_ Once the players finish character creation and each | player has his character's cards filled out, it’s time SE ean A Yo aed a oe Nota ae a a . Cee tee eg eee \ 7 ‘what binds them together, and what has the po- tential to break them apart. This is reflected in the Sea eet eect SCN LdTHE CREW THEME The crew theme represents the shared resources and beliefs of the crew, as well as its weaknesses. It is built like the character themes: three power tags, one weakness tag, anda Mystery or an Identity. The details ofthe theme are chosen together by all the players and the MC. Take an empty crew theme card and fill it out based on the crew themebook be- low, just as you would with a character’s theme card, CHOOSING CREW POWER TAGS Crew power tags function similarly to the PCs’ power tags: when a player activates a move, he can invoke one or more crew power tags (if the tag is appropriate to the action taken), gaining another point of Power for each tag, as usual. However, unlike character power tags, crew power tags are single-use; once used in a move, they are burnt and become unavailable until they are recovered. Read more about using crew power tags under Tags in Crew and Extra Themes (page 215). ‘The same guidelines given for choosing character power tags apply when choosing crew power tags. ‘A crew cannot have more than one broad tag (even. if later the crew gains additional crew themes) and all the power tags should describe things useful to ll crew members, such as a resource that is shared by the entire crew. Unlike character power tags (which are limited by the theme type), a crew theme's power tag can describe both mundane and legendary or magical details, There is no limitation on the content of the description except that it must be related to the theme as a whole. a a als While it can be somewhat unusual and would not fit every series concept, a crew can be- ‘come a Rift for a Mythos. This stipulates that ‘a Mythos other than the Mythoi ofthe lead Characters is telling its story through the crew as a whole. For example, the Mythos of Jason's Argonauts could be seeking to tellits story through a street gang riding a souped up van. ‘Adding a Mythos to your crew is a purely narrative decision and bears no impact on the rules of the game. Crew themes do not have a ‘Mythos or Logos type. However, an overarching ‘Mythos could be a way to explain supernatural ‘occurences around the group as well as Mythos powers that they seem to display only when the ‘crew members are together. It can be included in the series concept from the start or intro duced as a discovery ata later point. CHOOSING CREW WEAKNESS TAGS Crew weakness tags function similarly to the player characters’ weakness tags. Whenever any crew ‘member takes an action to which the crew weakness tag can be appropriately applied, the crew weakness tag may be invoked, reducing the Power for that. action by one. Every time the crew weakness point is activated, the crew theme gains Attention. Read ‘more about using crew weakness tags under Tags in Crew and Extra Themes (page 215). The same guidelines given for choosing character weakness tags apply when choosing crew weak- ness tags: they should describe things that hinder and complicate the crew members’ actions, never things that help them or drive them to action. As an additional guideline, crew power tags should describe a weakness that is plaguing all the crew ‘members or the crew as a whole. However, unlike character weakness tags (which are limited by the theme type), a crew theme's weakness tags can describe both mundane and legendary or magical details. There are no limitations on the content of the description except that it must be related to the theme as a whole 2- CHARACTER CREATION | 145146 | cry oF Mist CHOOSING A CREW MYSTERY OR IDENTITY The crew's Mystery or Identity is the glue that binds the crew together, the reason for which they are operating as a crew. In a way, it is the boiled- down version of the series concept created at the beginning of the Exposition Session: either a question all crew members are trying to answer together or a conviction all crew members share. The group can choose whether to phrase this core aspect as a Mystery or an Identity. Itis essential that not only the players but also the characters they portray agree with this agenda of the crew, even ifitis an unspoken agreement. For example, fa group playing a crew of vigilan- tes chooses the Identity “Someone has to do the dirty work to Keep this City clean’ all crew mem- bers should conform to this statement atleast to some extent. Ifa team of conspiracy busters wants to know “Whois behind the kidnappings?”, and chooses this question as their Mystery, it means everyone agrees that this question is the most important thing, for now. Remember, the characters start the game already knowing each other and have worked with each ther for a while, at least long enough to have a joint purpose. This is not to say all members com- pletely agree on what drives the crew but simply that for the time being they agree to set aside any qualms they might have. Once the game starts, anything can happen. ‘A crew Mystery functions similarly to the player characters’ Mysteries: itis a question that embod- ies what the crew is searching for. Whenever any crew member has a chance of obtaining new infor- ‘mation regarding the crew’s Mystery and foregoes. it, she erodes the crew theme, which could even- tually lead to losing the theme completely. Read ‘more about crew theme