The Clockwork Mansion

This is the official OOC for the Supearth campaign I will be running.

Status:
Any plans or future plans have been suspended.

PC's with acceptable sheets posted;
Janus Whitefurr -Sebastian Wilkins (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7071.msg314624.html#msg314624)
Drathorin -Frank Shultz (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7071.msg314906.html#msg314906)
Ashen Star -Allie C. Cat (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7071.msg315149.html#msg315149)
Toric -Lucas Nathaniel Glass (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7071.msg315183.html#msg315183)
Mechanisto -Sonja Cross (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7071.msg315360.html#msg315360)
Magic- Ian Foster (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7071.msg315364.html#msg315364)
techmasterglitch- Zak Ridgray (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7071.msg315363.html#msg315363) ("Zak..." I see what you did there.)

Players who have not yet had their sheets passed:
psilord

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Most of the sheets have in depth elaborations of what their powers can't do. This is interesting, but really not necessary. Trying to list the things a power can't do is a hole with no bottom.

What I need is a clear and concise definition of what the power does do, and a sensible explanation how it does what it does. The assumption that your power has no additional benefits is automatic.

The exception to this is the drawback. If your drawback is caused by something your power doesn't do, that needs to be included.

For example, TMGs character;
-Can collect, store, and direct static electricity at will.
-Is not immune to the intense heat of a static discharge.

That's enough to tell me what it does, how it works, and what the drawback is.

I can tell a lot of people are looking forward to exploring the applications of their powers; don't worry, that's going to be 80% of the RP itself.

---

Clarification on Drawbacks;

Your power can be as powerful as you would like it to be, but must have a corresponding drawback. Make fire, you can burn yourself. You make big fire, you can big burn yourself. Drawbacks are usually directly related to the power, and are the natural result of using that power. For those who have trouble coming up with a drawback, this means that if you have a mental power, it's drawback is mental, and if you have a physical power, you have a physical drawback. This is, however, a guidline, and any drawback you come up with is acceptable as long as it's appropriate to the character or their power.

Making your power weaker or adding limitations is not an alternative to a drawback! Weaker powers that have no noticeable drawback are minor powers, and characters with major powers, and the cost they incur, are part of the game premise. I do not limit the maximum strength of the power unless it presents a major balance issue.

Powers can be used lightly or in moderation, and will not incur the full penalty of the drawback. Small uses may result in discomfort, or light wounding at most, but not crippling damage. Drawbacks present the possibility of permanent damage, only if powers are used often at full strength.

Stamina drain by itself is not usually a drawback. Most if not all powers are tiring to use. Mental powers will tire your mind, physical ones your body, etc. The main exception to this are powers that are fueled by something that has to be collected first. A good example would be techmasterglitchs need to collect static energy before releasing it. Alternatively, a psionic may have to collect kinds of emotional energy to be unleashed at a later time. Even so, having to charge a battery only removes the fatigue cost, it is not a drawback in itself.

Drawbacks can be complicated by fatigue, however. Drathorin's character, for example, can easily get caught up in his work due to the nature of his power, and inadvertently work himself to collapse.

I want people to have characters that they enjoy, and the only limitation I will place on them is that they fit within the premise of the game. Heroes are people who benefit others, at cost to themselves. The only difference here is that that cost is more tangible, but so is the benefit.

If anyone is not satisfied with their character in any way, let me know. I am very flexible regarding rules, and the players satisfaction comes first. As long as your character fits the premise and the basic requirements for it, I'll work with it. The drawbacks are as personal to the character as the powers are, and are ultimately up to the player.

Welcome to Supearth! The following material will be all that you need to understand the basic elements of the setting and create a character for an RP in this setting.


This is a world of super heros in every day life. A super hero isn't just a spandex-clad Crime Fighter, they're everywhere they're needed. They're that one cool teacher you had in high school, the guy at the office that makes the day a little easier for everyone, or the friend that'll stick their neck out for you when you're in a jam. Some of them you have herd of; that senator fighting for human rights and responsible government, the tireless Chief of police, or a scientist trying to cure cancer. On Supearth, heros are people who are super at their job, and make the world a better place by doing it well.

On the other hand, having powers is a pretty raw deal. Like any gun or knife, they're dangerous, and mishandling them can have sever consequences. There's no training manual, a person's body is rarely adapted to their use, and they can be unforgiving. The stronger the power, the more dangerous it will be.

If you are a super hero, it's part of your regular life. People will call you by nicknames, not all of which are flattering. Dressing eccentrically is pretty normal for you, and people who know you are used to it. Your romantic interest will probably roll their eyes and complain about how much time you spend at the office when you have to run off and save the day.

There are no MIBs coming to get you, no scientists are going to put you in in a lab and take you apart, and no mobs of people frightened of what they don't understand. So, go ahead. Be a hero. If you think you can handle it.

---

Your Supearth Hero
Care and Handling Instructions

(Foreword:
Not all of these elements are mandatory. You do not have to have a job related to your powers, or a heroic persona, or even start with active super powers if you don't want to. There will be NPC's who do not fit these standards. Regardless, what follows is a basic summary of a average hero for this setting.)

Basic Description:
-Name, personality, appearance, and background. Tell us about yourself.

Powers:
Powers are not as powerful or safe on Supearth as most typical superhero settings, but they are not restricted by outside elements such as cultural stigmas, legality, or availability. One in twenty people have minor abilities, while one in ten thousand have what would be called "super powers." They are common enough that they are familiar to people, but rare enough that having one makes you stand out. Being a hero is not something you do on evenings and weekends; it's part of you as a person. You may be publicly known as a hero, and use your powers freely as long as your actions fall within the parameters of the law. Heros are publicly known, and accessible to the public in general (See Training and Careers). You can hire a super detective the same way as a mundane one, or pay a super mechanic to fix your car.

Major powers are defined as powers so extreme, that the human body or mind is not capable of applying them without significant harm or risk to itself.

Minor talents are not harmful to use, but this is only because they are so minor they are almost completely insignificant. Some are useful tricks, or may give someone an edge, but not more then that. Some heros with Major powers have secondary Minor powers that supplement their capabilities.

-Characters may have at most two major powers, or one major and two or three minor powers. All player characters must have at least one Major power, unless special exemption is made by the GM. Which he probably wont make without good reason.
-Multiple powers are only allowed if they are designed specifically to work together, are appropriate to the character, or are thematically similar. EG; A hero may not have fire breath and be able to fly. These are separate powers unrelated to each other.
-All major powers, due to their extreme nature, will have a substantial risk and/or cost associated with having or using them.
-Powers cannot be used to offset the disadvantages of other powers. EG: you cannot have fire breath and immunity to extreme temperatures.
-Powers must be clearly and concisely defined, and do not convey any additional abilities. EG; The power to set things on fire does not conjure fuel or oxygen, nor does it allow one to extinguish the fire afterwards.
-In addition to a risk or cost, most powers have a fatigue cost unless specified otherwise, and their use will tire a hero. This stamina drain is usually comparable to extended physical activity. This is not a supernatural battery; if you are physically exhausted, you may not be able to use your power.

More information on Powers can be found in the Setting Information section.

Training:
-Since training does not come standard with powers, characters must describe how they have learned to apply their abilities. EG; Telekinesis could allow one to move distant objects, erect force barriers, or fly, but unless a hero has trained and practiced, they will not be able to do all of these things easily. Using a power in an unfamiliar way may be possible, but not easy. This is especially relevant in combat or emergency situations. All characters may begin with enough experience in their powers that they understand the risks involved in using them, and be familiar with a limited number of ways to use them.
-Training, unlike powers, can be defined in general terms. EG; If you have heightened speed, you can specify that the hero is familiar with using it in combat situations, or when operating electronics and computers. Both, however, would be a bit of a stretch.
-Characters may learn new applications or uses of their powers through gameplay, and spend time practicing these new applications.

Career:
-Your day job, which is by extension your archetype as a hero. Powers and training are usually a career; perhaps you chose a career because your powers are suited for it, or you learned to use your powers to do your chosen job well. Whatever the case, your status as a hero is not hidden to your employers or clients... rather, your powers are what make you highly employable.
-Very few heros are explicitly Crime-Fighters. If you are a detective, you would be a super hero detective. The same goes for super construction workers, bus drivers, or civil servants. There are as many kinds of super heros as there are ways to make the world a better place. Regardless of their job, heros may end up giving villains a few swift kicks by the end of the day.
-"Crime fighter" heros are usually police, military, or part of some other agency with recognized government authority, and they still have to fill out paperwork and mind protocol. However, people are still free to make citizens arrests (this requires a hero to be present at the scene when police arrive to arrest a criminal). Personal and property damage is more readily forgiven by the courts, and most legal representatives are familiar with defending a hero who is facing charges for doing their job. (see Setting notes, Legal)

Optional:
Secret Identities;
Are not necessary for most heros. One would worry about a super-villian busting down their door and kidnapping their girlfriend as often as one might fear robbers breaking in at night and stealing their stereo system. For those who require them, there three kinds of secret identities:
-Hard Identities have alternate sets of documents, such as licenses, and passports, supporting them. They are only legal for those with relevant legal enforcement powers, such as police officers and FBI. If you are not a part of one of these agencies, your documents are forgeries. The law does not look favorably on heros with fake IDs.
-Soft Identities are less secure, but legal for anyone. It is legal to use an assumed name for bank accounts, renting an apartment, or talking to the press, but a proper background check will identify you. On the other hand, soft identities are not expensive to establish, only requiring time and know-how, and are all that is necessary for most heros.
-Many heroes have nicknames or titles, and dress flamboyantly. These are part of your basic character description.

-Some heros overplay their identities with fantastic names and spandex tights. This can make them media darlings, but usually earns them the derision of other heros, reporters, and the public in general.

---

Setting Information:

Powers:
Super powers come in two approximate grades, major and minor. This is a generalization, however, so powers can fall somewhere in between. They can manifest at many different ages, and under many different conditions.

Approximately one in twenty human beings have minor powers, while one in ten thousand have what could be considered Major powers. There is no hard line between them, but a Major talent is one that is so powerful that the natural human body is unable to properly accommodate it, and using it at full strength represents life threatening risk or cost to the user.

1) Aptitudes
Applies to powers that relate to natural abilities of a human, or skills. Aptitudes can include mental traits, such as memory or deduction, physical traits, such as endurance or agility, or specific areas of training and learning, such as marital arts in general or certain fields of science.
-Minor aptitudes do not exceed the limits of human capability, but can make it easier for someone to approach them. This applies to mental and physical strengths. A minor aptitude may put you on par with a professional athlete or college professor, but usually only give someone an edge. Skill related aptitudes must be trained; they do not give someone automatic understanding of a field. This training or study is much easier for them then others, however. Heros with minor aptitudes in the right place can become known as "badass normals,"
-Major aptitudes are well beyond normal human capability. These can put severe stress on the body and mind of a hero, even when used in moderation. Major aptitudes in skills do not have to be specially trained; they are so easy for the hero that they can figure things out just by sitting and thinking about them. Education and training, however, will make this process much faster.

2) Mutations
Physical oddities and features that are found in nature, but are not typical to humans. Some of the drawbacks to these powers can be alleviated by modern medicine.
-Minor talents may include minor physiological quirks, such as horns, infrared sight, or photosynthetic skin.
-Major talents can result in crippling alterations to the body, some of which can heavily limit a heros ability to interact with society. In some cases this limit is social, such as a feature that prevents speaking clearly, or physiological, such as gills that restrict someone to aquatic environments.

3) Paranormal
Also referred to as supernatural, psychic, magical or occult powers. These powers are far beyond anything nature has provided to any species, and includes powers not found any plant or animal species.
-Minor paranormal abilities are usually useful, but not especially significant. There is very little a minor paranormal talent can accomplish that cannot be done with easily available skill or technology. Creating flame the size of a lighter for a short time, or reading emotions as well as one could read faces. These talents can, however, be useful tools, and some minor talents are not reproducible by any known technology, even if they seem inconsequential.
-Major paranormal powers are a staple for most highly accomplished heros. Major paranormal powers are only restricted in effect by certain applications of the laws of thermodynamics. Science may be able to describe and define what some these powers do, and in some cases figure out most of the process behind them, but would be hard pressed to reproduce their effects. Some Major powers are entirely unexplainable. Though powerful, these powers can cause backlash or have costs well above and beyond those of more moderate powers.

Some minor powers are entirely cosmetic, such as blue skin or a halo, or mere nuisances, such as a tendency to attract butterflies. Though rarely significant, these often contribute to the identity of a hero.

People with minor talents are in general not capable of becoming a super hero, as they are simply not powerful enough. Some people with minor powers can find clever or effective way to apply them, though this usually requires a lot of familiarity and experience with their power. There are also a fair number of minor-talent scientists with aptitudes in fields of knowledge, and tradesmen who can use minor powers as tools. Major talents, however, are still far more effective for these purposes.

Equipment:
-Heros are only allowed to begin with specialized equipment, or gadgets, if they themselves are capable of making them. All super equipment is built to purpose, by hand, and are one of a kind pieces of technology designed to work only for the person or purpose it was built for.
-Equipment can be used to offset the disadvantage of a Major power, but not eliminate it completely. A Super-Nomex suit, for example, will only resist fire, not protect you from it completely.
-Gadgets can be built to enhance or take advantage of minor powers.
-Gadgets are limited to the extent of modern technology. However, if it exists at all, or the scientific principals behind it are understood well enough, a device can be made. Gadgets can be far more reliable, compact, and effective then their mundane counterparts.
-Technologists or gadgeteer characters are limited to the constraints of their training, and can only build devices within their field of understanding. This broader the area of learning, the more shallow it is. Collaboration with other super scientists is possible, however.

Day Jobs:
On Supearth, heros do not have mild mannered alter-egos with day jobs. Rather, your day job is what you're heroic at. Minor talents are fairly common in basic positions such as secretarial work or service industries, while major talents will have higher profile jobs. Whatever their station, heros do their job heroically. Because of this, it's fairly common to walk into an establishment and be served by someone with a minor talent, or to go to a professional such as a mechanic or  lawyer, and have someone with astounding capabilities ready to give you a hand. If you're in desparate need, you can find someone to help by looking them up in the phonebook. In addition, most corporations will have a few talented employees on staff.

Super Teams:
Quite often, groups of heros are able to accomplish more by working together. Super teams are the natural result of this. Super teams most frequently occur when a group of heros in similar careers start working together.

Science and Technology:
Scientific progress moves forward on the combined efforts of many individuals, and because of this the technology on Supearth is not significantly different. Industry is not capable of recreating gizmos, gadgets and devices made by super hero technologists on a mass production scale, so consumer markets are not much affected either. However, there are a great many gadgeteers with super powers that enable them to invent or modify devices far beyond common technology. Seeing a hovering car is about as common as a heavily pimped out ride; rare enough that heads turn and eyebrows raise, but common enough that it doesn't cause a panic. Since these gadgeteers are rare and in high demand, owning something like a flying car would be about par with a private jet.

Medical:
There is no specific field of medicine for super powers. Rather, it's handled by the relevant specialists; if you're psychic you may see a neurologist frequently, and if you have laser eye vision you'll know your opthomologist on a first name basis.

Law Enforcement:
In general, having a super power doesn't really change the enforcement of the law. If someone uses their power to rob a bank, they go to jail for robbing a bank. If using a super power causes more property or personal damage then usual, well, they go to jail for that too.
Adding to this is the cost of using powers, for good or bad. Villains will be as hesitant to pay the price for using their powers as heros will be.
-There many heros with romantic notions of being super-hero crime fighters, so the police department usually has a few heros in their ranks, as beat cops, detectives, or SWAT officers, ready to take on a super criminal.
There are, however, plenty of times when a hero, who isn't an officer of the law, has to step up and stop a bad guy. The police don't mind someone making a Citizens arrest, as long as you follow the appropriate protocol. Many heros end up getting into a few scraps just for doing their job... even the school teachers and secretaries.
The law is a double edged sword, and lawyers are fighting on both sides of the equation. Bad guys will get off on technicalities, while heros aren't sued as long as they act within boundaries of the legal code. Because of this, the legal institutions will come down hard on heros who don't at least try to stay within the boundaries of law.

Quick guidelines for making a Citizens Arrest:
1) Anyone may make a citizens arrest if;
a) They encounter someone in the process of committing a crime, or
b) They encounter  someone they can reasonably believe has committed a crime, and is seen to be fleeing from official law enforcement. (So, go ahead and join that chase scene.)
2) If you are the owner of property, you may arrest anyone committing a crime in regards to that property.
3) If you are not an agent of law enfocrement, you must deliver the arrested person to an agent of the law as immediately as possible.
4) If you make a Citizens arrest, you must be present when police arrive to take custody of the criminal.
5) You must inform a criminal that you are arresting them, either before or as you do so. You may do so in as theatrical a manner as you wish, and are not required to read them their Miranda rights.
6) If at all possible, arresting a criminal should be left to agents of the law. If you have time to call the police, you should do so.

Police agencies understand that it may not be possible to follow these guidelines, and will overlook occasional infractions. Ignoring these guidelines, however, will brand a hero as a vigilante. Without support of the law, being a hero can be extremely difficult.

Heros, or persons acting heroically, are not given the same protections as police officers. However, quite often an "expert witness" will be provided by legal enforcement agencies to vouch that the heros actions were within reason, which resolves s most civil suits quickly.

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Credit goes to techmasterglitch for the original concepts that lead to developing Supearth.

Version history
-2nd Edition
Proper organization of information, and a more careful spell check.
Reformatted for the message board.

I'll get my character up as soon as possible. Maybe tomorrow, maybe late Monday, or just sometime Tuesday.

Basic Description
Name: Sebastian Wilkins (nicknamed "Sebbie" for short, he hates this nickname)

Personality:  A laid-back and easy-going character, prone to making observations on his surroundings to lighten the mood, Sebastian doesn't react well to panic and stress, because it has an effect on his ability to focus his powers. The sort of person that it takes a lot to anger, but when you do it's not a pretty sight. Morally, Sebastian is a straightforward and fairly honest fellow. He's not a puritan - though he is 'straight edge' - and is more than capable of lying to get out of trouble if he thinks the truth is more dangerous. But he's no criminal, and certainly not a supervillain, and is probably best describable as a laid-back rogue who deep down has his heart in the right place.

Appearance:  Dark green eyes and long brown hair, commonly tied back in a ponytail. Physically, he could be called a pretty normal individual, as he is neither particularly tall (standing a shade under the six foot mark) nor particularly large (his physique description at best is 'healthy but average).  When on the job he wears a longcoat to affect the image of a classic detective, and rose-tinted glasses to affect an air of mystery, but he knows it probably just makes him look a little silly.  I built a facsimile in the Champions Online character creator as a visual aid. (http://www.furfire.org/janus/Misc%20Stuff/thegreatsebastian.jpg) (The knives are there because he felt bare)

Background: Sebastian was by no means a troubled child in any sense of the word. A small-town Australian by birth (and carrying the accent to this day), he was the only child of two doting parents - the father a physics professor, the mother a super with the power of teleporting herself and others. He was raised as an ordinary boy, though his family had stated that they hoped he grew up normal, as the effect his mother's powers on her were taking their toll on her mind and nervous system - she retired after a slip-up resulted in losing someone between teleports. Nevertheless, they said that despite these things, if he were to grow to become a superpowered individual, they would always love him and take care of him.

Then came the phonecall from school that let them know that their son was developing his own powers of object summoning, as he had teleported a teacher's apple onto his desk after pondering how hungry he was during class. While most people were comfortable with the idea of having a super around - after all, powers were more common than your typical comic book in this world - some were not, as bullies are a constant in any school. This led to some altercations not only in his school years, but even after he graduated and started going to university/college to try and follow in his father's footsteps. These were the exception rather than the rule however - Sebastian's rogueish charm and laid-back nature won him more friends than enemies, even if he used his powers for pranks just as much as he did for more serious situations.

While a bright lad, he soon came to find out that he just didn't have his father's knack for physics, and eventually dropped out of university. Years of practice with using his power to help friends find missing keys, cars, and other such items led him to the bright idea that he should start an item-seeking service, and discussion with his parents led to him moving out of home and to the United States with their best wishes - his mother even having the courage to utilise her powers to teleport him and his luggage directly into customs. Meeting with other people and supers there, Sebastian used money saved up during his university years to buy out a small office and an apartment above it to make his home and his new workplace.

It's been a few years since then, and Sebastian hasn't lost his laid back attitude or his Australian accent. Though at first at odds with the police who believed his power could be abused, demonstrations and legal discussions led to him becoming fairly popular among the local populace for his ability. As he is successfully running his own business and living a comfortably 'average' life, Sebbie has found his place in the world, at least for the moment.

Powers
Primary: Inanimate Object Summoning. Sebastian is capable of calling up any object he has seen or had physical contact with before, within a relatively large range of influence. Upon summoning his target, he can only place the object in a location with which he has direct line of sight. If he has not seen such an object before, sufficiently detailed visual images - particularly any showing a unique quirk of the object - are required in order for him to summon it. He is physically and mentally limited by the relative size of the object he is trying to summon - the larger the object, the greater the drain on his stamina reserves.

An inherent side-effect of his ability to summon objects after he has had visual or physical contact with them, Sebastian has what could only be described as a form of spatial orientation, able to 'feel' the shape and size of the objects that he can summon. This also allows him to spatially sense a room with a glance, though 'feeling' the room like this is disorienting as human senses weren't really built for such a thing.

This does not come without problems, however. Rapid-fire summoning, or breaking his focus (either voluntary or by accidental distraction) causes the summon to fail, and can have side-effects not only on the summoned object, but on him as well. Examples range from passing out due to severe energy loss, or sensory problems such as visual and mental disorientation that ruin not only his focus but his ability to even operate normally.

Training: As he played with it constantly while growing up, Sebastian is comfortable with using his powers at what could be described the standard level, which places the largest object he can conjure at "a car". He is capable of going outside his range, both in the size and distance departments, but he suffers greater side-effects if he extends his ability past his comfortable, practiced level. He has not had any form of what could be called 'professional' training in his ability and is primarily self-taught.

Career/Day Job
After he had come to be of age and moved into his own place in the city, Sebastian opened up his own office, and became self-employed. As he calls it with a bemusing hamminess, he is a "Professional Item Finder Extraordinaire", and offers the services of his powers to the general populace and other supers. Provided they can provided quality images and pay a modest fee, relative to the object they want located, he will seek and find that object for them and, if it is within his range, return it to them. He refunds their money if he finds the object is too far outside his active range, however, because keeping the money in such circumstances would be a mean move. His office is located on the main street of his city, in the public eye, both as an advertising method and as a way to keep from shady characters trying to exploit him and his powers.

Equipment/Other Skills
His family teachings and his university studies have left him quite well read, though not as mathematically inclined as his father. Sebastian is also accomplished fighter - simple brawling and fighting with anything that comes to hand - primarily through experience garnered surviving the occasional bully during his school/university years, and he has kept himself in relative form as a way of keeping fit. To this end, he keeps a standard handgun and a relatively small combat knife available for combat purposes, though he has of yet not killed anyone with either.

(If I messed that up or forgot something we discussed, give me a poke, White.)

so is this one full then?
(those four + your RL friend?)

Quote from: psilorder on February 28, 2010, 10:42:08 AM
so is this one full then?
(those four + your RL friend?)

The RP is not full. If any of the five above have lost interest, and don't post their sheets here in due time, there will be slots open for other players. Toric may not be available for the game immediately, and Mechanisto has yet to say for certain whether or not he'll be joining.

3 to 5 players is what I consider ideal; more then that, and the group starts to gets cumbersome. People start losing face time, too. Five isn't a hard limit, however, and I can work with more. Tabletop is probably more demanding then forum RPing, in terms of juggling things, and I've done tabletop with eight people before.

If more people sign up, I can also split the group up and run two RPs. If people drop out, I could probably merge the two groups again later. I'm used to handling stuff on the fly like that. I would have to discuss this with the other players in advance, however.

hmm, where would forcefields land on the mayor/minor power scale?
i mean it feels weird that there'd be a risk/price when using them against small stuff...

laos, i guess there's no super-tech (like what Iron Man has, tech that gives the equalent of super powers) ?

Quote from: psilorder on February 28, 2010, 11:23:08 PM
hmm, where would forcefields land on the mayor/minor power scale?
i mean it feels weird that there'd be a risk/price when using them against small stuff...

You should probably know this right now; a guy called OminousShadow actually already is planning a character with force-field powers. His drawback is that he actually feels anything that touches the forcefields he generates (so if a bullet hit them, he actually feels as if he's been shot). And he's actually not on the list right now because Whietfox forgot to add him... :B

Tech? Please don't speak for me. I know you're trying to help, but it's my call. It's not your game to run, and that's not your character you're talking about.

Ahem.

The scale of a power depends on how strong it is, not what it does. A minor force field might be only five or six inches across, for example.

Drawbacks aren't hard to come up with. Let's say you have a skintight force field that makes you invulnerable. As long as you stay still. Which makes it hard to breath.

Powers have to be specific. Powers can't be as broad as "can make force fields." Because of this, and training, two similar powers can make for very different heroes.

ok. thanks.
Wanted to gauge what level stuff should be on.
hmm, lets see....

Feel free to PM me if you need any help.

Unfortunatly, my residence has had some technical problems with our internet connection. This isn't so big a problem, since I'm waiting for people to post sheets and am writing up plans offline. I hope it'll be back in working order in a day or two, but if it takes longer I can still get online once or twice a day at a friends place.

hmm, thought i edited my last post to ask again about super-technology, but appearantly not. so, is there supertechnology available or is it strictly biological/mystic?

anyway, it sounds interesting, i've begun working on a character  tho it's just at the drawingboard stages (yes, there are multiple drawingboard stages since my focus tends to shift around a lot. "hmm, that's cool. no that. no back to the first. no, on to the third." )

edit:
making this my char post. i'll post first the power and see if it's allright and then the rest of the char. (if it's not allrght to go back and change it i guess i'll make new posts.)

Power: Energy generation and blasts / Adapted digestive system.
All he eats is converted to energy which he can then expend either as energy blasts or simply live on. He cannot take in this energy from any other source then food. On the plus side he can replenish with candy, eat alot more then normal for a man his size plus not develop fat cells and survive longer without food, on the downside he can cause himself to be starved, even to death, by overusing his power. If he does starve himself bad enough that his muscles are used for energy to keep himself alive they are rebuilt at the normal human rate.

The power is alright, but the "needs food" draw back is too similar to the fatigue cost that is standard to all powers. Not to mention, the whole "eat as much as you want and not get fat" plus "eat candy to quickly replenish" turns it into an advantage.

Super-technology is covered in the Equipment and Science and Technology sections of the Setting Information provided. Long story short, it's expensive, it's can reach but not exceed modern scientific limitations, and players can't start with it unless they can make it themselves (or make a very good case to the GM).

ok. i'll try to come upp with something else then.
just to clarify tho, there wasnt any "quickly" before replenish. it would require the same amount of calories as  with regular food, with the downside that it couldnt be used for growing/regrowing the body since there was no stuff in it for that to start with.
basicly 100 gram of candy might have given enough energy for a blast the strength of a punch.

how about a guy who can shapeshift, but with the limitation that his body shapes itself to his will at the same speed it usually grows?
i.e., growing bone-spikes on his arm would take months, and he couldn't produce any substances his body couldnt naturally produce, that is he cant shape his skeleton into iron or so.
getting rid of the spikes would be quicker (shape it so they cut themselfs off from the skeleton and then heal the hole.

Name: Frank Schultz

Power: The ability Frank possesses is the power of  Intense concentration. Helping him quickly learn his passion of mechanics and engineering. He can diagnose an engine by listening to it, notice metal fatigue by looking at it. He can work with almost any mechanical device. This concentration allows him to move and work more quickly than normally possible, to the point of moving faster, stronger, better than the average joe, even allowing his hands to keep up with his the steps in his mind.

Because he is so easily focused it is incredibly easy to get drawn into his work, completely ignoring other people and losing track of time. Immediately collapse when he finishes a long or grueling job. Due to this he consumes a large amount of food, and sleeps like a log. A deep sleeper is an understatement, it takes a very active attempt to wake him. However, when rested he's up at the crack of dawn.

Description: Frank is a even 5'7, a slight muscular build due to hauling around various car parts and getting engrossed in his work.  Light brown eyes twinkle with confidence and dirty blonde hair folded over in a lazy man's combover. Usually wearing a stained t-shirt and jeans that bear the marks of past mechanical experiences. A wrapped sweater around his waist that he wears when welding, it doubles as a rag and is covered in stains.  He loves working with machinery and tinkers in his spare time, thinking of objects to create or modify. Always bearing a mischevious grin and a slight swagger, he's known to be a smug SOB.

Community Status: Frank is loved in his local hometown, people usually bring over their vehicles to be welded or fixed, usually bribing him with doughnuts or a coffee as payment. He works at a local mechanic shop, where he tends to argue a bit with his boss over quality work vs speedy work. Tending to hang out with some of the mechanics down at the pool hall every week-end for beers and laughs. While his work and his mechanical inclanation are extraordinary, he isn't considered to be a 'super' so much as a single-minded invidual. He's popular enough with the locals that he can get a favor from almost anybody. As everybody owes him a favor through mechanical work.

(Tried to smooth out some of dem sentences. Hope it works dat dere, I gots no formal edumication Xp)

This has such a Hero System feel to it... brings back memories.  I hope you don't mind if I watch it, looks to be entertaining.

(P.S. the plural of Hero is Heroes)

Quote from: psilorder on March 02, 2010, 04:09:13 PM
how about a guy who can shapeshift, but with the limitation that his body shapes itself to his will at the same speed it usually grows?

This is more of a limitation, rather then a drawback. Limitations makes the power less useful. A drawback makes it hazardous. Without a drawback, the power is actually a minor one by definition.

Some example drawbacks;
-Shape-shifting responds to emotions as much as conscious changes. At times of emotional stress, he might sprout spikes, or some other change, damaging the clothes he wears, people around him, or even himself.
-Shape-shifting includes a period of metamorphosis. Leading up to this point he will need to eat heavily, and during it he will be immobilized, delirious, and particularly vulnerable.
-Shapes-hifting is tricky. Making changes to vital systems could result in life threatening side effects, such as like glitching up his circulation or breathing.

Azlan; you're free to watch. Most of my experience comes from the GURPS system, though.

hmm, so something that can't be avoided when the power is used and doesnt sideline the character too long and the power shouldnt be obscure so it never has to be used.....

I've updated the first post with a little more information on drawbacks, since the issue seems to come up a fair bit. Trust me, psilorder, you're not the only one.

good to hear, i was starting to worry i was being thought of as a nuisance.

