Character Creation: Blowback

 Let's do this!

The Game: Blowback
The Publisher: Two Scooters Press
Degree of Familiarity: Ran it last night. Don't think I quite got it right, though.
Books Required: It's a one-book dealie. 

Anyway, I wrote a review of this game for RPG.Net, but I just submitted it so it's not up yet. In brief: Awesome game about disavowed spies. Influenced heavily by Burn Notice, which I've never watched. Definitely has a vision for what it wants to be, but doesn't communicate how to realize that vision clearly enough. Would very much like to read a detailed AP or play the game so I know what I'm missing.

But I do like the game, I really do. Simple task resolution, and the game really values planning and initiative, which I think goes undervalued in a lot of traditional RPGs (which assume that characters will walk into the plot and have it happen to them, rather than happening to the plot). The characters come up with a plan, first to find information and set themselves up for the eventual Operation, and then for the Operation itself.

The game asks that everyone create both a Professional and a Civilian. These two characters aren't directly connected, rather, you'd be connected to other folks' characters through Relationships. I'm going to make one of each type, but I'm not going to do Relationships, because that'd be a group chargen kind of thing. It's also going to make this go a lot faster. :)

OK, so, Professional first. I have two choices: Lifer or Artists. Lifers are more general, while Artists are quite specialized. I'm going to create an Artist, which gives me one skill at 5, one at 2 and one at 1.

Here's the thing: the Skills are Pavement, Diversion, Commando and Provocateur. Each of those can be used in a variety of ways. I know I want my character to be a surveillance expert. He's a hacker, kinda, but his real love is on watching people, planting bugs, and learning the little, embarrassing things that they do when they think no one's around. As such, I'm putting my 5-dot Skill into Pavement. I'll put my 2-dot into Commando - sometimes you have to choke someone out and leave them to get away clean. I'll put my one-dot into Diversion. He can find a good stash-place for weapons and the like, and he can attract attention if need be. What he's not good at, at all, is the whole "con artist" aspect of the job. Meeting people, making friends...just makes him feel sticky. His name is Emory Winstead, by the way, but he goes by Em. Other folks have called him "Bug" or "Stick," both because he's adept at planting bugs and because he raise stick insects. He's got more than a passing interest in etymology.

OK, that's Skills. Let's do his Profile. This is meant to be written about him, not by him, and written by the Agency. So let's say: Subject will work to uncover the most personal details about a target. Subject would like to be reinstated as a field tech, but has no higher ambition. Subject is more concerned with having a job than who the job is for.

Now, under Evaluation, I write a bit from a psych eval, also by the Agency: Subject is obsessive and somewhat paranoid. Subject is always looking for meaning in tiny details. Subject refuses to let a job go unfinished.

Ordinarily, I'd fill out Hometown and Relationships, and write down what Questions I have about the botched job - but all of that requires a group, which I don't have. So let's move on to my Civilian.

My Civilian is Logan Meyer. Logan works at a local grocery store, managing the dairy case. That means he gets up early and knocks off work in the afternoon. He's in his late 20s and is starting to regret dropping out of school, but he's personable and, outside of the grocery store, he's well-spoken and clever. In the grocery store, he feels dumb because he's just lifting milk jugs and the like, and so he keeps his hat pulled low. He gets either one two-dot skill or two one-dots. I'll take one in Provocateur and one in Pavement.

For Profile, I put Subject regrets dropping out of school. Subject feels current job is beneath him. Subject wants to relieve current debt and find a better career.

For Evaluation, I write Subject is embarrassed about job, and if asked what he does claims "Management." Subject has an aversion to blood. That should be a fun way to bring me some stress.

So that's it, actually. I figure Logan might be useful to the spies he knows by providing someplace to stash a body (frozen foods), or for free food. I can see a fun scene happening at a grocery store, and Em using the office to set up his gear. 

Character Creation: Unhallowed Metropolis

Kind of like Shaun of the Dead, if it took place 200 years earlier and wasn't a comedy. So not much like that, actually.

