So our group played the Neutral Grounds adventure, had fun and now we're about to start an Up To Your Waist level game set in Boston. We did all the character background/city creation stuff this last week, but we haven't done any of the mechanics of character creation yet. Can I get some feedback on the aspects and character build I've got so far?
I'll put the big blocks of text in spoiler tags so it'll (hopefully) be easier to read:
The Rest of the Party
- Det. Martin O'Shaughnessy - Psychic BPD Detective with 6 months till retirement
- Mei Ling Yi - Kung Fu Librarian of the Boston Public Library
- Thomas St. Germaine - Immortal Diplomat for the Italian Consulate
- Zoe - Late Blooming Steampunk-themed Sorceress
- Melissa McCarthy - Philanthropic Hotel Heiress Wizard
My PC: Rookie Detective Rebecca Sullivan
Template: Supernatural Guardian
Becky's family carries a curse. Unlike the tremendously counterproductive curse of the Loup-Garrou, St. Patrick was significantly less drunk when he cursed one child in a generation from Suibhne the Bastard’s clan to safeguard humanity from supernatural threats to make up for Old Suibhne's truly prodigious list of sins. Said child grows up with tremendous physical gifts, but is beset by visions of wrongs that must be righted and people that must be protected (sometimes from the things created by other, poorly planned curses). Unfortunately it's been about 50 or so generations since Old Suibhne, so literally anyone who claims *any* amount of Irish ancestry stands a fair chance of being counted among his descendants (2^50th is a tremendously huge number after all), so it tends to be a bit of a surprise to those affected. As fate would have it, that burden landed on Becky's small shoulders when the previous holder (a perfectly lovely middle-aged Chinese man named Fei Yung) finally got eviscerated by a Jade Court vampire some time before his 44th birthday. St. Patrick was a nice guy with his heart in the right place, but he really had no understanding of exponential population growth, bless his curse-happy soul.
(As a side note, this was our group's 10 minute resolution to my request of, "I want to play Buffy the Vampire Slayer, how can we make that fit with this universe?" She ended up a detective because Martin's player wanted a PC partner and it seemed like it could fit.)
Aspects:
High Concept - Boston's Finest Supernatural Guardian
Trouble - I'm on an (involuntary) mission from God.
If you were from where I'm from, you'd be dead.
Phase 1 - Background
Dorchester-born, Rebecca is the youngest of the seven children of Karen Sullivan. Her father, Detective Roger Sullivan (partner of Detective Martin O'Shaughnessy) was killed in the line of duty when Rebecca was only seven. Karen did the best she could, but raising seven kids (aged 7-16 when Roger died) is a full time job, and Roger's death benefits only paid so much, forcing the family to move to a low-income area of South Boston. There Rebecca grew up hard, constantly getting into fights and other delinquent behavior. At 16, when she started coming into her supernatural power, she crippled another girl in a fight at school. Only Detective O'Shaughnessy’s connections in Boston's legal system and her father's legacy kept her from jail time and got her on the right track. Rebecca found her way (with no small amount of help from her father's connections) to the criminal justice program at UMass - Boston and from there the MA police academy.
It's better to be lucky than good
Phase 2 - Rising Conflict
Rebecca joined the Boston PD where she quickly earned a reputation for bravery and her uncanny capacity for breaking even Boston's biggest and meanest in the interview room. Though she lacks an experienced detective's eye for detail, her supernatural nature led her to be in the right place at the right time often enough to make detective well before her mundane skills really warranted.
Tiny bull in a china shop
Phase 3 - The Story
Adventure: Fire in the Disco
Star: Me!
Costars: Thomas St. Germaine and Detective Martin O'Shaughnessy
Becky's power led her to an ill-conceived raid on Le Petit Morte (a nightclub operated by a White Court vampire). She ended up saving a member of the Italian consulate (Thomas St. Germaine) along with a handful of college kids, though her plan (if 'Hey! Let's go kick the hell out of that guy' can truly be classified as a plan) was reckless, put her partner Martin in unnecessary danger and ended with the nightclub burning to the ground (thankfully with no civilian casualties).
Finally! Something I'm allowed to punch!
