House of Spades

**Siиdяed** · 10-30-2008 06:19 PM

♠♠HOUSE OF SPADES♠♠

This is doomed to fail. It will never reach a conclusion. If we are lucky it will last longer than Unfound. It will not last longer than ANTI-HEROES. And that wasn't all that long, if you think about it.

Nonetheless, I am compelled to try again. There will be improvements, hopefully, that should ensure that this does not become too much of a workload to be practically feasible (as with Unfound) and there will be better plot-structuring and story development, to ensure that everyone (including myself) does not lose track of what's happening in our heroes' world (as with ANTI-HEROES).

HOUSE OF SPADES will follow the same system as ANTI-HEROES, with chapters posted in a thread as opposed to through the PM system (which proved time-consuming and not very fun at all, which is why I gave up so prematurely).

It will be similar to ANTI-HEROES in that there will be a range of story arcs involving the various characters, possibly culminating in some central event that brings everything and everyone together in the end, and in the fact that it is, once more, all about super-heroes.

The setting for HOUSE OF SPADES is the near-future, in a dystopian city somewhere in America.
With an increasingly problematic situation for the US government on foreign grounds, outbreaks of uncontrollable viral diseases on the European mainland, and rising sea levels as global warming begins to take effect, the world seems a dark place indeed.
It is into this grim future that we see our heroes (and villains) rise. Either born with or engineered to wield bizarre and fantastic powers, various individuals emerge to uphold or transform an ever-changing society beset with evils.

The game will draw inspiration from sources like Watchmen or Miller's Dark Knight, as well as sources more familiar to ANTI-HEROES' players like Heroes or Death Note.

The game will begin with a tentative and experimental first volume, in which a bare minimum of players will take part.
It should cover around five or so chapters and no more, being purely a test to see whether this is do-able or not. Preferably the 'test' players should have all played in either one of my previous two games.

To submit a character, simply fill in the character form below. If you have not played before, and do not think you will be chosen as a test player, it would be sensible to submit a character regardless, as you will be given priority in chosing the next batch of players, supposing the test volume goes well.

Think of this as a belated resurrection of ANTI-HEROES. Or an apology. Maybe.

Character Profile

Name The character's real name. Barry Allen, Walter Kovacs, etcetera.
Alias Should your character operate under an alias. The Batman, Blue Beetle, etcetera.
Gender I get confused easily.
Age Disillusioned veteran or fresh-faced boy wonder?
Physical Appearance Hair colour, notable features, and so on. Be modest.
Costume Should your character choose to conceal their identity under a mask and cape. Doesn't need to include a mask or a cape.
Power See list of Special Powers. Choose one. Done.
Skills See list of Skills. Choose one major skill and one minor skill. Done.
Persona Rough idea of motivations, personality, personal philosophies and so on. No backstory details, they will be supplied.
Alignment See list of Alignments.

And the lists...

Spoiler for Special Powers:

Spoiler for Skills:

Spoiler for Alignment:

This is bound to fail.

That said, enjoy.

**Kael Seoras** · 10-30-2008 07:07 PM

I've never done a role-play before, but I'm just getting this character submission out of the way.

NAME Katalin Karolyi
ALIAS She goes by no name when crime-fighting. She has left it up to the populace to give her a nickname.
GENDER Female
AGE mid-twenties
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE Her eyebrows are thick, but chic. She has a fairly prominent Roman nose and full lips. Her sad, kind eyes would be small, but she wears glasses that are fairly strong and make her eyes look somewhat large. She refuses to wear contacts because of this nice result from the glasses. Other than that, she is not terribly vain, and wears no makeup. She has wavy, somewhat thin, golden brown hair. The build of her body is rather small, although she is average height. She has almost no boobs. She is pale and skinny.
COSTUME Hair pulled back into a black bandana, large (think Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany's) black prescription sunglasses, tight black zip-up leather coat, black elbow-high gloves, black pants, black knee-high boots.
POWER Invisibility
SKILL Major:Martial artist Minor:Acrobat
PERSONA Typical INFP personality type. Is generally easy to work with. Will try hard to work well with the rare person she does not like. As a crime-fighter she is starting out as a loner; she goes in, does the job, and leaves before anyone knows what happened. She may seem aloof, but she's really quite the opposite. She's not concerned with being a leader or admired, in fact she doesn't like to consciously make herself look good. She feels her emotions deeply and purely, even as she dismisses them with reason. Introspective introvert that she is, she understands these facets of her personality very well, and often debates with herself. Though she is an introvert, she generally really likes people, and is capable of making close friends. She has yet to confide everything to even her closest friends though. She is known among her friends for her compassion and intelligence, but also for her sometimes goofy, sometimes black and sarcastic sense of humor, a characteristic sometimes noticed in the mysterious black-clad superhero that fights crime at night. NO ONE knows that Katalin Karolyi is a superhero.
As a superhero, her policy is to subdue the wrong-doer, and bring him/her to the police. She does not anticipate killing anyone.
ALIGNMENT Lawful good

**Siиdяed** · 10-30-2008 07:22 PM

Very good. You can choose two skills, by the by. Just make sure one is specified as a Major skill and the other as a Minor. You don't have to have two, obviously.

