We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us — the labyrinth is thoroughly known. We have only to follow the thread of the hero path, and where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.
~Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
Basic SpecsWhat System?: The Marvel Heroic Roleplaying system.
What Medium?: The game will be played over IRC.
How many players?: I'm looking for 3 to 5 players.
When will this be played?: Wednesdays at 8PM EDT.
What's the Tone?: Dark Urban Fantasy.
What is Persona?
Persona is a spin-off series of the Shin Megami Tensei series of Japanese Video Game RPGs. Simply put, the Persona Series is set in modern-day japan and features high school students solving mysteries using a supernatural power known as a Persona, usually in the form of mythological creatures. Tarot, mythology and western spirituality usually make up a large part of the setting, even though the games are set in modern-day Japan. The most well-known games are the latest two, Persona 3 and Persona 4 and these are, in fact, the only ones I've played, so I'm basing this more on them than the first 3. If you've never played Persona games before, don't worry, it's not necessary to have played them to understand my game, since I'll be taking a lot of liberties. Just remember the key points of persona are Western Spirituality and Mythology. Think American Gods, if you've read the book, think normal people having a second, supernatural persona (conveniently called a Persona), which they use to solve supernatural problems.
What is Persona Secunda going to be like, then?
Persona Secunda will be set in a fictional city on the Eastern Seaboard, and feature flawed people who will be endowed with supernatural abilities. This will not feature high school student. So you can be college-aged, adults, old, the world's your oyster, but this won't be with kids. One of the big themes will be personal growth and development, the idea that flawed people can become better over time as they go through ordeals. So if you were afraid this was gonna be, well, filled with anime qualities, rejoice, this is going to be closer to American Gods. The tone will be dark urban fantasy, the main plot thread will probably involve serial murders and other such mysteries. A hefty dose of supernatural will of course be present. Though this will use the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying system, don't think you'll be superheroes, you'll be normal people who can affect the supernatural. So, in a nutshell? Persona, except American and grown-up.
How is the game going to be played?
As mentioned above, this will be played over IRC and there will be some slight changes to the system to make it fit the game a bit better.
Every character's power set will be their persona and the limit for it will have to include: "
Persona: [Persona] may not be used outside the Dark Hour, if Stressed out, asleep or unconscious."
Specialties, much like power traits, are gonna be toned down to be more in line with regular people. So you can pick from Professional (D8) and Expert (D10) for specialties. Additionally, the Cosmic and Mystic specialties are not available, but Investigation and The Occult are. If you want a specialty that's not listed in the book and it makes sense, just use it. I'm not picky.
I want to sign up and join the group, what do I do?
it's simple, just post two things:
!sign up and when you're free to play this. Keep in mind i live in the Eastern Timezone, in Canada. So be sure to mention your timezone so that I may sort this out.
Also, you can start thinking about your character, but don't start thinking about your persona too much, I'll do a thing during the first session, it'll be fun and it'll help you come up with one. If you're dead set, though, you can start thinking about your own persona, but I'll give more info after the first session for Character creation.
I have questions/comments!
Be sure to post, then. It's my first time using the MHR system, my second time running a game and my third time playing a tabletop RPG, so I'm certainly a newbie to the genre here. If you have suggestions, comments, questions, I'll be sure to listen and answer. I'm not afraid of being told I'm wrong. If, for example, you think my approach here isn't the right one, please speak up.
Also, there's an Obsidian Portal page for this campaign.This post is subject to changes. Be sure to check it once in a while.
Posts
@jdarksun: John Darling
@The Anonymous: Scott Solder
@Egos: Aiden Sen
@Vagrant_Winds: Alexis Einhardt
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Check out my site, the Bismuth Heart | My Twitter
I'm good Monday through Friday from 6 PM (CST) onward, as long as I have notice and can plan around it.
EDIT: Weekends are ok too.
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I'm working afternoons middle eastern time seven days a week which thanks to timezones means all my USA-evenings are free. I'd just have to adjust my sleep schedule.
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I has an interest. More after PAX.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
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For example, Professional Business means someone who can work in the business world, a young trader, a new salesman, a manager. Expert Business means someone with years of experience, deep knowledge, someone
who has spent years selling, buying, or trading.
To be entirely honest, I don't think we need to have particularly precise sets of benchmarks. Think of it as Professional being what your character Can do well and Expert being what your character is great at, has the most experience in. So having "Professional-level Investigative skills" doesn't mean you're a detective, but that you could be one if you set your sights on it.
But don't spend too much time thinking about if it makes sense that your character has several specialties, this is gonna need maybe a bit more suspension of disbelief than the magic, .
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i'm not particularly picky and the system seems robust enough to have a few other specialties.
It's really because I'm assuming there's a lot of specialties people would like to have but i haven't thought of.
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Of course, to smooth things over, it's okay for every character to know some form of combat, or proficiency with a weapon. After all, if some high school kids don't have a problem using swords and bows and guns to fight shadows, I don't see why you would need to.
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For our persona are we basically following the rules in the book "just don't do something that is gonna make all the other players go* :evil: ?" or are you gonna have set rules for creation (perhaps different arrays to choose from that seem roughly even) ?
*= a number of powers having a value of d12
Also, when are you free, Egos?
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Check out my site, the Bismuth Heart | My Twitter
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Monday and Wednesday work fine with me. Not sure if that is ok with VW
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1) any chance of Igor and an assistant showing up ? Or will we have to wait and see ?
2) will you decide our personas for us based on our character's actions and personality or will we pick it out over time? If you've decided
The Personae will be entirely made by you guys during character creation, but i have a series of tables to help you come up with one, if you want.
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I'm normally around 12pm-12am AEST, but I'm flexible and can be around earlier if necessary.
Edit: If my calculations are correct, it's too late for the game, Hrmmm. You were in the timezone last year, right? It would be more or less the same times, just earlier in the week.
Check out my site, the Bismuth Heart | My Twitter
Check out my site, the Bismuth Heart | My Twitter
This is gonna be great. Even better than last year!
Check out my site, the Bismuth Heart | My Twitter
Check out my site, the Bismuth Heart | My Twitter
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I honestly think the robot girls are silly and don't fit at all in the setting.
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How about shadow fighting dogs? And Teddy?
Because Teddy is the best.
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Those are also rather silly. The tone is going to be darker, so silly stuff might not fit in very well.
Though i must agree that Teddie is very entertaining a character.
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