Character Creation and Such

[Gaffer]

Very evocative. A few questions.

How old is Franky?
Where does he live?
Where is Father O'Malley's parish and was it the one Franky grew up in?
Did he graduate high school?
Any siblings?
Is Mama still alive?
Does he have a partner now? Any other friends or drinking buddies? Any romantic interests?

[Gaffer]

Hey Phil.

I was thinking that Delores could have a (childless?) marriage in her background. Maybe some high school sweetheart or a reporter on her first paper (the Tulsa World?). It could have ended in divorce or they might still be married but estranged. And did she grow up in Tulsa or some smaller town or on a farm? Was she a tomboy or a proper young woman?

I'd like a little information from everyone about outside interests, hobbies, etc. -- now and in their earlier life. And from Matt and Phil (at least) an idea of the biggest event in Langdon's and Delores's lives. I think we already have that for Dex and Franky.

Did Franky play on a minor league team in Brooklyn, maybe the Atlantics?

[Lammomedes]

Still looks good.

Where does he live? How about Morton and Lila?

Sorry about the delay in posting gents, grad school the second time around for a second doctorate is killing me. I will make sure I check more regularly.

Rod, you have my actual character sheet from the email?

Hmmm, Dex lives in the Rose Hill section of the Bronx, which is near the Fordham University campus. In the 1920s and 1930s, it was the Irish immigrant neighborhood (much as it became again in the 1980s and early 1990s). A little bit of tension with the emerging Italian immigrant neighborhood along Arthur Avenue, but it is not quite the problem area if will become in the 1960s and 1970s. Taking the IRT or BMT to downtown would work out fine if he needs to get around. I'll also argue that he owns a decent automobile, perhaps a 3 or 4 year old Ford Model A.

The Ford and Morton Detective Agency would be somewhere in Midtown, probably on the East Side, within walking distance of southeastern corner of the Central Park. That way the location gives the agency some access to the wealthier clients on the upper East and West Sides, as well as around Park Avenue and the Murray Hill sections of the city. It wouldn't be that far of a subway ride or drive to the Federal offices in lower Manhattan.

Lila probably lives with her family, or shares an apartment with another dancer or two on the lower East Side, probably not quite the Bowery, maybe around NYU in the 20s or so. Or she lives in Queens or Brooklyn, somewhere she can live cheaply, safely, and not that far from transportation into the theater district. It probably makes sense for her to live in Manhattan but I am not adverse to her living in one of the boroughs.

Joe probably has apartment in the building where the office of the detective agency is located. He wants to stay close to the office, yet not live in the office.

Matt

[A42]

How old is Franky?

He was born in 1897, so that makes him about 36.

Where does he live?

Anywhere cheap. Except Red Hook.

Where is Father O'Malley's parish and was it the one Franky grew up in?

I think Father O'Malley's church was in Hell's Kitchen. He's retired now, or at least has a younger priest helping him. That's not where Franky grew up. Maybe Flatbush or Bed-Stuy? I don't know much about NYC in the '30s...

Did he graduate high school?

Unless it would keep him from making detective, no.

Any siblings?

• Francis, 1897
• Angelo, 1899
• Carmela, 1902
• Marco, 1904
• Lucia, 1908
• Maria, 1910-1918

Angelo and Marco still live in New York. Marco is rumored to be an associate of the Lucchese crime family. Angelo runs a concession stand at Coney Island. Carmela married and moved to Boston. Lucia survived only 3 days. Maria was killed in the Spanish Flu epidemic.

Is Mama still alive?

Yes and she's in poor health. She lives with her younger sister, Aunt Donata. Franky takes care of them financially as best he can.

Does he have a partner now? Any other friends or drinking buddies? Any romantic interests?

He currently does not have a partner. Nobody is really itching to fill that role...

He's a regular at Rossi's, a neighborhood bar. (Think "Cheers" only dirty and more desperate.) There's a crew that hangs out there that likely qualify as drinking buddies. They seldom if ever see each other outside the bar. (For that matter, they seldom are outside the bar.)

As far as romantic interests… there's this Irish girl, a sometime prostitute who hangs out at Rossi's. She's not what you'd call beautiful, or honest, or trustworthy. It's an extremely dysfunctional relationship but it's all they've got.

Did Franky play on a minor league team in Brooklyn, maybe the Atlantics?

He did play for a Brooklyn team. I think the Atlantics were only in the NA from 1871-1875 and were pretty much defunct after that. Let's go with the Newark Bears. He played in 1917 and 1918. Then came the war, the flu, his father and sister's deaths, etc.

I'd like a little information from everyone about outside interests, hobbies, etc.

Franky's an avid baseball fan, and utterly loyal to "dem bums." He attends as many home games as his job and finances will allow. He also volunteers at Father O'Malley's church when he can. (And when he's sober.)

