ihinka

Mascot Horror TTRPG: PbtA's Monster of the Week

<Snipped quote by ihinka>

Hmmm... maybe a police officer that was, at one point, giving the crew grief?

@XxFellsingxX

I can totally see her going after a cop that's made it a habit of abusing the badge. Especially if the cop has made it a point to harass the crew.

She would go for the softer touch at first. Loch probably witnessed her bargaining with something clearly invisible. At least to Loch. But from overhearing Cassidy's side of the conversation you would have gathered that she struck some sort of a deal with this invisible something to go haunt Officer Jerk. In exchange for dealing with unfinished business the ghost might have had.

And when that didn't work and there was some sort of a confrontation between the group and Officer Jerk, you would have witnessed a brutal beatdown in which everything that could have gone wrong situationally for the cop, went wrong. As if Cassidy was directing the circumstances to conspire against Officer Jerk and favor her. In fact someone from the crew might have had to intervene before she killed the poor shmuck.

Mascot Horror TTRPG: PbtA's Monster of the Week

<Snipped quote by ihinka>

Dang. xP Still, they have enough common ground for Loch to feel some connection with her.

But oooh... that's interesting. Erm... I guess the first thing I want to ask is what kind of people would Cassidy be likely to target with her powers?

@XxFellsingxX

The betrayal hit her hard and no one believed her. So she was left to fend for herself. She would definitely root for the underdogs and target bullies and anyone and everyone that would take advantage of their position of power. Be it political, financial, familial. I imagine she would be quite brutal with her punishments. She would probably demand it of Cassidy too. For her own selfish reasons.

Mascot Horror TTRPG: PbtA's Monster of the Week

@ihinka There is literally a piece of history on the Flake's sheet called "Fellow freak." That's probably very accurate to how Loch would feel about Cassidy. They probably feel a certain amount of kinship with her (both from the UK, both have not great relationships with their family - though Loch's is more self-imposed), and Cassidy's feeling of betrayal towards her family and coach probably would resonate with Loch. Loch's lack of trust in people has been not great for forming lasting friendships.

That being said, if they are aware of Cassidy's powers, they're also probably more than a little terrified of her.

@XxFellsingxX

Cassidy's from Ireland, not Northern Ireland. So not really from the UK. The Irish have their pride after all

That said, there's a history on The Spooky playbook I believe can work for what you are suggesting. Especially the last bit about Loch being a bit terrified of Cassidy

"They saw you use your powers for selfish or vindictive reasons. Ask them who the victim was, and then tell them what you did."

Mascot Horror TTRPG: PbtA's Monster of the Week

@ihinka No one else has pointed this out yet, so I have something to note:

You seemed to have used Loch's CS as a base, because the improvements and advanced improvements your character has on their sheet are identical to their's. Each of the playbooks actually has their own unique set of improvements and advanced improvements.

@XxFellsingxX

Fixed.

I suspected I might have done something like this. But didn't really have time to look it over during office hours. Thanks

Mascot Horror TTRPG: PbtA's Monster of the Week

@ihinka

A fine addition to our roster. And since Cassidy is Irish, I've got the perfect piece of history for her courtesy of O'Malley...

"Close relations, or a distant descendant. Tell them which."

Cassidy's mother's maiden name is McDevitt. Cassidy herself never knew her maternal grandfather. But from what little she's learned about him over the years, she's decided that isn't such a bad thing.

@rush99999

That actually sounds quite fitting with how destructive her family turned out to be Who knows what plans her mother actually had for her daughter besides winning Olympic Gold and all sorts of athletic laurels.

On my side it seems to mesh with "You are blood-kin. Decide together exactly what." So she's learned who her maternal grandfather was, she's decided the apple didn't fall far from the tree and when she met Duck she probably started noticing familiar mannerisms and patterns of behavior. But not her grandfather's, rather, her mother's who apparently resembled her father quite a bit in all sorts of ways. So Cassidy is probably at a loss as to why this animatronic reminds her of her harpy of a mother

Mascot Horror TTRPG: PbtA's Monster of the Week

Cassidy Byrne

Name
Cassidy Byrne

Playbook
The Spooky

Look
Thirty-something woman, a bit on the androgynous side, with pained, deep blue eyes, favoring casual clothes, which provide freedom of movement.

