IsabellaRose

That sounds right! Awesome! Now I'm off to a foliage trip with a lovely woman who makes me happier than anyone else... I'll be back in a few hours or more, depending on where the afternoon takes us.

@Chiyako - here's my idea for how to fit this concept into the rules framework. You'll have: a Heritage Distinction (A Vampire by Science? Bloodless Physiology?), something that outlines the physiological changes that have been made to your body and the Abilities that are inherently part of you now and do not require an elixir or tonic, like "Nocturnal Grace" that would allow you to use any Useful Details created around darkness to your own benefit as if you were in full daylight. I'm not sure if you wanted to bake a "I need my daily dose" kind of limit into the character or if sunlight sensitivity was enough, but I thought I remembered you mentioning something about taking regular tonics to maintain herself. a Distinction (A Vampire by Rumor? Rumored Vampire?) to reflect your reputation and its effects on you and those around you. an Ability (Alchemical Elixirs & Tonics) that will grant you abilities when you drink a tonic or elixir (Elixir of Savitar, Regenerative Tonics, etc.) If I got that all correct, then here's my proposed distinctions and ability: HERITAGE DISTINCTION Bloodless Physiology Heritage: You have replaced your body’s natural functions with alchemical substitutes, various elixirs, serums, and distillates that circulate in place of blood. You are pallid, light-sensitive, yet strangely radiant. The rumors say you are a vampire… perhaps not entirely false. Roll this Heritage when your altered physiology helps you resist disease, survive blood loss, or endure poisons and toxins, or when your unnerving appearance commands awe or dread. Connected Abilities: Regeneration, Immunity, Super Speed, Super Senses, Night Vision Limit: Sunlight Sensitivity, Serum Dependency. d4 Earn a Plot Point when your alchemical condition draws unwanted suspicion or fear, OR when you choose to worsen your Exhausted or Injured Stress due to exposure to sunlight or heat. d8: Spend a Plot Point to gain a d8 Useful Detail such as “can see in the dark” or “moves silently under moonlight,” OR to Recover your Injured Stress by drawing upon the strange alchemy flowing in your veins. d12 Add a d6 to the Trouble pool to ignore Exhausted or Injured Stress caused by lack of serum or physical damage for the remainder of the scene. The effect fades when your serum wears off. DISTINCTION Rumored Vampire: Your alabaster skin, burning eyes, and nocturnal habits have earned you the town’s fear and fascination alike. d4: Earn a Plot Point when your unsettling appearance causes someone to fear or shun you, or when gossip about your condition costs you an opportunity. d8: Spend a Plot Point to Reroll a die when using your reputation or mystique to intimidate, seduce, or awe others. d12: Add a d6 to Trouble and Recover Insecure or Afraid Stress after a display that reinforces the rumor, like drinking a crimson elixir, emerging from shadow, etc. ABILITY Alchemical Elixirs & Tonics: You’ve mastered the volatile art of brewing shimmering elixirs and tonics that push the boundaries of flesh, spirit, and reason. Each vial you carry is a gamble of science, a measured dose of brilliance and madness. Whether distilled in your hidden laboratory or hastily mixed in the field, your concoctions can sharpen reflexes, numb pain, heighten senses, or fortify the mind. Roll this Ability’s die when your physical tonics or restorative concoctions would give you an advantage. Examples include injecting yourself with an elixir to shrug off fatigue, using a stimulant to perform rapid manual work, concocting a tonic to resist poison or cold, or drinking a clarity draught to steady your nerves before danger. Effect: Enhancement Descriptors: alchemy, chemistry, stimulants, concoctions, restorative tonics, performance boosters Limit: Gear Special Effects: Spend a Plot Point to: Elixir of Savitar: Perform multiple non-Test or non-Contest actions in the time it takes others to perform one (e.g., reloading, analyzing, tinkering, or treating allies). Rejuvenating Draught: Recover your own Exhausted or Injured Stress. Calming Elixir: Recover your own Afraid or Insecure Stress. Elemental Tonic: Ignore the harmful effects of extreme environments such as arctic cold, desert heat, or volcanic conditions for the remainder of the scene. Stimulant Overload: Step Up a die for one Test or Contest involving speed, endurance, or physical prowess.

