USH'S MATRIX GAME- Character Creation Thread v2.6

Here is the place where you can see the rules for creating characters for use with my Matrix RP. It is now in its second version, the game having received considerable testing.

Note that due to extreme demand for the Matrix RP, whilst everyone should feel free to make characters, to practice in the Dojo, and even to go on Training Missions I may give you, it may not be possible to allow you to go out on Assignment in the Matrix and interact with the main plot. Sorry, but there is only so much I can handle at a time!

There are six stages in character creation.

1. Name (harder than you might think)
2. Template- as in what sort of character he is (something players of my other games will be familiar with)
3. Statistics- deciding how strong, fast tough etc. you are. This is dependant on your Template choice.
4. Storyline choice- there are two main storylines in the game you have to chose between
5. The Oracle- vital background to your character in the form of what the Oracle told you when you met her.
6. Downloading- deciding what your Downloaded skills and powers are. This is handled in a separate thread.

Note that options 4 and 5 are only important for people going on Assignment.

However, the following rules apply to all characters:

1. Everyone is a Rebel- already unplugged and ready for ship service- of fighting age

2. No-one can Captain a ship, nor is anyone at this point permanently attached to any ship other than either one of the two I create for this game- the Shahazarad and the Persepolis. And as it stands, those two ships are currently fully crewed.

3. Everyone has done operations in the Matrix before except the Natural- who can be ready to do his first assignment, or maybe has done one or two only.

Other than that, when you create a character, feel free to add as much background detail as you like!

1. Name

Either the easiest or the hardest part, depending on the person...

This isn't any form of normal human name though. That was a false name, the name you had in the dream world of the Matrix. Rebels use their aliases they used in the fake world as part of their rejection of reality- subconciously or otherwise. Each of you had one and each of you still uses it.

Here are some guidelines- not strict rules but helpful- about creating names. I am unlikely to reject a name but it is possible.

1. They should be short and to the point.
2. It is nice, but not essential, if they compliment your personality.
3. Names in the Matrix films are always one of three things:

a. Mythological or Biblical references (Morpheus, Trinity, Malachi). Note that they only ever use the Old Testament in the films.

b. On-line hacker-style names that you might, for example, use at website (Bane, Ice, Corrupt, Apoc, Switch, Mouse). They have to be direct and unobscure though- Ushgarak or Captain Rex would not do!

c. Everyday names but ones that sound cooler than 'Paul', normally synonomous with a philosopher (Ballard, Soren)

Those were examples from the films, here are examples from my play group at home:

Aeneas, Tiberius, Joshua, Samson, Glitch, RAM, Morrigan, Zenith

2. Templates

Your template helps both me and your fellow players know what sort of Rebel you are- are you a Trinity style warrior, a Morpheus style leader, or are you a mini-Neo? Templates set the base differences between you- the Download system will make the differences more detailed though.

The Hacker

"I know what you are thinking. Why didn't I take the BLUE pill?"

Description: One of Zion's elite rebel warriors, the Hacker is a freedom fighter near the peak of his physical fitness. He has performed several misisons in the Matrix and he is ready for everything. He is a valued crew member for any ship.

- Physically fit: the Hacker is strong in the real world and this carries into his residual self-image.

- Practically skilled: the Hacker has picked up number of useful skills for use in the Matrix- driving, stealth, breaking and entering etc.

Notes: If in doubt, chose a Hacker. They are very competent, easy to use and make the best direct fighters in the game. They do not have to be mindless warriors if you do not want them to be- there is a lot of scope for variety in a Hacker.

Closest film match: Trinity

-

The Veteran

"You always told us never to use the Highway."
"Then let us hope I was wrong."

Description: Sad as it may be, service on board a ship is dangerous and too many experienced men have been lost in the field. Those that survive long campaigns are the valued Veterans of Zion- those who have seen and done it all. Veterans have seen Agents and lived, performed great services for Zion, beaten the machines at their own game and freed many more minds for the cause.

