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You are seated among less than a hundred students in a massive auditorium within the Phillip J...
001 - Orientation A
Location
The Trash Pile
You are seated among less than a hundred students in a massive auditorium within the Phillip J. Coulson Memorial Academy. This day has been a long time coming for you, and frankly, it's hard to contain your excitement. You manage, of course. You didn't get where you are today without being able to keep your cool, and being on the verge of becoming a real-life super-hero is the one place where you REALLY want to stay in control of your emotions.

But then HE walks onstage, and it's all lost.

You make a small noise. Small, but audible. You're not proud of it, but you just couldn't contain yourself anymore. You're fairly sure nobody else heard you... and if they did several others around you made similar sounds of enthusiasm to themselves so they're probably not going to judge. Who would? After all, on the stage before you is Anthony Edward Stark; the first super-hero of the modern age. He spreads his arms wide at the applause, and smiles, but it fades before the clapping stops.

"Thank you.

Two years ago, in the middle of one of the most trying times of my life, I met a young man who's the reason you're all here today. You all know him as Spider-man, and I'm sure you've seen his... Tweets and YouTube videos and... Vines."

You remember the Spider-man Vines. They gave you life. Rip in pepperonis, Vine.

"I'm sure you've seen him saving New York City once or twice, too. Helluva kid. But at the end of the day, that's what he was when I met him two years ago; a kid. Now, legally speaking he's an adult. You're all adults now, and you have the right to use the abilities you've developed to fight and… maybe die in the service of defending the world. But! To a celebrated industrialist-slash-inventor-slash-playboy like myself, you're all still... just kids."

He pauses, pressing his fingertips together as he looks out over the audience.

"When I became Iron Man I was in my thirties. I'd lived a good portion of my life, had a lucrative career, and already made more than my share of mistakes. You can ask my wife about that last one, I... still make a lot of mistakes.

But Spider-man was young! He hadn't made it out of high school when I met him, much less had... over a decade more of life to experience that I had. And here he was, making these same sacrifices. Putting himself in the same kind of danger. Worse, sometimes... ...

The kid wasn't even old enough to drink. None of you are old enough to drink, either. Don't get any ideas!"

That gets a small laugh as he feigns some sort of authoritarian glare at a few of your peers in the auditorium. Can he even actually see them past the stage lights? must be those fancy glasses he's wearing. He shakes it off with a smile, trying to keep the mood light while discussing the very serious life-or-death future that sits before you all.

"Yeah. Well.

You didn't come here to listen to an old man talk about how much more there is out there to experience. You came here because life gave you an advantage over the rest of the population, and you wanna use it to HELP people. That's admirable. You also came here to get an education, and I think that's MORE admirable. As much as some of you might hope this is gonna be just like the Teen Titans where you go gallivanting on world-saving adventures every week, that's just… not the case. This is a center of LEARNING first and foremost. We've hired some of the best teachers and professors to make sure you leave this place with the tools you need to build a life out of if the whole... super-powered government agent thing doesn't turn out to be your bag.

We're here to help you learn more about your abilities... what you can do with them, what your limits are… and how to know when to back away from the edge before your hurt yourself. We want you to be a safe, functional member of society like any other human being out there. Not somebody who's gonna flip out on some jerk in traffic and set his car on fire with your pyrokinesis."

Another laugh. Someone near you gets elbowed in the ribs and grins sheepishly.

"Because from this day forward... you're Avengers. Young Avengers, of course. This is the Young Avengers Initiative. So you're like... junior members. Avengers-in-Training. College students 75% of the time, and Avengers about 25%. 'Cuz unless something's seriously gone to shit since I started this speech, it isn't so bad on the streets of New York that we need eight dozen of you stomping around on a regular basis. Besides which, we're Avengers. We react. We don't starts fights where there aren't fights… and we try and keep people safe. That's priority one."

He strikes a bit of a pose, one arm behind his back and the other holding up his index finger... then seems to realize what he's doing and relaxes, returning the hand behind his back.

"You'll all be organized into… squads, about six people each. You're gonna room together, train together, patrol together… Each squad will rotate patrol duty, and sometimes we might even have a special mission for you... but your focus should be on your education, and learning to master the gifts you've been given so you don't become the exact kind of people the Avengers are here to stop."

Mr. Stark rolls his teeth over his lower lip. His posture shifts suddenly, and he trots over to the edge of the stage and sits down, the spotlights following him as smoothly as if it were a planned portion of the speech.

"You get it. I know you do, I know you're hearing me... and I know you're not gonna listen. Most of you, anyway.

Look, we're gonna do everything we can to make sure you guys have opportunities out there… but you're here by choice. And you're HERE instead of Harvard, or M.I.T., or Julliard... because you want. To do. Good. You want. To be. Avengers. So... if I have any piece of advice for you, assuming you're going to blow off EVERYTHING else I've just said... and don't."

Another stern finger point.

"... you have to trust your team. Even if they're annoying, or borrow your stuff without asking, or if they it's Laurel when it's OBVIOUSLY Yanny... they're your PARTNERS. They're your LIFE-LINE in the crisis situations you're volunteering to be put in. You HAVE to trust them. I know each of you have code names to protect your identities from the public, something to go on media records without putting your families at risk. I know some of you have uniforms with masks on them for the same reason, and I get it. You wanna be able to stop by Starbucks for a flat white with soy milk without feeling like you're making the entire building a target for some super-powered psychopath. But in here? Inside this academy? No secrets. Your teachers, the staff, your squad... you're all on a real-name basis starting from day one, because someday TRUST is the only thing that's gonna save you out there."

Mr. Stark stares out at the crowd with soulful brown eyes, looking at the faces watching him, listening. You yourself can't take your eyes off of him; his personality is magnetic and he puts so much weight into his words, even his silly little side jokes. He sits up suddenly, opening his arms to the room of Young Avengers before him.

"Any questions?"

Dozens of hands shoot up in the air, your own among them, but Mr. Stark just hops down off the stage and makes his exit to the left.

"Good. Question everything. That's how you make good science."

---=====---

META-INTRODUCTION

OOC: This is an alternate universe Marvel quest largely rooted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many things are different in ways that were inspired by how the MCU handles new origins, character interpretations, power sources, and so on. You'll also find plenty of adaptations and characters taken from comics, TV shows, and other forms of Marvel media. If you read from the beginning you should be able to participate in the thread just fine if all you've seen are the mainstream movies.

You'll find our version of the Timeline of Events as they transpired by clicking on the link. Below beneath the Spoiler Tag is an explanation of how the events of the Marvel movies and shows differ from the events in this quest in roughly the same order as the timeline. They may contain spoilers for the Quest and their origin media, so if you aren't current on either of those things click with caution.


Captain America : The First Avenger - Mostly Canon
Some moderate changes from the film to our timeline; namely the Tesseract (and thus the Space Stone) were not present in the timeline and another, alternate power source was used by Arnim Zola and Johann Schmidt.

Agent Carter Series - Probably Canon
I have never seen this show. It was long enough ago in the timeline that it's probably safe to assume its contents are canon unless I mention otherwise, or some aspect of the series would not make sense in relation to other events.

Iron Man - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the film to our timeline.

Iron Man 2 - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the film to our timeline.

The Incredible Hulk - Probably Mostly Canon
I have never seen this movie. I know enough about it that it's probably safe to assume its contents are canon unless I mention otherwise, or some aspect of the film would not make sense in relation to other events. I can say, at least, that the fight with Abomination was not quite as public and destructive as it was depicted in the film; it likely happened at a more remote location with fewer witnesses, and so anything that led to that encounter would've had to be slightly altered.

Thor - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the film to our timeline.

The Avengers - Mostly Canon
Some moderate changes from the film to our timeline; since the Tesseract was not involved, Loki's assault was done entirely through the use of his powerful magic and not in a bid to aid Thanos. This was the public's first major exposure to The Hulk, and the Battle of New York didn't happen against a horde of Chitauri invaders, but an army of Loki's clones. It was overall far less destructive, and there was a much smaller loss of life and impact on the people of New York. Loki was presumed dead after the events of this battle; killed by The Hulk.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Series - Probably Mostly Non-Canon
I have seen little of this show. Something similar has been going on, but the details remain murky. Assume nothing specific about it is canon unless I mention otherwise.

Iron Man 3 - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the film to our timeline. The biggest change is that Iron Man's psychological state is not as fragile since the ending of The Avengers was altered; he is less self-destructive through the course of this film, and he and Pepper are married shortly after it.

Iron Fist Season 1 - Almost Entirely Non-Canon
Very little of what transpired in this show occurred except the most bare-bones concepts, thus it is not listed on the timeline; Danny Rand came back to America and established himself in New York as the Iron Fist.

Daredevil Season 1 - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the show to our timeline.

Jessica Jones Season 1 - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the show to our timeline.

Luke Cage Season 1 - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the show to our timeline.

Daredevil Season 2 - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the show to our timeline.

Captain America : The Winter Soldier - Mostly Canon
Some moderate changes from the film to our timeline; namely that no major HYDRA infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. is ever uncovered and exposed, thus most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s activities remain publicly classified and Nick Fury never had to fake his death. It generally would've been a shorter, less-interesting movie about Captain America making friends.

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mostly Canon
Some moderate changes from the film to our timeline; namely that the spectre of Thanos does not loom over everything as there is no narrative need for the Infinity storyline to be set in motion. As such, Ronan the Accuser does not use the Orb and thus the Power Stone in his assault; the damage and death toll is less severe, including the survival of Ronan himself. While Star Lord, Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Gamora continue to work together as a mercenary group following these events, they have no reason to call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Punisher Season 1 - Possibly Canon
I have never seen this show. It's separate enough from the events of the timeline that it's probably safe to assume its contents are canon unless I mention otherwise, or some aspect of the series would not make sense in relation to other events. Since its veracity is up in the air, it is omitted from the timeline for now.

The Defenders Miniseries - Almost Entirely Non-Canon
Very little of what transpired in this show occurred except the most bare-bones concepts, thus it is not listed on the timeline; Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Daredevil have worked together a few times. Punisher may or may not have been involved.

Jessica Jones Season 2 - Possibly Canon
I have never seen this season. It's separate enough from the events of the timeline that it's probably safe to assume its contents are canon unless I mention otherwise, or some aspect of the series would not make sense in relation to other events. Since its veracity is up in the air, it is omitted from the timeline for now.

Ant-Man - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the show to our timeline, except that Yellowjacket survived and is in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

Captain America : Civil War - Almost Entirely Non-Canon
Very little of what transpired in this film occurred except the most bare-bones concepts; Captain America and Iron Man had a disagreement about Winter Soldier that led to a falling-out, and during this time Tony Stark met Spider-man. With no Sokovia Incident, no Wakanda involvement, no S.H.I.E.L.D. declassification, and Tony being in a place of better mental health, things didn't fall apart quite as hard. It remains on the timeline because enough of its tentpole moments occurred to bear mention.

Spider-Man : Homecoming - Mostly Canon
Some moderate changes from the film to our timeline; since there was no alien tech involved in the Battle of New York, Vulture's wings and other weapons involved in the movie were invented by characters like Herman Schultz and Phineas Mason and/or 'salvaged' from lost or stolen pieces of StarkTech.

Doctor Strange - Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the film to our timeline.

The Runaways Season 1 -Almost Entirely Canon
Very little changed from the season to our timeline. I'm waiting to finish Season 2 before I decide where on the timeline it should sit.

The Runaways Season 2 - Possibly Canon
I have never seen this season. It's separate enough from the events of the timeline that it's probably safe to assume its contents are canon unless I mention otherwise, or some aspect of the series would not make sense in relation to other events. Since its veracity is up in the air, it is omitted from the timeline for now.

NON-CANON
The events of these films and shows have not transpired AT ALL, either because they have not yet come up in our timeline, or the events that would have led to their plots unfolding did not transpire in the first place.
- Thor : The Dark World
- Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
- Avengers : Age of Ultron
- Thor : Ragnarok
- Avengers : Infinity War
- Inhumans
- Iron Fist Season 2
- Daredevil Season 3
- Cloak and Dagger Series
- New Warriors Series
- Black Panther

I intend to update this quest once a day, usually between 12 AM and 6 AM Eastern Standard Time, though voting stalemates and real life issues can often delay my posts. Occasionally I will attempt to "make up" for this by posting twice in one day, with approximately 12 hours between posts. My individual posts aren't usually very long, so I hope the frequency makes up for that; I like offering decision points and glossing over unnecessary details and small talk, though there will be plenty of options for deeper conversation. Fights, specifically, tend to have shorter updates because we operate on turn-by-turn decision-making, so especially if there are only a few people involved in a scrap there will be less that needs relaying for every post.

The intention of this quest is not to 'test' for you to pick the 'right' answer; there are no 'trap' answers, and while any choices the voter-base makes
will have consequences that are potentially favorable or unfavorable, they're not going to outright kill you or something silly like that. I want to run a quest thread and I like creating a shared narrative. That's hard to do without a main character. This quest is not me vs. you; it's a story where we use dice and game components to fill in the variables. That being said, I don't like fudging dice as a DM, so... making smart decisions, thinking carefully about your choices, and avoiding death and danger is wise.I don't like to give out too many 'hints' and I don't often explain my motives or detail the rolls I make; I use the official Wizards of the Coast die roller and the results tend to be fairly middling. BUT~! I do love answering questions and providing context. Never be afraid to ask.

This quest will feature a LOT of background characters who are named or briefly conversed with and never seen again. It will feature a few guest stars/minor characters who you work with for a mission or two, but overall don't see. Don't get intimidated by the number of named NPCs in the world; it's just something to keep the universe feeling fresh and lively. We don't have to explore the intricate backstory of each of these people, and frankly we don't have the time to do so. YOU have the power to decide who we'll spend most of our time with throughout the quest.

This is not the original introduction to this thread. It's contained in the below spoiler tag for context, if you care about that sort of thing.

OOC: This is an alternate universe Marvel quest inspired by both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the comics, but not paying TOO close attention to either. I will be using a heavily bastardized version of my own personal homebrew system that consists of eight fairly self-explanatory Attributes and revolves entirely around d12 rolls. Attributes go from 0-8, because 8 + 12 is 20 and that's a nice round number for determining max difficulty. I'll be handling all of the crunch behind-the-scenes, but Attributes and character advancement options will be presented up-front for the sake of keeping things dynamic. I intend to try and update this thread at least once a day, but character creation is going to run a little faster so we can get into the meat of the story sooner.

I'd like to keep some things close to my chest to keep the story interesting, but suffice it to say Infinity Stones aren't a concern at the moment, the incidents in New York and Sokovia never happened, and as such neither did many of the chain reactions set off by of those events. Earth has seen very little of the Hulk and Thor, and is largely unaware of the wider Cosmic side of the Marvel universe, although recently information about the X-Gene has spread thanks to the power of the internet and "Mutant Panic" is among the most hotly debated social issues of our lifetimes.

… also this is my first time. Have patience with me while I figure out this site's magnificent built-in questing tools and manage this thing in general. <3
---=====---​

You are a student and Avenger-in-training at the Phillip J. Coulson Memorial Academy in an undisclosed location in New York. Ever since you were young, you had a strong desire to be a super-hero like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. Like the real-life hero of the 40's, Captain America. Like Iron Man.

Choose Your Origin...

[ ] Street urchin.

