Gurps 4e lite Portal Horror "The Blacklands" PBP recruitment & discussion

[lexomatic]

Is there anyone who might be interested  in a PBP 4e GURPS lite (rules light, no crazy math) portal horror/ mystery modern day adventure.

1) Gurps 4e is published by Steve Jackson Games, and the free "lite" version of the rules is available online here.

2) This world is adapted by me from the fiction of Ian Rogers with my own additions.

3) Character creation rules

NO MAGIC OR SUPER POWERS or cinematic skills/abilities

100 points available up to 50 points in disadvantages and 5 quirks as well. If your character concept is disabled, then there's leeway to go over this, but needs discussion with me first

If you have 4e books or the character creator app, feel free to go for it. Otherwise I will post a list of templates and where they're located that I've vetted to guide you beyond the lite rules.

A skill at 12/13 is considered professional quality. higher gets you a better ability to handle tough situations and improve chance at a critical. Really high skills might get notoriety (could be good or bad).

Useful guidance http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?p=369148

Also this free pdf condensing skills info should be useful

Quote

This makes finding skills much faster, as 4th edition has over two hundred skills, and it's easier to look through Skill Categories' 8 pages then Characters' 55 pages. The main downside to this aid is it does not have the defaults that appear in Characters' totally alphabetical Skill Trait list on pages 301-304.[1]

The PDF lists the skills name, whether it requires a specialization or Tech Level, what Attribute it's based off of, it's difficulty, and which page in GURPS Characters it appears on.

 

4) This is set in Toronto and Ontario Canada primarily. Your character doesn't need to be from there, you just need to have an idea of what you're doing there, and specifically to start, what you're doing in the PATH specifically (this will be how you are all introduced). After reading about the world basics, you will also need to think about any supernatural/ blacklands experience your character has had... if any, and if/how they were affected by it.

The World Basics

Spoiler

THE BLACK LANDS

 

The Black Lands is the name given to a supernatural world discovered in 1945. Despite over sixty years of study, scientists have only been able to agree on three main facts:

• It exists in another dimension that lies next to our own.

• It can be accessed via portals that are located all over the planet.

• It’s home to a variety of dangerous paranormal entities.

The general public has very little knowledge of the Black Lands. Most of the data collected has come from expeditions carried out by government agencies, and the vast majority of their findings remain classified. Some people believe the government learned nothing from these excursions, while others believe they made discoveries so horrific that the release of this information would cause worldwide panic.

The following is a chronology of the facts. A short history of the discovery of the Black Lands and the ways in which it has changed our world.

The Disappearance of Flight 19

 

On December 5, 1945, five U.S. Navy bombers, designated Flight 19, departed Fort Lauderdale to complete a combat training exercise off the coast of Florida. After successfully carrying out their bombing run, the aircraft set course to return to base. They never made it.

In his final transmission, the flight leader reported failure of the compasses in all five planes. Contact was lost with Flight 19 shortly thereafter. A search and rescue effort comprised of several dozen planes and boats was launched. After two planes and one ship, USS Minotaur, disappeared, the search was called off .

Due to overwhelming public pressure, as well as a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Navy by the families of the missing pilots, a congressional committee was formed to look into the disappearance of Flight 19. Witnesses were called to testify, among them a navy scientist who revealed the existence of film footage, taken from one of the rescue boats, showing USS Minotaur seemingly disappearing into thin air.

The navy scientist further reported that it was his belief, as well as the belief of his colleagues, that the ship — and Flight 19 — had inadvertently passed through an invisible portal and travelled to another dimension. When asked to explain how he had reached this conclusion, the navy scientist replied that he and a team of investigators had been there. He referred to this dimension as The Black Lands.

Further testimony was conducted in closed sessions. Details of the navy’s expedition into the portal were omitted from the committee’s final report. Flight 19, USS Minotaur, and the two missing rescue planes were simply said to have been lost in the Black Lands. The fate of their crews was listed as “unknown.”

Tests with pilotless drone ships confirmed that the number of portals in the area where these disappearances took place was increasing. Some scientists put their number in the hundreds. Due to the danger of other planes and ships disappearing into the Black Lands, a large section of the North Atlantic was declared a no-fly, no-shipping zone.

This area eventually came to be known as The Bermuda Triangle.

