[OCC]: Space Merchant

[Talosian]

Its mandatory. You have to learn somewhere. In fact, I should probably outlaw smooth space for PCs. Its not in your system, and humans avoid it.

I'm not distingushing between an autocannon and a machine gun, and anything slower than that isn't too likely to hit anything is these battles. They may get used on strafing runs, but not in fighter combat.

Gotcha.

I'm working that out. Crew size will be small: the players and three or four others. People will come on and go off though. The Ship is mostly cargo space, and should be about SM +10. When unloaded it drops a size class and becomes a MUCH faster ship.

I have sadly seen only one episode of firefly. I believe thats the crew size we want though.

That's pretty much Firefly sized, yeah.

-

Is there any cryogenics tech, and if so, would a character that had seen the original war be acceptable?

The "destroyers of earth" are a particuarly intolerant breed, and have a nice tech edge on everyone else, but are quite rare, quarrelsome within themselves, and seem to have been forced out of this area of space. Their legacy is technology: a few artifacts are left, mostly ships and weapons. They have a "ghost particle weapon" no one else seems able to make.

How do they roll in general? Do they kill everything on sight? Take prisoners? Torture and kill them?

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Talosian

Is there any cryogenics tech, and if so, would a character that had seen the original war be acceptable?

Cryogenics is not in use among humans. (some other species use it).

Earth's destruction was 50 years ago, and their medical tech is quite good, if rather expensive, so its not out of the question even without cryogenics. We can handwave aging rolls if thats an issue (it shouldn't be)

How do they roll in general? Do they kill everything on sight? Take prisoners? Torture and kill them?

They kill on sight, and they usually don't leave their ships. Usually they rely on brute force to destroy: they are the only race to consistently use antimatter (no one has figured out their production techniques yet), and bombard any habitable world they find seemingly as a matter of principle. They are at least one TL ahead of everyone else.

[ericthered]

Talosian, Matrix Walker, hoping to see characters from you soon.

[the_matrix_walker]

Gabriel Bell [125]
Player: Michael aka The_Matrix_Walker

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 185lbs
Hair: Light Brown
Eyes: Green
Age: 26

Appearance: Attractive, Olive complexion, multicultural heritage.
Impressions: Bell is animated, engaging and articulate in conversation and is always impeccably dressed.
(Meta: +11 in general Reaction bonuses)

Spoiler:  

Attributes [80]

ST 10 - DX 10 - IQ 14 [80] - HT 11 [10]
HP 10 - Will 13 [-5] - Per 14 - Fatigue 11- BS 5.00 [-5] - BM 5

Advantages / Perks [83]

Attractive Appearance [4]
Charisma 4 [20]
Fit [5]
Born Talker 4 [40]
Voice [10]
Signature Gear: Techbot Servant [2]
Alcohol Tolerance [1]
Penetrating Voice [1]
Bell Logistics (Patron + Duty)[0]

Disadvantages / Quirks [-88]

Chummy [-5]
Greed (15) [-7]
Insomniac [-15]
Pacifism: Cannot Harm Innocents [-10]
Cybernetic Limbs (Quadriplegic and Move -5, Mitigator, -70%)[-31]
Sense of Duty: Crew Mates [-5]
Obsession: Establish Trade Routes [-10]

Dislikes being called "Gabe" [-1]
Quotes his father [-1]
Open Minded [-1]
Caries a 10$ gold piece from the old USA for "Yankee Trader" luck [-1]
Imaginative [-1]

Skills [50]

