Short afternoon game: Buffyverse Christmas Party

[Anastasia]

System: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game.
Number of Players 3+1 (4 total, three already signed up).
Times: 12:30 PM EST to 4:30 PM EST on December 21st, 22nd, 26th, 27th. The 28th and 29th are reserve days if needed and a short session is tentatively possible on the 24th if needed. See below for more details.

On the morning of December 23rd, each of you finds a note by your bed. It reads: For a devilishly good Christmas, come to the Bally House Christmas Party. December 24th, 10 PM sharp! If you try any funny business or don't show, the apocalypse will be downright garish! Don't RSVP, just show up!

I'm looking to run a short Buffyverse Christmas game in a few weeks. The players will be a group of misfits who fight vampires and demons in the lovely, scenic city of Cleveland. The group's details are up to you all to decide, but I'd like a friendly and organized group. This will be taking place in the Buffyverse, but I'll play fairly loose with canon details. It's for fun - so I won't really care if we have more than one Slayer or whatever. You'll need a copy of the Buffy Roleplaying game. If you don't have a copy, I can help you with that. At least some familiarity with Buffy is desired, though you don't need to be a buff(y) or anything like that.

We'll be playing around Christmas, as noted above. If you're interested in playing and can make the days, feel free to speak up. If more than one of those days above is bad for you, it probably won't work out. Ebiris, Corwin and Merc already have slots and there's one more slot open.

Character creation goes like this - all original characters, by the way.

Character types: You can start play as a Hero or a White Hat. Choose whichever you prefer, but no Experienced Heroes.
Attributes: You can go as low as one, I don't mind or care. Do pay attention to the maximums for your character type's scores and I recommend a reasonable balance here.
Qualities and drawbacks: Almost anything goes here, so long as it doesn't inhibit the one shot. Be reasonable here. If in doubt about something, talk to me. You're free to be a Slayer if you want. If you all are, go read the first paragraph of page 27. I'll rule the exact opposite of it - you all will have to be Sailor Moon cosplaying Slayers. So don't do that - unless y'all wanna. Vampire is banned for this - it's just too hard to make a non-evil vampire to bother with for a one shot.
Archetypes: You're welcome to use one if it fits the above notes. Up to y'all.

The only other house rule is that I'm going to reduce starting Drama Points. Heroes get 7 and White Hats get 14. As this is essentially a long oneshot, I don't feel having the full compliment of points is reasonable. You all still have plenty of them, but not so many that you can use them at will with no thought.

So who's game? Merc, Eb and Cor, do you have character concepts? Anyone else interested?

[Anastasia]

Okay, doesn't look like we'll get a fourth player. With the game happening around Christmas I'm not surprised. Anyway, go ahead and post character ideas and team ideas now. I'd like to get y'all talking. I'd like to have characters done by the 18th, so I have a few days to do the needed prep around them.

[Ebiris]

I'm going for a robot like Data from TNG. Expect many puns and idioms to be taken literally.

[Anastasia]

Okay, that's a solid start. Cor and Merc, do you have anything to add?

[Merc]

Nope.

[Corwin]

I wanted to go for an ex-demon Anya-style but it seems impractical for a oneshot. Slayer, I think.

[Anastasia]

Okay, that's a reasonably decent start. Any ideas on a group theme/story, y'all?

[Anastasia]

It's two days until the 18th! I have zero sheets and no talk of a team! C'mon people.

[Merc]

WIP Sheet:
Character Type: White Hat
Name: Dean Kensington
Drama: 14

Spoiler: ShowHide

Life: 33
Initiative: d10+4
Perception: d10+7

Attributes: 15
[spoiler]Strenght 2
Dexterity 4
Constitution 2+1
Intelligence 2+1
Perception 4
Willpower 1+1

Qualities: 10+4

Spoiler: ShowHide

Attractiveness (1)
Fast Reaction Time (2)
Hard to Kill 1 (1)
Nerd (3)
Situational Awareness (2)
Watcher (5)

Drawbacks: 4

Spoiler: ShowHide

Emotional Problems [Emotional Dependency] (1)
Honorable [Minimal] (1)
Obligation [Minimal-Watchers] (0)
Resources [Below Average] (2)

Skill: 15

Spoiler: ShowHide

Doctor 4
Getting Medieval 1+2
Knowledge 2+2
Kung Fu 1
Notice 3
Occultism 3
Science 1

+2 supernatural lore
-1 social situations

Combat Manuevers:
WIP[/spoiler]

General concept besides something Watcher-y? Dunno. Depends on whether there's a watchers' council, I guess.

Is Corwin's character supposed to be THE slayer, or just one of many slayers from after Watchers' Council was blown up?

I was kind of going for someone who was only partially connected to the Council or stopped training when it was blown up and was studying medicine, probably in early or mid 20s.

I'd probably adjust things once I see a bit more of what Corwin/Ebiris are planning to play and a bit more of an idea of when we are in buffy cannon (pre-buffy or post season 7).

