[Worm] Wolf's Hollow

[CountessYlva]

Wanted to try and get a game going in the setting of the web serial Worm, since I've never managed to have one last more than a month or two. If you don't know it, and don't mind spoilers, you can still join - we won't be using the locations or characters from the serial, so you don't need a super detailed knowledge of it. It's a (very) dark take on the superhero genre, where powers come from truly dire trauma, and most of them have horrifying downsides. In keeping with the setting's extremely dark tone, this game will be going in the Extreme category, and while I will respect your limits you can expect some pretty heavy stuff. This game will be freeform as I didn't find the Weaver Dice system to be up to the task of actually running a game. I will flesh out the city more with what parahumans are there, et cetera, if and when I get people interested.

Setting and Plot Setup

The town of Wolf's Hollow, Wyoming was a normal tiny mountain town. It was originally founded around two industries: trapping, and mining. But there's not much money in pelts these days, and the silver mines are mostly tapped out. These days, there's barely enough mining left to keep it floating, and at an hour's drive from the nearest town (and further to a city of any note), it's not exactly convenient to anything. The town is barely hanging on and aside from trucks bound to and from the few mines still working, the only visitors are hunters and backcountry skiiers most of the time. Residents are well aware that the place is dying. There's only one gas station, one small grocery store, one hardware store, and a whole lot of nothing. Buildings are collapsing from pure disuse.

That was two weeks ago.

That's when everything changed.

Elijah "Lightbulb" Porter, the town's one known parahuman, is a Tinker so specialized that he never even bothered concealing his identity. His focus, his sole focus, is power sources. It's the sole specialty of his power, and they don't interface with anyone else's work so he can't even use his abilities to power another Tinker's creation. Until two weeks ago, that is, when he announced a development. Batteries. Simple, cheap batteries that had a power density orders of magnitude greater than that of any non-parahuman tech. They're easy to make and they're easy to use - they even interface with normal tech. They're the solution to the power crisis, cold fusion except it really works. There's only one catch: they only work within a fifty mile radius of a device he built in his basement, and it can't be moved without destroying it. He claims he can't replicate it, either.

Cue the biggest influx of people and money to a single spot in generations. Suddenly, Wolf's Hollow has gone from being a middle-of-nowhere backwater to the next big center of commerce and industry. Thousands upon thousands of people came flooding in to take advantage of the free energy, construction crews breaking ground all over the region to make space for them, businesses suddenly falling all over themselves to be first on the ground in the new city.

And with it, parahumans came. Dozens of them. Some are heroes, out to protect the populace and prevent disasters. Others just want a fresh start. Then there are the criminals, looking to make a profit off the sudden influx of wealth and establish themselves as the new city's gang leaders.

And then...then there are the monsters.

Sometimes you can even tell the difference.

You are the Protectorate team assigned to Wolf's Hollow, made up of those who feel the need to leave their home cities for whatever reason. Maybe you've got a grudge against the leader of your city's team, maybe you've got ambition, maybe you just want to turn over a new leaf and get away from something that's haunting you. You might even be a new addition, who has never worked with a team before - or who worked on the opposite side from one and is trying to go clean. Whatever the case, you're going to be hitting the ground running, working with people you don't know and may not trust to control the chaos of the newly forming metropolis.

Allowed players/characters

As mentioned, we will not be using any canon characters as local players - this includes the characters you are playing, so please, make something original. As mentioned, you are all Protectorate heroes - this is for simplicity, so as not to have different people angling for different roles in the city. Your power level should be middling - solidly major players in the local scene, but you're not world-class tier. You can expect to have other parahumans in Wolf's Hollow at the same or a little above your power level. Your powers should make sense for the setting - that is to say, you don't get a free lunch. Whatever you do, it has some weakness or a horrid drawback of some kind. None of you have had a second trigger event. None of you are the leader of the city's Protectorate team - that will be an NPC.

Beyond that, I have few restrictions. All genders are fine, RL and in game. All power types are fine. You can be normal capes, or Cauldron variety - if you don't know what that means, don't worry about it.

Character Details

As mentioned, this is freeform, so there is no system-based character sheet. I do, however, need a few things from you when you're ready to submit a character, which I'd like you to do by PM - you can ask questions and establish what you're doing here, but I want the details of your backstory to be secret to the other players at game start. Makes for a fun surprise.

Here's a template of what I would like to see when you're ready to submit your character.

Full name and powered alias


AGE: Approximate age, written out. 18+
GENDER: Gender your character is or identifies as
SEXUALITY: Who is your character attracted to?
NICKNAMES: Nicknames your character may prefer... or loathe.


LIKES: Things your character enjoys.
DISLIKES: Things your character doesn't enjoy at all.


SKILLS: Notable skills - things your character knows how to do better than the average person, but which aren't actually paranormal. This can cover your formal education, practiced skills, day job, or natural talents.

POWER RATINGS: Your power ratings, based on the PRT system. E.g., Master 6/Brute 2, whatever. Nothing above 7, and your primary power should be at least a 5.
POWER DETAILS: What your powers actually do, including what their notable shortcomings, drawbacks, or issues are.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: I don't require a picture, though you're welcome to use one if you please, but I do need a description of what your character looks like, dresses like, their physical mannerisms, whatever you need to convey the image of your character.
PERSONALITY: What is your character like on a personal level? What noteworthy traits do they have?
CHARACTER BACKGROUND: At minimum, this should cover: your trigger event (keeping in mind that triggers are related to what power you get from them), what motivated you to join the Protectorate, and what motivated you to come to Wolf's Hollow. You're welcome and encouraged to say more about your character, though - that's just the minimum.

Let me know if there are any questions or if you would like clarification on any points.

[CountessYlva]

Just letting folks know, so far there's interest from one person who is playing a very, very durable Brute with some limited utility and offensive ability.

[QuidEst]

Just letting folks know, so far there's interest from one person who is playing a very, very durable Brute with some limited utility and offensive ability.

That would be me!


Zack Caligat, aka Noh Face


AGE: Early twenties.
GENDER: Male
SEXUALITY: Heterosexual
NICKNAMES: Often just called "Noface" or "Face" on the field

LIKES: Sex, powerful or monstrous women, cooking, comic books, biology, chemistry
DISLIKES: Most honest work, a particular ex-girlfriend


SKILLS: Zack is an excellent cook, with a great deal of practice both from his enjoyment of it and from trying to impress ladies. For a slacker, he's surprisingly good with biology and chemistry, particularly in relation to powers, doubly so for his own. He has more than a layman's experience with computers.

POWER RATINGS: Changer/Brute 5
POWER DETAILS: Zack has a black oily substance in place of blood. The substance is smooth and slick to the touch, very flammable, and generally safe for contact. He is capable of controlling it, either internally or externally by extruding it. Any portion that leaves contact with him is immediately reduced to a small volume of dust. He can produce more blood quickly- up to four liters per second. He is exceptionally resilient to physical damage- his heart is superfluous. Puppeteering himself by controlling his internal oil gives him effectively unlimited stamina and somewhat greater-that-human strength and agility. External uses of his oil are many, but come with the risk of flammability.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Zack is a scrawny white guy with messy brown hair and a casual attitude. His civilian attire is usually a plain white t-shirt with jeans. His heroing outfit is black and voluminous to confuse where or even what his oil is, with a white Noh mask to draw attention. It is constructed such that it can appear smiling or frowning depending on the angle.
PERSONALITY: Zack is a tool, extremely easy to manipulate with sex. His primary reason for joining the Protectorate was the groupies- as well as some possibly exaggerated chances of sexy villainesses tempting heroes. He is genuinely charming, but lazy in most areas outside his interests. When heroing, he tries to maintain a mysterious and ominous atmosphere, going so far as to quote unsettling poems he's memorized. The facade doesn't hold up too well with those familiar with his reputation, and he's not terribly consistent about keeping up the act.
CHARACTER BACKGROUND: (Secret GM stuff!)

[Petrus02]

Samantha Nail
AGE: 24
GENDER: Female
SEXUALITY: Bi
NICKNAMES: Sam, Cowl: Pitfall

LIKES: History, Books, Heavy Metal, Gentlemen, shopping in antique shops, Fav. Color is the color of desert sand
DISLIKES: "Girly" Things, Pink, Roses, doing housework


SKILLS: Studied Archeology, well read and well educated but more of a jack of all trades than specialized knowledge except for ancient egypt where she made her bachlor in.

POWER RATINGS: Shaker 6 Blaster 4 Mover 2.
POWER DETAILS: has the power to control sand, earth and small rocks. Essentially anything that would qualify for the term "earth, soil or ground " Just how much she can control? She herself never tried, but the more she controls the less fine manipulation she gets. Her power works in two distinctive ways: For one she has a specialized form of telekinesis only affecting anything that would qualify for the term above, but its sluggish to beginn with. It would allow her to stand atop a small hovering rock, form a wall of debris or such, even launch a blast of small rocks at the enemy with force comparable with an MG, nothing too special really. The other form however is where she got her name from: she can apply her power onto a spot, decide effect, strength and a time of at least 10, at most 60 seconds, and then the effect of her choice would activate. In comparrison, this second form is both stronger and much more attuned to fine control, yet once decided, she cannot abort norc cancel an effect, once the trap is sprung, it has to run its course so to speak.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Sam loved the stories and later the movies of indiana jones since the first day she can remember. Now and adult, she still likes to dress in this style: white blouse, green brown or yellowish vest, she'd even wear an old english pith helmet at home, outside, in order to not draw too much attention, she'd rather wear a cowboyhat. She prefers trousers over skirts, only wearing the later on special occasions or when "forced"