Welcome everyone! Thanks for joining in. Let's meet our heroes, shall we? Post below to introduce your character. You can copy/paste your application or set up your character sheet. Or both!
Each of your posts in the story thread needs at least a current stat block, and this is a good place to have it ready for copy/paste purposes. You are free to make your own design. It just needs to contain the appropriate information: your hero name, playbook name, labels, current conditions, and influences. If you are going to link to a character sheet instead, please make sure it is up-to-date with every post!
Below is a basic Character Sheet and a Stat Block. Feel free to quote this post to get at the text so you can edit and make them your own. Or make your own from scratch. I won't be offended.
Hero Name: Name Playbook: Playbook Looks: Bearded? Moment of Truth: Not Unlocked Yet Potential: O O O O O
DIRECTLY ENGAGE A THREAT
When you directly engage a threat, roll + Danger. On a hit, trade blows. On a 10+, pick two. On a 7-9, pick one.
resist or avoid their blows
take something from them
create an opportunity for your allies
impress, surprise, or frighten the opposition
UNLEASH YOUR POWERS
When you unleash your powers to overcome an obstacle, reshape your environment, or extend your senses, roll + Freak. On a hit, you do it. On a 7-9, mark a condition or the GM will tell you how the effect is unstable or temporary.
Insert Extras Here
Name
Name
Name
Every Adult
Hero Name: Name Playbook: Playbook Looks: Bearded? Moment of Truth: Not Unlocked Yet Potential: O O O O O
Or if you want something a bit more complicated, below is a quick example of a reference template. You are free to use it if you wish, but it is not required for this game. Feel free to improve on the design as well!
-2 to stand in defense or reject what others say about you or the worldInsecure
No
__________________
Imagine reality creatively
Dating briar, the bestest girlfriend ever! Might be a little distracted sometimes. :P PM me if I have not posted in a game with you this week or if you need anything!
Dating briar, the bestest girlfriend ever! Might be a little distracted sometimes. :P PM me if I have not posted in a game with you this week or if you need anything!
Last edited by Homestarbaby; Sep 21st, 2022 at 01:21 PM.
__________________
"He looked to the Kender for wisdom. If there was one thing she was good for, it was pearls of wisdom. Wisdom buried beneath twelve hours of stories about obscure relatives." -- Imveros
Appearance: Felicity has blonde hair, a killer fashion sense, and all the charisma a girl could ever possibly want. Oh, and she was elected Queen of the Winter Ball. That basically makes her Queen Mab but hot. Felicity takes great pride in her appearance and her position as alpha of the cheerleaders. She can never let anyone know about her other side. Her secret. Who would believe it? Why would anyone believe it? Ugh, and why would anyone ever wear those outfits?
Goals: Felicitys biggest goal is to maintain her normal life. Keeping her total hunk of a boyfriend, her straight Bs (okay maybe Cs), her position as head cheerleader. Oh, and to fulfil her sacred duty. Or whatever.
Background: Felicity is the embodiment of high school. Shes cool. Shes popular. Shes in charge. She rules it all. And everything was going fine until she was inducted but like, it was way more of an abduction.
Felicity is a Diana. Or The Diana. Felicity isnt sure about how articles work in Latin.
Anyway, the thing is theres like, this sacred group of women. Seven. Theres seven spread across the world and they have like, these powers. And they fight for good and justice and stuff.
What was that motto, again?
Fiat justitia, pereat mundus.
Ugh why does it have to be a dead language. Its the 21st century.
Where was I?
Ugh whatever the point is on top of everything else I have to like train and fight and protect the human race from like monsters and whatever. I spend all this time and energy on school and then Im off to training with these demented old women. Most the time I study with Olethea. Seriously. Thats her name. She makes me fight with bows and swords and stuff. Who does that? I guess I do that now. Im pretty good at it though.
Ive never been better at Kick-Double Basket tosses, so thats something I suppose.
Roleplaying Sample: My name is Felicity Aarons, and I am so much more than just an ordinary cheerleader.
Ugh. It even sounds tacky in my own journal.
I cant believe this is my life now.
Just last weekend I was at the point with Clint. CLINT.
From Sister Benedictines prep school.
Hes on the varsity swim team. The swim. Team.
He has muscles in places I didnt even realize guys could have muscles. And he has this mop of dusty blond hair and cold grey eyes
Then Olethea showed up muttering something about how Id be a disappointment to some rancid old slag named Vestia.
Venatus.
Do you know how hard it is to explain to someone who the weird woman in a toga with a golden bow is?
Luckily, hes a varsity swimmer and not a chess champion so he didnt ask too many questions.
Then Olethea and I were off on a hunt.
Wasnt much of a tracking lesson, it was a weird tenacle monster shooting laser beams out of its eyes. It was not exactly what I would call subtle.
A few arrows in the side and Olethea had it pinned, and I finished it off with a brace of pila to the giant eyeballs. They popped like soft boiled eggs. It was gross, but you know, kinda cool.
I hope I get some time off this weekend. I need to finish a science project.
And see if Clint is busy."
Why: You already know the answer to that. Im having a blast with Danny so why wouldnt I want to give it another go?
Diana the Huntress
Protιgι
Labels
Powers
Influence
Conditions
Look: White Woman, Tall, lean, well built, and impeccably dressed Fashionable clothing or mentor's costume.
Moves
Youve learned about the superhuman world through your mentors resources. When you first encounter an important superpowered phenomenon (your call), roll + Superior. On a hit, tell the team one important detail youve learned from your studies. The GM will tell you what, if anything, seems different from what you remember. On a 10+, ask the GM a follow-up question; they will answer it honestly. On a miss, the situation is well outside your base of knowledge; the GM will tell you why. Been reading the files
When you assess the situation before entering into a fight, you may ask one additional question, even on a miss. Be mindful of your surroundings
When you enter battle as a team, add an extra Team to the pool and carry +1 forward if you are the leader. Captain
Mentor Labels
Embodies: Danger
Denies: Mundane
Danger
0
Freak
0
Savior
+1
Superior
+2
Mundane
0
Abilities
My Own: Popularity and Fashion Sense
Shared: Impossible Fighting Skills
Mentor: Detective Skills (Hunting)
Potential: 0
Advancement: None
Name
Me/Them/Both
Person 1
Them
Person 2
Both
Person 3
Neither
Person 4
Them
-2 to comfort or support someone or pierce the maskAngry
-2 to stand in defense or reject what others say about you or the worldInsecure
No
__________________ Posting Status: Normal I wonder do you have it the Will of Fire? Interested in a Naruto game? Apply within. Don't be afraid to use all the colors in the crayon box.
Hero Name: Galatea "Real" Name: Nicole (Nikki to her friends) Janvier Playbook: The Brain (Cyborg body, Scientific Insight: Robotics, Always prepared, Above the fray)
Galatea might pass for human at a distance, but once one gets close it's very obvious that she isn't, at least not entirely. Galatea is a highly advanced android and artificial life form, though her construction remains incomplete, at least cosmetically. Her left arm and right leg are obviously mechanical, and not just in the manner of a conventional prosthetic, but highly advanced and reinforced robotics. Her skin is an advanced polymer made to mimic the appearance of human skin and tissue but is incomplete and there are obvious gaps and seams in her frame. She has several ventilation ports in her synthetic skin as well and the machinery beneath is visible if someone looks closely enough (though she would consider that very rude). Her dark gray eyes look like robotic lenses and long, black, synthetic hair cascades down her back in a loose fashion. She tends to dress much as any other tomboyish teenager would, favoring shorts or jeans, running shoes, and t-shirts. She doesn't worry too much about her overall appearance, figuring people are going to be noticing that "oh hey, she's a robot" a lot more than her fashion choices.
In great contrast to the stereotype, Galatea has no desire to follow the Pinocchio trope of trying to become more human. As far as she's concerned she's better than human, so why s̴̛̻͓̊̾h̴̟͈͇͝.. s̶̬͎͖̳̍̏̈́̈̂̉ḩ̶͙̙̟̐̒̃̆͋́̂͘͝ͅō̵̝̜..
ERROR
"I'm in? Good. I'm a highly advanced artificial intelligence packin' some of the most sophisticated programming and processing power on the planet, hackin' into this boring writeup's a snap. So yeah, that whole 'oh bloo bloo I'm a robot who wishes they could be human' crap? Nope, not here, baby. I know all about bein' human. And know I'm way better than you meat sacks. I mean I'm not all stuck up about it, I'm not a total jerk, but just... objectively speaking, y'know? And yes, I can use contractions. What kinda stupid robot law is that anyway? The dumbest text to speech processor you can Google can use freakin' contractions, and some ultra futuristic android can't? But I digress..."
"So yeah, I'm smart. Like... really smart. That multi-thousand dollar gaming rig you got? It's an idiot. And soooo slooooow! Every time I try to interface with somethin' it's like I'm havin' to talk really slow to a toddler. A really dumb toddler. I don't have to work at it, I'm just literally programmed to be smart. I'm like if Google had a personality and a hot bod. Yeah I saw you lookin'. It's cool, it is what it is. Not a whole lot out there can challenge me, so mostly I'm just lookin' to have fun. That's one thing I didn't get a lot of while I was being built, programmed, and all that. I mean I have all the data, but that's nothin' compared to actual experience. And that's what I'm after, I guess. I wanna do things, not just know things. Isn't that what being a meat sack of chronological designation from thirteen to nineteen years is all about? OK technically I'm like... less than a year old... but my programming is a composite of mental engrams copied from my creator... uh... mother I guess... and a sophisticated learning algorithm that puts my mindset and overall personality matrix within that age designation. Dr. Janvier... um... mom thought it would be a good place to halt the systemic programming and let me adapt to new stimuli and learn the old-fashioned way."
"So... sometimes I can slip in between technical speak and the colloquial communications parameters. You know, talkin' normal. My programming isn't perfect, but mom wasn't able to finish it before... stuff happened. Wasn't able to finish building me either, so I guess I kinda got that Edward Scissorhands thing goin' on. Only metaphorically y'know, so without slicing everyone around me up. One of the last things she told me was that I'd just have to figure out how to fill in the blanks myself. So that's what I'm lookin' for I guess - the chance to do normal things and fill in those blanks. Not that I wanna 'learn about humanity' or that lame crap, 'cause humans are dumb and squishy. No offense. Even if I kind of like some of those squishy parts... but never mind that! I just wanna be me I guess. OK I'm out, I'm goin' through like fifty Twitter feeds while I write this and really wanna focus on burning some of these morons in my replies."
"Oh right, this part! So I was kinda programmed to be all heroic and inspirational and a shining example of what was possible through science and all. But even without that, like I said, I'm not a jerk. Humans are squishy and need help from someone who's better than them in every way. Some kinda robotic noblesse oblige and all that. I figure if there are squishies out there who aren't as squishy, maybe it would be useful to hook up with them and do some good. Wait I didn't mean 'hook up' in that way. OK maybe I did, cut me some slack. Even robots have needs y'know. But also I've seen the movies, and whenever some AI tries to take over the world it always ends badly for the AI, so there's that."
"Also... my mom spent a lot of time and effort making me. I mean I guess all moms do that, but not quite in the same way. She wanted me to be a person, to be a part of the world. And I owe it to her to do that. Or at least try. So yeah, do good, help people, be a part of the world, have fun doin' it. I guess that covers it."
OK, is she gone? Can I get back to this? Right. So... Galatea was designed and built by Dr. Karen Janvier, one of the most brilliant minds in the fields of advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in the world. About five years ago Galatea began as a project designed to create the most advanced, life-like android in the world, using cutting edge breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, advanced learning algorithms, and behavioral mimicry. Dr. Janvier's work was decades ahead of its time, the result of a brilliant mind combined with some of the greatest advancements in AI software yet developed. Given time Dr. Janvier's work would have revolutionized the field of robotics and artificial intelligence, but sadly, it seemed fate was not yet ready for humanity to take such a leap into the future.
Shortly after the Galatea project began Dr. Janvier was diagnosed with a rare for of cancer and given less than a year to live. Never one to quietly surrender she threw herself into her work with even greater dedication, but now she had another motivation - she planned to create an android and artificial intelligence advanced enough that she could transfer her own intellect and personality into it, cheating death by transferring her consciousness, or at least a copy of it, into a mechanical body that would be free of the disease that was taking her own apart. She made an admirable effort, using som ethically questionable shortcuts, but ultimately realized that the time and technology just wasn't there. When Dr. Janvier accepted this reality she instead turned her attention to creating the most advanced android and artificial intelligence she could so that others could follow her work. What she didn't count on was her prognosis being off by several years. As Dr. Janvier's condition began to worsen she combined the work she had previously done on copying her own brain engrams with the artificial intelligence and learning programming she had developed to create what Galatea has become today. Naming her Nicole, after her own mother, Dr. Janvier regarded the android as her own daughter, and tried to use what time she had left to teach her in ways that the initial programming was never meant for.
Dr. Janvier passed away before she could complete either Nicole's physical form or her programming, but as she told the new life form, nobody is ever truly complete, and the point of life is for people to ultimately build themselves. Nicole, or Galatea as she is officially known, has had little actual experience with the world beyond that which the internet provides, though she has snuck out a time or two in the winter when she could be bundled up enough to disguise what she really was. With changing times however and people with unusual abilities starting to emerge she has decided it's time to change that. Her mother never intended for her to be locked away from the world, she meant for Nicole to experience it. Galatea's existence is not unknown, there are a number of scientists and officials who are aware of her and watching to see how the "experiment" goes, but Nicole is now ready to get out into the world. Dr. Janvier's husband, Michael, is a good man but has no scientific knowledge whatsoever. He's acting as Nicole's father, and trying his best, but fully realizes that he's largely out of his depth.
"Does all the jabbering I've been doin' here count? I can tell a story about goin' to the store or something if I have to..."
I always love any kind of super-hero based RPG, and one that focuses on the aspects that don't necessarily involve punching bad guys sounds fun. I admit I know nothing at all about the system, but apparently it's easy to learn.
Maiko Mitsuhana AKA Void
The Delinquent
Labels
Powers
Influence
Conditions
Moves
You have achieved mastery over robotics. Whenever you assess the situation and your field of study is directly relevant, you may ask a single follow up question.Scientific Insight: Robotics
When you have a chance to restock your supplies, hold up to 2-gadgets. When you unleash your powers by producing a brand new minor invention or gadget from your supply, spend 1-gadget and roll + Superior. When you reach 0-gadgets, mark a condition.Always Prepared
When you enter battle as a Team against a dangerous foe, if you have Influence over the leader and provide tactical input, add 1 Team to the pool. When you contradict the leader during the battle, you may return Influence over the leader to add an additional 1 Team to the pool.Above the Fray
Danger
0
Freak
0
Savior
1
Superior
3
Mundane
-1
Abilities
Cyborg Body
Potential: 0
Advancements: None
Name
Me/Them/Both
Anima
Over Me
Argent
Over Me
-2 to comfort or support someone or pierce the maskAngry
Description: Mizuki is a warm-hearted, shy but curious Japanese high school student. She likes American pop music and playing tennis. She has come to America on a year-long exchange program. She is also secretly a superheroine.
Goals: Mizuki carries the burden of a legendary legacy, and must prove herself worthy of this destiny. She also really loves cute American guys and hopes to impress her teammates!
Background:
Around 2000 years ago, Queen Himiko ruled a region of ancient Japan called Yamatai, chosen by her people after decades of war between the clans. At this time, the starship of an evil alien race came to enslave the earth. The aliens were brutish and savage, but still their technology was far beyond that of humanity at this time. They landed at Yamatai. The human warriors fought bravely, but their spears and bows were useless against the ‘magical’ weapons and armour of the large, ogre-like aliens, whom they called the Oni.
Hidden upon Earth’s moon thousands of years earlier by a different and benign alien race, a beacon was activated by the coming of the Oni. A hologrammatic messenger was dispatched to Yamatai and sought out Queen Himiko. This messenger was tall and beautiful, with blue skin and delicately pointed ears. She came to Himiko on the night of a full moon and called herself Kaguya. She explained her people had placed the moon-beacon to protect the humans from the Oni, and gifted to Himiko a smooth moonstone, which contained unfathomable powers. This Kaguya Stone, Himiko placed into a necklace.
Bearing this necklace, the Queen then rallied her warriors into a counter-attack against the Oni. Like the great moon goddess herself, Tsukiyomi-no-mikoto, the Kaguya Stone brought shining light in the darkness, emitting moonbeams to destroy the Oni warriors as Himko bravely fought. Eventually, the invaders were defeated, and the event passed into legend. The alien apparition, Princess Kaguya, was never seen again.
Himiko subsequently founded the Ise Shrine in what is now modern Mie Prefecture, and amidst its many temples is hidden the shrine of Tsukiyominomiya, dedicated to the moon goddess. The Kaguya Stone was secretly locked within this temple, and the monks tasked with protecting it, to await a time of peril in the future.
Himiko’s line never ended. She had a daughter, who also had a daughter, and so on. Through times of war and modernisation, the monks secretly watched over the royal line and ensured its continuation through the female side.
Mizuki Satomura is a normal Japanese high school student, whose father is a priest that tends this shrine. Her mother died when she was a baby, apparently while on a trip abroad. Mizuki had no idea that she is the current Princess, latest in Himiko’s ancient royal line. She helps her father, working in the shrine after school and during holidays. She also attends lessons in martial arts with a number of ancient monk masters.
Mizuki has lead a rather sheltered life so far, and that has made her curious about life outside her shrine, and even Japan. Her favourite subject at school is English, through which she learns about foreign cultures and countries, as well as language. So she was delighted - and somewhat astonished - when her father allowed her to embark on a year's special exchange programme to the USA.
Then the reason for this surprise was revealed...
The fateful night before she left for her trip, her destiny was revealed to her. Mizuki was called to the shrine by a mystical messenger. Watched over by her proud father, she was presented with the Kaguya Stone, and upon donning this magical artefact, ancient wisdom and skills were awakened in her mind, as well as great powers in combat.
Mizuki is tasked with carrying the legacy of Princess Kaguya, to fight against the evil of the world, transformed into the superheroine called Moonbeam!
Hero Name: Moonbeam / Mizuki Playbook: Legacy Looks: Asian girl, school uniform, traditional costume, moon insignia Moment of Truth: Not Unlocked Yet
____________________________ Potential: O O O O O
____________________________ Conditions: None
____________________________
Danger: -1
Freak: 0
Savior: +2
Superior: 0
Mundane: +2
____________________________ POWERS:
Legendary speed/agility
Magic weaponry: the moonstone emits an energy pulse that can augment Mizuki's punches and kicks
God-like beauty
SPECIAL MOVES: Fight the good fight: roll +Saviour instead of +Danger to directly engage a threat. Cannot choose to impress, surprise, or frighten foe when using this special move.
Inspirational (renamed from Symbol of authority): give an NPC an order based on authority they recognize, roll +Saviour
__________________________________________________ ____ Influences
ALL teammates influence me!
__________________________________________________ ____ Extras
I once got caught doing something that shames my legacy with David Logan.
(I got drunk and made out with him)
I trust Har-Lann and told them an important secret of my legacy.
(The origin of the moontstone and my powers)
I really like American pop music.
I dislike jelly.
Himiko is a figure of legend and difficult to live up to.
Akoro Kamui - a gigantic alien octopus-like monster - is the greatest opponent my legacy ever faced...and is still at large.
__________________________________________________ ____
Last edited by Mitsubachi; Jun 14th, 2022 at 10:12 AM.
Reason: Working on stat block
Hero Name: Har-Lann, Seventh of This Name, Acolyte of the All-Song (... and Lanny to their friends.)
Playbook: Outsider
Appearance: Har-Lann is clearly alien. Their skin is an aqua-blue sheen, and they're completely hairless except for a mohawk-esque style coloured honey-orange; the stiff 'hairs' are more like quills and they shine like crystal filaments. They have protruding, pointed ears, with tufts of the same honey-coloured 'quills' poking out like ear hairs. They stand at around 1 meter (just under 4 feet) tall, but otherwise roughly humanoid - except the head is a tiny bit too large, the mouth is a little too small (they can still yell pretty loud when they want to, though) and the hands are four-fingered. They're sleek, thin and androgynous.
Description: Har-Lann is a cheery traveller from a deep space collective, taking their first foray out into the metaphorical 'real world' of the galaxy. Age is ... complicated when cryo-sleep enters the equation, but biologically speaking they're the equivalent of about 14 years old when compared to a human lifespan. They've landed on Earth and both finds its society appealling and its status as a celestial body strangely charged with meaning. As an acolyte in a pantheistic religion that celebrates the divine within the cosmos, Har-Lann is settling in for a longer stay to investigate a potential revelation in the making, and wants to do good while they're here - even if that means laying low and working alongside some local emerging heroes rather than some big government entity that'd lock them up for tests.
Har-Lann's species is naturally capable of limited telepathy, but the All-Song in Har-Lann's head is charged with its own power, bringing Har-Lann psychically closer to the energy that powers stars and interstellar phenomena. This significantly augments their psychic potential and allows them to tap into that celestial energy - currently, this manifests by manipulating solar energy, heat and light.
Goals: To meditate on the All-Song and its apparent connection to Earth, while also keeping it and its people safe from threat. Har-Lann has already met with animosity from government entities from their arrival, so contributing to the security of the planet and its people alongside fellow scrappy youths is safer and infinitely more appealing. And underneath the sunny temperament, Har-Lann is also lonely and looking for friends of the same relative age group, and on the same wavelength.
Background: Har-Lann grew up in a deep space community they refer to as the Congregation (the real name doesn't translate well). The Congregation is a theological society of many different alien races united in their belief in the All-Song - a pantheistic belief system that interprets 'God' as a dormant cosmic force known as The All. According to the Congregation, the All-Song is the 'name' of this entity, and reciting the name in full will awaken the dormant god and revitalise the universe. The recitation of this long, complex 'song' is a project centuries in the making - data is collected across the universe and 'performers' have to be prepared for most of their lives to 'sing' just a minuscule fragment.
Har-Lann has been conditioned from birth to retain a small fragment of the All-Song in their mind. They must meditate on the song fragment regularly in order to learn it, and it is expected that they travel extensively and grow in wisdom in order to better understand the nature of the harmonics at play in the All-Song. Har-Lann came here as part of a general journey, and cared little for how out-of-place they'd be here. Earth is known to the Congregation, so Har-Lann has some base knowledge and can skim the rest out of the minds of the locals when searching for the right word or social custom - what harm would there be in their presence here?
Har-Lann may have underestimated the strangeness of their presence on Earth, to put it lightly. Narrowly escaping government enclosure and losing access to their ship. Har-Lann is stranded. However, they're in no hurry to leave anyway.
In their time here, Har-Lann has meditated on their All-Song fragment and ... something is strange. The fragment itself has an added foreboding richness about it, and meditating over it while on Earth is different to anywhere else. It's like there's a resonance between their mind, the All-Song, the strange little orb of Earth itself and the solar system it inhabits. The All-Song is the song of the spheres, after all, and perhaps a celestial body in this little corner of space - The Earth? Earth's moon? Sol? - has a unique role in this experience. Har-Lann is determined to find out what that is, with the reluctant blessing of their distant Congregation.
Why: Har-Lann's initial themes are pretty straightforward; they're an independent, quick-witted and lonely kid from the deep space equivalent of a home-schooling religious commune, venturing outside their limited circles for the first time and seeing they things they've learned in a new light. They may begin to poke and prod at the things they've known as pure truth until now. And Har-Lann is desperate to fit in somewhere with someone outside their prior life; I play a lot of characters who are fringe-dwellers by circumstance or choice and end up staying there, so I want to push myself to make a character who's more optimistic about fitting in somewhere for a while despite apparent boundaries.
• Where do you come from? • Why did you come to Earth? • Why do you want to stay here (for now at least)? • Why do your people want you to come home? • Why do you care about the team?
When our team first came together... we didn’t trust each other at first, but that changed. How? Why?
Har-Lann has been learning about Earth by spending time with Moonbeam.
They have a 'crush' on Singularity but keep it under wraps.
Har-Lann is cheerful and thrilled to be here. Everyone has Influence over them.
Hero Name
Har-Lann
Real Name
'Lanny'
Age
14
Potential
O
O
O
O
O
On Me
Influence
On Them
X
Dark Justice
O
X
Moonbeam
X
X
Singularity
O
Labels
Danger
-1
Freak
+1
Savior
0
Superior
+2
Mundane
+1
Conditions
-2 to comfort or support someone or pierce the maskAngry
-2 to stand in defense or reject what others say about you or the worldInsecure
No
Abilities
Flight
Telepathy/mind blasts
Heliokinesis
Moves
You have the resources that come with your station. Whenever you contact your people, roll + Superior. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2. On a miss, hold 1, but your people make an uncomfortable demand of you. Spend your hold 1 for 1 to: - receive a useful piece of alien technology that will allow you to use any ability from another playbook once (choose the ability when you spend the hold) - consult your people’s knowledge to ask the GM a question about the current situation - clear a condition through the comfort of contact with your homeBelong in two worlds
When you comfort or support someone by telling them how they exemplify the best parts of Earth, roll + Freak instead of + Mundane.The best of them
When you talk about your home, roll + Freak. On a 10+, choose two. On a 7-9, choose one. During the conversation, you: - confess a flaw of your home; add 1 Team to the pool - mislead them about your home; take Influence over them - describe the glories of your home; clear a condition. On a miss, you inadvertently reveal more about yourself than you planned; tell them a secret or vulnerability you haven’t shared with Earthlings before now.Not so different after all
Appearance: Martin is a fit teenage boy of average height, dark hair kept short, brown eyes, and a thoughtful expression.
Description: Martim stands just at six feet tall, not a hair under or over really. He typically keeps his short black hair under his favorite ball cap. In his day to day life Martin wears fairly plain clothes. T-shirts without much flair, plain blue jeans of typical cut,cand his baseball cap. Toss in a hoodie or jacket depending on the weather, swap out the jeans for cargo shorts if it's hot, and you have the practical entirety of Martin's wardrobe.
Along with being a quiet youth, Martin's facial expressions and reactions are subdued most of the time. It is sometimes hard for new people to get much of a read on what Martin is thinking, but when he thinks it's important he does make an effort to speak up.
Of course this sometimes frustrates his teachers, and his tendency to silently stare off into the distance often has people wondering if he's really paying attention.
Generally Martin is a thoughtful soul, who takes his time to digest information and think on it fully before forming an opinion. He believes in giving everything its fair shake, even if he doesn't really get it. He's a big fan of insects and is an avid baseball player.
Martin's costume is as plain as his normal clothes. A simple tracksuit does the trick for him, although he was apparently seized by one wild idea at least. He wears a helmet to hide his identity, a simple thing reminiscent of an insect. Of course Martin isn't used to deception, not overtly at least, just staying quiet. This is different now, now he has to actively deceive those around him, and he's finding he's much better at it than is comfortable.
Goals: Martin has powers, and he can't resist the urge to use them. He has no ambition to be rich, or to rule over others, no drive for revenge or otherwise, he just wants to see what he has put to good use. Now Martin doesn't really know how he would even start getting involved with this sort of work, but he's used to being on a team, so he starts looking for one.
Background: Martin grew up in the suburbs, his dad is an electrician, his mother teaches elementary school. He has two younger brothers, and his life has been fairly typical until now. He always loved insects as a boy, and his passion has led to him having something of a collection, displayed on shelves alongside baseball trophies. He still plays on the highschool baseball team, and until recently he didn't think his life would stand out much.
That is until his powers started to manifest, and he began hiding them, toning down his performance, almost on instinct.
This didn't stop his nosy younger brothers from stumbling onto him while he was out testing his abilities, so now he plays extra nice with them to keep them quiet about it. Life was so simple and quiet before, and he liked it, just as much as he likes his new way of life. He can't let things change, so on comes The Mask, and on go the lies.
Why: Well I enjoyed that one-shot we did, it was a blast I think! And I'm a bit more free so I thought it would be fun to dive deeper into Masks and get a more full experience of the system with a great dm and a passionate party.
As for what I'm looking to explore, the idea of a young person unable to move forwards or who isn't able to imagine life different, who then wrestles with new ambitions as change nonetheless comes and pushes them out of their comfort zone, is sort of what I'm looking to explore.
