L, unlike a set of calipers. N, as in inorganic? :3
As long as it's just the letters I think I can learn it. I'm mostly worried I have one of the other details shuffled.
Close, but it'd be more accurate to say that Aina has an N for Nuts and bolts. She's a machinist to Aila's engineer.
And lord help if they are the cultural shoulder angels. We'll have mechs. spaceships, and orbital elevators before this is over.
I will confess that I'm feeling a bit lost with what's going on and who's who, I'll have to dwell a bit more in the backstory before I post.
Close, but it'd be more accurate to say that Aina has an N for Nuts and bolts. She's a machinist to Aila's engineer.
And lord help if they are the cultural shoulder angels. We'll have mechs. spaceships, and orbital elevators before this is over.
They may both like mechs, and have complimentary talents with machines, but one was forced by the Erohin to work as a surgeon. I thought that was also the one who was a rebel.
The one working with Temerity is the only PC with a job they enjoy or have a talent in. That's why the Obligation rolls cause Stress.
I will confess that I'm feeling a bit lost with what's going on and who's who, I'll have to dwell a bit more in the backstory before I post.
Take your time and feel free to ask questions. Your character isn't really equipped for sparking up conversations, so feel free to explore the area, look at the object Theodore gave you, or work on something that will be useful later. The other PCs will fill you in as the mission progresses
Ah, okay. I got ya now.
Waaaah! SO much movement! *reads up*
Phil is one part James Earl Jones as Mufasa, one part Burt Reynolds on a bearskin rug, and 100% on your mom's freebie list.
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Girl by Moonlight, as presently written, is a GrimDark RPG.
All the setting sheets have pre-eminent values that are neutral at best, with the majority of values I might consider positive suborned to the 'hidden/secret/transgressive' category. Combine this with the fact that mission objectives rarely if ever elevate themselves beyond 'Keep things from getting worse' & there really doesn't seem to be much light in Girl by Moonlight.
Possibly I have an incorrect/insufficient understanding of the Magical Girl Genre, but this seems...
incongruous,
to me. I cannot tell if this is a bug or a feature. I comprehend that angst is a factor, but as it stands, depending on setting choice, I can definitely see myself in danger of my character asking themselves 'Are the bad guys Really that much worse?..'
Maybe I'm just old, but the world I deal with on a day-to-day basis has enough Dystopian elements lately, not certain I can handle this much in my escapism as well.
All that said, I am still enjoying myself.
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So, little bit of back-track. When I asked if the LARP was an ongoing concern, one of the ideas I was playing with was that Tracy has an on-going diversion regarding the LARP because it is the one place she can 'get away' with gendered clothing & actions. She can get away with being a girl in the LARP since of course you have to have saucy wenches in an RPG.
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I think, typically, the world is meant to be less soul crushing than this one is. The idea is that the characters are misfits and don't fit into the world (generally), but they definitely fit in together, most of the time. For a really good example: Teen Titans.
The world shouldn't usually be dystopian, because it shouldn't generally be endemic that the system, the world, and the darkness are so intertwined... But the concepts that won out spelled out that that is the way it is for most everyone.
Conceptually, the mission starts with 'what makes your life suck', then 'time with friends and projects that you can't fail to succeed at', and then the mission that can make or break you. If you win... You challenged the evil of the world and triumphed.
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Speaking of expectations, I guess I should explain a couple of things. I've been spoiled a bit by playing with GMs that often work with you to tell the story you want and I'm used to having full control over my PC and their fate. That's one reason I've corrected Bastion a couple of times. I have a specific view of Aila and Aina and there are certain things that I want to play out. I apologize if this has come across as me being overbearing because that isn't my intention.
That said, the twins are a couple of geeks and have a perverse, given the mores of this society, obsession with things that go boom that hasn't really had a chance to come out yet. They are two sides of the same coin in many respects. They are the same save the face that they present.
Aila presents a calm mask over a sea of turmoil over Aina's fate. She wants for Aina to have the same chances and opportunities she has and would even love to work alongside her on the same projects. The Erohin trust the mask, but may not realize how dangerous of a person she truly can be if pushed. A fall to the Darkness by Aina would be, well, horrific. She's the one with access to the machine shop.
Aina wears her feelings on her sleeves and is the more accurate barometer of how the twins are feeling. She's more open in her opinions and that is what keeps her from being as big of a threat as Aila. She just doesn't have as much access to the truly dangerous stuff and she's more impulsive. That's not to say she can't be just as calculating as Aina, just that she needs a moment to calm down. Same with Aina and showing her true emotions. She needs a moment to drop the mask or needs to be in a situation where the mask already has cracks like the current scene in the RPG tavern.
Speaking of Aila, I imagine she is very new to the Purity Council and this is likely her first big event. She's just hit the top while Aina's scraping herself off rock bottom. It's going to be interesting to see how their story plays out, that's for sure.
One thing I do want to cover is their transcended from. I have some ideas for it, but they don't fight the traditional "Magicial Girl" mold. As a matter of fact, I picture them as more of the big guns. Sure, they can talk the monster of the week down, but where they come into their own is when the monster needs to be put down, hard. Without giving too much away for the reveal, expect some stuff you might see out of a mecha anime instead of a magical girl one.
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I'm not so sure the source material is much more positive. While the tone was much softer, Sailor Moon ends twice, and both times Usagi chooses to forget everything just to try and have a normal life. In the first episode, Usagi kills Naru's mom because she doesn't have healing magic. Every new sailor is more of an outcast than the last. 99% of enemies are possessed, brainwashed, or literally desperate to survive.
(Until recent developments) Steven Universe has been one step forward and ten steps back. We could blame a sloppy creative team, but it serves to illustrate my point so I'm ignoring that controversy.
Moreso than other related genres, I think magical girl stories operate in a zero sum world. The best outcome is for things to go back to 'normal'. The central theme is healing.
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I might have an opportunity to respond to the twins' post line by line in the morning, but let me reassure you all about Transcendent forms.
We did traditional, Sentai rainbow magical girls last season. This season is about identity. If your Transcendent name is the name of your mecha, it's the name of your mecha.
It would be impossible for any of the Mundane characters to Defy a room full of murderous goons, even with the help of yokai magic it would be Desperate. It might be a Desperate Lesser Group Action. In a Transcendent form, that's a Controlled situation with Greater effect. I'd offer the Dark Bargain of killing them in the process. How that looks, whether it's heart-shaped bubbles from a magic wand, or a death Ray, as long as it still kind of makes sense with the action you're rolling.
But, if you want to kick down buildings or cleave the moon..
. that's a Transcendent Group Action with as one and giant woman.
and 100% on your mom's freebie list.
What does this mean?
Okay, so here's the thing. My headcanon for twin's transcendent forms is this. There is the mecha form which they don't have access to. It's the one that you fight Kaiju with and use beat down minor deities while relandscaping the moon. Then there's the normal-sized form which is the twins merged into one body that's kitted out with armor, flight systems, and a hyperspace arsenal.
Furthermore, it's this form that I think I need to discuss because this is the one that might be going outside of the bounds of the rules. The idea is that this form can create a variety of weapons on an ad hoc basis. It can also create drones of differing power levels and abilities. For example, the basic kit for the transcendent form would be the armor, a sci-fi magitech rifle, and six combat drones that the twins can direct and use to fire from angles an opponent might not be able to defend.
Now, there are a number of ways this could be used against the twins. What if someone manages to suborn one of the drones, or figures out how to siphon power from their transcendent form and leave them helpless. What happens if someone manages to strip them of the armor before they've hit their limit? You could build an episode around the twins having to figure out ways to handle things while their wings have been clipped.
I dunno. I just thought it was a cool idea and it fitted well with the whole theme around Harmony.
and 100% on your mom's freebie list.What does this mean?
AKA "Guys I'd sleep with in a heartbeat list"
AKA "Guys I'd sleep with in a heartbeat list"and 100% on your mom's freebie list.What does this mean?
I'll have you know Phil doesn't even JIGGER Sora's Kinsey Scale.
Maybe Kyou's..?
Don't look at me. I'm playing the Twins as asexual.
Sora is canonically lithosexual. She 'courted' with May, in some ways, but wasn't interested in sex, only in the attention itself. She'd have probably reacted favorably, but felt trapped by any attempts to turn it into a 'real relationship' (Dooming the attempt, but she wouldn't understand), leaving her as Placioromantic. (Learning new words!)
Chessa is probably Demi- or Reciprosexual.
Generally I agree that GBM looks more inspired by Madoka than Winx Club, and the starting point of the setting looks more grimdark. But hopefully, we will lead the Glorious Revolution to free ourselves from the despotic tyrants who would oppress us! Down with Thrune Malice!
AKA "Guys I'd sleep with in a heartbeat list"and 100% on your mom's freebie list.What does this mean?I'll have you know Phil doesn't even JIGGER Sora's Kinsey Scale.
Maybe Kyou's..?
If I had meant Sora I'd have made the comment in Gameplay. :p
Re: Transcendence
The good news and the bad news are the same: it doesn't actually matter. You'll probably save the giant mecha for the "Giant Woman" move, that seems like a good way to represent that they don't automatically have access to that scale of destructive power, and a good way to frame how the form scales your actions up. As for weapons, that kind of thing happens all the time. Sailor Moon had a pen, three lockets, a wand, a sword, a rod, a staff, etc, but the only significant change was switching from raw attacks with Defy and Express to healing magic with Forgive and Empathize. At the end of the day, mechanically, it doesn't make a difference what you do while Transcendent. Things start and end with the fiction, yes, but the game still operates under the same obstacle, action, position, effect economy.
When I need to put things between you and your goals, it's my job to think of things which sound like obstacles and give a hint of their scale, and your job to think of solutions which evoke actions and hopefully give you good positions or effects.
Okay, I think k I understand a little better now.
By the way, Tracy, Aila awaiting your response to her greeting.
Yes, Tracy intends to get into all the trouble tonight...
Oh what fun! :D
Of course I don't recall correctly until too late to correct it, but the letter on Tracy's forehead should be an A, not an H.
Oh well, we'll just say it's for this time...
the trouble...
I thought you'd went 'japanese' with your scarlet letter reference and made it H for Ecchi. :P
I figured it was for harlot, but I got the reference, even if I wish I could forget the book. (Paragraphs that would just go on and on and on and on....)
Hope Aila's reaction is funny rather than awkward. Tracy has certainly left an impression on her. Also, my apologies if I get the rules wrong. I'm still learning and having fun with this.
Something tells me that Tracy and the Twins are going to be trouble once some of the baggage has been unloaded between Aila and Aina.
I love every bit of what's happening.
Mechanically, there's some stuff to unpack.
The simplest route is to count Tracy's Flow roll as the Help die for the Social Link, in which case Aila could use Defy (for this use, Defy and Flow are synonymous) and roll an additional die to try for a crit (pair of 6s). There would be some consequences to this (not as a result of the roll, but as a result of doing all this in public).
Aila may choose to use Conceal instead, and have less of a dramatic impact on the viewers, but I don't know if Tracy would enjoy getting downplayed like that.
In that case, Tracy's roll might have to be counted as a separate action. This would be dangerous, since she didn't wait to hear what her position or effect might be. It depends somewhat on the effect she intended, but if she meant to encourage more dancing and open rebellion, she would have a Risky Position, and a Greater Effect.
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You are using words like 'meant' and 'intent' in reference to Tracy after you blindside me with over an hour of Spanish guitar music...?
Oh, you glorious fool!
Sure, let's go with that idea; it's not like she is lead by the heart on her sleeve or anything...
Incidentally, I just realized she wasn't dancing a tango, she was dancing a Tarantella...
Naturally, I go with the option that's most likely to cause trouble for poor Aila. I'm sure the gypsy girl outfit and the flagrant disregard for her assigned role are not going to help. :P
Just making sure:
Tracy has rolled a 6 on a Defy roll to get the room dancing.
Separately, Aila is rolling Defy to perform a quick costume change in a Social Link with Tracy? Which would be something she would enjoy?
If that's the case, Tracy would lend Aila a die, and we would count the 4, meaning Tracy gets 3 Links with Aila.
Just making sure:
Tracy has rolled a 6 on a Defy roll to get the room dancing.
Separately, Aila is rolling Defy to perform a quick costume change in a Social Link with Tracy? Which would be something she would enjoy?
If that's the case, Tracy would lend Aila a die, and we would count the 4, meaning Tracy gets 3 Links with Aila.
Yes to all, except Flow rather than Defy. Tracy doesn't have Defy, but starting dancing when you hear that music seems about as natural as breathing to her. Sorry, just realized I wasn't clear before.
Fortunately the dice have made up for my mistakes in trying to explain the situation. I'll try to be more clear in the future.
Aila rolled two dice because Aina is the one who has a mark in Defy. Aila has 0 marks in Defy, so she rolled two dice in order to count the lower result. Because this is a Social Link, the target of the scene is specifically asked whether the scene was enjoyable, and if so, would contribute one die. In this case, that means we would take the first of the two dice rolled.
Also, I re-read the rules, and it's written a little weird, but LTPs get 1, 2, or 3 segments, while the other downtime actions say +1, so they give 2, 3, or 4. So on a 4, Tracy gets 3 Links.
Still giving Ao a chance to post before I move forward. There's a ton of stuff to react to before I start moving everyone upstairs.
Yeah, I just got a little confused.
By the way, do I mark any links for this and the interaction with Chessa?
Nope.
However, most of what you can do with links involves helping the person who gave them to you:
-recover 2 stress (yours or theirs)
-let them ignore Harm penalty for 1 action
-help them without gaining Stress
-lend strength to their Eclipse roll
How much of Sora's life and memories is Brilliance privy to? Like, specifically the onscreen stuff of last season.
Sora spent most of her career using a Yokai trinket. One of her other trinkets she gave away. Brilliance would only have been aware of times Sora invoked her Sloth (sweat) trinket, the dream catcher. This also means Sora still has superhuman strength.
Then, still, pretty much assuredly for what I have in mind for a reveal. Awesome. :3 (A reveal I should have already made clear for the audience's sake... but I feel that the reveal being driven home more canonically would be best served by someone who was aware making note of it!)
Working on a big post, but also busy with work today and tomorrow.
~ Mgmt. Epic Conga 2019
Damn.
Aila's going to look down at the thing that hit her foot. Can you go ahead and tell me what it is so I can work it into my next post this evening?
It is a citrine matagama. You're the only one who noticed it so far.
I do appreciate your concern, but I couldn't plug in the details, or convey the right contrasts if I were writing these particular scenes another way. It's just copy-paste and a spoiler each from my end.
It comes and goes, but there are certain sutleties to this scene, like the convergence of certain characters you don't collective know, or whom you know for different reasons.
Fair enough.
Looking forward to seeing what happens to poot Aila. :)
One day.
One day, a mission will arrive where Tracy doesn't get side-tracked in the first scene.
Today is not that day.
*sighs*
If you push on an action that you have a rating of zero in, that means you wind up rolling just the one die, yes?
I'd be less inclined to distract you all if you folks didn't ace every engagement roll. ;p
Yup. Pushing yourself (or a dark bargain) with an action that has no marks is one die.
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Sorry for any delays due to me. I've been struggling to keep up with a decent post rate in the last few days, because my Wrath of the Righteous has been exploding with posts... we just finished book 2. So much 'downtime RP' is being had... after like a year of playing to cover two ingame days... we've gone through a few days of some pretty cool RP in like a week. It's been pretty nice!
But it also means that I've not really been keeping up my end of the bargain over here :p ... so I'm gonna go do that now.