City in the Sky - Zephyran Academy (BESM RPG)

[Ray]

The product of having mentioned BESM to a friend, and the week of increasingly insane conversations that followed...

Welcome to Melena, city of wizards, bastion of knowledge, citadel of the clouds. Located above the island of Aria in the center of the world, accessible only through portals in the surface, the city in the sky has always been a fortress in dark times, a lonely sanctum in times of worldwide strife.

But of course, that wouldn't make for much of an adventure, would it? Peace, after all, makes for a glorious dream, but not for a particularly entertaining tale.

Welcome to Melena. This very night, the moon turned red in the sky. The portals shut off, and all light in the city, whether magical or electric, went out. Airships no longer cross the heavens, seemingly having vanished in a cloud of eerie stillness.

And you?

You're trapped, along with six other heroes, in the top floor of the highest tower of the Zephyran Academy, once the foremost center of learning in the world. The magical grid, which powered everything from the building's water supply to the security system of the only computer database in the world, is gone, leaving you shrouded in perpetual darkness. Reality itself seems to twist and bend in an attempt to prevent your escape, and threatening wails echo down the empty halls.

Welcome to Melena. Welcome to the Academy. When the closest thing this wretched world had to a heaven turns into hell, the only way to go is down.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'lo.

So, guys, are any of you up for a, how did they call it... Arrr-Peee-Gee? Are you? ARE YOU, MOTHERFUCKERS?

Ahem.

Disregard that last bit. Anyways, City in the Sky is a Big Eyes, Small Mouth 3E (Tri-stat) game, born out of a desire to play a tabletop RP that allowed for animesque, customizable characters, and *didn't* require a goddamn degree in calculus to make heads or tails of. This desire, eventually, led to talks about me GMing something up, which led to talks about a story, which led into City in the Sky, which can be best described as DOOM meets magipunk, except with lots more anime, tits, and overkill than either genre.

Now, for the details...

Current Number of Player Characters: 5 out of 7 (Myself not included - I'll be doing GM-only mode this time around)

5 players is enough for a campaign. We can start next week!

City in the Sky is a 500 point BESM game.

We'll be playing each Sunday, starting around 6 or 7 PM and ending at 11 PM (Central time) at the latest.

Our channel can be accessed through

http://mibbit.com/chat/

Server: Lunarnet. Channel: #ZephyranAcademy

(You can get the BESM Core Book here. In particular, read up on character creation, attributes, and items.)

With 500 points, and because I'm a pretty lax GM, that means your character will be quite powerful, hitting superhuman levels with ease. Make no mistake, though, when I say that this is "DOOM meets magipunk", I'm not joking around. No matter how powerful your characters are, this ride, while fun, isn't for the faint of heart (or CP expenditure, whatever).


Character Point Pool: 500

Reincarnation Circles: The most important "house concept" used in this campaign are Reincarnation Circles. For mysterious reasons, each player character starts out with two circular symbols branded on his on her arm. Whenever the character dies, if he or she isn't resurrected in a time window of one minute, a Reincarnation Circle will be spent, and that character will be brought back to life at half HP and half EP. Be careful though, you only have two RC's. Die after you've spent them both, and if no one resurrects you within the time limit, that's it.

Of course, characters with the Reincarnation attribute are exempt from having Reincarnation Circles and the 1-minute time limit. Bear in mind, though that the Reincarnation attribute has its own set of limitations.

And now, for the good stuff.


Character Sheet Template (If possible, once you're done whipping your sheet up, upload it to docs.google.com, and post the link to it here. It makes for easier reading. Just make sure to use the "Share" menu to make sure that everyone can see the sheet upon clicking the link. If for some reason you can't do that, just post the sheet here.)


Name:

Age:

Sex:

Species/Race:

Picture: (If you want to put one in)

Theme Song: (If you want to put one in)

Physical Description:

