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Forum Games and Roleplaying / Re: (Indeterminate Worm-Inspired Superhero(?) Game): Signups ending!
« on: September 26, 2013, 12:22:22 am »
It's almost 1:30 in the morning, I'll post what I have and finish the rest sometime tomorrow.
Yes:
((I'll help with the backstory in case you need it.))
"So, Selina, how was your day at school?"
Selina shifted uncomfortably. She didn't really want to admit that she had been bullied, but there hadn't been much more; Emily had organized a campaign to make sure that at least one girl was bugging her all day, making fun of her, reminding her of all the little things that made Selina sad enough without being reminded of it every ten minutes all day. She left after third period, wandering around downtown until she was expected home. But now, for this weekend, Selina would be able to forget all of that; her adoptive mother's second cousin or cousin twice removed or something was getting married, so they were all going out-of-town and staying with relatives. Hopefully, Selina would be able to make a friend, even if one she rarely saw.
At least that friend wouldn't betray her. Which brings her back to the present.
Selina doesn't want to tell...but what does she gain by silence? What could be lost by telling?
"Well...I-I didn't g-go to much of school..."
"Why not?"
"Um...E-Emily has been b-bullying me for--"
"Emily?"
"Y-yes...it's been--"
Suddenly, a crash, screeches, blurs. Chaos. Pain. Red. Something's wrong. Everything's sideways.
"D-dad...Mom..." Selina was surprised by her own weakness. She looked around, trying to shift, but she couldn't. The car was crumpled around her.
"...Wh-what's..." Selina was trying to struggle, but was trapped by the remnants of the car.
"Mom..." Selina struggled.
No.
No!
She was so close...maybe this could have been solved...now she's stuck.
Selina's struggles continued. She blacked out for a moment, but when she awoke she realized her struggles were having some effect. She was twisting, things were breaking. Soon, she had to stop because she was tired and everything hurt, but soon enough other people were there.
It wasn't until later, in the hospital, that Selina discovered two terrible facts: Firstly, her parents had died. Secondly, she learned of her powers...
Selina has a combination of a sort of kinetic shield/afterimage and low-level super-speed. She can run fast, probably 30 or 40 miles per hour. The faster she or any part of her moves, the stronger her shield--a bit like a force field, but probably weaker--is. She can also project this shield a few feet by swinging her hands or whatever she is holding quickly enough. On the downside, this power provides essentially no protection against the kinds of forces caused by her feet striking the pavement while running as fast as a car, so if she uses that part of her power much she risks causing damage to her leg bones or something.
Now for you to decide a few things.
Firstly, Selina has been living for about two years since being hospitalized. What has happened to her since? Where has she been living?
Secondly, what has she been doing? Has she been actively trying to train her abilities, or otherwise prepare for life as a cape?
Thirdly, what are her plans for using her power?
Finally, what prompted her to at last take action on these plans?
Tabitha saw her mother in the kitchen, gibbering weakly and standing in the kitchen.
“M-Mom?”
She turned towards Tabitha, noticing but not really comprehending. Probably; there was no way to tell.
Tabitha stared, not comprehending. What had happened while she was gone?
Her mother collapsed.
The next several hours were a blur. Tabitha doesn't clearly remember any moment until she realized her mother was dead. Between the two events, Tabitha had disassembled a number of appliances and such, cannibalizing parts for various devices that were being used to try and identify and solve whatever these problems were. They weren't enough.
Tabitha had failed.
Tabitha Kataiser is a biomedical tinker. To specify: Her specialty is primarily on creating devices useful in medicine and the like. She might also be able to make something similar to Blasto's tech--not strictly hospital stuff--but she is no Bonesaw by any means. These devices tend to be light on aesthetics in form or function.
You now have some decisions to make.
1. What did you do in the immediate aftermath of your mother's death? Bear in mind the number of tinkered devices and disassembled appliances. You could probably undo much of the damage if you tried.
2. What did you do afterwards? Did you try to practice or plan your tinkering, find an employer, what?
3. If you used your power, where did you find materials?
Why?
Why am I so terrible?
Why did I fail, despite all that's been done for me? To me?
How?
How could I have been such a terrible failure, with everything I had going for me?
What is wrong with me?
Such did the thoughts go on in Elena's head as this new ability blossomed in her head...
Elena can see the auras of people and manipulate them, altering their emotional state and the like. This power is typically weak unless Elena is stressed.
