# [OOC] Guardsmith's The Draminov Cases (full)



## Guardsmith (Mar 11, 2007)

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Link to other threads:

In character thread - here

Rogues Gallery - here 

****************************************************************************

	Before I get to the specifics, let me start with a couple general things. First, feats, skills, starting occupations and such from the Core Rulebook (which I’m going to abbreviate as CR) are all pre-approved, meaning that you don’t have to ask for my approval to take them. If you would like to do something that isn’t in the CR, please ask first. 

	I do own a few additional books in addition to the CR, namely:
		Urban Arcana
		Menace Manual
		d20 Past
		d20 Future
		Modern Player’s Companion
           Ultramodern Firearms
	 Now, this is not a list of the allowed books, but it is a list of books that have the material that will get the fastest approval/disapproval. Stuff from other books will take time, as I will have to research or buy the book.

	Secondly, I’d like to use Invisible Castle to verify rolls.

	Now on to specifics:

Ability scores:  To generate ability scores, use the Planned Generation method on CR page 15. PCs have 28 points to distribute. No starting ability score may be below 8 or above 18.

Starting level: All PCs will begin at level 2 with maximum Hit Points for both levels.

Wealth: Players may either determine their character’s starting Wealth bonus randomly (as explained on CR p38) or, instead of rolling, they may figure their starting bonus as if they had rolled a 5 and add the appropriate bonuses from their starting occupation and, possibly, the Windfall feat. Player’s may not, however, take the latter option if they have already rolled for random determination.

Setting:  For the most part, the setting of the campaign will resemble the Shadow Chasers campaign setting in the CR. The PCs are “average joes” with the ability to see the Shadow and its activities while “normals” can not. 

	The time period is present day, and to make life easy for me, the location is Boston, Massachusetts, and its environs.

Magic: As stated in my previous post, the magic level in this campaign will be in the medium area; to compare it to the campaign settings in the CR, it will have more magic than Shadow Chasers, but not as much as Urban Arcana. As far as advanced and prestige classes go, mages and their derivatives are permitted. Acolytes and all psionic classes are not. Some divine spells (specifically healing) will be added to the mage’s spell list, but we can deal with that in more detail when the time comes. 

Backgrounds: PCs will have a fair amount of freedom, within reason, as far as background info goes. All I ask is two things:

	1. Somewhere in their background, your character should have had some brush with the supernatural. Not just any brush; it has to be one that caused problems for them. Perhaps they saw/felt/heard something and no one else did. They may have lost a job or friend or something like that because of it, but I’ll leave the details up to you. What is important is that they experienced something, others didn’t believe them, and the character suffered as a result.

	2. While I don’t mind party banter and competition, intra-party fighting and combat is not appropriate for this campaign. Please try to make characters that can work together. They don’t have to like each other, but they do have to realize they are all on the same side.

	OK, that’s all I can think of for the moment. I’ve posted House Rules and some revised damage and armor stuff here in PDF that people should take a look at. Just let me know if anyone has any questions.

	Oh, one last thing. In addition to this thread, I’ll make a Rogues Gallery  thread for people to post characters. While I don’t mind people seeing each other’s stats, I would like for PCs’ backgrounds to remain confidential from other players. As I’m a novice at this, what the best way to accomplish this?


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## Jemal (Mar 11, 2007)

woo! first post.

OK, best way to keep backgrounds from being shared would be (IMO) to have us all use Spoilers ( [ sblock ] and [ /sblock ] Without the spaces), put the backgrounds in there and then we work off of Trust.  If you don't like that idea, post your email address and we can just email them to you.  I personally prefer the Spoilers to email.

NOW, as to our brush with the supernatural.. You said it had to be something that really affected us, but is there a specific limit on how big, or on what kind of supernatural?

(Ghosts, Werewolves, Vampires, Time Travel, Witchcraft, Lost father when father gave life to stop an Apocalypse)? etc etc etc... Just wondering if there are any specifics that wouldn't work for you.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 11, 2007)

Jemal said:
			
		

> OK, best way to keep backgrounds from being shared would be (IMO) to have us all use Spoilers ( [ sblock ] and [ /sblock ] Without the spaces), put the backgrounds in there and then we work off of Trust.  If you don't like that idea, post your email address and we can just email them to you.  I personally prefer the Spoilers to email.




I thought those might be the only methods, but I wasn't sure. Unless, someone has a better idea, go ahead and use the Spoilers.



			
				Jemal said:
			
		

> NOW, as to our brush with the supernatural.. You said it had to be something that really affected us, but is there a specific limit on how big, or on what kind of supernatural?
> 
> (Ghosts, Werewolves, Vampires, Time Travel, Witchcraft, Lost father when father gave life to stop an Apocalypse)? etc etc etc... Just wondering if there are any specifics that wouldn't work for you.




Ummm ... don't make it too big, i.e. Apocalypse-sized. Something that happened to you and no more than 20-30 people.

As for type:

Ghosts, vampires, other undead = OK
Werewolves, other lycanthropes = OK
Witchcraft & magic = OK
Time Travel = not OK
Angels, demons, fiends = OK
Goblins, orcs, ogres, drow = not OK
elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes = not OK


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## Insight (Mar 11, 2007)

I'd like to try a martial arts character using the Blood & Fists supplement(s).

Here is a link to the EN World reviews of the product.

EDIT: I also just picked up an alternate martial arts system, Martial Arts Mayhem, by the same folks who did the Modern Players Companion.

OK I've come up with a bit more of a concept for the character.  Let me know if this would work.  

[sblock]Ryu Zanshin was a cop on the Boston PD for seven years until a bullet to the spine left him paralyzed and unlikely ever to walk again.  Despite the many setbacks Ryu endured trying to recover from his injury, one day he was visited by the ghost of his father, Jin.  Ryu's father instructed him to go to Japan and visit his ancestral home.  There, Ryu would learn Zen Archery as well as medicinal techniques that would recover him fully from the paralysis.  With no other real options, Ryu followed the ghost's advice and traveled to Japan.

In Japan, Ryu learned that his ancestors had been heavily involved in Zen Archery as well as Chinese mysticism.  His father's ghost returned, and taught Ryu the basics in both over the next six months.  Ryu grew stronger each day, in both body and spirit, as he applied both medicine and Zen techniques.  Eventually, Ryu would walk again.

Ryu has returned to Boston, but no one would believe that a ghost taught him to walk again.  Unable to return to police work, Ryu has earned a license as a private investigator, but is now unsure of his true calling.  Ryu knows he has a purpose in life, but chooses to let that purpose come to him for now, rather than seek it out.[/sblock]


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## Rhun (Mar 12, 2007)

What about the _Shadow Slayer_ advanced class? I'm thinking of making a PC headed in that direction, but wanted to check it with you first...


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 12, 2007)

Hey there, since airwalker decided to drop out of the game is it still full?


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## Guardsmith (Mar 12, 2007)

*Answers*

A few answers for you guys:

Insight: I'm more open to Martial Arts Mayhem than I am to Blood & Fists. Let me do a bit of research and get back to you.

Rhun: The Shadow Slayer class is fine

Dire Lemming: Some spots may have opened up, but I've got to talk to couple of people first, as they were ahead of you.


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## Insight (Mar 12, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> A few answers for you guys:
> 
> Insight: I'm more open to Martial Arts Mayhem than I am to Blood & Fists. Let me do a bit of research and get back to you.
> 
> ...




