A Catnip Plantation Production
Now Hiring!Are you a card hoping to become the next big superstar? Or did you always want to be an ace, but lack the gift for it? The Halliday Ace Group welcomes you! The Halliday Ace Group and its new team, the Bay Champions, are here to bring hope back to Adams Bay and we need your help! We are looking for aces to keep our streets safe, but also for anonymous heroes to take on a number of behind the scenes roles such, such as dispatchers, medical specialists, technicians, trainers, accountants, public relations advisors and more! If you'd like to make a difference in Adams Bay, and work for a cute manager, join our agency today!
What we're looking for:
- Aces of any specialization and experience level - rookies welcome! All you need is teamwork skills and a disposition for learning.
- Ace training specialists and advisors to keep our team in top shape.
- Medical staff to tend to our aces' needs, from emergency treatment to psychological counsel.
- Engineers and techicians to outfit our team with cutting-edge equipment.
- Accountants, PR specialists and community managers to keep the agency up and running.
What we offer:
- Competitive salaries for the industry.
- Access to state-of-the-art tools and facilities.
- The opportunity to work under our veteran ace captain, Propulsion.
- Assistance with ace licenses and other related paperwork.
We hope to see you soon!Halliday Ace Group LLC
Welcome to the world of aces, individuals with miraculous powers, called gifts, who fight to protect humanity from an ever present alien threat. Those with powers are cards, those who use them for good are known as aces, and those who would use them to further their own self interest are known as jokers. However, this isn’t simply a story about heroes and villains, it's about everyone else too. After all, the aces you see on TV are just the finished project. Entire agencies are hard at work in the background to make ace teams possible. That’s where we come in. This story follows a newly born ace agency, the Halliday Ace Group, and all of the people working hard to make it to the big leagues. Together the agency will deal with problems from monsters and organized crime, to funding issues and PR scandals. Together we’ll save the world, or maybe just get through the work week. So, can you start today?
The day had started like any other. It was mid afternoon, and the streets of London were crowded as people took their lunch breaks. No one was prepared for what would happen - how could they have been? Right past the London Eye, a massive tower that looked like a black hole opening in the middle of the city formed. Suddenly, hundreds of creatures that wouldn't have been out of place in a lovecraftian horror story began pouring out of this alien portal. Many had humanoid figures but their bodies were made of a bizarre ooze like substance. Some spread poison in the air, others had skin as hard as diamonds, and others still could toss magma in the air and even destroy people’s minds. By the time the army arrived, the city would be a graveyard.
Or at least, that would've been the case if not for a miracle. Suddenly, those creatures, who would come to be known as the Shattered, were being wounded and driven back by people who looked like everyday citizens... except, these individuals had incredible abilities. They could command the elements, punch through concrete and take bullets without flinching. Most importantly, they could harm the Shattered in ways that conventional weapons could only hope to. A would-be massacre became a triumphant victory for humanity, but it was far from the end. London was not the only city attacked that day. Los Angeles. Beijing. São Paulo. Cairo. Monsters swarmed cities across the world, and it was only the gifted that could save humanity in its darkest hour, an event that would forever be known as the Felt. Two months later, another wave of attacks occurred, and two months after that it happened again. From the point it was clear, these attacks would continue in a pattern, and those with the gifts to fight the Shattered would be humanity’s only hope.
Ever since the Felt, aces have become an increasingly important part of human society and culture. They are not only a vital defense against the periodic incursions of the Shattered, but they have become everyday protectors as well as cultural icons. Because the job entails a tangled web of national and global security, marketing, and celebrity culture, the regulation and production of ace teams has many levels. The highest of such levels is the United Nations Treaty on the Management of Gifted Individuals. It authorizes and compels every signatory country to regulate and train empowered individuals to respond to showdowns within their borders. Each country is also compelled to send empowered individuals to aid other signatories if a showdown occurs that is of a high enough magnitude as determined by the SUIT classification - more on that later.
Within the United States, empowered individuals who actively work to make the world a better place are known as aces and they have become celebrities and culture icons in their own rights. When the events first began these aces would create informal teams to better coordinate their tactics in dealing the monster invasions. Soon, their popularity attracted the interest of the market and at this point government regulation became necessary. Thus, the Ace Management Administration was born and created a system that would work to ensure America was protected against events.
Private agencies formed who were given licenses by the administration to form and train ace teams. Each team is given rights over a territory and in exchange they ensure the protection of that territory against both everyday crime and the potential of a monster incursion. To ensure fairness and stave off corruption and infighting, the ace agencies formed the Continental Ace League which serves as a league or union of sorts that regulates ace contracts and how teams are formed. The agencies and their teams that are part of the CAL are not the only ace agencies around but they are by far the most reputable and well funded. Many independent teams and agencies hope to one day be accepted in this league which is recognized as the pinnacle of ace work.
