Session Zero

Ok. By the way, what do you want to name this organization? Or is it part of an existing one like the FBI but not many know it is a branch that exists?

I can go with the Professional and be your handler, Smiley! That sounds like fun actually. Are there character sheets for PbTA in Gamersplane or will we need to go with a PDF of the character?

There is a custom sheet I saw. Make a custom sheet and then in templates I saw MotW. It is missing the part about EXP and level ups, though. I would recommend filling out the PDF and then using the custom sheet as best you can afterwards

Nevermind-I found the template for MOTW in the Custom character sheets. Here are my possible connections to you other hunters. What do we think?

•
Your relationship with them has romantic potential. So far it hasn’t gone further.
•
They’re on the Agency’s watch list, and you’ve been keeping an eye on them.
•
You are related. Tell them how close.
•
You met on a mission and worked together unofficially. And successfully.
•
They’ve worked with the Agency before, and they’re well regarded.
•
You were friends back in training, before the Agency recruited you. This could be military, law enforcement, or some weirder school: decide the details between you.
•
They pulled you (and maybe your team) out of a terrible FUBARed mission.
•
You got sent to "deal with them" as a hazard to the Agency’s policies one time. Tell them how you resolved this.

I think that it should be a private agency rather than a branch of a known one. What do you all think?

To keep things from getting awkward, I recommend avoiding any romance options

I think I am going with The Spooky.

History
Go around the group again. On your turn, pick one of
these for each hunter:
• They taught you to control your powers, to the extent
that you can control them at all.
• You are blood-kin. Decide together exactly what.
• You’re old friends, and trust each other completely.
• You used your powers on them one time. Decide if
it was for selfish reasons or not, and tell them if they
found out about it.
• You’ve known each other some time, but since your
powers manifested, you keep them at a distance
emotionally.
• You hope they can help you control your powers.
• They saw you use your powers for selfish or vindictive reasons. Ask them who the victim was, and then
tell them what you did.



@zatatmando -This one for me? They’re on the Agency’s watch list, and you’ve been keeping an eye on them.

What does Hold 3 or Hold 1 Mean?
Tune In: You can attune your mind to a monster or minion. Roll +Weird. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 1. On a miss, the monster becomes aware of you. Spend one hold to ask the Keeper one of the following questions, and gain +1 ongoing while acting on the answers...


What does +1 Forward mean?

Premonitions: At the start of each mystery, roll +Weird. On a 10+, you get a detailed vision of something bad that is yet to happen. You take +1 forward to prevent it coming true, and mark experience if you stop it. On a 7-9+ you get clouded images of something bad that is yet to happen: mark experience if you stop it. On a miss, you get a vision of something bad happening to you and the Keeper holds 3, to be spent one-for-one as penalties to rolls you make.


Is there a list of any magical items or amulets that you use to invoke your powers. Or Do I pick what ever?

So a hold is like a meta currency that you can spend on what the move that gave them to you says you can spend them on. In your example, you can ask 1 question from the list it gives you for each hold the roll awarded you. Hold 3 means 3 questions, while hold 1 means 1 question.

As for Forward and Ongoing, these give you a +1 to your very next roll (forward) or all rolls (ongoing) so long as the source of the forward or ongoing is still relevant. For your example, if you roll 10 or higher and do something that would stop your vision from happening, the first roll you make towards that end gets a +1 added to it (with the way 2d6 is, every +1 is huge, hence why there are rarely any +2s anywhere).

As for magic items or such, there aren't really magic items like you think of D&D or Pathfinder or similar fantasy games. Instead, it is all about the narrative. If it makes sense narratively that something you want to do requires ingredients or a special item to be held, the Keeper (game master) tells you. If they don't say anything, you can just do it (depending on your roll of course). Most people who actually use magic are assumed to have some sort of basic item on them that helps them invoke magic, but that's more of a narrative thing. In the Spooky playbook, there is a picture of a little girl floating in the air. You might imagine the teddy bear she is holding is her magic channeling item because of its connection to her.

@Ironmonger42

Can you use a Hold from one Power on another?

A hold can only be spent on what the source of the hold says you can spend it on. You can't use one move that gives you and hold and then use it to ask a question from the Investigate a Mystery move all hunters share unless they move is what gave you the hold, for example.

I understand what Hallucinations & Mood Swings would be.

What would secrets, self destruction, and greed for power look like?

Secrets - you know something and can't reveal it
Self destruction - you know what action would cause things to go wrong and must do that action
Greed for power - you must take an action that would give you strength even at the cost of the mystery

Okay, so we have an Expert, a Professional and a Spooky? Do I fill up my character in the playbook pdf link that was given or are there Gamersplane character sheet where I put my stats and choices?

Let's name our organisation Paranormal Entities Surveillance Division (P.E.S.D), a private division that gathers funding from the FBI and high-class society people who are interested in knowing about this alternate world of monsters and magic. It has a quasi-governmental operating license that lets them catalogue and interact with paranormal things. Often, other organisations fund P.E.S.D to deal with paranormal threats or even suppress them from common people. Since it is private, it is mostly underfunded unless it has a big operation and heavy weight like FBI looking into something.

Do we need to choose from this list?

The history section from the Expert playbook

Go around the group again. On your turn, pick one of these for each other hunter:

• They are your student, apprentice, ward, or child. Between you, decide which.

• They came to you for advice, and your advice got them out of trouble. Ask them what the trouble was.

• They know about some of your dark secrets, but they’ve agreed to keep quiet about them. Tell them what they know.

• A distant relation. Tell them exactly what.

• You were previously both members of an eldritch group, now disbanded. Ask them why they left, then tell them why you did.

• They once helped you get a singular item that is now part of your haven. Tell them what it was.

• You were taught by the same master. Ask them how it ended.

• You saved their life in a tight spot. Tell them what happened.

The idea is that each hunter should have one connection to each other hunter. It's 100% to fuel roleplay and get past some of the awkwardness at the start. Either one hunter proposes a history with another hunter, or the other hunter says "i like the idea of having this history with you" and you flesh it out.

For example, Stalker05 might say "I like the idea of having this history with someone: They came to you for advice, and your advice got them out of trouble. Ask them what the trouble was.. Who wants to have that history with me?" and then the two of you agree on the trouble so you have it straight. Alternatively, Smiley might say, "I think it would make sense that my character might have the 'You saved their life in a tight spot. Tell them what happened.' history with you from your list. I was thinking x happened. Are you good with that?"

Cool! @zatatmando,@Smiley What history do you want to have with my character?

I am thinking that my character is a research fellow at a University/Institute which is his day job. He gets paid less and sometimes works part-time. But one day he stumbles upon the supernatural, and from that time on, he has started researching them.

@zatatmando I like this one for both of our characters: They’ve worked with the Agency before, and they’re well regarded.

@Smiley I like this one for our characters : You hope they can help you control your powers.

For @zatatmando (Pro) I was thinking this one They’re on the Agency’s watch list, and you’ve been keeping an eye on them.

@Stalker05 What about a mix between
They came to you for advice, and your advice got them out of trouble. Ask them what the trouble was. & You hope they can help you control your powers.

(Not sure what type of expert you are, was picturing you like Dr. Peter Venkman from ghostbusters ) I learn about you online after that issues with my powers. They caused some sort of Incident and I came to you for help to control my powers.
The incident put me on the Agency’s watch list. Coming to you is what made me not get shoved in a cell for the rest of my life.

@Stalker05 I like your choice actually, I think it could be a good fit. Perhaps you are an asset that the Agency has used before, and I was assigned to work with you then as well. I could say that I was called up for a mission and chose to grab you again for your expertise in the field.

@Smiley, I like the"You used your powers on them one time. Decide if it was for selfish reasons or not, and tell them if they found out about it." I think it could still work for me being your handler, but this link introduces a bit of intrigue that may play out down the road a bit. Perhaps you used your powers on me to get yourself out of trouble, or maybe even to keep me from noticing you in public or something. That part will be up to you, of course.

So I will be away at a wedding today and overnight into tomorrow, and may not be able to post again until Sunday afternoon, just FYI.