Bulldrek v3.0

Seeing as my (somewhat) recent MW3 game fell through, I think I'll give this another try. Only, this time, I'll go with something I'm extremely familiar with. Cowboy Bebop. Or, to be more precise, its world.

I'm not sure on the specifics, yet, but as it stands, I'd like the characters to either be bounty hunters, much like the crew of the Bebop, or ISSF special agents, hunting down criminals legitimately on a case-by-case basis. Then, there is even the third option of organized crime. While I'd really (read: REALLY) prefer the first two, the third wouldn't be completely out of the question if the players can make a pretty good case for it.

And that brings me to my next question.

Can I get some players, yo?

I'll give it a go. I don't care which. I've seen all the Bebops and the movie so.

I'm in.

I don't care what we end up playing, I'm in.

My own preference for the record, though, would be the bounty hunting. ^_^ That's just too much fun to pass up.

At any rate, sign me up!


Havoc out.

When would you like to start? I think I could have a character done soon, after some returning to the source material (i.e. using this as an excuse to watch some of my Cowboy Bebop DVDs).

Alright, now that there’s a bit of interest shown, here’s the informative post.

First off, there have been some people in IRC telling me that, were I to post more background on Cowboy Bebop itself, I may garner more interest. While I’d rather a group that has seen all, or a good part of, the series, I wouldn’t mind a newby to the world, so here are some pretty good sites to get acquainted with Cowboy Bebop.

Future Blues
PB Anime’s Cowboy Bebop Guide
The Jazz Messengers: A viewers’ guide to Cowboy Bebop

As for Kwyn’s question:

When would you like to start?

As soon as possible. As you as a group are working on characters and other things together, I’ll be working on the adventure.

Now, on to character creation info.

I’m not going to put too many restrictions on character creation, because I like to give my players as much freedom as possible, but there will be a few, and here they are:

• 38-40 points. Use them as you wish.
• Nothing that wouldn’t fit into the game word. By this, I mean magic, psionics, and other overtly supernatural phenomenon. But, if you have a really good idea, bring it to me and maybe we’ll work something out.
• Skill costs as per Space Opera costs on the Skills Costs chart

And that should be it as for restrictions.

As for character types, I have no qualms, but I did decide to go with bounty hunters this time around. The group will be a team of bounty hunters, together for one reason or another. Whether they’re in it for the money, the prominence, or just the chance to kick some ass, is up to you. I’d also suggest coming up with a little background on how they got together.

In addition to just making the characters, you guys may want to think about personal or group spacecraft. There are several ways you can go with this. You each can have personal spacecraft, and maybe one of you will own the main ship, or you all can throw some points into a Mecha Pool that any of you can draw on to create personal craft and a main ship. While I’m not telling you to make ships, I’d suggest it, as it would be kind of hard to run a solar-system-wide campaign if you do all of your running in inter-planetary commuter ships. If it turns out that the ships become so much of a draw on your character building that it’s pulling form your other attributes, I’ll throw in another point or two to creation.

Now, for the game world.

The game is going to be set towards the end of the series. This means that the Red Dragon syndicate will still be intact, but will be experiencing severe tensions from within, which may result in some interesting happenings around the solar system, and especially with the group, who obviously deal with the criminal element quite a bit. Expect organized crime to have at least a moderate impact on the game, and I don’t just mean the Red Dragon group, either.

Starting out, I’d like to have the group in Tijuana or one of the Mars cities. It’s a bit cliché when you think about the series, but it seems like a good idea regardless. If you guys have any suggestions on other locations, whether it be as a result of background or anything else, feel free to offer them up.

In addition to all this, I’d like to say what kind of feel I hope to establish with this adventure. Keeping up with the “genre-less genre” that the original series established, I’d like to make it indescribable. Funny at some points, gritty at the next, and maybe heart-wrenching in between. But, overall, I want to make it fun.

If you have any questions, post them here, email me, or get me on IRC.

I'm interested. But I know shit about BESM.

Count me in.

I've already started working on my char; I'll be the investigative veteran with the battle scars and old-fashioned gun bunny skills. I'm open to the mecha pool too; if everybody wants their own fighter or don't want to contribute to the pool, however, I'll be happy to host the main ship.


Havoc out.

I might be game. Anyone playing an agile character. Speedy craft and moves but relies more on skill than strength?

Jeff Hauze wrote:I'm interested. But I know shit about BESM.

Yes, well, I do have the book, and you can come down and have me walk you through everything.

The char I'm working on is a melee bunny with mainly skills. How many points are we looking for the mecha pool? (Did a OBM with 60 pts.).

Sludig wrote:How many points are we looking for the mecha pool? (Did a OBM with 60 pts.).

that's completely up to you guys. You don't even have to do it if you don't want.

Sludig wrote:The char I'm working on is a melee bunny with mainly skills. How many points are we looking for the mecha pool? (Did a OBM with 60 pts.).

Not necessary. If you're doing your fighter and Jackal too, we'll just go the To Each His Own way. I'll go for the main ship and have my char be the sole owner.


Havoc out.

Just a note to the Bebop neophytes and those in need of a refresher course:

http://rfblues.aaanime.net/Omake/World/

This site has some great basics and details on the Bebop world.


Havoc out.

finds the 'Sucker' sign and staples it to her forehead again

Gimme a week, two if things get messy.

So, from what I can see, we have a core 5, and maybe 6.

• Havoc
• Sludig
• Wildfire
• Jackal
• Jeff
• Kwyn (maybe)

Okay, looking at where my char is going (former ISS intel agent) how do we want to pull this group together?

I think we need a sound off of the character types we're each thinking of making.

Wildfire and I are pairing up though we're still working on details. I intend to have a fighter craft, again, I need to work out some details with Wildfire.

He has the looks and the slick style to convince anyone he’s their friend and is as good with a gun as he is with a flight stick. More slippery than black ice and usually found skating along the fringes of the law he is no stranger to stealth and disguise. His motivations are so muddied it's hard to tell if he's the hunter or the hunted although he always acts with the best of intentions while displaying a distinct willingness to bend the law to get what needs to be done, done. More often than not, this flexibility with the rules of polite, and sometimes impolite, society lands him in some degree of hot water.

Okay, my char's personality, very secretive, and the most you do know, he was ONCE a ISS intelligence agent. Infiltration is his big specialty, and unarmed/melee combat. All around type on skills. Depending on Kwyn's or jeff's (I know he possible) Hav's and I could have met in some way on a case. When my char left, abruptly, could have left and partnered up with hav's char?

It's sketchy I know, but I need to start playing before his true personality develops.

My character's to bounty hunters what VT is to truckers. (Episode 7, 'Heavy Metal Queen')

Cowboy through and through, he not only hung out with the best, he *was* the best. However, age takes its toll, and after two decades in the business he's growing old and his battle scars are starting to slow him down. Wisdom is replacing agility; while he's not the fastest anymore, he remains an amazing marksman and his years on the job have let him sharpen his investigative skills.

He's currently the owner of the Lycaon, a small cruise ship converted to the needs of a cowboy.

Linkwise, he could've met any of the other chars on or for the job and decided to act together for a single hunt or just for the short term. The ship's got carrier space and amenities, might as well use 'em.

I'm open to other ideas for link-ups as well.


Havoc out.

Sludig wrote:Okay, looking at where my char is going (former ISS intel agent) how do we want to pull this group together?

You guys can collaborate on that, or leave it up to me.

Artemis is a rough and tumble kind of girl, got guts, but not a whole lot to back it up with in person. A gearhead and pilot extrodinare, skated the edge of the law for the thrill, a decent computer hacker and a crack thief, her main drive is the mechanics of ships and guns. If it exsists, she can find it, and probably fix it. If its a ship she can fly it, but only carries a gun or two for passing off or in really desperate situations, using. Not too keen on the idea of combat without a ship between her and the enemy. For some reason we haven't quite worked out, she's stuck with Jackal's char.

I have an idea for something different, and I'd like your opinions on it.

Seeing as we're forming up a rather large bounty hunting team/co-operative/etc., I was thinking of offering to split you guys into two groups, both competing for the same bounties. Each group would have their own IC and OOC thread, and critical details that are for one team's eyes only would be private messaged to the players of that team only. I'd trust in you guys not to use certain bits of knowledge from each others' threads to your advantage, but I would also encourage cross-reading, as I plan on fleshing out the Bebop universe in a way that all would probably enjoy.

Opinions?

Sounds like fun to me

Nex, rock on. Love that idea; I'm in.

However, since my char has the big ship, I'd either offer to have one member of the other team make his own big ship, or else give them a little bit more to their mecha pool to compensate and keep things equal. (seeing as how a bounty hunter team can work without a main ship, meeting in other places and traveling solo)

But, either way, I'm in. Great idea, awesome concept, looking forward to it. ^_^


Havoc out.

If we do run with this, I'll throw 5 character points to the person on the team opposite Eye (Havoc) that volunteers to take the big ship on.

Sounds cool to me, guess we need to decide on teams. WIld and I are on a team, that's a given so it comes down to who wants to be our thrid.

Jackal, Wild, works for me if we team up. My char could pick up any combat slack left by Wild, and similarly, she'd compensate for his lack of a fighter craft.

That, and the experienced veteran with the two young motivated upstarts would just be fun. ^_^


Havoc out.

Well, she and I are now piloting a single craft. She's the pilot and I'm the gunner. Brother and Sister team.

I have no problem with it, though, we haven't heard from Kwyn or Jeff yet on their chars.... Stick (my char) is sorta out in the cold atm.

Poor Sludig, all out in the cold. I'm currently toying with a few different concepts, including ex-ISSP and Titan veteran. Let me know (email, PM, catch me over in #bulldrek) what sort of character you have done, and I can conjure up a backstory which will fit with your character.

I'll volunteer to have the big ship for the second team, since one...I'm honestly not that familiar with the Bebop universe. I've seen the series, but I'm not a hard core fan.

Secondly, I'm fine with whatever concept, though I do admit, I think it would be pretty fun to have a whole crew of six cowboys.

As for my character, I'm literally thinking of taking on the cowboy concept. I'm looking at a character that would stick out in the Asian-anime style of the universe. He's the man obsessed with a time that has passed him by. Old tech is his forte, and in the way of gun skills, he's damn good with his signature pistols (six-shooters) and his shotgun. Other than that, his other major skills are interstellar navigation/travel, keeping ships running, brawling, and drinking.

It's really just a character sketch right now. Probably he'll be more a loner type, but willing to take on boarders. He's a bounty hunter, but really only because he hasn't had luck finding jobs elsewhere. He's a reluctant bounty-hunter. I don't know if that helps...it's just my rambling thoughts for now.

I know I said I'd have few limitations on your characters, and here are a few.

I realized, with the help of Jeff, that I have many issues witht he mecha creating system and the game mechanics of said system, so I'm going ot have to put a few restrictions on ships created with it.

Sensors:
I'm setting level 2 normal sensors as max for normal vehicles, and level 3 as max for a dedicated sensor craft, such as an AWACS or its equivalent. Analytical sensors can go out to the range of your normal sensors if you want to spend the points to buy the appropriate level.

ECM
Level 1. I'm sorry, but anything above that is just insane. The ability to jam the electronic equipment in an entire city (level 2) is just too insane.

Flight
This is where I have a huge issue with the rules. For mobility in the atmosphere, as well as space combat, Flight will be used. Now, I know the space combat part doesn't make much sense, but Jeff made a good point. The Swordfish 2 (Spike's ship) could easily have a maneuvaribility worthy of a 4-6-point Space Flight attribute, yet it can't fly from the earth to the moon in minutes. So, in terms of maneuvaribility, Flight will be used, and there wil be no limit to the level at which you may take it.

Space Flight
Level 2 maximum on this one, but with conditions. In order for the ship to travel at level 2 speeds, it won't operate as efficiently as it would under level 1 speeds (which I will assume is the standard in the Bebop universe, for now) due to the nature of the aceleration and deceleration. To reflect this, lower your vehicles fuel economy/endurance by one level for the duration of travel at level 2 speeds. I will make an exception, however. If the vehicles primary design is long-term operation and deep-space exploration (read: big money research ship), I'll allow level 3, though I doubt any of you will take it.

Fuel Economy/Endurance
3 max, with 6-7 weeks of operation on the high end of level 3. Unless the vehicle's primary focus is long-term survival, such as the aforementioned research ships, then level 4.

I'd like to hear everyone's input on these, and I'll try to clarify anything that may be sketchy. The notion that I'm working form now is that the gates are there for a reason, and that reason being that super-fast space travel is not yet available to the general population, or even at all. Vehicles can operate at those speeds for short amounts of time, but the strain on fuel and the stress on the vehicle itself surpasses the current technology level's abilities.

Actually, highly agile craft would use the Manouevre Bonus (Applicable flight mode, ie space or air) rules, and wouldn't require much in the way of speed, which is pretty much all the Space Flight attribute does.

In any case, I think I'm going to have to bow out of this one, I've been way too busy lately, and I don't think I'll have time to finish my character or play.

Shao Lon elbows his way into the space that Kwyndig left.

Yo, I'll be sigining up for this joint.

Word up, C.

So, can I get a small status report form everyone?