Blood & Fists is a lot more comprehensive than is Martial Arts Mayhem - at least for my current character concept.  But as long as you are perhaps open to one or the other I can at least have some sort of martial arts character, which is the goal.  If you are opposed to using Blood & Fists, I'll have to rework the concept or create a completely different idea, neither of which I am afraid to do.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 12, 2007)

*MAM vs. B&F*



			
				Insight said:
			
		

> Blood & Fists is a lot more comprehensive than is Martial Arts Mayhem - at least for my current character concept.  But as long as you are perhaps open to one or the other I can at least have some sort of martial arts character, which is the goal.  If you are opposed to using Blood & Fists, I'll have to rework the concept or create a completely different idea, neither of which I am afraid to do.




I'm glad you don't mind using either one, because I think I'm going to go with Martial Arts Mayhem. In fact, I've already bought the PDF downloads.

IMHO, MAM just has a couple more thing going for it over B&F. First, it doesn't add a ton skills, feats, and PrCs to keep track of. Second, it's made by the guys who designed d20M which, I think, gives them a bit more insight into the workings of the game.

If you're going to rework the concept/background, I'll refrain from commenting on the one you posted until I see the new one.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 12, 2007)

*Btw*

Possibly stupid question from a newbie (namely me): How do you get the Spoiler Block to say something besides "Spoiler" next the the "Hide" button? I've seen others put "OOC" or"For [name of player]" there instead.


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## Insight (Mar 12, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> I'm glad you don't mind using either one, because I think I'm going to go with Martial Arts Mayhem. In fact, I've already bought the PDF downloads.
> 
> IMHO, MAM just has a couple more thing going for it over B&F. First, it doesn't add a ton skills, feats, and PrCs to keep track of. Second, it's made by the guys who designed d20M which, I think, gives them a bit more insight into the workings of the game.
> 
> If you're going to rework the concept/background, I'll refrain from commenting on the one you posted until I see the new one.




Since MAM doesn't really do zen archery justice, I'll come up with a different sort of martial artist and character concept.  I'll post later today.

BTW, I bought Modern Players Companions I & II last night.  Is the material within both of those OK to use?


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## Insight (Mar 12, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> Possibly stupid question from a newbie (namely me): How do you get the Spoiler Block to say something besides "Spoiler" next the the "Hide" button? I've seen others put "OOC" or"For [name of player]" there instead.




Here it is:

[ sblock=OOC]text[ /sblock]

without the leading spaces inside both tags

like this:

[sblock=OOC]I like to hide things from the players.  I am evil DM.  Muhahahaha![/sblock]


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## Guardsmith (Mar 12, 2007)

Insight said:
			
		

> BTW, I bought Modern Players Companions I & II last night.  Is the material within both of those OK to use?




Some of it is OK, some isn't. It also depends on how you combine it with other stuff you want to do.

I know that's not a great answer, it will have to suffice for now. You see, in my last d20M campaign I gave my players free reign with the MPC, thinking that everything in it was OK. Then one player min/maxed his PCs using some bizarre combinations that has made me a bit skittish.  :\


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## Insight (Mar 12, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> Some of it is OK, some isn't. It also depends on how you combine it with other stuff you want to do.
> 
> I know that's not a great answer, it will have to suffice for now. You see, in my last d20M campaign I gave my players free reign with the MPC, thinking that everything in it was OK. Then one player min/maxed his PCs using some bizarre combinations that has made me a bit skittish.  :\




I'll have to look through it myself then and just ask when I come across something I'd like to use.

I may pick up Urban Arcana if I can get it cheap somewhere.  I hate paying full retail for a book that's been out for more than 2 years


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## Rhun (Mar 12, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> Rhun: The Shadow Slayer class is fine






Excellent. I'll get to work on my PC. Probably looking at starting as a Fast 1/Strong 1 PC. That will give me a bit of a skill point boost, and then allow me to head toward the Shadow Slayer class. It will probably take a few days to get the PC put together.


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## Salthorae (Mar 12, 2007)

Hi guys... Looks like I'll be joining you in this game  *yay*

Jeriah B. Shemmah, M.D. at your service. I think i'm pretty much done with the character arleady except for writing him up!  

Dedicated 2, I think I'm shooting for Field Medic and then maybe mage (once those heal spells get added in that is)...but it depends on how things fall out in game


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## Jemal (Mar 12, 2007)

Allright, Louis Derroux, a French/Italian man originally from Alberta, Canada.  Moved here a few years ago right out of high school.  Wants to pursue a career as a 'professional martial artist'. (Why he came to Boston, though, nobody knows.)

Strong1/Fast1.

*Planning on gaining 2 more levels in Fast Hero, then going Martial Artist.*


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## Insight (Mar 12, 2007)

Uh oh, another Martial Artist.  Maybe I should come up with a different concept.

[sblock=EDIT: New Concept]Eddie Spears was a child prodigy "white hat" hacker working for the CIA when he came upon a particularly odd string of malicious virus-like code.  Tracking the code back to its source, Eddie discovered a vast storage of like codes somewhere in Eastern Europe.  While Eddie could not crack the codes immediately, he and his team assessed the threat as being very high, and agents were dispatched to the location Eddie found.  All of the agents were killed.  The reports came back that all had died due to electricity and fire; it was assumed that some sort of freak explosion at the site had done them in.

The case was closed; officially, the CIA declared the virus threat resolved as the site in question had been "cleansed" by way of this explosion.  Doing some clean-up work on the case on his own time, Eddie learned that there had been no explosion.  The site in question, an ancient castle in Romania, was quite intact.  Further digging clued Eddie in that the agents had mostly died in one place.  Satellite imagery showed no real physical damage to the site, at least externally, and certainly not where reports claimed the men had died.

Eddie took it upon himself to continue to look into the case.  He once again tracked the virus codes back to their source.  Though they had been secured via a different means, Eddie was able to once again locate them, still at the same site and still quite intact.  Taking a leave of absence, Eddie went to the castle and found there a charming Romanian man in his late 30s, who was quite willing to invite Eddie in for dinner.  The man, Gregori Esperov, explained that he indeed had created the code, but that they were not viruses at all, but 'instructions' for magic spells.

What Eddie didn't know was that the CIA had secretly been tracking him, and had sent a new team to Romania.  The agents burst in during Eddie's dinner with Gregori, only to be struck down by a series of lightning bolts that came directly from Gregori's hands.  Stunned, Eddie assumed he was dead as well, but Gregori did not wish to kill Eddie.  Instead, Gregori praised Eddie's courage and resourcefulness and offered to take Eddie in, to teach him to work magic as he did, and to protect him from the CIA and other organizations dedicated to eradicating spellcasters around the world.

Reluctantly, Eddie agreed.  Awed by the show of power and intrigued by the possibilities, Eddie became Gregori's apprentice.  Unfortunately, Eddie's apprenticeship did not last long.  A rival mage named Constantin Vers slew Gregori before the training could really begin.  Vers took Eddie into custody and tortured him for information about Gregori's spells.  Eddie was held captive for 17 days and put thru a myriad of torture techniques, but, since Eddie really didn't know much about the workings of magic, didn't reveal much to Vers.

An opportunity came to escape capture, and Eddie took it.  He quickly returned to Gregori's castle and grabbed what he could before returning to the United States.  The CIA had presumed Eddie dead, and had de-listed him as a consultant.  Overwhelmed that his family, friends, and colleagues thought he was dead, Eddie went into hiding and began to study Gregori's work.  He also gained access to Gregori's significant wealth, and took as much as he could in order to continue his studies.

Eddie, now living under the name Gregory Spears, now lives in Boston, working by day as an usher at Fenway Park, hopes to one day master the spells Gregori left behind, and gain revenge on Vers and others like him.[/sblock]

I'm looking at a Smart 2.  Not sure about the other particulars at this point, but he will be going towards the Mage advanced class in the future, possibly a level of Shadow Slayer as well, if possible.

I took the feat Moonlight from MPC1 and along with it, an extra occupation (Student).  Due to his background, I'm hoping you'll let me slide on the age requirement for the Investigative occupation.  I also took the Smart Hero talent Logical from MPC2.  I'll post him as soon as I'm done with equipment selection.