Background:

~~~

Stats and Abilities

STATS:

Body:á

Mind:

Soul:


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Job/Society/Species Background goes here if it affects the character attributes in any way.


LEVELá POINTSá á ATTRIBUTE (Includes all Skills, all Items, all Weapons, and all Stat Enhancements derived from the Background attributes rather than from theá á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á á áá character itself)

+ #á á á + #á á á á á (Name of Attribute)á á á á á áá



Total Points Used (Value must be equal or less than the Character Point Pool once Defect discounts are subtracted):


Defects: (Must have at least one, can only have up to two)


Attack Combat Value: ((Body + Mind + Soul )/ 3) + level of Attack Combat Mastery)

Defense Combat Value: (Same, except Defense Combat Mastery instead of attack)

Damage Multiplier: ((5+1 per Level of Massive Damage Attribute) + 1 per Level of Superstrenght (for melee weapons. Other Weapons need the Muscle variable attached to them)

Health Points: ((Body + Soul) X 5 (plus or minus Tough/Not so Tough Attributes))

Energy Points: ((Mind + Soul) X 5 (plus Energy Bonus Attribute))

Shock Value: (HP / 5 ( +10 per level of Combat Technique: Hardboiled ))


FINAL NOTES:

Like I said, I'm a pretty lax GM. I don't like rules, and I don't like restrictions. I do, however, like MORE DAKKA, delicious lolis, red makes it go faster, wave-motion blades, and magnificent last-stand speeches. Whenever it comes to rules vs. fun, I'll generally err on the "fun" side every time.

That doesn't mean I'm going to let you get away with things bordering on retardedness.

I'll be frank: I like powergaming, but if you're not creative enough, character and story-wise, to get your high-level munchkinism past me, you don't deserve to have it.

Here are some guidelines to make sure you actually have to put in effort in the character development side when min-maxing.

On Weapons -


To prevent crazy shit like lvl. 24 iron longswords, here's an excerpt from the book:

"What does a given Weapon Level indicate?

Weapon Level 0 is equivalent to the damage of an unarmed attack
(punches, kicks, etc.). Levels 1-5 cover the range of
ordinary melee weapons and guns, from knives to large calibre
sniper rifles. Levels 6-12 cover the range of heavy
machine guns to medium automatic cannon; most magical
fireballs and lightning bolts would also be in this range, as
are most weapons installed in powered suits.


Levels 12-24 are in the range of tank or warship guns, anti-tank missiles,
and giant robot cannons, and increasingly destructive
spells.

Levels 24+ are extremely powerful, such as the
beam cannon of super mecha, various heavy bombs and
missiles, or the powers of superhuman psychics or mages.
For further comparative purposes, refer to the examples of
Item Templates in Chapter 12 (page 162)."

(So, say, a magical sword would range between 5 - 12, but a gigantic, -80 EP activation cost kill-all beam fired from that same sword would be Weapon lvl. 24. This is the general guideline.)

On Magic -

All Magic-based non-item Weapons (and all item Weapons that require an injection of magic to activate their effects) must have the Deplete defect. No exceptions.

(This follows the weapon guideline above. Low level magic would be Deplete -1 to -2. Mid-range magic would be Deplete -3 to -4. High range magic would be Deplete -5 to -6. Ultimate moves, such as a wave motion blade, summoning an angel, or an offensive pocket dimension that generates a storm of limitless swords, would be Deplete -7 to -10, depending upon power level.)

On Combat Techniques -

Unless it makes absolutely no sense (I'll leave that up to your common sense, for now...), all Combat Techniques can be taken twice, with the exception of Critical Strike, which can only be taken once (for reasons of game balance).

On Companions -

Companions are allowed, but for fuck's sake, please don't abuse them too much. Having your necromancer be able to summon a bunch of skeletons to fight for him as companions is fine. Having a god-slaying dragon that's so large it probably wouldn't even be able to fit in the building you're stuck in, however...

...well, you get the idea.

And that's more or less it!

So, if you like the prospect, let's go!

 

[DarckRedd]

Heh, surgery.

Arc 1: Sophia Montressor

Arc 2: Sophia Montressor, new and improved!


ETA: Altered to GM's specifications.

Character Point Pool: 500

Character Data

Name: Sophia Montressor

Age: 31

Sex: Female

Species/Race: Human

Themesong: Yoko Kanno -- Information High (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMczRJh_OeI)


Physical Description: Ever seen a woman walking down the street with a long white coat, wearing a black suit underneath? Ever seen her adjust her glasses, tinged lightly orange? Ever seen her wolfish grin, flashing a line of pearly whites? Ever sensed the madness that lurks beneath her unruly black hair? Have those scarlet eyes ever focused on you?

á á á á á á Bet not. But youÆll know it all if you ever meet her.


Background:

á á She was always a bit of an eccentric. As a young girl, Sophia followed her older brother around, asking ôHow does that work?ö Of course, she did not point at any machine or factory. No no. She pointed at living things. She wanted to know how the body worked. Perhaps this had something to do with the chronic illness of her unfortunate mother, or the case of Red Pox that blew through her home when she was seven. Whatever the case, she was filled with a burning desire to understand living things. In her inmost heart, she believed that a living being was like an extremely machine. Understand its inner workings, and you could repair it easily. All you needed was intuitive understanding, and everything would become clear.

á á When she turned thirteen, she turned in an essay on the anatomy of the domestic housecat that earned her a scholarship to the prestigious boarding school Magister Ludi's School for Girls. Ms. Farnsworth never figured out why her precious Mr. Muffins would start hissing whenever Sophia passed by. Sophia learned many useful things at the school. Science! Biology! She even studied physics and math voraciously, seeking to learn anything that could advance her quest for knowledge for complete, intuitive understanding of the living cell. She even bothered with physical education, becoming something of a track star -- after all, how could she heal other bodies if her own was in desuetude?

She also learned some less useful things there. Ettiquette, domestic arts, dancing, music, literature. This is her final report card, written to her mother:

SUBJECT
Artá á á á? C-
"Dubious. While she shows an admirable talent for realism, I increasingly suspect that this talent is born more from an urge to represent everything on the page as literally as possible; a scientific pursuit, rather than an artistic one. She has no personal style, only photorealism. She was bored by workings of the great painters, finding them a waste of time... while I cannot deny the skill she showed in representation, she plainly does not understand the arts or care to learn about them."

Biologyá á A+
"Genius! Her knowledge of the flesh and its workings are incredible... almost intuitive. Bravo! Send her to college or medical school and she is sure to do well."

Dancingá? F
"I frankly do not wish to write of it, but I shall attempt as much. Her motions are practical rather than graceful; her stance hunched-over and bland, her expression unpleasant to the eye, all told... She will never make a society women."

Domestic Artsá B
"Miss Montressor can cook and clean, balance a checkbook, and at least feed any children she might have. When she is so inclined.

She is usually not so inclined."

Ettiquetteá? F
"I'm not sure where to begin.

Frankly, Miss Montressor will never make a lady. I feel dubious even calling her Miss, for she shows no sign of interest in womanly ways. She eats rudely, she fails even the most basic standards in human interaction. I have difficulty imagining her every marrying. Even if she did, she would quickly drive her husband to madness.

The difference between the salad and the cheese fork are lost on her.

She speaks in long, complex sentences. While comprehensible, it makes the mind stumble.

Social conversation is lost on her. She thinks only of masculine vocations, her head always overflowing with thoughts of science in the math. While I certainly do not wish to discourage our graduates from pursuing those fields. However, the ability to communicate in society, build connections, and find a husband are essential in any high-class lady. It is simply the fact of the matter.

I cannot reccomend her any profession in the public's view, much less any attempt to interact at the higher levels of society."


Literatureá? B
"Good enough. I'm just glad to see her gone."


Mathá á A-
"Near-perfect grades. Only student in the class to even attempt logarithms (didn't succeed, but attempt admirable)."

Musicá á F
"I don't think she practiced once in her entire stay at this accademy.

Physicsá á A+
"One of the smartest students to cross my desk in a long time. Showed a particular apptitude for Chemistry."

á á Taking this card back to her mother, Sophia found herself melancholy.

á á "You're so smart! I'm so proud of you!" her mother said, "But can't you be just a little more understanding of the rest of us? Be a little gentler with your mind?"

á á Sophia found herself deeply annoyed. Here she was, trying to extend human life and happiness indefinitely, and they expected her to waste time on everything else. She understood why people enjoyed family, society, and love. But she also understood why she had no time for those things. Maybe in the future, but love was not her fate. Nor was marriage or society. She would study and study, until she knew the body well enough to right all its faults. Maybe then. But not now.

á á It was this summer when her brother died in an accident.

á á Sophia stayed by her mother's side, missing the college entrance exams to help her only remaining relative. But she could only do so much to allay her mother's pain. A woman who had lost more than most ever would. One by one, fate had stripped away all of her loved ones. Maybe her fragile heart preferred death to more suffering. Maybe she knew that Sophia would remain with her for as long a she lived, sacrificing her own bright future in medicine to waste her time on a dying woman. Whatever the case, her mother decided to leave this world.

á á She spent a long time silent after that.

á á Her next trip, now free from family obligations, took her to the big city. She attended med school, passed with flying colors, became a surgeon.

á á For a while, her work approached a fever pitch. She made her work into a crusade for justice. A quest for a eternal life. She studied and studied, becoming the talk of the medical establishment. She published papers, advanced experiments, learned and studied voraciously. She performed twelve-hour surgeries with no sign of exhaustion, running through multiple nurses in the process. For a time, Sophia Montressor was the talk of medicine.

á á Then, Sophia failed.

á á One screwup. She made just one, and lost a life. And they threw her out. One lost patient, and she became persona non grata.

á á This when she got really eccentric. More and more, she realized: "No man who strides below the firmament is trustworthy! For their own good, I must conduct my own research, entirely in secret (by which I mean in a clandestine fashion), so their small vision cannot narrow my own great view of the vast potential lurking, hiding, concealed in SCIENCE!"

á á Here's where she really got weird.

á á She worked her way back up, bit by bit. A gig for a mobster earned her enough favor for him to land her a job at the Academy, as the head nurse. The resumption of her grand work was finally at hand.

But then...

á á


