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If we're still planning on going ahead, maybe it would be easier to understand what Lazarus' conceding would entail if we had a broader view of what might happen afterwards. Everyone who voiced an opinion seems to have wanted information, so how would we be able to move on from there?
I would be fine with any option. But unless someone thinks differently, I think that the most logical thing to do is to find out what Father Lazarus was accomplishing, and then to do what's necessary to prevent anything bad from happening because of that.
Huey tries to jump up to help, but has trouble getting out from under the grappling mud creature. He reaches for his gun in an attempt to shoot at the creature, despite the difficulty in doing so, hoping that once he is armed, the gun will make up for his poor physique.
Hearing Orland's encouragement, Huey manages to escape from the mud people, but they soon catch up with him and hold him in his place.
Huey continues to struggle with his attackers, but is unable to escape, and remains grappled.
Huey hears the sound of a gun shooting, and he runs to bring himself through the Supernatural Smoke to where he can aim better at the priest.
Once Huey is able to see the priest through the smoke, he shoots his gun, and studies the fire next to Lazarus. He knew his gun was apt to make fires; maybe this time he could put the sinister fire under control.
Actually, I thought Orland should be one of the first to go, since he's much closer to the battle scene. I thought it would be odd for me to jump in before I even know there's a conflict going on.
Huey chuckles slightly at Orland's joke and sucks the venom, spitting it out immediately. "It tastes pretty bad. It's a good thing it's out of you."
Huey looks at Orland's bleeding shirt. "The snake bit you? I hear that it's possible to take poison out by sucking it. I've never tried it before, but unless we have something else to do, that might be the best option."
Huey was surprised by the snakes, but he didn't lose his composure. He had shot beasts of prey many times before with his gun, but he had never shot a snake, and he wasn't foolish enough to shoot a gun in a cellar, especially one that had a tendency to start fires. Rather than shooting at the snakes, Huey decided to hold his gun menacingly. If it came too close, he could swing his gun at it, but he preferred not to, considering how poorly he had played cricket as a child. He hoped that his action would instead scare the snakes away.
"Hopefully we can find a pillow here, or something to make the journey down more pleasant for the next time," Huey says, sifting through the room's contents along with Orland. "If someone makes the journey down regularly, he must have a way to do it safely."
I also can't read the map. It has very low resolution and can't be read, and when I download it, it takes me to a page that requires signing in, but doesn't show the map.
Huey was eager to take the opportunity that Serra presented him. He knew he wasn't as strong as they come, but he was still aspiring to be America's Greatest Hero. "Let me try that," he said, making his way to where Serra and Orland were. Huey wasn't a very brawny person, which he realized was advantageous as he set his foot down on the first crevice. The task was harder than he had expected, but he tried to continue down the crevices as nimbly as possible.
"No, I don't, but we've seen each other around town. A pleasure to meet, Miss," he says to Serra, stifling for the moment his curiosity about the strange place in which he found himself.
On his doorstep, Huey had found a gold coin emblazoned with what looked like a devilish smile. Huey was used to seeing defaced coins scraped for gold, but never with such a picture on it. It seemed to him to be a veiled threat from one of his neighbors. It might have just been a coincidence, but then again, gold coins don't show up on doorsteps by chance alone. Later that day, Huey spotted a familiar face. He remembered Orland from his stagecoach ride. Being the only ones on the way to White Chapel, they had had ample opportunity to speak with each other. The well-mannered Scottish sergeant was the most congenial person he had met in all of White Chapel. And after the incident in the bar, Huey was certain that just about everyone else in the town hated him... He was happy to see Orland again, but he recognized the girl by his side as the one who said something snappy at the bar. So he followed Orland until the girl would leave. By the time they reached the cathedral, Huey began to think that the girl's presence wasn't just a coincidence. And realizing that he might be trespassing in a sort of secret area, he thought it better to reveal himself before someone else discovered him. Hopefully Orland would make known to the girl that he meant no harm. He walked a few steps closer and nervously announced his presence. "Fancy seeing you here, Orland."
Fine, then I'll take "Enemies In Low Places."
Amaziah's suggestion is wittier, but does it solve the problem with invoking?
I'm new to the system, so I might have made a mistake there. If the bartender does something to me, that probably wouldn't be an opportunity for a compel, since it's not me acting. So how about changing it to "Makes Enemies Quickly"?
