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Old 09-05-2021, 07:38 PM   #1
acrosome
 
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: The Land of Enchantment
Default Social stats for heiress and her Pinkerton/bodyguard

I need to make a couple of characters for a Cthulhu 1920s campaign. I'm not worried about the combat, professional, or academic factors- I've got that. What always trips me up are the social ones.

So, one character is the young college-age heiress to a family with a railroad fortune (Rockefeller or Dupont level) currently attending Miskatonic University.

I'd like her to be able to for instance use one of the family's private railroad cars to move about the country, and other perks of being the heiress. Is the family a Patron, then, since it lets her use such equipment? The description of a Patron says that's only if she gets to keep the equipment, so I assume not? What is her personal wealth? I imagine that it might be in the form of an allowance, since she herself is not the multimillionaire currently. That is probably Independent Income. But I think there is also an advantage specifically for an heir somewhere, right? Then, since she won't be getting the free Status from Wealth, what Status seems appropriate? The family patriarch would get +3 status from wealth, since that is the max free status from wealth, so one lower than that? I assume that she should have a Claim to Hospitality from the family, too. Would a young woman in the 1920s qualify for a Social Stigma? The example of that in Basic Set is of a 19th century woman, not a 1920s woman.

I'm interested in usages of GURPS Social Engineering, too, if any apply. And any social functionality that I have missed in general- I'm listening to any ideas. I'm really interested in whatever that heir advantage is, in particular, but I can't seem to find it.

The other character is her NPC bodyguard. He was an NCO of the heiress's father in the Great War, who was his commanding officer and who died saving his life and asked him to look after his daughter while dying. The character now feels an immense Sense of Duty to the young miss, to the point that he would die for her, and I considered Fanatacism, but that doesn't seem to apply to an individual, just organizations, nations, belief systems, or cults. So, Sense of Duty it is. He arranged to join the Pinkertons and have her family hire him as her bodyguard and oddsbody. He basically does most of the family's dirty work.

So, I assume that he has a Duty to the Pinkertons, 15-point level, Hazardous. Or should he have a Duty directly to the family instead, since that's his current job? Or do I just assume that it transfers? He probably has the 10-point version of Legal Enforcement Powers, for being national-level, right? Police Rank 0 comes with that. (Thus he does not need a Concealed Carry Permit, right?) What kind of reputation for a Pinkerton? I assumed a -1 among criminals, but also among union members (even though he personally was never a strike buster, the Pinkerton rep follows him). Or should it be stronger? I made it "recognized occasionally", unless there is a level lower than that? The heiress's family knows and trusts him, so should he pay for them as a Patron, too? How do I model the aid he can assume from local law enforcement authorities? A Contact Group? But the description of Contact Group limits it to organizations no larger than in a single town, so it would work for Arkham PD but not the general help he should expect around the country. Is that just a part of the Legal Enforcement Power and the Police Rank?

I assume that the heiress needs to pay for the bodyguard as a constantly-available (x4 cost) Ally, right? Since he is 100% of her points, that's 5x4 points for 20 points in total. (He basically represents her combat power, since she will have little to none of her own.)

Last edited by acrosome; 09-05-2021 at 07:51 PM.
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