Hello.  I'll probably be playing Freya, but I'm not 100% sure yet.  I apparently have too many quality concepts I want to play. #First_World_Problems, eh? ;)



Here are the 3 concepts I offered up for the game.  I thought I'd see what looks cool to the rest of you, as well as figure out what, if any, kind of gaps the current team has.  That, and I'm a bit indecisive.  My analogy is being in an ice cream shop and only being able to choose one flavor.  I'll be satisfied with whatever I get, but there will be some lingering regret that I didn't get the other flavors. ;)

Hello! I am the portal making genius currently stuck in this alien dimension due to the events of OblivAeon.

I'll rate myself as a 3? on Sentinels Lore.  I've played the card game and skimmed the rulebook, but hadn't realized that there would be a test at any point. ;)

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re: msg # 17

While I understand where you are coming from, and agree that there isn't much room for powergaming, there is still some room for optimization (Do I need more than one recovery maneuver?).  There is also an issue of personal expression, and building/playing the character you have in mind.  Especially for a long-term game, I'm not a fan of random characters.  Even if the Guided system is far more balanced than the old Marvel FASERIP random tables.

That and some of the origins and archetypes overlap.  Is my brick a Powerhouse or an Armored hero?  Was the radiation accident more Accident or Radiation?  There are decisions to be made, even if there are no real traps or wrong choices.

Agreed. I don't want to force anyone into a single path but I like the overlap because it does let you think about your character from different perspectives and with the same powerset you can look at it through a different lens.

I just want to apologize if I came off too strong or offensive earlier. I did not mean to imply in anything in anyway. I get these ideas and worries in my head that kind of fester until I address them and unfortunately online you cannot set the tone and I don't want to come off as angry or ranty.

I just had this idea in my head that many people's exposure with superhero games are games like Mutants & Masterminds or Champions or GURPS (because those were my introduction to superhero games) and in those games 50% of the game is in the character build. The rules are so dense and complex you absolutely have to min/max your character or else your first encounter is going to be miserable because you're just missing all the time or you realize that you forgot to put points into accuracy so you can't hit anything. Basically the idea in your mind does not translate to the game because of how obtuse the creation systems are. On top of that you have players for a variety of measures, decide the best course is to break the game. Later editions actually had to put hard limits on what you can put points into because you would have the person who dumps all their points into regeneration and toughness and is basically invincible to the system. Almost nothing can hurt them and the few crits that get through are instantly healed. I ran a game with a player like that and I could throw anything at them and it did not matter and it broke the game and especially my motivation for playing the game. Either I had to do ridiculous things to deny that ability set OR I had to just cheat and say damage was dealt even though there was no reasonable way it would happen and neither of those were why I wanted to run a superhero game.

Anyway the point of all of this is that if you have experience in those types of games where the game is won or lost in character creation, this is not that game. Between the "min/mid/max" system of the dice pool trending towards averages instead of extremes, because abilities are crafted by the designers with balance in mind and because the game isn't about winning or losing any specific fight but instead is about the comic book feel of heroes getting beaten down and then rising back up in a climatic final turn the rules and dice are secondary.

I've run it before, I played it before, the challenge is NOT the system. The challenge is the choices AFTER creation. Do you save the civilians from the falling rubble or try to take down the main villain? Do you sacrifice your personal goals to help the team? Is it better to let the villain get away or violate your code of ethics as a hero and shoot them in back?

THESE are the challenges that drive this game, not "do I get a +4 to hit and +3 damage or +3 to hit and +4 to damage"

On brighter news, I believe we have sufficient players to get started. The timeline goal is to get character creation finished in this upcoming week so we can start 5/31 or there abouts.

Hello all. I'm your tanky front liner/ magic expert.

I'm a Knight-turned-alchemist who gained immortality by locking himself in his armor. Only recently released from my cell beneath the Vatican after 500 years or so.

This message was deleted by the player at 16:41, Sun 23 May 2021.

Okay, now that we have a quorum, we can start to figure out how the team fits together.

Sounds like we have enough ranged/mobility options that Impulse would be redundant.

Is anyone else angling for a face-type character?

And is anyone else thinking about any detective type abilities?

I just expect that part of the reason for a team is so that we have diverse abilities and cover each other's weakpoints.

In reply to Freya (msg # 26):

Warp is a scientist and inventor, has some detective skills, but mostly uses gadgets and warp portals of various sizes.

Rune Knight fills neither of those niches right now.

