Wherein your humble scribe presents an NPC for use with Basic RolePlaying.
Like his nickname, Sergeant Frank “Nails” Braddock is as tough as they come. But it’s not easy being a squad leader in November Company – not with the Desert Fox panting down your neck and the sand and heat dogging your every step. Still, just like his pop before him, the son of Colonel Nathaniel “Tombstone” Braddock knows that man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. And in 1943 that means that brave men must do their part and stand up to the Axis so that world can be made safe for truth and justice.
STR 14 CON 16 SIZ 11 INT 12 POW 10 DEX 10 APP 13
Hit Points 14 Major Wound 7 Power Points 10
Damage Bonus: +1d4
Weapons: Rifle 70%, damage 2d6+2
Revolver 70%, 1d8
Fist 70%, 1d3+1d4
Grenade 55%, 4d6
Armor: none
Skills: Brawling 70%, Climb 60%, Command 35%, Dodge 75%, First Aid 55%, Firearm: Rifle 75%, Firearm: Revolver 65%, Gaming 32%, Grapple 60%, Heavy Machine: Tank 40%, Heavy Weapon: Machinegun Turret 22%, Heavy Weapon: Tank Gun 22%, Insight 25%, Jump 45%, Knowledge: Military History 20%, Language: German 25%, Ride: Horse 30%, Sense 30%, Spot 40%, Status: Army 45%, Stealth 30%, Swim 45%, Throw 55%
Alright, I’m stumped. My video game aptitude must be slipping.
I might also be significantly older than you. That, and I was kind of cheating with this one. I’m referencing Frontline, which probably isn’t actually WWII and definitely didn’t seem to be North Africa theater based. I was writing up Nails for possible use as and NPC in a Thanksgiving one-shot I might be running and figured I’d go ahead and post him. So don’t feel too bad. Ol’ Pao kinda slid a tricky one by ya and any reasonable umpire would probably call it a ball 🙂
Alright, the wikipedia entry helps. I do recall a game where you had to use grenades to get into a tank, and then fight your way from there. Reasonable to assume it could be a WWII game.
Now you got me curious about the one-shot. WWII scenarios could work great with BRP–gritty, deadly, plus all those different skills. I tried this genre a little before with Savage Worlds, but it just didn’t work for me.
Wikipedia to the rescue!
I’ve got a few far-flung friends who tend to make it back to Austin around Thanksgiving time and I try to put together a one-shot thing to do with them. Last year we had a particularly good Western, which may get a sequel this year. But if enough of the folks from that can’t make it this time then I’m leaning towards a WWII scenario, which definitely seems like a good match for BRP.
You know, I’ve never actually played, or even read, Savage Worlds. I mean, I’ve picked it up and flipped through it a couple of times, but there’s something about it that just puts me off. Part of it is the rabid nature of the game’s fans over on RPG.net. Part of it, sadly, is the word “bennies.” Part of it is the different sized dice for different abilities conceit. And a big ol’ part of it is that my grognard brain just doesn’t enjoy wounds systems.
All that said, if someone experienced with the system ran a game I feel like I’d be more than willing to give it a try. What have your experiences been with it, G-Man? Other than it not quite working for WWII, that is.
I liked the concept of Savage Worlds–basically a rules-lite system that reduced prep and run-time for GM’s, so they can focus on the adventure. It looked good on paper. Actually running it with players, though, was a disappointment. The combats could go absolutely wonky, with a tough opponent being a pushover and weaker types a real challenge. The wound levels were a pain in the ass.
And yes, there are legions of rabid fans. They’ll try to educate you on how to use the combat ‘properly’, performing tricks and things like that, using all the nuances of the rules, which you then have to pass on to your players. Seriously, if it takes all that to enjoy a rule system, then maybe there’s something wrong with the rule system.
Chargen isn’t so great (you have to use all your points just to get average stats, and if you do that, you don’t have much left over to buy ‘edges,’ which is what SW purists insist really set your character apart). There’s also the problem of higher-powered characters and NPC’s who accumulate tons of said edges, which you then have to keep straight while playing–very, very similar to the “feat accumulation” problem associated with d20.
Other than that, it’s alright.
Your experience sounds like what I’d come to expect based on the threads I’ve read about Savage Worlds. Everyone is always talking it up and then shouting down the naysayers with “Edges, you FOOL! You must use EDGES!” which pretty much makes me ready to go look for something else to play. I’m old and tired and I don’t want to have to go through all of that just to run and enjoy a game 🙂
Still, if I knew someone who was going to run it (and had the experience to do so) I think I’d give it a try. So all you Savage Worlds fans out there cut me some slack, please 🙂
Thanks for sharing, G-Man. Very helpful insights indeed.
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