RPX Rollup - Episode 27 - Urban Shadows 2nd Ed
The Roleplaying Exchange PodcastAugust 30, 2025
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01:32:4985.4 MB

RPX Rollup - Episode 27 - Urban Shadows 2nd Ed

Urban Shadows: Second Edition from Magpie Games transforms modern cities into supernatural battlegrounds where vampires, werewolves, wizards, and mortals clash for power in the shadows. With themes spanning political intrigue, supernatural debts, and the complex relationships that fuel this Apocalypse Engine RPG, join us as we rollup and lay the groundwork for the city of Barrie, where creatures of the night hold court and secrets lurk behind every shadow.

Track - "On Deadly Ground
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:15 Music.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 Hello welcome to the role playing the same it's time for a roll-up and today
00:00:19 --> 00:00:24 we're going to be looking at urban shadows a second edition and with this being
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 a roll-up we're going to be creating characters and i brought some good friends
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 of mine to join us today so in no particular order,
00:00:31 --> 00:00:37 oh hello and welcome and yeah this is chris or review cultist or crazon a man
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 of many names and many podcasts.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:46 I'm not as grandiose. This is Jeremy. A man of humble backgrounds.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:51 A man of humble backgrounds and potentially a name that no one remembers.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:59 Yet also a man of many connections. You know everybody. I know a few people. I know a guy.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 I think that's a move for one of the playbooks we have here.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 It is. so i want
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 to go ahead and up front thank magpie games
00:01:11 --> 00:01:16 i reached out to them i've been following urban shadows second edition i missed
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 the kickstarter i didn't know it existed and to be honest with you i wasn't
00:01:19 --> 00:01:25 really that into urban fantasy until like the past two years and you know digging
00:01:25 --> 00:01:30 around it looked like an awesome game and it kickstarted like around 2020-ish,
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 2021. Yeah, about there.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:37 And they were very gracious enough to send me a review copy of this,
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 so we're going to be, you know, thank you guys and we're going to be using this
00:01:40 --> 00:01:41 to the best of our ability here.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:46 But Chris, you actually backed it, didn't you? Yeah, because I'd gotten first
00:01:46 --> 00:01:51 edition a couple years before, and me and my group on one list,
00:01:51 --> 00:01:56 I, had dabbled with it a little bit.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 We never really got a campaign off the ground, but that was mostly due to like
00:01:59 --> 00:02:00 scheduling situations.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 But I, I had it in my mind and like a couple of my other players,
00:02:04 --> 00:02:08 like we're, we're interested in like the faction, the, the, the faction aspect
00:02:08 --> 00:02:12 of, uh, of urban shadows, as opposed to, and as opposed to like monster of the
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 week, where it's just like, you're just monster hunter group.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:19 And so with that, with urban shadows, it had an extra level of complexity with
00:02:19 --> 00:02:24 like a political situation or like, uh, having to like kind of negotiate across
00:02:24 --> 00:02:25 different, different groups.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 And then so when when urban shadows second edition popped
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 up on my kickstarter notifications i was like uh
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 yes let's see how they improve upon
00:02:34 --> 00:02:39 the first one i copy pasted the link when i found it to him like yeah i already
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 backed it i was like we're son of a gun like i'm just i'm late to the party
00:02:42 --> 00:02:50 just like oh you you're cute now i i say beforehand i'm kind of just let you
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 guys know and I'm coming into this game with.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:59 I think my first exposure really to the urban fantasy type of genre,
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 and I'm not even counting shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and stuff like
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 that, is I used to read the kiddie books by I think Laura K.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:11 Vaughn or something like that about a radio DJ who was bitten by a werewolf
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 for like an ex-boyfriend or something like that.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:18 And then she just encounters all kinds of supernatural stuff and a lot of these
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 power struggles. What was your
00:03:20 --> 00:03:24 all's first encounter or most memorable encounter with the genre itself?
00:03:25 --> 00:03:29 It would probably, I mean, so Dresden Files, obviously the TV,
00:03:29 --> 00:03:35 ironically enough, the TV show adaptation of the Dresden Files novels was my, was one of mine.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:39 But also, there was a Canadian show up here called Blood Ties,
00:03:39 --> 00:03:44 which was also based off of a novel series involving a detective and a vampire
00:03:44 --> 00:03:53 who go around Toronto trying to solve supernaturally influenced crime scenes and stuff like that,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:57 while also having to negotiate the supernatural world of Toronto.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 Know and then like stuff like again true
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 blood and i guess yeah buffy
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 the vampire slayer that kind of stuff it's it's
00:04:06 --> 00:04:10 kind of like always i have a feeling i feel like i've always
00:04:10 --> 00:04:14 kind of had like that kind of stuff in my life in terms of like media like i
00:04:14 --> 00:04:18 i do remember watching a bunch of other shows like when i was even younger involving
00:04:18 --> 00:04:23 like supernatural creatures and like and factions that were buying over a city
00:04:23 --> 00:04:27 so what about yourself jeremy for me it was definitely.
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 Heavily dresden files influenced i had an
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 old roommate that got me hooked on to him and i'm
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 all the way caught up now and then you ended up getting stuff
00:04:37 --> 00:04:43 like like you guys mentioned buffy the vampire slayer angel kindred the embraced
00:04:43 --> 00:04:47 for us old heads that was one of them yeah that yeah i remember that one too
00:04:47 --> 00:04:53 but yeah and just a lot of that like i've always really been a big fan of like
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 i i enjoy medieval fantasy but i,
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 i find it more relatable whenever i can think about what if
00:04:58 --> 00:05:02 i was in this situation in a low in a normal day
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 and age and it's it's really neat when you think about
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 it that way yeah hell freaking uh sorry not
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 to cut you that's a usurp again no you're
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 good but like hell like some of the earliest games that unfortunately
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 our recordings were crap so i i don't
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 i don't have like all of them to like be able
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 to post and stuff that but like some of our earliest like so my earliest
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 gming was of a a setting
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 where a paranormal investigation crew was
00:05:28 --> 00:05:32 like going through and having to deal with like different supernatural factions
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 and like solving supernatural like crime like murders and crimes and stuff like
00:05:36 --> 00:05:41 that so yeah yeah it's always urban urban fantasy is all modern urban fantasy
00:05:41 --> 00:05:46 is also always like interested me like in terms of like being relatable, like Jeremy said.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:52 It got me thinking, I actually met the author, Carrie Vaughn.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 That's her name, Carrie Vaughn. I met Carrie Vaughn, the kiddie author.
00:05:55 --> 00:05:59 And I went up there with one of my best friends that I've been friends with since like 1990.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:05 And we were going up there and she spoke to my friend, autographed her book.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 And I picked up the new book and I wanted it made out to my wife.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 She started to write my friend's name. I was like, no, that's not my wife's
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 name. She just looked at me like a tear in the headlights.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 What have I got in the middle of?
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 It was interesting. So I want to go ahead and jump right into this.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:26 Now, with throw-ups, I like to go over and read a little bit from the book.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 I refer to it as a hymnal, like we're doing church here.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 And we'll kind of go through it step by step. Now, with this being a game that's
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 based off Powered by the Apocalypse, character creation, there's playbooks,
00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 and they're going to go pretty quick.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:42 But with this throw-up, we were going to focus a little bit on the city and
00:06:42 --> 00:06:47 city creation as well. And we're just kind of mudding through it. And full disclosure...
00:06:48 --> 00:06:52 We sat down an hour ago to get started on this, and everybody got so excited
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 about the content in this book that it took me 45 minutes to wrangle these guys
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 in to have a structured conversation.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:05 So, using the PDF here, starting on page 11, I just want to kind of go for the
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 introduction, and we'll go from there.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:11 Like any urban fantasy story, Urban Shadows tells the tale of individuals who
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 have crossed the line between the mundane and the supernatural world.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:19 Living together in a metropolis filled with opportunity and danger alike,
00:07:19 --> 00:07:23 the politics of these supernatural communities is a secret heartbeat underlying
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 the truth of the city's real identity.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:32 The city itself is divided into four circles or factions, broad communities
00:07:32 --> 00:07:36 that reflect realities in the supernatural community.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:41 There's a mortalis, night, power, and wild, and we'll go more into those in a moment.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:47 Yeah, on page 18, we'll go into that. For example, night is a community for
00:07:47 --> 00:07:51 those that were once humans, so vampires, werewolves, ghosts,
00:07:51 --> 00:07:56 who now seek to control the city streets, obsessed with their own hungers and needs.
00:07:56 --> 00:08:00 As you start to play, you and your fellow players create individual characters,
00:08:00 --> 00:08:05 player characters, who are protagonists in the story you tell together,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:11 members of those very circles who must navigate the intricate web of debt and
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 status, which is interesting, and we'll go into that too.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:20 It's a different mechanic than I'm used to, to get what they need from the city and each other.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:24 You aren't necessarily friends, but you aren't hateful enemies either.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:29 Your characters know each other, but they have a history that informs how they
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 think about the relationships.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:35 Now, here's going on to my one of my favorite parts of this. Individuals.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:42 Sessions in your game or episodes play out like episodes of a television show with the MC,
00:08:42 --> 00:08:46 which would be the game master, help structure the story and cut back and forth
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 between your characters and
00:08:48 --> 00:08:52 sometimes showcasing the group and sometimes focusing on the character.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:56 Now I'm going to stop right there because I'm kind of going into what basically
00:08:56 --> 00:09:03 an RPG is, but I do like the metaphor of think of this game as a television show.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:08 So kind of going back to what you guys were talking about with the Dressed and
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 Files TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and all of that.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 I mean, it's heavily building upon that.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:20 So I think that's pretty much all I was going to say there. So we're dealing with this.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 This is a beautiful book, by the way, as I kind of scrub through it.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:28 Any of you guys have anything to add on that that I can add? No.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:32 Again, as somebody who, again, played the first, well,
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 read the first edition and read bits of the first edition for like a
00:09:35 --> 00:09:39 games and stuff of that and then like getting the second edition like it's it's
00:09:39 --> 00:09:43 such a glow up like and not not to throw shit i'm not throwing shade at all
00:09:43 --> 00:09:47 on on the first edition like the first edition is is great because it's like
00:09:47 --> 00:09:53 a hand it's very handheld it's the illustration is is great the layouts are are on par with the
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 same kind of books as monster of the week and and what
00:09:57 --> 00:10:02 have you from like evil hat productions it's just like the second edition is
00:10:02 --> 00:10:08 a hardcover book it's about the size of like a dnd or like a close phase play
00:10:08 --> 00:10:13 like playbook they've got a huge they've got they've got this color theme throughout
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 it of this like black and purples.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 It's it's very much like like
00:10:20 --> 00:10:24 the layout job is like chef's kiss i do
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 have one slight issue but this is
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 a pet peeve i have with other books not just this one i
00:10:30 --> 00:10:34 really do wish all of the pages had
00:10:34 --> 00:10:38 the had the page numbers on the corner even when an image is over to it would
00:10:38 --> 00:10:43 go over top of it like it's not that hard i'm a graphic designer by trade it's
00:10:43 --> 00:10:51 not that hard to to push the number of the number box over another layer and
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 make that white if you need to,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:57 or like change the color slightly, change it from black to white to like make it, uh,
00:10:57 --> 00:11:01 make it stand out because it just like in terms of when you're like going through
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 a paper through a book and like you're going to like trying to find a page number,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:08 it can sometimes be hard if you can't find a page number on the page,
00:11:08 --> 00:11:14 but that's not this book's centric situation. That's just a pet peeve. Yeah.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:20 I like this. We're basically making a dysfunctional family of supernatural stuff.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:25 And one of the really nice things that the book does on page 12 here is it's
00:11:25 --> 00:11:32 got a section about race, gender, and queerness and diversity in play.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:38 So the book gives us kind of a critique of the typical kind of stuff we've seen
00:11:38 --> 00:11:44 beforehand that are kind of dark and edgy or have like monstrous desires and stuff.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:48 So you have the typical narratives that we've kind of seen before in the past
00:11:48 --> 00:11:53 is girl hunter falls for good vampire boy, i.e., you know, Buffy,
00:11:53 --> 00:11:58 a wizard finds a family among friends, werewolf tames his inner beast through
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 love, good triumphs over evil.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:05 And the book really just kind of goes out to say that all these stories are
00:12:05 --> 00:12:11 predominantly about straight, cis, heterosexual, monogamous white people. That this is.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:16 What we're going up against and there's with the real culture that exists in the world i think.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:21 The the the the point of this is like i think like it's to kind of like show that like it's
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 like these stories aren't just for like
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 in like white cis males or what have you
00:12:27 --> 00:12:31 it's for like there's a lot more storytelling potential
00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 even when you when you dig a little bit deeper than just like a surface level
00:12:34 --> 00:12:38 of this of this medium because like you said like a lot of it is just like a
00:12:38 --> 00:12:43 lot of it focuses on like that that one specific type of like person and so
00:12:43 --> 00:12:47 that but there are like there are other stories to tell and like yeah there
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 are other people that live in a city.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:56 And and often like they're like sometimes like they they're in like these areas that would be,
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 possibly right for like this kind of this kind of narrative the
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 book you know specifically mentions like queer activists outlaw graffiti
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 artists feminists have ever raised creed and culture immigrants
00:13:06 --> 00:13:11 weirdo dreamers the difference and it's
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 kind of cool that if you think about it that the story
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 is about the city that we're going to be picking in i mean we're playing characters and
00:13:17 --> 00:13:21 there's individual spotlights but this is we're telling the story of the city
00:13:21 --> 00:13:28 and it fits more than you know heterosex a hetero cisgendered white people and
00:13:28 --> 00:13:32 you know that's really cool with this like we're not just making it like you
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 said like we're not just making our characters for this.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:39 We're also making a city a character because again, like the city,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 like you said, the city, the setting is just as much a character as like our
00:13:42 --> 00:13:46 actual like characters that we're going to be playing in this city. Yeah.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:53 So, I think the next thing that kind of jumps into, in the book,
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 is it talks about the city of shadows, in a section called City of Shadows,
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 which I can't tell you what page it is.
