GM Rednal's Godbound on Post-Apocalyptic Earth (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal


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It's not a character I'm making, it's the NPC that created my gifted powers. I started writing up my character's background and realized how late it was, so I just posted what I had....without context, of course!

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Ahhh....still a cool character.


Thank you.

Okay so I've settled on the following two submissions. I'd like to get some feedback on which would be a better fit:

Jefferson Davies:

Jefferson was taken by one of Dr. Alistair's associates while walking home from school in his native Seattle. As the van sped down the street, almost impossibly fast, a rag was forced over Jefferson's face, and when he awoke, he was floating in a tank of green liquid. He could see a man in a labcoat staring at him, and he realized he was naked in the tank. He tried to cover himself, but he couldn't move his body.

The man was saying something, but Jefferson couldn't hear him. Then the man flipped a switch on the side of the tank, and Jefferson knew pain, the likes of which he hadn't even believed could exist, much less that he would himself feel.

So intense was the pain that he quickly passed out.

This became his life for the next...who knows how long.

Each time he awoke, he was in a tank with a slightly different colored liquid. Each time the man in the labcoat was watching him, and each time the man would say something to him and then flip the switch on the tank, and the pain would come.

Then one day, he awoke, and he was laying on the ground. He was still naked, but he was free! Standing, he realized that he hurt from muscles that were sorely disused. Taking few tentative steps, he found that he could walk. Looking around, he found a dirt road that eventually led out to a highway. it was not long after that the "recruiters" from the Athenian Organization picked him up and brought him back to Athens.

During his initial interviews, the woman that he was interviewed by tried to explain that he was a Gifted, and that he had the power to control some facet of reality.

Jefferson tried to explain that he had no idea what they were talking about, but he was really trying to convince himself, as he could feel...something...floating just beneath the surface of his skin. A power that had definitely not been there before.

Finally, they convinced him to try to use his power, and when he unleashed it, a wave of dark energy erupted from his body, and everyone in the room with him fell over, quite dead.

Terrified, Jefferson decided to turn this power on himself, and he too died.

What happened next shocked the observers, as Jefferson stood back up, picked up the chair he was sitting in, and then calmly waited for someone else to go into the room.

When the next brave soul entered the room, Jefferson sat a locket made of tarnished silver on the desk and said in a calm yet hushed voice "I know of your rules regarding powers, and I agree with them. Unfortunately, I can not turn my powers off, as it would mean my death; as a token of good faith, I give you this" Jefferson indicated the locket in front of him "That contains my soul, and is the key to my undeath. I offer you such leverage over me, should I go out of control. Should you refuse my offer, I will fight; I will likely die, but not without a toll of life that you do not want to pay. Return with your decision."

Jefferson will have the Words of Death, Entropy, and Lich King.

Ryoko Johnson:

Born of Caucasian and Japanese parents, Ryoko was raised in Tokyo, where she learned to love the classic pre-opening anime that her father shared with her. He was such an Otaku that he had gone across the planet during the Opening to reach his Holy land. His mother had met him after his journey when he got a job bartending at the bar she sung at.

Ryoko's life was fairly normal, until the day the man with the mask climbed into her window and forced a cloth over her face. When she came to, she was strapped in a chair, and there was a dome of needles hovering over her head. Looking around as best she could, a man wearing a lab coat appeared, humming some rock song. He said something to her that she couldn't understand, and then one-by-one he inserted the needles into her head.

and then she screamed.

Time passed and the process continued: The man would talk to her, smile, and then push the needles into her brain.

She would scream, cry, and thrash against the restraints, but it did not matter: each time, the pain would last until she lost consciousness.

Then came the day that she awoke, sitting in a chair in a warehouse.

Even more odd, a sheathed Katana was sitting on a nearby table.

Picking the blade up and unsheathing it, she felt something akin to the ringing of a perfect bell, and she suddenly knew what she had to do. Leaving the warehouse, she quickly began making her way down the road. It wasn't long before she attracted the wrong kind of attention, and all she did was draw her blade.

The fight was over before it really began, although she could see each moment of it so clearly.

She was also surprised to realize that she didn't feel any disgust, fear, or shame in her actions. Instead, she was left with a certain feeling of righteousness.

Cleaning her blade, she made short work of several street gangs before she was finally located by one of the recruitment teams. They gave her the Ultimatum, and she readily accepted, on the condition that she be allowed to hunt rogue gifted.

Ryoko was an interesting case, as she had studied Kendo from Junior High into Highschool, even making the Kendo team, so she knew how to handle a blade even with her connection down. When she activates her connection, however, she becomes one with any blade she wields, and she can move so quickly that she can deflect bullets with her blade, which becomes nigh indestructible in her hands.

Ryoko will have the words of Sword, Alacrity, and War, although she doesn't quite know about the latter yet.


144 years after the Opening, anyone with a parent traveling before it would probably be dead already - from age if nothing else. And I think proper multi-level schooling and working televisions and media recordings rather optimistically overestimates the current state of the world. XD Outside of Athens, anyway. A few such things have been kept in working order, mostly by scavenging parts and cobbling them together, but such electronics are rare and precious enough that only the local governments and such would have them.

Scarab Sages

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Damn Rednal. Sounds like an awesome game setting and game system. I don't have the time to devote to another game right now, but your thread has me reading up on a new game system that I hadn't heard of before. So cool!


During the Opening, Robert Chase vacationed in Cuba, doing the favorite thing that he loves. Near Havana, he played Golf when the White Hole happened. In fact, the timing was quite odd. Most other golfers left the course due to the news and intermittent weather. However, no raindrop ever dared to fall upon Bob's golden hair. And he still used a flip phone...

After all these years, Bob still brings it up. His golf ball was on the 17th green, about to stop inches from the hole. The world may have gone to hell, but his luck was "On"! When the White Hole happened, Cuba seemed to lurch. Bob's bright blue eyes watched a couple hundred yards away as the ball continued its momentum to grace the hole with its presence. His voice was one of few that shouted with gleeful pleasure during the spray of power from the White Hole, with its trail of destruction.

Fortunately, the limitless release of his power during the shout, his eyes raised upward, powered by the White Hole and the Sun itself, caused the nuclear missiles aimed at dead Castro's home to fry up under the intense "solar flares". No nuclear missile detonated upon Cuban soil.

When Agents of the First arrived, Bob's luck held true. He just finished the first nine holes and was heading towards the clubhouse for drinks when they arrived. After sharing a few drinks with these agents, he decided he would like to see what Golf Courses were like in Greece, having never been there.

Leaving Havana to join up is his only regret. Years later he learned, Havana was hit by a Hurricane after he left. He was not around with his perfect weather to prevent the devastation, loss of lives, and crops. His paradise was no more. His bright smile doesn't leave his face while in Greece as he has seen what has happened to Warlords.

I see Bob (never Bobby) as being reincarnated as Ra, but with a confident American stockbroker attitude. I was inspired, so wrote this out without a firm hold of the rules. Looking at Sun Domain (perfect weather and heat vision), luck, and longevity. His Gift is tied to the Sun, and as the Sun still shines, so does he.


Ok, here's where I'm at:

Raul, History:

Raul didn't even really hate anyone, and still, he spent an awful lot of time thinking about why exactly that was. The things he'd seen, experienced, and lived through were enough to incite hate in any man, to be sure, but Raul was only a man some of the time. The rest of it, he was a force of Nature. And Nature doesn't hate: it culls.

He hadn't had much of any formal schooling, but then who had? What he did learn, though, resonated deeply. On some level, the concepts seemed to make intuitive sense. He'd seen enough of the way the world worked by the time he was grown to have internalized the idea: the lucky survive, and being strong gives you better odds. Nothing was every certain, though, even for the strong.

Raul was born and grew up just outside of a relatively-forgotten South American small city, which had at some recent point in its history been mostly turned into a rather unremarkable crater. Their small community and a smattering of others like it managed to survive by scavenging what little remained of the city and hunting the local fauna. Farming did little for them, and most didn't bother-- something about the land just didn't suit crops. Fortunately though, their community was removed enough from the population centers that they didn't often get visitors, and rarely paid taxes or tribute. Every so often though, a warlord would consolidate power semi-locally -usually by joining together two or more of the roving bands of bandits- and extract what they wanted from what little the surrounding communities had. This oppression rarely last lasted long though, and in his youth Raul could only remember 2 or 3 different leaders who'd managed to ascend to such a role. Neither lasted a full year. With unstable politics and inconsistently available resources, it was hard for anyone to gather much of a hold on anyone else.

