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Old 07-22-2019, 11:50 AM   #1
finn
 
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Default [Madness Dossier] What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

I am slowly preparing a game of Madness Dossier. Its premise is that some of the PCs would be agents of SANDMAN, but others not. The non-SANDMAN PCs will meet the horrors of the Anunnakku, and defeat them together with the SANDMAN agent PCs who arrive at the scene. My plan is that this would lead them into being recruited into (or at least affiliated with) SANDMAN.

The agents should be easy to prepare. I can hand out the templates to the players "as is" and make them choose.

I am having problems in coming up with types of PCs the SANDMAN would recruit. I would like to give the players multiple ideas so they don't feel too restricted in preparing their characters.

So, I will be happy if people could suggest professions and character types that SANDMAN would be interested in recruiting.

Additional Notes:
  • The game will be set in modern Japan.
  • I plan to NOT reveal the core premise of Madness Dossier setting to the players playing the non-SANDMAN PCs before the game. They would know it is a Terrible Secret type conspiracy and espionage game, but the actual secret will be revealed to them in-game.
  • I plan for one of the SANDMAN PCs to be a Golden Child who would be the focus of the first adventure and interact with the non-SANDMAN PCs first.

My ideas so far are:
  • A linguist who studies non-verbal and non-written forms of communications starting with human sign language but extending into knotted rope codes, or certain animal behaviors. (A linguist worth recruiting? also someone who can communicate withe a Golden Child)
  • An ex-soldier/mercenary who met an Anunnakku at a battle zone and survived, but does not understand what they saw. (A good soldier is always welcome)
  • An archaeologist who has found weird things in Japanese archaeological site. (SANDMAN might know little about Anunnakku activity in Japan, and eager for any clues)

Any other ideas, including character types that do not necessarily match the existing templates, would be highly appreciated.

Last edited by finn; 07-22-2019 at 11:55 AM.
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Old 07-23-2019, 05:12 AM   #2
Phil Masters
 
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Default Re: [Madness Dossier]What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

Your ideas so far are basically "people who can be converted into standard Sandman types [neurolinguist, commando, reality archaeologist] with a bit of training and indoctrination". Which is fine, but leaves you with the problem that any Sandman PCs already in those slots should logically be just plain better. Which may annoy the players of the non-Sandmen. And what's the point, really? They're just going to turn into regular Sandmen with a bit of training and experience.

Indeed, if you're giving everyone the same start points, you're going to have interesting problems explaining how the non-Sandman PCs got to be that good. Sandman templates are 350 points, because the organization selects very good people, trains them very well indeed, and gives them cool powers. Unaffiliated 350-point characters (billionaires aside) are quite rare in the modern world.

My own instinct would be to make the non-Sandmen weirdly capable -- the sort of people who make Project analysts mutter about the human collective unconscious throwing up antibodies to Anunnaki infection, worth recruiting rather than brain-wiping because they might just accomplish things that Project training can't. Off the top of my head:
  • Taishers are one obvious example, and already have a template you can tweak to remove the "already in the Project" bits; maybe some fell out of Japanese corporate research rather than national intelligence agencies.
  • Likewise, to play up the Japanese aspect, you could have a "Natural Cheval", which seems like something that could emerge from Shinto practice if you don't mind messing around with an extant religious belief system. For loa, either research original beliefs in detail, or toss in some anime imagery.
  • Going all-in on the ethnic stereotyping -- having martial arts, especially internal forms, grant a degree of resistance to Anunnaku programming isn't totally implausible. And you can hit things!
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Old 07-23-2019, 05:17 AM   #3
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Default Re: [Madness Dossier]What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

The best kind, of course.

(Sorry, wasn't that question for me?)
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Old 07-23-2019, 06:21 AM   #4
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Default Re: [Madness Dossier]What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

I'd read as much Manga as I could and look at the more striking characters from those stories. If you don't have time for that, find the best critical text about Manga and or Japanese fiction you can get, and look up the standard character tropes and how they function in Japanese storytelling. Pick the tropes that fit your game.
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Old 07-23-2019, 09:34 AM   #5
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Default Re: [Madness Dossier]What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

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Originally Posted by Phil Masters View Post
Your ideas so far are basically "people who can be converted into standard Sandman types [neurolinguist, commando, reality archaeologist] with a bit of training and indoctrination". Which is fine, but leaves you with the problem that any Sandman PCs already in those slots should logically be just plain better.
You've nailed my problem.

