conversations.from: system
conversations.value: This is a game of technological transhuman superheroes set in a near-future Chicago, amidst a backdrop of real-world landmarks and organizations. A citywide release of nanotechnology augments many people with powerful new abilities. Here's the description of the city, blockaded by Federal authorities to contain the nanobot infection:
  
  "Foodstuffs and raw materials arrive at checkpoints where 'native' drivers and boat captains take them inside. As the border became regimented and fortified, a system of highways and depots surrounding the city sprang into life to handle the goods traffic that normally flowed through the city. Airports in Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Indianapolis expanded capacity as O’Hare and Midway went dark.
  
  Intensive testing by the EPA determines there simply is no contamination of nanobots outside the border established by the routers. If the bots are in the air, water or moving soil, they apparently just turn around and retreat. If you look at the right spots in Lake Michigan, the border can look like a sheet of plastic wrap in the water as the molecular machines make a uniform ripple. Animals and plants just seem to avoid the border, like documented cases of animals fleeing before an earthquake. This is confirmed even for tree roots. There is evidence animals within the zone look a little . . . uncomfortable as they turn back from the border, but nothing conclusive is known."
  
  The full backstory is on a Google Doc. Please read before submitting a character. Warning: it's almost three pages. I thank you in advance for reading it all. I hope it serves as testimony that I love to write:
  
  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qLCinMi0MyZQ_iVppBoqeRjSqpjRtd30oZU8oMXvc_c/edit?usp=sharing
  
  I've got the setting down, but the story tone and flow will depend entirely on the characters we use. IMPORTANT: PLEASE DO NOT USE MY CARDS. They are meant to frame the facts of the world, but only as inspiration. They have no pictures because they're intended to be generic. Please please please write your own, complete with pictures. When you add a picture, you flesh out the specific concept you want to use in framing your character's story. Also, please throw me an NPC living in Chicago that means something to your character (good or ill). More munchies for the story.
  
  Content maturity will depend on players. I won't force any adult content, but I won't shrink from it either. (Standard Internet rules apply - nothing involving kids.)
  
