The Black Campbell

Berin Kinsman has an excellent piece on the importance of writing and acting skills for good roleplaying here.  His last paragraph ties into some of the pieces I have posted here, in my “Setting the Scene” posts (search function!)

In those posts, I often suggest watching movies to get an idea of how to handle pacing and atmosphere for the GM.  Understanding how to frame the story in ways that address the genre you are playing in is an important technique for GMs and players, alike.  Designing a character for a Chthulu game that is the wise-cracking sidekick (mostly likely, nearly inevitably, played by the latest hip black comedian, were this a movie) might work, if the feel of the game is to be light-hearted, comedic horror (say in the vein of Shaun of the Dead), but it doesn’t work if you’re going for a more action-oriented campaign (say, the Resident Evil style of horror/thriller.)  It really doesn’t work with something that might evoke real terror…comedy in the midst of terror might be realistic, but a jokey sidekick that is unphased by what’s happening around him will destroy the beat and flavor of the game.

Acting skill isn’t necessarily essential for a roleplayer, but it is to good roleplay — if only to provide your character with realistic, and consistent, motivations and responses to the story unfolding.  For instance, my wife is playing a politician and lawyer in our Battlestar Galactica RPG.  Her character is interested in the well-being of the survivors under her care, but she is just as interested in her own power and standing amongst the remaining humans.  This leads her into conflict on a regular basis with the commanding officers of the military vessels protecting them.  As a GM, it helps me plot events because I have a fairly good idea of how she will react to situations — I can throw things at the character that test her mettle, that make her choose actions that can drive the story one way or another.

Good roleplay doesn’t necessarily mean your players need to be able to do accents, or throw out clever quips or windy soliloquies — it is enough to give a quick description of what they are trying to impart (this is especially the case with romantic scenes, I find…)   They can give a general idea of what they are doing and roll a test off of their skills or attributes, but a good speech, a good plan — these things improve the experience.

One of my suggestions in an early post was to really flesh out characters:  give them families and friends — things they care about and use them.  People rarely exist in a vacuum — they have friends and family, they have places they frequent, items that define them, from the books or videos on their shelves, to the kind of art they hang on their walls (if at all), to how they dress.

An example of how minutiae can define character is Berin Kinsman’s character of Carlos Milian in my James Bond campaign:  he is Cuban-American, and that defines some of his tastes in music and food, but he has a collection of family and friends (including a criminal cousin that will be providing me a plot line soonish.)  He doesn’t wear ties, but he wears fancy shirts with real cuff-links.  He drives a nice Chrysler 300 as his “business car”, yet bangs around in a pickup for trips t the bodega…what does that say about him?  He’s careful about planning and comes at missions with an analyst’s eye, rather than an operative — how does that effect the way he conducts himself in the field?  And how does that lead to success or failure in a mission?

Little things can give a character a realism that no only helps the player get into characters (how many actors in commentaries talk about how getting into costume aids their perfromance?), but allows the other players and the GM to latch onto character aspects they can play off of.

This is, in essence, a long-winded way of saying “Damn!  You beat me to it!”

Early I posted a series of character portraits from our Battlestar Galactica campaign.  Here’s some NPCs from the same.

Commander Aeria “Athena” Athenos

Aeria was born 10AC, days after the end of the first Cylon War.  Her father was Giorgio Athenos, the first commander of the battlestar Pacifica, and before that had been a general in the Caprican Militia.  Her mother was Reina Montana, an Arelonian political lobbyist for the Colonial government and the Arelon signatory to the Articles of Colonization.
As a girl, Aeria showed tremendous intellectual curiosity and ability, and was schooled at the prestigious Athena Academy on Caprica and followed it up with a legacy scholarship to the Delphi Military Academy in 27AC, where she graduated top of her class in 31AC.  She went through basic flight and raptor training at Delphi, then advanced shiphandling courses at Picon’s Colonial Headquarters.  In 33AC, she joined the fleet as a lieutenant first class.

She served three years as a flight and navigation officer for the assaultstar Diomedes, before serving as a raptor flight leader in Atlantia and was promoted to captain.  With her term of service over, she moved to the Colonial Fleet Reserves, serving as a public relations officer for four years in Caprica City.  She also ran for city council and was a elected twice.  Athenos met and married Alexander Pindarus, the son of the famed Admiral Marcus Pindarus in 39AC.  The couple produced two children, Eric (b. 40) and Pallas (b.43) before divorcing.