~~~

Stats and Abilities

STATS:

Body:á 6

Mind: 10

Soul: 5



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LEVELá POINTSá á ATTRIBUTE

7á á á á á á á? 14á á á á á á á? Armor (see below)

á á á á á á á á? 22á á á á á á á? Combat Technique (Concealment 2, Critical Strike 1, Dead Eye 2, Precise Aim 2, Steady Hand 2, Two Hand 2)
4á á á á á á 40á á á á á á Defense Combat Mastery
2á á á á á á 30á á á á á á Extra Action
9á á á á á á 36á á á á á á Healing
3á á á á á á 12á á á á á á Massive Damage (lancets)
2á á á á á á 23á á á á á á Power Flux (Medicine), Duration 3
5á á á á á á 15á á á á á á Ranged Attack (lancets)
4á á á á á á 12á á á á á á SKILL: Biological Sciences (specialization: Physiology)
4á á á á á á 8á á á á á á á SKILL: Medical (specialization: Surgery)
3á á á á á á 3á á á á á á á SKILL: Physical Sciences (specialization: Chemistry)
1á á á á á á 12á á á á á á Super Speed
6á á á á á á 12á á á á á á Tough
á á á á á á á 22á á á á á á Lancet (see below)
á á á á á á á 28á á á á á á Health Spray (see below)

ARMOR: Metal Plate | Cost: 14
Level 7
Sophia wears a metal plate beneath her suit, protecting most of her vital organs.



WEAPON: Lancet (x2) | Cost: 22
Weapon 6, Penetrating 4, Teleport 1, Object -2
Collection of magical lancets, one set for each hand.

ITEM: Accelerant Syringe
Superspeed level 1, Duration 1, Deplete -1
IZ FAST!

ITEM: Amphetamine Syringe | Power Flux
Extra Actions Level 1, Duration 1, Deplete -1
One part saline solution, two parts purified cocoa. Feel the burn, baby!

ITEM: Antibiotic/Antiviral Syringe
Resistance Level 8, Duration 1, Deplete -1
Well, at least the nausea stopped.

ITEM: Morphine Syringe | Power Flux
EP Healing Level 4 (40 EP), Deplete -1
I'm... like... trippin' balls, man.

ITEM: Steroid Syringe | Power Flux
Supestrength Level 1, Duration 1, Deplete -1
IZ STRONG!


The Reformation of Human Flesh | COST: 37
Healing 9, Range 1, Area 3 (10 meters) Selective: Only Allies
Deplete -4
Sophia spins in the air as ambulances sound into the distance. Industrial hoses emerge from under her coat as she sprays the party with restorative fluids, mending together flesh and even restoring the near-dead to perfect health! She makes this little speech:

"Gather together broken flesh,
Knight together broken bone,
I give you my word:
The kiss of eternity is just inside my grasp.

Eternal life: I give my word,
Eternal life: I shall return,
Eternal life: Within my grasp,
Eternal life: I shall have."


Total Points Used: 500


Defects:

Obsessive

+6 CP

Sophia is obsessed with SCIENCE. Everything must be done in the name of SCIENCE.



Speech Impairment

+3

Sophia speaks in long, abstract sentences. Anything more than ôGo this wayö tends to get garbled.



Attack Combat Value: ((6+10+5)/3) = (21/3) = 7 (12 with lancets)

Defense Combat Value: ((6+10+5)/3 +4 = (21/3) +4 = 11

Damage Multiplier: 5 (7 with lancets)

Health Points: (6 + 5)5 + 30 = 85

Energy Points: (10 + 5)5 + 0 = 75

Shock Value: 80/5 = 16

 

[Ray]

Just one? One is not enough! Join, peoples, dammit. <_<

 

[Aarik]

You're gonna have to advertise a bit, Everything else RPG is one of the five least touched boards, not to be confused with the 5 boards which are NEVER touched.

 

[cgobyd]

I am interested in playing but I already am part of a game on Sat, any chance of change in time?

 

[Ray]

Saturday night is the general guideline, but I can also GM on a good chunk of Sunday, and provided nothing comes up, I can make time on most Friday nights.

 

[Christopher Robin]

Well, I'll take a look at the book and see. Dunno if I could do Saturdays, I have D&D those mornings once my game starts again.

 

[Ray]

Like I said, the Saturday thing is only a guideline. If it turns out most of the party can't make it at that time, we can always arrange another date.

 

[Christopher Robin]

This appears to be oddly unpopular. I can find almost nowhere online to discuss third edition BESM.

 

[zerohour]

Saturday may or may not work, depending on if the D&D game we're trying to organize finally picks up an starts working. I should have enough time to play, but the time slot available has yet to be determined, since I'm not sure if afternoons or evenings are available.

