Tyler Gray

NOTE: This was the character I played in Erick Wujcik's 2007 Open House Game: Mutagen Invasion
Alignment: Scrupulous
Attributes: IQ 8, ME 22, MA 13, PS 6, PE 12, PP 18, PB 11, Spd. 30
Age: 16 Gender: Male
Species: American Shorthair (Black)
Size Level: 3
Height: 1'5" Weight: 7lbs.
Hit Points: 23 SDC: 36
Disposition: Quiet
Human Features
Hands -- None
Legs -- None
Speech -- None
Looks -- None
Vestigial Traits: Catnip Addiction, Diet: Carnivore, Nocturnal
Powers: Retractable Climbing Claws 1D6, Feline Leaping (3' long, 4.5' high, 7.5' down), Righting Reflex
Psionics: Mind Speak, Psionic Claws, Invisible Haze, Danger Sense, See Aura
Level of Experience: 4th
Background: Guerrilla Warrior
Apprenticeship: None
Primary Skills: Wilderness Survival (50%), Prowl (55%), Demolitions (72%), Demolitions Disposal (72%), Intelligence (48%), Interrogation (60%), Surveillance Systems (60%), Acrobatics, Athletics, Running, Hand to Hand: Assassin
Acrobatic Skills: Sense Balance (68%), Tightrope (72%), Climb Rope (78%), Climbing (80%), Back Flip (70%), Fearless of Heights
Weapon Proficiencies: Paired Weapons (Claws)
Attacks per Melee: 5
Bonuses: +1 initiative, +3 to parry/dodge, +4 to strike, +4 damage, +3 to roll with punch, +10 to roll with fall/impact, +3 to pull punch.
Save vs: Pain 14+, Lethal Poison 14+, Non-Lethal Poison 16+, Drugs 15+, Psionics 8+, Insanity 7+, HF +5
Personal Profile: Tyler grew up in the Contested Lands where his gifts made him an excellent guerrilla fighter and covert agent. A few years back, Tyler's family decided to move to the safety of Smoketown where he now works for the Cardanian Intelligence Agency doing covert work which often puts him behind enemy lines. Tyler's big break came when he was sent on a covert mission into the Empire of Humanity to investigate a long-lost facility, which turned out to be the pre-death lab of Dr. Feral. Inside, he and his team found that Feral's assistant, Otto Karl (now a slowly decaying rabbit cyborg), was continuing experiments under the direction of an A.I. version of Dr. Feral. A large amount of data was returned to Cardania. The lab's fate remains to be decided. However, Tyler had given his word to Otto Karl that he would one day return.

Palladium Open House 2007

VIP FRIDAY

Arrived in Detroit at 12:30, rented car at Enterprise and drive self to Ramada. Gonna need to remember that I'm gonna need some good lead time on Monday morning to return the car and get checked back in at the airport for the flight home.

Well, it's almost 3:30 and VIP Friday starts at 4. I'm gonna grab a bit to eat and head over to Palladium's offices!

12:30am and I'm back at the hotel. What a great day!

Spent the first couple hours going through the racks of books (bought Powers Unlimited 2, Rifter 38, and a copy of...MACHINATIONS OF DOOM! Oh, and a great t-shirt(my 5 minutes of fame))

Talked with several other gamers and Palladium staff. After another quick bite (sandwiches, egg salad, pasta, bratwurst & kraut, etc..) we were ushered upstairs to the VIP greeting.

Kevin talked to us about the state of Palladium and how the fans have helped put the breath of life back in the company and how Palladium is gonna kick the competition's ass! The Rifts movie was discussed, as was the Robotech contract delays, and other projects that we'd like to see (unfortunately, even with Erick in attendance, After the Bomb was not mentioned).

After the main event, gaming started. I was unfortunately unable to get into the AtB game: Beer Run, but was able to get into James Brown's (no the other James Brown) Beyond the Supernatural game: Search and Rescue.

