Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

[Short Shot]

Been a while since I read the book and I don't have it handy. Also, "Bodyguard" gets too many hits to really do a search on this so:

 

CREEPY. This is one of those people who, for no particular reason, makes you think "This guy is just creepy/spooky". He is the guy you just don't want to sit next to for no reason you can figure out, you avoid at the water cooler at work, etc. If he says "Can I get you a drink of water?" it comes out as a threat, sarcasm, or an innuendo. I started out with this as a straight disadvantage, thinking he would have a hard time holding down a normal just when he just creeps everyone out, assuming he can get past the interviewer no matter what he says. Is there such a thing as high presence only for negative emotions? How would you work it so he might use it for interrogation? "Would you like a tuna sandwich and a root beer?" from this guy would make a prisoner's mind go into overdrive trying to figure out what fiendish torture can be done with those things.

 

(By the way, his girl friend is an empath who knows what a sweet guy he really is.)

 

BODYGUARD/BOUNCER skills: spotting trouble before it happens. I'm thinking in terms of the bouncer spotting the troublemakers before they actually start anything, or people pretending to be interested in one thing but really watching something else (couple snuggling together off to one side are really high paid assassins packing enough heat to take down a company of Marines). Best I've come up with is "Danger Sense, limited to visible body language".

 

Any thoughts on either of these?

 

Thanks in advance

[Arkham]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

Just for the first one...

+30 PRE Only for fear based presence attacks -1, Always On -1/2

30 Active points, 12 Real points.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

Rather than calling it "fear" I'd call it "intimidating." He's just clearly someone you wouldn't mess with. I've known several such people; they're not necessarily scary but only a fool would take liberties with them. Of course, other bodyguard types are likely to keep a close eye on him.

[Short Shot]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

I'm specifically wanting it to be going on the average person, weather or not he wants it.

 

If I see a guy who looks like Shaquille O'Neil, I won't want to mess with him. However, if I see him with a little girl on his hip making goofy faces to make the kid laugh, I'm not going to be too concerned about him, and will likely grin with them.

 

With the characteristic I'm thinking of, my character could be dressed in the silliest clown outfit and giving away ice cream at a charity event and what comes to mind is the Stephen King character. If he offers to escort an old lady across the street, she thinks she is going to be mugged, even if he is dressed in a tux. Have you ever met someone who said all the right things, was polite and well mannered, but you didn't want to be around? The guy walks up to a group at a party, and the group mysteriously breaks up? They don't have to be big, intimidating, ugly, etc, but they just set everyone on edge.

 

THAT'S the guy I'm talking about.

[Arkham]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

I think the +30 PRE always on should easily fulfill these

requirements...

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

I'd call it the Distinctive Feature limitation, then give them a bonus +1D6 or so to PRE attacks used to creep people out. Make it an extreme distinctive feature and people just don't want to be anywhere near this guy for some odd reason. PC's can ignore this feeling, but the point is, they still feel it.

[Mencelus]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

Weird...mechanics wise, I'd go for the presence attack, or a BOEgo attack, or some such.

 

IRL, I actually knew a guy somewhat like this. Milder case than what you're talking about but, shortly after I hired him (much to my chagrin ), the guy started working and the secretaries were perpetually annoyed by him. Little things he did. They mentioned, in no particular order: "He looks at me strangely," "Why does he always walk here like that ," or, my personal favorite, "I don't know if he fits here?" "Why?" I ask, and she says, "Don't know...just doesn't seem our company's type." From then on they actively joked about him or tried to find things he was doing wrong. Things other employees would do were barely mentioned, whereas EVERYTHING he did was mercilessily scrutinized.

 

He ended up fired a few months later but that that was for different reasons. I should add that this guy had troubles with the cops in the three months I knew him TWICE (and in both cases he as exonerated of all charges or accusations, most of which seemed to come about because, he, ah, seemed "suspicious" to the authorities). At the time, I wanted to say everyone was being racist (he's Black, and so am I), but then I thought, This doesn't happen to me or my other workers who are Black, and, yeah, THEY talk about him too...

 

So, keep the ideas coming. I'd like to see a model for this myself and use it in a game maybe.

[Blue]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

I'm with NSG on the Distinctive Features; "Creepy" is pretty appropriate because it's working against the guy, not for him.

[Short Shot]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

I didn't want to go with just a presence attack because Presence could be bad OR good. Also, I figured this to be a disadvantage most of the time, and why should I have to give positive points for something that screws up his life?

 

What do you think of a 0 or a negative COM along with a middling high PRE? Maybe combined with a distictive feature ?

 

Mencelus, you have exactly the right idea, except with my character you wouldn't have hired him in the first place.

