Character Creation and Discussion

Oct 5, 2023 4:26 pm
Place for world-building, character creation and discussion as all of that stuff is closely tied together for each of us.

Map and Other Useful Resources Here
Influence

As I said, I’m envisioning kind of a gritty take on the Classic Masks setup. Basically early 90s-late 80s Bronze Age Comics style.

1. Killing is frowned upon, illegal and punished. But I’m the court of public opinion some villains and criminals are dangerous enough that it can be forgiven.
2. Only a handful of heroes have been protecting the city for the last 10 years or so. And they are slowly retiring, getting taken out, or falling from grace.
3. Criminals and super villains have grown more bold in the last few years. More brazen attacks. More loss of life. For seemingly less gain.
4. Major metropolitan city which is actually very pretty during the day and fearsome at night.
[ +- ] Team first came together
[ +- ] Relationships
Cast
SOLSTICE / ARIA KING (Outsider). Abilities: Can fly, pretty tough, radical shapeshifting, heliokinesis. Appearance: Female with neon blue skin and glowing pearl-white eyes; shapeshifts into blonde girl as an alias

ALLOY ANGEL / [Undecided] (Transformed). Abilities: Impenetrable Armor, Technopathy. Appearance: Female, with metallic flesh and unsettling white eyes.

WILD CLAW / ALEXIS 'LEX' THOMPSON (Bull).
Abilities: Heightened Sense, can transform, or partially transform, into a large horned beast.
Appearance:18, Female with shortish black hair, brown eyes, tends to wear 'punkish' clothes

NIGHTFLY / JERRY STEINBECK (ze/zir/zirs; Janus)
Abilities: control invertebrates, mimic substances
Appearance: 18, white, femme-presenting, grunge/skater look in secret/mundane identity, fully-body black suit including head with goggles as hero
Summary: No one else in the world knows about xir two identities i.e. mundane English undergraduate and stealthy infiltrating hero.

CAPTAIN TELEPORT / LEONARD "LEO" WINSTON (Delinquent). Abilities: Teleportation and Power Negation (negates nearby powers briefly after teleporting) Appearance: Male. Age 17. White. Shoulder length straight black hair. "Costume" is basically just dressing all in black with a ski mask.

SECOND PHASE / MICHELLE HAYAFU (Legacy) - Chloe
Abilities: Phasing, Super Speed, Speed Reading/Learning
Appearance: 16, female, asian, comfortable clothing, modern costume, insigna a mix between the roman II and the letter P
Summary: Daughter of Ren Hayafu a rich man in town, but he is also Mister Phase, a super hero who is "yesterday's story"

MIRAGE / AVERY VANCE (The Doomed) - amymist
Appearance: They wear a grim costume made of black leather, face hidden by a tinted motorcycle helmet, slight build, five feet tall. Short, dark hair, brown skin, brown eyes.
Abilities: Telekinesis, psychic constructs
Oct 6, 2023 1:48 pm
Everyone go ahead and make a post with your concept and start figuring out your moves and stats. We’ll use your initial post as the place for updates to your character stuff until we get character sheets up.
Oct 6, 2023 2:03 pm
Question on the setting: are superheroes real names known, or do most have a secret identity?
Oct 6, 2023 2:30 pm
Secret identities are still heavily the norm. But there are a couple around the world and US whose real identity is known.

It’s up to us if we want on in Halcyon or not. I’m not against it.
Oct 6, 2023 2:37 pm
I'm thinking my character's real name is known. She still goes by a pseudonym when doing hero work, but her real name and backstory are kind of common knowledge, at least to those who want to google for it. But I like the idea that that's the exception. It's just difficult to maintain a secret identity if you can't look like a regular human.
Oct 6, 2023 3:48 pm
I definitely think my character's original identity is secret, though I'm leaning toward having them go by their pseudonym pretty much all the time these days. I think they feel very cut off from whatever their life was like before they got their powers and started working for their nemesis.
Oct 6, 2023 4:08 pm
I'll be running the Delinquent. I plan for his parents to be "presumed dead", having disappeared during the incident that gave him his powers (I need to figure out what this incident was). He lives with an older cousin in town that is more roommate than parent/guardian. His identity will be secret. Once pulled into the team, he'll start being heroic, but prior to that, he has been engaging in theft and other minor crimes (mostly for entertainment/emotional coping). Authorities and other heroes are aware that a "teleporting burglar" has been operating in the city, and once the delinquent starts doing visible heroics, they will probably suspect he's the same super.
Oct 6, 2023 6:27 pm
So planning on running 'The Bull'. A teenage girl who grew up with not the best home life and would often get herself into scrapes, especially when protecting her friend. Not great academic wise was known as a 'troublemaker' around school, and as she got older got dragged with the wrong sorts at time. (Possibly running in similar circles with Timplausibles character, or perhaps they are at least aware of each other)

Recently kicked out by parents so is crashing with a friend who is very into superheroes. Recently got into trouble/situation that ended up with an artifact in her chest granting powers which she keeps trying to pretend didn't happen while her fried is trying to convince her to go and be a hero.
Last edited October 6, 2023 6:42 pm
Oct 6, 2023 8:12 pm
A draft of my character sheet and backstory for Solstice (The Outsider playbook). I'm currently planning on my character being female, but if we end up with mostly females, I can pivot to be a male.
[ +- ] Character Sheet
Last edited October 6, 2023 8:14 pm
Oct 6, 2023 8:24 pm
I don't think there's any problem with a mostly female crew 💁‍♀️

And I already see some fun potential with both our characters looking inhuman but yours being able to appear human when she wants. I bet my character is pretty jealous about that.
Oct 6, 2023 8:26 pm
bowlofspinach says:
... I already see some fun potential with both our characters looking inhuman but yours being able to appear human when she wants. I bet my character is pretty jealous about that.
That will make for some fun roleplaying moments!
Oct 6, 2023 9:35 pm
Ok. Here's answers to some of the questions and prompts in the Delinquent playbook:
[ +- ] Captain Teleport
Oct 7, 2023 2:45 am
Here's what I've got so far for Mirage (Playbook: The Doomed). I had originally been using they/them pronouns just because I hadn't decided on a gender, but I ended up liking the way that felt. So they're non-binary.
[ +- ] Spoiler
Oct 7, 2023 7:49 am
Currently working on my sheet. I should be able to submit her later today.

How old do we think the characters are? I'm thinking my character fairly recently graduated from school, so around 18/19. But I can go a bit older or younger if that fits the group better
Oct 7, 2023 8:53 am
Will post a Character Sheet for The Janus today or tomorrow - unless we choose to swap Chloe in for me as a player in this game (re: OOC thread)
Oct 7, 2023 1:57 pm
I was thinking Leo would be 16-17, but he could be older without messing up the character.
Oct 7, 2023 3:09 pm
I was feeling 16 for Mirage, but I like the idea that they're younger than the rest of the group. Helps sell that they're in over their head, hehe.
Oct 7, 2023 8:31 pm
bowlofspinach says:
I don't think there's any problem with a mostly female crew 💁‍♀️
The Birds of Prey! Great comic line. I think it’s be interesting if that’s how it all panned out.

I’m excited to see what everyone comes up with. I’m rereading the book now with an eye towards GMing instead of just taking it all in.

As for ages, I think we can make that age range work. Mid teens to early 20s should work with what I have in mind.

Let me run over to the Ooc thread and see what breadhare was talking about…
Oct 7, 2023 10:03 pm
Whenever you guys have a feel for your characters and the others, feel free to start answering those relationship and "When we met" questions. That way we can start filling stuff in and change it or adjust it a little, later.

I always think it’s more interesting to assign the relationships to other PCs and figure out why that works later, but you guys can do what you feel for now
Oct 7, 2023 10:11 pm
https://gamersplane.com/characters/custom/23132

Also, I found this character sheet on the site by Hubbtty, but I don’t know how to use it or make it a template or anything. *shrug* trying to figure that out too.
Oct 8, 2023 11:23 am
As I understand we already have
Delinquent
Bull
Outsider
Doomed
Janus


My first choice for a playbook would be The Legacy
[ +- ] Legacy
Last edited October 8, 2023 12:39 pm
Oct 8, 2023 12:12 pm
Welcome! We also have a transformed, but yeah legacy is free :)
Last edited October 8, 2023 12:12 pm
Oct 8, 2023 2:00 pm
I'll be running Jerry using The Janus playbook. Ze uses ze/zir/zirs pronouns (https://pronouns.org/ze-hir - example sentence taken from that link "Ze is a writer and wrote that book zirself. Those ideas are zirs. I like both zir and zir ideas."). [I have enjoyed several books with characters with rarer pronouns, so wanted to try writing one. I know I'll mis-gender/pronoun them sometimes as a slip, will just edit it out and move on]

Ze is from a fairly well-off background, grew up in a rural farming setting. Currently ze is an undergraduate student at a university in Halcyon City studying English Literature.

Ze leads very much the double life - zir superhero team don't know zir secret identity, nor does anyone who knows zir in their mundane secret identity know about zir superpowers. It's kinda overwhelming for zir to balance the fantastic with the mundane like this.

Ze has an odd collection of powers - ze can take on the property of almost any substance out there, control and talk with invertebrates, and has heightened physical abilities (strength, agility, toughness.

I'm still choosing the Superhero alias (maybe Nightfly?), and answering the background questions - and once I'm done with that I'll put them in a GP character sheet.

For now I'm keeping track of the character build in this Google Document
Oct 8, 2023 2:18 pm
If we follow the suggested order of things, we should answer our relationship questions before moving on to "when our team first came together." The suggested order is (leaving out playbooks we don't have): Bull, Outsider, Janus, Delinquent, Doomed, Legacy, Transformed.

@LightOfMidnight: Tag. You're it!
Oct 8, 2023 2:55 pm
timplausible says:
If we follow the suggested order of things, we should answer our relationship questions before moving on to "when our team first came together." The suggested order is (leaving out playbooks we don't have): Bull, Outsider, Janus, Delinquent, Doomed, Legacy, Transformed.

@LightOfMidnight: Tag. You're it!
@timplausible - that’s great! Thanks!

@BeardHare - Jerry sounds interesting. I’ll try not to screw up zirs pronouns too much or too often, lol.

@Chloe - miss phase looks interesting
Oct 8, 2023 10:01 pm
Aegis says:
https://gamersplane.com/characters/custom/23132

Also, I found this character sheet on the site by Hubbtty, but I don’t know how to use it or make it a template or anything. *shrug* trying to figure that out too.
I'm not an expert, but here is one way you can get that character sheet. Go to the original template post which is here:

https://gamersplane.com/forums/thread/21532/?p=1208158#p1208158

Click to expand the spoiler and then click the 'Create a Character' button. It will then create a copy of that blank character sheet you can edit.

Also, here is a video on how to use custom character sheets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b22tsCGkY4I

(And in general search on "gamersplane" on Youtube and you'll see a number of how-to videos.

I can submit my character sheet using the techniques above, but let me first wait and see which direction our GM wants to go.
Oct 9, 2023 3:00 am
I was going to at least answer the questions and share that info last night but GP was down. I'll get those done in here as quickly as I can, so we can start thinking about our relationships and all.
Oct 9, 2023 6:00 am
So my 'questions' are -
... is your love. You've opened up to them about the worst parts of your past.
... is your rival. They tried to control you at a cruical moment.

I'm choosing to interpret love as possible platonic love as well, as in my mind she's most likely gay.

Can see Tim's char as a possibility for either depending how they now interact with each other. While she's done crime she insists it was only out of necessity for food etc, rather than just because. Can also see them as 'those two guys' as the 'former' criminals trying to turn over a new leaf so more likely to talk to one another than the others.

Open to suggestions for others aswell, especially if I already the answers to one of Tim's questions (don't think I confirmed I liked that idea)

Hoping to do the other questions and post a sheet today if people want to wait for more info.

Also while understand its suggested in order for obp may be faster if we all post them at once? Found that for our Pbta games,
Last edited October 9, 2023 6:36 am
Oct 9, 2023 7:05 am
Okay, for my character (The Transformed) so far:

I don't have a name or superhero alias yet. If one of you has any suggestions on the latter, I'd be happy to hear them.

