Dear Reader,
People have said there is something terribly wrong with this world, they say that something unnatural lurks beneath the fabric of the real. Mediums, psychics, paranormal demagogues, cultists, all of them would have you believe that the normal world is under attack by monstrous and alien forces.
Their arrogance taxes the patience at times.
There is not something wrong with the world, there is something terribly wrong with our perception of the world. We have built our reality upon the edifice of what we can sense, we have defined sentience by the standards with which we raised ourselves up, and we define nature solely upon what can be quantified with the instruments of glass and steel. For tottering sacks of flesh that barely live less than a century and sense in such a limited spectrum we have determined a great deal to be real and true.
This however is both our salvation and our damnation, we have lit our own hands aflame to ward off the beasts in the woods. Still... it has not failed us yet. Our race memory has been sufficient to keep a great many things in the shadows, it has been a shield and a blindfold, but it is falling into tatters. There are those among us who have grown weary of this charade, human men and women have come to tear the veils from their eyes and look unflinching into the dark. Most have been consumed by it, some have turned away never to look again, but a few... a forsaken few have embraced the ancient and forgotten, and they have brought our progenitors back into the light to scatter the unknowing like mice before wildfire.
Those who remain in blissful ignorance are killed (and worse) the same as any of the enlightened, and even the soundest mind may begin to whisper of the happenings in the darkness. And in this is the reason for your birth, you have been marked as one who will fight. Whether your fight is to maintain the tenuous shroud that separates sanity from madness, or to tear it down and revel in the chaos is not known. All that is known is that you will fight, and you will have to fight soon.
I do not pretend to know who you are, nor will I dare hope that you will believe my words now, but when the time comes I can only hope that you will remember this letter.
7th and Saints, the key box is under the statue of the angel with the sword.
-In friendship and warning, Hector Tyrel.
You are a resident of Arkham, a city located in Massachusetts. That's irrelevant however considering that you're not going to be leaving Arkham and its surrounding countryside for a while.
You have received the above letter, it was quite clearly addressed to you, though the name of the man sending it is unfamiliar. Of course it didn't help that you seem to have developed a strong case of morning amnesia, you're having trouble remembering your own name...
What is your name anyway?
Name: -First, middle initial, Last-
Health: Base 50/50 -See Stats spoiler-
Sanity: Base 50/50 -See Stats spoiler-
Age: -See age spoiler below-
Gender: -obvious-
Physical Description: -Obvious-
Profession: -See Below Spoiler-
Relationship Status: -If Any-
Children: -If any-
Biography: -Obvious-
-Stats, -see stats-
Strength:
Endurance:
Perception:
Agility:
Charisma:
Intelligence:
Wisdom:
Willpower:
-Skills,
-See skills, only list the ones you have any points in.-
Starting Perk: (Fill in your profession perk here, one additional perk will also be added based on a combination of your Bio, stats, description, and skills.)
Child: Age 5-12
Stat Effect: -1 strength, -1 endurance, -2 wisdom. +2 Charisma, +1 Perception, +1 agility.
Health and sanity: -20 Health, +20 sanity
Teenager: Age 13-19
Stat Effect: -1 wisdom, -1 willpower. +1 to endurance, +1 to intelligence
Health and sanity: -10 Health, +10 sanity
Young adult: Age 20-27
Stat Effect: -1 Wisdom. +1 Willpower.
Health and sanity: No bonus or penalty
Adult: 28-39
Stat Effect: -1 willpower, -1 perception. +1 wisdom, +1 intelligence.
Health and sanity: +10 health, -10 sanity
Middle aged: 40-55
Stat Effect: -1 endurance, -1 perception, -1 willpower +1 strength.
Health and sanity: +5 health, -5 sanity
Aging: 55-70
Stat Effect: -1 agility, -1 endurance, -1 strength. +2 wisdom, +1 intelligence, +1 Willpower.
Health and sanity: Health -5, Sanity -10
Old: 71-85
Stat Effect: -2 agility, -1 endurance, -1 strength. +2 wisdom, +2 intelligence, +2 Willpower.
