RolePlay onLine RPoL Logo

, welcome to 'With Great Power...' Marvel Universe Masks

00:08, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight.

Posted by MetaFor group 0
Basaq
player, 14 posts
Tue 18 May 2021
at 09:07
  • msg #21

Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

Ghost-Spider
Hey, you might as well be the person Kanika told about her doom--her utter fear of losing herself if she pushes herself too hard...
Ghost-Spider
player, 23 posts
Tue 18 May 2021
at 18:18
  • msg #22

Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

Gwen is an eerily perfect person for that considering how many dimensions she's dead in.  Sounds good to me.
Basaq
player, 19 posts
Wed 19 May 2021
at 07:00
  • msg #23

Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

Does having this relationship mean we'd be on the same team.  Because, yeah, while I totally see Basaq looking to Ghost-Spider for leadership and support, having two spider-theme girls on the same regular team-slate feels a little like overkill.

I kinda feel that having two spider-themed girls on the same regular team is overkill.    In fact, There's also a lot of fast, tough, strong fighter types in this game.   I'm thinking maybe I should explore other options.

There is a pretty skewwed ratio of 3 girls for every guy in this game, so I'm wondering if It might suit things better for me to pursue a male character of some sort.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:05, Wed 19 May 2021.
Ricochet
player, 78 posts
Sasha Struck, age 16
The Bull
Wed 19 May 2021
at 09:06
  • msg #24

Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

It wouldn't really work to have a Relationship with someone who isn't on your team, since those bonds are supposed to be key to interaction and the ebb and flow of Influence. Speaking of, it'd be good practice for Ghost-Spider to have Harry Osborn as an NPC she has a relationship with, and fill the Relationship slot with another PC on her team.
Basaq
player, 20 posts
Wed 19 May 2021
at 09:35
  • msg #25

Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

I thought the relationship flags were supposed to be with other PCs.  Having it with a NPC kinda defeats the whole ebb and flow thing, doesn't it?

Mind you, that's mechanics.  I can't imagine that there's anything preventing or discouraging a character from having relationships outside of mechanics?  So, what happens if Basaq confides about her doom to Ghost-SPider--who's not on her team?  It doesn't make a difference?  So, by inference, then...  Basaq can tell anyone, so long as they're not her team-mates, and it won't have any appreciable impact on mechanics.  That seems really weird to me.

No, I'm not trying to be an asshole.  I'm trying to figure out the boundaries of the mechanics.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:01, Wed 19 May 2021.
Ghost-Spider
player, 26 posts
Wed 19 May 2021
at 13:16
  • msg #26

Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

In the specific example Ricochet gave it would involve a (probable) villain npc for my relationship, which keeps the story exciting probably.

I think Basaq and Gwen are different enough to be on the same team.  Figuring out teams is going to be tough with this many players, must be overwhelming for the GM.

An NPC with an established relationship with a character should be welcome as it helps with story hooks - my experience with that is from other RPGs but it can't be that different in Masks right?
This message was last edited by the player at 13:20, Wed 19 May 2021.
Ricochet
player, 81 posts
Sasha Struck, age 16
The Bull
Wed 19 May 2021
at 18:20
  • msg #27

Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

Like I said, I don't mean we shouldn't have relationships to NPCs. We absolutely should, and should write them down somewhere visible to the GM so they can come into play. I wrote mine down on my character sheet. We can have as many relationships as we want, and more is definitely better. What I mean is that the Relationships, capital R, are a game mechanic intended to tie PCs together.

Now, we can also have as many Relationships as we want, and the ones listed in our playbooks are examples rather than hard requirements or limits, just like our Abilities. And just like everything else in the playbook, they're written to lean towards the playbook's archetype.

Again, it's less a restriction and more a means of creating stronger bonds between the heroes.
Basaq
player, 21 posts
Wed 19 May 2021
at 19:15
  • msg #28

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

I"m saying "oh look, another acrobatic, trong fighter girl."   Meh.


As cool as Basaq is, I didn't look too closely at what all other characters were on-board here.  I think I'm probably better off exploring other options.