- Instinctive fighter: After so long on the front lines the Veteran's downloaded combat skills have become second nature to him, carrying over even into the real world. He gets +1 Martial Arts and +1 Guns before having downloaded anything. This puts him on the same basic combat potential as the Hacker, but still slower.

- Master of the Impossible: Years of practice have also rendered the Veteran's mind more capable of accepting the impossible in what he performs. He pays one less to Perform the Impossible for Guns and Martial Arts- meaning he can go to 14 with no penalty at all, 15 for 2 points, and 16 for 6.

- Aura of Experience: Not only do Veterans automatically outrank all other templates, there is something about a Veteran that commands respect. Not all are born leaders but they all are famous throughout Zion for their deeds and everyone looks up to them and wants to be like them one day...

- VERY skilled: The Veteran has spent his life on the front lines. Not only does he have a great number of skills for use in the Matrix of all sorts, he also knows many real-world skills- like how to fly a hovership and how to navigate aorund the twisting tunnels of the Real. He also knows The City like the back of his hand, knowing where is safe to go and where you should ALWAYS avoid.

- Seen it all: Weird things happen in the Matrix- but there is very little that can faze a Veteran. If there is something weird going on, chances are the Veteran has at least seen something similar before.

- Skilled Downloader: The Veteran's brain is more adapted to downloading data than those of the other templates. His brain is both more flexible with data and can up/download programmes into his head twice as fast.

- Relic: All Veterans also own a Relic. This makes no difference to gameplay, only style. Relics are objects left from the world before the Machines- which is to say, something you would normally only find in the Matrix, but in the Real World, found during a visit to the surface, something each Veteran has done once.

It can be anything practical- a Bible, a set of Elvis Presley records, a piece of clothing that looks better than those damn sweaters (like an Armani Jacket), a Game Boy... it won't help you, but it is meant to help define your character!

Notes: He has got lots of advantages but the extra secondary stats the Hacker gets really tells in making the Hacker the better fighter. The Veteran, however, is meant to be the voice of intelligence, wisdom and reason in the group, and players who want to be known for more than their kick-ass abilities should look in this direction. There are also some particular martial arts moves that only Veterans can perform. Also note that Veterans are not OLD- they are in their 30s, by which time they might have been in active service for 15 years or more!

Closest film match: Morpheus

-

The Natural

"I know Kung Fu!"

Description: In all areas some people are more talented than others. This is also true of operations in the Matrix. Some minds have already half-freed themselves by the time the Rebels found them- they had a particularly strong mind that yearned to be free. And when they returned to the Matrix as soldiers, they picked up the basics of life as a Rebel very fast. To the surprise of their trainers they picked up the Jump programme in just two attempts, and almost instinctively knew how to do the impossible in the Matrix. These are the Naturals- novice Rebels, but those with strong minds who can push the boundaries of the Matrix further than the others.

- Training hard. All Naturals have been trying their damned best to become as fit and strong as their more experienced counterparts

- Natural Focus: The Natural can focus more easily and more powerfully than any other template in order to perform the impossible moves and stunts seen in the films. He gets a starting Focus Pool of 4 rather than 0.

- Quick learner: For every three Fu powers that a Natural pays to download, he gets to choose a bonus power for no cost.

- Unskilled: Naturals are recruited at school age at the latest- they have not even learned to drive. However, there is always one thing that ALL the templates are reliably good with, and the Natural is no exception- computers! Naturals have also seen very little- if any- experience in the Matrix.

Notes: Again, the Hacker's secondary stats bonuses make him the better straight fighter than the Natural. But the intelligently played Natural has a bewildering arrays of tricks, powers and moves in order to defeat his opponents. It's a lot of effort, but also a lot of fun- and the Natural may appeal to the more stylishly inclined among you... Note that Naturals do not make good gunslingers. They can use guns if they want but unless they concentrate on Kung Fu they are not playing to their Natural advantages!

