Spirit of the Century OOC

Here we go, a ramble and explanation about my all time favorite tabletop roleplaying game: Spirit of the Century. Before I go on, I would like to note that it's been a while since I've played or read the book cover to cover. Simply put, if I don't have anyone to play a game with I don't touch the material for a loooong time. My Magic: The Gathering skills are pretty rusty because of this. The thing is, this system is so simple that this shouldn't even be a problem. I do intend to read the book again, don't worry, but let's just say that Evil Hat Productions highly encourages you to not use the book to reference rules once you've got some time in with this game. I know Ji is reading through the book as well so having two people to help explain things will probably be a tad overkill but still pretty sweet overall.

Before I go on, I recommend that everyone download the book here. This way by the time you've read whatever I have to say the download should hopefully be done. The book is on the large size though I can't stress enough that most of the book is full of examples. I totally recommend giving it a read anyways as it is actually entertaining. Only a few parts are actually mandatory though and I'll try to cover all those here. I plan on giving an explanation of the rules in my own wording, along with pointing out where in the book they're covered in detail (and better than I am at explaining 'em).

I said this bit before in the gauging interest thread, but I'll repeat myself here so that you don't have to go looking. Spirit of the Century is set in America after the Great War. The world is still coming out of shock from the War itself and, with focus on rebuilding and filling political voids, new and old threats are moving unseen. Rumors abound of evil forces gathering in Germany, of Atlantis rising from the waters, of powers in ancient Egypt coming to life, and all sorts of other claims. Surely the bulk of them are just that - idle claims - but there is a grain of truth in every story. The world is in danger and already one group is acting to prevent catastrophe from happening:

THE CENTURY CLUB

The enigmatic, very members-only club is a hard topic for most to speak of, namely because the information about it is scattered at best. What is known and is common knowledge for those who even know the club exists is that the club is designed to help advance science, the arts, and aspiring minds. Charters for the Century Club are pretty much everywhere. The club not only sponsors a lot of projects and researches, but boasts members in all walks of society. Some people even claim to have heard that at least one American president is secretly a club member!

Under the surface the Century Club exists to house, fund, and aid an even more secretive group that operates within its ranks. The members of this group are called the Centurions. These individuals, an overall small lot, are tasked with preventing certain events from happening, such as world domination attempts by evil scientists. Centurions are all talented and gifted individuals that are set apart from the normal crop of people. In essence they are already powerful individuals in their own right.

This power gives them a responsibility though, and this responsibility is something that the Century Club has taught for generations: Make the world better. This is a very broad task that can be done a great deal of ways. This can be taken to mean that one should discover everything they can and share it with the world, advance modern science to render diseases inept, prevent bad guys from hurting innocent folk, or whatever the Centurions commit their heart and energy to. Having great power and not using it to better the world is seen by the Century Club as an ultimate act of cowardice!

Alright, there's a light introduction to the game world and the club itself. More information is in the book, obviously. Players in Spirit of the Century are actually the Centurions themselves. The reason why there are so few Centurions is that the requirement for being in this particular sect of the Century Club is that, in order to qualify for the role of Centurion, you must be born at the start of a century. Thus, your characters (and any other Centurions there may be in this game) have all been born on the same day: January 1, 1901. The actions of Centurions, for good or for ill, do have an impact on the entire century they represent. Thus, they are the spirit of the century. Hey, that explains the title!

As I've said before, Spirit of the Century is a game based off of the old pulp stories. Doc Savage and Skycaptain and the World of Tomorrow is referenced a lot in the book, though I have no experience with either. Indiana Jones, The Mummy, The Shadow, James Bond, The Green Hornet, and The Watchmen are good examples of the genre that I can recommend. Pretty much, characters here generally have a sort of gimmick to them that helps make them stand out. Costumes and tight spandex are completely optional and overall unnecessary, but I'm not stopping ya. This is less about superhumans with fantastic powers, but more about science heroes. Gadgets are the norm here along with wits, charm, and a good dose of attitude.

Before we get to character creation, lemme explain how certain things in the game work and what things are.

CORRECTION!!! I was going to go into detail about things, but I realized a few points:
A) I ramble. Oh wow do I ramble. I wasn't even done yet and I had a few screens full.
B) The book is simple, entertaining, and probably explains things better than I ever can in a post such as this. XD. So . . . Just read the book, guys. I don't expect or even want you to read it cover to cover. Have a question on what a Stunt is? The table of contents is your friend. May seem like lazy GMing here but this isn't D&D. There's no rules lawyering or stat rape or anything like that.

The steps for character creation start at page 15. Read through those and start thinking about who you want to play. No need to do all this in PMs, though we can if that helps you. I want y'all to work off of each other here. Only go up to Phase 3 as far as the character worksheet goes (your own novel). Phases 4 and 5 we'll all do together once everyone's there.

It took HOURS to write this thread because of constant interruptions and other crap, so my mind went a bit derpy. Got a question, feel free to ask. Otherwise, the book should clarify things pretty well. I also have two videos I want you guys to watch. It's a GM talking about Spirit of the Century, some background on it, etc. Great introduction to the system before you read the book.

Video 1
Video 2

EDIT: The password for the pdf download is derp

Well, let me start off by asking this one question well the book is download. Say I wanted to play a James Bond esque character, how sort of things should I take into mind? Skills? Abilities? What have you.

Haha, knew someone would go for that kind of character. There are no classes or roles in this game, so if everyone wants to go for the James Bond type that's certainly possible as long as everyone's unique and entertaining.

For the James Bond type, I'd think about what makes Bond cool. What does he do to make him stick out in your mind? How does he act? Why does he do what he does? Stuff like that. Then, when you read the book, think about Aspects, Skills, and Stunts that would go well with him. Remember that Aspects are anything like quotes, items, people, descriptors, and stuff like that. There's a huge list of Aspects, Stunts, and Skills. Thing is, they're examples as well. While I think I'll stick to the list of skills, y'all can create aspects and stunts as you want, so long as I give the okay.

SO... He has to be an extreme womanizer!

Ya could make him so, yeah. Remember that you're encouraged to have Aspects that work against you as well.

I'd say that would work both ways.

Even better! Those are some of the best types of Aspects, haha.

Would something such as a Marksman be an aspect?

Describe it. What does it mean that he's a Marksman? How does it come into play? Watch the videos for examples on what I mean, namely the second.

I would if I could, but my quick time crashed.

State of the Jac wrote:

I'd say that would work both ways.

As a womanizer I figure he'd just be straight, myself.

Not like that, I mean in terms of good and bad perks.

I was making a potentially funny.

No problem dude. Think about it and get back to me. The example I want to reference is actually from video 1 (I derped) at 2:42. Lonely College life is given as an example of an Aspect that works for and against you. According to the GM on the vid, it may help ya fade into a crowd but works against you because you won't be noticed in a party when you want to.

Honestly, Marksman seems like more of a Stunt to me. In other words, it's only a good thing and gives you a boost over other people. Like, +2 to your Guns skill when taking a tricky shot.

Gotta try something out here. . .

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

Didn't see four on the dice roll script, so let's see what happens

I see a 4!

Marksman can be made into an Aspect if you consider it as more of a trait than a specialty. Like, he's the type to take his time lining up a shot but that could mean he's easier to surprise as he's doing so.

I meant rolling 4d6. Let's try that again:

Rolling "one" according to the script . . .

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

Two . . .

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

Three . . .

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

The member 'THE Derp Dragon' has done the following action : Dices roll

'One' : 2

I derped. I must have had a tag open somewhere. I see 1-5 on there. Is it safe to assume that 6 is a possible roll? If it is, this 'ere site serves as a great host for SotC. If not . . Whelp, external dice rollers it is.

I am confused...

On what? I'm just testing out the dice rolling script. We only need 4d6 (four six-sided dice) to play this game. As long as the script can roll between 1-6, we're fine.

Just d6s? How simple.

So, uh, how do you want us to do the character creation? Just fill in what the book asks us?

Pretty much. I'll copy/paste from the book so you guys can too, just to make things easier. Type in between the phases or however ya wanna do it.

Phase 1: Background
This phase covers the character’s youth, from birth to age 14, but in a more
abstract sense also covers the core concept for the character as a “normal
person”. While youth may be a time of adventure and excitement, it is
also the time when we are most shaped by our family and environs. This
phase is an opportunity to reflect the character’s family and upbringing.
When describing events in this phase, consider answers to the following
questions:
• What were the family’s circumstances like? Rich? Poor? Scholarly?
Isolated? Pious? Political?
• How big is the family?
• How well does the character get along with his family?
• What nation is the character from? What region?
• How was the character educated?
• What were the character’s friends like? Did the character get into
much trouble?

Player Rules
1. Write down a brief summary of the events of the phase.
2. Write down two aspects that are in some way tied into the events
of the phase, or the character’s national, familial, or cultural
upbringing.


Phase 2: War
Phase two is World War I, or as it’s called in the 1920s, The Great War.
While the characters may technically have been too young to serve, they
may have done so anyway; as exceptional individuals, it would not have
been hard for them to fake their age. Because we’re talking about pulp
heroes here, while they may have spent some time in the trenches, it’s more
likely that they spent most of their time on top secret missions for elite soldiers,
spies, researchers or pilots. Alternatively, they may have spent their
time in other parts of the world, dealing with the end of colonialism, or
exploring the mysterious East.
This is the time when the characters start coming into their own, and begin
realizing their true potential. This is also the time when many meet their
patron, the member of the Century Club who sponsors them for membership
and who is a Centurion of the previous century. Sadly, it is also during
this period that most of the former Centurions (their sponsors) also die or
disappear.
Some questions to consider during this period:
• Did your character fight in the war? For whom? Where? In what
capacity?
• Were you a member of any secret units? Did you meet any of the
other characters there?
• Who was your patron? What happened to him or her?

Player Rules
1. Write down a brief summary of the events of the phase. Include
the name and fate of your mentor.
2. Write down two aspects that are in some way tied into the events
of the phase.


Phase 3: Novel
Phase three is the character’s first pulp novel, starring him or her! Each
player needs to come up with a title for the novel starring his character, in
a fashion reminiscent of the pulps. The general pattern is:
Character Name (vs./in,,,/and) Adventurous Thing!
As such, Mack Silver and the Pirates of Araby or Jet Black in… The
Eternity Equation would be ideal.
Then, each player needs to think up a story to go with his title. The story
doesn’t need to have a lot of detail – in fact, it should be no more detailed
than the blurb on the back of the paperback.
Player Rules
1. Write down the title and back cover blurb (a couple sentences at
most) for your character’s pulp novel. Don’t nail down all of the
details of it yet (you’ll find out why below).
2. Write down two aspects that are in some way tied into the events
of the novel. (You can delay doing this, wait to see how the next
couple of phases play out, and then choose your aspects at the
end.)


STOP AT PHASE 3. WE'LL DO PHASES 4 AND 5 LATER.

So I'll just write

Phase 1: And then follow what it told me to write here. And then do that for the other phases?

Phase 1
Brief Summary: Blablahddhgdhghscalyhairlesshairpiedkhgdlhgh
Aspect 1: Herp
Aspect 2: Derp

That's usually what I do. Also might want to write a description of the aspect as well.