Variant RPGaDay - 16, 17, and 18

I've had a couple of these batches of NPCs where I've just instantly thought of a game that would work. However for a few of them (like today's), I just couldn't think of games where there are distinct character archetypes that could be tweaked into the prompts. SO I guess I'm going to have to go with a few open systems, and see how they might work for the sequence.

Today we're going with the alternate hidden history game of "Cold City", where the Allied forces are cleaning up the mess left by Nazi occult experiments at the tail end of World War 2. The couple of times I've played it have been fun, but I do admit that I tweaked the system somewhat dramatically the second time I ran it. (Maps) Everything in Cold City revolves around how characters relate to one another, so today's prompts of "Associates" works well.

Batch 6 (Cold City)

Associates – Composure – Full of Woe

Here I'm thinking of a member of the French resistance who saw terrible things during the course of the war, but they've hardened themselves against the horrors. Now they sty focused and dedicated as the world falls to chaos around them. They know that they'll never get their life of happiness back, but they can work hard to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. 

Christophe Leclerc 

Goal: To ensure the perpetrators of the worst war crimes are adequately punished, and a message is sent to those who might think about committing atrocities like these in future.

Obstacle: Christophe works hard to maintain his composure, but his team mates often see times when he barely manages to hold his rage in check. He has come close to being court martialed on a number of occasions. 

Strength: He is a dangerous fighter, and has learnt to be well prepared after his time in the Resistance. He always seems to have something useful in his pockets, or at the very least a couple of bits and poieces that can be MacGyvered into the right tool for the job.

Weakness: Christophe tends to overthink things, and gets frustrated when twists of fate leave him on the back foot. It is these times when he rages out, and recently some team mates claim to have seen his eyes glow red with anger. There's something going on inside his body.

Associates – Intensity – Far to Go

The combination of "Intensity" and "Far to Go" says a woman in the US military to me. She has an over-the-top bravado, but will never be seen as "one of the boys" and will never get the promotions she actually deserves because life just doesn't work like that (and the feminist revolution hasn't happened yet).

Lt Maria Hayes 

Goal: She wants to be promoted to captain one day, and wants to be recognised for all of the work that she has been doing to secure the world against the supernatural.

Obstacle: The US Military and its patriarchal hierarchy is her biggest obstacle. Various senatora, congress  members, and secretaries of the defense forces have been made aware of successful missions she has been involved in, but in each case when a commendation or accolade has been presented, it has gone to one of the men in her unit. 

Strength: Over the years, Maria has managed to acquire a few contraband items that were either experimental technology prototypes, or fell through reality from parallel worlds. Included among these are a watch which can skip back 60 seconds, and a shadow cloak. 

Weakness: A lot of people became important based on Maria's actions, and they don't want her telling the truth about their rise to power. She often gets sent on suicide missions to keep her quiet once and for all, but she keep's coming  back.

Associates – Directness – Loving and Giving

I'm really thinking a "Bones" McCoy style of doctor from Star Trek here. A no-nonsense medic who isn't afraid to call the members of his team idiots if they suffer injuries that could have been avoided, but he'll still go out of his way to make sure the job is done, ensure everyone gets the best medical treatment available, and ensure no team-member if left behind.

Dr. Nicholai "Suture" Kuznetzov 

Goal: There's a complex moral situation in cleaning up the mess of the Nazis. Their medical experimentation and procedures were horrific, but through their work they discovered a lot of knowledge that could not have been achieved otherwise. It seems callous to use the results of that work, knowing how the data was obtained, but would it be worse to require experiments like that be done again if the findings were discarded on moral grounds. Nicholai gathers everything he can, he'll sort out the moral consequences later.

Obstacle: Not only the moral situation, but everything found by Nicholai has been requested to be sent back to Moscow so they can decide what might be valuable. He doesn't entirely trust the bureaucracy at home, and tries to copy as much information as possible before it's sent back... and hopes he isn't caught.

Strength: A master field-surgeon who has brought many back from the dead, there are a lot of people around who owe him some pretty big favours, if not their lives.

Weakness: He can be overconfident in his abilities, and his bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired.