Monster of the week

Game Master Meetch

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Supernatural
Sleepy Hollow

Intrepid monster hunters tackling a new baddie each week. That’s the tone of this PbtA monster mash by Evil Hat Games.

Playbooks and reference.

Looking for 4-5 players, posting at least five times per week. Two slots are already taken, the rest are first come first serve.

Post if you’re interested and list your top three playbooks in order of preference.

I’ll close recruitment on Friday morning or when we have five players, whichever comes first.

1. The Divine: Sun Wukong
2. The Spellslinger: Vatican Thaumaturge
3. The Wronged: Scarred Mother

1. Spellslinger: sorcerers apprentice/Molly Carpenter.
2. Initiate: Peace-corp volunteer
3. Chosen: The once and future king... in america

also:

1. The Divine: Sun Wukong

this is incredible, I love it!

1. Wait like you’d be the actual Monkey King? Or a servant of the monkey king?
2. What attracts you to Vatican spellslinger vs. Vatican initiate? Vatican spellslinger is fine, but I’m curious what flavor you’re looking for.
3. That sounds super cool. No questions here.

2. Initiate: Peace-corp volunteer

The ancient, monster hunting cult is...the peace-corps?

Elsine wrote:

2. Initiate: Peace-corp volunteer

The ancient, monster hunting cult is...the peace-corps?

It makes a certain kinda of sense. Monsters would thrive in an environment of disaster or vulnerability. An ancient group who oppose monster, working int he shadows. why not have them co-opt a group that specializes in going to areas with lots of room for monsters.

basically, the peace corp is just the latest in a long line of covers, but my character joined them via the peace core.

Clever!

1. The Professional - Google "field engineer"
2. The Flake - Internet conspiracy theorist
3. The Crooked - That Guy Who Always "Knows A Guy"

Definitely interested, I'll have to skim the playbooks and refresh my memory.

1. The Mundane: Shaggy
2. The Flake: A reporter for a tabloid
3. The Spooky: Prophet of doom

I think the first two concepts would work together well in the same character.

1. Wait like you’d be the actual Monkey King? Or a servant of the monkey king?

Wouldn't be the first time the Monkey King was sent to guide mortals. My thoughts started from "what's a five demon bag?" Now that I'm here, I'm not sure what weapon makes sense. Torn between the whip, because it has area, and the hammer because it has stun. He'd have Tough, Weird, Charm, Boss From Beyond, Angel WingsCloud, and either What I Need When I Need it or Smite depending on how murder-y the team feels. (The three moves in the other column don't fit Sun as well.) The best bit is that the Boss from Beyond doesn't have to pretend to be all good all the time.

2. What attracts you to Vatican spellslinger vs. Vatican initiate? Vatican spellslinger is fine, but I’m curious what flavor you’re looking for.

The initiate has to stay secret, and I want to be more overt. Could also be an Expert or a Professional. The Professional and the Initiate answer to their authority, and I'd like this character to be a rogue agent. The Expert isn't as weird, but I could see the same character working with a different tone, especially teamed up with an 'actual' spell-caster. The tools and techniques made me think of all the books, crosses, and holy water he'd carry around, and Arcane Reputation caught my eye. I was thinking the clergy, the media, and something spooky. I wanted to go for something like David Tennant's Peter Vincent in the 2011 remake of Fright Night. A 'hollywood pays better' exorcist.

Ok! That’s five. I’m going to close recruitment. Once Sbodd throws out playbook options we can settle on final choices.

Be thinking about how all of you became a monster fighting team and maybe consider being flexible with your concept to accommodate a cohesive tean.

1. The Professional - Google "field engineer"

I’m not sure I follow this one. Does Google have a team of monster hunters?

1. The Professional - Google "field engineer"

2. The Flake - Internet conspiracy theorist
3. The Crooked - That Guy Who Always "Knows A Guy"

Hmm, gotta say, like the third one most, the team having a little help from the wrong side of the tracks"

1. The Mundane: Shaggy

2. The Flake: A reporter for a tabloid
3. The Spooky: Prophet of doom

I think the first two concepts would work together well in the same character.

I really like 2 and 3, but 2 especially. also, when you say Shaggy, do you mean "stoner best friend" or "constantly getting in over your head, and needing to be bailed out." Both are fun

1: Expert: A former pawn of the Dark Forces
2: Initiate: That warehouse full of mystic artifacts? Someone's got to fill it up.
3: Professional: USPS delivers the mail...and Justice.

Preference order is fairly flat on those, I'm fine with any of them.

Perfect!

Pick your playbooks, figure out how you all fit together and we’ll go from there!

Oniwaban wrote:

1. The Professional - Google "field engineer"

I’m not sure I follow this one. Does Google have a team of monster hunters?

Yeah, that was sort of where I was going with it, is that Google is sort of an "overt covert" front for an intelligence gathering clearing house, headed at the top by people who are aware of the threats out there, and use information gained by Google to deal with them appropriately. So field engineers are basically Google's 'troubleshooters' out in the world.

It looks like no one else chose a Crooked, unless I missed it. So I am fine with just assuming that role. I will plan to do so, unless I hear otherwise.

It looks like no one else chose a Crooked, unless I missed it. So I am fine with just assuming that role. I will plan to do so, unless I hear otherwise.

You’re correct. If you want Crooked, it’s all yours.

okay, we have a few team option I can see, here.