Despite the odds, as only about half of his peers made it to adulthood, Raul matured to full age free of any serious ailments or incidents. Soon after, though, a new and terrifying warlord appeared- a Godbound. No one knew where she came from, but within 4 weeks she'd either rallied as allies, or wholly taken over all of the separte bands of pirates. Raul's village had no plans to resist. They'd taken on refugees from surrounding towns who spoke of villages completely razed after trying to protest their overtaking. No one even knew their foe's name, and yet, realistically, they had no hope.

When the vanguard showed, with the Godbound at the head, Raul found himself rounded up and placed in line in front of a firing squad- it seemed they intended to set a tone with some quick and unprompted slaying of citizens. Raul closed his eyes and braced for impact...BANG!

The noise came, and all around him people cried out and fell dead, but Raul did not. He felt the bullets hit him, but they didn't pierce his skin- they didn't even bruise him. Shocked, he cried out, and as he did, clouds came into being, seemingly from nowhere, blinding everyone. Unable to see, panic set in. Lightning followed, striking down the marauders with impugnity, their leader included. Raul found himself travelling throughout the cloud unseen, taking the form of lightning itself as he kept a safe distance from the Warlord while the storm took its toll. When it was all over, many of the people he'd known were dead- bullets fired wildly in the cloud no doubt- but so were all the pirates. Raul unsure of what was happening, Raul found that he didn't feel scared, or uncomfortable. He felt at peace.

Soon after, a delegation from Athens showed up, intending to give the Ultimatum to the Warlord. They were surprised to find her dead, and at Raul's hand no less. They gave The Ultimatum to him instead, and he accepted their terms, accompanying them to Greece, intent on using his gifts to prevent such attrocities from happening elsewhere.

Words:
Endurance
Sky
Alacrity

Gifts:
The Clouds Below
Rain of Lightning
All Encompassing Presence
Stormsword
Body of Iron Will


Looks like a pretty solid submission, Devious. ^^ Is anyone else still working out their profile and abilities?


Given your feedback, I'll go ahead and make Jefferson, unless there is an issue with having his powers active all the time.


Powers should not be active all the time. This is actually very important for this game - and it'd be a little unfair to the other players, all things considered, if only one person got to have full use of their abilities.

I, uh, tried to thoroughly cover this in the first post. XD


Okay, then back to the drawing board.


Okay, round three:

Character Background:

Unlike the rest of the world, the Opening has had less of an impact on the people of Japan. While there was still a massive loss of life, in rural Japan, most people continue the traditions of farming the land for rice to sustain the people.

Tokyo, however, was for a long time a lawless area, ruled by gangs who battled each other for territory, resources, and out of sheer boredom.

As Japan has never really had the abundance of firearms that exist in the US, it was not that far of a stretch for those who want to do violence to others to change from firearms to swords. After all, a sword doesn't need to be reloaded.

About 50 years ago, a man united the gangs in Tokyo and drove out those who wouldn't join. He was a master with the blade, and if the rumors were to be believed, impossible to kill.

Declaring himself Emperor of Tokyo, he offered his protection and the protection of his reborn samurai caste to the rural farmers, protecting them from bandits and rampaging monsters.

While the Emperor of Tokyo has never been shown to be a Gifted, the rumors persist; so much so, in fact, that a squad of Organization enforcers arrived to speak with the emperor. They verified that he was not a gifted. They also discovered that one of the samurai in his court, Kusinagi Tenchi, was.

Tenchi was ordered to go with the enforcers and represent the Empire of Tokyo in the Athenian Organization. Bowing to the Emperor, he left willingly.

Appearance

Crunch:

score/mod/check
Str 16/+2/5
Dex 14/+1/7
Con 13/+1/8
Int 10/0/11
Wis 8/-1/13 (16/+2/5)
Cha 13/+1/8

HP 9
AC 6 (2)
Attack Bonus: +1

Hardiness 13
Evasion 14
Spirit 14 (13)

Effort 2
Influence 2
Dominion 0

Katana: +3 to hit; 1d8+2 damage
Wakizashi: +3 to hit; 1d6+2 damage

Facts:
1) Tenchi is a Samurai in service to the Emperor of Tokyo.

2) Tenchi has incredible prowess with a sword, even without his Gifts.

3) Following the orders of his Emperor, Tenchi will strive to protect all members of the Athenian Organization.

Words - Gifts:
Protection - Blunt the Fang (Lr)

Sword - Cutting the Crimson Road (Gr), The Path Through War (Gr), Thirsting Razor (Lr)

War - None yet.

Equipment: Katana (Medium Melee Weapon), Wakizashi (Light Melee Weapon), Light Armor


I have a pretty solid grasp on my character. I'll post details later this evening.


History:
Lucas was cloned from a warlord who used the gifts of Passion, Sun, and Sword to strike fear in his enemies while neutralizing their attacks and abilities. As his influence grew, so did his overconfidence, and when the First finally came for him, he actually believed he could defeat them. Needless to say, he didn't.

Lucas decided he would help rogue gifted avoid making his predecessor's mistakes. Instead of using his gifts to intimidate his foes, he would attempt to reason with them and convince them to join the Organization peacefully. Of course, that isn't always an option, and Lucas is fully prepared to use his powers offensively if it comes to that.

During one of his training sessions, Lucas suffered an unfortunate accident that severely damaged his eyes. For just a moment, the thought crossed his mind that he might never see again...

Lucas was rushed to the nearest Health-bound Gifted, and his eyes were healed in a matter of seconds. But strangely, his irises had turned a dull gray, and his pupils seemed cloudy and unfocused. A confused and terrified Lucas asked why he still couldn't see, and the onlookers couldn't think of how to answer.

A Gifted's powers respond to his or her beliefs and perspective, but not always in a beneficial way. When Lucas feared that he might be permanently blinded, his Connection made that fear manifest. Now he must rely on that same Connection to see the world as he once did, and only in situations the Organization deems acceptable.

Lucas doesn't blame the Organization for withholding his power of sight. After all, he is as much of a threat as any other Gifted when his Connection is open. It has been two years since the incident, enough time for him to make peace with his condition and adapt to it. His other senses have improved dramatically, and he is skilled at reading people's emotions through their voices alone. But every time he opens his Connection, and looks upon the world with eyes that glow like the sun, he can't help but think about what he has lost.

Crunch:
score/mod/check
Str 8/-1/13
Dex 13/+1/8
Con 13/+1/8
Int 10/0/11
Wis 16/+2/5 (18/+3/3)
Cha 14/+1/7

HP 9
AC 6 (2 with Body of Burning Light)
Attack Bonus +1

Hardiness 14
Evasion 14
Spirit 13 (12)

Effort 3
Influence 2
Dominion 0

Fray die: 1d8
Unarmed: +1 to hit; 1d2+1 damage (+3 to hit; 1d10+3 damage w/ BoBL)
Cane: +1 to hit; 1d6+1 damage (+3 to hit; 1d10+3 damage w/ BoBL)

1st word: Sun (Body of Burning Light (L), Purity of Brilliant Law (L))
2nd word: Passion (Fashioning a Friend (L))
3rd word: Sword (The Path Through War (G))

Equipment: Cane (Light melee weapon), Light armor


Spoiler:
peak human

Str 13 Dex 13 con 14 Wis 13 int 16 Cha 18

to both heal and destroy as well as control large mobs of undead like a necromancer and to be like an undead myself what would I need? Suggestions?


Calling up a mob of undead uses the Death word. Healing broadly falls under Health. Being like an undead is the Lexicon's Lich King Concept Word.


Spoiler:

The family have taken care of the dead for generations. It's what my people do. I embalmed them or cremated them or saw them to the next world in their casket since I was a boy. Nobody thought it strange that I did this. People still need to be buried and to grieve. That is how life is marked and measured. By death.
The strange thing that happened is when I died. Apparently someone important died where I died. It doesn't matter really. Because a little while later I came back from the dead. And I could hear the dead like never before. I could hear them calling and feel the life and death in everyone. I could call to death and life and make them answer.
That got the First attention all right. Along with the fact that I look dead and really cannot die. So I joined up with the organization. They want to know who I got powers from. Who died where I was reborn. So do I.

Words:
Death
Health Lich King concept, str 8 int 16 Wis 10 con 13 dx 14 Cha 13


*Claps hands* Alright, I think I'd like to wrap up recruitment in the next few days. ^^ If you'd like to finalize a submission, now is a good time. Also, it's well-written and compelling backstories that will get you into this game, so that's what you should pay the most attention to.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Society Subscriber

do you need anything more from me?


Well, it wouldn't hurt if you wanted to create a more comprehensive backstory. ^^


Here's Raul, DeviousDevious' character


Recruitment will end tomorrow.


The following characters have been selected:

Lucas
Photon
Raul
Tenchi

Thanks to everyone for their interest! Players, please dot the gameplay thread and report to the Discussion thread.


Congrats everyone!


Thanks for the pick!

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