The Uncanny X-Men (Free-Form RPG, Groups)

[kckolbe]

As an aside, I am delighted that you are interested in the game.

Well, you did the right thing (in my opinion) by looking for plot and development elements from the start.  I think that going too sandboxy kills a lot of potential X-Men games, and you are avoiding many of those pitfalls.

[PhantomPistoleer]

Well, you did the right thing (in my opinion) by looking for plot and development elements from the start.  I think that going too sandboxy kills a lot of potential X-Men games, and you are avoiding many of those pitfalls.

Sandbox games are always confronted with the common pitfall of "there being nothing to do!"

But, action is the name of this game -- things are happening all of the time.  The way I see it, there are three jets, so there will be three missions happening.  Plus, things go down at the school.  But tha won't deter social interaction.  It will be like playing two games at the same time.  I have ideas about how to carry this all out.  I just hope I have the stamina!  The game is, admittedly, ambitious.

[Kokaine]

Not only am I okay with it, I highly encourage all players to build their characters with pre-existing relationships.  Everyone in the game should be open to new and fun ideas, especially if they increase the play's potential!

As an aside, I am delighted that you are interested in the game.

Awesome!

Here's a WIP. Another player will be playing my character's sister and we'll need to make sure things match up background wise, but I figured you could still yay or nay the concept.

Resident Hellion: Wyldecat

Real Name: Devyn Blackthorn

Group Affiliation: X-Men

Height: 5'11”

Weight: 147lbs

Arch-Enemies: The bastards who kidnapped her and her sister (?)

Nickname: Dev, Wylde, Pussycat (if she likes you enough)

Powers:

• possess feral abilities that give her enhanced speed, strength, stamina, agility, flexibility, and reflexes. These abilities are “on” at lower levels constantly without conscious effort but increase exponentially when she purposely taps into her feral nature (noted by a shift in eye color and the appearance of fangs and claws).
  
• repairs and regenerates damaged and destroyed tissue as well as revives and recuperates from exhaustion and fatigue much faster than a normal human. Poisons and toxins that are fast acting may take effect but they will be quickly filtered out of her body.
  
• possesses heightened senses, sight and smell being her strongest—she can see in near pitch dark and can separate and identify layered scents—she is learning to partially tap into her feral aspects to selectively enhance specific senses while not losing herself to her “beast”.
  
• possesses innate animal magnetism that functions similar to pheromones and has heightened predatory instincts that allow her to hunt and track with ease and gives her the edge in pursuit and capture.
  
• Can communicate with animals on a very basic level (images).

Skills:

• Excellent with a bow and arrow
  
• High level hand to hand combatant (trained by Wolverine)
  
• Excels at hunting and tracking
  
• Naturally able to survive in the wilderness

Bio: Devyn's past is not up for discussion, dissection, or debate and any who fail to understand that either find themselves shut out or knocked out, Professor X (and possibly Wolverine?) being the notable exception to date. The reality is that at 7 years old, Dev and her older sister were found in the Appalachian Mountains (in Virginia) gone completely feral. It is unknown just how long the two were out there or how they even ended up there, but it is assumed that the two survived by allowing their mutant abilities to come to the fore. Little more than that is known since by the time they could get either of the two girls to speak, Devyn had effectively blocked out most of her memories and refused to speak of what little she did recall.

In the years that followed their discovery, Devyn and her sister were cared for (and studied) by the couple that found them. Their adoptive parents were loving and patient and committed to seeing the girls reintegrated into society, however it quickly became clear that Dev had gone too far into her feral mind to release it entirely and thus she earned the name Wyldecat from her adoptive father early on.

Things changed when Devyn was 16. Masked men broke into their home after using some sort of mental ability to knock both girls unconscious, and murdered the girls' adoptive parents. When Devyn came to she discovered they were being held in some sort of facility where she was poked and prodded regularly. It wasn't until some sort of massive disturbance happened that she was able to escape. Having been in the facility for 4 months and having only once seen her sister, Dev had no idea whether her sibling was alive or dead. She couldn't hear her due to the sound proofed walls and couldn't scent her due to the liberal use of some odor nullifying agent. She tried to navigate the facility to find her sister but with her senses so skewed it was hell trying to get anywhere without just running in blindly. She did her best, even sticking around after the alarm had been raised over her escape but ultimately she was forced to retreat when she came upon a cluster of guards and scientists. She managed to escape but vowed to come back to find her sister before taking off and heading North into the Canadian wilds where she crossed paths with Wolverine.

Since running into Wolverine, Dev has come to the mansion to where she has studied to harness her rage and feral tendencies and hone her abilities. She is still far from completely civilized but she likes it that way.


Wyldecat's Social Web
Wolverine: Respects and looks up to, like a big brother figure.
Banshee: Ambivalence.
Rogue: Growing respect, curiosity.
Lady Luck: Instinctively wary of but insanely curious about.
Colossus: Drawn by the shiny, finds him to be a calming presence.
Druid: Would do absolutely anything for her, but is unsure how to proceed with her now that she's back all of a sudden.
Iceman: Remains to be seen.

GM Prompts

• Wolverine knows who is responsible for the death of Devyn and Rhedyn's parents but is withholding the information (pending agreement by player of Dev's sister)
  

Communal Canon

• TBD
  

[Malrunar]

Reserved: Lady Luck
Real Name: Addison Snow
Group Affiliation: The Hand, Hydra, Hellfire Club, Madripoor, Kingpin
Height: 5'3
Weight: 120 lbs
Arch-Enemies:The Hand, Sebastian Shaw, Wilson Fisk, Madame Hydra
Nickname: Addi, Snow-flake

Powers: They call her 'Lady Luck', because Addison can both grant luck and take it away. With a simple touch she is able to tip the odds in someone's favor, be that they pick the winning lotto numbers for the most recent 'Mega Millions Jackpot', or find themselves getting that 'important' call that changes their career and launches them into success. But what she can give she can also take away; freak accidents, the loss of every penny to a spoiled family's name, the crumble of an empire built on business and deal making. She can't control the outcomes, but she can control the odds. Sometimes.

Skills: Speaks fluent English, Arabic, Russian and French. Can pick up some German words, but not fluently. Some won't say its a skill; but Addison reacts well to danger. She's able to remain calm in most situations, has a high pain tolerance, and is rather quick and agile. Evasion is her best weapon.

Bio: Little is known about Addison’s past, and it’s something she doesn’t enjoy talking about. From a young age she was stolen from her family, long enough ago that she can’t remember their faces or even where she’s originally from; although she suspects its somewhere on the West Coast. The human responsible went by the name of Zaki Haddad, who seemed to know about Addison’s abilities even before she did. Because of her his empire prospered, until the man became one of the wealthiest, most powerful and influential people in the Middle East. He sold her once he reached his peak and stands even to this day at the height of wealth and success.

Addison would refer to these as ‘the good old days’. Zaki may have initiated what would later follow, but the man had been fair to her.


GM Prompts:

* Lady Luck is the newest member of the X-Men, having joined just two weeks ago.
* Lady Luck is viewed as a highly sought-after commodity by members of the organized crime community; she is wanted by numerous cartels, and a huge bounty has been placed for her capture.

Communal Cannon:

*On a tip from Spider-Man, Wolverine and (THREE OTHER X-MEN) extracted Lady Luck from the clutches of the Kingpin, in a rare battle between the X-Men and organized crime.

Addison's Social Web:

Wolverine: Indebted. Fearful. Uneasy.
Colossus: Indebted. Fearful. Uneasy.
Rogue: Cautious. Acquaintance.
Banshee: Cautious. Acquaintance.
Wyldcat: Cautious. Acquaintance.
Druid: Cautious. Acquaintance.
Iceman: Cautious. Acquaintance.

[doodasaurus]

I admit to a certain interest in this game.  ;D

[PhantomPistoleer]

DESCRIPTION:  Wyldecat

Real Name: Devyn Blackthorn

Group Affiliation: X-Men

Height: 5'11”

Weight: 147lbs

Arch-Enemies: The bastards who kidnapped her and her sister (?)

Nickname: Dev, Wylde, Pussycat (if she likes you enough)

Powers:

• possess feral abilities that give her enhanced speed, strength, stamina, agility, flexibility, and reflexes. These abilities are “on” at lower levels constantly without conscious effort but increase exponentially when she purposely taps into her feral nature (noted by a shift in eye color and the appearance of fangs and claws).
  
• repairs and regenerates damaged and destroyed tissue as well as revives and recuperates from exhaustion and fatigue much faster than a normal human, though not as quickly as the likes of Wolverine or Sabretooth. Poisons and toxins that are fast acting may take effect but they will be quickly filtered out of her body.
  
• possesses heightened senses, sight and smell being her strongest—she can see in near pitch dark and can separate and identify layered scents—she is learning to partially tap into her feral aspects to selectively enhance specific senses while not losing herself to her “beast”.
  
• possesses innate animal magnetism that functions similar to pheromones and has heightened predatory instincts that allow her to hunt and track with ease and gives her the edge in pursuit and capture.
  
• Can communicate with animals on a very basic level (images).

Skills:

• Excellent with a bow and arrow
  
• High level hand to hand combatant (trained by Wolverine, though not yet anywhere near his level)
  
• Excels at hunting and tracking

Bio: Devyn's past is not up for discussion, dissection, or debate and any who fail to understand that either find themselves shut out or knocked out, Professor X (and possibly Wolverine?) being the notable exception to date. The reality is that at 7 years old, Dev and her older sister were found in the Appalachian Mountains (in Virginia) gone completely feral. It is unknown just how long the two were out there or how they even ended up there, but it is assumed that the two survived by allowing their mutant abilities to come to the fore. Little more than that is known since by the time they could get either of the two girls to speak, Devyn had effectively blocked out most of her memories and refused to speak of what little she did recall.

In the years that followed their discovery, Devyn and her sister were cared for (and studied) by the couple that found them. Their adoptive parents were loving and patient and committed to seeing the girls reintegrated into society, however it quickly became clear that Dev had gone too far into her feral mind to release it entirely and thus she earned the name Wyldecat from her adoptive father early on.

Things changed when Devyn was 16. Masked men broke into their home after using some sort of mental ability to knock both girls unconscious, and murdered the girls' adoptive parents. When Devyn came to she discovered they were being held in some sort of facility where she was poked and prodded regularly. It wasn't until some sort of massive disturbance happened that she was able to escape. Having been in the facility for 4 months and having only once seen her sister, Dev had no idea whether her sibling was alive or dead. She couldn't hear her due to the sound proofed walls and couldn't scent her due to the liberal use of some odor nullifying agent. She tried to navigate the facility to find her sister but with her senses so skewed it was hell trying to get anywhere without just running in blindly. She did her best, even sticking around after the alarm had been raised over her escape but ultimately she was forced to retreat when she came upon a cluster of guards and scientists. She managed to escape but vowed to come back to find her sister before taking off and heading North into the Canadian wilds where she crossed paths with Wolverine.

Since running into Wolverine, Dev has come to the mansion to where she has studied to harness her rage and feral tendencies and hone her abilities. She is still far from completely civilized but she likes it that way.

I love it!  Now we have to add to the Communal Canon and the GM Prompts.

A fun GM Prompt, I think, is -- Wolverine knows who killed your real parents, but is unwilling to tell you for fear that you will seek vengeance?  As for Communal Canon, that's up to your imagination!  At any rate, you can have as many GM Prompts as you might like!  :)

[PhantomPistoleer]

(WORK IN PROGRESS)

Reserved: Lady Luck
Real Name: Addison Snow
Group Affiliation:
Height: 5'3
Weight: 120 lbs
Arch-Enemies:
Nickname: Addi, Snow-flake

Powers: They call her 'Lady Luck', because Addison can both grant luck and take it away. With a simple touch she is able to tip the odds in someone's favor, be that they pick the winning lotto numbers for the most recent 'Mega Millions Jackpot', or find themselves getting that 'important' call that changes their career and launches them into success. But what she can give she can also take away; freak accidents, the loss of every penny to a spoiled family's name, the crumble of an empire built on business and deal making. She can't control the outcomes, but she can control the odds. Sometimes.

Skills: Speaks fluent English, Arabic, Russian and French. Can pick up some German words, but not fluently. Some won't say its a skill; but Addison reacts well to danger. She's able to remain calm in most situations, has a high pain tolerance, and is rather quick and agile. Evasion is her best weapon.

Bio: Little is known about Addison’s past, and it’s something she doesn’t enjoy talking about. From a young age she was stolen from her family, long enough ago that she can’t remember their faces or even where she’s originally from; although she suspects its somewhere on the West Coast. The human responsible went by the name of Zaki Haddad, who seemed to know about Addison’s abilities even before she did. Because of her his empire prospered, until the man became one of the wealthiest, most powerful and influential people in the Middle East. He sold her once he reached his peak and stands even to this day at the height of wealth and success.

Addison would refer to these as ‘the good old days’. Zaki may have initiated what would later follow, but the man had been fair to her.

(WORK IN PROGRESS)

I feel that this is great, and stands on its own in terms of a bio (you don't even need to integrate the suggestions I made in the PM I sent you).  Great job!  I am very eager to play along with you.  :)

[PhantomPistoleer]

So!

If everything plays out how I think it will, this will be Wolverine's social web.

Wolverine's Social Web:
Rogue:  Trusted, Confidant
Banshee:  Respect, Difference of Opinion
Wyldecat:  Regret, Responsibility
Lady Luck:  Fearful (afraid of what sort of reprisals will befall the school for crossing crime cartels), Sympathetic

[Malrunar]

D'awwww.  ;D

I'll update the profile with some of the extras, and add the GM points at the bottom and call it good. :3 I'm excited.

[AribethAmkiir]

In the comics, Rogue and Ms. Marvel are actually on speaking terms now, and can be considered friends.  Did you want to make this a point in the plot?

Possibly working up to this point, sure.  My version for Rogue, would be an early 90s version.  While established as an X-Man, and having proven herself to the more active members, there could and should still be some question about her from people who haven't been as active (like Banshee).

For now, I'd rather have Ms. Marvel dislike Rogue.  Could play into some of the problems the X-Men are having with The Avengers.

Also!  As a new player, I need for you to develop a Social Web and A Canon Plot Point and a Game Conflict.

The Social Web is a very simple list that will allow us all to better deal with others in a game where everyone already knows one another.

Rogue's Social Web:
Wolverine:  Trusted
Cyclops:  Trusted
Banshee: Respectful, though annoyed that he doesn't trust her.

A Canon Plot Point is a small blurb for a previous adventure or happening around the mansion.   It just needs to be one sentence.  People can contribute to this plot point by saying that they also participated.

After discovering Xavier's disappearance, Rogue and several other X-Men followed a lead into the mid-west where they found and rescued several students, but failed to find any trace of Charles Xavier.

Rogue has also undertaken a more active position at the school as the women's dorm den mother.

Lastly, I need for you to develop a plot point for the present!  Something that the X-Men are currently dealing with.  This can be personal, interpersonal, or it can affect the group as a whole.

Captain America has asked for Rogue to be turned over to The Avengers for her assault on Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, which occurred years ago.

[PhantomPistoleer]

That is so awesome, Aribeth.  I will add it to the canon ASAP!

[kckolbe]

Good call on the Ms Marvel issues.  Way to keep the tension useful.  Also, I think Banshee would have likely come to the school as Rogue left with the other X-Men.

[PhantomPistoleer]

Perfect!

[Malrunar]

And... finished. ;D

[AribethAmkiir]

Added the social web to Rogue's bio.

[PhantomPistoleer]

Thanks, everyone!

I will give the game a day or two before we transfer all of the Character Bios to a GROUP FORUM.

Do any of my existing X-Men have a preference as to where the game should go??

[kckolbe]

I can't say I have a huge preference.  Bondage seems a decent candidate.

[Kokaine]

Alright, added Dev's social web as I see it so far.

[Malrunar]

I'm not particular as to where the game is posted.

[AribethAmkiir]

It doesn't matter to me. 

Exotic: bondage (or whatever it's called) probably gives the game the most flexibility.  I'm not promoting bestiality, but if players of characters like Beast or Nightcrawler want to get romantic, that would be the place to do it.  Oh, and also probably fits the vampire plot.

Bondage, of course, for all those kidnappings we'll have.

[Kokaine]

Doesn't matter to me what category. Bondage would make sense.

[Malrunar]

Bondage, of course, for all those kidnappings we'll have.

;D There's every ounce of truth in this, lmao.

[PhantomPistoleer]

Hey guys!  I just wanted to give you all a heads up as to what sort of stories I've got prepared for all of you from the get go!  Remember!  Tip your friendly GM at the door!



"A mystery death of a mutant aboard a train sparks an investigation that will lead the X-Men to Hell!"  Genre: Mystery, Action, Adventure!



"Despite being empty for years, someone has tripped an alarm on Asteroid M!  But who could it be?  Sensors report no LIVING creatures aboard."  Genre:  Horror, Survival, Action!

[Ebb]

This looks like fun...

INDOMITABLE DEFENDER:  COLOSSUS
Real Name: Piotr Rasputin
Group Affiliation: X-Men
Height: 6'6" (7'5" transformed)
Weight: 250 lbs (750 lbs transformed)
Arch-Enemies: Magneto, Shadow King, Stryfe
Nickname: Peter

Powers:  Can transform body into organic steel. When transformed, Colossus possesses superhuman strength, stamina and durability. He is capable of lifting 100 tons, surviving without food, water or air, and is highly resistant to extremes of heat and cold.
Skills: Skilled hand to hand fighter, talented artist (drawing and painting). In his normal form he is strong and fit, but not superhumanly so.
Bio: Piotr Rasputin, a descendant of the famous Mad Monk, was born a poor Russian peasant. He did not ask for his great power, but once his mutant heritage came to light he has dutifully accepted the burden of using his great strength to protect and defend mankind -- even those who despise mutants. At heart he is a gentle soul but when provoked he can become a nearly unstoppable force of destruction. In battle and in life he tends to be a follower more than a leader.
In the past Piotr had an intense relationship with the X-Man Kitty Pryde, but today they remain only good friends.

Colossus' Social Web:
Wolverine: Professional Respect -- So far he has been a decent leader, and better him than me.
Rogue:  Fond Of -- She is not unlike Kitty, in her way...
Banshee:  Standoffish -- Why get invested, when the man could leave again at any moment?
Wyldecat:  Sympathy -- She has lost family too. Someday she may let go of her rage.
Lady Luck:  Protective -- This new girl could easily get hurt

GM Prompt: It is not widely known yet, but at the time Professor Xavier disappeared, Cerebro was badly damaged. Investigation by (Beast or others) seems to reveal that it was hacked, then damaged to cover up the attempt. It is not known what information was taken.

The Communal Canon: Colossus led a training mission of several X-Men students into the sewers beneath New York, expecting little opposition. They battled a pair of supercharged Morlocks who seemed to possess some strange dark energy. The fight ended in stalemate, both Morlocks escaping.

Also, if accepted please add Colossus into Communal Canon #4, the rescue of Lady Luck from the Kingpin.

[Malrunar]

Yay Ebb!!! ;D