Accounting IQ/H 12 [1]
Acting IQ/A 18 [2] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)
Administration IQ/A 17 [1] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)
Body Language Per/A 17 [1] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)
Brawling DX/E 10 [1]
Carousing HT/E 12 [2]
Computer Operation/TL IQ/E 14 [1]
Current Affairs (Business)/TL IQ/E 14 [1]
Detect Lies Per/H 16 [1] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)
Diplomacy* IQ/H 20 [4] (Includes +4 for Born Talker and +2 for Voice)
Economics IQ/H 12 [1]
Electronics Ops, Comms IQ/A 13 [1]
Fast-Talk* IQ/A 20 [2] (Includes +4 for Born Talker and +2 for Voice)
Finance IQ/H 12 [1]
First Aid/TL IQ/E 14 [1]
Gambling IQ/A 13 [1]
Guns (Pistols) DX/E 11 [1]
Holdout IQ/A 13 [1]
Intelligence Analysis/TL IQ/H 12 [1]
Interrogation IQ/A 13 [1]
Intimidation Will/A 17 [1] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)
Law† IQ/H 13 [1]
Leadership IQ/A 13 [1]
Literature IQ/H 12 [1]
Market Analysis IQ/H 12 [1]
Merchant IQ/A 20 [8] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)
Observation Per/A 14 [2]
Propaganda/TL IQ/A 17 [1] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)
Public Speaking* IQ/A 15 [1] (Includes +2 for Voice)
Research/TL IQ/A 13 [1]
Savoir-Faire (High Society)† IQ/E 18 [1] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)
Scrounging Per/E 14 [1]
Sex Appeal * HT/A 17 [1] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)
Shadowing IQ/A 13 [1]
Smuggling IQ/A 13 [1]
Streetwise IQ/A 17 [1] (Includes +4 for Born Talker)


General Reaction Bonuses : +1 Appearance, +2 Voice, +4 Charisma, +2 Dimplocacy-20, +2 Fast talk 20:

Total +11

Commercial Transactions
Reaction Bonuses (added to General) : +2 Merchant, +4 Born Talker

Total +17 for trade.

[ericthered]

couple of notes:

trade routes don't exist at this point in time: you're reconnecting with the rest of humanity. Area knowledge (trade routes) isn't available.

What's the real name? I can't keep on calling him Gabe....

Pacifism: Self Defense [-15]
Post Combat Shakes (12) [-5]
Squeamish (12) [-10]

These will make intimidation a lot less effective. Just saying. (and perhaps interrogation). Also, he has a LOT of disads effecting combat. Squeamish and Post Combat Shakes will stack poorly (if the combat has any blood, though many won't). And I don't want fright checks in this game. They don't feel right. I'm trying to think up a solution, because its a valid character concept, its just not worth -15 (in part cause I don't want to enforce the worst part of it). Any ideas?

Savoir-Faire (High Society)† IQ/E 14 [1]

This isn't some form of "mafia" because...? or am I reading too much into the "black market aspect".

Also, can he drive?

EDIT: and thanks for getting it up!

[the_matrix_walker]

Originally Posted by ericthered

What's the real name? I can't keep on calling him Gabe....

Ooops! His name is Gabriel Bell

Originally Posted by ericthered

These will make intimidation a lot less effective. Just saying. (and perhaps interrogation).

Unless they are currently a bloody mess, or the interrogation is on the battlefield itself, I don't see how it would impact either skill... Unless they knew him well enough to know the details of his character

Originally Posted by ericthered

Also, he has a LOT of disads effecting combat. Squeamish and Post Combat Shakes will stack poorly (if the combat has any blood, though many won't).

And I don't want fright checks in this game. They don't feel right.

I see the your point on stacking in the event of a bloody conflict, but otherwise, Squeamish shouldn't be a combat factor very often and Post Combat shakes is only after it's over... I think the characterization of "a LOT" is a bit inflated, but neither disadvantage has any applicability if you don't want anything involving fright checks. So I suppose I'll go back to the drawing board.

Originally Posted by ericthered

This isn't some form of "mafia" because...? or am I reading too much into the "black market aspect".

Also, can he drive?

EDIT: and thanks for getting it up!

The social skill for the underworld is Streetwise. I could certainly add something for Mafia if you like.