I think we're in need of a male character.  And another energy manipulator.

Hm.  Oh!  A young Peter Wisdom!  That could be fun!
Meta
GM, 54 posts
"We look...at the things
which are not seen..."
Wed 19 May 2021
at 19:35
  • msg #29

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

If you need a character name change, just let us know...  :)
Ricochet
player, 82 posts
Sasha Struck, age 16
The Bull
Wed 19 May 2021
at 19:36
  • msg #30

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

Ah, yeah. I was more addressing Gwen, but you're right about there being a lot of overlap, even ignoring playbooks.

Personally, I'm still super interested in your Chimera idea.
Meta
GM, 55 posts
"We look...at the things
which are not seen..."
Wed 19 May 2021
at 19:48
  • msg #31

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Basaq

Did you say "super" interested???  * rim shot * ;)
Midnight
player, 22 posts
Thu 20 May 2021
at 03:07
  • msg #32

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

All right, here's a start on the Chimera concept.

Mike Petrovna / Midnight

Mikhail Petrovna is the son of Laynia Petrovna (Darkstar), born when Layna was working for X-Corporation in Los Angeles.  Michael manifested his powers at puberty.  He'd always been a precocious child with a vivid imagination, sometimes talking with his "imaginary friend" for minutes at a time.  He got over that after a few too many scoldings or strange looks from adults.   But secretly, he continued to have long exchanges with Mila.  She often provided insight in the form of "shared secrets" from her nightly sojourns when he was asleep....

Mike can manipulate shadows (but they must exist--he cannot create them), and can create constructs of a certain size and volume (to be determined).  He can cast his senses to any existing shadows within his visual ranger.  He can cloak himself in shadows.  By surrendering to his "little sister", his dead chimeric twin, he can travel between shadows.  But she determines what she relays to him when she returns...

I'm interested in exploring the unknown-father issue.  If Laynia is dead, then the whole adoption issues holds some interest to me too, but I"m not sure that'll work with the Legacy playbook.  I"m not married to the playbook, but it did support the shadow-control thing...

Obviously, we'd need to work out who Laynia is in this reality, who the other members of the Darkforce Legacy are... (Cloak & Shroud are mentioned in Laynia's wiki entry at: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki..._Petrovna_(Earth-616) )  But I'm not against adding in others.  There aren't that many shadow-manipulators in the Marvel Universe, apparently.



Name: Michael Petrovna
Codename: Midnight?
Playbook: Legacy
Look: male, darker-skinned, comfortable clothing, functional costume, no insignia
Powers:
Shadow control constructs, shadow cloak stealth, shadow senses,
"Mila" can shadow-portal...
Labels: Danger -1, Freak +0, Mundane +1, Savior +2, Superior +0/+1
Conditions: [_] Afraid, [_] Angry, [_] Guilty, [_] Hopeless, [_] Insecure

BackStory:
Working on all of it...
When did you officially become a part of your legacy?
What’s the greatest accomplishment of your legacy?
How does the public perceive your legacy?
How does your legacy tie into your reasons for being a hero?
Why do you care about the team?

When the Team First Came Together... all things considered, we did well and impressed an established hero: TO BE DETERMINED

Relationships
You once got caught doing something with TO BE DETERMINED, that shames your legacy.
You trust TO BE DETERMINED and told them an important secret of your legacy

I have no idea what Darkstar's legacy would be, nor what secrets it might hold...  so, that's something to work on...

This message was last edited by the GM at 03:07, Thu 20 May 2021.
Counterforce
player, 63 posts
Svetlana Kragova, 15
The Brain
Thu 20 May 2021
at 05:34
  • msg #33

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

I was going to nitpick about the surname "Petrovna" (which is a feminine patronym/middle name in most cases), but technically surnames like that are not totally unheard of. When a masculine patronym (e.g. Petrovich) becomes a surname, it is kept unchanged for both genders (as opposed to a more typical Russian surname being, say, Kragov/Kragova depending on the gender). I suppose that rule might apply for a feminine patronym that was turned into a surname too? Can't find anything one way or another.