00:13:57 --> 00:14:02 Well, PDF, it's on page 16, which is a beautiful artwork, I've got to say again.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:07 It goes into the city, yeah, from page 18, and it goes into the circle.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:13 So, we kind of mentioned this beforehand, the mortalis, the night,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 the power, and the wild. So I don't know if there's anything.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:23 So the circles are basically like the, they're the factions that the different
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 play, the different characters can play in, but they're also kind of,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:30 they also kind of represent like the nature of those characters and those factions.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 Like the mortalists are the humans that kind of, who have crossed the boundary
00:14:34 --> 00:14:38 from the mundane to the supernatural. And now like want to seek like to kind
00:14:38 --> 00:14:41 of like protect humanity or steal the power for themselves.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 Like, like monster hunters, artifact dealers those
00:14:45 --> 00:14:49 kind of people are like faith healers those kind of people are mortalis like
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 they're regular people with with slight with with a with a
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 a dip in the in the ocean
00:14:54 --> 00:14:57 of of the supernatural the night
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 are the people that are would be considered like creatures
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03 of darkness like vampires werewolves ghosts
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 and then like criminal organizations even that are
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 like that deal that meddle in like the supernatural the power
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 circle is individuals who
00:15:12 --> 00:15:16 have gained supernatural power or gifts through training blessing or curses
00:15:16 --> 00:15:22 so like wizards oracles immortal beings like immortals like i guess like like
00:15:22 --> 00:15:27 demigods and such like those kind of those kind of kind of folks are like fit
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 under the power structure like they're basically the authority group yeah.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:35 And then there's the wild, which are the alien and the outsider type groups,
00:15:35 --> 00:15:40 like the fey, the constructs like golems or Frankenstein's monster kind of stuff,
00:15:40 --> 00:15:45 or even like demons and aliens kind of would fit under that kind of situation.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:48 You know, and each one of these factions got about two different pages on it.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:53 And as I was kind of going through this here, like members of Mortalis,
00:15:53 --> 00:15:57 anyone who manages to live on both sides of the border between the supernatural
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 and the mundane can join the Mortalis.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:03 But they're probably made up of investigators, defenders and traffickers.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:07 And they give sample characters, a type.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:12 So there's a dark web blogger, the vigilante demon hunter, the retired wizard.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:19 The excommunicated Oracle. And then there's the factions that they offer our first suggestions on.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:26 So a society of magical artifact dealers, a hunter's club or a gathering of ghosts with night.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:31 You've got vampires, werewolves and ghosts, you know, craven vampire,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:35 reluctant werewolf, frazzled ghost, enthralled hunter.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:40 So, you know, that's an interesting one. Yeah. It's like a Renfield hunter kind of thing.
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 It is kind of interesting. I just want to point out, like it is kind of interesting, like under the,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:47 the sample factions for the mortalist faction there's a gathering of ghosts
00:16:47 --> 00:16:52 uh healing the sick and aiding the poor in an attempt to fulfill a religious
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 obligation from their mortal life so it's not even like the circles aren't even
00:16:55 --> 00:16:59 just like oh like you have to be a human from.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02 That's their toes in like you can also like even
00:17:02 --> 00:17:05 if you're just like dealing with like human like you're
00:17:05 --> 00:17:08 using your supernatural powers for to help
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 humanity or like to help the human element of your city like
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 that's also what would give you points into the
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 mortalis circle because that's kind of at the end of the
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 day i think that's like the mechanics for the circles is basically like sort of a
00:17:19 --> 00:17:22 reputation currency similar to
00:17:22 --> 00:17:25 eclipse phase i guess like reputation is your is how you
00:17:25 --> 00:17:28 get get things done i think the the
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 circles also have like a sort of a currency to them where like
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 you have status in certain circles and you can use that to your
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 advantage or have that used as a disadvantage
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 towards you in certain situations depending on
00:17:39 --> 00:17:43 which which circle you're butting against so
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 yeah and then like with the uh power
00:17:46 --> 00:17:52 i mean there's wizards and oracles immortals and loyalists which are power factions
00:17:52 --> 00:17:56 that are deeply stratified mostly the city circle members are made up of deputies
00:17:56 --> 00:18:01 and ministers all operating on behalf of ruling elite so even the power doesn't
00:18:01 --> 00:18:04 necessarily need you could be political power yeah,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:08 And the wild, it was kind of cool. They're, you know, fairies,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:12 demons, and constructs. So I could be a two-pole. Yay! Yeah.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 And like, yeah, like you, that, at that point with the factions,
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 like the sample factions, like you're dealing with like the,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:21 the Sealy or the unsealy fairy courts, stuff like that. Yeah.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:25 And of course, you know, Harry Dress and being a knight kind of stuff from those
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 books. But there's, they also mentioned like you could play as a devoted werewolf.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 Yeah. That is an emissary at the, the fairy court.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 And it's just i love
00:18:35 --> 00:18:38 how there's not a very black and
00:18:38 --> 00:18:41 white static what even if i pick a vampire
00:18:41 --> 00:18:47 maybe i could go upon the trope of the vampire who's denying his own urges and
00:18:47 --> 00:18:52 trying to help people out like angel or whatnot even though i just referenced
00:18:52 --> 00:18:57 one of the problematic kind of depictions yeah but yeah but yeah it's it's it's
00:18:57 --> 00:19:00 yeah it's it's gray areas it's not just like you you're not like,
00:19:00 --> 00:19:03 Oh, you're a vampire. So you have to like focus on like the night.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:06 No, you can be like, again, like you'd be an angel character,
00:19:06 --> 00:19:10 like the angel character, who's like, kind of like trying to help the little guys.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:15 Or you could be, you know, vegetarian vampires who only go up into the mountains
00:19:15 --> 00:19:19 and deer play baseball and play baseball.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:22 Yeah. They have, they have, okay. We need a little league.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:29 Yes, we do. First time I think about that scene, I have Musa Supernova Black
00:19:29 --> 00:19:32 Holes just playing through my brain right now. So it's on repeat.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 I'll be in a nursing home. Won't know my name, but I'll know that song.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:40 Sometimes you got to do what you got to do. So guys, I guess without much more
00:19:40 --> 00:19:46 fanfare, let's go ahead and jump into character creation. And then we can kind of flesh out our city.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:54 Now, I know you guys, I've been kind of not going with picking a class so far.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:58 I just kind of want to see what everybody else is. so looking at the playbooks
00:19:58 --> 00:20:03 what are you all thinking well I actually when we were getting this started
00:20:03 --> 00:20:07 I actually just like I remembered something that I wanted to tackle or I remembered
00:20:07 --> 00:20:13 an idea for a character involving the specter playbook which is where I'd be playing as a ghost and,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:18 So I'm going to introduce you guys to Bobby Bramwell Dawson.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:23 Yeah. So he like, that's, that's, I've got a name. And the reason I chose that
00:20:23 --> 00:20:26 name is because there is a,
00:20:26 --> 00:20:29 I think it's like, I think it's more of like an urban legend near me,
00:20:29 --> 00:20:33 but there's, there's an urban legend of like this, this girl in like the turn
00:20:33 --> 00:20:36 of the century or so who was orphaned.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:41 And she was brought in by, like taken in by this, by this philanthropist kind of person.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 And she got really sick and when she was getting really
00:20:45 --> 00:20:48 sick she started there started developing or
00:20:48 --> 00:20:51 like started like happening like almost like fire starter
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 like sort of phenomena around
00:20:54 --> 00:20:57 her as she was sick now she did
00:20:57 --> 00:21:01 eventually recover and when she recovered the the fire phenomena around
00:21:01 --> 00:21:05 the house and around like her the property started going away but
00:21:05 --> 00:21:09 i like the idea that like maybe like one of her descendants like it
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 maybe that maybe that inner fire or that that strange
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 like power that was in her or whatever was like
00:21:15 --> 00:21:19 like kind of got passed down over the generations and then my character like
00:21:19 --> 00:21:23 bobby when he got killed he kind of took like that that's kind of how his like
00:21:23 --> 00:21:29 manifestations happened was like as like a fire spirit so okay yeah so that's
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 why i chose the specter because i was i was having a hard time like trying to
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 find like all right well I choose a playbook,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:39 but I got to know why I want to use this playbook narratively.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 Yeah, I got you.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:45 Well, I was going to play the Ghost of Elvis Presley, but you don't fuck that
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 up. So thank you, Bruce. I'm sorry.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:52 It's okay. It's all good. Jeremy, what are you thinking off the top of your head?
00:21:52 --> 00:22:01 I mean, it's not as cool as the Ghost of Elvis Presley or Bruce Campbell in Bubba Hotep. Mm-hmm.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:08 Now, I went with the tainted. I came up with a backstory of this guy as a descendant
00:22:08 --> 00:22:13 of Robert Johnson, who famously in pop culture sold his soul to the devil to
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 learn how to play guitar.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:22 And now his family bloodline is tainted and cursed to where,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:26 like, every so often one of the children is born without a soul.
00:22:26 --> 00:22:32 It's a bloodline curse based on that. and his name is Baron Johnson based on Baron Samity.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:40 Nice. That's cool. I love how both of us have a hereditary situation.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:49 Well, I'm Krog and I'm made of rocks. So you're the fey or the construct.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 Oh my god, I could totally do that.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:59 I've always been I've had a the story of humanity struggle through all this kind of stuff here.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:04 So I was kind of in the beginning torn between the hunter and the aware,
00:23:05 --> 00:23:08 or maybe even the sworn, but I think I'm going to go with the aware.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:15 So I'm going to just be your average Joe. I kind of like that play through here.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:26 I'm nothing too special. So I would say that I am, you know,
00:23:26 --> 00:23:29 name-wise, I'm just going to give it just a normal name.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:33 So it does, the book does offer names, by the way. So I'm kind of,
00:23:34 --> 00:23:38 or the playbooks. So, you know, obviously you can go off of it.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:42 There's several I can choose from here. I like
00:23:42 --> 00:23:46 Hans I will be Hans
00:23:46 --> 00:23:49 Ritter so a nice strong German name and
00:23:49 --> 00:23:57 I am a recent curator at the local community arts center nothing fancy I just
00:23:57 --> 00:24:05 figured out that ghosts exist and the supernatural so without much fanfare that's
00:24:05 --> 00:24:09 my normal man he works at the arts center and we'll kind of get into his backstory.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:16 Now, going with this, I did scour, well, I scoured it, and then Crazon,
00:24:16 --> 00:24:18 Chris, Review Cult is a man of many names,
00:24:19 --> 00:24:22 went ahead and found this form-fillable kind of character sheet.
00:24:23 --> 00:24:26 As of current date, I didn't see anything from Magpie Games,
00:24:26 --> 00:24:34 but we did find something from a Reddit post from back four years ago for Urban
00:24:34 --> 00:24:39 Saddle 2nd Edition digital character sheet, and it was created by a user something
00:24:39 --> 00:24:41 submersive. So thank you.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:47 So we're going to be basically using a Google Sheet to create these characters up here for you.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:53 Please, Magpie, please make us a form fillable PDF. It's 2025.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:57 Yeah, like, we know you know your audience.
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 Like, there's a lot of online players.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:08 Like, form fillable is, I feel like, not a necessary thing, but,
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 like, definitely something that
00:25:10 --> 00:25:14 should be happening more and more as time goes on in this day and age.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:20 And also if you would please so kind Roll20 support and or Foundry.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 Foundry support. Some kind of VTT.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 Foundry would be ideal.
00:25:25 --> 00:25:29 Roll20 would be an acceptable substitute. Why don't you all look at your playbooks
00:25:29 --> 00:25:34 real quick and let's just kind of go with as many as we want. So I'm Hans Ritter.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:40 I'm your wearer. So we're going to go ahead and pick out our look demeanor and
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 you don't have to stick to it and we're going to go with the starting stats.
00:25:43 --> 00:25:50 So we have stats of blood, heart, mind, and spirit that we're going to be kind of filling in on that.
00:25:51 --> 00:25:56 Chris, do you recall what each one does? I mean, for the most part.
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 So yeah, blood is a measure of your character's toughness, instincts.
00:25:59 --> 00:26:02 It's basically your physical attributes, your physical abilities.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:08 It tells us how quickly your character acts in dangerous situations and like resorting to violence.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:12 Heart is the sum of your character's passion, your charm and charisma.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:19 It tells how proficient your character is at getting what they want in negotiations and such.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:22 Mind is a reflection of the character's intellect, trickery, and perception.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:27 It tells us how observant your
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30 character is and how good they are at manipulating others through deceit.
00:26:30 --> 00:26:34 And then spirit is your level of character's magical aptitude and their inner
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 strength and willpower.
00:26:35 --> 00:26:40 And how well they act under pressure and how potent their supernatural abilities actually are.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:48 So that's directly pulled from the book page 62. Hans Ritter was I think a character off Die Hard.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:53 Well, I appreciate you looking that up. Look-wise, I kind of wanted somebody
00:26:53 --> 00:27:00 who looked conforming, and he's one of those sweater-vest-wearing kind of guys, I guess.
00:27:01 --> 00:27:06 And Demeanor, somebody who's composed. What about yourselves?
