Bay 12 Games Forum

Name/Alias: What’s your…?
Description: What do you look like...? Are you..?
Background: But you came from…? (Remember, you can die in this game and who knows what will happen, but it’s also pokemon and intended to be somewhat lighthearted-so it’s best if you go for a teenage or young adult trainer. You can be from anywhere, even places that don’t exist in the game-or even choose to be a resident from this mysterious region we’re going to use.)
Dream: And what you want…? What is it?
Greatest Fear:  But there’s something you’re afraid of...
Starting Pokemon: (Provide as many details as you like! It could be the first stage or a non-evolving pokemon so it has room to grow. If you choose to begin play with a more powerful sort, it will be disobedient and you’ll have to earn its respect, rather than the other way around. No legendaries, but any Generation and region is allowed. I can also roll you a totally random one, or may choose to start without and find one in game.)
Trainer Archetype: https://pokemon.fandom.com/wiki/Trainer_Class (Choose one from this list to specify what you see yourself as!) I’ll provide a choice of special starting bonuses based on what you chose, taking into account your background details.

Abilities (Divide TEN points among the six abilities. Each value must have a minimum of ONE and a maximum of THREE)
SNEAK 1/2/3
CALL    1/2/3
FIGHT  1/2/3
TRICK   1/2/3
RESIST 1/2/3
TINKER 1/2/3

SNEAK around, crawl under others attention, do things nobody sees coming (Ambushing, Hiding and stealing)
CALL for help, for aid, and listen for their response. Getting to trust you by showing trust. If you CALL people, expect them to CALL back! (Asking others for favors, coordinating/helping actions, and seeking those who can help you with problems)
FIGHT someone or something, argue your case, battle forward no matter the cost (Simple enough way to solve something)
TRICK your way past trouble and past people-get into their head and make them think it was all their idea. (Not so simple way to solve something, but a lot more fun)
RESIST injury and fear, intimidation and exhaustion. Say no to someone you love. Plant yourself like a tree by the river and tell them, no, you move. (Push past the pain!)
TINKER with machines and tools or perform an inventive and unexpected actions. Push peoples buttons and get them to react. (What does this button do?)

Gameplay is separated into days, which can be composed of any number of turns-you can adventure each day for as many turns as you like, but when a player chooses to SLEEP, the day will begin to wind down-ending in three turns. Adventuring together may solve some of the issues with that, but plan on unexpected things.

When you’re at the end of your rope, you should find a safe place to sleep. This will recharge your Backpack uses, allow your tired pokemon to refresh, and progress time to allow things to happen. You can specify what time you wish to try and wake up the next day.

All fainted pokemon return to health and your gear and hidden power uses are replenished.

Others players may continue their adventures while you choose to sleep. Turns taken in this manner by the sleeper, are in an alternate realm known as the Dream World. Interesting things can happen…but it’s all only a dream, right?

Your companions on this journey, and (hopefully) your friends, your pokemon will (generally) assist you as ordered. Once a day you can release a pokemons Hidden Power to give you an extra die to roll on a check OR allow you to do something you ordinarily couldn’t do. They retain these abilities for the rest of the day. As long as they remain conscious and healthy, they can continue to help you and even fight for you.

You can obtain any number of pokemon, though you can only have six on your person at any one time. Each of them provide another use of Hidden Power.

Pokemon can evolve and gain power in other ways, such as fighting. These well trained pokemon can have to up three uses of Hidden Power a day.

Pokemon have natures are affect how they act when on their own, and gives them a bonus and penalty when using certain abilities.

Unlike in the normal games, you’re not invulnerable as your standard anime protagonist-you could be harmed, even killed, if you choose to journey unwisely. Your pokemon are also your valuable protectors-if something would actually harm you, they’ll interpose themselves and may FAINT. If all your pokemon are fainted and you would again take harm, you will BLACK OUT…which could have consequences ranging from waking up in the next turn with a bump on your head or in a nearby pokemon center, to waking up inside a Scolipedes belly (which is to say, not waking up at all).

If you Black Out and go to the big Pokemon Center in the sky, you’ll have to create a new character.

Trainers will fight wild pokemon to catch them or simply for practice, and occasionally for self-defense. They will also battle other trainers, for money and game (and occasionally self-defense).

These battles will be clearly marked out before they begin as either Casual or Dangerous. A casual fight cannot harm you in any way, and while your pokemon can be defeated they cannot faint. A dangerous fight, as you can guess, is the other way around-it could even end your journey prematurely!

When battling others, pokemon use your abilities to roll, modified by their natures-they take three back to back checks against the opposition based on a mix of your strategy, their strategy, and a random roll. Whoever wins the most checks wins the match-depending on how it went, your pokemon may have won or been knocked silly, but otherwise unharmed, or perhaps fainted or deducted one of their HP in a serious fight (stronger pokemon will always lose HP before being fainted). A defeated wild pokemon can be caught, but some pokemon are tough may simply refuse to give up-you’ll have to fight another three rounds or try to catch them prematurely.

Pokemon battles are otherwise completely narrative-type matchups, relative strength, and training matter not at all…unless they matter in the story.

Twice every day you can reach into backpack and pull Gear that will give you an extra Die to roll on a check OR allow you to do something you ordinarily couldn’t. You retain these items til the end of the day, unless they were specifically single use, such as a potion or a revive.

You can buy more gear at cost or find it hidden in the world-this gives you an extra use of Gear. It only lasts a day, though! Better make good use of it.

You can do some things without using Gear, such as minor first aid, a small meal, and tossing weak pokeballs.

Pokedollars are universal currency most people accept, though many also deal in mutual favors and help.

Your wallet begins empty, usually. Did you really have any money after your vacation?

Sample Prices

-1 PD: Gain a bonus use of Gear for that day.
-1 PD: Refresh all your fainted pokemon at a for-profit pokemon center or private doctor (Mandatory Free Health care rip)
-2 to 12 PD: Literally buy a pokemon from an orphanage, day care or breeders. Results vary.
-10 PD: Buy a ticket to a cabin on the SS Anne. Can get you to almost any port in the world in luxury and speed.

+1 to 6 PD: Sell your beloved pokemon for cold hard cash.
+3 PD: Perform a nice favor for someone who can pay or beat someone in a pokemon match.
+6 PD: Sell a rare Trinket or Fossil to a collector.

The game starts with a shared event-a plane crash as you were on your way back home from Winter vacation. I’m using a highly advanced algorithm to place you, essentially, in a completely random area of the pokemon world. Like literally, randomly generated

https://theworldofpokemon.com/randomRegionGenerator.html

What happens from there is up to you. We can travel anywhere!

Updates will be done at least once every three days and faster if posting speed is high among all players. If you have not given me an action, I will process the turn without you. If three turns pass in this matter, I will begin asking around for replacements. We'll be picking up sometime next week when the new year wraps up.

There are a few different rolls a player may attempt during a turn, depending on what they want to accomplish.

The simplest roll is the Racing Check, which resolves in typical RTD fashion. Racing Checks always have the results listed here, and may have additional effects related to the circumstance that warranted the check. Normally, the only results possible are 1-6, but modifiers may produce higher or lower outcomes, so those are listed here as well.

0 and Below- Your action FAILS, and you suffer a HICCUP (see Karts)
1- Your action FAILS, and you lose ONE Momentum
2- Your action FAILS
3- Your action FAILS
4- Your action SUCCEEDS
5- Your action SUCCEEDS
6- Your action SUCCEEDS, and you gain ONE Momentum
7- Your action SUCCEEDS, and you gain TWO Momentum

The second type of roll is the Pass Check, which is the check you make to pass another driver (or avoid being passed!) Pass rolls are always opposed checks, and thus have no other effects- a 1 is just a 1, and a 6 is just a 6, with no change in Momentum. Pass rolls are always modified by your current Momentum.

Then there's the Hazard Check, which is made to avoid hazards like Bananas or Chain Chomps. It is identical to the Racing Check, except that no Momentum is gained or lost from rolls.

There is also the Grab Check. It's exactly like a hazard check, but for things you want to hit-such as item boxes.

Next, there is the Loot Check, which triggers whenever an item box is grabbed. Each player gets assigned an item tier based on their position in the race. First Place gets tier 1 bonus, fourth Place gets tier 2, etc. Consult the Items tab for rules on when Item Rolls are made and the uses of specific items.

A new roll is Stunt Check, which are made to perform tricks and stunts to help gain access to shortcuts and course features. Specifics are noted in the track description.

Finally, for cases off the course the standard RTD convention is used- in binary situations, 1-3 is a fail and 4-6 is a pass.

0: Starting the Race

Starting the race is a special turn all its own. Players start with Zero Momentum, and the only action Players can choose to attempt is a Rocket Start. A Rocket Start is a special instance of a Racing Check- players who succeed on a Rocket Start receive +2 Momentum, Players who critically fail receive no Momentum, and players who choose not to risk it or who otherwise fail to succeed gain +1 Momentum. Players are ranked by their Momentum, and ties are broken by opposed Racing Checks.

1: Lightning Phase
The first thing that happens is 'quick' actions-in order, defensive driving bonuses process, rams are prepared, active items are deployed from reserve slots, attack items that hit the entire field are unleashed, dragged items are deployed from reserve slots, and any track movement from free pass attempts is done here, before player actions calculate.

2: Player Action Phase

The second thing that happens in a turn is the resolution of player actions. Player actions resolve from first place to last, as determined at the start of the turn. Players can choose their action from the following list- this list does not cover all possible player actions (for example, specifically ramming an opponent into a hazard,) but this is the base point for thinking about player actions.

Drive Aggressively- The player cuts corners close, squeaks through narrow openings and generally tries to outperform the competition. The player makes a special Racing Check, gaining One Momentum on a 4, Two Momentum on a 5, and THREE momentum on a Six. Regardless of the result, the player takes a -1 Penalty to Hazard and Grab Checks, making it easier to hit hazards and harder to grab useful items.

Drive Defensively- The player focuses on maintaining their position, providing a +1 bonus to pass checks, and to hazard and grab checks, used for avoiding harmful objects and grabbing helpful ones. A driver using this action only attempts to Pass in the Movement Phase if his Momentum is twice that of the racer ahead of him.

Draft- The player drafts behind the driver ahead of him, looking for an opening, and makes one free Pass Attempt even if his Momentum is lower than that driver's. Drafting players do not lose Momentum if they succeed on this Pass Attempt, and if their Pass Check result is 10 or higher, they gain ONE Momentum.

Ram Driver- Instead of trying to cleanly pass another driver, you can try to Ram them out of the way. The next time you are involved in a Pass action, you first make an opposed Pass Check modified by your respective Momentums. If you succeed, your target loses Two Momentum and that player cannot oppose you in that Pass Action (effectively ending their attempt to pass you or allowing you to freely pass them. You still lose Momentum for passing as normal.) The Rammed driver must make an immediate Racing Check to avoid spinning out, losing additional Momentum.  If you fail, only you lose One Momentum and the Pass action resolves as normal. The Ram action can also be used offensively against an opponent who shares your momentum or less-you ram the opponent and attempt to bypass them manually in the action phase-this is a special case of a Free Pass Attempt.

Take Shortcut- Some sections of the track have alternate paths, most often shortcuts. Some paths require the use of an item to enter (a Mushroom to boost straight across a wide curve, for example,) some paths require Racing Checks to enter (hitting a narrow line of Dash Panels,) and some paths require both (landing a long Mushroom-fueled jump across water.) The specifics are detailed in the course info.

Power Slide- The player attempts to Power Slide to gain a speed burst. The player makes a Racing Check- on a success the player gains a +1 bonus to Passing checks made that turn and may make one free Pass Attempt if his Momentum is higher than the driver ahead of him. The Power Slide check normally incurs a -1 penalty because it requires space to perform- normal curves and broad straightaways do not incur this penalty, while broad curves provide a +1 bonus to powersliding.

2: Hazard Phase
This phase represents the actual movement along the track. First, any active Blue Shells hit. Next, any features of the course need to be navigated, whether good or bad- the only exception is Item Boxes, which are hit during the following phase. Traps are dealt with in this phase as well.

3: Movement Phase
Players jockey for position throughout their movement. Starting with the player in last place, if a driver has higher Momentum than the the driver ahead of him, he attempts to Pass. If his Pass succeeds, he moves ahead and loses one Momentum, then repeats the process- there is no limit on the number of pass attempts a driver may make in a single turn. Drivers that used a Defensive Driving only attempt to Pass if their Momentum is double the driver ahead of them.

If the driver currently in Last place in the segment has Momentum of 0 or less, he must make a Racing check modified by their Momentum to avoid Falling Back. A player that Falls Back has wiped out, and must repeat their current segment. A player that has Fallen Back has their Momentum set to THREE.

If the driver is currently in First place in the segment, he can make a special Pass Check to Pull Ahead. This check suffers a -6 Penalty, and is modified by Momentum. A player cannot suffer a hiccup from failing a Pull Ahead roll. A player that Pulls Ahead successfully immediately advances to the next segment and must immediately navigate any hazard in that segment- any loss of Momentum means that the player does not Pull Ahead. Once a player has completely Pulled Ahead, he loses FOUR Momentum.

4: Cleanup Phase

A couple things happen during the Cleanup Phase. First, Item boxes are hit- item rolls are assigned, and anyone who hits a Fake suffers the consequences. Then, if the course is subject to changing conditions or special events, this is when those effects come into play. Finally, any Player with a Momentum less than One has their Momentum set to One, Players with Momentum higher than their Cruising Speed have it lowered to that speed, and the order of the players is finalized for the start of next turn. The Finish Line is crossed at the very end of the Cleanup Phase.

There is currently a soft deadline of 24 hours between race turns, unless all actions are submitted before then, and barring my own laziness. I will not update the turn til at least then, and it's unlikely I can keep up that pace-expect turns to come in fits and starts as usual, so its not a hard deadline. Anyone who doesn't submit an action in the time before I post, automatically uses defensive driving. Remember you can submit actions on discord, and if PM me for extra time or needing to be autoed, I'm receptive.

Items can be acquired from item boxes found at the end of particular segments of the course. During the Cleanup Phase, each player makes a Grab Check to hit an item box. On a success, they make an Item Roll and consult the following chart to see which item they receive. The odds of hitting an item box are delineated in the course description.

Items marked with Dragged/Rear are automatically used and pulled with Kart, providing a +3 dodge bonus against any items with the Projectile tag-such as shells-fired from behind you. If this bonus is the reason the player survives the attack, the item is treated as hit and lost. Additionally, a player that fails to Ram or Pass the driver dragging the item must make a Hazard Check to avoid hitting the item. Dragged items MUST be used before deploying another item. If a driver suffers a hit from an item with the Spin Out, Flip, or Airborne tags while Dragging an item, that item is dropped on the track as a Hazard.

Items marked as Dragged/Orbiting share the same bonuuses and apply to traps and thrown items as well, as well as attacks from racers ahead of you. They can also be used in aggressive rams.

Items marked as Dragged/Front Items are carried in front of your kart, and apply to traps or frontal attacks. They can also be used in aggressive rams.

Dragged bonuses with multiple charges do not stack, and failed Passers/Rammers need make only a single Hazard Check to avoid them. The Driver may use any number of these items per turn. Multiple dragged hazards in one segment count as a single hazard that lasts until all have been hit.

New mechanics

Loot roulette rules apply to Grab Checks, specifically those that can potentially reward an item box.

On a Nat 6, if still missing an item box, gain a Light Coin! On your next loot roll, increase it by 1.
On a Nat 6 and grabbing an item box, gain a +1 to next loot roll.
On a Nat 1, if still grabbing a box, gain a -1 to next loot roll.
On a Nat 1, if no box is grabbed, grab a Dark Coin! On your next loot roll, decrease it by 1.

You can only have one coin at a time. If you gain both a light and a dark coin, they annihilate one another and the resulting energy gives you a free item!

Unique to each track, special items occupy their own free slot on your Kart and do not take up an active, reserve, or dragged slot. They can be used alongside any existing items. You may have only one of each special item, unless noted by item interaction, but no limit on the different types of special items.

A quick recap of inventory.

Dragged Item Slot-Item being dragged, deployed automatically. If gaining an extra item, goes to reserve.
Active Item Slot-Non Dragged Item in use. Must be activated manually.
Reserve Item Slot-Holds one item. Extra items beyond that are lost. Items cannot be discharged except by using them.
Koopaball-Special case. Can be held and thrown regardless of item load.

Racers roll in completely different Tiers based on position. There are three Tiers of item- 1st, 2nd and 3rd place roll on the Tier One Item Chart, 4th and 5th Place and 6th on Tier Two, and 7th and further back on Tier Three. Each Tier has 10 Items in it- modifiers to Item Rolls are applied within the tier. Tier One items are primarily items that can be dropped on the track and items that can be dragged for the defensive boost. Tier Two items are a mix of dragged items and speed boosts. Tier Three items are the most powerful. Ex...

Mushroom Kingdom/Plains Tier Three
0- Phanto Key OR Mini-Mushroom (One Phanto allowed)
1- Mini-Mushroom
2- Mushroom
3- Red Shell
4- Triple Green Shell
5- Blue Shell
6- Star
7- Thunderbolt
8- Pow Block
9- Bullet Bill
10 Golden Shroom
11+ Choose any Item! From any track, from any previous race!

[Item Tags]

I know this is confusing but its the easiest way to save space lol and also allows me to create items in the future. Merely match the tag to the item. Some perks and hiccups may also refer to these tag. Fuller descriptions at request. All tags are also ported to discord.

(Support Tags)
Dragged/Rear: (Described above in detail)
Dragged/Orbit: (Described above)
Dragged/Frontal: (Described above)
Single: One Item use.
Triple: Three item uses. No limit on deployment in a turn.
Revolver: Six item uses. Can only deploy two a turn.
Light: Provides no dodge bonus as per dragged items.
Debuff: Penalty to all racing and pass checks until the end of next turn. Mushrooms, Dash Panels, Stars, the FLUDD Module, and Boos remove the penalty earlier.
Mini Speed Boost: Gain ONE momentum and a free pass attempt on the user ahead of them only if your momentum is higher.
Speed Boost: Gain TWO momentum and a free pass attempt on the user ahead of them. Allows access to certain shortcuts.
Shield: Gain a +2 bonus against items tagged as projectiles (homing, lobbed, straight, or aimed) from any direction. If this item is the reason you avoided the attack, reduce its uses by one.
Invincible: This item causes a player to become invincible until the end of next turn. While invincible, the player has access to certain shortcuts, is immune to all items, and gains TWO Momentum. Whenever an invincible player rams another driver, that driver flips, losing TWO Momentum. Whenever an invincible player is involved in a Pass, that pass is treated as a Ram attack.
Invisible: Until the end of the next turn, you cannot be the target of any projectile attack, thrown attack, or ram.
Self: This item is used on your own kart
Hostile: This item uses itself on you as soon as you pick it up. It does not take up an item slot.
Hazardous: This item is used on other racers, and forces an opposed hazard check,
Unavoidable: This item is used on other racers, and does not allow a hazard check.
Keyholder: ...?
Bubble: This item takes priority when defending against items for the purpose of expending charges or saving them. Bubble item bonuses do NOT stack with dragged items, you instead are given a second defense roll against incoming attacks if applicable.

Reflect: Gains special effects if an item fired at you misses.

Quote

Projectile attacks: Reverse the projectiles direction.  +1 to hit if a bouncy item!
Thrown item: Reflect the attack back to the attacker.
Traps: The item is launched behind your kart with a +1 to hit all intervening racers on that turn.

(Offensive Tags)
Trap: When laid on a segment of track, forces any driver following the user or their target to make a Hazard Check to avoid. Persists until hit-the user is not immune to their own traps.
Slippery: -1 to Hazard check to avoid this item. If paired with debuff tag, -1 to hazard and grab checks for the duration.
Thrown: The item is tossed forward at a target in the same segment as the user or dropped behind them. If no target is specified, tossed as far as possible.
Straight Projectile: This item can be launched back or forward, and hits all intervening drivers with a hazard check.
Lobbed Projectile: This item can only be launched forward, and hits all intervening drivers with a hazard check.
Homing Projectile: This item is always launched at the driver ahead of you with a +3 bonus to your hazard roll.
Mimic: If laid on a section of track containing similar looking items, any player rolling a 2 or 1 to pick up an item automatically hits.
Bouncy: Paired with Projectile. If this items attack roll is a natural 6, and misses, then it takes a funny bounce and receives a +1 bonus to its next attack. If the attack is a natural 1, then it bounces off a wall and reverses direction. The item will break on the 5th such bounce. A bouncy item that misses the last or 1st place racer will travel in the segment ahead or behind as a stationary hazard for one turn per bounce remaining.
Super Bouncy: All the effects of the bouncy tag, but gains an additional +1 to its next attack regardless of the outcome of a missed roll, adding up over time, and never breaks.
Barrage: Affects all drivers ahead of the user, regardless of segment.
Apocalypse: Affects all drivers except the user.
Omnicide: Affects all drivers INCLUDING the user.
Heatseeker: Affects a driver of your choice ahead of you, regardless of segment.
Blast: The two drivers closest to the target in the list lose ONE momentum and share in any other effects not including other forms of momentum loss.
Smack: If involve in a ram, gain a +2 bonus and expend one use of this item. Rammed opponents lose an additional momentum if they fail their hazard check, upgrading the spinout to a flip. If an item with the bouncy projectile tag misses you because of this item, reverse its direction.
Item Crush: Being hit with this item causes the player to lose all dragged and reserve items.
Headshot: The item seeks out the player in first place and strikes them at the end of the next turns ACTION phase.
Ground Pound: This item forces a hazard check at +4 for all racers on a land track segment if paired with the hazardous tag. Ignore these effects if your Kart is on an aerial or aquatic segment.
Hydro Pump: This item forces a hazard check at +4 for all racers on an aquatic track segment if paired with the hazardous tag Ignore these effects if your Kart is on an aerial or land segment.
Hurricane: This item forces a hazard check at +4 for all racers on an aerial track segment if paired with the hazardous tag. Ignore these effects if your Kart is on an aquatic or land segment.

(Damage and Restoration Tags)
Spinout: The item causes anyone directly hit by it to lose ONE momentum.
Flip: The item causes anyone directly hit by it to lose TWO momentum.
Bolted: The item causes anyone directly hit by it to lose THREE momentum.
Airborne: The item causes anyone directly hit by it to lose FIVE momentum.
Kart Killer: Makes an Opposed Hazard vs the target with a +6 bonus.
Shrink: You gain -1 to rams for the duration of this item, but certain shortcuts are accessible.
Toxic: Causes one mid-race hiccup to the users kart.
Healing: Cures one mid-race hiccup to the users kart. Users choice! If no hiccup, gain Heal Guard-an unstackable buff that undoes the next hiccup you receive.
Cleanse: Removes all debuff effects
Ultra Boost: Gives your kart the effects of a free perk (excluding extra item) not covered by your current modules, for the duration of the race in a cost range of 3 coins. Using another of these items alters your effect, but now for perks with a total of 6 coins-you keep the first one and gain a second. Any additional items with the ultra boost tag give speed boost. All Ultra effects are cleared after the race.
Pursuit: A threat that pesters a single racer, forcing opposed hazard checks at the end of the movement phase, every turn, until it succeeds. Expanding a charge of a projectile tag item and hitting it, causes it to relent for that turn. Only one specific type of pursuing enemy can be on the track at any time.

Phanto Key
Support: Single, Hostile, Hazardous
Damage: Pursuit, Flip
Special: Keyholder

No one knows the origin of these terrifying smiling masks, but they're commonly used to guard important objects in Subcon, the Land of Dreams-such as this key you just picked up. Phantos are legendary for their persistence in pursuing anyone who has stolen from them. They can't be bargained with, they can't be reasoned with. They don’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. They absolutely will not stop, ever, until your kart is flipped.

Banana
Support: Single, Dragged: Rear, Hazardous
Offensive: Trap, Slippery, Thrown
Damage: Spinout

Literally mountains of bananas are produced annually in Donkey Kong Country and produce a lot of empty peels. They're particularly good at producing hilarious after race montages, as the main fuel component of a Kart racers engine is Stardust-which is highly attractive to banana peels (This explains the phenomenon of the legendary 'golden banana'). Who will be this seasons honorary 'Slippery Pete'?

Fake Item Box
Support: Single, Dragged: Rear, Light, Hazardous
Offensive: Trap, Mimic
Damage: Flip

These holographic annoyances simply explode when hit on track, and are indistinguishable from the real thing-a real trick when laid among the shiny rows of loot boxes. Look for the odd one out.

Triple Banana
Support: Triple, Dragged: Rear, Hazardous
Offensive: Trap, Slippery, Thrown
Damage: Spinout

Oooh, triple Banana~!

Green Shell
Support: Single, Dragged: Rear, Hazardous
Offensive: Straight Projectile, Bouncy
Damage: Flip

The secret to Koopa shells is a mystery to most people, as they have the qualities of a weapon, bones, battle armor, and clothing. A Koopa can survive without one, yet they don't like it and will dive into any shell-even one not their own-they can find if left out. It's also a secret where MKL buys so many empties.

Bob-omb
Support: Single, Dragged: Rear, Hazardous
Offensive: Thrown, Blast
Damage: Airborne

Bom-ombs are sentient mechanical beings who exist, seemingly, to explode. Nobody knows why. They've been fighting a civil war since 1996 among the red and black factions. Nobody knows why. Bom-ombs don't really explain themselves well, unless one counts the sound of a hissing fuse. Don't let them hit you.

Blooper
Support: Single, Debuff (-1), Unavoidable
Offensive: Slippery, Barrage

Bloopers are a species of intelligent squids-MKL catches them in nets from the seas at a high price to douse tracks in sticky ink. The captive bloopers are only too eager to vent their rage on your windshield.

Red Mushroom
Support: Single, Cleanse, Speed Boost, Self

The component of any MKL kart is the stardust engine, a device that can consume almost any biological and mineral matter to create power. The input heavily affects the output, however. 'shrooms are relatively rich in raw star-magic which they draw from the air of Mushroom Kingdom, and very effective when fed into a Karts engine. What, do you think anyone was crazy enough to eat these things?

Mini-Mushroom
Support: Single, Shrink, Mini Speed Boost, Self

In a bid to save money, MKL has begun putting mini-mushrooms in item boxes, much to the concern of mushroom parents across the kingdom. Curiously, it reduces the size of the racer, as well as speeding them up. While this undoes much of the effect, it does allow for some interesting shortcuts.

Red Shell
Support: Single, Dragged: Rear, Hazardous
Offensive: Homing Projectile
Damage: Flip

It's said every homing red shell is actually piloted by an insane Koopa hiding within, but it's probably just a rumor.

Triple Green Shell
Support: Triple, Hazardous, Dragged: Orbit
Offensive: Straight Projectile, Bouncy
Damage: Flip

Seriously though, where do all these shells come from? Is Bowser selling them to fund his armies?

Blue Shell
Support: Single, Hazardous
Offensive: Headshot, Item Crush, Blast, Kart Killer
Damage: Airborne

The most evil of shells, a weapon of mass destruction. Not harvested or uh, 'donated' from Koopas, they instead come from creatures called Spinies, who live with Lakitus in their clouds in a symbiotic relationship. Blue Shells are only produced from the most broken cloud-homes.

Star
Support: Single, Self, Speed Boost, Invincible, Timed
Restoration: Cleanse

This isn't a real Power Star, just the tiniest fragment of that awesome power source that fuels the Mushroom Kingdom.

Thunderbolt
Support: Single, Debuff (-2), Unavoidable
Offensive: Apocalypse
Damage: Bolted, Shrink

An MKL classic, Thunderbolt spells are provided by trainee Magikoopas. Requests for more powerful displays of spellwork are frequent, but as this spell won't melt racers into puddles, it works for now.

Poison Mushroom
Support: Single, Self
Damage: Toxic

What's more fun than this? Poison mushrooms contain anti-star energy, also known as purple stuff and don't eat that. They're nearly impossible to remove without extensive safety precautions and are quite unpleasant to be around.

One Up Shroom
Support: Single, Self
Restoration: Healing

Some Shrooms grow with less obvious powers, being shy and unable to express themselves. The 'shrooms tend to become healers, waiting patiently to help others who recognize their value.

Ultra Shroom
Support: Single, Self
Restoration: Ultra Boost

Ultra Shrooms are your basic extroverts, who enjoy anyone brave enough to take a bite out of them.

Golden Shroom
Support: Triple, Speed Boost, Self
Restoration: Healing, Cleanse

Another example of Stardust accumulation-Golden Shrooms are vastly more powerful due to their exposure to the good stuff. While proud of themselves, they enjoy helping underdogs beat the odds.

Fire Flower
Support: Revolver, Hazardous
Offensive: Straight Projectile
Damage: Flip

A quick munch of the rare Incenderius Magnoliophyta turns you into a fireball slinging pro. Pyrokinetic fun for everyone!

Super Leaf (Tanooki Tail)
Support: Self,  Dragged: Orbit, Timed
Offensive: Smack

A cute and fluffy tail, but tough too. That's something we could all aim for.

POW Block
Support: Single, Hazardous
Offensive: Apocalypse, Ground Pound
Damage: Flip

POW Blocks are weapons of war that come in various sizes, from the infantry standard 'Mini POW' used to clear sewers, to the Kingdom busting 'Final POW' which could theoretically destroy the entire mushroom world if someone jumped into it. The ones in MKL are somewhere in the middle.

Bullet Bill
Support: Single, Smack, Invincible, Self
Restoration: Cleanse

Bullet Bills are related to Bom-ombs but even less talkative. Their only goal in life is to be launched from a cannon, at which point they fly until they hit someone or run out of fuel. It's a short, but fulfilling existence. Bullet Bills in MKL are old or defective rockets which never got their 'shot' and volunteer to serve one last mission.

Doom Shroom
Support: Single, Unavoidable
Offensive: Omnicide
Damage: Toxic

If a hundred poison shrooms got together and had a party, the Doom Shroom would show up with a chainsaw and scare them all away.

Boo Buddy
Support: Special, Cleanse, Invisible, Self
Offensive: Heatseeker
Damage: Spinout

Don't look down on Boo. For such scared creatures, at times they can be pretty brave. Boo's joined MKL after the inspiration of a certain Boo Adventurer and part time racing manager. Appearing in boxes and jumping out and scaring people were their most useful assets.

When used, Boo will steal a reserve slot item from the inventory of a racer of your choice ahead of you and bring it back to you. If there are no reserve items, they will instead join that racers inventory, but as a trick boo. There can be only one boo on the track at any one time (but infinite trick boos). Your choice of target can be hidden via PM-your inventory and theirs will not be updated as normal.

Finally, Boo cleans any debuff effects when activated, and protects you from being directly targeted by any attacks on that turn.

Trick Boo- Generated as a result of someone secretly (or overtly) sending a boo after you without any items to steal, or rolling for the boo on the item table when a boo is already on the track. Trick boo is actually a hidden threat. He doesn't appear in your inventory unless openly stated by the opposing racer, nor does he appear if you pick him up-instead, the next time you roll for an item, he takes its place-while maintaining the appearance of that item. When you use the 'item' that is actually a trick Boo, Boo pops out, makes a scary face, and causes you to lose the race...possibly, but you really only lose ONE momentum. You also don't gain the use of the item, because you've been BamBOOzled.

Robotic Shield
Support: Special, Triple, Shield, Bubble, Self
A new item added to MKL on special order from Robotnik Industries, the robotic shield provides portable kart-cover from most projectile attacks. Currently only obtainable in module form.

Codex Classification: Magical Aberration (Non-Natural)
Notes: Also called, alternately, the 'Monkeybee', 'hover-chimp', 'Beeboons', 'Vespine-Langur' or 'Waspape'. Among many others. These bizarre and violent fusions of insect and mammal are fairly rare in the world-thankfully. It's believed they were created by the standard mad wizard of the early 12th century ANM as guard animals, but they have since proved nearly impossible to control.

Howlers are entirely carnivorous, and build nests of paper, dried leaves, and skins of dead animals. A typical wasp is four feet long and weighs about thirty pounds, and possessed of poison sting, raking claws, and cunning intelligence-being social animals, they are almost always encountered in hunting packs of anywhere from 6 to 24. Like many insects, they are always ruled by a Queen Howler-said creature is much larger, stronger and more dangerous than her minions. Nest population can range anywhere from 50 up to a 1000 howlers, depending on how successful they are at collecting fresh meat for their young.

Howler Wasps will kill anything they can catch, but they are particularly attracted to killing and tormenting sentient beings, and do not hesitate to make themselves a threat to any local population, giving no regards toward their own survival-as such, most of these monsters have been destroyed in the time since, but they still thrive in wild, uncivilized areas.

These beings are noted to possess an odd affinity towards collecting paper, especially paper with ink-such as books and scrolls. They use them to line their nests and dens, possibly an ancestral memory related to their construction in some way-experienced heroes recall many encounters with these beasts in the decrepit libraries of dungeons and abandoned wizard towers. In return, they have a particular hatred of fire, which can decimate their homes-it doesn't hurt them any more than it would any other creature, but it does drive them into a frenzy.

Variants
Howler Hunter
These beings, the smallest and weakest of the Howlers, range far and wide for food and scavenge. They are typically cowardly, and flee from any threat they cannot over come by sheer numbers. Like most of their species, they value proving their strength to their fellow packmembers-they prefer to test their strength against foes at first, attempting to grapples, disarms or knock downs, while others mob the weakened enemy with stings and claws. They are more intelligent than any mere beast, and capable of using tools and weapons to their advantage, but are rarely armed.

They also act as sentinels-if you run them off, they will inevitably inform the nest of your presence.

Howler Warrior
Bigger and meatier, Howler Warriors make up the vast majority of any nest-they are merely dumb muscle, typically tossing themselves into combat without hesitation. They may be armed with various scavenged weapons, but usually carry spiked clubs, the sharpened ends tipped in their own howler venom-given their relative lack of speed compared to the hunters, they prefer to administer their poison via piercing weapons, and rarely use their own stingers unless desperate. Hunters are entirely male.

Howler Lobber
Some Howlers are less muscular and tough than others of their kind, not to mention more cowardly, and are often relegated to the humiliating role of skirmisher-lobbing various objects at enemies from above-mostly rocks, crude spears, and heavy tropical nuts. Lobbers can be surprisingly effective, however, especially against those who lack mobility to pursue them into the air. They are cursed with a lack of patience and a scarcity of ammunition-when a lobber runs out of things to throw, he'll usually flee or launch himself into melee, hoping to better his standing in the tribe. Lobbers are entirely male.

Howler Alpha
The largest, meanest males of the Howler Wasps in a nest will obtain the position of Alpha-there's usually only a few of these in every nest. Their tactics don't differ much from ordinary warriors, though they enjoy testing their strength to show off much like the hunters. Alphas are much stronger and more fearsome, though, their rank only achieved through brute force, or malicious cunning. Alphas do have a distinct weakness, however-their positions are always tenuous, only kept through fear, and their underlings and rivals are always looking for a chance to overthrow them. They can never be seen to show weakness. Manipulating the 'social system' the Howler Wasps have created can be very effective.

Howler Guardian
Primarily made of infertile females, the Guardians act as a nests coordinating force, driving it's singular will from the self-derived mandates of the Queen. They assist in nest building, guarding the eggs, and raising the young-mostly, however, they exist to the guard the Queen herself. They are much more intelligent than the males, and capable of both simplistic communication with other races and even some forms of magic-typically these uses are only toward violent ends, of course-guardians are notably sadistic in their regards toward other species. Guardians will rarely stir from their nest unless greatly pressed to do so, though rarely one may choose a cadre of warriors to accompany her for an intelligence gathering mission.

Guardians are as much prone to infighting as the rest of their species, viciously competing for 'favor' with the Queen and the stronger Warriors-typically, many Howler nests teeter on the verge of catastrophic social meltdown on any given week. A Guardians true purpose is only the manipulation of their Queen and their rivals to achieve a position of power.

Guardians will almost always rely on their warriors to do most of the fighting, preferring to watch from afar-only being moved to assist with their magical abilities if they feel either they, or the Queen, is directly threatened. Most of their magic is debilitating in nature, and they save this for enemies they feel are dangerous-though they are capable of healing and bolstering their allies, they don't like to do it as much. If forced to attack directly, Guardians can be surprisingly dangerous-their venom is much more potent than the males, and they are very fast, if not nearly as stronger or enduring.

Howler Queen
The Howler Queen occupies an obvious and vital role in any Howler Hive-she needs vast amount of fresh meat, to produce the eggs that the Howlers hatch from. Her her size and strength are significant, and if any enemy manages to pierce so far into the nest as to arouse her ire, she will surely be merciless in dealing them...her easily stoked fury is the greatest weapon against her, as she cares little about her own existence (or that of her warriors) to bother with caution-and when the Queen is dead, the nest will almost always follow.

It's believed that the Howler Queen is not the true leader of the nest, however-she is little more than a barely intelligent vessel for producing young, and the various social intrigues that swarm around her bother her not at all. She rarely gives any orders directly, but even the most febrile muttering will be accepted as sworn duty by her pack. In reality, she is constantly manipulated by her 'guardians' in pursuit of their own endless plots-and is likely too stupid to even realize it.

Loot
?

1. Choose Origin

~Trained: The hero is a highly skilled; any "powers" can actually come from superior training or specialized equipment. The character gains three bonus specialties. The character gains three bonus specialties, but two fewer powers (and may have no powers at all). Note, you can earn or create additional powers in-game.

Lore: All Heroes undergo strict regimens of training, but for those not blessed with an abundance of natural powers-or any at all-it's quite a bit more important-a matter of life and death. Highly trained heroes usually serve their teams in technical and tactical roles, offering a diversity of talent and knowledge. Unpowered humans-which make up about 60% of the Earths population-are called, in order of offensiveness-'Un-augs', 'Normans/Normas', and 'Homo-inferior', to name a few.

~Transformed: The hero was a normal human but became superhuman through some outside agency, often an accident or experiment. One of the character's abilities or powers (your choice) is increased by +2. Make sure you indicate which power is to receive this bonus, if so.

Lore: The World is a strange place. Superhuman intellects often create super-sized accidents, and no one is entirely safe. Un-Augs are more vulnerable to these effects than those with super-powered physiques. Many of those considered 'Transformed' retain both weaknesses and strengths from the source of their transformation.

~Birthright: The hero was born with or destined to develop superhuman powers. The character gains your choice of one additional power, which should be innate, and not a device, or +2 to a rolled power level. Make sure you indicate which power is to receive this bonus, if so.

Lore: Most super-beings on Earth are born with it, and most of their powers come from a universal source. The Second Sun. Science has long proved what people always assumed to be true-that the Second Sun (which usually mirrors the moon) emits a type of radiation that causes dramatic mutagenic changes in Human beings and other living things. Most super-beings are stronger during second-sun rise, and replenish themselves more quickly during the day. Of course, that's not the only source...

~Gimmick: The character's powers all come from devices or exotic methods of some kind, such as 'magic' spells or techno gadgets. One of the character's mental abilities (your choice) is increased by +2. You also gain a free specialty point, as it relates to your gimmick.

Lore: Technology and magic-two sides of the coin of order and chaos-have always had a place in your world. Scientists claims 'magic' is merely an outdated way of tapping into otherworldly energies, tapping latent human abilities through ridiculous and convoluted rites-dogmatic ritual designed to ensure power stays limited to only a few elites. Magicians tend to claim that 'technology' is just a brute force way of harnessing the natural and unlimited power of the universe, which should be available to everyone...of sufficient intellect and willpower, anyway. The sides don't tend to mix-powerful magic and high-tech often foil one another. So who knows which is true?

~Artificial: The character is a robot or perhaps some other kind of 'construct' that can't really be considered 'alive'-such as a ghost, zombie, or golem. One of the character's physical abilities (your choice) is increased by +2, and you gain Life Support as a bonus power.

Lore: When the the Silver Speaker came back from the dead to continue his fight against crime, the papers called him the 'Silver Spirit'-he began leading the souls of other departed heroes to either peaceful rest, or a new career in spectral heroics. He lamented the lack of creativity on the name, however. When the first robot achieved sentience in 1899, and subsequently began a reign of terror that filled legions of victims with dread, the newspaper called him the 'Iron Man'-he was hardly the last of them, however, and not all chose that path. He applauded the accuracy of his name, though not in public.

~Unearthly: The character is a being from another world or dimension such as an alien, elemental, angel, devil, or even a deity. Increase two of the character's abilities (your choice) by +2. The character has one fewer power but a minimum of one power.

Lore: The world, and all other worlds are truly blessed with an infinity of potentials....

Some notes on this worlds technology.
-At some point, humans have learned how to manipulate pinpoint wormholes. At the point in the game, the mass produced variety is rudimentary-only one way, and only to transfer energy, not mass. This was actually pretty useful, as they were able to use this invention to revolutionize society...
-They called this device a 'Hotspot'. More or less, infinite heat energy at a fixed point. In true Steampunk style, tho, other technologies have either not advanced (due to time), or there has been no incentive to advance them. Using steam boilers (with hotspots boiling water--->turbines) is the most common way of generating energy.
-Hotspots power pretty much everything these days. Energy isn't really a problem anymore-heat is, generally being, the more power you want the heavier and hotter the device is. So you could create crazy things like forcefield and energy cannons...however, the era is constrained technologically. You can make these things, and power anything you can imagine building, but they might not be safe or reliable because you lack the technological basis to do so.

And on the world as a whole.
-Major world changes that pertain to this setting include the separation of the United States at the end of the 3rd civil war, into the Lone Star Republic (centered around Texas), the New Confederacy (Southern US), Federal Territories (Northern US) and Cascadia (US West coast). Much of the middle US is Balkanized into dozens of small states and territories.
-Africa is split between several large, modern countries-the largest of which, Kanema, rivals European nations.
-As of yet, there has not been a first world war. Superheroes in many countries have defused many conflicts by their mere existence, rivaling the atomic weapon our own world would create.
-Civilization itself has yet to explore the world entirely-many parts of South America and Asia remain relatively unknown, or purposefully hidden away...

Some famous heroes in this age include...
Silver Spirit, Ghostly Ambassador
Polar Explorer, The Famous Adventuress
Quartz Commando, Worlds Greatest Soldier
War Eagle, the Superman
Vishanti, Worlds Greatest Mystic
The Clock Queen, The Immortal Time Traveler
Sunfury, Worlds Hottest Pyrokinetic

All of whom belong to the 'World's Finest'-an elite 'club', that have pledged to join together and put aside all other considerations-except the survival of the Human race, when the situation arises.

Some famous villains of this age include...
Akanda, Queen of the Dead
Iagal, Spirit of Vengeance
Iron-Man, Murderous Automaton
Thane, The God Among Men
The Abstract, Otherworldly Dire Threat
Time-reaper, Corrector of Mistakes
Bleak and Blight, The Twins

2. Abilities

Roll a 1d8 for each ability and record the resulting level for it. If your hero's total ability levels (after adjustments for origin) are less than 20, you can choose to discard the hero and start over.

You can also choose to swap any two ability levels after you have determined them. For example, if you roll a Strength of 3 and an Awareness of 7 and you really want your hero to be strong rather than quick on the uptake, you can choose to swap those two abilities, making Strength 7 and Awareness 3.

You can use this site

http://orokos.com/roll/

To record your rolls for me to see, though it's not technically a demand...you may wish to roll here, and then share the roll if the number seems somewhat unbelievable due to mere luck.

Alternately..

~You can choose to create an entirely 'normal', utterly human hero with a superhuman mind-with each of your physical stats set at 4 and no higher (4 being the strongest and fastest an unaugmented human could be), you can assign 20 points to your remaining mental stats in any order you wish, to a max of 8. You can further reduce your physical stats below 4, to assign +1 point to your mental stats in exchange.
~You can choose to create an outstanding physical bruiser, of pretty much ordinary human intelligence-with each of your mental stats set at 4 and no higher (4 being the smartest and most charming an unaugmented human could be), you can assign 20 points to your remaining physical stats in any order you wish, to a max of 8. You can further reduce your mental stats below 4, to assign +1 point to your physical stats in exchange.

Final note-any stats at 1 or 2 will be expected to create some 'interesting effects' on your hero, and will be expected to be roleplayed and described fully. Like, stats of 7-8+ will be treated the same!

3. Powers

You begin play with three powers, minus or plus your origin modifiers. You can choose less starting powers, or none, to receive bonus starting determination.

https://ogc.rpglibrary.org/index.php?title=Icons:Powers <--

Remember, this can be more than just innate powers, it covers gadgets, spells and other things as well. Be creative!

