Playtesting

   As I have been reminded a number of times, games are not written from start to finish. While in an ideal world I would be able to sit down and transpose Dieselpunk 1921 fully form from my mind, birthed from my skull like Athena, we unfortunately do not live in an ideal world. Or perhaps I haven't been banging my head against a wall enough. One or the other. 

While the character creation rules are more or less created and tested, barring a few item categories needing to be created, I have only had the opportunity to do one actual playtest of Dieselpunk 1921. Part of this is due to me not having NPC sheets, and part of it is just time restrictions. Because Dieselpunk1921 is an unfunded project, I do not have the ability to dedicate as much time to it as i would like, which also means I'm not 100% sure which systems are and are not working. That being said, I have created six Professionals to use in future playtesting, which have been revised based on the feedback I received.

Cecilia Blanchard

Cecilia's backstory reads as follows: 

The daughter of Fransisco Blanchard (a Capitane of the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince of Monaco) Cecillia had an early education in the proper use of firearms. Raised in a tumultuous urban environment with the threat of war looming at all times, Cecillia rebelled against her father's desire to join the ceremonial Guard of Prince Albert I. She instead fell into the employ of the notorious card shark Jean-Phillipe Rossi. Following the Chaos of the Great War, Cecillia left Monte Carlo to seek employment in the chaotic occupied territories of North Italy, eventually making her way to Milan. Milan businessman and arms dealer Luca Gianmarco Labriola first hired her as a bodyguard, but her work quickly turned to the elimination of Mr. Labriola's rivals and enemies.

While she counts few true friends, she has found associates - trusted or otherwise - to undertake various jobs alongside.

I designed Cecilia to have a vague sense of danger about her at all times. She is meant to be a threatening presence within the party, a person who not only has the energy to eliminate any threat, she has the equipment to do so as well. That being said, she is loyal to Luca, not to the party. I did this intentionally, because I felt it was important to create the opportunity for some intra-party dramatic moments. Matt Colville describes this in his video about Playing Evil Characters (Here), so I won't go on too much about why I think that's important.

Diletta Bosco

Diletta's backstory reads as follows:

Born in Milan to a poor family, Diletta has sometimes said she was born with a wrench in her hand. Few in Milan can truly say they've had as much experience working on machinery of any kind, even fewer can say they understand automobiles to the same level as Diletta.
The Great War saw the streets of Milan thrown into chaos, and Diletta saw the opportunity to make a comfortable living: repairing stolen vehicles. Quickly building a loyal customer base, Diletta became incredibly popular in Milan's underworld which in turn built a level of notoriety with the Milan Mechanics' Union.

Luca Gianmarco Labriola has seen Diletta's potential, and has routinely contracted her to do jobs ranging from repairs to repossession - automobile theft by another name.

I do not understand why Diletta is/was as popular as she was. There were a few people very eager to play her, even when her entire backstory was "The go-to mechanic for Milan's Underworld".  I needed a character in the playtest to be able to fix and operate heavy machinery, and also find interesting ways to break into a vault in new and creative ways. Now that the playtesting scenario will be about stealing a Strider, she will be far more important, I feel. 

François Lemieux

François's backstory reads as follows:

François Lemieux has been embedded in the Milan underground with the mission of identifying and isolating members of The Institute for Serenity and Peace in North Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian administration in North Italy. François is part of an overarching mission with the primary goal of undermining Austro-Hungarian authority in North Italy, and preventing The Institute from attaining their goals.
François' cover is: They are taking on the role of a french refugee seeking illicit employment in Milan.

François's backstory is deliberately a little vague, they're a spy. I didn't want to repeat too much from Cecilia's skillset, but I also wanted to have someone whose focus is both stealth and social interactions. I also wanted to express the different rules for hostile factions when one is doing physical and social stealth. They seem like a really interesting character, and I hope to be able to give them a try soon!

