Benjamin "Seismos" Zayne, the Reformed

[Kavonde]

BENJAMIN "SEISMOS" ZAYNE
THE REFORMED

HERO NAME: SEISMOS
REAL NAME: BENJAMIN ZAYNE
LOOK: MALE, WHITE, SAD EYES, CONSERVATIVE CLOTHES, NO COSTUME
ABILITIES: GEOKINESIS

LABELS

DANGER	FREAK	SAVIOR	SUPERIOR	MUNDANE
+2	+1	-1	0	+1

CONDITIONS

⬜	AFRAID	-2 to Directly Engage a Threat
⬜	ANGRY	-2 to Comfort or Support or Pierce the Mask
⬜	GUILTY	-2 to Provoke Someone or Assess the Situation
⬜	HOPELESS	-2 to Unleash Your Powers
⬜	INSECURE	-2 to Defend Someone or Reject Others' Influence

BACKSTORY

• WHO FIRST MENTORED YOU IN SUPERVILLAINY?

My father, Blair Zeal, though he'd never call it "supervillainy." I used to think that was because he thought that what he was doing was right. So did I. But now... I don't think he cares. He's protecting himself, and his wealth, and his position. And he used to use me to do it. He said it was how I'd get into Heaven. By using the powers Satan cursed me with to strike down his servants. And I really believed him. Believed all of it.

• WHO FIRST SHOWED YOU THAT YOU COULD DO GOOD?

Looking back, I think the first cracks in Dad's hold over me started forming when we captured this hero, Sprig. She had plant powers. I guess she used to be pretty popular, did a lot of charity work and Make a Wish stuff. Well... when we caught her, she looked at me, and she just seemed... sad. Not that we'd caught her. Sad for me. That I was here, doing this. I was fifteen. Too young. And even through everything else that was going on, even with Dad... Even with what was happening to her, she still had room in her heart to be sad for me. And I think that's when I started wondering if what we were doing really was right. If someone like that was our enemy, what did that make us?

• WHAT WAS YOUR GOAL AS A VILLAIN?

I wanted to help Dad. To earn God's forgiveness. To bring peace to the world, to stop the fighting so the Tangee could find whoever it was that was going to destroy the world and then leave the rest of us in peace. I thought we were the good guys.

• WHAT CAUSED YOU TO SWITCH SIDES?

You know that lady you see up there with Dad on his Sunday sermons? With the glassy eyes and the creepy smile? That's Dad's wife. She's not my mom. My mom... well, she was a lot younger than Dad, and really pretty, and she joined his flock, and... well, you know how that works. She also had powers. She could manipulate gravity. And Dad... he really loved her, I thought. So he kept us a secret. First from his congregation. Then from the Tangee. With the beaks, well, he told me that they knew about us, but the only way to keep Mom safe was to work with them, to help them hunt down and capture these so-called heroes. So I did. And we... we caught a lot of them. But then, after I came back from a mission, I found Mom crying. She and Dad had had a fight. A bad one. And that night... the Tangee came. I never heard anything. Dad never said anything. But I knew. I know. And I'm going to bring him down and expose him--the real him--to the world.

• WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT THE TEAM?

I want to make up for what I've done. Make it as right as it can be. I know, I'm a kid, Dad was manipulating me, it's not my fault, but none of that feels true to me. And I can't do that alone. I need the team to have any chance at all of making things better. I could get in front of a camera right now and tell the whole world my story, and maybe that would hurt Dad. But it wouldn't undo what we did to so many people.

WHEN OUR TEAM FIRST CAME TOGETHER...
 

RELATIONSHIPS:
I've earned the trust of _________, and I follow their example of what a hero should be.

I did something terrible to Midnight once. I hope they can forgive me someday.
 

INFLUENCE:
Do you talk openly about your days as a villain? If so, give each team member Influence over you. If not, just give Influence to the one teammate whose example you most closely follow. (Ben has told the team about his past, giving them all Influence over him.)

