Emerald City Knights

Game Master Joey Virtue

Hello, my name is Kenny and I am a college student up in Montana. Been playing tabletop RPGs for quite a few years now and absolutely love it. Guess the thing I enjoy about it the most are the stories that can emerge from these types of games. Seeing connections form between the PC's, seeing moments of tragedy that can be just as emotion as any other form of media and of course seeing the epic moments where the player does something that everyone remembers for years. I have been in a couple of M&M games have been craving another one. Though I will admit this would my first time playing in a PBP game.

As far as my favorite superhero, I would have to go with Dick Greyson AKA Nightwing. One of the things that I think really sets him apart from all the other big name heroes is that the audience really did get a chance to see the character grow up. Starting as the sidekick kid learning the ropes to becoming a full fledged hero in his own right.

Discord ID: omgukillkenny#9385

In Doomed Heroes he talks about how you shouldn't be afraid to include your inner monologue to showcase why you character is acting as they are. Honestly this isn't something I have ever done in my other games so the thought to include these in my posts would have never come to mind

With Painlord he talks about how it is always import to keep the story or action moving forward in an attempt to keep what is alread a slow format from getting to stale.

Role: Special Forces (Can fill a few roles, but doesn't really master any)
Hero Type: Starting with Late-Bloomer with a bit of thrill seeker
Build: Dragon Rider

Jennifer Elenway is the only daughter of Robert Elenway, the owner of the Multi-million dollar company Peak Enterprises. With more funds than most people can even dream of at her disposal, the world was at her fingertips. And yet 24 year old woman has accomplished nothing. She simply has no ambition. She has enrolled and dropped out of college 3 times. Never once tried to work at her father company. Even the classic rich spoiled girl reality tv show thing was a bust since she never did anything.

Beyond that she simply isn't that great of a person to begin with. While not cruel she is uncaring and selfish. Her needs simply take priority. She can also be manipulative if need be. She knows that since she is Robert's only family since his wife passed away that he will never cut her off. The way things are she can be spoiled and lazy till the day she dies. Or so she thought.
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After the event, some odd things started to happen. At first it was just dreams. She was on a medieval battlefield, fighting on the front lines, crossing blades with foes all around her. Always ending in her death. She had the same dream each night but each time she did better. There was this voice guiding her, teaching her, allowing her to fight with more grace, more technique, striking faster and harder. Until on night she won.

Jennifer noticed that it just wasn't this dream self improving but her as well. In the real world she was becoming faster, stronger and more skillful. Beyond that she enjoyed these dreams. She enjoyed the adrenaline rush and the satisfaction of getting closer and closer to defeating this challenge.

This pattern continued for sometime. Every time she would survive, she would fight through a new scenario, each harder than the last. Vikings storming a ship, duels with champions, battling creatures that should not be. Finally she reached the last dream. She stood in front of this creature. It stood 20 ft tall, silver scales that blindingly reflected the sun, massive wings allowing it to move with surprising speed. A maw filled with razor teeth and a breath of flame. A true dragon. She fought and died many times. But eventually the beast laid prone. She walked forward to deliver the fatal blow, her face reflecting off of these scales. But it was not her face. She was looking through the eyes of another woman. This woman set the blade down and spared the dragon. And with a flash she found herself in a blank room. She was herself and in front of her, she saw the dragon, who began to speak in the same voice she has been hearing.

The dragon introduced himself as Teldorus. He explained to Jennifer that these dreams were the memories of a hero who lived long ago. This hero spared his life and so he pledged himself to be a guardian spirit to her and her descendants. He fused his spirit with that hero and the spirit moved on to the firstborn child of each generation. Granting them strength and guidance. However the connection would get weaker each time he transferred to a new host. So much so that he had very little influence on her to even be noticed. But suddenly something shifted inside her and he was able to regain power. And now he could prevent Jennifer from wasting the potential she has. From this moment on. He will protect her and guide her down the path of a hero.

She woke up thinking that was the weirdest dream yet. Got out of bed and was about to begin her day of doing nothing when his voice popped in her head telling her first she needed to buy some armor.

NunuBasher#3601

Who are you? I've been playing TTRPGs since the mid-90s, starting on DnD 2e and playing just about everything that's been available since then. My first experience with superhero RPGs was a Marvel Superheroes game in 1998, which was the first time that I played Megan, the character that this account is named for. I've done many jobs, though I'm currently trying to write more and maybe get published. (Self-publishing doesn't count, though I've already done that for some of my racier titles.)

What do you enjoy about roleplaying? I guess that I like living a fantasy life through the eyes of my characters. My roleplay also influences my writing, and my characters often become the subject of those stories. If a scene really sticks out, I'll probably find a reason to rework it for one of my projects.

Who is your Favorite Super Hero and why? I loved the Velocity from the original Cyberforce, when she was just a teen speedster and not in a creepy relationship with Wolv... I mean, Ripclaw. I always wanted her to get with Chip, the teen techie of the group who had a crush on her. In a way, Megan is almost a representation of the ship that I saw those two in, as her own powers borrow from both of theirs.

Why do you want to play a superhero RPG? Superheroes are actually my #1 RP genre to get into, when I can. This includes TTRPGs, but also been into computer games (City of Heroes back before it shut down), card games (Overpower and Wildstorm) and even miniatures (HeroClix). My geekery knows no bounds.

What is your Mutants and Masterminds Experience? I first played M&M shortly after finding Roll20 a few years ago, and I've played it a few times since then. I once made templates for my Megan character from PL6 through PL10 (I'll share the PL10 example later) so I would have quick reference to work with if I needed to build her on short notice.

What is your PBP Experience? While I've played in many text games, I can't really say that I've played in PbP. While I have used forums for freeform roleplay, so I'm used to 'post when you can' setup, I've never played an RPG that way. It's something that I think I shouldn't have too much difficulty getting used to, though.

What is your Discord ID? Megan Jones#8017

Is it bad that the first thing that really stuck out to me in the first guide is that the author used "parenthesis" when he meant "quotation marks"? At least, I hope that's what he meant to say, or the statements makes even less sense in context.

Much of the information is similar to what I've seen used in freeform roleplays in forums or chat, and much of the second guide can be applied to any roleplay, in general. As I said, some of the posting norms may be hard for me to get used to (as a writer, I'm used to normal prose, so adding in bold and italics will take some time to adjust to), but it's nothing that extraordinary.

Actually, I'd like to withhold a formal backstory for the moment. While I'll be posting some sample character sheets for Megan that have previous backstories that I've used, I don't think they'll really fit here since we have a shared origin story. I'd like to know more about that mutation event (and when/where/how it occurs) before I really delve into Megan's backstory. Once I know that, I'll feel better about writing up a suitable backstory for what Megan was doing with her life before then.

That being said, I can give a general idea of what makes Megan tick.
She appears to be a typical 15-year-old girl with a demeanor that's perhaps more childish than others her age. She has a secret dream of being a popstar (or not-so-secret, as I sometimes give her a third "identity" as a fledgling starlet that she keeps secret from her classmates at school, but doesn't otherwise try to hide who she is). She's friendly to just about anyone, even if she has a certain social anxiety and has trouble being accepted at school because of her "nerd" status.

I like to refer to Megan's powers as "enhanced neural response."
She's super-intelligent and a genius inventor, usually building a few gadgets for herself and some versions have a suit of powered armor of her own design. She also has gymnast-level agility and coordination, and is very fast (sometimes to the point of superspeed, depending on what I'm going for in that game).
Besides powered armor, other common gadgets that I give her are a special headset (various sensors and communication arrays), hovskates (usually a part of her armor that disconnects for use in her civilian guise) and a kinetic pulse pistol (it's a gun, duh...).The role that best suits her is probably Specialist, though she could also be Armor (if I go with powered armor) or Transport (if I go with superspeed). While the most obvious hero type is Genius, I think that Clever probably suits her style better, as I see her performing in more of a Batman role than Iron Man.

Sample Character Sheets
Sample 1 - This is a PL 10 version of Megan that I made as a template for quick reference when starting new games. Ignore the backstory, as it was just a copy/paste from the game that I had been in prior to making these templates and likely won't factor into the rework for this game. This version has the powered armor, focusing more on her inventions than her speed.
Sample 2 - This is a PL 8 version that I made for a game set at the X-mansion in the 1980s. While weaker than this game will be, it shows how she might turn out if I focus more on the speed element of the character's powers. This sheet also demonstrates "flavor abilities," which I will be suggesting as a house rule after I finish this. (And, yes, the "Ghostbuster" gadget on her sheet is based on the proton packs in the original movie, as the game was set in the same year that the movie came out.
I even had her dancing through the X-mansion with the song playing through her Walkman.)

Jeff Fujimoto was an ordinary child, his mother was japanese and his father was american. He lived most of his childhood in a "not soo cozy" neighbourhood in Detroit. But he wasnt the type to get bullied, and he didnt join a gang or whatnot. Instead he lived his life hiding from trouble and conflict, not the brightest student in class but good non the less. He didn´t have any aspirations (after all, he was just a kid) and the only thing he did except reading books and studying was helping his parents in their restaurant "Little Fujimoto".

One summer, his family decided to visit his mother´s family in Japan. Preety normal, right? Well, it seemed that his grandfather had passed away and had left a big debt on the family (gambling, drinking,etc.). It seemed that the debt collectors wanted a quick fix soo they kidnapped Jeff for the money. Unknowing of his condition, Jeff was then sold to the Asian slave market and latter to a big pharma company in Russia. He spent the next years being tortured, experimented on and ultimatelly brought to the breaking point, over and over again... But he didnt seem to show any results that the companie wanted. After millions of dollares in experiments down the drain, they wanted to sell him to a mexican cartel, for his organs. But they had to keep him alive until then. Soo they put him on a one way plane to Mexico. What nobody expected was that when the plain was flew over the Pacific Sea, Jeff just vanished. Apparently the experiments showed themselves in a moment where he knew for sure he was gonna die. The problem was that he phased through the bottom of the plane only to free fall into the ocean. Luckily, he landed near an american cargo ship that managed to save his life and return im to America. They had been looking for him for 4 years now.
After a lenghty period in the hospital, and not soo few visits to the shrink, he was back on his feet. Of course, the media made a great deal about him but he was soon forgotten. As it looked, his mother had died 2 years ago from grief and his father was very lonely after her death. Only after his son´s return did he feel happy again.

After his enslavement, Jeff wasnt the same. He didnt want to run away from trouble and disconfort. He had seen and felt the worse humans had to offer. He joined the Journalism Club, started studying to go to an IVY League Uni and practiced martial arts. He started making acquaintaces at the same time, knowing the language of the streets. He managed to enter Arizona State University where he took his Journalism and International Relations´s Doctorate. Both at the same time! He wanted to be able to report on the matters that he had been exposed as a child in captivity, so he joined Epsilon, a very famous online news outlet.

Now, Jeff goes from city to city in search of a good story, never staying in one place. But he isnt the normal reporter, oh no. In the daylight, he his a normal interviewer, talking to the bosses and the employees. But in the moonlight he is different. When he finds the company fishy, he sneaks into it, trying to finds its dirts and its evildoings. Later he uses the results in the journal, claiming an annonymous source. This is how his life as been going, but as his journey takes im into the seemingly quiet Emerald City, what dangers is he going to witness?

So, Jeff is an hidden identity, more or less as he as appeared aresting some gang lords in the news (he took the photos himself). He is an INFILTRATION SPECIALIST/DDECTECTIVE specialised in intelligence gathering and stealthing into unknown territory, so he would be a SPECIALIST and the character in itself is CLEVER/OBSERVANT. But he will be focused in moving quietly, quicly, while gathering information, using his enhanced senses and phasing ability to get his party into buildings and hard to reach places. But, he isnt just some eyes and ears to the group, he will have some fighting ability form martial arts as well as having a large source of contacts to help the group.

