Before requesting access, you are required to read the following:

• Rules of Conduct
• RPoL Terms of Use
• RPoL Mature Games Policy

Game rules may be subject to change.

Applications will not be accepted on a first come-first served basis. Please take some time and give some thought to your answers. Try to provide specific instead of generalised answers.

SECTION I. PLAYER QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Please provide your age and year of birth.
   
2. What is your current time zone?
   
3. What is your average posting rate?
   
4. What is your first language, if not English?
   
5. Why do you wish to join this game?
   
6. What are your expectations for this game?
   
7. What is your experience with gaming in general?
   
8. What are the sorts of things do you enjoy? (In terms of games, books, movies, et cetera. I'm interested in hearing about anything, really.)
   
9. What are taboo issues for you? (For example, some people are averse to games that depict drug usage in any way. Others feel uncomfortable with current political issues.)
   
10. Please provide a writing sample. (I'm mostly looking for correct spelling, adherence to the rules of grammar, good diction, interesting ideas, and so forth.)

SECTION II. CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

When pitching your character for the game, keep in mind that some characters may not fit with the game I'm trying to run. Or perhaps won't fit with the characters other players are running. My philosophy is that there needs to be a synergy between the players, GM, and the characters so that we're all rooting for the same thing.

Which in my opinion, should be "a successful game".

Therefore, expect to make a few tweaks and even some large modifications to your submission after receiving feedback from me.

Write a paragraph of text for a character, like you'd see in a story outline, describing the most essential elements of your character. What kind of arc do you envision for the character? What do you envision their story to be about? Try to capture what makes them unique as a character.

Compose your pitch in complete, grammatical sentences. No lists of abilities; no sentence fragments. It's okay to submit only one pitch, but would be better if you do more. Ideally, I would like to see three to five character pitches, after which I will pick the best one for a more in-depth focus. Each character pitch should be around 200-300 words long.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Here are some answers to some questions you might have.

What is the Big Picture?

The world's first superheroes have begun to emerge. They are inexperienced and just beginning to learn what it means to be a hero, when a grave threat to the Earth emerges, so great that no single hero can defeat it, and so they must unite together. Or should, if they can get their act together in time to save the world.

I suppose we're taking the Justice League model of a cinematic universe by jumping straight into the team-up as the game begins. However, before the game proper begins, we'll take the time to develop these characters together as a group through a series of workshops.

Who are the players supposed to be?

I enjoy games that explore themes of coming of age and the hero's journey, so I'd prefer to age the characters at around 15-19, trending more towards the younger end of that spectrum. They will be gifted with great powers but still coming to terms with who they are.

See the thread Reference: Setting for a few example characters. If you'd like to play one of those characters, let me know. Otherwise, if you wish to come up with one of your own, please make sure to match the scale and tone of what I have already provided.

One thing I'd like to avoid though is mutants with some sort of X-gene or the so-called next step in evolution. :)

Does this game take place on Earth?

Yes, and no.

You can expect things like smartphones and social media and complex political situations and so forth. But there's also aliens, magic, and dimensions beyond our own comprehension. Some license must be taken so that these things haven't occurred in a vacuum, but influenced and affected each other prior to the game beginning, i.e., in the backstory.

What those things are, I can't really say with any specificity, because that's not how I create games. I usually come up with a premise and form the game's world around the players as they explore it. I might have a few underlying NPCs and world facts in my head, but that's about it, and those are easily discarded if I find something better to fit.

What do you mean by a "home-brewed" system?

The system I'm using is more about using a quick resolution mechanic, to get the mechanics out of the way of the story and the fiction. Rolling a d20 with bonuses and penalties versus a specific target number is pretty easy to reason about.

There aren't any class levels or feats or stuff like that. If you are more interested in optimizing your build, killing everything in sight, and gaining treasure, this is probably not the game for you. Nor are we going to go into lengthy combats every time, with round by round blow-by-blows. That's not the point of this game.

I'm far more excited about exploring interesting characters in a fantastical milieu. :)

So this is freeform?

No. It's far more involved than simply freeform or even guided freeform or even freeform with rolls thrown in. We're using the Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition ruleset, with many of the class features, spells, et cetera from that system, but home-brewed to be able to play a game about superheroes.

Luckily, there's a handy Reference: System document if you're curious.

