I'd be happy to have your suggestions regardless. You can steer by comments here or on the chapters as well as contributing, if you like reading but don't like the mechanics.
Its just basic addition and subtraction. But I think Zingiber is saying more "You suggest where the story should go, and one of the contributors write it out"
Sort of the other way round, give us suggestions. I enjoy that sort of engagement. I've done some of that sort of reader-prompted writing in my other story When The Cat's Away. More like that. If you find the mechanics annoying to write to, suggest some characters or scenes you'd like to see. Or choose one of the free-choice options so you don't have to deal with the mechanics, and can introduce interesting characters and settings that the main character can observe and learn about, and that other contributors can develop.
I'm more of the story telling vein than the rpg style, so it would be a shift for me. As for suggestions, a few things popped in mind for a magical school; Someone slips love potion in the drinking fountains, the main character must find the culprit and undo the spell. A test of practical magics leaves the student with a lab partner in a room with the proper tools to escape scattered around. A scribe has lost his scrying mirror and suspects someone has stolen it to spy on the students. It could be traced back to its user through a spell, but the main character would need to create a scene that would catch the attention of the peeper. A late night study session finds the mc in the library after dark where a strange ritual taking place. Apparently this is the time where a small sect of sex mages conglomerate to summon the succubus of desire and make offerings to improve their grades and garner influence over the school. A student picked up a charm spell that helps her get away with slacking off in class and gain favor with the popular students. This spell soon picks up momentum and becomes increasingly potent, but the mc is immune due to a side effect of the spell which is uncharm which has been cast on the mc.
@Artican Those sound great. With your permission, I'll try writing some of those up. Peregrine oversleeping would be a good jumping off point for stumbling into a ritual.
I was going to follow up on the late night summoning circle to start. If you wanted to sketch win/loss directions for the other scenes, or even the summoning circle, that would be great. There's space to take things any direction, and I would hardly say I had plans already. I tend to make up the win/loss scenarios as the result of some particular "Move", or test of luck/skill/strength/persuasion at a critical point, though sometimes I'll project some scenarios before rolling the dice. One of the fun bits of the game mechanics is to make up interesting complications for the 7-9 rolls ("You succeed, but you have to face [increased difficulties].") I've been experimenting with the notion of a player GOAL (at the prompting of @moonblack and @SonofOsman) that could take multiple moves and eventually pay off with a character development bonus (like the test of practical magics -- that sounds like a fun set-up). And on the bus I was musing about having a student who was a gnome gadgetrix with a talent for mechanical magics and a magically animated mechanical servant as a sort of familiar.
Here's the first half of the summoning ritual stumbled into by Peregrine Poesy (currently in girl form, all clean after a bath and change). https://chyoa.com/chapter/A-summoning-ritual.224654
One arc handed back to the main character for her next move after the ritual devolves. https://chyoa.com/chapter/Revenge-on-Prefect-Susan.224791
So, I had an idea to create an Academy based on the manga My Hero Academia; essentially, one day people started being born with powers, called Quirks, and over time it became commonplace. Now, with 80% of the population possessing some sort of superhuman power, both heroism and villainy have become industries in their own right, and schools have cropped up training people who want to use their Quirks for more than just everyday jobs; those who want to become Heroes. Of course, this particular academy is known for a slightly more risque side to Quirks, and all sorts of shenanigans can happen. After all, there are quite a number of Quirks in the series that function at the expense of the Hero's costume. Maybe this school just has more of those than the norm... I only have a basic outline of what I want at the moment, but the 4 'Houses' could be the different departments that exist in the setting. Heroics: Where those looking to become heroes are trained as such; sparring, Quirk endurance training, villain/danger scenario training, internships as sidekicks, etc. Support: The gadgeteers and geniuses that come up with the specially made costumes and gadgets invaluable to heroes in this age where ability and public opinion are equally valuable. For your aspiring Lucius Fox or Edna Mode Management: Heroes need managers, in much the same way that an actor or athlete might. The person who pulls strings to make sure their client ends up with the right gear, the right image, in the right agency, and so on. General Education: A school can't make enough money by just training a select few heroes-to-be. Some people with Quirks don't make the cut to be full time heroes, or don't want to risk their lives, and end up taking their education down a mundane path, while their tuition fuels the training that produces new heroes. The stats I have so far: Bold (Aggressive/Forceful) Analytical (Calculating/Methodical) Subtle (Inquisitive/Exploratory) (Reflexive/Graceful) Maybe Appealing?(Persuasive/Assertive) And then probably let the person decide A) Their own Quirk B) The general effects of their Quirk and C) What stat their Quirk works off of. A person whose power is to make explosions out of their hands isn't going to cause the same effects as someone who can turn invisible, and they probably won't work off the same sort of ability either (ie. Explosions being Bold and Invisibility being Subtle) Maybe even a 6th stat, +Quirk, thats just a general measure of the amount of control a person has over their own power, and then one of the effects of a successful +Quirk roll can be to give 1 forward to the next appropriate roll, or substitute for an appropriate move. And I'd probably end up bringing a lot of the already established Sex Moves in, along with maybe some mechanics to fuel my own selfish desire for Stripping and ENF/ENM based stories. Like I said, there's precedent in canon for people having powers that destroy their outfits or require them to wear next to nothing, and all these Quirks can lead to some interesting wardrobe malfunctions under the eye of a public that treats heroes like celebrities. So yeah, I'd appreciate input, maybe some help to get things going, as I try to read through the advice and guidelines already in the interactive itself. Thanks in advance!
I'm guessing that the Departments, as such, wouldn't be the primary source of rivalries in a Hero Academy. You might more likely see rivalries among cliques following some different Great Hero out in the world, or oriented around a popular student. Another interesting source of tension might be students showing promise of great power -- do they get indulged by the academy (like sports players are some places), or does it create a struggle between the powerful student ("I must reach my potential!/"You can't hold me back!") with teachers and staff? You could still orient Departments around key attributes/strengths even if they might not be direct rivals (except at the staff level, perhaps, or budget, etc. -- petty university politics). Some Departments would be bigger than others. But even if the Heroics Department is oriented around Bold, particular Quirks might use a different attribute as the bonus for resolving Move rolls. The manager/hero part reminds me of the Mike/Sully relationship from Monsters U/Monsters Inc. Scanning some of the My Hero Academia sites suggests that it could work well as source material, including the various evaluation tests and challenges to assess students' Quirks. There seems to be promising material in both practical tests for academy work, and possibly field trips to do heroic things with your Quirks. Getting on the right hero team or picking the right folks for your hero team might be part of the story. It's possible that if you want to do more battle scenes, you might write some rules for giving or taking damage. I've completely folded everything into the CONSEQUENCE and INFIRMARY rules for Boarbristle Academy, with conflicts mostly written at the "whole scene" level rather than breaking down things into move vs. move. It might be worthwhile sketching several characters representing a range of types who would be present at the Academy, including their powers, personalities, and their relationships with the Academy and each other. Writing them up might make it easier to fill in more details of the Academy and what activities need rules. I'll take another look and do a second pass with more thoughts. Looks like a good setting. Thanks! -Z.
Yeah, competitiveness in this setting is usually between different Classes ("Some students in Class 1-B resent Class 1-A because Class A students have gotten more real-world experience", etc), but a lot of it just comes from competitiveness between classmates too. And there is definitely some conflict between students and the school itself- students who feel that they want to be heroes just for the fame and recognition going against the 'do good' creed of the school, for one. There's also some plot points involving people with really powerful Quirks vs people whose Quirks aren't immediately obvious as useful. I think I'll use these stats for now, along with a basic moves for each stat: Bold: (Charge In- Roll +Bold to rush into a scene and interrupt an opponents action, or make a flashy entrance) Analytical: (Strategize: Roll +Analytical to assess a situation or examine an object, Subtle: Flexible: Appealing: (Sell Yourself: Present yourself or your case as more appealing, more rational, or just generally better than an alternative. Good for arguments and public appearances alike) I'm thinking for damage I could go off of a different variation on the Apocalypse World system that I've seen; taking damage damages one of your stats (your choice unless specifically stated otherwise), and trying to roll with a damaged stat means you need to roll 3d6 and use the lower two as your roll. You're only out when you take a hit and are out of stats to damage. In addition, I was thinking about having the Costume and Quirk each being able to take a point of damage. The Costume is mostly just a free hit you can take at the cost of some in-story embarrassment, while the Quirk is probably one of the last things you want to damage; almost every character in canon has some sort of penalty that keeps them from using their Quirk if they use it too much too quickly. IE, the girl who can make things weightless gets vertigo if she uses the effect on things above certain total weight, the guy who can run with rocket boosters in his legs has them stall and cramp up if he uses too much power at once, etc. I'll try to come up with some example characters a little later, cause that sounds like it'd be good. A girl who can stretch, guy with x-ray eye powers, a girl with some tough rock-body thing going on, just a few ideas there.
Sounds like it's coming together! I like the damage system you've stated -- it sounds good for the setting, and not too complicated, and adding the Costume (and ways to damage it) lets you set up the scenes you want to write. For a Quirk, maybe each would have its cost packaged in, where two options would be injuring a particular stat (like the lightning wielder who gets confused) and injuring the Quirk. A 10+ result would allow you to succeed and keep going, while a 7-9 would be success + cost, or minor success at no cost. For the stats, maybe sketch a character/character type for whom each stat would be their strength, and when that strength might be important? (Either separately from, or as part of more development for sample characters of the types you'd like to see, showing Quirks and relationships.) That could help you decide if you want to drop a stat or remold a stat around an interesting challenge or conflict situation. -Z.
Gonna use the Boarbristle template for now and build off of that. Write your character's name, physical description, personality, background, fears and ambitions. Distribute the scores +2, +1, +1, 0, -1 across the Traits BOLD, ANALYTICAL, SUBTLE, FLEXIBLE, and APPEALING. Describe your characters Quirk: general description, which stat its tied to, and which stat it can damage. (Not sure if these should be the same or not? Maybe put in a clause that it has to damage at least a +1 stat?) Which Division they're in: Heroics, Support, Management, or General Education, and the class they're in. Describe your characters Hero Name and Costume: What it looks like, the sort of image they're going for, how their costume does or doesn't keep up with their Quirk. Choose two from the following; you may choose the same option twice: Start with a FRIEND who owes you a FAVOR. Receive an Upgrade to your Costume from the Support department. Choose a stat- when you roll that stat while wearing your Costume, roll 3d6 and choose the highest 2 as your roll. You may take this move more than once, but lose all benefits when your Costume is damaged. Add +1 to a Trait/Attribute (max +3) Endurance training; your Quirk is able to take damage one more time before you feel any penalties. Molly Abel Molly is a determined young woman with a trim, slightly bottom heavy frame. She keeps on top of her school work and training out of a genuine desire to do good, though she often forgets her relative inexperience and gets ahead of herself. She's looking forward to getting more on-the-job experience, and one day wants to be a respected hero, though her big dreams can often leave her paralyzed in the face of potentially big failure. +2 Flexible, +1 Bold, +1 Appealing, 0 Analytical, -1 Subtle. Her desire to do good serves her well, but she can often be over-eager and rush in without thinking. Quirk: Stretching. Molly can stretch and her body far beyond the normal human limit, limbs lengthening and widening without sacrificing physical strength. This reach, flexibility, and durability make her Quirk very versatile for all sorts of combat and non-combat situations. Stretching allows Molly to reach for things others cannot, and fit in places others cannot. Weakness: if Molly leaves her limbs extended for too long or stretches too thing, they become numb and unresponsive. Quirk tied to FLEXIBLE, damages BOLD. Heroics Division Rubber-band Girl. Her costume is a red-pink ensemble consisting of a sleeveless top, shorts, knee boots, gloves, and a domino mask. The costume can stretch a great deal, but not to the same extent as her body, so it leaves her upper arms, legs, and waist exposed, allowing her to stretch at these points without worry of tearing her outfit or sacrificing range of motion. Molly's Quirk, diligence, and enthusiasm give her FLEXIBLE stat +1, up to its max of +3, and she also has a FRIEND who owes her a FAVOR; Seymour Bright Seymour Bright Seymour Bright is a lean, lanky young man, who enrolled in the hero program with fewer aspirations than most; mostly seeking a stable career as a C-lister living a comfortable life in his off-time. As such, he doesn't put his full effort into a lot of things, something that understandably leaves him at the mid-to-low range when it comes to class performance. As long as he's comfortable, though, he's fine being called lazy, because he knows he is. And though he doesn't do it as often as he's accused of, his Quirk does have some salacious applications... +2 Subtle, +1 Analytical, +1 Flexible, 0 Appealing, -1 Bold Quirk: Private Eyes. Seymour's eyes are almost entirely black, with a thin white line around large pupils. When Seymour focuses, he's able to see through normally opaque objects. The distance he is able to see depends on the total density of what he's looking through; thicker objects in the way mean less range on his vision. Private Eyes allow Seymour to see concealed objects or places, and examine things underneath their surface. Weakness: Seymour can strain his eyes to see through thicker objects, but straining them too much will leave him extremely nearsighted and unable to use his powers for a certain amount of time. The Stat is tied to Subtle, and damages Analytical. Heroics Division Private Eye. Wears fairly standard dark blue slacks and jacket cut for quick movement, with a black tanktop underneath. The back of the jacket has an eye-test pattern printed on the back. His outfit includes with polished glass that doesn't interfere with his vision, and protects his eyes from irritants and debris. Seymour has a FRIEND, Molly Abel, who owes him a FAVOR, and his special goggles count as an Upgrade from the Support Department, allowing him to roll 3d6 and drop the lowest when rolling +Analytical Randi Cragg Randi Cragg is a tall, broad, athletic-figured woman with reddish-brown skin and stalagmite-like growths rising up from her shoulders. She comes off as gruff and coarse, but has a softer side to her; one that worries about not connecting with enough people, and how well she's doing in class. She became interested in Heroics because it felt like a natural use of her athletic talent and physical-body-enhancing Quirk. +2 Bold, +1 Appealing, +1 Subtle, 0 Analytical, -1 Flexible. Quirk: Rock Body. Much of Randi's exterior is similar in appearance and touch to hard stone, making her naturally stronger and tougher than others. It isn't indestructible, but it is very hard to break, and heals very quickly. In addition, Randi can grow her arms into club-like structures, to hit harder. Rock Body lets Randi hit harder, take harder hits, and last longer in fights than others. Weakness: When sufficiently damaged, Randi is unable to grow back properly for a while, and thus can't fight. The Quirk is tied to Bold, and can damage Bold. Earthquake. Her costume consists of a short-sleeved, short-legged one piece outfit, black with dark orange belt and trim to match her red-brown earthy skin. The costume, for as durable as it is, isn't as tough as the woman wearing it, and there have been times when Randi has managed to tank a hit only to find her outfit hasn't survived as well as she has. Randi's Endurace lets her Quirk be damaged one more time before she's unable to use it, and she has +1 Analytical, being fairly intelligent despite her rough exterior. EDIT: Added the three examples, gonna add moves and try to maybe figure out Sex and Nudity rules next.
^Edited my last post to include all the examples I had planned, and touched up character creation a little.