Orland (1) - Nora (2) - Huey (3) Huey was getting off the train that had taken him to New Mexico, looking at the street signs that would guide him to his next destination. Some of them were big cities. A few were towns that he recognized. He didn't know which destination he wanted. He then heard a stagecoach driver calling for passengers. "Three more passengers for White Chapel." Every few minutes he called out again. Huey decided to take the opportunity, even though he didn't recognize the name of the town. A woman was already seated in the stagecoach, and Huey heard a British-accented voice asking about the fare. As he got closer, he noticed that the woman was getting increasingly uneasy. When the Brit sat next to her, she told the stagecoach driver that she had decided instead to make her way by foot. The driver was obviously annoyed. Huey tried to ask her what the problem was, but she seemed not to notice and didn't respond as she ran away from the carriage, leaving Huey and Orland alone on their trip.
Nora (1) - Huey (2) - Amaziah (3) As Huey was strolling aimlessly, thinking about his precarious situation with the bartender, he noticed how a woman said something with an Irish accent, apparently threatening a man with a knife. Sensing trouble, he put his hand on his gun. But he released it when he remembered how badly it went for him the last time he took the law into his own hands. Instead, he decided to watch and wait to see what would happen. The man started to run away, and was promptly arrested by an officer. As the police started questioning the bystanders, Huey realized that defending him would have associated himself with a criminal. He was glad that he didn't shoot. When the police made their way over to him, they asked him who he was and what he had seen. Huey pointed in the direction of Nora and recounted how he had seen the Irish lady threatening the criminal before he was arrested. Noting that there had been a bounty on the criminal's head, one of the officers went to Nora, while the others moved to speak with the other eyewitnesses.
I'm still around, I just wasn't able to continue Nora's story until she posted it a few days ago. I think I'll have my continuation up tomorrow.
After abandoning the army, Huey was afraid to return to his home town, where he would be recognized. Instead, he wandered aimlessly until he found himself in . There he had his first small adventure as an army runaway: He saw that a bartender was beating a drunken customer with the back side of his gun. Huey tried to interfere. He told the bartender to stop, and he fired his gun to the side in order to scare him. It worked, and the bartender freed the drunk. However, the drunk was in fact being beaten for not having paid, and when the bartender realized that Huey wasn't as much of a threat as the drunk, he forced Huey to pay for him, adding that the next time he would call law enforcement. Having made an enemy in the town, Huey wasn't eager to stay, but with no better alternative, he decided to give it another chance.
I would choose "Serenity," but I'm fine with any of the others suggested. To make sure before I start writing, are we all on the train with each other? And also, since we're supposed to have already met, are we supposed to include details about that in our stories? Or is it just assumed?
I think that "sold my soul" could work, but I would have to figure out why it's not going well for Huey before he would consider undoing it. The pilot is probably a good place for that to take place if I end up doing that.
The reason why I chose only chasing and not being chased was because Huey was supposed to be the kind of person who doesn't want to flee. So I might suggest, for instance, changing it to "when you are chasing or your opponent is otherwise trying to evade you." If that's too inclusive, I could just take what you suggested (running after people probably also gives practice in running from them).
I think I'll settle on these for my aspects. The first is what I already had, the second is slightly edited, and the third and fourth are new. Fearless: Gain +2 to defend with Grit whenever you are being intimidated or frightened. Flaming Gun: If you succeed with style with Shoot, you can give the target a minor consequence. Shoot can be used to overcome or create an advantage related to fire. Heroic Perseverance: Once per scene, defend with Grit after taking stress to avoid being taken out of the scene until the next stress. Swift Pursuit: Gain +2 to overcome or create an advantage with Athletics when you are chasing and not being chased.
I personally think that setting fire to something during every conflict is too much (the character isn't supposed to be a pyromaniac, and anyway I wouldn't want to have to extinguish a fire every time!). I was thinking along the lines of using the minor consequence from succeeding with style for some kind of injury (which could be a burn). I could also think of the ability to start a fire rather than using whatever other skill I would be using (Survival?). But I'm not sure if that's already another stunt, or in any case how useful it is to start fires at all.
Is my second stunt good as a normal stunt or a bargain stunt? I think I should figure that out before trying to balance the others.