Agencies sustain themselves through both government contracts (each team is paid by the government based on their performance) and market revenue that is produced by sponsorship and merchandise. The CAL organizes an ace ranking that uses a point system that keeps track of each team within their league's success in fighting crime. This system has a great influence on a team’s popularity and revenue oppurtunities.
Not much is known about the emergence of superhumans on Earth. Though their surfacing coincided roughly with the manifestation of the Felt, the details remain scarce, and testimonies are far and few inbetween due to the chaos of those early days. Regardless, those individual who revealed themselves during humanity's darkest hour, brandishing powers beyond one's wildest imagination, were bearers of the gift, now known as cards in common parlance. Today, cards who go on to become humanity's protectors against the Shattered are known as aces, while those who reject such calling and instead abuse their gift for their own benefit are seen as the aces' dark counterpart, the jokers. Despite being cards all the same, aces are hailed as heroes and treated like celebrities by the general populace, while jokers are reviled for their selfishness and, often, their criminal activities.
While not much is known about the nature of gifts, it has been observed that they have a tendency to grow and evolve over time, especially in cards who find themselves in battle often. While observing both veteran aces and rookies, research has found that the former tend to not only be able to control and leverage their abilities better, but also have a wider range of abilities to draw upon. Conversely, cards who choose to continue living as civilians don't show much development of their gifts, if any. It's theorized that the Shattered may have to do something with this, but this remains unproven.
Ever since the first time the Shattered appeared on earth, similar incursions have appeared like clockwork every two months. These attacks are called showdowns. Multiple places are targeted at once, and while originally the attacks seemed completely random, analysts have discovered a pattern that allows them to narrow down the potential targets across the world for every showdown. Each attack is different, but through documentation and study of the Shattered, distinct types have been recognized and a categorization system created to help determine the threat levels of the threats aces may face.
The System for Understanding and Identifying Threats - or SUIT for short - is organized in the following way:
![]() While generally humanoid creatures, spades are capable of transmogrifying their bodies into various shapes and sizes. Their skin, which is akin to sludge, is poisonous to the touch and in the worst scenarios is able to produce an airborne toxin. Their threat level is largely dependent on the plasticity of their bodies and the potency and transferability of the toxin they produce. |
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Each of the Shattered is given a suit and a number within that suit to designate it’s level of danger. A two of diamonds is the least dangerous of its suit, while a king of diamonds represents a potentially catastrophic event. The system is fluid and constantly being updated based on new data acquired in the field. Ace teams often include experts who are able to identify a creature's rank on the spot in order to understand what kind of response is needed.
Home of the newly formed ace team, the Bay Champions, Adams Bay is a modestly sized city in the northeastern region of the United States. It is the largest city in the state of Connecticut, but is often passed over because of its proximity to larger metropolises, such as New Rotterdam to the south and Watson to the north. It has a rich heritage that traces back to the first days of English colonization of the territory and has had a fairly peaceful and prosperous history since then. The city was founded by two prominent English trading families, the Achesons and the Hallidays - the former family line is now lost to history, whereas the Hallidays remain the leaders of the city’s prominent shipping industry, providing employment for countless citizens.
Since the birth of aces, Adams Bay has largely lacked the need for their services. It has yet to be the target of a showdown, nor has it had a strong crime presence. However, in recent years that latter fact has begun to change. As other cities become more and more populated with aces, those interested in illicit activities have turned their focus toward smaller cities such as Adams Bay. With the crime rate increasing, more and more public demand has been made for an agency to step in and oversee the formation of an ace team that gets a handle on the situation before it spreads out of control.
Some of the most notable areas of the city include:
- Haynes University - A reputable mid sized public university in town, its presence attracts a good amount of people to the city, whether college students or visitors. The school is best known for its engineering and nursing programs as well as its fairly successful basketball team. The campus is on the outskirts of Adams Bay and hosts one of the city’s largest nature preserves. Most students live on campus but there is some student housing available in the city, and in the downtown area there is a street known as “Haynes Row” due to its bars hosting mostly college students.
- Halliday Industrial - A successful shipping company that operates out of the city and has its headquarters in the downtown area. Many locals are employed by this company and thus the Halliday family is very popular. Their docks dominate the eastern coastline of the city, while their headquarters are one of the city’s few skyscrapers, which towers over the otherwise modest skyline. In contrast with such luxury, the neighborhoods that surround the docks are some of the more impoverished areas of the city, and unfortunately some of the more dangerous.
