During a recent discussion with actDave about other games and gaming systems, it came up that some of these folks have been through a number of genres over time. Grim’s Gang in particular fits just as well in a post-apocalyptic setting as they do in fantasy. They’ve made runs through the Wasteland games. And when I first fleshed them out as characters after their Wizardry origin brought them to life, their home was a “post-apocalyptic fantasy” setting somewhat like Krynn at the start of the Dragonlance novels.
Grimslade “Grim
Team Leader – The Big Guy – Melee, Big Guns, Shotguns
Grim barely has to change moving to the wasteland. A bit different in choice of weaponry, but otherwise still the same big ol’ lovable mercenary self. Likes the big sledgehammer for that “up close and personal” touch, but fond of shotguns as well. And definitely the Big Guns guy when you really want to liven up the party.
Grim thinks of any remaining veneer of civilization as pointless fluff sugar-coating that everything has fallen apart. You do what you have to do to survive. Your code, your rules, your will – that’s what truly defines you.
Brigit “Blur”:
Flanker – SMGs, dual-pistols, dual knives
Just as she was fond of flashy, unwieldy combat styles in fantasy, so would “Blur” be just the one to try making impractical-in-the-real-world styles like dual pistols or even dual-SMGs into a functional fighting style in the wasteland. And yet again, she would somehow make it work through sheer speed, athleticism, and not knowing that its not really supposed to work that way
Blur still has the same sorts of delusions as her fantasy counterpart, only this incarnation has visions of John Woo movies and 80s action flicks dancing in her head. She is just as convinced that these were depicting actual, real events as her fantasy counterpart is wedded to her father’s tall tales.
Duncan “Black” Dougal
Sniper, stealth expert – sniper rifles, silenced pistol
“Black” Dougal remains his pragmatic, cold, killer self – preferring silenced pistols and sniper rifles for the simple, effective one-shot kills. Both the silent scout and the killer from above.
This incarnation of “Black” is the cynic of the group. Utter pragmatist, without even Grim’s stoic philosophy as a core. Believes in doing the job, getting paid, and making sure your enemies die before you do. Preferably without them ever even shooting back in the first place.
Adam “Ace” Masters
Mechanic, Gadgeteer. Energy Weapons. Explosives.
“Ace” has to translate into a short guy with big ears in this setting, and switches to fancy guns rather than custom crossbows, but otherwise easily slots in as the techie/engineer. He’s also the explosives expert, fond of the big booms. The bigger, the better!
Ace is still the cheerful people person of the bunch, and utterly fascinated by old world technology. He’s constantly scrounging new parts, upgrading everyone’s gear, and on the lookout for anything he can beg, borrow, or dig up that will open up new possibilities.
Selena “Star” Cullen
Medic – Staff,Sling,Taser (she refuses to use firearms)
“Star” retains all her crystals, tarot cards, and mish-mash of beliefs, they just don’t work quite the same way in this setting. She is the alternative doctor who believes in everything from acupuncture and crystal healing to shamanic rituals. She just mixes enough genuine medical knowledge in with her oddities to be a surprisingly effective surgeon. And might just be a little bit psychic….
Star in this setting is just as loopy as in any other. Few know what to make of her because her actual medical knowledge is so obscured in ritual and mysticism. The fact that it actually works is bewildering to anyone with what passes for current medical knowledge. Its just hard to separate the “active ingredients” from Star’s peculiar way of remembering and explaining them. She is dead-set against using firearms. She refuses to even handle them, believing it will negate her “healing powers”. She relies upon a good old fashion staff and sling, supplemented by tasers, stun guns, flash grenades, and any other non-lethal devices she can scrounge up.
“Sapphire”
Scientist – devices, laser pistols.
Sapphire retains her core personality from fantasy, translated into a single-minded focus on science rather than technology. The embodiment of always asking if she *can* rather than if she *should* when it comes to everything from hacking into computer systems to re-activating those abandoned robots…
Sapphire in this setting is absolutely focused on cataloging, recovering, understanding, and expanding upon pre-war scientific knowledge. She has already adopted questionable cybernetic implants to aid in her memory retention and interfacing with old-world computers. And the others sometimes need to forcefully talk her through the potential consequences to get her to take appropriate safety measures before activating old systems which may have been deactivated for a reason…
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