Health and sanity: Health -15, Sanity -15
Venerable: 85-100
Stat Effect: -2 agility, -1 endurance, -2 strength. +3 wisdom, +2 intelligence, +2 Willpower.
Health and sanity: Health -20, Sanity -20
Bouncer
Description: Bars, clubs, nice parties, doesn't really matter. You take the uninvited, and literally make them gate crashers.
Skill bonuses: Intimidate +25, endure +15, Melee +15, Discern Truth +5
Stat bonuses: Strength +2, endurance +1
Special: Brawling Reflexes: You've always pitched in when things are getting dirty, and unless taken completely by surprise you will always act first in combat.
Private Eye
Description: Hat, trenchcoat, and an intimate knowledge of other peoples lives, it's a package deal with you.
Skill bonuses: Observation +20, Pistols +10, Solve Enigma +10, Athletics +10, Gather information +10
Stat bonuses: Perception +1, Will +1, Agility +1
Special: Danger sense: You can always tell when things are about to get hot, ambushes make the hair on the back of neck stand up and you can spot a crackhead mugger from a block away. You never fail observation checks related to determining danger.
Professor
Description: Whether you're a white haired dodderer or a fresh addition to the university you've got strong ties to the Miskatonic
Skill bonuses: Knowledge +25, Solve Enigma +15, Lore +10, Orate +10.
Stat bonuses: Wisdom +2, Int +1
Special: Miskatonic faculty member: As a teacher at the Miskatonic university you have nearly unrestricted access to its vast stores of wisdom, whenever you're at the Miskatonic you may freely use the entire library including the rare books and restricted antiquities. (You still may not withdraw objects for no reason, but getting a pass is easier.)
Unemployed
Description: You are the dregs of society. Congratulations on falling off society's ladder and hitting every rung on the way down.
Skill bonuses: Gather information +15, Concealment +10, Lore +5, Intimidate +5, Melee +5, observation +5, lie +5, athletics +5, endure +5
Stat bonuses: Charisma +1, agility +1, perception +1
Special: Streetwise: You spend a lot of time out and about with the unsavory, and you're a well-known link in the gossip chain. As such unsavory types are much more willing to spread the word to you. (Treat as +75 to gather information when speaking the low class)
Office worker
Description: You work 9 to 5, hey hell you pay the price.
Skill bonuses: Lie +15, Lore +10, Knowledge +10, Electronics +10, Gather information +10, Intimidate +5
Stat bonuses: Intelligence +1, Will +1, Charisma +1
Special: Like white on rice: You're vanilla, people's eyes slide right off you and you can blend into a crowd with unintentional ease. When in a group of people your effective concealment is increased by 5 points per person of your class present.
Performer
Description: You dance or sing or demonstrate some other spectacular talent that people pay to see. No it doesn't have to be the sort of thing you'd ever talk about.
Skill bonuses: Perform +25, Athletics +15, Dodge +10, Gather information +5, observation +5
Stat bonuses: Agility +1, Charisma +1, Endurance +1
Special: Captivating: Whatever you do, you do it well. Your work, whether written sung, danced, or played has an incredibly quality to it. Whenever you perform you act as if your audience behaves as if their perception was 0.
College Student
Description: You're studying to better your future, Good for you. A pity it just isn't in the cards.
Skill bonuses: Lore +15, Knowledge +15, Electronics +10, Athletics +10, observation +10
Stat bonuses: Will +2, intelligence +1
Special: Cram: Your frenzied study practices can give you an edge in some situations, given twenty-four hours you can absorb an incredible amount of information... temporarily. (Can study for a day to increase effective ability in one skill by 50)
Child
Requires age 12 or lower.
Description: You're an orphan at the Arkham orphanage, poor little tyke.
Skill bonuses: Lie +20, Concealment +15, Gather information +15, perform +10
Stat bonuses: Charisma +2, agility +1
Special: Child: Most people with their morals intact see you as harmless, you're just a kid after all. (When talking to adults treat as if charisma was maxed.)
Retired
Requires age 60 or above.
