Problem Child (Deviant: the Renegades Quest) CANCELLED
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By crimes against both nature and humanity, you have been twisted into an abomination with superhuman abilities and crippling weaknesses to match. Now you must fight back against your creators while trying not to destroy yourself with your own powers.
It'd probably be easier if you weren't twelve years old.
"And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things." ― Terry Pratchett
The world is a crueler place than most people know. Those with too much ambition and no conscience to restrain them make common cause with each other, forming conspiracies that lurk in the shadows or hide in plain sight. Their motivations may vary, but what unites these groups is the lengths to which they will go in the pursuit of their goals. There is no line they will not cross, no evil they will not sink to in order to get what they want. In their transgressions, they give rise to Deviants.
Deviants are those who have had their humanity robbed from them. There are many ways this might be done; their flesh might be twisted by experimental surgeries, their spirit might be altered by strange rituals, their mind might be warped by exposure to something too great and terrible to fathom, or they might have been transformed by something altogether stranger. Whatever the method, the end result is someone with terrible powers and horrible afflictions in equal measure, struggling to cope with the broken thing they have become.
This struggle is your struggle, for you have undergone the Deviation and joined the ranks of the Remade. You will have to take your first faltering steps into this strange new existence, grappling with the changes in your body and mind while evading those who would make you their tool.
A pity that you're only twelve years old.
Who are you?
This quest will operate on approval voting, so vote for as many options as you like.
This vote is just to determine the overall character concept. There will be later votes to determine the specifics of your Deviation, so don't try and read into the different backgrounds trying to figure out what powers they'll give you. If, for example, you really want a magical aesthetic or you hate mad science vibes, don't feel locked into the cult background.
Gender
[ ] Male
[ ] Female
[ ] Write-in
Background
[ ] The Chosen One - To most of the world, the Church of Cognautics is a sketchy cult for celebrities and weirdos. To you, it is the entire world. You were born to a wealthy and influential member of the Church which earned you a position of comfort and privilege. Then, at the age of five, the Church tested you (using methods that they claim to be extremely scientific and reliable) and found you to have a Cognitive Elevation level of 7. Heralding you as the youngest person to ever achieve such vaunted status, they quickly secluded you from the outside world so that you could be better prepared to meet your destiny. The Church knows that greatness lies in your future, and it will do whatever it takes to get you there.
[ ] The Test Subject - You have never seen the sun. All you know is the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights that illuminate your cell. Your life is large stretches of boredom occasionally interrupted by the pain and terror of harsh tests and invasive procedures. You don't know what the point of it all is, nor do you know who is responsible for your suffering. Oh, you've memorized the names and faces of all the doctors, but you have no idea who they're working for or how they got you in their lab. That won't stop you from killing them if get the chance.
[ ] The Designer Baby - You were born to fabulously wealthy parents who always wanted to give you every advantage they could. Expensive tutors, exclusive schools, private doctors, you've had all that and more for as long as you can remember. Unbeknownst to you, your parents' "generosity" went much further than that; while you were still in the womb, they had strange procedures done to make sure you would always be superior to the common masses. Your parents always told you you were special, but you had no idea just how right they were.
What is this?
This is a quest of the TTRPG Deviant: The Renegades, the most recent game in the Chronicles of Darkness setting. Deviant seeks to portray that niche subgenre of fiction about people on the run from shadowy conspiracies while trying not to be destroyed by their own fucked up superpowers. In essence, it's a game about being Tetsuo from Akira, Eleven from Stranger Things, or even certain incarnations of the Hulk. In this quest specifically, you'll be playing as a child who has become a Deviant (the game's term for the people with fucked up superpowers).
Knowledge of Deviant is by no means required to participate in this quest. The game is pretty light on lore, and the mechanics are mostly going to be handled on my end of things. Anything that needs explaining should be addressed in the quest itself, and if you have any questions I'm happy to answer them.
Why a child?
