[OOC] MASKS- A New Generation

[Ermine]

...even after 3 paragraphs of character (history) development in PM, still nothing for IC. ><

[Joshie]

@JoshieAny thoughts on what I posted up above?

@Raijinslayer

Hold off for now. To be honest, npc's don't require playbooks. :p

@Joshie So for using Swarm's power over bugs, how many rolls do I have to do to rally, seize control, and then hijack their perceptions? I know at least the last one is definitely a roll, but what about the other two?

@Grey

One. 'Unleash power' move. Just narratively describe what you're doing and the die role will determine what impact it will have on the fiction.

[Raijinslayer]

@JoshieOh, I wasn't introducing him yet, just wanted to flesh out Ian's family history a bit. As for the second part . . . well, it's there now.

[Liliya]

So, I was thinking about this. There's already a team of young supers working with the Guardians (headed by Felitrix and Gravitron's son, Ken, about four years older than us, so they'd be twenty to twenty two year olds). Any thoughts as to how that would affect our own team? I mean, would we be competing with them, or would they just be in a class of their own? They would probably be composed of five or six people, like the Dragoonslayers, but would be down a member (Arsen was a founding member of their team and got brainwashed by Zondervan maybe a year ago). Seems like some of us are itching for something to occupy our free time anyway (@Raijinslayer, @Tengri, and myself, especially, but everyone's welcome, including @Joshie if you'd like to explore this little universe from a different perspective), would there be any interest in putting together some characters for this team, that no doubt could show up to interact with our own main characters, and do a mini-series exploring the last few years and it's conflicts? Fill in some of the background for why things have become the way they are, you know? If it’s cool with @Joshie of course. I’d want to play it in maybe four little chapters, and start with how the team formed (that way we’d skip having to fill out the questions of how we came together, and just let it get filled in organically during the first roleplay), then skip ahead a year maybe to some important event, then another year and another event, culminating in what they were doing while the main cast were fighting Dragoon. I'd aim for getting it up and running by Monday, having a post a day and maybe a week per chapter, finishing in about a month, when if Joshie wanted they could show up in some crossover thing between them and our little group, obviously as NPCs, while we did some job requiring more firepower than our team could handle or that specifically needed us to cross over with them, for whatever reason. Ken and Arsen would either be NPCs or someone could volunteer to play one or the other, though considering I'd be aiming for five or six teammates and don't think we'd get our full roster of players onboard (though everyone's welcome, of course) it might be better off with them being NPCs. I dunno, just a thought, but I think it might be interesting, kill some time, you know?

[Joshie]

@Liliya

I wouldn't mind it.

So you mean as a secondary game running aside this one, but in the past (or running same time)?

It would be interesting and if anyone else runs it, I wouldn't mind playing in it. :)

[Raijinslayer]

@LiliyaIf Joshie's cool with it, then I'm cool with it. Gives me a chance to make a new character, and new ideas.

[Ermine]

Working on a post for this one now.

Rolling for powers is only necessary if their actions matter to the story, right? If I use her psychic constructs to do stuff that isn't really that interesting or story-driving, for example. Asking because unleashing powers is a thing, but there's something, at least in one of the earlier drafts of the game, that said it wasn't necessary unless they were pushing the limits of their powers (like one would in combat) or something. Don't remember the exact wording, and don't feel like looking it up.

EDIT: Oh hey. Still in there. "This move is for those situations when you do something intense with your powers, and we’re not sure how it’ll go, or if you can even pull it off." So that whole thing doesn't matter anymore.

I'd be okay with that idea, though, with the separate RP.

New question: what day of the week is it in-game right now? And is it a school day? What time of day is it?

[Liliya]

@Liliya

I wouldn't mind it.

So you mean as a secondary game running aside this one, but in the past (or running same time)?

It would be interesting and if anyone else runs it, I wouldn't mind playing in it. :)

@Joshie

Well, my thought is that it would be set in the past, and in mini chapters. Essentially we'd be using very minimal character sheets, nothing like the effort we've put into our actual main cast, and would be developing these NPCs who would eventually be introduced into our game proper (Arsen as a villain at some point, and the rest as NPCs, maybe even attached to our cast on a mission to apprehend Arsen). The first chapter is set literally four years ago (like, to the day) and would take place during their version of the Dragoon incident, filling in the questions of how they came together in the role play proper. The next chapter would skip forward a year or so dealing with some incident, and the next another year or so, likely dealing with how Arsen (by the end of that chapter) came to be captured or whatever by Zondervan, and the fourth and last would deal with what they were doing during the Dragoon incident.