 

Project Black Book

 

In the years following the discovery of the Black Lands, the level of paranormal activity around the world increased dramatically. Despite the best efforts of the world’s various emergency organizations, as well police and armed forces, it soon became clear that no government agency or military body was equipped to deal with these types of incidents.

In the United States, the government continued to deny the public access to information on the Black Lands. Attempts to obtain classified documents through the Freedom of Information Act resulted in the release of material that was so heavily censored that it was virtually unreadable. These documents were referred to by the public as having been “blackacted.”

Activist groups organized a series of protests across the country. They claimed that the pilots of Flight 19 were not the first victims of the Black Lands. They pointed to other unexplained disappearances throughout history, such as the crew of the Mary Celeste, the lost colony of Roanoke, and the Native American tribe of Anasazi who were said to have vanished overnight.

Finally, in 1952, the governments of the United States and Canada revealed the existence of Project Black Book, a comprehensive seven-year study of the Black Lands portals located across North America. They concluded that this dimension and the entities that reside there represented a clear and present danger to the security of both countries and the safety of their people.

The study recommended the formation of a special organization to investigate paranormal phenomena in order to develop defensive strategies against Black Lands entities. The result was the creation of a joint U.S.—Canada government organization called the Paranormal Intelligence Agency (PIA).

Operation Shadow Storm

 

After several years of study and investigation, the U.S. government decided it was time to create a permanent base of operations in the Black Lands.

Going against the warnings of the PIA, the U.S. military organized a large offense composed entirely of ground forces called Operation Shadow Storm. The purpose of the operation was to transport personnel and equipment into the Black Lands and setup a beachhead from which further military missions, as well as scientific experiments, could be carried out.

There had been rumours of military operations into the Black Lands in the past, but this was the first one to be carried out in the public eye. The media was given detailed information about the operation, which was to be launched from a large portal located in Wyoming, and reporters from several news stations were embedded with military units so they could report directly from the front.

On August 25, 1978, Operation Shadow Storm began.

Two days later, it was over.

Details of the operation remain largely classified, but one thing is known for certain: It failed.

Despite the military’s best efforts to suppress information, reports were leaked by anonymous army personnel and the few embedded reporters who managed to survive the conflict. They reported that the military convoy was attacked almost immediately upon entering the Black Lands. They described a variety of nightmarish creatures, some of them displaying supernatural traits similar to vampires and werewolves, living in a landscape of seemingly endless fields and woods under a sunless sky.

The actual number of casualties of Operation Shadow Storm is a matter of dispute. It is known that several hundred soldiers were killed, thousands more were injured, and some listed as missing in action were presumably lost in the Black Lands.

Following the operation, the families of many of the dead soldiers filed lawsuits against the U.S. government for refusing to release their bodies. The government’s only comment on the matter has been that the bodies remain in federal custody due to reasons of national security. Rumours that the soldiers were contaminated in some manner by their exposure to the Black Lands have never been substantiated.

The Influence

 

In the years after the failure of Operation Shadow Storm, some veterans of the conflict began to report unusual medical conditions. Some of these symptoms were physical, in the form of tumours and growths, while others were psychological, in the form of phobias, psychoses, and even psychical phenomenon.

Although these abnormalities were believed to have been caused by the subject’s exposure to the Black Lands, this has never been definitively proven. This is due to the inconsistency of symptoms among those afflicted, as well as the fact that many of the soldiers involved in the operation never experienced any medical problems at all.

Health officials dubbed this condition Black Lands Syndrome. Some professionals described it as the paranormal equivalent of radiation sickness. It has been theorized that the variety of symptoms is due to various factors including the subject’s medical history and the length of exposure to the Black Lands. Rumours that some soldiers were so badly affected by BLS that they transformed into supernatural creatures has never been substantiated.

Black Lands Syndrome has also been reported by people who live in close proximity to portals. Since these people were not involved in Operation Shadow Storm, their condition has been treated as a completely different ailment. In medical circles, it is referred to simply as the Influence.

 

Neighbours

 

Over half a century has passed since the discovery of the Black Lands, and our world is still learning to live with its mysterious, and sometime dangerous, neighbour.

More portals are being discovered every year, and some scientists believe this escalation is building toward some cataclysmic event. A dimensional collision, some say, resulting in one world cancelling out the other, or both worlds being completely destroyed.