Description: You've showed those whippersnappers, now for life of ease and contentment...
Skill bonuses: Knowledge +15, Observation +15, Orate +10, Solve enigma +10, Discern truth +10
Stat bonuses: Wisdom +1 int +1, perception +1
Special: Former X: You did your job for forty years, you've still got some of the old skills... (Pick one profession -Not Child, retiree, or college student- you gain half the skill bonuses from that profession rounded down.)
You have 40 points to spend, all stats start at zero.
5 is equal to average proficiency, penalties will be incurred for scores below 5, you can add up to 10 points to any stat, (not including your profession or age bonus or penalty.) and 15 is the maximum human possible. Any points beyond that are wasted.
Strength: Kicking down doors, and knocking down tables.
Endurance: Determines your HP, and your ability to resist damage and fatigue.
Perception: Your awareness of the world around you.
Agility: How fast you can move, how far you can jump, how well you can climb.
Charisma: Yakkity yak yak yakkity.
Intelligence: Brainpower and mental agility, determines on the fly thinking.
Wisdom: Your knowledge, determines how many skill points you gain per level and how much lore you know.
Willpower: Determines your sanity, your psychic integrity, and your intimidation.
Each point in a stat above 5 increases its subordinate skills by 5 points, each point below five penalizes them by 5
Each point in Wisdom above five increases the amount of skill points gained per level by 2, each point below penalizes it by the same.
Each point in Endurance above five adds 5 to your health, each point below penalizes it by the same.
Each point in willpower above five increases your sanity by 5, each point below penalizes it by the same.
You get 360 points to spend on skills, all of them start at -10. You can raise any skill up to 100 before factoring in your profession and stat bonuses, maximum human possible is 150. Points beyond that are wasted.
(Note: You will be utterly screwed if you decide to max melee, dodge, and concealment and attempt to become a ninja. The trick here is moderation.)
-Physical,
Athletics: Long running, hurtling, parkour, that sort of physical activity. (End)
Endure: How well you can take a physical or psychic blow. (End)
Dodge: How well you GTFO of something's way. (Agility)
Melee: Clubs, knives, your bare hands, most any non-ranged weapon. (Strength)
Pistol: Revolvers, semi-autos, sawed off shotguns, mare's legs (Sawed off rifles), etc. (Agility)
Long Barrel: Full barrel shotguns, rifles, assault rifles. (Perception)
Automatic weapon: LMGs, MGs, HMGs. (Strength)
Heavy Weapon: Grenade launcher, rocket launcher, flame-throwers, and so on. (Strength)
-Social,
Oration: How well you can give a speech to numerous people. (Charisma)
Discern Truth: Let's you tell if someone is telling the truth or not. (Will)
Perform: Put on a good show for a pro-longed period of time. (Endurance)
Gather information: Gossiping and careful questions. (Charisma)
Persuasion: Bad pickup lines, cajoling, prodding, etc. (Charisma)
Lie: I once caught a fish that weighed a million vigintillion pounds! Then I ate it! Raw! In one bite! (Will)
Disguise: Making yourself look like someone or something else. (Intelligence)
Intimidate: Asking questions or demanding something with a physical penalty place on refusal. (Will)
-Mental,
Knowledge: Sheer knowledge, physics, history, astronomy, you name it. (Wisdom)
Observation: How well you can see, and remember what you've seen. (Perception)
Solve Enigma: Puzzle solving ability. (Intelligence)
Detect Pattern: Used to unlock ciphers and glean extra information out of stuff like finance reports and shipping invoices. (Perception)
Concealment: How well you can blend into the shadows. (Agility)
Lore: The amount on non-book knowledge you possess on things like vampires, eldritch abominations, occult rituals, and tin foil hat people. (Wisdom)
Arcane: How well you can actually pull off an arcane ritual if things came right down to it. (Wisdom)
Mechanical: The use (and misuse) of electronic and mechanical devices. (Intelligence)
Simple Rolls
For this game a d100 is rolled, succeeding in a roll requires you to roll lower that your current skill level(If no skill is applicable pick an applicable attribute, State-5x10 is your effective skill.), difficulties can be applied at will by the GM to the task. (Difficulties are in a + format, +22, +45, etc)
Example. Billy bob is kicking down a door into a mob hide-out. His athletics total derived skill his 45, not bad, not great.
[Billy bob Athletics 12+20 -Stout door-, Success] Billy bob has kicked the door down!
Rolling above the target results in failure, how high above determines how bad the failure was. For instance in the above example if billybob had rolled a 36 and failed by only one point then there would have been no penalty, and the GM would probably even reduce the penalty for the sturdiness of the door on the next attempt. However if he'd rolled a 96 he would have probably sprained his ankle done absolutely nothing to the door.
Bonuses may also be applied in a like manner to penalties, surprised folks, groomed crowds, wounded hostages, etc Are things that would apply bonuses to certain types of actions.
Vs. Rolls
Rolling against another person or creature is pretty much the same, you both roll your relevant stat and whichever one of you is farther into the greenzone wins. The effect is determined by exactly how far you succeeded and how great the difference is from your opponent. (It is entirely possible for both sides to fail a roll of this type, hilarity or disaster will ensue in such a case.)
Example. The mob had a conjurer who had summoned a... thing earlier. Billy Bob makes an endure roll (Skill 55) Vs the Unclean beast's intimidate (Effective Skill 75 [50+25 for surprise]) for looking at it as he entered. [Billybob endure 52 Vs Unclean beasts intimidate 20] Ooh Ouch. 55 points into its success zone and 53 points ahead of billybob the unclean beast is well ahead. The damage is at the GM's discretion but it's going to be bad. Since the Unclean beast is a fairly minor creature for its kind billybob is going to take 25 points of sanity damage.
Opposed Rolls
You can also roll to attempt to directly stop someone from doing something, this is the last kind of rolling and is used to directly apply a malus to an opponent’s roll. In this the opposing force rolls first, how far they are into their success zone is the penalty at which the opposed makes their action.
Example. The unclean beast attempts to lock its gaze with Billy Bob, Billy Bob attempts to tear it away and run. First the unclean beast makes its intimidate. (skill 50 since surprise is no longer applied.) [Unclean beast intimidate 46: 4 point penalty to Billy][Billy Bob Athletics 10+4=Success] Billy Bob breaks away and runs! (And there was much rejoicing.)
Important note: Involuntary forced rolls will never have any form of additional penalty or bonus applied to them. This is to prevent the automatic endure roll for sustaining a crippling injury or the automatic endure rule for carrying a massive load from becoming completely impossible.
Leveling is of course a good thing, you gain progress towards a level by succeeding in actions, reaching goals, and a few other assorted odds and ends.
The equation for gaining a level is F(x)=x2(1/2) rounded up. x=Your current level+2. (So at level 1 you need 5 successes, at 2 you need 8, at 3 you 13, at 4 it would be 18, at 5 it would be 25, etc)
Each time you gain a level you get 12 skill points and 1 attribute point to spend.
Most fighting is done on a series of Vs. type rolls, depending who won the roll the blow will connect or miss. If it connects then another opposed roll is made against the opponents endure with a bonus to the attack equal to the margin of success for the hit-miss part of combat. A dodge will add 1/2 its margin of success if positive to your next attack roll, a failed dodge does not force a malus on the player. All weapons have a damage multiplier where you take how much you beat the opposing roll by, divide by 2, round down, and then use the multiplier to determine HP damage. The damage multiplier for melee weapons is affected directly by your strength, and a weapon has a minimum damage equal to its multiplier.
Example using shivs. (Dick derived melee 40, Dodge 30, Endure 60. Jane Derived melee 50, Dodge 50, Endure 30) Damage multiplier for both is x1.5
Dick stabs Jane! [Dick Melee 12 (success 38) Vs Jane Dodge 8 (success 42)] Jane jumps out of the way and strikes back! [Jane melee 4-2 -dodge bonus- (success 48) Vs Dick Dodge 71 (success -41)] [Jane melee damage 96-89 (success 43) Vs Endure 15 (success 45)] The blow barely grazes Dick's tough skin! 2 damage! (That suddenly sounds very wrong)
Carry Spots
A human being can only carry so much weight, but more importantly there are only so many places you can put stuff on your body. Naturally a person has two infinite carry spots, your left and right hands. Clothing is dotted with carry spots (the average pair of jeans or slacks has 4 small slots), shirts, pants, boots, sacks, backpacks, holsters, even hats can increase the number of carry spots you have available*. Each carry spot is rated between very small and infinite, and this value defines how big an item can fit in that spot. As long as the item size is within parameters then it can be any weight that fits under your max carry value. (So you could stuff a couple bars of lead into a rucksack, but not a 5'x5' Styrofoam cube)
Types of carry spot,
Very small: Little items like pens, notepads, cards, lighters, small batteries etc. Anything that would fit in your breast pocket.
Small: Light pistols, small sized books, anything that would fit into the pack pocket of your jeans.
Medium: Full size pistols, books, cans of food, items that would fit into the large pocket of a pair of cargo pants.
Large: Short barrel rifles and shotguns, car batteries, large tomes, etc.
Very Large: Full size weapons, large artifacts, blankets, things you would need a backpack or a suitcase for.
Infinite: Things too large to stick somewhere and need to be carried in your hands.
All of these -save infinite- can be broken down into three of next lowest carry class. So a briefcase with one large storage space could be three medium, or 1 medium and six small, or 3 small and 18 very small, or any variation in between. It is not possible to combine upwards however. (you cannot combine three jean pockets to make one medium sized pocket.)
*Certain skill rolls can be used to add temporary carry spots for things like slipping a pistol into the back of your pants or smuggling a small item out in your underwear
Max carry Weight
Your max unencumbered carry weight is 25+5x where x is your strength, going above this halves the values for all physical skills until you exceed 25+10x, then they are reduced to a quarter. When you exceed 25+20x you will be unable to move without making an endure check.
Health and Sanity or your bread and butter stats for staying alive, both can be regained fairly easily but there are stiff penalties for falling below a certain point.
Health
Health reflects your base physical condition; damage is deemed to be a sum of your bruises, cuts, scrapes, and various other aches and injuries. Health is lost in any of the ways you can imagine, they are common sense and simply too numerous to list. Health can be restored slightly by resting eating, using bandages, first-aid kits, certain artifacts, and most importantly and easily; sleeping.
When you fall below 50% health each percent below reduces ALL of your physical skill stats by 1. If your health reaches zero you will make an automatic endure roll, if you fail you will die. If you succeed you will survive with a crippling injury and wake up in a nearby safe location at 5% of your health.
Sanity
Sanity reflects your current state of mind, damage is inflicted be means of fear, stress, and psychic trauma. You lose sanity whenever you get frustrated, scared, fail a roll (particularly a simple one) repeatedly, face the unknowable, or simple start to get tired. Sanity can be restored in many of the same ways as health, eating, drinking, taking a break for a couple of minutes, getting bath, and of course actually turning in for the night.
When you fall below 50% sanity each percent below reduces ALL of your social stats by 1. If your sanity reaches zero you will make an automatic Solve Enigma roll. If you fail you will go insane and become an NPC, if you succeed you will receive some form of psychological instability.
1.
Name: Clayton M. Brooks
Health: 40/40
Sanity: 60/60
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Physical Description: Clay is an average enough fellow in terms of looks. He stands a reasonable five feet, ten inches and weighs about 150 pounds. His hair is black and kept in a tidy side part that covers the upper left side of his forehead, although despite his relative youth a few gray hairs are already starting to show at his temples. His eyes, green in color, are always partially hooded like he is half-asleep, and the bags under them from many late nights studying his favorite subjects hardly help matters. His eyebrows are thin but otherwise unremarkable. As for special markings, he has only a tattoo of a yellow wildcat clutching a blue banner on his right shoulder.
Profession: Professor
Relationship Status: Married (Helen Brooks)
Children: Two (Fiona Brooks, Jennifer Brooks)
Biography: Clayton has long been fascinated with learning new things. School could never move fast enough for him and he was almost always number one in his class, from kindergarten through college. Although quiet and studious, the popular kids tended to not pick on him because he had an older brother (Charles) among them and he would gladly do their homework when asked, if only in the hope theirs would be different from his and he would have to stretch himself to answer it. In this manner he passed through school rather unremarkably, with few real friends and of little notice to anyone other than the teachers.
While attending college, he met a woman named Helen Cross with similar interests as his own, and a rather awkward and long courtship ensued. Five years later they married, and at the age of 25 Clay welcomed his first daughter Fiona into the world. Three years later Clayton finished his courses at around the same time his second daughter Jennifer was born, and upon receiving an invitation from Miskatonic University to stay on as a professor gave his two weeks notice at the law firm where he acted as a book keeper and took the job. He's been teaching for five years, and although he doesn't mind giving lectures on his favorite subjects, he's most happy about his access to the university library at all hours, and he often brings books and such home so he can study while surrounded by his family.
-Stats-Strength:
2Endurance:
3Perception:
5Agility:
5Charisma:
6Intelligence:
7Wisdom:
8Willpower:
7-Skills--Knowledge
80-Solve Enigma
50-Lore
45-Orate
25-Observation
50-Persuasion
30-Discern Truth
30-Arcane
30Perks: Miskatonic Faculty Member, Endless Patience.
2.
Name: Patric stefan williams
Health: 75/75
Sanity: 55/55
Age: Young adult: Age 23
Gender: Male (i swear to god you will never see me make an female character)
Physical Description: Not fat, not slim, brown hair, green-blue eyes, some muscles, looks a bit depressed if not hes not smiling for some reason.
Profession: Bouncer
Relationship Status: Asocial, some friends at bar, not on the best of footing w parents and family
Children: None
Biography: See how his story begins as all other, an nice family, school and then happy marriage? HAHA hell no, lets just say that his parents never belived in sending him
to his room to contemplate what hes done...
His schooltime in 1st to 9th grade was okay as he actually had some friends, ironically these guys had been hitting him during breaks, pretty fun guys as it came apparent,
and lets say grades were lets say that he could get into his prefered programme, also this is around when he joined an muay thai club as an fun fact to know about this nice guy. (please note i have to writhe this from my countrys shool system as i know jack about the US or other) but he never got his job, however one of the bars in this town he ended up in offered him an job as an bouncer, for hey if you can soak up an kick in the guts, you may have what it takes.
You dont belive me? oh but im right here... dont worry im an nice guy.
And
-Stats,
Strength:+2+4=6
Endurance:+1+7=8
Perception:5
Agility:5
Charisma:3
Intelligence:5
Wisdom:-1+6=5
Willpower:+1+5=6
Skills,
athletics: 20
endure: 35
dodge: 20
melee: 35
Pistol: 20
Oration: 10
Discern Truth: 15
Persuasion: 10
Lie: 5
Disguise: 0
Intimidate: 25
Knowledge: 10
Observation: 10
Concealment: 10
Lore: 5
Mechanical: 30
Perks: Brawling Reflexes, Tough
3.
Name: Charlotte Novák
Health: 25/25
Sanity: 70/70
Age: 12
Gender: Female
Physical Description: A rather slender child with short-cut, brown hair and dour demeanour, Charlotte gives off a tom-boyish vibe. She has a few small scars in her face, and old cigarette-burns on her hands.
Profession: Child
Relationship Status: None
Children: None
Biography: Charlotte doesn't remember much from her early childhood, but she has knows that she was taken from her single-parent mother at age 5 on grounds of child abuse and neglect. Since then, she has been placed in a few foster homes, but her hostile behaviour towards her adoptive family has resulted in her ending up back at the orphanage again every time. She spent her time learning how to hide and escape, having run away several times during her stay there, though she was unable to stay hidden in Arkham for very long and brought back.