You know, the typical. What does Elena do with the power and with her time, what does she want to do.
Fear. Darkness and fear. Pain, darkness, and fear. That's all Steven could feel. He was buried alive, dirt clogging his throat and covering his limbs. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he could barely think.
I am going to die.
He coughed again, and suddenly...he wasn't coughing. He was shifting. He felt the dirt sinking into him, he felt the crushing feeling of suffocation in his chest relieved. He could move, could shift himself. Soon, he dug himself up from the dirt. A pair of the gangsters who had stuck him here stared at him in fear, then fled.
Steven, confused, tried to find his way home. He wandered through town; the few people who could be found this late at night avoided him on sight. Steven caught a glance of a large, brown creature in a humanoid shape in the reflection of a store window. After glancing both ways a couple times, Steven realized the truth.
He was the monster.
“Sometimes getting powers fucks up your body. Sometimes it fucks up your head. Bad luck, but you deal with the cards you’re dealt.”
--Newter
Steven has gained a pair of related abilities. Firstly, he can meld with various objects, "swimming" through buildings or the ground as a fish swims through water. As he passes through an object or location, he can even change it a bit. On the other hand, when he does so, he leaves bits of himself behind. As he dug his way out of the dirt-pit, much of his flesh was replaced with soil, glass, and so forth.
Now for decisions.
1. What was Steven's response to becoming a "monster"?
2. What has Steven been doing since his trigger/transformation?
3. What does Steven hope to achieve?
4. What kind of body does Steven try to make for himself? Does he keep whatever he just "swam" through, or does he try to get himself into a specific form/appearance first?
Matt couldn't breathe. He could see, though this brought him no comfort. He could struggle, though this gave him nothing. He could hear, but this made things worse.
"So, hero, you think you just step in and save the nice woman? This ain't a movie. We won't let up, you're not gonna trigger, no one's coming to save you. You are going to pay for trying to interfere."
Matt blacked out for a moment. When he came to,
No:
I feel like making a joke based on his username, but sadly that would cause spoilers.
In the end, remember: Just because your character wasn't chosen doesn't mean you made a bad character. Heck, a lot of the final decision was based on gut instinct--which sounds like a good character? Which characters will add to a group dynamic more? Etc?
Scenario Table:
The players submitted three votes for 1, two and a half votes for 2, and half a vote for 3. The waitlisters voted for one each, which works out well. I think the best compromise is partly between 1 and 2, ending up a lot like Doomblade's idea--more-or-less the Wormverse, but with some significant differences.
For the specifics: Not easy. One player and waitlister for LA, one player and one waitlister directly against that, nothing like a consensus on timing...let's think about that. I'd appreciate all six players to weigh in on time and place.
Yes:
Spoiler: Cado (click to show/hide)
Name:Selina Nox
Gender:Female
Age:15
Description:About 5'8 with brown hair and hazel eyes. She has a small chest and is quite thin. Her arms have many long cuts on them, as if she were sliced up by knives, she usually tries to hide them under the sleeves of her shirt.
Personality:Incredibly shy and nervous, has a very bad stutter around people she doesn't know... and people she does generally. She tries to be nice but never makes any friends. Shes also [redacted].
Background:Selina was abandoned at birth and raised as an orphan. She was always picked on and taunted, never being treated well, even by the staff at the orphanage. When she turned 10, she was adopted by a family who actually did love and care for her! They helped her in school, taught her everything they neglected to in the orphanage, and gave her everything she had ever dreamed of. She was still shy and nervous, getting bullied at school sometimes too, but she always knew she could go home and feel love and comfort. She struggled in school, only really doing well in art due to her massive attention to detail, but she always needed help to keep passing. And then... it happened.
Trigger Event:When she was just 13, Selina was in a car crash with her adopted parents. They both died and Selina barely escaped with severe injuries. Someone came and got her out of the wreckage, she thought it was someone trying to save her, but it wasn't. She was taken by a cruel, sadistic woman, who tortured her for days before Selina was saved by some capes. (If I understand them correctly) She was never the same after that, both physically, and mentally. She almost never spoke now, and it seemed like she never would. She was put into another orphanage and has been going to school, seeming very secluded and away from everything until the present day.
Suggested Power: Your choice here.
Aptitudes:+5 Drawing, +3 Running and Sneaking(She has to hide from the bullies somehow) +1 Cooking, Singing, and Cuteness that shes oblivious to.
