conversations.from: system
conversations.value: The Hellboy movies meet The Black Company novels...
  
  (Follow the other Company game here: https://storium.com/game/team-lacuna-chapter-1-old-acquaintances-an-in-the-company-of-monsters-story/)
  
  ——————————
  
  Omega Squad is a team currently based in Los Angeles, CA. They've just been thrown together in a team and must stop a cascade of eldritch catastrophes before it spreads any further  (and interferes with the wrong political campaigns).
  
  ——————————
  
  Monsters are real. Demons? Check. Faeries? Check. Vampire cats? Skinwalkers? Chupacabra? Alien entities from beyond space and time? Leshi? Dragons? Corpses animated by sentient viruses? Check, check, and check.
  
  And just as bad as the monsters are regular people who get their hands on some piece of magic (a relic or spell book or ancient bargain hanged down from their asshole great-great-grandmother) and then proceed to cause all kinds of havoc.
  
  That's where the Company comes in (it has a longer, faux-Latin name, but no one uses it). 
  
  It's easiest to think of the Company as mercenaries. They are hired to deal with supernatural problems. Their clients range from monsters to sorcerous cabals to city halls to old cat ladies. And sometimes the Company takes jobs on its own volition (usually when there's some obvious payout a the end).
  
  You are all employees of the Company. Most of you are some variant of weirdo or loser or broken cast-off (or all of the above). Regular people don't do well in the Company, even if their skill set seems perfect.
  
  You don't like most your companions and you complain constantly about your job (the pay sucks, the bosses are horrible, the hours are insane), but for the first time in a long time (perhaps ever) you belong. And you're good at what you do.
  
  ——————————
  
  I want to tell a longer story with a large, rotating cast, but I want to run it like an anthology of connected short stories. Each story will have 3-5 players, generally, but characters can (and hopefully will) reoccur in different combinations in future stories. 
  
  Also, there are two separate games running about two teams. They are in the same world and there will be overlaps between them.
  
  ——————————
  
  Banner image by tycarey - used without permission
  (http://tycarey.deviantart.com/art/Team-Meeting-134195392)
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're good at violence, which comes in handy. 
  
  Were you a soldier? A cop? A boxer? A criminal? Or have you always just liked fighting?
conversations.prefix: Muscle:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: There are many addicts in the ranks of the Company. 
  
  What are you addicted to? Is it mundane or something from the supernatural world?
  
  You see shit when you hit rock-bottom. Maybe you were almost a victim and you survived. Or are you an addict because you tried to numb the pain of some earlier encounter with the weird? Or perhaps you're more pragmatic — does the Company provide you with what you need as part of your pay?
conversations.prefix: Addict:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're in it for the magic and you seek it out obsessively.
  
  What pushed you into the world of the weird? Why are you drawn to it? Do you love it or hate it or something else entirely?
  
  What tricks have you learned along the way? What artifacts and trinkets have you pocketed for future use?
conversations.prefix: Occultist:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Don't get too excited—chosen ones and prophecies are a dime a dozen. But that doesn't mean it doesn't come with perks and a high cost.
  
  What prophecy, curse, or blessing places you right in the middle of supernatural events bigger than yourself? How do you feel about it? Do you believe it? DO you want it to occur or do you want to stop it? What has the prophecy already cost you and what are you afraid it will cost you in the future?
conversations.prefix: Chosen One:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Revenge. Monsters killed the ones you loved most and you're going to make the monsters who did it pay.
  
  Who did you lose? What mementos do you keep on you at all times to remember them? Do you know who or what killed them or are you still investigating? Do you hate everything associated with the weird (including the Company and your comrades) or just the ones who wronged you?
conversations.prefix: Wronged:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A some point in the past your interactions with the supernatural world went very south. Now you're cursed.
  
  Did you inherit your curse or was it inflicted on you personally? Did you deserve it or are you innocent? Who cursed you? What does the curse do to you? What parts of your life has it ruined? Do you hope to remove the curse? Are you seeking revenge? Both?
conversations.prefix: Cursed:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You are a monster (or at least partly a monster). That makes you useful.
  
  How do you feel about your nature? How do you think your teammates feel about you? How do other monsters feel about you working for the Company? Speaking of which, why ARE you working for the Company?
conversations.prefix: Monstrous:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You're either an amateur or disgraced. But you get to study the most fascinating subjects!
  
  Are you actually practice science, or are you just knowledgeable in several sciences and pseudo-sciences and use that to your team's advantage? Do you dream of mainstream recognition? What experiments or projects are you working on? How optional are ethics in your work?
conversations.prefix: Scientist:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're good with your hands. Since teams are chronically underfunded, your handyman skills are invaluable.
  