I'm not sure Huey wants to overcome his bargain. He got a good gun in exchange for notoriety whenever he uses it. He would definitely prefer to get rid of the footprints that follow him, but he wouldn't want to lose the gun. Maybe after getting in trouble one time too many he would reconsider the bargain, but so far it's not been too bad for him.
For skills, I chose the following. Shoot +4 Grit (Will) +3
Occult (New / Parts of Lore) +2
Investigate +1
I was trying not to overlap with others too much, but I noticed that the majority here chose shoot (at +2), which Huey of course needs. Grit (somewhat overlapping Orland) is for the fearlessness bit. Since he escaped the army, he probably had to fend for himself with Survival. (For that reason, he won't have many contacts he can rely on.) I chose the rest of the skills to match the character, but nothing else was a "must-have." I thought of the following two stunts for now: Fearless: Gain +2 to defend with Grit whenever you are being intimidated or frightened. Deadly Gun: If you succeed with style with Shoot, you can give the target a minor consequence.
I made a few changes to the character's background in the profile to represent the changes I've made so far in the thread.
On fear, I think we're on the same page. I think that people's threats and undead are what I can best envision in this campaign, but the examples you gave are also good. On the gun, I think the negative consequence I like best is leaving footprints that can't be erased. For the positive thing about the gun, I think that causing a sort of fire when shot is better than never missing, based on Hotaru's suggestion. But I wasn't sure if I should choose right now or wait until we choose stunts.
I actually think that an aspect such as "Something to Prove" would be better as a sort of subtext of the high concept of "America's Greatest Hero," rather than as the trouble. For example, if "America's Greatest Hero" were compelled, I might have to prove my worth. That is a bit different than "I Fear Nothing," which can be compelled in different ways. It doesn't totally remove overlap, but I think it works better than changing the trouble. Does that make sense?
If the Civil War ended in 1865 and the year is currently 1871, he would be 24 years old, having escaped the army in 1869 (22). "Most Fearless Hero" seems better as the trouble, which leaves the high concept open. The problem, in my opinion, is that he conceives of himself as a hero. If I make a new high concept, I think it would depend on the premise of the campaign. The character could be set on getting rid of whatever supernatural threats might threaten ordinary people, as long as that will be an important part of the game. As for the problems with the gun not being able to miss, I thought of a different idea: Whenever he kills someone using the gun, he leaves footprints that can't be erased. I'll find a stunt (when we get to that) that makes the gun better somehow, but I'll wait until we reach that stage before deciding on something that won't fit. I think that's less awkward than what I had previously written.
I appreciate the critique. Here's what I was intending with it. The first two aspects, in combination, were intended to make the character somewhat quixotic: He believes himself to be the greatest hero, but what actually happens to him. The fearlessness compels him to be heroic. Since the high concept works with the trouble, I could put both into the trouble, but I don't think there's a better high concept that describes the character.
"Never misses" is different than "always kills." Though if I were to make a gun "special" other than by never missing, I could, for example, have it start a deadly fire whenever it shoots, which could obviate the need for my own face to appear, since a fire will obviously be connected to me. I think this is actually a better concept, since it makes the same problems with more natural circumstances, but I would like to know if anyone thinks this is problematic, before I change it. Tentatively, I think a change to the trouble like the one you suggested would be better.
This is my character. I tried to include everything necessary. Aspects:
High Concept: America's Greatest Hero Trouble: I Fear Nothing Aspect: Cursed Gun Explanation: Having grown up during the Civil War, Huey was convinced that he was born to be the soldier, the one who would heroically lead the Confederacy to victory against the tyranny of the North. A few days before his eighteenth birthday, the Confederacy was no more. Not picky about the causes he fought for, Huey signed up to join the American army. But the war was over, and a soldier's life was, he found, quite dull. With no way to demonstrate his heroism, Huey was never promoted. After four years, Huey was at his wits' end. In a dream, a sinister-looking man appeared to him and offered him anything he wanted. When he asked for "something heroic," the man handed him a gun, saying that it would make him a hero, but adding that it would also make him a villain. Huey escaped from the army, and began to use the gun to shoot game. Remarkably, he never missed, but the bullet always left a mark on the ground that resembled Huey's own face.
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