Her powers are Impenetrable Armor and Technopathy. Her body is merged with strange metal from an alien device that protects her and also allows her control over electronic devices in her surroundings.
[ +- ] Questions & Answers
The relationships are:

____ comforted you when you were at your lowest.
____ knew you before you changed.
Oct 9, 2023 1:39 pm
bowlofspinach says:

I don't have a name or superhero alias yet. If one of you has any suggestions on the latter, I'd be happy to hear them.
Here are some superhero name ideas:
Cybera
Alloy Angel
Steel Sentinel
Nexus Knight
Metallique

And some alias / real name ideas:
Alexis (Lexi) Steele
Natalie (Nat) Forge
Emily (Em) Ferron
Lara Volt
Isabelle (Izzy) Irons
Oct 9, 2023 1:43 pm
I notice both LordOfMight's and bowlofspinach's characters are merged with an artifact in some way. That link might might help them bond. Each could be a good choice for the other's first question.
Oct 9, 2023 1:48 pm
I posted most the below as part of my character sheet, but posting the most relevant bits here so we can build relationships.

Hero Name: Solstice (The Outsider playbook).
Real Name:  Aria King
Powers: Can fly, pretty tough, radical shapeshifting, heliokinesis
[ +- ] Questions & Answers
The relationships are:
You’ve been learning about Earth by spending time with ____. 
You have a crush on ____ but you keep it under wraps.

Who wants a team-mate with a secret crush on you? (Which could be well-received or rebuffed if / when the crush becomes known).
Oct 9, 2023 2:42 pm
I don’t really care what everyone does for the CS, as long as it makes sense and all your info is there. I just wanted to provide something so everyone isn’t having to come up with something on thier own. Putting all that stuff into a CS can really kill. So feel free to use this anything else you want to do.
[ +- ] Character template
Yeah the site being down threw off my schedule a little. All good though.
Oct 9, 2023 3:06 pm
timplausible says:
I notice both LordOfMight's and bowlofspinach's characters are merged with an artifact in some way. That link might might help them bond. Each could be a good choice for the other's first question.
Like the name upgrade :p

This could work, altentaivemy can see them being at odds with each other as Lex can turn hers off. (Orginally had her also turning into some sort of metallic form, but a but too close so might be more stone kike/nature guardians or a different power)
Oct 9, 2023 3:59 pm
LightOfMidnight says:
Like the name upgrade :p
Oops.
Last edited October 9, 2023 3:59 pm
Oct 9, 2023 4:26 pm
You told _______________ all about your doom and the danger you’re in.

I think Leo would be a good for for this. I think Mirage would feel like he'd be the least likely to judge them for having worked for a villain willingly, and would understand what it's like to have a change of heart.

You’d love to kiss ________________ before your doom comes.

I'm leaning toward Aria. I think she's got kind of a magical, larger-than-life vibe that Mirage would be very drawn to. They might also see her as lacking a lot of the flaws they see in themself, and feel kind of inspired to be more like her.

Hmm... Aria's questions also include a crush one... I do enjoy the trope where characters have a mutual crush on each other, and everyone around other than them can totally tell. Up to you if that's something you're interested in, Dreamweaver.
Oct 9, 2023 4:28 pm
Here's a summary of my character for making relationships.

Hero Name Nightfly (The Janus playbook)
Real Name Jerry Steinbeck
Powers can command and communicate with insects, can mimic substances

Mundane "secret" identity as an English undergraduate student in the university.

Hero identity as a fully-suited infiltrator-type.

Came to Halcyon from a rural town to study at the university.

No one apart from xir knows that these two identities are connected - within the team you only know zir as "Nightfly".
[ +- ] Questions and Answers
The relationships are:
1. ____ knew you from your civilian life first.
2. You refused to tell _____ your secret identity when they asked.

As I'm imagining no one knows the two identities, how about for 1. it's one of you, in your non-hero mode, who Jerry knows in zir mundane identity (as a baby-sitter, an undergrad, their best friend)?

For 2. anyone think their character would be particularly nosy about zir mundane/secret identity?

@Dreamweaver happy for Aria to have a crush on Jerry
Last edited October 12, 2023 6:16 am
Oct 9, 2023 5:04 pm
Would be glad for Leo to be the one Mirage told. Makes a lot of sense.

Leo could also be a candidate for Nightfly NOT revealing xir identity to. On a surface level, Leo's antics could make him seem unreliable/untrustworthy.
Oct 9, 2023 5:18 pm
Oh boy 😄 I'm at work for four hours and suddenly this channel explodes with activity. I'll catch up with everything in a moment.

First of all, I love Alloy Angel, @Dreamweaver. I was thinking along a similar line with something like Cyber Siren, but this is so much better. I'll snatch that name. (And now I'll definitely spend a level up on Flight powers so she will be able to grow metal wings)

As for relationships, a lot happened. I'll look over what's still open. But I could totally see my character being the one who asked for Nightfly's secret identity and was refused. Since she can't have a secret identity, I figure maybe she wants everyone else to reveal theirs as well, at least within the team. She might be a bit pushy about that.
Oct 9, 2023 5:18 pm
I edited my first post in here to include group stuff; Influence Chart, Relationships, when our team first came together. That way we can all see them and it’s all in one place. And if there were some solid decisions made that I missed, definitely @me so I can update it.

Looking back through it, the book says do Backgrounds first, then "When our team" (WOTFCT), then relationships, then influence. I like how we’re doing the backgrounds and relationships now though, I think that will help streamline things.

But I think it’ll probably be good to do the WOTFCT and I think we’re in a place where we can start thinking about it. I want us to do those in order so they can build on one another, in the order that I have it listed at the top. Bull, outsider, Janus, delinquent, doomed, legacy, transformed.
Oct 9, 2023 6:46 pm
@bowlofspinach that feels like a very understandable reason to push someone to share their secret identity - I'll add Alloy Angel for my relationship "You refused to tell _____ your secret identity when they asked."
Oct 9, 2023 7:02 pm
bowlofspinach says:
Oh boy 😄 I'm at work for four hours and suddenly this channel explodes with activity. I'll catch up with everything in a moment
I can relate to that. Lots of energy going on. Hoping to catch up here.



So, as I posted before the character idea I have in mind is the daughter of a superhero who is "yesterday's news". (just a refresher to get some idea's going with you all).



My relationships are
You once got caught doing something that shames your legacy with ______________.
@timplausible : I am thinking Leo here. I could possibly be that it was Mister Phase who is the hero you mention in Who, outside the team, thinks better of you than you do? so Captain Teleport and Miss Phase know each other. Both having abilities to get to places they normally couldn't (I am thinking Miss Phase as a bit Kitty Pride like skill here), they might have gotten in trouble for fun together.


You trust ______________ and told them an important secret of your legacy.

Any takers? I find this a quite difficult one :)
Edit... So. I know what the secret would be.
[ +- ] Spoiler
Looking to see who'd be a BFF or romance of Michelle to actually have been told this info.
Last edited October 9, 2023 7:09 pm
Oct 9, 2023 7:14 pm
Chloe says:
You trust ______________ and told them an important secret of your legacy.
Any takers? I find this a quite difficult one :)
Hm, it could work in conjunction with my "____ comforted you when you were at your lowest". They could be the same event, possibly. Unless we do want to keep everything spread out more.

Another idea I had for the comforting was that it could work well with Aria. Due to the whole "both look inhuman" thing. Sure, Aria can change, but her real shape doesn't fit in, so there could be some relatability there.

And while we're at it, my other relationship is: "____ knew you before you changed." Anyone interested in that? Alloy was pretty much a mean girl in school, so there could be some history there if we went to the same school.
Oct 9, 2023 7:40 pm
Quote:
So, as I posted before the character idea I have in mind is the daughter of a superhero who is "yesterday's news". (just a refresher to get some idea's going with you all).
Yeah. That could definitely work. One ring I think I said at the start of this is that all the heroes in the city are essentially feeling outmatched or outgunned… or like they just need help. That’s why they are backing your team. So it’s definitely possible that on top of that Mr. Phase just isn’t getting the headlines he used to or isn’t as ambitious in his crime fighting anymore?
Oct 9, 2023 7:40 pm
bowlofspinach says:


And while we're at it, my other relationship is: "____ knew you before you changed." Anyone interested in that? Alloy was pretty much a mean girl in school, so there could be some history there if we went to the same school.
Could be we clashed a lot at school while Lex still went, as she was likely an easy target for the mean girls.. though also likely fought back and kept getting suspended due to it. (Also if they went for her friend who was seen as a weirdo)

Could also spin into her then being Lex's Rival if they are still clashing? Especially if your character is angry Lex can change back?
Oct 9, 2023 7:47 pm
Aegis says:
So it’s definitely possible that on top of that Mr. Phase just isn’t getting the headlines he used to or isn’t as ambitious in his crime fighting anymore?
I like the idea that he might also be getting old and working on his succession.
That is actually what he does by promoting his daughter as Miss Phase and put her on a team. He could be a back-ground sponsor/aid of the team.
Oct 9, 2023 7:50 pm
bowlofspinach says:
Chloe says:
You trust ______________ and told them an important secret of your legacy.
Any takers? I find this a quite difficult one :)
Hm, it could work in conjunction with my "____ comforted you when you were at your lowest". They could be the same event, possibly. Unless we do want to keep everything spread out more.

Another idea I had for the comforting was that it could work well with Aria. Due to the whole "both look inhuman" thing. Sure, Aria can change, but her real shape doesn't fit in, so there could be some relatability there.

And while we're at it, my other relationship is: "____ knew you before you changed." Anyone interested in that? Alloy was pretty much a mean girl in school, so there could be some history there if we went to the same school.
I think "____ knew you before you changed." fits better with Michelle than "____ comforted you when you were at your lowest" (which I kinda could see go with Aria).


"____ knew you before you changed."
Could work like they'd been to school together but a bit as "rivals". If Alloy was a mean girl, I could see Michelle standing up for those who Alloy was picking on.
Oct 9, 2023 7:56 pm
LightOfMidnight says:
Could be we clashed a lot at school while Lex still went, as she was likely an easy target for the mean girls.. though also likely fought back and kept getting suspended due to it. (Also if they went for her friend who was seen as a weirdo)

Could also spin into her then being Lex's Rival if they are still clashing? Especially if your character is angry Lex can change back?
I like the idea that we clashed at school. Maybe my clique was more focused on bullying your friend (though your character of course also got some in the process). I don't think I'd continue it into making Alloy your rival. I kind of feel like the cards have been shuffled enough that they need to figure out where they're standing (or Alloy at least has to figure out where she is) enough that the dynamic wouldn't just remain as it was.
Chloe says:
"____ knew you before you changed."
Could work like they'd been to school together but a bit as "rivals". If Alloy was a mean girl, I could see Michelle standing up for those who Alloy was picking on.
Could also work.
Last edited October 9, 2023 7:57 pm
Oct 9, 2023 8:21 pm
Name Change!


Thanks to some happy AI accidents I have now a better hero name for Michelle.


Miss Phase

is now

Second Phase


Mister Phase's insigna is a P
Second Phase's insigna is a P but with two vertical lines so it also looks like a roman II

You'll see when I am done photoshopping :)
Oct 9, 2023 8:35 pm
Hero Name: *Help needed*
Real Name: Lex Thompson
Powers: Werewolf Heightened senses, can shift into the hulking form of a 'nature guardian', a humanoid beast with stag like horns, claw and a lot of destructive power. Can partial shift with some focus

Okay the backstory changed a bit, but we don't have a reformed its fine right :P
[ +- ] Questions
Oct 9, 2023 8:36 pm
Wild Claw is a very 90s super name.
Oct 9, 2023 8:45 pm
I do still kind of like the idea of my relationship being that I bullied Lex' friend in school. With Jaina being trans, I could easily see that including some transphobia. Coming from a spoiled pretty mean girl, I think that's not too inappropriate and I think it could lead to some interesting character moments.

I do want to check in if the other players are on board with that, though, especially since we have two non-binary characters on the team. I wouldn't go full hatred against trans people, but if people are fine with it, I could include some casual transphobia in the way I play my character (which would then also affect Nightfly and Mirage). But I'm also happy to leave it out. This is supposed to be comfortable for everyone (and being trans myself, I can definitely understand wanting to get away from this kind of content in an escapist hobby).
Oct 9, 2023 8:53 pm
LightOfMidnight says:
Hero Name: *Help needed*
Wildebeast (misspelling intentional)
Oct 9, 2023 8:58 pm
bowlofspinach says:
I do still kind of like the idea of my relationship being that I bullied Lex' friend in school. With Jaina being trans, I could easily see that including some transphobia. Coming from a spoiled pretty mean girl, I think that's not too inappropriate and I think it could lead to some interesting character moments.

I do want to check in if the other players are on board with that, though, especially since we have two non-binary characters on the team. I wouldn't go full hatred against trans people, but if people are fine with it, I could include some casual transphobia in the way I play my character (which would then also affect Nightfly and Mirage). But I'm also happy to leave it out. This is supposed to be comfortable for everyone (and being trans myself, I can definitely understand wanting to get away from this kind of content in an escapist hobby).
Yeah. The thought of transphobia being one reason she often needed to defend Jaina is there, but didn't want to force your character into it, and also realise it is a close subject to home if some would rather than not be in the rppg. (..same with the parental abuse I can change that if need be)

For names.. I do like both Wildebeast and Wildclaw. Originally it was going t o be sentinel or guardian, but when it becgame and animalist nature form those went out the window. (tbf I love the concept of stags being nature guardians and it pops up a lot in my writing.. it is not one of those cases)
Oct 9, 2023 9:22 pm
Swapped Never Give up.. for Symbol of authority.

It was a close call between them, but I think Symbol is a bit more PbP friendly.

That completes the mechanics.
It leaves the relationship questions.
I think the ones with Leo and Alloy would be great if they're cool with them.
Still leaves me with someone to trust a lot.

Also, I am fine with any in game content.
[ +- ] art
Oct 9, 2023 9:41 pm
Re: RPing transphobia - I'm comfortable with others in the group doing that as long as everyone agrees. I don't want to RP that myself, but it won't bother me if that's part of our game (again, as long as everyone agrees).
Oct 9, 2023 10:31 pm
What about an unrequited love triangle for Leo, Lex, and TBD?

Lex's love is Leo.
Leo is always trying to impress TBD (while being oblivious to Lex's feelings). TBD could care less.
TBD is Lex's rival, because Lex wants Leo to be paying attention to her instead of TBD.
Oct 9, 2023 11:19 pm
@Chloe - I was also toying with the idea of Mr Phase being the one outside the team that thinks better of Leo. So let's run with that. What if Mr Phase encouraged Leo and Michelle to work together, hoping to eventually build a team around them (this might or might not be part of how the team came together). Somewhere along the way, the duo got seen breaking into some important place (Leo said it would be EPIC), thus "shaming your legacy". There could be added complexity if Mr. Phase came down hard on Michelle but not Leo.
Oct 10, 2023 2:06 am
I’m fine with the transphobia stuff as well.
Oct 10, 2023 4:26 am
Oppression of marginalised groups (abelism, racism, gender/sexuality-based, and more) are lines for me in TTRPGing. I see and experience enough of these things in real life, and have learned that having them in TTRPGs I'm part of means I can't enjoy them. Not judging people who are fine having them in their games, hope that's clear.

When I run games, I use the Happy Jacks "Lines and Veils" Google Sheet to collect this kind of thing anonymously - maybe something similar could be done here on GP? The anonymous aspect is good because saying the kind of things I just said here can make one a target of some very unpleasant people (I guess it may be possible to track who ticked which boxes in the sheet - but at least an initial casual anonymity is there).
Oct 10, 2023 4:31 am
That's why I asked. I'm perfectly happy to leave it out.
Oct 10, 2023 4:53 am
Fair enough. Get it being a line for some, while others I know like to put it in so they can then directly combat it so wasn't sure for this group.

Re the triangle maybe but def seeing Lex as gay or a flavour of queer. If no-one is feeling like being love out the gate could be Leo but more platonically.

(Also for the part of the sheet that is 'how to you react withove and rival currenttly going for defender)

Also aware think Leo has quiet a few connections and already have one to you so may be good to get more in the mix :p

When back from work (ages away) I'll see if I can make a master sheet of everyone's questions and the answers so we can see what needs doing etc.


Will try and look through people and make suggestions for Lex. Been busy resetting everything g up in house as things have been happeningast week. Though a few that would work have been nabbed already whoops :p. (Was gling to propose that both Mirage and Lex opened up to each other, as simially Lex has also been in wrong side of track but alas :p)

One suggestion for love is Aria. A wide eyed cheerful person Lex may want to look after her/protect her from what Lex sees as the reality of something. Which does also introduce an awkward love triangle.
Last edited October 10, 2023 5:38 am
Oct 10, 2023 5:53 am
timplausible says:
@Chloe - I was also toying with the idea of Mr Phase being the one outside the team that thinks better of Leo. So let's run with that. What if Mr Phase encouraged Leo and Michelle to work together, hoping to eventually build a team around them (this might or might not be part of how the team came together). Somewhere along the way, the duo got seen breaking into some important place (Leo said it would be EPIC), thus "shaming your legacy". There could be added complexity if Mr. Phase came down hard on Michelle but not Leo.
I love it.
I can see Michelle always being raised to be among the goodguys and Leo might have a bit of a bad influence on her, something that her dad had not foreseen.
Oct 10, 2023 8:52 am
Thanks for asking re: transphobia and for being open to keeping it out of the game @bowlofspinach @LightOfMidnight
Oct 10, 2023 9:51 am
Going through the relationship options

Nightfly is an invertebrate-controlling, substance-mimicking infiltrator-type with totally separate mundane/hero identities that no one apart from zir is aware of. Ze is an undergrad English student in the university with a best-friend and also does baby-sitting.

I'm looking for someone with whom they and ze know each other in zir mundane life/role (babysitter, best friend (?), university, or some other context) - but where they have no idea that ze is also a member of their hero team. Any volunteers for that? Reading through the other characters, so far none jumped out at me as a good fit.

Maybe a club or hobby we share?

Maybe Jerry did tutoring for you while you were in high school?

Maybe friends while we were at high-school? Maybe even a best friend (that would be complicated...!)

Or something else?
Last edited October 12, 2023 6:17 am
Oct 10, 2023 9:53 am
For relationships in the other direction, I could see Nightfly maybe fitting with

Lex Thompson (Bull, @LightOfMidnight)
_______________ is your love. You’ve opened up to them about the worst parts of your past.
_______________ is your rival. They tried to control you at a crucial moment.

Captain Teleport/Leonard "Leo" Winston (Delinquent, @timplausible) 16/17 years old
You keep trying to impress _________________ with your antics.
You and ________________ pulled an awesome (if illegal) stunt together.

Mirage/Avery Vance (Doomed, @amymist) 16 years old
Both already assigned

Nightfly/Jerry Steinbeck (Janus @BeardHare) 18/19 years old
Me...

Second Phase/Michelle Hayafu (Legacy, @chloe)
You once got caught doing something that shames your legacy with ______________.
You trust ______________ and told them an important secret of your legacy.

Solstice/Aria King (Outsider, @Dreamweaver)
You have a crush on ________________ but you keep it under wraps.

Alloy Angel/Michelle Hayafu (Transformed, @bowlofspinach) 18/19 years old
___________________ comforted you when you were at your lowest.

Let me know if you think Nightfly could fit for any of them.
Oct 10, 2023 11:47 am
So in my head Lex is dyslexic, struggles with reading/writing and us a high school dropout. Possibly Nightfly has learned and is keeping it in the downlow, while offering to help.

Or even as Jerry and Lex isn't aware ze is also Nightfly, so she's protective of xir's mundane form.
Oct 10, 2023 5:40 pm
@Beardhare - That's a cool tool.

-phobic stuff is out. If everyone wouldn't mind going through the attached spread sheet and clicking on anything they don't want and then going to the top right, putting your name in and clicking the "I've seen it" button, that would be great. That way it's anonymous. Feel free to PM me if there's a question or issue.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pJUQUVzT9zl4dw_21ZwjcoAXFrYNgypCCXKwUnoOiis/edit?usp=sharing
BeardHare says:
For relationships in the other direction, I could see Nightfly maybe fitting…
I think I have this in my first post at the top of the thread and I’ve been trying to fill it in once these get definitively determined. That way we don’t have to poke through to find the post. It’s in a spoiler bar. So let me know if I missed some decisions/updates that need to be made.
Oct 10, 2023 5:44 pm
That's a pretty good tool. Added my preferences to it
Oct 10, 2023 6:20 pm
Oh this is a good one. Might steal. I usually use one my ttrpgs society made, but I like the colour changes to make it very clear.
Oct 10, 2023 6:27 pm
LightOfMidnight says:
So in my head Lex is dyslexic, struggles with reading/writing and us a high school dropout. Possibly Nightfly has learned and is keeping it in the downlow, while offering to help.

Or even as Jerry and Lex isn't aware ze is also Nightfly, so she's protective of xir's mundane form.
I like that - maybe Lex goes secretly to school in the evenings, to try and get his high-school diploma, Jerry in zir mundane identity helps out there as a volunteer, they got to know each other, Lex trusts zir and opened up about the dyslexia, zir helps him out with his learning?

Would that then mean Lex's relationships " _______________ is your love. You’ve opened up to them about the worst parts of your past." would be with Jerry? Works for me.
Last edited October 12, 2023 6:19 am
Oct 10, 2023 6:29 pm
Oh, and "Divine Canibalism" in the Lines and Veils sheet is a left-over from a specific game which involved gods eating gods heh... Will take that line out!
Oct 10, 2023 6:29 pm
I was confused about that one 😄
Oct 10, 2023 6:40 pm
BeardHare says:
LightOfMidnight says:
So in my head Lex is dyslexic, struggles with reading/writing and us a high school dropout. Possibly Nightfly has learned and is keeping it in the downlow, while offering to help.

Or even as Jerry and Lex isn't aware ze is also Nightfly, so she's protective of xir's mundane form.
I like that - maybe Lex goes secretly to school in the evenings, to try and get his high-school diploma, Jerry in xir mundane identity helps out there as a volunteer, they got to know each other, Lex trusts xir and opened up about the dyslexia, xir helps him out with his learning?

Would that then mean Lex's relationships " _______________ is your love. You’ve opened up to them about the worst parts of your past." would be with Jerry? Works for me.
Should say Lex is female :P. Not sure ever explicitly said.

But yeah that definitely works, happy for that. COuld lead to inetresting things if/whe she find out xir identity.
Oct 10, 2023 6:41 pm
BeardHare says:
Oh, and "Divine Canibalism" in the Lines and Veils sheet is a left-over from a specific game which involved gods eating gods heh...
Gives a whole other perspective on "God Butcher"
Oct 10, 2023 6:48 pm
Niceeeeee

Just to be explicit/clear - I now have both of Jerry's Relationships i.e.

1. Lex Thompson (Bull) knew you from your civilian life first.
2. You refused to tell Alloy Angel/Michelle Hayafu (Transformed) your secret identity when they asked

And it sounds like one of Lex's relationships is (stop me if I'm wrong)
"Jerry is your love. You’ve opened up to them about the worst parts of your past."

I don't know whether Jerry is aware or not that they are Lex's love. Lots of possible drama in this one! Yay for drama and feels!
Oct 10, 2023 6:56 pm
@Dreamweaver, I don't know if you saw this suggestion. Maybe I just missed your response in all the activity in here:
Quote:
Another idea I had for the comforting was that it could work well with Aria. Due to the whole "both look inhuman" thing. Sure, Aria can change, but her real shape doesn't fit in, so there could be some relatability there.
If you're still looking for someone to fill this relationship, "You have a crush on ____ but you keep it under wraps", I could also potentially see that being Alloy. Aria might not care as much about human appearance as some of the others. And I don't think Alloy would be able to figure it out, considering her low self-esteem in regards to her appearance. She would not assume anyone could be crushing on her in her condition.

Let me know your thoughts on both or either.
Oct 10, 2023 7:06 pm
BeardHare says:
Niceeeeee

And it sounds like one of Lex's relationships is (stop me if I'm wrong)
"Jerry is your love. You’ve opened up to them about the worst parts of your past."

I don't know whether Jerry is aware or not that they are Lex's love. Lots of possible drama in this one! Yay for drama and feels!
Yep thats right.

Possibly not, though they may realise she acts differently/more relaxed around xir than when they are as a team. She definitely won't have said anything. I should say the love and rival sees like could change at a drop of the hat with the playbook, but I likely won't be doing that unless it makes sense :P.
Oct 10, 2023 9:21 pm
Leo's relationships update.

"You and ________________ pulled an awesome (if illegal) stunt together."
For this, I propose Michelle. It would bee the same incident that "shamed her legacy."

I still need to decide who he is trying to impress with his antics.
Last edited October 10, 2023 9:27 pm
Oct 10, 2023 9:31 pm
Trying to catch up here.
Lots of names and relationships going on that it is getting hard to keep track.
BeardHare says:

You refused to tell Alloy Angel/Michelle Hayafu (Transformed) your secret identity when they asked
I assume this is meant for Alloy Angel (Transformed), not Michelle (Legacy), due to the Transformed tag?



In which case:
You trust ______________ and told them an important secret of your legacy.

Could be Nightfly
I can imagine that Michelle really respects how Nightfly keeps her normal life and hero life strictly seperated by not even showing the team her mundane identity. For that is quite opposite to Michelle's life, always being in the picture and pressure of her family.
That could set my relationships as I understand them:

You once got caught doing something that shames your legacy with Leo.
You trust Nightfly and told them an important secret of your legacy.


With incoming relationships:

From Leo:
You and Michelle pulled an awesome (if illegal) stunt together.



Not entirely sure if this is confirmed? @bowlofspinach ?
From Alloy:
Michelle knew you before you changed. ??
Last edited October 11, 2023 5:44 am
Oct 10, 2023 9:33 pm
timplausible says:
Leo's relationships update.

"You and ________________ pulled an awesome (if illegal) stunt together."
For this, I propose Michelle. It would bee the same incident that "shamed her legacy."

I still need to decide who he is trying to impress with his antics.
Ah thought we were going for that one as both used to be on wrong side of tracks :p (Though realised now I may not have directly said yes whoops) No worries if Michelle fits better :p
Last edited October 10, 2023 9:34 pm
Oct 10, 2023 9:47 pm
Aegis says:
I edited my first post in here to include group stuff; Influence Chart, Relationships, when our team first came together. That way we can all see them and it’s all in one place. And if there were some solid decisions made that I missed, definitely @me so I can update it.
Maybe it would be good to update? I am not entirely sure any more what is set and what is not.
Oct 10, 2023 11:32 pm
Quote:
Not entirely sure if this is confirmed? @bowlofspinach ?
From Alloy:
Michelle knew you before you changed. ??
I think I was going with Lex for that, with the connection being Alloy having bullied Lex' friend in school
Oct 10, 2023 11:39 pm
LightOfMidnight says:


Ah thought we were going for that one as both used to be on wrong side of tracks :p (Though realised now I may not have directly said yes whoops) No worries if Michelle fits better :p
Oh, yeah! Sorry. Not keeping up with everything, apparently. But let's do that: Lex and Leo pulled an awesome stunt. Leo has gotten 2 team members in potential trouble, and the game hasn't even started yet. WOO-HOO.
Oct 11, 2023 2:37 am
I'll get caught up and post about Solstice/Aria's relationships tomorrow, but in the meantime, I'm having trouble keeping track of all our characters appearance and key facts. Maybe we could have a list with something like this for each of our characters?

SOLSTICE / ARIA KING (Outsider). Abilities: Can fly, pretty tough, radical shapeshifting, heliokinesis. Appearance: Female with neon blue skin and glowing pearl-white eyes; shapeshifts into blonde girl as an alias.
Oct 11, 2023 3:39 am
Good idea. Maybe Aegis can also paste those descriptions into the opening post.

ALLOY ANGEL / [Undecided] (Transformed). Abilities: Impenetrable Armor, Technopathy. Appearance: Female, with metallic flesh and unsettling white eyes.
I hate coming up with names, but I will decide on one today, I promise.
Oct 11, 2023 5:54 am
bowlofspinach says:
Quote:
Not entirely sure if this is confirmed? @bowlofspinach ?
From Alloy:
Michelle knew you before you changed. ??
I think I was going with Lex for that, with the connection being Alloy having bullied Lex' friend in school
timplausible says:
LightOfMidnight says:


Ah thought we were going for that one as both used to be on wrong side of tracks :p (Though realised now I may not have directly said yes whoops) No worries if Michelle fits better :p
Oh, yeah! Sorry. Not keeping up with everything, apparently. But let's do that: Lex and Leo pulled an awesome stunt. Leo has gotten 2 team members in potential trouble, and the game hasn't even started yet. WOO-HOO.
So I guess no one has set their relationships with Michelle then.
Last edited October 11, 2023 6:19 am
Oct 11, 2023 6:09 am
Sorry, it's difficult to keep track of who has how many connections already. I think Lex is more connected than Michelle, so I'm happy to have the relation with Michelle.
What would the details of that be? I think you said Michelle's family is fairly rich, so maybe she was also circling in the popular spheres at school. Would they have been friends or would Michelle have had a problem with Alloy's mean streak?
Also, in that case, I guess Alloy would probably know Michelle's secret identity, right? Otherwise, she wouldn't be aware of this relationship.
Oct 11, 2023 6:22 am
No, don't feel pressured to set a relatioship now.
Just noting that no one has set it yet. If anyone still has open relationships, I am available ! ;)

And yes, it's very difficult to keep track.
Oct 11, 2023 6:28 am
Sorry Chloe for some reason in my mind you had more connections. So yeah makes sense for you to have the connection with Alloy.

As I understand it here we are with connections? -

Lex Thompson (Bull, - LightOfMidnight) 18 years old
Jerry is your love. You’ve opened up to them about the worst parts of your past.
_______________ is your rival. They tried to control you at a crucial moment.

Captain Teleport/Leonard "Leo" Winston (Delinquent, - timplausible) 16/17 years old
You keep trying to impress _________________ with your antics.
You and Lex pulled an awesome (if illegal) stunt together.

Mirage/Avery Vance (Doomed, - amymist) 16 years old
You told Leo all about your doom and the danger you’re in.

You’d love to kiss Aria before your doom comes.

Nightfly/Jerry Steinbeck (Janus - BeardHare) 18/19 years old

1. Lex knew you from your civilian life first.
2. You refused to tell Alloy your secret identity when they asked

Second Phase/Michelle Hayafu (Legacy, - chloe)
You once got caught doing something that shames your legacy with Leo
You trust Nightfly and told them an important secret of your legacy.

Solstice/Aria King (Outsider, - Dreamweaver)
You have a crush on ________________ but you keep it under wraps.
You’ve been learning about Earth by spending time with ____.

Alloy Angel (Transformed, - bowlofspinach) 18/19 years old
___________________ comforted you when you were at your lowest.
Michelle knew you before you changed.
Last edited October 11, 2023 9:33 am
Oct 11, 2023 6:33 am
Chloe says:
No, don't feel pressured to set a relatioship now.
Just noting that no one has set it yet. If anyone still has open relationships, I am available ! ;)

And yes, it's very difficult to keep track.
No, let's do this connection. Just let me know your thoughts on the questions above.
And thanks for posting the summary, Light! (Though Michelle's and Alloy's names are pretty much unreadable in Dark Mode)
Oct 11, 2023 6:41 am
Huh would have thought pink would be readable, whoops. It's really early in the morning my brain is not generation colors right now. If anyone wants to suggest ones readable for dark mode let me know.

Could be Lex comforted Alloy as they both didn't necessarily wants powers (and also artifacts)

@chloe If Michelle cares about the family image and joined the team because of it perhaps she's annoyed at Lex's tendancy to wreck stuff while fighting/not care for collateral. So can see her working for' tried to control you in a certain moment'. Maybe Lex was going to break sonething/shift to save some and Michelle tried to stop her as could have been disastrous from an image perspective. Which would start Michelle off as Lex's rival.

Which I can see from Lex's perspective as well as she likely sees Michelle as having a perfect family and having life easy etc (even if that's not the case)

No worries if not/if misinterpreted Michelle there
Last edited October 11, 2023 7:21 pm
Oct 11, 2023 6:48 am
Chloe says:
In which case:
You trust ______________ and told them an important secret of your legacy.

Could be Nightfly

I can imagine that Michelle really respects how Nightfly keeps her normal life and hero life strictly seperated by not even showing the team her mundane identity. For that is quite opposite to Michelle's life, always being in the picture and pressure of her family.
This looks good to me, @chloe - I'll note this on my sheet. If you have thoughts on what the important secret might be, just let me know.

If Michelle shares this with Nightfly, ze will really appreciate the trust shown in zir despite not sharing zir identity with the team, and feel very strongly about keeping this secret.
Oct 11, 2023 6:49 am
[ +- ] Colors
Quote:
Could be Lex comforted Alloy as they both didn't necessarily wants powers (and also artifacts)
That could also work! I'll wait for Dreamweaver's thoughts first because I kind of like that idea I suggested and I think Lex is more connected than Aria right now, but I would be up for this idea as well if DW isn't for the other.
Even if it's not a formal relationship, I think Alloy and Lex would have something to bond over with them both being artifact-merged.
Oct 11, 2023 6:51 am
(With this number of characters I am also finding it hard to keep track of what's going on. At the same time, I think we're doing a great job or working together to sort this out, and I'm already enjoying a lot "playing" with y'all, and how our stories are already developing. Yay us!)
Oct 11, 2023 6:59 am
bowlofspinach says:
[ +- ] Colors
Quote:
Could be Lex comforted Alloy as they both didn't necessarily wants powers (and also artifacts)
That could also work! I'll wait for Dreamweaver's thoughts first because I kind of like that idea I suggested and I think Lex is more connected than Aria right now, but I would be up for this idea as well if DW isn't for the other.
Even if it's not a formal relationship, I think Alloy and Lex would have something to bond over with them both being artifact-merged.
Ah missed you had suggested one. Yeah absolutely Aria needs connections :p

Also fair on the colours, looks like dark mode alters the as its just Pink fir Michelle, not the dark megnta thi g you've got. Will have a fiddle when I have a moment.

And yep. I was planning to write a little thing if how Lex likely percieves/interacts with each person in the team, especially those without connections.
Oct 11, 2023 7:04 am
Quote:
Also fair on the colours, looks like dark mode alters the as its just Pink fir Michelle, not the dark megnta thi g you've got. Will have a fiddle when I have a moment.
It does, which can be helpful if people pick their colors solely based on how they look in their preferred mode, but can make things illegible if people try to pick a color that might work in either but that then gets unexpectedly shifted. You could attach a transparent background to the color, in that case, it won't get shifted: [color="pink;background-color: transparent;"]
Quote:
And yep. I was planning to write a little thing if how Lex likely percieves/interacts with each person in the team, especially those without connections.
That's a good idea. I'll do the same!
Oct 11, 2023 9:39 am
Right hopefully colours are easier to read now.

Will drop this here as well -

WILD CLAW / ALEXIS 'LEX' THOMPSON (Bull).
Abilities: Heightened Sense, can transform, or partially transform, into a large horned beast.
Appearance:18, Female with shortish black hair, brown eyes, tends to wear 'punkish' clothes
Oct 11, 2023 10:12 am
My character summary:

NIGHTFLY / JERRY STEINBECK (ze/zir/zirs; Janus)
Abilities: control invertebrates, mimic substances
Appearance: 18, white, femme-presenting, grunge/skater look in secret/mundane identity, fully-body black suit including head with goggles as hero
Summary: No one else in the world knows about zir two identities i.e. mundane English undergraduate and stealthy infiltrating hero.
Last edited October 12, 2023 6:15 am
Oct 11, 2023 10:42 am
Just checking in during lunch at work. Loads of activity. Just a few short comments from my phone. Will respond fully this evening :)

@bowlofspinach I think Michelle and Alloy would know each other maybe as a bit of rivals from school. I am not sure how mean Alloy really would be, but Michelle would certainly defend those being picked on. Also, the connection between the Phases and Hayafu's is something many people suspect.

@BeardHare The secret is basically that
[ +- ] secret
I feel Michelle looks up to Nightfly, for how ze juggles zir identities. (edit: to clarify ; Michelle's super hero life and normal life are quite mixed up, with her father being who he is, and it being a public known "secret" that he is Mr Phase, Michelle really appreciates how Nightfly can keep zir two identities seeming totally seperate)

Posting character details tonight.
Last edited October 11, 2023 7:27 pm
Oct 11, 2023 11:09 am
Chloe says:
Just checking in during lunch at work. Loads of activity. Just a few short comments from my phone. Will respond fully this evening :)

@bowlofspinach I think Michelle and Alloy would know each other maybe as a bit of rivals from school. I am not sure how mean Alloy really would be, but Michelle would certainly defend those being picked on. Also, the connection between the Phases and Hayafu's is something many people suspect.
For her meanness (I've decided to call her civilian identity Alice Farran. That first name have been part of the inspiration for her superhero name), I don't think she would have been especially cruel or anything. She just had a sense of superiority and showed it from time to time, making rude comments, insulting and teasing the weird kids and generally acting like she and her friends owned the school.

I've also submitted my sheet now.
Oct 11, 2023 2:13 pm
CAPTAIN TELEPORT / LEONARD "LEO" WINSTON (Delinquent). Abilities: Teleportation and Power Negation (negates nearby powers briefly after teleporting) Appearance: Male. Age 17. White. Shoulder length straight black hair. "Costume" is basically just dressing all in black with a ski mask.