Weaknesses:-3 to pain tolerance. -1 to staying calm and strength of any kind.
Quirks:She has a C average in every normal class in school, making her RL applications of those skills very bad. ((The second will be sent by PM as a secret you can probably guess))
Why She Was Chosen: Partly contrast with the others, partly because it reminds me a bit of Taylor, perhaps a little because of previous Selinas...but a big part is that PM'd quirk.
((I'll help with the backstory in case you need it.))
"So, Selina, how was your day at school?"
Selina shifted uncomfortably. She didn't really want to admit that she had been bullied, but there hadn't been much more; Emily had organized a campaign to make sure that at least one girl was bugging her all day, making fun of her, reminding her of all the little things that made Selina sad enough without being reminded of it every ten minutes all day. She left after third period, wandering around downtown until she was expected home. But now, for this weekend, Selina would be able to forget all of that; her adoptive mother's second cousin or cousin twice removed or something was getting married, so they were all going out-of-town and staying with relatives. Hopefully, Selina would be able to make a friend, even if one she rarely saw.
At least that friend wouldn't betray her. Which brings her back to the present.
Selina doesn't want to tell...but what does she gain by silence? What could be lost by telling?
"Well...I-I didn't g-go to much of school..."
"Why not?"
"Um...E-Emily has been b-bullying me for--"
"Emily?"
"Y-yes...it's been--"
Suddenly, a crash, screeches, blurs. Chaos. Pain. Red. Something's wrong. Everything's sideways.
"D-dad...Mom..." Selina was surprised by her own weakness. She looked around, trying to shift, but she couldn't. The car was crumpled around her.
"...Wh-what's..." Selina was trying to struggle, but was trapped by the remnants of the car.
"Mom..." Selina struggled.
No.
No!
She was so close...maybe this could have been solved...now she's stuck.
Selina's struggles continued. She blacked out for a moment, but when she awoke she realized her struggles were having some effect. She was twisting, things were breaking. Soon, she had to stop because she was tired and everything hurt, but soon enough other people were there.
It wasn't until later, in the hospital, that Selina discovered two terrible facts: Firstly, her parents had died. Secondly, she learned of her powers...
Selina has a combination of a sort of kinetic shield/afterimage and low-level super-speed. She can run fast, probably 30 or 40 miles per hour. The faster she or any part of her moves, the stronger her shield--a bit like a force field, but probably weaker--is. She can also project this shield a few feet by swinging her hands or whatever she is holding quickly enough. On the downside, this power provides essentially no protection against the kinds of forces caused by her feet striking the pavement while running as fast as a car, so if she uses that part of her power much she risks causing damage to her leg bones or something.
Now for you to decide a few things.
Firstly, Selina has been living for about two years since being hospitalized. What has happened to her since? Where has she been living?
Secondly, what has she been doing? Has she been actively trying to train her abilities, or otherwise prepare for life as a cape?
Thirdly, what are her plans for using her power?
Finally, what prompted her to at last take action on these plans?
Spoiler: Derm (click to show/hide)
Name Tabitha Kataiser
Gender: Female
Age: 26
Description:A rather tall and lean woman with dark reddish hair and brown eyes. Her body is covered in small scars accrued in the line of duty, with a rather large one going across her nose.
Personality: Quiet bordering on mute, she dislikes social interaction and prefers to work on constructs. She enjoys small animals and flowing water. Does not make friends easily at all, and is horrendously protective on any she does manage to make.
Background:Her father died when she was young, and she has no brothers or sisters. Her mother used to work at a dock. At the age of nineteen, Tabitha enrolled into the Military and set sail to see the world and protect her country. This backfired horribly when, during the course of her career,her various squads were alternately annihilated, mutated, or warped due to various foreign parahuman warlords. Known as the 'survivor', she came out of all of these attacks alive and, if not in perfect health, stable condition. Released with full honors at the end of her tour, she looked forward to settling down back home away from all the madness.
Trigger Event: She came home to discover that her mother gibbering and starved in the kitchen from the onset of an obscure degenerative brain disorder that had gone unnoticed for months.
She still visits the stone every month.
'If only I had been better.'
Suggested Power: Tinker - Nanotechnology. A variety of guns, weapons, vehicles, and devices based around nanotech.
Aptitudes: +5 Marksmanship +3 Strength +3 Repair +1 Melee, +1 Piloting/Driving +1 Speed/Reflex.
