Welcome, all! You have been accepted to the college of your dreams, East Texas University!
Ready to join the Fighting Crows?
I've been wanting to take this system for a test run, especially seeing how it might perform in a play by post form. Since you will be committing time to join this game should you be interested, I'll list some things you should be aware of.
1. I can't post every day. Familial responsibility and 12-hour work shifts get in the way at times. I'll try to post at least once every two days, once every three if I'm being stretched, but that should be a rarity hopefully this summer.
2. I don't foresee that this will become a long-term game. It will consist of one or two adventures, after which I will end it, and I'll be offering character archetypes for you to choose from as a starting character. That said, if this turns out phenomenally, we can continue and I'll open the option of self-made characters.
That said, this is a storytelling system, and I'm hoping for folks that don't mind roleplaying and going off one another. As you'll be using pre-mades, I'm hoping you can add whatever details you want to make the character your own.
With the above items said, I'm looking forward to this system, and hopefully, the rest of you curious folks might have a bit of fun and discover a new system you enjoy.
With the introduction over, I hope to see you at the Welcoming Ceremony.
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RECRUITMENT DETAILS
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Those who specicially mentioned Savage Worlds or an interest in playing the system will get priority in selection. Recruitment is open until I get the number of players I need, which will most likely be 4-6. The cut-off will occur in 2-3 days, depending on response time.
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Archetypes
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As civilizations from the dawn of time, we will be using the tested code of "dibs." First called, first served.
Each Archetype is already statted out, and you must take the good with the bad.
As Savage Worlds doesn't have an online SRD and I'm not sure how they feel about folks posting all their content for free, I will be messaging you with the stats after recruitment is over so you can create your alias.
Your choices:
Your mother groomed you for one thing: to be a star. Dancing, singing, and pageantry were thrust upon you at an early age and you walked away with many awards and titles.
You really came into your own during high school when you joined the cheerleading squad. You loved the athleticism and teamwork; your mom loved that her li le girl was getting the fame she deserved.
Your senior year you applied to lots of different colleges, but with East Texas University only a couple hours away you knew in your heart that it was the one for you. After careful consideration, you and your mom decided on a Meteorology major. That gives you the best chance of appearing on television, where you can really be discovered.
Best of all is that you nailed summer tryouts and earned a place on the ETU cheerleading team! You get to keep doing what you love in front of a whole new crowd.
Go Ravens!
You grew up on a real Texas ranch. From the time you can remember you were out exploring creeks or pastures. Your daddy taught you how to hunt and how to ride, but it came naturally. You always had a connection with nature. Daddy likes to tell the story about the time you soothed an out-of-control stallion with a simple gesture of your hand and calming whispers.
Helping your family breed and ride horses competitively turned you into a very strong individual, both mentally and physically. In high school the tomboy blossomed into an attractive rodeo queen, but the hard work waiting back home kept you grounded.
During your high school senior year you suffered an accident while out riding alone on the ranch. You’d always planned on ranching like your parents, but while recuperating in the hospital you had a change of heart. Now you want to go into the medical field and help others the way you were helped. Now you’re enrolled at East Texas University to wrangle up a pre-med degree.
You lived a pretty normal life, right up to high school. That’s when you became aware that a friend’s family faced serious economic hardship. You—just a teenager—organized a successful fundraiser. The gratitude on their faces affected you more deeply than you would have imagined. That was your awakening. You can make a difference, be it with problems down the street or around the world.
For the remainder of high school you became involved in various movements challenging injustice. Sadly, some protests turned unruly so you also learned a thing or two about first aid and self-defense even though you despise violence. You have a big heart–maybe too big–and you can’t just sit on the sidelines when people need help.
You realized that there is a need for people with the legal know-how to navigate the justice system on behalf of the “li le guy.” East Texas University’s student court o ers hands-on experience that will look great
on your law school applications.
Science fiction, fantasy, the weird and supernatural, you have always loved them. In fact, your whole family is like that. On vacations, you didn’t go to the beach or the mountains, you went to Area 51 looking for UFOs or to the geek Shangri-La, ComicCon.
It’s weird other people don’t see these things as easily as you do, but you’ve always had a sixth sense about you. Everyone said your family was crazy, so to prove them wrong you started studying psychology. Turned out you really liked it and it even helped unveil a hoax or two.
Once you had decided on your major, there was no other choice for college other than ETU. Cryptid Weekly lists it on the top ten hot spots worldwide every year, and there’s even a rumor the Big Thicket is home to Hogzilla. This is going to be the best four years of your life!
