Session 1

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May 2, 2020 1:47 pm
This is where gameplay will take place for the first session of testing.
May 2, 2020 2:15 pm
INTRO:
Escorted through the busy streets of Paris, you and a dozen other tourists from all over the world are being led along by your Parisian guide. His name is Lucas, and he speaks mostly in English as he explains the sites both old and new. The Eiffel Tower lingers blocks away as your final destination, as it does for nearly every other group of tourists being lead around in this way.

The day is perfect. Rolling clouds. Pleasant temperature. Calm breeze. Then there is a clap of noise from the sky, like thunder. Too loud and right overhead to be a far off rain cloud rolling in. At first, you can see mostly everyone reacting the same way, both your guided group, as well as local Parisians. Everyone ducks slightly, eyes large, hands halfheartedly covering their heads from some sort of impending blow. It is not a bomb. This becomes clear in the most strikingly and horrifying way imaginable.

A shock to the system freezes you momentarily in place. Everyone is all looking up at the sky now. Cars slowly roll to a stop. Green lights are ignored. Some cars honk their horns, unaware of what is happening up above. The sky is being ripped apart. Slowly, a grey object descends out of a swirling vortex up above you. Out of a whirlpool of color and bright lights emerges an object just as large as the Eiffel Tower itself. As it fully "exits" the hole in the sky, the hole washes away and disappears. Most are left stunned, like they've just seen the world's greatest magic trick be performed. A few scatter into nearby shops and restaurants. Some of the stalled cars take off down the street, whizzing by cars whose operators have now gotten out to get a better view.

The object, slender, long, reflective, and otherworldly, slowly rotates silently above Paris.

You get the sickening sense of being watched by something whose glare cannot be escaped from.
May 2, 2020 6:18 pm
I'll take out my phone and snap a picture, making sure to get a good landmark in with it, like the Eiffel Tower if that's the direction of the object.
May 2, 2020 6:45 pm
"Holy...." I look around quickly and duck into the nearest shop, then fish my phone out of my purse by touch as I stare out the windows at the thing in the sky. "Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap..."
May 3, 2020 2:07 pm
OOC:
I'll be posting little OOC tid bits as I get responses to remind everyone of how they can setup their own Trait Checks themselves, but for this first set of responses, I'll run through some of the choices you guys can make yourselves just so everyone understands what they can and can't do when rolling.
OOC:
How to perform a Trait Check:
(Step 1) Determine which of your 6 Traits is most applicable to the action being attempted.
(Step 2) The GM decides whether or not ADV (Advantage) or DIS (Disadvantage) applies to the action the player wishes to attempt, or whether neither of them will apply.
- ADV allows the player to roll the d20 twice, picking the higher of the two rolls.
- DIS forces the players to roll the d20 twice, picking the lower of the two rolls.
(Step 3) Any positive or negative modifiers are applied to the action.
- All of which being: INS (Inspiration), Burdens, Reservations, Assists, and Confidence (each detailed in separate posts below)
(Step 4) The player rolls one or more d20s, applying their modifiers to one or both. The outcome of this roll gives one of several different results the GM will interpret and narrate.
OOC:
@Falible. (Step 1: Sounds like you are taking quite a risk here. I would say you're using the Boldness Trait, which you have a Degree of Rarely in.) (Step 2: I determine that neither ADV or DIS applies to the action.) (Step 3: You have no INS, Burdens, or Confidence, and are not being helped by an Assist. However, your Degree of Rarely in Boldness forces you to roll with your Reservation.)
OOC:
Reservations:
- If the Trait you are using for a roll has a Reservation whose description requires you to use it, this Reservation will impose a negative modifier of -2 to the roll.
- If you successfully perform the action while using this Reservation however, you will award every other player with +1 INS to the type that you just used and that your Reservation was associated with: Exertive, Decisive, or Emotive.
- You will also earn +1 High-Growth, which can be used to eventually alter the Degree of the Trait you just used that your Reservation was derived from.
OOC:
If you are still okay with all of this Falible, you will need to roll a d20 once, applying a -2 to the roll from your Reservation. I'll let you do the rolling bit when you're ready.
May 3, 2020 2:16 pm
OOC:
@KaeJae. (Step 1: I would say you're using the Assertiveness Trait to get those legs moving and get yourself to safety, which you have a Degree of Occasionally in.) (Step 2: I determine that neither ADV or DIS applies to the action.) (Step 3: You have no INS, Burdens, or Confidence, and are not being helped by an Assist or hindered by your Reservation.)
OOC:
If your aim was to earn Growth by pushing past a Reservation or by resisting an Impulse, you're current action is doing neither. However, if passed, you will be inside instead of being exposed on the street, and you may even inspire everyone else with +1 INS if you happen to crit. Roll a single d20 with no mods when ready if you still want to do so.
May 3, 2020 5:25 pm
OOC:
OK, I'm not feeling bold enough to risk starting our group off with a burden if I fail the roll. I'll change my action.
I look around to assess the condition of those around me, and if anyone seems somehow injured, or too shocked to move, I'll help them get inside the nearest shop. If everyone is ok on their own, I'll just get inside by myself. (Empathy [][][], I assume there will be no modifiers from steps 2 and 3. I'll roll now, but let me know if I should have waited for your input).

Rolls

Empathy - (1d20)

(3) = 3

May 3, 2020 7:02 pm
OOC:
There are no mods and no ADV or DIS and you are fine to roll.
OOC:
This is the result of rolling a 3 btw (10 or lower) Failure: You fail the action and are now in an even more dangerous or challenging situation because of it. (You are afflicted with a Burden).
A bolt of adrenaline and panic jolts you into action, you hesitate to leap into a nearby cafe as you look back to the group of tourists you've been walking around Paris with, you want to shout to them, but your mind won't allow it. In your hesitation, you look back and notice you've slightly gone off course and have walked past the door, now closer to an alley than the door, the fear jolts you around the corner instead. (You are afflicted with +1 Fear.)
OOC:
The Fear Burden provides a -1 (up to a total of -3) to rolls for all actions taken using either of the two Emotive Traits: Empathy & Passion.
OOC:
Also, the entire group is only afflicted with a Burden upon a Crit Fail. (nat1)Critical Failure: Not only do you fail the action, but you do so in such a spectacularly devastating way that the result impacts the entire party. (Every player is afflicted with a Burden.)
May 4, 2020 9:53 am
OOC:
Is it okay if I write in third person? I'm just not very familiar with first person, although for better immersion, I can try - just say the word. :)
A twenty-something young woman with a backpack, dressed in simple jeans and a black hoodie, instinctively takes a few careful steps away from the group. She looks around in a mixture of alarm and confusion, eyes straying for a few moments towards the... thing hovering over the Eiffel Tower. "This wasn't in the tour program," Victoria thinks with a nervous chuckle as she instinctively backs away from the middle of the street, trying to get closer to the walls to avoid bumping into people running around.

Realizing that the tour group is slowly - but surely - descending into chaos, with people scattering on the streets or, in some cases, pulling out smartphones and taking photos, Victoria decides to simply observe for a few minutes, unsure if there are any reason to panic, as some seem to. Yet unbidden, memories of multiple videogames about alien invasions come to mind. At the very least there aren't any thin men jumping on the roofs yet... On second thought, maybe she should get out, and not tempt fate.
OOC:
X-Com reference!
I think I can try resisting my Boldness Impulse here? I'm tempted to stay and observe, and trying to instead leave. Tell me if I should roll!
May 4, 2020 1:17 pm
OOC:
@Succulent, the way you are doing it is perfectly fine. Also, yes, you should roll. The type of roll you are about to perform btw is called a Temptation Check.
OOC:
Temptation Checks:
- Temptation Checks are initiated when the player wants to resist acting on one of their Impulses.

Temptation Checks work almost exactly like Trait Checks - being rolled for in exactly the same way - but with a few critical differences:
- Only the player can initiate them, never the GM.
- The "action" being taken during a Temptation Check is to not act on their Impulse. Success results in the character NOT taking an action and fighting off this strong urge to behave irrationally.

- If failed, the player will be forced to act on their Impulse they were trying to resist, often in a way that is extremely irrational and dangerous.
- If successful, the player will earn +1 Low-Growth, keep themselves from acting irrationally, and award every other player with +1 INS to the type that you just used and that your Impulse was associated with: Exertive, Decisive, or Emotive.
OOC:
You have no mods that can be applied to this roll, and I don't think ADV or DIS applies, so when you're ready roll the d20 once.
May 4, 2020 6:24 pm
OOC:
Bravely running away, away....

Rolls

Heading for shelter roll - (1d20)

(17) = 17

May 4, 2020 10:21 pm
OOC:
@KaeJae - (15 or higher) Success: You pass the action without a hitch and everything goes according to plan.
You scatter from the rest of group quite quickly and are one of the first to do so. You gather at the window of the shop you entered with other shoppers, fishing out your phone as people around you mutter to one another in hushed tones.
OOC:
Do whatever you like with your phone now that you're safely inside, if that's still something you want.
May 5, 2020 5:38 pm
I turn around and look back out to the street. When I notice people getting into the shop, I scramble around to join them.
OOC:
Assertiveness roll to get my legs moving.

Rolls

Assertiveness - (1d20)

(2) = 2

May 6, 2020 7:14 am
I fumble with the phone and start recording what's happening on video. "Mom, dad, if you get this, I want you to know how much I love you. This is crazy. This thing appeared in the sky over Paris. It's like war of the worlds. I'm really scared." I hit the button to flip the camera back to myself. "I love you so much. I'll text or call or something when I can." Then I end the video and hit the send button to send it my parents. That done, I'll keep the phone handy in case something happens, but observe what's happening outside. I'll also take a quick look around the shop to see if there's a back door out, just in case.
May 6, 2020 2:04 pm
@Falible: Peaking around the corner, you nervously half-step back and forth in and out of the corner you're hiding from, unable to move and gripped by fear. You struggle to take action as you try to rationalize what is happening up in the sky. (You are afflicted with +1 Fear.)
May 6, 2020 2:06 pm
@KaeJae:You assume there is a back door, but can't be sure of it. The streets you've traveled down all day are filled with back alleys, so it seems very likely.
May 6, 2020 2:26 pm
OOC:
I will not be determining a bit of Negative Spice to shake things up a bit.
OOC:
GMs use of Spice:
- As a cost, if the GM adds Negative Spice to something, they then must award every player with +1 INS (a resource and modifier players use) of whichever type individual players desire.
- If the GM adds Positive Spice to something, this simply gives the party a boon.

Players use of Spice:
- As a cost, if a player adds Positive Spice to something, they must spend 3 INS to do so. This INS can be accumulated across any number of types the player has.
- If a player adds Negative Spice to something, every player will earn +1 INS of whichever type individual players desire as a result.
Negative Spice:The object slowly stops rotating and as it comes to a complete stop, the object seems to be shrinking in size in an impossible way. Metal, or whatever it's made out of, should not be able to move in the way you are seeing. Then, suddenly the object violently returns to its normal size, like a metallic lung that just took a deep breath. BOOM, the sky turns a bright blue around the object that stretches out and to the horizon in all directions as far as the eye can see. Its effects are felt immediately.

Traffic lights go out, the sound of cars crashing into one another can be heard down the street and for blocks away. Everyone puts their phones down, staring at blank, black screens. A tingle travels through everyone like a shiver. The whole crowd reacts like a gust of icy cold wind has swept through the area. Even the people indoors feel it. Now suddenly, every other person begins quickly backpedaling away from the object. Off on the horizon, a plane seems to be taking an extremely unsettling sharp dive, hurling itself at an alarming rate down toward the earth. Panic ensues. (Everyone receives +1 INS (Inspiration) of whichever type they desire.)
May 7, 2020 2:01 am
OOC:
Can't post each day, sorry guys. I'll do the check as if it was before the last post, just adding some flavor text for the flow.
Startled by the sudden blackout, Victoria nervously glances around, trying to figure out what to do. The one day she actually decides to look at cultural landmarks instead of sitting at the hotel, and of course, something like thios happens. Shrugging to shift her backpack into a better position, she finally steps away from the wall, now that there are less people in immediate vicinity. An assortment of passerbyes and people from the tour group seem to be hunkering down in the shop nearby...
"This doesn't seem like the smartest way to avoid whatever it is," she muses, looking up to watch the alien disc covering the great city of Paris in shadows. "Maybe I can get to that alley behind the shop and find a way back to the hotel... Or the closest police station."
OOC:
I believe this is a success, so +1 Low Growth for me and +1 Exertive INS for everyone else?
(Also, I put INS for Spice into Decisive, just note for myself.)
Last edited May 7, 2020 2:06 am

Rolls

Temptation of Boldness - (1d20)

(19) = 19

May 7, 2020 2:54 pm
OOC:
That is correct! No worries about being able to post every day.
@Succulent: Like watching some great storm become larger and larger, it's hard for you to look away. You are witnessing something so historical and grand, you struggle to not be fully immersed in it. A moment of clarity and a sense of intense dread snaps you out of your compulsion to stay, and you head around the corner and down the back alley. (You receive +1 Low Growth to Boldness)

(You award the party +1 Exertive INS)


Positive Spice: As you begin to head out of the alley and onto the next street, you hear shouting from around the corner. You step out to see a Parisian police officer holding up their radio and shouting in french down the block to another officer. He clips the radio back onto his uniform and begins sprinting toward the other officer through the crowd, trying his best to polity push people out of the way as dozens of folks all also run in the same direction.
May 9, 2020 4:11 am
Not sure what to make of the chaos going on around me i do the only thing that i think will make me safer and search for higher ground so i can try to get a better vantage point and asses the situation
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