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[Rolepgeek]

I'm trying to say it's more of the reaction of anger as you described it, rather than the hit itself that would make you trigger. But that emotion still most likely not be powerful enough for triggering

Then what is powerful enough? Getting so high on drugs that you're caught in ultra-euphoria? Getting so angry you hemorrhage? At a certain point you just can't be any more emotional, dude. Or you expend all of them and even if you're getting beat on by half a dozen people, you're already in so much pain that you just kinda drift away.

[escaped lurker]

While leaving the abilities up to the players trigger events sounds like a neat idea, I do have to agree that there are some finer points to it. My main argument is that everybody has his own value system, so unless the players make it a blatantly obvious trigger, we just might as well roll a dice.

As example we could take the trigger event - "Cat was run over". For some farmers which keep half feral cats around to reduce vermin, the death of a cat is nothing big. They see one run over on the street every other week, and thus are desentesized to it. The next one never had a cat in his family, and can't even grasp what complex feelings might be involved. Another one, already lost his share of cats over the years, and knows how to get over it. And then we have the one who would trigger, which shared a bond as deep as family with that cat, and would go into weeks-long depression over the death of the animal.

Now, I'm not saying that this is neccessarily a bad thing, but if the players get an archetype that they have no interest in playing, it might hurt their activity, creativity with the character and obviously also the overall quality of the game. Just for the record, I would be fine leaving it up to Again's impression of the trigger event, as it actually is fairly interesting to see what he would make of it. Just sharing my view on the matter is all.

[Harry Baldman]

Being punched in the face doesn't give you intense emotions?

I know I end up going apeshit on anyone who hits me. I don't deal with pain of that sort well.

Dejavu's not really explaining it too well. Trigger events, as a general rule, happen in times of great peril, and the powers, without spoiling too much of their origin, are provided by an external source to address the peril in question. You have to be in some form of danger, for one, and you can't simulate a trigger event, since the powers are given rather than awakened. The powers people get are never entirely predictable in the case of a trigger event, and they're never wanted. There are some correlations, such as Masters often being isolated individuals, but really you can argue these things any way you want.

This sort of power randomness is an element of the setting, and it's unquestionable that to include it would be remaining true to the setting.

However:

Now, I'm not saying that this is neccessarily a bad thing, but if the players get an archetype that they have no interest in playing, it might hurt their activity, creativity with the character and obviously also the overall quality of the game.

This is also true. Any number of powers can appear to address what is ostensibly the same issue, and it's usually not fun to get random powers. So I don't really see a problem with players getting to state a basic archetype they'd like to go for, and then work out the details based on the trigger event - if the two don't mesh in any way whatsoever, just tell the player to choose another one.

[Rolepgeek]

...the powers are never wanted?

So every single superhero/villain suffers from 'It Sucks To Be The Chosen One' and 'I Just Want To Be Normal'? None of the thousands of kids who dream of getting powers ever gets any?

Sounds fishy.

In any case, I'm reading the series, pretty damn interesting(really reminds me of Grrrl Power, which uses the same classifications, I think, as well as Spiderette, though that has more to do with both being insect powers) so far. Like that the villains aren't psychopaths down to a man. Makes me wonder if we'll get the chance to be villains in the game.

As well, I think I've decided on a basic trigger event(as in the overriding urge/emotion that would be going through the char's mind during it), and a general personality and character archetype.

Two things to note first, though. One, I don't think I really mind what kind of power it would be as long as it did keep in touch with the trigger event, and two, I worry more about the GM being able to come up with creative powers for everyone by themselves more than I do about the powers themselves being unwanted. No offense to you or Dejavu, just that one or two people simply cannot satisfy everyone and will rarely be able to come up with unique, interesting powers for five or six people easily. I don't want to design my own power, either, mind you, since I don't know enough about the series, though I have some ideas what it might be.

What the trigger emotion or whatever would be, by the way: Refusal. Flat, absolute, total refusal. Not quite denial, since that has implications more of simply words, or the item in question being true regardless of being denied. Refusal, with a capital R. Sure, it's a refusal to give in, to let X happen, to be defeated, to stop going, and so on, but that's basically just window-dressing on the emotion itself. I'm really not sure what the power would be, probably Shaker or Trump, in all likelihood, though Breaker and Stranger would also fit somewhat with that. *shrugs* I really don't mind in any case, and any power set can typically fit any trigger, just based on the way the justification for it works. (Brute could be seeing refusal as incredible endurance and an unwillingness to let anything stand in your way, Tinker could be the same but in scientific terms, Master could be refusing to let other people do what you don't want them to, and so on)

I just know that I want that to be more or less their trigger event, and I want them to be a Knight In Sour Armor, more or less. Existentialist and whatnot.

...i have trouble thinking of what his name would be, though it would of course depend on the power.

[Harry Baldman]

...the powers are never wanted?

So every single superhero/villain suffers from 'It Sucks To Be The Chosen One' and 'I Just Want To Be Normal'? None of the thousands of kids who dream of getting powers ever gets any?

Oh no, not at all. Quite the opposite. There are no chosen ones, and few who have powers wish they didn't have them. Powers are awesome, it's just that trigger events never happen as a result of wanting them. They happen in conditions of stress instead, and often involve some form of trauma. Most people do like being able to do kickass things and bend reality, obviously, it's just that people who get them didn't really want to get them, they just happened to get them when their mind was on other things. There's exceptions, but they're mostly just depressed individuals who happen to have powers, or special cases.

In any case, I'm reading the series, pretty damn interesting(really reminds me of Grrrl Power, which uses the same classifications, I think, as well as Spiderette, though that has more to do with both being insect powers) so far. Like that the villains aren't psychopaths down to a man. Makes me wonder if we'll get the chance to be villains in the game.

Hope Worm's as fun for you as it was for me if you manage to stick with it.

[Rolepgeek]

....just a warning, if I have to play somebody who's depressed I'm going to be really bad at it.

I'm one of those people who, when faced with the choice between narcissism and depression, ended up going for narcissism. Optimism instead of pessisism (though still with a healthy amount of cynicism; they aren't mutually exclusive you know) and what not.

Anyway, what do we still need for the game? More lore? Combat system? Character sheets?

For the combat system, I figure it should be something where new stuff gets fitted in as needed, and kept simple, rather than trying to plan for every contingency. Simplicity is typically the best policy.

That or no rolls, just GM logic and whatever makes for the best story. Too much stat-focused stuff can create the kind of fights you see in RotMG, where curbstomping bosses is par for the course.

[Harry Baldman]

....just a warning, if I have to play somebody who's depressed I'm going to be really bad at it.

I'm one of those people who, when faced with the choice between narcissism and depression, ended up going for narcissism. Optimism instead of pessisism (though still with a healthy amount of cynicism; they aren't mutually exclusive you know) and what not.

I doubt you're going to get the superpower of depression, myself. That'd be a pretty awful thing to get stuck with, even if it's me who gets to decide your powers.

Anyway, what do we still need for the game? More lore? Combat system? Character sheets?

I need to finish up the lore, make about 8-9 more capes. Not sure what Dejavu's still got to do, if anything. I'm giving myself three more days to finish up.

[Rolepgeek]

I was just referring to how you were saying they're mostly just depressed individuals who happen to have powers. I wasn't certain what you meant by this, but I got the impression you were referring to all capes, or just capes who specifically wanted powers when they got them(and the second one didn't make all that much sense...)

[Again_Dejavu]

We will be getting started soon. Baldman's lore has been phenomenal so far, and it seems that the only logical way to run this will be through GM logic, otherwise everything tends to break and get min-maxed.

Any thoughts on whether the players should have triggered before the Roleplay starts?

[Harry Baldman]

I was just referring to how you were saying they're mostly just depressed individuals who happen to have powers. I wasn't certain what you meant by this, but I got the impression you were referring to all capes, or just capes who specifically wanted powers when they got them(and the second one didn't make all that much sense...)

Oh no, I meant how depressed or frustrated capes tend to be very much the same as depressed or frustrated people (that is to say, they're still regular people, and don't change fundamentally, at least not noticeably or immediately). Looking back, I notice that thought may be difficult to parse. Overall, capes may be dysfunctional in some manner more often than not (really, who isn't?), but they're hardly sad sacks or brooders in pretty much all cases. Must be those kickass powers they get.

Any thoughts on whether the players should have triggered before the Roleplay starts?

It depends on how you want to roll with this - do you and/or I decide the players' powers, or do they get to make that decision on their own? If the former, they probably should specify their trigger event and then we go on from the moment of triggering. And if the latter, they get to start some time after they've triggered, complete with costumes and such.

[Again_Dejavu]

Perhaps we could start the game right around when the players trigger, having us decide it with input from the players?

I'd prefer to have the origins roleplayed, helps the characters have depth

[The Froggy Ninja]

Define RP. Will we be rolling or will it be GM's discretion or what. I'm not very good with these terms yet. Also how do you plan to determine threat level?

[Again_Dejavu]

RP: Acting as your character. Giving them thoughts, actions, etc.
I'm going to be using GM logic to determine if an action would work, a dice system for this would be unwieldy and broken as hell.

For threat level, I'll just use information Wildbow posted about the threat level system.

[Again_Dejavu]

Found a nice little source for this stuff.
http://parahumans.wikia.com/wiki/Powers_Classification
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Swjz8BZZNE4bq6lTkHanTK4sJ-K_xVlFudxA16mYjH4/edit#heading=h.j83zu0o2t8cs
((Direct Source))
Looks like they've got other handy things as well.

[kj1225]

I don't really mind what we do.

I just kind of want to steal from banks and give it to homeless people.