Being a foster child most of your adolescence, you felt different from everyone else—that you didn’t belong. Other kids might have tried to change themselves to fit in. You, on the other hand, did your best to stand out—especially when it came to fashion or mainstream culture.
The system wrote you o as a lost soul of misguided youth, but most saw you as a rough and tough chick who could knock anyone’s teeth down their throat. After you and your fashions were profiled in the anti-mainstream fashion magazine Teen Anarchy, suddenly your classmates—and even adults—treated you differently. For the first time you saw respect rather than fear, and it got you thinking about the possibility of a real future after high school.
East Texas University is just about the last place you expected to end up, but it’s the only one that offered a scholarship. You keep reminding yourself you always wanted to stand out like a fiery blaze of red against a stonewashed blue jean society. You figure you can push the envelope in creativity and fashion while you party it up...at least until the money runs out or your grades catch up with you. Whatever happens, you know
it’s gonna be a wild ride.
You’re the son of a fifth generation ca le rancher deep in the heart of Texas. You learned at a very young age that nothing is ever simple in life, and that you had to work hard for every inch you gained and even harder to keep it.
You exploded onto the sports scene during high school as a star athlete where football soon became your true sport of choice. Your physique and skills broadened exponentially as did your ego and attitude towards those you called “smart folk,” up until you needed a tutor to graduate high school.
Many collegiate scholarships were thrown your way but since your entire family graduated from East Texas University, it was preordained that you too spread your wings and become a Fighting Raven. With a full ride to ETU, you haven’t decided on a major yet but as far as you’re concerned, there’s plenty of time to figure that out...right after
football season.
You were raised right here in Pinebox by your father. Money was often tight, seeing as how your dad’s antique store is too far o the beaten path for most big city shoppers. You worked in that store since you were old enough to make change and you spent countless hours researching old-fashioned and in some cases downright bizarre items that passed through.
Being a well-liked local with the patience to listen to every old recollection, legend, and tall tale, you’ve developed an extensive historical knowledge of the area. You also learned the knack for story-telling, including the importance of putting drama before truth. Be that as it may, with your passion for local history you hope to be the one who finally unlocks the mysteries of the mound builders at Indian Mounds State Park. You’ve enrolled into East Texas University with hopes of majoring in archeology.
You grew up in Hong Kong knowing only the crumbling white cement walls of orphanages throughout the cities suburbs. Having no family to speak of, you gravitated towards life on the streets, finding refuge only in one of the many local street gangs, the Cāng Gui or Blue Demons.
Wanting a better life, you stowed aboard a cargo ship headed for Houston, Texas where you were quickly scooped up by local immigration officials. Lucky for you, a caring couple took you in before deportation proceedings could take place. In this loving environment, you adopted your new parents’ religion and vowed to follow the loving tenets of a higher power.
While in high school you officially became a US citizen. You also discovered a talent for drawing unique representations of architectural designs and buildings. You enrolled into East Texas University where you hope to make your parents proud and leave your ruthless past behind.
Your parents knew very early on in your adolescence that you were growing up to be one very special child. At the age of five, your cognitive and mental capacity scores on the Dunbar’s Child IQ test were almost o the charts.
In high school you fit the mold of the stereotypical nerd. You gravitated towards chemistry, mathematics, and computer programming, and you were socially awkward—especially around girls. A love of games is one of the few things you have in common with other teens, so you tend to talk about them a lot. Pu ing your computer programming knowledge to good use, you even designed and developed your very own first person shooter entitled “Banditos in Arms.”
Many first-rate universities tried to recruit you, but it was a letter from East Texas University’s Chemistry Department that made you decide to become an ETU Raven. Being the inventor of the next Nobel Prize-winning chemical compound would be very exciting, or at least that’s what your letter alluded to.
ou called the Big Apple home. As a teen you became involved in urban exploration and eagerly explored the hidden areas of Manhattan’s concrete jungle. Your curiosity led you to many interesting and risky adventures but none more dangerous than the time you were fourteen and trapped in an allegedly haunted abandoned warehouse. Coming out relatively unscathed and with photographic evidence of a possible apparition, your thirst for the supernatural was ignited.
You applied to a number of colleges, but an intriguing article about the mysterious disappearance of a group of students from East Texas University put that college in your sights. You soon discovered more interesting leads online ( ghtingravens.com) and knew you had to have feet on the ground. East Texas is a totally different world than New York. With luck though, you can put your nose for a good story to use and uncover Pinebox’s secrets.
