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CR MEME & APRIL EVENT PREVIEW AND PLOTTING
PLOT WORKSHOP
GUIDELINES
Metaheroes typically runs bi-monthly plot workshops to help jumpstart the creative juices so that players can help shape their character arcs and personal plots. However, we're well aware that we're still playing some catch up behind the scenes with individual players' questions regarding plots, so we'd like for this meme to have several approaches:
1. The Traditional Approach: Utilize this meme to jump-start conversations for potential CR, interactions with characters or overall plots, or even throw something out there. This is what you'd typically expect from a CR meme in DWRP. We do want to impress that specificity will help. We're all here to play with one another and are down for anything, but we truly want this to facilitate playing with one another.
2. Meta's Usual Approach to Plot Workshops: Players with player plot and character arc ideas — no matter how pie in the sky or early in development — should post top levels to this entry using the form below. These posts will include character hooks and motivations, general plot ideas, and potential roles in others' plots. Your ideas can be as specific or as general as you want — e.g., "I want my character to start pursuing politics" or "I want to run a plot where Spider-Man takes down a serial bank robber who's funding meta-drug experiments on children." This is not the place to censor yourself! Put it all out there!
3. Touch Base With Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderators: What it says on the tin! Typically, we have two sections of this meme where players can ask clarifying questions or questions about things that might impact the game as a whole. We're well aware that thanks to Life Happening, we dropped the ball on some things. So, in lieu of that, we'd like to offer you the opportunity to check in with us about NPC threads or anything else that might be out in the wild that you'd like some quick follow-up on. You can, of course, still ask clarifying questions or about things that would impact the world as a whole — we simply thought that a broader approach would help at this time.
1. The Traditional Approach: Utilize this meme to jump-start conversations for potential CR, interactions with characters or overall plots, or even throw something out there. This is what you'd typically expect from a CR meme in DWRP. We do want to impress that specificity will help. We're all here to play with one another and are down for anything, but we truly want this to facilitate playing with one another.
2. Meta's Usual Approach to Plot Workshops: Players with player plot and character arc ideas — no matter how pie in the sky or early in development — should post top levels to this entry using the form below. These posts will include character hooks and motivations, general plot ideas, and potential roles in others' plots. Your ideas can be as specific or as general as you want — e.g., "I want my character to start pursuing politics" or "I want to run a plot where Spider-Man takes down a serial bank robber who's funding meta-drug experiments on children." This is not the place to censor yourself! Put it all out there!
3. Touch Base With Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderators: What it says on the tin! Typically, we have two sections of this meme where players can ask clarifying questions or questions about things that might impact the game as a whole. We're well aware that thanks to Life Happening, we dropped the ball on some things. So, in lieu of that, we'd like to offer you the opportunity to check in with us about NPC threads or anything else that might be out in the wild that you'd like some quick follow-up on. You can, of course, still ask clarifying questions or about things that would impact the world as a whole — we simply thought that a broader approach would help at this time.
CONFLUENCE / MINI-EVENT BACKGROUND
As anti-Meta sentiments rise throughout the world, we’ve decided to go with a lower-key plot that can either have a natural conclusion (the entity causing problems is defeated) or a long-reaching conclusion (some players choose to keep this entity around). In short, as we cover in our Confluence Log, there is an invasive species that has been quietly taking root in Central City.
From an OOC perspective, the Pod People — who don’t have a unique name for themselves, but you can give them one during this event — are a parasitic, symbiotic group of meta humans who arrived in Central District during the March confluence. Their arrival largely went unnoticed because they fled to the abandoned outer reaches of the city to gain their bearings. Once they did, they began to spread — and this urge to spread, takeover, and repopulate is a natural product of who and what they are.
Their sentience as a species is most certainly up for debate. How much awareness they have in spreading is hard to truly calculate. But once they they take root in someone’s body and begin to take it over, they are sentient. As far as they’re concerned — biologically, that is — they are who they take over when it’s all said and done. But that’s because, for example, if Bruce Wayne was taken over and developed a need to spread like they do, he’d still have the same traumatic backstory and memories as before. He would just also be categorized as a symbiotic species eager to spread.
The Process of the Spread
There are six steps to how the takeover of an individual takes place. We’re just going to transpose what we included in the Confluence log over here:
1. INFECTION - the symbiotic parasite is passed via touch
2. ENERGY DRAIN - the parasite begins to take root, causing fatigue in its host
3. MEMORY LOSS AND DISASSOCIATION - there is an odd sense that someone is in two places at once; in addition, it's hard to recall facts about themselves and the people around them
4. HIVEMIND AWARENESS - there is always a sense of power nearby in Central City, as well as safety–there will also be telepathic awareness of other hosts who are at this stage
5. COMPLETE TAKEOVER AND LOSS OF LIFE - the original host begins to wither into a husk, begins to die
6. REBIRTH - the new pod person is born and they are autotrophic in nature: small parasites can be passed from their body, always replicating so that they can continue and spread
What Next?
The playerbase making a choice about how to deal with the Pod People is the first step. Players can choose to investigate or even experiment upon them, or work hard to find where they’re hidden. There is also an option to turn your character into a Pod Person.
Our biggest aim here is to introduce a species that tackles an ethical question: Are the Metas truly an invasive species that is causing problems in this world, or do they deserve their own rights and freedoms, too? By exploring it via these parasitic creatures, we’re able to take it a step further: if Bruce Wayne becomes a Pod Person with a ravenous appetite and need to spread but recalls himself as Bruce Wayne, is he not Bruce Wayne but just changed?
Beyond that, we’re super flexible about how to handle this plot. Players can come up with ways to tackle the invasive nature of the species — is it possible to vaccinate against their spread? Can someone’s genetics be altered so that others aren’t turned into invasive species? What if someone fully recognizes what they’ve become — is there a way to turn them back? These are just some ideas that we’ve come up with as a different angle on the overall feeling in the world.
Naturally, there will also be room for science, detective work, or anything else you might think up to tackle this problem!
One thing is certain: if the Pod People aren’t dealt with, they will spread. They will become a quiet, simmering problem on the back burner of the world.
From an OOC perspective, the Pod People — who don’t have a unique name for themselves, but you can give them one during this event — are a parasitic, symbiotic group of meta humans who arrived in Central District during the March confluence. Their arrival largely went unnoticed because they fled to the abandoned outer reaches of the city to gain their bearings. Once they did, they began to spread — and this urge to spread, takeover, and repopulate is a natural product of who and what they are.
Their sentience as a species is most certainly up for debate. How much awareness they have in spreading is hard to truly calculate. But once they they take root in someone’s body and begin to take it over, they are sentient. As far as they’re concerned — biologically, that is — they are who they take over when it’s all said and done. But that’s because, for example, if Bruce Wayne was taken over and developed a need to spread like they do, he’d still have the same traumatic backstory and memories as before. He would just also be categorized as a symbiotic species eager to spread.
The Process of the Spread
There are six steps to how the takeover of an individual takes place. We’re just going to transpose what we included in the Confluence log over here:
1. INFECTION - the symbiotic parasite is passed via touch
2. ENERGY DRAIN - the parasite begins to take root, causing fatigue in its host
3. MEMORY LOSS AND DISASSOCIATION - there is an odd sense that someone is in two places at once; in addition, it's hard to recall facts about themselves and the people around them
4. HIVEMIND AWARENESS - there is always a sense of power nearby in Central City, as well as safety–there will also be telepathic awareness of other hosts who are at this stage
5. COMPLETE TAKEOVER AND LOSS OF LIFE - the original host begins to wither into a husk, begins to die
6. REBIRTH - the new pod person is born and they are autotrophic in nature: small parasites can be passed from their body, always replicating so that they can continue and spread
What Next?
The playerbase making a choice about how to deal with the Pod People is the first step. Players can choose to investigate or even experiment upon them, or work hard to find where they’re hidden. There is also an option to turn your character into a Pod Person.
Our biggest aim here is to introduce a species that tackles an ethical question: Are the Metas truly an invasive species that is causing problems in this world, or do they deserve their own rights and freedoms, too? By exploring it via these parasitic creatures, we’re able to take it a step further: if Bruce Wayne becomes a Pod Person with a ravenous appetite and need to spread but recalls himself as Bruce Wayne, is he not Bruce Wayne but just changed?
Beyond that, we’re super flexible about how to handle this plot. Players can come up with ways to tackle the invasive nature of the species — is it possible to vaccinate against their spread? Can someone’s genetics be altered so that others aren’t turned into invasive species? What if someone fully recognizes what they’ve become — is there a way to turn them back? These are just some ideas that we’ve come up with as a different angle on the overall feeling in the world.
Naturally, there will also be room for science, detective work, or anything else you might think up to tackle this problem!
One thing is certain: if the Pod People aren’t dealt with, they will spread. They will become a quiet, simmering problem on the back burner of the world.
FORM
Please use the form below to pitch your character-specific plots and ideas.
Player Name & Pronouns:
Preferred Communication: Plurk, Discord, DM, etc.
