With gorillas, perhaps.
The Game: City of Mist
The Publisher: Son of Oak Game Studio
Degree of Familiarity: None with this game specifically
Books Required: Just the one
City of Mist is an urban fantasy PbtA game, notable in part because the book is goddamned huge. Most PbtA games are slim, 6x9 paperbacks, and this one is a 500-page beast. That's only odd because it's not the kind of game I'd have thought needs a book that big, but reading it I didn't feel like it was padded. It's actually very compelling stuff.
It's not unfamiliar stuff; the idea is that you're playing Rifts, people who are incarnations of Mythos - fairy tales, urban legends, even literary characters (the example of chargen is Don Quixote). The Mists of the title are the forces that cover up Mythoi stuff, making people not only forget but distracting them at the last second so that they look at that weird bird rather than the literal monster scampering down an alley.
Comparisons to World of Darkness games, and to Dresden Files, are kind of inevitable. WoD, in particular, has a lot of versions of "the Mist" across the various game lines (it's even called that in Changeling: The Dreaming), but it's usually kind of a kludge to hand-wave why the supernatural stays secret. Here, it's a much more present and motivated force, and it plays into the theme of investigation and trying to figure out who you really are, as well as balancing the mythologist and mundane (Mythos vs. Logos). In some ways this game is what I wish Beast could have been, but y'know, that ship has sailed, crashed upon the rocks, sunk, rotted, and become driftwood.
Anyfuckingway, let's make a character. Step One is Concept, not uncommon, but this has very specific questions. To wit: Which legend has taken root in me? and Who am I in my everyday life in the city?
City of Mist requires a bit of consideration for the backdrop of the game; I could just make a character for the game in general, but there's a sample setting in which a big sinkhole opens up and fills with water and the Mists just kind of fills in the world around it and creates "Lakeside Drive," and people who died in the disaster are just sort of forgotten or written off. I like the idea, and thinking about characters that might be interesting in that setting, the Lady of the Lake came to mind.
Now, the Lady of the Lake, as is typical of mythological characters, has a lot of different roles and variants depending the tale and the period. The role that I find interesting is the keeper of prophecy, holding a powerful weapon or advantage for a hero (who ultimately betrays her, again, depending on which version of the story you've got). So the answer to the first question is "the Lady of the Lake."
So what's the Logos? I think my character used to be a super of one of the apartment buildings that is currently at the bottom of the lake. When the Mists rewrote everything, they made him the super of a different, nearby building, but he's got all these keys on his ring that are to the other building...anyway, the answer to the second question is "apartment building super."
And now into Step Two, Choosing Themes. I get four, and the balance between them determines how deep into the Mythos I am. I think I want two of each, making me a Borderliner, because I think the slide into the comforting waters of Mythos vs. the dry, grating reality of Logos would be a strong conflict for this guy.
So which themes do I want for Mythos? Relic would make sense, if I'm the keeper of some kind of Excalibur. Divination would also fit pretty well, as would Adaptation. Hmm. I think the "sword" is either metaphorical or it's at the bottom of the damn lake, but either way it's something I could get for the hero, not something I just carry around. We'll take Adaptation and Divination. Defining those a little more, I want Adaptation to be at home under the water. Divination is more based on seeing destiny or, more precisely, what a "hero" needs to achieve that destiny. We'll call it I know what you need.
How about Logos, then? I think Routine (taking care of the building) and Possessions (tools and keys) are the best choices.
And now on to Step Three, Themebooks. Each of those themes I chose has a mandatory question, and then a bunch of questions, of which I can answer two (so three total). Each of those gives me a "power tag," which gives me a bonus to rolls when it applies. And then I get a weakness tag, which comes from another question. On we go!
For Mythos questions, I have to identify a Mystery, and then do the power tags.
Adaptation: The Mystery question is How does your Mythos adapt to the circumstances? But really, I think his Adaptation is more about being able to function underwater, as the Lake is his real home (Mythologically speaking). So I think the Mystery here is "What's at the bottom of the Lake?"
First power tag question is: What Mythos power allows you to respond differently to every situation? These tags are meant to be specific, so ethereal water spirit is fine.
Next question: What attitude or emotion lies at the core of your adaptive powers? My guy is forever waiting for the champion to come and ask him for help. I feel like some power relating to patience or time might fit here. Ooh, how about always know when I'm needed.
Finally: How can you enhance or weaken others with your powers? I like idea of him being able to put the strength of water behind or against someone. Power of the tides (sure, lakes don't have tides, piss off).
But, gotta have a Weakness tag question. What are your powers of adaptivity dependent on? Well, the Lake, obviously. That's pretty limiting, but I like the idea that he's much more powerful around or in the Lake.
On to Divination! Let's do this in the right order this time. What allows you to uncannily know things you wouldn't normally know? Well, knowledge of others' needs, obviously. Not desires, but needs - how to help them fulfill their destiny. That in no way means they want to do so.
What advantage does your divination give you in a fight? I can know your fears, since in a roundabout way, a fear is born of a need.
What new frontier of knowledge lies at the edge of your divination? I can see the heroic potential in anyone.
Weakness! What is beyond the reach of your divination? I think my guy can't see people's pasts, only their needs and, to a limited extent, their futures. Your past is your own.
Mystery! Who is the champion for whom I wait? Someone gotta take this sword!
On to the Logos Themes, starting with Possessions. What is the most important thing in your possession? The ring of keys, obviously. It unlocks all the doors in my current building, but also all the doors in the sunken building.
What other important item is in your possession? A big heavy toolbox.
What item completes a set with your other power tags? A big ol' flashlight.
But, Weakness. What technical or practical flaw do your items have? Metal, and therefore heavy & clanky.
And instead of Mystery, here we have an Identity, which is an absolute statement that gets to the motive behind the possessions. I don't want it to reflect on his responsibility, since I'm sure that'll come in Routine. How about Everything can be restored (or rediscovered, but that's implied).
Speaking of that, over to Routine! First question is What do you do with your time? and building superintendent is the obvious answer. I think I'll make it superintendent/handyman, though.
Next, What did you learn on your daily activities? Easy; all the secrets in the building.
And finally, Where do your go to carry out your routine, or where do you go to escape it? I think it'd be cool if the basement of the building he works in now has a water pipe that connects to the Lake. Secret entrance to the Lake.
Weakness! At the end of the day, what are you left with? The work never ends because more things always break.
And, the Identity. "It's on my list."
And that's basically it! I still need a name, however. We'll call him Chris Niven. Chris is in his 40s, wears reading glasses (on a strap, thanks, he's lost more than one pair), and only wears the coveralls if he knows he's got a dirty job to do that day. When he dives into the water and gets more into the Mythos side of things, I think his body fades and glows a little, and because, if not androgynous, then a bit ethereal. He's never dived all the way down into the Lake to look through the sunken buildings, but he knows they're there, and at some point, he'll need to go - or show someone the way.
That'll do it!