Waiting on Jackal to make sure our background and such matches, I'll go poke him about it

Stick is mainly done, just have to figure out how Jeff and Caz's chars know mine. This should be a interesting group.

What Wild said, I've been a slack bastard. I'll get on the ball and have things ready to go soon-ish.

Well, Caz, that sounds a hell of a lot like my character.

Since we'll be the chars with the ship, though, that could turn into an interesting rivalry between our two teams - the two old-timers from different fields dragging youngsters into their competition. ^_^

Tho if we're literal copies of each other, it might not be as fun... depends on the specifics.

I myself am just about done with Eye except for the ship.


Havoc out.

Havoc - Shao is going to be so much older than Eye. He'd look about 75 today (I don't know what kind of anti-aging stuff they have in the Bopverse). And like I said, Shao no like-ee the combat.

Actually, Jeff's character has the big ship for their team.

Nex: You'll get a call explaining some things ASAP. Probably Saturday or Sunday.

Caz, Sludig: I'll try and work on getting email going tonight, or tomorrow. If you don't see some, start shipping any ideas you have around.

I got the book and HOLY CRAP! Big Eyes Small Mouth is Genius!

Now that I know how many points I have to work with, Shao will be along shortly. He's going to be long in the tooth, but so far as I can tell that won't really hurt him in the BopVerse. He's also got more connections than Santa Claus.

I do have a question about a Unique Character Attribute. Shao, and I assume a lot of the other old players in space, follow the ancient traditions of giri or indebtedness. Shao has racked up quite a bit of the stuff, both good and bad. So I'm wondering how to apply that as a Character Attribute. He's got enough of it that he could get someone to unleash a security team or rewrite ship's manifests and logs. He also owes a similar amount.

Cazmonster wrote:I got the book and HOLY CRAP! Big Eyes Small Mouth is Genius!

That it is Caz.

Although, if I had known you needed a book, I'd have sent you my spare.

Also, if I had known it was going to take this long to get started, I could have finished that bloody character before I lost him.

Well, Nex has been nice enough to wait for me to get his book. Now that I have it, I should have Shao ready to play by next week.

Gaming, of course, will probably wait until after Gencon, but that's all good.

Cazmonster wrote:I got the book and HOLY CRAP! Big Eyes Small Mouth is Genius!

Now that I know how many points I have to work with, Shao will be along shortly. He's going to be long in the tooth, but so far as I can tell that won't really hurt him in the BopVerse. He's also got more connections than Santa Claus.

I do have a question about a Unique Character Attribute. Shao, and I assume a lot of the other old players in space, follow the ancient traditions of giri or indebtedness. Shao has racked up quite a bit of the stuff, both good and bad. So I'm wondering how to apply that as a Character Attribute. He's got enough of it that he could get someone to unleash a security team or rewrite ship's manifests and logs. He also owes a similar amount.

I'd say use the trait Organizational Ties at whatever level you see fit.

And now, a starting date. I'd like everyone's characters by September 1st at 0000. If everything is in order, we'll be starting immediately thereafter. Caz, Jeff, and Slud, I know you're in Paul's game, too, and our start date there falls right before that, if this is a problem, let me know. As it stands, I have Jeff's character, and that's it.

That won't be a problem for me. Shao is mostly done at work and yeah, organizational ties will work out fine. I plan to take three levels of it as if it were worth three points a level. That should pretty accurately reflect the level of power he still has among the various organizations.

Will have it to you post gathering, Artemis is largely done pending some background coordination with Jackal. I will bug him mercilessly about it all the way up to the gathering and back

Okay, got a question regarding an Item of Power. I had a cool idea and want to see if it's within the BopVerse limits. Shao appropriated a powerful computer/electronics box about ten years ago. It was designed to protect a spook or a hacker as they did a job. The oldster's been tinkering with it for years and he's finally gotten some of the features to work like the designers thought they would. The thing has been jacked with on a daily basis and rebuilt several times so it's cantankerous. There's also a small chance of explosion, given the amount of power it uses.

Item of Power - The Black Box (2 build points)
ECM (1) Sensor Jamming - Only jams a few square meters at a time.
ForceField (1) Shield Only - 45 Defense Points
Stealth (1) vs Vision
Skills (40) Computers - 4 Intrusion, Electronics - 4 Security, Forgery - 4 False Data

Hangar Queen (1)
Volatile (1)

Basically, it's a large custom laptop with a number of power field generators. It can throw up a field (like the one the crazy cat-phobic cat guy has), it can cloak the user from cursory searches and scans and it can hook into other computer systems and grant Shao powers over them.