Ratings
Charm: -1
Cool: +1
Sharp: +0
Tough: +1
Weird: +2

Moves
The Sight: You can see the invisible, especially spirits and magical influences. You may communicate with (maybe even make deals with) the spirits you see, and they give you more opportunities to spot clues when you investigate a mystery.

Tune In: You can attune your mind to a monster or minion. Roll +Weird. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 1. On a miss, the monster becomes aware of you. Spend one hold to ask the Keeper one of the following questions, and gain +1 ongoing while acting on the answers:
• Where is the creature right now?
• What is it planning to do right now?
• Who is it going to attack next?
• Who does it regard as the biggest threat?
• How can I attract its attention?

Jinx: You can encourage coincidences to occur, the way you want. When you jinx a target, roll +Weird. On a 10+ hold 2 and on a 7-9 hold 1. On a miss, the Keeper holds 2 over you to be used in the same way. Spend your hold to:
• Interfere with a hunter, giving them -1 forward.
• Help a hunter, giving them +1 forward, by interfering with their enemy.
• Interfere with what a monster, minion, or bystander is trying to do.
• Inflict 1-harm on the target due to an accident.
• The target finds something you left for them.
• The target loses something that you will soon find.

The Dark Side
Your powers have an unsavory source, and sometimes you get tempted to do things you shouldn’t. These could be orders from whatever granted your power, or urges that bubble up from your subconscious. Something like that. Whatever it is, it’s unsettling. Pick three tags for your dark side:
• Lust
• Addiction
• Pain

Gear
9mm (2-harm close loud)
Big knife (1-harm hand)
Leather bracelet with a pewter-looking coin (The Spooky Talisman)

Introduction
As a young girl Cassidy was a rising star in the world of Judo in her home country - Ireland. Her sights and ambitions firmly set on the Olympic Gold. She had the talent. She trained hard and did what was necessary to achieve her dream. She had the support of her family and friends and her coach and team. Or, so she thought.

Tragedy struck on the eve of her Olympic participation. Cassidy tested positive for PEDs. It was a huge scandal. Her parents, ashamed, disowned her. Her team of coaches and trainers condemned her actions and withdrew their support. Her friends abandoned her.

No one listened! No one believed her when she defended that she didn't take the drugs.

Only, it wasn't drugs. Not really. It wasn't until the freak abilities started manifesting and She began speaking to her that Cassidy found out what had really happened to her. And then there was the talisman! That creepy looking pewter coin, strapped to a leather bracelet that her coach, or so Cassidy had assumed at the time, had left for her as a good luck charm gift. She'd put it on. And the next thing she knew she'd woken up and was late to her testing.

After everything... After she'd had to leave Ireland in shame, she'd tried taking it off. As it was a reminder of what had happened. But it wouldn't come off! She'd tried almost everything to take it off, but nothing worked. Instead, She appeared. Loud in her head. Demanding more, always more!

After a lot of time and a lot of hardships, Cassidy finally learned what had really happened. Her parents and coach, pinning their hopes for fame and financial security on the young girl, invoked strange powers in order to secure Cassidy's performance. Only, they miscalculated. The drugs that they put into her system were meant for the thing in the amulet to absorb and transform into sporting prowess. But they got the timing wrong and when Cassidy was tested, the drugs were still in her system. So her parents and her coach did the only thing they could do. Washed their hands of her, condemning her and getting away with ruining her life scot-free.

But their due is coming. Just like Cassidy's is. Nothing in this life goes unpunished... or unanswered!

