I think what made @Bounce so good as a CO-GM was actually running an event for players so I'd hope any replacement CO-GMs would bring a similar collab energy, given so far this game has survived the sophomore slump these games usually have.
For what it's worth, here's what I'd sketched up.
New York Mini-Event
Arthur (now with a bounty on his head from Atlantis) visits New York for swim team regionals.
Orm makes an offering to Karaku, which results in Fire Trolls attacking New York to get to Arthur, presenting one threat while the destruction they cause create another opportunity for people to jump in (saving people from burning buildings, collapsing L-trains, etc).
Gives our New York/Metropolis characters opportunity to react and/or connect with each other.
Event: Starro
I'd caveat this with the idea that people can ignore, react, respond, or participate as they see fit. Using Marvel's Inferno as an example, while primarily an X-Men/New Mutants plot, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and Captain America all participated, while Thor, Hulk, and Dr. Strange were all notably absent.
Starro is a pretty easy event given the notion of spreading around the globe, even if the storytelling were to focus on one or just a few areas. I think most everybody understands the premise of the starfish attaching themselves to people.
We'd just need to figure where to have Starro itself centered, but we could probably do that based on what response we generate. Otherwise, people wanting to write on a smaller scale could just react/rescue people "taken" around them, people wanting a more collaborate experience could participate in missions to gather information or resources, and the threat poses challenges from street level to Superman so there's something for everyone.
Apocalypse Event
Same caveat about ignore or participate as desired.
The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse emerge, carving a path of destruction that challenges heroes.
Could split the Horsemen up to multiple locations (Metropolis, New York, Gotham, etc)
Could add Clan Akkaba if needed to spread the wealth.
Leads up to battle with the Big A.
Mini Event: The Brood
Lots of parallels to Starro, so if we did the one I'd want to space out this one. The stakes are slightly higher here, particularly if someone writes being infected but the Brood are always presented as less a global menace and more a localized one.
Could be good plot to drop on a random city to generate some activity.
A shorter post than I'd wanted and not how I wanted things to go, but c'est la vie.
@Half Pint has been aware of this for a bit, but my circumstances have changed in the last two weeks and I'm struggling to find time for this hobby yet again. I've been trying to carry on in the hopes the situation would be resolved by now, but its looking like it'll continue on for a bit.
I've got a few things I've told Half that I'll tidy up, but I intend for tomorrow to be my last day as Co-GM. If there's anyone who would be willing to take my place, I'd appreciate it and I'm sure Half will as well.
The green guy bent down to look the boy in the eyes, scooping up Garth. "I will help as I can." He then took Arthur's hand. "Imagine yourself without form or body. Calm your mind, imagining it as an oasis within the raging storm outside. Do not fear. I shall be your anchor, your surety that you shall return. As long as you are with me, you shall be safe. Once you take that step, I shall lead you to where you seek to go."
When the Green Goblin took the boy's hand, Arthur felt as though part of him were suddenly being pulled -- as if part of his mind had traveled down his arm and passed up the green man's.
His name wasn't Green Goblin, it was J'onn.
The offered advice was both heard and felt. Arthur barely aware of being lifted off the ground as J'onn moved them toward the seaside. Arthur mulling over the image of a raging tempest. Or a hurricane, with an eye of calm at the center.
"Freaking out, breathe it out," the boy uttered, closing his eyes. How did he connect with the Fire Trolls though?
How did he connect with Porca or Willy? He never thought about it. He just did it. Was that what the calm was? Not thinking about it?
Opening his eyes, the tawny-haired boy looked up at a Fire Troll that was charging toward them. Suddenly, Arthur felt a connection.
The Fire Troll abruptly stopped, a look of confusion plain on its monstrous face.
The boy then turned his head, spying a second Fire Troll. And a third. "I need to talk to all of them this way," the boy remarked aloud, even though J'onn likely also heard it telepathically as well. Saw as Arthur saw.
J'onn nodded, then spoke in a chorus of thought and speech. "I'll aid you." Then Arthur felt J'onn's mind spread out like a current, flooding through the city, carrying Arthur's along with it. A brief image of a young boy grinning, green like J'onn, flashed briefly through the connection before J'onn stifled it to focus on the moment. Any Fire Troll mind was found, touched, and latched onto. Any others were briefly touched then released, though one couple J'onn gave the thought to head to a place to find their boy before releasing them. Once all the Troll's were found, J'onn then told Arthur. "The connection is ready. Think what you need to say."
For a moment, Arthur felt as if he had been swept away by a riptide of consciousness. Minds, voices, experiences, all talking over each other in a cacophony of chaos. He’d have drowned in a yawning chasm of the mind that seemed to stretch and connect infinitely, but for the green hand that held him fast.
"Freaking out, breathe it out," the boy repeated to himself, closing his eyes and letting his entire sense of self surrender to the pull of the mental tide, conscious thought drifting over telepathic waves as the Martian had laid out the path for him to travel.
Collectively, the Fire Trolls each stopped.
Some looking at others. Some confused.
Finally, one of the giants, a great behemoth even for their kind, spoke. “KING ATLAN HAS RETURNED.”
The trolls each took a step back. Looks exchanged before the same statement was repeated again. “KING ATLAN HAS RETURNED.”
Whatever it meant, whoever this King Atlan was, the giants were retreating back to the water.
Eyes fluttering open, the blue-eyed youth watched, but could not celebrate.
The damage had been inflicted. While Garth had managed to snuff out some of the flames, there were fires still burning in places. And people trapped in buildings damaged by the giant’s passage into the city.
There was still work for the heroes to do. And likely more questions that needed answer.
I'm happy to say I'm back to having a great deal of free time, and to go along with this I have a second application for a bit of a different character than I've done previously. If anyone has trouble reading the colour I have chosen please let me know, or if they have any plans for this character or any related to him. Otherwise @Bounce please let me know if you think this would be suitable!
I, V A M P I R E I, V A M P I R E
"Immortality's a poor trade for a good night's sleep."
C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T
C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y
_________________________________________________________ Andrew Bennett _________________________________________________________ 454 (Became a vampire in his early 20s) | Formerly engaged to Mary, Queen of Blood _________________________________________________________ None | English
N O T A B L E A B I L I T I E S & T O O L S N O T A B L E A B I L I T I E S & T O O L S
A B I L I T I E S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ◼ Vampiric Physiology Andrew's body is frozen in the perfection and frailty of youth. He possesses immense strength, speed, and resilience, but his metabolism is entirely dependent on blood. Sunlight weakens, holy ground sickens, and fire leaves lasting scars. His regenerative capacity at it's peak allows him to heal near-instantly from mortal injury, though starvation drives him feral. ◼ Shapeshifting Andrew can transform into a wolf, a bat, a swarm of bats, or living mist. He can also assume hybrid forms of any of these, growing claws and fangs like a werewolf, or sprouting bat wings to fly. These partial transformations grant him great power and mobility but demand precise control to keep his instincts in check. ◼ Psychic Abilities Andrew posseses the power to sway other beings with only his words. However, he uses this sparingly, knowing every use blurs the line between restraint and predation and has not effectively used this on a human for many years now. Mainly this is used to sway animals to do his bidding, but also grants him latent telepathic abilities. -
T O O L (S) ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ◼ Eclipsaria A long executioners sword of white steel with a square-cut tip and a narrow central groove. Within that channel lies a sealed vein of silver-mercury alloy that flares blue on contact with undead blood, disrupting regeneration and forcing vampiric tissue to burn to ash. -
N O T A B L E S K I L L S & T A L E N T S N O T A B L E S K I L L S & T A L E N T S
S K I L L (S) ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ◼ Master Swordsman A master of European and Near Eastern swordsmanship, Bennett's technique blends centuries of martial evolution into a single efficient form. He wields his blade more as an extension of thought than muscle, favouring control and precision over brutality. ◼ Occult Scholarship Specifically relating to Vampirism, of course. He is most likely the foremost expert on Vampirism alive today. His research has also at times spilled over into adjacent fields such as demonology, necromancy, and alchemy, though his understanding of these is limited. Just enough to recognize patterns and terminology, but not enough to claim mastery or any sort of really proficient knowledge. -
T A L E N T (S) ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ◼ Intuitive Scholar Andrew possesses an uncanny natural aptitude for learning and understanding complex subjects. Concepts that take others years to grasp come to him with startling ease, as though he recalls knowledge rather than acquires it. Whether it’s mastering languages, adapting to new forms of combat, or deciphering ancient tomes, Andrew’s mind seems built to absorb and synthesize information effortlessly -
T H E S T O R Y S O F A R... T H E S T O R Y S O F A R...