  Character selection will focus first on making a group of people who have reasons to associate together, and then to characters who add to the setting through their card texts and pictures.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Get up on the roof, jump to the next building over, and scramble down. What could go wrong?
conversations.prefix: It Looks Easy At Home:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Rush the lines, get to a police vehicle, and lose them in the suburbs. You don't see a helicopter right now...
conversations.prefix: Calling Al Cowlings:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Local police and FBI are bracing for expected violence as the two-year anniversary of the blockade approaches.
conversations.prefix: Police Preparations:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: For some reason, you've been here before. Try not to read too much into that fact.
conversations.prefix: Sewers: Firsthand Knowledge:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Trib report on the third grisly victim's remains discovered in a north side park.
conversations.prefix: Reports of the Froman Killer:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You know when it happened, and the bearing and direction. Get to a sensor log terminal in the DHL HQ, you might pinpoint how it happened.
conversations.prefix: Blast Pattern Analysis:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Trite and predictable, but served the purpose of providing a little government comfort.
conversations.prefix: Mayor Marcus' Speech:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Four camera angles, full interior coverage and some exterior. It still recorded data for fifteen seconds after the blast.
conversations.prefix: Frank's SSD Backup:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: This mark has appeared many times on billboards and on streetcorners, but hasn't been tied to a group or to an event. Yet.
conversations.prefix: Glyph of the Escape:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The cops have established a perimeter around the bar. Either cooperate and face arrest, or break through the perimeter and become fugitives.
conversations.prefix: Fight or Flight:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You lost everyone. The cops, the press, the witnesses, yourselves. The glamour of the sewers is as strong as ever.
conversations.prefix: Just Shy of Half a Mile...:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: If you save these fifteen victims, you don't have time to evade the police before they see you at the scene.
conversations.prefix: Sirens In The Distance:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: If you save these six victims, you have no time to search for the SSD with the bar's CCTV. You won't have it; the police will.
conversations.prefix: Split-Second: The Video:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The blast seems to have spread flames equally throughout the bar. Nowhere is safe.
conversations.prefix: The Bar, The Bar, The Bar Is On Fire:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: If you save these six victims, you don't have time to save Frank before he dies from his injuries.
conversations.prefix: Split-Second: Frank:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: If you save these six victims, you don't have time to study the blast pattern that may suggest how the bar was attacked.
conversations.prefix: Split-Second: Blast Pattern:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Oops! You really thought you’d catch that. Got any superglue?
conversations.prefix: Klutzy:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Someone else has you under their thumb, and they're happy to see you sweat.
conversations.prefix: Extorted:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: There’s been talk about Chicago seceding. You’re one of the talkers.
conversations.prefix: Chicago United:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: It was way easier to get lost in here than you thought.
conversations.prefix: The Sewers:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The nanites flow from your fingers into machines and computers, and turn them to your will.
conversations.prefix: Superhacking:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You've never had a problem getting people to see things your way, and the nanite outbreak didn't change how people think. Or rather, don't think.
conversations.prefix: Smooth Talker:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: There's a word in the dictionary between surprise and surrey. You just don't know what it is.
conversations.prefix: Unyielding Will:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The luckiest of the lucky, the nanites listen to your will, and do one thing for you no human can do.
conversations.prefix: Superpowered:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Not so lucky as to have a superpower, yet still not dead. Nanites course through your veins, but seem to do nothing.
conversations.prefix: Normal Chicagoan:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You got inside the blockade, either by luck or by careful strategy.
conversations.prefix: Outsider:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You have obligations most normal Chicagoans don’t. Like keeping normal Chicagoans inside Chicago.
conversations.prefix: Cop:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Using the nanites to manipulate magnetic currents, you soar through the skies. Watch out for bugs.
conversations.prefix: Flight:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The nanites infuse your muscular tissue with reinforced fibers, and you can lift cars with ease.
conversations.prefix: Superstrength:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You're not Wolv-----, but boy howdy do you seem to get better after you get hurt.
conversations.prefix: Healing:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You don't need nanites to get machines to talk to you. You've only ever needed Mountain Dew and a soldering iron.
conversations.prefix: Natural Hacker:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You're acting on behalf of federal, state or local officials. You've got ID to prove it.
conversations.prefix: Government Authority:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You've got an expense account, and you're not afraid to use it. (You haven't worked out how to bribe a drone, but you're working on it.)
conversations.prefix: Corporate Authority:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You let something get under your skin, and now you need a daily fix.
conversations.prefix: Addicted:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Maybe not actually paranoid, but you sure don’t like giving people more than you need to.
conversations.prefix: Untrusting:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The nanites read electrical impulses in the brain of a subject, and create a holographic model your mind can access. Result: You know what they think.
conversations.prefix: Mindreading:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The nanites didn't EXACTLY kill you. But you started coughing that day, and you never seemed to stop.
conversations.prefix: Poor Constitution:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You got hurt in the first few hours, and it never really healed well. Perhaps the nanites thought it was your normal form.
conversations.prefix: Injured:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: There’s a lot of mysteries in the new Chicago. Some of them want to stay secret.
conversations.prefix: Overly Curious:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Maybe it was the nanites, maybe it was before. But you’re just not fun to look at.
conversations.prefix: Ugly:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: It's an age of real superheroes, and they're called super for a darn good reason.
conversations.prefix: Arrogant:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You went through something on the day of infection that just ripped into your brain.
conversations.prefix: PTSD:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: There's a lot of danger in Chicago these days. Sometimes it misses you and hits someone you love.
conversations.prefix: My Family Is In Danger!:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Chicago has always been a city of precinct captains and gang bosses. Your home neighborhood is one that two of them are fighting to own.
conversations.prefix: Home Turf Wars:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: I don't care if I'm carrying nanites. I will not let the government turn Chicago into my jail.
