metamods | SETTING ENGAGEMENT

SETTING ENGAGEMENT

BLANKET PERMISSIONS

Players do not have to ask permission to thwart or cause villainy. Our assumption is that as this is a superhero game in a world where superpowered people have existed for decades, daily life is going to involve supervillains and general mayhem.

Examples of things that do not require permission or engagement requests.

You develop an NPC villain for a log! This villain doesn't cause any major damage or many casualties. Maybe they have a de-aging ray, they give people temporary amnesia, turn people temporarily into animals, etc. You are welcome to use these for temporary effects.

Your character steals anything up to 5000 dollars. You can assume that they got away with this, or if they were caught, the guild paid law enforcement to look the other way.

Your character uses their powers to heal or change another character or player created NPC. This is a superhero game after all. We expect you to be using your powers and testing them.

Your character invents a tiny teleporter that jumps between their house and their friends house. This technology exists and is normalized in this world. We encourage players to create their own systems like this.

You are welcome to have your characters interact with the game's NPCS at any time.

SETTING ENGAGEMENT

The Metaheroes setting is designed to be interacted with. Our approach to this is best compared to a tabletop roleplay system. Your character will take an action and the mod team will provide you with the outcome of that action.

You do not need to pre-plan these actions. You're free to approach us as they evolve in threads to ask the consequences of your characters actions. Some of these consequences will be immediate, and others will appear down the line. Some may be expanded into full blown player plots.

Your character kills someone. If they're a hero, are they reporting themselves to the authorities? The mod team needs to know how your character is handling the body.

Your character tries to use their powers to heal, harm, manipulate a Mod NPC.

You want your character to dismantle a major crime syndicate.

You want your character to develop a following / a cult / etc.

You want your character to steal everyone's left shoe.

You want your character to enter a pact with a God and become their champion.

You want your character to gain power and influence.

You want your character to learn the magic native to the setting.

A character or group of characters stage(s) participate in a conflict that destroys a city block. There may be fallout, fines, and a loss of public favor for this.

You want your character to open up a business.

A character or group of characters engage with a mod-run NPC character, guild, or business. The NPCs will react accordingly and their opinion of your character will change.

A character uses a baby ray on important political figures to take over the tri-state area. You need to inform the mods to find out whether or not you're successful or if you're thwarted by Perry the Platypus.

Please note that these engagements are developed as ongoing storylines. We gently discourage players to rush to a conclusion as they're designed to be evolving based on character actions. We'd like to know how your characters are reacting, what actions they're taking, etc. We encourage reporting back to us with any developments or changes your characters are making to their approach, we will adjust the plot and add new elements accordingly.

To better keep track of these engagements, please reply to the corresponding monthly top level. You can continue to reply to that comment thread if your plot extends out from the month it begins in. Or you can begin a new one and link to the previous one if it helps you better track your character's specific movements through the months.

EVENT FOLLOW UP & SETTING INVESTIGATION

There are a number of mysteries for players to solve. Most events have an investigative element that requires player collaboration to uncover.

An example of some mysteries currently unsolved are:

What really happened to Starstruck?
Who was the person who hacked the Expo exhibits?
What caused the first confluence?
Who and what brought you all here?
What exactly are the flowers in Sunset Falls? Are they here to stay?

To ensure that this is visible to all players and isn't lost in the shuffle, there is a dedicated toplevel to investigations HERE. Please reply to this comment.

MOD PERMISSION REQUESTS

Actions that will significantly affect or impact the game must be run by the mod team before being introduced into play.

These would be things that alter the shared setting of the game environment in a way that cannot be easily ignored.

For this, we ask players to visit the PLAYER PLOT & Mod Permission page. Below is an example of actions that go beyond consequence reporting or investigation. You can use this page to develop a plot in this direction, but these actions cannot be taken until approval has been given.

A character is killed and not revived two hours after their death. Characters will still revive after this happens. However, this must be brought to the mod team.

Your character installs surveillance equipment around town that would allow them to spy on NPCs or player characters. This would require a permissions post and a post on the OOC comm to notify players that it has occurred.

Your character destroys established areas of the setting. Guild HQs, established landmarks, or large parts of the cities.

Your character causes mass casualties.

Your character enters an agreement with a God / Demon for power (outside of an event).

Your character kills an Mod Created NPC.

