Game Description
It begins with a mission of mercy . . .
Terrible human tragedy strikes in the American Northwest. An earthquake centered in the North Cascades razes a wide region in the state of Washington. In the face of aftershocks and mass hardship unseen since the Civil War the government copes with the logistics of a large-scale response. It and millions of victims need warm bodies.
A group of friends from Portland prepares to enter a remote area four days after the quake. Overflights reveal scenes of devastation in an isolated community high in the mountains. Possibly a hundred trapped residents and travelers lack food and shelter in uncertain summer weather. At great personal risk the volunteers must race to reach the survivors before time runs out.
They will come to confront a discovery with far wider consequences than they can imagine.
Premise
You and your friends ages 19-30 make up a club of amateur hikers and mountaineers from Portland, OR. You hang on your wall at least one group excursion to the Cascades mountain range in neighboring Washington. With the rest of the world you play witness to the unfolding crisis particularly in the densely populated counties west of the range (including Seattle). At the City of Portland's plea and after soul-searching debate you find it in yourselves to drop everything and leave your daily lives for a selfless purpose.
With what gear you have on hand you hop on a plane and head for the nearest intact runway to the Wenatchee National Forest in Chelan County. The details of your assignment await. Prior to this you know nothing except
normal conditions in the area and that the current situation assumed from the overall one poses a significant hazard. (Prior to the game paragraphs two and three of the blurb represent player knowledge.) Check your gear and good luck.
Character Creation
Mutants and Masterminds Third Edition. (For newcomers:
SRD.) Rules particular to the game:
I. Power Level 1, maximum 30 points / minimum 15 points. Create a normal everyday civilian who happens to be a competent amateur hiker/mountaineer. You begin the story as a . . . normal everyday civilian.
II. Power Level 8, 105 points
including the points from PL 1. With the PL 1 PC as your base add superhuman abilities. Don't change your PL 1 scores for INT and PRE and total scores (ranks + ability) for Skills modified by these two abilities. Needless to say no one buys similar Skills at this stage and no need to invest in Equipment either (just describe what your PC has on them during actual roleplay). Trade-offs versus PL per usual: +5 / -5.
THE BAN LIST
Optimizing is not a four-letter word. Powergaming is. Immortal Duplicating Invisible Insubstantial Regeneration 10 catatonic waifs with Penetrates Concealment Perception Range attacks through an Extended 10 Mental Sense and a Variable array cannot point to the "catatonic waif" part as an offsetting weakness. But they always do . . . on that note please don't assume a power set's complexity relative to others impacts its chances of acceptance. Positively at least.
Vital Stats, Background and Personality
The "prose" part. No need to pad, surprise, impress or make your Background open in multiple spoilers. Read the Premise and make a character that fits. That's all. I appreciate fidelity and restraint more than gimmicks. Speaking of "appreciate" please take a look at the (unusual) Character Creation rules before making assumptions about the logic of the setting. Hint: you shouldn't. Incl. the "how" and especially the "why" of . . . why you gain powers. No one's a special flower.
Comic-book or Real World?
Except for circumstances surrounding the introduction of superpowers: if it's not in the real world it's not here. This extends to NPC motives. I will play power groups and individuals as realistically and intelligently as you play your PCs. Keeping self-interest and the protection of the things they value foremost. Hostile NPCs, expect ruthlessly attainable goals not outlandish ones.
Roleplay or Roll-play?
Strongly tilted toward roleplay. You will have every incentive to plan and debate before committing to courses of action. That said instances when the game's future direction depends on a single PC will come. Events developing behind-the-scenes is a given and so is the pressure to choose between prudence and decisive action. Not for nothing that the premise describes a close-knit group of friends.
If this interests you please click
HERE and post a thread under your PC's name containing your submission. Thanks for reading!
Singularity
