On fear, I think we're on the same page. I think that people's threats and undead are what I can best envision in this campaign, but the examples you gave are also good.
On the gun, I think the negative consequence I like best is leaving footprints that can't be erased. For the positive thing about the gun, I think that causing a sort of fire when shot is better than never missing, based on Hotaru's suggestion. But I wasn't sure if I should choose right now or wait until we choose stunts.
I wonder if having "El Caballero Rojo" in the high concept is helpful or not. Actually, come to think of it, maybe either Infamous or Renowned would be a helpful addition. Fernando has quite a bounty on his head (had?), and that's a nice addition to both invoke or compel since people would know of you and react with fear/awe/spite/etc.
I ask out of curiousity: What does Fernando look like now? You say that he's rather blatantly "undead," so I wonder what that looks like. I could picture a revenant from Deadlands, or Jonah Hex, or something even more overt?
Eli: Yeah, I really like Hard Man of the Mountain too.
Huey: I was just curious on what direction you were leaning with the curse. Once characters are decided we can refine bargain aspects further, etc.
Hotaru: I forgot to answer your question regarding sessions. Right now my thinking is that a "session" will consist of 3-4 scenes (depending on how involved the scenes are). So if someone has a stunt that allows a certain action once per session, that could reliably be used every fourth scene or so. Likewise, you can count on a Fate refresh within that same time frame.
Milestones may or may not follow the same structure. I know that they should be tied to the fiction, but PbP games move so slowly that I'm debating a quicker advancement structure.
I ask out of curiousity: What does Fernando look like now? You say that he's rather blatantly "undead," so I wonder what that looks like. I could picture a revenant from Deadlands, or Jonah Hex, or something even more overt?
Option 1: Just full on obvious zombie/skeleton undead. He'd be forced to wear a mask and operate at night if this were the case.
Option 2: Quite honestly, the more I think on it, the more I want a mish-mash of "Yes, he's always horribly obviously undead" and "Pirates of the Carribean style undead." In this way:
In the day, he looks normal, alive. But he has a certain smell about him, like that of a corpse; he can't eat food; he can't drink anything; he doesn't need sleep; etc. His hands don't feel normal, nor does his skin. There are other obvious things: no blinking, no breathing, no pulse...
But at night, it becomes clear what he is. I'm having trouble choosing between him being a skeleton or a zombie, but it will be VERY obvious either way.
Alternatively, it could be the opposite: in the day time it's obvious what he is, and at night he seems human - but when moonlight doesn't touch him.
I'm still working this out and would love your opinion here. Option 1 would be a lot simpler and more straight-forward to work with. Option 2 could be used for compels? Like, you could compel me for his nature to be revealed at REALLY inopportune times?
I wonder if having "El Caballero Rojo" in the high concept is helpful or not. Actually, come to think of it, maybe either Infamous or Renowned would be a helpful addition. Fernando has quite a bounty on his head (had?), and that's a nice addition to both invoke or compel since people would know of you and react with fear/awe/spite/etc.
Do you mean adding Infamous or Renowned to the title line? Such as The Infamous and Noble Desperado? Or The Infamous Caballero Rojo? I think he'll have a bounty on his head still, since for some reason he's still around. He shouldn't be, but he is.
Also, a couple general notes:
I imagine that Fernando, despite not being human anymore and not enjoying pleasures of the flesh, is still a romantic. I imagine he does things like visit the homes of beautiful women under cover of moonlight, bringing roses and songs and promises of devotion, wearing his signature red clothes and keeping his hat tipped low to conceal his face. And, of course, he'd never try to actually touch a women given that he's a danged zombie/skeleton/whatever now - but the idea of romance still drives him, as does his generally cavalier attitude.
Fernando would definitely be what I'd call a good guy, too. He's no saint, but there's a reason the Devil needed to buy his soul: if he'd let him die, he'd have gone straight to Heaven, no doubts. So he's a doomed hero, accepting a terrible curse and using it to try and do some good while he's around.