I would run it, and would love to have you play in it @Joshie. I think I'd make Ken and Arsen NPCs, or at least that's how I feel about things at the moment, and would aim to get it up by Monday. All I would look for in a character sheet is the real basic stuff, name, super hero name, look, powers, and a condensed version of the bio, maybe even just a sentence or two per question, and the rest would be filled in IC. At the end they'd be available for your use as NPCs, should you so choose. Super casual, I'd forgo the potential scale entirely and award experience points in the form of checking off whatever advancements you choose (one or two after each chapter, given the length of time they'd spent in between) and if the experiment proved enjoyable it could turn into a running thing, me spending a few weeks doing campaigns focusing on very casual characters who would eventually become NPCs in the roleplay proper, either as allies or enemies.

[Ermine]

Would we have "predetermined identities" or would we be making entirely new characters? (Because I wouldn't want to play one that already has a name).

My post is much longer than I thought it would be. Maybe I should only write when I should be sleeping.
In which case, I have a novel to write. Four pages isn't nearly enough for that...

Edit: Nothing like realizing your RP post is longer than what you have for your novel. Fuck. At least this site makes it look shorter.

[Liliya]

No predetermined identities. The only predetermined factors are that this is set in the past, and Ken and Arsen, for obvious reasons seeing as they're established as existing in the modern day, can't die, and thus I'm playing them as NPCs. Also established, I guess, is that they are in Halcyon City, and because they're attached to Ken and Arsen, are automatically connected to the Guardians (though, as with our main cast, the exact degree to which they're attached is totally up to the individual player).

[Tengri]

@Liliya

I would love to. I already have a character in mind. Think sociable and laid-back Network.

[Joshie]

New question: what day of the week is it in-game right now? And is it a school day? What time of day is it?

@Ermine

I would say Sunday, if for no other reason than the fact that The Guardians aren't so cruel as to run you all through the wringer during a school day.

As for time of day... I say noonish.

[Raijinslayer]

@TengriI literally can't. Those words don't go together in that way.

[Ermine]

Just needed to know so I'd know if Andrea still had her backpack. ^~^ Guess she can't write/draw in one of her school notebooks.

@Liliya Totally in, then, but will have a VERY different character.

[Tengri]

@Raijinslayer

"I can pretend that I totally don't have a plan to kick every person's butt in this room, but I'm not the kind to lie to my friends."

[Grey]

@Grey Janus: We saved the life of someone important, either to the city, or to us. Who was it? Why are they important?

@Joshie

Better Late than Never

“When I walked into the building that day, I never expected to become involved in anything more dangerous than a lab accident. I was… two months out of the hospital, and a few - I think two or three - weeks into my time as a cape. I didn’t have a good grasp on my powers, or responsibilities, at the time. Lots of… novice mistakes, let’s say. Power incontinence, too. Usually came to me, instead of the other way around. More stable now - mostly headaches and sensory overload.”

“She entered through the front door. The security office didn’t see - or maybe they did, and died - but I did. Assumed direct control, saw Dragoon starting to head up the stairs. Pulled the alarm, then sent out a call to as many capes as possible. Official Guardian forums, trending hashtags, logged-in social media accounts, whatever was available in the building, I used. At the same time, did my best to make sure the robots opposing her didn’t obstruct evacuation routes, organized escape procedure with my insects, so on so forth. Lots died. More didn’t.”

“Everyone out. Except me, Dragoon, and the boss: Warren Vargas. Might also know him as the Guardian, “Thinker”. People don’t call him that a lot anymore; he revealed his identity a while back. A real modern-Da Vinci-type, he was. And not a terrible boss, as far as bosses go. Just pedantic and, I guess… weird? Neurotic? Paranoid, maybe? Something like that - a very fussy man. I suppose he was onto something, though. What with Dragoon, and all.”

