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Hi, Stalwart!

This sounds EXACTLY like Uncharted Worlds, a PbtA-like ('like' because it breaks away from playbooks and several other common ideas) system that has the players build the universe as they play, right down to creating factions and the like. It's rules-lite and focuses very heavily on 'prompting', where the GM leaving gaps in the narrative for asking the players to fill. It's a system where a player can open a cargo pod and the GM often asks them whats inside; when you get attacked, its the players who say what Faction emblem is on the enemy ship; and so on. I'm not sure how else to sell it besides saying that it's exactly what you're looking for.

It also has an expansion, Far Beyond Humanity, which deals with supernatural aspects (magic, cosmic horrors, etc.) and creating strange aliens.

http://www.uncharted-worlds.com/

I'm currently attempting to run a recruitment for a Star Wars-based Uncharted Worlds game, but so far there has been no interest. I chose Star Wars in the hopes that the familiar setting would draw people in, but heh, no dice. I mostly want to play or GM an Uncharted Worlds game, so if recruitment over there fizzles out (it ends this Monday, June 4th), then I'll gladly come over as a potential UW player or UW GM.

Condition(s): None

"Wait did you steal all of–", starts Amir, before shutting up and muttering, "–nevermind."

He's not sure if he wants to know. Instead, what he does want to know is whether Moxie considers him to be either the salt or pepper shaker, but there's no time for that now. Amir leans over the map and taps the stage.

"How about Siphon and I take the stage? We can draw the brunt of the fighting up there so none of the bystanders in the crowd get hurt. Manifest can block the exits with a magic wall, and Moxie and Twitch can make ramps or stairs with their powers so people can get out." Feeling a surge of confidence, Amir stands tall. "Once the normies are safe, Siphon and I will clear the stage so Manifest can blast it, then we'll all move in and take down any of the Cee Oh Teas (C.O.Ts) that are left."

Amir turns to Manifest. He thinks of the Maker's Mage waning reputation, and how lucky it was that the whole thing with the fire got kind of swept under the rug with the craziness of the last few days. Amir knows though, that nothing in Panurgic gets forgotten, eventually the incident would come up to bite Manifest. It was up to him to help restore Manifest as a local hero.

"I, uh, don't mean to sound like a jerk, but there's less chance that someone will get hurt on accident this way. And once the crowd is clear, you can really let loose."

[Triggering Provoke Someone against Manifest :D Amir wants him to go along with his plan.]
Provoke Someone (+ Superior): 2d6 + 0 ⇒ (2, 1) + 0 = 3
[Aaaand that's a swing and a miss.]

Apologies for the stupid long delay with no posts from me D: I've been very sick all this time, making it hard to concentrate or do anything, and with no sign of getting better. No medicine I took over the last couple weeks seemed to help. I had no idea what I had/what was wrong with me until last night.

Turrrrrrnss out that I had head lice (first for me), and it turns out that I just so happen to be extremely allergic to head lice. The good news is that they're gone now and I'm starting to feeling better, but whollyyyyy crap, that was the worst couple weeks I've ever had the displeasure of living through. Never again, never never never again.

I'll get a post up ASAP, likely sometime tomorrow.

It's good to post as Amir again~ Been too long.

You've hit the nail on the head, Siphon :) I couldn't put it better myself, "blunt interactions based on a relaxed familiarity" is exactly what I was going for. I might not have even chosen Manifest as one of Amir's Influences if I had realized that we were going to start with the Team having got together only a day or so ago. It sucks that my mistake have ended up with Amir being considered obnoxious and creating a caustic relationship between Amir and Kilt and Manifest D: Which is why I'd like some sort of retcon and why I don't want to gloss over this as Elsine suggested.

I wouldn't mind the three of them having teamed up in the past, but that would require acceptance between all three of us and lots of backstory writing. So here's what I'm going to go with...

RETCON: False Connection
Amir doesn't just watch Twitch's streams for the latest superhero happenings, he also keeps an eye on the news and various other media outlets. And although the chat on Twitch's streams is where he's most active, Amir does participate in superhero discussions on other sites, whether they be the comments on an article, blog post, video, or on a forum. Mainly these are Panurgic-based and on Panurgic heroes. After all, in Panurgic, everyone has an opinion on every super, and 'super' news and gossip is constantly flying around, making these sorts of chats and discussions very active.

One particular hero that often gets talked about is the "Local Supermage", Manifest. Some call him a spirit or outsider, others a boy, and there are even those who say that he's actually a cleverly-disguised girl. Whatever Manifest is though, there's loads of criticism and rumors ('facts') surrounding him and his powers. You could easily pull up a book's worth of stuff on this guy.

Which is why Amir, a long time participant in Manifest-related discussions, feels like he's known Manifest for a long time. He's very pro-Manifest and is quick to jump into anti-Manifest flame threads to defend the hero. This is also why, upon meeting Manifest, instead of being starstruck, he thrusts forward the usual criticisms, in an attempt to 'fix' Manifest in a sense and make Panurgic see him as a beloved hero like he deserves. Of course, while Amir sees himself as an old friend of Manifest's, he's obviously only just met the guy. This obviously makes Manifest not so appreciative of Amir's efforts, as to him he's just some nobody jerk who thinks he knows him.

