[OOC] Unnamed Masks Game

[truemane]

Welcome, everyone! Let's talk some Masks!

Tucked into the Spoilers below is some “front matter.” Everyone should read them before the game officially starts, but it’s fine to skip it for now and jump right into character creation.


FIRST PRINCIPLE: Momentum

My primary goal as the MC is to maintain momentum. PbP games are like sharks: if they stop moving forward, they die. In my experience, the biggest difference between PbP and tabletop is that unstructured, open-ended conversation is a problem rather than a solution. Around a table, I can just say “You enter the room” and it only takes a few minutes for you to ask questions and make a plan. In PbP, every question, every suggestion, every point of discussion, can take days to resolve. So my primary goal is to minimize pauses in the fiction.

What does this look like, in-game?

For my part, this means: I will start every scene as far in as possible, and try to ensure that every scene, every post has something active and immediate for you to react to. I won’t set a scene like "You enter the basement. It’s dark and there’s a furnace in the back” and then passively field questions and respond to posts until you find the glowing light in the corner. Instead, I’ll frame the scene with you in the basement, in the corner, with the glowing green light doing something that requires you to act.
I will end scenes when the stakes are resolved (sometimes even if things are still happening). I'll try not to cut things off if you're still engaging with them but as a rule, I would prefer to cut too soon rather than too late.
As soon as I end one scene, I will immediately set the next one. Failing that, I will end every scene with a clear and obvious idea of what you can do next. Discussing the next scene between us is totally fine, but if ever a scene ends and you don’t know what to do next, that means I’ve messed up.
I will try to avoid any situation where the entire group is waiting on the actions of any one player.

For your part, try to keep in mind: If I move too fast and skip over something you wanted to do (end a scene too early, start a scene too far, frame a new scene that's not what you wanted to do next, etc): don't panic. There are lots of ways to manage this, from a sidebar to a retcon. But I would rather push forward and risk backtracking than be overcautious and risk stalling out.
Try not to end a post such that one particular character/player needs to respond in order to move forward. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but if you can avoid it, do so.
Avoid tactical pre-planning like an incurable disease. Nothing will sink a PbP game faster than trying to create a coordinated tactical plan. I will do my best to avoid creating a situation that requires (or even rewards) this sort of thing and, should we find ourselves in such a situation despite my best efforts, I'd much rather you just took a Leeroy Jenkins-style run at it and figure it out as you go along.
Bring it. I'll be doing my part to make sure the game world is right in your face all the time and that you always have something interesting to do. In exchange, I want you to be all up in my game's face just as hard. Don't passively observe the story, go interact with it. Whatever we're doing, as much you can, just leap in and mix it up. The stories I write can't be derailed by player choices (they are, in fact, constructed from your choices). You can’t break it. So don't be afraid to really get in there.

SECOND PRINCIPLE: Ask Forgiveness Rather than Permission

One of the best ways to speed things along is for me (the MC) to give you (the players) authority and control over the game world. So if you need to know something about a scene, or the world, or the environment, default to telling me rather than asking me. Is it raining? Do you have a friend living nearby? Does this NPC have a daughter? Do you know a shortcut? You tell me. Come up with something that's some combination of fun, interesting, and reasonable, and just go with it.

This is especially true for your superpowers. Can your speedster run across water? Across air? Can your vibrations stop an earthquake? Can they cause one? What happens when Captain Irresistible collides with Doctor Immovable? You tell me. The moves are there to guide how specific actions impact the fiction, but assume anything else is up to you.

Clearly there's a line here ("Can I end half of all life in the universe with a snap?") but so long as we all stay within the established scope and tone of the game, we should be okay. And if someone goes too far or assumes too much? No big deal! We can backtrack, retcon, work out a compromise, or any number of options. It's far better we keep pushing forward and risk the occasional backtrack rather than risk pausing too often.


THIRD PRINCIPLE: Always Ask Permission (“The Exception”)

The one major exception to the above is any kind of Player vs Player (PvP) conflict. Whether emotional, social or physical, any conflict between PC's should be discussed ahead of time and proceed only if all parties have given enthusiastic consent. If there's any doubt if something counts as 'conflict' default to 'yes' and ask first.

This is the one place where stalling out is better for the game than pushing forward.

This doesn't mean that I don't want inter-PC conflict! The system assumes some as a default and sometimes really interesting and complex stories emerge from this sort of thing. But it's important to ask first. This is true both for general conflicts ("My character mistrusts people from your hometown so sometimes she's going to question your judgement"), or single scene conflicts ("What if, in this scene, I decide you can't be trusted because your family is rich?") or even whole story-lines ("Maybe my character secretly suspects you're a spy for the local crime boss and grows increasingly paranoid about you as we go along?").

If the other player(s) isn't on board, we don't proceed.



1. I have a complicated and chaotic RL, and so my posting rate is all over the place. I try to manage two or three posts per week. Sometimes I get a little more, often a little less. I'll always try to keep you updated if I think I'll be away for a few days, but I can't always. But I promise I'll always be back.

2. In terms of posting conventions: Everyone should post with reasonably correct grammar and spelling. I don't expect perfection. I, myself, tend to post quickly between other things and make a lot of typos. But everyone should cover the basics: proper capitalization, quotations marks for speech (and italics for thoughts), spellcheck, no walls of text, that sort of thing.
I tend to waver back and forth between present and past tense (sometimes in the same post). I don't really care which one you use (or even if you're consistent), just be comprehensible.
I don't colour dialogue in my posts. You may format your dialogue if you like but please pick something with good contrast so it doesn't strain anyone's eyes. And please be sure use quotation marks and commas and all the usual trappings even if your dialogue is coloured.
3. Everyone is expected to remain courteous at all times and attempt to resolve potential conflict through empathy and de-escalation. If someone does or says something that causes an issue, address it in the spirit of a reasonable, honest mistake. This goes for me too! I've been doing this a long time and I'm very good at it but I can take a wrong step same as anyone. And, in fact, since cutting corners and moving fast is my primary game parameter, it's almost inevitable that I'll run over someone's toes eventually. Anything can be edited, rolled-back, retconned, deleted or worked around. So long as we avoid animosity between us, the game will be fine.

4. This probably goes without saying, but just in case: I have a zero-tolerance policy for any racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia, ageism, ableism or any other sort of weaponized, systemized prejudice, either implicit or explicit, from the players or the PC's. If a single instance appears to be the result of ignorance rather than malice, I will make one (1) good faith attempt to address it. If you think someone else has exhibited any of the above, please contact me rather than try to handle it yourself. One comment can be managed and edited. A full-scale argument usually means the game is done.

5. By default, the game world will contain no expectations or biases based on gender presentation, gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, race, ethnicity, or any other markers of personal identity. In-universe, people will generally accept your stated identity at face value and make no assumptions about you as a result. If your character's story requires the existence of an in-universe prejudice, let me know and we can talk about it.


All killer no filler. I’m going to take what you give me and throw it right back at you. If your deepest fear is sharks, expect sharks early and often. If you must save kittens or lose your powers, you'll have to choose between saving a kitten or your mother as soon as I can arrange it. Whether we're fighting, talking, walking or flying, I’ll try to make every scene personal, complicated and/or volatile. This works best when you give me as good as I get. Don't try to evade or work around the hard choices, jump right in and let's see what happens. Knock things down. Shake things up. Bring it.

The Rule of Three. You will earn an advance upon marking your third Potential. Upon taking your third advance, you gain access to the 'below the line' advances. You get three more advances and then you MUST choose the 'Retire' option. Your Moment of Truth is unlocked automatically after taking your first advance. Your second Moment of Truth is unlocked automatically after taking your first ‘below the line’ advance. This goes for the Doomed’s Doom Track and Doom Advances as well.

More fiction, fewer dice. One of the ways that the PtbA interacts strangely with the PbP format is that players often want to use move in every post. While entirely understandable, too many moves in a row risks contorting the narrative in undesirable ways (in particular, multiple uses of Directly Engage a Threat in a single round causes a lot of trouble). So don't feel the need to roll a move every round/every post, especially if you can just organically 'follow the fiction.' I don’t want you to avoid making moves. If you feel it’s merited, go for it. But I reserve the right to veto a move if there’s too much happening at once.
Still here? Great! Let's throw some ideas out and get talking!

Suggested topics:

Playbooks! If anyone has any ideas about what kind of character they’d like to play, throw them out and let’s talk about them. If you don’t have a clear idea, that’s cool too, just throw out whatever you have and let's workshop it.

Setting! Right now, our setting is bog-standard Halcyon City. If there’s anything you would like the setting, story, or game to include or focus on (or anything you’d like to remove, or avoid), let me know.

Scope! What kind of super-heroing do we think we want to do? Street-level Daredevil/Jessica Jones stuff? Or more high-flying, city-wide business? The rules are the same either way, this is just to help guide us along.