conversations.prefix: I Will Not Be Restrained!:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The blockade can be immensely profitable, IF you can figure out a way to smuggle items into Chicago. Especially controlled items.
conversations.prefix: Underground Railroad:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Chicago is the heart of the new tech boom and bubble. Bubbles make billionaires.
conversations.prefix: Third Coast Gold:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You’re indebted, and the lender isn’t known for sending nice reminder cards.
conversations.prefix: I Have The Money, Just Not ON Me…:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You’re one person at eye level, but you work for someone else in the shadows.
conversations.prefix: Deep Undercover:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: When the infection went down, your partner-for-life was out of town. Now they quietly weep outside the blockade.
conversations.prefix: My Bonnie Lies Over The Lake:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: During the rioting, you were blamed for an atrocity you didn’t do (you didn’t, right?). It’s easy to hide in the new Chicago, but keep your eyes over your shoulder.
conversations.prefix: Wannnnnnnted, Dead Or Alive:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Maybe you come here often, maybe you've only been here once. But you're here tonight.
conversations.prefix: The Local Bar:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're all here to share your memories of those who couldn't make it.
conversations.prefix: Toasts To The Fallen:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The grizzled bartender always has a story to tell.
conversations.prefix: Frank Herlihy:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: These strange singers in color-coordinated outfits appear, lead flash mobs in dance numbers, and disappear.
conversations.prefix: Reports of the Harmonaiads:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: For every one you saved, there's one you chose not to.
conversations.prefix: Simon's Bad Dream - Fireman:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Detour to where, man? *Detour to where?!?*
conversations.prefix: Robin's Bad Dream - No Exit:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: They mean you gnome harm.
conversations.prefix: Cassie's Bad Dream - Gnome Mercy:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: If he's not there, how is he following you at all?
conversations.prefix: Eskil's Bad Dream - Stalker:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A child's home is their castle. If the walls fail, can anything ever be safe again?
conversations.prefix: Savannah's Bad Dream - Home:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Nighty-night. Don't let the bedbugs bite.
conversations.prefix: Dreamland:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: It's got running water and power, and dishes and some canned goods. No coffee, though - dammit.
conversations.prefix: Abandoned Restaurant Kitchen:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: He's friendly, has computer gear he can spare, and understands when people need help in tight situations.
conversations.prefix: Magellan DeWitt:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You need computers to analyze data. That means a place to put them. Somewhere safe.
conversations.prefix: Setting Up A Temporary Base:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: They can spare some cash, and might be willing to bankroll a few items the team needs.
conversations.prefix: Robin's Cousin:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: An information broker might be able to provide some leads on how to set up shop discreetly.
conversations.prefix: Cassandra's Competitor:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: They'd help. But there's probably strings attached.
conversations.prefix: Songbird Cell Leader:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: She was with you last night, and she seemed steadfastly with your cause. Worse, she knows all of you by sight, and maybe by name.
conversations.prefix: Finding June:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You were just a regular guy without many strong opinions, too busy living life and getting by to cause a fuss, but things have changed...
conversations.prefix: Joe Everyman:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You control water. Anything containing it seems to bend to your will. Why the nanites are affecting you like this is unknown and inspires a deep dread and hope.
conversations.prefix: Hydromancer:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You're a mail carrier in Chicago.  You meet a lot of funny people with even funnier ideas. It's best to approach every person and place with a healthy amount of caution. 
conversations.prefix: Suspicious:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The call to protect the weak and punish the wicked sings in your very blood.  It's about time someone finally did something about the corrupt taking advantage of the average man in this city.
conversations.prefix: With Great Power...:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You've been studying mind-machine interfaces for a decade, hoping to spark a tech revolution, but it seems someone beat you to it.  Once you'd heard about events in Chicago, no force on Earth could've kept you out.
conversations.prefix: MMI Researcher:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You don't always have exactly the skills or resources you need, but you know for every wall there's a way over, under or around it if you just look hard enough.
conversations.prefix: Dogged Determination:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You tend to be a bit presumptuous, disregarding decorum in favor of your own impulses.  Rules and etiquette aren't irrelevant, you just feel they don't necessarily apply to you in all situations.
conversations.prefix: Impertinent:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Interface of the mind with a nanobot colony is a dream that you're dying to experience firsthand.  You didn't develop the ability upon entering the radius, but there must be a way.
conversations.prefix: Interface With The Cloud:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: To sacrifice freedom for the illusion of security means you don't deserve either. The world needs protection and you're going to give it to them even if you have to destroy the drones to do it.
conversations.prefix: Rebel with powers:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You can walk through anything as long as you can hold your breath to get through it and keep concentration
conversations.prefix: Phasing:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You are the best person and a legend in your own mind.
conversations.prefix: Arrogant:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The citizens of this city deserve freedom and you're willing to give it to them at all costs.
conversations.prefix: Freedom for all:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The truth. Your opinion. Stuff you just think is weird/fun/cute. What do they all have in common? They exist to be recorded and put on the internet, dummy! Which, obviously, is where you come in. 
conversations.prefix: Vlogger:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Wifi, terrestrial tv, even police radio. If it's in the air, you can receive it. If you can uncode it, you can transmit it, too. It bothers you that you can't read the plague nanites. A bit anyway cause you got a hundred tv channels you can watch in your mind and so many other things to do.
conversations.prefix: Radiopathy:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You've figured it all out. The world is crap cause of stuff your parents and the rest of their generation did or didn't do. You know better. You're gonna fix all this. You'll start right after your chores are done. And you've uploaded a new entry in your vlog. And listened to the new Puke CD again. And called your friend to talk about how dreamily different the singer is in all the right ways. 
conversations.prefix: Adolescence :
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: One day, you're going to make it all better. For everyone. No really.
conversations.prefix: F*ck you, I want a better world!:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Since the emergence of her powers, Casssie has become something of a general information broker.
  
  She both pre-emptively seeks information to sell and can be hired to find specific items
conversations.prefix: Information Broker:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Since encountering the nanites, Cassie has been felt connected to everything.  She feels the presence of the routers and the systems they connect to, able to perceive through the cameras and other sensors attached to them.
conversations.prefix: Connected to the Whole:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Cassie can't help but find out what is around the next corner.
  
  Gaining her powers hasn't sated her curiosity but rather fed it.
conversations.prefix: Curiosity Killed the Cat:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Cassie is determined to make her fortune.  After all - she's a superhero (or maybe villain) now, that should certainly be possible to turn to a profit.
  
  She doesn't want much really - just a penthouse flat, nice car, luxurious lifestyle and no need to work for it.
conversations.prefix: Step 3.  Profit.:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Your dad was a cop. Your mom was a cop. Your older brother's a cop. It's all you've wanted to do since you were a child. Keep the little guy safe - even if it means the ultimate sacrifice.
conversations.prefix: Blue In The Blood:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You haven't tested how far it goes yet, but cuts and scrapes heal so quickly you barely even notice getting them. 
conversations.prefix: Regeneration:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You've always been something of a daredevil. And now, knowing you can heal at least somewhat - well, it hasn't improved your ability to look before you leap. 
conversations.prefix: Reckless:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The politics, the finagling - that's not what you care about. You've always been looking out for the little guy, and that's what you're doing now. The riots can never happen again. Every innocent who dies on your watch is on your conscience. You'll take any help you can get - including superheroes.
conversations.prefix: Order Out Of Chaos:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're good with people and can often get what you need out of them by being kind and talkative
conversations.prefix: Persuasive:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: It takes quite a set to harass a Police Officer who's clearly having a bad day.  But even in a near state of martial law, you do what you think is right to help those who need it.
conversations.prefix: Courage:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Injustice real or not can make your blood boil and your brain break.
conversations.prefix: Angry:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Cassie just doesn't back down.  Once she's set her mind to something she's almost unanswerable.
conversations.prefix: Strength of Will:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You like to watch. Make of that what you will. However, this also means that you don't act when you should. 
conversations.prefix: Voyeurism :
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You couldn't have caused this, could you?  This isn't your fault, is it?  You recall, only the guilty need ask themselves these things...
conversations.prefix: The Burning Question: