Building a Better Bourne

[PPoS]

Originally Posted by Þorkell

High Pain Threshold?

I can't see why not. He was shot in the shoulder/chest and could still, without any problems, drive a car chased by an assassin and the police through crowded streets.

Oh, he could apparently also use First Aid while driving like a maniac. It doesn't have anything directly to do with HPT, but well ... That's Bourne for ya.

[TheOneRonin]

Originally Posted by Langy

Just 16+ period. With 15 DX, that'd still just be 16+.

That is, I'm not saying he should definitely have 16 points in his combat skills - his skill level should be 16 or higher.

My bad, I thought you meant "16+ points in his skills", not "a skill level of 16 or better".

[TheOneRonin]

Originally Posted by Witchking

I am not fixed on any IQ score...however from the movies (havent read books yet) I would probably buy up Perception a tick or two from the IQ score.

I am thinking of the scene in the diner from the first movie where he is rattling off things like "the guy drinking coffee at the counter is 220 lbs, left handed, and knows how to handle himself; there are six cars in the parking lot and I can tell you which one is most likely to have a gun. etc etc etc."

A lot of that is training to interpret the information. But you need The Perception and PER-based skills or you are sunk before you start.

my 2 pfenning...

Yup. Here is the exact quote:

"I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab of the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking."

I agree 100%...very high Perception/Observation, probably with some Eidetic/Photographic memory too.

I feel like IQ 13 is probably minimum to do that kind work...and 14 would be better, but dang is it expensive...

[TheOneRonin]

Okay, so here is what I have from the community so far:

ST: 13
DX: 15
HT: 13
Basic Speed: 7

Karate: 16
Judo: 16
Melee Weapon skill(s) (still waiting for a list)

Incidentally, what would you use to mimic all the improvised weapons that Bourne uses (ink pen and rolled up magazine, in particular)?


ADVANTAGES (Combat Related only)
-Combat Reflexes: check!
-Danger Sense: check!
-What else? (still need more of these)

TECHNIQUES (melee combat only)
None yet


Does that look Bourne-worthy, at least in the combat arena, so far?

[Danukian]

Improvised Weapons is a Perk in Martial Arts, He might even have Weapon Master: Improvised Weapons...

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

ST: 13
DX: 15
HT: 13
Basic Speed: 7

I'd do ST 14, DX 15-16, HT 14, BS 7.25-7.50

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

Karate: 16
Judo: 16
Melee Weapon skill(s) (still waiting for a list)

I'd put both Karate and Judo closer to 20. Maybe as high as 24. Knife, Shortsword, Tonfa, minimum. Also around 20.

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

Incidentally, what would you use to mimic all the improvised weapons that Bourne uses (ink pen and rolled up magazine, in particular)?

Improvised Weapons perk. Specialize by skill, so probably Knife for those two in particular.

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

ADVANTAGES (Combat Related only)
-Combat Reflexes: check!
-Danger Sense: check!
-What else? (still need more of these)

Extra Attack 1, High Pain Threshold, Hard to Kill, Very Fit.

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

TECHNIQUES (melee combat only)
None yet

Knee Strike and Elbow Strike like a mofo. Aggressive Parry?

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

Does that look Bourne-worthy, at least in the combat arena, so far?

As Icelander notes, he puts down trained combatants like they're girl scouts. He needs skill levels a lot higher than 16.

[TheOneRonin]

Okay, I'm doing a frame by frame of the first fight scene in Identity where he takes out the two cops in the park.

When he stands up from the bench, he is holding the wrist of the cop to his right, and uses the right cop's baton to strike the cop on his left. The left cop has his pistol already drawn, and Bourne has grabbed the wrist holding the pistol. All that happened in the first couple of frames.

In the next few frames, Bourne has used his left hand to disarm the pistol from the cop on his left (who he just struck in the groin with the baton from the other cop in a few frames ago), AND has also disarmed the Baton from the cop on his right. As the left cop reels from the groin strike, Bourne whips the baton in a backhanded strike to the arm of the cop on his right.

Then he uses the pistol to pistol whip the cop on his left (the one who took the groin strike earlier), and immediately swings the baton back around to the cop on his right, catching him in the face.