Anything else! Anything else? Questions? Does anyone need any assistance with the game or the rules? Should I post a rules summary? What kind of superhero stuff do you like?

Let’s talk about it.

😊

[Morphling]

Well, your guiding principles and house rules seem quite solid, and I love Masks. So, if there's room, count me in!

As far as character goes, I'm interested in playing a Protégé of a vigilante who is known for excessive violence, and maybe wants to go down a gentler path herself.

Or a Transformed who was implanted with cybernetic implants by her CEO/Scientist mother in order to save her life and is wondering if her parent might have ulterior motives.

Or really anything, as long as I get to play.

[Dusk Raven]

Well, my first instinct is to go with The Doomed as a playbook, although that will naturally make the game a bit Darker and Edgier, as the trope goes. It is the one I've thought the most about, though. As a backup, I could go for The Scion from, I believe, Unbound. There's also The Attached, which is a third-party playbook I found on DriveThruRPG. I think I'll focus on fleshing out the first two, though. I'll work on that once I'm not on the treadmill...

[truemane]

Well, your guiding principles and house rules seem quite solid, and I love Masks. So, if there's room, count me in!

As far as character goes, I'm interested in playing a Protégé of a vigilante who is known for excessive violence, and maybe wants to go down a gentler path herself.

Or a Transformed who was implanted with cybernetic implants by her CEO/Scientist mother in order to save her life and is wondering if her parent might have ulterior motives.

Or really anything, as long as I get to play.
Welcome aboard!

Those are both great ideas. Both hint at a darker, more sinister Halcyon City. Which could dovetail well if Dusk Raven wants to go with Doomed.


Well, my first instinct is to go with The Doomed as a playbook, although that will naturally make the game a bit Darker and Edgier, as the trope goes. It is the one I've thought the most about, though. As a backup, I could go for The Scion from, I believe, Unbound. There's also The Attached, which is a third-party playbook I found on DriveThruRPG. I think I'll focus on fleshing out the first two, though. I'll work on that once I'm not on the treadmill...
Let's stay away from 3rd party stuff (including the Worst Generation). It's a can of worms that can't be opened just a little. Scion is fine, though.

I don't mind dark and edgy, if that's the way we want to go. Both of Morphling's initial ideas support that direction.

If you go with Doomed, keep in mind is that we're framing this as a "Limited Series." So the Nemesis won't be a distant, faraway Final Boss type, and instead will probably be all up in your business pretty much from the start.

[Dusk Raven]

I don't mind dark and edgy, if that's the way we want to go. Both of Morphling's initial ideas support that direction.

If you go with Doomed, keep in mind is that we're framing this as a "Limited Series." So the Nemesis won't be a distant, faraway Final Boss type, and instead will probably be all up in your business pretty much from the start.

Fortunately, regarding the Nemesis, I was already thinking they'd be much more... immediate. That was the impression I got from the playbook, anyway.

Anyway, I've finally got a writeup for my character concept for The Doomed. Thoughts?

Herald, AKA Jezebel Heather, did not grow up in the best of circumstances. Her father was gone and not to be talked about. Her mother, Elizabeth, picked up the slack, spending most of her time working to support them both. Because of her mother's efforts, the pair managed to stay out of poverty. The problem, to Jezebel, was that her mother acted like she deserved Jezebel's gratitude. Her mother never let her forget the work she did, and almost seemed to suggest Jezebel owed her for everything she'd been given – especially whenever Jezebel showed signs of rebellious spirit. The impression Jezebel got from it was that her mother resented her and didn't really want her. So naturally, this made Jezebel resist her mother's efforts even more.

The resistance started simple – she started introducing herself as “Jess” and going by that name rather than the name her mother gave her. She dove into books and music her mother didn't quite approve of – especially metal, which she made a habit of singing along to when at home. But eventually she moved from trying to annoy her mother to actively subverting her wishes – at least, when she wasn't avoiding her.

Whenever possible, Jess buried herself in books, or homework, putting her free time into study – any excuse to not spend time around her mother. She was intelligent for her age – not a genius, but certainly smart, and that combined with her hard work got her moved up a grade. This didn't help her social life, of course – but it did get her the friendship of her AP History teacher, Jonah Blake. Teachers tend to like students who actually like learning, after all, and Jess certainly fit the bill, on top of being smart. It wasn't long though before Jess opened up about her home life, and in Jonah she found the sympathy her mother had never given her. The two maintained their friendship even after Jess passed the class, and it would be Jonah who encouraged Jess to really apply herself to things beside studying – to think about using her intelligence to set goals and achieve them. He even encouraged her to develop her singing.

As Jess' relationship with Jonah improved, her relationship with her mother worsened. Things reached a low point when her mother found a boyfriend, and Jezebel and her new “stepdad” immediately disliked each other. Her stepdad resorted to increasingly harsh measures to try and control her, and her mother mistook this as him simply trying to apply the firm hand her daughter needed. Indeed, the main reason her mother got with him at all was out of the mistaken belief that Jess needed two parents in her life.

Well, Jess already had a father figure.

And one day, when Jess was 16, she'd had enough. She dropped all passivity in her aggression towards her mother, and had one last, heated argument before storming off to her bedroom. The next day, she took her backpack and swiped her mother's suitcase, and packed her few things and left. A few hours later, she showed up at Jonah's house – and that was one of the few times she'd ever seen him surprised. But soon enough he was back to his usual composed self, listened to her woes, and agreed to take her in.

Of course, Jess did have to go into hiding for a bit. Fortunately, and disappointingly, her mother didn't file a missing person's report for a week – which only cemented Jess' decision to leave. During that time, Jonah revealed a new topic for Jess to study – the occult and the realm of magic, which he himself had been studying in secret for some time. Jess took to this subject with even more enthusiasm than her school subjects – and she turned out to be something of a natural. As it turned out, she had some latent psychic abilities – nothing she could really use or develop on her own, but the kind of thing that vastly boosted the power of the arcane energies she was learning to manipulate.

In the time that followed, Jess was happier than she'd ever been. She had a parent who really appreciated and encouraged her talents, as well as teacher who was instructing her in things she felt were what she was really meant to do. It felt like she belonged.

Unfortunately, after a year, it turned out the occult rabbit hole went even deeper. Jonah eventually revealed that he was part of an organization (a cult, really) dedicated to the Eternal Dark, an entity – or perhaps a place – of eldritch energy and strange monsters. According to the order, the Eternal Dark would remake the Earth into a better place, if only the two could be merged. For that, there needed to be a Herald, an avatar imbued with its essence. And only Jess had the raw power to make that work.

To say the least, Jess had trepidations. But she didn't want to let Jonah down. So she underwent the ritual to start the process, and was implanted with a “Darkseed” - a crystal charged with the Eternal Dark's power. The process was quick, but a bit messy, yet Jess couldn't even feel the pain through the rush of power she received. But with that power came a sudden insight into the Eternal Dark, and into what she would become, for the Eternal Dark would transform her body, mind, and soul into an instrument of its will... just as it would do to all of Earth. And that gave her an existential terror unlike any she'd ever thought possible to feel.

Jess fled, from the Order and from Jonah. Her fear drowned out her feelings of betrayal. Remarkably enough, they didn't go to extreme lengths to capture her, beyond a token retrieval team whose members she either knocked out or evaded. Unfortunately, it didn't take her long to realize she had nowhere to go... except back to her mother.

Yet as she made her way back to her mother's apartment, she couldn't help but think – why should she go back to her mother? When had her mother ever treated her as anything other than a burden or a servant? She hated Jess' father (for good reason), and saw Jess as a mistake. At the very least, Jonah had made her feel smart, capable, and wanted. Jess' mood worsened as she approached the apartment, and made up her mind. She would ask to be let back in, but she would not beg, nor apologize. If her mother wanted Jess back, she'd let her in, and if she didn't... she wasn't worth any of Jess' efforts. And if her mother said one more damn word about all she'd done for Jess and that this was how she been repaid... then Jess would kill her, and go back to the only person who thought she was worth anything. Being an avatar of darkness and herald of the apocalypse was preferable to being an unwanted child.

And to Jess' immense surprise, none of that happened. Instead, upon answering the door, her mother hugged her tightly, and told her about how much she'd been worried – and also that Jess had been right about her mother's now-former boyfriend. Jess couldn't help but let all her resentment fade away in that moment.

In the time since, Jess has adjusted to life back with her mother. She's even gone back to school after having skipped a year (ironically putting her back at the same level as other kids her age). But things are not back to normal. They can't be, not with the powers she now has. And Jess couldn't help but wonder – since she had these abilities, why not use them to help people? She'd always liked the idea of heroes, and now she could be one herself. She took the name Herald, for the irony.

Unfortunately... from the first time she fought crime, when she drew too deeply on her powers, she understood the true nature of the Darkseed, and why the Order hadn't pursued her – there was no need. The Darkseed truly was growing inside her like a plant as she used the power of darkness, granting her still more power but drawing her inevitably closer to becoming the herald of the Eternal Dark. There was no escaping it, and no way to remove the seed that she could find. Worse still, the power seemed to call to her, beckoning her to merge more and more of her soul with it, and the more she did so, the more right it felt.