But otherwise very good.

If there aren't many early characters, you can do be one of the characters in the test volume. If not, I'll keep the details and remind you when (and if) the test volume is successful, and your character can join in then.

The test volume will most likely involve around four players (hopefully ones who were in either Unfound or Anti-Heroes), whose characters are established superheroes (or otherwise), involved in some minor city-threatening disaster that they should attempt to overcome (or otherwise).

This should be a very short volume, essentially. From there the first real volume should involve newer players, whose characters undergo an origin story (getting powers, coming to terms with them, establishing an identity, etcetera), while the four or so older players from the test volume act as the wiser, older veterans.

Or so it should follow. Maybe.

**Kael Seoras** · 10-30-2008 07:42 PM

lol, I skimmed over the skills part. Edited.

**Siиdяed** · 10-30-2008 10:40 PM

No problem. :3

**Techno** · 10-31-2008 02:43 AM

Hell yes, Siиdяed, a good RP to keep my mind stimulated during the next few months. Thank you very much.

Now, here's my character:

Name: Malcolm Benningfield

Alias: Urban Legend

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Physical Appearance: Standing at 5'7" with somewhat of a slight limp (think Dr. House but not as serious) and weighing 155 lbs., Malcolm looks surprisingly normal. A white male with a visually noticeable amount of Belgian heritage, he has short, cropped auburn hair that sure as hell doesn't even come close his not-so-thick eyebrows, which loom casually above his pale and light-blue eyes. Malcolm is not the athletic and acrobatic type, but he can still hold his ground with his slim but slightly muscular body. Clothing-wise, he tends to dress without a care for social standards, but still with respect for those around him. He is most usually seen dressed in fitting and/or baggy jeans, with sneakers of some sort, and a tee shirt, undershirt, coat, or jacket, etc. However, his costume has an entirely different style...

Costume: This is the second-to-last thing you'll ever see, the last being a wonderful hallucination before you die...
Which way to the bar? Down State Street or the shady alley full of cops?

Power: Ice Manipulation

Skills: Socialite (Major), Streetwise (Minor).

Persona: Malcolm is a mash-up of dozens of mental disorders, ranging from a schizophrenic, obsessive compulsive, to pyromania, yet he exhibits a surprising amount of "normal" personality traits as well. His relationship with reality is mixed, because he regularly disconnects with the world and can enter his own mental world at random, but can also entrench himself in reality and pass off as an enlightened Buddha of sorts with a great deal of practical, emotional, and spiritual advice. Malcolm is a smoking gun without a bullet, so to speak, because for all of his insanity he has no long-term goals, motives, or philosophies. He is generally pleasing to be around, despite the moments where he forgets that not everybody thinks like him and goes on a ramble and speaks in an argot that nobody but he and fellow crazies can understand. He is a good-natured and caring person that has fully disconnected from yet is very much aware of this broken world and the things in it. He empathizes with those who share the universal pains that are being wrought upon America, and hates those who instigate violence and suffering with a passion, despite being able to understand the motives and reasoning of both groups as if he were a part of either. Most people (aside from close friends and some acquaintances) don't know Malcolm is insane, unless they spend at least a few hours or so around him, or even a few minutes if he doesn't try to hide his insanity (which he is prone do often).

Alignment: Neutral Good. Malcolm may be out of his mind, but he still has respect for life and will do much to protect it, even break the laws of the land. There is no rule that can't be broken in Malcolm's mind, but that doesn't mean that rules can be disregarded altogether. With order comes peace, but order isn't the only way peace can be achieved. Sometimes a little anarchy will do us some good, and good is all that Malcolm seeks to spread with his cold and twisted form of justice.

**De-lousedInTheComatorium** · 11-01-2008 08:18 AM

Name Jack Alighieri
Alias The Black Plague
Gender Male
Age 29
Physical Appearance: He stands at 5 ft. 11 in. His physique is not too muscular, yet he appears to have taken care of his body. His hair is a dark chocolate, unkempt and reaching his chin. His eyes are of a coagulated red. An ivory complexion covers his skin, and facial hair adorns his...well, his face. It's not too much, however. His attire usually consists of a navy blue t-shirt, concealed by a long, gray trenchcoat. The rest of him is made of tightly wrapping black pants, and dark boots. All clothes which aren't the best for running and acrobatics, but they're no problem.
Costume None.
Power: Regeneration
Skills Major:Acrobat
Minor: Government Support
Persona Believes in doing what's best for himself. Does not mind having others at a disadvantage as long as it benefits him. If something's in it for him, he'll comply. He may even comply, only to turn his back on the person or group he's made a deal with. He is a calm, collected person. He is not the kind of person to joke around, much less smile. He is a real bastard. Conflict, combat, war, is always something he's wanted to be a part of. It is what he believes his purpose is. To create war. To bathe in it. To make others drown in it.
Alignment Chaotic Evil

