Character Selection, Creation, and Discussion

[He-who-is-Expendable]

thats probably true I choose Staff Sergeant Larry Dauterive for now. after a I am good at running just him, I will pick two more, this time, in differant locations

[Dave Syrinx]

Then you should just wait and let the Keeper (GM) Mr.Handy send you your character secrets and approve of your picked character.
Cheers!

[Mr. Handy]

Welcome aboard! Thanks for helping out, Dave.

Yes, it's best if your characters are in different sections, or at least in different threads if they are in the same section. You'll get to see more of the game that way, and there's less chance of all of your characters getting killed all at once.

Strike Force Alpha actually has several members (and they are in Sword), though most of them are from previous chapters. Major Nelson Harris is not playable. He is played by the Keeper (me) and is the team leader. Staff Sergeant Larry Dauterive was actually added late in Chapter 6 as an NPC, so he requires some catching up. If you're sure you want him, let me know and I'll send you his secrets. You can catch up by reading his thread in Chapter 6 starting here, but only read it if you're certain you want to play him. You'll have to read about four pages. You're only allowed to read In Character threads if you have a character in that thread. If you decide you'd rather not have to catch up, you can play Kevin Osbourne instead. Just let me know your decision by posting here, and I'll send you your character's secrets. Both characters are in Best Laid Plans, which just has the initial post.

Once you've done the initial reading and gotten your secrets, you may begin posting in your character's IC thread when you're ready.

[He-who-is-Expendable]

I think I will do Kevin because I would like to have a totally or at least near blank slate for my very first char in my very first RPG char, not because I am not willing to read 4 pages of back-story. heaven knows that after a 320 page rulebook, 4 pages is nothing. I am ready for his secrets.

[Mr. Handy]

I haven't even finished reading the rulebook yet, and I've had it for over three years. I'll PM you his secrets shortly. Once you've read them, feel free to post when you're ready. Have fun!

[He-who-is-Expendable]

hello again people. I have been surfing the forums, observing previous points, trying to learn how to roleplay and getting more firm grasp of the rules. I know that I said I would wait until I was used to it, but I think I am ready for more chars, I choose Officer Jerome Hooper - Omaha P.D., S.W.A.T, if its allright with you. that gives me one for GOLD, along with Kevin who is in SWORD. I think I will create a char for OMAHA

[Mr. Handy]

Good choice, he's yours! I'll send you his secrets soon. Jerome's current thread is Dawn. Once you've read that and his secrets, you may post for him when ready.

Jerome is in the OMAHA section. GOLD is the one where you don't have a character yet, but you're free to create one using the instructions in the next to last post of the Rules and Guidelines thread. Let me know if you need any help.

By the way, I forgot to indicate the tear gas grenade on Kevin's character sheet. It's there now.

[He-who-is-Expendable]

thankya, thankya vera much.

[He-who-is-Expendable]

Ok, I am Creating my char. its so complicated. so here is what I have so far: ST: 18 Con:11 Pow:8 Dex:11 App:3 Size:15 Intel:12 EDU:8 Idea:60 Luck:40 Know:40 DMG Bonus:+1d6 Max Hit-points:17 Starting Sanity:40 Max Magic:8 I am seeing this guy as Mentally unstable, ugly beast of close His Name Is [ZA]Gregor Byrd I am still slightly confused about skills. I am going to get back to you on it. any advice?

[Mr. Handy]

HP are based on the average of CON and SIZ rounded up, not STR and SIZ, so he has 13 maximum HP. He will also have lost plenty of Sanity on the first day, so his starting Sanity will be 30. Mentally unstable sounds about right for him.

To decide on his skills, first you'll need to decide what he does (or did) for a living. The rulebook lists 16 standard occupations, but if none of them fit, I'll give you a list of occupational skills based on what his pre-apocalypse occupation was. You get EDU x 20 skill points (160 in your case) to spend on occupational skills and INT x 10 skill points (120 in your case) to spend on any skills whatsoever. Note that, as per the character creation rules, you can make your character older than the minimum in order to get extra points of EDU (and thus extra occupational skill points). With an EDU of 8, that gives you a minimum age of 14. For every full 10 years above that, you get +1 EDU, along with 20 extra occupational skill points. Your Know and Own Language will also increase as a result. If you make Gregor at least 24, that gives him +1 right there. At age 34, he gets +2, and so on. However, for every full 10 years above 40 you make your character (so, starting at age 50), you must deduct one point from a physical stat (STR, CON, DEX, or APP). Yes, his APP can go below 3. This would make him astoundingly ugly, and people would react accordingly. Having an APP of 3 is horrible enough as it is. No stat can go below 0, however.

If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask them here.

