Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I'd like to play but am not good at designing backgrounds, is this okay?

Jane Doe

Advantages (185)
(1) Appearance Perk: Honest Face
(1) Appearance Perk: Passing Complexion (unspecific ethnicity)
(35) Clairsentience (Requires Immediate Preparation 1 Hour -75%, skill roll is dreaming, only when sleeping -20%, Unconscious only -20%, uncontrollable -10%, cosmic +50%, Increased Range x2 Million +200%) [35]
(28) Detect (supernatural phenomenon, Reflexive +40%) [28]
(40) Jumper (world, New worlds +50%, Naked -30%, Uncontrollable -10%, Unconscious only -20%, skill roll is dreaming, only when sleeping -20%, requires Immediate Preparation 1 hour -75%, cosmic +50%, Drift -15%) [40]
(15) Luck [15],
(15) Serendipidy [15]
(50) Usual Background (Can use any Magic) [50]

Disadvantages (-100)
(-25) Amnesia: Total Amnesia [-25]
(-15) Dead Broke (Only after jumps -40%) [-15]
(-15) Dwarfism (must be under 4'4", choosing 4'3")
(-10) Hunchback (-6" to height, so 3'9" while hunched)
(-5) Skinny (instead of 40-80 pounds, -15% from Dwarfism makes this somewhere between 34 and 68, exact weight not known due to amnesia)
(-5) Social Stigma (Valuable Property, sometimes -50%) [-5]
(-2) Social Stigma (2nd-Class Citizen, sometimes -50%) [-2]
(-8) Ugly
(-15) Weirdness Magnet [-15]

Unknown Traits: since Total Amnesia specifies "The only traits you can specify during character creation are those you could see in a mirror" after adding 2 perks (honest/passing) and 4 disadvantages (dwarfish/ugly/skinny/hunched) 185 minus 100 is 85, so being a 100-point character means at least 15 points of unknown advantages TBD by GM, possibly more depending on whether or not there are additional unknown disadvantages, lowered attributes or secondary characteristics.

The exception I made here is defining the package, since those would be revealed. I'd like to just learn skills along the way unless you want to reveal some surprise ones.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Hmm...



First off, I think a traditionally built character would be the best for this situation. Lost in Dreams works best when the PC has underlying motivations: the plots tend to require you to get involved in them, rather than forcing themselves upon you.



If you want help coming up with and fleshing out a character concept, I can very much help you with that. Or we can go to the gurps forum and ask for assistance there.


You seem to want to play a women. That's fine. common choice for this game. Gender: check!


What age is the character? a young adult just starting out her life? Middle aged? An older women, with experience and wisdom, but creaky joints?



What is her career path? This is the widest choice. She could be a doctor, a policewoman, a waitress, a bureaucrat, an archeologist, an engineer, a world traveler, a writer, a student, a journalist, a party planner, a lawyer, independently wealthy, a homemaker, an activist or any other of a number of things. If you're not sure what to be, choose one from the above list randomly.



What does she do for fun? Does she avidly read or watch a particular type of ficiton or non-fiction (mysteries, nature documentaries, science fiction, action films, dramas), go into the great outdoors, socialize with family and friends, play a sport or martial art, garden, travel the world, or listen to or play music?


What sort of background does she have? Is she from a big family or a small one? was her home broken or whole? Did they have money? Did they live in a city, a suburb, or the country? Did she grow up in the US or some other nation?



If you very much still want a character with amnesia, at the very least I'd like you to specify ST, DX, and HT. Those will be immediately apparent. IQ, per, and will would also be nice.



you've racked up -3 in reaction modifiers. This is... ill advised.



I would note that the 153 point package is applied AFTER the 100 point character is built. So the characters are actually 253 points. So perhaps you took all of the disadvantages because you felt stressed for points.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Spent 150 on attributes to increase overall value from 85 to 235

IQ 15 (100)
Will 14 (-5)
ST 5 (-25)
DX 12 (40)
HT 14 (40)
Basic Speed: 6.5→7 (10)
Basic Move: 7→5 (-10)

Charisma 2 (Cosmic +50%) would bump total to 250 and also help with reaction rolls. Pitiable would bring it up to 255.

