I enjoyed something last week that I have not enjoyed for a very long time: participating in a game as a player. Life's gotten complicated of late causing me to prune some of my favored pastimes just to keep things afloat for family and work.
Every writer knows, or should know, that writing is an innately selfish affair. To write you must dive into your subject, character, or setting. Your mental CPU meter pegs considering and discarding ten ideas for every one that makes it into a word processor. Writing code for my Savage Worlds framework is scantly better. As any coder knows you need hours of uninterrupted time to put ideas into code. It's very difficult to do in 30 minutes stints.
Thus as life pressures increase, hobby time decreases. It was with great sadness that I finally told my gamers I didn't have the time to continue our Space Nazis campaign and my fellow blogger I wouldn't have much time for the blog.
One of my newer players stated he would like to give GMing a shot so I gladly handed the reins over. This relieved my guilt for abandoning my ongoing campaign. It also gave me a chance to game for a while without any preparation other than creating a character.
We played our first game last Tuesday and I had a blast. Below is my character based on 20 XPs for a 1930's pulp setting wherein the characters attempt to thwart Nazi occultism.
Thomas Gunn - Psychic Private Investigator of 1930's Chicago
Human/20XPs
Attributes: Ag 8, Sm 6, Sp 8, St 6, Vi 6
Derived: Char 2, Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 5
Skills: Athletics* 6, Driving 4, Fighting 6, Intimidate 6+2, Investigation 6+2, Persuasion 4+2, Streetwise 6+4, Taunt 4+2, Notice 6
Edges: Investigator**, Charismatic, Strong Willed, Psychic***, Ambidextrous
Hindrances: Heroic**, Curious, Loyal, Quirk
Equipment: Sawed-off Shotgun, 2x.45 pistol, Derringer up sleeve, Sap, Crime scene investigation kit, Fedora (never without and has risks life to retrieve it)
Languages: English, German, Latin
*Athletics is setting skill used for run, swim, and climb
**Pulp setting rules often allow the Heroic Hindrance to be take to gain an additional non-Legendary Edge without concern for the prerequisites.
***Setting Edge, can be swapped for Danger Sense
Tom Gunn has always been psychic. The dreams, visions, and intuitive flashes are a part of who he is. Deciding his gift would be of most use as a policeman, he joined the Chicago PD and quickly rose to the rank of detective. The police department was rife with corruption, however, and after several attempts to expose it, Tom found himself walking a beat in the worst part of town. He was still a force for good but the people he arrested were often released and never prosecuted. He finally decided to quit the police force and become a private detective.
Tom is a devout Catholic and believes his talents are a gift from God. There are those in the church, however, who believe his talent come from a darker place. He has a few friends in the Priesthood who call upon him to investigate paranormal incidents but high ranking members of the church believe he is possessed and have, on more than one occasion, attempted to exorcise him.
Tom is extremely curious and will often enter dangerous areas just to see what’s going on. He has a quirk about wearing a hat. In his mind, a good hat keeps the incapacitating psychic flashes to a minimum. He’s loyal to a fault and will always step in to help someone in need.
He believes his strong social skills are a derivative of his 'gift'. He’s able to push people in the emotional direction he desires. Likewise, his career as an investigator has been greatly enhanced by his abilities.
Thomas Gunn's chief friend in the priesthood is Father Francis Burk.
Father Burk - Catholic Priest
Human/20XPs
Attributes: Ag 4, Sm 10, Sp 10, St 4, Vi 4
Derived: Char 0, Pace 5, Parry 4, Toughness 4
Skills: Athletics 4, Fighting 4, Intimidate 6+2, Investigation 4, Persuade 10, Notice 6, Healing 8, Knowledge Religion 8+2, Knowledge Ancient History 8, Knowledge Occult 10+2
Edges: Strong Willed, Linguist, Common Bond, Arcane Resistance, Scholar
Hindrances: Elderly, Heroic, Habit (likes a bit of the drink), Bad eyes (glasses)
Languages: English, German, Italian, Gaelic, French, Latin, Ancient Hebrew, Ancient Greek, Spanish, Russian
Father Burk is the parish historian with a vast array of historical knowledge involving the church, ancient history, and the occult. It is his occult investigations that often draw Thomas into cases he would rather not take. Still, the old man has a silver tongue and is not afraid to use it. He's not afraid to let loose the hell-fire and brimstone when needed.