Since neither I nor anyone else has strong feelings about who Leo is trying to impress with his antics, I'm waiting to see how most of the other relationships shake out before deciding on that.
Oct 11, 2023 2:58 pm
Recap of the team roster so far with descriptions (this is really helping me, thanks!). I also added our GP handles. (Edit: I created one for Mirage, @amymist, please feel free to edit).

ALLOY ANGEL / ALICE FARRAN (Transformed) - bowlofspinach
Abilities: Impenetrable Armor, Technopathy.
Appearance: Female, with metallic flesh and unsettling white eyes.

CAPTAIN TELEPORT / LEONARD "LEO" WINSTON (Delinquent) - timplausible
Abilities: Teleportation and Power Negation (negates nearby powers briefly after teleporting)
Appearance: Male. Age 17. White. Shoulder length straight black hair. "Costume" is basically just dressing all in black with a ski mask.

MIRAGE / AVERY VANCE (The Doomed) - amymist
Appearance: They wear a grim costume made of black leather, face hidden by a tinted motorcycle helmet, slight build, five feet tall. Short, dark hair, brown skin, brown eyes.
Abilities: Telekinesis, psychic constructs

NIGHTFLY / JERRY STEINBECK (ze/zir/zirs; Janus) - BeardHare
Abilities: control invertebrates, mimic substances
Appearance: 18, white, femme-presenting, grunge/skater look in secret/mundane identity, fully-body black suit including head with goggles as hero
Summary: No one else in the world knows about xir two identities i.e. mundane English undergraduate and stealthy infiltrating hero.

SOLSTICE / ARIA KING (Outsider) - Dreamweaver
Abilities: Can fly, pretty tough, radical shapeshifting, heliokinesis
Appearance: Female with neon blue skin and glowing pearl-white eyes; shapeshifts into blonde girl as an alias.

WILD CLAW / ALEXIS 'LEX' THOMPSON (Bull) - LightOfMidnight
Abilities: Heightened Sense, can transform, or partially transform, into a large horned beast.
Appearance:18, Female with shortish black hair, brown eyes, tends to wear 'punkish' clothes
Last edited October 11, 2023 6:05 pm
Oct 11, 2023 3:26 pm
amymist says:


You’d love to kiss ________________ before your doom comes.

I'm leaning toward Aria. I think she's got kind of a magical, larger-than-life vibe that Mirage would be very drawn to.
That's cool!
LightOfMidnight says:

One suggestion for love is Aria. A wide eyed cheerful person Lex may want to look after her/protect her from what Lex sees as the reality of something. Which does also introduce an awkward love triangle.
Also very cool.
bowlofspinach says:

If you're still looking for someone to fill this relationship, "You have a crush on ____ but you keep it under wraps", I could also potentially see that being Alloy. Aria might not care as much about human appearance as some of the others.
I like this idea, especially once I noticed we both have white eyes (which on Aria's home planet is one of the main things that makes you attractive).

So @bowlofspinach, let's have Aria's crush be Alloy ("You have a crush on Alloy Angel but you keep it under wraps").
amymist says:

Hmm... Aria's questions also include a crush one... I do enjoy the trope where characters have a mutual crush on each other, and everyone around other than them can totally tell. Up to you if that's something you're interested in, Dreamweaver.
I think let me start with my crush being on Allow Angel, but hey, we're teenagers so who we have crushes on will likely evolve pretty quickly! And I like the love triangle aspect.
BeardHare says:

@Dreamweaver happy for Aria to have a crush on Jerry
A great future possibility! Also, who is to say if Aria's home planet has a monogonous culture? That could be an interesting wrinkle and cause some frustration or jealousy over time perhaps.
Last edited October 11, 2023 3:27 pm
Oct 11, 2023 3:27 pm
So Aria's one outstanding relationship is this one:

"You’ve been learning about Earth by spending time with _____________."

Any takers?
Oct 11, 2023 5:46 pm
Dreamweaver says:
ALLOY ANGEL / [Undecided] (Transformed) - bowlofspinach
Abilities: Impenetrable Armor, Technopathy.
Appearance: Female, with metallic flesh and unsettling white eyes.
It was kind of hidden away in my paragraph above, but I settled on Alice Farran as her civilian name.
Oct 11, 2023 6:06 pm
bowlofspinach says:

It was kind of hidden away in my paragraph above, but I settled on Alice Farran as her civilian name.
I updated my post accordingly :-)
Oct 11, 2023 6:10 pm
Dreamweaver says:
So Aria's one outstanding relationship is this one:

"You’ve been learning about Earth by spending time with _____________."

Any takers?
Leo could have fun with that. "Most earth laeders are actually lizard people in disguise. Not sure when that started, but it's been that way as long as I can remember."
Oct 11, 2023 7:04 pm
Just got home from work. Here is mine:



SECOND PHASE / MICHELLE HAYAFU (Legacy) - Chloe
Abilities: Phasing, Super Speed, Speed Reading/Learning
Appearance: 16, female, asian, comfortable clothing, modern costume, insigna a mix between the roman II and the letter P
Summary: Daughter of Ren Hayafu a rich man in town, but he is also Mister Phase, a super hero who is "yesterday's story"
Last edited October 11, 2023 7:11 pm
Oct 11, 2023 7:15 pm
bowlofspinach says:
Chloe says:
Just checking in during lunch at work. Loads of activity. Just a few short comments from my phone. Will respond fully this evening :)

@bowlofspinach I think Michelle and Alloy would know each other maybe as a bit of rivals from school. I am not sure how mean Alloy really would be, but Michelle would certainly defend those being picked on. Also, the connection between the Phases and Hayafu's is something many people suspect.
For her meanness (I've decided to call her civilian identity Alice Farran. That first name have been part of the inspiration for her superhero name), I don't think she would have been especially cruel or anything. She just had a sense of superiority and showed it from time to time, making rude comments, insulting and teasing the weird kids and generally acting like she and her friends owned the school.

I've also submitted my sheet now.
Sounds a bit like the type I had in mind Alice would be.
Michelle would certainly have been the kid that opposes it. Speaking out for other kids.
Alice and Michelle could have been sort of been "at words" with each other occassionally.
Oct 11, 2023 7:18 pm
Sounds good. Probably not enemies, maybe hanging out in similar circles, but also not quite getting along great, with Michelle being a bit too goody-two-shoes for Alice and Alice being a bit too mean for Michelle. More acquaintances than friends, but with the option for that to develop now with the changed situation.
Oct 11, 2023 7:21 pm
LightOfMidnight says:
Huh would have thought pink would be readable, whoops. It's really early in the morning my brain is not generation colors right now. If anyone wants to suggest ones readable for dark mode let me know.

Could be Lex comforted Alloy as they both didn't necessarily wants powers (and also artifacts)

@chloe If Michelle cares about the family image and joined the team because of it perhaps she's annoyed at Kex*+'s tenancy to wreck stuff while fighting/not care for collateral. So can see her working for' tried to control you in a certain moment'. Maybe Lex was going to break sonething/shift to save some and Michelle tried to stop her as could have been disastrous from an image perspective. Which would start Michelle off as Lex's rival.

Which I can see from Lex's perspective as well as she likely sees Michelle as having a perfect family and having life easy etc (even if that's not the case)

No worries if not/if misinterpreted Michelle there
Missed this part when glancing over at work earlier.

I think you've got a good picture of how I see Michelle. Michelle is the typical "defender" type and would hate collateral damage if it is not strictly needed. So there could certainly be some misunderstanding between the two. Maybe some mild conflict.

Michelle might seemingly have an easy and perfect life to the outside world. But there is always that pressure from dad and society and Dad's former nemesis and having no mom and...
But yeah, Lex wouldn't know and could see her as just a rich kid.
Oct 11, 2023 8:26 pm
Sounds good, I may pencil her down as Lex's starting rival then. I should say when I say collateral damage' I do mean buildings/surroundings. and the enemy :P

And yeah I get that on the pressure. I'm quite fond of that sort of character as well. Was very tempted to do a legacy myself but the Bull seemed different from usual stuff so thought I would give it a go.
Oct 11, 2023 8:37 pm
LightOfMidnight says:
Sounds good, I may pencil her down as Lex's starting rival then.
Certainly!
Oct 11, 2023 8:56 pm
Ok all. Good work! I’ve updated the first post with your descriptive blurbs and the relationships I’ve been able to parse through.

I’ll have to do a read through again to see what I’ve missed on those relationships.
Oct 11, 2023 9:02 pm
Looks like we need a descriptive blurb from Amymist about Mirage.

Alloy Angel, Solstice, Capt. Teleport, Lex and Leo are missing a relationship unless I missed it (which I probably did) somewhere in this thread. If i did just repeat it in the next post and I’ll update.
Oct 11, 2023 9:05 pm
Aegis says:
Looks like we need a descriptive blurb from Amymist about Mirage.

Alloy Angel, Solstice, Capt. Teleport, Lex and Leo are missing a relationship unless I missed it (which I probably did) somewhere in this thread. If i did just repeat it in the next post and I’ll update.
Lex is popping Michelle down as her Rival
Oct 12, 2023 12:04 am
Aria's crush is on Alice and she was the one who comforted Alice
Oct 12, 2023 1:36 am
timplausible says:
Dreamweaver says:
So Aria's one outstanding relationship is this one:

"You’ve been learning about Earth by spending time with _____________."

Any takers?
Leo could have fun with that. "Most earth laeders are actually lizard people in disguise. Not sure when that started, but it's been that way as long as I can remember."
Cool, let's go with that. So for Solstice, there is this new relationship:

You’ve been learning about Earth by spending time with Leo.
Oct 12, 2023 3:51 am
Gotcha! Looks like we need one relationship from Leo and a blurb from Amymist which I’m sure they’ll do when they next hop on.

If you all want to start and update some character sheets and background, so I can look those over, we should be able to start with the "When the Team First Came together" soon
Oct 12, 2023 6:14 am
I've updated Nightfly/Jerry's character sheet with the relationship info etc. and I've submitted it. I'll wait to hear you say "go", @aegis, before discussing the "When the Team First Came together" stuff.
Oct 12, 2023 6:26 am
I'll submit sheet now and add relationship stuff after work as on bus /phone rn and sheets can be a pain.

Edit: Submitted then just saw that for some reason the plabokk moves are not on. I'm sure I added them...
Will also do that when home.
Last edited October 12, 2023 6:29 am
Oct 12, 2023 2:35 pm
Actually, I think we’re a go for "When the Team Came together stuff". Looks like we’ve almost wrapped up the Relations with just one question left. People can update and submit CS’s while they wait thier turn to answer the playbook question.

Let’s do them in the order that I have in the first post and I’ll update that as we go to keep it all together.

The Bull (@LightOfMidnight ) is up first.
Oct 12, 2023 3:04 pm
I want to direct Leo's antics towards someone he's not connected with yet. Options are Nightfly and Alloy Angel. They seem equally good, so I'll go random.

And... Nightfly
Last edited October 12, 2023 3:05 pm

Rolls

Odd = Nightfly, Even = Alloy Angel - (D6)

(5) = 5

Oct 12, 2023 3:55 pm
Hey everyone -- Solstice has a feature: "Cheerful Demeanor (You’re thrilled to be here. Give everyone Influence over you.)"

So you can mark influence on Solstice/Aria on your character sheet.

Speaking of which -- my character sheet is submitted! And here's her portrait. When Solstice uses her heliokinesis, it radiates yellow energy, giving her all three primary colors (blue skin, red hair, yellow energy beam).

https://i.imgur.com/Ff5GXr0.png
Oct 12, 2023 3:59 pm
Right, speaking of Influence, my playbook says:

You try not to care what other people think, even if you can’t shut everyone out. Give Influence to
one teammate.

I'm thinking that might be either Aria, as I think she's the one Alice feels closest to, or Michelle as the one who knew her from before and can call her out on bad behavior and excuses (and has done so before).
Last edited October 12, 2023 4:00 pm
Oct 12, 2023 4:03 pm
I'm on board with Aria having the influence; I'm flexible though if you decide to go with Michelle.
Oct 12, 2023 4:14 pm
Leo cares way more than he lets on. Three teammates get influence over him. Based on the relationship web, I choose:
Lex / Wild Claw
Michelle / Second Phase
Avery / Mirage
Oct 12, 2023 4:25 pm
For influence: . You're selective about who you let in. Give your love and rival Influence over you, but that's it. So that's Michelle and Jerry

For when the team came together : We defeated a dangerous enemy.