What kind of powers can I choose?

I personally have no problem with any power whatsoever. Whatever you decide, I can roll with, for the most part. Now, other people may have their own opinions, so if there's a power you personally would feel uncomfortable being in the game, let your preferences be known as soon as possible. For example, maybe you don't like the idea of a power to induce torture, like the Cruciatus Curse in Harry Potter.

This is a Mature game, so that means there's not to be any explicit or graphic sex or violence and such, and any power you selected would have to fit that scope. And we definitely want to respect people's boundaries. Just know that I have very few that don't already fit within the constraints of a Mature game. :)

Tricky to adjudicate powers will be handled with care, but they should certainly be doable. If you want to be able to travel in time or read minds, I will make accommodations for those powers. One thing I think might be tricky is if you have a Rogue or Peter Petrelli like power to copy other people's powers. Ensemble stories are all about making sure you have your own way to shine that other people can't mimic. If you can do it all, there's no point in making this a story about a group of characters, but more about one particular main character. That wouldn't be fun, I think, for the other players, but we can discuss it, if that's what you want to do. We can see about adding some fictional constraints to make it more interesting as a story.

Take this as my stance on any quote-unquote "problematic" powers. If there's an interesting story there, I'm willing to work a little harder, exert a little more effort, to make it work in the story we're all telling together. But remember that we are telling a story together. Be open to feedback from other players as well as from me. :)

You may select a single power and have that be your sole power, like regeneration or shooting concussive force from your eyes; or you can have a grab bag of powers, like flight, super-strength, invulnerability, and laser eyes. You can certainly have magic as a superpower, if that's what you want. It really depends.

Campaign Precepts

Some of the elements I am striving for in this game:

Cinematic universe. The example of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should permeate the setting. This means the player characters are all heroes of their own stories. I also want the mundane to fit in neatly with the wondrous. Magic, gods, and super-science should fit neatly and coherently together, but not incomprehensibly smushed together.

Socially realistic. I don't want the setting we create to be completely unrecognizable from our own world. In fact, I would prefer a setting that is much like our world, at least on the surface, with appropriate responses from the populace, governments, et cetera.

Heroic action. I want the player characters to be heroes. While I don't expect astonishing paragons of virtue, I do expect characters, while struggling to come to terms with their own flaws and human nature, to come to the right, heroic action.

Rare and unique origins. I don't want to have a setting with a mass empowerment event, or have superheroes become a common occurrence in the setting. I'd also rather have the player characters have different origins from each other. Perhaps one is an alien, the other an inheritor of magical power, so on and so forth.

Style

I expect players to think about their characters' inner life and thoughts and feelings and be descriptive about such in their posts. Some players have only posted their outward physical actions, which is fine for some games, but not the ones I run. I'm interested in character arcs and narratives and emotional pay-offs and so forth.

Lay out your character's backstory gradually. The tendency of most players is to get it all out at the beginning, sometimes in the first post. I've had some players whose first posts were their entire backstory, with 1000 words or more.

Don't do that.

Not only is it contravention to the posting guidelines, but we're just getting to know the characters, the world, the story. The less you spill, the more that is retained. Leave us wanting more, instead of wanting to skim.

Collaboration

I expect players to be open to collaboration in the fiction. I'll rein you back if I feel you come up with something that contradicts the world, but players should generally be open to suggestions from other players and the GM. We're all in charge of the fiction together. You can write for another NPC, just as much as I can. Someone else can even chime in and move other characters around if their idea makes for a more interesting story.

I'm even okay with player characters moving other player characters, with each other's permission, of course. Comfort levels may vary, but if I was playing Doc Brown, and another was playing Marty, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me to move Marty in such a way:


If you do move another PC or NPC, be sure to be open to making edits if someone says you're doing something to make them go out of character.

Regarding Romance

I'll leave it up to the players whether they'll engage their characters in a romance. Personally, I prefer for romance to arise organically in the story, as opposed to something that is forced or the "point" or the main driver of a game.

Nice as romance is, my aims and interests do not revolve around romance, but instead are concerned with the overarching narrative and the character arcs I'm trying to build in complicated webs between the characters. Romance can play its part, and maybe even a vital part for some arcs, but keep in mind that it's only one part amidst many others.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:33, Tue 21 Mar 2023.