Still, I'd like to try this out, so I'll draw up a character.

 

[Christopher Robin]

A few questions... firstly, are there any genre skills, or should we use the base multi-genre costs? Secondly, any more background detail you wanna give us, or restrictions of character type or anything?

 

[Ray]

Use the costs, skills and attributes as shown in the book + whatever skills and attributes you might want to invent yourselves using the "Unique" Attribute/Skill option (though those will have to be run through me first).

As for setting/character restrictions... nah. See, I intended this setting as being something along the lines of Magical Fantasy meets Steampunk meets the 1940s, which means guns, airships, rudimentary computers, etc. This means you can be pretty much anything you can think of, provided it doesn't outright violate the setting (i.e. a lightsaber wielding mage, crazy though it may be, is justifiable if you can think of a good background. A starfighter pilot, not so much).

 

[MannequinMuse]

Well, this sounds cool and less math-y than D&D and I've got time, but Imma read the books before I commit. If anyone wants to chat about it, I'm idling on the IRC.

 

[Urdarum]

I would be willing to play but I need a time frame, I'm currently DMing Saturdays from 15 to 22-23 (GMT -5) so I'm not sure I would be able to play with you. In any case, would it be okay if I arrive a little late?

Any other day is fine as the other campaigns I was playing are done and I start classes in two weeks at least.

 

[Ray]

Like I said, I can work Friday afternoons and nights. The same for Sunday, provided we don't start the session *too* late in the evening.

As for being a little late, Urdarum, it's no problem at all. We're not exactly keeping punch clocks here, it's just for fun. ^_^

 

[Vexarian]

How do you play?

Also, do you still care about the game I'm running, or has your interest waned?

 

[cgobyd]

This is what I have so far.

-snip-

Check Latest

 

[Ray]

To start with, you can only have two defects (so start hacking some off), and I'm not letting you get away with naming your character the same as your screenname.

To follow up, if you use Alternate Identity instead of Alternate Form, the changes in form that you can take will be only cosmetic ones - Alternate Identity doesn't affect your attributes. If this is what you were going for, though, it's alright.

Another thing

7? ? ? ? 35? ? ? Regeneration (Variable, Darkness/Shadow)? ?

Considering that you're currently locked in a huge building with no electric power, during what appears to be a perpetual night, I don't think I can let you get away with the Darkness/Shadow variable for Regen. So either nerf it, taking Regen lvl. 3 for 30 points, or (and this is where I encourage you to get creative) find a more believable variable excuse.

To finish, I'm going to assume that this guy is a ghost (do correct me if I'm wrong). That's actually a pretty cool concept, but if so, you're going to have to put quite a bit more in the background than that. Why was he in the Academy when shit went down? What's his personality, his mannerisms, his looks ("he has scars" doesn't suffice)? How do his psychological traumas affect his character alignment (i.e, do they make him more chaotic and prone to lash out? Do they make him bitter? Or do they make him be a better person for the sake of keeping others from going through what he did?)? Does his insubstantial form prevent him from interacting with others through touch, or can he manage it through concentration/telekinesis?

Mind you, it doesn't have to be all seriousness (this RP doesn't take itself all *that* seriously in the first place - if you want ghost!guy to have a phobia for cakes and a fetish for musclewomen, I'll be perfectly happy to allow it while laughing uproariously at the same time), but it does need to have a certain degree of effort - you can't just wing it.

? How do you play?

Read the book.

In the meantime, here's a simple summary.

Think of it as an open-ended PC RPG. You start out with a blank slate for a character and a set number of points for his/her stats and abilities.

First, you choose his/her looks and background. Then, you spend points on his/her stats. Once you've done that, you use whatever points you have left to buy skills/abilities or items for him/her.

After that, you give him/her two Defects, which give you a number of extra points you can use to keep buying stuff or to save up for later.

As for that forum RP, no offense but... meh. Seriously, meh. From the very beginning.

 

[cgobyd]

To start with, you can only have two defects (so start hacking some off), and I'm not letting you get away with naming your character the same as your screenname.

Ok boss man. Though truthfully I used my screenname because I'm used to responding to it and I tend to accidentally use my real name when I'm not. So if I refer to myself as Chris in game, my apologies.

Also some of those defects I was planning on having part of my overall character is it ok if I keep them just not add CP's?

To follow up, if you use Alternate Identity instead of Alternate Form, the changes in form that you can take will be only cosmetic ones - Alternate Identity doesn't affect your attributes. If this is what you were going for, though, it's alright.

Dang I was hoping I could slip that past P)

Another thing

7á á á á 35á á á Regeneration (Variable, Darkness/Shadow)á á

Considering that you're currently locked in a huge building with no electric power, during what appears to be a perpetual night, I don't think I can let you get away with the Darkness/Shadow variable for Regen. So either nerf it, taking Regen lvl. 3 for 30 points, or (and this is where I encourage you to get creative) find a more believable variable excuse.

Huh must have missed that. Any suggestions on alternatives that I can consider? I'm going to try and keep with the ghost theme, though I might need to nerf it to meet point requirement now that I got rid of all but two defects.

I also might need to get supersense now.

To finish, I'm going to assume that this guy is a ghost (do correct me if I'm wrong).

Yup

What's his personality, his mannerisms, his looks ("he has scars" doesn't suffice)?

Yeah... I'm not to good at this part but I will try.

Why was he in the Academy when shit went down?

That would be part of the back-story I'm trying (and failing so far) to write.

How do his psychological traumas affect his character alignment (i.e, do they make him more chaotic and prone to lash out? Do they make him bitter? Or do they make him be a better person for the sake of keeping others from going through what he did?)?

Due to his history he is a little jaded, but still basically in good spirits. The major thing it did have on his personality is that he is distrustful of adults which is why he stays/acts as a child would. (Think of washu)

Does his insubstantial form prevent him from interacting with others through touch, or can he manage it through concentration/telekinesis?

I was planning on the flight and telekinesis taking care of touch/movement when I was insubstantial.

 

[Rooster455]

Well, since I've never done a character sheet ever in my life (Yep total n00b is I) it might take me a bit to create one, but I'd love to join in for my first non-free form RPG.

EDIT: I've finished writing up the character sheet, but if someone could go through it and make sure I did everything right, I would appreciate it.

