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Post by WildKnight on Mar 17, 2015 21:52:23 GMT -5
A thought came up while looking at DK's CAD; the JLI does NOT require its members to publicly reveal their identities, BUT Luthor does know the true identity of everyone on the team. There is a guarantee (you can decide for yourself how much Luthor's word is worth) that the identities will be kept confidential, and even the government(s) will not have access to the information.
So, yes, secret identities are a thing that is in play, and could represent challenges for characters whose secret identities require some time investment or involve other people who might need to be protected.
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Post by Dionon on Mar 18, 2015 0:02:39 GMT -5
Damn you WK, why do you have such great ideas for games when I'm in so many!
Expect a CAD at some point in the near future... Don't know what yet, but I'll try something.
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Post by Gris on Mar 18, 2015 6:53:56 GMT -5
Since world building is a part of the game, gonna post the first background attempt for my character directly here. As always, any feedback is welcome.
Cassandra woke up, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. It was that nightmare again, with her trapped in darkness, losing her consciousness.
...
It all began with yet another of her mother's trips, always taking Cassandra with her to wherever her job demanded to. And with Helena's reputation as archaeologist, Cassandra couldn't really settle anywhere or with anyone. Knowing the world around was nice, and learning languages and cultures was definitely a plus, but Cassandra was lost without a place to belong. That trip was special, though. Helena managed to get invited to spend some weeks in Themyscira, and of course took her daughter with her. For Helena it was no doubt exciting to get a firsthand look at a living sample of a culture and art that she only had dead echoes of, but for Cassandra it meant only another weird place full of strangers.
She couldn't be more wrong even if she tried. The night before arriving to the island on a small ship, Cassandra was walking around deck, unable to sleep with the storm rocking around. Even with all the care of the world, the reckless idea produced predictable results, and she ended up swallowed by the sea, sinking into darkness. Awaking to the surprised faces of women she didn't know, and the more familiar mix of relief and anger of Helena's face, Cassandra was already in Themyscira. She had appeared in the beach in the morning, two days later, and the inhabitants of the island seemed to have a heated debate about her. Well, about what goddess had graced her and saved from certain death, to be precise.
Most of the amazons were amicably debating between five patrons. If Hestia saved her it meant that the goddess brought her home, and thus she belonged there. For others it was only natural that Artemis was the protector of the young girl, and few saw Demeter's hand on the issue. Most of them could only think as a desing of Athena, born from her wisdom and with a purpose still to be revealed, but some also saw the incident as just Aphrodite's whim protecting the beauty of the girl. Only in whispers and quiet hushes some ventured a different patron, maybe Poseidon rejected her or Zeus had some plan, but it seemed unlikely. Cassandra didn't seem interested in the matter at hand, and the attention of those women didn't differ much from the one of Helena, always having a schedule for her without even listening to her daughter.
With time the amazon's left the issue as a divine intervention that would only reveal it's nature by the acts of the girl, and decided that she should receive proper education and training befitting one that was chosen. Cassandra did feel different, the ordeal had awoken something in her, and whatever the source was it gave her gifts beyond what a human was capable of, gifts that needed counseling besides a stern look of her mother and the mandate to never use them. Cassandra saw that as an opportunity to distance herself from Helena's way of life, and after arguing they agreed for her to remain in Themyscira for two years, at least until she was an adult and free to chose for herself.
Two years passed quickly on paradise, but Cassandra still didn't feel comfortable there, she was always distant to the amazons, something wasn't right with her. But her eighteenth birthday and Lex Luthor's announcement gave her something to aspire to, somewhere to belong, and an excuse to move away from Themyscira. She could use her honed gifts and her worldwide education to serve a purpose in the Justice League International, even if the amazons warned her against the true intentions of the man in charge. In the JLI maybe she could be herself and finally feel home.
...
Cassandra woke up, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. It was that dream again, with her waking in the light, regaining her consciousness.
After sinking below the waves that marked night, Cassandra awoke in a weird environment, with strange furniture and odd lightning. After some seconds focusing her sight, and with her ears strangely feeling plugged, she realized that not only the ceiling seemed transparent, but she also was under the sea. In those two days before getting found on Themyscira's beach she was taught that she was no prisoner, even if she was treated like one it was just due to her limitations in such an environment. The Atlantean examination concluded that she was definitely more than human, but they couldn't point why exactly, and discussion arose around what to do with her. A boy her age, seemingly the one that rescued her, stood up to return her to her destiny in Themyscira, as withholding her would bring only trouble.
Before a decision could be made, the boy managed to break her out and take her in a lengthy trip to the island. Maybe it was the roller coaster of emotions or that Cassandra felt that someone cared about what she wanted for the first time in her life, but the jailbreak felt like eloping, and she ended tangled with the boy in more ways than one when they arrived at the beach. The morning after the boy was disappointingly missing, and she faced a cohort of strange women alongside her mother. They knew nothing about how she managed to survive and get there, and even if Cassandra had indeed received some kind of boon from an unknown source, she didn't like being treated as a passive object of debate and said to remember nothing about it.
In those two years that she agreed to spend on the island she escaped as many times as she could to be alone on the beach, and met the Atlantean boy more than once. It seemed that colder heads prevailed, and with just a reprimand the high ups saw that returning her to the island was the appropriate course of action. Those visits, if brief due to the tensions between both realms, were the best of those years. Not only did she had someone that cared for her, but she also could do something without Helena and the amazons being in top of her and deciding if it was good for Cassandra to do so. In time, the encounters spaced more and more, until he stopped coming at all, not long before her birthday.
Maybe going back to the world and into the JLI was not only a way to find a purpose, but also a way of finding him.
Whoa, that ended up being a bit longer than expected, but I wanted to tell the tale in two distinct parts. I tried for the background to not only present Cassandra, but also raise some interesting questions. Is that boy an Atlantean spy to be around Themysciran waters and save Cassandra? Was the breakout a farce? Does he really like her?
Also, regarding her gifts, is the nature of those a boon from a god? If so, who, and with what purpose?
That said, entering the crunchier side of things, I don't really know what kind of powers should she have. Probably the standard strong girl suite should be fitting, but it tends to be a bit lackluster and eat energy like there was no tomorrow, so I don't really know. As I said before, hope you like it and any feedback is welcome.
Quick edit: Of course, if anyone is interested on playing an atlantean boy, feel free to use the toys included here.
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Post by WildKnight on Mar 18, 2015 7:21:30 GMT -5
GrisIf you look at how I did energy, I just did my best to estimate how much they'd need, but still limited their regeneration enough so that (in theory, if my guesstimation works) each of them will still have to make some hard decisions about spending energy. If you play the "strong girl" CAD, aim for something similar. Those characters can be rather bland, but every team needs its brick 8)
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Post by WildKnight on Mar 18, 2015 7:34:03 GMT -5
Oh, and lest anyone should think I've lost my mind and think that Billy Zane makes a good Lex Luthor... that isn't the case. First, I lost my mind ages ago. Second, I'm too lazy to do my own photoshop work, and when I searched Lex Luthor pictures, that magazine cover was my favorite option for this particular pitch.
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Post by Gris on Mar 18, 2015 7:58:13 GMT -5
I see the use of Efficient around too, that was the spend two stones get three thing, right?
Also, I guess that no feedback on the background means no changes needed. Will work on the CAD sometime today when I'm free. I'll use Wonder Woman as a guideline for my Wonder Girl (way toned down, of course)
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Post by WildKnight on Mar 18, 2015 8:25:12 GMT -5
I see the use of Efficient around too, that was the spend two stones get three thing, right? Correct. My only feedback on your background concept is that putting your character (potentially) in-between warring Super Powers gives me a lot to work with, and therefore not much to complain about. |
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Post by Dhark on Mar 18, 2015 16:12:52 GMT -5
Obviously... I'm leaning towards a Superboy entry myself!
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