Minato was born into the Kushina family in Japan. He was raised in the warrior ways of his family like many before him, practicing different martial arts throught his childhood until his teens. When he turned 11 he went to a private school which focused more on athletic feats and where the students where prepared to compete at the international stage. There Minato started his education in acrobatic gymnastics, mainly balance acts and some more physically demanding ones(acrobalance, aerial silk, tightrope, contortion, etc.). Even though his school life was very demanding, he managed to make quite a number of friends thatnks to his charm. He was part of a famous group that was later to be called "Anti-Dogeza Act" which consisted of a tight group of friends who competed in all kinds of acrobatic events around the country. When he turned 16, Minato was almost sickenned by the repetitive labour him and his group had to do, so to counter that, they turned their attention to freerunning and parkour to pass their time. Realizing their sons's decision their parents decided to invest in their future. They ordered a big facility to be built near their school where the group could practice their new found passion. Later on, when they established their name in some local events, they decided to go beyond what was asked of them. They began competing in street tournaments, in which they became known for their acts of superhuman dexterity and bodily strength, as well as their flashy smiles and their witty appearance. They managed to catch a sizeable group of fans that encouraged them to dream even bigger. Not long after, they enrolled in a number of TV shows to show their skills(Ninja Warrior, Wipeout, etc.). They managed to win the national prize in Ninja Warrior and finished at 4th place in the world championship. As Minato was approaching is 25th anniversary he wanted to focus more on his skill, without the pressure of the show business. He knew he wasnt the smartest person, but he had the wisdom of a wise donkey. He knew that with his fame he could get a job easily, so he turned to the same show that gave him his fame, Ninja Warrior, and proposed that he should be the one of the "Faces", previous contenders who are selected as the trainers for one of the countless local teams in the game. He was latter appointed as the Emerald City Ninja Warrior Trainer. Unless his plans are delayed...

Role: P: Infrantry | S: Support
Hero Type: P: Confident | S: Steady
Build: Necromatic Martial Artist

Civilian: "You still think I'm still pretty, right?"

A freshman of Emerald City University, Ginger Heartway probably could've gone to any school she wanted. Not because of her admittedly average intelligence, but the fact that her family owns an influential multi-billion dollar corporation known as Hearth & Home. Combined with natural good looks and status, most people on campus would consider her a self-entitled ditz who didn't have to work for anything in life. This is where she'd love to prove you wrong, namely by shoving your face down in the dirt displaying the skill she's cultivated her whole life.

Starting from her days of early grade school, she received private lessons on martial arts out of her father wishing his children had the ability to protect themselves. Years of persistent training and effort have helped to hone her body and inborn skill. It's true that her small size is a problem when it comes to larger foes, yet she's learned to use this difference in size to her advantage.

The numerous tournaments she's placed in show in her athletic body, which combined with her natural good looks have molded her into a beautiful young woman. Status, wealth, looks, it all added up to making her one of the most popular newcomers on campus. Everything in her life was looking up...
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Heroic (Sans rats): "Would you like a kiss from death?"

Ever since the Storm, she's become flooded with a strange necromatic force that seeps deep down into her bones. Her body can't handle the strain of this effect, her living tissue having been almost completely killed off, leaving her technically dead. That same energy however has also granted a form of immortality, her body somewhat preserved even though it still decays.

I'm imagining she could a few unique undead tricks up her sleeve, perhaps like detaching limbs or playing dead. There's also a definite aspect of power this time, a necromatic energy that keeps her animate. By channeling this energy in various ways, she can also accomplish a few other things such as a Chilling Touch, or inspiring fear with just a look. I kinda want to give her gear some tricks too, like using her bandages like a snare or swing-line. Overall, if you also take into account her status as a skilled martial artist with a wealthy family, she should have a decent Infantry role, and some alright Support skill.