Voldaren Posted December 30, 2022 Clone Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) 1. Tell me a little about yourself I've been playing RPG's for about 8 years now. My experience with PbtA has mostly been through a Blades in the Dark game and a few Masks one-shots. I must say though that my PbP experienced has been quite limited. My ideal posting rate would be around 2-3 times a week. Frequent enough to keep the ball rolling but enough space to breath between posts. The collaborative storytelling aspect of RPGs is something that I enjoy quite a lot. 2. How familiar are you with the world of Avatar? I have watched through the Last Airbender multiple times, and Korra once. I also vaguely remember a comic about the search for Zuko's mother. 3. What's a favorite Avatar moment, and why? It may be a bit cliche, but the final Agni Kai between Azula and Zuko. It's the culmination of two fantastic character arcs and has been built up for multiple episodes. You think that we're going to go into a huge loud fight to rival Aang's and Ozai's, but right when you're expecting the bombastic score to kick in, it doesn't. Instead it's a sombre, sorrowful musical tapestry, reflecting the tragic culmination of these two siblings' upbringing. 4. Is there a playbook (or several) you're especially interested in? I'm pretty interested in either The Rogue or The Bold. 5. Tell me about the character you'd like to play in five sentences or less Miyah is an earthbender displaced by the Fire Nation's colonization campaign. She and her family have been making the long trek towards Ba Sing Se in hopes of protection and a new life. However, the journey was difficult and they turned to rather unsavory means in order to survive. Now that they have arrived her family seeks to put their bandit days behind them, but Miyah still yearns for adventure, and to make up for what she has done in the past. 6. Fiction Narrative The relentless heat of the sun beat down on the scorching sands on the outskirts of the Si Wong desert. The procession of giant rhinoceros beetles and their merchants trekked their way across the rolling dunes. This group of merchants were famous for fleecing the people of the Earth Kingdom and selling their wares to Fire Nation outposts at a discount. Their less than steller reputations meant that this year, a differnet route had to be taken through the desert. Leading the caravan was Miyah, having sold herself as an experienced guide and able protector. She and her clan were planning to redistribute the ill gotten wares back into the hands of Earth Kingdom residents. Trudging along, she crested the top of the final dune, raising an arm to shade her face from the sun and smiled at the sight of greenery, stone and the small Fire Nation outpost. Almost there... Now for the fun to start She surreptitiously reached into the pouch around her belt and pulled out a piece of glass, angled it just so it could catch the sun, and flashed a signal to the west where another cluster of rolling dunes was. A bright light shone in reply before quickly disappearing. Miyah grinned, and slid back down the dune to the lead merchant. "We're almost there, it's just over the dune. Told you my shortcut was legit" she chirped. She bounced away, placing herself just close enough to where her clan would be attacking from. Seeing the sand skiff just begin to crest over the neighboring dune, she put on her best shocked face. "Sandbenders, attacking from the west! Get to the outpost!" Miyah cried. She began to run with the merchants, urging them and their beetles up the dune. When most of them had crested the top she turned to face the fast approaching skiff. Miyah began to bend the sand, blocking most of the attacks from the skiff and making a show of protecting the last few beetles. When all but one had made it across, she gritted her teeth, preparing herself for the blast of sand she knew was coming. The wave knocked both her, the last giant beetle and its rider off of their feet. Miyah cushioned her fall, bending the sand to make a rather soft landing. The merchant and beetle weren't as lucky, flipping on its back and throwing the rider hard into the ground, knocking him out. Indignantly spitting sand out of her mouth, Miyah ran to the strewn about cargo and began to load the skiff. "You could've pulled that wave a little, couldn't you Sae?" she grumbled to the linen clad figure as they both hoisted the crates onto the skiff. A short laugh was all Miyah got in return. They had just finished loading the last crate when the merchant on the ground moaned and began to move, shakily getting to his feet. Cursing under her breath, Miyah shrugged apologetically towards Sae. "Sorry, but I've still got to get paid for the last two weeks" she whispered, before punching her friend square in the jaw. Scrambling back to the merchant, she hoisted him to his feet and pulled him along as they both clambered over and down the other side of the dune. There, the other merchants and their beetles had regrouped and were preparing to counterattack, bolstered by the few fire benders the outpost town had to offer. Panting, hands on her knees Miyah and the other merchant waved them off. "They're gone. They only managed to get the last bit of the cargo" the merchant spat, turning to Miyah. He tossed her a small coin pouch. Catching and feeling the suspicious lightness, Miyah frowned. "We agreed that-" "We agreed on safe passage, something you were unable to provide" the merchant retorted, signalling to the townsfolk to start unloading the beetles. Fuming internally, Miyah could only offer a rueful smile, nodding her head and started to make her way into the town. As she passed the head merchant, she offered her hand in apology. As he took it and began to shake, she stumbled and fell into him, her hand quickly snatching his coin purse from his waist. "Sorry, it took a lot out of me" she apologised, dusting herself off and bowing. She smiled to herself as she began to walk away, almost getting to the outskirts of the outpost before a cry of alarm was sounded. Turning back, she saw the head merchant furiously gesturing and pointing at her. "Monkey feathers" Miyah cursed as the few Fire Nation guards began to charge in her direction. " 7. Cooperative Narrative Manguyperson's Narrative In the Fire nation there are a many people, many heroes but that of course leaves many people without roles, not everyone is talented enough to be a hero. "Your turn Seki." A deep voice calls, the child rises, he fumbles on stage. He begins with a high kick, before he can land it he stumbles and falls. He catches himself just in time and proceeds to preform the rest of his set not only flawlessly but with ferocity and ease. Then it was my turn... I heed my master's call. I entered the Ma Bu, "Less tension Fuan." He was right, my stress caused me to mess up the most basic of basics, the horse stance is supposed to be a rest position. Before I could complete the High kick I lost all my stamina, my lungs don't work as well as they should. "Great work Seki, better luck next time Fuan." I don't know why I called that one moment from my childhood out, it comes and goes I guess, to this day it troubled me, why are some people more talented then others? Well it's not like it's the only time something like this has happened to me, hell even earlier today as I was walking down the block. "HELP!" I rushed to the cry of a little girl, "What wrong sweetie?" I responded, with tear filled eyes she pointed to a tree, her cat had fallen victim to the most stereotypical of dangers, for cats at least, I would've called a fire man but, I guess am a fire man in a way. Clutching the lower truck of the tree, I try to shimmy my way to the top, the tree was probably like a few meters tall but to me it seemed like a mountain. After a few minutes of my futile task I tried to reassure the girl "Don't worry, I got this" when no response came back I turned around, losing my focus caused me to lose my balance causing me to fall chin first onto the ground. As I looked up I saw the girl holding her cat like a precious jewel in her arms and a larger man next to her, "Thank you for your effort sir" he said in a condescending manner. "Oh, well I tried" I explained, "You sure did bud" he responded. The duality of emotions is a funny thing, i both felt joy for the girl being reunited with her precious pet but at the same time I felt a creeping sensation of jealousy. I wanted to be the one who helped. I try to tell myself that "It's ok as long as everything is resolved" or "Hey, at least I couldn't have made it worse" but I could, I often feel useless. As those thoughts were brewing in my mind I suddenly smelled a familiar smell. I first thought it was roasted Pig-Cow but it was way to smoky to be that, Chicken-Sheep? I thought next. From the corner of my eye I got a glimpse of a faery flame in the distance. I couldn't believe it, A massive forest fire! "HOW DIDN'T I SPOT THAT?! I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!" Screams came from the depths of the forest, I had to go in. I couldn't make much out from the smoke and pluming flames but after a while of wandering "HELP!" a female voice, I rushed to it's where i assumed the voice came from judging by the collapsed trees, A woman was winched between the fallen tree and the ground. "Are you ok?" I naively asked as I lifted the massive tree off of her. "So hea..vy" I mumbled. "Come on..." Then a relief like a weight was lifted off my back, or rather her back. As she run off towards safety, I felt sharp pain in my chest. "Less tension Fuan" My sensei's words echoed in my mind, I had forgotten my breathing technique. I collapsed on the floor gasping for air. I can't possible begin to imagine why the first thing I do in this situation is write a whole biography in my mind before i suffocate to death, but here I am. But life is funny. One moment we think our destiny is sealed, the other your destiny takes a whole new direction. As I was on the floor collapsed I felt a downpour of wonderful, golden water. I raised my head to see a group of masked men. Miyah wiped the sweat from her brow, frowning at the crooked trench she had made. I could of sworn it was straighter than that... The makeshift firebreak should hopefully stop at least some part of the town from going up in flames. Shrugging to herself, Miyah dusted her hands off and started snacking on some dried fruit as she began to walk back to the safe side of the trench, but was interrupted when a woman ran out of the forest in a panic. Busy wolfing down some rations, Miyah only half paid attention until something about a rescuer not making back made its way through. With the woman staring expectantly, Miyah stared at the encroaching blaze, looked back at the woman and took a deep breath. You know, just once I should stay out of these things... she thought to herself, pulling her shawl around her hose and mouth as she charged into the blaze. Fuan blearily came to, coughing as the acrid smoke of the forest fire permeated the air. The water skin held by a masked man let out its last few drops, before being slapped across Fuan's cheek. Still somewhat out of it, Fuan surveyed the group of masked individuals clad in red and black. Their heads were covered by black cloth, only their eyes peering out, darting around. They seemed to be arguing regarding what to do with him. As Miyah ran through the forest, she could hear multiple voices arguing. Drawing closer, through the smoke and haze she could just make out the figures standing in the clearing. Their words clearly reached her ears. "I thought it was a woman crying out." "Who cares, he'll still fetch a good price." "We still should keep moving, the town's bound to be in chaos by now." "Don't you guys think we went a bit overboard? I mean setting a forest on fire just to raid a town-" "Enough, this isn't a time to grow a conscience" the man standing over Fuan barked, striding over to the naysayer and jabbing his fingers into the center of their chest. Hiding just out of sight, Miyah stared at the stirring figure on the ground. With the men arguing, this would be her best chance. Looking at the coughing form of Fuan, an unfortunate idea arose. She stared forlornly at her shawl, the intricate green and gold embroidery was glinting in the firelight. Wincing at the expensive ill-gotten material's destruction, she tore off a bit of her shawl, and drenched it in water from her water skin. When the arguing reached a crescendo, and the man near Fuan strode away, Miyah darted into the grove at a full sprint. Sliding to a stop near Fuan she slammed her foot into the earth, the ground underneath the raiders feet to shifting for a moment causing some of them to lose their footing. Hefting Fuan to his feet with some difficulty, she slammed the soaked shawl into his grasp "Here, tie this around your mouth. It makes it easier to breathe." she half-yelled. The adrenaline started to flow through her as the masked men regained their footing and started to advance. Why is it always me... she thought as she steeled herself to either run or fight. "I hope she was worth it Mr. Hero" she chirped snarkily. "I just hope you can fight better than you can lift tree-" her verbal jab was interrupted with a volley of fireballs launched from the masked men. Caught off guard mid sentence, Miyah could only watch in horror as they flew towards her. Wincing, she closed her eyes bracing for pain that never came. Fuan leaping into action handily parried the onslaught, punching through each fireball. Miyah whistled in approval, firmly rebuked much to her chagrin. She stepped up beside him and settled into her stance, the forest continuing to burn around them. "Alright then, our turn..." Edited January 13, 2023 by Voldaren Added collaborative narrative and character image (see edit history) Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stengleronymous Posted January 5, 2023 Clone Share Posted January 5, 2023 Awesome stuff, @Voldaren! For your collaborative narrative, I'd like you to respond to the setup iun @Manguyperson's app. Who are these masked people, and how can Miyah help poor Fuan get out of whatever trouble they portend? Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voldaren Posted January 23, 2023 Author Clone Share Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) Miyah The Rogue Quote here. Training: Earthbending | Background: Outlaw| Demeanour: Joking, Sly, Cynical Stats Creativity (+1) Focus (+1) Harmony (-1) Passion (+1) Resources (+0) Balance Survival -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Friendship ( ) ( ) (X) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Conditions [ ] Afraid [ ] Angry [ ] Foolish [ ] Guilty [ ] Insecure Fatigue: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Bad Habits Chosen Habits: Casual thievery and pick-pocketing, Vandalism or sabotage, Trespassing, Cons Any necessary skills or talents related to your bad habits are considered to be part of your background. When you indulge a bad habit on your own, shift your balance toward Survival, and roll with Survival. On a hit, you pull it off and vent your frustrations; clear fatigue or conditions equal to your Survival (minimum 0). If you have no fatigue or conditions, mark growth. On a 10+, you also gain a windfall, a boon or opportunity—your bad habits paid off this time. On a miss, you’re caught by someone dangerous or powerful, and they complicate your life. When you indulge a bad habit with a friend, shift your balance toward Friendship, and roll with Friendship. On a hit, you and your friend pull it off and grow closer; each of you makes the other Inspired. On a 10+, you also obtain some useful resource or information, and become Prepared. On a miss, something goes terribly awry; you can either take the heat yourself, or shift your Balance twice toward Survival and leave your friend in the lurch Moves Casing the Joint When you assess a situation, add these questions to the list. You may always ask one extra question from these options, even on a miss. • What here is most valuable or interesting to me? • Who or what is most vulnerable to me? • Who here is in control/wealthiest/ has the most power? Slippery Eel-Hound When you defend and maneuver and choose to use Seize a Position to escape the scene, foes must mark an additional 2-fatigue to stop you, and you may bring any allies within reach when you retreat. Fighting Techniques Fighting Style: Earthbending Sweep the Leg (Advance & Attack, L [x], P [x], M [x]) You attack where an enemy is weakest or most off-balance; if your foe has a total of three or more conditions and fatigue marked, inflict 2-fatigue. If your foe has fewer than three total conditions and fatigue marked, inflict 2-fatigue, but you must mark 1-fatigue as well. Dust Stepping (Defend & Maneuver, L [x], P [ ], M [ ]) Step up into the air on thin pillars of dust and stone. Advance to a higher position and become Favored and Prepared. Any foe engaged with you can mark 2-fatigue to block this effect. Details Home Town: Tu Zin History How did you come to feel that the only way to survive was to break the rules? Tu Zin, my hometown, was reliant on mining. Even when it was still churning out ore, my folks were just getting by... So when the ore veins dried up and people started packing up and leaving, we really started to struggle. At first my parents kept a brave face up, didn't let us know how bad we were hurtin'. But eventually, I found out how dire things were. Even all of us working wasn't enough to sustain us, so we had to leave... Fire Nation colonizers pushed us up north where there was even less. Soon, we could only turn to thievery and banditry in order to make it through to the next day... Who kept trying to reach a hand out to you only to be rebuffed? Who was ready to do anything in order to break your bad habits? What is your favorite possession that you stole, swiped or otherwise acquired illegally? Why are you committed to this group or purpose? Connections • _____ is waaaaay too uptight, too trapped in themselves; they need to break some rules! • ______ is amazing and I hope they like me; maybe they're worth playing it straight? Moment of Balance You learned early on that you had to do what you needed to survive, and that sometimes that meant you lost friends. Now, you find a new balance: rule-breaking isn’t something that just drives people away—it’s something you can use constructively, with your friends! Tell the GM how you lead your companions to break all the rules and accomplish an incredible feat. Growth [] [] [] [] Growth Question At the end of each session, answer this question with the other growth questions: • Did you get a friend to join in or approve of one of your bad habits? Growth Advancements • Take a new move from your playbook [] [] • Take a new move from another playbook [] [] • Raise a stat by +1 (maximum of +2 in any given stat) • Shift your centre one step [] [] • Unlock your Moment of Balance [] [] Background NPCs Edited February 11, 2023 by Voldaren (see edit history) Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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