Play@YSDC

This thread is for creating and discussing the characters you'll be playing in Space Oddity. For general Out of Character Discussion, visit the Groovy Psychedlic Chit-Chat Lounge.

So far we have three players: Mr Zombie killer, sufirjp, and Philulhu. There's still room for a few more 1969 characters. Philulhu, since you're playing the only 2009 character we can start your IC thread up as soon as your character is complete, even if we're still waiting for other players. If anyone wants me to roll up a character for you and/or distribute skill points, you can just tell me what you're looking for and I'll do the rest.

We'll use standard character creation from the book. Start by choosing a name and gender for your character. Then make the following rolls:

• Roll 3d6 each for STR, CON, POW, DEX, and APP.
• Roll 2d6+6 each for SIZ and INT.
• Roll 3d6+3 for EDU.
• Roll 1d10 to determine personal wealth. Use the Present portion of the table, but the 1969 characters will have the result divided by 5. Don't worry, it went a lot further in those days. If you don't have the rulebook, don't worry. Just roll the 1d10 and I'll tell you how wealthy your character is.

You can use Invisible Castle to make your rolls, both for character creation and in the game. You'll need to register and log in there in order to make entries in the Note section describing what you're rolling, but it's free. In the Character Name box, put the game's initials in brackets followed immediately by the character's name, and be sure to use the same spelling consistently to make it easier to look up old rolls. For example: [SO]John Doe

Those are the only rolls you need to make for character creation. You are free to distribute the 3d6 rolls amongst the five stats that are rolled on 3d6, as well as to choose which 2d6+6 roll goes to SIZ and which to INT. EDU can be raised by making your character older. If you're still not satisfied with your rolls, let me know and we'll work something out. If your rolls are abnormally low, I may permit a reroll of the entire set.

You'll also need to decide on your character's age. The minimum age allowed is EDU+6, but you can always choose to make your character older. For every 10 full years above the minimum, you get +1 to your EDU (which also gets you an extra 20 occupational skill points). However, for every full 10 years above 40 (i.e., starting at age 50), you must reduce one of the following stats by 1: STR, CON, DEX, or APP.

Your character has the following derived stats:
Idea: INT x 5
Luck: POW x 5
Know: EDU x 5 (maximum of 99)
Damage Bonus: Calculate STR+SIZ and consult the following table

• 12 or less: -1d6
• 13-16: -1d4
• 17-24: +0
• 25-32: +1d4
• 33 or more: +1d6

Maximum Hit Points: (CON+SIZ)/2 (round fractions up)
Maximum Magic Points: POW
Starting Sanity: POW x 5

You get 20 x EDU occupational skill points that can only be used to increase skills for your chosen profession. You also get 10 x INT hobby skill points that can be spent to increase any skills (even the ones for your occupation if you really want). The only skill that cannot be raised is Cthulhu Mythos, which always starts at 0%. The other skills have base levels of 1% or higher, and the points you spend add to those base levels. All characters use the modern skill lists, whether in 1969 or 2009. To see the list of skills and their starting levels (as well as other useful info), see the Quick Start rules for Call of Cthulhu: http://www.chaosium.com/article.php?story_id=87

I would prefer that you don't have starting skills higher than 75 without a very good reason. Older, more experienced characters are more likely to have exceptionally high skills, so they'll get more leeway in this area than youngsters. In any event, you shouldn't have any skill higher than 90 to begin. Spend all your skill points during character creation, as they're of no use once the game is underway.

The occupational skills for many professions are listed in the rulebook. If you're unsure what they should be, tell me your character's occupation and I'll give you a list of skills you can spend your EDU skill points on. Some of these lists allow you to choose one or two of your occupational skills. Just make sure it's within reason for your chosen occupation.

Mr Zombie killer indicated he wants to play a student radical. In this case, use the Zealot's occupational skill list: Conceal, Hide, Library Use, Persuade, Psychology, any two of the following (Chemistry, Electrical Repair, Law, Pharmacy, Rifle), and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty.

Sufirjp, if you want to play an undercover FBI agent, use the Police Detective skill list: Bargain, Fast Talk, Law, Listen, Persuade, Psychology, Spot Hidden, and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty
If you want to play a Black Panther, use the Zealot skill list above. For extra fun, we can keep the other players in the dark about whether you're really a radical or an undercover FBI agent by taking the secret parts of character creation discussion to PMs. You'll appear to be a radical, but nobody will know whether you really are or not. In that case you'll probably want to take skills from both lists (which do overlap nicely), using your hobby points to fill in the gaps.

Philulhu, if you want to play a professor, the skill list is as follows: Bargain, Credit Rating, Library Use, Other Language, Persuade, Psychology, and any two of the following as a personal specialty: Anthropology, Archaelogy, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Electronics, Geology, History, Law, Medicine, Natural History, or Physics.

If anyone wants to play something else, let me know and we'll work out a skill list for your occupation.

Bill Johns (58) - University Professor

Backstory

Bill was born in the early 50's to Fred and Barbara Johns. His father had seen front line service in WWII and was still a serving soldier when Bill was born. Shortly after, Fred left the army and spent the next ten years travelling around Eastern Asia as a UN representative, taking Barbara and Bill with him.

After the birth of Bill's young brother, Hal, in 1960, the family returned to live in the United States, where Fred took up a teaching job to support his family. Bill studied theough college and subsequently followed his father into the teaching profession.

Whilst at college, Bill's experiences abroad led him to question the US's role in Vietnam and he briefly afiliated with a number of radicalised groups before he grew disenchanted with their world view and left them behind.

Following graduation, Bill taught in local schools and colleges before a paper linking the mistakes of the Vietnam war with the then war in Iraq, brought him to the attention of the local university. Bill started lecturing, initially on a part-time basis, but is now Professor of Modern History and a full-time member of the faculty.

Bill is married to Mary (whom he met at college). They have two children in their 30s, Freddie Jnr. and Bethany, both of whom are now married and live away from the family home.

Stats

STR (1d6=5, 1d6=6, 1d6=3) - 14
CON (1d6=6, 1d6=6, 1d6=4) - 16
POW (1d6=5, 1d6=1, 1d6=2) - 8
DEX (1d6=3, 1d6=6, 1d6=1) - 10
APP (1d6=2, 1d6=5, 1d6=4) - 11
SIZ (1d6=5, 1d6+6=10) - 15
INT (1d6=3, 1d6+6=9) - 12
EDU (1d6=6, 1d6=4, 1d6+3=8) - 18

Wealth (1d10=7) - 7

Skills (I've used Byakhee - I'm not 100% convinced about the results, particularly 'speaks own language'...)

Leaving aside all the 1% skills, Bill's skill set is as follows:

Accounting 10% Archaeology 76% Bargain 25% Biology 1% Climb 40% Computer Use 56%
Conceal 15% Credit Rating 60% Cthulhu Mythos 0% Dodge 18% Drive Auto 40% Electrical Repair 10%
Fast Talk 5% First Aid 30% Handgun 20% Hide 10% History 75% Jump 25%
Law 5% Library Use 75% Listen 25% Machine Gun 15% Mechanical Repair 20%
Medicine 5% Natural History 25% Navigate 10% Occult 5% Other Language: Chinese 36%
Other Language: Indonesia 11% Other Language: Korean 26% Own Language: English 105%
Persuade 75% Photography 20% Psychology 70% Ride 5% Rifle 25% Shotgun 30%
Sneak 10% Spot Hidden 25% Submachine Gun 15% Swim 25% Throw 25%
Track 10% Fist/Punch 50% Head Butt 10% Kick 25% Grapple 25%

How does that look?

Philulhu.

Very nice! I think Byakhee actually got it mostly right, as it adjusted your stats for age automatically. Own Language is the one exception to my preference for not having ultra-high starting skills, as your EDU x 5 alone can max it out. The maximum level for any skill, including Own Language, is 99. This is in fact your skill, as your extra years give you +3 EDU for a total of 21. However, your age also means 1 point is deducted from one of your physical stats. Judging from the listed Dodge skill of 18% rather than 20%, your DEX has already been reduced from 10 to 9. I added up your skill points to ensure you spent all of your 420 occupational and 120 hobby skill points, and you did: Byakhee must have adjusted your total at the same time as it raised your EDU.

Your derived stats are as follows:
Idea: 60
Luck: 40
Know: 99
Damage Bonus: +1d4
Maximum HP: 16
Maximum MP: 8
Starting Sanity: 40

Your income is $100,000 per year, and you have $500,000 in assets. Of that, $50,000 is in the bank, $50,000 is in stocks and bonds, and $400,000 is in other assets (most of that would be the value of your house). I'll create a thread for character sheets soon and post yours, but it may be Friday night or Saturday, Eastern U.S. time, before I have a chance. I'll see if I can get your IC thread started tonight.

Here you go! What do you think?


Kathleen Scott
Occupation: Student Radical Age: 27
STR: 12 CON: 13 SIZ: 11 INT: 15 POW: 10 DEX: 3 APP: 13 EDU: 18 SAN: 50 (0/10)
Idea: 75 Luck: 50 Know: 90 Damage Bonus: +0 Hit Points: 12 (0/12) Magic Points: 50
College: University of Pittsburgh (BA Chemistry 1964), University of Pittsburgh (MA History 1967). Currently Working on a JD in Law.
Birthplace: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Skills: Chemistry 56%, Conceal 33%, First Aid 41%, Hide 54%, History (Gender History) 66%, Law 40%, Library Use 51%, Persuade 55%, Psychology 11%, Rifle 50%, Spot Hidden 20%,
Languages: English 90%, Russian 48%, Vietnamese 12%
Money: $75,000 a year with $375,000 in assets. Of that $37,500 is in the bank, $37,500 is in stocks and bonds, and $300,000 is in a trust fund set up for her with her father threatening to have liquidated and not give to her now.
Background: With red hair and green eyes Kathleen is drop dead gorgeous. People notice that right off although they also tend to notice her habit of always dropping things or tripping over her feet. Born November 21, 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Anthony and Wanda Scott her father was a gunner’s Mate serving on the USS Iowa in the Pacific. She did not see much of him for the early part of her life and grew up instead under the kind gaze of her Uncle Carl who was her father’s older brother. Upon her father’s return he took back his job in the coal mines and got busy giving Kathleen another sister Jeanne in 1945, a brother Raymond in 1950 and a sister Susan in 1956. Things looked pretty good for the family until 1955 when her uncle was killed in the Hurricane Diane Floods. Four years later the coal mine shut down and her father moved the family to Pittsburgh where he found work in a foundry. In high school in 1957, Kathleen began dating William Lewis and he would be her first sexual experience. She entered the University of Pittsburgh to study Chemistry in 1960 and a year later broke up with William although the two would stay friends and very close. In the years to come Kathleen would miss William and long for him to the point that she began to sleep around with anyone and became known on campus as kind of sluttish. She earned her BA in Chemistry in 1964 but decided to return to the University of Pittsburgh changing majors and earn a MA in History. As a junior she had read The Feminine Mystique and now wanted to study Gender History. Her MA was earned in 1967 and her thesis was entitled Tears cried in vain: the true story of comfort women in Japan 1941-1945. She is currently trying to get the thesis published. About that time her world fell apart around her. William had joined the US Air Force and was killed when his plane was shot down in 1967, her second real boyfriend Samuel Ross, who was a rebound killed himself when she broke up with him, and in early 1968 her only brother Raymond was killed at Khe Sanh. All of this pushed her over the edge mentally. She joined the antiwar movement on campus, is currently flirting with the Black Panther Party via attending some of their events, participated in the riots at the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1968 where she was arrested for the first time, is going back to school to study law and only last week told her family that she was dating Maxine Grey who is not only 15 years older then her but a woman! Maxine works with Kathleen at the University where they both are Graduate Assistants. Her parents are extremely angry at her with her father refusing to talk to her.

Looks great! There are just a few things that need to be fixed before the character is finalized. The story begins in July 1969, and Kathleen was born in November 1942, so she is currently 26, not 27, and she has 10 Magic Points rather than 50. Her wealth must also be divided by 5 to adjust for 1969 prices. Her total yearly income is $15,000. She has $75,000 in assets, of which she has $7,500 in cash, $7,500 in stocks and bonds, and $60,000 in her trust fund.

Finally, and most importantly, you haven't spent anywhere near all of your skill points. It's not entirely clear which of the optional skills you've chosen as your professional skills, but I assume you chose the ones you spent the most on. This would make your occupational skills Chemistry, Conceal, Hide, Law, Library Use, Persuade, Psychology, and one other skill. Your other skills, including Rifle, are increased by hobby points only. Your Spot Hidden skill is 25%, since that is the base skill - you are not allowed to lower your skills below their base level. In all you have 150 hobby points, but you only spent 140 of them, which means you still have 10 points to spend on any skills. You still have many occupational skill points left to spend. Your 18 EDU gives you a total of 360 points, but you only spent 224 of them. That still leaves you 136 points to spend on your occupational skills. Go ahead and spend the rest of your points.

Remember that you also get to choose any one skill as an occupational skill. Which skill did you intend that to be? Whichever one it is, the points you spent on it are added back to your available hobby points total and are deducted from your occupational points total. You may also spend additional occupational points on it to increase it further. For example, if History is your eighth occupational skill, then the 46 points you spent are now available as hobby points, giving you a total of 56, and they are deducted from the 136 unspent occupational points, leaving you with 90.

This better?

Kathleen Scott
Occupation: Student Radical Age: 26
STR: 12 CON: 13 SIZ: 11 INT: 15 POW: 10 DEX: 3 APP: 13 EDU: 18 SAN: 50 (0/10)
Idea: 75 Luck: 50 Know: 90 Damage Bonus: +0 Hit Points: 12 (0/12) Magic Points: 10
College: University of Pittsburgh (BA Chemistry 1964), University of Pittsburgh (MA History 1967). Currently Working on a JD in Law.
Birthplace: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Skills: Occupational: Chemistry 70%, Conceal 40%, Hide 65%, History (Gender History) 75%, Law 40%, Library Use 51%, Persuade 55%, Psychology 60%,
Hobby: First Aid 41%, Handgun 30%, History (People’s History) 41%, Rifle 50%, Spot Hidden 30%,
Languages: English 90%, Russian 48%, Vietnamese 12%
Money: $15,000 a year with $75,000 in assets. Of that $7,500 is in the bank, $7,500 is in stocks and bonds, and $60,000 is in a trust fund set up for her with her father threatening to have liquidated and not give to her now.
Background: With red hair and green eyes Kathleen is drop dead gorgeous. People notice that right off although they also tend to notice her habit of always dropping things or tripping over her feet. Born November 21, 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Anthony and Wanda Scott her father was a gunner’s Mate serving on the USS Iowa in the Pacific. She did not see much of him for the early part of her life and grew up instead under the kind gaze of her Uncle Carl who was her father’s older brother. Upon her father’s return he took back his job in the coal mines and got busy giving Kathleen another sister Jeanne in 1945, a brother Raymond in 1950 and a sister Susan in 1956. Things looked pretty good for the family until 1955 when her uncle was killed in the Hurricane Diane Floods. Four years later the coal mine shut down and her father moved the family to Pittsburgh where he found work in a foundry. In high school in 1957, Kathleen began dating William Lewis and he would be her first sexual experience. She entered the University of Pittsburgh to study Chemistry in 1960 and a year later broke up with William although the two would stay friends and very close. In the years to come Kathleen would miss William and long for him to the point that she began to sleep around with anyone and became known on campus as kind of sluttish. She earned her BA in Chemistry in 1964 but decided to return to the University of Pittsburgh changing majors and earn a MA in History. As a junior she had read The Feminine Mystique and now wanted to study Gender History. Her MA was earned in 1967 and her thesis was entitled Tears cried in vain: the true story of comfort women in Japan 1941-1945. She is currently trying to get the thesis published. About that time her world fell apart around her. William had joined the US Air Force and was killed when his plane was shot down in 1967, her second real boyfriend Samuel Ross, who was a rebound killed himself when she broke up with him, and in early 1968 her only brother Raymond was killed at Khe Sanh. All of this pushed her over the edge mentally. She joined the antiwar movement on campus, is currently flirting with the Black Panther Party via attending some of their events, participated in the riots at the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1968 where she was arrested for the first time, is going back to school to study law and only last week told her family that she was dating Maxine Grey who is not only 15 years older then her but a woman! Maxine works with Kathleen at the University where they both are Graduate Assistants. Her parents are extremely angry at her with her father refusing to talk to her.

