bourne

[L.Craig]

has anyone done a jason bourne write up

[Susano]

Re: bourne

 

I toyed with the idea when I started reading The Bourne Identity, but gave up when I found the book to be (for me) unreadable. From what I recall of what I did read, Jason Bourne should have the DC field agent package, tailored to fit his assassin background, HTH skills (such as Commando Training), levels with Perception, High Society, Acting, Stealth, and levels with guns.

[Squall]

Re: bourne

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one that had serious issues trying to sit down and read the books. I made it through three of them, because I just hung up my Ludlum stuff forever. His dialog is atrocious (no one actually talks like that!), and his combat/action scenes are just...bad.

 

"Rolling and rolling and rolling and rolling and rolling and OH GOD more gunfire and rolling and rolling and rolling" seriously sums up about half the fights in his novels.

 

Ludlum had an awful lot of really cool ideas for characters and situations and storylines, but his details were horrible.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: bourne

 

I think it would be fair to create a version of Jason Bourne based on the film trilogy. He's very distinct from the book version, and probably the one that most people today are familiar with.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: bourne

 

I think what sets the character apart from other similar types besides his combat prowess is his 'deductive tactics'. He sizes up the crises of the moment in a matter of seconds and comes up with a best course of action in a similar amount of time. There does not appear to be any luck involved as is usually the case with Bond (at least the earlier incarnations).

[clsage]

Re: bourne

 

I think it would be fair to create a version of Jason Bourne based on the film trilogy. He's very distinct from the book version' date=' and probably the one that most people today are familiar with.[/quote']

 

Using the "Matt Damon version" is (IMNSHO) the better way to go.

While it's been awhile since I read "The Bourne Identity" I recall

Bourne as a "one shot agent" since he was explicitly trained to

target Carlos The Jackal and draw him out for assasination. The

film version seems to be much more open ended and thus gaming

friendly.

 

That said, the special features on the DVD of "The Bourne Supremecy" has a

section on the fight coreography and training used

for the films. If memory serves, the basic martial art used as the

core style was Escrima/Cali. So that package would have to be

a given in a cinematic character build.

 

Bournes climbing along the outside of the US Embassy in the first

film struck me as enhanced climbing, that is to say Clinging, only

on rough surfaces, requires a skill roll....

 

Combat driving, based on the Moscow car chase in the second film.

 

Breath control while swiming, given his lengthy period underwater

after the car crash off the bridge early in the second film, as Life

Support, need not breath, one recoverable charge of.....well, not

certain on that.

 

Hmmm....Now I find myself wanting to re-watch the DVDs of the

first two films, notepad in hand.

 

-Carl-

[The Suave]

Re: bourne

 

In the third film he's a deductive machine. From his high-stress, CIA avoiding tactics, to his improvisational fighting style. Hyper-Man is spot on.

[Squall]

Re: bourne

 

You are correct, in that Escrima/Kali (with a K ) is the style used in the films.

 

Good INT, solid physical attributes across the board, a few All-Combat skill levels. Good Drive score, Stealth, Climb, solid social skills (maybe with "Invisibility (requires a stealth roll)" or "Clinging (requires a Climb roll)" if you're feeling like powers instead of just skills. A good martial arts package, and Weapon Familiarity: All ( ) and you'd be pretty close.

[L.Craig]

Re: bourne

 

sorry i meant based on the movie version

[L. Marcus]

Re: bourne

 

Bad Craig! No being vague! No cookie for you!

 

. . . Actually, how many people have read the books?

[Lord Liaden]

Re: bourne

 

You are correct, in that Escrima/Kali (with a K ) is the style used in the films.

 

Good INT, solid physical attributes across the board, a few All-Combat skill levels. Good Drive score, Stealth, Climb, solid social skills (maybe with "Invisibility (requires a stealth roll)" or "Clinging (requires a Climb roll)" if you're feeling like powers instead of just skills. A good martial arts package, and Weapon Familiarity: All ( ) and you'd be pretty close.

 

Bourne also shows significant technical skills: Security Systems, Bugging, probably Systems Operation. Concealment and Shadowing for sure. Tactics and Deduction for the aforementioned improvising.

 

Danger Sense is a must IMO; Bourne has at times displayed an almost supernatural awareness of threats. I would also submit that a few dice of Luck have contributed to his survival.

[Remjin]

Re: bourne

 

Bad Craig! No being vague! No cookie for you!

 

. . . Actually, how many people have read the books?

 

I read them all, actually. If you are expecting exciting action type stuff, its going to disappoint you. Like mentioned above, action description and such are not exactly exciting. He kind of glosses over it with a few descriptions and gives you the result. Its a better read for the way he thinks of doing things, which has more in the way of detail, sort of. It was fun to read, but I'll read just about anything unless its just completely atrocious (e.g. most of the shadowrun books), and even then I usually finish them so I can fully complain about them later, and it was better than watching paint dry. (I have a boring job)

 

The whole point to his hand to hand fighting wasn't the technique so much as what you hit, and it was supposed to be quick and brutal. The fancy fighting in the movies is idiotic, especially considering they're supposed to be assassins. Assassins that take 5 minutes to finish a fight are poor assassins indeed. And yes, I realize its a movie, and don't mind watching it though. Its fun. I have yet to be in an altercation that lasted longer than 10 seconds, and that was a long 10 seconds. After that, either you ran or called 911 and layed real still, depending on how it turned out.

 

I believe everyone covered how to do the write-up. Nothing real special here, maybe some extra KS's as well...?

 

and the obligatory PS, of course. =)

[L. Marcus]

Re: bourne

 

Cramming! Cramming! Did anyone mention Cramming?!

 

. . . He should have Cramming.

 

I think.

[Trebuchet]

Re: bourne

 

Bad Craig! No being vague! No cookie for you!

 

. . . Actually, how many people have read the books?

I read the first two Bourne stories, then stopped reading Ludlum entirely because his god-awful dialogue always threw me out of the story (Most Overused Line: "This is insane!"; used by approximately 95% of his protagonists). I haven't seen any of the films, although what I've been hearing about them is making me want to check them all out.

[Maur]

Re: bourne

 

The whole point to his hand to hand fighting wasn't the technique so much as what you hit' date=' and it was supposed to be quick and brutal. The fancy fighting in the movies is idiotic, especially considering they're supposed to be assassins. Assassins that take 5 minutes to finish a fight are poor assassins indeed. And yes, I realize its a movie, and don't mind watching it though. Its fun. I have yet to be in an altercation that lasted longer than 10 seconds, and that was a long 10 seconds. After that, either you ran or called 911 and layed real still, depending on how it turned out.[/quote']

 

An assassin hitting a target might just be a few seconds in length, but an assassin vs an assassin with very similar levels of skills probably would last longer in a fight.

[Remjin]

Re: bourne

 

An assassin hitting a target might just be a few seconds in length' date=' but an assassin vs an assassin with very similar levels of skills probably would last longer in a fight.[/quote']

 

Well, never having fought or even seen an assassin, I can't really say. However, having seen serious people using serious moves in practice, it was always over pretty quickly if both had the same objective of taking the other out. If survival or delay were one or the other's only objective, I could see it being drawn out. That's the funny thing about hand to hand combat, you need two people looking to really do it, or it just ends up being one person chasing another.

 

In any case, with Bourne, and the genre... longer fights are more fun and cinematic in any case, so a moot point as a whole.

[Guest steamteck]

Re: bourne

 

Exactly,isn't fun and cinematic what we're really worried about anyway?

[Checkmate]

Re: bourne

 

He needs Analyze: Combat too. First movie when he's in the dinner: I know that can weighs about 300lbs and can handle himself in a fight..

[Gadodel]

Re: bourne

 

Jack Bauer still thinks Jason Bourne is a panzy!

 

Seriously, I was thinking a VPP devoted to Superskills perhaps.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: bourne

 

Here's what I was able to come up with so far.

 

Anyone who wants to take it further is welcome to modify the attached HDv3 file.

 

Jason Bourne

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

15 STR 5 12- Lift 200.0kg; 3d6 [3]

18 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6

15 CON 10 12-

18 BODY 16 13-

23 INT 16 14- PER Roll 14-

15 EGO 10 12- ECV: 5

20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6

14 COM 2 12-

10 PD 9 Total: 10 PD (0 rPD)

9 ED 7 Total: 9 ED (0 rED)

4 SPD 12 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12

6 REC 0

30 END 0

34 STUN 0

Total Characteristic Cost: 123

 

Movement:

Running: 7"/14"

Leaping: 3"/6"

Swimming: 2"/4"

 

Cost Powers END

 

Escrima

Maneuver OCV DCV Notes

8 +2 HTH Damage Class(es)

5 Weapon Element: Blades, Chain & Rope Weapons, Default Element, Empty Hand, Garrote, Karate Weapons

Notes: Default element is Clubs

4 De Cadena (Martial Block) +2 +2 Block, Abort

4 Pattern Strike (Counterstrike) +2 +2 7d6 Strike, Must Follow Block

4 Redonda/Punch (Fast Strike) +2 +0 7d6 Strike

4 Sinawali/Kick (Martial Strike) +0 +2 7d6 Strike

5 Takeaway +0 +0 Grab Weapon, 35 STR to take weapon away

3 Takedown +1 +1 5d6 Strike; Target Falls

4 Weapon Bind +1 +0 Bind, 35 STR

 

Commando Training/Dirty Infighting

Maneuver OCV DCV Notes

4 Choke (Choke Hold) -2 +0 Grab One Limb; 3d6 NND

4 Escape (Martial Escape) +0 +0 40 STR vs. Grabs

4 Kidney Blow (Killing Strike) -2 +0 HKA 2d6

Perks

1 False Identity

Talents

6 Situational Awareness 2: Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)

22 Situational Awareness 3: Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of combat, Function as a Sense, Intuitional) 14-

5 Eidetic Memory

3 Lightning Reflexes: +2 DEX to act first with All Actions

3 Lightsleep

5 Rapid Healing

4 Speed Reading (x10)

Skills

3 Acting 13-

3 Analyze: Combat 14-

3 Analyze: Style 14-

3 Breakfall 13-

3 Bribery 13-

3 Bugging 14-

3 Climbing 13-

3 Combat Driving 13-

12 +2 with HTH and Ranged Combat

6 +2 with any three maneuvers or a tight group of attacks

Notes: Rapid Fire & Sweep

3 Concealment 14-

3 Conversation 13-

5 Cramming

3 Deduction 14-

3 Demolitions 14-

10 Situational Awareness 1: Defense Maneuver I-IV

3 Electronics 14-

3 Fast Draw 13-

3 Feint 13-

2 Escrima: KS 11-

3 Linguist

2 1) Language: French (fluent conversation; literate) (3 Active Points)

2 2) Language: German (fluent conversation; literate) (3 Active Points)

2 3) Language: Russian (fluent conversation; literate) (3 Active Points)

0 4) Native Language: English (idiomatic; Literate) (4 Active Points)

3 Lockpicking 13-

4 Navigation (Air, Land, Marine) 14-

3 Paramedics 14-

5 Rapid Attack (HTH)

5 Rapid Attack (Ranged)

3 Security Systems 14-

3 Shadowing 14-

20 +2 Overall Skill Levels

3 Sleight Of Hand 13-

3 Stealth 13-

3 Streetwise 13-

3 Survival 14-

3 Systems Operation 14-

3 Tactics 14-

3 Traveler

1 1) AK: Europe (2 Active Points) 11-

1 2) AK: Home country or region (USA) (2 Active Points) 11-

1 3) AK: Southeast Asia (2 Active Points) 11-

1 4) CK: London (2 Active Points) 11-

1 5) CK: Madrid (2 Active Points) 11-

1 6) CK: Moscow (2 Active Points) 11-

1 7) CK: New York (2 Active Points) 11-

1 8) CK: Paris (2 Active Points) 11-

1 9) CK: Tangier (2 Active Points) 11-

4 TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, Jetskis, Parachuting, Basic, Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles

8 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms, Garrote, Homemade Weapons, Karate Weapons, Off Hand

3 Weaponsmith 14-

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 282

Total Cost: 405

 

150+ Disadvantages

0 Normal Characteristic Maxima

20 Hunted: CIA 14- (As Pow, NCI, Mildly Punish)

15 Reputation: Deadly Assasin, 14- (Extreme; Known Only To A Small Group)

220 Experience Points

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 405

[Susano]

Re: bourne

 

Permission to post this to Surbrook's Stuff archive?

[Hyper-Man]

Re: bourne

 

Permission to post this to Surbrook's Stuff archive?

 

Sure, but it's still quite sparse compared to the standards of your site. I'm hoping others will chime in on KS's, Disadvantages and anything else I left out.

[L. Marcus]

Re: bourne

 

. . . An PsychLim: Obsession about rediscovering his past should fit. And a PhysLim: Amnesiac. Otherwise I think it looks good, even if some of the characteristics are a bit higher than I'd make them.

[death tribble]

Re: bourne

 

I haven't seen any of the films' date=' although what I've been hearing about them is making me want to check them all out.[/quote']

I didn't see either of the first two in the cinema but have seen the third there. Get the Bourne Identity out on DVD and watch it. If you don't like that then you won't like Supremacy and Ultimatum.

[Susano]

Re: bourne

 

Sure' date=' but it's still quite sparse compared to the standards of your site. I'm hoping others will chime in on KS's, Disadvantages and anything else I left out.[/quote']

 

Well, it's a start, and on par with some other submissions.