With the discovery of new portals, the number of missing persons around the world has increased dramatically. While the majority of these disappearances are accidental, it is known that some people, driven by curiosity or insanity, purposely seek out portals. The few who manage to return sometimes come back changed by the Influence. Those who don’t come back at all have been dubbed “accidental tourists.”

The world of the twenty-first century is a dark and dangerous place. Electrified fences cordon off the dozens of known portals across North America. Coast Guard gunships patrol the Florida waters along the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. The PIA continues to investigate paranormal activity. The U.S. and Canadian governments continue to restrict information about the Black Lands. The general public continues to live in the dark.

Some people want answers. Some just want it all to go away. Most people are simply trying to find a way to live in a world where paranormal has become the norm.

THE PIA

The Paranormal Intelligence Agency is a joint U.S.–Canada government agency charged with investigating paranormal activity and providing defense against Black Lands entities.

The PIA was created in 1952 with the signing of the Black Lands Security Act by U.S. President Harry S. Truman and Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent.

The PIA’s mission is to develop a better understanding of paranormal phenomena, specifically as it relates to threats against the national security of both countries.

The Director of the Paranormal Intelligence Agency oversees the operations of some 17,000 employees stationed at 42 fields offices in the United States and Canada.

PIA headquarters is located in Boca Sombra, Florida.

I'm hoping to be able to do a few posts a week, but because I'm new to this, and have limited availability it might be slower than I want. I'm unsure about the number of players - this could work with only a few.

More later. Feel free to ask questions or express interest.

If you have and use a skill that will allow you to obtain info/ achieve goal to advance plot, that will happen. I won't make people roll until something happens or things end.

 

This site seems to have a decent character generator. There`s step-by-step at the top of the page, and it auto-calculates. Please print to pdf or printscreen or recopy.  so I can review. If you need a template, please let me know. Please set point maximum to 100 (it defaulted to 300 for me).

 

Current Characters list:

1)Magnus Albertson @Dilvish the Deliverer

2)Sammy @Arkady

3) Sam Travis @Corsair

4)TBD @Chaoswolf

5) Raoul @Colonel Kane

 

6) Morgan Faustus @Kangaroorex

There will be a hard cap at 6 players. And maybe only 5 total. We're closing in on being able to start things.

Edited January 25, 2019 by lexomatic

[Chaoswolf]

I think it sounds interesting. I've never played GURPS (of any variety) before, but the rules don't seem too crazy complicated.

 

I'm going to be moving towards the end of this month, so my availability may be a little restricted at first.

 

As far as why my character is in the area, would simply being a tourist be acceptable?

[lexomatic]

5 hours ago, Chaoswolf said:

I'm going to be moving towards the end of this month, so my availability may be a little restricted at first.

This is okay. I envisioned things in person being very drop-in, though I'm not sure how that will work here. But there's time to set things up.

5 hours ago, Chaoswolf said:

As far as why my character is in the area, would simply being a tourist be acceptable?

It would be acceptable, I think, but not ideal. ie, if your character goes back "home" the character is kinda gone from the universe. It's not really something I can move around at this point. Ideally the character wouldn't be too messed up by being away from home for an extended time. But if you think you can make it work....

There would be ways to be a tourist to the city but close enough to be involved (lots of people make day/ overnight trips into the city). Also being part of a multi-national, or the PIA (see spoilered info for basics. Low-rank is totally acceptable, and could encompass all kindsa jobs, from science, to admin, to law enforcement, to you can make it fit templates).

 

Also, what is peoples tolerance for horror elements? I can play up/down certain things if there's enough interest.

[Dilvish the Deliverer]

This intriges me.  Let me look at the rules and see if I can come up with a complelling story for a character.  The the proposed game take place in the current day? 

[lexomatic]

14 minutes ago, Dilvish the Deliverer said:

This intriges me.  Let me look at the rules and see if I can come up with a complelling story for a character.  The the proposed game take place in the current day? 

Yes it is "present" day (21st century).  That means you need to consider the legality of weapons, etc. (Canada is waaaay different to the USA). I need to check the lite rules again to see if they account for that. There's info in the basic character rules for weapons permits etc.

[Dilvish the Deliverer]

3 minutes ago, lexomatic said:

Yes it is "present" day (21st century).  That means you need to consider the legality of weapons, etc. (Canada is waaaay different to the USA). I need to check the lite rules again to see if they account for that. There's info in the basic character rules for weapons permits etc.