**Grod** · 11-01-2008 06:20 PM

Name Mark Lawson
Alias No-one knows his real name. People call him 'Mask' or 'Blankface' ect.
Gender Male
Age Around late 20's
Physical Appearance His real face is hidden, but his body is muscular. His hair is kept short but appears to be black/brown.
Costume Wears a white female mask, though male. Occasionally wears a black or grey one. Other than that, wears a plain white t and dark pants, with black solid shoes.
Power Duplication
Skills:
Major: Weapon Proficiency - Accurate with guns
Minor: Streetwise
Persona Kills people seemingly without motivation or purpose. Gouges them apart with a knife. So far, no important connections in his victims have been discovered. No-one knows where he lives, or goes. Appears suddenly and will strike.
Alignment Chaotic Evil

**Siиdяed** · 11-01-2008 06:45 PM

Ah, villains. Excellent.

Test volume coming up soon. Unsure which of the above characters I'll throw in. Possibly all of them.

If you haven't understood the rules, and couldn't work it out in the Anti-Heroes thread (or Helm, I suppose, which works on a similar basis) and really need more explanation as to how to play, please mention it here and I (or someone else, hypotheticaaaaally) will try my bestest to clarify it all for you.

**[SomeGuy]** · 11-01-2008 10:23 PM

Character Profile

Name Jack Ellerson
Alias The Oracle
Gender Male
Age 52
Physical Appearance Strong, but you don't know it. Jet Black hair.
Costume None. Uses the shadows of his house.
Power Pyro Manipulation
Skills Major: Weapons Proficiency, Streetwise
Persona Give advice to all characters (G+E). Seems to know everything about mental diseases, the government, stuff that's super natural, can tell when people lie, everyone's afraid of him, and he has a wife who loves him much, but no-body knows it, secretive childhood. Wont give spoilers here. PM me for info.
Alignment True Neutral, little bit of evil if neccessary.

**Siиdяed** · 11-01-2008 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by xXSomeGuyXx

Character Profile

Name Jack Ellerson
Alias The Oracle
Gender Male
Age 52
Physical Appearance Strong, but you don't know it. Jet Black hair.
Costume None. Uses the shadows of his house.
Power Pyro Manipulation
Skills Major: Weapons Proficiency, Streetwise
Persona Give advice to all characters (G+E). Seems to know everything about mental diseases, the government, stuff that's super natural, can tell when people lie, everyone's afraid of him, and he has a wife who loves him much, but no-body knows it, secretive childhood. Wont give spoilers here. PM me for info.
Alignment True Neutral, little bit of evil if neccessary.

You've misunderstood the game. Read rules in the Anti-Heroes thread. Or in the Helm thread.

This isn't a free-write. You can't decide that your character knows all about everything. That isn't how it works.

Read up on the rules. Then try again.

**[SomeGuy]** · 11-01-2008 10:58 PM

Well, he doesn;t know all about everything. Just weird stuff the government does.

**Siиdяed** · 11-01-2008 11:27 PM

Still against the rules.

This isn't about writing your own backstory. That's supplied to you when you play the game.

Read this. That's as comprehensive a rule-set as I think I ever got.

**[SomeGuy]** · 11-02-2008 12:30 AM

Oh, okay. I get it. Then, just make me the cool old guy.

**[SomeGuy]** · 11-02-2008 02:07 AM

Originally Posted by xXSomeGuyXx

Character Profile

Name Jack Ellerson
Alias The Oracle
Gender Male
Age 52
Physical Appearance Strong, but you don't know it. Jet Black hair.
Costume None.
Power Pyro Manipulation
Skills Major: Weapons Proficiency: Sniper OR M16 Assault Rifle, Minor: Streetwise
Persona Really good at combat, had a loving wife who died. All he cares about is fighting against evil, because they killed his wife.
Alignment Chaotic Good

Fixed.

**Kiza** · 11-02-2008 02:27 AM

I can see this failing within a month or two. But I'm gonna give it a whirl while it lasts. You can stick me in the test batch if you want, or you can not. I really don't care that much.

Name: Alan Palmer

Alias: Doesn't feel the need for one.

