True20 goes to the movies!

[cthughua]

Nice ones! Dirge is awesome, it's been a while since I watched Xombie.

[ValhallaGH]

I've never seen Xombie before. Thanks for the introduction.
Dirge looks good, by the way.

Ah, the first triple role is always special. Congratulations on doing such a good job.

Shouldn't the Shredder use Leadership rather than Benefit to get his command of the Foot clan? I realize that people dislike Leadership but it is there.

[True20Chick]

I've never seen Xombie before. Thanks for the introduction.
Dirge looks good, by the way.

Cool, ain't it?

Shouldn't the Shredder use Leadership rather than Benefit to get his command of the Foot clan? I realize that people dislike Leadership but it is there.

Leadership doesn't work. His Leadership would be 9, not assuming any of the modifiers. With the Leadership feat, that gives him a single 6th level companion and no followers. Benefit works for someone who was given a position of authority rather than earning it through being a good leader.

[ValhallaGH]

Cool, ain't it?

Very.

Leadership doesn't work. His Leadership would be 9, not assuming any of the modifiers. With the Leadership feat, that gives him a single 6th level companion and no followers. Benefit works for someone who was given a position of authority rather than earning it through being a good leader.

I actually figured that was the case (though I was too lazy to look the feat up and be sure), in which case your logic makes great sense. Especially with a bestowed position, which is something else I wasn't aware of.

[True20Chick]

The Leadership feat works well for a PC who attracts a small following by charm and personal magnetism. It's not really meant to reflect a villainous NPC with a private army of mooks at his disposal.

[William1968]

Okay, here's an attempt to render one of my favorite SF characters:

James Bolivar "Slippery Jim" di Griz(The Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison)

“Here's to crime!”

Born into a League of worlds seemingly pacified to the point of dullness, James Bolivar di Griz became a master criminal to, in his words, avoid going insane, comparing himself to a stainless steel rat for his ability to exist behind the walls of a society of neon and ferrocrete. Di Griz's exceptional abilities and even more skillfully executed crimes(running the gamut from cons to housebreaking) soon earned him the nickname "Slippery Jim," his skill at disguise and misdirection ensuring that he remained out of the hands of law enforcement.

Until that fateful night where he was run to ground by his idol, Harold Peters Inskipp, aka "Inskipp the Uncatchable," now the head of the Special Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement agency which used criminals to stop even more dangerous criminals, Inskipp convincing Slippery Jim to join the Special Corps to stop the type of criminial which was "truly sick, not just socially protesting," di Griz immediately proving his worth by discovering and stopping a plot to use a massive Warlord-class battleship to carve out a personal empire, the author of that plan—and di Griz's future wife—Angelina outwitting di Griz to escape certain capture and brainwipe, di Griz appearing to resign from the Special Corps to pursue her to the planet Freibur, where she was attempting to engineer a revolution to put herself in power. After nearly being killed by her and almost succumbing to the temptation to the charms of the then-murderously psychotic Angelina, di Griz, with the help of Inskipp and the Special Corps, succeeded in foiling her would-be revolution, Slippery Jim discovering the motivations behind Angelina's psychosis, allowing the Corps' doctors to modify the aberrant behavior instead of merely wiping her brain clean.

Since that first adventure, Slippery Jim has been called on to stop everything from interplanetary invasions to a time war launched by He against the Special Corps(don't ask him about that one, it still gives him a headache just thinking about the casauality loop he caused....)


Role: Human Expert 12
Speed: 30 ft.
Abilities: Str +1, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +3, Wis +1, Cha +1
Skills: Acrobatics 9 (+12), Bluff 8(+9), Computers 8(+11), Craft(electronics) 5 (+8 ), Craft(vehicles) 5 (+8 ), Disable Device 8(+11), Disguise 8(+9), Drive 5(+11), Escape Artist 4(+7), Gather Information 8(+9), Intimidate 5 (+6), Jump 9 (+10), Knowledge(galactic history) 8(+11), Knowledge (streetwise) 8 (+11), Notice 8 (+9), Pilot 5(+11), Sense Motive 6(+7), Sleight of Hand 8 (+11), Stealth 6 (+9)
Core Ability: Expertise
Bonus Feats: Benefit (Full Agent of the Special Corps)
Favored Feats: Master Plan, Jack Of All Trades
Feats: Attack Focus (unarmed), Attack Focus(.75 recoilless), Attack Focus(Gausspistol), Eidetic Memory, Firearms Training, Leadership, Low Profile, Skill Focus(Pilot), Vehicular Combat, Weapon Training, Well-Informed
Combat: Attack +13 (+9 base, +3 Dex, +1 Attack Focus), Damage +8 lethal(.75 recoilless or gausspistol with explosive slugs)/+6 nonlethal(gausspistol with anestethic needles or narcodart shooter); +1 (unarmed), Defense Dodge/Parry +12/+10 (+9 base, +3 Dex/+1 Str), Initiative +3
Saving Throws: Toughness +4 (+2 Con, +2 undercover shirt and pants), Fortitude +6 (+4 base, +2 Con), Reflex +11 (+8 base, +3 Dex), Will +5 (+4 base, +1 Wis)

Reputation: +1(+4 base, -3 Low Profile)

Wealth: +8(even though as long as there are banks....)

Virtue: Deep respect for life(will kill only as a last resort); Vice: Overconfident

Creation Notes

A 9-point hero. This is about the only house-ruling I've done, only because the point spread above was the best reflection of Slippery Jim's abilities.

This is di Griz as of the end(?) of his encounter with He, detailled in Harrison's short novel "The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World." He's 12th level because he was at the top of his game before he was recruited by the Special Corps, and now, with the training provided by the Corps, he's even better.

The athiestic worldview of his League has imbued a strong and deep respect for life in diGriz, making him averse to taking life unless it is in the most dire case of self-defense, or the threat so monstrous(as was the case with He), as to leave him no choice...even then, he is not at all comfortable with the choice he makes.

He doesn't believe in being modest about anything; one of the secrets to his success is that he believes he is the best at his game, a trait which has been his undoing(particularlly in his pursuit of Angelina) as much as it has been to his benefit.

He normally carries either a .75 recoilless automatic pistol or(in later incarnations)a gausspistol which can fire anesthetic darts, poison fletchettes or explosive slugs, in addition to a veritable arsenal of minigrenades, explosives, minidrills, lockpicks, tools and various other devices to cause mischief and ply his trade(generally one and the same thing). Note that even without access to this, diGriz is resourceful enough to come up with devices and weapons on his own.

[iwatt]

An 11-point hero. This is about the only house-ruling I've done, only because the point spread above was the best reflection of Slippery Jim's abilities.

Actually he is a 9 point hero (increases at level 6 and 12).

[William1968]

A 9-point hero(I just can't seem to add today....).

Also, Master Plan is a more apt favored feat than Defensive Roll, and I've made that change already, duhhhh.....

[William1968]

Since one really can't render Slippery Jim without Angelina:

Angelina di Griz(The Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison)

“For galaxy conquerors, they make very indifferent pilots”

"...and I will see to it they all die horribly."

Even in the future, society continues to be obsessed with looks, a grave misfortune to the young Angela, who was born hideously ugly and deformed...and, with a first-class mind which was all too aware of the revulsion in which she was held and why.

That mind turned itself to crime, to finance the plastic surgeries to transform her outer self, that crime spree starting with robbery and culminating in murder...her mind so warped by what she had gone through before that she revelled in the latter, the bloodier the kill the better.

Leaving her world behind, she ultimately hatched a scheme where she conned the corrupt, but pastoral world of Cittanuvo to build a monstrous Warlord-class battleship with which she could carve out her own personal empire, preferrably over as many blasted bodies and ships as possible, that plan nearly succeeding had it not been for the efforts of her match in crime, Slippery Jim di Griz, who used a gold-plated, booby-trapped starship with terraforming supplies as bait to capture her ship. Leaving the man she used to suffer mindwipe, she put on a tearful act to escape capture at di Griz's hands, boarding a nearby Navy pocket cruiser, killing its crew and using it to eventually make her way to Freibur, where she hatched a new scheme to take the planet through bloody, violent revolution, Slippery Jim following her, and, disguised as a prostitute, she lured him to her room and blasted him at point-blank range with a .75 recoilless, leaving him for dead.

In disguise, di Griz insinuated himself into Angelina's plot to take over Freibur, Angelina almost instantly knowing who he was, using him to help her plot her revolution, falling in love with him against her every instinct...nearly killing him a second time when she discovered Inskipp's reinforcements descending upon her.

Fortunately for her, she had given her future husband an insight into her tortured past, Slippery Jim using this to help the Corps psychiatrists alter her personality so that she wasn't a murderous psychotic any longer; after which she joined the Special Corps, Slippery Jim and she immediately slipping away to marry and engage in a crime spree—during which she became pregnant with twin boys—from there coming to his rescue on Burada, and, in "The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World," in the time loop trap He had set for di Griz.


Role: Human Expert 12
Speed: 30 ft.
Abilities: Str +0, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +3, Wis +1, Cha +2
Skills: Acrobatics 9 (+12), Bluff 8(+9), Computers 8(+11), Craft(electronics) 5 (+8 ), Craft(vehicles) 5 (+8 ), Disable Device 8(+11), Disguise 8(+9), Drive 5(+11), Escape Artist 4(+7), Gather Information 8(+9), Intimidate 5 (+6), Jump 9 (+10), Knowledge(galactic history) 8(+11), Knowledge (streetwise) 8 (+11), Notice 8 (+9), Pilot 5(+11), Sense Motive 6(+7), Sleight of Hand 8 (+11), Stealth 6 (+9)
Core Ability: Expertise
Bonus Feats: Benefit (Full Agent of the Special Corps)
Favored Feats: Master Plan, Jack Of All Trades
Feats: Attack Focus (unarmed), Attack Focus(.75 recoilless), Attack Focus(Gausspistol), Attractive, Firearms Training, Improved Strike, Leadership, Precise Shot, Skill Focus(Pilot), Vehicular Combat, Weapon Training, Well-Informed
Combat: Attack +13 (+9 base, +3 Dex, +1 Attack Focus), Damage +8 lethal(.75 recoilless or gausspistol with explosive slugs); +3 lethal (unarmed, +3 Improved Strike), Defense Dodge/Parry +12/+9 (+9 base, +3 Dex/+0 Str), Initiative +3
Saving Throws: Toughness +2 (+0 Con, +2 undercover shirt and pants), Fortitude +4 (+4 base, +0 Con), Reflex +11 (+8 base, +3 Dex), Will +5 (+4 base, +1 Wis)

Reputation: +4

Wealth: +8(and the same thing which holds true for Slippery Jim does for her as well....)

Virtue: Determined; Vice: Murderously bad tempered

Creation Notes

Angelina's also 9-point hero, with similar abilities to and the same level as Slippery Jim, because she is his match in crime.


Even with the help of the Corps' psychiatrists, Angelina still has a murderous nature, which comes out only if someone has threatened her husband, her twins, the Corps...or if facing someone as monstrous as she once was....

She normally carries either a .75 recoilless automatic pistol or(in later incarnations)a gausspistol , usually with explosive slugs, in addition to the same array of devices as Slippery Jim. Even without access to her arsenal, Angelina can come up with weapons and devices on her own.

[The Shadow]

William,

You forgot my favorite line from that entire series:

"Now what was that about me being a traitor?" she asked in a warm, cold voice - honey over ice.

It just cracks me up every time!

[William1968]

William,

You forgot my favorite line from that entire series:

"Now what was that about me being a traitor?" she asked in a warm, cold voice - honey over ice.

It just cracks me up every time!

There are just so many good lines to choose from, Shadow, from both of them...these are just two of the most well-written and developed characters in science fiction literature, definitely two of my favorites.

And, Kraj and He are just about two of the worst baddies any hero's ever had to come across....

[True20Chick]

Adrian Monk (Monk, 2002)
“It's a gift… and a curse..”

Adrian Monk is a former San Francisco police detective who suffers from extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder. He is nearly pantophobic and rarely lets any detail, no matter how apparently minute, slip his notice. He is driven by the events surrounding his wife’s mysterious murder, thus far the only crime he has been unable to solve.

Role: Human Exp6
Speed: 30 ft.
Abilities: Str +0, Dex +0, Con +0, Int +4, Wis +4, Cha -1
Skills: Computers 3 (+7), Concentration 9 (+13), Gather Information 9 (+8 ), Knowledge (art, behavioral sciences, business, civics, current events, earth science, history, life science, physical science) 7 (+11), Notice 9 (+18 ), Perform (clarinet) 7 (+6), Search 7 (+11), Sense Motive 9 (+18 )
Bonus Feats: Eidetic Memory
Favored Feats: Jack of All Trades, Well-Informed
Feats: Dedicated (to Trudy), Firearms Training, Jack of All Trades, Skill Focus (Notice), Skill Focus (Sense Motive), Skill Mastery (Knowledge [behavioral science], Notice, Search, Sense Motive), Skill Training, Talented (Notice and Sense Motive), Well Informed
Combat: Attack +4 (+4 base), Defense Dodge/Parry +4/+4 (+4 base), Initiative +0
Saving Throws: Toughness +0, Fortitude +2 (+2 base), Reflex +2 (+2 base), Will +9 (+5 base, +4 Wis)
Virtue: Dedicated; Vice: Severe OCD coupled with multiple phobias

Creation Notes
Everyone’s favorite defective detective.

A 6-point expert, but a bit unorthodox in how his ability points are arranged.

Monk gets lots of Conviction for giving in to his vice!

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the show, so if his skill list is inaccurate, let me know and I’ll adjust it.

[William1968]

Everyone’s favorite defective detective

Not everyone's, but I've yet to stat the good Constable Benton Fraiser.