The Game: Unhallowed Metropolis
The Publisher: Not sure. Started off with Eos, then apparently moved to Hallows Eve, and they've got a note on their site that says it'll be moving to a new publisher.
Degree of Familiarity: Some. I've played it a few times at MarCon, and always had a good time with it.
Books Required: Just the core. Mine has a cover half torn off, thanks to Cael. Grr. 

 

Unhallowed Metropolis is a steampunky-horror game. A zombie-plague hits the world and wipes out most of it. Jolly Olde Englande manages to stay alive, more or less, and over the next hundred and some years, manages to reclaim most of London and some other cities. You got zombies, vampires, werewolves, lightning guns, and some really badass people called Undertakers (I played one once) that kill off monsters for bounty. You can play dhampir, Mourners (people paid to sit with dead rich people so that they don't get up, and to behead them if they do)... it's a big, fun game. Also some aweomse artwork.

The game has a really, really detailed, rich history. I'm finding I'm in a phase now where I like the games that have easier to understand and read histories, and I'm kinda over the White Wolf/Fading Suns "let's have 40 pages of text explaining the world" history. That's mostly because I'm reading a lot more games, and I want to get through them. But that's neither here nor there - the game is well-written, the history is immersive and well-researched (as far as I can tell).

So, starting off. "Present day" is 2105, and here we are in London. We've got seven steps of chargen - actually, it looks very White-Wolfy. 

Step One: Character Concept. I want to play a Fagin-like character, someone who runs a group of minions (you might be able to spot some Bioshock here, if you look). Definitely someone on the street-level, but someone who has some money in his family. My guy's name is Bernard Admunson, and he's the outcast of the family. In fact, folks on the street call him "Bernie the Black Sheep." He looks the part, too. He's got black hair while the rest of his family is sandy blonde, he's skinny when they're all stocky, and he's poor when they're all rich. Why? Well, I'll figure that out.

I've gotta come up with a Calling, here, so let's look at my options. Aristocrat doesn't work because it assumes you're still living high on the hog, so never mind that. Let's take Criminal.

I start with the Qualities of Criminal Associations, Murder of Crows and Reputation - Street. I have no idea what those mean, but I'll look it up later. I also start with Language (Thieves' Cant or Rhyming Slang), Streetwise, and some Skill choices. OK, let's have a look.

I get three Criminal Skills, so I pick Shadow, Pickpocket and Lockpicking. Mostly, I'd rather not be noticed stealing. Then I get a pick of three Skills from a list, so I take Appraise ("One microwave oven...ten quid, hardly worth lifting it."), Melee Weapon and Unarmed Combat. I think for my language, I'll take Rhyming Slang, while I'm here. I get all this at 2, but I might buy some of it up.

Step Two: Attributes. Got six of these, 25 points to spend, but it ain't one-for-one. 1 is underdeveloped or otherwise sucky, while anything over 5 is pretty darned OMG.

So. I know I want Bernie's Charm nice and high, and probably his Coordination, too. Let's go ahead and set Charm at 4 (9 points), Coordination at 3 (5 points). That's 14 out of my 25. Geez. I'll put Intellect at 3 (5 more, spent 19), Vitality at 2 (2 points, 21 spent) Will at 2 (2 points, 23 spent) and gee, guess that leaves my Wit at 2, too. Hopefully I can raise it with Custom points. Moving on. My Prowess is Coordination + Wit, or 5.

Step Three: Skills. I get 25 points here, too, but again, not one-for-one, dangit. I can (and will) increase the Skills I have. I also get stunts for combat skills and, because I'm a Criminal, Streetwise. In fact, I'll start there.

I start with Streetwise 2. I get two Stunts right off, and I want Alibi and Cant (basically, I've always got an alibi and I have Rhyming Slang and Cant at 5). I'll buy Streetwise up to 4, which costs me 7 points, and buy the...holy shit, a bunch of these are gold. Screw it, we're going Streetwise 5. That sets me back another 5 points, but whatevs. I want Phantom (I know the streets like the back of my hand), Mobsman (I am part of a gang, and they have my back) and Rothschild (I can impersonate an Artistocrat).