  What happened to you to dump you where you are now? Are you an active member of your team, or do you try to avoid the weird and focus on your work space instead? What are you passionate about? Cars? Computers?  Crazy inventions utilizing the bones of angels?
conversations.prefix: Mechanic:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Whether by training or inclination, your job is keeping your teammates sane. You also occasionally are able to use your insight when dealing with the weird.
  
  Are you a trained therapist? A mom? A priest (current or ex)?
  
  You were probably drawn into the supernatural when you tried to help someone else who had fallen in. Who was it? Did you help them? Who's going to help you?
conversations.prefix: Counselor:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're a detective of some sort. There are always things that need to be found or figured out. Usually in a hurry.
  
  Were you a professional cop, PI, medical examiner, or similar? What earlier investigation lead you into the weird underground? How often do you regret it? What is your White Whale that you're obsessed with finding or solving?
conversations.prefix: Investigator:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: People need things in the supernatural underground. There's always a place for people who know people and know how to get things.
  
  Where did you get your knack for making connections and trades? Why are monsters, sorcerers, and worse willing to trade with you? Do you work in barter, favors, blackmail, or whatever works? What does it say about you that you're most comfortable among mosnters?
conversations.prefix: Connected:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're good in a fight. You can take a hit and you can hit them back hard. This is also helpful anytime physical strength, toughness, or endurance comes into play.
conversations.prefix: Tough:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Whether it's a blessing, a literal guardian angel, a supernatural gift, or just plain old mundane luck, things work out for you far more often than they should.
conversations.prefix: Lucky:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You know just the guy. You have an extensive web of contacts throughout the supernatural underground (and maybe the mundane world, too). You know where to go to get information or hard to find items.
conversations.prefix: Web of Contacts:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You know a lot. You aren't a magician yourself, but you can identify hundreds of types of monsters and can spout off their weaknesses and social mores. You're probably also a weirdo and know-it-all.
conversations.prefix: Occult Secrets:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You know a bit of magic. You can cast quick spells, throw up temporary wards, and the like. You can probably do bigger magic with enough time, the right tools, and a book to reference, but you'd be out of your league.
conversations.prefix: Hedge Magician:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You love weapons. You have a lot of them. Even after being searched and stripped, you probably have a few tucked away... somewhere. Do all of your toys have names?
conversations.prefix: Walking Arsenal:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Shear obsessive drive is your greatest strength. You don't give up if it's something you care about. And you don't get distracted by stuff you don't. You're probably not much fun, though.
conversations.prefix: Driven:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You have a brilliant mind and you're good at analyzing things, whether it's a scene or a ledger, or a book of ancient prophecies. Your keen mind is your greatest asset.
conversations.prefix: Analytical:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You have a lot of tools and you always seem to have the right tool for the job. Define what type of  tools you use. Are they tools for fixing, building, and occasionally hitting things? Or are the more esoteric?
conversations.prefix: Toolkit:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You're good at understanding what makes people (and some monsters) tick. Is it innate empathy, psychological training, police interrogation training, or something supernatural?
conversations.prefix: Insightful:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're too clever for your own good. You are adept at coming up with plans and revising them on the fly. You are the mastermind that guides your team into and out of danger.
conversations.prefix: Clever:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: People are easy to manipulate. It's fun, too. You understand what people want and how they think and you know how to get them to do things you want them to do.
conversations.prefix: Manipulative:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You are a monster or at least have the strengths of one. Define what that means for your character. Are you super strong? Fast? Tough? Can you fly? Can you eat literally anything?
conversations.prefix: Monstrous Gifts:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You're an addict. What are you addicted to? You have to have it or you're a mess. Use this when someone offers you your addiction or when you're too high or too strung out to function.
conversations.prefix: Addiction:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You keep going even when you shouldn't. You won't bend, even when it jeopardizes your team. You won't even consider the possibility that you should.
conversations.prefix: Stubborn:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Company provides you a certain amount of shelter from the law, but you're a wanted fugitive. Avoiding arrest and other unwanted attention can be a pain. Plus many will use it against you.
conversations.prefix: Wanted by the Law:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Whether it's a literal curse or just extraordinarily bad luck, things don't go your way. Decide on the nature of your curse and how it makes your life more difficult.
conversations.prefix: Cursed:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You're destined for something bad. Maybe you're supposed to bring  the End Times, or die horribly, or marry the Archduke of Hell. Everyone has an opinion and reats to you accordingly.
conversations.prefix: Dark Destiny:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You look like a monster (and can't fully hide it). You have to avoid the wrong kind of attention. Plus many will treat you as a monster. You inherit many friends and enemies before you ever meet them.
conversations.prefix: Monstrous Form:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You are terrible with people. Are you weird? Inhuman? Distracted? Just naturally bad at it? Your utter lack of people skills is constantly making life more difficult.
conversations.prefix: What People Skills?:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You owe a debt (or many debts) to someone or something. It hangs over you constantly. It causes problems. It's also something deep enough that it's not as simple as just paying it off.
conversations.prefix: Indebted:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You know something dangerous. Dangerous for you, that is. What is the secret? What would happen if the wrong people knew you knew? How did you learn it? Who is hunting you?
conversations.prefix: Dangerous Secret:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You have pissed someone (or more likely a group of someones) off. Every time you go out you're in danger from them as well as those who want to earn a favor with your enemy by taking you out.
conversations.prefix: Enemy:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Something horrible happened to you and it haunts you. With sweat-soaked limbs tangled in the bedsheets, you relive it nightly. You are always on edge. What happened to you? Or what did you witness?
conversations.prefix: PTSD:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: There's plenty of real threats to be afraid of, but you can't do your job if you're afraid of everything and suspect everyone. Your paranoia is far beyond a healthy skepticism or cautiousness.
conversations.prefix: Paranoid:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You'll make them pay. 
  
  Maybe you have to find them first, or maybe you know exactly who they are.
conversations.prefix: Get Revenge:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Secrets are the most useful currency among the supernatural. Gathering secrets gives you power, knowledge, and leverage.
conversations.prefix: Hoard Secrets:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Your goals are mundane. You want to be filthy rich. The Company sure as hell isn't going to make you rich, but you have a lead on something. Maybe there's a treasure. Or maybe you plan to make a deal with something.
conversations.prefix: Get Rich:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: What you want more than anything is just to feel like you belong. Your team mates are far from perfect, but it's your best shot at a place to belong.
conversations.prefix: A Place to Belong:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: In any group, you have to be alpha. Why should your team be any different?
conversations.prefix: Be Top Dog:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Protocol protects us all. They made those rules for a reason. Preserve your sanity by making sure it’s all done by the book. 
conversations.prefix: Follow Procedure:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Prophecies, especially about the end of the world, are a dime a dozen. That doesn't mean they should be ignored. There's one looming prophecy in particular you need to stop (if you're a Chosen One, maybe it's yours?)
conversations.prefix: Stop a Prophecy:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: There's a mystery or a secret that consumes you. You are driven to solve it or uncover it no matter the cost.
conversations.prefix: Uncover the Truth:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The supernatural is a source of magic and power. You are determined that you will harness that power. Someday you'll be able to fulfill your wildest dreams with magic.
conversations.prefix: Gain Mystical Power:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Your rival. Everything you do, they try to show you up. Maybe your rivalry is friendly or maybe it's deadly serious. Either way you are driven to defeat them once and for all.
conversations.prefix: Defeat a Rival:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Maybe it's a curse, or a prophecy, or even mundane disease. You have a dark fate in your future and you are desperate to find a way to escape it. What is your dark fate?
conversations.prefix: Escape Your Fate:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You are motivated by protecting someone or a group of people. Maybe it's someone specific. Maybe you know them. Maybe you love them. Or maybe you just need to save someone, anyone, to save your soul.
conversations.prefix: Protect an Innocent:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Boo-ya
conversations.prefix: My name is not meant to last:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Tucked away in an industrial park, this spacious warehouse has long been abandoned. So why have hooded figures been seen entering and leaving in the middle of the night?
conversations.prefix: Abandoned Warehouse:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Glass Merchant has been a fixture in the occult underground of southern California for at least a century. The only thing it buys and sells is information, but it often has information no one else does. It appears to be a woman with a face of faceted glass, but it prefers to be referred to in gender-less pronouns. 
conversations.prefix: The Glass Merchant:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Many occultists like to meet in secluded locations to work their magics. Most don't like intruders. And when you're obsessed with arcane power, your security methods tend to involve eldritch traps and dark spirits.
conversations.prefix: Home Security Spells:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: (EACH OF YOU PLAY EXACTLY ONE CARD ON THIS CHALLENGE.)
  
  As is often the case with the Company, niceties like actually getting to know your new teammates before being thrown together into dangerous situations were overlooked. You all know each other by reputation and some of you have worked together before. You need to work out at least some temporary arrangement for how you're gong to work together. When you have more time, those arrangements are sure to change.
conversations.prefix: Thrown Together:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The contents of this envelope contain whatever the Company is trading to the Glass Merchant in exchange for knowledge about recent events. 
  
