the OOD
2016-03-18, 02:23 AM
Did somebody say tropes?
Loads and Loads of Characters
-seven players, with up to two characters each. once a character is dead-dead you may introduce a new character in the next few sessions. there have been at least 20 different PCs so far, all with significant characterization, sometimes all interacting at once(all the living ones anyways).
-the player character are: Jack Spangler, Jade Harvey, Owen Lysaght, Grace Hill, Maddie Kelser, Blondie, Mr.T, Helvetica Jones, Patrick McCreeley, Adam Eden, Elsbeth Hartmann-Langel, Haywood Aquila, Amerat Elabute, Victor Bogdanovic, Albert Horst, Sarah Weir, Julie Xu, Markus Chmela, Coral
Differently Powered Individual
-all over the place. called "anachronists".
Game Breaker
-Patrick mass-metamorphing allies
-Lucy Morgenstern(bad enough that he got retconed out of existence after the first session)
Nerf
-happened to Adam
Lightning Bruiser
-Jack reached this status by mid-game.
Glass Cannon
-Jack
-Helvetica was this at first
-Amerat
-blondeie
-Sarah
-Patrick when not shape-shifted
Squishy Wizard
-averted: Helvetica and Patrick can serve as mid-level tanks, although Helvetica avoids this
The Medic
-grace and maddie
Nanomachines
-the magi's main advantage, slowly being replicated by Maddie
The Smart Guy
-all over the place, but most pronounced in Maddie and Helvetica, and the NPCs Hammermister, Sahni, and Meyer
Crazy-Prepared
-Helvetica Jones
Properly Paranoid
-Helvetica
Hammerspace
-one of Helvetica's powers
Bag of Holding
-the man-purse of holding
Fantasy Kitchen Sink
-the premise of the game is that other realities are visiting earth, resulting is this.
Pals with Jesus
-Adam Eden
The Fair Folk
-one of the incursion types
Cold Iron
-used against the fae
Depleted Phlebotinum Shells
-sink rounds.
Immune to Bullets
-Adam and the MK17, and well as plenty of enemies
Not So Invincible After All
-Haywood died of radiation poisoning
Untouchable Until Tagged
-the kinetic defence psi power make a user almost impossible to hit, until they take damage
More Dakka
-an often-repeated player philosophy
-the R.O.V.E.R. MK17 live off of this
-Helvetica and Adam have done this at times
-blondie did this by dual-wield spamming handguns with a rate of fire on par with automatic weaponry
-Mr.T carries a holy machine gun
Shooting Superman
-nothing short of an archangel could so much as scratch Adam(and even then, barely), contributing to his eventual nerf.
The Juggernaut
-Adam and the MK17
Determinator
-Haywood
Badass Normal
-Mr.T is a mundane Gurkha whith absolutely no supernatural powers, but is a top-tier gunman and melee combatant, with great crowd combat, medium armor, an awesome defence score, a massive feat list, and his lowest save is a +12(will). he has been intermittently considered the equal of a 10,021-year old nigh invulnerable immortal shapeshifter(adam).
-to a lesser degree, Owen is also a vanilla mortal working in a terminus strike team.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown
-delivered one-on-one to an ARCHANGEL of all things, courtesy of Adam.
Deader Than Dead
-if a TERMINUS agents is anything but this, they WILL be brought back. characters have been resurrected from dead by -50HP and beyond.
Curb-Stomp Battle
-occasionally dealt out by the players, usually courtesy of Helvetica, Adam, Owen, or Patrick.
Moment of Awesome
-to many to list, but Helvetica and and Adam make a lot of these, especially when they team up.
-anything Mr.T does is almost certainly in this category
Hero Killer
-the Nihilists(killer robot) incursion type
The Dreaded
-the Nihilists.
-Helvetica Jones is attempting to become this
-Alpha squad from the backstory, especially John Henderson and the original R.O.V.E.R.
Kill the God
-one of TERMINIUS' long-term goals.
-Helvetica plans on this.
Mook Horror Show
-Mr.T verses an entire party's worth of werewolves. poor puppies.
Genre Savvy
-most of the Strike Team Members.
-special mention goes to Helvetica(partly due to overlap with properly paranoid)
There Is No Kill Like Overkill
-thoroughly invoked
-failure to hold this view is grounds for firing a Strike Team member.
-burning thermite bricks through the skull and chest cavity is fairly standard for anything a Strike Team member thinks might not stay dead.(as is discharging several magazines into a fallen corpse)
-anything hit by the MK17's GAU-8 aircraft autocannon
Godzilla Threshold
-the reason that Helvetica trapped the Nihilist killbot
Poor Communication Kills
-full-auto spray does not mix well with invisible allies
Made of Iron
-Mr.T
Super Toughness
-Adam is the king of this trope.
-Haywood
-Patrick
-almost half of the enemies, especially from magic-based incursions.
Magic A Is Magic A
-the magic system is is very clear and consistent, but allows for a massive number of spells to be created on the fly.
Blood Magic
-one of Helvetica's calling cards, to the point where all strike team personnel are now required to provide him with a blood sample
Cast from Hit Points
-Helvetica occasionally resorts to this to power his blood magic when no sacrifices are available
Summon Magic
-Helvetica's combination of transit spells and blood magic can look a lot like this, to the point where it can be almost impossible to tell the difference.
-Power Word: velociraptor.
Summoning Ritual
-frequently performed by Helvetica, despite his lack of summoning magic
Necromancer
-a trick employed by Helvetica(although he refers to it as "dinomancy")
Back from the Dead
-any TEMRINIUS agent unless their brain or is destroyed, or they are turned into ludicrous gibs.
-characters can be(and frequently are) resuscitated long after they are medically dead, unless the brain is preserved, you only have a few minutes to resurrect them before the brain damage is irreversible.
-NPC Thomas Hobbes has done this repeatedly
-Sarah can do this when mildly killed.
Your Soul Is Mine
-attempted via pacts by powerful magic invaders(dragons, archangels, greater daemons, fae)
Non-Lethal K.O.
-Strike Team personnel tend to be really bad at this, not that it stops them from trying now and then.
Combat Pragmatist
-most combat-focused characters exhibit this.
-Victor.
-Owen.
The Unfettered
-Helvetica.
Magnificent Bastard
-Helvetica Jones.
Knight Templar
-Jade Harvey.
Pragmatic Hero
-practically a requirement for TERMINIUS employ.
-Helvetica and Owen tend to fit this the best.
Blood Knight
-Adam.
-Haywood.
Exploited Immunity
-Jack can outrun explosions, most invaders can't.
-Adam could survive a near-terminal velocity fall, the archangel(grappled so it couldn't fly) couldn't.
Muggles Do It Better
-even the casters and psychics on a strike team carry firearms
-one of the main advantages TERMINIUS agents have over magical creatures
Post-Modern Magik
-invoked by Helvetica, averted by almost everyone else.
Humans Are Special
-invoked. Angels and Daemons have an incredibly difficult time thinking outside the box, while humans can be cunning, clever, min-maxing bastards. the biggest advantage TERMINIUS has over heaven and hell
Mundane Solution
-despite the incredible array of magic and psionics, firearms and solid tactics are always a good strategy.
Masquerade
-enforced
Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better
-the popular opinion on Strike Teams.
Action Girl
-Elsbeth
-Coral
The Smart Guy
-Maddie
Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke/Bio-Augmentation
-Jack, Amerat and grace(and possibly others) all have powers based on inherited genetic alterations.
-TERMINIUS is researching way to replicate this
Alien Invasion
-the marauders incursion type
Brainwashed
-Sarah can cause this
Badass
-Mr.T, Haywood, Owen, Helvetica, Adam, Patrick...
Badass Gay
-Adam, although he is less "gay" and more "take 1d10 SAN loss for tying to comprehend his sexual preference"
-Helvetica
Badass in a Nice Suit
-Haywood, Jack, and Helvetica, although the former two eventually added body armor to their wardrobe.
Badass Longcoat
-Helvetica's trenchcoat. it blocks bullets.
