(Especially names and looks are waiting for more, I've focused on the other stuff.)
The DoctorNames
Sir Archibald Cumberworth, Benjamin Miller, Eustace Hamilton, Vincent Bester, Lee Cottle
Looks
Body: plump and a bit on the short side, frail and shaky,
Eyes: twitchy, sharp, friendly,
Clothes: sensible, dirty, expensive,
Smell: cigarettes, cheap cologne, disinfectants,
Backgrounds
Pick one background.
There were too many odd patients, too many implausible deaths. You didn’t know what was killing these people, but you sure as hell knew it was not you. But there was no evidence, nobody to stand for you, because this was something new, something your colleagues didn’t even believe in, or something they just did not talk about. When the pitchforks came, you knew the bored judges would not cross their fingers to find out, not when there was a nice public execution to be had. You had to get to bottom of this yourself. Personal goal: to clear your name. Bond: the judge who wants to sentence you (NPC)
It was killing your patient slowly. No cure, no technique you knew or had ever heard of had any effect. And being unable to stop it was killing you, too. That’s why you eventually resorted to… less orthodox methods. In the least likely direction there was, for the first time, a light shed to the mystery. A hope. Personal goal: to save your patient. Bond: the patient (NPC)
You were popular, in your own circles. You were the one to go to. It was easy, because where else would they have gone? Your circles were a bit isolated. Perhaps a bit too much, for when the killings started, they tried to handle it by themselves. No need to bring outsiders in. The investigators died, too, of course. Not many are left anymore, and everyone is paranoid. Maybe it was one of you to begin with. But you made your own inquiries, which pointed to something else. You’re not exactly sure what, yet, but you will be. You owe that to them, and to yourself. Personal goal: to stop the killings. Bond: the survivors
Sets
Expert
Physical=0, Social-1, Lore-1, Survival-1, Speciality+2, Coldness-1, Sanity+1
an infirmary owned by someone else, a decent set of instruments and a travel pharmacy (5 uses)
Upper class
Physical-1, Social+1, Lore-1, Survival=0, Speciality=0, Coldness-3, Sanity+2
private practice, a decent set of instruments and a travel pharmacy (5 uses), good steady money
Hacksaw
Physical+1, Social=0, Lore-1, Survival=0, Speciality+2, Coldness=0, Sanity=0
leather bag of essential instruments and medicines (3 uses), a revolver (2 harm, near, in bad shape), some money in cash
Bond: someone you saved (NPC)
Trauma (choose one): depression, anxiety,
Experimenter
Physical-1, Social-2, Lore+1, Survival=0, Speciality+2, Coldness+1, Sanity-1
Move: a secret lab, move: flawed Reagent (2 uses)
Bond: the one who funds you
Starting moves
Every set gets this:
Field medic
You need a medical supply to use this move.
When you stabilize and patch up a serious or a lethal wound, roll+spec and use one of your medical supply. On a 10+, remove the wounds of that level (i.e. lethal, or both serious). If it was serious, they’ll be sore but operational after a day. If it was lethal, they survive, but will need some time at an infirmary to heal completely. On a 7-9, they’ll be needing some time at an infirmary to heal completely; in addition, choose one:
- they’ll be in and out of consciousness for a day, and you cannot move them or it gets worse
- delirious from pain, they fight you; you have to Avoid danger
- it takes more equipment than usual, spend one use of your medical supply
You can also tend to superficial wounds, removing them entirely without rolling, by spending some time and using one of your medical supply.
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In addition, pick the ones belonging to your set:
Infirmary
(Incl. private practice, secret lab.) As long as you are at your infirmary, you can use healing moves as if you had used one medical supply. In addition, get +1 ongoing to healing moves.
Flawed Reagent
You can use the flawed Reagent to revive an almost dead body (lethal wound). Spend one use and Avoid danger to attempt removing all wounds. The threat is unnatural, the Reagent changing the body in an unpredictable way.
Secret lab
As long as you are at your lab, you get +1 ongoing to Understanding unnatural by cutting a specimen up.
At your lab, if you didn’t already have it, you can get a flawed Reagent (2 uses) by Understanding unnatural. You can research for the perfected Reagent, but first you have to find the secret ingredient by solving a Mystery. After you have it, spend some time and Understand unnatural. If you hit, you can pick the advanced move Perfected Reagent. If you miss, you have to research some time before you can try again.
Equipment
Choose two:
- A scalpel (2 harm, hand)
- Chloroform (3 uses)
- A few favors from ex-patients (3 uses, usable as hold on people)
- Some money in cash
Starting bonds
You have tended for ___ previously. What was it? Are they grateful?
There is something wrong about ___, something they don’t seem to know. Why have you not told them?
You feel responsible for ___. Why?
Being a doctor is stressful. Talking with ___ helps. What secret have you told them?
Improvements
Get social+1 (max +2)
Get physical+1 (max +2)
Get survival+1 (max +2)
Get lore+1 (max +2)
Get speciality+1 (max +3)
Get speciality+1 (max +3)
Get a new doctor move
Get a new doctor move
Get a secret lab
After 5 improvements, you can also choose from the following:
Get a suitable move from another playbook
Get any stat +1 (don’t go over max, above)
Get any stat +1 (don’t go over max, above)
Advance 5 basic moves
Advance the 4 remaining basic moves
Advanced moves
Odd job
You get Busy 2. Whenever there’s a stretch of downtime in play, or between sessions, choose a number of medical jobs to work from the Fixer’s list. Choose no more than your Busy. Roll+spec. On a 10+, you get profit from all the jobs you chose. On a 7–9, you get profit from at least 1; if you chose more, you get catastrophe from 1 and profit from the rest. On a miss, catastrophe all around. Jobs you aren’t working give you neither profit nor catastrophe. Whenever you get a new job, you also get +1 to Busy.
Perfected Reagent
See Secret lab for requirements. Get a perfected Reagent (2 uses).
You can use the perfected Reagent to revive a dead body, or an almost dead body (lethal wound). Spend one use and Avoid danger (lore instead of surv) to attempt revival or removing all wounds. The threat is unnatural, the Reagent changing the body in an unpredictable way. The revived person is susceptible to your commands, +1 ongoing to Manipulation move, and if they resist, they do Shock.
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The VeteranNames
Mark Cole, Theo Harrigan, Stefano Coletti, Roy “Batty” Badding,
Looks
Eyes: dead, paranoid, bright,
Clothes: shabby, workman’s, standard issue, comfortable
Beard: habitually clean-shaven, unkempt and stubbled, full beard for change
Backgrounds
Pick one background.
You thought it was just the nerves, fighting on the foreign land where every bush and rock could have been your doom. The noises in the night, the hallucinations - they had to be hallucinations, right? But it started again. You had already got home and get rid of it all, begun settling in and getting back to normal. Forgetting it all. Then you heard the noises, in the night. Waking up to them, sweating like you were back there. And maybe it could have been only shell shock, you hoped and prayed it would be only shell shock. Until you saw it again: people near you, suddenly different. Something behind their eyes, their faces. You followed one, and saw something that could not have been hallucinations. Now it’s all you think, and you have to understand to be able to live again.Personal goal: to sort out the truth.
You had been in several combat situations before, but this one was different. An unarmed local ripping your whole squad to pieces, despite of a machine gun taking off his head and half the torso. Probably would have killed you too, if not for the friendly fire taking you down and unconscious. It was played down by the higher-ups, congratulating you and patting on the back. Good job, now let’s forget it ever happened. But it’s kind of hard to forget, after seeing your own hands ripping and tearing flesh that were your friends and comrades. There was a thing that came off the local’s body, entered yours. It’s gone now, moved on to a better host while you were bedridden. The new host went home, so you followed. But what if it has moved again before you find her?Personal goal: to find the current host and kill the thing.
The war was a distant memory, another life happened to another man, until they brought it back to your doorstep. It’s not the same: this is your country, your people, and you know this countryside and these towns. Nobody is yelling orders, or telling you why it is right to kill here. But it is war. Somewhere the enemy is waiting. They killed some of your friends. You don’t understand them, but you know a moment of distraction will make you the next subject of eulogies.Personal goal: to kill those who attacked. Bond: the survivors (NPC).
Sets
Decorated hero
Physical+1, Social+1, Lore-3, Survival+1, Speciality+1, Coldness-1, Sanity+1
Bond: someone who you know respects you (NPC)
Wounded and discharged
Physical-1, Social-1, Lore+1, Survival+2, Speciality=+1, Coldness=0, Sanity=0
Trauma: PTSD
Specialist
Physical+2, Social-2, Lore-2, Survival+1, Speciality+2, Coldness+1, Sanity=0
A big favor owed to old comrade
Trauma: no sense of humor
Starting moves
Every set gets these:
Trained to kill
You use roll+spec instead of roll+cold for Physical violence.
Teamwork: cover me!
When you do Physical violence on the same side as someone else who has Teamwork, you automatically have “you suffer little harm” when you hit. You can use it yourself, or give it to the other character regardless of whether they are doing Physical violence or something else.
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Then, choose one:
Explosives training
Comes with equipment: explosives (3 uses, 4 harm, area). You can use explosives to do a controlled demolition. You may roll+spec instead of roll+surv when Avoiding danger when using explosives.
Sergeant
You see what is relevant and your orders help. If you take the lead in a combat situation, take +1 ongoing to helping others. You can also roll+spec to have a person in shock to get a grip of themselves instead of panicking. On a hit, they change from “you panic” to “you get a grip of yourself”. On a 10+, this works regardless of whether they were in serious shock (missed their shock) or not.
Ice cold
When you inflict harm, you inflict +1 harm.
Equipment
Choose three:
- A rifle (2 harm, far)
- Semi-machine gun (2 harm, auto, near)
- Soldier’s daypack (6 uses)
- Specialized but simple equipment such as binoculars, flares, etc. (3 uses)
- A few favors from armed forces (2 uses, usable as hold on people)
- Molotov cocktails (3 uses, 2 harm, fire, area, fragile)
Starting bonds
It was hard coming home from war. ___ has helped you, though. How?
You helped out ___ once, by intimidating someone with the look that comes naturally with a war veteran. What was it about?
___ acts as if they have experienced stuff. You have experienced some stuff they probably would not believe. Why do you put up with that shit?
___ actually likes to hear your stories. What is their favorite story, and why does it resonate with them?
You feel you’re not very good with people. Why is ___ so much easier to be with?
Improvements
Get social+1 (max +2)
Get physical+1 (max +2)
Get physical+1 (max +2)
Get survival+1 (max +2)
Get lore+1 (max +2)
Get speciality+1 (max +3)
Get a new veteran move
Get a new veteran move
Get a new veteran move
After 5 improvements, you can also choose from the following:
Get speciality+1 (max +3)
Get any stat +1 (don’t go over max, above)
Get any stat +1 (don’t go over max, above)
Get a suitable move from another playbook
Advance 5 basic moves
Advance the 4 remaining basic moves
Advanced moves
Improvised weaponry
When you have time and materials, you can make molotov cocktails, clubs, and other improvised weaponry so that they are actually useful and don’t break down instantly. Roll+surv. On a hit, you get the basic form, and on a 10+, two bonus tags on top of it. You can only use this once per opportunity.
Controlled retreat
You can get out of a dangerous situation. Name your escape route and roll+phys. On a 10+, great, you’re gone. On a 7–9, you can go or stay, but if you go it costs you: leave something behind, or take something with you, the MC will tell you what. On a miss, you’re caught vulnerable, half in and half out.