Character Creation

[Raiko]

This thread is to carry on the character creation chat from the recruitment thread. Please just discuss backgrounds here now, don't post completed characters yet. I'll post the completed characters in a separate topic later.

To recap here is the cast so far:

Laraqua: Maksim Mikhailovich Rukov, Russian aviator, twin brother of Timour (submitted)
thewhatchamacallit: Timour Arseni Rukov, former Russian aviator, twin brother of Maksim (submitted)
imme: Elizabeth Downing, New York dilettante
coffee demon: Andrei, Former Russian soldier
decrepit: Female Character
Grafster: Johnny Wong Former PI, works for Elizabeth's Family (submitted)

No rush for characters yet, we'll aim to start in one week from now, but I'll begin earlier if we are all ready sooner.

[thewhatchamacallit]

I have a small modification or two for my PC I'll follow up a little later with a PM.

[Raiko]

Grafster asked a couple of questions about backgrounds, character sheets, etc.
And imme asked some character generation questions as well.

Backgrounds:
You can make your background as long or short as you like. A couple of paragraphs plus a photo will do, providing you are happy that you’ve detailed enough personality or history for me and the others to imagine your character properly.

On the other hand, if you want to write a short novel about your character, feel free.

Secrets:
If you want some of your background to be ‘secret’ then that’s fine, as long as you write up both the ‘public’ and ‘secret’ backgrounds yourself. The public stuff will be put online, the private stuff will only be known by me, and any other player that you PM it to. Just make sure that the public stuff has enough detail for the other players and for anyone who just reads the game.

Skills:
I'm very flexible regarding your ‘careers’ - so you can selected careers, professional skills and interests as you see fit. The careers in the investigator's companion aren't 'balanced' anyway, so I just let players create a character that they like. I rely on my 110 attribute points house rule to keep the playing field level. Please mark up your professional skills & hobbies/interests separately on your sheet though (italics for professional skill, hobbies proceeded by a dot).

Credit Rating:
Any of you characters who exist within the 1920’s New York ‘party scene’ should have above-default credit rating skills; Elizabeth (and possibly Andrei?) should have a high credit rating.
Points spent on this skill won’t be wasted as it will take precedence over persuade/fast talk in most ‘non-street’ social encounters. Persuade & Fast Talk will still be very useful of course, but in many situations will be unnecessary for those of the right ‘social standing’.

Photos:
Please try to provide at least one photograph of your character, I’m trying to find a suitable one for each and every NPC in the campaign If you want to provide additional photos of your character and their property, possessions, weapons, history, etc. then go for it, but don’t feel obliged, one photo is enough.

Character Sheet:
Please use the following template, once your character is approved you can post it into the ‘Cast of Characters’ thread so that we can both make changes to it.

Name :
Age :
Gender :
Occupation :
Birthplace :

Characteristics:

STR :
CON :
SIZ :
DEX :
APP :
INT : (Idea )
POW : (Luck )
EDU : (Knowledge )

Sanity:
phobias/mental disorders:
maximum Sanity: 99
Hit Points:
Magic Points:
Damage Bonus:

Appearance & Personality:

Background:

Family members:

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

Accounting (10%):
Anthropology (01%):
Archaeology (01%):
Art (05%):
Astronomy (01%):
Bargain (05%):
Biology (01%):
Chemistry (01%):
Climb (40%):
Conceal (15%):
Craft (05%):
Credit Rating (15%):
Cthulhu Mythos (00%):
Disguise (01%):
Dodge (DEX×2):
Electr. Repair (10%):
Fast Talk (05%):
First Aid (30%):
Geology (01%):
Hide (10%):
History (20%):
Jump (25%):
Law (05%):
Library Use (25%):
Listen (25%):
Locksmith (01%):
Martial Arts (01%):
Mech. Repair (20%):
Medicine (05%):
Natural History (10%):
Navigate (10%):
Occult (05%):
Opr. Hvy. Mch. (01%):
Other Language (01%):
Own Language (EDU×5%):
Persuade (15%):
Pharmacy (01%):
Photography (10%):
Physics (01%):
Pilot (01%):
Psychoanalysis (01%):
Psychology (05%):
Ride (05%):
Sneak (10%):
Spot Hidden (25%):
Swim (25%):
Throw (25%):
Track (10%):

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

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

EQUIPMENT:

[Raiko]

I have a small modification or two for my PC I'll follow up a little later with a PM.

That's fine, I've not had chance to review the submissions yet anyway, I've just skimmed through each one. I'll have a proper look at them today.

You can all make changes to your characters until we start the game.

[Laraqua]

Hmm, is it possible then for me to get a little Psychoanalysis - career reason being that my character is nice enough to deal with frightened recruits, trying to calm them down enough for them to move on. Perhaps we got shot down once and had to make our way back. Perhaps my character's merely met a few shaken up recruits. Although, if Persuade or Fast Talk could work for this or if you don't think my character has enough reason, then I won't bother. It's just a thought.

[thewhatchamacallit]

Does anyone have or plan on having the drive auto, natural history or Medicine skills?

I'm thinking we'll need them at least once or twice in the game and a level near or above 40% could be an asset to the party.

[Raiko]

Hmm, is it possible then for me to get a little Psychoanalysis - career reason being that my character is nice enough to deal with frightened recruits, trying to calm them down enough for them to move on. Perhaps we got shot down once and had to make our way back. Perhaps my character's merely met a few shaken up recruits.

Works for me. 8)

Although, if Persuade or Fast Talk could work for this or if you don't think my character has enough reason, then I won't bother. It's just a thought.

I'd say that Persuade or Fast Talk would work for 'minor shell shock', but more serious cases would require Psychoanalysis skill.

Does anyone have or plan on having the drive auto, natural history or Medicine skills?

I'm thinking we'll need them at least once or twice in the game and a level near or above 40% could be an asset to the party.

I won't comment on the other skills, but I do like car chases, and abstact car-chase rules work so much better in a play-by-post game than a tabletop one.

[thewhatchamacallit]

And on that note I will definately be finding a machinegun in every city we travel to

[Laraqua]

Ooh, I've kinda wanted Drive Auto at good speeds. If I up Psychoanalysis to a small amount and Drive Auto to a decent amount, that could be good, right? There's bound to be some skill i don't need so much of. Unless someone else wants to dibs?

Hang on, I've already got Drive Auto at 50%. It'll be easier for me to improve past that then for anyone else to start at base and improve (if they've already worked out their skills). Not that someone can't decide they want it more than me. I'm willing to not have it.

[thewhatchamacallit]

It's always good to have a back up anyway. What if you're shot up and were being chased as we try to get you to a hospital? At that point it'd be nice to have a back-up, right?

Plus in a group this size it'll be easy to have specialists. No need for us all to spread our skill pionts thin over twenty skils when all we need is each person to have a high rating in three or four each.

[Laraqua]

Hmm, well, I've got high Social skills (barring Credit Rating) and high mechanical, pilot and drive skills (well, reasonably so). What's everyone else got?

[Decrepit]

I'd be willing to pick up some (or all?) of the medical skills here. My brief look suggests that women physicians in the States in the 1920s were uncommon but far from unheard of. That'd be just one option, and she wouldn't have to be from the States, either. Heck, she wouldn't have to be female, either, but it might be kind of fun to stretch the 1920s assumptions a bit.

Any other gaping holes in the group composition? As I'm coming in comparatively late, I wouldn't mind some suggestions, as it looks like you-all have pretty well-developed backgrounds already (and I'm really busy the next 2-3 days, too).

[thewhatchamacallit]

I have decent to high combat skills, knife fighting, guns, thrown weapons, tracking. With moderate to good pilot aircraft and navigate skills and hobby skills like persuation, he's a playboy after all .

[Laraqua]

Locksmith, Law, most of the sciences, the physical movement ones (Conceal, Hide, Track, Climb). At least, that's as far as I know. So, if you're one of them doctors living out rural, you might have physical movement, too, but then how'd you know the lady friend?

[thewhatchamacallit]

He could be a vet, looked after her dogs and horses or some such as well as other animals at neighbouring ranches. Just a thought.

[imme]

(Not completely settled on things yet, but I'm thinking something along these lines:) Elizabeth will have some skills based on her privileged upbringing (painting, credit rating, ride) and education (french, history, archaeology, latin). Since good looks and credit rating don't help with the parents, she also has Fast Talk and Persuade. It looks like her outdoorsish skills (besides ride) are going to be limited to Rifle and Swim. While she may be enthusiastic about "roughing it", she doesn't have the experience to actually know much about how to do it. Do you think anybody will be willing to take her camping?

Regarding personality: First off, I don't think she likes going by her full first name (only her parents and tutors call her Elizabeth). I'm not sure which (of the many possible) shortenings she prefers, or if she uses multiple nicknames. Initial impressions of her are that she is young, enthusiastic, and adventurous. Very used to wealth and getting her way, but not in a spoiled brat way. Very independent and enjoys trying to be a "modern woman", who can "rough it", shoot, drink, and swear (although she hasn't really gotten the hang of the last). Getting to know her a bit better, one gets the impression that the "modern woman" schtick is a mask that she is trying on, and occasionally she'll find herself surprised to be in it. Especially when tired (when it's harder for her to keep up the brave exterior), it will be apparent that she does have a more tender side and is sometimes unsettled by her own attempts to break out from her parents and become "her own person". She may be a daddy's girl afterall, but would never in a thousand years admit it.

It's fun watching characters come together, isn't it?

[coffee demon]

I'd be willing to pick up some (or all?) of the medical skills here. My brief look suggests that women physicians in the States in the 1920s were uncommon but far from unheard of. That'd be just one option, and she wouldn't have to be from the States, either. Heck, she wouldn't have to be female, either, but it might be kind of fun to stretch the 1920s assumptions a bit.

Any other gaping holes in the group composition? As I'm coming in comparatively late, I wouldn't mind some suggestions, as it looks like you-all have pretty well-developed backgrounds already (and I'm really busy the next 2-3 days, too).

Yeah, it sounds like some kind of veterinarian would work well! You could be a bit of a wildwoman yourself - maybe Elizabeth's best friend, who also watches her horse's health part-time.

This would give you a chance to take a few outdoorsy skills too. Maybe you're from the English countryside, but moved to upstate NewYork where Liz's family owns land. You could have learned hunting skills (Track, etc) from your dad back in in Moors. Or whatever.

Still not started on Andrei - he's going to be entirely from the basic CoC book, I hope thats OK. I imagine a medium credit rating (the money is running low, though), and officer-skills: Rifle proficiency, History, Drive Auto, Ride Horsee (or whatever its called), a few languages, Psyhology, First Aid... He's not going to be a professional Driver or anything, but I'll try to give it as many points as I can.

[imme]

Decrepit, people have posted some good ideas already, but I'm going to throw another one out there for variety. Your character could have been struggling to become a physician, Elizabeth heard about it (nothing like the upper crust to spread info like wildfire) and thought the idea of a female doctor was exciting, so convinced her parents to sponsor you. (I'm also thinking of having an older brother pursuing some kind of respected career, so he could have been working to be a doctor himself, and sponsoring your character also appealed to Elizabeth in that it would have teased her brother a little. Or not.) This could have either resulted in a friendship between the two characters, or there may have been little interaction, but your character would still be closely tied to the Downings.

[Decrepit]

Decrepit, people have posted some good ideas already, but I'm going to throw another one out there for variety. Your character could have been struggling to become a physician, Elizabeth heard about it (nothing like the upper crust to spread info like wildfire) and thought the idea of a female doctor was exciting, so convinced her parents to sponsor you. (I'm also thinking of having an older brother pursuing some kind of respected career, so he could have been working to be a doctor himself, and sponsoring your character also appealed to Elizabeth in that it would have teased her brother a little. Or not.) This could have either resulted in a friendship between the two characters, or there may have been little interaction, but your character would still be closely tied to the Downings.

I was kind of thinking along those lines. More as it develops ...

[coffee demon]

Decrepit, after we figure out what your relationship with Elizabeth (Liz, Lizzie?) is, we should discuss your knowledge/relationship with Andrei as well. If you two are good friends, your character and Andrei might have some interesting interactions. Or maybe you know the Downing family as a whole, so only met me in large gatherings. Not enough for us to get more than a passing impression of each other.

I'm treating myself to making Andrei's character this weekend.