Re: IC and Advice: Urban Fantasy Humans turned into Monsters
One thing I want to point out right off the top about connecting stories is this. Attrition rates? What happens, if say, BadCatMan and I have a mutual background, and for whatever reason, I leave the story? Now he's stuck in the wind. He's either got to find someone (with GM approval) who can step in and fill the same role I was, or he's got to nullify (or just randomly change up) whatever X background or Y story traits were. In that regard, he might as well have not started with any sort of connection. This isn't to sound negative. It is literally a fact of games on rpol. It happens in every sort of game. How would you suggest a workaround for that?
The school thing. Meh.
Granted, this is just me. But I still loathe the school idea. When was the last time any of you have spoken to someone who is still working on their high school education? No matter how smart and mature they are, you can still see they're not an "adult." But it's more than just the teen drama thing.
I'm also looking at this. No matter how good a kid is at something, they're still not as good as an adult. It takes real prodigies just to do what adults in the same field do, and then it takes savants to surpass them. Dr. Reed from Criminal Minds is not the norm. There isn't one of him in every group, despite what the TV tells us. There isn't even one of him in every 100 groups. Your Varsity Quarterback may be able to win the local championship, but that doesn't mean he's getting a scholarship to Penn State, and even if he does, it doesn't mean he's going to go pro and play for the Dallas Cowboys. Sure, the school bully may be able to beat up the captain of the wrestling squad, and when he lets go and turns into a werewolf, he may even be able to go on a rampage and take out his drunk dad, one of the neighbors, and two of the unsuspecting local cops who have no idea what's going on. But the minute he crosses paths his with ex-girlfriend's Army Ranger daddy back from 3 tours in Iraq, he's going to get his tail kicked up between his ears and it won't even be a challenge.
The point I am making is, when you use a High School type of setting, not only does it come off as goofy and immature (which may be the whole intention!), you're going to have to constantly remind people that even under the best of situations they're still "weak." So what if the varsity cheerleader thinks she's hot stuff, especially because some dumb vampire made her a vampire too? She's just a really really weak vampire. Not only does she have the problem of being a newborn vampire, she also still has the problem of still being a child. Which means things like curfews. And having to be at school the next day. And that dumb boyfriend who won't leave her alone. And that nosy mother always wondering what she's doing.
So having said that, I would highly recommend using the college setting. Even if they're still young (college kids usually range between 17-21 for Freshmen, and up to 27 for seniors, with odd exceptions), they're not teenager young. And barring that, I would also suggest the nearby town. That way someone who doesn't want to play a kid or student (be it high school or college) wouldn't have too.