Does what it says on the tin. Welcome to the game, here's where we discuss stuff that isn't happening in-game!

Hello, thank you for accepting me into the game.  Man, it filled up quickly eh?

Hullo! So, how will we go about this?

I figure at the moment folks should just talk about what they feel like playing, or ask questions about others or the setting, and we can iron things out. Please keep it to your top three- I don't want people making their final selections before we get our whole group together.

Well keeping it to our top 3 that we applied with, I chose Legacy, Protege, and Delinquent.  The one I'd like least of these three is Delinquent, while the one I'd like most is Legacy.  Protege is fairly close of an option to Legacy, I just like my concept for the Legacy a bit more.

What about yours?

I was looking at Scion, Legacy and Outsider, in no particular order. But from what I understand Scion isn't ideal for what the Eye has in mind, which is fair enough; I can just save that one for some other game and consider Bull instead, which would've been my fourth. Anyhow, since you like your Legacy idea I can easily concede that one to you, Mouse. To be honest, a proper fish-out-of-water Outsider might be my best option for this game, though I'm still mulling it over.

A question I'd like to get out of the way early: just how, hmm, dark/morally ambiguous can our characters be? Like, certainly not actual villains or killers, but would something on the more ruthless or devious side be okay, so long as the character is still a team player trying to use powers for good and adhering to a moral code? Where would you draw the line?

Well if I go with my Legacy, he'd definitely want to talk to you if you have dark tendencies.  I would say it wouldn't go to blows, but it would impact how he interacts with you.  My Legacy is a Roman Catholic relative of Jehenne D'Arc, or as she is most commonly known, Joan of Arc.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:56, Tue 08 Jan 2019.

Basically the main thing I'm wondering about is, if I go with Outsider, how "alien" their morality could be. Since on the one hand I sort of like the idea of an alien hero having a noticeably different way of going about things, due to coming from a different culture with different boundaries and taboos. More pragmatic and underhanded or more quick to resort to force or demand obedience. But on the other hand I don't want to push it too far.

Though to a lesser extent it obviously applies to some other playbooks too, since Bulls seem likely to be a little brutal even despite themselves, and Scions' moves suggest being at least somewhat manipulative.

I guess what I'm asking is, so long as they don't cross a line into outright villainy and do try to fight crime and be team players, is having some antiheroic tendencies like that okay?
This message was last edited by the player at 15:57, Wed 09 Jan 2019.

I'll quote post 5 on 'The Game I Run'.



So long as you don't cross that line, it's good. I know there'll be some interplay if you decide to go dark, but please don't make it hammer and tongs to actually interact with other members of the group, or scenarios.

Hi everyone!

Looking forward to seeing what kind of story our characters make for themselves with this game. When I sent my RTJ in I listed some playbooks but I also said I was fine playing whatever. With that in mind in case we have some other players join us I'll refrain from choosing one until everyone else has picked theirs.

I wouldn't be stopping working with the dark hero, but would be watching extra close, and having talks with them when they break the "code of the hero" (think four color heroics).

Ah, the eternal "waiting to see what others go with before going with something yourself" dilemma. Fine, I guess I won't be that guy this time. :P

And, well, I figure some (IC) disagreement and drama is par for the course. Required, even, for a PbtA game.

I like all the playbooks so I'm usually the person who waits until everyone else has picked. lol

How many players are we aiming for?

How many can you handle?  I know I'd like enough to see my friend masterofdays make it in, but if he can't there's always other games for us to play together.

So it comes down to how many can you handle?  The more people we have the more chances for interaction, but also the more work on you.

I plan on taking in six. That's usually my maximum, and with any RPOL game, I expect attrition.

That sounds like a good number especially for a game like this. Given how popular Masks games have been in the past on this site I expect there won't be any problems getting that many players.

I'm currently waiting to see if the others in the 'GM wanted' thread come over here, as well as one other person that contacted me via rmail. Figure I'll give it a couple more days.

Later this afternoon or tomorrow morning I'll start up on some world-building with y'all.

Sounds like a plan.  I'm looking forward to it.

Likewise. Should note I still haven't fully decided which idea I will go with. My Outsider idea was something of a space warrior aristocrat, but it occurs to me that might step on the shoes of a knight in shining holy armour Legacy, if I'm getting Phantom's concept right. Or it could make for some very interesting contrasts...

I'm looking forward to some world building as well.

From what has been posted so far I think those two concepts could play very well off one another. It has also given me some idea on what kind of character that might fit well in terms of having a different concept. At the moment I'm considering playing the Beacon or Janus since they are more on the mundane side of things in terms of playbooks which could play well off the Legacy and Outsider.

I agree that the Outsider could play well off of my character, even if you're still planning on going darker.

It sounds like an interesting group we're thus far pulling together.

So, onto some world-building. I'm going to be pitching out some questions here, I'd like each of you to grab one- You can all discuss them (and I encourage that), and whomever 'grabbed' the question has final say as to how it's answered (much like the group questions in the playbooks).

- There's a teacher at the high school who has a bit of an unsavory reputation, but hasn't been removed from the classroom. Who are they, and why are they still accepted?

- There's a movie house in town that has a secret (non-supernatural, please). What's the name of the place, and what's the secret?

- The school has someone who recently went on to fame and fortune. Who are they, and what brought them their fortune?

- There's that one kid in school who always seems to know where the best parties are. Who are they, and what small crime did they recently get in trouble for?

- A song got banned from play in the school last year. What song was it? (Note that this doesn't have to be a 'real' song, but also remember that it would have to have come out in 2009 or earlier)

- There's a construction site a few blocks away from the school. It's been abandoned for four years. What was supposed to go there, and why isn't it there?

- There's been some odd graffiti plastered on buildings around the school of late. What's the weirdest graffiti your character has seen in that area?

- There's a construction site a few blocks away from the school. It's been abandoned for four years. What was supposed to go there, and why isn't it there?

A division of an arms manufacturing firm was to be built there, bringing both managerial and factory jobs.  It wasn't built because suspected ties to organized crime were proven and the firm was shut down.

Hey folks.  Glad to be here.  I put in for Janus/Protege/Legacy.

Hi Willis.  Just out of curiosity, which "family line" of the Legacy were you looking at?  I'm looking at, and hoping for, the "divine armor" line.

Welcome to the game Willis!

GM, those were some great prompts. I probably won't get to them tonight but hopefully tomorrow I'll do each one just so people have some ideas to bounce off of.

Also, I just realized if people want to make characters using the same playbook that certainly is doable. That or one could take the Joined if they want to collab characters with another player.

Phantom, if I went Legacy I’d probably go the super speed route.  I assume we are sticking to the only one of each playbook approach.

Yes. One of each playbook, no duplicates, thanks!

- There's been some odd graffiti plastered on buildings around the school of late. What's the weirdest graffiti your character has seen in that area?

A tree-like shape made out of a multitude of open-palmed red hands and the words "WE ARE COMING FOR YOU!" on the wall in a nearby parking lot.

---

I'm entirely open to suggestions on how it may be improved, though, for the record.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:56, Sun 13 Jan 2019.

On a different note, are we limited to the abilities listed in the books for each playbook, or are we free to make up something else along similar lines (subject to GM approval, of course)?

I'm pretty much a stickler for staying with the playbooks as-is, though I'm not fully adverse to altering the -flavor- of the powers. (ie- insect control could be robotic insects, or squirrels, or the like) What've you got in mind?

Also, we're currently at six, with two more 'possibilities'. At end of day today I'll be turning off the 'players wanted' light.

Hello, folks! I'm happy to be here with you, and excited to get in on the collaborative process of team building. At the moment, I'm most interested in The Star or The Delinquent as playbooks—character types that come with some built-in internal conflicts that manifest externally in their relationships with other people.

Hi there! I'm this new player! Right now, my top 3 playbooks are the Brain, the Star and the Delinquent.

Welcome to the new players!

Also, I grabbed one of the prompts though if anyone has an idea for it please suggest it. I'm open to ideas.

There's a movie house in town that has a secret (non-supernatural, please). What's the name of the place, and what's the secret?

The Deja View Cinema, which originally ran as a theater which ran movies previously released months before at a cheaper price. The secret is it houses an illegal underground fighting ring where people can bet on the fights with some even using it as a hub to exchange information of the various happenings going on within the city.

Hello! I'm also a new player. Hope to have fun RP'ing with everyone!

My top three playbooks are (in order):
1. The Brain
2. The Innocent
3. The Newborn

Just throwing this up so we can start to refine playbook priorities. I've culled the "top three" from people's posts here.

In alphabetical order (Current as per mid-day on 1/14):
Advocate: Scion, Legacy, Outsider
Mystery: Brain, Innocent, Newborn
Night: Star, Delinquent, Transformed
Phantom Mouse: Legacy, Protege, Delinquent
Risk: "I'll pick from what's left"
Space Kitten: Brain, Star, Delinquent
Willis: Janus, Protege, Legacy

I'm still in the ideas stage and needed to narrow it down. Elaborating or playing on what's given in the playbooks suits me fine. Though on that note, if I go with Outsider and pick "telepathy and mind blasts", would telepathy just cover mind-reading and communication, or could I also use that to justify illusions, such as making people see me as a human?

Otherwise, if that's a stretch too far, I suppose I could justify passing with some kind of device. Or with simply being a very humanoid alien. :P

The Transformed poses similar problems in a more mundane-ish game.

I just had the sudden idea that it might be really cool to try a Joined with an Outsider--a normal human who got powers from the encounter that landed the Outsider on Earth.

Anybody up for bouncing more ideas around for that?

ETA: While the Joined playbook specifically mentions that Outsider joined are from the same dimension, it might make sense that an alien entity fused with then split from an Earthling, resulting in the Outsider and the Joined, both something human and something not.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:46, Mon 14 Jan 2019.

I grabbed a question and gave it a go:
There's a construction site a few blocks away from the school. It's been abandoned for four years. What was supposed to go there, and why isn't it there?

It was supposed to be the new economic center of town: the Lineport Fashion Resort was supposed to be a place for people to eat, to watch movies, and to shop. An outdoor mall. That was the plan, and it even got started, when the finances dried up around 2007. With the Great Recession still going on, it doesn't seem like it'll get funding anytime soon. Instead, a partially built monument to economic hope (and the economic crisis) stands there, a good place to make trick skateboard videos. If you bypass the security fencing and "No Trespassing" signs.

Phantom already snagged that question, though the two of you might debate it. I find both ideas intriguing (and who knows, maybe one of the two is just in another part of the city)




I'd be willing to allow the telepathy to say you subconsciously 'appear human', but the illusion wouldn't stretch beyond that. It might also fail if something screwed with your powers.


Just a reminder- I am -gently- pushing the basic book playbooks. It's not a rule, or even a major suggestion. They're just ones I'm more familiar with and can more easily plan around. No worries if you want to take only those from supplements, though; I assume they're balanced-for-play.

I was considering a playbook from one of the sources though only because I haven't had a chance to play some of them. That being said the Nomad would probably not fit too well here. GM, could we say take moves from playbooks in those supplements if we take an advancement that lets us choose another move?

As far as the playbooks I'm considering the Beacon might be a fun choice and also it's not on anyone's list.

For the idea of someone wanting to play the Joined to the Outsider. It could be someone such as the Joined has an ancestor who is an alien of the Outsider's race and when the Outsider arrives being close by just so happened to trigger the Joined's power. Maybe it's something such as the Outsider and the Joined are cousins with the former being introduced as an exchange student to the school as a cover.

Of course, feel free to ignore that suggestion or tweak it as you see fit. Just trying to throw ideas out there. :)

Greetings everyone.  New player, new to the system as well.  Looking forward to some fun RP with everyone!

As for this playbook thing, I was looking at Legacy (or flip side: Scion), Nova, or Doomed.

Also, from the Halcyon City expansion:



That'd be the Reformed, The Newborn, The Innocent, The Star, and the Joined. I'd like to keep that list down to one.

Re: Outsider/Joined—it was a stray idea that seems cool, in part because it provides an excuse for an Outsider to have a more human appearance.

Personally, I'm happy sifting through leftovers in terms of playbooks. (The only one I'd really like to avoid is Doomed, because that was my tabletop character and I'm a little too familiar with it.) Are we now at a point where the people who feel strongly for a particular playbook are ready to start declaring intentions? I think if we get a few player/playbook combinations pinned down, the others will sort themselves with at least some smoothness.

Yep. Gang's all here. We probably have a couple of lurkers as well, but I feel okay with shutting the door for now and letting you all get to know each other.

Go ahead and discuss playbooks. I know there are at least two people here who've never played Masks before, and I'd be appreciative if you veterans help out the new folks! I figure I'll give it until Thursday morning for you guys to shuffle out your plans as to who's playing what, and then after that we can start the intros and the like. If you have any questions, of course, please feel free to ask!

I'll be one of the two trying this out for the first time. Should be interesting to see where this goes.

Currently finishing off a round of Night Shift, so there probably wouldn't be much from me for the next few days, but I will have plenty of time to get the character built (I think)

The playbook that makes the most sense for what I came in with in my head is Janus, but it looks like someone may have already laid claim to that. What I hoped was that exactly how and even when Abigail got her powers was an open mystery that she's trying to solve, and most of the other playbooks seem to more or less have that answer in it.

This isn't to say that I'm not above reworking what I already have in my head

The other two of the "Top Three", both of which would require some reworking and brainstorming, would be either The Bull or The Outsider (which would likely require a total rework)
This message was last edited by the player at 11:11, Tue 15 Jan 2019.

Why don't you lay out what you're thinking, character-wise, and other folks can help you with the brainstorming?

If possible, as I've said before, I'd like to lay claim to the Legacy since we're to the point where we are staking our claims so to speak.

Also, other than the Outsider, Bull, and Transformed, I think an element of mystery regarding powers would be doable.  For instance, yeah the Nova has all this power barely in control, but when did those powers initiate, does the Nova even know?

For staking claims, my preference would be Star > Brain > Delinquent.

