Noir one-shots

[Supercape]

Just casting around for interest and suggestions on a semi-idea that has stewed in my head for a while.

The idea would be to dust off the "non-canon" forum (and yes, its 1/2 Post count so be warned), to do a few "Noir one-shots". You throw up a quick "Noir" version of your character and have a tragic gumshoe type heroic story as one - off.

In such a thread you can, and probably will, fail or have a half-baked victory. You can have an epic, heroic death too, or a some such similar tragic ending. Something cool...but...heroic still. Stuff its difficult to do with a character you play regularly.

Anyway, just casting around if anyone is interested. There is Noir M&M sourcebook, after all!

A few ideas from that...

1. Best to have a lower PL version of your character, probably 6-10.

2. Whilst people die, damage is lethal, etc, this is not an excuse to go Iron Age or violent. Noir violence is real, but unlike the excesses of Iron Age, it is relatively uncommon precisely because its real. Particular care is needed here, no dick-ishness.

3. Some powers are ill suited to Noir - mind reading (and its like), healing/regeneration, teleportation (and to a lesser degree, many travel powers).

4. Above all, stay heroic. This is superhero Noir, not an excuse to be a anti-hero dick. Whilst you can, and probably should be, a psychological mess and in a heap of trouble, you are still a hero, and there are limits. Think of the Femme Fatale or Compulsive Gambler in debt kind of story hooks of Noir, not "I torture the mook to find out where the boss is".

In any case, this is all a bit provisional at the moment, so I am just throwing out for discussion at the moment.

EDIT: Yes, I am offering to Gm one or two Noir one-shots, so be warned! ;)

[Supercape]

After a bit of chat in...errr...chat...a few more thoughts.

1. Noir works best in older, less modern settings I think. No requirement for this, but setting it a few decades back always seemed a good idea to me.

2. As your character may well end up dead at the end of the one-shot, I was thinking of you submitting a PL6-10 version of a character. As this is a one-shot non-cannon thread, it won't need to be scrutinised carefully, this is a bout a fun one-off alt-universe story rather than an ongoing campaign. So just post it up and go.

3. Noir is of course quite difficult to define. Especially Superhero Noir. I am thinking of the Noir sourcebook as a basis, but it of course is rather broad in what Noir can be. Sin City, some Golden Age heroes, classic Noir films...?

4. Whilst I was thinking of running 1 or 2 of these, happy to play too!

[Supercape]

Also, if GMing, I was thinking about reactivating my Kicker thing, which I think would Suit Noir very well.

[GranspearZX]

I could definitely get behind this.

Likely as a player, with Crusader, since he'd be easier to mold into the setting.

I'm open to teaming if anyone wants to do so.

[KnightDisciple]

Potentially interested, with Gabriel at first, but maybe later with CT. Dunno. Still rolling the idea ball around in my head on it...

[TheAbsurdist]

Yo.

[Raveled]

I want to see noir!Asad. :P

[Raveled]

So is this a generic noir 'verse, or our specific one? Where the demon invasion wasn't undone and the city is wrecked and ruined?

[KnightDisciple]

I have the perfect idea for Gabriel, since I'm guessing we're setting this in the 30s to early 50s.

Gabriel (or perhaps just Carson) is a G-Man. After all, the FBI has often had a lot of Irish Catholics in it!

[Tiffany Korta]

Thinking about it I can see Angus as a Jazz singer in a club in Harlem (or the Freedom equivalent).

[Supercape]

For those that have expressed interest so far (TiffK, Absurdist, KnightD, Granspear), are you interested in playing or GMing?

Even if not interested, thoughts from everyone about how to run this / ideas would be most welcome.

[Supercape]

And on that note, here are mine!

Power level: 6-10 (I would be more keen on 6-8)

Setting: As its one-off, non-cannon, technically anywhere / anyhow, but the principle would be in an alternative universe, 1930-1960s ish flavour, Superpowers are rarer or possibly unique in this setting.

Violence:

Lethal damage is the norm, and death happens. However, and this is important, this is not Iron Age. Precisely because of the lethality, actual physical violence will be kept short, frightning, and important. No torture, no gratuitous violence. If anything Noir is about psychological violence - scheming, intimidation, etc.

Political correctness:

This remains. No homophobia, no sexism, no racism - by players. Some of these things are touched on by Noir, it is true, and I would not want to exclude the reality of some of these things in a historical setting, but let us be clear, as per the site rules, these things should be considered wrong in principle. NOS are about good stories, not an excuse to slip these views under the radar.

Having said that, some elements of Noir, like the femme fatale being underestimated for being a woman, or struggling with religious faith, or alcoholism, or gambling, are ok and can be complications [see below]. Just dont let this slip into the bad stuff. No "bashing" on the basis of sex, gender, orientation, religion, or politics. Also, keep NOS PG-13.

Complications and Fatal Flaws:

Stuff your character as full of complications as possible. However, I would suggest using one aspect from the M&M Source book, namely the fatal flaw. this is basically a complication which will rule your thread and you get no HP for. Yep, its Noir folks. This fatal flaw will serve as one of the main engines for the NOS.

Give yourself an ending:

Unlike Modern Hollywood, where endings are avoided in order to milk the cash cow of the sequel, aim for a conclusive ending. And probably not a great one. Range from bitter sweet victory to heroic sacrifice. The important thing is that as this is a one-shot you can go to town and produce a definitive ending that is not possible with a character you will keep on using. Thing of an epilogue - singing songs as a burnt out barfly, committed to an institution, or joining the foreign legion, etc. If it was a comic or book, then when you shut the comic / book, you would feel things have ended.

Powers in General:

You will be playing a weaker version of your character, whose powers, if there are any, might be quite different. Supercape might just have X-Ray vision and Laser Beam eyes, for instance. Rene might be able to paint to allow precognition and have a cursed ink pot that allows him to create illusions whilst draining his life force. Keep it reasonably tight and simple. Vast arrays that get you out of trouble are not going to be a good idea. you are aiming to get into trouble, and stay there

"Banned" Powers:

Some powers that are almost certainly not going to be a good idea: Off to the top of my head:

Mind reading (big no no), Danger Sense, Darkvision (hey...its Noir...), Care with supersenses (and ESP) in general (Mystery is big...), Regeneration and Healing (bad idea, you want to bleed and bruise!), Travel powers - particularly Dimension and Time travel, and to a lesser extent Teleportation (you cant run), Im not too keen about concealment (you cant hide, either!), Impervious protection (knives and bullets hurt you, and on that note, immunity to these is a bad idea!).

There are possibly others, I'm sure you can use judgement. Many of the above powers would be ok with suitable limitations and drawbacks, and I suspect powers in general would be more fun with limitations.

Submission of characters:

Use the standard format, but dont sweat it. This is a one shot, we aren't going to enter into heavy scrutinisation and discussion. On that note, I think it would be broadly a good idea to keep to the 15PP/PL format, but if you need more PP to fill out your character adequately, then feel free to go over a little. Bear in mind however that we are scaling down the power level. You dont need maxed out characters, an "18" score in INT is genius (similar for other stats), etc.

Anyway, those are my thoughts! I would like NOS to be collaborative, however, so thoughts and comments please (including from those that are making suggestions without wanting to take a bash at a thread!). As noted above, I'm happy to GM but also happy to play.

[Supercape]

NB: If expressing interest, please note if its as player or GM. And if as player, if its solo, or as teaming up with somebody else you have discussed with.

[KnightDisciple]

Interest: Player, Team Up if possible. Not sure with who.

Setting: Time-wise, the 30s to early 50s. That feels like it would hit the sweet spot of the pulp-noir angle we're taking. Location-wise, either Freedom City, or if we want to be more "grounded", New York.

Character: Sheet(s) will have to wait, but I'm thinking Gabriel as an FBI agent, an Honest Man in a dishonest town, with a silver tongue (aka increased Charisma) that can, occasionally, bust down a door (some sort of Damage). Other than that, skills, feats, and a nickel-plated pistol that just happens to use silver-plated bullets.

If I end up using Cobalt Templar, he's likely getting up-aged into a pseudo-Indiana Jones sort. But that's less clear.

Ending: A little openness isn't bad. After all, Casablanca had a rather open ending, all told.

[GranspearZX]

Interest: Player, Team Up if possible.

Setting: I'm good with Freedom City, but can alter background info to accommodate.

Character: Sheets forthcoming in an Alternate Versions thread, but Arcturus/Ironbear Jones (PL8) is a 'retired' prizefighter bent on taking down the mafia that tried to ruin his career and his life. That's... really all I've got.

Ending: Happy endings are always nice! I'm all for an open ending of course. All depends on where the RP goes.

[Tiffany Korta]

Interest : Another player I'm afraid, and I'm also up for a team-up if the stories mesh.

Setting : As I said above 30's Harlem or equivalent.

Character : I'm thinking a mostly de-powered Agnus, especial as several or her powers are on the ban list.

Ending : I was thinking of a classic revenge story with Agnus trying to catch and possibly kill the person who killed her man. So I'm thinking at best a bitter sweet ending...

[TheAbsurdist]

Interest : Player, but I could run someone else's thread.

Setting : An exotic port of call, or some other big city.

Character : I am thinking Asad for this. Must use Fisticuffs and his smart mouth. Probably was in the British army or the Foreign Legion at some point.

Ending: Asad falls for femme fatale, duh. This does not end well. Could be similar to Casablanca.

[Supercape]

Thanks for interest and ideas, all put into melting pot.

As December is a busy month and full of disruptions, I would like to kick these off in January. In the mean time, spend some time firming up what you want, the kickers, and the character (including fatal flaw) - as well as for those that want to pair up, discussing in between you!

Ill leave this open for discussion, and if anyone else wants to chip in that would be great too.

[Ari]

Interest: As a player, though if needed I'll gladly GM as well.

Setting: Preference is for Freedom City, sometime in the early 1930s.

Character: King of Suits, here a normal guy(PL6) named Roi Marceau striving to break the grip Driogano's mob has on his neighborhood.

Ending: He fails and is killed by Big Al's men, though his efforts do inspire others to begin the work of overthrowing that yoke.

[KnightDisciple]

FWIW, here's my work-in-progress sheet for this version of Carson: Carson "Archangel" Keefe.

He's PL8 for his caps (though obviously things are wiggled a bit), but, yes, a bit over that in points. That's my bad, since he's kind of one-shot I wasn't sticking too strictly to budget... :o

[Supercape]

Its a one-shot, I wouldn't worry to much about PP / Budget!

Scanning over him, and it looks cool, my two comments are:

1. Luck feat (and luck powers) may not be a good fit. As you are stuffed full of complications, I think it would be a good idea to use those to gain HP.

2. A few skills, like intimidate / diplomacy / bluff, at +17 bonus and skill mastery may be a little high for a low powered and very social-conflict driven thread...essentially he will win almost every conflict. I get its his "bag" but on the other hand Noir is very much about social conflict, deception, intimidation, etc. +17 Bonuses are very hard to beat when most people would have +5-+10 even if they are skilled at that level. I'm not militant about this, but looking at it not sure its the best fit, perhaps in the range of +12 or so tops would be good - enough to beat a low level thug (most of the time), but not dominate "bosses" (but still have good chance of doing so). Eh, just thoughts...

Anyone have any comments?

[KnightDisciple]

Its a one-shot, I wouldn't worry to much about PP / Budget!

That's sort of what I figured.

1. Luck feat (and luck powers) may not be a good fit. As you are stuffed full of complications, I think it would be a good idea to use those to gain HP.

Maybe I'm not being active enough in invoking my Complications or something, but in all my threads on this board, I think I've gotten Complication-related HP like....2-3 times. Most of my GM-given Hero Points are due to Fiat and the like. And as invaluable as I keep finding HP to be, Luck feels like an invaluable investment.

Could we compromise, and I remove 1 rank of the feat?

2. A few skills, like intimidate / diplomacy / bluff, at +17 bonus and skill mastery may be a little high for a low powered and very social-conflict driven thread...essentially he will win almost every conflict. I get its his "bag" but on the other hand Noir is very much about social conflict, deception, intimidation, etc. +17 Bonuses are very hard to beat when most people would have +5-+10 even if they are skilled at that level. I'm not militant about this, but looking at it not sure its the best fit, perhaps in the range of +12 or so tops would be good - enough to beat a low level thug (most of the time), but not dominate "bosses" (but still have good chance of doing so). Eh, just thoughts...

I'm going to drop his Enhanced Charisma by 2 (so 1 less on mod), and drop 2 ranks of the skills. That'll give him a +14 when he's got his superpowers involved.

[Supercape]

All cool, and up to you KD!

As a GM I tend to work pretty hard to try and allow HP from complications, myself. And I have noticed it is considerably easier to do with just one or two players! Getting 2-3 HP in your entire play here is unfortunately low in my opinion! In any case, if you want to grab a rank of luck thats fine by me - but I will be working those complications if I GM!

[Supercape]

Ok I am starting this up!

All who expressed an interest (plus any who want to jump on board), post here a thread intro* and a link to (or actual) Nior character (remember above points, and ill only glance over it to check nothing stands out as difficult), and ill take it away!

*By this I mean I would like (its not required) the first post in the thread to be yours...and I will play off it. Post it here or pm me it so I can just check once again it isnt going to cause major difficulties, and then ill go!

[KnightDisciple]

I'm definitely still up for this.

Did anyone want to do a team-up with "Archangel"?