Tutorial (Serena) 1: Meet Miss Green
Rachel's eyes are wide as saucers as she leaps to her feat. "Oh, my god, Serena -"
You open your mouth to reply, but you feel dry and leaden, and you find that everything is fuzzy.
"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty"
With a groan you open your eyes, and find yourself looking at a dimly lit stone ceiling that you're pretty sure you have never seen before in your life. Doubly so now that your vision clears and you realize that the dim lighting is from no-kidding actually-on-fire torches. What?
Steady arms wrap around you and help you up to sitting position. "There now, you okay? Feeling a little dizzy?"
You nod, and wince at the nausea that rises from your stomach. Ugh.
Your helper leans you against the wall to help you sit up, and you find a bottle of water shoved in your hands. "Drink up, dear, you'll feel better."
It takes a few tries to get the cap off; your hands are shaky. But the cool water is refreshing not only to your throat but to your mind, as the last dregs of sleepiness sluice away. You are able to finally focus your senses and get a good look at who you are sharing a -room, yes let's call it a room for now- with.
Long black tresses frame a lightly freckled face. A deep green evening dress covers her body, and almost make her seem to melt into the shadows at the edges. You'd almost guess she was younger than you, but there's an almost ageless quality to this woman.
She smiles. "Welcome back to the land of the, well, living. Sort of. You can call me Miss Green."
It's so obviously a psuedonym that you find your manners momentarily forgotten. "In the library, with the lead pipe," your mouth blurts, before your better sense can stop in.
She laughs, a deep-throated chuckle that seems out of place on a such a petite woman. "A fan of the classics, eh? No, I'm afraid I'm not guilty of any murders in this particular case. Though I did rescue your body from the morgue."
The sinking feeling is back in your stomach. "What!" Now that you've looked around, you realize that you're in a Masoleum. That's not comforting at all.
She sighs. "It's a long story, m'dear. But you are, at least as far as the authorities are concerned, quite dead. You aren't actually of course, but well... I'm afraid the Medical Examiner's Office isn't willing to accept supernatural resuscitation as an explanation. Best not trouble the busy people in their offices with things that don't fit into their worldviews, eh?"
You stare. "I was dead?"
"No, no. I would have said resurrection, were that the case. No, you were only mostly dead. Finish your water."
The discongruity of her words almost makes you want to protest, but you realize that you have no idea what to say to that. So you finish your water.
"I have to wonder what were you thinking, trying to solicit a Naberius without so much as even a Lesser Key initiation?" She shakes her head at you. "If I were not in the area, and inclined to intervene, well - but let us not speak of such things. You toyed with things beyond your ken, and now you must accept the price."
Somehow, you knew this was coming. Nothing in the world is ever free, least of all lifesaving intervention. Part of you is still screaming that all this is insane, impossible, but you can hear the cold, weighty truth of her words, and feel the itching scar of *something* on your very soul. "And what do I owe you, for, uhm, not just deciding to go through my clothes and look for loose change."
She seems amused by the reference. "I like your style, amigo. Your life, well, we can call that Pro-Bono. I'm no miracle worker. You're breathing and you're soul's still home, but I'm afraid I wasn't able to do a perfect job. There are, shall we say, some side effects." She raises a hand to forestall your questions. "In a moment, dear. The price we will discuss now, is for my patronage. My mentorship, as it were. You'll need it."
"You want me to learn to do - whatever that was," you realize, "properly, this time."
"Very good. I'm afraid it's not a matter of desire, now. What you did has marked you, opened your mind and soul to things ... beyond what most people are able to apprehend. There is literally no going back. If you absolutely cannot bring yourself to face what comes next, I can make what the authorities believe truth as well as the official line. You're not going to become a conduit for uncontrolled terrors, not on my watch." She pins you with a gaze that burns in it's intensity. "But I don't believe you're that kind of person. You're a fighter. You've survived this far and you'll go on surviving."
It'd almost be flattering it it wasn't also terrifying. She's absolutely serious. "I... I just wanted to..."
[]---[]
Vote time!
So how did you end up performing a sketchy ritual from a sketchy book that apparently was actual, real, magic?
[] You were bored, it was late, you'd had a few beers, somehow trying something out of that beat up old volume seemed like it might be fun. It was supposed to be a movie night with the girls, but Anna-Marie can't pick movies worth a hoot and Rachel had this old volume she claimed was "Totally a grimorie of real magick," and everyone decided why not?
-- > [] You're swearing off alcohol from now on.
[] That bitch Laisa was being all smug again, and you just wanted to prove her wrong. Look, she was practically calling you out in front of your friends, you had to.
-- > [] Magic doesn't exist. Or so you thought. Now you know better.
---- > [] But seriously, you still don't believe any of Laisa's claims.
---- > [] Well okay, maybe you'd be willing to give her a chance to prove it. Things have changed.
-- > [] You're not scared. Of anything. Even creepy occultism. Don't you cluck at me like that, Laisa!
---- > [] And you still aren't. You kick ass and doesn't afraid of anything.
---- > [] You're currently in a creepy cemetary talking to a scary witch-lady, Fear is justified.
[] You were worried about your boyfriend being deployed overseas, and kinda miserable, and there was Rachel with her new-age crap and the promise that she could totally divine his fortune.
-- > [] This is the last time you ever listen to Rachel.
-- > [] Maybe you should take Rachel's ramblings about the occult more seriously?
[] Write in.
Feel free to use any of the NPCs i just made up, or supply your own. I reserve the right to modify write ins that don't fit my plans.
Mechanics Vote:
Serena is currently being modeled as a Smart Hero 1/Charismatic Hero 1, making her a level 2 character (which will change shortly). Baring a very good write in, I'm probably not going to change her class picks, but I want to open the floor for people to suggest her abilities.
1. [X] Pick a Starting occupation.
You can find an official list of the core starting occupations
here. if you know of occupations from other sources, you can vote for those to, but please cite/link your source.
Keep in mind that while I will not screw you out of your wealth score, you're currently presumed dead, and that may make money matters a bit difficult.
2. [X] Suggest which skills she should invest in.
Don't make a comprehensive list, just pick the ones you think are important and explain why. List of skills
here
I use a Houserule where everyone gets the benefits of the Able Leaner feat, so skills never cost double. The only difference between class skills and cross-class skills is the maximum rank you can have. Once you have a skill as a class skill, it is a class skill forever.
3. [] Anything else relevant
You can suggest feats. Serena starts with two at first level.
You can suggest any relevant gear Serana may have on hand. Keep in mind that Serena is not some sort of vigilante (yet), and has no reason to have body armor or heavy weapons.
Note on Voting
All these votes are ways of defining bits of Selena's character. Anything you vote for can be used to indicate some facet of her life or personality. Anything you don't want to bother voting for I will define.
State of (non-tutorial) Votes:
We have two character archetypes that seem popular so far.
A. Traditional Magical Girl with Love Love Lasers (actually a boy, but whatev.)
B. MAX WEREWULF (Social form + Warform)
I'll give people time to get other options on the slate, but I'Il probably do a quick mechanics overview of the popular archetypes and call for a final vote a some point.
Probably either when the tutorial has gone through a full mission, or when we have a full slate of 5 or 6 solid archetypes. Keep voting!
Much of what I know comes from internet reading as I never really had the chance to play a Campaign.