Yes, that's better, but you still have some unspent hobby points that you'll want to put into skills. You've spent all of your occupational skill points, but you only spent a total of 130 out of 150 hobby skill points. Also, you don't need to take History twice. Your 75% score in History covers history in general; Kathleen just specializes in Gender History. That means you have an additional 21 hobby points to spend, for a total of 41. Go ahead and spend them on any skills you like.

Take 3:

Kathleen Scott
Occupation: Student Radical Age: 26
STR: 12 CON: 13 SIZ: 11 INT: 15 POW: 10 DEX: 3 APP: 13 EDU: 18 SAN: 50 (0/10)
Idea: 75 Luck: 50 Know: 90 Damage Bonus: +0 Hit Points: 12 (0/12) Magic Points: 10
College: University of Pittsburgh (BA Chemistry 1964), University of Pittsburgh (MA History 1967). Currently Working on a JD in Law.
Birthplace: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Skills: Occupational: Chemistry 70%, Conceal 40%, Hide 65%, History (Gender History) 75%, Law 40%, Library Use 51%, Persuade 55%, Psychology 60%,
Hobby: First Aid 41%, Handgun 40%, Rifle 50%, Spot Hidden 30%,
Languages: English 90%, Russian 48%, Vietnamese 12%, Mandarin Chinese 30%,
Money: $15,000 a year with $75,000 in assets. Of that $7,500 is in the bank, $7,500 is in stocks and bonds, and $60,000 is in a trust fund set up for her with her father threatening to have liquidated and not give to her now.
Background: With red hair and green eyes Kathleen is drop dead gorgeous. People notice that right off although they also tend to notice her habit of always dropping things or tripping over her feet. Born November 21, 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Anthony and Wanda Scott her father was a gunner’s Mate serving on the USS Iowa in the Pacific. She did not see much of him for the early part of her life and grew up instead under the kind gaze of her Uncle Carl who was her father’s older brother. Upon her father’s return he took back his job in the coal mines and got busy giving Kathleen another sister Jeanne in 1945, a brother Raymond in 1950 and a sister Susan in 1956. Things looked pretty good for the family until 1955 when her uncle was killed in the Hurricane Diane Floods. Four years later the coal mine shut down and her father moved the family to Pittsburgh where he found work in a foundry. In high school in 1957, Kathleen began dating William Lewis and he would be her first sexual experience. She entered the University of Pittsburgh to study Chemistry in 1960 and a year later broke up with William although the two would stay friends and very close. In the years to come Kathleen would miss William and long for him to the point that she began to sleep around with anyone and became known on campus as kind of sluttish. She earned her BA in Chemistry in 1964 but decided to return to the University of Pittsburgh changing majors and earn a MA in History. As a junior she had read The Feminine Mystique and now wanted to study Gender History. Her MA was earned in 1967 and her thesis was entitled Tears cried in vain: the true story of comfort women in Japan 1941-1945. She is currently trying to get the thesis published. About that time her world fell apart around her. William had joined the US Air Force and was killed when his plane was shot down in 1967, her second real boyfriend Samuel Ross, who was a rebound killed himself when she broke up with him, and in early 1968 her only brother Raymond was killed at Khe Sanh. All of this pushed her over the edge mentally. She joined the antiwar movement on campus, is currently flirting with the Black Panther Party via attending some of their events, participated in the riots at the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1968 where she was arrested for the first time, has taken up studying Russian, Mandarin Chinese, and Vietnamese, is going back to school to study law and only last week told her family that she was dating Maxine Grey who is not only 15 years older then her but a woman! Maxine works with Kathleen at the University where they both are Graduate Assistants. Her parents are extremely angry at her with her father refusing to talk to her.

Much better! You still have one unspent hobby point. You don't need to put up another copy of your character sheet, just tell me which skill you want the extra point in. I'll post full character sheets for the completed characters sometime tonight or tomorrow.

sorry I am used to figuring out skills other ways. Add the one extra point to first aid making it 42% thanks

That's okay, don't worry about it. The important part is that you don't lose out on the skill points you should get. First Aid is now 42%.

I've posted the character sheets thread and put up the two completed sheets. I'll update them as needed throughout the game.

OverTheHills, I realized that there is a skill list specifically for musicians. If you want to play a folk singer, you may, if you choose, use the following skill list (instead of the one I gave you for Entertainer): Art, Bargain, Craft, Fast Talk, Listen, Persuade, Psychology, and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty.

Everyone should also think about what equipment their characters would normally have, and we can discuss it here. Both Bill Johns and Kathleen Scott are wealthy enough to own a car if they choose. If you want to own any firearms, we can discuss that here. Kathleen may certainly own a handgun and a rifle, but remember that you are limited to guns that existed in 1969. Also, while firearms restrictions in the U.S. weren't as tight in 1969 as they are today, the Gun Control Act of 1968 was in effect. Kathleen may have a weapon that's illegal, but remember that she can get in trouble if she's caught with one - especially if it's actually used in a crime! You also can't tote around a rifle without attracting a lot of attention, but you could have one at home with no problem. You could also carry it in the trunk of your car.

Katheleen will have a car: Volkswagen Beetle. If it is possible in those days she has in her car a police scanner. Not sure if it was possible in those days to have that.

She has in her closet at her apartment a couple of church like dresses for dates or nice events out on the town. Also a stylish trench coat. Also has of course underwear and socks at home in a dresser along with a nightgown.

She mostly wears everyday: Jeans or skirts, low cut blouses, army boots. She carries a purse with her at all times. This has in it her wallet, her pistol, a camera, eyeshadow, lipstick, blush, loation, and perfume. She also wears hoop earrings. She also always carries with her either that day's newspaper or the latest news magizine.

Her home has a tv, a record player, a number of records: she loves the Beatles. She has a bottle of Jack Daniels, a bottle of wine, a bottle of sake, a bottle of brandy, a bottle of Tequila, and a bottle of Vodka.
She has at her house her brothers acostaic guitar which she stole from her parents house. She cannot play it really well but it lets her remember her brother.
She has in her fridge and cabinets: lunch meat, cheese, bread, mayo, canned soups, chips, soda, leftover takeout food, eggs, bacon, cereal, milk.
She has a first aid kit in her bathroom.
She has a tool kit that she "borrowed" from her father.

Weapons: M1 Garand (according to what I found a civilian can own this but if it is illegal then so be it a radical would not care. She will carry this in the trunk of her car under a blanket when not at home. at home it will be with her at all times.) Can you pick a pistol for me. I am not sure what was legal then or not. Plus she has with the guns a supply of ammo.

Thanks, that will help a lot. I found a picture for Kathleen's car:


Police scanners became popular in the 1970s, but they should still be available in the second half of 1969. The unit Kathleen has is primitive and has only has four channels, but it gets the job done.

There are plenty of M1 Garands around, as they were used extensively in WWII but are no longer the primary service weapon. It's perfectly legal to own one; you'd run into problems if you wanted something like an AK-47 or an M-16. Pistols won't be a problem either in terms of legality or availability. Kathleen will have a 9mm Parabellum Colt Commander Pistol. The stats for her weapons are as follows:
M1 Garand rifle, .30-06: Skill 50% (base 25%), Damage 2d6+2, Base Range 110 yards, Rate of Fire 1/2, Magazine Capacity 8, HP 11, Malfunction 00
Colt Commander Pistol, 9mm Parabellum: Skill 40% (base 20%), Damage 1d10, Base Range 15 yards, Rate of Fire 2, Magazine Capacity 9, HP 8, Malfunction 99

Kathleen herself:?


http://www.redheadedtrip.com/dunst.html

Great picture! I'll go put it in the character sheet.

Bill Johns

How about a Toyota Camry for Bill to drive?



He lives in a charming 4 bed house in Chestnut Hill, to the north of the city centre:



He doesn't own a firearm per se, but his father's revolver (a Colt M1917 .45) is in a trunk of his belongings in the attic. Bill knows how to use it but hasn't touched it and currently has no ammunition. Also in the attic is a wooden baseball bat, a relic of playing in the park with Freddie when he was a youngster.

Those will do nicely. Bill doesn't have any points in Handgun, but like anyone else he can use one with the base skill of 20%. The base skill for a baseball bat is 25%.

I'm thinking of joining, if I can do something a little strange.

Would it be too problematic to play a wheelchair-bound military scientist (sorta Dr. Strangelovish, but 1968 instead of 1950)? Of course, the projects he was working on would not relate (probably) to the strange events that begin to occur.

Yes, I can work that character in with no problem. Dr. Strangelove came out in 1964, so it's not that far removed (only five years). Just create your character and I'll let you know his current assignment. If you want to play a German scientist who come over under Operation Paperclip, that can work too. You can't play Fischer, as your character will start out with no Mythos knowledge (and he might not survive), but you can play someone who either knew or was related to him if you want. You can use one of the following occupation skill lists of your choice, depending upon his field of expertise:

Doctor of Medicine: Biology, Credit Rating, First Aid, Medicine, Other Language: Latin, Pharmacy, Psychoanalysis, Psychology, and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty
Engineer: Chemistry, Electrical Repair, Geology, Library Use, Mechanical Repair, Operate Heavy Machine, Physics, and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty
Hacker/Consultant: Computer Use, Electrical Repair, Electronics, Fast Talk, Library Use, Other Language, Physics, and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty
Parapsychologist: Anthropology, History, Library Use, Occult, Other Language, Photography, Psychology, and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty
Professor: see above

Okay, just making sure before I do this, there is still room, correct?

Yes, there's still room. Welcome to the game! What sort of character are you thinking of playing?

Mr. Handy wrote:Yes, there's still room. Welcome to the game! What sort of character are you thinking of playing?

I have a rough idea. And I'll have to ask that you forgive me if I say something stupid. This is my first time at this in a decade.

Do you just want a general idea, or should I roll everything up? (Again, no tomatoes please, first-timer.)

Don't worry about it, it's a reasonable question. You can go ahead and roll up your character as soon as you're ready. You should also tell me what your character does, so that I can come up with a list of occupational skills.

Mr. Handy wrote:Don't worry about it, it's a reasonable question. You can go ahead and roll up your character as soon as you're ready. You should also tell me what your character does, so that I can come up with a list of occupational skills.

Thank you.

Okay, after some thinking and a brief look at the rulebook, I'd put him down as a lawyer. Do you require anything else?

You're welcome. A lawyer will work fine. The list of occupational skills is: Bargain, Credit Rating, Fast Talk, Law, Library Use, Persuade, Psychology, and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty.

I don't need anything else from you before you create your character. Once you're done, you can post your stats and skills in this thread. If you need any help, feel free to ask here. Once your character is done, I'll post your character sheet and get the 1969 In Character threads started.

Okay, I think I did this right. I'd say it balances out fairly well; good mentally, rather less good physically.

Basic Information

Name: Alan Gains

Gender: Male

Age: 36

Background: Alan was born in 1933, to David and Sally Gains. The Gains family was rather large, and almost as a whole involved in the military, though David was a strict pacifist and instead devoted his life to the study of law. While Alan did love and respect his father, he was fascinated by tales of fighting, and from his various uncles, grandfathers, and sundry other relatives, he started a life-long love of firearms.

When he reached adulthood, he attempted to enlist in the Army, but failed. With no other real choice, he decided to attend collage, eventually following his father into the law profession. He was an average student, though it was often remarked that he was quite intelligent. He started his own practice soon after being admitted to the bar, and while it has yet to pick up, it’s considered (in the family at least) only a matter of time.

Stats

STR: 9

CON: 10

POW: 15

DEX: 9

APP: 14

SIZ: 11

INT: 15

EDU: 12

WEALTH: 1.4

IDEA: 75

LUCK: 75

KNOW: 55

DAM. BONUS: 0

MAX. Hit Points: 11

MAX. Magic Points: 15

Starting SAN: 75

Skills

Accounting: 10%, Anthropology: 01%, Archeology: 01%, Art: 05%,
Astronomy: 01%, Bargain: 15%, Biology: 01%, Chemistry: 01%, Climb: 40%, Computer Use: 01%, Conceal: 15%, Craft: 05%, Credit Rating: 65%, Cthulhu Mythos: 00%, Disguise: 01%, Dodge: 20%, Drive Auto: 20%, Electrical Repair: 10%, Electronics: 01%, Fast Talk: 55%, First Aid: 30%, Fist/Punch: 50%, Geology: 01%, Grapple: 25%, Handgun: 50%, Head Butt: 10%, Hide: 10%, History: 20%,
Jump: 25%, Kick: 25%, Law: 35%, Library Use: 45%, Listen: 25%, Locksmith: 01%, Machine Gun: 15%, Martial Arts: 01%, Mechanical Repair: 20%, Medicine: 05%, Natural History: 10%, Navigate: 10%, Occult: 05%, Operate Heavy Machinery: 01%, Other Language (Latin): 31%, Own Language: 65%, Persuade: 55%, Pharmacy: 01%, Photography: 10%, Physics: 01%, Pilot: 01%, Psychoanalysis: 01%, Psychology: 45%, Ride: 05%, Rifle: 55%, Shotgun: 50%, Sneak: 10%, Spot Hidden: 45%, Submachine Guns: 15%, Swim: 25%, Throw: 25%, Track: 10%




Decent enough?

Looks good for the most part. By my count you've only spent 147 hobby points out of 150, so you've got another 3 points to spend on skills of your choice. Your EDU is a bit low for a lawyer (as is your Law skill). Your character might be better suited as a paralegal or public defender. If you want to increase your EDU further, remember that you can make your character older. He's already at least 10 years above the minimum, so if you have not already added 1 to your EDU score, you get that for free - and you can get another +1 EDU if you make him 38. If you've already taken the +1 EDU for age into account, then you can still get another +1 EDU by making him 37. At his current age, he would have come of age during the Korean War. The Army probably would have taken him, but there are all sorts of medical reasons that might cause them not to (allergies, for instance). It looks like you did roll an 11 for EDU, as you listed your Know score as 55. At 12 EDU, it should be 60. You can also increase your EDU by lowering another stat. If you lower one other stat by up to 3 points, you can raise your EDU by the same amount. Each extra point for EDU gives you another 20 occupational skill points. It also raises your Know stat and Own Language skill by 5. Currently you've put 5 hobby points into Own Language to raise it to 65. If your EDU is 13 or more, you get those 5 points back (for a total of 8 hobby points you can spend). Keep in mind that you spent the 240 occupational skill points so far on just the seven listed skills, so you are free to choose an eighth skill to put some of the extra points you'd get into. I also recommend putting more points in Law if you do this.

