Leah Davis, Pilot [Premade]

[SunDuck]

LEAH DAVIS, PILOT
Pilot of the USCSS Montero

AGE: 27
PERSONALITY: Adrenaline Junkie

Safety limits? Those are lies. Any vehicle or piece of equipment can be pushed past the red line and still work fine. You do it as often as you can, just to keep from getting bored. Unfortunately, daily routines are never that exciting, and that's why you've developed a little stimulant problem. You'll do just about whatever it takes to keep yourself from crashing, even if it puts you in danger. Whether it's an adrenaline rush or substance abuse, all that matters to you is that you are flying high.

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ABILITIES:  STRENGTH 2 | AGILITY 5 | WITS 3 | EMPATHY 4

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HEALTH:  2

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SKILLS:  Heavy Machinery 1 | Ranged Combat 2 | Piloting 3 | Observation 2 | Mobility 2

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TALENT: Reckless

You live for the rush of adrenaline through your veins, pushing harder than others dare. You can push any skill roll based on AGILITY twice, not just once like other characters. Each push increases your STRESS LEVEL by one.

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SIGNATURE ITEM: Pill bottle, almost empty

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GEAR: $300 Cash;
M4A3 Service Pistol"This inexpensive 9mm pistol is the standard sidearm of the USC-MC. You should always have a backup for your backup, and this pistol might as well be it." - CRB

Bonus: +2 to Ranged Combat
Damage: 1
Range: Medium   O R   PR-PUT Uplink Terminal"A military-grade armored and waterproof laptop, this portable terminal has a built-in joystick. With the right skills and access codes, you can use the PR-PUT to patch into a colony uplink tower and remote pilot an orbiting ship." - CRB

Allows user to remote control spacecraft with COMTECH rolls.;
Hand Radio   O R   Three (3) Signal Flares"A tubular-shaped emergency flare that can be used to mark an area or signal for distress."

Burns intensely for 1 Turn and can be seen up to 5 kilometers away.

Damage: 2 (If the burning end is touched.);
Maintenance Jack"A common tool used to open unpowered airlocks and divert power to or from electrical junction boxes. Gives a +1 modification to Heavy Machinery in relevant situations." - CRB   O R   Seegson P-DAT"A personal data tablet, a P-DAT can be synced with Spectrograph Mapping Devices, PDTs, and helmet cams to coordinate a team on the go." - CRB;
Seegson System Diagnostic Device"The SSDD is used to troubleshoot computer and mechanical systems aboard a space station or starship. A good engineer knows how to use one of these to hack doors and computer terminals - but you didn't reach that here." - CRB

COMTECH +2 in relevant situations.   O R   IRC MK.50 Compression Suit"If you're going to get blown out into space, you want to be in a MK. 50." - CRB

Armor Rating +2
Maximum Air Supply 5

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BUDDY: Miller

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RIVAL: -----

Edited May 23, 2023 by SunDuck (see edit history)

[Malkavian Grin]

I'm intrigued by Leah but a question: as an adrenaline junkie, would it be potentially possible to get the same rush from adrenaline as from her drug of choice, or does it absolutely have to be from the drug? I like the premise, but running out quickly seems... very problematic lol.

[SunDuck]

Very fair and similar to my own thoughts when I first read her character in the campaign. I like your suggestion of getting that adrenaline high as an alternative to a substance. Especially since that's also reflective to real life.

 

So yes, I will say she can awkwardly balance the two. They are both severely problematic, but it doesn't put Leah in a bad situation right from the beginning. She must act recklessly once per shift OR take a drug. What exactly she does to get that adrenaline spike is up to you.

[Malkavian Grin]

Okay, that's way more manageable. How does that work for the stress relief requirement? Same or must be the drug?

I'm still not 100% convinced I could pull off being this reckless--I'm far too careful in real life lol.

[SunDuck]

@Malkavian Grin

 

So, I spent the morning thinking about this and have decided to nix the drug addiction mechanic from Leah's character sheet. We can think of it as though she is in recovery - but if she starts using during the actual game then the drug addiction mechanic can added back in again (like it would if any of the characters started taking drugs with high addiction rates.)

[Malkavian Grin]

Hmmm interesting. Don't feel like you need to make that change on account of me, though! (On the other hand, it did feel a touch imbalanced that she had a flaw like that which no one else did; I don't know the system, so that may have bought her something extra the others couldn't do--such as the double Agility push--which should probably also get nixed to maintain balance and "fairness". But, again, that's your call :) )

I will say that without that particular mechanic I'm much more inclined to try out the reckless pilot. Definitely a niche I don't play. (I was also eyeballing Miller)

[SunDuck]

I absolutely agree with you and honestly I thought about removing the Drug Addict traits entirely before ever posting her. Her "Reckless" trait isn't hinged on that flaw either so it does feel imbalanced. All pilots have the "reckless" option available.

Whichever you choose, I am removing the Drug Addict penalty regardless. 🙂 So no worries! Leah or Miller will be super fun.

[Malkavian Grin]

After much consideration and him-hawing about it, I think I will try my luck with Leah the Pilot!

So, the next step is giving her a background and choosing equipment options?

Since we removed that flaw, would her Signature Item change? (If this is anything like Free League's Bladerunner game, I'll be using it to enhance a roll at some point. If she's not dependent on the drugs anymore, I wonder if it could still give her this kind of strength?)

[SunDuck]

So the signature item can be used once per session to lower Stress Level by 1. Other than that, it's purely roleplay!

Maybe she feels it in her pocket when she's frightened to remind herself what she has overcome?

 

EDIT: Sorry, meant to add this lol -- Yes, next step is giving her a backstory and choosing the equipment. If you want to swap around any of her skills or abilities you may - just don't change the actual numbers.

Edited May 23, 2023 by SunDuck (see edit history)

[Malkavian Grin]

3 hours ago, SunDuck said:

Maybe she feels it in her pocket when she's frightened to remind herself what she has overcome?

Oh, I like that! Stealing! ;3

I think I'm okay with her stats as is. I'll get on equipment in a bit and then we'll start trying to figure out a decent background.

[Malkavian Grin]

LEAH DAVIS, PILOT
Pilot of the USCSS Montero

AGE: 27
PERSONALITY: Adrenaline Junkie

Safety limits? Those are lies. Any vehicle or piece of equipment can be pushed past the red line and still work fine. You do it as often as you can, just to keep from getting bored. Unfortunately, daily routines are never that exciting, and that's why you've developed a little stimulant problem. You'll do just about whatever it takes to keep yourself from crashing, even if it puts you in danger. Whether it's an adrenaline rush or substance abuse, all that matters to you is that you are flying high.

---

ABILITIES:  STRENGTH 2 | AGILITY 5 | WITS 3 | EMPATHY 4

---

HEALTH:  2

---

SKILLS:  Heavy Machinery 1 | Ranged Combat 2 | Piloting 3 | Observation 2 | Mobility 2

---

TALENT: Reckless

You live for the rush of adrenaline through your veins, pushing harder than others dare. You can push any skill roll based on AGILITY twice, not just once like other characters. Each push increases your STRESS LEVEL by one.

---

SIGNATURE ITEM: Pill bottle, almost empty

---

GEAR: $300 Cash
M4A3 Service Pistol"This inexpensive 9mm pistol is the standard sidearm of the USC-MC. You should always have a backup for your backup, and this pistol might as well be it." - CRB

Bonus: +2 to Ranged Combat
Damage: 1
Range: Medium
Hand Radio
Maintenance Jack"A common tool used to open unpowered airlocks and divert power to or from electrical junction boxes. Gives a +1 modification to Heavy Machinery in relevant situations." - CRB
IRC MK.50 Compression Suit"If you're going to get blown out into space, you want to be in a MK. 50." - CRB

Armor Rating +2
Maximum Air Supply 5

---

BUDDY: Miller

---

RIVAL: -----

BACKGROUND

Leah officially grew up on a space colony on Ganymede, but with her parents often running jobs in the space lanes, the deep black is where Leah calls home. Her childhood was fully of danger and wonder. The ship her parents owned was second-hand and came with many problems that constantly needed tending to. Without a sibling, Leah often pretended to be a pilot. When she was old enough, her dad let her sit in the co-pilot's chair and actually help with readings.

It wouldn't be known for ten more years but Leah's parents were smugglers. Sure, they took on real jobs, but only to cover their tracks and have official paperwork. After her mother died, Leah helped take over the business. The danger was just something that came with the job as far as she was concerned. But her father could only keep on with the work for another year before calling it quits. His heart was broken and he just didn't have the drive anymore.

Without a crew, Leah turned to commercial piloting. It quickly bored her and she began to look for ways to cut corners or do some fancy piloting. After crashing into a space dock and racking up around 10k in damages, Leah joined up with the military. She worked off her debt and learned some valuable lessons about teamwork before being dishonorably discharged for taking too many risks (and again crashing an expensive vehicle).

With nowhere to turn, Leah fell in with a hard crowd. She began to take speed--some kind of prescription pills--in order to leave her woes behind. She kind of became a party girl for a year. The only thing that kept her from hitting harder drugs was watching a guy swallow his own tongue after a bad trip on something. Eventually, she ran out of cash and friends again and had to call in some old favors with her dad. Somehow, some way, she managed to put the pills down. But she keeps them with her--just in case of...emergency.

As coincidence would have it, Leah came back into contact with Vanessa Miller who'd worked with her parents. Leah's father had called in his last favor. Miller needed a pilot and someone that didn't ask too many questions. Leah was happy to take orders so long as she got to fly like she wanted. Miller said that was fine--within reason. Leah laughed noncommittally. That was two years ago. So far, Miller seems fine with it.