I'm currently GMing a game of Masks by Magpie Games, which is based on the Apocolypse system. It was my first time trying out the system, and we started out with seven. Eventually, folks dropped for various reasons, but the four left are very comfortable roleplaying with each other, and being creative with their powers.
For those interested:
Masks is a tabletop roleplaying game in which you play young superheroes who are growing up in a city several generations into its superheroic age. Halcyon City has had more than its fair share of superheroes, superteams, supervillains, and everything in between. Over the course of three different generations of super-people, Halcyon City has seen it all.
You play members of the fourth generation, young adults trying to figure out who they are and what kind of heroes they want to be. The rest of the world is telling them what to do, but they’ll find their own path amidst the noise. And kick some butt along the way. After all, what’s the point of being a hero if you can’t fight for the things you believe in?
Masks is based on the award-winning Powered by the Apocalypse system developed by Vincent Baker and used in Apocalypse World, Monsterhearts,Urban Shadows, and more. It’s a rules-light system that fuels some of the best innovations in gaming in the last ten years, and Masks has been built from the ground up to incorporate everything I’ve learned about Powered by the Apocalypse games.
When you take an action that would trigger a move, you roll two six-sided dice, add them together with one of your Labels (a stat that describes your hero), and look to the move to see what the results are. On a 10+, you get what you want, and maybe a little extra. On a 7-9, you get what you want, but at some kind of cost or with a complication. On a 6 or less—a miss—the GM says what happens next, and chances are things get complicated for our young heroes.
Masks produces stories like those found in Young Justice, Teen Titans,Young Avengers, X-Men, and more, using the Powered by the Apocalypse rules to provide an easy but useful skeleton for awesome storytelling!
The current playbooks already claimed: The Transformed, The Protege, The Doomed, The Delinquent.
Please choose a playbook that is not currently in play.
The Bull – You’re tough, gruff, and powerful on the outside, and caring on the inside—oh, and you were made by an evil organization that’d love to get you back: can you learn to rely on the team enough to save you from yourself?
The Nova – You’re amazingly, egregiously, horrifyingly powerful, and keeping control is a struggle: can you come to terms with your power before it destroys you? Or someone you care about?
The Outsider – You’re not from here, and you don’t quite understand this place, but you find it fascinating: can you find a way to belong? Or will you always be different?
The Legacy – You’re carrying on a long tradition of heroism and nobility: how can you balance that legacy with your own identity?
The Protege – You’re tied to a mentor who trained you: do you want to be them? Or someone else entirely?
The Janus – You put on the mask, become someone different, escape your mundane life, but you know your responsibilities are always waiting for you: who are you really? The mask or the mundane?
The Delinquent – You’re a rabble-rouser, a rules-breaker, and an incorrigible prankster, someone who pushes people away while secretly wishing they would stay close: can you stop being a little s&#$ for long enough to let them know you actually care?
The Doomed – Your powers are killing you; they come with some awful, nightmarish fate. But until that end comes, you’re going to work to change the world: how much are you willing to give up for your cause before your doom comes?
The Transformed – You don’t look human anymore and the world won’t let you forget it: can you learn to accept yourself? Can you deal with their looks, stares, and fear without becoming the monster they see?
The Beacon – You’re here because this is awesome, and you may not quite fit in, but screw it, you’re going to do this anyway: can you prove that you actually deserve to be here? Or are you just a wannabe?
The actual playbooks are listed here.
If you're wondering about some of the more important mechanics before you decide to sign up or pass, I invite you to read the following two sections. Interaction is the basis of this game, and how you percieve your place in the world and influencing people into changing are core mechanics.
Characters in Masks each have five mechanical attributes called “Labels.” Labels represent how your character views their identity. Are you a Danger or a Savior? A Freak or Superior? Or are you just Mundane?
Each Label ranges from -2 to +3; the higher the rating is, the more the character sees their self by that light. If you have Danger +3, you see yourself as a threatening, violent figure. If you have Mundane -2, you see yourself as anything but a normal person.
The Labels include:
Freak, which is all about being strange, unusual, unknown, different, unique, powerful, weird, and special.
Danger, which is all about being strong, threatening, violent, destructive, badass, frightening, reckless, and mighty.