00:27:06 --> 00:27:09 What do you all look at as you look at the options available?
00:27:09 --> 00:27:12 I was thinking for Demeanor, volatile. probably like
00:27:12 --> 00:27:16 a little bit more like like very very
00:27:16 --> 00:27:20 quick to action but like but yeah
00:27:20 --> 00:27:22 like definitely definitely volatile to given like the sort of
00:27:22 --> 00:27:26 like burning fire within them kind of thing as a
00:27:26 --> 00:27:29 demeanor in terms of like a look probably go
00:27:29 --> 00:27:32 with like a shifting it's he's
00:27:32 --> 00:27:36 gonna be white and uh i'm
00:27:36 --> 00:27:39 i'm thinking bloodstained clothing because i know how he dies so
00:27:39 --> 00:27:43 i'm thinking he was actually murdered but
00:27:43 --> 00:27:46 like not in like a premeditated way just sort of like he was
00:27:46 --> 00:27:50 walking in the park down by the lake or something like that and
00:27:50 --> 00:27:54 and he was somebody he just he just bumped into the wrong person at the wrong
00:27:54 --> 00:28:00 time and got stabbed uh and and didn't make it can i go back and modify what
00:28:00 --> 00:28:08 i said my character's name sure i think i'd rather it be hans jimenez so he's latin he's latinx yeah,
00:28:09 --> 00:28:15 So, with a little German ancestry. So, yeah, that's cool. I like the bloodstained
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 part. That's always great.
00:28:17 --> 00:28:21 And don't forget to put your stats in. Mine, like, when you pick this,
00:28:21 --> 00:28:25 there's not... They do have starting character stats.
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 And then you can add one to one of these, or to one of them,
00:28:28 --> 00:28:33 so... By default, mine's going to be blood zero, heart one, spirit minus one,
00:28:34 --> 00:28:39 or mind minus one, and spirit one. And I think I'll add my plus one to blood.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:45 So at least I can maybe, you know, hold my own for a little bit. Who knows what?
00:28:46 --> 00:28:51 But I'm thinking for, sorry. No, I was going to say, as far as the starting
00:28:51 --> 00:28:57 circles go, I'm one for mortalis and then zero for everything else.
00:28:58 --> 00:29:02 I'm thinking I'm probably going to be for starting stats.
00:29:02 --> 00:29:05 So the stirring stats are blood one heart
00:29:05 --> 00:29:08 zero mind minus one and spirit one i'm
00:29:08 --> 00:29:11 gonna actually bump up my spirit to two because again of like
00:29:11 --> 00:29:15 the supernatural potential also a
00:29:15 --> 00:29:18 ghost so and then for stirring circles
00:29:18 --> 00:29:21 i'm yeah mortalis zero knight one power one
00:29:21 --> 00:29:24 and what wild minus one and i kind of
00:29:24 --> 00:29:27 like that it's wild minus one because like i think that might be like maybe that
00:29:27 --> 00:29:30 has something to do with like his death like maybe the person
00:29:30 --> 00:29:33 that that stabbed him was like under the influence of
00:29:33 --> 00:29:37 something from the the wild faction that he's
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 come to discover and i'm probably gonna bump up
00:29:39 --> 00:29:42 my my knight to two as well just given
00:29:42 --> 00:29:45 that like i am a i am a creature of
00:29:45 --> 00:29:49 the night oh somebody
00:29:49 --> 00:29:53 should should make a half half horse half man which has
00:29:53 --> 00:29:56 all of which snaps the man yeah uh you guys
00:29:56 --> 00:29:59 haven't heard that that that tiktok uh trending uh
00:29:59 --> 00:30:02 song that somebody did like this year it's like because i'm
00:30:02 --> 00:30:08 a half horse half man i can't say that i have basically yeah basically it's
00:30:08 --> 00:30:11 like like a centaur and it but but the beginning of the song is like because
00:30:11 --> 00:30:17 i'm a creature of the night before they reveal that he's actually a half horse
00:30:17 --> 00:30:21 half man not a vampire i want to be a dissent are a very contrary man horse.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:26 A dissent oh god that's that sounds like a horse like
00:30:26 --> 00:30:32 scenario but yeah that's back to this game uh yeah that's that's what i've got
00:30:32 --> 00:30:36 with status and my oh i guess oh and then there's starting status so yeah so
00:30:36 --> 00:30:41 i mine's mortalis power and wild is all zero and then i have knight is one so
00:30:41 --> 00:30:45 yeah so it's it's i love i love how streamlined this is,
00:30:46 --> 00:30:53 So, Jeremy, how about yourself? So for my look, I went for conforming,
00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 expensive clothes, and he's black.
00:30:55 --> 00:31:00 For demeanor, he's detached because he was essentially born without a soul.
00:31:01 --> 00:31:08 For my stats, I went with blood one. I bumped my heart from one to two because he's a dealmaker.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:13 He's got a negative one in mind. He's got a zero in spirit.
00:31:14 --> 00:31:21 And for his circles, he has plus one in Mortalis. I bumped my knight from a negative one to a zero.
00:31:21 --> 00:31:26 I got power at zero and wild at one.
00:31:26 --> 00:31:29 And for my statuses, it's zeros across the board except for wild,
00:31:29 --> 00:31:31 which is one. Sounds good.
00:31:33 --> 00:31:38 I think we're going to go into the intro question, Sal. Well,
00:31:39 --> 00:31:44 I'll be the first here, and just for some we're not bouncing between each other,
00:31:44 --> 00:31:46 I'm just going to kind of roll through these all together.
00:31:46 --> 00:31:51 And there's a notes section down on the bottom part of the document.
00:31:51 --> 00:31:54 I'll just kind of put some things in there, I guess.
00:31:54 --> 00:31:58 So how did you discover the supernatural?
00:31:58 --> 00:32:07 I would say that my grandmother, Abuela, I think I'm saying that correctly, was a seer of sorts.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:12 And within the community, and I'm kind of, by proxy, she tried to shield me
00:32:12 --> 00:32:18 from all this stuff, but due to her interactions with certain people, I became aware of it.
00:32:19 --> 00:32:23 How long have you been in the city? I have been here since birth.
00:32:24 --> 00:32:28 What I'm kind of thinking is, and now this may be a bit too much,
00:32:28 --> 00:32:30 and I'm going a little further above it.
00:32:31 --> 00:32:40 But the art center that I work at is actually an old church that has been sanctified.
00:32:41 --> 00:32:49 So to kind of keep up the, I guess, holy elements that sanctifies buildings, I'm assuming.
00:32:49 --> 00:32:52 I'm kind of borrowing from Mike Dresden in this thing right here.
00:32:52 --> 00:32:55 That's where we have the arts, for the community.
00:32:55 --> 00:33:01 There probably is a preacher that comes in and does a Catholic service for a
00:33:01 --> 00:33:03 small, more like the homeless.
00:33:04 --> 00:33:11 It's not a typical kind of church on Sundays and all that, but so I'm kind of the organizer for that.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:16 What mortal commitment keeps you from leaving your our old life behind.
00:33:17 --> 00:33:20 For some people, the art center, despite the fact that it's,
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23 I mean, there's portraits and galleries and we do things in the community.
00:33:24 --> 00:33:31 This is the only place for some people who don't really fit into a lot of the
00:33:31 --> 00:33:36 circles, so to speak. There may be some people that are aware.
00:33:36 --> 00:33:41 There may be some people who have suffered at the hands of maybe,
00:33:41 --> 00:33:46 say, Knight or the power structure that kind of works within the city.
00:33:46 --> 00:33:52 So I don't leave this because for some people, I'm the only hope that they have.
00:33:53 --> 00:34:01 What mortal aspirations have you given up? College, career, white picket fence, 2.5 children.
00:34:01 --> 00:34:09 What powerful faction or person are you currently investigating i think night
00:34:09 --> 00:34:14 would be a pretty good one there's been people from the local homeless shelter
00:34:14 --> 00:34:16 that have been disappeared.
00:34:16 --> 00:34:24 Sometimes they come back but to quote predator much much worse so yeah so that's
00:34:24 --> 00:34:26 kind of me in a nutshell now i'm gonna have to remember all this and type it
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 up while you guys take over,
00:34:28 --> 00:34:31 so for the intro questions what memories do you still
00:34:31 --> 00:34:34 hold of your death so i'm going to say that on top
00:34:34 --> 00:34:37 of being stabbed several times in in the park what
00:34:37 --> 00:34:42 caught what memory i have that still i still hold is the
00:34:42 --> 00:34:47 uh the person's eyes they were they weren't they weren't human eyes when they
00:34:47 --> 00:34:50 when they came at me like not saying that like they oh it was like somebody
00:34:50 --> 00:34:54 in disguise but like it might have even been like yeah he was human but or he
00:34:54 --> 00:34:57 but he was like maybe under the influence of something and like or something
00:34:57 --> 00:35:01 was like and that influence was shown through his eyes so so,
00:35:02 --> 00:35:05 that's maybe like i'm trying to think of like what maybe that was
00:35:05 --> 00:35:07 like i don't like maybe it was like that like they were at like an
00:35:07 --> 00:35:10 animal's eyes or maybe they were like just completely mirrored like
00:35:10 --> 00:35:15 almost like a like a like not black orbs but like they were like a almost like
00:35:15 --> 00:35:22 a like a like silver mirror kind of eyes yeah and then how long have i been
00:35:22 --> 00:35:24 in the city i'm kind of interested about that question is like is that like
00:35:24 --> 00:35:29 as a ghost or like or like the whole time Like, I feel like maybe my character was like,
00:35:30 --> 00:35:34 they, they've lived in the city beforehand, but as a ghost, they've been in
00:35:34 --> 00:35:36 the city for like, maybe like two summers.
00:35:36 --> 00:35:39 Like, cause I like to think that like, maybe they died in like a summer,
00:35:39 --> 00:35:42 like just while they were walking down through, walking through the park.
00:35:43 --> 00:35:46 So yeah, they, they've been a ghost for about two summers now.
00:35:46 --> 00:35:52 And then what looks after you or who looks after you when your trauma overwhelms you?
00:35:52 --> 00:35:55 This one i'm i guess i gotta figure out
00:35:55 --> 00:35:59 a like who like who helps me out with this i was honestly thinking either a
00:35:59 --> 00:36:03 vampire some kind of because my character is like has a big influence into like
00:36:03 --> 00:36:07 the night fat into like a night circle so like maybe maybe not a vampire but
00:36:07 --> 00:36:11 like maybe there's somebody like a like a thrall to a vampire or something like
00:36:11 --> 00:36:14 that that can also see ghosts,
00:36:15 --> 00:36:18 so like they're they they've been like they've i've sort
00:36:18 --> 00:36:21 of befriended them as i've been trying to kind of navigate this the
00:36:21 --> 00:36:28 the city's kind of secret or kind of hidden dark side i i don't know who that
00:36:28 --> 00:36:32 would be perhaps like maybe like an old college friend that i found out like
00:36:32 --> 00:36:38 it was actually like has actually been got caught up in this stuff as well so i think i'll go with that,
00:36:40 --> 00:36:43 And then there is what place in the city still makes you feel alive.
00:36:44 --> 00:36:46 I like to think that my character, like that kind of place would be like the
00:36:46 --> 00:36:50 mall, like one of the older malls in town that like just walking around it and
00:36:50 --> 00:36:53 like visiting places that he used to visit in his youth,
00:36:54 --> 00:36:57 like the, the food courts or even like the, the hawk shops and,
00:36:57 --> 00:36:59 and like video game store.
00:37:00 --> 00:37:04 And which of your anchors has the most has most recently been threatened.
00:37:05 --> 00:37:07 So I have to choose four anchors.
00:37:08 --> 00:37:13 So i've got like a family member some of those i guess are oh witness to your
00:37:13 --> 00:37:16 death bound to you by chance of fate i kind of like that being like the,
00:37:17 --> 00:37:21 that anchor like that could be like the person that kind of brought me in because
00:37:21 --> 00:37:25 they saw they could see ghosts and saw me and then kind of introduced me to
00:37:25 --> 00:37:28 like maybe some vamp like the vampires and stuff like that and the other fat
00:37:28 --> 00:37:31 apart other members of the night circle and then.
00:37:32 --> 00:37:36 I don't know maybe a uh hmm uh
00:37:36 --> 00:37:39 maybe like my i'm thinking
00:37:39 --> 00:37:42 like probably uh my anchor is one
00:37:42 --> 00:37:46 of my anchors is a like a family member or who's
00:37:46 --> 00:37:49 not aware of my existence uh so like maybe like a sister or
00:37:49 --> 00:37:53 maybe like a younger brother character so jeremy
00:37:53 --> 00:37:56 what about yourself tell us about your character mr
00:37:56 --> 00:38:02 johnson for the intro questions they have why did you trade your soul away it
00:38:02 --> 00:38:06 really wasn't his choice it's a bloodline curse and he was just born without
00:38:06 --> 00:38:10 one how long have you been in the city what seems like forever as time is relative
00:38:10 --> 00:38:14 he just kind of drifts through and does his thing,
00:38:14 --> 00:38:19 Which fellow demonic agent do you loathe? There is another agent named Papa
00:38:19 --> 00:38:22 Legba that they are basically two sides of the same coin.
00:38:23 --> 00:38:28 And one, Legba tends to take things a little too far. And he tries to kind of
00:38:28 --> 00:38:30 be a little more reserved and cunning.
00:38:30 --> 00:38:34 How do you cope with your demonic dreams and hungers? It's basically all he's
00:38:34 --> 00:38:37 ever known. So he doesn't really know the difference.
00:38:37 --> 00:38:39 He doesn't understand why people think that's weird.
00:38:40 --> 00:38:44 And what do you desperately need? He has never really had a human connection
00:38:44 --> 00:38:48 because he never really had any type of soul to feed off of that.
00:38:48 --> 00:38:54 So he desperately tries to understand why everyone is so emotional about things
00:38:54 --> 00:38:56 whenever he just doesn't have the capacity.
00:38:56 --> 00:39:00 Mm-hmm. You looked at your starting gear yet? Not yet.
00:39:01 --> 00:39:07 I have a small apartment, a used car, a smartphone, and a self-defense weapon.
00:39:07 --> 00:39:11 And so I went ahead and took the 9mm Beretta, which is kind of expensive,
00:39:11 --> 00:39:12 but, you know, good for him.
00:39:13 --> 00:39:16 And I'll just go ahead and tell you my starting debt while I'm at it,
00:39:16 --> 00:39:18 too. So you get some options here.
00:39:18 --> 00:39:23 And the one that really stuck out to me is someone put, I thought my grandmother,
00:39:23 --> 00:39:24 but I want her to be passed away.
00:39:25 --> 00:39:28 Because, you know, you can say someone befriended you long before you discovered the supernatural.
00:39:29 --> 00:39:35 But I don't like debt with family. That was, this is more Hans Jimenez standing on his own two feet.
00:39:35 --> 00:39:39 And I have chosen someone who puts up with your questions about the supernatural.
00:39:40 --> 00:39:45 You owe them a debt. And I would say that there is a wizard of some sort or
00:39:45 --> 00:39:49 a magic practitioner who is helping me out.
00:39:49 --> 00:39:52 So I owe, I guess that would be power.
00:39:53 --> 00:39:58 Yeah, because I'm in Mortalis, I say someone of power, I owe them a debt.
00:39:58 --> 00:40:01 All right. And so you just choose one of those ones, the starting debts and
00:40:01 --> 00:40:07 stuff? Yeah, so I'm just going to put myself as a debt on the character sheet.
00:40:07 --> 00:40:10 It's owed to power. Yeah.
00:40:11 --> 00:40:15 And then, yeah, for starting gear for the, for the Spectre, whatever was on
00:40:15 --> 00:40:18 your person when you died, albeit a spiritual version.
00:40:18 --> 00:40:23 So I'm going to say like, he probably had like his, his, his phone,
00:40:23 --> 00:40:26 his cell phone, but it's, it's now a spirit phone.
00:40:28 --> 00:40:34 And then probably other than that, like a wallet with, with a photo in it of,
00:40:34 --> 00:40:39 of him and his brother, his, his younger brother, which is one of his anchors.
00:40:39 --> 00:40:43 And it just sort of like something he looks at every so often just to like kind of,
00:40:44 --> 00:40:49 feel something yeah i feel like keep that connect he keeps that connection close,
00:40:49 --> 00:40:54 because his brother can't see him so or he's not aware of that he's a ghost
00:40:54 --> 00:40:58 like he just knows that he died yeah and then yeah that's about it like basically
00:40:58 --> 00:40:59 for in terms of possessions,
00:41:01 --> 00:41:07 and then actually because i'm just like well the guy was just like walking down
00:41:07 --> 00:41:10 like like walking through the uh the parks it's like like yeah he'd have his
00:41:10 --> 00:41:14 phone he'd have his wallet would he have his keys and like could he like christine
00:41:14 --> 00:41:16 cars with with his ghost keys,
00:41:17 --> 00:41:20 be awesome i kind of like that yeah yeah he
00:41:20 --> 00:41:23 has he has a set he has a set of keys and they don't work for his phone his
00:41:23 --> 00:41:26 car anymore because he's a ghost but he can like
00:41:26 --> 00:41:29 plug he can put them into into other cars and basically yeah christine it
00:41:29 --> 00:41:33 up yeah and then starting
00:41:33 --> 00:41:38 debts so the ones i have as options someone or someone's progenitor was involved
00:41:38 --> 00:41:43 in your death they owe you a debt oh fuck that could just fucking be the again
00:41:43 --> 00:41:49 that could be the again the dude that stabbed me and or the or the fey or the
00:41:49 --> 00:41:52 the the fey creature that was was uh controlling that guy.
00:41:54 --> 00:41:58 There's someone is actively watching over me or hang on. Oh, someone is over.
00:41:58 --> 00:42:04 Someone is actively watching over one of my anchors. Ask them why they agreed
00:42:04 --> 00:42:07 to keep it, keep it safe. You owe them two debts.
00:42:07 --> 00:42:13 And then someone almost destroyed one of my anchors once, perhaps by accident or carelessness.
00:42:13 --> 00:42:16 Ask them what happened. They owe you two debts.
00:42:17 --> 00:42:21 I kind of like the first one just because it ties into like how my character died and such.
00:42:22 --> 00:42:25 Yeah. and i think it has to be like i think
00:42:25 --> 00:42:28 it's going to be the the progenitor like basically the guy that was fucking around with the
00:42:28 --> 00:42:32 the dude that like the the guy that killed me like wasn't actually
00:42:32 --> 00:42:35 like he was being controlled by something or some
00:42:35 --> 00:42:38 kind of nefarious purpose like so the the
00:42:38 --> 00:42:41 the idea i had for like him being stabbed is sort of like
00:42:41 --> 00:42:44 i'm kind of drawing from some real life inspiration here
00:42:44 --> 00:42:47 there was uh in one of the cities nearby there was
00:42:47 --> 00:42:50 a summer of stabs or a summer of stabbings
00:42:50 --> 00:42:56 where it was not very uh healthy to go to the lakeside park at night during
00:42:56 --> 00:43:00 the during that particular during a particular summer because there were just
00:43:00 --> 00:43:05 random stabbings like every weekend and i mean like every weekend like somebody
00:43:05 --> 00:43:07 and got into a tussle with with knives,
00:43:08 --> 00:43:12 so like maybe that for for this urban shadows thing like maybe that was like
00:43:12 --> 00:43:17 some kind of ploy from like a fey creature who was like just kind of trying
00:43:17 --> 00:43:22 to stir up mischief or trying to stir of violence hear me out yeah why can't
00:43:22 --> 00:43:24 you be the ghost from american werewolf in london.
00:43:27 --> 00:43:31 I just say i think the summer stabbings is fine but that's what i like you keep
00:43:31 --> 00:43:36 showing up at him at various states of decomposition as he goes more and more
00:43:36 --> 00:43:39 into his his uh nature or yeah,
00:43:40 --> 00:43:44 oh and like it does maybe like yeah like maybe like so yeah maybe it is the
00:43:44 --> 00:43:47 guy that i'm like that i'm uh that i'm like i've got a that,
00:43:48 --> 00:43:50 what is it oh they owe me a debt so like yeah maybe yeah
00:43:50 --> 00:43:53 i'm just i'm just haunting the dude that's that
00:43:53 --> 00:43:56 killed me a little bit like i i know where
00:43:56 --> 00:43:59 he is at all times in town and so i can just like go and visit
00:43:59 --> 00:44:05 him and like hey dude yeah still dead yeah i really really i know you were kind
00:44:05 --> 00:44:10 of in a shitty spot but like uh oh yeah maybe maybe he doesn't even know who
00:44:10 --> 00:44:15 like was brain fuckling him to do this stabbing so like but like i was like
00:44:15 --> 00:44:17 it's like i want my money man I want my money.
00:44:19 --> 00:44:24 So like on top of being like brain fucker, being like being manipulated by some outer force.
00:44:25 --> 00:44:29 He now has the ghost of a victim of the victim that he, he murdered,
00:44:30 --> 00:44:32 but he, he wasn't of his own right mind when he did it.
00:44:33 --> 00:44:36 So, so you're kind of like the fucked up buddy cop.
00:44:36 --> 00:44:41 Yeah, exactly. Like I, we're not friends, but like, but he owes me.
00:44:42 --> 00:44:43 Oh yeah. Passive aggressive. Yeah.
00:44:44 --> 00:44:48 Oh yeah. Yeah. I love it. I love that. It's like, yep. Hey, bud.
00:44:48 --> 00:44:50 Yep. Still dead. Thanks.
00:44:51 --> 00:44:54 It's like, like, like he didn't even like say, he doesn't even say anything.
00:44:54 --> 00:44:57 I just walked through his like apartment room or his apartment door and just
00:44:57 --> 00:44:59 like, hey, man, still dead. How's it going?
00:44:59 --> 00:45:04 Soft circles don't work on me. Tough. Yeah. I'll just, I'll just melt it away.
00:45:05 --> 00:45:06 Your connection is deep.
00:45:09 --> 00:45:12 Jeremy, how about yourself, buddy? Oh, for my starting debts.
00:45:13 --> 00:45:17 Mine are, the first one is you're protecting someone from a dark power,
00:45:17 --> 00:45:19 a rival, or enemy of your demonic patron.
00:45:19 --> 00:45:22 Your charge owes you a debt.
00:45:22 --> 00:45:26 I chose a guy named, I named him Nicholas Halliwell.
00:45:26 --> 00:45:32 He was someone that he went to go collect the soul of, and then he saw the life
00:45:32 --> 00:45:35 that the guy had carved out for himself after the deal was made.
00:45:36 --> 00:45:39 And he basically became envious because he doesn't understand it.
00:45:39 --> 00:45:43 So he's basically just keeping him around because he's studying him,
00:45:43 --> 00:45:45 trying to figure out what that's all about.
00:45:45 --> 00:45:49 You're nobody. Have you seen that movie? That's essentially what I,
00:45:49 --> 00:45:52 what I was basing that off of when I started looking at it.
00:45:52 --> 00:45:56 That's sweet. I like that. I was like, that son of a bitch had the life that
00:45:56 --> 00:45:58 I wanted. I am not a jealous man.
00:45:59 --> 00:46:03 But at that moment, but in that moment, that motherfucker.
00:46:03 --> 00:46:07 All right. Starting debts. Also, someone is trying to save you from damnation
00:46:07 --> 00:46:09 and keep, and keep suffering for you.
00:46:09 --> 00:46:12 Ask them why they care when no one else does. You owe them a debt.
00:46:13 --> 00:46:19 I put his brother, his brother became a pastor and he's trying to kind of break
00:46:19 --> 00:46:21 the curse and try and help him reform.
00:46:23 --> 00:46:28 And so the last one, you hurt or killed someone's good friend or an ally on
00:46:28 --> 00:46:30 your demonic patron's orders. You owe them a debt.
00:46:31 --> 00:46:34 He had a former partner that was just known as St.
00:46:34 --> 00:46:42 Peter, that his demonic patrons decided that he was getting a little too free with what he was doing.
00:46:43 --> 00:46:50 So his patrons ordered him to be executed, and he was the one to do it because they were close.
00:46:50 --> 00:46:55 I want to compliment you all for reading the instructions and inferring the
00:46:55 --> 00:46:59 correct thing, because I only picked one of those instead of addressing all
00:46:59 --> 00:47:03 three of them. So I'll go back and all that in a bit, but I really like what
00:47:03 --> 00:47:04 you've come up with here.
00:47:05 --> 00:47:09 Why don't you tell us for your starting gear, too? It's just about that. Oh, sorry about that.
00:47:10 --> 00:47:16 My starting gear is he has a house, a car, a cell phone, and a nine millimeter.
00:47:17 --> 00:47:21 Okay, sweet. Chris, did you go over your starting gear?
00:47:21 --> 00:47:26 Yep, I went with a ghost cell phone. Oh, like, so like, it just says like whatever
00:47:26 --> 00:47:27 I had on my person kind of thing.
00:47:27 --> 00:47:30 So yeah it's a phone yeah my
00:47:30 --> 00:47:33 ghost yeah yeah he's like
00:47:33 --> 00:47:36 so i got a ghost cell phone my my wallet with my my brother uh
00:47:36 --> 00:47:39 with it with a photo of me and my brother and then ghost keys
00:47:39 --> 00:47:42 please tell me it's like ghost nokia yeah oh
00:47:42 --> 00:47:45 yeah no i was also i was honest i was actually thinking it like
00:47:45 --> 00:47:48 a flip phone like he never got he
00:47:48 --> 00:47:51 never bought into the smart smartphone stuff well nokia
00:47:51 --> 00:47:54 is going to outlive you so when you
00:47:54 --> 00:47:58 ghost text someone you're like one one one one yeah yeah
00:47:58 --> 00:48:01 exactly yeah so yeah ghost nokia ghost
00:48:01 --> 00:48:04 keys and ghost wallet
00:48:04 --> 00:48:10 with brothers with brothers with photo brother so i i think i want to go ahead
00:48:10 --> 00:48:14 and kind of lead us over to the next part but i want to address my starting
00:48:14 --> 00:48:18 debts that i only picked one for i think that the someone who befriended you
00:48:18 --> 00:48:23 long before you discovered the supernatural purposely hid its existence from you.
00:48:23 --> 00:48:28 While my grandmother makes sense, I would say that I'd rather be like that former
00:48:28 --> 00:48:32 preacher of the church that was turned into an art center and he's actually a man.
00:48:34 --> 00:48:39 They owe you a debt. So he kind of, you know, I think that should be,
00:48:40 --> 00:48:43 he's hid it from me when it mattered or the extent of it.
00:48:44 --> 00:48:47 I would say, I say I knew some of it, but I didn't know about the monster side.
00:48:47 --> 00:48:55 So after kind of getting myself involved in this and seeing the Fae and the
00:48:55 --> 00:49:01 range of demons and stuff like that, he feels like he shielded me when he shouldn't have.
