Character Creation: Corporation

 So, a dystopian sci-fi game, then? 

The Game: Corporation
The Publisher: Brutal Games, by way of Mongoose.
Degree of Familiarity: None. I've read it. No one's running it at Origins. Or ever has, AFAIK.
Books Required: Just the core.

I bought this game because it kind of looked slick. The premise - corporations have taken over and the characters work for them doing espionage things - is fine with me, and the system doesn't look too silly. It looks, honestly, like a traditional RPG in the mold of Shadowrun, so I really don't get the website calling it some kind of "gaming revolution." But what do I know.

Anyway, the game looks playable, though it could've used another pass through an editor. Oh, and something else that bugged me: It mentions that the stuff in italics is descriptive, in-character stuff and can be skipped. Well...why put it in? Cut it and drop the book's price point, then. Or write fluff text that's awesome and enhances the game. Anyway.

OK, I'm an Agent. I'm "superior to normal humans." Sounds good. I get a sub-vocal communicator that allows me to mutter inaudibly but still talk to agents up to 300 km away. Neato. I also get an ID chip, which allows me to easily authenticate my identity when necessary. I get an AI chip that grants me skills, drugs that improve my performance (and let me regrow limbs, without even menacing Spider-Man!), and so on and on. Here we go, character creation, section 01.

There's a bit about being Division Leader, but let's assume I'm not.

Step One: Select a Corporation. There are five choices. I can be an Asian gangster, an African telepath, a Eurasian capitalist, a Japanese warrior or a Western soldier (I'm simplifying a lot). OK, Comoros sounds interesting to me. They're the Indo-African folks who specialize in telepathy and are dedicated to freedom. Their section talks a lot about personal choice and responsibility, and about using psi-blades over guns, and that sounds kind of cool.

Well, I'm still not sure exactly what I want to do, but Comoros is my choice, I think. I get +10 TE at character creation, whatever that means. I get increased telepathic regeneration, free Telepath Training, and I can burn HP for TE. Um, OK. Also my "sector" is Culture & Entertainment. Sure?

Step Two: Concept and Profession.. The book asks me to consider my profession, because my Professional Skill needs to be high-rated, and this skill should determine my profession (the book says it better than that, but I'm tired). There's a handy list of concepts and a list of inspirational materials. Hmm.

I think my guy was a teacher before he was an Agent. He was teaching in some shitty little school in eastern Africa, and the UIG (the United International Government, the bad guys) rolled up and basically flattened the area. He got out, and got most of his kids out, but a lot of their parents were killed. He never did find out why the UIG wanted that particular town destroyed, but Comoros offered him a job working against the UIG and helping people in a different way. He hated to leave behind his old job, but he had to admit - he was too angry to be around kids anymore. And he hates the UIG for that.

So that's what he did before, what does he do now? I see "Defense Telepath" (it's misspelled as "Defence," but that's OK, I saw "mile" misspelled as "kilometre" earlier in the book). I like that - he'll be a good telepath, but he doesn't want to knock people down so much as build other people up.

The book gives me some interesting character building exercises, and since I haven't done a character like this in a while, I shall use them. First off: How would the character act in the following situations?

• In a violent crowded bar where the character has his drink spilled by an outlaw. Probably not much of a reaction, especially if overreacting would result in violence. It's not worth it. Now, if the thug in question were UIG or a sympathizer, then he might get a bit more aggressive.
  
• When being reprimanded by the Missions Officer for a disastrous mission. He'd sit there and listen to the criticism, and provided it's accurate, accept responsibility. And then he'd ask, "Are you ready to figure out how to fix these problems?"
  
• After completing a successful mission and given a large paycheck (misspelled as "cheque"). He'd send much of the money back home to help out with the smaller towns and "his" orphans. And probably go out drinking or whoring. Only human.
  