The good Father is nearly bald and wears glasses. He moves slowly on arthritic legs and is often seen tugging as a hip flask containing illegal Irish whiskey.
Every writer knows, or should know, that writing is an innately selfish affair. To write you must dive into your subject, character, or setting. Your mental CPU meter pegs considering and discarding ten ideas for every one that makes it into a word processor. Writing code for my Savage Worlds framework is scantly better. As any coder knows you need hours of uninterrupted time to put ideas into code. It's very difficult to do in 30 minutes stints.
Thus as life pressures increase, hobby time decreases. It was with great sadness that I finally told my gamers I didn't have the time to continue our Space Nazis campaign and my fellow blogger I wouldn't have much time for the blog.
One of my newer players stated he would like to give GMing a shot so I gladly handed the reins over. This relieved my guilt for abandoning my ongoing campaign. It also gave me a chance to game for a while without any preparation other than creating a character.
We played our first game last Tuesday and I had a blast. Below is my character based on 20 XPs for a 1930's pulp setting wherein the characters attempt to thwart Nazi occultism.
Thomas Gunn - Psychic Private Investigator of 1930's Chicago
Human/20XPs
Attributes: Ag 8, Sm 6, Sp 8, St 6, Vi 6
Derived: Char 2, Pace 6, Parry 5, Toughness 5
Skills: Athletics* 6, Driving 4, Fighting 6, Intimidate 6+2, Investigation 6+2, Persuasion 4+2, Streetwise 6+4, Taunt 4+2, Notice 6
Edges: Investigator**, Charismatic, Strong Willed, Psychic***, Ambidextrous
Hindrances: Heroic**, Curious, Loyal, Quirk
Equipment: Sawed-off Shotgun, 2x.45 pistol, Derringer up sleeve, Sap, Crime scene investigation kit, Fedora (never without and has risks life to retrieve it)
Languages: English, German, Latin
*Athletics is setting skill used for run, swim, and climb
**Pulp setting rules often allow the Heroic Hindrance to be take to gain an additional non-Legendary Edge without concern for the prerequisites.
***Setting Edge, can be swapped for Danger Sense
Tom Gunn has always been psychic. The dreams, visions, and intuitive flashes are a part of who he is. Deciding his gift would be of most use as a policeman, he joined the Chicago PD and quickly rose to the rank of detective. The police department was rife with corruption, however, and after several attempts to expose it, Tom found himself walking a beat in the worst part of town. He was still a force for good but the people he arrested were often released and never prosecuted. He finally decided to quit the police force and become a private detective.
Tom is a devout Catholic and believes his talents are a gift from God. There are those in the church, however, who believe his talent come from a darker place. He has a few friends in the Priesthood who call upon him to investigate paranormal incidents but high ranking members of the church believe he is possessed and have, on more than one occasion, attempted to exorcise him.
Tom is extremely curious and will often enter dangerous areas just to see what’s going on. He has a quirk about wearing a hat. In his mind, a good hat keeps the incapacitating psychic flashes to a minimum. He’s loyal to a fault and will always step in to help someone in need.
He believes his strong social skills are a derivative of his 'gift'. He’s able to push people in the emotional direction he desires. Likewise, his career as an investigator has been greatly enhanced by his abilities.
Thomas Gunn's chief friend in the priesthood is Father Francis Burk.
Father Burk - Catholic Priest
Human/20XPs
Attributes: Ag 4, Sm 10, Sp 10, St 4, Vi 4
Derived: Char 0, Pace 5, Parry 4, Toughness 4
Skills: Athletics 4, Fighting 4, Intimidate 6+2, Investigation 4, Persuade 10, Notice 6, Healing 8, Knowledge Religion 8+2, Knowledge Ancient History 8, Knowledge Occult 10+2
Edges: Strong Willed, Linguist, Common Bond, Arcane Resistance, Scholar
Hindrances: Elderly, Heroic, Habit (likes a bit of the drink), Bad eyes (glasses)
Languages: English, German, Italian, Gaelic, French, Latin, Ancient Hebrew, Ancient Greek, Spanish, Russian
Father Burk is the parish historian with a vast array of historical knowledge involving the church, ancient history, and the occult. It is his occult investigations that often draw Thomas into cases he would rather not take. Still, the old man has a silver tongue and is not afraid to use it. He's not afraid to let loose the hell-fire and brimstone when needed.
The good Father is nearly bald and wears glasses. He moves slowly on arthritic legs and is often seen tugging as a hip flask containing illegal Irish whiskey.
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