Buffy RPG - A Hellmouth in Waterloo [Closed]

[Shayuri]

Hee hee, okay Zombie...let us hash this out.

In my corner is Nerdgirl, who's got that pastor for a father and so on, rah rah. Not terribly assertive, but in my mind she's kind of sour and sarcastic towards the mainstream she feels rejected by. Not the cheerful, chirpy Willow-ish sort at all.

Now, unless I'm mistaking you, in your corner is the athletic...perhaps even jocktastic...sporty girl, who is a bit 'durr' in matters cranial, but well versed in matters related to jumping and running and climbing...and perhaps kicking and hitting as well. Not at all a cheerleader, she plays on more than one of the school teams.

One shall be the slayer. The other shall be...NOT the slayer. Spunky sidekick? Mmmmaybe. Something like that. Though either has potential to supply.

In my mind, the nerdgirl-slayer idea is entertaining mainly because of the role reversal, where the decidedly non-physically inclined girl is thrust into a situation where the qualities she views as her strengths are more or less irrelevant, and she's forced to rely on abilities that may very well be heretical.

However, I can also see how it results in a character who "has it all" in some ways...possessing the superhuman physical characteristics of the slayer, as well as the developed intellect of the Nerd. Even if that were desirable, and I'm not sure it is, the system likely wouldn't support that.

The only potential issue with sporty-slayer and her nerdish BFF is that it walks perilously close to the dynamic of the TV show...though I recognize that the actual characters are quite distinct. Even so, I'm not sure I'd be satisfied with being the one who does some research up front, then vanishes during all of the action...unless I was abducted or in other ways made into a plot point.

Of course, I suppose that's true for anyone who would play a normal human in a game of demons and half-demons.

So...not sure where that leaves us.

Hee

 

[Cor Azer]

This is going to sound funny, but are we getting too "D&D"-y? Half of us are half-blooded with the supernatural.

Then again, the Angel gang was anything but normal.

Must... stay... focused.

Maybe we're more Lost Girl now.

I'm not too worried about things feeling too D&Dish. Really, out of 8 characters, we're looking at two half-demons, and immortal human, and a Slayer (although, to be fair, we don't yet know much about the other four except the Watcher.

Compare Buffy: Slayer (x2 or 3 if Kendra counts), Witch (x2), Watcher (x2, one with some spell abilities), Werewolf, Vampire (x2), government enhanced human, mystical key in human form, Potentials (x alot in season 7), ex (and later not so ex) vengeance demon, demon-summoner (if you count Andrew)... Really, Xander and Cordelia are the only normals in the Scooby gang, and even Cordy became half-demon in her last years.

 

[Cor Azer]

Hee hee, okay Zombie...let us hash this out.

In my corner is Nerdgirl, who's got that pastor for a father and so on, rah rah. Not terribly assertive, but in my mind she's kind of sour and sarcastic towards the mainstream she feels rejected by. Not the cheerful, chirpy Willow-ish sort at all.

Now, unless I'm mistaking you, in your corner is the athletic...perhaps even jocktastic...sporty girl, who is a bit 'durr' in matters cranial, but well versed in matters related to jumping and running and climbing...and perhaps kicking and hitting as well. Not at all a cheerleader, she plays on more than one of the school teams.

One shall be the slayer. The other shall be...NOT the slayer. Spunky sidekick? Mmmmaybe. Something like that. Though either has potential to supply.

In my mind, the nerdgirl-slayer idea is entertaining mainly because of the role reversal, where the decidedly non-physically inclined girl is thrust into a situation where the qualities she views as her strengths are more or less irrelevant, and she's forced to rely on abilities that may very well be heretical.

However, I can also see how it results in a character who "has it all" in some ways...possessing the superhuman physical characteristics of the slayer, as well as the developed intellect of the Nerd. Even if that were desirable, and I'm not sure it is, the system likely wouldn't support that.

The only potential issue with sporty-slayer and her nerdish BFF is that it walks perilously close to the dynamic of the TV show...though I recognize that the actual characters are quite distinct. Even so, I'm not sure I'd be satisfied with being the one who does some research up front, then vanishes during all of the action...unless I was abducted or in other ways made into a plot point.

Of course, I suppose that's true for anyone who would play a normal human in a game of demons and half-demons.

So...not sure where that leaves us.

Hee

If you two really want a wrench in the gears, you could possibly both be Slayers. Sort of. Take a page out Of Fray, and while you wouldn't both need to be twins, maybe the screwy Hellmouth went all snip-snip on the Slayer package, and you each got part of it. Deciding how to divy up the good parts would be another fight, but you'd each get some cake...

That said, Shayuri, don't worry too much about nerdgirl seeming too "best of all worlds"; just by virtual of splitting her focus, she'll be a solid second best in a few things, but she win't really have enough points to outshine anyone who really wants to focus on something.

