Character Creation and Discussion

[Mr. Handy]

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.

[Philulhu]

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.

[Mr. Handy]

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.

[Mr Zombie killer]

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.

[Mr. Handy]

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.

[Mr Zombie killer]

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.

[Mr. Handy]

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.

[Mr Zombie killer]

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.

[Mr. Handy]

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.

[Mr Zombie killer]

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

[Mr. Handy]

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%.

[Mr. Handy]

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.

[Mr Zombie killer]

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.

[Mr. Handy]

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

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathleen herself:?


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

[Mr. Handy]

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

[Philulhu]

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.

[Mr. Handy]

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%.

[Mi-Go Agent]

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.

[Mr. Handy]

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