SGAM Ryuutama Session 1: Tholo the Peddler

This is the first session of my Ryuutama game for SGAM. The goal of this first week is to try out a RPG I've never played before. I've heard some talk about the game Ryuutama and some of its themes and mechanics. So, I thought I'd give it a try.

A Brief Bit About The Game

Ryuutama is a Japanese TTRPG that is made for beginners in mind, to teach people about Western TTRPGS like D&D. The game itself is labelled as honobono, which is a more pastoral, heart-warming style of game. It has a charm and style that reminds me heavily of Studio Ghibli films as well as the Dragon Quest video games, both of which I'm very fond of. Instead of a focus on dungeon delving and combat, Ryuutama's adventures revolve around travelling, exploration, and meeting new people.  You gain experience by exploring different sections of the map, with more difficult terrains and weather granting more XP. You also gain XP from combat, but you only get it from the toughest encounter of that session. The standard classes of fighter, mage, thief, and cleric are replaced by professions, like merchant and farmer. In addition, there are three Types that dictate how your character approaches obstacles. They are Attack (the fighter), Technical (the skilled), and Magic (the mage). There are only four attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Spirit) and the scores are all even numbers from 4 to 12. They are tied to the different dice you have. So if you have a Strength 6, you roll a d6 for your checks. Skills don't exist. You just roll the correct combination of attributes and meet or beat a Target Number to succeed. So for Perception, you roll Dex+Int. If my Dex is a 4 and my Int is a 6, then I would roll a d4+d6. Rolling snake eyes is a fumble, while rolling either boxcars or the maximum of each dice is a critical check.

What is interesting about this game is that it has a GMNPC called the Dragon (or Ryuutama). In the implied setting, these dragons latch onto travelers and feed off of adventures and stories. The Dragon has some GM moves that can either help the players along, or complicate their lives a bit. As the players go through different sessions, this Dragon actually will level up and gain new abilities (called Benedictions and Reveils). After some time, the dragon will grow enough to fly off and leave an egg for the players. The game is an interesting blend of the different styles of Western TTRPGs. There are aspects of classic OSR style gaming with exploration and hexcrawling being big, but also some characteristics of narrative games and story games with the Dragon GMNPC. What I really like about the game is the implied setting, where people simply just decide to travel the world and see new things. It's a rite of passage in a way and while it can seem like a flimsy way to explain why there are adventurers, I think it works with the theme of the game.

I decided that I would give this game a try. Presented below is the first session of Tholo the Peddler, a merchant that has decided to uproot and travel north of his village of Gretelburg. The dragon I chose is the basic Green Dragon (a Midori-Ryuu) named Bard. This dragon is all about exploration and is the suggested one for beginners. For things like random weather, procedural terrain, and encounters, I use The Perilous Wilds' generators as well as Save Vs Dragon's free hex terrain generator found here. For music, since I was inspired by classic JRPGs I played as a child, I used Dragon Quest's Unknown Lands and Never-Ending Journey for travelling, and Final Fantasy VI's battle music.

Session 1: Northward Ho!

Tholo is a young man of lithe build with tawny skin and white hair. Today, he is embarking on his journey, a rite of passage to the people of Gretelburg. Tholo hopes to get a taste of the adventuring life, even if only for a few weeks. With his pack animals fed and equipment set up, Tholo sets out!

It is April 7th, and it is bright and sunny outside. The weather is clear but unseasonably hot for springtime. Tholo wipes the sweat off his brow and travels through the grasslands along the dirt path with his two pack mules and loyal dog, Uno.

Terrain+Weather Difficulty Class (This is the Target Number to beat with the checks down below): 7. Grasslands are fairly safe, but the heat is making it a bit rough.

Condition Check (this is Tholo's current fatigue level): 8. Tholo is feeling pretty good.

Travel Check (this is to see if an injury or exhaustion happens): 8. Tholo doesn't encounter any hardships.

Direction Check (this is to navigate the wilds): Tholo is travelling the roads, so he doesn't get lost.

Encounter: Yes, Friendly.

As Tholo travels north, he spots a wagon on the side of the road with two people by it. They seem to be fixing the wagon wheel and having a rough time of it. Tholo lends a hand, helping the couple fix their wagon to get back on the road. Gratefully for the assistance, the couple introduce themselves as Gregori and Priscilla. Both are newlyweds that have decided to leave their professions and become mail carriers. They go between the frontier towns, bring mail and supplies to them. Greg and Priss also sell things occasionally, dabbling in the mercantile arts here and there. Tholo asks where they are going, and Priscilla says they are going north to Hanselboro from Gretelburg to drop off supplies. Tholo offers to travel with them for a time and the couple agree. The trio set off to the north.

Camping Check (this is to see how they rest for the night and regain HP and MP): 8. The trio have a restful night under the stars, enjoying the cured fish and each other's company.

April 8th. The group is still travelling along the prairies. The weather is pretty hot and muggy, and now there's a rainstorm slowing the party down!

DC: 8. Grasslands are hot and visibility is low due to rain and wind

Condition: 9. Tholo is feeling pretty great

Travel: 8. The trio doesn't encounter any issues travelling

Direction: Despite the rain, they are still along the worn roads so don't need to make this check.

Encounter: No

The rains pelt the canvas-covered wagon, but this doesn't stop our intrepid adventurers. Instead, they talk about their lives before going on their journeys, their goals and dreams, and their homes. Gregori was a bricklayer at a town called Rumplestilton. His claim to fame was helping to rebuild an old bridge that led into the town. Priscilla was a fisher-woman at the same town, responsible for bringing in trouts and bass to the dockside mongers. Both ran into each other during the reopening ceremony of the bridge and decided on a whim to go on their journey together. Greg and Priss fell in love, and when they returned, they had a quaint wedding and decided to live out on the frontier as mail carriers.

Tholo is happy for the couple, and their story inspires him to push forward on his journey even longer. He remarks about how his father was an owner of the village's general store, and that's where Tholo got the itch to become a travelling peddler of wares and goods. But first, he wants to go onto his journey to prove to his family and himself that this is a good idea. He's had Uno for a year and the boxer dog is a great companion.

Camping: 9. The rains clear up some, though there is no starry night tonight. Tholo can't sleep well, as the ground is muddy and uncomfortable.

April 9th. The trio approach a forested area. The rains from the previous day have cooled the area off, but now there is a nasty thunderstorm brewing above Tholo and the gang.

DC: 11. Forests are harder to traverse, and the thunderstorm is slowing the party down greatly.

Condition: 2. Tholo is feeling Out of Shape. He gets the [Poisoned:4] Status Effect, which drops his Strength down to a d4.