 

[Shayuri]

Let me just put something that hasn't been discussed much yet on the table and see what happens.

Mad Science.

Discuss.

...

Seriously though, that could be a "power source" for nerdity, eh?

 

[Cor Azer]

Let me just put something that hasn't been discussed much yet on the table and see what happens.

Mad Science.

Discuss.

...

Seriously though, that could be a "power source" for nerdity, eh?

The Magic Box supplement has rules for superscience a la Warren in Buffy season 6, so I can handle it.

From a game setting level, Waterloo is home of the main HQ for *ahem* Edge Communications, a leading developer of smartphone technologies, and at least one of the two universities is well known for its math, computer science, and engineering schools...


There's bound to be a few smarties with some different views of normal behaviours... Are any on the side of good?

 

[Systole]

I agree with Cor regarding a nerd girl Slayer. You split your focus. Rechard could have been a lot more combat effective, but I wanted him to be an expert painter. So mostly, he's just a meatshield.

The book also suggests that you could have a pair of Slayers if both Buffy and Faith have near-death experiences. It's not 100% canon, but that doesn't bother me much at all.

Also let me say: OOOoooOOOooo mad science. Rechard would be hilariously out of his element.

 

[Shayuri]

I'm pretty sure that Buffy's successor has already been called; that was Kendra. After Kendra was Faith, and the slayer in this game would be the slayer called after Faith's "death."

So if Buffy dies again, no new slayer. As far as the line goes, she's already died. The fact that she didn't stay dead doesn't change that.

That's my reading anyway. Besides, two slayers is less fun. Better for everyone to have their own thing.

 

[Cor Azer]

I'm pretty sure that Buffy's successor has already been called; that was Kendra. After Kendra was Faith, and the slayer in this game would be the slayer called after Faith's "death."

So if Buffy dies again, no new slayer. As far as the line goes, she's already died. The fact that she didn't stay dead doesn't change that.

That's my reading anyway. Besides, two slayers is less fun. Better for everyone to have their own thing.

That's the take on Slayer inheritance I'm taking; I just threw out the idea for some wrenching...

 

[jkason]

Yoinks, did I fall behind!

I think the hang up was that Catholic priests are celibate. Other Christian faiths are more accommodating.

While celibacy is part of a Catholic priest's vows, virginity isn't so far as I'm aware, so it's entirely possible his daughter was the result of his life prior to the seminary. Either a wife who died, or a mistake from 'hellraiser' days for which he's now atoning. Either one comes with the possibility of projected angst in daughter's direction.

I'm pretty sure that Buffy's successor has already been called; that was Kendra. After Kendra was Faith, and the slayer in this game would be the slayer called after Faith's "death."

So if Buffy dies again, no new slayer. As far as the line goes, she's already died. The fact that she didn't stay dead doesn't change that.

That's my reading anyway. Besides, two slayers is less fun. Better for everyone to have their own thing.

Well, with super-science on the table, it's always possible someone was trying to make their own Slayer, getting all peanut butter cup with their mysticism and gene-splicing. I mean, Slayers heal quick, but bleed often; no telling who might have samples.


On my own character:

* I figured the 'gang' would probably know Gavin's secret, but he wouldn't be especially keen on giving details of his 'gift' to strangers. I'm not sure if that requires a Secret or not? I think I have a line on Angel rulebook, but haven't as of yet looked at any rules.

* On demon-blood-feeding: I thought perhaps this might actually be part of the 'gathering of folk' backstory:

1) Gavin recognized Rechard's oddity, and wound up approaching him thinking they had something in common. Gavin has a tendency to want to find a place where he fits, which gets him in some trouble when he's too trusting. This would be no exception. He wound up in a situation where he was either going to be Rechard's next meal, or he could help him track down tastier fare. Gavin quite sensibly chose the latter, though he's always a bit tense when Rechard's stomach growls.

2) On the less ruthless track, Gavin's 'pain sense' kicked off when he took Rechard's class at a point when the professor had gone far too long without demon blood. I would assume the oncoming loss of immortality would hurt, myself; it's a whole lot of dying having been staved off and on its way back all at once. In any case, Gavin actually offered some of his own blood to help stabilize the immortal, and the two have grown friendly in the wake of the incident.

 

[Systole]

Supernatural Sense - Pain (3): A Perception + Notice check can learn the life point total of 1 creature per success in a 100ft radius.

The way I read this is that Gavin knows how healthy someone is immediately. Am I wrong? Rechard is pushing 50-60 hp, which is about 3x what's expected for the average art teacher. If Gavin's health sense works like that, he wouldn't need to wait for hunger pangs -- Rechard would obviously be a 100-watt bulb in a 40-watt room.