Closest film match: Neo- BEFORE he became the One! Even so, he was too powerful- Naturals cannot dodge like Agents! It is reasonable to assume that The Kid is also a Natural.

3. Stats

Here I describe what stats are, what they do, and what levels you get to start in them with.

Your stats define what your character is physically capable of. Each template comes with a starting level in stats. You may also use the Download System to increase these.

Stats are out of ten. Ten is the human maximum. In the Matrix, the human maximum for physical stats can be exceeded by Agents, Programmes, and even humans using the Download system to push past the boundaries- though that is prohibitively expensive for new characters. 6 is the reasonable 'fit' minimum; ten is equal to the best on the planet and so is very impressive.

You have four Main (or ‘Primary’) stats. Each of these stats does nothing in of themselves, except set the base levels of their derivative (or ‘Secondary’) stats attached to each one- each of which has a function. The Secondaries start at the same level as the Primary, plus any bonuses they get. No matter what, a Secondary cannot be more than two points higher than the Primary it is based on.

Body

This stat is a measure of your physique. It has three Secondaries:

Strength- this sets how much you can carry and how much basic damage your close combat attacks do

Constitution- this sets how resistant you are to extremes of endurance, poisons, hot, cold etc. It also determines how long you can keep going after taking a wound that might drop you.

Toughness- this sets how hard it is to hurt you.

Reflexes

This stat is a measure of your quickness. It has three Secondaries.

Dexterity- this sets your basic level in your Guns. It also helps with skills like driving.

Agility- this sets your basic level in your Martial Arts. It also aids in acrobatic manoeuvres.

Speed- this determines how fast you are to act and how many things you can do in a certain amount of time.

Mind

This stat is a measure of your mental abilities. It is less useful in combat then the other two but has all sorts of in-game uses. It has four Secondaries.

Intelligence- this sets how basically smart you are.

Perception- this sets how good you are at noticing and spotting things

Charisma- this sets how good you are at interacting with others. It also sets how stylish you are!

Willpower- this sets how strong your will and determination is.

Note that Mind, and its Secondaries, cannot be improved by Downloading.

Fu

This stat is a measure of your spiritual reserves. It has no Secondaries as such, but it does have two things that start at a base level equal to your Fu rating.

Focus- Focus is your mind’s ability to concentrate and push the boundaries to perform the impossible in the Matrix. Whilst you will use the Download system to get most of your focus, having a Fu stat above zero gives you some to start with. Naturals start with a Focus level of 4.

Fortune- This represents your sheer luck. Each point in Fortune gives you one use of Fortune per Assignment, which can be used to improve your situation when things look bad!

Fu cannot be improved via downloading, though your focus pool can.

THE HACKER: Starting Stats- Body 6, Reflexes 6, Mind 6, Fu 0

Stat Maximum: 10. All Hackers are capable of reaching the human maximum.

You may spend four points to increase your Primary stats. Fu may not exceed 2.

Once you have spent these four points, chose two different Secondary stats. They both increase by two (but not beyond ten).

THE VETERAN: Starting Stats: Body 6, Reflexes 5, Mind 7, Fu 0

Stat maximum: 9. Whilst greatly fit for their age, a Veteran has lost the capacity to be quite as fit as his younger fellows. However, time and exercise back on the front lines may remove this penalty

You may spend four points to increase your Primary stats. Fu may not exceed 2.

THE NATURAL: Starting Stats: Body 5, Reflexes 5, Mind 6, Fu 0

Stat maximum: 8. A Natural simply isn't old enough to have the potential to be as fit as his colleagues- time and experience will help ease this.

You may spend five points to increase your Primary stats

Once you have spent these four points, add 4 to your Focus rating.

4. Skills

Whilst your most important (and difficult to improve) skills are your Martial Arts and Guns scores (which are covered elsewhere), there are a number of important survival skills your characters can learn.

Each skills is attached to a Secondary stat. Your level in that skill is equal to the stat plus the skill bonus your character has for it. Skill bonuses depend on your template, and can be improved by downloading and experience. If you have no skill bonus in a skill, you simply use the base stat.