I'm going to put this here since the GM mentioned it before. Only the playbooks listed above will be allowed other than the ones in the core book. So, Advocate, Mystery and Space Kitten are all down one of their choices.

Saw Night's post above and brought it down to see where everyone was with updates from recent posts to help speed this along:

Dark Blue means it isn't contested.  Red means it is; the # in () after it is by how many.

Mouse - Legacy* (4)
Risk: Beacon; "I'll pick from what's left"

Abigail - Janus (2), Bull, Outsider(2)
Advocate: Scion(2), Legacy(4), Outsider(2)
Mystery: Brain(2), Innocent, Newborn
Night: Star(2), Delinquent(2), Transformed
Random: Legacy(4)/Scion(2), Nova, Doomed
Space Kitten: Brain(2), Star(2), Delinquent(2)
Willis: Janus(2), Protege, Legacy(4)

As such, everyone but Advocate and Mouse have one that doesn't have multiple selections.  If Mouse takes Legacy, Advocate is free to go with Scion or Outsider it seems.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:19, Tue 15 Jan 2019.

This message was deleted by the player at 17:52, Tue 15 Jan 2019.

And I missed a bunch of posts in there after posting/editing.  Apologies if I missed something you wrote and didn't include it.

I think my question for the floor (and for our Eye) is whether the Transformed would actually work in the game. The playbook is all about being obviously, physically, freakishly different. I'm fine with that, but I'm not sure it fits in this iteration of "what superheroes are like," especially in the high school setting.

Thanks, Random. I'm not going to contest Legacy, so that leaves me with Outsider and Scion.

For Outsider, my idea is a young psychic warrior aristocrat from a star empire, possibly sent here as part of a complex diplomatic arrangement (perhaps one of the adult superheroes - maybe one connected to a Legacy or Protege - had some run-in with the empire's authorities that suitably impressed them?). She is reckless and haughty, but grudgingly curious about Earth and eager to show earthlings how it's done.

Re: Joined, my understanding was that an Outsider/Joined is usually another member of the same species/society? Though maybe other variants are okay too. I kind of like the idea of someone with latent alien genes being suddenly awakened to their psychic birthright, perhaps in connection to the first contact between Earth and that species? But that's just a stray thought for me as well.

For Scion, I am thinking the son of a terrorist mastermind (think Cobra Commander, but more competent), who was groomed from an early age to become the heir to the organisation, but rebelled and ran away upon developing superpowers (due to both wanting to be a superhero and being scared of what Dad might do with that kind of power at his disposal). Sheltered with some manipulative and ruthless impulses left over from earlier upbringing, despite having good intentions. Haven't decided on the actual superpower yet, aside from a disturbing amount of combat training for a teen.

I honestly like both ideas a lot. I think I'll wait and see what others pick before I make the final call. That said, feedback and criticism is welcome. There may be some problems I haven't thought of.



I read that as only one non-core playbook being allowed, not as only Halcyon City non-core playbooks being allowed. Though that would simplify things...

Made a mistake on Star (apologies to kitten and night) so reposting:

Dark Blue means it isn't contested.  Red means it is; the # in () after it is by how many.

Mouse - Legacy* (4)
Risk: Beacon; "I'll pick from what's left"

Abigail - Janus (2), Bull, Outsider(2)
Advocate: Scion(2), Legacy(4), Outsider(2)
Mystery: Brain(2), Innocent, Newborn
Night: Star(2), Delinquent(2), Transformed
Random: Legacy(4)/Scion(2), Nova, Doomed
Space Kitten: Brain(2), Star(2), Delinquent(2)
Willis: Janus(2), Protege, Legacy(4)


So if kitten took brain, night could take star (and not have to worry about transformer).  Or either could take delinquent I suppose
This message was last edited by the player at 19:25, Tue 15 Jan 2019.

If it's the case of only one playbook from outside the core book then that would make things a little more difficult since some of us picked playbooks from supplements than the ones in the main book. It's still doable though I'm glad I didn't pick any playbooks from the start. Also I noticed that some of Mouse's choices have been left out so I put them in just so everyone's top picks are listed.


Dark Blue means it isn't contested.  Red means it is; the # in () after it is by how many.

Abigail - Janus (2), Bull, Outsider(2)
Advocate: Scion(2), Legacy(4), Outsider(2)
Mouse - Legacy (4), Protege (2), Delinquent (3)
Mystery: Brain(2), Innocent, Newborn
Night: Star(2), Delinquent(3), Transformed
Random: Legacy(4)/Scion(2), Nova, Doomed
Space Kitten: Brain(2), Star(2), Delinquent(3)
Willis: Janus(2), Protege (2), Legacy(4)

Risk: Beacon; "I'll pick from what's left"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:38, Tue 15 Jan 2019.

It wasn’t an oversight. I had removed his other choices as he did the “staking claim” above and picked Legacy but fair enough.

Looks like I’ve got Nova or possibly doomed.  I’ll go with Nova I think.

Dark Blue means it isn't contested.  Red means it is; the # in () after it is by how many. Italics are non-core playbooks, limited to one for the team. Bold are (conditionally, I assume) claimed playbooks.

Abigail - Janus (2), Bull, Outsider(2)
Advocate: Scion(2), Legacy(4), Outsider(2)
Mouse - Legacy(4), Protege (2), Delinquent (3)
Mystery: Brain(2), Innocent, Newborn
Night: Star, Delinquent(3), Transformed
Random: Nova
Space Kitten: Brain(2), Star, Delinquent(3)
Willis: Janus(2), Protege (2), Legacy(4)

Risk: Beacon; "I'll pick from what's left"

I'm happy to drop out of the running for those non-core playbooks, which removes The Star from my list. (If it works for the game, I'll just run Transformed.)

Mystery and Space Kitten have the most eggs in the "non-core" basket at the moment.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:26, Tue 15 Jan 2019.

Conceptually, as far as powers are concerned, she's a cross between Wonder Woman and Captain America. The primary thing is being super strong and resilient, Her primary strategy being "I'm going to punch it with my fist", and some kind of extra power or signature MacGuffin type doodad (Janus, Bull, and Soldier all work pretty well in these cases). Her other identity would be that of Lady Liberty; being a bit of a daddy's girl, she wanted to pick something that would make him proud

As the character itself, Abigail is a new kid in school, a familiar feeling after having moved so many times because of her dad, Captain Steve Abrams USN, and her mother Diana Abrams, a State Dept. Translator. Abigail first found out about her powers just before moving to this city; having been hit by a car on the way home from school, the car just bounced off of her, rather than rolling over her. Once she got home, she felt she had to tell her parents what had happened, and she also felt compelled to do something with her new power(s).

The things I was primarily hoping to do with the character, as far as plot was
* Punch it with my fist
* Balancing the Hero life with also being a high school student hoping to get to college, and making sure her parents aren't too worried about her
* Figuring out how, where, and when she actually got her powers.


Perhaps someone with fresh eyes can take a look and see how this may fit into one of the other playbooks, although it looks like there would have to be deconstruction  anyway
This message was last edited by the player at 23:04, Tue 15 Jan 2019.

So playbooks are driven largely by theme rather than powers (though each playbook has a set of superpowers to choose from).

The kind of character you're describing would probably fit best as a Legacy or Protege, both playbooks that involve relations to a previous generation of heroes (not necessarily parents). With a family background in the military, the Soldier playbook from A.E.G.I.S. might also fit (it's a classic Captain America type working on behalf of Masks' equivalent of SHIELD.)

Come to think of it, Abigail might also fit as a Bull—thematically about being a weaponized human and trying not to accidentally break everything around you with your powers or temper.

Some quotes from the relevant playbooks to help you get further along:

The Bull--You’re big, strong, and tough. You know what fighting really is, and you’re good at it. Sure…you’ve got a soft side, too. But you only show that to the people you care about most. Everybody else? They can eat your fist.

The Legacy--You’re the latest in a storied heroic lineage, a family that shares a name and a cause. Now, everybody is watching and waiting to see if you’ve got what it takes to uphold that tradition. No pressure, right?

The Protege--You proved yourself to an experienced hero. They think you’ve got what it takes. They’ve been training you for a while, and now you have to decide...do you want to be them? Or will you find your own path?

Most of the game's mechanics relate to interactions between characters (including NPCs), with adults automatically having a certain amount of sway just as they would with unpowered, real teenagers.

After reading your post I think you are right on the money for the three playbooks that best fit the concept: Janus, Bull and Soldier. Legacy and Protege could work like Night suggested though they require some rework of the character. Pretty much any playbook could work so it all depends on what you want to focus on.

The main part I focused on is this:



Janus is the first one that comes to mind since it is all about balancing the life of a hero and one's civilian life. The other two can work such say if you picked the Bull and had Abigail try to figure out who used her as a science experiment.

And just to show any of the playbooks can work here's one that has not been mentioned yet the Doomed. Abigail could still have the plot of understanding her powers and where they came from. In addition there's the whole her trying to reassure her parents not to worry while her doom is approaching closer by the day.

It sounds most like the Bull to me, since that's the raw physical power science experiment one.

It does sound pretty bull-like. Not saying you have to be that, just that it might warrant a second look.

I will point out, though, that 'balancing home and heroing' is going to be a theme for everyone. Just -moreso- for the Janus. You've been warned. :)

Which for a Legacy is balancing doing your best with hearing all about what you did wrong last time you tried to stop crime.  LOL.

Well, if we've got that covered, than I think it's time to grab The Bull By the Horns (sorrynotsorry).




The only hangup I have with this is that it precludes other options, and operating at ground zero, there's no reason to assume that it was a science experiment when there are options abound.

Maybe she's a mutant, maybe she's the last member of an alien species, sent here from the parents of a dying world. Maybe she was chosen by the Gods for....reasons.

But ey, may be it was a lab experiment. Who knows, perhaps her parents know what's up. Working for the State Department has been used as a cover for spies at least since the dawn of the Cold War. Both Mom and Dad have security clearances, so even if their was nothing malevolent in what they do, they still couldn't tell their daughter about it.

Whatever happened, neither I the player nor Abigail the character know anything about it at this point.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:03, Wed 16 Jan 2019.

Updated!

Dark Blue means it isn't contested.  Red means it is; the # in () after it is by how many. Italics are non-core playbooks, limited to one for the team. Bold are (conditionally, I assume) claimed playbooks.

Abigail - Bull
Advocate: Scion(2), Legacy(3), Outsider
Mouse - Legacy(3), Protege (2), Delinquent (3)
Mystery: Brain(2), Innocent, Newborn
Night: Delinquent(3), Transformed
Random: Nova
Space Kitten: Brain(2), Star, Delinquent(3)
Willis: Janus, Protege (2), Legacy(3)
Risk: Beacon; "I'll pick from what's left"

If nobody wants to "fight" Mouse for Legacy, it clears up a little more:

Abigail - Bull
Advocate: Scion, Outsider
Mouse - Legacy
Mystery: Brain(2), Innocent, Newborn
Night: Delinquent(2), Transformed
Random: Nova
Space Kitten: Brain(2), Star, Delinquent(2)
Willis: Janus, Protege
Risk: Beacon; "I'll pick from what's left"

The main sticking point looks to be "who get the non-core playbook?" (That's the main reason that I'm not hopping back on the Outsider/Joined duo with Advocate, btw.) If @Space Kitten wants to run with The Delinquent, then the dust settles pretty neatly on that question, too, and we're just about there.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:17, Wed 16 Jan 2019.

Not to distract from the playbook stuff (because that seems primary and looks like we're close)...

So what next, people pick the powers in the playbook so we don't overlap or something?

Given I have no idea how this system works nor played in a game that doesn't have limits or guidelines on powers (or even normal stuff) telling me what is and isn't possible, could someone who knows this system (and has some free time) send me a PM (and possibly Abigail as well since she's in a similar boat I think) explaining all this?  Thanks!  I don't have the book (and am a tad too poor atm to go buy it) so I'm a tad lost.

SHooting you a PM, but it's worth noting that the playbooks are available for free:

http://www.magpiegames.com/mas...sks-playbooks-moves/

Thanks!  I did see the playbooks but the mechanics make no sense since don't understand the system at all.

Overlapping usually isn't an issue. The roles in Masks are often more about who you are than what you can do.
In game, things that require die rolls are called 'moves'. While every playbook has moves of their own, there's a set of moves that any character can perform. A brief list of such moves follows:

Directly Engage a Threat: Attacking or fighting against someone or something. This usually works off your Danger stat, but there are powers and moves that can change that.

Unleash Your Powers: Push your abilities beyond what they can normally do. Note that this can be the power level of the ability, pinpoint accuracy, or simply using it in a way you wouldn't normally do. This works off your Freak stat, but there are powers and playbook moves that can change that.

Comfort or Support Someone: Getting someone into a better headspace, or perhaps getting them to like you a bit more. As many condition markers are psychological, this has some specific in-game effects when it comes to that. Works off your Mundane stat. Powers and moves, yadda yadda...

Pierce the Mask: Figuring out what someone's really thinking or planning. Works off your Mundane stat.

Defend: Defending someone or something other than yourself, often exposing yourself to danger in the process. Goes off your Savior stat.

Assess the Situation: Observation work to pick up clues around you, either through extended detective work, or simply getting a momentary read on what's going on. Works off your Superior stat.

Provoke Someone: Get a PC or NPC to do what you say, even if they don't want to. Works off your Superior stat.

Take a Powerful Blow: An often involuntary action, this roll is for when you take a hit, usually physical, but it can also represent a particularly powerful blow to one's emotions or ego. No stat is involved in this- only how much damage you've already taken.

Now, powers often dictate -how- you can do these things. If, for instance, you have invulnerability or armor or force fields, that would dictate how you can defend. If you have telepathy, it would indicate how you can pierce the mask. Master detective? You probably assess the situation in different ways than others would.

In later posts, I'll probably talk about two other factors in the game: Influence and Conditions. But for now, does this answer some of your questions?

A little.  I'll get there.  Just different style of system i guess...

On some further consideration, I'll go with Outsider. Will need to think about her home situation on Earth. Maybe she could stay with some other PC's family while there - whether they know about her true nature or not?

