[Action] Vigilante Justice

[Onkl]

Hi guys

I'm working on a suggested setting in the Action series: Vigilante Justice. I envision a GTA-over-the-top kind of game, set in "hollywood" late-TL8 Los Angeles (Come to think of it, why not call it San Andreas) where the players all suffered personal tragedy by the hands of some gangbangers or corrupt officials/law enforcement, thus becoming Vigilantes. The game will be high powered (350 CP) and cinematic.

As suggested in Action, the roles available to the players will be based on the Assassin, Cleaner, Infiltrator, Investigator and Shooter template from said publication. But since I want to go over the top yet not quite superhero, I beefed up the templates. For example, the Assassins can buy Heroic Archer or the "Disappear" Technique (A3:16). Shooters get to upgrade the mandatory Combat Reflexes to ETS to use Bullet Time as suggested in Gun Fu, except they pay by the means of destiny points. It's Action with a twist of Monster Hunters and a dash of Dungeon Fantasy, or so I hope it will turn out to be.

While I can use Martial Arts, Gun Fu and DF11 to upgrade the Assassin, Shooter and Infiltrator templates, I'm not sure what I can do to help the Cleaner and the Investigator to reach the spheres of a shooter with ETS and Destiny 3.

Cleaner Advantages:

Ambidexterity [5], Daredevil [15], Destiny 1-3 [5/level], Fit [5], Gizmo [5/level], Lifting ST 1-2 [3/level], Luck [15], Rapid Healing [5], Regeneration (Slow) [10], Serendipity [15], Signature Gear [1/level], Wild Talent [20/level], Perks [1], Brave [1], Honest Face [1], Off Hand Weapon Training [1], Weapon Bond [1], Trademark Move [1], Techniques [varies]

Will 1-6 [5/level], Problemsolver 3-6 [6/level], Acute Senses (Any) [2/level], Contact Group (Junkyard, Pig Farm, Port Authority...) [varies], Danger Sense [15], Single Minded

Problemsolver Talent = (Camouflage, Forgery, Housekeeping, Holdout, Search, Smuggling)

The first thing that came to my mind is Lifting ST with a limitation (Only when lifting dead bodies - no idea what that would be worth in %) and maybe Hyperspectral Vision (Only Blood, -??%) to find those easy to miss blood splatters.

Investigator Advantages:

Ambidexterity [5], Daredevil [15], Destiny 1-3 [5/level], Fit [5], Gizmo [5/level], Lifting ST 1-2 [3/level], Luck [15], Rapid Healing [5], Regeneration (Slow) [10], Serendipity [15], Signature Gear [1/level], Wild Talent [20/level], Perks [1], Brave [1], Honest Face [1], Off Hand Weapon Training [1], Weapon Bond [1], Trademark Move [1], Techniques [varies]

Gumshoe 3-6 [7/level], Acute Senses (Any) [2/level], Contact Group (Investigative Agency | Police Departement) [varies], Cultural Familiarity (Any) [1], Danger Sense [15], Honest Face [1], Languages (Any) [varies], Sensitive [5] or Empathy [15], Eidetic Memory [5] or Photographic Memory [10]

Gumshoe Talent = (Criminology, Detect Lies, Electronics Operation (Surveillance), Interrogation, Intelligence Analysis, Observation, Search)

Apart from Photographic Memory I couldn't come up with anything here. Maybe some form of "Spirit Advisor" (Mysteries p. 112) as seen in the TV Show Perception.

If you have any ideas how to spice up the Investigator or Cleaner Templates with custom advantages that fit the described setting, please let me know.

Cheers!

Onkl

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Onkl

I'm not sure what I can do to help the Cleaner and the Investigator to reach the spheres of a shooter with ETS and Destiny 3.

The Cleaner could have an Innate Attack (Corrosion) to represent genuine destruction of traces. You'd probably want some limitations like Contact Agent and Preparation Required.

[sir_pudding]

Zeroed for the Cleaner.
Detect (Clues) for the Investigator.

[Miles]

Honestly, at this level of power and cinematic ability, cleaners might be more appropriate as sidekicks or simply unnecessary.

As for Investigators...

Silence 1 or 2 for sneakiness.

Night Vision up to 9.

Let them buy Inspired on their Intuition (30 pts). Same advantage, only on PCP.

Common Sense with Conscious (15 pts) is good for a character that's never at a loss for what to do.

Psychometry is great for characters that can walk into a crime scene and instinctively know what happened. Hypersensory makes it mundane (sort of), but you can go without it for characters with a little supernatural juice or who are just that good. Pretty much every modfier might be useful.

Mind Probe with Accessibility: Must Converse with Target (-20%) and Vision Based (12 pts) is lifted from Powers but works perfectly for an incredibly gifted interrogator who can make any perp crack. Maybe with Prep Required for an extended interrogation.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Onkl

If you have any ideas how to spice up the Investigator or Cleaner Templates with custom advantages that fit the described setting, please let me know.

Discriminatory Vision, for that Sherlock Holmes vibe, for Investigators. He can make highly educated guesses about people's origins, recent past, and psychological disads (and medical disads) just by glancing at them.

Also that, and other advantages, can take the Hypersensory Limitation, turning the advantages from supernatural abilities into non-supernatural "genius" type abilities that are at least borderline plausible.

In general, though, I think you are aiming for a very limited vision of GURPS Action, one that has little room for the Investigator type. A vision with far too much emphasis on gunplay and physical action, and almost completely ignoring the prep work, scouting and infiltration, that is clearly an intended element in GURPS Action. So, based on, that you should leave out the Investigator and Cleaner, and maybe Infiltrator too. They won't fit.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Onkl

Hi guys

Hey.

Originally Posted by Onkl

While I can use Martial Arts, Gun Fu and DF11 to upgrade the Assassin, Shooter and Infiltrator templates, I'm not sure what I can do to help the Cleaner and the Investigator to reach the spheres of a shooter with ETS and Destiny 3.

Cleaner Advantages:

Ambidexterity [5], Daredevil [15], Destiny 1-3 [5/level], Fit [5], Gizmo [5/level], Lifting ST 1-2 [3/level], Luck [15], Rapid Healing [5], Regeneration (Slow) [10], Serendipity [15], Signature Gear [1/level], Wild Talent [20/level], Perks [1], Brave [1], Honest Face [1], Off Hand Weapon Training [1], Weapon Bond [1], Trademark Move [1], Techniques [varies]

Will 1-6 [5/level], Problemsolver 3-6 [6/level], Acute Senses (Any) [2/level], Contact Group (Junkyard, Pig Farm, Port Authority...) [varies], Danger Sense [15], Single Minded

Problemsolver Talent = (Camouflage, Forgery, Housekeeping, Holdout, Search, Smuggling)

The first thing that came to my mind is Lifting ST with a limitation (Only when lifting dead bodies - no idea what that would be worth in %) and maybe Hyperspectral Vision (Only Blood, -??%) to find those easy to miss blood splatters.

I personally think that the Cleaner template is awesome as-written, and would love to blow 350 points on it. I'd just load him up on all of the meta-advantages like Serendipity, Luck, and Daredevil, max out Problem Solver Talent, avoid skimping on Wild Talent, and maybe pad out combat a little with the remainder, for a well-rounded action antihero who can literally get away with murder.

[PK]

Originally Posted by Onkl

It's Action with a twist of Monster Hunters and a dash of Dungeon Fantasy, or so I hope it will turn out to be.

Sounds cool!

The first thing that came to my mind is Lifting ST with a limitation (Only when lifting dead bodies - no idea what that would be worth in %)

I'd go the full -80% on it. That's really specific. It might be kind of weird though, having a character who can easily carry (say) two dead bodies, but not two injured friends. It's a very meta distinction, possibly enough to break suspension of disbelief.

I might instead go with a perk: Shtick (Can carry bodies without getting forensic evidence on himself) to avoid getting all bloody from dragging corpses around.

maybe Hyperspectral Vision (Only Blood, -??%) to find those easy to miss blood splatters.

Nah, go with Detect (Spilled Blood; Must be able to perceive with some sense, -10%) [9] instead. Unless the blood is in a sealed container or something, he gets a roll to see it, smell it, feel traces of it, etc. (The limitation is a weaker version of Sense-Based.) In an Action game, I'd say blood is worth a base 10 points.

Investigator Advantages:

How about letting them buy extra levels of Serendipity (Aspected, Clues, -20%; Usable only once per investigative scene, -20%) [9/level]? The investigator always finds one extra clue beyond what his natural skills would have discovered. Up to you how many levels, but the "once per scene" limitation makes it fairly self-policing -- eight levels won't help if there are never more than 2-3 scenes per session.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by PK

I'd go the full -80% on it. That's really specific. It might be kind of weird though, having a character who can easily carry (say) two dead bodies, but not two injured friends. It's a very meta distinction, possibly enough to break suspension of disbelief.

Wounded people have all sorts of vulnerabilities. If you twist a limb (or neck, or spine) the wrong way, they might give off noise, or become worse off, and unless unconscious (and possibly even when, although to a slighter degree) they may move large muscles autonomously making them harder to move around, compared to ragdoll-like corpses.

Sure, it's not realistic, but it's not absurdly far-fetched either, and the deal can be sweetened slightly by turning it into a sort of Meta-Trait, that consists of 2 levels of Lifting ST, with only one of them having the Corpses Only Limitation. Maximum of 3 levels of this Meta-Trait, or whatever feels appropriate to the worldbuilder.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Discriminatory Vision, for that Sherlock Holmes vibe, for Investigators. He can make highly educated guesses about people's origins, recent past, and psychological disads (and medical disads) just by glancing at them..

Also their intimate relationships, as per Dale Cooper from "Twin Peaks".

