If you need some help making a character or just wanna hit ideas down for feedback, feel free.
Also remember, don't decide relationship stuff yet and every player has final say on their character.
Here's a quick section on playing the Beacon.
Hopeful, excited, understanding, human. The Beacon is the most directly mortal and least strange of all the playbooks. They haven’t been shaped by anything else—they could choose to leave this life behind, if they wanted. Which is exactly the point? They’re here because they want to be here. They want to do this. And that gives them a purity compared to the other characters.
You can expect NPCs to tell you that you don’t really belong here. After all, you don’t have those extras that most people associate with superheroes. A central conflict for the Beacon is proving yourself and making the case for why you actually belong.
Ultimately, your character is all about their drives. Those give you objectives, things to aim towards and try to do, so make sure you pick drives that really interest you. Trying to accomplish your drives might lead you into trouble just as much as it might lead you to triumph, but they’ll always push you toward that key conflict—do you actually deserve to be here? And that’s exactly what you want.
You should list your team moves that are under the Team moves section of your playbook.
Other than that, base skeleton looks good. But how does your character fight in combat? You marked down Phasing and martial arts, that's bound to create an interesting fighting style. Any examples?
Okay, here's my idea for my Protege.
My character would be Wingblade, and her mentor would be Whippoorwill.
Whippoorwill is a character I've created a long time ago, so she'd be great as a mentor. She's a modified human, having undergone an experimental process that grafted huge feathered wings on her back. She's an amazing fighter, and uses trick throwing weapons called quills that have a variety of effects -- explosive, edged, flare, homing, acid and so on. She started out as a villainous mercenary (the cost of undergoing the procedure), but she defied her masters and became a hero to redeem herself.
I created Wingblade for a Marvel/DC amalgam universe as a mash-up of Hawkgirl and X-23/Laura Kinney (the new Wolverine in current Marvel continuity). For this game, she would be someone who was forced into a similar procedure to give her wings, but her wings are bladed, metallic weapons, as some sort of shady Weapon X-style project.
Whippoorwill would have become her mentor when she disrupts the lab that was trying to recreate/improve upon the old procedure that gave her her wings, and is trying to guide the young girl toward being a hero, and helping her avoid the mistakes that she made in her past.
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Hero Name: Wingblade
Real Name (if different): Shayera Kinney? Might need to be changed.
Abilities: Impossible fighting skills (shared) Also flight? Is that doable? It's not on the list, but it's pretty key to their power set.
My own ability: Superhuman physique
My Mentor's ability: Weapons and gadgets
Look:Young female, dark hair, mixed-race, athletic body, casual clothes, simple costume (black bodysuit).
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Danger : 0
Freak : 0
Savior : +1
Superior : +2
Mundane : 0
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Have Influence on: No one (business demeanor)
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List your team moves
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Write down any current advancements.
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How did you first meet your mentor?
When she freed Wingblade from the facility that was turning her into a living weapon. They fought and although Wingblade had superior upgrades, Whippoorwill's experience won out and she was defeated.
When and why did you choose to train with her?
With the project disrupted, Wingblade was without direction. She had nowhere to go and was likely headed to become a very dangerous weapon for whoever would give her a purpose.
Why did she agree to train you?
Whippoorwill saw something of herself in Wingblade, and recognized that she needed a mentor and guidance to become a force for good.
Who else, outside of the team, knows about your training?
The remains of the weapon project, the shadowy secret organization that funds and backs projects like that.
Why do you care about the team?
Her childhood robbed by being an experiment raised in a lab, the team is her first experience with peer relationships.
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TBD
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Mentor's Resources:
Hidden Base, Communicators, and Security Systems
Mentor embodies: Superior
Mentor denies: Danger
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Venting Frustration
Fireside chat
Be mindful of your surroundings
As I posted in the recruitment, I'm going with a character who's trying to avoid becoming his future super evil mind controlly self (think a combination of professor Xavier and the purple man, and you'd have a good starting point.) My character will be somewhat moody, and he will be initially hesitant to use his mind powers, since he's (rightfully) concerned that doing so will move him closer to becoming the person he doesn't want to be.
While I do have a hero who saved me and I look up to, I'm not as tightly connected to them as a protégé would be. I have the ability to trace a door shape into any wall and open it to my sanctuary, which is a place of peace, happiness, and learning (also useful for storing stuff I shouldn't have).
I don't know if the default setting has a Dr. Fate/Strange style of character (overarching mystical world defender) but if not I will put something together to loosely fit the bill.
Is there a wiki that talks about the world setting that I could gander at?
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Hero
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Hero Name: Hashtag
Real Name (if different): Ji-Wan 'Vick' Zeng
Abilities: Teleportation,
Look: Man, South Asian, Laughing Eyes, Rebellious Clothing, Showy Costume
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Labels
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Danger : 0
Freak : 0
Savior : -1
Superior : +3
Mundane : +1
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Influence
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3 Teammates have Influence on me.
Have Influence on:
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Team Moves
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When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, ask them if they think you’re cool. If they say yes, give them Influence and take Influence over them. If they say no, mark a condition or spurn them immediately. If they’re a teammate, then either way, add a Team to the pool.
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, give them Influence over you, and ask them who they’d like you to be. Mark potential if you show them that person. If they’re a teammate, add a Team to the pool no matter what.
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Advancement
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No Current Advancements.
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Backstory
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• How did you get your powers?
Inherited: Vick got his superpowers from his villain mother, who was known as Blink, a teleporting thief. His illusion powers... no one's entirely sure where he got those.
• What do you do for fun?
Vandalism (Spraypaint) and petty shoplifting. Pranking other people.
• Who, outside the team, thinks better of you than you do?
Officer Harding, the police officer who has been keeping tabs on Vick since he was left to the public system. Vick's mother is now in prison after a huge confrontation that ended with the death of two heroes. He believes that Vick has the potential to be better than his mother, and keeps tabs on the kid trying to guide him to be a better person.
• Why do you try to be a hero?
Because everyone thinks that Vick is just another punk kid with a super power and is going to go 'full villain' sometime soon anyways, and he hates doing what's expected and villains are fun to mess with since you can go way farther against them than other people and it's considered 'okay'.
• Why do you care about the team?
They're the only ones who actually talked with him like he's another person, not just a future problem they're going to have to deal with. He also likes how they can be cool without seeming to try... not that he'd admit it, though.