Thinking someone Lex tried to go for alone and underestimated so the fight spilled out into somewhere public.

Perhaps Steven Robertson - Thought be a minor crook who has connections to The Doctor, a large hulking villain that had been physically breaking into various locations.

In actuality he was The Doctor, augments by strange serums and Potions, and transformed when cornered with Lex trying to intimidate for info causing a fight to break out and proving to be ato strong for even her Wild Claw form especially ashe she still wasn't used to it.

Happy for any other suggestions
Oct 12, 2023 4:31 pm
Looking forward to Leo's attempt to impress Nightfly with their antics, @timplausible :)

Is there a way to look at the Character Sheets of other players (to help remind me what everyone's got going on with their characters)? Or are they only visible to GM/the-player-who-created-them?
Oct 12, 2023 4:32 pm
Good point, BeardHare. If you go to your characters tab and find your sheet, the book symbol will be greyed out. If you click it, it turns red and then everyone in the game can see the sheet. I made Alloy visible now. Might make sense for everyone to do that

https://i.imgur.com/jtBzxZt.png
Oct 12, 2023 4:39 pm
Thanks @bowlofspinach - I think Nightfly is visible now i.e. I think I clicked on the correct icon (to add it to my 'library'). If you could check, would be great. Thanks for the help, will check out Alloy Angel now :)
Oct 12, 2023 4:41 pm
Yes, I can see Nightfly's sheet now!
Oct 12, 2023 4:41 pm
@bowlofspinach where would I be able to click on and view Alloy Angel's sheet? I found the list of players and characters but could only click on a link to your user page, not the character - and couldn't see anywhere on your user page to click?
Oct 12, 2023 4:43 pm
Clicking the link in the characters tab at the bottom of the page should work.
https://i.imgur.com/vJdAxxo.png

Or click her name by this post. That should also bring you there.
Last edited October 12, 2023 4:43 pm
Oct 12, 2023 4:47 pm
Thank you! Got there now from the tab at the bottom of the Game page as you suggested :)
Oct 12, 2023 5:08 pm
Can folks see Solstice's character sheet now? I believe the book icon is now red.
Oct 12, 2023 5:09 pm
Looks like your character hasn't been accepted into the game yet, so I can't see it in the characters tab. If you link it, we should be able to see it, though.
Oct 12, 2023 5:26 pm
Ah
bowlofspinach says:
Looks like your character hasn't been accepted into the game yet, so I can't see it in the characters tab. If you link it, we should be able to see it, though.
Ah, makes sense.

Here's the character sheet URL in the meantime; hopefully you can see it! :-)

https://gamersplane.com/characters/custom/27513/
Oct 12, 2023 5:27 pm
Yes, I can see the sheet by following the link.
Oct 12, 2023 6:40 pm
For Nightfly's influence

"You look up to your teammates; they seem to have this superhero thing figured out. Give two of them Influence over you."

Nightfly looks up to i.e. these characters have influence over zir:

- SECOND PHASE / MICHELLE HAYAFU (Legacy @Chloe) - she REALLY seems to know what she's doing as a superhero, it's in her blood.
- SOLSTICE / ARIA KING (Outsider @Dreamweaver) - she can like, FLY?! that's AMAZING SUPERHERO STUFF RIGHT THERE, oh and also flying, blue skin, red hair, big crush
Oct 12, 2023 6:50 pm
Everyone can take an influence over Second Phase / Michelle
Quote:
You’re a part of this team, for better or worse, and you care what they think. Give Influence to all
of your teammates.
Oct 12, 2023 7:11 pm
BeardHare says:
For Nightfly's influence
- SOLSTICE / ARIA KING (Outsider @Dreamweaver) - she can like, FLY?! that's AMAZING SUPERHERO STUFF RIGHT THERE, oh and also flying, blue skin, red hair, big crush
:-)
Oct 12, 2023 7:18 pm
LightOfMidnight says:
For when the team came together : We defeated a dangerous enemy.

Thinking someone Lex tried to go for alone and underestimated so the fight spilled out into somewhere public.

Perhaps Steven Robertson - Thought be a minor crook who has connections to The Doctor, a large hulking villain that had been physically breaking into various locations.

In actuality he was The Doctor, augments by strange serums and Potions, and transformed when cornered with Lex trying to intimidate for info causing a fight to break out and proving to be ato strong for even her Wild Claw form especially ashe she still wasn't used to it.

Happy for any other suggestions
I think that's a good basis!
Oct 12, 2023 8:39 pm
@Dreamweaver - I don't think you've submitted Solstices character sheet yet. I didn't see it when I just checked but I did see Nightfly's I think? Go to the "Game Details" page and check that you submitted.

@LightofMidnight - I love this and I'm good with it.

I'll just clean it up and streamline it so that we can maybe get them to run together a bit... I guess I'm shooting for a second person, casual, after action report. And these are YOUR answers so feel free to be definitive and take a few liberties.
Quote:
"We defeated Steven Robertson aka The Doctor. Who, in many strange cases, has been
known to be a villain who uses serums and potions to turn himself into a hulking and undeniably evil brute.

When confronted and interrogated by Lex, at first alone then with others, he took his alchemical formula, turning himself into The Doctor. The Doctor's strength matched Wild Claw and so the fight spilled out from the originally secluded location."
Our Outsider is up next
Oct 12, 2023 10:31 pm
Check again -- I submitted (resubmitted?) just now.
Oct 13, 2023 3:36 am
Sorry for vanishing like that! The description you wrote for Mirage looks perfect, Dreamweaver. :)

Went ahead and submitted my character sheet as it currently stands. Still need to add a few things tho
Oct 13, 2023 8:05 pm
@Dreamweaver - I see it this time. Thanks and Approved. And your up for the "When we came together" stuff
Oct 14, 2023 2:28 pm
For Aria's when the team came together: "We didn’t trust each other at first, but that changed. How? Why?"

Halcyon City faced the threat of Sunscorch, a sunlight-absorbing extraterrestrial villain targeting Aria's unique energy. As she attacked the city's solar farm. Aria, still new to Earth and wary of her unconventional teammates, rushed to the scene alone. Soon she found herself cornered and nearly defeated. However, several of her superhero friends arrived in the nick of time. Nightfly's invertebrate distractions, Captain Teleport's power-neutralizing strikes, Mirage’s psychic barriers, and Second Phase's swift rescues showed Aria the team's commitment to protect the city and to defend each other.

The fierce battle culminated at the city's solar farm, now joined by Wild Claw and Alloy Angel at a critical moment. The combined efforts of the heroes thwarted Sunscorch's plans. In the quiet aftermath, atop a city skyscraper, Solstice shared her origins, learning some of her teammates' stories in return. This shared experience and vulnerability forged a newfound bond of trust among the heroes.

Let me know your thoughts and any edits!
Oct 14, 2023 8:50 pm
For Nightfly's "When our team first came together "We saved the life of someone important, either to the city or to us. Who was it? Why are they important?"

Jaina, a schoolfriend of Lex 'Wild Claw', was caught in the Hellish House - a nightmarish trap built by supervillain The Architect. A residential house ("House of Leaves" is my inspiration here) full of twisted dimensions, unspeakable darkness, un-mappable labyrinths, and something awful that has no name.

The Architect tricked Janina inside and she was almost instantly lost in its depths. As she was starting to understand the awful situation she was in, she could message Lex with a cry for help.

Lex dashed to the location, tried to help, but couldn't save Janina on her own. So she called in the full team, and together we could save Janina.

Janina is important to Lex, is the person who helped her leave her criminal father, and who looks after her, takes her in, when she gets in trouble.

Very happy to make change to this! Found it harder than I expected to come up with something...

Next up, @timplausible/Leo
Oct 14, 2023 9:41 pm
Aren't all of our answers supposed to pertain to a single incident? So we should each be adding details to the fight with The Doctor? Or am I confused about this part?
Oct 14, 2023 9:49 pm
Ah, yes, @timplausible, I just went and read that section of the rules properly and indeed, it should all be about the same incident. My mistake! I'll post something that builds on the previous two answers tomorrow. Sorry for the confusion!
Oct 15, 2023 8:13 am
@Dreamweaver checking out the rules, prompted by @timplausible, I think our answers to "When our team first came together" are supposed to build on each other, referencing the same incident. My understanding is that what you wrote for Aria is a new incident (as I did with my previous post).

Thus, @Aegis, wanted to check whether indeed @Dreamweaver and I should repost something different, something directly building on the incident described by @LightOfMidnight i.e. the encounter with The Doctor?
Oct 15, 2023 8:32 am
I do believe it is meant to be the same incident, why I left min open ended with spilling into the street as a set up.
(Could also aid the trust thing as with two transformed people fighting recklessly in the streets may have taken others moment to figure which was the good guy, or that there was a good guy :P)

Also currently trying to find a transformed pic.
Edit: I originally referenced a spirit that Beardhare has let me know is taboo to reference, so edited this post as I was not aware. Just to explain the conversation that happens below.

What are peoples thoughts on these? -
[ +- ] Potential Wild Claw pics
Last edited October 15, 2023 12:10 pm
Oct 15, 2023 11:27 am
@LightOfMidnight that Anishinaabe spirit has strong taboos against referring to or depicting it. So I'd go with something clearly and distinctly different from it - not an image that was made with it in mind.
Oct 15, 2023 12:04 pm
I was not aware. (I was aware it had been very internetized so wasn't actually going to call the form one, ) Thanks for informing me. I won't go for those then and will remove.

(I am just fond of deer antlers/stags as forest guardian so a beat with such antlers of course drew up a lot of those pics.)
Last edited October 15, 2023 12:06 pm
Oct 15, 2023 2:13 pm
Really appreciate you taking that into account, @LightOfMidnight
Oct 15, 2023 6:49 pm
BeardHare says:
@Dreamweaver checking out the rules, prompted by @timplausible, I think our answers to "When our team first came together" are supposed to build on each other, referencing the same incident.
Thanks! I misunderstood the rules on this. I'll repost one that builds on the prior story stoon.
Oct 16, 2023 12:22 am
OOC:
OK, take two, this time building on the prior storyline. This is for For Aria's: "We didn’t trust each other at first, but that changed. How? Why?"

@LightOfMidnight, I invented new powers for the Doctor; let me know of any edits if that doesn't fit what you had in mind. Also, feedback from others on any edits is appreciated.
In the midst of Halcyon City's bustling streets, Wild Claw found herself outmatched by Steven Robertson, who morphed into the monstrous Doctor. As chaos spread, Aria, despite her initial distrust, swooped down as Solstice, using her heliokinesis ability to aid Wild Claw. Nightfly, Mirage, and Captain Teleport soon joined the fray. Their combined might was beginning to wear The Doctor down, but he continued to resist.

As Aria and Wild Claw tried to coordinate their attacks, The Doctor, drawing from the volatile energies of his serum-infused physiology, unleashed a tremendous shockwave that rippled through the area. Buildings shook and windows shattered, and The Doctor stood defiant, his eyes glowing even brighter. The heroes, taken aback by the new display of The Doctor's powers, began to despair.

Just then, Alloy Angel descended from the skies, her metallic form reflecting the city lights. With a burst of technopathic energy, she attempted to disrupt The Doctor's augmented systems. Second Phase blurred in, moving at blinding speeds to create diversions, while Mirage, with her psychic constructs, fashioned barriers to protect bystanders.

Witnessing the courage and determination of her newfound allies, Aria felt a deep connection, realizing that they shared a common purpose.

Though the battle with The Doctor seemed far from over, the team's selflessness and unity in the face of danger solidified Aria's trust.
Oct 16, 2023 6:17 pm
OOC:
Second try here!

For Nightfly's "When our team first came together "We saved the life of someone important, either to the city or to us. Who was it? Why are they important?"
Mirage's barriers were protecting bystanders exposed on the streets. But one of the buildings struck by The Doctor's shockwave started to crumble and then collapse - several people inside it escaping out of a large window.

To Lex/Wild Claw's horror, one of them was Janina, her closest schoolfriend. The Doctor noticed Lex's attention, and swooped over to grab Janina. Holding her up, The Doctor challenged Wild Claw to back down, to swear an oath to allow The Doctor to continue his rampage untouched.

Seeing this, Leo/Captain Teleport and Jerry/Nightfly, standing next to each other exchanged a few words - and struck.

Nightfly connected with the cockroaches in nearby buildings, and asked them to swarm up and over The Doctor. They came at first, one or two at a time, but within seconds a huge carpet of them covered his legs, his body.

