Final Thoughts - Challenge 2025

So, time for an after-action report, of sorts. If you followed me this month you know that I set out to answer the January Character Creation Challenge this year by making only Outgunned characters, each day getting served two Action Flicks via random roll to use in the creation. These Action Flicks are mini-expansions with rules to adapt the basic Outgunned action RPG to a specific genre. Or the Outgunned Adventure pulp RPG as that may be. Initially, I also took that to mean that I have to use Tropes and Roles from the two Action Flicks.

That last one? Not a good idea. While there are a whole lot of Action Flicks for the system by now there were by necessity a lot of repeats, and no one wants to see, say, the 5^th Rookie for the District 77 Action Flicks. It just gets a bit too boring, and too restrictive. I ditched this rule halfway through, which I think was the right idea. Even if it watered down the influence of the respective Action Flicks a bit I think the resulting character set is more interesting.

Another mistake was that I chose to keep the system description fairly short. This helped me a lot, both to keep the time invested limited and to avoid repeats of paragraphs describing mechanics. But it caused in my opinion two issues – I assume this was fairly hard to follow for anyone who doesn’t know the system, and in my opinion more importantly this massively reduced how much you readers might be able to see what each Action Flick brings to the table. Many contain rules beyond the character creation, and that is of course completely lost in the way I wrote things.

Now onto the good things, though there will still be some criticisms. First of all, this was the easiest ride I had through the challenge. The randomly chosen Flicks gave enough of a hook to come up with characters easily, and each character took maybe 15 min on average including writing. As an aside, this time I decided to have a week's worth of characters as a buffer, which I made mid-December. But I found that within around 10 days I had made all 31 characters and written all entries, five of which were spent on actually doing what was needed. So, I was done with the challenge before Christmas. Mea Culpa. That said that also turned out to be beneficial – there are a few characters I didn’t find too fun (and I think their entries reflect that) – I am just not too inspired by things like cartoon characters, or the virtual reality thing. But many others were a joy, and I realized that I like to play with Neon Noir and Old Ones. Not surprisingly, I like Cyberpunk and Horror games. Overall, I do think Outgunned does deliver on the ability to make interesting and diverse characters, even with its mechanical focus on the seemingly limited action side of things.

As another plus, I still feel excited about the game, and have indeed prepped to run an Achtung! Cthulhu One-Shot using the Old Ones Action Flick. And now I have a very good idea of how the different Action Flicks function, though I really want to see most of them in play at one point.

The whole list of Outgunned characters on this blog lives here. I also want to highlight a few that I think would be fun to play.

The Cyberpunk Crew (with various other Action Flicks as support):

Karen “Wild Thing” DeFouchier (Neon Noir & Old Ones)

Lareina Rojas (plus A Kind of Magic)

Shao Müller (plus Rising Dragon) – the only one I would probably replace since I think Wuxia clashes too much with Cyberpunk.

Les Herbig (plus District 77)

This is a heady mix of five (!) Action Flicks. I am not sure how well it would play, but I do think the world sounds fun and interesting.

Others:

Kaleb Cassidy (Army of Evil & A Kind of Magic) 

Shristi Goyal (Wild West & Midnight Wars) 

Ulfgrim (Mighty Swords & Killing Aliens)

Gustav Mueller (District 77 & Midnight Wars)

Nathan “Red Nate” Marsters (A Kind of Magic & Wild West)

Rose (Neon Noirs & Midnight Wars)

Maisie Masterson (Great Powers & Old Ones)

Of these I am most surprised by Gustav Müller - I am not a fan of cop shows. Les in the Neon Noir crew is a bit of cheating since he essentially stopped being a cop; Gustav is not. That said, the idea of an old vampire as some kind of strange supervisor has appeal.

Ulfgrim is also a bit strange since the combo weirded me out at first. But I think he is a great kernel for another wild mix of Action Flicks, probably with an Everything All At Once character thrown in for good measure. The others are really just fun characters for combinations I liked and think I had the best ideas for.

Final thought – as much as I liked doing this, I did prefer last year's approach of making parties for different games. The mechanical variety helps. But I am happy I chose Outgunned as the one game for this year, and think that overall it worked very well indeed.

And with that, I will say - Challenge Met!

Thanks to TardisCaptain for the challenge, and the good folks at the RPG.netforums for far too many far too cool characters to list here – the amount of systems on display was nearly as astonishing as the abundant creativity!

Day 31: Outgunned Combo 31 - Great Powers & Old Ones

Lottery Result: Great Powers and Old Ones – superheroes and the Cthulhu mythos

Maisie Masterson has no memory of her youth. One day she was found drifting in the waters near Boston harbour. Age-wise she was a young teenager, sadly one without any memory of where she came from or what she was. After the doctors and law enforcement were through with her CPS sent her into the foster system. And then she was very lucky and landed with a very friendly and very understanding couple. She became the daughter they always wanted, and she returned their love and trust. It was a match made in heaven. She also took after her adoptive dad and became a journalist. The one thing she never told them was about her weird … powers. She could hear and communicate with sea life, for example. 

In any case, these days she works the beat in New England, living close to the water. Always an agile and passionate swimmer, Maisie is never far from the sea, or at least a pool. Something always draws her there. And now she is on her way to record a report about the new home of some weird billionaire, on his yacht in the harbour in a podunk little town called Innsmouth. A crew is already waiting.

Note: In this setting very few people have superpowers. I will also once again soften my rules and allow Maisie to take a role not from either Action Flick. As an Old Ones hero, she will get a mythos-related Experience (Scar) and a Death Roulette bullet.

Role: The Super (GP) Sleuth

Trope: From the Sea (OO)

Feats: Ruler of the Sea (free re-rolls when in water, can talk to seat creatures, can call on sea creatures for aid), Elemental Power (Water) (can manipulate water at will, including as an attack), Reporter (great at interviewing people), Memory of a Dream (might get clues from strange dreams)

Flaw: Drawn to the sea

Experience: Hazy memories of odd creatures hunting her through the sea. Of deep loss. (Scar). 

Catchphrase: "Need a sip?"

I round her out with points added in Flirt and Speech, and she gets a pistol and a phone.

And here is the final sheet!

And with that, the challenge has been met – I will likely post a few thoughts in a day or so when I have some distance. It has been fun, though there are clear favourite combinations for me. This one here surprisingly turned out to be one - Maisie is a great send-off to my contributions, I think. More in the future.

Day 30: Outgunned Combo 30 - Insert Coin & Midnight Wars

Lottery Result: Insert Coin and Midnight Wars – virtual reality and werewolves/vampires

OK, this one will be a perpetually online game, i.e. there is no offline sheet. And our PC will be John “Wildfang” Jones, who in the MMORPG “Hunters of the Night” is a member of the Black Pack, a small werewolf street gang. The Black Pack is a bunch of NPCs that serve as quest givers and sometimes companions to the players; John is a hireable companion. Yes, he is an NPC. Who just might be more aware than he should be.

The NPC is a special role that acts as both a Role and a Trope. However, since Midnight Wars has a tag we get to call John a Werewolf NPC to add some features.

Role & Trope: The Werewolf (MW) NPC (IC)

Feats: Lycanthrope, Shift, Motherload (unlimited money in the game), Big and Strong

Flaw: Gets nervous when outside the quest areas he is supposed to be in.

Catchphrase: “Just tell me what to do, boss.”

He gets six points, and I add them to Fight, Force, Shoot, Detect (2), and Streetwise. As equipment, he has a shotgun and a stake.

And he of course gets a sheet.

Day 29: Outgunned Combo 29 - Neon Noir & Midnight Wars

Lottery Result: Neon Noir and Midnight Wars – Cyberpunk and werewolves/vampires. I will not make this part of my burgeoning Neon Noir party since I feel it’d overload the whole thing a bit. Let’s do something different.

“I am fairly used to the world changing while I sleep. But I never experienced, let alone expected something like this. Weird lights and sound everywhere, barely a way to get some quiet, people in shapes and forms that would have sent the mob to fetch the torches and pitchforks in the time of my youth. 

But some things never change. People will always be greedy, and indeed greed is what created this weird new world. But there are always a whole lot of naïve people as well. Luckily. 

Yet there will also always be the others, our sworn enemy. As far as I know, I am the last night hunter in this strange place. And I have already seen their traces - the wolves still exist.

And I am all alone.”

This will be a One Hero Army character, meant for a game with one director and one player. As such she gets an extra Attribute point, 2 extra skill points that must be applied to a category where she has only an Attribute score of 2, and an extra Spotlight. Since she is supposed to be experienced, the director also grants her a single Advancement before the game starts.

And let’s call her Rose.

Role: The Slayer (Vampire) (MW) – since Vampire is a Tag that should be Vampire Slayer but that sounds massively confusing. 

Trope: Heartbroken Badass

Feats: Nosferatu, Werewolf Scourge (free rerolls when fighting werewolves), Dark Instinct (very sharp senses, also very hard to lie to), That's All?

One Hero Army: She gets a point in Nerves, and a point in Style and Flirt each. 

Flaw: Sensitive to information overload.

