Universal Darkness: Mutants and Masterminds Monster Heroes

Game Master tumbler

Continue the discussion here.

On, grab, I'm not sure I've ever seen that exact situation. I think I've always used the attack roll for whatever weapon was involved in grabbing as the grab. I didn't realize it was a separate attack skill, but now I see that it is.

I think we've worked around that for the current builds.

Long ago Lord Hathaway asked where the campaign will be set. The answer is all over the globe.

I intend to provide you with some team assets, including a cool plane.

Timeline, Rev A

1900
• Jonathan Harker recruited
WW1
• Mummy's Bride recruited
WW2
• Lord Hathaway recruited / subsidizes organization
• Auto-Frankenstein recruited
2000
• Benjamin Griffin/Son of the Invisible Man recruited
• Henrietta Jekyll/Ms. Hyde recruited
2020
• Sehkmet recruited

Well hello there.

Lord Hathaway can make 20s, but not 30s was that right?

As for his base, if we are given one can I re-use those points into, other things?

Sorry about the Power Level confusion. Bad typo on my part. Of course your pairs should add up to 20, not 30.

PHANTOM New image

BTW folks, if you post in gameplay to dot, and then delete the post, it will still keep the thread dotted and added to your campaigns tab without the post filling up the thread.

Good to be here!

BTW for now have associated Helen with Oxford University but can put her somewhere else more plot convenient as needed.

I'm going to write two posts here, one to introduce/reintroduce myself and my style, and the second to try to clarify some things about the campaign.

Hello, I'm GMSuperTumbler, sometimes also Tumbler. When it comes to running games, the thing that most often surprises players who don't know me well is that I tend to offer a lot of narrative control/agency to players. One of the many things that I do for a living is teach improv, and I try to be very much a "yes, and..." kind of GM.

Jubal was in a very successful Mutants and Masterminds campaign with me, which I hope made him feel free to get started putting together the background for the campaign. That is a great example of what I'm talking about.

When it comes to posting, I tend to be somewhat slow. Also, I am most able to post from about 9:00 pm to 12:00 am Eastern time, which I know is not the norm. I can post these days during the work day more than I was able to in the past, but I'm a teacher, so work for me usually prevents me from posting too much during the day.

In this campaign, I'm hoping for a rip roaring action story with a side of monster angst and ennui. We've already talked about inspirations, so I won't go into that again. But I've been reading some interviews with Guillermo del Toro and found a lot of inspiration.

“When I was a kid, monsters made me feel that I could fit somewhere, even if it was… an imaginary place where the grotesque and the abnormal were celebrated and accepted.”

In his work, monsters are often misunderstood creatures unjustly viewed as monsters by society. Instead, the actual monsters often hold power exist in reality, and exhibit humanity’s more hostile and evil aspects. The true evil lies within humanity and institutions.

The Shape of Water, a Monster of a Love Story.

I want to pull in lots of ideas, and I want to incorporate your ideas as well.

As a baseline, think of our little troupe as a mix of the BPRD and MI6 and we will make sense of things from there.

Jonathan Harker's history as it appears in recruitment works for me. The organization is officially called the Monstrous Regiment, though that name isn't necessarily used by anyone. As far as Jonathan knows, he was there at the beginning. I have ideas that there might be a shadowy figure behind its initial organization, but I want to save that for our storytelling.

The mission of the Regiment is to protect humanity from things that are worse than you. That might include devils, demons, aliens, Cthonic horrors, and anything else that comes along.

Since no one is playing an original monster, I'm going to feel free to use the OGs as characters. Dracula is for sure a villain that the Regiment has fought on many occasions (see all of the many Dracula movies over the years). I have thoughts about the rest of them, but I think it is best not to reveal those until it is useful.

I'm very excited about what we are going to get going here.

Character notes so far:

Dr. Jekyll might want to take Investigation skill (which would be used for forensic medicine) and/or Expertise (Medicine). Treatment would cover actual healing and doctoring. Expertise (Medicine) would cover all of the aspects of being a doctor. If she isn't familiar with a research hospital or something like that, it probably doesn't matter. Just a thought.

The Bride has a very specific Expertise in Ancient Human Religion. Expertise is usually much more general than that. Since I made skills relatively cheap, it doesn't bother me too much, but it should probably at least be as general as Ancient Egypt. An Expertise: Archaeology isn't unreasonable and would be much more broad.

Lord Hathaway/Phantom: I think I want you to keep your cool Installation/Headquarters. In fact, I think it would be awesome if we somehow made that a variable effect. I know this is technically possible, but I haven't found a way to do it in Herolab or even an example of it. What that would mean is that you could have an Installation anywhere you need it with whatever you needed in it. So you could have a safe house in Egypt, or a penthouse apartment in Shanghai, or etc. Also, we should have a conversation about what your wealth benefit means. For me it means you get the narrative power to do whatever a very rich person could do, but it doesn't give you carte blanche to emulate other effects and/or equipment.

General notes for building the group:

It would be useful if we have some Investigation skill. And, since we don't have typical movement powers due to the nature of the characters and the campaign, it would probably be useful for someone to have a good Vehicles Skill.

I think between powers and skills we have fighting and face type skills covered.

I intend to start the campaign in the middle of a fight in order to give people a chance to try out their builds

Lord Hathaway/Phantom: I think I want you to keep your cool Installation/Headquarters. In fact, I think it would be awesome if we somehow made that a variable effect. I know this is technically possible, but I haven't found a way to do it in Herolab or even an example of it. What that would mean is that you could have an Installation anywhere you need it with whatever you needed in it. So you could have a safe house in Egypt, or a penthouse apartment in Shanghai, or etc. Also, we should have a conversation about what your wealth benefit means. For me it means you get the narrative power to do whatever a very rich person could do, but it doesn't give you carte blanche to emulate other effects and/or equipment.

Hathway is smart and has Investigation skill

I agree about wealth.
Wealth is a Mundane Narrative thing, any Mundane thing like,
Needs to buy food or get a hotel, hire staff it all goes up to 5 stars,
Hire an Army to fight the bad guy is not Mundane that is a Minion army.
Buy a tank to shoot the bad guy, That is Equipment
and so one, if its Mundane he can have it at a wealth level of 5
His Luxury Yacht as a Eqimant "base" is not a Mundane is a Power point Buy.

I think it could work if its
1) Something that travels,
1: A craft of some kind, A Luxury Yacht {I like this one the best}
2: A traveling circus {very in kind but not really practical}
3: He has a Vast international corporation at his disposal, he could just move the Lab or have Safe houses as you say, {Practical but Dull}
4: Mix of 1 and 3, which I think may work best, and give you and me the change to tell us what the safe House is.

If I make it a Luxury Yacht for now, that also gives us a live of Privacy.

The Bride has a very specific Expertise in Ancient Human Religion. Expertise is usually much more general than that. Since I made skills relatively cheap, it doesn't bother me too much, but it should probably at least be as general as Ancient Egypt. An Expertise: Archaeology isn't unreasonable and would be much more broad.

Not sure where you are finding "human" on my sheet--where are you seeing that so I can fix it? Copy-paste from character sheet says "Expertise: Ancient Egyptian Religion/Cosmology." I can pick a certain period (early, middle, or late kingdom) if you prefer. Obviously Amunet (not Helen) would know her particular era the best, but I hadn't gotten around to determining what actual dynasty period she came from. Do you have a preference?

Should I also specify Expertise: Magic to something like Thothian Hermeticism? (That is to say, something along the lines of Hermetic magic through the lens of Thoth rather than Hermes Trimegistus?)

I intend to start the campaign in the middle of a fight in order to give people a chance to try out their builds

I am cool with whatever, but my two cents: combat is very slow. I get the drama of the in medias res start as a concept--and absolutely agree we need to stress test our builds--but every PBP I've played that's started with a combat has ended up losing players from the start who get frustrated with the pace or what happens in combat. These players here I expect will be fine, but I just point this out based on prior experience.

I will throw out as an alternative maybe a brief "at the office" scene that gives us a chance to RP out a little more how we know each other, THEN change scene to "later that day" in the middle of a fight?

I don't feel strongly about this and if you are set on this direction and/or other players are happy to dive straight into the combat, cool.

Session 0

One thing I forgot to mention, my character tends to drink the blood of her fallen enemies.

Should I fade to black for that?

[aside]it is thought that stories about Sehkmet might be one of the oldest sources of the Vampire legends.[/aside]

PS: On a Variable Headquarters: I long ago lost access to Hero Lab (bought it years ago, have had several new computers since then and thus exceeded their installation limit, and decided just to do without because f!!! them and their f~#~ing DRM.) So I have no recollection how its interface works. But it should be doable.

Indeed: HQs are bought with Equipment Points, couldn't you just build a "Utility Belt" of HQs? Could even add a feature of "in a plot convenient location" to each item.

Thanks ST! Please find the next revision of our timeline of joining the Monstrous Regiment. Need Ms. Jekyll/Hyde and Son of Invisible to confirm their recruitment.

Timeline, Rev B

1900
The founders of the current agency of Monstrous Regiment chased Jonathan throughout England until they finally made an agreement. In exchange for a constant supply of blood, they would join forces hunting other monsters. He was their first monster recruit.
• Jonathan Harker recruited
WW1
• Mummy's Bride recruited
WW2
• Lord Hathaway recruited / subsidizes organization
2000
• Benjamin Griffin/Son of the Invisible Man recruited
• Henrietta Jekyll/Ms. Hyde recruited
2020
• Auto-Frankenstein recruited
• Sehkmet recruited

PS: On a Variable Headquarters: I long ago lost access to Hero Lab (bought it years ago, have had several new computers since then and thus exceeded their installation limit, and decided just to do without because f*+$ them and their f%~%ing DRM.) So I have no recollection how its interface works. But it should be doable.

Indeed: HQs are bought with Equipment Points, couldn't you just build a "Utility Belt" of HQs? Could even add a feature of "in a plot convenient location" to each item.

I like your idea, but Hathaway as a person is about the spectacle, and International man of mystery feel, This is my thinking for Lord Hathaways BoO. Base of Operation

Submersible SuperYacht M7
Run by a AI computer, and a small staff, you can all have your own rooms like Apartments, office space. Gym. It has means to get off an on ship. with ease. Going to one of the Hathaway safe houses. But what it gives us is privacy from Drones and such. .There is a hathaway Lab out of sight, It has a security system, but no large weapons. The fact its a sea and can go underwater IS its security. With small motorboats and a chopper to get us off and on.

O and it 100% has a Orchestral Organ MISIC HE PLAYERS

Image of him doing it. That image of him playing again He would invite the most Famous soloists to his play music with him.

Love the idea that the sound loates over the waves in the dead of night.

And its sooo HAthaway, International man of mystery who loves that Dramatic FlaiR!! What is cooler that having you SuperYacht pop up just off share at the Cannes film Festival, ready to throw ones of his Famous Macraid balls, For the stars, Think Elton John level of party.

VIDEO here

Still called "The Eleanor Roosevelt" He know her as a boy and always liked her. {There is a secondary meaning in there if your clever you can work it out.}

Also looking at the timeline and actually absorbing it--the Bride became "the Bride" in 1933 so her recruitment would be WWII era. She was born in 1913 so was just a child when WWI ended.

@DQ Great! Perfect.

The way to read the timeline is that the years and events are milestones, and the recruitments happen some time between them. So, Harker was recruited some time between 1900 and WW1. And the Bride was recruited some time between WW1 and WW2, so I think I captured what you mean.

Cheers

Not sure where you are finding "human" on my sheet--where are you seeing that so I can fix it? Copy-paste from character sheet says "Expertise: Ancient Egyptian Religion/Cosmology." I can pick a certain period (early, middle, or late kingdom) if you prefer. Obviously Amunet (not Helen) would know her particular era the best, but I hadn't gotten around to determining what actual dynasty period she came from. Do you have a preference?

Should I also specify Expertise: Magic to something like Thothian Hermeticism? (That is to say, something along the lines of Hermetic magic through the lens of Thoth rather than Hermes Trimegistus?)

Wow, my fingers are not typing the words I mean lately. I did not mean to write human.

What I meant was that that is probably too specific for an Expertise. The game (and the genre, I think) tend to have really broad expertise skills like Science.

