So, with the release of the Psychic Vampire minor template, my group and I decided to run a side-story in our current game. The story will take place in the same town as our current story, Endsgrove. It's a middling town about a half an hour to an hour outside Boston, which started off as a quaint little town in colonial times and then slowly expanded outwards into the woods. In the past decade, the Mayor has decided to sink the town's funds into creating a new downtown area (away from the old-timey quaintness of the old town) with a college and a night life. This was a bid intended to revitalise the town's tourism industry, which had been steadily declining. Endsgrove has Supernatural Secrets and all that good stuff; we're dealing with that in the "main plot."
This side-story, however, concerns a group of college students in the local community college, Greenfields University. This group of people has just gone through a truly shitty week, and they are now ready to delve into the occult and get the power and respect they deserve.
Theme: What are you willing to do for power? How far are you willing to go to get what you deserve?
Mood: In music video form, How To Be A Heartbreaker and Beautiful Now.
Most of the characters here were friends in high school and chose to continue together in the local community college over going to Boston or elsewhere. They had regular meetings in the library and eventually their interest in the occult gave them a common subject to talk about and speculate.
House Rules:
The main thing to know is that I have refluffed Psychic Vampires to be Incubi and Succubi. The rest are minor touches here and there.
Starting Conditions:
Everyone gets 15 Improvements.
Everyone gets Hobbyist Clique (Occult) for free.
Characters gain an Appearance Specialty and a Quirk for free (see Mirrors).
Once characters are done, each player goes in turn and established a connection between their character and another. Once everyone has gone once, the circle goes again, so that by the end, everyone has a connection to another person. After that, each player gets two "twists", which they can apply to any connection or character, if they think it will make for a better story. Each player goes in turn as well, with two rounds of twisting.
The Characters:
Quinn Rae Teagan
Alex Leasatt
A Note on Alex: I talked to the player and I am letting him pick up the Familiar merit from Second Sight once he gets enough XP, ignoring the prerequisites, and using the embodied version to make himself a robodog familiar.
Luci "Lou" Mestian
Jack Bower
Keiran Callaghan
A Note About Keiran: I'm playing Keiran as though I was a fellow PC. With my 15+ years of roleplaying experience, I'm well aware of the infamous DMPC pitfalls. I use Keiran as an enabler and a support-type character, while the others take the spotlight. My group is cool with it.
The Relationships:
During a later segment of Quinn's basic education, her family moved unexpectedly, putting her in the same neighbourhood as Alex. The two were the only children in the neighbour, and grew to become friends because of it. Much later on, when Quinn had decided she wanted to pursue less academic subjects like Medicine, and more artsy things, such as Dance and Cookery, Quinn's main choice of college was almost entirely influenced by Alex's choice
Although it was a bit of a rough start, Alex and Luci's project partnership in engineering class has made them get along decently well. Luci's knowledge of guns and Alex's knowledge of anything else they'd need on the project had them soaring fine on robotic based weaponry.
Luci ==> Keiran. I figure the two might have met at the gym once or twice and occasionally struck up a conversation. Maybe Luci spotted Keiran on the weight bench or vice versa. I could see Luci coming to tolerate Keiran with a respect for his strength.
Jack ==> Quinn: They met at a frat party and got drunk together, hilarity ensued, been friends ever since.
Keiran ==> Jack: They're both on the same team and they had a rivalry at first that their coach later turned into a genuine friendship. It literally took the coach over a year, but it paid off, Greenfields is on a winning streak.
Quinn and Keiran met in very strange circumstances. Keiran found Quinn at a level of drunkness beyond words, and helped to escort the woman to her home. Quinn saw the act of kindness in a normally spiteful person as some kind of sign that she brought out good things in people, and struck a friendship with him.
Jack and Alex met each other in a study group, and although the rest of it fell apart quickly, they stuck it out together.Alex acts as a sort to tutor in academic areas as well as normal academic problems. In exchange Jack gives him pointers in the realm of sports. From workout ideas to explaining how certain sports are ACTUALLY played.
Luci and Quinn know each other from a less-then-positive experience. Earlier in her college career, Luci had a breakdown and nearly threw herself off a bridge. However, fate intervened and Quinn happened along that bridge, and managed to talk Luci down. After crying in Quinn's arms for a couple of minutes. Luci came to somewhat trust the woman who had comforted her, asking her not to tell anyone about the incident. Eventually, the two went in on an apartment together.
Keiran and Alex met when Alex caught Keiran making fake IDs, and got curious about the process. Keiran taught Alex a lot about fakery and forgery that complemented his crafts knowledge, and Alex gave Keiran tips on how to improve, especially with his use of machinery.
The Twists:
On a sleepy winters night, when Quinn was still incredibly focused on her studies and was roughly 17, Quinn approached Alex's house, her arms drenched in blood, with even more blood speckled on her clothes. After a solid hour of crying and generally being inconsolable, Quinn spent the night sleeping at Alex's house, cleaned herself up, and then left at the morning. Afterwards, Quinn seemed much more squeamish around violence, and left the house considerably less. Quinn has never told Alex what happened, and there's always an air of tension when they're alone.
Not going into details to leave it vague, but Jack believes it's his fault that Keiran was expelled, and lost everything he was attending for. Keiran of course has no idea. Ever since Keiran lost his scholarship he noticed that Jack has felt...off, whenever he's around. But had no idea why.
Before Luci and Keiran were gym buddies, Luci nearly took his life. A year ago in January, the two were at a bar. Keiran attempted to flirt with Luci who is angry at everything and was not having it. After a heated exchange, the two managed to start a bar fight. During it, Keiran was downed, and Luci pulled her .357 from her coat and aimed it at his head. She found herself unable to pull the trigger, but before she could re-holster her revolver, she was bumped, and the gun went off, taking part of Keiran's ear. Luci hopes to one day apologize somehow, but cannot think of a tactful way to bring it up.
Keiran was making fake IDs for more than one reason that day with Alex. Sure, there were the ones to buy alcohol or hand out for a few quick bucks, but he had all the more reason to be hasty. A cop pulled him aside the night before and saw through them, confiscating all the fakes he had, giving Keiran a severe reprimand. Alex saw the cop yelling at Keiran for all the trouble he would have to go through at the station, and thought to himself that maybe he could score some decent fakes for himself.
The reason Keiran can't remember how he lost a bit of his ear is because someone had put Ketamine in his drink that night. If it hadn't been for his fight with Luci, he would've been taken by a Slasher. Of course, neither Luci nor Keiran know this. But the Slasher does. [Nod to the main plot.]
Quinn and Jack were previously in a semi-romantic relationship, until Jack made the mistake of making fun of her Uncle as a joke. Quinn didn't particularly 'get' the joke, and loudly and bitterly broke up with Jack. Now, every time Quinn and Jack speak, Quinn always has a hint of venom and bitterness in her voice.
My twist is that as much as Keiran blames others, it ACTUALLY is his fault alone.
Alex has had a bit of a rough life, being a nerd through most of it. At one point in the 11th grade, Alex was being ganged up on by the whole high school lacrosse team. However, one noble gentleman came to his aid... only to get the crap kicked out of him as well. Alex doesn't remember who the other man was, but Jack does, as it was him. Jack now feels somewhat protective of Alex.
While Luci was preparing to jump off the bridge, Quinn arrived in the mindset to get rid of herself as well, not knowing her own meaning and purpose in this world. But as she saw Luci standing there, bracing herself for the Valor to take that leap, Quinn walked up to her and started talking. She knew she was going to go next, but wanted to know why Luci was ready to jump. And as they stood there, shivering a bit in the cold of night, she couldn't help but feel for her, and did what she did to console the poor girl, taking it upon herself to take care of her that night. And thus, she feels justified that her life did have purpose behind it after all.
So my Twist is that the regular library meetings have done wonders to ease some of the awkwardness between Jack and Quinn. So long as they're both with the rest of the group and not alone together, one can't even tell there's any history between them.
Trivia:
During their Occult rituals (which they've only begun attempting recently), each of the characters has adopted the symbology of one of the traditional elements.
Fire: Passion, destruction. Luci.
Air: Intellect, communication. Alex.
Earth: Stability, inner strength. Jack.
Water: Emotion, fluidity. Quinn.
Aether: Mysticism, spirituality. Keiran.
The coven paints pentacles/pentagrams in animal blood and then sets up a symbol of each element in each tip, before taking their place in that part of the circle.
This was the pre-game setup. I'll be running a Prologue soon, where the characters invoke a demon and make a bargain with it for their powers (and then they end up as their current character sheets, though their Integrity might be damaged by the end).
This side-story, however, concerns a group of college students in the local community college, Greenfields University. This group of people has just gone through a truly shitty week, and they are now ready to delve into the occult and get the power and respect they deserve.
Theme: What are you willing to do for power? How far are you willing to go to get what you deserve?
Mood: In music video form, How To Be A Heartbreaker and Beautiful Now.
Most of the characters here were friends in high school and chose to continue together in the local community college over going to Boston or elsewhere. They had regular meetings in the library and eventually their interest in the occult gave them a common subject to talk about and speculate.
House Rules:
The main thing to know is that I have refluffed Psychic Vampires to be Incubi and Succubi. The rest are minor touches here and there.
Starting Conditions:
Everyone gets 15 Improvements.
Everyone gets Hobbyist Clique (Occult) for free.
Characters gain an Appearance Specialty and a Quirk for free (see Mirrors).
Once characters are done, each player goes in turn and established a connection between their character and another. Once everyone has gone once, the circle goes again, so that by the end, everyone has a connection to another person. After that, each player gets two "twists", which they can apply to any connection or character, if they think it will make for a better story. Each player goes in turn as well, with two rounds of twisting.
The Characters:
Quinn Rae Teagan
Alex Leasatt
A Note on Alex: I talked to the player and I am letting him pick up the Familiar merit from Second Sight once he gets enough XP, ignoring the prerequisites, and using the embodied version to make himself a robodog familiar.
Luci "Lou" Mestian
Jack Bower
Keiran Callaghan
A Note About Keiran: I'm playing Keiran as though I was a fellow PC. With my 15+ years of roleplaying experience, I'm well aware of the infamous DMPC pitfalls. I use Keiran as an enabler and a support-type character, while the others take the spotlight. My group is cool with it.
The Relationships:
During a later segment of Quinn's basic education, her family moved unexpectedly, putting her in the same neighbourhood as Alex. The two were the only children in the neighbour, and grew to become friends because of it. Much later on, when Quinn had decided she wanted to pursue less academic subjects like Medicine, and more artsy things, such as Dance and Cookery, Quinn's main choice of college was almost entirely influenced by Alex's choice
Although it was a bit of a rough start, Alex and Luci's project partnership in engineering class has made them get along decently well. Luci's knowledge of guns and Alex's knowledge of anything else they'd need on the project had them soaring fine on robotic based weaponry.
Luci ==> Keiran. I figure the two might have met at the gym once or twice and occasionally struck up a conversation. Maybe Luci spotted Keiran on the weight bench or vice versa. I could see Luci coming to tolerate Keiran with a respect for his strength.
Jack ==> Quinn: They met at a frat party and got drunk together, hilarity ensued, been friends ever since.
Keiran ==> Jack: They're both on the same team and they had a rivalry at first that their coach later turned into a genuine friendship. It literally took the coach over a year, but it paid off, Greenfields is on a winning streak.
Quinn and Keiran met in very strange circumstances. Keiran found Quinn at a level of drunkness beyond words, and helped to escort the woman to her home. Quinn saw the act of kindness in a normally spiteful person as some kind of sign that she brought out good things in people, and struck a friendship with him.
Jack and Alex met each other in a study group, and although the rest of it fell apart quickly, they stuck it out together.Alex acts as a sort to tutor in academic areas as well as normal academic problems. In exchange Jack gives him pointers in the realm of sports. From workout ideas to explaining how certain sports are ACTUALLY played.
Luci and Quinn know each other from a less-then-positive experience. Earlier in her college career, Luci had a breakdown and nearly threw herself off a bridge. However, fate intervened and Quinn happened along that bridge, and managed to talk Luci down. After crying in Quinn's arms for a couple of minutes. Luci came to somewhat trust the woman who had comforted her, asking her not to tell anyone about the incident. Eventually, the two went in on an apartment together.
Keiran and Alex met when Alex caught Keiran making fake IDs, and got curious about the process. Keiran taught Alex a lot about fakery and forgery that complemented his crafts knowledge, and Alex gave Keiran tips on how to improve, especially with his use of machinery.
The Twists:
On a sleepy winters night, when Quinn was still incredibly focused on her studies and was roughly 17, Quinn approached Alex's house, her arms drenched in blood, with even more blood speckled on her clothes. After a solid hour of crying and generally being inconsolable, Quinn spent the night sleeping at Alex's house, cleaned herself up, and then left at the morning. Afterwards, Quinn seemed much more squeamish around violence, and left the house considerably less. Quinn has never told Alex what happened, and there's always an air of tension when they're alone.
Not going into details to leave it vague, but Jack believes it's his fault that Keiran was expelled, and lost everything he was attending for. Keiran of course has no idea. Ever since Keiran lost his scholarship he noticed that Jack has felt...off, whenever he's around. But had no idea why.
Before Luci and Keiran were gym buddies, Luci nearly took his life. A year ago in January, the two were at a bar. Keiran attempted to flirt with Luci who is angry at everything and was not having it. After a heated exchange, the two managed to start a bar fight. During it, Keiran was downed, and Luci pulled her .357 from her coat and aimed it at his head. She found herself unable to pull the trigger, but before she could re-holster her revolver, she was bumped, and the gun went off, taking part of Keiran's ear. Luci hopes to one day apologize somehow, but cannot think of a tactful way to bring it up.
Keiran was making fake IDs for more than one reason that day with Alex. Sure, there were the ones to buy alcohol or hand out for a few quick bucks, but he had all the more reason to be hasty. A cop pulled him aside the night before and saw through them, confiscating all the fakes he had, giving Keiran a severe reprimand. Alex saw the cop yelling at Keiran for all the trouble he would have to go through at the station, and thought to himself that maybe he could score some decent fakes for himself.
The reason Keiran can't remember how he lost a bit of his ear is because someone had put Ketamine in his drink that night. If it hadn't been for his fight with Luci, he would've been taken by a Slasher. Of course, neither Luci nor Keiran know this. But the Slasher does. [Nod to the main plot.]
Quinn and Jack were previously in a semi-romantic relationship, until Jack made the mistake of making fun of her Uncle as a joke. Quinn didn't particularly 'get' the joke, and loudly and bitterly broke up with Jack. Now, every time Quinn and Jack speak, Quinn always has a hint of venom and bitterness in her voice.
My twist is that as much as Keiran blames others, it ACTUALLY is his fault alone.
Alex has had a bit of a rough life, being a nerd through most of it. At one point in the 11th grade, Alex was being ganged up on by the whole high school lacrosse team. However, one noble gentleman came to his aid... only to get the crap kicked out of him as well. Alex doesn't remember who the other man was, but Jack does, as it was him. Jack now feels somewhat protective of Alex.
While Luci was preparing to jump off the bridge, Quinn arrived in the mindset to get rid of herself as well, not knowing her own meaning and purpose in this world. But as she saw Luci standing there, bracing herself for the Valor to take that leap, Quinn walked up to her and started talking. She knew she was going to go next, but wanted to know why Luci was ready to jump. And as they stood there, shivering a bit in the cold of night, she couldn't help but feel for her, and did what she did to console the poor girl, taking it upon herself to take care of her that night. And thus, she feels justified that her life did have purpose behind it after all.
So my Twist is that the regular library meetings have done wonders to ease some of the awkwardness between Jack and Quinn. So long as they're both with the rest of the group and not alone together, one can't even tell there's any history between them.
Trivia:
During their Occult rituals (which they've only begun attempting recently), each of the characters has adopted the symbology of one of the traditional elements.
Fire: Passion, destruction. Luci.
Air: Intellect, communication. Alex.
Earth: Stability, inner strength. Jack.
Water: Emotion, fluidity. Quinn.
Aether: Mysticism, spirituality. Keiran.
The coven paints pentacles/pentagrams in animal blood and then sets up a symbol of each element in each tip, before taking their place in that part of the circle.
-*-*-*-*-
This was the pre-game setup. I'll be running a Prologue soon, where the characters invoke a demon and make a bargain with it for their powers (and then they end up as their current character sheets, though their Integrity might be damaged by the end).
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