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

[Stendarr]

Name: Pascal
Race: Rhino Beetle
Traits: Beetle wings on her back and a large horn on her head. Also covered in scaly, chitinous skin.
Flaw: Can't Read the Air

Concept: A tanky frontline Devourer that priorities grappling and life sustain using Carnivore and Biteshake.
Personality: Pascal is socially oblivious and prideful but well-meaning.

History:

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

Health: 6
Willpower: 3
Experience: 0

Relationships:

Equipment:
Huge Horn 6 Harm, Heavy, Natural, Melee, Area
War Scaly Skin 3 Armor, Heavy, Natural

Tent
Overland Provisions

Moves:
En Garde

Biteshake

Athletics and Sport

Predator
Natural Hunter
Carnivor
Dimension Belly

[Stendarr]

I'm going to wait for other characters and the world to be built before I put in a history.

Also, can someone make sure I didn't mess anything up mechanically?

[Avalon29]

Mechanics wise Pascal looks good.

And yes feel free to wait for later on in the Genesis process for things like history and relationships.

[Avalon29]

Alright it seems like Aura and Halos seems to be the most desired so we'll go with that one. The next step is picking out which 2 or 3 power pools that are involved with out world. I'd also like to take this chance  for people to start thinking about the step after this one, Regions and Cultures as its likely to take the longest. For that one I'd like to get a tally on those interested in making their own region or culture. So who's interested? Players don't have to do this and I'm more than happy to add stuff or create stuff as we go but this is a good chance to leave your mark on the world we're creating or  add a bit of extra flavor to your characters by coming up with where they come from.

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.

[Stendarr]

I'm not super set on these if anyone prefers differently, but I like The Nebula and The Evening.

[JoanieSappho]

The idea of being changed, mentally and physically, by an outside force is kinda sorta a thing for me, so part of me definitely wants to say Uniformity. And then the Evening.

As for cultures, yes, if I'm feeling better soon.

[Chanticleer]

I note we can pick 2 or 3 power pools... So far folks have been suggesting two.

I have to throw Screaming Sky in there, because destruction, fire, and METAL. *cough* It also has a somewhat apocalyptic feel to it.

But I think first and foremost I'd go with the Silken and the Evening, because of the suggestions of chaos and entropy, both of which always create interesting opposition. Tack Screaming Sky on as a possible 'third.'

I admit that I'm not all that keen on the Nebula, because it seems like it just doesn't care, and doesn't have any more dramatic goals, so there's not any particularly obvious drawback to 'catching its attention. Getting the attention of a power pool definitely seems like something that happens with some moves...So it feels like a bit of a cop-out to have a power pool whose 'negative' attention isn't necessarily that big a deal.

[Valyndriel]

I really like the Silken, the Evening, and the Uniformity. I think I'm going with the concept of a reformed servant of one of the threats, and any of those would work well.

I'm also leaning towards being a bit of a shapeshifter, maybe doppleganger or mimic. Definitely some Companion moves. I'll work on a character sheet today.

[Chanticleer]

Silken, Evening, and Uniformity give us a sort of a classic triad: conformity, chaos, and entropy.

Not saying we have to have that! Just pointing out that it's a set with a lot of strong stories attached to it.

There's no reason we can't make other stories for other sets, but if we do go with those three they're a rather classical triumvirate.

[Stendarr]

I do like the idea of Siken, Evening, and Uniformity.

[Valyndriel]

I am really enthusiastic about connections to other PCs -- someone saved her from the Uniformity, after all. And feel free to use the Lady of Veils in your backstories, etc. (I figure she's a high-up in the Silken and it's unclear if there's anything beneath the veils except more veils). I think people know that Mikayla is a mimic but not specifically about her past as a Silken agent, but I would love the angst of something she did being a problem for another PC or the whole group or setting.

(Also, I can swap the power sources involved if we don't wind up with both the Silken and the Uniformity in the game).

Everything look good?

***

Name: Mikayla
Race: Mimic (non-slimy)
Traits: Many tentacles, rubbery body, eye tentacles
Flaw: Creature Comforts (the root of this Flaw is a desire to avoid responsibility, engaging in pleasure or stupifying drugs or activities to avoid the pressure, hiding from difficult decisions -- perhaps by letting time or others make crucial decisions for her)

Concept: Mikayla is an unassuming and supportive heroine looking for guidance after a troubled past. She’s a ferocious protector, able to transform from quiet companion to a beast of teeth and tentacles.

She favors the appearance of a small human woman wearing an armored leather corset over a dress, unthreatening and forgettable.

Personality: Mikayla has never lived without someone directing her. She’s clever and cunning, but she’s finally learning that the world isn’t what her masters told her and it would be so much easier if someone just told her what to do.

History: As an agent of the Silken, Mikayla served as a spy and assassin for the Lady of Veils. A mission went wrong and she wound up captured by the Uniformity. During her interrogation and indoctrination, a Heroine rescued her and a number of other prisoners.

She’d been an agent of Chaos, she’d seen what Order demanded, but for the first time she saw the wide world as she traveled from the Uniformity’s symmetrical citadel.

Mikayla didn’t return to the Lady of Veils. It had been pleasurable, to be sure. She took satisfaction in carrying out her missions, in the challenge, in the glee that it gave the Lady. Seeing the suffering in the world, though, gave her pangs of conscience she’d never felt chomping on pampered nobles and pitting them against one another.

Unsure what cause to champion now, Mikayla sees the other Heroines are a good place to start. Perhaps one of them is a worthy role model to mimic or a leader to serve.

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

Health: 6
Willpower: 3
Experience: 0

Relationships:
Lady of Veils - History

Equipment:
Honed War Fangs (6 harm, 4 gold)
Liquid Body (3 armor, 3 gold)
Leather Armor (1 armor, 1 gold)
2 Treasures (just peek inside my treasure chest ~~~~ )

Moves:
Combat: Backstab
Social: Deceive, Seek Counsel (she wants to be told what to do)
Archetype: Great Beast (she can hulk out for combat), Follow The Lead (+1 if she’s obeying orders)
Special: Transform (obviously), Binding Threads (representing her tentacles)

[Avalon29]

@Aprrrl

She looks good so far. If you're looking for something that encourages her to run away from or try to avoid responsibility, you can use the Creature Comforts flaw which suggests avoiding pressure, consequences, and responsibility by hiding somewhere cozy or indulging in a favorite or other things if that works for you. It seems to have almost everything you want other than the obedience part.

@Everyone
Seems like a combo of Silken, Evening and Uniformity is the most popular unless anybody is strongly against one of them or has another they might want to suggest to the group instead that is most likely the combo we'll be going with.

Alright the next step is regions and cultures, Joanie mentioned being interested in coming up with one. Is anybody else interested?

[Stendarr]

I'm down if everyone else is.

[Valyndriel]

@Avalon29 That's a good suggestion; I can probably make Creature Comforts work!

And I'd be happy to come up with a region and culture! Any guidelines beyond what's in the book?

[Avalon29]

Regarding region and culture guide lines

I'll do even better than guide lines. I'll give you an example. This was originally made for a bronze age setting so will have to be tweaked just a bit to fit into this campaign but here's a mercantile focused island island chain with a large Atoll as the central island and an occult bent involving spirits and mystical beasts that lay hidden inside a nightly fog.

Region
Name: Pelegria Isles
Descriptor: Fog Atoll

An island chain consisting of a dozen or so islands with the largest land mass being a large Atoll called Pelgram located in the center of the island chain. The islands are strangely enough covered with fog almost every night with a more tropical climate during day and have a large variety of plant and animal life, many of which have special characteristics to deal with the nightly fog.

Culture:

Name: Pelgramish

Size: Nation

Dogma:

Government: Hegemony, led by a council of elders from each of the islands with the leaders of the larger cities having the most influence.

Interpersonal: Traditionalist.  The people of Pelgramish cling tightly to their superstitions and beliefs. They put their values and religions above things such as profit or expansion. Mysticisim and magic is tied deeply into their culture with many legends of spirits, monsters, and supernatural beings dwell in the fog.

Diplomatic: Legalist/Mercantile The island chain is a source of the best lumber for ship building and has a large quantity of Cassiterite with high concentrations of tin which they trade to the various nations of the world to give their island some influence with the rest of the world.

Influence: Minority

Religion:

Gods: Spirits of the land and revenants of the Antedeluvians.

Creation myth: Bickering Antedeluvians. Monotheists lie. In the beginning, there were a multitude of gods, all springing forth at once, mingling in their power until they named themselves. The many creators fought for an age, over the rights and powers each other claimed. The wreckage of their wars became the what we know as the world.

[Stendarr]

Well, what kind of feel do we want to have? I was thinking of a post-apocalyptic system. Sorta like Mad Max.

[Avalon29]

For feel I was aiming for something like a Greek Epic or Greek Tragedy. This is the First Age and  the time when the gods walked the planet. You're going to accomplish amazing deeds and secure your names in legend. Sometimes you will fail and that too will be big but you'll get your shot at redemption. Whatever you do it will be large. You're the Hercules, Atalantas, Jasons and Perseus of the world. You might stare down great numbers or face giant beasts, defy doomsday prophesies, and  stand in the way of powers that most would flee from but you're Heroines and not just anybody else.

Hopefully that helps explains the direction I'm looking to take us in.

[Chanticleer]

I might be interested in tacking on a culture/region if I better understood it.

The example helps, but it seems that to do it we'd need  to know the options available for each category/trait.

[Avalon29]

The region and culture chart are actually on the first page of the HFA handouts and GM sheet.

You should see a large box that says  Regions above it then descriptor and  Environment inside the box. Take one of each to describe what the region looks like physically. The instructions on how to create a culture are right next to the Region box although I can give step by step instructions if you can't find it. Beneath the Regions box there's the Dogma box which lists out all the options. You select one for government, one for interpersonal, and one for Diplomatic which is basically its foreign policy.

[Stendarr]

I was thinking of a massive sprawling city sort of in between a city and a nation in a dry desert around a great river. The culture could be a results-based work culture run by a meritocracy. Very little predisposed prejudice. Everyone's worth is based on exactly how helpful they are. The nation wouldn't be able to live in such a harsh environment otherwise. The powerful people of the city live right next to the great river while those with progressively less capability are forced to live progressively further from easy water access.

[Valyndriel]

Begion:
Vinzandra, where blood and wine flow in equal parts.

The realm is named after its patron Goddess, whose mecha-statues watch over the five great cities of the realm.

Supplicants prostrate themselves before these statues, offering blood and Oaths. Those blessed by the Goddess -- that is to say, those who survive -- are empowered to rule and to pilot the divine mecha-statues in times of crisis.

The people of Vinzandra enjoy their pleasures and their bloodsport. They value strength because they see supernatural threats all around. The trade routes that pass through the realm are among the safest in the region -- unless you have Aura powers, or look like you might.

Name: Vinzandra, or “Vinzandra’s Land”
Environment: Holy Grassland (bladegrass takes blood sacrifices from unwary travelers)
Size: Nation with five major cities: three coastal cities, one on a mountain pass at the mouth of a river and another in the plains where another river converges on the way to the sea.
Influence: Minority (anyone can pledge an Oath if accepted by the Goddess, but the power of the Oathsworn is unchecked except by the Goddess herself and superior Oathsworn)
Interpersonal: Xenophobic (in regard to aura users)
Diplomatic: Defensive

Creation Myth: The world is poised between heaven above and the devouring chaos below. Vinzandra holds the world above the chaos with the vigor granted by her worshippers’ sacrifice and devotion.

[Chanticleer]

The region and culture chart are actually on the first page of the HFA handouts and GM sheet.

You should see a large box that says  Regions above it then descriptor and  Environment inside the box. Take one of each to describe what the region looks like physically. The instructions on how to create a culture are right next to the Region box although I can give step by step instructions if you can't find it. Beneath the Regions box there's the Dogma box which lists out all the options. You select one for government, one for interpersonal, and one for Diplomatic which is basically its foreign policy.

Whups! Thanks.

[ShadowFox89]

 Is this still open for recruitment?

[Revelation]

Officially slappin' my interest on here. Thinking either some sort of Hellhound barbarian/rager type, or a Dragon girl monk. I will need to learn the rules though but hopefully that ain't hard.

[JoanieSappho]

Well. Torn between two different things. Either full-on charm


Or something a bit more castery.