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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 13, 2014 11:24:39 GMT -6
Right, so the next story arc will involve the Red Court. HOWARD LEE (Giger) is going to be very prominent in this arc (to make up for me sidelining him as much as I accidentally did last arc.) Obviously, I do not have a plot hammered out ... so I may very well farm out to the PCs about plot points they would like to see. I've spun up a poll for the preferred name of Arc 4. Some basic elements that will come into play, however: - Lee is going to find out that black-eyed chicky poo (aka "Sarah Manning") is responsible for Madeline's murder.
- Adelle DeWitt, a person of interest for him, is going to have completely dropped off the planet. He (Lee) probably suspects she's been eliminated.
- All PCs are going to run afoul of Red Court in some fashion - let me know if you have an idea on an especially cool way for your character to get sucked into this. (See what I did there?)
Now as I indicated on Friday (10/10/14), all events are going to occur in real-time, so we don't yet know how much time will have elapsed. I'm operating on a guesstimate of 6 months or so from October (now), which puts us to around April or so. My thinking is that, if it works for everyone, I will plan to run an arc each time someone else's run concludes (not counting the space between MikeE and Magman.) Each arc will be between 4 to 7 or 8 sessions. So right after Savage Tide goes on hiatus, I'll run this, then someone else runs for a bit, and then I'll run the next arc, and so on. What I need from the players is a handful of "Things My PC is going to be doing from end of White Trash to the beginning of Blood [Whatever]." It doesn't have to be extensive, but the more plot points you manage to sneak in there, the better. I haven't quite decided how much to reward these little blurbs, but I do intend to hand out at least 1-3 (maybe more) bonus CPs for participation and assistance here. Some things to consider: - In early November, the Red Court of vampires declares war on the White Council of Wizards. There will be rumors that this was precipitated by some sort of event in Chicago that resulted in a lot of deaths (humans and Red Court vampires.) This war will have not quite spilled into OKC as of game-time, though it's unclear that is because the city simply isn't considered important enough.
- Due to his awesome sauce being captured on film, JACK CARTER is going to be a minor celebrity for a short period of time. He IS eligible to purchase a new Reputation based on this if he desires.
- HOWARD LEE will have had to deal with an Internal Affairs investigation to confirm that he actually isn't involved with Madeline's death. Needless to say, he's not going to have a positive thought about the IA guys.
- BRANDON HARRIS is going to be doing a lot of verbal tapdancing with the personnel of the Ordos Malleus if he wishes to keep his new mission (find the angel Anael and free her) secret from them as instructed by Jegudiel.
- BRANDON has also discussed purchasing Detective GRAY as an Ally. This remains an option.
- ROBERT MANKILLER is going to jail for a while, but Miss Raith's expert counsel (from the offices of Wolfram and Hart) will get him out on a technicality (not to mention, the evidence all being contaminated, deemed inadmissible, or simply vanishing). So he's going to be back in action within two weeks, breaking legs and taking names. So to speak. Ideally, he will find himself increasingly drawn deeper and deeper into Miss Raith's organization, though I leave the specifics up to the player.
- SHU LING (should he be able to rejoin the group by that time) will have become the full-time senior priest of that church after the previous pastor's arrest for embezzling. Song Qi, the parishioner who he helped out when she was suicidal, will have gotten better ... and then she died suddenly and unexpectedly. Ling will suspect foul play and will actually have (at least briefly) interacted with LEE and CARTER during the investigation. Spoiler: She got Turned by a vampire, which I think would be an excellent way to weave his story into the others.)
- As stated during gametime, SOFIA TORRES will find her training increasingly farmed out to other fairly competent wizards as Doctor Solomon remains distracted and even more short-tempered than normal by his research. There will exist the opportunity for her to be recruited by the Wardens should the player be interested in that route.
I would like if ALL PCs have at least something in the area of Romantic Life (for Tarot card pulls.) Some ideas for romantic partners: - Adina Levy - any male PC (though I think Jack is probably the most likely option there.)
- Allison Sanchez - Sofia only, should she become bi-curious as Allison is gay.
- Danielle Waite - was (might still be) Robert Mankiller's friend with benefits. Might become more following her near death experience at the Tower.
- Detective Marisol Smith - any male PC. TBH, Brandon seems most logical here which could make his friendship with Gray turn weird/funny.
- Father Cristián Arreaza - Sofia, though he's a Catholic priest so there likely won't be sexy good times.
- Mike Massey - Sofia. Which would probably weird Howard out a little bit.
- Rosalee Calvert - any male PC BUT Jack.
- ATF S/A Kara Moretti - any male PC BUT Robert. She likes to blow shit up but doesn't trust people with connections like Mankiller has.
- Tammy White - any male PC BUT Jack. She sees him more of a brother type.
- Others that can be created. FREX, Giger and I have already discussed a potential Fae love interest for Howard (not Aoibheal, though she's probably behind it...)
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Post by LabRat on Oct 14, 2014 10:50:51 GMT -6
Plans for Sofia after "White Trash" (Subject to change without notice):
First things first, she needs to have a serious discussion with Solomon about her ‘mental’ condition. Because now she knows that something isn’t right with her since her flashbacks, and meeting her MeMaw. She’s also probably worried about him since he has become so withdrawn and elusive. Especially since she can’t help but feeling hurt that she is being pawned off to other people for additional training. This may trigger a major falling out depending on Solomon’s reaction. But out of character, this is a good excuse for her to learn some new spells that is out of her wheel house.
Speaking of MeMaw, she is going to research her name ‘Cerridwen’ to see if it pops up in any of the old texts or maybe historical fairy tales/fables.
She needs to find a new place to live. Will is probably going to get home soon from the hospital (if he hasn’t already, the timeline gets fuzzy for me) and things might get a bit awkward if she overstays her welcome. She’s also going to keep an eye out for that creepy guy who was spying on her that one day and then pulled a Batman and disappeared. What was up with that?
This is going to be a time period where Sofia isn’t feeling as confident as she used to. She knows that there is something wrong with her, but she doesn’t understand the implications of what her grandma told her. So she is probably going to go hang out with Adina a lot and involve herself with activities (the clubbing/bar scene) that she normally wouldn’t be so interested in. She’s looking for a bit of escapism.
Eventually Sofia is going to need some sort of solidarity in her life. If she can’t trust her past, and Solomon is keeping his distance, then she is probably going to join up with the Gray Wardens to bring some structure into her life. Even though she is reluctant to fully embrace the ‘duty first without question’ mentality of the Wardens, she needs an anchor and focus, because she feels like she is spinning out of control.
Regarding romance- I am not sold on the current options that would work for her, so maybe we need to bring in someone new. Maybe she might meet someone at the gym, the club, another gray warden perhaps?
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 14, 2014 11:32:27 GMT -6
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Post by LabRat on Oct 14, 2014 11:41:20 GMT -6
"Gray" Wardens? Geez, where the hell did that come from?
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 14, 2014 11:42:26 GMT -6
Drink the blood of the darkspawn!
