Archive for the ‘Semanticast’ Category

Stock Characters: Mr. Operator (Savaged Rifts)

Mar
30

“MR. OPERATOR” TOM DALY (Operator)

Note: This character is made for the rifts setting but uses the Savage Worlds mechanics, consisting of a 20-experience-point build and house ruled powers from the Super Powers Compendium to create an operator-type character.

Tom Daly has been traveling and fixing people’s gear for so long that they don’t even remember his name any more. They called him Mr. Operator when they were kids and now they have kids of their own. Everyone calls him Mr. Operator, and he’s okay with that. He likes helping folks. He likes traveling. He likes being on his own. The Confederated States had other plans. Tom was pressed into service at a late age to maintain the quote of CS operators. He does as he’s told, as long as he still ges to travel and still gets to help folks.

Attributes
Agi d4
Sma d12
Spi d8
Str d4
Vig d4

Skills
Fighting d4
Guts d6
Healing d8
Knowledge (Electronics) d8
Notice d8
Persuasion d6
Repair d12
Shooting d4
Streetwise d6

Edges
Arcane Background (Super Powers)
Contacts
Invent (step 2, house rule)
McGyver
Mr. Fix It

Hindrances
Elderly (Major)
Anemic (Minor)
Bad Eyes (Minor)

Powers
Interface
Invent (3 levels)

Stock Characters: Finn O'Toole (Savaged Rifts)

Mar
23

SGT FINN O’TOOLE (Dead Boy)

Note: This character is made for the rifts setting but uses the Savage Worlds mechanics, consisting of a 20-experience-point build and powers from the Super Powers Compendium to create a dead boy-type character.

Finn O’Toole lied about his age so he could join the Coalition States military. He knew from an early age that he was destined to wear Dead Boy black and kill the mutants and monsters that threatened his home. The CS is the bright light in the darkness of an anarchic world. He’ll crack any skull and burn any freak he’s told to if it means keeping his people safe.

Attributes
Agi d8
Sma d6
Spi d6
Str d12+1 (d8 natural)
Vig d12 (d6 natural)

Skills
Clmibing d6
Fighting d12+2
Notice d12
Repair d6
Shooting d8
Stealth d6
Throwing d4

Edges
Ambidextrous
Arcane Background (Super Powers)
Power Points (x2)
Two-Fisted

Hindrances
Bad Luck (Major)
Heartless (Minor)
Loyal (Minor)

Personal Powers
Fearless
Speedster (1 level)
Super Skills (4 levels spent on Fighting and Notice)

Power Armor (Device)
Attack, Melee (2 levels on power fists)
Darkvision (helmet with optical enhancements)
Deflection (6 levels across all armor)
Leaping + Bounce (1 level + bounce in power boots)
Super Attributes (3 levels of Strength from power fists and 3 levels of Vigor from trauma-response breastplate)

Stock Characters: Kyse (Mouse Guard)

Mar
9

KYSE
The oldest son of Finn and Lilly, Port Sumac’s most experienced harvesters, Kyse grew up part of a family well liked and much needed by its neighbors. His parents taught him the importance of the community and the success of the mice because they stuck together. For this reason, he was more than willing to apprentice himself to Maggie the Wheelwright. She was an oldfur and the settlement needed someone with her skills. He stepped into that role.

It was his free time that Kyse looked most forward to. Then he would go to the shore and visit the boat captains. Kyse had an unusually adept sense for the weather, smelling the salt in the air and feeling the subtle changes in wind and temperature. Boat captains learned quickly to trust his predictions. One captain in particular, Brand, took a strong liking to him and tried to lure him away from Maggie. But Kyse had made a commitment and stuck with it. He spent his free time with Brand, getting a sense for the weather over water and how the tides worked.

When Brand’s son Willem challenged him for stealing his father away from him and insinuating himself into a boating role Willem felt was his, Kyse chose instead to leave Port Sumac and join the guard, where his efforts would not just benefit his settlement, but all of mousedom.

Age: 20
Home: Port Sumac
Fur Color: Auburn
Rank: Guardmouse
Cloak: Blue
Parents: Finn and Lilly the Harvesters
Senior: Maggie the Wheelwright
Mentor: Lieam
Friend: Captain Brand
Enemy: Willem (Captain Brand’s son)

Belief: The good of the many outweighs the good of the one.
Goal:
Instinct: Press on until you know for sure
Skills: Fighter (3), Haggler (2), Harvester (2), Pathfinder (3), Persuader (2), Scout (2), Weather Watcher (5)
Traits: Nimble, Weather Sense (2)
Wises: Thunderstorm-wise, Tide-wise
Gear: Hook and line, sling

Nature (Mouse – Climbing, Escaping, Foraging, Hiding): 5 (saves for winter, afraid of owls, weasels, and wolves)
Will: 3
Health: 5
Resources: 5 (works in the winter, parents work, frugal)
Circles: 3 (easily liked)

Semanticast: Stock Characters: Jarol Whiteblade (Pathfinder)

Jan
14

JAROL WHITEBLADE
Half-Elf fighter 1/rogue 1

Jarol was a member of the Springport militia until he was caught taking kickbacks from ship captains to look the other way while they smuggled illicit goods. Unable to find honest work where he could make a little extra on the side, he left Springport and headed upstream to Goldriver. He hopes to resume a post in the local militia and renew his efforts at self-enrichment or maybe sign on with an adventuring group and make some quick coin murdering monsters and stealing their stuff.

Ability Scores (15 point-buy)
Strength 12 (2)
Dexterity* 17 (7)
Constitution 14 (5)
Intelligence 14 (5)
Wisdom 10 (0)
Charisma 7 (-4)

Racial Benefits
+2 to any one ability (* Dexterity)
Skill Focus: Bluff*
+2 to Perception
2 favored classes (fighter and rogue)
Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven*, Goblinoid* (* from Intelligence bonus)
Immune to magic sleep; +2 bonus against enchantment effects
30 ft base movement
Low-light vision

To Hit +4 (+2/+2 two-weapon fighting)
Hit Points 20 (2nd-level hd 1/2 average (4.5) rounded up instead of rolling, +1 hp for favored class)

Base-Attack Bonus +1
Fortitude save +4
Reflex save +5
Will save +0

Class Abilities
Bonus combat feat
Sneak attack +1d6
Trapfinding

Feats
Two-Weapon Fighting
Weapon Finesse

Skills (including 1 extra for favored class)
Acrobatics +5
Appraise +6
Bluff +6 (two ranks and *skill focus)
Climb +3
Disable Device +5
Escape Artist +5
Intimidate +2
Perception +6 (racial bonus)
Ride +5
Sense Motive +4
Sleight of Hand +5
Stealth +5
Swim +3
Use Magic Device +2

Equipment
Rapier
Dagger
Longbow
Chain shirt (-2 armor check penalty to Str/Dex skills)
Adventuring gear

Semanticast: Stock Characters: Houston Majors (Savage Worlds)

Dec
8

CAPT HOUSTON MAJORS, USA (RET.)

Captain Majors was commissioned a Second Lieutenant from West Point, graduating at the middle of his class. He had grown up a young boy obsessed with chemistry and the wondrous ability a home chemistry set gave him to blow things up. Studying at West Point put focus on primary forward divisions like Infantry. While EOD was alloted its due respect, that respect was crammed into a few short weeks of study out of four years. Captain Majors’ military career was equally average. While he excelled at everything explosives, he had little interest in the bureaucracy that is the US Army. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the prevalence of IEDs finally gave Majors a chance to demonstrate his skill, but too late in his career. Pass over for promotion twice, Majors was quick to retire and accept an offer as demolitions specialist with Tesladyne Industries.

Attributes
Agi d6
Sma d8
Spi d6
Str d6
Vig d6

Skills
Fighting d6
Guts d6
Knowledge (chemistry) d6
Knowledge (demolitions) d8
Notice d6
Shooting d6
Throwing d6

Edges
Quick

Hindrances
Curious (Major)
Phobia (MInor [-2 to trait checks when subjected to phobia], scared of heights)
Vengeful (Minor, bears a grudge against the Army for waisting the last 15 years of his life)

Semanticast: Stock Characters: Paul Dinklage (Savage Worlds)

Dec
1

PAUL DINKLAGE

Always in the shadow of his performer (and now movie star) twin brother Peter, Paul Dinklage spent his life pursuing mental challenges rather than physical ones. His dwarfism always hung over him, a ceiling to any accomplishments he dreamed of. Unable to be a Marine or a fighter pilot, Paul found a home at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His advances in exoskeleton technology were so groundbreaking that the various armed services, the CIA, and the NSA all vied for his skills. All of them refused his requests for field agent status, so Paul remained with DARPA.

He reached a turning point in 2003. In March, the United States invaded Iraq. The coffers were opened and Paul could begin building human-sized working prototypes from titanium alloys, carbon-fiber, and any other material he could imagine. His project was given an unlimited budget and he was given full discretion of the project’s direction as long as he could deliver a functional “Iron Man Zero” within five years. In December, his brother starred in “Elf” alongside Will Ferrell and the movie became a huge success. His prestige at DARPA was eclipsed by incessent “angry elf” jokes. Jokes that did not subside with the end of the holiday season.

Within a year, Paul tendered his resignation. Taking advantage of the accounting backlog and bureaucratic avalanch that was war-time funding, Paul left with enough tools and materials that he could craft exoskeletons to fit his own frame. While he has not completed a fully functional skeleton, he has created three independent elements that have proven successful in field trials.

Paul’s obsession with front-line engagement did not diminish with age. It is the fuel the keeps him moving forward. He wants to prove his small size does not inhibit him. Through his success, he will leave the “angry elf” monicker behind forever. Or so he believes.

Attributes
Agi: d6
Sma: d12
Spi: d4
Str: d4
Vig: d6

Skills
Fighting: d6
Guts: d6
Intimidate: d4
Knowledge (Anatomy & Physiology): d8
Repair: d8
Shooting: d6
Throwing: d4
Weird Science: d8

Edges
Weird Science (Exoskeletons)

Hindrances
Small (major, -1 Toughness)
Quirk (minor, takes insult at any comments about size)
Wanted (minor, embezzled from DARPA but the crime has not yet been discovered)

Statistics
Pace 6
Parry 5
Toughness 4

Exoskeleton

The Weird Science edge allows Paul to use one of the following inventions:

  • Dinklage Type I Bicep Augmentation Exoskeleton: +1 die type Str, lifting capacity doubled, d8 melee weapon (elbows/fists only)
  • Dinklage Type I Pectoral Augmentation Chassis : Armor rating 4 melee/6 ranged, carrying capacity doubled
  • Dinklage Type I Quadriceps Augmentation Exoskeleton: As Fleet-Footed edge, d8 melee weapon (feet/knees only)

Exoskeleton Advancements

  • Dinklage Type II Bicep Augmentation Exoskeleton: +1 die type Str, lifting capacity tripled, d10 melee weapon (elbows/fists only)
  • Dinklage Type III Bicep Augmentation Exoskeleton: +2 die type Str, lifting capacity quadrupled, d12 melee weapon (elbows/fists only)
  • Dinklage Type IV Bicep Augmentation Exoskeleton: +2 die type Str, lifting capacity quintupled, d12+1 melee weapon (elbows/fists only)
  • Dinklage Type II Pectoral Augmentation Chassis : Armor rating 4 melee/8 ranged, carrying capacity tripled, +2 to Spirit checks to become unshaken
  • Dinklage Type III Pectoral Augmentation Chassis : Armor rating 6 melee/8 ranged, carrying capacity quadrupled, +2 to Spirit checks to become unshaken, +2 to Vigor checks vs. poison
  • Dinklage Type IV Pectoral Augmentation Chassis : Armor rating 6 melee/10 ranged, carrying capacity quintupled, +1 Vigor die type, +2 to Spirit checks to become unshaken, +2 to Vigor checks vs. poison
  • Dinklage Type II Quadriceps Augmentation Exoskeleton: As Fleet-Footed edge edge, as Sure Hands edge, d10 melee weapon (feet/knees only)
  • Dinklage Type III Quadriceps Augmentation Exoskeleton: As Fleet-Footed edge edge, as Sure Hands edge, d12 melee weapon (feet/knees only), jumping distance tripled
  • Dinklage Type IV Quadriceps Augmentation Exoskeleton: As Fleet-Footed edge edge, as Sure Hands edge, d12+1 melee weapon (feet/knees only), jumping distance quadrupled

Semanticast 001: Pathfinder RPG

Nov
3

Pathfinder Chronicles is the campaign world and game system published by Paizo Publishing.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Pathfinder in comparison to D&D 3.x and 4e
- Six new classes coming soon
- Class changes and encouraging single-class play
- Changes to spells and spell-list structure
- Making skills easier for DMs
- Why an additional +2 to stats?
- Mordenkeinen vs. Rary, who’s in the right?

Jason Buhlman is the lead designer for Pathfinder Chronicles, available now at your FLGS.