Okay... I have the "Big List of Distinctions" list completed and updated with everyone's custom Distinctions. If you have a Distinction on your sheet and I don't have it listed there, that means I'm planning on changing it up a bit to fit within the rules better. I'll propose my changes here, discuss and alter it if necessary, and then we can include the new version on your sheet once we both like it. Notably, I intend to alter: A Vampire by Rumor and Science (possibly breaking it into a Heritage for your chemically altered physiology, and a Distinction to cover the rumors and your reputation) Elixar of Savitar and Regenerative Tonics (combining them into a single Ability like "ALCHEMICAL ELIXIRS & TONICS" which will basically be a catch-all for a list of SFX that each elixir can provide) The Other Theory (I really have to think on this one... I'll get back to you once I've had a chance to bounce some ideas around) Disciple of the Scarlet Path (may or may not be changed, I think we might need to add a Magical Heritage to give you abilities tied to this Distinction, because without abilities you don't really have spells.) Alchemascope and Ferroburst Pistol (there won't be opportunities to earn PP, just a list of SFX you can trigger by spending a PP and the limit of "Gear") Pherotech/Pherosol (should probably be combined into one piece of gear with a list of SFX)

Prompt 11: Inside Part I: Awakening She woke up wet with sweat... or was it sweat? The sheets clung to her like old skin. She could still feel the echo of last night’s ritual thrumming in her pulse, though that word, ritual, was a desperate simplification. It had no name, only the rhythm, the hunger, the invitation... and something had answered. She blinked at the ceiling, unable to move for several long moments, her body pulsing... warm, too warm. Beneath her skin, something shifted. It was not gas, not digestion, it... coiled. Her breath caught, then shuddered. Her back arched slightly before she could stop it, her thighs tensing instinctively. There it was again, something stroking her insides slowly, testing the walls of her body like the inside of a temple, or a chrysalis, and gods, it felt… She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip until she tasted blood, but the sensation only deepened. It wasn’t pain. It was too careful for that. No, it was reverent... exploratory. Each slow, slippery movement along the inner edges of her womb brought with it a wash of heat and then pressure, and then... “Ah…” She hadn’t meant to make a sound, but it touched something she didn’t know was there, a place no lover had ever reached, a zone of impossible pleasure, tucked somewhere deeper than anatomy allowed. Her fingers trembled as she pressed them to her abdomen. Nothing. No swelling. No scars... but she felt it... alive, awake... growing. Did I invite it, or did it choose me? She had danced barefoot in circles of salt and ash. had whispered prayers to things whose names were made of consonants and bone. She had been dared to open herself, and she did... and now something was opening her further, opening itself, opening... what, exactly? Every time she thought it would stop, it moved again, liquid silk against a nerve-ending that should not exist. The shiver that tore through her spine left her panting. She wasn’t scared, not entirely, not yet. But she hovered somewhere between curiosity and horror, that liminal space where wonder curdles into dread and the mind, starved for meaning, leans too close to the abyss, half terrified and half hoping it will whisper back. Something older than humanity was inside her now. Something… amused... curious... aroused? And as it curled once more, stroking against her, pulsing in time with her breath, her heart, her need... she realized it wasn’t feeding on her. It was learning her... every wet tremble, every forbidden flutter, every sigh she thought she could swallow down. It was making her into something more than human... something holy, something wrong. And when she finally climaxed, wordlessly, helplessly, teeth clenched in quiet horror and want, it pulsed inside her, pleased... and moved deeper. Part II: Rewriting She lay curled on the bathroom floor now, too afraid to climb back into bed, too exposed in the light of her living room, her skin buzzing like static under her robe. It wasn't just there anymore, not just inside her. It was everywhere. Her fingernails pulsed with heat, faintly bioluminescent beneath their lacquer. Her pulse had changed its tempo, slower, deeper, each beat a throb. Each breath felt like it went too far down, like her lungs weren’t lungs anymore but bellows feeding something primal. She whimpered when the next wave hit, soft at first, a gentle twitch under her skin, like a heartbeat that didn’t belong to her. But then it spread, slipping through her like ink in water, soaking muscle, nerve, sinew. She could feel her cells dividing. Feel them stretching open, like petals under alien sunlight. It’s rewriting me. That thought didn’t come with panic this time, it came with wonder... and shame. Her skin was softer now, impossibly smooth, and where it wasn’t smooth it was sensitive. She touched her hip and gasped, not from pain, from startling intensity. It was like her own body was flirting with her. Her breasts felt fuller, her thighs more tender, her senses screamed with every shift, every touch, even the whispers of fabric brushing over her felt like foreplay. And beneath it all, the thing inside her moved in gentle, loving pulses, not violent, not cruel, just… knowing. It liked what it was doing to her. It liked her. Her spine tingled. Her womb ached. And then she felt it... a ripple, a spreading warmth, followed by pressure against the inside of her ribs, as if something had reached up from deep within her, tracing the architecture of her body, stretching her gently from the inside out. She moaned, not from desire, at least not entirely. It was awe. There were places inside her lighting up with pleasure she didn’t know existed. Folds of flesh and nerve that had never been touched, not by anyone, not even herself. It pressed against one and the scream she bit back was almost a sob. It felt like orgasm, dying, and worship all at once. She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling, breathing in shallow bursts. “I’m… changing,” she whispered. “You’re making me…” She didn’t know the word. More? Less? Vessel? Lover? Mother? All of them. None. Her hand trembled as it slid down to rest below her navel. The skin there pulsed under her palm, warm, tight, almost humming, and in the back of her mind, a voice not hers whispered: You called me. You opened. Now you will be remade. And you will love it. And she did, even as she wept, even as she writhed, even as her body, little by little, stopped being hers. Part III: Becoming She no longer remembered what time it was. Or how long she had been lying there bare, burning, bliss-stained. Time didn’t move the same way now. It pulsed. She had stopped trying to resist. That had melted away hours ago, or perhaps lifetimes. Whatever was inside her no longer felt foreign. It felt like a promise, like she had been built for this, not by biology, but by some dark and sacred longing written in starlight and ash, and now, it was fulfilling her. The tingling had deepened. What began as a flicker had become a symphony, nerve endings once dormant now sparked like constellations. She was aware of every cell, every fold, every secret shadow inside her, lit from within by the thing that grew, curled, and worshiped her, because that was what it felt like now: worship, as if each slow, deliberate movement within her was an act of devotion, as if she were not being consumed, but crowned. She arched on the floor, breathless, panting, caught between laughter and tears. There was no fear left, just awe. She whispered, “I’m ready,” and it heard her. The pressure came, not painful, but profound, like the final note in a song played just for her bones. It moved through her in waves, in rhythm, in sacred, slippery grace, and in return, her body changed. She felt it, her spine elongating in subtle, unseen ways. Her skin thickened and softened at once. Her muscles tightened not for strength, but for yielding. Her womb bloomed open like a mouth waiting to speak. She was no longer merely human, she was no longer her, she was an altar, a vessel, a bride in the bridal chamber of something vast and wet with wonder... and it was inside her, pulsing, claiming, cradling her from within. She laughed, or moaned, or both. She welcomed it. The ceiling above her wavered, the stars behind her eyes bloomed, and her body went boneless with divine pleasure. She didn’t shatter. She smiled as the stars blinked… myriad eyes watching her open, and as her mouth parted in silent ecstasy, the voice inside her murmured: Now we are one. Let me show you everything.