00:49:01 --> 00:49:04 And you're leveraging dirt you have
00:49:04 --> 00:49:08 on someone to get their help and
00:49:08 --> 00:49:11 supernatural scheme their targets that
00:49:11 --> 00:49:14 targets innocent mortals you owe
00:49:14 --> 00:49:21 them a debt and I think honestly I think it will be probably one of the monsters
00:49:21 --> 00:49:29 that I owe a debt to so perhaps it would even be a vampire itself that I kind
00:49:29 --> 00:49:32 of owe them a debt But there may be,
00:49:32 --> 00:49:34 and the book does a really great example.
00:49:35 --> 00:49:39 Like they're talking about the machinations of the great scheme behind things.
00:49:39 --> 00:49:42 And they just, the book doesn't really go into it.
00:49:42 --> 00:49:47 They just, they leave it open for the player and the table and for all that
00:49:47 --> 00:49:48 kind of stuff to develop.
00:49:48 --> 00:49:52 So the masquerade as it would be is not defined.
00:49:52 --> 00:49:58 Yeah. Clearly. So I'll say that there's probably the vampire is more of the,
00:49:58 --> 00:50:03 the ones that I'm tracking are the feral rogue ones,
00:50:03 --> 00:50:08 as opposed to the ones who are businessmen and the movers and shakers.
00:50:08 --> 00:50:12 So I'm kind of, oh, a mover, shaker, vampire for some stuff.
00:50:13 --> 00:50:19 Now, moving on over to your mortal relationships, while you ride the line between
00:50:19 --> 00:50:24 the mortal and supernatural worlds, it says your friends and family are stuck
00:50:24 --> 00:50:26 firmly in the mundane reality of everyday life.
00:50:26 --> 00:50:29 So you've got to choose three. Notice how I read instructions this time.
00:50:31 --> 00:50:36 So I already said that I gave up the white picket fence and 2.5 children.
00:50:37 --> 00:50:40 I think that I still have a relationship with an overbearing.
00:50:40 --> 00:50:45 It says overbearing ex-partner who worries about me, so it was the relationship
00:50:45 --> 00:50:49 I was in before all this took place. We went our separate ways.
00:50:50 --> 00:50:53 Maybe we still hold torches for each other. I'm kind of a hopeless romantic
00:50:53 --> 00:51:00 like that, but she knows I'm involved in something, and it's shielded her from
00:51:00 --> 00:51:04 it, but it's strange, and she knows I'm going to get myself killed.
00:51:05 --> 00:51:12 I say that I also have a struggling best friend who's always getting into messy altercations.
00:51:13 --> 00:51:18 Maybe somebody who runs a local homeless shelter. That would make total sense.
00:51:18 --> 00:51:24 We've become best friends, and they are a strong advocate for their people.
00:51:24 --> 00:51:30 And while they don't know about the supernatural, I kind of see that,
00:51:30 --> 00:51:35 Our Venn diagram circles are starting to intersect, and it disturbs me.
00:51:36 --> 00:51:46 And I think, finally, a younger sibling who relies on me for transportation and advice.
00:51:46 --> 00:51:48 I think this is a younger sister.
00:51:49 --> 00:51:54 I'm trying to make sure that she gets everything that I've had to forego.
00:51:54 --> 00:51:58 So she's in college. I help her financially when I can.
00:51:59 --> 00:52:05 I talked to her about you know people advice dealing with social stuff as well as i know,
00:52:06 --> 00:52:11 and you know i pick her up and take her home to mom and dad on weekends kind
00:52:11 --> 00:52:15 of stuff what about you guys uh so the specter is a little different from the
00:52:15 --> 00:52:20 aware like they're they've got their own cadre of things here so i've got trauma
00:52:20 --> 00:52:24 and anchors and actually i've really been looking at the trauma stuff,
00:52:24 --> 00:52:26 but I'm looking at the anchor stuff right now.
00:52:26 --> 00:52:30 So for anchors, I get to, I can choose, I choose four.
00:52:30 --> 00:52:33 And these are, I have several anchors within the city, important places,
00:52:34 --> 00:52:36 people, and objects that keep me from moving on.
00:52:37 --> 00:52:40 You might, I might have the opportunity to put an anchor to rest,
00:52:40 --> 00:52:43 but anchors can be also be ruined or destroyed.
00:52:43 --> 00:52:47 So I already chose one of my anchors earlier with my, uh.
00:52:48 --> 00:52:51 With my starting gear thing is, so a family member
00:52:51 --> 00:52:54 or inheritor unaware of your of your existence uh
00:52:54 --> 00:52:57 that'll be my younger brother who yeah
00:52:57 --> 00:53:00 they're they're they know i died but they they don't know
00:53:00 --> 00:53:03 that i'm still there i'm still here i'm also
00:53:03 --> 00:53:06 thinking of having uh the the witness to my a witness to
00:53:06 --> 00:53:09 my death bound to you by chance or fate it's not
00:53:09 --> 00:53:13 going to be the the dude that stabbed me like that guy but it will be maybe it
00:53:13 --> 00:53:19 was like a maybe an ally of like a vampire or like maybe yeah i'm thinking i'm
00:53:19 --> 00:53:27 thinking an ally of a vampire who was in the in the in the park and saw me and
00:53:27 --> 00:53:30 because they they had like this the second sight or the six of the six cents.
00:53:32 --> 00:53:37 And so that's, that's how they kind of like, they, they saw me like pop out of my body after I died.
00:53:38 --> 00:53:41 So they, and basically helped me like, like kind of like maybe brought me to
00:53:41 --> 00:53:45 like the, kind of brought me into the fold as it were with the,
00:53:45 --> 00:53:47 uh, the certain, with the specific circle I'm part of.
00:53:48 --> 00:53:51 The other things I have, there are other ones that like, there's a friendly
00:53:51 --> 00:53:55 household pet, constant companion of my own life, a beloved possession from
00:53:55 --> 00:53:57 my youth passed to a new owner.
00:53:57 --> 00:54:00 A marker of your a marker
00:54:00 --> 00:54:03 of your success in life now claimed by another an item
00:54:03 --> 00:54:07 related to your death grimly marking your
00:54:07 --> 00:54:10 violent end a location of personal
00:54:10 --> 00:54:13 importance a reminder of a past love
00:54:13 --> 00:54:20 a space you use to live or work abandoned by the world so I think it would be
00:54:20 --> 00:54:27 interesting if the item relating to my death grimly marking my violent end is
00:54:27 --> 00:54:31 the blade that was used, like the stabbing knife.
00:54:31 --> 00:54:36 And it's currently in lockup at the police department as evidence.
00:54:36 --> 00:54:41 So it's in lockup. So that could be interesting. Something ever comes up,
00:54:41 --> 00:54:43 and I always know where it is.
00:54:43 --> 00:54:48 Similarly to how I always know where Jarrett, what did I name him?
00:54:48 --> 00:54:51 Where Jarrett Trombley, my killer, is.
00:54:52 --> 00:54:57 It's sort of like, not a phylactery, like a lich, but it's I always know where it is.
00:54:58 --> 00:55:06 I can almost see a light, a little pinhole light in the distance in the direction it is.
00:55:07 --> 00:55:12 So if anything happens to it, I'll know about it. But I can't get to it or nobody
00:55:12 --> 00:55:16 can really get to it easily unless they're breaking into the police department
00:55:16 --> 00:55:17 or they're working at the police department.
00:55:17 --> 00:55:19 In the States, they offer.
00:55:20 --> 00:55:25 I'm sure it's like a salesman too, but that's interesting because in the States, I know this.
00:55:26 --> 00:55:29 That once those types of items are no
00:55:29 --> 00:55:32 longer needed and stuff like the family
00:55:32 --> 00:55:35 gets the option of having it destroyed
00:55:35 --> 00:55:41 and stuff like that yeah so that could definitely yeah oh i i like to think
00:55:41 --> 00:55:45 that i mean obviously like my killer didn't like they didn't catch my killer
00:55:45 --> 00:55:49 they but the knife was the knife was dropped on like was left in was left in
00:55:49 --> 00:55:54 me probably when i died so that's how like Like that's why like Jarrett's still out there,
00:55:54 --> 00:55:57 like still like living in an apartment, busy dealing with the guilt of what
00:55:57 --> 00:55:59 happened when he was brain buckled.
00:55:59 --> 00:56:03 But the knife is, is in their in office and they weren't able to get any DNA off of them.
00:56:04 --> 00:56:07 And then the other one I want to do is actually the space I used to work or live.
00:56:07 --> 00:56:15 I'm thinking a, so the mall I go to that makes me feel alive had a food court where I worked.
00:56:16 --> 00:56:19 Like again, during the summer, like during like during, mostly during like peak
00:56:19 --> 00:56:22 summer, like summer, like summer season and stuff like that.
00:56:24 --> 00:56:27 But like a year before, like the, the basically like a year,
00:56:27 --> 00:56:31 the year of, or the year before I, uh, I died the, uh, the food court,
00:56:32 --> 00:56:33 that part of the food court got shuttered.
00:56:33 --> 00:56:37 So it's now just been left kind of to rot like that specific area.
00:56:37 --> 00:56:40 Like no one's, no one's gone in because like, again, the economy is shitty.
00:56:40 --> 00:56:46 And so like food courts lose restaurants and they just, they just sit there empty.
00:56:46 --> 00:56:51 So that's kind of like the space I used to, to work is my anchors.
00:56:51 --> 00:56:55 Cause like, it was like, again, I spent a lot of years working there trying
00:56:55 --> 00:56:58 to get this low end job. So, yeah.
00:56:58 --> 00:57:01 So yeah, that, that was, those are my four anchors was like my brother,
00:57:01 --> 00:57:05 a person who saw my death, the knife and the knife that killed me.
00:57:05 --> 00:57:09 And then the, the abandoned restaurant stall that I used to work at.
00:57:10 --> 00:57:13 And then, yeah, when one of these anchors is put into danger,
00:57:13 --> 00:57:18 you know, like I'll know. And I mark trauma and take a plus one going forward
00:57:18 --> 00:57:22 on all moves until you see it safely.
00:57:22 --> 00:57:28 And then if I resolve the anchor, I clear the trauma track and erase corruption advances.
00:57:29 --> 00:57:33 When the anchor is destroyed or ruined, fill your trauma track and take a corruption advance.
00:57:34 --> 00:57:38 So with trauma, this is the mechanic for ghosts, I guess.
00:57:38 --> 00:57:43 So trauma, there's five slots on the track for trauma.
00:57:43 --> 00:57:48 Your sense of self has been shattered by your death leaving you traumatized
00:57:48 --> 00:57:54 you begin each session with at least two trauma marked but you can clear it
00:57:54 --> 00:57:58 and any additional trauma you take via trauma moves is.
00:57:58 --> 00:58:04 If you ever fill your trauma track, the MC may call for you to make a trauma
00:58:04 --> 00:58:11 move at any time, but you may always choose which trauma move you make in the moment.
00:58:12 --> 00:58:16 The first item or the first time you take harm in a scene, mark trauma.
00:58:17 --> 00:58:20 When you fill up a harm, your corpus is shattered.
00:58:21 --> 00:58:28 Mark trauma to reform in a few days at one of your anchors.
00:58:28 --> 00:58:33 So basically, I'd spawn at one of my anchor points. Or mark three trauma to
00:58:33 --> 00:58:37 reform immediately at an anchor of the MC's choice.
00:58:37 --> 00:58:43 If you cannot mark trauma while destroyed, the MC decides how, when you reform.
00:58:44 --> 00:58:47 And then for trauma moves, it's lash out at an NPC.
00:58:47 --> 00:58:51 So when I lash out at an NPC in furious anger, I roll with blood.
00:58:51 --> 00:58:55 And then on a hit, clear all trauma and inflict harm as established.
00:58:55 --> 00:58:58 And then it has like a seven to nine. the violence is
00:58:58 --> 00:59:01 wild leaves the invulnerable gets gets
00:59:01 --> 00:59:04 out of hand or causes collateral damage the mc's
00:59:04 --> 00:59:07 choice and then on a miss you completely
00:59:07 --> 00:59:10 lose control of your ectoplasmic form mark a
00:59:10 --> 00:59:13 corruption and then the other trauma move
00:59:13 --> 00:59:16 i have is commune with your anchors when you
00:59:16 --> 00:59:20 commune with one of your your anchors roll spirit
00:59:20 --> 00:59:23 on a hit you your anchor soothes
00:59:23 --> 00:59:26 your fractured psyche clear to trauma on
00:59:26 --> 00:59:29 a 10 plus your communication your communion reveals a
00:59:29 --> 00:59:32 way the anchor might be resolved clear all
00:59:32 --> 00:59:35 trauma on a miss you only clear one
00:59:35 --> 00:59:39 trauma something threatening the anchor interrupts your
00:59:39 --> 00:59:41 meditation yeah so and then
00:59:41 --> 00:59:45 yeah the corruption stuff is basically like one of
00:59:45 --> 00:59:48 the triggers for for corruption is when you witness a scene
00:59:48 --> 00:59:51 of violence or victimization and do nothing
00:59:51 --> 00:59:54 mark a trauma and a corruption and then
00:59:54 --> 00:59:58 such corruptions are like possession nightmares a siphon
00:59:58 --> 01:00:02 so like i can like basically like psychic vampire somebody or
01:00:02 --> 01:00:07 or telekinesis like just throw things around so okay
01:00:07 --> 01:00:10 that's what's basically the yeah that's the the special thing
01:00:10 --> 01:00:14 that the the specter relationships uh yeah yeah
01:00:14 --> 01:00:17 mine was just pretty much rowing heart to
01:00:17 --> 01:00:20 deepen bond and clear corruption and you.
