U.L.T.R.A. - BESM 3E

Started by AndyZ, February 18, 2012, 12:53:49 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

AndyZ

The year is 20X5.  Various technological wonders exist, from genetic splicing, cyber-enhancements, virtual reality taken to the extreme, and rumors of harnessing latent psionic energy.  Nearly everyone has a wireless datachip implanted at the back of their neck, performing all the functions of a smartphone as well as a number of other features.  What doesn't exist, or at least the claim has been made for so long that few even question, is the supernatural.

Of course, that claim is getting harder and harder to hold together each day, when one's very memories can be uploaded into a computer and sent out over the Grid.

Tokyo exists on a Fault Line.  Most only believe such places to be prime for earthquakes, but those in the know also realize that the barrier between the worlds is also weak in such areas, especially during a major quake.

There's always a threat to the security of Japan, which is why the Self Defense Force (SDF) has a secret branch called the Unknown Lifeform Tactical and Reconnaissance Agency (ULTRA).  Originally started simply to categorize such matters, it slowly grows into its own special branch of the SDF.  Sometimes they work alongside the SDF, such as dealing with gangers with secondhand power armor, but their true mission is to stay ready for when the next quake comes and all sorts of monsters from beyond start crawling their way out of the beyond.




This is a BESM 3E game, where all the players are either already part of ULTRA or will be recruited as their first mission.  I'll be using the Mythical benchmarks, with 350 BP.  Stats (Body, Mind, and Soul) can exceed the 5 for Attributes, but your Combat Values are capped at 9, as listed on the benchmarks.  You don't have to buy your percentages of points in the values listed, either, if you don't want to.

Human characters should buy the feature "Chipped" which will allow for uploading thoughts and images, as well as interact with the virtual world and similar types of stuff.  This will allow instantaneous communication over vast distances, sharing information and conversing.  If you know what a commlink is, that's basically what I'm going for.  If you know what a Torc of Unified Action is, you're basically assumed to have it with this thing.  Features cost 1 point.  You don't have to buy it, but you'll be at a disadvantage if you don't.

Being a grunt in ULTRA does not require Organizational Ties, but you can use Organizational Ties to have a fake license for the Self Defense Force or other agencies.

The job pays the Yen equivalent to $60,000 per year, but you can purchase Wealth as normal.

If characters are not human, they should at least be able to look human, or at least not be obviously inhuman.  Shoving a half-orc into a set of power armor with the visor down, or having a holographic projector that displays a human image, will work just fine.  Of course, with genetic splicing to the level where girls can choose to become neko, a certain amount of leeway is allowed to someone sufficiently near-human.

Please don't take too many Defects.  Ideally, don't take any at all, but I realize some people like them.

If you're interested, please give me some idea of what you want to play.  I'm thinking of throwing up a support character for transport, recon and overwatch unless someone specifically wants some of those tasks.  Also, if you like the general concept but hate some aspect of the world, let me know that as well and we can work on changing it.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

Syene

You can count me in!

Here's the character concept I was considering earlier:

A  young woman who fled through the gate from Enid with her sister. The sister was a Global Alliance psycho-slave and my character volunteered to become a mecha pilot, intending to find and rescue her.
[tr][td]
[/td][td][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td][/td][/tr]
[/table]
[tr][td]
[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]

Muse

Cyberneticaly enhanced teacher and martial arts sensei coming your way.  :) 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

AndyZ

Quote from: Syene on February 18, 2012, 01:52:46 AM
You can count me in!

Here's the character concept I was considering earlier:

A  young woman who fled through the gate from Enid with her sister. The sister was a Global Alliance psycho-slave and my character volunteered to become a mecha pilot, intending to find and rescue her.

The only issue I'm seeing here is that it's hard to mix mecha and non-mecha battles.  You might have had all that in the past, but would you be alright with your current setup being more a type of power armor, similar in some ways to what Iron Man has?

Presumably you've already rescued the sister, who can end up with either the Significant Other defect or as a Companion, if you choose.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

Syene

Yeah, that was something I'd considered as a possible problem... I might be able to make that work...

Might come up with something different... I've been toying around with some other ideas as well. Nothing very concrete yet, but I will let you know. :-)
[tr][td]
[/td][td][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td][/td][/tr]
[/table]
[tr][td]
[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]

Qt

Ah, this looks quite interesting, just have a question about BESM, is it a very heavy/hard system to pick up?

Syene

No and yes. The system is easy to play. Building characters is a little more involved.

I can't speak for the GM, but I'm happy to help people who've never played or just aren't too experienced with characters. :-)
[tr][td]
[/td][td][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td][/td][/tr]
[/table]
[tr][td]
[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]

AndyZ

Sometimes the stuff is a little iffy and you have to ask the GM.  Unfortunately, the guy running this game is rather weird, and tends to make up slight rules tweaks for no apparent reason.

Also, he refers to himself in the third person on occasion.  I think he's trying to be funny or something.

For example, one thing I'm allowing that isn't 100% in the rules, one guy wants a hoverboard and is using the Skim restriction of Flight.  However, if he's falling from a serious distance, I'll allow the hoverboard to save him and to let him ride things out, even though it doesn't fully seem to allow that.  I think it's too awesome of an idea not to let, and Flight is rather expensive when compared to Land Speed as the other option for that attribute.

Really, though, I'm more interested in keeping things balanced than worrying too much about rules.  I want to see everyone having fun.

Qt, if you have the book (or get the PDF, which I think you can buy on DriveThruRPG) then folks will be glad to help out.  If you have a concept for a character, it'll make things easier to give suggestions, especially if you have some idea of what powers you want.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

Qt

Thanks, Syene and AndyZ. I shall get the book and give it a read.

As for character, thinking of playing a tech enthusiast who is overly reliant on the datachip, anything else I think I'll have to read the book and see. c:

Zaer Darkwail

I still ponder my characther over today (RL DnD marathon session in eberron starting). But I thinked I could be one the 'monsters' which ULTRA had managed succeed recruit (kind same deal as Hellboy). He is able take any shape as dynamic power and his favorite is to act as white blue eyed cat which can talk.

Only during mission briefings he takes his full real form and in missions he takes his real monster form or humanoid form depending situation. He shapeshifter which has monster form and then super monster form as alternative form (meaning he powers up when he goes full bankai mode but he cannot disguise his appearance in his bankai mode).

Syene

No problem, Qt! Since it's a effects-based system, you can do almost anything you want, sometimes in multiple ways, so go wild with ideas. :-)

I'm still thinking on ideas for my character.
[tr][td]
[/td][td][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td][/td][/tr]
[/table]
[tr][td]
[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]

avorae

I am interested in playing this game as well.

My concept I am toying with is a martial artist who decided to have some enhancements done to look more like a Neko but things went wrong and she ended up with more than just the ears and tail of a cat.
Life is a hard game but the rewards are sweet if you know where to look.

AndyZ

Quote from: Qt on February 18, 2012, 04:22:26 AM
Thanks, Syene and AndyZ. I shall get the book and give it a read.

As for character, thinking of playing a tech enthusiast who is overly reliant on the datachip, anything else I think I'll have to read the book and see. c:

That could very easily describe over half the populace. ^_^ However, it certainly shows that you have the idea down.

What I might suggest (it's your char, so you don't have to follow this) would be that you managed to find out about ULTRA by careful examination and searching through the facts and clues that you've heard about.  Someone came to talk to you, only what they actually decided was to let you see some of the strange alternative reality technology that they've found.  You've since been able to piece stuff together with your technical savvy, making all sorts of cool stuff.

Avorae, we do have a martial artist already with cyberware, but if neither of you minds having more than one, I can certainly work with that.  And sure, mishaps do happen with the genetic splicing, especially if you got it done very early on.  You'll count as Marked, but you won't have to hide your nature, since those do exist either deliberately or accidentally thanks to splicing.

I would consider someone with blue hair in the current world to be Marked.  People have dye, so blue hair is possible, but it's certainly not common enough that you won't attract attention.  (This doesn't hold up in anime, of course, where so many people genuinely have blue hair; I'm just giving a comparison.)
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

avorae

I can always change her Job.. so that is not a problem. i just like the whole mishap aspect of the character.
Life is a hard game but the rewards are sweet if you know where to look.

AndyZ

Quote from: avorae on February 18, 2012, 05:10:01 PM
I can always change her Job.. so that is not a problem. i just like the whole mishap aspect of the character.

I have absolutely no issue with the mishap ^_^
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

Muse

*Smiles* 

I wouldn't exactly call Marco a martial artist.  More like a cyberpunk style Solo with an unusual origin (teacher.)  He fights unarmed, yes, but does better with monokatana and his favorite airsoft gun. 

