Character Creation: "Realistic" Sci-Fi

[Hide]

What's up!

I am going to play in a sci-fi setting, based on XCOM. I have played very little of the game and investigating about it to gave me an idea of the world.

I have been playing in mostly cinematic settings; so, what skills would you recommend to my assault-team operative?

My concern is creating a "fool-proof character" capable of carrying their task as any trained personnel might do. For example, having guns w/o fast draw weapon or ammo might be rather disturbing during a gun-fight; being a spy w/o stealth or disguise could be disappointing for a so-called professional.

Do you get my idea?

I would like your insight for skill levels; I usually end up investing a lot for this matter and perhaps I am using more than needed, SL at this moment tops at 15.

Right now, I am thinking of these skills:

Acrobatics
Judo
Fast draw (ammo & pistol)
Guns (Pistol)
Mental Strength
Stealth
Intelligence Analysis

FYI: I also got the advantage gunslinger, and a small talent +4 to improve the aforementioned skills (except fast-drawing).

Updating the setting: Regarding the PCs setting, it seems we are going to be covert agents. We are going to engage against infiltrated spies and sometimes a few aliens. Something between James Bond & MIB.

How about it?
- Hide

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Hide

FYI: I also got the advantage gunslinger, and a small talent +4 to improve the aforementioned skills (except fast-drawing).

How about it?
- Hide

By definition, Gunslinger is cinematic rather than realistic. As for the Talent, in general GURPS does not allow Talents to include weapon skills, and I believe that extends to Fast-Draw, though I can't cite chapter and verse.

If you want a character who's a really good shot, put a lot of points into the appropriate Guns skill. I would say, "go for high DX," but it costs 4 points to get +1 to Guns, another 4 points to get +1 to Fast-Draw, and 20 points to get +1 to DX, so it may be better to just buy the skills.

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by whswhs

As for the Talent, in general GURPS does not allow Talents to include weapon skills, and I believe that extends to Fast-Draw,

Actually, it's not correct that weapon skills are not allowed in Talents. Power-Ups 3: Talents includes a number of Talents that include weapon skills, and several that include Fast-Draw as well.

The description of custom Talents in Characters does disallow "Weapon Talent", it's true, but I'm pretty sure what it's warning against is a hypothetical Talent that covers all sorts of weapons, not against putting weapon skills in a talent. It's in the same line as suggesting against a "Ninja Talent", and there are certainly skills I'd characterize as "ninja skills" included in the Talents in Characters: Camouflage, Tracking, Acting, and so on.

Honestly, if someone wanted to purchase Weapon Talent, I don't think I'd complain for balance reasons. If someone wants to spend 15 points for +1 to a bunch of skills that are mostly based on DX and mostly have good defaults to one another anyway, instead of spending 20 points and increasing all DX-based skills, plus their Basic Speed, well, more power to them, I say.

[weby]

In general unless cinematic things are in play the by the book gunslinger is a bad choice. The same 25 points would allow you to raise gun skill by six.

Gun skill can never be "too high" as the default use is at a penalty (range penalty) and in many setting you want to be able to target chinks in armor and such. If predictive shooting is allowed then it is even more so.

In general a shooter type should really use as many points as the GM allows in the gun or beamweapon skill up to about 1/4 of total points.

as for what other skills you should have: I have couple of lists for my scifi setting that you may want to use as inspiration. The most relevant is: https://water.roto.nu/seikkailu/doku...ics_background

[Varyon]

For skill levels, there are two really good posts on Gaming Ballistic for that, one for melee and one for ranged.

Gunslinger is cinematic rather than realistic (but might be realistic for a cyborg or similar), and you'll also need to consider if you'd be better off just putting those points in Guns skill (if you aren't intending to do stunts and the like, boosting Guns skill will typically be a better investment).

Mental Strength is also cinematic, and is only really useful if you're expecting psi's, mages, or similar. Honestly, unless you're really pressed for points, boosting Will is a better option.

Finally, Talents are meant to have some theme to them, and the one you've come up with doesn't really have that - but if the GM is fine with Talent (My Character), then that's alright.

[Ulzgoroth]

X-Com characters generally have very limited use for pistols. They're straight-up military/paramilitary troopers, and accordingly normally use shoulder arms as their primary weapons with pistols carried as side-arms for troops with specialist weapons, or rarely primary weapons for specialist troops (like trooper with assault shields in Xenonauts).

But you seem to be envisioning much more of a secret agent/conspiracy operative. If that's actually what your campaign is going to be like, maybe a different description would be good.

An XCOM squaddie probably won't use Judo much (though it could have some use against melee aliens if they're good enough) or Acrobatics (they're likely to be too loaded out for Acrobatic Dodge to be much good and things are much more cover-shooter than parkour-shooter in style), and Intelligence Analysis is somebody else's job. Guns (Rifle) is the basic core skill, Mental Strength may or may not be taught but is very desirable if (as is traditional) the aliens have psi. Stealth isn't usually an option in the games but would be good if your aliens don't have overwhelming sensory superiority and/or psychic spotting. Fast Draw (ammo) is seldom mandatory but never hurts.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

Actually, it's not correct that weapon skills are not allowed in Talents. Power-Ups 3: Talents includes a number of Talents that include weapon skills, and several that include Fast-Draw as well.

There's a reason that I said "in general." Anyone who wants to go that route really ought to look at the special cases and see if the Talent they want fits one of them.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by whswhs

By definition, Gunslinger is cinematic rather than realistic. .

I'm not a big X-Com guy but from a novelization I read long ago I believe it centers on a secret organization of highly competent commandoes in a world mostly like our own repelling an alien invasion.

As such it's not so much "realistic". Indeed it has a number of highly cinematic elements. However it doesn't have humans with much tech beyond TL8/9. At least until they capture them from the aliens.

So I think the OP was mostly thinking about realistic _equipment_ that his character might be using.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

I'm not a big X-Com guy but from a novelization I read long ago I believe it centers on a secret organization of highly competent commandoes in a world mostly like our own repelling an alien invasion.

As such it's not so much "realistic". Indeed it has a number of highly cinematic elements. However it doesn't have humans with much tech beyond TL8/9. At least until they capture them from the aliens.

So I think the OP was mostly thinking about realistic _equipment_ that his character might be using.

Maybe somewhat (though I think anyone who's played the games is likely to have doubts about 'highly competent'), but high flying pistol-fu is extremely uncharacteristic, and if you're not doing that sort of thing Gunslinger is likely not what you want.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Maybe somewhat (though I think anyone who's played the games is likely to have doubts about 'highly competent'), but high flying pistol-fu is extremely uncharacteristic, and if you're not doing that sort of thing Gunslinger is likely not what you want.

<shrug> The guys in the novelization were highly competent. Not really a video game kind of guy.

Any plots with alien invasions that Earthlings repel is of limited realism.

......and yes, unless you're going full Gun Fu, Gunslinger isn't really that good a deal before TL10.