Or potentially a broader ability to detect covert social hierarchies. There's an example of that in one of the early episodes of "Lie to Me", when the Lightman Group is negotiating with some diplomats from a foreign country that has taken hostages, and they try to find out which of the diplomats is the one truly in charge. That can be potentially useful in a fight (if the leader of the enemy squad isn't wearing a fancier uniform than the others, or he isn't shouting orders right and left) but would also be much more difficult to detect there, compared to in a social situation (the Lightman folks figure it out by noticing the order in which the diplomats enter through a door, and by having CF: Middle East).

[Onkl]

Thank you all so much for your input, it is greatly appreciated. Of course, I have some follow up questions:

Originally Posted by johndallman

The Cleaner could have an Innate Attack (Corrosion) to represent genuine destruction of traces. You'd probably want some limitations like Contact Agent and Preparation Required.

A little unsure about this - it seems strange to me. Preperation required makes a lot of sense, as does contact agent. I'll have to think about how to describe this ability without making it look to much of a supernatural ability.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Zeroed for the Cleaner.
Detect (Clues) for the Investigator.

Here are the levels I came up with for Detect (Clues), what do you think?

Rare [5]: Blood Splatter or Urin or Shell Casings or Bullets or Knives or Hammers or Fingerprints
Occasional [10]: Bodily fluids or Hair and Skinflakes or shell casings and bullets or blunt force weapons
Common [20]: DNA, Murder Weapons
Very Common [30]: Everything mentioned above

Originally Posted by Miles

Psychometry is great for characters that can walk into a crime scene and instinctively know what happened. Hypersensory makes it mundane (sort of), but you can go without it for characters with a little supernatural juice or who are just that good. Pretty much every modfier might be useful.

Mind Probe with Accessibility: Must Converse with Target (-20%) and Vision Based (12 pts) is lifted from Powers but works perfectly for an incredibly gifted interrogator who can make any perp crack. Maybe with Prep Required for an extended interrogation.

Bought! :) Thanks!

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Discriminatory Vision, for that Sherlock Holmes vibe, for Investigators. He can make highly educated guesses about people's origins, recent past, and psychological disads (and medical disads) just by glancing at them.

Also that, and other advantages, can take the Hypersensory Limitation, turning the advantages from supernatural abilities into non-supernatural "genius" type abilities that are at least borderline plausible.

Clever, thank you very much.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

In general, though, I think you are aiming for a very limited vision of GURPS Action, one that has little room for the Investigator type. A vision with far too much emphasis on gunplay and physical action, and almost completely ignoring the prep work, scouting and infiltration, that is clearly an intended element in GURPS Action. So, based on, that you should leave out the Investigator and Cleaner, and maybe Infiltrator too. They won't fit.

The game I plan to run is a little bit like Charlies Angels. The Group has a Patron who gives them missions, for completing the missions they get Patron Points which they can spend on base upgrades, group Allys (NPCs usefull for the whole group, like a Hacker or a Wheelman), and one time uses (dropping charges against an NPC, Medevac...) but they all have Duty.

The Patron insists on cleanly executed missions, or they get a deduction of Patron Points. Also, no collateral damage. So planing is essential, this is where the Investigator and Infiltrator play their role. To leave no clues behind, the Cleaner is also a must for every group.

The more clues and carnage the group leaves behind, the more "Heat" they get (I'm still unsure how to implement this, but it should work a little bit like the "Stars Rating" in GTA).

The game will be heavy on gunplay, but every PC has a minimum of 16 Skill in his primary weapon skill, Luck and Combat Reflexes.

Your objection was the primary criticism from my players after test session one - the Investigator and the Cleaner thought their characters had too little combat usability. I hope that I will be able to sort this out, in the second session all went like a charm.

Originally Posted by PK

Sounds cool!
I'd go the full -80% on it. That's really specific. It might be kind of weird though, having a character who can easily carry (say) two dead bodies, but not two injured friends. It's a very meta distinction, possibly enough to break suspension of disbelief.

I might instead go with a perk: Shtick (Can carry bodies without getting forensic evidence on himself) to avoid getting all bloody from dragging corpses around.

Nah, go with Detect (Spilled Blood; Must be able to perceive with some sense, -10%) [9] instead. Unless the blood is in a sealed container or something, he gets a roll to see it, smell it, feel traces of it, etc. (The limitation is a weaker version of Sense-Based.) In an Action game, I'd say blood is worth a base 10 points.

Excellent! Please have a look at the levels of detect I set above. Your Limitation makes a lot of sense though!

Originally Posted by PK

How about letting them buy extra levels of Serendipity (Aspected, Clues, -20%; Usable only once per investigative scene, -20%) [9/level]? The investigator always finds one extra clue beyond what his natural skills would have discovered. Up to you how many levels, but the "once per scene" limitation makes it fairly self-policing -- eight levels won't help if there are never more than 2-3 scenes per session.

Love it!

Cheers!

Onkl