Also @GM I'm listening thru the Letters Page podcast. I mentioned the Philosophers Stone in my RTJ not realizing that the Scholar actually had it. I might still be a Philosopher's Stone denier and just assume my rune magic is so different from traditional alchemy that my expertise on the subject doesn't really apply.

Dead Eye was a businessman and is a detectve with an investigation skill set.
He also has basic basic close combat skill.

Either way, I planned on having some Banter/Imposing, but rather than go with my initial concept of what the games consider a Physical Powerhouse with some minor water control/theming (fomori are often associated with raiders coming from the sea in the same sort of archetype as ASOIAF's Ironmen or WoW's Kvaldir), I might lean into the water stuff (or punching) more if we already have someone who sounds Armored.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:01, Mon 24 May 2021.

I'm a Cyborg. I have the damage reduction trait that is the same as Armored and Powerhouse. But I don't have a way to do a Defend Another like Armored Might.

I'm more like a medieval Terminator. I'll be rolling around with my -3DR and my HP regeneration long after the fight is lost to circumstance. Still not sure if I would want to take Indestructible along with my Immortal Principal. I have it as Mastery now which might come up less but is more interesting.

I'm still trying to figure things out, but I'm planning on being a ranged blaster who can both toss out boosts (radiant-enhanced attacks, etc.) and hinders (blinding?) to targets from afar.

I wasn't thinking about playing a face or detective, but I have the Precognition and Awareness powers Alertness (forgot that it was a quality). That might help provide the group something like danger sense and "What if?" clues for the future.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:07, Mon 24 May 2021.

Sorry I’ve been AWOL, but I had a brief vacation that coincided with our reboot.

While I haven’t done a lot of work on character creation at this point, I’m thinking I’ll concentrate on buffs and debuffs to help the effectiveness of the rest of the team. That said, I’m not in love with any concept at current and am happy to adjust anything to fill needs.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:13, Mon 24 May 2021.

I envision Dead Eye as Medium between the dead and the living.
He summons those who have an interest in the problem at hand as Minions, negotiating for their help.  He currently has Telepathy and Postcognition to communicate with the spirit/soul and to identify motivations.

Neat. Seems like you would end up being social as a side thing if you are really negotiating with them or have a Principal that would encourage you to be social, like Compassion?

Does he also use guns? Dead Eye seems too intentional to not cover both those fields.

Not sure that it's really the kind of a game where you need a Face but even with if you just supported it in your retcon phase you could pull Status + d6 + Telepathy in a social scene which is pretty OK. Beats my intentionally bad Status + d4 + d4 unless I'm talking to a wizard or a history buff.

I went with Indestructible/Levity. My sheet's up as my description, I think I'm different enough from what you're describing with Rune Knight that I don't need to make any sweeping changes from my original plan.

Face stuff is covered, unless Banter is much more limited than I think it is. Not that others can't get in on it, but don't feel pressured.

My stats are under my description as well.

I posted up my full sheet as well if anyone cares to look. Things might wiggle around a bit. I suppose we are all necessarily new to the system. So if anyone sees anything wonky with it let me know.

While Undertow and Rune Knight will no doubt be fighting side by side and a fight between them would go one for days. I don't think they will really step on each other's toes (and if they do neither will notice).

No doubt. I can't even leave you to sink to the bottom of the ocean, what with that pesky Flight power.

Thankfully, we have a teleporter, I was actually worried when conceptualizing how she'd get anywhere with no Leaping, Flight, or super-Speed.

I'm sure he would be able to figure a way out of it if you did. That's sort of the nature of the genre, I suppose. Transmutation is a really versatile power on its own.


I'm sure you could catch a cab or something, lol.

For the Freedom Five that never really comes up. Legacy can fly, Tachyon has super speed but that is it. I think Bunker has a rocket pack he can use for movement and IIRC he is supported by a satellite that drops equipment into place (think Iron Man from Avengers II).

However Absolute Zero? Wraith? Unity? Never really mentioned. I think it is implied they have a jet as Freedom Tower has a landing pad but the environment deck also implies that it is specifically for Legacy to land at, not necessarily a superjet.

I can assure you that it won't actually matter in the game. The system talks about cutting out "boring stuff" as happening between the panels. Remember, the spirit of the game is NOT a superhero game but a game about a comic book about super heroes and it definitely leans into a lot of those tropes. Editor's Notes, "between the panels" etc.

How is everyone doing? Anyone have any questions or anything they would like to discuss?

One question is going to be "how did you all meet?" and I think the obvious answer is they were kind of sort of "assembled" by the Sentinels of Freedom as a new super hero team.

So that becomes the question of "how did you become part of the Sentinels" and that is a more personal question.