His physical stats aren't really that bad (just a little below average), but his mental stats can more than make up for it.

Many apologies again. You're right. Let's switch him to a public defender, and I'll switch around the stats, change the background (my knowledge of Korean flora and fauna is limited, so can we just assume it's something native and leave it at that, unless we have any plans to visit that part of Asia?)...here we go. Except for the age thing, though. I don't know why, but I like the age. It's a nice number.



Basic Information

Name: Alan Gains

Gender: Male

Age: 36

Background: Alan was born in 1933, to David and Sally Gains. The Gains family was rather large, and almost as a whole involved in the military, though David was a strict pacifist and instead devoted his life to the study of law. While Alan did love and respect his father, he was fascinated by tales of fighting, and from his various uncles, grandfathers, and sundry other relatives, he started a life-long love of firearms.

When he reached adulthood, he attempted to enlist in the Army, but was refused due to a rather severe allergy to a particularly common breed of local insect. With no other real choice, he decided to attend collage, eventually following his father into the law profession. He was an average student, though it was often remarked that he was quite intelligent. He has found work as a public defender, and has begun along what seems to be a profitable future career.

Stats

STR: 9

CON: 10

POW: 15

DEX: 9

APP: 14

SIZ: 11

INT: 15

EDU: 12

WEALTH: 1.4

IDEA: 75

LUCK: 75

KNOW: 60

DAM. BONUS: 0

MAX. Hit Points: 11

MAX. Magic Points: 15

Starting SAN: 75

Skills

Accounting: 10%, Anthropology: 01%, Archeology: 01%, Art: 05%,
Astronomy: 01%, Bargain: 15%, Biology: 01%, Chemistry: 01%, Climb: 40%, Computer Use: 01%, Conceal: 15%, Craft: 05%, Credit Rating: 55%, Cthulhu Mythos: 00%, Disguise: 01%, Dodge: 20%, Drive Auto: 20%, Electrical Repair: 10%, Electronics: 01%, Fast Talk: 55%, First Aid: 30%, Fist/Punch: 50%, Geology: 01%, Grapple: 25%, Handgun: 50%, Head Butt: 10%, Hide: 10%, History: 20%,
Jump: 25%, Kick: 25%, Law: 55%, Library Use: 45%, Listen: 25%, Locksmith: 01%, Machine Gun: 15%, Martial Arts: 01%, Mechanical Repair: 20%, Medicine: 05%, Natural History: 10%, Navigate: 10%, Occult: 05%, Operate Heavy Machinery: 01%, Other Language (Latin): 31%, Own Language: 65%, Persuade: 55%, Pharmacy: 01%, Photography: 10%, Physics: 01%, Pilot: 01%, Psychoanalysis: 11%, Psychology: 45%, Ride: 05%, Rifle: 55%, Shotgun: 30%, Sneak: 10%, Spot Hidden: 48%, Submachine Guns: 15%, Swim: 25%, Throw: 25%, Track: 10%

Better?

Don't sweat it, character creation can be complicated. Alan doesn't have to be a public defender if you'd rather he has a private practice. Now that he has 55% in Law, he can manage that. It looks like you've shortchanged yourself on hobby points after readjusting the skills. You've got another 10 points to spend by my count. You don't need to repost a character sheet; you can just tell me which skill or skills you want to add them to.

35 (the age you had him at before) is a nice number for age; it's my age too. You don't have to change it if you don't want to.

By the way, what did you mean by the 1.4 next to wealth? Is that how much he has in thousands of dollars (after dividing by 5)?

Alright, thank you, back to private practice. 35 it is then, I suppose. And put those extra ten points back into my shotgun skill, please.

We're done, then, yes? The whole shebang starts now, if I recall you correctly, or tonight at least. And yes, after dividing by 5, I came up with that. I think I ended up with a 7, but I'm not 100% sure...I was supposed to round up, wasn't I? Or down, as it were.

Oh, I see. You rolled a 7 on 1d10. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. There's a table in the rulebook where this 1d10 roll is translated into an amount of money depending on the era. There's no 1960s era listed, so I took the Present listing and divided the dollar amount by 5 for 1969 characters to adjust for inflation. Bill Johns got a 7 on his roll too, but he's in 2009, so he doesn't divide his wealth. You got the same number, so you have his wealth totals divided by 5. This gives you an income of $20,000 per year (which was a lot back then) and $100,000 in assets. Of that total, $10,000 is cash in the bank, $10,000 is in stocks and bonds, and the remaining $80,000 is in other assets (house, car, etc.).

Yes, your character is now fully created. You might want to start thinking about what your character would normally carry, what he'd have at home, and what kind of car he drives (he can certainly afford one). Presumably he collects firearms given his background, so you can tell me what weapons he would have in his home (and if he keeps any on his person or in his car).

Later tonight or sometime tomorrow I'll put your character sheet up and get your thread and Kathleen's started.

Alright. Should I post the added information here, or shall I PM it?

You can post the information here. Remember that any firearms in your collection have to have existed in 1969. If you need help choosing, let me know. I'll also tell you if any of the guns you request are illegal for Alan to own. This mainly affects weapons capable of fully automatic fire, and most guns should be okay.

Mr. Handy wrote:You can post the information here. Remember that any firearms in your collection have to have existed in 1969. If you need help choosing, let me know. I'll also tell you if any of the guns you request are illegal for Alan to own. This mainly affects weapons capable of fully automatic fire, and most guns should be okay.

Alright, tell me if this is implausible:

His collection of real guns is rather small; over the years, he's gained a few rifles (I'm thinking a pair kept in the house, one stored in his car...just in case. Would having a Garand be too much?), a shotgun (not a favorite of his, I'm thinking a 12-gauge pump?), and a couple of pistols (a .45 Revolver kept at the home, I think, and maybe a Derringer, also in the car, also just in case?).

I'm trying to be conservative with the real guns. I'm imagining a lot of replicas, maybe a few old working models, but having just these actually work? Am I overdoing it a little?

I almost do hope there's a lot of sanity loss involved. I would LOVE to see this guy go murderously insane...

You're not overdoing it. Most serious gun collectors would have much larger collections of working guns, though there's nothing wrong with a small one. An M1 Garand is fine. They were used extensively in WWII, and there are millions of them around. It's quite plausible for Alan to have one (it could even be his father's rifle). Earlier in this thread I posted the stats for one, as Kathleen has one too. I'll list the stats for your weapons here (Bill Johns has the same type of revolver in his attic):

M1 Garand rifle, .30-06: Skill 55% (base 25%), Damage 2d6+2, Base Range 110 yards, Rate of Fire 1/2, Magazine Capacity 8, HP 11, Malfunction 00
12-gauge pump shotgun: Skill 40% (base 30%), Damage 4d6/2d6/1d6, Base Range 10/20/50 yards, Rate of Fire 1, Magazine Capacity 5, HP 10, Malfunction 00
.45 M1917 revolver: Skill 50% (base 20%), Damage 1d10+2, Base Range 15 yards, Rate of Fire 1, Magazine Capacity 6, HP 10, Malfunction 00
.25 derringer: Skill 50% (base 20%), Damage 1d6, Base Range 3 yards, Rate of Fire 1, Magazine Capacity 1, HP 5, Malfunction 00

There will be opportunities to lose Sanity points. You're starting with 75 Sanity, so it'll be harder for you to go completely nuts than for the other characters, but anything's possible.

Your character sheet has been posted in the Character Sheets thread. I may be able to start your IC thread within a few hours.

Mr. Handy wrote:You're not overdoing it. Most serious gun collectors would have much larger collections of working guns, though there's nothing wrong with a small one. An M1 Garand is fine. They were used extensively in WWII, and there are millions of them around. It's quite plausible for Alan to have one (it could even be his father's rifle). Earlier in this thread I posted the stats for one, as Kathleen has one too. I'll list the stats for your weapons here (Bill Johns has the same type of revolver in his attic):

M1 Garand rifle, .30-06: Skill 55% (base 25%), Damage 2d6+2, Base Range 110 yards, Rate of Fire 1/2, Magazine Capacity 8, HP 11, Malfunction 00
12-gauge pump shotgun: Skill 40% (base 30%), Damage 4d6/2d6/1d6, Base Range 10/20/50 yards, Rate of Fire 1, Magazine Capacity 5, HP 10, Malfunction 00
.45 M1917 revolver: Skill 50% (base 20%), Damage 1d10+2, Base Range 15 yards, Rate of Fire 1, Magazine Capacity 6, HP 10, Malfunction 00
.25 derringer: Skill 50% (base 20%), Damage 1d6, Base Range 3 yards, Rate of Fire 1, Magazine Capacity 1, HP 5, Malfunction 00

There will be opportunities to lose Sanity points. You're starting with 75 Sanity, so it'll be harder for you to go completely nuts than for the other characters, but anything's possible.

Your character sheet has been posted in the Character Sheets thread. I may be able to start your IC thread within a few hours.

Let's just assume I either have it if I need it (I'm rich in-game and lazy out-of-game ), or can get it. I just listed what I think I'm likely to use. I'm not likely to brake out an elephant gun any time soon, am I?

Alright then. Let's go.

Handy,
Just wondering when i will get a thread to start?
-steve

I'm going to start your thread soon. I had wanted to last night, but I ran out of time and I really needed sleep. I'd hoped that Sufirjp and OverTheHills would have checked in and created their characters because I had planned to start you all in the same thread, but they haven't even logged onto the board in a while.

There's no way I'd want to run Fischer through this, also...I wasn't even thinking German. Dr. Strangelove was a bad comparison, because it was the first wheelchaired mad scientist I could think of. The guy from Dan Brown's Angels and Demons is closer to what I'm thinking of.

I'm imagining a fiercely competitive American, who, having lost the use of his legs due to an unfortunate accident at a young age, compensated by being even more agressive in his intellectual pursuits. Not long out of college, he's already working for the U.S. government, as far on the other side of the fence from the activists of his generation as possible. I still haven't decided whether he should be in nuclear weapons, aeronautics, engineering, or whatnot, but I'll have the rolling posted on Monday.

I've never read Angels and Demons, but your character idea sounds great and I can fit him in very well. I'll be back at work next week so I won't be able to post as frequently, but I'll try to get an IC thread for you started once your character is ready.

Hello,

I was wondering if there is still a spot free in the game? I've been lurking on these forums for a while and feel like it's time to get stuck in. I was thinking of playing and aging member of a biker gang if there's space.

Rolls:
STR, CON, POW, DEX, and APP (3d6=12, 3d6=9, 3d6=4, 3d6=15, 3d6=10)
SIZ & INT (2d6+6=12, 2d6+6=10)
EDU (3d6+3=13)
Wealth (1d10=1)

Investigator Name: John Hawkes
Occupation: Former soldier, now member of a biker gang
Colleges, Degrees: None
Birthplace: Philadelphia
Mental Disorders: None
Sex: Male Age: 48

STR: 15 DEX: 10 INT: 12 Idea: 60
CON: 12 APP: 9 POW: 4 Luck: 20
SIZ: 10 SAN: 20 EDU: 16 Know: 80
99-Cthulhu Mythos: 99 Damage Bonus: +1D4

I've added + 3 to EDU for Johns age.

Professional Skills: (I've used the soldier template)
Dodge: 70%
Hide: 50%
Fist Aid: 70%
Listen: 70%
Mechanical Repair: 75%
Sneak: 60%
Spot Hidden: 70%
Rifle: 60%

Personal Skills:
Drive Auto: 65% (Does this cover motor bikes or should I take pilot?)
Electrical Repair: 40%
Fist/Punch: 65%
Shotgun: 60%

Wealth: $150 cash, $150 bonds, assets (dingy bedsit and a motorcycle)

How does this look? As for background I was I was thinking a former serviceman who's been part of a motor cycle club for the past 15 years but obviously I can expand on that if there's is still a spot available?

Yes, there's still room, and you'd be welcome to join. Your character looks great, and I can fit him in nicely. You'll just need to fix a couple of things before character creation is done. You spent 360 occupational skill points, but he only has 320 in total (his EDU is 16, not 18). You'll need to reduce his occupational skills by a total of 40 points (5 points from each will do, or you can arrange the deductions differently if you prefer). I treat Drive Auto and Drive Motorcycle as separate skills, both of which have a base skill of 20%. John can have Drive Motorcycle at 65% and Drive Auto at 20%. Pilot is for boats and aircraft, so it wouldn't apply.

You can come up with a more detailed background for John and post it in this thread, and I'll include it in his character sheet. You should also think about what equipment he has and where he keeps it, remembering that he doesn't have a lot of money. You've got a total of $1200 in assets (in 1969 dollars), and your motorcycle will probably take up most of it. You'll want to decide what kind he rides (Harley Davidsons are not only a popular choice, they're also made in Pennsylvania) and what weapons he has. Just post a wish list of what you'd like to have, and I'll let you know if anything is too expensive for him to have. If you keep it reasonable, it shouldn't be a problem.

I'll start you off in the thread called Rebel Rebel. You can assume your character has been there all along, or he could just be arriving now. Go ahead and read it, and you may post in it as well once you're ready. Remember that you're not allowed to read the other characters' IC threads, only your own.

That's great news, thanks.

First of all, sorry about the skills - taking 5% of everything is fine and Drive Motorcycle at 65%, we'll go with that.

Here's a picture for John.


As for possessions, here goes.
1960 Harley Davidson Panhead FL (which John refers to as Carmella)


John carries a sawn off shotgun in the saddle bags of his motorcycle along with a small tool kit containing sockets, spanners, screwdrivers etc... He also carries a spare set of clean(ish) clothes, a blanket and a bottle of bourbon on his bike. In his pockets John has a flick knife, some brass knuckles, cigarettes and his trusty hip flask.

I'll go and start working on a full background now and should have something up in a few hours.

Looks good. Don't worry about the skill points, everyone makes mistakes. I've posted your character sheet in the Character Sheets thread. You can post your character's background and start posting in your IC thread when you're ready. Here are the stats for your weapons:

Sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun: Skill 60% (base 30%): Damage 4d6/1d6, Base Range 5/10 yards, Rate of Fire 1 or 2, Magazine Capacity 2, HP 14, Malfunction 00
Flick knife: Skill 25% (base 25%): Damage 1d4+db, HP 9, Maximum Range (when thrown) (STR - 1) * 3 yards [42 yards with STR 15; thrown weapons use Throw skill, and only half of your Damage Bonus is added]
Brass knuckles: Skill 65% (base 50%): Damage 1d3+1+db [basically, brass knuckles add 1 to punch damage when used; they provide no benefit for parrying, and you can still parry only unarmed attacks with your fists]

EDIT: Just one other thing. In order to get +3 to your EDU, your character would need to be 49 years old, not 48. The minimum age for an EDU 13 character is 19, so you'd have to add 30 to that.

I used Consultant as a character class, since I figured it would be easier and more fun to roleplay the guy who has been called in on several projects (Hey, this reminds me of that one time when I had to - well, I can’t tell you because it is still classified, but it involved uranium, live sea lions, and the second-coldest substance on the planet!) than the guy who is working full-time on one career-deciding project (sorry, guys, I gotta go back to the lab for another overnighter). I was surprised that Byakhee didn’t have the consultant class, but there was always custom.

