Until recently you were just a run of the mill kid, or maybe you were a troubled teen, or even perhaps a college age young adult just trying to live your life, but not anymore. Now you're something else...something different; you are gifted.
This story will be set in the X-Men fandom, but honestly will be more of an AU than anything else. My intention is to set this RP in a world where mutants are still relatively unknown to the masses, where the "gifted" are feared and looked down upon by society, and where it would be detrimental for the public to find out the identities of those that are known about. The idea is this: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters has been a haven for mutants for over a decade now, but one school can only do so much in a world where there are new mutants popping up all the time. So, Charles Xavier has entrusted one of his good friends, Malcolm Ashford, to open a new school to help ensure more mutants find the help they need. We will be the first class of students at the Ashford Institute for the Gifted, and will live the lives of mutants in a world made for humans. We together will learn how to control our gifts, find out who we truly are, make friends (and enemies) along the way, and train to one day join the ranks of the X-Men.
This is the official OOC for this RP; a place for us to get to know each other and discuss the game and our characters. Feel free to contact me for any questions or additional info you would like me to provide.
(Picture of Character) Name: Nicknames/Aliases: X-Men Code Name: (The Super Hero name that you would like you character to eventually have.) Gender: Age: (14-19) Physical Description: (weight, height, clothes, etc.) Mutations: (Nothing crazy; i.e. no Wolverine healing factor, time manipulation, invincibility, telepaths/mind control.) Personality: Background: (Doesn't have to be a book, it's actually better to leave some things open ended so that you can learn about your character and watch them grow organically, but it's important to know the basics.) Recap of your mutations awakening: (Was it a tragic event? Something that you've been keeping secret for a little while? Who all knows about your "gifts"? Etc.)
The Ashford Manor itself is 3 stories tall and currently has enough dormitories to house just under 50 students, two to a room. The campus has a massive, beautiful courtyard that leads to the Victorian era cast iron gate. There are three main buildings on campus:
The Academy- Located in the center of the property, this is the academic and administrative hub of the campus. The majority of classrooms, offices, staff lodging, and medical services are located here.
The Dormitories- Located to the left of the Academy, the dorms are separated into two halls; Summers Hall is where the male students live & Grey Hall is for female students. These two halls are connected in the middle by the impressive student lounge and cafeteria services. This is the social hub of the campus and is where the students get to know each other, as well as grow together as students of the institute.
The Training Center- Referred to as the "TC" for short, is located at the right end of the campus and is the largest of the three buildings. Inside there is a full length basketball court, Olympic sized pool, a state of the art gymnasium with all the cardio/strength equipment one could ever dream of; which of course can be converted into the secret and highly beneficial "Danger Room" where the gifted students can hone their skills and learn to control their powers. Outside of the TC there is also a football/soccer field, a tennis court, track, and an outdoor swimming pool as well that has a full grill and snack bar during the warmer seasons.
Dr. Malcolm Ashford is a man with a brilliant mind and a kind heart. He is a self made millionaire that has earned his fortune by building one of the world's most successful pharmaceutical companies; Ashford Pharmaceuticals. He is known to be slightly eccentric and very curious when it comes to humanity and evolution. He has been an avid supporter and benefactor of Charles Xavier's for years and over time they have become close friends. It is assumed that Dr. Ashford is a mutant though his powers are unknown and he normally will change the subject when it's brought up. Being a life student of Charles Xavier and a believer in his vision of the world, Malcolm was the perfect choice to become Headmaster of the second official school and safe haven for mutant kind.
Kaylee Everose is the Educational Director for the Ashford Institute for the Gifted, as well as the mathematics and science professor. She is in charge of overseeing the academic growth of all students and acts as second in command at the institute. She is sweet and intelligent, but she takes her business seriously and isn't afraid to show her more fiery side. Professor Everose's mutation gives her the ability to sense other mutant powers through aura detection, and given enough focus she can also use astral projection.