Aloysius "Dragon" Craft

 

[Ray]

You did pretty damn well, actually, but there are some crucial errors:

LEVEL? POINTS? ATTRIBUTE

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 28? ? ? ? ? ? Combat Technique ( Dead Eye 2, Extended Range 1, Far Shot 1, Hardboiled 2, Judge Opponent 2, Lethal Blow 1, Lightning Reflexes 2, Steady Hand 2, Weapons Encyclopaedia 1)
5? ? ? ? ? ? 50? ? ? ? ? ? ? Attack Combat Mastery
4? ? ? ? ? ? 40? ? ? ? ? ? ? Defense Combat Mastery
6? ? ? ? ? ? 12? ? ? ? ? ? ? Heightened Awareness
? ? ? ? ? ? ? 31? ? ? ? ? ? ? Item (Heavy Body Armour 10, Assualt Rifle 5, Pistol 3, Combat Knife 1, Frag Grenade 6, Flash-Bang Grenade 0)
? ? ? ? ? ? ? 20? ? ? ? ? ? ? Massive Damage (Guns 3, Unarmed 2)
? ? ? ? ? ? ? 24? ? ? ? ? ? ? Melee Attack (Knife 3, Unarmed 5)
4? ? ? ? ? ? 12? ? ? ? ? ? ? Melee Defence
? ? ? ? ? ? ? 49? ? ? ? ? ? ? Ranged Attack (Rifle 6, Hand Gun 4, Machine Gun 3)
4? ? ? ? ? ? 12? ? ? ? ? ? ? Ranged Defence
5? ? ? ? ? ? 10? ? ? ? ? ? ? Tough
4? ? ? ? ? ? 4? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? SKILL: Demolitions
5? ? ? ? ? ? 10? ? ? ? ? ? ? SKILL: Military Sciences
4? ? ? ? ? ? 8? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? SKILL: Interrogation
4? ? ? ? ? ? 4? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? SKILL: Social Sciences
4? ? ? ? ? ? 4? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? SKILL: Wilderness Survival


ARMOUR: Heavy Body Armour | Cost: 10
Level 10, Rating 20


WEAPON: XM8 Assault Rifle | Cost: 10
Weapon 5, Accurate 2, Autofiring 3, Penetrating 3, Range 3, Ammo -1


WEAPON: Pistol | Cost: 5
Weapon 3, Accurate 1, Penetrating 1, Range 2


WEAPON: Combat Knife | Cost: 1
Weapon 1


WEAPON: Grenade: Fragmentation | Cost: 5
Level 6, Area 3, Range 1, Activation -1, Ammo -4, Innaccurate.


WEAPON: Grenade: Flash-Bang | Cost: 0
Level 0, Area 2, Flare 2 (Sight, Hearing), Range 1, Activation -1, Ammo -4, Tactic -2

To start with, scrape Ranged/Melee Attack and Ranged/Melee Defense. Attack Combat Mastery and Defense Combat Mastery already imply a certain mastery of all attack/defense tactics, rendering Ranged/Melee Attack/Defence redundant (and illegal).

Use the freed-up CP for something else.

Your items are fine, for the most part , though I'd suggest getting more than one grenade. Btw, Innacurate doesn't stack with Area, so feel free to take that off. Also, "Tactic" isn't an in-book restriction, so if you're going to throw it in, I'd like you to explain it first (or take it off, really. You don't need that many restrictions, particularly considering that the flashbang grenades don't really cost all that much to start with)


On your Assault Rifle:

Range 3 implies a 1 km range. I don't know a lot about rifle-ranges, but I'd say a range that high really doesn't make a lot of sense, particularly since you're stuck inside a building. Lower it for Range 2, which gives you a more wieldy 100 m of range.

Also, you have Ammo -1 on your Assault Rifle, that implies that you can attack with it at most six times (I'll be nice and won't count the free autofire attacks) before it runs out of ammo and becomes useless until you can get more to reload with. Keep that in mind. Fortunately, with your high damage multiplier and high Penetrating, that means you'll still be dealing a good 40 damage a hit. I'd try to maximize, though. You can still go at least one or two weapon levels higher according to the Weapon rules in the OP.

Alternatively, you could scrape the Assault Rifle as it is and use the new points you got from scraping Ranged/Melee Attack/Defence to make a magic assault rifle, which would be justified in using a (high) Deplete instead of Ammo and doing a fuckton more damage... provided you can come up with a proper backstory for it. ^_^

Another thing. I want you to add "Portable Armoury" to your Combat Techniques. For two points, it justifies your insane stockpile of weapons, lets you carry even more, and lets you switch between weapons without any penalty.

One last thing: Each of your Skills gets a free Specialization. Pick them and write them down on the sheet. Finally, since your character has been working at the Academy for a while and has lived in Melena for a long time, you'd probably want to pick up Skill: Area Knowledge.

Besides this, everything seems to be in order. Damn good job.

 

[Urdarum]

Okay, here is my try.
Sorry for the wait but it was hard to put the caracter concept down.

Character Point Pool: 500

Character Data

Name: PSS-001B

Age: 21

Sex: unknown

Species/Race: Shapeshifter

Physical Description: PSS-001B can be easily described as a floating ball of grey goo of about an average human male mass and an average diameter of a meter.

It can transform into his ôJeridö form were it becomes a pale and tin human male of about sixteen years old with long brown hair tied into a ponytail and green eyes. He is dressed in elaborate blue red and gold robes that could easily impair movement but he seems used to move in them with no problems.

In his Lia form it looks like a well developed human girl of about fourteen years, she has knee-length brown hair held away of her head by a red bandana, she has a pale skin with contrasts with her blood red eyes. Her clothing consists of some skin-tight white pants with a red miniskirt over them and a tank top of the same red as the miniskirt with a black open vest over it. She carries with her a large polearm made of dark wood with engravings of wines in it and finishing in a big two-sided axe made of a red metal and engraved with the image of a flower bed.

Background:
PSS-001B is a failed experiment made by an unknown wizard twenty one years ago, this wizard tried to create a shape shifting race and show it as testament of the reach of his powers. For this he hired the Telekinetic mage apprentice Jerid and showed him how to un tap his potential to control the elements in order to make him useful in the upcoming ritual of transformation.

