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I recently rediscovered my Aberrant books in a box and remembered how much I loved the system and world building. I figured since I'm already in a oWoD game on the boards I'd see if anybody is interested in playing a PbP Aberrant game.
Now, I could run a straightforward Project Utopia or young Novas in training or XWF league or Elites game- I've been in all of those games before. But my favorite thing about Aberrant is that they acknowledged that not everybody with superpowers would want to be a superhero. Some people would want to be inventors and entrepreneurs, some would want to be actors, some would want to be pastors or stock traders or political strategists or spies or deep-sea exploring oceanographers. Instead of 'everybody puts on a cape and punches bad guys' it's 'people all have different goals and motivations and would use their new abilities to further them.'
So I was thinking about doing an open-world sort of game. I've co-modded a couple of freeform sort of superhero games before and they worked out pretty well. If you want to be a Utopian, I can do that. If you want to rob banks, I can do that. If you want play a game inspired by Empire or Psych or Hannibal or House of Lies, I can try to do that, too.
The important part is that I want to do a more character driven than story driven game, where the character's motivations and story take center stage. This would be a heavy lift for me if I had to come up with all the NPCs and environment myself, though, so I would expect any players to be willing and able to write the world around their character along with me. I like it when players come up with interesting NPCs or locations or other background elements, and that would be necessary for this kind of game. We would need to work together to keep the game moving and interesting for everybody involved.
That's the first part- character driven game with ST/player cooperation to keep the game moving.
The second part is that I want to shift the date of N-day from 1999 to 2002 and dump most of the political and economic history White Wolf came up with. The real world has had its own recession and recovery, its own terrorist attacks and political instability since the books were written. I'd like to stick with our real-world political leaders, particularly in the US and Russia (Bush/Obama and Yelstin/Putin, respectively), and generally stick to the way things have shaken out in the past decade.
Novas would have come into the world post 9/11 and have had to deal with the the surveillance state and militarization of America's police forces and a worldwide recession and slow recovery and China in the South China Sea and ISIS (though I'd like to think Project Utopia would have nipped that in the bud). This doesn't invalidate the concept of elites or Project Utopia, just means they would have come about in different places and done different things.
If you think Jony Ive or Elon Musk or Malala Yousafzai or Taylor Swift or Neil DeGrasse Tyson should be Novas in the world of Aberrant, in our game they could be. Maybe Steve Jobs' "reality distortion field" really was a reality distortion field. Maybe Glenn Beck has a mesmerizing voice that carries over radio and tv. Maybe Edward Snowden can mentally control computers. I'd like to keep some people off limits, primarily real world political leaders in western-style democracies, but for the most part I'd be open to pretty much any famous person being a Nova.
So if you're at all interested in playing Aberrant, please post so I can get a feel for what people want to play. We can talk it out and see what people want to do. If most people want to play a more traditional sort of Project Utopia or Elites or New Mutants-type game in the world of the published 2008, I'm willing to do that.
Thanks. I hope there are some other people on these boards who love Aberrant.
This sounds interesting. I have played Aberrant, and it is a fun game. I would have to read the rules again, but fun to make a character in it. I will warn you, my work schedule changes day to day, so I would have to post when possible.
Changing schedules are not a problem for me. I'm on most of the day during the week. Let me know what you might want to play and we can talk it out. It'll be good for both of us to flesh out NPCs and environment around your character to get into the game.
I'd be up for this. :)
One character concept I had but never played was the son of the 'pastor' in charge of a Church of Michael Archangel (? I think that was the name of the organization) who erupted with 'Angelic' powers during a church service and was being hunted for being an abomination and heretic in the eyes of his father and the Church.
Especially with the premiere of Heroes Reborn and being a fan of shows like it and Alphas, I'm really game :)
Interesting idea. I'll have to read up on the Church. Do they have the kind of resources to chase somebody down if a nova fled their hometown for the city? Has your guy already fled or is in the process of leaving home? What kind of setting were you thinking of?
To me, they seem a grass roots Anti-Nova group who see Novas as Devils and themselves as "the ones chosen to defend" against such demonic influences in society. And they will use about any means and methods to do it.
I need to dig out my book for specifics, but cross a televangelist with a redneck and mix in some technical knowledge and money and influence and you have a good idea of the Church. :)
I think it depends on how long it's been since Novas appeared as to how much influence they have and how easy it would be to find a specific Nova. I see the character's father going to some extremes to 'save face' and prove to church leaders he deserves his place, even though he has a devil for a child. :)
I see him as recently having Nova'd and trying to figure out what next and learn his abilities.... Thoughts? :)
Sounds like your guy is still in his hometown. Or at least we would start in his hometown where dad is taking a page from Carrie's mom and keeping him locked in the closet or something.
Your take is about how I remember the Church, but they don't seem like the kind of long-arm organization like the Catholic Church that would be able to pursue him if he is able to get away and hide out in a city with a large nova population. Unless dad has some money and can hire a private 'deprogrammer' type guy or private investigator to track him down. But if we're starting in the home town I guess that doesn't matter all that much right now.
Sounds interesting. What were you thinking for family/other NPCs? Would he have anybody sympathetic to him at home/at school/in the neighborhood/in town? I'm sure in addition to the N! network, which I think is perfectly reasonable to keep, there would be lots of 'it gets better' videos for novas on Youtube and elsewhere along the lines of 'once you get old enough to be out on your own you can get away from all those small-minded bigots at home.' So even if he's isolated physically he'd still see support for novas online. If he's allowed to get online, that is.
Speaking of town, I'm picturing a small rural town with maybe a couple thousand people. The kind of place where everbody knows everybody else's business. Is that what you were envisioning?
How dark or four color do you want this game? That will decide what type of character I will make. I have an idea for both directions.
I'd be interested in this as well, as I love Aberrant and never got the chance to play it.
Would like to play a guy who actually doesn't LIKE being a Nova but knows he's stuck with it - and slowly coming to terms with it.
A bit of a wandering soul, as he's not entirely trusting of the surveillance going on, so would sort of jump from city to city and job to job. Undercover drifter type thing.
Maybe even just arriving in that city small rural town.
It would be my first PBP game though, so might need to get used to it a bit. :P
How dark or four color do you want this game? That will decide what type of character I will make. I have an idea for both directions.
Your call, honestly. It looks like we're going to be doing a sort of Carrie riff with Arknight's character, and that's pretty dark. There's a dark secret at the heart of Utopia called Proteus and that's pretty dark, too.
It kind of depends on what kind of story you want to do. Criminals/Elites lends itself better to dark/gritty than a teenage superhero ala Spider-Man does. A Mega-Charismatic nova could run the gamut from Purple Man (pretty damn dark) to... Justin Beiber, whose world I would imagine is nearly cartoon-like even without superpowers.
I'd prefer we not get to Pre-Crisis Superman or Batman '66 levels of schtick, where novas are blowing out galaxies when they sneeze or carry around cans of Bat Shark Repellent, so I guess I'm leaning at least a little bit away from classic four color stories.
Why don't you tell me what your ideas are and we can talk about which might be a better fit?
I'd be interested in this as well, as I love Aberrant and never got the chance to play it.
Would like to play a guy who actually doesn't LIKE being a Nova but knows he's stuck with it - and slowly coming to terms with it.
A bit of a wandering soul, as he's not entirely trusting of the surveillance going on, so would sort of jump from city to city and job to job. Undercover drifter type thing.
Maybe even just arriving in that city small rural town.It would be my first PBP game though, so might need to get used to it a bit. :P
That could be interesting. It would give us the opportunity to change the venue and story from time to time. Is he actually on the run from something or just a 'I want to stay off the grid' type? Where would he fall on a continuum from Jason Bourne (the CIA/NSA is chasing me and I have to fight when they find me) to Jack Reacher (I'm just enjoying my time wandering around the States but sometimes things come up)?
Would his abilities be really flashy, the kind of thing where he'd have to leave town whenever he used them like the Hulk in the 70s tv series, or would he be a super-normal kind of guy like Batman/Captain America (or Jason Bourne or pretty much any other action movie hero, for that matter)?
I've got no problems playing with somebody new to PbP. The first thing you have to adjust to is how slow it is compared to tabletop. Stories typically take years to play out- you can see lots of games on the boards here that are still in the first mod of an AP after a year or more.
Maintaining interest over a long period is sometimes an issue. But as long as you like writing (and I'd guess that you do, since you're a RPG Superstar, which I'm really impressed by, btw) and we can communicate with each other if we're getting bored with a scene or storyline it shouldn't be a problem.
I have 3 characters I was thinking of. One is a character who is a martial artist who only has mega attributes, dex sta, and cha. He is a musician (guitarist) who is decently well off (resources 3) Ne only has a charisma of 2, but he has mega-charisma of 2. As you see I I wrote him out and just need to write up his background. The other two I was thinking of was a incubus type character with mega attributes and some mental powers, the other is a weather controller.I am going to write them up today. Any of these sound interesting to you?
Sounds like your guy is still in his hometown. Or at least we would start in his hometown where dad is taking a page from Carrie's mom and keeping him locked in the closet or something.
Your take is about how I remember the Church, but they don't seem like the kind of long-arm organization like the Catholic Church that would be able to pursue him if he is able to get away and hide out in a city with a large nova population. Unless dad has some money and can hire a private 'deprogrammer' type guy or private investigator to track him down. But if we're starting in the home town I guess that doesn't matter all that much right now.
well, my initial thought was that he had Nova'd in the middle of this service and immediately had to flee in panic and to keep the congregation from attacking him right then and there under his father's urging. Your point is interesting though, what if part of the character's abilities involved healing, and his father used him in his services as a 'faith healer' to further his ministry? Over a couple of years, and just after his 18th birthday, his powers grew stronger until his other abilities manifested during the service to the point of not being deniable as a average Nova. His father (maybe a mega-charisma nova himself??) has decided he should offer up his son to placate the congregation and retain and further his own position in the church.
Sounds interesting. What were you thinking for family/other NPCs? Would he have anybody sympathetic to him at home/at school/in the neighborhood/in town? I'm sure in addition to the N! network, which I think is perfectly reasonable to keep, there would be lots of 'it gets better' videos for novas on Youtube and elsewhere along the lines of 'once you get old enough to be out on your own you can get away from all those small-minded bigots at home.' So even if he's isolated physically he'd still see support for novas online. If he's allowed to get online, that is.
Speaking of town, I'm picturing a small rural town with maybe a couple thousand people. The kind of place where everbody knows everybody else's business. Is that what you were envisioning?
Originally, I saw him as an only child so that he was an easy focus for his father's attentions. But, what if he had a sibling who would take his place when he was gone? there would be a struggle and sense of urgency for the character to find a place and a source of income to be able to get his sibling out of his father's household (his mother died giving birth to his sibling) and out of that church mindset.
The town could even be a bigger town in someplace like Oklahoma (Tulsa, Olahoma City) in the middle of the Bible Belt which would probably support and grow the Church even moreso than other places.
That could be interesting. It would give us the opportunity to change the venue and story from time to time. Is he actually on the run from something or just a 'I want to stay off the grid' type? Where would he fall on a continuum from Jason Bourne (the CIA/NSA is chasing me and I have to fight when they find me) to Jack Reacher (I'm just enjoying my time wandering around the...
I'd have to go with the powers being flashy, since he doesn't like them. So I'm thinking something along the lines of the way it looks when Flash comes running (sparks, lightning, whirlwind, that sort of thing), but that he's trying to stay off the grid as much as possible (to the point of having both Cipher and Dormancy). And he's definitely on the run from something. I just don't know what yet. :P
Hmm.. Now that I think about it, having a speedster who's "on the run", makes a twisted sense of humor. Think I'll have to go with "speed-themed" powers. :)
Would like to play a guy who actually doesn't LIKE being a Nova but knows he's stuck with it - and slowly coming to terms with it.
A bit of a wandering soul, as he's not entirely trusting of the surveillance going on, so would sort of jump from city to city and job to job. Undercover drifter type thing.
Maybe even just arriving in that city small rural town.
I have 3 characters I was thinking of. One is a character who is a martial artist who only has mega attributes, dex sta, and cha. He is a musician (guitarist) who is decently well off (resources 3) Ne only has a charisma of 2, but he has mega-charisma of 2. As you see I I wrote him out and just need to write up his background. The other two I was thinking of was a incubus type character with mega attributes and some mental powers, the other is a weather controller.I am going to write them up today. Any of these sound interesting to you?
You know, on a whim Someplace like Tulsa would work to fit all these...... Oklahoma oil fields would have a lot of drifter opportunities and lots of musicians from Oklahoma (and Branson Missouri just a few hours down the interstate). I live a couple hours from Tulsa myself, and can see a lot of potential in the whole area for a setting. :)
@Lorm: an Incubus would be an interesting contrast to the angelic concept I have too.... :)
Would like to play a guy who actually doesn't LIKE being a Nova but knows he's stuck with it - and slowly coming to terms with it.
A bit of a wandering soul, as he's not entirely trusting of the surveillance going on, so would sort of jump from city to city and job to job. Undercover drifter type thing.
Maybe even just arriving in that city small rural town.I have 3 characters I was thinking of. One is a character who is a martial artist who only has mega attributes, dex sta, and cha. He is a musician (guitarist) who is decently well off (resources 3) Ne only has a charisma of 2, but he has mega-charisma of 2. As you see I I wrote him out and just need to write up his background. The other two I was thinking of was a incubus type character with mega attributes and some mental powers, the other is a weather controller.I am going to write them up today. Any of these sound interesting to you?You know, on a whim Someplace like Tulsa would work to fit all these...... Oklahoma oil fields would have a lot of drifter opportunities and lots of musicians from Oklahoma (and Branson Missouri just a few hours down the interstate). I live a couple hours from Tulsa myself, and can see a lot of potential in the whole area for a setting. :)
@Lorm: an Incubus would be an interesting contrast to the angelic concept I have too.... :)
How does everybody feel about that? I'm fine with Tulsa as the setting. I'll do my best to get a feel for the area through the power of the internet.
@Lorm: What kind of story would you like to tell with the good looking martial artist guitar player? Or the incubus?
@Curtisin: I like it. If you'd like to keep it secret, we can discuss over PM what might be chasing your guy. I can think of a couple of possibilities.
@Arknight: I like the idea of dad using him to build status in the Church as a faith healer.
I'm seeing the possibility of a Victory Christian Center megachurch type setup for the Church of Michael Archangel in Tulsa. I can definitely imagine a Church of Michael congregation being a hit in Southern Baptist territory. Especially since the Catholic Church tried to embrace novas, I could see conservative American Christians rejecting them. What do you think?
Just finished writing up a background story. No real secret to it, so I will post that up as soon as I get a chance.
Just heading home from work at the moment (am in Europe) so might not be till tomorrow that it gets posted. (1 year old daughter and missus require attention for the few hours per day that I am home ;))
Got an idea for tying in both Tulsa and a church connection into the background story.
This a quick background that I came up with:
I figure that the band travels around touring, so you can place him where ever you need him. He is not a fighter, but if he wants to, he can ruin lives. He has Mega-charisma, Mega-appearance, and Empathic Manipulation. He has a couple other powers, and mega-attributes. His powers are not flashy, but can still have a major affect He would be a good foil for the angelic character, and his complete opposite. He has contacts, influence, and resources which can help the group. He wouldn't understand the reluctant character, because he revels in his powers. There could be some interesting dynamics because of that. So what do think of the idea? I do have him created. Any suggestions?
I like the idea, but he has got to have sort of reason to be around the other two. After all, they are trying to stay low-key, so why is he hanging out with them? Or they with him?