Travel: 7. Because of his food poisoning, it complicates travelling. He is at Half HP [8 HP].

Direction: 9. The road is less defined here and the rains are making it hard to travel. The trio only go halfway through the hex.

The heavy rain and winds have made it harder for Tholo and his crew to traverse the forest road. The wagon slows down some as Tholo and Priscilla try to keep the canvas from flying off and Gregori tries to keep the pack animals calm. As they travel, they see a bunch of logs and trees have fallen onto the road, blocking their travel! Tholo is suspicious, but before he can check it out, the shrill cries of something terrible ring out. It's an ambush! Four calico konekogoblins jump from the thickets, clubs in hand, and ready to waylay the trio.

Round 1

Greg is first to react. He draws his short sword and strikes at the first cat goblin. He is able to hit the creature, but barely grazes the cat's shoulder. Priss is next, and she barely misses the second konekogoblin. The koneko strike together, but only the second one lands a hit on the beleaguered Tholo. Luckily for our sick protagonist, his armor helps deflect most of the damage. Tholo has one hand over his sick stomach and the other on a dagger. He strikes at the first konekogoblin that Gregori hit and lands a solid hit, knocking out the first cat monster.

Round 2

Gregori goes again, smacking the second koneko with the flat of his blade. Priscilla tries to hit the second one again, and lands a mighty blow on the feline creature, almost knocking it out! The remaining konekogoblins attack, but all miss. The third one missed so terribly that he drops his weapon on the ground! A boon for our heroes! Tholo takes advantage of this and strikes at the second konekogoblin, felling him in one swoop!

Note: the critical fumble combat effect for the koneko was something I added. I felt it made sense for the scenario, but it's not actually a part of the rules.

Round 3

Here I decided to make a morale roll against the konekogoblins' Condition, since they are now outnumbered. They failed their roll and will now run away. This isn't a part of Ryuutama, just something I generally do for combat in my games.

The remaining two konekogoblins realize that these travellers aren't nearly as easy to ambush as others before them. And so they take off, leaving their fallen cat comrades to the trio. Unsure of what to do to the would-be highwaymen, Tholo and Priscilla tie them up. Using the pack animals and their own two hands, the crew are able to move the logs in about an hour. As they set up camp, Tholo looks at the hungry konekogoblins they captured and feels a bit of pity for them. He takes some of his cured fish rations and give them to the two cat monsters.

Negotiation To Befriend the Konekogoblins: DC 9; I rolled a 13!

The konekogoblins are a bit cautious at first as Tholo approaches, but he presents the cured fish to them and unties the monsters. They sniff the fish as they stare at Tholo to judge his intentions, but soon, hunger takes over and they gobble the food down. 

Camping: 7. It's a rough night for the quintet, and they don't quite regain all of their Health and Mental focus for the night.

April 10th. The party is still in the same hex as before, but now it's a clear and beautiful day!

DC: 8. The weather is clear and temperate, so it's just a matter of travelling through the trees.

Condition: 8. Tholo is able to kick the food poisoning and feels a lot better. [Poison; 4] is now cleared.

Travel: 9. There aren't any hitches in their journey to leave the hex.

Direction: 11. Despite the roads being unclear, the trio make it through to the next hex.

Encounter: Yes; Passive

Tholo and his compatriots travel deeper into the forest, making it to a fork in the road. Hanselboro is more to the west from here, while Tholo wants to keep going north, into the heart of the forest. Gregori and Priscilla warn our hero that in the depths of the overgrown forest, few humans reside. Instead, the spirits of the forest as well as monsters dwell there, waiting to prey on travelers like Tholo. Not one to be dissuaded, Tholo appreciates the concern, but knows that he must continue this journey to prove to himself that he can be a travelling merchant. The konekogoblins, inspired by the kind treatment of Tholo and his willingness to go on, decide to stay with Greg and Priss as helping hands. Priscilla is a little hesitant, but Gregori is more than happy to expand their mail carrier business to their first two employees. Tholo waves goodbye to his newfound friends and heads northeast, ever deeper into the forest.

Along the fading road in the afternoon, Tholo spots something on the ground. Footprints! Giant footprints! Whatever made these prints must be huge! Curiousity overtakes fear, and Tholo runs headfirst into the true wilderness of the lands. What has made these prints, and will Tholo survive the perils of the deep woods? We'll find out in the next session!

Hero Southern Community Solo Session #3: Danger Room Isn't In The Budget

Can you believe that I started this solo game almost a year ago? I can't. I actually have a great deal of solo sessions with my ICONS Superhero Community College in my journal. I'll be taking the next couple of weeks to typing them out and publishing them on the blog. In truth, this was actually my second real session, but like the one before it, this was done over the span of several smaller sessions over the week. This one is more of a role-playing prelude to the main adventure. There is a lot of strong language here, so be advised this write up isn't for all ages. Hopefully everyone enjoys it!

Raul and CJ are dragged to Student Services, after coming to blows during a rescue exercise. There is a long silence as the two are in the waiting area. 

Does CJ say anything to me?: Yes And Twist!

After a good ten minutes of the young men not saying anything, CJ finally breaks the silence.

"This is your fault," CJ mutters to Raul.

"How the hell is this my fault?" 

"You can't take a fucking joke!" CJ's voice gets louder. "You couldn't stand that I beat you and I'm better at this than you or your roach friend!"

Raul stands up, body tense and fists balled, "Are you kidding me? You've been acting like a piece of shit to me since high school. This is just more of your bullshit that I can't just get away from!"

CJ bolts up, ready for round two of their fight. "Well, maybe if you didn't act so full of yourself, I wouldn't have to knock your punk ass down a couple of pegs."

"Both of you, shut up and get into my office! NOW!" an older woman's voice interrupted the two. They both turn to see the school disciplinarian, Lady Mist.

New NPC: Lady Mist. In charge of dealing with infractions. Has the ability to summon and control a harmful fog.

Raul and CJ sit down in front of Mist's desk. Mist directs their attention to her television and plays the events of their fight.

"Now, you both are aware that fighting on school grounds is a serious offense, right?" she says sternly.

"He started it!" Raul yells. "This asshole has been tormenting me since we got here."

Mist stops CJ before he can get a word it. "Using your powers on school grounds against another student is illegal and a serious infraction. The punishment is suspension and if you do it again, you are permanently expelled from the campus."

She turns off the TV and leans back in her chair, "Not only that, but you'll be put in the superhero databanks as ineligible for other schools for at least four years. Meaning neither of you will be accepted to any academy or superhero team in the country. Is that what you both want?"

Raul and CJ begrudgingly look at each other and say in unison, "No ma'am..."

"Good," Lady Mist stands up and opens the door.

"So... so we're not suspended?" CJ asks, confused.

"Not today, no. This is your first day, and no one got seriously injured. Mark my words though, if I see either of you in this office again, you'll both be suspended for two weeks. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," the boys say together again.

"Good. Now get out."

The two young men leave her office and glare at each other in silence, before splitting off on their own way.

*                    *                    *

The next day, Raul made sure to come in on time. After almost getting suspended from HSC, his parents came down hard on him. The pressure is on to not screw up.

How does the school react to yesterday's fight?: I drew Air, which means Chaotic but Friendly.

Everyone seems to have mixed feelings about Raul's outburst from yesterday. However, most people seem to side with him over CJ about the whole ordeal. Still, Raul is embarrassed over the fight and tries hard to keep to himself some.

He sits down next to his new friends from yesterday. Melvin won't stop talking about their mission from yesterday to Alex. Jordan seems to be on her phone, half listening while browsing Facebook. CJ walks in, just barely on time, and sits away from Raul. They both exchange dirty looks, but it is too early in the morning to be getting into fights.

I draw a card for the next adventure. Seal Rural Obstacle. The Element is Earth and the Rune is Authority and Power

The bell rings and Mr. Arms walks into the classroom.

"Sorry for being late class," he began, looking a bit disheveled. "We've been setting up a special exercise for the class today. After yesterday's quiz, I graded your actions and concluded that you all need to work on your teamwork." His eyes briefly gaze towards Raul and CJ before returning to the rest of the class.

"A lot of you have interesting control over your powers, but you need to learn to work with and rely on your team. Therefore, we are skipping the written portion of today's lesson and moving straight to another training exercise."

The class groans a bit, as many are still tired from yesterday's exercise. As Mr. Arms tries to calm down the class, a woman walks into the room. 

Who is this NPC?: Vector, an Indian woman with the ability to create wormholes and transport people. She looks to be in her late 40's and has her hair tied up in a bun.

"Good morning class," Vector begins. "Today, we are all going on a special field trip that will push your limits of communication and teamwork. If you're going to be working with the bigger academies or the larger superhuman community, you need to learn how to work together. Lone wolves don't last long in this business."

"Tell that to Black Hood, lady," CJ smirked at the perceived cleverness of his outburst. Black Hood was a hero from the 80's in Miami that took on the drug lords of that time.

"Ah yes the Black Hood," Vector took off her glasses to clean them off a bit. "As I recall, his sidekick was Sparrow, right?"

The classroom grew quiet and things got uncomfortable.

"Yeah, it was Sparrow. A young man, about your age, Mr. Jacobs. I forget, what happened to him?" Vector mused.

CJ shifted in his seat, "He was... gunned down by the mob."

Vector shook her head, "That's not all, Mr. Jacobs. What else did they do?"

"Lady, everyone knows what he did! Why are you asking these stupid questions?" CJ started getting upset.

"Because, that's the fate of a superhero that goes in half-cocked without support. Do you want your head mailed to your teammates? Or to your mother?" Vector finished cleaning her lens.

CJ muttered something incomprehensible, ceding the argument.

Mr. Arms tries to put the class back on the rails. "Now class, follow Mrs. Vector to your training session. It will be a fun one."

Vector flicks her wrist and a blueish purple portal swirls into existence. The class is a bit hesitant to enter, but one after another, each student goes through.

*                    *                    *

Raul steps out of the other end, feeling a bit queasy from the wormhole. 'That's not something I want to do again,' he thinks to himself. He squints his eyes at the bright sun in the sky. Curiously, it was higher in the sky than it should be. 'Isn't it morning? Why does it look like noon?'

The heat and humidity kicked in, feeling even hotter than South Florida. As Raul's eyes adjusted, his mouth dropped in shock. Around him, he could see wild buffalo grazing across a wide expanse of grass. Far away, Raul could make out a pride of lions sunbathing. And in the distance lay a huge mountain range that Raul has only ever seen in books and as default computer wallpapers at school.

"Mrs. Vector," Melvin was the first to speak up. "Where on Earth are we?"

Vector smiled and spoke. "Everyone, welcome to Tanzania! And that there," she points to the mountain range dramatically, "is Mt. Kilimanjaro!"

Raul couldn't believe they are halfway across the world. He turns to Alex and Jordan, both equally stunned.

"This can't be real," Jordan whispers. "It... it has to be some kind of illusion. Or VR..."

Alex nods, "Yeah, or like, holograms or something..."

"No way this school has money for a danger room," CJ interjects. Raul scowls but he couldn't disagree. He could feel the hot air and smell the wildlife around him.

"This is the real deal guys," Raul concludes. "We're going straight into the fire."

Vector snaps to get the students back on track. "Today, we will be splitting you all into teams of two. Team A will be the 'superheroes' while Team B will be the 'supervillains'. Team B will be attempting to break an' evil fire demon' from its prison in the volcano up there."

She motions towards Mt Kilimanjaro, then back towards the students. "Team A, it is your job to go up there and stop the ritual before it's too late. You will be on a time limit, so you will need to work together to act quickly to stop the villains."

Raul swallows in fear. "This is the second day and we're already going up a volcano?" he whispers.

"Take it easy, I'm sure the volcano is dormant or whatever," Alex jokes, but Raul could hear the worry in his voice.

Vector puts her hands on her hips. "Now, we'll divvy you up into your teams. Everyone will have two hours to prepare, then it's go time!"

Do I get put on the Hero team or Villain?: rolled Evens for Hero team
Is CJ on my team?: No But

Once again, Raul is spared from having to work with CJ. However, it looks like CJ is the team leader for the villains. In addition, it looks as though Melvin got drafted to the villains' side. He waves despondently at Raul, sad he can't help his new friend out. Still, Raul knows that he has to make up for yesterday. He walks to his team and prepares for his next exercise.

To Be Continued...

Upcoming Solo Sessions

One of the great things about solo gaming is that it gives you a good excuse to try other RPGs. If you're like me, you probably have like 60+ games on your shelf or drive that will never get played. Especially if all your players want to do is play D&D. So now I can try things like Traveller, ICONS, Fate, and more in different settings that Ive always wanted to try.

In the last month, I've done a lot of offline solo gaming that I want to write up on the blog and share. Below are some pictures of RPG hauls and actual gameplay. I've used Untold Adventures Await for the GM, which has had its pros and cons. In the future, I plan on trying out the Lone Wolf Adventure Game starter that I got from my FLGS, as well as continuing my fantasy Mythras campaign that I started almost a year ago.

Soon...

