Well, Not Entirely...

Creating your character

Some advanced warning to anyone not familiar with Wild Talents, while I love this system and I'm happy to teach it, it is a very crunchy system, and might seem a little unintuitive. This isn't to scare you off, it's very much doable, just know that you're in for some confusion before it all clicks, and all the fun inside of it comes out. Character creation will be done as a group as part of session 0. I encourage people to have a character concept ready, and would also recommend having more than one just in case, but the actual mechanics of character building will be gone through together over discord. This is so that players unfamiliar with the system get to take part in the process and learn as they go without feeling singled out, and so that everyone's characters complement each other. No modifications to character creation, just 300 points to spend as per the book, 75 of which are reserved for your base abilities, the rest are for your superpowers.

Preparing for the session

Players will need a microphone of some kind to talk through voice chat on a Discord server I'll provide, and while I heavily prefer players have a webcam and have it turned on, that won't be strictly necessary. Once you have access to the discord server, you can also get more access to the setting-specific documents I've prepared. I will be having discussions with any prospective players before accepting them into the game, so please be prepared to just briefly chat about what kind of game you want to play and questions are very welcomed so that we can all arrive at Session 0 prepared and without any illusions. I'll be giving everyone their consent checklist as part of that discussion, so that it can form the basis of our safety discussion in Session 0 as well, and so that anyone that struggles with the open discussion is still going to have their issues addressed. I can provide you with PDF copies of the rulebooks to look through, but you wouldn't need to read through any of it in advance, I am fine with teaching as we go. It could still be very useful to read pages 9-33 of the core rulebook, as those cover the basic mechanics of playing Wild Talents moment-to-moment. Read more than that if you wish to get a headstart, but most of the other relevant material will be covered as part of group character creation. I am always available to talk about questions and confusions though.

What Alex Lawler brings to the table

My main focus as a GM is story and roleplay and I only write my own campaigns. I run an inclusive table, and actively encourage diverse player groups to bring different perspectives to the table. I tend to start hands-off, and allow my players as much freedom as possible to approach things as they wish, then make the scene responsive to your choices, focus most on what matters to you, and tailor each game, scene by scene to the party and the players. I love to do character work with my players if you struggle with fleshing out your character or need to know more about the scenario. I do character voices whenever possible and I encourage but don't require players to do the same. My challenges tend to be more based on social, political, or even philosophical difficulty, making difficult decisions and piecing together information. In general I do not kill player characters, but have more specific rules regarding that, see my profile for more information. I can provide access to PDF copies of the rulebooks for every game I run. I use Kenku FM to stream music through discord and always make a playlist, and I have a subscription to the Obsidian Portal campaign management tool, so my players can use it for free. Please see my profile for more details on all the above points!

How Alex Lawler creates a safe table

For this game in specific, while it is meant to be a more escapist bit of power fantasy, we will be having a discussion about the parallels to real world events currently ongoing. These parallels will not be a major part of the campaign, but the comparisons are unavoidable, and we all need to be respectful when doing so. I use Red/Yellow/Green card in place of X/N/O's, and they can be messaged to me privately or said verbally. Session 0 will include creating characters together so we can discuss if anything we create crosses lines for others. I will be sending everyone a consent checklist prior to session 0 as part of first discussions with any potential players. A lot of the campaign is still to be determined, so while other triggers may be introduced, I can use our discussions to avoid anything relevant to those at the table. The listed content warnings are just the things that are unavoidable with the premise and setting given. My Open Door policy is a general one, not just for safety measures, but for anything players would like to discuss. It's something I urge players to use if they have any safety concerns though, and I will never be upset if you come to me with a problem. I will be happy for the opportunity to help.