And Manifest isn't the only one. Amir is also a frequent online defender of Twitch, The Kilt, Miss Moxie, Siphon, and many other young heroes. He might never admit this to anyone though, as he does this all under his internet username NeverEndingLove, which he also uses to talk about many personal details (his doom, for instance) that he doesn't want anyone to connect to him (because it'd bring his doom closer). Amir has, however, admitted that he's NeverEndingLove to Twitch, which was kind of an impulse decision. Time will tell whether that will come back to haunt him.

@Siphon The above retcon might suffice as a reason for why Amir is totally head-over-heels for Siphon, but I'm still totally up for them having met in the past. Up to you :)

@Elsine +Superior and -Saviour then, got it. I'll accept the Label change (Superior: -1 > +0 ; Savior: +1 > +0).

So I'm going to make a quick addition to Amir's family. A brother-in-law.

Amir's older sister, Saira, like him (and their parents), had her marriage arranged while she was just a baby. Several years back, she went through with it, marrying a guy in Pakistan who she barely knew. The whole family took a trip to Pakistan to be a part of the wedding, stayed for a week, and then returned to America/Panurgic, leaving Saira with her new husband and the Ahmed's extended family. Everything went perfect, and to the day, Amir has never seen or heard of a happier married couple.

Saira is now a huge supporter of arranged marriages, and honestly thinks the world would be a better place if everyone did it. She's even gone so far as to arrange marriages for all of her kids. This is unusual in the Ahmed Family, where the usual practice is to only arrange the marriage of the firstborn child. However, it's somewhat to be expected, as Amir's parents were the first in the family to stretch this tradition, by arranging the marriages of both their firstborn female and firstborn male.

This isn't great for Amir, as it adds an additional pressure for moving back to Pakistan. Amir's parents want to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren.

Conditions: Concerned

For Manifest to be such a nervous wreck, Siphon had to have rejected him. Either that or Amir managed to really, really pushed his buttons. Either way, it was clear that Manifest wasn't much of a threat after all.

Amir sighs at his underhandedness, somewhat disgusted with himself. He had deliberately said and did things to make Manifest uncomfortable. And all for Siphon. Of course, Amir would be lying if he said that it had nothing to do with getting out of the marriage, which could potentially be called off if he could claim he had a girlfriend that he was 'already courting'.

His phone goes off, just a text. Amir pulls it from his pocket. He had missed quite a bit of Twitch's chat, and there were a few messages for NeverEndingLove, but it'd have to wait. His little brother, Rana, had just asked if he "leveled a building". Amir quickly types out a response.

Rana: You leveled a building?
Me: It wasn't me. I just happened to be nearby. It was the magic guy, Manifest.

Truth be told, it was really a mix of everyone who brought Salvo's down; heroes and villains. It was just easy to let the guy who's 'magic' take the fall for it. And besides, how much damage could his own sand possibly have done? Not to mention that Amir wasn't in a position where he could afford to shoulder any of the blame.

But, feeling a twitch of guilt for what he did earlier, and realizing that wording it in the way that he did throws Manifest completely under the bus, Amir sends another message. Manifest was alright, Amir was cool with him. As long as Siphon and him kept their distance, and were just friends, then he and Amir would be friends as well.

Me: It only happened because of the bad guys there. He didn't have a choice.

Heading back inside as he sends the texts, Amir calls out to The Team, "Sorry about disappearing like that guys. I had to call my coworker and–" He looks around the room, everyone is gone. "–Uh..." He checks the patio, the bathroom, even his own bedroom, but no luck. "... Hello?"

The phone buzzes again, a notification this time. "LIVE NOW: Twitch". Amir logs onto the stream.

"Place your bets! Place your bets!"

People were flooding into the chat. Apparently there was some kind of race going on. Amir recognized the street. They weren't far from his apartment complex.

"Should I join in?"

Amir imagined himself gliding across the road in a chariot of sand. Despite his late start, he'd surprise everyone by taking first place. It'd be awesome. Siphon would be impressed for sure.

But then he sees Twitch fall, and he cringes. "That looks like it hurt." Amir's fantasy of being awesome fades away, replaced by concern. "Someone should check on her."

There was no time to grab his sand gourd. Instead–as he rushes to lock the patio door, then get out through and lock the front door–Amir reaches out and manipulates the sand from one of the open bags in his room. It flies out of the bag, through the air, and gathers under Amir feet, forming a wave of sand that he rides ontop of. Not quite the chariot he had imagined, but still a convenient way to get around.

With the apartment secure, he speeds off to Twitch's side. The sand wave carrying him much faster than his legs ever could. He calls out to her as he gets close.

"Are you okay?"

Conditions: None so far

Amir quietly steps out of his bedroom, his cellphone at his ear. He's just finishing up a phone call with Eric.

"... Mhm. Yeah. I'm still pretty sore from the whole thing, it's probably best if I don't come in tonight... Ok. Alright. Thank you for understanding. See you at work tomorrow."

The young "silokinetic"–as the news called him–had gotten tossed around a bit during The Team's earlier fight. He wasn't hurt, but Amir was still tired and sore, and not at all looking forward to going into work tonight. Thankfully, Eric had already saw the fight on the news, and was very understanding about Amir not wanting to come in. Now all he had to do was brace himself for the oncoming tide of calls and texts from family, all asking if he's alright.

