[OOC] Worm - The Malfesant Throne

Interlude Voting

Maxwell: 2
Sickle: 1
Vector: 2
Pipeline: 3

[Sickle-cell]

Synopsis

Synopsis

Our story takes place in January, 2011, a week after the martial law declared by the PRT in response to a terrorist attack by a villain group calling themselves “The Covenant” has been lifted. This group had been linked to several murders, however the detonation of several high-grade tinker-tech bombs in a warehouse on New Year's Eve - only several hundred metres from a Protectorate-sponsored party to ring in the bells - caused them to be reclassified from a minor inconvenience to a major threat to the safety of the city.

To make matters worse, they posted a video stating that this is only the beginning. More attacks - bigger and more frequent - would continue to occur, and they essentially declared war on every faction in the city. The major groups are on edge, pooling and stockpiling resources to protect their assets and destroy the new threat to their cushy way of life. A single upstart group wouldn’t normally be enough to warrant this level of panic, but this particular gang seem to be exceptionally well equipped for a couple of renegades.

The villains are scared. The heroes are overworked. And the city is ripe for the taking.

Factions

Factions

PRT/Protectorate

PRT/Protectorate

The PRT and Protectorate can be split into two separate entities in terms of territory held in the city. In the area of Fenway, the PRT have set up a foothold in the beating heart of Boston. Fenway consists of a number of highly important government buildings, and is the governmental centre of the city. A concentration of regular law enforcement officers bolstered by the large base of the Parahuman Response Team on Mission Hill means that this area sees less combat than most - since few parahumans are stupid enough to attempt to take on the full might of the PRT. A small group of Wards are often stationed within Mission Hill, sometimes overseen by a senior Protectorate member, for fast dispatch.

While the PRT holds the fort down at Fenway, the Protectorate’s base allows for fast access to the most affluent areas of the city - covering Charlestown, East Boston, Downtown and the Seaport. Their base is a mighty site and a tourist attraction in its own right, a massive pyramid-esque monstrosity equipped with almighty warheads, intense shielding and anti-gravity propulsion technology allowing it to hover above the harbour in the centre of the three channels. The tech was designed by a tinker by the name of Foucault, who was killed in an attack on a Protectorate Stronghold in the city. Its official name has long since been lost, referred to by the masses as the Zenith. The main Ward base is located within, nicknamed the Den.

Leaders

Praetor

The leader of the Boston Protectorate, Praetor is fiercely defensive of his home turf and will exercise his full power whenever he views that it is in jeopardy. His power allows him to summon armies of spectral clones based off images in his head. This doesn’t allow him to summon one or two helping hands, but a minimum of 25 at a time, controlling hundreds at peak focus. Anything from roman phalanxes to squadrons of dive-bombing hawks, Praetor is a force to be reckon with when pissed off.

Alexis Underwood

A fatalistic outlook is nearly imperative when you are the Director of PRT Operations in a city like Boston. Luckily, Alexis stopped being able to see the positive side of things a long time ago. Working alongside Praetor to clamp down on illicit parahuman activity all over, she is a face rarely seen outside of press conferences.

Vector

The de facto ‘den mother’ for the Boston Wards - against her wishes. For some reason, the budding young heroes attached themselves to her outwardly cold exterior, revealing a softer side. Villains tend not to get to see that, as she’s usually dealt with them from several blocks away. She is a tinker specialising in bows and projectile technology, such as different arrow types and targeting software.

The Consortium

The Consortium

Underneath the vigilant gaze of the Zenith, The Consortium operate their highly successful business, with shipping and stock brokering is their trade of choice. The very embodiment of working smart, they are what the mafia wished they could be. Extortion, smuggling, black marketeering, human trafficking - there isn’t a thing in the world The Consortium can’t get their hands on and won’t sell through their extensive control of the Seaport district. With countless warehouses across the mainland and the various islands beyond, they are almost untouchable, and can afford to pay or threaten most people to silence. If you need dirt on a major player in the Boston scene, The Consortium can get their hands on it - whether it exists or not.

