Neon Xtinction

History

As far back as records have been kept, there have always been those with extraordinary abilities. Heroes and demigods, legends and myths, their exploits are woven through history. They are supers, men and women born with - or gifted - incredible powers, to be used for good or evil as they see fit.

Likewise, monsters have always been a part of human history - enormous beasts, terrible predators, and hybrids that belong to no sane world. Some were clearly allegorical, representing fears, sins, and natural disasters, but some truly existed, endangering humanity with their terrible power. But when a monster threatens, heroes rise to stop it.

In 1954 the first kaiju, Dakkuma, emerged in Japan and proceeded to lay waste to the city of Okinawa. The monstrous reptile-arthropod hybrid was soon engaged by Captain Cosmic, the world’s preeminent (and most powerful) superhero. Their battle lasted for three days, covered hundreds of miles, and ended with Captain Cosmic tired but triumphant and Dakkuma apparently dead at the bottom of the Marianas Trench.

Since then, the kaiju have become a constant threat to humanity: building-sized monstrosities resembling no form of natural life, but with traits of reptiles, insects, crustaceans, and stranger things, possibly massive strength, limitless endurance, and strange and alien powers. They appear without warning, often from the sea or from large stretches of wilderness, and seem driven to crush and destroy the cities of humanity. Since the appearance and fall of Dakkuma there have been many more, and of late their attacks have increased in frequency and intensity.

Coinciding with the rise of the kaiju, supers - always a rare presence in the world - have become more common, and have demonstrated increasingly potent powers. Though none has yet come to light who can match the powers of Captain Cosmic, the masked vigilantes and super-athletes of old have given way to supers with far greater powers, including flight, elemental control, strength and toughness almost equal that of a kaiju, and more exotic abilities.

Project Gilgamesh was founded to make use of these young heroes and their talents. The brainchild of TITAN, the Tactical Initiative for Threat Anomaly Neutralization, Project Gilgamesh recruits teenagers who demonstrate extraordinary superhuman abilities with the aim of training them into a fighting force capable of defending humanity against the increasing threat of the kaiju.

The first recruits for Project Gilgamesh have been gathered.

This is their story.

The Heroes

Character Codename role player name	Pace	Parry	Toughness	Edges	Hindrances	Attributes	Super Powers
Gavin Lawrence Reiher Lionheart super-knight Elfwine	8"	8	22(12)	AB: Super Powers Combat Reflexes Frenzy Iron Jaw Nerves of Steel Take the Hit	Code of Honor Hot Tempered (Minor) Loyal Stubborn Suspicious (Minor)	Agility d8 Smarts d8 Spirit d10 Strength d10 Vigor d12	Armor +12 Fearless Healing (Refresh, Selective) Leaping (4" horizontal/8" vertical) Melee Attack (see sheet) Mind Shield Pace (Strider) Super Attribute (+1 Agility, +1 Spirit +2 Strength, +2 Vigor) Super Edge (Combat Reflexes, Frenzy, Improved Nerves of Steel, Iron Jaw, Take the Hit) Super Skill (Athletics +2, Fighting +3, Focus +1, Intimidation +1) Toughness +2
Hayley Elliot The Electrician electricity manipulator ferretribution	6"	2	5	AB: Super Powers McGyver	Driven (Major) Curious (Minor) Big Mouth (Minor) Bad Eyes (Minor)	Agility d6 Smarts d8 Spirit d10 Strength d4 Vigor d6	Broadcast Damage Field Energy Control (electricity) Env. Resistance (electricity) Illusion Interface Invisibility Machine Control Malfunction Ranged Attack Scan Wall Walker
Marko Mandl Cytokine minion commander, plasma Leliel	6"	5	5	Investigator (custom) Team Player	Alien Form Driven (minor, Needs to understand what his mother is doing) Heroic Outsider (minor, Looks like a small version of an infamous kaiju)	Agility d4 Smarts d8 Spirit d6 Strength d4 Vigor d6	Telekinesis (5): Fine Control 3 Range 2 The Brood (Minions) (3): Summonable 4, Super Powers 3 Levitation (Flight) (3) Plasma Burst (Attack, Ranged) (3): Cone 1 Plasma Reconstruction (Healing): Restoration 2, Requires Touch -2 Plasma Manipulation (Energy Control): Selective 2 Kaiju Physiology (Altered Form)
Millicent 'Mills' Astor Frostfire blaster, elementalist Stormraven	6"/180"	2	21 (16)	AB: Superpowers Attractive Scholar (Academics)	Curious Heroic Phobia: Claustrophobic Quirk: Speaks in gaming terms	Agility d6 Smarts d10 Spirit d8 Strength d4 Vigor d6	Armor 8 Dodge 5 Energy Control (cold) Env. Resistance (cold, fire) Flight Obscure Ranged Attack 4d6, AP 10
'Jane Doe' Wraith melee ghost Kaiya	6"	7	17	Brawler	Distinctive Appearance Heroic Mute Thin-Skinned	Agility d10 Smarts d6 Spirit d6 Strength d8 Vigor d8	Flight (1,200 MPH) Regeneration (1/round; Regrowth) Intangibility (Affect Others) Toughness (+8) Undead Melee Attack (+3d6; Heavy Weapon) Super Attribute (Agility +1) Ageless Mind Shield
Sloan Snyder Kid Kaiju growing brick and mimic mysstic101	6" or 10"	6	8(2) or 10(2) or 16 or 18	Berserk Best There Is Frenzy Improved Frenzy Iron Jaw Menacing	Loyal (minor) Ruthless (minor) Shamed (major) Ugly (major)	Agility d8 Smarts d4 Spirit d8 Strength d6 (or d8) (or d12+7) (or d12+8) Vigor d8	Growth Copycat Altered Form Hardy Leaping Melee Attack (Claws) Super Edge