That could work easily and once everyone actually has their character posted up it will be easier to figure out ties such as that.

Since no one has said they wanted Beacon as a backup I'm going to go ahead and lock that one down if everyone is okay with it.

Dependent on if she can look human or not, if I get the Legacy I could see the government (about the only people who could possibly know who we are) asking us to take care of you.  Built in guide/protector sounds like a governmental deal to me.

As I said earlier, her presence here may have something to do with an adult superhero impressing her empire in some way. So maybe it was the previous bearer of the Legacy? In that case it'd be pretty logical to live with them. Though, I don't know if you have a super family or some other arrangement...

That's one option anyway. A Protege's mentor (and then pulling strings for her to stay with the Protege?) is another, if that's what Willis goes with.

In any case she would be both generally humanoid and able to project a human image through psychic powers, with the limitations that the Eye mentioned earlier.

Another possibility is the Outsider first meets one of the other characters and is taken in by their family. Any of the characters could work it just depends on how you as the player want to go about it. The one that stands the most out to me would be the Transformed since I like the possible dynamic between those two playbooks that and it's not as if the Transformed parents would find someone from another world off-putting as much. The flip side would be the transformed also having nowhere to go depending on the backstory thus those two are put together. That's putting the cart before the horse since playbooks have still not been decided on yet.

I can't wait for them to be, and not because I have one I want.  I really enjoy the question and answer part of the team building.

After a question from Night, I'm adding this house rule for The Transformed:

I'll have to think about the Transformed in that regard; the inhumanity of the form is an important thematic bit and I'd need to figure out how to work it out as something more Hulk-like. In the mean time, I'm going to take Risk's old "what's left" spot. ;)

---

Here's where we're at right now:

Abigail - Bull
Advocate: Outsider
Mouse - Legacy
Mystery: Brain(2), Innocent, Newborn
Night: Transformed, "The Leftover"
Random: Nova
Space Kitten: Brain(2), Star, Delinquent
Willis: Janus, Protege
Risk: Beacon

I am completely open to other options for the Transformed, but I'm trying to keep the game so that the heroes won't stand out as heroes in the school. If you guys have other ideas, I'm certainly willing to entertain them.

It could be something such as the Transformed wearing a piece of tech that makes them appear human. Something like they've used for the character, Nightcrawler before. It presents its own issues but it's an option that might work.

To get a little off topic I had a question concerning the Beacon's abilities. If I did something such as take martial arts and acrobatics would it be okay to say those abilities are  from something such as photographic reflexes or adoptive muscle memory as its also called?

Sort-of. Such an ability would make you a great acrobat and fighter, but wouldn't make you able to copy other people beyond that unless you perhaps used an 'unleash powers' move.

Okay, honestly I'm wanting to use it as an excuse for why the character can do those sort of things without having the training beforehand.

That's perfectly fine.

Thanks Eye, if that didn't work I could tweak the idea I had. Either way it doesn't really matter since the character would still function the same way.

Since Mystery didn't pick any non-limited playbooks, I think I'll go with Delinquent to make things easier.

Deadname/Parker Peterson
"If you like deadnaming me that much, then why don't you just call me...DOCTOR DEADNAME! I'm joking, of course; all the scientists in comics are bad guys, and I'm totally not!"

Look: androgynous, ambiguously brown, laughing eyes, rebellious clothing, showy costume

Abilities: teleportation and psychic weapons

Labels: Danger 0, Freak 0, Savior -1, Superior +3, Mundane +1

Backstory
How did you get your powers? Oh, now that's a funny story! You see, when I was a little thing, I went to this museum, where I was bitten by this radioactive-bio-engineered spider-ant-bat thingy, and then voila! No, that wasn't a card from Magic: the Gathering, though I'm oddly fond of the shark-octopus-crab.

What do you do for fun? Telling the truth. No, seriously, man. Everything I tell you is 100% true. You wouldn't find a more honest person in the universe. I'm the least deceitful person you'll ever meet.

Who, outside the team, thinks better of you than you do? Urgh, Mom. Seriously, stop trying to send me to Catholic schools. Next time, I'll find something worse than Jesus's head to chop off.

Why do you try to be a hero? Merchandising, man. Do you know how much you can make by selling action figures and T-shirts? I suppose you can also do that as a villain, but then cops will be all over your business.

Why do you care about the team? I don't. Well, okay, maybe a little. But not a lot. Not as much as they care about me. Wait, that came out wrong. Look, I don't need a goddamn surrogate family, okay? Family are just people you hate but can't kill even if you have powers because then you'll be the first one the cops think of.

Moves:
Mary Contrary: When someone tries to pierce your mask, comfort or support you, or provoke you, you can interfere. Roll + Superior. On a hit, they take a -2 on their roll. On a 10+, you also take Influence over them or clear a condition. On a 7- 9, you expose yourself to retribution, cost, or judgment. On a miss, they get a 10+ no matter what they rolled and you mark a condition of their choice.

Team? What team?: When you use Team selfishly, clear a condition or mark potential. The first time in a session that you use Team to help a teammate, take +1 forward.

Are you watching closely?:
When you mislead, distract, or trick someone, roll + Superior. On a hit, they are fooled, at least for a moment. On a 10+, choose three. On a 7- 9, choose two.
- You get an opportunity
- You expose a weakness or flaw
- You confuse them for some time
- You avoid further entanglement
On a miss, you're hopelessly embroiled in it and under pressure; mark a condition.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:55, Thu 17 Jan 2019.

Thanks, Space Kitten.

Sorry, I've been reading the rules to try and get a handle on the system (and I didn't realize that the playbooks were limited for the ones I chose). I'll post a potential character tomorrow.

Oh, should we post character sheets here?

No problems.

Play the Newborn! I'll be sure to show you around while telling you nothing but the truth. =P

Hero Name: Lady Liberty
"Yaknow, the New Colossus? Supertall badass woman offering to help those in need while at the same time saying not to mess with us? Recognized the world over as a symbol? Ya, wonder why I chose that..."

Real Name: Abigail Anastasia Abrams (Surname was changed from Abramovich when her paternal Great Grandfather entered the United States from Poland in the early 20th century)
"It's Abigail, not 'Abby' and definitely not 'Annie'. My parents gave me that name, don't meddle with it just because you think it's cute, okay?"
Look (circle one from each row).
• ambiguous, man, shifting, transgressing, woman
"so because I'm the tallest girl in school and wear my hair this way, you think boys are too scared to ask me out? Yaknow, I think I'm actually good with that"
•Asian or South Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, White
"We all bleed the same..."
• calloused hands, dirty hands, inhuman hands, battered hands
"Why do you care? You're not holding my hands anytime soon..."
• baggy clothing, ragged clothing, dirty clothing, casual clothing
"When they start making dresses that actually fit me, I'll start wearing them. Until than, T-shirts and jeans it is"
• simple costume, memorable costume, over the top costume, no costume
"This is possibly the only chance to freely express myself, why would I just want to "blend in with the crowd"?

Abilities: Someone or something changed you, made you into a perfect weapon:  superhumanly tough, incredibly strong, and uniquely skilled at fighting. Decide how each of those abilities manifests.
Superhmanly Tough: The first way her powers manifested. With a thought, or on reflex in danger, her skin turns to metal. With practice and some concentration, she can choose how that metal appears, though it's normal state seems to resemble that of steel
Incredibly Strong: A passive, latent form of superstrength that's "always on".
Uniquely Skilled at Fighting: "Bring your child to work day" is a little hard when you're a Special Operator. When word spread around the team Commander Abrams' little girl was being bullied at school, there was no shortage of volunteers willing to teach her how to fight back. Even after the bullying stopped, she kept up with the training.
Labels:
Danger +2
Freak +1
Savior: 0 (Increased from -1)
Superior: +1
Mundane: -1


Backstory:
• Who changed you? "Not a clue, couldn't tell you when I changed either. I can tell you when I first found out, and that's all I got"
• How did you escape from them? "Again, I don't even if there was a 'Them' to escape from. If there was, they must have let me go and wiped my memory of it. That or some hero rescued me...and also wiped my mind."
• Who, outside the team, tries to take care of you now? "Still live with my mom and dad. They know what's up. Thankfully I get the cool parents. They're totally down with the whole hero thing...so long as I keep my grades up."
• Why do you try to be a hero? "Daddy always says that decisions are made by the people that show up, and that the people who are able to make a difference have an obligation to do so. So, this is me showing up. Am I making the right decisions? I hope so, but I'd rather have made the wrong decision than have these powers and just sit on the sidelines."
• Why do you care about the team? <i>"Because they're good people...mostly, and because I'm just a hammer, and not all of the worlds problems are nails"

Bull Moves:
 Punch everyone:  Whenever you charge into a fight without hedging your bets, you can shift your Danger up and any other Label down
 In a china shop:  When you directly engage a threat, you can cause significant collateral damage to your environment to choose an additional option, even on a miss

The Bull's Heart:

This will be figured out later as the rest of the crew figures out who their characters are, but I need a love interest and a rival.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:56, Thu 17 Jan 2019.

Boo

So...I came at an idea for the Transformed from the other direction—less about hulking out when stressed, and more about being able to (literally) hold oneself together with some effort.

Sofia Tsitsipas, sometimes known as Space Thing, can make herself look like the 16 year old girl she would have been. It's not perfect. At a svelte 5'7", she still weighs upward of 300 extremely dense pounds, and when she starts to get distracted it becomes a little clearer that she doesn't have bones anymore. If she gets a little more distracted, her skin loses its opacity and reverts, in patches, to glitter-spangled midnight.

She's most comfortable stretching those 300 pounds out to seven feet, with long thin limbs and a distinct lack of definition in her facial features. Sophie lets go of the tight control of her skin, which in its natural state looks something like a glittery bouncy ball, miniature stars catching the light through translucent blue flesh.

For powers, she has Transmuting Flesh and Inhuman Might. It's the former that lets her continue to go to school and pretend (sometimes) that things are normal.

Well, I was gonna go with Parker Peters, but I thought that'd be too obvious. =P

Night, I -love- that image, and I think it fits in perfectly with the game! If you'd like the transmuted flesh to have specific properties, that seems appropriate, too.

Not gonna lie, guys.  I haven’t been able to keep up with you.  Where are we currently as far as who is playing what?

So you've got your choice of Janus or Protege, Willis.

Cool.  Leaning toward Protege I think.

As for my character, power can come from many sources.  My Legacy is a distant relative of Joan of Arc (Jehenne D'Arc).  In my character's fiction she was blessed with the divine armor and mythic weapons of the blood line and it was seen as blessings from Heaven by her and others.  So much so, that she was sainted by the Roman Catholic church.

My character is of a family line's who's grandfather and father have manifested the powers in ways befitting them.  The father is known as Murmillo and is still active.  The grandfather was Freebooter and has retired (and is critical of how my character fights crime, and who he does it with).  The father is more supportive, but ready to jump should his son disgrace the family line.

My character is known as Paladin and has manifested the mythic strength, incredible speed, and mystical weapons of the bloodline, as of yet not manifesting the divine armor or god-like beauty.  The weapons he manifests is a sword and a dagger.  The sword has been known to cut through steel and the dagger returns when thrown.  It's possible that the missing manifestations will come about as he gets more experienced, and that the weapons may develop further as well.

His biggest obstacle is the Black Knight, believed to be the one from the Authorian legends.  The Black Knight has fought the family as far back as can be remembered, killing some in fact.  So far he doesn't seem to have figured out that my character's family is the one doing the manifesting against him.

The Black Knight has all the manifestations of a similar bloodline.  He of course has turned his strength and speed to evil.

Are the powers blessings like his family has always believed?  That is up to the Storyteller, but remember, blessings can come indirectly as well as directly, so should be interesting to see how it plays out.

Rather than dump a wall of text here, I put Sophia's background Q&A into her description: Link back to this game=

Do we have A.E.G.I.S. or some equivalent here? Not sure if it's the same continuity as Halcyon City.

For the purposes of this game, AEGIS does exist, but doesn't have a local branch. This allows for characters to have a contact within, or background with, but makes it so the organization won't be coming in to deal with issues in the city. Dr. Nick is, of course, the exception to this rule. He worked in the city long before he was an AEGIS member, and continues to do so.

Like Night I posted the Q&A for my character in her description along with an incomplete character sheet. I still need to pick his moves, drives and the +1 to one of his labels.

Sophia's Transformed relationships:

___________________ comforted you when you were at your lowest.
___________________ knew you before you changed.

Mine are:
You keep trying to impress _ _ _ _ _ _ _ with your antics.
You and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pulled an awesome (if illegal) stunt together.

The Beacon's are:

_____________ is awesome, and I take every chance I get to hang out with them.

You've got to prove myself to _________________ before you feel like a real hero.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:58, Fri 18 Jan 2019.

Mine are...

You hang out all the time with ________ to blow off steam.

You on CD hurt ________ when you lost control of your powers.


But...dont we need to know a bit about each others chars before we answer this stuff?

Are we freshmen in high school or.... ?

Thinking out loud, such life could theoretically make sense on a planet like Uranus. Since it's axis is on it's side, half the planet is constantly "day" and half the planet is constantly "night". As a result, the planet has constant storms and phenomena unlike we have here. For life to survive, it would have to be able to survive that constantly violent nature, so being able to change ones makeup (similar to an Octopus) would be a huge benefit. Plus, the gravitational change of being on a planet much closer to the Sun would cause "normal" weight at home to seem much heavier here (say, 300 lbs)

In reply to Abigail Abrams. (msg # 109):

I don't want to touch anything even vaguely resembling real world physics or science in a supers game. ;)

She got transformed by some aliens, and that's enough until and unless it becomes a plot point the Eye wants to use.

@Random--these questions are part of the way we get to know a little more about our characters, but you're right. The background questions in our individual playbooks come first.

So, yes and no. They don't have to be other players, but if it was going to be the other Player Characters, than knowing something and creating some backstory between them is required.

Bear in mind that this is required anyway, since the game is assuming that we're already operating as a team before the game starts (at least, that's how I've read it)

For The Bull's Heart, I can swap out the names at will, and "Love" and "Rival" doesn't have to be in as such strong terms.

I was thinking that, at least on the onset, her Rival could be Mystery. Abigail is actually a smart girl, but the way that Mystery can easily learn new things, recall information, and just breeze through school, gets on Abigail's nerves, especially when her ears are ringing from being told again about how college is so important.

Also, sorry about that, I got Night (Transformed) and Advocate (Outsider) mixed up.

The character relationships are, in fact, with other PC's. The Bull's love and rival don't have to be- they're something separate.

Also, yes, you've all done at least one big villain-beating mission together, even if that's how you all met (or maybe you were in duos, or maybe you all knew each other. That's for you all to put together). You may not know everything about each other, but you have worked together before.

So, have all the roles been chosen? If so, we can start up some of the blank-filling!

Aren't Love and Rival the relationship questions for the Bull, requiring that they're other PCs? It is important that the Love doesn't have to be a romantic interest. Not everybody is into that kind of teen drama.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:07, Fri 18 Jan 2019.

Relationships
You once got caught doing something that shames your legacy with (I'm thinking the Delinquent here once named.)
You trust (This is going to take some thought after seeing all character applications) and told them an important secret of your legacy

A thought: let's get all of the Relationships on one post, so that players can either volunteer themselves as good candidates for certain blanks (or explain why they're bad candidates)

Abigail - Bull

_______________ is your love. You’ve opened up to them about the worst parts of your past.
_______________ is your rival. They tried to control you at a crucial moment.

Advocate: Outsider

You’ve been learning about Earth by spending time with _____________.
You have a crush on ________________ but you keep it under wraps.

Mouse - Legacy

You once got caught doing something that shames your legacy with ______________.
You trust ______________ and told them an important secret of your legacy.

Mystery: Brain,

You told _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ about your shame and asked them for their confidence.
You wish you could be a better hero, more like _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Night: Transformed

___________________ comforted you when you were at your lowest.
___________________ knew you before you changed.

Random: Nova

You hang out all the time with __________________ to blow off steam.
You once hurt ________________ when you lost control of your powers.

Space Kitten: Delinquent

You keep trying to impress _________________ with your antics.
You and ________________ pulled an awesome (if illegal) stunt together

Willis: Janus,

_____________________ knew you from your civilian life first.
You refused to tell ___________________ your secret identity when they asked.
Risk: Beacon

____________________ is awesome, and you take every chance you get to hang out with them.
You’ve got to prove yourself to_____________________ before you feel like a real hero.

Abigail might be a good fit for Mouse's Trust relationship. It doesn't take much time around her to figure out that family and heritage is a big thing to her.

Conversely, would be a bad fit for Night's first one, knowing her before she transformed. Abigail's family moved into town fairly recently.

Either myself or Night may be good fits for the second Nova blank, depending on how you want to play it. We're both supposed to be pretty hard to hurt, so if it was either of us, it could underscore just how powerful Random's character is (or, depending on how you want to look at it, that we're resistant to injury, not immune to it)

For the Beacon's I've been considering some options just based on playbooks since not everyone has their characters posted up. The second one for the Beacon will probably be one of the characters mine sees as an established hero such the Legacy or the Protege if Willis goes with that one. Some of the others could work too but it'll depend on the characters once everyone posts theirs.

For the first one it can be whoever since I get the feeling Josep is going to find everyone on the team awesome in their own way.

Two things about starting to fill in relationships:

--Watch out for binary pairs. It gets easy, sometimes, to have two characters tied tightly to each other and not really connected to the rest of the team. (This was a bit of a challenge in my tabletop Masks game when we only had four characters. Adding a fifth did a really nice job of breaking up the pairs.)

--We're inevitably going to have some attrition. The relationship questions should give us some important answers, but we should be careful about making our concepts reliant on other PCs. (Alas!)

Oh hell. I mis-read. Yes, the Bull's love and rival are supposed to be PC's. This is completely my bad, and I take responsibility and blame for it.

It's all good Eye, it was a simple mistake.

On a completely different note I want to say I'm having a hard time picking which drives I want to start off with.

For those unaware, the Beacon has 'drives', as below:

Choose four drives to mark at the start of play. When you fulfill a marked drive, strike it out, and choose one:
mark potential, clear a condition, take Influence over someone involved.
When your four marked drives are all struck out, choose and mark four new drives. When all drives are struck out, change playbooks, retire from the life, or become a paragon of the city.

❑
  lead the team successfully in battle
❑
  kiss someone dangerous
❑
  punch someone you probably shouldn’t
❑
  help a teammate when they most need you
❑
  take down a threat all on your own
❑
  outperform an adult hero
❑
  pull off a ridiculous stunt
❑
  save a teammate’s life
❑
  get drunk or high with a teammate
❑
  drive a fantastical vehicle
❑
  get a new costume
❑
  get a new hero name
❑
  earn the respect of a hero you admire
❑
  make out with a teammate
❑
  punch out a teammate
❑
  break up with someone
❑
  stop a fight with calm words
❑
  tell someone your true feelings for them
❑
  travel to an incredible place (or time)
❑
  reject someone who tells you “you shouldn’t be
here

In reply to All-seeing Eye (msg # 120):

Yeah, it's been hard picking out some good ones to start the game off with. Don't worry everyone, no need to worry about my character trying to make out with anyone on the team or punching them out from the get go. lol

Okay, unless I'm mistaken, everyone has chosen their archetype? If so, does anyone need help on their build- attributes and labels and the like?

Once those are squared away, I'd love to start working on the relationships. Toss around both who you feel fits in yours, and which ones of others you think you'd make a decent fit for. Let's talk about it!

Well, my Legacy's name is Paladin.  He's French American with blond hair and blue eyes, a trait he shares with Jehenne D'Arc.  He's a pretty honest guy, though he plays it close to the chest what his connection is with Murmillo and Freebooter exactly, because of his worry about the Black Knight.

He's Roman Catholic, so anything he's told is in the strictest of confidences.

As for suggestions, I'm thinking that my illegal activity was with the Delinquent.  My telling of my family secret would probably be told to Space Thing or Rook.

My team building question is: When our team first came together...
All things considered, we did well and impressed an established hero. Who was it?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:15, Sat 19 Jan 2019.

Sophie's spent her whole life in New Jersey, but she switched schools after her "abduction" (which was probably about a year ago now). Maybe the PC who knew her before her transformation went to middle school with her?

In terms of who comforted her when she was at her lowest, it might be fun to make that somebody counterintuitive—somebody with a tough or dangerous facade like our Delinquent or Bull.

I think it does make it easier if people toss their background information up in their character descriptions (or at least summaries of that information) as they get it figured out. Because of the way that interactions run in Masks, not many playbooks have much cause to keep secrets from the players, even if the characters aren't always as forthcoming.

I've already shared my character's background pretty much in total here in the OOC.

I don’t think my character will work for your character for who knew her before her transformation. He’s going to be a local in the city we start off in.

For my own the first one can basically be anyone since I think my character is going to think everyone else on the team is cool. It might be fun for him to pick someone that might not feel the same way about him if that can work.

For who he wants to impress I have some ideas about that one and I’ve mentioned some of them before. The Legacy and Protege (if Willis goes with that playbook) are the obvious choices since they both are tied to superheroes. Another option I thought was the Bull since that character is about trying to make a difference even if she has a penchant for breaking a lot of stuff around her in the process. The Transformed would be an interesting choice since I could see my character really admiring her for wanting to be a hero after what she’s been through. He thinks a lot of people would mope around or be angry if that happened to them, but she’s trying to make a difference in a positive way.

That’s my ideas for the moment but if anyone wants to suggest something different I’m all ears.

Here's my background...  Not quite finished but should give a good idea.  (Also not sure where we go next so looking for you experienced folks to lead the way! ;)  )  Happy to make connections however!



Liam McLyre
Age: 16

Liam is the youngest child.  He had an older sister (Jen; deceased when he was 12*) and has an older brother (Brad; 21).  His mother (Mary) left when he was only 11.  He never knew why.  He knew his mother and father (Raymond) had been arguing a lot, building up over last bunch of years but did not really know why.  One day, he came home from school and she was just gone.

His father made due.  Raymond was some big business type, one of the heads of  a X corporation.  It certainly handled the finances without a problem but it led to a lot of missed time.  Raymond cared and was a good father, when he wasn’t busy raking it all in.  But there were only so many hours in a days.  Jen and Brad helped out but they were growing up too.  Once Brad left for college, Liam was alone a lot and relatively unsupervised after that.

He had been a real happy child for most of his life.  But ages 11 and 12 were pretty hard.  Expectedly, his grades dropped as well as his interest in socializing.

Car accident when he was 12.  Jen was driving him home.  He still doesn’t know/really remember what happened but the car was totalled and she was dead.  Beyond a lot of dirt and some bumps and bruises, he was fine but utterly certain it was his fault.  His powers began to surface more commonly after that...

He did his best to hide them but it was hard.  He figured out pretty quick his emotions were directly tied into them.  And he was smart enough to realize with his behavior and family loss, he was under the microscope.  He changed; became more active in school and more social.  Or at least he appeared to.  He joined sports, hung out and tried to be friendly.  His apparent good and happy demeanor was a facade.  Inside, he was all about control, not letting himself get too happy or too sad.  He couldn't risk it...

--------

When did you first use your powers?
12 years old.


Who was the first person you accidentally hurt with your powers?
Jen, his sister, died in the car accident/first eruption of his powers...

Who, outside the team, helps you control your powers?
?? (not sure; working on it)

Why do you continue to use your powers?
Because it feels GOOD to be able to do these things.  It’s cool and exciting but terrifying all the same.  And he can do some good with them, despite the risk.

Why do you care about the team?
Because while he wants to help, he knows too well he’s a danger.  If he doesn’t get control, sooner or later, he’ll be too far gone and out of control to stop himself.  Someone will need to be able to stop him, to put him down if and/or when that day comes.  The team can do that.  Up until that day, he knows what it’s like, just like them, to have powers and juggle everything all while trying to not be noticed and all to aware he could loose control and kill everyone around him...
This message was last edited by the player at 02:25, Sun 20 Jan 2019.

I'm currently chipping away at the sheet and mulling over how much detail to go into with regards to the aliens. And what to call them.

I am still fond of the idea of her being sent to Earth partly as a reciprocal gesture after an adult human superhero's adventures in space. Not sure if that fits Murmillo's profile, though. Would like to see what Willis has as well.

I like what you posted Random, I'm looking forward to Liam interacting with the rest of the team.

Advocate, I wouldn't worry about too much detail for the aliens at least at the start. Sometimes things can develop while a game is happening and can spark a moment of creativity.

For the hero in space I have an idea that could work if nothing else will. One of the people who doesn't believe in my character is a hero by the name of Vigil. He could have been the one who went into space at some point and helped your character's people. It could set up an interesting dynamic with our characters with yours being the one mine wants to prove himself to as a hero.

I like the sound of that. It'd help spread out relationships, as I envision her staying with some other PC household as her host family (if anyone is interested) and spending time with their kid to learn about Earth.

Abigail has "the cool parents", at least in her own mind. They know about her powers and let her do her thing, so buttering them up to let a "special friend" move in could work. It'd also be good for her, an only kid in a new town, to have someone she can rely on to be a close friend (maybe even see as a sister, in time)

Possible storyline snag: Her parents both work for the US government in different classified capacity, and having a confirmed extraterrestrial being under their roof would be cause for concern and they'd probably be obligated to report to someone (if they haven't already). But, on the other hand, they should have done that about their own vigilante daughter and don't appear to have done so.

In reply to Advocate (msg # 130):

Cool, unless someone has a better idea we could roll with that one. I think we should both have some input about Vigil then since that NPC is part of both of their backstories.

I like Abigail's idea and I was going to suggest something similar. The only other one I think that could work is Night's character. The Transformed's backstory involves aliens and AEGIS. It would make sense to have the Outsider placed with her family.

I was thinking she was here in an official capacity... at least as she understood it. She's not hiding from the authorities, just from the civilians at their request so as not to cause a disturbance. So actually it makes perfect sense for her to be placed in a government- or AEGIS-connected family. They'll help keep the secret from others... and maybe keep an eye on her, just to be on the safe side.

Maybe it's an exchange student kind of thing?

Works for me.

That's kinda-sorta what I was thinking of, yes. Also, description up, though I might still polish or switch some things around.

Hi! Finally got a rough sheet up- took a while to get the character in my mind.

Janice has a few hooks that could be used to link with other characters: she was in the hospital for months with severe injuries after a lab accident...that could have been an attempt to work with AEGIS on an improved soldier (or not- its just a possible hook).

She is living in a mostly cybernetic body- its a miracle she even survived. She appears normal and pretty because its just a shell- she figured if she was going to be presenting a face, she should present a pretty one.

So, she could have spent time with Liam or know Abigail through those.

Just some thoughts.

All right, folks! Is there anything I can be doing for any of you (or all of you) to help speed up the process of getting your links set up? I'm hoping to push things forward to the 'when we first' questions by Thursday evening!

I honestly don’t know what do to here to help.   Would it help to have a separate thread (whee we do not post to; make it closed or something) to list all backgrounds and stuff for easier reference?  Anything else I can do, let me know.

That could be a good idea, keeps up from having to use "The Cast" for just that purpose.

Building a thread now!

Sounds good Eye, I'll go ahead and posts this about my prompts I was given.

For my links, Advocate is filling one of mine and the other can be anyone. I guess it depends on who wants to have the Beacon hanging around them constantly. That being said, just because my character likes hanging out with them doesn't mean the other character feels the same. I'll give an example for each one.

Abigail: She's the badass who can mess people up and has parents who knows about her being a superhero. Yeah, she's cool in Josep's book though she might not like it when he eventually gives her a nickname.

Juana: Unfortunately not an option since she has the other link for Josep. If not for that I could see him wanting to hangout with her just to learn more about her culture and world. Much like I'm sure many of the other teammates would.