[He-who-is-Expendable]

Ok, To balance between Youth and skill, I will make him 44, as that is the the max age he can possibly be without having to take any hits to his stats. so he gets 340 skill points. 220 occupational points, 120 to spend as I like. So I can choose ANY occupation (dont worry, I wont choose Ninja)

[Mr. Handy]

Yes, within reason. Since this character is within the Gold section, he will either be a member of the U.S. Air Force or a family member living on the base. As a family member, you can have pretty much any occupation. I gave a list of example USAF occupations in the next to last post of the Rules and Guidelines thread, along with the occupational skills that accompany them. That list isn't exhaustive, so let me know if you have a different idea.

[He-who-is-Expendable]

Ok. he is An MP who know how to Barter and Knows Martial Arts. now, I distribute skills right?

[Mr. Handy]

Yes, that's right. You have 220 skill points to add to Bargain, Dodge, Fast Talk, First Aid, Grapple, Law, Martial Arts (you must specify which Martial Art you've learned), and Psychology. You have 120 skill points in addition to that which you can add to any skill.

You should also decide on your character's rank, using the list in the post in the Rules and Guidelines thread. Remember that with greater rank comes more responsibility. You'll also need to write up a text description for your character and a one-line In Character quote that you feel represents him. Once your character is finished, I'll come up with secrets for him and PM them to you, and then set up a thread for him. I can fit in an MP rather nicely, and I'll have something interesting for him to do right away.

[He-who-is-Expendable]

BIO:The youngest and malformed son of a dysfunctional, abusive Fammily in the worst part of LA, As a young man, Gregors mental stability was attacked constantly, he was totally unloved, and his life was devoid of any real friends. and he constantly had to fight to keep up the fearful reputation that he maintained to prevent him from being the lauphing-stalk of his part of LA. By the time he was 15, he knew his true calling, the UFC, a place where his fear-causeing face would be a blessing not a curse. it made sense, he had always been obssesive about stressing his physical limits and training as brutally as possible for his fights, as those two things were all that kept him sane, his pent up rage was always waiting there inside him. when he was pumping iron or sparring/delivering beat downs, he felt like he was not inferrior to everyone else. Aspiring to become an MMA master, Gregor Cross trained in Brazilian Jujitsu and Muay Thai, paying for his tutalage by betting on himself in street fights for the entertainment of the gangs. But, even though he trained with abandon to personal health and comphort, it was not met to be. After 12 years of fighting and training, he still was no closer to the big times. with a face like a monster and a track record of brutality, he was told that we would never get past street level, no matter how many people he beat into piles of bruised, broken flesh. So he joined the millitary. because most of his assaults were never charged by the law because of the fact that they were upon gang meambers and witnessed mostly by people who couldn't care less, he was admitted with a deceptively good record. Ever since He has been one of the most Feared MP's in the airforce, his new job only fueling his deadication to fighting and phyiscal fitness. He is a Airment First Class, refuseing promotion to be higher than that despite seniority

"Hell, I'm the Uglies mofo of all time! you say it out loud, I may settle for second place after I'm done with you!"

Skills: This guy is a BEAST of a man who was brutal and almost phsycopathic before the dead rose! he the strength and skill to take on someone even bigger than he is, that is, if there is a man liveing that matches that description. He is 44, and has been fighting on the streets and off all of his life, so, keeper, how much skill would you permit being given to Martial Arts, Dodge, and Grapple?

[Mr. Handy]

As I said in the Rules and Guidelines thread, you can have skills up to 75% with no problem. I might permit higher than that, but certainly no higher than 90%. It does depend in a large part on age and experience, which he has. While he is not young, he isn't old either, so 85% is probably pushing the limit here. Keep in mind that you don't have all that many skill points due to your lower than average INT and EDU. Also, having a Martial Arts skill higher than your highest unarmed attack skill won't give you any direct benefit. I describe the rules on using Martial Arts in the Rules and Guidelines thread.

[He-who-is-Expendable]

It says that Marital arts "With a successful martial Arts kill roll, double the roll damage done by a successful personal attack." ok. so, does that count with Grappeling?

[Mr. Handy]

It does, if you use the Grapple to inflict damage. In that case you would do 2d6 (instead of 1d6), plus your damage bonus for a total of 3d6. There are various uses for Grapple besides just causing injury.

[He-who-is-Expendable]

I know, I was just making sure. Is it possible to kill a zombie with grapple? and you cant dodge bullets, right?

[Mr. Handy]

You could kill a zombie with Grapple. Normally it would take an awful lot of damage, but you could grab one by the neck and try to snap it. That would be at a -5 penalty to your Grapple skill if you tried that. If you succeed, it takes 10 damage to a zombie's head to destroy it. If your attack is also a Martial Arts success, that gives you a better than even chance at a one-hit kill with 3d6 damage. Still, that would require you to get into a hand to hand combat with a zombie, which can easily turn fatal for you. Don't neglect your gun skills.

You can't exactly dodge bullets, but what you can try to do is dive behind cover or go prone to throw off a shooter's aim, which is also represented by the Dodge skill. However, you may only try to Dodge the first bullet fired at you in a given round - small comfort if there's a 20 round burst coming your way, but it could save your life if someone unloads a shotgun at you.