Other Characters

Other Recruits and Retired Heroes

Character Codename role	Appearance	Personality	Powers	Notes
Matteo Centori Hotshot Big guy	Blond, handsome, thousand-dollar smile	Arrogant, petty, charming	Pilots a kaiju-sized mech	Famous, wealthy, glory-hound
Jaylinn Hart Heartfire Fire elementalist	Short blonde hair, sharkish grin	Confident, competitive	Heat projection, fire manipulation	In a one-sided competition with Mills
Rebecca 'Becky' Fairfield Backfire Luck manipulator	Dark hair and eyes, withdrawn, rarely smiles	Lonely, bitter	Incredible luck and accuracy, bad luck to enemies	Convinced she causes bad luck to others
Patrick Anderson Panorama Time/space warper	Brown hair, wholesome jock features	Outwardly happy, inwardly jaded and fatalistic	Time/space warping, cannot inflict direct damage
Honey Sue Beauregard Southern Bell Sonic projector	Pretty, dark blonde hair, freckles	Flirty and casual	Powerful sonic shrieks and sound manipulation

Project Gilgamesh Staff

Character role	Appearance	Personality	Notes
Director Charles Sexton Director of Project Gilgamesh	White male, late 50s, cross between a military officer and a corporate CEO	Professional, reserved	Wealthy and influential
Sachiko Brooks Communications Officer	Half-Asian female, late 20s, green eyes, brown hair, very pretty	Friendly, extroverted	Endlessly cheerful and optimistic
Victor Rand Chief Engineer	White male, late 60s, scarred and weathered, walks with a cane due to severe limp	Blunt and surly	Absolute wizard with anything mechanical
Dr. August Frey Psychiatrist and counselor	White NB, late 30s, long angular face	Calm and non-judgmental	Willing to talk about anything, any time
Dr. Elena Voss Head scientist	White female, late 40s, severe features and graying hair	Crisp, professional, occasionally harsh	Brilliant scientist, relentless enemy of kaiju
Commander Samuel "Ironclad" Kessler Tactical Advisor	Black male, late 50s, scarred but unbroken, always wears reflective aviator glasses	Brusque, no-nonsense	Ex-military head of training and tactics
Kiana "Wavebreaker" Torres Pilot and aquatics specialist	Hawaiian/Latino female, late 20s, always smiling	Upbeat and enthusiastic	Low-tier superpowers, formerly the minor hero Wavebreaker
Captain Fiona Harkness Chief of Security	White female, mid-30s, flaming red hair and freckles, never wears makeup	All business except when drinking or singing, then gets very emotional	Concerned with base security above all else
Keiko Nakamura Chef and quartermaster	Japanese female, late 50s, short and pudgy	Mothers everyone, no exceptions	Very competent and utterly fearless
Amara Singh Training coordinator	Indian female, mid 30s, tall and athletic	Cautious but encouraging	Former Olympic athlete, has a slight limp due to a kaiju attack
Dr. Maxim Vostrikov Xenobiologist	White male, early 30s, black hair and hunched posture	Socially awkward, slightly arrogant	Assistant to Dr. Voss, fascinated by kaiju

Other NPCs

Character Codename role	Personality	Powers	Notes
Daniel Rutherford Captain Cosmic The Man of the Future	Confident, heroic.	Flight, invulnerability, super-strength, energy blasts	World's most powerful superhero

Known Kaiju

Name status	Description	Known Powers	Notes
Dakkuma deceased	Monstrous, hexapedal hybrid of insect and reptile	Sonic roar, laser eye-beams	Defeated by Captain Cosmic, left in the Marianas Trench

Rules

Setting Rules

• An Arm And A Leg: If a Wild Card has no bennies, they can still choose to make a Soak roll. Regardless of the results of the Soak roll they immediately gain an appropriate hindrance: One Arm, One Eye, or Slow (Major). This Hindrance lasts until the end of the next session and cannot be healed otherwise.
• Combined Attacks: Support an ally’s attack to deal +2 damage, +4 with a raise
• Comic Book Combat: Combined Attacks, Knockback, Power Stunts, Synergy
• Conviction: Heroes gain Conviction Tokens that can be used to add a d6 to all Trait and damage rolls for one round.
• Expanded Conviction: In addition to the standard uses, Conviction can be spent to:
  • Reroll a Critical Failure.
  • Force an enemy to reroll a single Trait roll and use the new roll.
  • Negate a Benny used by another character.
  • Conviction may be gifted to another character who is Trusted (see below) for immediate use.
• Death & Defeat: A Wild Card who is incapacitated by lethal damage gets an immediate Vigor roll to potentially recover.
• Larger Than Life: Wild Cards may take one additional Major or Minor hindrance, gaining points for it normally. This extra hindrance must be a mental/social hindrance.
• Mega-Destruction: Superpowers and kaiju attacks cause massive property damage.
• More Skill Points: Heroes start with 15 skill points instead of 12.
• Never Surrender: Incapacitated Wild Cards are dealt initiative cards normally. On a Joker they regain consciousness and rejoin the fray.
• No Finishing Moves: Downed Wild Cards are immune to Finishing Moves
• Popcorn Initiative: Players may post in whatever order, as they are available to do so. The GM will have NPCs act whenever it makes sense. The edges Quick and Level-Headed, and the hindrance Hesitant, do not exist. Cards will still be drawn for the sake of Jokers and complications.
• Throwdown: Ignore the Unarmed Defender rule.

Stress

When characters become severely upset or emotionally hurt they may become Stressed. Stress is a mental status effect that applies whenever it is logical - whenever a character receives terrible news, experiences a traumatizing event, or suffers a great emotional blow. The GM may declare that a character has become Stressed as appropriate; the player may voluntarily choose to become Stressed as well. If the player chooses to become Stressed, they gain a benny.

A Stressed character subtracts 1 from all Smarts- and Spirit-based Trait rolls, and cannot spend bennies to unshake - they must succeed on a Spirit roll to do so.

If a character would become Stressed when they already have the Stressed status, they instead gain a temporary hindrance appropriate to the situation and their personality. This hindrance persists until removed; see below.

Stressed is a special status effect in that it does not fade naturally; instead, a character must make a Spirit roll at -2 to clear it. This roll can be made only once per day, after a period of rest (typically in the morning after a night’s sleep).

There is a second way to clear Stress: with the help of a friend. Another character (who is not Distrusted) can spend time with the Stressed character, helping them relax and work through their issue. This can take a variety of forms, from a conversation to guided meditation to recreation of various sorts, and takes about an hour. At the end of this time the Stressed character makes a Spirit roll at -2 while their friend rolls to Support. This can only be attempted once per 24 hours. If the Spirit roll is a critical failure, the Stressed character gains a temporary hindrance if they did not already have one!

If a character is afflicted with both Stress and a temporary hindrance, a success on the Spirit roll removes the Stressed condition but not the hindrance; a raise removes both. If the Stressed condition is removed, the hindrance can be removed the same way (but not until the next normal opportunity). The hindrance remains until removed, and if the character becomes Stressed again, that status must be cleared before they can attempt to remove the hindrance.

Trust and Distrust

The characters in Neon Xtinction may work together, but that doesn’t mean they always like or trust each other. The heroes are emotional teenagers figuring out how things work, and relationships can be important. To reflect this, each character may decide which of their teammates and colleagues they trust, distrust, or have no strong opinions on.

Trust: When you trust another character, you feel positively disposed toward them. In general, you will prefer to spend time with them, value their opinions, and trust them with your secrets.

When someone you trust makes a test to Support you, or any Intimidation, Persuasion or Taunt roll to influence you, they add 1 to the Trait roll. In addition, a character you trust can give you bennies as if they had the Common Bond edge.

Neutral: The default state, with no bonuses, penalties, or special rules. Unless otherwise noted, all characters are assumed to be Neutral toward one another.

Distrust: When you distrust another character you are negatively disposed toward them. You prefer to avoid them and have little faith in their opinions or abilities; you certainly won’t share your secrets with them.

You gain no benefit from Support tests by a character you Distrust, cannot accept bennies from them (even if they have Common Bond), and they subtract 2 from all Persuasion rolls made to influence you.

Note that the choice to trust or distrust someone is wholly up to the individual, and can be changed for any reason or none. Note also that trust is not automatically reciprocated; it is entirely possible for one hero to trust another, but the second hero regards them neutrally or even distrusts them.

A character may decide to change their opinion on another character at any time, but not more than once per day.