Playing through a Gamma World-inspired Fate Core game

I've continued the ICONS RPG in my private journal

Back Into the Solo Saddle

It's been quite a long couple of months of silence. The usual holidays, work, and personal stuff seemed to keep me from posting or gaming much. Now that things seem to be slowing down some for me, I feel I can get back into the swing of things.

What I want to do most is to continue doing solo RPGs. I really enjoy them when I'm doing them. The biggest problem for me is getting started. It seems like pulling teeth to try and sit down and roll dice for a solo adventure. Some of it is the mental energy required to be both the PC and the GM. Some of it is my inherent inability to focus. Especially when I'm at my computer, surrounded by social media and video games. Some of it is lack a time. Good perfect storm of stuff to stop me from soloing. Which is a shame because I really do like doing it.

But no more. I want to try something to help push me to solo RPGs more. So I want to take a page from my exercise routine and have myself accountable to people that may want to read my AARs. I want to try and get at least one Solo Session Report in a week and post it to the GooglePlus community. In this way, it'll keep me motivated to do more solo gaming. Maybe even do things like posting  resources and my own little oracle I like to use. That's mostly what this blog is about. Using the community to help me push through and enjoy solo roleplaying more.

So the first solo session I want to have will be using Untold Adventures Await as the oracle, with ICONS being the main game I want to use. I plan on continuing the Superhero Community College game I did a while back. After that, I want to continue a sci fi M-Space solo game I'm almost done with, and maybe even give Ironsworn a try. 

I'm also down to try any advice anyone wants to give me. There are a lot of prominent posters on the Lone Wolf and I can always use the help!

Twenty Parsecs: The Setting in Broad Strokes

Was thinking a bit more on yesterday's article a bit more. I feel I should amend something. I guess while I love just about all sci-fi, it's space opera that really does it for me, alongside spacefaring hard sci fi. Military sci fi doesn't do it for me much anymore, but I partially blame its overabundance. It is a common theme since in many ways, that would be the future equivalent of the D&D adventurer. Can't really blame it honestly, since it really works. And, any time I say the word 'space marine', I get a litany of Warhammer 40k quotes about burning heretics and never suffering xenos. Gets old hat quickly. Cyberpunk is a mixed bag for me, though I love some of its tropes appearing in some Transhuman fiction. 

So, Twenty Parsecs. How do I imagine it? I'd like to subvert a lot of the expected tropes used in sci fi. First thing, no colonies vs homeworld. At least, not at the beginning and not as the main focus. I've seen enough Expanse and Gundam to last a lifetime, so I don't feel the need to do a spacer revolution for this. Rather, I want this to be about two cultures, separated by the vast gulfs of space and time for centuries, reconnecting and the trials and tribulations that come from it.

The first is the Commonwealth of Free Planets, a confederation of five core human worlds that exist 20+parsecs away from Earth. Each one was part of a generation ship many centuries ago, though most of the common folk have long forgotten that past. The planets have been united under a common lineage but have, over the years, changed enemies and allies alike, like squabbling siblings. Still, they get along enough with themselves and their alien neighbors these days. Many of the survival protocols set from the onset of the colonization program almost a millennium ago have become almost doctrine. Survive, reproduce, build, adapt. The planets have, until recently, looked inwards to ensure their own survival, but the last couple of decades have seen them finally branching out beyond their cluster.

Then there is the Republic of the Earth Cluster. Like the Commonwealth, the Republic is made up of several core worlds in the Local Star Cluster, but much more united under a representative democracy. With their own history has been several eras of war, peace, and a futile attempt at keeping an interstellar empire centered on Earth. Now, Earth keeps a light touch on its outer colonies, though still remains the capital and in charge of their Republic. Unlike the Commonwealth, Earth has yet to find sapient life forms. In many ways, this gives them a more humanocentric view on the galaxy when compared to the Free Planets, who regularly trade with, befriend, and make war (or love) with aliens. 

There will definitely be more culture shock differences as I flesh them out, but I think the key adventures would lean more on social intrigue and on planet adventures. I'm not too keen on wilderness exploration as a major focus, only because my current game is already all about exploration. Plenty of room for city and spaceport adventures for the players. Of course, I'd like to have a main conflict in the setting, as a sort of metaplot I can fall back on when the more episodic adventures run their course. Maybe most or all the players are all Earthlings that are the first to enter Free Planet space. This would allow them to rub shoulders with the leadership of the Free Planets while still able to have adventures with the common folk. I'll have to think about it a lot more.

Continuing a Solo Microscope

I'm getting into my work week now, and since I have the house alone to myself, it means I'll be fairly busy with work and housework for the next week. That means it'll be hard to really get into a game of Microscope until at least Sunday. Luckily, that should give me some time to sit down and figure out what I want from this.

So first, the "players".

I'm thinking about making four players, each one representing a different facet of making a history. They are the following"

Player 1 "The General": The general loves military history and battles. They are more likely to create scenes about war, whether it's the actual battles or the time leading up to or following a war.

Player 2 "The Politician": The politician loves social intrigue of leadership. Economics and trade, real politik, and Machiavellian machinations suit them well.

Player 3 "The Zeitgeist": The zeitgeist loves cultural movements, scientific innovation, and philosophical dialogue. Many of their scenes will be about advancements or regression in science, the arts, and reason.

Player 4 "The Explorer": The explorer loves the frontier and discovery. Scenes by the explorer include the discovery of new worlds and cultures, or lands of plenty.

These four players should be enough to do a good game of Microscope. What I plan to do is to use an oracle like GMA deck or Tangent Zero's Dice and interpret the icons in a way that would fit what each player would do. While it's still going to be biased towards my thinking, the random icons should inject a form of chaos to make the histories varied while keeping them coherent. I'll also have the standard Yes/No, And/But, Twist! dice for basic stuff.

The only thing I'm not sure how to model is the concept of Pushing a different idea. Obviously, it's kind of hard to push an idea or vote for one when I'm ultimately the only person doing it. I've thought about maybe having a d6 I roll for an idea Push if it hands on a 1, and adding +1 to it if it doesn't land on a one. But I'm curious how others would model someone pushing. 

A lot of this will really take putting myself into the minds of the four players above. I tend to be more of the Explorer myself, so that one will be the easiest. The Politician might be the hardest for me to grok. 

If anyone has more advice for running something like this and setting it up, I'd love to hear about it!

My First Microscope

Last week I went out to my local gaming store and I picked up a copy of Microscope. I had heard of it before, but I never really gave it too much thought. The book looked sleek and I had heard good things about it, so I decided to pick it up and give it a try. 

Giving it a read, the game seems interesting though a bit hard for me to grok. Never really played a story game like this before, the closest really being Apocalypse World and FATE if those count. I have some players that might be interested, but the setting building seems interesting enough to me that I wondered something. Could you do a solo RPG of this?

It feels like it would be really difficult, since the idea is to gather together a myriad of different ideas for a setting. But I'd like to know if anyone has ever done a solo game of this before and how it turned out.

Solo Supers Sneak Peak Character 2: Cori the Corrosive Woman

As I write this, I'm typing up the next solo session that I completed over Thursday and Friday. Sadly, a long work week in the kitchen has left me fairly beat, so it'll take some time to get that write up out. In the meantime, here's another little sneak peek at a character coming up for my solo supers session.

Cori Jeong

Origin: Transformed

Attributes

Prowess: 5

Awareness: 8

Coordination: 5

Strength: 4

Intelligence: 5

Will: 6

DP: 5

Stamina: 10 

Powers

Corrosion: Limit (Non Organic targets only); 5

Specialties

Pilot: +1

Medicine: +1
Weapons: +1

Qualities

Keeps People at Arms Length
Unsure About Powers and Usage

Cori Jeong doesn't have much to say about her past before the incident. According to her, Cori is an only child that comes from two Korean parents in Los Angeles and that they disowned her for joining the Air Force. An accident happened at her base in the R&D department, setting the whole place ablaze. Cori ran back in to save a scientist trapped in the burning building, only to get some strange goo exploded onto her. It turns out that they were experimenting with a bacteria that could break down plastics, metals, and other materials. When it got on her, Cori's body changed. She found she could control the bacteria through her hands as a bluish silver goo to eat away at non-organic material. Once her time in the Air Force was up, Cori left to try and enroll into a supers academy to better control her powers, but was only able to get into HSC. She's here to get knowledge and confidence to use her corrosive powers.

Cori is 24 and a 5'11 thin Korean woman, with hair down to her shoulders. She has a light tan complexion and glasses. Cori is fairly friendly and fun loving, but gets straight to the point in a conversation. She is prone to getting lost in thought and always dodges questions about her family and childhood.

Sneak Peek Character: Obi the Gravity Man

I've already done my second session of the solo game, finishing it yesterday. Sadly, Saturdays are my long shifts in the restaurant, so I don't have a lot of time for writing it out. Instead, here is a character sheet for one of the new cast members, Obert Martin.

Obert 'Obi' Martin

Origin: Birthright

Attributes

Prowess: 3

Awareness: 7

Coordination: 6

Strength: 4

Intelligence: 4

Will: 4

DP: 3

Stamina: 8 

Powers

Gravity Control:Extra (Telekinesis); 6

Specialties

Leadership: +1

Drive: +1

Qualities

Devout Worshiper
Shoulder Bearing Burdens

Obert, or Obi Wan as most of his friend call him, is a Haitian man born to impoverished family in Little Haiti, Miami. He was raised as a devout Christian and this is still important to his life, though there is always a sort of battle within him between the spiritual and the secular. When he was only 11, Obi was struck by lightning and barely survived. With it, however, he was gifted with the powers to control gravity. Seeing this as a gift from God, Obi's parents have since been pushing him to become a superhero to not only save others, but also pull them out of poverty. But deep down, Obi isn't sure if the superhero life is really for him. He failed the exam to get into the larger academies, but his parents instantly enrolled him into HSC. Obi doesn't want to let his family down, but he also doesn't really want to be a superhero.

Obi is 18 years old and has dark charcoal skin, a shaved head and a thin mustache. He's very respectful, growing up in a strict household. Generally polite and in a good mood, but most of the time seems deep in thought.

Solo Supers Aftermath: My Thoughts

So while this wasn't my first foray into solo gaming, it was the first one where I didn't use a pre-made adventure. That would be my Mythras game, which I will eventually finish writing up. However, doing the super hero community college was a fun romp with some good stuff and some concerns for my next session. For those who want to read them, they are here and here.

NPCs

So one thing I did a lot of in the first session was the creation of NPCs. Obviously, with NPCs comes the need to stat them. However, when I just create one on the fly and I need stats for them, I tend to take a while to get them up. And with something like a superhero school, there are a lot of NPC students and teachers that I'll need. So it's slowed down my solo game a bit when I'm trying to get some quick stats for my NPC heroes and villains. For random NPCs, I don't mind just rolling a simple Yes/No; And/But roll when they need to do something, but if it's a main villain or hero, I'd like some tangible stats for them. I wonder if there is some middle ground to do with this? Luckily ICONS's random attribute level table does a quick job of this. Still, I may need some sort of compromise with this to get something fast enough but still crunchy enough for a main villain. Perhaps combining the oracle I have (Game Master's Apprentice Deck) with the random power tables of ICONS. 

Speed

That brings me another thing. Sadly, I don't have a lot of time, with work, house stuff, and GMing an M-Space game on Wednesdays. So I generally only have an hour or two to really game on my own. I've done a lot to streamline my game since the Mythras one, and the simplicity of ICONS makes it run by quickly. However, I have come up to some obstacles that do slow down the flow of the game. Creating NPCs on the fly for a scene can take awhile, especially for action packed comic book fights with multiple people duking it out. Other stuff includes looking up how powers work in ICONS. While the conflict resolution system in the game is very simple, looking up what all the different powers do takes awhile. Gravity Control and Probability Control are two that came up in a recent session that took me a bit to understand. Also, the powers are very vague on their ranges and duration. Is gravity control concentration? I don't know, it's very unclear and frustrating and I wish the powers were written better. Also, despite my familiarity with FATE, it can still be hard for me to grok things like tapping Advantages and Troubles. That requires me simply reading a bit more and playing more I think.

Lack of Focus

This one is more on me rather than solo rpgs in general. Because there isn't a group of people to engage with, I find that sitting down for more than ten minutes causes me to lose focus. This is especially true if I'm gaming at my computer. I do use Evernote for my notes and most of my rules are in PDF form. However I may have to bite the bullet and simply disconnect my ethernet cable so I won't be distracted. Sitting down for a long period of time without a lot of stimuli has always been difficult for me, and starting to do it is even harder. I tend to procrastinate it a lot more than playing with people. It's why I find that I can make it a bit easier by just writing what happened in the last session. It puts me in a more engaged mode, but man, it can be hard to keep that focus. 

Advice?

So for those of you that have a lot of experience with Solo RPGs and/or ICONS, I'd love to hear from you on how you solve a lot of these issues. Especially the 'lack of focus' for me. I enjoy these solo sessions, but I definitely want to make them better experiences.

Some Character Write Ups from the Solo ICONS Session

Here are some character sheets for some of the NPCs I had in my solo session, which can be found here and here. Mostly just for the students. I'll have to write up the teachers at some point.

