Creating “Beware the Boogeyman” – Part 3

Happy GURPSDay to all!

Today is the third and final post on creating the “Beware the Boogeyman” game for a convention at the end of the month (here are parts one and two if you need to catch up). Due to an ill-timed car kerfuffle (aren’t they always?), the prep won’t be completed today — but, I’d rather not stretch this out to a fourth installment, so I’ll just continue adding to and editing this post over the next couple of weeks as I finish things up.

What I do have for you today is all six of the pre-gen PCs now completed. You can take a peek at them all here, or individually below.

Barkley

Barkely is a Domovoi, a protective spirit in the body of a dog, whose sole mission in life is keeping 9-year-old Eva safe from harm. His primary skills are Digging and Tracking. He also has an Intimidating Bark that can shake the resolve of enemies (contest of Intimidating Bark vs. Will to avoid a penalty to all skill rolls equal to the margin of failure, maximum of -4). In combat, he has a strong bite and decent claw damage, but has almost no DR. Barkley’s main disadvantage is that he gets distracted very easily (“Squirrel!”).

barkley

Shadow

Shadow is also a Domovoi, though in the body of a cat, and her protectee is 7-year-old Peter. Her primary skills are Acrobatics, Climbing, and Stealth. In combat, she has strong claw damage and a decent bite, but almost no DR. Shadow’s main disadvantage is a fear of dogs (though Barkley does not trigger this phobia, as their essence is both Domovoi).

shadow

Soldier Man

Soldier Man is an action figure of a WWII soldier who comes to life at night to protect Peter from the Boogeyman and his minions. His primary skills are Fighting, Guns (Rifle), and Knife, and he has decent DR (4 on Torso, 2 on limbs). He has one of only two ranged attacks in the party, and his is the only one with a RoF over 1. Soldier Man’s main disadvantage is a fear of being abandoned or left alone.

soldier-man

Tim-Tom Toot

Tim-Tom Toot is the imaginary friend of Peter, and a furry monster. His primary skills are a foul gas attack (the titular “toot”) which may nauseate all those in adjacent hexes, and the ability to spend FP to snatch useful items from his Backpack of Infinity. His skill at doing this is high, at 15 (“I want an apple”), but there are numerous penalties for trying to produce items that are bigger, rarer, etc. (“I want a key that can fit this door”). Tim-Tom’s main disadvantage is that he will immediately cease to exist should Peter ever stop believing in him (or die).

I expect he will be the most challenging character to GM for, since he can literally try to pull anything out of his backpack (the main limiter here is that it costs 4 FP per pull).

tim-tom-toot

Valorous McMane

Valorous McMane is the imaginary friend of Eva, and a rainbow-maned unicorn. Her primary skills are the ability to Shield (1 DR/2 FP, max. of 2 DR) and Heal (1 HP/2 FP), and she has a huge pool of FP (20) for doing so. Valorous’s main disadvantage is that she will immediately cease to exist should Eva ever stop believing in her (or die).

valorius-mcmane

Z-Rex

Z-Rex is a radio controlled toy dinosaur who comes to life at night to keep Eva safe. His primary skills are Fighting and Slam. He can also Super Jump up to 10 yards (and use that as a ranged attack), and has the best DR of the group (DR 4, all locations). Z-Rex’s main disadvantage is a fear of water (which fries his electronics).

z-rex-no-shadow

So, that’s the party! All the PCs have some things in common:

  • An actual Duty to either Eva or Peter (given to them by the Fairy Council)
  • A Sense of Duty to either Eva or Peter (just from being fond of them and around them so much)
  • A Sense of Duty to other Guardians (hey, we’re all in this together)
  • Luck (a must-have for most adventuring PCs!)
  • A Move of 6, and a Dodge/Parry of 10 or 11 (to make my life easier)
  • Common skills likely to come up (Climbing, First Aid, Search, etc.)
  • The Dream Lore skill (a catch-all for knowledge of the Dream Realm)

I imagine there will be quite a bit of combat as they battle their way to the Boogeyman, but it doesn’t strike me as the sort of game that needs the traditional “Karate/Judo/Wrestling” differentiation, so everyone just has a Fighting skill. The toys, Soldier Man and Z-Rex, are the primary actual “fighters,” but all the PCs have at least one decent attack to defend themselves with.

I have some thoughts on the six encounters I decided on last week which I’ll share as soon as I can. Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback on this pack of pre-gen PCs. I’m feeling like this game is going to be either epic fun, or a total train wreck!

 

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1 Comment

  1. Really showing how a custom game can be amazingly different from what’s commonly considered a RPG here, Mook. Love it. Heh. Barkley…

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