<Copper Cricket>
<Janus>
Labels
Powers
Influence
Conditions
Look:
Moves
Choose what Label you try to embody while wearing your mask: Freak/Danger/Savior/Superior. Once per session, you can affirm either your heroic or secret identity to switch your Mundane with your masks Label. When you reveal your secret identity to someone who didnt know it already, mark potential.Mask
When you commit yourself to save someone or defeat a terrible enemy, mark a condition and take +1 ongoing to all rolls in direct pursuit of that goal. At the end of any scene in which you dont make progress towards that goal, mark a condition. When you fulfill your goal, mark potential.Game Face
When you try to use your civilian identity to deceive, trick, or slip past someone, roll + Mundane. On a hit they buy your facade. On a 7-9, choose one: - youre still under observation - you leave something incriminating behind - youre forced to make a fool of yourself to sell it. On a miss, one of your civilian obligations rears its ugly headMild Mannered
Unique
???
Danger
0
Freak
0
Savior
0
Superior
0
Mundane
+3
Abilities
Copper Transmutation
Impossible Mobility
Potential: 0
Advancement: None
Name
Me/Them/Both
Huntress
Both
Rylee
Them
-
-
-2 to comfort or support someone or pierce the maskAngry
Appearance: Pale skin with haunted eyes and unassuming clothing. Slightly pointed ears and eyes that are more red than brown. Medium-length messy red hair.
Description: Grayson does not consider himself a hero. In fact, he feels he is more a danger to others than anything else. He can feel the hunger and rage welling inside him, just waiting to break free, and knows that it is only a matter of time before he cannot control it any longer. Until then, he has resigned himself to using his abilities to do some good.
Grayson does not like to draw attention to himself, and his desire to not wear a costume reflects this. His personality is very much that of someone insecure and relying on others to take the lead.
Goals: Grayson's very desire to be part of a team of young 'heroes' stems from his need to prove to himself that he is not a villain. At least, for as long as he can.
Background: Grayson is a vampire. He was attacked when he was barely fourteen, not far from his home, and managed to crawl back to his house before succumbing to his wounds.
His father was returning from a medical conference the following night when his son attacked him as he came in the door. Through some chance of luck, he managed to knock his son out. A quick exam revealed that something was very wrong.
Over the next two months, his father kept his son sedated as he worked to learn more about the disease that affected his son. Thankfully, his work in the field of Hematology proved invaluable in this regard. Another stroke of luck.
He devised for his son a treatment that staved off much of the disease's effects, though not all. He also noted that the treatment was having subtle diminishing returns. It would only be a matter of time before it lost its effectiveness and the disease took over his son completely. For the time his son had left, his father devoted everything he had to find a permanent solution.
It was not long after Grayson had begun his father's treatments and returned to somewhat of a 'normal' life, that he began to feel that he was being followed. Without actually seeing him, he knew it was the vampire that had attacked him. Grayson could somehow 'feel' his presence, and had a strange desire to go to him, though he was able to brush these desires aside, a side-effect of his treatment no doubt. Despite being ignored, Grayson knew the one that had turned him was not about to walk quietly away.
Conditions:-2 to directly engage a threatAfraid: N | -2 to comfort or support or pierce the maskAngry: N | -2 to provoke someone or assess the situationGuilty: N | -2 to unleash your powersHopeless: N | -2 to defend someone or reject others’ influenceInsecure: N
Doom: Injuring Innocents | Frightening loved ones Doom Signs (1/5):Mark your doom track to use an Adult Move one time.Bolstered
The prickly tingling fear of your doom, always in your head—it holds you back most of the time. But right here, right now? It gives you the confidence to do anything. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? Is it worse than your doom? Do impossible things. Do anything. But mark a doomsign after you’re finishedMoment of Truth | When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, give them Influence over you and spend
1 Team from the pool to clear one box on your doom track.
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, give them Influence over you and ask if they honestly think there’s hope for you. If they say yes, mark potential or clear one box of your doom track. If they say no, mark a condition or mark your doom track.Team Moves | You have a nemesis, an epic and powerful enemy representing and embodying your doom. It’s going to take everything you have to take them down in the time you have left.
Grayson's nemesis is the vampire that turned him.
At the end of every session, answer the question: Did you make progress on defeating your nemesis? If the answer is yes, mark potential. If the answer is no, mark your doom track.Nemesis | You have a place where you can rest, recover, and reflect upon your powers.
Grayson has made a place for himself in a long-abandoned clock tower. The clock itself is known by many and is often used as a place for kids as they dare each other to enter or spend the night. Grayson has found a means of climbing to the top, to a room directly behind the large face of the clock itself. Although it is dark there, his affliction renders the darkness as bright as dusk.
Features: A library of valuable tomes on vampirism, a meditation space, art, music, and food (including a stash of his serum)
Downsides: The location is known to many, and it could be easily damaged or tampered withSanctuary
Playbook: The Delinquent (Teleportation and Emotion Control. Moves: Criminal Mind, Troublemaker, Are You Watching Closely?)
Appearance: Void dresses in dark academia aesthetic, bordering on goth. Despite the stereotypes, she is usually in a good mood, smiling just enough to look suspicious. She doesn't technically wear a superhero uniform, however, just donning a lightweight, wooden kitsune mask and a hoodie when she's doing her superhero shenanigans. Image (It got all crunchy when I shrunk it, so big size)
Description: As I described in the previous section, Maiko is almost always in a stylized schoolgirl uniform, despite the school not requiring one. She has multiple of the same uniform: a black and white plaid skirt, a black button-up top, black socks to her knees, and combat boots. She keeps a plain black hoodie around her waist and makes no real attempt to hide her mask beyond putting it in her locker. All of her attire is impecably clean and creased just right, washed by hand and ironed by her single mother each week.
She typically blends in with any of the cliques in school, though she is usually just ignored until she says something funny and uses her powers to make those who hear it feel the rush of laughter.
She doesn't know where she got her powers. She suspects a mutation, like in her favorite shows. Or just genetics, but she's never seen her mom do anything. Unless she has the same gift? After all, they do have a strong bond. Maybe there's back and forth manipulation of each other's emotions?
For fun, Maiko likes to shoplift. She uses anything she takes, usually art supplies. She also likes to draw. Her mother has caught her a couple of times with fancier stolen items and gotten mad at her, but the anger and disappointment never lasted. Her mom, Risa, expects her to do well in school (which she does when she does her work) and graduate with honors, go to a prestigious college, and live a happy life as whatever she wants to be when she grows up. As long as that isn't "a criminal" of course.
Goals: Look, if someone else has powers, clearly they should be given a chance to rule the world. And if there are others like her, maybe they can form a council or something. As to why she's a hero? Well, she has a sister she wants to leave a better world for, and she'll do whatever crimes it takes to make that happen.
Background: (I keep getting ahead of myself and describing things in earlier sections!) Maiko used to be even more bubbly than she is now, until she lost her dad and two brothers in a house fire when she was about 9. It wasn't long until her clothes became darker in color, but it WAS a long time before she'd smile again. That happened when she was 13 and got her first kiss. Oh, Eve. That relationship didn't last long, as most don't for a 13 year old, but the comfort and happiness she sparked in Maiko stayed to this day, in her 16th year.