Savior, which is all about being defensive, protective, overbearing, moralistic, guarding, patronizing, and classically heroic.
Superior, which is all about being clever, faster, better, arrogant, dismissive, commanding, egotistical, and smart
Mundane, which is all about being normal, empathetic, understanding, kind, boring, simple, uninteresting, and human.
The Labels shift and change over the course of the game as your self-image changes, most often due to the influence of others. As these Labels shift, so does your position in the story: a hero who sees their self as a Danger is better at directly engaging villains and threats, but their low Mundane means they might struggle to connect with ordinary people after a fight.
Influence is a mechanic used to keep track of whose words matter to you. When you have Influence over someone else, it means they care about what you say. When someone else has Influence over you, it means that you’re affected by their words.
Much of Masks involves giving, taking, and losing Influence over others. After all, you can’t convince your teammate to stop being a Danger if you don’t have Influence over them. When you do have Influence over them, and you tell them how they endangered civilians, your words might lead their Labels to shift. They might be chagrined at your words, and shift their Danger up, and their Savior down—they see themselves as more of a Danger, because of what you said. Or, they might resist, argue with you, and wind up shifting their Savior up and their Danger down—they don’t care what you say because they define who they are, and they choose to be a Savior.
Influence allows for a quick and easy way to understand whose words can cause your Labels to shift. You care about what they say, so your self-image is tied up in how they view you, what they say about you, and what you accept about their perspective on the world.
Of course, you are just a young superhero, trying to find your way. And that means in Masks, all the adults have influence over you by default. But you can resist what they say to free yourselves of their words. You just have to stand up to them, and tell them that you make your own path…easy, right?
If I haven't scared you off quite yet, then feel free to reply! The group is going into a year timeskip, so I'm looking to close recruitment and have someone selected by a week from today. Possibly sooner.
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Hello! I'd be interested in submitting a character. A bit late for me to get started but may I ask what your requirements are? How long of a description are you looking for? What kind of tone has the story taken so far? Since a character would be jumping into an existing story, how do you want to handle the team backstory questions?
I'm looking at playing a Nova to mark that down. Thanks for answering my questions. :)
I'm looking for a decently sized backstory. More than just a few lines, but I don't want to have to make a pot of tea before I sit down to read it. The story has gone through a few "episodes" if we think about it television-wise. For the most part, you can think of a tone that's a bit between Teen Titans (the original television series) and Young Justice. The heroes are operating independently currently.
Team backstory questions will be filled out with possible other players input in discussion thread if your character is selected. You should still write out a backstory of sorts so you have the identity of your hero figured out to give yourself a starting point, but there's a lot of fun discussing your character with others as well.
If you'd like to see the current game in all its rough-edged glory, here is the gameplay thread
Whoops, also should mention that our Doomed player decided to switch to the Legacy book, so please account for that when applying.
This sounds too fascinating to pass up on. It's always interesting to see what non-Pathfinder games are running on the boards.
I had some questions about how powers work; the playbooks give you guidelines as to how you select them, but I take it that it's more-or-less free-form beyond the bare-bones mechanics? Looking through the gameplay thread should be illuminating. Do the Abilities come with extra rules that aren't included in the Playbooks you linked?
I'm interested in submitting something for the Doomed playbook, and I'd like to run the concept by you before doing a write-up. Conceptually, I'm going for powers based on bio-electricity and micro-currents. The idea is that the hero generates and controls small amounts of bio-electricity to stimulate his and others' nervous systems, sometimes to ridiculous extremes. If he needs to be strong, he can force his body to pump massive amounts of adrenaline and temporarily overcome his normal limitations (superhuman strength and speed). He can also alter his and others' consciousnesses by overriding their sensory systems and to create false sensations in any of the 5 major senses (psychic constructs, possibly memory alteration as well).
Some questions - I'm not entirely sure what vitality absorption is meant to be. Is it like sapping health or life force from other people? And is there any way to confer some powers on others temporarily, even if it's not something accessible until it's unlocked later? I'm not sure what the advancement that allows you to take a move from another playbook; are moves the same as abilities, or are they in a separate section of the rules?
For the most part, players can decide how the powers of their character manifest (with some reasonable intervention from the DM if necessary). The powers are a means to the ends of letting you do your moves whether they're playbook specific or basic moves.