Their corporate headquarters are located in Beacon Hill - in the Alverton Building - and is surrounded by various banks and businesses acting as fronts for them, where the legitimate business site of The Consortium operate from. Despite everyone knowing where their headquarters is located - including the law enforcement - not a soul in the city is stupid enough to launch a full-scale attack at them, as it would be suicide, both literal and legal. From the money they have and the contacts they can leverage, even a small squad of Consortium footsoldiers can be a match for an unprepared combatant. If you ever piss them off, don’t expect a bunch of gangbangers with crowbars and shotguns. They have their own private militia.

No-one knows who actually pulls the strings at the top of the Consortium - or even whether it is one person, or several. Rumours also abound of a pair of extremely dangerous hitmen on their payroll…

Leaders

Maxwell

The public face of the Consortium’s operations in Boston, Hugo Maxwell is a wealthy and influential businessman, who takes great care to separate the legal and illegal activities of the group. With a finger in almost every pie within a fifty mile radius of the city, he is someone who very quickly develops grudges - and can hold them for an eternity.

Wonderland

Wonderland

It might be unfair to call Wonderland a group of violent lunatics. Unfair, but correct. A group of united gangs, they are led by a mass murder, have several mass murderers in their ranks, and if you plan to stay long in Wonderland, then you’ll soon follow right on down that rabbit hole too. Living for violence, they will often send out invites to capes from every faction to join them for a night of raucous fighting in the ‘Circus Maximus’, a super-powered MMA-style contest of superiority held in an abandoned sports arena in the heart of Dorchester. It’s an old and rickety building, the electricity doesn’t always work and it almost certainly doesn’t meet health and safety standards, but it hasn’t had an inspection in years.

For a headquarters, they have taken over a group of buildings out by Victory Road. It’s a rough neighbourhood at the best of times, and with a gang of superpowered thugs there, the sane people stay well enough away. People wandering into the area who aren’t part of Wonderland usually get picked up pretty quickly, and you do not want that to happen.

Leaders

Pipeline

Put simply, Pipeline is a psychopath who seeks to do nothing but have a good time regardless of the damage to the city or himself. Wonderland is a twisted freakshow that isn’t under his control as much as he is king of the pile. His ability allows him to produce liquids of any kind from his hands and temporarily control them - making corrosive or molten whips, among other, even more horrifying, things.

Gladius

Gladius

Gladius operate in a strict military fashion, not dissimilar from the old roman legions. Squads of 10 men drilled to fight together in 60-80 man cohorts overseen by a handful of parahuman lieutenants. They were formed by Whetstone in relation to rising anti-jewish discrimination from immigrants to the country. Many of their powers have a close-range reliance, which means as the numbers of parahumans under the control of the other factions have gone up, their ruthless and efficient expansion has been halted. While not as violent as Wonderland, they still use extortion and drug dealing as means of raising funds to expand outwards, hoping to crush other factions under a tide of highly-trained and well-equipped soldiers. They are almost impossible to remove when they get properly dug in, however they lost control of Sommerville after the rise of several vigilante groups in the Allston/Brighton area, making it harder to transport troops through that area.

For a base, Gladius has forcibly taken over a Country Club in the middle of an enormous park. The sightlines granted by the raised ground at the centre allow them to spot large-scale invasions with lots of time to spare, and they have used various powers in conjunction to make the area a veritable fortress of stone and granite. Should someone be able to slip a small fireteam into the structure, however, one might have a better chance than going in all guns blazing. Depends on the kind of guns you use.

Leaders

Whetstone

Whetstone is the charismatic leader of Gladius, with a simple but effective power allowing her to sharpen or blunt bladed objects she has recently touched. Giving synergy with most other members of the gang, she rules with an iron fist and was instrumental in the takeover of several key sections of the city.

Vulcan

Operating as the second-in-command of Gladius, Vulcan is one of the single most powerful capes in Boston. Capable of generating metal from metal and bending it in whatever way he sees fit, he can create vicious weapons and structures on the fly. In addition to this, he can support several autonomous constructs to act on his behalf.

The Covenant

The Covenant

In a city where everyone is out for themselves, it’s often the case that those without powers are trampled over by those with. To counteract that flow somewhat, the Covenant was born. A group of like-minded individuals out to change the face of Boston city no matter the cost. Led by the entirely ruthless vigilante/villain Sickle-Cell, the Covenant have been known to bomb warehouses full of drugs, PRT and Protectorate strongholds and all manner of other targets across the city. They seem to have no main target, but instead put up violent resistance to every single other faction in the city - with the exception of The Funeral Parlour, who they have a ‘live and let live’ relationship with.

