Hello folks, I believe everybody who was active in the previous iteration of this game has been added, along with some folks who were waiting in the wings! If you are not interested in playing or lurking, shoot me a PM and I'll remove ye :)

Happy New Year!!

I am taking a page from my very first game on Rpol that managed to reach 40k posts for how we are handling this game. Rather than tossinig you all in to a mysterious and undefined dreamworld and hoping you find your feet before the handful of hyperactive players leave you in the Dust, the game will be more of a planned freeform roleplaying experience in that character creation will be handled as an ensemble effort where you will have the opportunity to take world lore and other player's creativity into account and modify your own character accordingly before play begins.

We will be using Hunter: The Reckoning 5th Edition as the underlying system, and I will put together an overview of how that system works and how it is being houseruled to fit the game tomorrow once I have a physical copy of the system in my hands tomorrow. I have been running it in person and it has been very fun and easy to pick up for new players, but I've been using a buddy's copy.

The general structure of meta is that there will be three types of threads: PVP, PVE, and Freeform.

PVP will be strictly fair, with actions arbitrated by dice and multiple players taking the equal roles as 'protagonists'. These threads will be updated Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday by myself or by a CoGm. These threads will tell the 'main story'.

PVE will be Guided Freeform, i.e. moderated by dice when facing elite NPC opponents or doing things your character has a less than 50% proability of succeeding at, otherwise you will succeed automatically unless you think failing would be more interesting. Everyone who wants a PVE thread will get one, and they will be updated daily or as fast as you are able to keep up with. Other players can join another player's PVE thread, by they will take on a Detuerotagonist role, where their character will be NPC'd by the GM to keep up with the Protagonist's update pace if need be. A joint PVE Co-Op thread can also be requested, in which case the thread will be updated as fast as all Protagonists can keep up with (as fast as daily)

Freeform is not moderated by a GM, and goes at whatever pace all contributing players agree on and maintain. You can use dice if you want to, but don't need to. Freeform play is "zero sum", in that your character gains and losses within the Freeform timeline will not affect your permanent character sheet.

This is to hopefully allow players to play at their preferred pace while maintaining momentum in the game overall. While you can only have one 'main character', you can play additional side characters in other player's PvE threads (with their permission) or in Freeform threads if you like. When playing as a sidecharacter, you will post as your Player # alias rather than as your Protagonist alias to avoid confusion.

Character Creation will start tomorrow and we will begin play on February 1st, 2023.

This is a chat thread, so please say hello once you have read this :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:47, Sun 01 Jan 2023.

Hallo o7

Howdy. Possibly interested. I'll set aside some brain power to ponder it going forward :)

Hello, numero 5 here! The concept def sounds cool.

Player 4 reporting in and looking forward to playing again.

What I've read of the setting also seems fun. Reminds me of Cyberpunk 2077 meets Kill 6 Billion Demons.

Nice to see everyone again !

I'm equally confused and interested (both pretty high). Hoping to tip the balance towards the interested side as things get clarified with character creation.

Hiya! Can'T wait to start as well. Player 1 here!

Hello y'all! Happy to get some same-day responses, haha. Its been a bit.



Pretty on the nose there. Now I need to binge read all of Six Billion Demons tonight, ugh.

The lore of the game is pretty 'open', in that I really hope everyone will add their own piece to it through describing the territory / district where their character makes their home. Most of my games have been tight fucking fisted with the lore which has made it hard for people to feel like they can know and occupy the space and work on building their own castle in the sandbox.

Initially there is going to be no main story at all, it's going to be 100% focused on building up who your characters are and what they are doing and fleshing out the world that way. I want the world in the background and the PCs in the foreground, if that makes sense.

Hey all. Excited to see the game restarting. I'm out of town for nye and will have to read this in detail when I get back. Probably Tuesday.

Is the introduction personalized for each of us? Or is everyone seeing the same one?

Hey all, and happy new year! I need to take a bit to "digest" the new rules and such but in the meantime I hope the GM and other players are doing well this holiday season!

So as I recall, we have a fair number of genderqueer folk here, and I just read the Ancillary Justice series by Ann Leckie, so I think that part of the dissonant dichotomy my character will be experiencing is that his godling form will have a very difficult time determining genders for other people. The cultural cues are just so varied, and cues from one cultural are rarely universal.

Speaking of Character Creation, are there any instructions for us to start? The original post said "tomorrow" so I'm not sure if that means we were working on them together or with GM one-on-one at some point, or does that just mean we can start brainstorming on our own while referencing WoD Hunter 5E then submit the final product?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:05, Tue 03 Jan 2023.

Howdy! Happy to be here! Sorry to show up so late, things've been busy

I just got the book delivered and am currently working on transcribing character creation instructions :)

As an aside, do y'all want a Discord to chat in?

I'd join the Discord, but you'd need to make sure everything important is announced here aswell if we do that.

would love a discord TBH, as much as I love RPol, Discord is just easier for me to chat in.

Not interested in discording for RPOL, but VERY much looking forward to your character creation rules.

I am also hoping you can clarify why in the rules it says we could have potentially fed on gods, but due to having mortal bodies we're more the hunted than the hunter. Can we not use our virtue to overwhelm gods and nom on them? ^_^

I remember when you tried the eleven doors game and the virtuous thing some years ago in an old game, the those Virtuous were extremely powerful. Some in my opinion as strong as gods or even a bit more (mind you in that old game the virtuous were chosen to be replacement "chosen favorites" by like a primordial or the tree or something as it had lost faith in gods so it is kind of a different theme). I'm curious how you're translating that concept into this iteration of your game. It seems they have a great power boost when they unveil their virtue but at the risk of exposing themselves to enemies. In a way, it feels kind of like being a starting-tier Solar Exalted.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:17, Tue 03 Jan 2023.

