Character Construction - Help A Newbie to GURPS
Kevin Gross
I'm coming back to FRP games after a 7 year absense. I'm trying to revive my game world. GURPS character creation is a wonderfully flexible tool, but there seems to be a lot to keep track of. What I'd like is for some of you more experienced GURPers to take a shot at building an NPC with the following restrictions:
100 Starting Points
50 Point Disadvantage Limit
50 points "Experience" when complete to "build up or buy off disads)
===========================================================================
Character: Colin Casey, 2nd Lt., 1st Cavalry Division, Almeign Valley Security Force.
Skills He Must Have:
Self-Loading Rifle (TL6)
Cavalry Sabre (as broadsword)
Diplomacy
Carousing
Tactics
Persuade
Leadership
Charisma
Optional: Investigation;Intelligence Gathering
Character background:
Colin Casey is a young commander in the newly-formed Almeign Valley Security Force. He's a cavalry officer - much closer to Custer's Civil War cavalry than the classic "Knight on Horseback."
Colin is 2nd son of the influential Casey clan. The Casey are a prominent voice in the Almeign Valley Merchants Council (a sort of proto-chamber of commerce). The Casey run a multi-thousand acre cattle ranch in the north-most reaches of Co. Pim. Before becoming a military man, Colin spent most of his childhood either being tutuored by his Uncle Fiachre in arts of administering the family business or participating from a very young age in the annual cattle drive to Arklow (a 250 mile one way journey). Colin lives on horseback! He feels funny when walking: like his bottom half is missing.
Colin is brave - to a fault. He does things that "normal" people consider dangerous without hesitation (or sometimes without a second thought) because it doesn't occur to him that they might be painful or difficult. When Colin fails, it's a surprise to him.
Colin decided early that if he stayed on the ranch, he'd be stuck there all his life and have only the masterful ability to rope, spit and swear to show for it. Colin arrived as a young recurit in the county militia, determined to make a splash - and after getting laid up in the hospital a few times while recklessly performing his duties, he was noticed by "higher ups" to be ambitious and "teachable."
Colin has good relations with his large family, but has no guaranteed stake in their lucrative cattle trade. The best he can expect from his family is that they'll occasionally "pull strings" for him. He lives comfortably in the county seat of Miller's Ferry on his commanders salary (and given escalating living standards there, this may or may not require miserliness).
Colin is a neat freak. His small home is immaculately clean, and he carries a brush to "tidy up" his uniform should it become dusty or otherwise soiled.
Because of his religious background, he loathes disorganization.
Colin is relentlessly cheerful - almost "perky." A really up guy. "Legally Blonde with a block and tackle."
Finally, Colin is honest, sometimes to his political disadvantage.
Colin's primary duties as a 2nd Louie - Recruit "peacekeepers" and command a company of cavalry "scouts."
================================================================================================
Can this even be DONE on 150 points?
Send me character sheets, or post replies here with the results. What I hope to learn by watching you experienced types is how to build characters of this nature with as little wasted CP as possible.
Jefferson
> ===========================================================================
> Character: Colin Casey, 2nd Lt., 1st Cavalry Division, Almeign Valley
"Not spectacular, but a promising young officer. He needs to settle down
and decide what he really wants to do with his life."
ST 10, DX 10, IQ 10, HT 10
Languages: Native Spoken & Written [2]
Advantages: Animal Friend/4 [20], Appearance (Handsome) [12], Charisma [5],
Combat Reflexes [15], Daredevil [15], Military Rank/3 [15], Patron: Family
(Fairly Powerful Organization on 6-) [5]
Disadvantages: Code of Honor/3 [-15], Duty (Extremely Hazardous on 15-)
[-15], Wealth: Struggling [-10]
Quirks: "Neat Freak," Wants to prove himself to his family, Always
Cheerful, Likes to Party, Likes variety
Skills: Administration/10 [2], Animal Handling (cattle)/13 [1], Animal
Handling (equines)/16 [8], Broadsword/12 [8], Carousing/10 [1], Diplomacy/8
[1], Fast-Talk/10 [2], Guns (Rifle)/15 [16], Lasso/12 [8], Leadership/12
[4], Mathematics/8 [1], Packing/11 [0], Public Speaking/10 [1], Riding
(Equines)/15 [3], Soldier/11 [4], Tactics/8 [1], Teamster (Equines)/13 [0],
Veterinary/10 [0].
Character Points: Stats 0, Advantages 89, Disadvantages -50, Skills 61 =
Total 100
--
Jefferson
http://www.picotech.net/~jeff_wilson63/rpg/
Kevin Gross
Jeff's Calc =
Total 100
The interesting philosophy he seemed to take in the design is to not buy ANY stats. Is this a normal GURPS tactic? Since many rolls are based on STAT +/- something, it would seem to this beginner that purchasing stats is a good way to increase the character's chance of success in a broad range of areas. STATs, however, are outrageously expensive! Is this perception one of the traps of GURPS character design? Would it be wiser to spend points upping certain crucial abilities than spending those points on the STATs that rule some of them?
