Mar 24, 2020 9:47 pm
lol Bleak -- I can see her saying "We're doomed, it'll never work." or some variation on that all the time
Last edited March 24, 2020 9:48 pm
IHA Character Creation Thread
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Mar 24, 2020 10:13 pm
Cool stuff! Glad everyone is working it out and communicating. I just wanted to make sure.
And to answer Bleak's question...your use of the word dystopian is funny to me, but not exactly what I meant. Your characters come from a world EXACTLY like ours...the real world...where nothing supernatural exists. In fact you could make your PC be you if you wanted.
But they would be a you who woke up in a world where IMPOSSIBLE things...superheroes...exist. The superhero world will work physically and (more-or-less) socially the same, so you won't be totally blindsided. But it will have Quirks and a little bit of super-tech that would naturally go with that. For example, there is a team that works for the cops who have powers that allow them to create restraints for villains in a matter of minutes that counter powers. One hero might have air manipulation powers, but their control of the air doesn't let them fly, until they put on a special suit through wich they channel their power.
So think about a character you would like to explore that world as. Perhaps you will play the comic nerd who now gets to live their dream of being a true hero, or maybe the deadbeat dad who was drinking themselves to an early grave only to wake up as a teenager with fire breath. You could explore race or gender swaps in the character if you want. There are lots of options and threads to pull on.
I will make the mystery of how you got here and what it means a main issue of the game. You are not necessarily required to seek out a way back, but there are factions involved who will be looking into it and it will be something you have to deal with.
Oh, And some other disclaimer stuff, just to be on the up and up. I am keeping this PG-13 per the site rules, so light teenage sex-comedy shenanigans are acceptable, if you want to play in that sandbox, but nothing too graphic. NPCs will get murdered, but the gore will be veiled. I won't be chopping off your PC's limbs just for shock value and such. I encourage you to use your X-cards if something gets to intense or triggering, we are here to have fun and explore characters, but people have their limits. I respect your traumas and you do not need to explain anything to me or the other players. A simple post of "X-Card for gore" or whatever is sufficient. And I ask that other players respect boundaries as well. I am an SJW if you want to use that term, I prefer Ally to the LGBT+ community, but SJW doesn't offend me. At the same time, I don't have a lot of hang ups myself, I'm lucky that way and I acknowledge that. **steps down form soap box**
So the Hero World, as I said will have it's own history and issues, but I'm keeping those secret until you investigate them. You can expect to find a history similar to ours, but different. So there was a stone age and a medieval period and a Renaissance, wars, religion, colonialism, slavery, patriarchy, monarchy, fascism, democracy...all that stuff...but superpowers also existed. In small numbers at first but over time the powers and numbers grew and now we have a shiny world where heroes protect citizens. Most private citizens have Quirks too, but you have to be licensed to use them in every day life or as a Hero. Villains operate from petty crime to major terrorist threat levels. Because there are a couple Superman/All-Might level heroes around the world, the high level terrorism is rare, but the top heroes can't be everywhere at once so the petty stuff is as common in the Hero World as it is in our world.
I hope that clears things up, I want to talk more about the Hero World, but I want that to come out in the game, so I'll leave it at that for now.
And to answer Bleak's question...your use of the word dystopian is funny to me, but not exactly what I meant. Your characters come from a world EXACTLY like ours...the real world...where nothing supernatural exists. In fact you could make your PC be you if you wanted.
But they would be a you who woke up in a world where IMPOSSIBLE things...superheroes...exist. The superhero world will work physically and (more-or-less) socially the same, so you won't be totally blindsided. But it will have Quirks and a little bit of super-tech that would naturally go with that. For example, there is a team that works for the cops who have powers that allow them to create restraints for villains in a matter of minutes that counter powers. One hero might have air manipulation powers, but their control of the air doesn't let them fly, until they put on a special suit through wich they channel their power.
So think about a character you would like to explore that world as. Perhaps you will play the comic nerd who now gets to live their dream of being a true hero, or maybe the deadbeat dad who was drinking themselves to an early grave only to wake up as a teenager with fire breath. You could explore race or gender swaps in the character if you want. There are lots of options and threads to pull on.
I will make the mystery of how you got here and what it means a main issue of the game. You are not necessarily required to seek out a way back, but there are factions involved who will be looking into it and it will be something you have to deal with.
Oh, And some other disclaimer stuff, just to be on the up and up. I am keeping this PG-13 per the site rules, so light teenage sex-comedy shenanigans are acceptable, if you want to play in that sandbox, but nothing too graphic. NPCs will get murdered, but the gore will be veiled. I won't be chopping off your PC's limbs just for shock value and such. I encourage you to use your X-cards if something gets to intense or triggering, we are here to have fun and explore characters, but people have their limits. I respect your traumas and you do not need to explain anything to me or the other players. A simple post of "X-Card for gore" or whatever is sufficient. And I ask that other players respect boundaries as well. I am an SJW if you want to use that term, I prefer Ally to the LGBT+ community, but SJW doesn't offend me. At the same time, I don't have a lot of hang ups myself, I'm lucky that way and I acknowledge that. **steps down form soap box**
So the Hero World, as I said will have it's own history and issues, but I'm keeping those secret until you investigate them. You can expect to find a history similar to ours, but different. So there was a stone age and a medieval period and a Renaissance, wars, religion, colonialism, slavery, patriarchy, monarchy, fascism, democracy...all that stuff...but superpowers also existed. In small numbers at first but over time the powers and numbers grew and now we have a shiny world where heroes protect citizens. Most private citizens have Quirks too, but you have to be licensed to use them in every day life or as a Hero. Villains operate from petty crime to major terrorist threat levels. Because there are a couple Superman/All-Might level heroes around the world, the high level terrorism is rare, but the top heroes can't be everywhere at once so the petty stuff is as common in the Hero World as it is in our world.
I hope that clears things up, I want to talk more about the Hero World, but I want that to come out in the game, so I'll leave it at that for now.
Mar 24, 2020 10:16 pm
@Bleak - "Anything for money" is a very interesting idea for a Trouble. There is a lot to do with that in my mind. I think that could work well.
Mar 24, 2020 10:30 pm
Ah right, I thought you had mentioned the original world being somewhat futuristic. Either way, my concept still works! I believe I've got my powers sorted out, and my skills. I'll definitely be playing a more sardonic criminal angle, but not wholly evil - She just fences the stuff, after all, not steals it! For the most part, she's still just selling drinks at some cocktail bar.
So yeah, currently, it's:
Bartending Fence
Anything for Money
Skills:
Rapport +4
Deceive +3, Will +3
Empathy +2, Craft +2, Notice +2
Drive +1, Resources +1, Contacts +1, Shoot +1
Power: Master Creature Summoning with Tough Little Thing (Though I might trade that out for an enhancement that lets me summon it twice, as you said). Spending one of my normal 3 stunts to give it Power Synergy - Super Toughness too.
Creature has Fight +3 and Physique +3, and Looks Like a Living Nightmare. Its Collateral Damage would probably be Noble Sacrifice.
Still need to decide on my own stunts, but that about does it for my powers.
So yeah, currently, it's:
Bartending Fence
Anything for Money
Skills:
Rapport +4
Deceive +3, Will +3
Empathy +2, Craft +2, Notice +2
Drive +1, Resources +1, Contacts +1, Shoot +1
Power: Master Creature Summoning with Tough Little Thing (Though I might trade that out for an enhancement that lets me summon it twice, as you said). Spending one of my normal 3 stunts to give it Power Synergy - Super Toughness too.
Creature has Fight +3 and Physique +3, and Looks Like a Living Nightmare. Its Collateral Damage would probably be Noble Sacrifice.
Still need to decide on my own stunts, but that about does it for my powers.
Last edited March 24, 2020 10:47 pm
Mar 24, 2020 10:56 pm
I like it. So under extra on the character sheet name it something interesting. Living Nightmare is actually cool, like Dark Shadow from the My Hero series. You spent 3 stunts...Creature Summon (includes Fight +3), Master Creature Summon Gives it physique +3 (so it will have a total of 4 physical stress and 2 mental stress boxes...pretty good for anyone really) and Tough Little Thing (gives it the standard PC Mild/Moderate/Severe consequences). So it actually is pretty tough now that I see it stated this way. But we can alter it if you change your mind.
Edit* nevermind...I didn't read the Summon entry all the way
Edit* nevermind...I didn't read the Summon entry all the way
Mar 24, 2020 11:00 pm
That's the way I read it. I'm kinda struggling with stunts since I don't fully understand the mechanics of the game just yet? I'd be open to suggestions. I did also spend a 4th stunt on giving the avatar synergy with Super Toughness... To make it even harder to kill.
Submitted my character as is, still needs a couple of things. Let me know what you think, will get to it in the morning probably.
Submitted my character as is, still needs a couple of things. Let me know what you think, will get to it in the morning probably.
Last edited March 24, 2020 11:12 pm
Mar 25, 2020 1:28 am
@Bleak - Super Toughness works. You got yourself a real scary looking tank there. Your other Stunts can be difficult, so no worries. Since they aren't powers, they need to be just extra little things that represent how skilled your character is at certain things. Each skill has three example stunts on the SRD page, which I'm sure you noticed.
There are a lot of things you could do. Sometimes people focus on their best skills for their stunts making them really good at doing things with those skills. Other times people use their stunts to bolster their lower skills to give them advantages in very specific circumstances. An example I saw once was a character with a low Shoot score in a Weird West setting. He had a stunt that let him use Notice (his best skill) for shooting on the first turn of combat. He justified this as saying his instinct and reflexes took over in those heated moments, but once the gun was in his hand and he had to pick his targets, he was not that great of a shot.
Your highest skill is Rapport, so we will start there. Best Foot Forward is one of the sample stunts. It says: "Twice per session, you may upgrade a boost you receive with Rapport into a full situation aspect with a free invocation." First, we should describe what a session is for us. Normally, it means every time you sit down at your table to start a game, but since we are online, it will be closer to every three or four long scenes. Basically, I will declare when a new scene starts a new session. You can probably count on a new session starting anytime a new day starts, as long as something actually happened the previous day and your character didn't just veg on the couch.
Next we will look at terms. In Fate, you can have four possible results from a roll...Failure, Tie, Success, and Success with Style. Failure in this game does not always mean you fail, sometimes you get what you want but at a price. Rapport will usually be used to Overcome or Create An Advantage. On a Tie to Create An Advantage, you usually only get a Boost, which is a short, one time use +2 bonus to your next action (assuming that action is in line with the first...you can't expect to cuss somebody out on one turn and start a make-out session on the next...most of the time...I'm not kink shaming anyone.) If you Succeed on a Create an Advantage action, you instead create a Situational Aspect. Aspects last longer, usually until the end of a scene unless someone makes it go away with another action. Something could be On Fire as an Aspect, but when someone uses their action to dump a bucket of water on the fire, that Aspect goes away as the fire goes out. When an Aspect is created, the creator, or someone they choose, can typically gain a free invoke (a +2 bonus) to some future roll.
Best Foot Forward allows you to take a tie, the small Boost, and turn it from a temporary advantage into a full on Aspect with a free invoke that lingers for the rest of the scene. As a fence of stolen goods, I could see a scene where a dangerous goon brings you some jewels from a smash and grab. They want lots of money, but you feel it isn't worth the lower profit margin. So you try to Create an Advantage and convince him you are giving him "The Best Prices in Town" given how much heat he's brought down on himself with cops. You roll, you tie. Normally, the goon would be suspicious and need further convincing. You would get a small boost to your next attempt at convincing him, but with this Stunt, you can turn it into a successful Aspect and on your next turn, convince him he should accept even less money so with the promise that your door is always open to him anytime he has merchandise to move.
