i could.. justify having, "on the edge, but it hasn't manisfested in over a year... so i think i may have bought it off, sometime between my last episode, and now. xD that one needed to go asap.

The only horror movies or video games that have ever scared me as an adult were ones that featured zombies.  The only time I've ever been frightened into a blind "RUN AWAY!" panic was over a zombie in a video game.  True story:


So I'm playing Thief 1 and I'm creeping around in the zombie filled church in the undead section of town, already on fricking edge over the ghosts*, and I have Garret try to pick a lock.  The computer has surround sound, I'm sitting in the dark... and suddenly there's a zombie moan from behind me!  Next thing I know, I'm outside, behind a tree, looking back at my apartment doorway, that dreadful pitch black opening**, waiting for the zed to come out.

Took me almost ten minutes to begin to calm down, and the only reason I returned to the apartment at that point is one of the cats finally started to investigate the front porch, so I had to shoo her back inside and close the door.  Even then  I had to turn on all the lights and check everywhere to make sure it was just the video game.

Garret was just as I'd left him, turns out the zed was upstairs and had approached from behind.  In the game they moan when they get to a certain distance to alert you that they're there, not that you've been spotted or anything.  But the damage was done.  I was to agitated to even think about playing that mission, had to use a cheat code to get passed it.



* The ghosts do this freaky multi-voiced whispering... which sets my paranoia and schizophrenia off.  Had the same problem playing the hell levels in Diablo 1, the creepy 'subaudio' children's laughter was setting me off.  Had to turn off the game's music to keep playing.  I don't even want to talk about the zombie moans in Minecraft.

Even thinking about zombies to much starts a very mild panic attack.

** I can still picture it.  A normal doorway, just to dark to see because I'm in the light and the apartment was dark.  But for some reason (because I was completely panicked) that rectangular of darkness took on the most fearsome of aspects.



But strangely I love zombie movies, books, comics, etc.

haha yeah, i know level you mean, i know which exactly. in the late 90's had a friend, we'd play those games in pitch black, silent hill and clock tower along with resident evil 2, were good ones for that effect.

Dungeon Master, was pretty humorous/scary when you were camping in the dungeon, and got ambushed by a horde of mummies. They made this scary sound, when they attacked. xD at least it was scary to happen suddenly out of nowhere, when you were playing it in the dark, when you where 11 yrs old. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbUbYAyNvBg

Been working on my own character sheet.  I need to look up that Dabbler perk -- there are a lot of things I know how to do, better than default, but not well enough to justify the skill level of a 1 point skill.  Some of those I can cover with Wild Talent (yes, I have it, at some level -- I have a long history of succeeding on the first try at stuff I've only heard/read about), but some I do often enough to justify having them on the sheet.  Like fountain pen repair (probably a hobby skill anyway), desktop computer assembly, sewing, etc.

I was pretty surprised to see I'm only 155 points (probably more like 160-165 by the time I finish tweaking skills).  Not much of a physical specimen, and certainly not an athlete, I presume that contributes.

I'll post the result here when I get the skills tweaked...

i've never been an athlete myself, but i've always been able to move very well, and i'm quite stout. i hardly ever get sick, and i've been through alot of injuries, and have made good recovery, owing to good, overall health. most of my skills are things common for a kid growing up around alot of rural stuff, and outdoorsy things, and working outdoors, doing farm work and landscape. most of my edgier social skills i picked up later in life, after i left home and started living in seedy areas, due to cheapness of accomadations. I've had to put fear into my neighbors to leave me be, and have been in plenty of altercations. i think i more or less, nailed it. there's some things, as i may have mentioned , that i have recently bought off, that would have lowered me by at least -25 more points... if only i could buy off my depression, i could overcome some other things keeping me down.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Sat 30 July 2016.

i'm pretty much a picture of wasted potential.

Name: JustJessie
Race: Human

Attributes [90]
ST 10
DX 12 [40]
IQ 12 [40]
HT 11 [10]
HP 10
Will 12
Per 13 [5]
FP 11
Basic Lift 20

Damage 1d-2/1d
Basic Speed 5.5 [-5]
Basic Move 5
Ground Move 5
Water Move 1

Social Background
TL: 8 [0]
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Languages: English (Native) [0].

