Well, I did move, but I lost track of my blogging and now it has been two years since my “short hiatus” began.
I have been working on some non-Domibia projects in the intervening years, including another world-building effort for a place called Testudo. And now I am prepping for a large-scale dimension/time travel camapign (for GURPS). I say large-scale because there are 24 PC’s (a handful of whom haven’t been chosen by a player) and 4 NPC Allies.
I once again used a Central Casting book (Heroes Now, this time) to create the PC’s and NPC’s. Because the campaign is involving people who were not planning on becoming dimension/time jumpers I decided to just randomly create all of the characters. I have nine players who have picked two PC’s each (a primary and a secondary). It is highly unlikely that all nine will ever be playing at the same time, so I am planning on having several concurrent plots going and decide which I will run at a given session by who is going to be there. The non-chosen PC’s will be there if there is ever a guest player who doesn’t have a character to play.
I provided the players with a list of the characters, but no real game stats, so they would choose them by background and personality. It seemed to work out pretty well. We’ll see what happens when I actually get a chance to run the thing…
Here are the descriptions that I provided the players to pick from:
1. [129] 27 year old African American who grew up in the Seattle area. Always dreamed of being a ship’s captain, but didn’t get farther that serving on some large fishing ships. Instead they ended up going to University of Washington and getting a degree in Business Management. This isn’t a very nice person, they have a lot of disadvantages (ex: Greedy, Laziness, Selfish, etc) that make them unlikable. They do speak Japanese and have really good attributes. Seems like a good back-up character for someone.
2. [66] 26 year old American (mutt) who grew up in the Visalia CA area. They were raised by an older sister and have a twin. They went to vocational school and are now working as a stone mason. There isn’t a lot to sell this character, they have some goodish survival skills and is smart and dexterous.
3. [83] 24 year old Hispanic American (Costa Rican descent) who grew up in Redding CA. They ran away from home at 12 and never returned. They became involved with a gang in Buffalo NY and besides acting as low-grade muscle the gang leadership saw that the character was pretty smart so they investing in sending the PC to college. The PC has tons of electronics skills and is fairly well rounded. Again, an excellent back-up character.
4. [65] 22 year old American (mutt) who grew up in rural Tennessee. They have some good survival skills and are smart and perceptive. Other than that, they don’t have too much going for them (they work at Walmart). They could be good in an outdoorsy situation.
5. [80] 25 year old of Laotian descent who grew up in Bellflower CA. They can do a little bit of everything, but none of it very well. They are a HS drop-out and have worked driving trucks around the LA-OC region. They can sing really well, and can handle themselves in a fistfight. This is another “utility infielder” who might be a good back-up for a main PC.
8. [216] 32 year old American (mutt) from rural New Hampshire. They did a lot of rock/mountain climbing as a teen. Attended West Point and served in Afghanistan and saw combat during the war as an Apache pilot. This character has a ton of useful skills (besides his Piloting: Helicopter-18). They are pretty smart and very dexterous, and no attribute is below 10.
9. [123] 31 year old Native American (Abenaki tribe) from Concord New Hampshire. The PC is good with computers and has a degree in Business Management focusing on charities and other non-profits. They have a ton of useful skills from their rural upbringing and can sail a sailboat.
10. [42] 27 year old African American (very proud of their Zairian ancestry) from Philadelphia. This character is hard to pin down. They have some useful skills from their background (stranded on a tropical island, Lost style, for several weeks) they don’t have a ton of adventurer type skills. They *are* in amazing shape with a HT (Health) of 14 + Fit (which allows faster fatigue recovery). One possible wrinkle is that the PC was married and their spouse cheated on them *while* on the vacation that is going to be the starting point of the campaign. Whoever picks this character will have to decide if they want to have the spouse as a Dependent (or Ally) that they are not very pleased with at the moment, or let their until-recently-beloved spouse suffer whatever fate I have in store for everyone… I won’t actually create an NPC until I know that they will be with the group.
11. [169] 39 year old Belgian-American ex-track and field “star” from Bowling Green KY. This character is sort of a badass. They are very strong and extrememly healthy, as well as being 25% taller than average (details to be determined by the gender that is chosen). They have some negative personality traits, but would be kind of fun to play. They are also really good to have around in a fight. They have some psionic abilities, but I don’t want other players to know what those might be, so I will not describe them here. They have a spouse who is a [79] point NPC who has a pilot’s license and is an expert horse rider (and is skilled in knife fighting!). To be honest, I pictured the PC as a guy (looking like Ninja from Die Antwoord) which would make them 7’5″ tall and weigh 300 lbs. but that can be modified if needed, if someone wants to run them as a female.