OK, I also want Thrown Weapons 2 (3 points). I take Improvisation (I can throw unbalanced stuff and not take a penalty) and Snap Reaction (it's all in the reflexes). I'll leave Melee Weapons at 2 and take Free Parry and Two-Weapon Fighter. I'll leave Unarmed Combat at 2 and take Pull Punch (I can knock you out without killing you), and Trip (sweep the leg).

Right, 13 more points. I'll spend 9 and bump Lockpicking, Pickpocket and Appraise up to 3. I get specialties in those, too. I take Clothes, Art and Metals as Appraise Specialties. I'll take Old Locks, New Locks and Detection as Lockpicking Specialties. I'll take Crowds, Teaching and Watches for Pickpocket. And let's see, I've got 21 points spend. 4 more. I'll buy Shadow up to 3 points and take Crowds, Plain Sight and Hide as specialties. With my last point, I take Acting 1 with a Specialty in Impersonations.

Bernie's story is coming into focus a bit more. He had to become the Black Sheep pretty early, or else he'd have more Etiquette. Instead, he's learned to be a Rothschild, learned about high society by mimicking it.

I think he's the bastard son. His mother got in a bad predicament with...well, we're not sure. But his father isn't really Mr. Admunson. When he was born, all black-haired and stuff, Dad claimed him as a son, but never really paid attention to him (he knew, see). And then by weird coincidence, Mom got bitten by a reanimate a year later, so Bernie never really knew her. Dad raised his other kids, but distanced himself more and more from Bernie, and Bernie found he enjoyed spending time with the help. He'd go shopping in the market districts, and he learned from the other snipes there - how to pickpocket, how to be sneaky, and how to talk the talk. One day he just melted into the crowd and never went back. He was 8 at the time.

Over the years, he's made himself a lot of friends, especially among the kids of the streets. He keeps them safe from the zombies and the police, and has even appeared as an advocate when they get busted. He doesn't advocate killing or even violence to get rich, because "you never know who's who, do you, lads?" He's encouraged the rumor that he's descended from royalty, and he hopes one day to rub his Dad's nose in what he's become.

Step Four: Corruption. Yi. Everyone in this game has the makings of their own undoing. In Bernie's case, he wants to become the Crimelord of London, ruling the Family. But it's a pipe dream, not so important to him as to make him Consumed. Nope, I'll take Dissolution. Everything he touches is doomed to failure.

Right now it's handkerchiefs. There's a market for them, and some of his kids can swipe them pretty well. But every time Bernie tries, he gets made. Every. Time. White ones especially.

Step Five: Qualities and Impediments. Well, the ones I have are the ones I'd have bought, anyway. Murder of Crows means that folks watch my back on the street. Street Rep means exactly that, and Criminal Associations means I'm a member of the Family in good standing. Let's see if any Impediments make sense.

OK, I'll take Nemesis 2. That's Bernie's dad, Charles Admunson. He won't actually harm Bernie, but when Bernie surfaces from the criminal underclass, there's always someone waiting to make his life hard (by the way, Bernie suspects his Dad of murdering his Mum. He's wrong).

I'll also take Illiterate. Makes sense; Bernie never went to school and he's forgotten whatever his tutors may have taught him. Finally, just for fun, I'll take Good-Tasting (he gets it from Mom).

Step Six: Custom Points. That all gives me 8 points to play with. I get 5 more Custom points. There are no Qualities I really want, but I do want to raise my Wit. If I raise it to 3, that'll cost me 6. If I want to raise it to 4, that'd cost 14 total...damn, not enough. OK, I'll put Wit at 3. That leaves me with 7 points, total. Hmm. I'll plump for Ambidextrous, I guess. It works for this guy. Finally, I'll spend my last 3 points and buy Acrobatics 2, with Specialties in Climbing and Falls. Second-story man, y'know. Occasionally.

Step Seven: Finishing Touches. This is where I'd buy equipment, but you know how I feel about that. I think I've got a good sense of Bernie. He looks out for the urchins, the snipes and the like, but at the end of it all, he's going to get himself hanged for swiping a goddamned hanky. And he'll see his father's disappointed, loathing face in the crowd.