In other words, the name looked weird to me as a native speaker at first, but it may actually be fine. Feel free to disregard that. :)

And I suppose it is significant in that the father is unknown, so she had no real choice but to give him her surname.

Very interesting, though. One thing that confuses me - he can travel between shadows, but the sister is in charge during those journeys and determines what he sees?
Ricochet
player, 83 posts
Sasha Struck, age 16
The Bull
Thu 20 May 2021
at 06:04
  • msg #34

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

It kinda sounds like this is a Rick Jones/Captain Marvel switching situation, which is awesome and I don't think we've seen enough of. Is that what we're looking at?
Midnight
player, 23 posts
Thu 20 May 2021
at 19:20
  • msg #35

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

Thank-you both for the commentary.  It's really helping.


Ricochet
I had to look this up, as I kinda lost track of Rick Jones after he started teaming up with Captain America.  But i get the reference now.

I'd envisioned her as a projection that only manifested when Michael was asleep... But perhaps this "taking over the physical body" is a new thing...  Oh, yeah.  That has a lot of fun story-potential... especially if they have very different personalities and tastes...   I like that.


Hm. I think maybe I'll switch off to the Protege playbook.  That would move Laynia from mother to mentor. I like a lot of the actions, and it seems to embody more of the story I can envision for Mike.



Counterforce:
Actually... I think I'm going to switch playbooks to protege, so I don't need to force the familial link to Laynia.  She's his mentor, not his mother.  And that allows me to go with a more middle-eastern ethnicity which is my current base preference.

So... Michael Khayyam, protege to Laynia Petrovna (Darkstar).


Michael does not have conscious control over shadow-walking (nor is he yet aware he can do so).   But Mila, his chimeric twin, has used this power since his early childhood.

What his sister does with his body - and how that looks - isn't yet defined.  I'm currently envisioning her as a shadow-form, separate and distinct from his body (so, an extension of his "constructs"), but only able to manifest when he's not conscious.  Her moving between shadows is in addition to the powers that Michael has access to.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 19:44, Thu 20 May 2021.
Midnight
player, 24 posts
Thu 20 May 2021
at 19:40
  • msg #36

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

Midnight as a Protege, not Legacy

Michael Khayyam / Midnight
Michael manifested his powers at puberty.  He'd always been a precocious child with a vivid imagination, sometimes talking with his "imaginary friend" for minutes at a time.  He got over that after a few too many scoldings or strange looks from adults.   But secretly, he continued to have long exchanges with Mila, his "little sister", who was sometimes more real to him that reality..  She often provided insight in the form of "shared secrets" from her nightly sojourns when he was asleep....

<Orange>Mike can manipulate shadows (but they must exist--he cannot create them), and can create constructs of a certain size and volume (to be determined) from those shadows.  He can cast his senses to any existing shadows within his visual ranger.  He can cloak himself in shadows and he can "scry" through shadows (there are limits)...

When Mike is unconscious, Mila may come out to play... she can do everything Mike can, but she can also shadow-walk, cast herself between shadows (but they have to be within visual range of each other).  If the shadows she is in disappears, she discorporates and her consciousness returns to Mike's body "housing".  Recently, Mila has also taken physical control of Mike's body when he's asleep...

Name: Michael Khayyam
Codename: Midnight
Playbook: Protege
Look: male, darker-skinned, comfortable clothing, functional costume, no insignia
Powers:
  • Shared Abilities: Shadow constructs, shadow cloak stealth, shadow senses
  • My Abilities: Shadow-teleport (as Mila), Shadow-scry (far-sight via shadows)
  • Mentor's abilities: Shadow-teleport, Shadow-force-bolt, flight

Labels: Danger -1, Freak +0, Mundane +0, Savior +2, Superior +2
Mentor:  Embody Savior, Deny Danger
Conditions: [_] Afraid, [_] Angry, [_] Guilty, [_] Hopeless, [_] Insecure

BackStory:
When and why did you choose to train with them?
Simple, actually...  Michael wrote to her, sought out someone with similar powers to help him learn.  He'd always intended to help others, and this just seemed a logical step.  His (single) mother was perhaps apprehensive, but after a few incidents when it became clear that he was going to pursue the life of a costumed vigilante, whether she approved or not, she reluctantly support him.

How did you first meet your mentor?
It took an enormous letter-writing campaign to finally catch Laynia's attention.  Ironically, it ended up being that Michael helped to stop a cell of a human trafficking ring...  he did most of the leg-work and investigation then passed the information on to his local authorities, but further investigation showed that some of those being trafficked were mutants... and that allowed justification to call in some of the big guns.  His exposure and levelheadedness finally got him the interview and agreement to train with Laynia.

Why did they agree to train you?
He showed promise, he seemed to be honest and they actually hit it off.

Who else, outside of the team, knows about your training?
Working on it...

Why do you care about the team?
It's a natural progression.  And these people are going to be his peers, the people he'll work beside, fight with and against and--most likely--build a family with.

When the Team First Came Together...
We stuck together after all was said and done. Why? How’d we keep in contact?
TO BE DETERMINED

Relationships
You and TO BE DETERMINED teamed up a few times before the rest of you came together.
Your mentor is cautious; they asked you to keep an eye on TO BE DETERMINED.

Mentor Resources
Pick 3: A hidden base, a vehicle, a supercomputer, communicators, surveillance equipment, false identities, badges of authority, a chem lab, a med lab, a teleportal, a weapon of last resort, security systems, simple robots
Will take this to the team...
This message was last edited by the player at 07:39, Sat 22 May 2021.
Midnight
player, 25 posts
Fri 21 May 2021
at 19:26
  • msg #37

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

Laynia's personality:
(from https://www.writeups.org/darks...russian-superhero-2/ )

quote:
Darkstar is a white hat. She’s all about protecting the people, minimising harm and striving toward justice. She’s nice, really.

Notably, she’ll favour non-lethal tactics. She’d rather immobilise people in Darkforce bonds, or disable their weapons, or throw them into nearby cold water to take the fight out of them. If she uses blasts, these’ll normally be concussive ones.

... Darkstar always appreciates being able to do quiet, simple, comfortable things. Such as getting good food, or — especially — catching up with books she’s been meaning to read.  She also seems fond of art museums...



So that seems to supports the Embody Savior, Deny Danger approaches.
Ricochet
player, 84 posts
Sasha Struck, age 16
The Bull
Fri 21 May 2021
at 20:23
  • msg #38

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

With a connection to the Darkforce Dimension, it sounds like you might have an excuse to make a connection with Gateway, since he's got connections to Limbo. Not quite the same thing, but spooky dimensions are like right next to each other, right?
The Watcher
GM, 136 posts
Knows All, Sees All
Sun 23 May 2021
at 08:24
  • msg #39

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

Wonderful connection to other characters and Marvel element in general. :-)  You don't need to do anything else for now.
Midnight
player, 36 posts
Sun 13 Jun 2021
at 20:46
  • msg #40

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

Who else, outside of the team, knows about your training?
It's not a real secret.  He's probably done the sidekick thing now and again.  So, Darkstar, obviously, but I imagine any of the folks she associates with regularly.   Mike hasn't gone very far outside of his original city-of-origin (I'm gonna say Chicago) and Los Angeles, where he trains with Laynia.
Octopus
player, 25 posts
Otto Octavius, age 15
The Brain
Wed 16 Jun 2021
at 00:14
  • msg #41

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

Here's a question. How much do the rest of us know about Mila? What's her relationship with the team?

Related but slightly less obviously so, when you say she can shadow walk, do you mean she teleports from one shadow to another and never needs to enter the light, or she can cross from one shadow to another so long as they're touching?

If the latter, I can imagine Otto fiddling with things in the lab and then just mindlessly stretching out an arm to give her a shadow to slide along across the room.