evolution during the game in Chapter 4: Moments of Truth. ‘A crew Identity functions similarly to the PCs" Identities: itis a statement that captures the essential attitude, belief, or goal shared by all crew _members. Whenever any crew member acts con- trary to this statement, she erodes the crew theme, PLAYER'S GUIDE which could eventually lead to losing the theme completely, as in the case of a Mystery. The same guidelines given for choosing charac- ter Mysteries and Identities apply here. A crew Mystery must be a deep and burning question that drives the crew to investigate and take action in order to find answers. A crew Identity must be a real and binding statement that drives the crew to take action and reflects their motive. The crew's Mystery or Identity should also be related to the nature of the crew as it was defined in the series concept and to the power and weakness tags in the crew theme. THE CREW THEMEBOOK CONCEPT Review the concept of your crew as a reflection of the series concept you all agreed upon at the be- sinning of the Exposition Session. Flesh it out to- gether by thinking about the following questions: El WHAT IS OUR SHARED GOAL? El WHO OR WHAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER? wuy Do WE WORK TOGETHER? WHAT DOES EACH MEMBER CONTRIBUTE TO THE CAUSE? WHERE DO WE MEET? WHERE DO WE. COLLECT OUR EVIDENCE OR PREPARE FOR ACTION? ‘WHAT SORT OF RESOURCES DO WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL? POWER TAG QUESTIONS Choose three questions to answer. Answer each question with a single description no more than a few words long, In your answer, you should describe something that will be useful to your crew during the game. Each answer becomes a power tag. Write it on your crew theme card under POWER TAGS along with the letter of the question.EX How Do YOU HELP, ASSIST, OR SUPPORT —_ [| WHAT APPROACH OR TACTIC DO YOU SHARE IN TACKLING CHALLENGES? ‘ruthless punishment, divide and conquer, ‘harmony and peace, keep a cool head, divine Il WHAT KIND OF SPECIAL GEAR, RESOURCE, OR POWER IS AT YOUR DISPOSAL? WEAKNESS TAG QUESTIONS Choose one question to answer. Answer it with a single description no more than a few words long. In your answer, you should describe something that will impede your crew’s actions during the |WHO IS GUIDING, BACKING, OR ASSISTING _#me. Your answer becomes a weakness tag. Write ‘YOUR OPERATION? iton your theme card under WEAKNESS TAGS along with the letter of the question. Lily ~ our moral compass, the Client, spirit animal, the professor, almighty Zeus [A How Do You GET AROUND? 2-CHARACTER CREATION | 147148 | city oF Mist MYSTERY OR IDENTITY Choose a Mystery or an Identity for this theme. For example: + (Paramilitary mercenaries) "Get it done. Get Paid. Don't ask questions.” + (High school detective team) “What strange fore- es are meddling with our school and why?” + (Greek gods) "I's either us or the Titans.” You can try exploring the following options: + Something you all agree must be done or must never be allowed. (Identity) + The central question in a case you all want to solve. (Mystery) + Accode of conduct you all abide by. Identity) + A strange riddle which is the key to your destiny. (Mystery) Write your Mystery or Identity on your crew theme card, TITLE Name your crew theme in way that encapsulates ‘your crew's nature and style. Write it on your crew theme card. For example + aramilitary mercenaries) Guns for Hire + (High schoo! detective team) The City High Gang + (Greek gods) The Olympians CREW THEME IMPROVEMENTS During the game, whenever you gain an improve- ment for this theme, you can choose one of the following: Tight Like That (Once per session, when one of you uses Juice points to help or interfere with another crew member's ‘move, you gain one more point of Juice to do so, © Quality Matters One of the items or possessions of your crew is a real gem, perfect for what it was made for. Choose cone tag from the crew theme. It must describe an item or a possession. Any Core Move you make using this tag is Dynamite! PLAYER'S GUIDE O Sacrifice When two or more of you Face Danger against the same status and you get a hit, you may choose to extend the hit to one other crew member, at the cost of exposing yourself. On a 10+, they take no status and you take the status with -1 tier. Ona 7-9, they take the status with -I tier and you take the full status. If the move is Dynamite!, on a 12+, you can choose to fully protect both of you (instead of choosing one of the other 12~ options). © Pull it Together Once per session, you can recover a burnt crew power tag. Black Sheep Choose together one crew member who is the black sheep of the crew. When the black sheep of the crew acts against your Mystery or Identity, it’s expected, so it does not weaken your crew. For ev- eryone else, overlooking the black sheep's actions does not count as acting against your Mystery or Identity either. You can choose a new black sheep at the beginning or end of each session. UICK START REW THEMES The following crew themes correspond to the crew types suggested in the Series Concept section. You can use them as they are or tweak them to the needs of your game:ATTENV/GN PAGE? Chace MYSTERY / IDENTITY “INVESTIGATING Ss A HORE. Que A. Cover cor_cAck otis. 1 Wcausercuous GARAGE FULL OF THINGS 2. Personat ure caus LovMean. Men ATTENTION FADE? cRack MYSTERY / IDENTITY 6 COMPAMM DATABASE _ 1 Beno He eutes __ 2- CHARACTER CREATION | 149SGI coer tore RTE CONSPIRACY MYSTERY / IDENTITY "YJHO ESE 6 