Catchphrase: “There is no peace for me.”

I give her a point in Stunt and a point in Force. She has a memento and a pistol with silver bullets. Beyonnd that she has a Reflexes Chip, which in theory breaks the creation rules since it costs $1 more than she can spend. But her life will likely be hard and short, so who cares? Also, the $1 selection makes little sense for a vampire in the long run.

Advancement: 1 Adrenaline, 2 skill points (Speech and Streetwise), and the Regeneration feat.

And she of course gets a sheet.

Day 28: Outgunned Combo 28 - Weirder Things & A Kind of Magic

Lottery Result: Weirder Things & A Kind of Magic – ok, this one screams magical middle school. Damn. But let’s not put this into a fancy elite school, but maybe something accessible to all pupils with magical abilities. A magical public boarding school, if you want.

Lakshmi Mason recently turned 10, and shortly after got what the bookworm always dreamt of – a magical letter, delivered by rat courier, inviting her to The Ever Institute. The Ever Institute is a school only magical folk know about, and while Lakshmi was convinced immediately that it existed, her parents were a whole lot less believing. In short, Lakshmi earned herself a good yelling at for the “fake letter”. 

Luckily, the school sent around a nice lady on a broom who set her parents straight. And once they saw that there'd be no attendance fees – looks like mages count as highly skilled labor, meaning the government is willing to support prospective students rather nicely – and that their little daughter would be well taken care of – they were willing to give it a go. Even though her father cried a bit when it became clear she'd be away for months on end.

Lakshmi is bursting with excitement as her mom and dad are driving her to the place she’d spend most of the next years, hoping to make cool friends and have grand adventures. She couldn’t have been more right.

As far as the game cares, she is a normal character – “young” and “old” are relative to the setting, and with 10 she is a perfectly normal first-year student.

Role: The Apprentice (AKoM)

Trope: Nosy Nerd (WT)

Feats: Intuition (good at noticing stuff others miss), Selfless (good at defending others), Always Prepared (can procure small items when needed for a cost)

Crew: Lakshmi's Gang

Flaw: Can't stand injustice

Song: Taylor Swift - 'A Place in This World'

I give her two points in Leadership, a Walkman, and the spells Magical Dart, Illusion, and Recall. Recall lets her call a small item to herself from a distance.

And she of course gets a sheet.

Day 27: Outgunned Combo 27 - A Kind of Magic & Cloak & Dagger

Lottery Result: A Kind of Magic and Cloak & Dagger. This time, I will go with musketeers and magic; I am a bit tired of pirates.

Rogier de Philippon has recently entered the service of Her Majesty as one of the prestigious musketeers. He comes from a less important noble line that has been reduced to a minimum lifestyle in terms of their theoretical status. Rogiers has answered the call partially to reduce the burden on his family’s finances, partially to do his duty, and a little bit so he gets to meet and maybe impress important people. In this world, maybe 1-5% of the population has magic, and it seems to be randomly bestowed by the gods. Commoners who are found to have magical talent tend to become priests or sometimes soldiers; nobles with it tend to rise to the top their rank allows. During his initial training, Rogier has been found to possess it, which is a boon to his family and the regiment. So much so that his family's future rests on his shoulders – no pressure!

Roger is young; as such he gets an additional point of Adrenaline, but one of his starting feats is the exclusive Too Young to Die. That means he will not suffer a specific consequence of being hurt very badly.

Role: The Magical (AKoM) Swashbuckler (C&D)

Trope: The Chosen One (AKoM)

Feats: Too Young to Die, Sword Fighter, That’s All? The last one lets him withstand pain more easily.

Flaw: Far too proud

Catchphrase: “I demand a duel!”

I give him a point each in Force and Drive, a Rapier, a Musket, Elegant Clothes, and the spells Magical Dart, Arcane Shield, and Stop. Stop allows him to temporarily freeze a target. 

And there is a sheet.

Day 26: Outgunned Combo 26 - Dark Light & Rising Dragon

Lottery Result: Dark Light and Rising Dragon – the forces of good and evil clashing in a wuxia movie? That’ll do, that’ll do.

The Southern Whip is one of four heroes that have been resurrected to protect the realm; evil oni have come, and without the Four Winds humanity will be lost. Time to take the fight to the demons.

Role: The Celestial (DL) Martial Artist (RD)

Trope: Anguished Cynic

Feats: Celestial, Bear Style (she is not easily wounded), Celestial Knowledge

Flaw: Impatient

Catchphrase: "The world deserved better."

I give her a point each in Endure and Fight. She gets a Jian and a sheet.

Day 25: Outgunned Combo 25 – District 77 & Neon Noir

Lottery Result: District 77 and Neon Noir – time to round out the Cyberpunk crew from days 3, 14, and 23 with some kind of law enforcement person. I will use a role from the base game to avoid having yet another Rookie or Solo. Let’s call our character Les Herbing. He is an old character. 

“If this would be a novel worth reading, the whole thing would have started with a Dame with a serious problem looking to hire a former cop. Instead, it started with an ominous email from a darknet account with an attached video showing a dame in cult clothing slitting a throat in some kind of ritualistic setting. Now, when you work the force, you get emails like this all the time. Other cops trying to pull a prank, less-than-upstanding citizens trying to stir shit - usually to create issues for a neighbor. Sometimes it’d be a convict looking for some revenge. Hell, it could have been my ex, but last I checked Iris was still dead from lead poisoning.

What made this one stand out were two things – the dame in the vid was the chief of police. And it was the first of several emails from various accounts pointing me at clues. It took me a while, but the nagging in the back of my brain made me investigate.

And now I am not a member of the force anymore, all my files confiscated. But a last mail warned that this would happen, a minute before Internal Affairs showed up at my desk. The same mail told me to look for someone called “Wild Thing”. Maybe now I will learn who my informant was. I don’t believe for a second that a has been merc fits the bill. But it is the best lead I have left. Time to saddle up.”

Name: Les Herbing

Role: The Sleuth 

Trope: Loose Cannon (D77)

Feats: Detective, Shadow, They Owe Me One, Tormented by the Past (NN). The last one adds another Scar Experience but also adds +1 to all Endure and Cool rolls.

Experiences: Iris looking at me with dead eyes in a shady bar, a gunshot wound in her forehead. (Scar)

The slaughterhouse of The Odd Job Killer, with far too many young faces in the shelves (Scar). 

Iris was a victim of the Odd Job Killer as well; retaliation for when he got to close.

Flaw: Mind like a steel trap - it doesn't let go.

Catchphrase: "Shady. Very shady."

Les gets another point in Detect and Stealth, a shotgun, a phone, and scanner eyes.

And here is his sheet.

Day 24: Outgunned Combo 24 – A Kind of Magic & District 77

Lottery Result: A Kind of Magic and District 77 – magical cops. I can work with that.

This one will be set in the world of the Leipzig Files, where the ostracized and outcast sorcerer Barry Leipzig is a small private eye in Boston. The sorcerers are loosely organized in the Council of Sorcerers, a political committee that decides the basic laws affecting sorcerers and politics with other supernatural creatures. This one will not be about Barry, though, he has to exist in his own little story. Instead, we will talk about the Custodians, a marshal service for the Council. Custodians get called in when sorcerers break the rules and dispense warnings or if needed execute the punishments the Council has determined. Our character here is Lijal Balandra; they joined the Custodians last week, and this is their first outing. Under tutelage by the other PCs, of course. Lijal at this moment still has a very happy outlook on life. Some people think they might not follow the rules, but while in all honesty they are a jokester and prankster they are never tempted to break the laws. At least in a consequential way. They are exactly the kind of fresh wind the Custodians need.

Role: The Magical (AKoM) Rookie (D77)

Trope: Silly Marauder

Feats: First Day (some extra luck for that)

Arcanimal (Crow) – can change into a crow. Note: my first impulse was otter.

Master of Disguise

Flaw: Sees humor in nearly everything.

Catchphrase: <wide grin>

They get two more points in Cool, a Custodians Mace, and the spells Magical Dart, Counterspell, and Quick Spell. She is great at countering other mages.

And here is their sheet.

Day 23: Outgunned Combo 23 – Neon Noir & Rising Dragon

Lottery Result: Neon Noir & Rising Dragon, cyberpunk and wuxia.

Shao Müller has been sent by the head of her order to the MKI arcology. Getting in wasn’t easy, but necessary – inside, a woman called Lareina Rojas is on the run. Shao will go there and help. Lareina will not survive otherwise. And once they have found the two others still hidden in the shadows, they will go up against something very, very evil. At least according to what the virtual gods told their seers. Time to get to work.

Role: The Martial Artist (RD)

Trope: Techno Wizard (NN, yes, she can hack)

Feats: Heads on a Swivel

Tiger Style – heave emphasis on unarmed combat

Hacker

Flaw: Stranger in a strange land – she has never been to the US, let alone the weird MKI arcology.

Catchphrase: "Quiet. Listen." 

She gets a point each in Fight and Cool. As for her equipment, she has Empowered Legs (and can jump high and run fast), a phone, and a gun. The gun is more to fulfill expectations these days.

Oh, and she has a sheet.

Day 22: Outgunned Combo 22 – Wild West & Insert Coin

Lottery Result: Wild West and Insert Coin, Wild West combined with virtual reality/videogame.

The new game “West of Destiny” got rave reviews, which was just that much more annoying – a VR game with explicit pay-to-win, aimed at rather wealthy whales, it was a whole lot of fun. But if you weren’t affluent, you had to work very hard for even low level equipment. When the company offered in-game jobs for in-game currency many people chose to get one. After all, an hour or two a day could get you some cool stuff to use, and what’s the harm?

Indie journalist Samantha Copeland had some thoughts of her own. She saw her friends – and their kids! - play more and more. Work more and more. And some of what she heard about the “in-game” jobs sounded a lot like barely hidden outsourced work. And no one was reporting on it. Even worse, after careful digging she found that quite a few users were found brain damaged. And again, no report. And as far as she can say, all those users were working in-game a long time. But then she ran out of sources and ideas. Until someone with a darknet address sent her a redemption code and a hint to look in the game if she wanted to save lives.

There is a new player in the game. Samity the Gunslinger is in town, and she will figure out what is going on. One way or another.

This is an In and Out game, i.e. a game that plays in the real world and in the virtual world. For this, there should be a second character sheet for Samantha herself made using core Outgunned. In the interest of brevity, I won’t include that one here. Also, since this is an IC game there is a decision to be made on what feats are available in general, and from the start. I will say all WW starting feats and all IC feats – Samantha used the redemption code she got, and it was a cheat code.

Role: The Virtual (IC) Gunslinger (WW)

Trope: Hero With No Name (WW)

Feats: Glitch – Samity can accept a -1 on a roll to bank a +1 for another future roll. Only 1 die max.

Heavy Machine Gun – for 1 Adrenaline she can have one item of choice suddenly in her hand. Any item. That item gets free rerolls on use and vanishes at the end of the scene.

Gunslinger

Flaw: Sometimes the Samity avatar glitches

Catchphrase: "My bullets can run faster than you"

Samity gets a point each in Drive (i.e. Ride) and Stealth, a revolver, knife, horse, and a sheet.

Day 21: Outgunned Combo 21 – Cloak & Dagger and Dark Light

Lottery Result: Cloak & Dagger and Dark Light, swashbuckling, and Angels/Demons. 

What has been forgotten over time is that underneath the conflicts fought with pirates, privateers, and official navies in the Caribbean was a hidden, more serious conflict – demons vs angels. And the frontiers were very, very murky, often with representatives of both supernatural realms meeting in the crew of the same ship. And when a pirate vessel went up against a merchant ship, it wasn’t always clear which side heaven or hell were on, or if they were indeed involved at all. Confusing times these were.

Edvin Blakesleye should have been dead. When his sloop was taken by the crew of the dread pirate Bobson, he caught a bullet to the belly. And that should have been it. But for some reason, the pirates decided to keep young Edvin around. Maybe it was the red hair? In any case, he miraculously recovered and became a kind of mascot to the crew. He quickly learned that as pirates go, they weren’t all that bad. The captain went after targets known to be very bad guys; the sloop Edvin had been on was run by a captain with a horrible record of ordering the slaughter of innocents, for example. Still, there was no way around it – the Green Wave was a pirate vessel, plundering its way across the seas. And over time Edvin became one of them. And he never told the others about the small voice in his head that sometimes gave him orders he couldn't deny.

Role: The Swashbuckler (C&D)

Trope: Too Sweet (DL)

Feats: Panache – he is very elegant, and can use Smooth + Style for Action and Reaction rolls.

Parkour

Blessed – this puts him on the side of heaven and gives him an otherworldly feat. 

Resurrection – this is his chosen otherworldly feat. If Left for Dead he can come back by creating a Bond to … someone supernatural.

Flaw: Sometimes zoning out at bad moments.

Catchphrase: "Hello friend!"

He also gets a point each in Fix and Streetwise, a rapier, a muzzle-loading pistol, some pirate clothes, and a sheet.

Day 20: Outgunned Combo 20 - A Kind of Magic & Wild West

Lottery Result: A Kind of Magic and Wild West. Fun! Magical Western works for me, though the Wild West/Supernatural Horror combo seems more popular.

Nathan “Red Nate” Marsters is a lot of things – a wanted criminal in some states, a degenerate gambler, a loyal friend and accomplice, a man with a soft heart for the weak, and last but not least a former thaumaturgy apprentice. His signature is enchanting his bullets with elementary effects, most often fire. Red Nate is usually easygoing, but when someone triggers him, he tends towards escalation and overkill. Hence the bounties on his head in various areas of the country.

But on the bottom line, he is a friendly fellow, generous to his friends and people he likes, and willing to defend people who need it. Once he invariably flames out he should be remembered that way.

Mechanically I will call his elemental bullets an AKoM spell. In this world, magic works with foci. In Nate’s case that’s his gun.

Role: The Magical (AKoM) Gunslinger (WW)

Trope: Right Hand of the Devil (WW)

Feats: Spell-Slinger, Hair-Trigger, Silver Tongue

Flaw: Hot-headed

Catchphrase: “We can burn it to the ground, you know?”

I added a point for each in Streetwise and Detect. Nate has a horse, a revolver, a knife, and the spells Magical Dart, Arcane Blast, and Quick Spell. The latter means he can cast very quickly. Finally, he has a sheet.

Day 19: Outgunned Combo 19 - District 77 & Midnight Wars

Lottery Result: District 77 and Midnight Wars, street cops and werewolves/vampires.

In this setting, there is a specific Italian Mob, to be precise the Lionettis. They are a bit more restrictive in their hiring than most organized crime families – to become a made member, you need to be not only of Italian descent, but you need to be from a werewolf family. In the grand scheme of things they aren’t all that important, but they are known for defending what they see as their turf with exceptional brutality. And for the most part, they leave evidence that no one really understands. Now, they have killed the daugther of a US senator; accidentally, but that hardly matters. The FBI got involved. And when the name of the Lionettis popped up, a special task force was alerted. One that deals with supernatural threats. One that has some supernatural members on the payroll. One that consists of a single agent.

The agent is (Very) Senior Agent Gustav Mueller. He came here in the mid of the 19th century as an immigrant from Germany. His various adventures were weirdly enough mostly quite mundane. Until he met J Edgar Hoover, who recruited him to the Bureau. And since then Gustav has been active, and working on protecting humanity. Granted, there were times when he had reason to question the bureau's integrity, but for the most part, he kept his head down and stayed out of politics. Oh, and as regards the not-clued-in personnel, he mostly works from out of office. He even has a special van. And his HR records keep changing every few years.

Now, the bureau has decided to send him against the Lionettis and hand him a few other agents to help.

Mechanically, Gustav (who goes by Gerald Muller these days) is an old character, so he gets an additional feat, an Experience, and a second death roulette bullet.

Role: The Vampire (MW) Agent (Core Outgunned)

Trope: Loose Cannon (D77)

Feats: Nosferatu – various vampire mechanics, and he gets access to Monstrous Feats

Bite – heal in combat by drinking blood

Fighter – Gustav has spent a long life honing his close combat ability.

Shift – his secret ace – he can turn into a swarm of bats if needed.

Flaw: Hates insubordination by others

Catchphrase: “What do they teach in Quantico these days?”

Experience: Donating blood to a dying J Edgar, to no effect. (Scar)

I add a point each in Stealth and Know, a pistol, special handcuffs, a badge, and a telephone. And a sheet. Done.

Day 18: Outgunned Combo 18 - Ghost Hunters & District 77

Lottery Result: Ghost Hunters and District 77 – seems fairly obvious that we are dealing with a police ghost-hunting squad. Let’s say humanity has proven the existence of ghosts a few decades ago, and has found ways to live with those dearly departed who aren’t willing to leave yet. Laws were enacted to regulate ghost activity, and of course, the police needed a way to deal with those ghosts willing to ignore the laws, or who became criminals in other ways. The EATS – Ectoplasm Arrest Tactical Squad – is sent to deal with such intangible lawbreakers.

Melanie Arnal has recently joined EATS as a corporal in Los Angeles. Melanie has talked her way into the squad since she figured it might be an easy ride – she is both fantastic with people and very wrong about everyday work at EATS. As such, she will be in for a wild ride.

Role: The Rookie (D77)

Trope: Charming Bastard

Feats: Silver Tongue – she is very convincing

They Owe Me One – she knows a lot of people in the community.

Pep Talk – and she knows how to prop up morale when needed.

Flaw: does not take ghosts seriously

Catchphrase: "No biggie."

And a point each in Force and Streetwise, a cell phone (EATS will provide other equipment), and a sheet as finishing touches.

Day 17: Outgunned Combo 17 - Mighty Swords & Killing Aliens

Lottery Result: Mighty Swords and Killing Aliens, shiny! Mighty thews versus creatures straight out of space horror. That works very well!

When the strange insect demons came for Ulfgrim and his people they fought to their last, and they earned their places in the afterlife as wave upon wave of horrors broke against them. But in the end, only Ulfgrim stood, alone on a mountain of corpses whose blood was biting into his very flesh. And just as the remaining hordes were about to add him to the fallen, a strange light enveloped him, and he found himself among strangers. Weird, soft strangers with weird habits and a bizarre unwillingness to fight. They did weird things to stop his wounds from killing him. Then they explained what had happened; the insect demons, “xenomorphs” had spread out over centuries, conquering and destroying cultures on untold numbers of planets. Including his own, 235 years ago. And now they were threatening the small area in space his hosts lived in. And the Argorians, as they called themselves, put "the need for violent confrontation” as they phrased it behind them ages ago. And their automated defenses were pretty good at holding the enemy at bay, but not good enough. So they picked among the doomed troops across time and brought them here to fight. As a reward, they would give their new troops the best weapons, the best support, and, once done, new planets to populate with their people. Summoning more would take time though, and for now only a few of the best warriors were brought in. Time for Ulfgrim to learn to work with the strangest people he had ever seen, and get some revenge…

Role: The Barbarian (MS)

Trope: Scarred Survivor (KA)

Feats: Battle Cry – allows Ulfgrim to remove a Condition or a lot of Grit by yelling a Battle Cry. Once per session, the player has to actually yell.

Bulwark – he wears armor like a second skin, not affected by its bulk.

Not Today – when he has to roll the Death Roulette he rolls twice and chooses the result he prefers.

Flaw: He has problems adapting to modern tech outside of combat

Catchphrase: “Victory or Death!”

To round him out he gets two points in Shoot, a machine gun, and a sword. And, of course, a sheet.

Day 16: Outgunned Combo 16 - Dino Storm & Mighty Swords

Lottery Result: Dino Storm and Mighty Swords. Mighty Swords is more or less Sword and Sorcery; Magic is always evil (though an exception is suggested), and most importantly the standard difficulties are overwritten to make the Mighty Swords characters far more powerful than the already competent basic Outgunned characters. Now, Dinos and Mighty Hews are already a well-known combo, so that’ll work. And hey, for this one I will break the rules a bit to make things a bit more interesting.

Meet Keldra the Huntress. Keldra left her tribe a while ago to explore Pangaea. She was supposed to become the mate of the chief’s son, and the wilds were always more interesting to her anyway. So she grabbed her closest friend, and the two set out. Since then, she has been wandering, sometimes helping people, sometimes… not.

Role: The Barbarian (MS) – I will modify this one following a suggestion in Dino Storm. There, the idea is to use The Dog Trainer from the World of Killers book to create a character with a dino companion. Instead, I will give the Barbarian a dino, change one of her feats with Dog Trainer ones, and give her one instead of two weapons.

Trope: Animal Lover (DS)

Feats: Mythical Warrior (Axes) – she gets free rerolls for axes, and for a cost can ignore any conditions while using them.

Beware of the Owner – if they mess with her companion things go pear-shaped for them.

Veterinarian – she needs to be able to heal her best friend if something happens.

Flaw: Painfully shy.

Catchphrase: "Snuffles, come on!"

One more point each for Fight and Stunt. She gets a Spear to start with, and her best friend Snuffles.

Name: Snuffles Type: Telmatosaurus Help: Guard Flaw: Drools everywhere

Grit: 3 Brawn: 5 Nerves: 5 Smooth: 3 Focus: 5 Crime: 3

And she also has a sheet!

Day 15: Outgunned Combo 15 - Army of Evil & Furious Wasteland

Lottery Result: Army of Evil and Furious Wasteland. Two post-apocalyptic flicks that flick well together.

When the aliens came they didn’t bother to touch down. They just sent some probes, bombs, really, that spread a tailor-made disease. Then the starships left again, and no one knows for how long. Now the world is overrun by zombies, and humanity has found shelter in former military bases and similar easy-to-defend places. 

Mattias Jonson grew up in a small village near Uppsala; when the Event happened he moved with his family to the nearby airbase to start a new life. He trained hard to become a guard, someone protecting the local community and prepping for the day the aliens would make their next move. Except one day someone let in the horde, and while the brave citizens were able to drive the zombies back, many were bitten. There was no cure, but as a small mercy the afflicted weren't killed but just kicked out. Which meant fending for themselves for a few days until the disease took their brains. Mattias was among them.

He had never heard of a zombie that could still remember, could still think. But he can, even now, more than a year later. He isn’t angry that he got abandoned. He is still protecting the community. From the outside. As one of the undead.

The world features fast zombies.

Role:  The Undead Dweller (FW, with the AoE tag that makes him undead)

Trope: Final Girl (AoE)

Feats: Undead (forced by the tag) – changes a few rules about grit, losing limbs, and so on.

Jackal – he can work wonders with scraps and debris.

Carnage – all melee weapons become rather brutal in his hands. Mutilations ‘R‘ Us.

Flaw: He desperately wants people to acknowledge his humanity.

Catchphrase: “Mpf.”

Experiences: My mum's wailing when I was cast out (Scar). As an inhabitant of the Wasteland, he has a scar. Also an additional Death Roulette bullet.

One more point each for Fight and Fix. He has no starting equipment, but does get a sheet.

Day 14: Outgunned Combo 14 - Neon Noir & A Kind of Magic

Lottery Result: Neon Noir & A Kind of Magic – Cyberpunk with Magic. Sounds familiar, though I cannot quite put my finger on it…

Just kidding.

Lareina Lucena Rojas is on the run. Yesterday, she was the star apprentice of Marlon Centino, himself the top magical scholar in the Arcology and a renowned professor at the university. This morning, she came into his office for the usual morning planning session and found a hit squad, a few cops, and the provost over the dead body of Marlon. And when they saw her, they raised their guns – reflexively she defended herself, and now her life has fallen apart.

Last week Marlon told her to look for an old friend of his if she ever had “problems that she couldn’t solve the usual way”. A person calling themselves “Wild Thing”. To go down into the dark underbelly of the arcology, find that person, and remind them of a certain debt. Lareina never expected to have to do this, but here we are.

In this world only the chosen few get to use magic; it is often a toy of those born with the right mutation. If they are born into a rich family, they get to study hard and become good at magic; if not, they might have a few small tricks up their sleeves but will more likely become sick and succumb to the wasting disease when the mana starts claiming their bodies. Magic is a tool for the rich and powerful. Mages in this world do not need fancy tools, but spells are spoken, with hand motions. Casting quietly is hard!

Role:  The Apprentice (AKoM)

Trope: Neurotic Geek – breaking my rules for this one; none of the NN tropes are at all fitting for this character. Anyway, the addition of cyberware, etc. should already make NN an essential part.

Feats: Magical Scholar – she can spend downtime learning a specific spell for a single use.

High Culture – good at navigating magical circles; this also applies to the rich crowd in general, but at -1.

Intuition – she spots things others don’t, including enemy weak spots

Flaw: She is too trusting

Catchphrase: "I don't think I've read anything about that"

She also gets a point in Shoot and Know, Photographic Eyes, the spells Magical Dart, Heal, Open/Close, and Empowered Blow (which makes the Dart Accurate and Rapid Fire), and a gun.

Her sheet is here.

By the way, you might have spotted that I have connected this one to the Day 3 character. This also made me wonder if a game that utilizes a lot of Action Flicks would work. Let's say you take a more world-defining one like Neon Noir as the basis, and then let players choose one additional one from a fitting selection if needed to round out their character.

Day 13: Outgunned Combo 13 - Quack Tales & Great Powers

Before I look at the lottery result, I will modify my own rules – if one rolled Action Flick does not add a role, I can choose one from the base Outgunned and Outgunned Adventure books. This should prevent tons of repeats, though I will still try to choose from the offered Action Flicks first.

Lottery Result: Quack Tales and Great Powers – Quack Tales means anthropomorphic cartoon ducks, with Great Powers indicating Superheroes. No problem – this will be about Quasar, the shining defender of Quackstown, part of the Magnificent Mallards superhero team.

Outside his superheroing, Quasar is known as Quinton Quack. Quinton grew up an orphan after coming to this planet as a little child, the last survivor of the space station his people lived on. His parents, owners of a small pizza shop, instilled a good work ethic in him. When he was hit by a random ray from a distant Quasar it gave him superpowers which he uses for good. The pizza parlor closed down a while ago, ruined by the big chains; Quinton works as a local delivery driver, helping his elderly stepdad Quenton to pay off the debt the pizza joint and the final medical treatments of stepmom Qahira left them with. Quinton is a bit bitter but has a heart of gold.

Role:  Super Toon Nobody – neither Action Flick comes with a role, but they use the “Super” and “Toon” tags that allow me to swap role feats for toon or super feats. Quinton also gains one free feat from either category.

Trope: Surly Sailor (QT)

Feats: Flying (QT)

Laser (GP)

Super-Speed (GP)

I’ll Make A Phone Call (Nobody)

I Never Learned Physics (Surly Sailor) – Quasar can use “cartoon physics” for a cost

Flaw:  Eternal pessimist

Catchphrase: “Not that again.”

They get a point each to Endure and Stunt, a cell phone, an old delivery van (speed 0), and a sheet.