[OOC] The Silent Service, Very Special Agents

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Anders Gabrielsson

Is the roster full? I haven't read the whole thread, but since you're down to the nitty-gritty it seems that way.

Well, we haven't started. Gunnar, player number four, will be here after the weekend. I had thought to finalise characters then and begin around Tuesday or so.

Read through the thread and then come up with a character concept that you think would be complimentary to the group as it stands. Help bring aspects of other PCs into focus, improve characterisation and entertainment value for the other players. Give us a description of your concept, in the style used for Richard Everett Wolff above, and we'll see if it's worth adding another character and a player to go with him.

[Anders Gabrielsson]

I'll try to get something together today or tomorrow, if I find something that fits with the others.

[Anders Gabrielsson]

After reading back to the summary on p. 7 the idea that has popped out at me so far is to contrast the others with a more underhanded, less intellectual (while still intelligent) character.

This is a very rough sketch, more a bunch of loose ideas thrown out there more or less stream-of-consciousness-y to see if any of the pieces fit together.

Placeholder name: Jacque.

I'm thinking low-class, Louisiana, French descent, probably with some Indian blood. The family could be hard-luck farmers or fishermen - definitely very poor, clannish and distrustful of outsiders. Not criminals, though; actually, I think sullying the family name by stealing may have been what got him kicked out of the house at a fairly young age, say 12-14?

Okay, stealing... but out of necessity, not greed. Something like: His father is away for some reason (family business? I can't come up with something that would be important enough for a farmer to leave his farm for long... selling crops, maybe, if they'd had a good year?), mother or sister turns ill, they don't have enough money for medicine, Jacque steals money from someone (not a friend or neighbour, probably a stranger) to get some. When his father returns and quickly figures out what happened, he is furious - in his rigid view of the world stealing is beyond the pale, even in such dire circumstances. After a violent beating, Jacques is kicked out. (This means he's probably not the oldest son.)

Alternatively, he could have loaned the money from a relative or family friend and been taken in by a con man selling a miracle cure. That might be even better: he's driven away from home not by his father's anger, but by disappointment, grief and feeling like a failure. This also gives him a stronger reason to hold on to his family's code of honor against stealing. (While I want him to be a rogue in many ways I also want him to have strong principles.)

What would a homeless teenager without money be able to do for a living, besides stealing? Labor? At this point he'd be bright but thoroughly uneducated, probably unable to read or write more than his name, if that. My desire is for him to drift around for a few years, taking the easiest (honest) jobs he can find, and discovering a few things:

* He likes life off the farm/boat. Good food, drink, gambling, women, travel - he enjoys all the good things in life. An honest day's hard work is not high on his list of enjoyable pursuits.

* He has talents. Being clever and easy-going, he quickly learns how to best get along with different kinds of people. As he grows older and becomes more of a handsome young man than an awkward, down-on-his-luck farmboy, he also becomes quite popular with the ladies. A quick mind and keen observational skills make him a good cardplayer, which is probably his ticket out of poverty. He also has a sharp tongue and doesn't always know when to keep it still, which when combined with the previous two skills has given him plenty of opportunity to practice his fighting skills. He's a skilled and ruthless fighter, barehanded or with a knife.

* Money won't get you everything. For some people it's much less a matter of how much money you have than how you came by it. They may call it class, breeding or being from a good family, but it's all about being born with money. (This may or may not be fully accurate, but it's how Jacque sees things.)

I'm not sure what to do about the war. He could be too young to have taken part, or just avoided it as best he could. He certainly feels no loyalty to state, nation or any other form of government.

As to how to get him involved with the other characters, I'm thinking he witnessed something inexplicable Dr. Villeneueve got wind of and ended up being of help to him in some way.

Does this seem like a workable start?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Anders Gabrielsson

I'm thinking low-class, Louisiana, French descent, probably with some Indian blood. The family could be hard-luck farmers or fishermen - definitely very poor, clannish and distrustful of outsiders. Not criminals, though; actually, I think sullying the family name by stealing may have been what got him kicked out of the house at a fairly young age, say 12-14?

Cajun? Gens de couleur libre? All of the above? I think illustrating the cultural mixing pot that Louisiana was before the binary race-consciousness of American culture intervened would be cool.

Originally Posted by Anders Gabrielsson

Okay, stealing... but out of necessity, not greed.

One thing that comes to mind is that the necessity might not have been on the part of his family, but that of someone else. A lover, perhaps? If he got a girl pregnant, stealing money for an illegal abortion would have been against the principles of a Catholic family on two accounts. Even if the money was for them to get married (with or without running away first), Jacques might have been thrown out for stealing. It would leave you with explaining what happened to the girl, but she might have died while at some back-alley abortionist, in labour or her family might have found out and seperated the young lovers. They might simply have moved, taking her along.

Other reasons to steal might have been to cover up some other youthful misdeed or, if you want him to have been scrupulously honest otherwise, to help a friend in trouble. A friend could have suffered financial loss that he faced punishment over. Or gotten a girl of his own in trouble.

Originally Posted by Anders Gabrielsson

What would a homeless teenager without money be able to do for a living, besides stealing? Labor? At this point he'd be bright but thoroughly uneducated, probably unable to read or write more than his name, if that.

Apart from prostitution or kept boy (which is likely), there are a few other possibilities. He could have begged, of course. If he's charming and a good actor, he could have made quite a good living at that. The riverboats require cabin boys and deck hands, of course. Everybody wants to be a pilot and the competition for even the hardest job is extreme, but this would be the age that boys generally start there.

In a city, there is need for local touts. Most of them probably con and embezzle and they certainly act as intermediaries for prostitution in the cities, but I don't know how strictly you are interpreting 'steal' here. If he's black, it would probably be easier for him than a white man to get a job as a servant, elevator boy, kitchen hand, etc.

Originally Posted by Anders Gabrielsson

I'm not sure what to do about the war. He could be too young to have taken part, or just avoided it as best he could. He certainly feels no loyalty to state, nation or any other form of government.

If he ran away the year after the war, he'd be twenty-five to twenty-seven now. Sounds right. Or he could be even younger.

In any event, no need for him to have been more than a babe-in-arms during the War Between the States.

Originally Posted by Anders Gabrielsson

As to how to get him involved with the other characters, I'm thinking he witnessed something inexplicable Dr. Villeneueve got wind of and ended up being of help to him in some way.

Dr. Villeneuve was in New Orleans around 1875, I guess, so it seems plausible he'd have met him then. Spitball some ideas as to what, how you met and what the current relationship is. Master-servant? Junior associate and mature professional? Equals, because they've already faced danger together (explain how)? Something else?

Originally Posted by Anders Gabrielsson

Does this seem like a workable start?

It does to me. What do other players think? About a new PC?

Does anyone have ideas for the issues raised in the post above? Some thoughts on a hypothetical PC?

***

In other news, I'll be out of town over the weekend. Behave. ;)

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Apart from prostitution or kept boy (which is likely), there are a few other possibilities. He could have begged, of course. If he's charming and a good actor, he could have made quite a good living at that. The riverboats require cabin boys and deck hands, of course. Everybody wants to be a pilot and the competition for even the hardest job is extreme, but this would be the age that boys generally start there.

Given the theme of the campaign he could have worked as messenger or agent of a bokor.

[Anders Gabrielsson]

Many good ideas there. I'll do some thinking and post more later, probably from two directions: possible backgrounds and where I want to end up. There will probably be some fiddling needed to make the ends meet. (Assuming the other players don't object.)

[Anders Gabrielsson]

Getting a girl pregnant sounds like a great idea, and definitely fitting. Stealing money for a wedding and then have her family pressure her into marrying someone more suitable would be perfect: he feels rejected by her which will probably colour his perceptions of women and romantic love in general and there's no way for him to return home without having the shame attach to both him and his family (unless he becomes improbably successful - money solves most problems).

Working as a prostitute doesn't feel quite right, but I can definitely see him working at a brothel in some capacity. Possibly he could work as a servant and be taken advantage of.

The thing about stealing is pretty strictly defined, but con games and embezzling would still count, I think. Gambling would be okay, but not cheating (with the possible exception of cheating a cheater).

I can see him joining up with a troupe of actors, but probably not for long. He wouldn't have any passion for it and might not get along well with those who do.

A stint on a riverboat would be perfect, as it would let him travel relatively easily. He would not be averse to hard work if he got something valuable out of it, and seeing more of the world would count. He's not really lazy, he just prefers living in comfort.

As to race, I'm not sure about all the implications of the various possibilities. I'm open to suggestions.

Around 25 sounds like a good age - old enough to have experience and some level of emotional maturity, but still young enough to be a bit cocky.

Regarding possible encounters with Dr. Villeneuve, one idea would be for some creature to have killed or abducted someone Jacques cared about, leading to him insisting on joining the Doctor on the case and at least mildly impressing him by being helpful and not completely freaking out over whatever happened. A later case could have connections to an environment Jacques knows - a brothel, a theater troupe or something similar - and Villeneuve asking him for advice when they bump into each other. With Jacques being helpful again they could form some kind of professional relationship, with Jacques acting as a lokal guide and informer.

