Jeremiah: Rural Upbringing?

[kregmosier]

Just curious...why isn't there and option for "Rural" under the "Upbringing" section in the rulebook?? I mean, i can ADD it myself of course, making the new table:

1-2 Rural
3-4 Inner City
5-6 Suburban
7-8 Upscale

and creating Feats, Skills, & Ability Modifiers for that type, but I was suprised NOT to see it in the Errata. Seems like a pretty decent-sized percentage of the population to not have represented in the game...

Anyone have any ideas for the specifics of the "Rural" Upbringing? I was thinking:

Feats: Athletic, Track, Self-Sufficient, and Run
Skills: Swim, Knowledge (Agriculture), and Barter
Ability Modifier: +1 Con / -1 Int

maybe? Anyone else??

thanks!

-k

 

[FuryMaster]

I am still waiting for my copy of the book to arrive so i'm not sure exactly how the system works, but from your info and ideas it appears to be similar to the Wheel of Time Background system. If this is the case, your ideas forr the Rural background seem quite logical to me. You are right that leaving Rural out was quite a big ommision.

Does the book havee a character sheet? I noticed that there is no downlaodable character sheet on the website. I wonder if we can get one posted soon.

I look forward to being able to discuss this game more in depth with you all once I get my copy. I have watched the first season and can't wait for the second season DVD.

Is there an insanity/derangement system in the rpg. Seems like most people have varying degrees of mental/psychiatric problems (and who wouldn't after living through the horror of something like the Big D). If not I think I will develop my own.

 

[kregmosier]

Furymaster,

Does the book havee a character sheet? I noticed that there is no downlaodable character sheet on the website. I wonder if we can get one posted soon.

It sure does...right in the back. Nothing fancy, but it'll do in a pinch. Hoping to see some cool fan-made sheets...no ink-bombs, but something a little more evocative of the series. one minor quibble is an apparent layer misadjustment on p.2 of the sheet, right-hand side. :?

Is there an insanity/derangement system in the rpg. Seems like most people have varying degrees of mental/psychiatric problems (and who wouldn't after living through the horror of something like the Big D). If not I think I will develop my own.

Not that i've seen yet (about 3/4 of the way thru it), but there is a bit called "Big Death Survival" that has a chart that you roll 3 times on (which sounds a tad excesive for so short a chart, but ymmv) to determine what kind of things your Character was exposed to in their past. For example, one i remember is "you witnessed the death of your parents firsthand and retreated inward" that confers a -1 CHA score. Good stuff for the most part, but would of course like to see more; easy enough for any GM worth their salt to put together or flesh out, tho...so no biggie.

If you want full-on Sanity rules, you could borrow the d20 Call of Cthulhu mechanics, or make yer own...

-k

 

[Takei]

Does the book havee a character sheet? I noticed that there is no downlaodable character sheet on the website. I wonder if we can get one posted soon.

Can any Mongoose staffer comment on posting a character sheet? I'd certainly like to see one as a download.

 

[FuryMaster]

I agree with Takei, can we please have a Jeremiah character sheet download on the site please? I called my local hobby store and was told my copies of Jeremiah and Thunder Mountain should be in today, at least if the Noreaster didn't delay the shipment yesterday.

 

[edchuk]

Hey kregmosier,

Thanks for the Rural upbringing. I was gonna make one up myself but you beat me to the punch. Good work and thanks again.

edchuk

PS: Mongoose Staff, please post a Jeremiah character sheet. Thanks

 

[Takei]

Just curious...why isn't there and option for "Rural" <snip>
Ability Modifier: +1 Con / -1 Int

-k

Nicely done K. I'd probably use +1 Con/-1 Cha as I don't see a rural upbringing making you any less intelligent, but I can certainly see less interaction with people. Of course people will scream "Dump stat!" at the prospect of dropping Cha instead of a more 'useful' stat

 

[FuryMaster]

I think for myself i'll keep it like Kreg has it. They are both valid arguments. People from the Country are certainly not less intelligent than city folk. Yet it is undeniable that most rural folk work at physical jobs and are exposed to less intellectual stuff purely because they don't have the leisure time that city folk might have. The -1 can be a reflection of the fact that less time is spent on intellectual endevours purely for a time reason rather than being less smart than city folk.

Being from a rural area and having lived in a city, country folk can be every bit as charasmatic as city folk. Country folk tell great stories and are very socialable. City folk might not consider country folk charasmatic because there way of talking is to plain or rough, but country folk would often have the same kind of bias, not considering a city person as charasmatic because they are untrustworthy and slick tongued.

Thats my 2 cents, its a good question however, worth consideration on both ends.

 

[kregmosier]

that was kinda my rationale as well, FuryMaster.

I'm was born and raised in the Suburbs, but have family from and currently live in a Rural area, so i stand by my concept based primarily on experience. Quality of Education is the primary aspect i considered when doing the Rural background.

Don't want to get on a soapbox about "country folk vs. city folk", but for me, the -1 INT is as reasonable as giving the Suburban Upbringing a -1 STR, even though we all know that the proliferation of 24 hour gyms and highschool sports teams might indicate otherwise. (conversely, the rise of the "Fast-Food Nation, so ymmv) Heck, in theory, you could have the player roll twice...once for Upbringing "proper" and skills/feats, then again for Attribute modifiers. We're speaking in generalities, but there are differing levels of skill and attributes among each and every type of person. (Some strong city kids, some weak city kids...some geniuses, some challenged.)

That said, i could easily see a negative reaction trait especially among characters of Rural Upbringing towards any other type of Upbringing. Most small-town communities are very closely-knit, and outsiders are...well, Outsiders, and not to be trusted.

Anywho, excellent work all around guys...i'm just appreciating the level of discourse that the game is generating; I see it as an indication of the passion for the source and the quality of work that Morrigan Press & the 'goose put into the Jeremiah RPG.


take care,

-k

 

[kregmosier]

well, what do you know...Rural Upbringing has been added to the Errata. Squeaky wheel, etc.

-k