UNDERBELLY: A Mafia Intrigue RPG - Sign Up Thread

[Nschornhorst]

Not sure how much time I can devote to this, as it depends when it starts, if I get the hang of it, and how long it goes on. I start classes in a few weeks, but I'm intrigued and at least want to create a character should I have the time to do this, if that's okay. I'm new to this sort of RPG, so even on best circumstances, I'll probably need some help/input/critique. Thanks!




Biography-

Name: Betty Theodora V., P.I.

Age : 26

Background: Born in California in a verrry unique town near LA, she picked up quirks which have stayed with her throughout her life. Unfortunately, a family schism occurred, causing her to move with her mother to Gridport. As she grew, she never forgot the town she grew up in and the insane whimsy that it housed.
She also was fascinated with her father's side of the family, but for the most part, her mother pushed Betty to focus on serious work and didn't wish to discuss anything involving their life previously. Despite this, as she grew, she would research her family in secret and learned all she could about the town she so fondly remembered. Her mother tried to keep Betty from finding anything, but the girl was naturally suited to investigation. Through this, she learned about her great grandfather who was a P.I. and his ties to the town she so fondly remembered. Apparently, he solved a high-profile murder case and it earned him a new lease on life and cemented his place in the hearts of the denizens of the town. He settled down there and so did his son and grandson, but not everyone was suited for life in such a crazy place. Inspired by her great-grandpa and her penchant for detective work, Betty became a burgeoning private investigator. She seems to have a knack for much of the job, but discovered the job isn't quite what it was back in her great-granddad's day. Not so much fisticuffs and shootouts, but more legwork and clue finding. She exceeds at that part, thankfully, so she's managed to break even financially so far. Her knack for ferreting things out has caught the eye of members of the GCPD who have decided to give her a chance to go undercover. While she's new at this, she has traits that seem to fit well. It is to be remembered this is probationary, however. Soon, before starting, she received a special gift from her great-grandfather's friend Roger-- something that may come in quite handy in the trials to come.

Physical description: Betty is 27 years old and not 'conventionally' beautiful. She has thick eyebrows, is slightly hefty, on the shorter side, and is pretty broad. However, she can pretty up nicely if so desired. She generally wears dowdy old-style detective outfits such as trenchcoats and suits. She can dress more modernly if need be, but never goes anywhere without her great grandfather's brown fedora, earning her nicknames such as 'Hat,' 'Hattie,' 'Mad Hatter,' and 'M'lady.' She's not one for glamour or frills unless it's necessary for work (although there is the odd exception). She generally hates dresses and skirts, greatly preferring comfortable slacks. Comfortable shoes are a must for her-- no heels, ever.

Temperament: While many would see her as serious to the point of unflappable, she has a very... zany... side at times. She can switch as need be, but only true friends tend to see her actual self. She's witty and can sometimes be mouthy, which has gotten her into trouble before, so she may stay silent if she feels that would be best. While she can be a bit hard-edged and intimidating, especially when maintaining her cold logical demeanor on the job, she loves a good joke, gag, or bit. Alcoholism runs in the family, so she doesn't partake. If forced, however, it tends to lower her inhibitions, making her almost... cartoonish... She's got a good heart and does her best to help people, but is keen enough to know when to walk away or seek others' help.



Stat Block

Physicality 20
Brutish: 10
Acrobatic: 10

She's fit enough to get the job done, throw a punch, and/or do basic legwork, but she's not 'trained' or anything and can get worn out quickly if not allowed to go at her own pace.

Precision 20 + 10
Close Range: 25
Long Range: 5

Firearms... don't tend to be Betty's thing. She has had minor practice, but other than trying to scare others off, she doesn't tend to use them. They make her nervous. However, she is rather skilled in close-range precision, allowing her to find and obtain clues most others couldn't.

Mental 20 + 30
Composure: 25
Problem Solving: 25

Unflappable and clever, she uses her mental capabilities extremely well and sometimes in rather offbeat ways.



Limit Breakers: 1



Skill List

Do I need to explain, clarify, or describe these? I'm also assuming they can be used in various combinations with each other as well as with the power?

Clue Catcher- [KEY STAT: MENTAL PROBLEM SOLVING]- 20 (comfortable)

She's good at picking up clues and investigation. She can find clues well and discover small, important physical details that elude others.