The steps are still the same. The rules themselves haven't really changed, just the differentiation between Distinctions and Abilities. The Distinctions will remain mostly unchanged, but if you want a custom one for an idea you have, just let me know and we can make one. The "idea" of Abilities is still the same, even if I have to rewrite the SFX for most of them. But your abilities will be things like "Flight" that we can add to your Pherosol and give it an SFX as something like "Spend a Plot Point to make a dramatic entrance or exit, “arriving from above” or “floating out of reach.” Again, if you're uncertain, just ask. I lost track of where you were in all my self-created confusion, but I think Step 2 Youth was not yet completed, if I remember correctly. Ask any questions here and I'll see them and answer.

Ugh. Okay, I cleaned up the language of the rules reference. Now I just need to edit the two big lists - Distinctions and Abilities. I'll probably leave all the Distinctions on the list, but only put on the Heritages we developed and decide to keep after reviewing character sheets. Sorry for the delays, everyone. I was really hoping to keep the temp we'd been setting and get this game going as fast as possible.

Prompt 1: Trick Costume The costume had said 'Wicked Witch (Do Not Remove Until Midnight)' on the tag, but Natalie thought that was just a joke. Now it was 1:17 a.m., her skin was shimmering green in the moonlight, and the damned corset still hadn’t budged. “I’m telling you,” she growled, yanking again at the lace-up back, “I’ve tried scissors, a box cutter, two knives, and my teeth.” “And the teeth didn’t work?” Jeremy asked, deadpan. He leaned against the doorframe in the bathroom, arms folded, watching her with far too much amusement. “Don’t make me hex you.” “I mean, you kinda already did, Nat.” He raised an eyebrow. “You barged into my apartment in kinky sex version Elphaba cosplay, put a high heeled boot dangerously close to my groin on the couch, and asked if I was ‘man enough to break a curse.’ I think you should at least explain what kind of curse we’re talking about.” Natalie turned, her skirt flaring, revealing the tops of her stockings and a teasing glimpse of her panties, and leaned one arm on the sink with theatrical flair. The slit up her thigh was too high for a regular store-bought costume, and the neckline dipped way too far down. Her breasts threatened to explode out of the costume without the slightest provocation. It was like the costume had decided she needed to be more... everything. “I bought it at that weird little shop in the alley,” she said. “The shopkeeper said it would ‘bring out hidden truths and irresistible urges.’ I assumed she meant cleavage.” Jeremy chuckled. “Well it definitely did that." He tried to hide his amusement, but didn't stop staring at her cleavage. "And what’s the condition to get it off?” Natalie didn’t answer right away, but her demeanor suddenly changed. She stepped closer, close enough that her breath made his eyelids flutter. Her voice dropped into a purr. “She said," she ran gloved fingertips up into his hair, staring deep into his eyes, "I’d know when the right partner offered the right kind of help.” Jeremy’s mouth opened. Then shut. Then opened again. “So... you need help getting out of it?” “I need,” she said, slipping a gloved finger into the waistband of his sweatpants and tugging him closer, “someone to satisfy the terms of the enchantment.” “Which are?” She leaned up, lips just grazing his ear. “She didn’t say what the terms were, but... there are hints. How I'm feeling. What it's making me feel. I’ve got a few ideas of where to start.” Jeremy’s breath hitched. “You sure this isn’t just a sex thing?” “Of course it’s a sex thing. It’s a cursed sex thing. Keep up.” “Look, I... I just think... hypothetically... I should confirm whether this is still you talking. Or the costume. For consent reasons.” Natalie smirked and pressed her body to his, letting him feel exactly how affected she was. Her nipples poked into his chest, “If it’s not me,” she whispered, “then the costume is way better at flirting than I am." She leaned back and met his gaze. "Now. We need to do something really wicked, then we'll see if I can't get out of this costume.” Jeremy’s eyes darkened. His hands found her waist. “Alright, Witch,” he said, voice rough. “Let’s break your curse.” Before she could say anything else, he spun her around, hiked up her skirt, and slid a finger between her legs. She stared at her witchy reflection in the mirror, skin green, eyes dark and glinting with magic, and the damned witch hat she couldn't remove blocking her view of Jeremy behind her. She heard the zip, felt his fingers come away from her wetness and felt him shift into position, sliding his head along her slit, but it still surprised her when he entered her. "Holy fuck," he said, pressing forward, forcing his way into her body. "How are you so fucking tight?" Natalie had no idea why she would feel different to him; they'd fucked so many times they should know each other like... oh... oh, he felt different, too. Bigger, more... oh god... more filling. So big... stretching her so... she let out a squeak that didn't sound like her own voice. "Fuck, Nat... holy shit..." Jeremy was pumping into her hard, his hands on her hips, slamming her into the cold porcelain of the sink as she stared into the mirror. "Shit... I'm... I'm com..." He came. Hard and hot, like a tiny geyser inside her. He'd never come inside her before. She felt herself clench around him, milking him dry as he let out whimpering moans behind her, holding onto her hips like he couldn't let go. "You idiot!" She said, pushing back, feeling him slide out of her, turning to face him. "You came inside me?" She was furious... the risk of... what the fuck was he thinking? "Shit," he said. "Shit, I'm sorry, Nat. I just... it felt so..." He reached for her hat, took it off, set it on the edge of the sink and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry..." She looked at the hat on the sink. The hat she couldn't get off all night. The hat he'd just taken off after fucking her and coming inside of her. Holy shit, it worked! She pushed him off and started trying to untie the laces down the front of the corset, but they wouldn't budge. "What the fuck," she said. "You got the hat off... maybe you need to try the laces." He nodded, still feeling foolish, and started working the laces. They wouldn't budge. "Nope," he said. "Nothing." Her shoulders slumped. "Maybe we need to fuck once for each item," he said, grinning. She wasn't joking. She pushed him back until he fell onto his ass on the floor and climbed atop him. Straddling him, she lowed herself down onto him, taking him inside her once more. "Boots next," she said between moans as she bounced atop him. "These heels are killing me."

I done fucked up, so I'll be the one to fix it. I'll be addressing each instance in the posted rules and running down each Character Sheet to make sure I gave everyone good info. Some of them are solid, some need adjustment. The GOOD news is, we'll just list your Pherosol as Gear and give it a list of SFX you can use by spending a plot point instead of a list of individual abilities tied to the Pherosol. It will ultimately make it more powerful and versatile.

