New Iconics thread

[gaghiel42]

I went ahead and created the thread for us to work on new Iconics after the discussion elsewhere on the forums.

I'll go ahead and start with what I've been working on so far.  If any of those Crafty Guru's could give us some guidelines on how to deal with things like Mission Picks and anything else that they'd enjoy us finishing I would love them forever (not that I don't already  ).

I redid a wheelman concept that I just enjoy.  He's basically a XXX/Fast and the Furious type character that would work pretty well with any team.  I haven't yet really worked on a theme/story for him, but I could easily make that stuff too.  I just went mechanics so far...  (aside from mission gear and actually stating everything out)

Wheelman

Name: Micheal "Turbo" Carlson

Age: 29          Height: 6 ft. 1 in.          Weight: 205 lbs.

Distinguishing Characteristics: Greasy Brown hair under a well used baseball cap, a Slim, Muscular build, and a five o'clock shadow.

Background: You are the Wheelman.  Fast cars, fast women and big guns are your trade.  No one can beat you on the road, and your custom Shelby Cobra has all the luxuries life has to offer.  Leather Bucket Seats, a Custom Interior, and the hidden 30mm grenade launcher for those special occasions.  With your military background, and years of mechanics experience, your skill behind the wheel isn't your only specialty.  After leaving the military, the Agency was quick to offer you the job of team babysitter.  The pay was good, and the scenery changes regularly so you jumped at the opportunity.

Talent: Disciplined
Specialty: Motorhead

Str: 12
Dex: 16
Con: 12
Int: 12
Wis: 8
Cha: 16

Fort: +2
Ref: +6
Will: +0
Init: +5
Def: 15
BAB: 3

Feats: Speed Demon, "This... is my Boomstick!", Pack Rat

Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Drive, Electronics, Impress, Mechanics, Security (Max Ranks)
Focuses: Cultures: N. American, Drive: Standard Ground Forte, Personal Ground, Rotary wing, Heavy Ground, Profession: Mechanic, Science: Engineering
Interests: Fast Cars, Big Guns, Women

Class Abilities: Custom Ride, Daredevil, Driven, Manual Adjustment (Mechanics), Crash Course: One Hand on the Wheel

Weapon Profs: Shotgun, Hurled, Blunt, Vehicle weapons(if this is the prof needed for the vehicle grenade launcher), Handguns, Tactical

Weath: Total 8(+3 Possessions)  L3, S1, P7
Mission Gear: 1V, 1W +3 Cha Picks

Possessions:
2/III: Low Profile Armor (avg) w/ Nomex Underwear, Browning Auto-5 (16 gauge slug) w/ standard laser sight
3/II: vehicle upgrades (security II, Snow Tires, Ergonomic Seating), FN Five Seven w/ threaded barrel and removable suppressor, miniaturized Flashbang pen x3
4/I: Muscle Car (classic) w/ EMS package I,  Mechanics Kit I, Hidden turret, Vehicle Upgrades (30 mm Grenade launcher w/ HEAT ammo)

Potential Mission Gear Outs:
Combat Mission:
Tilt Rotor Helicopter (passenger space traded for Cargo space) w/ Security Package 1 and Rugged upgrades
Thermite Grenades x2 or LAW x2
cal III EMP Cell Phone
Trucker Hat: cal III STR boost gadget  (activate it by turning it around backwards)
Miniaturized Jammer device in a portable DVD Player

Infiltration Mission:
Fire Truck w/ Security Package 2 and Rugged upgrades or Scout Car w/ Security 2 and rugged upgrades
CTS TL-8 grenade launcher with Flashbang Ammo
Cal III EMP Cell phone
Sneaky shoe polish: Sneak skill boost gadget (applied under eyes or open skin for best effect)
Silent Shoes: Silence Gadget in shoes (use the pump in the heel to activate)

Social/Sting Mission:
SUV Limousine and Ambulance Van w/ custom paint job (party can decide)
H&K mk. 23 w/ Conceal Case briefcase, nonlethal ammo, and precision upgrade 1
Cal III EMP cell phone
'The' Sunglasses: Impress boost gadget ("I'll be back" command word to activate)
X-ray vision gadget in shades or Miniaturized Goggles w/ All 3 modes

Common Items:
Spare Batteries, Cellphone/PDA, Road Flares, Duct Tape, Zip ties x20, Slim Jim Door Opener
Remaining common items: 5

Spending Cash: $100

Let me know what people think of it, and what else I can do to make it work better.  The character is aimed to fill a Social/Skill role while being the driver and having a strong combat backing.

*(updated with background format and suggestions. Common items are in progress )*
*Updated mk 2.  Mission Gear outs ready*
*Final Update, should be done now*

[Crafty_Pat]

I'll go ahead and start with what I've been working on so far.  If any of those Crafty Guru's could give us some guidelines on how to deal with things like Mission Picks and anything else that they'd enjoy us finishing I would love them forever (not that I don't already ).

As posted to the other thread...

Gear's always a concern in demos. My gut feeling is that we're best off leaving gear off the iconics and including 3 separate *team* packout sheets, each corresponding to a different broad type of mission (maybe combat, infiltration, and sting). The only choices the players make are which character they want and how to assign gear for the mission at hand.

Thoughts?

[Morganti]

I think that any personal gear should be included, to fit the theme of the character on a seperate page.
Leave the main page combat work ups and the gear page work ups blank and say "in the interest of getting you right into play, here are some gear ideas for this characters personal gear, and here are some mission gear choices for the three main types of missions, if your GC says to pick your own gear during the Intel phase, make changes as you see fit"

That was how I was gonna write up the block of 12 (possibly 36) pre genned characters.

~D~

[MilitiaJim]

Thoughts?

I'll blame you for the headache this thinking will generate.  

Gear is rather important, and given some party makeups, bits of gear become more and less important.  I know when I've played with iconics that I have asked for, and gotten, permission to fiddle the weapon pics.  I'm a gun bunny, and I have my internal "top picks" list.

I would suggest keeping the gear on a second page.  Keep the armor picks the same across all packages, since AC is a page one stat.  But having 3-4 pages of 3-4 different gear loadouts would be good.  Mission gear gets even stickier as a whole, because different classes bring different gear picks to the party.  Even so, three or four mission loadouts should cover available and useful gear picks.

[Crafty_Pat]

Copied from the other thread (which will hopefully no longer cover this topic) and upgraded to address posts made here...

Precisely. This is why I wouldn't even offer choice of weapons. Instead, include a single handgun/common weapon for most missions for each character and have a set of optional gear that the GM - not the players - chooses and adds to the iconics before play begins. The players should be making pretty much *no* choices before a demo starts.

So in terms of of gear, I'd handle it as follows.

- Universal (main) weapons, armor, and class-specific gear only on character sheets (this is stuff that's constant regardless of mission type)

- Three team packouts for different broad mission types (combat, infiltration, and sting), each either breaking the gear up as additional items for each member (preferred) or a full team bundle (probably a bad call, now that I think about it)

I agree that some players will want choice but if even one player doesn't there shouldn't be any. Honestly, it just kills demos dead. Now, having an alternate (additional) set of add-on iconic upgrade sheets would be fine, but the basic pack really needs to be simple, simple, simple.

[Bill Whitmore]

Agreed, I don't think people in a demo game need to be exposed to the inner working of gear selection.  Seems to me that the character build should include personal gear picks.

I think it would be best if the character build ALSO included mission gear lists, maybe for each of different mission types, but, yes, the GM picks which list is used for the mission, not the player.

By the by, if no one has claimed it yet, I wouldn't mind building an Advocate for this.

[gaghiel42]

I can definitely see having several sets of mission gear all stated out though for the various mission types.  The only question there, is what Caliber do we base it off?  I like the idea of only keeping a few constants ready on the sheet.  But, for instance, in the case of the wheelman I made.  Most of the gear picks from his possessions go straight into the vehicle.  Other classes for sure I could see the excess personal picks getting lumped into these "Mission packages."

Besides gear, how is the build?  And do you want a brief character write up too or do you guys have something in mind already for that aspect?

[Jake]

- Three team packouts for different broad mission types (combat, infiltration, and sting), each either breaking the gear up as additional items for each member

Yeah, that feels right, kind of like hand out cards. At the end of the the pdf have each classes' mission gear divided up by mission type. Like this:
Combat
Advocate Gear
Explorer's Gear
Faceman's Gear
Hacker's Gear
Ect.

Infiltration
Advocate Gear
Explorer's Gear
Faceman's Gear
Hacker's Gear
Ect.

Sting
Advocate Gear
Explorer's Gear
Faceman's Gear
Hacker's Gear
Ect.
That way the GC can print out section of gear he needs for the type of game he's running. Cut the sheets into sections, pass them out the players, yeah, that works.

gaghiel42, I'd up the Str a bit, only counting the PC's possession the character has a medium load already. I'd drop the kit to a caliber I, they don't need to learn about CII kits yet. And trading in the explosive weapon proficiency for handgun could be a good idea, the PC can't carry that shotgun everywhere. What is it with Wheelmen and shotguns? They just go together like Infiltrators and grapple guns.

The characters should be equipped for a Caliber II Faction mission, or that's what the current pdf has them equipped for.

I'm calling dibs on the Pointman.

[Crafty_Pat]

I can definitely see having several sets of mission gear all stated out though for the various mission types.  The only question there, is what Caliber do we base it off?

Honestly, Caliber isn't all that important in demos. I would actually exclude it and just give characters what they need. If the intent is also to have ready-made characters for play-by-the-rules home pages, then split the difference and go with Caliber III. GCs can vary it up as needed.

I like the idea of only keeping a few constants ready on the sheet.  But, for instance, in the case of the wheelman I made.  Most of the gear picks from his possessions go straight into the vehicle.  Other classes for sure I could see the excess personal picks getting lumped into these "Mission packages."

Well, my feeling is that the characters should only contain gear that's universally and personally helpful to them, and - if we care about these being useful for play-by-the-rules home games - fit in their Possessions. Everything else should go in the group mission packouts (which need to fit in the team's combined mission gear).

The alternative is to give every character a full list of Possessions and mission gear, which seems to bury them in far too much detail for demos.

The middle ground, where you try to account for all of every character's gear per the rules, splitting it up between the character sheet and the mission packout sheets, seems too confusing to me.

Besides gear, how is the build?  And do you want a brief character write up too or do you guys have something in mind already for that aspect?

Sure. Script up some sample backgrounds. Keep it simple: 1-2 paragraphs + 1-3 physical characteristics and quirks per character (we have a format we use - I'll send it when I get home), with everything being loose and "generic" enough for the characters to fit into any game and nothing being too far away from what's expected for each class. It shouldn't really be a creative exercise - the goal's not to wow folks with a unique story. We want people to be able to pick up and play these characters in any Spycraft game, regardless of plot or setting.

[gaghiel42]

gaghiel42, I'd up the Str a bit, only counting the PC's possession the character has a medium load already. I'd drop the kit to a caliber I, they don't need to learn about CII kits yet. And trading in the explosive weapon proficiency for handgun could be a good idea, the PC can't carry that shotgun everywhere. What is it with Wheelmen and shotguns? They just go together like Infiltrators and grapple guns.

Updated.  I agree.  And shotguns are just super fun. Plus, with one hand on the wheel and boomstick, you can swing it out the window and take out cars.  (That and the EMS package comes with a shotgun holder for the vehicle, so its just handy)

[Fat Alibert]

I agree with the general thinking that the character have only the gear that is specific to his build and what he needs to *be* that character, and that for a mission he takes a split from the team mission gear that is documented on a seperate page.

I think we may benefit from a few different threads as well.  Assuming this is the discussion thread we should have a seperate thread for finished characters (only).  I thought we might also want to split out the crazy builds based around campaign qualities and house rules (that I'll be working on  ) so they don't get muddled with the standard builds.

Should we post work in progress for discussion in this thread or the character thread?

[gaghiel42]

This thread is mostly spurring from the request from the crafty gurus to have us take a look at their Iconics.  I think that having a thread about just making characters for any old situation is good.  But, the focus of this one is specifically to generate a new set of characters that Crafty can pull from for convention play.

[spinningdice]

Are we limiting to one of each class, and I'm assuming Core is literally just the core book?

[Fat Alibert]

I think put up whatever you've got or want to do, I'd personally like to see multiples and unusual stuff given we have several people participating.

Everyone can pick out and use the ones they like (including the Crafty crew).
If we end up with a lot we can maybe re-organise them by class or something.

I'm finishing up my first contribution now.


Edit: My Gonzo build level 3 advocate is up.  I know it breaks all the rules and is pretty bizarre.  I know its not an iconic character build.  I think it presents a player with a lot of fun ideas and shows how much fluff you can push in a system that some percieve as a crunch system.  Even if you personally don't like it you may find it handy when one day you go to run a Spycraft game and some hardcore roleplay nut doesn't want to play a spy or a commando.  Longest Origin name eva.   

[Crafty_Pat]

Are we limiting to one of each class, and I'm assuming Core is literally just the core book?

For our purposes, yes to both questions.