WVOLVED W THIS?” MYSTERY / IDENTITY “UJHAT ANCIENT Secteers ATE POWER TAGS oom A EMeATHIC CONNECTION _ BU EOE D_GaiDAnce FIZOM A TAGS vox A. Eiwence iserears | WEAKNESS TAGS Ivor ® IN Overt our HeADs, 150 | CITY OF MIST - PLAYER'S GUIDEATTENTION FaDE/ CRACK MYSTERY / IDENTITY 2- CHARACTER CREATION | 151A] cons eve mS ‘ MASKED Vi@tLANTE INVESTIGATIONS wie oper. ATEN Ph087/ Sse MYSTERY / IDENTITY "To Kee THis CTY CLEAN, We ry ATTENTION FADEY CRACK MYSTERY / IDENTITY % STEPPING ON GACH 152 | CITY OF MIST - PLAYER'S GUIDEAVIGN FABEY oRace MYSTERY / IDENTITY “We WiLL ALWAYS HAVE EACH 2- CHARACTER CREATION | 153CREW THEME EXAMPL! POND INCIDENT SURVIVORS Now that Lamar, Jerry, and Megan completed their character creation, they join with Alice the MC to create the crew theme. Based on their series con- cept of Lakeside Drive, the group talks about what the crew is actually trying to achieve. Since their characters Sullivan, Det. Enkidu, and Goodfellow are all survivors of the pond incident who know each other, it seems apt that they will be trying to figure out what was the catastrophe that hit their neighborhood and why it was so violently hushed by the Mist. Also, what the hell is going on? How vas an entire neighborhood covered by water and nobody talks about it? They start by picking out some power tags and a weakness tag, Jerry suggests the crew meets at a local diner that is like @ second home to them; they ‘work from the storage area and can grab a bite and. a drink when they need to recover: [EL WHERE DO YOU MEET, WORK, REST, OR PREPARE FOR ACTION? Louis" diner Alice the MC would like to introduce a character from Arthurian legend that is guiding the crew but whose motives are questionable. She suggests the following: | WHO IS GUIDING, BACKING, OR ASSISTING YOUR OPERATION? Lady of the Lake Lamar thinks that even though most people don’t remember what happened, the crew members are still local faces who have friends and connections in the community. He suggests an appropriate tag: WHAT SPECIAL SOURCES OF INFORMA- ‘TION DO YOU HAVE? {friends in Lakeside Drive Being survivors of a supernatural flash flood, Me- gan thinks it makes sense to choose a weakness tag based on that: [WHO oR WHAT ARE YOU ALL AFRAID OF? hydrophobia 154 | CITY OF MIST - PLAYER'S GUIDE Finally, the four discuss what Mystery or Identity \would best encapsulate the crew. They choose “Get to the bottom of the pond.” for its dual meaning: the crew wants to understand what happened with the pond but it seems the answers are submerged deep in the bottom of the pond and that sooner or later the crew will have to venture down there and confront a shocking truth They name their crew theme Pond Incident Survivors Giitew ten TS Pond INciDENT Survivors _ MYSTERY / IDENTITY "Ger v0 tHE BorroM oF THE POND.” POWER TAGS om WEAKNESS TAGSUnderneath the goal or ideal that makes your crew members collaborate there is a complex network of relationships. Even though they work together, the crew members can have complicated personal rela- tionships and a dark past. Some of the crew mem- bers have known each other for a while and have been through a lot together; others, while know- ing each other only briefly, have already formed opinions on one another. And since everyone is a Rift, there are also the relationships between your Mythoi to consider. Once you have your crew theme ready, you can build your crew relationships. Crew relationships help quickly flesh out the shared history of the crew ‘members. First, each player writes dawn the names of all the other crew members on his character card ‘under CREW. Sullivan’s card looks like this: HELP HURT Next, go around the table, taking turns. On your ‘turn, pick up one of your themebooks at random and refer to the Crew Relationship section, Each section contains three ideas for events or attitudes ‘that shaped your relationship with one of your crew members, Choose one at random or at your ‘whim and read it out loud. You then choose if you ‘want to use this item or discard it. Ifyou choose touse the item, choose which crew member it applies to. Ifthe player playing that crew member approves, you can work out the details then and there, or later. The MC and the other players can suggest how to interpret this item. Lamar cheo: fan item at random and reads it: “You once protected some- thing very dear to one of them, pos- sibly even from them. If they were grateful, take a Help point on then. Ié they were not, take a Hurt point on hem.” I think this would be something 0 do with your character, Megan. You said Goodfellow had a grandchild? May~ be he once entered his furious state and I prevented this kid from seeing at Megan: Ooh, that sounds good. 1 would definitely be trying to hide that from him, 80 T think Goodfellow would be grateful. Each item also tells you to take a Help or a Hurt point on that character. Write it next to that character's name on your character card’s CREW section. Lamar: Cool, I'm adding one Help point next to Goodfellow. HELP HURT Ifyou already have points of the same type for that character, they add up. However, Help & Hurt points do not cancel each other out; you accumu- Tate them separately. When you're done, move on to the next player. Keep going around the table until you feel your history is rich enough. You will not necessari- ly end up with an equal amount of Help & Hurt points across the board: some crew members have baggage for better or worse, while others are more indifferent to each other. 2- CHARACTER CREATION | 155