With any luck, maybe Amir would be able to relax between then and now.

Sliding into the kitchen, he turns to survey the apartment. The entire team is here. Siphon and Manifest were talking to each other, which he did his best to ignore, feeling a sudden twinge of jealousy. On the other side of the room, 'The Kilt', Moxie, and Twitch huddled around each other and the TV. Speaking of Twitch, it had been a while since Amir had checked on the chat.

Pulling up his phone, Amir logs on. The stream had ended quite some time ago, but maybe there were a couple people still around.

NeverEndingLove has entered the chat.
NeverEndingLove: Hey everyone.

Several people enthusiastically greet 'NeverEndingLove', a regular name on the chat. No one but Twitch herself knew that it was actually Amir.

NeverEndingLove: I guess I missed the stream :( Who's the Amir guy? I've never heard of him.

All the above are living in Panurgic, but there are many more relatives (cousins, etc.) who live back in the middle east. Of course, the Ancestor isn't 'living' in Panurgic, but you get the idea :P If you remember the movie Mulan, he's kind of a cross between Mushu and the ancestor spirits, except a lot bigger and scarier.

Amir's Nemesis is his entire family, so while there are many individuals with different personalities in that group, they're all united in bringing Amir's Doom closer. I imagine they'd be best represented as a single Villain character, with a unique Villain move to symbolize each individual. Example: Mom pesters, Dad attacks, Sisters convince/argue, Brother whines, Ancestor haunts.

Shortly after the start of the game, I'll update Amir's profile with all the new info.

And the young woman who Amir is arranged to marry is an alternate universe fourth Moxie. She's so excited about the upcoming wedding that she's already named herself Married Moxie.

There's also a fifth Moxie, ironically residing in the fifth dimension. Her construct powers are great enough that she can alter the very fabric of reality. We call her Master Moxie.

Unbeknownst to everyone though, a sixth Moxie lurks in the shadows, connivingly puppeteering every ill our Team comes across by use of her unique Clayface-like construct abilities to change her form and create evil construct minions. Her name is Mud Mox.

Oh, and we can't forget the seventh and eighth Moxie. During the late 90s there was a "IN SPACE" craze that swept the nation, prompting the rise of number seven, 'StarMox'! Her villain was her future counterpart, the dreaded eighth Moxie, 'StarBux', who ran an evil megacorporation that sold addicting mindcontrol beverages in an attempt to brainwash the people of the known galaxy. It only lasted for 13 issues though.

The cut and run option is still open, thanks to Eric. All it'd take is a phone call for Amir to set things in motion, leave everything behind and start over. The only problem is that it'd count as kidnapping on Eric's part, so they're waiting for Amir's 18th birthday to roll around, unless there's some serious issue that warrants leaving sooner. And of course, Amir isn't really sure if he wants to go through with it, maybe he'll manage to convince his family to call the marriage off, or maybe something will come up or he'll decide to actually go through with it. After all, his family isn't abusive or anything, just forceful, Amir does love them. He also cares about honor. Not to mention he wants to stay together with his friends on the Team as well.

----

Relationships, Influence, and 'how the Team came together' are honestly the hardest and most drawn out parts of Masks. So here's to hoping we somehow manage to get through it quickly.

// When our team first came together... We paid a high cost for victory. What was it?
We had to accept someone's help, leaving us in-debt to them, and they're someone we really shouldn't of been dealing with. It was one of those companies that augments people to give them powers, but we don't actually know their name or who they are. See, its been suspected, but never confirmed, that some of these companies will often grab people off the street (people who won't be missed) to experiment on, before using their latest tech on actual, paying customers. And likewise, it's been suspected but never confirmed that when these experiments escape, or when a customer goes crazy or otherwise refuses to pay, these companies will send out their own private anti-super security force to capture the subject and 'cut their losses'. It was one of these security forces that we were forced to ally with.

We don't know what company they work for/represnt, but we do know that they call themselves 'The Collection Agency'. When things were looking dire, they came out of nowhere and helped us, driving off the villains we were facing. We were grateful for the assist at the time, but it didn't take us long to realize that they weren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. They wanted our Team to work for them, and when we naturally showed some hesitance, The Collection Agency revealed that they had been watching us for a while, and they knew everything about us, right down to our secret identities. Too tired to fight back against their thinly-veiled threat, we asked them what they wanted us to do, and The Collection Agency merely responded by saying that they'd contact us at a later date.

After that, they packed up and left, without a trace. As if they never really existed and the whole situation was just a bad dream. Even Twitch wasn't able to record them, her electronics and signal being mysteriously disrupted until they were gone. Suddenly we realized why these shadow organizations had always been considered a hokey conspiracy theory. Ever since then, we've all been dreading the day when our phones will ring, a call from an unknown number, and when we answer...

"... It's time to collect."

// Relationships: You told Twitch all about your doom and the danger you’re in.

// Relationships: You’d love to kiss Siphon before your doom comes.
I'm picking Siphon to be Amir's initial crush. Mostly for the drama of it. See, Amir's abilities come from his distant ancestor, whose powers are, well, EVERY power from EVERY playbook; i.e. Doomsign: Infinite Powers. Sand Control is just the one that he has most ready access to, presumably from a self-imposed psychological barrier, as his powers are tied to the middle east, his ancestral home, and he desperately wants to stay in America. Meanwhile, his father, who has the same powers, doesn't have that barrier, so he essentially has ALL the powers ALL the time. Then, enter Siphon, who also doesn't have that psychological limitation. See where I'm going with this?