12. [5] 37 year old American (mutt) from the Sacramento area. The point value is slightly misleading, as they have some below average attributes that really lowered their point cost. They were a professional jewelry dealer with a pilot’s license prior to joining the Air Force. They served as a ground crewman for a ground attack squadron in Iraq. So they have a lot of useful skills, but aren’t anything but average in them. But they would make a good back-up character for someone that is a non-combat type.
13. [156] 28 year old American (mutt) from New York city. This character grew up in a tough neighborhood and knows how to take care of themselves. They managed to get into college and became an archaeologist (specializing in North American Plains Indians). They have some good skills (adventuring applicable) and decent attributes (including some criminal type stuff from their youth). They also have a [96] point spouse. A member of the Onandaga tribe from Canton OH, the 27 year old spouse is a locally well-known MMA style fighter who fights with Brazilian style Jiu-Jitsu. A scholarly (but roguish) character with an ass-kicking Ally could be a fun character to play.
14. [239] 31 year old American (mutt) from a small town outside of El Paso. They have *really* good attributes (and skill levels). Besides some hobby skills and work related skills (they are a steel worker) they have Fencing and Cooking (specifically Baking) at high levels. They also are very good with animals (but like dogs most of all).
15. [140] 37 year old Arab-American from Denver. This is what I would call a “player character” if I met them in reality. They have some computer skills and some criminal type skills from a misspent youth. They moved to Israel after inheriting a house from a Palestinian family member and get recruited by the Mossad. The character works with Mossad and gets put through IDF training. They spent a lot of time in Romania and think of it as a third home. So they have combat skills (Krav Maga!) and a handful of languages and some spycraft. Unfortunately, they did lose their right eye in a firefight with some Hamas members.
16. [117] 31 year old Arab-American from Odessa TX. This character technically a Kuwaiti sheik, but is so far down the family totem pole that they are just wealthy ex-patriates. The character has a good education with a degree in psychology. Instead of practicing that he instead is a guide/pilot in the Philippines (which they fell in love with). They also have some experience with ships (from serving on a tramp steamer for a while). They also have a wee bit of occult knowledge (but no spoilers).
17. [101] 43 year old child of Swedish immigrants who grew up in Terre Haute IN. There isn’t a lot of adventuring type skills with this character. They worked as a leatherworker for a long time and then went culinary school and became a chef (Cooking skill 14). Dexterity and IQ are both 12, but they are the best of the bunch. Another possible back-up character for less dangerous missions.
18. [173] 34 year old member of the Potowatomi tribe in central Michigan. This character is tough to describe without giving away secret stuff that the player may not want the other players knowing. They are extremely strong so when you get punched by them it is likely a fight ender. They have some small psionic ability and have made a living as a bounty hunter for the last decade. This a perfect primary character for someone, as they have a bunch of cool stuff…
19. (165] 52 year old American (mutt) from Detroit. This is a really good non-combat type character, they have a ton of social skills and some minor psionic abilities. They attended Cornell and have a degree in Business Management. While in school they part of a breaking and entering type burglary group (so they have some thief type skills). They were very active in local politics and was a friend of the mayor of Detroit. There is also a spouse. A [113] point journalist from Missouri with some useful skills.
20. [156] 63 year old American (mutt) from Shreveport LA. While old for an adventurer, this character has good attributes (specifically Health and Perception) and was an FBI agent in their past. Now they are a semi-retired journalist. They have a LOT of useful skills (as well as a bunch of interesting but not vital skills such as swing dancing and playing the fiddle). I pictured this as a female character (looking like Helen Mirren when she was 63), but as with all of these, the player has the final choice on gender.
21. [124] 21 year old American of Spanish descent from Marquette MI (in the northern part of the state). This character is a minor celebrity and has done a lot of local theater since they were 13. Now they have had some small parts in a couple of movies and are a regional spokesperson for the American Alliance for Theater & Education. They are really good at acting, singing and public speaking. They also have a background involving a lot of survival skills (Survival and Hiking and Boating, etc). They are also very attractive and would be a good “face” for the party.
22. [61] 12 year old African American kid from Waterford CT. This character is about what you would expect from a modern American kid, some sports, some games and computer skills and not too much else. They are probably going to be relegated to being a plot device (unless someone wants a real RPing challenge).
23. [7] 11 year old American (mutt) from Phoenix AZ. Another pretty typical modern kid. They grew up very poor so they don’t have as many techie skills as the 12 year old. They are pretty dexterous and smart though, even for an adult. Again, probably will become a plot device.
The characters are made for GURPS and the [#] is the point value of the PC.
domibia 