1.) lower magic
Bastians's wronged
My initiate
Oni's Crooked/Proffesional
Picciui's reporter
Sbodds expert

(alt. config. My Spellslinger (taking more quiet magic and spells) and Sbodds initiate)

this team is a bunh of people flung together by fatem circumstance,a nd a mutual knowledge of the things that go bump in the night. probably more early-seasons Supernatural than anything else (with some Preacher and American gods to taste)

2.) High magic

Bastian's Divine
My spellslinger
Oni's crooked
Picciui's doom prophet
Sbodds expert or initiate (or professional, neither rain nor fog, not vampires bite...)

this has a world where monsters/magic are a bit more... just under the surface, and the people who don't know have a heavier than average weirdness filter. think later seasons of buffy. also, the presence of a divine, chosen, or summoned tends to hint at a bigger meta-narative, which we might have either wy, but we definitely get in this one.

3.) everyone gets their first pick

Bastians's Divine
my spellslinger
Oni's Crooked
Picciui's Shaggy
Sbodds Expert

This one looks a lot like the high magic campaign. but it has characters to keep Me and Bastian grounded, while Me and Bastian promise not to go 100% gonzo. also, works with the reporter. honestly, it works well because all of us make sense as a main character and 4 supporting characters, so we can each step up to the spotlight well, and not be sidelined when someone else's turn comes.

oooh, or a quieter spook squad

Bastian's exorcist (spellslinger, or spooky...)
My Initiate
Oni's crooked (I saw you wanted this one, that's why I have no varience in yours)
Picciui's Shaggy or Reporter
Sbodd's expert or proffesional ( like your init. too, but avoiding repeats)

this is similar to the low magic campaign, but a little more magic on the team, and also has a bit more skullduggery, at least in my mind.

I can roll with any of those.

I really like 2 and 3, but 2 especially. also, when you say Shaggy, do you mean "stoner best friend" or "constantly getting in over your head, and needing to be bailed out." Both are fun

Needing to be bailed out, easily scared ("like, zoinks!"), not very capable at fighting. I thought that this type of character would be represented well by some of the Mundane's moves. Being a reporter for a tabloid is a good reason why the character is hunting monsters with professionals and wizards, and therefore (I think) could work with any of those groups.

1) Low magic: scarred mother, peace corps, sketchy blue collar, slacker reporter, former pawn
This is a good group for the "we all showed up to the same murder scene" origin. The kind of group who would have been investigating each other before an alliance was formed. This group has a circular structure, like a round table.

2) High Magic: Monkey King, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Better Call Oni, Doomsday Prophet, Warehouse 13
The crooked plays the straight man to the chaos around them, everyone else would have the means to be drawn to them. The apprentice and the librarian would be relatable, but touch on the weird in different ways. This group has more of a nuclear family structure with roles.

3) First Picks: Scooby, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, Velma

4) Hollywood, Peace Corps, Legitimate Businessman, Reporter, Special Delivery
This team is like #1, but with more comedy potential.

Oh, in that case... I can see it going either way:

a flake who starts with: Suspicious mind, contrary, and Net friends/Connect the dots and maybe take Oops and/or what could go wrong as an advance

or be a mundane, pic the 2nd statline, and take... Hmm, a lot of mundane moves work for this concept, though Don't worry, i'll check it out, and Oops both seem especially appropriate, and grab a few of the flake moves I mentioned as advances.

or do neither, just how I would do this character. sorry if I backseat player'ed a little there

Edit: I think Bastian just sold me on High-magic, if that's what the others want

Being a Scooby-Doo fanatic... I do have to sort of express my desire to play the ersatz Scooby Gang.

That said, I also like the High Magic concept... be interesting to be the only one without. But then... I also have the option to start with an assault rifle. So... silver-lining?

I mean, i'm chill being Daphne as well (though I think i got assigned that largely because she was left)

So the difference between first pick and high magic is Scooby vs. Spooky?

I mean, i'm chill being Daphne as well (though I think i got assigned that largely because she was left)

Molly Carpenter / Sorcerer's Apprentice is about choice and consequences, hense Danger Daphne.

Fred was the odd one out.

I think the critical difference is whether Picciui wants to be the mundane or the spooky, given the interpretations we've put forward.

Oh, I assumed Fred was supposed to be me as conspiracy theorist, since he was always the one who believed random stuff. :D

If you think my mundane concept wouldn't work with the high fantasy group, I can defer to whichever character works with the group everyone else prefers.

If you think my mundane concept wouldn't work with the high fantasy group, I can defer to whichever character works with the group everyone else prefers.

Not necessarily. The source material is rich with examples of the normal person trapped in the sea of weird.

Just know that you’ll be a mostly support character. Which can be a lot of fun...

Also Oni is playing the crooked so you won’t be completely alone without powers.

It’s up to you.

I think our point is that, I'm playing the Sorceror's Apprentice, Bastian is playing the sun-wukong character. Oni the crooked, and Sbodd the expert or initiate

Actually, Sbodd hasn't ventured a statement as to which they would prefer, but honestly, any of the three work, just that those two fit the rest of the cast best, IMO

we're saying which team we choose is down to which character you prefer. the Reporter/mundane gives a more classic "paranormal investigators who are each other's contacts" feel, while the doom prophet gives a more (to me) "people who are helping each other deal with their weirdness, and also go kick monster ass"

whichever you prefer. or our team wind sup totally different. choose whichever character you prefer, I guess, because either work.

Introduce your characters in the discussion thread when you’re ready. We’ll do history and world building questions once everyone is announced and I’ll launch the first mystery from there.

I’m trying really hard not to plagiarize The Magnus Archives but I make no promises...

promise none of "the corruption". the other 13 are fine, but please, god, no more Prentiss.

I’m much more creeped out by the Web and Meat...