But the wizard was not with out enemies that would let him reach his objectives easily and more than once Jerid and his teacher had to frustrate assassination attempts, it was in one of these attempts that the wizard learned the name of the assassins hirer and using his shadow magic he was able to launch a counterattack. Jerid was left behind to protect the base as his master dealt once and for all with his bothersome opponent.

The wizard attacked his enemy mansion and overpowered his guard with ease thank to his shadow minions and magic and would have destroyed the mansion while destroying everyone inside if Lia had not appeared with Blood Flower and rallied the guards to start a new offensive that managed to stop the ritual but was otherwise useless as the remaining forces were severely outnumbered and in the aftermath of the ritual disruption Lia was captured. Impressed with the then pre-teen warrior efforts he took her to a cell under his laboratory after finishing the attack and claiming his opponent life.

For the next three years the wizard would center his experimentation around the way to modify Lia so that she would be the mother of the new race he was creating while leaving while leaving everything else, even the care of the mother of his new race, to Jerid. It was at some point of these three years, PSS-001B cannot recall when, that both teenagers fell in love.

When the three years ended the wizard prepared the ritual he had worked so much to create and ordered Jerid to take Lia out of her cell and bring her to the gardens. Jerid believing the opportunity perfect to help her escape eagerly obeyed, but both men would be disappointed with the results of that evening event and see there plans backfire on them.

Once Lia was brought to the gardens the wizard started the ritual while Jerid feigning to help him cast a teleporting spell on her. The result of a clash would obviously be the master victory so in Jerid eyes speed was of the essence and it was that speed that allowed his master to see thru his ruse and hasten his ritual as well. While the casters prepared their spells Lia was trying to think of a way to tell her lover she was pregnant and that the spells may have affected the baby somehow as she felt it growing and moving even if she wasnÆt even two months into the pregnancy.

Lia fell to the ground just as the casters readied the last symbols. Jerid, abandoning all pretence teleported to her side as his master finished the spell and the shadow energies he commanded created a small sphere around Lia that evolved her and Jerid. The wizard waited a while expecting to see the transmuted girl once the sphere dissolved yet instead he saw a smaller sphere emerge and shot a tendril in his direction he attacked with his shadow magic but the creature seemed to feed of it, when the tendril impacted with his arm smaller tendrils shoot out of it piercing his lungs in a surprise attack. With his last strengths the wizard activated the emergency protections and cast his first and last shape shifter PSS-001B into oblivion.

Thankfully for PSS-001B JeridÆs master had not been able to finish the spell and he was only trapped in a shadow version of his castle. For the next twenty one years he would hunt the castle and learn a little about itself. The first thing it learned is that both Jerid and Lia were dead and that it was in fact their heir, it also learned that copies from both of them at the moment of death lived inside his and he could take their forms anytime but doing so he forgo a bit of his decision making capacities to the copy mind of said parent. Hunting the castle he also faced numerous exorcists who make him confront what he was, not ashamed of what he was but disgusted at been recognized as one of the wizards creations it took the habit of taking one form per day. This had the side effect of developing both form personalities that could act as lover to each other or as brothers with the same ease.

Using what little memories of his parents he had left he took one of LiaÆs favored location and a more powerful version of JeridÆs now perma-cast teleport he prepared himself to escape. Two years have passed since and the knowledge of magic has since faded from his mind and the spell has yet to work, but tonight the moon is turning red and perhaps it could finally visit the Zephyran Academy itÆs mother wanted so much to go to when she grew.

Stats and Abilities

STATS:

Body : 1
Mind : 7
Soul : 7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Form: PSS-001B

LEVEL? POINTS? ATTRIBUTE
9 /81? /Alternate Form (Jerid)
9? /81? /Alternate Form (Lia)
2? /16 /Flight
6 /12 /Special Defense (Lack of food, air, water x2)
2 /40 /Damage Absorption (Shadow magic) ûBoost: Combined restoration
3 /9 /Ranged Defence: Personal
3 /6 /Super sense ôBlind sightö
5 /72 /Mimic Powers û One Power (Magic) [Deplete 3]
6 /2 /Energy Bonus
/18 /Grey Whip
/10 /Combat Technique (Lightening Reflexes 2, Lethal Blow, Critical Strike,? ? ? ? Deflection)


Weapon: Grey Whip Cost:18
Weapon 6, Autofire 1, Reach 2, Flexible 1
A grey whip like razor edged extremity that shots out of the main body, if it hits it can create smaller copies to shoot out of it.

Total Points Used: 497

Defects:

Impaired Manipulation
+9 cp
In his natural form PSS-001B has no extremities.

Marked
+3 cp
PSS+001B natural form is a floating grey ball.

Attack Combat Value: ((1+7+7)/3) = (15/3) = 5

Defense Combat Value: ((1+7+7)/3 = (15/3) = 5

Damage Multiplier: 5

Health Points: (1 + 5)5 + 0 = 30

Energy Points: (7 + 7)5 + 30 = 100

Shock Value: 30/5 = 6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Form: Jerid

STATS:
Body : 5
Mind : 7
Soul : 7
LEVEL? POINTS? ATTRIBUTE
9? /81? /Alternate Form (Lia)
2? /20 /Teleport
6 /12 /Special Defense (Lack of food, air, water x2)
2 /40 /Damage Absorption (Shadow magic) ûBoost: Combined restoration
3 /9 /Ranged Defence: Personal
3 /6 /Super sense ôBlind sightö
5 /72 /Mimic Powers û One Power (Magic) [Deplete 3]
6 /2 /Energy Bonus
/10 /Combat Technique (Lightening Reflexes 2, Lethal Blow, Critical Strike,? ? ? ? Deflection)

4 /15 /Telekinesis (Fire) [Deplete 1]
4 /15 /Telekinesis (Water) [Deplete 1]
2 /15 /Telekinesis [Deplete 1]
5 /5 /Block Power (Telekinesis) [Deplete 1]
4 /4 /Block Power (Ranged Magic attacks) [Deplete 1]

Defects:

Involuntary Change
+2 cp
Jerid changes back to PSS-001B when his energy falls below a quarter or he is tired.