I do plan to weaken the SANDMAN organization somewhat, so they will not always be able to get the best talent, and they will have a weak presence in Japan (with little or no reality subduction zones found so far) so they will have reason to hire local talent. This should make the recruiting more plausible, but not particularly more "fun".

Your suggestions are helpful, but one thing I have to add it that the players will all be either Japanese or lived in Japan for a long time, so extreme ethnic stereotyping may break the suspension of disbelief. But, I think there is room to explore in the areas you have suggested.

I can also tweak the SANDMAN organization to make the PCs unique. If I introduce a "Natural Cheval" for a non-SANDMAN PC, then the SANDMAN could lack Cheval all together.
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Old 07-23-2019, 09:37 AM   #6
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Default Re: [Madness Dossier]What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

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Originally Posted by Mr_Sandman View Post
The best kind, of course.

(Sorry, wasn't that question for me?)
It wasn't, but your answer was perfect nonetheless.
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Old 07-23-2019, 09:55 AM   #7
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Default Re: [Madness Dossier]What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

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Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
I'd read as much Manga as I could and look at the more striking characters from those stories. If you don't have time for that, find the best critical text about Manga and or Japanese fiction you can get, and look up the standard character tropes and how they function in Japanese storytelling. Pick the tropes that fit your game.
I have done my Manga reading, and so have my potential players, but your suggestion has made me think.

Maybe I should let my players build non-SANDMAN PCs on the power level of mundane but powerful protagonists without magic/superpowers/etc. that you would read in manga. With a budget of maybe 200-250 points.

(software) hacker, charismatic and talented actor, competent doctor, billionaire, mathematics genius, whatever. They will feel that the world is for their taking, until they face the Anunnakku. Or, if the player so chooses, they could play a high school student with no apparent powers, but with a large point pool of "not yet manifested abilities" that they can use for their advancement. Both would need SANDMAN training to survive, and I can make sure that the SANDMAN will have use for them.
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Old 07-23-2019, 11:29 AM   #8
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Default Re: [Madness Dossier]What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

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Originally Posted by finn View Post
I have done my Manga reading, and so have my potential players, but your suggestion has made me think.

Maybe I should let my players build non-SANDMAN PCs on the power level of mundane but powerful protagonists without magic/superpowers/etc. that you would read in manga. With a budget of maybe 200-250 points.

(software) hacker, charismatic and talented actor, competent doctor, billionaire, mathematics genius, whatever. They will feel that the world is for their taking, until they face the Anunnakku. Or, if the player so chooses, they could play a high school student with no apparent powers, but with a large point pool of "not yet manifested abilities" that they can use for their advancement. Both would need SANDMAN training to survive, and I can make sure that the SANDMAN will have use for them.
That sounds like a winning strategy. It lets the players feel in control and it gives them time to figure out/adapt to the Anunnakku (to the degree that you could adapt to madness made manifest).
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Old 07-23-2019, 02:52 PM   #9
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Default Re: [Madness Dossier]What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

It's important to remember that standard 350 point Sandmen are paying 99 of those points for required languages and Patron. If the Project is less powerful in your campaign, the Patron presumably costs less?

It would make sense to have the non-Sandmen PCs built on less points so that when they add the required advantages, and the required [-20] disadvantage, they're on about the same totals as template characters.
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Old 07-27-2019, 10:37 PM   #10
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Default Re: [Madness Dossier]What kind of PCs would the SANDMAN recruit?

Quote:
Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
It's important to remember that standard 350 point Sandmen are paying 99 of those points for required languages and Patron. If the Project is less powerful in your campaign, the Patron presumably costs less?

It would make sense to have the non-Sandmen PCs built on less points so that when they add the required advantages, and the required [-20] disadvantage, they're on about the same totals as template characters.
Good point. As I mentioned, I do plan to have the non-SANDMAN PCs to built at around 200-250 points.

I don't know how powerful the SANDMAN would be as an organization in my game, or how I will handle their Duty.

I've thought over it, and decided to handout 230 points with a disadvantage limit of -20 points plus quirks to non-SANDMAN PCs.

If the game continues over some sessions, they will be given option the join the SANDMAN and receive the template, or discover latent abilities, etc., to close the point gap with the SANDMAN PCs.

Last edited by finn; 07-27-2019 at 10:40 PM.
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