Just printed out the rules and am reading them.  

[lexomatic]

33 minutes ago, lexomatic said:

 I need to check the lite rules again to see if they account for that. There's info in the basic character rules for weapons permits etc.

I just checked and didnt see the advantages for that. If someone has a concept that requires a weapon we'll deal then. Ie pm or tag me.

[lexomatic]

Available templates: All text copyright Steve Jackson Games (these are just flavour descriptions and where to find the templates, not the actual templates)

1) deduct points from available total of 100. If you have any left, you can customize. If you do not have enough, you need to reduce points to meet the maximum or use disadvantages up to 50 points, and quirks up to 5.

If any of these appeal, I will provide info.

Spoiler

Character templates and where to find them.

Basic campaigns

• Investigator p 259

• Soldier of Fortune p 260

Bouncer – Pyramid 3-47

• The Jock 76 points

Martial-arts buffs, college athletes rounding out a scholarship, and gym rats all have muscles and know how to use them. This makes it easy for them to find work in club security. They don’t talk as much as other types who get into the field, instead letting their physiques handle the communication. This template can also represent a former pro making ends meet after a shortened career.

• The Soldier 66 points

Military make good security. They know about confrontation. They know weapons. They know how to follow orders. A lot of security teams have at least one reservist on the roster. However, soldiers don’t just come from the armed forces. A retired cop is considered a soldier, too. So are the thugs at the door of a certain kingpin’s “gentlemen’s club.”

• The Face 72 points

Not all security is on the job because of their muscles. Some have a talent for talking down unruly customers, and use their ability to defuse the drunkest and rowdiest. It’s a gift for some; the result of long experience for many others. Most female bouncers fall into this template, since they need to make up for their smaller size and lower strength.

Thaumatology – urban magic p12

• EXORCIST 100 points ******* priest only

You’re not a wizard of any kind; your role is not to command supernatural forces but to combat them. Many exorcists are priests whose churches or temples have trained them to cast out demons. Others are skilled professionals supported by fees, or even wandering adventurers (as in the anime series Mushishi). For both good and bad, your familiarity with supernatural beings sets you apart from other mortals.

Underground Adventures

• CAVER 75 points

Some people go underground for fun. Traditionally, they’re called spelunkers; many now prefer the name “cavers.” Serious enthusiasts have long believed in preserving the underground environment; standards are now more rigorous.

• GEOLOGIST 75 points

From ancient Greek natural historians to high-tech 21st century scientists, people studying the earth often go out into the field. The geologist has basic survival and technical skills and mastery of the scientific knowledge of his age.

• LURKER 125 points **** You must use disadvantage points to balance this out (or, there are options provided to reduce abilities).

In a world with extensive underground settlements, or haunted underground ruins, some people may specialize in ventures beneath the surface. They may be freelance treasure seekers, or hire out to larger organizations as guides or spies.

• MINER 50 points

You’re skilled in the craft of excavation and underground construction. Your abilities can be useful in escaping from prison, bypassing or undermining fortress walls, or extracting valuable minerals from the earth. With advancing technology, miners use different methods and need different skills. This template has distinct skill options for different TLs. Some overlap exists, both because some technologies become available midway through a TL, and because large projects can adopt advanced methods while small ones struggle along with older ones.

Martial Arts

• Assassin 100 points

You’re a silent killer. You might be a ninja, a government agent, a hired hit man, or a dangerous nutcase with an agenda. Whatever your motivations, you’ve chosen the martial arts as your tool. Unarmed combat is valuable for taking out targets that would never let a weapon get near, while “traditional” weapons – bows, knives, etc. – are quieter and less random than firearms or explosives. The trick is to get close enough . . . and you’re an expert at that.

• Contender 100 points

You’re a full-time competitor at a combat sport such as boxing, fencing, or sumo. You might be a medal-seeking Olympian, a professional jock, or a tough guy on the noholds- barred circuit. Stereotypes needn’t apply to you: not every Olympian is “clean,” jocks aren’t universally stupid and greedy, and tough guys don’t have to be bloodthirsty. One thing almost certainly is true, though – you’re either fighting or training most of the time. ** think about how this might affect game play.

• Crimefighter 100 points

You use martial-arts skills to uphold justice or keep the peace. You might be a watchman in a time or place where skilled fighters are common (e.g., feudal Japan), a modern cop who prefers to subdue crooks without the lethal finality of a bullet, or a vigilante who goes unarmed because weapons aren’t available or would attract unwelcome attention. An interesting – if unlikely – alternative is the detective charged with solving martial arts-related crimes.

• Movie Star 100 points

You’re an actor, often a contender gone soft, who specializes in martial-arts roles. You might work on swashbuckling films featuring musketeers and pirates, or chambara and wuxia flicks about samurai and kung fu masters – or just bad action movies. Most of your moves are faked and choreographed, but you train at the martial arts to improve your odds of getting a plum role. A lot of your fans think you’re the real deal. On a good day, so do you!

• Spy 100 points

You spy for an intelligence, military, or security service. You aren’t an analyst or a diplomat, though – you’re a more “hands-on” kind of spy. Your specialties are physical infiltration, gathering information, and getting out in one piece. You employ martial arts because they’re hard to trace, silent, and the ultimate concealed weapon. These features make them handy for taking out inconvenient sentries and making informants talk.

• Student 75 points

You’re a martial-arts neophyte – but a talented, driven one. You make up in youthful energy what you lack in experience. In time, you could become a model example of any of the archetypes portrayed by the other templates. For now, you train, making whatever sacrifices this requires of you. You might spend all of your spare time at the gym – or, if you’re a traditional student, live with your master and work as his servant.

• Stuntman 100 points

You stand in for movie stars (although probably not the skilled ones described under Movie Star, pp. 36-38) and play nameless bad guys in martial-arts movies. A stuntman might work as an aerialist, cowboy, driver, marksman, and many other things, all in the same feature. You’re good at some of these things, but you’re great at fighting. Most of your martial-arts skills are slanted toward what looks good, but the real thing looks best, and you know enough about it to be convincing.

Horror

• ACADEMIC 60 points

This is a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university or other center of higher learning. He’s easy to pull into an adventure, as people often bring mysteries to a professor, hoping for expert help – and the professor may be able to pass off an adventure as “research,” thus staying employed. Many fantasy-genre wizards closely resemble academics, and an academic can easily fit into horror games set in ancient Alexandria or Rome as well as modern Oxford or futuristic Trantor.

• ARISTOCRAT 95 points

The aristocrat earned his money and social station the old-fashioned way: he inherited them. Large amounts of disposable income and other resources – as well as a potential lack of responsibilities – make the aristocrat easy (and fun) to play.

He might be a true aristocrat, with a peerage certified by the college of heralds, or the favored child of a wealthy industrialist. In small American towns, the banker’s son may be an aristocrat; in a spacefaring campaign, the captain’s daughter might hold such a place. Position, inheritance, and immunity from lesser folks’ troubles are the aristocrat’s lot in life. The aristocrat may feel noblesse oblige that causes him to protect his people, or he could be desperately struggling against his own family curse.

• ARTIST 70 points

The artist, seeking inspiration in uncanny lore or dream-inducing narcotics, is another character concept just waiting to be snatched into the realms of darkness. He meshes well with most horror subgenres, but works best in campaigns with an urban or cosmopolitan setting – artists need audiences. Painter,  Photographer, sculptor, architect, actor . . . the common element is “artistic sensitivity” that turns into sensitivity to things decidedly undecorative.

• ATTORNEY 80 points

A lawyer can represent clients involved with occult phenomena and clear up any pesky breaking-and-entering charges that the other PCs happen to incur. The attorney’s field of law can also draw him into horror – in Dracula, Jonathan Harker is a real-estate solicitor! Especially in fiction, attorneys can play the role of investigator as well as legal agent; either their practice or their prying could entangle them with the Cabal (p. 102), government conspiracies, or other powerful occult organizations.

• CRIMINAL 60 points

Against his will, a criminal can find himself enmeshed in matters far blacker than petty theft or even murder for hire. Like the aristocrat, this is a character concept for all seasons. Be aware, though, that the criminal who preys on his fellow PCs will hamper the unity the heroes require to confront horrors – and the teamwork the players need to help build the atmosphere of fear.

• DETECTIVE 80 points

Rooting out crime and rooting out horrific evil are parallel missions – the detective may easily turn from one to the other. Historical (especially Victorian and pulp-era) and modern horror seem to be the most fertile ground for sleuths, but a fantasy city or a futuristic starport might also have a crime-solver. Police investigators and private eyes each have their own problems and advantages, but both see the horror as a puzzle to be solved and a challenge to be beaten.

