Good to see you back, Draignean. Interested; how mechanics-lite are we talking here? Can you give some examples?
Oh, and:
I got my degree, before I got engaged
Congrats!
Thanks DH, and I'm honestly not sure at this point. I know I'm not writing up and balancing details stats on every gun/armor/utility item in existence. I'm probably going to eschew HP/MP/AP/FP in favor favor of descriptive statistics (wounds/fatigue, etc). Ideally, the only thing that a character has to determine how things are going to go is their character, their tools, and the choices they've made. A die roll of course comes in to determine how well or badly things go.
I'd like to have characters that, with a bit of play, I know well enough that a stat-block is unnecessary to tell me what they can and can not do. For example, this is one character from the example crew,
Name: Ceradi [w]Unar (Chair-Aid-ee {almost silent 'whuh'}-ooh-NAR)
Nickname: Fish
Gender: Male
Race: Neo-Dolphin
Age: 25
Profession: Navigator/Dealer
Description: Ceradi is an excellent specimen of his species, and he shows it off flagrantly. Twelve feet from head to tail and exceptionally muscular, Ceradi is covered from tip-to-tip in glowmarks: tattoos that become more or less visible depending on exterior light, UV radiation, and Ceradi's own body heat. His skin, what little of it isn't covered in tattoos, is a greyish white, an exotic tone several shades paler than normal. Ceradi is, in fin terms, roguishly handsome, with a daredevil charm that tends to end whenever he opens his mouth. Still, by the somewhat… liberal standards present in most neo-dolphin communities, Ceradi is merely possessed of a gallant rakishness. Or, in the words of other races, irretrievable bluntness.
Background: Ceradi was fourteen when he fled the planet of his birth, one of the lucky few to escape the surface on a transport and make it free of murderous interceptor squadrons. His home was lost when the United Planets was consumed, as most small bootstrap alliances are, by the insatiable greater powers. Still, Ceradi never got over the battle he witnessed as he left his home behind, of the enemy fighters tearing the other transports open, of the allied fighters striking back, and most of all, the nuclear star of the Invader's flagship burning away in decaying orbit.
Ceradi finished growing up in a backwater colony, eking out an existence as a keeper on a freshwater farm. The work in the thin water was backbreaking for one his size. He grew strong, and adept at using his strength to achieve the greatest result with the minimum effort possible. He grew up poor, living on the stories of better times, and of the heroes that saved the remnants of their people from death. Ceradi spent what little free time he had chasing girls and fantasizing about traveling the stars and learning the craft of a navigator. Roguish was one word to describe Ceradi's habits in those days, utterly uninhibited would be another. The circumstances are unclear, but Ceradi ended up living out his fantasy when it came down to either accepting three Support Compacts, each from a different lady fin, or fleeing on a trade vessel. Given that choice, Ceradi 'borrowed' his father's old tech-harness and fled.
In the infinite darkness of space, Ceradi served as cook, cleaning rat, lay pilot (look at the controls and yell if we're about to crash), and, when a captain discovered that five years in a farm world had actually given Ceradi an aptitude for dealing, as a junior trade liaison. What's remarkable about this is that Ceradi served these positions on no less than ten different ships and stations over a three year period. Ceradi's uninhibited nature generally got him removed forcibly after he propositioned someone, or when he actually got caught in the act with various someones. Still, Ceradi's charm generally kept him one step ahead of the fathers, mothers, husbands, angry family members, and jealous lovers that pursued him.
It was when Ceradi was twenty-two that he met Captain Blackjack Bob, the only person who had ever filled Ceradi with awe. Blackjack had been looking for a new navigator, and Ceradi had just gotten dumped from his job as a pilot-auxiliary after making an exceptionally dirty joke to his employer's mate about fins and neo-dogs in zero gravity. It was perhaps the only time when Ceradi had gone in trying to get a job and been scared of failing to impress. It's not known whether Blackjack first hired Ceradi because he saw his potential, or because he reminded him of home, but he did hire him. Over the years, Ceradi has grown to be a capable pilot, and has kept his benign hero worship of Captain Blackjack, though he's gotten comfortable enough around him to return to his usual, libido oriented, self.
Notable Quotes:
"You know, the general rule for my species is that it's an inch for every foot of length. And just so you know, baby, I'm twelve feet, three inches long."
CERADI: "Hey, baby, you ever had sex with a fish before?"
KHANNET: "Ceradi. For the last time. You. Are. Not. A. Fish. You are a starborn mammal."
CERADI: "I'm glad you've noticed how much we have in common. Come back to my cabin, I'll show you the rest."
"Pants are for species that have something to hide."
"Have you noticed how attractive I am?" (Habitual)
"Sir, I swear it's not what you think." (Habitual, when confronted unexpectedly, for any reason, by the Captain)
Traits: Overwhelming Emotion (Lust), Bad reputation, Utter scoundrel, Self-taught, Good Natured , Exceptionally Strong, Zero-G Aptitude
From this, I have a feel for the character, and the stories they fit into. I don't expect this character to do particularly well in a gun fight, but, in the water, I can easily see them crushing another foe when needed, though without much martial finesse. I can see them working well as a liaison in gutter markets and shady dealerships, but he'd probably need a lot more restraint and luck to go through a high-society auction without mortally offending three trade barons.
Even within the context of being a navigator, his self-taught nature means that he's less familiar with standard maneuvers and tactics, but highly adaptable.
In die form, he'd succeed at normal navigator duties on any roll, numbers just determining how well. He'd probably have a good 85% chance to get a fair deal in his markets, with a 5% chance to botch and 10% chance to come out strongly ahead, while in a high auction there's an 85% chance for him to botch and 15% chance for things to go sort of alright-maybe-with-issues.
That what you were looking for?
Author
Topic: Gaming Block (Game Discussion Thread) (Totally Not Roller's Block) (Read 417896 times)