The Deviant book makes occasional efforts to paint the relationship between Progenitors (i.e. the people who make Deviants) and their Deviants as something like a twisted parent/child relationship, so I thought it might be fun to make that even more explicit. Doing this also does some other fun things to the games themes, but we can explore that more as we play.
[X] Plan: At Least There's Cake
-[X] Female
-[X] The Test Subject - You have never seen the sun. All you know is the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights that illuminate your cell. Your life is large stretches of boredom occasionally interrupted by the pain and terror of harsh tests and invasive procedures. You don't know what the point of it all is, nor do you know who is responsible for your suffering. Oh, you've memorized the names and faces of all the doctors, but you have no idea who they're working for or how they got you in their lab. That won't stop you from killing them if get the chance.
I don't quite like the Chosen One and Designer Baby ones quite as much as one that leaves us in a more 'subject' position.
[X] The Chosen One - To most of the world, the Church of Cognautics is a sketchy cult for celebrities and weirdos. To you, it is the entire world. You were born to a wealthy and influential member of the Church which earned you a position of comfort and privilege. Then, at the age of five, the Church tested you (using methods that they claim to be extremely scientific and reliable) and found you to have a Cognitive Elevation level of 7. Heralding you as the youngest person to ever achieve such vaunted status, they quickly secluded you from the outside world so that you could be better prepared to meet your destiny. The Church knows that greatness lies in your future, and it will do whatever it takes to get you there.
[X] Male
[X] The Designer Baby - You were born to fabulously wealthy parents who always wanted to give you every advantage they could. Expensive tutors, exclusive schools, private doctors, you've had all that and more for as long as you can remember. Unbeknownst to you, your parents' "generosity" went much further than that; while you were still in the womb, they had strange procedures done to make sure you would always be superior to the common masses. Your parents always told you you were special, but you had no idea just how right they were.
[X] Plan: At Least There's Cake
-[X] Female
-[X] The Test Subject - You have never seen the sun. All you know is the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights that illuminate your cell. Your life is large stretches of boredom occasionally interrupted by the pain and terror of harsh tests and invasive procedures. You don't know what the point of it all is, nor do you know who is responsible for your suffering. Oh, you've memorized the names and faces of all the doctors, but you have no idea who they're working for or how they got you in their lab. That won't stop you from killing them if get the chance.
the plan name sold me on it, but the flavor text here makes me wonder if we're going to end up with the Scar that compels us to go on a killing spree whenever someone is rude to us. Then again, even if we do end up with that one, it could be worse.
[X] Male
[X] The Designer Baby - You were born to fabulously wealthy parents who always wanted to give you every advantage they could. Expensive tutors, exclusive schools, private doctors, you've had all that and more for as long as you can remember. Unbeknownst to you, your parents' "generosity" went much further than that; while you were still in the womb, they had strange procedures done to make sure you would always be superior to the common masses. Your parents always told you you were special, but you had no idea just how right they were.
[X] The Chosen One - To most of the world, the Church of Cognautics is a sketchy cult for celebrities and weirdos. To you, it is the entire world. You were born to a wealthy and influential member of the Church which earned you a position of comfort and privilege. Then, at the age of five, the Church tested you (using methods that they claim to be extremely scientific and reliable) and found you to have a Cognitive Elevation level of 7. Heralding you as the youngest person to ever achieve such vaunted status, they quickly secluded you from the outside world so that you could be better prepared to meet your destiny. The Church knows that greatness lies in your future, and it will do whatever it takes to get you there.
An interesting thought. You can legitimately have a Durance that is basically a Deviant's backstory tbh, in a way you couldn't create a similar-ish character in VTR without really stretching things to be a little bit silly.
I'll keep the voting open until tonight, but it's looking like we'll be going with the female test subject option unless something drastically changes. If that's not to your liking, you've got about 8 hours to campaign for a different option or recruit more people into the quest.