Advantages [17]
Ally (Brother in Arms) (25% of starting points) (12 or less) [2]
Charisma (1) [5]
Claim to Hospitality (Several Overlapping Social Groups) (3) [5]
Resistant (Sickness) (Common) (+3) [5]

Perks [4]
Off-Hand Weapon Training (Knife) [1]
Off-Hand Weapon Training (Shortsword) [1]
On Alert [1]
Style Familiarity (Taijutsu) [1]

Disadvantages [-67]
Bad Back (Mild) [-15]
Bad Sight (Nearsighted) (Glasses) [-10]
Debt (-2) [-2]
Dependent (Children) (No more than 50%) (9 or less; Group of Dependents; Loved one) [-
20]
Intolerance (Drug Users) (One group) [-5]
Lecherousness (12 or less) [-15]

Quirks [-5]
Congenial [-1]
Delusion [-1]
Solipsism [-1]
Truthful [-1]
Yin-Yang Imbalance [-1]

Skills [96]
Administration IQ/A - IQ+0 12 [2]
Area Knowledge (Phoenix Metro Area) IQ/E - IQ+0 12 [1]
Arm Lock (Judo) Tech/A - 14 [1]
Back Kick (Karate) Tech/H - 11 [3]
Bow DX/A - DX-1 11 [1]
Broadsword DX/A - DX+1 13 [3]
Choke Hold (Judo) Tech/H - 12 [2]
Computer Operation/TL8 IQ/E - IQ+0 12 [1]
Connoisseur (Visual Arts) IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
Disarming (Judo) Tech/H - 14 [2]
Driving/TL8 (Automobile) DX/A - DX+1 13 [4]
Driving/TL8 (Motorcycle) DX/A - DX+0 12 [2]
Elbow Strike (Karate) Tech/A - 12 [1]
Erotic Art (Human) DX/A - DX+2 14 [8]
Fast-Draw (Balisong) DX/E - DX+0 12 [1]
Fast-Talk IQ/A - IQ+0 12 [2]
First Aid/TL8 (Human) IQ/E - IQ+0 12 [1]
Flail Art DX/H - DX+0 12 [4]
Freight Handling/TL8 IQ/A - IQ+0 12 [2]
Games (SJG Games) IQ/E - IQ+2 14 [4]
Ground Fighting (Judo) Tech/H - 11 [3]
Ground Fighting (Karate) Tech/H - 11 [3]
Guns/TL8 (Pistol) DX/E - DX+0 12 [1]
Guns/TL8 (Rifle) DX/E - DX+1 13 [2]
Hobby Skill (PC Games) IQ/E - IQ+0 12 [1]
Judo DX/H - DX+1 13 [8]
Karate DX/H - DX+1 13 [8]
Knee Strike (Karate) Tech/A - 13 [1]
Knife DX/E - DX+0 12 [1]
Leadership IQ/A - IQ+1 13 [2]
includes: +1 from 'Charisma'
Merchant IQ/A - IQ+0 12 [2]
NBC Suit/TL8 DX/A - DX-1 11 [1]
Professional Skill (CBRNE Decontamination) IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
Professional Skill (Customer Interface) IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
Professional Skill (Data Management) IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
Public Speaking (Punning) IQ/E - IQ+1 13 [1]
includes: +1 from 'Charisma'
Sex Appeal (Human) HT/A - HT+1 12 [4]
Shortsword DX/A - DX+1 13 [4]
Soldier/TL8 IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
Teaching IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
Two-Handed Sword DX/A - DX-1 11 [1]
Typing DX/E - DX+0 12 [1]
Writing IQ/A - IQ-1 11 [1]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Sat 30 July 2016.

This is always a fun exercise and I've played myself a few times dumped into different scenarios (of which Supers and Banestorm are the most prominent).

The downside is, people always over or under estimate their abilities and no rpg system has the granularity to accurately model all of your lifes experiences and all of the nuances of who you are.  Of course, I think GURPS handles it better than anyone (should I add GURPS zealot to my character sheet?).  Plus if you're going to run a game with these characters, many people expect it to be point balanced, so one friend comes in at 36 points, one at -20, one at 125, and one at 250.  How do you get them all on the same page without messing up their character?

i agree! gurps does it  best. that's why when i was a kid, and first did this excercise, it was a first-time ever being able to really try and do it , best as we could. same results, though. most of us were very over-powered for 14-15 yr olds. i mean, i was an 80 pt charactor by my reckoning, when i was that age. that is NOT what your average teen-ager is, by any means. more like 25 pts, if that...
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 04:26, Sat 30 July 2016.

This message was deleted by the player at 04:26, Sat 30 July 2016.

In reply to Dareos Madrigar (msg # 29):

It gets iffy. If your friends include special Ops veterans, doctors, folks with doctorates or mid lifecareer changes, they  do run up in points. You can stat a med student at 100-45, but not adecent heart surgeon. You can  do a gruntfor 60 pts, but a Seal would be over 200.

Best way I've found to make people stat themselves is give them a set point budget and tell them to make a character based on themselves using only that budget. Like an alternate universe version. That way, the people who overestimate themselves by a hundred points are reigned in without you having to call them out on being full of shit.

And the people who underestimate themselves get to work up more ideal versions of who they are.

This explains it, though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...2%80%93Kruger_effect

Inept people are unable to evaluate their capabilities accurately, while highly skilled people underestimate themselves and assume that tasks that are easy for them are also easy for other people.

So everybody is wrong: Unskilled people are wrong about themselves, and skilled people are wrong about everyone else.

As a skilled person* I take exception to this statement.  I know everyone else is far less skilled than I am!


* [cough]Bullshit![/cough]


Yeah, though, I do experience that cogdis where I'm trying to figure what has someone stumped and it's always the most simple thing that they aren't grokking.  But then spending a few years in custserv has helped to align my steps on "Always start with the simplest, stupidest thing and work your way up from there".

it depends on your background, and community expectations/social norms alot, too. in rural/semi rural communities,for example, theres a whole shit-ton of things youngsters are expected to know how to, or they get outcast,ridiculed,beat-up,etc. xD the most expensive costs are usaully wrapped up in attributes, as well. back to when we were kids, and tried this. my friends, had stats of like 14 for ST and 15 DX, and i was like ..."no" and we fixed things. everyone shrank from well over 100 pts to 20 and 40 pts below that. we were then, unable to factor in things at that time like living with parents, having no job, or working minimum wage, etc. lol
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Sat 30 July 2016.

The other side of this is that, for many highly skilled people, the tasks they're skilled in were easy the first time they attempted them, and remain difficult for others who've been doing them for long enough that they ought to be competent.  I work with men who have more than twice my experience, in number of years, but who constantly call on me for assistance in repairing stuff I never found difficult.

those men could have the lazy disadvantage....or the odious personal habit (delegates work to other fellow employees) xD
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:42, Sat 30 July 2016.

Or as is more likely Incompetence.

My Mom is liek that with Math.  Simple addition and subtraction is not beyond her, but she never trusts herself to compute more than 3 things in series... and for good reason as she almost always makes an error.

In reply to Jareth Mooncalled (msg # 38):

Those with ease have talent. Others have q level incompetencies with certain aspects of skills or have low self esteem, which gives a penalty when being watched.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:31, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

Name: Joe
Race: Human

Attributes [79]
ST 8  [-20]
DX 12 [40]
IQ 13 [60]
HT 10 [0]
HP 10 [4]
Will 13
Per 13
FP 10
Basic Lift 12

Damage 1d-2/1d
Basic Speed 5.5 [-5]
Basic Move 5
Dodge 8

Social Background [4]
TL: 8 [0]
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Languages: English (Native) [0]
           German (Broken) [2]
           Spanish (Broken)[2].

Advantages [10]
Common Sense [10]


Disadvantages [-98]
Bad Back (Mild) [-15]
Bad Sight (Nearsighted) (Glasses) [-10]
Debt (-2) [-2]
Overweight [-1]
Very Unfit [-15]
Mental Illness [-20]
Nightmares (12) [-5]
Sleep Disturbances (Insomnia) [-10]
Stress Atavism [-15]
Shy [-5]


Quirks [-5]
Congenial [-1]
Proud [-1]
Curious [-1]
Truthful [-1]
Imaginative [-1]

Skills [50]
Administration IQ/A - IQ+0 13 [2]
Area Knowledge (Charlotte Area) IQ/E - IQ+0 13 [1]
Area Knowledge (East Tennessee Area) IQ/E - IQ+0 13 [1]
Computer Operation/TL8 IQ/E - IQ+0 13 [1]
Connoisseur (Visual Arts) IQ/A - IQ+0 13 [2]
Cooking IQ/A- IQ+1 14 [4]
Driving/TL8 (Automobile) DX/A - DX+1 13 [4]
Games (Card Games) IQ/E - IQ+2 15 [4]
Games (Board Games) IQ/E- IQ+2 15 [4]
History (WWII) IQ/H- IQ+0 13 [4]
History (Civil War) IQ/H- IQ+0 13 [4]
Hobby Skill (PC Games) IQ/E - IQ+0 13 [1]
Leadership IQ/A - IQ+0 13 [1]
Mathematics/TL8 IQ/H- IQ+0 13 [4]
Theology/ TL8 (Christianity) IQ/H- IQ+0 13 [4]
Philosophy/ TL8 IQ/H- IQ+0 13 [4]
Typing DX/E - DX+0 12 [1]
Writing IQ/A - IQ+1 14 [4]

for somebody that knows you personally, joe, i can vouch that you did a pretty good job. maybe by a differance of -7, but that's chicken feed. xD
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Sat 30 July 2016.

In reply to Chye Isuel (msg # 41):

Thank you. :)

no problemo.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:59, Sat 30 July 2016.

In reply to Chye Isuel (msg # 43):

Had to updare mine, as wife reminded me I am a klutz.

haha. i've been editing mine like crazy, mostly sprucing it up, making it more organized looking.