[Gaffer]

Good stuff. A few comments:

Gaffer wrote:Where does he live? Gaffer wrote:Is Mama still alive?
Anywhere cheap. Except Red Hook.
Yes and she's in poor health. She lives with her younger sister, Aunt Donata. Franky takes care of them financially as best he can.
Let's say Bedford-Stuyvesant then, where he grew up. He's got a couple of rooms at 14 Albany Avenue, around the corner from Rossi's Bar on Fulton Street. It's Our Lady of Victory parish. Mama and Aunt Donata live a few blocks away at 294 Halsey Street, around the corner from the church.

Gaffer wrote:Where is Father O'Malley's parish and was it the one Franky grew up in?
I think Father O'Malley's church was in Hell's Kitchen. He's retired now, or at least has a younger priest helping him.
St. Michael.s then on West 34th Street.

Gaffer wrote:Did he graduate high school?
Unless it would keep him from making detective, no.
No problem.

Gaffer wrote:Any siblings?
Angelo and Marco still live in New York. Marco is rumored to be an associate of the Lucchese crime family. Angelo runs a concession stand at Coney Island. Carmela married and moved to Boston. Lucia survived only 3 days. Maria was killed in the Spanish Flu epidemic.
Very good. Love the Coney Island part.

Gaffer wrote:Does he have a partner now? Any other friends or drinking buddies? Any romantic interests?
He currently does not have a partner. Nobody is really itching to fill that role...
He's a regular at Rossi's, a neighborhood bar. (Think "Cheers" only dirty and more desperate.) There's a crew that hangs out there that likely qualify as drinking buddies. They seldom if ever see each other outside the bar. (For that matter, they seldom are outside the bar.)
As far as romantic interests… there's this Irish girl, a sometime prostitute who hangs out at Rossi's. She's not what you'd call beautiful, or honest, or trustworthy. It's an extremely dysfunctional relationship but it's all they've got.
What's her name? Let's not make her an out-and-out hooker, that's grounds for suspension or dismissal if anyone wants to push it and Franky's got people that would like to see him gone. She just accepts "gifts" from generous "boyfriends" to help make ends meet. Maybe she has a cold water walk up over on Kingston Avenue, the other side of Fulton?

Gaffer wrote:Did Franky play on a minor league team in Brooklyn, maybe the Atlantics?
He did play for a Brooklyn team. I think the Atlantics were only in the NA from 1871-1875 and were pretty much defunct after that. Let's go with the Newark Bears. He played in 1917 and 1918. Then came the war, the flu, his father and sister's deaths, etc.
I knew the Atlantics short history, but thought it sounded good. Newark Bears is great.

Gaffer wrote:I'd like a little information from everyone about outside interests, hobbies, etc.
Franky's an avid baseball fan, and utterly loyal to "dem bums." He attends as many home games as his job and finances will allow. He also volunteers at Father O'Malley's church when he can. (And when he's sober.)
His main hobby is drinking and brooding then.

[Gaffer]

Good luck with graduate school, Justine's just started a master's in East Asian Studies/Japanese Literature at Yale.
Rod, you have my actual character sheet from the email?
Yes.

Dex lives in the Rose Hill section of the Bronx, which is near the Fordham University campus.
A nice apartment in a new building at 2364 Marion Avenue about 4 blocks from the campus and 6 blocks from the Fordham subway station.
I'll also argue that he owns a decent automobile, perhaps a 3 or 4 year old Ford Model A.
Good for me.

The Ford and Morton Detective Agency would be somewhere in Midtown
721 5th Avenue?

Lila probably <snip> shares an apartment with another dancer or two on the lower East Side,
How about 56 E. 4th Street? Close to Broadway, though pretty far from Dex's place.

Joe probably has apartment in the building where the office of the detective agency is located.
Sounds good.

[A42]

What's her name? Let's not make her an out-and-out hooker, that's grounds for suspension or dismissal if anyone wants to push it and Franky's got people that would like to see him gone. She just accepts "gifts" from generous "boyfriends" to help make ends meet. Maybe she has a cold water walk up over on Kingston Avenue, the other side of Fulton?
That sounds perfect. Her name is Siobhan Callahan.

His main hobby is drinking and brooding then.
He also reads a great deal. Pulp magazines, mostly, like Amazing Stories, Astounding Stories, Argosy, and Black Mask. He also reads Hammett. He'd prefer Chandler, but he's still unknown.

[Philulhu]

Hey Phil.

I was thinking that Delores could have a (childless?) marriage in her background. Maybe some high school sweetheart or a reporter on her first paper (the Tulsa World?). It could have ended in divorce or they might still be married but estranged. And did she grow up in Tulsa or some smaller town or on a farm? Was she a tomboy or a proper young woman?

I'd like a little information from everyone about outside interests, hobbies, etc. -- now and in their earlier life. And from Matt and Phil (at least) an idea of the biggest event in Langdon's and Delores's lives. I think we already have that for Dex and Franky.

Did Franky play on a minor league team in Brooklyn, maybe the Atlantics?