Quote from: psilorder on March 03, 2010, 01:58:45 PM
good to hear, i was starting to worry i was being thought of as a nuisance.

Believe me, if anyone's been a nuisance, it has -not- been you... :B

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 03, 2010, 02:16:46 PM
Believe me, if anyone's been a nuisance, it has -not- been you... :B

I second that   >:3

Quote from: Drathorin on March 03, 2010, 05:32:46 PM

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 03, 2010, 02:16:46 PM
Believe me, if anyone's been a nuisance, it has -not- been you... :B

I second that   >:3

...Says the guy with the flashing viking kitten for an avatar.  >:3

Well if I weren't running it I would definitely want to play it.  I'm a huge sucker for superhero stories.

Name: Allie C. Cat.  White anthropomorphic cat (and I do this only because it's a game set in the human world) standing 150 cm and 65 kg with short white fur, felinoid skull, tail, digitigrades legs, and claws.  Gymnast build, petite breasts, and agile.  Personality is prone to mood swings.  She can be very sulky to very temperamental to very upbeat and perky but whichever mode she is she's usually 'very' before it.  Dresses in either nothing or disguises herself as a homeless.

Public knowledge of her background: She is the demon cat!  A monster that stalks and preys on the homeless and has even killed Officer Jamie Stubbs.  Numerous sources claim the monster has lived for years in the downtown area and video was even taken by notorious bounty hunter "Wild Bill Thornton" while tracking the creature.  If spotted, please contact police at 555-444-3434.

Her power: Felinity!  This is more of a grab bag of minor powers all summed up into what she is.  She has sharp teeth for biting, claws for scratching, agility that passes human limitations, superior senses, and an enhanced rate of healing (not wolverine.  More like 'recover from gunshot in a week').  She believes she has the power to talk to cats... but claims they never have anything interesting to say nor are willing to help.  "My species are the rudest creatures I've ever come across with fur!"

Drawback: The beast.  This is 1 part instinct and 2 parts genetic conditioning by UBAT.  The beast wants to kill, eat, mate, and destroy anything that opposes it.  Allie is terrified of it because the beast knows no bounds.  She has neither control nor memory while the beast is in charge.  She's killed one, and grievously injured others.  Pushing herself too hard brings the beast out and it will attack friends and loved ones.  Fatigue or sufficient injury will make it withdraw.  Expect lots of tears and guilt to follow.

Limitations: Some of these are conditional.  One is "Hunted."  The police are after her.  UBAT wants to retrieve her.  The Gangs and organized crime want her pelt on their wall.  The media have portrayed her as 'The Beast' or 'The Demon Cat.'  This might change over the course of the story but if she's captured she's done.

A second is 'sensitive'.  Her superior senses can be overwhelmed.  A flashbang will have her blind for much longer.  Loud noises scare her.  While she's grown used to her own stink, mace or pepper spray will make her balk.  Note that the Beast generally doesn't care about any of this and simply resorts to 'rip and tear.'

A third is 'inhuman'.  She can't pass for human.  Short of wearing a burka or covering head to toe in rags and form distorting clothing everyone who sees her is going to know she's not human.  This might matter tons if she's still being hunted.

Training: She's homeless so her skills are largely urban related.  She knows how to be sneaky and has competition level freerunning skills.  She can identify most gangs by sights and most drugs by smell.  She is literate (and loves to rub that in people's noses) thanks to Aristotle's tutelage.  She does not know how to use guns, and wouldn't anyway (due to her sensitivity) but she does know how to unload them.  She loves putting expensive automatics on the train tracks for freight trains to smash.  Drugs go into the sewage treatment plant's settling pools if she has the time.

Equipment: None.  She doesn't even wear clothes unless she has to.

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 03, 2010, 02:16:46 PM

Quote from: psilorder on March 03, 2010, 01:58:45 PM
good to hear, i was starting to worry i was being thought of as a nuisance.

Believe me, if anyone's been a nuisance, it has -not- been you... :B

:)

hmm, how about a a guy whos telekinesis knocks out a random braincenter? i.e. he might lose speach or hearing or sight. (wanted to go with forcefields but someone said someone was gonna use that allready)

Quote from: psilorder on March 04, 2010, 02:03:17 PM
hmm, how about a a guy whos telekinesis knocks out a random braincenter? i.e. he might lose speach or hearing or sight.

Actually, that's a pretty good one. As for force fields being "taken," that's not a huge problem. Drawbacks and training can affect a power a lot. Just because the powers are similar doesn't mean the characters are, or their role in the party. That was actually a big consideration when I did the write-up.

Ashen-Star; I sent you a PM about your character. There's a hitch, and I can't tell if it's a big problem or not.

*flails about for other people to post their sheets, because RP, man, RP!*

Quote from: Janus Whitefurr on March 04, 2010, 08:07:52 PM
*flails about for other people to post their sheets, because RP, man, RP!*

I'm working on it! :dface

Psi, why not just make him able to scramble the brains of others.  Induce migraines.  Blindness.  Vertigo.  Even hallucinations if he's up to it.  The down side? He suffers from it as well at random times.  Maybe he's telepathic and empathic to a limited degree but doing so makes him lose his sense of self?

Basic Description
Name: Lucas Nathaniel Glass

Description: Standing at 5'4" with short brown hair and a narrow build, Lucas isn't much to look at. His two primary identifying features are his trusty camera and his gentlemanly attire. Lucas is rarely seen outside a brown business suit with matching bowler and cane.

Powers: Supernatural invisibility. Lucas can bend light around him and objects he touches. This invisibility is near-perfect, and adapts well to movement. Note that this only prevents his detection by vision; being invisible does not make him silent.

Drawback: Since all light is bent around him, Lucas is completely and utterly blind while invisible. He must rely on sound, touch, and, most importantly, his cane to determine his surroundings.

Limitations: As with any supernatural power, Lucas finds his invisibility power to be a notable strain both physically and mentally. The fatigue he suffers is proportional to the size of the object and his lack of familiarity with the shape.

Training: Lucas is now so used to his suit and camera that they are extensions of his own body as far as his power is concerned. Simple shapes such as spheres and cubes don't bother him, but he would have difficulty cloaking a model airplane without a serious headache. Small objects able to fit into his suit pockets are fine, though. Other than that, Lucas is fimiliar with the shapes of objects often used in his line of work.

Career: Lucas is the (in)famous head of Looking Glass Magazine, a tabloid where one is almost always guaranteed to find photos of THE most scandalous affairs and low-key celebrity meetings. For most blurry, poorly-lit images of stars doing normal, everyday things (which fascinate the public regardless), Looking Glass Magazine provides close-ups that would make any paparazzo green with envy. To this day, Mr. Glass's team of laywers have been able to fend off all allegations of privacy invasion, mostly due to the difficulty of proving his location beyond a reasonable doubt, but Lucas has made many influential enemies in his career.

Equipment Professional-quality digital camera with spare battery. Well-polished wooden cane.

Alright... since I have three confirmed characters, I'll be finalizing my plans for the RP. I should be able to do introductions starting over the weekend, and the RP will start as soon as those are out of the way. If more people sign up before the RP starts, I will incorporate them.

If I have 6 or more people before Monday, I'll put up a poll to see if we want to start a second RP.

Hi, all! I've asked Whitefox if it's ok for me to keep the precise details of my character's powers secret from the start of the campaign, and he's allowed it. Of course, I still gave him a full and detailed description of everything, and he's passed it as a balanced power.


Backstory

"My power is, effectively, thought without time. Meditation is the exact opposite of this... time without thought. If this isn't karmic balance, it's something just as harsh."

   Sonja Cross was a normal girl throughout most of her younger years. Partway through high-school, however, she became listless and withdrawn. She performed well enough in class, but gradually lost interest in almost all social events. Her friends described her as distant, and even callous in some cases. Her condition eventually worsened enough that her parents sent her to a psychologist.
   She was initially, to her parents shock, diagnosed as a psychopath; someone incapable of human empathy. However, she exhibited none of the harmful or destructive elements associated with most psychopaths. Eventually the truth was revealed; her lack of empathy was a side effect of her recently developing super-powers. She was quickly sent to a special academy where she could learn to control her abilities, but by then the damage to her psyche had left her almost autistic. Only after several years of psychological care did she begin to recover.
   After her recovery, Sonja swore to do everything in her power to prevent another relapse. When she discovered that both meditation and physical discipline helped greatly, she decided to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a policewoman. She took well to the discipline and responsibility required of her, and served for three years with an exemplary record; first as a beat cop, and later as part of a S.W.A.T. team. During that time, she trained in numerous martial arts, became an accomplished marksman, and acquired many of the skills used by professional detectives, bodyguards, and counter-terrorists. Coupled with her powers, she is a frighteningly effective combatant.


Character Profile

   Sonja Cross is of Swedish descent, but born and raised in the states. She has fair skin, long blond hair, blue eyes, and an attractive figure. Despite this, she's also physically imposing; tall and powerfully built, with lean, wiry muscles. She hates it when people assume her good looks came with her powers in some kind of cosmic package-deal; she's spent a lifetime keeping her body in peak physical condition. Her expression and mood don't usually stray far from calm and placid, and she usually remains confident even in dangerous situations. This calm confidence doesn't seem to survive long in social encounters.
   Though she has many acquaintances, she has very few actual friends. Most of these are contacts from her career as an officer, and she has an excellent reputation within the Service. She's brought down no few dangerous criminals in her time, but avoided the media spotlight whenever possible. Since her retirement, she's become a highly skilled professional bodyguard. She also teaches regular classes on meditation and self-defense.
   Sonja's life looks very empty from the outside, and she isn't well known outside her small circle of friends. She doesn't necessarily avoid social gatherings, but she never seeks them out and is rarely invited. She tends to spend as much time as possible in a meditative state, or doing repetitive things; this could include anything from martial arts katars and yoga exercises to attending dance raves and sunbathing at the beach. She's irritated by trivial interruptions to her daily routine, and even has trouble listening to music that isn't mind-numbingly repetitive. People who first get to know her often mistake her as having an mild obsessive-compulsive disorder, or a slight form of autism.


Powers

   Details about Sonja's powers (along with the rest of her her medical profile) are not publicly available without an appropriate police warrant or medical notice. She carries certifications that prove her powers are harmless to those around her, and renews them every month with voluntary medical and psych evaluations.
   Despite this, there is still enough public information floating around to give an idea of her powers and abilities; she is a speedster... of sorts. Her reflexes and accuracy are off the charts, and her skill at unarmed combat and marksmanship are easily in the top 1% of human capability. She's almost never caught off-guard or by surprise, and can make snap decisions even in the midst of a breaking catastrophe. Despite this, she has never actually exhibited superhuman physical speed; her body doesn't move any faster than an ordinary human's. It's almost certain she uses her powers in concert with her extensive combat skills, which makes it difficult to determine where the line between her powers and her training is drawn.
   The details of her power's limitations remain confidential, but her nature of her childhood handicap strongly suggests that the side-effects likely include some form of psychological trauma or brain damage. Her only official comment on the topic was her reason for retiring from the force; she wanted to better control her power's side-effects, which required her to use them less often than her responsibilities required.

Quote from: Mechanisto on March 06, 2010, 07:48:59 PM
Hi, all! I've asked Whitefox if it's ok for me to keep the precise details of my character's powers secret from the start of the campaign, and he's allowed it. Of course, I still gave him a full and detailed description of everything, and he's passed it as a balanced power

Crap! I can't believe I didn't mention this sooner. (Actually, I hope I did mention this and forgot I had)

Posted character sheets do not have to have any more information on them then is publicly available. I will have copies of the full sheets, but the posted sheets are mostly for the convenience of other players trying to remember who is who.

Finally got my guy written up. Enter the "super" with realistic electricity powers!



Name: Zak Ridgrey (yes, I used the same last name as my character in The City. No, they're not related.)
Gender:male
Age: 23

Physical Description: Zak is a moderately tall fellow, about 6' 2'' in height. His clothing is usually in a tattered state, and includes some patches of what look like burns. His body has burns and scars of varying degrees all around. In particular, his left hand is severely burned, with blisters, dead and missing skin, as well as the index finger being charred black. A short metal rod is always somewhere on his person, and often in the aforementioned burned left hand. Black welding goggles are always on his forehead. If one were to look closely, they would notice he also usually has earplugs.

Power (somewhat abridged version, more details available on demand): Zak has the ability to collect, store, and discharge static electricity (and only static electricity). He can draw the electricity from objects and the environment, the same kind of randomly roaming electricty that sometimes gathers to create electrical storms, and he can draw them in at a range.
   When he discharges electricity, the effect is basically a minature lightning bolt, with all the implications that go with it. It's not a dinky "I stun you/levitate metal/do some other strange thing", it is a high-voltage instant arc with an attendant flash and bang that's enough to stun and disorient anyone close by (even cause momentary blindness or deafness, Zak always wears welding goggles and earplugs for this reason), even if they aren't the target of the bolt. The target of the bolt gets it even worse; they suffer an instant burn and full temporary paralysis (and in some cases when enough current cross the heart, death). He also cannot set up any continuous electrical discharge, either; it's all instantaneous (though he can choose how much electricity to discharge at once).
   Zak also cannot actually "control" the bolt to do anything other than what is described above, and there is also some difficulty in actually singling out a target; to "suggest" to the bolt to strike a specific person or object, Zak must focus on them and specifically draw all static electric charge -away- from them, and in effect, ionize them. Even this isn't surefire, as closer objects, especially things of metal, can lead the bolt astray.
   Another important thing; Zak is not immune to his own power. While he can discharge the electricity without shocking himself (mostly), the intensely-hot arc burns his own skin almost as badly as any target. To help offset this, Zak usually "channels" a bolt through a metal rod. It helps since he is phsycially contacting the rod when discharging the elctricity, and thus there is no arc directly from his hand. However, this still does heat up the rod somewhat, and repeated bolts can still make the rod unbearable to hold. And in another case, Zak cannot get "charged up" by being stuck by another lightning bolt or otherwise electrocuted; this affects him in the same way it would an ordinary person, because he cannot absorb static electricy at such a high rate.
   In general, Zak cannot "accidentally" discharge, with the exception of two circumstances; he relaxes too much (falls asleep), or is otherwise rendered unconcious (even momentarily from a heavy impact). In this case, he loses control of any stored electricty, and it will burst in all directions.
   No, stepping in water is not a circumstance in which he can accidentally discharge.

History and "Training": Zak was a relatively normal person for most of his life. He read about the escapades of the more theatrical local "supers", as well as occasionally getting to see powers in more mundane use. He was fairly fascinated with it, as some people are, but he thought it as something beyond him. While it was known that some people could manifest a "superpower" at any time, he never imagined that it would actually find its way into his own life. Until...of course...it did.
   At the age of 19, Zak's power manifested in a rather spectaular, and rather tragic manner; his first electrical discharge was to his own mother. As police and ambulances were on their way, Zak panicked, and ran off. Naturally, a search was called out for him, as he was a recently-manifested super with a seemingly dangerous power, but Zak evaded them until they called off, figuring he'd return on his own eventually.
   Zak had followed his mother's progress whenever it was possible. Eventually, she was released to return home. However, despite Zak's immense relief, he could not bring himself to face his parents again, out of shame. He then fled to another town.
   Zak tried to start a new life, and forget about his power...at least, at first. However, he learned quickly that he always collected electricity when he went about his daily life, and therefore had to bleed it out every night before sleeping. And at first, he thought that was the only way his power could leave him. However, while out in a busy sidewalk one day, he got clipped hard by a passing bystander. This triggered a loss of control, and the worst discharge of his power to date as bolts flew everywhere in one instant. Zak and many of the bystanders in the immediate vicinity were seriously injured, and when Zak came too, people were already pointing at him and delcaring some kind of mad bomber or "super"-terrorist. With the authorities on their way, Zak limped away as fast as he could. He did not check to see if he had actually killed anyone, although he feared the worst.
   It turns out he almost certainly did kill one or more people, as there was a bit of a manhunt out for him after that. Zak completely abandoned any attempts to lead a normal, stable life (not that he had any choice at this point), and lived out on the streets, in the lower-class areas of town. But more importantly, he decided to finally learn to actually use and control his power. After several trips to abandoned lots and scrapyards later, his left hand was left in an atrocious state. It was from these that he learned to use a metal rod to lessen the impact on his own body.
   Zak knew that he couldn't ever reverse or take back the terrible things his power had done, but he did intend to turn his power to as much good as possible. Unfortunately, with the police still hunting him, his options were limited...so, the best he can do is prowl streets and back alleys of the gang-ridden lower communities, where the police don't have much power. Whenever there is violence, and Zak is in the area, there are always some lightning bolts flying to break things up. Initially, Zak remained plauged with difficulty directing the bolts, and injured more people than he intended more than once. By now, however, he's figured out how to ionize a target to make them the most likely place a bolt will strike.
   When Zak's out breaking up violence, he actually does it for only that reason. After dosing every perpatrator with at least one bolt, he leaves them there in a twitching pile, not even bothering to make sure they don't get up again. The police come around, and sometimes collect a few thugs, but not often as Zak never sticks around to do a real citizen's arrest because of the fact the police are looking for him, too. After awhile, the police caught on that the "terrorist-super" throwing lightning around was doing some good, and ended the manhunt, although there is still a standing warrant to arrest him on sight.
   
Personality and Other Notes: Despite everything that's happened, Zak remains a fairly good-natured and altruistic guy. He goes out of his way to help others (it's really the only thing he does or can do anymore), and uses his power to protect someone whenever he can, although he does it without word, and often without even showing himself. A blinding flash lights up the scene of a crime or gang-fight as a lightning bolt strikes from an unseen location, and the offenders are left twitching and incapacitated.
   Even though his power is dangerous to himself and others, trying to supress or ignore his power lead to more problems than actually learning to use it. He does have some small amount of cynicism/pragmatism, and doesn't really care much if some thug or criminal winds up dying by getting a bolt to the chest. However, he does do his damndest to protect victims or bystanders, and as such, he is careful and cautious when using his power when such people are nearby. He's hard far more accidents already than he can bear to face.
   Zak is an outcast, and doesn't really "live" anywhere (although he's managed to establish small "hideouts" around the city, mainly just places to sleep). The general community and public don't really know anything about him other than he's dangerous, and they're right. With his burn scars and especially his hand, he is painfully distinctive even when not using his powers, and as such, Zak has to keep a low profile by necessity, and hardly ever actually talks to another human being anymore, save for a few people he's helped and befriended in the past.
   Police don't like Zak. While he's doing some good in ending bouts of violence in the more crime-heavy areas of the city, the fact that he isn't doing it in accordance with legal procedures and the fact that he's hurt innocents before mean that most police will carry out the arrest order if they get the chance.

Finalized after two revisions from Whitefox.

Name: Ian Foster

Power: Chaos into Order. His power is to assemble chaotic elements and restore order to them. The best example of this is that he can throw a randomized deck of cards and he can will them to reassemble into a neat stack by the correct suit in order.  Restricted to non-sentient or inanimate objects in close proximity to him. He can for example shoot a shotgun blindfolded and the numerous pellets blasting out of the shell he has fired all line up and hit a single hole with perfect precision in a paper target. He cannot make an anarchist/terrorist change his mind about detonating C4 in a bus station. This ability is again limited to close quarters ranges and with sizes comparable to an average room, he cannot for example make the Solar System line up perfectly.

This power expends oxygen from his lungs, heightens his heart rate and builds lactic acid in his muscles (effectively making him artificially tired), depending on the magnitude by which he uses his power. A crumpled piece of paper reverted back into a sheet won't faze him, but a room full of scattered debris repaired into a pristine room will. He cannot use this power repeatedly and/or consecutively as it will have the same effects as tachycardia, paralyzing him with chest pain and putting him at risk of IHD. Worse, he may accidentally deplete his lungs completely of oxygen and kill himself if he is not careful.

His power will work only as long as he can concentrate, if he is disturbed or otherwise rendered incapable of maintaining his power the objects being manipulated with scatter chaotically and fly off at dangerous speeds. He also cannot make adjustments faster than he can react. He cannot for example make incoming shotgun pellets assemble orderly to a position away from him if he doesn't have enough time to think about it. Most people cannot see bullets until after the fact, so he cannot dodge them any more than an average person. He can make outgoing bullets change trajectory though, since he is thinking about the bullets he is going to shoot.

A separate but related power inherent in him is his resistance to any and all forms of unnatural control such as hypnosis or brainwashing. Most light forms of such will quickly be defeated by his deeply seated ideals of order defending his mind and although he can still be defeated with sufficient effort, it puts both him and the controller at considerable cost of fatigue.

Training: His power comes almost as instinctively as breathing, tempered firmly by his conservative mindset. Order comes naturally to him, as if a calming if burdening presence.

His combat skills on the other hand are poor and purely defensive in nature, consisting of basic small arms marksmanship training (although rarely issued a gun), some barely remembered eskrima training (he at least knows to point the knife the right way) and if all else fails, being able to run fast enough to get the duck out of fodge.

Description and Background: Ian was born as a British Overseas Territories citizen in a Gibraltar in the Royal Navy hospital and soon after was registered as a British citizen by law. (Coincidentally, Gibraltar is labeled the 5th most stable territory in the world.) At a height of 5'10" with average Caucasian features, blue eyes and strawberry blond hair he is not at all impressive nor remarkable.

As a teenager he found his power while wishing for a way to finish inventory at a book store, his part time job, in time to see a movie with a girl. He got his wish, unfortunately he fell asleep during the movie because he was too tired and was subsequently dumped the next day.

True to his power, Ian is a conservative to put it bluntly, but he would be more accurately described as a liberal conservative. He embraces the values of order, stability and continuity while keeping an open mind about liberal ideas. He is not, per say, mired in tradition but still deeply respects it for what it stood for. While this does make him somewhat inflexible in some cases, it is not totally without reason. He will not take unnecessary risks or break the law, without really good reason to do so. Honest to a fault and almost incapable of lying, he does have little sense in charismatic endeavors or bedside manners, but he at least would justify it in that the truth is better heard now than at an emergency.

Social Ranking: With his power having immediately obvious effects, he is hard pressed to keep it at all a secret, so knowing this he has decided to advertise his powers in his job as an analyst to his superiors who have agreed to sanction it's use in so far as it would be used towards the analytic tradecraft as well as be exercised in secrecy. Thus he is known to his employers, who consist of the national bureaus in the 187 countries that are a member of Interpol, but is otherwise seemingly an average man.

Career: Interpol analyst and part of it's active incident response team, a frequent contact of supers in international or super crime whenever relevant information in a given country is needed. He often acts as a liaison to local law enforcement or registered superheros rather than an actual superhero himself. He would also quite often be coordinating any damage control that must be exercised if a super oversteps his bounds or destroys public property. His current residence is in Lyons, France, headquarters of Interpol.

Well, I currently have seven confirmed characters. At this point, I"m going to bring up the option of running a second RP. There are some fairly good reasons for this.

In my experience, I've found the more players there are in game, the less each of them has to do. This can lead to players sitting around and "waiting for their turn," or overlapping skills making players redundant.

Adding players to a game increases the amount of work for me as GM exponentially, since there are more people to juggle and more planning that has to be done to keep everyone involved.

That being said, there's three options here.

First, don't split the party. Not my first choice, but then I'm not the only one here am I?

Second; split the group with an even distribution of talent. This means that each group gets a mix of players, and a varied selection of talents.

Third; split the group by theme. This means that each group has characters that fit well together.

At first glance, the second option seems most appropriate. It's not as obvious as it seems, however. If the group is mixed, then there will be times when some characters are in the lime light, and others are not. I will have to work harder to keep the story relevant to everyone involved, and coming up with a good way to get the party together will take a little more work.

With the third option it'll be easier to keep the players involved with the story. I can focus on the game-play people people have in mind for their characters. There may be some overlap to the players roles, but I know how to take advantage of PC differences well enough that noone ends up redundant.

For option 2, my first guess would be to make sure the following players are not all in the same group:
Toric, Janus and Magic
techmaster, Mechanisto, and Ashen Star
And Drath being a wild card.

Option 3, I'd be inclined to split the party thus;
Toric Janus, and Magic, in a spy/detective themed RP
Techmaster, Ashen Star, Mechanisto, and Drathorin being street level heroes.
Mech and Toric would probably fit into either RP, though.

As a note, none of these groupings are final, nor are the themes.

[Note] The sign-ups are not yet closed.

Personally, I'd prefer not splitting up the characters, if possible. Forum RPs are different from tabletop RPs, and the only RPs here I've seen split up are those with truly huge amounts of players (MGM and The City, though in The City's case it was actually unplanned, the players just went and did that). However, I'll be fine if there is a split-up in this game, but I do have one request;

At some point doing the RP (need not be permanent, need not be endgame), the characters in the groups either intersect, get shuffled, or on some other way interact with each other (merging would fall under "permanent", I can hope for it, but I wouldn't expect it). And if that doesn't happen...well, I suppose I'll just have to live with that, too.

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 06, 2010, 09:54:24 PM
At some point doing the RP (need not be permanent, need not be endgame), the characters in the groups either intersect, get shuffled, or on some other way interact with each other.

A cross-over would be complicated, but I think would be really cool. I can't really plan for them, since timing would be the biggest problem, but I can keep a look out for opportunities.

I like to run series of shorter RPs that are part of an overall arc. People should be able to switch between chapters.

Magic expressed concern that if the parties are themed, they may not have the skills they need to get out of certain situations. I'd consider it bad GMing to put a party into a situation they can't get out of. If anything, I can avoid this problem because I can make sure the problems are ones suited to the group trying to deal with them.

[EDIT:] If there is a second RP, I will make a seprate OOC discussion and RP thread for them. I'll keep track of sheets, setting information, and what players are in which game here, however.

I just want ever character to interact with the other charactes, at least once...otherwise, it kinda defeats the purpose of playing together, to me.

But that's just me.

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 06, 2010, 10:11:54 PM
I just want ever character to interact with the other characters, at least once...otherwise, it kinda defeats the purpose of playing together, to me.

But that's just me.

I agree with you here; one of the things that would most interest me about an RP like this is seeing how different characters and their powers interact, working together in interesting and unexpected ways. However, an RP with seven people is huge, and I don't know if we could keep things going smoothly.

I voted for the thematic division, but I also love the idea of having the two groups working together... perhaps on two aspects of the same case. If we have an investigative team and a street-op team, the street-ops could end up finding clues to send over to the investigators. The investigators could likewise uncover names of villains to beat up, or places to infiltrate or shut down.

The teams wouldn't have to be dependant on each other; this would leave them locked in gridstep... but having a few connections to keep them related would be interesting.

I also like the idea of giving teams the opportunity to switch around, perhaps in between chapters of the overall story. Perhaps the last chapter could involve everyone in the same group, for a dramatic conclusion!

Quote from: Mechanisto on March 06, 2010, 11:54:24 PM
I agree with you here; one of the things that would most interest me about an RP like this is seeing how different characters and their powers interact, working together in interesting and unexpected ways. However, an RP with seven people is huge, and I don't know if we could keep things going smoothly.

I voted for the thematic division, but I also love the idea of having the two groups working together... perhaps on two aspects of the same case. If we have an investigative team and a street-op team, the street-ops could end up finding clues to send over to the investigators. The investigators could likewise uncover names of villains to beat up, or places to infiltrate or shut down.

The teams wouldn't have to be dependant on each other; this would leave them locked in gridstep... but having a few connections to keep them related would be interesting.

I also like the idea of giving teams the opportunity to switch around, perhaps in between chapters of the overall story. Perhaps the last chapter could involve everyone in the same group, for a dramatic conclusion!

That's pretty much what I'm thinking of, yes :3

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 06, 2010, 11:59:46 PM
That's pretty much what I'm thinking of, yes :3

Nooo! Stop stealing my brain-thoughts!!!

Or... was I stealing yours...!?

Alright, break it up you two. Nobody's stealing anybody's thoughts while I'm GM, awright?

Grumble grumble....

:)

So, there I was, looking at the 8 votes, and thinkin' "wait a minute. I only have 7 players. WTF? Where did the eighth vote come from?"

Then I'm all like, duh, I voted.

At any rate. Votes being in, my initial thoughts are to split the party thus:

Magic, Jauns, and Toric doing investigation and intrigue type stuff.

Techmaster, Ashen Star, Mechanisto, and Drathorin being heroes in the rough part of town. Possibly the suburbs, even.

If you would like to switch groups, drop me a line. Soon. Plans are to get introductions done by Tuesday. Wednesday if I, like, lose a kidney and have to get surgery or something. But barring that, soonish.

Drathorin, send me a PM if/when you read this. Just so I know you're alive and still reading this.

I am totally not reading this thread.

And this is . . totally not a response.  >:3

Quote from: Drathorin on March 08, 2010, 11:34:22 AM
I am totally not reading this thread.

And this is . . totally not a response.  >:3

Oh. Okay.

(... } :B

Hey, waittaminute!

Ahem.

Introductions will be starting this evening. I'll start sending out a few "Prologue" PMs to players to prime the pump and set the setting, and the IC topics will be up.

This OOC topic will be for the Detroit group, and I'll make another one for OOC discussion for the Philadelphia group.

wait...what? we're going to be in different cities? when did this happen? :dface

(and why split up the OOC topics, even then? It's really not that confusing to have it all in one thread...)

Sorry bout not posting sooner. a family member came to stay with me during the weekend and kinda threw me off. (i even forgot to do my laundry cause  we went out and ate.)
can i still join? (posting a bio incase so as not to waste more time)
note: borring the cracter sheet from Toric.
second note: since it was ok to use forcefields instead of TK i'll do that.

Basic Description
Name: John Norn

Description:  6 feet even, tries to keep in shape so has somewhat developed musculature but but an "addiction" to soda means he also has a bit of a belly. keeps his hair short (about halv an inch so there is no hairdo to speak of) cause he finds long hair annoying (on himself), brown eyes.

Major Power: John can create forcefields up to the size of a sphere with a diameter of 3 meters within a sphere of 4 meters from himself.
(the intro said it was ok to have one major and up to 3 minor powers?)
minor power: doesnt need sleep but he does need to relax a bit from time to time meaning he cant work 24/365.

Drawback: whenever he uses his forcefield power he has to dedicate a portion of his mind to it and cannot use that portion for other purposes. He cannot control which portion is used. this means he can go blind or deaf, etc when he uses his power. this lasts about an hour after he shut the forcefield down.

Limitations: the forcefields can be shaped nearly as he wishes but they always start at  his right hand and he cannot make them very sharp.

Training: Standard police training

Career: Police detective. Has been authorised for "special activity".

Equipment: standard police equipment

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 08, 2010, 02:22:28 PM
wait...what? we're going to be in different cities? when did this happen? :dface

(and why split up the OOC topics, even then? It's really not that confusing to have it all in one thread...)

a) Because it's less complex for the GM to have people in different cities, is how I saw it.

b) The OOC thing though, I don't get. That's mostly for us and him to keep track of people and things.

Quote from: Janus Whitefurr on March 08, 2010, 05:10:33 PM
b) The OOC thing though, I don't get. That's mostly for us and him to keep track of people and things.

yeah...it really wouldn't be difficult at all to just keep everything in one OOC thread, especially if the groups meet up or swap members or something in the furture. I mean, just look at MGM or The City and how many individual groups (and players!) they've got, and they do fine with only one OOC thread...

There was only one RP ever on this board that had more than one OOC thread, and that was Villain's League versus Hero's League, and the only reason that was possible was because the two groups were explicitly opposed to each other, and had set, permanent membership (there wasn't any characters swapping between groups. I suppose it could've happened if a character had a change of heart, but it didn't.)

Incidentally, that RP wound up fizzling...

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 08, 2010, 02:22:28 PM
wait...what? we're going to be in different cities? when did this happen? :dface

This "happened" fairly early on, when I mentioned the possibility of using Philly or Miami as a second locale in a previous status update.

I went with Philly instead of Miami because it is fairly close to Detroit (9 hour drive, according to mapquest, and a commuter plane would probably be much, much less). This should allow for some cross-RP elements, without having the parties stepping on each others toes.

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 08, 2010, 02:22:28 PM
(and why split up the OOC topics, even then? It's really not that confusing to have it all in one thread...)

Having two OOC topics would be more orderly, and sticking with one is not necessary. Players in Detroit have no reason to be suggesting things to players in Phillie, and vice versa. If you like, you can still read the other topics, comment, or discuss things over chat.

As a note: the second OOC would only be for discussion. All reference material and character sheets would stay here, in this thread.

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 08, 2010, 05:26:22 PM
There was only one RP ever on this board that had more than one OOC thread, and that was Villain's League versus Hero's League...

This is not that RP, and I am not that GM. If I have to run this, I need to organize things in a way that I can work with. Phillie and Detroit will be two separate RPs, with crossover elements where I can manage them, but set in the same universe.

And I've spent three hours typing this up instead of getting the RP started.

---

psilord:

Doesn't Need Sleep is significant enough to be a Major power. Requires Less Sleep would be reasonable as a minor power, though.

"Doesn't sleep" and "Generates Force-Fields" are not thematically similar, or complimentary.

Janus' character would be an example of complimentary powers: The seeking and summoning two major powers, but are specifically used together.

Ashen-Stars character would be an example of thematically similar powers: a grab bag of physical and mental qualities, all of which add up to "Super Feline"

One question about the force field drawback: what causes the backlash? Making the field, or the amount of force the field blocks?

Other then that, the only other thing I'm concerned about is his career.  More then half the players so far have are in professions directly or indirectly related to law enforcement. I can fit him into either group, but... I was hoping to have a more varied take on super-careers then just crime fighting. I'm not going to make you, but I would ask you to consider an alternative profession for your character.

I myself would not view "Does not Need to Sleep" as a major power per se when considering super powers.  I would think it still could be a minor power... it does not specifically alter the environment or effect others and it only provides a defense against typically uncommon attacks verse limited defense or no normal defense type powers who list "does not sleep as a defense".  Example would be like a Nightmare attack or Sleep spell. 

Now if the lack of sleep were somehow a side effect of the force field generation, IE a mental based telekinetic field... but I see something like that as having both a positive and negative effect.  I'm sure they could be pulled together, he just has to be creative.

Sorry for jumping in, but I've been doing a lot of character creations in a Hero environment due to a weekly Champions game.  I love to talk about power creation.

It's all good. I don't mind explaining my decisions, or open discussion. In moderation.

Sleep is not a small deal. It's about as necessary to life as food is.

Not having to sleep means his character could, in theory, work a second full time job or take full time college courses. It would be a lot of work, but he could do it. There's also other considerations, like having no trouble at all with shift work.

So, the No Sleep power is not a small thing. It would need a drawback of some sort.

I might consider "needs less sleep", or "sleep-restfully-on-command" to be a minor power.

Plus... well, I'd still worry about the theme. Heroes are not simply the sum of their powers. They have an identity, a purpose, and their powers reflect that purpose.

Oh most definitely I agree that not having to sleep is not a trifle, but it is largely a roleplaying effect than a functionally useful power.  I was merely casting dispersions as to considering the power at the same 'level' or cost with such things as hurling bolts of energy, teleporting, or super strength.  I view the concept as paramount, with roleplaying restraint, responsibility, and balance as equally important measure.

You make a good point, they are not merely the sum of their powers, but super type heroes should also be larger than life.  More mundane concerns are less important, after all we are pulling this genre largely from comic books and grounding things too hard into the mundane ruins that 'feel' that super hero scenarios should have.  After all, how often do we watch Bruce Wayne sleep, eat and take care of personal hygiene.

If someone truly wanted to work a second fulltime job or take a full course load in addition to their normal fulltime job, then that should be his choice largely.  However, he is going to find himself out of a lot of the plot and action... but he will have lots of interesting roleplaying to do as he tries to explain his absences, abandonment of classes/jobs, and all the other situations that arise from trying to hold such a delicate weave together. 

No worries though, I understand where you are coming from, just thought I'd share a take on it.

Quote from: WhiteFox on March 08, 2010, 07:24:46 PM
psilord:

Doesn't Need Sleep is significant enough to be a Major power. Requires Less Sleep would be reasonable as a minor power, though.

"Doesn't sleep" and "Generates Force-Fields" are not thematically similar, or complimentary.

Janus' character would be an example of complimentary powers: The seeking and summoning two major powers, but are specifically used together.

Ashen-Stars character would be an example of thematically similar powers: a grab bag of physical and mental qualities, all of which add up to "Super Feline"

One question about the force field drawback: what causes the backlash? Making the field, or the amount of force the field blocks?

It is the making of the forcefield that does it. He needs some part of his brain to be generating the field.

If a drawback would make it allright i could make it tie in to the main power. it isnt that he doesnt sleep at all but that he sleeps with parts of his brain at a time. this has the same effect as when he is using his forcefields but the brainpart is simply off instead of re-purposed.

Quote from: WhiteFox on March 08, 2010, 07:24:46 PM
Other then that, the only other thing I'm concerned about is his career.  More then half the players so far have are in professions directly or indirectly related to law enforcement. I can fit him into either group, but... I was hoping to have a more varied take on super-careers then just crime fighting. I'm not going to make you, but I would ask you to consider an alternative profession for your character.

I wanted away from the type of hero who does it in his spare time. I almost find spider-man comics tiresome when he sacrifices himself so much. this guy basicly just works 2 shifts. which was the reason for the "no sleep" thing. when do the heroes sleep really? especially spider-man and even more with bat-man, they seem to be up the whole night and then work the whole day.

but if it doesnt fit i'll change it. guess he could be a proffesional gymnast or something. would be kinda nice to have a hero who cant just make citizens arrests but full arrests tho.

What I'm trying to encourage is

Quote from: Azlan on March 09, 2010, 04:08:32 AM
You make a good point, they are not merely the sum of their powers, but super type heroes should also be larger than life.

Quote from: psilorder on March 09, 2010, 05:11:52 PM
I wanted away from the type of hero who does it in his spare time.

This brings up something I really want to cover.

Peter Parker is a reporter. Mat Murdoch is a lawyer. Reed Richards is a scientist. Why do these people have to put aside their job, put on a pair of tights, and slug it out with bad guys to be a hero? The only reason they have day jobs is so the end up getting into trouble. Then it's again with the tights and masks.

Let's turn that around. What if Peter Parker wasn't Spider Man. He was just a heroically good super-reporter. His day job is to be incredibly super at doing that, and he doesn't have to hide anything. Adventure ensues.

Let's take it even further. Super librarians. Super secretaries. Super bus drivers.

It's not the powers that make heroes awesome, it's how they help people with them. People need help in all kinds of ways, not just beating up criminals.

If you're worried that being a super librarian will be boring, well, don't sweat it. I'll make it larger then life.

Cuz that's just the sort of thing I do.

hmm, guess i really should have started at what proffesion he was and added power from that.....

can't come upp with anything more fitting for forcefields then police. except guard or something similar maybe. heh, soldier....
but the job and power dont have to line up i suppose.

Goalie for a sports team?
Bomb disposal squad?
A roadie who protects band members from beer bottles?

thought about bomb disposal squad but didnt you say you wanted something not related to law enforcement? and that would make him a cop wouldnt it?

anyhow, if it's allright i'd like him to be a geneticist working on the incomplete power problem. i mean the government may not be hunting supers and trying to turn them into weapons, but i bet there would be some organisation that wouldnt be satisfied with their powers having such weaknesses and to them being "incomplete".

this isnt me trying to work around that tho, there's nothing saying he, or they, would succeed after all.

Quote from: psilorder on March 10, 2010, 06:19:33 PM
thought about bomb disposal squad but didnt you say you wanted something not related to law enforcement? and that would make him a cop wouldnt it?

Technically, you can be a member of the bomb disposal squad and not a police officer, hence not allowed to arrest people. Just out there making sure they don't get minced.

Admittedly, it's rare, because members of the BDS get access, by the nature of the job, to all sorts of classified information. But it can happen.

Quote from: psilorder on March 10, 2010, 06:19:33 PM
anyhow, if it's allright i'd like him to be a geneticist working on the incomplete power problem. i mean the government may not be hunting supers and trying to turn them into weapons, but i bet there would be some organisation that wouldnt be satisfied with their powers having such weaknesses and to them being "incomplete".

There is quite a bit of research that goes into studying powers and how they work, as well as professionals who help people cope with debilitating traits (much like physiotherapists or caseworkers). People who need this kind of help are fairly few, since most supers can get by just by not using their powers.

Research on powers is done, but legally. There are scientists that study people with powers, but they're not allowed to black-bag test subjects and strap them to a table. That would be a bad thing.

I think of bomb disposal as more like an emergency response, like paramedics or firefighting, then law enforcement. You're dealing with an emergency, not the criminals that caused it.

Quote from: WhiteFox on March 07, 2010, 11:03:38 PM
Plans are to get introductions done by Tuesday. Wednesday if I, like, lose a kidney and have to get surgery or something. But barring that, soonish.

Just shoot me.

Right now, I'm having trouble getting started for a couple of reasons.

First, I forgot that, well, I'm half blind and reading is a lot harder then it used to be. Writing isn't a problem, but it takes me three sittings to get through most peoples character sheets.

Second, Forum RPs are a lot more alien then I was expecting. For example: techmastergltch used the word "Co-GM" at one point, and not only had I never herd it before, I drew a complete blank as to how such a concept would even be possible. Not to mention, there's no system in place (IE: DnD, GURPS, etc.), and I'm used to having rules and mechanics in place to work with. It's a little weird.

Third... the characters are not what I was expecting. I've had to re-evaluate a lot of story elements I had formed.

So, it's been slow going. I don't know if when I'll be able to get things rolling, but I'm still working on it.

Co-GM is usually done by someone who wants to be your Second in Command, but also want to have a lot of sway and authority over how the game is run.

Usually though, it just ends in disaster, imagine having two Dungeon Masters in D&D. It usually doesn't end well, makes for a good amount of lulz though.


I'm curious though, if you're having trouble reading the forum posts as far as this goes, are you going to be alright checking it a few times a day when people are posting at different times?


Forum RP 'systems' usually are just done freeform, the GM helping characters basically more or less, write a story based on each characters point of view in a way that flows. Though I've known some GMs in the past to just use simple things behind the scene like rolling a d10, and if the result was 1-3 the action in particular was considered a botch, to varying degrees of success, etc.

There is no set in stone rules for something like this. Though some people are known to take dicebots and actually play D&D using rulesets and whatnot.

Quote from: Drathorin on March 10, 2010, 10:09:13 PM
Usually though, it just ends in disaster, imagine having two Dungeon Masters in D&D. It usually doesn't end well, makes for a good amount of lulz though.

That's pretty much the same conclusion I'd came to. I mean, a GM is essentially a role-player in control of the world. I can't imagine a player character having two players, I can't imagine having two GMs.

Quote from: Drathorin on March 10, 2010, 10:09:13 PM
I'm curious though, if you're having trouble reading the forum posts as far as this goes, are you going to be alright checking it a few times a day when people are posting at different times?

It's not frequency. It's length.

Your post is 200 words long, and that's comfortable for me. The shortest character sheet is yours, at 419. That I can manage. The longest one is techs, which after being shortened, twice, clocks in at 1600+ words. Most of the rest fall between 500 and 1000 words.

Now, if most of the RPing were done with shorter posts, I'd be fine. That's what I was expecting. When Bas' RP started, I took a look at some of those posts and nearly choked. It took me an afternoon to read through the first four.

So, to answer your question, I really don't know.

Quote from: Drathorin on March 10, 2010, 10:09:13 PM
Forum RP 'systems' usually are just done freeform, the GM helping characters basically more or less, write a story based on each characters point of view in a way that flows.

That feels alien. I'm used to writing a story that the players are the main characters of, and working with a party. I set up the plot, they go be heroes. I was kind of proud of the fact that I didn't have to railroad to do it, too.

Well, all that goes out the window. It sounds like the GM proposes a setting, and the players just go do what they want. I've never had to plan an RP like that.

I probably could, actually, but I've never done it before.

So, yeah. I might be in over my head. Or not. I dunno.

Quote from: WhiteFox on March 11, 2010, 01:17:27 AM

Quote from: Drathorin on March 10, 2010, 10:09:13 PM
Usually though, it just ends in disaster, imagine having two Dungeon Masters in D&D. It usually doesn't end well, makes for a good amount of lulz though.

That's pretty much the same conclusion I'd came to. I mean, a GM is essentially a role-player in control of the world. I can't imagine a player character having two players, I can't imagine having two GMs.

Not entirely correct. In fact, there was an RP here, "Eternal Rains", that had Cogidubnus and Keaton as co-GMs to each other. It was not chaotic at all, and it was in fact a very popular and well-played RP. The only reason it ended prematurely is because real life issues got in the way. A co-GM is not unheard of, nor is it as bad as Drath seems to be making it out to be (but maybe he's drawing from experience outside of CMF).

Quote from: WhiteFox on March 11, 2010, 01:17:27 AM

Quote from: Drathorin on March 10, 2010, 10:09:13 PM
Forum RP 'systems' usually are just done freeform, the GM helping characters basically more or less, write a story based on each characters point of view in a way that flows.

That feels alien. I'm used to writing a story that the players are the main characters of, and working with a party. I set up the plot, they go be heroes. I was kind of proud of the fact that I didn't have to railroad to do it, too.

Well, all that goes out the window. It sounds like the GM proposes a setting, and the players just go do what they want. I've never had to plan an RP like that.

I probably could, actually, but I've never done it before.

So, yeah. I might be in over my head. Or not. I dunno.

Not exactly correct either; in fact, from a narrative storytelling perspective, forum roleplaying is basically the same as tabletop roleplaying. The only difference is that with the elimination of both real-time playing and any set rule mechanics, the storytelling aspect is generally far deeper than any average tabletop game, with much more emphasis on plot. The player's don't "run off and do what they want" any more than they would in a normal tabletop game.

Again, the primary difference is the lack of chance mechanics. In this respect, forum roleplaying functions more like collaboartively writing a story rather than playing a game. As for how actions and things like combat work, generally, a player describes what they do, and the GM describes the effect/success/failure, determined as the GM thinks appropriate for the situation. Exceptions exist, of course, but that is the general format.

Other than this, a forum RP's plot shouldn't have to be planned much differently than a tabletop RP's plot.

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 11, 2010, 01:28:39 AM
The only difference is that with the elimination of both real-time playing and any set rule mechanics, the storytelling aspect is generally far deeper than any average tabletop game, with much more emphasis on plot. The player's don't "run off and do what they want" any more than they would in a normal tabletop game.

And if the players do run around doing as they please regardless of the GM's directions or attempts to provide plot, they have no reason to cry if they don't get information/plot points/what have you. An old MB RP I did basically ensured you followed the general plot, but with leniency on your actions (I once found a key, and during the course of the plot and the escape, I never found what the key unlocked because I was slightly paranoid and also a total samaritan to NPCs) and the GM was great at throwing things up on the fly if a character makes an unexpected decision.

Janus: I don't have a problem with improvising, whether it's when I have to or when the players do. Actually, I consider it one of my strengths as a GM.

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 11, 2010, 01:28:39 AM
Again, the primary difference is the lack of chance mechanics.

I don't give a damn about chance mechanics. I'm worried about game balance. I feel like all the calls I've made about the characters powers and drawbacks has been completely arbitrary. I don't think I'm going to do much better when they're being used in play.

Quote from: techmaster-glitch on March 11, 2010, 01:28:39 AM
Other than this, a forum RP's plot shouldn't have to be planned much differently than a tabletop RP's plot.

I don't know if you've actually planned a tabletop game. I'm not gonna assume either way.

Incidentally, I am currently trying to plan a forum RP, and I find it to be very different then the tabletop RPs I've planned in the past. Imagine that.

You seem to know what you're talking about, though. You can have the RP if you want it. I'm throwing in the towel.

Don't use my setting material, though. It was a lot of work, and I'm kind of attached to it.

Ahem.

I'm sorry to have to bow out like this, everybody. I was really looking forward to the RP, and I can tell a lot of others were too. Unfortunately, I really don't think I'm equipped to handle it, and I'm just going to end up getting frustrated if I plow ahead regardless. That being said, good luck to you all in your future RPs.

 :cry

Quote from: WhiteFox on March 11, 2010, 01:17:27 AM
Now, if most of the RPing were done with shorter posts, I'd be fine. That's what I was expecting. When Bas' RP started, I took a look at some of those posts and nearly choked. It took me an afternoon to read through the first four.

FWIW, Bas's RP posts took me a while to read through - and I'm probably one of the faster readers around, since I keep up with every single post on the forum. Barring two threads, admittedly.

I'm under the impression that OSaS is on a startup high. The posts will likely shrink somewhat when we get going.


... not that that should be taken as criticism in any way of your decision to bow out - it's just my opinion of the RP I'm playing in. Purely informational.

I'd vote bouncer.  Get a bouncer for this game, and everytime you get peeved.. sic the bouncer on them.  The bouncer can be a player or an npc with the party who deals with.. problem players.

I am now a sad Panda >:

People are trying to give me help, while others are turning into sad pandas. I need to explain something to the former, and at least owe an explanation to the latter.

There are two problems. First, the setting and characters. Second, the format of a Forum RP.

Supearth started as a pitch for an RP from techmastergltch that I developed a full setting.

I'm not very good at telling people things, I'm much better at showing people things. When I tried to do the write up for Supearth, I had to tell people about it. If I were to say, "Let's do a Naruto RP," everyone would have some idea about what the setting would be like. I didn't have any stories, or art, or comics to show people and say, "This is my idea, this is my setting." I couldn't even think of any popular fiction I could point to. I don't think I did very well at explaining the concept I was going for.

People started submitting characters, and they fit. Technically. It wasn't until I started trying to finalize my plot ideas that I realized how badly I'd shot myself in the foot; the characters were all possible for the setting, but I wouldn't be able to use any of the ideas I had for plot. For that matter, I couldn't use any of the themes I had in mind for Supearth itself.

I tried coming up with other ideas, but they all started sounding like the same old tired super hero plots.

Second, forum RPing was not what I was expecting. I've done it in the past, but that was many years ago. I probably should participate in a few RPs just to get a handle on things.

I don't need a Co-GM, I don't need a bouncer. I don't need people to tell me rudimentary things about GMing I already know. I don't need advice on how to write plots, or the dynamics between players and GMs. What I need is a little experience to familiarize myself with the medium.

Quote from: llearch n'n'daCorna on March 11, 2010, 03:46:47 AM
I'm under the impression that OSaS is on a startup high. The posts will likely shrink somewhat when we get going.

This is good to know. If the posts ease up, I should be able to continue participating. I might even be able to GM in the future, too.

Actually, that's the one thing anyone has said so far that was actually useful.

"likely" as in "I sure as heck hope so" ;-]

Glad I could assist.

Well, yuck. It's a bummer that things worked out this way, but I can see your reasoning WF.

No hard feelings here, and if you start a game up in the near future, I'll probably be around. :mowmeep