Strength - 1
Athletics - 3
Endurance - 1
Accuracy - 2
Perception - 3
Aptitude - 2
Will - 1
Charisma - 3

[ ] Academic.
Strength - 1
Athletics - 1
Endurance - 1
Accuracy - 2
Perception - 2
Aptitude - 4
Will - 3
Charisma - 2

[ ] Vigilante.
Strength - 3
Athletics - 2
Endurance - 3
Accuracy - 2
Perception - 2
Aptitude - 1
Will - 1
Charisma - 2
 
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Character Sheet
CHARACTER SHEET

Vilina Laghari/Fortune
Female [Origin Unknown] Academic - Medical
5'6"/Average Build/Black Hair/Brown Eyes
Born in New York City, New York, USA

Strength - 1
Athletics - 1
Endurance - 2
Accuracy - 3
Perception - 3
Aptitude - 8
Will - 5
Charisma - 5

Total: 27

Wrist-Mounted Weapon

Scattershot - 6 cartridge capacity.
- Reload 1 as an Indirect Action.
- Full reload as a Full Action.
- Non-lethal, though may cause excessive damage on headshot.

Stun Dart - 3 dart capacity.
- Reload 1 as an Indirect Action.
- Full reload as a Full Action.
- Target takes reduced damage, but must pass a Stamina check of 13 or be Stunned for Vilina's Accuracy in turns. (3)
- Can load more potent darts; increases Stamina check difficulty to 15.

Muscle - 0
- Base Check 4.
Agility - +1
- Base Check 4.
Stamina - +2
- Base Check 5.
Manual Dexterity - 0
- Base Check 6.
Awareness - +2
- Base Check 6.
Memory - +8
- Base Check 11.
- Checks related to Medicine are now considered Precise.
Focus - +6
- Base Check 8.
- Checks made to resist mental status effects are considered Precise.
Persuade - +2
- Base Check 8.
Luck - +8
- No Base Check.

Initiative: 3 (ATH, PER)
Grip Bonus: +3 (END, WIL)
Energy: 16 (CHA)
Willpower: 5 (WIL)

Carrying Capacity: 40 lbs. (STR)
Speed: 20 ft. (ATH)
Alternate Speed: 10 ft. (ATH)
Duration of Strain: 6 Turns./1 Minute to Hold Breath (END)
Aim Damage: Severe. (ACC)

Proficiencies: Unarmed Combat, Wrist-Mounted Ranged Weapons, Pistols (ACC)

Weakling - Negative Passive Trait
All melee and thrown weapon attacks are rolled off the Minor Melee table. This trait is imposed by having a low Strength; increasing it to at least a 2 will get rid of this Trait.

Adept - Passive Trait
Memory checks made to recall information in the field of Medicine are Precise.

Learning Experience - Passive Trait
The first time you retry a failed Skill check it's considered Precise.

Polymath - Active Trait, Passive Action
You can force a knowledge-based Memory check as you would with a Willpower.
Cost: 1/4 of your max Energy.

Indomitable - Passive Trait
Focus checks made to resist mental status effects are considered Precise.

Deep Reserves - Passive Trait
Spending a Willpower to restore your Energy now completely refills it instead of only returning 1/4 of your max Energy.

Radiant - Passive Trait
END doesn't contribute to your total Energy; double the amount received from CHA.

Fortune-Favored - Passive Trait
Things seem to go your way more often than not; minor story events will be tailored to impact Vilina less than those around her. Situations with an even likelihood of certain events transpiring will slightly err in Vilina's favor. Vilina has no control over this aspect of her power; sometimes bad things seem to happen because they set off a chain of events that will eventually lead to very good things. She is somewhat aware of this, and it is a source of optimism for her. She radiates good fortune, granting a +2 bonus to Luck checks made by allies within 30' and forcing a -2 penalty on Luck checks made by enemies.

Just Lucky, I Guess - Passive Trait
Enemies must pass a Focus check of 13 to specifically target you and/or any individuals you're directly interacting with when there are any other targets worth attacking. This includes team members whose injuries Vilina is tending to, or civilians she's leading to escape. Even when they do, all attacks made against those targets are considered Clumsy.

Tilt the Scales - Active Trait, Indirect Action
This can do one of the following;
- Make an attack Clumsy or Precise.
- Cause a Skill check to become Clumsy or Precise.
- Use this ability on her turn to apply the effects of Just Lucky, I Guess to all allied targets within 60' for her CHA in turns.
- Using this ability for at least a few hours during Downtime allows her to influence an event happening up to 12 hours later.
Vilina can use this ability as a Reaction by forsaking her next Indirect Action.
She can use this ability over very long distances, though the more she is aware of the circumstances the greater success the power has.
Cost: 3 Energy.

Lucky Shot - Active Trait, Indirect Action
Vilina's attacks are considered Precise for up to her CHA in turns.
Cost: 1 Willpower or 1/4 of your max Energy.

NOTE: Vilina neither warps reality, nor is she guided by a force that allows her to use her abilities as a form of divination.

This is by no means a comprehensive list; simply ideas and options based on our current Traits.

New Trait: Insight - Focus checks made to see through lies or divine someone's true motives are Precise.

New Trait: Death Proof - Increase your Grip check by +2.

New Trait: Hard to Kill - Increase your Grip check by +2.

New Trait: Heroism - You earn a +2 bonus to any brave, selfless check that would likely kill you if you fail. This only counts for matters that would directly end in your demise; not ones that may eventually lead to it.

New Trait: Skill Training - You gain four Skill Points to distribute among your skills as you see fit. Each skill can have a max bonus of +8.

New Trait: Survivor - You take no Grip bonus from END; instead double the bonus you receive from WIL.

