I came up with this concept when I was sick.
Dietrich & Howard Consulting – Google Docs
Dietrich & Howard Consulting
The up-and-coming consulting firm of Dietrich and Howard has two distinctive features: its partners (and virtually sole employees) Claudia Dietrich and Brian Howard. The two are absurdly young — 24 and fresh out of engineering school and university — but they already are developing a reputation for being remarkably well-suited for getting problematical field operations back on track. Claudia specializes in the ‘field’ part of ‘field operations,’ while Brian handles ‘operations.’ Ten years from now, these two will have a legendary reputation for their ability to work as a team; for right now, they just come across as being mildly pleasant-scary to the existing experts in their field. What sets Dietrich & Howard apart is their apparent familiarity with just about everything; and the better the crew they have, the better the two shine.
And, well, there’s a reason for that.
Claudia Dietrich
ST 11 [10]
DX 13 [60]
IQ 13 [60]
HT 11 [10]
Social Background
TL: 8 [0]
Cultural Familiarities: Western
Languages: French (Native) [4]; Spanish (Native) [4].
Advantages: Animal Friend (2) [10], Appearance (Attractive) [4], Borrow Skill (Psi) (4) [16], Borrow Skill (Psi) (4) [16], Borrow Skill (Psi) (4) [16], Gifted Artist (2) [10], Independent Income (1) [1], Language Talent [10], Outdoorsman (2) [20], Special Rapport (Brian Howard) [5], Wealth (Comfortable) [10].
Perks: Deep Study [1], Ping [1], Synchronize [1].
Disadvantages: Bad Sight (Nearsighted) (Glasses) [-10], Code of Honor (Professional) [-5], Honesty (12 or less) [-10], Secret (Psi) (Serious Embarrassment) [-5], Sense of Duty (Brian) (Individual) [-2].
Quirks: Broad-Minded [-1], Careful [-1], Congenial [-1], Dislikes Mobile Phones [-1], Distinctive Feature (Silver lock of hair) [-1].
Skills: Animal Handling (Equines) IQ/A – IQ+3 16 [4]*, Artist (Drawing) IQ/H – IQ+0 13 [1]***, Borrow Skill IQ/H – IQ+3 16 [16], Camouflage IQ/E – IQ+2 15 [1]**, Climbing DX/A – DX-1 12 [1], Driving/TL8 (Automobile) DX/A – DX-1 12 [1], Fast-Draw (Pistol) DX/E – DX+0 13 [1], Faster Learning (Borrow Skill) Tech/H – 14 [3], Fishing Per/E – Per+2 15 [1]**, Guns/TL8 (Pistol) DX/E – DX+1 14 [1], Guns/TL8 (Rifle) DX/E – DX+2 15 [4], Guns/TL8 (Shotgun) DX/E – DX+1 14 [1], Hiking HT/A – HT-1 10 [1], Jeweler/TL8 IQ/H – IQ+0 13 [1]***, Karate DX/H – DX+0 13 [4], Leadership IQ/A – IQ-1 12 [1], Leatherworking DX/E – DX+2 15 [1]***, Mimicry (Speech) IQ/H – IQ+0 13 [1]**, Naturalist (Earth) IQ/H – IQ+0 13 [1]**, Navigation/TL8 (Land) IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]**, Packing IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]*, Photography/TL8 IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]***, Retention (Borrow Skill) Tech/H – 14 [5], Riding (Equines) DX/A – DX+1 14 [1]*, Sewing/TL8 DX/E – DX+2 15 [1]***, Staff DX/A – DX-1 12 [1], Stealth DX/A – DX+1 14 [4], Survival (Mountain) Per/A – Per+1 14 [1]**, Survival (Plains) Per/A – Per+1 14 [1]**, Survival (River/Stream) Per/A – Per+1 14 [1]**, Survival (Woodlands) Per/A – Per+1 14 [1]**, Swimming HT/E – HT+0 11 [1], Teamster (Equines) IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]*, Tracking Per/A – Per+1 14 [1]**, Veterinary/TL8 IQ/H – IQ+0 13 [1]* .
*Includes: +2 from ‘Animal Friend’
** Includes: +2 from ‘Outdoorsman’
***Includes: +2 from ‘Gifted Artist’
Stats [140] Ads [126] Disads [-32] Quirks [-5] Skills [68] = Total [300]
Brian Howard
ST 11 [10]
DX 13 [60]
IQ 13 [60]
HT 11 [10]
Social Background
TL: 8 [0]
Cultural Familiarities: Western
Languages: Arabic (Native) [4]; Russian (Native) [4].