- Wellman Pharmaceuticals - Another major company that has its headquarters within the city, they are far more controversial, having recently been hit with a class action lawsuit over one of their products. They are headquartered in a modest office building in the industrial sector, having recently lost their larger company building downtown. The recent layoffs that resulted from the loss of funds have produced a lot of unemployment.
- Portside Performance Center - Another popular downtown location, the Portside Performance Center is a small stadium that serves as a concert venue for local bands, as well as the home to the city’s professional hockey team, the Adams Bay Stargazers.
- Battleship Memorial - A small park located in the residential district, popular for picnics and family gatherings, with a large bronze statue of a naval vessel at its heart. It honors a private ship that was repurposed for war during the American Revolution and eventually lost at sea.
The agency behind the creation of the Bay Champions ace team and the only one of its kind to have taken an interest in Adams Bay, the Halliday Ace Group is the creation of Michael Halliday, youngest son of the CEO of Halliday Pharmaceuticals, with the assistance of former members of the Watson Firebolts, Lucas "Propulsion" Alvarez and Riley "Snowflake" Rose. Michael grew up in Adams Bay, leaving for college and living in California for a few years, enjoying some success in the startup tech business. With the growing crime problem in Adams Bay, he returned home with the intention to put all the money he has earned towards starting a new ace agency to protect his home town. The task proved difficult, with the industry being very insular and expensive - he had no interest in taking advantage of his family's wealth to jumpstart his project, nor did they show interes in it, but he remained undeterred.
Frankly however, Michael knew very little about the ins and outs of the ace industry, whether it be recruitment, training or management of aces. Thus, he sought out not only an experienced ace, but someone he thought could embody the hope he wanted to bring to the city, a superstar from his childhood, Propulsion. While the veteran ace had fallen on hard times and wasn’t exactly in the limelight anymore, Michael knew he was the right person for the job. Propulsion became the team’s captain, and after contacting a former teammate who had gone into early retirement, Snowflake, the two had someone willing to work behind the scenes to organize the team and manage the agency. Neither were what one would call inspiring figures at this point in their lives, but they had their reasons to accept joining the project, and that was good enough for the youngest Halliday.
Thus, the Halliday Ace Group was born. An ace agency is an ogre with many layers and needs, however. Though aces form the heart of the organization, nothing would be possible without the work of those such as public relations staff, ace trainers, technicians and engineers, medical staff, mission coordinators and dispatchers, and many more. While Michael Halliday has been able to procure excellent facilities and qualified key personnel, offering compensation well beyond the means of so small an agency, there are still many openings in both the Bay Champions and the Halliday Ace Group proper.
And now we arrive at the cornerstone of roleplaying: character creation! For the purposes of this story, please bear in mind that while a part of it will revolve around aces and battles, we want to put an equal focus on the people behind the scenes and their everyday struggles, as well as the ways in which these two dimensions connect. Whether you're looking to play a stalwart hero or a savvy office lady, there's something for you here. We don't have a full list of jobs available, but the rest of the OP should give you an idea, and if you have something more specific in mind feel free to run it by us and we'll figure something out. Bear in mind also that not all cards necessarily become aces, so a behind-the-scenes worker with the gift is entirely plausible.
Since aces are such a big part of this world, we have to talk about powers next. In this roleplay, powers work a little differently. Characters who have received the gift have access to powers related to a single theme, which is determined by two elements chosen by the player. One of them, the primary element, determines the nature of the theme, while the other one, the secondary element, defines how it interacts with the world - examples will be offered later. This theme will likely have a broad scope, but the character will initially only be able to harness a small portion of it, with more options unlocking as the story progresses, so bear that in mind while making your character. Additionally, gifts tend to change the outward appearance of the people who receive them in some way, be it something simple like a change in pigmentation of the hair, eyes or skin, to something larger like growing wings for flight, or other such beastlike traits - you may want to consider that. All that said, below is a list of elements to pick and choose from:
As mentioned before, there will be opportunities for your character’s power to receive upgrades as the story progresses. This, too, will work a little differently. These upgrades will come, ICly, in the form of a tangible power-up for the character; OOCly, we'll present you with three different options to choose from, be they new abilities related to the character’s theme or enhancements to existing abilities, from which to pick one. While you may understandably be concerned about a lack of control over your character, we hope this system will create an interesting and interactive experience.
Below you will find the app form. Please remove all parentheses from it before posting it, and bear in mind that if you're making a non-ace character who is a card, you may skip the gift section if you want, but you'd do well to mention their powers and changes in the bio.
Finally, here are two apps for our characters that we think should give you a good idea of what sort of character we're expecting: