The Misfits (Cortex Prime, semi-freeform)

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OpenCortex PrimePublic1 / dayFeirgon
The city of Ulentor is an important hub within the Lithien Kingdom. As such it has a diverse and active population with merchants, crafters, and guilds. It is here that a unique guild exists. It is a home for the outcasts and unordinary. And it is a guild gainfully employed as it accepts requests that other guilds find too difficult or weird for their tastes. And due to the extraordinary abilities of their members, these tasks are often completed. This guild goes by the name The Misfits.

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You've always been an outsider to society. Very few interactions could be considered kind or even tolerant, but you have endured. It seems, despite your odd nature, there are powers above that prevent your outright persecution. Still, there are places that are more welcoming and you have found yourself within its walls. This place is called Ulentor. You had heard of this city, but never imagined such a diverse place could exist, or that so many different individuals could freely walk the streets without being singled out. You had heard of a guild that would welcome some of you skills and uniqueness and that is why you have found yourself here. Now you just have to navigate this city and find this guild.


Jul 2, 2023 5:21 pm
Hello All! I am new to Gamers Plane, but an old hand at PbP GMing. This game is created in response to this thread here.

Introduction:
The city of Ulentor is an important hub within the Lithien Kingdom. As such it has a diverse and active population with merchants, crafters, and guilds. It is here that a unique guild exists. It is a home for the outcasts and unordinary. And it is a guild gainfully employed as it accepts requests that other guilds find too difficult or weird for their tastes. And due to the extraordinary abilities of their members, these tasks are often completed. This guild goes by the name The Misfits.

---

You've always been an outsider to society. Very few interactions could be considered kind or even tolerant, but you have endured. It seems, despite your odd nature, there are powers above that prevent your outright persecution. Still, there are places that are more welcoming and you have found yourself within its walls. This place is called Ulentor. You had heard of this city, but never imagined such a diverse place could exist, or that so many different individuals could freely walk the streets without being singled out. You had heard of a guild that would welcome some of you skills and uniqueness and that is why you have found yourself here. Now you just have to navigate this city and find this guild.


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Game System:
This game is going to be a 5e inspired Cortex Prime game, so a lot of the terminologies and ideas should have a translation here. The setting is medieval high fantasy with a mix of combat, social, exploration, and puzzle solving. Though, as players, you can opt to take quests that lean one way or another.

Player Expectations:
I am looking for players who enjoy narrative writing and not afraid to lead the story. I would expect IC posts roughly once a day (with weekends being probably lighter on my end) and being at least a paragraph in length. Currently open to any number of players. At the moment, there is no defined end to this game.

Adult Themes:
Characters are outcasts due to some aspect of their being. As such, expect some amount of prejudice against your characters when dealing with some NPCs. Also, I am not adverse to leaning toward realistic damage and pain, but I can pull this back if desired.

Player Experience:
No previous experience with Cortex System is necessary. If any part feels daunting, I am more than happy to help walk any player through the rules. However, I will provide a small primer for those who are completely unfamiliar with the system.
[ +- ] Cortex Prime Basics
Application:
Respond to this thread with a character concept and backstory. If you are up for it, include a complete character using the following rules below and the template below. Otherwise, we can build your character together in an separate thread.
[ +- ] Character Creation Rules
[ +- ] Character Template
This game is friendly to everyone.
Last edited July 3, 2023 5:21 pm
Jul 3, 2023 6:00 pm
The first person to greet you when you enter the guild hall is a minotaur by the name of Dohavin. Though he approaches kindly and speaks with welcoming words, it is obvious that he has seen much fighting. Especially his eyes, they cannot hide the death that he has seen.

You imagine that Dohavin is more than just a greeter, considering his build and size, he must also also the guard for the main entrance.


