Buffy the Vampire Slayer Take Two

This is my second attempt at running a Buffy the Vampire Slayer quest after my first attempt when I first joined SV. Here's to hoping I've improved! The quest will have players as the Voice of Reason in the back of the selected character's head. Different characters will have different priorities that influence what options the players will have to pick from. They can be influenced down a route, but going against their nature will be an uphill battle. It is better to work with the character's nature when choosing an action than to try to get them to do something they don't like, as they are more likely to be half hearted in attempts for such leading to higher chances of failure.

Choose your character:

Willow Rosenberg
Perfectionist: she doesn't like presenting something until it's the absolute best it can be and will hide mistakes
Scholar: she adores learning and absorbs new knowledge at an accelerated rate
Tech User: she has a talent for electronics
Control: she likes it best when things happen in a way she can understand and predict, when it doesn't she gets heavily stressed
Romantic: she is easily swayed by romantic ideas

Alexander Harris
Comedic: he loves his puns and jokes, will automatically act to lighten the mood
School of Hard Knocks: he comes from an abusive home and it has left its marks
Observant: Xander tends to see more than people are aware of
Dunce: he learns best from doing, and struggles in intellectual subjects
Own Beat: he has a high resistance to peer pressure, following his own beat no matter what others think

Buffy Summers
The Slayer: she is the chosen one, gifted with powers that make her a match for any supernatural creatures
Charismatic: she not only is quick to read a room, she is highly persuasive and draws others to her
Normal Desire: she hates being chosen, and while she will eventually do the right thing she will do a lot to put off and avoid anything that's not "normal"
Cheerleader: she understands popular trends and connects easily with popular people
Bad Taste: she has such bad taste in men she might as well be cursed

Alexander Harris

Age: 16
Goal: Survive high school with his friends and get a girlfriend

Comedic: he loves his puns and jokes, will automatically act to lighten the mood
School of Hard Knocks: he comes from an abusive home and it has left its marks
Observant: Xander tends to see more than people are aware of
Dunce: he learns best from doing, and struggles in intellectual subjects
Own Beat: he has a high resistance to peer pressure, following his own beat no matter what others think
Van Helsing: he has a surprisingly vast knowledge on the supernatural he can draw on
Self Defense: he has a solid grounding in how to fight, and can always be counted on to buy time, if not always win
Scarred Forearms: regrown skin from where Poseidon stripped his body of the god's influence

Mental Charm: Xander is resistant to most mental magics as long as he wears it

Yesterday Xander had been a typical high school loser in Sunnydale. His biggest problems had been getting to graduation, hanging out with his friends, and trying to score a girlfriend. Now he was far too aware of the predators that roamed Sunnydale. Not the typical human ones either, but actual monsters and demons that fed on humans and enjoyed their suffering.

Xander had made it through the trial by fire to make it to the other side. So had Willow, thanks to her new friend Buffy's help. Jesse though. Xander had thought he'd made it, but they'd lost him even before he died. It was even worse with Jesse's shocked expression as he turned to dust played over and over again in his head after.

Willow seemed to be dealing by trying to learn as much as possible about all of this and sticking to Buffy as her new best friend. Buffy seemed to be doing her best to dive into normalcy and forget everything about her abilities and the vampires they had barely stopped from slaughtering everyone. Xander though, he didn't know what he was doing yet.

[ ]Follow Willow's lead and try to learn more about the supernatural to be prepared
[ ]Follow Buffy's lead and try to regain a sense of normal
[ ]Write-in

Ignoring what happened isn't gonna make it better. Yeah you're pretty good at smoothing things over and pretending everything's fine even when it's not, but Jesse's dead. You refuse to move on and go back to normal like vampires weren't out there preying on people. You just need to decide how you're going to do that. Willow's doing fine as Giles' library assistant, and Buffy is currently focusing on practicing for cheerleader tryouts. In between keeping up with school and spending time with Willow and Buffy, you do your best to start working on the supernatural.

[ ]You decide to learn from Buffy
-She's extremely hot. She also doesn't want you or Willow to be anywhere near the supernatural, and won't be happy if you try to bring it up on her
[ ]You decide to study in the library on your own
-Giles has plenty of books on the supernatural, if you can find them. Of course, you've never been great at school, and slogging through all of that sounds like a headache waiting to happen
[ ]You ask Giles if he'll teach you
-Giles is trained in how to teach people about this stuff. Unfortunately he also thinks similar to Buffy, and doesn't want to spend his time training you instead of her
[ ]You decide to explore town and see what you can find
-You know Sunnydale, and now that you know what's out there you have a better chance of actually finding something out there. You also have a good chance of dying, but that's not a big change from your normal life
[ ]Write-in

You approach Giles fidgeting somewhat as you entered the library. This was not a place you'd ever spent time in beyond what was absolutely necessary. You spoke to yourself softly as you went in trying to figure out how to word what you wanted to ask Giles.

The librarian cleared his throat as you approached. "Do you need something Xander?"

"Hey Giles! Just, ah, wanted to talk to you about the dead guys. You know, the fang lords. Vampires." You clasped your hands together briefly and grinned at him. "Thought I could use some more tips on how to handle them, and who better to ask than the watcher himself?"

Giles frowned. "You already know the basics. I don't believe you need anymore to keep yourself safe."

"Maybe, but would be nice, especially since they're gonna keep coming around here."

"I and Buffy are here to watch the school."

"And me and Willow will be here to back her up." Giles frowned more sternly. You rubbed your hands on your pants. "Look, I get it. The slayer's your deal, not the slayer and her pals. But I'm not backing out. And if you can't help me with this, then at least you can tell me how you deal with a friend dying from vampires."

Giles took that in. He pinched his nose. "Well. That. That is not an easy subject." Giles sat down and looked at you. Finally he was giving full heed to what you were asking. You took a seat trying to not bounce in victory. Jesse's death wasn't a win. You just had needed the start. Giles started to talk, and you did your best to listen. He mentioned various ways that violent deaths were dealt with, and found himself forced to admit that keeping you ignorant of how to fight wasn't going to help.

Giles agreed to show you some basic self defence moves you could practice on your own. This was as good a result as you could have hoped for. Next time you wouldn't be leaving it all up to Buffy to keep Willow safe. You would have gone straight to Giles again the next day if it hadn't been for cheerleader tryouts being held. You and Willow were going to support Buffy. And maybe you could talk to her about a possible date.

[ ]Try to talk to Buffy about a date before the tryouts
[ ]Try to talk to Buffy about a date after the tryouts
[ ]Give her a good luck gift
[ ]Keep it cool, just friends

The tryouts this year, as sexy and invigorating as seeing the girls in those outfits were, did not go well. Xander hadn't known human combustion could be a thing. And according to Giles, it wasn't. He's looking into it, but the only thing you know for sure is it wasn't a vampire this time. So, more things to learn about.

[ ]Keep a close eye on the tryouts for weird events
-You get to watch sexy girls performing acrobatics even if nothing happens
[ ]See if you can help Giles
-You're terrible at research, and it's guaranteed to be boring
[ ]Focus on wooing Buffy
-It was a one off event, and the girl who combusted wasn't even hurt badly
[ ]Write-in