The only things really tethering her to her humanity are the people in her life... but they are few. She isn't completely sure her mother really has learned her lesson, and at times is even suspicious that her mother's trying to manipulate her like Jonah did. And sometimes... she's not sure she really feels that badly towards Jonah. He'd taken a girl with family problems and self-esteem issues, and made her into someone who felt she had talents and qualities, who liked who she was. And while he certainly had ulterior motives for teaching her magic, she can't believe that every positive effect he'd had on her, every time he'd helped her, was part of some kind of machination. Ultimately, she can't stop thinking of him as the father she never had, and on some level still wants to love him and believe that he had good reasons for what he did – perhaps even that he believed making her into the Herald was what was best for her.

And sometimes, Jess believes it, too.

I've also got a bit of a writeup for her Nemesis, too:

At first glance, Jonah Blake seems more suited to being a high school teacher than being the leader of a dark cult – but he's fully capable of being both. He's tall, black-haired, and handsome (and looks younger than he is), with a voice like a big cat's purr, and he knows how to make people pay attention to what he has to say. He's certainly one of the most attention-grabbing teachers at his high school, but he also has a certain magnetism. He's calmly confident, exactly the manner of someone who knows what he's talking about, and he's also got a knack for bringing out the best in people. He tells his students that there's nothing they can't understand if they have the time, willpower, and resources to study it, especially if they have someone to teach them. He fully believes in that concept himself, especially when it comes to understanding people – and that's made him quite skilled at persuading others to his cause.

For a while, that cause genuinely was the education of the young. But ultimately, while he enjoyed teaching people who wanted to learn, he encountered too many students who, whether due to delinquency, stupidity, or other flaws, weren't interested in knowledge, or even of bettering themselves. He viewed such teenagers with contempt – and was extremely grateful when he got to teach Advanced Placement classes, since he wouldn't deal with as many of them.

Eventually, his studies of the occult, once a hobby, brought him into contact with the Order of the Eternal Dark. He can't claim credit for making them into their current state, though – that was his predecessor, Herman Norris. Once, the group was merely interested in using the Eternal Dark for power, but Norris converted it into one actively seeking to bring the Eternal Dark to Earth. Jonah was one of Norris' most talented recruits, but one that Norris was increasingly at odds with. Norris had spent a lifetime mastering the arcane arts, but Jonah was nothing short of a genius, instinctively understanding magic and how to integrate the Eternal Dark's power into it. Eventually, Norris saw Jonah as a threat – which became a self-fulfilling expectation. Ultimately, Jonah ascended to lead the Order, and he set about trying to fulfill the Order's goal. Of course, he also continued teaching – no reason he couldn't do both. Having a job helps, after all.

His interactions with students like Jess were completely unrelated to his work with the Order – he really did like helping such students learn. But Jess needed a lot more help than just with her studies. And while he was completely unprepared for her to show up at his doorstep and ask to stay, he ran with it – and decided to turn that to his advantage, and teach her about magic. She didn't have the same genius and insight that he did, but she did have raw power, and that power sometimes let her ignore the restrictions less psychically gifted individuals like himself had to work around. Unlike Norris, who resented those with more natural talent than himself, Jonah admired her ability – and saw the potential in it. His magic was like a scalpel, but hers was like a sword, one that with enough training could be a potent weapon indeed. It seemed Jess was just the kind of person the Order had been waiting for – someone with the raw power to become the Herald and bring the Eternal Dark.

Admittedly, her introduction into the Order, and to the responsibility asked of her, was a little rushed – but Jonah had waited long enough for this, for the Eternal Dark to come and remake the world in its image... and create a world free of pointless conflict, free of worthless students and worthless parents alike.

In retrospect, he probably should have taken more time to get her used to the concept. Planting the Darkseed went well, but the result... could have gone better. Still, it wasn't a total loss – Jess would no doubt come around, given time. And there were things he could do to push her along...

I've put a lot of thought into the two of them, even more than I've written here. Moreso for Herald, as I think there's a bit of fun in leaving things ambiguous and up to the DM. I've certainly left a lot ambiguous regarding the Eternal Dark. What is certain is that Herald's Doom is the prospect of eventually becoming something distinctly inhuman, something that exists to bring darkness to the world, whatever that involves. And by the time that happens, that will be what she wants.

...Also, I'd like to give Influence to my Nemesis at start. Seems fitting. Herald can be tethered to her humanity by her friends and fellow heroes, but her Nemesis also has the ability to sway her in the other direction. I know eventually we're supposed to take the "Retire" option, but Herald might not even get that far before getting all her Doomsigns!

Anyway, any concerns? I can certainly modify things a bit if needed.

[Morphling]

...Also, I'd like to give Influence to my Nemesis at start. Seems fitting. Herald can be tethered to her humanity by her friends and fellow heroes, but her Nemesis also has the ability to sway her in the other direction. I know eventually we're supposed to take the "Retire" option, but Herald might not even get that far before getting all her Doomsigns!

Jonah would actually have influence over Herald by default, since adults always start with influence over teens.

Anyway, after mulling over the two concepts for most of the day, I've made my decision. Here's my opening pitch for Dryad. I ditched the cybernetic angle because I couldn't resist the idea of controlling plants like Poison Ivy, one of my favorite comic book characters. Doesn't really seem to fit with the concept of being a cyborg.

Holly Ireland was used to being the most popular girl in school. She was clever, beautiful, fashionable, wealthy, and got good grades, though the latter was partly from her ability to charm the brains in the class and get their notes. Her mother had formerly been the Starlight Sentinel but had retired from the crimefighting life and unmasked to sell her gadgets at her new company, Starlight Futuristics. This meant that Holly's future was assured, if she wanted a job at her parent's company.

Indeed, it seemed Holly's life was truly charmed. But that all changed with the car accident.

It had been stupid in the extreme letting her drunk boyfriend drive her and her friends to the coast. But even the most popular girl in high school must succumb to peer pressure from time to time if she wishes to maintain her position, a fact Holly knew well. Besides, her friends were laughing and having a good time, and the night was young and full of possibilities. What could go wrong?

Holly had screamed for David to watch out when she saw that the collision was oncoming. But he hadn't been paying attention to the road at all, and she could do nothing as the two cars collided.

Her friends got off with light to moderate injuries. The other driver had been killed, and David would eventually go to jail for manslaughter. But the most severe repercussions landed on Holly, who ended up in the hospital in a coma with days to live.

Courtney Ireland, Holly's mother, decided the death of her only child was not acceptable. Spiriting Holly out of the hospital to a Starlight lab, she injected her with a chemical compound that mixed human and plant DNA. It was supposed to be a miracle drug that could heal any injury, but it wouldn't be ready for human testing for years yet. To Courtney, it was a calculated risk. It might not work, but if she didn't try, her daughter would die.

It did work, in a sense. Holly made a complete recovery several hours after receiving the experimental treatment. Unfortunately, by that time the side effects had become apparent: rough, bark like skin sporadically covering her body, chlorophyll for blood, and leaves for hair. She wasn't completely monstrous, but she was clearly inhuman. She could never again walk down a street without being gawked and gasped at. Her former life as her schools Queen Bee was over.

In one small sense, Holly was grateful for the transformation. It told her who her real friends were (almost nobody). But now she couldn't even look in a mirror. She was forced to drop out of school after having a panic attack on her first day back. Her continued education would now be taken care of by her other mother, Harper.

Courtney at least seemed distraught over Holly's transformation and vowed that she would find a cure. However, nothing that her team of scientists tried yielded any results besides making Holly feel like a lab experiment. And by studying her, advancement of the compound was able to proceed by leaps and bounds, to the point that it could now be used to heal almost any wounds without side effects. Starlight Futuristics' stock value shot through the roof. Holly couldn't help but wonder: Had it all been part of her mother's plan? Had she taken advantage of the accident to further her company's profit?

In order to gain acceptance, or at least work alongside fellow outcasts, Holly decided to become the superhero Dryad. Her new body was incredibly strong, and she seemed to have gain such empathy with plants that she could now control their growth and movement. Maybe her old life truly was over. But she had been given a second chance. And she intends to ensure that it does not go to waste.

[Dusk Raven]

Jonah would actually have influence over Herald by default, since adults always start with influence over teens.

Huh, I'd forgotten about that. Seems odd to give even villains influence over the heroes, but no matter. Perhaps I need to up the stakes, then, and voluntarily give a bunch more influence to him whenever he expends it - at least for as long as he's still able to manipulate her or that she still cares about him.

Meanwhile, I like what you've got for Dryad. More distrust of parental figures! It also occurs to me that The Transformed can pretty easily be the next darkest of the core playbooks after The Doomed. Fitting.