Also you need to flesh out more about advantages. I know you're drawing from World of Darkness style advantages and points, etc. But some players may not have background in that and your request for us to "ask for some advantages" may be hard for us without more of a point of reference.

Fifth Ed changes that a lot - they are REALLY that general with it, from how I'm reading it. It's not like prior editions where they give you a whole 52 options deep list of physical, social, and mental advantages - which is what I honestly expected.

I'll work on that, though. Throwing broad strokes up right now, granularity to come!
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:58, Tue 03 Jan 2023.

I was totally referring to that big 52 option list that you were joking about lol. The big tip off that I knew what you were talking about was when you said striking looks was four points lol. And I know that there is a two-point version and a 4-point version in most of those game lines.

Maybe there is some wiki we can find or something?

Discord Link:

https://discord.gg/u5Atuyfp

The Merits listed in the book, I shit you not, are "Linguistics, Looks, Nutritionist, Psychological Traits, Substance Abuse, Supernatural Situations." With 1-2 advantage examples each and a flaw example.

I'll have to build a custom list for the game, which I probably need to do anyway given the unusual setting.

A custom built list is definitely intriguing. I'm sure you have all kinds of different supernatural and mundane types of advantages that would be different from the world of darkness normal setting.

Here is a pretty solid pared down list:

https://www.sccs.swarthmore.ed...erits_and_flaws.html

Also, a guy here on Rpol took the time to copy out the list from 4th ed:

link to a message in another game

Feel free to pull from either one, or come up with your own that are similar.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:10, Tue 03 Jan 2023.

Excellent! I thought i was the only one not seeing the rules hehehe

I’ll get my stuff in by tomorrow.

Holy Heck there is a lot of lore !

Yes there is :)

We are at about 1/3 of the way through the month, while a lot of my time is currently absorbed with overtime at my current job + preparing for my interview next week for my dream job, tomorrow I will be going through the character concepts I have received and adding your characters to the lore, as well as removing those players who have not responded yet so we can drill down on the shape the early game will take.

The next step will be figuring out Backgrounds, which are a way of giving interrelationships mechanical utility. That is going to be where we create a lot of the NPC cast list and get a feel for how your characters will intersect.

I am super pumped for this, guys. We are going to have a good time :)

What is your dream job that you're interviewing for? And please don't say something like exotic dancer, etc lol. I'm being serious with my question.

Best of luck on your interview!

I would be an emergency first responder, specicifically for gas & power outages. The area I grew up in had yearly windstorms that would knock out power for a week or so at a time before power could be restored, so I have a lot of memories involving reading books in the cold beside kerosene hurricane lamps. It's a job that is entirely field-based, well-paid (more than 100k a year), important to my community, and not incredibly physical. Really can't think of a job I would want more.

Wow that's great!

That is cool !

Waiting on sheets from some folks. I'm not in a giant rush so we can wait a bit.

So, for Backgrounds (which I will be detailing tonight / tomorrow, thinking pretty hard on this bit) you will have a pool of points to assign yourself with a strict limit of only being able to go up to 2 dots in any background.

Once everyone has that, you will have the opportunity to enhance your backgrounds further by connecting with another player, up to one dot per player. This means that dependent on how many players we have, each player will have the opportunity to increase their overall allocation of dots for backgrounds by up to 11.

An example of such a connection: Player X has Player Y as a roommate, they pay me rent so I have resources 3 rather than 2 (able to afford a personal microstudio).

Connections are one-way, in that only the suggesting player gets a dot from the suggested connection. If Player Y wants a free dot from connecting to Player X, they need to suggest a different connection - for example, Player X is Player Y's personal doctor helping them with their gender transition on the DL, bumping their Allies background up from 1 to 2.

Another would be suggesting that Player Z owns the best local bar that both Player X and Y both hang out at, although they haven't met player Z yet. This allows Player Z to bump up their Fame background from 2 to 3 - they only get one dot, even though they are connect two other players, unless they differentiate their connections to those players (such as Player Z also being an alumna of Player X's medical college)

A connection needs to develop a location or non-player character or otherwise add to the world's lore as well. Z and X are friends doesn't cut it. Connections need to be more detailed than a sentence or two (I would like a developed paragraph with at least one 'hook' other players / myself can run with).

Building that shared social network will build out the starting threads of the game and set up the moving pieces.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:52, Sat 14 Jan 2023.

This is a good idea and I cant wait to see how you implement it. Having PC connections mechanically is great!

SO LOVE ME, ALL OF YOU. RAWR!

EDIT: And loved the Hierophant's response. It's what I would have said. GM knows what I mean. :P
This message was last edited by the player at 00:34, Sun 15 Jan 2023.

Alright all,

Well not sure how to go and start the "connections" but I'd like to go ahead and try and get a few connections done to benefit both myself and yourselves in the process.

Wondering how we should go about it as we know little of each other. Should we post up a small description of ourselves here and see how we can then connect to one another for background/world building purposes?

In reply to TheFury (msg # 36):

Yeah I assumed we would have to write up summaries once we finished the character creation process.

I'm curious to see all the different character concepts.

My concept hasn't been approved yet, so I'm staying silent till then.