I played local Officer Mike Somerset who was teamed up with a number of other whacked out city folk who were part of a Search and Rescue team looking for a little girl who had gone missing at Granson National Park in Kentucky. It was a great game, and James was a great GM who really rolled with the punches as the group split and went running every which way, but eventually saved the girl and the day.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the game was interrupted momentarily when a Coalition Officer in Deadboy Armor came strolling through the warehouse (my pictures came out looking like ass...).

Well, that's all for tonight. My voice is almost gone and I'd like to save some energy for more gaming tomorrow. G'Night.

SATURDAY

Day 2 started with me hitting an early matinée of Spiderman 3 (not bad, but it could have been better) before heading to the Open House and just in time for the Game Design and GM Panels. I'll share some of my favorite sound bites:

"F**K the Rules!", Kevin Siembeda
'Never trust a Role-Player,' paraphrased from Jason Richards
"A Game Master who can't improvise is dead," Jason Marker
"GM's need to be a master of improv," Kevin Siembeda


The two panels actually spilled into one another and eventually into the Freelancer Forum, but after two-and-a-half hours I needed to get some food into me, so I headed out for a short while.
When I returned several people were gearing up for the costume contest...

Can you guess who won the best of show? The CS Officer of course...

Well, Erick's After the Bomb game started shortly after that. I think most of the other guys spent nearly two hours in character generation before we began - for several it was their first (at least in using the second edition rules). But once we got going... Wooo, what a trip!

(NOTE: Unfortunately, these pictures do not capture the real intense strategy moments of the game, just the times I could reach for the camera)
I have to say that it was a blast being GMed in my #1 favorite RPG setting by the guy who created it. I'd like to tell you about the adventure Erick had for us, but I'll have to save that story for another time as it is getting far to late for me...

G'Night.

SUNDAY

Argh, I over slept this morning. I had to rush because Erick Wujcik's Entropy game was scheduled to start at 11:30 and I didn't get out of the hotel until quarter-to! But when I got there I found out that the game was moved back to 12:30, so I had time to run out and grab some breakfast.

Unfortunately, traffic delayed Erick's arrival until after 1, but when the game got going it was worth the wait. The game setting was "Entropy", a non-palladium system game that he and the others had started building at the Detroit Gaming Center. It's an epic setting that's grown into the stuff of legends, and Erick gave us just a taste it. Some very wow stuff!

Things wrapped up around 4:30. No real photo ops today, so no pics.

If you didn't make it this year, I hope you make it in 2008.

Law Enforcement Apprenticeship

Available to: Border Area, Elite Militia, Villager & Townie, and Academic Elite.

Characters who study under this apprenticeship can end up as a street cop in Smoketown, a lowly sheriff in a small rural community, or a wandering lawman.
(NEW) Local Laws: This skill covers only the laws of the area that the character was trained. Skill suffers –20% if the character moves to an area with a different set of laws. Base Skill: 50% +6% per level.

Core Skill: Local Laws (+20%)
Main Skills: Wilderness Survival (+10%), Detect Concealment/Traps (+10%), Literacy (+5%), Writing (+5%), Hand-to-Hand: Basic
Other Skills: Choose eight from: Military, Rouge, Domestic, or Technical
Physical Skills: Choose three (may learn HtH: Expert or Bull Fight at the cost of two skills)
Pilot Skills: Chose two
W.P. Skills: Choose three (Heavy and Energy Weapons not included)

Teacher/Instructor

Available to: Academic Elite and Elite Militia
There is a great call for teachers in the border towns and farming villages in and around Cardania. Few competent teachers exist and even fewer towns and villages can afford to pay them what they are worth.(NEW) Teach: This is the ability to impart knowledge or skill in a particular field of study or task. Teaching progress is checked once a month. A Teacher can also tutor a group of students equal to less than on quarter of the teachers [(IQ+ME)/2] after hours on one subject per pupil. Base 10%; +5% per level

Core Skill: Teach (+20%)
Other Skills: Choose 2 skills from any category (+20%); Choose 4 skills from any category (+15%)