Janice: Since Josep is likely going to take "No Powers and Not Nearly Enough Training" he's going to be picking up gear whenever he can. That means taking it to someone who knows about it so Janice is the obvious choice. Even if someone else fills the spot for the link I can still see him bugging her about tech.

Sophia: Josep is the only person on the team without any noticeable powers so that could make for an interesting dynamic but it could be one of those cases where he's constantly annoying her. It depends on how she would feel about someone wanting to be a superhero when he could easily go and have a normal life.

Andrew: The guy is part of a superhero legacy so of course Josep would think he's awesome. Again there's the dynamic of someone who has been bred to be a hero while the other is seen as someone who should pack it in and quit by one of the big time heroes.

Liam: Some from the previous examples could apply here for Liam. They guy is constantly trying to stay in control so Josep trying to be around him could be good for him or bad. Probably a mix of both since when has anything went smoothly in a superhero setting?

Parker: This would probably be a lot of Josep being annoying because he knows Parker is a better person and argues that point often.

Those are some ideas at least and if someone wants to weigh in please do. Also, if it helps anyone I can post why my character could be a good or a bad choice for any links. I don't mind, whatever I can do to help.

Try it and see what happens :) You wouldn't know she's got a problem with it until it's tried, by you or someone else.

She's not wholly against nicknames, but she is strangely defense about being called Abby or Annie. Who knows, someone on a good day (or bad one) may figure out the reason.

Oh she will be given a nickname and if Josep is sent flying through a wall then he'll just keep at it. After he wakes up from the coma of course. lol

That being said it's likely everyone will get a nickname from him. If that upsets the rest of the team then they can form a line to beat him up like in Airplane.

I'll lay this out here, though it may soon get its own thread. We're reaching the 'When our team first came together' point of character creation, and they're answered in a specific order. Anyone can input, but the player's own question is ultimately answered by them- they get final ruling. Posting this here, I figure it gives you all time to debate and think about it.

So, the order would be:

Bull: We defeated a dangerous enemy. Who or what was it?

Nova: We destroyed our surroundings in the fight. Where was it? What did we destroy?

Outsider: We didn’t trust each other at first, but that changed. How? Why?

Delinquent: We totally broke some major rules to win the fight. What rules did we
break? Whose rules were they?

Legacy: All things considered, we did well and impressed an established hero. Who was it?

Transformed: We drew attention and ire from plenty during the fight. One important person in particular now hates and fears us. Who is it?

Protege: We stuck together after all was said and done. Why? How’d we keep in contact?

Beacon: We found signs that this incident was just the start of something bigger. What were the signs?

Brain: You created something lasting and beneficial for the whole team. What was it?

So, sorry for delay.  Figure I'll get my 2 question in.

Anyone want to hang out with my guy to blow off steam?  This is either likely to be heading out to the middle of nowhere to not kill anyone or someone who helps me relax/get me to not blow up and kill folks. ;)

And...I need a volunteer to be hurt by me.  What a proposal, right?  Going to feel super bad of course and we can either be friends or something after or feel free to hate/fear me!  Just need a victi...er volunteer! ;)



Also, have people selected their specific powers/abilities yet?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:05, Wed 23 Jan 2019.

I could be a good guy to blow off steam to.  He's a good listener, and doesn't jusdge.  Plus he's got a wealth of information on how to be a hero passed on by his dad.

I'll put my hand up on this one. I think it works to two great examples

1) She's supposed to be pretty impervious to pain, so you hurting her means something

2) It can say something about Abigail's hubris and stubbornness as much as it can say something about your lack of control. Her ego could have been justifiably been brought down a peg.



The Uber-men, a gang of extremely violent white supremacists, who used some experimental super steroid to enhance their physical characteristics, but it also made their rage uncontrollable, indiscriminately attacking anyone and everyone who didn't meet their concepts of "purity". The men were stopped and the lab to create it was trashed, but whoever paid for the lab and/or engineered the drug remains at large, and in hiding.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:40, Wed 23 Jan 2019.

Sorry for the quiet; caught between thinking about stuff and work.

Looking over the cast list, it seems like Rook is maybe the person who knew Sophie before? I still like the "went to the same middle school, then were in different high school zones, then Sophie switched high schools after her incident" model.

And maybe Envoy for the one who comforted Sophie at her lowest? There's some thematic overlap between the Outsider and the Transformed. I don't know if Deadname would be the comforting sort (maybe in a moment of "weakness"), but that might also be interesting.

I like what you wrote Abigail for your question. I'm curious, do the Uber-men have a ringleader or are they so far gone from the superdrug it's just a mob mentality sort of thing?

Night, if that works for you then I'm for Josep knowing Sophie back when they were in middle school. He was into sports and the like until recently. Maybe they knew each other better through that? Not saying they have to be best friends but it gives more basis to them being friends back then.

That might be good! Until her incident, Sophia was a competitive swimmer and probably would have been around other sports, too.

So, I have some thoughts on all that, but I don't want to drive the show. Maybe the others can answer some of that with the follow on questions.

As to the effects of the drug itself, I figured those would not be permanent. The gang members would lose their strength and have their cognitive functions back, though probably with a few less operating brain cells than they did before (or, who knows, they could be total veggies by the time it wears off)

As to whether there is a ringleader, what happened to him, and the like, that's all within your purview to establish as "Something Bigger"

Sounds good to me Sophia. It could be something such as both of their practices ending at the same time then met while waiting for their parents to pick them up and one of them struck up a conversation with the other.

Okay, I wanted to make sure Abigail because of what my prompt was. I didn't want to assume anything about Uber-men in case you had something specific concerning their leader.

Since we're dipping into racially sensitive stuff, just a reminder: Game occurs in 2010. Draw what conclusions you need from that.

Ok, GM.  Looks like my two questions are set.  Mouse and I hang out to blow off steam.  I hurt Abigail.  (I'll do PMs to both to work out details so don't clog up the thread.  Probably tomorrow as I'm crashing soon hopefully.)  I assume this doesn't preclude other connections/bonds in the group?  Or is this just the starting as we come together kind of thing?

Nazi's are like demons, they're great villains for comic books because they're instantly recognizable by the reader as being evil, without having to explain it. It also doesn't have to waste a lot of time explaining why the hero or group is fighting them.

Also, more people are killed each year by white supremacists in this country than by foreign terrorists. 2010 featured, among other things, an active shooter scenario where a man shot up a Sikh temple, having thought they were all Muslims because of their attire.

This is racially sensitive, but it's not completely infeasible. With this being a little dated we thankfully don't have to get it all wrapped up in the current political mess we find ourselves in as well.

Well, there's no shortage of White Supremacists in 2010. Let's punch some fucking Nazis!

I admit it gave me some pause at first as being a bit too "real" a threat, if you know what I mean. Just felt a little jarring, tone-wise. But on the other hand, you're right, Nazis are a comic book staple, so it should work out fine.

A little funny to me that they'd be up against an actual alien, among others...

To be fair, common crminal like gangbangers or bank robbers are also frequent enemies - or at least, minions of bad guys - for comic book superheros from street-level ones like Daredevil to JLA-level ones like Superman, so it's not like supervillains are the only threat anyways.

I agree with Nenanero KurAisen that it was a bit jarring to read that we fought White Supremacists as they are a real group of people whether we agree with them or not being a side point.

Which given my tone of post, I'll got on record as saying I don't agree with their point of view.

It may just be a matter of focus: it's entirely possible to be a criminal gang that is also white supremacist. It might be a little more "comic-booky" to push them toward over-the-top Neo-Nazism. In a reality with comic book logic, it's more possible for crazies to believe (and actively work on) a literal resurrection of the Third Reich.

The Red Skull, after all, didn't stop being a Nazi villain just because World War II ended.

Nazis, racism and the like have become staples of comic books to some extent. Look at the X-Men stories and the vast majority of them involve those in some shape or form. I'm not saying the same needs to be for this game and these Uber-men could have been pawns in a much larger scheme. Since that's my prompt we could play it that way or any other.

Well, common criminals are a real group of people too, and the reason why we never ask question about Spidey's right to punch them is because what they do is highly illegal, which usually also means it's quite amoral, as morality is generally seen as a higher standard than the law. Now, while it is true that hate speech is only illegal in some countries and not the others (it's not where I live), which might lead to some people arguing that it's only a matter of opinion and not amoral, the point is that racists who just burn crosses and spit at colored people are usually below the notice of law enforcement and by extension superheroes. They only become a threat when they start to plan hate crimes and acts of terrorism, and at that point they are not different then other terrorists such as Magneto at his worst or genocidal villains like Brianiac.

...I do hope we don't need to discuss why "kill everyone who is/n't a X" is obviously amoral and punch-worthy even if the laws in a given country don't explicitly say so.

As the GM of the game, I'll put this out: There will be moral dilemmas in the game, but they will be specifically presented as such. I don't plan on debating whether heroes punching villains, or interacting what is literally vigilante justice, is 'right' or 'wrong'. This is a superhero game, and I don't want to inject 'are superheroes okay'? Into the mix.
Obviously this may change if you start blowing up orphanages. :D
But in general, please don't worry about the nature of simply -being- superheroes in this world.

I like this take.

---

On a different note, I can't help but worldbuild a bit as an Outsider... I try to rein it in at this point, but I still get ideas. Should I put the stuff I come up with regarding aliens here, someplace else, or just PM it to the Eye?

Put it here for group discussion. We can all toss around the ideas- this game promotes group world-building.

Now watch you have an orphanage be a front for something like experiments to create supersoldiers and we have to blow the building up.

I'm all for world building so whatever people want to post please do.

Also Eye, I know you mentioned it before but could we get a separate thread for the posts concerning the "when the team first came together" prompts?

Edit: Speaking of world building I thought I would post these here since some of the questions the GM asked earlier had not been filled in yet. I'm not saying we use these so if anyone has something they'd like to do instead or even change these I'm all for.

- There's a teacher at the high school who has a bit of an unsavory reputation, but hasn't been removed from the classroom. Who are they, and why are they still accepted?

Desmond Visser in his early days was a villain by the name of Gust who worked with his father to pull of a series of bank heists though several properties as well as citizens were injured. The two were eventually apprehended though it became clear Dominic’s father was forcing the boy to aid him in the crimes. Regardless Dominic served time in an institution for minors given his age and when he was released made an honest living for himself. He went to school and earned his teaching degree though the parents of students do not like him for the damage he caused in his early days. The reason why he has not been removed because the super attendant believes in second chances and so far Mr. Visser has shown to be a decent enough addition to the science department.

- The school has someone who recently went on to fame and fortune. Who are they, and what brought them their fortune?

Alma Lavi, a recent graduate who became famous due to vlogging especially when she captured live footage of the moment of when the Team first came together and defeated a threat. The video earned millions of hits on the internet thus paying a good amount to her. Since then she has dedicated much of time to cover similar events with the Team being her main focus since they are the “new thing” at the time. This also includes her making videos about the Team where she discusses them with her viewpoints not always being the nicest but whatever can get her the most views.

- There's that one kid in school who always seems to know where the best parties are. Who are they, and what small crime did they recently get in trouble for?

Wesley “Wes” Weiss, a senior who is part of the local football team and known throughout the school as a slacker in general. Recently he was caught breaking into another school and vandalizing much of the property. This has resulted in him being suspended from the football team much to his dismay.

- A song got banned from play in the school last year. What song was it? (Note that this doesn't have to be a 'real' song, but also remember that it would have to have come out in 2009 or earlier)

The song, “Siren” by the band Wray was banned because it was revealed that it could alter a listener’s emotions particularly aggression. The lead singer, Emily Ren has a power which allows her voice to affect other’s emotions and when this single dropped it caused a lot of problems. It turned out she did not know she has this power but because of it the song was pulled along with her being kicked out of the band because their record label would not allow her to perform again.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:33, Thu 24 Jan 2019.

The Anaven are a diminutive humanoid race with usually latent psychic talents and a penchant for biotechnology (in fact, most of their tech is organic, whether it looks that way or not). Early in their space age, their homeworld was invaded, occupied and plundered by the Kataren, a larger, brutish, multi-armed species that relied on more recogniseable (if also substantially more advanced) machine technologies, including robots. The long struggle against the invaders left a lasting effect on both Anavan society, making it notably more militaristic, paranoid and utilitarian, and their very biology, as they resorted to genetic engineering to establish several subspecies in a new and improved caste system suited to wartime needs.

The Anenaven are a caste of warrior aristocrats, made to lead others into combat - and eventually coming to lead them in peacetime as well, expecting and receiving deference in exchange for taking on greater responsibilities and putting themselves in harm's way. Unlocked psychic powers, increased toughness and flight are their standard package, though there are variations between different lineages; while regular Anaven are somewhat weaker and flimsier than humans, if also somewhat more agile and perceptive, the Anenaven are roughly on par with many superhumans. The open war with the Kataren may be long over, but the Anaven are still very paranoid about them, even as they have encountered various lesser threats in space. They established an empire of their own, placing some less advanced species under their protection and 'tutelage' - while doing their best to position themselves against the possibility of a new invasion. An alien (from Earth) helping them was met with no small amount of mixed feelings.

Unsurprisingly, the Anenaven definitely have an arrogant streak towards most other species and subspecies, though it is tempted by their paternal (or maternal, since they are if anything matriarchal) instincts. This does not apply to actual family relations. Each new generation of Anenaven are trained for their duty in groups called cohorts from an early age. Parental contact always has a definite martial aspect to it, though the extent of it may vary. Regardless, they are the future frontline first and children second. The greater good - the survival of the species and its civilisation - demands it.

Nenanero is 5'2" - relatively tall for her species - and decidedly willful and headstrong. She is used to being noticed and being obeyed - especially by those outside her caste, but to a lesser degree within her cohort too. She does not consciously expect any of this among humans, especially since she has disguised herself as one using psychic projection. But being so easily overlooked still feels really weird on some days, as is living and studying with people who are so drastically unlike her.

