Post by Jongluer on Jun 22, 2010 17:01:05 GMT -5
This is not the world you know, it is similar, but there is something different about it. Percolating through the world, is magic, and magic is many things to many people. Magic is powerful, dangerous, and most of all obscuring. Most people have a hard time grasping magic, sometimes even when it's forced in front of them. There are other creatures in the world beside man, more than you know.
This world is inherently darker than the one we inhabit. Shadows seem a little deeper and longer, it's overcast more often than in our world. Natural disasters are more common, violent crime sometime seems a little too high for some regions, and death tolls for accidents and disasters are a touch higher. Overall, things are a tad more grim.
Even in the town of Aurora, Illinois the self-titled City of Lights, darkness is a little more prevalent, the night always seems a bit disconcerting. Whether it be a strange noise in old hotel Leland Tower in Downtown, or the weird kids who gather behind the Westfield Fox Valley mall, things seem to just be a tad off. This is no different at Fox River High School on the east side of Aurora.
Facts of the World
Note: This information is most definitely not exhaustive, and all players are encouraged to speak with me as they develop their characters to understand more about the world.
Obfuscation
The Magical World is for some reason or another naturally obscuring. Some creatures and practitioners say that it has to do with a magical unseen veil or mist that blankets the world protects the minds of mortals from the world around them. Other people state it is simple rationalization, that people merely do not want to believe there is something strange going on in their society that they cannot understand or control. Whatever the reason, as a member of the magical community you are certainly somewhat thankful for it.
Magic
Magic is a force of existence that exists somewhere outside of the realm which most people can understand. It can not openly break most laws of physics, but merely bend them to the will of the practitioner. Magic can not be performed by anyone, only those people who are gifted to be aware of the world at large and also have some measure of natural talent or training (or perhaps both) can actually harness magical energy. Controlling magic requires a certain amount of belief and will to be done correctly, to harness it easily many people therefore have complex systems of ritual they follow for the purpose of crafting spells. There is no 'correct' way to use magic (despite what some may believe or say), only multiple paths of manipulating it.
Magical Creatures
You are quite certain there are a variety of magical creatures which exist, though exactly what they are and how they operate can sometimes be surprising or down right confusing. Generally at some point or another your character has probably gotten the sense that many old legends, myths, and fairy tales, are in some sense true, or at the very least carry a grain of truth. However, they have often been grossly misconstrued over the passing centuries. Below are some general facts about general classes of magical beings-
Vampires: Seem to exist as they are said to in many different mythologies. You may have even encountered some stripe of them at some point or another. They generally seem to dislike sunlight, are most likely dead (though sometimes they can appear quite beautiful and somewhat alive), and generally feast upon humanity in some way or another.
Werewolves: You have most likely never encountered a werewolf, though perhaps someone you know knows a of a guy who said he heard a story about a werewolf. They're generally described as they appear in most modern fiction; big hair creatures, sometimes a giant wolf sometimes a wolf-man hybrid, always nasty with a preoccupation with the moon.
Ghosts: Are relatively common as magical beings go, though there are a large variety of ghosts that do exist. Everything from disembodied voices without memory or name to semi-corporeal beings who were once alive inhabit the Earth. Some are cursed, some are merely echoes of former lives, some don't know why they persist as a ghost, they just do. Ghosts can be helpful or malevolent though they do have a general dislike of being reminded that they are dead and have been known to turn violent even when they are kind.
Spirits/Fairies/Demons/Angels/Old Gods: These creatures inhabit a realm that lays over our own world (described below) and are generally very powerful, and power is generally synonymous with dangerous.
The Other Realm
The Farside, the Nevernever, the Realm of Magic, these are a few names for the indescribable other dimension that seems to exist laid over our own world. It is a strange place where dreams are made real, and creatures from countless legends live in undying forests or in improbable castles of ice or wind. This is not a place that mortals should tread though they sometimes do out of bad luck or idiocy. More dangerous than that however is the fact that in some places this other realm over laps with our own world and the creatures can pass through and wander the mortal realm for a time.
The Characters
Each character is someone who is aware of the supernatural, a person who knows about the magical underworld intertwined with the crushing mundane reality the majority of the world inhabits. Every character is also some how connected to Fox River High School, perhaps they are a student, a teacher, an administrator, security guard, or a janitor. Whatever their reason for being there, they are regularly there, and they are aware of the world of magic. Your characters do not necessarily have to be human.
This game is going to be heroic in nature, though with a decent amount of start up points compared to other games since all of your characters should have a little bit of magical 'umph' to them.
Characters should be built on 50 points with 75 more from disadvantage, for a total of 125 character points. The active point cap is 50 points, and therefore damage caps are 10d6 Normal/3d6+1 Killing. The CV cap is currently going to rest at 20. In this game while I do expect to see some magical powers, I also expect them to be high active points low real points (as magic is complicated and difficult). As such I expect this to be one of the few games where we start to see perks and talents that aren't combat luck, and a bundle of skills for each character. As this is the modern world home of credit cards and mortgages we will not necessarily be dealing in “straight cash” but we will discuss starting equipment. Other equipment after that shall be figured out as we go.
Finally the every man skills are:
Acting 8-, Climbing 8-, Concealment 8-, Conversation 8-, Deduction 8-, Native Language (4pts worth) + Literacy, Paramedics, Persuasion, Profession Skill 11-, Shadowing 8-, Stealth 8-, TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles, AK: Aurora, Illinois 8-
This world is inherently darker than the one we inhabit. Shadows seem a little deeper and longer, it's overcast more often than in our world. Natural disasters are more common, violent crime sometime seems a little too high for some regions, and death tolls for accidents and disasters are a touch higher. Overall, things are a tad more grim.
Even in the town of Aurora, Illinois the self-titled City of Lights, darkness is a little more prevalent, the night always seems a bit disconcerting. Whether it be a strange noise in old hotel Leland Tower in Downtown, or the weird kids who gather behind the Westfield Fox Valley mall, things seem to just be a tad off. This is no different at Fox River High School on the east side of Aurora.
Facts of the World
Note: This information is most definitely not exhaustive, and all players are encouraged to speak with me as they develop their characters to understand more about the world.
Obfuscation
The Magical World is for some reason or another naturally obscuring. Some creatures and practitioners say that it has to do with a magical unseen veil or mist that blankets the world protects the minds of mortals from the world around them. Other people state it is simple rationalization, that people merely do not want to believe there is something strange going on in their society that they cannot understand or control. Whatever the reason, as a member of the magical community you are certainly somewhat thankful for it.
Magic
Magic is a force of existence that exists somewhere outside of the realm which most people can understand. It can not openly break most laws of physics, but merely bend them to the will of the practitioner. Magic can not be performed by anyone, only those people who are gifted to be aware of the world at large and also have some measure of natural talent or training (or perhaps both) can actually harness magical energy. Controlling magic requires a certain amount of belief and will to be done correctly, to harness it easily many people therefore have complex systems of ritual they follow for the purpose of crafting spells. There is no 'correct' way to use magic (despite what some may believe or say), only multiple paths of manipulating it.
Magical Creatures
You are quite certain there are a variety of magical creatures which exist, though exactly what they are and how they operate can sometimes be surprising or down right confusing. Generally at some point or another your character has probably gotten the sense that many old legends, myths, and fairy tales, are in some sense true, or at the very least carry a grain of truth. However, they have often been grossly misconstrued over the passing centuries. Below are some general facts about general classes of magical beings-
Vampires: Seem to exist as they are said to in many different mythologies. You may have even encountered some stripe of them at some point or another. They generally seem to dislike sunlight, are most likely dead (though sometimes they can appear quite beautiful and somewhat alive), and generally feast upon humanity in some way or another.
Werewolves: You have most likely never encountered a werewolf, though perhaps someone you know knows a of a guy who said he heard a story about a werewolf. They're generally described as they appear in most modern fiction; big hair creatures, sometimes a giant wolf sometimes a wolf-man hybrid, always nasty with a preoccupation with the moon.
Ghosts: Are relatively common as magical beings go, though there are a large variety of ghosts that do exist. Everything from disembodied voices without memory or name to semi-corporeal beings who were once alive inhabit the Earth. Some are cursed, some are merely echoes of former lives, some don't know why they persist as a ghost, they just do. Ghosts can be helpful or malevolent though they do have a general dislike of being reminded that they are dead and have been known to turn violent even when they are kind.
Spirits/Fairies/Demons/Angels/Old Gods: These creatures inhabit a realm that lays over our own world (described below) and are generally very powerful, and power is generally synonymous with dangerous.
The Other Realm
The Farside, the Nevernever, the Realm of Magic, these are a few names for the indescribable other dimension that seems to exist laid over our own world. It is a strange place where dreams are made real, and creatures from countless legends live in undying forests or in improbable castles of ice or wind. This is not a place that mortals should tread though they sometimes do out of bad luck or idiocy. More dangerous than that however is the fact that in some places this other realm over laps with our own world and the creatures can pass through and wander the mortal realm for a time.
The Characters
Each character is someone who is aware of the supernatural, a person who knows about the magical underworld intertwined with the crushing mundane reality the majority of the world inhabits. Every character is also some how connected to Fox River High School, perhaps they are a student, a teacher, an administrator, security guard, or a janitor. Whatever their reason for being there, they are regularly there, and they are aware of the world of magic. Your characters do not necessarily have to be human.
This game is going to be heroic in nature, though with a decent amount of start up points compared to other games since all of your characters should have a little bit of magical 'umph' to them.
Characters should be built on 50 points with 75 more from disadvantage, for a total of 125 character points. The active point cap is 50 points, and therefore damage caps are 10d6 Normal/3d6+1 Killing. The CV cap is currently going to rest at 20. In this game while I do expect to see some magical powers, I also expect them to be high active points low real points (as magic is complicated and difficult). As such I expect this to be one of the few games where we start to see perks and talents that aren't combat luck, and a bundle of skills for each character. As this is the modern world home of credit cards and mortgages we will not necessarily be dealing in “straight cash” but we will discuss starting equipment. Other equipment after that shall be figured out as we go.
Finally the every man skills are:
Acting 8-, Climbing 8-, Concealment 8-, Conversation 8-, Deduction 8-, Native Language (4pts worth) + Literacy, Paramedics, Persuasion, Profession Skill 11-, Shadowing 8-, Stealth 8-, TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles, AK: Aurora, Illinois 8-