Perhaps you decide you want to hire him for a specific job later in the scene, you would still have that Aspect to call upon to convince him. But if he leaves and the scene ends, the Aspect goes away, he might learn that Vinny da'Screw over on Baker St. would have paid what he wanted, the goon isn't mad exactly because he got some cash, but he knows you are no longer the "Best Prices in Town (You can spend a Fate Point to turn Aspects into Story Details if you want...making them essentially permanent, but that is advanced stuff)
Other times stunts are much simpler, Demagogue just gives you a +2 when you give a stirring speech to a crowd. No special rules...a simple +2 to the result. Popular is probably not a great one to start with, because you are in a brand new world and don't actually know anyone. You could choose to leave the stunt open, then create it later with a Fate Point. You might take Black Market Contacts that let you know someone in the area once you've explored some.
I hope this helps. As you think more about who Lotte is/was more ideas may come to you. And I'll just say again, you don't HAVE to come up with them right now, you are allowed to create them on the fly if you want. Maybe something will come to you in an ealry scene and you'll think "I wish I had this trick to pull." and you can just declare that it is a trick you know.
There are a lot of things you could do. Sometimes people focus on their best skills for their stunts making them really good at doing things with those skills. Other times people use their stunts to bolster their lower skills to give them advantages in very specific circumstances. An example I saw once was a character with a low Shoot score in a Weird West setting. He had a stunt that let him use Notice (his best skill) for shooting on the first turn of combat. He justified this as saying his instinct and reflexes took over in those heated moments, but once the gun was in his hand and he had to pick his targets, he was not that great of a shot.
Your highest skill is Rapport, so we will start there. Best Foot Forward is one of the sample stunts. It says: "Twice per session, you may upgrade a boost you receive with Rapport into a full situation aspect with a free invocation." First, we should describe what a session is for us. Normally, it means every time you sit down at your table to start a game, but since we are online, it will be closer to every three or four long scenes. Basically, I will declare when a new scene starts a new session. You can probably count on a new session starting anytime a new day starts, as long as something actually happened the previous day and your character didn't just veg on the couch.
Next we will look at terms. In Fate, you can have four possible results from a roll...Failure, Tie, Success, and Success with Style. Failure in this game does not always mean you fail, sometimes you get what you want but at a price. Rapport will usually be used to Overcome or Create An Advantage. On a Tie to Create An Advantage, you usually only get a Boost, which is a short, one time use +2 bonus to your next action (assuming that action is in line with the first...you can't expect to cuss somebody out on one turn and start a make-out session on the next...most of the time...I'm not kink shaming anyone.) If you Succeed on a Create an Advantage action, you instead create a Situational Aspect. Aspects last longer, usually until the end of a scene unless someone makes it go away with another action. Something could be On Fire as an Aspect, but when someone uses their action to dump a bucket of water on the fire, that Aspect goes away as the fire goes out. When an Aspect is created, the creator, or someone they choose, can typically gain a free invoke (a +2 bonus) to some future roll.
Best Foot Forward allows you to take a tie, the small Boost, and turn it from a temporary advantage into a full on Aspect with a free invoke that lingers for the rest of the scene. As a fence of stolen goods, I could see a scene where a dangerous goon brings you some jewels from a smash and grab. They want lots of money, but you feel it isn't worth the lower profit margin. So you try to Create an Advantage and convince him you are giving him "The Best Prices in Town" given how much heat he's brought down on himself with cops. You roll, you tie. Normally, the goon would be suspicious and need further convincing. You would get a small boost to your next attempt at convincing him, but with this Stunt, you can turn it into a successful Aspect and on your next turn, convince him he should accept even less money so with the promise that your door is always open to him anytime he has merchandise to move.
Perhaps you decide you want to hire him for a specific job later in the scene, you would still have that Aspect to call upon to convince him. But if he leaves and the scene ends, the Aspect goes away, he might learn that Vinny da'Screw over on Baker St. would have paid what he wanted, the goon isn't mad exactly because he got some cash, but he knows you are no longer the "Best Prices in Town (You can spend a Fate Point to turn Aspects into Story Details if you want...making them essentially permanent, but that is advanced stuff)
Other times stunts are much simpler, Demagogue just gives you a +2 when you give a stirring speech to a crowd. No special rules...a simple +2 to the result. Popular is probably not a great one to start with, because you are in a brand new world and don't actually know anyone. You could choose to leave the stunt open, then create it later with a Fate Point. You might take Black Market Contacts that let you know someone in the area once you've explored some.
I hope this helps. As you think more about who Lotte is/was more ideas may come to you. And I'll just say again, you don't HAVE to come up with them right now, you are allowed to create them on the fly if you want. Maybe something will come to you in an ealry scene and you'll think "I wish I had this trick to pull." and you can just declare that it is a trick you know.
Mar 25, 2020 3:34 am
Had another thought for everyone...
Consider a heroic epitaph for one of your Aspects. Examples: Superman - the Man of Steel, Shazam - the Big Red Cheese, Flash - the Fastest Man Alive, Green Lantern - The Man Without Fear, Spider-Man - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Daredevil - Devil of Hell's Kitchen.
My Hero Academia has some goofier ones that are still useful- The Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl, Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt, Fresh Picked Hero: Grape juice
Consider a heroic epitaph for one of your Aspects. Examples: Superman - the Man of Steel, Shazam - the Big Red Cheese, Flash - the Fastest Man Alive, Green Lantern - The Man Without Fear, Spider-Man - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Daredevil - Devil of Hell's Kitchen.
My Hero Academia has some goofier ones that are still useful- The Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl, Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt, Fresh Picked Hero: Grape juice
Mar 25, 2020 8:19 am
Best Foot Forward sounds appropriate for a barkeep methinks. Will have a look at some others in a bit.
Out of curiosity, are we starting with them arriving in the super-world, or having been there long enough to get somewhat adjusted?
Out of curiosity, are we starting with them arriving in the super-world, or having been there long enough to get somewhat adjusted?
Mar 25, 2020 12:16 pm
The PCs will have had ten minutes in their rooms to dress after waking up and then they are called to the courtyard for morning muster.
Mar 25, 2020 12:17 pm
It's not a military school, they just gather to go over the plan for the day, then dismiss for breakfast.
Mar 25, 2020 2:27 pm
Ten Minutes.
They went to sleep in the "Real World", whatever that means for your character, and woke up ten minutes ago in the "Hero World". You will be allowed to act however you want, but there has been very little time to adjust...which I want to be part of the fun.
They went to sleep in the "Real World", whatever that means for your character, and woke up ten minutes ago in the "Hero World". You will be allowed to act however you want, but there has been very little time to adjust...which I want to be part of the fun.
Mar 25, 2020 3:49 pm
I'm having trouble getting the character to come together in my head and on paper, so I think I'm going to take it in a different direction.
I'm considering a character who's like, a grizzled mercenary before he gets isekai'd. Like he falls asleep in a tent in a warzone and wakes up as a teenager in a school. But I don't know what his power is yet. I kind of want it to play against type
I'm considering a character who's like, a grizzled mercenary before he gets isekai'd. Like he falls asleep in a tent in a warzone and wakes up as a teenager in a school. But I don't know what his power is yet. I kind of want it to play against type
Mar 25, 2020 4:05 pm
Ok naelick, what type exactly do you want to play against? A 'grizzled mercenary' could be a lot of things...a gung-ho commando, a sneaky black-ops assassin, a banner waving patriot general...just some examples.
So playing against type...could be a tiny waif of a child with a cute, bubbly costume and a decidedly non-lethal power...maybe a water control quirk (which could be used to torture or drown people...but that's not heroic so the teachers would frown upon it...) or "capture bubbles" or a Jubilee style flare to distract but not harm.
So playing against type...could be a tiny waif of a child with a cute, bubbly costume and a decidedly non-lethal power...maybe a water control quirk (which could be used to torture or drown people...but that's not heroic so the teachers would frown upon it...) or "capture bubbles" or a Jubilee style flare to distract but not harm.
Mar 25, 2020 5:29 pm
Thanks for the ad. I figured might poll you and see if some sort of character is needed/wanted? I'm not fussy, and I figured I have this set of rules somewhere in this mess and should play it.
Mar 25, 2020 5:37 pm
Yo! We're all still kinda deciding on characters I believe, so it's hard to say what's 'needed' if anything.
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