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Post by LabRat on Oct 14, 2014 11:47:42 GMT -6
Hey, she could become a grey warden and we would have an epic crossover on our hands
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 14, 2014 12:10:31 GMT -6
Plans for Sofia after "White Trash" (Subject to change without notice): First things first, she needs to have a serious discussion with Solomon about her ‘mental’ condition. Because now she knows that something isn’t right with her since her flashbacks, and meeting her MeMaw. She’s also probably worried about him since he has become so withdrawn and elusive. Especially since she can’t help but feeling hurt that she is being pawned off to other people for additional training. This may trigger a major falling out depending on Solomon’s reaction. Okay, Player Agency time here: How does this play out? Knowing what her true background is as you do and understanding what Solomon is concealing, how do you want this to transpire? Does it just become a screaming match, perhaps with Solomon losing his temper and revealing a tiny sliver of something he shouldn't? Or does it become worse that? Do we have an angry, permanent split between the two? I anticipate Solomon actually being a bit angrier than he should be over this, though Sofia might logically presume that he's angry at himself. Not to mention, when her training is actually diversified, Sofia might come to realize that Solomon has sent her to wizards who aren't gimped by an old injury and can thus actually teach her some of the more higher-end spells he is no longer able to accomplish. Very valid point. Any thoughts about the kind of spell you would like her to learn? See wiki entry. She's going to likely also find some references in more official White Council documents that indicate Cerridwen is Winter Court, but naturally, not a lot is known about her. Where does she end up? Still in Norman? Or into Moore or OKC? Party montage! Solomon will continue to be really distracted as he clearly deep in research into ... something (which is what wizards do, right?) If she does turn to the Wardens, that doesn't necessarily mean she will be required to join them. One way we can handle that is if one of the wizards that Solomon sends her to for a couple of weeks happens to be a Warden and she (Sofia) effectively attends a Warden basic training thing though this might end up just being something the Council decides to make happen, so as to increase the survivability of their apprentices. And during that, the Wardens might take notice of her...
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Post by LabRat on Oct 14, 2014 13:31:14 GMT -6
Okay, Player Agency time here: How does this play out? I don't think that it will permanently dissolve their relationship (at least on Sofia's end). You can't help but assume that she still has some serious baggage she has to deal with due to her last days in Chile. Now she is having fractured memories that indicate that her last days in Chile were much worse. And the one person that might shed some light on the subject (who is her friend and mentor, and pretty much the only one she truly trusts in the entire country) becomes withdrawn and bad tempered. Not to mention on top of that really weird shit is going on, she's effectively homeless, and her companions are kind of nutty. She is going to lash out more due to pain, frustration, and concern for Solomon than real anger. How Solomon reacts to that is up to you. Not yet. I'm still debating a few things, but I will get back to you soon. Norman seems appropriate just because that's where everything is (her friends, her job, Solomon, etc.), but honestly I am not set on any one location if you think another place will work better. I can always recommend crappy Norman apartment complexes I like the 'boot camp' angle. It leaves it open ended for now, and it can play out depending on if the Wardens decide to approach her. And I never took into consideration what transpires at the end of October. Maybe she wants to join the Wardens in order to help kick some serious Red Court ass.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 18, 2014 12:15:57 GMT -6
Bump.
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Post by Gigermann on Oct 20, 2014 13:02:20 GMT -6
Lee, Post-Chapter 5: - Dealing with the investigation of GF's death: He's going to be questioned, naturally, but he's got a strong alibi, so he's unlikely to be implicated unless there's been some evidence planted. He will be "encouraged" to take some time off, and will certainly not be officially allowed to aid the investigation (though he will undoubtedly look into it on his own under the guise of the OBI case).
- I presume the mention of "IA" relates to the "tape"—no other reason I can think of—he will have spoken to Mankiller about his involvement, and after determining the "weird," to Curtmantle, to whom he will likely surrender the tape if asked; I'm assuming he's within his authority to have confiscated the tape since the case was referred to the OSBI, and he'd push that line if not (maybe play dumb—"My bad. Thought that was okay…"); not sure if he'd tamper with it—he'd still like to be able to examine it himself at some point—but he might make a copy
- During early downtime, helping Massey rebuild & doing a lot of training—feeling vulnerable after the GF murder, & needing some therapy (some words, some breaking of things)—spending points in MA style stuff
- Rebuilding his investigation-map from phone-pics, minus the boxes of records; following DeWitt leads
- Bringing Carter in on the OBI case, now that he's personally connected, and helping him look into the "sisters"—big or small task depending on how involved Carter gets
- Studying Carter's books for more Fae info, specifically relating to Aoibheal, orcs, etc—which could end up pointing him to Sofia (he would undoubtedly ask those questions of her when he sees her at the gym)
- Discovering (unintentionally) some of the properties of the sword; looking into Redlands Fencing Center instruction/demos once he decides he can't get rid of the sword
- Discovering (unintentionally) some of the properties of his nose
- [Reserved for card draw]
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 20, 2014 13:23:01 GMT -6
Dealing with the investigation of GF's death: He's going to be questioned, naturally, but he's got a strong alibi, so he's unlikely to be implicated unless there's been some evidence planted. He will be "encouraged" to take some time off, and will certainly not be officially allowed to aid the investigation (though he will undoubtedly look into it on his own under the guise of the OBI case). In the course of his digging into this, he will learn that the investigators have one suspect and that suspect matches the "black-eyed freak" that Lee tangled with (Sarah Manning the evil vampire bitch.) Unfortunately, they can't seem to find this person as she's dropped off the planet No, actually, I hadn't thought of that. My initial thinking was the usual "maverick cop being the prime suspect for his loved one's murder" trope we see in Hollywood, but upon further review and some really good points made by you, IA will be looking into him because: - They are able to determine that Howard served with Robert and has interacted with him a couple times recently.
- Madeline's equally violent death at such a close proximity to the Scout murders
- And finally, the tape in evidence simply vanishes. There's no indication of how it vanished - it simply went poof. So if Howard has a copy, he has the only copy.
Need more specificity here. Is he essentially interrogating Robert? Because he will quickly determine that either Mankiller is a fantastically superb liar or he legitimately has no memory of this event. At some point, it's logical to presume that Lee will also learn (from Jack maybe?) about Robert's fall in the Tower and the transformation into a scary-looking monster so ... I'm also operating on assumption that he was within his legal authority there. As indicated, DeWitt has dropped off the planet. More later (when I start actively working on adventure notes.) There's also the fact that Cosima is now at least peripherally involved since she's aware of the connection to her "brother," Jack. What sort of information is he trying to obtain? To his very great surprise, he will discover that Agent Curtmantle is a regular attendee/instructor type here. He and the guys in charge get along fairly well but some discreet poking around/questioning will reveal that none of the instructors have ever beat "Art" in a duel. I'm also thinking that he's going to meet a really hot redhead named Brigid at some point during this mess that the players know is related to Aoibheal in some fashion but Lee is ignorant of (at least initially.)
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Post by Gigermann on Oct 20, 2014 14:28:21 GMT -6
Misc/additional/clarification: - Lee's going to have a sit-down with Mankiller that will resemble an off-the-record interrogation, knowledge of which may fuel the IA's case; he will be pretty plain about the matter with Mankiller, and understanding of the supernatural element, and more interested in "Some Chick," and will promise to do what he can to get him out but to not get his hopes up—best he can probably get is an insanity plea
- Depending on how much Carter wants Cosima involved, he will be overtly/covertly using her to find out what the "sisters" know, esp. regarding the one with black eyes
- Fae info=Hidden Lore, Savoir Faire, History, etc.
- Notable Smells to account for:
- Cosima
- Henry (@gym)—smells of White Court?
- Curtmantle—who knows?
- Brigid is likely to smell of Autumn?
- Mankiller—White Court, Red Court, other? Also, Emotion Sense during questioning
- During the course of figuring out the "smell" thing, he's going to end up visiting the K-9 training unit and learning a couple of things (esp. the smell of explosives)
@cosima: "Random observation of the day: that spray stuff doesn't hide the smell of marijuana as much as one might think. Just sayin' "
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 20, 2014 14:56:50 GMT -6
Gotcha. Misc/additional/clarification: - Lee's going to have a sit-down with Mankiller that will resemble an off-the-record interrogation, knowledge of which may fuel the IA's case; he will be pretty plain about the matter with Mankiller, and understanding of the supernatural element, and more interested in "Some Chick," and will promise to do what he can to get him out but to not get his hopes up—best he can probably get is an insanity plea
Yeah, that all seems logical. Robert won't actually be very useful - he doesn't recall ever actually meeting "Some Chick." Side Observation: it's entirely probable that Lady Raith's operatives will be behind the IA investigation, especially when so much of the evidence mysteriously disappears. Like maybe some awesome thief who can turn invisible or something walked in and walked out with it. This will be the first Cosima has heard of other siblings, so she might not be very useful. That said, she can probably be talked into helping. If you want to add/increase Hidden Lore: Fae and Savoir Faire: Fae, you may do so. As to Aoibheal's history, not much in Jack's records. The name will be referenced once or twice as someone who is very powerful, very dangerous but sources are unclear as to her actual position in the Summer Court. She's mostly considered the Summer equivalent of the Leanansidhe in Winter Court (which doesn't really help Lee much.) Notable Smells to account for: - Cosima - Smells normal. Yeah, she smokes pot on occasion, and her natural scent is thick with that of another woman, but overall, she smells normal.
- Henry (@gym)—Smells of sex and candy? How does one describe the White Court? Lust and desire and sex and violence. He mostly smells human, but has the WC scent around him that hints at his suspected allegiances.
- Curtmantle—He has NO scent at all, which automatically throws up red flags to Lee.
- Brigid is likely to smell of Autumn? Actually, no. She smells of Summer and of Life, which confuses him. Mostly she smells normal, but there are flashes of Summer that cause him to think she's linked to fae in some way.
- Mankiller—Robert smells of Fire and Blood (but in a different way than Red Court vamps). He definitely also smells of White Court in the same way that Henry does. As to emotion sense, BUDAH will have to chime in there, but I expect he's at least a little panicked over the missing time and the charges/evidence arrayed against him.
Nice. Good thinking there. Lee is so turning into Wolverine...
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 23, 2014 19:28:22 GMT -6
Still need LabRat, MikeE and WxMAN (if he wants) to vote.
Need responses about future plans from Budah, MikeE, MagMan and WxMAN (if he thinks he'll be able to rejoin.)
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Post by Magman on Oct 27, 2014 20:59:49 GMT -6
Reputation Local Hero? Don't really know how that would work? Make a complete inventory of what all is in the trailer. Move about at Malls, movie theaters restaurants brick Town while using supernatural senses to see what is really wondering about town. Maybe that's how I run afoul of Red Court. Find someone who can help me remember more details of the dream with my sister in it. Or to help contact her again through a dream state. Work with Lee on connecting my sisters and myself together.
May update later.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 28, 2014 10:33:35 GMT -6
Reputation Local Hero? Don't really know how that would work? Reputation is a bonus to reaction rolls. Each +1 costs 5 points, but modifiers can reduce this. For example, if you want everyone to always recognize you, well that's 5 points. But if you want a large class of people (all supernatural types, or all non-supernatural types) this halves the cost (round down). Frequency of recognition can also apply so Sometimes (roll of 10 or less) would also halve this so if all non-supernatural types recognize you on a 10 or less, that's 1 point. See Basic p26-28.Man ... uh ... stuff? I'll have to work on that one cause there's a crapload of stuff in there...They're everywhere! Even your partner, Lee, is freaky weird somehow.Heh. You need a hypnotist.Which means Jack is definitely going to learn all about Lee's investigation thing and how it seems tied to yours. Also, Carter will also be around when Lee is investigated by I.A. following the murder of his (Lee's) girlfriend. I don't know if this murder is going to change how Giger plays Lee, but I expect Lee's going to be furious and revenge-minded for at least a little bit. Finally, have you given thought to Love Interests for Jack? I have the list in this thread but if you have other thoughts, let me know.
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Post by Gigermann on Oct 28, 2014 11:12:28 GMT -6
Even your partner, Lee, is freaky weird somehow. Hadn't considered that…now Lee might be showing up as "unnatural"
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 28, 2014 11:19:12 GMT -6
Cause he's got a super power!
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Post by LabRat on Oct 28, 2014 13:22:42 GMT -6
I'm going to go with "Blood Price" just to be difficult.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Oct 28, 2014 13:56:13 GMT -6
You people ...