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## Mista Collins (Mar 13, 2007)

I received your email and I am still interested in the game Guardsmith. Is the spot still open? I was thinking of a dual-pistol-wielding-bad-attitude character. Probably Fast2. But since there are plenty of Fast characters I have a concept for a Smart2 character.


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## Rhun (Mar 13, 2007)

Guardsmith, will you be allowing the "Plus" feats from d20 Future? 

-


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## Guardsmith (Mar 13, 2007)

*More answers ...*

Insight: Looks good so far. I'd like to reserve judgment regarding the age question and the Moonlighting Feat until after I've seen the final product.

Mista Collins: Yes, the spot is still open, and it is yours if you want it.

Rhun: I've looked at the "Plus" Feats, and I think I'm not going to allow them. They seem a bit too powerful for this type of game. Sorry. 

Let me see if I have this right. Here are the characters proposed so far:

Insight: Smart 2
Rhun: Fast 1/Strong 1
Salthorae: Dedicated 2
Jemal: Fast 1/Strong 1
Mista Collins: Smart 2

Is this correct?

BTW, I've made a new Rogues Gallery thread , in the correct forum.


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## Rhun (Mar 13, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> Rhun: I've looked at the "Plus" Feats, and I think I'm not going to allow them. They seem a bit too powerful for this type of game. Sorry.




They are considered pretty strong feats. Thanks for the quick response.



			
				Guardsmith said:
			
		

> Insight: Smart 2
> Rhun: Fast 1/Strong 1
> Salthorae: Dedicated 2
> Jemal: Fast 1/Strong 1
> Mista Collins: Smart 2




Just an FYI, my PC is not a martial artist, so he and Jermal's shouldn't overlap much. Although I expect my PC to be decent in melee combat, it won't be his focus.


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## Insight (Mar 13, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> Insight: Looks good so far. I'd like to reserve judgment regarding the age question and the Moonlighting Feat until after I've seen the final product.




I'll make it even easier for you.  Basically, he's 19 or 20 years old, but since he was a child prodigy hacker, he would have had the Investigative occupation (see my post above for why) since about age 16, along with Student, hence the Moonlight feat - he gets the benefits of both occupations.  Normally, the age requirement for Investigative is 23.  I would pick a different occupation, but there isn't a single one that's close that doesn't also have a similar age requirement.

Moonlight lets you take two occupations at 1st level, and gain the benefits of both.  It doesn't specify this, but I'm going to assume that you can't stack the +1 bonus you get if you choose a class skill you already have.  This being the case, I took five different permanent class skills (they are all already on the Smart Hero class list).

I'll post the character tonight so you can see the specifics.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 13, 2007)

Insight said:
			
		

> I'll make it even easier for you.  Basically, he's 19 or 20 years old, but since he was a child prodigy hacker, he would have had the Investigative occupation (see my post above for why) since about age 16, along with Student, hence the Moonlight feat - he gets the benefits of both occupations.  Normally, the age requirement for Investigative is 23.  I would pick a different occupation, but there isn't a single one that's close that doesn't also have a similar age requirement.




[sblock=For Insight]Actually, what would be better (IMO) is to make him like Sydney from _Alias_: college student by day, CIA agent by night. Did you ever watch the show? This should also help with the age thing, since she was in her mid 20s or so in Season 1. He could still be a prodigy of sorts, but this makes him a bit less Doogie-like[/sblock]


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## Salthorae (Mar 13, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> Insight: Smart 2
> Rhun: Fast 1/Strong 1
> Salthorae: Dedicated 2
> Jemal: Fast 1/Strong 1
> Mista Collins: Smart 2




Looks right to me so far. Do we need/should we have a Charismatic hero? We've got elements of Hannibal's, and some Murdoch/Mr. T thrown together so far, but we don't have Face yet  

(if you dont' get it, check out the "I Love the 80's" on VH1 sometime)


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## Blind Azathoth (Mar 13, 2007)

Oh, guess I should get around to posting, eh?   

Well, originally I was thinking of a nerdy librarian-type Smart Hero, maybe taking levels in Occultist, but I also considered a park ranger Tough Hero, looking to go into the Wildlord class, if allowed. However, if it's a Charismatic Hero that's desired, I could do that. I've never really played a face-man before, but it might be fun. And it would also give me a chance to play, for the first time, a truly evil character... a lawyer!


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## Salthorae (Mar 13, 2007)

Blind Azathoth said:
			
		

> However, if it's a Charismatic Hero that's desired... I've never really played a face-man before, but it might be fun. And it would also give me a chance to play, for the first time, a truly evil character... a lawyer!




*shudders* I guess I asked for it... My bad guys   

You don't have to, we also don't have a Tough Hero in the mix... I'm just throwing things out there, but I like the idea of a lawyer hehehe. Maybe he worked for WotC? Maybe those things the geeks write about aren't all fiction?


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## Insight (Mar 13, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> [sblock=For Insight]Actually, what would be better (IMO) is to make him like Sydney from _Alias_: college student by day, CIA agent by night. Did you ever watch the show? This should also help with the age thing, since she was in her mid 20s or so in Season 1. He could still be a prodigy of sorts, but this makes him a bit less Doogie-like[/sblock]




[sblock=GM]How about a compromise?  He started with the CIA when he was 16, but was with them for longer, say til about 21, before "the incident" mentioned above?  That way, he'll be 23 or so when the game starts, and perfectly "legal" by the rules.[/sblock]


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## Salthorae (Mar 13, 2007)

Guardsmith: here is Jeriah's background. Let me know if you have any concern's or questions about it. I'm still working on typing up the character sheet.

[sblock=To Guardsmith]_”…JERIAH!!” comes the scream. Lifting my head I see only red, blood filling my eyes, covering my face. “Whose blood?” comes the thought slowly, as booted feet from deep mud. Panic rises fast in my mind and suddenly I remember the stranger. Scrambling to my knees I look to the sounds of Rua screaming in the darkness. Quickly her cries of terror are shrieks of pain and my panic only quickens further. Swiftly rounding the side of our car, the stench of blood assaults me as I hear the pain in Rua’s voice turn to whimpers, and then I am struck. Not physically as before, but with a fear deeper than any I have ever known before. IT rises from on top of my wife, standing and turning. In the darkness all I can see are two eyes seething in yellowed rage and IT’s maw drenched in Rua’s life blood. The Beast, the creature strides towards me and in the car's headlights, my terror is complete. Snarling as any beast of the wilds, it’s blood soaked maw and claws reach out for me, striking me and sending me flying once again. Pain, terror, over-whelming irrationality all conspire and my world begins to darken as I see the creature once again turn to finish with my wife. Tears are all that I can manage before the darkness claims me…”._

Jeriah jerks awake, heart and mind full of the old panic. Looking around he slowly calms as the realization comes that he is at home…safe. Jeriah gets up and it dawns on him that he had fallen asleep at his desk. Books of the occult, accounts of legendary creatures scatter themselves across the desk as Jeriah stands. Looking quickly at his clock, Jeriah jumps up screwing up his courage for the day ahead. “It wouldn’t do to be late on my first day back…” he thinks to himself as he begins making his way around the disheveled apartment, preparing himself for the hospital. “They all think I’m mad already, no need to give them more fodder.” Jeriah says to the gray cat that had begun to rub against his calf, as he holds a book on the occult contemplating taking it to the hospital to read in his downtime. Thinking back to the other sabbaticals he had taken recently, Jeriah can only sigh in amazement at the fact that he even still had a job. 
-----
Jeriah Shammah is in his early 30's, a young a talented doctor. A jewish man born to a strictly Hasidic family in New York, Jeriah took early on to the study of science to the point where he greatly angered his family and tzaddik at his disregard for Torah study, but none of them could deny Jeriah's skill in sciences or gradually his desire to be a doctor rather than serve the Rebbe.

