combat.
By when do you want characters finished? I need to survive two more days of weeklong work conference.
I have refined my charity worker idea into nurse practitioner who runs a free clinic (possibly an illegal one; a la Mary in the Batwoman TV series but I realize no one has watched that). I'm thinking maybe leader with faith or caregiver background, or if Fabian is not playing sleuth, going sleuth with maybe multiclass feats for some leader abilities.
How about if we work characters and plot set ups through the weekend and aim for a start Monday or Tuesday next week?
I'm good with going slower than that. I wanted to get the recruitment posted before I get back to work next week, but I'm not in a rush to start the game. I have outlines of two adventures ready to go, though they will need adjustment based on characters.
Right now I'm thinking of starting in a small town in the American West. Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, something like that. You could be from there, passing through, or visiting for work or pleasure.
If that doesn't work for anyone let me know. I've very flexible at this point in the process.
By when do you want characters finished? I need to survive two more days of weeklong work conference.
I have refined my charity worker idea into nurse practitioner who runs a free clinic (possibly an illegal one; a la Mary in the Batwoman TV series but I realize no one has watched that). I'm thinking maybe leader with faith or caregiver background, or if Fabian is not playing sleuth, going sleuth with maybe multiclass feats for some leader abilities.
Watched every wonderful moment and terrible moment of Batwoman.
Str 8
Dex 14 (+1)
Con 13 (+1)
Wis 16 (+1)
Int 16 (+1,+1)
Cha 10
Misfit
Skill Proficiencies: Insight
Special Feature: Devil in the Details. You gain advantage on Wisdom checks made to discern personal details about someone by directly observing them.
Student
Skill Proficiencies: Computers, Natural Sciences
Wealth Level: 1
Special Feature: All-Nighter. You can remove one level of Exhaustion from yourself. You must finish a long rest before you can do this again.
FIELD RESEARCHER
PROFICIENCIES
Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Vehicles, Perception, Social Sciences, Survival
Equipment: Basic
Explorer’s Expertise: Survival, Social Sciences
TALENTS
Calculated Shots (Level 1). You can use your Intelligence modifier instead of your Dexterity Modifier for attack rolls and damage rolls with ranged weapons you are proficient with.
Durability (Level 1). You get a lot more exercise than most scientists. Your Hit Dice are d8 instead of d6. Increase your maximum starting hit points by 2 and your average additional hit points per level by 1.
THE RIGHT TOOL
When you enact this plan as a free action, you produce the perfect tool for the task at hand. You brought it with you, had it brought to you, or knew just where to find it. The tool can be any piece of equipment that you can carry and afford. If it is a weapon, it is fully loaded.
I FIGURED IT OUT
You can activate this plan after studying a piece of technology for one hour. You gain a thorough understanding of how it works. This allows you to operate the technology in a knowledgeable way. It does not give you the ability to hack, cheat, or otherwise abuse the system in a way that it was not designed for, though it will give you advantage on any ability check to try and do so. While normally used to interact with technology, this plan can also be used to understand and interact with a social system, a workflow, a financial system, an ecological system, a bureaucratic system, or anything else along these lines.
I DID THE MATH
You can enact this plan in combat as a bonus action to ensure your next ranged attack this turn automatically hits your target. You must know the location of the target. You can also use this plan any time you make a roll to use explosives or drugs, or in any other situation in which you might need an ability check to measure out the right amount of something to use to achieve a desired effect. You automatically succeed at the ability check. You must finish a long rest before you can activate this plan again.
Yes, definitely in! I'm still going with my Agile Scoundrel character. He'll have some sort of white collar job. Maybe even the "White Collar" profession. "Real Estate Agent" also caught my eye, for some reason. I'll do my best to whip him up over the weekend. I'm spending a lot of the weekend on a plane, which could lend itself to having plenty of time for that, or not nearly enough, depending on how things go.
I'm going to fold both ideas into each other because I keep going back and forth and back and forth, my character is a rich heiress who got tabloid attention as a teenager because of a rebellious streak and ultimately got famous for being famous a la Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and was disinherited. To get back into the good graces of her family, she took time away from the spotlight to focus on "self improvement" and has reemerged on the scene a few years later as a surprisingly well regarded action heroine who insists on doing her own stuntwork.
Formerly known to the public as Angeline Noland, in an attempt to separate her identity from her parents, she has accidentally rebranded herself as Just Angelyna No Last Name.
Might trade intimidation for performance.
Just Angelyna No Last Name:
Just Angelyna No Last Name
Charming Hero (Icon)
--------------------
Defense 15 (+1 AV from armored clothing, i.e., stunt suit)
Hit Points 8 (d8)
Speed 30 ft.