...and, I'm an idiot. I've got three different implementations of Cortex crossed (see what happens when you get your brain to hacking and forget to focus!) I screwed up how Abilities work when outlining them for this game and set them up like Distinctions. SO... I probably need to make an adjustment to the rules reference and the default Abilities, as well as to all the Abilities (especially custom ones) already on your sheets. I might need to work with each of you to alter or remove Heritage Distinctions if we decide they're not mechanically optimized. Some things might make more sense as Distinctions, some as Abilities. I was treating them mechanically the same, but I want to make sure we treat them in the best way for you to use them in the fiction. I outlined the details of each below, but the basic mechanical and story differences are: a Distinction is an aspect of your personality, a skill, or a Heritage Distinction. It gets 3 "triggers" (SFX) at d4, d8, and d12 rating. These are a "pay a cost, get a benefit" style SFX. an Ability Abilities allows a character to do things far beyond the capabilities of a normal person. It has 1-3 SFX tied to it. To activate them, you just pay a plot point and do the thing. No other cost involved. Abilities can be Shutdown by other characters using their limits (think things like dehydrating the fishman, disabling Superman with Kryptonite, using silver on a werewolf, using cold iron on a fey creature, etc.) Distinctions Each Distinction has a die rating and three pairs of characteristics called triggers. The die rating for a Distinction ranges from d4 to d12 like all other Traits. Roll this die when the Distinction applies. For example, an Agile d8 gives a character a d8 when they are doing something for which their graceful and agile moves would help them, but not when they are just moving around normally, even if it does look graceful. Why would you make a roll for day-to-day activities, anyway? The trigger of a Distinction is set up as a benefit paired with a drawback. When you invoke the benefit, the drawback is triggered, or vice versa. The die rating determines how many of the Distinction’s triggers you have access to. At d4 level, you may only use the first trigger; at d8, you may use the first two; at d12, you have a choice of any of three triggers. Your character sheet shouldn't list the triggers you don’t have access to; you add them as you get them. Abilities Each Ability has a die rating that you can roll in any Test or Contest that might benefit from the assistance of your Ability. The Effect helps establish how you can use an Ability’s die. However, that’s not the be-all and end-all of an Ability’s benefits. In addition to its Effect, each Ability has three other elements (Descriptors, Limits, and Special Effects) that all work together to flesh out the extent of the Ability’s usefulness. EFFECTS The Ability’s Effect suggests ways that you might roll the Ability into a Test or Contest. There are six Effect types. Attack Effects are pretty cut and dry. Dice from this Effect hurt people; you use them in rolls to give others Stress. Sensory Effects allow the character to better perceive and understand his surroundings; you roll them into perception-based Tests and Contests. Movement Effects help characters get from place to place in unusual ways, so roll the dice into Tests or Contests that depend on speed or travel. Control Effects allow characters to manipulate aspects of their surroundings. Use the Ability die to influence the outcome of a Test or Contest by altering the environment. Defense Effects protect the character from some type of harm. Roll the die when it would help you against attacks or rolls to inflict Stress. Enhancement Effects let you change, shift, boost, or alter your body or talents in some amazing way. Roll in this Ability when your enhancements give you an advantage. DESCRIPTORS Descriptors establish the details of how and why an Ability works or specify something about how the Ability contributes to the story. Example: Two characters (Jim and Bob) both have Blast as an Ability; but while Jim has Blast with Descriptor: Lightning Gun, Bob has Blast with Descriptor: Heat Ray. Both Abilities cause some serious hurt, of course, but someone susceptible to electricity would be much more affected by Jim’s Lightning Gun than Bob’s Heat Ray. On the other hand, someone that might be easily dehydrated or burned would hurt more from Bob’s Heat Ray due to the Heat descriptor. LIMITS Limits show the chink hidden in the armor. Even powerful magic may be useless if the character doesn’t have the use of her hands or voice. If someone uses your Limit against you, he triples the die representing that Limit. If your Limit is associated with a Heritage Distinction, your opposition can choose to give you a Plot Point and Shutdown your Ability if the Stress die he would have inflicted on you is equal to or greater than your Ability die rating. He can do it without a Plot Point if he Stresses you Out. You can also choose to Shutdown an Ability if you would prefer not to take Stress and your Ability was targeted by something that affects its Limit. Once the Limiting condition is removed from the scene or out of range, any Shutdown Abilities are restored. Usually this requires a Plot Point (creating a Useful Detail), but another Ability’s Descriptor can be used in this way for free. SPECIAL EFFECTS In addition to the Effect, each Ability also starts with one Special Effect. When you’re creating a character with Abilities, you choose a Special Effect for each Ability when you add it to your character sheet. To use a Special Effect that’s listed on your sheet, just spend a Plot Point. You don’t need to roll dice or succeed at a Test. Some Special Effects mimic trigger elements from Distinctions, notably Increase, Decrease, and Reveal. You can spend as many Plot Points as you like to stack these Special Effects; if you have Invulnerability, for instance, you could spend three Plot Points to Decrease an opponent’s Stress pool three times. A few Special Effects allow you to affect a lot of people at once. We call this a sweep effect. When this happens, you’re forcing everybody in the area to make a Test. Roll your own dice (including the Ability die) instead of Trouble. Each affected character must win the Test to avoid the outcome, which is usually Stress. There are several ways to acquire new Special Effects or use those that you don’t have listed. First, some Heritage Distinctions have a trigger that lets you use Special Effects from Heritage-connected Abilities you don’t have. This can represent those occasions when you draw on the untapped potential of your bloodline or culture in some spectacular way. Whether or not you have a Heritage Distinction, you can spend a die directly out of your Growth pool to gain a new Special Effect. You may do this in the middle of a scene, and afterwards you may add the new Special Effect to your sheet. Leads and Features rarely have more than two or three Special Effects for each of their Abilities.

