Need a few more operations for base classes

[ThoughtBubble]

Actually, with the flexibility of the occupation system, you've got more options than you might think:

Well, that's part of the problem, you see. I've got way too many things I could try. What I'm looking for now is a character that I can hand to my players and say "This is your gimmick." For example: Kay Jones, Fast 3, small arms specialist. Typically in combat she'll run for cover, drawing both pistols as she does so. From there, she enjoys filling the room with lead, firing wildly with both guns, sometimes doubletapping for added damage. If she's having trouble hitting, occasionally she'll drop down to single shots from one gun, though this is usually followed by loud complaints.

Just from that, I know of two of my players who'll want to snap this character up, and now have a good idea of a basic set of combat options for the duration of the game.

Burly locksmith who can find a way through anything, including his enemies: Strong Hero, Adventurer Occupation: Escape Artist and Disable Device, Permanent Class Skills

Former marine-based soldier and crack shot: Fast Hero, Rural Occupation: Swim and Survival, Permaskills

A world-travelled face-man who can take it for longer than they can dish it out: Tough Hero, Entrepreneur Occupation: Bluff, Diplomacy Permaskills

A captain who can inspire his troops with his speeches, or with his ability to get to his foes over tough terrain: Charismatic2/Strong1 Hero (with Leadership Talents), Athletic Occupation: Climb, Balance, Tumble Permaskills -- the last level of Strong Hero is pure minmaxyness. If you're a military unit, it's nice to have a BAB of better than +1.

And consider all of these snagged for reference as I continue building.
Any Talent/Feat suggestions?

 

[takyris]

I had a fun time with a 2nd-level Strong Hero who went with the Adventurer occupation and took Treat Injury as one of his Permaskills. I took Medical Expert as one feat, Combat Martial Arts as another, Personal Firearms Proficiency from my occupation, and Melee Smash as my talent. The goal was to get away from the "Ol' Doc, the Trusty Combat Medic" stereotype, since none of my players wanted to play Ol' Doc. This guy had ended up as a combat medic after failing his training as a Navy SEAL -- I was going to get into the reasons later, but I think it was because he didn't have the endurance to make it over the long haul (High Str, but only an 11 Con).

Having a guy who could punch for 1d4+3 (Str14 or 15 and melee smash) and shoot at a +3 (2nd level, Dex 13) was really nice, above and beyond the whole treating-the-injured spiel.

From minmaxyness, if you wanted somebody to be REALLY good at something, you could make the world's most Sense-Motivey character with:

Dedicated 3
Level 1 Talent: Empathic
Level 3 Talent: Skill Emphasis: Sense Motive
Feat: Attentive
Occupation: Investigative (Sense Motive as permaskill, and a +1 from it being on your starting skill list already)
16 Wisdom from Point Buy

Level 3:

+6 ranks
+3 Wis
+2 Attentive
+3 Skill Emphasis
+1 Investigative Occupation
------
+15 normally, with a +3 bonus from Empathy if he can spend a minute observing the target before going in for negotiations.

For a third-level character, that ain't bad. And when you figure that he's still got additional feats to round him out in other ways -- say, taking Personal Firearms from the Investigative Occupation, then Advanced Firearms Proficiency and Burst Fire as his 1st and 3rd-level feats -- he can be a definite factor in other parts of the game beyond just Sensing Motives. He'll also have the skill points from his Dedicated class to do other stuff -- Searching, Investigating -- he's got the potential to be the group's hawk-eyed lie detector, scout, and machine-gunner all in one.

Heck, I wouldn't mind playing that dude.

 

[ThoughtBubble]

I had a fun time with a 2nd-level Strong Hero who went with the Adventurer occupation and took Treat Injury as one of his Permaskills. I took Medical Expert as one feat, Combat Martial Arts as another, Personal Firearms Proficiency from my occupation, and Melee Smash as my talent. The goal was to get away from the "Ol' Doc, the Trusty Combat Medic" stereotype, since none of my players wanted to play Ol' Doc. This guy had ended up as a combat medic after failing his training as a Navy SEAL -- I was going to get into the reasons later, but I think it was because he didn't have the endurance to make it over the long haul (High Str, but only an 11 Con).

Having a guy who could punch for 1d4+3 (Str14 or 15 and melee smash) and shoot at a +3 (2nd level, Dex 13) was really nice, above and beyond the whole treating-the-injured spiel.

Awesome. You know, that really reminds me of a guy from one of the games I was in (based on fallout). Claimed he was a doctor (had the doctor tag skill along with small arms). Early on, we were in an abandoned building, and he picked up a large steel pipe, thus gaining the nickname Dr. Pipe. Oddly enough, I was playing a field medic (First aid tagskill), and we wound up having some interesting moments as I was basically running a nurse role, and hating it. Anyway, he was about a fourth of our attack power (and with six people, that's not bad). He had the gun skill, and the do or die attitude to make good use of it. And now I know how he was statted.

For a third-level character, that ain't bad. And when you figure that he's still got additional feats to round him out in other ways -- say, taking Personal Firearms from the Investigative Occupation, then Advanced Firearms Proficiency and Burst Fire as his 1st and 3rd-level feats -- he can be a definite factor in other parts of the game beyond just Sensing Motives. He'll also have the skill points from his Dedicated class to do other stuff -- Searching, Investigating -- he's got the potential to be the group's hawk-eyed lie detector, scout, and machine-gunner all in one.

Heck, I wouldn't mind playing that dude.

Neither would half my players. Consider him yoinked, and getting the next available spot on my to do list.

Did I mention that you're awesome at this?

 

[Michael Tree]

How about a Smart/Fast grease monkey. The kind of guy who can fix anything, drive anything, and fly anything. I have a character like this, a middle-aged old-time biker with a white beard and a pot belly (think Gerry Garcia), who flew a chopper in 'Nam and can fix practically anything. (Maxed out Pilot, Drive, Repair, and Disable Device, not to mention tons of knowledge-streetwise, gather information, and craft (mechanical))

 

[takyris]

Glad I could help, ThoughtBubble! I always get a kick out of making characters.

Incidently, I should mention that I tried bringing the combat medic in as an NPC -- my group lost their medic, and nobody wanted to make another one. Unfortunately, he ended up outshining the PCs in a few cases -- like a bar fight, where his martial arts let him outshine people who could ordinarily outshoot him. That guy is definitely flashy enough to be a PC, not an NPC.

My new NPC medic, beloved by the party, is Helpful Tucker. He's a Dedicated 2 right now, with max'd out Treat Injury ranks (of course) -- and I also gave him an 18 Int, the Technician feat with a bunch of fun Permaskills, and 2 or 3 ranks in just about every Int-based skill I could come up with. My goal for him is for him to be the most popular NPC EVER. See, with an 18 Int, and 2-3 ranks in Knowledge:Almost Everything, he's got a check of +6 or +7 in a wiiiiiiide range of skills... and aiding another only requires that you hit DC10. He's going to take Improved Aid Another at 3rd level, and then at 5th, and 7th, and 9th... Meaning that by the time he's 9th level, he'll be able to give people a +6 on almost any roll they want to make. Disable Device? Sure, he's got a few ranks in that. Craft:Mechanical? Yeah, he's built some stuff in his time. Let Helpful Tucker give you a hand.

He's the ultimate amateur enthusiast (I'm playing him as a kid genius who never really developed into anything beyond a competent doctor and renaissance man), only great at treating injuries, but good enough to help with anything that you can really help somebody with, be it a Sense Motive check ("Hey, boss, this is just me, but don't he seem a bit shifty to you?"), a Knowledge check ("Huh, you know, I don't know much about that, but I do know that penguins are native to Antarctica. It's only puffins you get in the Arctic."), or, well, anything else. It's not flashy, and I don't know that he'd be a ton of fun to play as a PC, but so far, the rest of the party loves him.

 

[cdsaint]

Glad I could help, ThoughtBubble! I always get a kick out of making characters.

Incidently, I should mention that I tried bringing the combat medic in as an NPC -- my group lost their medic, and nobody wanted to make another one. Unfortunately, he ended up outshining the PCs in a few cases -- like a bar fight, where his martial arts let him outshine people who could ordinarily outshoot him. That guy is definitely flashy enough to be a PC, not an NPC.

My new NPC medic, beloved by the party, is Helpful Tucker. He's a Dedicated 2 right now, with max'd out Treat Injury ranks (of course) -- and I also gave him an 18 Int, the Technician feat with a bunch of fun Permaskills, and 2 or 3 ranks in just about every Int-based skill I could come up with. My goal for him is for him to be the most popular NPC EVER. See, with an 18 Int, and 2-3 ranks in Knowledge:Almost Everything, he's got a check of +6 or +7 in a wiiiiiiide range of skills... and aiding another only requires that you hit DC10. He's going to take Improved Aid Another at 3rd level, and then at 5th, and 7th, and 9th... Meaning that by the time he's 9th level, he'll be able to give people a +6 on almost any roll they want to make. Disable Device? Sure, he's got a few ranks in that. Craft:Mechanical? Yeah, he's built some stuff in his time. Let Helpful Tucker give you a hand.

He's the ultimate amateur enthusiast (I'm playing him as a kid genius who never really developed into anything beyond a competent doctor and renaissance man), only great at treating injuries, but good enough to help with anything that you can really help somebody with, be it a Sense Motive check ("Hey, boss, this is just me, but don't he seem a bit shifty to you?"), a Knowledge check ("Huh, you know, I don't know much about that, but I do know that penguins are native to Antarctica. It's only puffins you get in the Arctic."), or, well, anything else. It's not flashy, and I don't know that he'd be a ton of fun to play as a PC, but so far, the rest of the party loves him.

Consider this idea STOLEN! One of the best NPC ideas I've ever seen IMO.

Chris

 

[ThoughtBubble]

Glad I could help, ThoughtBubble! I always get a kick out of making characters.

Incidently, I should mention that I tried bringing the combat medic in as an NPC -- my group lost their medic, and nobody wanted to make another one. Unfortunately, he ended up outshining the PCs in a few cases -- like a bar fight, where his martial arts let him outshine people who could ordinarily outshoot him. That guy is definitely flashy enough to be a PC, not an NPC.

My new NPC medic, beloved by the party, is Helpful Tucker. He's a Dedicated 2 right now, with max'd out Treat Injury ranks (of course) -- and I also gave him an 18 Int, the Technician feat with a bunch of fun Permaskills, and 2 or 3 ranks in just about every Int-based skill I could come up with. My goal for him is for him to be the most popular NPC EVER. See, with an 18 Int, and 2-3 ranks in Knowledge:Almost Everything, he's got a check of +6 or +7 in a wiiiiiiide range of skills... and aiding another only requires that you hit DC10. He's going to take Improved Aid Another at 3rd level, and then at 5th, and 7th, and 9th... Meaning that by the time he's 9th level, he'll be able to give people a +6 on almost any roll they want to make. Disable Device? Sure, he's got a few ranks in that. Craft:Mechanical? Yeah, he's built some stuff in his time. Let Helpful Tucker give you a hand.

He's the ultimate amateur enthusiast (I'm playing him as a kid genius who never really developed into anything beyond a competent doctor and renaissance man), only great at treating injuries, but good enough to help with anything that you can really help somebody with, be it a Sense Motive check ("Hey, boss, this is just me, but don't he seem a bit shifty to you?"), a Knowledge check ("Huh, you know, I don't know much about that, but I do know that penguins are native to Antarctica. It's only puffins you get in the Arctic."), or, well, anything else. It's not flashy, and I don't know that he'd be a ton of fun to play as a PC, but so far, the rest of the party loves him.

That's funny. My group would hate him. He'd be too helpful, and seem way too cooperative. Anyone who doesn't hate them obviously must be a spy.

Any thoughts on how to get a helpful NPC type into the game?

 

[Runesong42]

That's funny. My group would hate him. He'd be too helpful, and seem way too cooperative. Anyone who doesn't hate them obviously must be a spy.

Any thoughts on how to get a helpful NPC type into the game?

I find it funny that your group would hate a helpful addition. Most of my players welcome the added firepower and skills of an NPC. Then again, my group is only 2 players large.

In order for an NPC to be considered "helpful", he must either possess something that the PC's do not have, do something they cannot do, or be able to soak damage if those fail.

Some ideas -
Information: PC's would have to keep the guy around because without his info, their plans would fail. This could be a security code, an inborn magical ability, plans to build/sabotage some device, or whatever.
Combat Skills: I forget which movie this was on, but make the NPC a "God" figure; give him ungodly sniper skills and have him provide cover for the agents. Or, just give him a big gun and let him wail on the bad guys. Do not let the NPC outshine the PC's unless he absoluely must for their survival - players get mad if they can't beat their own challenges on a fair try.

Plus, who says the NPC has to be helpful? Most often, NPC's are story drivers, but sometimes they can be there to annoy, pester, or just make the characters' lives inconvenient. Have the journalist who wants to "experience" the reality of combat follow them around, comment on their work, and interview them during awkward situations (like in the middle of a firefight). Make a salty old sailor who always complains about the weather, the youth of today, and the "good old days" when all you had to do was stab an enemy without all those "high-falutin' gadgits" to get in the way.

With regards to your medic, it makes a gaming session a lot more tense if ready healing is unavailable. Give the PC's a few med-paks, hope that at least one of them has first aid, and let the doctors stay in their hospitals.

One of my players made a very interesting character if you're looking for a goon but not a goon. Take a Strong character, give him the Academic feat (opening up three knowledge skills), and let him spend most of his points on these skills. His idea was an Archaeologist (ala Tomb Raider/Relic Hunter). You could do a warrior/poet theme, or a romanticized samurai-type who enjoys art more than he enjoys combat (or sees combat as another art form).

All in all, make the NPC fun for YOU to play. If the NPC is needed to round out a smaller group, make an NPC in the style you would normally make a PC. Resist the urge to let the NPC be able to do everything, and do not allow yourself to favor the NPC over the PC's. If you can do this, you can "play along" with the group.

Hope this helps,
Dru