Weaknesses: -3 Social, -1 Stealth, -1 Organizing
Quirks: Let me tell you about Ad-hoc PTSD. NOBODY IS EVER GOING TO DIE EVER AGAIN.
Why I chose her: Well, for starters, he introduced me to Worm. Aside from that, Tabitha was pretty well-though-out and has plenty of good roleplaying hooks.
Tabitha saw her mother in the kitchen, gibbering weakly and standing in the kitchen.
“M-Mom?”
She turned towards Tabitha, noticing but not really comprehending. Probably; there was no way to tell.
Tabitha stared, not comprehending. What had happened while she was gone?
Her mother collapsed.
The next several hours were a blur. Tabitha doesn't clearly remember any moment until she realized her mother was dead. Between the two events, Tabitha had disassembled a number of appliances and such, cannibalizing parts for various devices that were being used to try and identify and solve whatever these problems were. They weren't enough.
Tabitha had failed.
Tabitha Kataiser is a biomedical tinker. To specify: Her specialty is primarily on creating devices useful in medicine and the like. She might also be able to make something similar to Blasto's tech--not strictly hospital stuff--but she is no Bonesaw by any means. These devices tend to be light on aesthetics in form or function.
You now have some decisions to make.
1. What did you do in the immediate aftermath of your mother's death? Bear in mind the number of tinkered devices and disassembled appliances. You could probably undo much of the damage if you tried.
2. What did you do afterwards? Did you try to practice or plan your tinkering, find an employer, what?
3. If you used your power, where did you find materials?
Spoiler: Empiricist (click to show/hide)
Brandon Watson
Gender: Male
Age: 41
Description: A tall gentleman with a formerly strong build, now somewhat withered, his normally grim expression makes him seem older than he actually is, the greying hair and lifelessly dull grey eyes don't really help either. Slight wrinkles on the corners of his mouth indicate that he used to smile a lot, though he rarely does that any more. His usual clothes are business-like yet clash with each other subtly. Not enough to be of significant notice but enough to ruin whatever consistent style they may have possessed.
Personality: An introverted yet internally divided solipsist. He is a bit of a dreamer yet now cannot even decide which dream he wishes to pursue. He often has dream and nightmares, he no longer can differentiate the two, which perpetually haunt him. He's become quite cynical as well as a result of this.
Background: Born in Britain to a well off middle class family, Brandon had always been entrusted with great expectations, so far, he has fulfilled most of them efficiently. His childhood and early adulthood were of no significant interest, though he did have a brief bout of depression from stress. He made trips every now and then to various parts of the world to explore it and admire its beauty...
Trigger Event: On one such trip and the last one he had ever booked since then, he boarded the wrong flight and arrived early. He had planned to wait at the airport to apologize to the passenger he accidentally displaced (and had to take the flight Brandon booked) but a mechanical error crashed the plane onto the runway. He would never get that chance. In all, thanks to the safety features and rapid response of emergency services, only five people died. But more than five died as an indirect result. The man he had displaced was a surgeon. And because of a single mistake, he'd never save another life again. The incident induced a relapse in his depression and losing all hope in himself, he sought death. The most immediate, definite opportunity presented itself soon afterwards at an armed bank robbery, in an attempt to get shot, Brandon charged one of the bandits only for an off duty officer to push him out of the way and take the bullet for him. Another person had died due to him. Filled with rage and self-loathing and in a final attempt to eliminate himself, Brandon used the opportunity to steal the bandit's gun and indiscriminately opened fire, fatally wounding the remaining bandit who was drawing his gun as well as two people caught in the spray of bullets. Of course, with all witnesses down on the ground, no one actually saw what happened, they simply assumed that one of the bandits wildly opened fire and was killed by Brandon. Being called a hero didn't exactly help his mental state. He had now killed three more people, one of them, intentionally. When the adrenaline wore off Brandon inspected the corpse of the man he shot. It was a plain clothed officer. He had killed a total of five people, all innocent, and was still somehow deemed a hero. He tried to admit to his crime of course, but everyone simply assumed that it was just baseless guilt.
Suggested Power: Whenever he kills someone or someone within a certain (GM-defined) radius around him dies, their soul/mind is sequestrated inside Brandon. These stored people unquestioningly assist him with advice and information.
Aptitudes: +5 Mathematics (due to his job), +3 to Negotiating (due to his job), +3 to Sneaking (from birdwatching and whatnot), +1 to Intimidation (a less savory application of negotiating), +1 to Listening (helps reduce errors in his work), +1 to Sleight of Hand (from typing and signing documents).
