GURPS: Suburban Office

FROM: Bob Cowan, Manager of Human Resources

TO: Accounting new hires

SUBJECT: Welcome!

Hi there!

I'd just like to extend a personal "welcome!" to all you new hires in the Accounts Receivable department. Midstate is the region's leading supplier of office supplies, and I'm glad to have some new teammates to carry the tradition into the future. Despite what you may have heard, Midstate is a company where you can set down roots.

You've already met the head comptroller, Gerald Luckenbill, and your immediate supervisor, Irving Weinbaum during the interviewing process. In addition to them, I expect you'll work closely with Myron Schabe, the Accounts Payable supervisor. None of that bickering which characterized the department in times past.

Thanks, and enjoy your stay at Midstate!

Sincerely

Bob Cowan
Manager, HR

~~~

By request, I'm setting up a short GURPS campaign based on the life and times of Herbert Kornfeld. Players will start the game as new hires at Midstate Office Supply. Play will revolve around accounting and the grand traditions of the Accounts Receivable brotherhood. As such, I'll be making a few modifications to the standard GURPS rules. These are by no means final, and I may add more as they occur to me.

The "Business Acumen" talent will be banned. Raise the points manually. The use of weapons is provisionally allowed, although don't go overboard. I suggest you look at the "New Skills" section.

New Advantages:

Ivy League: 10 points

You got your degree from one of our nations top colleges. This doesn't mean you know any more, but people will be act more favorably to you. You're automatically one pay grade higher than your fellow accountants with similar experience, and you'll get +1 on reaction rolls with people who know where you matriculated. (So be sure to mention it as soon as possible.) In addition, you may know people from your school in other accounting departments. See the Frequency of Appearance Table on B36

Additional Education: 5 points.

You may purchase another set of initials behind your name, which gives you an additional +1 to your reaction rolls and an additional pay grade per level. Don't let it go to your head.

New Disadvantages:

Temp -5 points

Your days are numbered, and what's worse, everybody knows it. Being a temp means you're subject to losing your job at a moment's notice. People will be wary of making long term plans around you, giving you -1 to your reaction rolls.

Compulsive Accounting: -5 points

You live for the ledger. Your life revolves around the office, and making those numbers dance. You'll volunteer for overtime, every time, and you'll resent days off. Holidays are a nightmare. You may find yourself breaking into the office just to keep adding those numbers on weekends. You get a positive reaction roll from people who rely on your accounting, but -1 from the public at large, who see you as something of a deviant. This condition would we worth more points if it wasn't so darn handy around the office.

New Skills:

Crooked Accounting: (IQ/VH)
Defaults: Accounting -6
This is the variant of accounting which lets you make the numbers fit your predetermined outcome, and to not let anyone know that you've done so. Note that failures can be embarassing...

Weapon: Letter Opener (DX/E)

The letter opener is the classic weapon of Accounting. Quick, deadly, capable of either stabbing or throwing, you're never half as safe as you are when you've got your letter opener by your side. Take the skill once for melee and again for thrown.

Weapon: Staple Gun (DX/E)

The use of common office staplers as projectile weapons. Although technically a ranged weapon, their half damage range is 2 hexes. This skill also covers the use of construction grade staple guns, which although they do significantly more damage are of a lower legality class.

Weapon: Three hole punch (DX/A)

The office weapon of choice if you're in favor of clubbing, this counts as an unbalanced weapon.

Exotic Weapon: Paypa-clip Chain (DX/H)

If you want to go for real style, you can swing around a whip of paperclips. This skill has the advantage of allowing you to assemble a new weapon whenever you get access to paper clips, but it is significantly harder to wield.

Weapon: Binder Clips (DX/A)

This is a thrown weapon. They do very little damage, but you can carry many of them without raising (much) suspicion.

Jeet-Kun Do (DX/H)

Technically, this is a variant of the Karate skill already listed in the book. Jeet-Kun Do is the favored martial art of the suburban office environment. It comes with a variety of techniques, most notably the Office Supply attack (hard) that lets you incorporate the use of one of the other office weapons into your Jeet-Kun Do attack. As a prerequisite, you also have to have skill in the weapon.

The specific details of the weapons tables entries for these items to follow.