Is he giving them shelter or providing cover? Like sticking it to "the man", and would it be a matter of his light shining so bright that the 2 candles in the background aren't noticed?
He is high profile, but the fact he is a nova wouldn't be. When a band is touring, they hire locals. That could one way they meet him. Tulsa could be the last stop on the tour, so he stays for a while. He would party with the locals hired. That could be the start, where it goes from there would be up to the Storyteller.
After the party, he might see Arknight's character being harassed or attacked by the church's members. He would get mad at that, and help.That is when they realize that he is a nova.
Is this thread still recruiting? I'm not familiar with this particular system but it sounds really interesting. Let me know if it's worth my while to read up on the rules and put forward a submission, I'm definitely intrigued. I've never played pbp but I'm a pretty fast learner, and I'm keen for the experience!
I'm interested, but no ideas are coming to me right now.
@Lorm: Interesting idea with the band. You said he's high profile- how famous are you thinking this band is? I've known guys who make their living being in a band playing bars and small venues and aren't famous at all outside their fans, and then there are the big names that everybody can recognize. Touring is a fine reason to be in Tulsa, though the very fact that they're in Tulsa instead of Oklahoma City makes me think your guy's band isn't selling out stadiums.
Reading your guy's description, the story I see is kind of an Almost Famous sort of thing. A behind the scenes story of a touring band, dealing with shady venue owners, intra-band friction (probably some jealousy after your guy erupted), drug use and alcohol interfering with the creative process, that kind of thing. Is that what you were imagining?
Do you see your guy getting involved with Arknight and Curtisin's characters? I'm not going to force a group dynamic on wildly disparate characters but it will probably be more enjoyable if you've got PCs to interact with rather than just me.
@Valko: We're not even past the character concept stage right now, so jump right in. After reading your PM I'll ask you the same thing I asked Lorm- do you see your guy hanging out with the other PCs? He doesn't have to, necessarily, though it sounds like he'll be kind of a drifter like Curtisin's writing up and they might get along.
Re: your question about books and mechanics, I think the main Aberrant book was pretty well self-contained about the game's mechanics. There weren't many splatbooks and they didn't expand the character creation possibilities mechanically the way the D&D books traditionally have. There's a lot of world-building information in them, though, if you're interested in reading more about the setting.
*****
Speaking of world building, I just want to make sure we're all on the same page when it comes to the overall setting. We're talking present day- Iphone 6S and ubiquitous internet (not OpNet, btw, because I think that's a needless distinction), Obama/Putin/Pope Francis, reality TV, etc.
My read of changes wrought by novas is that Project Utopia is very popular and their presence is felt most strongly in non-First World countries. Reading through the setting material at the front of the Aberrant book, it seems like the US government is highly skeptical of Utopia, along with the UK, Japan, Russia, Germany, and China. Which makes sense- they'd want to use novas the way they want to, not to benefit the rest of the world.
So while I don't see Comcast or Kabel Deutschland replacing all their fiberoptic with eufiber, I could see Mexico City or Manila or especially Addis Ababa having a highly nova-influenced economy and infrastructure.
And I think Project Utopia would have been involved in most of the natural disasters and armed conflicts in the developing world since their formation in 2002. So they were there in Haiti after the earthquake, Indonesia after the tsunami, Sudan after the secession, Syria after Assad, etc. I don't think the US government would have let them into New Orleans after Katrina and I'm sure the Russian government would have kept them out of Crimea/Ukraine.
Basically, if a country has a strong government novas have had made little change in government or infrastructure. If a country has an unstable government novas have made great strides in modernizing and improving the situation of the people there.
Any thoughts on that?
Sounds good to me. Sounds plausible too. Some of them might even set themselves up as 3rd World Dictators (Terragen would probably be especially likely to do so).
Seems to me like Project Utopia would also be very likely to stay out of the UN's area of operations, given it's "our in-world" history with the stronger governments.
Private company perhaps? Or even some sort of Super-Powered Help organization?
There is a Player Guide that has new rules and the errata.As far as I know, besides the wrestling book, that is the only one. He has influence of 2, contacts of 2, and resources of 3. So he would have a name for himself. The idea of the band being jealous would make sense. So he has one more show in Tulsa for the fun of it, and at the last minute. He would break up the band at the end of the concert like Bowie did with the Spiders from Mars. He would then want to take a break from life on the road. and stay in Tulsa for a while. He would have met also sorts of people on the road, so he would enjoy being with people who weren't jealous, and not trying to upstage him or use him. Watch out though, if he gets bored.
Is this thread still recruiting? I'm not familiar with this particular system but it sounds really interesting. Let me know if it's worth my while to read up on the rules and put forward a submission, I'm definitely intrigued. I've never played pbp but I'm a pretty fast learner, and I'm keen for the experience!
It is a variant of the Storyteller system of White Wolf (Vampire the Masquerade, etc.)
If it's not too late to toss a hat into the ring I had started a character for a different game but the game kind of exploded and fell flat, though.
There'd be controversy about the character, and it may not be appropriate for the setting you're putting together. How would people feel about an openly transgendered yet dysmorphic brick (ie, transformed as a result of the Event?).
