Player Characters

[Supercape]

Please post your spiffy explorers here.

Players can choose their attributes rather than rolling, on the understanding that is so they can play interesting characters of their choosing rather than to min/max. One note is that for a gruelling expedition I would suggest that characters have at least average CON (10+). Overall this kind of expedition is going to need healthy and dynamic people, so having attributes that average out at higher than normal is entirely reasonable. The rest is your discretion.

As far as skills go, the normal principles apply. I will bring up a few points:

1. Library Use may be useful at the outset of the expedition but is likely to be worthless in the jungle!
2. Credit Rating skill is less important, as the expedition is well funded by the British Museum Etc. A high credit rating skill might indicate that the character has personally helped fund the expedition, which gives them some kind of implied authority.
3. Custom skill: Animal Handling (Base 10%) will be included, to manage beasts of burden, dogs, snake charming, and pet simians. It will include training, caring for, and non-verbal communication with animals.
4. Languages: There are hundreds of African Language. For reference sake the important ones will be: Arabic (in Egypt), Bantu (including Swahili, a cluster of languages in South and Central Africa), and to a lesser extent Nilo-Saharan (another cluster of languages in central Africa). Egyptian Heiroglphics may of course come into play, as might European languages and Latin. I hope this works for you all!

Equipment:
Note up to 5 personal items they will bring (e.g. Bible, Flute, Whisky, Deck of Cards, Revolver). It is assumed the expedition as a group will be well equipped with rifles (.30 Lever Action Carbine [1 Att per Round, Range 50, 6 Ammo, 2d6 damage]), spare ammunition, medical supplies, water bottles, rations, map, compass, firestarting equipment, tents, so on...

[Supercape]

Character Sheets: I'm no control freak - although I do like compact sheets! I suggest something like the below but feel free to do it any old how.

Name:
Age:
Occupation:

[Picture]
STR
CON
SIZ
DEX
APP
INT Idea
POW Luck
EDU Know

Damage Bonus
Sanity [Current Sanity]
HP [Current HP]
MP [Current MP]

Skills:
[Note skills which differ from base only e.g...] Climb 70%, Language [Bantu] 65%, Sneak 45%

Weapon Skills:
[Note skills which differ from base only]


Personal Effects / Equipment:


Appearance


Background

[Tabs]

Captain Richard Burton, Agent along the Grand Trunk Road, has returned to England in disgrace. His commanding officer received a copy of Burton's new book The Tantric One: an exploration of the Hindu--"Filth!" Although he is not a lascivious man, well, no more than average, he is fascinated by human nature--urges and impulses chiefly--and his "studies" stem from a genuine desire for knowledge.

Nevertheless, despite his altruistic wish to educate or "free" others, his long suffering wife has barred him from the family estate, he resides in London Town at the East India Club.

STR 11
CON 13
SIZ 11
DEX 13
APP 12
INT Idea 14 [70%]
POW Luck 15 [75%] +3 Luck 90
EDU Know 14 [70%]

Damage Bonus
Maximum Sanity 97
HP [Current HP] 12 -1 = 11
MP [Current MP] 15
Sanity 71 +15 = 86 -3 = 83 -1 = 82 -2 = 80 -1 = 79 -1 78

Spells: Voice of Ra, Bring Haboob, Chant of Thoth, Find Gate


EDU x 20 and INT x 10 = 420

Skills: French 30% +2 +1 = 33, Punjabi 30%, Arabic 30% +9 =39, Ride 40%, Spot Hidden 50%, Anthropology 50%, Climb 60%, Swim 50%, Persuade 50%, Navigation 50%, Art (Painting) 35%, Jump 40%, Listen 25% +10 =35, Hide +5

Cthulhu Mythos 2%, Occult 3%

"I can pick up languages quickly, very quickly," he drawls, confident without a trace of arrogance. "Give me a week with an intelligent native, and I'll have a smattering of the mumbo jumbo."

Weapon Skills: Pistol 50% +7 =57, Knife 50% (Bowie Knife)


Personal Effects / Equipment: Darwin's The Descent of Man and On the Origin of Species, notebooks etc. and paint box, compass, and brass sundial.

[Priest]

Baxter Thomas Alexander.

Age: 36
Occupation: Jack of all trades

STR: 11
CON: 11
SIZ: 14
DEX: 11
APP: 9
INT: 11 [Idea: 55]
POW: 9 [Luck: 45]
EDU: 10 [Know: 50]

Damage Bonus: 1d4
Sanity: 47 [Current Sanity]: 45
HP:11 [Current HP]: 11
MP: 9 [Current MP]: 9

Skills: (EDUx20 = 200 skill points + PIP = 110 + 40 for age)
Climb – 50%
Dodge – 22
Fast Talk - 15%
Navigate – 50%
Photography – 50%
Pilot Boat – 31%
Spot Hidden – 56%
Languages - Bantu: 41 45%, Nilo-Saharan: 21%, French: 21%


Weapon Skills:
Rifle – 45%, Handgun: 40%, Head: 35%


Personal Effects / Equipment:
Large hip flask of Gin (emergency use); pipe; peaked cap with aventail (protection from sun); carved walking stick; Box camera and tripod; selection of tasteful, artistic photographs of native women engaged in tribal dancing.


