The Rise of Doom [Play by Post]

Creating your character

Characters can be selected at any time during week 0 (our session 0, basically). The majority of characters will likely come from the rosters available in the various books and supplements for the game--however, if a player wants to play a character that is not listed, we can see about making them together. If players want to play an original character (for example, a new student at Xavier's or an aspiring Avenger), we can work together on developing a character this way as well. Players will be able to select two heroes between Rank 3 and Rank 5. Any character below Rank 3 will be elevated to Rank 3 and if they are above Rank 5, they will be brought down to Rank 5. Having up to two characters will assist us with keeping players moving with at least one character if another scene is running slow due to response rates of other players or simply to explore a different side of Marvel. It is recommended that players select characters that are not on the same team. For example, selecting two X-Men can be cool--but having a character who can run with the X-Men and, say, Midnight Sons, can provide some variance and allow a player to explore different concepts and plotlines. Duplicates of characters (for example, two Wolverines) can be possible--with one from the core Earth 619 and others from alternate worlds (such as Age of Apocalypse, X-Men '97, etc.). This is definitely possible due to storyline reasons and fits just fine with the direction of the story.

Preparing for the session

A Discord account is required as we will be using discord for our game. We will have multiple channels to represent different areas of the world and other locales. A Demiplane account is recommended, as I will be sharing my library with the group so you have access to the books while you are in the game. However, if you have the books yourself and don't want to join Demiplane, this is fine. It just makes it easy to keep everyone organized. Of course, if you have not done so, read the corebook. The game, itself, is pretty straight forward and a lot of fun. Check out what characters you are interested in playing. If you don't see them, we may be able to create them using the rules.

What Ray Jenkins brings to the table

I have access to all of the Marvel Multiverse books on Demiplane, which will be shared with players in the campaign. If there is someone you want to play outside of the core book, we can certainly talk about it. I am a story-oriented storyteller, so I enjoy rich narrative approaches to characters and scenes. I tend to stick to rules as written--however, the rules will not get in the way of a fun or cool story. I consider myself flexible when considering the needs of the story vs. rules as written. One of goals for this game is to create a living world, allowing room for players to interact with one another outside of the Doom plot as they get their characters involved in their own subplots or character-driven stories. To this effect, the game size is larger than one might anticipate. And, as a result, I have recruited others to assist with maintaining the world and running side plots and character plots. The mods on our server are also assistant storytellers that can answer questions and run stories with players so that we keep things moving for players, helping them craft new stories and delve into the world. *Two to Three Posts Each Weekday:* I will post at least two to three posts per day. Each post will be multi-paragraph on average. This rate can increase dramatically during combat scenes. On weekends I will post as I can, but posting throughout the day is not a thing I can guarantee as I am with my family. *Narrative Freedom:* Coming from a text-roleplaying background, I do not mind if players make small changes to a scene for dramatic effect or impact. If the game is not in a current combat scene, I highly encourage roleplaying between characters. For example, if the game has wrapped a combat scene and two players want to have a scene in a safe room discussing things or delving into their characters, I more than welcome this. I encourage it. Side scenes such as this can really be rewarding in terms of character growth and exploration. *Engaging Story and Drama:* Superheroes often have a soap opera for a life. From wild action to heartache, betrayal, and revenge, they run the gamut of theatre. I expect to fully explore some of these themes in our time together. *Open Table and Respect:* Scenes can be intense and can sometimes impact us in ways we do not expect. If a player needs to step away for a bit to process something from the game or needs to discuss something, I have an open door. If you need to take a break for personal or other reasons, let me know. I don’t take offense to it. We can figure out a way to move forward, be it putting your character on hiatus and saving your seat, or having you temporarily leave and return later. Whatever works best for you.

Homebrew rules

While the game is built and being run on the Marvel Multiverse Roleplaying Game, if players wish to resolve a scene via narration, we can work with that--as long as all involved parties are comfortable. Of course, in terms of larger "boss" fights this may not be possible and we may revert to the core system, but handling low-level events or minions, this is very doable.

How Ray Jenkins creates a safe table

Session 0 will be character and coterie creation alongside the establishment of goals for both narrative and characters. A Lines and Veils document will be provided to fill out and we will establish a master document for the campaign. This game has an open-door policy. If you need to step away due to discomfort or to take a breath due to a scene, there will be no in or out-of-game consequences. Regarding Aftercare: After emotionally intense sessions or scenes, we will always be sure to check in to make sure everyone is doing good and to see if we need a break. We will have a debriefing at least every other session to see how people are doing and to give an open forum for feedback or concerns.