History

Luck
You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 12, as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you have just taken to count as 0-harm, no matter how bad it was. If your Luck boxes all get filled, you’ve run out of good luck.
Okay [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Doomed

Harm
When you suffer harm, mark off the number of boxes equal to harm suffered. When you reach four harm, tick “Unstable.”
Okay [ ] [ ] [ ] | [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Dying

Unstable: [ ] (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)

Leveling Up
Experience: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Whenever you roll and get a total of 6 or less, or when a move tells you to, mark an experience box. When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the marks and pick an improvement from the following list:

Improvements
[] Get +1 Weird, max +3
[] Get +1 Charm, max +2
[] Get +1 Cool, max +2
[] Get +1 Sharp, max +2
[] Take another Spooky move
[] Take another Spooky move
[] Change some, or all, your dark side tags
[] Get a mystical library, like the Expert’s haven option
[] Take a move from another playbook
[] Take a move from another playbook
After you have leveled up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements in addition to these.

Advanced Improvements
[] Get +1 to any rating, max +3.
[] Change this hunter to a new type.
[] Create a second hunter to play as well as this one.
[] Mark two of the basic moves as advanced.
[] Mark another two of the basic moves as advanced.
[] Retire this hunter to safety.
[] You discover how to use your powers at a lower price. Delete one dark side tag permanently.

Mascot Horror TTRPG: PbtA's Monster of the Week

<Snipped quote by ihinka>

Welcome back to the Guild, ihinka!

I'd be willing to take a chance on you if you'd like to play. ^_^

Just to double check: Did you mean "The Spooky" when you wrote "The Strange"? ^^"
Both "The Spooky" and "The Divine" are open, depending on your preference. ^_^

@Guardian Angel Haruki

Ooops, yeah, The Spooky... too many systems in my head The Spooky would be my preference.

And humble thanks for taking a chance on me.

Mascot Horror TTRPG: PbtA's Monster of the Week

Well... with low credibility due to long absence I wonder if this might be the perfect game to get back into things on the Guild. Especially since I know Haruki's track record from keeping an eye way back when. I generally tend to avoid pbta games because the playbooks can be a bit restrictive with how they guide character building... But, I found The Strange quite appealing, with The Divine a good runner-up.

So, If y'all are willing to take a chance on me (if memory serves I've gamed with @rush99999), I'd be willing to lend this game a piece of my time.

A decade late and a few (a whole bag actually of) expectations short

Not so much of an introduction as a returning. Some of you might know or remember me. I was so new when I landed here and full of expectations of amazing games and adventures. Instead, what I got was a lot of unfulfilled expectations and disappointment. I tried a couple other pbp forums with much the same results. Until I realized that, no, I'm not insane for trying the same thing in different places and expecting the same results. This was just how it was on all pbp forums. Mostly unmet expectations and disappointment with a silver lining here and there to make it all worth while.

So, now that I'm a decade late and a whole bag of expectations short, I said to myself, why not return. I had some fun times here, despite the disappointments. And now that I'm older and... ahem... wiser, I can better manage my expectations

So here I am.

I can't remember what I said in my intro back in the day. And probably a few things have changed. I've learned things about myself and my tastes.

I still prefer the Advanced Roleplay section as I enjoy the art of writing. I still prefer sci-fi to fantasy, but make exceptions for urban fantasy, steampunk and low/grimdark fantasy. I enjoy system play, with some of my favorites being Cypher, Mothership, CoC. And I've also had some experience in GMing. So I have that in my portfolio as well. I did find out I'm utterly shit at 1-on-1s, so I won't be doing any of that here.

And that's about it for a re-entry. I plan on hanging around for the time being and looking for some game that might catch my eye.

To any of my Sunday Group (I hope you know who you are and remember me ) friends, as well as all the rest of you whom I might have shared games with (if you are still around), I'd be happy to catch up and maybe even have a game together.

I've returned!

The Sunday Group

Hello friends, this will be a final goodbye. Thanks for the warm welcome and the fun times. Farewell.