Alexander Lowery

Origin: Birthright

Attributes

Prowess: 4

Awareness: 4

Coordination: 5

Strength: 3

Intelligence: 6

Will: 5

DP: 2

Stamina: 8 

Powers

Cold Control: Extra (Ice Constructs, Ice Shield); 4+1

Blast (Ice Blast): 5

Specialties

Performance: +1

Power (Cold Control): +1

Qualities

Cocky as They Come
Flaky like Snow

Craig "C.J." Jacobs

Origin: Unearthly

Attributes

Prowess: 6

Awareness: 4

Coordination: 3

Strength: 7

Intelligence: 2

Will: 6

DP: 4

Stamina: 13 

Powers

Altered Form (Metal Body); Extra (Instant); 3

Specialties

Athletics: +1

Sleight of Hand: +1

Qualities

Listen to Me, I'm Bigger and Stronger!
Picking on Weaker Folks is Fun

Jordan Lowery

Origin: Birthright

Attributes

Prowess: 4

Awareness: 4

Coordination: 5

Strength: 3

Intelligence: 5

Will: 6

DP: 2

Stamina: 9 

Powers

Fire Control; Extra (Absorbtion Fire, Aura Fire); 4
Blast (Firebolt): 7

Specialties

Business: +1

Leadership: +1

Qualities

Loud and Proud
Unsure and Fear of Own Powers

Melvin Hornick

Origin: Transformed

Attributes

Prowess: 3

Awareness: 5

Coordination: 8

Strength: 3

Intelligence: 4

Will: 4

DP: 2

Stamina: 7 

Powers

Leaping: 6
Wall Crawling: 5
Stunning vs Will (Bug Bite!): Limit (Close Range); 7

Specialties

Drive: +1

Stealth: +1

Qualities

Loud and Proud
Unsure and Fear of Own Powers

Hero Southern Community Solo Session #2: Things Get a Bit Real

For this next adventure, I drew a card from the GMA deck to get an element and some icons. I got Water, Death, Sun, and Shield. That shaped the next quiz that I'll be doing.

Raul and his class walked outside of the gymnasium to see a frightening sight. The weather was grim, with the wind howling and rain pouring. In front of them was a flooded area, with only roofs and some treetops poking out of the water. Before he could react, Admiral Hammer placed his hand on Raul's shoulder.

"It's part of the quiz son," Hammer said with a grim look. "Don't go messing with the storm just yet."

Hammer gathered the students together. "We're jumping right into the next test minnows. For this one, we are going to be looking at your ability to use teamwork to rescue civilians."

Mr. Arms pointed at the house furthest away from the group and continued from where Hammer left off, "On that rooftop, a family is trapped and trying desperately to avoid the flood. Your mission is for you and your teammate to work together and save them before the deluge swallows them."

Raul squinted his eyes and saw that there were, in fact, real people on the roof! He was taken back by their use of real humans out there for such a dangerous test, but it only meant that the stakes were real. This is the real super world, Raul thought to himself. No more games.

"You all will be assigned a partner and you'll have thirty seconds to plan your move, then one minute to rescue the victims. Starting... NOW!" Mr. Arms and Adm. Hammer gave out slips with everyone's names on it.

Did I get teamed with Craig?: No But

Raul drew his slip and mentally begged that it wouldn't be CJ. He opened the slip and breathed a sigh of relief, before his heart sank. It looks like he got Melvin. While Raul didn't hate Melvin, he was very worried about how his bug bites were going to do anything in this situation. Still, this is the hand he was dealt, so he straightened up and went to get Melvin.

The two did a quick run down of the situation and decided on a good plan of action. Just in time too, because they were first.

For this challenge, I used the Pyramid Tests in ICONS Assembled. The way it works is that I am trying to achieve a Massive Success. So I have to roll skill challenges to get it. Getting lesser successes can add together to create a better success. So 2 Moderate Success create 1 Major Success, and 2 Major Success create a Massive Success.

Pyramid Test: Difficulty 7; Time Limit 4 Pages

Page 1

Raul closed his eyes and focused on the environment around him. The thermal shifts in the clouds, the wind vectors blowing across the land, the small globules of water and dirt in the air. He clung to these and began forming a new weather forecast for this.

Raul rolls his Weather Control to calm the weather: 4-1+6=9; Moderate Success!

The weather calms from a severe squall to a light breeze, as the sun rays begin to part the clouds. Melvin leaps into action, bounding from tree top to roof top.

Melvin rolls to leap. He needs 2 Moderates or 1 Major Successes to make it to the family: 2-6+6=2

Melvin spends a Determination Point to re-roll the result: 4-2+6=8; Moderate Success!

Melvin slips up a bit on one of the roof tops, but he is able to catch himself on a gutter and make it to about half way to the family. Raul was fairly impressed, realizing that he underestimated the kid. Still, it wasn't over yet.

Page 2

However, it looked like things weren't going to go as swimmingly as they had hoped. Jetting from beneath the waves were two masked villains, one with a shark motif and the other with an unusual octopus costume. The two began throwing debris at Raul to disrupt his concentration. Without a second thought, Raul forms a twister around him and blasts off into the sky to dodge the barrage.

Raul rolls to dodge: 5-2+5=8; Moderate Success!

Raul is just barely able to dodge the debris, but with his broken concentration, the thunderstorm began reforming with a vengeance. 'This can't be fair,' Raul thought to himself. He could hear Adm. Hammer laughing loudly and shouting, "Never forget, there are always nasty surprises to be had during a disaster!"

Does Melvin continue on to rescue the family?: No But

Melvin froze with fear, feeling the pangs of terror deep in his stomach. Without thinking, he turns back and tries to leap onto the shark villain harrying Raul.

Because he is attacking the villains but not directly going for the rescue, I rule that this roll doesn't count for the Pyramid Test.

Melvin rolls to leap and grab: 6-5+8=10; Major Success!

Melvin careened through the stormy sky and landed on the face of the shark villain, biting him constantly.

"Gack! Ge... Get him off me! He's BITING ME!!" the shark villain was flailing and panicking as the octopus villain went towards him.

"Now's my chance!" Raul yelled, blasted off to the family.

Page 3

The house that the family is on begins to collapse. Raul pushes himself hard to reach them, leaving a cyclone trail in his wake. But the storm was getting worse and worse and it was hard to maintain focus among the turbulence.

I spend a Determination Point to activate 'Force of Nature', giving me a +2 to my effort.

Rolling to reach the family: 6-5+5+2=8; Moderate Success!

Because I got 4 Moderate Successes, those are converted to 2 Major Successes and then 1 Massive Success.

