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Question: What equipment to all your characters have?


Cassandra

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I always provide cell phones, sometimes encrypted but always disposable (with charges). Also contact in local Police Department or Shady Organizations (player's choice).

 

I also provide on a per-team basis a "sort of patron". She provides help in certain venues, but she's hard to deal with and ruthless in getting what she wants in return.

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I provide a free 5-point Contact for each character (allowing them to pick who / what that Contact is). 

 

They have the option of signing up for the New England Paranormal Activities Board, based off Bob Greenwade's excellent Oregon Hero Sanction.  It's an oversight thing governed by both supers and some government officials, which grants some limited police authority.  To date, only two of the seven PCs are on the PAB.

 

Smartphones are kinda assumed, as well as a usable vehicle.  Standard laptop or desktop computer. 

 

I also give the PCs 5 extra points if they provide 5 NPCs (note:  NOT DNPCs) to flesh out their world, as well as 5 extra points if the player provides at least a few paragraphs worth of background on his/her character.

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11 minutes ago, Cassandra said:

In the Golden Age Justice Society Wonder Woman provide the team with Amazon technology belt radios otherwise they'd have to lug backpack size equipment with them.

 

I played in a campaign once where anyone who joined the team was officially coronated with a multi-function ring that took care of the communications, geoposition, etc. It was added to our powers without cost against our CP or XP, so basically we got a few free points that only "team members" received. I'm not sure if that helps, but it was a GM call, sort of like Wonder Woman providing her team with special tech. 

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Most of my, "normal" heroes wind up with at least a radio. Night vision/IR and Flash Defense (sight, often hearing) are also common. Self-contained breathing shows up occasionally but not as often as the other gadgets. OTOH, characters with other origins tend to have less (or no) gear.

 

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I tend to give every character of mine a 15 active point multipower as a “utility belt”. 

 

What is actually on the belt varies by the character concept. I wouldn’t give pop-out glider wings to a character who shouldn’t fly or a RKA gun to a four-color character, for example.

 

But a character who isn’t a loner gets a communicator. People without enhanced senses might get IR binoculars or something similar. The ninja gets smoke bombs. The safe-cracker gets a stethoscope, etc.

 

 I’d like to give everyone smelling salts, epi-pens, END and STUN aids, and ways to get around medical problems. But most GM’s don’t seem to like a utility belt which gets around medical problems during combat.

 

Cell phones come free but really shouldn’t be used (or have a battery inside) in hero ID or at crime scenes for security purposes...unless you want the police, the feds, your hunted, your GM, etc. to nail you.

 

If the phones get encrypted and can’t be tracked on phone company cell towers, it’s a power which must be purchased.

 

For my characters, I usually play highly competent people or paranoids. Or highly competent paranoids. I establish that I have a flashlight, a lighter, pen and paper, some basic tools, sealed food & water, and various other useful items at home and in my room at the HQ. Might never need any of it... or there might be a zombie apocalypse next weekend.

 

You never know.

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THE BASICS

 

Attack Power

Defense Power (that provides Resistant PD/ED)

Travel Power

 

ALWAYS

 

Flash Defense (Sight)

Mental/Ego Defense

 

USUALLY

 

Power Defense

Hardened PD/ED (usually not full, only 25% of total PD/ED get Hardened)

Life Support - Extended Breathing (usually OIHID, often through a Focus)

Infrared/Ultraviolet/Dark Vision (also usually OIHID, often through a Focus)

Radio Receive/Transmit

Extra Running

Extra Jumping

Extra Swimming (these three often get put in a small multi-power called Olympic Level Athlete)

At least 60 points in various Skills

 

I'm usually OK with ratcheting my PC down a few DCs below Campaign Norms in order to get a full complement of skills & utility powers.

 

"Wait, you mean my PC is the only one who knows how to disarm a bomb?"

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Unless the character has some specific movement ability (running, flying, whatever), every character I build gets a swingline. Why? Because every character I build gets a swingline.

As a gm, I try so hard to shoehorn the PC's into a team with a pre-built generic base and communications system that I have broken MY OWN GAME by telling the players "you'll have to split up, three of you don't have clearance to enter the base."

It's not my fault the dipsticks couldn't take a hint and drop the five freaking points for the team setup!

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If you are thinking what should be standard issue to a government hero, I'd probably suggest looking at what police and soldiers generally carry minus items that are mission specific:

 

All hero would probably carry:

Pen (permanent marker) and paper

GPS of some type

Communications gear of some type

First Aid kit

Flashlight

Restraints (probably handcuffs or zip ties)

pocket knife

Sunglasses

A little impish part of me would include a towel and duck tape.

 

If the hero had no offensive ability:

Probably a pistol 

Pepper Spray

Maybe a TASER

 

If the hero had no defensive ability:

body armor whether a concealed bulletproof vest or military combat armor

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14 hours ago, clnicholsusa said:

Unless the character has some specific movement ability (running, flying, whatever), every character I build gets a swingline. Why? Because every character I build gets a swingline.

As a gm, I try so hard to shoehorn the PC's into a team with a pre-built generic base and communications system that I have broken MY OWN GAME by telling the players "you'll have to split up, three of you don't have clearance to enter the base."

It's not my fault the dipsticks couldn't take a hint and drop the five freaking points for the team setup!

 

I think Jessica Jones made the same mistake.

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