5 physical quirks (from Quirks supplement) that seemed to make sense with being hunchbacked/thin/small bring back down to 250:

Clumsy Runner
Cold Intolerance
Pain-Sensitive
Thin Skull
Tiny Hands

There are 3 physical perks (from Perks supplement) I'd like to add:

Compact Frame
Deep Sleeper
Standard Operating Procedure: Back to the Wall

Which would bring it up to 253. I think I'd probably like to try skills at default, then spend points to learn some as Dabbler, then move up from there. I guess for simplicity my native language would be English since that (and literacy) are free.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Ok. hmmph. Spending ALL the points was not what I was expecting.



Lets drop HT down to 12, and speed down to 6. Cosmic is denied on charisma, but I don't cosmic applying very often on charisma anyway. Raise ST to 6 please. Lets drop one level of IQ as well.



I'd like an age.



That gives me 50 points worth of traits to build a believable backstory.


Which I have.



So I have:


ST 6 [-20]

DX 12 [40]

IQ 14 [80]

HT 12 [20]


HP 6

Will 13 [-5]
Per 14

FP 12



speed 6 [0]

move 4 [5]


charisma 2 [10]
Pitiable [5]


Amnesia: Total Amnesia [-25]
Dwarfism (must be under 4'4", choosing 4'3")
Hunchback (-6" to height, so 3'9" while hunched)
Skinny (instead of 40-80 pounds, -15% from Dwarfism makes this somewhere between 34 and 68, exact weight not known due to amnesia)
Social Stigma (Valuable Property, sometimes -50%) [-5]
Social Stigma (2nd-Class Citizen, sometimes -50%) [-2]
Ugly [-8]




5 perks+5 quirks [0]
Clumsy Runner
Cold Intolerance
Pain-Sensitive
Thin Skull
Tiny Hands


Compact Frame
Deep Sleeper
Standard Operating Procedure: Back to the Wall
Honest Face
Passing Complexion (unspecific ethnicity)


40 points in skills, talents, advantages, and former life. unknown



10 background points, unknown.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Had some other ideas while totaling things up which have been incorporated, would this be okay?
*forgot to take the Bad Back disad (Mild is -15) recommended for realistic Hunchbacks
*Perfect Balance due to low/wide stance (+15)
*swapped in Bowlegged for Pain-Insensitive (0)
*Full-on Low Pain Threshold sounded better for someone with 6 HP (-10)
*Zeroed (+10) sounded appropriate for the mysterious past / hard to discover stuff
*Ambidexterity (+5)
*added Shy, Mild (-5) which seems like it would make sense. I figure if it's okay to define a vague mental advantage like Charisma it'd also be okay to define a vague mental disadvantage too.

Name: Unknown (Jane Doe? Brainesiac?)
Age: 20
Height: 4'3" crouched at 3'9" due to hunched back
Weight: somewhere between 34 and 68 pounds

[120] Basic
ST 6 [-20]
DX 12 [40]
IQ 14 [80]
HT 12 [20]

[-10] Secondary
HP 6 [0]
Will 13 [-5]
Per 14 [0]
FP 12 [0]
AP 12 [0]
Basic Speed 6 [0]
Basic Move 4 [-10]
Water Move 1 [+5]

[50] Unknown Traits
Background Points [10]
Secret Advantage(s) [40+??]
Secret Disadvantage(s) [-??]

[40] Advantages
Ambidexterity [5]
Charisma 1 [5] (w/ -1 bowlegs, -1 hunchback, -2 ugly still -3)
Pitiable [5] (offsets the above total to neutral against non-Callous)
Perfect Balance [15] (+4 v knockdown, +1 acro/climb/pilot)
Zeroed [10]