---

Below is a sample character of Dohavin when he first joined the guild.
[ +- ] Dohavin
Last edited July 9, 2023 3:38 am
Jul 3, 2023 7:00 pm
Hmmm... Tempting. Two questions:

- How do you plan to handle magic users? I see you have a skill and specializations for that, would a character also need a power? Would it be something spell-based like DnD or more freeform magic?

- Any other relevant mods that you plan to use? Like Doom Pool or stuff like that.

Thanks!
Jul 3, 2023 9:18 pm
1. I would say this is a more freeform approach to magic. However, I would ask for narrative consistency.

2. I may use Doom Pool if the players feel like they want to have a defined end of the campaign (like a Big Bad or World Threat), but as it stands I have no plans to use that mod.
[ +- ] List of Mods
Jul 4, 2023 9:48 pm
I won't lie, I have no idea what any of those are. But looking forward to it!
Jul 5, 2023 12:18 am
Always down for some misfit activities. I have an concept that I’ve had in mind for awhile - a man with a lingering spirit that only he can see unless someone with magical talents comes along and they can see the spirit as well. No real backstory yet but it’s something to start with.
Jul 5, 2023 7:34 am
May be interested but will need to figure out if I have the brain space for a newish system.
Jul 5, 2023 4:27 pm
Miss_Sadie says:
I won't lie, I have no idea what any of those are. But looking forward to it!
No worries! I was listing out the Cortex Prime mods I will be using for this game, since it seemed like gnomius was curious.
The4x4Guy says:
Always down for some misfit activities. I have an concept that I’ve had in mind for awhile - a man with a lingering spirit that only he can see unless someone with magical talents comes along and they can see the spirit as well. No real backstory yet but it’s something to start with.
Sounds like a fun start to a very troubled PC.
LightOfMidnight says:
May be interested but will need to figure out if I have the brain space for a newish system.
I'm aiming to take on all the heavy lifting for people unfamiliar with the system. It's light enough to stay out of the way and I am more than happy to guide you through anything within the system.
Jul 5, 2023 8:16 pm
OK, spent days going through older concepts that didn't work in other games, and i think I've got something now.

Four years and some undetermined months, weeks, and days ago, the great mage Liri Lotusgarden set out to explore some newly discovered caves near her tower. She never returned. As it happened the caves were home to a clan of myconid, or mushroom people. Liri decided to study the life patterns of these new (to her at least) people. Little did she realize she was being infected by the spores the myconid gave off, and the myconid had no idea their existence was a threat to the wizard. Liri eventually figured out what was wrong, but before she could create a cure, the infection ended her life.

Several months later, Ophia gained awareness. She didn't know what she was for a while, as the myconid race was something like a hivemind and while Ophia could communicate with them, she wasn't part of the collective. It seems Ophia had fed on the mind of the wizard Liri, and the magics and knowledge therein granted Ophia a new kind of life. Not really fitting in with her people Ophia set out to find her place. Unfortunately, the decompositions and absorption of the wizard's intellect has left holes in Ophia's knowledge, so she finds herself at something of a disadvantage out in the wider world. Still, she refuses to let that get her down. She has decided that she's going to rediscover the world and live her life in a way that honor's her "mother" and relearn what she might have lost, but survival costs money. Luckily this guild seems to be offering work...
[ +- ] Ophia - incomplete but nearly there
Jul 6, 2023 2:26 pm
@AutomAtomic, I love this back story. I especially enjoyed how you pulled the rug out from the reader with Liri's death. I know that you are still working on your sheet, but here are a couple things that caught my eye. You spent 11 points in Skills. You currently spent 4 or 5 wealth on your gear, but you stated that you have 0 wealth. And you named your robes as Fine, but didn't give it the Fine tag nor did you set the die to d8.

Let me know if you have any questions!
Jul 6, 2023 3:46 pm
Feirgon says:
@AutomAtomic, I love this back story. I especially enjoyed how you pulled the rug out from the reader with Liri's death. I know that you are still working on your sheet, but here are a couple things that caught my eye. You spent 11 points in Skills. You currently spent 4 or 5 wealth on your gear, but you stated that you have 0 wealth. And you named your robes as Fine, but didn't give it the Fine tag nor did you set the die to d8.