In terms of notable buildings, the Covenant own several, but none that could be pinned down as a full time base given the level of raids that the law enforcement throw at them. Instead, it can be said that the entire district of Allston acts as a headquarters. The main problem that they have is simply spreading themselves too thin. In an attempt to ‘police’ the whole of the city, they have attracted a number of powerful enemies.

Leaders

Sickle-Cell

One part vigilante, defending the weak, one part mentally deranged killer out for blood, Sickle-Cell is a dangerous enigma. Capable of bending blood outside the body, his combat effectiveness varies wildly depending on how many people he is against, and how long a fight continues on for.

The Funeral Parlour

The Funeral Parlour

In a great many ways, The Funeral Parlour is indistinguishable from Sickle’s Covenant, and it is for this very reason that both groups exist separately as opposed to pooling resources. Switchboard is too bone-headed to ask for help when he needs it, and Sickle feels it beneath him to turn to the Parlour for assistance. In the time that they have -rarely- cooperated, it has usually been as a direct result of a major power turning all its guns in an attempt to quash one of the two groups.

Brighton is a stronghold of the Parlour, however where Sickle-Cell quests out across an entire city, Switchboard tends to focus more on home-turf threats and will fiercely defend the territory against all unwelcomed intruders. If you find yourself in Brighton unannounced, you had better hope Switchboard is in a good mood.

Leaders

Switchboard

Enjoying the sight of scum in pain, Switchboard takes a healthy amount of pleasure in his work as a vigilante. Able to trigger and switch human neural receptors, his power enables him to do a plethora of things, from switch on and off pain receptors until his target dies of a heart attack, to switching their vision upside down and laughing as they stumble around.

Rules

Rules

Most rules are self-explanatory Guild-standard stuff, however there are a few Wormverse specific things to throw in.

• No precognitive powers. Worm has no true precognitive capes.
• The Manton Effect applies here. For those unfamiliar, this is the term given to powers which have limitations primarily to protect the users from the effects of a power. Put simply, a power can work by targeting things outside the human body, or inside the human body, but not both. A pyrokinetic can’t start a flame inside someone’s heart. A haemokinetic can control blood outside the body, or control it inside the body, but characters that can do both are extremely rare, and I’m not making many(if any) NPCs like that, so I’ll restrict the PCs from doing the same.
• When writing Trigger Events(the thing that finally pushed you over the edge and made you get powers) remember that physical trauma usually results in a physical power, and the same for mental trauma. Also note that powers shouldn’t specifically solve your trigger event. If you got powers from drowning, you probably can’t now breath underwater. You may be able to fly or teleport to safety, or you may have gained super-strength and drowned regardless.
• No Godmodding. Save for a few extremely gifted Dark Souls players, I’ve never seen anyone dodge every hit thrown at them in a fight - especially during a first encounter. It’s perfectly okay to lose if it makes for a more epic narrative fight scene. Ask my last PC, who I specifically let get eviscerated cause it was the coolest way to end the stuff i’d started.
• Do not break the rules. However, feel free to bend them however you like. Obey the letter of the law, never the spirit =P
• Also, while I have your attention, none of those pictures are mine. I found them all on google images. Credit to the artists, whoever and wherever they are!

Character Sheet

Without further ado, I give you the CS. Fill out however much you feel comfortable with, but the more you put in, the better i can tailor your experience ^.^

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Information

Name:

Cape Name:

Theme Song: This isn’t mandatory, but during particularly cool scenes, I like a backing track to better picture what is going on. Feel free to pick your own backing track for those purposes.

Aspects

- These are leftovers from the FATE system I used to use, which is a dice-based system. The only reason I am asking players for this, is becuase the more I know about what makes your characters ‘tick’, the better I can GM. Try to keep them all under seven words. All examples are taken from my own characters.

High Concept: A short statement summarising the core of your character. Something like The Brightest Light in Boston, or Vicious Harbinger of Vengenace - two of the ones you’ll meet later.