Ben has Influence over:

• Midnight
• Verse
• Charlie

 

MOVES:

Move List

Directly engage a threat	When you directly engage a threat, roll + Danger. On a hit, trade blows. On a 10+, pick two. On a 7-9, pick one. resist or avoid their blows take something from them create an opportunity for your allies impress, surprise, or frighten the opposition
Unleash your powers	When you unleash your powers to overcome an obstacle, reshape your environment, or extend your senses, roll + Freak. On a hit, you do it. On a 7-9, mark a condition or the GM will tell you how the effect is unstable or temporary.
Comfort or support	When you comfort or support someone, roll + Mundane. On a hit, they hear you: they mark potential, clear a condition, or shift Labels if they open up to you. On a 10+, you can also add a Team to the pool or clear a condition yourself.
Pierce the mask	When you pierce someone’s mask to see the person beneath, roll + Mundane. On a 10+, ask three. On a 7-9, ask one. what are you really planning? what do you want me to do? what do you intend to do? how could I get your character to ___? how could I gain Influence over you?
Defend	When you defend someone or something from an immediate threat, roll + Savior. For NPC threats: on a hit, you keep them safe and choose one. On a 7-9, it costs you: expose yourself to danger or escalate the situation. add a Team to the pool take Influence over someone you protect clear a condition For PC threats: on a hit, give them -2 to their roll. On a 7-9, you expose yourself to cost, retribution, or judgment.
Assess the situation	When you assess the situation, roll + Superior. On a 10+, ask two. On a 7-9, ask one. Take +1 while acting on the answers. what here can I use to ________? what here is the biggest threat? what here is in the greatest danger? who here is most vulnerable to me? how could we best end this quickly?
Provoke someone	When you provoke someone susceptible to your words, say what you’re trying to get them to do and roll + Superior. For NPCs: on a 10+, they rise to the bait and do what you want. On a 7-9, they can instead choose one. they stumble: you take +1 forward against them they err: you gain a critical opportunity they overreact: you gain Influence over them For PCs: On a 10+, both. On a 7-9, choose one. if they do it, add a Team to the pool if they don’t do it, they mark a condition
Take a powerful blow	When you take a powerful blow, roll + conditions marked. On a 10+, choose one. you must remove yourself from the situation: flee, pass out, etc. you lose control of yourself or your powers in a terrible way two options from the 7-9 list On a 7-9, choose one. you lash out verbally: provoke a teammate to foolhardy action or take advantage of your Influence to inflict a condition you give ground; your opposition gets an opportunity you struggle past the pain; mark two conditions On a miss, you stand strong. Mark potential as normal, and say how you weather the blow.
What the hell, hero?	When you call out an injustice that a hero has perpetrated, roll + Danger. On a hit, take Influence over them. On a 7-9, choose one. On a 10+, choose two. You get them to admit their wrongdoing You win over an onlooker; take Influence over them You don’t turn their attention and anger onto yourself On a miss, they dismiss you; mark a condition (their choice), shift Danger up, Savior down.
Wrong side of the tracks	You always get to ask an additional question when you pierce the mask of a villain, even on a miss. When you pierce the mask of a hero (your call), add this question to the list: what was your darkest moment?

 

FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES:
You have ties to villains from your previous career. Choose three names to fill in:
 

TINKER TANTRUM	SPECIALTY: WEAPONS OBLIGATION:  ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ A mercenary arms dealer/designer who's worked extensively with Blair Zeal and HUAC, but owes them no loyalty.
TERTIUS OF SPIES KIRAW OF THE JAGGED PEAKS	SPECIALTY: INSIDER INFO OBLIGATION:  ⬛ ⬛ ⬜ ⬜ An ambitious Tangee spy who covets promotion by any means necessary, and is perfectly willing to hinder his people's goals to get one.
BETH BUTANE	SPECIALTY: ALIEN TECH OBLIGATION:  ⬛ ⬛ ⬜ ⬜   A rogue metallurgist with technopathic powers who specializes in reverse-engineering alien tech and pays top-dollar for new toys.

When you create your character, mark two obligations on one villain, and mark one obligation on another.

When you come to them for help with your problems, mark obligation on them and they’ll help out within their specialty. If all their boxes are full, then they won’t help you until you help them.

When time passes, roll + your highest obligation. On a 10+, they come crashing into your life with a crisis. On a 7-9, they call for a favor. On a miss, they don’t come knocking yet, but mark obligation with them—the debts are getting heavier.

When you help one of these villains with their problems, erase two obligations on them.
 

MOMENT OF TRUTH:
You’ve seen your greatest mistakes, and they have too. The whole world is watching you now, judging every move you make. When everything is on the line and your back is against the wall, though, you're going to show them what a hero really is. Of course, afterward, your old villainous contacts are liable to be pretty upset or mistrustful of you…
 

TEAM MOVES:
When you share a moment of triumph with someone, ask them what gives them hope for a brighter day and give them Influence.

When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, ask them what they would do something dark for and gain Influence over them.
 

POTENTIAL:
⬜  ⬜  ⬜  ⬜  ⬜
Every time you roll a miss on a move, mark potential.

ADVANCEMENT:
When you fill your potential track, you advance. Choose from the list below. When you've taken five advances from the top list, you can take advances from the list below the line.

⬜ Take another move from your playbook
⬜ Take another move from your playbook
⬜ Take a move from another playbook
⬜ Take a move from another playbook
⬜ Someone permanently loses influence over you, add +1 to a Label
⬜ Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add +1 to a Label
⬜ Unlock your Moment of Truth
⬜ Take Drives and mark four (from the Beacon's playbook)

---

⬜ Unlock your Moment of Truth
⬜ Change playbooks
⬜ Take an adult move
⬜ Take an adult move
⬜ Lock a Label, and add +1 to a Label of your choice
⬜ Retire from the life or become a paragon of the city
 

---

What kind of player are you?
I love collaborating to create interesting stories filled with humor and drama. I'm open to input and suggestions, and am happy to incorporate other peoples' ideas into my own.

Why are you excited for this game?
I think the Iron Red Soldiers setting is really interesting, and like the idea of Red Dawn with superheroes. Plus, I know from experience that MASKS works pretty dang well in a PBP format, so I'd love to join up.

What are your expectations for this game?
Regular posts from everyone, collaboration on ideas for both characters and the plot, and lots of in-character drama with little to no out-of-character drama.

Why do you think you would be a good fit for this game?
I'm able to keep up a consistent post rate, I'm a team player, and I like to contribute ideas while not minding at all if they're discarded.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Kavonde (see edit history)

[Morphling]

It looks like you didn't answer the "Why do you care about the team?" question. Once you do that I will add the 'Complete' tag to your application.

I'd also like to note that while this may be darker than a typical MASKS game, many of the core assumptions still apply. Namely "you aren't killers." That doesn't mean that you're never allowed to kill an enemy if the fiction of the world and your character demands it, but it does mean that shooting all the bad guys in the head isn't your teams modus operandi - yet. So think carefully about whether or not you want to keep the idea that you're going to kill your dad and everyone who gets in the way of your goal.

Never mind! Looks like you already changed that sentence. Good job!

Some things that I wouldn't mind seeing developed further:

Your friends in low places: How did you meet each of them originally? How did you maintain the relationship even after you 'switched sides?' How are they under threat from the Tangee? What are their expectations of you?

I'm also curious to learn more about the captured hero Sprig. How did you find and defeat her? Was it at the Battle of Halcyon or afterwards? How did she become a target? What happened to her after she was captured?

What about the relationship with your father Blair Zeal? On what note did it end? Did you try to confront him before you left? If so, what happened? Have you had contact with him since? How are you managing to hide from him? Do you have any siblings or half-siblings, and if so what is your relationship with them like?

All in all, solid effort. I would like to see what more you can come up with.

[Kavonde]

It looks like you didn't answer the "Why do you care about the team?" question. Once you do that I will add the 'Complete' tag to your application.

Done!
 

What about the relationship with your father Blair Zeal? On what note did it end? Did you try to confront him before you left? If so, what happened? Have you had contact with him since? How are you managing to hide from him? Do you have any siblings or half-siblings, and if so what is your relationship with them like?

Starting with this one because I think it affects the other answers. I think Ben's status with his father depends on what kind of story the group wants to tell. If we're still trying to maintain cover as normal high schoolers/young adults, going to class every day and whatnot, then Ben would still be hiding what he's realized about his father and trying to act as a double agent. But if the group wants to go more of a Red Dawn direction, with the characters all acting as full-time guerillas, then he'd be in a very different situation.
 

In the scenario where Ben's already cut ties, it probably ended with him just dropping off the grid one day, with some help from Beth Butane and some alien tech to wipe any kind of trackers he had on him. He definitely didn't try to confront Blair, because he didn't see any way that would end well. Since then, he'd have fallen in with the team, and is lying low with them.
 

In either scenario, I think Ben had a costume when he was acting as his father's agent. Something very concealing, which hid his face and disguised his silhouette to a degree. And when he wasn't working for his dad, he was a nobody; just another kid out of thousands attending Zeal's megachurch. Some people might have noticed that he spent an unusual amount of time with the pastor, but given what a zealot he himself was, they probably just assumed he was someone Zeal had an eye on as a future colleague. Essentially, he disguises himself by not wearing any kind of disguise and just blending in with everyone else.
 

I'm not sure if there's any canon information on Zeal or his family. If not, I think he has two legitimate children, the perfect nuclear family. I don't think they'd know that Ben was their half-sibling, but they might suspect it, given how often he was around. But, of course, that's not a question that could be broached in the Zeal household; that would imply that he was unfaithful to his wife, and surely that couldn't be the case. One of the siblings is probably a few years older than Ben--Blaine, the brother--while the sister (Amanda) is close to the same age. Maybe they even have the same birthday, just to further punctuate what a prick Blair is. Ben is or was fairly close with both of them, though there was always some distance there due to the masquerade of them not being related.

Your friends in low places: How did you meet each of them originally? How did you maintain the relationship even after you 'switched sides?' How are they under threat from the Tangee? What are their expectations of you?

Tinker Tantrum is an old acquaintance that Benjamin's known since he was about 8. He always looked forward to her visits; she was one of his dad's cooler friends, this weird, short lady who always had cool new guns and swords and stuff to show off. He's always known that she didn't actually like his father that much, just his money, so when he went rogue, he tentatively reached out to her. She's agreed to keep it quiet that she knows he's alive, but he doesn't trust her not to share that information for the right price. As she doesn't actually have any powers, neither HUAC or the Tangee have much interest in her. And I think she's always had a soft spot for Ben, though maybe not enough of one to keep her from betraying him if she needed to. Otherwise, she's just a free agent who will sell to the highest bidder.

Tertius of Spies Kiraw of the Jagged Peaks is one of Blair's primary contacts with the Tangee. He'd often be the one to present HUAC with targets that the Tangee would like to acquire. When Ben met him, he was a Quatrius of Spies, right up until his old boss died mysteriously. I don't think Ben has actually reached out to him since leaving his dad, but he knows how to get ahold of him if he wants to take that risk. Kiraw is a treacherous bastard who will probably get himself killed by his own people one day, but he's easy to flatter and not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. He'll take any opportunity he can get to advance his career, even if it's very likely to backfire.

Beth Butane is a former villain turned underground merchant. She takes Tangee and other alien tech, reverse engineers it into new gear, and sells it for a big profit. I don't think Ben actually met her before going rogue, but he definitely knew about her and sought her out. As a metahuman, she's at risk from both the HUAC and the Tangee, and was understandably reluctant to trust Ben. But she took pity on him and decided to offer at least a little help, in exchanged for future favors. It was thanks to her that Ben met up with the rest of the team and has been able to lie low.

I'm also curious to learn more about the captured hero Sprig. How did you find and defeat her? Was it at the Battle of Halcyon or afterwards? How did she become a target? What happened to her after she was captured?

Ben was part of a HUAC vigilante squad. The mission happened about a year after the Battle of Halcyon; Ben had been working as his father's enforcer for most of that year. He used his geokinetic abilities to shake her out of the basement she'd built a refuge in, not realizing that collapsing the bunker could have killed a dozen other people she was sheltering. She managed to subdue most of the HUAC goons who were intended to do the actual fighting, though they were armed with some of Tinker Tantrum's new toys and did a fair amount of damage to her. It was ultimately Ben who took her down, creating a sinkhole beneath her feet and then hardening it into stone before her vines could pull her free.

She was targeted as one of the founding members of CLOAKSS; she was helping refugees, powered or not, escape Halcyon. Ben doesn't know exactly what happened to her after her father interrogated her ("interrogated" being a euphemism for "tortured") and then handed her over to the Tangee. He just knows that no one has seen her since.

[Kavonde]

ISAAC "VÁLI" MACALLISTER
THE LEGACY

HERO NAME: VÁLI
REAL NAME: ISAAC MACALLISTER
LOOK: MALE, WHITE, COMFORTABLE CLOTHING, MODERN COSTUME, SIMPLE SYMBOL INSIGNIA
ABILITIES: MAGIC WEAPONRY, MYTHIC MIGHT

LABELS

DANGER	FREAK	SAVIOR	SUPERIOR	MUNDANE
+0	+0	+2	0	+1

CONDITIONS

⬜	AFRAID	-2 to Directly Engage a Threat
⬜	ANGRY	-2 to Comfort or Support or Pierce the Mask
⬜	GUILTY	-2 to Provoke Someone or Assess the Situation
⬜	HOPELESS	-2 to Unleash Your Powers
⬜	INSECURE	-2 to Defend Someone or Reject Others' Influence

BACKSTORY

• WHEN DID YOU OFFICIALLY BECOME PART OF YOUR LEGACY?

It wasn't long after Váli... well, I mean, the last Váli fell in his last big fight against the Tangee. Three, four months ago? They threw everythin' at him. War mechs, waves of soldiers, leveled entire city blocks tryna get him. Me an' my little sister, Diana, we were livin' in one of the buildings that had to get evacuated durin' the fight. Our parents? Well, they weren't supers, but they helped. CLOAKSS, you know? But... well, that's another story.

Back to the fight. They broke Váli's bow durin' it, right before they finally took him down, an' I guess they thought that meant the magic was gone. But it wasn't. From where we were hidin', I saw where part of the bow landed. An' I snuck out an' got it before the Tangee could. Didn't really know what I was gonna do with it, but I didn't want them to have it, y'know?

About a week later, I went to get it out from where I hid it, an' it was fixed. Completely. An' when I touched it, it was... well, like a whole 'nother person just took up residence in my head. I got access to all this knowledge, all these memories, an' I'm super-strong, an' if I hold out my hand an' think about it real hard, the bow--Valdramr's its name--appears an' I can shoot these magic arrows made of light. It's, uh, pretty flashy, though. Haven't actually used it for fightin' the Tangee yet. Got a feelin' it'd draw some unwanted attention.

• WHAT'S THE GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT OF YOUR LEGACY?

Well, whatever's livin' in my head gets a real sense of satisfaction about takin' out Loki an' avengin' Balder, but I'm thinkin' it was Váli's fight against the Black Fate. I was eleven an' we'd just barely moved to Halcyon City when that dude showed up, turned the sky black, an' had his army of weird nightmare things runnin' around eatin' folks. All the heroes here were doin' their best to save people an' fight the bad guy, but it was Váli who figured out the enchantments on Valdramr's magic arrows were the only thing that could do real damage to Black Fate an' his pets. He actually died in the process, though nobody knew that at the time. The guy who picked up the bow after he fell, well, he was like me. Jus' some guy who wanted to keep Váli's legacy safe. I wish I'd got to meet him.

• HOW DOES THE PUBLIC PERCEIVE YOUR LEGACY?

Váli was one of the biggest heroes of Halcyon City. Heck, the whole world. 'Course, as far as most folks knew, it was just the one guy, fightin' the good fight for decades, even centuries. An' the last guy, well, he had to go kinda quiet after the invasion, but he was still helpin' where he could. CLOAKSS especially. He saved a lotta folks before he went down. An' that's what I wanna do, too. Like him, an' like my folks. I know even these powers ain't enough to kick the Tangee offa our planet, but it ain't about one big victory. It's about a lotta little ones.

• HOW DOES YOUR LEGACY TIE INTO YOUR REASONS FOR BEING A HERO?

I don't know what I'd be doin' right now if not for takin' up this mantle. Prob'ly jus' tryin' to keep me an' Diana fed. Which I still gotta do a lot of, though she's just turned 14 an' ain't too keen on her big brother motherin' her. So I wanna help where I can. Fight the good fight an' do my part to get the Tangee gone.

• WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT THE TEAM?

I know for a fact that however strong I am as Váli, it ain't enough to win this fight single-handedly. If I wanna do good an' eventually save the world, I need friends. Partners. Besides, I got responsibilities to my sister, an' I can't be everywhere at once. I need good folk at my back who I can count on in a pinch.

WHEN OUR TEAM FIRST CAME TOGETHER...
 

RELATIONSHIPS:
You once got caught doing something that shames your legacy with ______________.

You trust ______________ and told them an important secret of your legacy.

 

INFLUENCE:
You’re a part of this team, for better or worse, and you care what they think. Give Influence to all of your teammates.

 

MOVES:

Move List

Directly engage a threat	When you directly engage a threat, roll + Danger. On a hit, trade blows. On a 10+, pick two. On a 7-9, pick one. resist or avoid their blows take something from them create an opportunity for your allies impress, surprise, or frighten the opposition
Unleash your powers	When you unleash your powers to overcome an obstacle, reshape your environment, or extend your senses, roll + Freak. On a hit, you do it. On a 7-9, mark a condition or the GM will tell you how the effect is unstable or temporary.
Comfort or support	When you comfort or support someone, roll + Mundane. On a hit, they hear you: they mark potential, clear a condition, or shift Labels if they open up to you. On a 10+, you can also add a Team to the pool or clear a condition yourself.
Pierce the mask	When you pierce someone’s mask to see the person beneath, roll + Mundane. On a 10+, ask three. On a 7-9, ask one. what are you really planning? what do you want me to do? what do you intend to do? how could I get your character to ___? how could I gain Influence over you?
Defend	When you defend someone or something from an immediate threat, roll + Savior. For NPC threats: on a hit, you keep them safe and choose one. On a 7-9, it costs you: expose yourself to danger or escalate the situation. add a Team to the pool take Influence over someone you protect clear a condition For PC threats: on a hit, give them -2 to their roll. On a 7-9, you expose yourself to cost, retribution, or judgment.
Assess the situation	When you assess the situation, roll + Superior. On a 10+, ask two. On a 7-9, ask one. Take +1 while acting on the answers. what here can I use to ________? what here is the biggest threat? what here is in the greatest danger? who here is most vulnerable to me? how could we best end this quickly?
Provoke someone	When you provoke someone susceptible to your words, say what you’re trying to get them to do and roll + Superior. For NPCs: on a 10+, they rise to the bait and do what you want. On a 7-9, they can instead choose one. they stumble: you take +1 forward against them they err: you gain a critical opportunity they overreact: you gain Influence over them For PCs: On a 10+, both. On a 7-9, choose one. if they do it, add a Team to the pool if they don’t do it, they mark a condition
Take a powerful blow	When you take a powerful blow, roll + conditions marked. On a 10+, choose one. you must remove yourself from the situation: flee, pass out, etc. you lose control of yourself or your powers in a terrible way two options from the 7-9 list On a 7-9, choose one. you lash out verbally: provoke a teammate to foolhardy action or take advantage of your Influence to inflict a condition you give ground; your opposition gets an opportunity you struggle past the pain; mark two conditions On a miss, you stand strong. Mark potential as normal, and say how you weather the blow.
Fight the good fight	When you pull your punches while directly engaging a threat, you can roll + Savior instead of + Danger. If you do, you cannot choose to impress, surprise, or frighten your foe.
Never give up, never surrender	When you take a powerful blow from someone with far greater power than you, use this move instead of the basic move. Roll + Savior. On a hit, you stand strong and choose one. On a 7-9, mark a condition. you get an opportunity or opening against your attacker you rally from the hit, and it inspires the team; add 1 Team to the pool you keep your attacker’s attention On a miss, you go down hard but leave your opponent off-balance and vulnerable.

 

LEGACY:
Your legacy is an important part of Halcyon City.
Jeffrey Johns, the previous Váli was still active and prominent in the city until the Tangee captured and imprisoned them.
Diana MacAllister is the next possible member of your legacy.
The Black Fate is the greatest opponent your legacy ever faced... and is still at large.

Whenever time passes, roll + Savior to see how the members of your legacy feel or react to your most recent exploits. Before rolling, ask the other players to answer these questions about your performance. Take -1 to the roll for each “no” answer:

• have you been upholding the traditions of your legacy?
• have you maintained the image of your legacy?
• have you made the other members of your legacy proud? On a hit, one of them offers you meaningful encouragement, an opportunity, or an advantage.

On a 7-9, another is upset with your most recent actions, and will make their displeasure known. On a miss, something you did stirred up the hornet’s nest—expect several members of your legacy to meddle with your life.

 

MOMENT OF TRUTH:
This is the moment when you prove how much the mantle belongs to you. You seize control of all your powers, and you defeat even impossible odds to prove you are worthy of the name you carry. You accomplish feats even your predecessors couldn’t do. Of course, after you prove something like that, you can expect still more responsibilities to be placed on your shoulders...

 

TEAM MOVES:
When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, tell them whether you see them as an equal. If you do, give them Influence over you and mark potential. If you don’t, shift Superior up and any other Label down.

When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, tell them a secret about your legacy (including your own true feelings about it) to clear a condition and give them Influence over you.

 

POTENTIAL:
⬜  ⬜  ⬜  ⬜  ⬜
Every time you roll a miss on a move, mark potential.

 

ADVANCEMENT:
When you fill your potential track, you advance. Choose from the list below. When you've taken five advances from the top list, you can take advances from the list below the line.

⬜ Take another move from your playbook
⬜ Take another move from your playbook
⬜ Take a move from another playbook
⬜ Take a move from another playbook
⬜ Someone permanently loses influence over you, add +1 to a Label
⬜ Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add +1 to a Label
⬜ Unlock your Moment of Truth
⬜ Take Drives and mark four (from the Beacon's playbook)

---

⬜ Unlock your Moment of Truth
⬜ Change playbooks
⬜ Take an adult move
⬜ Take an adult move
⬜ Lock a Label, and add +1 to a Label of your choice
⬜ Retire from the life or become a paragon of the city
 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Kavonde (see edit history)

[Morphling]

For the Legacy, you're supposed pick two abilities from the suite of five that you don't have. You're also going to need to pick at least two members of your legacy to fill in for your legacy extra.

Some things I wouldn't mind seeing developed further:

What are your legacies rules? What are its traditions? What does the public expect from your legacy?

What is Diana like? Does she support Váli's heroism? What kind of her does she want Váli to be?

How far back does the Váli legacy go? What kind of presence did it have in the Gold, Silver, and Bronze generations?

All in all, solid effort. I would like to see what more you can come up with.

Edited March 18, 2023 by Morphling (see edit history)

[Kavonde]

For the Legacy, you're supposed pick two abilities from the suite of five that you don't have. You're also going to need to pick at least two members of your legacy to fill in for your legacy extra.
Fixed!

What are your legacies rules? What are its traditions? What does the public expect from your legacy?
The legacy is based around the Norse god Váli, the son of Odin who avenged/is destined to avenge Loki's murder of Balder and survive Ragnarok. It's honestly pretty directly inspired by the original Marvel version of Thor, with random "worthy" people receiving his power when they picked up Mjolnir. Of course, rather than being a god of war and battle, Váli is a god of justice. When the first modern mortal inherited Váli's powers, in 1962, it was only natural that he became a superhero.

The bearers of Váli's power must be driven by a strong sense of justice, and must never allow greed, lust, antipathy, or personal attachment to prevent them from seeing justice done. The precise definition of what justice means is nebulous and relies on the wielder's personal sense of right and wrong. For some Váli, letting a pickpocket off with a stern warning is justice; for some, arresting them and handing them over to law enforcement would be. Váli's chosen are usually seen by the public as classic, upright do-gooders, the kind of superheroes who rescue cats from trees, give inspiring speeches about what it means to be a hero, and who are generally considered lame by teenagers and very online men. If folks start realizing that there's a new Váli, there will probably some expectation that he'll take a leadership role in the resistance to the Tangee.
 

What is Diana like? Does she support Váli's heroism? What kind of hero does she want Váli to be?
Diana is a bit of a tsundere. She's very smart, one of the best students in her class, but also taciturn and even a bit cold. Given what she's been through, though, with the kids losing their parents more than a year ago now, that's maybe not surprising. She's trying to force herself to grow up fast so she can stand on her own two feet and not be a burden to her brother. To that end, to supplement the modest stipend she and Isaac receive (providing a UBI to orphans is part of the Tangee efforts to seem reasonable), she has a growing audience on TikTok, where her sardonic takes and expressive face have made her a viral hit a few times now. Some folks even recognize her on the street as "the WTF Girl."

She does not support Isaac assuming Váli's mantle. She's terrified of losing him like she did their parents, and thinks his big heart will get him killed. This is part of why she's developed this closed-off, sarcastic persona; she's trying to insulate herself from what she fears is the inevitable loss of what little family she has left.

That said, she's also secretly very proud of him. She can't help it. She knows that Isaac didn't ask for this responsibility or these powers. He was just trying to keep something good out of the hands of the bad. And despite her outward cynicism, she respects those willing to sacrifice and put themselves at risk to make the world a better place. She just hopes that he'll keep a low profile and not do anything too stupid until there's actually a real chance of liberating the city. She doesn't want him to be a martyr.

 

How far back does the Váli legacy go? What kind of presence did it have in the Gold, Silver, and Bronze generations?
The mantle has actually existed since at least the 9th century A.D. Legends tell of traitors and kinslayers hunted through the mountains and fjords by a mysterious archer with a bow that fired arrows of light. Isaac could tell you that the first person to wield Valdramr was a woman named Gudrun Astridsdottir, who came across the bow after her father, the thane of a prosperous village, was murdered by her usurper brother, who then proceeded to try and butcher the rest of his kin.

Valdramr lay dormant for long periods. Another Váli took it up to fight back against the Spanish Inquisition. Another appeared during the French Revolution, fighting first against Robespierre and then Napoleon. The mantle showed up in the United States in the hands of a Native American man named Matto Loud Hawk, and was one of the last faces George Custer ever saw.

As mentioned, the first modern Váli appeared in Halcyon city in August of 1962, as part of the Silver generation. There have been four more Váli since then, counting Isaac. Those Váli have served as heavy-hitters for various major super-teams, even leading a few. Váli's symbol, a runic design of a drawn bow pointing downward, is one of the most well-known superhero insignias on the planet.