[OOC] MnM 3e - The First Generation, one-shot

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Sakuro
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by Sakuro »

Grappling hooks and smoke bombs are fine. Tricked out vehicle … that depends. Nothing extreme. Bear in mind as well that the city is under martial law, by an occupying force. A literal army. Overt batmaning will get a coordinated response from an elite hostile force with pervasive security systems throughout the city. Carrying weapons or suspicious items will get you in serious trouble. Driving around in the bat mobile or an armored car is not happening. There are patrols nearly everywhere. Checkpoints are present throughout the city that would inspect the vehicle and confiscated post-modern tech drones fly overhead regularly. Your character would also need to have the Skills to backup any modifications they made to the vehicle.
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CaptainChaos
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by CaptainChaos »

Ok, just wondering. So obvious weapons will not work like swords, crossbows, etc. I have a couple of ideas in mind so I'll see which one works best for the setting.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by mrdent12 »

I gave Mel some obvious weapons, but it doesn't mean she'll be carrying them around outside of the sewers.

I am not sure of it's state at this time frame of the setting, but there is a city under the surface and sewers where Stronghold probably doesn't have a presence called the Undercity where th city under Imperator built down. Under there carrying swords or even battle axes you could probably get away with.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by pathfinderq1 »

I'm probably interested as well- it would be good to get in on the ground floor of this one.

Russell covers at least some of my initial ideas though- I'll have to see what else I can come up with.

Possibly a combat specialist (in training)- qualified with all the ultra-tech goodies but making do without. Basically a junior version of Alexandria (Reaper) from the first game.

Possibly a budding social engineer, who was trained to be an Ambassador of sorts once Imperator's vision was released to (or inflicted on) the outer world. Will have to see how melonLord's face character shapes up to make sure there isn't too much competition.

Possibly an intrusion specialist- more of a cat burglar than a shock trooper and trained to work with the best tech (though again, she no longer has it- just the training to use it if we "acquire" it). Not primarily a saboteur or fighter like Mel is- in this case if she is noticed at all, she has made a mistake. Could also downplay the physical intrusion aspect and go for social/deception focus. (the difference between a cinematic ninja and a more historically realistic one).

The last two are not intended as combat-primary, but would certainly be more capable than Peter or Dr. Kripke were- the intent would be to focus on soft styles and concealable weapons.

Anyway, will ruminate for a bit.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by Sakuro »

PathFinder, I like all of those ideas you've voiced and appreciate that concepts share by others are taken into account. Some overlap is ok, though if that occurs people will need to negoatiate how they can stand apart and be different enough. It is alright to have a character that is not primarily designed for combat. Combat is not going to be constantly forced on the PCs, though sometimes it may be unavoidable, and PC actions may trigger violence. The more Skills your group has, the more options they will have for problem solving. The First Generation are meant to have a respectable degree of martial training, such that they can defend themselves, but it by no means needs to be the character's focus.

If you want help brainstorming, or pinning down a concept, you may feel free to do so here. You may also PM me if like.
CaptainChaos wrote:Ok, just wondering. So obvious weapons will not work like swords, crossbows, etc. I have a couple of ideas in mind so I'll see which one works best for the setting.
Having weapons is alright. Carrying them around has a risk. Most often you'll want them stowed away in a cache until you need them.
MrDent wrote:I am not sure of it's state at this time frame of the setting, but there is a city under the surface and sewers where Stronghold probably doesn't have a presence called the Undercity where the city under Imperator built down. Under there carrying swords or even battle axes you could probably get away with.
As MrDent points out, there was some expansion efforts to develop the city underground. It was in progress prior to the war, and the war has affected the Under City as much as the topside. It is a horrible, dangerous, place with sewage and other fowl things leaking into it as well as collapsing tunnels.

At this point people have started migrating down to it to get away from Stronghold's pervasive influence (this includes criminals and mentally unstable people) or have been made homeless and are seeking shelter there. It also isn't nearly as monitored or controlled by Stronghold as the topside is. You could get away with blatantly carrying weapons there, and you may well need them to fend off desperate people trying to take your things. Navigating the Under City is difficult, and will require Expertise Hadron City to do so safely (a Skill check may be required).
Last edited by Sakuro on Fri Sep 13, 2019 8:25 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by mrdent12 »

Mel has more going for her than stealth, so a stealthy cat burglar with some tech skills isn't too much of an overlap. Mel also has the speed, combat proficiency, tactics, and knowledge of the city going for her.

Thinking I might even drop insight a little in favour of more Hadron City expertise
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by melonLord »

Hm. So, it seems that, after the last edits, my character has some overlaps with Russel (most notably in the powers department), but I'm not sure what a better/different direction to take with the powers would look like (can't exactly afford perception-range afflictions or anything like that), or if that level of overlap would be acceptable.

Here's the sheet as it currently is:

EDIT: Made a slight change to her not-really-mind-reading power, hopefully she'll be stepping slightly less on Russel's toes now.

EDIT2: Redid the powers, shifted around some skills and advantages to make room for 3 ranks of Presence, altered the backstory, and made some changes to the Complications.

EDIT3: Changed the Quirk on Encourage, specified the rank of Precise Attack taken.
Intro:

In a way, the human mind was a little like one of those interlocking puzzle-cubes they used to sell in the toy stores. From the outside it looked dense and complex and impenetrable, sure. But say the right words in the right way in the right order, and suddenly it popped right apart, easy as can be. Pieces scattered everywhere in a big jumbled mess, secrets and dreams and desires splayed out for all to see. And, well, once you'd done that, you didn't have to put it back together as a boring old puzzle cube again, did you? You could put it back together in whatever shape you wanted.

That was how Maryanne Fairweather saw it, anyway.

From a young age, she'd had an uncanny ability to read people. Always knowing how to spot a lie (and how to get away with one), always knowing exactly what words the adults wanted to hear, always knowing the precise buttons to press to make you back off, or give her whatever she wanted, or simply break down in tears. This talent was quickly noticed when she began her formal education, and she was moved to the special training track for the Dreaming; the special program used to rehabilitate those unfortunate souls who had strayed too far from Imperator's grand vision. After all, Hadron City didn't believe in carceral punishment. Even if a puzzle cube was broken and twisted and wrong, it wasn't right to just throw it in a dungeon somewhere to rot; instead, you took it apart, and rebuilt it into a better, happier, more perfect shape.

And so Maryanne began to train. There was the physical and combat training, of course (and she was quite an excellent shot), but the real meat of her education was mental. Learning advanced psychology, memorizing every in and out and nook and cranny of the human brain, honing her already-gifted senses to recognize and read the slightest facial tic or twitch. Working tirelessly towards a promising future role as a Dreaming controller, reshaping minds in service of Imperator's shining future. Or, that was what they sold to her anyway. In all honesty, Maryanne didn't care much about that part. To her, it was just...fun. Fun to see all the different ways someone could break apart and get put back together again, fun to have that kind of power over someone else's whole life and identity.

When the war started, Maryanne didn't have much choice but to flee; she was by no means a fighter. For weeks she simply hid and scrambled to survive in this suddenly-broken world, scavenging or pleading or lying for supplies wherever she could. Cultivating allies and little networks here and there among the survivors. Waiting. Watching. Her world was broken now, sure; but that just meant there was an opportunity to put it back together again, even better.
Maryanne Fairweather, PL7, 110pp

Abilities {28pp}:

STR: 0 STA: 2 AGI: 0 DEX: 0
FGT: 0 INT: 3 AWE: 6 PRE: 3

Defenses {20pp}:


Dodge:
7 (+7)
Parry: 7 (+7)
Toughness: (+6)
Fortitude: 2 (+4)
Will: 4 (+10)

Skills {29pp}: Deception 12 (+15), Expertise (Psychology) 5 (+8), Expertise (Psychiatry) 5 (+8) Insight 6 (+12), Intimidation 8 (+11), Perception 3 (+9), Persuasion 12 (+15), Ranged Combat (Pistols) 5 (+5)

Advantages {29pp}: Attractive, Assessment, Connected, Close Attack 5, Equipment 3, Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved Aim, Improved Critical 1 (Pistol), Improved Initiative 1, Leadership, Precise Attack 1 (Ranged Cover), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Redirect, Set-Up 2, Skill Mastery (Deception), Teamwork, Ultimate Effort (Deception)

Powers {5pp}:

Manipulation Array{3pp Base Effect + 1AE = 4pp}

-Disconcert: Affliction 6 [Vulnerable+Impaired, Defenseless+Disabled, resisted/overcome by Will](Extra Condition, Increased Range 2, Limited Degree, Sense-Dependent [Auditory], Distracting, Instant Recovery) {3/3pp}
-Unsettle: Weaken 6 [Awareness] (Increased Range 2, Insidious, Sense-Dependent [Auditory], Limit [must be able to very closely read target's facial expressions], Limit 2 [requires at least a minute of conversation], {3/3pp}

Encourage: Enhanced Advantage [Inspire 2] (Quirk: recipients of bonus must be able to hear her and be within relatively close proximity)

Offense:
Initiative +4
+5 Close, +5 Ranged
Light Pistol: +10, DC18 Damage

Equipment:

Kevlar Vest: Protection 4 {4ep}

Smartphone: Computer/Phone, GPS {3ep+2AE}
-Video Camera {2/3ep}
-Flashlight {1/3ep}

Light Pistol:
Ranged Damage 3 {6ep}

Abilities {28pp}+Defenses {20pp}+Skills{29pp}+Advantages{29pp}+Powers{5pp}=110pp
Complications:

Power (Motivation) - Whether it takes months, years, or decades, Imperator's visionary order will return and triumph; of that much, Maryanne is absolutely certain. And when it does, well, she sees no reason she shouldn't be a bit closer to the top of it.

You weren't supposed to do that (Temper/Quirk)
- Maryanne is quite comfortably used to being able to read and predict the behaviors and emotions of those around her with eerie accuracy, and in being able to reliably coerce them into doing whatever she wants done. So when someone behaves erratically, against what she thought she knew of them and the plan she had in mind for them, Maryanne tends to react...poorly, losing her grip on the situation or simply mentally breaking down entirely.

Functional Psychopathy (Disability/Quirk) - Maryanne has always tended to see those around her as tools, obstacles or playthings; and her training certainly did little to discourage or help with that. (If anything, it was quite effective in quashing what little empathy she did have.) So, though she can form alliances where advantageous and has a keen understanding of human minds and emotions, she has difficulty actually empathizing with others and forming genuine relationships (or even a genuine personality).

Please, Not the Glasses (Disability) - Maryanne is quite nearsighted, and wears glasses to offset that. If they are lost or damaged, she will be left practically unable to see more than a foot or so in front of her.

Arrogance (Quirk) - Maryanne has a quite high opinion of herself and her abilities, leading her to sometimes underestimate enemies or assume that talk will be able to get her out of a situation that it really can't.
Physical/Personality description:

Age 17. Relatively short, with curly, bright red hair, blue eyes, and square-rimmed glasses. A gifted social chameleon with a frightening awareness of others' moods, Maryanne can change attitude and mannerisms on a dime, going from warm and casual to icily serious depending on the situation. She tends to default to saccharine, polite, and outgoing, however. She's also a ruthless schemer and pragmatist, with little interest in people she doesn't see as useful, or in situations she cannot bend to her advantage (or, at least, entertainment). Maryanne is a skilled manipulator (and seems to derive a quite disturbing amount of pleasure from toying with others' emotions and thoughts), with ordinarily pitch-perfect control over her reactions and emotions, but she can lose control and lash out cruelly when previously reliable plans and people begin to fall apart.

Her natural inclination is to try and stop a fight before it begins, finding some way to defuse the conflict and turn the situation to her advantage before it can escalate. If forced into combat, she attempts to stay more-or-less out of the way, providing support to allies and attempting to disrupt, demoralize or turn her enemies against each other, prioritizing her own well-being above almost all else. She may attempt to deescalate, but once it is clear they are no longer interested in talking, she is utterly ruthless in systematically and permanently eliminating any possible threat.

"Power" Descriptions:


Disconcert: With just a handful of well-placed phrases, Maryanne can temporarily shake or disturb an opponent, causing a critical moment of hesitation and confusion.

Unsettle: It requires a slightly longer conversation and careful observation of their reactions, but Maryanne can undermine and break down someone's confidence and grip on reality, often without them even realizing that it's happening.

Encourage: Maryanne can bolster her allies, using just the right words to instill confidence and give them a slight boost in ability.
Last edited by melonLord on Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:45 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Sakuro
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by Sakuro »

Maryanne has a pretty sinister mean-girl-that's-not-a-mean-girl-on-the-surface vibe that I like. Something like this can be difficult to pull off, but I'd be up for seeing the attempt. This is the kind of character I might nudge a player over PMs to reign certain actions in. Or use to help steer the group, if they take on a leadership role.
MelonLord wrote: After all, Hadron City didn't believe in carceral punishment. Even if a puzzle cube was broken and twisted and wrong, it wasn't right to just throw it in a dungeon somewhere to rot; instead, you took it apart, and rebuilt it into a better, happier, more perfect shape.
You aren't far off. There were no prisons. There was a rehabilitation system that involved spending a day in a dream-like state which allowed a subject to experience a lifetime of rehabilitation efforts. If this didn't bear fruit, and the person had not reformed, they disappearred never to be seen again. The social engineering you describe is in effect what takes place, only over a very short amount of time.

Concerning your comments about emotion control style Afflictions, you could work in Flaws that require social interaction, close proximity (effectively "Close Range Perception"), and the allowance of more options for checks. Such as some of the social resistances (Insight and Deception) in addition to Will. You could also require a Skill check, DC 10+ the rank of your effect, in order to use it effectively. These are spit-balled ideas. Not something I've crunched out. If you want help designing something, let me know.

- Given Maryanne is built around manipulating people, and has a significant focus on social Skills, she should have some good Presence. You can easily pull points away from Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion for this. You should be able to work it so their ranks are not affected negatively.
- Maryanne's Mind Reading would need to be capped at 7. Any Perception range Effect will also be capped at 7.
- Immunity to Interaction Skills is 5 PP, however with the Half Effect and Quick the end cost is still 2 PP.
- Be careful with the Temper and other emotional/mental defects that cause conflict in a group environment. These things can have a negative effect on a game if not handled well.


Flynnarrel and MelonLord, if both of your characters are accepted you may want to discuss how important Mind Reading is to your characters and whether you feel both characters having it is going to take something important from your role in the group.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by melonLord »

Sakuro wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 11:42 pm Maryanne has a pretty sinister mean-girl-that's-not-a-mean-girl-on-the-surface vibe that I like. Something like this can be difficult to pull off, but I'd be up for seeing the attempt. This is the kind of character I might nudge a player over PMs to reign certain actions in. Or use to help steer the group, if they take on a leadership role.
Ah, thank you! That was the idea, yeah. And I'm definitely fine with being corrected/reigned in if I'm accepted, I've never attempted to play a character quite like this before and I don't want to accidentally make it a bad/uncomfortable experience for anyone, or end up taking too much control of the story. (She's certainly arrogant enough to think she's the leader and everything's under her control, but that may or may not accurately reflect reality. : P )
Sakuro wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 11:42 pmYou aren't far off. There were no prisons. There was a rehabilitation system that involved spending a day in a dream-like state which allowed a subject to experience a lifetime of rehabilitation efforts. If this didn't bear fruit, and the person had not reformed, they disappearred never to be seen again. The social engineering you describe is in effect what takes place, only over a very short amount of time.
Ah, interesting, I didn't know that. I'll alter her backstory accordingly. Did this system have a name? And was it administered directly by humans (presumably also in an accelerated state of some sort), or was it all simulated? If the latter, I'll probably say she was in training to be one of the people administering the rehabilitation; if the latter, maybe one of the ones helping design/consult for the simulations?
Sakuro wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 11:42 pmConcerning your comments about emotion control style Afflictions, you could work in Flaws that require social interaction, close proximity (effectively "Close Range Perception"), and the allowance of more options for checks. Such as some of the social resistances (Insight and Deception) in addition to Will. You could also require a Skill check, DC 10+ the rank of your effect, in order to use it effectively. These are spit-balled ideas. Not something I've crunched out. If you want help designing something, let me know.
Hm...that is true. My main concern is being able to buy afflictions at a high enough rank to be actually effective on such a tight budget, with perception being +2/rank, but I haven't done the actual number crunching, so I could see stacking up enough flaws to make it work. I'll do some calculating/designing tonight, see what I can come up with.
Sakuro wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 11:42 pm- Given Maryanne is built around manipulating people, and has a significant focus on social Skills, she should have some good Presence. You can easily pull points away from Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion for this. You should be able to work it so their ranks are not affected negatively.
Yeah, the lack of extraordinary Presence was basically meant to represent her social acumen coming much more from hyper-awareness of other's emotional/mental states and being able to calculate the ideal response, rather than actual force of personality or empathy. (Also, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Presence as an Ability.) I see what you're saying though, I should be able to work some in.
Sakuro wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 11:42 pm- Be careful with the Temper and other emotional/mental defects that cause conflict in a group environment. These things can have a negative effect on a game if not handled well.
I see your concern there. The idea is that her pragmatism would keep her well away from conflict with an ally (her first approach to basically anything is diplomacy), but I think I'll reword/rework that Temper complication to make it clear that it's not going to be something that would cause much (if any) in-group strife. Again, definitely tell me if I accidentally cross a line with her if she's accepted.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by Sakuro »

The dream-state rehabilitation was administered by human controllers. Imagine having control over someone's VR experience. However, for the subject the experience might as well be real. It was referred to as the Dreaming. Maryanne can certainly have been groomed to be one of these Dreaming controllers.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by mrdent12 »

I updated Mel a little. Fluff wise, I changed the relationship complication to have Becky in a group home with the rest of her ex-teammates presumed dead but unconfirmed. Also, I added the group cohesion of her former unit as a control method for the group, so that relationship can be used against her.

Build wise, I dropped int by 1 since she is as smart as an average teen. To compensate, I put an extra point into the various expertise skills to make expertise(Hadron city) 10. I also swapped great endurance for skill mastery expertise Hadron City. This is to reflect her wargame experience, her antiStronghold activities into the Undercity, and trips to the surface to check on Becky/raid supplies. While cool, I changed the battle axe for a piece of reinforced rebar treating it as an improvised weapon she had on hand. Save wise, I made her Will and fort both 7 as opposed to 9 and 5 so she is a little less glass canony.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by Sakuro »

Those changes are alright, though I am not going to allow the rebar to break PL limits (Str 2 + 1 Dmg from Rebar + 3 Improvised Weapon = +6 dmg, not 5). A piece of rebar is enough like a baton, club, or tonfa for anyone to get the damage benefit, but for PL capping Mel won't.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by mrdent12 »

Imprivused weapon was only +2 I thought. First rank allowed unarmed bonus to apply to improvised weapon and next two gave damage bonus(coming to str 2 + 1 rebar + 2 improvised for 5). If I read that wrong, it frees up a point. +2 to damage I can sort of see for someone devoted to it, but +3 damage seems more superhuman.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3)

Post by Sakuro »

I had been going off memory when typing up my previous post. Checked the book and you are correct.

For those still working on a character, I will be ending recruitment on Tuesday the 17th.
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Re: MnM 3e - The First Generation, a one-shot (Recruiting 3, ends Tuesday the 17th)

Post by mrdent12 »

No worries, I think they changed it from 2e. Threw me off when making the character too.
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