Alright, since it looks like The Mantle of Destiny stands a strong chance of winning the poll, I’ve got a query of my own. Will we have the option to play as somebody who wants nothing to do with the world of heroics and feels forced into it? Because the thing that does appeal to me about the premise is the idea of an ordinary teenager suddenly being thrust into a world they’re entirely unprepared for, and I’d hope to be able to lean into that in the narrative.
Also:
Is it safe to say that these are set in stone? Because I will be honest and say that this powerset sounds very generic to me, and not especially interesting to explore. I understand the need to keep the available powers limited to avoid too much branching, but is there any possibility of developing other powers?
You can choose how you react to the situation of gaining these powers, meaning that you can play a character who is completely out of their element and doesn’t want to be a superhero. In this story you will be juggling different responsibilities and you can choose which responsibilities you want to uphold. The difficulty gets harder and harder as time goes on. You can also gain skills and allies depending which responsibilities you take on.
As for the powers there are rumors that even Zephyr hasn’t been able to unlock the full power set. What those powers are is up for you to find out. I totally get your hesitation, its supposed to be a stereotypical superhero set of powers which may dissuade some people from reading.
Sorry if that’s a bit ambiguous! I hope this helps. Our plan is to release a wip so you can see if you like it there as well.
Fair enough! I guess I’ll just have to see how I feel about this story when the actual WIP is released—I’m admittedly still a bit on the fence at the moment (I’d be lying if I said I fully understood the appeal, TBH), but as I’ve said, I do think this premise holds potential, and I’m interested to see where you take it. Good luck, either way!
Are you referring to defending Byzantine controlled Constantinople during the historical conquest by the Ottoman Turks? Or are you proposing more of an alternate history where the Roman Empire was at its prime when the Ottoman’s attacked?
The setting is one that I really haven’t seen anywhere so that’s cool, but ultimately I think a story is more about how the characters interact with each other and the environment. The plot and setting act more as a framing for those interactions. So who will we be? What kind of actions could we take to save the Roman Empire? It might be cool to play as an Ottoman with Roman sympathies or some kind of Roman advisor so there would be options for political maneuvering as well as coming up with war strategies.
tl;dr cool setting but I have to know more about what we’re actually doing before I can tell if I’m interested
Hello forum! Some of you might know me from my WIP Return to Zemia (which is not dead!), but I am here today to pitch another idea. I’ve actually already got a small section of the game written, but I’m not quite ready to open a thread and post a public demo. If you’re interested in being an early reader, please let me know! Description below ~
When the opportunity to move to Europe and live in a castle arises, you seize it. Now you’ve got to turn it into a successful business or risk losing everything.
Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, bi, or ace.
Customize your appearance and personality.
Befriend, flirt, and clash with the locals.
Take care of your new farm, and turn Darbury Castle into a destination.
Uncover unique opportunities and use them to your advantage.
Leave your mark on Talverton.
Feel free to reply here, send me a DM, or catch me on Tumblr if you are interested or have quetions!
I’m actually a really big fan of A Paragon of Justice. I really enjoy the idea of being the ordinary person among people who are “better”. Maybe I’m too cynical and jaded for my own good, but there is something really cathartic about outdoing super heroes as some Joe Shmoe. I think it also adds some really cool possibilities for character interactions.
I read a book called Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson a while back about something really similar - basically just some guy who wanted revenge against a super hero - and it was great! I’ve really been missing similar content. And just look to Fallen Hero if you think there isn’t a market for getting the best of supers!
Yeah in Fallen Hero you’ve also got powers but I was trying to say that there is absolutely a place for stories where you may oppose super heroes and get the better of them. Never heard of “The Boys” though, so I’ll have to check that out!
Steelheart sounds cool I’ll definitely check it out! I love Fallen Hero and The Boys, they were both big inspirations for me and my sisters ideas. We definitely want to analyze the superhero genre and will do that in both The Mantle of Destiny and the Paragon of Justice.
Oh I also want to make sure everyone knows because I don’t know if it was clear enough. Mantle of Destiny is about a teenage superhero not an adult superhero.
It’s kind of like Spider-Man where you get your powers but with the added pressure of having to uphold an already established legacy in the city that is already full of incredibly powerful superheroes and villains. On top of that you have to deal with the difficult issues of a teenager as well. You have to struggle to balance all of these responsibilities without having a mental breakdown.
A big inspiration for this story was the ttrpg game masks, in which you are able to play as teenage superheroes. In it there is a playbook called the legacy, which you play a character that has to uphold a long line of superheroes. There is another playbook called the Janus who has to grapple with the difficult issue of a having a secret superhero identity which was another inspiration for this story. If anyone is interested I can link a pdf of the playbooks so you can get a better understanding of the vibe we are trying to get for this story.
It will be a fun game, but will tackle serious issues as well. We want to challenge the idea of a traditional superhero genre and subvert expectations. This goes for both Mantle of Destiny and Paragon of Justice. I hope this clears some things up for people.
I think we’ll leave the poll open until Friday so if this changes anyone’s mind or raises any questions feel free to ask!
Sorry if I’m rambling I love the superhero genre and could talk about it for ages. Thanks to everyone that has shown interest! I did not expect this outcome.
If you need I can assist you with some historical aspects or advice on your game mechanics.
You need venetians genoans knights of rhodos in byzantium side,
ottoman turks, hungarian artillary crafters , some mercenaries and different faction of turkish nomadic tribes there.
It will be interesting to play but you need to choose whether you want to keep it realistic or fantasy based.
A 1492 where Mehmed was captured but both Giovanni Giustianni and Constantine XI died. In exchange for his release, Byzantium demanded peninsular Greece, Thrace and Optimaoi.And you play as a certain Mesih but in this timeline he goes by his original name which is not known. As Demetrios died with only a daughter Thomas’s sons now squabble for who is the rightful roman emperor. And it is up to you the MC to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory or will Constantinopolis finally fall because of you.
This still seems like setting to me. I guess I don’t really know enough about this particular part of history to really grasp what is happening? Besides the end goal of restoring the Roman Empire, what kind of things would we actually be doing? It’s unclear to me if this is just a political thing or if it’s military or something else.
The new world, as this without the Ottoman controlling the Bosphoros, merchants would not need to go to the new world. And as the rivalry between eastern romans and turks grow, you will need to spearhead a expedition into the new world.And you could maybe restore hellenism and become the Pontifex Maximus.Or if you support the union between orthodoxy and hellenism, you cam choose to do so.Reforming the roman empire back into a republic. Become the god to the aztecs and the lik. But that is until you succesfully sit on the throne.