Oh yes, and I think she'd have a crush on Andrew, due to their similar situations. Not that she would think of it in those terms at first. The Anenaven aren't much for romance, let alone cross-species romance, but she finds him especially relatable and more likely to understand the Anenaven way... to an extent. Morality that is not based primarily on the greater good of the whole is also strange, though.

Sounds like we'll have a lot in common.

It is interesting given that you say the Anaven are not particularly emotional, and yet her last name, chosen or assigned by Big Brother, is Spanish for Heart.


Also curious how Nenanero is adjusting to a casteless society, and where "class" is a much more vague and permeable thing.



Also: it's up for Random/Liam to answer the next How We Came Together question.

In reply to Nenanero KurAisen (msg # 168):

I like the info about the Anaven especially how the culture was shaped by the Kataren invasion even years later. To jump on what Abigail said, it's going to be interesting to see how Nenanero adjust to Earth life and I can't wait to read about her people's customs.

Oh, it's on me?  Had no idea...   Not sure what I need to do/how much detail I need to supply.

Go look at the "When the Team First Came Together..." thread for your prompt. From there answer it however you like. If you're unsure at any point we all can make suggestions though you have final say for your answer.

Ok...well, before I answer what we wrecked, shouldn't I know where we started up/how we met and got involved with the Ubermen?  Or is it just me picking things out of the air and making everything up after?

In past experiences with this system players have usually answered their questions and the GM then puts them all together to make a more detailed story out of. Pretty much we all came together because we responded to the attack of our own volition then decided to be a team during the aftermath. So just go with what was destroyed and don't worry so much about the events that followed beforehand.

Make it up as you go. It's an opportunity for worldbuilding as well as narrative building.

If you're not sure, float an idea or two and we can talk it out. For the moment though, it's whatever you want it to be.


I would say though that since this is how the team came together, it's safe to assume that we all came into the fight from different places. It's also probably not that important to establish that Abigail and Nenanero came from her house after seeing the news and that Rook or someone else got caught in the crossfires by accident, or whatever.

My own $0.02, something like this probably would have started in the street, and maybe it led somewhere as the fight went on, like a nondescript office building, their headquarters, or the secret lab where the steroid was made.

Maybe things got carried away and the fight went somewhere that caused increased collateral damage, like targeting an electric generator, or a radio tower for the nearby airport.

Either way, options abound. Enjoy.

Go ahead and float ideas- in the end, while others have input, you get the specific say of things. (That's why the question is yours! :) )

Ok so...

The Ubermen (ie neonazi a-holes) stole a bunch of (insert super tech drug here) to super roid them selves out...


There was a new exhibit opening up are the Museum of Art in downtown.  Across the street in the park, there was a large gathering celebrating equality and the opening.  The Ubermen, now super and uncontrollable, descended on the gathering and the park.  In the fight, the park was completely destroyed as well as large sections of the buildings surrounding the battleground/park.  Some damage was simply cosmetic/exterior.  Other buildings were practically leveled.  But it looked like a war had been fought there...

That ok?  Figure it's central enough (and not some low rent section of town) it would be easy enough for all of us to just 'be there' for one reasonable reason or another.

In my opinion, you did well.

The ordinary, unenhanced Anaven are as emotional as humans, if not more so. The Anenaven on the other hand... but it's not so much a matter of capacity with them as it is that they're taught to think and act as dispassionately as they could, since they're in charge and since their culture was molded by a desperate struggle. Can't afford to let feelings interfere with decisions that may determine the survival of your entire species.

As for the name, I think she was allowed to pick from a list and went with that since this combination looked the closest to her own, and so would be easiest to get used to. A thoroughly practical decision, as far as she was concerned... which is not to say that it might not come to symbolise something or other later on. ;)

And yes - she has a lot of similarities with at least half the cast. That's part of why she finds them so interesting.



She is conscious of being a guest here, and doesn't really expect humans to be like her own people - quite the contrary (they are aliens after all). But people disrespecting lawful authority, abusing power or neglecting responsibilities are all liable to... not so much anger her as confuse her, at least at first.

It's worth remembering that the Anavan caste system is functional and partly biological, thanks to the modifications. For someone who was literally made to be a worker to want to be a warrior, or vice versa, is just absurd and wouldn't happen at all - as far as she knows. Humans are all pretty much the same species, though, so it's not like she could automatically transfer the same thinking to them anyway. But they are awfully messy and disorganised...

Anyhow, I like this, Random. Maybe the exhibit was on minority art or something? Or modern art? And "buildings surrounding the park" include the museum, don't they?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:18, Sat 26 Jan 2019.

In reply to Random (msg # 177):

Looks great to me, Random. Given the other buildings that would likely be in the surrounding area this could open up some interesting avenues.

Nenanero, that's going to be fun to see how she interacts with some of the group such as Parker likely having a disregard for authority because of having the Delinquent playbook.

On the whole it looks good, stuff to work with for sure. Two brief thoughts

1) It hasn't been established yet how the Ubermen got the super steroids. Stolen is an option, but not the only one.


2)  I think there should be a specific answer if the museum generally and the new exhibit specifically suffered any of the collateral damage. Whatever the answer is, is fine, but if that was the MacGuffin that caused the whole thing, there should be a clear answer as to what happened.

It was a given imo that the museum suffered damage.  As for the exhibit, I was going to say 'no' mostly because museums in my experience tend to be hardier buildings.  But if we want it to, then the whole place could have been wrecked I suppose.

I'd say it wasn't razed but the facade was damaged badly and the exhibit may have taken some damage as well from debris, etc. Enough to make some people miffed with us, which I think is part of the point. :P

By the way, Random, I may have missed it, but what is Liam's Nova power? From having played a Nova before, you're almost certainly the most destructive one of all of us. Except maybe Abigail. Seems like it may flavour the destruction.

Anyway, I think you can post your answer in the When We First Came Together thread now. I'm mulling over my question in the meantime. May as well assume this was before we became a formal team?
This message was last edited by the player at 11:19, Sun 27 Jan 2019.

Nope, I haven't actually picked one yet.  I was kind of waiting to see what everyone else picked (which I haven't seen but could have missed it) to make sure we didn't double up.  I can do stuff with any of mine.

edit: now that I went and actually read the cast list, I see everyone's listed.  Oops.  I'll ponder and pick tonight.  Sorry!

edit 2: I note some chars are clearly not human.  I thought there were steps/plans/adjustments needed so everyone blends in?
This message was last edited by the player at 15:03, Sun 27 Jan 2019.

I know that the Outsider has the ability to appear human- I'm not sure who else doesn't have a 'pass for normal' in their characters?

As things go, we're now up to the Outsider's question:

Outsider: We didn’t trust each other at first, but that changed. How? Why?

Sophie can pass as human with effort, like squeezing her whole self into a compression sleeve. It's uncomfortable and takes a certain degree of concentration. When she's thinking hard, she sometimes loses track of keeping her flesh skin-colored, which is why she tends to wear clothes that cover her pretty thoroughly.

Regarding the team building questions: This set is all about when we first came together. A few of us might have known each other beforehand, but it's best to think of this as the origin issue. We all happened to be at the museum--maybe for a school field trip or some such. Then we heroed out, and now, we're a team.

(My tabletop Masks game involved the PCs being assigned a kind of superhero parole officer after our 'come together' moment wrecked a high school that had a giant robot hidden underneath it. The characters had the choice of remaining a team under monitoring or facing the consequences of massive destruction.)

Outsider: We didn’t trust each other at first, but that changed. How? Why?

Most of us did not even know each other. How can you trust someone you do not know? But, as Earthlings say, actions speak louder than words. When those mad brutes began attacking everyone in the park, Lady Liberty rushed to fight them. I followed after her, but soon saw there were others fighting them as well with powers beyond those of a normal human. I reached out to some of them with my telepathy, warning them about threats they could not see, guiding them to cover others. They were confused and did not entirely trust me either, but in the chaos, they were in no position to ignore it. And then they could see that we were all on the same side - especially when I engaged as well.

---

Would that suffice?

Also, while I imagine this isn't big enough to count as an ability, the portrait that I picked makes me think that the Anaven in general have somewhat better vision (particularly night vision) than humans. And conversely, their eyes are more sensitive, so she would be a bit more vulnerable to bright lights e.g. from flashbangs or what have you.

I think it works especially since I imagine hearing a voice in their heads would make most pause thus causing problems such as creating openings for the Uber-men therefore more destruction in the area to go with Random's prompt. When that happened it caused some tension between the heroes since as a whole we're not supposed to trust each other at first. As things continued though the trial by fire cemented to everyone the rest could be trusted.

Yep. May have been another cultural barrier problem, really. Soldier caste Anaven or her fellow Anenaven are seldom surprised to hear voices in their heads telling them which way to dodge... But in an emergency you sometimes fall back on your training and forget about such differences.

It's understandable why Nenanero did it and was a good call. I just couldn't help but imagine there being confusion at first and one of the characters such as Rook getting clipped because of a strange voice in his head distracting him.

Off to you, then, Kitten.

If Kitten wants to start, that's fine, but I'd still like to leave Envoy's up for discussion for a little bit as well - I know the weekend isn't always when folks have time to hit up RPOL. Obviously, Nenanero, you have final say on your own post, but I figure if other people have thoughts on it, might as well let them be said!

That being said, Deadname, it would, indeed, be you next!

Delinquent: We totally broke some major rules to win the fight. What rules did we
break? Whose rules were they?

Don't walk in the grass.

Yeah, I'm open to adjusting it if anyone else weighs in. Sorry if I jumped the gun putting it up there.

And it was the park authority's rule, then. ;)

Important announcement

After talks with Willis' player, Willis will be slipping into lurker mode. Please welcome Broadside, the new Protege who will be taking his place!

Welcome Broadside, glad you could join us.

Yes, welcome. Interesting - is the Councilman effectively a superhero, more or less (a mundane one, I suppose)? Or does the mentor not have to be one?

Welcome Broadside! Ditto on the questions Nenanero has. I'm curious if the Councilman is an actual superhero since I thought the Protege playbook was about being trained by one.

Greetings and welcome!

Thanks all.

I've made some edits to paint her mentor in a better light. He is still the center of an information web that he uses to get what he wants, but now hes more of a strong-willed activist than a power hungry politician. The abilities they share are detective skills which really anyone can have. I just wanted to go with something different than the Batman or P.I. route.

Broadside herself is pretty mundane and her luck powers mostly just give her an edge with her detective skills and stop her from getting straight killed by threats well above her paygrade.

The relationships I was thinking of were:
-You and Rook teamed up a few times before the rest of  you came together.
-Your mentor is cautious;  they asked you to keep an eye on Lady Liberty.

What do you all think, would there be better characters to fit?

Oh and finally since it's sort of a team resource, what do you think my mentor should have given us, since The Brain can sort of take care of us on the gadget front?

A hidden  base,  a  vehicle,  a  supercomputer,  communicators,  surveillance  equipment,  false  identities, badges of  authority,  a chem lab,  a med lab,  a teleportal,  a weapon of  last resort,  security systems, simple  robots

Welcome, glad to have you on board.

Also, that The Councilman wants to keep an eye on Lady Liberty is.....not wrong. Appropriate within character, and puts a smile on my face as a player.

If you're going being all about detective skills, than perhaps The Councilman is more in line with The Question than Batman.

My own vote is a hidden base, if for not other reason than any worthwhile superhero team I can think of has one ('cept maybe Red Hood and the Outlaws,)

Hidden bases are fun! We need video games and some sort of game table (ping-pong, pool, something...) It's nice for the team to have a place to hang out with minimal adult supervision (even if the protege's mentor has the place surveilled to the gills).

In reply to Broadside (msg # 200):

The mentor definitely has a less nefarious vibe to him and I like his motivation especially when it could potentially clash with the team at some point. Needless to say I love it.

Unless someone has a better idea I like Broadside and Rook working together. They both are on the mundane side of the spectrum which I feel would make whatever situations they found themselves in pretty interesting.

A hidden base is always cool and we should get some games to fill it. I know the protege gets three resources so whichever ones you decide to go with Broadside we'll be happy to have them.

I wonder if Adderley is aware of having a space alien in town. Maybe he wasn't when he told her to watch Lady Liberty in particular. Or maybe he was and the fact that she has someone like that under her roof only adds to the suspicion.

I'm hoping to get a vehicle of my own sooner than later, for the record. I'm game for a hidden base. I was going to suggest you just use Nenanero for communications, but that would be both a leap of faith and not always particularly convenient, so... probably best to have alternatives, at least.

It does bring up a question for the Eye: can telepathy be used for long-range communications with one's teammates?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:00, Tue 29 Jan 2019.

My response may not be the best one.
It works if that's the best story.
I put that out there because I think there are at least two members of the team who might bring coms to the party, and I don't want them feeling their contribution would be useless if that's what they wanted to add. Thus, if you guys get coms, then long-range telepathy would rely on unleashing power. If you don't, then sure, telepathic network for those that want it.

Okay so I am definitely going with the base, which will be an old newspaper publisher. So big warehouse size probably with broken down machines. I think badges of authority would make sense and provide some options that wouldn't be open to us otherwise. For my final thing I am actually thinking a weapon of last resort. The drama of having to decide to use it or not is juicy. Should it be a literal weapon or maybe just the ability to call in a superhero that's well above our paygrade to take down a threat? But if she uses that the councilman really rethinks her usefulness and that also really paints us as the little children who shouldn't be doing superheroics? What do you all think?

I'm all for a vehicle showing up at some point and not just because one of my Drives is to drive a fantastic vehicle. That aside I like the idea of us having communication devices if only because it feels like a good idea to have a fallback in case the psychic link doesn't work for some reason.

Badges of authority would be interesting with this group and like you said Broadside, it opens up some avenues that wouldn't be available otherwise.

For the weapon of last resort I like the idea of it being an actual weapon instead of it calling on a superhero to bail us out. If it was something destructive then the public would likely think "Kids have a weapon like that? Can they be trusted with such destructive power?" Not to mention the superheroes who would have the same thoughts and the villains who might try to steal it later on.