 

So far, his back ground is as follows: Although his physical appearance is very ordinary, he is extremely strong (on a 250 character, I'm thinking a STR of 30 or so). As a child, he was picked on by many for being creepy. One on one, he didn't have any problems defending himself. However, when he got jumped by a group of 8 or so kids a couple grades higher, he nearly killed a couple of them. Feeling really bad about it, he went to a several martial arts studios in town where most of them refused to teach him. He finally found a fair hearing from one who listened to his plea to teach him to fight with enough control that he woundn't accidentally hurt anyone that bad again.

 

Eventually, his main source of income is writing code on a contract basis, restricting his contact with his employers to e-mails and instant messages. He also develops skills for computer security and hacking, more out of boredom than anything else. Not wanting to be a total recluse, he manages to get a job as a bouncer in a dive strip joint using some contacts he made at his martial arts school. Staying in the background as much as possible to avoid driving customers away, he uses his unusual presense to put a damper on trouble before it can get into high gear.

 

It's at the club that he meets his girlfriend. Girlfriend is actually a federal agent working undercover as a dancer and is an empath/telepath. With her abilities, she is able see beyond his strange aura to appriciate the nice guy that his is. When her cover is blown, she gets wind of it soon enough to enlist him as short term protection. The ensuing fight (not the club owners, btw) gives him a rep in certain circles as a good guy to have on your side when the fectal matter his the rotory impeller.

 

She continues to work undercover on other jobs, and she and her agency occationally employ him as a freelance bodyguard both for their agents and for those people under their protection.

[RDU Neil]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

As to the Bodyguard skills... might I suggest the rather simplistic idea of buying PS: Bodyguard. Then define this as, various abilities like scanning a crowd for threats, positioning himself for quick access, recognizing other bodyguards, etc. Keep it general, have the player roll it whenever it might support a perception roll or whatever.

 

That's how I'd encourage my players to do this.

 

Cool character concept, BTW.

[sinanju]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

Is there such a thing as high presence only for negative emotions? How would you work it so he might use it for interrogation?

 

Well, there's the detective Lee Emry (the former Drill Instructor, from Mail Call) played in the film "Hexed." He was interrogating our hero about a murder which our hero was suspected of committing. They'd been at it for a while and detective said:

 

"It's Saturday night and I'm divorced with no charismas. I've got NOWHERE TO GO!"

--as a threat to continue the interrogation for a very long time, it was highly effective.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

I didn't want to go with just a presence attack because Presence could be bad OR good. Also' date=' I figured this to be a disadvantage [i']most[/i] of the time, and why should I have to give positive points for something that screws up his life?

 

 

It may screw up his life, but it might also make the actual game play easier for you...no one messes with him, everyone takes his threats seriously...

 

You can always buy extra presence with 'uncontrolled': it is cheap, and the GM can decide when it works for or against you. Distinctive looks works, as does Reputation (they don't have to know YOU to know your type...), but disadvantages should only rarely work for you and I get the feeling that even though this guy has no life (well, he has that empathic girlfriend...), he is an effective character.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

...as for the Bodyguard skills, I think danger sense works for what you are after. There is already a level of danger sense 'only perceivable threats' - I'd go for that, maybe with bonus levels limited to threats against the person you are protecting. PS Bodygurad is a good thing to have for other reasons, but I wouldn't have thought it useful enough to provide the equivalent of a talent.

[Dust Raven]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

I think the CREEPYness would be handled best with both a Distinctive Feature and some extra PRE. The DF would definately be Not Concealable and Detectable By Everyone and Extreme Reaction. The PRE would just be something like PRE +20 Only To For Maleficent (-1/2) Always On/No Conscious Control (-1/2). This extra PRE would apply to Interaction Skills as well PRE Attacks, though only for this purpose. Any attempt at anything even remotely non-evil will result in a penalty due to his DF.

[Silbeg]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

I'd call it the Distinctive Feature limitation' date=' then give them a bonus +1D6 or so to PRE attacks used to creep people out. Make it an extreme distinctive feature and people just don't want to be anywhere near this guy for some odd reason. PC's can ignore this feeling, but the point is, [i']they still feel it[/i].

This would definately be appropriate, based on what you are looking for. Something like:

20: Distinctive Features: Creepy (Not Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

 

Not Concealable, as you describe the effect happening regardless of what he is wearing, etc. I called it a major reaction, not extreme, as it makes people uncomfortable, but not necessarily running on fear whenever they see him.

 

When he does perform PRE-attacks, he would probably get 1-2d6 extra, depending on the circumstances. However, when he is trying to affect people in a positive way, he would probably get the same as penalty.

[Pappystein]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

Creepyness,

 

Over the years I have delt with a lot of people who were like how you are describing your character (atleast the bad vibe bit). However looking at this from a "normal Joe idiot" way of things, I would feel MUCH safer (to the point of ignoring said creepy person) just knowing they were restrained. While this might be takeing a sledge Hammer to an acorn nut I would probably go with the following:

 

Power Name: Creepout (Mental Illusion)

Class of Mind: Human (All subgroups)

Levels 4D6

 

Modifers:

Continious (It is never not on, even when he sleeps)

Uncontroled (He couldn't turn it "off" if he wanted to or knew about it)

Dose not provide Mental Awareness (Self explainatory on that one)

Requires light to use (He has to be visible to the "target" Not the exact intent of this restriction but a valid point none the less I think)

Restrainable (See above)

Stops working if Mentalist is knocked out (No longer a threat again see above).

Limited by Senses: Touch/Taste Group (Touching a person does not give a vibe off)

Limited by Senses: Radio Group (Ditto)

Limited by Senses: Mental Group (Someone with any sort of Mental Awareness would be able to tell the "good character" this person realy is)

 

 

As stated above there are several reasons why I prefer this method.

1) everyone reacts differently to the same thing. If you are going to creep people out you have to change what you are doing to each individual person...err "Target" .

2) anyone with an Iota of Ego (or better yet Mental Defense) would not have major issues soaking this up after you adjust your DC levels to match your campaign's normal NPC/PC people.

3) I like to do things the complicated way (oh that is not a valid reason!)

4) Someone who is blind would not be any were near as badly by this person than average Joe. Sight is the key sense we as Hunams err Humans use to tell if things are "Right" or "wrong."

5) in my campaigns powers like this I tend to roll once at the start of the eppisode/adventure/insert your favorite term here. This power eliminates enough people to fit your story nicely.

6) I like to do things the Complica.... oh wait! I already said that one

 

There are a lot of reasons to go down the road of the PRE attack... However I do not see your character's Girlfriend falling for him if he has a continious PRE attack ongoing. I won't claim to know the rules half as well as others that have already posted but to reconsile what you are asking I think this is the best route based upon my experiences.

 

Re Your Character's ability to weed out the Chaff from the crowd... Hmm Initialy I like Clairsentience Linked to Danger Sense. However I tend to not allow the higher levels of Danger Sense to do more than provide "you feel a threat on the nearby roof" Unless my Characters roll a natural 3 they would not see the Sniper who is in a Ghili Suit and burried and blended into the refuse on the abandoned warhouse's roof...

 

Danger Sense 30pts

Out of Combat

General Area (I define this in this instace as covering anything in the visible area, not through walls, doors etc).

 

 

 

Precognition Sight group and Normal Hearing 16pts (real cost)

Precognition only -1

Fixed Perception point (SELF) -1

Time Modifiers -1/2 (This sense is 99.9% of the time going to cover stuff in the next few seconds-miniutes).

Only

Increased Arc of Perception 360 Degrees +5pts

No Concious Control -2

Triggered, Auto Reset (Danger Sense activated) +3/4

 

 

 

Hope this is any sort of a Help

Craig P

[Dust Raven]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

Not just Sight Group... but Hearing Group as well.

 

And who knows, he might still sound creepy over the radio, and might have that oddly chill touch of the skin... or might even "smell" funny, though no one will be able to explain exactly what the smell is. Could work exactly how you describe, but could also work other ways.

[Pappystein]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

Not just Sight Group... but Hearing Group as well.

 

And who knows, he might still sound creepy over the radio, and might have that oddly chill touch of the skin... or might even "smell" funny, though no one will be able to explain exactly what the smell is. Could work exactly how you describe, but could also work other ways.

 

Heh, Funny you should mention some of those. I had a disscussion about this subject with most of the group I role play with this afternoon. One of the members IS Creepy (as we have defined it here.) On looking back at him and my previous statement I would have to say that some senses will need to be added or subtracted based upon the character concept. If I would apply the senses my RPGmate exibits it is touch and sound. Sight wise he looks completely normal and there is nothing "visiual" to call him out.

 

Basicaly the character would have to decide what senses his Creepiness is "detected" by and what ones can "see past" the creepiness.

 

Craig P

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

Have you ever met someone who said all the right things' date=' was polite and well mannered, but you didn't want to be around? The guy walks up to a group at a party, and the group mysteriously breaks up? They don't have to be big, intimidating, ugly, etc, but they just set everyone on edge. THAT'S the guy I'm talking about.[/quote']

 

We called him "Cousin Lance". He wasn't actually related to any of us, though. I'm not sure why he was always around.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Being creepy and Bodyguard skills

 

4) Someone who is blind would not be any were near as badly by this person than average Joe.

 

I like this a lot. It's very in-genre. In fact, this exact situation came up in the classic Rondo Hatton movie, The Creeper.