Setup - The Adventure Zone: Amnesty

Synopsis
Full transcript available here.

''We're moving on to a new game, new genre and new world as we continue our run of experimental mini-arcs! This time around, Griffin's back in the saddle as GM as we play the Horror-Lite RPG Monster of the Week! Join us in this setup episode if you want to hear about this arc's setting, and get the 411 on our new characters.''

Game and System

 * System: Powered by the Apocalypse
 * Game: Monster of the Week

Premise
From the GM himself:

"So, the game is going to take place in a fictional ski town on the eastern edge of West Virginia, in the Monongahela National Forest (...) Kepler is, like I mentioned, a ski town, but… in the fiction of this story, it’s kind of like that part of the once-thriving economy of Kepler is now dying off because of Snowshoe, which is another actual town in West Virginia that is more resort-y and nice and people now go there, not Kepler and so… like, that part of the economy is kinda fading away, and so the residents of Kepler kind of banded together to try to find some way to keep the town alive, and there’s lots of different ways to do that, like, it’s a very, like, it’s a very pretty, very scenic place, and so there’s hiking trails and stuff like that. But, there’s also sort of a part of the population that, in an effort to save Kepler, sort of turned it into a cryptozoological destination?

There’s a lot of [places in West Virginia with] cryptid activity, and I feel like that’s interesting and the causes for it are so interesting, but, also, what if it was all real? And that is sort of what this story is loosely gonna be based on. (...) I wanted to tell a story about community and sort of rural communities and the banding together that they sometimes have to do against actual, real forces, whether it be, like, y’know, predatory… entities trying to take advantage of them or, y’know, ruin their town… but also have that be, like, what if monsters was that. So, obviously it’s kind of an idealized rural life? Like, I want this to be a very nice community, a very good community, because I also think that in putting monsters in that particular kind of community, like, it gives you a little bit more to… fight for. Not necessarily… Bedford Falls, but, y’know, gettin’ there."

Edmund Chicane

 * Playbook: The Crooked
 * Character: Edmund is the owner of the cryptid museum/tourist trap, The Cryptonomica, which contains many items that are actually supernatural, although he himself does not know this.
 * Moves:
 * Artifact: Ned "found" a magical artifact with handy powers, and kept it. However, he does not know it is magical yet.
 * Driver: Edmund has +1 ongoing while driving, plus he can hotwire anything. He also owns two handy, widely available vehicles, a 1958 Lincoln Continental Mk. III. and an Alpina Superclass.

Aubrey Little

 * Playbook: The Spell-Slinger
 * Character: Aubrey is an up and coming goth-punk styled stage magician who eventually gains access to actual magic. Accompanying her is Dr. Harris Bonkers, a New Zealand White Rabbit she rescued from a lab.
 * Combat Magic:
 * Base:
 * Blast: 2-harm magic, close, obvious, loud
 * Effect
 * Fire: Adds "+2 harm fire" to a base. If Lady gets a 10+ on a combat magic roll, the fire won't spread.


 * Moves:
 * Tools and Techniques: To use her combat magic effectively, Lady relies on a collection of tools and techniques:
 * Foci: Lady needs wands, staves, and other obvious props to focus. If she doesn't have them, her combat magic does 1 less harm. In Lady's case, her gloves are her foci.
 * Consumables: Lady needs certain supplies - powders, oils, etc. - on hand. If she doesn't have them, she must take 1-harm ignore-armour when she casts magic. In Lady's case, her consumables are the flammable liquid and metal shavings.
 * Gestures: Lady needs to wave her hands around to use combat magic. If she's restrained, she must take -1 ongoing for combat magic. In Lady's case, her gestures are the flourishes, the sleight of hand, etc. she has worked into her act.

Duck Newton

 * Playbook: The Chosen
 * Character: Duck is a park ranger trying to avoid his destiny, which involves him fighting off a great evil, so he can live a normal life. He receives visions of this destiny in his dreams.
 * Moves:
 * Destiny’s Plaything: At the beginning of each mystery, Duck must roll +Weird to see what is revealed about their immediate future. On a 10+, the Keeper will reveal a useful detail about the coming mystery. On a 7-9, he gets a vague hint about it. On a miss, something bad is going to happen to him.
 * I’m Here For A Reason: There’s something Duck is destined to do. He cannot die until it comes to pass. If he dies in play, then he must spend a Luck point. Duck will then, somehow, recover or be returned to life. Once his task is done (or he uses up all his Luck), all bets are off.

People

 * Griffin McElroy
 * Travis McElroy
 * Justin McElroy
 * Clint McElroy