'Giants in the Earth' - TFT edition

[larsdangly]

One of the funnest and most memorable features of the old Dragon magazines was the recurring column, Giants in the Earth, which provided stats for characters from history or fiction. I thought it might be fun to do this for Legacy Edition TFT.

The rules:
(1)I think it will be most fun if we stick to RAW from the Legacy Edition and related published material (particularly the Companion, which opens up a lot of what you can do 'officially' with super powers, modern settings, colorful character flaws, etc.). Perhaps Interplay material can also be used if you have access to your own copies.
(2) Please calculate the total amount of XP that would be needed to create that character, so we have some sense of relative ranking of each (and also the plausibility of your version!).

I'll start with the following:

Indiana Jones (9600 XP total; note assumes starting with 36 attribute points due to 4 points of Handicaps)

ST 12
DX 13
IQ 14

Talents (25 pts total): Brawling (1), Guns (2), Literacy (1), Quick-Draw (gun) (1), Sex Appeal (1), Whip (1), Alertness (2), Detect Traps (2), Recognize Value (1), Toughness (2), Remove Trap (1), Assess Value (1), Scholar (3), 5 Languages (various) (5).

Spells: None

Handicaps: Neurotic (fear of snakes; 1 pt), One Track Mind (artifact hunting; 3 pts)

Special: 1 Minor Wish (purchased with XP)

Common gear: Bullwhip (1d-1), revolver (3d, 2 shots/turn, 6 rounds)

[hcobb]

Acrobatics and or Climbing?

[larsdangly]

I considered it, but I feel like the things he did in that department reflected decent DX (and the occasional expenditure of a minor wish). He wasn't an acrobat per se, and never climbed anything I don't think any athletic person could climb. This is really a philosophical question: when you do this sort of exercise, do you pad it with everything you can think of or pare it down to the essentials?

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by larsdangly

I considered it, but I feel like the things he did in that department reflected decent DX (and the occasional expenditure of a minor wish). He wasn't an acrobat per se, and never climbed anything I don't think any athletic person could climb. This is really a philosophical question: when you do this sort of exercise, do you pad it with everything you can think of or pare it down to the essentials?

Given the nature of TFT, you absolutely have to "pare it down" IMO. That said, however, 'Giants in the Earth' was typically about mythic legendary characters which means it may be OK to push past the 40-point 'barrier' from time-to-time.

[JLV]

The only other special ability I'd think about would be "Underwater Breathing" since he apparently rode the outside of a U-Boat sneaking through the Mediterranean to the Greek Isles for several hundred miles (and let's face it, the only way a U-Boat would be able to sneak in those waters in the days of aerial reconnaissance would be to submerge) in Raiders of the Lost Ark...

(Okay, JK, but hey...it was a problem with the movie if you consider it objectively!)

[larsdangly]

Conan

This is a tough one, not because he is a poor fit for TFT (he's actually the perfect example of a character type for which TFT excels), but rather because people have hugely inflated expectations for his abilities, which are hard to meet with a system in which all mortals are limited and vulnerable. Anyone familiar with the original stories knows that even 'peak' Conan should be just a man - an extraordinary man but still just a man.

Anyway, here is what I came up with for Conan at the peak of his solo adventuring career. I stretched the experience system to its outer limits (this is a 'build' that requires something like 38,000 XP!), but I think we are still in reach of things that can be done RAW.

ST 16
DX 17 (14 in chainmail)
IQ 9
MA 12 (6 in chainmail)

Talents: Brawling, Carousing, Sex Appeal, Running, Swimming, Climbing, Alertness, Horsemanship, Sword, Shield, Bow, Axe/Mace, Toughness II

Three lesser wishes (purchased using XP)

Typical gear: Bastard sword, battle axe; chainmail ± small shield when expecting battle.

For the mega Conan fans, later I'll post a cinematic version built using the Supers rules from the TFT Companion!

[hcobb]

Conan is either ST 20 by "Advantages of Great Strength" at ITL 15 or IQ 10 to use his kick attack with UC I by ITL 39.

ST 14 + UC I is a 1d+1 attack, but he's most likely ST 15 or 16 for 1d+2

[Chris Rice]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Conan is either ST 20 by "Advantages of Great Strength" at ITL 15 or IQ 10 to use his kick attack with UC I by ITL 39.

ST 14 + UC I is a 1d+1 attack, but he's most likely ST 15 or 16 for 1d+2

I'd definitely put Conan at ST 20 or more, with DX probably 18 and IQ 14-16. The thing TFT doesn't have, which Heroes like Conan need, is some sort of extra luck factor, because even with attributes at that level he still wouldn't survive most of his adventures.

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by Chris Rice

I'd definitely put Conan at ST 20 or more, with DX probably 18 and IQ 14-16. The thing TFT doesn't have, which Heroes like Conan need, is some sort of extra luck factor, because even with attributes at that level he still wouldn't survive most of his adventures.

Well Lars already stocked him up with Legacy Lesser Wishes...

At ST 20 DX 18, he could mulch an awful lot of foes even 2-3 at a time.

[hcobb]

Conan has Alertness and high IQ. A lot of his adventures are solved rather than bludgeoned. This is especially useful when he's figuring out a loophole to best some evil wizard. (Turn the wizard's own poison against him!)