Siphon might have some idea that Amir likes her, but she's probably never yet had a reason to take his memories or seemingly limited ability to control a specific type of sand. When she does though? It'll be a rush, and when it wears off, it'll be massively tempting to have all that power again. And since she'll have his memories as well, and will know that he likes her... Well, lets just say that it gives her a reason to be manipulative, and to use and abuse Amir. Or, perhaps, a reason to stay away from him, to avoid being corrupted by that temptation.

Of course, either way, Amir will be absolutely crushed if he ever finds out.

// Influence: These people matter for what you need to do. Give Influence to Siphon and Manifest
Siphon, because Amir has a crush on her. She's one of the big reasons why he wants to stay in Panurgic.

Manifest, because his awesome powers will be very useful in helping Amir to escape his doom. He's just not sure how to go about asking for his help.

----

@Miss Moxie
Yes! But instead of a particular someone, Miss Moxie actually managed to save the entire Team. And Amir is all about averting destiny. He'd fight at her side til the bitter end.

@Manifest, The Maker Mage
Amir has a rather grueling job, so he wouldn't be available often enough for me to recommend him for the blowing off steam relationship.

Oh dearie, looks like Amir sparked some discussion. Here's some answers to the posed questions~~

The rulebook describes "perishing" as The Doomed as not necessarily being death, but absolutely the end of that character's story. So a character who perishes could die, but they could also become a villain/monster with no trace of their original personality, or run away and never be heard from again. In Amir's case, perishing might be him going through with the marriage and never being seen/heard from again, while confronting his doom on his own terms might be going through with it.. but making the girl move in with him in America, versus staying in Pakistan.

Amir's Nemesis is tied very closely to his Doom, and is quite diabolical because, as BastianQuinn points out, it's not an enemy he can just punch away. The Nemesis, his family, does exactly what any normal family would do who's excited for an upcoming wedding. Picture this scene:

*ring ring* Amir's phone goes off. It's his Mom.

If he answers it, he risks "Talking about [his Doom] openly", but he also risks "Frightening loved ones" if he ignores it.
So he answers it.
"Hello? Please don't talk about the wedding. Please please."
"Oh, Amir! Your wedding clothes just arrived in the mail~ Are you free tonight to come over and try them on? I'll make dinner~"
"Well, uh, er... I'm working tonight so... I'm not actually working tonight. I'm lying to you."
"Oh no! But I thought you didn't work on the weekends. Did they change your hours? I'm starting to get worried about you, they work you so hard, and you seem so tired all the time!"

And so on.

Really, any kind of interaction with his family, even noninteraction, will force Amir to mark his Doom Track. If things need to get epic and powerful, then his father can step in with his abilities, or even some kind of Ancestral Spirit. For example, if it looks like Amir isn't going to go through with it, *WHIZZAM!* Prince Almajheered Ahmed comes outta nowhere and is all 'BOI YOU BETTER NOT BE DIHONORIN YER FAMILY AND DISRESPECTIN OUR TRADITIONS. DON'T MAKE US SING YOU A SONG.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsAS9lp1W7g
"Don't falter~ At the altar!"
"No. Stahp."
"YER FATHER DIDN'T FALTER, SON, THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HERE!"

There's a method to the madness behind Amir's power, which lets him only control sand that comes from Arabia/Persia. The Doomed's abilities are supposed to be tied into their doom, and in Amir's case, part of his doom is being forced to move to Pakistan. So not only are his family and traditions telling him to GO TO THE MOTHERLAND, but even his powers are pushing him in that direction (because his powers would be a lot more effective there). That, and, because Amir's sand can easily be taken away, it forces him to take advantage of his Moves and Doomsigns. Later in the game, it may be possible for him to learn to control other sand or generate his own sand, but until then, I'm fine with the current drawbacks :) There's quite a bit that can be done with sand, even if it's limited by how much he can carry around with him.

Janus! Yes, that might've been my second choice. But the Janus is about more than just Mundane v Freak issues. The Janus wants to have two separate lives, and their struggle is figuring out which one is the real them and deserves more attention (as well as actually keeping them separate!). Spider-Man would run off to save everyone, but Peter Parker would let the police handle it and make sure he gets to class on time. Meanwhile, Amir and The Doomed is about circumstance or destiny preventing them from being who they want to be. Raven would love to be hanging out with her friends, but doing so could mean not making progress with defeating Trigon (Her Nemesis), and not to mention the risk of her emotions going out of control and bringing her doom closer.

Amir wants to be the one holding the reins in his life, but tradition and family aren't so keen in letting him have full control.

EDIT: Also! With the description of Miss Moxie's energy projection, it seems there's a bit of overlap between her and Amir's abilities, as they're both construct focused. This could be seen as an interesting and cool thing, as if they're both selected, they have something in common and could help each other with their powers. However, I'm also familiar with the issue of similar abilities causing players to step on each other's toes. So~ No worries! Because Amir is the most recently submitted character, I'll start working on figuring out a new powerset for him.

:: Origin of Blueshift [Part 2 of 2]

"When a man's an empty kettle..."