Weaknesses: -3 to Melee (never was much of a violent person), -1 to Parkour and related actions (never had any interest in that), -1 to resisting intimidation (prefers to avoid conflict)
Quirks: Has trouble differentiating his dreams and nightmares from reality sometimes. Experiences significant fluctuations in indecision.
Why He Was Chosen: He had to be rewritten, but now has a workable trigger event. In addition, you provided an impressive amount of detail! You’ve clearly invested in this character.
Spoiler: Mr. Void (click to show/hide)
Name Elena Hargrove
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Description: Well proportioned, apart from her surprisingly large yet feminine hands, and considered to be exceedingly beautiful while clothed. She always wears a long sleeve shirt, and either pants or a long skirt out in public. Underneath her clothing, she is a mess of crisscrossing brutal scars, none of which are visible on her face, neck or hands.
Personality: Surprisingly sunny and usually very helpful with regards to other people's, particularly other powered individuals, problems. Any mistake that she makes, tends to make her mentally unstable, even after extensive therapy. Quick to trust, unforgiving if betrayed. Sleeps well at night.
Background/Trigger Event: Elena, like her older half-brother, has incredible talent with music. She started taking various musical lessons at five years old and quickly grew to love the piano. At age six, her mother, a twice divorced psychopath, saw her daughter's talent, like her brother's before her, and decided to use her to become wealthy. By age eight, she would receive a beating until she bled for each missed note and for any unnecessary flourishes she may have added to the music. At age nine she turned to her nineteen year old brother for lessons and that is where things got really fucked up. When she was fourteen years old the critics began to do as they always do to a child star, and began to point out her flaws, her music was too formulaic, there was no expression or life in her music. For this, her mother would beat her so that she wouldn't be able to move for days at a time and her brother would continue to whisper terrible lies in her ear. During this, "time off" she spent time analyzing and attempting to understand what was wrong with her. One day this analysis led her to both the correct conclusion and her trigger event. Her mother and brother died the same day.
Suggested Power: A sort of synesthesia based analysis of power and intent, along with a power generated keyboard that, when played, can bolster or hinder one targeted person's biological and certain powers based abilities.
Aptitudes: +5 Performing, +3 Driving, Recovery, +1 Reading, Talking, Sleeping
Weaknesses: -3 Athletics, -1 situational awareness, -1 electronics
Quirks: Power associated synesthesia causes her to see non-powered individuals as exceedingly bland and comes off as aloof towards them. Intense criticism causes extreme damage to a fragile self esteem.
Why She Was Chosen: Dark background. On one hand, good because of all the setting considerations and such; on the other hand, it makes you wonder what precisely made the trigger event so much worse than the rest of her life. And yet, there are many positive aspects. There are, as noted, positive aspects to the darkness; other roleplaying hooks are provided; and lots of detail was provided. Besides, I’d feel bad if you came to Bay12 just for this, only to be edged out by someone who barely understands what a trigger event is. It’s minor, but it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Why?
Why am I so terrible?
Why did I fail, despite all that's been done for me? To me?
How?
How could I have been such a terrible failure, with everything I had going for me?
What is wrong with me?
Such did the thoughts go on in Elena's head as this new ability blossomed in her head...
Elena can see the auras of people and manipulate them, altering their emotional state and the like. This power is typically weak unless Elena is stressed.
You know, the typical. What does Elena do with the power and with her time, what does she want to do.
Spoiler: Unholy Pariah (click to show/hide)
Name Steven Jerle
Gender: male
Age: 21
Description: a rather athletic and noticeably lanky caucasian male standing six feet and four inches tall with unkempt brown hair and lifeless grey eyes. his face bears a few straight scars from where a bottle was smashed against it and his arms and upper body are absolutely covered with jagged scars from the beating prior to his trigger event.
Personality: is withdrawn and slow to trust, he defends his teammates with an almost fanatical devotion and will set out to crush anyone he fights so completely that the will never raise their hands against him again if they can at all. When witnessing an assault in progress he will fly into a rage bordering on divine fury and attempt to kill the victims assailants without hesitation or regards for the safety of those around him.
Background: Before his trigger event he was a skilled electrical engineer working for a moderately successfull business, he always had work and the jobs were usually easy enough for him that he was generally able to head home early or slip off for an extra lunch break. Whenever he had some free time he would practice parkour or act as a stunt double for his friends amateur filmwriting career in exchange for some free beers and a pizza.
