Roll20 uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. Cookies enable you to enjoy certain features, social sharing functionality, and tailor message and display ads to your interests on our site and others. They also help us understand how our site is being used. By continuing to use our site, you consent to our use of cookies. Update your cookie preferences .
×
Create a free account

General Inspiration Thread

Not quite the right thread but I was wondering if anyone who backed Masks has seen the new playbooks for Unbound yet?  When I first heard of the Scion, my initial thought was "jeez, that's totally Alycia."
1531932258
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
I have a link, I'll send you a forum PM.
Thanks Bill! Scion looks interesting.  Not 100% what I'd imagine with Alycia (I am not 100% if she'd be seeking anyone's approval) but a couple of those moves do look fitting. Nomad is just all kinds of fun looking.  I might try sniping one of those moves for Concord.
I've seen the Scion playbook (at least the description, though I may have looked at the current draft). I think Reformed still fits better for Alycia (at least that was my  impression.. I don't have my downloads here), even though she hasn't had a chance to do much playbook-wise with it.  But I should also take another look. There's quite possible other playbook fodder there. 
Mike said: Scion looks interesting.  Not 100% what I'd imagine with Alycia (I am not 100% if she'd be seeking anyone's approval) but a couple of those moves do look fitting. Alycia wants others' approval far more than she's willing to admit to herself, let alone others. Ultimately that's not a healthy position for her, but it's a decent proxy for developing an acceptable moral compass. 
1532217540
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Guy in a jet suit! A grill mounted in what at least looks like a jet engine . This totally looks like a burger bar prop, or even food truck, in Halycon City.
1532361542

Edited 1532361559
Mike
Pro
Someone on the Masks Discord posted a Science Fair mishap random table , which made me think of this episode of the Librarians ( The Librarians and the Rule of Three ).  I for one am terrified to imagine what would come out of a Gardner Academy Science Fair (though I hope the answer is Biomega ).
21 - Your Experiment Attracts Unwanted Attention -- roll again to see if it's AEGIS, Rosa Rook, or Dr. Infinity.
(Rrg. Hate rewriting a post.) So we've spend the last week-and-change in places -- from Athens, through the Aegean, up around to Corfu, and the Dalmation Coast -- that were at various time controlled -- for years or for decades or for centuries -- by Venice. Americans tend to think of 19th Century stereotypes of canals and gondolas and San Marco Square. But Venice was, for a number of centuries,  an imperial power of military, economic, and cultural might. The US might dream of having such influence as Venice had, for as long as it did. Segueing from the places where Venice ruled and left an indelible stamp of influence, to the actual city itself, is breathtaking. This is the capital of a major power, of stunning wealth -- buildings of the major houses vying for elegance against one another, signage in marble and limestone, churches competing for great artists to decorate their apses and naves and altars. From fleeing the barbarians who were ransacking the Roman Empire to running an economic empire that vied against and turned back the Ottoman Turks, Venice was a superpower from the 15th through 18th Centuries, finally brought down in its senescent remnants by Napoleon. From an SF perspective, Venice feels like Trantor, Asimov's imperial capital, full of pride and power before the fall, still stunning its aspirations and accomplishments, even as it turns into a tourist attraction and a hollow shell of its past glory. To bring it back to a game perspective, wouldn't it be interesting if the Concordance represented one or a group of great stellar powers, proud and mighty, now fallen on hard times and basement-flooded shells of the past glory, but still sending out agents to keep the peace and order and centuries-dead status quo? That might explain the less-than-exemplary behavior of the recent agents visiting, or even the flaws that led Sol to bond with an immature and imperfect human. 
1532567670
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
More on the "Eighth Grade" film mentioned earlier, here's Bo Burnham on why being 13 is horrifying and fun:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jYdo8xA4No" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jYdo8xA4No</a> The phrase "performing yourself to yourself" was very insightful. That, and "who we hope we might be is a more vulnerable truth than who we're scared we might be".
1532761893
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
If I hadn't played Summer, this would be my other pick for new PC.&nbsp;<a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/2hTgkJv" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/2hTgkJv</a>
Bill G. said: If I hadn't played Summer, this would be my other pick for new PC.&nbsp; <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/2hTgkJv" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/2hTgkJv</a> There's a Beacon.
1532762392
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
And on that note, here's the Beacon-Nova teamup.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFuMpYTyRjw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFuMpYTyRjw</a>
Bill G. said: And on that note, here's the Beacon-Nova teamup.&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFuMpYTyRjw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFuMpYTyRjw</a>
1532763722
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
It's a testament to Masks that the Beacon can be as effective as the Nova ( or more so, depending ). And sometimes what keeps the power-house able to summon up cosmic force is a hug and a few reassuring words from sisterly robot girls.
There was never any doubt in that.&nbsp; When it comes to Masks, I will always offer up this bit of anecdotal experience paraphrased from the Masks G+ group:&nbsp; "Man, fighting that kaiju was easy.&nbsp; Talking to people afterwards.&nbsp; That's where the struggle was."
1532781537

Edited 1532879185
Mike said: There was never any doubt in that.&nbsp; When it comes to Masks, I will always offer up this bit of anecdotal experience paraphrased from the Masks G+ group:&nbsp; "Man, fighting that kaiju was easy.&nbsp; Talking to people afterwards.&nbsp; That's where the struggle was." Yes! It's a brilliant and counterintuitive thing for a supers game system. It's anti-crunch, BUT GOOD at it!&nbsp;
Some fine words on writing that made me think of Leo and his heart factory.&nbsp; Bill might have already said something to this effect (my memory is incredibly poor) but reading this definitely made me think about the Newmans and other Rossum.
1532829771
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
That's not only my writing style, but yeah, I adapted the idea to explain Leo's neurotech. The idea of making other people out of parts of himself, his choice of labels ("Heart Factory", not just "AI generator" or something), hopefully all added up to AI creation as something at least as much a spiritual and emotional experience as a technological one. So good call. :)
1532834152
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
The big questions that Charlotte Palmer can answer for us.
So I've been playing some indy story games with my local group lately (namely Swords Without Master , its superhero-themed counterpart With Great Power , and of course Fiasco ) and SWM and WGP both have a very interesting mechanic which I think could be applied to many games. In Swords Without Master, during the "Rogue's Phase" (basically a catch-all part of the game were daring deeds are done, but doesn't necessarily have a focused adversary), player's make demands for scenes from other players.&nbsp; A particularly fun demand I had recently was "show us how your character calms down after all this craziness."&nbsp; This led to a quiet scene in a tea house where my character met a local merchant and the two talked about local politics.&nbsp; While what happened wasn't important (to this discussion, it ended up being very important to the game), what was interesting that another player wanted to see something (my character trying to bring some balance in their life) and they had the means to make that occur in game. With Great Power has something similar with its Personal Phase, where the story focuses on one character and other players take up the roles of their supporting cast. Fiasco also does something similar with its "you can either set the scene or resolve it, but not both" option at the beginning of each player's scene.&nbsp; If you choose to resolve the scene, the other players construct a scene meant to put your character on the spot. While neither game is perfect (both ask a lot more of a player with things that would normally be handled by the GM), it might be interesting to see what scenes other players want to see.&nbsp; "Mike, where do we find Summer?"&nbsp; "Uhm, at the mall.&nbsp; With Alycia!"&nbsp; "Awesome, Bill and Dave how did Alycia get roped into this?"&nbsp; "Well..."
It sounds like a fun mechanic. The example you gave dove into your own character in an unusual way. That's easy enough to keep in mind ("Alycia, how is your cold-water walk-up decorated?" asks Bill, as part of Summer coming by to pick her up for that mall trip). The example you give at the end takes that a step further, actually dictating to a degree broad actions / settings, which is also a doable thing within the veto power of the character players if it's something too bizarre or unfitting. :-)
1533333896
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
I'm always down to participate in something like this, and people should feel free to drag Summer into shenanigans at any time. Practically speaking, though, most of the time that'll happen in cutscenes, comics, etc. because the main sessions are usually booked solid.
Bill G. said: I'm always down to participate in something like this, and people should feel free to drag Summer into shenanigans at any time. Practically speaking, though, most of the time that'll happen in cutscenes, comics, etc. because the main sessions are usually booked solid. Yeah.&nbsp; There's some truth to that.
Some Young Justice artwork through its various stages.&nbsp; I only wish my initial roughs looked that well.
So Comixology does this own line of comics and one of the first ones is a series called SuperFreaks .&nbsp; Sidekicks of heroes who disappeared having to grow up in a hurry when a crisis shows up.&nbsp; It's good, pokes a lot of fun at superhero tropes, and is like $7 for the five issue collection.&nbsp; The story's fun, the characters are enjoyable, and while some of things may be eye rolling at times, I'd recommend it for someone who wants a contained story.&nbsp; A solid book.
I need to do an Avatar: The Last Airbender rewatch. Meanwhile, awesome posters:&nbsp;<a href="https://io9.gizmodo.com/these-avatar-the-last-airbender-posters-have-mastered-1828277612" rel="nofollow">https://io9.gizmodo.com/these-avatar-the-last-airbender-posters-have-mastered-1828277612</a>
1534095945

Edited 1534096137
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Comics have a weird relationship with the word "realistic". DC has apparently convinced us that "realistic" has to mean "dark and gritty", because obviously nobody would ever be as kind, just, and noble as our fictional heroes, right? We have to show their obviously flawed human sides. Bullshit. "Realistic" just means "conforming to expectations of reality". So here's the story of a cat who was made station master for trains in Japan, died, and was elevated to godhood. <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/IoEF6M1" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/IoEF6M1</a> Don't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darlings.
DC is a bit of a hot mess -- what you describe does largely fit the DCEU (the formal title for the DC comics movies), with the exception arguably of Wonder Woman. &nbsp;They kind of tried to make that their comic book go-to with the New 52 reboot, but have (mostly) reined that back with the Rebirth reboot. Ironically, Marvel was traditionally the "realistic" comic book company -- people with human conflicts and worries, very different from the traditional DC Silver Age comic book characters.
Little I could add to the DC/Marvel descriptions that haven't been said. In other topics though, someone posted this on the Masks Discord as a character image and I thought "Huh, that's some Ghost Girl vibes.&nbsp; Maybe altFuture Charlotte?" Agree/disagree?
1534209682
Doyce
Pro
Sheet Author
Well **I** love it.
Ooooh. Do like.
1534224111

Edited 1534224143
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Summer couldn't be called "Korean" - she's American by upbringing (though Leo had a Korean foster mother and biological mother), but with the revelation about Leo's parentage, the Newmans are all now more curious. In real life, I also work with several Koreans, one of which is working remotely over there right now. My landlady also just got back from a trip there. So here's a big collection of photos from Korea, for people who are interested:&nbsp; <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/4m2kZ2v" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/4m2kZ2v</a>
1534224271
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Mike said: In other topics though, someone posted this on the Masks Discord as a character image and I thought "Huh, that's some Ghost Girl vibes.&nbsp; Maybe altFuture Charlotte?" Added here:&nbsp;<a href="http://wiki.menagerie.team/Ghost_Girl" rel="nofollow">http://wiki.menagerie.team/Ghost_Girl</a>
Bill G. said: Mike said: In other topics though, someone posted this on the Masks Discord as a character image and I thought "Huh, that's some Ghost Girl vibes.&nbsp; Maybe altFuture Charlotte?" Added here:&nbsp; <a href="http://wiki.menagerie.team/Ghost_Girl" rel="nofollow">http://wiki.menagerie.team/Ghost_Girl</a> Also in the Issue 50 summary .&nbsp;
Well, based on this reaction, it looks like I found the definitive Ghost Girl picture.
Mike said: Well, based on this reaction, it looks like I found the definitive Ghost Girl picture. Present Charlotte seemed to demur a bit at the décolleté, but I think it definitely captures something about her.
1534296719
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
If you got it, baby, haunt it! Tangentially related: Erma is the creepy-ghost-girl-in-grade-school comic, so here's that premise aged up. A world of adorably goofy young-adult monsters, starring an adorable zombie girl.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/zomcom/list?title_no=70195" rel="nofollow">https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/zomcom/list?title_no=70195</a>
1534389512
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
I don't normally post stuff from Reddit but I'll make an exception for this. I imagine Mike in particular will be on board.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/775caq/my_friends_and_i_have_something_called_knife/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/775caq/my_friends_and_i_have_something_called_knife/</a>
Bill G. said: I don't normally post stuff from Reddit but I'll make an exception for this. I imagine Mike in particular will be on board.&nbsp; <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/775caq/my_friends_and_i_have_something_called_knife/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/775caq/my_friends_and_i_have_something_called_knife/</a> Bill is spot on.&nbsp; I read this a while back and really enjoyed it.&nbsp; I always try to prep an assortment of knives for games now.
1534705717
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
This is SOMEBODY's lair.&nbsp;<a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/OKzqwVE" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/OKzqwVE</a>
Bill - Thanks for introducing me to Erma. She is quirky and adorable.
1534786535
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
I'm really glad you've been enjoying her. I love the character and the comics. :)
The /evilbuildings sub-Reddit is a joy to behold.
1535139779

Edited 1535140261
I don't recall if this came up during the AltFuture campaign, but it suddenly struck me the similarities between that world and this one: " How Long Is Forever? " is the season 2 opener for the (true) Teen Titans &nbsp;cartoon. In it, Starfire, the perky unifying spirit of the TT, gets caught in a time travel incident, arriving years in the future to discover that, without her as the social glue of the team, they've fallen apart into dark ways. Beast Boy is a lonely, pudgy circus freak. Cyborg maintains the crumbling Titans Tower, trapped there by needed power cables as his own tech fails. Raven has gone insane with loneliness, convinced everything around her is an illusion. And Robin has gone full Batman, becoming the lone vigilante Nightwing. It's one of the best episodes (and darkest) of an overall excellent series, and the AltFuture story reminds me of it -- the lack of the Pneuma/Aria/Summer presence lets both Leo and Jason drift off, leading to loneliness, isolation, madness, and death across the team. ( Justice League did a similar "It's A Wonderful Life" cautionary riff with the arc that involved (in a parallel timeline) Luthor winning the presidency and killing the Flash. Lacking Wally as the "heart" of the team to act as a moral restraint, Superman kills Luthor, then he and his fellow core JLers take over the world as the Lawful Good-to-Neutralish "Justice Lords." Also a lot of fun, but the TT ep fits better and is, ultimately, a more moving experience.) So, yeah, it took a lot more issues than expected, but it's nice to have had a story arc that resonates with such classics.
Apparently our favorite talking car is branching out into new business in Claremont, Calif., a very lovely Italian restaurant.
1535608219
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
He also sells a line of tshirts and other merch under the brand name Fourth Gear&nbsp;
1535779790
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
We've had a lot of great empathy moments in this game, so here's some more inspiration for that.&nbsp;<a href="https://i.imgur.com/zvLa9Zj.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://i.imgur.com/zvLa9Zj.jpg</a>
1535845634
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Places have history, but so do objects, sometimes very curious and variable ones. Will Charlotte encounter any such strange things in her journey to close wounds and reveal pasts? Here's a very minor example.&nbsp; <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/lrIiSq5" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/lrIiSq5</a> Atlas Obscura is a great resource for such things, and its current headline takes another angle on ghosts: flickers of shared memory and experience. They also have a print book, which I own and love.
1536419582
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Emara, a kid superhero from Dubai, with the ability to manifest gadgets from her body and a really neat costume. Comes with Teen Titans-esque anime flourishes. Available in English and Arabic. Channel:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNszWQypQeqAApRmr8ACcqA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNszWQypQeqAApRmr8ACcqA</a> Episodes: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ytnzJjEyAM" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ytnzJjEyAM</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx6MYpa7Dy8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx6MYpa7Dy8</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xATyK-sFxLI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xATyK-sFxLI</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmxqbpewUuA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmxqbpewUuA</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huCzv_n3cEM" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huCzv_n3cEM</a> Comments from Henry Kathman:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEuRiVipC4M" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEuRiVipC4M</a>