Pre-Game Discussion. Laying the Foundations.

[Q.Q Elf]

Comments about the Ghost, from my point of view.

The Ghost is about a catastrophic point in time (represented in death), which led to a painful transition from one life to the after. She (I'll use the feminine here) can't get over that experience. It's about framing it over and over, reliving the pain of it.

There's also the hoarding of secrets that the invisible person can gobble up without being seen. The others sometimes don't notice you, even if you are there. It's got a strange synergy with the Hollow, though, and we'll have to figure that out as we go.

Don't worry about the character not seeming alive to others. We will explain it away. The point is that the monster inside of your character is the Ghost, and that is the archetype you are expected to embody.

...

And regarding setting, I'll back off on firm ideas, then. I have concepts in mind, but I'm ready for emergent information from my experience running other story games.

[Metal Fatigue]

I think that's a really insightful reading of the Ghost. I've never quite understood that skin before.

[Q.Q Elf]

I think that's a really insightful reading of the Ghost. I've never quite understood that skin before.

Thanks

Let me also add this about the Ghost. Just food for thought.

Do you have a painful memory in your past that you can't help but remember? Something so traumatic, maybe you wanted to die when it happened (perhaps not literally). It's like that one thing that you can't forget because it hurt you so bad that it marked you forever.

That's what I see in the Ghost... a manifestation of memory, of secrets, and the pain of having become wise (old) before our time

[Keehnelf]

Here's me. I don't have much in the way of lines (a player in another game sent me a PM at one point and was all "are we really going to shoot and kill a child here? if so then I'm out", and while that wasn't the way things were headed, it hadn't even occurred to me that things might look bad or be headed in a wrong direction. It was just the story.

So if I've got them, I'm not 100% sure quite where they are. But I'm quite happy and conscientious about respecting other people's voiced limitations, in advance or in the moment.

---

A quick look over the skinbooks looks like this:

James Goolian is a Fae, but he wasn't born that way. He's a moody, reckless youth who's dabbled in drugs and alcohol, lost his virginity early and generally causes mayhem wherever he goes. Last summer he was on e and had sex with a fae in a field of flowers, and while they were talking afterward, his sense of mischief got the best of the situation and he forced a promise out of her, to let him see the world the way she sees it all the time. Since then, he's been more aware of things, the subtle ways that people's words and intentions shape the world, and how the cords that bind people together, that some call relationships, can be tugged on, snipped, and re-combined to great effect.

His penchant for mischief has only grown since then, and he's become obsessed with the idea that he can somehow understand the whole puzzle if he can only see into everyone's secret heart of hearts to decipher the truth of their cords. He's discovered that the easiest way to figure that out is to force people's hands--to bully or manipulate or seduce them into making promises so that their inner selves conform more closely to his ideas about how they should be, and the whole picture slowly but surely becomes more logical.

He is clearly touched by a fairy-madness that his mind can hardly bear, but it is wickedly subtle...and hard to spot.

[Q.Q Elf]

Sounds like a good basis, Keehnelf.

Let's fit him into the Skin sheets now

And there's no female characters? Or at least undecided? I think everyone mentioned "He". I'm not saying it's bad, but I'm just a bit surprised. As long as you're roleplaying, it doesn't matter to me what faces you wear. Just keep that boundary between player and character, and I think we'll be all cool.

OKAYS... on to the sheets! I think I'm relatively happy with them so far. We can add Tabs & stuff as you record your funkier Moves (so we don't need to flip through the books all the time).

At this point, take the PDF of your chosen Skin, and work through what it says on the sheet for your Skin in order to fill out the spreadsheet for your character.

I've filled some things in for you (where there is no options to choose), but please go through the PDF for your Skin and make the appropriate choices.

If you have questions or comments, please come back and discuss amongst the group. Enjoy!

• The Ghost
• The Fae
• The Hollow
• The Werewolf

(NOTE: These links are editable by anyone who clicks on them. I suppose vandalism is possible, but c'est la vie. This way makes it easier on me. And if you feel like making up a fake/safe Gmail account to access these sheets, please do so.)

EDIT: ALSO... if you feel like reconsidering your character, please do change things up now before we get too much further along.

You do have the option to change with the Seasons, but you'll be locked in once we start.

[Metal Fatigue]

And there's no female characters? Or at least undecided? I think everyone mentioned "He".

Not I, actually. I was tentatively planning on playing a female Hollow.

[Q.Q Elf]

And there's no female characters? Or at least undecided? I think everyone mentioned "He".

Not I, actually. I was tentatively planning on playing a female Hollow.

Awesome. Glad to hear it!

And since you're the veteran angsty sparkly monster teenager, as always, I welcome any input you have about the process.

Dang, I got to MC'splain the rules a lot better...

[Metal Fatigue]

Is this the sort of thing you're looking for, MC?

(the one with the "ME" arrow is intended to be Summer, and the other arrow points to the NPC who wished her into existence as a BFF to whom she could always be superior, tentatively named Lucinda Price)

[Q.Q Elf]

Is this the sort of thing you're looking for, MC?

(the one with the "ME" arrow is intended to be Summer, and the other arrow points to the NPC who wished her into existence as a BFF to whom she could always be superior, tentatively named Lucinda Price)

Perfect!

I'm looking for impressions. Concepts of character. That picture is a solid way to convey it. It tells the story.

I'm not looking for exact, precise portraits.

I'm looking for something that instills your meaning in a sharp way.

[Keehnelf]

Super stereotypical, but here you go:

this is my dude

And I considered making my character female but avoided doing so for a couple reasons:

1. I expect that in addition to a lot of emotional manipulation, my character will be having a lot of reckless sex and I'm not interested in the "pregnant with a monster's baby" plot line

2. I think the kind of character this guy is, is generally a lot more represented as female in our mainstream media and I'm not interested in playing into misogynistic narratives, intentionally or not.

3. I like the idea of a male character who self-identifies as straight getting himself into all kinds of fuzzy emotionally compromising situations because his weird obsession and changing nature.

[Q.Q Elf]

I can't guarantee it, but I don't think I would push the pregnancy bit. Yeah, there's that part with a female character, but then the Fae seems like being about other people's shit, you know? It's all about the deal. Taking someone ELSE's baby, not having your own. It's the scheme, it's getting people to owe you. Pregnancy wouldn't fit the theme so well, I don't think.

Well, it could, but maybe as a scheme. Maybe as a fake pregnancy, to trap someone into a bargain... crap like that. Stuff that deranged women might pull on guys.

However, the other points are well taken, and I wouldn't try to convince you otherwise. Guys pull all sorts of devious crap on their sexual partners as well.

[Metal Fatigue]

Remember that you get to add +1 to the base +1, +1, -1, -1 assortment of stats.

James, I'm thinking Summer's been mimicking your social approach (as well as she can with -1 Hot), so I take two Strings on you. Make sense?

Who wants to have seen through Summer's lies? Maybe the nameless-as-yet Ghost? Or maybe she just doesn't smell human to the Werewolf…

[Q.Q Elf]

Remember that you get to add +1 to the base +1, +1, -1, -1 assortment of stats.

James, I'm thinking Summer's been mimicking your social approach (as well as she can with -1 Hot), so I take two Strings on you. Make sense?

Who wants to have seen through Summer's lies? Maybe the nameless-as-yet Ghost? Or maybe she just doesn't smell human to the Werewolf…

All excellent points.

Don't forget your extra +1 to a stat, everyone.

And, yeah, don't forget about the Strings that your character has (through Backstory). They help link characters, and it gives you power over the others. It could even be a NPC, I think. Just keep that part in mind as you flesh out your Skins.

Damn. I should explain Strings, shouldn't I? Time to put together another post...

...

Oh, how does Summer Bartlett "live"? I guess this comes up later as we do the Seating Chart, maybe, but the question is in my head.

Does Summer have a Mom & Dad like a real live girl? (now I'm imagining Pinocchio, wanting to be a real boy)
Is Summer staying at Lucinda's house, like some sort of exchange student?

Just wondering...

[Metal Fatigue]

Summer stays over with Lucinda a lot, but when she's not there she squats with three other kids in a foreclosed house in what used to be a good neighborhood, pretending to be a runaway. Someone managed to turn the water back on, so it's not filthy and Summer can shower, but there's no electricity and no heat. (EDIT: Lucinda doesn't know any of this. Lucinda doesn't really care what Summer does or where she goes when she's not making Lucinda look good by contrast.)

Speaking of neighborhoods, I always like to put the McMansions up on the highest ground in the area, so we can call it "Snob Hill."

I think there should be a river, running through town or next to it. Rivers are cool. You can shove people off the bank, bodies can be found floating in them, etc. Either that or it should be on a lakeshore.

[Q.Q Elf]

Ok, cool. I like the info. I'm sure we'll get more into Lucinda during the seating chart phase.

I think there should be a river, running through town or next to it. Rivers are cool. You can shove people off the bank, bodies can be found floating in them, etc. Either that or it should be on a lakeshore.

See, I'm in California, now. At the moment, I'm in SoCal. It's like 70-80 degrees during the day. You can still totally be out on the beach in your swimsuits, and it's almost November. And there's bonfires & stuff on the beach at night, for people that like to do that.

I'm familiar with Michigan, though. I know the Great Lakes. I've been canoeing down the Au Sable & the Rifle Rivers (and I use the term "canoe" in parentheses, having been totally drunk and staggering the last time I went down the Rifle River).

Water is good, anyway.

[Metal Fatigue]

I don't see a problem with putting it in an expy of Encinitas. I won't know what the heck is going on, but that's perfectly IC for Summer

[Keehnelf]

I'm not 100% clear where to look for the starting string stuff--did I miss it when looking over the skin sheets earlier?

[Q.Q Elf]

I'm not 100% clear where to look for the starting string stuff--did I miss it when looking over the skin sheets earlier?

It's under "Your Backstory" on the Skin sheets.

[Keehnelf]

Gotcha, thanks.

It seems like overkill and double-stacking to get Summer's fancy, so I think I'll say that I've captured the werewolf's fancy (if that's ok with MW) and make things dangerous.

[Rukellian]

Remember that you get to add +1 to the base +1, +1, -1, -1 assortment of stats.

James, I'm thinking Summer's been mimicking your social approach (as well as she can with -1 Hot), so I take two Strings on you. Make sense?

Who wants to have seen through Summer's lies? Maybe the nameless-as-yet Ghost? Or maybe she just doesn't smell human to the Werewolf…

Clarence Dufonte (the now-named-ghost) may have seen through Summer's lies, but I am building him up to be the good guy kind of archetype, but was a wall flower all of his highschool life up until his death. So though he may know someone's secret, he won't use it as blackmail or leverage, or at least doesn't think of such things. He's got his own problems right now...

The ghost skin said that I have a string on someone and someone has a string on me, does it have to be a PC? I originally had an NPC have a string on me, for she knew that I was actually dead and how I died. I planned on her being a witch named Vanessa Lokhart that generally hated and was disgusted by everyone around her, except Clarence. Clarence was the only one who she could hang out with and not feel uncomfortable. Though it was never intimate, I'd like to think that they were very good friends, perhaps on the verge of taking it to the next level? I may be thinking a bit too far ahead here or demanding too much of what I'm allowed, but hey, I'm open to changing my character sheet.