  You have strict instructions not to open the envelope.
conversations.prefix: Manila Envelope for the Glass Merchant:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Edison is one of the top nightlife spots in Los Angeles. Formal clothing is required. Built in the first private power plant in LA, the architecture mixes art nouveau and gothic industrial. The building is over a hundred years old and some of its more unusual patrons remember when the power plant was first built.
conversations.prefix: The Edison Hotel:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Beautiful and a bit of a joke. Elizabeth loves to hang out with vampires and immortals or all stripes. She claims to be immortal herself, but it's a well-known lie. She's tolerated because she has money and connections.
conversations.prefix: Elizabeth Reiss:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Mr. Strick works for the Company. He has visions, but only when he's drunk, high, or in mortal terror. Since the last isn't something he's willing to do on-demand, he's often found at the nicest bars in town.
conversations.prefix: Mr. Strick:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Anyone who breathes the green vapor collapses within moments and begins convulsing. Then they begun exhaling the vapor as well.
conversations.prefix: Green Vapor:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A short, balding white man in a cheap black suit and a perpetual wide grin. He works for the Public Relations department, which seems to involve impersonating government agents and dealing with mundane authorities who aren't in the know.
conversations.prefix: "Agent" Morrison:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The straight-faced partner of "Agent" Morrison working in Public Relations. She seldom talks and when she does she speaks in a no-nonsense monotone.
conversations.prefix: "Agent" Hernandez:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Company headquarters in each region are very different from each other, reflecting the resources and priorities of the local bosses. The LA HQ is located in a mansion in Beverly Park, a wealthy gated community renowned for famous residents.
conversations.prefix: The Cruz Mansion - Company HQ :
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The councilwoman is wealthy, influential, popular in her district, and a respected and feared witch.
conversations.prefix: Councilwoman Gabriella Torres:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The top Company boss in the region encompassing California and the US Southwest. He was assigned to the region for his talent for dealing with a certain kind of clientele. He tends to be hands-off to his employees until things go wrong. It's his lieutenants that Company grunts usually deal with.
conversations.prefix: Dick Kingsley- Company Boss:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You love consumption, be it food, drink, clothing, ammunition or pencils, doesn't matter.  Objects exist to be used and discarded.
conversations.prefix: Gluttony:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The glamorized, sexutalized undead.  The blood thirsty beast.  The nightwalker.  You are a vampire.  
conversations.prefix: Monstrous:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You have weapons, be they mystical, mundane or theoretical.  You have a lot of them. Even after being searched and stripped, you probably have a few tucked away… somewhere.    
conversations.prefix: Weapons Arsenal:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You fulfilled the prophecy and yet you still endure.  You have power and the imperative to protect but your job is done.  You are left with a need to protect someone, something...
conversations.prefix: Protect an Innocent:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You the Chosen One or one of the Chosen rather.  One of enumerable champions through out history who a picked by Fate, prophesy or deities to rise to cast down a great evil or perhaps bring about a new age.  
conversations.prefix: Chosen One:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You know a bit of magic. You can cast quick spells, throw up temporary wards, and the like. You can probably do bigger magic with enough time, the right tools, and a book to reference, but you’d be out of your league.    
conversations.prefix: Street Witch:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Your mother made a deal with the devil, literally. Your soul is promised as slave and plaything of an archduke of Hell. he has not found you, and you have made every effort to conceal who you are, while trying to learn enough magic to protect yourself when he eventually comes to claim your body and soul. 
conversations.prefix: Promised:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The hottest fires forge the strongest steel, and you were born in Phoenix fire. Now the fire that once consumed you animates you, driving you to face any obstacle... and should that fail, the fire gives you something extra, too.
conversations.prefix: Born in Fire:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Fire can be used but never tamed, and only a fool doesn't fear it. The drive that alows you to do the things that others couldn't or wouldn't also drives you to do things you shouldn't, and your recklessness puts those around you at risk.
conversations.prefix: Fire in the Blood:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Life has tempered you. A combination of a tactful mind, calm demeanor and cooperative nature (feigned or otherwise) allow one to see the world without distractions such as ego, anger, etc.
conversations.prefix: Tactful:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're new to The Company and inexperienced with the supernatural. 
conversations.prefix: Rookie:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You have very little patience for the faults of others, and sometimes forget that you have more than your fair share of them yourself.
conversations.prefix: Smug:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You've lived for very long time and honey and lacy go much further than vinegar and steel wool.
conversations.prefix: Timeless Grace:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Despite your current bitterness, you can, when the situation calls for it, draw upon your prim and proper upbringing (with a few modernizations sprinkled here and there to just about blend in). 
conversations.prefix: A Certain Gentlemanly Swagger:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A particular demon companion is overzealous in her protection. Despite the chance to do something heroic, you are pulled, from the action, to safety.
conversations.prefix: Overprotected:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You like someone and you're not always sure how best to express it. Sometimes, it makes you a chauvinistic pig. Whether or not your efforts are appreciated, would be up to the recipient. 
conversations.prefix: Enamored:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Despite being empowered and courageous, you cannot over come reality.  Those around the Chosen are often not made of as stern stuff.
conversations.prefix: Greater amongst lessers:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Unlike most of the shit you've had to deal with in L.A. talking discreetly to a third party inquiring about an investigation is something you have actually done before. A lot. 
conversations.prefix: Not your first rodeo: