Stripped Gears Character Creation

Character Creation

For a standard campaign of Stripped Gears, a player makes two characters — a robot and an owner.

Humans

Humans start with 85 character points, or CP, which can be used to buy the following features.

Stats

Every human character has six stats that determine general aptitudes: Body, Charm, Command, Coordination, Mind, and Sense. A human cannot have a stat higher than 5. Stats default to 2 and cost 5 CP to raise.

• Body describes physical toughness and power. A character with low Body could be considered "scrawny", while a character with high Body could be referred to as "beefy".

• Charm describes a character's ability to manipulate social situations. A character with low Charm could be considered "boorish", while a character with high Charm could be referred to as "persuasive".

• Command describes a character's force of personality. A character with low Command could be considered "meek", while a character with high Command could be referred to as "forceful".

• Coordination describes physical agility and dexterity. A character with low Coordination could be considered "clumsy", while a character with high Coordination could be referred to as "graceful".

• Mind describes a character's intelligence. A character with low Mind could be considered "stupid", while a character with high Mind could be referred to as "brilliant".

• Sense describes a character's ability to perceive the world around them. A character with low Sense could be considered "oblivious", while a character with high Sense could be referred to as "vigilant".

Skills

Skills represent learning and life experience above and beyond natural aptitude. When a character uses a skill, they add their Skill total to the appropriate Stat to find the size of their die pool. For example, a character with Robotics (Hardware) 3 and Mind 4 would roll seven dice in their pool. Humans can raise no skill higher than 6, but they can attempt to use any skill - even ones they aren't trained in - as long as they have at least a 2-die pool. For example, a person with Mind 1 can attempt an untrained Cooking check with the help of some situational bonuses, like a detailed cookbook (+1), a well-stocked kitchen (+1), and enough time to be careful and do things right (+1 or 2), bumping his overall die pool up to 3 or 4.

Buying a point of a skill costs 1CP.

Body Skills

• Athletics: You are able to run efficiently, use your body’s leverage to lift heavier things than otherwise, climb rapidly, and so on.

• Block: You can intercept and deflect incoming attacks.

• Endurance: Endurance lets you push through pain and push your body to its limits.

• Melee Combat [Type]: You are skilled in a type of melee combat or weapon focus. Example Types: Boxing, Judo, Wrestling, Swords, Clubs, Flails.

Coordination Skills

• Acrobatics: You are a skilled gymnast and can complete flips, rolls, and handsprings. You can also use this skill to fall properly and to retain your footing after being thrown or knocked back.

• Ranged Weapons [Type]: You know how to use ranged weapons. Example Types: Guns, Throwing Knives, Crossbow.

• Dodge: You are adept at getting out of the way of attacks and danger you can see coming.

• Vehicle [Type]: You have training in the use of a specific type of vehicle. Routine use does not require a roll. Example Types: Car, Motorcycle, Truck, Blimp, Hang-Glider, Jet Aircraft, Helicopter, Sailboat, Speedboat.

• Escape Artist: You are skilled at escaping ropes, handcuffs, and other restraint devices.

• Lockpick: You are familiar with how to force, pick or bypass locks.

• Pick Pocket: You are skilled at sleight of hand and are capable of stealing jewelry, wallets, and other personal effects from people without their knowledge. This typically means a dynamic contest of your Coordination+Pick Pocket vs. the victim's Sense+Perception.

• Stealth: You are light on your feet and know how to remain unheard and out of sight. This typically means a dynamic contest of your Coordination+Stealth against their Sense+Perception.

Sense Skills

• Awareness: The ability to rapidly track changes in an environment.

• Empathy: The ability to discern lies and the emotional state of a person.

• Perception: The ability to rapidly spot details at a glance (like spotting an access panel on an enemy robot).

• Scrutiny: The ability to sift through an area or document in an organized manner.

Mind Skills

• Computer Hardware: You can repair and build computers.

• Cooking: You can cook.

• Programming: You can program or reprogram computers.

• Electronics: You can build, repair, and disassemble electronics without electrocuting yourself.

• First Aid: With the proper equipment, you can treat minor wounds in the field and help a badly injured patient survive long enough for more intensive treatment.

• Forgery: You can forge documents and recognize forgeries.

• Housekeeping: You can clean, put beds in order, and handle simple, regular maintenance of the household (like changing light bulbs).

• Mechanic [Type]: You can repair or build machinery of a particular type. Example Types: Cars, Jet Aircraft, Industrial Machinery.

• -Ology [Type]: A catchall skill for any form of high-level field. Example Types: Criminology, Cardiology, Law, Psychiatry

• Robotics (Hardware): You have the ability to work on the mechanical and electronic hardware of a robot.

• Robotics (Software): You have the ability to write and refine software packages for robots.

• Tactics: You are well versed in the arts of war and know how to use terrain, manpower, and equipment to coordinate attacks, prepare and avoid ambushes, and gain the upper hand in battles.

Command Skills

• Intimidation: You can cause a person to fear you through physical or psychological threats. This usually means a dynamic contest between Command+Intimidation and Charm+Resist.

• Leadership: You can effectively guide and direct others, even under fire.

• Performance [Type]: You have an entertaining skill and the confidence to perform it in front of large groups. Example Types: Acting, Flute, Guitar, Public Speaking, Singing.

• Robotics (Command): You know what orders to give to get the most out of your robot in-combat.

• Seduction: You’re skilled at attracting and manipulating others, particularly in a romantic sense.

Charm Skills

• Counseling: You can talk down a traumatized individual.

• Deception: You can obfuscate the truth and create convincing lies.

• Persuasion: You can convince people to see your side of an argument.

• Resist: You are unusually resistant to psychological and physical coercion such as intimidation, torture, telepathic attack, and brainwashing.

Advantages

Advantages represent talents and any other feature a character might have that doesn't fall under skills or stats. Players should attempt to tie their advantages to their characters background.

Resources

Resource advantages give the player character 1 bonus CP per level to work with when creating a robot. If the object the CP is spent on is destroyed, the player regains the CP. CP from resource advantages must be spent in the specified area. It represents access to supplies, from a job in a junkyard to a stolen briefcase full of programs.

• Resource: Software - 5CP per level - This resource gives extra CP that must be spent on the robot's skill points.

• Resource: Mods - 5CP per level - This resource gives extra CP that must be spent on add-ons.

• Resource: Hardware - 5CP per level - This resource gives extra CP that must be spent on stats.

• Resource: Repairs - 5CP per level - This resource gives extra CP that must be spent on repairs.

Income

Income advantages give the player character a monthly supply of CP to use to upgrade a robot. It represents the spare money the character has, whether it comes from a job or another source.

• Income - 5 CP per level - This advantage gives one extra robot CP per month of in-game time per level.

Spare Time

Spare time advantages give the player character free time to spend on robot-related activities.

• Busy - 0 CP - The character has 1 free hour per day.
• Time - 5 CP per level - The character has 1 free hour per day per level. Stacks with Busy. Cannot exceed 11.

Robots

Robots start with 20 CP.

Stats

Robots, unlike humans, only have Body, Coordination, and Sense. These physical stats can exceed five in the case of superhumanly strong, agile, and perceptive chassis. Robot stats default to 1, but like human stats they cost 5 points to raise.

Hit Chart

The default hit chart for a robot is shown on the right. Unlike human hit charts, there are add-ons that modify it.

Skills

Robots roll for their skills in the same manner that humans do. A robot's skills are determined by the quality of their skill packages, which can be as simple as Rank 2 (bare-bones) up to a maximum of Rank 8 (superhuman). Unlike a human, a robot that lacks a skill package for a given skill ""cannot"" attempt any use of that skill. Combat skills cost 2 CP to raise, and non-combat skills cost 1 CP. Additionally, skill points must be stored in the brain; see the section on brains under add-ons for more details on this. Robots can buy any skill from the human list.

Add-Ons

Integrated Weapons and Upgrades

• Integrated Weapon (Arm) - arm, 1CP, HP cost varies - Integrating a one handed weapon from the equipment list has a base cost of one HP, and one additional HP for every point of damage in excess of W. Integrated weapons replace hands and prevent robots from taking actions that require their use with that arm. They are also immediately visible, regardless of the observer's perception skill or roll.

• Integrated Weapon (Leg) - leg, 1CP, HP cost varies - Installing a one handed weapon from the equipment list into a robot's leg has a base cost of one health circle, and one additional health circle for every point of damage in excess of W. Innate weapons installed on a robot's leg take a -1d skill penalty, but do 1 extra shock damage on a hit.

• Integrated Weapon (Head or Torso) - head or torso, 1CP, HP cost varies - Installing a one handed weapon from the equipment list into a robot's leg has a base cost of one health circle, and one additional health circle for every point of damage in excess of W. Innate weapons installed on a robot's head or torso take a -3 skill penalty when neither robot is grappling the other, and receive a +1 skill bonus when one robot is.

• Internal Weapon - applied to an integrated weapon, 0CP, 1 HP - Making an innate weapon internal allows the body part it is installed in to conceal it and function normally, causing it to become hidden like other add-ons. It can still be detected using any method that detects add-ons. Switching a weapon from unhidden to hidden requires a draw action. Arms with hidden weapons can be used to punch and grapple normally, but must use a draw action to switch back if the integrated weapon is out.

• Weapon Strength Upgrade - applied to an integrated weapon, 1CP, 1HP - This adds 1 shock damage to an integrated weapon. It can be purchased up to three times per weapon.

• Power Weapon - applied to an integrated weapon, 3CP, 3HP - Converts the shock damage a weapon does into killing damage.

• Piercing Weapon - applied to an integrated weapon, 2CP, 2 health circles - Adds the piercing tag to an integrated weapon that did not originally have it.

Armor

Armor subtracts its value from damage dealt to its location. If a robot with 2 armor on the torso takes 4 killing and 3 shock damage, the damage is reduced to 2 killing and 1 shock. If the damage would be reduced to zero in both types, the robot takes 1 shock damage.

• Light Armor - arm, leg, head, or torso, 1CP, 1 HP - Light armor gives the robot 1 armor in the location it is installed.

• Medium Armor - arm, leg, head, or torso, 2CP, 2HP - Medium armor gives the robot 2 armor in the location it is installed.

• Distributive Armor - arm, leg, head, or torso, 2CP, 2HP - Distributive armor gives the robot 1 armor in the location that it is installed. It also changes 2 killing damage per strike to shock damage before damage reduction is applied.

• Heavy Armor - arm, leg, head, or torso, 3CP, 4HP - Heavy armor gives the robot 3 armor in the location it is installed.

Brains

• Brain - 1CP per skill point stored, 3HP in head or torso - Robots must have exactly one brain in order to function. This brain grants the robot the capacity to remember a number of skill points worth of data equal to its CP cost. Robots with their brains installed in their heads become disabled if the head fills with killing damage.

• Human Interaction Subroutines - applied to brain, 1CP - Robots with human interaction subroutines receive +1 to Style and Realism.

• Parallel Processing - applied to brain, 1CP - The brain excels at doing two things at once. Ignore -1d penalty from one Multiple Action each turn.

• Highly Focused - applied to brain, -1CP - The brain was designed for one specific task. Add +1d to die pools for one skill, but increase the penalty for multiple actions to -2d per action.

• Action-Reaction - applied to brain, -1CP - This brain is designed to give rote responses to specific inputs. Before a fight, secretly select one of the robot's skills and one full round action the opponent is capable of making (single fist attack, parry and blunt weapon attack multiple action, slam attack, etc). If the opponent performs this action on a given round, receive +1d to the dice pool for the tagged skill. If the opponent performs any other action, receive -1d. A robot may also use this for a specific non-combat skill once per scene, outside of fights. Surprises lead to penalties.

Appearance

Because they must be installed on the surface to be visible, multiple appearance mods cannot be installed in the same location unless otherwise noted. Mods in different locations stack their bonuses. Appearance mods do not give any bonuses if their location contains damage. Round all decimals down.

• Poly-Latex Skin - 1CP, 1HP - Poly-latex is the most convincing synthetic skin. Add 1 Realism if installed on the head or torso, and 1/2 Realism if installed on a limb.
• Body Kit - 1CP, 1HP - If you want your robot to stand out, a flashy body kit might do the trick. Add 1 Style if installed on the head or torso, and 1/2 Style if installed on a limb.
• Facial Servos - 1CP, 1HP - Facial servos allow robots to make more realistic facial expressions. They can be installed under other appearance mods. Add 1 Realism.
• Clothing - 1 CP - Robots can wear clothes over their skin like anyone else, but not over bulky body kits. Add 1/2 style for clothes worn on the head or torso, and 1/4 for clothes worn on a limb.

Note that robots can have skin, decorations, facial expressions and clothes without spending CP; they are simply not high quality enough to have a noticeable effect.

Miscellaneous

• Health - 1CP - add two circles to to the hit chart in any location or locations.

• Bulky Components - 0CP - Each location on the robot counts as having one more health circle than it actually does for the purposes of installing mods. The robot takes a -1 penalty to the Realism stat.

• Extra Limb - 1CP, 3 health circles in torso - This gives the robot an extra arm with one health circle, which behaves exactly as a normal arm. The first extra limb is hit on an attack with a height of 3, following limbs are hit on attacks with a height of 5, 7, and 8 in order. Can be purchased a maximum of four times.

Weapons

All weapons are free. However, a robot may only be equipped with as many weapons as she can wield at once.

• Fist - width shock - can grapple, can wield weapon

• Brass Knuckles - width+1 shock - can be used with grapples

• Blunt Weapon (One Hand) - width+2 shock

• Edged Weapon (One Hand) - width shock, 1 killing

• Blunt Weapon (Two Hands) - width+3 shock, requires two hands

• Edged Weapon (Two Hands) - width+1 killing, width shock - requires two hands