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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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Delinquent Moves:
Criminal Mind: you can always ask one of the following
questions, even on a miss:
- what here is useful or valuable to me?
- how could I best infuriate or provoke ____________?
- what’s the best way in/way past?
Are you watching closely?:
When you mislead, distract, or trick someone, roll + Superior. On a
hit, they are fooled, at least for a moment. On a 10+, choose three. On a 7-9, choose two.
- you get an opportunity
- you expose a weakness or flaw
- you confuse them for some time
- you avoid further entanglement
On a miss, you’re hopelessly embroiled in it and under pressure; mark a condition
@ Stalwart
Nice Stalwart, Cool design. As with The Beacon, got some tips on the Protege.
Focused, well-trained, driven, unsure. The Protégé is defined by two things: their training and their mentor. A Protégé has a level of skill and preparation beyond nearly any of the other PCs—even the Legacy wasn’t necessarily as well-trained as the Protégé. The Protégé might have innate powers, sure, but they were also guided in how to use those abilities and more by
their mentor. That also means they’re devoted to being a superhero in a way that none of the other PCs may be—a Protégé made at the start of play has been training for quite some time to get into this life.
That said, the question before a Protégé is always whether this is really what they want—and, more specifically, if they want to wind up being their mentor. For better or worse, the relationship between you and your mentor is always one wherein your mentor wants you to turn out similarly to them—maybe not exactly the same, but close. And you have to decide if that’s really what you
want. Regardless of everything they’ve given you, you might not want their life once you understand what it really means. Pay close attention to your choices for which Labels your mentor denies and embodies. In addition to telling you the kind of person your mentor likely is, they tell you the kind of person your mentor wants you to be.
Make sure you spend time with your mentor. Return to them. Ask them for help and input. You might butt heads with them, you might resist what they choose for you, but they matter to you, as well. They gave you what you needed to become the person you are today, and your relationship with them is the source of your dramatic arc. They might seek you out, but you should do the same.
When you're putting all this in an alias it would help to know what your moves do (and it makes my referencing faster. Also, list the team moves in your playbook.
The book warns against allowing powers not listed into the game. Not because they won't work, rather, that the ones listed had been playtested to make sure they would work.
In the playbooks terms, I think they intended for you to choose one of the suggested options, then create two unique takes on your choice. For example: Superior fighting skills may manifest in your mentor as programmed sequences she has spent years of recording, refining and inputting while your superior fighting skills could be purely animalistic or perhaps a mimicry ability based on sight.
See what I mean?
EDIT: According to the playbook, you each have a shared ability and a unique ability of your own. So while both of you may share fighting skills, your mentor could have flight while you could choose another option.
@ Vrog
This link will take you to a page that, after a bit of scrolling down, you can get a kinda synopsis of the setting.
@ rungok
Looks pretty good to me.
Rebellious, joking, attention-seeking, manipulative. The Delinquent is the class clown, or the punk with the stash of weed, or the rebel without a cause. They’re the spoiler, most often just because they can be more than out of any particular desire. They trick other people, they mess with people, they cause problems. That said, the Delinquent isn’t an excuse to just be an annoying jerk. They cause trouble because it’s how they get attention, and it’s how they deal with problems—but that doesn’t mean they’re without deeper feelings or goals that make them more human.
The Delinquent bounces back and forth over that line, over and over, so play in that space and have fun with it. Remember always that, ultimately, you’re part of this team for a reason— you wanted to be here—so simply ditching them all is never an option. (Not least because it means your character would probably retire!)
The Delinquent works best by sticking close to teammates, one way or another, as much as possible. Whether you’re giving them grief, getting to know them better, or even revealing your true self, your story is ultimately about how you relate to your closest compatriots. You’re the companion, the helper, the provocateur, and you make other characters’ lives interesting with your presence. Own it!
So rungak, what does Hashtag like to illusion up most of the time? Any favorite pranks?
Hashtag believes he's an 'artist' with spraypaint cans (He does graffiti) so he likes to do elaborate art pieces and 'tag' things and places that are otherwise hard to get to without teleportation. (He would be the kind of person to spraypaint the Russian star to look like Patrick from spongebob squarepants, for example)
His illusions are mostly simple for now; he's not confident enough for complex, widespread, Marvel-Loki-level illusions. So most of his illusions are single things, or clusters of simple objects.
He likes using his illusions to give him quick/cheap disguises or fake being older when he wants to try buying smokes. The other 'trick' he learned was using his illusions to hide stuff that's on his person, like spraypaint cans and other 'incriminating' evidence.
His favorite pranks are:
Rolling a bag of 'invisible' marbles under a person's feet.
Teleporting into people's parked cars and changing all their radio settings to stuff they'd never listen to.
'Touching up' (I.E. graffiti) a person's house/car/super-vehicle/lair.
Making food 'taste terrible' with taste illusions, or giving people nonexistant food.
Teleporting into the cars of terrible drivers and giving them advice on how to drive more safely. (Sometimes teleporting right out, depending on how much they freak out)
Teleporting objects to make other objects not work or to impede someone, such as teleporting a pen so that it appears through the firing chamber of a gun, making both items useless, or teleporting handcuffs onto/off a person without having to find the keys.
So... is flight off the table? If so, then I'll probably scrap this and come up with another character -- maybe even go with a different playbook, since I can't envision Whippoorwill and Wingblade as not having wings.
Let me know if that's the case, and I'll go back to the drawing board.
EDIT: Just saw your edit. Well, if that's the case, then I'll share the flight, and give Whippoorwill the enhanced fighting. Wingblade can have the superhuman physique, manifested in the metallic, bladed wings and perhaps a regenerative power.
Maybe we'll handwave the trick quills and gadgets, since Whip's not really going to be fighting for us, is she?
@ rungok
So....any idea how his visions come to be? Are they temporary reality manipulations or jsut psychic illusions of sorts?
@ Stalwart
Well...you might want to consider that. As this is the first game of the system I'm running, I'm trying to stick to as close to the rules as possible.
I would have to make you pick either fighting skills as the thing your mentor/protege share, or flight. But sadly, not both.