Passive Perception 9
Wealth Level 5
Basic, Advanced, Historical, Improvised equipment proficiency
--------------------
STR 16 (+3)
DEX 14 (+2)
CON 10 (0)
INT 8 (-1)
WIS 8 (-1)
CHA 16 (+3)
--------------------
Saving Throws STR +5, CHA +5
Skills Acrobatics (Ex) +6, Athletics +5, Deception +5, Intimidation +5, Persuasion (Ex) +7, Vehicles +4
Languages English
--------------------
Background Wealthy Family
Increase CHA by 1
Vehicle Proficiency
Trust Fund +1 to Starting Wealth
Profession Action Movie Star
+1 to STR (1)
Acrobatics, Athletics proficiency (1)
Basic, Historic, Improvised Equipment proficiency (1)
Special Feature: I Do My Own Stunts You gain expertise in either Acrobatics or Athletics. You must be proficient in a skill to gain expertise in that skill. (.5) (from Investigator's Investigative Expertise)
Iconic Equipment (cool jacket, smart phone, impractical pet animal) (0)
Wealth Level 4 (2.5)
--------------------
Charming Hero:
Influence (Level 1). You have two influence dice, which are d6s. An influence die is expended when it is rolled. You regain all your expended influence dice when you finish a short or long rest.
Tricks (Level 1). You learn two tricks, chosen from your class’s list of tricks. You learn additional tricks as you gain levels, as shown on the Charming Hero table. Whenever you gain a level in Charming Hero, you can replace one trick you know with another from your class list.
You can use only one trick during a single attack, saving throw, or ability check.
The effect of each trick, as well as the action you must take to enact it, is included in the trick’s individual description. If a trick calls for a saving throw, the save DC is 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. This is your trick DC.
Icon:
Banter (Level 1). As a bonus action, you can give your allies an opening by drawing the attention of an opponent you are aware of who can hear you within 60 feet. The next attack one of your allies makes against that target before the start of your next turn has advantage.
Center of Attention (Level 1). Whenever you desire, you can make yourself the center of attention. As long as you continue to speak, perform, or otherwise attract attention, enemies and bystanders that can see or hear you have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made against anyone and anything other than you.
Tricks:
Do You Know Who I AM?? When you ask someone to do a favor for you, as long as they aren’t overtly hostile, you can roll an influence die to convince them to agree. The target must make a Charisma saving throw against your trick DC. On a failed save, the target does the favor for you, no questions asked. The favor can be timeconsuming, as long as it won’t take more than an hour.
You can choose a number of the following properties for the favor equal to half of the result of the influence die, rounded up.
• The favor can be expensive, as long as it is within the target’s Wealth Level.
• The favor can be embarrassing, as long as the embarrassment won’t cost the target anything but pride.
• The favor can be dangerous, as long as it doesn’t involve combat and there is a reasonable chance to avoid harm.
• The favor can be illegal or could get the target in trouble, as long as there is a chance of not getting caught.
Watch This! After you make an attack roll, Strength (Athletics) check, or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, but before determining the result, roll an influence die and add it to your result. At least one other person must be able to see you to use this trick.
--------------------
I imagine the name happened in a TV interview while promoting her first picture.
"The last time the public saw Angeline Noland, you drunkenly crashed your car thru the gate of your father's mansion and then drove the gate and your vehicle into the side of the building. How-"
"I'm not here to talk about that. I'm not that person anymore, I've changed, I've mended bridges, that's not even my name now. I'm not Angeline Noland," she blinks and smiles, "my name is Just Angelyna. No Last Name."
"Your name is Just Angelyna, No Last Name?"
"That's right, my name is Just Angelyna, No Last Name. And that's 'Angel', Y-N-A."
Rex sat on the couch in a stunned silence. The detective continues to speak to him. "Apparently the truck driver fell asleep at the wheel. I'm so sorry about your parents." His left hand presents a black woman in her fifties. "This is Mrs. Wilkerson. She'll be your social worker. Until we can find a more permanent solution for you."
The fourteen year old excuses himself to the restroom. He knew that there was no other family member that would give him a home. Rex slips into his bedroom and grabs the cash from a coffee can which he saved from mowing lawns. He opens the window and slips into the night.
--------------------------------------------
His 2006 Hyundai Elantra sits in an empty Walmart parking lot. The sh!t-pile of a car had a backseat filled with books. He had erected a tent in a small wooded field behind the dumpster. Inside, Rex celebrates his sixteenth birthday, alone. He sits in his tent with a frosted cherry cupcake.
