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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: SergeiVolkov on July 05, 2012, 05:22:34 AM

Title: Could use some assistance with a new character
Post by: SergeiVolkov on July 05, 2012, 05:22:34 AM
I've played in exactly one Dresden Files game and while I liked my character I'm still not so sure on how well I did in actually making him. Especially aspect design. So any help that can be thrown my way would definitely be appreciated.

Here is what I have so far:

Name - Jeffrey Holmes (Pure Mortal) Chest Deep
High Concept - Former Field Surgeon
Trouble - ?

Other Aspects - Military Brat, "My Ex-Wife is A
(click to show/hide)
... Literally"

Skills:
Superb - Scholarship
Great - Empathy
Good - Endurance, Guns
Fair - Athletics, Resources, Discipline, Alertness, Rapport
Average - Conviction, Craftsmanship, Contacts, Lore, Might

Stunts:
"I Read the Map" (-1) - Uses Scholarship instead of Driving for the Street Knowledge and Navigation trapping
Paranoid? Probably. (-1) - +2 to Alertness when rolling against surprise
Tough Stuff (-1) - Armor: 1 vs blunt trauma
Run and Gun (-1) - +1 to Guns while moving
Doctor (Trauma Surgery) (-1) - Read YS155
Doctor (Family Practice) (-1) - Ditto

Adjusted Refresh: 4

High Concept: Former Field Surgeon
Jeffrey served two tours in Iraq (2003-2006) as a Field Surgeon. There he saved numerous soldiers lives, but also failed to save many more.
Invoke: When working to save lives using his medical skills
Compel: Whenever a sight, sound, or smell has him remember a soldier he failed to save

Trouble:

Background: Military Brat
The middle child of a multi-generational army family. Almost from birth he was expected to join the army as well. While growing up he moved around a lot as his father got promoted through the ranks and was given new assignments. While this did impact his social life it didn't seem to effect his schooling as he excelled in ways never seen before in his family, graduating from high school at the age of 15.

Having suffered the loss of a favorite uncle in the Gulf War he had decided to go into the field of medicine and serve as a Field Surgeon to try and save as many soliders lives as he could.
Invoke: As a bonus when interacting with fellow army brats and members of the military.
Compel: ?

Aspect: "My Ex-Wife is a
(click to show/hide)
... Literally"
In his first year of medical school Jeffrey met a beautiful woman named Diana when they both got part-time jobs in the school library. They hit it off almost instantly and began dating within a month of their first meeting. As time went on they eventually got married and had their first of two children. However, about two months after their honeymoon Jeffrey came across his wife out in the woods near their apartment. As he was about to call out to her he saw something that shocked him. As if by magic his wife changed before him from human to wolf! To say he was surprised was an understatement as he fell on his backside and then tried to scramble to run away. All this noise alerted his wife however and she stopped him before he could get too far.

After shifting back and getting them back to their apartment she explained a little bit about what she was and the existance of more supernaturals out there. After calming down he realized his love for her was not something that even the idea of being married to someone who could become a wolf could change. And while that didn't change their relationship, his long deployments put a strain on their relationship. He tried to fix it by leaving the military after his second deployment, but by then it was too late and they ended up getting a divorce. They stay close and have joint custody of their two children
Invoke: ?
Compel: ?

I also had the idea of how my character initially gets pulled in to all of this is his kids being kidnapped by some supernatural group and he goes after them, bumping into one or more the party during the rescue.
Title: Re: Could use some assistance with a new character
Post by: citadel97501 on July 05, 2012, 05:55:01 AM
This seems very solid to me...
Title: Re: Could use some assistance with a new character
Post by: Richard_Chilton on July 05, 2012, 06:31:30 PM
Suggestion:
Your compels for your HC suggests your Trouble.
Trouble: 'Couldn't Save Them All' or 'Can't Save Them All'
Compel: Whenever a sight, sound, or smell has him remember a soldier he failed to save.
Invoke: When trying to save someone's life, he mutters 'not again' and give it all his all.

Then change the compel for your HC to helping those who have been injured.  Friend or foe, it doesn't matter - after a fight scene Dr. Holmes will patch them all up.  Sure he'll normally start with a friend, but he follows triage rules that have him saving as many people as he can.

Spoiler for Ghost Story:
(click to show/hide)

But while the above makes sense to me, it might not be how you see the PC acting...

Richard
Title: Re: Could use some assistance with a new character
Post by: SergeiVolkov on July 05, 2012, 07:08:30 PM
A friend of mine in my current game actually suggested something similar to me a couple of hours ago. I am seriously considering making that change as it would be an interesting dynamic to try out. Especially with getting a second person basically putting forward the same idea in such a short time frame. Thanks.
Title: Re: Could use some assistance with a new character
Post by: SergeiVolkov on July 06, 2012, 06:04:55 AM
Ok, I've done a little bit of updating to my aspects. Let me know if they look ok now.

High Concept: Former Field Surgeon
Jeffrey served two tours in Iraq (2003-2006) as a Field Surgeon. There he worked hard to save as many lives as he could.
Invoke: When working to save lives using his medical skills
Compel: To have him ignore sides when saving lives, willing to help either side no matter what they may have done.

Trouble: Couldn't Save Them All!
Though he knows that many soldiers and civilians owe him their lives he always remembers the lives he failed to save.
Invoke: When trying to save someone's life and it seems to be going badly he mutters "Not again..." and tries even harder.
Compel: Whenever a sight, sound, or smell has him remember a person he failed to save.

Background: Military Brat
The middle child of a multi-generational army family. Almost from birth he was expected to join the army as well. While growing up he moved around a lot as his father got promoted through the ranks and was given new assignments. While this did impact his social life it didn't seem to effect his schooling as he excelled in ways never seen before in his family, graduating from high school at the age of 15.

Having suffered the loss of a favorite uncle in the Gulf War he had decided to go into the field of medicine and serve as a Field Surgeon to try and save as many soliders lives as he could.
Invoke: As a bonus when interacting with fellow army brats and members of the military.
Compel: Due to his upbringing he has a higher standard of moral ethics at times. When an action may violate his ethics.

Aspect: "My Ex-Wife is a
(click to show/hide)
... Literally"
In his first year of medical school Jeffrey met a beautiful woman named Diana when they both got part-time jobs in the school library. They hit it off almost instantly and began dating within a month of their first meeting. As time went on they eventually got married and had their first of two children. However, about two months after their honeymoon Jeffrey came across his wife out in the woods near their apartment. As he was about to call out to her he saw something that shocked him. As if by magic his wife changed before him from human to wolf! To say he was surprised was an understatement as he fell on his backside and then tried to scramble to run away. All this noise alerted his wife however and she stopped him before he could get too far.

After shifting back and getting them back to their apartment she explained a little bit about what she was and the existance of more supernaturals out there. He realized his love for her was not something that even the idea of being married to wolf could change. And while that didn't change their relationship, his long deployments put a strain on their relationship. He tried to fix it by leaving the military after his second deployment, but by then it was too late and they ended up getting a divorce. They stay close and have joint custody of their two children
Invoke: As a bonus when trying to assist his family. To get assistance from his ex-wife either in the background or as part of the main story
Compel: To bring up issues related to the divorce and all related subjects. To put the ex-wife or kids in danger because of his actions.

On top of that I am working with another player on a Guest Star story. To set the stage a little, the game is set in Arizona which is a concealed carry state. The basic premise right now is his character comes into the office of the practice that my character is part of while running from a demon that was siced on them by a warlock. Thought they lost the thing, roughed up pretty bad. My character comes out after hearing the commotion and starts to help them and that is when the demon busts in. While the rest of the office panics he stays calm thanks to his training and pulls out his old service pistol and between him and the injured character they take it down.