I'd like to get to 100 characters for 2022, which would require 14 more before year's end. I can probably make that happen.
The Game: No Angels Live Here
The Publisher: Thought Police
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one
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| PDF of the game doesn't include the cover, which is annoying |
This is a dirty hippie indie game, and I love those, but it's also GM-less, which I love less. Don't get me wrong, some of my favorite RPG experiences have been with GMless games (I've been chasing the high of the first time I played Fiasco for years, and I love The Skeletons and Our Last Best Hope, and A Tragedy in Five Acts, of course), but doing mystery games this way is always tricky. And yeah, you can do it (see also We Used to be Friends), but it's not a natural fit.
So with No Angels Live Here, you're playing a detective in a noir-ish urban supernatural setting, maybe a little more serious than Dresden but not as nutty as Don't Rest Your Head. I love noir, as I've mentioned, so the setting and the idea appeals. The game engine is set up around figuring out options and then rolling for them, though, and it didn't quite click for me. I'm trying to decide if the idea is interesting enough to me to dive back in once I've made a character, and I think the idea is "not tonight because I'm tired and sad", but maybe someday.
Anyway! No character sheet for this 'n. Chargen proceeds thusly:
A good noir name for my detective, hmm. Let's say his name is Mark Merrill. I don't know that he needs a nickname, but I'll pick one if one occurs to me.
A good name for the detective agency! This would be a group decision if I had a group, but since I don't, I'll say Merrill's agency is called No Stone Unturned.
A dark memory...well, having just watch the first episode of Cabinet of Curiosities (which I recommend), my brain is kind of in a "discovery of hideous secrets" place. So we'll say Mark remembers opening his dad's Army footlocker when he was a boy. He doesn't remember what he saw, he just remembers that his dad grabbed him away, tanned his hide, and then took the footlocker out of the house and he never saw it again. But there was something in that box, and it wasn't silent...
Motivation for this line of work! Mark trusts everyone exactly equally. That isn't to say he doesn't trust anyone or that he trusts everyone - he assumes, or rather knows, that everything has a point at which they will stab another person in the leg to make sure they're the one that gets to run away. Everyone has that point. There's no sense in denying it and pretending otherwise. Mark has a good nose for figuring out where that point is for other people, and being a private dick makes good use of that talent.
Talents! I get one Expert, 3 Trained, and one Clumsy. Let's see.
So, for Expert, I think Examining makes the most sense. For Trained, definitely Awareness, and probably Searching. I think Talking makes sense, too. For Clumsy, I'll make it Protecting. Mark's just not great at being a bodyguard.
One major Dark Talent and one minor. Well, I think his "know a person's price" thing is a good minor talent, honestly. And then for major...hmm. This is on the level of telekinesis or driving out demons. I think maybe a limited-range teleport; only 20 feet at most and only line of sight, but useful for getting out of jams quickly.
One Temptation, one Damnation, but these are ratings, not things I describe. 3 Determination, likewise. So that's actually it.
Mark Merrill wears a grey hat and coat when weather permits (and since this is noir, it'll always be raining, so that's fine). He dresses the part, white shirt and black tie and all. He's balding, which is part of the reason for the hat. He doesn't bother with the "taciturn loner" thing, though - he's happy to talk. Best way to get to know someone and find out what they would and wouldn't do.
Name: Mark Merrill
Agency: No Stone Unturned
Motivation: Got a Knack for Knowing People's Prices
Talents: Examining (Expert), Awareness (Trained), Searching (Trained), Talking (Trained), Protecting (Clumsy)
Dark Talents: Teleport (Major), Know the Soul's Price (Minor)
Temptation: 1 Damnation: 1 Determination: 3
That'll do it!
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