All powers begin at level 1-while your hero may have been capable of greater displays than this in the past, currently you are quite out of practice...also, the properties of Farfield also seem to make you weaker...


4. Specialties
You begin play with three specialties-due to the circumstances at the start of the game, you cannot put points toward expert or master specialties, though a hero with the 'Trained' or "Gimmick" origin may have expert level skills innately due to their bonus.

https://ogc.rpglibrary.org/index.php?title=Icons:Specialities <--

5. Finishing up

Background
Farfield has a done a number on your memory and perception-you can't remember much about life before you came here, though you are certain about some things-like the world outside. You should describe your heroes life in Farfield with as much detail as you want-it'll determine alot of content in the first issue and beyond. What was your life like here? What did you do for a living, and whom (if anyone) did you share that life with? ...and, why wasn't it enough? Why are you looking for a way out of a beautiful dream?

Description
What does your hero look like? Consider the hero's physique, build, hair color and style, mannerisms, and other distinguishing physical features.

Determination
Choose at least one and up to five qualities, and up to five challenges for your hero. You are not required to choose any challenges, but they are a key means of earning more Determination, so you should consider some. This can be saved for later, if you can't think of anything.

Hero Name:
Player:
Origin: (Trained, Transformed, Brighright, Gimmick, Artificial, or Unearthly)

Abilities (Roll 1d8 for each.)
Prowess:
Coordination:
Strength:
Intellect:
Awareness:
Willpower

Powers (Choose 3 or less.)
1. (Power Level ?)
2. (Power Level ?)
3. (Power Level ?)
4. (Power Level ?)
5. (Power Level ?)

Resource Points: (Pertinent specialty bonus+ability score, If applicable. See house rules for more info.)

Specialties (Choose 3)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Stamina: (Strength+Willpower)
Determination (Every hero begins with 3 determination, +1 to a max of 6 for opting out on some or all of their three starting powers)

Bio and Description
Aspects and Challenges
Drawbacks: I will personally feel this in for you, once I have accepted your hero for play. Tho you can post suggestions! Expect me to try and bring you in line if I think your hero has the potential to outshine the others a bit too much-or just add an interesting twist.

While this has no use in the first issue of ICONS, eventually your characters will be given a chance to more forward and excel. This comes from accumulating completing character specific quests, and accumulating resource points.

Quests: Each character will have quests unique to them that must be accomplished to raise specialty points and power levels, and earn new ones. This can range from helping take down a bunch of thugs, to tackling a supervillain or completing a specific timed mission. You can earn new powers, by expending determination-using power tricks will unlock new quests. Once you have completed a mission, you must then spend cash at the end of the day to finalize your upgrades. You can also request story based quests from the GM.

Cash: Awarded from completing missions, cash is used for upgrading heroes and purchasing equipment and upgrades to your hideout/home base. WIP

Lethal and Non-Lethal Intent
Most Heroes in this world obey the 'Sanction'-the unwritten rule every vigilante heeds. A sanctioned hero tries to take criminals alive if possible, to be judged by the courts. Ideally, they have the power of arrest-not execution. Most heroes have specialized equipment or training that allows them to use their powers in a non-lethal fashion. Of course, the world not so morally clear as the comics would have you believe...Heroes may choose to stop holding back if they think the stakes are high enough-giving in to their rage, and fighting without mercy-and their enemies will respond in kind.

Likewise, most of the more pragmatic villains would rather knock a hero out, and get away with their loot or plot, rather than risk beginning a violent vendetta. Villains who prefer lethal combat tend to be fairly mentally unstable-those who would rather die, than lose.

-'Bashing' damage now applies to any attack you launch with the intention of KO'ing a target, rather than killing them. 'Blasting' attacks are now considered the same as 'Bashing'. Some weapons are obviously impossible to be considered bashing damage, depending on the target.

-'Slashing' is now 'Lethal' damage-you can make any attack 'lethal'. You can still opt to spare them on the final blow if this is possible (lethal attacks increase the chance of stunning, or outright defeating an enemy), but a massive success on a lethal attack will kill the target 50% of the time outright, no matter your intention. 'Shooting' attacks are considered 'Lethal' damage.

-You begin combat in 'bashing' mode-if you change to 'lethal' mode, you cannot take back your choice until the current combat encounter is over or you voluntarily exit the fight and get a grip on yourself. If you decide to wield and fire a weapon that could, for whatever reason, be entirely lethal to your targets and your intent is to totally kill them to death (such as a firing a bazooka or a machine gun against a bunch of unaug gangsters)-you automatically start the fight in lethal mode, and stay there.

Wizardy+Resource System
Obviously, a power that lets you do every power (and only have to level a single ability) is probably the best choice...so I will set some ground rules if you choose these abilities. Gadgetry in particular is important to any player wishing to play a non-powered superhero.

First, choose one specialty (this may be unique to you, not listed in the OGC) and add that bonus, to the relevant ability score in cosmic power, gadgets, or wizardry or whatever power you choose. This combined number is your 'Cosmic Ring', 'Gadget Belt', ''Mana Stores' etc. (whatever resource you use, you can rename it whatever you like)-you expend this to power your abilities, usually tied into an external source of some sort that allows you recharge in some fashion. You spend 1 resource every time you use your power, and 3 resources every-time you use a 'power trick' to duplicate any existing ability. However, you may 'master' one power for every level of your ability. Mastered powers cost no resources, though you need at least 1 remaining point to use them.

In return, I've decided that using this special resource means you can't use determination points to use 'power tricks' for Wizardry-ideally, you will use determination to regain resource points. In theory, this will allow you to use more creative use of your (nearly) unlimited powers, while maintaining a definite limit on how much of it you can do.

I will also allow other players to place their powers on this resource system, if they wish-limiting their total uses of a power per day, in exchange for using more 'power tricks' than your determination would normally allow. Non-wizardry abilities can never be 'mastered', however.

Thinking of making effects item and encounter related-unrelated to powers.

Anger!
+1 damage to all attacks
-1 to-hit with all attacks

Inspiration
+1 damage on next attack

Expertise
-1 damage on next attack to hit you

Tactical Advantage
All enemies gain -1 to-hit against you

Blocking
50% chance to redirect attacks aimed in your general vicinity at allies, toward yourself.

Subtle
50% chance to redirect attacks aimed in your general vicinity at yourself, toward allies.

Art courtesy of Glacies!

Supply Points=1
Followers: None
Refuge: None

Reputation
Canadian Union Caravan
Known (+1)
History
~Initial (+1)
~Embarked from the Caravan to find your own way South.

Raja's Stalkers
Unfriendly (-1)
History
~Initial (+0)
~They ambushed a lone member of your party, but everyone was cool, and no one was hurt. Except Doc. And they kidnapped Ebony.
~Ebony decided to be uncommunicative with her kidnappers. (-1)

The Legion of Sexius
Hostile (-3)
History
~Initial (+3)
~273 ungratefully escaped from Emperor Sexius's cell, despite his many crimes. Flat justitia ruat coelum!

Profile: Everyman
Survivor Type: Unselfish (Once per day, Jason gains +1 EXP when he puts the needs of the team above his own)
Look: Nondescript. A blank expression, an average height and build. Not what anyone would call conventionally attractive, not unusually fit. Wears a flannel and cargo pants, and a heavy jacket.
16/16 Fleshwounds remaining
Status: Healthy
Experience: 0

Stats:
Brains +1
Body +1
Guts +2
Sway 0

Moves
1. Signature weapon (Machete) [When using his signature weapon, Jason rerolls a 1 on his damage rolls]
2. Voice of reason                   [Jason can attempt to defuse a potential conflict by rolling his Sway.]
3. Don't you die on me             [Allys gain +1 to their Cheat Death rolls when in the presence of Jason]

Wielding:  (Machete)
Wearing:  (Heavy jacket)(Armor)

Inventory
~ Plastic Flashlight
~ Bandages
~ Medicine
~ Heavy jacket
~ Machete
=
9/12 Load

Bio: Jason has no idea how he survived. Before the fall, he was training to be a nurse, but then the invasion happened. He's spent most of his time working for petty warlord types and caravans as a medic. As these groups fell to the rotters, he steadily traveled west from his home on the east coast. At this point, Jason doesn't fear death; he just doesn't see why he should succumb to it. He tends to go along with what others suggest and doesn't usually get very emotional. He screams in his sleep sometimes and has a hard time getting enough rest.

Ties:
Doc (The Company of the Caravan)
Harriet (The Company of the Caravan)

Profile:  The Inmate
Survivor Type: Decisive (Once per day, 273 gains +1 EXP when he does what he thinks needs to be done, regardless of how others think.{Awarded for day1})
Look: I have rugged good looks.
I am thick and Barrel-Chested
I'm wearing an orange doc jumpsuit
16/16 Fleshwounds remaining
Status: Healthy
Experience: 1

Stats:
Brains +0
Body +2
Guts +1
Sway +1

Moves
1. Signature Weapon (Lead Pipe) [When using his signature weapon, 274 rerolls a 1 on his damage rolls]
2. Heavy hitter                         [When 274 rolls a 12 on his damage roll, he adds his body to the damage]
3. Not as Bad as it looked           [274 regains a fleshwound after every fight that he was injured in]

Wielding:  (Lead Pipe)
Wearing:  (Orange prison jumpsuit)(Armor)

Inventory
Lead pipe
Medicine
Bandages
Matches
=
8/12 Load

Bio: As it turns out, people do still get angry if you steal their stuff. Number 273 learned that on accident while trying to steal supplies from Sexius's territory. He just happened to have the bad luck of Sexius also running one of the few functioning prisons in the area. He eventually managed to escape during a prison riot but he knows that one day he'll have to deal with that again. Hopefully, this time he won't be dragged behind a van though.

Ties:
Gianna (Surrogate Daughter)

Profile: Teenager
Survivor Type: Rebellious (Once per day, Gianna gains +1 EXP when she detours from the planned course of action)
Look:
I have...
A clear and healthy complexion.
I am....
About average.
I am wearing....
Jeans and a T.
16/16 Fleshwounds remaining
Status: Healthy
Experience: 0

Stats:
Brains +2
Body 0
Guts +1
Sway +1

Moves
1. Signature Weapon (Hockey Stick) [When using his signature weapon, Gianna rerolls a 1 on her damage rolls]
2. Lucky                                      [Gianna rerolls double 1's on any move she makes]
3. Hide                                        [Gianna can hide at a moments notice, and stay hidden.]

Wielding:  (Field hockey stick)
Wearing:  (Jeans and a t-shirt)(Armor)

Inventory
~ Plastic flashlight
~ Batteries
~ Food & water
~ Medicine
=
9/12 Load

Bio: Gianna grew up in Jersey Shore, New Jersey, and was the "princess" of her family. However, after the fall, and the loss of her family, Gianna has needed to learn how to defend herself, as well as others. Despite this, Gianna still has mainly remained the slightly bratty teenager, she was before the fall, but is perhaps somewhat more accustomed to the ways of the world.

Ties:
273 (Surrogate Father)

Profile: The MD
Survivor Type: Compassionate (Once per day, Doc gains +1 EXP when he helps someone who may not deserve it)
Look: Slender and slight, with a nervous tick and wearing ER scrubs

12/16 Fleshwounds remaining
Status:
Bolt in the Belly,Partially Treated

Doc has a crossbow bolt stuck in him. It's not life threatening by itself-in fact the bolt itself is keeping it from being worse-but, it'll have to be removed carefully to avoid further injury. He has wisely removed the shaft, and stabilized the wound. He still has to be careful, but as he takes his time he should be able to move without injuring himself.

Effects:
-1 Body Stat
Strenuous Physical Activity has a 25% of 1 fleshwound of damage per move. I.E, whenever you roll dice. This is recurring, adding up 25% each subsequent turn, and is reset after at least one round of non-action.
Experience: 0

Stats:
Brains 2 + 1
Body 0-1=-1
Guts 1
Sway 1

Moves
1. Signature Weapon (Revolver) [When using his signature weapon, Doc rerolls a 1 on his damage rolls]
2. Bring Back The Dead             [Doc can use the trauma kit to revive a survivor who failed a cheat death roll.]
3. Smart                                [Doc gains plus 1 to his Brains stat. Rotters approve of this!]

Wielding:  (Revolver) (2L)
Wearing:  ()(Armor)

Inventory
~ Bandages (3 uses) (1L)
~ Medicine (1 use) (1L)
~ Trauma Kit (5 uses) (4L)
~ Ammo (3 uses) (2L)
~ Hand Grenade (2L)
=
12/12 Load

Bio: Doc was working as a surgeon in a hospital when it happened. The bodies in the morgue they... they just got back up and started eating everyone. He can't remember how he got out. It was chaos. People running and screaming and all the blood... but he knows a lot of people - his patients, his colleagues, his friends - didn't make it with him. He wandered for a time, helping keep the groups he was with healthy, until he came across the group he's with now.

Ties:
Jason Lane (The Company of the Caravan)
Harriet (The Company of the Caravan)

Profile: Lawman
Survivor Type: Heroic (Once per day, Johnson gains +1 EXP when he puts himself in harms way to aid another)
Look: ((Base)) A rugged looking, tall and lean, state trooper's uniform.
((Detail)) The apocalypse has been hard on Officer Holiday, and it shows. Naturally, shaving is not much a priority at this point, leaving him with permanent brown stubble and unkempt brown hair. His dark eyes, while not at the point of a thousand-yard stare, have their share of hardship in them. Even his cloths are beat up, with his sturdy trooper uniform dotted with damage and stains. He typically wears a cowboy hat, with less visible damage but just as much wear. Notably, on his left arm is an American Flag bandanna with "Holiday" written on it in sharpie being worn as an arm-band. It is currently worn upside-down, with the letters and what is visible of the flag being inverted. This had been used as a "Dog-Tag" in his first group, with every survivor being issued one as a uniform, serving a practical purpose to show who's body is who without having to get close.
16/16 Fleshwounds remaining
Status: Healthy
Experience: 0

Stats:
Brains +1
Body +2
Guts +0
Sway +1

Moves
1. Signature Weapon (Shotgun!) [When using his signature weapon, Johnson rerolls a 1 on his damage rolls]
2. Voice of Authority                 [Johnson can coerce a hostile-to surrender, run away or attack him-testing Sway]
3. Gun and Weapon Enthusiast    [Johnson can expend a supply point and a tool kit to repair any firearm at the refuge.]

Wielding:
Shotgun (Winchester Model 1897~If applicable~)

Wearing:
State Trooper Uniform

Inventory
Ammo
Heavy-duty Flashlight
Batteries
Medicine

12/12 Load

Bio:
Johnny Holiday was a "First Responder", one of the officers on duty when the initial calls came in. He didn't know what he was getting into at the time, things quickly fell apart afterwords. Not just for him, but the world. Trying to stop the chaos as the world fell apart was a futile task, let alone trying to stop the Rotters once the nations where gone.  Once he realized this wasn't something he and his buddies could prevent with a shotgun, he formed a group with them for some time, taking in survivors from around the state. His early experiences with the Rotters traumatized him somewhat, not helped by the loss of his young wife and baby daughter in the chaos before hand. While he still shows bravery in his every day life, fighting off single rotters or small groups without showing noticeable fear, large groups leave him sweating and pulling at his collar, often ending when he does his best to get himself away. His initial group was working well, until a large group of Rotters hit it. It was gradual, one minute he was plugging badguys, the next there was more, then more, then more...He ended up panicking, retreating and leaving the group. Ashamed of his cowardice, he began wondering alone.

Ties:
Forever Alone

Profile: The Vagrant
Survivor Type: Heroic (Once per day, Harriet gains +1 EXP when she puts herself in harms way to aid another)
Look: Being only recently made homeless, Harriet's somewhat attractive face is not yet overly dirty, although her messy blonde hair has noticeable bits of dust and dirt in it. She's tall and lanky, seeming quite underfed, her dirty parka a bit to big for her.
16/16 Fleshwounds remaining
Status: Healthy
Experience: 0

Stats:
Brains: +2
Body: +1
Guts: +1
Sway: +0

Moves
1. Signature Weapon: Crow Bar [When using her signature weapon, Harriet rerolls a 1 on her damage rolls]
2. Sixth Sense                        [Harriet can study a situation to figure out if a place is likely to have something good to loot, and/or if it's going to be dangerous. The result of this roll is hidden, and her feelings can be inaccurate.]
3. Keen Observer                    [Harriet uses her Brains rather than her Guts when trying to read a person or situation]

Wielding:
(Crowbar, Close, durable, 3 load)

Wearing:
(Heavy Coat, 1 protection, 2 load)(Armor)

Inventory
Food and Water~1 use, 2 load
Bandages~Slow, Applied, 3 uses, 1 load

=
8/12 Load

Bio:

Ties:
Jason Lane (The Company of the Caravan)
Doc (The Company of the Caravan)

...she was an old, dying woman, full of regret-a truck driver, by trade. The sort of genuinely kind, yet inherently foolish person who might, on a whim, go to save a stray cat in the middle of the street, and be struck down by a speeding van. An odd duck. Her life was...safe, ordinary, boring. No doubt, how she preferred it. Of course, she didn't like to dwell on all the things she had missed. It was a big part of that, which brought her here...unassertive, a doormat in all things, she has been just letting things happen her entire life. Letting things float on by. Now, she found herself, very shortly in a situation where there would be no choice but to stand her ground. Personally, I didn't believe in her either.

He's what we call a plodder. Dependable, optimistic, enduring. Unimaginative, dull, boring. Pick whichever you prefer. He's not entirely unlike Maddy-a person with a genuine good heart, cursed with a lack of directive, of initiative. He wanders. He watches. He lets things...pass him by. Not that he lets it bother him...still, he's a man forever with one foot in his distant, painful past. He regrets what he did, he blames himself...He didn't pull the trigger, but he hears the gunshot-that may, or may not have been-many nights, as he tries to sleep, his nonexistant legs somehow still managing to itch in the dark watches of the night. Oh, well, he assumes it was a gun. In his waking, at least. Guns don't do that to people, do they? No, no they don't.

For all that, he has an admirable amount of endurance. For a man with no direction in his life, he is profoundly determined to keep moving forward. Not quite an unstoppable force, Agris-but, the old saying still fits-what happens when he meets an immovable object?

Young, hopeful, shy in bearing, not as gentle or frail as she seems-a deep pride runs in her, like a vein of some dark, alien metal. You wouldn't think it, but murder is not a complicated thing for Diane. Good. Bad. Binary. Bad people are okay to hurt, to kill. There is a capacity for violence in her...as of yet, an untapped well. She's a doctor, at least she hopes to be one. Few friends, a wallflower for the most part-an incredible intellect. A truly expansive mind,. I wouldn't mind allowing you to taste it myself. Such a capacity for reasoning and logic. Yet, not tempered truly by an inherent sense of kindness or mercy, at least not for those she considers enemies. She's more like you, than the rest of them.

An angry young woman. She knows about us. Yes, one of them took an eye from her...on no more than a whim, surely. She was angry before that-ever one to nurse a grudge, to harbor a bad thought, and with the inherent lack of moral integrity to stop herself before acting on those thoughts and grudges. A great and terrible rage in her heart-striking outward, so it doesn't delve inward. She fights the nightmares she can, with her fists, her bat, her gun. In such a small, wasted life-it's the least sort of vindication she'll ever get.

And yet! So human. She frames her each and every action, from the smallest sin to the greatest tragedy, as done in the name of the greater good. Helping her sister. Getting her out of the shitlife. Trying to save her from a future of thuggery and prostitution which she assumes-of course-that her sister will fall victim to. Alice isn't good at thinking around corners, though. How does she know her sister is so base and corrupt to follow the same path? What use is destroying herself, to save the one person who truly loves her? Alice is blind to the pain she causes her sister, the fear in her eyes every time her older sister comes in, battered and bruised, limping, one foot in the grave. And the marks in her arms,  the one she sometimes forgets to even bother covering up with a long sleeved shirt. The things in the little glass bottles, that she no longer even pretends kill the pain...

Alice may still have one eye, but she's more blind than anyone in this story.

Remember what you seek (Part.1)
~Uncovering the secrets of the Arcane isn't easy, but it is your job. You've plucked some rumors-willing and unwilling-from the wind that have placed a certain rare item in an abandoned warehouse in Sevenfork. A map, to be precise...though, you're not exactly sure to what.

A string of razor wire
~Against your will, you've been conned into infiltrating the camp of a corrupt military general, posing as one of his officers, and obtaining enough evidence to 'facilitate his removal'. Right up your alley, but you can't help but think the odds are against you-they have to have planned for you to fail..it's possible they might even be counting on it.

Wearing
Morning before Sunrise
A dark red poncho with silver gliding, accentuated with a long red skirt certainly leaves much to the imagination in regards to this mystery woman. One white glove, one white black-hiding her long, dexterous fingers. And topped off by that ornate hat, and the mask...or perhaps, many masks. She seems to be able to change them with almost supernatural speed, to reflect her mood. Her face is entirely covered, except for her electric blue eyes...but her current mask, is hidden even from this storytellers eyes.

Pack
5x Bracer of throwing Knives~Left Hip
Concealed in a strap on her left hip. Sharp, pointed blades-designed to be thrown accurately and with deadly precision. Immaculately sharp and clean.

Status: Hidden from Sight

Houston Yi's Parasol~Left hand
In classic Imperial mythology, there were originally ten suns in the sky, who were all quite rowdy brothers-they liked nothing more than carousing and stealing maidens virtue. Once, their games nearly burnt the Earth to a cinder-until a hero named Houston Yi lured them down to earth, and shot them all down (save one, of course) with his scatter-rifle. In a poetic sense, this Parasol was designed to lure the last brother down from the Heavens so that men might benefit from his power. Also, quite stylish and beautiful, in the forgotten fashion of Old Orinost-who always sought to merge function and form into a beautiful whole-the panels on the outside, facing the world, are painted with a depiction of a shining silver city standing tall in the desert ringed with graceful airships...the panels on the inside, show the same image mirrored in that cities terrible destruction. A useful storytelling tool, and perhaps a memorial of a sorts.

Guitar~strapped across back
Four-strings and a pear-shaped body, this instrument seems as graceful and lithe as it's wielder-it's of odd construction, however, not of wood but nearly entirely of metal. Connected to the parasol via a slender black cord.

22 Silver Dollars~Small coin purse
No self respecting lady would ever carry her money openly. She prefers a small, delicately filigreed coin bag-good for making money vanish into the folds of her robes without a single clink.

Status: Hidden from Sight
Orinost Relics
Mask of Beauty
Perfection of the female form, breathtaking to look upon. Who shaped it? Who was the model for such delicate, sensuous features? Could such a person have lived and not been adored, worshiped?
Abilities Gained:
~Beautiful Gaze~
Wen-li can use her gaze to enrapture anyone who looks into her eyes, making them more susceptible to her charms. This works on anyone who is not hostile to her, but if the affect should end they may realize they have been tricked and may become hostile to her-it usually depends on how against their nature she encouraged them to act. Some people don't need much pushing at all to co certain things.
Energy Cost: Free

~Shimmering Form~
Wen-li can make herself-including her clothing, and other belongings on your person-look different to any outside for perception, for up to an hour per charge expended. She can seem 1 foot shorter or taller and can appear thin, fat, or in between. She can't change your body type, so she must adopt a form that has the same basic arrangement of limbs. Otherwise, the extent of the illusion is up to her. The illusion is essentially flawless, but it can be defeated by close examination, and of course illusions exert no force or weight.
Energy Cost: 1 Charge

Raven Feathered Cloak
One side white, one side black, as in all the affairs of men. The feathers are shaped steel, the pinions tipped with delicately shaped gemstone spurs-but it's as light as the wind.

~Windshear~
The feathers can be move at a high speed to produce a gust of directed wind, capable of knocking people and things about, extinguishing fires, and the like. Tends to mess up your hair, no matter how short you wear it.
Energy Cost: Free

~Raven's Glide~
A simple enough ability, this cloak can billow out to dramatically slow Wen-Li's falling speed, when she has the misfortune to drop. It is even capable of limited gliding, though this can rapidly drain the batteries.
Energy Cost: Free when dropping or gliding 10 ft or less in height, costs 1 charge for every additional 60 ft fallen or glided past 10ft.

Curse Gear
Crude and functional in design, ugly to the soul, bitter black. The metal, if it was metal, seemed disturbingly organic. If you opened the heart of an Imperial Soldier, would you see this spinning away?

~Curse of Mortality~
A vicious curse that strikes the enemies lifeforce, and wracks them with mental pain-showing them visions of their own death, paralyzing them with fear. The effect is temporary, but ultimately deadly.
Energy Cost: Free

~Curse of Fortune~
Simply holding the gear aloft and speaking certain words best left forgotten to time, Wen-Li can put a bane upon their fortunes, making even the most simple action capable of divinely inspired failure. They will find it difficult to most anything. Repeated uses, or stronger charges, can alter a persons fortune even more dramatically.
Energy Cost: 1 Charge

Relic Primer: Orinost relics take a good deal of power to use, but they are efficiently constructed in such a fashion that they can be entirely generated from the solar umbrella Wen-li carries. She can thus only her relics sparingly-the cells recharge naturally over a long day, and a little bit even at night when she sleeps, as the fury batteries are far more intricate than they appear. She can choose to more than the regular amount of charges that an ability indicates to gain a more profound effect, though this has dangers. As she gains experience, she will unlock additional uses for the relics, and increase their battery life. Of course she should always be on the lookout for more relics, and ways to upgrade her technology.

Current Charge: OOOO 100%

Remember Orinost (Part.1)
~Your reputation has grown-you've been gratefully invited to one of the richer taverns in Sevenstrings to entertain the patrons.

Remembering the Face of your Father (Part.1)
~You have a lead on the location one of the Imperial Soldiers who took your father. He's currently retired in Sevenforks. If you ever want answers, that's a good place to start.

Remember the Money (Part.1~Failed!)
~You were escorting a prisoner by the name of Jun 'Young Man' Jones to Sevenforks, for his hanging-and your bounty. You're not sure exactly what he did to warrant such a thing, but the Marshals gave you a writ of arrest, and promised you a decent sum-a whole golden talon, guaranteed by the local government. Complicated by the fact he was killed on your watch, and apparently they really wanted him alive...
Jun's Wake
~You'll have to explain to the Sheriff what happened if you want to clear this up, and maybe get a small amount of payment for your trouble. And convince them you aren't lying, as you don't exactly have a body to show them, one way or another.

Remember, Curiosity killed the Cat (Part.1)
~Drifting into the Far West has brought you on a steam-carriage heading to Sevenforks...you've heard an exciting rumor of a group of city men and women going to investigate the ruins one of the Rangers old forts. They'll certainly need an experienced guide...