When Stars Live Among Us - LGBTQIA+ BIPOC and Women Inclusive
Marvel Super-Heroes FASERIP | Campaign
About the adventure
Would you sign up to be a hero? "When Stars Live Among Us" is a story about that. Set in a slightly different version of the modern world (and not in the Marvel universe), the *avastars* are heroic, everyday people who have chosen to take on the astral power offered to them by a machine intelligence from another galaxy. Other, less friendly intelligences have already landed on Earth, and in order to give humanity a chance to choose their own destiny, the Astral Concordance is offering power. Power to fight the invaders, power to make a difference in their world. Power to be a hero. Will you answer the call?
Game style
Rule of Cool (RoC)
“Rule of Cool” emphasizes creative story beats over sticking to a system’s rules as written. Players have the ability to push the limits of the rules or even break core rule mechanics at times if the Game Master thinks it is interesting, fun, or cool enough.
Theater of the Mind
“Theater of the Mind” uses little to no visuals for scene settings and combat. Instead, the narrative imagery comes from the Game Master’s descriptions and character action and movement comes from Players’ descriptions.
Combat Heavy
“Combat Heavy” games emphasize the combat mechanics within their systems over roleplay or puzzle solving. There are frequent and longer battles with enemies and a greater emphasis on tactical game play.
Roleplay Heavy
“Roleplay Heavy” games place the focus on the story, the characters, and the world they live within, and tend to lean hard into the various roleplaying elements of the game. These games will frequently find the party talking with NPCs, exploring the personal elements of their backstories, or even having emotional moments around the camp fire.
Please note, we will be creating this game in part together, so be ready to contribute! I am open to changing the cadence of the game if the group enjoys Session 0. I will be refunding the Session 0 cost for the first 3 players!
2 years on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Inclusive, Creativity
Game Master Reviews (7)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Storytelling
Inclusive
Creativity
Tricia
Sam is a terrific GM! His commitment to player safety is evident (he even stopped to check in on a player specifically when he thought they might be feeling some distress), and he is all in on the Rule of Cool. It is clear that he wants his players to feel free, supported, empowered, and engaged, and he's enthusiastic about finding ways to help players, especially new players just learning a gaming system, to use the rules to their advantage. I would happily play at his table anytime!
Nick
Sam was a wonderful GM. In addition to being knowledgeable of the D&D 5e system, he built a world that was immersive, rich, and diverse. Even with as much work as he put into writing about this world, he fostered an environment that encouraged creativity on the players' parts, even having them write their own backstories. Having mostly only played hack-and-slash, fight-and-loot type campaigns, I found it interesting and a lot of fun to develop my character from his youth to his campaign-age self. Furthermore, Sam held a "session zero" to discuss players' goals and boundaries, and appointed certain players as a contact point for anyone who might become uncomfortable with the direction of gameplay. This showed a tremendous amount of compassion and care for his players in allowing them a safe, fun gaming experience. Given the opportunity, I would not hesitate to join another of Sam's campaigns.
Jess Trost
My favorite part was the rich environment that he builds and the npc interactions. His over all world building is fantastic. He also is good at being inclusive for people who are socially shy.
Tabitha
Sam is an amazing story teller. He has no ego when it comes to letting players be creative with the story. I love how, if you can justify it through roleplay, you can have custom, fun bits of story or special characters. The Cora-Ni world he build is beautiful and open to so many possibilities. Sam tells the story with fun voices and great visual aids. As a queer woman, I felt very safe gaming with him. He is also great for beginners because he is so patient and flexible.
John
Sam is a fantastic GM and storyteller. He is very inventive with his NPCs and setting, and Sam himself is a friendly and welcoming presence. I've had a blast playing in his games.
Aaron Wampler
I've had the pleasure to work with Sambearpoet on several worldbuilding exercises and I've been amazed at the tremendous amount of thought he puts into his games. I would say his strength is the diverse and interesting plot threads he provides characters to tug at.
Additional details
How to prepare
Need a Mic, no need to read the rules ahead of time, we will create characters, just be ready to play. Dice are 00 percentile dice only. This will start as a "street level" heroic game, and as PCs advance this may change to a more powerful scenario. Your powers and abilities will not be blown out of proportion. Each PC consents to becoming a heroic figure, it is not pressed on you. Possible storylines include: Using your powers to try and get and/or stay employed in some fashion (nobody is very wealthy). Investigating a corporate experiment site Fighting a group of paid mercenaries intent on harrassing a town in a sacrifice zone Stopping an out of control drone flight from harming others. Helping stop crimes like kidnapping, theft, and wanton destruction in areas that have been disavowed by government and police Helping people gain access to safe, equitable health care Helping people find missing and lost family members Helping to salvage valuable items from abandoned towns Standing up to local crime lords, corporate shills, and corrupt government officials.
What I provide
I will bring a pro Roll20 account, Zoom, Discord, and I will help each player create a heroic persona they can enjoy.
Gameplay details
Session 0 will go over our safety tool's usage and we will work together to craft a story that is within everyone's boundaries. The game rules, Marvel FASERIP, is abandonware so free. We will use the basic structure of the game and create characters during Session 0. We will *not* be using the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Comic Book Universe. This is a brand new Heroic Universe for you to experience.
Content warnings
• Classism
• Drugs (addiction, use, withdrawal)
• Violence
Safety tools used
• Breaks
• Lines and Veils
• Luxton Technique Discussion
• Open Door
• Session 0
• Stars and Wishes
• X, N, and O Cards
How will character creation work
Each player will choose their Avastar spectra (color) and we will make the character's powers and abilities reflect that color. Each PC will have a regular-looking version of themselves and a heroic version of themselves and be able to switch back and forth between them. I would like for heroic names to come out as a function of the roleplay, not as something that's predetermined. The "technology" that makes heroes in this game is the kind that is "indistinguishable from magic" in that nobody really understands it fully. If you want, you can totally play yourself in this world.
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
Medium
Roleplay
Medium
Puzzles
Medium
Experience level
Beginner
Platforms used
• Discord
• Roll20
• Zoom
$10.00
/ Session
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Monthly / Sunday - 9:00 PM UTC
2-4 Hour Duration
0 / 5 Seats Filled
Requirements
Experience required: Beginner
Age: 18+