Heroines of the First Age (Recruitment closed. Thank you for all the interest.)

[Avalon29]

Hello and welcome! For now this is just an interest check to see if I can find people interested in Heroines of the First Age a fantasy monster girl rpg that uses the powered by apocalypse system as well as find out in what direction to take the game. Everything a player needs can be found for free here. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/216214/Heroines-of-the-First-Age-Character--GM-Sheets?cPath=9560_29018 The system should be fairly familiar to anybody who has played a powered by apocalypse game such as Apocalypse world or Dungeon World and is an easy system to learn for anybody with no past experience.  I’m more than happy to answer any questions people might have on the system.

I’m looking for anywhere between 3-6 players who would be interested as players. From people who are interested I’ll need a few things. First whether you would prefer to run through Genesis, a process in the book where we create our own setting or would prefer to use Holdfast, a recently released setting for the system. I’ll provide a brief write up and description of the setting if people want to do the official setting. The other thing I’d like is what kind of game or themes people would like to see, a tradition adventure, exploring the wilds, something with political intrigue, any direction you’d like to see where it goes. The last thing I’d like from players who are interested are things that stick out to you or you would like to see included which can be anything from the technology level to a power pool, immediate threat or villain or anything else that interests you.

The Land of Holdfast

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

In the world before this one the lightwings, beings of unsurpassed  magical powers kept the gods in check however there was one problem they could not breed and their numbers dwindled and the gods were free. The freed gods made a bet with each other whoever selected the most powerful champion would get to scrap everything and start a new world thus the War of the Prophecy began. The champions upon learning this scheme banded together and defeated the god but it was too late the world was already deteriorating. So together they joined together to form a new multi facet goddess led by Buel the Dragonturtle and a new world was formed in the Second Creation.

It has been three generations since the beginning of the world of Holdfast. Saving who they could the multi-facet goddess took the minds of all those who were lost in the War of the Prophecy and created new bodies for them and so the Direct Reincarnations were created in a whole new world with new bodies some with different bodies then they had before. The goddess could not save all however and they also had to create new people called the Newmade people who were created with enough memory to survive and thrive but were created from nothing to make up for the population drop. Both types suffer from certain memoiry based problems but they have survived and adapted to help repopulate the world.

After creation two more generations of people have been born, the second generation who became care takers for the older first generation who help to keep them sane for their issues while also tending the world and helping to create a new life for themselves even when surrounded by various issues. Finally the third generation arrived granddaughters of the first who hold tighter to the new world than the old and define themselves by their new allegiances in the new world and the latest conflict.

The new world was created with abundant resources for the new people to be able to build a plentiful life but unfortunately people even if they are monsters still come in to conflict. This one is the God War. When the goddesses created the new world, they created new gods who were weak but numerous and who feed on the Firmament and help maintain reality, but they were made weak enough where they could be slain by enough mortal manpower to prevent what happened before from happening again. The god hunters were also created meant to help keep these new gods in check. There are also the priestess who worship these new gods and so grant them power by worshiping them and the gods In exchange for helping protect their followers forming a symbiotic relationship with them although some hate the gods for their ability to compel belief although it is a weak subtle thin as while it encourages people to believe and worship them but it is also easily resisted as long as one is aware of it and simply chooses not to believe. This is the cause of the God War.

The God War is a war between the Priestesses who strive to protect and worship their gods and the God Hunters whose hard liners seek to exterminate all the gods and believe that their creation was a mistake. There is a third major faction known as the Archivists who inherited a city over the archives a place where knowledge from the first world and powerful artifacts reside with instructions on how to use them. They use this power to avoid being absorbed by either side while they focus on gathering as much knowledge as they can no matter what they have to do.

The god war isn’t the only threat or conflict that roams the world however. There are the mega beasts giant creatures, some with cities on their back  roam the planet. There are the remnants of the old gods, the power pools, the bloom, the strange metal known as the Convergance and many more but still the world thrives and survives for now.

To the north are the frozen lands that are home to the tribes of the Bare, humans with no monster qualities. They were once dragonturtles and dragonewts but were made bare by the goddess in the hopes of avoiding the slavery system of the past.  Between them and western Ocean are the Arid Mists a great dessert surrounded by  thick fog banks where nomadic seers known as Xerophyte Alraunes live. On the western side of the Northern continent lie the Mainland where the Grand Catheral lies and the home of the God hunters. On the eastern side of the northern continent lie the Otherlands home of the Archivists with their great city of Glass and Gold. Between the mainlands and the Otherlands is the Sigh a massive grassland where a few tribes live and grass that rises well above head level. To the south end of the northern continent are the Godlands where the losing priestesses have managed to hold up against the expanding god hunters. Between the Godlands, Otherlands, and Mainland is the Shiprwright’s Arbor a giant jungle where large trees give birth to sentient airships known as bulb ships.

The northern continent isn’t the only place where people are living either. On the sudden continent lies the Convergance a massive sentient and strange black black metal that covers most of the continent which some live with together in harmony, taking some of it into themselves to enhance themselves or their magic to help live together. There is also the flower duchies which live in the strange parasitic plant lands known as the Bloom. The Crystal empire which fights back against the Convergance and keeps it out of the city, and other weird places. In the seas lie cities on the back on massive sea dwelling Mega-beasts many of which have large air bubbles prepared that can surround the city when they dive deep underwater. Even the skies are occupied with people living on bulbship fleets, cities on airships, and strange fortress made out of clouds that is home to many mimics.

Created World details:

1. How common are Monsters and humans

▶ Both are common. The species divides are immaterial.

2. What technology level is the world in?

▶ Magic Age, where magic and magical powered technology is frequent

3. How does Magic work?

▶ Auras & Halos: Magic fueled by a physical material called Aether, which is visible as light in the air in sufficient quantities. There are no incorporeal components to magic or spirituality. When using magic, externalized energy is clearly visible as a brilliant Aura. Gods are powerful beings holding large amounts of magic, with huge Auras called Halos, but they are physical beings that dwell in (albeit far away) places somewhere on the land.

Current Genesis step and questions

Step 4 Power pools

The power pools are intelligent amorphous sources of magical energy whose powers surpass even the gods. The characters may sometimes tap into their power, but these pools have wants and desires of their own and by tapping into these powers you run the risk of gaining their attention or the attention of their servants.

The Everblood: A power pool that can be compared to a cunning and intelligent beast.  It wants to kill, eat, adapt, and breed. it spreads and exerts its influence by causing mutations and infections. Its servants are powerful mutated beasts and people. A wolf driven into a blood lust, a man turned into a were-beast or a giant mindless regenerating mutant or even an armored titan.

The Greentide: The Greentide is a power pool that best represents nature. Its desire is to destroy civilization and everything artificial returning the world to nature. Its servants are living moving plants. A giant vine octopus, a moving bramble patch, or a giant treant or even entire sentient forests that grow and spread.

The Nebula. A power pool that represents creation and celestial movements. Its desires are simple creation. What happens after it creates something it doesn’t care what it does or what happens to them all it wants is to create and its creations are merely fuel for the next creation. Its servants are beings of pure light and gasses, burning wisps, walking stars, or even whole galaxies given a sentient form.

The Restless Depths. A power pool of endless industry, a giant hive mind for insects. A powerpool that mostly just wants to be left alone but much like a bee hive if it is disturbed even slightly it will swarm to destroy any interloper. Its servants are insects and arthropods of all types ranging from giant bugs to human like forms comprised of thousands of bugs.

The River Dragons. A power pool that represents the world’s natural waterways, such as  rivers, lakes, streams and springs. It’s motivations are two things, the health of its many bodies and carving a new path for its river. It will wash away anything that pollutes or obstructs its paths or happily wash away an entire village to care a new path for its rivers and its avatars may even demand a toll for safe passage. Its servants are beings of water, living spheres of water absorbing things as it goes, snakes made of mud and stone, giant dragons made of water and other such beings.

The Screaming Sky: A power pool of destruction, fire, and metal. Its motivation is simply destroy everything it can and make big things in to small things. Its servants are beings of solid rock and metal that are split off from giant meteorites. Humanoid beings of fire and metal, a giant rock to smash everything flat, a moving giant of metal and heat attempting to destroy everything around it until they run out of heat and solidify.

The Evening: A power pool who represents time,  age, death, and other such things. It desires to bring about the end of those who shine the brightest and civilization itself either through combat or other means. Its servants are ghosts, wraiths, and other such creatures.


The Ink: A power pool that represents knowledge. It wants nothing more than to cultivate and absorb the knowledge of the world no matter the cost. Its servants are living words and characters but part of the true danger is its ability to corrupt or manipulate even the strongest willed or hide its presences in those of great intelligence.

The Silken: A power pool based on deception, wealth, and cloth. The silken has no grand plan other than to cause as much chaos and trouble as possible. Its tools are deceit, gossip, political maneuvering, and other maneuvers in high society, causing chaos through miscommunication is its favorite. Its servants are living pieces of cloth, shape shifters, and spies among other things.

The Uniformity: A power pool based around Homogeneity, Union, and purity it desires to make everything into a single uniform civilization. It captures mortals, enforces order, and does whatever it can to convert people to its cause. Its servants are known as the Returned captured mortals who have been changed and enhanced by the uniformity who are clad in white ceramic battle armor and black underclothes.

The Myriad: A power pool that represents life and spirits in all things. The Myriad is not just one intelligence but many. The of the Myriad is vast, hierarchical, and complicated. Spirits are connected in a tangle of allegiances. Spirits serve the elders who protect the younger, duty, promises and discipline are what matter most and to those who it lends its power to it expects the same in return. Its avatars are its various spirits. Forest spirits, awakened tools and objects, ghosts of ancient heroes, and other beings.

The Great One. This power pool is the world itself. Ice ages are signs of its slumber, lava is its blood, and it grows in the sunlight. Its motivation is simply to exist and live. It does not pay attention to those who live on the planet and fails to notice almost anything other than a cataclysm and does not rouse unless its irritated, irritating it is not a good idea. Its servants are its children, sentient boulders, giant living mountains, and living stones awaiting the chance to become planets themselves.

Character Sheet

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[float=right][img height=300 padding=5]Image here[/img][/float]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Race:[/b]
[b]Traits:[/b]
[b]Flaw:[/b]

[b]Concept:[/b] (A brief summary of your character in one or two sentences.)

[b]Personality:[/b]

[b]History:[/b] (Just a few important facts about the past of your character and their current situation. Doesn’t need to be too in depth. Where they’re from can also be included once Regions and cultures are created.)

[b] Primary stats[/b]
Alertness:  xd6
Charm: xd6
Power: xd6
Cunning: xd6
Spirit: x6

[b]Health:[/b]
[b]Willpower:[/b]
[b]Experience:[/b]

[b]Relationships:[/b]

[b]Equipment:[/b]

[b]Moves:[/b]


[Chanticleer]

Tagging for further consideration, because hey, AW, Monstergirls, armies...And it sounds a bit like TrollBabe in some ways. What's not to like?

[JoanieSappho]

Monstergirls and the stuff needed is free? Sold.

As for the rest, mostly unsure, but I think going through Genesis would be best.

[Avalon29]

Happy to see some interest! Yup everything a player needs is free. The only one who really needs the book is the gm or those who want some extra knowledge on some of the setting stuff that was included.

But yes Monster girls,  adventures, magical forces, dangerous adversaries, possible political intrigue, are all possible things that can be included. It's an exciting system and a fun toolbox that includes all kinds of neat things that can be inserted into the game. ^^

[Avalon29]

Glad to have another person interested! Take all the time you need. Like I mentioned for now its mainly just an interest chest to figure out what kind of adventure players are wanting so I can construct something everybody will enjoy. ^^

[Avalon29]

So with three and possibly four people interested, I think that's enough to start brainstorming a bit.

First off, are people more interested in creating our own world or use Holdfast? I'll write up a brief description of Holdfast later today so people can get a good idea on what the recently released setting is like.

Edit: And there we go, a rather large summary of Holdfast currently spoilered in the opening post due to its large size. We can either have the story take place there or use the Genesis procedure to create our own world.

[JoanieSappho]

I am still in favour of Genesis and making our own.

[Stendarr]

I've never used the apocalypse world system before, but I'm interested in playing.

Genisis sounds most fun to me.

[Avalon29]

Welcome aboard Stendarr. No need to be familiar with the system or one of the other powered by Apocalypse system. It's a pretty simple system to pick up and learn and I'm more than happy to walk people through character creation or answer any questions people might have.

The system can be boiled down to rolling your stat number of d6s  and as long as your number of 4s 5s or 6s is greater than the target number you succeed. If it's equal to the target number you partially succeed and if its less than the target number you fail and fate (the GM) intervenes with something happening in response to the failure. You also get experience when you fail so its not all bad.

Now since the majority seem to be in favor of Genesis we'll go with that. I'll create a world building thread once Genesis is finished to keep track of what we have as well as add further information to once the adventure begins.

Now then Genesis with two basic questions:

1. How common are Monsters and humans
▶ Non-humans are rare. They are the stuff of legends, spoken of in whispers.
▶ Both are common. The species divides are immaterial.
▶ Humans are rare. They are the mingling of many species.
▶ There are no humans. All peoples are monster-folk of varying types and extremity.
▶ There are no humans, but monster traits are more rare the more extreme they are.

2. What technology level is the world in?

▶ Stone Age
▶ Bronze Age
▶ Iron Age
▶ Magic Age, where magic and magical powered technology is frequent
▶ Anachronistic where the world has a wide variety of different technological levels depending on the location.

[JoanieSappho]

Both are common and magic age here, too.

[Stendarr]

I agree with those above me.

[Chanticleer]

Thirded or fourthed or whatever. (Though I do admit I find bronze-age games fascinating because of the limits they place on technology).

I like where this is going so far. Some critters might be more regional than others, but we're not going to get chased out of town because we look weird and nobody gets stuck with 'Well, none of the armor available will fit you' type of shenanigans.

Hopefully.

It's an AW-game, so all bets are off in some ways. ;D But at least the world is predisposed towards cooperativeness between the species.

Has anyone thought about what archetype they're planning for their character, yet?

I'm toying with a few different ideas, possibly Outlander or Shadewalker, but I'm really not sure yet.

[Valyndriel]

Oooh, I picked up Heroines of the First Age and haven't had a chance to play! Yay for Monstergirls! Have room for one more?

I like the worldbuilding choices so far!

I'm excited about adversaries with understandable motivations and potentially redeeming/seducing them (or being corrupted by them). I don't like PvP -- I would want us to be on the same side (with angst and disagreements and such, sure, but not working at cross-purposes in a serious way or as a major element of the game).

I love exploring a weird world and interesting characters. I love angst and intrigue. One thing I really like about this game in particular is the idea that Monster Girls can work to protect people from dangerous Gods. I would want to work up to something that epic, but it's definitely appealing.

I'll hold off on solidifying a character concept until we've built the world but these are a couple of seeds of ideas depending on what others play and how overtly sexual the world is:
1. A reformed villain who is struggling because her Evil Mistress made it feel so good to obey and do her bidding, but MC has different values now. She knows she can't resist Evil Mistress on her own and is looking for a New Mistress to keep her from backsliding. Evil Mistress is possibly a God whose minions can tempt MC to submit and obey.
2. A witch with the rare ability to touch spirits tangibly. This is a boon to sexually frustrated spirits, who otherwise can't be touched, and she gains power in exchange for pleasuring them.
3. I'm also happy with less overtly smutty concepts if the group prefers. I'd probably make either a witchy socialite or an oddly shy giant predator like a dragon- or wolf-girl.

How does all of that sound?

[Re Z L]

Seems interesting and I agree with the others for setting as well (both common/magic).

Still poking through the material to get a better idea of it.

[Stendarr]

Can someone help me understand how exactly to make a character using this system? I'm reading through the PDFs and I think I get how the characters work, but I don't see how to make one.

[Avalon29]

First off welcome Aprrrl and Re.

@Aprrrl
Now to answer your Aprrrl on the smut level. While smut is likely to happen, this is E after all. It isn't going to be the main focus however so 3 is likely going to be your best choice. However if you really like the first option a less smutty version would be someone who was once corrupted by or under the influence of a power pool, we'll get to which ones are interested in our world and what they are a bit further down through genesis, and is fighting to redeem themselves.

@Stendarr
Sure, I can walk you through character creation and anyone else who needs it.

First: figure out your concept, what are you going to be and what kind of person are they.

Second: figure out what race the character is and pick out two or three traits that make you different than humans. While this is mainly fluff since we're going to use pictures it can affect what  special power moves you can. For example it's hard to have the Agile Flyer move if you don't have any wings.

Third: Pick out your Archetype. Which Archetype moves are you going to focus on? While you can take moves from other Archetypes, this should lay out your focus. This also affects how much starting gold you have to spend in each equipment category, the chart can be found in the GM and Player handout. The Sorceress only gets 2 gold worth of weaponry but gets 5 gold worth of tools vs the Devourer which gets 5 gold in weaponry and 1 gold in tools as an example.

Fourth:  Now you pick out which moves you have access to. You get all basic moves, both tragic flaw moves,  1 move from each of Battle, Social, Archetype, and Special Power moves. You also get 3 more moves you can allocate wherever you wish.

Fifth: Select your tragic flaw. You're a heroine but nobody is perfect which flaw makes sense for your character? Whenever somebody invokes your flaw or you indulge in it in a way that causes trouble for the group you get 1 point of experience.

Sixth: Now you assign your stats. Each character has these stats 3d6, 2d6, 1d6, 1d6, and 0d6 that can be assigned between the primary stats which determines how many d6s you can throw when that stat is called for use.  0d6 means you get to roll 1 dice but its only successful on a 6. These scores can later be improved with experience. An example is below.

Alertness:  2d6
Charm: 0d6
Power: 3d6
Cunning: 1d6
Spirit: 1d6

Seventh: Everybody gets 6 health stars and 3 willpower stars unless otherwise affected by a move that is taken.  Health is your health and willpower allows you to resist me the GM or somebody else invoking your flaw to get your character in trouble.

Eighth: Now spend your gold on equipment you want. How much gold you have for each category is listed on the starting equipment budget chart plus 1 extra gold that can be spent in any category. Blessings can not be bought at the start of play.

Ninth: Define your relationships between player characters or NPCs. This is important as its one of your sources of experience. Whenever your relationship changes in an important way you get an experience point.

And that wraps up character creation

Now finally we move on to the next Genesis step. How does magic work?

.
▶ Auras & Halos: Magic fueled by a physical material called Aether, which is visible as light in the air in sufficient quantities. There are no incorporeal components to magic or spirituality. When using magic, externalized energy is clearly visible as a brilliant Aura. Gods are powerful beings holding large amounts of magic, with huge Auras called Halos, but they are physical beings that dwell in (albeit far away) places somewhere on the land.

▶ Spirits of the Land: Magic exists, but can only be done with the help of local spirits of the land. Spellcasters must entreat the spirits through chant or pact, and the spirits then perform miracles in exchange

There is also Natural Law which says magic doesn't exist and is all explainable by science, like a creature breathing fire is because they can spit out a combination of oil and heat, but as the group is looking for Magic Age tech this one doesn't make much sense.

[Stendarr]

How will we share our character sheets?

[Stendarr]

Oh, also I like Aura based magic.

[Avalon29]

I'll get up a character sheet template tonight. For now you can share what you have here and talk about your character ideas.

[Re Z L]

Aura/Halo also sounds good to me

[JoanieSappho]

Auras and Halos sound flashy and fun. Count me in on that.

[Chanticleer]

I definitely prefer Aura-based magic.

I'm a little puzzled about step nine (Relationships). In most PbtA games that I've played each 'archetype' has its own set of relationships which must be fulfilled, but I don't see (may've missed!) anything of the sort here.

I'm also a bit curious what 'Supernatural Ability' does. It looks like you normally roll (Stat)d6>3 and count successes (4,5,6). Supernatural ability seems to give you an additional roll which replaces that? If you have, for instance, Supernatural Power, and you decide to Melee, instead of rolling Power, do you instead roll Supernatural Ability (power) and on an S, succeed and take +1 going forward? or how do such things work? I'm confused about the situation.

And then there's 'Supernatural Allure,' which lets you use Beguile/Get Intimate/Courtship in battle. o_O Alright, we've seen enough mid-fight teasing by flirty opponents to figure out how that might be possible, but I'm not quite sure I understand the mechanics. For instance, with 'Get Intimate,' if you get an S, you 'You change both your tag with them
and their tag with you, and you take +1 ongoing with them.' I'm not sure what the effect of changing the tags is. I'm also not entirely sure how the +1 works...I imagine if it's an ally, it's like an instant Relationship boost +1 for assisting. If it's an opponent, does it give you a bonus to further influence/attack them?

(Absolutely NOT related to any bizarre ideas about sneakysexy carnivorous plant-girls with seductive pheromones. HONEST.)

For whatever reason I'm kind of orienting on a plant-type melee, but I haven't decided if I'd like her to be a big bruiser type (Outsider)

Cactus Brawler

...or a shifty, quick, sneaky type (Shadewalker).

Venus Flytrap Rogue

(...Although I daresay the tone of some of my questions suggests which one I'm leaning towards.)

Or I might do an arachne Shadewalker (kind of a cat-burglar/second-story sneaky assassin type).

Spidery Assassin

(...probably with an a proper arachne abdomen/legs added behind her, or at the LEAST another pair of arms.)

[Avalon29]

Relationships work a little differently in HFA (Heroines of the First Age). There is no automatically set relationships. Instead relationships are a simple short tag describing your one of feeling towards a character such as Disgust, Romance, Lord, Servant, Mentor, Lust, or one of many others. The only real stipulation with these is that they should be important and you can have four at once. As the game goes on they might change or be resolved and no longer at the forefront. If they're resolved all it means is that its no longer one of the most important thing going on for the character at the moment.

You don't need to have all four right at the start and they're free to add on as we go or for you to wait until the introduction when you see what the starting situation is and the other characters in action.   

As another announcement I have a basic character sheet in the opening post now if you wish to begin working on your character.

Edit: To answer the new questions

The supernatural Ability lets you do something super. For example if you have super strength you might use it to punch through a wall or throw a boulder to dam a river. If you succeed instead of just tie, you also get +1 forward, which basically you get to add a plus 1 to your next roll relating to that effect. So the next time you punch something or do anything strength related you'll get  to add + 1 to one of your rolls and do something like turn a 3 into a 4 and make it a success.

As for Supernatural Allure. First Roll bonuses are powerful. +1 means  that your 3s now count as successes. As for the effects in combat it depends on you want to use it. For example if you're using Beguile you may persuade a bandit to target someone else or to hold back a little bit or that you're not worth the effort to rob, heck you give them some gold they might even retreat.

Before going into how the other two might work I'll give a brief explanation on tags. Tags are essentially attributes a target may have. For a person they might be blinded, dazed, tempted, in love, confused or anything else. Objects can have tags as well, like heavy, two handed,  crushing, etc. These can have benefits or penalties depending on the situation. For example if an object has a crushing tag I'd probably give a +1  when using it to try to say break down a door or if a person is in love with you I might say decrease the difficulty number or give you a +1 to convince them to do something or lie to them or possibly decrease they harm they deal to you by 1 because they don't want to hurt you.

So for courtship and get intimate for example could be used in say a battle with the enemy's leader to encourage some kind of relationship with you. This might later be used to say give you a +1 when trying to convince them to enter negotiations or surrender later on. Tags aren't necessarily good or bad so it could also lead to unforeseen consequences later on.

As for +1 ongoing it means as long as it makes fictional sense you get a +1 to your rolls until you do something that wouldn't make sense for you to receive the bonus.

[Stendarr]

I'm confused about how weapons work. Does a weapon matter if you're performing a biteshake or swallow hole? Do you need fangs to deal damage when biteshaking, or would horns give you damage then too?

[Avalon29]

Okay for Bite shake and swallow whole, as long as you're using a close range weapon you will get to use that for your damage source if you don't have a close/melee range weapon you'll do 1 damage in the exchange of harm before applying the other effects. For example if you have a sword, you can cut them first before you bite them. If you have fangs you'll just bite them, if you have horns you might bash them or impale them first before you take a bite out of them. If you only have a bow but no close range weapons you'll bite them and deal 1 damage but if you choose use the +1 harm effect you'll do 2.