I really don't have a concrete idea. I've got a couple of nuggets, though:
1. Reprise my ex-spook Carter Jennings character from the Stargate game. I liked playing him for the short time I was able to.
2. Eddie Velvet the bounty hunter. I've only really got a name and job for this guy.
3. A cowboy. Either a drinkin' punchin' cowboy (which may end up being a Western version of Jake Tycho the Psycho) or a gunslinger - my idea is that he'd be a good enough shot NOT to kill people.
Quote: from admiralducksauce on 10:17 am on July 20, 2005
I really don't have a concrete idea. I've got a couple of nuggets, though:
1. Reprise my ex-spook Carter Jennings character from the Stargate game. I liked playing him for the short time I was able to. He could be "an old friend" of Bobby Tourdain.
2. Eddie Velvet the bounty hunter. I've only really got a name and job for this guy.
3. A cowboy. Either a drinkin' punchin' cowboy (which may end up being a Western version of Jake Tycho the Psycho) or a gunslinger - my idea is that he'd be a good enough shot NOT to kill people.
1. It pained me a bit not to be able to continue the Stargate game. Never say never though. It will probably get restarted some day. I liked that character too. He could be "an old friend" of Bobby Tourdain.
2. Funny. Be sure to give him an interesting schtick. Eddie's preferred weapons are his pit bull, tazer, pepper spray, and the occasional paving stone.
3. A down on his luck rodeo rider? I see Woody Harrelson playing the part. He could be a bouncer which would kinda tie-in with Gordon's UFC thug character.
Quote: from Gatac on 8:43 am on July 20, 2005
Well, I figure I'm gonna take Rich, atleast...underground Doc's got savings and is seriously entertaining the thought of booting up his own restaurant...
Gatac
I should clarify that "Rich" does not equal wealthy. The characters are better off than Joe Schmoe the car mechanic but they aren't living in a penthouse at Caesar's Palace. You have to at least be "Filthy Rich" to even begin getting into high-end toys and living something the Paris Hilton lifestyle.
Rich would equal either a hefty pension or a trust fund of some kind. You wouldn't need a day job to make ends meet but you're also not flying Bali on your private jet.
Rich
-House/apartment/condo. Nicely furnished but nothing too extravagant.
-Nice sedan/SUV. Probably something domestic but with all the extras.
-Unless you're a public figure (i.e. lawyer/doctor/promoter), you probably wouldn't be known too well. The only addendum is that if you're a compulsive gambler. The casinos would definitely know who you are. You get a few comps every now and again, but you're not getting the Rainman suite.
--- Filthy Rich
-You're well-known in the community. Political figures, wiseguys, and casino heads know your face. It's hard to stay out of the limelight when you have that much money.
-Whether you made your $$$ before the stock market tanked, be so-and-so's son/daughter, hit it lucky on a craps shoot, or happen to beshacking up with one of Vegas' well-to-dos, you live a luxurious lifestyle. Fast cars, fast women, and big houses. While you're not Donald Trump or Paris Hilton, you occasionally get invites to exclusive parties, premieres...that sort of thing.
-I would say it would be hard to do clandestine work while being this wealthy, but high-level executives and wiseguys seem to be able to do it quite easily.
-Please note this still does not equal Insanely Rich. You do very well for yourself but it does NOT equal Bruce Wayne/Paris Hilton/Donald Trump kind of money.
Damn. I can't find any info on the guy, but there's a great vegas-based fellow, probably a real guy in the book Hobo named Buckthorn Superstar. He'd be either a good character or a good NPC.
Quote: from CrazyIvan on 10:31 pm on July 20, 2005
With std. wealth, would a VW Golf and a Neo-esq apartment with a lab setup with used and mostly low level equipment fly?
Hindrance:
Sex Appeal (1 point)
Quirk (Elitism) (1 point)
Code of Honor (Major)
Tyler Henslow is a learned man, especially when compared to the people he normally works with. With a B.S. in Biochemistry from UNLV, and a Masters in the same from UC-San Francisco, he really did intend to go into research. That is, until the bottom fell out of Biotech for a few years, and he wound up moving to Las Vegas looking for work - any work. Living in a battered two-room apartment above Angelo's Pizza, he found it. The owner was having some trouble with the Las Vegas health inspectors - a case of food poisoning from a pizza they delivered. Tyler offered to help the owner get his resturant up to snuff, in exchange for free pizza for life.