I'm waiting on a clarification for the approach on the character concept (I have two proposed for the same charcater. Will simply decide how he will present himself :) )

Once done, I'll post a summary.

Threw the application summary I have for now! Will probably clean up as we flesh out our characters, but should be enough to get juices flowing.

Had my big interview today - I'll find out if I got the job in February.

Starting friday the 20th through the 30th, I will be off work (huzzah) and will spend quite a bit of time working on getting this game going :)

woo~ hopefully the interview went well!

Fingers crossed for you, GM!

Runs around in circles and fluffs up.

I wish you the best of luck too !

Keep me informed!

Is the plan still to start playing next Wed? (February 1st)

I'm still waiting for feedback on my stuff

I think most people are. Thus why I'm wondering if the Feb. 1st launch date is still a-go or if we are planning on pushing the DL back so everyone has time to be approved and sort out backstory connections.

Mostly poking for an update.

Well I just got my concept approved, so I'm open for "business!"

Any of you who played in the Godhunter game should immediately be able to guess which character I was to play as. :P

Profile will be updated later today.

Yes, the plan is to start play on Wednesday, Feb 1st. I think we will have a stable player roster at that point, the bones of backgrounds done, and we get started with setting the intro scenes and warming up to the new milieu.

Okay I have updated his basic profile.

Godhunter players especially, but open to ALL players...if you are interested in establishing some background bonds with me please let me know and let's talk!

I'm open to people also having had some bonds with Anton (his body's previous owner), as well as with Starling proper as he is now. Or even both!

Interesting, so Starling remembers the Godhunter game. I'm curious if he will be able to recognize us in this world.

Anyway decided to go ahead and post my character summary up. Things might change slightly based off drawbacks Fool selects but that should at least give people enough to start thinking up possible connections.

In reply to The Fool (msg # 50):

Hazzah! Appreciate the update and the GM privileges. I'll get to sprucing things up shortly. I just got off work and only been able to peek in today.

Also the more ppl being added the more I'm feeling like my username is kinda silly bc I went for Euphoria straight up making like... a dumb tumblr handle. Yall lucky I didn't go for something like XXXbloodyfists666XXX

Update: Setting & Character Creation threads now reformatted. Old character sheet is archived and being finalized now.

Update-Update: Character sheets complete. Happy to build out for players. The tables will likely be placed in the proper character sheet section under "Character Details" while the basics and any flavor text players want will be under "The Cast".
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:35, Sat 28 Jan 2023.

He will only recognize you guys if someone's character is like his and was a "continuation" from Godhunter. If it is an entirely new character concept, though, then no since it will be meeting a stranger for the first time.

Aight, background descriptions are finished.

I still need to post up all the details on Drives / Edges . . but it's normal for that to be discovered in the course of your character's first in-game Hunt, so we'll go with that being added later!

Tomorrow the game will start - each of you will get a thread for establishing connections with other characters, and also be started out on a PVE thread fleshing out your past.

Hazzah! Thanks GM!

Quick question, could your antagonist also be an ally/mentor in some capacity? And what would that look like mechanically?

It's toxic and complicated. U_U

Actually, the book specifically calls that out under Mentor:

Adversary

A rival hunter who generally wishes you ill, an Adversary is the reverse Flaw of the Mentor background.

Nothing says you can't take up to three dots in Adversary and put them straight into Mentor and say you have some weird Darth Vader vs. Luke personal history where they want to kill you, but not without giving you the chance to grow stronger and be a more entertaining foe later on, like some kinda SAW thing. Make it work and I'll rubber stamp it.

Going to progressively roll out the backgrounds / intro threads over tomorrow / friday, I'd rather take it easy, go a little higher effort, and give people time to read other people's backgrounds and think on them a bit (and give people time to pick their backgrounds, haha).

But hey, we've got a start :)

looking forwards to getting things started~

That was a cool intro thread, all glory to the hypnotoad!

I guess I jumped the gun a bit by writing out my description. Curious to see how close my version was to what Fool imagined. I'm excited to see everyone's characters!

That first thread was interesting :) I'll wait for the setup thread for The Fury before posting up. Want to see what I have as a set up before moving forward.

In reply to TheFury (msg # 62):

Same, very much looking forwards to seeing what the GM has in mind for Empress

And Starling as well!

I haven't chosen all my backgrounds really yet just cuz I'm still waiting for those parts of the rules to be developed. But I'm looking Forward to seeing more threads and stuff over time. And see what the GM and what you guys all come up with.

The background section should be done now.

You can buy whatever you want up to tier 2pt with 11 points. Meaning no background ally, resource, ect. can exceed 2pt tier before backgrounds with other players are established. Each player connection is worth +1 to the background of your choice.

So say, Starling and Empress have a connection, then each would get to add +1 to a single background that makes sense for their connection to strengthen. Meaning either they have a mutual connection or their interactions somehow improve another ally or resource.

Example:
Empress has an online presence on reddit where she can call on her community for some minor research help. Starling is part of that community or has interacted with her in that space, so knowing him adds +1 to her online presence background, bumping it from 2pt to 3pt. In turn, Starling could add +1 to his own online resource, like a specific hacker npc who scoops out clues for him on the interwebs.

At least that is my understanding from what I've read and had explained to me.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:20, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

oof, why did it get bumped down from 3 to 2 points per teir if I may ask? kinda messes up the retainer setup I had going.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:30, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

GM a question/clarification is needed.

Do we assign the 11 points BEFORE we start trying to factor in relationships with other PCs? Or does this apply AFTER?

