Character and World Creation

Does anyone want to play at a significantly different date? We can talk about it. I think I consider anything post pandemic to be 'modern times', so we don't need to care about the exact dates or years.

Defining the date too closely can become a problem when the rules call for time to skip forward a few months, and suddenly we find ourselves in the future. This happens less in PbP where we are more likely to be lagging behind as the two years of play has only covered a few 'time passes' phases and gametime has only moved months. :) Unless we find we need to know, maybe we just don't worry about it?

All we need is a general idea of time-period.
I am thinking this needs it own thread. I will set that up next.

Yes, we don't need a specific year, but I'd say just defining the decade. So we know for example, if smartphones are widely available, if we need to rely on old mobile phones with no Internet access, or if we need to carry cash for telephone booths. ;)

The book assumes smartphones, but does not rely on them. This is all completely up to the players. State your opinions.

@Ysolde, what do you think about not having guns? [ref] If you are a Hunter you get to make your own weapons, and they could be swords and spears.

Or you could have a fancy bow. Getting stopped by the police in London will get you questions about why you are carrying a bow and arrows, but they are likely to let you go without incident... unless there have been people killed with arrows, then you are in trouble, but this is the same as guns in America.

You may have to produce some sort of certificate to show you have a reason to carry a dangerous bow, but 'HEMA', or 'competition', should be good enough.

I'm actually fine with any option, so I'll defer to anyone who has a strong preference. If that's not the case, we can default to modern day.

Regarding characters, so I see we already have a Wizard, a Vamp and a (demon) Hunter.

I'm thinking it would be cool to play as the Imp. Someone who owns an antiquarian bookshop where he sells magic relics and stuff. Nobody would know he's actually a demon, and that would include the PCs. In fact, it would be awesome if they were close friends with the Hunter, so it would bring many interesting narrative scenes and/or moral dilemmas if he finally finds out ("oh, no, so you were a demon all these years?!")

What do you think? (especially Ysolde, of course)

I do not believe that is an option, under the rules. Everyone know what you are, you are a Status-1 personality in Wild, they can not engage with the you or your Faction/Circle otherwise. See the Open Secrets heading on page 54.

You could deliberately try to hide your nature from the Hunter, but that will not last long and could prove a problem when (not if) it comes to light that you are not just a demon, you were also lying to them and manipulating them. If you are interested in this storyline, then maybe you can say that is something that happened in the past and you worked through it... or didn't and now have to rebuild your old friendship? We can see it in flashbacks as it becomes relevant, rather than have it looming over the game as a sword of damocles, set to potentially kill the game at any point.

Hmmmm, I see.

My idea was that everyone knows I'm something (Status-1 in Wild), but not necessarily a demon. It could be a fae, or something else, completely different, perhaps even unique.

You have a point, though, that my proposal could have turned into a sword of damocles if not handled with care. @Ysolde, let me know if you're fine with a complicated relationship with a demon (maybe we are forced to work together, because I am the only one who can provide you with something you need to do your job, so I'm seen as the lesser/necessary evil). If that sounds complicated, I'm happy considering other playbooks too! :)

The Imp is sorta trying not to be a demon and doesn't serve the forces of 'hell', that is their whole thing. They are, therefore, the least offensive example of their ilk. It should not be a problem to have a demon Hunter and an Imp in the same game.

Remember that the Hunter hunts "demons who corrupt the good and the just", not all demons, there are too many of them in the city for that. This is a little less black-and-white than the Vampire example they give in the Notes on Your Society in the Playbook, but still applies.

If you do engage in regular 'corruption of the good and just' then you may have to hide that from the Hunter.. but you probably shouldn't do that anyway?

You might even, regularly, help the Hunter against other demons, or you may, regularly, need the Hunter's help against demons sent to try to get you back —remember, if they can break you establishment, then your loophole is gone— and this could be a reason you are close... despite your differences?

Yes, that totally depicts what I had in mind. :-) Let's see if Ysolde is on board with the idea.

@VagueDM sorry I wasn't around yesterday usually I check in once per day. Yes, I am entirely okay without guns and, in fact, would prefer not to use them.

@Gnomius looking at Imp I think she would be wary of them (they might revert) but okay with working with them.

It happens. Which is why I tend to phrase my 1/day as 'most days' (that and because I have been using the phrase for longer than these 'sites' have had dropdown lists to choose from:).
Excellent. We may seldom see them, but, when we do, you will be able to hold your own where most won't.

Guns have a 'fear factor' when brought out in populaces that are not jaded to their presence, so, if guns appear, they will quickly change the landscape of the scene.
Do you find the idea appealing and interesting? It may be a high friction relationship, and those tend to easily grab traction, so we might see it a lot. We can adjust the prevalence to suit both your desires to see it in play, we just need to know how much you want.

In fact, we could not only work together from time to time, but instead we could be actual partnerrs. I have to fill this in my playbook:
So, you could be my "man on the ground', the one that helps me get objects and stuff in the streets. And I would be your main provider of weapons, blessed arrows, or any other gadgets you need for your hunting.

I could even choose the "A demonic ex-liege seeking your immediate return" complication, and we could have a first antagonist, a Status-3 demon that sends out goons for you to hunt down.

These are only suggestions right now, and I'm open to revisiting any of them if vagueGM, Ysolde or any other player has better ideas.

I have no objections. That all sounds good. We can definitely run a 'parallel story' of Imp trying to get rid of that ex-liege's grip on them, that occupies both the demon Hunter and the Imp, the others might participate or do their own thing, but everyone will be drawn into each other's drama.

Remember the options on your sheets are both prescriptive and descriptive, that means, in the above case, that the Imp could get rid of the pesky complication by taking an Advance that clears it (I am guessing, I have not looked at the sheet:) or by taking action with the help of their friends and dealing with it in the fiction. Either way, it is resolved.

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I tend to try to stay away from making character choice suggestions unless explicitly asked for. Even a casual suggestion from a GM can carry a lot more presumed-weight than it is meant to. I will shape the world around your characters, so don't worry about trying to shape your characters around my world.

Would you like us to get started on the intro questions and such or should we wait until we've completely decided on a city?

I am not sure. The city may affect the into questions.

Let's at least wait till be have all the characters, though. Some of the Intro Questions are tied to Debts so we may need to think about those at the same time, and that needs all the characters.

If you have enough to introduce your characters to us, go ahead and tell us about them. Tell us what input you need on anything. If any of the Intro Questions are obvious and part of the basic introduction, you are welcome to answer them, too.

Rhiannon McClanahan: A child will be born with the Raven birthmark. She will be the favored of the Morrigan. She is to be trained to defeat the demons who corrupt the good and the just. Rhiannon was born with the mark and has trained since she was a child, she's never known anything except battle. She wields an ancient Celtic bow (antique, blessed), a Seax (bladed, silvered), and a Chain (cold iron, heavy).

Rhiannon herself was nearly killed by Fierna, a Demon Lord that pretended to be a pretty college girl. Fierna had tricked Rhiannon into dating her and then into an ambush that nearly killed the Hunter. Rhiannon will never forget that betrayal.

Rhiannon is 26 and despite her rough upbringing and her profession Rhiannon is upbeat and friendly. Her training has given her looks that allow her to mingle with the college crowd and most people think she's part of it. She can usually be found around the college or as a high school teacher's aide because Demons prey on the young.

The Imp's Ex-Liege that Demon has a target on them, perhaps they worked with Fierna or know something about her?

Sure, could it be Fierna herself, who is messing up with us after all those years?

Good stuff Ysolde. Lots to work with there. (And some pretty awful-to-type names too, thanks for that.:)

Do you require any help with the character sheet? Just give a shout and I can handle any details you need.
Is Morrigan a hunter who trained you? Are they still around? Still in the City?

Can you tell us more about them? You don't need to, we can learn more as we play, but if there is anything you particularly want to be true (or believe to be true) in the fiction, tell us so we can aim for it.
Let's maybe keep this 'college' so we don't accidentally stray across the 'no violence against children' line. We can explain this in-fiction if need be.
I was sorta labouring under the assumption that, whichever city we settle on, we would probably use the 'Downtown' 'City Hub'. But this might nudge us more towards 'The University' (see page 229 for details).

If we go London, there are universities all over the place, and we can have a mix (I am not convinced about the new City Hub mechanic) and center our area of play somewhere on a border that spans both.

What does everyone think about starting in a University focused 'Hub'? It seems like a good fit for what we have heard of the other characters so far.

Why don't we leave his unclear; to be discovered later?

@Ysolde, if you would prefer to not bring your Ex- back in this capacity you can X-Card it now, else it very well might be them, or they might be involved in some way. We will learn more about Fierna as you tell us and the other PCs about them as we play, and what we learn about their character will guide and direct what their involvement is.
Unless you say 'no', of course. You are welcome to revise your answer at any time.