And sure he can drive, everyone gets a default. The vast majority of drivers in the world drive at default, with routine use bonuses. Unless you're talking about a professional driver, the driving skill doesn't belong on most character sheets.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

Unless they are currently a bloody mess, or the interrogation is on the battlefield itself, I don't see how it would impact either skill... Unless they knew him well enough to know the details of his character

Self Defense. I suppose it won't impact too many instances, but they will be there. It will also depend on the nature of the threat: many are off limits due to the Ick factor.

I see the your point on stacking in the event of a bloody conflict, but otherwise, Squeamish shouldn't be a combat factor very often and Post Combat shakes is only after it's over... I think the characterization of "a LOT" is a bit inflated, but neither disadvantage has any applicability if you don't want anything involving fright checks. So I suppose I'll go back to the drawing board.

Something similar could be invoked for fewer points. but feel free to dig whatever up.

The social skill for the underworld is Streetwise. I could certainly add something for Mafia if you like.

Thats fine. Ok.

And sure he can drive, everyone gets a default. The vast majority of drivers in the world drive at default, with routine use bonuses. Unless you're talking about a professional driver, the driving skill doesn't belong on most character sheets.

hmm... I suppose. though the default on it is NASTY. for that character it doesn't make too much of a difference though.

[the_matrix_walker]

I'll cook something up... shame though, I liked the combination.

[Talosian]

I'll write up his history properly later, but in super short form, he's a hot-headed but very competent pilot that used to lead a fighter squadron. After being shot down in one dogfight while flying the equivalent of a gunship, he crashed on wild planet. He and the rest of the gunships crew were captured by hostile aliens, tortured and killed one by one. Ezra was the only one to successfully escape, though he'd lost most of the fingers on his right hand during the torture. He spent most of the next two years struggling to survive in the swampy forests before he was miraculously found by a human ship that was passing by. His fingers were replaced with artificial digits, and he briefly returned to the military before retiring. His torture and the torture and deaths of his companions have left him suffering from frequent nightmares and flashbacks, and his years spent in isolation have left him terrified of being on his own (more panic attack-y than outright terror in flavor).

(If the aliens don't fit at all, they can be scrapped and replaced with vicious beasties fairly easily.)

Ezra Hackman

Attributes [85]
ST 10 [0]
DX 12 [40]
IQ 12 [40]
HT 10 [0]

HP 10
Will 12
Per 13 [5]
FP 10

Basic Lift 20
Damage 1d-2/1d

Basic Speed 5.5
Basic Move 5

Advantages [50]

Combat Reflexes [15]
Familiarity (Lichanen Equipment) [1]
Fit [5]
G-Experience 1 (Zero Gravity) [1]
Improved G-tolerance (0.3) [5]
Language (Lichanen, Broken) [2]
Suit Familiarity (Vacc Suit) [1]
Talent (Born Spacer) 4 [20]

Disadvantages [-78]

Appearance (Unattractive) [-4]
Autophobia (CR 9/-3) [-15]
Code of Honor (Soldier's) [-10]
Flashbacks (Mild) [-5]
Impulsiveness (CR 12) [-10]
Intolerance (Lichanen) [-5]
Nightmares (CR 9) [-7]
Overconfidence (CR 12) [-5]
Selfless (CR 9) [-7]
Sense of Duty (Companions) [-5]
Stubbornness [-5]

Quirks [-5]

Always Carries a Knife
Nosy
Plays Music On the Ship's Comm During Battles
Responsive
Startles Easily

Features

Bionic Fingers: Distinctive Features [-1], Missing Digit (Thumb, Mitigator -70%) [-1]. Blunt Claws (One Hand -~34%) [2].

(Missing Digit (Thumb) is a stand in for multiple missing fingers, as buying Missing Digit (Finger) repeatedly would have been unbalanced. This is the result of me brainstorming the likely results of bionic fingers, and I'd be willing to scrap the game stats. Blunt Claws are not actually claws, just metal fingers that don't experience pain...)