[-100] Disadvantages
Amnesia: Total Amnesia [-25]
Bad Back: Mild (HT checks on ST rolls, -3 DX on fail, -5 DX on crit, -2 reset) [-15]
Dwarfism (must be under 4'4", choosing 4'3") (-1 move/reach, -3 disgu/shad) [-15]
Hunchback (-6" to height, so 3'9" while hunched) (-1 react, -3 disguise/shadow) [-10]
Low Pain Threshold (double shock, -4 v knockdown/stun/torture, Will fail cry out) [-10]
Mild Shyness (-1/15 skills) [-5]
Skinny (dwarf-15% 40-80>34-68lbs, -2dis/shad/KB) [-5]
Social Stigma (Valuable Property, sometimes -50%) [-5]
Social Stigma (2nd-Class Citizen, sometimes -50%) [-2]
Ugly (-2 reaction from those attracted to humans) [-8]

[5] Perks
Compact Frame
Deep Sleeper
Honest Face
Passing Complexion (unspecific ethnicity)
Standard Operating Procedure: Back to the Wall

[-5] Quirks
Bowlegged (-1 to Jumping, -1 react)
Clumsy Runner (-1 to DX moving faster than 1/2 basic move)
Cold Intolerance (“comfort zone” is between 45°F and 90°F)
Thin Skull (skull has 1 DR not 2)
Tiny Hands (-1 to ST w/ weapons)

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Just noticed http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=159309 responding now. I'll put down a series of steps I will take assuming nothing but if anything unexpected happens in response to one, can ignore the latter ones as she might react.

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

I haven't been keeping up in the ooc thread, did I miss anything important?

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

No, Its been quiet since we took the break.



Other than the creation of Jane Doe, who has the distinctive disadvantages of Total Amnesia, Dwarfism, and Hunchback

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Kinda feels like I'm a cheater when I get -25 for "total" but got the benefit of specifying my attributes/back/charisma/LPT/shyness/deepsleep/cold intolerance/clumsyrunner which can't be seen in a mirror so I should buy it up to the -10 "Partial Amnesia" pretty soon.

Rather than 'save up' for 15 points, perhaps any points I earn should just immediately go toward that. For example if I have 50 points worth of traits and become aware of 1/5 (10pts worth) of them then 1/5 of 15 is 3 points I owe for that privilege?

That or perhaps pay it all now by taking some new 15-pt disadvantage to cover the spread. Bad Grip 3? Combat Paralysis? Killjoy? Klutz: Total Klutz? Phantom Voices: Diabolical? Restricted Vision? SlowRiser+SpaceSickness? Timesickness+Wounded? Very Unfit? =/ Some of these would be great candidates for surprise disadvantages while some would be more obvious if already present.

Limited vision from an inability to turn the neck due to spinal hunch might actually make sense, I should've thought of that...

Tunnel Vision [-30] plus the Reciprocal Advantage of No Tunnel Vision [15] (Requires Will Roll -5% Requires DX Roll -10% Requires HT Roll -10% Unsupported -25%) would work out to -15 and could be realistic but I wouldn't want to flood you with die rolls any time I wanted to try and look around for a minute.

Paying now wouldn't mean I'd suddenly want to know all of GM's secret choices, just that I wouldn't have to feel guilty about them gradually being revealed when I got paid for ignorance or worry about only having paid 6% of the difference while knowing 10% of capacity, etc.

• You have no idea of your full abilities. Since the GM knows your quirks and mental traits, and you don’t, he will sometimes overrule your statements about what you’re doing. He will also make all skill rolls for you, because you have no idea what you can do until you try it!

For example recently been told I know "lots of details" about earth/geology/beanstalks so am assuming I'm at least a Dabbler in those fields if not full points. Once you "try" things, you no longer have "no idea" based on how it goes, so "total" I guess must inherently be an ephemeral disadvantage destined to become Partial for anyone who interacts with the world in a way that could prompt their traits to manifest, learning about them by experiencing them. As time goes on and I learn more I will cease to deserve those 15 points!

Re: Lost in Dreams II (OCC)
 

Points in Lost in Dreams are pretty much awarded on an "Ad hoc" basis. The amnesia won't be bought off unless its shown to have been done so in game, in which case it will just happen, with no real point accounting involved. And she won't be to the -10 level for a while, progress here or not.



Amnesia covers under what circumstances you should buy it off, and gradually figuring out your abilities doesn't count!