So Jeriah went to medical school, and graduated. He served his time as an intern, and began to practice as a surgeon. He was introduced to his wife Rua, and they fell in love. Jeriah was offered a position in Boston after only two years of work and accepted, moving his new family to Boston. On a weekend outting to the country with his young wife Rua, they came across what appeared to be a motorcycle accident. Jeriah being a doctor stopped and went to try and help the rider who was writhing in apparent pain on the ground. As he got to the man he noticed that there were strange things happening. He didn't appear to be injured from the crash, but rather growing at an exponential rate. The man thrashed about and knocked Jeriah back before it howled and continued to change. Rua had come out to see if she could help in anyway and was attacked by the man/creature and Jeriah was once again hit as he tried to aid her, this time knocking him unconscious. 

Later, he was told by the police that he had obviously tripped and been knocked unconscious after getting out of the car. Rua had been attacked by what looked like a wolf and the Dept. of Game and Wildlife was trying to track it. No motorcycle was found, nor was any man present. All his friends looked on in pity as Jeriah seemed to descend into maddness at the loss of Rua. Everyone chalked his story up to mad ravings, and just pitied him the more. Jeriah's world was shocked when he turned from the Torah, and from Hasidism and began to study and read anything and everything he could about the occult. He shaved his peyos and beard, added a middle name in the western style, distancing himself from the Rebbe and pretty much everyone he loved. He spends all his money now on occult books and old tomes of ancient knowledge that he can find. Soon in his researches he came to discover the creature that had taken so much from him had a name, Werewolf. 

Still no one believes him, but when the stress of memories become too great, the hospital allows him to take the time he needs to recover. Jeriah spends his days at the hospital and his nights reading, interviewing, trying to find some evidence of the werewolf and his reality...[/sblock]


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## Guardsmith (Mar 13, 2007)

Insight said:
			
		

> [sblock=GM]How about a compromise?  He started with the CIA when he was 16, but was with them for longer, say til about 21, before "the incident" mentioned above?  That way, he'll be 23 or so when the game starts, and perfectly "legal" by the rules.[/sblock]




[sblock=For Insight]OK, that's fine.   

For the record, I was more concerned about it from a "story" point of view than a "rules" point of view. You see, when I hear the term "moonlighting," I think about someone who works two jobs, not someone who had one job for a while and then switched to another. Therefore, when someone takes that Feat, I'm expecting to see something like that in their background. But you're not the first person I've had that has gone the other way with it, so I really don't mind. I was just offering a suggestion that was more in line with my view of the Feat. If you don't want to go with it, that's cool.   [/sblock]


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## Insight (Mar 13, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> [sblock=For Insight]OK, that's fine.
> 
> For the record, I was more concerned about it from a "story" point of view than a "rules" point of view. You see, when I hear the term "moonlighting," I think about someone who works two jobs, not someone who had one job for a while and then switched to another. Therefore, when someone takes that Feat, I'm expecting to see something like that in their background. But you're not the first person I've had that has gone the other way with it, so I really don't mind. I was just offering a suggestion that was more in line with my view of the Feat. If you don't want to go with it, that's cool.   [/sblock]




[SBLOCK=GM]Technically, he was going to school and working for the CIA at the same time, so he _was_ doing what you suggest - it's just that one of them isn't a _job_ per se - though those of us who've worked and attended school full time will beg to differ on that point   [/SBLOCK]


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## Guardsmith (Mar 13, 2007)

Salthorae said:
			
		

> Guardsmith: here is Jeriah's background. Let me know if you have any concern's or questions about it. I'm still working on typing up the character sheet.
> 
> [sblock=To Guardsmith]_”…JERIAH!!” comes the scream. Lifting my head I see only red, blood filling my eyes, covering my face. “Whose blood?” comes the thought slowly, as booted feet from deep mud. Panic rises fast in my mind and suddenly I remember the stranger. Scrambling to my knees I look to the sounds of Rua screaming in the darkness. Quickly her cries of terror are shrieks of pain and my panic only quickens further. Swiftly rounding the side of our car, the stench of blood assaults me as I hear the pain in Rua’s voice turn to whimpers, and then I am struck. Not physically as before, but with a fear deeper than any I have ever known before. IT rises from on top of my wife, standing and turning. In the darkness all I can see are two eyes seething in yellowed rage and IT’s maw drenched in Rua’s life blood. The Beast, the creature strides towards me and in the car's headlights, my terror is complete. Snarling as any beast of the wilds, it’s blood soaked maw and claws reach out for me, striking me and sending me flying once again. Pain, terror, over-whelming irrationality all conspire and my world begins to darken as I see the creature once again turn to finish with my wife. Tears are all that I can manage before the darkness claims me…”._
> 
> ...




[sblock=For Salthorae] Great job, Salthorae! I really like it, and it makes my job easier!   [/sblock]


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## Salthorae (Mar 13, 2007)

[sblock=For Guardsmith] Thanks! Glad you like it  [/sblock]

One question for you Guardsmith, is there a particular stat block format that you would prefer for our characters in the Rogue's gallery thread? I'd rather not type the char up and then have to redo it later...

Thanks


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## Insight (Mar 13, 2007)

My character, Gregory Spears, is now posted in the RG thread.


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## Mista Collins (Mar 13, 2007)

Yes, I'd love the spot still. And yes, Smart2 is correct. I will flesh it all together and have it posted by morning. by tomorrow night.

EDIT: I just noticed there is already a Smart2 concept similar to mine. Switching to charismatic. As it has been noted; we need a face.


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## Jemal (Mar 14, 2007)

Salthorae said:
			
		

> Looks right to me so far. Do we need/should we have a Charismatic hero? We've got elements of Hannibal's, and some Murdoch/Mr. T thrown together so far, but we don't have Face yet
> 
> (if you dont' get it, check out the "I Love the 80's" on VH1 sometime)




I pity the foo' who didn't get that!

Will have char. post up in the next day hopefully.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 14, 2007)

Hi guys. This is just a quick note to say that RL has thrown me a couple of curves for the moment. I haven't disappeared, but I may not be able to get to reveiwing character stuff right away.

BTW, to answer Salthorae's question, I don't have a preference for character stat block. Whatever is easiest for you.


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## Rhun (Mar 14, 2007)

My PC is nearly ready. Just need to work on his background and do a little formatting before posting. _Should_ be able to post him into the rogue's gallery tonight.


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## Salthorae (Mar 14, 2007)

Guardsmith...

One thing I just noticed in your House Rules pdf is the change in Purchase DC for License/Restricted items. You've put the License purchase DC at 15 instead of 10.

This means that my doctor who has a wealth bonus of 14 @ 2nd level (considered Affluent on the chart in CR), would have to lose a point of wealth just to get the driver's licesnse to drive a car right? 

As far as I can tell, all vehicles require a License to use per the CR, and since a License is DC 15 (and anything with a purchase DC of 15 or higher causes at least 1 pt of wealth loss), I would lose wealth just to get a driver's license? 

For anyone else (Insight specifically) are there rules for renting things? Am I missing something? I'm curious becaue I don't see anything about it, but as it stands I can't afford the car that I would lose wealth to be able to drive in teh first place, nor can I afford a small condo...

Thanks!...

...and sorry if I'm stupid with the wealth rules. All my previous d20 Modern games have been of the "Department 7" variety where we get equipment handed/loaned to us and live in "bases" or some such where all is provided!


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## Mista Collins (Mar 14, 2007)

I found the following under the Lifestyles table:

*Car Rental Prices*
Economy Car DC 6​Mid-size or truck DC 8​Luxury DC 10​


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## Salthorae (Mar 15, 2007)

I've posted Jeriah on the Rogues gallery thread. I haven't detailed out the possesions by wealth roll just yet as I'm waiting for a reply to the whole License thing...

