In the Dojo (O.O.C. Chat - Session Zero)

[Kaerri]

Silanon and Kaerri?
1. Archetype: Nature & Demeanor?
2. Personality (is your PC shy? Dedicated? Loyal? Compassionate? Fearful? Brave? Etc.)?
3. Alignment (as always, no Evil aligned characters)?
4. Species (Human, Mutant Animal, other)?
5. Ethnic heritage (Asian, African-American, Mexican, Mixed race, etc.)?
6. Desired Education Level (I think I would like the dice to play a part here)?
7. Martial Art System (or lack thereof)?

Purr and I have been discussing an extant character of mine from a (literally) different world, who we both think might fit in well. Of course, she'll need to be a different incarnation here. So, new background and all, but generally the same personality. So, let's get to that incarnating...
1 - Chameleon/Conformist
2 - Cautious, quiet, observant, resolute
3 - Unprincipled with Scrupulous leanings
4 - Other (Fox)
5 - Japanese
6 - Maybe the equivalent of high school? I don't want her terribly far behind, but at present I don't know how she'd have gotten much formal schooling.
7 - Ninjitsu

Sherwood, your list looks really good. Do you know which martial system you'd like to go with? I think I'll have to downgrade that 10 BIO-E Tusk option for 5d6 damage tusks; a 10d6 + Elephant Strength hit every Action is just a little too much. I can compromise, though. 7 BIO-E for 4d6 Tusks. =)

Is this before or after the double-dice? Or am I just assuming that's been implemented?

 

[Kaerri]

Perhaps Purr will have a plan for that.

I expect he will

 

[Purr]

One thing that I've noticed is that in After the Bomb not all the Backgrounds come with enough skills to select to be able to get a Martial Art style over Expert. If Raised on the Frontier comes up, it will put a crimp in the Martial Art department.

Not if I allow the character to use up their Secondary Skills and one or two Primary Skills. Even a Feral can have Martial Arts System if they really want one. Easy fix.

 

[Purr]

My Nature will be Survivor, and his Demeanor is Rebel.

=) You appear to be playing a male character (I didn't want to presume even with the picture you found).

 

[Purr]

Is this before or after the double-dice? Or am I just assuming that's been implemented?

Those numbers are before.

 

[Psychie]

Raised on the Frontier only gets two Physical skills to pick from. Their secondary skills are eight Domestic. Every other Background gets more than that.

 

[Psychie]

=) You appear to be playing a male character (I didn't want to presume even with the picture you found).

I am thinking so. I don’t usually, but I wanted to try something different.

 

[Purr]

5 items here; one's just for Psychie.

1. Again I ask, who wants to roll RpN dice and who wants Good ol' Polyhedrons? (Note to self: Psychie answered Polyhedrons.)

2. Concerning Education rolls. This is how this will work. Normally, you get 1 roll and you're stuck with what the percentile dice give you. I'm going to allow each character to roll 3 percentile rolls (3d100). So if you happen to somehow roll between, say, 41-65 all 3 times, you're stuck with the Villagers & Townies result.

3. I'm also adding some Universal Skills courtesy of your family (Native Language: English is one. Literacy: English is another). More may follow. If you wind up with two of the same Skill, you take the higher percentage of the two.

4.

Raised on the Frontier only gets two Physical skills to pick from. Their secondary skills are eight Domestic. Every other Background gets more than that.

Yep! And I would work with that to find 4-5 Skills between those 2 Physical Skills and 8 Domestic. No one who wants a Martial Art System will be denied one - it will just cost more for some and less for others depending on the Dice Gods.

5. Psychie You may have noticed that under species, I've listed "Human, Mutant Animal, other." Your independent choice of a Tiger Mutant Animal brings up another roleplaying doorway you are welcome to enter.

Spoiler: Yokai.

See that "other" I mentioned? You may remember early on that I mentioned yokai as a character creation possibility? Well, it just so happens that there are Tiger yokai in Chinatown. (I must have made these folks up at least 8 years ago; I figure why not play them again here? They're fun!). Your characters will meet them.

You wanted to play something different? Well, yokai are Asian animal spirits often given mortal forms. Kaerri's returning character - a kitsune - is one (and always has been one). There exists a Chinese Tiger yokai family of shoki (the Japanese word for Demon Quellers - Think Rifts Japan). They exist to find and drive out, reform, or outright slay demons and they have been doing this for a long time.

Playing a Tiger yokai means answering to this calling while carrying all of the advantages and disadvantages of being in a family that's been around longer than the Internet, longer than the United States of America, heck, maybe back before Christopher Columbus's time? Theirs is an odd and fun family filled with personalities, expectations, and all manner of possibilities both material and spiritual. Yours would be the next-to-youngest of the bunch.

To play a Tiger Mutant Animal is to enter the world with very few responsibilities, no duties to gods or spirits, and a destiny that you alone must find. To play a Chinese Tiger yokai shoki is to enter the world with a sacred duty to the universe of busting demons, righting wrongs, and following the sacred ways of a heritage that came long, long before you and is needed to continue lest demons and evil miscreants run wild. Oh. And they adore Tiger Claw Kung Fu. And causing trouble when they feel they can get away with it. They are cats after all.

If this sounds interesting, let me know. If not? Your character's destiny is completely your own to decide like most any other Mutant Animal!

One more thing: Please don't feel obligated to do this just because you'll be meeting them in-game.

 

[Kaerri]

1. Again I ask, who wants to roll RpN dice and who wants Good ol' Polyhedrons? (Note to self: Psychie answered Polyhedrons.)

Polyhedrons please!

 

[Sherwood]

Go ahead and roll the bones for me. I’ll take my chances with the real dice and hope for good results.

 

[Psychie]

A question about the yokai. How would this work with us all being a family? It sounds interesting, but I don’t want to over complicate things.

 

[Purr]

A question about the yokai. How would this work with us all being a family? It sounds interesting, but I don’t want to over complicate things.

Oh, that would be giving the story away. Leave such complications to me, your Hyperactive Storyteller. =) I thrive on this sort of thing! Let me give it a shot now.

You're a Family of the Heart, remember? All of the PCs would be such family even if you had humans in your group. I could do this (get ready! This gets deep!).

You have been raised together under the Person Who Rescued You. For now, let's call that mysterious and compassionate person... "Savior."

For those who were Mutant Animals, perhaps you lived as an animal in a cage in a zoo or were captured in the wild by some agency that meant ill for you. Said agency wanted to mistreat you for their own gains. Savior rescued you, perhaps saving your life by way of science. But there was a price to pay - you had to become a Mutant Animal or perish to wounds received by that dastardly agency. But it worked out and you joined the Savior in his/her home.

The yokai like Kaerri's character? Same thing; slightly different circumstances. You were a newly-born yokai (under 20 years of age, new to the material world we call Earth). Somehow, said jerk-face agency found out about you, hunted you down, captured you, mistook you for Mutant Animals, did some tests that nearly took your life for their gain, and you were rescued by the Savior. Then you went to live in the Home of the Savior.

Humans? Same thing; slightly different circumstances. You were kidnapped just because you knew of the existence of Mutant Animals, thought of as an ally to them, mistreated by said kidnappers of (you guessed it) jerk-face agency, who used special mind-altering drugs with very possible permanent side effects that nearly killed you just so they could get that information. You were rescued by the Savior and taken Home.

In all three of these cases, you were taken to the Savior's Home out of the love the Savior had for each of you. You are all "rescues."

Each of you had your lives saved via by special means (Green Ooze for the Mutant Animals, super-rare mystical spells for the yokai, the best science in the 198X world for the humans). When you were revived, you were kind of... reborn. See, each method saved your lives, but rewrote your brains hence the 3 rolls for education.

Your memories, your personalities, your Archetypes, the things that made you essentially who you are remained untouched. The Savior did everything they could to provide you the education that your fragile brains could handle at the time.

Thus were you educated, kept safe from further harm, and given a special home where jerk-face agency would not find you and repeat their evils. But you needed to stay in the Savior's Home. For years. This is because it took years for you to fully recover from what the agency did to you. It took even longer for your developing brains to be rehabilitated from the medical/magical treatments each of you received. Such was the price to continue living.

The humans and Mutant Animals had no one to contact about all of this, but the yokai did. The Savior somehow made contact with them. Each yokai family involved agreed that you must you remain in the Home of the Savior under their protection and guidance until such a time that you were fully developed to go out on your own. The Home of the Savior is a remote place, a secret place, a place where you are free to roam around the grounds without fear. This place is home.

Your characters thus have spent years together. Say, 10 years. You know each other quite well (what you're willing to share). You also know the Savior's staff who does their best to help you. And, of course, the Savior him or herself who acts like a grandparent-like figure in your lives, nurturing you no matter how much you wanted to give up or give in to the terrible rehabilitation that followed your rescue.

Perhaps the yokai in your team are eager to return to their spiritually-given duties. Perhaps the Mutant Animals in your team are ready to see the world at large and chase their own destinies. But all of you are asked - by your savior - to go to Chinatown, San Francisco. Because now you are needed!

You begin the game in the House of the Savior. You are there with your characters when they have fully recovered and rehabilitated - a happy day! You are also here when everything changes for all of you yet again - when you leave your life with the Savior to begin an entirely new life in Chinatown, San Francisco. Now a new family needs you - some of whom have visited the Home of the Savior over the years.

And you? Our gifted and unusual would-be heroes? Well... I imagine you'll need them too. The world is like that. =)

What do you think of that, Gang? Kaerri Psychie Sherwood Silanon

 

[Psychie]

I like the story you are telling here. Consider me interested! Do I need to do anything different with my character creation, or just continue on with my normal routine?

 

[Purr]

I like the story you are telling here. Consider me interested! Do I need to do anything different with my character creation, or just continue on with my normal routine?

Normal routine + remember your duties as a shoki if you choose to go yokai.

Spoiler: Shoki.

Stopping demons comes first for Demon Quellers. If your characters encounter demons, shoki are expected to get involved as best they can without getting themselves or innocents killed. This means if you're 1st level, and you know other shoki, you might look into rumors of demon activity. Upon realizing that activity is waaay out of your league, you report it to those who can take it on. Your job is done. But if you can stop demons, do it with style!

If there are no demons present, hey! Just be a good guy/gal! Put an end to nefarious jerk-face schemes! Help grandma cross the street! Stop evil wherever and whenever you reasonably can! Oh and have fun doing it - life isn't to be taken too seriously when you're a shoki!

Of course, if you choose instead to be a Mutant Animal, then your destiny is entirely your own (like Sherwood's character is). =)

I want to make something clear: none of your characters are or were traumatized/automatically distrustful of humans/etc. This is too often the case in TMNT & Other Strangeness and After the Bomb. I don't like this mechanic and it won't do any good in this game.

One change to my story there I'd like to make - let's say instead your characters' recovery only took a short time. After you recovered, all of you got along well-enough that you decided to stay with the Savior and become a team - to become a force against injustice? So, for years, you've lived a good life!

Together! Even if you're driving each other up the wall or giving each other presents during the holidays, you're a family!

So what to do as a band of would-be heroes? Maybe go after jerk-face agency so that they can't do this to others. That's what you've been doing for years - training with your newfound education, powers, growing pains, etc.. Except you've had no place to really put your abilities to the test. Where to go? What place could you really do some good in?

Maybe... Chinatown! =)

 

[Sherwood]

Either a short stay with Savior or a long one is fine with me. I would just like to know how long we are going to be talking about. Months? Years? I'm cool with both.

I just can't wait for the numbers to get rolled so I can start putting the pieces together.

 

[Purr]

Either a short stay with Savior or a long one is fine with me. I would just like to know how long we are going to be talking about. Months? Years? I'm cool with both.

I just can't wait for the numbers to get rolled so I can start putting the pieces together.

I covered that in the story. =)

I really want to hear back from Silanon first. I want to give him the same time and energy I've given you to make the character he really wants to play long-term. =)

 

[Sherwood]

The way you worded it sounded like it was a question to us, so I was uncertain.

 

[Purr]

The way you worded it sounded like it was a question to us, so I was uncertain.

Years. =)

 

[Sherwood]

Ok. I can work with that for Dumbo's background. Jeez, I really need to come up with a good name for him.

 

[Purr]

One change to my story there I'd like to make - let's say instead your characters' recovery only took a short time. After you recovered, all of you got along well-enough that you decided to stay with the Savior and become a team - to become a force against injustice? So, for years, you've lived a good life!

Together! Even if you're driving each other up the wall or giving each other presents during the holidays, you're a family!

So what to do as a band of would-be heroes?

Do you guys/gals like this idea of deciding years ago to form a group against injustice? That sounds a lot more fun to me than spending years rehabilitating. Instead, you've been training together. Maybe the Savior has an X-Men "Danger Room" (super-powered training ground where you can learn a lot without going public) of sorts?

You've gotten to know how you fight alone and together that way? What do you think?

 

[Purr]

Ok. I can work with that for Dumbo's background. Jeez, I really need to come up with a good name for him.

You'll find it! He's African, right? Maybe something with an African vibe to it?

 

[Sherwood]

If I were a lion, I could go with Mufasa..... lol Or not.

 

[Sherwood]

I'll come up with something suitable, eventually.

 

[Sherwood]

Do you guys/gals like this idea of deciding years ago to form a group against injustice? That sounds a lot more fun to me than spending years rehabilitating. Instead, you've been training together. Maybe the Savior has an X-Men "Danger Room" (super-powered training ground where you can learn a lot without going public) of sorts?

You've gotten to know how you fight alone and together that way? What do you think?

Just don't make me wear any funny-colored tights and we'll be fine.

lol

Yes, I like the idea of us training together like that.

 

[Purr]

I'll come up with something suitable, eventually.

Please, just something original. No more Zukos. No more Tophs. The characters are wonderful, but I am squarely-convinced the creativity is there in each of you to make cool names all your own.

The more you know the character, the easier I bet it'll be. That's what helps me make up names like "Dreamy," "O Mighty Fat Cat," and "Chaska." Lots of knowing and brainstorming. Sooner or later, click! It fits! 8D