The Team: Skills and Equipment

The title of the thread should make it quite clear what this thread is about. So, on to the first topic.

We have an issue: some skills are not taken (eg chase scene driver, soothe animal—note that many of these skills are in no way essential), while some characters lack many things to do outside of combat (eg Cody, Murky, Hikari). We need to figure out the best way to match these groups up. I'm trying to devise a system to properly sort the relevant skills and abilities for easy comparison. In the mean time, it would be great if people could come up with backstory ideas for "tricking out" characters with otherwise minimal skill sets.

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

One or more people seem to be concerned about Gabriel's lack of utility (at least until later in the series when he brushes up on his social skills (kinda hard not to when you're the team's resident telepath)). Not as bad as Cody/Hikari, but it's there.

Backstory detail that we might be able to work with: whatever it is he studied in college (presumably, if he's a twenty-something, he's either just graduated, or was about to). Forest Ecology (doesn't really help expand the character, though)? History (still not very useful, I think)? Civil Engineering (would make him a demolitions guy, though I'd have to justify why he decided to study that)?

Needs more brainstorming. Will also try to come up with ideas for Cody and Hikari, but I'll have to review their profiles first.

This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...

Oh, just noting:

• For Cody, we came up with the idea of making him a sharpshooter (since he has a rifle, after all) and giving him a motorcycle.
• We still need to figure out what the secondary vehicle will be—though this doesn't matter for the scripting of the pilot, the vehicle will appear in two or three shots.
• We haven't yet figured out the primary drivers for the motor home (main driver) and other vehicle (chase scene driver).
• We also haven't figured out who will be the vehicle mechanic. Our current best guess is Murky.
• For all college students or otherwise post-college characters, we need to know what the character studied.
• If a character is unusually weak/strong, agile/clumsy, etc., it'd be good to know.
• Random other things: does the character know any languages other than English? Is the character good with animals? Are there any relevant skills that the character picked up at some point? Is there anything the character unusually bad at?

arks, Matrix, Kyler, Kara, and I have tried our best to fill out information for each character, but some things are unclear or still up in the air. The current version of my notes are on my contributor page—they'll get posted here once I figure out a way to organize them in a decent fashion

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

• Unless it comes into conflict with some other detail, I'll just settle on Mechanical Engineering as Gabriel's course in college, making him reasonably good at handling equipment (at least, ones with moving parts in them).
  • Has a knack for MacGyvering up something with whatever materials are on hand at the moment. A necessary skill during his regular hiking trips (pre-Convergence).
• Probably knows Spanish
• I think I'll drop the Technical Pacifist trait. He'll still avoid fighting, but if there's no other option (especially if he's protecting someone who can't fight at all)...
• For a twist, let's say he isn't good with animals. He knows how to keep them away so they don't bite your face off, but didn't really bother to learn how to handle them directly.

edited 22nd Jan '10 8:05:31 AM by KylerThatch

This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...

No objections from me to Cody-as-sharpshooter-and-motorcyclist.

I'm not sure what he would have studied at college. It would have to be something his parents considered a worthy subject, so not a modern course.

For the secondary vehicle, what kind of thing are we talking about? My first suggestion would be some kind of off-road vehicle or SUV.

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@Bobby: I'm thinking something a bit more rugged than an SUV, but, yeah, that's the idea. Now we just need to figure out what skills Cody has that aren't related to Stealth, Shooting, and Driving.

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

I envision him as being fairly sporty and outdoorsy. Does that help?

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Alright, I'm working on a sort of "skill list" for the characters, and I'm interested in hearing the sort of things you would like to see on it. The idea is to list all "interesting" traits—the ones where the character is notably better or worse than would be expected. The ranking system will be

• + + + Unnaturally good (generally restricted to Empowered nature)
• + + Excellent (the highest someone would rank normally—one of their skills/abilities/traits of great note)
• + Notably good (the most common score to be listed, methinks)
• 0 Normal (Almost never listed.)
• - Notably bad
• - - "Don't even think about it" bad
• - - - "How is it even possible to be this bad?" bad (eg Cooking (- - -) would correspond to Lethal Chef)

In all cases, it is quite possible to add descriptors to skills. (eg Deception (+, Sarcastic Confession + +).

It should be quite clear that this is not a stat system—it's just something for us to reference if we need to remember who speaks French, who's the best at performing maintenance on the motor home, and which people we should separate if we ever want to make a gag about none of them being able to cook worth a damn.

Anyway, here are the categories I've been able to come up with:

• Physical: Endurance, Speed, Strength, Reflexes, Senses, Beauty, etc.
• Language: English (Accent), others
• Technical Abilities: Mechanic, Computer Engineering, Hacking, etc.
• Knowledge: As applicable
• Fictite Specialty: As applicable
• Social: Deception, Interrogation, Leadership
• Mental Stability: Groundedness, Self-Control,...
• Outdoorsy
• Other: As applicable
• Role Notes

So, yeah, comments would be nice.

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

It seems pretty comprehensive, but how about giving us a rundown of your character so we can see how to implement it?

edited 21st Feb '10 10:13:31 AM by Karalora

Stuff what I do.

Alright, here's Ironeye as an example. Note that I didn't even list categories where he had nothing of note.

• Ironeye
  • Physical: Reflexes (+), Speed (+)
  • Combat: Tae Kwon Do (+), Bolo Knives (+)
  • Language: English (SoCal), Spanish (Mexican, - -)
  • Knowledge (+): Mathematics (+ +), Fourth Wall (+ +)
  • Fictite Specialty: Speculative Fiction (+), Video Games (+), Mythology (+)
  • Social: Deception (+, Lying to himself + +), Leadership (-)
  • Mental Stability: Groundedness (-), Self-Control (+)
  • Outdoorsy (-)
  • Other: Cooking (-), Organization (+)

edited 21st Feb '10 6:55:43 PM by Ironeye

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

Yay, more notes! As we were going, we came up with more items than the ones on my initial list, so we will have to revisit some of these characters.

• Physical: Endurance, Speed, Strength, Reflexes, Senses, Beauty, Toughness
• Combat
• Language: English (Accent), others
• Technical Abilities: Mechanic, Computer Engineering, Hacking, etc.
• Knowledge: As applicable
• Fictite Specialty: As applicable
• Social: Deception, Interrogation, Leadership, Friendliness, Cute
• Mental: Groundedness, Self-Control, Emotional Stability, Focus, Awareness
• Outdoorsy
• Other: As applicable

Note that some characters have an area that gets a whole new category (eg Kara with Healing, Jinxed with Thievery). Also note than new items can get added to each category as needed (eg Matrix having Memory -, an attribute that really isn't relevant for any other character)

• Gabriel
  • Physical: Endurance +, Strength +
  • Combat: Machete +
  • Language: English (SoCal), Spanish (Mexican)
  • Technical Abilities: Mechanic +, MacGyvering +
  • Knowledge: History +, Psychology +, Mechanics +, Medicinal Herbs + (see Outdoorsy and First Aid)
  • Social: Deception - (Feigning Cluelessness +), Lie Detection + (Using his power + + +), Empathy + + (Using his power + + +), Leadership -, Approachability -, Friendliness +
  • Mental: Awareness + (while using his power -), Focus + (while using his power -), Emotional Stability + (while using his power -)
  • Outdoorsy (+)
  • Other: First Aid +
• Hikari
  • Physical: Endurance +, Strength - (Wind of Light +), Reflexes 0 (Wind of Light + +), Pain Resistance 0 (Wind of Light + + +), Senses 0 (Wind of Light—doesn't have to rely on the body's senses + + +)
  • Combat: Hand to Hand - - (Wind of Light—brutal +), Firearms - - -
  • Language: English (West-Coast Canadian), French 0
  • Fictite Specialty (Wind of Light 0): Video Games + (RPGs + +), Fantasy Anime +, Children's TV +
  • Social: Friendliness + +, Deception - - - (Wind of Light—lies by omission + +)
  • Mental: Skepticism - - - (Wind of Light when he has a reason not to trust someone + +), Self-Control - - - (power control +, Wind of Light normal + +, Wind of Light when close to approaching a goal - -), Groundedness - - - (Wind of Light +), Awareness 0 (when focusing - - -, Wind of Light + +), Emotional Stability - - (Wind of Light normal + +, Wind of Light when proven wrong - - -), Focus + + (Wind of Light 0)
  • Other: Cooking +, Normal Human Life 0 (Wind of Light - - -)
• Murky
  • Physical (+): Senses 0
  • Combat: Naginata + +
  • Language: English (Southern—mild), Spanish 0 (Mexican)
  • Technical Ablities: Mechanic +
  • Social: Interrogation -, Deception + + (no one can get a read on her), Leadership -, Friendliness -, Approachability - -
  • Mental: Awareness +, Self-Control +, Groundedness +, Focus +, Emotional Stability + + (acts + + +)
• arks
  • Physical: Toughness + + +, Endurance + +, Speed -, Smell +, Pain Resistance + +
  • Combat: Brawler + (focus on attack and improvisation)
  • Language: English (Midwest)
  • Knowledge (0, acts -)
  • Fictite Specialty: Superheroes + +, Internet Fictites +, Computer Games +
  • Social: Friendliness +, Deception + (Bold-faced lies and half-truths), Interrogation + (disarming friendliness)
  • Mental: Emotional Stability - (acts +), Groundedness 0 (acts -), Self-Control + (acts -), Focus + + (but never on the right thing)
  • Outdoorsy: Scavenging +, Making Fire +
  • Other: Cooking +
• Matrix
  • Physical: Reflexes + + +, Speed + (Skitty + +), Senses + + +, Strength - (Skitty - -), Beauty +, Endurance 0 (Skitty -), Pain Resistance - - -
  • Language: English (Vancouver/Hollywood), Japanese - -
  • Technical Abilities (-): Computer Operation (0)
  • Knowledge: Linguistics +
  • Fictite Specialty: Video Games + (Pokemon +), Mythology +
  • Social: Cute +, Deception + (Obfuscating Stupidity + +), Leadership -
  • Mental: Memory -, Focus +, Awareness -, Groundedness -, Self-Control - -, Emotional Stability -
  • Outdoorsy (+): Tracking + + +, Hunting 0 (Skitty vs. small + + +)
  • Other: Move Silenty + + (Skitty + + +), Hide (Skitty + +), Organization -, Cooking -, Sing (Skitty +)
• Kara
  • Physical: Endurance +, Hearing +
  • Languages: English (SoCal), Spanish - (Mexican), Romance Languages - - (Understanding only)
  • Technical Abilities: Household Repairs +
  • Knowledge: General +, Animals +, Medical + (see first aid)
  • Fictite Specialty: Disney + +, Mythology and Folklore +
  • Social: Leadership 0 (within the group +), Interrogation + (maternal instincts), Sarcastic Confession +
  • Mental: Focus + +, Self-Control +, Awareness +, Groundedness + (when teammates are in serious trouble -)
  • Medical: Healing Hands + + +, First Aid +
  • Other: Gardening +, Cooking +
• Jinxed
  • Physical: Strength -, Reflexes +
  • Combat (-)
  • Language: English (California/Deep South mix), French -
  • Technichal Abilities: Computers +
  • Knowledge: Geography -, Video Games +
  • Fictite Specialty: Pokemon + +, Digimon +
  • Social: Friendliness +, Deception 0 (to Faw or Kara - -), Cute +, Interrogation -, Emotional Stability -
  • Mental: Self-Control -, Groundedness +, Focus -, Awareness +
  • Outdoorsy: Soothe Animal +
  • Thievery (+)
  • Other: Optimism +, Sports - -
• Ironeye
  • Physical: Reflexes +, Speed +
  • Combat (focus on technique and speed): Tae Kwon Do +, Bolo Knives +
  • Language: English (SoCal), Spanish - - (Mexican)
  • Knowledge (+): Mathematics + +, Fourth Wall + +
  • Fictite Specialty: Speculative Fiction +, Video Games +, Mythology +
  • Social: Deception + (Lying to himself + +), Leadership -
  • Mental: Groundedness -, Self-Control +, Focus - (things in his head + +), Awareness - -, Emotional Stability + + (Kara's in danger and he can't help - -)
  • Outdoorsy (-)
  • Other: Cooking -, Organization +, Sports - -

edited 22nd Feb '10 5:07:48 PM by Ironeye

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

OK, so for Cody...

• Physical: Endurance +, Speed +, Strength +, Reflexes +
• Combat: Brawling +, Shooting + +
• Language: English (NW Pacific), German - -
• Technical Abilities: Mechanic +
• Fictite Specialty: Hollywood movies +, sitcoms +, soaps/drama +, FPSes +
• Social: Deception +, Targeting insecurities +, Stealth 0 (but when power is in effect, + + +)
• Mental: Emotional Stability - (acts +, unless absolutely enraged)
• Outdoorsy: Scavenging +, Pitching tents +, Making fire +
• Other: Cooking +, Driving +, Sports +, Video Games -, Singing - -

Am I doin it rite?

edited 22nd Feb '10 10:55:36 AM by BobbyG

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That you are. It's a good thing we're doing this, too, because otherwise I wouldn't have realized that Cody is one of the top three melee combat characters (and #2 if you prefer offense over defense).

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

I just noticed, Gabriel's focus and awareness should also fall to a (-) while using his powers. He's getting two overlapping sets of sensory information (his own and that of the target)—that's got to be distracting.

This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...

Alrighty, Korg figured out the way he (as Mission Control) would divide up the team into two fire squads on missions. Note that this is the default arrangement, subject to change based on mission parameters (by Korg) and in-field conditions (by Kara).

• Main Squad
  • Kara (team leader, the medic)
  • Cody (the sharpshooter, to keep Kara safe)
  • arks (the mobile chest-high wall, to keep Kara safe and give Cody emergency cover)
  • Murky (the melee DPS to cover anyone who gets by Cody)
  • Fawriel (ditto)
  • Jinxed (non-com, always with Faw)
• Secondary Squad
  • Ironeye (squad leader, The Mario combat-wise)
  • Hikari (ranged DPS)
  • Matrix (secondary DPS)
  • Gabriel (support—outdoorsy and first aid, backup melee DPS)

The chain of command:

• Korg (Mission Control)
• Karalora (original team leader)
• Fawriel (ranking TV Tropes agent; best personality for leadership aside form the above)
• Ironeye (Technically 3rd ranking officer in the field, but generally works independently with Matrix and Hikari in Team 2)
• arks, Murky, Gabriel, and Cody
• Hikari, Matrix, and Jinxed

Other teams (generally micro-managed by Korg):

• Infiltration: Cody (lead in event of loss of communications with Korg; backup), arks (distraction), and Jinxed (main infiltrator—no one would take a 10-year-old boy seriously!); note that the choice of Jinxed as the primary asset is bias on Korg's part—he'll use her over Cody even when Cody's power makes him better-suited for the mission.
• Information Retrieval: Team Infiltration + Gabriel
• Team DPS: Hikari, Murky, Cody, Matrix, arks (mobile chest-high wall for Cody; keeping Hikari in-line)
• Interrogation: arks (good cop), Kara (bad cop), and Gabriel (telepathy—though he can't pull information out of someone's mind, if one of the others can get the prisoner to think about the matter at hand...)
• Team Fixit (man vs. environment situations): Kara (leader, medic), Murky, Cody, Gabriel, and Jinxed (computers)

edited 2nd Mar '10 1:11:04 AM by Ironeye

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

That's what I get for not being specific. I don't think Cody would be first choice for computer repair. He's a skilled mechanic... where vehicles are concerned. Computers are very different.

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I had assumed he was a vehicle mechanic, given that his skill was listed as "Mechanic" and not "Computers" and that he had a motorcycle. The mistake here was mine: not putting descriptors for Gabriel and Cody.

Also, a nice little bit that Korg came up regarding the chain of command: Korg occasionally gives private orders to Ironeye in the event of an emergency where Korg thinks that Kara's leadership would lead to disaster. The most important of these deals with "Code White"—Hikari going Wind of Light without proper planning or precautions. If Korg declares a "Code White", Ironeye is to put a bullet into Hikari's brainpan (Squish)—Ironeye was chosen for this because:

• He's Hikari's "handler" in the sense that he was putting an effort into watching over Hikari anyway
• He's one of the few characters who would frag a teammate

Obviously, Ironeye never does shoot Hikari, but there will be a scene where:

• Korg says, "Code White"
• Ironeye draws his pistol and takes aim
• The situation is diffused (probably by an arks-glomp)
• Everyone realizes that the private conversation Korg and Ironeye had early in S2 wasn't just the two of them getting to know each other.

edited 2nd Mar '10 4:18:49 PM by Ironeye

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

• Kara walks into Mission Control afterward, tells Korg "We need to talk. Now.", and then socks him in the jaw.

Stuff what I do.

Excellent.

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

Question: How do we differentiate between Cody's, Gabriel's, and Murky's mechanical skills? Or do we even want to?

This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...

Well, we know that Cody's got a vehicle focus, while Gabriel is better at MacGyvering things, but we really haven't decided anything with Murky...

edited 2nd Mar '10 3:55:39 PM by Ironeye

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

^^^ She would take the whole thing as an insult and a betrayal on so many levels. It's just been revealed that Korg is guilty of (in descending order of severity):

• Trying to have one of her team members/family members killed...
  • ...using another one of her team members/family members as the assassin.
• Arranging all this with said assassin behind her back...
  • ...in blatant disregard of the fact that her own powers offer the potential for a solution that doesn't require lethal force...
  • ...and the fact that said assassin is the person she is closest to out of the entire cast.

He's lucky she only uses her bare fist, and not brass knuckles or a spiked gauntlet.

Stuff what I do.

Ah, yes, and then there'd be the Ironeye/Kara fallout, the Ironeye/Hikari fallout (not so much Korg/Hikari, since Korg clearly thought Hikari was too dangerous from day 1), and the Ironeye/Everyone Else fallout...

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

Korg's response to being punched (from Korg):

• Typing, "That would interfere with my reply."
• Tapping his jaw
  • If she doesn't get the hint, typing, "I'm not going to say anything until you fix it."

edited 4th Mar '10 12:00:42 AM by Ironeye

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

Mildly funny, but rather unrealistic and Fridge Logic-y. If Kara can put enough power into a punch to do actual damage to someone's jaw, why hasn't she been more combat-focused before now? And if she hit Korg hard enough to give him difficulty speaking—which would basically mean breaking or dislocating his jaw—how does he still have a) the presence of mind to type a witty reply, and b) the necessary location in the room? It would knock him right out of his chair.

Unless he's just being a wiseass. Which would not be out of character, but even he has to know that there's a time to drop the jokes, and this is it.

Besides, she can't heal him until she calms down. Which won't be any time soon. So the conversation would probably proceed like this:

• Kara: No dice, jackass, I'm too furious with you.
• Korg: *shrugs, goes back to what he was doing*
• Kara: Have it your way. We quit—all seven of us.

Stuff what I do.