With this distraction, Captain Teleport was able to teleport in, grab Janina, and teleport away again before The Doctor could act to stop him.


Very happy to make change to this! Found it, again, harder than I expected to come up with something.

Next up, @timplausible/Leo
Oct 16, 2023 7:26 pm
Sorry everyone. I had a helluva weekend. I’ll read through and provide feedback in an hour or so.
Oct 16, 2023 7:35 pm
Yeah. Like Timplausible said, they are all supposed to build and tell one story of one incident. Sorry. That’s definitely on me for not making it explicit.

I like Dreamweavers second attempt. That’s great. Pretty clear that the trust was earned by doing daring deeds and teamwork. That’s good.

And Beardhare yours is good and evocative too. I like the build up of the teamwork there.

LightofMidnight- my vote would be for the second pic.
Oct 17, 2023 10:22 pm
OOC:
When our team first came together...
We totally broke some major rules to win the fight. What rules did we break? Whose rules were they?
Leo made a couple more jumps before deciding Janina was safe. They were essentially random - moving as far as he could see in whatever direction he happened to be looking. Leo took a look around to make sure Janina was in a safe place before leaving her, and when he did, he felt a rush of adrenaline. Leo recognized the building they were next to. Leo had broken into it once before after seeing some unusual people going in and out. Turned out it was a covert A.E.G.I.S. office. He'd mostly seen offices when he was in there, but there was a small vault where they agents stashed their goodies.

A few moments later, Leo ported back into the midst of the fight. In his hands was something that looked like an anime weapon made real - big, rifle-looking, shiny metal, glowing bits. Leo had no idea what it did, but it had a barrel and a trigger. He pointed the business end at the Doctor and fired the weapon.

The flash blinded Leo, so he didn't actually see what happened. But he was pretty sure he had fired an energy beam of some kind at the Doctor. It must have hit him, because when Leo's sight returned, he saw the Doctor unconscious on the ground some distance away from where he had been standing.

Leo set the weapon carefully on the ground. "If anyone asks, we just found that lying around."
OOC:
We stole a weapon from A.E.G.I.S. and used it against the Doctor.
Oct 18, 2023 1:42 am
That looks great to me. You guys are now on AEGIS’s radar in some regard. Theft from government offices is a pretty big rule.and we know Capt. Teleport has no problem using guns or things he finds laying around, lol

@amymist - you’re up next.
Oct 18, 2023 7:58 pm
Just to keep things going, if @amymist doesn’t respond today, I’ll ask @Chloe to answer the question tomorrow. Then we’ll fit Amymist’s answer in when they are ready.

I don’t need everyone responding everyday, but I want to keep momentum up for this part of the game.
Oct 18, 2023 8:05 pm
Okay, I'm gonna write a proper post for this, but I wanna run the basic idea by y'all first.

For "We paid a high cost for victory. What was it?"

I'm thinking one of the team members got badly hurt, enough to incapacitate them for a week or two, maybe even with some permanent consequence (a scar, maybe an occasional twinge of pain.)

I'm thinking it would have been Wild Claw, who would have been the most up close and personal with The Doctor throughout the fight, but I dunno if @LightOfMidnight would be okay with something like that!
Last edited October 18, 2023 8:07 pm
Oct 18, 2023 8:23 pm
I'm fine with that :P
Oct 18, 2023 10:16 pm
Let's follow up on it then.

All things considered, we did well and impressed an established hero. Who was it?
Mister Phase is quite obvious here.
With Janina safe, the Doctor knocked out and Wild Claw scarred, the dust around the fight settled.
Second Phase realized that she had actually helped taking down a super villain.
But... why hadn't Mister Phase shown up? They had both gone to the sighting of The Doctor together, to take him down.
Or rather, Mister Phase had planned to educate Second Phase in fighting the bad guys.

Second Phase saw Leo teleporting in and rushed forward. And before she knew it, unknown hero kids all combining their forces against the Doctor. Sure, the beast lady go a few nasty scars, and the Doctor threatened a girl. But through teamwork, they fought. And won.

As the Doctor lay unconscious on the ground, Second Phase looked at the others. She knew some of them. But not all of them.
As they all cheered their victory cheer, and received applause from the crowds, Mister Phase stepped through a wall and appeared. He had been watching, standing by all the time.

"Great job kids. You guys should all team up. You'll put old folks like me out of work. There was no need for me to jump in." He eyed everyone for a moment.

To his daughter Second Phase he said "You still have much to learn to be a Phase, but I'll trust you all learn from each other."

To Solstice, Alloy Angel and Wild Claw he said "Good fight you guys. Disrupting and beating up the bad guy like that. Good team work."

To Mirrage and Nightfly he say "And you two. Keeping an eye on the innocent. The masses and individuals, that's what a hero is all about."

To Captain Teleport, who he knew, he just said with half the tone of a strict father and half a smile of mischief "Put those guns back where you found them before you vaporize anyone."

Ever since then, Mister Phase had become the unofficial sponsor of the team.
And Second Phase, it was her first actual performance as a hero. Her dad had trusted her own judgment, and that of her friends.
But that surely didn't mean he would go easier on her with his lectures about responcibility and doing the right thing.
Last edited October 18, 2023 10:19 pm
Oct 19, 2023 3:19 am
Those look pretty good to me.@amymist If you want to write up something more detailed you definitely can. Otherwise, what’s there is fine and I can do it in a little bit.

@Chloe That looks good and can all work.

@bowlofspinach - you’re up next.
Oct 19, 2023 4:43 am
When our team first came together, we drew attention and ire from plenty during the fight. One important person in particular now hates and fears us. Who is it?
OOC:
I was originally thinking of making it AEGIS, for the equipment theft, but I don't think they'd fear us like the prompt says. And I think the fact that they won't be happy about Leo taking their weapon is already implied in that answer.
While our newly-formed team managed to contain the threat of the Doctor and even to prevent some of the worst casualties, the fight still hadn't passed without effect. Nearby buildings were damaged, lampposts had been knocked over, cars smashed and unfortunately, while nobody died, some of the bystanders had not made it out entirely uninjured either.
One of these bystanders, as the group would learn the next day, was city councilwoman Miranda Keats, who would go on to give a press conference condeming the actions of this foolhardy and inexperienced team. Most of her injuries have healed since then, though she still requires the use of a cane, but her distaste for our team is still just as strong as that day.
Oct 19, 2023 4:21 pm
Fleshed this out a bit.
Quote:
We paid a high cost for victory. What was it?
Now that Janina was clear of the fight, there was nothing between Wild Claw and The Doctor. Enraged by the way he had endangered her friend, Wild Claw threw herself back into the fight with renewed vigor. However, her anger had made her more reckless, and while she got in plenty of good blows of her own, The Doctor managed to summon up nearly all of his strength and strike Wild Claw hard enough to send her reeling back before crumpling to the ground.

Captain Teleport had just returned to the scene of the battle, and the space that was now between Wild Claw and The Doctor gave him a clear enough view to take the shot with the weapon he had brought back with them. There was a bright flash, and before anyone realized what had happened, the fight was over.

Wild Claw tried to get to her feet, but had barely started to rise before her leg buckled under her again. The Doctor's last blow had been the worst, and had left Wild Claw with a dislocated knee- one that would take time to heal properly.
Oct 19, 2023 10:43 pm
@bowlofspinach,@amymist - both of those look great.

Alrighty! I think we’re done with that part! That’s some great stuff.

I’ll check the book when I get home but I think next is just to finish up the influence and then we’re in there. Check that first post to see what/ I’m missing for influence. Or let me know your choices if you haven’t already
Oct 20, 2023 2:41 am
Yeah. Looks like it’s just Influence left.
Oct 20, 2023 5:08 am
bowlofspinach says:
Right, speaking of Influence, my playbook says:

You try not to care what other people think, even if you can’t shut everyone out. Give Influence to
one teammate.

I'm thinking that might be either Aria, as I think she's the one Alice feels closest to, or Michelle as the one who knew her from before and can call her out on bad behavior and excuses (and has done so before).
I can't find if I actually confirmed it, but it is on the influence table, so I probably did, but the person who has influence over Alice is Aria.
Oct 20, 2023 6:01 am
Everyone has influence over Michelle
Oct 20, 2023 6:35 am
Having a bit of fun reading the influence chart, but if I am reading it right it should be Michelle/second phase who has influence over Wild Claw not mirage :p
Oct 20, 2023 2:10 pm
Gotcha. Thanks for those updates. I’ll make them soon.

I thought it would be a good way to track, but obviously it’s no excel and I’m no guru… yet. Lol.
Oct 20, 2023 2:17 pm
Ok. I made those 3 updates.
Oct 20, 2023 2:47 pm
Tbf a Google sheets doc we can all edit may not be a bad shout
Oct 20, 2023 5:00 pm
Two people get influence over Mirage, "These people matter for what you need to do. "

Thinking Second Phase and Leo.

As well, for the backstory section I had left blank, Who, outside of the team, is crucial to defeating your nemesis? I think my answer is Mister Phase. Maybe he and Doctor Metcett were enemies in the past, and he knows some kind of weakness and/or put a stop to a previous plan.
Oct 20, 2023 6:05 pm
amymist says:
Two people get influence over Mirage, "These people matter for what you need to do. "

Thinking Second Phase and Leo.

As well, for the backstory section I had left blank, Who, outside of the team, is crucial to defeating your nemesis? I think my answer is Mister Phase. Maybe he and Doctor Metcett were enemies in the past, and he knows some kind of weakness and/or put a stop to a previous plan.
Quite likely that Mr Phase had been opposing villians like The Doctor. He did go out to fight him (only he didn't) when the team got together.
So yeah, he might know a weakness. And that's incidently very great for setting Michelle in the shadow of her dad again, where she wants to get out of :)
Oct 20, 2023 6:07 pm
Aegis says:
Ok. I made those 3 updates.
Cool! Second Phase has influence on her self ;)

A good schedule to track it though.
Oct 20, 2023 6:36 pm
Just to confirm that you've got Nightfly's influence correctly tracked in the chart at the top of this thread #ThumbsUp
Oct 20, 2023 6:48 pm
Don't know how helpful it'll be, but here's a Google Sheet tracking Influence that you should all be able to edit. It contains the info currently at the top of the thread about Influence.

If you want, I can try next week and make an actual character tracker thingy with it (he says, having never made one before, although used a few...)

(I use Google Docs to keep my own record of my character - here's Nightfly's sheet in case you're curious)
Oct 20, 2023 7:25 pm
Chloe says:
Aegis says:
Ok. I made those 3 updates.
Cool! Second Phase has influence on her self ;)

You’ve gotta be your own best friend.

@BeardHare - thanks for putting that together. I’ll move the link to the top post. I’m fine working off of that if no one else has a problem with it. Cleaner and certainlY easier.
Oct 23, 2023 12:23 pm
Got my finished character art now, both for superheroing and civilian

https://i.imgur.com/2d98SDX.png
Oct 23, 2023 6:31 pm
@bowlofspinach - Oh ho! That’s slick! Did you do that yourself?

@timplausible - Question for you… how does the teleportation and power canceling power work for Capt. Teleport? My original thinking was kind of Nightcrawler style teleportion mostly just yourself with maybe a couple of others and mostly only where you can see. Is that what you were thinking?

And the power negation, is that for people you teleport? Or an area around you when you teleport in/out?
Oct 23, 2023 6:34 pm
Quote:
@bowlofspinach - Oh ho! That’s slick! Did you do that yourself?
Hah, no, I have zero artistic talent. I commissioned something.
Oct 23, 2023 8:58 pm
Aegis says:
@timplausible - Question for you… how does the teleportation and power canceling power work for Capt. Teleport?
I was also thinking Nightcrawler-ish teleportation. I have been thinking that after teleporting he radiates a field that negates powers in a few-foot radius around him, but that field dissipates after 30 seconds or something.
Oct 23, 2023 8:58 pm
Aegis says:
@timplausible - Question for you… how does the teleportation and power canceling power work for Capt. Teleport?
I was also thinking Nightcrawler-ish teleportation. I have been thinking that after teleporting he radiates a field that negates powers in a few-foot radius around him, but that field dissipates after 30 seconds or something.

When coming up with the character, I didn't want him to have two powers completely unrelated to each other, so that's why I came up with this. Currently I'm thinking the power negation is not voluntary (though maybe he'll learn to control it). So when teleporting teammates in a fight, he needs to drop them off then port away real quick.