That was two years ago. Word of mouth from Angelo's spread to some of the more unsavory elements of town, who found that the educated but mercinary-minded young man was useful for all manner of criminal activities, from burning the serial numbers of lifted TVs to - in one case - giving someone an airtight alibi based on - of all things - food poisoning. Tyler runs his business, both legitimate and otherwise, from his apartment, under the name "Trinity Biologics". Friends in the UNLV Biochemistry department set him up with some of the elderly lab equipment, and he operates an adequite setup that can be packed in to the back of his blue VW Golf.
He's known for very, very scrupulous honesty, which has kept him from anyones bad side for now, and while he is generally a bit elitist, has a reputation as a decent guy. He does have a weakness for the attractive women who gravitate towards the men he usually works for.
Gah...more charts. This does not help waver my decision to run the next game using SW rules. It's getting to the point where I say, "You get this stuff and you'll like it."
Yeah, but it works out to "You get one security item, one weapon, two tradecraft. The mission caliber is III, so you can choose those items up to caliber III." It's more work beforehand, but it's easier to work with than the "Gotta use every BP" 1.0 system.
Or, to give an example using the previews: I build a 1st level Soldier, with a Cha score of 12 and a Wis score of 14.
First, Wealth: Soldiers get 0 Wealth at first level, plus my Cha mod (1). That means I have 1 point of Wealth to distribute and slam it on Lifestyle.
This means I have a 2-bedroom apartment, a Caliber I private vehicle with 1 enhancement (also Caliber I), a worn street look to my fashions, and suffer a -1 penalty to social interactions because my clothes suck.
Moving on to Possessions, this works kinda like Personal Budget. I have only my starting point here, so I get 1 Caliber II item and 2 Caliber I items of my choice. I also get a number of Common Items equal to my Wisdom score, so 14. (Like, I dunno, a swiss army knife or a flashlight.) I choose those myself and get them okayed by you. No BP balancing for the minor shit.
Being stuck with only the starting point in Spending Cash, I start a mission with 100 bucks. Harsh.
So that settles what I bring into the game. You figure this out once per level, and it doesn't change in between unless you call for emergency funds.
Then, my level of Soldier gives me 1 Weapon as mission gear. The Caliber of this weapon is the same as Mission Caliber. Basically, this works like Threat Code, but instead of adding more BP/GP, it lets you select better stuff.
Then, I also get a number of mission gear picks equal to my Cha mod (1, in this case). Depending on whether I work for a Faction (i.e. the Agency) or Freelance, I can choose this item from a couple of categories.
Alternatively, if my three clones get together and all donate their one weapon slot, we can get one weapon for the team as if the mission was one caliber higher. If different categories of gear picks are contributed, the item must be from one of them. So instead, of say, three pistols, we could get one assault rifle even if the mission caliber typically wouldn't allow it. Not rocket science.
Then I get some more Common Items, 1/3rd my Wisdom score, for the mission. Works out like my personal possessions, but mission dependant. (5 in this case, you round up.)
Or if I don't want to choose with a gear pick now, I could hold up to two (my Wis modifier) in reserve and get stuff in the field with a Request check. (Basically, a favor check.) Flexibility added, but the requisitioning could fail.
If I keep Common Items picks for the mission reserved like that, I can alternatively make a Gear Check. If it works, I just have what I need.
And if everything else fails, you can cash in your Reputation or Net Worth for gear.
---
Yes, it's longer than the 1.0 Gear Section. Yes, you need to figure out a bit more. But it tells you so much more. The only thing you choose with any frequency is the mission gear, and that's only a handful of slots. (In my example, 2 gear picks and 5 common items.)
It's not exactly simpler, but it does more and should work faster.
Sounds like a lot of work for something that can be handled by saying "You get a gun, basic equipment, and one extra item of your choosing (pending approval)." Honestly, no matter how you hack it, the mission budget stuff is fun in principal but it seems like too much number crunching.
It's espionage, not long division. 007 never got to pick what he wanted to take with him and managed to do just fine with whatever Q-Branch gave him.
Quote: from Gatac on 12:58 pm on Aug. 1, 2005
Then do it that way, dammit. That's what this was evolving towards, anyway.
Gatac
Sorry, if we all could sit around a table once a week and do Spycraft the right way, then I'd be all for using d20 rules. Until then, it boils down to either using SW rules or not running Spycraft at all.
Dieter