• When in the thick of action with his favorite equipment and plenty of enemies. I suspect he's more interesting in incapacitating and interrogating than straight-up killing. But failing that, he tries to make sure it goes surgically rather than pear-shaped. Chaos costs lives (and makes him flash back).

There's another questions section, too!

• Why does the Corporation employ him? Good telepathic skills, but also good at teaching and relating information. You can learn a skill from a chip, yeah, but there's still a lot of practical application for a good instructor.
  
• Does he have any family? None living. His mother died a few years before he moved to the small town for the teacher job, and his father was killed in the war.
  
• Does he fully support the Corporation? Yep.
  
• What is his operational method? I'd have to see the telepathy powers first.
  
• How did he become a professional? Covered above, I think.
  
• How does he dress? Comfortably and casually. He's tried rocking hot suits, but they never seem to look right on him.
  
• How does he deal with authority? Quietly. He's used to just accepting what the boss-man tells him, so he follows orders well.
  
• Who does he hate and why? UIG, for reasons I think I've covered.
  
• Does he have a grudge against a particular faction or Corporation? Not yet, though money-uber-alles pisses him off. People don't realize that convenience here tends to cost lives there.
  
• Who does he love and why? His students. They became his family, and he feels responsible for them, even though he's far away and he's too triggery to take his old job back.
  
• Where does he live? He stays in a Corporate Accommodation when he's on mission, but he tends to rent cheap rooms in poorer areas when he's on furlough.
  
• What does he do for fun? Cooks, reads, does crosswords and other puzzles. He used to farm and garden, too, but that's harder to arrange.
  
• Why did he join the Corporation? Did he have a choice? Sure. He joined up because they were his best chance at revenge and improving people's lives. He still thinks that's true.
  
• Does he have strong ethics? Yes. He's heavily invested in personal responsibility and in teaching the young. He believes the only true knowledge is what you earn.
  
• What is his price for corruption? I'd need to hear the offer. No one accepts an offer for straight-up corruption. "Hey, I'll give you a grand to become corrupt!"
  
• Superficial good looks are cheap - Is he attractive? I think that he's ordinary looking and he finds that something of an advantage. If this is a movie, he's played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.
  
• Does he have any pet hates or bad habits? Oh, probably. He's drawn to help - or just talk to - kids, and that's something that could get used against him. He also tends to lecture if you don't stop him.

OK, geez! Enough with the characterization! On to Step Three: Assigning Stats!

I get 49 points for 7 stats. 7 is average (for agents). So let's see:

Strength 5
Endurance 5
Agility 6
Reflexes 7
Perception 9
Intelligence 8
Presence 9

Stage 4: Extra Features. Derived traits. Yay!

Hit Points = Strength + Endurance + 20 = 30
Rank and Level are 1.
Telepathic Energy is Presence + Perception + Intelligence + 10 + 10 (because I'm Comoros) = 46.
Move Speed = Strength + Endurance + Agility = 16.
Internal AI = 1.
I speak Swahili, Hindi and one other language of my choice - how about English.

Stage 5: Assign Skills.

Seriously? Derived traits in the middle again? WTF?

Anyway, I get 1 at level 8, 1 at 7, 1 at 6, 3 each at 5, 4, 3, 2, and 4 at 1. I get to pick a skill to be my Professional Skill. I can't critically fail it and if I roll 00, it's a critical success. It has to be at least 7 and ties in with my concept. OK.

Oh, whoops. I take Telepathics with my Skills, too. So can Telepathics be a Professional Skill? I don't see anything to indicate that it can't. OK, then. I'll take:

Shield 8
Telekinesis 7
Observation 6
Psychology 5
Attitude 5
Lying and Acting 5
Science 4
Street Culture 4
Corporation Knowledge 4
Crime 3
Arts and Culture 3
Stealth 3
Light Firearms 2
Close Combat 2
Assault 2
Jump 1
Athletics 1
Computers & AI 1
Business 1

Stage 6: Trainings.

Specialist areas of expertise. I get "Telepath" for free, and I get two at chargen. Let's see. Well, I want Command, and I have the Presence for it. That adds my rank to any social situation which the GM deems appropriate. And then I'll take Telepathic Adept, giving me 20 more TE.

Stage 7: Licenses.

License to do all kinds of normally non-legal shit. Well, I don't think I get a free Telepathics License - let's check. Nope. So I have to buy that. That costs...Oy. If I want to be able to use all of my powers, I have to burn all of my license points. Actually, that's fine. I think there's others I'd want, but I think this guy would want to be legal and aboveboard with his powers.

Stage 8: Equipment. Oy. I get 6000 monies to buy shit, but y'know I hate doing this stuff. If I were actually going to play, I would, but I think we'll call it for now.

Oh, I need a name. This fella's name is Ahmed Maazouzi, though English-speaking agents call him "Maz," which is fine.

Right, good to go!

Character Creation: The Seventh Seal

There's at least seven, right?

No, not what I mean. Though doing a mashup between this game and, like, Blue Planet or something might be interesting. Anyway:

The Game: The Seventh Seal
The Publisher: Creative Illusions, now defunct, if what once was their website is any indication (it's all Asian lettering spam, I can't tell what language).
Degree of Familiarity: None.
Books Required: Just the one, I guess.

I bought this game at Origins a few years back for all of five bucks, made a copy of the character sheet at Office Max (since you can't find one online, since the company folded), and forgot about it. I want to get it off my list, so here we are. That also means that I don't remember reading it, so I'll be doing that as we go.

The game is billed as a "Roleplaying Game of Prophetic Revelations", a modern occult game taking inspiration from the Revelation of John and other Christian mythology. I have to say, the book's introduction is very well-written, and very tactful. It's clear that the company didn't want to court the nutcase demo (like Christian nutcases roleplay anyway), and the feeling I get reading it is that someone considered Christian occultism a fun setting, albeit one that some people actually believe in.

Anyway, characters are called Sentinels, and they go through a process called "Anointing." Let's see.

The first couple of chapters set up our setting. Basically, the End Times are coming soon, the forces of Legion are...well, Legion. Sentinels get visitations and angelic visions and shit like. It's not bad stuff, and it's pretty tight (unlike White Wolf's setting chapters, which range from well-written but long to Scion). Anyway, getting to Chapter Three, we find the first step: Concept.

Concept is just meant to be a quick summary, but that requires me to think of a character who's going to wind up having visions. Hmm. OK, my character is a rad tech at a hospital who's suffered headaches and dizzy spells all his life. He's never considered that they might have a non-physical cause, but now as a Sentinel he believes they were attempts by the angels to tell him. And he wonders what opportunities and messages he's missed. His name is Thomas Daughtry.

I see Thomas as really big. He's, like, 6 and a half feet, strongly built, not especially graceful but he's learned to be gentle. Good start. What's next?

The Trinity (my stats). Twelve aspects in three categories, Body, Mind and Spirit. They all start at one. We prioritize (sounds familiar) into Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. I get 8 points in Primary, 4 in Secondary and 3 in Tertiary. Hmm.

Well, for Thomas, I think Body needs to be Primary. I allocate points thusly:

Agility 2
Attractiveness (boo. Minus points for making this a stat) 2
Might 3
Vigor 5

Big, strong, tough, not especially graceful.

Spirit can be Secondary.

Aura 2
Faith 1
Inspiration 3
Soul 2

And finally, Mind:

Logic 2
Reason 2
Senses 1
Willpower 2

Moving along to Background. This is occupational stuff. I already know I want Thomas to be a rad tech, someone who performs MRIs and the like. I pick (or make up) a Background Template for Thomas. Well, there's one for Ambulance Paramedic, and the Proficiencies seem to make sense. They are: Human Perception, Medicine, Research, Sciences and Teaching. I think I'll swap out Electronics for Teaching, though. I get 14 points to divvy up.

Human Perception 2
Medicine 2
Research 3
Sciences 3
Electronics 4

I get a free Specialization in Electronics, so I take Medical Equipment.

There. And now, Celestial Order. I pick an Archangel who's my CO in God's Army. I think Raphael makes the most sense. The headaches and the visions could work with Uriel, but the Raphaelites have this focus on personal honesty and self-awareness that I like. So there ya go. I get a free point of Vigor (holy cats, I'm vigorous), Shepherd's Path and Heal, whatever those mean. I get Prophetic Revelations as well. Oh, actually I get two points in Divinities, and I have to take one in Heal. I'll keep one in Heal and take one in Illumine, which gives me the power of Empathy (I can look at people and know their emotions and stuff).

I total my Insight, which is Vigor + Willpower + Soul (10, for now).

Grace is ability to fight off demonic Taint, I suppose. It starts equal to my Faith, or 1. Oy. I'm not real graceful, like I said.

And now, Finishing Touches (again, sounds White-Wolfy). First is a bunch of questions, but I think I'll do Merits & Flaws Benefits and Detriments before that, actually. They have to balance out, and I can take up to six. Let's do Detriments first.

I think I'll take Fragile Will. Thomas is susceptible to suggestion and other mental powers. That's 3 points.

There's an Atheist Detriment, but the way it's phrased actually makes sense. I rather like this game.

I like Corrupted Loved one, but how am I going to tie it in with those headaches? Hmm. Well. I think I'll take Headaches as a Detriment and just use the system from Allergy - when the headaches crop up, I take a -2 to all dice pools until they go away.

Now, six points in Benefits. I'll take Mechanically Inclined, just because I'm not, and it'd be fun to play. That's 3 points. I'll take Apartment, since I apparently have to live somewhere. And because my concept is coming into focus more, I'll take Snitch. And now, the 20 questions bit.

Thomas Daughtry grew up in Chicago, and was a decent student but a better athlete. After high school, though, he stopped playing football - it wasn't that he didn't like it, but his teammates who were serious about it never did anything else. Thomas knew that he didn't want to do it for a living (high salary aside), and knocked about for a few years doing odd jobs. Then he scraped some money together and went to school to be a rad tech.

Thomas grew up Lutheran, though his family wasn't especially devout. He had an aunt who was extremely fervent, and used to pray over Thomas when he got his headaches. At least, he thought she was praying. When he turned 28 or so and Raphael Anointed Thomas, he learned the truth. Aunt Emma was a demon, or corrupted by one, or something. She's still in there somewhere, but the thing controlling her or tempting her or whatever, was suppressing Thomas' Divine gifts. That might be the source of the headaches, indeed.

Aunt Emma is still evil, but she gives Thomas information now and then, in return for him not pointing any other Sentinels her way. He knows that this is wrong, but he can't quite reconcile himself to the notion of killing or exorcising his aunt.

Thomas is a devoted Bears fan, but he's not rabid about it. He gets along with people easily and his happy to work on their cars and electronics for the price of a good pizza. Deep down, he wonders how many of the ailments he sees in his day job are caused - or exacerbated - by Legion. There's just no way to know.

Character Creation: Strike Force 7

Like Fox Force 5, kinda. 

The Game: Strike Force 7
The Publisher: Super Genius Games
Degree of Familiarity: None with this particular game, though I know Savage Worlds pretty well.
Books Required: Explorer's Edition and the SF7 pdf (which I got as part of a bundle).

So, this is a game in which you play members of an elite American military force dedicated to rooting out terrorist organizations like COBRA Skorpion. Choosing this game today was not an accident. Consider it my tribute to our SEALs.

Anyway, the first thing book asks me to think about is who my guy was before joining the team. Obviously he had to have some military or police background. I think I shall go military, and since I'm feeling feisty about the whole "god" thing, I think I'll have him be an outspoken atheist, like me.

(Side note: I don't often play atheist characters in RPGs. Sometimes I do, but more often I play characters with some degree of faith, and I have a special fondness for Catholics. Largely that's because evangelicals are assholes and I don't want to play one [not you, of course], but partially it's because I roleplay to get out of my own head a little. Also, as I've mentioned before, in RPGs there's generally some tangible effect to religious devotion, which would then make believing in it somewhat rational, unlike the real world. Moving on.)

Sgt. Joseph Carl Heder, from Memphis, TN, did damn good work for the Army. He entered as a Specialist with a degree in, let's say, chemistry, and got to work as an EOD guy (if I'm fucking up terminology, you'll just have to bear with me - never served in the military and can't be arsed to get the terms right just at the moment). He made some brief headlines when one of his superiors tried to make him pray before going out to disarm a bomb, and he refused. The sergeant kept him back and assigned a young, but more pious, EOD soldier to disarm the bomb. It detonated, killing the EOD guy and the sergeant. Heder was promoted to sergeant, but the publicity from the incident made him skittish because it got misinterpreted and misreported to hell and back.

Heder stayed in, but had trouble getting promoted past where he was because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. Religion runs deep in the Army, and if he'd just shut up and bowed his head, he'd probably have been fine. But he made it hard to ignore - he deliberately didn't bow his head, didn't pray and didn't let people get away with being condescending about it (in fairness, you can only hear that "no atheists in foxholes" thing so many times before you kind of snap).

And then he met General Marion Wayne, the CO of Strike Force 7 (and to the author, I see what you did there). Wayne might not be an atheist himself (his write-up in the book doesn't say), but he definitely can respect wanting to be left to your own beliefs, and he appreciated Heder's attention to detail and his work ethic. He recruited Heder for Strike Force 7.

Whew. OK, I need to pick a code name. SF7 is big on those. Well, what everyone knows Heder for is how two guys got killed because he wouldn't pray (that's an oversimplification, but y'know). Folks started to call him Jinx, but he put the kibosh on that because he'd seen Die Another Day, and looks nothing like Halle Berry, thanks. Instead, he got a tattoo of a black cat and played up the "I'm totally bad luck" thing, and folks started calling him Black Cat.

And then someone pointed out that Black Cat is also a hot chick with luck powers. Balls. Can't win for losing.

Anyway, I gotta pick a team. This is kind of my function within SF7, sorta. Hm. Could be either Military Ops or Counter-Terrorist, and I like the latter's bonus package more. That nets me

•  +1 die type to Agility and Vigor.
•  +1 bonus to Notice and Stealth rolls.
•  +1 bonus to Fighting rolls when attacking during a Surprise action.
•  Bonus Edge: any combat edge. You must still meet all the requirements for the edge.
•  Strike Force 7 Team Member Edge

Moving on. Attributes. I start with a d6 in Agility and Vigor, which is nice. I'll put Agility up to d10 (for disarming bombs), and put my other three in Spirit, Smarts and Strength for a d6 in each.

Skills. I get 15 points, and I've got a d4 in Notice and Stealth already. Wonder what Skill you use to disarm bombs? Repair, I guess. OK.

Climbing d4
Driving d4
Fighting d6
Guts d6
Knowledge (Chemistry) d4
Knowledge (Combat Engineering) d4
Notice d6
Repair d10
Shooting d6
Stealth d4

Good to start. Now, Hindrances (which is misspelled a couple of times. Come on, guys).

I want none of the three listed in the SF7 book, so back to the core!

Well, Arrogant doesn't fit, but Big Mouth sure does. That's minor. I'll take Doubting Thomas, too, why not. The flavor text doesn't thrill me, and I'd probably RP it differently than the implied "stick fingers in ears and say LALALA when confronted by supernatural shit", but the game effect works for me.