As Atoms and Evelyn (aka Alexis) grew closer to their friends at Halcyon High, everyone began to talk a little more freely. Personal questions were asked and answered, opinions shared, secret identities revealed, locations of hideouts and bases shown, and even their weaknesses were discussed openly among them. Over time, the group of friends essentially became one, big, informal team of superheroes, helping each other in both their private lives and their heroics. If someone had a falling out with their mentor, the group was there for them with support and a place to stay; if someone needed help during a fight, the group would drop whatever they were doing and rush over; and when any of them was stuck with a problem, the group would pool their resources and knowledge to fix it. And out of all of them, Atoms was always the quickest to help, being very protective of his new friends.

Of course, every group of friends had its bad eggs, and this one was no different. There was some drama, requiring the manipulative, antagonistic, and those among them with differing opinions to be cast out from the group, but those that remained grew even closer through the adversity. What was eventually left was a close-knit group of people who agreed with each other and held similar views. And one of their shared views was the need for supers to have better rights.

Together they wanted to end experimentation on powered beings, end the segregation that kept them and normal humans apart, end the need for secret identities, and end the expectation that those with powers should fight and be heroes or pressured into villains. Of course, these views aligned heavily with that of Redshift, the anti-human terrorist organization, but unlike them, the group wanted to make change through legal and peaceful means. They would protest, chant, raise awareness, and fight for what's right, but they wouldn't attack or cause property damage.

"He should be on his mettle..."

They called themselves 'Blueshift', and at their head was Atoms and Evelyn. Atoms served as the leader, the tireless and fast-learning man being an obvious choice, able to quickly memorize pages of legal data and stay strong during an extended rally. Evenlyn, meanwhile, was a much better people person, so she made a natural choice for handling the organizational side of things. If Atoms could be called the Captain, then she was the First Officer.

It wasn't long until Blueshift did their first protest. And it wasn't long after that that the group began to gain momentum. Supers from outside Halcyon High joined their effort, both young and old, even normal humans who symphathized with the cause. Soon, their movement was reported on the news, first local, then national and international. It spread outside Halcyon City, and Blueshift rallies began to happen in distant places.

However, as the group grew larger and received more and more attention, they also attracted the ire of Redshift. After all, even though their views ultimately aligned with each other, they had opposing means of obtaining their goals. Redshift wanted to separate from humanity–to be superior to them and rule over them–while Blueshift wanted equality. Unwilling to let Blueshift undermine their objective, Redshift turned violent.

"And yet I'm torn apart..."

Since Blueshift was no longer just a group of concerned friends, it was easily infiltrated. It started benign enough, with Redshift operatives joining Blueshift messageboards and subtly suggesting that the group needed to use more 'aggressive' tactics in order to make change. But then these same operatives began to attend Blueshift meetings and rallies in person, spreading their message there. Blueshift began to be divided from within.

Meanwhile, Atoms was spread thin. As a being who did not require diversion or rest, people weren't afraid to run him ragged, giving him work at all hours of the day and night. Of course Atoms didn't mind, but between being a somewhat independant hero, a part-time Defender (which was beginning to feel very full-time), a student, and Blueshift's leader, he often found himself rushing from task to task. Intent on getting things done as quickly as possible so he could move onto the next thing, Atoms started to become reckless.

Then it happened. While helping Wingblade and Bran the Blessed defeat the entity known as 'Balor', Atoms lost his right arm. And although this injury wasn't nearly as severe as it would be on a normal person, it still (and continues to) hurt him greatly. Everyone hoped it would heal, that Atoms would be able to piece himself together like he did when he initially transformed, but it never happened.

"Just because I'm presumin'..."

With Atoms' new injury, tensions swelled between him and Wingblade, who yelled at him to "stop protecting" her. Injured now in a different way, Atoms attempted to busy himself even further, so that he might not dwell on the situation between them or the loss of his arm. But this didn't do him any good. The pain continued to increase.

And as Atoms' pain worsened, so too did Redshift's influence within Blueshift. Anything Blueshift did would eventually turn violent, always resulting in property damage and a member or passerby injured. And as Redshift began paying/bribing people to show up and cause a stir; sometimes people who had nothing to do with either organization, the rallies and protests became more and more like riots.

The Leadership of Blueshift; Atoms, Evelyn, and a few other people; still have no idea who is behind the division and violence within Blueshift. Seeking to defend their friends and movement, they're currently in discussions as to what to do next.

"That I could be kinda human, if... I only had a heart." - Atoms

_______________________

So I'm going to leave it at here for now~ No Givers yet, no 'Atoms gets kicked out from the Defenders' yet. I figure those are pretty major things that should happen during the course of the game. The plan is that the Redshift violence will get worse, and Atoms will eventually ally with The Givers, offering a place for them on Earth in exchange for protection for his people, as he realizes that he can't possibly protect everyone on his own. Obviously, The Defenders would not be okay with this (The Givers coming to Earth, and Atoms gaining control of an army). Plots can go any which way though, so we'll see~

Positive and Negative Event: See Origins of Blueshift Part 1 & 2.
Bonding Event: Atoms and Thor Girl!
Relationships: Thor Girl comforted Atoms when he was at his lowest.
Transformed Mandatory Influence: Giving Influence to Thor Girl

EDIT:
And before I forget!!
=== BLUESHIFT NPCS ===
// Airacomet III, Donald "Don" Seth Matthews

Condition(s): None

A custom communication device was pretty common for superhero teams to have, whether it be radios, video phones, or some other such thing. The Team itself used an earpiece and earbud combo created by Whetstone. Simple in design, these combo devices had a small battery and a dial that could be switched to different channels, allowing for private conversations or a team-wide broadcast. They also had a unique feature. If the earpiece was ever forcibly removed, it would seperate from the earbud and send out a distress signal.

Alexis and Atoms were in the middle of walking home when the distress signal hit Atoms' earpiece. Wasting no time in explaining the beeping noise to a stunned Alexis, Atoms quickly dials Matrix on his Defender communicator.

"Who?", asks Atoms, audibly.

Matrix begins to vibrate a response, "Wing–".

It's all she manages to get out before Atoms rockets across Halcyon City at warp one, light speed. Vibrating his molecules, he phases through the wall of The Clocktower and lands inside. Moving at normal speed, he looks around for any sign of his teammate. Nothing. She isn't here.

"–blade", finishes Matrix.

"WHERE?", demands Atoms, again asking audibly.

"S–"

"School!" Atoms takes off once more, pushing the speed limit of the universe. A couple days ago, he had overheard from Whippoorwill at Defender HQ that Wingblade was to start attending Halcyon High. Several times since then he had gone out of his way to try and find her around school, but he never found her. He even tried asking the students about Wingblade and Hashtag (Vick also attends Halcyon High), but everyone he asked said that they've never seen them around the school. Atoms figured his teammates attended classes at a different time of day than himself.

In an instant, Atoms is at Halcyon High, this time performing his search at sublight speed–checking every classroom, closet, any possibility. To the naked, human eye, he's nigh-invisible; a blur, a flash, a sudden rush of wind; his presence only detectable by the papers and other small, loose objects tossed by his wake. However, this speed is all for naught, as Wingblade isn't here either. Not even Hashtag is present.

Resisting the urge to jet away again, Atoms stays put for a second to allow the rest of the message to come through. He's anxious though. Atoms isn't about to let one of his teammates get abducted again, and he certainly ISN'T about let another North Star happen. No. Ever since that happened, he had devoted himself to being faster, more powerful. With his protection, no one he cared about would get hurt ever again.

"–ubway."

Matrix begins to say more in order to give Atoms more direction, but this was all he needed to go on. If Wingblade flew in a direct line to/from the Clocktower to/from Halcyon High, there were several SUBWAY® restaurants along the route where she could've ran into some trouble, either stopping at a bad time to eat or to investigate an existing disturbance. Regardless of why she stopped though, Atoms just hoped that Wingblade would be at the first SUBWAY® he looked. But fate was not kind to Atoms. Soaring through Halcyon City, on his way to the nearest SUBWAY®, he would be forced to make a choice.

About halfway to his destination, Atoms spots a couple of people running out of one of the Halcyon City Metro stations. He couldn't blame them, the tube was fast and inexpensive, but it was also dirty, smelly, and crime-ridden; every Halcyonite knew that the new SkyRail system was way better, despite costing more and being a bit overcrowded and slow. Atoms might've not given it much thought, except... It wasn't just a couple people, more and more continued to run out from the station, and some of them were yelling about a "bomb". Faced with the decision of either continuing to pursue Wingblade or stopping to help, Atoms knew that he couldn't ignore a bomb threat.

Gritting his teeth, both infuriated at the delay and not about to attempt phasing through feet of road and rock, Atoms flies down the entrance and into the metro tunnel. Immediately he feels a weak force acting on his particles, creating a sort of strange buzzing sensation through his body. Ignoring it, but recognizing that it might be coming from whatever threat the people were running away from, Atoms heads further down and further in. With each passing moment, the feeling grows stronger as he gets closer, until eventually he comes upon a train stopped at a platform.
Without thought, Atoms dives right in.

________________________________________________

Inside the train car, metal continues to warp under the strain of the electromagnet. Unable to handle any more pressure, one of the bars breaks in half, sending a sharp foot-long fragment like a bullet towards the girl trapped against the wall. Just as it seems the fragment would pierce the girl's heart, Atoms appears out of nowhere, intercepting the would-be bullet. It harmlessly impales his chest and disintegrates a second after, leaving an inch-wide hole in his suit that soon repairs itself. Atoms is angry; the girl against the wall is the spitting image of Wingblade, sans wings, reminding him of what he might lose if he doesn't end this quickly.

"You picked a horrible day to be a terrorist." Atoms steps forward, squaring up with Ten of Hearts, hands blazing with a blue glow "Turn off your device, before I turn you into ash."

I just realized that I've been typing Overhand Cheap... instead of Overhand Chop.

MRW I read "Gonna borrow her B-R-B."

As much as I want to make a fourth post ;) I guess it's about time for us to let Default get in a word.

I'll be have a procedure tomorrow. Nothing serious but it will require anesthesia so I'll be unable to post tomorrow morning. Should be fine by the afternoon.

Stay safe, Alata!

That was saved with my charactersheet at myth-weavers.

I will rewrite it tonight.

Isn't this it?