Jerome Padgett is a native of Arkham. At the age of six, he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, which in his case meant in front of a wildly swerving station wagon. Dashing to escape, he stumbled, and the automobile drove over his legs. Since his bones were crushed by both the front and rear tires, he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Fiercely competitive, he has spent his entire life overcoming his handicap. He tries to remain active despite the limits of his manual wheelchair, and occasionally refuses accommodations as a matter of pride. Not infrequently has he dragged himself into places not thought wheelchair accessible. He often finds himself using his mechanical skills to repair damage to his chair.

However, he decided early on that his true calling was in academia – and later realized that he was even better in research and development. His credentials are impressive, and he has a something of a reputation in the right circles. Having worked as a consultant on projects for DARPA, NASA, and the branches of the armed forces, he sometimes wonders, half-humorously, if all he needs are a few projects for intelligence agencies and his collection of employers will be complete. He is currently relaxing after a particularly strenuous project, having a month and a half before he meets with yet another DARPA team to design yet another – well, he won’t be told until he gets there.

Jerome Padgett, age 30

Characteristics
STR: 14 CON: 8 SIZ: 12 DEX: 10 APP: 8 INT: 17 POW: 12 SIZ: 12
Idea: 85 Luck: 60 Know: 110 DB: +1D4
Skills
Chemistry: 78%
Computer Use: 57%
Electrical Repair: 61%
Electronics: 36%
Fast Talk: 65%
Library Use: 75%
Mathematics: 66%
Mechanical Repair: 51%
Other Language/Russian: 22%
Own Language/English: 110%
Persuade: 54%
Physics: 71%
Grapple: 69%

Well I thinks I've got some history and an idea of personality worked out for John but first of all I'm a little worried about the low SAN score to be honest. I'm no meta gamer and although I was thinking of playing John as a pretty unstable character for his time in the army, I don't think I can bring myself to jump in with a SAN of 20. I was hoping to swap my POW with the 9 from APP and giving John a wound from his service day which cost him an eye, along with dubious personal hygiene and constant whiskey breath to account for the low APP. This would give me a SAN of 45, still not the most stable person, but much more survivable in a game of CoC. What do you think? If you'd rather I kept the original stats, that's cool, I'm sure it will make for interesting gaming!?!

Possessions(addition of a first aid kit)
1960 Harley Davidson Panhead
Sawed of shotgun
Flick knife
Brass knuckles
First aid kit (from his army days)
Spare set of clothes
Blanket
Toolkit
Cigarettes & Zippo lighter
hip flask & bottle of whiskey.

Appearance
John is ferociously strong for his size and with his long scruffy black hair an beard he is certainly someone who gets noticed. What is still visible of his face is dominated by the heavy scarring around his left eye, which now sports a cheap glass replacement. He wares old biker leathers and his leathery skin is covered in now green, faded tattoos.

History
Born on April 19th 1920 in Philadelphia John was born 2 years after the great 1914-1918 war. His father had been an infantry man who served in many conflicts during WWI whilst his mother worked in a hosiery factory back home. When John was 3 his father died of emphysema, which his mother swore was cause by gas attacks during his time abroad. Leaving baby John and his mother alone time were hard as he grew up, but John was a bright lad. He studied hard at school, which his mother always made sure he attended, no matter how much the extra money he would have made from dropping out would have made the family, and he did well.

Upon reaching his late teens John was a bright you man with a head for machines, motorcycles especially and he was earning good money working at a local garage. John plans however were cut short when he was called to serve his country as America joined the second world war. Much to his mothers anguish at the prospect of losing another loved one to war John had no choice but to join the Army do his duty. John made a fine solder and learned quickly, eventually being promoted to Corporal and joining 1000's of other American troops on the boats to Britain to take part in the D-Day landings.

As John hit the beach in Normandy, almost immediately he took a round to the head, knocking him unconscious. He still had no idea how he survived that day or how he got off the shell destroyed beach, but he woke up 3 days later in a Sussex field hospital, dazed and disoriented. Doctors told him he'd been lucky and that the round was in fact a ricochet, the only reason John is still alive today, but it did cost John his left eye and left deep, permanent scarring around the socket. He remained in Britain for another 6 weeks before he was eventually shipped home.Upon reaching Philly John returned home to find his house empty and his mother no where to be seen. Neighbors later told him his mother had passed away during the last few weeks, something to do with her heart. The Army told John their had been some sort of mistake with the paperwork, meaning he'd not been informed.

Having no family left and no stable income John soon went off the rails, turning to petty crime and living rough. All he had was his old 1920's Norton motorcycle and in 1952 he fell into a crowd of like minded drop outs who called themselves the Stone Wheels Motorcycle club. There were only half a dozen or so of them in the start, mainly petty thieves and thugs, but also another ex serviceman called Bill, with which John found he shared a common bond, leading then to soon become firm friends. Over the years time passed and the Stone Wheels grew larger, by 1960 they boasted over 50 members locally. For the most part they spent their time drinking and gambling, occasionally knocking off a truck or warehouse to make some money. John and Bill now held central positions within the club and commanded a great deal of influence. However Bill became disgruntled with their current lifestyle and longed to branch out, wanting to go for bigger and bigger scores. Eventually even these jobs weren't enough for Bill and at the time cocaine and heroin were becoming hugely popular, with massive profits to be made for those willing to sell it. This appealed to Bill and a large numbers of the Stone Wheels' members, but there was a small group, mainly the people who had been with the MC since the start, who were dead set against this, John being one of their number. By late '61 the MC was practically as war with itself, with John and Bill at the head of each faction. Eventually, the tensions culminated into a standoff between the two former best friends which left Bill in hospital with internal bleeding and only a 25% chance of living. The cops picked up John a few days later in a local bar as it tuned out someone had opened their mouth, leaving Bill with a 7 year stretch in the Eastern State Pen.

It's now 1969 and John's been a free man for nearly 2 of years. He now spends his time drifting from bar to bar, small town to small town, doing odd jobs for cash. All he possesses is his beloved 1960 Harley Panhead called Carmella, who'd been in a lockup his whole time inside and whatever he can carry. It turned out that Bill did survive and even the Stone Wheel MC is still alive, all be it with only a handful of members. John keeps one eye always looking over his shoulder these days knowing his old buddy is one to bear a grudge

@Mi-Go Agent: Looks very nice. Your character has actually already been working on a project for the past month or so. I'll let you know the details via PM when I get a chance (probably Wednesday). There's some secret stuff in there that even readers who lurk shouldn't know about yet, as it will give some things away. At the same time, lurkers can read all of the IC threads, but you'll only be allowed to read your own, so you won't see the big picture yet. There are just a few things that need clearing up before your character is finalized.

You have SIZ down twice and no listing for EDU. Presumably your EDU is 22, though your Know score and English skill are both capped at 99. In order to have EDU 22, you must have rolled a 21 and then aged your character 10 years beyond the minimum. Since the minimum age is 27, your character would have to be at least 37 years old. Which skill did you take as your eighth occupational skill? It sounds like it must have been Chemistry, but even so that won't account for 440 occupational skill points, only 420 (which would be accurate with an EDU of 21). If that's the case, you've also spent a total of 179 hobby points, when you should only have 170. You'll need to cut 9 points from your hobby skills.

@Caporegime: Sure, I'll swap your APP and POW. A character with 4 POW and 20 Sanity is actually viable in this game, provided you're careful. In Zombie Apocalypse he'd have likely been doomed. One of our players here is playing a similar character in that game who started out with only 35 Sanity and is now down to 5! 45 Sanity will give you more breathing room while still being somewhat unstable. I'll go update your character sheet.

It's funny, but Eastern State Penitentiary has a reputation for being haunted.

You can start posting in Rebel Rebel any time you're ready. You could have either been there all along, or you can walk in the door.

I just used Byakhee and did as the wizard told me...22 was the EDU it rollled automatically (sorry about the typo - I did indeed enter size a second time instead of EDU). I did select the "extra schooling" box in the wizard, since it only seemed appropriate. Chemistry was indeed the extra skill, and since I used did my point assigning in the wizard, I didn't bother to check the math, just assigned until the counter at the bottom of the screen was zero.

I'll go back, check, and clean things up.

Okay, let me know when you've revised it. The "extra schooling" box could be the source of the problem. It may be some sort of house rule that gives extra EDU. EDU is rolled on 3d6+3, so that should give you a number from 6 to 21. The only way you can get more than 21 EDU to start is to make your character older than the minimum age. I'm not sure what's up with Byakhee. I tried it out myself and somehow got an EDU of 23 on one try even without checking that box. It is using the 5.0 ruleset, so maybe there were different rules for calculating EDU in that edition.

Alright - setting his EDU at 21 should fix most of the problems, and you can take the nine points out of Persuade. And then he should be good to go, no?

By the way, the grapple is in there because this is a guy who constantly "grapples" inaminate objects to push the boundaries of his handicap.

Okay, that works well. Maybe in 5th edition EDU was rolled on 4d6 instead of 3d6+3, which would account for the discrepancy. I'll post your character sheet, and later I'll PM you the secret information and start up an IC thread for you.

yes good old colin Lewis at sanity of 5! Oh the memories. when he does bite the dust I will cry for ten minutes and then get a new character.

Who says he's going to die? He's not that easy to kill. He's far more likely to go to 0 Sanity first.

You still have room right? I was thinking about playing some sort of Roman Catholic Priest. Hopefully I'll have some time to work on him tonight.

Yes, there's still room. When you have time, you can create your character and post the details here. If you need any help, just ask.

You can use the occupational skills for a Clergyman: Accounting, History, Library Use, Listen, Other Language, Persuade, Psychology, and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty.

Father Nathaniel Levington

Occupation: Priest (clergy)

Education: Seminary School, Marriage and Family Counciling

Birthplace: Kingswood West Virginia

Sex: Male

Age: 53

Background: Nathaniel Levington was born in 1916 to John and Cynthia Levington in the quiet West Virginia town of Kingswood, the third of eight children. John and his wife were farmers and Nathaniel spent most of his youth tending to crops and livestock. When not working on the farm or attending school Nathaniel enjoyed spending his time in the great outdoors, hunting and fishing. He was often seen wandering the hills and woodlands around Kingswood, his fathers scattergun over his shoulder, and his dog Bruno at his heels.

In 1932, a week after his 16th birthday Nathaniel was involved in a hunting accident in which a farmer from the local community was killed. While Nathaniel was cleared of any wrongdoing by the court system, his relationships both with his family and the community soured, and Nathaniel lived the last few years he spent in Kingswood a relative outcast. The only person locally who spent much time with the boy was a priest by the name of Father Ronald Kennedy. Father Kennedy took Nathaniel in when most ignored him, and helped him get through those trying years. When Nathaniel graduated from high school, Father Kennedy suggested Nathaniel attend seminary, as a means of finding peace and of getting out of Kingswood. Nathaniel followed his advice and never looked back.

After Graduating from seminary Nathaniel spent a few more years in a theological school working on a masters in marriage and family counseling. After leaving school he worked in a number of big cities with troubled young men, to great success. There was something about him, that allowed him to connect with the young men, between his charming personality and his natural athleticism, Nathaniel quickly made friends with members of the community. Many young men, now older, look back and thank Nathaniel for getting them out of a bad place in life.

After spending most of his early years deep in big cities, Nathaniel moved to the quiet suburb of Ivy Hills, on the outskirts of Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He still works in the city with a number of youth counseling and outreach organizations, but has slowed down in his later years. He is now happily semi-retired. He supposes he will fully retire when he dies of old age.

During his time as a priest, Father Levington took up writing as a hobby. Combining his love of all things historic, and his passion for the theological, he has written several books on the history of the church, the middle ages, and several “self help” books and a commentary on the book of Jude. These books have been well received and will ensure a steady income for the rest of Father Levington’s life.

Stats: (Can somebody teach me how to embed hyperlinks, they're at the bottom)

Str 10 Dex 16 Int 14
Con 10 App 15 Pow 14
Siz 10 San 70 Edu 14
Idea 70 Luck 50 Know 70

Skills: (I'm only posting the ones I put points in, obviously the rest are default)

Fast Talk 60% (H)
History 55%
Library Use 60%
Listen 60%
Persuade 75%
Psychoanalysis 51% (SK)
Psychology 70%
Sneak 50% (H)
Spot Hidden 50 (H)
Shotgun 50% (H)

Wealth: 7

H = Hobby
SK = Specialty Skill

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2030946/

Main 5


http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2030951/

Int and SIz


http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2030959/

Wealth

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/search/416958/

Due to your character's age, you get +3 EDU, for a total of 17. This raises your Know score and your Own Language skill to 85%, and it also gives you 60 additional occupational skill points for you to spend on your profession's skills. However, you also must deduct one point from one of your physical stats due to his age (either STR, CON, DEX, or APP). Once you've adjusted your character, I'll put up a character sheet for him.

Okay, bumped up Fast talk to 70
Listen 70
Hitory 65
Other language Spanish 23
Psychoanalyis 56
psychology 75

and bump my app down to 14

Okay, you're almost finished. Fast Talk isn't one of your occupational skills, however. You also spent a couple too many points on it. You spent 52 of your 60 points on your other occupational skills, so this leaves 8 points still to be spent on something else instead of Fast Talk. I'm going to sleep soon, but I should be able to get your character sheet and IC thread up at some point tomorrow.

This post in my other game has step-by-step instructions for using Invisible Castle and embedding links.

Bumped up psychoanalysis to 64

Made a mistake on calculating my luck, it should be seventy.

Edit: Heh, I see your smarter then me and already fixed that. My bad.

Are you still accepting players? If so I am thinking about a Mathematics Professor.

Welcome, nanonano63! I think I can squeeze one more in. Go ahead and create your character when you're ready, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

could i use one of the extra skill slots for mathematics? Also for education i rolled a 12, which is a high school education for a professor can i swap a score or get a reroll?

Mathematics isn't a listed skill, but yes, you can use it as one of your occupational skills (one of the ones you choose from that long list). It has a base skill of 1%. There are ways we can get your EDU higher. What were your stat rolls? I'll let you deduct up to 3 points from one skill to add to EDU, which can get it to 15. If you want it higher, you can always make your character older. For every full 10 years older than the minimum age (21 for EDU 15), you get +1 EDU free, and the 20 occupational skill points to go with it.

ok i will take two from my INT (16) and then he is 42 so that will give him another +2. for a total of 16 which sounds much better.

Okay, that works out fine. EDU 16 could be someone with a Master's degree.

allright here's my character. how does he look?


Dr. Anthony (Tony) Scott

Occupation: University Professor (Mathematics)

Education: University of Oxford (D.Phil. Mathematics 1955), Yale University (MS Physics 1950), University of Pittsburgh (BS Mathematics 1946)

Birthplace: Pleasant Valley, Ohio
Sex: Male

Age: 42

Background: Anthony was born in Pleasant Valley, Ohio in 1927 to Stan and Ruth Scott. His parents were devout Christians and tried to instill this faith in Anthony and his brothers. He was the first of three brothers. Anthony was an active child, spending his time participating in sports with the local boys. He was also a small child and he often became the object of fun natured bullying. He would sometimes come home with bruises and sores. As Anthony grew older he took an interest in martial arts in the hope that he could avoid most injuries. This interest would stay with him throughout his life, it became a way to cope with the stressors of life.

While Anthony was a bright kid he never applied himself in school, because he just didn’t care. As he approached the end of high school and the realization of his draft registration dawned on him. Right then and there he decided that college was a better choice than going to war. Ironically once he got to college he discovered that he loved to learn. After graduating from Pittsburgh he went on to Yale and then Oxford. While at Oxford, Anthony spent a lot of time in Germany studying the works of the mathematician Gauss.