Character Name & Journal:
Guild Affiliation:
Plot/CR Hooks: What kinds of things does your character get up to that might throw them in the path of someone else's plot, or that you would like other players to engage with?
Character Motivations: What does your character want? You can list short term and long term goals, but also emotional needs that aren't being fulfilled.
Potential Roles: What role does your character play in their canon plot? What role might they play in others' plots, and what would it take to get their attention? Are they an antagonist, a researcher, a tech whiz?
Plot Ideas: What plots do you specifically want to run with your character in them?
Roles Needed: What kind of CR and skills do you need in order to make that plot happen?
Event Plans: What are you interested in doing with the event?
Player Name & Pronouns:
Preferred Communication: Plurk, Discord, DM, etc.
Character Name & Journal:
Guild Affiliation:
Plot/CR Hooks: What kinds of things does your character get up to that might throw them in the path of someone else's plot, or that you would like other players to engage with?
Character Motivations: What does your character want? You can list short term and long term goals, but also emotional needs that aren't being fulfilled.
Potential Roles: What role does your character play in their canon plot? What role might they play in others' plots, and what would it take to get their attention? Are they an antagonist, a researcher, a tech whiz?
Plot Ideas: What plots do you specifically want to run with your character in them?
Roles Needed: What kind of CR and skills do you need in order to make that plot happen?
Event Plans: What are you interested in doing with the event?
Locations | Teams | The Guilds | Plotting Post | Mission Board | Mod Contact
NETWORK COMM | LOG COMM | OOC COMM
MOD QUESTIONS
Parasite event
The pod people parasites seem to function very similar to symbiotes in a lot of ways. In canon, Dylan is able to connect to the symbiote hivemind, remote-control them, and destroy them with a thought. Dylan is, functionally, a Queen Bee in the symbiote hive. (Canonically, the title is King in Black. He's never directly referred to with that title, but it's implied. I'll elaborate if you need me to.)
It was thought that Eddie took that power away from Dylan, but it's come to light in recent issues that Dylan still retained it, though he had to really look inside himself to access them again.
I know I gave Dylan the hive-mind connection in-game. As for the other powers, I double-checked Dylan's app, and I was... not entirely clear on whether or not Dylan retained the King in Black powers. Technically they're part of his symbiote biology, since he was born with them, but if you want me to do a power update & put them under a specific umbrella I understand.
ANYWAY, with all that said: Is there any possibility that Dylan's powers could extend to the Pod People? Could he tap into their hivemind, communicate with them, or influence their behavior?
Also, I'd like to know if I could extend Dylan's symbiote powers to portioning off little goopy pieces of himself to bond to his friends. (There is canon precedent for this, but not for Dylan specifically). I'm thinking this could inoculate them, logic being: A pod person spore encounters someone with a little symbiote stuff, goes "oh that's already one of us :)" and moves on.
Barring that, maybe the symbiote goo can attack any pod person spores that tries to infect the person it's bonded to. They wouldn't be able to go Full Symbiote Suit or anything, just have a little defense boost. Maybe get Hivemind Access.
I hope this made sense haha.
no subject
Given that, while similar in nature but still very different, the Pod People will recognize Dylan's symbiote as a presence already within the bodies Dylan portions off his goopy bits into. This will prevent them from getting infected.
Re: MOD QUESTIONS
Mostly, the idea here is to design an inoculation based on the Dylan's symbiote DNA that provides a person with the markers that tell the pod people parasites that someone is already infected.
SETTING IMPACT
no subject
Preferred Communication: baleinette @ plurk or baleinette#3692 @ disco, let's get involved structurally
Character Name & Journal: willa liseaux (
Guild Affiliation: unaffiliated, likely going alliance
Plot/CR Hooks: willa is a healer! and she's really good at it and not at all stingy with her ability so she will use it on basically whomever asks or needs it, if she sees injuries she is compelled to fix them, it takes a lot to convince her to ignore suffering so as long as they're not murdering someone in front of her, she'll most likely be willing to heal anyone right up (she has no taken the hippocratic oath, she is also willing to stab)
Character Motivations: she wants her chosen family to be safe and happy and her stupid frenemy to stop being such a twat, but she's willing to settle for the first part alone
Potential Roles: see healing blurb above
Character Name & Journal: lila bard (
Guild Affiliation: unaffiliated
Plot/CR Hooks: magic girl who barely knows magic but is very powerful despite her lack of training, she's from 1819
Character Motivations: she wants freedom, baby, and to learn her own magic better, but mostly freedom, she wants to ramble and explore and not be tied down to one place and also she wants to bring her stupid love interest with her
Potential Roles: she's a pirate thief with one shattered glass eye she should probably get fixed, but she will probably remain a thief since she doesn't want to be affiliated with any guild and that is how one survives on the streets
no subject
podcast for real though???
no subject
Dylan Brock | Venom (Marvel Comics)
Preferred Communication:
Character Name & Journal: Dylan Brock
Guild Affiliation: Unaligned
Plot/CR Hooks: So Dylan has just inherited a company and a lot of money, and he just lost both his dad and his surrogate mom in the confluence.
AND THE BOY HE LIKES DOESN'T LIKE HIM BACK :(So he's rich and emotionally vulnerable, and has a lot of anger he can't quite find an outlet for.ALSO for the parasite event, Dylan actually has some... potentially very useful powers?? The parasites seem to function very similar to symbiotes, except for how they constantly spawn, whereas symbiotes only spawn under certain circumstances. I will check with the mods to see if any of Dylan's symbiote-powers could be relevant here.
Character Motivations: Dylan's feeling very lost right now. He's lost his guardians and he's feeling very isolated and angry. He wants to feel special.
Potential Roles: Dylan Brock has symbiote powers! He can do the oozy limbs like a symbiote,
Plot Ideas: I'd like Dylan to start a punk rock band someday, but no rush on that.
Roles Needed: A bassist, a drummer, maybe a keyboard?? A cowbell?
Event Plans: I'd like Dylan to potentially be able to inoculate his friends against the parasites, possibly communicate with them, and/or possibly control them if he can. Will check with the mods for that.
no subject
Preferred Communication:
Character Name & Journal: Mayuko Shiraki,
Guild Affiliation: Alliance
Plot/CR Hooks: Mayuko is the Deputy Mayor of Sunset Falls, so if your character is based there, she might poke around if there's shenanigans going on!
She is the biggest booknerd, used to work at the library in SF and in her previous game, and likes to go out and have some drinks.
She is a Responsible Adult without kids to mind so if you are a young person in her vicinity in need of advice? Or if you're an adult suddenly minding a bunch of teens and need some commiseration? She's a good pick.
Plot Ideas: SO last we left off, Mayuko got death-demon-cursed and told she should make a pact with a god to prevent being murdered to death.
1. She has a temporary pact with Eros, god of love. Eros wants her to [drumroll] go on dates to keep
him entertainedthe pact strong. So that's in the works!2. She has a doozy of an option for her real patron(ess). But getting her respect is going to be FUN.
Athena, the Greek goddess, is challenging Mayuko (a canon-noncombant but she's done some informal dungeon trawling in a zombie summer camp? Not a hopeless case!) to a throwdown two weeks from when Mayuko contacts her. "Prove herself a warrior with any weapon of her choosing and study the art of battle," she says!
Roles Needed:
1. Potential dates! She would be more lowkey but unfortunately she's... a bit recognizable around SF.
2. I really was gunning for a Japanese deity, but the opportunity for Mayu to get actual combat training (and maybe make even more impact in the Alliance hierarchy as a "hero") is too good. I'm reaching out for Starfallen who would be up for teaching melee combat (we'll work on ranged when there's not the threat of a divine beatdown hanging overhead, my headcanon is that her aim/accuracy is... not great! AT ALL!). She can travel to whichever community, or if money's tight she can pay for travel expenses and you can stay in her big Victorian house (just don't go in the basement).
I won't make a IC post regarding this until later April or May, I want to use Spring Break for more logistics. Please help this lady become more badass, and thank you for considering! <3
Event Plans: IDK, she got deaged and AU-bubbled this new year, things are not going down in Sunset Falls finally. Maybe not flinging herself into the situation this time! But we will seeeee....
no subject
Preferred Communication:
Character Name & Journal: Amity Blight
Guild Affiliation: Unaligned
Plot/CR Hooks: Amity is just getting settled in Sunset Falls and is living with Eda Clawthorne and Hunter in their haunted mansion. She'll probably become a pretty common sight around town pretty quick and will undoubtedly be poking her nose into any weird goings on there. Also catch her stocking up on YA fantasy literature at the local bookstore.
Character Motivations: Right now, Amity really wants to try and regain some sense of normalcy and control over her life. She's been away from home for months and is still worried about her friends and family stuck in whatever hell dimension the collector has turned her home into, so trying to settle herself a bit is top of the list. Fretting over it all won't help, after all.
Potential Roles: Cleverest young witch there ever was. She does all kinds of magic and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty if she needs to. Also a kind, supportive friend now that she got over herself and the need to please her shitty parents.
Plot Ideas: Would love for her to get involved with some other young people in making trouble/snooping around things they shouldn't, especially if it pisses off the guilds in some way.