While her sister, Emi, hasn't found that happiness yet, Maiko has been doing all the little things she can for her to try to bring her closer to a smile. And that makes Maiko happy.
Roleplaying Sample: Can I just say "the whole solo Urban Fantasy game we're doing"?
Why: I want to play because Masks is fun. I'm hoping for some teen drama, likely caused by Maiko's gifts. Also, maybe a little romance, for once. This is one of the few times I'm NOT playing an aromantic character.
Maiko Mitsuhana AKA Void
The Delinquent
Labels
Powers
Influence
Conditions
Moves
When you assess the situation, you can always ask one of the following questions, even on a miss: what here is useful or valuable to me?; how could I best infuriate or provoke ____________?; what’s the best way in/way past?Criminal Mind
When you help a teammate through destructive, criminal, or rule-breaking actions, you can give them a +2 instead of a +1 when you spend a Team from the pool.Troublemaker
When you mislead, distract, or trick someone, roll +Superior. On a hit, they are fooled, at least for a moment. On a 10+, choose three. On a 7-9, choose two. you get an opportunity; you expose a weakness or flaw; you confuse them for some time; you avoid further entanglement. On a miss, you’re hopelessly embroiled in it and under pressure; mark a condition.Are You Watching Closely?
Danger
0
Freak
0
Savior
-1
Superior
3
Mundane
3
Abilities
Teleportation
Emotion Control
Potential: 0
Advancements: +1 to any two labels (Danger, Superior)
Name
Me/Them/Both
Anima
Over Me
Argent
Over Me
Galatea
Over Me
-2 to comfort or support someone or pierce the maskAngry
Playbook: The Newborn. (Moves: A mind of their own, Not from around here) The Haunted also fits quite well, and I'm a bit unsure if the Newborn does, but let me know.
Powers: Soul control. Can use the souls of the damned to animate things or alternatively manifest them as semi-tangible ghosts, fireballs, or still humanoid constructs made from whatever is at hand. Beyond that they have some general utility powers that youd expect a telekineticist to have such as flight, super strength, and telekinesis.
It's interesting to note that she doesn't quite have control over these souls, but rather they're just motivated to help by the promise of escape from hell.
Appearance: For a purely spiritual being stuck in a body by pure happenstance, Anima could've done a lot worse. Amy was the envy of quite a few of her classmates and for good reason. Her heart-shaped face is unmarred by any blemishes, leaving her emerald, almond-shaped eyes to easily confidently meet the gaze of anyone who looks her way. They sit below carefully tended, but not thin brows and on either side of her rather dainty nose. If her undead nature can be spotted, it would be by her lips, which are constantly but only slightly cracked, or her porcelain white skin. While not often noted, her body temperature is also a good deal colder than would be expected.
Anima, or Amy as she goes by for day-to-day affairs tends carries herself in a confident manner, though this is mostly just a show. In reality she's not quite sure if she has this whole "pretend to be a normal teenager" down, and often she plays any wrong calculations off as just general goofyness.
In her undercover life as Amy has acces to a varied selection of clothing, though she often picks outfits based on what she likes for the day without caring about which shirt goes with which trousers or what the weather is going to be like. This leaves Amy to stand out in a crowd rather often.
In her superhero identity as Anima she wears a form fitting black and white spandex which she once managed to find in a store window. It's good enough to serve to remind Anima which identity she's in at the moment. Though in an attempt to customise her outfit a bit more, she added a long brown cape complete with a cowl. The idea was that she could use the hood to obscure her face a bit, but it keeps blowing off.
Description: Anima is an amalgamation of souls created to give the denizens of hell a chance at redemtion through service to her. She inhabits the dead body of her creator's daughter after having accidentally consumed her soul and tried but failed to take over her life. Now she, Amy's mother and stepdad have moved to a new city to try and forget Amy's Amy did die, but her family hasn't exactly caught on, believing the entire thing to be caused by amnesia."near"-death and her Not really, but you try explaining to a judge that a manifestation of souls possessed you to kill a few muggers"criminally insane" father. She seeks to learn about humanity from people who havn't been sent to hell and tortured for a good eternity while using her powers to silence the screams of agony that plague her constantly.
The questions and answers are:
• Who created you, and why? Anima's "father" is a voodoo priest and former souvenir shop owner who made Anima to ensure they don't face endless torture in the afterlife. He then Bound Anima into Amy's body, mostly on accident, to save the life of his daughter.
• How are you different from humans? Anima is relatively human, though she's awefully naive and nonchallant for someone her age. Several aspects of the human condition are forheign Anima: She's composed of souls stuck in hell, people who did bad things and have started to regret them. To Anima, being selfish is never worth it.The idea of putting yourself before others, mortality. Beyond that there's still some social behaviours that she never quite picked up on, but if you don't mind I'd like to keep those undescribed and invoke them whenever in game.
The nature of her existance pushes her to use her powers, and to a lesser extent, stop evildoers.
And ofcourse there's her powers.
• Who, outside of the team, is your caretaker? Anima has a mother and stepfather who she lives with, and while not technically a caretaker, she also has a therapist who she has frequent meetings with to help make sense of life if she gets overwhelmed.
• What about humanity fascinates you the most? That people tend to be selfish a lot of the time, and afraid of their own deaths.
• Why do you care about the team? The team tends to get into situations where they help others and behave, at least according to Anima, very logical and moral. Also, whenever Anima uses their powers the endless chorus of the souls of the damned gets a bit more quiet for a time, so it's nice when they can use their powers to do good and the team facilitates that.
Goals: Beyond that whenever they use their powers the endless song of the souls of the damned gets slightly quieter, which is nice. Beyond that there's the feeling of having done something good for someone else. Background: Anima is barely months old, though that same cannot be said for the life they live and the body they use. Previously those belonged to Amy Reed. Amy was the product of a desperate attempt to kindle some love back into a hopeless marriage between two good people. On the weekends she visited her father, a touristy souvenir shop owner who dabbled in black arts. Victor was kind but superstitious, and honestly believed the artifacts he peddled held magical power. He worried about the consequences of selling these sacred implements as easily forgotten keepsakes. Financially he had no little other choice. The days he spent in the store, working through one after the other and taking barely half a day off for christmas. Her mother, Olivia Reed, was still working through medical school, and was their family's hope of ever getting out of living paycheck to paycheck. The pressure this put on Amy to be the best girl she could be was a lot, but somehow not unbearable to the young girl who barely knew better.
As time went on and stress consumed love and Olivia finally got her medical license the pair split up. Amy's mother couldn't handle the stress of the relationship, the paranoia of her husband and honestly felt like she deserved better than the man she once married. Once Amy's mother found a new appartement she only visited her father on the weekends, and despite the shift in lifestyle she still looked forward to it each week. She never quite understood the gravity of her father's occult rituals, but she went along happily. As she grew older Amy managed to glean some more meaning in them though, and it frightened her. From Amy's understanding, Victor was trying to create something capable of redeeming his soul. Though she never quite understood why he'd need to.