Andrew Bennett was born in 1568 in England to a minor noble family of no great renown. His early life was comfortable, especially compared to those born outside of nobility. He was the second son of a wealthy family and as such faced no real pressure to get involved in any major affairs of the state. Instead he spent his times educating himself - religiously, philosophically, and culturally. He learned swordplay from any he could pay to teach him, but never with any intent to pick up a real sword.
It was during his youth that he fell in love with Mary Seward, a servant girl in his household. The moment they met they were practically inseperable, but their affection could never grow outside of secrecy, a sin of the heart neither dared speak aloud. To marry a commoner would have been unheard of in those days.
In 1591, driven by guilt and a yearning for spiritual truth, Andrew left England on pilgrimage. He hoped to reconcile his faith and his desires, to understand the divine line between life, death, and redemption. He also couldn't bear to be around Mary for any longer without confessing his feelings to her, and to avoid the reprecussions that came with that decided to relocate as far away as he could. Little did he know he'd face greater reprecussions for this decision than he ever could have imagined.
During his travel, in a place forgotten by time and surrounded by ruins he met a strange wanderer. He would later learn this to be Cain, the first Vampire. Cain saw in Andrew the same hunger for meaning that had once doomed him. As punishment or gift, none could say, he passed his curse on to the young man. The transformation was torment; Andrew awoke no longer man but monster. At first, there was no control, no conscience - only an unquenchable thirst. He slaughtered without reason, feeding on pilgrims, thieves, priests, anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path.
It took years of horror and self-loathing before he learned restraint. He came to see his curse as his penance. A divine task given to him from above, to shoulder such a burden so that others might be free from its pain. When he finally returned to England, he found Mary still in service of his family, now a woman grown, her beauty and gentleness unchanged. Consumed by longing and loneliness, he revealed himself to her. Against all wisdom, he offered her the gift he could never undo, believing love might redeem what damnation had taken.
But Mary's heart, once pure, was twisted by the transformation. The hunger consumed her as it once had him, but she did not resist it, instead she revelled in it. In time, she gathered followers and became the Queen of Blood, while Andrew, horrified by what he had unleashed, dedicated his eternity to containing her and the plague she spread.
Two decades ago, weary beyond words and believing his long war finally at its end, Andrew withdrew from the world and took refuge in an old Boston manor on the outskirts of the city, surrendering to a long sleep. He dreamed of nothing, expecting never to wake.
Now he does.
The world has changed, in both small and large ways. He remembers pieces of his life: his name, his curse, and the woman he damned. But he can feel something stirring in the darkness worse than anything he's faced before, something that has called him back.
And though centuries have dulled his heart, Andrew Bennett rises once more - to atone, to battle, and to face the consequence of love eternal.
P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S )
I'm a big fan of vampires, especially the 'good' vampire we so rarely see in fiction. Recently I discovered the New 52 run of 'I, Vampire' and love it. I'd love to give my own spin on the Andrew Bennett story and use him as a travelling character to facilitate interaction with other players as much as I diegetically can.
As much as his main enemies will be vampires, ghouls, and things that go bump in the night - I want to expand his influence outward to encounter less occult characters. Without spoiling anything, I of course want to go into a Vampire uprising plotline that would open up collabs for anyone who'd like to have their character deal with an outbreak, whether with or without Andrew to help.
My main plot will be centred around his conflict with Mary, his former lover and someone he eternally tries to redeem. This will arch over into plotlines featuring all your favourite vampires - Deacon Frost, Dracula, and of course eventually Cain himself.
Ultimately I want to tell a slightly darker and less light-hearted story to run alongside my Fantastic Four sheet. Andrew will be a very different character to any I have written before and I hope I can do such an underrated character justice.
All formatting originates via the work ofLord Wraith
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