Your character kills and becomes a God.

Your character breaks Guild Law.

Your character tries to go to the Underworld.

Your character attempts to destabilize the guilds or government.

These actions are still doable! However, as they may greatly impact the setting and may count as mini events, we ask players submit them on the Player Plot page.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Character Name: Jason Todd
Character Alignment: Unaffiliated
Summary of Actions Taken: Would it be possible for Jason to find an abandoned space (warehouse, abandoned gym, etc) in Central City and renovate it to be a private gym large enough to also practice some gymnastics?
OOC Goals & Intended Outcome: Jason would initially want the space to be just his own but others in the BatFamily could quickly find out about it and also renovate it with him before they all use it. Certain friends of the BatFamily can also be involved depending on the circumstances.

tl;dr would it be possible to eventually develop a BatGym?

Hello Pinky!

This is very possible. There are many abandoned buildings in the city, whose owners don't care enough to check the property.

It may be wise for Jason to acquire the title to the property down the line as the more people coming in and out of it, the more likely it is that someone will report it to the owner.

Character Name: Darth Nox
Character Alignment: Unaffiliated

Summary of Actions Taken: Nox has--due in no small part to his horrible tendency to just appear and disappear as he pleases and only provide an explanation if he feels like it--spent a good deal of time dealing with various street-level threats that would often go unaddressed in Sunset Falls and unknowingly attracting a following. While some of the things he deals with would be your usual petty crimes (the occasional mugging or assault being dealt with, etc), he'd be especially active wherever the supernatural is concerned. Snatching up any stray ghosts that wander around causing problems and harassing people, for example. This sort of behavior has also become much more frequent over time as he and Strange have been investigating a certain cult, and it's almost certainly begun to be noticed by the regular folk--either just as bystanders or as the very people he's helping. And people are bound to get creative when the person doing this is dressed like some kind of cosmic space horror wielding a glowing sword, hurling lightning around, and generally being a quiet creepy bastard.

OOC Goals & Intended Outcome: Nox will have been seen enough times that several people will have begun to form a cult of their own around what they think he is and what they think he's doing. It's something he'll catch wind of and take over on his own eventually, but for now it's going to be something not quite big enough to warrant further investigation from him (especially since, y'know, everything else going on. In addition to the actual ongoing investigation with Strange). But it's probably not out of the question that whispers would start spreading about something/someone called the Night Lord roaming about after dark. More than a few stories would be of the favorable variety, imagining it's some sort of guardian entity protecting people with strange magic and a flaming sword, especially among the poorer residents of the city and especially among any transient members of the community (who would, by default, be some of the ones most likely to see him and most likely to be at risk of being harmed by all the weird spooky shit that tends to go down in Sunset Falls after dark). Others could understandably be a good deal more unnerved by him and think it's a more malevolent entity just biding its time or laying the groundwork for something worse, though considering Nox himself isn't running around committing crimes ~~or at least not being noticed, because invisibility and mind tricks~~, the people supporting those sorts of positions will very likely be in the minority.

It's something he'll definitely take advantage of in time, but this would be more like the beginning phase of it. Where it's happening without his direct knowledge or [intentional] influence. And I plan on it becoming more of a solidified thing over time, which would occur through additional updates in the setting engagement stuff over the coming months.

Hi Saint!

Congratulations on your budding cult, Nox! Sunset Falls is grateful to have a protector keeping their streets safe from the things that go bump in the night, even if they're somewhat terrified of him. Do not be alarmed if you find offerings in the shape of your mask being left on porches as a request for protection.

Character Name: Hibiki Tachibana (

determinationtofist) and Maria Cadenzavna Eve (

silverapple)
Character Alignment: Hibiki is with the alliance, Maria is still unaligned.
Summary of Actions Taken: Faced with the growing unrest and negativity that Hibiki can quite literally feel, she'll try to perform in concerts more frequently to try and spread positive messages and such. As for her actions as a Hero, she'll be very frequently working alongside Maria now that her friend and fellow Symphogear Wielder is here with her. How well does all of this end up going with the public? What's the status of her popularity in general with the growing unrest towards Metas? What kind of messages does the Alliance try to push her to spread?

On a semi-unrelated note, if Maria were to storm up to Hibiki's agent to negotiate a better work-life balance for Hibiki, how well would that go? Unlike Hibiki, Maria actually has experience in this business.

OOC Goals & Intended Outcome: Aside from seeing what happens and how things are going, getting Hibiki a better work-life balance so that she doesn't burn herself out is Maria's ultimate goal.

Sliding in here to confirm my involvement with this setting engagement— Maria herself is adamant on giving Hibiki a better work/life balance.

Hibiki's popularity will vary greatly depending on the city. Excelsior will be refusing to put on shows, however her loyal fans will not be swayed so easily. They saw how she fought the Kaijuu and they've seen how willing she is to throw herself into danger for their sakes. They will be more fervent than ever, and will be throwing more money at any classic idol events she does.

Central City is warming to her. And Sunset Falls is full of meta children who are all too eager to see her. Across the country, Hibiki is becoming an incredibly divisive figure - but her membership in the Alliance remains a key point in people supporting her.

However, there is a growing contingent of protestors outside her concerts. Asking if people have considered that her songs may be part of the reason the sky broke open.

Her adoring fanbase will also be elated should any friends in-game (especially castmates with similar powers) join her.

The Alliance is pushing her to promote joining. The safety they can provide. And her agent, when faced with Maria, will be unmoved. Can't she see that they need Hibiki more than ever? She's becoming the face of TRUE heroism, they NEED her to continue to be front and center.

Great! And in the time since this post, Hibiki is now also joined by Chris, AKA Ichaival! Me, Azure, and Tyranno are brainstorming things together, so I hope you don't mind if I put down comments here for all three of us.

Since Hibiki's adoring fanbase is plenty-welcoming of Hibiki's friends joining her, Chris will be joining Hibiki's side in the Superhero Idol life, both in concerts and in acting as heroes. This will hopefully help in lessening the load on Hibiki herself.

Speaking of, Maria is not happy about Hibiki's treatment. She's quick to point out that this is putting Hibiki at a much higher risk of hurting herself than normal, and if they want her to be an icon so badly, that kind of thing is far from ideal. ~~Mama Maria wants her kids treated right, damn it.~~

On Maria's own end in the music business, though, she'll also have been acting alongside Hibiki and even singing with her as well. That being said, she wants to take a different approach to it. Is it possible for Maria to become more of an internet idol? Posting songs online, become a fashion influencer, and so on? She's working with Hibiki, if that will help her online presence at all.

Hibiki, meanwhile, has way less thoughts on it herself. Both as a result of her own lack of priority placed on her own well-being, and her being... herself. On a more lighthearted note, though, she's positively delighted that so many kids in Sunset Falls are her fans! She'll be sure to have plenty of concerts over there, along with meet-and-greets where all of her adoring children-fans can get to meet her themselves. She'll even let the younger tykes feel her wolf/dog ears if they ask nicely first! Getting along with kids, this is something that Hibiki is not only good at, but genuinely enjoys as well.

As for the protesters... well, she can't say she really knows what to do about that. She'll just continue to try and spread positivity with her songs, insisting that even if things get scary, we can get through these things together by trying to understand and trust each other. Mutual understanding is difficult, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to strive for it.

Hibiki's agent will gladly arrange concerts for all three of them. Maria's words fall on deaf ears. She's not motivated by pleas for sympathy, her only goal is ensuring that the damage done to the Alliance's image doesn't go any further. Her new groupmates will certainly help alleviate the strain of any hero work she's doing, but the trio may find themselves exhausted by the performance schedule before long.

Hibiki's wellwishes will unfortunately fall on deaf ears. The protestors are not swayed by her messages and will continue to appear outside of venues.

We don't monitor player's in-game social media follower counts so you're welcome to have Maria launch an online idol career. As mentioned in the FAQ, metahumans in general tend to gather followings very quickly. While there's contentions in the main cities, superheroes are still adored and abhored all across the world. There will be a heavy push-back against her if she is openly identifying as meta and not maintaining a secret identity. There may be threats of doxxing from the more vile corners of the internet - even well meaning fans may go too far if she is not careful and does not protect her secret identity.

We would advise that any plot ideas concerning the girls as individuals be presented separately in the future! We're happy to answer a single post if they're collaborating on something, but for brainstorming elements like this it's easier if we're speaking one on one so we can give each girl's request and ideas our full attention.