Good work, Jeff. You're the first respondent, and hopefully not the last.
Was there enough information in the character profile to work from?
Kevin Gross
One thing Jeff did miss in the design was the loaded easy 10 point disadvantage for Honesty, and a hint at the Miserly disad (which isn't really compatible with the Carousing skill anyway).
One thing that he picked up was the inflationary economy in the booming Miller's Ferry. Good eye!
Jefferson
> One thing Jeff did miss in the design was the loaded easy 10 point
> disadvantage for Honesty,
Nope, Honesty and Truthfulness were subsumed into Code of Honor. With more
disads I would have put Honesty, Truthfulness, and a 5-pt code of honor on
the sheet.
> and a hint at the Miserly disad (which isn't
> really compatible with the Carousing skill anyway).
Missed this or I would have made a quirk "Cautious about expenses."
> One thing that he picked up was the inflationary economy in the booming
> Miller's Ferry. Good eye!
Jefferson
> Jeff's Calc =
> Character Points: Stats 0, Advantages 89, Disadvantages -50, Skills 61 =
> Total 100
>
> Jeff allocated 150 total points and took 50 points of disads for a net
> total of (up to) 200, which is pretty much what I had in mind. His
> design very closely hewed to the character description: his Colin is a
> hot-shot young cavalry commander with outstanding marksmanship and
> horsemanship abilities and a broad base of other talents.
Depending on your game a skill of 16 may or may not be outstanding. I
consider 16 to be superior and 18 to be outstanding.
> The interesting philosophy he seemed to take in the design is to not buy
> ANY stats. Is this a normal GURPS tactic?
No. This is the first time I've ever done it. It was effective because of
the way the skills were distributed. A different distribution or starting
point total would probably result in buying stats. (At one point I had the
character with IQ 11 & DX 11 at 110 points.)
> Since many rolls are based
> on STAT +/- something, it would seem to this beginner that purchasing
> stats is a good way to increase the character's chance of success in a
> broad range of areas.
Yes. However, in 4e Talents are a much better deal for almost the same
effect. They're also much more satisfactory for character specialization.
Consider this character with Smooth Talker replacing Animal Friend.
> STATs, however, are outrageously expensive! Is
> this perception one of the traps of GURPS character design? Would it be
> wiser to spend points upping certain crucial abilities than spending
> those points on the STATs that rule some of them?
It depends on the character and game. In a game with a lot of combat or
another character to handle the social stuff it might be worthwhile for
this character to drop the social skills and Animal Friend and buy up DX.
> Good work, Jeff. You're the first respondent, and hopefully not the last.
>
> Was there enough information in the character profile to work from?
I prefer more information about the game world, but there was enough
information there. Part of the problem I had was inserting _all_ the
required skills. With GURPS's defaults you typically only need one skill
of a type unless unless it's something your character is specialized in or
is a skill central to the campaign.
--
Jefferson
http://www.picotech.net/~jeff_wilson63/rpg/
Phil Masters
<Jeff_W...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>ST 10, DX 10, IQ 10, HT 10
A career soldier living a healthy outdoor life will usually acquire
above-average HT. A PC intended for long-term play just plain NEEDS it
- look how many rolls to decide whether you live or die, or at least
get back in action sooner rather than much later, are based on HT.
At minimum, I'd go for HT 11 plus Fit.
Plus, well, for an effective horseman/fighter, I'd make sure to get DX
11+, just because. It pays off in all sorts of ways.
>Advantages: Animal Friend/4 [20], Appearance (Handsome) [12], Charisma [5],
>Combat Reflexes [15], Daredevil [15], Military Rank/3 [15], Patron: Family
>(Fairly Powerful Organization on 6-) [5]
"Colin is brave - to a fault." Not in this version, he isn't; Will 10
is strictly average. Even if you don't buy his Will up, a couple of
levels of Fearlessness would seem to be indicated as an absolute
minimum requirement.
>Disadvantages: Code of Honor/3 [-15]
15-pointer Codes of Honour are a restrictive rarity, especially in the
modern world. That's bushido or Arthurian chivalry. There's nothing in
his description to support more than a 10-pointer.
--
Phil Masters http://www.philm.demon.co.uk
Consternation: RPG Convention, Cambridge, 2005:
http://www.consternation.org.uk/
Warren Okuma
David Johnston
wrote:
>This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
Please. I'm begging you guys. Turn off the damn MIME!
Jefferson
> Remember to put the minimum points into skills (just one point), except
> for a skill or two, then throw the rest of your points into stats.
Good advice for 3e. Inappropriate for 4e.
Rupert Boleyn
<Jeff_W...@bigfoot.com> carved upon a tablet of ether:
> Warren Okuma wrote:
>
> > Remember to put the minimum points into skills (just one point), except
> > for a skill or two, then throw the rest of your points into stats.
>
> Good advice for 3e. Inappropriate for 4e.
Still works in 4e, just with different break-points.
--
Rupert Boleyn <rbo...@paradise.net.nz>
"Just because the truth will set you free doesn't mean the truth itself
should be free."
Jefferson
> On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 16:55:45 -0600, Jefferson
> <Jeff_W...@bigfoot.com> carved upon a tablet of ether:
>>Warren Okuma wrote:
>>
>>>Remember to put the minimum points into skills (just one point), except
>>>for a skill or two, then throw the rest of your points into stats.
>>
>>Good advice for 3e. Inappropriate for 4e.
>
> Still works in 4e, just with different break-points.
I didn't say it wouldn't work, I said it was inappropriate advice, and with
the addition of Talents it is.
David Johnston
wrote:
>This is a multipart message in MIME format.
>--=_alternative 0002A3C488257026_=
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
>I'm coming back to FRP games after a 7 year absense. I'm trying to revive
>my game world. GURPS character creation is a wonderfully flexible tool,
>but there seems to be a lot to keep track of. What I'd like is for some
>of you more experienced GURPers to take a shot at building an NPC with the
>following restrictions:
>
>100 Starting Points
>50 Point Disadvantage Limit
>50 points "Experience" when complete to "build up or buy off disads)
>
I don't exactly understand that third line.
Rob Kelk
<rbo...@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 16:55:45 -0600, Jefferson
><Jeff_W...@bigfoot.com> carved upon a tablet of ether:
>
>> Warren Okuma wrote:
>>
>> > Remember to put the minimum points into skills (just one point), except
>> > for a skill or two, then throw the rest of your points into stats.
>>
>> Good advice for 3e. Inappropriate for 4e.
>
>Still works in 4e, just with different break-points.
It still works, but Talents work better...
--
Rob Kelk Personal address (ROT-13): eboxryx -ng- tznvy -qbg- pbz
"As far as Doug is concerned, "dignity" is just a tragic disease that
other people suffer from."
- Bob Schroeck, talking about his V&V character, 15 March 2005
peste...@river-valley.net
Jefferson wrote:
> Languages: Native Spoken & Written [2]
Your native language spoken and written is free, if he knows two other
languages it's [6] per language
> Advantages: Animal Friend/4 [20], Appearance (Handsome) [12], Charisma [5],
> Combat Reflexes [15], Daredevil [15], Military Rank/3 [15], Patron: Family
> (Fairly Powerful Organization on 6-) [5]
>
> Disadvantages: Code of Honor/3 [-15], Duty (Extremely Hazardous on 15-)
> [-15], Wealth: Struggling [-10]
I'd drop the Code of Honor to [-10], that's gentleman's code level. -15
level sometimes requires suicide if broken.
> Skills: Administration/10 [2], Animal Handling (cattle)/13 [1], Animal
> Handling (equines)/16 [8], Broadsword/12 [8], Carousing/10 [1], Diplomacy/8
> [1], Fast-Talk/10 [2], Guns (Rifle)/15 [16], Lasso/12 [8], Leadership/12
> [4], Mathematics/8 [1], Packing/11 [0], Public Speaking/10 [1], Riding
> (Equines)/15 [3], Soldier/11 [4], Tactics/8 [1], Teamster (Equines)/13 [0],
> Veterinary/10 [0].
I'd add Savoir-Faire(High Society), Survival(Plains), maybe
Observation, Navigation(land), and maybe other skills depending on his
exact military role.
I think you can drop the Guns(Rifle) by a few points, as long as he has
time to aim he'll be getting an Acc. bonus. Soldiers usually dismounted
before firing anyway, having to shoot from horseback shouldn't be that
common.
David Johnston
wrote:
>This is a multipart message in MIME format.
MIME. Horrible MIME. Why must you torment me so?
>--=_alternative 0002A3C488257026_=
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
>I'm coming back to FRP games after a 7 year absense. I'm trying to revive
>my game world. GURPS character creation is a wonderfully flexible tool,
>but there seems to be a lot to keep track of. What I'd like is for some
>of you more experienced GURPers to take a shot at building an NPC with the
>following restrictions:
You know, nobody's really experienced any more. The new rules set
puts us all back at the starting post.
>Can this even be DONE on 150 points?
>
>Send me character sheets, or post replies here with the results. What I
>hope to learn by watching you experienced types is how to build characters
>of this nature with as little wasted CP as possible.
>
ST-10
DX-10
IQ-12
HT-11
Advantages: Attractive (5 points) Voice (10 points), Combat Reflexes
(15 Points), Hard to Kill 1 (2 points), Military Rank 3 (15 points)
Status 1 (Free from Military Rank), Fearlessness 2 (4 points)
Patron (Family) 6- (5 points),
Disadvantages: Soldier's Code of Honor (-10 points), Overconfident
(-10 points), Duty, all the time, hazardous (-20 points), Struggling
(-10 points)
Quirks:
Neat Freak
Hates to walk when he can ride.
Regular church goer.
Regular partier
A bit too cheerful
(Bonuses for Voice not included)
Skills: Animal Handling/Equines 15/12, Animal Handling/Bovines 13/0,
Area Knowledge/Almeign Valley 12/1, Broadsword 11/4, Carousing 12/2,
Cartography 11/1, First Aid 12/1, Guns/Rifle (TL6) 12/4, Lasso 11/4,
Leadership 11/1 Merchant 11/1, Public Speaking 11/1, Riding 15/12,
Soldier 11/1, Survival/Plains 12/2, Tactics 10/1, Teamster 14/0,
Tracking 11/1,
Stats: 50
Advantages: 56
Skills: 49
Disadvantages and Quirks -55
David Johnston
<Jeff_W...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>Kevin Gross wrote:
>
>> ===========================================================================
>> Character: Colin Casey, 2nd Lt., 1st Cavalry Division, Almeign Valley
>
>"Not spectacular, but a promising young officer. He needs to settle down
>and decide what he really wants to do with his life."
>
>ST 10, DX 10, IQ 10, HT 10
>
>Languages: Native Spoken & Written [2]
>
>Advantages: Animal Friend/4 [20], Appearance (Handsome) [12], Charisma [5],
>Combat Reflexes [15], Daredevil [15], Military Rank/3 [15], Patron: Family
>(Fairly Powerful Organization on 6-) [5]
>
>Disadvantages: Code of Honor/3 [-15], Duty (Extremely Hazardous on 15-)
>[-15], Wealth: Struggling [-10]
>
>Quirks: "Neat Freak," Wants to prove himself to his family, Always
>Cheerful, Likes to Party, Likes variety
>
>Skills: Administration/10 [2], Animal Handling (cattle)/13 [1], Animal
He's never worked in a large bureaucracy. I'd suggest Merchant
instead. He also gets Animal Handling/Bovine for free as a default
from his high Equine handling score. It's only a -2.
>Handling (equines)/16 [8], Broadsword/12 [8], Carousing/10 [1], Diplomacy/8
Carousing's a little low. Promising young officers do not make a
regular habit out of making bloody fools out of themselves in bars.
Diplomacy is friggin' useless. He'd be better off just relying on his
high base reaction roll.
Jefferson
> On Sun, 19 Jun 2005 19:51:45 -0600, Jefferson
> <Jeff_W...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>>Kevin Gross wrote:
>>
>>>===========================================================================
>>> Character: Colin Casey, 2nd Lt., 1st Cavalry Division, Almeign Valley
>>
>>"Not spectacular, but a promising young officer. He needs to settle down
>>and decide what he really wants to do with his life."
>>
>>ST 10, DX 10, IQ 10, HT 10
>>
>>Languages: Native Spoken & Written [2]
>>
>>Advantages: Animal Friend/4 [20], Appearance (Handsome) [12], Charisma [5],
>>Combat Reflexes [15], Daredevil [15], Military Rank/3 [15], Patron: Family
>>(Fairly Powerful Organization on 6-) [5]
>>
>>Disadvantages: Code of Honor/3 [-15], Duty (Extremely Hazardous on 15-)
>>[-15], Wealth: Struggling [-10]
>>
>>Quirks: "Neat Freak," Wants to prove himself to his family, Always
>>Cheerful, Likes to Party, Likes variety
>>
>>Skills: Administration/10 [2], Animal Handling (cattle)/13 [1], Animal
>
> He's never worked in a large bureaucracy. I'd suggest Merchant
> instead.
Running a business is Administration and is more easily taught and tested
than Merchant. However, you're probably right, the character seems more
likely to learn Merchant and blow off Administration than vice versa.
> He also gets Animal Handling/Bovine for free as a default
> from his high Equine handling score. It's only a -2.
Missed that. Put the point into an appropriate Area Knowledge skill.
(Which I saw on your write-up and kicked myself for not including in mine.)
>>Handling (equines)/16 [8], Broadsword/12 [8], Carousing/10 [1], Diplomacy/8
>
> Carousing's a little low. Promising young officers do not make a
> regular habit out of making bloody fools out of themselves in bars.
I consider a skill of 10 enough to avoid making a fool of yourself. If he
was someone everyone wants a party that would warrant a 12+.
> Diplomacy is friggin' useless. He'd be better off just relying on his
> high base reaction roll.
Agreed, but it was on the "must have" skill list.
>>[1], Fast-Talk/10 [2], Guns (Rifle)/15 [16], Lasso/12 [8], Leadership/12
>>[4], Mathematics/8 [1], Packing/11 [0], Public Speaking/10 [1], Riding
>>(Equines)/15 [3], Soldier/11 [4], Tactics/8 [1], Teamster (Equines)/13 [0],
>>Veterinary/10 [0].
>>
>>Character Points: Stats 0, Advantages 89, Disadvantages -50, Skills 61 =
>>Total 100
David Johnston
<Jeff_W...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
>>>[1], Fast-Talk/10 [2], Guns (Rifle)/15 [16], Lasso/12 [8], Leadership/12
>>>[4], Mathematics/8 [1], Packing/11 [0], Public Speaking/10 [1], Riding
>>>(Equines)/15 [3], Soldier/11 [4], Tactics/8 [1], Teamster (Equines)/13 [0],
>>>Veterinary/10 [0].
>>>
>>>Character Points: Stats 0, Advantages 89, Disadvantages -50, Skills 61 =
>>>Total 100
>
Y'know the funny thing is, I almost always seem to end up with roughly
equal Stat/Advantage/Skill allocation unless I'm deliberately trying
to do something bizarre.
Alexander Case
Nobody likes Mimes. (Though you've got to admit, they are quiet.)
Phil Masters
>50 Point Disadvantage Limit
>50 points "Experience" when complete to "build up or buy off disads)
Okay; you have a 150-point budget (plus disads, but this character
doesn't appear to be so flaky and deranged or otherwise troubled to
justify a full 50 easily) to build a promising officer with useful
social connections. This is possible; if the budget was down to 100,
well, you'd have to focus on the promise, and accept that much of it
is unrealised as yet, but 150 should be okay, so long as you accept
that this guy is a highly competent beginner rather than a cinematic
hero.
So let's start with the primary attributes:
ST: There's nothing in the biography to suggest that he's anything
special - and cavalry officers don't get the ditch-digging duties that
build gross musculature. Still, he's always lead a healthy outdoor
life with some physical work, and there's all those sword drills.
Let's say ST 11 [10] for now; 12 will be easy to justify if we end up
with points to spare.
DX: Again, no reason for this to be very high or low, but he's an
accomplished rider and swordsman, and more to the point, he's a PC,
who we want to be survivable. Let's say DX 11 [20].
IQ: Nothing special here - the diplomatic and command skills will be
boosted by his charisma rather than brains, and the experience with
animals can be treated as a Talent if necessary. Let's leave this at
10. (Still, he's promising and "teachable" - we'll reserve the right
to raise it if we can afford to.)
HT: Again, a healthy outdoor life, and a generally rugged young
fellow, and a PC who we want to survive the vicissitudes of an
adventuring career. 12+ would be very easy to justify, but let's stick
with HT 11 [10] for now - but make a note to take the Fit advantage,
which is appropriate and very useful here.
And so on to secondary characteristics. There's no need to mess with
weird stuff like lifting or striking ST, and no obvious justification
to fiddle with HP or FP. Likewise, there's no explicit justification
for improving his Per - he could *use* some improvement there in his
career, but that's something he may have to learn the hard way.
Two things do merit points spent, though. First, this fellow is
notably brave and kind of determined. We'll reflect some of the former
with Fearlessness (and disadvantages), but let's give him an all-round
Will 12 [10] - it's heroic. And second, he's currently Basic Speed
5.5. Well, he's not especially quick - but he's a trained fighter, and
PCs tend to benefit from gaining the initiative on occasion, so let's
buy that up to Basic Speed 6.0 [10]. We can then leave his Move at a
nice handy 6.
<Expenditure so far: 60 points. Quite restrained, actually, but we're
keeping our options open.>
Build and Appearance: Nothing explicit here. Attractive wouldn't be
implausible (fresh-faced, amiable young cowboy type and all that), but
he's going to be getting Charisma anyway. Conversely, none of the
mildly irritating tics sound like a full-blown Odious Personal Habit.
Social Background: Nothing explicit here either. He seems to operate
at his world's standard TL and in just one culture, he's presumably
fully literate, and he doesn't seem to speak any other languages.
(Though one might be tempted to put a point or two into some sort of
"local native" language for colour.)
Wealth and Influence: Well, to start with, he's a second lieutenant,
which means Military Rank 3 [15]. I'm going to assume that this is the
sort of setting where that gets him an automatic Status +1; if it
isn't, given his officer-and-a-young-gentleman character concept,
you're really going to have to find 5 more points from somewhere.
That Status generally requires a Comfortable income to support it, and
even if his pay isn't *too* great, he comes from a well-off
background; I think that Comfortable Wealth [10] is required. (I'm
sure that he rides a good horse and his sword has nice brass
furnishings and all.) It doesn't sound like he gets any Independent
Income from his family, though the concept would permit that, or that
he has serious outstanding Debts. He has managed to get himself
noticed by the brass (and doubtless his immediate colleagues) as an
enthusiastic, promising young officer; say, +1 Reputation, Large Class
(for game purposes - the officer corps are important people from his
point of view, though they'd rate as a Small Class in many games) [2].
(If he needs many more points, he could also rate a negative rep among
fellow officers as a pushy jumped-up farmboy, or among the other ranks
as the sort of brave, overconfident, upper-class squirt who gets his
men into deep sh*t and then takes the credit for pulling a few
survivors out again. But we'll leave that for now.)
<Running points total; another 27 takes him up to 87.>
Okay, so let's move on to more general Advantages. First, there's his
family. Okay, so they won't do much more than occasionally "pull
strings" for him, but that's not to be sniffed at, and they
potentially provide a big safe place for him to retreat to in real
emergencies, some good advice on the cattle business, and a name which
means something in society. That makes them a Patron, I think, but he
can't depend on them too much, so we'll say Powerful Organization.
Appears 9-, Minimal Intervention [5]. (Yet again, it'd be easy to
justify making them a bit better if we get the points.)
Second, there's his Charisma. This is notable, and seems to be
ensuring that this rather brash young lieutenant with no great
academic ability is well-regarded by the brass and not obviously
unpopular with his men - indeed, he's quite the leader. So let's say
Charisma 2 [10].
Third, there's his bravery, verging on brashness. He keeps succeeding
despite this, indeed it almost seems *because* of it, so Daredevil
[15] seems appropriate. The courage is ingrained, too, so let's add
Fearlessness +2 [4].
And finally, there's other stuff: Combat Reflexes [15] (not formally
justified by his biography, but he's a trained fighter who keeps
surviving despite himself, and it just seems to fit, and anyway, he's
a PC), Fit [5] (for reasons previously explained), and Talent (Animal
Friend) 1 [5] (because he was raised on a ranch, and frankly, it's a
plausible minimax for this character).
<That's another 59 points, bringing the total up to 146.>
Now, Disadvantages. Here, I tend to the conservative, in case the GM
takes them seriously and just because that's the way I am. But Colin
merits a few. First, he's from the sort of background that prides
itself on its honour, albeit that he's from a relatively rough
backwoods area, and he fits comfortably into an army which probably
thinks much the same way. This could justify a Gentleman's, a
Soldier's, or even a "Pirate's" code (the classic tough-but-straight
cattle rancher would get the last); actually, as a GM, I'd suggest a
personalised melding of the first two for Colin, but for simplicity,
let's go for Code of Honour (Soldier's) [-10].
Second, he's "brave to a fault", thinks that he can usually succeed in
a task, and has ended up in hospital a couple of times. This is
classic Overconfidence. I suspect that it was severe (low Self-Control
Roll) when he started, but that it's being whittled down by stages as
he realises that time spent in hospital is wasted. Anyway, let's say
Overconfidence (12) [-5].
And third, he's "honest, sometimes to his political disadvantage".
That sounds more like Truthfulness (telling the truth) than "Honesty"
(obeying the law) in GURPS terms, and Colin has few reasons to *want*
to lie a lot of the time, so let's make it fairly severe: Truthfulness
(9) [-7]
Then, we can round off with a bunch of quirks from his biography:
Ambitious (volunteers for tasks that look good, may annoy fellow
soldiers who prefer a quiet life); Much prefers to ride rather than
walk (has to keep his horse to hand accordingly, may complain when
he's had to hike somewhere); Neat-Freak (may well bug and be bugged by
untidy people, spends extra time on keeping things straight);
Relentlessly Cheerful (makes some people want to wipe the smile off
his face, worries the men he commands when he doesn't take risks
seriously enough); Takes his religion seriously (can be provoked by
minor disrespect to the faith, makes time to go to church). [-5]
(Incidentally, the net effect of all those quirks together is to make
a whole load of different people react to him at -1 or -2, some of the
time, and also to make him fairly easy to provoke if one knows him
well enough. That's fair enough; you're getting 5 points back for
them.)
<Total disads and quirks: -27, bringing him down to 119 points.>
And so we get to skills. Colin gets a good assortment, thanks to his
background. Starting with the ones that were flagged as "mandatory":
>Self-Loading Rifle (TL6)
Guns/TL6 (Rifle)-12 (DX+1) [2]
>Cavalry Sabre (as broadsword)
Tempting as it is to buy such combat skills way up, this is secondary
in TL6 warfare, and Colin isn't described as a fencing buff. Still,
let's ensure he gets a half-decent Parry. Broadsword-12 (DX+1) [4]
>Diplomacy
Remember that his Charisma will add to this (and other skills) when
he's using them for Influence rolls. Diplomacy-10 (IQ) [4]
>Carousing
I'm guessing that this is why Mr. Ambitious Neat-Freak isn't disliked
by his brother officers. Carousing-11 (HT) [1]
>Tactics
Tactics-10 (IQ) [4]
>Persuade
The only skill by that name is a quasi-supernatural Enthrallment
skill, which doesn't seem to fit here. Diplomacy covers a lot of
persuading people, and Colin doesn't seem the type to use Fast-Talk,
but let's give him one more relevant skill. Public Speaking-11* (IQ-1)
[1]
*Includes +2 for Charisma.
>Leadership
Leadership-12* (IQ) [2]
*Includes +2 for Charisma.
>Charisma
Not a skill; see Advantages.
>Optional: Investigation;Intelligence Gathering
He's a frontier scout in the militia; I doubt that he has formal
Intelligence Analysis training. However, let's give him one very handy
scout skill:
Observation-10 (Per) [2]
And finally, there are various background skills to think about.
First, he's a horseman to the core, so he must have:
Animal Handling (Equines)-10* (IQ-1) [1]
Riding (Horse)-14* (DX+2) [8]
*Includes +1 for Animal Friend.
The latter gives him Teamster (Horse)-12, which fits just fine.
Second, he was brought up to work and run a cattle business:
Guns/TL6 (Pistol)-11 (DX) [1]
Lasso-10 (DX-1) [1]
Merchant (Cattle*)-10 (IQ) [1]
Survival (Plains)-10 (Per) [2]
*Optional Specialty.
I thought about giving him Savoir-Faire (High Society), but it didn't
quite seem to fit. Still, he's do well to think about learning which
fork to use before the colonel invites him to dinner. Anyway, last of
all, he's got the basic military training:
Savoir-Faire (Military)-11 (IQ+1) [2]
Soldier/TL6-10 (IQ) [2]
Total for skills: 38 points.
Oops - he's 7 points over. Trimming his skills list isn't really
feasible - frankly, he's not quite as good as he should be as it is -
so there are various options here:
1. Drop his Basic Speed back down to 5.5. That'd give you 3 more
points to boost his skills, even. It leaves him looking a bit slow for
a 150-point PC, but it wouldn't kill him. (Alternatively, you could
cut his Will down to 10. He'd still have Combat Reflexes,
Fearlessness, and Overconfidence to justify his rep for bravery.)
2. Drop the Daredevil. It's a dangerous thing to have anyway, frankly,
and you'd get an extra 8 points to spend on skills (or boosting his
Per, which is also quite tempting).
3. Fiddle with his Wealth level. Actually, how feasible that is
depends a bit on the setting assumptions. Check with the GM. (It's
possible that a bit of Independent Income from his family could help
cover a Status 1 lifestyle more cheaply.)
4. Add another disadvantage. There's nothing obvious in his biography,
but Odious Personal Habit (sanctimonious neat-freak - losing a quirk
or two where it overlaps), a Reputation in his unit as a brash young
fool, Miserliness (presumably from a puritannical religious
upbringing), or Claustrophobia, could all work okay. (The last with a
self-control number of 15 would balance him out quite nicely.)
So take your pick; he's your character.
Euel Ball
I use a silencer on my gun when I shoot Mimes, because a Mime is a
terrible thing to waste.
Euel
David Johnston
<ph...@philm.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:29:09 GMT, Kevin Gross <kcg...@sbcglobal.net>
>wrote:
>>100 Starting Points
>>50 Point Disadvantage Limit
>>50 points "Experience" when complete to "build up or buy off disads)
>
>Okay; you have a 150-point budget (plus disads, but this character
>doesn't appear to be so flaky and deranged or otherwise troubled to
>justify a full 50 easily) to build a promising officer with useful
Actually a 100 point budget. As I understand it, you then give the
same character after 50 points worth of experience, but I haven't
gotten around to that bit yet.
Kevin Gross
Excellent briefing, Phil! I truly enjoyed the detailed analysis.
Colin Casey will be the commanding officer of a group of young soldiers in my introductory series of adventures in Co. Pim. He'll be the primary NPC I use to direct and focus the characters towards a story arc. Players will be following him through their careers as he climbs the ranks, aspires to wider "diplomatic" duties and [spoiler follows] leading the PCs on a peace-keeping mission in a neighboring county.
You've drawn a fairly accurate picture of what I envision in the character - a sort of eager young officer whose star is ascending, but who still has a lot to learn about diplomacy, high society manners, and leadership. He's also the kind of Jimmy Stewart-like hook I've used in the past while starting successful campaigns up.
Phil Masters
>Disadvantages ...
Damn - I forgot his Duty (the Army).
Stupid, stupid, STUPID.
Setting that at 12- gets him 10 points back. Add a level each into
Guns (Rifle) and Carousing and he's good to go.
Sorry about that.
Phil Masters
Johnston) wrote:
>Actually a 100 point budget. As I understand it, you then give the
>same character after 50 points worth of experience, but I haven't
>gotten around to that bit yet.
Doing this guy as a 100-pointer would be somewhat constrictive; the
baseline social/military rank advantages built into the concept eat up
a moderate heap of points.
Basically, I think that you'd want to do him as a brash young fool
just out of officer training. Okay for a baseline to modify into the
finished PC, but dangerous as a PC - far too likely to get himself
killed.
Very briefly, say:
ST 11, DX 11, IQ 10, HT 11 [40]
Will 11 [5]
Military Rank 3 [15]
Comfortable Wealth [10]
Patron (Family), Powerful Organization, Appears 9-, Minimal
Intervention [5]
Charisma 2 [10]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Fearlessness +2 [4]
Fit [5]
Talent (Animal Friend) 1 [5]
Code of Honour (Soldier's) [-10]
Duty, 12- [-10]
Overconfidence (9) [-7]
Truthfulness (9) [-7]
Five Quirks [-5]
Guns/TL6 (Rifle)-11 (DX) [1]
Broadsword-11 (DX) [2]
Diplomacy-9 (IQ-1) [2]
Carousing-11 (HT) [1]
Tactics-9 (IQ-1) [2]
Leadership-12* (IQ) [2]
Observation-9 (Per-1) [1]
*Includes +2 for Charisma.
Animal Handling (Equines)-10* (IQ-1) [1]
Riding (Horse)-14* (DX+2) [8]
*Includes +1 for Animal Friend.
Guns/TL6 (Pistol)-11 (DX) [1]
Lasso-10 (DX-1) [1]
Merchant (Cattle*)-10 (IQ) [1]
Survival (Plains)-10 (Per) [2]
*Optional Specialty.
Replace Combat Reflexes with Daredevil if you don't mind the even
greater risk of losing a PC in return for a slightly greater chance of
glory...
David Johnston
Johnston) wrote:
>On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:29:09 GMT, Kevin Gross <kcg...@sbcglobal.net>
>wrote:
>
>>This is a multipart message in MIME format.
>
>MIME. Horrible MIME. Why must you torment me so?
>
>>--=_alternative 0002A3C488257026_=
>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>>
>>I'm coming back to FRP games after a 7 year absense. I'm trying to revive
>>my game world. GURPS character creation is a wonderfully flexible tool,
>>but there seems to be a lot to keep track of. What I'd like is for some
>>of you more experienced GURPers to take a shot at building an NPC with the
>>following restrictions:
>
>You know, nobody's really experienced any more. The new rules set
>puts us all back at the starting post.
>
>
>>Can this even be DONE on 150 points?
>>
>>Send me character sheets, or post replies here with the results. What I
>>hope to learn by watching you experienced types is how to build characters
>>of this nature with as little wasted CP as possible.
>>
>
>ST-10
>DX-10
>IQ-12
>HT-11
Notes: Actually I'd prefer to have him at ST 11, but I ran out of
points. I wanted his IQ at 12 for the the perception, will and skill
bonuses
>
>Advantages: Attractive (5 points) Voice (10 points),
Voice is functionally Charisma. I only get Charisma when the
character is specifically envisioned as not having a good voice,
or has more appeal than Voice could explain.
Combat Reflexes
>(15 Points),
He hasn't been in the military that long, but apparently he's already
seen a surprising amount of action and he's a man of action.
>Hard to Kill 1 (2 points),
To help explain how he survived to end up in the hospital a couple of
times.
>Military Rank 3 (15 points)
Automatic to be an officer at all.
>Status 1 (Free from Military Rank), Fearlessness 2 (4 points)
Failing your fright check can be embarassing when you are playing an
overly courageous young man.
>Patron (Family) 6- (5 points),
>
>Disadvantages: Soldier's Code of Honor (-10 points), Overconfident
>(-10 points), Duty, all the time, hazardous (-20 points), Struggling
>(-10 points)
>
>Quirks:
>
>Neat Freak
>Hates to walk when he can ride.
>Regular church goer.
>Regular partier
>A bit too cheerful
>
>(Bonuses for Voice not included)
>
>Skills: Animal Handling/Equines 15/12, Animal Handling/Bovines 13/0,
His Animal Handling is actually to provide a solid base default to
build off for his Riding, and to cover his experience herding bovines
with a default there as well.
>Area Knowledge/Almeign Valley 12/1,
Often overlooked. _essential_ for anyone trying to police an area and
useful for anyone leading patrols.
>Broadsword 11/4,
A bit low, I'm sorry to say.
>Carousing 12/2,
Perhaps higher than it needs to be, but since Voice doesn't boost
Carousing and he's a social character...
>Cartography 11/1,
Standard for a military officer. Useful when he's out of his Area.
>First Aid 12/1,
It's the principle of the thing.
>Guns/Rifle (TL6) 12/4,
Passable, but needs work.
>Lasso 11/4,
Should be higher based on his background. Can't afford it and it's
peripheral to his concept.
>Leadership 11/1
Note that with Voice it comes in at 13.
>Merchant 11/1,
Reflects experience in the family business.
>Public Speaking 11/1,
Another Voice social advantage
>Riding 15/12,
Highest priority. 15 is a Master which I figured was adequate.
>Soldier 11/1,
Basic training and minimal experience.
>Survival/Plains 12/2,
The product of those cattle drives. He knows how to find water holes.
>Tactics 10/1,
Needs to rely heavily on his sergeant's advice. Doesn't.
Teamster 14/0,
>Tracking 11/1,
An important skill for a cavalry patrol, albeit one that one of his
subordinates probably has at higher levels.
>
>Stats: 50
>Advantages: 56
>Skills: 49
>
>Disadvantages and Quirks -55
>
>
For the more experienced version, I'd drop Overconfident. His
hospital stays have taken the edge off his folly. Raise his
Broadsword, Tactics, and Soldier to 12 and his Rifle skill to 14 and
Area Knowledge to 14 (assuming he stays in the Valley). Swinging his
sabre has increased his ST to 11. Leadership goes up 2 to 13 (for an
effective 15). He learns Diplomacy to a 13 (with Voice 15)