Bloodhound- [KEY STAT: MENTAL PROBLEM SOLVING]- 10 (intermediate)

This skill means she can find trail people well.

Deductive Reasoning- [KEY STAT: MENTAL PROBLEM SOLVING]- 10 (intermediate)

[i]Using her keen mind, she's able to notice and figure out evidence, red herrings, inconsistencies (verbal and physical), and somewhat read body language.

Stoic- [KEY STAT: MENTAL COMPOSURE]- 20 (comfortable)

She's not easily startled or stunned. She can remain calm even if everyone else in the room is going insane. She can hide her emotions well, should she choose.

Pain Tolerance- [KEY STAT: MENTAL COMPOSURE]- 10 (intermediate)

Even hurt (to a degree), she doesn't tend to break stoicism... unless she wants to.

Prankster- [KEY STAT: CLOSE RANGE PRECISION]- 5 (basic)

Her most 'offensive' skill so far, she can use things around the room to come up with gags that are essentially harmless or small cantrips. (i.e. a tripwire to foil someone following her, setting a janitor's forgotten bucket over a partially open doorway, or a bar's seltzer bottle to spray the user.

Charming- [KEY STAT: MENTAL PROBLEM SOLVING]- 5 (basic)

Her mouthy wit often gets her into trouble, but for some, it can be charming and act as a sort of ice breaker.

Sleight of Hand- [KEY STAT: CLOSE RANGE PRECISION]- 5 (basic)

While certainly no David Copperfield, Betty can do simple magic tricks, gags, and palm evidence without detection.

Misdirection [KEY STAT: MENTAL COMPOSURE]- 10 (intermediate)

Betty can use this skill to avoid detection under certain situations, distract someone as she palms evidence, or simply change the topic of conversations. If need be, she can even cause whole groups to be momentarily focused on something else.

Bar and Grillmaster [KEY STAT: CLOSE RANGE PRECISION]- 5 (basic)

Skills passed down through her family make her a decent cook and mixologist. She's not gonna win any awards yet or be super-fancy, but she can cook up solid diner-type foods and make a good variety of alcoholic beverages, even if she doesn't drink herself.


Unique Power

Name: Great Grandpa's Mallet



Description in Game: The mallet has an otherworldly, almost fake look to it. Despite its size, it fits conveniently in her trenchcoat pocket or under her hat. Pressing the handle lets loose a surprise. Since physicality (short and long range) isn't her forte', it takes a lot out of her to use and needs to rest before using it again.

Effect:

Once per rest period, Betty can remove the mallet from her hat or coat pocket to either swing the mallet for (+20) brutish stats OR fire off the spring loaded boxing glove feature for +25 long range precision stats. If the attack lands, it stuns the opponent for about five seconds. If it hits an object (up to maybe 30 lbs), that object (depending on what it's made out of) could fall, break, or be propelled a short distance-- up to two feet). The boxing glove has about a twenty foot range, fires in a straight line, and automatically retracts. The mallet and its workings are unbreakable except when exposed to certain acids. Due to her sleight of hand skills and possibly hidden pockets, if searched, the mallet can't be found.

Mob Reputation


Fear: 10
Respect: 0

Police Reputation

Notoriety: 0
Familiarity: 15

[Nik Hasta]

Welcome, welcome. I'm a bit busy this weekend but I'll vet the new character fully on Monday.

Small notes:

1) The skills section, you would need to be bit more specific as to what their application is. Currently I don't see a meaningful difference between Stoic and Resolve and I'm not sure what Gumshoe, Bar and Grillmaster and Prankster are supposed to do exactly.

2) You'd need to give me a lot more information about what kind of stuff you'd intend to come out of the bag. I'm not against the idea in principle but, as with all other powers, I'd need a lot more information about your intended applications and limits thereof before I could sign off on it. Feel free to PM if you want to keep some stuff as surprises.

[Nschornhorst]

Deleted!

[Nik Hasta]

I'm afraid that's going to have to be a hard no on that. Quite apart from it being wildly too potentially powerful and varied, it's also not really inkeeping with the more grounded aesthetic of the game.

Having a character that has toon physics isn't something that I'm okay with in this game.

If you wish to have the character in the game you would need to come up with a different unique power.

[Nschornhorst]

Fair enough! Would a single cartoon item be okay? She herself has no cartoon abilities. It's all in the object.