New Trait: Unshakeable Focus - +2 to all Base Focus checks made to maintain your concentration.

This is by no means a comprehensive list; simply ideas and options based on our current Traits.

Augment: Fortune-Favored - A minor version of the effects of Fortune Favored apply to up to her Charisma in allies with whom she has at least a 40% positive relationship.

New Trait: Force the Scales - Active Trait, Passive Action
Once per issue, the thread can vote to use this ability. For the remainder of the scene, all checks Vilina makes are considered Precise.
Cost: 1 Willpower

New Trait: Last Chance - Active Trait, Reaction
Once per Issue, pass a Luck check of 13 to have an enemy's weapon jam, break, or otherwise malfunction just as they would attempt to harm her with it.

Augment: Last Chance - If she passed a Luck check of 15, all enemies in a 30' radius who witness the malfunction are Stunned for a single turn.

- Vilina was a good child who did her best to behave. She loves her family very much, and they are incredibly supportive.
- She quietly comes from affluence, but was raised to pride herself on her work ethic and her accomplishments more than the circumstances of her birth.
- Vilina doesn't have obvious/strong connections to her cultural heritage. Her parents moved to America to escape difficulties back home that they don't like to talk about. They embraced American ideals and cultural traditions as a strong way of separating themselves from the past, and so Vilina was raised primarily with American culture in mind.
- Vilina likes super-hero stuff. Comic books, movies, TV shows, etc. She's not quite an expert, but she's not a casual fan either. She likes them enough that it has informed her career path. She likes the Lantern Corps most, but more as a concept than any specific character.
- She has been described as an "IronStan"; a big fan of Tony Stark.
- Her favorite colors are gold and white.
- Vilina wears a padded gold and white uniform with a deep hood and a domino mask when on the job.
- Not really into casual swearing.
- When not fighting crime, Vilina tends to wear soft, but fashionable clothes; a lot of the stuff in Victoria's Secret PINK line and similar casual, comfortable, yet trendy designs.
- Vilina likes cocoa with coffee, but would take just cocoa over just coffee. As far as her tastebuds are concerned, a mocha is "not the same, but close enough" in most cases.
- She prefers mild foods, loves fresh vegetables, and ironically doesn't care for super-spicy food. If she had a favorite cultural cuisine, it'd probably be Greek.
- Her favorite genre of video games is strategy/tactics, including 4X, MOBA and RTS. She doesn't really care for shooters.
- She has a very eclectic taste in music, but prefers to relax to a song more than dance to it.
- Players incline her personality toward a strong moral core, but she knows her limits and is pragmatic when push comes to shove.

NPC Tracker
 
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System Rules Rundown
SYSTEM RULES RUNDOWN
After attempting a bastardized version of these rules for the first five issues, I realized I needed to use the real thing to prevent problems that were starting to crop up all around me. This is a system I've built from the ground up over the course of about 15 years or so. A lot of this is copy-pasted directly from the book-in-progress, so let me know if something doesn't make sense or uses terminology you're unfamiliar with and I'll do my best to clarify.

There are three types of Traits; Passive Traits are always in effect, or are always in effect under specific circumstances. Active Traits take a specific amount of time to activate and often have a resource cost like Energy or Willpower. Augments change an Active Trait in some way to make it more powerful, cheaper, or somehow different. You don't always have to make use of a Trait's Augments, and some might give you a variety of options instead of just one. New Traits can be earned at the end of the Issue, typically at a rate of one Trait per issue, though special circumstances might dictate you earn more.

Carrying Capacity - The amount of weight you can lug around, lift, push, pull, etc. without a check. If you want to lift a little more, you can roll a Muscle check of at least 10 + your STR and you can carry 1.5x your Carrying Capacity for your STR in turns.

Speed - How far you can move in a single Indirect Action. The parenthetical number is your Alternate Speed, used for other forms of movement, like swimming and climbing in non-dramatic situations.

Initiative - Who goes first in combat. The higher the better!

Duration of Strain - How long you can perform any long-term, strenuous task before requiring a Stamina check every turn to continue. The QM determines the check's difficulty, depending on the circumstances. The parenthetical number is how long you can hold your breath, and once this time expires you have to pass Grip checks every turn or asphyxiate. If you're forced to employ both Durations of Strain at once, each value is halved.

Grip - Probably the most important check in the game. You roll this when something happens that could cause your character to die. The difficulty of a Grip check starts at 10 and increases by +2 each time it is invoked until proper healing can be attained.

Energy - The main resource for activating Traits. Energy replenishes in full every time you rest for at least three hours during a game. Once per in-game day you can return ¼ of your max Energy (rounding down) by taking a 15-minute rest. Add this bonus to the bonus from Charisma to get your total Energy.

Aim - Spend a Full Action concentrating. The next unmodified attack you roll will deal the listed damage instead of all damage below it so long as it doesn't Miss. This effect fades if the target moves beyond your line of sight. You can only Aim at one target at a time; if you Aim at another you lose the benefit against the original target.


Proficiencies - Proficiencies determine the unique weapons or similar weapons in a group that your character knows how to wield. If you attempt to use a weapon you aren't proficient with, the attack is Clumsy and it requires an Indirect Action to draw or otherwise ready for attack. Every creature is proficient with its own natural weapons.

Willpower - A powerful resource of sheer tenacity. Spend a Willpower to force your best efforts into any non-Grip check, adding 12 to whichever is higher; the associated Attribute OR your Skill points and any similar bonuses. You can also spend a Willpower to refill ¼ of your maximum Energy (rounding down.) You get Willpower back from the QM as a bonus reward for a job well done, and gain at least 1 back at the end of every Issue.

Making a Skill Check
If you don't have any points in a skill you get a default score known as a Base check. This shows that even if your character has no proper training with their skill, they still can rely on their natural ability. The formula for a Base check is below;

Attribute + 3 + Bonus = Base Check

So, if you're attempting an Awareness check to see something in the distance but have no skill points in Awareness, you'd add your Perception +3. If you have any bonuses from Traits or other sources (such as the Base check bonus provided by Eagle Eye) you'd add that in as well. Some Negative Traits and statuses inflict skill penalties; these are applied to the result as you'd expect.

If you do have points in your skill, this allows you to attempt to roll for it. You roll a twelve-sided die (d12) and add your points in that skill to the result, plus any available bonuses or penalties.

Roll + Skill Points + Bonus = Check

So, let's say for example you're using Correction to provide information to your party after an ally within earshot botched their Memory roll; you'd roll a d12, add that result to the number of skill points you have in Memory, plus the +2 bonus from Correction! What's more, you can never do worse on a rolled skill check than your Base check, no matter how low your die roll. The difference comes in between the skill points and the die roll; with a base check you're only ever achieving a check of 13 at the highest, whereas a maxed-out skill roll could potentially result in a 22 or higher!

Sometimes you'll have to make a skill check against someone else's skill, as with the Trait Snarl. Each character simply makes the check on their own, and the higher value passes the check. If they are equal, the higher Base check passes. If all values are the same, simply re-roll the contested checks and try again until one character or the other succeeds.

Precise and Clumsy
Precise is a condition where your skill or attack roll is rolled twice with the better result taken and Clumsy sees you roll twice and take the worse result. No matter how many sources might provide you Precise or Clumsy status to your skill, you never roll more than two dice for any given skill check and attack roll unless explicitly mentioned otherwise.

Check Difficulty
While many checks are standardized by Traits and the like, some your QM will have to invent on the fly. This simple rubric should help, without needlessly overcomplicating things.

Simple Task: 8 or Lower - Super-heroes are a cut above your average citizen; it's unlikely you'll need to roll a check for any feat of this difficulty unless they're particularly deficient. Examples include; breaking down a door, remembering knowledge that is common in their field, jumping over a foot-long gap, spotting a person in the distance at dusk.

Difficult Task: 9 - 12 - While many will succeed with flying colors, perhaps an equal amount have a chance to fail. This is the average range of a feasible skill check. Tasks that fall under this purview include; discerning if a client is lying to you, picking a common lock, or comforting a traumatized individual. Most skill checks involving status effects will fall in this range.

Heroic Task: 13 - 18 - Training in your field is required to pass skill checks like these, usually set forth by very specialized or incredibly difficult tasks. Performing surgery, tapping into esoteric knowledge, or bending steel bars might all fall into this range, as well as resisting the effects of the more dangerous abilities of supernatural foes.

Improbable Task: 19+ - You'll have to be the best of the best to even consider attempting this, and even then you'll need a lot of luck and maybe a Willpower to pull it off. Seducing a faithful lover away from their marriage, locally hacking a government security system, or keeping your thoughts hidden to a prying telepath might all fall into this range.

Initiative Order
Your Initiative is derived from your Athleticism, Perception, and possibly some Traits. The person with the highest Initiative goes first, then the next highest, and so on and so forth. If there is a dispute between two people with the same Initative, the person with the higher ATH goes first. If they have the same ATH, they make a contested Agility check until one wins. When the person with the lowest Initiative has completed their turn, we start over at the beginning.

Your Turn
Each character's turn is about six seconds of time split up into actions; typically a Direct Action, an Indirect Action, and a small amount of passive actions. Once that is resolved, the end of the turn is when a number of effects from Traits or enemy abilities expire.

Direct Actions - Ordinarily determined by directly interacting with an enemy. This includes attacking an enemy or object, performing a physical skill check against an enemy, or activating a Trait that takes a Direct Action. You can also opt to instead take a second Indirect Action.

Indirect Actions - Typically defined as any action taken that doesn't directly harm or impede an enemy. With an Indirect Action you can move at your Speed, interact with unattended objects like opening a door or turning on a computer, performing a physical skill check that doesn't directly impede an enemy, or readying a weapon you aren't proficient with. Many Traits will only take an Indirect Action when they should probably be better suited to Direct to showcase your character's speed or deftness.

Passive Actions - Actions that can occur while doing something else. Typically you shouldn't make more than three different kinds of these or have a complex conversation within a single turn, but it's ultimately up to the QM's discretion. A few examples include talking, making a mental skill check for any reason, or readying a weapon you are proficient with. Dismissing certain ongoing states can also be done as a Passive Action, but you can only dismiss your own powers in this way. Anyone attempting to force your power to end by "dismissing" it as the text reads would have to have some sort of supernatural sway over your thoughts and actions. As with an Indirect Action, a Trait may say you can take an action that ordinarily requires a Direct or Indirect Action as a Passive Action to showcase deftness and speed.

Reactions - Some Traits and abilities are performed as a Reaction, meaning you can interject them at any time during the Initiative order without affecting your own Initiative or requiring it to be your turn. You can only use one Reaction per Initiative order.

Full Actions - Full Actions are either complicated or exhausting actions that take your entire turn to perform, allowing you only the use of Passive Actions and Reactions for that turn.

Holding Your Initiative - You can elect to hold your Initiative to see how certain plans fare, or how certain characters react in combat. You can only take Passive Actions on that turn, and when any character has completed their turn you can elect to insert yourself into the combat at that point. This will establish your new Initiative between that character and the next for the rest of the encounter, or until you hold your Initiative again.

Outside of Combat
The Initiative order is a handy way to keep the party organized when they split apart to handle different facets of a mission or personal errands while still tending to all their needs. But additionally there are a few units of time that are larger than the flow of combat.

Scene - Sometimes referred to as an encounter or battle, a scene is a flexible length of time where a certain series of events takes place. A fight would certainly be considered a scene, as would investigating one specific location for clues, or the events of a post-mission celebration.

Issue - Issues are documented by the Threadmark number and title, and typically revolve around a month or so worth of events. Some Traits can only be activated once per Issue as a means of measuring out their power or as a stylistic choice. You always gain a new Trait and regain 1 spent Willpower at the end of an Issue.

Downtime - Any period of game time where your character is not otherwise occupied with actively pursuing the plot, fighting in combat, or healing their wounds. Light socializing can occur during downtime, or it might use it for research or attending to personal affairs. Many Traits' effects require the freedom downtime allows to execute their benefits.

Status effects are common situations and conditions that effect a character for good or ill. Usually ill. Some of them only come from one logical source (you can only be set On Fire… by fire), but others may have a myriad of sources and situations that produce their effects.

Physical Status Effects
These status effects have an impact on your flesh, blood, or some other aspect of your physical form. Creatures with unusual origins may be immune to such effects, and some Traits and abilities can cleanse them or help you overcome them while having no influence on mental status effects.

Blind - All targets have Full Cover against you, and any checks made that would rely on visual perception automatically fail.

Bleeding - A bleeding wound causes Severe damage at the beginning of a character's turn, every turn. Bleeding wounds can be bandaged by taking a Direct Action with a successful medicine-related Memory check of 10 or greater. A character can only suffer one Bleeding wound at a time.

Fatigue - Extreme exhaustion. A Fatigued character can only make a single Direct or Indirect Action on each of their turns, not both. They cannot take Full Actions, but can perform Passive Actions and Reactions as normal.

Mental Status Effects
These status effects have an impact on your spirit, emotions, or other facets of your mentality. Creatures with powerful minds will likely have defenses against such effects, and some Traits and abilities can cleanse them or help you overcome them while having no effect on physical statuses.

Berserk - When falling Berserk, a character can no longer fully control their actions, too furious to consider tactics or discretion. If a player character, they should surrender their actions to the QM for the duration. In any case, they will attack threatening or hostile targets closest to them first, and move on to neutral targets if no hostiles remain. They will not knowingly attack their friends and allies, collapsing Unconscious if only friendly targets remain.

Calm - A Calmed character can take any action so long as it's non-violent. This status ends if the character is assaulted or harassingly provoked, allowing them to attempt a Focus check of 8 to end the effect.

Cowed - The character is terrified and will drop Prone if they do not move 30' from whatever Cowed them on their turn. They must maintain this distance until the effect ends.

Distracted - Grants Tactical Advantage to all.

Provoked - This character's attention is drawn to the source of the provocation; they may attack (if able) but can't ignore the source until acted upon by another character. If a target is both Provoked and Distracted by the same source, that source does not earn Tactical Advantage unless it's granted by a separate effect.

Other Status Effects
Finally, this set of status effects doesn't have any specific group source, themeing, or restorative conditions. Many of them are actually beneficial!

Clumsy - Less of a status effect for a character and more for a skill check or attack roll, you roll the die twice and take the worst result. You never roll more than two dice no matter how many sources make a roll Clumsy unless specifically noted. If a roll is rendered Clumsy and Precise at the same time, they cancel each other out and it becomes normal.

Fast Healing - A target benefiting from Fast Healing recovers all Minor damage at the end of their turn (six seconds), one hit of Severe damage every three turns (18 seconds), and one hit of Critical damage every five turns (30 seconds).

Hurt - The results of being beat up rather severely. All Minor and Severe damage the target takes upgrades to Critical, and all physical skill checks are considered Clumsy. This condition ends after three days' rest, or when all the original wounds have been recovered via Fast Healing or Regeneration.

Injured - An injured character is considered Hurt, and all Critical damage now provokes a Grip check to stave off death like Dire damage. This condition ends after at least five days' rest with some kind of medical attention or accelerated healing.

Intangible - An intangible person or object cannot be touched or interacted with by any normal means, including being physically Stuck, moving over Difficult Terrain, and avoiding velocity damage. This effect works in favor of the person who employed it; a creature who renders themselves intangible can move through walls or avoid an attack, for example, but won't uncontrollably fall through the floor.

Infravision - Typically a natural state of being; a creature with Infravision ignores all penalties incurred by darkness, but any attempts at differentiating color in such darkness are Clumsy.

Invisible - You are Stealthed and don't break Stealth by walking through someone's line of sight. Even if your target passes a non-visual Awareness check against your Agility to notice you, you still have Full Cover.

On Fire - This character is literally on fire, suffering Severe Fire damage every turn until they (or an ally) use a Full Action to extinguish the flames.

Precise - Less of a status effect for a character and more for a skill check or attack roll, you roll the die twice and take the better result. You never roll more than two dice no matter how many sources make a roll Precise unless specifically noted. If a roll is rendered Precise and Clumsy at the same time, they cancel each other out and it becomes normal.

Prone - A character lying on the ground may only crawl 5 feet in an Indirect Action. Any attacks made with firearms while Prone are Precise. Foes attacking a Prone character with melee weapons are granted Tactical Advantage, and foes attacking a Prone target with ranged weapons from more than 20' away treat the target as though it has Partial Cover. It only takes a Passive Action to drop Prone, but an Indirect Action to get back up.

Regeneration - A Regenerating target ignores all Minor damage, heals one hit of Severe damage at the end of their turn (six seconds), and one hit of Critical damage every three turns (18 seconds).

Shut Out - A Shut Out target cannot use their Energy on supernatural abilities for the duration. If a target has a separate, non-Willpower resource they use for their supernatural abilities, this is also affected. This has no effect on Willpower.

Stealth - A Stealthed character has avoided detection by those around them. The character remains Stealthed until they pass through someone's line of sight, or if they take an action that would cause someone to notice them such as making a loud noise or physically interacting with them. The potential observer must pass an Awareness check against the Stealthed character's Agility to detect them, otherwise they're unsure of the exact source of the disturbance.

Stuck - The target cannot move any Stuck limbs or body parts, and can't take an Indirect Action to move. What parts are stuck are determined by the source; for example, a character's arms may be trapped in a grapple but their head and legs are still free to headbutt and kick. If one's ankles are shackled, their arms are still free to use weapons. In all non-grapple situations, a Stuck character must pass a Muscle check of 8 to break free. At the QM's discretion, they can instead use an Agility check to finesse their way out. Often, if enough damage is dealt to the character's restraints they can escape.

Stunned - Incapable of acting or reacting at all. A Stunned character skips their turn, breaking any abilities that required direction, focus, concentration, or upkeep but still suffering negative effects such as Bleeding or being On Fire.

Tactical Advantage - All attacks against a target granting Tactical Advantage are Precise.

Unconscious - The character drops Prone, is Blind, Stunned, and is generally unaware of their surroundings. An unconscious target who isn't being actively kept unconscious by outside forces may choose to make an Awareness check on their turn to wake up from noises in the room, or a Focus check to force themselves to awaken.
 
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[X] Street urchin.
Strength - 1
Athletics - 3
Endurance - 1
Accuracy - 2
Perception - 3
Aptitude - 2
Will - 1
Charisma - 3
 
001 - Orientation B
Winner: Academic
Number of voters: 8

OOC: I'm so excited! I was gonna consider it a success if I got five votes in total! Hooray!

---=====---
As you're herded with your peers out of the auditorium and toward the dormitories, your mind dances between Mr. Stark's words and the path that brought you here, to this opportunity. He's not wrong. It would be hard for him to be wrong when he's been so right about so much in his life, but specifically as it pertains to you and this future you've chosen… it's scary. It's exciting. It's breathtaking. It's something you dreamed of long before you even considered it could be a Real Thing Real People Can Do, and now it's here and that's terrifying. The weight of your actions… you'll impact lives. You'll save lives! … you might even end up having to take lives. All in service to protecting the innocent, of course, but when evil will not heed, well…

That's a bit too much to consider right now. Too grave. It's cramping the incredible excitement. You look back, to the past. To the steps you took to arrive where you now are.

You might've had dreams of becoming a super-hero, but for a long time they were just that; dreams. When you were in elementary school you knew kids who wanted to grow up to be a giraffe, and that just wasn't probable even if it was medically feasible... and you were pretty sure it wasn't. In the time before Iron Man it just made the most sense to pursue something else in life. Even after, it seemed so unlikely that something like that would happen to you of all people. If what you had to settle for was living the runner-up for a stargazer's dream, that was good enough for you. You had the perseverance, determination, and set your sights on something you were passionate about. With your parents' staunch encouragement, you knuckled down and did your best in school. "Straight-A Student" was a bit inaccurate as there was the occasional "B" and there always seemed to be one subject you just couldn't excel in… but you had the grades to get into any university you wanted.

And then it happened; you got super-powers.

At first, it was terrifying. You'd spent so much of your young life so carefully planning what would be your college years, your career, the entirety of your future! But suddenly you were burdened with glorious purpose it seemed like you'd have to make a very difficult decision between what you had worked so hard for and what you'd spent so many years of your life dreaming about. Of course, then the Young Avengers Initiative happened and you got to put that decision off for a little longer, exploring what both options had to offer. Who knows? Maybe you'd be the next Tony Stark, juggling a life as a successful genius AND saving the world from certain doom!

Choose Your Specialization...
[ ] Engineering

+1 Accuracy
+3 Aptitude

[ ] Medicine
+1 Perception
+2 Aptitude
+1 Will

[ ] Law
+2 Will
+2 Charisma
 
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[X] Medicine
+1 Perception
+2 Aptitude
+1 Will

Time to be a Doctor.
 
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