Oh, and the conversation about your Mentor's Resources should probably go here, since the When Our Team Came Together should just have our answers to the Team questions and our Relationships question explicitly wants a single post containing our Influence info.

Midnight:
Mentor Resources
Pick 3: A hidden base, a vehicle, a supercomputer, communicators, surveillance equipment, false identities, badges of authority, a chem lab, a med lab, a teleportal, a weapon of last resort, security systems, simple robots
Will take this to the team...


I'm thinking communicators is an absolute must.

How does a hidden base sound?

And a Supercomputer?  That would probably really play into Octopus' schtick!   I'm all for offloading the boring non-dramatic drudge-work to narrative devices...


And Gwen mentioned simple robots. My big question here is: what does Darkstar have access to that she could give away? All our gear from her would certainly be Darkstar-themed, so the simple robots wouldn't be Otto's designs (yet, but with a little tinkering he could certainly improve on them, yes).

I love communicators. Especially in sci-fi, where we can fiddle with them to do things they aren't supposed to do. Ah, Star Trek, you have prepared me for this moment.

I'm equally excited about supercomputers and cute robots, but after reading up on Darkstar, I get the impression that isn't really her jam.

Which brings me to another question: what is Darkstar's condition in this universe? In 616, she's died twice, turned into a crystal that's been passed across several other wielders while her personality slowly started to present itself, and the spirit of her personality is currently possessing the body of a mutant wraith monster. Wondering what she's about over here, which should give us a better idea as to what resources she has at her disposal.

EDIT: Lastly, my First Came Together question lets me declare an invention I made that benefits the team, so if need be, I can have provided something like the simple robots or surveillance system (or surveillance robots, since that's been Otto's recent thing in 616 until his demise).
This message was last edited by the player at 00:46, Wed 16 June 2021.
Midnight
player, 41 posts
Wed 16 Jun 2021
at 01:44
  • msg #42

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

Here's a question. How much do the rest of us know about Mila? What's her relationship with the team?
I want to play up the idea of Michael's discomfort with her actually being an autonomous entity.  However, I don't see an angle on this where she could be kept a secret and not arouse suspicion or fear or distrust in the team.  So, it's probably better to have her as a known entity, albeit presented as a extension of Michael's powers.

I see Mila as being able to teleport from one shadow to another, but the two shadows have to be within direct linear visual range.  It's probably much less taxing if there's an existing shadow, because... why leap when you can walk?  So, she'd take that arm-shadow.  Mila doesn't talk much.  A lot of creepy sitting and watching, wide-eyed.


Oh, and the conversation about your Mentor's Resources should probably go here, since the When Our Team Came Together should just have our answers to the Team questions and our Relationships question explicitly wants a single post containing our Influence info.
Oh.  I saw the message wanting one-post in the Relationships & Influence thread.  I didn't see that in the When Our Team First came Together thread.  I presumed that was because the GM wanted us to discuss things there.



what does Darkstar have access to that she could give away?
Whatever we want her to.  This is an alternate world, right?  We can give the NPCs whatever background we want to.   In this world, it's possible that Darkstar has continued relations with X-Corporation or the X-franchise.  Or maybe she continues to have backing from Russia?  I just don't feel it matters so much.

The resources she makes available need not be specifically darkness-themed.   It's a reflection of her influence and pull with whatever her backing is.   I kind of doubt her affiliations are going to play a big part of the game.

Darkstar is a white knight, through and through. She's also Intelligent.  With that in mind, I lean towards the supercomputer.  Because these are kids, and they don't have the investigational prowess honed by decades of working in this field.



Which brings me to another question: what is Darkstar's condition in this universe?

I'd rather avoid all the crystal embodiment crap.  That's way too convoluted.   I would see the big divergence in her not being involved in the Weapon XII first mission and therefore NOT being killed by Fantomex.   Ideally, it makes sense ot have her continuing to work with C-Corporation, although having relocated to a US-based branch, if it makes a difference.
Octopus
player, 26 posts
Otto Octavius, age 15
The Brain
Wed 16 Jun 2021
at 02:05
  • msg #43

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

Midnight:
So, it's probably better to have her as a known entity, albeit presented as a extension of Michael's powers.
...
Mila doesn't talk much.  A lot of creepy sitting and watching, wide-eyed.


How does Mila feel about being presented as just part of her brother? And can she talk, or is she only capable of pantomime, like Peter Pan's shadow? Or should I be thinking more like Shadow Sora from Kingdom Hearts, where she's a physical being with matter and presence, but just very shadowy?

Midnight:
I didn't see that in the When Our Team First came Together thread.  I presumed that was because the GM wanted us to discuss things there.


I'm pretty sure that thread is just to answer the When Our Team First Came Together questions, so I'm trying to keep my posts in those threads to just that content and wait for everyone to post their answers the correct order. Easiest to just build on what they provide, improv-style.

Midnight:
Whatever we want her to.  This is an alternate world, right?  We can give the NPCs whatever background we want to.   In this world, it's possible that Darkstar has continued relations with X-Corporation or the X-franchise.  Or maybe she continues to have backing from Russia?  I just don't feel it matters so much.


It could matter a lot, depending on how much the GM wants that perfectly dangling opportunity to have an adult use their Influence on us. :P Even though you may not be on the same team as Counterforce, we're part of the same school, and Darkstar's time with Russian super teams could make a great connection and possibly foil to Counterforce's origins. Could be something to talk about outside of designated superheroing hours.

Midnight:
The resources she makes available need not be specifically darkness-themed.   It's a reflection of her influence and pull with whatever her backing is.   I kind of doubt her affiliations are going to play a big part of the game.


However her resources are presented should be at least present as a potential hook for later. If X-Corporation wants to keep an eye on us and is using those devices to do it, or suddenly something happens to Darkstar and her gifts are the only link we have to find her, that could give us entire adventures to springboard off of.

Not to mention the potential for doing weird stuff with the tech. There's a huge difference between getting stuff from Tony Stark vs getting stuff from Professor Xavier's Shi'ar girlfriend (as opposed to his Scottish girlfriend, who has even different cool tech). If I'm gonna be playing the team's tinkerer, these are things I gotta know for when I post my thought bubbles to tell you what I'm doing as I'm doing it. :D

Midnight:
Darkstar is a white knight, through and through. She's also Intelligent.  With that in mind, I lean towards the supercomputer.  Because these are kids, and they don't have the investigational prowess honed by decades of working in this field.


Beautiful! I promise not to mess with the safe search filters unless I want to.
Midnight
player, 42 posts
Wed 16 Jun 2021
at 03:13
  • msg #44

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

I'm not familiar with Kingdom Hearts.   Yes, Mila can talk.  She has the same vocabulary and intelligence level as Michael. What she has that's different is a physical body made up of congealed shadows.  She's an egregore or a tulpa modelled with shadows.    So, she may be autonomous, but she is an extension of her brother.   If Michael dies, she dies.

If he goes unconscious... well, that's where things get questionable...  because she initially manifested when he was asleep.  In fact, I think that still makes sense for remote-viewing and remote-scouting and the like.  If she's out exploring, then he's zonked out.

I'm pretty sure that thread is just to answer the When Our Team First Came Together questions,
Once again, I didn't see a direction to do or to not do.

If I'm gonna be playing the team's tinkerer, these are things I gotta know for when I post my thought bubbles to tell you what I'm doing as I'm doing it. :D
It's just not interesting to me.  If it matters to you, then feel free to make it up.  But Laynia isn't a disembodied set of powers shoved into a crystal and parceled out to everyone else because the powers are cool,  but the authors wanted a different personality.   As far as I'm concerned, beyond the white-knight syndrome, DarkStar available as a blank slate.
The Watcher
GM, 226 posts
Knows All, Sees All
Thu 17 Jun 2021
at 07:27
  • msg #45

Re: Character Creation Thread - jait: Midnight

I'm enjoying this discussion and I am hoping to eventually try and contribute.  As long as you  are debating, the game is moving forward (even if it doesn't always seem like it). :-)
Sign In