OK, now catching up on Bullpen replies.
Counterforce, the dark sandstorm obscures all vision (and possibly other senses for those that have them) but is beginning to fade. So, imagine about fifteen seconds of total darkness once the sand gets a-swirlin' And then the sand clears and you will see...
Well, let me get to that. I haven't yet had time to continue that thread but should soon. In the meantime, just write your characters doing what they can as the darkness begins to clear. I couldn't expect any more than that and neither does the thread yet. Don't worry, the threat is not that immediate yet.
You are also pretty much correct, Counterforce, about the rough order of things before this moment in game time. I will have to put the Beloved Ghost on the back burner for now. There just hasn't been time to develop the Ghost properly. But we are telling a non-linear game so there will be plenty of time to fill in the gaps. I know it is difficult to write for characters who know what happened in all of the gaps but their players don't. But it can be a fun challenge.
Myself, I like the way Masks does this with the Influence, Relationships and When Our Team... playbook entries. You suggest something in the past but with not too much detail so it can be filled in later. I may have already mentioned a sister PbtA game, Blades in the Dark. BITD starts with the characters in a hopeless situation but then the characters can write the flashback scenes that explain why the current situation isn't quite a hopeless as it seems (example, subtitle: "Three weeks earlier...").
I welcome Mania to our motley crew! :-) The Mainstream Marvel Mania is quite a firecracker in her own right, lots of potential there. Quickly, I don't mind players having extra characters. In fact, I encourage it. I do try to keep them in separate scenes as a general rule so they don't, as a group, overshadow, the single-character players. The actual symbiote can be represented in different ways using the rules. I had not heard of a Symbiote playbook. If someone could give me a link, I will likely approve it (I've approved all of the others I have seen).
UPDATE: Here is a reddit post that essentially links to a whole bunch of freaky Masks material, the Symbiote among them. It will do for now, I think, until we can find better ones.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/...custom_playbook_the/
Go ahead, Mania, and just let me know where your comments are should I have missed them (thread and date should be enough).
Let me ask if anyone else would like to make an alternate player character (or characters). You've seen how easy the rules are for making a playbook character. And we can make as many teams and schools as we can. Remember, Marvel Comics really started with just one title, the Fantastic Four. Now look at it. There is infinite canvas for us. Once I know how many extra characters to expect, I can guess on how to best assign them to existing teams, or start new ones.
BTW, I have signed up for Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited so I can research some characters more in depth and possibly get some spot-on art for the game. This game wasn't the only reason for subscription, I enjoy it for its own sake. I have to admit, the comic search feature is awful and there are workarounds I have found for those who might be in the same situation.
If y'all are wondering just how much IC posting you should have done by this point. The answer is it has all been optional up to now. But please go ahead and post (OOC or IC if you want to have your characters debate these choices within the game) in the team threads where team specifics are beings discussed. The first three IC threads had to be freeform and forgiving while we were doing the heavy-lifting of team setup and the like. This does not mean participating in the thread was a waste or your time or mine. There were all kinds of rewards for your efforts (for me as well as you). They are just not as
tangible as the more formal Masks elements (Potential, Influence and then Advancements, for examples).
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:56, Wed 16 June 2021.