Appearance
Looks jovial enough but his long ill kept beard gives him the appearance of an unsavoury sort. You might like him, but you’re not sure you would trust him near your drinks cabinet.


Background
Fancies himself as a bit of an author and photographer, but if he had any talent it’s long been drowned in gin. Went to Africa many years ago as a clerk in a trading company. Soon found that he liked Africa, but wasn’t keen on working. However he quickly found that he had a way with the natives, they tended to trust him even as he was robbing them blind.
He tended to move around the various African countries, usually out of necessity. Eventually he had wound up in Belgian Congo, working as government official in the trade department. This suited him well as the Belgian officials tended to look the other way over his shady dealings. It was not until there was some dispute over the disappearance of an expensive diamond which had been earmarked by one of the high up officials, that he felt it would be wise to leave. Now he is back in London, ostensibly working on a book, but better described as working his way through the city’s gin supplies.
During his African years he picked up a smattering of various local tribal dialects, which when added to his command of Swahili, limited French and his knowledge of the continents interior tends to make his over fondness of the bottle and somewhat rough social niceties a little more acceptable.
He has contacts in various places in Africa, most of them as disreputable as himself. He has heard of Burton of course considering him, as many do, as little more than a pornographer plundering the various cultures of the world for erotic tit-bits to shock and delight much of society. In this he has no problem of course being only too happy to help plunder cultures also.

[Mr. Handy]

Character creation rolls

Player: Mr. Handy
Name: Percival Carstairs
Age: 29
Sex: Male
Occupation: Journalist
Colleges, Degrees: None
Birthplace: London, England



Characteristics:
STR: 13
CON: 14
SIZ: 16
DEX: 7
APP: 10
INT: 13 (Idea - 65)
POW: 15 (Luck - 75)
EDU: 14 (Know - 70) [includes +1 EDU from age]

Sanity: 75 -2 (73) +3 (76) -1 -2 -5 (68)
Phobias/Mental Disorders: None
Maximum Sanity: 92
Hit Points: 15
Magic Points: 15
Damage Bonus: +1D4

Background: Percival Carstairs has always longed for a life of adventure. He is an avid reader, particularly of Jules Verne, as well as a creative writer. He decided to go into journalism in the hopes of getting to travel to exotic places and write about them. At first he was relegated to local news, but once he put in a few years and proved himself he was able to get assignments that required him to travel, especially throughout the Near and Middle East. He has joined the expedition in order to be among the first to explore a new and unknown region. He even started to teach himself Bantu in preparation.

Skills: (Non-default skills BOLD, Professional Skills ITALICS, Hobbies preceded by a DOT. Checked skills followed by a *)
Accounting (10%):
Animal Handling (10%):
Anthropology (01%):
Archaeology (01%):
Art (05%):
Astronomy (01%):
Bargain (05%):
Biology (01%):
Chemistry (01%):
.Climb (40%): 60%
Conceal (15%):
Craft (05%):
Credit Rating (15%):
Cthulhu Mythos (00%): 00 +2+5 (07%)
Disguise (01%):
Dodge (DEX x 2): 14%
Drive Carriage (20%):
Electrical Repair (10%):
Fast Talk (05%): 55%
First Aid (30%):
Geology (01%):
Hide (10%):
History (20%): 50%
Jump (25%):
Law (05%):
Library Use (25%): 40% +1 (41%)
.Listen (25%): 55% +2 (57%)
Locksmith (01%):
Martial Arts (01%):
Mechanical Repair (20%):
Medicine (05%):
Natural History (10%):
Navigate (10%):
Occult (05%):
Operate Heavy Machine (01%):
Other Language: Arabic (01%): 41%
.Other Language: Bantu (01%): 11% +1+3 (15%)
Own Language: English (EDU x 5%): 70%
Persuade (15%): 55%
Pharmacy (01%):
Photography (10%): 60% +2 (62%)
Physics (01%):
Pilot Balloon (01%):
Pilot Boat (01%):
Psychology (05%): 60% +3 (63%)
Ride (05%):
Sneak (10%):
.Spot Hidden (25%): 55%
Swim (25%):
Throw (25%):
Track (10%):

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

Firearms:
Handgun (20%):
Machine Gun (15%):
.Rifle (25%): 55% +1 (56%)
Shotgun (30%):

Equipment:
Bible
Camera
Copy of Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Diary
Pens and ink
English translation of the Sidhom Fragments