Argonauts: Narrativist d20 Supers?

[Mike Holmes]

So when can we see a write up for playtest?

Mike

[Jonathan Walton]

Chris Pramas approved my use of M&M mechanics today, so as soon as I can get my fingers on a keyboard for an extended period of time, you should have it.  I'll try to get the writing done by next weekend.  But since Green Ronin has to approve the final playtest version before I can release it publically (to make sure I'm not violating OGL with their support), two weeks would probably be a safer bet.

[Sidhain]

Good luck! :)

[Jonathan Walton]

This thread's a few days old, but I didn't want to hog the indie design board, so I'm going to post updates here.  Here's the intro portion that I worked up last night.  Tell me what you think.

INTRODUCTION

"For you it is the will of heaven and destiny that ye shall return here with the fleece; but meanwhile both going and returning, countless trials await you.  But it is my lot, by the hateful decree of a god, to die somewhere afar off on the mainland of Asia.  Thus, though I learnt my fate from evil omens even before now, I have left my fatherland to embark on the ship, that so after my embarking fair fame may be left me in my house."
-- from The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius (c.250 BC)

A Time of Heroes

It is a time of real heroes.  When men are real men, women are real women, and mythology runs in the veins of the masses.  Who will step forward and take up the mantle of the hero?  The son of a king, the daughter of a god, or the orphaned child of mystery.  The call to greatness pounds in the ears of every mortal that draws breath.  With every splash of your heart, a legend is summoning you to be a part of it.  It says, "if you will only give yourself to me, dear child of the Achaeans, I will raise you above those others around you, up to the pinnacle of this Age.  Others will look to you and say, 'That is how a life is to be lived.'  I will burn you bright and fast, and you will not last long, but I will make of you a beacon that shines eternal.  And you shall never truly die."  This is the promise made to every hero, and the bargain, once made, is never broken.

The Labors of Heracles

You did not decide to become a hero while sitting beside a roaring hearth.  You decided with your sweat and sword and blood and bone.  When you bested the monster that had stalked your village for decades.  When you dared to drive the chariot of the gods.  When you escaped the clutches of your enemies on wings of wax and feathers.  When you sang a song that made the trees weep.  This is the path of the hero.  For you, there is no other.  This is what your own heart expects from you, and it is only satiated by the thrill of victory and the exaltation of thousands.  You were not born to do this, but you have made this life your own.  There is no turning back.  The headiness of adoration is sweeter than wine.

No Happy Endings

Joining the few and the proud, you have given up all hope of every leading a peaceful and boring life.  You will never grow old as you watch your grandchildren and great-grandchildren blossom in the springtime.  You will never clutch your true love to your chest, hold them tight, and promise them forever... without knowing it to be a lie.  For the hero, there are no happy endings.  There are no sunsets to ride off into.  There is only disaster and weeping.  It is not a question of "if."  It is only a matter of "when" and "how."  But this is the sacrifice you have willingly made in order to become myth.  Nothing is gained without risk.  And so you have risked all for a single chance at everything.

Fatal Tragedy

It is not as if you are going in blindly, without full knowledge of the agreement you have made with Fate.  Troy, after all, was not destroyed in a day and the indomitable spirit of a hero is not so quickly crushed.  Instead, it is slowly disassembled, piece by piece, as you look on, helpless to stop the ruin of everything you hold dear.  Your existence has become a grand tragedy of epic proportions.  Act by act, scene by scene, line by line, it plays out on the world stage for all to see.  And, when it's all over, there will be no curtain call for you to hear the applause.  The rest, as they say, is silence.