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Post by LabRat on Oct 29, 2014 11:48:38 GMT -6
Okay fine, I'm okay with Blood Oaths as well...but can we drop off the 's' and just say Blood Oath? Oaths is just an ugly word and hard to get around my tongue.
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Post by Gigermann on Oct 29, 2014 11:50:39 GMT -6
Okay fine, I'm okay with Blood Oaths as well...but can we drop off the 's' and just say Blood Oath? Oaths is just an ugly word and hard to get around my tongue. Then the letter-count won't match up properly
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Post by Rigil Kent on Nov 8, 2014 16:01:38 GMT -6
FWIW, I'm still waiting on MikeE to chime in here.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Dec 23, 2014 15:37:25 GMT -6
FWIW, I'm still waiting on MikeE to chime in here. And a month + later, am still waiting on MikeE to chime in with the naming thing. Also WxMAN can vote since he's likely (hopefully) to rejoin. Need responses about future plans from Budah, MikeE, and WxMAN (if he thinks he'll be able to rejoin.)
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jan 15, 2015 13:48:57 GMT -6
So ... three months later and I still haven't got responses. I get the holidays played havoc and all, but seriously?
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Post by WxMAN on Jan 15, 2015 18:54:09 GMT -6
I will review your posts and let you know this weekend. I haven't got 'caught up' on what all I've missed and honestly I barely have a character for SQs game so I'll be spooling up my involvement as I come back. Thanks for your patience.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jan 16, 2015 10:17:11 GMT -6
No worries. Some of you have valid excuses. Others are just lazy sods. We might also need to revisit your character, WxMAN, and make him a little more proactive in terms of getting him involved. But that's something to review down the road...
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Post by Rigil Kent on Feb 20, 2015 16:36:14 GMT -6
Working "blurb" for the next installment...
Volume IV: Blood Drive: In the wake of several prominent and unexplained disappearances, Agents Carter and Lee find themselves following tenuous leads that carry them to Mexico where they discover things are not as they appear. At the same time, Brandon enlists Sofia’s aid for his own investigation even as the war between the Red Court and the White Council begins to spill into Oklahoma City.
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 7, 2015 16:17:04 GMT -6
FYI, I am still planning on running this after Magman stops or we take a break so I'd like the players to at least keep their characters in mind. Still need some thoughts/remarks on this one: I would like if ALL PCs have at least something in the area of Romantic Life (for Tarot card pulls.) Some ideas for romantic partners: - Adina Levy - any male PC (though I think Jack is probably the most likely option there.)
- Allison Sanchez - Sofia only, should she become bi-curious as Allison is gay.
- Danielle Waite - was (might still be) Robert Mankiller's friend with benefits. Might become more following her near death experience at the Tower.
- Detective Marisol Smith - any male PC. TBH, Brandon seems most logical here which could make his friendship with Gray turn weird/funny.
- Father Cristián Arreaza - Sofia, though he's a Catholic priest so there likely won't be sexy good times.
- Mike Massey - Sofia. Which would probably weird Howard out a little bit.
- Rosalee Calvert - any male PC BUT Jack.
- ATF S/A Kara Moretti - any male PC BUT Robert. She likes to blow shit up but doesn't trust people with connections like Mankiller has.
- Tammy White - any male PC BUT Jack. She sees him more of a brother type.
- Others that can be created. FREX, Giger and I have already discussed a potential Fae love interest for Howard (not Aoibheal, though she's probably behind it...)
I would also like to know the answer to the following: "What event or sequence of events would lead your character to making a (metaphorical) deal with the devil?" Specifically, in regards to this, I would like to know what would lead him or her to reach for Power (tm). Some of the characters are in a position to (literally in some cases) make deals with some fairly potent entities (e.g., Lee and Aoibheal, for example) that could significantly increase that character's capabilities. What kind of scenario would lead your character to going ahead and pulling the trigger on grabbing for that power, regardless of consequence?
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Post by Magman on May 7, 2015 19:07:26 GMT -6
Sorry but the whole love interest thing I prefer to pass on.
Go all the way to find my sister
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