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Originally Posted by Varyon
Sounds like part of what you need are some good templates to use for springboarding off of.
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This is my biggest roadblock, especially since the other RPGs I know (Call of Cthulhu, Cyberpunk 2020, etc.) either have character templates by profession/archetype in their core books, or even open-source areas accessible for free on the internet. Meanwhile, the basic set only has three incredibly vague variants of "Fighter, Mage, Thief" that just don't fit Dallin. And since I don't want to requote your entire post, I will say thanks for the recommendations, but I don't think I'm spending money on them just yet, so I'll only be getting the free one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon
As you're doing something of a post-apocalypse (albeit I assume very close to the apocalypse itself).
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Well, Lenin-2 is firmly in post-apocalyptic (again, it's after a MAD nuclear exchange reduced it to what Homeline has dubbed a "Hell Parallel"), although since Xing La wasn't written with this supplement in mind, I think it's possible to design the character without using it. However, looking up what I can on the free preview, I think the closest classes that Dallin would fit (based on names, since their specific skillsets weren't shown) would be Hunter, Nomad, or Trooper, with Hunter the closest in combat, and Nomad the closest with stealth skills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon
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I wasn't basing Dallin off the historical W.E. "Dan" Fairbairn, but the fictional
Karl Fairburne (although his wiki page does say he may have drawn inspiration from the other Fairbairn, the most notable difference is that he's an American of German descent, not British). That said, I have found a video demonstrating
Karl Fairburne's "melee takedowns" in Sniper 4, and I was wondering if this could be considered a decent representation of Dan Fairbairn's style - namely, taking an unaware sentry, and ending him as quickly and brutally as possible? Because I'm only making Dallin's melee skills secondary to both sniping and stealth (i.e. it's what happens if he's caught, and either needs to silence an individual guard before he raises an alarm, or fight his way past a pack of melee fighters who've closed the distance before they rip him to shreds - I'd actually borrow somewhat from
the Mad Max game for examples of the later scenario)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon
Modern snipers tend to be a good deal larger than Fairbairn (indeed, most contemporary soldiers tended to be bulkier). Take a look at the Generation Kill miniseries; the actor portraying Rudy Reyes (the sniper) is actually Rudy Reyes himself.
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It may be the case, but I'm also not sure how much it applies to Dallin due to him not officially being an army sniper, just a wasteland survivor who's had to get good at putting feral raiders and Three Spheres troopers into the ground before they ended him first. Thinking it over, I think the best look for him would be Tom Hardy's take on Mad Max, where he had to lose weight after his previous role of Bane (going from about 200 pounds to around 170). The idea being that Dallin is, again, not meant to be a brawler character first and foremost, but still capable of getting bloody if he's forced into it - Hardy said in an interview that his Max was similar to "-a hungry wolf", or, to borrow a phrase from TV Tropes, a
Cornered Rattlesnake. He wasn't exactly in a situation where he could eat healthy or even use a strict exercise regimen (the closest being "walk for miles at a time because finding an functional vehicle is an absolute miracle, and most of the roads and other locations are basically impassable to the few that remain", and "try to ensure some howling maniac doesn't beat you to death with a rusty pipe"), but if he's got no choice, he fully intends to go down swinging.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Brackin
If you want to build a sniper you want either Tactical Shooting or Gun Fu. both books have Templates for snipers with Tactial Shooting being heavily realistic and Gun Fu not realistic at all.
...I looked at Gun Fu's Inspiration source material list and didn't see your guys either but surely you would recognize some of them. Sniper is the least common of the book's "Styles" (another important Gurpsism). Most post Apocalyptic stuff might be more likely to be Army of One or Ultimate Shootist.
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I'd think that Tactical Shooting is the closest bet for me, as Dallin isn't exactly a "trick shooter" outside of his sniper rifle, with the fanciest "tricks" it does (besides targeting vital organs) being shooting through 2 to 3 enemies in line of a bullet's path, or shooting environmental objects that cause more damage than a bullet alone (vehicle gas caps and fuel lines, grenades still attached to a soldier's belt, winches that can drop a pallet of crates on a poor sap's head, etc.). If there's an "I never miss my aim" style, that's probably the one I'll take.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered
The Mook has a page of ready made gurps characters. These are fairly basic, have side explanations of how different mechanics work, and don't have point numbers attached, but they can give you a good idea of what someone else's character looks like. there are a lot of resources on the page. Do a search on the page for "sniper" to get in the right area.
It might be helpful to the OP if people put example snipers they've built or seen used in games they've played here.
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I checked it out, and there is indeed a sniper character (albeit one that needs some tweaking for a post-apocalypse setting, most importantly Survival skills).
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered
EDIT: I found an old west sharpshooter I played for a bit in the PbP forums. He's only 100 points though, and he's more of a scout and survival expert than a warrior, which isn't entirely inappropriate for an ATE sniper. The majority of his points are in talents, perception, and the riffle skill, so he has very flat primary stats. He's also way under the power level You're looking for, but the list of skills may be instructive.
David Egan, age 32
Scout, Guide, Sharpshooter
Code:
ST 10 HP 10
DX 10 will 11
IQ 10 per 13
HT 11 FP 11
Speed 5.25
Move 6
accented Spainish
Broken Apache
Broken Navaho
Stalker Talent 3
Hard to kill 1
Signature Gear (gun)
Signature Gear (Demon)
Cannot Harm innocents
Vow (wanderlust)
Charitable (CR 15)
Guilt complex
Skinny
Religious (quirk)
Dislikes coyotes (quirk)
Survival (Desert) per A 14 4
Survival (Mountian) per A 12 1
Survival (plains) per A 12 1
Wrestling DX A 10 2
Guns (Riffle) DX E 15 16
Riding (Horse) DX A 11 4
Navigation (Lands) IQ A 12 1
Stealth DX A 13 2
Tracking per A 15 1
Camoflage IQ E 13 1
Observation per A 12 1
Animal Handling (Horse) IQ A 10 2
Animal Handling (Cattle) IQ A 10 2
Veteranary (Hoofed beasts) IQ H 9 2
Knot Tying IQ A 9 1
Scrounging per E 13 1
Area Knowledge (Four Corners) IQ E 12 4
Hiking HT A 10 1
Carpentry IQ A 9 1
First Aid IQ E 12 4
Immediate Action Guns(riffle) A 13 2
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I can see this as a "Dallin origin story" build (i.e. when he only starts adventuring, possibly in his mid-to-late teens - hey, the wasteland forces kids to grow up FAST). Granted, since Lenin-2's environment is in such dire straits (Xing La's bio says the only things to eat are either bugs or fish) I don't think cattle or even horses are around, so I think the Animal Handling/Riding skills can be cut. Otherwise, a great find!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcarson
You probably want Weapon Bond for the sniper rifle which means that this weapon fits him just right so he gets a +1 using it.
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That is the idea, and whatever type of sniper rifle I end up settling for Dallin (either higher tech than usual, or around the T6 level of his M1911 and Thompson SMG), it would have been customized over the years - I think I've decided to base it on one of the Unique Rifles from Fallout: New Vegas (as it's where I got my other guns for Dallin):
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Christine's CoS Silencer Rifle
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Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle
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La Longue Carabine
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Paciencia
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Ratslayer