The maximum in a skill is 13, though this can be improved by downloading.

Here is the skill list:

Computers (Intelligence): A basic skill for all characters, this is the skilled use of any computer system.

Drive (Dexterity): Your ability to drive basic vehicles. This is almost certainly a Matrix-only skill.

Fix-it (Perception): This is for jury-rigging or technological alteration and, of course, fixing broken things!

Gunnery (Dexterity): Operation of a large gun emplacement. Whilst not a real-world only skill its main use is for operating the turrets on Hoverships.

Info (x) (Intelligence): Insider knowledge of something, where ‘x’ is what that thing is. This is an academic skill so it represents knowledge of things that can be learned, from real-world history to Zion politics.

Intrusion (Agility): Your ability to break into places and remain unseen as you do so.

Leadership (Charisma): Not only your ability to inspire and lead others, but also a measure to which others see you as an authority figure.

Observation (Perception): Your ability to physically notice things, as a detective would when checking out a crime scene.

Pilot (x) (Dexterity): Ability to fly an airborne vehicle, where ‘x’ is the vehicle type. Pilot (Hovership) is a real-world only skill.

Other skills may be given if requested. However, this game system likes to keep things simple.

Your skill bases by template are:

HACKER:

Computers +3
Fix-it +2
Drive +2
Intrusion +1

4 points to spend on any non-combat skills

VETERAN:
Computers +2
Fix-it +2
Drive +2
Leadership +2
Info (Real-world sewer system) +3
Info (The City) +3
Pilot (Hovership) +2
Gunnery +1
Martial Arts +1
Guns +1

6 points to spend on any non-combat skills

NATURAL

Computers +3

3 points to spend on any non-combat skills

Your points to spend can either improve the skills given or give points to skills you do not have.

5. Storyline Choice

The Matrix franchise is a franchise of two things- kick ass martial arts action- Kung Fu vs. Robots, as the Brothers call it- and deep, intelligent- if somewhat cursory- examination of philisopihcal issues around the theme of control and survival and existence. Some people like one side more than the other, some, of course, think the two compliment each other well.

As players of my other games know I always like to try and simulate the franchise in which I am designing a game for as best I can, but at the same time I do not want to saddle people with doing things they do not like. To this end, the game will be provided with TWO storylines, which may- or may not- be played out in seperate threads.

The first storyline will happily dive deep into the philisophical issues raised by the films. There will be much thought and introspection and puzzles that require brainpower to solve.

The second storyline dumps all of that and is ONLY comprised of fighting and action and various investigation bits mainly designed so you can find out where the next bit of action is!

I call this the philosophy/non-philosophy choice, though you can call it what you like- the clever/stupid choice, or the boring/fun choice... however you want to see it!

Here are some important points:

- The first path is not continuous thinking, nor is the second path continuous fighting! The philosophy followers have plenty of action of their own- it IS the Matrix after all! And the fighting types don't spend every second of their lives beating things up- they might need SOME brains at some points! But for the first path, the major problem in the game is likely to be some sort of puzzle to be solved. For the second path, the major problem is likely to be some form of shit hard bad guy who is REALLY difficult to beat!

- You will not always be parted. Both paths will actually spend a considerable amount of time working together, and the largest battles in the game will very likely be fought by both paths against the bad guys.

- You need each other. Both paths are pursuing important objectives towards the SAME goal- and if necessary, you will have to help each other out!

- Obviously enough, whilst there is always danger in all games for anyone, the non-philosophy people are at more risk of dying. If the Agents turn up, it is far more likely going to the the non-philosophy people they are there to stop...

Take a little time to think about this- decide what sort of game would better suit you.

For more information, see this thread.

http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f41/t18963.html

6. The Oracle

To encourage the feel of the films and character backgrounds that can more easily have an effect on play, all characters wishing to play in assignments must have an answer to this question:

What did the Oracle tell you when you first met her?

