Welcome to MW!

5 hours ago, Suzuki Stumpy said:

Last I heard, none of the petitions were available for signing anywhere in the world (still waiting here in the UK for government approval)

UK government approval has gone through. It's been the most popular voted poll in the past 24 hours.

Honestly? I started running games on a different PbP site and after leaving it, my desire to DM/GM has really died down. I like running systems that are niche or aren't really getting that much attention, it was my main motivator for running systems like The Witcher TTRPG, Cyberpunk RED or Mutant Year Zero. They were interesting, they stood out amongst a sea of D&D 5E games.

Mythweavers doesn't really have that problem of being overrun with 5E games. There's a healthy ecosystem with a variety of different systems, I don't really feel that push to run a game system that isn't really represented because there's no need for it here. It's a silly reason, I know. There's also a lack of / low motivation on my end and a general hard time finding maps that work for what I like to run. Most Battlemaps in the TTRPG hobby are tailored very specifically towards Fantasy and not so much for modern/sci-fi, which makes it extra difficult to work with.

Hopefully it was the good kind of "away" and not a bad one!

On 2/17/2024 at 9:06 PM, Gunu said:

@Sapphic Reiver I really like this concept (and Maple)! :) It's been a while so I wanted to check in and see if you're still interested in playing in the campaign. If so, I have a few questions and suggestions:

1. For Custodian of the Damned, it's not clear to me why Burning Sage would block or hinder Maple's abilities. Is it something related to the lore of Cerberus? Does it interfere with Maple's ability to smell others' sins? If there's no mythical or personal reason for this particular weakness, one suggestion would be to change it to something that complements her power tags. For instance, based on "I hear your beating hearts" and "I smell your sins", I suspect Maple might have difficulty sniffing out the sins of those who lack (or are able to control) physiological responses, such as someone whose heartrate remains steady when they lie, or who doesn't have a heartbeat to begin with, or who can control their bodily responses. Let me know what you think of this.

2. Similarly, for (B) and (C), I want to clarify: is it that Maple actually physically smells guilt? Is it that her divine senses are so strong that she doesn't need to see it to know? (But she's not actually able to see in the dark?)

3. Hound of Hell and Best in Show look great. No questions here.

4. The All Heads, No Tails Mission card seems intriguing! I especially like the tension between the power tag to leave her comfort zone and the weakness.

Anyway, if you're still interested in playing, let me know. For the Q&A, that's something we can work out with the other players.

Unfortunately I was pretty busy during the start of February & then my birthday happened and I might have gotten absolutely smahed, didn't have time to sit down and focus on the app so it's mostly unfinished! I'm definitely still interested though. I've been preoccupied even still today, so apologies for taking an entire day to get back to you.

1. The idea I had was more that she could literally smell the sins of a person, so for example: If someone had committed arson and cost someone their life, she'd be able to smell ashes or gasoline or... Something along those lines. Some sort of associated smell that ties the sin to the person, if that makes sense? I kind of figured burning sage made more sense to cover up the smell as a combination of common supernatural/spiritual/cultural beliefs and the quite poignant smell of sage when it's burned. In hindsight really you could replace 'Burning Sage' with 'Copious amounts of Perfume/Aftershave/Deoderant', really.

2. As mentioned above, I'd say it's more akin to a physical smell than just a supernatural/divine sense. (C) was meant to be a form of lowlight/dark vision to double down on the predatory animal theme.

3. Alright, fair enough! Best in Show was the one I had the most doubts about, honestly.

As for her questions, I already have some things in mind, but I just need to write them out.

I'd also take some feedback, though I'm still debating on whether or not to change the "Best in Show" Logo...

1. Name and describe a place of interest in the City.
2. Give me the name and description of a local Contact. It could be someone in your circle, or someone from your old life who you can still go to for help.
3. Where do you go to unwind?
4. What does this sprawling metropolis have in abundance?
5. What does it lack, or need more of?
6. What do you fear most about the world today?
7. What is a recent rumour that you've heard?

On 1/17/2024 at 10:04 PM, Gunu said:

@Sapphic Reiver Yep, non-core themebooks are allowed. :)

@OsmundCinderholt Not a problem. Let me know if I can help in any way!

Thanks for the heads-up! The idea I have may be a little out-there, but I'm interested in seeing your take on it. :)

On 1/13/2024 at 3:15 PM, Oceane said:

Hello! Very interested in City of Mists, such a flavorful system.

I think the Themebooks section answers this question, but would you allow the non-core rulebook themebooks? Like Enclave, Struggle and Familiar from Shadows & Showdowns?

Oh you asked before I did. :')

Are you allowing the use of Shadows & Showdown playbooks? Nevermind, Oce asked before I did!

'grats for those who got in!

Alright, just have to answer the questions and that should be both the characters I've listed finished.

I'd still quite like to put a mundane one out there, but I'm honestly struggling to produce a concept and I've not got the brain power for Deckers. :')

Aeon
Aspected Tarot Spellslinger, The Little 'Cuz of Orks & Trolls, Magical Manipulating Mistress.

Every so often people end up in peculiar places due to tragic or just as unusual circumstances. Aeon was just a runt who somehow happened to end up living among the Orks and Trolls of Denver. The going theory was she ran away from either home or an orphanage, a few people even saying she was simply dumped on the streets as a young kid, but something about the urchin captivated the hearts of those around her. It didn't take long before she was 'adopted' by a family of Orks. There was a group of Trolls who were just as interested in looking after Aeon, but the deciding factor was that hand-me-down clothes from an Ork could be worn with a belt to keep them around her waist and there was no such luck with troll clothing.

So that was how she grew up, rolling with street rabble, being the lookout for a variety of minor crimes and carrying the alias of "Little 'Cuz", because she was the littlest "Ork" going and she was everyone's cousin. This wasn't to be confused with any Ork Posers-movement, Aeon couldn't just rock up into any tusked community and find herself a place to crash, but she was considered to be part of the family from her home streets. There's a lot of violence when growing up among the Orks and Trolls: Gang wars, policlubs, poverty, drugs, the whole menu of systematic and societal oppression is ordered for the table. Aeon has seen plenty of people die, leaving a permanent desensitization to the end of life. This problem was clear to a Con-Man known to Aeon's community as Cousin Hawk, often pretending to be a Tarot mage in order to con Nuyen out of gullible Breeders and Elves. Cousin Hawk was the first Troll to take Aeon under his wing and the last person to do so after her magical awakening.

Hawk became something of a Sensei for Aeon, learning how to read tarot cards, perform spreads, even a lesson here or there about hooking up. The seedier and shadier side of Aeon's life was fuelled by Cousin Hawk's lessons in mysticism and love. Aeon's magical awakening caused a real mess in the store one day, knocking over several shelves and almost starting a fire with an incense burner when the deck of Tarot cards slipped from Aeon's hands and conjured up a physical barrier of tarot cards. Cousin Hawk had suspected Aeon of being at-least a Seer with how accurate her tarot readings had become, but this was a very different field.

It wasn't as though Aeon was a naturally powerful magician, she was incapable of summoning spirits or enchanting, only being able to cast spells. Manipulation spells had proven to be her favourite, conjuring up physical barriers, moving and manipulating objects, protecting herself and changing her looks and wardrobe through the application of magic. The deck she'd learned to use from Cousin Hawk became her first focus, a deck of tarot cards she keeps on hand at all times... Though this led to a rather bothersome issue. Aeon had developed a compulsive urge to shuffle her deck and pull three cards. It had become ingrained in her daily behaviours and never ceased.

Soon though it was time for Aeon to move out of Hawk's guest room, since awakening to her magic Aeon had felt a strange and intense feeling of discomfort living static was... Uncomfortable. Things felt wrong. That was where Cousin Annie came into the mix, Aeon putting a lot of money - and trust - into Annie's mechanical skill, buying and doing up a GMC 442 Chameleon, which would quickly become her new, mobile home. A new home, and with very little money, Aeon turned to Shadowrunning, pawning off what she could from her runs to an old Troll called Uncle Marcus, proprietor of the Tusk Alley Pawnshop.

Aeon.pdf Aeon.chum5

4 hours ago, Shadowstarr said:

what creation rules did you use?

Run Faster, Karma 800. Same set I'll use if I actually decide on a second concept.

2 hours ago, Kuri_kun said:

Unfortunately they dont have the same kind of thing going with a cyberpunk fantasy setting. Maybe they could do something in starfinder but it just wouldnt be the same as shadowrun because shadowrun is so distinct and as far as Im aware theres no OGL to facilitate a new system or adventure creation

On top of that Paizo jumped on Pathfinder because there was a lot of customers, like me, who didnt like 4th edition and wanted a refresh of 3.5. So they already had a big audience just chomping at the bit for the product they were offering. I know a lot of players didnt care for 6th edition but I think most of them have just gone back to 5E.

So basicly what Im saying is Paizo took advantage of a perfect storm of circumstances but they dont have nearly as many things going for a Shadowrun remake/refresh so I doubt we would ever see something like it. I would love to see it but it would be a big risk business wise for a ton of reasons

There are alternatives out there though, the issue is that they're mostly lacking an identity or just don't have the mechanics SR players look for. They're more akin to alternatives for people who don't have the time or don't want to play Shadowrun. Both of which are valid decisions, tbh. The two main ones I can think of are Runners in the Shadows, The Sprawl, Lowlife 2090, technically you could run Cities Without Numbers like a SR game... But ultimately it feels a lot like there's just no competition, so there's really no incentive for CGL to improve their product.

In fairness it's hard to compete with a franchise that has been around since the 90s. I've toyed with the idea of doing a system myself one day, taking the stuff I like from SR, but my experience is in the vidja scene, not TTRPGs. And I tend to like the niche parts of SR tbf.

4 hours ago, Zaathun said:

We can only hope for a 7e, one bright, beautiful day (or a Paizo-esque 5.5e)

Best case scenario is someone who knows the rules and system buys it out from CGL.

Edit: All the concepts I've got right now are magic/non-rigger/non-decker... Bummer.

There was an actual play show that only got three and a half episodes in before calling it on 6th ed, just couldn't hack it.

Complex Action's a fantastic little channel, don't think I've seen him upload anything for a while though.. I think he played 6th then just tapped out.

3 hours ago, Miss said:

Though I will admit the "No AIs" did take away one of my most favorite character concepts. Lol

I have literally never understood how AI chars work, and I have so many questions right now. Namely: How the fuck did you even find coherent rules for them? 🤣

20 minutes ago, Shadowstarr said:

riggers get it rough, and can go broke quickly. I'd like to make repair and recovery of lost drones/vehicles, a bit more reasonable. I kinda think a team "runner van" should be a collective expense rather than just on the driver.

100% agree on the Van. I had a rigger girl based in Vienna for a few years and she was super fun to play, it was just kinda shit to be playing a "famous" character who couldn't even afford a basic drone set-up without being in debt to some shady loansharks.

I was musing with the idea of a Red-Mage who was blind, but I might try and throw up a Rigger/Sam mix of sorts... Can a blind Rigger see through drones?

Never played a Decker in my life and the last time I tried to gen a Rigger I almost went bald with financial stress. :')

Okay, I believe that should be Cardinal finished. I'll work out a second character, just so that the option is there.

2 hours ago, Starhawk said:

 

This is almost entirely a support mage, given the complete absence of combat spells. Character is also a doctor, i.e first aid, medicine and cyberware/bioware. By the way what does OP mean?

OP can be used in reference to either Overpowered or Original Poster. I assume in this sense, they mean Over Powered.

Melissa Theroux

Callsign //: Cardinal

t8PfNgo+AHYrDWCoNFQuwA== //: +gg3hsPO0+xhCMfJIsU2raJ+0oeBt3NmKpr+LY17h0Q=

kemKspd14DXgtRTWdDsz7EQPFD1dsB4Io+WukdJ5B7g= //: 8

BAwp7jaA9G+SkH3GL38wtLZTWWHRKbftEvF4643CwYo= //: Aware

/lSZoj/POqUExjJ+zyjJoXmS8mkdec8KvbX8bTcq/M0= // Field Medic

HBnUX+TIJ0yhCSeyVTDFRGg3nft0nkgZoSFiwwt5VyA= //: Injured in the line of duty

S33PvYv2YKo1+iH9oxeEASrCRyF+i8mXNaGoSd7Rue0= //: Unfit for continued operations

qpFMyKB4RvKg/zg8EKGdCA== //: Pending

Xn/miV7tLjGSvsOjKrrmrQ== //: Terminated

22:38. Melissa's commlink says it is 22:38, on the clock function she checked every ten minutes for the past hour. It was a Thursday, though soon to be a Friday. Melissa had found herself sitting in a bar, as she usually did after the weekly support group meeting. They would all sit around and talk about their week, their troubles, discuss solutions then roll up to the same Veteran bar: The Spent Case. A dingy little back-alley bar tucked away into the eastern side of the Aurora Warrens. The woman working the taps tonight was of particular interest to Melissa, who had debated with herself on whether or not to try her chances with the bartender. Yet before she'd even finished her internal debate, all it took was one look at the shoulder-length glove on her right hand and she knew immediately that a one night stand wasn't worth the risk.

"Interesting fashion statement." came a voice from behind the counter, Melissa glancing up from her glove and meeting the blue eyes of the counter-working woman.

"Lost the meat during an operation. Only got a cheap - and extensively ugly - prosthetic limb now. I like it better this way." lied the patron, ensuing the continuation of her habit and checking the time; She'd been staring at her own arm for five minutes and hadn't even realized.

"You never thought about getting a pair?"

"I think the one synthetic arm is ugly enough."

"Of gloves. A pair of gloves." the Bartender added with a shake of what Melissa assumed to be disbelief. There was something in the way this woman looked at her that made the discharged mercenary feel somewhat... Familiar. The way this woman glanced at different parts of the patron's face, uncovered hand and neck. It made the old mercenary exhale a tired, ragged sigh. This happened every time a new, younger person started working at the Spent Case. Melissa shook her head in disbelief and cast a glance around the bar, it was 22:43 and the place was relatively quiet. Yet this was practically the start of her day. Melissa raised her left hand and held it out towards the bar woman, the limb, hand, and digit was covered in a snow-white coat of hair, save for the palm of her hand and undersides of her fingers.

"Alright, you can feel it." she said with her hand being excitedly taken by the bartender, who ran their fingers through the hair on her hand without so much as a hint of shame. "You new hires are all the same aren't you? A missing or 'wared up limb and you don't care in the slightest, but the second I walk in you all want to touch my hand or cheek and play twenty questions." Melissa bemused with a little bit of laughter. "Just don't tell the others I let you do this, okay?"

00:43 the clock stated with Melissa adjusting the image link-capable glasses on her nose, looking up at the night sky with a cigarette in hand. Melissa had pulled her leather jacket tighter to herself in an attempt to shield herself from the cold air. The nocturna's spare hand came to pat herself down, ensuring the concealed Ares Predator V was still in place. It wasn't the sort of weapon she'd take on a run, but it and the combat knife hidden in her boot were the only two weapons she owned legally, neither would be run-appropriate. A puff of smoke rings followed Melissa as she left the alleyway the Spent Case called home, stepping out into the crowd and simply following it for a while, trying to accustom herself to the streets once more. It had been two years since Melissa had been formally discharged, yet she still hadn't accustomed herself to civilian life. The wandering veteran had found herself a bench to sit down at, simply staring at the empty air in front of her, there were things to look at across the street, yet she simply sat here and opted to stare into the aether.

It wasn't like she had problems with flashbacks or PTSD like some of the others at the support group, but there were moments like this where nothing was happening, everything was in relative stillness. And yet all she could do was recall the series of events that led to her sitting here in this moment.

The whole operation itself was supposed to be something of a diplomatic one, a negotiation or another. The whole reason Melissa had been brought a long was for the only magical service she could provide. As an Aware person, her only magical ability was astral sight, watch the talks and report of any magical shenanigans from the other side of the table. Even without her ability it wasn't necessarily unusual for the mercenaries to be brought along as muscle-for-show, though the choice of arriving via aerial transports seemed rather strange.

It was simply bad luck that the vehicle Melissa boarded was the first one to be shot down en route. Laughs and jokes one minute and the next moment there was a flash of light, deafening sounds from all angles and Melissa was hitting the ground with a crunch. Three weeks later she'd woken up in a hospital bed and was missing her right arm. As a Nocturna being left in the open and exposed to sunlight for so long had triggered an allergic reaction, which would normally be mild, but due to the amount of time she was left exposed, had become a serious condition; Leaving Melissa bed stricken, hopped up on a mix of pain killers and anti-allergen drugs with her right arm having been amputated due to irreparable damage caused by the blast.

There wasn't a doubt in Melissa's mind that she'd have to get a synthetic arm to replace her now absent dominant hand, a thought that brought serious concern to her. There wasn't a lot of magic in the Aware, they couldn't summon spirits or cast spells, but they could still tap into some of the natural magic of the world. The thought having an even more restricted tap or being cut off entirely was a scary one. Luckily for her, one day she received a visitor. Melissa didn't know who, in truth she wasn't even sure she knew what they were either. During their initial interaction Melissa thought the stranger was an Orc or Troll of some kind, talking about crystals and having a new arm without the impact of cyberware on her already limited magical abilities. Yet now, sitting on a bench in the middle of Denver, she found herself entirely convinced the person was a Nocturna like herself, she could even recall the charcoal-black hair on the back of their hands and the strange colouration of their palms when showing her the crystals.

In a drug-fuelled delirium she took the stranger up on their offering, though Melissa couldn't remember if there were terms to this deal, after all everything had a price... But what was the price? Melissa had practically given up everything for this arm: She couldn't enlist with another mercenary company - not that she'd be capable of doing that anyway - because they'd discover her crystalline arm upon the basic medical exam. Any employer who had a uniform would likely have a short-sleeved shirt and not accept her wearing a shoulder-length glove. Even intimate encounters had been removed from the question. All of this was no longer an option and yet somehow she had the nagging feeling that the price hadn't quite been paid just yet, all the while feeling as though this new arm was the biggest mistake of her life.

Flicking the cigarette away Melissa rose to her feet and started to walk towards the nearest bus stop, the night was young and there was no doubt in her mind that all the street-scum she fixed up for no-questions asked and a credstick would start flooding her burner with calls. There was definitely a better way to make money than this and Melissa was right, in a sense. Shadowrunning was better money but 'better' than just patching up a couple of idiot gangers? That was a debatable conclusion...

Character Sheet