The Gunslinger
-Blondie
Quick Draw
-all over the place, especially for Strike Team members.
Psychic Powers
-a fairly frequent type of powers used by players and invaders
-Grace uses psi healing and visions psionics
-Amerat uses fetching(object teleportation)
-both of the above use kinetic defence
-Sarah is a telepath
Paranoia Fuel
-Sarah can completely rewrite sections of your mind, change your personality, implant latent commands, and then make you forget that it ever happened.
Friendly Sniper
-Owen can be this
Superhero Packing Heat
-regardless of super-invulnerability, a holy sword, psychic powers, teleporter magic, or any other powers, Strike Team personnel learn to pack a gun and use it often.
Everything's Better with Dinosaurs
-Helvetica stole some dinosaurs from a parallel earth, bound the with necromancy, and uses them liberally. he has since acquired the title of "dinomancer".
Anti-Hero
-loads, especially Adam, Helvetica, and Haywood.
-Sarah is either this or an anti-villain.
Tyrannosaurus rex
-Helvetica turned one into a an undead mount for Haywood to ride
Action Duo
-Markus and Julie
Battle Couple
-Markus and Julie are reminiscent of this
-Helvetica and Adam may become this
Retired Badass Roundup
-TERMINIUS was doing this to recruit personnel.
Death Seeker
-Haywood was bad enough at this that it took him almost 2000 years to finally get himself killed.
Super Strength
-Adam
-Jade
Nigh-Invulnerability
-Adam is a prime example of this.
Million-to-One Chance
-Julie managed to defeat a high-level ki user by making it fail a fort save(requires a minimum of 2 consecutive critical failures)
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy
-blondie could fire a lot of bullets, but the aim penalties were bad enough that his hit chance got better when he aimed at something in the general direction of the target, had hoped that the missed shots would hit the target. his accuracy literally improved if he closed his eyes before shooting.
Dodge the Bullet
-a common trick of jack's
Bullet Dodges You
-done by grace, and any other character with the kinetic defence ability
-Amerat is attempting to learn this
Improbable Aiming Skills
-Adam, when he buffs his dex to max.
-granted to anyone using Helvetica's enchanted 1873 Winchester rifle
-inverted with blondie, who had improbable missing skills
Super Reflexes
-Elsbeth, Adam, jade, and jack.
Gatling Good
-Helvetica carries a minigun in his man-purse
-the MK17 uses a minigun as a mid-damage utility weapon, occasionally switching to a GAU-8 Avenger capable of cutting tanks in half
Hyperspace Arsenal
-Helvetica magicly carries around thousands of items, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, all in his man-purse
-one of Helvetica's abilities
-Amarat can use this as well
Ammunition Backpack
-the ammunition belt for Helvetica's minigun is stored in his man-purse of holding, and weighs almost 300lbs
Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?
-done by Helvetica and Adam to God(also a crowning moment of awesome)
Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?
-performed by Helvetica, just how well it will work out has yet to be seen.
Spent Shells Shower
-anytime the MK17 fires a full-auto weapon. it generally moves so that the square to it's right is empty before firing.
Guns Akimbo
-blondie. the effect on his accuracy is exactly what you would expect.
Hand Cannon
-anyone not packing one of these is either a rifleman or an idiot.
Beam Spam/Frickin' Laser Beams
-collector and magi incursions tend to include this
Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?
-if you believe Haywood's theory about Adam, then Helvetica is doing this
--(Adam is technically human, however)
Super Speed
-Jack took this to the extreme
Required Secondary Powers
-true for most characters
-averted with jack, the strain of super-speed and reaction time on his muscular and nervous system could cripple him in seconds, and he had his legs by running to fast. good thing he can heal.
The Big Guy
-Adam, Jade and Mr.T
Dumb Muscle
-Jade
Genius Bruiser
-Patrick
-Adam can be this if he boosts both INT and STR
Healing Factor
-Haywood and Jack had this.
-TERMINIUS is researching genetic alteration to give this to all of it's Strike Teams
-lots of monsters
--frikin' werewolves
Made of Plasticine
-an unarmoured, unpowered human is toast. even once a character starts wearing combat armour, the human body is not meant to take hits from werewolves and dragons.
Ludicrous Gibs
-anything hit by Owen or the MK17(nihilists excepted)
Shapeshifter Baggage
-played straight with Patrick
-averted with Adam, who has several times the mass of an ordinary human
Elemental Baggage
-averted, if you want to use ice magic, you had better carry around a LOT of water(see bag of holding/hyperspace arsenal)
Fire, Ice, Lightning
-Patrick's magic includes these.
-Adam can grant himself one of these at a time.
-Helvetica is able to use these, but he needs prep time.
Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness
-despite the existence of magic and psionics, the game still falls under medium sci-fi hardness(level 3 on the scale).
-the advanced technology originating from marauders and nihilists is very hard sci-fi(level 5(or possibly 5.5)).
Shapeshifting
-Patrick's main magic type
-Adam, but his appearance stays mostly human
Magic Pants
-part of Patrick's metamorph magic
-other shape-shifters aren't so lucky
Multiform Balance
-Adam can be unbelievably good at any one thing at a time, or merely incredibly good at one or two things
Awesome, but Impractical
-MK17's GAU-8 avenger.
-most of the MK-17's heavier weapons
-Haywood's carnage power.(the save DC was to low to affect anything worth using it on)
Mid-Season Upgrade
-Jack's nova mode
-Patrick upgrading his combat shapeshift from dire wolf to dire dinosaur.
-Adam making a celestial pact.
-Maddie and Elsbeth making draconic pacts
Too Awesome to Use
-the outrageously enchanted one-shot Thompson Arms Contender.
Infinity+1 Sword
-Helvetica stole the Holy Lance with the intention of enchanting it into this, then realized that doing so would take almost a year.
Powerful but Inaccurate
-the GAU-8
Fixed Forward-Facing Weapon
-the GAU-8
Always Accurate Attack
-the thompson arms contender is effectively this, but it can only be used once.
Sexier Alter Ego
-Adam can morph into this
Alchemy Is Magic
-Markus and Helvetica are proficient alchemists
Call On Me
-Helvetica can force others to do this.
I Know Your True Name
-saying/knowing an angel or daemon's true name is a conduit for magic.
Geas
-Sarah's telepathy can be used for this
-one of the many tricks Helvetica has stolen from other schools of magic
Invisibility
-Markus and Julie
-Jack can move faster than the human eye can follow, but lacks the required secondary powers to make this safe.
Invisible Means Undodgeable
-combat 101 for Markus and Julie
Military Mage
-despite his anti-authoritarian nature, Helvetica is a magic user in a paramilitary organization.
Church Militant
-jade was from this
Who You Gonna Call?
-TERMINIUS!
The Men in Black
-TERMINIUS serves as this from time to time
Awesome McCool Name
-Helvetica Jones. everyone but Adam thinks so.
--Adam- "this is why librarians shouldn't have children"
-not his real name, but Adam Eden is definitely this.
Sesquipedalian Smith
-Helvetica Jones
Only One Name
-Adam has no last name(he is referred to as "Adam Eden by Helvetica")
Only Known by Their Nickname
-blondie
Kill It with Fire
-Strike Teams are not shy about firebombing their foes.
-Haywood's unholy napalm-thrower
-a good counter to undead
Badass Preacher
-Jade
Religious Bruiser
-Jade
Badass Israeli
-Lucy, before he was retconned out of existence
Artistic License – Military
-some characters vehemently refuse armour, and are still allowed into combat
-jack never learned how to operate a firearm of any type(even non-combat scholars and technicians have pistol proficiency), then again, given his cookolander status, this may have been deliberate on the part of his commanding officers.
-TERMINIUS ranks a downright bizarre, and have no real-world counterpart of corollary
Gender Is No Object
-TERMINIUS fields the best soldiers it can get, gender is irrelevant.
Combat Parkour
-"spring-heeled" Jack
Nepali With Nasty Knives
-Mr.T is a Ghurka veteran, and one of the most badass characters in an interdimensional multiverse of badass.