[Corwin]

Anastasia (Hero)

Strength: 8
Dexterity: 8
Constitution: 6
Intelligence: 2
Perception: 2
Willpower: 5

Life Points: 81
Init: 1d10+13
Perception: 1d10+2
Drama Points 7

Muscle Score: 22=16+6
Combat Score: 20=8+6+6 [success level 5; +5 to base damage]
Brains Score: 10=3+1+6

Qualities/Drawbacks:

Spoiler: ShowHide

Fast Reaction Time: +5 to Initiative, +1 to Willpower Tests to resist fear
Hard to Kill 5 levels: +3 Life Points per level, +1 to Survival Tests
Nerves of Steel: immune to fear except vs strange supernatural manifestations, +4 to rolls when in said situation

Impaired Sense (1 point drawback): -3 penalty to Perception if not wearing glasses
Resistance: Demonic Powers (5 points)
Attractiveness (1 points)
Humourless (1 point drawback)

Slayer (16 points):
+3 to str, dex, con
+2 to willpower
Fast Reaction Time, Nerves of Steel, Hard to Kill 5 levels
Adversary: Demons and Vampires 5 points
Obligation: duties of a Slayer 3 points
Getting Medieval 1 level, Kung Fu 1 level
Damage regen at a rate of one Life Point per Constitution level every hour
Sense vampires within 100 feet by concentrating for 5 seconds (one combat turn) and making a Perception (not doubled) roll

Skills:

Spoiler: ShowHide

Acrobatics 3
Driving 1
Getting Medieval 6
Gun Fu 1
Kung Fu 6
Languages 1 (Russian, English)
Occultism 1
Science 1
Sports 2

Maneuvers:

Spoiler: ShowHide

Break Neck: First, Grapple. Then, 1d10+str+kung fu/muscle score; defender rolls 1d10+str+con. If attacker's roll is higher, base damage is 4xStr bashing points.
Catch Weapon: 1d10+Dex+Kung Fu/Combat Score -5 vs thrower's roll.
Choke: First, Grapple. Then, 1d10+str+kung fu/muscle score; defender rolls 1d10+str+con/muscle score. If attacker's roll is higher, base damage is Str-1 bashing points and defender is at -2 to all actions.
Decapitation: 1d10+dex+getting medieval-5/combat score-5. Does x5 damage.
Disarm: 1d10+dex+getting medieval-2/dex+kung fu-3/combat score-2 vs defender's Parry action.

[Ebiris]

El Diablo Robotico (Eldi)

Whether it was actually the devil or just some grandstanding demon with a head for technology, the fact remains that a robot was built and termed as 'The Devil's Robot', and clearly possessed technology far ahead of its time when it rampaged through Northern Mexico in the late 1930s. But after being hit on the head by a pot dropped by a nun on the second floor of the convent it was attacking, the Devil's Robot (or S.A.T.A.N (Synthetic Android Trained for Assassination and Nullification)) underwent a sudden change in personality and motives. Unfortunately this was directly before the Slayer shorted out its systems with a metal pole through the processor.

Shut down and forgotten for decades in the storerooms of the Watchers Council, the robot reawakened several years ago when the Council building exploded, managing to escape in the confusion and initiate some basic self repairs before heading into the world on its dual mission - to learn what it is to be human, and to atone for its misdeeds.

In appearance El Diablo Robotico, or Eldi as it calls itself now, is a human man of indeterminate age with black hair and an average build. Indeed the only thing that stops it from blending in with the population is its noticably silver-tinted skin and glowing blue eyes (they were red during its original rampage), forcing it to exist more amongst the demonic fringes of society.


Life Points: 81
Drama Points: 7

20 attributes

Strength 5+4
Dexterity 2+1
Constitution 3+2
Intelligence 3
Perception 3
Willpower 4


20+6 qualities

Acute Sense (Sight) 2
Acute Sense (Hearing) 2
Fast Reaction Time 2
Hard to Kill (+5) 5
Natural Toughness 2
Photographic Memory 2
Resistance (Demonic Powers +2) 2
Resistance (Poison +2) 2
Robot 5
Situational Awareness 2

9/10 drawbacks

Humorless 1
Talentless 2
Impaired Sense (Smell) 2
Impaired Sense (Touch) 2
Impaired Sense (Taste) 2

20+3 skills

Computers 7 (11)
Science 6 (8)
Kung Fu 4

Maneuvers

Dodge 7 (defense action)
Grapple 9
-Neck Break 13 (36 damage, bash)
Punch 7 (18 damage, bash)
Knockout Punch 5 (9 damage, bash)

[Merc]

If Dune kills us off, I'm totally dying first.

[Anastasia]

Most likely, yes.

---

Okay, if your sheets are done, move them over to the board.

[Anastasia]

Remember, we start tomorrow! Have finished sheets posted on the board by then!

[Merc]

By the time we start, sure. By tomorrow, ie, 5 hours from now? No. >_>