Tegyrius
10-30-2013, 05:45 AM
Here's the example of character creation that I posted to the 93 Games Studio forums when they were still in operation.
- C.
---
By request...
After some bribery, I manage to convince one of my local players to put on the GM's pointy hat for a while. He decides he's going to run a campaign set in our home state of Kentucky, focusing on a mixed group of military, law enforcement, and civilian personnel who are a field team for the state government's recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Step Zero: Concept
As I get bored with narrowly-focused specialist characters, I decide to play a jack of all trades (and master of none, but that's the tradeoff), someone who'll be equally useful in combat, investigation, and downtime. A lot of the state economy is based on agriculture, so a character from one of the many rural counties seems appropriate. For the combat and investigation skill sets, I think a police background is a better fit than a military one. After playing with a random name generator and poking at a few state maps, I settle on Neil Grafton, a native of the appropriately-named Barren County (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barren_County,_Kentucky).
If this were a movie, Neil would be played by Jason Statham (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Statham). I'll nail down his precise age as I work through his life path, but for now I envision him being in his early to mid 30s.
Step One: Attributes
Not being a big fan of random attribute rolls (because my historical average is well below what probabilities suggest is appropriate), I ask the GM if I can use the point allocation system to get Neil's starting attributes. He agrees and gives me 56 points to play with, building at the "experienced" level. I know Neil's destined for a career in law enforcement, so I allocate my points with the Local Police phase (p. 106) in mind.
I see Neil as physically capable but not particularly imposing, so I start with Local Police's minimum values of 7 in each physical attribute. I don't want him to be deficient in any area, so I put 6 points in each mental attribute. Four 7s and four 6s total 52 points, leaving me 4 to put where I want them. I decide to put one each in Resolve, Cognition, Fitness, and Awareness. With all 56 points allocated, Neil's initial CUF and OODA are equal to half of Resolve and Awareness, respectively. At age 18, Neil's attributes look like this:
AWA 8
CDN 7
FIT 8
MUS 7
COG 7
EDU 6
PER 6
RES 7
CUF 4
OODA 4
Step Two: Background Skills (and Advantages and Disadvantages)
With COG 7, Neil gets (COG + 9) 16 points for background skills. First off is his native language of English, into which I put 3 points (doubled to 6). As a good country boy, he should have the obligatory package of farm-related skills: 2 points each in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Mounts. He also knows how to drive and shoot and has a passing familiarity with the fields and forests of the state: 2 points each in Driving, Longarm, and Fieldcraft. This leaves me with 1 background skill point unspent, so I go for the Stage III options to see if any advantages or disadvantages seem appropriate.
Disadvantages will give me more skill points to play with, so I go for them first. Neil's going to be a cop, and I don't see him leaving his post during the Collapse, so he's likely to be exposed to more of the badness than an average citizen of the state would. I take 2 points in Irradiated, adding two 2d20H rolls to his starting rads (I'll have to remember that in Step Five). Why was he so dedicated? Well, he's something of an idealist, having bought into the "thin blue line" ethos during his law enforcement career. I select Code (Warrior Code) for another 3 points.
I now have a net 6 points of background skills - time for some advantages. As a kid from a poor county, Neil needed some sort of advantage to get into college, so I decide he went on a baseball scholarship: 1 point gives him a level of Throwing Arm. Direction Sense appeals for no reason I can name, so 2 points pick up that advantage. I sink 1 point into Home Territory (Barren County) on the off chance that the campaign will take the PCs back to Neil's home county. The final 2 skill points go to raising Agriculture and Fieldcraft by 1 point each. At age 18, Neil's skills look like this:
Agriculture 3
Animal Husbandry 2
Driving 2
Fieldcraft 3
Language (English) 6
Longarm 2
Mounts 2
Step Three: Life Path Phases
Phase 1: Undergraduate University (2 years, age 18-20)
I have a fairly good idea of Neil's career path at this point, so I plunge him into his first attempt at college: a baseball scholarship and a declared major of Agriculture, with the intent of taking over the family farm when his father retires. Neil leaves home to attend Eastern Kentucky University.
Two years of college give Neil (2 + COG = 9) points of professional skills. I spend 4 to raise his EDU from 6 to 7, which grants him his first degree: Agricultural Science. With 5 points remaining, I sink 2 each into Agriculture and Animal Husbandry for Neil's primary field of study. The last professional skill point goes into Computing as Neil picks up basic computer literacy.
Two years in this phase give Neil two personal skill points. I put both points into Hand Weapons (swinging a bat for EKU's baseball team).
At age 20, Neil has the following skills:
Agriculture 5
Animal Husbandry 4
Computing 1
Driving 2
Fieldcraft 3
Hand Weapons 2
Language (English) 6
Longarm 2
Mounts 2
Phase 2: Farming (4 years, age 20-24)
Like many young adults in Kentucky, Neil wasn't prepared for college the first time around; he failed to maintain his grades and lost his baseball scholarship. Neil returns home to Barren County to work the farm for a few years while he figures out what he's going to do with his life now.
Four years of farming provide 14 skill points, at least 3 of which must go into either Agriculture or Animal Husbandry. The family primarily raises tobacco, so 3 points go straight into Agriculture. I have an ulterior motive of wanting Neil to be a competent rider during play, so 2 more points go to Mounts, leaving 9 to work with. 3 points go into Fieldcraft, 1 into Longarm, and the final 4 are used to buy another point of Fitness.
Four years of life on the farm provide another 4 personal skill points. I put 1 each into Streetcraft and Driving for Neil's frequent trips back to EKU to see his friends and the last 2 into Persuasion to represent gradual maturity in interpersonal relationships.
Now 24 years old, Neil has the following skills:
Agriculture 8
Animal Husbandry 4
Computing 1
Driving 3
Fieldcraft 6
Hand Weapons 2
Language (English) 6
Longarm 3
Mounts 4
Persuasion 2
Streetcraft 1
Phase 3: Undergraduate University (2 years, age 24-26)
Neil's uncle is a sheriff's deputy in neighboring Edmonson County. When Neil was growing up, he was Neil's mentor in hunting and hiking, and he takes the time to give Neil occasional counseling on getting his life back on track. Inspired by his uncle's example, Neil reapplies to EKU and is accepted. He shoulders the burden of student loans and enters the school's Criminal Justice program to finish his degree.
Once again, two years of college provide 9 points of professional skills. Again, I spend 4 to raise Neil's EDU 7 to 8, picking up a degree in Law. 3 points go toward Forensics, and the last 2 are spent on Persuasion. I put Neil's 2 personal skill points for this phase into Driving and Streetcraft.
At age 26, Neil's skill spread is:
Agriculture 8
Animal Husbandry 4
Computing 1
Driving 3
Fieldcraft 6
Forensics 3
Hand Weapons 2
Language (English) 6
Longarm 3
Mounts 4
Persuasion 4
Streetcraft 2
Phase 4: Local Police (3 years, age 26-29)
After graduating from EKU, Neil is hired by the Kentucky State Police and enters the department's academy. After being sworn in as a trooper, he's assigned to Post 14 in Ashland, about as far east as you can get and still be in Kentucky. The Appalachian foothills are nothing like Barren County, but Neil manages.
For his first pass through Local Police, Neil picks up the Law Enforcement training package: Driving 2, Forensics 1, Hand-to-Hand 3, Hand Weapons 3, Intimidation 3, Longarm 1, Persuasion 1, and Sidearm 3. Unfortunately, he receives only half the benefit (rounded down) for each skill in which he already has points, so his actual gains are Driving 1, Hand-to-Hand 3, Hand Weapons 1, Intimidation 3, and Sidearm 3. The package also grants 1 point each of CUF and OODA. Neil does receive 4 points of professional skills for this pass. 1 point goes into Language (Spanish) to represent a crash course for street translation, 2 boost Streetcraft, and 1 increases Forensics.
3 years in Local Police grant the standard 3 personal skill points. Neil devotes most of his free time to career development, giving him another point each in Intimidation, Forensics, and Persuasion.
Police work can be hazardous, so I decide to roll on the Hazardous Duty Table (p. 129) at the Acceptable level. A 2d6+14 roll gives me a result of 22 - nothing happens.
Neil also gains Local Police Rank 1.
At the end of his first Local Police pass, Neil has the following skills:
Agriculture 8
Animal Husbandry 4
Computing 1
Driving 4
Fieldcraft 6
Forensics 4
Hand-to-Hand 3
Hand Weapons 3
Intimidation 3
Language (English) 6
Language (Spanish) 1
Longarm 3
Mounts 4
Persuasion 4
Sidearm 3
Streetcraft 4
Phase 5: Local Police (3 years, age 29-32)
Neil stays in the KSP for another three years, still working out of the Ashland post. He receives 14 points of professional skills. 4 go toward raising Awareness from 8 to 9 as Neil gradually develops his "cop sense." 2 points each go into basic police proficiencies: Forensics, Driving, Intimidation, Sidearm, and Hand-to-Hand. Neil's 3 points of personal skills are invested in his new vacation pastime of hunting trips out west with some of his fellow troopers: 1 point each in Longarm, Fieldcraft, and Climbing.
At the end of the phase, it's time to check for promotion. This is a Cognition check for Local Police rank, with a penalty of -3 at Rank 1. I roll 2d20L for a die result of 1! Somehow, Neil distinguishes himself, attaining promotion to Local Police Rank 2.
Neil also crossed his first aging threshold during this phase, so I check for attribute loss. At the 30-year mark, the only possibility is a CDN loss on a 1d10 roll of 1. The die comes up 3, so Neil's CDN is safe for now.
Finally, I decide to take another roll on the Hazardous Duty Table. This time, I gamble and go for Significant risk. The 2d10+10 roll comes out 17 - at some point in this phase, Neil was involved in some sort of vehicle-related emergency. As he doesn't yet have any points in Aquatics, I decide it was something boat-related and put the free skill point there.
The 32-year-old Neil has the following skills:
Agriculture 8
Animal Husbandry 4
Aquatics 1
Climbing 1
Computing 1
Driving 6
Fieldcraft 7
Forensics 6
Hand-to-Hand 5
Hand Weapons 3
Intimidation 5
Language (English) 6
Language (Spanish) 1
Longarm 4
Mounts 4
Persuasion 4
Sidearm 5
Streetcraft 4
Step Four: The Last Year: Irregular Warfare (1 year, age 32-33)
Neil's now in his early 30s, which is the age I'd targeted for the character. It's time to blow up the world.
During the Collapse, Neil stays at his post - one of a handful of troopers who don't desert or (more likely) die over the course of the Last Year. Most of his duties involve the unpleasant task of trying to maintain order as the tri-state region of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia breaks down. This could be either Irregular Warfare or Twilight Warfare. I decide on the former, as it'll give Neil slightly more skill points.
Irregular Warfare provides (AWA + 3 = 12) professional skill points. As his job shifts from law enforcement to ad hoc militia duty, Neil has more use for his rifle than his handgun, so 3 points go into Longarm and 2 into Sidearm. Four points raise his CUF by 1. The last the points get split between Fieldcraft, Tactics, and Medicine.
Neil's base rad accrual is 1d10 x 1d20: 12 x 2, or 24. However, the disadvantage I took earlier now comes back to haunt me. Two 2d20H rolls come out 15 and 17, giving Neil a total of 56 rads.
Irregular Warfare grants no promotion check, so Neil stays at Local Police Rank 2.
Neil gets a base of 3 equipment dice, plus the margin of success (if any) on a CUF check. A die result of 4 gives me a MoS of 2, so Neil will contribute 5 equipment dice to the group pool.
I decide not to risk another Hazardous Duty Table roll - the Last Year was hazard enough. I now have Neil's final attribute and skill values, and I can calculate his starting skill ratings:
AWA 9
CDN 7
FIT 9
MUS 7
COG 7
EDU 8 (Ag Science, Law)
PER 6
RES 7
CUF 6
OODA 5
Agriculture 8 Professional
Animal Husbandry 4 Competent
Aquatics 1 Novice
Climbing 1 Novice
Computing 1 Novice
Driving 6 Competent
Fieldcraft 8 Professional
Forensics 6 Competent
Hand-to-Hand 5 Competent
Hand Weapons 3 Novice
Intimidation 5 Competent
Language (English) 6 Competent (native)
Language (Spanish) 1 Novice
Longarm 7 Competent
Medicine 1 Novice
Mounts 4 Competent
Persuasion 4 Competent
Sidearm 7 Competent
Streetcraft 4 Competent
Tactics 1 Novice
Obviously, Neil isn't a particularly min-maxed character where his skills are concerned. Still, he has several that are ready to roll over to the next rating with a single successful learning experience.
Step Five: Derived Values
I decide to use the Stage III calculations where appropriate, as I've already been using some other Stage III rules.
Wound Thresholds
Neil has MUS 7 and FIT 9. These plug into the wound threshold formula to give him a base wound threshold of (10 + 7 + [2 x 9]) / 4 = 9. His wound thresholds are:
Head: Slight 1, Moderate 5, Serious 9, Critical 14
Torso: Slight 1, Moderate 9, Serious 18, Critical 27
Limbs: Slight 1, Moderate 9, Serious 14, Critical 18
Fatigue Thresholds
Neil has FIT 9 and RES 7. These provide the following fatigue thresholds:
Slight: 5
Moderate: 9
Serious: 14
Critical: 16
Movement Speeds
Neil's MUS 7 gives him only slightly better than average movement: Sprint 14, Run 10, Trot 8. With FIT 9, however, he can march fairly quickly: 6 km/hr.
Physique
Neil's been pared down by the privations of the Last Year, but he's always been in fairly good shape, if not an athletic superstar. I decide to give him an Average build.
For height, I roll 4d20 for a result of 43. Neil is 181cm or 1.81m tall (about 5'11").
For weight, I square Neil's height and multiply it by a factor of 19 for his average build. He's 62 kilograms (137 pounds) after the Last Year's starvation diet.
Carrying Capacity
Neil's combat load is (20 + MUS)% of his body weight. With MUS 7, 27% of 62 kg is 17 kg.
His march load is (26 + MUS + FIT)% of his body weight. With FIT 9, 42% of 62 kg is 26 kg.
His emergency load is (55 + MUS + FIT + RES)% of his body weight. With RES 7, 78% of 62 kg is 48 kg. This is also Neil's starting gear allocation.
Neil's damaging load is twice his emergency load, or 96 kg.
Nutritional Requirements
Neil weighs 62 kg; multiplied by 10, this is 620. Adding 1,200 calories for a male character gives Neil a daily food intake requirement of 1,820 calories, rounded off to 1,800.
Contacts
With PER 6 and age 33, Neil will begin play with 9 contacts. I decide to split these evenly between the four contact categories, with the extra one going to Information. Rolls for contact quality give me the following starting contact ratings:
Information Green
Information Regular
Information Regular
Reinforcement Regular
Reinforcement Regular
Service Green
Service Experienced
Trade Green
Trade Experienced
Survival Points
At age 33, Neil has a maximum of 7 SPs.
Gearing Up
Neil gets 48 kg of equipment. My first pass of gear selection is to equip him with a duty uniform, weapons, body armor, and everyday pocket items. While he's not a combat monster, I expect I'll need to carry my share of the load in fights.
Item Weight
Fatigues, mild weather (KSP uniform) 1.2 kg
Combat boots 2 kg
Undercover vest 2.3 kg
Sunglasses negligible
Wristwatch 0.1 kg
Cigarette lighter, refillable 0.1 kg
Flashlight, tactical 0.1 kg
Handcuffs 0.3 kg
2x 15-round magazine of .40 S&W 0.8 kg
Multitool 0.3 kg
Throwing knife 0.5 kg
Plate carrier vest 1 kg
Level III trauma plates (front/back) 3.4 kg
Quad rifle magazine carrier 0.1 kg
4x 30-round magazine of 5.56mm 2.4 kg
Medical pouch 0.2 kg
IFAK 0.4 kg
Radio pouch 0.1 kg
Tactical radio 1 kg
Covert headset negligible
Utility pouch 0.2 kg
Binoculars, compact, Mag-2 0.3 kg
Energy bar x3 0.3 kg
Notepad and pencil negligible
Small batteries, 4-pack negligible
Hydration bladder carrier 0.3 kg
Hydration bladder, 2 liters (full) 2.1 kg
Thigh holster 0.2 kg
Glock 35 0.9 kg
Night sights -
2x 15-round magazine of .40 S&W 0.8 kg
Weapon light, small 0.1 kg
Colt 6920 2.5 kg
30-round magazine of 5.56mm 0.6 kg
Reflex sight, unpowered, Mag-1 0.2 kg
Weapon light, large 0.2 kg
Sling 0.2 kg
4 negligible-weight items 0.1 kg
The Colt 6920 is a semi-automatic (ROF S) equivalent of the M4A1. The Glock 35 (the current KSP sidearm) will use the same traits as a generic .40 S&W service pistol, but has a 15-round magazine (hence the increased magazine weight). All of the .40 caliber ammo is hollowpoint; all of the 5.56mm ammo is standard ball.
I think hard about giving Neil a helmet, but ultimately it doesn't fit the character - he's not SWAT-trained and he was never military. The soft armor is his daily wear, and he'll throw on the much less comfortable plate carrier and its accoutrements when he's expecting trouble.
His combat gear totals 25.3 kg, which brings him in just under his march load for encumbrance.
Next up is snivel gear and supplies, for which Neil has 22.7 kg remaining:
Item Weight
Civilian frame pack 2.7 kg
Outfit, mild weather 1.3 kg
Rain gear 1.2 kg
Compass negligible
Printed map, expected area of ops negligible
2x 1-liter water bottle (full) 2.4 kg
Personal water filter 0.5 kg
Bivouac bag 0.3 kg
Toilet tissue, 1 roll 0.1 kg
Pain reliever, mild, 10 units 0.1 kg
Antidiarrheal, pill, 5 units 0.1 kg
Gun cleaning kit 0.3 kg
Bolt cutters 2.5 kg
Prybar 0.2 kg
Digital camera, consumer-grade 0.1 kg
Paperback farmer's almanac 0.5 kg
Camping food, 6 meals 3 kg
Small batteries, 4-pack x2 negligible
50 rounds of .40 S&W 1 kg
100 rounds of 5.56mm 1.4 kg
4 negligible-weight items 0.1 kg
This assortment of basic survival supplies and tools should be sufficient for him to keep himself and his gear in working order for short missions in most weather. The pack weighs in at 17.8 kg, leaving a whopping 4.9 kg free for anything else I think of after seeing what the rest of the team is starting with.
- C.
---
By request...
After some bribery, I manage to convince one of my local players to put on the GM's pointy hat for a while. He decides he's going to run a campaign set in our home state of Kentucky, focusing on a mixed group of military, law enforcement, and civilian personnel who are a field team for the state government's recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Step Zero: Concept
As I get bored with narrowly-focused specialist characters, I decide to play a jack of all trades (and master of none, but that's the tradeoff), someone who'll be equally useful in combat, investigation, and downtime. A lot of the state economy is based on agriculture, so a character from one of the many rural counties seems appropriate. For the combat and investigation skill sets, I think a police background is a better fit than a military one. After playing with a random name generator and poking at a few state maps, I settle on Neil Grafton, a native of the appropriately-named Barren County (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barren_County,_Kentucky).
If this were a movie, Neil would be played by Jason Statham (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Statham). I'll nail down his precise age as I work through his life path, but for now I envision him being in his early to mid 30s.
Step One: Attributes
Not being a big fan of random attribute rolls (because my historical average is well below what probabilities suggest is appropriate), I ask the GM if I can use the point allocation system to get Neil's starting attributes. He agrees and gives me 56 points to play with, building at the "experienced" level. I know Neil's destined for a career in law enforcement, so I allocate my points with the Local Police phase (p. 106) in mind.
I see Neil as physically capable but not particularly imposing, so I start with Local Police's minimum values of 7 in each physical attribute. I don't want him to be deficient in any area, so I put 6 points in each mental attribute. Four 7s and four 6s total 52 points, leaving me 4 to put where I want them. I decide to put one each in Resolve, Cognition, Fitness, and Awareness. With all 56 points allocated, Neil's initial CUF and OODA are equal to half of Resolve and Awareness, respectively. At age 18, Neil's attributes look like this:
AWA 8
CDN 7
FIT 8
MUS 7
COG 7
EDU 6
PER 6
RES 7
CUF 4
OODA 4
Step Two: Background Skills (and Advantages and Disadvantages)
With COG 7, Neil gets (COG + 9) 16 points for background skills. First off is his native language of English, into which I put 3 points (doubled to 6). As a good country boy, he should have the obligatory package of farm-related skills: 2 points each in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Mounts. He also knows how to drive and shoot and has a passing familiarity with the fields and forests of the state: 2 points each in Driving, Longarm, and Fieldcraft. This leaves me with 1 background skill point unspent, so I go for the Stage III options to see if any advantages or disadvantages seem appropriate.
Disadvantages will give me more skill points to play with, so I go for them first. Neil's going to be a cop, and I don't see him leaving his post during the Collapse, so he's likely to be exposed to more of the badness than an average citizen of the state would. I take 2 points in Irradiated, adding two 2d20H rolls to his starting rads (I'll have to remember that in Step Five). Why was he so dedicated? Well, he's something of an idealist, having bought into the "thin blue line" ethos during his law enforcement career. I select Code (Warrior Code) for another 3 points.
I now have a net 6 points of background skills - time for some advantages. As a kid from a poor county, Neil needed some sort of advantage to get into college, so I decide he went on a baseball scholarship: 1 point gives him a level of Throwing Arm. Direction Sense appeals for no reason I can name, so 2 points pick up that advantage. I sink 1 point into Home Territory (Barren County) on the off chance that the campaign will take the PCs back to Neil's home county. The final 2 skill points go to raising Agriculture and Fieldcraft by 1 point each. At age 18, Neil's skills look like this:
Agriculture 3
Animal Husbandry 2
Driving 2
Fieldcraft 3
Language (English) 6
Longarm 2
Mounts 2
Step Three: Life Path Phases
Phase 1: Undergraduate University (2 years, age 18-20)
I have a fairly good idea of Neil's career path at this point, so I plunge him into his first attempt at college: a baseball scholarship and a declared major of Agriculture, with the intent of taking over the family farm when his father retires. Neil leaves home to attend Eastern Kentucky University.
Two years of college give Neil (2 + COG = 9) points of professional skills. I spend 4 to raise his EDU from 6 to 7, which grants him his first degree: Agricultural Science. With 5 points remaining, I sink 2 each into Agriculture and Animal Husbandry for Neil's primary field of study. The last professional skill point goes into Computing as Neil picks up basic computer literacy.
Two years in this phase give Neil two personal skill points. I put both points into Hand Weapons (swinging a bat for EKU's baseball team).
At age 20, Neil has the following skills:
Agriculture 5
Animal Husbandry 4
Computing 1
Driving 2
Fieldcraft 3
Hand Weapons 2
Language (English) 6
Longarm 2
Mounts 2
Phase 2: Farming (4 years, age 20-24)
Like many young adults in Kentucky, Neil wasn't prepared for college the first time around; he failed to maintain his grades and lost his baseball scholarship. Neil returns home to Barren County to work the farm for a few years while he figures out what he's going to do with his life now.
Four years of farming provide 14 skill points, at least 3 of which must go into either Agriculture or Animal Husbandry. The family primarily raises tobacco, so 3 points go straight into Agriculture. I have an ulterior motive of wanting Neil to be a competent rider during play, so 2 more points go to Mounts, leaving 9 to work with. 3 points go into Fieldcraft, 1 into Longarm, and the final 4 are used to buy another point of Fitness.
Four years of life on the farm provide another 4 personal skill points. I put 1 each into Streetcraft and Driving for Neil's frequent trips back to EKU to see his friends and the last 2 into Persuasion to represent gradual maturity in interpersonal relationships.
Now 24 years old, Neil has the following skills:
Agriculture 8
Animal Husbandry 4
Computing 1
Driving 3
Fieldcraft 6
Hand Weapons 2
Language (English) 6
Longarm 3
Mounts 4
Persuasion 2
Streetcraft 1
Phase 3: Undergraduate University (2 years, age 24-26)
Neil's uncle is a sheriff's deputy in neighboring Edmonson County. When Neil was growing up, he was Neil's mentor in hunting and hiking, and he takes the time to give Neil occasional counseling on getting his life back on track. Inspired by his uncle's example, Neil reapplies to EKU and is accepted. He shoulders the burden of student loans and enters the school's Criminal Justice program to finish his degree.
Once again, two years of college provide 9 points of professional skills. Again, I spend 4 to raise Neil's EDU 7 to 8, picking up a degree in Law. 3 points go toward Forensics, and the last 2 are spent on Persuasion. I put Neil's 2 personal skill points for this phase into Driving and Streetcraft.
At age 26, Neil's skill spread is:
Agriculture 8
Animal Husbandry 4
Computing 1
Driving 3
Fieldcraft 6
Forensics 3
Hand Weapons 2
Language (English) 6
Longarm 3
Mounts 4
Persuasion 4
Streetcraft 2
Phase 4: Local Police (3 years, age 26-29)
After graduating from EKU, Neil is hired by the Kentucky State Police and enters the department's academy. After being sworn in as a trooper, he's assigned to Post 14 in Ashland, about as far east as you can get and still be in Kentucky. The Appalachian foothills are nothing like Barren County, but Neil manages.
For his first pass through Local Police, Neil picks up the Law Enforcement training package: Driving 2, Forensics 1, Hand-to-Hand 3, Hand Weapons 3, Intimidation 3, Longarm 1, Persuasion 1, and Sidearm 3. Unfortunately, he receives only half the benefit (rounded down) for each skill in which he already has points, so his actual gains are Driving 1, Hand-to-Hand 3, Hand Weapons 1, Intimidation 3, and Sidearm 3. The package also grants 1 point each of CUF and OODA. Neil does receive 4 points of professional skills for this pass. 1 point goes into Language (Spanish) to represent a crash course for street translation, 2 boost Streetcraft, and 1 increases Forensics.
3 years in Local Police grant the standard 3 personal skill points. Neil devotes most of his free time to career development, giving him another point each in Intimidation, Forensics, and Persuasion.
Police work can be hazardous, so I decide to roll on the Hazardous Duty Table (p. 129) at the Acceptable level. A 2d6+14 roll gives me a result of 22 - nothing happens.
Neil also gains Local Police Rank 1.
At the end of his first Local Police pass, Neil has the following skills:
Agriculture 8
Animal Husbandry 4
Computing 1
Driving 4
Fieldcraft 6
Forensics 4
Hand-to-Hand 3
Hand Weapons 3
Intimidation 3
Language (English) 6
Language (Spanish) 1
Longarm 3
Mounts 4
Persuasion 4
Sidearm 3
Streetcraft 4
Phase 5: Local Police (3 years, age 29-32)
Neil stays in the KSP for another three years, still working out of the Ashland post. He receives 14 points of professional skills. 4 go toward raising Awareness from 8 to 9 as Neil gradually develops his "cop sense." 2 points each go into basic police proficiencies: Forensics, Driving, Intimidation, Sidearm, and Hand-to-Hand. Neil's 3 points of personal skills are invested in his new vacation pastime of hunting trips out west with some of his fellow troopers: 1 point each in Longarm, Fieldcraft, and Climbing.
At the end of the phase, it's time to check for promotion. This is a Cognition check for Local Police rank, with a penalty of -3 at Rank 1. I roll 2d20L for a die result of 1! Somehow, Neil distinguishes himself, attaining promotion to Local Police Rank 2.
Neil also crossed his first aging threshold during this phase, so I check for attribute loss. At the 30-year mark, the only possibility is a CDN loss on a 1d10 roll of 1. The die comes up 3, so Neil's CDN is safe for now.
Finally, I decide to take another roll on the Hazardous Duty Table. This time, I gamble and go for Significant risk. The 2d10+10 roll comes out 17 - at some point in this phase, Neil was involved in some sort of vehicle-related emergency. As he doesn't yet have any points in Aquatics, I decide it was something boat-related and put the free skill point there.
The 32-year-old Neil has the following skills:
Agriculture 8
Animal Husbandry 4
Aquatics 1
Climbing 1
Computing 1
Driving 6
Fieldcraft 7
Forensics 6
Hand-to-Hand 5
Hand Weapons 3
Intimidation 5
Language (English) 6
Language (Spanish) 1
Longarm 4
Mounts 4
Persuasion 4
Sidearm 5
Streetcraft 4
Step Four: The Last Year: Irregular Warfare (1 year, age 32-33)
Neil's now in his early 30s, which is the age I'd targeted for the character. It's time to blow up the world.
During the Collapse, Neil stays at his post - one of a handful of troopers who don't desert or (more likely) die over the course of the Last Year. Most of his duties involve the unpleasant task of trying to maintain order as the tri-state region of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia breaks down. This could be either Irregular Warfare or Twilight Warfare. I decide on the former, as it'll give Neil slightly more skill points.
Irregular Warfare provides (AWA + 3 = 12) professional skill points. As his job shifts from law enforcement to ad hoc militia duty, Neil has more use for his rifle than his handgun, so 3 points go into Longarm and 2 into Sidearm. Four points raise his CUF by 1. The last the points get split between Fieldcraft, Tactics, and Medicine.
Neil's base rad accrual is 1d10 x 1d20: 12 x 2, or 24. However, the disadvantage I took earlier now comes back to haunt me. Two 2d20H rolls come out 15 and 17, giving Neil a total of 56 rads.
Irregular Warfare grants no promotion check, so Neil stays at Local Police Rank 2.
Neil gets a base of 3 equipment dice, plus the margin of success (if any) on a CUF check. A die result of 4 gives me a MoS of 2, so Neil will contribute 5 equipment dice to the group pool.
I decide not to risk another Hazardous Duty Table roll - the Last Year was hazard enough. I now have Neil's final attribute and skill values, and I can calculate his starting skill ratings:
AWA 9
CDN 7
FIT 9
MUS 7
COG 7
EDU 8 (Ag Science, Law)
PER 6
RES 7
CUF 6
OODA 5
Agriculture 8 Professional
Animal Husbandry 4 Competent
Aquatics 1 Novice
Climbing 1 Novice
Computing 1 Novice
Driving 6 Competent
Fieldcraft 8 Professional
Forensics 6 Competent
Hand-to-Hand 5 Competent
Hand Weapons 3 Novice
Intimidation 5 Competent
Language (English) 6 Competent (native)
Language (Spanish) 1 Novice
Longarm 7 Competent
Medicine 1 Novice
Mounts 4 Competent
Persuasion 4 Competent
Sidearm 7 Competent
Streetcraft 4 Competent
Tactics 1 Novice
Obviously, Neil isn't a particularly min-maxed character where his skills are concerned. Still, he has several that are ready to roll over to the next rating with a single successful learning experience.
Step Five: Derived Values
I decide to use the Stage III calculations where appropriate, as I've already been using some other Stage III rules.
Wound Thresholds
Neil has MUS 7 and FIT 9. These plug into the wound threshold formula to give him a base wound threshold of (10 + 7 + [2 x 9]) / 4 = 9. His wound thresholds are:
Head: Slight 1, Moderate 5, Serious 9, Critical 14
Torso: Slight 1, Moderate 9, Serious 18, Critical 27
Limbs: Slight 1, Moderate 9, Serious 14, Critical 18
Fatigue Thresholds
Neil has FIT 9 and RES 7. These provide the following fatigue thresholds:
Slight: 5
Moderate: 9
Serious: 14
Critical: 16
Movement Speeds
Neil's MUS 7 gives him only slightly better than average movement: Sprint 14, Run 10, Trot 8. With FIT 9, however, he can march fairly quickly: 6 km/hr.
Physique
Neil's been pared down by the privations of the Last Year, but he's always been in fairly good shape, if not an athletic superstar. I decide to give him an Average build.
For height, I roll 4d20 for a result of 43. Neil is 181cm or 1.81m tall (about 5'11").
For weight, I square Neil's height and multiply it by a factor of 19 for his average build. He's 62 kilograms (137 pounds) after the Last Year's starvation diet.
Carrying Capacity
Neil's combat load is (20 + MUS)% of his body weight. With MUS 7, 27% of 62 kg is 17 kg.
His march load is (26 + MUS + FIT)% of his body weight. With FIT 9, 42% of 62 kg is 26 kg.
His emergency load is (55 + MUS + FIT + RES)% of his body weight. With RES 7, 78% of 62 kg is 48 kg. This is also Neil's starting gear allocation.
Neil's damaging load is twice his emergency load, or 96 kg.
Nutritional Requirements
Neil weighs 62 kg; multiplied by 10, this is 620. Adding 1,200 calories for a male character gives Neil a daily food intake requirement of 1,820 calories, rounded off to 1,800.
Contacts
With PER 6 and age 33, Neil will begin play with 9 contacts. I decide to split these evenly between the four contact categories, with the extra one going to Information. Rolls for contact quality give me the following starting contact ratings:
Information Green
Information Regular
Information Regular
Reinforcement Regular
Reinforcement Regular
Service Green
Service Experienced
Trade Green
Trade Experienced
Survival Points
At age 33, Neil has a maximum of 7 SPs.
Gearing Up
Neil gets 48 kg of equipment. My first pass of gear selection is to equip him with a duty uniform, weapons, body armor, and everyday pocket items. While he's not a combat monster, I expect I'll need to carry my share of the load in fights.
Item Weight
Fatigues, mild weather (KSP uniform) 1.2 kg
Combat boots 2 kg
Undercover vest 2.3 kg
Sunglasses negligible
Wristwatch 0.1 kg
Cigarette lighter, refillable 0.1 kg
Flashlight, tactical 0.1 kg
Handcuffs 0.3 kg
2x 15-round magazine of .40 S&W 0.8 kg
Multitool 0.3 kg
Throwing knife 0.5 kg
Plate carrier vest 1 kg
Level III trauma plates (front/back) 3.4 kg
Quad rifle magazine carrier 0.1 kg
4x 30-round magazine of 5.56mm 2.4 kg
Medical pouch 0.2 kg
IFAK 0.4 kg
Radio pouch 0.1 kg
Tactical radio 1 kg
Covert headset negligible
Utility pouch 0.2 kg
Binoculars, compact, Mag-2 0.3 kg
Energy bar x3 0.3 kg
Notepad and pencil negligible
Small batteries, 4-pack negligible
Hydration bladder carrier 0.3 kg
Hydration bladder, 2 liters (full) 2.1 kg
Thigh holster 0.2 kg
Glock 35 0.9 kg
Night sights -
2x 15-round magazine of .40 S&W 0.8 kg
Weapon light, small 0.1 kg
Colt 6920 2.5 kg
30-round magazine of 5.56mm 0.6 kg
Reflex sight, unpowered, Mag-1 0.2 kg
Weapon light, large 0.2 kg
Sling 0.2 kg
4 negligible-weight items 0.1 kg
The Colt 6920 is a semi-automatic (ROF S) equivalent of the M4A1. The Glock 35 (the current KSP sidearm) will use the same traits as a generic .40 S&W service pistol, but has a 15-round magazine (hence the increased magazine weight). All of the .40 caliber ammo is hollowpoint; all of the 5.56mm ammo is standard ball.
I think hard about giving Neil a helmet, but ultimately it doesn't fit the character - he's not SWAT-trained and he was never military. The soft armor is his daily wear, and he'll throw on the much less comfortable plate carrier and its accoutrements when he's expecting trouble.
His combat gear totals 25.3 kg, which brings him in just under his march load for encumbrance.
Next up is snivel gear and supplies, for which Neil has 22.7 kg remaining:
Item Weight
Civilian frame pack 2.7 kg
Outfit, mild weather 1.3 kg
Rain gear 1.2 kg
Compass negligible
Printed map, expected area of ops negligible
2x 1-liter water bottle (full) 2.4 kg
Personal water filter 0.5 kg
Bivouac bag 0.3 kg
Toilet tissue, 1 roll 0.1 kg
Pain reliever, mild, 10 units 0.1 kg
Antidiarrheal, pill, 5 units 0.1 kg
Gun cleaning kit 0.3 kg
Bolt cutters 2.5 kg
Prybar 0.2 kg
Digital camera, consumer-grade 0.1 kg
Paperback farmer's almanac 0.5 kg
Camping food, 6 meals 3 kg
Small batteries, 4-pack x2 negligible
50 rounds of .40 S&W 1 kg
100 rounds of 5.56mm 1.4 kg
4 negligible-weight items 0.1 kg
This assortment of basic survival supplies and tools should be sufficient for him to keep himself and his gear in working order for short missions in most weather. The pack weighs in at 17.8 kg, leaving a whopping 4.9 kg free for anything else I think of after seeing what the rest of the team is starting with.