Otherworldly scenery, right here on Earth… Imagine what weirdness might be out there waiting for your PCs!
Otherworldly scenery, right here on Earth… Imagine what weirdness might be out there waiting for your PCs!
If you weren’t in the know, Champions #1 (tagline “Because the world still needs heroes!”) dropped today from…
If you weren’t in the know, Champions #1 (tagline “Because the world still needs heroes!”) dropped today from Marvel, as part of their NOW! imprint they’re now running. You need to be reading this if you want to run a game of Masks, because this comic is Masks all over the place.
If you’ve been away from Marvel for a while, here’s the context you need: they ran Civil War II as a sequel to the original, this time tackling policing tactics and the surveillance state through the idea of whether perfect precognition could justify pre-emptive superhero force.
The fallout of this event brings us to Champions #1. Miles Morales (Spider-man) and Sam Alexander (Nova) have left the Avengers after being told they had to fight their friends “because the adults said so,” and Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) is all sorts of disenchanted with the Avengers because they’re happy to throw down with villains but they don’t put in the elbow work afterwards to do things, like, repair train tracks or fix people’s shops and homes. So, Ms. Marvel, Nova, and Spidey decide they’re going to be the kind of heroes they think the world deserves: ones who affect lasting change and who don’t get absorbed in big baby slap fights over politics every few years.
The premise of the comic alone is crammed to the brim with Masks concepts! The adults losing Influence over the PCs, the different ideologies of the different generations. It gels so nicely. The trio pick up Amadeus Cho (The Totally-Awesome Hulk) and Viv (Vision’s daughter) to round out their crew and they get to work kicking the ass of a villainous clown who is trafficking young women. Yeah, right off the bat, through the fun character dialogue and wacky teenage personalities, this comic brings out the big guns with a villain who is not a laughing matter, not a larger than life cartoon.
On the last couple pages, Champions spells out its philosophy: this team exists because the people deserve credibility in their protectors. There has been far too much “punching down” (the actual phrase used by Ms. Marvel and its great) by people with authority, lethal force used when it hasn’t been right. She says that they’re inheriting a world where violence does the talking, but that they can do better.
And when its all said and done, the kids have themselves a trending hashtag on Twitter.
I’m telling you, Masks through and through, and a really awesome start! Go give it a read, fill your brains with more Masks inspiration!
Of interest to those seeking planetary inspiration.
Of interest to those seeking planetary inspiration.
Originally shared by Andrew “Incomitatum” Chason
==== Today’s [collab] Planet : Inias ====
Perspective is about where you find yourself. As a human you can breathe on Inias, but for 80% of the planet you are going to bake and crumble to dust. Save for the poles, and only as an artifact of the terrain, Inias is a nearly uninhabitable hell.
All around the globe Inias is inundated by high winds. These winds have eroded the deserts into a nearly flat grit, while evaporating the once prevalent lakes into salt flats. The peaks that are left have been sheered into long horizontal buttes. If you could stand on the flats for long you’d hear the gales singing through the canyons.
The partition between hot and cold, equatorial desert and polar tropics, is a near constant monsoon. The rains are welcomed but needs filtration: the acidic downpour a testament of a previous planetary catastrophe. While the polar regions bristle with lush vegetation they are home to a particular sort of Kapok, what would be tall trees if not for their proclivity to adapt and grow horizontally with the wind.
The northern and southern polar rainforests are home to two clans of a near identical species. They have proven to be sentient and their intelligence has led them through the centuries to an age of industry. Their diesel guzzling machinations have stripped whole valleys of timber, just as readily as they brave the heat beyond the monsoons to evacuate the deserts of their assets.
The natives seem to have developed independent of one another, but at a similar pace. While there would have been tales, It is likely they would not have learned of one another until they had developed radio. Now each is well into mastering flight, a discipline reinforced by a planet saturated in high winds. Thrillseekers have invented a coveted pastime: gliding on hot currents from the flat tops of the mesas just beyond the curtains of rain.
The northern and southern clans do NOT see eye-to-eye; the leaders of each spouting vitriol about how the other is a bastard race and the planet does not belong to them. It is only a matter of time before skirmishes between stubborn squads leads to all-out war. To outsiders placing bets, it is suspected whichever clan reaches the stars first, will annihilate the other completely.
For those seeking planetary inspiration.
For those seeking planetary inspiration.
Originally shared by Andrew “Incomitatum” Chason
==== Today’s Planet : Chalon ====
Chalon is a crown jewel of the Ascendency. A lush garden world, it’s eccentric orbit means it is in a constant state of flux, into and out of ages of ice. When it is in one of its cold spells, many of the polar continents are connected by frozen land bridges. These fluctuations are ingrained in the Chalon on a biological level, and thought to be the very thing that drove the aristocratic nomads to the stars.
The most distinctive feature, that can be enjoyed from space, are the vibrant, violet, algae blooms. Normally these microbes are caught up in the rose colored ice, but when the seas turn a sheen of purple, the Chalon know that a bounty of warmth will follow. In turn these algae massage the water and release emissions that encourage the pleasant years to persist. The Chalon have the means to terraform their homeworld, they’ve done so with many others; but they do not, out of tradition and a respect for their breeding.
Despite the cold, Chalon is much warmer than Chalet (no relation). The planet has a geological record and mineral makeup not dissimilar to earth-that-was. The Atmosphere of Chalon would be comfortable to human lungs. However the Ascendency does not play well with the Triumvirate and as Humans are widely known to be vassals of the Mudren… the only Humans to be guests of Chalon have been in chains. The ruthless canine Lords of Chalon are always looking for new pets.
I’m working on a Series Framework (which I need a better name for, but that’s neither here nor there) for Uncharted…
I’m working on a Series Framework (which I need a better name for, but that’s neither here nor there) for Uncharted Worlds. The idea is to put together a campaign setting document that makes several campaign choices ahead of time for players to just dive right in without spending an hour or more creating factions and such. Right now I’m thinking about content and figured I’d put my ideas out there to the community.
I figure I’ll include a high level concept of the setting, ships and gear as appropriate to reinforce the themes of the setting, recommendations on careers/origins that work best for the setting, the factions for the specific setting + lists of options for players and MC’s to consider to personalize the details while maintaining the core ideas, a planet or two as appropriate, a custom move or two that reinforce the specific scope of the series, and a series-specific jump point. I’m sure there are other things I’m missing or forgetting about.
Thoughts from the community? Sean Gomes?
If you need an interstellar cargo ship for your game, Michael Tumey has made a fantastic layout for one.
If you need an interstellar cargo ship for your game, Michael Tumey has made a fantastic layout for one.
Originally shared by Michael Tumey
Marco Polo class interstellar cargo transport ship, minimum crew 6, with high passage, mid passage, and 4 cryogenic chambers. Fore section contains 3 decks: bridge, quarters, life support/crew cargo, and aft section contains engines and engineering, connected by a pair of girders with catwalk and tram elevator.
Created with beveled vector shapes and photo textures using Xara Designer Pro x11.
Rocking out our second session of #TheSurveyCrew (until a better name comes along or they actually name their…
Rocking out our second session of #TheSurveyCrew (until a better name comes along or they actually name their second-hand ship).
I’ll have more to say later when I have the time to give a rundown of events this week. Until then, suffice to say, awesome fun was had by all. Pirate standoffs, knife fights in blistering sand storms, taking control of a starship’s internal security systems, hijacking a pirate shuttle, evading a starfighter dragnet, emergency surgery, and more.
The party never stops, with Uncharted Worlds!
Posting #UnchartedScience early this week because something ground-breaking happened!
Posting #UnchartedScience early this week because something ground-breaking happened!
Last year, gravitational waves were directly observed for the first time since Einstein theorized their existence 100 years ago. While we have observed methods of measuring gravity waves, we have never actually proven their existence by directly observing them… but not anymore! Last year, scientists detected gravity waves resulting from the collision at half the speed of light, of two black holes 1 billion years ago.
I’m sure someone can have some kind of fun with gravity waves and smashing black holes in their game of UW.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160211103935.htm
Woohoo!
Woohoo! These — my Rebel Streak(s) shirt and my copy of Uncharted Worlds — arrived in the same week! I’m super hype to bring these to the table for my next game!!
Thanks Sean Gomes! And let me just say, I’m happy to be a part of this community, for sure!
#UnchartedScience Or #SciFriday , take your pick!
#UnchartedScience Or #SciFriday , take your pick!
Turbulent Times: When Stars Approach
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160204112056.htm
Summary: Astrophysicists are using new methods to simulate the common-envelope phase of binary stars, discovering dynamic irregularities that may help to explain how supernovae evolve.
So, when you have a binary star system (like a ton of systems are, it turns out!) and the bigger one exhausts its fuel, you get this huge badass expanding envelope of starstuff as it turns into a red giant. The companion star starts sucking up this ejected hydrogen and helium — cause, you know: gravity — and as the stars circle closer, the red giant’s envelope winds up wrapped around both stars. Scientists care about watching this because how stars develop depends a lot on their initial circumstances! Plus: space explosions are best explosions.
How to make this work for your game:
• A super cool science base suspended at the edge of the envelope of a red giant and its binary partner makes a great location with a gorgeous view! A long hallway with a view of the binary and its envelope would make a gorgeous backdrop for some a Martian Karate fight.
• A failed Wild Jump drops your ship into the space between two binary stars (actually a pretty decently sized space, so whatever) — unfortunately, the gravitic distortion of the jump has pulled them onto a collision course with an exciting space opera time frame… better charge those batteries and get the jump drive back online!
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Been Here Before: How the brain builds place memories
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160204122050.htm
Summary: Neuroscientists have succeeded in activating dormant memory cells in rats. Using weak electrical impulses targeted at previously inactive cells in the hippocampus, the researchers induced the cells to recognize the exact place where the impulse had been first administered. The new study offers insight into the question of how memories are formed within our brains.
Scientists examined the granule cells — those responsible for becoming active and “mapping” memories — in laboratory rats. They applied small shocks at a specific location in a maze to rats’ dormant granules — unmapped memory centers — and found that they would “turn on.” From then on, when rats returned to that location, the granules would fire independently and automatically, like naturally “mapped” granules.
How to make this work for your game:
• A PC stays over night for surgery one time and the next thing they know, their brain is lighting up with recognition every time they hear a particular location mentioned — like the weirdest deja vu. What happened there? And if somebody wants them to feel like they need to go there so bad, why can’t they just say it to the PCs face?
• Next time your PC advances and takes a new Skill, consider saying it’s a “Prosthetic Skillset” and that you had a granule treatment to teach you to Navigate or whatever. If you’re the GM, consider offering it like an Asset and develop a move for it — something like:
When you undergo Memetic Resequencing, tell the MC what kind of training you want at your disposal and make the Acquisition move. Regardless of what you roll, your Memegraft will require regular maintenance, and of course letting someone poke your brain isn’t always a great idea, but hey whatever it’s your memory palace. If you successfully acquire the procedure, you and the MC should make a note of it and remember what a badass you are at your new thing when determining fictional positioning in the future.