I think Ancient Egypt would be fine, but if you want to limit it for character building, that is also fine.

Magic is a fine expertise.

I hadn't thought about the slow start coming from combat. I'll ponder revising that.

Egyptology maybe? If you want to capture a slightly old school vibe, while also maintaining the archaeological bent?

As for a few rapid fire initial character impressions:

Loves Hathaway's toys, eggs him on in splurging on the silly and spectacular.

I like the idea of a little rivalry with Sekhmet (possibly starting with temporary dismemberment)

Harker and The Mummy's Bride (aka The Olds) are probably folk that she doesn't have a ton of immediate affinity for, and certainly doesn't mind disturbing their equilibrium.

I'm not totally certain re: Griffin, but his idealism seems like something that she would snark at while actually respecting.

I think she gets along with Ms. Hyde better than with Henrietta.

Timeline, Rev B

1900
The founders of the current agency of Monstrous Regiment chased Jonathan throughout England until they finally made an agreement. In exchange for a constant supply of blood, they would join forces hunting other monsters. He was their first monster recruit.
• Jonathan Harker recruited
WW1
• Mummy's Bride recruited
WW2
• Lord Hathaway recruited / subsidizes organization
2000
• Benjamin Griffin/Son of the Invisible Man recruited
• Henrietta Jekyll/Ms. Hyde recruited
2020
• Auto-Frankenstein recruited
• Sehkmet recruited

I like the idea that Lord Hathaway came in post war to stop the brake up of the organization. Using his contacts to give it a place saving the world, from the things that go bump in the night. He also saw and opportunity to use the knowledge found. Then he had his accident and Helen and Jonathan would have been there seeking to save his life with the lab techs, I like they idea they known what was done to him, to save his life but have sworn to silence by Hathaways Father. When he came round his father has passed away and they have him the his father's will. They would know stuff about the organization he doesn't, as they were there before his time. Members of the organization have been lost before he came and after. To the new members they might know of some.
There world is not a safe one. What do you think?

Timeline, Rev B

I like the idea that Lord Hathaway came in post war to stop the brake up of the organization. Using his contacts to give it a place saving the world, from the things that go bump in the night. He also saw and opportunity to use the knowledge found. Then he had his accident and Helen and Jonathan would have been there seeking to save his life with the lab techs, I like they idea they known what was done to him, to save his life but have sworn to silence by Hathaways Father. When he came round his father has passed away and they have him the his father's will. They would know stuff about the organization he doesn't, as they were there before his time. Members of the organization have been lost before he came and after. To the new members they might know of some.
There world is not a safe one. What do you think?

Yes, and the Lord Hathaway's were founding members of the aristocratic organization of monster hunters who bankrolled the Van Helsings. Probably the great grandfather and great uncles of the current character.

After WW2, the Allies fought over control over the Monstrous Regiment, like everything else. Would it be American, British, Russian, or remain Allied? The Hathaway's money allowed them to stay semi-private and connected to the Allies at the highest levels of government: MI5, MI6, FBI, CIA, FSB & KGB. And as the world changed, the Monstrous Regiment became more autonomous.

Wow, my fingers are not typing the words I mean lately. I did not mean to write human.

What I meant was that that is probably too specific for an Expertise. The game (and the genre, I think) tend to have really broad expertise skills like Science.

Whoops! I was totally reading what you said as I was not being specific enough. Clearly got that backwards.

Egyptology maybe? If you want to capture a slightly old school vibe, while also maintaining the archaeological bent?

Sekhmet's the archeologist, I'm the linguist. :) But yes, Egyptology could do. I was focused on religion and cosmology (e.g., the Book of the Dead) being the reincarnation of an ancient priestess and all (with said consciousness of ancient priestess frequently speaking her own mind about things). I was thinking that expertise rather than being broad would rather go deep, with lots of understanding of death and how souls work and so on. She can't necessarily recite the lineage of the pharoahs though. But if it's easier to just say "Ancient Egypt" or "Egyptology" I can do that too.

Harker and The Mummy's Bride (aka The Olds) are probably folk that she doesn't have a ton of immediate affinity for, and certainly doesn't mind disturbing their equilibrium.