Silent snowflake falls on mountain,

blades cut through winter wind,
a fountain of crimson showers the victor

Backstory:

Yoshimitsu has been in three major battles and a handful lesser engagements, always on the losing side.
Not that he didn´t fight valiently, he did. Neither was he the first to run. No he wasn´t. But one simple man does not
decide a war or a battle. No matter how well he knows his style, no matter how good armored he is.
But those things can decide if he lives... or dies.
After a while Yoshimitsu learned two simple truths. Honor does not feed you when you are hungry. Glory does not warm you in the winter.
So he decided to become a mercenary. A sellsword. And he was a damn good one.
His school teaches the four elements. A strong stand. A keen eye. A fast strike. And endurance for the next opponent.
He stays true to his masters.
If you manage to buy his deeds, he is loyal, trustworthy and a very good bladesman. As long as you pay.
Just remember, he is a sellsword, no marauder. No women, no children, no innocents.

Outlook:

Yoshimitsu is a bull of a suli, very well muscled, with graceful movements for such a big man. His long black hair is braided through 18 brass rings.
He looks human, until you look into his eyes. Those silver pale orbs showing his true heritage. A faint scar follows his cheekbone and the tip of his left ring finger is missing.
His clothes and armor hide the rest of his many, many scars, by blade, arrow, tooth and claw.

Steed:

He also has a loyal steed. He named it Maelstrom.
The vendor said it was strong as stone, swift as the wind, enduring as the sea and spirited as fire.
Well actually the nag is only loyal if feed regulary with apples, is slow as stone, has almost no wind for long battles, is mean as the sea, and riding it sets your ass on fire.
But still Yoshimitsu likes it. He thinks the nag is fitting to him. And sometimes, sometimes the nag is a mean son of a hellhorse, biting in battle like a demon.

Lol Gene. Alata knows the difference between a simulacrum and the real thing.

I couldn't resist posting that for laughs

Hello

I have been toying around with running a higher level game which focuses on players using Dragons/Giants or Angels as their characters. I am curious if anyone has ever attempted this before and what were the results- what would you change or do differently?

I have allowed the occasional gold dragon to accompany the player party on very rare occasions. As expected, they were a little too powerful for the encounters and had a tendency to overshadow the pcs.

At any rate, I am thinking CR8-13 level monsters. Any advice would be appreciated :)

I have long kept this doc saved for such a campaign.

If webbing is what you want, you can be like the real Spider-Man and make it yourself with Craft (Alchemy). Spider Sac.

@Everyone - A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE. PRESENTS FOR ALL.

Deck the Haxors with boughs of stone
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
'Tis the season to be Wild
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Don she now her rocky apparel
Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la.
Tectonic the earth-wielding soldier
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.

====

Ghosty the dragon was a jolly happy soul,
With a red and black gi and a ninja mask
And two black boots with soft-soles.
Ghosty the dragon is nearly powerless, they say,
He wasn't really a ninja but the Masks
Know how he came to be super one day.
There must have been some magic in that
Mylo Ren scarf they found.
For when they placed it in his hand
He began to dance around.
O, Ghosty the dragon
Was super as he could be,
And the Masks say he could quip
and fight just the same as you and me.

Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Ghosty go.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
A MAN IS IMPALED ON A POLE.

====

Jingle Bells, Whippoorwill smells
Wingblade laid an egg
The Masks got a clone, stuck on a pole
And the real Haxor got away, hey!

====

Eldritch the Nova Super
Had some very shiny sigils
And if you ever saw them
You would even say they glow

All of the other supers
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Eldritch
Join in any super games.

Then one clear Halcyon Day,
Ghost_Dragon came to say,
"Eldritch with your marks so bright,
Won't you get Haxor out of the pole tonight?"

Then how all the supers loved him,
Until they shouted out with terror
Eldritch the Nova Super
Your eyes are on fire!

====

Rockin' around the Haxor tree
At the Haxor party hop
Clone hung where you can see
Every Mask tries to stop
Rockin' around the Haxor tree
Let Hashtag do his thing
Later we'll have a cigarrete
And we'll do some grafitti

====

We wish you a MercyDeath
We wish you a MercyDeath
We wish you a MercyDeath
And a Happy New Shell

Mindbolts we bring
To you and your kin
We wish you a MercyDeath
And a Happy New Shell

====

Here comes Foresight,
Here comes Foresight,
Right down Foresight Lane,
Fate and Destiny and all the future

Pullin' on the reins.
Sirens are blarin', children fightin',
All is tragic and dark.
So hang your capes and say you'll quit
'Cause Foresight comes tonight.

====

You're a foul one, Mr. North Star
You punched a post box through
You hit that rock with your heel
You sent it sailing through a home
Mr. North Staaar

The three best words that best describe you,
Are as follows, and I quote"
Dooming!
Doomed!
Doom!

Yeah I've been meaning to point out that thing with the cars myself, as in the narrative they were described as being taken and thrown from the side of the road. I didn't mention it because I loved it <3 I saw it as showing Haxor as not necessarily being reckless or villainous, but instead the reality of the average teenage superpowered humans not having the wisdom or experience to even consider that someone might be sitting/reclined/laying down in a parked car, and Wingblade perhaps only spots it because of her enhanced senses and her training. I really appreciate that Default was flexible and allowed that change of narrative to slide instead of retconning it. Thanks, man! It worked so good that I mentioned the concept in Deputy Atoms ASSESS THE SITUATION post, in which he looked around for civilians who might have been hit by stray debris or lazerfire (another product of his police training, where he considers the backdrop; i.e. because some of Haxor's shots probably missed, what was behind the team that got hit instead?). But obviously those kinds of worries are a little bit outside of the tone.

