Day of the Octopus OOC

[Thane of Fife]

This is the first out-of-character thread for the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying (Cortex) game currently called Day of the Octopus.

The IC thread is here.
The Recruitment thread is here.
The Dice thread is here.

Players, please post your character sheets here.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Hero ID: Sleeper
Sleeper is the seventh spawn of the Venom symbiote. His parent was bonded to Eddie Brock at the time and the two of them raised him, keeping Sleeper at home and refusing to find him a host out of fear that Sleeper would turn out like his older siblings – destructive at best and another Carnage at worst.

That lasted until the Venom symbiote’s first host, a Kree man named Tel-Kar, arrived on Earth. While initially friendly, Tel-Kar quickly showed his true colors and abducted baby Sleeper to blackmail the Venom symbiote into leaving Eddie to bond with him, then left Earth in search of a Skrull superweapon. Sleeper bonded with Eddie to allow both of them to accompany a Skrull woman named M’lanz off planet, and the three of them caught up with Tel-Kar and retrieved the Venom symbiote before returning to Earth. However Tel-Kar managed to sneak aboard M’lanz’s ship and return to Earth with them, and ambushed Eddie and both symbiotes. A fight ensued, which ended when Sleeper lobotomized Tel-Kar and took over his body. After some parting words Sleeper left home and has been roaming Earth ever since.

Spoiler: Note

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The above is basically the plot of Venom: First Host.

Affiliations:
Solo: d8
Buddy: d10
Team: d6

Sleeper is young, confident (some might say overconfident) and independent. This coupled with the reputation of the Klyntar species on Earth being at best spotty thanks to his parent’s past history as a supervillain and rampages from Sleeper’s older siblings (especially Carnage) means that most heroes wouldn’t seek him out for a team-up and Sleeper isn’t going to bother to seek them out in turn. Beyond that, while the Venom symbiote and Eddie Brock managed to instill some sense of morals into Sleeper he is still a carnivorous alien goo monster and it shows.

Distinctions:
Spawn of Venom – Thanks to being the youngest in a family of symbiotes that frequently leans supervillain, Sleeper has to deal with the fallout in the form of general public fear and most of the superpowered set knowing the primary Klyntar weaknesses of fire and sound, not to mention unscrupulous types who would love to get their hands on a power boost regardless of said power boost’s feelings on the matter. On the flip side, if he needs to threaten to start biting off heads to get someone to cooperate, no one will doubt his ability to do so. This also covers all the miscellaneous quirks of being a Klyntar – hive mind with their own species, codex use, racial memory etc.
Youthful Arrogance – Sleeper is still quite young by Klyntar standards, and the success of his singular mission to rescue the Venom symbiote has given him a possibly inflated opinion of his own abilities. What seems to be justified confidence in some cases is rashness in others, and Sleeper doesn’t have the personal experience to know when to back down or back out.
Host: Tel-Kar – Tel-Kar is/was a Kree spy, officially a deserter but in actuality put through intensive training and genetically modified to be bonded to a Klyntar symbiote for infiltration purposes. That symbiote was the Venom symbiote, and they were separated after Tel-Kar broke his cover while spying on the Skrulls. Tel-Kar eventually tracked Venom down and blackmailed the symbiote into returning to him for the purpose of retrieving a Skrull bioweapon, but was ultimately thwarted. He is currently a lobotomized meat puppet which Sleeper is using as a host.

Power Set:
Klyntar Symbiote –
Enhanced Durability D8, Superhuman Reflexes D10, Enhanced Stamina D8, Superhuman Strength D10, Wallcrawling D6, Chemokinesis D10, Invisibility D10, Shapeshifting D8, Webslinging D6

SFX: Chemicals: Add a D6 and step up your effect die by +1 when creating chemical-related assets or inflicting chemical-related complications.
SFX: Multipower: Use two or more Symbiote powers in your dice pool, at -1 step for each additional power.
SFX: See Invisible: Spend a plot point to prevent enemies from benefiting from an asset related to being invisible.
Limit: Fire and Sonic Vulnerability: When making a reaction against fire-based or sonic-based actions, you take emotional stress equal to the effect die of the attack, regardless of whether you also take physical stress.
Limit: Stronger Together: If Sleeper does not have a host, shutdown Superhuman Strength.

Symbiotic Bond -
If you spend XP to unlock a Watcher character, you can choose to have them become a temporary host (at the Watcher's discretion, some characters may not be willing to serve as a host). Change your third distinction to reference the character and gain access to their power sets and specialties. This lasts until you leave them or until the end of the Event (unless they agree to become your permanent host).

Specialties:
Acrobatic D10
Covert D8
Combat D8
Cosmic D8
Menace D8

Milestone 1:
1 XP: When you investigate potential trouble or an otherwise noteworthy incident.
3 XP: When you barge into a fight in progress.
10 XP: When you get captured and separated from your host, and either manage to escape or have to be rescued.

Milestone 2:
1 XP: When you consider another character’s merits as a host.
3 XP: When you accompany a potential host on a mission.
10 XP: When you select a new host and bond with them.

Spoiler: Note

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Ideal host guidelines:

• Human or something of equivalent intelligence (stray dogs are fine on a temporary basis, but Sleeper wants someone he can talk to).
• Must be at least somewhat heroic in temperament (bare minimum: no worse than Eddie Brock).
• Does not have to be an existing superhero, but does need to be willing to become one (otherwise Sleeper would just find a nice cancer patient).
• Superpowers are not required; Sleeper is quite confident in his own abilities.
• Needs to be a WILLING host (this is probably going to be the sticking point).

Current universe comic book background:

In the days immediately following First Host Sleeper squatted in abandoned buildings and occasionally homeless shelters, moving around a lot; Tel-Kar’s body didn’t come with any Earth-relevant paperwork much less a house, but as Sleeper could shield the body from the worst of the elements, and hadn’t decided where he wanted to ultimately end up anyway, this was a mild inconvenience.

But a few days after leaving home, Sleeper encountered a drug dealer trying to push a new street drug outside the shelter he’d spent the night at. Sleeper sent the dealer packing but let them ‘escape’, following them invisibly and with careful use of tracer chemicals.

After a day or so Sleeper tracked the dealer to Hell’s Kitchen. Mid-interrogation Daredevil arrived, having been tracking the drugs from a different angle. The latter’s super hearing meant he knew what was going on, thus avoiding the usual method of greeting between new and unfamiliar superheroes ((Fight! Fight! Fight! )), but immediately afterwards followed a tense conversation in which Daredevil tried, in his usual manner, to convince Sleeper to leave Hell’s Kitchen and Sleeper made it clear he was in no way interested in doing that.

The pair nevertheless managed to separate without coming to blows, but Daredevil spent the next few nights trying not-so-subtly to keep Sleeper out of the area. Given Matt had to work during the day and Sleeper didn’t, this wasn’t very successful. It even backfired somewhat: as Sleeper was sneaking around invisibly he now wanted to know how Daredevil was noticing him* on top of going after the drug dealers.

But after a few days (and thanks in part to a daylight rescue Matt had been stuck in court for) Daredevil finally admitted that Sleeper’s help was useful and the effort wasted trying to keep him from getting involved was better spent tracking down the bad guys, and agreed to let him help…with one important ground rule: no killing. Figuring the sorts of foes that Daredevil would normally be taking on would be no serious threat to himself – and anyway this was the sort of behavior his parents would approve of - Sleeper agreed easily. Things went much faster after that, with the pair of them able to keep tabs on notable cartel members day and night.

Unfortunately the earlier sparring between the two had given the cartel time to figure out who and what was after them. When the pair launched an assault on one of the cartel’s manufacturing bases, it went badly: Daredevil was grievously injured and Sleeper wasn’t much better off. To Sleeper’s irritation, Daredevil refused to let the symbiote heal him, or even administer painkillers. When Sleeper asked scathingly if the latter would prefer to be taken to a hospital, Daredevil responded that he knew of a place…

…and that was how Sleeper was introduced to Claire.**

All told it’s been a few weeks – maybe a month or two, but not more than that – since First Host. Sleeper has spent the time since the failed assault hunting down cartel members, refilling Claire’s medication supplies, and quietly scoping out the superheroes who come by for clandestine treatment in case one of them might make a better host than Tel-Kar. Daredevil is still recovering, and may or may not have been super-glued to whatever Claire uses for a hospital bed to keep him from doing anything stupid while he recovers. Claire herself is still a little uneasy around Sleeper, but the free medication means she doesn’t have to beg borrow or steal it from other sources, when he’s around he can generally be counted on to act as an orderly, and he hasn’t eaten anyone in front of her yet, so she keeps a bed open for him to crash on when he needs it and once warned him off when a group of shady people came looking for him.

Spoiler: Notes

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*I think at one point in the real-world comics Spidey and Daredevil traded secret identities, but I have no idea on the timeline for that, and I think it got retconned away anyway.

For this universe, explanations for this surprising Sleeper could include but are not limited to: Spidey bonding with Venom before meeting DD so that particular memory wasn’t passed on, DD and Spidey just never trading secret identities in the first place, or Sleeper knowing about the super senses and just being surprised because his ego thought he was hiding well enough they didn’t matter.

**Or whoever Night Nurse is in this universe.

Plot Points: 2
Stress: d6 Physical, d8 Emotional
XP: 2

[Lexiconjurer]

Kid Loki
Loki Laufeyson

Affiliations
Solo d10
Buddy d6
Team d8

Distinctions
Everything Is Part Of My Plan
Godling Of Mischief
Tragic Little Prince

Power Sets
Child God of Asgard
Enhanced Stamina d8, Enhanced Strength d8, Magical Blast d8, Sorcery Adept d8, Superhuman Durability d10, Superhuman Reflexes d10
SFX - Area Effect: Add a d6 and keep an additional effect die for each additional target.
SFX - Multipower: Use two or more Child God of Asgard powers in a single dice pool at -1 step for each additional power.
SFX - Weakened Magic: Step up your physical stress by +1 to step up or double your Sorcery Adept die for a single action.
Limit - Exhausted: Shut down any Child God of Asgard power and gain 1 PP. Recover power by activating an opportunity or during a Transition Scene.
Limit - Guilty Conscience: Step up Emotional Stress caused by guilt or other peoples' distrust of you by +1 to gain 1 PP.

Specialties
Cosmic Master d10, Menace Expert d8, Mystic Master d10, Psych Expert d8

Milestones
A New Team of Heroes
1 XP when you first create an asset for an ally.
3 XP when an asset created by an ally is the largest die in your dice pool.
10 XP when the team gets an "official" name.

The Truth Is Always The Best Lie
1 XP when you lie to your teammates, or tell the truth and they think you're lying.
3 XP the first time you or a teammate take stress because of your scheming.
10 XP when you finally come clean about all your plans to your teammates, or your plans work out and no one knows what you've actually been doing.

[DammitVictor]

Datafile: Kaine (no last name), La Tarantula

Somewhere between one of the CIA's best-kept secrets and a campfire story for rookie SHIELD agents, Kaine is (was) a superhuman mercenary terrorist who is wanted for dozens of high-profile crimes spanning decades, mostly in Central America. In truth, Kaine was first created in a black ops laboratory run by the Weapon X program less than ten years ago, and has only been "freelance" for just over half of that time. Kaine was created for the Weapon X program by OSCORP in a program directly supervised by OSCORP CEO Norman Osborn and OSCORP then-employee Dr. Otto Octavius.

While physically Kaine met-- and even exceeded-- his design parameters, he was quickly revealed to be psychologically unstable and resistant to Weapon X's medical and psionic control techniques. He eventually escaped custody and got into several messily public conflicts with Spider-Man and several of Spider-Man's known enemies, including Osborn and Octavius, before disappearing into the criminal underworld. Kaine is believed to maintain personal connections with several former members of both the Brotherhood of Mutants and the X-Men, though no obvious reason for that connection is known to anyone but Weapon X.

As an artificial person, Kaine has no public/private identity or even legal identity. He's a "person of interest" to most intelligence and law enforcement agencies in North and South America under a variety of aliases, Any biometric analysis of Kaine comes back as a very strong partial match to his genetic template-- Peter Parker-- distantly followed by partial matches to the incomplete records any official agency has on him. A human eye might admit to some family resemblance, but Kaine looks a couple of miserable decades older than the young, clean-cut schoolteacher.

At the time of this writing, Kaine has found religion at the most inopportune time and left the Gulf of Mexico behind with a six-figure job unfinished and a seven-figure bounty on his head courtesy of the Assassins Guild. While en route to Westchester County-- and the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, and hopefully Gambit-- Kaine has taken a dangerous and possibly lethal detour into Manhattan at the insistence of his over-active Spider Sense.

Spoiler: Physical Description

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Kaine is a small-framed but deceptively wiry man approximately sixty-seven inches (5'7") in height. He looks like a grizzled, late middle-aged version of Peter Parker, except for the area around his right eye and the right corner of his mouth, which sag like the skin has been melted and is shot-through with purple-black veins; likewise, his left eye is bloodshot but normal-looking, while his right eye is a vampiric red and yellow. He wears his hair and his beard shaggy and unkempt to cover these scars, and wears mirrored Aviator glasses to hide his "bad" eye.

At the time the game starts, he's wearing nondescript clothes that he looks like he's been sleeping in for days. Or maybe like he just got finished being laundered in them. Clean him up a little bit, and he might even remember he was quite the ladies' man when he was working.

Distinctions
Mark of Kaine
My Brother's Keeper
Been Here All Along

Affiliations: Solo d10 Buddy d6 Team d8

Defective Spider-Clone
Superhuman Strength d10
Superhuman Reflexes d10
Superhuman Stamina d10
Wallcrawling d6
Swingline d8
SFX: Grapple: When creating web-related complications, add a d6 and step up your effect die.
SFX: Web Constructs: When creating web-related assets, add a d6 and step up your effect die.
Limit: Mutant: Gain a PP when affected by mutant-specific Milestones, abilities, or technology.
Limit: Clone: Gain a PP when affected by clone-specific Milestones, abilities, or technology.

Fractured Spider-Totem
Superhuman Senses d10
Mystic Sense d8
Psychic Resistance d10
SFX: Spider-Sense: You may spend a PP to reroll a reaction against an attack and include Superhuman Senses d10 if it is not already included.
SFX: Saw That Coming: If your successful reaction roll includes Superhuman Senses d10, you may apply your Effect Die as a stunt die on your next action.
SFX: Venomous Thoughts: If your successful reaction roll includes Psychic Resistance d10, you may apply your Effect Die as Mental Stress on your attacker.
SFX: Gift of Prophecy: When creating a prophecy-related Asset with Superhuman Senses d10, add a d6 and step up the Effect Die.
Limit: Psychotic: When you take Emotional Stress, you may step up that Emotional Stress and gain 1 PP.
Limit: Growing Dread: When your dice pool includes any Fractured Spider-Totem power or any Asset created by a Fractured Spider-Totem power, both 1s and 2s count as Opportunities.

Spoiler: Spider-Sense

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Kaine's spider-powers are more pronounced than Peter's, especially his Spider-Senses. Kaine's Superhuman Senses d10 represents both his heightened "normal" senses and his precognitive danger sense. Kaine is a fully-fledged precognitive and has frequent visions of the future, which the Watcher is cordially invited to use to steer him by the nose.

Specialties
Combat Expert d8
Covert Expert d8
Crime Expert d8
Acrobatics Master d10
Menace Master d10

Milestones

I'M NOT SPIDER-MAN
1 XP when you compare yourself to Spider-Man, either mentally or out loud.
3 XP when you take an action specifically because it is or isn't what Spider-Man would do.
10 XP when you accept or reject your ties to Spider-Man.

THE PENITENT HUNTER
1 XP when you first choose to inflict physical stress in a Scene.
3 XP when another hero rebukes you for your violence or you threaten another hero with violence.
10 XP when you kill someone in front of innocents or expose yourself to great danger to save the life of a dangerous villain.

Spoiler: Development

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In the future, I'm considering adding Mystic Expert d8 and additional mystical Spider-Totem powers. Mostly stuff that could only be used in Transition Scenes: Healing, spinning textiles out of thin air, (slow) teleportation, spider stuff.

Status Tracker:
2 Plot Points
1 XP
No Stress. Yay!

[Plaids]

Hero ID: Hercules
Secret identity: None.
Affiliations:
Solo D6 Buddy D10 Team D8
This is sort of the root of the dice pool - you always get one of these, depending on how many heroes you're working with.

Distinctions:
Hero of Classical Myth - Hercules is man born in the days when gods walked earth and modern superheroes had yet to be conceived. Good for matters involving the world of ancient myth and history. But not so good for matters pertaining to the world of modern history. The names of deities and monsters from many mythologies and the happenings from more than a thousand years ago is a breeze but the modern world is a bit of an unknown and trying to create an analogy for a modern phenomenon using ancient myths can be like trying fit a square peg in a round hole.
Living the Good Life - Hercules honors the ancient Greek way of celebration and merriment. Great for taking the edge off a tense situation and building some comradery. Not so great for tasks that require ample amounts of abstinence, sobriety, discipline, patience, and repetition. He can do one, two, or even a few at a time but he ain't going to be of much help when filing for a commercial brewing license or combing a database of criminal activity to uncover political corruption. He's better off taking fist full of gold to pay an accountant to file for him and interrogating a mob boss literally trapped underneath his thumb.
Glory and Honor - Hercules is a man of living legend. Due to his own exploits and swagger it seems just about everyone can recognize him on sight or by account and has an opinion on him. Gaining the attention of others is great for preparing astounding displays, astounding others and leaving them breathless. But subtlety and covert acts within a group setting are not Herc's strength.
These are like the trait you were looking at. You can use one in a dice pool, and it may be big or small depending on whether it's good or bad.

Powers:

The Son of Zeus
This is a power set, so the powers in it are linked together, and you can normally only include one per roll.
Godlike Durability D12
Enhanced Leaping D8
Enhanced Reflexes D8
Superhuman Stamina D10
Godlike Strength D12
A power set normally also has SFX, which are special things you can do with the dice in your pool.
SFX: Area Attack: Add a D6 and keep an additional effect die for each target.
SFX: Berserk: Add a die from the doom pool for an attack action. Step up the doom die by +1 and return to the doom pool.
SFX: Versatile: Replace Godlike Strength die with 2D10 or 3D8 on your next roll.
Limit: Rage: Gain 1 PP to step up emotional stress by +1 from opponents' mocking or taunting.
Note: Can't think of a better power set for now. If I need to I'll incorporate some of Hercule's mystic arsenal.

Specialties:
Specialties are like skills. Again, you normally can add one to a dice pool.
Business Expert D8
Combat Expert D10
Menace Expert D8
Mystic Expert D8
Note: Bumping up Hercule's combat a little.

Milestones:
These are how the character gets experience. You normally have two milestones per campaign arc, which might be these or story-specific ones. Hitting the 10 XP reward completes the milestone, and then you replace it with a new one.

Gift of Battle:
1 XP: When you boast about your fighting prowess or legendary exploits.
3 XP: When you start a physical fight/altercation that probably could have been avoided.
10 XP: When you fight against a teammate in physical combat and either win or lose.

Revelry:
1 XP: When you drink or flirt with a Watcher character.
3 XP: When you get falling down drunk or wander off with a fling.
10 XP: When you are too drunk or too busy with a romantic conquest to help the team when they need you.

Characterization:The light and the dark sides:
Confident & Proud-Boastful & Arrogant
Brave-Foolhardy
Strong Willed-Pigheaded
Idealistic, but certainly not in a reserved, chaste, or chivalrous way-Naive
Mirthful-Superficial
Nostalgic-Regretful ---Explanation: He loves to recount the good old days and all the mythical adventures. But boy did Hercules screw up a few times and no amount of alcohol is going to let him forget those mistakes.
Note:Don't think I could have made it better myself

Spoiler: Inspiration/Sources

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[Thane of Fife]

Alright, I've posted the IC thread here. I have tried to place all of your characters about the city; if you don't like where I put them, I apologize and am willing to change it.

I don't think that Night Nurse wears a mask normally, but I've decided that she is going to wear one here.

[DammitVictor]

Pardon for the rookie question, but how do we handle dice around here?

What I think I'd like for Kaine to do is to start where you put him, but infiltrate the bank and pretend to be one of the hostages. I've been struggling with my third Distinction, waffling between "Web of Obligations" and "Saw That Coming", but starting off with this scenario reminds me of something I like to do with this character-- can I change that Distinction, one last time, to "I've Been Here the Whole Time"?

Fits with his precognition steering him directly into the path of trouble.

I'm thinking that distinction (or "My Brother's Keeper") d8, Solo d10, Wall-Crawling d6, Covert d8 to establish an Asset of "Inside Man".

[Thane of Fife]

Pardon for the rookie question, but how do we handle dice around here?

What I think I'd like for Kaine to do is to start where you put him, but infiltrate the bank and pretend to be one of the hostages. I've been struggling with my third Distinction, waffling between "Web of Obligations" and "Saw That Coming", but starting off with this scenario reminds me of something I like to do with this character-- can I change that Distinction, one last time, to "I've Been Here the Whole Time"?

Fits with his precognition steering him directly into the path of trouble.

I'm thinking that distinction (or "My Brother's Keeper") d8, Solo d10, Wall-Crawling d6, Covert d8 to establish an Asset of "Inside Man".

So I started a dice thread here. My own attempts to roll didn't quite work - I guess don't hit preview post on any post that includes dice rolls - but I think that forum gives an idea as to how the roller works, at least.

I'm okay with that distinction, and with that action. As a note to everyone else, don't feel like you need to start rolling dice immediately. In general, you can all just go over.



One thing I forgot above was that it would be helpful if people could track their plot points and stress on their character sheets. You should all start with 1 Plot Point and no stress.


Also, would people like a quick run-through of the dice mechanics, or would you prefer to go through that when we get to a point where someone needs to roll?

[Kareeah_Indaga]

My own attempts to roll didn't quite work - I guess don't hit preview post on any post that includes dice rolls

Yes that's been a pain point for me too, on several occasions.

Also, would people like a quick run-through of the dice mechanics

Yes please, and can we start with 'when would we need to roll'?

For example, I'm planning to have Sleeper sneak over invisibly. There's a die associated with his invisibility. Do I need to roll for that, or is it just for combat and similar situations?

[Thane of Fife]

First thing I'll say is, DammitVictor, I think I'd prefer if you were a little less declarative (at least at this point) in your IC post. Nothing wrong with the sneaking in part, but I think I'd like to have a bit more control over what the scene inside of the bank looks like in terms of hostages, robbers, environment, etc. Sorry.

For your questions, Kareeah_Indaga, I'd say that no, you did not see Kaine, and yes, you have a working knowledge of Electro (when villains start showing up, I will probably post stat blocks, though I may censor parts to conceal some surprises).

Yes please, and can we start with 'when would we need to roll'?

For example, I'm planning to have Sleeper sneak over invisibly. There's a die associated with his invisibility. Do I need to roll for that, or is it just for combat and similar situations?

So, normally you can use your powers and do things without rolling. The dice are generally reserved for situations with stakes. Hercules wants to pick up a car (or, y'know, the Baxter Building), he can probably just pick it up. If, for some reason, he really needs to pick up the Baxter Building in the middle of a fight or something, I might ask him to roll for it, but even there it's probably more of a question of whether he can do it in time, or something like that.

Most of the time when dice are being rolled, it is because there is a conflict, or sometimes because you are preparing for or dealing with the aftermath of one. Most of the time, when you roll the dice, you are either creating an asset or inflicting a condition, or you are trying to reduce an asset or recover a condition. Dealing damage in the form of stress is just a special form of inflicting a condition.

So how do you roll the dice? Well, you start off by saying what you're trying to do. "Invisible Woman is going to try to trap the Juggernaut in a force bubble." "I'm gonna rush across the street and pop Dr. Doom right in the kisser." "Spider-Man is going to make a big web slingshot." This should say what your primary intent is - Invisible Woman is inflicting a complication on Juggernaut, whoever the middle character is is trying to inflict physical stress on Dr. Doom, and Spider-Man is trying to create an asset. You may be able to expand your action after you roll, but it's good to have an idea to start.

After that, you put together your dice pool. Your dice pool can include one die from each of the following:
One affiliation
Up to one relevant distinction
Up to one relevant power from each of your power sets
Up to one specialty
Up to one complication or stress die from your target
Up to one asset
Up to one push die, stunt, or resource

You always have an affiliation - either Solo, Buddy, or Team, depending on what's going on.

A relevant distinction can be positive (in which case it's a D8), or negative (in which case it's a D4 and you get a plot point).

Powers are fairly straightforward, but note that your SFX can make big changes to your dice pool. Powers are only used when positive.

Specialties are also only used when positive. Unlike other dice, you can choose to step them down and get an extra die. So if you have Combat Expert D8, you can use that as D8 or 2D6. If you have Combat Master D10, that could be D10, 2D8, or 3D6.

Complications, stress, and assets are things that get created during the action. We'll touch on how in a minute, but basically, if Spider-Man inflicts D8 Emotional Stress on Fixer by taunting him, Wolverine could add that D8 to his own dice pool to show Fixer the pointy end of his claws.

Finally, pushing, stunts, and resources are part of where plot points come in. You can spend a plot point to add a D6 to your pool (that's a push). If you can relate that D6 to your power set or a specialty in an interesting way, it becomes a D8 (that's a stunt). Resources are normally created during a transition scene or when my dice give you an opportunity; they're always related to your specialties. This is a D6 for an Expert or D8 for a Master, and it lasts until the end of an action scene. For example, Hercules is a Business Expert D8. If you thinks it would be helpful to have a fat wad of cash or to get in touch with his business contacts, those things would be resources.

Once you have all your dice, you roll them. First, you set aside any 1's. These are called Opportunities. I can give you a plot point, and if I do, I get to add dice to the doom pool based on how many 1's you rolled. Of the dice that are left, you pick two to make the total and a third one to be the effect die. On the effect die, only the type of die counts, not the number rolled. You can spend plot points to add more dice to your total or take more effect dice. For example, if Invisible Woman wanted to add an extra effect die, she could trap Juggernaut and one of his buddies in the force bubble instead of just Juggernaut. Again, some SFX modify this process.

Now the other side gets to react. If you are trying to inflict a complication or stress, then the target makes their own dice pool and rolls. If you're making an asset, then you're rolling against the doom pool. In either case, the reaction roll produces its own total and effect die. If the reaction total is higher than yours was, your action failed. If it's equal or less, you succeeded, but your effect die may still be stepped down based on their effect die.

Assuming you succeeded, your effect die is the size of the asset or complication, or the amount of stress inflicted. Stress normally lasts until recovered. Assets and complications usually last for one use and then they're gone, but you can spend a plot point to make them last until the end of the scene (and you can work on making them bigger if you like).


Example
So, to put this together, suppose Cyclops and Storm are wandering around some sewer tunnel when they're attacked by Carnage. The Watcher tells them there's a scene distinction of Tight Quarters. Heroes normally get to go first, and in the Cyclops is the leader, so he'll go first. Cyclops knows that he and Storm might be in trouble if Carnage gets in too close, so he wants to come up with a battle plan. That's creating an asset. Cyclops has his Buddy D8 (because he's with Storm), Tactical Genius D8 (he could also use I Don't Have Time For This as a D4, but he'd rather have the plan then the plot point), and Combat Expert D8. His force blast power doesn't help. However, he has some plot points on hand and decides to spend one. He could push, but he sees he has Cosmic D8 as a specialty, so he decides to stunt by working the Klyntar weakness to sound and fire into his plan. He could be rolling 4D8, but he decides to split his Combat Expert into 2D6, so he'll be rolling 3D8 and 2D6.

Cyclops rolls 1, 5, 7 on the D8's and 2, 6 on the D6's. He uses the 6 and 7 for a total of 13 and has an effect die of D8. The Watcher gives him a plot point to add a die to the doom pool.

Cyclops is creating an asset, so the Watcher reacts with the doom pool instead of Carnage. In this case, the doom pool is 3D6 (it was 2D6, plus the extra die from the opportunity). The Watcher rolls 2, 2, 2. His total is 4 with a D6 effect die. Cyclops has the larger total and the D6 is smaller than the D8, so Cyclops has created a Brilliant Plan D8 asset. He spends a plot point to make it available for the whole fight.

After Cyclops, he picks who goes next from the people who haven't gone yet this turn. He picks Storm, and she inflicts D8 stress on Carnage, using Cyclops' Brilliant Plan asset to help her. Then Carnage goes and inflicts D8 stress on Storm. That ends the turn and Carnage went last, so he picks who goes first next turn. He picks himself and puts D8 stress on Cyclops. Then Cyclops gets to go again.

This time, Cyclops wants to blast Carnage. He still has D8 for Buddy. This time, he adds D8 for I Don't Have Time For This. He also adds D10 for his Force Blast and D8 for his Combat Expert. Plus, he has SFX which let him double his Force Blast against a single target and add three dice for his total, at the cost of having to set aside his highest die. He goes for it. He also has D8 for his Brilliant Plan and D8 for Carnage's stress. This is 2D10 and 5D8. Cyclops rolls 10 and 7 on his D10's and 8, 5, 3, 2, 1 on his D8's. He has to set aside the 1 and the 10 (and the Watcher chooses to give him another plot point to continue building the doom pool). Then Cyclops has a choice: he could take 7+8+5 for his total and have an effect die of D8, or he could use 8+5+3 and have an effect die of D10. Cyclops really wants to hit and picks the former.

Now Carnage gets to react. He has Solo D10 and Sneaky D8. In his power set, he has Enhanced Durability D8 and Superhuman Reflexes D10, but they're both in the same power set and he can only pick one. He's about to pick the D10 when he notices he has Multipower SFX that let him use both if he steps them down. Great - D8 and D6 go in. Finally, he adds his Combat Expert D8. Carnage rolls 1D10, 3D8, and 1D6. Carnage ends up wi a decent roll, but he doesn't get anything that can beat Cyclops's total of 20. The Watcher doesn't want to spend doom to add more dice to the total, so Carnage picks two dice for a 16 total and uses his D10 for effect. Cyclops hits Carnage, but since the D10 is higher than Cyclops's D8, the D8 is stepped down to D6. Carnage takes D6 stress, bumping his existing stress up to D10.

[DammitVictor]

First thing I'll say is, DammitVictor, I think I'd prefer if you were a little less declarative (at least at this point) in your IC post. [...] Sorry.

No, no, I'm sorry-- I didn't mean to overstep. How would you like me to revise my post, for now, or are you just asking me to be more careful in the future?

The only material facts that I intended to establish in that post are that I'm mixed in with the hostages and I've got (a bit of) a gaslight prepared if any of the robbers question my presence. That's negotiable if your picture of the scene doesn't support it; anything else, I'm happy to just correct for you.

[Thane of Fife]

No, no, I'm sorry-- I didn't mean to overstep. How would you like me to revise my post, for now, or are you just asking me to be more careful in the future?

It doesn't bother me that much. You can edit the post if you want; I made my post assuming that you are looking into the room but haven't managed to insert yourself into the hostages yet. I think I'd like you to actually make your roll before you accomplish that, if only because you may want to change the result or description if you fail (which admittedly isn't likely with the doom pool currently at 2D6).



Also, Kareeah_Indaga, I'm not giving them gas masks just to mess with you - I do have method to my madness.


Also, Lexiconjurer, how recognizable do you want Loki to be? I wrote that post presuming that he's probably not too widely recognized (at least, not without giving his name), but I can have people react to him more strongly if you prefer.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Also, Kareeah_Indaga, I'm not giving them gas masks just to mess with you - I do have method to my madness.

As much as one-shotting the entire encounter single-handed and leaving the police to sort out the sleeping bodies would have filled me with glee - I understand.

I’m more disappointed that now it looks like I’m not going to get to see Electro’s reaction to Hercules calling him out with someone else’s supervillain name, that would have been hilarious. 😢 Ah well, fewer chances for collateral damage this way!

Speaking of, loving the accents you two! I forgot the comics Asgardians got the fun Shakespearean speech.

[Lexiconjurer]

Also, Lexiconjurer, how recognizable do you want Loki to be? I wrote that post presuming that he's probably not too widely recognized (at least, not without giving his name), but I can have people react to him more strongly if you prefer.

I imagine people familiar with Loki would recognize the resemblance and he isn't really trying to hide his identity, but I'll leave it up to you how people react.

[Plaids]

I’m more disappointed that now it looks like I’m not going to get to see Electro’s reaction to Hercules calling him out with someone else’s supervillain name, that would have been hilarious. 😢 Ah well, fewer chances for collateral damage this way!

Speaking of, loving the accents you two! I forgot the comics Asgardians got the fun Shakespearean speech.

Putting on the theatrical accent fun and it helps to start off a with a character firmly occupying an archetype.
I mistakenly wrote down Shocker instead of electro for some reason. That does give me an idea though. If electro could potentially hear Hercules, I would like to try to impose an irritated or angry condition on Electro.

As for the henchmen the gas masks are a bit of hinderance. But nothing some creative problem solving can't fix. If it was comic book squirrel girl, I could see her sending in an army of squirrels each tied to a can of spray paint with broken nozzles to blind the henchmen.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I did actually consider something similar with chemical dyes, but if Sleeper is close enough to do that he’s probably close enough to apply something topical or just rip the mask off. We’ll see how things go!

But first things first. Questions for the Watcher:

• You said I could run in the front door, does that mean the front door is open? (Sleeper is trying to be stealthy, and if he has to open it himself to get in that would give the game away, and by extension be a point in favor of the windows.)
• You said the windows on the ground floor are barred, how are they barred? Are we talking locked, or nailed over with boards? (Is this something Sleeper could stealthily unlock by slipping a tendril through? Does it look like something Sleeper thinks he could smash through if it became necessary?)
• Anything else noteworthy in the building aside from the bank?

Assuming Sleeper can see inside:

• Do the hostages also have gas masks on? (I’m assuming not.)
• What is the ceiling made of - is it solid? Is it the kind with the square panels?
• Any sign of Electro himself?

[Thane of Fife]

I imagine people familiar with Loki would recognize the resemblance and he isn't really trying to hide his identity, but I'll leave it up to you how people react.

Makes sense.

I mistakenly wrote down Shocker instead of electro for some reason. That does give me an idea though. If electro could potentially hear Hercules, I would like to try to impose an irritated or angry condition on Electro.

I think that making someone angry or irritated would just be regular emotional stress. You can certainly try that (you can get a megaphone or bullhorn or something from the police if you feel you need it). If you want to try to goad him into coming out to fight, you could try that instead - I'd probably handle it a bit like mind control (I.e. A condition like Come Out and Fight Me or something).

If you do attempt to inflict emotional stress or a condition, I'll treat that as the start of the action scene. That doesn't mean Electro will start blasting hostages or anything, but I would put us into turn order and Electro might start throwing insults (or lightning bolts) back.

You said I could run in the front door, does that mean the front door is open? (Sleeper is trying to be stealthy, and if he has to open it himself to get in that would give the game away, and by extension be a point in favor of the windows.)

The door is not open, so you would give yourself away. I just meant that the police couldn't really stop you from doing it.

You said the windows on the ground floor are barred, how are they barred? Are we talking locked, or nailed over with boards? (Is this something Sleeper could stealthily unlock by slipping a tendril through? Does it look like something Sleeper thinks he could smash through if it became necessary?)

We're talking like a cage-like grate over the outside of the windows. So the window may open but the bars don't. Sleeper could rip the bars from the wall, he could break through the glass behind the bars, and he could certainly ooze through the bars if he abandoned his host, but he could not get through them otherwise.

Anything else noteworthy in the building aside from the bank?

Nothing obvious.

Assuming Sleeper can see inside:

It's darker inside than out, so he doesn't have a great view.

Do the hostages also have gas masks on? (I’m assuming not.)

Sleeper cannot see the hostages.

What is the ceiling made of - is it solid? Is it the kind with the square panels?

It's a fancy, arched ceiling, like you might see in an old hotel or bank. So basically solid. (Just to be clear here, this is a big, fancy bank that the thirty-story building is probably named after, not a little corner bank).

Any sign of Electro himself?

Since the goons are dressed kind of like Electro, and the light isn't great, it's hard for Sleeper to tell. But slightly more OOC, I will say that Sleeper can see substantially less of the inside of the bank than Kaine can, and Kaine cannot see Electro.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Assuming I’m doing this right, I want to create the Asset Invisible Insider.

Since we haven’t met each other yet in character I’m assuming I use Affiliation: Solo (d8)
I thought about Distinction: Host: Tel-Kar since Tel-Kar was a spy, but that might be a stretch seeing as he’s a vegetable presently?
Power: Invisibility (d10) (or if I can yank in the Chemokinesis too with multipower because of conjuring up some lubricant, 2d8)
Specialty: Covert (d8 or 2d6)
We don’t have any complications or stress to use yet.
No assets.
No push, stunt or resource at this time.

Is that all correct?

[Thane of Fife]

Since I didn't mention before, DammitVictor, I did roll the doom pool against your action and you did succeed at creating your asset. Not sure if you noticed.

Plaids, I'm going to say you can't use your Godlike Strength in this instance because Electro can't see you. I'm not sure, but I'm inclined to say that general threatening superpowers should maybe not count in general for intimidating because, say, if you can use your strength to intimidate, then surely Electro can use his lightning to not get intimidated, and I feel like that might be making physical attacks too useful relative to dedicated emotional powers (like pheromones or illusions or whatever).

What do you guys think? (Bearing in mind that your characters are just as vulnerable to emotional stress as the NPCs are).

Also, rather than an afraid condition, I think that should just be emotional stress. I don't think there's enough distinction between them. Note that stress can still be used in a dice pool as a complication.

Assuming I’m doing this right, I want to create the Asset Invisible Insider.

Since we haven’t met each other yet in character I’m assuming I use Affiliation: Solo (d8)
I thought about Distinction: Host: Tel-Kar since Tel-Kar was a spy, but that might be a stretch seeing as he’s a vegetable presently?
Power: Invisibility (d10) (or if I can yank in the Chemokinesis too with multipower because of conjuring up some lubricant, 2d8)
Specialty: Covert (d8 or 2d6)
We don’t have any complications or stress to use yet.
No assets.
No push, stunt or resource at this time.

Is that all correct?

I'd say Solo + Invisibility + Covert, I think. Also, since I think we established that you arrived after Hercules and Loki, I'm going to ask you to do this on your first turn rather than pre-emptively.



Also, looking for a general opinion: the way this game is supposed to work is one player takes an action, the Watcher reacts, the player finalizes their action and decides who goes next. Then that player takes an action and so on. I'm totally down with playing it this way, but I admit I'm a little concerned it's going to go very slowly in PbP format. As an alternative, we could do an "Everybody declares their action and rolls the dice, and then I'll try to mash them together in some order that makes sense." There may be other options. I'm totally okay with either, or we can start with one and switch if we don't like it, but I will leave it up to you guys. Preferences?



Finally, setting up the scene:
There are three scene distinctions currently present. Police Presence, Crowd of Hostages, and Amelia Blaine and Crew. Scene distinctions are just like regular distinctions; you can use them instead of your own distinctions if you like. In this case, the hostages and the news crew would probably be used as a D4 by you if they're in your way or you're acting to protect them from wild attacks. The police could be treated similarly, but they're more likely to actually be usable as a D8. You can feel free to work these people into your descriptions more or less as you like (and if you want to take action to get them out of here, you can do that, too), with the general note that the police and news crew are outside the bank and the hostages are inside.

The bad guys present are:

Spoiler: Electro

Show

Solo D8
Buddy D6
Team D10

Don't Get No Respect, More Power!, Where Do I Sign?

Living Capacitor
Electric Blast D12
Electrical Mastery D10
Enhanced Speed D8
Enhanced Strength D8
Flight D6
SFX: Energy Absorption: On a successful reaction against electrical attack, convert the effect die into a Living Capacitor stunt or double a power. On a failed reaction, spend a D6 from the doom pool to do this anyway.
SFX: Unleashed: Step up or double a power for one action. If that action fails, step the power back by -1. Activate an opportunity to recover.
Limit: Grounded: Step up or add D6 to the doom pool to shutdown Living Capacitor vs. grounding or electricity-dampening attacks. Spend D6 from the doom pool to cover the power set.

Crime Expert D8
Science Expert D8
Tech Expert D8

Spoiler: Electro's Goons

Show

Team 3D6
Career Criminals, Undisciplined

Guns D6
Resistance to Gas D10
SFX: Area Attack: For each additional target, add D6 to your dice pool and keep +1 effect die.
Limit: Gang Cohesion: Defeat Team dice (with D8 stress) to defeat goons.

Spoiler: Mysterio

Show

Solo D8
Buddy D4
Team D6
(Note that Mysterio is statted as a minor character here)

Smoke and Mirrors, Envious

Master of Illusions
Your Eyes Deceive You D10
Hiding in Plain Sight D8
Smoke Generators D8

SFX: Special Effects Wiz: Add a D6 and step up your effects die by +1 when inflicting confusing complications or creating illusion assets.
SFX: Smoke Cloud: Add a D6 and keep an additional effect die for each additional target.
SFX: Protective Suit: Spend a D6 from the doom pool to ignore stress, trauma, or complications caused by gas or visual effects.
Limit: Glass Jaw: Add D6 to the doom pool to step up any physical stress you take.

Covert Expert D8
Menace Master D10
Psych Master D10
Tech Expert D8

[Plaids]

Plaids, I'm going to say you can't use your Godlike Strength in this instance because Electro can't see you. I'm not sure, but I'm inclined to say that general threatening superpowers should maybe not count in general for intimidating because, say, if you can use your strength to intimidate, then surely Electro can use his lightning to not get intimidated, and I feel like that might be making physical attacks too useful relative to dedicated emotional powers (like pheromones or illusions or whatever).

What do you guys think? (Bearing in mind that your characters are just as vulnerable to emotional stress as the NPCs are).

Also, rather than an afraid condition, I think that should just be emotional stress. I don't think there's enough distinction between them. Note that stress can still be used in a dice pool as a complication.

I agree with the issue of using non mental or spiritual powers for mental or spiritual actions against an adversary. Since skills would quickly become more homogenous with skills since mastery psychology would have the same amount of impact on an interrogation as ice powers.
Relevant clip:

Superman would be less interesting if he could just use his strength to impose a desired mental state on every adversary he met.

I was in a comic book mindset where powers are often used to supplement interrogations or public performances.

As for turn order we could just get a random order to start every cycle and freely swap orders between people who want to trade. Cohesive plans of action could then be done when desired.
I will also be retconning my action and going through with the original taunting plan and imposing mental stress since no response has been posted.
I think it will be 1D10 for being near Loki and 1D8 with the Honor and Glory, a well known hero who grabs peoples attention is beneficial.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Honestly the moment I read this:

the way this game is supposed to work is one player takes an action, the Watcher reacts, the player finalizes their action and decides who goes next. Then that player takes an action and so on.

A red flag went up for me. Because that means if someone has to deal with real life stuff when their turn comes up - their kids gets sick, their job gets very busy for a few days, they have relatives visit, they need to travel, they lose internet or power, they have midterms or finals - no one else can play until that person gets back. Maybe it would work during an in-person game, but not in PbP; too much can happen outside the sphere of the game that you not only can’t control but won’t even hear about until afterwards.

Forget slow; that’s the sort of thing that will kill the game outright.

[DammitVictor]

Also, looking for a general opinion: the way this game is supposed to work is one player takes an action, the Watcher reacts, the player finalizes their action and decides who goes next. Then that player takes an action and so on. I'm totally down with playing it this way, but I admit I'm a little concerned it's going to go very slowly in PbP format.

Cortex is already very slow in play-by-post because every dice roll is opposed by another dice roll.

One thing that helps a lot with Balsera Initiative is when it doesn't matter, the player acting can declare NEXT as "any PC" or "any ally" or "any enemy". So for a Fastball Special, Colossus would roll to Create an Asset and declare Wolverine-- but if he just hits someone he can just say "whoever".

As an alternative, we could do an "Everybody declares their action and rolls the dice, and then I'll try to mash them together in some order that makes sense." There may be other options. I'm totally okay with either, or we can start with one and switch if we don't like it, but I will leave it up to you guys. Preferences?

I'm also totally okay with this, but in this case I'd suggest we need to maintain some flexibility-- if Colossus declares he's throwing Wolverine, Wolverine needs to be able to say he's doing something else; if Wolverine decides he's going to be precious like Gimli, Colossus needs to be able to do something else. One advantage of pre-planning our panels like this is that if someone does temporarily drop out, we're more likely to be able to continue with their stated goals until they can step back in.

Forget slow; that’s the sort of thing that will kill the game outright.

To revise my earlier suggestion, maybe the person declaring NEXT should also include a backup option, and we should each (as players) suggest our personal backup options if we can't post in a reasonable timeframe. Or maybe all of us have the default action-- if we miss the window-- of trying to reduce the Doom Pool by whatever means the Watcher deems most appropriate for the situation.

[Thane of Fife]

Yes, what you're saying is why I bring the topic up. One approach could be to break things into a Player Turn and Watcher Turn. So, you guys could all talk amongst yourselves and decide what you're going to do and in what order, then roll the dice. Then it would be my turn, and I'd roll reactions and then my actions, and then it would go back to you guys for your reactions and next set of actions, and so forth.

I think that that should help keep things moving in that we don't necessarily have to wait for individual players if they temporarily disappear. It also would mean that we can double up on rolling last turn's reactions and this turn's actions at the same time. And I think it would avoid the overwhelming majority of wanting to spend plot points or doom off-turn. In fact, when you guys are taking an action to create an asset, you could probably roll the doom dice reaction right along with your action.

There might be occasional need for conditional actions ("If Hercules knocks out Electro, I'll attack the goons, otherwise I'm attacking Electro, too") but I don't think that's too big of an issue.

[DammitVictor]

I'm interested to see how that would work in practice.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Yes, what you're saying is why I bring the topic up. One approach could be to break things into a Player Turn and Watcher Turn. So, you guys could all talk amongst yourselves and decide what you're going to do and in what order, then roll the dice. Then it would be my turn, and I'd roll reactions and then my actions, and then it would go back to you guys for your reactions and next set of actions, and so forth.

I think that that should help keep things moving in that we don't necessarily have to wait for individual players if they temporarily disappear. It also would mean that we can double up on rolling last turn's reactions and this turn's actions at the same time. And I think it would avoid the overwhelming majority of wanting to spend plot points or doom off-turn. In fact, when you guys are taking an action to create an asset, you could probably roll the doom dice reaction right along with your action.

For what it's worth from a Cortex newbie, that sounds good. The only issue I think I can see is that we might have some hiccups around Opportunity rolls if I'm understanding those properly.

There might be occasional need for conditional actions ("If Hercules knocks out Electro, I'll attack the goons, otherwise I'm attacking Electro, too") but I don't think that's too big of an issue.

I've done that in my Pokémon game, for the most part it's worked well. The main exception is if someone gets a little too specific with their if/then scenario or the bad guys do something unexpected leaving them sitting around for a round.

[Thane of Fife]

OKay. Then, unless Lexiconjurer or Plaids objects. Why don't we go ahead with that. You can all decide what you want to do for the first round.

It sounds like that's probably Try to Inflict Emotional Stress on Electro for Hercules and Try to Sneak Inside Invisibly for Sleeper. Hercules has rolled, so you can go ahead and roll for Sleeper. Do Loki or Kaine want to do anything?

[DammitVictor]

As soon as the goons hear and start reacting to the commotion out front, Kaine's going to try to snag two of them with weblines-- one from each hand-- and use his Superhuman Strength to pull them into the walls. Spend a Plot Point for an extra effect die, and aim for 2d8 against the mob.

[Thane of Fife]

Sure. And you and Kareeah_Indaga can probably go ahead and make your rolls and IC posts - I don't think it's likely that anything Loki does will interfere with your actions.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Sure. And you and Kareeah_Indaga can probably go ahead and make your rolls and IC posts - I don't think it's likely that anything Loki does will interfere with your actions.

All right then!

Rolling to get inside invisibly:
Affiliation - Solo: (1d8)[8]
Power - Invisibility: (1d10)[7]
Specialty - Covert: (1d8)[7]

[Plaids]

The lax turn order decided amongst players sounds good.