@ Phantom Mouse
You may want t o lit your team moves when you make an alias,
Capable, impressive, burdened, famous. The Legacy comes from a long line of superheroes, meaning they have a superheroic family, either biologically related or connected through their shared legacy. Their story is about the support of that family, and the pressure of carrying on the family name. They have many benefits and advantages that the other PCs might not have—the name of their legacy itself probably carries weight with the city— but at the same time, the expectations and responsibilities placed on them are even higher.
The Legacy has a constant source of support and connection in the other members of their legacy— returning to those characters on a regular basis is an important part of the Legacy’s cycle. If you don’t spend time with them, you can expect them to purposefully force their way into your life. The Legacy often inherently pushes into a position of authority on the team—they’re probably from one of the most established traditions of heroism in the city. Run with it! Putting still more responsibility on the Legacy only further highlights your issues—and gives you even more chances to triumph.
So Mouse, how is your father still active in the city now that he's passed down the costume. What's your grandad do to fill his days?
Also, just a note, our Beacon has some phasing so if you don't mind a bit of overlap thats fine.
Hey there everyone!
So the character I am going to be making will be Kenneth Kaine, also known as "Eldritch". Brought in initially as a sacrifice to the Elder Thing known as Kktharos, he was rescued by the Inquisitor (a Bronze age hero) but not before the cult's mystical energies were channeled through and into him. This left him wielding an incredible amount of sorcerous might, the potential might of even an Elder Thing.
Kenneth is both exhilarated and terrified by the idea of what he has become. He grew up hearing the stories of heroes, imagining what being one of them would be like, but never did he imagine that he would ever be one. However, the potential danger that his raw power contains also frightens him and he fears what kind of harm he may accidentally bring to his friends, his family, and the citizens of the city.
It is a super rough concept but I'll put actual work into the playbook soon enough. Let me know if anyone has any ideas, roleplay stuff, what have you alright? :D
Okay, here's the revised effort. I've shared Flight with Whippoorwill, given her the impossible fighting skills that hopefully can incorporate some of her weaponized quills. I've taken the superhuman physique, which will be manifested in her metallic wings, and her savage Weapon X-style training. That is also manifested in the Moves I've selected, -- Venting Frustration is similar to a beserker-rage and Mindful of Your Surroundings can show her enhanced senses.
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Hero Name: Wingblade
Real Name (if different): Shayera Kinney? Might need to be changed.
Abilities: Flight (shared)
My own ability: Superhuman physique -- manifested in metallic, razor-sharp wings, a quick healing factor, and enhanced senses.
My Mentor's ability: Impossible fighting skills -- manifested in a mastery of hand-to-hand combat, mixed martial arts, aerial fighting styles and some weaponized quills.
Look:Young female, dark hair, mixed-race, athletic body, casual clothes, simple costume (black bodysuit).
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Danger : 0
Freak : 0
Savior : +1
Superior : +2
Mundane : 0
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Have Influence on: No one (business demeanor)
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When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, ask them if you’ve been a good leader or effective teammate. If they say yes, your mentor loses Influence over you and you mark potential.
If they say no, your mentor gains Influence over you, and you take +1 forward on using the Label your mentor embodies.
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, tell them a secret about your mentor (including your feelings towards them). Give them Influence over you and add 1 Team to the pool.
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Write down any current advancements.
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How did you first meet your mentor?
When she freed Wingblade from the facility that was turning her into a living weapon. They fought and although Wingblade had superior upgrades, Whippoorwill's experience won out and Wingblade was defeated.
When and why did you choose to train with her?
With the project disrupted, Wingblade was without direction. She had nowhere to go and was likely headed to become a very dangerous weapon for whoever would give her a purpose.
Why did she agree to train you?
Whippoorwill saw something of herself in Wingblade, and recognized that she needed a mentor and guidance to become a force for good.
Who else, outside of the team, knows about your training?
The remains of the weapon project, the shadowy secret organization that funds and backs projects like that.
Why do you care about the team?
Her childhood robbed by being an experiment raised in a lab, the team is her first experience with peer relationships.
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TBD
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Mentor's Resources:
Hidden Base, Communicators, and Security Systems
Mentor embodies: Superior
Mentor denies: Danger
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Venting Frustration
When you directly engage while you are Angry, you can roll + the Label your mentor denies (Danger) and clear Angry.
Fireside chat
When you seek advice from your mentor, roll + the Label they embody. On a hit they will tell you what to do. On a 10+, mark potential if you follow their advice, and take +1 ongoing to follow through. On a 7-9, you get +1 forward to see it through if you do it their way.
On a miss, they don’t have time for you because something big has gone down; mark a condition, GM’s choice.
Be mindful of your surroundings
When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss.
What do you think?
Hero Name: Tectonic
Real Name (if different): Nora Wild
Abilities: The ability to control, summon, and transform rock and metal, as well as transforming into rock and iron when the battle starts.
Look: Nora has wild, neon pink hair and a mouth that seems to be in a constant smirk beneath a nose studded with piercings. She wears a shiny, new leather jacket-it's always shiny and new, with each previous one getting destroyed in battle-over faded tees, often with snarky comments. She's made a point of reinforcing her ripped bluejeans, at the very least, so that the rest of the team won't ogle her as she's busy kicking ass. She's tall-around six foot-and, while her muscles aren't bulging, somebody could probably break a skyscraper against them.
Danger : +2
Freak : +1
Savior : -1
Superior : +1
Mundane : -1
Have Influence on: Nobody, as of yet.
When Tectonic shares a triumphant celebration with someone, make them her love or rival immediately to mark potential. If they are already Tectonic's love or rival, take Influence over them and
mark potential.
When Tectonic shares a vulnerability or weakness with someone, give them Influence and hold 2. Spend that hold to help them as if it were Team in the pool.
None as of yet.
Who changed you? Tectonic's parents, Jill and Barney Tatum, used Nora as a prototype for supersoldiers that they were planning on selling to the highest bidder. Tectonic managed to escape their grasp with the help of her older sister, River Wild, and her team of top government operatives. All of the operatives died helping get River out. Thankfully, since River was wheelchair-bound (the reason why their parents, not yet succumbed to their greed in totality, merely abandoned River rather than kill her), she survived as she was not on the ground team, but as the last one fell, Tectonic felt something change in her. She vowed that she would try to uphold the righteous operatives' legacy. Unfortunately, the army was already completed by the time Tectonic got out. She stumbled into the team's home base, battered, bruised, and bloody, and asked for help taking on a problem that she, for once, couldn't handle alone.
During the battle, Tectonic, still overconfident, nearly got herself killed when she took on the general of the geokinetic army, simply designated "Prime." Yet, rather than abandon her while they desperately tried to activate the kill switch for the entire army, the team, without a word, banded together to help Tectonic, and in that moment, Tectonic knew that she had found real, actual friends.
Now, whenever she's not aggressively training or taking down bad guys, Tectonic lives with River in a high-end suite, making ample use of the snack bar.
We'll answer these questions in discussion.
Punch Everyone: When Tectonic enters a fight without hedging her bets, she can shift her Danger up and any other label down.
In a China Shop: When Tectonic directly engages a threat, she can cause additional damage to the environment to cause an additional effect, even on a miss.
Defender: When Tectonic leaps to defend her love or rival in battle, she rolls +Danger instead of +Savior.
Now that's done... can somebody explain the Team pool and the Moment of Truth to me?
Here is the completed profile for Eldritch. Let me know if anything else needs to be changed or if there are questions! I'll update the looks and get more detailed later.
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Hero Name: Eldritch
Real Name (if different): Kenneth Kaine
Abilities: Sorcery
Look: Male, Caucasian, Marked & Glowing Skin, Dark Clothing, Uniform Costume
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Danger : +2
Freak : +2
Savior : 0
Superior : 0
Mundane : -1
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Have Influence on:
Demeanor: Locked Down (+1 Influence To One Team Member)
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When you share a triumphant celebrations with someone, ask them if there is any fear in their eyes when they look at you. If they say no, take +1 forward and mark down potential. If they say yes, immediately shift your Danger up and Savior down.
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, tell them how they could stop you if it came down to it. Give them Influence over you and clear a condition.
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No current advancements
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Q. When did you first use your powers?
A. My powers first manifested when the Cult of Kktharos tried to kidnap me again. I was walking home when a large group of armed men and women attacked me. When I was thrown into the van, it began to glow an eerie pale blue. I didn’t know it was coming from me and I screamed. The van exploded, many of them were severely harmed and crippled, and I was marked by my new power.
Q. Who was the first person you accidently hurt with your powers?
A. The first person I hurt by accident was my older sister, Elaina. I was bullied a lot in school after going through my initial changes, called a freak because of the way I dressed. She tried to console me, to be the big sister, but I just wanted to be left alone. She was trying to help me understand why they were picking on me. I lashed out and burned her pretty bad with my power. She healed well enough but the power did nerve damage, ending her basketball career.
Q. Who, outside of the team, helps you control your power?
A. I wouldn’t even be able to go outside if it wasn’t for Doctor Albert Needle, a local therapist specializing in PTSD with young people. He is the one who helped me control my emotions more and learn to keep my powers in check. It was him that helped me when no one else could. I owe my life to him, almost more than I owe the Inquisitor.
Q. Why do you continue to use your powers?
A. I used my powers once before I became Eldritch, there was a local convenience store nearby. I was picking up some soda from there and a bite to eat when a few armed men came in to rob the place. I was scared, they threatened me and the guy behind the encounter. It was then that I got tired of being scared. I focused like Dr. Needle said and I fought back, my powers surging once more but this time in control. It didn’t take long for me to defeat the thugs and the look of thanks on the man’s face was amazing. He called me a hero. It was the first time I realized that my power could be more than a burden. It could be a gift.
Q. Why do you care about the team?
A. I care about the team because they’re the ones who get me the most, the ones who’ll understand what I’m going through. Dr. Needle is a good guy but even he has expectations of me, of who I’ll become. Same thing with my family, the Inquisitor, everyone else. The team though, they just let me be me.
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Relationships
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When our team first got together, we destroyed our surroundings. Where was it? What was destroyed?
You hang out all the time with *blank* to blow off steam.
You once hurt *blank* when you lost control of your powers.
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___________________
When you charge up your powers, roll + conditions that you currently have marked. On a hit, hold 3 burn. On a 7-9, mark a condition. On a miss, hold 2 burn and mark three conditions. Spend your burn on your flares. You lose all burn at the end of the scene.
- Reality Storm: You channel a destructive burst with your powers. Spend 1 burn to directly engage a threat using your powers, rolling +Freak instead of +Danger. If you do, you will cause unwanted collateral damage unless you spend another burn.
- Overcharge: You channel the full capacity of your incredible powers to overcome an obstacle, reshape your environment, or extend your senses. Spend 2 burn to take a +10 when you unleash your powers.
- Boost: Spend 1 burn to supercharge a teammate’s efforts with your power, giving them a +1 bonus to their roll as if you had spent Team from the pool.
- Shielding: You call up a fast protective shield to stop a danger. Spend 1 burn to defend someone else from an immediate threat, rolling +Freak instead of +Savior.
Team Pool
Consider this your group's pool of +1 modifiers that you can use to give a teammate or yourself.
However:
If you use a Team point from the Team pool on an ally, you must be "nearby" the ally or in range to assist them in some way.
If you use a Team point on yourself, you must do so in a way that insults or ignores your team mates and also shift a label up or down by one.
Moment of Truth
This is a powerful move, so powerful that it can only be invoked a couple times max per character even if you switch playbooks.
When you unlock moment of truth through advancement, you essentially steal my DM powers and dictate the scene in whatever way you wish as long as it follows your Moment of truth script on your playbook. You can't control other player characters (because that's a jerk move) but you can decide what happens.
This is supposed to be a defining moment if not THE defining moment of your hero's life. So defining that it locks one of your Labels, never to change again.
@ Stalwart
Looks good to me.
So how would you describe Wingblade and her mentor's relationship? Friendly? Parental? Mutual on both sides?
@ Doomkitten
Looks good, though having your bio in question form as well will be easier to search for info when needed.
So Tectonic huh? Why hasn't she moved out of her sister's place yet? Also, where is she getting all these leather jackets?
Your biggest asset in playing your Bull is your core move, the Bull’s Heart. It’s your way of signaling to yourself and the whole table that you’re interested in scenes with particular characters. Pay attention to it, and try to get those bonuses as much as possible.
You can change the subjects of e Bull’s Heart pretty easily, which lets you make sure it’s always pointed at characters you’re interested in engaging. Other PCs are usually more interesting sources of drama and conflict than NPCs, but focus on the character relationships you find most interesting. If you aren’t spending time pursuing either your rivalry or your love, then you’re missing out.
