<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=211938.msg10440679#msg10440679">Quote from: eBadger on 31-08-2014, 22:06:09</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Honestly a bit stuck on what other types of items I'd use and for what.  Hope isn't really a gear-intensive sort of person.  So I'll just stick with the locket and Spartacus (who is back on the boat atm).  <br/></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>Weapons and vehicles are the most common Signature Assets, but you can have stuff having to do with your profession.  I built Inara with Companion's Finery.  Book would have a Holy Bible and an Alliance Ident Card.  Simon would have a Medical Bag.<br/><br/>Hope's Stage Magic Kit is something that she would use in her act, basically enhancing anything having to do with her performances.  Prime Signature Asset material there.<br/><br/>For gambling, she could have the Trick Deck as a Signature Asset.  Besides the awesome ink and polarized lenses concept, the cards can change suit when flashed by a magnetic wristband, they could have different weights to pick them out while shuffling, they could turn into smoke bombs for quick getaways, they could have an edge for cutting ropes, they can be used to leave a trail behind her, etc.  And you can make up those abilities as the game goes on.  The game  is about making stuff up as you go along, not necessarily having everything planned out ahead of time.<br/><br/>For example, Zoe is getting shot at.  She spends a Plot Point to make an Armored Vest Asset.  It wasn't explicit that she was wearing one as she entered the scene, but it showed up when it became useful.<br/><br/><br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Also, just to be clear: Hope isn't forthcoming about her past and doesn't exactly submit 'lying, cheating and pickpocketing' on her resume.  Like Book's past, there are things you can piece together but as far as she's concerned, she's just a stage magician with a gift for gab. <br/></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>Aw, man.  I wish you brought that up earlier.  If Hope was going to have a Mysterious Past like Book, it would have been better to have that as a Distinction, the way Li Mei has (and she brought it up to me in PM's).<br/><br/>I'm incorporating everyone's background into the game.  In Hope's case, I was using the last line of your profile on the recruiting thread.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Hope's original character sheet</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=211882.msg10413257#msg10413257">Quote from: eBadger on 24-08-2014, 10:18:25</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">I've played a fair amount of Cortex, including the original Serenity, but a new version is news to me so kick me when I mess up.  <br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Hope Diamond aka Olivia Hope aka Hope Brown</span><br/><br/>(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg142/ElectricBadger/Characters/OliviaHope.jpg)<br/><br/>Concept: Cheat, Swindler, and Professional Damsel in Distress<br/>Conflict: Love v. Obfuscation<br/>Personality: Dramatic flourish and magic; lying and cheating; inappropriate commentary from Spartacus<br/><br/>20 Years old<br/>Brown hair, bright green eyes<br/>5’ 3”, 125 lbs<br/><br/>Attributes:<br/>Social d10<br/>Mental d8<br/>Physical d6<br/><br/>Skills:<br/>d12=Trick - (Fast Talk) &amp; (Sleight of Hand) Spin a yarn, con an opponent, or use sleight of hand.<br/>d10=Influence - Persuade others to do, think, act or feel the way you want them to.<br/>d10=Perform - (Showmanship) Act or put on a big show to impress or entertain.<br/>d8=Sneak - Avoid detection, such as by using camouflage on yourself, blending into a crowd, or using the environment.<br/>d8=Know - (Streetwise) Recall or remember general knowledge about the 'Verse. <br/>d8=Notice - Spot someone or something out of the ordinary.<br/>d6=Craft - Build, create and assemble items from scratch. <br/>d6=Fly - Pilot ships and other airborne vehicles.<br/>d6=Focus - Concentrate to steel your will, to avoid getting intimidated, or to find a new solution.<br/>d6=Operate - Use devices ranging from computers to thermal cutting torches.<br/><br/>Distinctions: <br/>d8 - Alluring<br/>d8 - Things Don't Go Smooth<br/>d8 - Forked Tongue - She lies a lot, but never to YOU! <br/><br/>Signature Assets: <br/>d6 - Spartacus the Parrot<br/>d6 - Mother's Necklace<br/><br/>(http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg142/ElectricBadger/Characters/Parrot.jpg)<br/><br/><br/>Quotes<br/>“Shh!  He’s one of them – they’ve been tracking me down for years.  They know I hid those files my parents found when they were working as parliament operatives.  They’ll…they’ll torture me for it.  Please, you’ve got to hide me!”<br/><br/><br/>Concept: Cheat, Swindler, and Professional Damsel in Distress<br/>Conflict: Love v. Obfuscation<br/>Personality: Dramatic flourish and magic; lying and cheating; inappropriate commentary<br/><br/>Inventory:<br/>Replica laser pistol and holster, with realistic sounds and lights<br/>Fedora and suits, complete with cane and spats<br/>Pack of cards, lighter, cloves, makeup kit<br/>Stage magic kit – several trunks of costumes, tricks, and various items of the trade<br/>Marked cards (with an ink only visible through polarized lenses), polarized contacts, and a roll of deck-sealing stickers<br/>Small holdout derringer<br/><br/><br/>History:<br/>Hope Diamond was born Hope Brown shortly before the beginning of the war in a city on Hera.  Her parents were killed during a bombing.  She was evacuated to an orphanage on Londinium with little but her name.  <br/><br/>Over the following years Hope found herself repeatedly refused by adoptive families; she was too old, too bold, too imaginative, simply not what any family was looking for.  It impressed upon her mind that she was inadequate; and certainly she was up to that point an entirely unremarkable girl without any assets and little chance for bright future.  Her response was to reimagine herself as someone else - someone more interesting.  She fled the orphanage and took up a series of “impersonations” – involved bouts of acting that passed a hair’s breadth from confidence games.  <br/><br/>When she encountered stage magic, it seemed like a natural connection – illusion, drama, an air of mystery that seemed to pardon any fabrication.  People knew it wasn’t real, but they wanted to believe anyways – and would accept anything.  She taught herself many of the skills – or had learned them on the streets – and took up an apprenticeship by the age of 15.  <br/><br/>It turned out – somewhat predictably – that the magician, Zahn, was more interested in Hope’s other talents.  After a couple years Hope’s refusals came to a head.  She left Zahn whimpering and clutching the remains of his manhood and emptied his tricks and accounts.  She fell back on her old games, traveling the 'verse as a wealthy brat, a drug dealer, a musician, a professional gambler and even worked three months as a bodyguard with a replica laser pistol.  She acquired new wealth with each new identity.  <br/><br/>In possession of a respectable nest egg – and with a few reasons to make herself scarce – she chose to assume the life of an itinerant magician and gambler using a new name, “Olivia Hope,” and the stage name “Hope Diamond," with vague hints of a dark past and criminal connections.  She picked up a second-hand parrot, Spartacus, and has kept him alive despite her nearly complete lack of responsibility or knowledge of pets – he seems to have adopted her more than the opposite.  His provenance is unclear, but he seems surprisingly intelligent - when he's not busy being contrary.  He often manages to supply cutting commentary in the most inappropriate situations.  <br/><br/>At the moment, Hope has begun to feel an unusual sense of security and is considering turning legit.  She’s pledged to stop lying (unless she really needs to), cheating (unless they’re really asking for it) or generally getting into trouble (unless it finds her, first). <br/></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div></div></div><br/><br/><br/>I was thinking that Hope's sense of security is from being with Clay's crew, and that she pledged to change her ways as not to jeopardize that.<br/><br/>At this point, I don't think it can work that the crew has no idea what she does.  At the point, it makes more sense that the crew knows her concept, and that she may have even had to use her skills to help them.  Maybe Clay and the crew got her out of trouble and she feels like she owes them.<br/><br/>I'm trying to mirror the show's morality, and this type of thing - robbing common folk and having someone else pay for it who did nothing more than lie about their background but didn't actually cheat at the card game - just wouldn't work.<br/><br/>Fortunately, it looks like Eli is willing to make a stand to get Hope off the hook.  And it will lead to an interesting conversation between Clay and Hope later.<br/><br/>I know it's not what you wanted, but I think we can make it work from here on.<br/><br/>What do you think?<br/><br/>