Trigger Event: After spending too much money at a bar and being unable to afford a cab <name> had decided to cut through one of the less scrupulous parts of town on his way home, it wasnt something he did often but he had never had a problem before and it saved him walking the extra 20 minutes that it would take to skirt the edges, whilst making his way through he noticed that there seemed to be more members of the local gang out that night compared to usual and feeling suddenly very unsafe he decided to pick up his pace which only served to alert them to his presence, as a few of them started to move towards him throwing insults and hurling empty bottles he wisely decided to make a run for it.
Unfortunately as he rounded a coner to head past one of the new construction sites the city was using to try and refurbish the area he was too busy looking over his shoulder and ran full pelt into one of the members of another group sending them both sprawling and causing the gang member to strike his head against the buildings steps. Enraged by the injury the gang member had jumped to his feet and smashed a bottle into Steven's face before he could stammer out an apology or finish standing himself.
Fueled by Stevens cries of pain and ultimately futile attempts to defend himself the rest of the gang had piled on striking him with bottles and pipes or simply kicking him in the gut and face whenever he tried to stand, after a few minutes of constant abuse Steven began quickly lapsing in and out of consciousness barely able to breath let alone move, hearing sirens coming their way and thinking they had killed him the gang quickly dragged his broken body to the construction site across the road and dumped him in one of the holes meant for a structural support then began shovelling, kicking and pushing the nearby dirt into the hole him burying him alive, snapping back into consciousness as the dirt began to fill his lungs he experienced a moment of terror a hundred times worse then the fear he felt while they beat him, there was no way out and the only thoughts he could articulate were "just let me have one more breath" and "get me out of here" then he felt something inside him snap and everything changed.
Suggested Power: Molecular reconstruction based shapeshifting. can absorb matter for conversion if in direct contact. equivalent exchange. cannot absorb living materials.
Aptitudes: Electronics +5, Parkour +3, melee combat +3, throwing +1, repair +1, acting +1
Weaknesses: guns -3, tracking -1, driving -1
Quirks: claustrophobia, injuries sustained before activating power return when power is disabled.
Why he was chosen: Pariah's character was well-thought-out, with a unique and rather traumatic trigger event. Not to mention, he wrote a LOT about it! That shows dedication.
Fear. Darkness and fear. Pain, darkness, and fear. That's all Steven could feel. He was buried alive, dirt clogging his throat and covering his limbs. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he could barely think.
I am going to die.
He coughed again, and suddenly...he wasn't coughing. He was shifting. He felt the dirt sinking into him, he felt the crushing feeling of suffocation in his chest relieved. He could move, could shift himself. Soon, he dug himself up from the dirt. A pair of the gangsters who had stuck him here stared at him in fear, then fled.
Steven, confused, tried to find his way home. He wandered through town; the few people who could be found this late at night avoided him on sight. Steven caught a glance of a large, brown creature in a humanoid shape in the reflection of a store window. After glancing both ways a couple times, Steven realized the truth.
He was the monster.
“Sometimes getting powers fucks up your body. Sometimes it fucks up your head. Bad luck, but you deal with the cards you’re dealt.”
--Newter
Steven has gained a pair of related abilities. Firstly, he can meld with various objects, "swimming" through buildings or the ground as a fish swims through water. As he passes through an object or location, he can even change it a bit. On the other hand, when he does so, he leaves bits of himself behind. As he dug his way out of the dirt-pit, much of his flesh was replaced with soil, glass, and so forth.
Now for decisions.
1. What was Steven's response to becoming a "monster"?
2. What has Steven been doing since his trigger/transformation?
3. What does Steven hope to achieve?
4. What kind of body does Steven try to make for himself? Does he keep whatever he just "swam" through, or does he try to get himself into a specific form/appearance first?
Spoiler: Wolfchild (click to show/hide)
Name: Matthew Oceans
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Description: Almost exactly two meters tall, Matthew is not a small man, however he is built wiry. He keeps his dark brown hair long enough to reach his tailbone, and makes a daunting figure when he chooses to, which is rarely
Personality: Curious, Impulsive, Stubborn
Background: Matthew's father was convicted of 20 cases of domestic assault 6 months before he was born, and is still serving his sentence and his mother died from complications in his birth; so it was fortunate that he had a Sister, 15 years his elder, who could look after him. They had a relatively good life, few luxuries but they also knew that it could get worse. After school, he wanted to further his education, but they could not afford to pay for it, so he found a job as a busboy in an Italian restaurant and started saving. He managed to pick up some cooking skills working there, and a year in the Chef saw he had some talent and sponsored him for culinary education. He had just started when he accidentally noticed a trio of men violently raping a woman, and it was against his nature to ignore such things. Matthew was dialing for the police on his mobile, when the gangbangers decided he needed to be taught a lesson.
Trigger Event: Was held under water after being witness to a violent crime
Suggested Power: Eh I think I will let he fates decide this one (although I am not sure whether the trigger would be physical or environmental)
Aptitudes:+5 Evasion +3 Cooking +3 Grappling +1 Intimidate +1 Diplomacy +1 Listen
Weaknesses: -3 Shooting -1 Lying -1 Stealth
Quirks: Can't leave well enough alone, gets depressed when people talk about their parents
Why He Was Chosen: Matthew has potential, I can see that. Much of the sheet was sparse, but this was more than compensated for by the backstory. Matthew seems like a character of great potential, RPwise.
Matt couldn't breathe. He could see, though this brought him no comfort. He could struggle, though this gave him nothing. He could hear, but this made things worse.
"So, hero, you think you just step in and save the nice woman? This ain't a movie. We won't let up, you're not gonna trigger, no one's coming to save you. You are going to pay for trying to interfere."
Matt blacked out for a moment. When he came to,
No:
Spoiler: Doomblade (click to show/hide)
Damein Greig
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Description: 5' 4", with grey hair, Daniel has very pale skin, with brown/black eyes. He wears his hair shoulder-length, and wears practical clothes, with a penchant for avoiding shorts.
Personality: Seems to be outspoken and quick to temper but actually cool-headed.
Background: Born in Los Angeles, Damien grew up in a middle-class family, with both parents (one a police officer and the other a clerk) out working most of the time. This led him to form a tight bond with a group of friends, and he stayed busy out of the house.
Trigger Event: Damien was out with his friends one day when they were suddenly caught in the crossfire between two villains, both using lethal force. One of his friends- the one driving- died outright, and with the others, including him, seriously injured, they were in bad shape. And then thugs of one of the villians came out following the fight to come loot, robbing both the stuff from smashed stores and dead bodies- including Damien's friend. In an outburst of rage, Damien stepped out of the wreckage of the car, bleeding and broken, with a crushed chest, and went after the thief.
Suggested Power: I could think of a gamebreaking one- creates bubbles/spheres of kinetic energy, but I think I'll let you take a shot at it.
Aptitudes: Protectiveness, Brave/Stubborn. (Not sure on bonuses here- do your thing.)
Weaknesses: Hand-to hand combat, Guns, Not very strong. (Same as Aptitudes- help me out, please.)
Quirks: Chivalrous
Why He Was Not Chosen: Again, too sparse and generic. It doesn't help that I only just noticed the lack of data in the Aptitudes, Weaknesses, and Quirks. My fault for not noticing, but at this point there's not much I can do.
Spoiler: Harbinger (click to show/hide)
Challenge met.
Name: Kurt
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Description: Most frequently appears 12-13, medium height, thin build, fit, tanned.
Personality: Somewhat reckless, physically active, prone to gluttony.
Background: Grew up with little parental attention, so spent most of his time running around, swimming, and exploring. Had several siblings, some he got on well with others not so well.
Trigger Event: Went exploring in a local dump/landfill area/whatever, ignoring warning signs. Younger brother and sister followed him, despite protest from older sister and twin brother who did not follow. All three exposed to lethal radiation from improperly-disposed-of waste. Siblings did not survive.
Suggested Power: At-will reset of physical body to pre-irradiated state.
Aptitudes: +5: Fitness. +3: Running, unarmed combat. +1: jumping, climbing, swimming.
Weaknesses: -3: Interior decorating (kidding, kidding. Driving). -1: Writing, dirst aid/medicine in general.
Quirks: Nightmares of dying siblings. Hates being in authority.
Reason He Was Not Chosen: A bit generic, sadly. In addition, why would there be lethally-radioactive garbage in a dump or landfill? You would have to be actively trying (and likely already powered, to get past security) to get a lethal dose of radiation in a nuclear power plant.
I feel like making a joke based on his username, but sadly that would cause spoilers.
Spoiler: Scood (click to show/hide)
Name: Kevin Stringer
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Description: A 5’11’’ tall man with short black hair that is jelled into a small fohawk a relatively long face with hazel eyes, a nose with a small round tip and a slight downward arch with a mouth that has a thin upper lip, and a jaw that is only pronounced because of a very particular way he shaves his face to give the illusion. He’s not particularly muscular and you might even say he has some fat on him even if he isn’t overweight.
Personality: very intelligent, pessimistic, and closed off. Can be condescending.
Background: Kevin had a small metaphorical box. He had his breakfast lunch and dinner at precisely the same time every day and read books whenever he wasn’t working on schoolwork. When he ran out of story books he browsed through old college textbooks. being as young as he was, He usually flipped through until he saw a picture that caught his interest. At which point he would proceed to read a good majority of the information pertaining to that image. It came at a cost of social interaction. He made few friends. he didn’t understand why at the time. When his eyes were weary of deciphering various texts he went to bed. He did this everyday while vehemently resisting any temptation or coercion to do anything else. It was a shell of sorts. A safe, well explored, territory. That is until his box started to fall at the age of 11. His father went missing and 2 years later his older sister confided to him that she was a parahuman at around the same time his mother went insane. His sister had to fight to legally become his guardian due to suspicions of her involvement in the peculiar happenstances of their parents. It was eventually successful and Kevin started to live with his sister. A month later his best friend moved away. His sister had a tinker/thinker power that was well suited for artistry. her creations had appearances, holographic light patterns, and caused psychic sounds that changed based on who was observing them. No one had quite the same experience with her work. People who owned these pieces usually had others that envied them. Thus her creations were in high demand. Some time later she gave him a device in the rough shape of a handgun. The grip was a smooth transparent crystal. There were complex structures that were etched into the surface that framed non-repetitive fractals within. It had ribbon like glass that extended the butt of the weapon there was a wing-like brace for his had to slip through. The rest changed shape as he tried to move it around in his hand. It was jagged from one view, blocky in another, Took the form of a bird in a third but was generally recognised as the barrel. After messing with some of the thinner extrusion he noted it was surprisingly durable for something that looked so fragile, also a bit too girly for his taste. When asked if it does what he thought it did she responded with a no and was just about to explain it’s functions when she was interrupted by the doorbell. They had called for pizza earlier. It wasn’t the pizza guy and kevin had left the device in the other room.
Trigger Event: He was forced to watch his sister impulsively tear her flesh from her bone at the hands of a master class villain and then once all the flesh had been picked clean had to defend himself against the bones of his sister. He sometimes has nightmares about it.
side note: The gun shoots a white beam with dancing colored ribbon and sparks extending from the edges. The beam makes a low thrumming sound that resonates with the voice of anyone speaking it’s an odd feeling for the speaker. The beam has no affect on inanimate objects or animals. He has not used it on a human.
Suggested Power: I’ll let you decide what the power is.Makes it more true to the worm series. I expect it to have some similarity with his sister but isn’t really a rule as it is a guideline.
Aptitudes: observation +5 , sleight of hand +3, bluff +3, first-aid+1, dodge+1, melee +1
Weaknesses: negotiation -3, marksmanship -1 , sneak -1
Quirks: berserk button on master capes with capability of controlling humans.
Slight PTSD-like symptoms.
setting: option 2 at around the same time of the bank heist in cannon. The city should be Los Angeles or something I actually don't care where.
Why He Was Not Chosen: There are a couple of considerations against Kevin. Firstly, there is that darn...whatever it is. (I remember the details and all, but still.) Second is the sheer number of potential applications, which far exceeded my expectations. Overall, I just don’t think that this is in the better half. It’s not bad, but it’s not best either.
Scenario Table:
| User | Scenario | Suboption |
| dermonster | 2 | One year before Skitter makes her debut |
| (Doomblade187) | 3* | Significant differences between universes |
| Empiricist | 1 | LA |
| (Harbingerjm) | 1 | Fictional city and perhaps nation |
| MrVoid | 1 or 2 | If 2, set in the 90s or so, alongside the first parahumans |
| RangerCado | 2? | None |
| (Scood) | 2 | LA, around the time of the Heist |
| Unholy_Pariah | 1 or3 | None |
| wolfchild | 1 | Not America |
For the specifics: Not easy. One player and waitlister for LA, one player and one waitlister directly against that, nothing like a consensus on timing...let's think about that. I'd appreciate all six players to weigh in on time and place.