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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HeapThaumaturgist" data-source="post: 1498684" data-attributes="member: 12332">If it's a Dark*Matter game, drop all of the Military right out of it.  I'll tell ya now, it isn't worth what it does to your character concept.I've got six players.  Two of them decided that they just Could Not Handle playing a character that "didn't have any combat ability".  One of them decided he wanted to play a military guy who spent time in Rwanda or something like that.  Low on flavor.  Spent all his feats and abilities on sniping and gunning.  He's not really all that much better than the other PCs, most of whom only have Personal Firearms Prof, as far as gunplay goes ... and here's the thing.If it's a Dark*Matter game, combats are few and far between.  Dark*Matter is a conspiracy game, foremost, with action being a secondary part installed to make it RPGish.   You may play for several sessions where there's no combat at all, and everything is instead skill checks and investigation.My, personal, suggestion is to run with the EMT character idea.  Find a good picture, contemplate it for a while.  Then build an EMT.  Just an EMT.  Guy-off-the-street EMT.  Don't min-max your skills and feats.  Give him some hobbies.  Maybe he likes to use computers ... 2 ranks of Computer Use.  Maybe he's pretty intelligent and has a couple ranks in a handfull of Knowledge skills (and is studying to become a doctor and has a level of Smart).  Certainly give him ranks in Drive, maybe a driving feat from like Modern Player's Companion I or II if your DM will let you have them.Give him Personal Firearms Prof.  That's about all you need.  Training from Hoffmann.  If he's not part of Hoffmann and you find yourself trying to figure out a "reasonable" way for him to take it, then don't take it.  Be bold.  It's only a -4 penalty.  If you have decent dex it'll probably even out to a +0 or -1, which isn't a HUGE deal unless the DM is throwing body-armored Spetznas soldiers at you ... and if that's the case your first few missions out (or in general) then chances are it's not quite as Dark*Matter as it could be.  Think of it this way.  What if you end up investigating a ghost?  Something you can't hurt with mundane weapons.  Does it matter if you have a +4 or a +0 using a Glock if the only way to defeat it is a handful of Computer Use and Research checks in the library to find out that Mary-Ellen DuBois was murdered in the house a dozen years ago, and some Search rolls in the basement to find a place where the floor is hollowed down because the decomposing body took up less space?  A Treat Injury roll to determine that the cause of death was stabbing ("look at these nicks on the bone, I'd say a single-bladed knife, serrated ...") and tracking down the knife and finding the murderer and putting Mary-Ellen DuBois to rest.Fun game, no combat.  You save the day with your Treat Injury and Search and Spot rolls.Just an idea from a D20 Dark*Matter Game Master.  Those are my favorite characters to run Dark*Matter for.  The gun-bunny in my game has thus-far been bored out of his mind.  The only skill check he made that was useful was a couple survival rolls to follow a trail.  (Olie in my Story Hour.  Not that he hasn't had fun, but he doesn't get to be involved in ways other than table RP because he tossed all his skill points into Demolitions and the like.)--fjeOh, yea.  Check out the story hours below for some ideas how Dark*Matter games can go.  Look over Jonrog's game, too.  And Medallions, in Ledded's sig.</blockquote>

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