Also, keep in mind that your love doesn’t have to be a romantic love, and your rival doesn’t have to be hated. They absolutely can be if that’s what you want! But they don’t have to be so extreme. Your rival could be your closest friend whom you’re determined to surpass. Your love might be someone who’s like your younger sibling, and you keep them safe at all costs. Interpret those terms liberally—that’s why the Bull’s Heart roles, like Friend, still make sense. You would comfort or support your rival if they’re not just an enemy.
@ Warforged
So how does Eldritch manifest his magic? While its fun and good to have UNLIMITED COSMIC POWER! It's also fun to give yourself restrictions that you have to learn how to work around. for example, Dr. Strange usually manipulates dimensions and creates light constructs, and Zatanna speaks words backwords but most of her magic involves manipulating the world around her. Even Harry Potter needs to know the right spells and use a wand.
So what are your restrictions/ways you invoke your magic?
Powerful, unrestrained, vulnerable, destructive. The Nova is power incarnate, capable of affecting the world and changing reality on a level their teammates can’t possibly match—but that power comes with enormous risk, both to the Nova and to the world around them.
The Nova’s abilities are intentionally some of the most open- ended of any playbook. They can do nearly anything, though not without difficulty or cost. Chances are, if the Nova wants to do something with their superhuman abilities, there’s a way they can twist their abilities to do that thing—after they unleash their powers, of course. And if they miss when unleashing their powers, the consequences will be much more severe than when the Beacon misses while ring a net arrow.
The Nova is particularly focused on each moment, each individual problem immediately at hand. They’re so powerful, chances are good that they can at least try to overcome any obstacle with their powers, right then and there. As a result, this isn’t a playbook for long-term planning or preparation. You’re explosive, a battering ram of power. Don’t be too afraid of conditions, because they feed right into your flares, giving you still more power to just make things happen, instantly. But that’s your story—balancing the impossible, trying to keep a rein on your power and guide it in the right direction.
When everyone has posted an alias, we will officially move onto relationships and influence part of character building.
Until then, feel free to shoot questions and feel out ideas and changes.
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North Star
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Hero Name: North Star
Real Name (if different): Tycho Simpson
Abilities: Memory Manipulation, Psychic Constructs, Superhuman Strength and Speed
Look: A young caucasian male whose outfit that he is wearing depends on the viewer: some see him as wearing a school uniform, some see him in superhero garb, some in standard teenager fare (teeshirts, hoodies, jeans, and sneakers), and others see him in a wierd array of outfits.
Little details about his height, weight, and build change from viewer to viewer as well, although the details are only minor changes at best.
___________________
Labels
___________________
Danger : 1
Freak : 2
Savior : 1
Superior : 1
Mundane : 0
___________________
Influence
___________________
Have Influence on:
___________________
Team Moves
___________________
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.
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Advancement
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None as of yet.
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Backstory
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When did you first learn of your doom? as a child, the cult that raised me told me it was my sacred duty to rule mankind. This is a cult that was created by my future self who sent a psychic copy of his conscience back in time to ensure his birth and ascendancy.
Where did you get your sanctuary? Alleghory is the name of the superhero who protects the timeline and space from the interference of powerful entities, preventing future threats from happening. He arrived at the citadel where the cult was raising me, and he spirited me away from the cult after using magic to wipe my presence from the memory of everyone that was present. What he did not count on was the amount of power Tycho had. Knowing that he had a matter of minutes before he began rewriting the minds of everyone in his vicinity, Alleghory syphoned off most of the power that Tycho was emitting and used it to create a demiplane, which he promptly deposited Tycho into, said 'learn to leave' and then promptly vanished. After a few months, Tycho emerged into Alleghory's own sanctum, a 2 story house in downtown Halcyon City. Thus began a truly rocky mentorship, with Alleghory presenting Tycho with a almost impossible task, which lead to another task, and then another, and before he knew it, Tycho had a pretty good grasp on using his power, mostly to channel it into his body. He learned the basic of mental manipulation, but Alleghory warned him that should he come to rely too heavily on those powers, they would consume him.
Why do you oppose your nemesis? Because he is everything that Alleghory taught Tycho he should not be: a tyrant who uses his power to crush the wills of anyone who stands in his way.
Who, outside of the team, is crucial to defeating your nemesis? Alleghory has repeatedly promised that when the day comes, he will stand with Tycho to change the course of the future for the better, but Alleghory is getting older, and less active.
Why does the team matter to you?
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Relationships
___________________
We'll answer these questions in discussion.
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*Any Other Abilites Unique to your Playbook
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Sanctuary:
Features: A meditation space; art, music, and food; a library of valuable tomes (really my memories of my future self).
Downsides: I will need to mark one box on my doomtrack; The best I can do is a lesser version, unreliable and limited.
Doom:
Nemesis: My nemesis is my future self, the being that I am prophesied (or destined, depending on your point of view) to become. A psychic ruler of minds and master of the entire world, who controls all he sees (and what he can't see as well).
Doom Track: _ _ _ _ _
What brings your doom closer: Overexerting yourself, facing danger alone
Doom Signs:
X Portal: Mark your doom drack to appear in a scene with anyone you want.
Okay, I expanded a few things and plugged him into the template. Let me know if anyone sees anything that might help make him a more rounded character.
Whippoorwill's and Wingblade's relationship? Ooh, good question.
Let's see... I imagine Wingblade would have been emotionally stunted -- being designed as a living weapon, the scientists would not have nurtured a sensitive side.
Whippoorwill's not very cuddly either. She's a woman with a dark past, and has fought long and hard to make amends for her past actions. I think at first, Wingblade was the equivalent of a rescued pit-fighting dog. A large part of her "training" was drawing her humanity to the surface.
I think by the start of the game, their relationship is somewhat parental but strained because of Whippoorwill's own personal demons that can't let her become the actual mother figure that Wingblade truly needs.
So, in a nutshell, I'd say the relationship is, "complex."
Edit: I think an interesting take on the Protege's main issue about not wanting to become/choosing to embrace her mentor could be Wingblade's desire to not be as emotionally distant as Whippoorwill. Yeah, they both did bad things in their past. They've both killed, and worked to further evil agendas. But does that mean they're supposed to be miserable all the time? Is there ever a time for the penance to end?