Character Name: Jason Todd
Character Alignment: Unaffiliated
Summary of Actions Taken: As detailed here, Jason began his newest attempt at being a crime lord at beginning of this month, before the Fourth Wall Event. He took over the Backbreakers gang by beating Gus Collins, AKA Typhoon, in a fight. Gus is still alive, in one piece, and is still part of the gang but Jason's made it clear who's the new leader now. Jason also took hold of the drugs the gang's addicted to.

New rules were put in place after the very hostile takeover:
- No one under 18 should be involved with the gang in any capacity. Customer, gang member, etc. Nothing. No exceptions. Any adult who gets a kid involved will be killed by Jason.
- No human trafficking of any kind. A death sentence for anyone caught doing this.
- Small businesses owned and operated by young families or elderly people are not to be targeted for extortion or any of the other gang's activities. Again, a death sentence if caught doing this.
- The above rule also applies to places that are doing genuine charitable work such as homeless shelters.
- No using their own product if they're drug dealing. This rule was placed as a way for Jason to protect the gang members and out of pragmatism. Addicts can make mistakes too easily while working. If a member is caught doing this, they'll be pulled out of dealing and be stuck being supervised and doing menial tasks until Jason feels they've learned their lesson. For this infraction, Jason's much more sympathetic and would try to help the gang member get passed their addiction.

No one's been killed because of these new rules so far but Jason's made it very clear he's serious about the punishments.

Despite the very hostile takeover, Jason's been appealing to the gang through nicer means as well:
- They're allowed to keep a larger cut of their profits.
- They're being slowly weaned off of the drugs they're addicted to instead of being forced to go cold turkey off the bat. Jason's sympathetic and knows recovering from addiction is often a slow process that requires patience.
- To make up for the new restrictions he's placed on the gang's activities and in light of the growing anti-meta sentiments post-Fear Event, Jason's allowing the gang to fight back against violent anti-meta people. In self-defense only though. No preemptive strikes and no harming kids.
- Jumping in to protect someone else from violent anti-meta people is encouraged as well.

The Fourth Wall Event has sidetracked Jason's crime lord activities as he's been busy trying to help other metas from the angry Central City mobs. However, he's still trying to stay up to date with the Backbreakers whenever he can. In light of how much worse anti-meta sentiments have gotten, he's told the gang to keep each other safe and help out others against the angry mobs if they can until he gives a new update.

OOC Goals & Intended Outcome: Just want to see what happens. Please let me know if there's anything I should correct as well!

The Backbreakers are resistant to his leadership at first. However, before long, they've warmed to their new leader. Many of them are thrilled to be walking the path of an anti-hero, lead by what seems to be a seasoned expert at the role.

That being said, the D'Amico family will be noting this. They do not appreciate seeing a rag-tag group that was destined for self-destruction suddenly begin to pull things together. Likewise, the Society is watching very carefully. They're content to allow Jason to carry on as he is for now, but with anti-meta sentiment rising, they will be monitoring him closely as they will not abide any breaking of The Code, even by outsiders.

Johnny Red-Eyes in particular just so happens to turn up where Jason at least once a week. Doesn't say anything, just smiles and gives a little wave before carrying on.

Character Name: River Tam
Character Alignment: The Guardian Alliance
Summary of Actions Taken: Requesting to teach physics at the college level. Also requesting to open a dance studio as a side business.
OOC Goals & Intended Outcome: River would love to be able do both science and dance, if possible. I think she would be restless just teaching, and would want more to occupy her time. So she would love to teach dance, as well, and follow her two passions.

River will find herself with no shortage of job offers for these skills. Lofty Heights will welcome her as a teacher should she want to join their ranks, but other illustrious educational institutions will be vying for her thanks to the Alliance's connections. The only place that will not welcome her is Excelsior - but, if she is maintaining a civilian identity and not disclosing her powers then they will not care and will welcome her anyway.

The same goes for the dance studio.

River is maintaining a civilian identity and only disclosing powers to friends, but it is not public knowledge. She has not taken on a hero identity, rather more interested in laying low for now and trying to solve the mystery of how everyone came to be here.

River would pick the most challenging institution to teach for. Since she currently lives in Excelsior, she would set up her dance studio there.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

SETTING ENGAGEMENT

AUGUST 2022 - Setting Engagement

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