I gave it another go choosing a Portable Hole (pretty much as seen in Who Framed Roger Rabbit). If that's still too variable or toon-physics-y, would the spring loaded boxing glove/cartoon mallet be okay?

Just let me know and I'll keep working on it!

[Nik Hasta]

Fair enough! Would a single cartoon item be okay? She herself has no cartoon abilities. It's all in the object.

I gave it another go choosing a Portable Hole (pretty much as seen in Who Framed Roger Rabbit). If that's still too variable or toon-physics-y, would the spring loaded boxing glove/cartoon mallet be okay?

Just let me know and I'll keep working on it!

Alright, in principle that's okay but that would require some specific limitations.

Looking at your description, you're more wanting a portable pocket dimension that can be used for escape, defence and offence and can intersect with skills in unspecified ways.

That's still a whole lot.

Like if you look at the other character powers that have been signed off, please see the cast list in the first post of the thread for reference, these are not varied or particularly potent things. Pretty much all of them are one use things per rest period.

Having an at will item is not balanced in the same way.

If I were to balance this, favouring the pocket dimension aspect specifically, I'd run something like this:

--------

Power Name: Pocket Hole
Description: Betty is the proud owner of one(1) portable hole.
Mechanics in game: Twice per rest period, Betty can summon the pocket hole. Betty must be touching a surface to summon the hole into and it appears from where her hand is touching the surface. Once opened it is a black circle with a maximum size of roughly fifteen inches across that leads into a pocket dimension capable of holding material equivalent to the volume of a mid range Winnebago inside of it. Once opened, the hole will be open for fifteen seconds /or/ until any single object passes through it whereupon it will close immediately.

Objects placed in the pocket dimension are subject to a form of stasis. Food will remain fresh, objects will not deteriorate, bullets will retain their momentum. Betty is the only living being that can pass through the hole.

If Betty enters the hole entirely, she is able to reopen it from within but only within a given range (5 metres) of when she entered it. This can be used to bypass doors and barriers. Betty can only remain the hole for a maximum of 15 seconds before being forcibly ejected.

When removing things from the hole, Betty must open it and then think of the object she wants to remove. It will then exit the hole at the same velocity it went in at.

------

Something like that would be more in line with the balance of the game. It's got a lot of utility, it's got a short range teleport/escape option, I've given two openings per rest period so you could do a bullet catch and release trick if you wanted but I've nerfed it significantly.

You will also note that it doesn't intersect with stats at all and this also to reinforce balancing while retaining the somewhat broad suit of features.

This is the more the kind of thing I'd consider allowing into the game and even then this is an extremely potent ability.

[Nschornhorst]

Ohhhhhhhhhh... for some reason I thought the power *had* to tie into stats somehow. My bad. I'll work more on it in a bit! Thanks for your help!

[Nik Hasta]

Ohhhhhhhhhh... for some reason I thought the power *had* to tie into stats somehow. My bad. I'll work more on it in a bit! Thanks for your help!

It's helpful for me as GM to have a stat based effect but the nature of the kind of thing you're going for avoiding it actually made it bit easier to balance.

Please note that I have been very specific in the application of this kind of thing and also please bear in mind that the powers are not meant to be the focus of the game or the character. They are additional edges you have, not your main gameplay strategy.

[Nschornhorst]

It's helpful for me as GM to have a stat based effect but the nature of the kind of thing you're going for avoiding it actually made it bit easier to balance.

Please note that I have been very specific in the application of this kind of thing and also please bear in mind that the powers are not meant to be the focus of the game or the character. They are additional edges you have, not your main gameplay strategy.

Okay. I understand. I think I just got carried away with my idea and didn't look closely enough at the others' bios. You're right, my power was way too OP and versatile. I've opted to go with the spring loaded boxing glove mallet. Seems simple, still relates to her story, and is not nearly as crazy.

If I still need to make changes, I'm glad to do so. Thanks for being so helpful and understanding! I played D&D yeeeears ago (once), so that's my only real RPG experience aside from a very different sort of game on the boards here (also years ago).

[Nik Hasta]

Alright, let's quickly blast through skills with a yay or a nay and I'll vet the newest iteration of your power.

Gumshoe- [KEY STAT: MENTAL PROBLEM SOLVING]- 20 (comfortable)

She's good at picking up clues and investigation. She's good at weeding out red herrings and piecing evidence she finds together. She's also solid at picking up on inconsistencies and red flags from dialogue/body language. She also isn't likely to be easily swayed from her objective(s). Basically, detective stuff.

This one is a little broad for my liking. It seems to cover Search/Notice based stuff, functional Wisdom checks and apparently some form of composure check versus losing track of things.

If you want to have a detective type character, you would need to subdivide these a little in the interest of balance.

Bloodhound- [KEY STAT: CLOSE RANGE PRECISION]- 20 (comfortable)

This skill means she can find clues and trail people well. She can discover small important details that elude others.

This is effectively Track and Search again. Assuming you want the tracker based facet to be dominant (it is called Bloodhound after all) you would need to have this falling under Problem Solving rather than Close Range Precision.

Stoic- [KEY STAT: MENTAL COMPOSURE]- 20 (comfortable)

She's not easily startled or stunned. She can remain calm even if everyone else in the room is going insane. She can hide her emotions well, should she choose, useful in poker as well as in crime scenes.

This is fine but it won't be as useful in poker-type situations as a dedicated Bluff skill. This is emotional suppression not misdirection.

Pain Tolerance- [KEY STAT: MENTAL COMPOSURE]- 5 (basic)

Even hurt (to a degree), she doesn't tend to break stoicism... unless she wants to.

This is fine.

Prankster- [KEY STAT: CLOSE RANGE PRECISION]- 5 (basic)

Her most 'offensive' skill so far, she can use things around the room (or combine this skill with her bag) to come up with gags that are essentially harmless or small cantrips. (i.e. a tripwire to foil someone following her or a box that when opened, shoves a spring loaded pie into someone's face or whatever).

So a kind of comedy version of Improvised Weaponry... this is fine but I'm not sure about its utility in game as you're not going to often have that much room to use this as the bag isn't part of the character any more.

Charming- [KEY STAT: MENTAL PROBLEM SOLVING]- 5 (basic)

Her mouthy wit often gets her into trouble, but for some, it can be charming and act as a sort of ice breaker.

Fine.

Sleight of Hand- [KEY STAT: CLOSE RANGE PRECISION]- 5 (basic)

While certainly no David Copperfield, Betty can do simple magic tricks, gags, and palm evidence without detection.

Also fine.

Misdirection [KEY STAT: MENTAL PROBLEM SOLVING]- 10 (intermediate)

Betty can use this skill to avoid detection, distract someone as she palms evidence, or simply change the topic of conversations. If need be, she can even cause whole groups to be momentarily focused on something else.

Now... this is like an altered form of a Bluff type skill. Normally that would governed under Composure because the check would be more based around how convincing your character is in their lie. I like that this being more about directing focus rather than standing up under scrutiny. I'll be careful about how this particular skill can be applied but it's fine as is.

Bar and Grillmaster [KEY STAT: CLOSE RANGE PRECISION]- 5 (basic)

Skills passed down through her family make her a decent cook and mixologist. She's not gonna win any awards yet or be super-fancy, but she can cook up solid diner-type foods and make a good variety of alcoholic beverages, even if she doesn't drink herself.

This is a fun flavour text skill, fine for me.

Prepared [KEY STAT: CLOSE RANGE PRECISION]- 5 (basic)

She always stocks her pockets with a range of stuff-- tissues, makeup, pen, pencil, notepad, plastic bags, some hard candies, a lighter, bandages, small roll of duct tape, Swiss army knife, etc. Hardly a utility belt, but often the various household bric-a-brac comes in handy. Nothing out of the ordinary to someone with lots of pockets who needs a degree of versatility wouldn't have, though.

This is leveraging a skill to get physical items. That's not really how the systems works. As noted earlier in the thread, your character gets a large suitcase of personal possessions. If you want to be really specific about what you have with you when you set out, then that's more on you in game rather than that being a skill check.

This gives you an excess 5 XP to play with.

And the new power:

Name: Great Grandpa's Mallet

Description in Game: The mallet has an otherworldly, almost fake look to it. Despite its size, it fits conveniently in her trenchcoat pocket or under her hat. Pressing the handle lets loose a surprise. Since physicality (short and long range) isn't her forte', it takes a lot out of her to use and needs to rest before using it again.

Effect: Once per rest period, Betty can either swing the mallet for (+20) brutish stats OR fire of the spring loaded boxing glove feature for +25 long range precision stats. If the attack lands, it stuns the opponent for about five seconds. The boxing glove has about a twenty foot range and automatically retracts. The mallet and its workings are unbreakable except for certain acids.