That's an interesting idea for a Doomed hero. I'm curious to who your Big Bad will be.
Some of these powers are vague to let the players be creative. For example, I'm currently playing a Janus with poison powers, and I use those to create medically specific concoctions to really just knock people out. As for conferring power to others, there's a team pool which allows you to help others by adding to their roll. It'd be real easy to explain you juicing someone as you aiding them. As for permanent aid, that's not really a thing in the system.
Moves are seperate from powers. Powers are the abstract abilities that don't have mechanical weight in game. Moves are usually referencing specific moves from different playbooks, usually labelled under a "moves" section.
This looks like a really interesting game and I'm a big fan of supers games in general. I'd like to write up a Bull, but I feel like I need to do a little more background on how the game works (I'm reading the story so far). How long do you think you're going to keep this open for?
Recruitment will be open for at maximum a week, might close early if a great character wins me over completely, but that's rude so I try not to.
Alright, here's the first draft for Eli Heppner, a.k.a. Bioshock, using the Doomed playbook. I'm still getting a handle on the whole Nemesis thing, so while I've defined one, I'm definitely open to any suggestions for improvement. That seems like one of those things that shapes the whole story, and I feel more comfortable seeking input about stuff like that. I grabbed the template you posted on the original recruitment thread and filled it out, and that's followed by a brief bit of exposition framed as Eli talking about himself to the school psychologist.
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Hero Name: Bioshock
Real Name (if different): Elijah Heppner
Abilities: Superhuman strength and speed, Memory manipulation, psychic constructs
Look: Man, White, haunted eyes, unassuming clothing, no costume
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Danger : +1
Freak : +1
Savior : +1
Superior : 0
Mundane : 0
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Have Influence on:
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Triumphant Celebration - When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, give them Influence over you and spend 1 Team from the pool to clear one box on your doom track.
Share a weakness - When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, give them Influence over you and ask if they honestly think there’s hope for you. If they say yes, mark potential or clear one box of your doom track. If they say no, mark a condition or mark your doom track.
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Write down any current advancements.
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When did you first learn of your doom?
About a year ago, after my first 'discharge'. It hurt in a way I'd never felt before, so I ran a biometric scan. That's when I found the first bits of cellular damage that weren't healing.
Where did you get your sanctuary?
Literally, I found my mom's secret lab in the basement.
Who is your nemesis?
My mother. She left Dad and me when I was ten. Nowadays, she's a big-shot working for [Insert Megacorp here] running their R&D department. Don't get me started on the freaky stuff she's doing for them.
Why do you oppose your nemesis?
I mean, isn't that what teenagers are supposed to do? Oppose their evil scientist parents? My therapist says I'm lashing out in response to feelings of abandonment, but I feel like that misses the point where she's an evil scientist with a whole megacorp's R&D branch worth of resources at her disposal.
Who, outside of the team, is crucial to defeating your nemesis?
Right now, it's just me and Dad. Most other people look at me like I'm crazy when I try to convince them that [Insert Megacorp here] seriously needs to be stopped. Besides, she hurt us both when she left. Dad doesn't talk about it, but I know he's hurting inside.
Why does the team matter to you?
These are the first people I've met since I discovered my powers that have really accepted me. And they don't even look at me like I'm crazy when I talk about how evil [Insert Megacorp here] is. At least, not most of the time.
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We'll answer these questions in discussion.
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You’re doomed. Your powers may be killing you, or maybe you’re hunted ruthlessly, or maybe you embody an apocalypse. But one way or another, your future is grim. What brings your doom closer?
Overexerting yourself, facing danger alone
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You have a place where you can rest, recover, and reflect upon your powers. Choose and underline three features of your sanctuary: a library of valuable tomes (mostly advanced science and medical textbooks), a powerful computer (mom's computer, with all of her research and active subscriptions to many exclusive research services, news wires, and deep web resources), healing equipment (a special biometric scanner that can perform diagnostics and assessments that a normal doctor wouldn't think or be able to perform)
Choose and underline two downsides of your sanctuary: draws dangerous attention (Mom can remotely monitor activity on her computer), location known to many (I maybe should have been more careful when I was telling everybody that I found a secret lab in my basement...)
So I've got electric eel DNA. That's my big secret. Kinda freaky, right? But, it's not really that weird, compared to all the other stuff it could have been. I mean, this is Halcyon City we're talking about. So I generate bio-electricity. Problem is, the eel DNA didn't take as well as Mom wanted. Thanks, CRISPR. The organs are underdeveloped, so I can't produce any high voltage or anything. You know, sometimes I think that's why she left. Like I'm not good enough for her or something, you know? MAybe she's out there making more test tube babies so she can fix whatever went wrong with me. But that's so whack, 'cause there's nothing wrong with me! Does she even know about my powers? Nothing in her notes ever said anything about these microcurrents. Nothing about how I can surge my nervous system with that tiny bit of electricity that I can make. Nothing about how I can flood my body with adrenaline and lift up a car, or how I can dump an entire gland's worth of dopamine to help kill the pain when I finally come down and my muscles have partially separated from my skeleton. Nothing about how I can stimulate my nerves, and trick my brain into seeing her standing there, into hearing her voice telling me for once that she loves me, trick my skin into feeling what I only imagine a mother's hug is supposed to feel like. Man, that sounds pathetic, doesn't it?
But maybe she knew something after all. See, there's this machine in her lab that analyzes my body, spits out all kinds of stats and biometric data. That's how I discovered my powers in the first place. I first noticed some weird discrepancies in my body's electric resistance, and then I found some unexplained brain activity that couldn't be linked to anything. Turns out my powers had been running in the background for years, healing me a little bit faster and better when I scraped my knee, or when I sprained my wrist, or when I broke my collarbone. But it wasn't until I started getting into self-hypnosis that I found I could control those microcurrents. It was a weird phase, I'll admit. It was the summer I turned thirteen, I had finally gotten into my mom's computer and I was researching all kinds of weird stuff. I found some crazy website where people were talking about training their psychic powers. it was full of text files, amateur how-tos, and scientific articles from bogus journals. Rumor had it one of the mods was an actual superhero. I never did open my third eye or awaken any other psychic powers, and my kundalini is definitely still coiled around the base of my spine, but suck it Peter Betzen, I still got freakin' super powers out of it! But I digress, as they say. I started using my powers, testing their limits, experimenting with the applications. I mean, you would too, right? You find out you have super powers, what's the first thing you do? Take 'em out for a spin!
But every rose has its thorn, or at least that's how the song goes. Turns out, my powers are killing me. Slowly, like really slowly. I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna keel over tomorrow or next week or anything like that. But it's wearing my body out faster than normal. See, those electricity organs, my batteries I call 'em, have been getting a workout, and according to my latest scans, they might even be growing a little bit. But it's not an efficient process. I eat a ton - we're talking eight to ten thousand Calories a day minimum, and that's just a normal day. I know I'm a growing boy, but you can't tell me that's normal! The background microcurrents wer fine, but ever since I started using them actively, my cells have been oxidizing at a quicker pace. Basically, I'm getting old without getting old, you know? I'm still learning to manage my powers, and now that my batteries are getting more use, they sometimes get full for some reason and discharge all at once. I'm still trying to figure out why it happens and control it, because those discharges can be dangerous. Aside from making my body do stuff I don't want it to, they rapidly accelerate my cellular degeneration. On their own, the rate at which my powers damage my cells is mostly offset by the way the microcurrents stimulate my body's natural healing. It would probably catch up to me sometime in my early twenties when I hit adulthood, biologically speaking, but for now it isn't that big of an issue. But these discharges cause permanent damage, and so far I haven't found any way to heal it. Honestly, I'm scared I might end up with cancer or something if it keeps happening.
So that's me. Bioshock. Part human, part eel, part human baggage train. Sometimes I wonder about the proportions, you know? I live at home with Dad, Mom's off somewhere probably managing some freaky government project to engineer killer bacteria that eats toxic waste and turns it into laser beams or something. Dad's in on my secret, natch. I tried to hide it for awhile, but it was pretty pointless. Besides, if I hadn't told him, it would have been a little tough to get him to enroll me here at Halcyon High, right? I'm sure I'm not the weirdest you've seen. Please tell me I'm not the weirdest you've seen. I'm just here to ace my classes, make some friends, and maybe somehow figure out this whole supoerhero thing. Is that too much to ask? But that's the bell. Thanks for the chat, doc. Write me a hall pass?
I like it! Bio electric currents are really interesting.
I will warn you, the Doomed is best suited for long term play and while I'm going to keep this going as long as I can, its up to you to be melodramatic and inciting as you can be.
As for a nemesis, that should essentially be your character's personal Big Bad End Boss. They will quite literally kill you if you don't solve the problem. Perhaps your mom really isn't even trying to kill you, but 'improve' you. Death can also come in different ways. Instead of killing you, she could successfully convert you erasing you personality or mind forever...
Food for thought.
Thanks for the feedback!
I'm not sure if the Nemesis is usually a distant figure that doesn't often make an appearance on-screen, but I like the idea of Mom keeping tabs on Eli and possibly even contacting him occasionally via her lab computer at suitably dramatic moment, such as taunting him after a hard fight, or even congratulating him and his friends from time to time. While Eli definitely wants to stop her and make sure she never gets the chance to do... well, whatever it is she wants to do with him, he's also dealing with his abandonment issues and can't bring himself to completely cut ties with her. For her part, she might think that what's she's doing really is best for her son. The powers she tried to give him don't work, and the ones he has instead are killing him. There's valuable data to be collected, but there's hope for a cure for the problem as well, so that the next subject is healthier, functions properly, and behaves themself. Heck, there's potential for a great story in there about overcoming the Doom by getting captured and escaping sometime later as a Bull.
Doom-wise, the discharges are the main thing that's doing him in. As such, I imagine that they would be a somewhat common side-effect of rolling misses and such. Am I correct in thinking that they ought to be something he deals with once an issue at minimum, especially during an important fight? In the first draft, Eli's a bit insecure, but not really all that melodramatic. But he's clearly got emotional issues to deal with, and the psychology is an important part of the character. I like the idea of Eli using his powers in his downtime to cope with life, potentially even being addicted. After all, he can effortlessly change the cocktail of neurotransmitters flowing through his body to make himself feel better, even if sometimes it doesn't quite work right, and there's always an eventual come-down when his body tries to get back to a normal equilibrium. And that's not even touching what he can do by creating his own little world of psychic constructs on false memories to escape into. That should give Eli plenty to work with in terms of being melodramatic and inciting his own drama.
For your consideration, Bran the Blessed, a hero reborn out of Celtic & Arthurian mythology; aka Bronwyn Pascal, a track and field star who always wanted to be a hero, but who is struggling with the fact that when she takes up the enchanted spear Gae-Dearg she takes on the mantle of a dude.
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Hero Name: Bran the Blessed
Real Name (if different): Bronwyn Pascal
Abilities: Heightened physical abilities, supernatural senses, energy absorption (via enchanted spear)
Look: As Bran: White, Male, Iconic, Costume, Helmet (She's built like an offensive tackle and dressed in a stylized version of the armor of a dark ages knight with a full face greathelm and suit of chainmail she knit herself.
As Bronwyn: White(ish), Female, boring clothing (She has a darker complexion than her alter ego that shows her mixed heritage. While she's clearly fit and muscled she has a relatively rangy build from her hard work in the Midtown track team (go Ravens!). Of course ever since she found the enchanted spear Gae-Dearg she's been stronger and faster than ever, but that doesn't stop her from putting in her time in practices. Well usually it doesn't.
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Labels
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Danger : 0
Freak : -1
Savior : 0
Superior : 1
Mundane : 3
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Influence
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Have Influence on:
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Team Moves
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List your team moves
When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, ask them if they see you as the person wearing the mask or the person underneath. If the former, mark potential and clear a condition. If the latter, take Influence over them if you reveal yourself.
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, tell them a secret about who you
really are. Give them Influence, and shift your Mundane up and your mask’s Label down.
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Advancement
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Write down any current advancements.
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Backstory
When did you first put on the mask? Why?: I didn't even know what was going to happen the first time I took up the Spear, Gae-Dearg. I was on a class trip to the museum when some crazy cultists broke in and took everyone hostage while they looked around for the artifacts to bring forth the dark god Balor.
I figured they were nuts, but that made them more dangerous, not less. I'd managed to sneak away when they first rounded everyone up, but soon they started talking about hurting people, maybe they'd hurt Marco.
I held the state junior women's javelin record, so I figured if I was gonna do something this stupid, I'd do better with a spear. And boy did I. As soon as I picked up the spear, I transformed. I was strong. Really strong. I hit them like a cannonball - they never stood a chance. One of them tried to hit me with some kind of.. spell? I dunno, maybe it was just some crazy laser, but either way when I hit the beam with my spear, it disappeared. Which I guess was pretty lucky. Anyways, they were pretty spooked and ran for it before they could steal much or summon anything. And honestly I was pretty spooked so I ran for it until I could figure out how to turn back.
The spear shrunk down, and I did too, though the spear was barely bigger than a toothpick, and I was still the same size. But now I was strong. Really Strong.
Maybe I should have just left it there, but I've always believed in what super heroes do. I believe that might doesn't make right, but that might should be in service to right. How could I turn that away?
Why do you keep a secret identity?: Are you kidding me? Everyone would freak?! Especially Marco. I feel like I could explain it if I were trans, if I wanted to be this way, but I'm not! I just, I just don't want to keep having the same conversation over and over.
Who, outside of the team, knows about your dual identity? No one! Well, my best friend Mary Beth, I mean I had to tell someone! And look, I've read Le Mort d'Arthur, I've read the Once & Future King, and when I found a magic Celtic spear, I read the Mabinogion too, but Mary Beth has this stuff. Down. Cold. She's totally gonna be Indiana Jones or something when she grows up. Or maybe a wizard, she's been trying to figure out what other myths are real, 'cause this thing did NOT come with an instruction manual.
Who thinks the worst of your masked identity: Man, I don't know. I've only been doing this for a few months. I guess, there was one time when I really trashed this one guy, Mr. Brian Murphy's, car when I was chasing after some bad guys - spear right through the engine block. Unfortunately he was an alderman or a city councilman, something like that, and I've been getting some bad press since then. Probably why the powers that be suggested I join up. Which is great! I had no idea how to find a team. Mr. Murphy's still not really a fan though.
Why do you care about the team: They're helping me figure all this out! Well a lot of it. The fighting bad guys and the stuff that might be magic. Not the telling Marco why I'm always so busy stuff; that part I barely talk to Mary Beth about.
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List Questions, then answers.
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Relationships
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We'll answer these questions in discussion.
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*Any Other Abilites Unique to your Playbook
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The Mask: You wear a mask and hide your real identity. Choose what Label you try to embody while wearing your mask:
❑ Savior
Once per session, you can affirm either your heroic or secret identity to switch your Mundane with your mask’s Label.
When you reveal your secret identity to someone who didn’t know it already, mark potential.
Mild-mannered: When you try to use your civilian identity to deceive, trick, or slip past someone, roll + Mundane. On a hit they buy your facade.
On a 7-9, choose one:
- you’re still under observation
- you leave something incriminating behind
- you’re forced to make a fool of yourself to sell it
On a miss, one of your civilian obligations rears its ugly head.
Dangerous web: When you reveal a trap you’ve left for someone using your powers, roll + your mask’s Label (Savior). On a hit, your opponent trips into it, and you get an opening or opportunity against them. On a 10+, take +1 forward to pursuing it. On a miss, the trap inadvertently leads to a dangerous escalation. (This will sometimes be different ways of reshaping the environment, but will usually key off of absorbing various energies with Gae-Dearg)
Your mundane life comes with a series of obligations. Choose a total of three obligations.
School: Athletic team (Track & Field)
Social: Significant other (Marco), best friend (Mary Beth)
When time passes, roll + your Mundane to see how you’re managing your obligations. On a hit, things are going pretty well—you have an opportunity or advantage thanks to one of your obligations. On a 7-9, you’ve lapsed on one obligation, your choice. On a miss, you haven’t given your normal life anywhere near the attention it deserves; the GM chooses two obligations that are going to bite you in the butt.
I'm gonna have to back out. I don't think I have the time I want to really put into it. Cool game though. I hope to try it some day
@ Dread Pirate Hurley
Looking good so far. Explaing misses as discharge feedback is some great fluff as well.
