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Can we be a white collar criminal or a guy who stole boats and planes?
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May 23, 2016 22:06
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| # ? Jun 10, 2024 12:39 |
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Yeah, make us an embezzler. Some rich guy thinks he isn't rich enough.
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May 23, 2016 22:09
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Nobody is into being a pulp bookseller, I guess. Might as well jump on the smooth Criminal  edit And make us a burglar or something useful. Ooh, like a burglar with a secret identity.
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May 23, 2016 22:12
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Pulp P.I., obviously.
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May 23, 2016 22:29
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Rockopolis posted:Nobody is into being a pulp bookseller, I guess. Might as well jump on the smooth Criminal We stole something, something more than old. Something magic.
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May 23, 2016 23:14
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Criminal is more of a status than a career. Like, we could be any of the occupations and also be a criminal. A wife-beating P.I., an author that doesn't pay taxes, a forger that totally ran over a guy and left the scene...
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May 23, 2016 23:21
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sullat posted:Criminal is more of a status than a career. Like, we could be any of the occupations and also be a criminal. A wife-beating P.I., an author that doesn't pay taxes, a forger that totally ran over a guy and left the scene... A bookstore owner who also sells priceless black market books in the back and runs into something odd.
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May 23, 2016 23:28
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Or we could be the hamburgler.
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May 23, 2016 23:32
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robble robble Cthulhu f'gthan! Yeah, I can totally see a rare book dealer just getting most of his inventory by stealing it.
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May 23, 2016 23:46
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"Oh, yeah, this is a really rare first edition of Dee's notes on the Pnakotic Manuscripts, basically the only one left. I mean, I stole and burned the other ones, so I'd know."
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May 24, 2016 00:06
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Zybourne Clock posted:Pulp for style, and author for the character's occupation. Preferably an author of pulp fiction. Yes, this. Time for Dashiell Hammett to kick some Deep Ones in the teeth.
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May 24, 2016 00:43
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Can you forge eldritch tomes? It's not like they're really pronouncable, so who can tell if you got a bit wrong? Our criminal specialty should be passing knock-off artifacts to cultists with more money than sense. "Oh yah, a Pankonotic Manuscript and Powder of Abe Ghazi, that'll come in real handy, don't 'cha know."
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May 24, 2016 05:31
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Criminal - 10 Author - 6 Private Detective.- 5 Nurse - 3 Hobo - 3 Archeologist -2 Parapsychologist - 1 Police Detective -1 Scientist -1 Criminal pretty much has it - I'll start writing the character creation bit. Voting is still open, as a mass defection to Author or Private Detective could shift it. I'll give it a few more hours and see how things are going. If it looks more up in the air when I've done my writing, I'll let it spin on a bit longer.
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May 24, 2016 07:23
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Changing my vote from Nurse to Author cause I don't feel like being a criminal today
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May 24, 2016 11:28
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So we are a Criminal. What does that mean exactly? Well, as people have said, that covers a large range of things - we could be a Mafioso Thug, a pickpocket, a Bookseller who gets his wares in a less than legal ways, or even a sexy cat burglar with a heart of gold, and a on again/off again relationship with the local vigilante. Or a hundred things in between. The first thing it defines is our Occupational Abilities - Bargain, Intimidation, Locksmith, Scuffling, (Hand to hand fighting) Sense Trouble, Shadowing, Stealth, Streetwise, one other Interpersonal or Technical ability as a personal specialty. These are skills we get at 2 for 1 price. (more on that in a minute.) I’m going to steal the skill list from the book, as it’s more compact. General abilities are the ones anybody can get, and include the important ones such as Health, Sanity and Stability. We can buy any skill of course, but we will have more of our Occupational ability (for anyone with the rules at home, this will be a 65 point build with 24 points of Occupational abilities.)  