But even if I were, I'd be a fool to have an issue with multiple martial artists in most anime inspired games. 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Qt

Quote from: AndyZ on February 18, 2012, 05:06:29 PM
What I might suggest (it's your char, so you don't have to follow this) would be that you managed to find out about ULTRA by careful examination and searching through the facts and clues that you've heard about.  Someone came to talk to you, only what they actually decided was to let you see some of the strange alternative reality technology that they've found.  You've since been able to piece stuff together with your technical savvy, making all sorts of cool stuff.

Thanks, I think I will take up on that suggestion. Certainly the promise of alternate tech is enough to make my character sell his soul. c:

avorae

Quote from: Muse on February 18, 2012, 05:39:31 PM
*Smiles* 

I wouldn't exactly call Marco a martial artist.  More like a cyberpunk style Solo with an unusual origin (teacher.)  He fights unarmed, yes, but does better with monokatana and his favorite airsoft gun. 

But even if I were, I'd be a fool to have an issue with multiple martial artists in most anime inspired games.

Martial arts it is then...
Life is a hard game but the rewards are sweet if you know where to look.

AndyZ

Here's the NPC I'm looking at, although if she ends up encroaching on other peoples' characters, I can weaken or remove her.  I didn't really make her a character sheet because I figure she'll be a plot device more often than actually participating in battles.

Theta

Back when Nori was an ordinary girl, she was always tinkering, making machines and helping to find state-of-the-art technology.  She made dozens of devices, but most of them just didn't work.  Her most famous devices, however, were some crude (by modern standards) robotics which require constant Datachip interface.  Artificial Intelligence sometimes forms, but it tends to lack for what most humans would consider to be a true person, and it's currently a hit and miss science.

What would have made her famous had she been allowed the fame of her station, however, is her teleportation device.  It worked fine on inanimate matter, but when she tried it on herself, she got...stuck...in the machine, her consciousness drifting amidst the binary code.

She still had a connection to her drones, and she's since fixed the teleporter, but her body had to be cloned and chemically regrown.  Before she even had a chance to try to rewire back into her own mind, however, she'd discovered the secrets of UTRA, and had been proven herself capable enough to be given the opportunity to join their ranks.

Unfortunately, when they attempted to bring her back into her body, the process didn't quite work.  They blamed it on not understanding the process, but deep down, she knew that she didn't really want to go back.  Here in the machine, she could be everywhere, see everything, think so much faster and remember so much more than she ever could before.  It gives her a life where she would truly be happy...if she really felt emotions the way that she used to.

Theta, as she now calls herself, tends to work overwatch, her myriad of drones watching over the area for threats.  As soon as a problem arises, she can let the rest of ULTRA know in order to get everyone ready, using her teleporter to get there as well as call people back in the event of an emergency.

One of the big human things that she's starting to forget, however, the more time she spends in the machine, is privacy.  With so much information already at her fingertips, it's far too easy to get curious, to sneak a peek in the shower to see someone, to read a diary, or sometimes just ask an inappropriate question.  It's not something she deliberately does, but it's getting harder and harder to remember what being just human is like.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

Wheresmycow

If there's still room, I was thinking of a gunner or sniper concept.  Not sure exactly what he'll turn out like, but someone shooty.  Just to double check, there are psychic powers allowed?
Want to know more about me?
My Intro Thread
My ONs and OFFs

AndyZ

Psychic powers are allowed.  They're not overly common, though, and you may want to explain how you got them.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

Wheresmycow

I was thinking drugs and scientific experimentation.  Opened up his brain pan and tinkered with it.  But I'm not 100% certain I'll have them.
Want to know more about me?
My Intro Thread
My ONs and OFFs

AndyZ

Good enough reason for me ^_^
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

Syene

I believe I shall play someone with Insubstantial and Invisibility. She was a student working with a scientist on research on the existsnce of other realities and was the only survivor of a lab accident which left her partially in this plane and partially in another.

Do you have any particular format for character sheets, Andy?
[tr][td]
[/td][td][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td][/td][/tr]
[/table]
[tr][td]
[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][/table]

AndyZ

Semi-Permanent I assume?

No real format for sheets.  I just want it to be legible, and make it easy for me to see how you spent points.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.