[ValhallaGH]

Not everyone's, but I've yet to stat the good Constable Benton Fraiser.

Dang, that was a good show. I'd certainly be interested in seeing that build (probably lots of expert levels).

[William1968]

Constable Benton Fraiser, RCMP(Due South, CBS, 1996-1999)

"'...there was breakfast on the table—oatmeal with sliced banana—and there he was sitting in the corner. He was clean-shaven...and crying."

'Wow, he must've been really strong.'

'He just woke up one day, and the wind was still blowing from the south, and he still knew the difference between a hawk and a handsaw.'"
—from "Hawk And a Handsaw"

"I would like nothing more than to see Frank Zucco incarcerated. But, what I want and what the law demands are two different things."

—from "Juliet Is Bleeding"

"I envy you, Ray...I do. You have this existential honesty."

—from "Red, White Or Blue"

"A cynical acceptance of the betrayal of public trust is the road to ruin in a democracy."

—from "Strange Bedfellows"



Born and raised in the Northwest Territories, young Benton was traumatized by the murder of his mother, Caroline, at the hands of Holloway Muldoon, and idolized his father, Robert(Bob) a decorated RCMP veteran who became more distant to him after Caroline's death. By and large raised by Robert's parents, he learned from them a healthy respect for law and order and a strong sense of right and wrong, these ideals prompting him to join the RCMP as much as the idealized image of his father.

Originially assigned to the Territories, Benton soon earned a reputation almost as great as that of his father and his partner, Sergeant Buck Frobisher, Benton finding his one true love during his service, a fugitive named Kaleyn(?) with whom he was stranded in the wilderness for several days, and whom duty compelled him to turn into the authorities when they'd reached civilization.

The defining event of his career, however, was the murder of his father at the hands of American hitmen in league with Robert's corrupt partner, Sergeant Buck Gerard, and interests in the Canadian government favoring the construction of a new hydroelectric project on First Nations' land, this murder leading Benton to Chicago and a job at the Canadian consulate as an RCMP liason officer.

In the course of this investigation, he met Detective Sergeant Raymond Vecchio, a jaded, cynical veteran cop who did not initially know what to make of what seemed to him a refugee from too many Dudley Do Right movies.

He wasn't the only one perplexed and often annoyed by Benton's strong sense of right and duty over the course of the next few years.

Benton's successful conclusion of the investigation into his father's murder created political fallout which prejudiced his career and stranded him in Chicago, his exile leading him to work further with Vecchio and the other detectives of Area 27...as well as engaging in freelance do-gooding for his neighbors, often putting him at odds even with the friends and superiors who had no idea what to make of him at times.

All of them, even the cynical Vecchio and, later the equally as jaded Ray Kowalski, finding themselves cheering and befriending the man who idealized everything they'd believed in and thought they'd lost.

Role: Human Expert 9
Speed: 30 ft.
Abilities: Str +1, Dex +2, Con +2, Int +3, Wis +3, Cha +1
Skills: Acrobatics 4(+6), Computers 3 (+6), Concentration 9 (+12), Disable Device 9(+12) Gather Information 9 (+10 ), Knowledge (art, behavioral sciences, business, civics, current events, earth science, history, life science, physical science) 9 (+12), Notice 9 (+15 ), Perform (acoutstic guitar, singing) 7 (+8 ), Search 7 (+11), Sense Motive 9 (+15 ), Survival 6(+9)

Bonus Feats: Track

Favored Feats: Jack of All Trades, Well-Informed

Feats: Benefit(Mountie), Challenge(Balancing), Challenge(Instant Up), Dedicated (to law and order), Firearms Training, Improvised Tools, Iron Will, Precise Shot, Skill Focus (Notice), Skill Focus (Sense Motive), Skill Focus(Survival)

Combat: Attack +8 (+6 base, +2 Dex ); +3 lethal( ranged, .38 S&W or 9mm Beretta), +1 armed; Defense Dodge/Parry +8/+8 (+6 base, +2 Dex), Initiative +2

Saving Throws: Toughness +2(+2 Con), Fortitude +5 (+3 base, +2 Con), Reflex +5 (+3 base, +2 Dex), Will +11 (+6 base, +3 Wis, +2 Iron Will)

Conviction: 7

Reputation: +3

Wealth: +0

Virtue: Strong sense of what's right; Vice: Strong sense of what's right(Stubborn)



Creation Notes

An 11-point expert, but that's the only mix which gave the abilities I felt best suited Benton.

Unlike most experts, his Will save is his good save, as the series itself best bears out.

Yes, his virtue is his vice, as his strong sense of duty and of what's right has gotten him into as much trouble(and, in the case of "Juliet Is Bleeding," almost cost him Ray Vecchio's friendship).