It's not an attempt at being 'edgy', but rather an attempt to explore the issues of an average working person who has had greatness thrust upon them, and now is trying to deal with the fame and worse of such a situation?
I have no problem with it.
No problem with it either. Not sure if it brings anything to the character though? Does it cause him/her any issues internally and externally (emotionally and physically)?
If there is some sort of conflict with it, I'd be cool with it. But it sort of does depend on everyone being OK with it and there still being seats at the "table". :)
No problem with it either. Not sure if it brings anything to the character though? Does it cause him/her any issues internally and externally (emotionally and physically)?
If there is some sort of conflict with it, I'd be cool with it. But it sort of does depend on everyone being OK with it and there still being seats at the "table". :)
There would be these sorts of things, but the 'making sure everyone is okay with it first' and space available are the primary concerns.
Sounds good to me. Sounds plausible too. Some of them might even set themselves up as 3rd World Dictators (Terragen would probably be especially likely to do so).
Seems to me like Project Utopia would also be very likely to stay out of the UN's area of operations, given it's "our in-world" history with the stronger governments.
Private company perhaps? Or even some sort of Super-Powered Help organization?
Utopia could very easily just be a huge, private Aeon front, but I'm not so sure they'd stay away from UN affairs. The UN is less of a world government and more of a single place for countries to bring problems they can't deal with on their own and try to get help. I could see the UN embracing Project Utopia with open arms, as Utopia brings monetary and physical resources to throw at issues like hunger, refugees, and political instability. Thoughts?
There is a Player Guide that has new rules and the errata.As far as I know, besides the wrestling book, that is the only one.
I didn't realize the Player Guide had new rules in it. I have the PG but I guess it's been too long since I read it. If anybody's interested, I have most of the Aberrant books in PDF format. I could zip them and throw them up on OneDrive or something for anybody who doesn't have them.
He has influence of 2, contacts of 2, and resources of 3. So he would have a name for himself. The idea of the band being jealous would make sense. So he has one more show in Tulsa for the fun of it, and at the last minute. He would break up the band at the end of the concert like Bowie did with the Spiders from Mars. He would then want to take a break from life on the road. and stay in Tulsa for a while. He would have met also sorts of people on the road, so he would enjoy being with people who weren't jealous, and not trying to upstage him or use him. Watch out though, if he gets bored.
Sounds fun. I can definitely work with that.
Influence 2, Contacts 2, and Resources 3 isn't really Zayd from One Direction territory, though. He's not struggling but definitely hasn't hit it big yet.
Any particular reason he might stay in Tulsa? If my last show with my band was in Tulsa I'd at least drive the 20 minutes to Oklahoma City to be in a bigger town, even ignoring that he could go to Nashville or LA and be more immersed in the music scene.
There would be these sorts of things, but the 'making sure everyone is okay with it first' and space available are the primary concerns.No problem with it either. Not sure if it brings anything to the character though? Does it cause him/her any issues internally and externally (emotionally and physically)?
If there is some sort of conflict with it, I'd be cool with it. But it sort of does depend on everyone being OK with it and there still being seats at the "table". :)
I have no problem with it. To make sure I'm following, though, the Event resulted in the character changing gender? You mentioned Hulk, so I'm not clear on whether they permanently changed gender or if they have an alternate form that is of the opposite gender.
Were they trans (either pre- or post-op) before the Event? If they were, was it a dream come true kind of thing? Or if they were post-op and the Event transformed them back, I'd imagine there is some serious depression or anger going on.
I've got room for anybody who wants to play. I can't imagine there are enough people on the boards who want to play Aberrant that I'll have to start turning people away.
Brick, not hulk. (Mega Stam, Mega Str, Mega App, all depending on power level)
Was questioning and curious but definitely not decided on whether to pursue it, and then to have this suddenly shoved on them without any sort of warning, yes, some definite anger and irritation.
Still, push comes to shove, she's stepping up and doing things to make a place better.
Still speaking in generalities because waiting to hear back from other players.
My name is Steven Harris, or it was anyways.
These days I'm a nobody. I'm a drifter, the guy in the crowd, the other guy at work, an immigrant.
I go by a new name in each town I visit. Here, in Tulsa, my name is James Watkins.
I used to be someone, a GOOD someone. I was a soldier in the british special forces, serving as a sergeant. I had a fiancee and a family. I was a decorated, bona fide, hero.
Then, one day, General Norris approached me and suggested that the military could make me BETTER. A better soldier, someone who could keep my friends alive.
I got strapped to a table and injected with something they had fancy name for. Personally, I now refer to it as HELL ELIXIR, because that was the cause of it.
I felt like crap for days afterwards, like I was dying. Hallucinating constantly, and then, suddenly, I was better.
Nothing had changed it seemed. They did a load of tests, with no results. Eventually they released me.
I got deployed in the worst of the fighting. Perhaps it was Norris' way of taking out his anger on me. Whatever it was...
We were engaging the enemy in a little village that I don't even know the name of, and then we got absolutely hosed. Explosives, bullets and a friggin' missile came our way.
I ran and RAN! Faster than I thought possible, and I saved my buddies, even got a medal for it.
And then Norris reappeared. Wanted me back in the fold he said. I stupidly said yes.
Another battery of tests. And then I overheard Norris and the head scientist (some guy called Mitch Damonds), talking about cutting me up to "get the good bits out for study". And I noticed the guards, the surveillance. Everything.
I RAN AGAIN!
Long story short: I fled the for about a year, running around the UK. Finally I found myself aboard a boat, headed for the US.
Been here a while now, though I figured that staying in the port might be a bad idea, so headed upriver.
By day, I work construction. Just finished some work at some church or other. Not sure what that's about.
At night, I do odd jobs. Landed myself a position doing security for some band's concert.
Even found myself a place to live at the Desert Hills Motel. I think the landlady might fancy me to be honest, as I get the rent for cheap, and she said something about me resembling her dead husband. Apparently he was in the military too. Seems like he bit the bullet in Afghanistan.
At least it's peace, for now.
Nice. It'll be the Directive after him, then. I loooove shadowy clandestine spy organizations. Lots of stuff for me to plague you guys with there.
Funny- the two drifter types are British and Aussie. Makes me wonder how many nomads with funny accents there are wandering around the US right now.
Couple of questions- what happened to his fiancee, family, and friends back home? Do they know he's still alive or did he get listed as MIA in Afghanistan?
I'm guessing he's distrustful of Project Utopia since his one run-in with a large organization (the UK military) turned out badly. If not, why didn't he go to a Rashoud facility and try to get help?
He's keeping himself under wraps because he's worried the UK military is going to hunt him down. How does he feel about other novas, particularly those who flaunt their abilities? Has he met any?
Just saw this. Huge fan of Aberrant. Is it too late to toss a hat in the ring?
Be my guest. Whaddya got?
He's listed as MIA, from what he's found. The one time he tried to contact his family, the Directive was on him within hours. And he didn't get through, so he knows they're being monitored. He'd love to get back to them, but he reckons they've likely moved on, and he doesn't want to put them at risk.
His views would be along the lines of this:
The Directive - They're out to get me. I don't like these guys, so with them it's fight or flight time.
Project Utopia - Good guys, but are they too good to be true? Are they hiding something. Don't trust them yet.
Terragen - OK. These guys are mental. Seriously, has history shown them nothing? No one should have this much power invested in just one person. Certainly not someone THIS willing to use it.
Elites - I get it, mercenaries. But fighting without a cause? Not my cup of tea.
Church of Michael Archangel/Reignofevil.com - I doubt that Novas are the devil. Certainly I don't feel like it, but I don't think we're gods either.
XWF - Professional, superpowered sports? Interesting, but while I like wrestling, it'd be even better to see football (soccer) played like this.
Be my guest. Whaddya got?
Tentatively:
I'm thinking of a pretty ordinary, kind of boring guy. Very bright, but not at all showy. Big brains, no personality and he liked it that way. Very much preferred to do his stuff unobtrusively. Someone else could take credit. Got a job in IT somewhere sensitive, whether government or private, and advanced fairly quickly to the point where he started finding things out that didn't seem quite right. So he did what a person should do and reported it up the chain. He's not some kind of irresponsible leaker.Nothing happened. He raised the issue again and got some quiet threats, which altered the situation. He wasn't an irresponsible leaker...but he did have responsibilities. He'd seen indications that something very wrong was going on. (Unethical medical experimentation on novas? Secret nova assassination squad? Surveillance state stuff? I'm flexible.) So he dug and began quietly building up a case.
He wasn't quiet enough. The bad guys decided no man would mean no problem, something he hadn't even really considered. His endgame was to get to a journalist and hand the stuff over, then the system would work and it would all be fine. They came to rub him out and he "died".
Instead he erupted. He's not sure if he's still being chased or if the opposition really think he's dead, but no sense taking chances.I think he has some family members out there who are in less danger if he remains "dead" so he's content to hide.
Powers would be cyberkinetic (He can make ends meet by hacking ATMs. :) ) and some kind of ghost/stealth (a little bit of density decrease/teleport and invisibility) mix that helps him with hiding and got him clear of the hit. Probably picked up an aberration or two on the way, but things he can hide easily enough. Points permitting, of course.
A hero, you say?
Heroes are supposed to be the ones that always save the day, the glitz, the glamour, the gods among people.
I'm not a hero. I mean, folks often see me as one, they might claim to treat me as one, but... I'm a coward. Sure, a brave face for the cameras, determination when things hit the fan, but... inside? Still a scared salesclerk trying to make one end of their life stay stable for more than a few weeks at a time.
Before the eruption, I was just your average Joe, doing average life things living average life. Hardly the stuff of legends if you follow them. MMO addict, full-time retailer, plain ol' boring stuff.
And then that day... a day that a lot of folks went crazy over, a bunch died, a bunch more became 'super', and half the comic books went out the window. The mass-produced recent ones, the old ones still had their collection value, at least.
They say I saved a lot of lives on that Day. That I was the difference-maker in helping keep the body count down to 'barest minimums'. Yet, for all of that, I can't help but hear those whispers in the back of my mind.
Freak. Abomination. Obscenity. Sin Against God's Will.
Saving members of law enforcement from being crushed was a good thing, even given the urban climate of Chicago. Stopping a couple of near-riots in the confusion was also a good thing.
But that didn't change who I was before, and it didn't change the fact that the news got to see me go from who I was then to who I am now.
A hero? No. The heroes are the average Joes and Janes going out there every day without any sort of power, doing the jobs that they've done for milenia.
The media wanted interviews. The corporate offers started pouring in despite the strangeness of the situation. The LGBT movement wanted me to be their spokeswoman. Everyone wanted their little slice of my life, but no one wanted to listen to the fact that hey, I'm just trying to get by like everyone else? Hello, not your poster child!
So I left. Crushed my cel-phone, set my profiles to 'leave of absence' on the forums I was on, and decided to 'walk the Earth'. Y'know, like Jules Winnfield in "Pulp Fiction".
And... it didn't work all that well. Every stinking time there'd be someone in need, someone only I could bail out of a jam, or that bus that was about to go over a cliff, whatnot. But I couldn't just walk away, couldn't fly away when there were people that needed my help.
Six months ago, I caught a nice break. Someone had managed to use enough explosive power at a spot I was at that the sole person recording with their smartphone got a glimpse of me vanishing into a fireball.
Assumptions of death notwithstanding, it's been nice and quiet here in Tulsa. People are polite, they don't ask too many questions, and if there's a bit of awkwardness, well, it's cause I'm 'not from 'round these parts'. And for the most part, it's been nice. Quiet. Been loving the cart-wrangling at the local Save-A-Lot. And sometimes, I might even 'cheat a little' if folks took the carts out of the lot. Simple job, no demands, no real expectations.
I could really get to like this.
Organizational Views:
The Directive - Who?
Project Utopia - Nice mission statement but humanity really isn't ready for this. And they can't seem to find a 'fix' for my situation.
Terragen - Not one. Do. Not. Want.
Elites - Idiot mercenaries making a mess of things all the time.
Church of Michael Archangel/Reignofevil.com - They're the ones that call me an abomination. Or worse. What would God think?
XWF - Seriously? So much wrong in the world and folks take their powers to the stadiums? WTH!
He took a dart, and threw it at a map of the US. He did it that way just to have a last laugh at the rest of the band.He really doesn't care where he takes his break, as long as it is different from what he is use to. He is a bit chaotic that way.
Remember everyone that all novas get 3 dots each of resistance and endurance for free. Does that mean you can get over 5 in those 2 abilities?
Not sure, but if memory serves, 5 is still the limit, unless you get Mega-Stamina.
he does.
Then I believe you can go over 5, but it is pricey to do. You'll want to check the rulebook on that one though.
Then I believe you can go over 5, but it is pricey to do. You'll want to check the rulebook on that one though.
Thanks, I will just move the dot.
This sounds super interesting.
I played Aberrant in the past pseudo-successfully, and I've always been fascinated by the setting.
Character concepts:
Forge:
classic Tank-style guy: super strength, invulnerability, bigger than normal size, with a plasma/heat power he can shoot out of his .. wherever he wants. His body is turning into metal: skin, eyes, hair, etc. somehow, he can still see, but he's slowly losing the physical sensations of humanity. His sense of touch, taste, and smell are all decreasing while his sight and hearing are unaffected. His hair is already metallic wire, and can cut people if they're not careful.
internally, he generates an intense heat that he can concentrate into powerful blasts, but it also is making him hotter to the touch.
In short, his powers are royally making life as a regular person. And, he has a daughter. She's a young girl, no more than 7. The mother is out of the picture. the pair were living on the streets in an abandoned building. he manifested as the building collapsed around him. Now, he earns money using his powers in construction. He's happy because he can keep his daughter fed and clothed and protected, but he's terrified of becoming a danger to her. He's already accidentally set things on fire, and he knows its only a matter of time before he'll be to dangerous to be around her.
Ares
(this is a revamp of a character I had in a different game)
Ares is a family man, 3 kids, wife, house in the suburbs. He works as used and antique book seller, and before his eruption, he was an adorkable and rather nebbish man. Sort of a non-douchey Hugh Grant (only american because my fake-british accents sound fake in my head). So, he's living his happy American Dream , and a burglar breaks into his house while everyone's asleep. He tried to stop them and failed, miserably.
Then, he erupted. When the dust settled, the burglars were in several pieces, his living room was in tatters, and his wife was staring at him in horror. Basically, he can form weapons and armor from ambient matter and energy, has increased strength and healing powers.
Once he calmed down his wife and convinced her he wasn't going to kill her or the kids, he's tried to go to as normal a life as possible. He passes his icnreasd strength as the gym finally paying off, and hides most of his mass behind layers of tweed, sweater vests, and bow ties. he's been courted a few times by various people because, well.. flashy... but, he's dodged the issue
for now.
XWF - Professional, superpowered sports? Interesting, but while I like wrestling, it'd be even better to see football (soccer) played like this.
Thanks, Curtisin. Now I'm wondering what Champion league soccer would look like with speedsters as forwards, teleporters as halfbacks, bricks as fullbacks, and size-morphers as keepers.
I feel like I've got a handle on your guy. Do you want to come up with a couple of NPC names and short bios for people he interacts with on a daily basis? People at the bar, neighbors, whatever.
Assumptions of death notwithstanding, it's been nice and quiet here in Tulsa. People are polite, they don't ask too many questions, and if there's a bit of awkwardness, well, it's cause I'm 'not from 'round these parts'. And for the most part, it's been nice. Quiet. Been loving the cart-wrangling at the local Save-A-Lot. And sometimes, I might even 'cheat a little' if folks took the carts out of the lot. Simple job, no demands, no real expectations.
I could really get to like this....
Nice, Wei. One thing- in her (? not sure what gender your character is) reflections on factions, you said "they can't seem to find a 'fix' for my situation" Does your character see the gender change as a curse? Are you dropping the trans aspect of the pre-eruption personality? I didn't really see any mention of it other than a reference to LGBT job offers.
@Lorm: I feel like I've got a feel for your character. Do you want to come up with some NPC names and personalities or short bios for people your guy interacts with on a daily basis? Probably bandmates. I'm assuming your guy is the front-man, on mic, so probably a guitarist, bassist, and drummer at minimum.
Instead he erupted. He's not sure if he's still being chased or if the opposition really think he's dead, but no sense taking chances.I think he has some family members out there who are in less danger if he remains "dead" so he's content to hide.
Powers would be cyberkinetic (He can make ends meet by hacking ATMs. :) ) and some kind of ghost/stealth (a little bit of density decrease/teleport and invisibility) mix that helps him with hiding and got him clear of the hit. Probably picked up an aberration or two on the way, but things he can hide easily enough. Points permitting, of course.
Cool. So we've got 2 guys being chased by the Directive. :) We can talk about the big, bad secret via PM.
So he's wandering around, trying to avoid notice. What would he do if he saw a nova using their powers? If he's trying to avoid notice I'd think he would turn and walk the other way. Do you want him involved with the other PCs? I can do a solo Jason Bourne riff with you, but it'll probably be more fun if you can interact with other people.
Character concepts:
Forge:
classic Tank-style guy: super strength, invulnerability, bigger than normal size, with a plasma/heat power he can shoot out of his .. wherever he wants. His body is turning into metal: skin, eyes, hair, etc. somehow, he can still see, but he's slowly losing the physical sensations of humanity. His sense of touch, taste, and smell are all decreasing while his sight and hearing are unaffected. His hair is already metallic wire, and can cut people if they're not careful.
internally, he generates an intense heat that he can concentrate into powerful blasts, but it also is making him hotter to the touch.
In short, his powers are royally making life as a regular person. And, he has a daughter. She's a young girl, no more than 7. The mother is out of the picture. the pair were living on the streets in an abandoned building. he manifested as the building collapsed around him. Now, he earns money using his powers in construction. He's happy because he can keep his daughter fed and clothed and protected, but he's terrified of becoming a danger to her. He's already accidentally set things on fire, and he knows its only a matter of time before he'll be to dangerous to be around her.
Interesting. I can see his plasma powers being useful in construction/demolition, but he sees fancy novas with similar powers on TV getting rich as Elites and members of T2M and apparently just as socialites. Why wouldn't he do that instead of working a 9-to-5? Is it just because of his daughter? If she wasn't around would he go join the XWF or DeVries or the Army or something? If that's the case, does he harbor any resentment toward her or her absent mother for holding him back?
Ares
Once he calmed down his wife and convinced her he wasn't going to kill her or the kids, he's tried to go to as normal a life as possible. He passes his icnreasd strength as the gym finally paying off, and hides most of his mass behind layers of tweed, sweater vests, and bow ties. he's been courted a few times by various people because, well.. flashy... but, he's dodged the issue
for now.
This guy is just trying to live a normal life, so I'd ask the same question I did of Samnell. What would he do if he saw somebody getting beat up in an alley or walked around a corner and saw a nova battle? Somebody just trying to live a normal life would probably turn around and walk the other way. Are you interested in having him interact with the other PCs? If so, how would he justify endangering his normal life by doing 'nova stuff'?
Maybe in spite of his expressed desire to live a normal life he deep down wants to do something more interesting?
Then I believe you can go over 5, but it is pricey to do. You'll want to check the rulebook on that one though.Thanks, I will just move the dot.
I looked through the core book and the PG and didn't see anything about normal attributes above 5. Let me know if you can find it.
For now let's just stick to the 5 dot max.
Thanks, Curtisin. Now I'm wondering what Champion league soccer would look like with speedsters as forwards, teleporters as halfbacks, bricks as fullbacks, and size-morphers as keepers.I feel like I've got a handle on your guy. Do you want to come up with a couple of NPC names and short bios for people he interacts with on a daily basis? People at the bar, neighbors, whatever.
I can't help but think that Champion's League would be A LOT more interesting than it is currently. Though I think the same could be said for American Football or Rugby. :P
I'll come up with something for the NPCs. How many do you want? 5-6 or so?
Here's a short list of npc's:
Steve "Sticks" James
He tends to be as aggressive in life as in drumming. He was born in LA.
Doug "Axeman" Adams
He lives the R&R life to the fullest. He grew up an orphan in Nashville, but hates country music.
Carlton "Shadow" Smythe
He is the bass player.He grew up in London, but now lives in LA. He is one of those bass players who stands in the back, in front of the amps the whole time he is playing. He had the most success with the woman, and the most jealous after Raven's eruption.
Michael Connor
The agent of the group (The Unkindness) He is one of those that the quieter he gets the more dangerous he is. He grew up in the Bronx, but now lives in LA.
Raven has no contact with his family. They are ultra right wing Christians, and hate his lifestyle. If they found out he is a nova, they would go ballistic, and attempt to drive the devil out of him. He has both parents and 5 sisters.