You know what, this is fine.

I would prefer it if you have it be an actual specifically summonable item. Like she has to pull it out of her hat or pocket or sleeve or wherever to get it to manifest but I think it would be better to specify that if she were to be searched, the item is not able to be found by someone else.

[Nik Hasta]

Updated Nanashi's profile with a theme.

Just to say, I actually got around to listening to this.

Dope choice, really fun and atmospheric.

I do enjoy character theme songs. Both this and One-Two's are very evocative of the feeling of the characters.

[Nschornhorst]

This one is a little broad for my liking. It seems to cover Search/Notice based stuff, functional Wisdom checks and apparently some form of composure check versus losing track of things.

If you want to have a detective type character, you would need to subdivide these a little in the interest of balance.

I broke it up a bit. If I need to do more with that, please let me know.

This is effectively Track and Search again. Assuming you want the tracker based facet to be dominant (it is called Bloodhound after all) you would need to have this falling under Problem Solving rather than Close Range Precision.

I changed this a smidge too, focusing only on the tracking people part.

This is fine but it won't be as useful in poker-type situations as a dedicated Bluff skill. This is emotional suppression not misdirection.

I was kinda just being 'cute' with the text, but okeydokey. I assume, though, she could combine this skill with her sleight of hand and maybe even some of her deduction or misdirection to be a good poker player (even if *I* am terrible at it).[/quote]

So a kind of comedy version of Improvised Weaponry... this is fine but I'm not sure about its utility in game as you're not going to often have that much room to use this as the bag isn't part of the character any more.

Thanks for catching that. I forgot I'd mentioned the bag in it. She can only use it with stuff in the location she's in or with stuff she's picked up/palmed.

Now... this is like an altered form of a Bluff type skill. Normally that would governed under Composure because the check would be more based around how convincing your character is in their lie. I like that this being more about directing focus rather than standing up under scrutiny. I'll be careful about how this particular skill can be applied but it's fine as is.

Yeah, it's not going to be used quite the same as a bluff, more like, a 'hey! look over there!' type thing. We-ell, maybe a touch more subtle... ...maybe.

This is a fun flavour text skill, fine for me.

'Flavour' text-- I see what you did there!

This is leveraging a skill to get physical items. That's not really how the systems works. As noted earlier in the thread, your character gets a large suitcase of personal possessions. If you want to be really specific about what you have with you when you set out, then that's more on you in game rather than that being a skill check.

This gives you an excess 5 XP to play with.

Deleted! I applied the points to Pain Tolerance.

And the new power:



You know what, this is fine.

I would prefer it if you have it be an actual specifically summonable item. Like she has to pull it out of her hat or pocket or sleeve or wherever to get it to manifest but I think it would be better to specify that if she were to be searched, the item is not able to be found by someone else.

I added some text to clarify these points. I also added what would happen if she fires it at an object (if I needed to explain how it would function). Please let me know if I need to reword things. Nothing really has changed, I suppose, do objects have stats or something? Not sure how that works, but wrote it just in case.

[Nik Hasta]

Alright, your XP maths is all good and your skills are gameworthy.

You're good to go.

I have added Betty to the cast list on the front page.

[Nik Hasta]

As a small update, my intention is that we get rolling in the not too distant future. I'll be PMing people who have expressed interested but not posted yet to get confirmation on if they are joining us or not and I'll be chasing up everyone who needs to complete their character as well as completing final vetting of all powers and stat builds to check I didn't overlook anything.

From there, I'll do a final pass on some elements of the campaign on my end - maps of gang territories, rethinking some NPCs, that kind of stuff - and I will be contacting players via PM to talk through some worldbuilding stuff. This will mostly cover pre-existing connections in the city of Gridport that I will need to know about and potentially allow you to use in the campaign.

Once all that is done, we'll get rolling. I have next week entirely free so I'm hoping to have it all done by then. I'm then travelling for most of the week after (week commencing the 12th) so I'm pitching a latest start date as Monday 19th of August.

If you have any questions or concerns, let me know. I'll do my best to keep my PM inbox managed and not full.

Looking forward to getting into doing some big crimes with ya'll!

[Sharpandpointies]

Hilariously, I go on vacation a few days after we start, so it's probably best not to put me in a situation where other people are depending on my answers.

I'll be back from it a couple of weeks into September.