MEGALOS ep. 0 - Prepare for Adventure!

Games MEGALOS
1

(Notes I took last night)

Setting

High fantasy crystalpunk. Adventurers in Ordam Rift – floating islands over a sea of mutative mist. Currently low, exposing islands (the Unshrouded Lands).

Magic everwhere. But oppression from the Arlight Empire.

  1. Not Nazis every week.
  2. Home base.
  3. Scholarly patron paying us.

“Earnestly ridiculous” tone. Fantastic things. Weird things.

Characters

JAMES: Seirus Depthstrider. Indiana Jones from Atlantis. Found a secret and is on the run. The Old Empire. A land below the mists? Maybe some floating islands have risen from the land below. Xenophobic – hiding their presence, but some rumors, sirens, etc., but no trade. Fish people vs humanoid people, the latter (like the PC) being looked down on. Raconteur – taking damage, throwing taunts.

DAVE: Carabas from before … but a bit darker maybe? Psythe. An exile from his Undying Land, the Shire, too curious and disruptive and even violent to fit in. In the Imperium, his natural talents made him a killer/enforcer for Imperial (or criminal?). Realizing this was Not Good, he broke away, went into semi-hiding, to explore, to protect, to stab Imperials in the face, and to maybe, just maybe, do something so amazing and spectacular that he can return home …

MARGIE: Auoy. Draloi, sure. In the scary, blood-bending side of it. Lucretia, from Girl Genius. Homeland … Eldashi.

BILL: Xeric Mesos. Final Fantasy Dark Knight. Channel their inner dark emotions into a combat style. Make the darkness manifest. Not evil, just pissed-off. Shadow Blade. Fighter school, but emotionally conflicted. Abducted by mentor, let me teach you about the shadow blade. Returned in time to protect his village from Imperial support – but the way he fought scared the shit out of everyone (“Demon!”). So merc. Hired by org. People he knows (NPCs).

Advancements

  1. Bonds (with another player character, explore them, earn XP). 3XP = lvl
  2. Milestones (goals, earn XP). 3XP = lvl
  3. Consensus (how many XP we earned this game, 0-3). <==

(I didn’t do notes of the game mechanics discussions.)

1 Like
2

Peaceful fishing village: hey we just want to get back to our quiet life, can anyone help?

Former peaceful villager:

1400×700 102 KB

3 Likes
3

Party: we need a healer, someone who cherishes life and will do their best to keep us safe
The healer:

3 Likes
4

The expedition: we need trustworthy people with unquestionable loyalty, but we’re also bad at judging people because we’re academics!
Junior researcher: ooh, kitties are good! Can we have a kitty?
The compromise:

773×773 40.4 KB

2 Likes
5

Expedition: Jesus, these people are pretty dark. Fine, we’ll get one more person, but there better not be anything fishy going on with this one.
This one:

threaded_cane

2 Likes
6

I’m cackling at the implication that a fantasy action archaeologist is a dark souls protagonist.
Become an Archaeologist! Explore ancient civilizations! And fight for your life against bygone beings!

3 Likes
7

Not to be pedantic, but that would be a Bloodborne protagonist not a Dark Souls protagonist.

Dark Souls protagonists battle the relics of a bygone age hanging on in the dying light of their era. Bloodborne protagonists battle the horrors stirred by people delving into powers beyond their comprehension.

8

I was using Dark Souls as a general form for the various FromSoftware games. And I would argue that the likelihood of running across relics of a bygone age hanging on in the dying light of their era is fairly high.

9

While this is quite true, I also want you to look at your fellow adventurers and ask “Would any of these folks delve into powers beyond their comprehension, therefore stirring some horror or horrors?” Because I imagine the answer is going to be a resounding yes.

1 Like
10

I think most already have.

2 Likes
11

Guys I just picked that gif because it has a boss monster and a whip

3 Likes
12

Yeah, and we’re just being nerds dissecting story themes. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

1 Like
13

So I asked the creator of the game a question about one of the moves that didn’t make sense in its implementation (Auto-Attack) and it turns out two of the moves in the book need to be fixed. I’ll make the changes in Roll20 handouts, but keep in mind that Auto-Attack and Punishment do not function as written.

2 Likes
14

God dammit I built my entire character out of punishing people who drink potions in my presence

1 Like
15

Maybe not quite that dark. :smirk_cat:

1 Like
16

Beats digging holes and then filling them up again. Unless, you know, you’re reburying the bygone beings you dug up.

2 Likes
17

Blood is life and I cherish it.

4 Likes