For instance...Say Starling has 11 points of STUFF in backgrounds across various categories, all capped at 2 points each. THEN he makes for a shared background connection with Empress in their online interactions, so he boosts contacts from 2->3 as a result.

Would he then have 12 points worth of backgrounds, or still 11 but able to boost the "cap" on contacts from 2->3?

In reply to Empress (msg # 66):

The original language I edited was "You cannot by default take any track up to three dots or higher". The limit was always 2 but that was grammatically unclear (I also thought 3 originally and asked for clarification). The rules now state "You begin with 11 points to distribute across all categories, and you cannot by default take any track beyond 2 points."
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:47, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

In reply to The Star (msg # 68):

ah... hmmm fair enough, guess I need to redistribute and do some work on my retainers to get bonus points with connections

In reply to Starling (msg # 67):

I'm going to let The Fool 100% confirm here, but I'm like 80% sure that the +1 you get for every connection is a pure bonus. So in a way, think of the Background building as two phases.

Phase 1, you get 11 points to move whatever you can afford up to 1 or 2pt. Some things like Safe Houses have multiple things you can buy, like extra rooms for 1pt. All these consume the original 11 pts you are given.

Phase 2 is forming connections with other players. When you connect with another player you both add +1 to any background, moving it up the tier track. You make a connection with Empress, you get +1 on top of the 11. Which technically would bring your pool to 12. But I am unsure if you can buy a new background with the bonus points vs only using them to upgrade existing ones.

There are no rules that state otherwise, but theoretically (big theoretically) you could put all your +1 into a single background and boost it all the way up to 5 or 6. But that would require you strategically interweave all your player connections into that background. The Fool may contest this or ask that a limit be clarified now that I'm bringing this idea up.

In reply to Empress (msg # 69):

It seems that making connections with players is rewarded both in the story and mechanically. So yes, you could form 3 connections with 3 players and add +1 to each retainer, keeping the original spread. Sort of a... the world is cruel and you are very squishy and need community/connections with the other players to get you above average in the resource department.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:04, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

In reply to The Star (msg # 70):

suppose so yeah, its... a little wonkier with my retrainers (dunno if you looked at my updated backgrounds and (possible) advantages that I posted in the PM) since they're not really the same thing, but its... well, close enough I guess.

In reply to Empress (msg # 71):

*runs to read the sheet*

I can def see how that would be difficult to rebuild the spread. The Fool would probably have some more definite insight/problem-solving. But my initial idea would be something like x player has a run-in with one of your retainers through you and thus it narratively makes sense they get the bonus.

Ideas:

Euphoria got into a fight with Empress, causing her and Knight of The Sword to have a dual. +1 to Knight of The Sword.

Empress has reached out to the Starlight Raiders (Azalea) for an assassination/merc gig. She sends her Knight of The Dagger to assist. +1 to Knight of The Dagger.

Knight of The Shield is sworn to protect Empress. When she was injured, they whisked her away from battle and took her to Prometheus for treatment. +1 Knight of The Shield.

Def not what you have to go with but just the sort of little stories that could be weaved that would 1) get those tasty bonus points, 2) get you interacting with other players and 3) make your retainers all the more endearing since they've gone on these mini adventures with Empress and other players have run into them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:22, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

In reply to The Star (msg # 72):

mmm, alright, yeah I can definitely see how that would work, my brain just wasn't making the connection for how they could interact with people for a levelup

For them, I think it would just be like experience. The more jobs and little adventures you send them on, the better they are at what they do. Knight of the Dagger was pretty good at sneaking into places and getting intel, but when they assisted on the adventure where Empress and Azalea teamed up, they got better. They don't necessarily have to socially interact with other players unless you want them to. It could be more about Empress interacting with the player and they were the pokemon along for the ride.

Tbf that *is* their job after all :P

Interesting stuff. Can't wait for GM to set up other people's player building threads.

Today is my day off, so I'll be available on discord in case anyone is still working on sheets and wants any help or just needs a wall to throw ideas against.

Any idea when Fool is putting up other char threads?

Thank you for the help Euphoria !

In reply to Starling (msg # 78):

Unfortunately, I don't. Esp since the Fool has final say on sheets and idk if any edits need to be requested. If the Fool says it's cool for me to go in and help on that front, I'm more than happy to but I def don't want to overstep my jurisdiction. RN I'm just trying to help as many players get submitted for that final review phase as possible.

In reply to Player 9 (msg # 79):

You're very welcome! Looking forward to seeing Grimalkin again. :)

I am looking forward to playing him too ^_^

I've been mother-henning and nagging Fool for YEARS now. And his posting can sometimes be unpredictable.

PLAYER 9: Are you actually porting the "real" Grimalkin over from Godhunter, like I did with Starling?

If we we should DEFINITLY connect and give each other background dots as we "resume our friendship in this new life."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:43, Sat 04 Feb 2023.

I am certainly trying to !

I have worn the skin of our master, the Fool, and added background threads for all the completed sheets with applications filled out. If I missed anyone, let me know! You do not have to have backgrounds selected yet, but you must have your stats, advantages and flaws up to date. I will also need a description/application/prose of some kind to post. So that other players have an idea of who your character is to work with.

Once you select your backgrounds, you should post them in your thread. Have fun making connections everyone! Each party gets +1 for every connection to put on any existing background. If you have already come up with connections behind the scenes, just make sure to post them publically!

@ Starling, I had an idea for a connection and posted it, but then I realized you hadn't added your Backstory selection yet, and I didn't want to jump the gun. So I deleted it. ;_: I have it saved though.

So what he put into the first post is his backstory. I need to work on my base backgrounds etc still but yeah...he's basically trying to make heads and tails while picking up the pieces of his shitty host body's life.

Oh you mean background dots? Sorry just got home super late from playing D&D with my lesbian friends. It's past midnight here so ugh...zzzzz.

I need to get to sleep but will work on backgrounds tomorrow.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:16, Mon 06 Feb 2023.

Ok I got Starling's base 11 points of backgrounds posted!

FYI while he doesn't (at least initially barring PC connections) have allies or contacts yet, he has a separate Advantage that is at the 3-point level that grants black market ties, and even a 1 point shadowy past flaw as well as his Void affinity which grants him the affection of void entities (vague as that may seem just like it was in godhunter). But these, I figure, along with his influence are enough to be able to get him connections and hooks when he needs things. However...I'm open to allies and contacts from PC connections!

I'd also be interested in PC connections that boosted his influence a bit as well as that represents a sort of broad physical notoriety but it can also have implications for how his Void Domain affinity impacts the game metaphysically too.

Also, one thing I'd think is cool is if someone wants a 1 point mask or something as PC-granted background, Starling can make them!

But yeah...I did my best to model his Godhunter concept using backgrounds and advantages as best I could!

I'm looking forward to seeing you guys connect with Starling!

Starling: Actually a Mask at 1 may be good for the Fury. While Malum would not care much about such a thing, he would do it for Drakhan's sake to make him feel "safe".

I'd be happy to oblige. Let's think on some connections then. I'll also look more at your background after work and see what starling gets in exchange. Maybe influence as he associates with some "scary people" or some such?

My Olympian Punks showing up to get their asses beat by the other players:


This message was last edited by the player at 18:05, Tue 07 Feb 2023.

There are meta reasons my "gm character" technically doesn't exist, aha. All praise to the Star for their work.

IRL I quit my job and am working out my notice while packing my stuff to move to a new apt. Been out and about networking because the new job I have in hand is kinda underwhelming income-wise and in this astonishing job market I know I can do better. Kinda shitty of me to accept a job offer while still shopping around I guess, but financial security is higher on my priorities than honorable service to the corps.

I've got good intro concepts ready for Alkanite and Euphoria so those are up next, still noodling on the rest.

Sorry to hear that the job you ended up going with wasn't the one you were really looking forward to. :(

In terms of Intros, Fool, did you happen to see my intro pitch idea in the Absolute Destiny Apocalypse pm thread? If not the intro it might just bee a freeform scene I'd like to play out pwetty pwease.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:30, Tue 07 Feb 2023.

Backstory

Meow mrow nyaoh mrow purrrr.

In reply to Player 9 (msg # 93):

A masterpiece.

I will be writing something up just need to chat with The Fool a bit.

Hope everyone is doing ok !

Looking forward to reading it!

Hope you're doing okay, too!

Will review!

Also I STILL don't know about that job. They said I'd hear back in early Feb, and my application on the job portal is still "under review".

I am doing ok, thank you !

Hurry up, cat!

I need my comfort blanket kitty for hugs little 'ol buddy from last reincarnation  dammit!

Mrow !?  Fluffs up.

I absolutely don't have anything in mind...

Grimalkin just got adopted.

^_^ Hopefully my background will pop up soon.

I'll invest in that! :P

Muse, Prometheus, and Feast...I posted responses in my thread!

Just waiting for my background to be up or if I need to work on it more in PMs I am cool with that too. I know I need to Work with Prydwin a bit.

So sorry for the wait, Grim. I was looking to give you a pm with Prydwin since Fool mentioned you guys doing a co-op team up kinda thing. But I don't know which player number Prydwin is. D:

Tried reaching out in Discord but if Prydwin sees this plz raise your hand! Would help me out greatly since I can't determine who is who unless a sheet has been submitted or they've been renamed.

Let me re-read your thread after work today and see what steps I can take to move things along. Have you had a chance to look at backgrounds? You'll need to post your selections in your thread bf other players can pitch connections, so if you have those ready-to-go, we can streamline getting you into the fray.

The bad news: I didn't get the job.
The good bad news: It's a job that hires in multiple rounds per year, so I can just apply again in like a month and hopefully not have to compete with 80 other applicants again.

The game related news: I've removed players I never heard from, and given Grim and Prydwin proper names for ease of administration. Why I ever gave everybody Player # names, I do not recall.

So, now we have our final roster.

Sorry to hear you didn't get the job this time. :(
This message was last edited by the player at 17:58, Thu 09 Feb 2023.

@Grim I'm going to make the background thread for you and Prydwin, but I also don't want you feeling like you're dependent on another player to get started.

Was thinking of giving you both the pm thread to brainstorm and the Background public thread so you can start building connections w/ other players. That sound good to you? You can just update it as things are built out behind scenes.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:10, Thu 09 Feb 2023.

Sounds good I need to work on it, as I don't have a firm grasp on the mechanics.
Seeing how everyone is making connections has me more confused.

Still I am optimistic and getting my character done.

In reply to The Fool (msg # 107):

Sorry to hear. My fiancé is also job hunting so I know it's no fun. Hopefully you find something that's at least tolerable and pays the bills.

In reply to Grim (msg # 110):

So backgrounds come in two phases.

Phase 1: you have 11 pts to buy whatever you want in the Background list in "Creating a Character". You can be as detailed or vague with your connections as you'd like. For example, Euphoria's background has Olympian Punks which is just a grab-bag term for a little group of hooligans she has clout with. But she also has Reynard the Fox which is a very specific NPC. You can also get physical resources like a safe house, or non-tangible resources like Fame or Influence. Which is more your social power based on things your character has done. Again, these can be as vague or specific as you want. You can always flesh them out more in RP or as you build connections in Phase 2.

The main thing to remember is you get 11 pts to spend and no single background can go above Tier 2PT during this phase.

Phase 2: You build connections with players. When you establish some background with another player, you each get to add +1 to any background of your choice. Usually, one that has to do with the connection you've just fleshed out. Theoretically, you can add +1 as many times as you want to the same background. This is how you would take a background above tier 2.

Example:

Euphoria is lost wandering the streets one night in an unfamiliar neighborhood after a bad fight or getting drunk somewhere and starting one. She's in a bad way physically and emotionally, so she's just stumbling around being a general mess. While loitering in some public park or alleyway, Grim in the form of a cat approaches her and shows her affection. She pets, feeds, and vents to this cat the way a drunk person would. This moment of quiet humanity pulls her out of her funk. Grim - who stalks around this neighborhood as part of his nightly prowl - knows it like the back of his hand, so he is able to get Euphoria to follow him to safety. Maybe a place where the other stray cats hang out. Maybe she feeds them and gets some kitty therapy before moving on, promising to come back with more food next time.

Grim might have a background like Influence Prince of Cats which relates to his influence among other animals and strays on the city streets he prowls. He now gets +1 for using this skill to help one of the other players. Grim having the soul of a human inside a cat's body puts him in a unique position as almost a go-between the two worlds, and the other cats see him as either a protector or leader of sorts. Especially where human relationships are concerned.

In turn, Euphoria gets +1 to her background, Influence Blade of the Apocolypse because now she has been introduced as an ally to the stay-cats by Grim. She can be recognized by the cats of the city, which may now be friendly enough with her to help lead her around in a pinch or meow a warning if she's in trouble.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:13, Thu 09 Feb 2023.

I'm totally secure financially and the job market is very hot, so I'm not worried. The challenge will be convincing my Pride and Honor that it's okay for me to accept a job offer knowing full well I plan to hop to an even better one ASAP.

Given that my Pride pushed me to quit my current job, it doesn't get to complain, haha. Can't save your cake and sell it too.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:15, Thu 09 Feb 2023.

*Steals post #200*

GRATS! I had post 201 lol!

In reply to Starling (msg # 115):

I couldn't help myself. Had to do it

Hi,

Just wanted to let the GM know I'll post up in my thread tomorrow. Just had a VERY long weekend work wise and just finished payroll so my mind is a little like mush :)

I'll also go over the last few BACKGROUND threads and make a clear GAIN PER CONNECTION to make it easier to recap everything for character setup.

Thanks

That's a really good idea! I think everyone posting their updated backgrounds once they're done would be a great way to keep things accurate.

Some updates I'm going to make soon:

1) Translate submitted char sheets into the tables and post in ea "character sheet" tab similar to what we did in the old game. Then the cast list descriptions can focus on the flavor text and general info (names, gender, etc). Still unsure of yall would prefer flaws/attributes etc be added to character sheet or cast description. Open to suggestions.

2) Proposed to Fool an IC chat rp thread so players can start rping between intro threads. Would be some kind of lounge similar to the fireplace/hearth chat in the old game. Might be nice for laid back character interactions. Possibly connected to the metacognitive institute. Also I don't want players who are eager to play waiting much longer to have some sort of outlet. You wouldn't need to have your backgrounds all finalized to join. There probs won't be rolls or anything. I hesitate to call it a Homestuck pester chat but I mean... that would kinda be what it is. Maybe some virtual cyberpunk internet world like dystopian second life as it that's not dystopian enough, lol.

3) Create a scene request thread. Since original game proposal has three types of threads - GM run story threads w/ full mechanics, PVP w/ mechanics and free-form short stories btw players with little GM oversight - this could be a good way for players who want to jump in to propose a freeform scene. You would just submit the pitch, name and whoever is looking to join (or say it's open to all interested players) and we GMs can quickly make it for you to go wild in.

I have also made mission boards in games bf with prompts for players to apply to and run with. Maybe they could even have some minor rewards like a smidgen of xp points or cannon gains to carry over to the main story threads. If that is something ppl would like. Might help to give structure to rp threads with other players so no one is in a slice of life slog, unless slice of life scene is what both parties are going for.

4) The Fool is currentoy trying to run and come up with intros for all players. It seems they are interested in bringing oc visions to life, so if you don't have a thread yet, proposing an idea might be super helpful to grease those wheels! It's a lot of work to shoulder so any help I'm certain would be appreciated! Even if you do have a thread, suggesting a direction for it to go in should also be good.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:58, Tue 14 Feb 2023.

Hello folks - sorry for the radio silence, I've been busy moving out of Seattle and now reside in a woodsy cottage with elk, coyotes, and other miscreants about. The neighbor down the lane has three roosters and they argue by crowing at each other in rounds. There is a guy who has a herd of minigoats. I am delighted.

I'm taking a mini vacation to get settled in, and now that I have a computer again I will have an excess time. I will post up intros tonight, but please note that if you do not like your intro we can discuss what you would prefer!

An IC chat thread and a scene suggestion thread are both excellent ideas - I'll add those as well.

I'm about to drive an hour to the nearest Ikea to retrieve mood lighting and a large shark plush, and will then get to writing :)

Glad to hear the move went well.