Once I've that I'll finish up and and misc. wealth


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## Insight (Mar 15, 2007)

Salthorae said:
			
		

> Guardsmith...
> 
> One thing I just noticed in your House Rules pdf is the change in Purchase DC for License/Restricted items. You've put the License purchase DC at 15 instead of 10.
> 
> ...




It is assumed that your Wealth bonus reflects "normal" expenses, such as rent (or a mortgage), car payments, student loan payments, insurance, etc.  You don't have to take a Wealth bonus hit to have those things.

I didn't realize the GM had changed the Wealth system.  I strongly recommend keeping the Wealth bonus structure as is.  At least in terms of the licenses (certainly ones such that anyone can reasonably get, such as a driver's license - I think they are too expensive as it is).  In fact, if the base is 15, I'm going to have to go without any licenses on any of the stuff I purchased - I just can't afford it.


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## Rhun (Mar 15, 2007)

Insight said:
			
		

> I didn't realize the GM had changed the Wealth system.  I strongly recommend keeping the Wealth bonus structure as is.  At least in terms of the licenses (certainly ones such that anyone can reasonably get, such as a driver's license - I think they are too expensive as it is).  In fact, if the base is 15, I'm going to have to go without any licenses on any of the stuff I purchased - I just can't afford it.





Yeah, I had to purchase a couple of items for my PC on the blackmarket that I would normally have purchased a license for. 

Damon Knight, ex-military, has been posted to the rogue's gallery.


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## Insight (Mar 15, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Yeah, I had to purchase a couple of items for my PC on the blackmarket that I would normally have purchased a license for.




That's what I'll have to do as well I guess.


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 15, 2007)

For future reference, does health insurance cover soul trapping?  What about petrification?  Level drain?  It damn well better or I'm suing!  My vampiric mind flayer lawyer will bleed you dry!  Also, if you buy life insurance and then get raised, can you collect it yourself?


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## Insight (Mar 15, 2007)

Dire Lemming said:
			
		

> For future reference, does health insurance cover soul trapping?  What about petrification?  Level drain?  It damn well better or I'm suing!  My vampiric mind flayer lawyer will bleed you dry!  Also, if you buy life insurance and then get raised, can you collect it yourself?




I'm pretty sure health insurance only covers bodily injury.  Perhaps someone sells "soul" insurance... of course, that starts into the religion discussion and that's a no-no.


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## Rhun (Mar 15, 2007)

Insight said:
			
		

> I'm pretty sure health insurance only covers bodily injury.  Perhaps someone sells "soul" insurance... of course, that starts into the religion discussion and that's a no-no.




Actually, I think religious discussion is okay when it is concerning the game world. It is the religious discussions about the real world that we ahve to avoid.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 15, 2007)

FYI, the license DC increases were a result of my last group that was willing to bankrupt themselves (wealth bonuses of +1 all around) to get lots of guns (assault rifles, submachine guns, etc.) It wasn't really the campaign I was looking for, so I increased the DCs to discourage it. 

I will lower them to the levels in the book on one condition: please, please, please only take the  Personal Firearms Proficiency or Archaic Weapons Proficiency and purchase weapons if it is reasonably justified by your background. By "reasonably justified" I mean that its likely your character is to have encountered/used these weapons in their life. If you use the phrase "its a hobby" or "he likes guns" then it may not be reasonable.

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that there isn't going to be any combat in this game, but I will say that its not going to be the focus of the game. Also, I promise that characters who don't take those proficiencies and do not purchase weapons have already been factored into the campaign; they will not die a swift, painful death, (nor a slow, agonizing one) I swear.


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## Rhun (Mar 15, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> I will lower them to the levels in the book on one condition: please, please, please only take the  Personal Firearms Proficiency or Archaic Weapons Proficiency and purchase weapons if it is reasonably justified by your background. By "reasonably justified" I mean that its likely your character is to have encountered/used these weapons in their life. If you use the phrase "its a hobby" or "he likes guns" then it may not be reasonable.





I believe it is justified with my PC...


One thing to note, is maybe it is worthwhile to leave the increase on Restricted and Military weapons...but for simple firearms and driver's licenses, the original pricing is probably okay.


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## Insight (Mar 15, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> I believe it is justified with my PC...
> 
> 
> One thing to note, is maybe it is worthwhile to leave the increase on Restricted and Military weapons...but for simple firearms and driver's licenses, the original pricing is probably okay.




Yeah, I agree with the above.  I believe my character, with his background, would reasonably possess a sidearm.  There's no way I can see him getting more than a pistol unless something strange happens.  Plus, hopefully I'll have spells soon.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 15, 2007)

Rhun & Insight: I agree. Both of your characters are justified.

BTW, Rhun, that's a good idea about the license DCs. I may use it ...


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## Salthorae (Mar 15, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> I believe it is justified with my PC...
> 
> 
> One thing to note, is maybe it is worthwhile to leave the increase on Restricted and Military weapons...but for simple firearms and driver's licenses, the original pricing is probably okay.




I like Rhun's suggestion too for the Restricted/Military DC's...

[sblock=Guardsmith]
I was thinking it was justified for Jeriah as well. My thought process was that after he stopped telling everyone the story of that night, his record would have been clean enough and he could have been granted a Mass, Class A permit to carry concealed...

That leads to another question I have, what would be the purchase DC on Silver coated bullets? [/sblock]


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## Rhun (Mar 15, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> Rhun & Insight: I agree. Both of your characters are justified.





[sblock=Guarsmith]
FYI, I'm not sure if you want our PCs to have jobs or not, but I could see Damon working in high-level private security. Not like a mall security guard , but perhaps corporate security or something of that nature.
[/sblock]


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## Guardsmith (Mar 15, 2007)

I have decided to take Rhun's suggestion and modify the table regarding licenses. I'll make a change to the House Rules PDF when I get a moment, but the biggest change is that the lowest (Licensed) level's Purchase DC is lowered to 10 while the rest of the chart stays the same. I also noticed that I forgot to put in the Illegal level; its stats should be - Purchase DC: 30, Black Market Purchase DC: +4, Time required: 4 days. 

While looking over character stuff, I saw that a few people purchased stuff on the Black Market (though that should change some now). Don't forget that to purchase BM equipment, you must first locate a BM merchant. This is done with the Knowledge (streetwise) skill (DC 15 as Boston is a big city) which cannot be used untrained and which you may not Take 20.

In all likelihood, I will be reviewing characters (and posting comments in individual spoiler blocks) this weekend.

[sblock=For Jemal]Do you need help with the equipment/wealth rules?[/sblock]

[sblock=For Salthorae] I'll post more detailed stuff about your character this weekend, but I just wanted to let you know that, according to Urban Arcana, buying silver ammunition adds +6 to the Purchase DC).[/sblock]

[sblock=For Rhun]I'm assuming that if you take the Profession skill, your character is somehow gainfully employed.[/sblock]


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## Insight (Mar 15, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> I have decided to take Rhun's suggestion and modify the table regarding licenses. I'll make a change to the House Rules PDF when I get a moment, but the biggest change is that the lowest (Licensed) level's Purchase DC is lowered to 10 while the rest of the chart stays the same. I also noticed that I forgot to put in the Illegal level; its stats should be - Purchase DC: 30, Black Market Purchase DC: +4, Time required: 4 days.
> 
> While looking over character stuff, I saw that a few people purchased stuff on the Black Market (though that should change some now). Don't forget that to purchase BM equipment, you must first locate a BM merchant. This is done with the Knowledge (streetwise) skill (DC 15 as Boston is a big city) which cannot be used untrained and which you may not Take 20.




