[PbP] Monsterhearts: Revenge of the (awkward) teen sexy draculas

KetBra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_AViiBbkBw

MonsterHearts is a pen and paper role-playing game, heavily influenced by Apocolypse World game mechanics. The player characters inhabit the roles of a group of teenagers, muddling their way through High School, learning about who they are and who they want to be.

Oh, and there’s a twist. In addition to being monstrous teenagers, you’re also monsters. The too-thin cheerleader who seems to have an insatiable appetite? She’s actually a zombie. The star quarterback of the football team, who seems a little on the wild side? He’s a werewolf. The quiet girl who always has her nose in her books? She’s a witch. And yes, she’s been working on hexing you, since you hid that egg in her locker.

The new kid? Well, time will tell…

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Links:
Main rulebook Skins
Serpentine Skin
Reference Sheets

Express interest in limegreen, along with your preference for skin. If you are interested in playing a custom skin, or something not seen in the above links, post what you would like to do in the thread. I’m shooting for four PCs.

I don’t want full-fledged characters at this point, but feel free to discuss what you would like to do, and where you want this to be set.

Grunt's Ghosts

You got me. I'm torn between groul, vamp, and queen bee.

Grunt's Ghosts

Also, wasn't there skins for Angels and Mummies? I could have sworn I've seen those before.

KetBra

Uh yeah I've seen the angel one. I think if you google it you can get them

AspectVoid

I am very much interested. I have some ideas for a Fae, a Ghoul, and an Infernal. I'll have to put them together and see which strikes a chord with me the best.

Also, there are some fan made skins to be found here. That's where the Angel and Mummy came from.

jdarksun

So, totally in. Like totally.

KetBra

I'm rewatching Buffy as 'research'

Yes... research

Grunt's Ghosts

Add Vampire Dairies and pretty much everything CW on that list. That channel is pretty much fuel for this kind of game.

Oats

This is me expressing my interest.

Ardent

I like things. Like Witches.

jdarksun

I'm maybe thinking about a ghoul. Something Violatile

Ardent

I'm wondering whether Druid would be a reskin or a separate skin. It honestly seems like it would fit fine in the Witch.

As far as where it's set, do you mean like "where in North America it's set?"

KetBra

To do the druid you can take the hexes from the witch, and mix and match some of the features of the werewolf (such as the darkest self transformation and the sex move)

As far as setting that is part of it, yes. Would you be interested in setting it in an actual place? Or, I can invent a location. These sorts of stories seem best fit to a small town, so I was thinking a small town in the Pacific North-West/BC.

Also, the default setting is that these are High School kids, but college freshmen could work just as well.

Do we want it to be set in a normal high school? I thought a boarding school could be fun, instead.

Grunt's Ghosts

High School. Seattle area like with that nice mix of city and woods would be awesome.

Ardent

Why not just set it in one of the small towns outside Fairbanks, AK?

We sort of need norms to make the game run well, so boarding school would probably not work so well.

Oats

I'm thinking ghost.

Ardent

One of the towns outside Fairbanks is named Pleasant Valley.

Which is the sort of ridiculousness I approve of.

jdarksun

That's a great start to a character.

"I died in Pleasant Valley. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?"

KetBra

And it's right next to two rivers.

Commence with the braid tugging

Oats

jdarksun wrote: »

That's a great start to a character.

"I died in Pleasant Valley. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?"

Yes please I'll take two.

KetBra wrote: »

And it's right next to two rivers.

Commence with the braid tugging

I've got the ghost's name: Egwene.

My name is Egwene Alvarez, and I died in Pleasant Valley.

And then things got worse...

Grunt's Ghosts

There are 725 people there. That's a small town.

KetBra

Yeah, it's a very small town.

I think I will take the name, though.

jdarksun

Half the population is graboids.

KetBra

I think we have five people interested, now. If no one else expressed interest, I'll take the lot of you.

I'll keep sign-ups open through Monday or Tuesday, then we can get down to brass tacks on characters.

AspectVoid

In regards to location, I think Pleasant Valley is a great name. Likewise, I think a boarding school would work, so long as its not a boarding school for monsters. A quick check showed me that the largest boarding schools have 1500+ students in them. A small monster population mixed among 1500 normal students would be just fine.

KetBra

Aren't all high schools for monsters?

*rimshot*

But yeah, I wasn't thinking it would be an all-monster school. It's not going to be sexy dracula hogwarts or anything. I'm not particularly wedded to the idea, I just thought it could be a fun setting.

Ardent

Making it a Boarding School means everyone more or less has to remain in proximity to everyone else all the time.

KetBra

Not necessarily. Boarding schools also don't always require all students to be residents

Oats

I attended a boarding school for four years, about 1500 students.

It was a mix of local kids who didn't stay over and boarding students who lived on site.

There were also lots of opportunities to leave campus. I want to say students grade 11 and over could have cars.

Generally you just had to let your housemaster/mistress know you were leaving.

Plus it is always easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission.

Ardent

Yeah, and we're putting this school somewhere relatively remote, correct?

Grunt's Ghosts

Alaska... about as remote as you can get in the US.

Ardent

I didn't know if we were going to go with Alaska.

Ken O

If there is room I'd to re-flavor the Selkie skin as a creature from the black lagoon character from New Orleans. He'd be the star of the schools swim team.

AspectVoid

After thinking on it and tossing a few characters together, I'd like to play a Fae. I didn't get much of a chance to play him the last time, and I'd like to dig into Roy's life and see what happens.

Grunt's Ghosts

I think I'm going to play a Queen. Probably start out mundane and then start pushing towards Supernatural abilities as she advances.

Ardent

KetBra and I got a bit wild with the Druid. Here so you all have an idea what you're dealing with. If anyone's really uncomfortable with it, I'll play a standard Witch.

Also, Folaigh needs to be replaced. If anyone's got ideas that are thematic, lemme know. I can provide the Irish.

jdarksun

I'm gonna stitch together a Ghoul tonight.

AspectVoid

I read your Druid outline, Ardent. It looks like a mix of Fae and Witch. My only concern is your Darkest Self. It is almost the same as the Fae (only difference is you are "Balance wrought in blood" where the Fae is "Justice wrought in blood"), but you have two outs to it where the Fae only has one. I would say since the core game felt that Darkest self should only have one escape, your Druid should also only have one escape.

Ardent

AspectVoid wrote: »

I read your Druid outline, Ardent. It looks like a mix of Fae and Witch. My only concern is your Darkest Self. It is almost the same as the Fae (only difference is you are "Balance wrought in blood" where the Fae is "Justice wrought in blood"), but you have two outs to it where the Fae only has one. I would say since the core game felt that Darkest self should only have one escape, your Druid should also only have one escape.

Actually it's a lawyer out.

If you went an entire day+night without hurting anyone, you haven't resolved the balance issue, so your darkest self remains in play.

You both have to hurt someone and reach the following morning for the darkest self to recede. It's actually almost the same as the Werewolf's darkest self, except slightly more restrictive. Does that make sense?

AspectVoid

Ardent wrote: »

AspectVoid wrote: »

I read your Druid outline, Ardent. It looks like a mix of Fae and Witch. My only concern is your Darkest Self. It is almost the same as the Fae (only difference is you are "Balance wrought in blood" where the Fae is "Justice wrought in blood"), but you have two outs to it where the Fae only has one. I would say since the core game felt that Darkest self should only have one escape, your Druid should also only have one escape.

Actually it's a lawyer out.

If you went an entire day+night without hurting anyone, you haven't resolved the balance issue, so your darkest self remains in play.

You both have to hurt someone and reach the following morning for the darkest self to recede. It's actually almost the same as the Werewolf's darkest self, except slightly more restrictive. Does that make sense?

I think my issue is with the first line of your Druid Darker Self: "Things have fallen out of balance, and so you must become a monster to right them." To me, this implies that you have control, that you know what's causing the unbalance, and now must destroy it (vs being able to use other, non-violent methods when out of your Darker Self). Meanwhile, the werewolf becomes an unstoppable killing machine that destroys anything it comes across. I think some clearer language that shows your Darker Self seeing everything as "unbalanced" and thus needing to be destroyed would solve my issues with it.

KetBra

July 21, 2015

Dear @jdarksun @Ardent @Grunt's Ghosts @AspectVoid

It is my great pleasure and assured privilege to accept your application for admission to Brownstone Academy. As I am undoubtedly sure you are already aware, we are the premier private learning institution in Alaska, with an established pedigree of accomplished alumni. We look forward to one day welcoming you into their ranks.

Enclosed you will find financing information, as well as additional scholarship information. The first term will begin September 2, 2015.

Please respond at your earliest convenience to confirm your admission, as well as your residence status.

Kindest Regards,

Stephen Bloom, Ph.D., Principal, Brownstone Academy

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Now that we've got that taken care of, what are you guys going to roll?