An alternate idea would be that the teleporting process itself negates powers of those he takes with him. That would be more inconvenient for the team, however. Though it might add to his loner nature.
Last edited October 23, 2023 9:02 pm
Oct 23, 2023 11:02 pm
Seems like we’re of a similar thought process then. I think it’s maybe more interesting to have to teleport a person and they lose powers for a little bit, but it’s up to you.
Oct 24, 2023 9:40 pm
Sure. We'll go with teleporting the person negates their powers. Will make teleporting teammates interesting.
Last edited October 24, 2023 9:41 pm
Oct 24, 2023 11:54 pm
Sounds good to me.
Oct 26, 2023 1:53 pm
I've added character's pronouns to the Influence Google Sheet (to the right of the influence table.

I was getting lost trying to remember them!

If I got any of them wrong, you should be able to just go in and edit/correct them.
Oct 26, 2023 2:03 pm
Thanks! I had forgotten that Mirage went by "they/them".
Oct 26, 2023 8:12 pm
Perfect. Good move. I added that to the first post in here.
Oct 27, 2023 8:40 pm
May be worthwhile slowly briefly? Give time for @Chloe to assert where Michelle is in the scene (Says the person who's just posted twice in the last hour :P)
Oct 27, 2023 9:10 pm
The game exploded quite fast really (which happens quite too often at GP tbh). Trying to keep up. But thanks for considering.

I kinda thought it was 3 posts/week like one every other day. But it seems we skipped from travelling to prepping for a fight or something.
Last edited October 27, 2023 9:16 pm
Oct 27, 2023 9:16 pm
I've been there. Think Michelle could either have gone with Leo, joined Alice and Lex, or stuck with Aria. Or done her own thing :P. We're all conversing back on the building with the hwole wheret eh bad guys are, and hopefully our badass bikers will be there soon :P.
Oct 28, 2023 2:57 pm
Yeah. Momentum and excitement. I was going to try to keep my posting to something like a Monday Wednesday Friday schedule. For in character convos and stuff like that though, I think you can post when you get around to it or before I get my next one in.

Also, as a PbtA game, it really is pretty player driven as far as pacing and moves and such and the interrelated nature of the relationship and influence and bonds. More so than most other types of games.

All of that is to say im going to shoot for a MWF schedule. Other than that, just chime in when you can/feel.
Nov 7, 2023 7:26 pm
I'm struggling a bit with Nightfly's powers. Particularly for combat.

Ze has Substance Mimicry and wears a full-body suit, and that feels like it limits a lot what ze can do with the power as the suit is between zir and any baddies. I guess ze can do things like mimic substance qualities such as mass, radioactivity, smell (??) that can act through the suit? Or take zir gloves off? Hm. I guess ze can damage things with zir fists by mimicking diamond...

Zir second power is Insect Control - and it feels like there are only so many wasp swarms out there to sick on the baddies, only so much ze can do with zir trusty band of cockroaches when it comes to combat.

I'd thought ze could have some useful utility for being sneaky and infiltrating and so on, but with a teleporter, a flyer, a phaser, that feels pretty redundant too.

Yeah, ze just feels very underpowered compared to what the rest of the team is bringing.

Given current set up, maybe it'll be a bit like playing a DnD Bard, being there for the support/utility stuff. And I think I can enjoy leaning into that. I've heard Masks described as a drama simulator rather than a combat simulator - so, as I've been kinda doing, maybe it's really about leaning into the drama with this character.

And then maybe I play zir as something like Black Widow - not really doing much with zir superpowers, but being all fancy and acrobatic and so on.

But, yeah, any thoughts on how to work with playing what feels like a very under-powered character?
Last edited November 7, 2023 7:35 pm
Nov 7, 2023 7:37 pm
I do think Masks is much more about the interpersonal than about the fights (though, as Aegis would know, I just generally find big fights rather boring compared to just people talking 😅), so being 'underpowered' shouldn't present too much of a problem, hopefully. In a different system, I've had a Kryptonian and a regular human among the PCs and that worked out fine because the game was much more about social stuff than combat (and even in action scenes, we made it work pretty well).
That said, I'm sure especially this early in the game, there wouldn't be a problem if you wanted to decide to change up some things, whether it be your powerset or something else, if you're not quite happy with it. You are supposed to have fun, after all. Perhaps you could also just say that zir substance mimicry also applies to zir clothes (specially crafted for zir) and that ze can summon swarms from farther away, if you just want what you have to feel a bit more useful.
Nov 7, 2023 8:02 pm
Thanks for that. Helps a lot.

Reading you message, and thinking a bit, I think I'll follow one of your suggestions and give myself just a little bit more freedom by having mimicry apply also to zir clothes.

I'll have it that the "clothes" ze wears is actually zir doing substance mimicry with zir skin i.e ze mimics a costume around zirself. And ze can just add additional substance features to it as needed.

Thanks again!
Nov 7, 2023 8:13 pm
So ze's actually just running around naked right now?

Don't tell Alice 😳😄
Nov 7, 2023 8:33 pm
I think this will be one of zir BIG secrets heh. Or does this feel like a bit too much?
Nov 7, 2023 8:39 pm
I think it's a fun little potential reveal for later
Nov 7, 2023 8:44 pm
Could also lead to a dramatic reveal of Jerry if powers ever go awry... and NIghtfly always refusing to be teleported by Leo :P


Re insect control as a power there is a good but very long web story where the main character Weaver does creative things with insects and I cannot remember the name...

Edit: Worm!
Last edited November 7, 2023 8:45 pm
Nov 7, 2023 9:03 pm
I once very briefly played a character with insect control powers in a short-lived game. He was an enforcer for a mob boss, and it turns out, insects can be a great tool to intimidate someone.
Nov 7, 2023 11:42 pm
Lots of comics assume "advanced costume technology" that allows the costume to not hinder powers, even if it makes sense that they would. Maybe Mr Phase got Nightly such a costume. Perhaps he knows Halcyon City's version of Edna Mode.

As for insects, they are probably more utility than combat. Maybe she carries some with her as well, in a special backpack or something. "Nightfly, why is your backpack buzzing?"
Nov 8, 2023 12:38 am
Yeah. I can see how you may having a hard time finding use. But that shouldn’t be a problem. I have no problem with zir absorbing and mimicking substances through the costume. Call it "permeating energy fields" or something, lol. Also, you can pull a Rogue from x-men evolution and just whip the glove off when you’re ready to do it. We could even say , aka Animorphs, that ze stores the pattern of the substances earlier, before combat and can use them in combat. Complications could be if you roll a 6 or something, then ze lose that substance until ze can absorb it again. Or something.

Insect Control, I’m happy to be flexible here too. You could communicate with the bugs for scouting like, Beast Master, or control swarms. But let’s not forget that the original Computer Bugs were literally bugs that got into computers and messed them up. I’ll tell you this for free, if a single mosquito flies into my nose or ear, my whole day is ruined. Now image a sugar bee with the singular thought of crawling into an ear and stinging something. Could be bad. I guess control could also be controlling thier "pheromones" and venoms and other Pseudosciences to be more potent. And if you want to say some critters are around, or that there’s an insect lab adjacent, or they just called the exterminator to get rid of some killer bees, etc, I’m happy to have it.

And obviously increased physical abilities is pretty good. Even being twice as powerful as the average person in a fight is devastating. And to me, increased physical abilities is a bit farther than like Captain America/Batman level. "Peak Human". Or I guess somewhere between Batman and Captain America. I think they probably left the peak human limit behind for him a while ago.

All of that is to say I’m more than happy to be flexible and a big fan of the character. And that’s true for all of you. Feel free to add some stuff to the scene and I want you to input some of your own stuff when/if you want.

Also, if you want, you can depict everything and the playbook. We’re pretty early in so I don’t mind that.
Nov 8, 2023 10:24 am
Oh I LOVE the ideas y'all are sharing here...!!!! Thank you so much!

Right. Yes. "Advanced Costume Technology" it is - I wasn't super-comfortable with Nightfly buzzing around essentially in the nude...! If OK with everyone, I'll retcon that ze stole one of these suits from a superhero in town that has a similar body-shape to zir (don't want zir getting it from someone 'officially' as atm no one knows of the link between zir mundane and heroic identities).

Oh and zir backpack TOTALLY holds a colony of bumblebees. Maybe not the scariest or most useful insect. But one of the cutest and THAT'S ALSO IMPORTANT heh. Gonna give zir a favourite worker bumblebee called Lex. And now ze knows Lex/Wild Claw, ze has taken to calling bee Lex "Big Lex", and Wild Claw "Little Lex", to be silly and friendly-tease Wild Claw a bit.

So, for the Mimic Substances I was thinking of running it like - if I've touched a thing at some point in my life, then I have access to mimicking physical or chemical properties of it.

I've touched iron, so can make parts or all of my body the density, hardness, of iron. I've touched some super-heat-resistant lab material and then crushed a lit halogen lamp in my fingers, so can take on the light-generating brightness of the tungsten filament. Stuff like that.

So I can imagine zir sometimes going off into physics labs to get zir fingers on unusual substances with unusual properties, to add to zir list of possibilities.

And could imagine zir in a fight mimicking funky halogen-lamp-bright dancing patterns across zir body to confuse and blind people ze is fighting. Stuff like that. Ah, nice, ze carries a badass sound-system also in the backpack and when ze is fighting like this, powers up loud awesome loudass beats and the patterns move in time with the music, as does ze, until suddenly they/ze don't and BAM didn't see that coming did you (this is stollen directly from Nilah Brio in Alex White's The Salvagers Series).

Sound OK? No problem if I'm shifting here to OP from underpowered, happy to throttle it back!
Nov 8, 2023 10:32 am
Sounds all fun to me!
Nov 8, 2023 5:15 pm
Nope. That all sounds pretty good to me! Obviously we’ll work out any details but I like where your head is at.

I would like for you to tell me who the hero is and does/did etc… it can be one of the "established" heroes or you can make one up. And how you came across the suit. I’ll make sure they are included in the Roster with the previous generations heroes.
Nov 8, 2023 5:58 pm
Nightfly stole zir suit from TardiGrade - a high-school biology teacher who also runs as a superhero. Her powers are about being basically un-killable - able to survive impact, radiation, suffocation, and more (I'm inspired here by these amazing beasties). She mostly uses her powers to help Halcyon City's search-and-rescue, and fire department - saving people trapped in awful situations.

TardiGrade has a very similar body size and shape to Nightfly - and is a very peaceful easy-going superhero, doesn't have any big enemies, and just lives openly in her inner-city apartment. Her mundane identity, Lana Jenkins, is not a secret.

Nightfly really felt ze needed a suit - doing everything in the nude but using zir powers to colour zirself pitch black to allow zir to infiltrate and so on, just had always felt like it was asking for trouble. So one day, while Lana was teaching her classes, Nightfly sneaked in and took one of Lana's spare suits from her closet. Lana didn't realise until a while later than one of her suits had been taken - is puzzled about what happened to it.
Last edited November 8, 2023 6:00 pm
Nov 8, 2023 6:07 pm
This is wonderful! I’ll include TardiGrade.

So the suit is durable and allows for some degree of permission between the wearer and the environment? And I guess has a backpack and some other pockets?
Nov 8, 2023 6:16 pm
Ah, glad you like it :) I kinda liked the pun that TardiGrade is still a teacher, so she added the capital G in the middle of her superhero name. She probably gives any student a special "look" if they turn up late or tardy...

Yes, I was thinking the suit is very durable and flexible, allows Nightfly to 'touch' through the fabric, and can basically be used as an external additional "skin" for Nightfly - like, ze can control the suits opacity, colour, and so on. Although if ze isn't doing anything special with it, then the suit just defaults to a deep impenetrable black.

And, yes, backpack and pockets please heh.

Would that be OK?
Nov 8, 2023 7:07 pm
Been stalling on Wild Claw description while trying to find a fitting picture :P. Other than 'big, horns, juggernaut'

Will try and come up with one :P.
Nov 8, 2023 9:35 pm
Lol. Sounds good. No reason the form can’t change from time to time. You know… "pulling energy from the subjective unconscious of the villain" or something appropriately hokey, purple and of that era.
Nov 9, 2023 9:35 pm
FYI, if I Google "big horns juggernaut", this is the first image I get:
https://i.imgur.com/Aab7T3M.jpg
Nov 9, 2023 9:39 pm
xD. I did get a very large bear with horns for nature guardian.

I think I have an idea with the shifting form, though less from the villain and more from environment.
Nov 10, 2023 12:32 am
I can see how that critter would be what you were looking for, lol.

Sounds good to me.

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