Ideas for PCs, Steampunk setting

[Avilan the Grey]

Hello all,

I have for the first time since I was 15 agreed to be the GM of a (one shot) game.

I am using the basics from CoC's ruleset (the old one) because it is one I know, and I don't want to buy a new set just for a one-shot.

Anyway, I need 8 PC concepts (I need 10 total but I have 2).

The basic idea is that the players are all employed by the Van Tassel detective agency in New Amsterdam, USA. The agency is still doing real detective work but has more and more became a private security firm / rent-a-cops, that's why they have so many employees now.

So far I only have two characters:

One female construct (Frankenstein's monster), but exceptionally well made. Almost impossible to tell that she has been made from at least 3 corpses, so she has been able to work as a normal human. Strong, fast, smart, but has a Willpower of only 6.

The head of the agency, a young (24) but driven man, quick, smart, educated but not very strong or tough, an expert fencer.

Anyone has any other creative ideas?

I should also mention that SAN is not used as in CoC, but rather in a... Girl Genius way; every time someone starts using "mad science" they loose a little SAN, until they are truly Mad Scientists.

[Eldan]

If not everyone has to be a mad scientist or construct:

One you can always need in these settings is The Veteran. There are several varieties of veterans, all sharing the common trait that they were in a war, most likely one that went badly and longer that it should have, and that they are now older men (the archetypes is at least around 40) and highly capable in their chosen field.
The Veteran knows basic battlefield medicine, how to organize a squad of people, how to tell slightly disgusting, but fascinating anecdotes, he can shoot, fight unarmed, knows the basics of stealth, and has a strangely detailed knowledge of the customs and geography of distant lands.

[dsmiles]

The Investigator - Book-smart police officer. Socially awkward but almost paladin-esque in his dedication to the Law and the Good of mankind.
The Gunslinger - A pistol-wielding "bad boy" that every man wants to be, and every woman wants to be with.
The Occultist - An older gentleman, who, while being quite crazy, has managed to breach the barrier between worlds and has some sort of arcane power.
The Loony - An escaped mental patient, or perhaps one who was never locked up, he/she has seen too much and just simply lost his/her mind (and is subsequently looking for it).
The Aristocrat - The high-born/nouveau riche lady, ignorant to the ways of "low society," and very naieve, but intelligent and quick to catch on. Perhaps smitten with the Gunslinger.

Hope that helps a little!

[FelixG]

The tinkerer or Doll master

Not a mad scientist just an inquisitive mind

Has little construct dolls that follow him around and do his bidding (Read the dollmaster from Wanted)

[Avilan the Grey]

Thanks for the tips so far.

Added: I have only set about 50% of their skill points, so that the players can customize their characters to a degree.*

As for gunslingers: Lilith Mary Shelley, the construct, has gun handgun skills, and "comes" with a special 16 gauge handshotgun that only she can use (due to her STR. Admittedly it is even more of a close range weapon than a sawed off shotgun but it's a six-shooter...

Of course I can make a sniper character... (...brain working...)

I think I need an occultist yes. Now... A female Perky Goth version perhaps?

I think I go with both a war veteran and an retired police officer.

*The reason for pre-gen characters of course is that this is a one-weekend one shot, and spending an afternoon rolling up characters benefits no-one...

[Eldan]

Since we have a female aristocrat, do the male equivalent.

Snooty and condescending to the "lower classes", convinced of his own superiority. Theoretically trained with classical knowledge, had a fencing instructor, knows high-society manners, but get him out on a street and he's totally lost. He's down on his luck just enough that he has to actually get a job, but still thinks most work is beneath him. He has read a few highly romanticized detective novels and thinks that he could to that, after all, it's just looking at a crime scene, analyzing a few clues, then talking to suspects. All nice and civilized.

[panaikhan]

Depending on how 'advanced' this steampunk setting is, there's always the person who refuses to use technology, in a technological world.
"Keep your new-fangled carriage, my horse and I do just fine" etc. etc.

[dsmiles]

As far as the gunslinger idea, it was more about being the badass of all badasses, and the ultimate ladies' man. Kind of like...um...Bruce Willis in his younger days (Die Hard). I so wanted to be Bruce Willis when I grew up. Now, I'm just disappointed in myself because I'm still me, and Bruce Willis still gets to be Bruce Willis...

[Eldan]

Well, who doesn't.

[dsmiles]

OOH! Here's another one:

The Art Thief - Hudson Hawk was the Best. Movie. EVAR.