When I've played this online in the past, we've called each "Chapter" a session. Basically, you all will involve yourselves in interpersonal drama and hijinks, I'll introduce a sort of "bad guy/monster/issue of the week", and once the particular "of the week" issue is resolved, that "Chapter" is over. I'm calling that a session, because it should be roughly equivalent to what we'd get through in a single gaming session around a table. Plot Points are a pretty integral part of the game, and the back and forth flow of them throughout gameplay is one of the core mechanics of the dramatic implementation of Cortex. I am hesitant to include anything that affects the metacurrency for a single player. I'm going to say no to any Plot Point discounts, but saying that, I also want you reassure you that we will absolutely retain the multitool feel of the Pherosol, even if it isn't always mechanically relevant. I'm working on a final version of the various abilities for the Pherosol, but here's what I have so far: PHEROSOL SHIELD: The Pherosol’s alchemical silk and articulated frame unfold into a compact defensive barrier. Multiple layers of various alchemically treated cloths within the Pherosol deflect heat, bullets, and even low-intensity energy discharges, making it as practical as it is fashionable. Effect: Defend Descriptors: brasswork, alchemy, kinetic barrier, umbrella shield Limits: Gear; bulky when deployed, leaves your other hand occupied. SFX Spend a Plot Point to deflect a ranged attack that would otherwise hit. Spend a Plot Point to protect an adjacent ally from harm, taking the Stress yourself. Add a d6 to Trouble to fully block an area attack or explosion (the shield survives but you’re thrown or winded). Spend a Plot Point to create a d8 “Defensive Cover” asset lasting the scene. PHEROSOL GLIDE: By holding the Pherosol aloft and releasing compressed-steam vents along its ribs, you can drift gracefully through the air, descending from rooftops or catching thermals like a genteel sky-pirate. It’s not true flight, but in capable hands it’s near-miraculous. Effect: Movement Descriptors: flight, glide, steam propulsion, parachute Limits: Gear; cannot gain altitude without strong wind or elevation; difficult to control in confined spaces. SFX Spend a Plot Point to glide safely from any fall, no matter the height. Spend a Plot Point to travel across a chasm or over a hazard others must navigate around. Add a d6 to Trouble to ride an updraft or storm gust, achieving momentary flight. Spend a Plot Point to make a dramatic entrance or exit, “arriving from above” or “floating out of reach.” PHEROSOL MULTITOOL: A marvel of miniaturized steamtech, the parasol’s handle conceals extendable mechanisms like a grappling-line spool, telescopic lock-pick armature, "sun-ray" filament cutter, and even a small welding flame produced by volatile alchemical fuel. Effect: Control Descriptors: gadget, gear, alchemy, engineering, espionage Limits: Gear; limited fuel and delicate mechanisms, prolonged misuse may jam or break it. SFX Spend a Plot Point to reveal a previously unused function of the Pherosol such as “Telegraph Line Wiretap” or “Extendable Mirrored Lens for Peeking Around Corners.” Spend a Plot Point to perform a feat of mechanical precision (cutting, prying, rewiring, sealing). Add a d6 to Trouble to use the tool for a purpose it was never meant for. It works, but another ability tied to the Pherosol is Shutdown until the end of the scene. Spend a Plot Point to substitute Pherosol Multitool for any technical specialty for one roll.

insatiable desire

The rules around creating temporary assets are: So you can create a temp tool by spending a PP, make it last til the end of the session by spending another PP, but the only way to make it permanent is to Add it as a new Ability during Growth.

You can add any ability to your gear, or your could add additional gear with their own abilities (something concealed in the heel of your shoe, in your bonnet, or perhaps a ladies pocket watch, things you would be able to bring into someone's parlor when they expect you to leave your parasol at the door. Flavor stuff doesn't require the use of an ability, but things that you plan to use to influence contests will. For instance, you can say your Pherosol has an automatic lockpick in the handle, and we'll go with it - you can pick locks with it. But if you want to add a d8 Automatic Lockpick to your dice pool when trying to escape through a locked door before the person pursuing you catches up, you'd need to add it as an ability. I know the system isn't familiar to most people, so please let me know if you'd like me to elaborate on how that works. Just let me know what kinds of abilities we want it to have, and I can build it custom for you. But it should be an Ability, not a Distinction. Distinctions are more like skills, talents, personality quirks, etc. Abilities would be things like "automatic lock picking device

You can have a parasol, but you'll have to use one of your "add an ability" steps to add the Pherosol as an Ability with the "Gear" limitation. Gear limitation generally means that you can be separated from your item, or run out of ammo, or have it broken in a scene, etc. You'll always be able to recover it, repair it, or reload it, but hampering your ability to use it temporarily is a good way to earn plot points to help you win the day later in the game. Oh, right! We could give Pherotech the "gear" limitation and say it's your parasol Pherosol.

THE CHALLENGE For Halloween, the challenge is a series of writing prompts. The first set are setups for light-hearted lewd fun. The second set cross lines and suggest thematic pairings that some might find disturbing or even unpleasant. I tend to enjoy being challenged to write something outside the bounds of normal. I hope you do, too. Make sure to include the prompt number or title in your post! 1. Trick Costume - A magical (or cursed?) Halloween costume alters the wearer’s behavior... or desires. Does it enhance hidden urges? Attract unexpected attention? Awaken the wearer's confidence or desire? ...or does it possess them? Tell us what happens to the wearer. Bonus twist: The costume can’t be removed until some condition is met. 2. Summoning - A demon, spirit, or being is summoned incorrectly, or perhaps just correctly enough. They shouldn't have appeared, but they’re here now, very curious, and perhaps not bound correctly...? Is the summoner embarrassed? Enthralled? Willing? Willing enough? Tell us a tale of a summoning gone wrong, from either perspective. Bonus twist: To bind the summoned being requires intimate physical contact. 3. One Night at the Haunted Mansion - Your character has to spend the night in a haunted manor for a dare, inheritance, or investigation. Locked in for the night. Haunted halls, sensual spirits, and mysterious moans in the dark. The spirits aren’t interested in scaring them... they want something else. Who, or what, will you meet? Ghosts, succubi, vampire courtiers, cursed portraits... all welcome. Bonus twist: The mansion feeds on pleasure. 4. Witch's Spell - A witch offers your character exactly what they desire... pleasure, power, transformation, whatever your heart desires... for a price. The spell takes hold as the candle burns down. What did they wish for… and what price will they pay to get it? Think magical transformation, mind control, or intensified desire. Bonus twist: The witch uses genie logic, granting the wish to the letter but not the intent. 5. Pumpkin Spice & Sin - Your character drinks an enchanted seasonal drink that triggers unexpected side effects. Their senses heighten, their inhibitions fade, and the whole café/town's fall festival/study group/etc. becomes something far more wild as desire magically alters the night’s events. Sweet, spicy, or scandalous. Perfect for a lighthearted, sensual romp. Bonus twist: Season offerings must be shared... it turns out, the pumpkin spice treat wasn’t just for you. It was a trigger for a ritual that requires multiple participants, and now that you’ve tasted it people you know start acting strangely flirtatious, strangers are drawn to you, old flames, crushes, or forbidden desires come knocking... and they're all hungry. 6. Trick-or-Tease - It started out as a naughty Halloween party game, but now things are escalating beyond what anyone expected. Who’s setting the rules? Why can’t you stop? Strip spin-the-bottle, naughty dares, or sexy illusions… Who’s playing? Who’s being played? What are the rules now? Bonus twist: The party game seemed simple enough, naughty dares drawn from a bowl, each one steamier than the last. But soon, the guests begin to notice the handwriting changes, the dares get way too personal, and some of them reference secrets no one should know. Someone, or something, is adding dares to the mix, and no one knows who... or what happens if you refuse to play. 7. Masquerade Mask - At a decadent masquerade ball, identities are hidden, rules are relaxed, and temptation is everywhere. But one dance partner seems to know everything about you. Erotic tension, mystery, and masks... a classic combo. Bonus twist: Something about the mask or the person across from you sparks a memory, a fragmented flash, a lingering echo. You’ve been here before, maybe not in this life, maybe not in your body, but you know that the masquerade is repeating itself. Each time, the masks hide the same faces. Each time, the roles shift... hunter and hunted, lover and beloved, predator and prey. 8. In the Cornfield - A rural Halloween hayride or corn maze goes awry. A masked figure stalks the night. Is it fear, lust, or both? And is your character really alone? Slasher movie vibes meet erotic tension in the dark. Is it fear or arousal that makes your heart race… or both? Bonus twist: The cornfield isn’t just a maze... it’s alive, aware of heat, breath, and desire. It listens, shifts when someone moans... rearranges itself. The more flustered you become, the deeper in you go. The corn closes in tight like it wants to watch. Is the maze trapping you… or inviting you to let go? The only way out is into the center and the thing (or person) you were always meant to find... waiting for you... breathless, desperate, and ready. 9. Monster Under the Bed - Your character always feared something lived under their bed, but when it finally comes out on Halloween, it doesn't want to eat them... at least, not like that. Explore monster-fucking, cuddly cryptids, or forbidden romances. Bonus twist: The monster under the bed was your childhood protector, but then you stopped believing. You grew up and forgot them, but they didn’t forget you. Now they crawl out from the shadows… but twisted. Hungry not just for your body, but for your attention, for the version of you they remember, and they want you to remember too. They want to play again, only now, the games are very different, and if you won’t go back to being theirs, they’ll find a way to make you. 10. Possession - Your character is possessed by a spirit that craves sensation. When they share a body… things get weirdly intense... shared sensations, posthumous passion... who’s in control, and do you want them to stop? Possession, shared pleasure, multiple minds in one body... Bonus twist: The ghost didn’t come back for revenge, or closure, or to pass on. They came back because you were the last thing they felt... your touch, your kiss, your voice screaming their name in grief or passion. from here the ideas get more... macabre? twisted? 11. Inside - A character wakes up after a strange encounter, dream, or ritual with a creeping sensation under their skin. Something is growing inside them, writhing in rhythm with their desire. Is it a curse? A pregnancy? A godling forming in the womb of a worshipper? Do they fight it, or fuck it? 12. Don't Touch the Art - An erotic sculpture in a haunted gallery changes shape when you’re alone with it. Sometimes it watches. sometimes it whispers, sometimes it moves. You know you shouldn’t touch it... but it’s already touched you. What happens when desire is awakened by something that was never meant to be alive? 13. The Whole Town - The new town is friendly... too friendly. Everyone flirts, everyone stares, everyone touches. At first, your character thinks they’re being seduced, then they realize they’re being prepared. What ritual requires so much attention? What happens when the final kiss is given? 14. Don't Stop Reading the Spell - Your character finds an old journal with an incantation written as a sensual, poetic prayer. Each line evokes a wave of sensation, so they keep reading. But the spell isn’t just opening a portal, it’s opening them. Every sentence brings them closer to climax… and to summoning something that wants to finish the job. and my personal favorite, the one that I think has inspired a deliciously twisted tale in my brain: 15. Love Beyond the Grave - Death isn’t the end, not when desire burns hotter than decay. A lover, spouse, crush, or paramour returns from the grave, drawn back by love, lust, obsession, or unfinished passion. Maybe they were summoned by desperate magic, maybe they clawed their way out of the graveyard, maybe they simply couldn’t stay dead when their body remembered the one thing they longed for most: you. Do you welcome them with open arms despite the rot? Do you recoil… then give in? Or did you call them back yourself, unable to let go, no matter the cost? Love stronger than death, lust unafraid of decay... romantic or horrific, sweet or grotesque... your choice. Deadline Midnight (EST) , 30 October 2025 Limits 1 entry per prompt, per person no strict word limit, but please try to keep it between 500 to 2,000 words Prizes You'll be awarded 500 EcchCredits for each prompt reply you post (limit 1 reply per prompt as stated above). (So you can win up to 7,500 credits just for posting!) There will still be voting for a pot of 5,000 first place, 2,500 second place, and 1,000 third place. I reserve the right to award bonus credits for entries that are especially imaginative, well-written, or ones that just happen to tickle my fancy or inspire me to tickle my fancy (pardon the crappy euphemism)

I'm an organizer. I have a Masters in Library Science and manage a mid-sized archive, so organizing is my line of work. It's what I do best that's technical and not artistic. The next person has a job they consider boring.

Also, I'm going to be challenging everyone to multiple Halloween-themed challenges. 10 challenges in 20 days. One of them is bound to inspire something and make you want to write. If I'm feeling ambitious enough, I'll even set them to unhide/unlock on certain dates, then lock back up when complete... but I don't know if I'll have that kind of time. Still, it seems like a fun challenge and I'm really hoping to drag @Pixel in and get him to write something for his favorite time of year. Maybe this year I can post a prompt that will inspire!

Not guilty. I require coffee, generally hot and frothy, and always filled with dairy products to make it a creamy delight. All I can hear in my head right now is Butthead saying "huh huh... she said 'creamy delight' huh huh" The next person has a sweet tooth.

Voting is open for Challenge 44!

Not guilty. I do it immediately after the argument, usually in my parked car while either simmering in anger, crying or being confused and sipping some over-caffeinated, dairy-filled coffee drink. The next person can't get through the day without their usual dose(s) of caffeine.

Bad Bunny

Always fuck, if given the option. ;)

@DreamsnThings - as long as you stepped up a relationship, you should be all set with Step 1 - Origin. Now you can jump into Step 2 - you get to: 1. Draw an arrow from your square to a new diamond (NEW Location). Label the connection (line) to define it. Add it to your sheet as a Resource. Post about it in the Discussion thread so we all know what it is. (I'd recommend the Pharmacy unless there's another location you want more, but you can always add more locations later) 2. Draw an arrow from a circle or diamond that you added to any another circle or diamond. Label the connection to define it. Post about it in the Discussion thread so we all know what it is. (This is a wild card - connect your NPC or location to literally any other NPC or location... go wild, make it unexpected!) Then select your Youth step from Apprentice, Drifter, Rebel, Believer or Outsider and do what it says! If you have questions, need help, or have an idea for another customer Distinction or Ability, just let me know!

As much as I'm curious to explore Prudence herself, what she becomes after she dons that dress and puts that dark ash around her eyes carrying two guns and two blades, how she becomes a spirit of vengeance and retribution but also of love and sisterhood, exploring the two sides of her... I feel like if I delve too much into who she is after Anamnesis, she'll lose her mystique. I might prefer her as almost an urban legend kind of figure, someone who exists in stories, usually secondhand accounts, a retelling of her actions, leaving the truth misremembered and clouded by exaggeration.

Kill as a sacrifice to my pagan Goddess (then steal his new gamer friends! lol)