Mario's is a small diner in downtown Buffalo, New York. The furnishings make up for their cheapness with gaudy red and white coloring; even if the chrome fittings could do with a polish they still shine in the dawn sunlight. The hour is early, and the restaurant is almost empty, but the smell of cooking grease and strong coffee hang heavy in the air as the staff prepare for the coming breakfast rush. A waitress behind the counter watches the few patrons for empty coffee cups, while they in turn tend to their meals with various levels of lethargy. Viewed without context, the scene could be set in any of a hundred thousand diners throughout the country.

Each of our heroes finds themselves in this place, at this time. Yet it is not quite right to call them heroes, for at this moment they are common, ordinary people, much like the diner itself. They are picking at their eggs, sipping their coffees, preparing for work or bed as their circumstances may be, as they presumably have many times before.

Suddenly the door flies open, apparently of its own accord. It hits a rack of classifieds, which are sent scattering. Objects on the bar and tables start exploding, following a path down the lobby. Salt shakers and ketchup bottles send fragments of glass flying everywhere. Near the end of the bar, a plastic display case full of pie tumbles off its perch, and a waiter standing stunned in the back of house entryway is pushed over by an invisible force.

From the kitchen can be heard the sounds of falling pots and pans, as if a wild animal were wreaking havoc, but for a few moments the dining room is quiet. A patron might have enough time to catch their breath and check themselves for cuts. They might even have enough time to look out the front windows and see a man in a cheap suit standing on the sidewalk out front, with a look of concentration on his face.

Then the diner erupts into flame, killing everyone inside.

-----

You wake up with a start. The plastic of the barstool creaks below you; you are sitting at a black plywood bar in what seems to be a dance club of some kind. With the house lights up, the whole place looks cheap and dirty. Overflowing trash cans stand near the walls, bits of lank streamers hang from the exposed rafters, and sticky spots on the bar and floor where drinks were spilled the night before have yet to be wiped up.

A slightly-built man stands behind the bar, grabbing the edge with both hands. He looks to be pushing fifty; his over-tanned skin makes it hard to tell one way or the other, and contrasts sharply with his ice-blue eyes. He's wearing a tassled black leather vest with nothing underneath, and a pair of tight leather pants the same color. His mouth is open in a toothy grin, and his teeth are the same gaudy gold of the massive lightbulb-studded sign above the liquor, which reads "EDEN". In front of you on the bar is a card--different in size and shape from a normal playing card--which has been placed face down. As you look back and forth, you see that the other barstools are occupied by other people from the diner you were just in; like you, they seem to be unharmed, and they also have cards placed in front of them.

"Well, hello." The man's voice is deep, melodic, and ripe with the affected charm of a used car salesman. "I've been expecting you." He gestures widely, with both hands, to the cards sitting in front of you. "You're all dead. But, if you're interested, I may have a deal to offer you."

I call dibs on the Conductor.

I did have an idea for a character using the Beast playbook, but then I did some actual research into the animal I wanted to use and found out the whole concept I had was based on something about said animal that has been since been proven false. I'm deeply saddened by this revelation but perhaps it was for the best.

What animal were you looking at?

You could always say the Undertow fuckery which will bring us back to life also made your crow/raven/magpie like shiny objects.

@Guardian Angel Haruki, yours looks good too--the only thing I see is that your Resonant and Dissonant cards need be picked from the neutral cards =)

@rush99999, looks great! I'm assuming that's the appearance of your player character--have you thought about the appearance of your Eidolon? If you'd prefer to wait to reveal that, that's fine too.

@Guardian Angel Haruki @Digmata

Are you two aware that you've both answered the wrong questions? The ones you're supposed to answer are asked in the rulebook.

The questions for the Virtuoso are "What drew you toward mastering your chosen skill? Why is this the thing you have dedicated yourself to?"

And the Navigator has to pick an Area of Expertise and then answer this question: "What is it that fascinates you about this subject, and how have you come to be so knowledgeable in it?"

@Guardian Angel Haruki @Digmata

Are you two aware that you've both answered the wrong questions? The ones you're supposed to answer are asked in the rulebook.

The questions for the Virtuoso are "What drew you toward mastering your chosen skill? Why is this the thing you have dedicated yourself to?"

And the Navigator has to pick an Area of Expertise and then answer this question: "What is it that fascinates you about this subject, and how have you come to be so knowledgeable in it?"