“But he was smart, not tough. Yet he hadn’t left the building, or called for help. Thought that was suspicious. Sent some bugs to his office, and the first thing I see is him just… typing and clicking away. It’s like he was on some kind of deadline. Never mind the divine juggernaut taking out security drones left and right. I suppose I understand why, now. Anyway, I got his attention by forming a conspicuous, little, buzzing mass, and… This guy... The guy doesn’t even look up from the screen. He just says: ‘hold her off’, in the straightest, flattest voice possible.”

“Mmm. I’m not sure he knew who he was talking to, either. I hadn’t been active for a month, and my power was - is still - far from maturity. But here was a hero who’d been active longer than I’d lived, telling me to go hold off Dragoon. And I did. Or, tried to, at least. I thought the great Thinker had some master plan, or secret weapon, in store. He didn’t, but I managed well enough on my own.”

“The fight… It was terrifying. But also unlike anything I’d ever done. No tainting judicial procedure. No hologram training. Just five minutes. One on one. Worm on wyrm. Couldn’t call it a real fight, though. Had to play dirty, or I’d be dead. Lots of decoys, lots of distractions, lots of bugs. Strength, speed, divine armament - nothing in her arsenal had too much compatibility against me... Err, bugs. Not me. I’m not the swarm, even if I’m Swarm. Wasn’t enough, anyway. My power proved problematic, yes, but it went the other way, too. Lots of bug bites, but nothing major. Too scared to use bees. Or brown recluses. Or widows. Probably could've avoided a lot of trouble. Also, would have been in more trouble. At any rate, couldn’t penetrate her armor personally, and, in the first place, only got close enough twice."

"No, definitely not a real fight. Just an insect making a nuisance of itself, trying not to get crushed.”

“Failed to defeat her myself, sure. But the objective was completed, to an extent. Reinforcements came. Victory, however pyrrhic, came after. Dragoon’s hero-killer reputation was well-deserved. About a dozen dead capes, and one left heavily wounded. Loss of limb, exposed innards, nth degree burns. Not Dragoon’s fault, ironically. Thinker, Mr. Vargas, died too. Don’t how - I had bugs on Dragoon at all times - but he was definitely not breathing, nor was the heart beating. Checked the body myself. Also, checked his laptop. He’d left a webcam recording - a last will. It told me about this project of his. Details. Restrictions. Background. Guardian project, obviously, except halfway through he went off script. Made his own adjustments. At the end, he begged not to delete it, or leave it on the shelf forever. Wanted it tested, used for the betterment of Halcyon.”

“The project itself… It was a sapient AI. Part-administrative assistant, part-simulator, from my understanding. Has a lot of restrictions on it - no AI singularities here, thank you. My theory? Obtaining that was Dragoon’s real goal. Explained why she didn’t care about preserving the projects on the floor. The ones that got destroyed, or covered in rubble, or set on fire, or whatever. Including the one I... Err, Hana-the-intern, was helping with. I kept it, by the by. The AI, not the spoiled fruits of m... Hana's, labour, I mean. At the time, figured I could only trust myself... Kh. Sounds so edgy when I say it like that.”

“Anyway. We - the six survivors - ended up forming a team. So, I brought it during meet two. A show of faith. And, I guess, a way to figure out what I should do with it. We spent... a few hours talking about it. Lots of opinions. Lots of bad sci-fi tropes. In the end, we called it ‘Sai', and left it with me.”

Before I actually go ahead and start working on a post, do I have to bring my own bugs or do the Guardians supply me? Would my ability even work on hard light?

Got bored, made post.

[Liliya]

@Liliya

I would love to. I already have a character in mind. Think sociable and laid-back Network.

@Tengri

Expect a PM coming your way.

As to the other details, I'll be posting our two NPC's character sheets by 4:30 Eastern, I'll start writing at 3:30 and spend a half hour on each, just to show an approximate idea of what I'm looking for in a CS (casual enough to do in a half hour should be plenty for this project, methinks). The whole thing is supposed to be a super casual, though mildly faster paced, month long one-shot designed to kill time and develop NPCs for future use in the main game. Any questions, feel free to ask.

[Ermine]

the five survivors

@Grey

Six. Riley. Sheet's just not in there yet.

[Grey]

@Ermine Thx fam.

[Tengri]

@Ermine

*grumble-grumble* "It's all serious" *grumble-grumble* "I'm not a dick" *grumble-grumble* "Chuck E Cheese sounds nice"