Trouble:Another short statment detailing the biggest problem your character has. Does your power have a drawback? Are you a massive dick? Put it here! E.g. The Dead Have Time to Plan

Origin: Where you came from. Not necessarily before you got powers, but what were you doing before coming to Boston, or in Boston before the start of the RP? E.g. Bought and Sold

Growth: What did you get up to. How did you get your powers? How did your activities before the RP go? E.g I Won’t Let You!

Adventure: Why did you come to Boston? What has happened since you came here? E.g. Living the Punchline

Bio

Personality:

History:

Abilities

In Worm, powers are classified into one of twelve categories, and various ranks. The categories are:

• Mover - Has a power enhancing mobility. (Moving themselves or others, special forms of transport, higher than human capability)
• Shaker - Has a power with an area of effect.(Spacetime manipulation, Zone control, wide-area)
• Brute - Has enhanced strength or durability.(Most dangerous in melee range, hard to put down)
• Breaker - Can shift into another state. (Break natural laws of universe, self-centered power, may have different abilities in altered state)
• Master - Can control others or create minions. (Various control/strength/range/input commands)
• Tinker - Can create or alter devices with futuristic technology. (Innate knowledge of super-advanced technology, specialisation area allows for better output dealing with a certain material/method/product, tech requires maintenance which restricts mass-production )
• Blaster - Is a ranged, offensive threat. (Long-ranged attacks of various flavours, lasers/object manipulation/grenades, not always outright powerful but generally deleterious)
• Thinker - Focuses on information gathering.(Enhanced knowledge/skills/perceptions, includes clairvoyant and precog-ish powers, skill acquisition and increased sight/hearing )
• Striker - Has a power that is melee-ranged or touch-based. (Applies various effects via touch or otherwise at point-blank range, power relies on physical contact, strength with no durability/point-blank pyrokinesis)
• Changer - Can alter their form or appearance. (Alter form/appearance and/or natural ability, manipulates body, doesn’t include new powers bar natural armour/weaponry/durability)
• Trump - Can manipulate powers in some capacity. (Powers which directly affect other powers, strengthing/weakening/removing, effects can alter based on circumstance)
• Stranger - Focuses on stealth or infiltration.(Bypassing defenses, alter perceptions)

To each category, the PRT assign a number scale based on how dangerous an individual is. Rank 1 being slightly above normal, around 3 being classed as a threat, 6 as a serious threat and 9 being a major emergency. The scale usually only goes to nine, however some character rank as a 12 or above - serious, world-endangering powers. Most characters in the RP sit comfortably around a 5-6, so bear that in mind when making powers. The follow table is the official listing for power ranks

• 1 - Poses a threat only just above human norms, an unexceptional individual may be able to cope with the ability or walk away unharmed from an altercation where the abilities in question were leveraged. Ability should be assumed to be a nonthreat and need not be identified if other matters prove more pressing.
• 2 - An alert, exceptional, well equipped, and/or trained individual should be able to answer or address the ability in question, but it can prove problematic. Team members are reminded of standard countermeasures and should put these measures in effect when there are no pressing other matters
• 3 - Civilians, even alert or fit civilians, will not be able to handle the ability or abilities in question. Several trained individuals may be required to deal with the situation. Protocol suggests that care should be taken to remove civilians from the area and discourage them from participating.
• 4 - One full squad of trained operatives should be able to deal with this situation alone, but exceptional circumstance, context and environment may bias things one way or the other.
• 5 - Additional countermeasures come into effect. A typical parahuman and/or one parahuman assisting a squad of operatives should be able to deal with the power in question. Operatives can engage until assistance arrives.
• 6 - A typical trained parahuman and/or one parahuman assisting a squad of operatives should be able to deal with the power in question. Operatives should postpone engagement.
  Parahumans and operatives should assume that traditional actions are going to be met by a complication. Acquiring further intel recommended where possible, but not mandated.
• 7 - Parahumans should engage in pairs or trios at a minimum, two fully equipped squads should be deployed. Acquiring further intel is mandated, all acting parties should shift to the defensive or delay until intel can be acquired.
• 8 - Evacuation of civilians should take priority for all squad members. Engaging should be avoided outside of specific missions and tasks. Capes should engage only when supported by their team to ensure a minimum of complications or danger.
• 9 - Assume extreme complications, with standard tactics not applying, or the power in question having an additional factor that exaggerates its effect. Capes and PRT should evacuate where possible, and should only engage when a specific mission and strategy has been outlined. Major countermeasures should take effect.
• 10+ - In the event of a serious confrontation, additional teams or specific high-rated individuals should be called in to manage the crisis.