• DOCTOR 90 points

Spending one’s career battling disease seems to be excellent preparation for battling more supernatural menaces to public health. Between their familiarity with corpses, clinical demeanor, and undeniable utility to hard-pressed parties of demon-chasers, doctors have a natural role as investigators of the horrific.

• EXPLORER 95 points

An explorer leads expeditions into parts unknown. Possible motivations include advancing knowledge, seeking fabulous wealth, and earning personal glory. While pure explorers are less common in modern times, this template also suits related character concepts: hired wilderness guide, cryptid-hunter, mercenary scout, wildcat geologist, doughty anthropologist, etc.

• JOURNALIST 65 points

A journalist is either a writer for a newspaper (respectable or otherwise), magazine, or website, or a TV or radio reporter. He’s a natural for horror because investigating offbeat happenings is his job. A freelance journalist or blogger has a far less predictable – and probably lower – income than a regularly employed reporter, but he doesn’t have to take assignments he doesn’t want and is free to investigate anything that may make a salable story. Journalists might be dedicated to the truth, to the public’s right to know, or to the ancient credo: “If it bleeds, it leads.”

• MYSTIC 80 points

Charlatan

Charlatans include not just phony fortune-tellers, cult gurus, and fake “intuitives,” but also TV “psychics,” stage magicians who scrupulously call their feats “illusions,” and so on. Cynical “New Age” authors and newspaper astrologers should use Writer (p. 44). An amusing roleplaying challenge is the quack sorcerer, who conceals his ignorance of the occult as he slips deeper and deeper into a horror adventure. This template describes the basic charlatan, soon to be in over his head.

• OCCULTIST 60 points

The occultist investigates the paranormal as a career. He might be a “true believer” or a researcher dedicated to disproving the supernatural (player’s choice). Most occultists in fiction seem to be either clear-eyed, capable “occult detectives” or sheltered, theory-minded academics.

• POLICE OFFICER 65 points

The policeman, like the detective (p. 37), may find that his fight against crime and disorder leads to horrors beyond the mundane. This template represents the “beat cop,” using guts and organization where the detective uses brains – and beat cops. It’s the more adaptable character concept; aediles, town watches, etc. existed for centuries before specialists actively applied logic and observation to crime-solving. A good police force has both detectives and policemen, and so might a good horror party.

• PRIEST 80 points

Priest, minister, imam, rabbi . . . whatever the denomination, they (theoretically) already believe in something more than sense and science can confirm. If a clergyman is attached to a particular church, he’ll often get involved its congregation’s problems – some of which may be horrific. For millennia, it was a major part of the clergy’s job to oppose the evil supernatural, from witches to demons to the unquiet dead. Even today, specially trained clerics (e.g., Catholic exorcists) act as supernatural “troubleshooters,” and can become involved in adventures worldwide.

• RETIRED SOLDIER 65 points

Who better to fight the forces of evil than a warrior? Soldiers are as universal as clergy and criminals, and for many of the same reasons. From the noble knight to the cynical, battle-scarred modern-day veteran, the soldier stands on the front lines against the horrors of many a game world.

This template assumes a retired soldier; those on active duty have a hard time getting leave to go investigate haunted houses. It also supposes a combat veteran – or at least someone whose career was more rifle-oriented than “clerk-typist.”

• TECH 60 points

You use technology to keep back the forces of unreason. Maybe you monitor the Web for vampire chat rooms, or design electric pentacles to imprison ghosts. Just because you’re more comfortable with a soldering iron than a shooting iron doesn’t mean you don’t fight the good fight, too.

• WRITER 65 points

Writers of horror stories, general fiction, and nonfiction alike make good candidates for horror PCs. All writers do research and investigative work for their projects; this can lead them into adventures. Writers are less responsible than journalists, and less wary than academics. This, too, can lead them into adventures. And the horror writer may find his stories coming true – perhaps even more unsettling to him than revelation of kindred horrors might be to the debunking writer of skeptical criticism.

GURPS Mysteries p101-107

• DEFENSE ATTORNEY 60 points

You specialize in defending accused suspects in court. You may be a public defender, working in a state agency to defend poor suspects, or a highly-paid private attorney who represents wealthy, famous defendants. You might have once been a prosecutor or a cop; being a defense lawyer usually pays better, although real estate or corporate law pays better than criminal defense. You may passionately believe in protecting defendants’ rights. You may be fresh from law school, without the grades, experience, or contacts to get a more prestigious job.