As a person, Charlotte is fiercely independent. She doesn't trust others, and wants to take care of herself, often to the point of misjudging what she is actually capable of, being that she is still just a child. She is stubborn, and has no qualms stealing from other people, or using people's sympathy or trust in her for her own ends, and for such a young age, she has become quite skilled in invoking either feeling in people around her.
StatsStrength:
3Endurance:
4Perception:
6Agility:
7Charisma:
8Intelligence:7
Wisdom:
4Willpower: 5
SkillsPhysical:
- Athletics: 30
- Dodge: 25
Social:
- Discern Truth: 30
- Perform:
30 - Gather Information:
25 - Lie:
50 - Persuasion: 15
- Disguise: 15
Mental:
- Observation: 25
- Concealment:
35 - Mechanical: 30
Perks: - Child
- Invisible
4.
Health: Base 45/45 (-5 Endurance)
Sanity: Base 60/60 (+10 Willpower)
Age: -24 (Young Adult)-
Gender: -Male-
Physical Description: -A young caucasian male, with perpetually messy brown hair and bright green eyes, behind a pair of ill fitting square glasses. He seems physically frail and sort of pale...but in a good mood, anyway. In fact, he seems downright happy. What's that in his eyes though? You could swear, you saw something in the reflection of his eyes. Something behind you. Too late.-
Profession: -College Student- (Worth every penny)
Relationship Status: -Engaged to be Married- (Beth Winters)
Children: -None- (Give it a few months)
Biography: Gerald Green is a young college student who moved to Arkham half a year ago with his sweetheart, Beth Winters-he lives on Halsey street, in a small 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom home, the 3rd house North from the church. He's been keeping his head down, studying hard, hoping he can become an Engineer...or maybe a professor, like Mr. Brooks. Something. He's generally directionless, but ambitious in whatever he chooses to pursue. Recently, he's been reading some more exotic materials-strange creatures, different worlds, and how to get there...or bring things to here. He gets the feeling he's only scratced the surface. Most of the stuff he's reading is pretty exciting, but he doesn't like how he feels afterwards. One could describe it as a feeling of being mentally pulled apart and put together, almost the same as you were before...almost.
He's only made a few friends around town-not a socializer, this one-and is generally oblivious to any stranger goings on around him. His world is a square, after all-nicely rounded and smoothed, with no cracks, chips or imperfections. The gears keep spinning, and the idea that he was reading the blueprints wrong has never occured to him. His Fiance has misgivings about the town, but he can't understand them. It depresses him to see her so nervous though.
Mentally, he doesn't see himself as a brave person-at least, he's never been put into a situation where he was tested. He supposed he might dive in front of a bullet for Beth, or hastily disarm a bomb by cutting the blue wire if it happened, but really? Those things only happen in fiction novels, movies and comic books-all of which he enjoys. He's content with the fact his life will be perfect melange of boredom and comfort. He likes to learn, too. All sorts of things. Quite curious, one could say. His true joy is solving puzzles and riddles-he can do the rubiks cube with his eyes closed, though he doesn't really like to brag about it.
What else...he loves Cats and has a weakness for blueberries...yeah. Gerald is a good sport-he takes losing gracefully, and doesn't brag when he wins. One could say thats how Beth was attracted to him in the first place. He is just generally honest-and has developed a keen eye for seeing the truth in others.
As you know, he had every reason to believe he would be happily married and reasonably employed come this Fall...now, Fall is fast approaching, and as those of you who are reading this must also know, Fate will be very unkind to young Gerald.-
-Stats-
Strength: 4
Endurance: 4
Perception: 6
Agility: 4
Charisma: 4
Intelligence: 6 (+1 College Student) = 7
Wisdom: 8 (-1 Young Adult) = 7
Willpower: 4 (+2 College Student, +1 Young Adult) = 7
-Skills,
360
[Physical] Spent 70
Athletics:-10 Base + 30 Spent + 10 College Student = 30
Dodge: -10 base + 40 Spent - 5 Agility = 30
[Social] Spent 40
Discern Truth: -10 base + 40 Spent = 30
[Mental] Spent 250
Lore -10 Base + 10 Spent + 15 College student = 15
Knowledge: -10 base + 10 Spent +10 College student = 10
Mechanical: -10 base +5 Spent + 10 College Student = 15
Observation: -10 base +20 Spent + 10 College student = 20
Arcane: -10 base + 25 Spent = 15
Detect Pattern -10 base + 80 Spent = 70
Solve Enigmas -10 base + 100 Spent = 90
Starting Perk:
Cram: Your frenzied study practices can give you an edge in some situations, given twenty-four hours you can absorb an incredible amount of information... temporarily. (Can study for a day to increase effective ability in one skill by 50)