I have revised my character to add the Knowledge (streetwise) skill.  His equipment, therefore, doesn't need to change.  I can get a 15 with a 7 or higher.  If you still want me to make the rolls, I can.


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## Blind Azathoth (Mar 15, 2007)

I'm afraid I'm going to have to withdraw from this game; I thought I would have the time to participate, but I do not think I will. Shame, too...I was warming up to that lawyer.


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## Salthorae (Mar 16, 2007)

Aww man! I was looking forward to that too


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## Mista Collins (Mar 16, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> FYI, the license DC increases were a result of my last group that was willing to bankrupt themselves (wealth bonuses of +1 all around) to get lots of guns (assault rifles, submachine guns, etc.) It wasn't really the campaign I was looking for, so I increased the DCs to discourage it.
> 
> I will lower them to the levels in the book on one condition: please, please, please only take the  Personal Firearms Proficiency or Archaic Weapons Proficiency and purchase weapons if it is reasonably justified by your background. By "reasonably justified" I mean that its likely your character is to have encountered/used these weapons in their life. If you use the phrase "its a hobby" or "he likes guns" then it may not be reasonable.




It will be justified for my character also when I put up his background. He is going to be a hostage negotiator for the Boston PD.


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## Salthorae (Mar 16, 2007)

*Wealth Rules*

Hey Jemal - 

I saw your ? in your character sheet just now...

for starting wealth you can either roll 2d4 or Guardsmith said we can just take a "5", you then add your wealth bonus from your Occupation, if you have 1 or more ranks in Profession (*) you get another +1...

_So for me I rolled 2d4 got "6"+4(occuption)+1(3 ranks in Profession)=+11_

Every time you gain a level you roll a profession check (wisdom check if you don't have ranks in Profession). DC = Current wealth bonus. Success = +1 wealth (+1/5pts you beat the DC by)

_For Jeriah (DC11): 1d20+6->25 so 11+1(beat DC)+2(beat DC by over 10)=+14 wealth_

Anything on the equipment tables with a purchase DC = or > your current wealth you can buy no problem. Anything higher and you have to roll (or you can take a 10/20), but you'll lose wealth by doing that. Purchase DC 15 or higher you already lose 1 wealth pt + 1 wpt if the PDC is 1-10 pts higher than your Wealth bonus, 1d6 wpts if it is 11-20 (I think) higher

_SO: Jeriah can buy anything of Purchase DC 14 or less w/o problem, 15 & higher though and I lose wealth. I lose 2pts for anything PDC 15-24, 1+1d6 wpt's are lost for PDC 25-34..._

If the item requires a license you have to buy that first PDC 10 per Guardsmith's new rules, of PDC 20 for Restricted licenses. You can also buy them on the blackmarket, but have to find a Blackmarket dealer (Kn(Streetwise) DC 15 to locate) and you add the Noted plus to the PDC of the item (so +1 for licensed items, +2 for restricted items etc)

_Ex: a Glock 20 is PDC 18 if you have a license (Jeriah can take a 10 to buy it and loses 2 wealth pts reducing his total to 12). If you buy the same Glock on the black market it is a PDC of 19 since it requires a license. If it were restricted the PDC would 20..._

Let us know if there are anymore questions!


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## Insight (Mar 18, 2007)

I just received my copy of Urban Arcana.  Lots of cool stuff in there, but probably not much we'd be able to make use of at this point.  I might be interested in the Techno Mage advanced class.  Is that approved for this game?


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## Guardsmith (Mar 19, 2007)

All right, I've taken a more detailed look at characters.

[sblock=Insight] The Techno-mage Advanced Class is OK, and here are a few things I noticed:

- Unfortunately, with the house rules I posted, your leather jacket isn't a form of armor any more. (I just realized that my PDF on Armor is vague on the subject). To clarify, the armors in the PDF are the only kinds of armors that may be purchased (unless someone wants archaic armor).

- Your Action Point total should be 11 not 6. PCs get 5 + 1/2 level of Action Points per level.

- By my reading of the rules for the Logical Talent, the PC only gets one Knowledge category, and therefore only one synergy bonus, per selection of the Logical Talent. It appears that you took it six times.

- The damage for your Glock 20 should be 2d6+1, per my revised bullet damage rules attached to the first post of this thread.

- IMO, 5 magazines is a bit excessive for a PC to attempt to carry around covertly. In RL, the most I've ever heard of is 2.

- The Purchase DC for your Notebook should be 28 (base 23, upgrade +2, mastercraft +3). BTW, what's with the 7 rolls of a single d6 before the Wealth Bonus Decrease roll that you linked to?[/sblock]

[sblock=Salthorae]For the most part, everything seems OK, but I was having some trouble reconciling your final skill numbers. What did you take as bonus class skills from your Starting Occupation?

Also, I didn't see a physical description of Jeriah.

Finally, I have a question about you background. How long has it been since the attack?[/sblock]

[sblock=Jemal]I was having a bit of trouble reconciling your skill points. Which of your character's classes is the one at 1st level? Strong or Fast?

Also, just so you know, according to an official ruling the effects of Brawl and Combat Martial Arts may not be combined. You will have to choose which one you are using in combat.[/sblock]

[sblock=Rhun]For the most part, everything is OK, but I was having trouble reconciling some of the skill points. Which of your classes is the one taken at 1st level? Strong or Fast?[/sblock]

Once these issues are taken care of, and those who haven't posted characters do so, we can begin the campaign.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 19, 2007)

Dire Lemming,

If you are still reading this board, a slot has opened up. If you still want to be in on this game, feel free to make and post a character.


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## Mista Collins (Mar 19, 2007)

I posted Carl Unger, Hostage Negotiator. I have to flesh out his background, but the stats are there.


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 19, 2007)

Heh, I wasn't expecting to be able to play in this game.  I haven't come up with a character yet.  I'll try to come up with something though.  It was mentioned that the rules are available online somewhere.  Where was that again?

ps.  Great avatar Guardsmith.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 19, 2007)

Dire Lemming said:
			
		

> It was mentioned that the rules are available online somewhere.  Where was that again?




The d20 Modern SRD is here.



> ps.  Great avatar Guardsmith.




Thanks! I just wish I could lay claim to its creation, but I modified a "Made for Firefox" logo I saw on another site.


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## Rhun (Mar 19, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> [sblock=Rhun]For the most part, everything is OK, but I was having trouble reconciling some of the skill points. Which of your classes is the one taken at 1st level? Strong or Fast?[/sblock]





[sblock=Guardsmith]
Fast was taken at level 1.

And actually, now that you mention it...I may be low on skill points. I only used 30, and I should have 33.

(5*4) + 8 int = 28 at first level
3 + 2 int = 33 at second

[/sblock]


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## Salthorae (Mar 19, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> [sblock=Salthorae]For the most part, everything seems OK, but I was having some trouble reconciling your final skill numbers. What did you take as bonus class skills from your Starting Occupation?
> 
> Also, I didn't see a physical description of Jeriah.
> 
> Finally, I have a question about you background. How long has it been since the attack?[/sblock]




[sblock=Guardsmith]Weird, I could have sworn I posted this, but now I don't see it...

I edited the character sheet to say what skills I took with my occupation, but they were Treat Injury (which adds +1 since it's already a Dedicated skill), and Search. All this skills are straight ranks/ability mod's except for:
Craft (Pharm): +2 from Medical Expert
Treat Injury: Ranks (5)+Wisdom(3)+Skill Emphasis(3)+Medical Expert (2)+Perm Doctor Skill (1)=+14 Total

I added physical desc (let me know if you need more)

I figure it's been about 2-3 years. The pain is still raw, but fading now. He's taken a few (3?) sabbaticals from the hospital, gained his Knowledge (Aracana) from occult readings, dropped/distanced himself from his religion/family/childhood etc... these things can take time, but as I said the pain is still pretty raw for him.