Rex Slater:
Str 8
Dex 14 (+1)
Con 13 (+1)
Wis 16 (+1)
Int 16 (+1,+1)
Cha 10
Misfit
Skill Proficiencies: Insight
Special Feature: Devil in the Details. You gain advantage on Wisdom checks made to discern personal details about someone by directly observing them.
Student
Skill Proficiencies: Computers, Natural Sciences
Wealth Level: 1
Special Feature: All-Nighter. You can remove one level of Exhaustion from yourself. You must finish a long rest before you can do this again.
FIELD RESEARCHER
PROFICIENCIES
Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Vehicles, Perception, Social Sciences, Survival
Equipment: Basic
Explorer’s Expertise: Survival, Social Sciences
TALENTS
Calculated Shots (Level 1). You can use your Intelligence modifier instead of your Dexterity Modifier for attack rolls and damage rolls with ranged weapons you are proficient with.
Durability (Level 1). You get a lot more exercise than most scientists. Your Hit Dice are d8 instead of d6. Increase your maximum starting hit points by 2 and your average additional hit points per level by 1.
THE RIGHT TOOL
When you enact this plan as a free action, you produce the perfect tool for the task at hand. You brought it with you, had it brought to you, or knew just where to find it. The tool can be any piece of equipment that you can carry and afford. If it is a weapon, it is fully loaded.
I FIGURED IT OUT
You can activate this plan after studying a piece of technology for one hour. You gain a thorough understanding of how it works. This allows you to operate the technology in a knowledgeable way. It does not give you the ability to hack, cheat, or otherwise abuse the system in a way that it was not designed for, though it will give you advantage on any ability check to try and do so. While normally used to interact with technology, this plan can also be used to understand and interact with a social system, a workflow, a financial system, an ecological system, a bureaucratic system, or anything else along these lines.
I DID THE MATH
You can enact this plan in combat as a bonus action to ensure your next ranged attack this turn automatically hits your target. You must know the location of the target. You can also use this plan any time you make a roll to use explosives or drugs, or in any other situation in which you might need an ability check to measure out the right amount of something to use to achieve a desired effect. You automatically succeed at the ability check. You must finish a long rest before you can activate this plan again.
Characters look good so far. I'll do a deep dive on Saturday with what you guys have posted. Not hard to check the numbers.
Fabian, if we get to a point where your Police powers are negated by you being a fugitive, I'm thinking you get advantage for dealing with police procedures or something like that (knowing how to evade a roadblock, stuff like that).
My only red flag is that I don't have a lot of experience with 5E. I play with some friends, but we play so infrequently that I have to re-look up some of the rules every time they come up.
Should have replied to this long ago. I have played 5E a total of 4 times, not counting the times I've let my daughter experiment on me with things she was running, which was really more about parsing rules than playing.
The great thing about PbP is you can take your time to look up the rules.
I expect it will be a learning curve for everyone. I will post some notes about some important rules bits as we get going.
The core is easy. You roll a d20, add a number based on attribute and proficiency, you might have advantage or disadvantage.
Cover, Defense, Armor are different but easy to understand.
Fabian, if we get to a point where your Police powers are negated by you being a fugitive, I'm thinking you get advantage for dealing with police procedures or something like that (knowing how to evade a roadblock, stuff like that).
By when do you want characters finished? I need to survive two more days of weeklong work conference.
I have refined my charity worker idea into nurse practitioner who runs a free clinic (possibly an illegal one; a la Mary in the Batwoman TV series but I realize no one has watched that). I'm thinking maybe leader with faith or caregiver background, or if Fabian is not playing sleuth, going sleuth with maybe multiclass feats for some leader abilities.
Watched every wonderful moment and terrible moment of Batwoman.
Ah, stalwart. :) Well at least you got to see Bridget Regan as Poison Ivy. :)
Silly question: where does the story take place?
Should have character posted soon. She is a nurse practitioner working for a free clinic who has started giving covert medical assistance to folks on the street. Am going Religious Background Medical Profession Wise Sleuth. (The sleuth reflects overall observational skills and ability to work covertly and with wisdom more than being "An Investigator".) I'm thinking she may take multiclass feats to grab some Charismatic/Leader abilities.
Right now I'm thinking of starting in a small town in the American West. Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, something like that. You could be from there, passing through, or visiting for work or pleasure.
If that doesn't work for anyone let me know. I've very flexible at this point in the process.
Overall, I'm thinking the locations will be places that could mostly be played via California Doubling with California or Vancouver. That is sort of a joke, but sort of not.
Clinic could also be a mobile one? Bus/Camper sort of thing? Or you wanted deeper relationships with the community? Either works.