We are also given our credit rating bands - 0 to 4. 0 is a pauper, 4 is a Middle class person. Finally,we have a special ability to spend points AFTER a roll in Conceal, Filch, or Shadowing skills at a 2-1 rate. Skills So, I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I’ve said what skills we can have, but not how they work. While I won’t be showing the rolls, I think an understanding of the mechanisms will help when making choices. I’ll be asking for spends a lot I think, so you should know how things work around here! If you have a investigative skill in ToC, and you are looking for a clue, then you will automatically find it - no dice roll needed! Now, I know what you are thinking, why not buy 1 point in every skill you can? Well, skills are also pools - sometimes I’ll give an option to make a point spend to get more information. Say you have Art, and you are looking at a creepy painting. I’ll tell you straight off that you recognize it as a work by Pickman, then I could offer you (or you request) a 1 point buy - spending a point from your pool gets you the information that this is an undiscovered work by the artist, and therefore more valuable! - Spends like this are always 1 or 2 points for more detailed information. In a more active way, we’re picking a lock with locksmith 4, it’s got a difficulty of 6. (Difficulties are 2-8 on a D6 roll.) While you can hope you get lucky, you could also spend all four of your points to add to the D6 roll - meaning a two or more on the roll will pick the lock. The problem? Pools refresh slowly. Investigative pools refresh at the end of the scenario, while General ability pools can be refreshed by resting. Therefore, pool management becomes a major resource management part of the game - do we spend big to assure success, or take a risk and conserve points? There are three Attributes that are more important than the others. Health, Sanity and Stability. Health is simple, you get hurt, it takes time to heal. Sanity - We’re going to get scared, we’re going to learn things that make us doubt reality - how much of this we can take is measured by our sanity pool - when it hits 0 we go insane and spend some time in the asylum - maybe the rest of our life! Thankfully, as we’re playing by Pulp rules, we can recover lost Sanity. Sanity has a number of pillars - these are values or abstract concepts such as religion or human dignity - things that keep us grounded in reality. They can be undermined as we go. Stability - This represents the short term effects of horror, while Sanity is our long term mental well being, Stability is how we’re reacting to this thing right now. Stability has sources - people who represent something to our character. These automatic NPC’s can be killed or corrupted. We’ll generate them when we’ve rounded the character out a bit more! I’ll also mention a few other skills. Credit Rating is not just a measure of how much is in your bank balance - it’s also how you are perceived in social situations. You can be rich but boorish, or poor and well mannered, which would be reflected in a credit rating lower or higher than income alone would suggest. There are also two “hidden” skills - Cthulhu Mythos and Magic - These can be gained through play, but come with their own costs. There are things a man is not supposed to know after all. Drives This is what, as you may expect, drives our character forwards - not following your drive can cost stability, while following it into danger adds to the pool. The Drives available are - Adventure Antiquarianism Arrogance Artistic Sensitivity Bad Luck Curiosity Duty Ennui Follower In the Blood Revenge Scholarship Sudden Shock Thirst for Knowledge This will be a key part of our character. Most of them are fairly explanatory, but feel free to ask if you want one clarified. Our Character So, I’m not going to sit here and ask you do do maths. That would be boring. What I want is a few key bits of information. Name A short background - I’m not looking for a detailed life history here, but something that sets the character out, giving me an idea what skills to invest in. I will of course double check with the thread before finalising, but I want a feel for this person we are sending to their doom. Where they live should be included as well. Mario is a Mafioso Soldier in Chicago. He’s come up from the ranks breaking heads with the best of them. He’s well known of the streets for collecting the protection money, following people and roughing them up in alleyways. In his spare time, he’s devoted to his wife and children, and a keen historian. From this, I’d put a lot of points in Scuffle, health, streetwise and Shadowing. Then pick history as the wildcard trait. I also have his Sources of Stability and at least one pillar - his family (both the organisation and his real one. Drive - Pick one from the list above that fits. Family would work for Mario the boring soldier there. This goes without saying, but if you can vote for ideas as they come up, if you don’t want to submit your own!
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May 24, 2016 14:05
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Jim Murphy might just be the most corrupt cop in Chicago. He made detective only barely; the man ahead of him for promotion was killed in a drive-by during a tip gone wrong, and the rumor goes that Murphy knew before the call had even been made. Being promoted didn't stop him continuing his strong-arm racket, it just meant he had more authority to accompany the muscle he already relied on, and when nearly every perp you bring in has at least three fresh bruises, people understand you know how to use it. As another cop put it, "Murph doesn't have the brains for investigation, but he's got the fists for it." Murphy put him in the hospital for two months when he overheard that. To make things explicit, I'm figuring Scuffling, Health, Intimidation, Streetwise, and Cop Talk from the bonus interpersonal, with Arrogance as his drive, though Revenge could work too.
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May 24, 2016 15:00
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Louis Dumont Mr. Dumont is suspected to have been involved in several high-profile burglaries over the past decade. The recent theft of the 'Star of Carcossa' is attributed to him. While his day job as an art critic is well known, what is less known is his devotion to the communists in Paris. Every so often, he makes a large donation to their coffers, when he comes into some funds. Whether or not he stole the 'Star', word on the street is that some unsavory types are looking for him to ask rather pointed questions about its recent disappearance... French Cat burglar. Drives would be either sudden shock or curiosity. He saw something really weird on his last theft, and is suddenly more involved in the myths than he would like.
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May 24, 2016 18:36
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sullat posted:Louis Dumont I vote commie art thief!
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May 24, 2016 18:58
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This may be a dumb question, but what time period is the setting? I cut my teeth on Call of Cthulhu 4th edition and my instinct therefore defaults to Cthulhu as 1920s.
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May 24, 2016 22:25
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Thankyou for doing this Grey. Also Pulpand PI
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May 24, 2016 22:42
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sullat posted:Louis Dumont And another vote for this.
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May 24, 2016 23:45
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ibntumart posted:This may be a dumb question, but what time period is the setting? I cut my teeth on Call of Cthulhu 4th edition and my instinct therefore defaults to Cthulhu as 1920s. Early 20th century in my mind - 1920's or early 30's, but I've left it fluid.
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May 25, 2016 03:53
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sullat posted:Louis Dumont Please
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May 25, 2016 03:59
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We can find the right car for him here. There's a museum in Oxnard that has a lot of French automobiles from the '20s and '30s. http://www.mullinautomotivemuseum.com/ I'm partial to the Bugatti 46 
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May 25, 2016 04:24
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sullat posted:Louis Dumont This, but his nickname has to be the Pink Panther.
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May 25, 2016 05:12
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sullat posted:Louis Dumont Another vote for this.
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May 25, 2016 05:54
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sullat posted:Louis Dumont Quorum posted:This, but his nickname has to be the Pink Panther. yes
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May 25, 2016 06:00
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I'm happy with the french cat burglar but maybe called Arsene Lupin ii.
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May 25, 2016 06:03
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Yeah I'm gonna just rescind my suggestion because Commie Lupin III and/or Pink Panther is just too great to beat.
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May 25, 2016 06:16
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Well, that was pretty conculsive! pre:Investigator - Louis Dumont Drive - Curiosity Occupation - Criminal Health = 10 Sanity = 12 Pillar 1 Pillar 2 Pillar 3 Pillar 4 Stability = 12 Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Investigative Skills Art History = 4 Languages = 1 Library Use = 2 Assess Honesty = 2 Bargain = 4 Credit Rating = 5 Intimidation = 2 Streetwise = 2 Forgery = 2 Lockpicking = 6 General skills Athletics = 8 (Hit Threshold 4) Auction = 1 Conceal = 2 Disguise = 3 Driving = 2 Flitch = 4 Firearms = 4 Preparedness = 4 Scuffling = 4 Sense Trouble = 4 Shadowing = 4 Stealth = 6 Preparedness is a useful skill, it allows you to reach into a back and pull out an item that you would conceivably have. I’ve given him firearms 4, as we’re running pulp, and in 1920 its most likely he served in WWI. He’s got a smattering or personal skills, and I bought him up to Credit Rating 5 to represent the fact that he’s a successful thief. Look over the skills, and feel free to comment or suggest changes. Now we need to flesh him out a little - We need 4 Pillars of Sanity - these are core concepts that bind Louis’ world - for example, if he was religious, then the fact that God exists would be a core concept, if that pillar is eroded, he would begin to question the existence of said God and may well lose Sanity. Following a Pillar - by say spending some time worshipping, or going to confession, would help to restore Sanity. We also need 4 Sources of Stability. These work in the same way, except that they are people in Louis’ life. Spending time with them will improve his stability, while their death can shake him to his core. These four people must mean something to him personally, and will become our first four core NPCS - so pick carefully!
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May 25, 2016 09:15
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Pillars of Sanity suggestions: I'm the best there is He's never been caught and never will be. Money makes the world go round Why would he be risking his life if he wasn't making fat stacks of cash. Money and wealth is more than just a trifle people bother with before they die. Manners and style No point smashing and grabbing things like some brutes. Society is even built on rules and traditions that are important for things to work smoothly. Even for criminals. Not a "bad" person per se Although he makes a living stealing. It doesn't REALLY hurt anyone. There are a lot worse people out there.
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May 25, 2016 09:26
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Stability 1 Inspector Dixon One of the tactics our art thief uses to drive up the prices of his stolen artworks is to get them talked about. As such, he realised early on that he had to capture the public's imagination. Over the years, he has become known for calling his nemesis on the telephone: rugged and squarejawed Inspector McLooseau of the 43rd Precinct - aka the Museum District It started off as taunting but the two have developed a professional respect for.the skill of the other. In leading a double life, our French Communist cat burglar doesn't have many people he can talk to grankly and honestly about his escapades. Thr policeman is one of them. Although undoubtedly there is professional distance in this game of cat and mouse, the two have shared phonecalls on Christmas Eve and even an unusually sentimental one after the Great Fire last winter, in which many innocent lives -and priceless artefacts - were lost. Obviously, they never have met in the flesh. Stability 2 'Bolshevik' Billy Bresnev Billy started as a teenage fan of the cat burglar, and followed his exploits with grrat anticipation and attention to detail. Such detail, in fact, that one night he was able to track down our burglar escaping from a noted gallery! The fact that he had not called the police ahead to arrange an ambush, as well as his age, led Dumont to take Billy under his wing. Yet Billy is no protogee - he is far too much a coward to ever act alone or even accompany our criminal. His red hair and freckles reflect his politics. This came from years of conversations with Dumont which solidified the impressionable youth's worldview. Billy has since grown into a young man and now writes for the Red Top newspaper - a communkst rag if ever there was one, and with a resultingly small readership. Still, Billy keeps his junior Crime Reporter role because he always seems to get the scoop on the notorious art thief for the morning edition, rather than the evening pressing following official police statements like other newspapers. Although he hasn't matched Dumont with being a columnist art critic for The Observer - a high profile broadsheet - he nonetheless meets up with Dumont every few.months for a coffee and a pastrami bagel at the Brick Lane deli. This is another way in which Dumont is able to create a media stir around tje works of art he pilfers, driving up the price and letting shady collectors know what's on the market. Oh also I think Louis should be comfortable stealing art from even publicly displayed works art and selling them to people who'll never display them, because art is another opiate of the masses, not real work like proper labourers and farmers do, and a socially useless plaything of the bourgeoisie that simply exists to display their wealth obnoxiously to other wealthy oppressors of the common man. He writes well about art, but he distrusts its premise deep down. simplefish fucked around with this message at 09:48 on May 25, 2016 |
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May 25, 2016 09:44
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Apocron posted:Pillars of Sanity suggestions: I like these, but any fat stacks beyond what's necessary to keep his cover as a wealthy art critic is sent to Mother Russia, perhaps? Or at least other conmunist causes. Come the revolution, Brother... Money can be a mere trifle but it can also be a tool if used correctly - a tool that biilds a new society! Dumont only steals the most expensive things, in order to finance the glorious revolution (that he is certain will one day come) and also to hurt the bourgeoisie where it most hurts - in the pocket. Anything that suggests the workers will not one day be the rulers of this world (say, an extra-terrestrial being bent on becoming overlord...) could be dangerous... simplefish fucked around with this message at 10:10 on May 25, 2016 |
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May 25, 2016 09:50
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Pillars 1. Le Petit Moulin The fanciest watering hole in town. When Louis feels down, he knows there's a place he can go to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Sure, the wine is expensive and the waiter a jerk, but the atmosphere? C'est magnifique. Stability 1. Monsieur Tartin Our cat burglar's pet cat. 2. René Artois Owner of the Moulin. Friendly and a bit of a pushover. Sometimes complicit in Louis' capers by storing his stolen goods. 3. Étienne-Samuel Cargot Member of the local gendarme and occasional guest at the Moulin. Good friend of Louis but completely unaware of his double-life as an art thief. Incompetent at best. 4. Jean-Paul La Fountain The Moulin's waiter, who is secretly an undercover cop who specializes in finding art criminals. Knows for a fact that Louis is a thief, but lacks the evidence to implicate him of his crimes. Suspects that Louis might know he's a cop.
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May 25, 2016 10:21
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I'm going to modify a few of Apocron's idea's to better fit the "communist" aspect of Louis's personality Sanity The Internationale! Louis firmly believes in supporting the socialist cause even though he won't commit to a specific camp. Of which there are many. I can have it both ways. Louis steals from the bourgeois and uses all the proceeds to fund socialist causes. He's able to afford an extravagant lifestyle that's denied to the proletariat by indulging the bourgeois's artistic whimsy. He see's no contradictions with this. A class act. Louis holds himself to high standards in all aspects of his life. Don't make a fuss. There's no point smashing your way into a room like a brute when you can open the door in subtler, undetectable ways. Like picking the lock, or making a duplicate key. I suspect this riddle and this quote could apply to Louise "Stealthy as a shadow in the dead of night. Cunning but affectionate if given a bite. Never owned but often loved. At my sport considered cruel, but that's because you never know me at all. What am I?" "Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate." Sun Tzu RandomPauI fucked around with this message at 10:31 on May 25, 2016 |
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May 25, 2016 10:29
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Pillars 1. René Artois Owner of the Moulin. Louis saved his life during the war. Friendly and a bit of a pushover. Sometimes complicit in Louis' capers by storing his stolen goods. 2. William Scott An African American who served in WWI as a a private from the 93rd Division, 369th Infantry Regiment from New York. He decided to stay in France after the war ended. He works as a bartender at the Moulin. William actively maintains a level of plausible deniability even though he's aware of Louis's actions. 3. Josette Bellmont Josette is Louis's fiance/girlfriend/lover/it's complicated. She is a devout catholic, a divorce, a staunch communist, and the owner-operator of a modestly successful fashion house. Unlike Louis she recognizes the contradictions. When she started seeing Louis she told him in no uncertain terms that she did not want to know about any criminal activity he might even think of indulging in.
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May 25, 2016 11:10
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Another question springs to mind! Do we still have the Star of Carcossa, or have we already flogged it? Just trying to figure where to start the story.
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May 25, 2016 12:01
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I'd say no. Let's start by pursuing something to steal rather than having to protect something valuable we already stole.
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May 25, 2016 12:11
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I think we still have the Star, but haven't announced it yet in our usual way. Something about it is... different... and given the talk on the street Louis is not sure he wants to be found as its current holder e: also people seem to be placing us in Paris, which I have no objection to and even support! Obviously just change the names and cursory details of my suggestion from Generic Big US City - e.g. I prefer Le Petit simplefish fucked around with this message at 13:02 on May 25, 2016 |
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May 25, 2016 12:56
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| # ? Jun 10, 2024 12:39 |
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I say we still have it but we do have a buyer interested in it
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May 25, 2016 14:29
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