And then my Major one. Hmm. I think I'll take Code of Honor. Heber takes his vows very seriously, and he he swore an oath (without a Bible, thanks) when he became a solider and when he joined SF7. He does not break the laws of combat, and he doesn't go in for this waterboarding shit. Not just because it's, y'know, torture, but because it doesn't work well, either.

Now, Edges. I get Strike Force 7 Member for free. I also get a free combat Edge, and then a freebie. Hmm. OK, some of the Combat ones in the SF7 book are fun, but I want Steady Hands, which means I don't take a penalty from shooting from unstable platforms.

For my free Edge, I'll take Alertness. Seems appropriate for EOD.

Now I get my points from my Hindrances. I'll put all four points into Skills, bumping up my Fighting, Stealth and both my Knowledges.

Just Derived Traits: My Pace is 6'', my Parry is 6, my Toughness is 5, my Charisma is 0. And normally I'd pick gear, but eh.

OK, then! Black Cat is reporting for duty, ready to give all for God and country!

Character Creation: Hellcats & Hockeysticks

 We're goin' down to raid the tuck shop!

The Game: Hellcats and Hockeysticks
The Publisher: Corone Design
Degree of Familiarity: None. I read it because I was going to run a one-shot in Seattle, and then that didn't happen.
Books Required: Just the one, which I have.

OK, so our characters (I'm doing this alongside Michelle) are girls at St. Erisian's, a private girl's school in England. The game is inspired by some TV shows or something set at something called "St. Trinian's." We don't have any Trinians in America (sounds like a Star Trek race), so I'm kind of flying blind.

The first thing the book asks us to consider why we're at St. Erisian's. I could play a transplanted American, but eh. I can do a passable English accent.

I'll say my character - Stella Dunwich - is a St. Erisian's legacy. Her mother, grandmother and two aunts all went there. And they raved about how much fun it was, to the point that Stella couldn't wait to go. And then she got there and...good lord, is she missing something? This place is horrible. Insane, and not in the fun and goofy way, in the "these people are fucking insane" way. But she doesn't want to break her mother's heart, so she keeps it low. For now. She might hit the breaking point. (Michelle adds, "And go all GLADoS?" Yes.)

OK, next step! Clique! Stella, I think, is kind of clueless in a sweet and innocent way. That makes her a Sweetheart. My special power is Butter Wouldn't Melt (no one thinks me capable of misdeeds).

Now I get 20 skill points, 5 of which have to be spent on my clique skills (which are English, Social Studies, Drama and Veterinary). I think I shall be looking up these skills. (Do note, too, that the names of the skills are deliberately mimicking class subjects, which misleads a little. If I want to lie or cajole, I'm using English.)

Drama 1
English 1
Social Studies 3
Veterinary 2
Computer Science 2
Current Affairs 1
Games (Track and Field) 1
Maths 2
Religious Studies 2 (this is the occult skill, and I'm thinking Stella knows more than she realizes)

Now, Willpower. We all begin with 10 points. Easy enough.

I can choose a personality trait, if I wish. There's no real game effect, just a way to define Stella's personality. I know what I want, though (it's not on the list). I pick Random. Stella has this weird habit of just saying things, sometimes things that have no immediate antecedent. Think River Tam without the psychic powers.

Now we choose Best Friends and Rivals. These would be people in the group that are, well, best friends or rivals. That is, we're all friends, but one person (for each of us) is just someone that we can't stand for whatever reason. Since there are only two of us, however, it advises us to pick which the other is, a Best Friend or a Rival.

Well, Moira is my Best Friend. She's Scottish, which is exotic (yes, that's how freaking sheltered Stella is), and she's gothed out and beautiful. She's tragically hip and edgy and sullen. Stella has kind of a girl-crush.

But, I have to have a Secret Loathing about her. It's this: Moira talks in her sleep. And she says horrible, blasphemous things, calling down the souls of her dead parents to wreak vengeance! That or she's naming all of the Cure albums, it's actually hard to tell.

And that's me done, actually. Rock on!