How to build a character with the Intersect?

[Kit]

For my UNIT game, I have a player who watches Doctor Who, but is new to gaming. She wants a character who will have Run For Your Life! and Screamer! and "average person in over their head" qualities. She was thinking about someone who has knowledge about aliens/technology that she has no real awareness of-rather like the Intersect in CHUCK. She'd be a relatively regular person, but UNIT has her on the team because when she encounters aliens and alien tech, she "knows" about it. Any ideas on how to do this?

[knasser]

Do you mean mechanically? I'm not familiar with Intersect, but if you want a character that knows about alien tech but doesn't know that she knows... How about the Boffin Trait, good Technology and Knowledge scores and the Amnesia (Minor) Trait.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Like she got infostamped?

Bend the rules so that she can double-specialise in "alien identification" for Knowledge and "alien tech" for Technology, regardless of the normal skill level, so she could have the skill at 0 but still have the specialisation at 4. And it could key off Awareness or Ingenuity, whichever's higher, since effectively she's "noticing" the info rather than remembering it.

[korith]

Well...it could be a trait

A.I.T.A.S. - Alien Information and Tactical Assessment System
Minor Good Trait
+2 bonus to Knowledge and Technology rolls to recognize and identify aliens and their technology



Or, it might be a little bit fancier - perhaps a Special level of cybernetics, coupled with a level or two of the Scan trait? Depends on if she wants to have alien scanner probes swimming around in her brain, I suppose.

[Kit]

Thanks all! Those are all good ideas. For a variation of the idea, we've considered an implanted alien tech device [Gadget] that has Scan. In that version, she'd be walking around getting all sorts of information about her surroundings. The question then would be does she need something to interpret the data or is that covered by Scan? [she walks in to a Sontaran spaceship. does Scan tell her it is a class 6 warship and details about it? Or does she need tech and knowledge skills for that?]

[korith]

Well, the normal rules for Scan call for an Awareness+Skill roll (Technology for devices and Knowledge for Alien species makes sense here). The device would provide a +2 bonus to the roll (or more, it can be purchased multiple times). The rest, I would argue, depends on the degree of success involved.

I'd suggest the following:

Disastrous result - the scan completely misses what it's looking for, possibly getting distracted (allowing the alien or device to surprise her, causing her a -2 penalty to react) by a random phenomenon or glitching out and providing no useful results for the rest of the scene.

Bad - the scan simply fails to detect any alien qualities in the device in question, or doesn't notice it at all.

Failure - The scan detects an "alien presence", but is unable to pinpoint or identify it.

Success - The scan pinpoints the device or alien presence, but is unable to identify. Alternatively, the scan identifies the device or alien presence, but is unable to pinpoint it.

Good - The scan identifies and pinpoints the alien device ir alien presence, and can be used to track it if moving. Some useful, basic information about the device or alien may also be revealed (planet of origin, are they usually hostile, etc)

Fantastic - The scan identifies, pinpoints and provides precise information about the alien device or alien presence. Extremely useful information, such as motivations, weaknesses, cultural history and natural enemies will be revealed. A Fantastic result should almost always add something to the plot that swings things in the player's favor, even if, as the GM, you have to make something up on the spot.


Sample Difficulties for scanning stuff:

3 - Aliens that are visibly and unquestionably non-human, and also clearly alive that also give off an energy signature which makes them easy to notice, and not making any effort to mask themselves Eg: Pyroviles running around in Siberia. Alien technology which is designed to be noticed, such as a greeting beacon designed to self identify and communicate using means available across a range of tech levels (skywriting, radio transmission, subspace communications, etc)

6 - Aliens that are visibly and unquestionably non-human and alive. If they give off an energy signature, it's reasonably obscure or blends easily into the background (eg, Pyroviles in Vesuvius, Cybermen in a radio broadcasting tower). Devices which are clearly alien due to operating on different principles than human technology, or being used to obtain results well outside the range of available human technology.

9 - Aliens that are significantly different than humans due to noteworthy physiological differences (different number of limbs, hearts, presence of organs not found in contemporary humans, or an energy signature such as psychic energy waves emanating from them). Alien technology operating off of a detectable power source not typically in use by humans.

12 - Aliens that are similar to humans in many respects, but may have one or two key differences to identify them (eg, Slitheen in a skinsuit, Carrionites at an old folks home). Alien devices that are more advanced than contemporary human technology, but function as extensions of existing scientific principles.

15 - Aliens using minor shapeshifting abilities or technologically to blend in (such as Saturnynes using perception filters, or a plasmavore that has had a taste of human blood), or "aliens" that may be slightly diverged from an originally human ancestry (eg, a human in the early stages of being converted into a Bane, Futurekind). Alien devices that are making modest effort to avoid detection (eg, Mr. Smith...let's disregard the narrow distinction between life form and device for now)

18 - Aliens using significant shapeshifting abilities or technology to blend in, possibly including leaving behind their more advanced devices and scan-deceiving cosmetic surgery.

21-27 - Increasing degees of technology and self modification being used to avoid detection. May also include aliens without a physically tangible presence, such as The Trickster)

30 - Functionally human, yet not. Eg, a Time Lord having been converted by the Chameleon Arch.

[Kit]

Thanks Korith. That's very cool.