Fernando doesn't even need to be good with a gun anymore - he can take bullets to the chest and not care. I imagine his undead state has given him good Physique and that he may use Fighting as much as he uses Guns now.
Yeah, I'd worried about session-length and milestones overall. Getting character growth right is going to be one of the hardest things in PbP. What would work in a normal game XP-wise generally doesn't work online... or a steady game will see you leveling up like once every 2 months, early, and roughly never later. It can be painfully slow.
Fate has an unusual 'level-up' setup, so I'm not sure how it innately grows to begin with, it'll be interesting to see.
I haven't particularly had anything to add in response to folks, so sorry to drop those conversation lines but I didn't really have anything to add that stood out. :)
<Orland straightens his vest and offers a beer to Hotaru of the society. At least it is better than a warm gin with a human hair floating in it>
<tips his hat>Och, I am in the same boat you are, lass
<He sits back again, contentedly puffing on his pipe>
Fernando: I was thinking the former, Infamous and Noble Desperado. The more I think about it, the less necessary I think Caballero Rojo is necessary as an aspect, it's just an awesome name.
And as for appearance, I'm down with either option 1 or 2. Either way, it's prime compel fodder.
I really like the second option as that gives you better 'romancing' opportunities... just avoid the moonlight, right?
But option one gives you the opportunity to wear a cool candy-skull mask or something iconic like that, which is always flavorful and fun.
It's nice to have too many options :)
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On my end, everyone looks great. There's nothing I'm waiting on or specifically looking for. I'm just giving until Monday in case people are still thinking through stuff that they want to present before then. This won't be an easy choice.
Well, having thought on it, I think I'll go with Option 2: the daylight and moonlight will reveal his nature, so he tries to stick to places of total darkness when he can, and he'll wear something akin to a candy skull mask most times, so I'll hopefully get the best of both worlds.
I'm thinking that some people think El Caballero Rojo is dead, some think he's still active, and some are pretty sure they've both heard about his death and heard about him being active. There's a lot of confusion about what's going on there, and most are willing to assume he's a copy-cat of the original. Whatever the case, the law still wants him, both in Mexico and in the western U.S.
And yeah, I think I'll make Infamous and Noble Desperado his high concept.
And, and his 'real' form is definitely a skeleton.
EDIT: Also, I feel it's only fair to note that I'm a COMPLETE NEWB to this system. I've never played it before, though I was going to play a Dresden Files game at one point that never got off the ground (thus why I already know a bit about creating good concepts). I'll be reading the SRD and the book for Fate Core, but I may need to be yelled at occasionally.
I made a few changes to the character's background in the profile to represent the changes I've made so far in the thread.
Update:
High Concept - Traveling Doctor on the Run
Highly trained in the best medical schools of New England, Clive Fisher became a traveling doctor. He has some demons frrom his past chasing him, though, but has been graced with the presense of an angel.
Trouble - Too confident, have to lie low
Since the day he was born, Clive's father Obadiah Fisher had high expectations of his son and being a doctor; with his wife and other two sons up and left, someone had to carry on the Fisher legacy. A doctor himself, Obadiah helped Clive get through medical school all the way through. After he graduated from Harvard, Clive set up a business, going to people's houses, diagnosing them, and even performing in-house surgeries. Clive has a tendency to flaunt his graduate status, take on tasks he knows he can't succeed at. He just has to prove his worth, whether to the people or himself is unclear.
Unfortunately, he encountered one person he couldn't fix; Nancy Blaire. Full of pride, he operated on her, but she didn't survive. Her family has been after him since, so he fled to the Lawless West. He told the family he could save her, but she died of bloodloss. The Blaire family was enraged, and being wealthy, could afford agents to track him down. Panicked, Clive packed up his medical supplies and caught the nearest train to Chicago.
Bargain - Redemption
Clive hopes to regain his status as a practicing doctor, maybe even sometime returning to the Northeast. For now, he's getting clients out in the west. He doesn't want people to think of him or the medical world as monsters. He has reinvented himself, keeping Nancy and a few other mistakes from the minds of the settlers out in the west. He just wants to return home and set his wrongs right, but for now travels with Gus Higgs, a fellow Harvard graduate and surgeon.
I'm thinking Voodoo could be an interesting element, depending on what other people end up doing. I'm thinking especially cards/gambler/tarot/divination become interesting. I'm not sure I would want to go full on voodoo dolls, but maybe some gris-gris. Obviously, we are talking about Hollywood Voodoo, not the real world religion.
Some final edits on mostly just the concept if you'll still allow them:
Theme - The Great Chicago Fire of 1871
Nora O'Leary
Work and money was scarce for a family of Irish immigrants so being self sufficient was almost a necessity and that wasn't lost on Nora. Growing up with farm animals as the main source of her diet quickly taught her to respect the symbiotic relationship she and her animals, she kept them fed and they would do the same for her. Humans on the other hand offered no such deal, hateful creatures that would go out of their way just to disturbed one another.
After moving away from her home and not having any animals of her own to rely on Nora turned to the other certainty she knew of, no matter where people were causing problems and she could turn a profit dealing with those problems.
Luck of the Irish is a cruel contradiction for Nora, anytime she gets involved something goes wrong for her and those around. Bad luck is what inevitability lead her into making a deal with the devil and fleeing her home in an attempt to protect her family from her own presence.
Bad things happen around Nora and that's why she does what she can to make sure she is always around bad people
It was a normal October night, Nora was doing one last check around the barn before going to bed. Her lantern burned dully as she drowsily made her rounds until fate intervened, a single misstep sent Nora and her lantern tumbling into the hay-strewn ground turning their barn into a blaze that pierced the night sky.
Panicked she ran for help knowing James would still be awake with his gambling buddies but the first person she ran into was a complete strange. His voice was cold and calm as he spun beautiful tales about how he could ensure her family would be safe from the fire and the law if she was willing to strike a deal. Knowing she would never be able to live with herself if her family had to pay for her mistakes Nora accepted without a second thought.
The eldest of three children born to Irish Immigrants Catherine O'Leary and Patrick O'Leary, Nora was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She lived a farm-life and enjoyed spending time with the animals, it was people she couldn't stand. Chicago had no lack of Anti-Irish sentiment but Nora had a lack of patience for these people, she quickly became a well-known "scrapper" not willing to deal with any of the insults slung at her or her family...which in hindsight likely didn't help the stereotypes of the Irish being violent.
Nora's great mistake was what caused her to flee her home and as an assumed casualty of the fire no one would come looking for her, meaning should could leave her family with the knowledge they would be protected by her deal.
After leaving home out of fear of her family's safety the self-exiled woman set off to create a new life for herself. Viewing the lawless land in the west as the perfect place for someone like her she set off for the Mississippi were she began dishing out her own law in an attempt to forgive herself for the sins of her past.
Alright, here's the day I've been eagerly looking forward to all weekend while simultaneously dreading and overthinking it. I struggle to handle more than 5 characters, I really do, but I'm going to push myself for 6 so I can squeeze in as many of you as I can.
Here's the list of characters/players:
- Amaziah Bienville
- Fernando Rosales
- Huey Humphrey
- Nora O'Leary
- Orland Delmar
- Serra Willmore
To the rest, I've re-written this post a few times, extolling the virtues and creativity of each character; but ultimately I cut back to sweet and simple. There wasn't a single character that was an easy cut. Thanks for the interest and willingness to try a new system (new to most of you, at least).
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Discussion thread will be open soon. We can build the rest of the characters, answer any questions, and I'll start up the Phase Trio either tonight or tomorrow depending on time.
Congrats to all. Good luck and have fun.
Enjoy! Seems like it'll be a good game!
Really interested is watching how Fate plays in pbp. Good luck!