Aeria was offered command the battlestar Hestia in 51AC.  When the Cylon attack happened, Hestia was able to stay in the fight longer than the rest of her group, as she was not equipped with the Command Navigation Program.  Athenos was able to destroy one of the basestars in the fray, but her ship was crippled and then boarded.  The fight was intense and the ship eventually lost.  Commander Athenos was injured in the escape from the ship, and woke up days later on Caprica, with a small band of survivors in the Tharsis Plains.  Her group was able to elude the Cylons and eventually be picked up by Pleiades group.  ADM Horvath placed her in command of the assaultstar Demosthenes.

AGL: d6   STR: d6   VIT: d8   ALE: d10   INT: d12   WIL: d10

Initiative: d6+d10   Life Points: 18   Endurance: d8+d10  Resistance: 2d8  Ht: 5’10”   Wt: 140 lbs.  Eyes: Gray   Hair: Honey Blond   Age: 42

SKILLS: Athletics d6, Covert d4, Discipline d6, Guns d6, Heavy Weapons d4, Influence d6, Knowledge d6, Melee Combat d4, Perceptions d6, Pilot d6, Planetary Vehicles d4, Scientific Expert d4, Survival d6, Technical Engineering d6, Unarmed Combat d4

ASSETS:   Advanced Education d4, Intuition d4, Sixth Sense d8, So Say We All d6, Tactician d4

COMPLICATIONS:  Duty d6, Illness, Chronic Migraines d4, Injury, Chronic: Shoulder d4, Out for Blood d4

Captain Harold “Flameout” Kendrick

Harold is the first of two boys to Donald and Lucille Kendrick of Sagitarron.  He was born on the first day of 23AC.  His grandfather was a Colonial officer, as was his father.  He is a third generation fighter pilot who attended Picon Military Academy from 41-45AC, then did his turn at fight school and viper training on the same.

ENS Kendrick married another colonial officer, 2LT Hellen Lauta – a reservist unit XO at Pindarus Base – shortly after he graduation from Viper School.  The two were assigned to the battlestar Acropolis, under Commander Zacharius Horvath.  During his time in Acropolis, he impressed the commander with his zeal and leadership abilities.  He was transferred to Pleiades in 48AC as a second lieutenant; his wife was assigned to Scorpia HQ, pregnant with their first child, Phillip.

He has been a mainstay in the ship and was linked romantically to several of the female officers.  When Gaius Horvath signed onto the ship, Flameout – so named for a training accident that nearly killed him – was assigned as his wingman.  While he is friends with “Professor”, he does begrudge him his CAG position, believing that Horvath’s father passed him over for promotion.  Worse, young upstart 3-Point has been promoted ahead of him!  Some of this ire has been abated by his promotion to squadron commander.

AGL: d8   STR: d8   VIT: d10   ALE: d10   INT: d6   WIL: d8

Initiative: d8+d10   Life Points: 18   Endurance: d10+d8   Resistance 2d10   Ht: 6’3″   Wt: 220 lbs   Eyes: Blue   Hair: Black   Age:  30

SKILLS:  Athletics d6, Covert d2, Discipline d4, Guns d4, Heavy Weaponry d4, Influence d6, Knowledge d4, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perceptions d6, Pilot d6 [Vipers d10], Planetary Vehicles d6, Survival d6, Technical Engineering d6, Unarmed Combat d6

ASSETS:  Allue d4, Athlete d4, Dogfighter d4

COMPLICATIONS: Duty d6, Gloryhound d4, Jealousy Issues d2, Overconfident d4

Captain Oscar “OJ” Jackson

Oscar is the son of a dirt-poor Canceron miner, Argus, and his wife Patrice.  He was born in 22AC and raised in abject poverty and struggled to escape Canceron by educating himself while excelling in sports.  He gained a korvis scholarship to the elite Delphi Military College in 40AC.
OJ struggled with his classwork at DMC, but his korvis and pyramid skills kept him in the program, along with old-fashioned hard work.  He graduated in the bottom third of the 44 class, but blazed through basic flight, gaining a slot for Viper School at Picon’s Pindarus Combat School.  He was one of the top pilots in his class in 46.  (He was a classmate of LT “Flameout” Kendrick.)

After training, he was assigned to the assaultstar Heracles as a viper jock, flying the old MK II, and rising to the position of Bravo Flight leader, and XO of the squadron.  He was scheduled for a transfer to Atlantia in 52AC, but days before he was scheduled to leave, the Cylons attacked.  He was one of a handful of pilots to survive the initial engagement at Armistice Station; only three of twelve survived from Heracles.  Since then, he has been one of the lead pilots in Pleiades.  OJ is closest to the other “Heracleans” – Flat Spin and Cosmo.  He is moody and quiet, and spends much of his off-time sparring or working out.

AGL: d8   STR: d8   VIT: d8  ALE: d8   INT: d6   WIL: d10

Initiative: 2d8   Life Points: 18   Endurance: d8+d10   Resistance: 2d8   Ht: 6’2″   Wt: 210 lbs.   Eyes: Blue   Hair: Brown   Age: 30

SKILLS:  Artistry d2, Athletics d6 [Korvis d8], Covert d4, Discipline d6, Guns d4, Influence d4, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perception d6, Pilot d6 [Vipers d10, Gunnery d10], Planetary Vehicles d4, Survival d4, Technical Engineering d4, Unarmed Combat d6 [Boxing d10]

ASSETS:  Athlete d4, Brawler d4, Dogfighter d4

COMPLICATIONS: Anger Issues d4, Dyslexia d2, Out for Blood d4

1LT Joan “One-Nite” Kasavetes

Joan is the middle child of six daughters to Michael and Yana Kasavetes of Gemenon.  Her father is a priest, and with her mother, runs a temple in Epsis.  Born in 26AC, she was a handful, constantly in trouble for fighting and truancy; this was her attempt to gain attention from her beleaguered parents.  Despite her disciplinary troubles and her close call with teen pregnancy, she was able to get into Kobol College.  She joined the Colonial Fleet as an ROTC candidate the next year and on graduation attended OCS on Picon.  Her basic flight training was also there, and she just missed the test scores for viper training, instead rolling into raptors.

Her only duty assignment has been the battlestar Pleiades, which she signed onto in 48AC.  For four years, she has been a fixture in the raptor squadron, gaining promotion to lieutenant and becoming a flight leader in 51AC.  With the war, she has been elevated to squadron commander of the raptor squadron for the ship and is in the process of training up the new raptor rooks in flight techniques and EW/ECM operations.

She is an exceptional raptor pilot, a solid leader, and competent, if unimaginative tactician.  She is double-jointed and highly flexible, but this also gives her trouble with her hip joints and arthritis.  Her call sign comes from her promiscuous nature and disposable relationships.  She claims to never give the man more than one night, but this is an exaggeration.  Popular with her peers, One Nite is a trusted member of the air group.

AGL: d8   STR: d8   VIT: d6   ALE: d10   INT: d8   WIL: d10

Initiative: d8+d10   Life Points: 16   Endurance: d6+d10   Resistance: 2d6   Ht: 5’6″   Wt: 124 lbs   Eyes: Brown   Hair: Black   Skin: Lt. Brown   Age: 26

SKILLS:  Athletics d4, Discipline d4, Guns d4, Heavy Weaponry d4, Influences d6, Knowledge d4, Perception d6, Pilot d6 [Raptor d12], Planetary Vehicles d4, Scientific Expertise d4, Survival d4, Technical Engineering d6 [Electronic Warfare d8], Unarmed Combat d4

ASSETS:  Allure d2, Cool Under Fire d2, Double-Jointed [Adds to AGL tests] d4, Faith d4, Talented ECO [adds to DRADIS and EW tests] d4

COMPLICATIONS:  Illness, Joint trouble [affects running, lifting, etc] d2, Lustful d4, Rebellious d4, Superstitious d4

Just because I stumbled across this lovely a few minutes ago…

The Maserati A8GCS is a Gran Turismo that has been through the coachworks of Touring Superleggera of Milan — the same design house that produced the stunning Alfa-Romeo 8C 2900 of the late 1930s, and the famed Aston-Martin DB4 & DB5.  The car has a 4.7 liter V8 motor producing 440hp, six speed transmission with paddle shifters, a near perfect 47/53 weight distribution, and powerful Brembo brakes.  It is a heavy car, coming in at 4145 lbs, but the car is very fast, and supremely nimble.

PM: +2   RED: 3   CRUS: 100   MAX: 171   RNG: 220   FCE: 2   STR: 8   COST: $200,000