Adam Pierce is the type of man that doesn't smile very often. He is the "Athletics Director" of the institute, which really just means that he's the man in charge of training the gifted students and preparing them to become part of the X-Men. He is strict, harsh, standoffish, and stoic, but he sees the importance of his job and would do anything to protect his dear friends and fellow mutants among the staff; that means protecting the students as well and he does not take that job lightly. His mutation gives him the ability to memorize movements and stances that he observes, which he has used to master literally every known martial art in the world...as well as some unknown to most, even the most skilled and experienced martial artists. He has the heart of a soldier and the mind of a strategist and he holds a high expectation for his students. Let's hope you live up to it, or you'll end up on his bad side and that's not somewhere that you want to be. Mr. Pierce is also the resident advisor (RN) to Summers Hall, which is a part of his job that he hates...and honestly so do most of the male students that live there.
Lawrence Finn would describe himself as an old man that loves old things. He is the History & Geography Professor at the Institute and has the mutant ability to see the stories and memories of things that he touches, and he has one of the most impressive historical/antique collection outside of the Natural History Museum. He's a distraction prone older man that is passionate about history and absolutely despises today's technology. He's slightly off his rocker, but loves his job and hopes to show some of the school's youngsters that just because the past is old doesn't mean it's boring.
Tabby is the bubbly, lovable, goofy, but bloody talented Professor of the Arts in the Institute. She's definitely unconventional as far as teachers go, and is only in her early 20s; making her one of the more relatable and favorable staff members to the students. She is fun loving and creative, and is also the resident advisor to Grey Hall. Her mutation gives her feline like abilities and features. The more she taps into them the more her physical body changes to look the part. She heightened senses and incredibly quick reflexes. Her self appointed code name is "Tabby Cat", and it's easy to see why.
I'll have something up once I think of something! Would shapeshifting be a bit too vanilla for X-Men? It's kinda hard thinking of a power they haven't already done :P
I'll have something up once I think of something! Would shapeshifting be a bit too vanilla for X-Men? It's kinda hard thinking of a power they haven't already done :P
I wouldn't worry so much about trying to find a power that's never been used before, nor would I worry about what might seem vanilla. Whatever sounds fun to you is what matters; and honestly this game is going to be character focused so the power is just one part of a good character :).
"Beauty's only skin deep? Bah. Tell that to this lovely kidney~"
Name: Florence Richardson Nicknames/Aliases:She's garnered many over the years, mostly from bullies. But she does like the nickname Nightie. X-Men Code Name: Stitches Gender: Female Age: 16 Physical Description: At about 5'4" and 96 pounds, it's not exactly wrong to say that Florence is a rather frail individual. She doesn't have many curves to her body, something that she somewhat resents along with her height. Her skin is deathly pale due to a near constant avoidance of the sun, which leads to her becoming sunburned quite easily. Her eyes are a bright hazel/green depending on the light and are also somewhat small. Florence's face and features show her half Asian heritage. Her hair is platinum blonde, but she likes to partially dye it brown because she doesn't like how bright it is naturally. Typical clothing include t-shirts with red crosses, a brown or black leather jacket, and a pleated plaid skirt. She wears small, thin-rimmed black glasses with rubies embedded in the hinges.
Mutations: Florence was born with telekinesis and an unnaturally high intellect for a human being. Unfortunately for her, she never had the same kind of almighty telekinesis as others. Her telekinesis was limited to about an arms length, maybe a foot or two more, in front of her and behind her. All things considered, that sounds like it should be highly useless, but there is a saving grace. Her telekinesis has several modes of operation, or so she says. This has yet to be proven, as she refuses to show. And along with that claim, it is confirmed that her telekinesis has a quantifiable enhance in strength and general force. Probably as a result of being short-changed on range. Although she hasn't managed to do it, she reasons that eventually she might be able to shift around someone's organs if they're very close to her. She has not attempted however, as she doesn't want to do it and accidentally rupture anything.
Her intellect is genius level, perhaps a bit lower on the scale but still superhuman. She graduated out of school quite early in life and has a great grasp on higher level maths, a couple of languages, and human anatomy down to a T. Her intellect was boosted greatly around the time of her mutant awakening, throwing her brain into overdrive for a short while. Unfortunately, it seems that around the time of her awakening she was also inflicted with a bit of slight intense psychological instability as well as a lack of inhibition.