Raul grabs the family and holds on for dear life as the house they were on gets swallowed by the water. Hammer blows his whistle while Mr. Arm shouts at Raul.

"Congratulations! You and Melvin were able to save the family with a couple of seconds to spare! Bring them on in!"

Raul landed roughly on the ground and let the family go. Looking at them, he saw that they actually had gills the entire time.

"Shhh," the youngest son winked at Raul. "We want to make it seem super dangerous. It'll be our secret. Though I think my dad hates your friend now." He pointed at Melvin making it out of the pool.

It's now time for Craig to go with his teammate, Alex.

Does Craig make it over: Yes And Twist!

I drew a card to reveal Crown Sun Sword, meaning a conflict is reveal between two rivals. Oh boy!

As soon as Hammer blew his whistle, Craig armored up and leapt into the air, clearing the villains and the water in a single bound. He grabbed the family and gave Mr. Arm the thumbs up.

"Jesus, he did that in a single leap!" Melvin exclaimed to Raul. "I can't believe how strong this guy is!"

Raul nodded as he watched an embarrassed Alex walking off the pool. "Man, I didn't exactly do shit that round," Alex said disappointingly. "I got him next time."

As Alex was getting out, Craig decided to play a prank on Raul. He slapped the flood water, sending a decent sized wave at Raul and soaking him to the bone.

"Haha that's a good look on you Soggy!" Craig yelled, laughing out loud. "That's what you get for thinking you could one up the champ!"

Raul lost his temper and fired a blast of hail at CJ, denting his armor a bit. Craig wiped the ice off of his face. It was go time!

Initiative

Raul:1+4=5

Craig: 3+3=5

A circle of students formed around the two fighters, chanting and screaming and yelling for a fight. Craig rushed to Raul, hoping to teach the twerp a lesson in messing with him. 

Craig rolls his Prowess against Raul's 5: 3-4+6=5; Marginal Success!

Because it's a Marginal Success, the damage is halved to 4. However, Raul has no resistance, so he takes the full 4 damage.

He wound his arm back and slugged Raul straight in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the poor kid. Raul is not happy, but he knows enough about Craig's fighting that he doesn't want to be anywhere near the guy. Raul flies up into the air and launched another blast of hail and wind at Craig.

Raul rolls Will against Craig's Coordination of 6: 4-2+6=8; Moderate Success!

Craig takes 2 damage.

Raul tags CJ with the full force of his hail blast, but Craig is able to withstand a great deal of it thanks to his natural metallic armor.

Do the teachers notice this and stop it?: Yes And

Admiral Hammer and Mr. Arms steps in, grappling the two and holding them back.

"Knock it off you two!" Arms's normally friendly demeanor was drowned out by seething anger. "You both are heroes in training. Fucking act like it!"

With everyone calming down, Arms spoke again, "You two need to see Student Services right now about this. We do not tolerate unsanctioned interstudent fighting here."

"But he started it!" Raul stammered angrily.

"GO! NOW!" Arms was not playing around.

And so Raul and C.J. headed over to be disciplined on the first day of school. Will our heroes set aside their differences? Will they be expelled? Find out on the next session!

Final Thoughts

So more and more, I'm finding that writing these sessions up are a lot harder than playing them. They certain take a lot more time, but it's a bit enjoyable. I'm also enjoying ICONS a bit, though I do plan on doing more with Qualities and Stunts once I grok them a bit more. The 1d6-1d6 method is perfect for solo play and I definitely recommend it. I'll also have to write up some actual stats for more students as we come along. I plan on continuing this as well as finishing the Mythras solo session write up in the future.

Hero Southern Community Solo Session #1: School is in Session!

Below is the first half of my solo ICONS session I did the other night. Because of work and house stuff, I unfortunately have to break the summary down into two halves. Tomorrow I have the day off so I can do more with the blog. Apologies again.

For this, I used 3d6 for my basic GM, where the first is Yes/No, the second is And/But/Neutral, and the third is a Twist die. In addition, I use the GM Apprentice cards for more extensive answers. For rolling up NPCs, I have some of Ennead Games's superhero kits to roll up any superhero teacher that I need. As for ICONS, the only modification I've made is that I'm going with their 1d6-1d6 version of rolling. Basically I roll 1d6-1d6+my modifier against the difficulty (or NPC's modifier, if I'm going against them) and try to roll higher. Since I'm the only one rolling, it makes sense for me to do it this way.

Here we go!

*               *               *

We begin our adventure with our 'hero' Raul Montanez getting off the bus and arriving at HSC in the early morning. Plastered on his face are bags under his bloodshot eyes, red from the shots of coladas and 'greenery' he took to ease the anxiety. But today was the day he had been waiting for. While it wasn't any of the big academies, HSC was the closest Raul could get to finally getting his shot at the big time. A shot at being a bona fide superhero. Taking in a deep breath and readjusting his back pack, Raul takes his first steps onto the campus.

Taking in the sights, the campus was fairly normal looking for a supposed superhero school. The buildings were all from the 60's and most had bars over the hurricane windows. The lawn was tall and pot holes littered the roads running through the campus. The buildings were covered with make-shift decorations and homemade banners one would see at grade school orientation. A feeling of dread and regret hit Raul in the pit of his stomach, and he wondered if this was really going to get him into one of the bigger academies.

Do I spot any friendly faces?: Yes And

Just when he was contemplating leaving turning back, Raul spotted two friendly looking people at the bulletin board. They were a guy and a girl, both with pale skin, bright red hair, freckles, and similar enough features that they looked like they were siblings. Raul strolled up to them and tried to break the ice.

"Hey there," he said, voice crackling. "Is this were we get our class assignments?"

The guy smiled a goofy grin and nodded, "Yeah man, they got the listings up here." He scratches his short hair and pointed his thumb at the girl. "Me and my sis are first years, so we're hoping we don't get lost in this hole."

His sister shrugged, "Yeah, last thing I need is to make a wrong turn and run into some homeless guy out of his mind on flakka or some shit." She took a drag from her cigarette.

"By the way, I'm Jordan," she offered her hand out to Raul. "And this rude asshole is my twin brother Alexander. Too cool to introduce us."

"Hey, I'm your older brother!" Alex exclaimed, barely taking his eyes off of his phone.

"By like two minutes!" Jordan said. "You always bring that up like it's supposed to matter!"

"Hah, well it's good to meet you guys," Raul interrupted before their bickering could continue. The three continue talking while walking to their first class, trading stories and info. They live out in Miami Shores and apparently have opposite powers, with Alex being able to control ice and Jordan being able to control fire. They take turns showing off a bit before realizing that they are going to be late for their first class.

