Author Topic: Need help building a feet in the water character  (Read 2889 times)

Offline Ghostfreak

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Need help building a feet in the water character
« on: August 09, 2016, 02:29:31 AM »
Hi, I am looking into building a cassandra cain aka batgirl type character for a new dresden game my friend plans on running this month. The idea to know what someone is thinking via their body language is an interest concept to me and I want to push it to the very limits. The power level is feet in the water. I'm not to sure where to fully begin as its been awhile since I have played this game. But I will refresh myself on the rules and other small details. Any and all experienced is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2016, 06:59:37 AM by Ghostfreak »

Offline Shaft

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2016, 04:22:01 AM »
Cassie Kane

High Concept: Silent Ninja Assassin (alternate mute Ninja Assassin)
Trouble: Cannot Speak or Read (alternate suggestion: Only Knows How to Fight, reflects limited education and exposure to the civilized world)

Background: My Parents taught me to kill
Rising Conflict: Mentored by ________ [Oracle-type streetwise detective, possibly one that needs a wheelchair/cane and/or is a good hacker]
Other Aspects: Reluctantly anti-social, Reads Body Language instead of words, School of Hard Knocks

Powers:
Inhuman Speed [-2]: +1 Athletics (2 for sprinting), +4 Initiative, move 1 zone free, movement penalties for stealth reduced by 2
Echoes of the Beast [-1], read body language at Alertness +1

Stunts:
Analyze Body Language: swap Alertness for Empathy to Read People
Extensive HtH Training:  swap Fists for Weapons when using HtH Wpns

Skills:
Great (+4): Alertness (Reading People 5, Initiative 9), Fists (HtH Weapons)
Good (+3): Athletics (+4 w Inhuman speed, +5 to sprint),  Stealth
Fair (+2): Burglary, Guns (or Bows)
Average (+1): Endurance, Intimidation

Stress: Physical OOO, Mental OO, Social OO

Base Refresh: 6
Spent Refresh: 5
Leftover Refresh: 1
« Last Edit: August 09, 2016, 11:29:15 AM by Shaft »

Offline Ghostfreak

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2016, 05:26:50 AM »
Bloody brilliant! This... this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much!

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2016, 06:42:11 AM »
Good work, but I can't help nitpicking. Hope it's not a bother.

That Fists stunt is too broad, I think. Armed Arts only gives a couple of weapons.

Might be worth pushing the body-reading bit a little further. Maybe using further stunts to detect lies with Alertness and/or read people quickly without any need for interaction. That could get expensive Refresh-wise, so taking actual Empathy might be a good idea. Would be tricky to fit all that in at Feet in the Water, though, unless you decided to go mortal.

Offline Ghostfreak

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2016, 06:58:40 AM »
If you have the time would you be able to do a write up Sanctaphrax? Different opinions are always appreciated. An if need be I have no problems with going mortal.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2016, 07:00:42 AM by Ghostfreak »

Offline Shaft

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2016, 11:11:34 AM »
That Fists stunt is too broad, I think. Armed Arts only gives a couple of weapons.

It's the same stunt that Karin Murphy has in her write-up from Paranet Papers (they just call it Extensive Training in that book).  It's a common choice in the games that I play/run, and I find that it's balanced in the sense that it doesn't allow ranged/thrown weapons.  If you want to limit it further, you can say that it only lets you attack with HtH melee weapons (which is not really a limit for this build since she can defend with her higher Athletics skill).

If you're looking for a Pure Mortal alternative, this writeup could work.

Cassie Kane

High Concept: Silent Ninja Assassin (alternate mute Ninja Assassin)
Trouble: Cannot Speak or Read (alternate suggestion: Only Knows How to Fight, reflects limited education and exposure to the civilized world)

Background: My Parents taught me to kill
Rising Conflict: Mentored by ________ [Oracle-type streetwise detective, possibly one that needs a wheelchair/cane and/or is a good hacker]
Other Aspects: Reluctantly anti-social, Reads Body Language instead of words, School of Hard Knocks

Powers
Pure Mortal [+2 Refresh for Stunts]

Stunts:
On My Toes: +2 Alertness
Paranoid, Probably: +2 vs Surprise
Analyze Body Language: swap Alertness for Empathy to Read People
No Pain, No Gain: +1 Mild Physical Condition
Tough Stuff: 1 armor vs blunt attacks
Extensive HtH Training:  swap Fists for Weapons when using HtH Wpns
Judo Training: swap Fists for Might when Grappling


Skills:
Great (+4): Alertness (Reading People 4, Detect Surprise 6, Initiative 6), Fists (HtH Weapons)
Good (+3): Athletics,  Stealth
Fair (+2): Burglary, Guns (or Bows)
Average (+1): Endurance, Intimidation

Stress: Physical OOO +1 Mild, Mental OO, Social OO

Base Refresh: 6
Spent Refresh: 5
Leftover Refresh: 1
« Last Edit: August 09, 2016, 01:01:46 PM by Shaft »

Offline Ghostfreak

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2016, 04:38:48 PM »
Solid. Though tell me, if I was to stick with powers. What should I focus on so I don't fall behind becausw of the typical wizard, focus practitioner, etc members of my party. My dm is having us start from the lowest of the low, 12 years old and in school. Picking the right powers of he throws out mortal seems to be my tought spot. Would the body reading allow me to know if a wizard or anyone I interact with mean me harm to better react to the situation? What powers should I invest in?

Offline Shaft

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2016, 07:16:05 PM »
From Your Story, p129:

You can use Empathy to figure out what makes another character tick. After at least ten minutes of intense, personal interaction, you may make an Empathy roll against the target’s Rapport roll (see Closing Down under Rapport, page 138; the target might also choose to defend with Deceit).

This is an assessment (page 115) action and, as such, if you gain one or more shifts on your roll, you discover one of the target’s aspects that you weren’t already aware of. It may not reveal the name of the aspect in precise detail, but it should paint a good general picture. For instance, it might not give the name of someone’s brother, but it will reveal that he has a brother. You can repeat this process, taking longer each time, and ultimately reveal a number of aspects equal to your Empathy skill value (minimum of one)—so, a Fair skill (value 2) would allow you to reveal two aspects through at least two different rolls.


Since this is a Power rather than a stunt, I might allow the assessment roll to occur after 1 min of observation instead of 10 min.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2016, 10:56:49 PM »
If you have the time would you be able to do a write up Sanctaphrax? Different opinions are always appreciated. An if need be I have no problems with going mortal.

I'm afraid I don't really know the character well enough.

It's the same stunt that Karin Murphy has in her write-up from Paranet Papers (they just call it Extensive Training in that book).  It's a common choice in the games that I play/run, and I find that it's balanced in the sense that it doesn't allow ranged/thrown weapons.  If you want to limit it further, you can say that it only lets you attack with HtH melee weapons (which is not really a limit for this build since she can defend with her higher Athletics skill).

The character writeups are full of dubious stuff, so when there's a conflict I go with the corebook. And Fists defence is not very different from Weapons defence, so I don't think that's a significant limitation.

If you're looking for a Pure Mortal alternative, this writeup could work.

...

Eh. I still feel like body-reading ought to let you detect lies and get around some of the limitations of Reading People. Since No Pain No Gain, Tough Stuff, Paranoid? Probably, and On My Toes are all fairly weak, I'd be inclined to drop them in favour of more body-reading stunts.

Offline Ghostfreak

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #9 on: August 10, 2016, 08:51:51 AM »
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Cassandra_Cain_(New_Earth) all the information on cassandra cain you could ever want. Hope this helps. Trying to stick as close to the character concept as possible, then upgrade my weaknesses over time as I grow into the character. My only issue is finding the right template.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2016, 09:15:46 AM by Ghostfreak »

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #10 on: August 11, 2016, 07:45:56 AM »
I think I'd go with a tweaked version of Shaft's mortal sheet. I'd swap Guns for Discipline and change the stunt list to...

Analyze Body Language: swap Alertness for Empathy to Read People
See Through You: use Alertness to detect lies
At A Glance: may read people without ten minutes of intense interaction
You Still Move Like You: +2 to see through disguises, may set aside bonus to negate the bonuses from True Shapeshifting and similar Powers
Martial Artist: use Fists +1 to make Assessments and Declarations related to fighting
Judo Training: swap Fists for Might when Grappling

and maybe Armed Arts, though I'm not sure what weapons to pick.

Offline Shaft

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Re: Need help building a feet in the water character
« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2016, 03:08:29 PM »
I think I'd go with a tweaked version of Shaft's mortal sheet. I'd swap Guns for Discipline and change the stunt list to...

Analyze Body Language: swap Alertness for Empathy to Read People
See Through You: use Alertness to detect lies
At A Glance: may read people without ten minutes of intense interaction
You Still Move Like You: +2 to see through disguises, may set aside bonus to negate the bonuses from True Shapeshifting and similar Powers
Martial Artist: use Fists +1 to make Assessments and Declarations related to fighting
Judo Training: swap Fists for Might when Grappling

and maybe Armed Arts, though I'm not sure what weapons to pick.

I approve of this build!  :D 

For Armed Arts: short, 1 handed blades and clubs would be a good choice.