Personality: As previously mentioned, Florence is a bit... unstable. It's very easy for her to change emotions on a dime, and can switch back and forth between moods so fast that it can even surprise her. When she's not flipping back and forth between several emotions like a crazed dog that hasn't seen a human in several years, she's usually a very cheery and smile-filled individual who has a tendency to be quite playful. Unfortunately, she can be a bit too rough with her play and can end up seeming a bit creepy as well. Florence, since her awakening, has had a deteriorating sense of inhibition and she finds it much easier to be open with others as well as reaching for personal goals.
She takes an odd amount of enjoyment from the human body, enjoying showing off her expertise with anatomy by pointing out specific muscles and bones, as well as major arteries. Another quirk of hers is to point her hand out in a finger gun position and say "Bang" quietly when someone gets near her. Never really explained by her. Florence is very, very nervous and paranoid about being attacked or taken away in her sleep and as such, tends to deprive herself of sleep for days at a time. She also suffers from sleep-walking and typically ties herself down before she goes to sleep.
Background: Florence had a rather normal life growing up. She went to school like any other kid, but as she got older and older her mother took note of her daughter's intelligence and began to push her somewhat to do more with what she had. Piano lessons, advanced placement, skipping grades. And, honestly, Florence was happy with it. She wanted to be a doctor more than anything, to help people, to cure illnesses previously considered incurable. Then she awoke.
When her mutant power awoke itself, in the middle of her college education, she freaked out for days on end wondering what it would mean for her. Her career, her future. But as days passed, she found more and more that she didn't care about her career much anymore. She wanted to further explore her abilities, but wanted to do so that'd be safe for her. After doing some online searching, she found out about Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. However, upon attempting to find more information about it, she was redirected several times to Ashford's Institute. Deciding that that might be her best chance (and it was closer, gas money and all that), she enrolled in the school as quickly as she could and has since settled in somewhat. Although day by day, she continues to deteriorate mentally.
Recap of your mutations awakening: Kids are cruel, man. Florence knew that better than anyone, she thought. One day she was sitting in her school's courtyard, eating her lunch by herself to avoid conflict with her fellow students when she felt something hit the back of her head, hard. When she turned around, she saw one of the girls that'd been bothering her since she arrived at the school with a handful of rocks. She attempted to simply avoid conflict and smile the girl away, but the she wasn't having it.
As soon as she turned around another rock was thrown at her head. And when she attempted to ignore the girl in the hopes that she'd just get bored, another rock. After 3 or so rocks and the back of her head becoming sore, Florence could no longer take it. She turned around to scream at the girl, but as soon as she did another rock came whirling at her face. She braced for impact as fast as she could but expressed shock when she didn't feel intense pain in the following moments. When her eyes opened, the girl was staring in a wide-eyed fashion as the rock stopped itself in mid-air and crushed itself to dust. Almost immediately, Florence ran to the infirmary to be sent home early on the grounds of hallucination.
She found out a few days later that it wasn't a hallucination.
@OneWayOut I love Veronica, and I initially was going to disallow healing factors, but I'll let you have it on one condition lol. If she sustains enough damage to kill someone she would die. Meaning that she can heal superficial injuries and even more severe ones but if she got shot in the head, stabbed in the heart, or something fatal like that she would most likely die before she could heal. Does that make sense?
Question. For character pictures, do you want artwork or photos of IRL people? If it's the latter I'll just write a description, because I personally don't like IRL face-claims and having a combination of characters with IRL pictures and artwork really fucks with your head when you're trying to imagine this 2D character interacting with someone who looks like a real-life person :P
I'm working on my character sheet right now - hopefully I'll have him done within the hour!
Wanted to mention that if anyone needs help with superpowers, there's an entire wiki dedicated to powers, so it can also give you ideas for extensions and limitations if you have something in mind.
@Turboshitter Either way is honestly fine with me, I've always been a fan of IRL characters mainly because it's easier for me personally to visualize them. I'd prefer just IRL mainly for the same reason that you mentioned about mixing them with artwork but as long as it's not ridiculous or anything I'm open to either.
@ShieldsOfWar Thank you! I posted his profile in the character tab - the background is complete there! For a laid-back guy, he's actually really nervous (and maybe even a little ashamed) when it comes to being a mutant.
@Wisp That's really cool, I look forward to seeing him in play. It's very plausible for mutants to be a bit ashamed of themselves, especially in the beginning.