The 'seperated but not divorced from her high school sweetheart' thing works for me. They grew up in a small town, Tullahassee, moving to Tulsa itself when they married. Dwight Brown made a success of a small garage he opened but he spent too much time drinking with his buddies and Delores took a job at the Tulsa World as much to fill her day to to help make ends meet. They grew apart, and when she got the opportunity to go to New York (an old croney of her editor), she moved out & left Dwight behind.

The biggest event in Delores' life was when she got caught up in a bank robbery one lunchtime while working at the Tulsa World. She wrote up the story for the newspaper but it only highlighted how mundane all the rest of run-of-the-mill stories that she covered were, which acted as the spur for her to move on.

Ouside of work, Delores likes flower arranging and tries to write crime fiction, in the style of the pulp detective novels of the time. She's yet to have anything published and she a drawer full of rejection letters. Other than that, she enjoys a trip to the theatre or a meal out with a small number of girlfriends and the occasional blind date that her friends arrange for her. She's glad of the company, but still being married makes her uneasy about what she might do if she meets someone she really likes.

PS. Found a pic!

[Gaffer]

Great story! Great pic! Looks like it could be her wedding photo.

[Lammomedes]

I’d like everyone to create an alt for his character with a portrait for use when we have all the character creation stuff done. I think it adds to the immersion, which is tricky enough in a PbP game.

What is everyone’s preference on posting character sheets, as opposed to bios and descriptions?

I like third person, present tense for posting (“Rod writes”), but I’m not a fanatic about it.

1) I have a pic for Dex, one I have used before in another setting. Not exactly contemporary, but it is film noirish enough. On the other hand, I do have a pic that would work that is from the 1930s/1940s. Tell me which one you guys like better. Either are acceptable to me.

2) I am pretty happy if you guys just want to post character sheets. I don't have anything to hide.

3) I'll try to stay consistent with what others want to do.

4) Rod, on the old boards, it was a pain to post pictures. In this new format, I am not so sure it is as difficult as the old format was. But I don't have enough experience to say one way or the other.

Matt

[Lammomedes]

Good luck with graduate school, Justine's just started a master's in East Asian Studies/Japanese Literature at Yale.
Rod, you have my actual character sheet from the email?
Yes.

Dex lives in the Rose Hill section of the Bronx, which is near the Fordham University campus.
A nice apartment in a new building at 2364 Marion Avenue about 4 blocks from the campus and 6 blocks from the Fordham subway station.
I'll also argue that he owns a decent automobile, perhaps a 3 or 4 year old Ford Model A.
Good for me.

The Ford and Morton Detective Agency would be somewhere in Midtown
721 5th Avenue?

Lila probably <snip> shares an apartment with another dancer or two on the lower East Side,
How about 56 E. 4th Street? Close to Broadway, though pretty far from Dex's place.

Joe probably has apartment in the building where the office of the detective agency is located.
Sounds good.

It all sounds fine with me. As far as Lila's apartment goes, its probably better in some ways that it is quite a distance from his own apartment. However, on the evenings when he is out late with Lila and their friends, he can always crash in Joe's apartment, or on the office couch if necessary.

Matt

[Gaffer]

I love your preferred picture. Yoink!

I think we have character backstory pretty well covered. Thanks for everyone's patience with all my questions and suggestions.

Next is choosing Drives, Pillars of Sanity and Sources of Stability and assigning points. Unless one of you knows how to post a completed ToC character sheet, I'll set up a template, if we decide to post the character sheets (which is fine with me). I do want you to post a physical description, including typical clothing, and the character's address. You can post your backstory in any style you like.

I think I'll also post an Investigator Matrix so everyone can make sure I don't miss anything.

Do we want to set up alts in the character's name with a gallery photo?

[A42]

Do we want to set up alts in the character's name with a gallery photo?

I vote "yea" on that one.

[Gaffer]

I'm going to try to move the housekeeping posts to a separate forum. Player posts may be cut and pasted.

Okay, I've done that. Some "housekeeping" posts (especially Matt's great help on posting images) is now in Housekeeping.

[Langdon]

<This is Jabonko, making a test post as Langdon Vilas>

[FrankyEsposito]

Testing...

[Gaffer]

Very nice portraits, fellows.

[Dexter Ford]

Checking in...though I am trying to get my pics small enough to be saved as an avatar, its not working. I am not too keen on any of the pics in the gallery, but I will check again if I can't get the avatar to work.

Wow...made it work.

Here is the link to the program. Quick, efficient and free...
http://www.shrinkpictures.com/create-avatar/

[A42]

Here's a quicky spreadsheet I did to help calculate points spent, rating, etc.

1) Put an x (or anything, really) in the "Occ?" column for your occupational abilities
2) Put your base credit rating in the "Base" column of the Credit Rating row.
3) Spend points on skills.
4) It calcs the total points spent and the ratings.


It does the wacky "Fleeing > 2*Athletics" calculation correctly, I think. It does not do the correct calculation for excess credit rating. (Above the top of the band for your occupation.)


--john

[Gaffer]

Thanks, John.