And on a completely random note, Abigail I like the playlist you have for your character. Very nice. :D
This message was last edited by the player at 16:49, Tue 29 Jan 2019.

Wait, you mean _I'm_ not the weapon of last resort?  I'm crushed! ;)

I like the base idea.  All superheroes (even ones in school) need a base!

Not sure what the badges would give us.  Does that equal standing with authorities/recognition/known hero status?  Wasn't sure if that was something we wanted to start with or not.  Could be cool fun though if we were already heroes with recognition and having to not mess it up.  "Junior Guardians" or something maybe.  Not sure if that holds with the whole "are we trusted with the big doomsday weapon" though?

As any fyi, I have a group movement ability if didn't want to use a choice on a cool vehicle.  But to be fair, who doesn't want a cool vehicle?!

I'll step in for a moment and throw my opinion towards the weapon being a weapon - having it be a person throws some of the delicious moral ambiguity away from you and onto an NPC to make decisions.

Also, some ideas about the weapon:
Something that would do massive damage, but might also destroy an area.
An exoteleporter that would hurl an enemy 'somewhere else'. Where else? Who knows!
A massive 'erase' button, that gets rid of the memories of everyone in an area, but -really- gets rid of their memories. Like. All of them.
A ray that would transform everyone and everything in an area into stone (again, watch for that splash effect!)
Something that would burn out an enemy's superpower, but would give them a few moments of nigh-omnipotence as the power burned out of them.

Of course, these are just ideas. Please, please feel free to come up with your own stuff!

Glad you noticed and even more glad that you approve. I put more thought into this one than for past characters I've done. Music is a very big thing for me, and Playlists for me help create and defines "the box" the character is operating in, at least for the moment.

If you or anyone wants, I can talk in PM about why I chose any of those specific songs (and probably talk your ear off about the about the song/band in general)

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atsot3Z5i2Y Kreator, From Flood into Fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsIfkdDnRf4 Judas Priest, Parental Guidance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYJQGSapz-A Powerwolf, Catholic the Morning, Satanist at Night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sTDp3zrP6w Bon Jovi, Blame it on the Love of Rock and Roll
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBwvuSQ6l6o Andrew W.K., Never Let Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wENdZneWDYs Scorpions, Tease Me Please Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtwXF38IqLM The Runaways, Fantasies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTHnikCUSL4 Girlschool, 1234 RocknRoll
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHdYXEQqOiI Sacred Reich, Who's To Blame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdKFVTf99J0 Sabaton, 40:1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl0z5-QJ95E Accept, Beat the Bastards

---

This message was last edited by the player at 18:11, Tue 29 Jan 2019.

Since we've got an Outsider and our Transformed clears throat also seems to have extraterrestrial ties, what about making the weapon something from off-planet? Something that we don't even know exactly what it does? It could, for example, have the kinda garbled description "Imperial Device for Neutralizing Enemy Flesh," and it looks kind of like a grenade, but...that's what we know about it. That and that it's got some sort of massive potential energy locked up in it.

Abigail if you want to share about the music please feel free to. I always find it interesting when people make playlists for their characters and why they choose each song.

For the weapon I like the idea of the exoteleporter because of how badly it could come back to bite the team. I will say that whatever it is it's something Broadside's mentor gave so if we say go for something extraterrestrial then it opens up the questions how he got it. It could make for a fun plothook.

As long as it works as intended, instead of "teleporting" them right back to where they started but changing them into a bowl of petunia's or a very surprised looking whale, I'm good with the idea as well.

Unidentified alien superweapon is fun, too! :)

And, just so you all know, my very unofficial theme music while I'm designing stuff for the game:

https://youtu.be/0LarHK5NSMM

Badges would presumably be something we would receive at some point after the park fight, after we officially become a team? Maybe it'd sold to us as a form of official recognition for our efforts there and a statement of support from the city council (effectively making us... licensed volunteers or something rather than vigilantes), while secretly doubling as a test run for the registration scheme?

A teleportation weapon confiscated from an alien supervillain and handed over to the city council (possibly due to Adderley manipulating some obscure local laws to keep it away from AEGIS or other supers?) could work very well. We know it teleports targets somewhere else based on the one time it was used before, but we really don't know the details or what side-effects it may have. Hence why it's only for emergencies.

On phone so apologies for choppy writing

What about: when outsider came for exchange/study program, her people/others secretly used trip to smuggle out egnimatic alien device for hiding on earth.  Left it with Mentor (and hence you) for safe keeping?

I don't know. It's possible, but doesn't really strike me as their style (if we're going with the exoteleporter). And anyway it'd spoil the mystery if one of us either knew how it worked or had a relatively easy way to find out by asking her people. It may, however, belong to one of their enemies - the Kataren or some others.

Was not assuming you were even told.  Maybe was your people or not.  Could be their item or something they’re hiding.  Could be other alien people entirely.  But was just idea I had pop up and figured I’d share.

I think the point was Random that we should not work out how the weapon got there since it could be a plothook for later. That way Eye can use it in the story however they like.

We could actually make it entirely unknown and have the weapon be something that no one aside from Broadside's mentor knows what it does. He just gave a warning for it to only be used as a last resort. That might be a little much but it could be fun.

Eye, nice choice of song. Definitely fitting for a game about teenage superheroes. :)

I kinda like that too but not sure if having it be a secret to both characters and players fits the game that well.

That was my thought when I said it might be a bit much but I've seen it done in another game but ultimately up to Broadside since this is the Protege's resource. It could be Broadside is the only one who knows what it does which would make sense since this is a last resort weapon. It might be wise to have the other in the dark about it until if or rather when the time comes to deploy it.

Fair enough.  Was just tossing out an idea that popped in my head.  I'm fine either way.

(I'm finally getting free time to focus on this game more, respond more.  So wanted to chime in and not be as silent as I've been.)

I am okay with having it be an unknown alien super weapon for now. I like the exoteleporter idea but want to leave it open to other ideas right now.

Side question (don't want to derail our group planning!)

I need help coming up with a super name.  I already listed moves and and such... I just suck at coming up with hero id that doesn't sound insanely corny.  Anyone have ideas?

What about
Quantum (representing the power and energy you wield)
Or
Damocles (as in the anecdote about the constant danger people in power are in.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damocles)

In reply to Random (msg # 224):

I feel you about coming up with a superhero name, Random. I couldn't think of anything clever and just went with Rook because at some point my character has to change his name to fulfill a Drive. So I don't think I'll be much help here with actually coming up with a good name.

I like both of Broadside's suggestions though Damocles feels more like a Nova name to me personally.

Gonna minorly vent for a moment.

Guys, if I end up running a supers game in which nothing happens FOR TWO MONTHS outside of the PC's literally walking down a tunnel... Just shoot me, please!

::bangs head on table::

That sounds odd and awful at the same time Eye. I can't imagine a game where that could be all that's happened so far. Are players not posting or is the GM not progressing the scene?

I like both of those!  Awesome, thanks!

I think I'll go with Damocles...but not have it be something he picked.  ;)  Will work that In!

I know the feeling Eye.  Didn't have that situation but have had similar. Sorry!

Also... how long has it been since the initial battle where we came together?  (And who are we waiting on to push that forward?)
This message was last edited by the player at 01:58, Wed 30 Jan 2019.

Space Kitten, and the question is what major rules did we break during the fight

I'm still looking for somebody to fill in Sophie's other background question: who comforted her when she was at her lowest? This might be somebody who knew her after her transformation but before the proper formation of the team.

Could be me I suppose?  Especially if knew her before everything erupted/changed a few years ago.

Who is local? I know Abigail isn't, and Nenanero really isn't... what about everyone else?

Also, who else still has open background slots?

I'm done; got my 2 answered but those are only connections.  (1 before incident, 1 after.)

Broadside is local though I am thinking she is the daughter of immigrants.

I have one slot left open: "____________________ is awesome, and you take every chance you get to hang out with them."

I posted it a while back about how anyone could fill the spot but no one responded to it. It's not really the most exciting connection to have so I can fill it in after everyone else has theirs finished.

Also Rook is local.

Paladin is local.

If nobody else takes the slot, I could take it Rook.

Maybe Broadside since they worked together some, but probably whoever is the most fun/likely to help you complete your Beacon drives.

I was thinking of it being someone who Rook did not have a connection with. For example Broadside and him worked together so they have something to talk about as well as some prior history. He wants to prove himself to Nenanero before he feels like a real hero and he knew Sophia before her transformation. So since he has those connections it feels like a good idea for the game to spread out the connections that way more characters can interact with each other. That and if someone disappears from the game then a character doesn't lose as many connections.

As for Drives I get the feeling each character might help with one or another. The ones I picked for Rook thankfully don't have to involve the team except for one. At some point one of you is going to have to go out partying with the Beacon.

I certainly wouldn't fit the "awesome" descriptor.  Too controlled/even keeled for that.

Probably should be me doing the partying either! ;)

Are you kidding? Getting the Nova drunk could be high point of the game. :P

See? Nenanero is making a lot of sense. Besides, just because it says "a teammate" doesn't mean there can't be more teammates having a good time.

In fact, I'd point out that team celebrations (or other gatherings) are baked right into the game!

And that teenagers tend to make -horrible- decisions. ;)

...I think you guys are gonna be a problem!  I'm trying to not loose control here people!  (PS, I'll meet you at the 7-11 at 9.)

I'm now imagining the whole team gets drunk and Rook has to deal with a bunch of drunken people with superpowers. If that's not a recipe for hijinks then I don't know what is.

Oh, you want to keep control?

That's a shame, because...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WbVqS0SWAs

I'm not sure that, without anything like human internal organs, Sophie can really get drunk.

I really wonder what effect human alcohol would have on Nenanero. Maybe disappointingly little while something more innocuous would have an unexpected interaction with her biochemistry...

Nice video ;)  Defintiely NOT going to happen.  Intentionally anyway.

There is no chance in hell Damocles will be drinking/getting drunk Rook.  He likes to use his powers which, even for the bbeneficial stuff he has mostly under control, causes damage usually.  Get drunk equals massive loss of control and even higher desire to use powers/open up those floodgates...  bad bad idea.  Work on getting Sophia drunk.

Somehow I'm getting the impression that, despite him not being outwardly dour or anything, I'm going to be the party pooper in this group!

Re: Southern Belle, is she an adult superhero or a young'un like us? Somewhere in between?

In reply to Damocles (msg # 249):

All you did was cement the idea that your character needs to get drunk.

I'm curious about Southern Belle as well in terms of what her status is as a hero. The prompt does say "established hero" so that leans more towards adult or at the very least someone who has been acknowledged by the adult heroes.

By the way Eye, do you want us to keep answering questions until Space Kitten returns?

It says established hero, so I'd say adult.

I'm okay with talking about choices, but I'd like to hold off on explicitly posting them, or even coming up with complete definitives, until we know what our delinquent is doing. The questions have an order for a specific reason. Please feel free to keep tossing around ideas, though!

Just checking publicly stated relationships. These counts include, for several players, their own playbook's relationship questions:

Abigail (3), Broadside (2), Damocles (2), Nena (2), Paladin (2), Rook (2), Sophie (1), Deadname (0), Janice (0).

Considering that Abigail (I think) still has to pick her Heart and Rival, she's probably set for connections.

Guilty as charged, and I'm still thinking about it. Trying to avoid, as much as possible, using it with other characters who are in turn tied to her.

I can fill my connection with one of the characters who doesn't have many yet if that helps. It would also help to hear from Deadname and Janice about their connections when they have the time.

Okay, so, Space Kitten has been off for a while. I've nudged them via private message, but I think in the interest of not losing momentum, we'll move on for now. Paladin has already posted his, and it seems folks are largely okay with it, so we'll be moving on to the Transformed!

Transformed: We drew attention and ire from plenty during the fight. One important person in particular now hates and fears us. Who is it?

I like the idea of somebody who is going to "adult" at us pretty hard, somebody who's not super-powered, but who can push mundane authorities in our way if we cross the wrong lines (whether we know about them or not). How about something like:

Mortimer Vandergriff, a corporate leader and one of the primary donors to the exhibit, was on hand to bask in the public's appreciation when everything went down. In the chaos of the battle, he was injured (probably by a thrown thug). His exhibit got wrecked. His museum got wrecked. His employees had to evacuate the area. While he had never had particularly strong feelings about supers before, he has come to the conclusion that they ought to be vetted and supervised, and preferably overseen by civilian (or even mundane military) authorities. Importantly, he's still fundamentally a good person, a philanthropist and civic leader. He just thinks we're the worst kind of irresponsible teenagers possible and would love to see us anywhere other than the city's streets.

Vandergriff sounds like he will be a pain in the team’s side and I love it. It’s always great to see a character who opposes the heroes but isn’t a villain type but just has a different set of opinions. I can see him as the type to say something along the lines of “these young supers did well, however…” then go into how we did a lot more harm by trying to be heroes. He’s a perfect character to try to rein the team in and possibly make them question their roles as heroes.

Forgot to comment. I like that, yes. Someone reasonable that we started off on the wrong foot with, and then every slip up we make just cements his opinion of us, perhaps not even unfairly.

The only downside I can see is that my family is looked kindly on in the city.  So would this come across as "Paladin could do so much better if he left the group"?

Mm, presumably. And/or you're the only "good" one there, reining in our shenanigans.

Your legacy is you mean.  I would assume the whole secret id thing applies.

What she said, "if you hadn't been there, we can only shudder to think how much worse it could have been"...  we were just there, doing damage/being barely controlled teens.  Paladin was the REAL hero there.  Spindoctoring for the win?

Paladin's family is looked kindly upon in the city but that doesn't mean every single person in the city likes them. This could be the case of someone of opposing opinion having the platform to be vocal about one particular member of the legacy. This could be a point of contention since if I recall the Legacy has a connection which they did something that shames their legacy with another member of the team. So I can see how the members of his family would argue for him to leave the team even more so with a guy probably saying something like "even the young hero of a prestigious lineage is no better than the rest of the ruffians he calls teammates."

Yeah, I meant the Legacy.