Salvo Marchesi

Salvo's backstory reads as follows:

Born in the Republic of San Marino, Salvo always had a knack for construction and demolition. His father saw fit to ensure he had access to an apprenticeship in his trade at an early age, which led to many rich rewards in the Republic. In 1910, Salvo made his way to Italy in search of higher pay and better work. As the Great War broke out, he found the Milanese becoming increasingly suspicious of him. Being accused of being an Austrian Spy, Salvo was detained, spending the entirety of The Great War in a lonely cell in Milan.
After the Great War, Salvo was released by the Austro-Hungarian authority on the grounds of political leniency. In recent days, Luca Gianmarco Labriola has served as Salvo's employer; caring little for what crimes Salvo may or may not have been accused of, and only caring for Salvo's willingness to do jobs and not ask questions.

Poor Salvo. While most of the other people in the playtest are actual criminals, Salvo was just a person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that's created a number of other problems in his life. He's not great with weapons, his expertise is in construction and demolitions, so he could be a great asset in breaking into a place but not necessarily if a heist turns into a firefight. I haven't had the opportunity to playtest Salvo, but I do hope that he'll be an interesting addition to any parties.

Serefina Rinaldi

Serefina's backstory reads as follows:

Serefina never had much. Growing up in a camp just north of Milan, she learned early on that she needed to learn to fight to survive. This helped her learn two very important lessons: One, that she was very good at it, and Two, she could make money doing it. Growing up during the Great War meant Serefina never put down roots, but she did learn to navigate the world of underground boxing. Fighting against soldiers, civilians, and anyone else who would step into the ring, Serefina found she could make a comfortable living even as the guns approached Milan. In the Shadow of the Great War, Serefina fights in matches arranged by Milanese arms dealer Luca Gianmarco Labriola.
In recent days, she's found herself carrying out odd jobs for Luca, making connections with a small crew.

Serefina is pretty explicitly a Romani coded character. I didn't want to make her explicitly Romani, because I know not everyone would be able to relate to a character who is and also because I don't know how everyone would respond to that. Serefina is also a boxer, because I needed a way test melee combat in a setting that is dominated by firearms. I did end up changing how Brass Knuckles work specifically because Serefina managed to get 4D6 damage with them, which instantly killed whatever she hit. Serefina's items have also been updated, because she only had Brass Knuckles and a Floor Safe. And those are not helpful items to have in a playtest.

Wessel Hörst van Wieren

Wessel's backstory reads as follows:

The third son of Maria and Heinrich van Wieren, Wessel Hörst van Wieren always longed for his parents approval. When he entered the Imperial Officer Corps, his family was quick to remind him he was admitted last amongst his siblings, and with the lowest possible marks. Even when he graduated, he found himself at the bottom of his class. While Wessel's classmates engaged in Menseur, wearing Schmiss, he found himself engaging in debate and formal discussion with his fellow lesser nobles. He was a man who found himself behind a rifle, with no desire to use it.
So when Wessel saw an opportunity to escape the chaos of the war in the Alps, he took it. The only fire he ever shot was against another of the house of van Wieren, an elder brother serving as his commanding officer. The exchange of gunfire cost Wessel his arm, and his brother's life.

In the shadow of the war, Wessel ekes out a living running scams in the streets of Milan, desperately avoiding violence. But for Luca Gianmarco Labriola, Wessel represents a powerful pawn: An Austrian soldier who can unwittingly work under The Institute for Serenity and Peace in North Italy.

I had a lot of fun thinking about Wessel. He's the other character that people took a great interest in, and for good reason! He's mostly focused around having some pretty important skills, but arguably most importantly is the automobile he has access to.  Wessel is also the only character in the playtest who has a prosthetic. While prosthetics don't have mechanical benefits (though they may in the future), I thought it was important to have a character in the playtest who had one. 

And those are the player characters for the playtest! hopefully I'll be able to write something a bit more specific for the actual playtesting scenario, and write a post about my process for doing that!