Skills [73]

Space [15]
Aerobatics, DX+2, (H), 14 [1]*
Astronomy, IQ-2, (H), 10 [1]
Free Fall, DX+3, (A), 15 [1]*
Navigation (Interstellar), IQ+4, (A), 16 [2]*
Navigation (Space), IQ+4, (A), 16 [2]*
Piloting (High-Performance Spacecraft), DX+4, (A), 16 [2]*
Piloting (Low-Performance Spacecraft), DX+4, (A), 16 [2]*
Piloting (Warp, Hard Space), DX+4, (A), 16 [2]*
Spacer, IQ+4, (E), 16 [1]*
Vacc Suit, DX+3, (A), 15 [1]*

Social [11]
Body Language, Per-1, (A) 12 [1]
Carousing, HT+2, (E), 12 [4]
Diplomacy, IQ-2, (H), 10 [1]
Fast Talk, IQ-1, (A), 11 [1]
Gambling, IQ-1, (A), 11 [1]
Leadership, IQ+0, (A), 12 [2]
Savoir-Faire (Military), IQ+0, (E), 12 [1]

Survival [7]

First Aid, IQ+0, (E), 12 [1]
Scrounging, Per+0, (E), 12 [1]
Stealth, DX-1, (A), 11 [1]
Survival (Swampland), Per-1, (A), 12 [1]
Survival (Woodlands), Per+0, (A), 13 [2]
Swimming, HT, (E), 10 [1]

Combat [19]
Beam Weapons (Pistol), DX+1, (E), 13 [2]
Beam Weapons (Rifle), DX+0, (E), 12 [1]
Brawling, DX+0, (E), 12 [1]
Fast-Draw (Knife), DX+1, E, 13 [1]**
Gunner (Beams), DX+2, (E), 14 [4]
Gunner (Machine Gun), DX+2, (E), 14 [4]
Guns (Pistol), DX+1, (E), 13 [2]
Guns (Rifle), DX+0, (E), 12 [1]
Knife, DX+1, E, 13 [2]
Wrestling, DX-1, (A), 11 [1]

Miscellaneous [21]
Computer Operation, IQ+0, (E), 12 [1]
Electronics Operation (Sensors), IQ+1, (A), 13 [4]
Hidden Lore (Lichanen), IQ-1, (A), 11 [1]
Mathematics (Applied), IQ-2, (H), 10 [1]
Mechanic (High-Performance Spacecraft), IQ+0, (A), 12 [2]
Mechanic (Low-Performance Spacecraft), IQ+0, (A), 12 [2]
Observation, Per+0, (A), 13 [2]
Soldier, IQ+1, (A), 13 [4]
Tactics, IQ+0, (H), 12 [4]


[85] + [50] + [73] - [78] - [5] = 125

-

Yes, he has a dangerous load of disadvantages that might get him killed or in serious trouble, and I am totally okay with that if the GM is :D

[ericthered]

Hmm... Fright checks...Not a fan... I'll tell you what: reduce the point cost by 5 and take the penalty when the phobia is in play. That goes for both Matrix Walker and Talosian. If you want to use a 5 point version (post combat shakes counts) it will need to last for a day. I hope that's fair.

Flashbacks...hmmm. I'm not sure if the person isn't doing anything during the hallucination, or if they just get the penalty for that amount of time. Could someone explain?

Only one sleep-base disadvantage please.

Yes, I think I can deal with the massive set of disads.

The Replaced fingers is a nice touch (more on that later).

Alien torture:
The aliens who would have done this are called the Lichanen, and what they would have done is not technically torture, but experiments (which most humans would have seen as just as monstrous). They would be trying to do things which to them make perfect sense and would have improved the human's quality of life. He would not come out looking the same, though everything would be 'fixable'. He would have stolen the ship and escaped off world that way. The local government would have course confiscated the ship.

package offer[0]:
decreased appearance 1 [-4]
Hidden Lore (Lichanen) [1]
Lichanen Language (broken) [2]
Familiarity (Lichanen Equipment) [1]

Alternatively, we can use Alien Beasts.