[M&M 3e] Defying the Future OOC

[Zelphas]

I'll post this here too, for ease of reference:

Spoiler: On Downtime Endings

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At the moment, at the end of every Downtime, you have a choice to make for the next scene; you can either Act on a piece of information you have uncovered or a plan of action you mentioned in-character beforehand, or you can React to something the League and their minions are up to in the same timeframe.

Take the Initiative: Act

Scenes that you can Act on general come about as the result of Downtimes from researching the League, or possibly from certain personal Downtimes. Choices that you can Act on will be presented like this:

Title of Action (League Faction or Character this Action is connected to/Specific Concepts attached)

Usually (if I can get my creative juices working well enough), the name of the Action will give some hint as to what will happen in that scene. Choices that you can Act on will remain until they are Acted on, barring a major shift in the story; your information remains useful unless circumstances alter significantly.

Foil Their Plans: React

At first, you will only have one Scene to React to at the end of each Downtime action; these will be events that the League or their minions are performing, regardless of your actions. Choices that you can React to will be presented almost exactly like Act Scenes:

Title of Reaction (League Faction or Character this Action is connected to)

The React scenes will not be as specific as the Act scenes; you don’t know as much about them at first, so they can be a bit of a gamble. React Scenes will only appear once; if they are not Reacted to, the scene will play out as though the PCs aren’t there, for a variety of effects. Especially at first, these scenes will not be devastating in their fallout, so you don’t need to feel pressured to React to them all; the League will do their own thing regardless, and your Act Scenes can more directly interfere with their long-term goals for the most part.

There are two other quick things in this new mechanic to smooth things out: Lulls and Crises.

Take a Break: Lull

Every few Downtime sessions, I will give you nothing to Act on or React to; instead I will declare a Lull. At that time, we’ll focus more on what your characters are doing in their daily lives, during free time, and with family and friends. I’ll ask each of you when a Lull comes for ideas on what you’d like to see your character doing; if nothing comes to mind, then I can come up with something myself. No Reacts will take place during this time, and you’ll get a few more Downtime Actions afterwards, so these will be nice little breathers.

Do or Die: Crisis

Rarely, especially at first, a React Scene will have this placed right next to it:

CRISIS

When you see this, it means that a member of the League is making a big move, something that will affect a lot of people if it is allowed to happen unobstructed. Just like with any other React Scene, you can choose to skip past a CRISIS and Act on something else instead, but this is my warning that the negative consequences of ignoring a CRISIS Scene will be much larger than a regular React. OF course, because of the large scale of the action, The potential rewards of a CRISIS Scene will be large than a normal React Scene as well. Do with that as you may.

Act Scenes Unacted-Upon

High-End Chain Fashion (Lockdown/MW Boutique)
The high-class boutique is reservation-only for purchases, but they do have a display area in the front to tempt potential customers... and a small, discreet "help wanted" sign posted by the window. Smashing in and demanding answers for their connection to Lockdown may work, but a soft touch could also be fairly effective; either way, you should get some information on how the whole organization works by looking in on whoever does their tailoring.

Mister Cellophane (Lockdown/Envy)
It looks like the rumored, faceless shapeshifter known as the Silver Link "Envy" may actually exist... or at the very least, someone who can completely change their physical form is trying to get information about groups trying to leave the Chain Gang (it helps to have a person who can literally smell biology on the team). They might be the leak that keeps allowing the Links to crush any would-be resistance groups against Lockdown, so removing them as a threat may work in your favor.

Belling the Cat (Manchineel/Michael)
Michael is Manchineel's bodyguard; the giant cat rarely leaves her side... except to hunt hunters who enter the woods, it seems. With the four of you, it shouldn't be that hard to manufacture a "hunter", and lure the cat into a trap...


Manchineel
The first of the League. Will our heroes be victorious, or will Manchineel gain new "sons and daughters" for her Menagerie? Only time will tell.