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Old 06-14-2016, 04:54 AM   #451
Drop Bear
 
Join Date: May 2012
Default Re: Ordinary People: Characters [0] to [-50]

I (in a modern setting) normally charge points for "Moral Flexibility", "Casual With Violence" and such, but let characters get points back for "Borderline Sociopath", "Anti-Social" and so on, or balance them off for a 0 Sum package for "Adventurers".
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Old 06-14-2016, 05:03 AM   #452
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Default Re: Ordinary People: Characters [0] to [-50]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Drop Bear View Post
I (in a modern setting) normally charge points for "Moral Flexibility", "Casual With Violence" and such, but let characters get points back for "Borderline Sociopath", "Anti-Social" and so on, or balance them off for a 0 Sum package for "Adventurers".
Which puts you firmly in the realms of house rules, which is fair enough. But remember that that house rule does not apply why critiquing characters in this thread, or most threads.
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Old 06-14-2016, 07:51 AM   #453
Drop Bear
 
Join Date: May 2012
Default Re: Ordinary People: Characters [0] to [-50]

now for a not so modern character

Dexitus Avintinis
GURPS Rome 3e character 25 pts (Modified to 0pts with additional Disadvantages)
Age 17

ST 12 [20]
DX 11 [10]
IQ 11 [10]
HT 10 [0]

Advantages: Literacy [5]

Disadvantages: Code of Honour (Roman) [-10], Sense of Duty (Friends, Family & Contubernium) [-5], Poverty (Poor) [-15], Duty (Legion 12 or less), Enemy (Secret 50pt character 6 or less) [0/-7], Youth [0/-2], Congenial [0/-1], Pre-Combat Shakes [0/-5]
Quirks: Hard Working [-1], Careful with his money [-1], Love Lorne [-1], Passionate [-1], Early Riser [-1]

Skills
Combat: Shortsword 11[2], Spear 10 [1], Spear Throwing 11 [1], Shield 11 [1], Knife 10 [.5], Brawling 11 [1]
Other: Carpentry 11 [1], Masonry 10 [.5], Savoir-Faire (Military) 11 [1], Engineer/TL 2 (Military) 9 [1], Games 10 [.5], Poetry 9 [.5], Gambling 9 [.5], Swimming 10 [.5]

Languages: Latin (Native) 12 [1], Greek 10 [1]

Defaults & Out of Practice Skills: Area Knowledge (Rome) 9 [0], Literature 7 [0], Mathematics 7 [0], Running 6 [0], Jumping 7 [0], Tactics 7 [0], Strategy 7 [0], Merchant 8 [0], Leadership 8 [0], History 8 [0], Bard 8 [0]

Points Remaining 10/0

Dexitus’s is a young man in his late teens, dark haired and eyed, currently he is lean gaunt and pale as his body has recently bean ravaged by fever that has played havoc with his health sapping his strength, coordination and vitality, though now recovered he has not regained his former abilities.

Born to a former Auxiliary Soldier he has bean raised to be a model Roman Citizen going to Elementary and later Grammaticus schools, later he was forced by his strict father to pay for his own Military Preparatory School by working in a store belonging to one of his father old military contacts as well as a builder’s labourer, the stress and exestuation of his employment and the Preptorim would eventually lead to the fever that almost killed him. The Prepetorim was run by an other contact of his fathers, there he meat and fell in love with the daughter of its owner, who was married off not long after they meet, but her husband would die before the marriage could be physically consummated.

When he turned seventeen Dexitus’s was cast out of his family home, cut off from all support and bared from any inheritance (that would be held in trust) until he was honourably discharged from military service.

Newly Enlisted he and his temporary Contubernium are about to set out for the Frontier where they will join their Legion, he has promised to write to the pretty young widow he loves with the best regularity he can muster and be allowed.
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Old 07-07-2021, 12:08 PM   #454
Gold & Appel Inc
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: One Mile Up
Default Re: Average People: Characters [0] to [-50]

Arnold Bailey, Unintentional Con Man [0 Points]:

Image: A black man in his mid-50s, clean-shaven including his head, 5'6" with a solid build. He generally dresses like a blue-collar laborer, but cleans up well enough for church, job interviews, etc.

Culture: TL 8 [0]; Familiarity: Western [0]; Languages: English (Native / Native) [0];

Attributes: ST 11 [10]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 11 [10];

Secondary: Speed: 5.25 [0]; Move: 5 [0]; HP: 11 [0]; FP: 10 [-3]; Perception: 10 [-5]; Willpower: 11 [0];

Advantages: Charisma +1 [5];

Perks: Honest Face [1];

Disadvantages: Delusion ("I Have $3 Million Coming to Me Any Day Now") [-5]; Pacifism (Self Defense Only) [-15]; Social Stigma (Criminal Record) [-5]; Status -1 [-5]; Unfit [-5]; Wealth (Poor) [-15];

Quirks: Chauvinist [-1]; Gullible vs Self-Proclaimed Christians and Attractive Women [-1]; Obsession (Open a Soul Food Restaurant) [-1]; Obsession (Remarry & Have Kids Before It's Too Late) [-1]; Pious [-1];

Skills: Administration (A) IQ [2]-11; Area Knowledge (E) (Denver) IQ [1]-11; Cooking (E) IQ+2 [4]-13; Diplomacy (H) IQ [4]-11; Hiking (A) HT [2]-11; Housekeeping (E) IQ+1 [2]-12; Lifting (A) HT-1 [1]-10; Theology (H) (Christian) IQ-2 [1]-9;

Notes: Part of our continuing series, "Wacky People from the Streets of Real Life Denver." Name changed because I feel bad for the guy even though, like most of his social circle, he owes me money. Unfit because of some minor heart problems that he's on medication for even though he's otherwise in halfway decent shape for his age.

Background: Arnold has worked in the restaurant industry for most of his life, rising to assistant back-of-house manager at one large and classy place, until his first wife got him mixed up in something he doesn't like to talk about which landed him in prison for a year (out in 8 months for good behavior) and made it hard for him to get another decent job. He's a genuinely likeable and well-meaning guy if you can get past his mild distaste for atheists, gays, foreigners, etc, but he is a total sucker for anybody who sprinkles the word, "Jesus," into the conversation. Most notably, he is being taken by the lawyer (or "lawyer") who is managing (or "managing") his once-sizable 401k, and a woman he "married" in an extralegal church ceremony a couple years ago. The latter claims to be in a corrupt Eastern-European prison after some trouble with her work visa, and is constantly writing to him with one story after another about how she just needs one more large sum of cash for court fees / bribes before she can be set free to come back, get married legally, and have a million babies with him. Everybody he knows figures out pretty quickly that this is utter horse manure, but mostly feel bad for him. He survives off their generosity and hospitality, especially before they figure out that he's never going to be able to repay them, and by working as a sub-par day laborer cleaning up stadiums, construction sites, etc (which he used to be better at before his heart trouble started wearing him out easily on more strenuous assignments doing actual construction help). He believes with all his heart that he will someday pay back everyone who has helped him in his time of need threefold, often promising them jobs in the restaurant he wants to open if they, too, are not exactly living at Status 0+.

Last edited by Gold & Appel Inc; 07-09-2021 at 08:10 AM.
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Old 07-08-2021, 12:02 PM   #455
Boge
 
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Default Re: Ordinary People: Characters [0] to [-50]

I like the realism. Gurps sets "averages", but I'm not sure all GMs realize those averages are for unrealistic heroes and not the realistic common folk.
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Old 07-09-2021, 11:48 AM   #456
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Default Re: Average People: Characters [0] to [-50]

Curtis Clark - Is Probably Trying to **** Your Wife, if He Isn't Already [0 Points]:

Image: A white man in his mid-40s, clean-shaven with a good head of blond hair, 5'7" with a stocky but athletic build. He generally dresses in gym clothes or a middle-class guy suffering from a bad case of midlife crisis idea's of fashionable, which has some serious overlap.

Culture: TL 8 [0]; Familiarity: Western [0]; Languages: English (Native / Native) [0];

Attributes: ST 11 [10]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 11 [10];

Secondary: Speed: 5.25 [0]; Move: 5 [0]; HP: 11 [0]; FP: 11 [0]; Perception: 9 [-5]; Willpower: 10 [0];

Advantages: Appearance (Attractive) [4]; Empathy (Sensitive) [5]; Fit [5];

Perks: Style Familiarity (Krav Maga) [1];

Disadvantages: Enemy (Small Group, 9-, Rival) [-5]; Lecherousness (9-) [-22]; Overconfidence (9-) [-7]; Pacifism (Self Defense Only) [-15]; Reputation -3 (Most Local Men, Always) [-10];

Quirks: Genuinely Likes All Kids, Especially if They're Getting Picked On [-1]; Mild Compulsive Spending [-1]; Proud [-1]; Show-Off [-1]; Thrill-Seeker [-1];

Skills: Driving/TL8 (A) DX-1 [1]-9; Fishing (E) Per [1]-9; Gambling (A) IQ-1 [1]-9; Intimidation (A) Will-1 [1]-9; Karate (H) DX+2 [12]-12; Psychology (H) (Human / Op Spec: Child) IQ-1e [1]-9; Sex Appeal (A) HT+1 [4]-12; Swimming (E) HT [1]-11; Teaching (A) IQ+1 [4]-11; Wrestling (A) DX+2 [8]-12;

Notes: Part of our continuing series, "Wacky People from the Streets of Real Life Denver." Name changed because I feel like it, but if you think you know him, watch yourself.

Background: Curtis had a somewhat rough childhood, getting beat up a lot for being a fat lower middle class kid in a somewhat upper middle class neighborhood. He learned how to protect himself and later got in decent shape, but never amounted to much careerwise until he got lucky on a scratch ticket and invested it wisely, in a martial arts studio of his own. He teaches lessons in fitness, self-confidence, and throwing a decent punch to small children, and he's pretty good at it, more caring than talented but sometimes that's what they really need. But most of those small children have moms, single and otherwise. That's where the trouble begins. Curtis' self-esteem is largely tied up in his ability as a surrogate dad, but that's not the only way he'd like to pretend to be part of your kid's family if you know what I mean. He's got a serious hankering for lonely middle-aged women, and a bad case of Small Man Complex that leads him to never start a physical fight but delight in finishing one, in front of as many people as possible. There are a lot of guys in his neighborhood who would really like to show him the error of his ways, but he struts around flaunting his "Alpha Male" status, such as it is, because what are YOU gonna do about it?

Last edited by Gold & Appel Inc; 07-11-2021 at 10:19 AM.
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Old 07-09-2021, 06:11 PM   #457
corwyn
 
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Default Re: Ordinary People: Characters [0] to [-50]

This is my starting level character for a "realistic" game set in 1752.

Virgil Read [25]

Culture: TL 5 [0]; Familiarity: Western [0]; Languages: English (Native / Native) [0];

Attributes: ST 9 [-10]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 10 [0];

Secondary: Speed: 5.0 [0]; Move: 5 [0]; HP: 9 [0]; FP: 10 [0]; Perception: 11 [-5]; Willpower: 11 [0];

Advantages: Fit [5]; Acute Vision 3 [6]; Lifting ST 2 [6]; Luck [15]; Night Vision 3 [3]; Single Minded [5]; Gizmo [5]; Gunsmith 2 (10)*

Perks:

Disadvantages: Combat Paralysis [-15]; Hard of Hearing [-10]; Oblivious [-5]; Obsession (design the best gun possible) [-10]; Unknown Enemy [-12]; Reputation (All Soldiers are brigands in uniform) [-5]. The last two were campaign required.

Quirks: Broadminded; Curious; Imaginitive; Fascinated by technology.

Skills: Armoury/TL5 (Small Arms)-13* [2]; Chemistry/TL5-11* [1]; Engineer/TL5-14* [8]; Explosives/TL5-11 [2]; First Aid/TL5-10 [1]; Guns/TL5 (Pistol)-10 [1]; Knife-10 [1]; Lockpicking/TL5-10 [1]; Machinist-12* [1]; Mathematics-9 [1]; Metallurgy/TL5-12* [1]; Smith/TL5-12* [1];

*Gunsmith Campaign specific talent for designing/building guns/powder.
The campaign allowed lifting ST to meet ST minimums for weapons

Virgil Reid was a promising young apprentice gunsmith. All of the other Pcs were impressed into the British Army. Virgil volunteered in order to test his inventions in real life conditions (yeah, a bit overly obsessed). He started out as a typical nerd techie - awkward around women, shocked in combat, oblivious, etc. and transitioned (altering his (dis)advantages as we went) into a wild-west type justice for all kinda guy (named after Virgil Earp because Morgan had already been taken) and a British gentleman.

A bit strong due to the campaign disads. We didn't stay normal-ish for long. The second session we got a 25 point lens from our boot camp. Over the next 6-8 sessions we discovered weird abilities totaling 100 points reflecting our characters development - mine were Quick Gadgeteer, Gunslinger, Wild Talent (Retention). Others had stuff like Regeneration/regrowth, Reincarnation, Snatcher (only for things on this world), Charisma. We ended up fighting time travelers, cyborgs, a T-rex and a MechaKraken with a TL10 beam pistol disguised as a flintlock.

But we started out fairly normal.
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Last edited by corwyn; 07-09-2021 at 06:15 PM.
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Old 07-09-2021, 09:08 PM   #458
Micah Davis
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Default Re: Ordinary People: Characters [0] to [-50]

Alice, Big Hearted Girl Beneath A Tyrant (-5 Points)
Cultural Data: TL 3, One Language
Ability Scores (-10 Points): ST 9 [-10]; DX 10; IQ 10; HT 10
Advantages (52 Points): Allure 4 [20]; Appearance (Beautiful) [12]; Goodwife 4 [20]
Disadvantages (-60 Points): Enemy (More Powerful, 15 or less, Rival) [-30]; Struggling [-10]; Status -1 [-5]; Charitable [-15]
Quirks (-2 Points): Romantic (-1), Broad Minded (-1)
Skills (15 Points): Area Knowledge (Town) IQ+1 -11 [2], Cooking -13 (IQ+3) [1], Dancing -13 (DX+1) [1], Diagnostics -12 (IQ+2) [1] First Aid -12 (IQ+2) [4] Gardening -14 (IQ+4) [1], Housekeeping -14 (IQ+4) [1], Savior-Faire (Servant) -11 (IQ+1) [2]; Sewing -14 (DX+4) [1], Sex Appeal -15 (HT+5) [0], Singing -14 (HT+4) [1].
Total Cost: -5 Point

A soft-featured woman manages to draw the eyes of half the men in the hall - Her dress is finely sown and her hair is up and beautiful looking, but she is clearly in poor economic condition. Even so, people are glancing between her and the local lord uncomfortably.

Alice is a self-sacrificing servant girl whose radiant beauty, inner and outer, would have likely carried her off into a happily ever after if it were not for Lord Hartwood. The cruel Lord August Hartwood is the manor-lord of her town and he bears Alice real ill-will for rejecting his advances some times ago. Nary a day does not go by when he does not find a way to embarrass her suitors, sully her reputation, or push her down into the muck. Nonetheless, Alice loves her small town and refuses to run away - Yet, anyway.

If the players are in town, they're likely to run into Alice, who is an able hand in town and might be at any party. If they're on the run or in trouble, they can count her Charitable to help them out of trouble and her Enemy to get them into it. Hartwood is a vain man and loves to gossip, but you should aim him toward having real talents in some area of competition with the players - They should get a chance to thrash him and the opportunity to receive help or advice from Alice. If a PC of either gender is in the market for a commoner wife, Alice is a viable candidate - She's very pretty and a clear catch in terms of domestic management, as long as they're alright with her habit of picking up strays.

It's easy to slot Alice in as a household service of any petty, cruel lord or lady who might decide to light upon Alice as plaything. For a PC with 100 Character Points, Alice is a 1 point Ally immediately after Lord Hartwood's defeat. For such a player who is in love with Alice while she's still under a villain's thumb, Alice is a Dependent worth -10 points (on the assumption that he cannot rush to her aid all the time).

Alice is a standard Cinderella Character, with the hope of the player's fulfilling a role as the Fairy Godmother. A player would not be remiss in purchasing their own Godmother and should probably bother to buy down her Enemy while they're at it.
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Old 09-20-2021, 07:45 AM   #459
rpd
 
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Default Re: Ordinary People: Characters [0] to [-50]

Love this thread. Can't believe I'm only finding it now.
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Old 09-21-2021, 03:39 PM   #460
Donny Brook
 
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Default Re: Ordinary People: Characters [0] to [-50]

Doris the Cigarette Seller, [-2]

Doris may be a person of much greater depth and range than depicted here. This build represents only what is known or discernible from observation.

She is a person of color, but it is difficult to determine her exact ethnicity. She has an accent, but it is hard to say what it is. Her hair is unkempt, she wears a threadbare coat, her face is pockmarked from past disease or hard living, and she moves awkwardly, possibly as if one leg is shorter than the other.

Doris spends long hours year-round sitting in front of a McDonalds' restaurant in a bad neighborhood, seemingly unbothered by heat or cold, never seen to eat, and appearing somewhat like a panhandler. But she doesn't beg. She is always overly friendly to anyone who engages with her, especially customers, and even with those who don't, tossing out a friendly hello or inane comment to passersby. Doris lives in a jurisdiction where cigarettes are highly taxed and she is a business-person, selling single-cigarettes to poor and indigent smokers who cannot afford to buy full packs. Her sales margin is substantial with a unit mark-up of about 300% and business is brisk.

At sundown each day, Doris leaves her post and walks a few blocks to her car, which is an older model Cadillac, but appears well maintained. She unloads whatever stock she has left into the back seat, and in summer she will doff her threadbare coat, before driving away, presumably home whereever that is.

Attributes
ST 8 [-20]
DX 9 [-20]
IQ! 9 [-10]
HT 10 [0]
Per 11 [5]
Will 11 [5]

Advantages
Temperature Tolerance 2 [4]
Wholesale Supplier [1]
Reduced Consumption 1 [2]
Wealth: Comfortable [10]

Disads
Social Stigma (Illicit occupation) [-5]
Social Status -1 [-5]
Unattractive [-5]

Quirks
Ingratiating [-1]
Minor Handicaps [-1]
Wears the same clothes all the time [-1]
Dislikes law enforcement [-1]

Skills
Merchant (IQ A) +1 [4]
Disguise (Specialized, IQ E) +2 [8]
Streetwise (IQ A) +2 [8]
Holdout (IQ A) +2 [8]
Urban Survival (IQ A) +2 [8]
Fast-Talk (IQ A) +1 [4]
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