Character Generation Project: Ghostbusters International

Those of you who are new to the blog can find an overview of what's the Character Generation Project is all about here. Stephanie's overview of her normal approach to character generation is found here.

For this character, we did things a little bit differently. See, I received Ghostbusters International as  a Christmas Present this year, and immediately decided that I needed to do a one-shot.

Since I'm planning to do a one-shot of the game, I sent instructions to the group on how to make a character. I didn't tell them what the game was, however, other than it was "urban fantasy/horror with a comical touch." I was curious what I would wind up with - and the group did not disappoint.

Stephanie was the only one who knew what game these characters were being made for.

No-one (including Stephanie) was given a skill list. Skills in this game are called "Talents."

Click on the sheet to see it (larger) on Flickr.

Which game is this for?
Ghostbusters International

How long did it take you to generate the character?
Maybe half an hour

What was your character concept going into generation?
A fame-hungry Kaylee from Firefly 

Did you feel like character generation captured the flavor of the setting? 
Definitely

How much control did you feel like you had during character generation? 
Quite a bit

Did the game help you make the character you wanted, or did it feel like you were fighting the game?
It was very open, so I felt that I was able to make just about anything I wanted.

Do you like the character you ended up with?
Yes

Do you think your character fits your concept?
Yes

Do you feel like your character would be effective and/or useful in a game?
I think so - she’s not much of a fighter, but she’ll keep your car running and can probably plan pretty well. 

Was there anything in particular that you struggled with mechanically? 
Not really - I had more trouble coming up with the talents, because they were open to just about anything. 

Did anything run more smoothly than you had expected? 
I didn’t expect it to go so quickly.

What changes would you have made to the character generation process? 
None

Did anything leap out at you as obviously broken or unbalanced?
It would depend on how the GM would allow people to use the talents they came up with, because it’s possible to make some vague talents that could be broken if the player pushed it.

What led you to choose this game as the next one to make a character for? 
We want to do a one-shot of this game soon.

How would you compare your experience with this game to your experience with other games?
It was very easy.

Is this a character you would be willing to play in a campaign? 
Yes

Does this character make you want to play this game?
I’m definitely looking forward to it.

Have you given any thought to what game you'd like to do next? 
Not yet.

--

The complete list of Talents I received from players was pretty good.  Here are the Talents which the other players came up with:

• Something Doesn't Add Up Here
• Me? I'm Indestructible
• Run Away!
• Dressed for the Occasion
• Intuitive Leaps
• Impenetrable Immune System
• Fast Reflexes
• Unflappable
• Good At Remembering Names and Faces
• Stronger Than He Looks
• Quicker than Shit
• Fades Into The Background

It's got me looking forward to the one-shot ...

Which reminds me: I have more handout material to work on.