01:00:20 --> 01:00:24 Know if i don't do so great then i've kind of started exposing them to stuff.
01:00:24 --> 01:00:30 So i mean long story short i'd you know maybe that my you know you can improve
01:00:30 --> 01:00:37 or decrease the relationship and stuff like that but i'm also making fodder for the mc i think.
01:00:38 --> 01:00:45 Jeremy, what about yourself? Mine had, it's an interesting thing called Your Dark Patron.
01:00:45 --> 01:00:49 Your soul has fallen into the hands of a dark patron, a powerful demon whose
01:00:49 --> 01:00:52 reputation precedes them, but whose true name is known to few.
01:00:52 --> 01:00:57 They have given you terms of employment, access to terrible power,
01:00:57 --> 01:01:00 and terrifying insight into their true nature.
01:01:00 --> 01:01:06 I had to choose two of them as far as their mannerisms and moods.
01:01:07 --> 01:01:12 I chose they seduce who come into contact with them with pleasantries and gifts and vices.
01:01:13 --> 01:01:18 And then I also chose they have seated eyes and ears across the city,
01:01:18 --> 01:01:21 always alert to any sign of betrayal or profitable opportunity.
01:01:21 --> 01:01:25 I also have a demon form, and I thought that was interesting.
01:01:25 --> 01:01:28 Since your patron claimed your soul, you have a new look, a demon form.
01:01:29 --> 01:01:32 Pick as many as apply from the list below.
01:01:32 --> 01:01:36 They have like head, eyes, limbs, wings, skin, and they have a host of things.
01:01:36 --> 01:01:41 But sticking in the Baron Samity, like the Baron Samity look,
01:01:41 --> 01:01:45 I went with my demon form would be glowing eyes, a spectral top hat and suit
01:01:45 --> 01:01:48 and a smoke trail. Like whenever he goes full demon mode.
01:01:49 --> 01:01:52 So he actually looks like historical Baron Samity.
01:01:53 --> 01:01:57 Let's see what else I lost my page. I also have demonic draw demonic jobs.
01:01:57 --> 01:02:00 Your dark, your dark patron keeps you on earth for a reason.
01:02:00 --> 01:02:02 They could always have decided to drag you to hell.
01:02:02 --> 01:02:05 Choose two jobs that you regularly do for them, for them
01:02:05 --> 01:02:08 from the list below the lists the list below is collecting
01:02:08 --> 01:02:11 souls tracking down rogue demons delivering threats and messages
01:02:11 --> 01:02:15 cleaning up gruesome messes guarding someone
01:02:15 --> 01:02:18 or something destroying your patrons enemies brokering demonic
01:02:18 --> 01:02:23 contracts hiding and securing demonic contraband operating a demonic establishment
01:02:23 --> 01:02:31 or policing your own patrons minions yeah i chose collecting souls and brokering
01:02:31 --> 01:02:36 demon demonic contracts speaking with the keeping with the Crossroad demons theme yeah.
01:02:37 --> 01:02:43 And that is essentially it, unless we're down into moves.
01:02:44 --> 01:02:47 What about, I guess, did you all think we need to go into moves?
01:02:47 --> 01:02:50 It doesn't really... Yeah, we can go into that, like, do the moves.
01:02:50 --> 01:02:52 I think it should be, like, it would be interesting to see, like,
01:02:52 --> 01:02:56 what each of us, like, gets as, like, a, as a, like, a playbook move,
01:02:56 --> 01:02:57 like, our playbook-centric moves.
01:02:58 --> 01:03:01 Yeah. Because, like, I have, like, my, for the Spectre specifically,
01:03:01 --> 01:03:05 like, my starting move, like, my big, the big move is manifesting.
01:03:05 --> 01:03:08 So like regular people can't sense
01:03:08 --> 01:03:11 or interact with me unless i manifest supernatural creatures
01:03:11 --> 01:03:14 and perspective and perceptive mortals usually know
01:03:14 --> 01:03:17 you're present but can't affect you
01:03:17 --> 01:03:20 without magical tools or special powers if you
01:03:20 --> 01:03:23 wish you can manifest by spending a few quiet
01:03:23 --> 01:03:27 moments concentrating and then you choose to choose
01:03:27 --> 01:03:30 two things so i you can be heard
01:03:30 --> 01:03:33 you can be seen you can touch and be touched so
01:03:33 --> 01:03:36 i think for that one i think
01:03:36 --> 01:03:39 it would be probably uh i can be seen and
01:03:39 --> 01:03:42 i can be touched i can touch and can be touched but
01:03:42 --> 01:03:46 you may mark uh trauma instead to
01:03:46 --> 01:03:50 instead choose one or all three so normally
01:03:50 --> 01:03:53 i can only choose like i only get two of those but if i like
01:03:53 --> 01:03:56 mark a trauma i can basically just like either select one of those things
01:03:56 --> 01:04:01 or all of those this yeah and that's that's already like knocked off so like
01:04:01 --> 01:04:04 what what is everybody else's like special like like right off the hop like
01:04:04 --> 01:04:09 starting kind of move all right so i've got i can choose three it says here
01:04:09 --> 01:04:15 and i like the i'll use what i like to call the jeremy move called i know a guy.
01:04:16 --> 01:04:18 When you hit the streets you know you roll hard on a seven and
01:04:18 --> 01:04:22 nine add this option however okay so
01:04:22 --> 01:04:25 yeah it's an investigative role essentially yeah it
01:04:25 --> 01:04:28 looks like you get like you yeah you get to choose three where like mine already started
01:04:28 --> 01:04:31 with one and i have there's other ones i get to choose from but i'll
01:04:31 --> 01:04:35 wait till you guys are i kind of like in sheep's
01:04:35 --> 01:04:38 clothing when you mislead or distract or
01:04:38 --> 01:04:43 trick someone you previously shared a moment well a moment with of intimacy
01:04:43 --> 01:04:47 which doesn't have to be romantic or whatnot no you can use heart instead of
01:04:47 --> 01:04:51 mind so i mean that could even be like my kind of my relationships it could
01:04:51 --> 01:04:55 be you guys if we've had you know we've work together and have a relationship.
01:04:56 --> 01:05:01 And finally, one way or another, and I like this one the most because when you
01:05:01 --> 01:05:05 plead with a member of your circle, that's Mortalis, for help with a pressing
01:05:05 --> 01:05:08 situation, Rohart, and I hit they agree to help,
01:05:09 --> 01:05:13 or owe you a debt, their choice, and on a plus 10, their guilt is palpable.
01:05:14 --> 01:05:18 If they decline and owe you a debt, you take plus one against them going forward.
01:05:19 --> 01:05:22 So, you know, you got to take care of these geeds.
01:05:23 --> 01:05:25 Got to save these geeds.
01:05:25 --> 01:05:27 Jeremy, how about yourself, buddy?
01:05:28 --> 01:05:32 My right-off-the-rip tainted move is called the devil inside.
01:05:32 --> 01:05:37 When you assume your demon form, roll with blood on a 10+, pick three,
01:05:37 --> 01:05:40 on a seven to nine, pick two, on a miss pick one and give your patron a
01:05:40 --> 01:05:43 debt or go without your form some of them
01:05:43 --> 01:05:46 include plus demonic weapon which is
01:05:46 --> 01:05:49 three harm hand or two harm close
01:05:49 --> 01:05:53 demonic movement flight flaming motorcycle etc think
01:05:53 --> 01:05:56 ghost rider demonic senses infrared sight
01:05:56 --> 01:05:59 smells smell lies etc etc game plus
01:05:59 --> 01:06:02 one armor heal two harm or take one plus
01:06:02 --> 01:06:05 or plus one forward if you're working a job for
01:06:05 --> 01:06:08 your patron pick one more if you mark corruption
01:06:08 --> 01:06:10 pick one more like you can just kind of stack if you want to
01:06:10 --> 01:06:13 keep basically being a tank yeah you want to lose
01:06:13 --> 01:06:17 like give away your humanity or whatever yeah yeah
01:06:17 --> 01:06:21 the corruption so yeah i like that all right
01:06:21 --> 01:06:24 yeah so and it looks like you also have like some some optional
01:06:24 --> 01:06:27 choices too so i also have some
01:06:27 --> 01:06:30 i had two to pick from the list
01:06:30 --> 01:06:36 that i have is invocation which you can cash in debts and basically summon people
01:06:36 --> 01:06:40 to you or they can cash in debts and come make you come to them silver tongued
01:06:40 --> 01:06:44 which when you figure somebody out you roll heart instead of mind dark bargain
01:06:44 --> 01:06:48 where you basically make a deal with someone and if they violate it bad things happen.
01:06:48 --> 01:06:53 And then Tough as Nails, where you get plus one armor. You get plus one armor,
01:06:53 --> 01:06:55 blessed, or holy sources. Ignore this armor completely.
01:06:56 --> 01:07:00 Weapons designed to stun or impair you have no effect unless blessed or holy.
01:07:00 --> 01:07:04 You don't require metal to kill attention or magical assists to heal once you've
01:07:04 --> 01:07:05 harmed, heals harm you've suffered.
01:07:06 --> 01:07:09 And you clear critical harm like it's a faint or serious harm.
01:07:09 --> 01:07:14 I took Silver Tongued, just so I could talk my way out of things,
01:07:14 --> 01:07:18 and Tough as Nails if it comes to not talking my way out of things.
01:07:18 --> 01:07:22 Yeah for the the specter or for the
01:07:22 --> 01:07:25 specter i get to choose two as well and the
01:07:25 --> 01:07:28 list i've got is won't be ignored when you
01:07:28 --> 01:07:31 get in someone's way take take a 10 plus instead of
01:07:31 --> 01:07:34 rolling if you mislead distract or trick someone
01:07:34 --> 01:07:37 with an obvious supernatural display you roll spirit instead of
01:07:37 --> 01:07:40 mind ghost town when you
01:07:40 --> 01:07:43 hit us hit the streets to consult your ghostly contacts
01:07:43 --> 01:07:46 take plus one ongoing to deal with
01:07:46 --> 01:07:49 to deal with them on a miss you still find
01:07:49 --> 01:07:52 a ghost who has what you're looking for or
01:07:52 --> 01:07:55 looking to get but they are dangerous or lost and
01:07:55 --> 01:07:58 then there's the potent so i take one plus one
01:07:58 --> 01:08:01 spirit with a max of plus three there's wall
01:08:01 --> 01:08:05 what wall you always have an opening to
01:08:05 --> 01:08:08 escape a situation you can choose an additional option off
01:08:08 --> 01:08:11 the list to bring someone with you even if
01:08:11 --> 01:08:15 they would normally be unable to escape on a
01:08:15 --> 01:08:17 on a miss you and whoever you brought with
01:08:17 --> 01:08:20 you end up caught in the dangerous in a dangerous
01:08:20 --> 01:08:23 in the dangerous space between the
01:08:23 --> 01:08:26 worlds of the living and the dead and then
01:08:26 --> 01:08:29 there's one other one that's like a conduit but that's
01:08:29 --> 01:08:32 about like that that that involves your your let it out
01:08:32 --> 01:08:34 ability like advanced let it out
01:08:34 --> 01:08:39 for all characters in your presence including yourself but we'll get to that
01:08:39 --> 01:08:43 in a second but i think honestly i'd probably go with i kind of want to go with
01:08:43 --> 01:08:48 ghost town and and wall what wall because i just like the idea of like being.
01:08:48 --> 01:08:49 Able to like talk to other ghosts
01:08:49 --> 01:08:53 like like kind of like for reference points and some of that and then.
01:08:53 --> 01:08:56 We were talking earlier about like how my character just like walked we'll just
01:08:56 --> 01:09:00 walk through the door of like the of jared's apartment and just like hey man
01:09:00 --> 01:09:01 still dead how's it going,
01:09:02 --> 01:09:05 so i just like the idea of yeah like he can just go through walls i also like
01:09:05 --> 01:09:07 the fact that you You can drag somebody else through a wall,
01:09:07 --> 01:09:10 basically, or like escape with them.
01:09:10 --> 01:09:14 That's interesting. But yeah, that's the ones I'd go with.
01:09:14 --> 01:09:20 All right. I think we almost got this done, but I want to mention to you,
01:09:20 --> 01:09:23 those are our character special moves.
01:09:23 --> 01:09:29 There is, like any PBTA kind of game, there's just these basic ones that we all have.
01:09:29 --> 01:09:34 There's like Turn to Violence, trying to see what the other ones are.
01:09:34 --> 01:09:38 Yeah, there's... Escape a situation. Persuade NPC.
01:09:39 --> 01:09:45 Mislead, distract, trick. Get in someone's way, I think. Figure someone out.
01:09:46 --> 01:09:51 Keep your cool and then the let it out one. So, but that's the only one that
01:09:51 --> 01:09:53 like really kind of sounds different.
01:09:54 --> 01:10:00 Yeah. Let it out. The book says on page 83, when you let out the power within
01:10:00 --> 01:10:04 you, choose an ability from your playbook and roll with spirit.
01:10:05 --> 01:10:08 On a hit, mark corruption and activate the ability.
01:10:08 --> 01:10:11 The emcee will tell you how the effect is
01:10:11 --> 01:10:14 costly limited or unstable on a plus 10
01:10:14 --> 01:10:17 ignore corruption or complications your
01:10:17 --> 01:10:22 choice so it's it almost seems like in the video games where you build up a
01:10:22 --> 01:10:27 bar and then you hit a button and boom yeah and each each one has particular
01:10:27 --> 01:10:32 ones yeah like they wear you have a whole bunch yeah you have a bunch of like
01:10:32 --> 01:10:36 of extraordinary situations yeah where, yeah.