Whippoorwill's guilt and remorse keep her focused and resolute. Wingblade wonders, is there another way to continue to fight the good fight without the constant self-recrimination?
Well, I always liked the idea of having to unleash intense amounts of emotions. The poor isn't calm or delicate, at least not in this stage. For him to attack, he has to let that anger out and lash out. To protect, he has to truly care about that person. He can't fake it to his power, he can't protect someone he hates but if protecting him protects an ideal that Eldritch cares about, it could be done.
I'm not sure on other restrictions ala Doctor Strange or Zatanna to be honest. I'm open to suggestions and ideas? I'm usually much better bouncing ideas off of a person. His powers are very...natural and terrifying. What does everyone else think?
I'm looking through everyone's stuff and digesting it. I'll have questions, ideas, suggestions, what have you soon!
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Warforged, here's a question that might help you refine your style of play: wizard, jedi, or ghostbuster?
If you're a wizard, you probably want to have a wand or a staff, carry books, and occasionally say stuff that doesn't make sense to most people.
If you're a jedi, you probably are a more physically focused character who meditates a lot, acts like a monk, and occasionally says stuff that doesn't make sense to most people.
If you're a ghostbuster, you rely on logic and science as your magic, carry an unregulated nuclear device on your back, and occasionally say stuff that doesn't make sense for most people.
Also, altage
Liking the breakdown, Skyreaver, but I think that since he's a Nova, it's more like he's channeling the One Power from the Wheel of Time series -- the male half -- if you've read that series. Or, in the alternative, he's got a hold of the One Ring and is dealing with Galadriel-levels of temptation.
@ DM Default: Here's a question: what does it mean to carry a +1 forward? Is it just a running +1 on all rolls? How long does it last?
Some moves describe your character getting hold as a result of the move, such as “hold 1” or “hold 3.” These are temporary points you can spend according to the move, often with the phrase “spend hold one-for-one,” meaning “spend one point of hold for one effect as the move describes.”
Usually hold has to be spent during a given conversation or scene, but moves tell you how long you have before the hold expires. If there’s ambiguity, ask the GM for clarification.
Other moves describe your character “taking +1 forward” or “taking +1 ongoing.” +1 forward means your character gets +1 to the next applicable roll; +1 ongoing means your character gets +1 to all applicable rolls moving forward, as the move describes. The move always indicates how long these bonuses last.
@ Vrog
The game starts with everyone established as teammates, so why are you on this team of teen heroes? Why have you chosen to spend your time with them?
Also, how does your power manifest itself? Any visual effects? Also, any more info on the cultists looks and practices?
Wingblade
I like that take. That's pretty interesting.
Man, I haven't read the Wheel of Time in so long now. I need to start looking through them again. I really like the possible madness, makes sense with the alien mindset of KKtharos.
Yeah, that is what I got from it too. I just don't want it to become too much like the Doom though with the corruption and whatnot is all. I was thinking perhaps that Eldritch has to do these designs upon the ground to help channel his power through? If his hands are caught and trapped, leads to him having to do it in strange and interesting manners.
What do we think?
As for the cult, they range from your robe-wearing, chanting, dagger and pistol-wielding madmen and women. Their priests are fanatics, believing in the eventual slavery by Kktharos. He has stronger, more powerful servants as well who are gifted with smaller but more specific powers and some have strangely mutated in unpredictable manners. What Kktharos looks like and what he is is so far unknown. All it is known is that he is -really- bad to allow into this reality.
I wasn't sure if we were an established team or we would be doing that the first scenario.
Since it sounds like the former, maybe we should start the discussion about how our group formed?
Here is what my playbook says about it:
When our team first came together... We paid a high cost for victory. What was it?
My thought was that there was initially one more of the group, who might have taken the doomed spot. (s)he died, and I ended up taking their place during that initial fight. It would help tie me to the group by giving influence over me to one or two heroes, especially if they were friends/related/in a relationship with the person who died.
It would make for good drama, as they say.
As for my power's manifestations, the memory modification part wouldn't have any obvious effects, but the psychic constructs would be based on whatever my emotions or thoughts were (ideally modified by any of the conditions I have, if I have any). If I have no conditions, they should be helpful beings of some kind, but as I gain more conditions, the power will (while still working for me) be reflective of the conditions I have (Angry might well result in a mob, hopeless could be a ghost of someone who commited suicide, that sort of thing).
My superhuman strength and speed is just a reflection of the fact that I am a physically (not quite but pretty close) perfect specimen. My psychic abilities give me abs, as a wise man once said.
For the most part my manifestations will appear real, but they will always include the color yellow somewhere in them (typically in the clothing they wear, but if I manifest aliens, then they might be yellow-skinned). Tycho has no real idea why this is the case, but it always is.
The cult that worshipped my future self were mostly hedonistic idle rich children who resented me, but through some mechanism I don't know about had the ability to channel some of my superhuman strength and speed, so they obeyed future me without fail, mainly because if any of them attempted to harm present me, they would die violently and suddenly, or have the gifts doubly taken from them.
Much like my manifestations, they all had a yellow starburst symbol that they wore somewhere on their person.
Okay, here is my alias, with the team moves.
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Hero
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Hero Name: Ghost Dragon
Real Name (if different): Ty Jackson
Abilities: Martial Arts, Phasing
Look: Black, Athletic Male with Average Face, wears Casual Clothing (hoodie, t-shirt, jeans), flashy costume (stereotypical ninja mask, black gi with red dragon emblem, soft-soled boots)
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Labels
___________________
Danger : 0
Freak : -1
Savior : +2
Superior : 0
Mundane : +2
___________________
Influence
___________________
Have Influence on:
___________________
Team Moves
___________________
When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, tell them how they’re awesome and add a Team to the pool. If they tell you how you’re awesome in return, add another Team to the pool.
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, ask them to confirm or deny that you should be here. If they confirm it, mark potential and give them Influence over you. If they deny it, mark Angry and shift one Label up and one Label down, your choice.
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Advancement
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None
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Backstory
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1. How did you gain your skills?
Ty was raised by a single mom and was a disruptive, disobedient child in elementary school. One day, a martial arts instructor gave a demo for their physical education class, and Ty thought it would be a great way to learn how to punch people. However, while he did learn how to punch people, he also learned how to control his anger better and become more self-disciplined. He discovered his phasing ability by accident at 14, when he fell through the floor of his bedroom and onto the living room couch. HIs mother was quite shocked by his sudden appearance. Seeing that falling through floors randomly was a bad thing, he decided to learn how to control the ability to prevent it from happening.
2. When did you first put on your costume?
About a year after he discovered his ability, Ty was walking home from school one day when he saw a group of guys accost an older gentleman. Ty stepped in to suggest they leave the old man alone, and they attacked him. Using his now advanced martial arts skill to defend himself, he was able to fight the group off without serious harm. The old man, who said his name was Vincent, thanked him for intervening and asked Ty to walk him. As they did so, he said that even though Ty wasn't a superhero, he had the heart of one. Ty went home and thought to himself, Why not? He modified a gi to have the dragon insignia on it, learned how to tie a scarf into a ninja mask via YouTube, and began protecting the streets, calling himself Ghost Dragon.
3. Who, outside of the team, thinks you shouldn't be a superhero?
When his mother found out what he was doing just a few weeks after he started, she was livid. She grounded him for three weeks, and lectured him about risking himself and putting himself in danger trying to be a hero for the whole time. After three groundings, she saw that he obviously wouldn't be dissuaded, so even though she disapproves and tells him not to, she has ceased punishing him for being a masked vigilante.
4. Why do you try to be a hero?
Ty tries to be a hero because while his neighborhood may not be the best, the people in it are good people, for the most part. They're the kind of people who can easily be taken advantage of by criminals, though, so he wants to do his part to keep his neighborhood safe.
5. Why do you care about the team?
Ty cares about the team for two reasons. The first is because working with a team like this will teach him more about how to be a hero, which is something he vitally needs since he doesn't have any real training. The second is that he thinks being on the team will make his mom feel more comfortable with the decision, since he won't be out there alone most of the time.
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Relationships
___________________
We'll answer these questions in discussion.
___________________
*Any Other Abilites Unique to your Playbook
___________________
Beacon Moves
Straight. Up. Creepin' - When you scope out a person or place, roll + Mundane. On a 10+, ask two. On a 7-9, ask one.
- what’s my best way in/out?
- what happened here recently?
- what here is worth grabbing?
- who or what here is not what they seem?
- whose place is this?
On a miss, you find yourself in over your head. The GM will tell you why this is a bad spot.
No Powers and not nearly enough training - You're always picking up new gear to keep yourself in the game. Whenever you pick up a new piece of gear, you can write it in as a new ability if this line is empty.
Ability:________________________________
The first time you use each piece of gear to directly engage a threat, unleash your powers, or defend someone, you can roll + Mundane instead of the normal Label.
Drives
Choose four drives to mark at the start of play. When you fulfill a marked drive, strike it out, and choose one: mark potential, clear a condition, take Influence over someone involved.
When your four marked drives are all struck out, choose and mark four new drives. When all drives are struck out, change playbooks, retire from the life, or become a paragon of the city.
1. help a teammate when they most need you
2. pull off a ridiculous stunt
3. save a teammate's life
4. reject someone who tells you "you shouldn't be here"
I had to add an underscore the alias name since the version with a space had already been taken.
Hashtag's illusions are temporary reality bendings. They're *sort of* real until something contrary to the illusion interacts with it. (dating myself here) Think the Magician Iris from Piers Anthony's Xanth series.
His teleportations are not like Nightcrawler's where there are poofs and clouds of smoke. Instead, there's a faint but sharp *crack* sound, like a mirror suddenly spider webbing, and it looks like his image breaks like said mirror and vanishes, only to reform where he intended to end up. There's no residue left behind. It's a very Dr. Strange-mirror realm kind of special effect.
I'll get to work on the alias now!
So moving forward too, I need 3 of the group to have influence over me.
DM Default... could you explain to me what each label does/means?
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In MASKS, you have five main stats called Labels. Each Label tells you how your character understands their self-image. These Labels shift and change over the course of play as your character’s own self-image changes, and those changes are often in direct reaction to how others see you. When you’re a young hero, how you see yourself is determined just as much by others as it is by your own choices, for better or worse.
The five Labels are:
Danger: seeing yourself as threatening, strong, bloody-knuckled, and risky. Other people see you as a danger when they think they should steer clear of you because you might bring them harm. You see yourself as a danger when you believe you can take down other dangerous threats, and when you think you yourself are a threat to other people.
Freak: seeing yourself as strange, unusual, unique, and powerful. Other people see you as a freak when they think you’re odd, unlike them, something unnatural or outside of their understanding. You see yourself as a freak when you accept and own the things you can do that no one else can, and when you think you don’t belong with the people and the world around you.
Savior: seeing yourself as defending, guarding, protecting, and stalwart. Other people see you as a savior when they think of you as noble or self- sacrificing, or a bit overbearing and moralizing. You see yourself as a savior when you think of yourself as a martyr, someone who gladly sacrifices to protect and defend others.
Superior: seeing yourself as smart, capable, crafty, and quick. Other people see you as superior when they think you’re the smartest person in the room, an arrogant and egotistical jerk. You see yourself as superior when you think you’re cleverer than everyone else, and when you know exactly what to say to make the people around you do what you want.
Mundane: seeing yourself as normal, human, empathetic, and understanding. Other people see you as mundane when they think of you as all too normal and uninteresting, but also comprehending and sympathetic. You see yourself as mundane when you think you’re regular, just a person, not special, and focused on normal human things like feelings and emotions.
The vast majority of the time, when one Label shifts up, another shifts down, and vice versa. There might be a few cases when this isn’t true, but if rules reference shifting Labels without further explanation, this is what they mean: one goes up, and another goes down.
If a Label would shift up past +3, or down past -2, then no shift at all occurs—neither of the two Labels that would change goes up or down. Instead, you mark a condition—a negative emotional state that starts affecting your actions. If you see yourself as too much of an extreme, hence it starts messing you up.
@ Vrog
Was going to wait until everyone had "checked in" before going into the specific "Why are you a team?" question.
My earlier question to you was because you didn't fill out that question in your background. The answer doesn't have to be "plot" relevant, and rather, it shouldn't be.
Why do you care about the team? There has to be a reason your hero likes or makes it a point to be around these other guys.