Do we have the same homeroom?: Yes But

While they had many of the same heroic courses, Raul failed a bunch of his general studies and is stuck in the remedial courses for math and literature. 

The trio make it into Hero Orientation, where they grab their seats at desks from the Reagan era and wait for the teach. Raul looks around to see a fairly large class. Most of the people have to stand since there aren't enough desks.

Do I spot anyone familiar?: Yes But Twist!

Looking around, Raul spotted a face he had hoped to never see again. A tall, muscular young man with a dark, charcoal skin and a buzz fade hair cut shoots Raul a dirty look and approaches him menacingly.

It was fucking Craig.

"Holy shit!" Craig yelled loudly, "They let YOU in here? Shit man, I think I picked the wrong school to go to. How you living, Soggy?"

"*sigh* Hey CJ..." Raul didn't make eye contact. Craig Jacobs was a childhood friend from when they were in diapers. They used to be close, until Craig hit puberty, got buff, and got in with the cool crowd. Since middle school, CJ has been calling Raul 'Soggy' because when Raul's weather powers appeared, it was in the middle of their middle school dance and soaked everyone in the gym, ruining the dance for the whole school. CJ never let him live it down.

"Man, don't be like that," CJ frowned and firmly pushed Raul's shoulder. "Though I guess if I didn't make any of the good schools, I'd be all cranky too."

"Hey, don't forget CJ, you're also here. Sounds like you didn't do so great either." Raul grew a bit of a backbone, getting tired of CJ poking fun at him

Rolling Will vs Will to insult and get a rise out of CJ: Difficulty 6; 4-4+6=6 Success!

CJ's face turned into a scowl and his body armored up, revealing a metallic coating around his whole body. He looked like a human statue made from iron. CJ made a fist and spoke.

"Listen here, I actually passed my entrance exam unlike you, Soggy. I'm just using this to get REAL experience before getting to the big time. And if you got something to say about that, I'll break your face in."

Before Raul could get up, a short, scrawny kid interposed himself between the two. "C'mon guys," the kid said, "the teacher's here! We can't get expelled on the first day!"

CJ sneered at the two, then took his seat. Raul felt that this probably wasn't the end of it.

"Thanks again. I didn't really want to see where that was going," Raul said.

"No problem. Name's Melvin. It's my first year here too. I can't wait to get this started."

The orientation teacher finally walked into the class room, placing his suitcase on the desk and straightening his tie. Raul and his classmates looked in awe as they realized who it was

Rolled a quick NPC with a weird name, but I liked it and decided to roll with it.

"Hello class, I'm Galactic Arm," he said, fixing his mask a bit. He was wearing a normal suit, but still had his mask over his face. "You can just call me Mr. Arm. I'll be your orientation teacher this term."

Galactic Arm was a fairly popular super hero in the day. His right arm was imbued with the powers of the cosmos, and it glowed like a star-studded nebulae. Arm could heal people with it, or launch cosmic blasts with it.

Is he friendly?: Yes And Twist!

"In this course, we'll be discussing the basics of applying your super powers to help others," his smile shone through his mask and one could sense the energy and desire to do good in his voice. "Being a super hero is more than about fighting the bad guys. It's about stopping crime and rescuing innocents. Expecting the unexpected."

Mr. Arm fiddled with some keys in his pant pocket, "And speaking of unexpected, we have a pop quiz for you all. I think you'll like it. Follow me."

The class groaned as they were led to the campus gym. It was the largest and newest building on the campus, capable of housing all kinds of crazy scenarios to test the students on proper rescue procedure. On the way to the gym, Raul and Melvin hooked back up with Alex and Jordan. Melvin spent the walk chattering about his life and powers. His powers included wall climbing, minor leaping, and giving people rashes with his bites. Apparently, Melvin had barely passed his entrance exam, but most of the academies didn't accept him. Most felt his powers simply weren't enough to handle fighting crime, which left Melvin no choice but to enroll in HSC and try to get in that way. Raul felt bad for the poor kid, since he himself wasn't able to pass the power control portion of his exam. Still, there was a sort of camaraderie of taking this last ditch effort to become a superhero.

As the class entered the gym, they are greeted by a gruff old man wearing a Navy inspired outfit with a giant hammer tattooed on his left arm

"Alright kiddos," he said menacingly, "I'm Admiral Hammer and I'm going to be in charge of making sure you all don't die out there on the streets." Hammer was a super strong brick that could swim through water like a torpedo. Raul didn't know much about him beyond that, except that he's been around since the 80's.

"Out there in the real world, villains, criminals, and Mother Nature won't give two shits whether you're too tired or not ready to deal with the day. When disaster hits, you need to be prepared to hit back, twice as hard. So put on yer big kid pants and get in line. We need to see what you can do first."

Hammer pointed to a circle in the dirt and explained that they had to use their powers to launch a baseball as far as possible. Anything went, but the only rule is that they have to stay in the circle.

CJ was the first up, and he transformed into his metallic form. He wound up for the pitch and launched the ball several hundred feet away. The class was impressed and it even caught the attention of Hammer.

"That was some fine throwing, Mr. Jacobs," Hammer nodded at the proud young man. "Mr. Montanez, you're next!"

As Raul walked to the circle, he went passed CJ. CJ bumped his shoulder into Raul on purpose, "Beat that Soggy."

Raul tried to calm his nerves and cupped his hands in front of him with the ball inside. The wind around his hands began to twist and turn, faster and faster until it created a small, horizontal cyclone.

Roll my Wind Blast against a Difficulty 4 to land a good score and Difficulty 8 to beat CJ's score: 4-1+6=9; Moderate Success!

Raul levitated the ball in the twister and launched it like a missile. The ball went passed CJ's marker by a decent enough margin. Raul turned to see Craig's disgruntled face scrunched up. It was worth it just for that, Raul thought.

"Ah, so we got ourselves a weather wizard here, eh?" Hammer looked sufficiently impressed, "Here's hoping you don't kill anyone with that power." Despite his laughing, no one could tell if he was serious or not.

Does anyone beat our score?: No And Twist!

I actually drew a GMA card for this one and got Significant Obstacle of Conflict in a Different Area.

No one is able to beat our score, though many come close. Alex came in last, as he couldn't think of a way to use his ice powers to launch the ball far. Jordan blasted the ball like a rocket and it reached a good football field's length before burning away. With the ball launch done, Hammer spoke.

"Now that we are done with that, it's time for the second part of your test. We've seen your powers, but now we have to see what YOU are made of with a little simulation the teachers came up with." Hammer motioned for the class to follow him.

What's in store for the students? Will Raul's and CJ's rivalry heat up too much and boil over? Will they all survive their first term in HSC? We'll find out next time!