01:10:36 --> 01:10:41 I gain access to secure or locked down locations, draw immediate mortal attention
01:10:41 --> 01:10:46 to a person or situation spot previously overlooked, clue or advantage or convince
01:10:46 --> 01:10:51 an NPC to act on their kindness role or best interest. Wow.
01:10:52 --> 01:10:57 Lucky you. You get that kind of thing. La-dee-da. Yeah, la-dee-da.
01:10:57 --> 01:11:00 I don't got a ghost phone to play ghost snake.
01:11:01 --> 01:11:04 So when I let it out to activate these abilities,
01:11:04 --> 01:11:07 uh instantaneously travel to one
01:11:07 --> 01:11:10 of your anchors no matter the distance they're going
01:11:10 --> 01:11:13 the distance take control of a machine or
01:11:13 --> 01:11:18 vehicle by possessing its mechanical form let loose
01:11:18 --> 01:11:20 a psychic blast of ectoplasmic energy which does
01:11:20 --> 01:11:24 two harm close area armor piercing
01:11:24 --> 01:11:28 and then follow an ordinary mortal no
01:11:28 --> 01:11:31 matter where they go so and that's that's
01:11:31 --> 01:11:34 from the other I also have like a move that's
01:11:34 --> 01:11:37 part of that I could that I could have chosen from which is like conduit which
01:11:37 --> 01:11:40 is like advance let it out for all characters in
01:11:40 --> 01:11:45 your presence including yourself yeah and
01:11:45 --> 01:11:50 for mine my advance let it outs are imbue your touch with demonic corruption
01:11:50 --> 01:11:57 which does plus two or two harm impress dismay or frighten someone with a display
01:11:57 --> 01:12:01 of demonic fury move through or past a physical object
01:12:01 --> 01:12:06 obstacle created by mortal hands or summon your dark patrons attention directly to your location.
01:12:07 --> 01:12:09 I told you, ghost phone.
01:12:10 --> 01:12:13 A demon appears in a bathrobe and a shower cap on. It's like,
01:12:13 --> 01:12:16 I was busy. Could you fucking not?
01:12:17 --> 01:12:18 That's like your opinion, man.
01:12:21 --> 01:12:24 Well, man, I gotta, I gotta admit to you all. We've been doing this a lot longer
01:12:24 --> 01:12:27 than I thought it would take. And I'm just impressed with it.
01:12:28 --> 01:12:33 For a game that has four stats that we've got to fill out and then four additional
01:12:33 --> 01:12:37 social credit stats, this has been really fun.
01:12:38 --> 01:12:40 It's got a lot of potential, I see.
01:12:41 --> 01:12:44 In the beginning, I stated that I really wanted us to kind of go into city creation,
01:12:44 --> 01:12:49 but as this thing kind of goes on further, I think maybe we could address it
01:12:49 --> 01:12:51 a bit more and just kind of what we're thinking.
01:12:51 --> 01:12:56 But I don't know how in-depth we can go in with it. So you can use the book
01:12:56 --> 01:13:01 had like Chicago and Santiago is location, which by the way,
01:13:01 --> 01:13:06 book creators look, I love the fact that, you know, Chicago dressed and that's a tie in.
01:13:06 --> 01:13:10 And I love the fact with Jeremy's playbook there, there's a move called devil
01:13:10 --> 01:13:14 inside. Now I've got that in excess song in my head. You got the devil inside.
01:13:18 --> 01:13:21 So there's that song. I was thinking of a different one. I'm sorry.
01:13:22 --> 01:13:25 They, well, I'm, I was, in the 80s longer than
01:13:25 --> 01:13:28 you were so here's the thing
01:13:28 --> 01:13:32 you can make up your own cities you can use what they got the book comes with
01:13:32 --> 01:13:36 a lot of nice little additions here so we're going to kind of skim through this
01:13:36 --> 01:13:43 here they recommend why real cities work better is as opposed to you know what's
01:13:43 --> 01:13:47 the one that we were saving in hell divers last night from the illuminate York Supreme.
01:13:47 --> 01:13:51 Oh, York Supreme, so basically New York, or like the eastern coast. Yeah.
01:13:53 --> 01:13:58 So we play hell that pursuit. So real cities work better because there's a built-in
01:13:58 --> 01:14:01 history, tragedy, unfulfilled hopes and dreams.
01:14:01 --> 01:14:04 There's existing conflicts and social dynamics to draw from.
01:14:05 --> 01:14:08 Available resources for research and inspiration.
01:14:08 --> 01:14:14 Chris is prolific in his Google Maps use, and I'm going to kind of let him take over some of this here.
01:14:14 --> 01:14:22 And I mean there's more an authentic feel lived in and even if I have never
01:14:22 --> 01:14:25 been to you know Reno, Nevada I
01:14:25 --> 01:14:29 I do have some kind of periphery, and I could do a percutorary search and learn
01:14:29 --> 01:14:30 kind of things like that.
01:14:30 --> 01:14:36 And they recommend Wikipedia, newspapers, city guides, which is actually kind of cool.
01:14:37 --> 01:14:39 You could even request them to have them mailed to you, probably.
01:14:40 --> 01:14:45 And Magpie, as I mentioned beforehand, has this thing of city hubs.
01:14:46 --> 01:14:50 And it's more about the areas like downtown, city hall, and things like that
01:14:50 --> 01:14:56 that will help in the creation process of it. So Chris, before we get to step
01:14:56 --> 01:14:59 two of this, what was the city that you were suggesting offhand?
01:14:59 --> 01:15:05 So I was suggesting that it's a town nearby where I live called Barrie, Ontario.
01:15:06 --> 01:15:09 It's not a big city, but it's not a town.
01:15:09 --> 01:15:17 It's definitely growing in the last few decades, but it has a lot of darkness.
01:15:19 --> 01:15:23 Again, spoilers. it's the town that where that where down like the lakeside
01:15:23 --> 01:15:25 park there was the summer of stabs,
01:15:26 --> 01:15:31 and where i kind of inspired it was inspired for my character but also like
01:15:31 --> 01:15:35 there's some very interesting like stuff in it like there's a large statue that
01:15:35 --> 01:15:40 came that they built in the 80s in that same park that is a giant spirit catcher
01:15:40 --> 01:15:43 again we are like very close to several.
01:15:44 --> 01:15:50 Indigenous reservations around lake simcoe where the where the where where barry is situated,
01:15:50 --> 01:15:54 so there's a there is that level of connection and
01:15:54 --> 01:15:57 history yeah but yeah like berry basically
01:15:57 --> 01:16:00 go wraps around a large bay or
01:16:00 --> 01:16:03 like a very narrow bay so it kind of so like
01:16:03 --> 01:16:06 there's a there's plenty of of space and plenty of locations and
01:16:06 --> 01:16:09 districts to draw from and it has a has a very old
01:16:09 --> 01:16:12 history it was i think it was at the end of one of our it was
01:16:12 --> 01:16:16 one of the endpoints or or uh it
01:16:16 --> 01:16:19 was the gateway to the to the muskoka area and
01:16:19 --> 01:16:22 like the cottage country like that where like people would
01:16:22 --> 01:16:25 travel via like a train so there's actually a
01:16:25 --> 01:16:29 whole like train system that goes through from connected to toronto and
01:16:29 --> 01:16:32 yeah like there's just there's a bunch of stuff that you could
01:16:32 --> 01:16:36 pull from for this again i pulled the idea when i was thinking when i was talking
01:16:36 --> 01:16:40 about like the mall that my character comes from it's one one of the three malls
01:16:40 --> 01:16:46 that are on a street called bayfield that and there are two of them at least
01:16:46 --> 01:16:52 are like very much declining whereas like one of them is still up and kicking but yeah.
01:16:52 --> 01:16:56 So yeah, there's, there's plenty of room and it's like kind of a nice mix of,
01:16:56 --> 01:17:00 of urban decay and, and urban sprawl.
01:17:00 --> 01:17:05 And also like, we still have like the wilderness be like just on the outer borders
01:17:05 --> 01:17:09 and, and kind of creeping in or fighting or kind of like keep fighting to stay
01:17:09 --> 01:17:12 green within the, uh, within the city itself.
01:17:12 --> 01:17:16 So it'd probably be a good place for a bunch of stuff, just like a bunch of
01:17:16 --> 01:17:20 the different factions of, uh, whether it be powers or mortalis or the night
01:17:20 --> 01:17:21 and, and the, and the wild.
01:17:21 --> 01:17:25 So as we go through this, can I be as bold as to ask you, since you're more
01:17:25 --> 01:17:29 familiar with it, kind of jot a few of these notes down, maybe we could throw them out there?
01:17:30 --> 01:17:33 Sure. I'll make a Google Doc.
01:17:33 --> 01:17:37 So I think it's cool. It's very nearby.
01:17:37 --> 01:17:41 Definitely something we can pull from here. Also a developing city.
01:17:41 --> 01:17:46 Maybe there's a scramble for certain factions to set a foothold in this.
01:17:46 --> 01:17:50 Perhaps there's economic plans and development that's going to turn Barry into
01:17:50 --> 01:17:55 a bigger place. So, this is prime development real estate for factions.
01:17:56 --> 01:18:01 So, Supernatural layer. I mean, that Dreamcatcher was pretty cool.
01:18:01 --> 01:18:03 The stabbing thing, well, tragic.
01:18:04 --> 01:18:09 And that's, I mean, I even thought of suggesting like Louisville earlier for
01:18:09 --> 01:18:11 a particular city or something like that.
01:18:11 --> 01:18:15 But it just depends on what you want to get into. in Louisville as of the past
01:18:15 --> 01:18:20 five years has had some heartache that I definitely wouldn't want to address
01:18:20 --> 01:18:27 in public venue like an actual play and stuff like that but so it's,
01:18:28 --> 01:18:31 we've got to add a veneer of supernatural to this,
01:18:32 --> 01:18:37 So we have a real city. Maybe possibly we could say something about the supernatural politics.
01:18:38 --> 01:18:42 We could modify things as needed. I think the example I read in the book earlier
01:18:42 --> 01:18:46 was, you know, maybe there's a vampire mayor who's been in charge for 40 years
01:18:46 --> 01:18:49 or something crazy like that. Yeah, I could.
01:18:50 --> 01:18:57 And just make things up. So, I mean, hmm, what do you think? What's the inventor?
01:18:58 --> 01:19:02 Open secrets? yeah like i i definitely think like the again like that spirit
01:19:02 --> 01:19:07 catcher like maybe like it's sort of like created almost like a kind of a hotbed
01:19:07 --> 01:19:10 of like spiritual of spirits and like the,
01:19:11 --> 01:19:15 and even maybe even like a like a ley line kind of thing if you want to have like introduced like
01:19:15 --> 01:19:18 again one of the power factions or the the power circle
01:19:18 --> 01:19:21 like they're there for like they're
01:19:21 --> 01:19:24 they're they're able to like harness some of that spiritual energy that's collected
01:19:24 --> 01:19:29 by the spirit catcher and then i was definitely thinking like again barry does
01:19:29 --> 01:19:35 have a pretty a pretty decent nightlife uh there's a lot of pubs and bars and
01:19:35 --> 01:19:39 and uh clubs down in the downtown area,
01:19:39 --> 01:19:42 and the downtown area is like just historically it's
01:19:42 --> 01:19:47 a very it's a it's an older it's an older canadian city it used to be like an
01:19:47 --> 01:19:50 older town now it's more of a more of a city so like i could definitely see
01:19:50 --> 01:19:56 like they're being like probably like a vampire or maybe even like a like a
01:19:56 --> 01:20:02 fae sort of uh fae sort of influence in at the five points which is in the down is the downtown,
01:20:03 --> 01:20:08 streets of uh of berry yeah there's also a lot again a lot of urban decay like
01:20:08 --> 01:20:12 they're and a lot of a lot of expansion going on in the southern part of berry
01:20:12 --> 01:20:14 so like you could definitely have like maybe like.
01:20:16 --> 01:20:18 Maybe a mix of like the human like the mortalis kind of
01:20:18 --> 01:20:21 like in in certain spots we do deal with
01:20:21 --> 01:20:25 unfortunately there are there there is a homeless population and
01:20:25 --> 01:20:28 or like a homeless issue there and uh and
01:20:28 --> 01:20:31 drug use there there has been definitely been
01:20:31 --> 01:20:34 i i firsthand i've seen some some
01:20:34 --> 01:20:37 signs of of homeless little like
01:20:37 --> 01:20:41 a shanty or like our tent tent village uh
01:20:41 --> 01:20:43 that pop up in like the parks or even in like the
01:20:43 --> 01:20:48 uh the wood the woodlands on the outskirts of town so that
01:20:48 --> 01:20:52 could that could certainly be something to to look into there's also
01:20:52 --> 01:20:55 a lot of new new people since it is also sort of a gateway
01:20:55 --> 01:20:58 from for toronto for for big
01:20:58 --> 01:21:00 city people that go like they want to get away from the big city and
01:21:00 --> 01:21:04 it's like only an hour north of toronto so a
01:21:04 --> 01:21:08 lot of people have like started like influxing into this into berry to
01:21:08 --> 01:21:11 like have that kind of more like small town small city life
01:21:11 --> 01:21:16 and then drive to work in the big city so yeah i wonder if we could treat barry
01:21:16 --> 01:21:20 kind of like even the because we're gonna have to kind of establish the four
01:21:20 --> 01:21:25 circles here maybe everyone or a lot of the ones that are coming here from the
01:21:25 --> 01:21:30 super now are the you know the lower ranking.
01:21:31 --> 01:21:34 People of the larger circles who had just been set
01:21:34 --> 01:21:37 out to say claim on a new territory kind of stuff
01:21:37 --> 01:21:40 like that so i mean
01:21:40 --> 01:21:43 i don't know if we really want to get into it recording wise
01:21:43 --> 01:21:46 but you know we got the mortalis the humans in the know the
01:21:46 --> 01:21:49 the creatures of darkness tonight you know
01:21:49 --> 01:21:52 the wielders of authority the wizards and powerful political
01:21:52 --> 01:21:55 people and in the wild i did like the wild thing
01:21:55 --> 01:21:58 there but i don't know if like we had
01:21:58 --> 01:22:00 time for that do you think yeah that might be aussie i
01:22:00 --> 01:22:03 was kind of thinking because again we have been going along for character
01:22:03 --> 01:22:06 recreation you were talking earlier like oh like you'd
01:22:06 --> 01:22:09 like to like take these characters and like maybe like run like a session zero
01:22:09 --> 01:22:14 or like run like a scene like we could also like we could honestly like you
01:22:14 --> 01:22:17 could probably do like another like roll up or like a sort of a side roll up
01:22:17 --> 01:22:21 where it's where we're just like establishing the city okay i think that'd be
01:22:21 --> 01:22:24 a lot of fun and then we if you want we could even do like a scene or a one
01:22:24 --> 01:22:26 shot with these characters,
01:22:27 --> 01:22:31 that might blossom into something more who knows well let's go ahead and just
01:22:31 --> 01:22:33 table that on so our next row up.
01:22:33 --> 01:22:36 We're going to actually go more in-depth into character creation.
01:22:37 --> 01:22:41 So Magpie, thank you again for hooking us up. You're going to get double product
01:22:41 --> 01:22:43 out of this one here. We'll have something.
01:22:44 --> 01:22:48 So we'll go ahead and jump into City Hub on our next row up for Urban Shadows
01:22:48 --> 01:22:53 2nd Edition Part 2 and we'll see what we can kind of come up with when we take
01:22:53 --> 01:22:55 a little bit more time to do this up right.
01:22:56 --> 01:23:00 So closing thoughts as far as character creation goes. I know that I mentioned
01:23:00 --> 01:23:03 this beforehand. I just want to reiterate Right.
01:23:04 --> 01:23:09 I thought with this being a PPTA game, of course, we never really did a roll-up at PPTA.
01:23:10 --> 01:23:13 It's all games. It's always, we've done like a session zero,
01:23:13 --> 01:23:18 but it's, you know, more of a casual conversation as fans for a while.
01:23:18 --> 01:23:23 I'm really impressed with, you know, how much we have gotten from a playbook.
01:23:24 --> 01:23:28 I thought it would offhand just be click, click, click. I had these stats with Roll.
01:23:28 --> 01:23:33 I think, because that's definitely how Urban Shadows, I think the first one would have been like.
01:23:33 --> 01:23:36 It would have been very much like in line with again other
01:23:36 --> 01:23:41 pba titles though there is also a lot more like conversation stuff in there
01:23:41 --> 01:23:46 but with yeah like the the original the first edition definitely had like more
01:23:46 --> 01:23:49 of like that feel of like monster of the week kind of playbooks and stuff like
01:23:49 --> 01:23:54 that this one feels way more like a conversation or like way more there's way more.
01:23:55 --> 01:23:58 Narrative at like more narrative questions and
01:23:58 --> 01:24:01 more like more mechanical kind of meat on the
01:24:01 --> 01:24:03 bones yeah then the first edition i kind
01:24:03 --> 01:24:07 of i like that like i like how like it adds like extra extra layers
01:24:07 --> 01:24:09 to it yeah jeremy how about
01:24:09 --> 01:24:13 yourself buddy i have a no real interaction with
01:24:13 --> 01:24:15 the first edition of this i really like the second edition
01:24:15 --> 01:24:19 i think it scratches a lot of issues where you
01:24:19 --> 01:24:22 could play you could essentially play vampire
01:24:22 --> 01:24:25 the masquerade you could play dresden files you could play hunter the reckoning
01:24:25 --> 01:24:28 you could play basically any of the the white wolf or other
01:24:28 --> 01:24:31 fate type systems in this and it would easily integrate
01:24:31 --> 01:24:34 because you have all the same classes and you
01:24:34 --> 01:24:37 have all the same playbooks when we originally started looking
01:24:37 --> 01:24:40 into this we we didn't know how long we
01:24:40 --> 01:24:43 were going to go we were like oh maybe an hour and it's been an hour and a half
01:24:43 --> 01:24:47 and we still been fleshing things out like if that tells you how how good this
01:24:47 --> 01:24:51 how good the layout is and how much meat there is on the bone it's it's pretty
01:24:51 --> 01:24:55 nice i really enjoy it and and we haven't even taken any breaks so typically
01:24:55 --> 01:25:00 in games where we're actually filling out sats and stuff like that But we'll go take a, you know,
01:25:00 --> 01:25:05 it may, it's instantaneous on the recording, but we may spend 30 minutes like hashing through stats.
01:25:05 --> 01:25:08 And this has just been a continuous conversation.
01:25:09 --> 01:25:12 I think I would be remiss, which is one of those big fancy words I like to use
01:25:12 --> 01:25:17 occasionally, that not to really acknowledge the depth system that this game
01:25:17 --> 01:25:22 has, which really sets it far ahead of like other PPTA games I've experienced.
01:25:22 --> 01:25:27 And while we haven't went into it is just in a few sentences,
01:25:27 --> 01:25:32 I just want to explain that it's just a universal currency system of the supernatural world.
01:25:33 --> 01:25:38 There's formal obligations that are recognized by the four circles,
01:25:38 --> 01:25:43 and it's the structure that holds it all together.
01:25:43 --> 01:25:49 So there's different ways how debts are created from saving someone's life or
01:25:49 --> 01:25:54 helping them out to you've screwed up. and now you owe someone a debt.
01:25:55 --> 01:26:01 And when these deaths happen, you record who you owe the debt to and what you
01:26:01 --> 01:26:03 did for them or against them.
01:26:04 --> 01:26:08 And when you cash those in, you remind them of what they did.
01:26:08 --> 01:26:13 You make a request, and then they can either honor it, refuse it, or negotiate.
01:26:13 --> 01:26:16 And there's status effects that go with that.
01:26:17 --> 01:26:23 And if you, for example, you refuse to honor the debt, that leads you to an
01:26:23 --> 01:26:29 element of social isolation, loss of community protection, your vulnerability.
01:26:29 --> 01:26:34 It's like, there's reasons that you should honor these or negotiate them.
01:26:35 --> 01:26:41 And also, debts never expire, which is kind of interesting, Jeremy,
01:26:41 --> 01:26:45 because your character's debt is generational.
01:26:46 --> 01:26:53 But your debts do die with you. And yeah, it's, I mean, there's quite a bit to the debt system.
01:26:53 --> 01:26:59 And I feel like it would, it gives us a total role play.
01:26:59 --> 01:27:04 Just another thing to tell a great story with either if it's a debt to a character
01:27:04 --> 01:27:09 a debt to an npc whatnot you can get to those hard-hitting things if i owe a
01:27:09 --> 01:27:15 vampire a debt and he cashes it in then you know my character is going to be
01:27:15 --> 01:27:19 forced to face the decision of you know do i,
01:27:20 --> 01:27:25 turn a blind eye do i lead someone into a situation i know that they're going
01:27:25 --> 01:27:32 to perish from or do I stand up for my morals and then the repercussions that go with that.
01:27:32 --> 01:27:37 So sorry to tack it in at the tail end, but I thought it was really cool.
01:27:37 --> 01:27:40 No, that was an aspect that we needed to talk about because the debt system
01:27:40 --> 01:27:43 seems like it's pretty complex as far as the game goes.
01:27:44 --> 01:27:48 You know, I typically don't like, my Game of Thrones never appealed to me because
01:27:48 --> 01:27:52 I don't like political intrigue and all those kind of behind the scenes machinations.
01:27:52 --> 01:27:58 But with this being a tabletop And there's this being a game that we can discuss
01:27:58 --> 01:28:00 as we play and things like that.
01:28:00 --> 01:28:06 I think having the structure of X cards or taking a break and discussing how
01:28:06 --> 01:28:11 things are going to go would make these things more palpable and more enjoyable
01:28:11 --> 01:28:15 to me as somebody who typically doesn't want to deal with cut-your-throat politics
01:28:15 --> 01:28:18 kind of stuff, I guess. So I'm looking forward to seeing it in play.
01:28:18 --> 01:28:22 Yeah, I'll be very intrigued about it to see where we go.
01:28:22 --> 01:28:26 All right. So I think what we're going to end up doing is we're going to go
01:28:26 --> 01:28:27 ahead and put a pin in this one today.
01:28:28 --> 01:28:33 Thank you, Magpie Games, once again, for providing us with a PDF copy of this.
01:28:33 --> 01:28:34 It looks like an excellent game.
01:28:35 --> 01:28:38 Not going to lie, probably looking for a physical copy at Gen Con because I
01:28:38 --> 01:28:42 like the pretties and it is quite a pretty book. It is a very pretty book.
01:28:43 --> 01:28:48 And again, I know I had a pet peeve earlier, but I have something that does
01:28:48 --> 01:28:51 completely remove that pet peeve for me.
01:28:51 --> 01:28:58 This book has ribbons, not just one, but two ribbons for marking pages,
01:28:58 --> 01:29:02 which I think more game books need. Yes.
01:29:03 --> 01:29:07 As somebody who runs games and is constantly trying to flip through a book,
01:29:07 --> 01:29:14 it is very handy to have a ribbon that you can just go to a certain page where
01:29:14 --> 01:29:15 the rules are or something.
01:29:17 --> 01:29:21 Well, I guess with nothing else to say, I would like to go ahead and thank our
01:29:21 --> 01:29:26 listeners, as well as Magpie Games, for tuning in. If you're catching this in
01:29:26 --> 01:29:31 the month of May of 2025, then thank you so much for being one of our Patreon subscribers.
01:29:32 --> 01:29:35 Uh this is uh without your
01:29:35 --> 01:29:39 help you guys are we wouldn't be able to do what we do the bills
01:29:39 --> 01:29:43 keep racking up with this stuff here but i've been blessed with
01:29:43 --> 01:29:46 having people who would support rpx and yeah
01:29:46 --> 01:29:49 you're you're making all this possible otherwise i don't know
01:29:49 --> 01:29:52 if we'd still be doing things if it wasn't for you and i'd
01:29:52 --> 01:29:55 also like to thank those of you that are listening to this
01:29:55 --> 01:29:59 three months later so august if
01:29:59 --> 01:30:01 if you're listening to us on the regular feed thank
01:30:01 --> 01:30:04 you so much for tuning in please check out all
01:30:04 --> 01:30:07 of our other row ups that we do in our actual plays that
01:30:07 --> 01:30:11 we post you can find us at critinthenight.com along
01:30:11 --> 01:30:15 with other great podcasts right chris yeah yeah
01:30:15 --> 01:30:18 your your cousin podcasts such as one
01:30:18 --> 01:30:21 less die a my my tabletop rpg
01:30:21 --> 01:30:24 actual play podcast where i have taken
01:30:24 --> 01:30:28 all of the audio recordings i've done over the last decade with
01:30:28 --> 01:30:31 my my live group and since then
01:30:31 --> 01:30:34 we've also done some a lot of online stuff with the folks
01:30:34 --> 01:30:38 at rpx but also some other places and we
01:30:38 --> 01:30:44 run games between from shadow run monster of the week regular dnd and pathfinder
01:30:44 --> 01:30:47 and stuff like that just like a whole smattering of different games because
01:30:47 --> 01:30:54 i like to try different things though we struggle sometimes with the the rules
01:30:54 --> 01:30:56 but we're learning we're learning oh.
01:30:57 --> 01:31:00 The catchphrase and when
01:31:00 --> 01:31:03 we're not playing tabletop rbgs i me and
01:31:03 --> 01:31:07 uh some of my other friends read creepypastas and
01:31:07 --> 01:31:12 discuss them on a show called al dente rigor mortis where i don a cloak and
01:31:12 --> 01:31:18 become the review cultist and along with my friends we have this little creepypasta
01:31:18 --> 01:31:25 book club for the internet horror that has spawned in the last couple of decades. So, mm-hmm.
01:31:26 --> 01:31:31 Awesome. And statistically speaking, folks, one of every three people know Jeremy.
01:31:31 --> 01:31:33 That's true. You all know Jeremy.
01:31:34 --> 01:31:42 We all know the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon. Well, there's the five degrees of Jeremy. Yep.
01:31:43 --> 01:31:50 And if you want to catch us last on the social, we're on Blue Sky at RPX Exchange.
01:31:50 --> 01:31:54 And also Twitter, because I can't quit that dumpster fire. Even though every
01:31:54 --> 01:31:57 time I log into it, I feel like my soul just leaves my body a little bit more
01:31:57 --> 01:31:59 and I take points of corruption.
01:32:00 --> 01:32:05 Yes. Nice. And depending on when you're listening to this, if it comes out the
01:32:05 --> 01:32:10 end of July or 1st of August, if you're around for Gen Con and you hear one
01:32:10 --> 01:32:14 of our voices for whatever reason, feel free to stop by and say hello.
01:32:14 --> 01:32:22 Love to hear from you. Well, with nothing else to do, we'll see you next time when we flesh out Barry.
01:32:23 --> 01:32:28 And until then, I'll see you next time. Take care. Sleep well. See y'all.
01:32:30 --> 01:32:49 Music.