"When I was your age, I had to pull my own brain out through my nose. I've not much left to be disturbed, I'm afraid." Helen sips her tea. "Now, Amunet, she gets haughty when people don't give her due deference, so give her all the dressings-down you like should she take over. You'd think after a hundred years walking around with me, she'd accept the social order's changed now, but no. Silly thing. Would you like a biscuit?"

@Frankenstein

Frankenstein was published in 1818, a full 80 years before Dracula, so the Creature has been kicking around for almost a century before Jonathan Harker was turned into a vampire. Since ST has written that the OG monsters have been some of the adversaries of the Monstrous Regiment, we've probably faced the Frankenstein descendants and creatures at least several times over the recent 100 years.

So, Tori Walton, let us know when and what you want us to connect between your character and these earlier incarnations. We would have already be looking at old case files for clues but won't find anything until you want us to.

Cheers

Hey gang, I’m in the midst of winter storm Enzo here in Houston. Everything’s fine, but internet service is very spotty. I’m not patient enough to type at the level a PbP requires on just my phone. :) FYI

I'm not totally certain re: Griffin, but his idealism seems like something that she would snark at while actually respecting.

I recognize that I haven’t gone too deep into Ben Griffin’s backstory. It occurs to me that I could clarify that his idealism/activism isn’t akin to a LG paladin, but closer to a low-key PETA or Greenpeace activist. I’m not intending to take that to absurd or annoying levels, but I think snarking at some of his ideals could be very appropriate.

Just as I was typing this, I was inspired by the idea of his invisibility coming on line after he had chained himself to a tree to prevent its destruction by a construction crew. He was only one of numerous activists, and after he turned transparent, nobody could hear him yelling as the bulldozer approached his tree. Nobody knew he was there, and he barely escaped with his life.

After that, he became too overconfident that his new ability made him unnoticeable as he enacted bolder and bolder acts of protest, and this eventually got him noticed by the folks behind the Monstrous Regiment. They were the ones who helped him realize his heritage, so he accepted their offer to join so that he could right past wrongs.

"A biscuit? thank you Miss Wise, but no, you know I like to eat alone.
What do you think of the view, The meditation is so peaceful this time of year"
Sitting on the mid sun deck of the "Eleanor Roosevelt"

Hehe

GM when would be be starting I have a few days away for work coming up.
I hear bad snow in mid west, Keep safe all.

Hey gang, I’m in the midst of winter storm Enzo here in Houston. Everything’s fine, but internet service is very spotty.

Just as I was typing this, I was inspired by the idea of his invisibility coming on line after he had chained himself to a tree to prevent its destruction by a construction crew. He was only one of numerous activists, and after he turned transparent, nobody could hear him yelling as the bulldozer approached his tree. Nobody knew he was there, and he barely escaped with his life.

Wish you the best with your storm.

The way your Concealment is built, people can hear you, just not SEE you. Unless you mean hear you over the sound of the bulldozer, but even then, as you wish.

And when you can draft your backstory, please confirm when you've joined the team, so I can finish the Timeline. And, you were not the first to hunted before joining. ;D

Cheers

I have a world question. Does the world have other superheroes and supervillains or just "monsters", both friend and foe and casual bystander? And how much is publicly known about the existence of monsters?

I've been sort of assuming that most incidents have been concealed, that most people don't believe in monsters, that we and our immediate antagonists are more or less the only supers out there. That seems to fit most of the source material but there are exceptions (The Mummys with Brendan Fraser had incidents that would have been hard, albeit not impossible, to cover up)

Humm Delta Green / Hell Boy / Xfiles
over
The BOYS, MARV/DC setting

By the way if you have not read these, they are great.
From the mind that have us Watchmen and V for Vendetta

Top 10

yep good

How do you see the relationship with Jonathan Harker? Sekhmet is very new to the team vs. the oldest man on the team.
Sekhmet seams to lean into the cat and feline predator, too. Whereas Jonathan can transform into wolf and summon a super pack of wolves, there's a feline vs. canine thing there.

What do you think?

[Aside]to be clear, the characters personality is a bit of an amalgam of Sehkmet, Bastet and Evelyn. While I kinda know how that will work a great deal will only become obvious (even to me) in play. That is just how characters work with me, I start with a concept but they gel and morph in play.[/aside]

I don't think that the wolf/cat thing would bother her at all. Wolves were just not a thing back in the day in Egypt and even dogs weren't all that common. She just assumes that everybody agrees that canines are obviously and totally inferior to felines. Its so obvious to her that it might well have never come up at all.

As I noted in another post, Sekhmet is arguably the first (or one of the first) incarnations of the Vampire. So, that part of her personality probably views Jonathan with amused contempt. Isn't it cute that the hundred year old considers himself to be ancient thinks the thousands of years old spirit :-) :-).

@ Mr. Harker

She sees him very much as one of the Olds, and she's very much watching for areas where he slips up - his experience is a challenge rather than a qualification. I think I'd rather not foreground her family connections until they come up though - I'm assuming Shelley didn't publish her Modern Prometheus in a world where Capt. Walton, Mr. Frankenstein, and [Frankenstein] exist, so the connection might not be terribly obvious.

Having encountered other revivified creations seems quite likely though - I picture [Adam Frankenstein]* and his direct offshoots as being stronger and tougher than Tori, but not having the Radical Bodily Autonomy or Fleshcrafting Expertise power sets. I could see you credibly going either way on whether Harker assumes she's a being in that same vein, or discovering the shared roots of the different lineages later in the campaign. Also, aside from [Adam Frankenstein] we should definitely get some electricity-powered, groaning, neck bolt Frankensteins running around - my thinking is that they're from [Adam Frankenstein]'s own attempts at creating life, and fill him with as much loathing and frustration as his own creator towards him...

*GM, feel free to disagree on this point, but I've always loved the idea of the Creature taking that name for himself. There's even a handwritten addendum in my copy of the book to that effect to make it nice and official :-p

***

@Sekhmet thoughts on the initial meet and eat?

Lord Hathaway sponsored Tori Walton into the organisation,
She may see him as on old, but he believes deeply that Tori
as great potentia and said such.

Hey everyone. I've had a very exciting couple of days in the real world. Got a very stupid (and minor) eye injury shoveling snow, of all things. Then needed to travel 7 hours round trip for completely different medical reasons.

Catching up now while wearing a jaunty eye patch that will surely delight my middle school students tomorrow.

@Bride: I think you could also broaden the expertise by making it apply to all religion and cosmology rather than to all of Egypt. Probably in this setting other gods beyond Egypt are also real. That would keep with not knowing the lineage of pharaohs but still make the knowledge broader. Also keeps you distinct from Sehkmet.

@Sehkmet but also Everyone: With regard to the world. I think you have it right. There aren't superheroes or villains out in the open. The world is pretty much like ours to most people. A Secret Magic/Secret Super-science setting. That seems to fit everyone's characters. I haven't yet defined if there is a group that keeps the public in the dark, like the men in black. Most of what happens in the novels and movies is in pretty remote settings (with the exception, yes, of some of the things that happen in the Brendan Fraser Mummy movies). I imagine that in the absence of something crazy currently happening, no one looks too closely. In the way that Hellboy can walk the streets in a hat and trench coat, so can most monsters.

@Everyone, especially Sehkmet and Harker: We will be getting all up into vampire lore and ancient vampires, at least that is in my plans.

On the subject of whether our Ur texts exist (novels and films):

I tend to be a kitchen sink kind of guy. I think I like the idea of the novels existing as fictionalized versions of "what really happened." And the films as well. That helps to some degree with concealing the truth. Someone sees a neck bolted monster tearing through a night club fighting a werewolf, and that can be explained away as a costume party or LARP session gone wrong.

I'm happy to hear dissenting or diverging opinions.

On Frankenstein and the creation:

For me, Victor is the villain there. And, conveniently, the doctor in the film is named Henry. So Victor existed, Henry was a descendent who followed his madness. That gives us Adam (original creation) and Frankenstein (Karloff monster) both on the table.

As for our canon, the Regiment probably hasn't had any adversarial interactions with Adam. But definitely with Victor, Henry, their creations, and etc.

Are we ready to get started in Gameplay?