Advantages: Appearance (Attractive) [4], Artificer (2) [20], Borrow Skill (Psi) (4) [16], Borrow Skill (Psi) (4) [16], Borrow Skill (Psi) (4) [16], Independent Income (1) [1], Language Talent [10], Smooth Operator (2) [30], Special Rapport (Claudia Dietrich) [5], Wealth (Comfortable) [10]
Perks: Deep Study [1], Ping [1], Synchronize [1]
Disadvantages: Bad Sight (Nearsighted) (Glasses) [-10], Code of Honor (Professional) [-5], Curious (12 or less) [-5], Obsession (Discover Parentage) (Long-Term Goal) (15 or less) [-5], Secret (Psi) (Serious Embarrassment) [-5], Sense of Duty (Claudia) (Individual) [-2]
Quirks: Congenial [-1], Distinctive Feature (Silver lock of hair) [-1], Imaginative [-1], Likes Computers [-1], Responsive [-1]
Skills: Acting IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]*, Borrow Skill IQ/H – IQ+3 16 [16], Carousing HT/E – HT+3 14 [2]*, Carpentry IQ/E – IQ+2 15 [1]**, Detect Lies Per/H – Per+0 13 [1]*, Diplomacy IQ/H – IQ+0 13 [1]*, Driving/TL8 (Automobile) DX/A – DX+1 14 [4], Driving/TL8 (Construction Equipment) DX/A – DX-1 12 [1], Electrician/TL8 IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]**, Electronics Repair/TL8 (Communications) IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]**, Electronics Repair/TL8 (Computers) IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]**, Electronics Repair/TL8 (Media) IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]**, Engineer/TL8 (Civil) IQ/H – IQ+0 13 [1]**, Engineer/TL8 (Electrical) IQ/H – IQ+0 13 [1]**, Engineer/TL8 (Electronics) IQ/H – IQ+0 13 [1]**, Fast-Talk IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]*, Faster Learning (Borrow Skill) Tech/H – 12 [0], Guns/TL8 (Pistol) DX/E – DX+0 13 [1], Leadership IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]*, Machinist/TL8 IQ/A – IQ+3 16 [4]**, Mathematics/TL8 (Applied) IQ/H – IQ-2 11 [1], Mechanic/TL8 (Automobile) IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]**, Mechanic/TL8 (Helicopter) IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]**, Piloting/TL8 (Helicopter) DX/A – DX+1 14 [4], Retention (Borrow Skill) Tech/H – 12 [3], Savoir-Faire (High Society) IQ/E – IQ+2 15 [1]*, Sex Appeal (Human) HT/A – HT+2 13 [1]* ***, Smith/TL8 (Iron) IQ/A – IQ+1 14 [1]**, Streetwise IQ/A – IQ+2 15 [2]*, Survival (Woodlands) Per/A – Per-1 12 [1], Swimming HT/E – HT+0 11 [1].
* Includes: +2 from ‘Smooth Operator’
** Includes: +2 from ‘Artificer’
***Invludes: +1 from ‘Appearance’
Stats [140] Ads [136] Disads [-32] Quirks [-5] Skills [58] = Total [300]
Claudia and Brian’s parentage is unknown. Their mother showed up at the hospital and died during childbirth, and no father ever came forward to claim his children. The two foundlings were still very fortunate, all things considered: while they ended up being separated, by some coincidence the two were placed with families who lived in the same town. While the adoptions were technically anonymous, both the Dietrich and the Howard couples had been told that they had adopted a twin — and since both Brian and Claudia were sporting their distinctive locks of silver hair by the time that they were four, it was soon obvious who the other twin was. Fortunately, this did not cause any real problems; the two sets of parents ended up getting along very well, and the twins of course were innately comfortable with each other in the ways that twins (ever fraternal ones) often are.
It was during Claudia and Brian’s teenage years that their telepathic abilities manifested. Brian and Claudia both have the ability to ‘borrow’ skills from other people, using that knowledge to either give themselves that skill, or boost an existing one. They generally can manage about three ‘borrowings’ each at a time, which proved to be amazingly useful when it came to getting through high school and getting into college. Naturally, they both went to the same university, although Brian decided to go into engineering while Claudia pursued the arts (and in the summers, practical forestry and outdoorsmanship). The two were very careful about calibrating their grades; their goal was to do very well, but not suspiciously so. Neither wanted to be accused of cheating, particularly since explaining why they weren’t cheating would cause more problems than it would solve.
The fundamental thing to remember about Brian and Claudia is that while they lack any kind of persecution complex or paranoia about being telepaths — the two were both raised in loving, supportive homes with sound ethical values — they are understandably worried about what would happen if their abilities were discovered. Claudia and Brian’s world has no openly psionic individuals, and both of them are intelligent enough to understand that there may be a reason for that. It’s probably in their best interests to not use their talents in a way that might cause serious resentment later, which is why they didn’t go to Las Vegas and try to clean up at the poker tables there, or make a quick killing in the stock market, or anything else that might trigger a good, solid anti-telepathic panic if they got caught. Working out in the field may have its own problems, but since field operations is tough, demanding work anyway it’s also very arguably safer for the twins. Besides, they both actively like mucking around outside.
Personality-wise, the two are very similar people — fraternal twins, after all — but not identical. Claudia is more focused, Brian more imaginative; he wants to find out about their parentage, while she’s not really all that interested. They’re both fundamentally decent people who don’t like to start trouble, don’t really want to stay in trouble, but won’t shy away from trouble if the issue is important enough (which basically means something that involves either them, or their families). They’re also perfectly ready to use their skill-borrowing abilities to violent effect if the alternative is to have violence done to them. And, given any time at all, the two can acquire a very particular set of skills. It won’t turn them into special forces, but they can wreck the day of ordinary street goons.
Note: this writeup does not have any provision for Enemies, Unusual Backgrounds (typically 10 points or so), and strictly speaking each of the two would be a 15 point Ally to the other. Adjust point totals to fit the campaign. Also: as Brian and Claudia’s point totals go up, they will likely first buy points in Cultural Familiarity and languages, then cross-train in each other’s skills before learning more and more recondite ones. 500 point versions of the twins will probably also have higher Wealth, Status, and Reputations — but nothing too ostentatious.
The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.
GURPS is a registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games, and the art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy.