[Closed] Epic Superhero Adventure (Risus)

Four superheroes/vigilantes have formed a team (name to be determined, by you!), and they're ready to make their mark! Villains should be quaking in their boots, citizens should be ready to cheer...and sponsors should be ready to shell out that sweet cash!

Actually, let's not get carried away. You're still living in a shared basement, and have yet to thwart a serious threat. But that'll surely change, with grit and...all that good stuff. Insert motivational stuff here.

Move from Small Town to Suburbia to Big City as you fight villains, inspire the populace, make some dough...and maybe even find romance and long-lasting happiness?

Or are you the vigilante type, someone who's destined to grimly mow down the bad guys? Go for it! Just don't ruffle too many feathers, or the real heroes might come gunning for you!

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System: Risus. It's free, and can be found here. There are also some free adventures to peruse if you need inspiration. I just stumbled upon it recently, and it looks like the ultimate rules-lite RPG. Only four pages? Where have you been all my life?!

Character Creation: Explained in the Risus rules. You start with 10 dice, 4 dice max for a single cliché, Primary Cliché expresses the main traits of your character. You also start with reasonable gear. And yes, you can have powers, since this is a superhero game. Or you can mimic Batman and just be a really awesome "normal" person.

Interstellar and extra-dimensional travel is possible in this world, so you can basically be whatever you want!

Party Size: I'm looking for four players.

Vibe/Aesthetic: This will be wild and darkly satirical. More Vertigo than Marvel.

Duration: This isn't a pre-planned campaign. We'll play until we get bored.

Post Frequency: I'll be active most days, but you don't have to match my pace. Five posts a week will be fine. If you need a break or have an emergency, contact me.

If you go AWOL for more than seven days, I'll seek a replacement player.

Specialized Software and Resources: None. Played entirely on Gamersplane.

Player Experience Requirements: None needed! I'm new to this system as well.

GM Style: My forte is RP, not mechanics...and since this system has few mechanics, I should be like an omnivorous hoofed mammal in excreted waste!

I'm not a bloodthirsty GM who pines for TPKs. Expect difficulty to be easy-to-normal, with a few (but only a few) nail-biting encounters thrown in.

Clever RP will get you far. Rule of Cool FTW. But don't think because I'm a super-cool dude that I'll let you do anything you want. Murderhobos will get what they deserve!

I also tend to write meatier posts. If you're looking for a GM with a more breezy style, might want to skip this one.

Leveling Up: We'll have a form of milestone XP, where you'll earn more dice or cliches by completing tasks. You'll also come across gear which will make you more powerful.

Sexual Content: Intimacy is allowed, but not erotic roleplay. Once the clothes would start coming off, fade to black. Think of what a PG-13 movie would allow. If you have questions, ask me, or just fade to black to be safe.

Darker Stuff: Things like torture, mass killing, slavery, etc. may be present, but there won't be gratuitous descriptions.

AI: I use AI stuff.

I haven't created the game forum yet. I'll post here when I do.

To apply, submit a character concept, complete with your dice distribution and starting gear. I'm looking for players who are consistently active and who enjoy clever RP.

This will be open until at least Nov. 17. I'll then pick the four chosen ones!

Here are some character inspirations, in case anyone has trouble grasping the system:

Name: Blitzfast the Afterburner
Speedster (4)
Adrenaline Junkie (3)
Scientific Genius (2)
Animal Lover (1)
Gear: High-tech running shoes, specialized spandex running suit, goggles, communicator device, and energy bars for quick refueling.

Name: The Dark Sentinel
Master Vigilante (4)
Really Good Detective (3)
Gadgeteer Extraordinaire (2)
Hardened Loner (1)
Gear: Utility belt full of gadgets, armored suit, and a framed picture of slain parents.

Name: Zhar'Ka the Conqueror
Warrior of the Stars (4)
Cultural Outsider (4)
Space Navigator (2)
Gear: Plasma glaive, energy shield generator, armored exo-suit with life-support systems, and a universal translator implant.

This looks like a fun outing. I'd like to give RISUS a try. I'm always interested in rules lite Superhero systems and an definitely down for some RP heavy games.

@witchdoctor: Awesome! Please submit a character concept. Dice distribution, gear, and a brief backstory. Image too if you're going for extra credit.

Okay… so I created a fiery shrinker who was in not one, but two GP games (different systems). She’s fun, so I’ll throw her in a third game… or try anyway.

Superhero Name: SMALL FRY

Description: an accident-prone college freshman who learned the hard way that Science is not her best subject!

Origin Story: blah, blah, blah lab accident.

⚛️ Subatomic Shrinker (4) - Small Fry can be mere inches tall or subatomic. What she can’t be is five feet tall anymore.
☀️ Sunshine and Rainbows (3) - she can blaze like a solar flare and, when she shrinks out of her clothes, her little body is clothed in light (energy-turned-matter) keeping her PG-13 whenever the cameras are rolling!
💖 Hopeless Romantic (2) - she wants to live a normal life. She wants to find love. Or at least a BFF who also wished Barbie could talk?
💥 Strong From Her Size (1) - Small Fry needs to shrink for her super strength to kick in. So basically, at half the height of a pencil she can… still lift a pencil.

@Legendary_Sidekick: I like it! Does she get stronger the more she shrinks, or is there a base super-strength that kicks in and stays constant once she shrinks to a certain size?

Does she have any special gear?

Small Fry is no Ant Man! Her strength might be significant when she’s microscopic—able to one-punch a Covid virus twice her size!

But I’m thinking the smaller she gets, the more her power kicks in. Shrinking a little means she can magically clothe herself in light. Shrinking under a foot gives her a fairy glow, and around an inch, she’s more energy than matter. She eventually becomes a being of light or some sort of plasma that lacks atomic structure.

At any size, she’ll have severe limitations. But at her max size of 4’11", her strength is typical of a petite non-athlete and she can’t use any powers (other than to shrink herself).

---

She has no special gear since she can’t shrink objects—only herself!

I'd be down to play this. Seems like fun! I'll submit a character concept later today.

Superhero Name: The Shield Maiden

Background: Victor was a mild-mannered young man who snuck into a museum after hours on a dare. He was drawn to a historical display of Viking history, where one of the shields was shining with a golden light. He reached out to touch the shield, and a crack of thunder signaled the appearance of a mighty valkyrie!

The beautiful warrior woman focused her imposing gaze upon Victor. "I sense a great potential within your soul. What is it you wish to do with your life, boy?" she asked.

In awe of the valkyrie, Victor replied, "I wish to be a mighty warrior, like you!"

"Then let it be so," the valkyrie replied. Thunder boomed again as a bolt of lightning struck Victor, and by the power of the gods, he was transformed! But, much to his surprise, the power had transformed him into a strong and beautiful woman of Viking ancestry!

"Eek!" the transformed woman cried. "When I said I wanted to be like you, I didn't mean it literally!" But the valkyrie was gone. In her place stood a curious cat. Victor felt an empathic link with the cat, and realized she a servant of the goddess Freya, and she was to serve as her spirit guide to help her understand and master her newfound abilities.

With the cat's guidance, Victor learned how to change back into his normal form (much to his relief). But his female form proved quite agile and strong. He honed his fighting skills, learning to battle with sword and shield. Now, he lives a double life. By day, he is mild-mannered Victor. But by night, he roams the streets, dealing out justice to the wicked as the enigmatic Shield Maiden!

Valkyrie-in-Training 4
Mild-Mannered Alter-Ego 3
Bonded to a Spirit Guide 2
Questioning Identity 1

Gear: Sword, Shield, Armor, Winged Sandals, Storm Magic

Well, that’s a much more effective secret identity than a pair of glasses!

It’s been a very long time since I’ve played RISUS (almost 20 years!), and I’m way overdue for a supers game, considering how much I adore the genre. Will do a little brainstorming and pitch an idea shortly…

Also, @Totes_McGee , it occurs to me that Small Fry can do as Shield Maiden is doing: the outfit Small Fry "magical-girls on" is the gear!

The gear is created by her fire power, called Sunshine and Rainbows, so…

@ 15 to 150 cm tall
• Sundress: Small Fry can clothe herself as she shrinks, for decency’s sake. The sundress also protects her from fire!

@ 3 to 30 cm tall
• Rockette Heels: at Barbie-doll-size, Small Fry has shoes with a rocket-blast. She can hover at eye-level, super-jump from solid ground, or clobber a villain with a fiery kick.

@ <15 cm tall
• Flutterby Wings: at under half a foot tall, Small Fry sprouts butterfly wings made of rainbow. She can truly fly! Her sundress starts to lose its form, appearing as a shred that forms a backless minidress (like Tinkerbell’s). She’s barefoot but still retains the benefit of Rockette Heels.

@ <3 cm tall
• Fantasian Corona: at about an inch or less, Small Fry is a fairy silhouette made entirely of impossibly bright light. She is fire. She can light a wick from her touch, but she is too tiny for combat.

@ subatomic
• Void-Swimmies: Small Fry is technically not wearing anything at this size, but at under a micrometer and made entirely of light, there’s nothing to see, and she’s imperceptible anyway. She also can’t perceive the world of humans. Everything is a universe of molecules. At a picometer tall, electrons are like fireflies. Small Fry’s human height of 4’11" is a trillion and a half times taller. Time is perceived differently in this state. To stay like this for long, Small Fry could easily lose track of time. If she intends to pass through a solid wall(’s molecular structure), it’s best to do it immediately and grow back. (Molecular density is all that distinguishes ‘wall’ from ‘air.’)

My current avatar works for Small Fry at the winged size, aside from the wings not matching that description.

Hello, This sounds like fun to me. I have a concept for a character and would love to play.
I hope that her powers can somehow compliment Small Fry, and maybe a family relationship to Victor?

Superhero name: Fuchsia Blu
Alias: Dani Deluz
POWERS: Dani can maipulate color and light allowing her to create illusions, blend into her surroundings, create blinding bursts and alter her appearance.

Background: Dani grew up fascinated with the way color could change a person's mood and perception. Raised in a small town, she would experiment with makeup and art. She started posting onto social media under the name Fuchsia Blu and has recently developed a decent following. She's renowned for her innovative color palettes and bold makeup tutorials. off-camera she is introverted but remains positive and driven by the opportunity to share her art and to make people feel confident and beautiful. Her latent mutant powers first emerged online during a beauty tutorial. While expressing her love for this particular shade of sparkly blue eye shadow, it intensified in color while the room around her desaturated into grayness. The intensity increased into a burst of light leaving her temporarily blind, cutting the livestream and changing her life forever.
She is only just beginning to understand the extent and purpose of her powers.

Light Show 4
Selfies 3
Blind Optimism 2
Social Introvert 1

Still playing around with AI engines, but here's a few potential images for Victor and the Shield Maiden.

Finally got around to a character concept:

Doppelganger
Shapeshifter 4
>>>The Master of Many Faces, Doppelganger can mimic the forms of other people (complete with clothing) and animals almost perfectly. Elephant? Sure! Moth? Of course! Greta Garbo or Groucho Marx? Who's askin'?
Detective 3
>>>A P.I., a private dick, a gumshoe... If there's a clue to be found or a trail to be followed, Doppelganger is sure to solve the case.
Method Actor 2
>>>Having had a turn at being hundreds of different people in twice as many roles, Doppelganger has picked up a bit of knowledge and know-how across a wide spectrum. He can convincingly imitate people from a wide range of jobs, from across the world and all walks of life.
Mystery Man 1
>>> While Doppelganger has superpowers, at heart they're a two-fisted pulp hero. Prone to stealthy approaches and fist-fights on rickety scaffolding above acid vats. Hoodwinks and Double Crosses d'jour.

@Legendary_Sidekick: Love the detail. No problem with what you've described, but if that specific power can create her gear, shouldn't it be able to create anything? She could be like a living Green Lantern power ring.

@Dmbrainiac: Nice! Could lead to some interesting situations....

For your gear: Sword, Shield, Armor, Winged Sandals, Storm Magic

Do you want to flesh out sword, shield, and armor? Maybe her sword is a special Valkyrie blade, forged in the fires of [awesomely-named forge].

For Storm Magic, I don't see that being gear. That would already be part of your Valkyrie cliche. Or is it a spellbook or something?

@Harrigan: I was wondering if someone familiar with the system would pop up!

@TrustyJustin: Noice! Does she have any gear? And since she can manipulate light and color, do you want to expand upon "Light Show"? "Light Show" makes it sound like she can blind people or illuminate stuff, but she can do so much more.

@witchdoctor: I can imagine the dialogue already: "I've stared fear in the face, and I made it blink first."

However, I feel like these cliches could be combined. "Shapeshifting Virtuoso" could encompass both "Shapeshifter" and "Method Actor."

"Pulp Detective" could encompass both "Detective" and "Mystery Man."

This would allow you to add more cool stuff to your dude. But these are just suggestions; if you like him already, no problem.

Finally, does he have any gear?

@Everyone: I see everyone has used 4/3/2/1 for dice distribution. You don't have to use that distribution. You could go 4/4/2, five 2s, whatever! As long as you don't go over 4 dice for a cliche. Just putting that out there in case there's confusion.

Yeah, storm magic should be part of the cliche. I’ll come up with appropriate epic names for the arms and armor later. :)

@Dmbrainiac: Awesome! You can go Epically Epic, or just give more detail. Armor could mean leather armor, chain mail, Iron Man armor (probably not, but you might surprise me!), etc. Specifics help!

Also, does the spirit-guide-cat have a name?

The cat’s name is Hilde. She’s a talking Norwegian forest cat who wears a Viking helmet when not in disguise. :)

I guess I'm not sure what to call it, It's like the ability to manipulate somebody's perception by altering the visible spectrum or bending light. and also the ability to like, blast people with light.
-Color Prism?
It also occurs to me that social introvert might not be fun to RP, so I'm going to have her be "artsy" and let that cover selfies and makeup and since she's a content creator, she's probably at least a little bit competent with technology.
As for gear, let's have her be into crystals and maybe she's got some witchy things like candles and sage.
She's got art and makeup and decent recording gear. including a couple of cameras.

Color Prism - 4
Techy Stuff - 2
artsy - 2
Blinding optimism - 2
Gear: a highly stylish superhero outfit, art & beauty supplies, recording equipment/go pros, crystals, candles

@TrustyJustin: Gear looks good. Fine that she's now "Artsy." If you can't think of anything else for the 4-dice cliche, you can stick with what you've already mentioned...though maybe add "Alchemist" or "Manipulator" or something similar to the end?

Sounds good
Light and Color Manipulator - 4
She can create or manipulate light and color to create illusions, to illuminate or even to briefly seem to turn invisible, and she can create atmospheric light and blinding colorful blasts.

Does that work?

My thought is that Small Fry’s "gear" is simply a fashionable manifestation of her powers.

I would not want her to be able to make "anything," but if you planned on Special Gear as a Quest Reward, then I think it would be fun to add a new manifestation.

Since I already have a character named Small Fry, I added everything I wrote so far to that GP character.

Honestly, I like the idea of having a joke-stat that’s doomed to fail.

@TrustyJustin: Yep, that works!

@Legendary_Sidekick: Understood on the powers. Yes, you'll be getting extra gear along the way.

Don't discount a 1-dice! Any cliche gives you some extra ability.

Here's a revision based on your suggestions:

@witchdoctor: Yup, that works. At first glance, Biological Mastery could be combined with Shapeshifting Virtuoso, but the buffs you get are enough to set it apart.

I sorta left the last slot open to fill any holes we might have skill wise but I was thinking about something like "Streetwise"

Haha… I don’t fully understand the system, but I hope to find out. (I’ve read about RISUS while looking up the rules-lightest systems out there.)

I decided to give my 3rd Small Fry a real name (different from the other two), which is Lily LaViolette, named for Lily Tomlin, actress from The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and Shrinking Violet, a comic book heroine.

I'll stop there. Sorry for the freak-parade; I've got supers for miles.

Oh! Meant to mention -- @Dmbrainiac, love the PC idea! I did something similar once back on TK... a teenaged boy who would transform into Freya! One of my favorite characters ever!

@Harrigan , do you also draw your characters?

I wish! I've got zero skills in that department, but I *love* seeing my designs brought to life by talented artists; I've commissioned hundreds of works over the last few decades. Chris Smith is the artist who did all the stuff above. Love his work.

@Harrigan: Nice supe montage. I'm not going to workshop each one now. If I select you for the game, we'll figure out which one fits best.

Game has been created, and first IC post is up.

Link.

There's been plenty of interest already, but I'm gonna let this run till the 17th, like I said in the original posting, so I don't lose Internet Points.

Sounds good. Standing by with everyone else.

Yeah, the drawings look great, and he has a consistent style. I was just looking through drawing of mine from the past five years, and I’m all over the place in style and quality.

I gotta force myself to draw a set again. I once made a rule book in the form of a Google Slides, and that was fun. The limited palette and simplicity helped with speed and consistency.At the very least, drawing my favorite RPG characters is good for just-practicing.

Love it, Legendary_Sidekick! Looks like you have a pretty consistent style to me and it's super fun. Dig Hanna!

Those are awesome. I may draw my character if she makes it past the selection committee.

Time to put on our spandex!

The four players are...

drumroll

@witchdoctor
@Legendary_Sidekick
@Dmbrainiac
@TrustyJustin

Sending out invites shortly!

Have fun, folks!

Thanks, Harrigan!