Deviant is basically a set of rules to give you a specific tone or genre rather than a prepackaged setting. It doesn't define any specific groups or individuals, and there's very few commonalities between Deviants that you need to know about. So it's not like Mage or Vampire where, if you're going to play, first you need to sit down and learn about the Pentacle or how Vampires work or whatever. You can roll up knowing nothing about the game and just say "I want to be Alex Mercer" and it works.
All of that is to say that you shouldn't feel like you need to be familiar with the game to participate in any part of this quest. Think of it as a quest inspired by stuff like Stranger Things and Prototype rather than a quest using an established property and setting.
Deviant is basically a set of rules to give you a specific tone or genre rather than a prepackaged setting. It doesn't define any specific groups or individuals, and there's very few commonalities between Deviants that you need to know about. So it's not like Mage or Vampire where, if you're going to play, first you need to sit down and learn about the Pentacle or how Vampires work or whatever. You can roll up knowing nothing about the game and just say "I want to be Alex Mercer" and it works.
All of that is to say that you shouldn't feel like you need to be familiar with the game to participate in any part of this quest. Think of it as a quest inspired by stuff like Stranger Things and Prototype rather than a quest using an established property and setting.
Basically the setting assumptions the game makes are as follows:
1. There's a bunch of malevolent, shadowy conspiracies out there. This encompasses everything from secret societies puppeting world governments to one mad scientist bribing a prison to experiment on the inmates.
2. For various reasons, these conspiracies often want Deviants on their side. Thus they either create them, recruit them, or capture them. Most Deviants are understandably reluctant to work for the people who fucked them up, so the conspiracies often end up hunting down and killing Deviants instead.
3. Deviants are people who underwent something that gave them some sort of powers: they're often intentionally created, but accidental Deviants are possible.
4. Deviants vary widely in both the specifics and scope of their powers, but every power comes with some sort of weakness, flaw, or drawback. So a Deviant could just have mildly good luck accompanied by occasional headaches, or they could be an immortal god who eats werewolves for lunch, but is barely functional as a human being.
5. The Deviation causes a "crack in the soul" which means they have slightly altered psychology and a tendency for their powers to get more unstable over time, and that tendency gets worse as they experience feelings of distress or aimlessness. This is definitely the most specific assumption made, but it boils down to being their Humanity/Wisdom equivalent.
And that's basically it. The meat of the game comes from the mechanics (which are really good at their job) rather than fluff. Which is kinda the opposite of a lot of nWoD stuff, but I'd definitely recommend it.
Alright, I don't think there's any point in waiting for more votes, so I'm going to call it at this point. Looks like we'll be running a girl with the Test Subject background!
Your eyes snap open at the harsh buzz of the intercom.
"Subject 37," you hear the crackly voice say, "present yourself for your morning checkup."
You roll over on your cot, turning to glare at the one mirrored wall of your cell. You contemplate refusing the order, but you know the momentary satisfaction of that little defiance won't be worth the cost. With a resigned sigh, you pull yourself off the cot and pad over to the center of the room. You wait there silently, fidgeting from the chill of the concrete against your bare feet until the people outside your cell are convinced you'll be cooperative today.
Another harsh buzz signals the opening of the big metal door next to the mirror. In walks a mousy little woman with graying hair and a lab coat accompanied by two armed guards. You recognize all three of them, but Doctor Lewis is the only one whose name you know. The guards don't talk to you much.
Between the four of you and the cart of medical supplies Doctor Lewis brings with her, your cell is getting rather cramped. It's a small space (24 steps by 18 steps, you've paced that distance many times) made even smaller by the fact that it has to contain everything necessary for your survival. There's a threadbare cot by one wall, a toilet and sink by another, and the few picture books they let you keep are piled in the corner (you memorized them all years ago).
A few months back it was even more crowded, but you didn't mind. They'd given you a small TV that would play episodes of Pokémon. You watched them religiously, desperate for something to help pass the time. Sadly, just a few weeks later they took the TV away as punishment for… well, the point is you can't watch Pokémon anymore.
"Good morning subject 37, I hope you slept well," says Doctor Lewis. There's a polite smile on her face, but you eye her cautiously. Doctor Lewis acts nicer than some of the others, but everyone else always acts scared of her. She usually only shows up when something important is happening. You don't think that seeing her right now is a good thing.
Seeing your wariness, she lets out a sigh. "37, please don't make a fuss. We've got some important tests lined up for today, and but we have to get our baseline measurements first."
You start squirming at the mention of tests. Seeing your anxiety, the guards start shuffling around nervously, which only makes your squirming worse. The whole thing looks like it might spiral out of control before Doctor Lewis steps in.
"37!" she barks, raising one hand to signal the guards back. You freeze at the whipcrack of her voice, but then her face softens. "37, I know some of the tests can be uncomfortable," she continues more gently, "but if you're good I might have a present for you."
A present? You don't normally get presents, just threats and punishments.
Maybe they'll let you have the TV again.
"I'll be good," you whisper.
Doctor Lewis looks at you for a long moment before giving a satisfied nod. You force yourself to keep still as she starts measuring all the things that set you apart from everyone else you've ever known.
What does she measure? What makes you special?
[ ] Your mind – With the help of some weird drugs, your mind has expanded beyond the confines of your physical body. Doctor Lewis calls it "an emergent psychic phenomenon." The guards call it "freaky fucking brain powers." You don't care what they call it, because you're the one who can change the world through sheer force of will. (Clade: Cephalist)
[ ] Your body (flesh) – You've had more surgeries than you can count, been given injections of too many things you don't know how to pronounce, and had organs added to your body that you're pretty sure humans aren't supposed to have. Frankly, you're not even sure if you're human at this point. A human body shouldn't be capable of the things you can do. (Clade: Chimeric)
[ ] Your body (metal) – You are more than just flesh and blood. You have circuits in your brain and wires in your bones. Again and again you're put under the knife so that parts of you can be replaced with steel and silicon. At this point, you might be more machine than not. (Clade: Invasive)
[ ] Your soul – You're able to reach out and touch… something. Something beyond yourself, maybe beyond all of humanity. It lets you do extraordinary things, but you're not sure where it came from. You don't think the doctors are responsible, it scares them too much. Sometimes it scares you too. (Clade: Coactive)
Deviants are divided into a number of different groups called "Clades" based on how exactly they've been changed. These divisions, despite how meaningful they might appear, are largely surface level and have minimal impact on the Deviant's capabilities. Plenty of Cephalists can throw cars and shrug off bullets, just as plenty of Chimerics can read minds and see the future.
For the purposes of this vote, you should largely consider your choice of Clade to be a matter of aesthetics. This is about which one you like the vibes of, the mechanical impact is very minor. Nevertheless, since "very minor" is not none, I'll detail each of the Clades available to you here.
Cephalist: Cephalists are those whose minds have been expanded by the Divergence, giving them psychic powers. They can spend willpower to temporarily strengthen their powers or to refresh limited use powers.
Chimeric: Chimerics are those who have been biologically altered, usually through the addition of nonhuman tissues. Chimerics can temporarily reduce the weaknesses their Divergence gave them by taking damage, and can also take damage to refresh limited-use powers.
Invasive: Invasives are those who have had something nonliving implanted in their bodies. Typically this means machinery, but ancient artefacts or cursed objects are not unheard of. Invasives can refresh limited use powers by taking damage. They can also heal themselves, though doing this more than once every few days can strip them of their powers.
Coactive: Coactives are those who have become a channel for some sort of energy. Sometimes this is something mundane like electricity. Other times it's something strange and esoteric, like the web of fate or a demon bound to their soul. Coactives can take damage in order to temporarily strengthen their powers or spend willpower to refresh limited use powers.
Again, I'll stress that the mechanics here are a minor detail. I'm including them largely so nobody feels cheated or like I left out critical information.
Eventually, Doctor Lewis begins to put her instruments away.
"Well, everything seems to be in order," she declares. "We'll get out of your way so you can enjoy your breakfast. We'll be back in a few hours for those tests," she says with a grin, then bustles out of the room with her cart. The two guards follow after, and the door shuts behind them.
Moments later, a tray of food is passed through a small slot in the door. You grab it, then sit down on your cot to work your way through the sausage and eggs. You eat as slowly as you can. You take little bites and savor them as much as possible, switch between the two foods every few seconds, chase each bite with a sip of water, everything you can think of to draw the process out. It's not that you enjoy it, you've never really enjoyed meals. You're just trying to make it last as long as you can.
But soon enough, you reach the moment you've been dreading. You swallow the last scrap of sausage and now there's just… nothing. Nothing but you and this little room you've spent your whole life in. Nothing to do but wait until the tests.
Too much of your life is spent waiting.
You start by going back to the tray, hoping you've somehow overlooked a tiny piece of scrambled egg, but of course you haven't. You still lick the tray clean, partly out of principle and partly just to occupy yourself for another few moments. Then, on the basis that you've already got it in your hands, you decide to see if you can balance the tray on your head.
You can, of course, because this isn't the first time you've done this. You try and pace across the room with it still on your head. Again, you can. It isn't a challenge when you've done it countless times before. So you try jumping with the try on your head, which doesn't go nearly as well and is therefore a much better distraction.
This lasts until you accidentally toss the tray into the mirror, and you freeze. You know people can see you from the other side of the mirror. That's why they don't like you touching it. Normally you'd view this as an invitation to throw more things at it, but you really want that present. You're trying to be good.
So you abandon the tray in favor of seeing how well you can sing while standing on your head.
"I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was…"
You don't know many songs, so it isn't long before you run out of material. This prompts you to try replacing the lyrics with pieces of the books you've memorized, which also doesn't take long because you've done this all before!
A scream of frustration takes you as you collapse on your cot. There. Is. Nothing. Nothing new here. Nothing to distract yourself. Nothing you haven't done or seen a thousand times.
Nothing changes here. Even your thoughts run in circles after awhile.
And like it always does at this point, your mind goes to the tests. Remembering tests from the past, guessing about the tests in the future, and wondering at what they're all for.
What are you tested on? What is this lab training you for?
[ ] Combat – Sometimes they do carefully controlled tests with dummies and all kinds of sensors. Other times, they just lock you in a room with a bunch of people and don't let you out until you're the last one standing. You've killed people, and it's clear you'll kill a whole lot more before they're done with you.
[ ] Infiltration – Some of the tests are almost like games: hide from these people until time is up, get from here to there without being spotted, get out of this place without getting shot, things like that. Granted, you think most games don't use live ammunition, but it's not a problem if you don't get caught, right?
[ ] Intelligence – The always ask you questions. They ask for secrets, codes, passwords, things like that. They don't care how you get them (they might not even understand how you get them), but they don't feed you unless you can tell them what they want to know.
[ ] Write-in
Character creation in Deviant is a bit complicated and there are a lot of options, so I figure this is how we'll do things. Pick your Clade and pick the thing you want to be really good at, then I'll piece things together to fit. I know it's not giving you a lot of specifics to choose from, but frankly if I tried to let you vote on all the specifics we'd never get out of character creation.
That being said, since I'm taking such a loose approach to this process, feel free to add a little more detail after your plan if you want! If you have a very particular aesthetic in mind or a power you really hope makes the cut, just include that in your post when you propose a plan. It doesn't have to be super detailed or specific: "I think it would be hilarious if we can throw cars" or "nanomachines, son" is enough. I can't promise you I'll include everything you ask for, but I will promise that I'll keep everybody's wishes in mind once I'm actually stating things up.