A native of Long Beach, California and an only child, in many ways you led an enviable childhood. Your father, a member of the state legislature, provided well for the family. Quite well.
You learned the basics of politics the way other kids learn about football or how to do laundry. Your campaign for high school class president was a landslide victory, not that it was ever in much doubt considering your popularity. Still, you liked the thrill of victory and the respect and attention from being important. It was that victory that sold you on following in your daddy’s footsteps.
Your ideal college required three things: a strong political science department, a chapter of your mother’s sorority, and a campus far from the constant media scrutiny on your family back in California. East Texas University fit these requirements nicely and the sisters of Alpha Omega have already welcomed you as a legacy and member.
Then last Christmas your grandmother bought everyone in the family lottery tickets, and as they say on that old show, “Next thing you know, ol’ Jed’s a millionaire.” Of course, it didn’t seem like it was going to last as your dad thought he was some kind of investing genius and put nearly all the money into a couple of companies with “tech” or “ware” in the name. Then it turned out your dad actually was some kind of investing genius as those companies were soon bought out by a major search engine corporation, and suddenly you had to hire people to count your money.
You keep thinking the whole thing is going to fall apart at any moment, and so while the money is here you’re going to college like you wanted. ETU was the only school to even look at you seriously when you didn’t have money, so despite being able to go anywhere you wanted it was the only place for you.
You wanted to keep a low pro le and your money secret, but your new roommate blabbed it all over campus claiming you two were best friends. Still, it was kind of cool when the fraternity party invitations started arriving, though slightly less so when you realized they were addressed to both of you.
I'm interested here--I saw your interest thread on different games, and while I didn't post in there, I can say Savage Worlds is a very neat system, and a lot of fun to pick up and try. I found it through the Deadlands setting and it's been going strong ever since!
If you'll have me, I'd love to give the Stranger in a Strange Land a whirl. Always neat to play a multi-faceted character like that, and it seems like it'll have a fun mix of ups and downs going on.
@ Loup Blanc
Hey Loup, thanks for showing interest. It would be nice to have someone familiar with the system.
Up to Four Players "Crystal Hunter" Comic
This is a recent discovery, but I love the art style and storytelling. The artist and writer are native Israeli that moved to London to work in the games industry and make this comic in their spare time. "Crystal Hunters" is a recent foray into explaining Savage Worlds in a unique setting, and they do a great job explaining the concepts they've gone over so far including combat, bennies, and exploding dice.
Also very familiar with the system, also interested in playing. I'd be interested in the Wild Child, I think. I'd also enjoy the Local too. If anyone else shows up and is super interested in one of them I'd be willing to do the other. If not, the order I listed them is my preference.
Screw it. I've been telling myself that I have too many games already, but I'm intrigued by the idea, and a fan of Savage Worlds. I would be interested in the Journalist I think. Urban Exploration is a fun concept and being nosy is always 'helpful' in a supernatural investigation scenario.
Echoing Loup and JD, I find the concept pretty neat (I tried to submit, almost two years ago, for another ETU game that used a different syatem... but I ended dropping the submission due yo lack of system mastery)
I am pretty familiar with Savage Worlds, in fact I'm playing in a couple PbP games using it right now. As for which archetype, gotta think about it:
The Activist sounds interesting, but so does Fraternity Brother, Journalist, the Local (Antique shop? I'm game) and Thr Jock.
Sooo, whatever archetype I choose... I want in.
Oh, playing the gamer or the geek is like playing a human in D&D. I do that every day. So I'm going to go as opposite as I can - the Rodeo Queen.
I know right? It's almost like we're all friends with too much time on our hands and a passion for good roleplaying games.
I'd be interested in the Activist - I know that's on Emissary's list, but he listed plenty other options, if that's ok with him.
Will we have to invest in the ETU PDF, or will you supply all the needed background materials?
Take the Activist, I have decided to go with the Local!
All right, I'll accept you all as players for this game. I need to prep the thread and send you all details of the characters you'll be playing. Please read up on Savage World rules, and feel free to ask any questions.
I'll alert you when its time to move.
Cool. I went over Savage Worlds and got my hands on the ETU stuff last night, so I think I'm good to go whenever you send stuff.
Oh, and thank you for pointing us to that comic. It's both remarkably funny and very accurate :)
If possible am stil interested. :) something like the Stranger.....
Am I too late? I am always down for Savage Worlds...
If some of the earlier players dropped out or lost interest, I'll add latecomers by above standards.
About to start messaging character statistics. Please dot in when you have an alias made, and we'll get started.