•  

  FIRE MARSHAL 60 points

You’re a firefighter who’s moved from eating smoke to investigating firebugs. You don’t get to hang around the station any more, but you do get to help protect your old friends from criminals.

• HARD-BOILED DETECTIVE 85 points

You are a cynical yet honorable man driven by a fierce desire for justice. You are a tough guy (or gal) who will not be intimidated or threatened by anyone. You protect your clients, even if you have to bend or break the law to do it. You are curious and will poke into interesting events that aren’t directly related to your case to make sure that justice is done. Police usually don’t like you – you are trouble waiting to happen.

• MEDICAL EXAMINER 80 points

You are a doctor who specializes in forensic medicine. You perform autopsies on the bodies of crime victims, and anyone else who died unexpectedly. Your job is to figure out the cause of death. In criminal cases, you look for clues on the body that might tell you who killed the victim. Often, you go to court to testify about how the victim died. Generally, you do not go to crime scenes, but you may sometimes get more involved in your cases than your colleagues would like.

• POLICE DETECTIVE 60 points

You’re the relentless investigator of major crimes. You and your partner, or your squad, uncover the big crimes, stake-out the bad guys, and do your real work in the interrogation room, not the squad car. If you work in a large city, you could be assigned to a unit like Vice (gambling, prostitution, and drugs),  Robbery, or Homicide. If you work in a small rural department, you may be the only detective in your town. If you’re an American detective, you have four or more years’ experience as a patrol officer. If you’re a French detective, you may have been hired right out of college with no prior experience on the streets.

• SPECIALIST 70 points Specialist [Police or PIA or other law enforcement]

You are not a sworn police officer, but you work with police officers on a regular basis and are welcome at the station house. You may be a civilian crime scene technician, a criminal psychologist, or a social worker. You find the evidence to put the bad guy away. You are not supposed to be chasing the bad guys down alleys, but sometimes you can’t resist the temptation.

• THAT DARN KID 65 points

You’re the meddling teenager with a nose for trouble. You solve high-school mysteries and occasional adult problems. You are quick-witted, observant, and precocious, but may lack insight into complex adult motivations and the consequences of your adventures.

Biotech

• BIOENGINEER OR GENGINEER 90 points p202

Don’t you see? My discovery will change the world! A scientist or engineer working in gengineering or industrial biotech. Most bioengineers are employed by corporations, while others work in university labs or even as freelance “genehackers.” A bioengineer may be anything from a lab technician to a Nobel-prize winning researcher.

A common genre convention is the idealistic scientist who develops a process to benefit mankind, only to see it stolen and perverted by a rival or treacherous co-worker who is in the pay of a big  megacorporation’s bioweapons division. Another is the obsessed genius whose cutting-edge project was so controversial that he was fired from his job or driven out of the field. Now he lives alone somewhere and continues his ground-breaking work in private, often without adequate biohazard safeguards.

• EPIDEMIOLOGIST 90 points p205

The victims don’t live near each other, don’t work together, and have never met, but every one of them was in Rachaelow Park less than a week before their symptoms hit. I suggest we move the search to there.

You study the distribution and determinants of morbidity, mortality, disability, and injury, and apply this knowledge to controlling health-related issues in populations. You might work for a government health department, federal disease control agency, hospital infection control, academia, private industry (particularly pharmaceutical companies), or the military.

Depending on your employer, you may be called upon to determine the cause of a mysterious outbreak, to figure out if the latest version of a certain bioroid is less prone to pyromania, or to test the effectiveness of a new drug.

• FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST 95 points p206

This was no suicide. You use your knowledge of causes of death and disease to help police catch criminals, or to build legal cases against them. You might specialize in performing autopsies, doing the followup labwork and analysis, or studying the decay of a body in detail to determine time of death.

Sometimes you’ll be called into the field to examine a crime scene, or be present at an exhumation. It’s a job that takes dedication, thoroughness, and a lack of squeamishness. After putting the evidence together you’re likely to be called into court to present it to a jury. Explaining complex scientific findings to average people so they can come to the right conclusions is an important part of your job.

• NURSE  65 points p

This will only hurt for a second. Nurses are the primary point of contact between the patient and the world of health care, working directly with patients and their families. They perform evaluations, administer medication and IVs, and develop care plans for inpatients as well as at-home care (after release). Because the nurse is in frequent contact with patients, he is usually the first to notice any problem. Nurses are rarely supervised directly by a doctor; the head nurse coordinates the nursing team, while the doctor makes adjustments to the patients’ medical charts.

• PHYSICIAN 95 points p

You’ve dedicated your life to healing the sick. You examine patients, diagnose their conditions, and prescribe various treatments. If necessary, you’ll order lab tests or refer them to a specialist. You’ll also need to advise patients on various options and new treatments, which requires keeping up to date in a changing world.

Cops 3e (needs adjusting) here in case someone interested

Beat officer p 46

Defense attorney, detective p47

Federal Agent, forensic tech p48

Informant, Medical examiner, prosecutor 49

Undercover agent p51

 

 

[Corsair]

This is actually the first RPG I think I could enjoy. I have never played GURPS, just down loaded the Lite Rules now. Would you allow a total newb in? 

I would use the beat cop as my basis, my character would be a Field Parole Agent from a High Risk Unit from the US. Got pulled in because one of his clients disappeared into a portal and found out about it when chasing him.  

[lexomatic]

13 minutes ago, Corsair said:

This is actually the first RPG I think I could enjoy. I have never played GURPS, just down loaded the Lite Rules now. Would you allow a total newb in? 

I would use the beat cop as my basis, my character would be a Field Parole Agent from a High Risk Unit from the US. Got pulled in because one of his clients disappeared into a portal and found out about it when chasing him.  

ok. this could be interesting.

[Arkady]

The setting intrigues me, but I'm a little wary I might not be able to keep up the posting pace at least at times. Also, my GURPS knowledge is hopelessly 2nd/3rd edition out of date. I understand Eidetic Memory is no longer the be-all, end-all of brokenness these days?

 

Anyways, the first character idea that sprung to mind is a low-level PIA field agent finding herself undercover as a cheerfully smiling barista at Starbucks, because supernatural investigations + mall stereotype. ICly, the explanation could be that some PIA nerd in PIA nerditry did some kind of data analysis that identified PATH as a 'potential emerging hotspot' of some sort, worth keeping a not-too-important-otherwise eye on. A glance at the PATH map tells me FCP Starbucks really would make sense as a central location for keeping an eye on PATH. 

 

Not sure what template to base that on. My instinct says hybridize The Face and one of the law enforcement types, as I doubt the latter make for good cheerfully smiling baristas. ICly she could be a former actual bouncer who got recruited because she was involved in a prior Black Lands incident at/near whatever club she worked, but isn't actually trusted enough to do much more than smile at people and serve coffee. Perhaps she was even selected for this low-level undercover assignment because she complained about that!

 

I don't know if that's actually a good idea; you tell me.

 

A more straightforward alternative would be, well, pretty much anyone who might go for a coffee break at FCP Starbucks.

I'll think about something specific if the agent-barista is a no go.

Edited January 13, 2019 by Arkady
removed a half-dozen empty lines at end

[lexomatic]

9 minutes ago, Arkady said:

I'll think about something specific if the agent-barista is a no go.

No I think that's fine.

[Arkady]

Coolies, professionally smiling barista agent miffed at all the serving coffee it is, then!

 

Do you have any thoughts on how to build her? I don't have any of the 4e materials beyond Lite itself, so I'm absolutely just guessing with that hybridizing The Face and some law enforcement profession idea. I could try to just scratch-build instead, except the Lite book doesn't even have Legal Enforcement Powers.

 

Also, this is very much a concept that imo requires a GM decision on what package of advantages/disadvantages necessarily comes with the undercover agent job. You know, LEP, Duty, and whatever else you can think of.

[lexomatic]

Yes. I will get back to you on questions and with templates. I think theres a free list of ALL the skills advantages and disadvantages minus descriptions. the converted 3e to 4e cop basically needs copying a few more things and I can send that to people. I have baby duty smd mass cleaning so it won't be as soon as I hoped - few hours anyway.

I'm thinking maybe about undercover agent from 3e cops possibly being useful, @Arkady

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by lexomatic

[Corsair]

One of the most ferocious Parole Agents I ever worked with was a little gal who didn't come up to my shoulder. And she handled a ..45 1911 with the best of them!