I am good to go with our first scenario. Harker and Hathaway have a cool scene going, so I'm happy to use that for character introductions.

It looks like everyone has a build or a link to a build in your alias.

As I said before, there will be time to clean up builds or even rebuild as we go.

I am pulling character info into a spreadsheet that I will use for planning and making sure people get to use their cool abilities. Also for keeping track of Complications.

If you want to put in info there that I haven't yet, go for it.

Our first plot hook will be on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States in case anyone needs to set anything up.

Wish you the best with your storm.

Thanks! We're past it now.

The way your Concealment is built, people can hear you, just not SEE you. Unless you mean hear you over the sound of the bulldozer, but even then, as you wish.

Yes, I'm aware that he still makes sound. I did mean his yelling couldn't be heard over the sound of the bulldozer.

And when you can draft your backstory, please confirm when you've joined the team, so I can finish the Timeline.

Probably later than when you have him. He's only been on the team a few years, is what I'm feeling. The exact year isn't important to me.

How do you see the relationship with Jonathan Harker? Benjamin is relatively new to the team vs. the oldest man on the team.

Being new to this side of the world, he probably views all of his monstrous teammates with a mix of awe and fear. He probably wouldn't care too much that Harker is the oldest, but he wouldn't hold it against him. Perhaps if he Harker demonstrates some of the knowledge that his experience has gained him, Benjamin is likely to respect that.

Jonathan would have had many encounters with Invisible Men over the years. How do you want Jonathan to treat him?

I feel like that's up to you.

I don't find a lot of value in coming up with super-detailed backstories unless the GM has specifically requested them for world-building or plot hook reasons. Similar to Sekhment, my characters' voices doesn't really come together until I get the chance to play them.

Are we ready to get started in Gameplay?

Ready to go!

Hi all, busy couple of days; was hoping to check in with y'all more about character connections and just haven't found the time. Hoping as we play we can come up with what hasn't been come up with so far. Nonetheless am ready to jump in.

Coming up with backstories as we go works. I always like including Complications like friends, family, and signature villains.

Timeline, Rev C

1900
Before WW1, Lord Hathaway was a founding member of the aristocratic organization of monster hunters that bankrolled the Van Helsings and eventually became the Monstrous Regiment. They chased Jonathan Harker throughout England until making an agreement; in exchange for a constant supply of blood, they would join forces to hunt other monsters. He was their first monster recruit.
• Jonathan Harker recruited
WW1
• Mummy's Bride recruited
WW2
After WW2, the Allies fought over control over the Monstrous Regiment, like everything else. Would it be American, British, Russian, or remain Allied? The Hathaway's money allowed them to stay semi-private and connected to the Allies at the highest levels of government: MI5, MI6, FBI, CIA, FSB & KGB. And as the world changed, the Monstrous Regiment became more autonomous.
• Lord Hathaway recruited / subsidizes organization
2000
• Henrietta Jekyll/Ms. Hyde recruited
2020
• Benjamin Griffin/Son of the Invisible Man recruited
• Auto-Frankenstein recruited
• Sehkmet recruited

"Lord Hathaway wrote:

IMAGER here of scene on the good ship Roosevelt

Wow. Is that an actual real ship or is it an image of what such a ship COULD look like? Its amazingly cool either way

Why is it is, they are building one like it the rummer goes for a Saudi Prince Price tag, around 2 Billion. Will become the most expensive Yacht on earth.

Added a 3ed compilation to Lord Hathaway Jr
PTS Fear of showing his true form. His has a deep fear of showing his true face to others, if he is ever exposed and seen by others without some form of head covering or mask, his is in a permanent condition of distraction -10 to all rolls.

Slightly tweaked Sehkmet. Even the character introduction made me realize that I did NOT want the cat form thing to have the activation flaw. Lowered fighting, raised unarmed combat (she is never going to use a weapon anyway), put a few remaining points in raising some skills to make her a better archaeologist (investigation, technology, perception, expertise history IIRC).

Character sheet updated

Just want to say that I've been noodling around and fantasizing about this campaign for 20 years. I really thought it was too stupid an idea to ever make it into the world. Thanks for making it happen and coming up with such cool ideas.