One-Man Army
-Adam and Mr.T
Person of Mass Destruction
-Helvetica can become this on a strategic scale, even though he is weak in a straight-up fight
Super Weight
-applies to power/utility levels, though almost everyone still dies to a solid hit or two.
-the player tend to range from iron weight(1) to super weight(3) but most character are in the abnormal or super weight class.
Kukris Are Kool
-Mr.T's main melee weapon
Knife Nut
-jack
Swiss Army Weapon
-Julie's bayoneted rifle is equipped with a laser sight, shock axe, underslung grenade launcher, scope, and beer-holder. tacticool doesn't even begin to cover it.
Swiss Army Gun
-see Swiss Army Weapon
Teleportation
-transit magic, Helvetica's primary magic school. he milks it for everything it's worth.
-Amerat can do this as well
Another Dimension
-8 of these are separately attempting invading earth. TERMINIUS has to fight them off.
Pocket Dimension
-Helvetica uses these for almost everything
Prison Dimension
-Helvetica trapped a nihilist in one of these
Flash Step
-used by jack
Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs
-jack could take up to 7 standard action in a round, allowing for this(but would subsequently fall unconscious)
Speed Blitz
-any combat with jack in it
Mass Teleportation
-Helvetica can do this
Teleport Spam
-Helvetica's fights tend to include this.
Super Soldier
-TERMINIUS likes to employ these
Telepathy
-Sarah's power
-Patrick wore a saddle of telepathy to communicate with his rider
A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read
-do NOT read Adam's mind.
Fake Memories
-Sarah can create these.
Mind Rape
-Sarah can do this.
Brown Note
-Power Word: Mother****er
-an archangel's true name
Parody Magic Spell
-occasionally used by Helvetica
Shapeshifters Do It for a Change
-Adam
Swiss Army Hero
-Adam and Patrick
Transformation Is a Free Action
-averted for Patrick, who actually can transform as a free action
-played straight for Adam, who takes three turns to fully morph
Shapeshifter Weapon
-Adam
Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...
-often the result of a fight with nihilists
Good Thing You Can Heal
-Jack and Haywood. ESPECIALLY Jack.
Achilles' Heel
-many super powers have this
Logical Weakness
-often the case
Outside-the-Box Tactic
-when dealing with an enemy that has a high enough defence score/DR that you can't hurt it
Demonic Spiders
-nihilists
Goddamned Bats
-common in undead incursions, best countered with telportation and explosives
Silver Bullet
-used against undead
Our Mermaids Are Different
-coral
The Legions of Hell
-one of the incursion types
The Legions of Heaven
-one of the incursion types
Humanoid Aliens
-the marauders
Anachronism Stew
-invoked, the core theme of the game is mix-and-matching stolen psionics, magic, genetic engineering, super powers, nanotechnology, modern devices/tactics, and advanced tech to fight of all of the above.
Hammerspace Hideaway
-Helvetica caries dozens of dinosaurs in his personal hammerspace
Hammerspace Parachute
-Helvetica has more than a dozen of these
MacGyvering
-done by Maddie
Mission Control
-stays in contact with Strike Teams.
Badass Bookworm
-Helvetica
Mad Scientist
-NPC Mortimer Hammermister
Elemental Embodiment
-elemental sometimes appear in fae incursions.
Voluntary Shapeshifting
-Adam and Patrick.
Baleful Polymorph
-done by Patrick.
Jack-of-All-Trades
-Adam can do this, or can be a master of one. whatever he feels like.
-not to be confused with Jack Spangeler, who suffered from crippling overspecialisation.
Fantasy Gun Control
-ruthlessly averted by TERMINIUS agents.
-played straight by magic-based incursions, witch generally have iron-age technology at best
Spell Book
-Helvetica makes a point of collecting and stealing as many of these as possible, becoming something of a magical swiss-army-knife.
Functional Magic
-yes.
Powered Armor
-sometimes used by enemies. really f***ing annoying.
Deflector Shields
-telekinetic psions and characters with kinetic defense can this.
Energy Weapons
-used by some high-tech invaders. TERMINIUS prefers kinetic weapons.
Munchkin
-Helvetica is an in-universe example.
-humanity in general has a capacity for this, which is one of their main advantages against Angels and Daemons.
Ritual Magic
-usable by any mage.
-Helvetica has a strong preference for this
Magical Incantation
-Helvetica's are a mixture of latin, literary/religious/alchemic references, and pop-culture phrases.
Rules Lawyer
-several players are this, of the lawful good variety.
The Strategist
-Helvetica
-Director Barca
Psychic Radar
-Sarah can do this
Sensor Character
-Sarah and Amarat
True Sight
-Grace has this
Put on a Bus
-Blondie, Grace, and Victor
Druid
-Patrick is a modern-day example.
Enemy Scan
-one of Grace's powers
Omnidisciplinary Scientist
-Invoked by Hammermister
-applies to Maddie
Deadpan Snarker
-Haywood, Adam, and Helvetica can all be this.
The Chick
-grace
Love Interests
-Adam may be this for Helvetica
Ms. Fixit
-Maddie can make almost any machine continue to function for several rounds after it has been "destroyed".
A.I. Is a Crapshoot
-the nihilists
The Squad
-the TERMINIUS Strike Teams
They Call Me Mister Tibbs
-Mr.T has a full name, but damned if anyone is gonna use it.
Weapon of Choice
-Jade's sword
-Owen's sniper cannon
-Albert's favored combat bot is the MK17
Handguns
-even the non-action guys carry these.
BFG
-Owen's sniper cannon, latter completely overshadowed by the MK17's GAU-8 Avenger.
Sniper Rifle
-Owen's favorite
Cool Guns
-Owen's sniper cannon, Julie's tacticool rifle, various miniguns(Helvetica and the MK17), Maddie's ruger blackhawk, Haywood's unholy napalm thrower, various portable mass drivers, the thompson arms contender, helvetica's 1873 Winchester, the GAU-8 Avenger...
Holy Hand Grenade
-enchanted by Helvetica, blessed by Jade, currently unused
Combat Medic
-Maddie and Grace(when combined they can bring people back from the dead)
Support Party Member
-grace is this full-time, but Maddie, Helvetica and Patrick can serve this role as well.
Eldritch Abomination
-several invaders, possibly including God and Lucifer.
-Haywood was convinced that Adam was this.
Alien Geometries
-Helvetica's personal pocket dimension, Sanctum, features these.
Bigger on the Inside
-plenty of thing, courtesy of Helvetica, but his man-purse takes the cake on this.
Older Than They Look/Really 700 Years Old
-Adam Eden has been alive science the dawn of agriculture. ( currently 10,021 years old)
-Haywood had been alive science the peak of the Holy Roman Empire, and was a youthful 1,887 years old
The Paladin
-Jade Harvey(complete with plate armor, faith powers, an ancestral sword, and an assault rifle)
Exposed to the Elements
-a very bad idea, as strike teams have had Antarctic deployments in the past. the standard gear set includes cool-weather gear, forsake it at your own risk.
Elemental Powers
-a frequent vector of magical attacks.
-Patrick had proficiency with these.
The Undead
-one of the incursion types
Shoot the Mage First
-How To Not Die In TERMINUS 101 includes this.
-failure to resort to this quickly has been the downfall of many invaders
Rocket Tag Gameplay
-some combats can become this, depending on what characters are present
Mighty Glacier
-the MK17
Fragile Speedster
-Jack
Healing Hands
-Grace's power takes this to the extreme.
Counterspell
-the best way to counter a caster
Aura Vision
-Grace can do this
Born Lucky
-Haywood and Patrick.
-Helvetica eventually learned luck manipulation
Charm Person
-Sarah
Combat Clairvoyance
-Amerat has a limited version of this
Cyborg
-the collector incursion type
-TERMINIUS has begun copying this technology
Domain Holder
-Helvetica is attempting to achieve this, and has stated that he thinks he could defeat God if the battle took place in Sanctum.
ok, who's next?
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