This is the fifth of seven blog entries detailing the crew from the Serenity one-shot I ran last weekend. Given that I intend to make use of the same characters for future one-shots, it seems wise to give some more thought to how the characters should be constructed, and perhaps make some adjustments. Additionally, of course, if the characters are useful to others, that is a plus.
Of all the characters, Call was the most controversial, because in the film she is revealed to be an Auton - an artificial person, built by "first generation" artificial people. Of course, the Serenity 'Verse doesn't actually include artificial people, with only the LoveBot coming at all close. So, is it better to leave the character as-is, and thus make a major addition to the 'Verse, or is it better to replace Call's past with something more appropriate.
For the one-shot, I left the character as-is, and it played mostly fine. However, as anticipated, it did provoke something of a discussion (actually, once the game was concluded). And, as anticipated, opinion was rather mixed.
In light of this, I am inclined to revise the character background somewhat. Although the character will retain secrets that she'd rather not see revealed, and will continue to have stealth and tech skills that may surprise, she will no longer be non-human in nature.
The other major change to the character that I want to make is to adjust her skill-set, the better to differentiate her from Vriess. In the one-shot, it was essentially redundant having both these characters - either one could have done as well. So, I'll reduce her Mechanical Engineering, and remove any and all specialities for this skill, and instead boost her Technical Engineering skill. Additionally, the character was rather lacking in the stealth skills she demonstrates in the film, so that should be redressed.
Annalee Call: Technician
Attributes
Agility d6
Strength d4
Vitality d8
Alertness d8
Intelligence d12
Willpower d10
Life Points 18
Initiative d6+d8
Skills
Covert d6
- Infiltration d8
- Open Locks d10
Knowledge d6
- Philosophy d8
- Religion d8
Mechanical Engineering d6
Pilot d2
Planetary Vehicles d4
Scientific Expertise d6
- Mathematical Sciences d10
Technical Engineering d6
- Computer Programming d8
- Create / Alter Technical Devices d10
- Electronics d10
- Hacking d10
- Technical Repair d10
Weapons and Equipment
Call doesn't generally carry any weapons or armour, and in a fight is most likely to seek cover. She dresses in practical overalls, the pockets of which generally carry her ID card and a comlink set to Betty's standard frequency. In addition, she carries a number of small electronic devices of custom design and unknown purpose.
Traits
Math Whiz (minor asset): Call has always been more at home with numbers than with people.
Mechanical Empathy (minor asset): And likewise, she has a greater empathy with machines than people. At least machines have never lied to her.
Steady Calm (minor asset): No matter how crazy things get, nothing ever seems to phase her for long.
Dark Secret (major complication): A few years back, a regulatory problem led to a children's hospital receiving a shipment of contaminated drugs. Were it to become public knowledge that Call was responsible for the mistake, few people would react kindly.
Shy (minor complication): Call finds it hard to speak up for herself amongst people she doesn't know well.
Roleplaying Notes
The newest member of Betty's crew, Call seldom talks about her past. She was born to an unremarkable middle-class family on an unremarkable planet, and enrolled to an unremarkable school. However, her native intelligence, coupled with her affinity for computers let to her quickly being fast-tracked into a top-notch religious school. The rigourous discipline of the school, coupled with the intensive learning environment, lead her to joke that she was built, rather than born.
In her inevitable teenage rebellion, Call avoided the classic "drink and boys" mix, in favour of hacking and burglary. She proved quite adept at this, and so avoided being caught for all but the most minor of infractions. But, of course, since getting caught was a large part of her purpose, this merely inspired her to ever-greater exploits. Eventually, people got hurt.
After her schooling, Call spent some time drifting from one job to another. She could have easily commanded a high wage in a legitimate career, but she could never stomach the tedium. And so, a few months ago she signed on with the crew of Betty, with no real goal than just seeing more of the universe.
Call is an inherently secretive person. She has several talents that she'd simply rather people didn't know about, even those people closest to her. And she's fairly prone to going off-mission, in order to pursue some agenda of her own. Still, outright betrayal is not really her scene - she's more than smart enough to realise the value in not burning bridges.
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