[Morphling]

Huh, I'd forgotten about that. Seems odd to give even villains influence over the heroes, but no matter. Perhaps I need to up the stakes, then, and voluntarily give a bunch more influence to him whenever he expends it - at least for as long as he's still able to manipulate her or that she still cares about him.

Meanwhile, I like what you've got for Dryad. More distrust of parental figures! It also occurs to me that The Transformed can pretty easily be the next darkest of the core playbooks after The Doomed. Fitting.

Well, I think influence is about wanting to be respected by someone. And it makes sense that a young hero with a lot to prove would want their foes to see them as a worthy adversary.

Anyway, I like your Herald as well! Dark, edgy, and troubled, just like a Doomed ought to be IMO.

[Dusk Raven]

Well, I think influence is about wanting to be respected by someone. And it makes sense that a young hero with a lot to prove would want their foes to see them as a worthy adversary.

Anyway, I like your Herald as well! Dark, edgy, and troubled, just like a Doomed ought to be IMO.

Entirely possible. Of course, it may lead to an amusing situation where... it's like, "All the adults in my life have influence over me... but some of you people in this team don't." XP

Anyway, that's certainly the idea with this character. I've had the base concept for a long time (ever since I learned about Masks, in fact), but only really got things together. I always wanted something eldritch, even Lovecraftian (the whole setup is based off a Lovecraftian Metroidvania video game called Sundered). Also, I knew I wanted something where the impending Doom isn't actually her death, per se - or at least, not a physical death. It's about losing her humanity, and what makes her her. And in a way, that's even scarier to her. I also knew I wanted a Nemesis who had essentially been grooming her for that role, but I didn't have details for that until recently. And as it turns out, the Nemesis was more human than I'd initially envisioned - and the two became a lot closer, too. I've still left some stuff about him unclear, just in case our GM wants to him different from Jess' expectations of him - or perhaps, fulfill them in unexpected ways.

...I've also left this unstated so far, but I like the idea of Jonah still teaching at the high school Jess still goes to, since she doesn't really want to tell anyone that he's really a villain without, well, proof. That'll lead to some awkward, and potentially hilarious, hallway meetings. Especially if their acquaintances completely misinterpret the context of their interactions.

...Speaking of being human, I never really addressed the question of what we wanted the game's Scope to be. Honestly, I think I'm fine with either. On the one hand, I like the idea of our power level being such that we can handle city-wide threats - but if we're mostly handling more minor problems, that makes it more plausible to me that there'd be a bunch of other heroes in the city, adult or otherwise, and that their activities don't necessarily interact with ours.

[Rokku]

Just hopping in here to stake a claim - I have to flip through Masks again for the first time in a minute but I'm interested in the game.

[Rokku]

...Speaking of being human, I never really addressed the question of what we wanted the game's Scope to be. Honestly, I think I'm fine with either. On the one hand, I like the idea of our power level being such that we can handle city-wide threats - but if we're mostly handling more minor problems, that makes it more plausible to me that there'd be a bunch of other heroes in the city, adult or otherwise, and that their activities don't necessarily interact with ours.

So having caught up on the thread I'm thinking - primarily because you're a Doomed - of young superteams that constantly feel out of their depth and dealing with things they're not prepared for. Which feels more city-wide in general. Of course the adult heroes *want* us to stay small for now, but fate has other ideas.

The last time I almost played Masks it was as a Newborn who tried to be the heart of the team but was always looking over her shoulder for the massive corporation that thought they owned her. I might bring that back.

[truemane]

Hey everyone! Just popping in to say that I love the concepts so far. I have lots of thoughts and ideas, which I'll be laying out a little later today when work is done.

@Rokku: welcome! I really like the Newborn Playbook, so if that's the way you want to go, I'm in. And it's a good match with what's already in play.

One thought: we don't have to make any firm decisions about scope, if nothing comes to mind. Some people just prefer beating up drug dealers to fending off interdimensional invasions. The main thing, for me, is that we have a good, solid shared understanding of everyone's powers before we start. The rules support a pretty wide range of ability and effect.

But no need to fret on it. In my experience, a lot of this will sort itself out as we go.

[truemane]

Hey everyone! Sorry about not posting last night when I said I would. But here we go!

Standard Workshopping Disclaimer: I love to workshop. It's genuinely one of my very favourite things. If I could find a way to make money doing it, I would do it for a living. That being said, anything and everything I say here is just me throwing ideas around. I like to pick through stories and find points where we can increase conflict and create complexity and highlight the choices your character makes, and what those choices mean.

But it's all just suggestions. Just mud at the wall. Use what you think is fun or interesting, and leave the rest. Come back at me with ideas of your own if you have them. If you don't like what I'm suggesting, just say so. All of this is as much about getting on the same page in regards to what our game is going to be about as it is about the character.

Okay?

Let's do it!



1. Mother and Child
If you wanted to shade the morality a bit more at the outset, the set-up could be that, in Jess's memory, everything was great (father and mother happy, stable home, nice house, enough money, etc) and then, suddenly, her mother grabbed her and moved them away without any explanation.

And then they struggled. Her mother could be the standard Narcissist "Look at Everything I've Done for You" or maybe she mostly meant well, but their life after the move was so precarious and so stressful that she just didn't have any emotional energy left for Jess at all. And she would never answer questions about why this was all happening.

That would give you the same main emotional beats (hard life, fraugh relationship, rebellion) but make it messier and more complicated and has the added benefit of turning her father's role from a passive absence to an active one.

2. Initial Rebellion
What if Jess' initial rebellion wasn't just stuff her mother didn't quite approve of, but rather was things her mother had specifically forbidden her? Maybe her mother said "No Heavy metal Music in my house!" And maybe she forbid other occult and occult-adjacent things (Ouija boards, Tarot cards, black lipstick, all that). So her first steps down the Wrong Path have some real bite, and we get to lean into the classic "Satanic Panic" tropes (which in this case happened to be reasonable concerns!).

3. Jonah Blake
What if Jonah Blake had a more active role in Jess' education? Instead of being a history teacher, perhaps he was a social worker, or a guidance counselor, or some other sort of Educational Assistant who was there to help her 'reach her potential.'

Maybe (spitballing here), what if everyone at the school got some kind of standardized test (for whatever reason)? And after Jess took the test, Jonah showed up and claimed that her results (and/or some other students, maybe) pegged her as special in some way and so he was there to help create a personalized curriculum for her to help her realize her full potential?

That would give him a much stronger hand in guiding her studies, and give them lots of opportunity to form a bond. And leaves open the question of who he is, exactly, and where the test came from, and what it was testing for, and what her results really meant, etc.

(And that personalized cirriculum could easily include occult and/or arcane studies, either under the guise of ancient languages, or history, or whatever. It could be either Jonah or Jess who pushed for that part of it.)

4. Stepdad
What if Elizabeth got with the stepdad because she was concerned about Jess' increasing volatility and thought she needed more stability? And possibly, if she (Elizabeth) heard about this Special Test thing, and knew she couldn't afford to send Jess to college. So she got with a guy.

And what if the guy was nice? A little stern maybe, a little aloof, but overall not even a bad guy? BUT he wanted to send Jess to an elite Private School (he has connections). And that, of course, would mean no more Jonah. So Jess couldn't have that. And there was fighting and fighting. Possibly, even, the tipping point for Jess was that mom and stepdad decided she was too attached to Jonah, even that their relationship was inappropriate, and said "It's Private School or I'll get him fired" or the like?

5. Missing Person
What if Jonah checked with the police and said there was no missing persons report filed? Which would solidify Jess' fear that they didn't care about her. But possibly wasn't true.

6. Homecoming
What if, when she went back, her mother and stepfather were REALLY NICE. So nice, in fact, that it was creepy. What if Jess started to think/fear that she (Jess) was somehow making them act that way, unconsciously, with her powers?

7. BEHOLD HERALD!
And the only actual thing I think you need is a single, good, solid, salient reason for Jess to take up the Mask. I'm not sure what. But she's home, seemingly safe, away from Jonah, her parents are ceeping her out, she has a weird thing growing inside her, she's just been through an insane ordeal, and she's supposed to just go to school and watch TV like nothing happened? She's just BURSTING from the inside out, not only with power, but with all the things she can't tell anyone about....

So she puts on the Mask so she can "be herself" just a little bit.

BUT the thing is: what makes her decide that "herself" is someone who fights crime?

One idea would be that her time with Jonah revealed that there are agents of the Order throughout the city, doing things that don't seem like a big deal, but are all a part of the universe-ending plot? She tells people that the robbery at the professor's house wasn't just kids messing around, but one part of a giant scheme by a secret cult... but no one believes her. So her only choice is the Mask.

8. Jonah's Whole Write-up
With your permission, I would like to take amost everything you wrote about Jonah and make it all non-canonical. You (the player) only know as much about Jonah Blake as Jess knows. And Jess only knows what he told her, or showed her, or whatever she could guess or figure out on her own. You (the player) are more than welcome to insert things about Jonah into the fiction, but they will always be things Jess knows. Which means any of it could be incomplete or incorrect.




1.Queen Bee
What if Holly's life wasn't that charmed? What if it just looked that way? What if her mother had all kinds of weird, conficting, intense expectations of her? What if her mother started Starlight, but had been sort of shunted to the side until she was just a spokesperson or figurehead with no real power? What if Holly HATED being popular, but was some combination of too far in to get away and/or afraid of what her mother would say? What if Holly was really good at something (and/or really loved something) that she couldn't do because she was too busy doing everyone else's thing?

And/or what if Holly just felt like she wasn't in control of her life? That everyone thought she had it perfect, but to her it was like being strapped to a speeding car that she wasn't driving?

Speaking of which...

2. The Accident
What if the whatever situation lead to the accident was the result of Holly rebelling against something? She blew off an exam to go partying. She was in the car with people her mother had ordered her not to talk to. What if she were the one driving? Maybe she asked to drive, even demanded to drive, and then couldn't seem to stop herself from driving faster and faster until everyone was terrified and then BOOM.

In this case, the outcome could be as dark or not dark as you like. Maybe no one dies. Maybe someone did and David was blamed for it.

But the emotional beat here could be that the one time Holly steps outside her little box, something horrible happened. And she realizes that she didn't really choose to drive recklessly any more than she'd chosen to be what veryone else wanted. She was just reacting. And so the lesson she learns isn't 'get back in the box' it's 'I have to learn to make actual choices.'

The beat works the same if Holly wasn't driving, so this is just personal taste in terms of what you want Holly to be responsible for and/or making up for.

3. Plant Girl
Is it possible that Holly's new appearance is a surprise? Maybe a side-effect of the serum was keeping the subject young and beautiful for longer (and/or that's the intended market and the healing is a side-effect)? Maybe her mother has even taken it, and so she looks great for her age?

What if Holly maybe wasn't even that badly injured, but was horribly disfigured? And her so mother's motives were maybe more about her appearance than her health?

And so Holly going all Lady Groot is a big shock. And MAYBE there's some way that it's Holly's fault? Or choice? Possibly because there's a 'fix' that's just dangerous enough for Holly to plausibly refuse, but safe enough that anyone else would almost certainly think it's worth it.

4. Starlight
What if Holly's "choice" to remain Grootish is causing her mother and/or the comany some trouble? Rather than skyrocketing the stockprice, Holly's horrible transformation has caused a public backlash and the company is in trouble.

If they could figure out a way to make Holly beautiful, then everything would be awesome for them. But if she stays Grootish, then it's bad. Maybe "Starlight goes bankrupt" bad or "Mom gets fired" bad or even just "Mom loses more status and will never be more than a pretty face on TV" bad.

The question about whether or not her mother allowed or created the "leak" to the press that Holly was being treated by Secret Plant Serum is still very much unanswered. But whether it was all her mother's plan or not, if Holly doesn't Get Sexy, and fast, thing will get worse before they get better.

And of course, this would all complicate her decision to become a Mask (and all the publicity implied thereby).

5. Home School
I think it would be more interesting if the company arranged classes and/or tutors for Holly, rather her being homeschooled by Harper. Harper might even want more control over her education, but it's been taken out of her hands. Or Harper could be managing it as part of her job. Whichever is more fun. But having some "company" involvement would, I think, be fun.


And and all thoughts welcome!


Well, I think influence is about wanting to be respected by someone. And it makes sense that a young hero with a lot to prove would want their foes to see them as a worthy adversary.
It's not even so much about respect or wanting to be seen a certain way. Just that adults naturally represent a lot of psychic weight to a kid. Imagine a 15 year old is walking along and a random adult stopped them, looked them up and own with an intense scrutinizing gaze and then said, "You are the ugliest kid I've ever seen. You should walk around with a bag on your head" and then walked away laughing. It doesn't really matter who the adult is, that kid would almost certainly be really upset (unless there was some reason why that kid had learned to pay that adult's words no mind).

[Albinobrow]

Oh man! So much has happened here and I'm just now seeing it! I apologize for the lateness of my arrival to the party, but I am very interested! This week work wise has been far more insane than usual. I will look over the playbooks again.

My first and last character was a transformed but I've specced him in other TTRPGs so he can stay in that realm. And I agree that it looks like we have a lot of heavier themes here with the presented playbooks so far. My initial thought is either Beacon or Innocent to bring in something different.

Do you have a deadline when you'd like characters fleshed out? I should definitely have more time next week. I've already clocked in 55hrs this week and may not get a true day off till first weekend in Feb, but next week should be much more manageable for me to put everything together.

[Morphling]

Wow! That sure is a lot to think about! Let's get into it.

What if Holly's life wasn't that charmed? What if it just looked that way? What if her mother had all kinds of weird, conficting, intense expectations of her? What if her mother started Starlight, but had been sort of shunted to the side until she was just a spokesperson or figurehead with no real power? What if Holly HATED being popular, but was some combination of too far in to get away and/or afraid of what her mother would say? What if Holly was really good at something (and/or really loved something) that she couldn't do because she was too busy doing everyone else's thing?

And/or what if Holly just felt like she wasn't in control of her life? That everyone thought she had it perfect, but to her it was like being strapped to a speeding car that she wasn't driving?

This is actually sort of how I had envisioned characterizing Holly. While she seemed like she had it all, and every girl in school probably wished they were her, she was really just "trapped at the top." It was probably something that she hadn't even acknowledged to herself, her inner voice just constantly affirming that she was doing what she wanted, even as she looked enviously at the Goths and Drama Nerds who seemed so free in comparison...

I also think that her mother would be a rather domineering presence in her life at that point, a particularly imposing figure given that she's not only a powerful woman but also a former superhero. So, I could definitely see Holly being pressured to keep her grades high as well as keep the children of influential citizens inside her social group.

What if the whatever situation lead to the accident was the result of Holly rebelling against something? She blew off an exam to go partying. She was in the car with people her mother had ordered her not to talk to. What if she were the one driving? Maybe she asked to drive, even demanded to drive, and then couldn't seem to stop herself from driving faster and faster until everyone was terrified and then BOOM.

In this case, the outcome could be as dark or not dark as you like. Maybe no one dies. Maybe someone did and David was blamed for it.

But the emotional beat here could be that the one time Holly steps outside her little box, something horrible happened. And she realizes that she didn't really choose to drive recklessly any more than she'd chosen to be what veryone else wanted. She was just reacting. And so the lesson she learns isn't 'get back in the box' it's 'I have to learn to make actual choices.'

The beat works the same if Holly wasn't driving, so this is just personal taste in terms of what you want Holly to be responsible for and/or making up for.

Now that we've established that Courtney had a lot of expectations of Holly, I think it makes sense that she would disapprove of hard partying and underage drinking. Of course, Holly would have to make appearances at events like this in order to maintain positive relationships with the other rich kids, so she was definitely under the weight of unfair expectations when she went to this party.

I am not going to have her be the one to drive though. At heart, Holly is a good kid who doesn't want anyone getting hurt. She had no power to stop the accident, but she could have avoided being caught in the middle of it. So the lesson that she has to ultimately take is, 'be true to yourself, not what everyone else wants you to be.' It's probably something she's still learning, in that awkward teen superhero way.

Is it possible that Holly's new appearance is a surprise? Maybe a side-effect of the serum was keeping the subject young and beautiful for longer (and/or that's the intended market and the healing is a side-effect)? Maybe her mother has even taken it, and so she looks great for her age?

What if Holly maybe wasn't even that badly injured, but was horribly disfigured? And her so mother's motives were maybe more about her appearance than her health?

And so Holly going all Lady Groot is a big shock. And MAYBE there's some way that it's Holly's fault? Or choice? Possibly because there's a 'fix' that's just dangerous enough for Holly to plausibly refuse, but safe enough that anyone else would almost certainly think it's worth it.

Holly's appearance was definitely a surprise, none of the previous testing had suggested that this would happen. I'm also not against her mother having taken a more refined version of the serum, that wouldn't have been able to heal Holly but works as a youth treatment for most humans.

As for the idea that Holly's injuries weren't as severe as she was led to believe... well, the backstory I wrote is entirely from Holly's perspective, so it's definitely possible that not everything went down the way she thinks it did. I'll leave that up to you. :wink:

As for there being a fix, that's a hard no. If she was offered a 'cure,' Holly would take it regardless of the risk, since she's far from being in a place to appreciate her new body for what it is and what it can do. She wants out, and thus narratively speaking, there must be no way out, and any attempts to 'cure' herself must necessarily fail.

What if Holly's "choice" to remain Grootish is causing her mother and/or the comany some trouble? Rather than skyrocketing the stockprice, Holly's horrible transformation has caused a public backlash and the company is in trouble.

If they could figure out a way to make Holly beautiful, then everything would be awesome for them. But if she stays Grootish, then it's bad. Maybe "Starlight goes bankrupt" bad or "Mom gets fired" bad or even just "Mom loses more status and will never be more than a pretty face on TV" bad.

The question about whether or not her mother allowed or created the "leak" to the press that Holly was being treated by Secret Plant Serum is still very much unanswered. But whether it was all her mother's plan or not, if Holly doesn't Get Sexy, and fast, thing will get worse before they get better.

And of course, this would all complicate her decision to become a Mask (and all the publicity implied thereby).

The original cyborg idea I had for Holly was that she was basically used as a test weapons platform for her mother's company, and now, despite her monstrous appearance she's being paraded around to military buyers as a super-soldier, and her superhero persona made into a corporate mascot against her will. I tried to keep some of the idea, but since I changed the backstory, it is fitting that I drop it and go the opposite: Nobody wants Holly to see the light of day except Holly herself, and thus her decision to Mask up has serious repercussions for the company.

I think it would be more interesting if the company arranged classes and/or tutors for Holly, rather her being homeschooled by Harper. Harper might even want more control over her education, but it's been taken out of her hands. Or Harper could be managing it as part of her job. Whichever is more fun. But having some "company" involvement would, I think, be fun.

I'm all for it. Company sponsored schooling it is.

Glad you could make it Albinobrow! And welcome to Rokku as well!

[Dusk Raven]

I apologize for not saying anything, but there's a lot of workshop material I want to respond to... and the past several days, I've been dead tired or busy, and often both. That trend continues even today. I still want to respond to it though, it'll just take a bit.

[Albinobrow]

Oh man! So much has happened here and I'm just now seeing it! I apologize for the lateness of my arrival to the party, but I am very interested! This week work wise has been far more insane than usual. I will look over the playbooks again.

My first and last character was a transformed but I've specced him in other TTRPGs so he can stay in that realm. And I agree that it looks like we have a lot of heavier themes here with the presented playbooks so far. My initial thought is either Beacon or Innocent to bring in something different.

Do you have a deadline when you'd like characters fleshed out? I should definitely have more time next week. I've already clocked in 55hrs this week and may not get a true day off till first weekend in Feb, but next week should be much more manageable for me to put everything together.

[truemane]

Welcome Albino brow! I'm sorry I didn't respond to your post faster! I have no hard deadline in mind at the moment. Whenever we get enough to get started.

One thing I'd like to say is that we don't need to do any workshopping at all. The official Character Creation Process for Masks is to pick a Playbook and answer the questions on it. That's it. There's not even a real hard requirement that the questions be answered as a group.

The only reason I dove into it is that the first two submissions had a lot of backstory. So there was lots to pick at.

But we could just have very quick-sketch, bare-bones characters and just get started and fill in the details as we go along.

In fact, would we all rather do that? I'm a little worried that the perceived cost of up-front effort is going to prevent us from getting off the ground at all.

@Dusk Raven and @Morphling. This would impact you two the most. Would you be open to 'de-canonizing' anything in your written backstories not explicitly covered by your respective Playbooks? And/or a short list of specific bits that you think are vital to the concept?

@Rokku, @Albinobrow - What do you think? Pick a Playbook, fill it in, and let's roll?

The only thing we would do as a group is the "When the team first came together" questions. Because they're done in order.

[Morphling]

Well, I personally like having a detailed backstory, wouldn't have written it if I didn't.

However, that doesn't mean that everyone needs to do the same. If everyone else just wants to jump into it, I'm fine with that.

[truemane]

I apologize for not saying anything, but there's a lot of workshop material I want to respond to... and the past several days, I've been dead tired or busy, and often both. That trend continues even today. I still want to respond to it though, it'll just take a bit
That's cool. Take a bit if you need. We're still waiting on two more character pitches.

Get to it when you can.


Well, I personally like having a detailed backstory, wouldn't have written it if I didn't.

However, that doesn't mean that everyone needs to do the same. If everyone else just wants to jump into it, I'm fine with that.

Yep. That works for me too!

And speaking of which:


1. Mommy Dearest
I think we're agreed that Courtney is a driving, dominant presence in Holly's life. The beat I'm think I'm looking for is whether or not you think all of her "this is for your own good" is genuine (if sometimes misguided) or ultimately self-serving and in bad faith? The distinction can be subtle, but important.

2. Accidental Tourist

So the lesson that she has to ultimately take is, 'be true to yourself, not what everyone else wants you to be.' It's probably something she's still learning, in that awkward teen superhero way.
Got it. I think that's perfect. It's the kind of lesson that can never really get learned because not all social pressure is bad. I like it.

3. Stonks!
Okay, so the deal is that she was (apparently) cured of her injuries by the serum and so (potentially) the company has an absolute banger of a marketable product on its hands. BUT the side effects are pretty rough. Yeah? And either way, her mother winds up getting all the praise/blame? So everyone's preference is that Holly stay hidden? And do you think the link between Dray and Starlight is commonly known by the public at the outset? Or is that a little narrative hand grenade that hasn't been thrown yet?

Other than that, I think we're good to go.

:)

[Morphling]

1. I think the question of whether Courtney is misguided or self-serving is better answered during the game itself. It's one of Holly's driving questions, and should be answered by the dice and the needs of the drama. We play to find out what happens, after all.

2. Let's say that the public doesn't know about Dryad's origins just yet, since something like that coming out in play is such a delicious narrative beat.

All set? All set.

[Dusk Raven]

I'm perfectly happy to workshop stuff - and to have an elaborate backstory, especially given how much I've been waiting for this character concept and put thought into it.

It's just... it's a little hard to type, and to re-read the workshop notes so I can respond in detail, when I have this constant, overpowering urge to close my eyes, or better yet just lie down. At some point I'll get something out. It's just going to take a bit since it'll be a long post.

[truemane]

Okay, everyone. We have one character pretty much ready to start and a second character in mid-discussion.

I'm starting to fear that this might be a non-starter, but let's give everyone a couple more days to chime in and see if we get some movement.

[Rokku]

I'm still here I'm just kind of... ruminating.

[Albinobrow]

Also still here! It's been a crazy couple weeks at work. But I have decided I'll go beacon. Using bow and arrow and stealth and camouflage will be his power sets. I plan to flesh out the details this weekend, background and questions in the playbook fully.

[Rokku]

So I'm going with Newborn. I even whipped up a heroforge for them.

https://i.imgur.com/MghhJjJ.png

The gist of the origin is a scientist was working on a new programmable metamaterial. (More on metamaterials here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamaterial).) Lots of living things exhibit the traits we want out of metamaterials (self-healing, able to get stronger after damage, etc) so they were experimenting with gene splicing to develop a technorganic material that would have the desired traits. But human DNA was accidentally introduced to the mix (say cutting themselves on dropped flask and not realizing a drop of blood got into the batch) and one day, the experiment - which at this point seemed to be little more than undulating pink goop - started singing along with the music they were listening to in the lab. Shocked and a little bit terrified, the scientist left this detail out of any further reports to their corporate sponsors, continuing their work with the new life form and developing a parental bond. The organism showed a surprising ability to manipulate its own form, choosing to mimic its "mother's" shape, as well as demonstrating enhanced strength, durability, healing, as well as flexibility and elasticity - human DNA seemed to be the missing component from the mix. Months passed, and and the pair became close as could be. She named the girl "Adara 43" - after her batch number of A43 - and desperately tried to figure out what she would do when the corporation came calling.

And come calling they did - with a heavily armed security team. They had realized what she had developed, and knew the enormous profit potential it could present. They wanted their property. So she did the only thing she could - she wiped her files, and told her daughter to run, to find heroes to help. Then she set off an explosion that destroyed the entire lab and anything that could have been used to recreate her work, as well as most of the security team and almost certainly herself.

Adara 43 escaped, wandering Halcyon City until she stumbled into the path of a hero (maybe one of the kids in the game, maybe one of their mentors if they have one, or someone else altogether) and has since been given legal person status - which the Corporation continues to contest - as well as a surrogate family in the other PCs. As traumatic as her origins may have been, Adara remains hopeful for her future. After all, the best way she can honor her mother's memory is to live life to the fullest and try to make the world a better place than it was when she entered it.

[Morphling]

Love Adara 43!

[Dusk Raven]

I'm sorry, it's just... ugh, I have a problem with working on long posts like this, especially when tired. But let's give it a shot anyway. Probably best if I make it a bit shorter than what I'd originally intended.

1. Mother and Child

You make a good point about turning her father's absence into a more active one. It makes sense that Jess would have, or believed herself to have had, a happier family at the beginning before her mom went and "ruined" it. That, and it also means that she's more keenly aware of the absence of a father figure and is actively trying to find a surrogate.

2. Initial Rebellion

All good points, although I still sort of like the idea that Jess' rebellion was somewhat half-hearted, at first. Though it may also be the case that something her mom did pushed her too far and she decided to start actively disobeying her.

3. Jonah Blake

I actually don't like the idea that Jonah had that much more of a role in Jess' life for a couple reasons. While I think it'd be good to have him in her life for longer, if he'd spent that long trying to train her, especially in regards to the occult, it would be obvious even to her that their entire relationship was about grooming her to be... well, what she is now. And she would just hate him for it. As it stands, he has a certain plausible deniability, which leaves Jess with the distinct impression (whether it's true or not) that it wasn't all about that, that her trust wasn't misplaced, and that on some level his mentoring of her had a purpose beyond her being a useful tool.

4. Stepdad

That is the main reason Jess' mother got with the stepdad, actually, to provide support in a way for Jess. It's just that that whole aspect is me taking a jab at the concept of "a child needs a mother and a father." It's not completely wrong to want a second parent in the household, but not everyone's capable of being a good parent, and adding the wrong person into the mix can just make things worse. Which is what happened here. I'm not completely opposed to changing it to this though, and it certainly would make sense that the stepdad isn't really that bad, Jess just sees him that way, especially since she has a hard time believing that her mom really does anything for her benefit - or understands what actually is good for her. Jess already thinks her mother is worse than she really is, why not her stepdad?

5. Missing Person

What I had in mind was that Jess' mom really didn't file a report at first, largely out of the belief that Jess would return on her own and that it was best not to involve others and put a spotlight on Jess that she wouldn't really want. A few days later she reconsidered, but by that point Jess' only reaction was scorn. "What, was she too busy in bed with her new boyfriend to notice her daughter was missing?!" Of course, it would also be amusing if her mom did file a report right away, but Jess just saw that as her mom being controlling. You just can't win with some people.

That being said, speaking of missing persons, I'd like there to not be a report at all, so Jess doesn't have to spend the entire year she was out of her mom's house hiding in Jonah's. Although he probably just taught her a spell to disguise herself so she could go out on the town or get groceries or whatever.

6. Homecoming

Entirely possible. Another possibility, of course, is that she thinks they might just being nice to her to butter her up. Not a bad thing to have multiple possible nefarious reasons for her new treatment.

7. BEHOLD HERALD!

To be honest, I hadn't given it much thought beyond, "She has powers, enjoys using them, and deep down she really is a decent person so she wants to use those powers for good." At this point she's actively looking for reasons to put on the mask due to the addictive nature of her power. That, and she kinda has the mentality of someone with a terminal illness and she wants to do something important in her life. But even after that, it's not a bad idea to give her the feeling that she needs to do something about the cult in particular.

8. Jonah's Whole Write-up

I definitely did have a concept of, "this section is subjective and can be potentially changed." But there is something I consider sacrosanct: the idea that, on some level, he really does care for her and want the best for her on some level, even if his idea of "what's best for her" is a bit skewed. This is largely because I really like the emotional beat of a villain who doesn't actually hold malice towards the hero, and even cares for them. I very rarely get to scratch that itch, so here we are. That's also why my secondary playbook choice was The Scion - they would have had a similar dynamic.

Also, if Jess did find out that her perception of him was a complete lie, that he really is evil and was just using her for his own ends, and always was... it would break her. This could manifest in the form of her fast-tracking her transformation, drawing on as much power as she can just so she can make sure Jonah doesn't live to see the world he's spent so long working towards. That would certainly be dramatic. But she might also just kill herself, denying the destiny Jonah chose for her and choosing her own instead, just to spite him. And either way, I'm not sure I want to push Jess that far. I don't shy away from making dark and edgy characters, but I do so out of hope. Their problems are challenges to triumph over. I put them in deep, dark holes so they can climb out of it. Although, if there's a character archetype that isn't going to triumph over their demons... it's The Doomed.

My thoughts so far.

[Albinobrow]

I believe that the beacon is ready to go!!

Real Name - Ulysses Troy
Hero Name - Odysseus

Look - Male, White, with an Average Face: blue-green eyes, unkempt dark hair. He wears simple clothing. His big! 6'1" and a bigger athletic build. Generally imposing figure by looks, but a teddy bear with a heart of gold! His costume is a toga and traveling cloak, with a Thalia, Muse of Comedy mask.
Abilities - Bow and trick arrows, stealth and camouflage

Labels:
Danger 0
Freak -1
Savior +2
Superior 0
Mundane +2

Backstory:
-How did you gain your skills? He was always fascinated with archery. And had gone hunting with his grandfather often. His grandfather was also an archer and trained him both in archery and in stealth tactics. He believed that using firearms was un-sportsman like and was not how nature intended men to harvest food to feed their families.

-When did you first put on the costume? The first time he put on something similar to that costume was in a middle school performance of the Odyssey. Due to his size he played Odysseus and was enjoyed the epic tale, though he was a terrible actor and struggled to memorize lines though he did eventually get it. The costume stuck with him and he made his own. The first time he wore his cosplay version was 3 years later, when he followed his older brother, Jeremiah, from the house because he was acting weird. He saw Jeremiah meet up with known gang members and could tell they were all having an argument. Once a fight broke out, Ulysses ran out of the shadows and helped Jeremiah fight them off. Jeremiah is also big, though not as big as Ulysses.

-Who, outside of the team, thinks you shouldn't be a superhero? Jeremiah. He's worried that Ulysses is in over his head. Especially without having "real" powers.

-Why do you try to be a hero? Ulysses' grandfather and mother taught him to be kind to all, even those he was hunting. That there was plenty of evil in the world, and that Ulysses had a light within him that he could use to bring some light to the darkness of the world. (They may not have meant that in the way Ulysses took it, in being a hero, but that was how he chose to live that out.)

-Why do you care about the team? As his older brother constantly reminds him, Ulysses has no true powers of his own, and so he knows there's only so much he can do by himself. He is a natural protector of those around him, even if they don't really need it. And he is aware of how much he needs them.

Beacon Moves:

Straight. Up. Creepin'.
Suck it, Domitian.

Drives:
-Stop a fight with calm words
-Reject someone who tells you "you shouldn't be here"
-take down a threat all on your own
-kiss someone dangerous

[Morphling]

Odysseus is looking swell.

[Albinobrow]

Odysseus is looking swell.

Well thank you kindly!

[truemane]

Sorry everyone, I wrote a whole response, but it got eaten by the network issues. I'll re-write it again tomorrow.

I have some notes/thoughts for everyone, but all-in-all, I think we're ready to move forward.

If everyone could start getting their Playbooks finished, choosing Labels and Moves and doing the Backstory questions.

I'll round up the last bit of workshops, and then we'll get right into "When the team first came together."

[Morphling]

Hero Name Dryad
Real Name Holly Ireland

Look
Woman, white, human eyes, mottled flesh, no costume

Abilities
inhuman might
plant affinity

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

Who were you before?
I was the most popular girl in school, desperately trying to juggle my mother's expectations with the other student's.

When did you change? What caused it?
I changed a year ago, when I was mortally injured in a car accident and my mother gave me a plant serum to save my life.

Who, outside of the team, is helping you understand your new body?
Dr. Misty Archer, a brilliant scientist and lead on the team that developed the X-46 serum. She's nice, but I think she feels guilty about what happened.

Why don't you just try to hide yourself away?
Because I've been given another chance at life. I was going to die, and now I'm alive and, in a manner of speaking, healthy. I'm not going to waste my life wallowing away.

Why do you care about the team?
Because they can look me in the eye without showing me their pity or disgust.

Transformed Moves
I am not my body.
Coming for you.
Wish I could be.

[Dusk Raven]

One additional thought I had regarding backstory - Jonah knows Jess, and probably can find out where she lives. In theory, he ought to be able to just capture her at any time, possibly by threatening her family. And yet he hasn't... and Jess doesn't know why. Makes her a bit nervous.

One other note, but the way I kind of imagined their respective magical abilities (prior to Jess getting the Darkseed) is that... well, there's no good D&D analogue, but in Pathfinder class terms, Jonah is a master Wizard, and Jess is an Arcanist. Jonah is almost savant-like in his understanding of how magic works, and while Jess is a quick learner, her grasp of magic is definitely inferior... but she can augment it with her own psychic power - along with her new connection to the Eternal Dark.

Related, I've always thought the power options for the playbooks were... too few in number. I can make it work with three of the six available for The Doomed, but I wanted to have one of those three options be... I'm not sure, something to do with the whole magic student. Magic spells, at least to some extent. I'm also fine with it being... the kind of thing that's not necessarily useful in combat or in heroic situations, just the basics that Jonah taught her before their split.

After that's answered, I can finish the necessary questions.

[Albinobrow]

Sorry for the silence, between the crazy work hours and these forums being iffy at best, it's been hard to check in.

(hoping this gets through..)

[Kaworu]

Hi people ;-) Do you have a place for one more player? ;-) And which Playbooks are available / would be a good fit? ;-)

EDIT: *IF* there is a place for an additional player, I was thinking of, maybe, the time-travelling one? It was in some supplementary book I believe? Since we are playing with darker themes, maybe my hero would like to stop a potential dark future...? ;-)

EDIT2: Or maybe The Scion instead of the Harbringer...? Eh, choices :-P

[Dusk Raven]

I'm still here as well. Still need to figure out answers to some of the character questions, though.

[truemane]

I've been having the same problem. Between server issues and life I haven't been able to update properly.

I'll try to post tomorrow. And we can see who's still with us.

[Morphling]

I'm still with ya, FYI.

[Kaworu]

I do not wanna to be a bother but... I still do not know is there is a slot for a player available? ;-)

[truemane]

Hey everyone! I've been having some internet issues at my house last two days. So I didn't get everything done, but here's a start:

First off, find the Basic Moves reference sheet and Core playbooks here (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/qplf8nj824jgwk67fyodl/h?rlkey=z6g9pr8die1wqdx4nutk4fdkl&dl=0).

I have legal copies of all the books, so if anyone needs access to any of the Expansion Playbooks, PM me. I'm happy to provide privately, but don't want to post them publicly.


I do not wanna to be a bother but... I still do not know is there is a slot for a player available? ;-)
Sorry, yes! Come on in. Either of the Playbooks you mentioned would work really well. Give us a pitch/Sheet whenever you got one. Welcome!

Morphling/Dryad: I think you are ready to go. I read your workshop response, and agree with the points you made, and think anything else can be worked out during play. If you think of anything from your backstory (that we haven't talked about yet) important enough that you wouldn't want me messing with it, let me know.

Rokku/Adara 43

1. Biggest (and maybe easiest) point is that Adara was made by the same corporation that created Dryad. And so the two might have some knowledge of each other. Holly's schooling is at the company, so is it possible they crossed paths there?

2. The addition of a "heavily armed security team" adds a nice, dark note to the world we're building. No notes on this. I just want to point it out.

3. The Newborn Playbook includes a move where you go see your 'creator or caretakers.' Who do you see as this person? It would have to be someone capable of offering the kinds of assistance mentioned in the move. Could this be a government agency of some sort? A rival corporation? A privately wealthy individual? They get to re-write one of your rules for you, so you want to pick someone with interesting values or motives, so we can really feel the push and pull between them.

4. As I see it, the story you're looking for, at game start, is that Adara is free and a person, living somewhere (relatively) safe, has decided to try and be a hero, and there is the constant and persistent threat of THE COMPANY always lurking just off-screen. Do I have it right?

5. If she's been given person status, against the company's protests, then she must already be pretty famous, yeah? That's the kind of thing that would end up in the papers and on TV, even in a world where supers already exist. And it would mean that, whoever her caretakers are, they would also need to be capable of fending off the Company's no-doubt powerful influence (on many fronts).

6. What does Adara want? Like, if she had a magic wand and could remake her life completely, what would that look like? What does she think Winning at Life is like? Does she want to work more or less? Does she want things easier or harder? We know she wants to learn more about being human and more about being a hero, but to what end? No wrong answers hers, just looking to drill down a bit into Adara's actual values.


Albinobrow/Odysseus
I really like Ulysses! It's the right mix of earnest and goofy that makes the Beacon really shine.

I may have some other points to raise later today, but to start:
1. What's his home-life like? What stressors are there? What conflicts? In what ways does his family situation make him who he is and in what ways does it prevent him from being who he is? What aspects of his home-life make it easier for him to be a Mask, and in what ways does it make it harder?

2. Same, but school. What's stuff like at school? How does school impact the rest of his life (and vice versa)?

3. Is his older brother Jeremiah or Trevor? Or are they two different people?


Dusk Raven/Herald
I may have a couple of small responses to your responses, but I'm on board with everything you're saying. I think the way forward here is to live in the uncertainty. IS her mother well meaning but overbearing? Or an abusive narcissists? IS her stepfather trying his best, or is he a rich controlling *******? And etc. We know what Jessie thinks, but are her perceptions accurate? Who can say.

(except for the bits that are specifically important to you, like Jonah's sincere caring for Jessie)

Does that sound good? If we can start there, then we can work out a lot of these specifics in play without risk of stepping on toes.

I'm AFK for a few hours today (it's Oscar season and my kid and I are doing a nominee binge), but I'll be back later this evening.

If we can get some initial sheets up, I'll set the When the Team First Came Together scene right away.

[Kaworu]

Okay, below is my character sheet ;-)


The Scion

Hero Name: White Lotus

Real Name: Sakura Watanabe

Look:
• Woman
• Asian
• slender body
• casual clothing
• no costume

Your Lineage

What kind of villain they are?
Cruel mastermind

What is your relationship with them like?
Full of denial

They have an array of abilities, assets, and strenghts; what are some of them?
Superhuman martial prowess, dark sorcery, powerful allies

What abilities do you use to fight them?
Impressive martial prowess, magical aptitude

LABELS

Danger +1
Freak 0
Savior +1
Superior 0
Mundane 0

Backstory:

What is your supervillain parents?
Dragon in Red Dress, known in Japanese as Red Dragon. She got a power from Celestial Imperial Dragon (a mythological being) of martial arts and magic, but got corrupted by the prowess and became a villain. Recently, she shifted her focus from East Asia to Halcyon City, where Sakura grew up with her father.

Who told you about your parent’s true nature?
Dad of Sakura. She was aware since wery young age, as her father believed children should be fostered, but no lied to, no matter what.

Why did you turn from your lineage to become a hero?
Sakura believes it is the right path. But also, she hopes is she will overcome her mother, her family will be reunited and happy. Truth be told, she misses her mom – or at least the idea of a mothership she has in her head.

Who, outside of the team, helps you on your chosen path?
Celestial Imperial Dragon himself.

Why do you care about the team?
They are trying to do some good in the universe. Plus, they seem to have problems just like Sakura, so it is easy to emphatize with them.

Scion moves:

• They don’t deserve forgiveness
• White Lies

Respect:

• Your parent’s greatest victim: Rising Phoenix (a Japanese samurai with fire-based powers in addition to swordmanship)
• The city’s greatest celebrity: Lady Ji-Ji, a pop star with whose songs Sakura feels a strong affinity.

[Albinobrow]

I may have some other points to raise later today, but to start:
1. What's his home-life like? What stressors are there? What conflicts? In what ways does his family situation make him who he is and in what ways does it prevent him from being who he is? What aspects of his home-life make it easier for him to be a Mask, and in what ways does it make it harder?

Home life is fairly uneventful. Biggest stress is that his older brother gets into trouble and his father travels a lot for work. He's a trucker. So Ulysses feels he needs to step up and take care of things. I'd say the only real conflict is between him and his brother. Since his brother knows about his hero persona and his brother can get into trouble often there can be conflict both in and out of the house.
Again, the morals and ideals imparted to him by his parents and grandfather are a fuel for him to stand up and fight crime, and he believes (right or wrong) that his family would support him but he chooses to "protect" them by keeping them in the dark. On the other hand, by keeping them in the dark he does from time to time tell a white lie to cover things up and continue fighting crime.

2. Same, but school. What's stuff like at school? How does school impact the rest of his life (and vice versa)?

School he does well! Good student, keeps to himself for the most part. Even in school he stands up for the little guy but he tries hard not to fight in school, he knows that due to his strength and "after school activities" he can cause some serious damage. There is a school bully, Biff, which causes the most problems for him. Not as big as Ulysses but very strong. Biff pushes the boundary in hopes of fighting Ulysses because he wants to see if he will win, but Ulysses typically ignores or takes it and doesn't engage. Typically.
He is also a part of the archery club, and helps others with their technique. Still, he doesn't teach them everything he himself knows.

3. Is his older brother Jeremiah or Trevor? Or are they two different people?

Jeremiah, not sure how exactly I put in two names. I think I picked one and then changed to the other but didn't change all instances? Truly I don't know. But they are the same person, and I'm going with Jeremiah.

We can use Trevor for the name of his Grandfather. :D

[truemane]

Hey, everyone. With regret, I don't think this one's going to work out.

I'll take some responsibility, but between the forum outages and people being busy, I think we just missed the ignition point.

Thank you all for your efforts up to this point.

[Morphling]

They can't all be winners.

Had fun looking over everyone's character sheet. And hopefully I'll get to play Dryad some day in some form.

[Albinobrow]

Sad to hear it, but it's completely understandable. My work IRL has picked up significantly. So it's probably for the best.

Hopefully we can all try again another time!

[Dusk Raven]

Damn... I knew I should have posted sooner. But I just kept getting sidetracked.

Seems like I might have to run Masks myself if I'm going to see it on these forums. I had an idea, but I hadn't posted it for fear of running out of ideas. But at this point, I'm willing to give it a shot anyway.

EDIT: I also want to thank truemane for prodding me to develop this character concept further. When the time comes, she will be ready.

[Kaworu]

Good luck y'all ;-) See you in some other forum games ;-)