TEACHING MODIFIERS
May never teach a skill above teachers skill level
Penalties: -5% per point of student's IQ below 9
Penalties: -5% when instructing number of students greater than teachers [(IQ+ME)/2]
Penalties: -15% when instructing number of students more than double teachers [(IQ+ME)/2]
Bonuses: +2% per student's IQ point above 14
Bonuses: +5% instruction books
Bonuses: +5% proper facilities (School, Lab, Gym, etc.)
Bonuses: +10% per month of additional tutoring (at least once a week)
Bonuses: +10% if student has related skill at more than double new skills %(Basic Mechanics, Basic Math, etc...)
Bonuses: +10% when instructing number of students equal to less than half of teachers [(IQ+ME)/2]

INSTRUCTION TIME
Time: 2 months per 10% up to Skills Base %
Time: 3 months per 10% past base and up to Teacher's Skill % in subject (Teacher may never teach students more than they know).
Time: 6 months for Physical Skills (After two months of training sessions have been successfully completed, skill modifiers will be at 1/2 (round down))
Time: 4 months Hand to Hand: Basic
Time: 6 months Hand to Hand: Expert (Requires and replaces: HtH: Basic)
Time: 8 months Hand to Hand: Martial Arts (Requires and replaces: HtH: Basic)
Time: 6 months Hand to Hand: Bull Fight
NOTE: loose all previous HtH bonuses after learning new HtH skill.

TEACHING WEAPON PROFICIENCIES
Instructor must have at least three levels of experience in the weapon. Two successful teaching checks must be made: First successful check will negate non-proficiency modifiers while using this weapon; Second successful check will give the student first level proficiency in the weapon.
Time: Base of three 6-day weeks(4 hours per day)
Penalty: -5% / 3 days removed from training
Penalties: -5% when instructing number of students greater than teachers [(IQ+ME)/2]
Penalties: -15% when instructing number of students more than double teachers [(IQ+ME)/2]
Bonuses: +5% / 3 days added to training
Bonuses: +10% when instructing number of students equal to less than half of teachers [(IQ+ME)/2]


Example: Bob (IQ 14; ME 15) is teaching chemistry to a class of 30 students in an old school house with a chemistry lab and chemistry books. Bob has the Basic Chemistry skill at 60%, and Teaching skill at 34%.

Starting out, it will take Bob 10 months to instruct the students to the base skill level(50%). At the end of each month of teaching the class he will need to roll a teaching check for each student with a base check of -5% (Class size is more than double the average of Bob's IQ and ME (14.5), but has access to a chemistry lab and books (-15%+5%+5%)). However, students with IQ's lower than 9 will be at -5% per point below 9. So to successfully teach Johnny, with an IQ of 6 (-15%), Bob would need to succeed a Teaching skill roll of 14% (34%-5%-15%).

Bob could try to tutor Johnny (+10% per month) after school which would allow for a skill roll of 24%.

Failure would mean that Johnny would not gain the 10% for Chemistry skill these two months, and would have to suffer through two more months of instruction to make it up.  Some instructors will dismiss students they deem unteachable.

Bush Pilot

Available to: All except Feral Background
Prerequisites: Hands and Biped at least partial(needed to control the aircraft), IQ 12+, ME 12+

There is always a call for those crazy enough to fly into the wilderness areas beyond the borders of Cardania, the Empire, and New Kennel. Jobs usually include transporting supplies, equipment, and people.

Main Skill: Pilot Airplane or Helicopter (+20%).
Core Skills: Navigation, Read Sensory Equipment, Radio: Basic Communications, Astronomy, Basic Mathematics, Rope Works, Wilderness Survival. All receive a +10% apprenticeship bonus.
Pilot: Airplane, Helicopter, Vehicle Weapon Systems, or Aircraft Mechanics (+10%; or add 10% to Main Skill choice).
Rouge: Select any two.
W.P. Skills: Revolver or Automatic Pistol and select any two others.