"Monk" v4.0 - Free League edition Conversion of an Iconic T2k Character

 “Me, I’m a grease monkey. That’s why they call me “Monk” – I keep the Hum Vee purring and the LAV-25 limping along (so far). I guess I’ve always loved engines, which is why I’m so good at them…” 

– T2k v1.0 Play Manual, page 7.

I think Monk is a good place to start for conversion because although every group needs a mechanic and backup driver, it's not necessarily a role that many players are going to jump at in a military-based game. I've also noticed there's a subtle nod to Monk in the nicknames suggested for the Mechanic Archetype, so it seems to almost be a sign. And who doesn't have a soft spot for the kid... right?

So let's convert him, falling back on that Archetype when necessary as we're not going the full Lifepath route.

Converting "Monk" to Free League / 4th edition

Basic nationality, rank, and other core aspects are easy enough to decide on. Monk is technically only capable of being a Specialist if we follow the Mechanic archetype guideline but is described as being a sergeant, which is likely just possible with lifepath development. I'm not fussed too much, rank also has very little bearing in the latest edition.

American, US Army Specialist

Moral Code:                    TBA, this isn't really called out in the original narrative

Buddy:                            TBA and/or pick one of the other "iconic" v1.0/2.2 characters (TBA) 

Big Dream:                      Keep the Humvee and the LAV-25 running until we get back home 

Attributes and skills are converted using the guidelines from the Referee's Manual pages 107-110. 

This is his starting converted Attribute & Skill breakdown:

Attributes & Skills

Strength (STR)                B    1d10 

    CLOSE COMBAT          D   1d6     Martial Arts       

Agility (AGL)                    A    1d12    

    DRIVING                       D    1d6    Racer

    RANGED COMBAT       D    1d6    Rifle

    MOBILITY                     D    1d6    Diver, Pitcher

    

Intelligence (INT)            C    1d8  

    TECH                           C    1d8    Computers, Mechanic

    SURVIVAL                    D    1d6    Scrounger

Empathy (EMP)              C    1d8    

    PERSUASION             B   1d10   Linguist

My initial version of Monk converts across to a character with a lot of low-level skills and specialties compared to a character built with the Archetype method. Also, as the primary attribute for various skills shifts in Free League edition (notably STR and AGL swapping around for Ranged Combat and Mechanic moving from STR based to INT based), Monk's attribute spread doesn't make a lot of sense actually. 

Compared to an Archetype build, the conversion translates into the same 1 A, 1 B, and 2 C level attributes. The suggested primary attribute for his closest Archetype is INT, however, not AGL or STR. Sure, AGL makes sense if he's more a driver than a mechanic (potentially a useful option as mechanic skill seems to be somewhat downplayed in this later edition - see later post), but I think STR and INT need to be swapped to align with the original concept - as the attributes stand, this initial attempt at conversion seems more of a brawler style of character who is less mechanic and more a traditional "Wheelman" however.

Monk seems to have one extra skill due to Language: English converting to PERSUASION B (Linguist) which doesn't really fit and is outside the Mechanic Archetype's suggested cores skills. In addition, he has only one level C skill which is TECH, although he does have two specialties for it and overall seems to have a lot of specialties - a total of 9 compared to a starting Archetype-based character's usual single specialty. Sure, I can see PERSUASION being useful for haggling but I'd suggest switching the B with the C of TECH at least, if not dropping it to D or losing it entirely and bumping up DRIVING or SURVIVAL (Scrounger) to C instead. 

In terms of the specialties, if I had to choose only one I'd stick to Mechanic, but otherwise, it seems reasonable to drop to only 3: Mechanic, Racer, and Scrounger seem the most applicable. Of course, this is a converted character, so it's not unreasonable just to keep all the specialties if your Referee is not worried about balance.

So revised to fit the Archetype better this becomes:

Attributes & Skills

Strength (STR)                C    1d8 

    CLOSE COMBAT          D   1d6        

Agility (AGL)                    B    1d10    

    DRIVING                       C    1d8    Racer

    RANGED COMBAT       D    1d6   

    MOBILITY                     D    1d6    

    

Intelligence (INT)            A    1d12  

    TECH                           B    1d10  Mechanic

    SURVIVAL                   C    1d6    Scrounger

Empathy (EMP)              C    1d8   

So with the attributes reordered and skills added, it's easy enough to sort out the Hit and Stress Capacity. Given we're basing him on the Mechanic archetype, his CUF (Coolness Under Fire) is only a D (1d6). I'm not going to delve into this further now, maybe in a later post dealing with combat and/or survival. 

Hit Capacity:                    5

Stress Capacity:              5        

Coolness Under Fire:      D    1d6

 

So now equipment and gear, previously a big part of v2.2 and earlier editions. Like most other military characters, Monk starts with a standard helmet and flak armor so let's add those and then roll 1d6 for radiation or take the average rounded down. Again, let's leave Radiation for now and return to it in it's own post as compared to my previous article analysis it seems a lot simpler than in earlier editions. 

Armor

    Head    Kevlar Helmet    1

    Arms

    Torso    Flak Jacket        1

    Legs

Radiation

    Permanent                   3

That's actually mostly done now, let's just add his specific gear, weapons and make a note of any group equipment he carries or has been assigned - it's worth noting at this point that earlier edition T2k characters can have a lot of gear/resources compared to their Free League / 4th edition counterparts.

Gear

• Fatigues
• Backpack
• Thermal fatigues
• Personal medkit
• Vehicle tools
• Flashlight
• Protective mask (gas mask)
• Small tent

Weapons 

• M4A1 Carbine with 6 reloads 
• 6 frag grenades
• 2 smoke grenades 
• Large wrench (as a club)

Group Equipment

• Case of 5.56N ammo (840 rounds in magazines) & 180 loose 5.56N rounds 
• Dirtbike with half a tank of fuel
• AN/PRC-77 portable backpack radio 
• Small alcohol still

There's nothing extraordinary here, except noting that a converted Monk has quite a few more pieces of equipment than an archetype-generated character, and the extra reloads, the whole case of ammo, and the bulk of loose rounds provide him with an equivalent small fortune in Free League terms. His original concept has an M117 carbine, but this converts across easily enough to an M4A1 without needing specific treatment so I haven't looked at the weapon conversion rules yet. I've thrown in a dirt bike because I gave Monk a motorcycle in one of my earlier worked examples for the v2.2 travel rules. 

First Thoughts on Free League / 4th edition Conversion 

Like the v2.2 version, this Monk is intended as a pretty green / “Novice” level support character – he’s a decent mechanic and capable driver but not very skilled at much else except standing watch while the grunts sleep. Without additional development, he may be better used as a somewhat just more than generic background NPC to streamline play or a backup or sidekick character if the part splits and you want to keep the players involved.

A few general observations to test for future conversions:

• Core Attributes don't necessarily correlate - the most obvious change from T2k v2.2 is that whereas in the earlier edition a lot of essential skills relied on STR, this has been evened out in the FL / v4.0.

• The LANGUAGE skill doesn't really covert across well and just seems to create a glut of patients with skill in PERSUASION for no real reason. I'd consider dropping this unless the patient is multilingual and or has more of an intelligence background or "Face" role.  

• Specialties are differently geared in FL / v4.0 - their role is similar but they seemingly cost a lot more XP (equivalent to increasing a skill from D to C). It looks like v2.2 characters are likely to have a lot more Specialties because of how the long skill list translates across to the simpler FL / v4.0 equivalents. I've reduced this character's options a lot which streamlines things, but there's a significant drop in characterisation and to some extent capability.

• Not sure how the combat-relevant characteristics convert across so let's come back to that.

• v2.2 can seemingly have a *lot* more gear than their FL / v4.0 counterparts - as one poster on the Fria Ligan forum has noted, the standard character whether Archetype or Lifepath has very little in the way of "standard gear" although there are perhaps a few reasons for this. Added to this, the excess cash equivalent that can be pooled amongst the group to purchase additional soft-skinned vehicles and supplies is notably absent. I like the shift to small arms ammo as a barter currency, however.   

"Monk" FL / v4.0 Conversion Complete 

I'll link to a Google Drive final character sheet for "Monk" FL / v4.0 - this is based on the fillable PDF by Fenhorn over on the Fria Ligan forums and will paste in an image version here for reference.

Suggested Variants

"Tank"

This is essentially "Monk" re-envisaged as a tanker or self-propelled artillery crewman, not dissimilar to the way he originally converted and an amalgam of the artillery and armor variants for the original v2.2 version. Big Dream needs to be changed to something more protective of the group as a whole and I'd suggest dropping his rank down to Private First Class. He's more a driver than a primary gunner and only a passable mechanic. I've recalculated HIt Capacity & Stress Capacity included but increase CUF to C as this shifts across to more of a Gunner archetype but is really more a hybrid. Let's keep the same accumulated Radiation for simplicity.

Strength (STR)                A    1d12 

    HEAVY WEAPONS      C    1d8     Any one specialty other than Launcher Crew

    STAMINA                      D    1d6    

Agility (AGL)                    B    1d10    

    DRIVING                       B    1d10    Tanker

    RANGED COMBAT       C    1d8    

    

Intelligence (INT)            C    1d8  

    RECON                        D    1d6    Forward Observer

    TECH                           D    1d6    

Empathy (EMP)              C    1d8    

Hit Capacity:                    6

Stress Capacity:              4        

Coolness Under Fire:      C    1d8

Basic gear and weapons can stay as a crewman the same unless you want to have a character hefting around a dismounted MG in which case the HEAVY WEAPONS specialty is obvious, but this concept is more a driver or loader hence the Forward Observer specialty. Easy enough to tweak to be an M113 APC and/or mortar carrier driver if the group has that vehicle or an M2/M3 Bradley crewman likely now dismounted.

"Abbot"

An older, grimmer but necessarily wiser version of the younger "Monk" above, perhaps one that made it back home to the US after escaping Poland. Bump him up to Sergeant earned in the field, but notice the reduced STR, lower EMP, and frailty from age and burnout to compensate for the extra experience and gain in CUF. This is a more world-weary field mechanic who has picked up a lot of decent tricks as a survivor (reflected in the additional Specialties closer to the initially converted version above), evolving past a mere "grease monkey" to become an expert able to keep anything vital to the group running. His dreams have changed and his moral code may well have shifted from his experiences as a survivor...

Strength (STR)                 D   1d6 

    CLOSE COMBAT          C   1d8     Martial Arts        

Agility (AGL)                    B    1d10    

    DRIVING                       B    1d8    Biker, Racer

    RANGED COMBAT      C    1d6    Rifleman

    MOBILITY                     C    1d6    Pitcher     

    

Intelligence (INT)            A    1d12  

    TECH                           A    1d12  Computer, Electrician, Mechanic

    SURVIVAL                   B    1d6    Scrounger

Empathy (EMP)              D    1d6   

Hit Capacity:                    4

Stress Capacity:              4        

Coolness Under Fire:      B    1d6

I'd leave his gear unchanged overall although perhaps replace the ammo crate with a collection of spare parts bartered or more likely scrounged from his travels across the ruined landscape. Easy enough to advance "Tank" above similarly accounting for age in terms of attributes and capacities but maybe more of a focus on a second Heavy Weapon specialty (probably Machinegun for use when dismounted) and then Blacksmith / Gunsmith than Computer / Electrician. Cook and Quartermaster might suit better than Scrounger. 

What To Do When You're (Still) On Your Own... On the Absence of Iconic T2k Characters in T2k:FL

T2k Free League "Soldiers in the Rain"

So the long-awaited "Ammo Box" arrived last week and I've been slowly working my way through it, digesting the contents, and trying to work out how to approach this somewhat 4th edition... it's looking very different mechanically, more streamlined is my first impression, so much so I might redo the "20 Quick Rule Rules Questions..." as a way of getting to grips with things. Overall it looks promising - I'm trying to judge it without being coloured by the strong personalities on the forums, but I'm reserving judgment until I've had a good look at the components and worked out how it all fits together for me. 

But one component I'd hoped for is missing - pre-generated characters. And yes I know people have mixed feelings about them, but for the prior edition and starting point of T2k v2.2, I think they have a place and I've outlined my reasoning in the original blog article.

There's a sort of "half-way" attempt in the form of Archetypes, and I can see why they have done this and it has merit but these aren't what I would consider "Starter Kit" level friendly or immediately usable as sidekick style characters to round out a small starting party, unfortunately. 

So let's start with a few comments and ideas.

Hey, these Archetypes look Familiar...

So I'm working my way through Chapter 2: Player Characters and after a tantalising mention of Archetypes vs Life Path character creation then the basics of what is what, it hits me on page 20, a summary of the Archetype method followed by the first of the various Archetypes, the Civilian.

Not bad. Upfront we have a non-military character option (admittedly they are in alphabetical order). Sets the scene that this is not just military and encourages a more mixed party, expanding play style options.

But rather than being an actual pre-generated character, it's really only a template to follow. 

Oh hang on, there's a small paragraph on page 19 that I almost missed that uses the Archetype rules to make a Grunt (2nd option, page 23) that is the example "Private Ronson" filled in as a character sheet on page 21. OK, so we have a pre-genrated basic soldier, probably the easiest example and not very imaginative but I guess that shows how quick the system is and I think that's fair.

Hmmm. OK. 

<flicks through the Player's Manual to see if he's missing something>

Nope, that's it. Only the one pre-generated character and one that could basically be simulated by just using a basic NPC with combat stats and equipment. I'm feeling a bit disappointed it wasn't one of the less obvious options and seems like a wasted opportunity - of course, I am somewhat biased because of how I would prefer to run a campaign. But for a beginning group, especially of only a few players, it would seem good to have a few worked through examples that can be used "out of the box". 

Or is that "Out of the Crate"?

Back to the other templates... I mean Archetypes, of which there are another eight - another new civilian concept, "the Kid",  which is a welcome addition to the previously heavily weighted military origin options in earlier editions:

• The Civilian 
• The Grunt
• The Gunner
• The Kid
• The Mechanic
• The Medic
• The Officer
• The Operator
• The Spook  

Apart from the two civilians and the Spook (basically a spy template unsurprisingly), I feel struck by how close they are to the pregen characters I developed a few years ago now, although I gave them different names: the Wheelman (Mechanic), the Heavy (Gunner), the Doctor (Medic), the Major (Officer) and the Scout (Operator). The Engineer character I created (based on a test character I use to try out new systems) would seem initially to be a variant of the Mechanic archetype as that's where the Combat Engineer specialty is suggested (a bit clunky) but I think the Grunt or Heavy probably fits better for the specific character concept I had in mind.

I'm *not* claiming I invented these roles or archetypes - they're pretty standard and easy to derive from the prior editions or any of the various post-apocalyptic/military media representations but it's amusing to see how close they are to my list or the similar classes in Operation White Box that I actually based my core pregens on. I think their inclusion gives a bit of structure to how players might think about building a group. They're not quite "classes" like in other systems but there is the comment that players should probably pick different archetypes to provide the variety needed in the group.

For each Archetype, there are some suggested variations and options other than the recommended favoured Attribute (pick a Specialty from a list of three, roleplaying choices (cosmetic, moral code,  goal, relationships, how you met the group), and basic weapon differences) but the resulting output still looks like it's going to be pretty bland.

A Missed Opportunity?

Don't get me wrong, I like the archetypes as a concept - they would seem particularly useful for introducing players that may only be familiar with a very class-based, core d20 rollover mechanic game.  

But they aren't worked examples or pregens and I think that would have been useful.

I just think these could have easily taken it a bit further - give us an example character for each of the Archetypes with a few variation suggestions and a bit of a backstory to make them usable as sidekicks and starting supporting cast with minimal GM effort - as mentioned in my original pregen post, this is what we did for the Grogs supplement for Ars Magica 5th edition and subsequent books,  and I think it was a good nod towards providing a resource usable easily by GMs.

I don't always like a lot of "fluff" and character fiction in games - there was a particular RPG publisher and lines where this was taken to the extreme to be sure - but I did like the original "iconic" characters scattered through the worked examples of the first two and a bit editions.

The Challenge

So I think what my "Ammo Box" needs first off is some pre-gen characters, readily able to be personalised, so a group can hit the ground running, particularly if there are only a few players and the majority are coming from other non Year Zero systems.

Rather than just complain about it, I'm going to do something about it and generate some, either converting my existing pregens and maybe some others to the Free League mechanics (using the guidelines I've just found in the back of the Referee's Manual, pages 106-107) and/or designing them using the Life Path (or Archetype) method. 

As I did originally, I think I'll start with Monk...