@ GM Cwethan
I like the mythological bent on the Janus, gives me a bit of a Shazam! vibe. Also the genderbend detail is interesting as well.
@GM Cwethan
I certainly wouldn't complain if that were the case. I think we've still got at least one contender on their way, though. And I agree with DM Default, the genderbend is an interesting direction to take! Even Jane Foster didn't have to deal with that, and it's definitely relatable for a postmodern superhero teen.
Seemed like a fun way to dial up adolescent body insecurity to eleven :)
Speaking for myself, I think your Nemesis is guaranteed to create good 'oh s$%^ moments - which is of course what Nemeses are for!
Hmmmmmmmmm im thinking either bloodthresty teenager superweapon loves her friends and a heart of gold or a teenager with a rat powers with an innocent soul who 2 pick
@DM Default
Upon a closer reading of the Doomed playbook, I'm supposed to start with a doomsign already marked. I'm considering the Infinite Powers doomsign that allows me to pick an ability from any other playbook one time. My understanding is that Infinite Powers is a move I can use similar to Unleash Your Powers, but it specifically uses the other ability that I chose, which doesn't change. Is that correct?
@GM Cwethan
Thanks! I just realized I should check the Campaign Tab. It looks like my nemesis could mesh pretty well with the story about how the team came together.
@Ameraaaaaa
My vote is innocent rat child, if that helps at all.
@ GM Cwethan
Possible, but we suffered some story trouble when chunks of the team kept dropping. Since the current group is the distilled "sticking around" group, I don't want to flood it too much like last time.
@ The Dread Pirate Hurley
The Infinite Powers doomsign allows you access to any ability available to any other playbook, and 'ability' equates to superpower by my understanding. Powers in this game are not mechanical, but allow you the justification for doing mechanical moves or get out of situations that make sense. For example, perhaps you and your teammates are trapped in an endless maze flooded with darkness. By borrowing 'supernatural senses' from the Janus playbook, you can justify that it is easy for you to lead the team out with perhaps a roll.
Having powers means you can just do things your powers allow. If you can fly, there's no need to roll so you can fly, you just do it. If you need to do some serious diving to save the suicidal man falling from a building, that would be an unleashing your powers roll
Unleashing your powers is for pushing your normal powers past what they can normally reasonably do. In your character's case, Trying to lift a car may be easy, but trying to keep an airplane from taking off maybe considerably harder, thus justifying the need for a roll.
@ Ameraaaaaa
I'd vote for the rat too, mainly because this game is largely PG based, meaning that death doesn't usually happen unless its for specific plot reasons. Killing, even killing bad guys, should be a central issue, not something you just do to the random robber.
@DM Default
Okay, I'm pretty sure I understand now. The clarification about unleashing your powers was very helpful. Infinite Powers acts as wildcard access to an ability that would be useful in the situation at hand, at the cost of hastening me towards my doom. Likewise, Dark Visions acts as a free question at the same cost, etc. etc. for the others. They're abilities, but I can only use them when I get access to them by filling my doom chart. At the start, I have one available to me. And unlike most other abilities, using them isn't free because I must advance the doom track each time.
With that understanding, Infinite Powers seems like the best one to start with. It plays very nicely with the discharging.
Haha no worries, Default!
@Ameraaaaa: Rat powers is a nicely evocative idea, what playbook are you thinking?
The janus
Almost done now
Why no response from anyone no well i want to change this or good job im wrored that no 1 is still here so respond please just so i know you're here gm sorry if im an big a$@!#&@ im sorry
Ameraaaaaa, you'll probably want to format Rat Boy's stats. In the original recruitment thread, the GM posted a template; GM Cwethan and I both used it.
@ Ameraaaaaaa
As stated in the OP, recruitment ends today. Also, I don't usual post replies unless there are specific questions or clarifications that I need to make.
A decision will be reached sometime today on the selection.
Recruitment Closed and Selection Announcement
After looking over the three entries and listening to feedback from my current players, we have actually decided to go with two new players.
We'd like both Brand the Blessed and Bioshock to report to the discussion thread. We're still talking about timeskip events, so its perfect for you both to discuss how you met the team and joined.
Link is here .
Thanks for everyone who showed interest.
Damn forgot