I suspect their relationship would have Jacques primarily viewed as useful hired help, or at a stretch a promising junior partner. (I haven't read all the discussions on the Doctor's personality and background.)

[Anders Gabrielsson]

Here's a very rough sketch of stats. Ads/disads are the ones I see as being the most important (and Lecherousness is still a maybe, and mild if present); Attributes are ballpark figures; skills is just a list of the ones I think he should be at least reasonably competent with. I'm guessing there will be some kind of Social Stigma or other disadvantage associated with his racial background.

IQ is fairly high as he's got a quick and inquisitive mind, but his education is very limited. Physically he's in good shape.

Name: Jacques

Attributes [165]
ST 11 [10]
DX 14 [80]
IQ 12 [40]
HT 12 [20]

HP 11
Will 13 [5]
Per 12
FP 12

Basic Speed 7 [10]
Basic Move 7

Social Background
TL: 5 [0]
Cultural Familiarities:
Languages:

Advantages [72]
Appearance (Handsome) [12]
Charisma (1) [5]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Danger Sense [15]
Fit [5]
Sensitive [5]
Smooth Operator (1) [15]

Disadvantages [-40]
Code of Honor (TBD) [-5]
Compulsive Spending (12 or less) [-5]
Lecherousness (12 or less) [-15]
Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10]
Sense of Duty (TBD) (Small Group) [-5]

Skills [24]
Acrobatics DX/H - DX-2 12 [1]
Acting IQ/A - IQ+0 12 [1]
Body Language (Human) Per/A - Per-1 11 [1]
Brawling DX/E - DX+0 14 [1]
Carousing HT/E - HT+1 13 [1]
Dancing DX/A - DX-1 13 [1]
Detect Lies Per/H - Per+0 12 [1]
Erotic Art (Human) DX/A - DX-1 13 [1]
Escape DX/H - DX-2 12 [1]
Fast-Draw (Knife) DX/E - DX+1 15 [1]
Fast-Draw (Pistol) DX/E - DX+1 15 [1]
Gambling IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
Guns/TL5 (Pistol) DX/E - DX+0 14 [1]
Holdout IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
Intimidation Will/A - Will+0 13 [1]
Knife DX/E - DX+0 14 [1]
Public Speaking (Storytelling) IQ/E - IQ+2 14 [1]
Search Per/A - Per-1 11 [1]
Sex Appeal (Human) HT/A - HT+4 16 [1]
Shadowing IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
Sleight of Hand DX/H - DX-2 12 [1]
Stealth DX/A - DX-1 13 [1]
Streetwise IQ/A - IQ+0 12 [1]

[Þorkell]

This is mostly me thinking out loud.

Talents. There doesn't seem to be one that covers what I'd want. Maybe I'm approaching this from the wrong direction. I wanted something to cover that Robert is a good engineer. Lots of engineering as I understand it is about numbers and calculating stuff. So, aha! I thought, Mathematical Ability, but that really only covers two of the skills I see Robert with. So that'd be a waste of points.

Maybe Artificer is closer to what I'm thinking. Hmm, it covers Smith, Carpentry and Masonry. We've already established that he was a combat engineer, and as such would've built bridges, roads, artillery positions, etc. Anyway, it also covers electricity. How far along is electricity at that time?

Anybody want to slap me for being silly?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Þorkell

This is mostly me thinking out loud.

Talents. There doesn't seem to be one that covers what I'd want. Maybe I'm approaching this from the wrong direction. I wanted something to cover that Robert is a good engineer. Lots of engineering as I understand it is about numbers and calculating stuff. So, aha! I thought, Mathematical Ability, but that really only covers two of the skills I see Robert with. So that'd be a waste of points.

Maybe Artificer is closer to what I'm thinking. Hmm, it covers Smith, Carpentry and Masonry. We've already established that he was a combat engineer, and as such would've built bridges, roads, artillery positions, etc.

Right. Those skills would be most of what you'd use, yes. Or you could whip up a Talent of your own. Just describe his gift in real world terms and I'll fit what skills need to go there.

Originally Posted by Þorkell

Anyway, it also covers electricity. How far along is electricity at that time?

Theory is there, but the practical applications are so far very limited. But that's changing year from year.

Originally Posted by Þorkell

Anybody want to slap me for being silly?

If so, they'd have to delegate the job to someone closer. Me and Gunnar stand ready to oblige. ;)