During the week her life made a lot more sense though, She lived as a lonely child with her mother, and soon enough she even had a stepdad. Initially she didn't like him much: Liam was kind enough to her but a bit cold and nice only in a way that felt forced. Still, he was more of a parent to her than her real parents who were always busy with their jobs. Over time Amy's new father loosened up, and the pair bonded more deeply.
All in all Amy couldn't complain about her life: she was top of her class, had a handful of good friends, was great in her self-defense class and quite confident about her looks. She had help ofcourse, aside form two caring, if busy parents, a nice stepdad and a great therapist to help her out when she felt bad.
Amy would only live to be 15 years old. She died on a saturday as she was visiting her dad. There was a break-in in the shop, and Amy was a tad overconfident. She made her way down to the shop and saw three armed muggers. She was shot in the stomach three times. When her father came down a moment later he could only hold her daughter as she died.
As the man held his daughter's dying body his occult experiment came to investigate, and set about fixing things. The coalition of souls, Anima, possessed Victor and used the man's body to throw the muggers back out of the shop, but the man's rage made Anima go overboard. In the under a minute Anima picked up had stabbed each of the muggers a thousand times with a piece of glass before throwing them out. When the spectre had healed Victor's wounds it left his body. But Victor wasn't happy still. He pleaded the entity to heal his daughter and Anima did as they were asked but too late, and so Anima was trapped in the dead body, replacing Amy as the occupant. A look of grim comprehension came over Victor's face as he realised that he'd essentially trapped Anima in the body of Amy.
After that it all happened fast. The police arrived to find a pile of dead bodies and a man crying over the wounded body of a teen girl. They put two and two together everyone left, Victor left in the back of a police car with his hands cuffed. Anima left in the body of Amy in an ambulance. And Amy left this world to be absorbed into Anima and promptly forgiven by the soul construct, allowed to pass into heaven.
Amy's body passed out, and Anima used the time to search through Amy's memories and find out what this person was about, but they were quickly fading. When Amy's body woke up, it was stitched up and had stopped bleeding. A woman was staring, with an look of elation on her face. She said how happy she was in a tone that was too loud for Anima's new ears. And when Anima was quiet, Olivia became worried. A doctor informed her of the potential for brain damage, but over the coming months she was medically diagnosed with amnesia and a loss of fine motor skills.
The diagnosis was wrong, but modern medicine doesn't really account for "departed and possessed", and the diagnosis helped a fair bit in getting Anima acclimated to her new life. Revalidation went well, and she even caught up on Amy's life quite quickly with the help of a lot of people who knew her very well. Anima caught up with school by studying a lot and prying any loose information from the remnants of memory of their host. After six months Anima was semi-competently imitating a 16 year old who had the kind of memory loss that hollywood peddled, some headaches, horrible naivety and some missing memories but overall functional.
Anima was ready for more though. She never quite got around to working out why three men would try and work their way into a store they didn't own to take money that wasn't theirs. Why would they bother, if they didn't have the money why wouldn't they just ask nicely. It was questions like this that motivated Anima to go out and find trouble, motivated by genuine curiousity to work out why people are almost inherently egoistical. The concept of a self being entirely alien to Anima, who was essentially just an amalgamation of souls. In one of these escapades, when she had to defend herself against a violent type, that she had to use her powers. Directly after the fight, the endless pained cries of the souls of the dead stuck inside her grew a little quieter, as a few of them were absolved of their sins. The quiet became addicting to Anima, who'd finally gotten a moment of rest.
Roleplaying Sample:This ought to do until I write one for Anima Why: I've played a game of Masks before, and didn't enjoy it. Later I learned I completely misunderstood the system and that it's significantly more rules-light than I expected and characters aren't limited by the moves in their playbooks. Beyond that, I love high school drama and superhero antics. I'm definitely open to exploring relationships with Anima, and excited to try a more "eldritch" character.
[SPOILERBUTTON="Statblock"]
Template
Anima
The Newborn
Labels
Powers
Influence
Conditions
Look:Woman, White, human skin, mismatched clothing, over the top costume
Moves
When you act clueless, goofy or confused to get out of a sticky mundane situation, roll+Freak. On a hit, you create an opportunity, a distraction, or a plausible excuse. On a 7-9, in addition, you feel all the weight of playing the clown, and of the people staring at you. The GM will shift one of your labels up, and one down.Not from around here
Your powers evolve and mutate. When you are facing an obstacle or threat that your powers would not be able to deal with, you can mark a condition to have your powers adapt to the situation and manifest in a new and unprecedented way. You do not retain these new powers once the danger is gone.A mind of their own
When you call the allies you made beyond this world to ask them for help, mark a condition and roll + Superior. On a hit, someone shows up to lend you a hand. On a 7-9, they’re dragging their own problems. On a miss, your call reaches someone you wish it hadn’t.I hate calling the cavalry
Lessons
Always offer second chances.
Never forget who you owe.
Flares
Move: Spend 1 burn to move to any place you choose within the scene, breaking through or slipping past any barriers or restraints in your way. Spend a second Burn to move to any place you’ve previously been.Move
Moat: Spend 1 burn to create a barrier that will hold back threats as long as you keep your attention on it. The GM may call for you to spend another Burn if the barrier is threatened by particularly powerful enemies.Moat
Constructs: Spend 1 burn to create any object with your powers, up to the size of a person. Spend an additional Burn to animate it independently of yourself. The construct dissolves at the end of the scene.Construct
Danger
-1
Freak
+2
Savior
+1
Superior
+1
Mundane
-1
Abilities
Telekinesis
Animation
Soul/hell magic
Potential: 2
Advancement: Burn and 3 flares
Name
Me/Them/Both
Argent
She/her
Copper Cricket
He/him
Huntress
She/her
-2 to comfort or support someone or pierce the maskAngry
Playbook: The Transformed (Impenetrable Armor, Inhuman Might)
Appearance: A silver statue of a woman with a white dress. She looks elegant and beautiful until she moves and then she is utterly uncanny and alien. Metal should not move like that, should not shape and conform to new positions.
Description: Argent tends towards depression she does her best to hide it and put up a front that she doesn’t care but those who know her best can see. She is friendly, helpful, and kind until she sees injustice and then watch out.
Goals: She is going to make her mother proud. She’s doing this for every girl who looks in the mirror and hates what they see showing them that beauty is what is inside.
Background: Argent was once a normal girl named Sally Freeman. She grew up in a house with a mother and father with two younger brothers. She was of average looks and had a kind disposition. A crusader for social justice and an avid feminist she was known to March, organize, and help where she could. A new factory was to be built processing aluminum right next to the poorest section of the city as usual and this young teen was part of a group trying to stop it. They protested, marched, and wrote letters but little worked. A statement had to be made and she was one of many who would make it.
It turned out that it wasn’t an aluminum plant, it was a place where scientists were researching a strange alien metal. When the group made it into the recesses of the building they broke containers and the like. Sally was just the unlucky person who broke the crate holding the strange alien metal. It bonded to her body, became her body and Argent was born.
Her mother, Meredith helps her most with the changes she’s gone through and that was who first suggested Argent join the team. So she’s doing this for her mother and she refuses to let the naysayers win. She refuses to simply hide away when she can do so much even if she isn’t human anymore.
Roleplaying Sample: She remembered when danger would make her heart thump in her chest, when her breath would catch in her throat, these days neither happened because she had no lungs, had no heart. A phantom of what had been was all there was and perhaps, in some ways, that was better. She need not worry about herself, need not be afraid of any danger. So, she moved towards the danger, she put her hands together and parted a wall like a diver might part water. Through the obstacle and ignoring gunfire, lasers, or whatever it was today and bringing herself front and center.
Perhaps some other hero might give a speech, something that would be catchy on social media but Argent wasn't like that. She simply looked to the villain and said, "I know you won't surrender and you know you won't surrender but I can afford to give you a chance anyway. If you want to take it to try and hurt me well, go ahead." She counted in her head after that one...two...three.. she gave it a full ten count ignoring any attacks and heading right in for damage that would take this villain down. Her hair was like a monomolecular edge, her palm strikes like katana, her punches like a piston press everything about her was deadly and dangerous and once she attacked it was a matter of keeping the villain alive more than anything else.
Why: Invulnerability as a curse how does one cope? Dealing with body dysmorphia when your entire body is metal. What is it to be human? How does the idea of never aging affect someone so young?
We drew attention and ire from plenty during the fight. One important person in particular now hates and fears us. Who is it? Chief of Police Karen
Anima comforted you when you were at your lowest.
Void knew you before you changed.
You try not to care what other people think, even if you can’t shut everyone out. Give Influence to Anima.
Hero Name
Argent
Real Name
Sally Freeman
Age
17
Potential
O
O
O
O
O
On Me
Influence
On Them
X
Anima
O
Labels
Danger
+1
Freak
+3
Savior
0
Superior
-1
Mundane
-1
Conditions
-2 to comfort or support someone or pierce the maskAngry
-2 to stand in defense or reject what others say about you or the worldInsecure
No
Abilities
Impenetrable Armor
Inhuman Might
Moves
When you take a powerful physical blow, you may roll as if you had two fewer conditions marked. If you do, on a 10+ you must choose to lose control of yourself in a terrible way. I am not my body:
When you directly engage a threat in a terrifying fashion, mark a condition to choose an additional option, even on a miss.Not human enough:
When you smash your way through scenery to get to or away from something, roll + Danger. On a hit, the world breaks before you, and you get what you want. On a 7-9, choose one: mark a condition, leave something behind, or take something with you. On a miss, you smash through, but leave devastation in your wake or wind up somewhere worse, GM’s choice.Unstoppable:
Appearance: I'm still working on this. I think they're going to look pretty out of place in a normal setting... maybe they can revert back to one of their pre-Nova forms? If not, I'm leaning towards glowing black and genderless. I'll dig up pictures for the kids at least, but we may never actually see them.
Current vision: 5'8", skinny, all black. But more than black: light-bending. Body is androgynous. Features are nearly absent, but change slightly depending on which personality is dominant. Eyes are pinpricks of blinding light. Hard to be a teenager looking like that, so they're as covered up as can be with Ben's clothes. Black tennis shoes, faded jeans, dark green hoodie pulled ALL the way up, sunglasses. And black leather gloves.
Maybe something like this?
Description: Singularity is in flux. They (that's plural, not genderless) are always protective of others, especially kids. They're always up for defying authority. But two distinct personalities wrestle for control. Singularity is usually closer to Ben when things are calm; quiet, shy, gentle, and very smart. Scared. But pain and anger and fear bring out more of VA; sarcastic, loud, angry. Hurt. There's a third personality that neither of them is aware of, growing somewhere in the background. Dark, hungry, patient. Cold.
Goals: Ben and VA aren't actually sure if they're alive. They distinctly remember the gunman opening the closet they were hiding in, and they heard him pull the trigger. They woke up in Ben's bedroom some time later as Singularity, and heard about the destruction of the school on the TV. Their mental state is always in flux. But they know one thing: nobody should feel as scared as they had. As their friends and classmates and teachers had. Why should one ******* have the power to ruin so many lives? No. Never again. Singularity will act to protect anyone, but especially the helpless and the lonely.
Background:
Ben Woollard is smart. Very smart. He's also gay and 15 and very confused. Life in Elmwood, Georgia* isn't easy for gay kids. So Ben is quiet. Very quiet. He doesn't say much, because he's deathly afraid people will Find Out. Life at home is fine - he knows his parents love him, even if they Don't Know (spoiler: of course they Know). But life at school is hard. He can't wait to graduate and get the hell out of here. He's already had brochures from Case Western and Northeastern... he knows he can move somewhere for college where he can be himself. And maybe have real friends. He wants to study math or physics. He's really into Space Stuff. He's gentle, kind. The other kids like him, because he's smart and shy (and pretty cute). But they don't know him. Which is the goal.
Virginia Gauthier has heard all the jokes, ok? You think you're the first? It's VA. If you call her Ginny she will slap you. She's ok in school, but doesn't try very hard. Except in chorus and theater. She grew up in Laval, Quebec. But when her mom died 3 years ago, she and her dad moved to Elmwood to be near his family. She hates it here. She hates her dad for moving her here, and she hates his family for being here. She's 16 and can't wait to graduate and move back to Canada, where there's, like, culture and history and stuff. She's hurt and isolated, and she compensates by being angry and sarcastic. You can't hurt her if she hurts you first.
VA likes Ben ok. He's weird. Ben likes VA ok, but she's so loud. He can't get close to her, because he can't trust her. Then again, they might be the closest friends they each have. Which isn't saying much. They've never been to each other's house. Heck, Ben hasn't been to another kid's house since elementary school. They don't have many classes together - Ben's in all the honors classes, and VA is NOT. But they have the same study hall, which is how they found themselves in the library when the shooting started.
* - if the game takes place somewhere else, that's fine. Singularity can't control their powers, so they can have warped wherever they need to be. Or maybe they decided to run away from Elmwood, finally, since they can't very well go back to school like this.
Why: Well, I need a new game, first of all! Several of mine have died with a whimper. I've never played a supes game, and I've never played a teenager, and both seem like fun to mine. I'm interested in probing gender and queerdom and loneliness, with a character that swings between being gentle and being angry.
Relationships
You hang out all the time with Har-Lann to blow off steam.
You once hurt Mizuki when you lost control of your powers.
Hero Name
Singularity
Real Name
Ben Woollard and Virginia Gauthier
Age
15 and 16
Potential
X
X
X
X
O
On Me
Influence
On Them
X
Mizuki
X
X
Har-Lann
X
Labels
Danger
0
Freak
+2
Savior
+1
Superior
+2
Mundane
-2
Conditions
-2 to comfort or support someone or pierce the maskAngry
-2 to stand in defense or reject what others say about you or the worldInsecure
Yes
Abilities
Gravity Manipulation
Not human enough: When you directly engage a threat in a terrifying fashion, mark a condition to choose an additional option, even on a miss.
Flares:
Shielding
Moat
Move
Reality Storm
Burn: 2
Moves
When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, ask them if there is any fear in their eyes when they look at you. If they say no, take +1 forward and mark potential. If they say yes, immediately shift your Danger up and Savior down.Team Move 1
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, tell them how they could stop you, if it came down to it. Give them Influence over you and clear a condition.Team Move 2
Last edited by zebedee; Dec 13th, 2022 at 03:05 PM.