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Hunter's Moon - Exploring Ashburn, MI [OOC]

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LuckyDee:
Since I have enough players to start going into detail - namely 1 - and am unsure of any further additions, I'm gonna go ahead and start working out the details. Should any other potential players find their curiosity aroused, there's no reason for you not to apply for a part in the story. Just make yourselves heard and we'll fit you in somehow.

Our story is set in the fictitious city of Ashburn, Michigan. The city lies at the northern shore of Lake Michigan, its center falling somewhere in between the real world towns of Gulliver and Gould City. The exact year is of little importance, but the proceedings will take place around the late 30's or early 40's of the last century. The details of both time and place will identify themselves in the IC thread as the need arises.

To start off, we'll need to work out the basics of the player character(s) that will be going through this adventure. In order to do so, there's a simple system of Traits, Talents and Tricks which allow for performing tests to see whether characters succeed or fail at certain tasks.

- Traits are the very core statistics that make up a character, like WoD's Attributes or D&D's Abilities.
- Talents are the broad areas of expertise characters are familiar with, like WoD's Abilities or D&D's Skills. They are also meant to cover all the standard tests players may be confronted with. Bear in mind that this is a work-in-progress thing, and that new insights may lead to a modified set of Talents to be implemented.
- Tricks are highly specialized skills which can be applied only to very specific situations, like WoD's Specialties.

To succeed at a Basic test, a player rolls aD6+b, where a is the level of their character's applicable Trait and b is the sum of the levels of their character's applicable Talents and Tricks. There may be additional bonuses and penalties to the roll depending on the circumstances. A more complex lock will be harder to pick, and a less sturdy door will be easier to force open, for example. If at least one die scores a 5 or more, the outcome of the test is a success. Any dice result of '1' before modification is always a failure, regardless of any modifiers that may be applied after rolling. The more 'natural 1s' you roll, the more disastrous the effects of failure will be.

Some efforts will be likely to be actively countered by other characters' efforts. These are Resisted tests, in which case both sides roll for an applicable Basic test. The higher scorer wins, and the difference between best results may affect the outcome of the situation.

Disclaimer: this applies to all standard tests and may or may not apply to combat as well. The game isn't intended to be combat oriented, and the rules for combat may be made up on the spot.

Assuming the basics are clear, I suggest the following modus operandi:

@thelaptop, you are currently the (only and) key player in this campaign. Due to the nature of the setting, I would like to suggest that your character is a private investigator, licensed by Ashburn PD to help out civilians who can't or wouldn't burden the law with their problems. This means you will be likely to be contracted to perform certain sensitive tasks and have the law at your back as both an offensive and defensive tool - as long as you don't overstep your boundaries.

As any other character, you have 1 point in each of the four Traits, being:

- Ruthless, applying to any situation where subtlety fears to tread. This goes for both physical as well as social interactions;
- Cunning, signifying the amount of raw brainpower you may apply;
- Nimble, expressing your dexterity and agility, both on a physical and a mental level, and;
- Slick, being your ability to influence others around you.

Please accept the job as PI or offer a counter-proposal. Either way, please select any one Trait as your forte and increase its score from 1 to 2. We will proceed once these decisions have been made.

thelaptop:
I accept the job as PI.  Let's go with Slick -- I've not really tried to roleplay anyone with any sort of social interaction/charisma.

LuckyDee:
Excellent. Next up is Talents. These are predefined as well, and form the basis of all standard tests. They are listed below, followed by the letters of the Traits they may be applied to:

- Intimidation (R/C), used to cow others
- Persuasion (C/S), used to manipulate others with reason
- Seduction (S), used to manipulate others with lust
- Force (R/N), used to apply physical energy
- Stealth (C/N), used to remain unnoticed
- Perception (C), used to apply one's senses
- Reaction (C/N), used to respond to the unexpected
- Operation (R/C/N), used to manipulate mechanical processes
- Knowledge (C), used to determine one's level of understanding
- Athletics (R/N), used to put one's mortal coil into action

This is a list that has suffered many thoughts on my part, but that may well still be found lacking - one of the main reasons I want to start testing. As might be deduced from the previous post, having no points in any Talent does not mean it can't be tested against, just that you receive no bonus to your roll. Any bonus applies to every die rolled in any given test.

Please pick any 3 Talents and increase their score from 0 to 1.

thelaptop:
I choose:

* Persuasion
* Seduction
* Knowledge

LuckyDee:
Excellent. That leaves us with Tricks. These are similar to Talents, except they are specific or specialized. Almost anything will do, so there's no set list. Examples include Pick Lock, Drive Car, any form of art (e.g. Music, Painting, Sculpting), any branch of science (e.g. Physics, Chemistry, History, Biology), Accounting, First Aid - I think you get the picture.

Please note that so far none of the entries include combat skills. They are currently off limits, mainly because I would like to keep this part of the system separated from the Talents and Tricks. Which gives me a devilish idea which I will get back to you on at a later stage.

For now, please choose 3 Tricks your character can make use of. They will also have a rating of 1, giving you a +1 on applicable tests which may or may not stack with bonuses resulting from Talents

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