Just got back from vacay myself and had to hit the ground running. Now that things are moving forward, I'll start transcribing sheets into character sheet tables soon.

Seeing all the intros made, I now see a naming convention. Must ruminate on a new thread title. Hrrrm hrrrrmmmm *activates super brainstrom mode*

GM: your choice of move interests me. I may badger you about it later in PMs. ^_^

Empress: Hey your highness! Is everything alright? If you can spare a moment, please check out your background thread as I'd love to connect with you, your ladyship!

Im doing okayish! I'm just getting into the swing of things because I've had a rough time with uni, I was planning to do background thread stuff in a couple of days.

Well glad to have you back!

I'm sorry to hear about uni. Anything we can do to help, or is it just general work-life stuff?

just general work-life stuff, had a really good groove going and was getting everything done but got burnt out and now feel like everything I had worked to get good grades on for the first half of the semester will mean nothing.

I think you'll be okay. I think knowing you are getting burnt out is the most important thing, because now you know you re-assess things and re-prioritize how you handle your day. A big part of going to college is learning time management and how to handle being an adult.

Hell it's something at nearly 40 I'm still trying to figure out some days. :P

Working on character sheets now and I'm curious how the willpower mechanic works and if it is similar to vitae. Kinda like how Humanity in a lot of WoD is mental health and when it ticks to zero, something nasty happens.

I assume that our vitae stat determines how much we start with and then it ticks down to zero when our characters take damage. However, is willpower similar or more a pool of dice we draw from for certain rolls?

The reason I ask is I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep track of player stats during threads. Especially since there are multiple threads. My initial idea was to have individual tables for each scene a character is in. See below:

When someone takes damage in a thread then it would be updated to look like this:

However, if Willpower is more a dice pool, then it might be better to find a different way to determine where vitae is for each person at any given time. I've had players keep track in their little character Biography tab when they post, but if people are in multiple threads, that could get messy. Therefore the individual tables are usually my go-to when players are playing in multiple scenes.

Update: See that they both act like dice pools. However, still curious if they depleate at all w/ damage, and that effects the pool, like Numenera system or something.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:41, Fri 24 Feb 2023.

Willpower works like fate points, you can spend willpower to reroll failed checks. Remember that magic in this game is tech, it's tracked as skills tests or device usage - it doesn't draw on a resource pool.

Hmm. Willpower might also be used for Edges? I've never had players survive long enough to earn an Edge so I will review that.

On a different subject, are there any topics that people are very uncomfortable with? There is a lot of bad shit in the lore but there are topics you don't want involved in your characters arc let me know. For example, I have a personal beef with imprisonment and powerlessness, so I will never put your character in a position where you do not the benefit of attempting escape.

As far as topics go any sort of violence towards small children makes me really uncomfortable. To a lesser degree domesticated animals as well.

Thanks Prometheus.  "Meow."

In reply to The Fool (msg # 128):

I thought vitality would be edges since the copy says you can spend one to push yourself to suceed a roll.

I'm also going to assume that they don't deplete then. Though I'm unsure now how we keep track of health, if we even are.

As for uncomfortable topics, I'm pretty ok with everything and everything I'm not is already covered by the game's general rating.

I don't want rape in the game.

Rape of a PC is never okay without the player's consent, and the default answer is NO. Rape of NPCs should fade to black and be implied etc as needed, but be exceedingly rare. Honestly I think even most mega vile folks won't ever opt for it, and not having it in game at all is fine for me too. But when in doubt, ask the player and assume no if you're unsure.

No kicking or hurting puppies or kitties unless I get the opportunity to activate virtue with the gods oddly not looking and be able to go after the asshat.

I admit, since this is neither an Adult or even Mature rated game, I just assumed none of that was on the table anyways. Anything sexual or romantic stays to a pg13 level on screen. Like... maybe we'll kiss and make a crude joke when we feeling spicy.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:33, Fri 24 Feb 2023.

Oh. Bumped the game to Mature, drug use and violence.

Sexual violence will not occur on screen or to PCs unless a PC feels that should be part of their characters arc, for several reasons.

A significant reason why I only GM and do not play is because of instances where GMs I played for thought that was okay - and another instance where they thought that having a child I was protecting die in an accident I had no ability to prevent was acceptable. Yeah, no.

I'd prefer we make this an Adult rated game (with lots of things fading to black), but still limiting the rape and puppy/child harm elements. Mature will work though either way.

Man do I have some catching up to do :)

Content: I am ok with whatever is brought forth as long as it helps the storyline (and as others say, as long as there is somewhat a setup that allows to counter it if it is extreme). Fade to black is usually the better option. If my puppy has to die "a la John Wick" then I expect to be able to bring forth retribution (but would be ok, mind you mighty angry, as just as in that case it would move the story forward). If it's just a kill to be "mean" without true purpose nor ability for retribution but to simply remove something from the characters "backpack", so to speak, then no I am not really ok with that.

It's all about the "story" so there :)

I wanted to post my first post for the campaign tonight for my thread and post a recap of what was dealt with other players as well but I just got back home from work after a 15 hour shift (I own restaurants) and I am BURNT. Tomorrow will probably be a no go as well nor sunday but WILL TRY. If not monday at the latest.

This is not the norm for me (as anyone who has had me as a player knows) so really do appologize for my tardiness in posting this week Fool.

No worries my man, the benefit of having a solo thread is you don't hold anybody up by taking a second :)

What even is rpol's adult game policy nowadays? I'll have to take a look.

It's a bit more artistic license. But all the things we just discussed still can always be player-optional, even if the rating is adult. Like most adult games generally don't have rape (and the bits that are there are only tasteful story elements with player consent, and generally even then aren't depicted in graphic detail but more topically), and never EVER have naughty stuff with minors and stuff.

There's a whole rules area on this site about Adult games.

Character sheets have been added under "Character Details".

Is prywin actually a separate player in this game? I don't see any posts from them or a background thread, so was wondering if it was all part of Grim?

Prydwin is active on the discord but has been having real life tumultousness.

Oh

We will have to continue without Prydwin, alas.

Also, I am very sick. Like delirium-fever-dream sick. I can't look at a screen for more than few minutes without my eyes watering. It sucks.

Hope you start to feel better, GM!

I will be unavailable most likely from the 12th until possibly the 18th or even 20th as I'm flying out of the country at the end of the week for my first vacation in about 7 years.

Hello folks, I exist again. I've moved a considerable distance, and now I'm in university, but at least now I'm no longer spending 2 1/2 a day on the road for my new job. The twelve minute commute is glorious. I don't have food yet but I've got fat stored so I should survive until I can acquire edible goods.

I have a paper to write tonight & will be updating tomorrow for anyone who's still here, haha.

It's been a ride, but hey now I have my own place for the first time in my life.

*waves* congrats on the new place! was wondering what was happened, but hearing that, that makes sense ^^ looking forwards to seeing this get off the ground (again)

Glad to hear things are stabalizing for you!

I had no idea that this is happening either. I hope you're okay!

Hi guys. Sorry about vanishing, I had a Very Bad couple of months. Learning to live with long covid and my reduced prozac dose sucks .-. if you guys still want me playing i'd like to but it's fine if you'd rather not have me :]
This message was last edited by the player at 21:05, Thu 15 June 2023.

Of course we would still want you! I'm sorry you've been dealing with so much.

I was actually just waiting for Prydwin. I'm very patient, you see.

Finals are done. New classes starting up immediately. Yay.

Good that some folks are still around. I should have time to write tonight. I'm going to take some introductory liberties to generate a smidge of momentum. I also need to review the system . . .

Welcome back, GM!

Welcome back! looking forwards to seeing us starting up <3

Won't get to it tonight - turns out reading for my new Intro to Financial Accounting class turns my brain to mush.

Good news is I got my grades back - I got a perfect score on my business law final. Do right now I actually have a 4.0 GPA. Which is insane to me, but at least letting work and school consume my life is getting results?

In my experience, that tends to happen when you do school and have to work. The consuming your life part. Think the 4.0 gpa is all you.

Also, if anyone wants to get their feet wet and shoot the shit, I've got Euphoria in the VR chat room. Could start with some easy player interaction rp there.

Thank you for your patience, GM.

Not to double post, but could I have another link to the discord server? .3.

Why did I not make this game cyberpunk wuxia? Wait, did I make this game cyberpunk wuxia and now I'm just saying the quiet part outloud?

Good news: I'm unemployed, which is historically the time period that tortures my dreams and inspires me to write!

Bad news: I have decided I going into commission-based sales, because I want to, and historically I disregard all advice that would steer me away from anything I have decided to do. Apparently sales is incredibly punishing and soul-shattering, but that's what they told me about retail. Retail is just standing around in a store while shadow-people look for glimmers of spiritual well-being in a Pringles can, so if that's bad then convicing shadow-people that those motes of satisfaction are actually in something else at least is a well-compensated proactive stance that will develop a marketable skill set.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:06, Fri 14 July 2023.

GM, are you still in college?

Of course. I'm studying for my first Financial Accounting exam right now, actually.

Financial accounting is kicking my ass. I got a B- on my exam. A goddamn B-. I've been working on nothing but financial accounting for 9 hours today and I get a B-. Goddamn embarassing is what that is. I'm an idiot who doesn't know a journal from a chart of accounts, and almost forgot that revenue is a credit acount.

In other news, you can make milk punch with spiced rum, half & half, vanilla extract & sugar. Also I made the most basic, simple theo game ever based on the first Theo game I ever played in, called Rebirth.

link to another game

You play a very important person. Welsh mythlogy is the basis. You can make a character in 5 minutes or less.

You're very early though in your schooling still, GM. Use the B- not as a stick on your back, but as a yardstick to help you measure your current knowledge and also as a measure of your current approach to accounting, and then use the realizations this provides to help you figure out areas of opportunity for yourself!

And that is an interesting take on Theo - Revenant I mean. And yeah you did a good job streamlining the rule set. There is some bits missing, like that the derived stats mean. But it's a good start. And Realms being or at least containing leyline nexuses called Founts that are unique properties of magic is an interesting idea, as it means each god is a source of unique aspects of magic technically.

Fine, fine I'll explain the derived base stats! *edits*

I guess the B- just sucks because I was doing really good before, and I'm doing really well with the numbers, but I missed a lot of points on the exam on vocab. I didn't really focus on memorizing vocab because just figuring out the credit/debit thing was hard.

This is good. This is the kind of self-assessment I was talking about. You can identify areas of weakness, and tackle them better now than before. Because now you have a different mindset and approach after knowing this.

Turn those lemons into lemonade!

Hey everyone. I've been busy prepping for and then going on a vacation for the past few weeks so I haven't had time to respond.

So is this game coming out of hiatus? Is it being rebooted as the revenant game?

It's coming out of hiatus. The revenant game is a side gig. You can join if you want though.

That was also my pending question. Very excited to get back into the swing of things here!