Spruce Valley High | Monsterhearts | 🏳️‍🌈LGBTQQIA+ | Beginner+

Creating your character

Character creation will happen during Session 0, and players will have access to player "playbooks" (very similar to classes in most games) and are encouraged to get an idea ahead of this first meeting. You are requested to *not* decide firmly anything until we are all together; Playbooks are exclusive and only one player can play each at a time.

Preparing for the session

-Monsterhearts is systemically deep, but mechanically simple. Rules will be taught and/or reviewed in Session 0 and reinforced during play until everyone's comfortable. -Play will take place in a Discord server that I will give you an invite to quickly after you join, please have the software downloaded on your hardware of choice. -A stable internet connection is expected. -Some way to generate 2d6, your own dice are fine, as is a digital tool. -A microphone of reasonable quality and without a *lot* of noise is expected. If you play in a room full of other people conversing or watching tv loudly (and that can be heard) you will be asked to remedy that, and if unable you will be requested to leave the table. -A webcam is preferred as this is a heavy RP game and human interaction is best face to face, but is not mandatory.

What Alebrelle brings to the table

I will be providing: -The Discord server we play on -Supplemental art of locations, a few maps, and NPCs. -All materials will be digital and players welcome to keep on their own. -Home studio quality sound and lighting. -Some small voice work and characterization for NPCs -A player-focused GM style -Professional and courteous interaction for in and out of game interactions (As human GM, *not* as in-game NPCs)

How Alebrelle creates a safe table

Hi! A review of safety tools: We'll be using Monty Cook's checklist to serve as our lines and veils, which is rather self explanatory but we can go over it if this is your first time with the concept. You can download that here: https://www.montecookgames.com/store/product/consent-in-gaming/# I will hand the file out directly if anyone is missing it by Session 0 (which we'll cover last in this section.) Instead of XNO cards we will be playing with the original X card: A safeword. "Red" is my default, but we'll discuss that and agree on that. It is more easily *immediately* reacted to and close to impossible to miss if someone says it a couple times. We will have a cooldown period of review and discussion after each session where we can discuss the high and low points of the game, decompress anything necessary, and especially give me as the GM feedback on where the game should head. Please do not be intimidated by the content warning tags. A majority of them are maybes, and only a few are pretty well mandatory. And several of those can be handled veiled. Monsterhearts is a system that deals with human interaction in a societal context, so is rather built from the ground up to be emotionally resonant and challenging. Here is the mandatory list, everything else is negotiable and changeable: * Monstrosity is used as an allegory for both puberty and queerness, that you are in a confusing and sometimes unwieldy, even frightening body that you are only beginning to understand. * The system is intentionally has themes of queerness baked into the core of it. You don't have to be explicitly any one thing or another -- but the game demands as the GM I poke and prod at those sorts of questions. You are not 100% in control of your body or mind. * The system has a sex move mechanic, so some degree of sexuality is necessary, but can be played offscreen in a fade to black. * There will be cursing. Monsterhearts is a system that demands the GM be responsive to character action. There is no "nothing happens" roll result in MH. There is certainly failure, but even in failure there will be mechanically significant impact. This is a roleplay heavy, character centered game. You are each the star and my job as the GM is to make it look and feel that way. The characters are not a power fantasy (mostly) -- everyone has flaws and I would hope you come to this table wanting to express those in play. MH has no combat, per se. You can attack people, but it is untrained, unfocused lashing out. This is the violence of children. I don't anticipate puzzles directly, but secrets and mystery are some of the core items present in MH. It's a game of interacting with others. No experience necessary to join, the system itself is on the lower end of complexity. All player materials (which is honestly just your character sheet and one or two pages of relevant rules) will be provided in PDF format. Bring your own 2d6, or a way to simulate that, there are many