During his time in Germany he met and married his wife Katrina. They had their first child a beautiful girl, Roselynn, in 1952. Even with the weight of a doctoral thesis ever on his mind Anthony devoted himself to his daughter, and there was never a more loving father. Unfortunately, three weeks after defending his thesis, Rose contracted polio. The family returned home, in hope of medical care to save their child, but a year later she had passed away. In the wake of this tragedy, Anthony lost all faith in a God and turned to the one thing he knew: mathematics. He managed to get a job at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh. After two failed pregnancies the Scotts finally had another child; a boy, Joshua, in June of 1967. Anthony is starting to believe that his life might have a happy ending now, though the fear of losing his child again is constantly on the horizon.

Stats:

Str 10 Dex12 Int 14 Idea 70
Con 7 App 10 Pow 13 Luck 65
Siz 12 San 65 Edu 16 Know 80


Skills: (Here are the ones I spent skill points in)

Credit Rating: 30% (SK)
Dodge: 50% (H)
Drive Automobile: 30% (H)
Library Use: 65% (SK)
Martial Arts: 60% (H)
Other Languages/German: 63% (SK)
Own Language/English: 80% (this is default no points were spent)
Persuade: 30% (SK)
Physics: 75% (SK)
Psychology: 45% (SK)
Swim: 35% (H)
Mathematics: 75% (SK)
Fist: 55% (H)
Grapple: 30% (H)
Kick: 50% (H)

Wealth: 5

H = Hobby
SK = Specialty Skill

Looks great! You underspent in the hobby points department, having only spent 130 out of 140 points, so go ahead and spend the remaining 10. Also, the way Martial Arts works is that you make a single attack roll as normal in unarmed combat, against whichever skill is appropriate (Fist/Punch, Grapple, Kick, or Head Butt). If you get higher than the appropriate skill, you miss. If you get equal to or less, then you compare the number rolled to your Martial Arts skill. If it's less than or equal to your Martial Arts skill as well, you double your damage dice if your attack is not countered (i.e., 2d3 for a punch, 2d6 for a kick, or 2d4 for a head butt). You have no damage bonus, but if you did it would not be doubled. If it's higher than Martial Arts, but still less than or equal to the unarmed combat skill you rolled against, you just do normal damage. Thus, there is no point in having Martial Arts higher than your highest unarmed attack skill. However, with the 10 spare points available, you can spend some or all of them to get Fist/Punch or Kick up to 60. Or you could lower Martial Arts to 55 and have 15 total hobby points left to spend. Also, you should specify which Martial Art your character has studied.

Would you like to be related to Kathleen Scott? She has a father named Anthony Scott, but your character is too young to actually be him (and he's from Scranton and has a different background), but Kathleen could be your cousin one generation removed.

Your yearly income is $11,000 (not bad in 1969 dollars). You have $5,500 cash in the bank, another $5,500 in stocks and bonds, and an additional $44,000 in other assets (a decent house might be valued at only around $20,000 in 1969, so you could still have a car and other things in addition to it). You should think about what you own and what you'd normally carry on you.

Also, the story is set in Philadelphia, not Pittsburgh, and in July 1969 rather than June 1967. I'd like for Anthony Scott to be teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. Perhaps he's taken a new job there in the last couple of years.

Alright here's another go.
I switched up the background to correct for the city, i was just mistaken at first. And i went ahead and specified Karate since it encompasses punching kicking an grappling, and most of the other martial arts don't make it to America till the 70's.

As far as being related to Kathleen Scott, i think it would be an interesting dynamic though i don't think they would know each other well as Anthony has been out of the country for most of her life.

As for items he carries regularly I'm still figuring that out i should get know pretty soon, though it probably won't be much since he doesn't own a gun and he's just a professor. He does own a car though since he lives just outside of Philadelphia (he's just not a big city fan), and has to commute to work.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Anthony (Tony) Scott

Occupation: University Professor (Mathematics)

Education: University of Oxford (D.Phil. Mathematics 1955), Yale University (MS Physics 1950), University of Pennsylvania (BS Mathematics 1946)

Birthplace: Pleasant Valley, Ohio
Sex: Male

Age: 42

Background: Anthony was born in Pleasant Valley, Ohio in 1927 to Stan and Ruth Scott. His parents were devout Christians and tried to instill this faith in Anthony and his brothers. He was the first of three brothers. Anthony was an active child, spending his time participating in sports with the local boys. He was also a small child and he often became the object of fun natured bullying. He would sometimes come home with bruises and sores. As Anthony grew older he took an interest in the martial art of karate in the hope that he could avoid most injuries. This interest would stay with him throughout his life; it became a way to cope with the stressors of life.

While Anthony was a bright kid he never applied himself in school, because he just didn’t care. As he approached the end of high school and the realization of his draft registration dawned on him. Right then and there he decided that college was a better choice than going to war. Ironically once he got to college he discovered that he loved to learn. After graduating from Pennsylvania he went on to Yale and then Oxford. While at Oxford, Anthony spent a lot of time in Germany studying the works of the mathematician Gauss.

During his time in Germany he met and married his wife Katrina. They had their first child a beautiful girl, Roselynn, in 1952. Even with the weight of a doctoral thesis ever on his mind Anthony devoted himself to his daughter, and there was never a more loving father. Unfortunately, three weeks after defending his thesis, Rose contracted polio. The family returned home, in hope of medical care to save their child, but a year later she had passed away. In the wake of this tragedy, Anthony lost all faith in a God and turned to the one thing he knew: mathematics. He managed to get a job at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. After two failed pregnancies the Scotts finally had another child; a boy, Joshua, in February of 1969. Anthony is starting to believe that his life might have a happy ending now, though the fear of losing his child again is constantly on the horizon.

Stats:

Str 10 Dex 12 Int 14 Idea 70
Con 7 App 10 Pow 13 Luck 65
Siz 12 San 65 Edu 16 Know 80


Skills: (Here are the ones I spent skill points in)

Credit Rating: 35% (SK)
Dodge: 50% (H)
Drive Automobile: 30% (H)
Library Use: 65% (SK)
Martial Arts: 55% (H)
Other Languages/German: 63% (SK)
Own Language/English: 80% (this is default no points were spent)
Persuade: 30% (SK)
Physics: 75% (SK)
Psychology: 45% (SK)
Swim: 40% (H)
Mathematics: 75% (SK)
Fist: 55% (H)
Grapple: 30% (H)
Kick: 55% (H)

Wealth: 5

H = Hobby
SK = Specialty Skill

Okay, you're good to go! I posted your character sheet, and I should be able to get your IC thread started soon. Remember that you can't read IC threads that your character isn't in.

Stan Scott is the younger brother of Kathleen's paternal grandfather, which makes Anthony Scott the first cousin of his namesake, Kathleen's father, and the first cousin once removed of Kathleen, who is a grad student in the history department at the U. of P.

Joshua can be two years old if you prefer. I hadn't realized that the date was part of the previous sentence saying when he was born, and thought it was the beginning of the next one.

ok i will change joshua's age back then

Handy,
Kathleen is currently a grad student in law at the university. She has a MA in History already along with a BA in another subject which I think is physics.

Yes, that's right, thanks. Anthony Scott knows a lot about physics and probably also teaches physics courses in addition to math.

yeah that makes sense that he would teach physics as well

I think I found a picture for Father Levington.



This one is a little crisper, but has someone else in it.

Here is a good photo for Anthony Scott.

Player: Scooby
Name: Jim Jacobs
Age: 31
Sex: Male
Occupation:
Current residence:

Characteristics

Str: 13
Con: 09
pOW: 14 (lUCK-70)
dEX: 07
aPP: 07
Siz: 09
Int: 17 (Idea-85)
Edu: 15 (kNOW-75)
Wealth: 03

Sanity:99
Phobias/Mental Disorders: None
Maximum Sanity:70
Hit Points:9
Magic Points:14
Damage Bonus:+0

Background.

Jim Jacobs was born in 1937, brought up in a small town,
He followed in his fathers footsteps and joined the army when he was 16, After 10 years of service,
Jim retired, secluding himself in the woods away from the Harsh realitys of the world.
He dosnt like to think about the past.. his army career was tough and both parents died during the war.
All he wanted to do now was relax in the country, and live out the rest of his life!

Skills.

Skills: (Non-default skills BOLD, Professional Skills ITALICS, Hobbies preceded by a DOT. Checked skills followed by a *)
Accounting (10%): 20
Anthropology (01%):
Archaeology (01%):
Art (05%):
Astronomy (01%):
Bargain (05%): 35
Biology (01%):
Chemistry (01%):
Climb (40%): 15
Computer Use (01%):
Conceal (15%): 10
Craft (05%):
Credit Rating (15%): 20
Cthulhu Mythos (00%):
Disguise (01%):
.Dodge (DEX x 2):
Drive Auto (20%):
Electrical Repair (10%):
Electronics (01%):
Fast Talk (05%):
First Aid (30%): 60
Geology (01%):
Hide (10%):
History (20%):
Jump (25%): 20
Law (05%): 20
Library Use (25%): 15
Listen (25%):
Locksmith (01%):
Martial Arts (01%):
Mechanical Repair (20%):
Medicine (05%):
Natural History (10%):
Navigate (10%): 60
Occult (05%):
Operate Heavy Machinery (01%):
.Other Language: Latin (01%):
.Own Language: English (EDU x 5%): 75
Persuade (15%): *25
Pharmacy (01%):
Photography (10%):
Physics (01%):
Pilot (01%):
.Psychoanalysis (01%):
Psychology (05%): 60
Ride (05%):
Sneak (10%): 10
.Spot Hidden (25%): 20
Swim (25%): 10
Throw (25%):
Track (10%): 20


Hand-to-Hand:
Fist/Punch (50%):
Grapple (25%):
Head Butt (10%):
Kick (25%):

Firearms:
.Handgun (20%): 25
Machine Gun (15%):
.Rifle (25%): 25
.Shotgun (30%):
SMG (15%):

My income is $7,000 per year, in 1969 dollars. You have a total of $35,000 in assets, of which $3,500 is cash in the bank, $3,500 is in stocks and bonds, and $28,000 is in other assets (house, car, etc.).

How does this sound.. Didnt have much time to do a full description..
Am thinking i may need too change a few hobby skills..?
Would be more proficiant with weapons wouldnt he?
Not sure what kind of weapons would be available at the time?
But he would have a few stored away in his cabin..!

Also not sure on my location..?

The story takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and your character would probably start out somewhere in the city (and would need a reason to be there, seeing as he avoids cities and lives out in the countryside). I'll decide exactly where and when you start out.

It looks like you've put the skill points you spent next to each skill, instead of putting the totals there. For instance, if you've spent 20 skill points on Accounting, which has a base of 10%, your Accounting skill is 30%. You've spent a bit much on First Aid for someone your character's age. If you've really added 60 points, that would give you a 90% skill, making your character one of the foremost experts in the world. You should lower that skill to 75, or at most 80. The points you deducted can then be redirected to other occupational skills. You appear to have only spent 290 occupational skill points out of 300 and 160 hobby points out of 170, so you have some additional points to spend. Also, if you rolled a 15 for EDU, then you get +1 EDU for your character's age. This makes your EDU 16, giving you 80 in Know, 80% in Own Language, and an additonal 20 occupational skill points (meaning you have 30 left to spend). It's not clear which skill is your eighth occupation skill. If Sneak is that skill, then the total points spent above are correct. If that's a hobby skill, then you've spent all of your hobby points but still have 40 occupational points left.

As for weapons, just give me a wish list of what sorts you'd want, and then I can choose the exact model that would exist in 1969. For handguns, let me know whether you want them to be revolvers or semiautomatics, as well as what caliber. For rifles, we can work out something similar. Just tell me what you want, and I'll let you know if it existed then, its stats, if it's legal to own, and if you can afford it.

Barney Brainstorm

Musician Born 1943


Dagon, promotional photo 1966 (Barney Brainstorm far right).

Str: 13
Con:12
Siz: 10
Dex:13
App: 10
Int: 16 Idea: 80,
POW:16 Luck: 80
Edu: 14 Know: 70

SAN: 80
HP: 11
MP: 16

Skills

Art - Keyboards: 70%
Bargain (05%): 30
Dodge (DEX×2): 26%
Electronics: 71%
Library Use (25%): 55%
Listen (25%): 65%
Occult (05%): 65%
Own Language (EDU×5%): 70%
Persuade (15%): 55%
Physics: 41%
Psychology (05%): 45%
Spot Hidden (25%): 55%

Born Bernard Braithwaite into a working-class British family, a talent for music and, later, electronics and physics soon saw Barney studying applied physics and computer-assisted audio development at U.M.I.S.T. in Manchester.
Completing his degree, Barney tried out jobs at IBM and in the University but, soon bored by the staid atmoshere in early 60s Manchester, moved to San Francisco in 1964.
Hanging around with the Beatnik scene, Barney became involved in music and the counter-culture, later organising multimedia "Acid Test" shows at the Winterland and Fillmore, whilst playing keyboards and synthesiser in "Thee Elder Godds" (later: "Dagon"), an eclectic and changing mix of musicians and poets who did the rounds of the "Happenings" and festivals in the Bay area.


Thee Elder Gods, ca 1965. Barney Brainstorm far left

Following a breakdown at a concert whilst under the influence of hallucinogens, Barney spent some weeks in a sanitorium. Coming out, he distanced himself from the scene mentally and physically, moving to Philadelphia and concentrating on meditation and solo music projects.

A talented, innovative musician, his work has been commissioned for film soundtracks and he is a studio stalwart. He has a current income of $15,000 p.a. and $150,000 saved or invested in studio equipment and a small ranch outside of town.

Looks good, we just have a few things to fix. By my count you've only spent 279 of your 280 occupational skill points, and only 129 of your 160 hobby points. This gives you 1 extra occupational point and 31 extra hobby points, so please spend them. The only other thing you need to do is to roll 1d10 to find out your wealth. The actual dollar amounts will be taken from the present day table and divided by 5 to adjust for 1969 prices.

I'll start you out in the thread Rebel Rebel. We can assume your character was present the whole time but hasn't said or done anything until now. You can go ahead and read the whole thread, and then post when you're ready.

Okay, thanks. You're good to go!

I'll update all of the threads later tonight, and I'll post a character sheet for Barney too if I have time.

I finally got a characer sheet posted for Barney Brainstorm in the Character Sheets thread.

Hi again.

After a brief look at two characters I saw (Alan Gains and John Hawkes), I thought of bringing something of my own to the table.

I was wondering what I would have to go about if I were to make a "gentlemen thief" character (if it is at all possible)?

Glad you decided to join, Midnightlight! Yes, it is possible for you to play a gentleman thief. You should use the Criminal list of occupational skills. If you don't have the rules, I can look them up after I get home. In the meantime, feel free to roll your stats as described in the first post of this thread and think of your character's background story.

Once we've finalized your character, I'll post a sheet in the Character Sheets thread and start an In Character thread for you.

I was wondering what I would exactly be able to do, and what I would be able to choose from as far as skills are defined. Could I pick skills as I see fit, or is it better to go with the set list?

And I don't have the rules. =P

EDIT:

I also did my rolls, but I'm not exactly happy about them. What can I do about it?


Name: Terrance Luis Williams

Stats

STR: (1d6 → [6] = (6), 1d6 → [2] = (2), 1d6 → [2] = (2)) 10

CON: (1d6 → [6] = (6), 1d6 → [4] = (4), 1d6 → [4] = (4)) 14

POW: (1d6 → [3] = (3), 1d6 → [6] = (6), 1d6 → [1] = (1)) 10

DEX: (1d6 → [2] = (2), 1d6 → [4] = (4), 1d6 → [3] = (3)) 9

APP: (1d6 → [4] = (4), 1d6 → [3] = (3), 1d6 → [4] = (4) 11

SIZ: (1d6+6 → [4,6] = (10), 1d6+6 → [4,6] = (10)) 20

INT: (1d6+6 → [2,6] = (8), 1d6+6 → [2,6] = (8)) 16

EDU: (1d6+3 → [5,3] = (8), 1d6+3 → [4,3] = (7), 1d6+3 → [1,3] = (4))

Wealth: (1d10 → [1] = (1)) 1

Don't worry about not having the rules; I didn't have them myself when I first started playing. You can find the Quick Start rules here, which should help you get a basic understanding of them, and I can fill you in on anything else you need to know.

Your stats, as you've rolled them, are as follows:
STR: 10
CON: 14
POW: 10
DEX: 9
APP: 11
SIZ: 14
INT: 8
EDU: 13

You accidentally counted the +6 and +3 multiple times for SIZ, INT, and EDU, so here are the corrected values. They're actually not that bad. The average total for stats is 92, and you got a total of 89, which is only a little below average, not bad enough to warrant a reroll. Stats in Call of Cthulhu aren't all that important anyway, and you can still do plenty of things even with low stats (sometimes it's even more fun). That said, there are still things you can do about it. Your first five stats, which were rolled on 3d6, may be swapped around at will. This means you can choose where you whether to put that 14 in STR, CON, POW, DEX, or APP. You could leave it in CON, which is not necessarily a bad choice. As a thief you might want it in DEX, but even with a low DEX you can still do fine, as the only skill that depends on DEX is Dodge. POW is also just all-around useful, for starting Sanity, Luck, and Magic Points. MPs probably won't be too important, at least not yet, but the others are nice to have. You can also decide whether to leave the 14 in SIZ and the 8 in INT, or to swap them. You'll probably want to do that, as having a high INT can be useful. It can also be detrimental, as it makes it more likely for you to go into temporary insanity if you lose a lot of Sanity points at once. Likewise, SIZ is nice both for extra Hit Points and also the possibility of a damage bonus. However, having a low SIZ may be helpful for slipping into and out of places where normal-sized people can't fit. Your EDU cannot be switched with another stat, but it can be raised. Your minimum age is EDU+6, so your character must be at least 19 years old. For every full 10 years older you make him, you gain +1 EDU (along with an extra 20 occupational skill points and the increase in your Know score and Own Language skill). So if you make him 29, your EDU is 14. If you make him 49, it goes way up to 16. You can make him even older than that, but for every full 10 years above 40 (that is, starting at age 50), you must deduct 1 point from your choice of STR, CON, DEX, or APP. Keep in mind that if you make your character 49 and this game turns into a campaign that goes on long enough, he will turn 50 at some point in 1970 and suffer a -1 to one of his physical stats. Your wealth roll stands as it is. You're not the only one who's poor, but it's not that big an obstacle - especially for someone in your profession. You can always do a little extra work in the game to supplement your income. Anything you steal is yours - just don't get caught!

Once you've decided on your stats, you now get to spend skill points. You get EDU x 20 in occupational skill points and INT x 10 in hobby points (another advantage of having a high INT). Occupational skill points must be spent on the eight or so skills that fit your, ahem, line of work, but hobby points may be spent on any skills you like. Your occupational skills are: Bargain(05%), Disguise(01%), Fast Talk(05%), Handgun(20%), Locksmith(01%), Sneak(10%), Spot Hidden(25%), and any one other skill as a personal or era specialty. The numbers in parentheses are the base levels for each skill, and spending points adds to those base levels. For instance, if you spend 50 occupational points on Sneak, it goes up to 60%. You do not have to spend points on all eight of your skills, and doing so will mean you won't have as many points to spend on each individual skill. It all depends on what type of thief you want to be. With 13 EDU, you get 260 points to spend. For every point you increase your EDU through age, you get another 20 points (so at 16 EDU, you have 320 points to spend). The eighth skill is yours to choose; just pick something appropriate to a thief. The full list of skills (and their base levels) is available in the Quick Start rules, in the blank character sheets, but some suggestions are as follows:

• Climb: if you want to be a "second story man"
• Conceal: for hiding objects, either on your person or elsewehere
• Credit Rating: for a "con artist" type
• Drive Auto: if you want to make a fast getaway, or if what you're stealing happens to be a car
• Hide: Sneak will help you avoid being heard, but this helps you avoid being seen
• Law: Helps you know what you can and can't get away with. Could help if you're caught, but in that case your best bet is to get a good lawyer
• Listen: Nice to know if the person in the next room is heading your way

As I said, hobby points can be added to any skills at all, including your professional skills, but it may be more useful to put them in additional skills that match your areas of interest. You get INT x 10 of them, so with 8 INT you'd only have 80. If you put the 14 there, you'll have 140 to spend.

Ok, that makes much more sense, since I was pretty happy with some of the rolls. Also, I was wondering what time periods are open, as something in the past could warrant nephews or nieces (or even children of characters in the past could conceive) to become investigators for future events.

Well, it's July 16, 1969 right now. Your character will have no knowledge of any of the events that happen after that until they actually happen. There is one character from 2009, but there won't be any others. You can make up events for your background story, as well as family members (though they become NPCs once the adventure starts, outside of your control). Don't worry about fitting yourself into the plot - I've already thought of a suitable hook to get you involved.

So, are the skills set out in the previous post the only ones available to me? And if not, is there a way for me to see all the other skills?


EDIT: Sorry, I didn't look over everything. =S

So, am I allowed to pick any of these skills to boost?

All of the skills are open to you. You're restricted to eight skills for your occupational skill points (including one you may freely choose), and you may spend your hobby points on any skills whatsoever. If you follow that link to the Quick Start rules and click on either the black-and-white or color version, you'll find a character sheet on page 20. It's a 1920s character sheet, but the only difference between that one and the modern one is that there are two additional skills: Computer Use(01%) and Electronics(01%). You can also see a list of all the skills by looking at the Character Sheets thread. Each sheet has all skills listed, even if no points have been spent on them.

The only exception is melee weapon skills, which are not listed on the character sheet for characters that don't have them (only unarmed attacks are shown). Knife has a base skill of 25%, and will allow you to use any size or variety of knife. Small Club and Large Club (two different skills) also have a base of 25%, and Blackjack has a base skill of 40%. Those are the sorts of weapons you might be likely to use. Fencing Foil, Sword Cane, and Axe/Hatchet have a base skill of 20%, Saber has a base skill of 15%, and Rapier/Heavy Epee has a base skill of 10%. Thrown weapons use the Throw skill.

Terrance Luis Williams
Age 23
Sex Male
Occupation Unemployed / Gentleman Thief
Current Residence Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Characteristics:
STR: 9
CON: 11
POW: 10
DEX: 14
APP: 10
SIZ: 8
INT: 14
EDU: 13 = 260

Background:

Born into a middle-class, hardworking family, Terrance (or just simply "Terry") by his close friends and family, alongside his two brothers and two sisters, to a loving mother and a gentle father, both of which had decent jobs. His mother, a nurse, was always there to tend to the many injuries suffered through childhood play. His father, an autoworker, cared deeply for all of his children, though he has a soft spot for Terry, often teaching him about basic mechanics, as well as how to have someone lower their price when buying something (the latter taught mostly because the family was extremely poor).

Terrance, growing up, was outgoing and considered a caregiver among his siblings (as the youngest) to his parents, often helping pay for food, as well as footing the bill for the necessities they needed.

All of the children had been working as soon as they were old enough, except for Terrance, who had other means in which to provide. Although Terry had claimed to have had a job, it was a night, so that had him out of the house at that hour, but in reality, it was simple thievery.

Stealing jewelry, paintings, as well as other small things was a way for the young man to supply his family, as well as mock those who were richer than his family. Through this activity, Terrance met many people, as well as a life long friend who served as his fence. Though, it had dawned on him after a while that it wasn't exactly "kind" to take things that had belonged to others, he justifies it with the fact that they could handle the loss, and he certainly wasn't trying to take anything of sentiment value.

Concerned with things in front of him, as opposed to world history, he doesn't enjoy watching television, instead finding that reading the newspaper sufficed enough to educate him on the daily events.

Finding fighting disgraceful, and firearms sickening (through stories from his mother about gunshots and how treatment for it was excruciating), he doesn't own a gun. But he does have some knowledge of fighting (taught by his brothers), but does not partake unless it is absolutely necessary.

He lives alone now, in an apartment, visiting his family by bicycle, using it to travel from heist to heist.

Skills
Occupational
Bargain(35%), Disguise(01%), Fast Talk(65%), Handgun(20%), Locksmith(71%), Sneak(60%), Spot Hidden(75%)

Hobbies
Climb(80%), Hide(60%), Listen (75%)

I kinda wanted to add a little more to my hobbies, but I'm not sure if it's ok if they are low. What should I do?

Very nice! There's nothing wrong with having some skills at lower levels, but usually it is better to have fewer skills at higher levels than more of them at lower levels (this advice is given in the rules) - unless, of course, you've missed out on putting points into a skill you need. All of the skills could be useful in one circumstance or another, and it's really up to you to decide whether to be a specialist-type or a jack-of-all-trades. I'd say you've got a good character here, and you made the right call by having the higher skills. As a thief, a failed roll at an occupational skill at the wrong time could easily result in capture or worse, whereas a professor might only suffer wasted time or embarrassment.

Your derived stats are:
Idea 70
Luck 50
Know 65
Damage bonus: +0

Maximum Hit Points: 10
Maximum Magic Points: 10
Starting Sanity: 50

If you want to keep your skills as they are, I'll set up a character sheet for you and start you off in your own thread tomorrow night. Welcome to the game, and have fun!

Well, I think I'll do it then. Thanks, I hope this turns out for the better.

You're welcome! I need to go to bed soon, but tomorrow night I should have time to get things set up.

As for equipment, you're not going to be able to afford much. You've got your bike, some thieves' tools (lockpicks, oil, etc.), a little cash, and not a whole lot else. You can have a weapon or two if you like. Your character doesn't like guns (and doesn't have skill with them), but a blackjack may be your best bet. It has a 40% base skill, causes 1d8 damage (plus damage bonus, which you don't have), and can be used to try to make knockout attacks. It can't be used to parry, however. It can be something as simple as a sock full of marbles, and on your income that's probably the sort of thing it would be.

Well, I think that would suit a little more than a knife. But if I were to try to run, do I have good chances to do that?

Yes, you have a better than average chance to run. Pretty much anyone has a chance to flee, and with your high DEX and exceptional Climb skill, you'll be better able to deal with obstacles that your pursuers might not be. Of course, this depends somewhat on how lucky you are, and on who - or what - is chasing you.

Remember that you cannot read the IC threads for other characters, only your own.

I'd also be interested in joining if there is any room left.

I am on site pretty much every day, although I start year 11 on Wednesday I should be able to keep up a post level of at least once, if not more, a day although I might miss the occasional day due to trips or a looming coursework deadline.

I was thinking a British History, Anthropology or Psycology graduate or student moving to America to try and find work
(I did not choose and American character as I am British and have very little knowledge of America during this time)

I'll roll up the character now and you can choose whether I should post it or discard it

Yes, there's room for you, and your character concept is a good one and can fit in. Your character will be attending the University of Pennsylvania if still in school.

The posting rate for this game is actually only expected to be two or three times per week, and that's sometimes all I can post, so you won't have a problem keeping up. If you're in a thread by yourself, it can usually proceed at your pace provided I can keep up. Go ahead and post your character here when you're ready.

Markus Fletcher
24
Male
Caucasian

Markus is a Promising young student of Anthropology, first studying in his hometown of Oxford before emigraiting to the United States to find work. Unable to find any job which he was willing to perform he instead aquired a place at the University of Pennsylvania by pretending to have never studied at any other university while paying for his place with a loan which he obtained after assuring the bank in question that not only was he actually rather wealthy but also that his also wealthy father would be willing to invest heavily in their buissiness if they were generous. This is in fact all lies, the same in many ways to the lies that he has told throughout most of his life. He is the illegitamate son of an English student and a much older American serviceman who left her three months into her pregnancy. The English student went on to become a far-left journalist, decrying America as evil with a zeal worthy of any crusader. Her crusade however left to the neglect of her son, who connected to both her and the world only through the multiple masks and personas he wore over his true personality.

Strength: [1,3,4] = (8)
Constitution: [4,6,6] = (16)
Power: [1,6,4] = (11)
Dexterity: [6,6,6] = (18)
Appearance: [4,1,3] = (8)
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2231211/

Education: [5,5,5,3] = (18)
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2231214/

Intellegence: [6,3,6] = (15)
Size: [4,5,6] = (15)
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2231216/

Idea: 75
Knowledge: 90
Luck: 55
DamageBonus: +0
HitPoints: 16
MagicPoints: 11
Sanity: 55

Money: (5)
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2234491/

Profession: Drifter – Bargain, Fast Talk, Hide, Listen, Natural History, Psychology, Sneak, Anthropology

360 points

Anthropology (56%)
Bargain (60%)
Fast Talk (65%)
Hide (40%)
Listen (70%)
Natural History (40%)
Psychology (50%)
Sneak (50%)

150 points

Credit Rating (65%)
Drive Automobile (40%)
Fist/Punch (60%)
History (30%)
Kick (30%)
Library Use (30%)
Martial Arts (41%) (Wing Chun, a form of chinese boxing, with a few small kicks mixed in. emphasises structure over power and has strong simarlarities with Tai Chi.)
Persuade (25%)
Own Language (90%) (English)
Dodge (36%)
other stats as standard in call of cthulhu rules

I think thats all in order, I picked a drifter as a profession because that was probably the most fitting to his lifestyle and work as a student
also, as I have most of my combat skills in hand to hand combat, what would a knuckle duster come under as a weapon? what skills might be involved, how much damage, that sort of thing. I only ask because, as a weapon, the knuckleduster suits my character both in its use as a punching aid and how much of a dirty fighting weapon it is.

Great character! You've overspent by 4 on your occupational points, possibly because Anthropology has a base skill of 1% and you might have thought it was 5% instead. Which Martial Art does Markus practice? Also, you should roll 1d10 for your personal wealth - he might not really be lying about being rich!

There's no entry in the Weapons List, but I'd rule that knuckle dusters use Fist/Punch skill and do 1d4 damage, plus damage bonus (which is 0 in your case), and you can make knockout attempts just as you could with a punch. It cannot be used to parry a weapon, but you can still parry unarmed attacks as normal. You can benefit from Martial Arts with a knuckle duster too. When attacking, you only roll 1d100 once against your Fist/Punch skill (or other unarmed combat skill). If you hit and you also rolled less than or equal to your Martial Arts skill, the damage dice are doubled. So if you're using a knuckle duster, you'd do 2d4 damage on a roll of 1-41, 1d4 damage on a roll of 42-60, and you'd miss on a roll of 61-100.

the edit has been made, if you need any more information about wing chun there is some here: http://www.hkwingchun.com/ or there is a large number of videos on youtube which depict the martial art.

Okay, you're good to go! The wealth roll means that you have a yearly income of $11,000 (in 1969 dollars). You have assets totalling $55,000. $5,500 is cash in the bank, another $5,500 is in stocks, bonds, and/or something similar (can be converted to cash in 30 days), and the remaining $44,000 is in other assets and personal property. A house could cost $20,000 or more in 1969, so you could have one if you like. You can also afford a nice car. You can live comfortably on your income. While you're not truly rich, you might be able to fake it convincingly.

I'll add a sheet to the Character Sheets thread now. I should be able to get an IC thread started for you tomorrow night.

Remy Leblanc

Age:29
Sex:Male
Occupation:Con Artist
Hometown:Lafayette, Louisiana


Stats
HP:12
MP:10

Str:9
Dex:15
Con:11
Int:14
Edu:18
Pow:10
App:16
Siz:12
Know:90
San:50
Luck:50
Idea:70

Occupation Skills:360
Bargain:75%(05),Disguise:66%(01),Fast Talk:75%(05), Handgun:60%(20),Locksmith:51%(01),Sneak:60%(10),Spot Hidden:45%(25),Hide:55%(10)

Personal interests:140
Drive:50%(25), Credit Rating:75%(15), Own Lanuage:90%

Wealth:6

I wanted to post this so you can give your opinion and point out any mistakes. I'll start working on the background tomorrow.

Looks good!

You actually have 12 HP, not 11. HP is (CON + SIZ) / 2, rounded up. You also have an Idea score of 70, not 60.

You've spent 410 points on your occupational skills, but you've spent 90 on other skills, so the extra 50 points could have come out of your hobby points with no problem. Some of the base skill levels are off, however. The base skill for Locksmith is 01%, and the base skill for Drive Auto is 20%. You may want to adjust your skill totals because of this. If you want to put more points into Locksmith, for instance, you could lower some of your higher skills a little, such as Bargain and Fast Talk.

Your wealth roll means you have a yearly income of $15,000 (in 1969 dollars). You have a total of $75,000 in assets, composed of $7,500 in the bank, $7,500 in stocks, bonds, and the like, and $60,000 in other assets (such as real estate, a house, a car, etc.).

Ooops sorry about that. I just edited it instead of posting it again.

Okay, you're all set! Once you get that background written up I'll post your character sheet and get a thread started for you when I get a chance.

Remy LeBlanc History

...Remy Leblanc a suave con-artist from Louisiana. Born in 1940, His father was a petty thief and his mother was a prostitute. While growing up he attended school during the day and ran small time scams ,under the careful supervision of his father, at night. At the age of 27, Having learned all he thought he could, Remy decided it was time to make his own way in the world. After buying an apartment in downtown Lafayette he spent the next 2 years running cons on some of the most influential members of Lafayette society. Unfortunately Remy, Having been used to his marks being to embarrassed to admit to being scammed, was unprepared when he met someone who did report him. So, being a wanted man, Remy, like any good grifter, packed his things and hit the road.

Your character sheet is up, and you'll be in the thread Telling Lies with Markus Fletcher to start. Begin reading the thread from this post, and do not read any of the posts above it. Remy was in this location when Markus walked in, and he observed the same things. Once you've finished reading the thread, you can go ahead and start posting.

You'll probably also want a handgun for your character, which is fine, provided it's a model that existed in 1969 (so no Glock 17 or Desert Eagle). If you don't know which model you want, let me know what caliber handgun you want and whether it's a revolver or an automatic, and I'll find a suitable model for you and tell you its stats.

i'll take an .45 automatic.

That'll be a Colt M1911A1, then. It does 1d10+2 damage, has a base range of 15 yards, fires one shot per round, holds seven rounds in the magazine (plus potentially one in the chamber), has 8 HP, and malfunctions only on 00.

Oddly enough I just found out the pic I used is the actor who plays gambit in the new x-men movie. Oh yeah and gambits real name is Remy LeBeau. now thats what I call a coincidence.

That is funny. I noticed a similar coincidence with one of the characters I created for Zombie Apocalypse. I came up with Ho Nguyen's name by combining common Vietnamese first and last names. It turns out there's an actor by that name who was in a movie called Alamo Bay that I noticed in the TV listings.

Handy,

For Space Oddity I'd like to select Detective Harry Sawyer, despite the fact that I am apparently unable to actually find his character sheet. Just thought it'd be nice to play a bloke, seeing as how I'm playing two members of the fairer sex in Zombie Apocalypse .

Cheers,

Richard

You've got him! You couldn't find his character sheet because I hadn't posted it. While he was an NPCs, there was no need. I do have it written down on paper, and I'll put it up when I have a chance tomorrow night.

Catching up on Harry's story so far may be a little tricky and confusing, but it's a fun ride. You'll need to start by reading the Prologue thread Rebel Rebel, but only the first page. Then you'll need to switch to Time WIll Crawl, starting from this post most of the way down page 2. Don't read anything that happened before it in that thread, and disregard Bill's inner thoughts - your character has no knowledge of these things. Then read up to and including the fifth post on page 4 of that thread, but no further. At this point, you'll need to switch to the Chapter 1 thread Holy Holy, starting at this post near the top of page 2. I'll send you a PM tomorrow night explaining what happened to you between those two threads. Read that thread to the end; that's the one where you'll be posting.

I have these for rolls so far - I'll get the rest together tomorrow.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3019793/

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3019797/

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3019799/

Chris

Nice! You can post the rest of your character creation work in this thread when you have time. Don't forget that for every full 10 years older than the minimum age that you make your character (age 15 is the minimum for EDU 9), you get +1 EDU, along with the extra 20 occupational skill points and +5 in Know and Own Language that go with it. I recommend that you do this and make your character at least 25 (if not older). You wouldn't have been able to make Detective until you were at least 20 anyway. Remember that you must deduct points from your physical stats if you make your character 50 years old or more. Also, you'll need to roll 1d10 for your personal wealth.

There are full character creation instructions on the first post in this thread. I can also answer any questions you may have.

Okay, I reckon I'm done...

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3022179/ Wealth roll.

Name Jim Hendricks
Occupation Police Detective
Age 45
Wealth 8

STR 15
CON 8
POW 11
DEX 12
APP 12
SIZ 11
INT 12
EDU 12

Idea 60
Luck 55
Know 60

Hit Points 10

Occupational Skills
Bargain 25
Fast Talk 45
Law 40
Listen 50
Persuade 50
Psychology 40
Spot Hidden 50
Handgun 45

Hobby Skills
Shotgun 70
First Aid 50
Drive Auto 60
Locksmith 21

Hendricks joined the police at the end of the War – which he spent as a private at a supply depot Stateside. He's worked his way up to detective the hard way, and resents the college boys who are beginning to dominate his chosen career. He knows he's going nowhere, despite being competent at his job... And those rumours of him being on the take haven't helped.

Excellent! Your character is ready to go. This weekend I should have time to add his character sheet to the Character Sheets thread and start up an IC thread for you. In the meantime, you can post and chat in The Groovy Psychedelic Chit-Chat Lounge. You may also read this post and the four that follow it. They detail what happened at roll call this morning, and you were present there, though you weren't explicitly named in the posts. You're assigned to C Squad. You were already off duty when the events of the night before happened, so you aren't aware of them beyond what you were told at this briefing. Other than those posts above, you may only read IC threads when your character is in them.

Your character sheet is now posted. You are armed with a standard police issue .38 revolver, and you have extra bullets to reload it as well. You do not currently have a shotgun, but you would be able to get access to one in a situation that calls for it. While most of the other cops have had some shotgun training, none of them even come close to your skill, so if only one were available it would most likely end up in your hands.

I plan to start you off with a thread for your character tonight, if not sooner. Once it's up, you may post in it when you're ready. Have fun!

I'm sorry, but I ran out of time before I could finish your new thread, so it will have to wait until Monday night.

No problem.

Okay, you're all set. Your new thread is called Watch That Man.

I'll have Sergeant Charlie Rawlings please

You've got him! You'll need to do some catching up, and I'll have to set up a current thread for him when I have a chance. It's a little complicated since he's been an NPC for so long. I'll send you a PM with details that Charlie knows and a list of what threads you should read.

In addition to the threads I gave you to read to catch up for Charlie that covered Wednesday, there are certain posts that you'll need to read to find out what he's been doing today (Thursday) in the thread Big Brother. You should start reading here (the last post on page 6) and continue through the first five posts on page 8, where Bill and Lt. Yeager leave. Then skip ahead to this post on page 9, where they speak on the radio briefly. They do so again in this post on page 10. Then you'll pick up starting with this post on page 11 and continue until the post where Bill leaves further down the page. You should also read the posts on page 2 of Watch That Man starting here and continuing with the next three posts for another radio conversation. Once you've caught up and I post an IC thread for Charlie, you'll be free to post. You'll be on your own at first and there might not be much to do until the others get there.

EDIT: Your IC thread is up now. There is an NPC for you to converse with while you wait if you wish.

I wanted to roll first before I came up with a character. As such, I just used my username (DogJones) to mark the rolls I made on invisiblecastle.com. If this isn't acceptable, I'll start over and do it properly.
Here are the rolls I got:
Roll 3d6 each for STR, CON, POW, DEX, and APP:
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3395710/
3d6 → [1,1,4] = (6)
3d6 → [1,2,6] = (9)
3d6 → [5,4,2] = (11)
3d6 → [5,6,3] = (14)
3d6 → [3,3,3] = (9)

Roll 2d6+6 each for SIZ and INT
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3395714/
2d6+6 → [2,4,6] = (12)
2d6+6 → [2,5,6] = (13)

Roll 3d6+3 for EDU.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3395715/
3d6+3 → [1,6,2,3] = (12)
Note: I accidently forgot to change the "number of rolls field" from 2 to 1 when I rolled EDU. I took the first roll, which also happened to be higher by 1 point. Let me know if you want me to re-roll, sorry! I also typed the note wrong, but I don't think that matters too much.

Roll 1d10 to determine personal wealth.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3395716/
1d10 → [2] = (2)

Let me know what you think Mr Handy. In the meantime, I'm gonna come up with a character concept based off these rolls.

That's fine, and you can keep those rolls. Take whatever time you need to develop and build your character, and when it's done I'll introduce you into the game as soon as I can. Welcome aboard!

Mr Handy, one last thing: how can I know what to specify in my character's back-story to facilitate his entry into the story-line? Can I just wing it? I have an idea, but I wasn't sure if what I had in mind would be applicable at all to the story. The character I have in mind is a ~28 year old free lance journalist, but I wasn't sure what to say in his back-story that would lead him into the story. For example, if I were to say in my back-story that the character currently lives in San Fransisco, but the action in the story is taking place in New York, that would probably be a hindrance. Sorry if this a silly question, I really am new to this sort of role-playing!

It's okay, that's a good question. Don't worry about your backstory fitting you into the story. I'll get you involved. Just make the character you want.

Ok, Handy... you know I'm a big fan of your games ... so I'll be all too glad to grab up one of your abandoned characters and throw the defibrillator on him or her. I'm pleased that you're only in chapter 1 of the game... that means not a whole lot of back-reading. So tell me, of the characters that are abandoned, are any more important to the story than others? Any that you would prefer I take the reigns? Or are they all pretty much on even grounds as far as that goes? And which ones are abandoned?

Thanks, and welcome to Space Oddity! All of the characters except Bill Johns and Father Nathaniel Levington are up for grabs. They're all listed in the Character Sheets thread. You can really choose any of them that you like, or you can make your own and I'll introduce you to the story, which would probably be easier for both of us. Officer Amy Cooper is also available, though her sheet hasn't been posted yet. If you want to get involved with one of the active players quickly, you should take Barney Brainstorm. Otherwise, you may be on your own for some time (apart from NPCs). If you're taking over an abandoned character, you can let me know which one by posting here. I'll tell you which threads to read, and I'll also fill in any extra information that your character should have that isn't in the IC threads. Have fun!

I decided to go with the investigator with the highest POW. .. and that's (perhaps ironically) Barney Brainstorm.

So I'm bouncing some ideas around for my Investigator. I'm thinking former military intelligence officer (via ROTC) who became a librarian after serving his contract. I'm trying to think of what the right blend of occupational skills would be to best reflect that, since he would have spent as much time in the military as he would have working in the library. I'll just throw up the bare bones for now so you can see and I can bounce some ideas around.

Here is my invisible castle look up: http://invisiblecastle.com/search/?sear ... chard+Cane

Name: Richard Cane
Occupation: Librarian (Ex-Marine Intelligence Officer Rank: Major)
Age: 32

Wealth: $7,000 /year
Assets: $35,000 in assets total.
$3,500 in the bank
$3,500 in bonds
$20,000 Single-family-sized home in Philadelphia near his job
$4,000 Brand new Pontiac Grand Prix
$2,000 in Gold and Silver coins/bars
$1,000 in books for his home library (subjects are usually to Richard's varied tastes)
$1,000 in various personal possessions

STR: 13
CON: 14
POW: 16
DEX: 15
APP: 8

SIZ: 14
INT: 14

EDU 15 (14 +1 for more than 10 years over minimum age)

Idea: 70
Luck: 80
Know: 75

Hit Points: 14
Magic Points: 16
Sanity Points: 80

Damage Bonus: +1d4

Starting Occupational Points: 300
Starting Hobby Points: 140

Skills:(Non-default skills BOLD, Professional Skills ITALICS, Hobbies preceded by a DOT.

Accounting (10%): 40%
Anthropology (01%):
Archaeology (01%):
Art (05%):
.Astronomy (01%): 25%
Bargain (05%):
Biology (01%):
Chemistry (01%):
Climb (40%):
Computer Use (01%):60%
Conceal (15%):
Craft (05%):
Credit Rating (15%):
Cthulhu Mythos (00%):
Disguise (01%):
Dodge (DEX x 2): 30%
Drive Auto (20%):
Electrical Repair (10%):50%
Electronics (01%):40%
Fast Talk (05%):
First Aid (30%):
Geology (01%):
Hide (10%):
.History (20%):50%
Jump (25%):
Law (05%):
Library Use (25%): 75%
Listen (25%):40%
Locksmith (01%):
.Martial Arts (Boxing) (01%): 35%
Mechanical Repair (20%):
Medicine (05%):
Natural History (10%):
Navigate (10%):
.Occult (05%): 25%
Operate Heavy Machinery (01%):
Other Language: Korean (01%):45%
Own Language: English (EDU x 5%): 75
Persuade (15%):
Pharmacy (01%):
Photography (10%):
Physics (01%):
Pilot (01%):
Psychoanalysis (01%):
Psychology (05%):
Ride (05%):
Sneak (10%):
Spot Hidden (25%):40%
Swim (25%):
Throw (25%):
Track (10%):


Hand-to-Hand:
.Fist/Punch (50%): 60%
Grapple (25%):
Head Butt (10%):
Kick (25%):

Firearms:
Handgun (20%): 40%
Machine Gun (15%):
Rifle (25%): 35%
Shotgun (30%):
SMG (15%):

Possessions:

1969 Pontiac Grand Prix
Colt M1911 Handgun - Registered and Permit to carry. (I'd prefer him to keep the one from his time in the service, but I think the US military ended that by Vietnam - perhaps it was presented as a gift with his medals)
Standard journal

Other than these nothing else special he might own or carry with him.

I'm thinking for Occupational skills it should be:
Accounting
Computer Use
Library use
Spot hidden
Listen
Rifle
Handgun
Electronics
Electronic Repair
History
Other Language

For the best blend of his military career skills and what he would be doing in a library. If you have suggestions of anything that should be added/dropped I'd appreciate it.

This is what I have for my character. I finished the background, characteristics, and skill allocation. I have not completed his equipment yet.

I Rolled 3d6 once and then realized I could roll multiple Dice. So I have two links for my 3d6 rolls. Hopefully that is alright. The links are below:

Here

14
8
10
12

And Here

12

Below are the Int and Size Rolls

Here

12
18

The edu roll is here

15

Lastly, the wealth roll is here

6

Player: Cyberpunk
Name: Professor Christopher Harland
Age: 61 (21 Minimum Age)
Sex: Male
Occupation: University Professor
Current Residence: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Background:

Born to Alexandria and Davison Harland in Atlanta, Georgia, , a wealthy family, Christopher received excellent education at a younger age, attending a private school. As a shrewd child, he had little difficulties with the educational challenges provided. Unfortunately he was born as a rather unappealing child, appearance wise, with an oversized nose and rather large ears, resulting in constant mockery that turned him into somewhat of a misanthrope. His intellect further alienated him from children of his age, even in an environment as exclusive as a private school. Despite his almost humorous appearance, he was rather skilled with words, a talent without which the cruel, whimsical bullying of the children would have been all the worse.

Thankfully, due to his father's influence, Davison did not serve in the military during World War I. His mother, a talented doctor, served overseas in a Prisoner of War camp, ensuring that the prisoners were treated well and received proper health care. He graduated the Georgian private school as a valedictorian in 1926, opening the pathway to further education. In 1927, he was accepted into the Georgia School of Technology, where he chose to pursue Astronomy and Physics. Due to his father's terminal illness, Christopher took leave from the School of Technology for a year and did not complete his degree, Physics, until 1932. During his time at home, his father succumbed to the illness. The grief did not slow him down, for he continued his education and in 1934, received his PhD in Physics, again with a specialization in Astrophysics. He received a teaching and research position at the Georgia School of Technology, where he indulged in Einstein’s research regarding the Theory of Relativity.

In 1950s, many years after the war ended, Christopher continued his research in West Germany for several years, gaining a basic understanding of the German language. Unfortunately he could not bear the constant threat he felt, the fear of an offensive by the Soviet Union, so he returned to Georgia in 1955. In 1960, after a disagreement with his co researchers regarding Einstein’s Field Equation, he searched for a position in another University. He was accepted as a teacher and researcher into the University of Pennsylvania. For nine years he worked there, continuing his research, which had now extended to a study of black holes.

Characteristics:
STR: 10 (12 - 2 for Age)
CON: 12
SIZ: 12
DEX: 14
APP: 8
INT: 18 (Idea - 90)
POW: 10(Luck - 50)
EDU: 19 (Know - 95) (15 + 4 for Age)

Sanity: 50
Phobias/Mental Disorders: None
Maximum Sanity: 99
Hit Points: 12
Magic Points: 10
Damage Bonus: +0

Skills: (Occupational skills are bold. Hobby skill are marked with a *)

Accounting: 10%
Anthropology: 01%
Archaeology: 01%
Art: 05%
Astronomy: (01)% - 71%
Bargain: 05%
Biology: 01%
Chemistry: 01%
Climb: 40%
*Computer Use: (01%) - 41%
Conceal: 15%
Craft: 05%
Credit Rating: (15%) - 65%
Cthulhu Mythos: 00%
Disguise: 01%
Dodge (Dex x2%)
*Drive Automobile/Horses: (20%) - 50%
Electric Repair: 10%
* Electronics: (01%) - 30%
Fast Talk: 05%
First Aid: 30%
Fist/Punch: 50%
Geology: 01%
Grapple: 25%
*Handgun: (20%) - 60%
Head Butt: 10%
Hide: 10%
*History: (20%) - 30%
Jump: 25%
Kick: 25%
Law: 05%
Library Use: (25%) - 65%
Listen: 25%
Locksmith: 01%
Machine Gun: 15%
Martial Arts: 01%
Mechanical Repair: 20%
Medicine: 05%
*Natural History: (10%) - 40%
Navigate: 10%
Occult: 05%
Operate Heavy Machine: 01%
Other Language (German): (01%) - 51%
Own Language: Edu x5%
Persuade: (15%) - 65%
Pharmacy: 01%
Photography: 10%
Physics: (01%) - 61%
Pilot: 01%
Psychoanalysis: 01%
Psychology: (05%) - 65%
Ride: 05%
Rifle: 25%
Shotgun: 30%
Sneak: 10%
Spot Hidden: 25%
Submachine Gun: 15%
Swim: 25%
Throw: 25%
Track: 10%

Your characters look good. Cyberpunk, it looks like you've only spent 179 of your 180 hobby points, so please let me know into which skill you want to put the extra point. You should also come up with a list of equipment you'd like to have.

It'll still be some time before I can get the new players started and post the new characters' sheets, as I haven't had much sleep in the past week and can't think clearly.

Alright, I'll get that done tomorrow - sorry for the delay. I haven't had access to my book.

Putting the additional skill point in History.

Here is a list of the Equipment I’d like to have. Do you want me to calculate the costs?

Tailored Silk Suit, Silk Tie, Thermal Underwear, Leather Docksider Shoes, Local Telephone Service, Pager, Apartment, Adhesive Bandages (100), Complete First Aid Kit, Good Book Bag, Scientific Calculator, .44 Magnum and 50 bullets

You don't need to calculate the costs, but you do need to make sure that everything on your list is available in 1969. The first scientific calculator, the HP-9100A, came out in 1968. You can have one of those if you like, but it's too big to fit in your hand or pocket. It's the sort of thing that would go on your desk. It cost about $5,000, which is a big expense, but your character can afford to have one and it would be useful in your career. It is effectively a computer, but it was marketed as a "desktop calculator" because HP thought people wouldn't want a computer if it didn't look like an IBM. Pagers existed as well, though they'll be a lot simpler than they are these days. Everything on your list looks okay. Note that the .44 Magnum has a lower base skill (by 5 points), so your effective Handgun skill with it will be 55%.

I should be able to get both of you started this weekend. I plan to have your characters start together.

CrackheadC. and Cyberpunk, I finally got your character sheets written up and posted and started a thread for the two of you: The Cygnet Committee. You can start posting any time you're ready.

Thanks! I'll post once I wake up.

Mr. Handy, does the offer still hold?

Yes, absolutely! I got your PM. The very first post in this thread has full, step by step instructions for creating your own character, though you're free to take over one of the abandoned characters in the character sheets thread if you prefer. This game takes place in mid-July of 1969 in Philadelphia. If there's any background information you'd like about the setting or any particular questions you have, feel free to ask here.

alright, let me see here, I rolled some stats up yesterday. Let me see what I can com up with.

Strength (3d6=8) = 8
Con (3d6=14) = 14
POW (3d6=12) = 12
DEX (3d6=7) = 7
APP (3d6=16) = 16
Size (2d6+6=14) = 14
Int (2d6+6=15) = 15
EDU (3d6+3=11) = 11
Wealth (1d10=10) = 10

OK so the 10 wealth has thrown me. I'll have to see how I can work that in to the working class stiff I had in mind. Maybe he interited, or found the leprechaun's pot of gold, or is on the payroll of the local Mafia....Hmm...

OK, so how about something along the lines of a building inspector, being paid off by the Mafia. He not only turns a blind eye to certain things he has seen, but also assists in helping them to design 'hidden' locations. He doesn't trust the banks and has his cash secreted in various places...basement of his home, secret safes in other buildings, buried under the floorboards of an abandoned cabin in the woods. He's afraid people are going to figure out he is on the payroll, so lives in a dump house in North Philly. It's actually his parent's house. His father died of lung cancer (asbestiosis). His mother is still alive, lives with him, and is crazy. (Why? That's up to you )

Unless I hear a no from you, I will go with that, and will build. The first 5 stats are going to be changed around a bit. Just need to know what Occupation to select. Maybe Engineer?

Did I see something about 1969 Wealth being equal to Present Day/5?

That character concept sounds good to me. Yes, 1969 wealth is equal to present day wealth divided by 5. I think I mentioned it in the initial post in this thread. Engineer is a good occupation template. The skills are: Chemistry, Electrical Repair, Geology, Library Use, Mechanical Repair, Operate Heavy Machine, Physics, and one other skill of your choice as a personal or era specialty.

Interestingly, building inspectors in Philadelphia have been notoriously corrupt in the past (maybe the present as well, but I have no firsthand knowledge). Most of them don't usually make as much as your character does, but being on the mob's payroll has its advantages.

yeah, that roll threw me.

Dave Schmidt
Occupation: Building Inspector Age: 38
STR: 12 CON: 16 SIZ: 14 INT: 15 POW: 14 DEX: 7 APP: 8 EDU: 13 SAN: 70 (0/10)
Idea: 75 Luck: 750 Know: 65 Damage Bonus: +1d40 Hit Points: 15 (0/15) Magic Points: 14

Birthplace: Laporte, Pennsylvania
Skills: Bargain 25%, Chemistry 1%, Conceal 37%, Electrical Repair 75%, Fast Talk 35%, Geology 15%, English 65%, German 20%, Library Use 35%, Locksmith 20%, Mechanical Repair 75%, Operate Heavy Machinery 38%, Persuade 35%, Physics 15%, Spot Hidden 45%, Structural Repair 75%
Money: $100,000 a year with $500,000 in assets. Assets include his shitty house in North Philly , his ancestral home outside Laporte, PA near Worlds End Park, several boltholes around Philly, and stashed cash. Very little of his assets are in the bank, as he doesn't trust them.

Background: Dave Schmidt was born and raised in Laporte, PA. The family farm, which backed up to World's End Park, had been in his family for almost 200 years. Dave never graduated from High School, but instead joined the Army,, doing 10 years in the Corp of Engineers. Even without a High School degree, Dave learned all he could about building and repairing structures, vehicles and more. After retiring from the military, he moved to Philadelphia, purchasing a small house in a skeevy neighborhood in the north end. 5 years ago, his father passed away from lung cancer. His mother, always slightly off, moved to Philadelphia so Dave could take care of her. Dave still maintains the deed to the family farm in Laporte, and visits the place several times a year.

Dave works as a building inspector for the City. He rapidly found out that it didn't pay a lot, so when the local mafia tried to buy him, he accepted. He not only turns a blind eye to certain things he has seen, but also assists in helping them to design 'hidden' locations. He doesn't trust the banks and has his cash secreted in various places...basement of his home, secret safes in other buildings, buried under the floorboards of an abandoned cabin in the woods. He's afraid people are going to figure out he is on the payroll, so lives in a dump house in North Philly.

His mother, Gitta, has been going downhill rapidly over the last couple years. While her body is strong, her mind is not faring so well. She talks about seeing things that aren't there, occasilanlly thinks Dave is his father, and rants in German and other languages that Dave doesn't understand.

Nice! You've underspent on skill points, however, so you should spend the rest of them to increase your skills and/or to pick up new ones. By my count you've spent 195 occupational skill points on the seven skills I listed, but I can't be sure which of your skills is your eighth occupational skill. However, you have 260 total occupational points to spend (EDU x 20). You also have a total of 150 hobby skill points available (INT x 10), but you've only spent a total of 140 on all of your other skills, including whichever occupational skill you chose. This means you have an additonal 75 skill points to spend. 65 of them, minus however many you've spent on your eighth skill, need to go into occupational skills only, but the rest are hobby points and can be spent on any skills.

Chemistry is the eight occupational skill. I don't have anything in it. I don't see him using it.

AH! 8th skill is Structural Repair ay 75%, so there is the 65 points there...now what did I miss in Hobbies.

Hmm, I used HeroLab and it usually is spot on for such things...Let me check. Maybe I missed something.

Hobby Skills
Bargain +20
Conceal +22
Fast Talk +30
Locksmith +19
Persuade +20
Spot Hidden +20
German +19

Adds to be 150?

Okay, it looks like everything adds up. Your character's all set. I should be able to post a sheet for him on the character sheets thread and get an IC thread started for him later this weekend.

Your character sheet is posted, and your thread (Criminal World) is up and running. You may post there whenever you are ready.

George Kling Beaukouski "Cheese Burger"
Occupation: Hippie Age: 19
STR: 11 CON: 12 SIZ: 12 INT: 12 POW: 13 DEX: 7 APP: 9 EDU: 11 SAN: 65
Idea: 60 Luck: 65 Know: 55 Damage Bonus: +0 Hit Points: 12 Magic Points: 13

Birthplace: West Philadelphia
Skills: Art(Freestyle Poetic Verse)-15% Bargain-25% Fast Talk-65% Listen-45% Persuade-70% Psychology-60% Spot Hidden-50% Switchblade-50% Headbutt-35% Hide-35% Lockpick-21%

Appearance- Physically George is an average looking young man not yet quiet able to grow a full beard but with a wild head of dark hair and halfway decent sideburns. He wears a long-sleeved tie-dye shirt that has the phrase "God is Love" painted on the front in psychedelic letters paired with a denim vest complete with tassels and a patch with an swooping eagle and the word "Free" embroidered on the back. His jeans are not bell-bottoms as could be expected but instead they are more than possibly a size or two too small and a week or two passed when they should have been last washed, they are ripped and frayed on the right knee. He wears a ragged pair of Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers. He smells of cannabis and his eyes frequently have a glazed over look in them.

Background: George is the illegitimate child of Molly Beaukouski a 3rd generation american polish cocktail waitress and Vincent George Kling a well known architect. His father paid under the table child support to his mother until he was 18. After that his mother kicked him out of the house due to his lifestyle choices. George dropped out of school not because he didn't enjoy it, he truly felt he could learn more from experiencing life first hand, to become a part of this cultural movement while it lasted. Maybe it was seeing the marches and protests on the television, or maybe it was the records that he listened too, music that seemed to flow so freely and without traditional barriers, maybe it was the use of "mind-expanding" drugs that made George feel as if he finally understood what this game he was playing was really all about, whatever it was that inspired him George had become a hippie. He walked the streets during the day, sometimes with friends, begging for change or food any kind of handout they could get, really. George was genuinely good at this due to his sunny demeanor and the fact that his life style really did fulfill him. He would ask people for a few nickels and dimes to get a cheese burger, then as the sun went down he would go get that hot juicy cheese burger and take the rest of the money he scraped together that night and get into some fun. Most nights he would find his way into various live musical shows. He rarely paid, either talking his way in or finding another entrance. Once inside he would make friends, enjoy the peace and free-love, and take "mind-expanding" drugs.

Contacts- George knows many musicians and dozens of other like minded hippies. He knows enough friendly people that he rarely sleeps outdoors and when he does he never sleeps alone.

Looks good! There's only one thing that needs to be fixed. You've spent a total of 350 skill points, but you only have 340 to spend (120 hobby skill points and 220 occupational skill points). Please let me know where you want to deduct the ten extra points. Also, please let me know which of the skills you've selected are occupational skills.

I took 5 from Persuade and 5 from Phycology.

Occupation Hippy I adapted from the Jazz Musician occupation from the 1920's players manual II
Arts, Bargain, Fast talk, Listen, Persuade, Phycology
My hobby skills are Spot Hidden-50% Switchblade-50% Headbutt-35% Hide-35% Lockpick-21%

Great! I've added your character sheet, and I've also started a thread for you (An Occasional Dream).

Your character knows Barney Brainstorm, since they're both in the music scene, though they have very different attitudes towards drugs. You'll start out on your own, however.