Next frame, both cops are on the ground, Bourne has dropped the baton and has the pistol in a two-handed grip pointed down at the cops.

All of this takes roughly 3.5 to 4 seconds of screen time.

Yeah, I want to be able to do that.

In the realm of possible with a GURPS character?

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

In the realm of possible with a GURPS character?

Course. Probably over your point budget without sacrificing your capabilities in areas beyond melee though.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

When he stands up from the bench, he is holding the wrist of the cop to his right, and uses the right cop's baton to strike the cop on his left. The left cop has his pistol already drawn, and Bourne has grabbed the wrist holding the pistol. All that happened in the first couple of frames.

Ambidextrous, Extra Attack 1. He previously Grappled the cop's baton (-4), strikes the guy on the left with it (in the groin? -3) (right guy is surprised) and then takes advantage of the shock penalty to grapple wrist (-2).

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

In the next few frames, Bourne has used his left hand to disarm the pistol from the cop on his left (who he just struck in the groin with the baton from the other cop in a few frames ago), AND has also disarmed the Baton from the cop on his right. As the left cop reels from the groin strike, Bourne whips the baton in a backhanded strike to the arm of the cop on his right.

More disarms (-7 for gun, -6 for baton) and strikes (-2, arm).

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

Then he uses the pistol to pistol whip the cop on his left (the one who took the groin strike earlier), and immediately swings the baton back around to the cop on his right, catching him in the face.

Strike (-hit location for wherever he hits) strike (-5, face).

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

Next frame, both cops are on the ground, Bourne has dropped the baton and has the pistol in a two-handed grip pointed down at the cops.

Cops fail consciousness checks, Readies pistol. Note on top of all these penalties he has to be taking enough Deceptive Attack for them to flub their defenses.

Originally Posted by Gun-Fu 26-27

Disarming
see p. B230
Disarming isn’t a shooting technique, but cinematic action
heroes routinely use it to obtain an enemy’s gun. When
attempting a barehanded disarm, you may try to snatch the
weapon instead of knocking it away. Declare this before attack-
ing. You have the usual -2 to hit for a non-fencing weapon.
Your rival may parry your hand, potentially injuring it – and a
gunman can use 3 + (Retain Weapon/2) for such a parry!
On a hit, roll the usual Quick Contest. Against a weapon
that can do cutting damage, including any gun with a bayo-
net, you’re at -2. If you win, you have the weapon in hand.
Unless you win by 5+, though, it will be unready until you
take a Ready maneuver .

[marvin]

Something to keep in mind is that Bourne routinely beats down multiple foes. Given that in Ultimatum these foes are sent by the CIA it is most likely that they are Special Activities Division agents. There was SAD operative template in the old online Pyramid "Designer's Notes: Special Ops, Third Edition." It was, in 3rd Edition terms, a 146 point Template designed for use in a 200 pt. game. It has ST 11, DX 13, IQ 14, HT 11 in 3rd Ed. terms.

There are also some other Disadvantages that could be applied to mitigate point cost to a degree.

Callous (-5) - especially pertinent if the character is an assassin. Pre-amnesia Bourne almost certainly had this, while post-amnesia Bourne may had been a bit less so he still showed little concern when others killed innocents around him.

Extremely Hazardous Duty (fairly often)(-10) - this is especially true if the character is still employed by the Agency.

Fanaticism (-15) - to volunteer for something like the Treadstone program one may need to be a bit fanatic.

Light Sleeper (-5) - Bourne seemed to be surprised when he was able to sleep in Marie's car, and later he seems unable to get a decent night's sleep. This could be due to nightmares though.

Secret or Secret Identity (variable up to -30) - Even within the CIA how much does the average SAD operative know about Treadstone? Also, Bourne often used Secret Identities to get his assignment done. He became Kane to find out about Wombosi's yacht. So basically Web was Bourne who was also Kane. This is two levels of secrets but it could just be alternate identity as well.

Others like Enemy and such have already been mentioned.

Good luck I'm looking forward to seeing what we finally come up with.

Benjamin