What happened now is a pretty awesome character moment. Props to Wingblade and Imagine. The execution (no pun intended okay, actually intended) was nearly flawless. Wingblade has, but quickly passes up, this idea of putting the Haxor Copy out of its misery. After Hashtag ports the Copy out, Imagine assumes that the Copy still has external and/or internal injuries, and she deems the damage to be too great to survive and uses a Mind Blast to "halt the suffering". This is some fantastic writing because it not only harkens back to Imagine's backstory; which mentions this concept of "MercyDeath" that her people practice; but also the fact that Wingblade, her tutor in all things Earth, has been trying her hardest to avoid killing people (and mostly because of her own mentor's, Whippoorwill's, guidance). It's interesting to consider the kind of fallout Imagine will get from this later, from the team and maybe even Halcyon's paragons.

Of course, the only problem with this is that DM Default never specifically mentioned whether the Copy had any injuries (and we know now through Default's discussion post that he didn't). That and it definitely goes against the tone, a "comic-book like fun romp with the occaisional serious issue of possibly dying and growing up", which I think we would all like to keep. We certainly do have a dark bunch of superheroes though and I think it would be awesome to keep the scene, but with some retconnage.

MOVING FORWARD
We're still learning the game and the setting, tone, other player characters and stuff, so I feel like we should be asking more questions. There are a lot of details to keep track of. I don't know how far we are off the rails, but I would like to get back on them xD

TONE
I would like to keep the tone as DM Default described it. I think all that needs to be lightened right now is the level of violence. Death or inflicting death should be extremeley serious, and maiming/inflicting long-lasting harm on a person should be a major issue in itself. Imagine should certainly get some talking to about how what she attempted to do was very wrong, and not just from other members of the team, but maybe by adults/paragons as well. Tectonic could get some fallout as well, for maiming a Haxor Copy (by breaking his hands) and for her general recklessness (notice how in all of Tec's posts, a lot of her moves are described as cutting it really close).

PROPOSED RETCON
Hashtag ports the Haxor Copy out of the post, which is an awesome character moment for him!
He has saved someone with his powers!
The Haxor Copy is still in a lot of pain, but otherwise is undamaged
Imagine, who connected telepathically with Haxor earlier in the fight, senses this pain
She is young and inexperienced
One of the last things she saw before coming to Earth was MercyDeath
The Outsider, then, thinks that it is a good thing to grant the Haxor Copy MercyDeath
It doesn't cross her mind to check him for actual injuries
Imagine doesn't consider that the Copy's suffering might just be momentary
She starts giving her speech (as per Imagine's post) about how she'll free him from his "corporeal shell"
Wingblade is shocked (as per Wingblade's post)
Deputy Atoms is watching Tectonic as she deals with the remaining Haxors
Then Atoms hears the commotion behind him and he turns to the scene.
He immediately understands what Imagine is doing and he tackles her before the deed is done
The Deputy brings The Outsider down and restrains her on the ground
He is shouting and being very physically rough
It's hard to watch. It's all very police-like, and to Deputy Atoms, it's necessary
Imagine, meanwhile, is confused and emotionally hurt, maybe she is scraped up a bit too in the process
Hashtag and Ghost Dragon check on the Haxor Copy, who is kind of shocked and visibly/understandably upset at Imagine's actions
Most importantly though, he is alive and has no injuries
Someone or Atoms questions Imagine and she explains MercyDeath and apologizes when she realizes that the Copy is fine
We pick up from there?

Alternatively, someone besides Deputy Atoms makes the tackle. Maybe an adult/paragon.

Hames features darken as he gains an inkling of insight from the Maker of All.

After the rest of the party leaves the room for safety, the Cleric approaches the door one more time, making one last alteration to the answers. The answers he puts in are, 'A cottage' and 'A man stabbing another in the back'. Muttering under his breath, he curses his earlier foolishness, relying on his own wisdom instead of the Waybringer. With a last-minute prayer for fire protection (Firebelly), Hames presses the final button.

Mog throws his arms in the air, "Success!"

Right here~

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/pathfinder-society-quick-start-characters

Just in case it isn't clear, Mog wasn't trying to lead anyone into the tunnel. He was only peering in to find said trap. And heck, he even said so.

"Ah! Right! There it is," says Mog, scratching his chin again. "I knew it were there somewhere, right, but I couldn't spot where. That's why I wanted a bloomin' stick, right, to feel 'round wiv it."

"So good gobs, definitely right good. Yer'd 'ave ter be a bad gob or one of them filffy ugly's not ter ffink of sumfink like this. It's probably meant ter trip up any fairy tryin' ter follow the retreatin' goblins in; send them straight ter the ground so the bloody rats can bite off their toes." Then, clearing his throat, Mog turns to the two adventurers, a serious look on his face, not even a hint of a smile.

"And no, I'm not tryin' ter lead yer into a trap; that would be a bad joke. I said we're escortin' yer out and I meant it. It's me oaff ter make sure yor group makes it out okay." Then he flashes Krevek a smile. "Now put that sword away will ya? I saw what yer did to those machines and it's making me nervous."