Phase 4 - Guest Star
Adventure: It Pays to Know Me
Star: Thomas St. Germaine
Costar: Mei Ling Yi
When Thomas St. Germaine, fancy Italian diplomat, offered her a trip to New Orleans and a seat in his luxury box at the Superbowl, Becky thought her family's curse to safeguard humanity was finally looking up. She was a little miffed when Thomas bade her 'arrivederci' and headed to first class while she was ushered to coach, but hey, a Superbowl's a Superbowl, right? She was delighted when Thomas introduced her to a few of his fancy diplomatic friends, then substantially less delighted when they spent the rest of the evening talking to each other in a variety of European languages that she didn't understand. The food in the box was good (they had these delicious crab thingies), but their waiter scoffed when she tried to order any of her favorite beers. Then to cap off the night, after the blackout and all-too-brief-for-her-mood dustup with some Voudoun jerk, known-murderer Ray Lewis won.
Note to self: Follow Martin's advice and don't date international men of mystery. It sucks and you feel like an idiot.
I get by with a little help from my friends.
Phase 5 - Guest Star Redux
Adventure: Snow Patrol
Star: Martin O'Shaughnessy
Costar: Zoe
Becky and Martin end up in way over their heads when a simple drug bust turns into a world-class ambush when the perps turn out to have automatic weapons. The pair are saved when a stranger aids their escape via some supernatural mojo of her own.
So that's the aspects from going through the phases. Like I said, none of us really have Fate experience, so I'm not sure if these are good aspects or not.
So here's the crunchy bits of the character:
Skills
Great(2) : Might, Intimidate
Good (2) : Athletics, Weapons
Fair (3) : Rapport, Empathy, Stealth
Average (5) : Conviction, Discipline, Endurance, Presence, Something?
Stunts/Powers
Supernatural Strength (-4)
Supernatural Toughness (-4)
The Catch (Pure Mortals (at least 6 billion of them +2, Researchable +1)) +3
Visions of St. Patrick (0) - A re-theme of Cassandra's Tears
Adjusted Refresh: 2
So here's my thoughts about the crunchy bits:
- I want a bunch more skill points than I actually get. Looking up, I didn't even manage to grab any of Alertness, Investigation, Contacts, Guns, or Fists. Probably one of those should replace Steath at Fair.
- Weapons and Fists being separate skills is kind of a bummer. For this character, who can pick up pretty much anything, Weapons is probably my best bet. (Fists is a real skill, it's an attack with no bonus damage and a defense against almost nothing [in a setting where people are going to shoot guns and fireballs at you].)
- Character-wise, I want her to be strong (I bought Supernatural strength after all) and snarky, so that's why they ended up as my peak skills. I have no idea how well that'll work in play.
- Should I ditch Empathy and Rapport at Fair? I'm obviously a much better playing bad-cop instead of good-cop, should I leave that role to another member of the party? If so, any recommendations on what to pick up in their place?
- My catch is pure mortals. We're planning on a mob-heavy campaign, so that's probably going to come up pretty often. Is that too broad/too narrow/cheesy/just right/etc for 3 points? Is supernatural toughness a good choice or would a mix of toughness and recovery be better? Maybe just recovery (she's certainly strong enough that she could wear a vest in most situations and her background supports it)?
- I've got 1 more point of refresh that I could spend. How/should I spend it? My mental defense is currently 1, so moving that trapping to Intimidate would be prudent. I could probably move using melee weapons to Might (call it 'What I lack in skill, I make up in enthusiasm') and that would free up a Good-level slot. Maybe Infuriate?
- Is Supernatural strength worth it? I could go Inhuman Strength/Speed for the same point total. Alternatively, Inhuman Strength and 2 more free fate points? Maybe Inhuman Strength and 2 more stunts? Currently Rebecca is really, really awesome at grappling (Fantastic, actually), but maybe that's not a prudent way to spend points?
- Am I just way overthinking things? As a group we mainly play fairly combat-heavy D&D and Savage Worlds games, so I'm used to working a lot on the crunch of my characters. Most of the OW-monsters don't seem that tough though, so I'll probably be okay regardless, right?