The answer to this question will form part of your personal plotline- though only once you have played an assignment or two.

Now, you can provide as much information as to what she said to you as you like, with a full background and short story... for game purposes though, I need what she said to be able to be boiled down to a single, easily understandable sentence.

Here are the guidelines:

- The Oracle will tell you something you are going to be, something you are going to do, or something that is going to happen to you. She will not tell you the winning lottery tickets for next week, or who the One is, or anything like that.

- The Oracle does not deal with conditionals. She will never tell you that you may or might do something- she will tell you that you WILL do something. That does not mean she knows all of it- she may tell you that you will have to make a choice at some point, but even she does not know what your choice will be

- The Oracle is not ridiculously vague- "You will be a great man one day" but nor is she remarkably specific "At 1:27pm on July 13th next year a guy with a blue bag will walk past you; you will bump into this guy and he will drop his bag and etc. etc." She talks broadly, but she is always alluding to something in particular

- The Oracle tells you things that will HELP you. If she tells you something that will happen to you, it is so you can prepare for it. If she is telling you of a choice, it is so you can think about it first and make the right one. Even if she did know it, she would never tell anyone "You are going to die in three days." How would that help? She is here to be of aid to the Rebels, not just tell random fortunes.

- The Oracle will not explain what she means. Understanding has to be achieved. She will not tell you what the right choice is- it is important that YOU make the choice, not her.

This may also take some thought so please take your time. I also have to approve each of these. Do not go overboard trying to make a prediction and also explaining what it means- it is up to ME to decide what it really means, so you may do well to make up something you have no idea about and wait for me to surprise you by interpreting it for you!

To help you, here are the boiled-down versions of the predictions that the Oracle gave to the main characters of the first film:

To Morpheus: You will find the One.

This set Morpheus UPON the path of finding the One. The Oracle knew he could do it; this prediction made itself come true by making him think he would do it too- and he did.

To Trinity: You will fall in love with someone, and that person will be the One

This meant that when Trinity felt she was falling in love with Neo, she KNEW he was the One, had faith in him and allowed him to feel her love and BECOME the One at the crucial moment

To Neo: Morpheus will sacrifice his life for yours- You must chose between your life and his.

The Oracle did not have to tell Neo what was going on or what she meant or why Morpheus thought he was the One. She only had to tell him this- and this got him thinking so much about it that at the crucial time he made the right choice- to tell Tank to NOT kill Morpheus and to go rescue him. As predicted, then, Neo died- but of course came back, as the Oracle knew he would.

This prediction was particularly clever because it depended on Neo thinking he was NOT the One- he went to save Morpheus on the idea that Morpheus had made a mistake. If the Oracle had told Neo he was the One, he might never have gone in, thinking Morpheus had been right to give his life for him.

The Oracle is a clever woman, so it is worth taking a little time over what she said- she had something in mind for each of you!

For more information, go here:

http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f41/t20930.html

7. Downloading

THis is handled separately once you have done the othert parts of character creation.

Ok, this is now on V2.5... anyone interested in re-doing their stats, please post their changes here!

I will need everyone's skills also.

I told you mine right?

Err, well, it's probably more conveneint if you re-post them here.

Anything that I really and absolutely need to change Ush?

You need to do your skills and customise your stats if you so wish.

Alrighty!

For the Stats, use the four Hacker points on the four options, one point each, then I choose Dexterity and Toughness for the 2-points-up-each.

Wow, you are going for the even spread, huh? That's fine, but so long as you appreciate that would leave you a point down on Body and Reflexes compared to now, ok?

Hmm...

Actually, 2 points on body, 1 on reflexes, 1 on Fu.

(nods)

Okidokey!

(thicko)

(giggles)

*just smiles and nods*

Hmm...I say 2 for reflexes, 1 for body, and 1 for mind...add two to strength and agility (yeah, bit of a change...) Skills I'd like to add 2 to intrusion, 1 to driving, and 1 to computers...sound good?

You know, I just realized that Downloading is all about choice... 😉