Let me know if there are anymore questions...[/sblock]


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## Insight (Mar 19, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> [sblock=Insight] The Techno-mage Advanced Class is OK, and here are a few things I noticed:
> 
> - Unfortunately, with the house rules I posted, your leather jacket isn't a form of armor any more. (I just realized that my PDF on Armor is vague on the subject). To clarify, the armors in the PDF are the only kinds of armors that may be purchased (unless someone wants archaic armor).
> 
> ...




[sblock=Guardsmith]
1.  OK he'll just have a regular leather jacket then.  I'll remove the mastercraft distinction, since it won't have any meaning.
2. I'll fix the Action Point total.
3. I recall that you get the bonus for each category for which you qualify.  I'll have to re-check when I get home.  If you're right, I'm going to ditch that talent and get something else, since it's pretty much worthless if you only ever get one +2 bonus.
4. I'll fix the damage for the gun.
5. No problem.  He'll just carry two and keep the rest elsewhere.  What if he kept the others in his daypack, or somewhere that's somewhat accessible but not "on his person" as such?
6. Sorry, I was having problems accessing that site from work - that'll teach me to make characters at work!  If you prefer, I can re-roll the entire wealth list from home, since there are probably other times I had trouble.  I never have those kind of problems with my home PC.  I may end up getting rid of either the mastercraft or upgrade bonus on the computer anyway, so I would need to re-roll in that case.[/sblock]


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## Jemal (Mar 19, 2007)

[sblock=guardsmith]
Fast hero was first.  As for the Brawl/Combat Martial arts thing - That really, really sux.. OK, I'll probably be dropping one, then.  will change char.
[/sblock]


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## Mista Collins (Mar 20, 2007)

Carl Unger is done and updated. Personality and background added.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 20, 2007)

[sblock=Rhun]OK. Everything appears to be in order now. Thanks, Rhun.[/sblock]

[sblock=Salthorae]OK, looks good. Nothing else from me at the moment. [/sblock]

[sblock=Insight]It's fine if you want to put the spare mags in the daypack. 

Regarding the Wealth rolls, I would prefer it if you re-rolled, especially if you're considering modifying your purchases. JSYK, most people I've seen Take 20 on all their purchases during character creation so they don't have to deal with the randomness of a d20 roll.

Once that's done and we've sorted out the Talent issue, everything should be cool.   [/sblock]

[sblock=Jemal]OK, it all makes sense now. You just need to purchase equipment and you should be done.[/sblock]

[sblock=Mista Collins]I haven't had a chance to review Carl in detail, but I should be able to do so tonight.[/sblock]


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## Jemal (Mar 20, 2007)

Mista Collins said:
			
		

> I found the following under the Lifestyles table:
> 
> *Car Rental Prices*
> Economy Car DC 6​Mid-size or truck DC 8​Luxury DC 10​




Yeah, but those are "per day rentals", not the 'lease to own' or monthly payments options most car places offer.


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## Salthorae (Mar 20, 2007)

Jemal said:
			
		

> Yeah, but those are "per day rentals", not the 'lease to own' or monthly payments options most car places offer.




I'd say that then means they are "more" than the lease/monthly payments on an owned car. Usually car rentals run anywhere from $25-$250/day depending on the car. Figure a $25/day for an economy car, that would be $750/month (yikes!)

Most monthly payments (whether lease or owned), run from $350 (with good credit), so you'd be paying like $11/day for that car.

Admittedly, I've never bought a (*isert annoucer voice*)NEW CARTM, but my roomie bought a Scion TC for $19k, and has horrible credit and paid almost $500/month (still only about $16/day)...


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## Insight (Mar 20, 2007)

Salthorae said:
			
		

> I'd say that then means they are "more" than the lease/monthly payments on an owned car. Usually car rentals run anywhere from $40-$250/day depending on the car. Figure a $40/day for an economy car, that would be $1200/month (yikes!)
> 
> Most monthly payments (whether lease or owned), run from $350 (with good credit), so you'd be paying like $11/day for that car.
> 
> Admittedly, I've never bought a (*isert annoucer voice*)NEW CARTM, but my roomie bought a Scion TC for $19k, and has horrible credit and paid almost $500/month (still only about $16/day)...




I already addressed this issue, as does the D20 Modern book.  Rent, car payments, insurance, student loan payments, etc, are all built into the wealth system.  It is assumed that you have these things.  Recurring payments are not deducted from your Wealth score.  If you want to _buy_ a car with cash, the prices are right there in the book (as are prices to _buy_ a house, a boat, etc).


----------



## Salthorae (Mar 20, 2007)

Insight said:
			
		

> I already addressed this issue, as does the D20 Modern book.  Rent, car payments, insurance, student loan payments, etc, are all built into the wealth system.  It is assumed that you have these things.  Recurring payments are not deducted from your Wealth score.  If you want to _buy_ a car with cash, the prices are right there in the book (as are prices to _buy_ a house, a boat, etc).




Interesting point Insight  I don't actually own the d20m book, I'm using the MSRD, which doesn't talk about things like that. 

How does one determine what you can afford to rent/lease though? Can a +0 wealth bonus rent an Escalade? Lease/mortage a 4 bedroom house? 

Is it just GM allowance as to what is appropriate to a wealth level?


----------



## Rhun (Mar 20, 2007)

Salthorae said:
			
		

> How does one determine what you can afford to rent/lease though? Can a +0 wealth bonus rent an Escalade? Lease/mortage a 4 bedroom house?
> 
> Is it just GM allowance as to what is appropriate to a wealth level?





Remember, even a Millionaire can have a wealth level of 0 in d20 Modern. All that means is that at the current time, you have absolutely no buying power. The system is quite abstract.


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## Salthorae (Mar 20, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Remember, even a Millionaire can have a wealth level of 0 in d20 Modern. All that means is that at the current time, you have absolutely no buying power. The system is quite abstract.




So it would seem  :\


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## Insight (Mar 21, 2007)

Salthorae said:
			
		

> Interesting point Insight  I don't actually own the d20m book, I'm using the MSRD, which doesn't talk about things like that.
> 
> How does one determine what you can afford to rent/lease though? Can a +0 wealth bonus rent an Escalade? Lease/mortage a 4 bedroom house?
> 
> Is it just GM allowance as to what is appropriate to a wealth level?




Short term stuff that's not part of your normal expenses is subtracted from Wealth, so you could not rent a hotel room or a car if your Wealth bonus was 0.  You could very easily have a nice house, car, trophy wife, mistress, etc, and be in debt up to your eyeballs, with a Wealth of +0.  It represents that you have no buying power because all of your available cash is spoken for.

The GM should take into consideration other factors to determine the nature of the character's current expenses, and what he is paying for.  I would rule that if you started with a Wealth of say +13, you could very well have a 4 bedroom house in a nice affluent suburb and maybe 1 or 2 cars, maybe a boat too.  But none of it is _yours_.  It is all owned by your creditors, and if you don't keep up payments (or otherwise violate the terms of your rental agreements, leases), you could lose them.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 21, 2007)

*Wealth and the Wealth Bonus*

These two excerpts from the book might help:

- from CR pg 92 "Lifestyle"

"What sort of lifestyle does your character live? Does he drive an exotic car and own a speedboat, throwing lavish parties and flying off to Rio for the weekend? Or does he subsist on microwave pizza in a one-room apartment? That question is answered, in part, by the objects you own and your current Wealth bonus.

"A character with a mid-range Wealth bonus (say, +7) can generally afford items costing around $50 without his Wealth bonus going down. Such a character can afford a meal at a good restaurant, a ticket to a basketball game, or a new computer game pretty much any time he wants. More expensive lifestyle options are always available, but only at the cost of driving his Wealth bonus down - so he can't really live beyond his means for long. Of course, if he already owns a Ferrari, having a lower Wealth bonus does not mean he has to give it up. He still drives an expensive car - he just can't currently afford to do all the other things people associate with that kind of life.

"A poorer character - with, say, a current Wealth bonus of +4, can generally afford a $20 expense without reducing his Wealth bonus. A night at the movies might be a routine entertainment, but he can't regularly afford anything more expensive. Rich characters, those with Wealth bonuses of +15 or higher, can easily drop about $500 at a time, meaning that they will fly first class more often than not."

 - from CR pg. 93 "Rent or Own?"

"The rules of Wealth don't say anything about paying rent or having a mortgage. That's because such day-to-day expenses as a home, utility bills and groceries are already built into the Wealth system - your Wealth bonus reflects your buying power after paying for such basics.

"Since the cost of rent is already built into your Wealth bonus, why should any character want to waste Wealth checks on something as expenseive as a home? The answer in game terms is the same as in the real world: When you own your own home, you aren't subject to someone else's rules on how to use it. Want to build a secret lab in your garage? That's kind of difficult in an apartment building - but you can probably do it if you own a house.

"To buy a house, you only have to make a Wealth check for the down payment (that's what the Purchase DC in the Housing section of Table 4-10 represents). You don't have to worry about the monthly mortgage payment, just as a renter doesn't have to worry about the rent."


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## Jemal (Mar 21, 2007)

Allright, keeping that in mind I'm gonna go finalize my character's starting equipment.


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 21, 2007)

Oh horror, please don't tell me I have to deal with this in the game!    Seriously though, if I do, I'm out.


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## Jemal (Mar 21, 2007)

? deal with what?


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 21, 2007)

Have you read any of the posts above your last one?  Or are you one of those people who gets a kick out of paying bills? :\


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## Jemal (Mar 21, 2007)

actually the way they describe it in those posts (Which I _did_ read, by the way) seem to clearly point out that you DON'T have to worry about paying bills, it's simplified into the Wealth Bonus system so you don't have to take that into account.  Your Wealth Bonus reflects what you can buy/do AFTER bills are taken care of.

The way I understand it, you pick your lifestyle, and then your current Wealth bonus (Be it 1 or 20) is how much money you have left over AFTER paying your bills, rent, etc, etc.

EX : My character has a Wealth Rating of 8.  I have a loft, and a Motorcycle (Both on a monthly Rent).  I don't have to worry about paying the Loft's rent, Electricity/cable bills, or the Motorbike's monthly bills, the Wealth 8 is for other stuff.  Say I want to go see a play, Have a fancy dinner, buy cocaine, get a hooker, bribe a cop, hire a hitman, or go to hawaii for the weekend.  Those are NOT allready worked into the system, and as such are additional expenses which, if they have a purchase DC of higher than 8, I would loose wealth for.
So you dont have to worry about paying mundane bills.


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## Insight (Mar 21, 2007)

My character, Gregory Spears, has been updated.

[sblock=Guardsmith]I got rid of that lame Logical talent from MPC2 and just got Savant from the core rules.  I downgraded his notebook PC to a standard one, and also dropped most of the mastercraft stuff I bought.  Took 10 or 20 on the ones for which I had to roll.  Now, I'm broke![/sblock]


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 21, 2007)

Hawaii isn't that great on the weekends.  No one posts!  

Well, I guess I'm unscared now, so I really ought to get to work on that character sometime soon, probably next week.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 22, 2007)

OK,

Insight, Salthorae, Rhun and Mista Collins, your characters are all set to go.

[sblock=Jemal] You character is fine, except for one thing. With the house rules I posted, a  leather jacket isn't a form of armor any more. (I realize that my PDF on Armor is vague on the subject, and I haven't had time to revise it). To clarify, the armors in the PDF are the only kinds of armors that may be purchased (unless someone wants archaic armor). If armor is too expensive for your character, please do not worry about it; you will be taken care of.[/sblock]

Finally, Dire Lemming, is there any chance that you can have a character ready before next week? Sorry to be a noodge, but I'm a little anxious to get going.


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## Rhun (Mar 22, 2007)

Guardsmith said:
			
		

> Insight, Salthorae, Rhun and Mista Collins, your characters are all set to go.





[MrBurnsVoice]Excellent[/MrBurnsVoice]


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 22, 2007)

Hm, well I just finished my second exam for better or worse, so I can actually probably start working on the character now.

By the way, what kinds of characters are there already and are there any types in particular that are needed?


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## Salthorae (Mar 22, 2007)

Well said Rhun! 

Dire Lemming, check out the Rogues gallery thread, but I believe that we have 2 fightery types, a smart tech kinda guy, and a medic (me )


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## Dire Lemming (Mar 23, 2007)

Well I've been reading through everything, and I'm really not finding any character ideas I like.  Also, I'm not sure I can deal with reading up on a bunch of new rules right now.  If you're in a hurry you probably ought to get someone else to play instead.


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## Mista Collins (Mar 23, 2007)

Salthorae said:
			
		

> Well said Rhun!
> 
> Dire Lemming, check out the Rogues gallery thread, but I believe that we have 2 fightery types, a smart tech kinda guy, and a medic (me )




And a charismatic negotiator. can't forget about me.


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## Jemal (Mar 23, 2007)

[sblock=guardsmith] OK, checked out your new Armor.. What form would the Light armors take(Light undervest, Kevlar, Heavy metal sheet, etc?), and would it make sense for a guy hunting vampires?  (IE would I conceivably have access to it?)
Also, what's the MDB stand for?

And outside of that, how's about just the normal Trenchcoat, is that oK?

And finally, couldn't find a purchase DC on a normal Quarterstaff... Would I be able to get a mastercraft one or not?  I like high-quality weaponry.

[/sblock]


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## Guardsmith (Mar 23, 2007)

[sblock=Jemal]The armors are broken down into two types, Concealed and Tactical, that are listed with each entry. Concealed are meant to worn under clothes and represent varying degrees of Kevlar and whatnot. Tactical is meant to be worn over clothes and is the kind worn by SWAT teams and the like. Conceivably, you could have access to any of them.

MDB = Maximum Dexterity Bonus

The purchase DC for a Quarterstaff is 3, so it's OK to have a mastercraft one. BTW, I got that out of Martial Arts Mayhem. You might want to take a look at it; not only does it have lots of martial arts weapons, but it also has feats and schools and other good stuff.[/sblock]

OK, Dire Lemming. Thanks for the heads up. In that case guys, I'll be starting the IC thread sometime before Monday.


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## Guardsmith (Mar 25, 2007)

The IC  thread is up!


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## Rhun (Mar 25, 2007)

The first post is mine! All mine, I say!


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## Guardsmith (Apr 2, 2007)

*Bad News*

I'm really, really sorry to say this guys, but I'm not going to be able to continue the game. I'm just not able to devote the amount of time to it that I thought I could at the onset.   

I would really like to thank everyone for their efforts, though; you guys were ten times better than the tabletop group I ran this for.


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## Rhun (Apr 2, 2007)

Thanks for the attempt, Guardsmith. It is appreciated, and as a PBP DM, I know how much time it takes to run a proper game.


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## Mista Collins (Apr 3, 2007)

yes, it takes a lot of time and effort. thanks for the opportunity.


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## Salthorae (Apr 3, 2007)

Dang! I was REALLY looking forward to this game too!  I was really gettin ginto the character... oh well.

Thanks for the try Guardsmith!


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## Jemal (Apr 3, 2007)

DOH!
'Sokay, I guess.  I know I've done it to people, too, when Time runs shorter than expected.  Maybe in the future, eh?


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