Character Selection, Creation, and Discussion

[Mr. Handy]

Maximum HP are the average of CON and SIZ, not STR and SIZ. However, your CON roll was 12 rather than 10, so you have a total of 14 HP. Your starting Sanity is going to be 65, as you've lost some due to the events of the day so far. Fortunately, your high starting Sanity insulated you from the worst of it.

You'll need to adjust your skills again. If Handgun is your eighth occupational skill, you've only spent 290 out of 300 occupational skill points. However, you spent 125 hobby points, but you only get 90.

I'll let you know what equipment you've been issued. You'll get what you have listed here, and you'll also have a Beretta 9mm pistol as standard issue. I'll let you know how much ammo you have left.

[Mr. Handy]

Thanks, that's much better. You didn't set your CON to 12, but I'll adjust that when I add your character sheet.

Also, Dexterity is a stat, not a skill, so it cannot be raised with skill points. You can spend those 20 hobby points on something else.

[Misfit]

*fixed

[Mr. Handy]

Great, you're all set! I'll add your character sheet when I set up for Chapter 6 during the break between chapters and send you your secrets at that time. Jacqueline Jones will probably be added in with you after she's completed.

[Laraqua]

How is this?

Intelligence: 17
Size: 14
Education: 11
Appearance: 4
POW: 17
DEX: 14
STR: 12
CON: 10

Idea: 85%
POW: 85%
Know: 55%
Damage Bonus: +1d4
Max Hit Points: 12
Max Magic Points: 17
Sanity: 80%

From Education:
*Astronomy: 1%
Climb: 60%
Dodge: 58%
*Electrical Repair:
First Aid: 50%
*Mechanical Repair: 32%
*Navigate: 45%
*Operate Heavy Machinery: 35%
Persuade: 35%
*Physics: 1%
*Pilot (Helicopter: 70%
Listen: 55%
Spot: 55%
*Rifle: 65%
Throw: 45%

Ideal Equipment: Body Armor, Helmet with built-in radio, snickers bar, handgun, rifle, first aid kit (either in the office drawer, helicopter cockpit, or wherever), flashlight, well-fitting combat boots, sharp knife (for cutting through seat belts, etc.).

Quote: "Man, this was so much more fun in videogames..."

I think this works out better...

[Mr. Handy]

Starting Sanity will be 80 in your case, as I mentioned a while back. You've lost 5 during the day, but it would have been even worse had your Sanity not been so high to begin with.

By my count you've spent 181 hobby points, but you only get 170. You've spent 208 occupational points, but you get 220. I'm not sure if you meant to put those 12 points in Mechanical Repair or just left it blank. The base skill for Mechanical Repair is 20%, so putting those points into it would give you 32%. Electrical Repair has a base skill of 10%, so the 20 points you added will give you 30% there. A couple of minor adjustments and you should be ready.

[Laraqua]

I removed 11 hobby points from Dodge and added 12 to Mechanical Repair.

[Mr. Handy]

Great, you're all set! I'll send you Jackie's secrets and Misfit will get Derek's secrets at some point before Chapter 6 begins.

[Laraqua]

Yay! Sorry about all the screw-ups...

[kouchpotato]

Will there be any new characters generated for Chapter 6? I wouldn't mind playing someone in Sword, new or old.

[Mr. Handy]

There may be a few new characters added to Gold and Omaha, and of course players can make their own in either or both of them. There will be no new characters added to Sword at this time, so what you see is what you get. Julie St. James is available, and she was added in Chapter 5. So are Raquel Orozco and Lara Voronova, who were both added partway through Chapter 4 and thus require more back reading. You probably don't want to play Lara, as she's low on Sanity and is in a terrible situation that will probably cost her more.

[ImpInTraining]

Mr. Handy,

Sorry I've been a little pokey on posting lately. This week is the culmination of all my hard work over the past 2 years. We are performing system tests to prove that it meets our specs. Won't end until next Friday, so if I hold anything up feel free to NPC me as necessary. I'm cool with it. After next Friday, I should be on my way to Hawaii ... lodging has internet set up so no cause for me to be absent.

[Mr. Handy]

Thanks for the heads up. You haven't been slowing me down, and Chapter 5 is just about to end anyway, right after I post my next update for Omaha. Chapter 6 isn't due to start until sometime in September.

[Mr. Handy]

The new character sheets for Gold (which include the characters from Juno merged in) have now been posted, though I'm still waiting on skill XP checks for a few. The sheets for Jacqueline Jones and Derek Morrison are up too, but I realized that Morrison is missing a one-line in-character quote and both of them are missing brief descriptions. Please post those when you can. Secrets should be sent out in the coming days.

[Mr. Handy]

We're open for new characters in Chapter 6! The only new pregenerated character, Detective Gretchen Ehrlich of the Omaha Police Department, is currently only available to new players (or former players who return) on a first come, first served basis. If she is unclaimed, she will be available for everyone with slots open on Sunday, September 12. There are also a number of pregenerated characters available to everyone from earlier chapters. All character sheets have been posted in the Chapter 6 subforum, as has the updated Locations and Weapons thread.

In addition, you may still create up to two characters of your own: one in Gold and/or one in Omaha. See the Character Creation post in the Rules and Guidelines thead for full instructions, then make your character creation posts in this thread by replying to it. Remember that you're still limited to four characters total.

[Misfit]

So can I make a character of my own in Gold then?

[Mr. Handy]

Yes, you can make your own character too.

[Misfit]

I just ask because I have the one I took over and the one I made in Omaha. I wasn't sure if the two character limit included character taken over.

[pfarland]

Ok, let's see if you like this:
John Brunner (farm and Ranch owner)
STR 14 Age 39
CON 11 Idea 70
POW 10 Luck 50
DEX 10 Know 75
APP 08 Dam Bonus +1d4
SIZ 14 HP 13
INT 14 MP 10
EDU 13 (15 w/ age) SAN 50

Accounting: 40; Bargain: 45; biology: 40; Credit Rating: 40; Electrical Repair: 60; Electronics: 35; Listen: 35; Mechanical Repair: 60; Operate Hvy Machine: 55; Ride: 25; Track: 20; Handgun: 40; Rifle: 45; Shotgun: 40
I used Operate Hvy Machine, Mech Repair, bargain, Electrical Repair, Mechanical Repair, Biology, Ride, and Accounting as the skills for a farmer/rancher.

[Mr. Handy]

The two character limit is only for creating characters. The overall character limit is four.

Welcome, pfarland! Looks good for the most part, but the occupational skills for a farmer are listed in the rulebook as Craft, Electrical Repair, First Aid, Mechanical Repair, Natural History, Operate Heavy Machine, Track, and one other skill of your choice. You can fix this easily enough by rearranging things. For instance, you can put the points from Biology into Natural History instead, which will also give you a higher skill since it has a base level of 10% instead of 1%. You've also only spent 273 skill points on the skills you had selected instead for occupational skills, but you get 300 (EDU x 20). The increase to EDU from age also gives you the 40 extra occupational skill points. You've also only spent 129 hobby skill points on your other skills, but you get 140 of them.

Your starting Sanity will actually be 40, as you'll have lost 10 due to the events of the day so far, but the lower starting Sanity fits better with the character concept you told me about. If you're creating this character for Omaha, he'll need to have been in Omaha for some reason at the start of the day (and will still be there); his farm or ranch will have to be outside the metropolitan area. I'll let you know what's happened to him today and where he is at the present time.