See other characters for examples.
@ Ghost_Dragon
Looks good.
@ rungok
I'm currently reading that series actually. Just started but I have gotten through the first one.
We'll go over Influence and relationships when everyone "checks in."
Okay, so, looks like I figured out that part of character creation.
When we actually need to make dice rolls, let me see if I have that figured out.
So, when we roll the dice, we're using a Move. For instance, if I go to attack whatever villain we're fighting, I would choose the Directly Engage a Threat move. I would then roll 2d6, and add my Danger to the roll. So, it would look something like this:
Since that's a 7, according to the move, I would get to pick one of the 4 options presented. If I had the Afraid condition, I would take a -2 on the roll, which would give me a 5 total.
What is a "hit"? Is it just a 7 or higher, or does rolling 7 or higher just give an additional benefit?
@ Ghost Dragon
When you roll dice, you're using a move as you've stated. Though this is only for actual threats. You wanna take down a few mooks coming at you barehanded? Go for it, no dice needed.
The only downside of this system as a PbP is there may be a lot of retroactive continuity or asking me if performing an action constitutes as a certain move.
For example: while you may think delivering a roundhouse kick through a hostage so it only hits the kidnapper is "Unleashing your Power" I may still consider it "Directly Engage a Threat."
====
You have condition modifiers correct.
====
A hit is any number 7 or higher after modifiers are applied. As a rule of thumb, the higher the number, the larger the intensity of the hit (which translates to more effects and such).
If you were afraid, and had ended up with a 5 to your roll, but if say Tycho spent a Team point to blast your enemy to knock them off balance, and then you spent a Team point on yourself by insulting your foe telling them they got hit by the weakest member of the team (Tycho), you would end up with a 7, a hit.
It seems like, then, using the discussion page would be a good place to check with you about what sort of actions constitute a move (at least until we get a better feel for the system and your GM style).
Okay, got it.
I know I'm probably going to be asking "is this a move" quite a bit until I get the hang of things, so apologies in advance for any slowdown.
Heroes ready to go
Ghost Dragon - Beacon
Wingblade - EDIT: Snarky Protege
Tycho - Nova
THIS JUST IN!
Hashtag is totally a thing now.
@DM Default: Excellent, then you've met Iris. She's not categorized as a Magician-Caliber talent yet, but she will eventually be. Also Bink is one of my favorite characters, right next to Esk Ogre.
Ooh! I'm a prodigy now! I'll bet that's so much cooler than being a Protégé!
;)
Heroes ready to go
Ghost Dragon - Beacon
Wingblade - EDIT: Snarky Protege
Tycho - Nova
Hashtag - Delinquent
Heroes ready to go
Ghost Dragon - Beacon
Wingblade - EDIT: Snarky Protege
Tycho - Nova
Hashtag - Delinquent
I need to figure out how to graffiti forum posts...
I have updated my profile to answer the question.
Eldritch is ready to go.
I just realized, didn't someone post in the recruitment that they wanted to play The Outsider? I don't think I've seen anyone talk about it here in the Discussion thread.
@Default: Wow, middle of the night. Okay. Why she lives with her sister: simply put, Tectonic still has difficulty adjusting to life outside of beating up bad guys. It often takes her a moment to respond to her "real" name-Nora-and, although quite intelligent, she was given the absolutely bare minimum education by her parents, so that they could spend more time augmenting and training her, as well as lower the possibility of rebellion. As such, she's in a remedial education program, and although she's catching up quickly, Tectonic still doesn't have any applicable job skills-or at least ones that would let her get an apartment. As for the leather jackets, it came from one of her first true "hero" moments. A villain was rampaging through the city, with Tectonic in hot pursuit. The villain collapsed a punk boutique store while they were running, and Tectonic, with a moment of hesitation, decided to rescue the employees of said store rather than chase after the villain. She earned the gratitude of the employees and the owner, Chase, and after they rebuilt, they supplied for all of Tectonic's clothing needs. Which is good, because otherwise she would tear through most of her monthly allowance simply restoring her wardrobe.
As for the background, sorry about that. The first question ended up answering most of the others, so I figured I would just add on a few things to completely round it out.
Alright, here's Tectonic.
Heroes Ready to go
Ghost Dragon - Beacon
Wingblade - EDIT: Snarky Protege
Tycho - Nova
Hashtag - Delinquent
Eldritch - Nova
Tectonic - Bull
Okay, since the majority of folks are here (and the ones who aren't haven't posted in with a character yet) Vrog seems to be fine with moving on so we'll jump to the next step and hope our last two catch up soon.
Under each of your playbooks there should be a section called "When our team first came together..."
Go ahead and post that question along with what you think would be a good answer for it. Discussion is highly encouraged, but the one who "owns" the quesiton ultimately decides what the answer is.
Go ahead, have fun!
Okay, so I want Tectonic to be one of the ones who has influence over Hashtag. Not only does she fit his ideal of 'cool', she also tries to be better than she is, something he feels he never will accomplish himself.
I'm not gelling on a solid idea for the team yet. I'll think on it further, maybe see what other people come up with and see if I can build off of it.
We stuck together after all was said and done. Why? How'd we keep in contact?
The second question is easy. I get a few resources from my mentor, and I chose communicators along with a hidden base and security system. So after the crisis, I would have handed them out -- or, even better, I let you keep them since I passed them out at some point just before the big battle.
My idea is that at some point, we had to fall back and regroup or had to hide out for a while, and I let a few of you inside my secret base. I'm thinking it's either a nice penthouse apartment, or a gloomy, atmospheric clock tower, but either way, it's far above the street level. Which one mainly depends on what Halcyon City is more like. Is it a shining Metropolis, or a Gotham? If it's a mix and I get to choose, I'd probably go with the tower.
Anyway, the communicators would keep us in contact as we begin to form the team.
As for the why, I think we should see what the answers are to the other questions first.
We found signs that this incident was just the start of something bigger. What were the signs?
My question is actually incredibly open-ended, since I suspect it shapes the entire plot of our ongoing adventures. I don't know how much could be answered quite yet, since we don't know who or what we fought in our first battle.
Right now I'm thinking we maybe found signs of some sort of conspiracy, set to bring about change for the worse in Halcyon City, or evidence of other dark forces at work. Something beyond what the person we fought would be capable of.