Gender: Male

Age: 39

Physical Appearance: His muscles don't bulge. He stands at 5ft 9, and doesn't have long athletic legs perfect for running. He is actually quite plain, but not fat. Actually, overall, he is quite rangy, so people often underestimate him, and expect him to be weak. Looks slightly older than he is. He's really just quite a plain man. Shaves his head bald.

Costume: Wears a modified, plain black hoodie (or hooded sweatshirt, if you want to be all fancy about it.) It has a hood that is slightly longer than usual, and he wears a plain black mask underneath. To further the black motif, he wears plain black jeans.

Power: No power.

Skills: Weapon Proficiency(With rifles. Sniper rifles, hunting rifles, any rifles really. Major) Resourceful(Minor)

Persona: The word that is most appropriate to him is misanthropist. He hates humanity with a passion, nearly to the point of insanity. It is because of this he hunts down the people who he thinks deserve to die and then kills them cleanly. He does kill people, but usually will not torture them, unless it's absolutely necessary. He tries to deny it, but he gets a thrill from killing people, which suggests a hint of sadistic personality disorder. He is a cynic also, and he believes nearly everyone are liars. He can rationalise the killing he does because he believes he is doing the world a favour.

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

**Siиdяed** · 11-02-2008 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by Kiza

I can see this failing within a month or two. But I'm gonna give it a whirl while it lasts. You can stick me in the test batch if you want, or you can not. I really don't care that much.

I like this attitude. It means that when I do fail you, it won't be so much of a disappointment.

You could all learn something from this.

**[SomeGuy]** · 11-02-2008 02:37 PM

Ha.

**De-lousedInTheComatorium** · 11-02-2008 11:28 PM

Where's that chapter? YOU'RE FIRED SINDRED.

**Siиdяed** · 11-02-2008 11:49 PM

Allow for time. Chapter will come. Thinking about it now.

Might put up a prologue to keep you happy.

**GestaltAlteration** · 11-09-2008 02:42 AM

Gah. How did I miss this?

I hope I can get in this one at some point.

Name: Brett Archer
Alias: N/A
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Physical Appearance: Straight red hair, without freckles. Hs a subtle scar across his right eye. Stern face with sharp looking jaws and chin. 6'0"
Costume: No costume. Often seen wearing an emperor's cloak or something similar.
Power: Persuasion
Skills: Public Following (minor) Weapon Proficiency (major) - any sword, mainly katana.
Persona: He seeks world dominion and popularity. Knowing he can manipulate just about anyone he delights in power. His persona could be a reaction to a terrible tradgedy that drove him from being a kind person. (Up to you.)
Alignment: Neutral Evil

Sidenote: I didn't choose Orator as a skill since my power seems to give that by default.. amirite?

This looks awesome, by the way.

**Kael Seoras** · 11-13-2008 07:09 AM

Oh...my God. I definitely forgot something. Slight addition

I had it in mind for her the whole time but I just didn't get it in there.

NAME Katalin Karolyi
ALIAS She goes by no name when crime-fighting. She has left it up to the populace to give her a nickname.
GENDER Female
AGE mid-twenties
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE She has a just-noticeable Hungarian accent, but it's not terribly thick...in fact it's most accurately described as slight Hungarian inflections in her speech. Her eyebrows are thick, but chic. She has a fairly prominent Roman nose and full lips. Her sad, kind eyes would be small, but she wears glasses that are fairly strong and make her eyes look somewhat large. She refuses to wear contacts because of this nice result from the glasses. Other than that, she is not terribly vain, and wears no makeup. She has wavy, somewhat thin, golden brown hair. The build of her body is rather small, although she is average height. She has almost no boobs. She is pale and skinny.
COSTUME Hair pulled back into a black bandana, large (think Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany's) black prescription sunglasses, tight black zip-up leather coat, black elbow-high gloves, black pants, black knee-high boots.
POWER Invisibility
SKILL Major:Martial artist Minor:Acrobat
PERSONA Typical INFP personality type. Is generally easy to work with. Will try hard to work well with the rare person she does not like. As a crime-fighter she is starting out as a loner; she goes in, does the job, and leaves before anyone knows what happened. She may seem aloof, but she's really quite the opposite. She's not concerned with being a leader or admired, in fact she doesn't like to consciously make herself look good. She feels her emotions deeply and purely, even as she dismisses them with reason. Introspective introvert that she is, she understands these facets of her personality very well, and often debates with herself. Though she is an introvert, she generally really likes people, and is capable of making close friends. She has yet to confide everything to even her closest friends though. She is known among her friends for her compassion and intelligence, but also for her sometimes goofy, sometimes black and sarcastic sense of humor, a characteristic sometimes noticed in the mysterious black-clad superhero that fights crime at night. NO ONE knows that Katalin Karolyi is a superhero.
As a superhero, her policy is to subdue the wrong-doer, and bring him/her to the police. She does not anticipate killing anyone.
ALIGNMENT Lawful good

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