Attack Combat Value: ((5+7+7)/3) = (19/3) = 6

Defense Combat Value: ((5+7+7)/3 = (19/3) = 6

Damage Multiplier: 5

Health Points: (5 + 7)5 + 0 = 60

Energy Points: (7 + 7)5 + 30 = 100

Shock Value: 60/5 = 12
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Form: Lia

STATS:
Body : 7
Mind : 7
Soul : 7
LEVEL? POINTS? ATTRIBUTE
9? /81? /Alternate Form (Jerid)
6 /12 /Special Defense (Lack of food, air, water x2)
2 /40 /Damage Absorption (Shadow magic) ûBoost: Combined restoration
3 /9 /Ranged Defence: Personal
3 /6 /Super sense ôBlind sightö
5 /72 /Mimic Powers û One Power (Magic) [Deplete 3]
6 /2 /Energy Bonus
/10 /Combat Technique (Lightening Reflexes 2, Lethal Blow, Critical Strike,? ? ? ? Deflection)

1 /11 /Superspeed [Deplete 1]
1 /7 /Super strength [Deplete 1]
2 /8 /Massive Damage (Blood Flower)
3 /9 /Melee Attack (Blood Flower)
2 /6 /Melee Defense (Blood Flower)
/16 /Blood Flower
.
Weapon: Blood Flower Cost: 16
Weapon 8, Reach1, Hands -1
Lia carries a polearm that ends in a powerful axe.

Defects:

Involuntary Change
+2 cp
Lia changes back to PSS-001B when her energy falls below a quarter or she is tired.

Attack Combat Value: ((7+7+7)/3) = (21/3) = 7

Defense Combat Value: (7+7+7)/3 = (21/3) = 7

Damage Multiplier: 5
with Blood Flower : 5+2: 7

Health Points: (7 + 7)5 + 0= 70

Energy Points: (7 + 7)5 + 30 = 100

Shock Value: 70/5 = 14

Ray, it would really help me if we could play on fridays but as I said if I have no problems with saturdays aslong as I can arrive around 11pm (gtm -5) as I can't play earlier.

PSS-001B

 

[Rooster455]

To start with, scrape Ranged/Melee Attack and Ranged/Melee Defense. Attack Combat Mastery and Defense Combat Mastery already imply a certain mastery of all attack/defense tactics, rendering Ranged/Melee Attack/Defence redundant (and illegal).

Use the freed-up CP for something else.

Your items are fine, for the most part , though I'd suggest getting more than one grenade. Btw, Innacurate doesn't stack with Area, so feel free to take that off. Also, "Tactic" isn't an in-book restriction, so if you're going to throw it in, I'd like you to explain it first (or take it off, really. You don't need that many restrictions, particularly considering that the flashbang grenades don't really cost all that much to start with)


On your Assault Rifle:

Range 3 implies a 1 km range. I don't know a lot about rifle-ranges, but I'd say a range that high really doesn't make a lot of sense, particularly since you're stuck inside a building. Lower it for Range 2, which gives you a more wieldy 100 m of range.

Also, you have Ammo -1 on your Assault Rifle, that implies that you can attack with it at most six times (I'll be nice and won't count the free autofire attacks) before it runs out of ammo and becomes useless until you can get more to reload with. Keep that in mind. Fortunately, with your high damage multiplier and high Penetrating, that means you'll still be dealing a good 40 damage a hit. I'd try to maximize, though. You can still go at least one or two weapon levels higher according to the Weapon rules in the OP.

Alternatively, you could scrape the Assault Rifle as it is and use the new points you got from scraping Ranged/Melee Attack/Defence to make a magic assault rifle, which would be justified in using a (high) Deplete instead of Ammo and doing a fuckton more damage... provided you can come up with a proper backstory for it. ^_^

Another thing. I want you to add "Portable Armoury" to your Combat Techniques. For two points, it justifies your insane stockpile of weapons, lets you carry even more, and lets you switch between weapons without any penalty.

One last thing: Each of your Skills gets a free Specialization. Pick them and write them down on the sheet. Finally, since your character has been working at the Academy for a while and has lived in Melena for a long time, you'd probably want to pick up Skill: Area Knowledge.

Besides this, everything seems to be in order. Damn good job.

Okay, I've updated the Character sheet. I've scraped the Range A/D and Melee A/D, made the changes to the grenades (I had copied them straight out of the book), modified my rifle with Activation instead of Ammo, added the portable armory skill as well as a few others with the left over CP.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[cgobyd]

Here is my updated character sheet. I still need to write the background, and to find a new variable for my regeneration.

I added durable to powerflux, but can I still dismiss the items when I'm done?

Character Point Pool 500á áá
Character Dataá á á
Name: Haniaá áá
Age: 400+á áá
Sex Maleá áá
Species/Race Humaná áá
á á á
Physical Descrpiton:

"In his adult form Hania stands at 158 cm tall with shoulder length silver hair and blue eyes.á He has pale skin and a medium, though wiry body.á He has an upside down triangle with an eldritch symbol burned on his forehead and three parallel tattooed lines on his cheek.á Finally he has three long scars going from his right shoulder to his left hip across his back from a claw wound.

In his child form Hania stands at 70 cm tall with silver hair going to his waist and blue eyes.á He has pale skin and a small childÆs body.á He has three parallel tattooed lines on his cheek.á He keeps the three long scars going from his right shoulder to his left hip across his back from the claw wound.
In his adult form Hania stands at 158 cm tall with shoulder length silver hair and blue eyes.á He has pale skin and a medium, though wiry body.á He has an upside down triangle with an eldritch symbol burned on his forehead and three parallel tattooed lines on his cheek.á Finally he has three long scars going from his right shoulder to his left hip across his back from a claw wound.

In his child form Hania stands at 70 cm tall with silver hair going to his waist and blue eyes.á He has pale skin and a small childÆs body.á He has three parallel tattooed lines on his cheek.á He keeps the three long scars going from his right shoulder to his left hip across his back from the claw wound."

Background:

Hania is a ghost hailing from a small town in a country long dead.? He does not remember anything before He died and his only clue is waking up in a burning village full of the dead with dragon tracks going through it.? While searching the surrounding country side he came across a small child who had been gravely wounded.? He stopped to try and help but found that the child could neither see nor feel him.? He stayed with the child until he passed and then decided to leave the area, and the death.? But everywhere he went all he could find was wars.? Hania would travel from one place to another and observe what was happening learning all that he could of himself and those around him.? But he found that he could neither touch anything nor could he be seen.? This continued on for so many years that Hania stopped keeping track and the country and all clues to his past had been lost to the ravages of War.?