Let me know if you have any questions!
Yeah, it needs work, but I wanted to post something so you didn't think I was ghosting the game after expressing interest
Jul 8, 2023 10:34 am
Still a WIP but a quick concept -

A warrior who was petrified somehow on a fight a very long times ago. Was considered a statue mby many until a wizard hoping to raise a mindless rock army targeted her with a smile bring her back as a not-quite gargoyle.

Idea was she's out of time, in a different form, and only has hazy memories. Either backstory and how she end up petrified would be up to GM with a couple of pointers from hazy memories but apreciate it's a big ask so happy to come up with some beats, or even write it and just have her not know it. (One reason for the former is I don't know the story of your world)

If that concept doesn't work sure I can come up with another
Jul 8, 2023 2:59 pm
LightOfMidnight says:
Still a WIP but a quick concept -

A warrior who was petrified somehow on a fight a very long times ago. Was considered a statue mby many until a wizard hoping to raise a mindless rock army targeted her with a smile bring her back as a not-quite gargoyle.

Idea was she's out of time, in a different form, and only has hazy memories. Either backstory and how she end up petrified would be up to GM with a couple of pointers from hazy memories but apreciate it's a big ask so happy to come up with some beats, or even write it and just have her not know it. (One reason for the former is I don't know the story of your world)

If that concept doesn't work sure I can come up with another
I like the concept! And I am not afraid to keep her backstory something that needs to be discovered.

As for the world, the basis is medieval high fantasy (standard D&D setting) but everyone in the game is free to alter the world. Essentially, most of the world is unwritten and we can all work together to fill it out.
Jul 11, 2023 7:42 pm
Interested and will start working on a concept right away!
Jul 12, 2023 6:57 am
Kaneda_Shepard says:
Interested and will start working on a concept right away!
Glad to hear it! The game has yet to start as I am still working out how to GM here on GP. But I hope to get it started soon!

Also, considering the premise, I may just keep the game as always open for recruitment.
Last edited July 14, 2023 3:47 am
Jul 14, 2023 3:46 am
Took me a week of trial and error, but I think I finally nailed down a character sheet for this game!
[ +- ] The Misfits Character Sheet
And of course, I ported over Dohavin.
Jul 19, 2023 2:28 am
Concept for character:

A monk who has devoted himself to stopping gods from intervening/interfering with human will and development. All gods. And he’ll lie, cheat, steal and kill to do it.
Jul 19, 2023 2:42 am
Aegis says:
Concept for character:

A monk who has devoted himself to stopping gods from intervening/interfering with human will and development. All gods. And he’ll lie, cheat, steal and kill to do it.
How does society look down on him? Or, rather, why do average citizens treat your character like they are weird? Is there some physical manifestation of your character's devotion? Or is it more of an aura of discomfort that follows your character around?
Last edited July 19, 2023 2:44 am
Jul 19, 2023 3:13 am
Good question. I think I’d need to maybe know a little more about the society, but I’d think that most people like the gods and need them to do some of thier magic or miracles.

So how do they know to turn him away… maybe a series of conspicuous tattoos cover his body? Maybe he got them in an attempt to stop a well liked or loved god. So everyone knows that one doesn’t care for him or "cursed" him. Like the mark of Caine.

Alternatively, this sect of monks have a very bad reputation (well earned) and something about those monks gives them away every time. As such, no one wants them around.
Jul 19, 2023 5:42 am
Consider the specifics of the world and society to be fluid. So, feel free to define parts of world that help flesh out your concept.

I like both concepts, but I feel you should add some aspect that would be outside your character's control. In the case of the tattoos, perhaps a curse put on the character by some god, or perhaps a natural marking that the gods remove through devotion (which your character obviously refuses).

Also, welcome to the game :)
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