[FancyHats]

I'd like to throw my hat into the ring.

I'm thinking an electrifying punk might make things interesting. :D

[Sickle-cell]

@FancyHatsI was originally going to make a Cole-esque electric superhero for my first Worm roleplay. Accidentally make Sickle-Cell instead. The rest is alternate history =P

Look forward to seeing what you come up with ^.^

[Tackytaff]

Awesome, before I get started are there any limits to number of characters per player?

[Sickle-cell]

@TackytaffNot at all. I personally prefer to only play one at a time per RP, but I'm not making any kind of limit. Make as many as you have spare to time to play ^.^

[ProPro]

Looks pretty righteous. Might I suggest sectioning off the various portions into hiders though? Makes it a bit more manageable of a read.

[Sickle-cell]

@ProProThat'd make the formatting much nicer, actually. Brb.

[Lasrever]

Just gonna pop in and say I'm here!

Currently working on a tinker with a focus on self-alteration, so that'll hopefully be fun. Or messed-up. Probably both.

[Sickle-cell]

@ProProThere. Much nicer.

@LasreverBoth. Always both. =P

[ProPro]

Quick question. You cool with a Cauldron cape and/or Case 53?

[Sickle-cell]

@ProProDefinitely. Don't have all that many Case 53's in my character roster, but do have one or two Cauldron Capes. Bought powers ftw =P

[ProPro]

And are the Endbringers a potential threat? I also notice there's not much background info for people who aren't already familiar with Worm, i.e. How powers/triggers work, power classifications, Scion, etc. Will that be added at a later point or are we just not worrying above it any of that for the purposes of this game?

[Sickle-cell]

@ProProBasically not worrying about it for the most part. Explaining that risks delving into spoiler territory for those who haven't read it. I'll mention Scion at points in the story, same with the Endbringers - although those aren't likely to be a potential threat unless I feel the desire to micromanage an entire cast of characters to back you guys up =P

The power classification thing completely slipped my mind. Will add a bit into the CS about that atm.

[Sickle-cell]

Done. The classifications of powers and power ranks are now under the abilities section of the CS. ^.^

The power system is one of the reasons I love Worm so much. Stands to reason i'd be the bit I forget to add xD

[Ardent Dawn]

Looking good! I'm looking forwards to seeing our characters make a reprisal, not least of which Gubbins :P

[Sickle-cell]

@Ardent DawnAh, Gubbins. The Nuclear Holocaust in a bottle =P

If you fancy the role of Co-GM, it's yours, btw, just let me know.

Knackered though, so heading to bed in a minute and will work on tidying stuff tomorrow.

[Old Amsterdam]

Given the rather high end scale of the NPCs, what are you considering for limits on PCs top-drawer?

[Scarescrow]

One question, what is the level of the leaders of every faction?@Sickle-cell

[Gardevoiran]

@Sickle-cell
I have one question to ask. Will our characters be starting off as members of factions, should we ask for that? Reason for asking is because I'm considering porting over one of my characters as a potential Ward.

[Sickle-cell]

@Old Amsterdam Probably a high 6, low 7, although I'll consider allowing higher if they are cool :-P

@Scarescrow Praetor is a Master 8 minimum, probably a hair shy of being 9. Pipeline is a blaster 7 due to the potentially endless quantities of liquid he can make. Whetstone would be a Striker 3ish, her main strength is bolstering troops and not really in direct combat. Vulcan would be a Striker 5 from on-contact metal bending, Master 4 from his armoured warriors and Shaker 4 for his ability to warp metal over an area. Sickle-Cell varies between a Shaker 4-8 bAsed on how much people nearby have bled, and he may also gain a low level Brute rating for being a pain to put down. Finally, Switchboard is a Master 6, Blaster 4 for long range control of internal circuitry. Hope that gives you a rough ballpark of the level of other parahumans in the city, although there are stronger out there, acting as mercenaries to the highest bidder.