Also, yeah I think spindoctoring is the way to go.  Just didn't make sense (to me) for one fight to cause someone to throw out years of my Legacy being upstanding citizens and "heroes true".

I think you're looking at it the wrong way. It's not that he would likely discredit your legacy so much but say you're not fit to be a part of it. The guy is going to be against the whole team so it doesn't make sense for him to single out one person such as "but Paladin, he's okay because he's family is great."

Well, he's also someone who had no strong opinion on supers, including the family, one way or the other until now. So the reputation may not be that impactful in his case anyway. He knows people think well of them, but he has now seen firsthand how destructive even supposedly well-meaning supers can be.

It is a little ironic if he'd push for registration and civilian oversight while we're already working with someone who is aiming for the same thing, just in a less confrontational way.

That's true, with his neutral stance originally, he probably would hate me just as much as the rest of you.

No news from Kitten? Or Mystery?

Sorry. Just trying to catch up to the thread- lots of development from when I last posted. (RL got a bit hectic).

As to a helpful invention... I was thinking of something like a communication device that also doubles as a bodycam that constantly transmits on a secured line. So, we can be in communication and see each other?

Or, perhaps some advanced body armor to keep us safe?

Thoughts?

Sorry to hear life has been hectic for you Mystery but it's great to hear from you.

For the invention I like the communicator better than body armor since being able to talk to each other would be useful to have when out in the field. Maybe instead of the bodycam it's something that we can have even when we're wearing our civilian clothes and not draw attention?

Besides this though we're filling out our relationship prompts from our playbooks and you can probably focus on those for the time being since you're last in line for "when we first came together" thread.

Broadside didn't go for communicators, so that would be useful. Using Nenanero's telepathy for long-range communications makes more sense as a less convenient and reliable fallback option to me if this should fail.

Space Kitten has been moved to Lurker status.
Please welcome our new Delinquent, Warp!

Hi, Warp!

By the way, you're up. :P Unless we moved the Delinquent question further down the line...
This message was last edited by the player at 14:30, Mon 04 Feb 2019.

Greetings and Welcome.

So how many people still need to fill out/find person for those 2 questions or whatever personal links need filling?

wonders if this Warp has appeared in a Masks game here on RPOL before, one that featured an extradimensional outsider, a Legacy as leader, and an uptight Protege

Hi Warp, welcome to the madness.

That would be messing with the timestream, and than we'd all be feeling the mode....

Naw. Maybe that was just Masks-52.

P.S. I was that extra dimensional outsider. :D

Aha!

(I was the Protege.)

One of these days I'm gonna get to play a Masks game (well, one that doesn't die one scene after character generation...)

And yes, Warp, your delinquent 'when we first came together' is up, but obviously you may want to take your time and introduce yourself!

Hi to everyone! Thanks for the greetings. It's my first Masks game, so I'm not the same Warp. Now I feel a bit idiotic about the name, but, you know..teleporting, how many names can you think that are cool? :P

I'll go check the other thread, and set up everything!

On another note, English is not my main language, so, sorry in advance if anything doesn't make much sense...I try!

I was a 'porter named Shift once, on another forum...

Anyhow, got any thoughts on who you want to fill your Relationships?

Welcome to the game, Warp!

My Relationships are:


You keep trying to impress _________________ with your antics.


You and ________________ pulled an awesome (if illegal) stunt together.


I'm honestly kind of lost on how the relationships are going...
Thoughts:
"Impress" can be also thought as "annoy someone" so they can notice me? xD  If that so, it can be anyone...

As for the Illegal Stunt..anyone cares for having changed all the museum's art work with googly eyes or a stupid yet funny thing like that?


And then for the "When we came together";

Delinquent: We totally broke some major rules to win the fight. What rules did we
break? Whose rules were they?

I was thinking that the rules were made but the actual City Heroes(I know a few were named during character creation and stuff). Maybe there is some sort of JLA/Avengers group that usually do the heroing around... and in the fight against the Uber-men... they got terribly violent, at the point of getting really dangerous for the civilians, maybe one of them  was killed, maybe one was dropped in the middle of the desert... there was collateral damage, and that doesn't look good on us? Asking for help would have been the better course of action?

For what it is worth I expect Nenanero to be very confused by human antics, at least at first. That may or may not make her a good candidate for either one of those things. Maybe the former one, as she is also rather serious-minded and stoic.

As for the fight, well, so far what we have is that at first sign of danger we all just rushed in and carnage ensued. Not sure if anyone got killed (though honestly it'd be lucky if no one was, in the middle of a chaotic super fight...), but we certainly didn't even think to call anyone else to (help) handle it, whether other heroes or the police. So that would certainly check out. We reacted quickly, but not wisely. But hey, maybe jumping into things without delay won us the fight.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:39, Mon 04 Feb 2019.

In reply to Warp (msg # 286):

I think for this attack there was not enough time for most of the team to alert anyone but I do like the idea that we upset some of the heroes of the city by not living up to their standards. Maybe we did not follow standard procedure in containing the threat and making sure bystanders were evacuated from the area first. Instead we focused on fighting the bad guys which explains why there was so much destruction which in turn has caused for a public figure to be against us. Then on the opposite end of the spectrum there are others who recognize if not for the teen heroes the situation it would have been so much worse.

I think the interesting part of the Delinquent's prompt is "to win the fight." Somehow, the rule-breaking gave us a material advantage. That's so core to the Delinquent's theme and role on the team that I'd hate for it to get lost in some variation of "who we made mad."

So, maybe we used the drugs to fight them back?

True but the Delinquent's prompt also asks whose rules were broken so someone getting mad is applied as well. Who that person or group might be could be people we have to convince to trust us later or even make matters worse for us due to our actions when the team first formed.

As for using the drugs that's an interesting direction to take it but from the sounds of what it did to the Uber-men I can't see my character wanting to use something like that. If everyone else wants to though that's fine. Just because Rook wouldn't doesn't mean that has to hold everyone else back.

I'll suggest maybe instead of using the drugs ourselves maybe we used them on the Uber-men, which made them even stronger but also caused them to burnout much quicker than before. Sure they caused even more damage but it ended the fight sooner. Maybe it even  put them in a permanent vegetative state.

An interesting idea but it does require us figuring out what was happening with them and then acquiring and using the drugs on them ourselves (perhaps after despairing of knocking them out by normal means quickly enough).

...although considering some of our ability pool, that's not so implausible.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:45, Tue 05 Feb 2019.

It could possibly work and for the sake of clarity I'll mention this. Broadside picked Rook as the person who worked with her before the team first met. What we decided on was Rook helped her work a case which turned out to involve the Uber-men and we were aware of the drug along with their target.

So maybe it was something where Broadside told the rest of the team what was going on then someone else came up with the idea of how to use the drug as a means of incapacitating them.

That could work.  I can't see Paladin being comfortable with it, but if it appears to be our only option, he'd begrudgingly go along with it.

As to the using it ourselves, I can't see Paladin doing that.  As Warp and I discussed, he'd been caught underage drinking, but that could be seen as a low point, where something had temporarily shaken his faith in himself.  Luckily, whatever happened next restored his faith, so it's a temporary crisis of faith situation.  Maybe the having to use the drug triggered this?

So (not to push things along too quickly, but we've been here a while...) What're you thinking, Warp?

And on deck we have Broadside's question:
We stuck together after all was said and done. Why? How’d we keep in contact?

With Paladin on this.  Wouldn't take the drugs, not with his worry about control.  Unless someone used it on me without asking/forced, just not going to happen.

Injecting them, overdosing them I could see...
This message was last edited by the player at 17:16, Tue 05 Feb 2019.

Yeah... Drugs are kind-of a hard line on most games and RP. So can we work on this, figure out how the drugs might've been a factor, as that seems to be the way Warp wants to go on this?

Using the drugs on them is fine with me. Guess we broke the rules of most normal superheroes with that one, but in the here and now there was no obvious better way to stop them. And Nenanero is fairly pragmatic about that kind of stuff.

I'm with Pal on this. If the steroid made them lose their minds and thus what caused the event in the first place, we'd have to be certifiable to think that taking it ourselves wouldn't have the same affect.

If losing ourselves is what it takes to win, can that even be called a victory?

Plus, there would be the problem of having found it in the first place.

Perhaps, rather than taking it ourselves, we give them more of the juice and it essentially forces an OD, either the nervous system or the respitory system can't keep up with what the steroids are trying to do, and the bodies give out. Not to say they die, but go into shock and are incapacitated.

That was suggested Abigail and I think that's what Warp went with judging from the post in the other thread. It might not be the most heroic win but if it got the job done then it was worth the team using the drug against the Uber-men.

So it is. Would have helped to look at that.

Maybe it took the form of turning up their pumps or something--I feel like the amount of power we could bring to bear on the situation would make jabbing them with needles spectacularly inefficient. I'm not really enthusiastic about the tone established with inducing overdoses as our first heroic act, but I can't think of a way around it that doesn't fundamentally change Warp's answer.

By no means, I want for anyone to feel uncomfortable with the decisions... I can look for another thing if you want to.

The prompt itself is about us breaking the rules so it's likely nothing is going to be painted in the best light with whatever is decided. Since there are nine people on the team the situation had to be bad for there to be such heavy destruction in the area and for us to have to resort to "breaking the rules". That being said if anyone is uncomfortable with the idea then we should forgo it for something that everyone can agree with.

Going back to what Warp mentioned before about the pro heroes being the ones to handle the problem. Maybe one of those heroes arrived on the scene and told the team to stick to getting the civilians to safety. That order was ignored and the hero in question was injured protecting us. The team ended up doing the heavy lifting but they defied one of the paragons of the city to save the day.

I know it's not the best idea but maybe someone can spin that or tweak it so that could work.

Quick question ... what exactly is the law/rule about supers, vigilantes, powered kids getting involved?

I like this :D I'll edit the other post if you all agree..

Sounds good to me.

In reply to Warp (msg # 306):

I'm fine with it if everyone else is. Feel free to name the hero who was injured since it would be fun for the GM to have another character to oppose us at some point. :D

Okay! Good modification / choice! Let's run with that!


As for


I don't want to lean on this too much. In the 'real world' there'd be all sorts of legal liabilities to superheroing, and so many lawsuits it would make your head spin. So, I go with a broadly-interpreted 'Good Samaritan' law of the european variety: If you have the ability to help a situation, you're usually considered 'okay' to do it. But, as this is Masks, there's a bit of a jaundiced eye for teens getting involved. It's not 'looked down on' per se, but kids putting themselves in danger, especially kids that might not have their powers on lockdown just yet, raises some eyebrows.

TL:DR - I'm not gonna worry so much about legal ramifications for supers in this game, though the court of public opinion can easily be swayed to woe or weal for the PCs! :)

Thanks!  Mostly I asked to help know what laws we could break. ;)   But seems like it’s already set.

Yep, I approve. Also helps round out the adult hero cast. Thinking this hero might not be on best terms with Southern Belle, if she was impressed by what we did... Maybe there's a rivalry there.

Edited and added a new superhero!

Look great Warp. We're so close, only three more prompts to go then we'll be done with this part!

I'm good with the new response, and I like that our disobedience had real consequences for someone.

So, a rather important question as we hit the home stretch.

I'm of two minds when it comes to opening scenes. I like doing classroom stuff because it introduces the world and the characters a bit. But I also understand that this is a supers game, and because of that, people like to try out their powers some. An in media res scene (starting out in the middle of an action scene) can often fit the trick, and I've got one in mind.

So, the question is: Would you guys rather start out with a quiet classroom scene, establishing students and other NPCs, or would you rather start with a quick bit of action, and go from there to the classroom stuff? I'm good either way- I just don't want people feeling either bored or jarred.

I'd like to start in a classroom scene to help get a better feel for my character. On the other hand if the team does a little crimefighting before school starts that's fine with me as well. So I guess whatever majority wants I'm fine with.

I'd like also the classroom scene... to get the feel of my character, and see how he reacts with everyone. I'll try and post the background and description tonight.

I concur with starting off with a classroom or some other "normal" scene.

It seems odd that we're all in the same classroom, but I agree that it is the best way to start the campaign.

Yeah, I know.. I'm running a Monsterhearts campaign, and suddenly, there's a Witch, a Warlock, a Fae, 2 Werewolves, a Queen +clique, a Cerberus, an Infernal, a Veela and a Prometheus in the same classrom...but... it just happened (?) (some are PCs and some are Npcs xD) Like there, as here, I suggest we were put in the same classroom for  a special reason.. maybe to work up as a team? or to have us close and controlled?

In comics and the like things like this happen with no real reason other than for the story to have all the characters together. For when the team first came together there was no reason for everyone to be there other than for random chance. Remember this is all about secret identities as well so while we all might know each other is a superhero that doesn't mean this school does. Unless of course this is a school for gifted youngsters then that's the reason why we're all in the same class.

It would also be possible to have a scene at the hideout, since we've got one.

What I had put down for my question was:
We had more in common than we had differences. We had something to offer each other that we couldn't get on our own. Strength or knowledge or skills, etc. Adderley made sure that everyone recieved badges and a form of sponsorship, he wouldn't want his protege and her teammates to be far out of his grasp. In a way he probably hinted that if they didn't  stay a team they would have a bit of trouble hero-ing in the city.

As for keeping in touch, not sure. Any ideas? Did we figure out how we communicate as a team if one of us needs help or finds something going down?

Warp could have designed some comms, maybe like some sort of watch.

First I want to say after reading Adderley giving out subtle threats I think I have a candidate for the Drive, "punch someone you probably shouldn’t." Rook is definitely not going to like the guy and will want to keep as much distance as possible from him. Which is great because what's a game like this without the drama?

What you wrote is great Broadside. For how we stayed in touch if we decide to not go with communicators since that was something Mystery mentioned giving the team with the Brain's prompt how about meeting at the base. Could be something where Broadside invited everyone over since no doubt she would know where each teen likes to patrol then invited them to the hideout. From there everyone got to know one another and it became a regular occurrence for us all to go there.

I like that idea, makes sense and who could resist checking out a brand new HQ?