Everything changed one hundred years prior.? At this time there was a war that traveled from one end of the world to the other and seemed to encompass everything.? During this time Hania came across a Mage who promised that he could help Hania return to the living.? While reluctant after all that he seen the promise of being alive again, to feel and breath, and eat once again was to great and he agreed.? Now with a goal the Mage started to work on the problem, and for months on end he would sequester himself away researching a solution to HaniaÆs problem.?

Close to a year later the Mage told Hania that he had finally found a way to revive him before he started make preparations.? Once the preparations had been completed Hania was instructed to float on a table in the middle of a magical array.? When he did the ritual began.? At first nothing seemed to be happening until he started feeling the warmth returning to his body.? He was ecstatic because he could actually feel again, he could smell, and taste, and breathe!? This was the best moment ever since he had woken up in the village.? But then something started to go wrong.? He started hearing whispers when no one was speaking.? They spoke of treachery and slavery, and conquest.? He could feel anger, and joy, and greed that were not his own.? And then he saw it, the Mage was reaching for a branding iron with his symbol on it and he realized that the Mage was planning on enslaving him.? When he tried to get away he felt something holding him back and when he looked down he realized that at some time during the procedure shackles had extended from the table and were now holding him down.? As he struggled the Mage came closer and closer and then as the Mage held the branding iron against HaniaÆs forehead something unlocked inside him.? For one brief moment Hania could see inside the Mages mind, he could see all his plans, all his thoughts and all his memories.? Then the moment was over and the world exploded back into view and everything around Hania was thrown back.? The shackles disintegrated and the walls were destroyed.? As Hania left he did not spare the now comatose Mage a backwards glance his only thoughts on getting away.

While running he came to the conclusion that adults were not to be trusted.? All they did was fight, and argue and betray.? None of them did anything for someone else or because it was right just for their own selfish needs.? After running for a while he started to feel strange.? He felt dizzy, and nauseous and tired and decided to rest for a while.? While resting he fell asleep and slept until sunrise the next day.? Once awakening something was off he was shorter and when he spoke it was not his voice that came out.? Going to a nearby stream he looked into the water, but didnÆt see his reflection.? He tried to reach out and discovered that not only could he not see his reflection, he could not touch nor feel the water.? And then it dawned on him that he was once again he was a ghost, unable to touch or feel, or be seen.? He grew to despair until he remembered the previous day.? He remembered stuff flying around and he remembered reading the Mages mind.? He figured that if he could do this maybe he could do other things, and maybe even become alive again.

Having a new purpose he jumped up and then remember his other problem, namely that he was shorter then he should be.? After looking his body over he decided that he must have de-aged and in light of his new conclusion that was fine, for he no longer trusted adults nor did he wish to be one.? Settling this he went off to learn about his abilities.? He spent many a year testing himself and studying.? He found that he could read minds, and that he could form illusions.? He could form shields, and physical items, and call forth companions.? He could move things with his mind and he could even take over peoples bodies.? But sadly he could neither become visible nor could he touch things.? The closest that he came was by using an illusion to form the likeness of his body and using his telekinesis to touch stuff, and get a general feel of the object.

For one-hundred years he studied and practiced until one day while practicing his telepathy he picked up a stray thought that the Zephyran Academy in Melena was researching spirits and the afterlife.? Thinking they might know something about how to help him he decides to go and check-out what if anything this academy knew.

Personality:

Despite the hardships Hania has gone through he is still generally a decent, and cheerful spirit.á Due to the many atrocities he has seen in his long life he now has a fairly low opinion of adults and is distrustful of those he meets.á And due to this distrust and his favored form he tends to identify with, and get along with children more then adults.á áá

Stats and Abilities

STATS
Body: 5
Mind: 6
Soul: 10

Level/ Point/ Attribute
10/ 80 / Insubstantial
5 / 25 / Regeneration (Variable, Cold)
2/ 16 / Flight
5 / 20 / Force Field (Offensive)
3/ 18 / Invisibility (Sight, Smell)
4 / 27 / Power Flux - Creation Minor (Duration 0) (Durable)
1 / 9 / Mind Control (All living beings)(Duration 5, Range 1, Backlash -2)
2 / 4 / Supersense
1/ 5 / Telepathy (Allies) (4 Range)
3 / 12 / Illusion (Extra Senses Touch, Sound, Smell) (1 Illusions)
24 / 48 / Special Defenses (Sleep, Ageing, Lack of Air/Food/Water, Disease, Freezing Cold, Overheating, Freezing Water, Low/High Pressure)
1 / 2 / Alternative Identity (Child)
4 / 34/ Telekinesis (Range 3)

Total Points Used: 500

Defects
Ageism Hania is distrustful of adults, and those who act like adults.
4

Marked Hania has three large scars going from right shoulder to left hip across his back no matter the form.
2

Attack Combat Value: 7
Defense Combat Value: 7
Damage Multiplier: 5
Health Points: 75
Energy Points: 80
Shock Value: 15

Note: The Child form is the perfered form and while instubtantial Hania will use telekinesis and flight to move and touch things.

Edit: 1 Got rid of Swarm added illusion, telepathy, Supersense

Edit: 2 Changed Regeneration variable to cold (Though I might go with negative emotions such as fear/anger/sadness). Though I do not know what would be weak/moderate/strong for it, Since as far as I can tell it is supposed to be somewhat common.

Edit: 3 Put in completed (I believe) Background.

 

[cgobyd]

Sorry for the double posts but I have a question.

Under the Multiple Illusions header in the Illusions Attribute section it says that a level 3 illusions would cost 10 points. But the table says Illusions cost 2 points/level. So is this just a mistake in the book or was I missing something.

Also is Irreversible two ways? I was thinking of assigning it to Insubstantial, and Invisible and then having telekinesis/flight be my way of touching/moving and an illusion be how people would see me. This would leave me insubstantial and invisible all the other times. The reason why is in my backstory which I finally got half-way without becoming disgusted with it and trashing it. (<(")<, >(")>, <(")> Do the Kirby dance!)