1. Hospitalized with coma.
Name: -Briar R. Charleson
Health: 40/40
Sanity: 70/70
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Physical Description: A tall, lean, and fragile looking young man. He has brown hair and brown eyes, and wears a set of glasses. Usually seen wearing a cheap suit around.
Profession: College Student.
Relationship Status: None, besides a peculiar girl in town he occasionally see's but never talks to.
Children: None
Biography: Briar was raised in a small town up north, somewhere near the south of Minnesota. He was a bright, cynical young boy growing up, and didn't have many friends growing up. Ever since Briar learned to read and write, he always wanted to learn everything he possibly could. He adored reading books, and was almost always seen reading. Once Briar reached the age of 16, his family died. He refuses to speak of this to anyone, and he simply moved away down south. After four years of traveling, he has recently made his way to Arkham to be a college student. He retains a small painkiller addiction from his his travels, but continues his quest for knowledge.
-Stats,
Strength:2
Endurance:3
Perception:5
Agility: 6
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 4
Willpower: 9
-Skills,
Lore: 30
Knowledge: 35
Mechanics: 30
Observation: 20
Pistols: 35
Arcane: 30
Persuasion: 20
Melee: 20
Oration: 30
Lie: 20
Discern Truth: 30
Athletics: 0
Perks: Cram, Tower of Will
2. Unknown, Last known location: Paulais
Name: -David A. Hadjem-
Health: Base 50/50
Sanity: Base 45/45 (Willpower:4)
Age:27
Gender: Male
Physical Description: A youthful looking man with a short straight beard and a moustache. He has deep, brown eyes. He is 5"2 feet. He is bold. He often wears jeans and a hoodie while on the job (better to remain hidden) but when off-the-job, he's often seen wearing a polo and some pants. He's not terribly ugly, but he isn't very handsome either.
Profession: Private Eye
Relationship Status: Dead wife. Mother and sisterstakes care of children now.
Children: Three
Biography: Davidwasn't born in this country, no, he was from Jordan.His mother was a widow who lost her husband to a theif, leaving her and her four children to fend for themselves. Instead of living a hard life as a poor person however, she fell in love with a US soldier who married her and brought her back to Arkham. All her children, including David, came. Heck his name wasn't even David, it was Javed. He only changed it when he got to his new father's country, and found out that you get beaten around a lot for having a foreign name. Regardless of the bullying, he worked hard at school and passed all his exams. He considered going into university, but instead decided to become a soldier. Course, he soon found out he didn't have the skill for it and became a detective instead. Eventually, he found someone to marry one night while in the library doing some study on spotting criminals at a glance. Soon enough, they had children. Course, then the girl had to go and get cancer...Leaving David a single-father. Luckily, his family is always there to help, right?
-Stats,
Strength: 4
Endurance: 5
Perception: 5 (+1)
Agility:5 (+1)
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Willpower: 5 (+1)
-Skills
I'll let GM do the math
Athletics: 0
Pistol: 25
Discern Truth: 26
Persuasion: 25
Gather information: 35
Disguise: 23
Intimidate: 25
Observation: 41
Concealment: 23
Solve Enigma: 32
Mechanical: 27
Dodge: 18
Perks: Danger sense, Worn Mind.
1. Dwarmin
2. Ironyowl
3. Geen
4. Spinal_Taper
Author
Topic: City of Madness; Arkham. Ch. 1: The Lord of Broken Song (Read 29268 times)