Godlike Storytime - Courtyard of Hell

Godlike is a game about ordinary people, with extraordinary powers in the Second World War. To be more specific, after the 1936 Olympic Games, individuals dubbed by the Allies collectively as 'Talents' began to appear. To put it simply, Godlike is a game about willpower. The stronger will you have, the better you will prevail. Everything is tied to willpower. Your abilities in the game, such as super strength, speed, hearing, the power or miracles, bending an element or flying is tied to your willpower. When two super powered individuals meet, their have a Contest of Wills. Whoever bets more Will points, wins, and has their power overtake the other or fizzle out their opponent.

For example, a guy who shoots lighting can have that miss or be redirected away from an individual because they just had stronger will NOT to be hit. Other powers work like that, but there are work arounds. Such as transmuting a person's jacket into acid, doesn't trigger a will contest. Its the acid hurting him, not the power, even if the power is the cause of it. Hope that's a good enough introduction, before here we go.

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20 December, 1943. Ortona, Italy.

The recent campaign in North Africa has seen the first Canadian Talents manifesting, but not many. Largely regulated to a single battle in that theater, the now heavy fighting with the Germans has led to increased manifestations. The first all Talent Platoon is formed, Platoon 19. It is more a section, containing 8 individuals.

The push up Sicily has largely been a success. Allied forces have pierced the Gustav Line, set up by the Germans to halt the pace set by the British, American, and Canadians taking up ground in southern Italy. The Canadians have been ordered to take the small coastal town of Ortona, which blocks the armored advance on the norther side of the peninsula.

The first Talent we'll introduce is 2nd Lieutenant Betran Kenneth. Kenneth is a kind soul, chipper, cheery, and well read. He's an avid literary nut, with a preference for post-Great War works. He's quite aware of the horrors of war, and fully intends to give over his command to the experience of his NCOs. Kennth's Talent is the ability to heal people, completely, instantaneously. But at the cost of six months of his life. He was 19 when the power manifested, and already, he's become 23.

He manifested due to attempting to save his brother from a freak accident, and was eventually caught and drafted after being discovered doing one too many good acts. Kenneth is a Trained Talent, meaning he was given fine tuning in his abilities up at a Joint-Allied Talent Training school in Scotland.

Accompanying Kenneth in the same vehicle, is Private Paul Isaacs. His ability is the Control over the forces of Gravity. Such power comes at a hefty cost to his willpower though, and makes a humongous noise when used.

He can be described as exactly the kind of Private that Sergeants around the world love: Always happy to follow orders, big enough to carry the heavy kit, easygoing enough to never complain about it, and simple enough to not start getting any bright ideas. He’s a tall, broad-shouldered blond man, his frame heavy with muscles developed during basic training and construction work before that. The only real fault that a Sergeant might find in is that he’s not possessed by much of a warrior spirit. During training he displayed about as much aggressiveness as a hamster, and even in heated combat his demeanor is more phlegmatic than anything else.

Along with Kenneth and Isaacs, is Lance Corporal Valerie Hedoux. Her power is the ability to be Inconspicuous(Not invisible) when not seen. Or, in clearer terms, when someone is distracted by something else. In the heat of a firefight, she can walk straight up to someone. She earned the nickname 'Mouse' in the Academy up in the Scottish Highlands.

Mouse’s moniker is well-earned. She’s a tiny, shy woman with short brown hair and unremarkable features. The scientists at the Talent school had spent long hours theorizing whether per personality had shaped her Talent or the other way around, or if perhaps it was just a sheer coincidence, but the fact of the matter remained that even without her talent, she’d probably barely be noticed in a crowded room. The training she’d received at the school had helped her to develop some confidence, but even then she often finds herself activating her talent even among her comrades just to be left alone for a while.

Next up in the Trained roster, is Private Mark Shaw. Shaw has the ability to draw doors onto flat surfaces, and open up a pathway to the otherside. For a moment scientists considered him opening a door down, but decided that was a very, very bad idea. Instead Shaw was trained to work his chalk under pressure to allow new entry ways.

Shaw, however, is anything but a soldier. He wanted nothing of the war and nearly evaded service until his powers manifested. At first a parlor trick at parties, soon his friends ratted him out to recruiters and he was off to the ships! The man has a lot in common with Hedoux, except he's a bit more aggressive with his Lee Enfield.

Immediately after him is one Corporal John Haggarty. Haggarty has the ability to split his attention perfectly in two, as if having two brains at once to preform thought and action with. He only gets this amazing flexibility, after taking a swig of pure black oil. It doesn't taste great.

Haggarty was born in the rough and tumble of Toronto. He was never a particularly bright kid, but he was a mean son of a bitch. Getting into fights all of his life, he decided to make something of himself and enlist. The night before he was supposed to set out for bookcamp though, he got in one last fight. The man threw oil right into his face, some of it got inside of his mouth, and soon he was able to fend off multiple men wit absolute precision. The rest, they say, is history. A violent history of Haggarty fine tuning his skillset against poor trainers.

Last on the arrival truck, but certainly not least, was Private Howard Gascoigne. Gascoigne's ghastly ability was to shapeshift, into an aberration of man and beastthing. With rending claws, superhuman agility and strength, coupled with armor covered skin, he is the 19th's principle combatant. One who doesn't want his role at all.

He was known to be a quiet man, even before the war, but the war's changed him, as his comrades and foes can attest. A French Canadian with a side of Algonquin ancestry, Howard Gascoigne was a longshoreman before enlisting to be part of the war, and while having served admirably, the experiences he has gone through has hurt him in ways a bullet cannot. Having bitten into a German stormtrooper's face during a close combat bout in the Invasion of Sicily, and having ended up consuming a machinegun crew after, Gascoigne has since learned of his wilder side, and is trying to adjust to it, for the sake of himself and his comrades.

As the final arrivals come in, they roll into basecamp. The entire trip up, they've heard Private Tilley drone on and on about his job at General Motors back home. It's mind numbing.

>"So, tell me again what it was like at that training school! I heard it's like, a castle, right?" Tilley asks the Talents for the second time today.

L/Cpl. Hedoux: "Y-yes. Some old holding from one lord or another."
Cpl. Haggarty: "Aaaah! I'll shoot I'm dead! Shaw, gimme your rifle!" He holds out his hand.
2nd Lt. Kenneth: "Yes yes," Kenneth said, which has been the same phrase he's muttered time and time again.
Pte. Shaw: "Shut it, Haggarty, Use your own bloody weapon."

> "Oh, come on guys, it's such a swell thing that you've gotten to do! You can't be cross that us normal guys want to know all about it!" Tilley grins, seemingly unfazed by Haggarty's outburst. He looks at Gascoigne next. "What about you? What's your superpower?"

Pte. Gascoigne: ''I will eat your spleen.''

>"That's your superpower?"

The distant sound of artillery fire hushes all conversation. It reminds the section they aren't in Scotland anymore. This is for real, with real stakes at play. Tilley clutches his gun. The rest of the trip is largely silent.

The truck grinds to a halt, and the driver shouts: "We're home, boys!" Immediately, the news crew piles out and starts setting up their camera while the soldiers gather their equipment. Sgt. Haines sets up his camera, while Montreal Standard reporter Gil Fleury stands aside. Lt. Taylor steps out next, standing beside the cameraman and directing him. Haines says, from behind his camera: "We've got maybe ten minutes of good light left." Taylor replies: "We'll reshoot in the morning if we have to, just film the Talents!" The camera is rolling as the five Talents disembark onto the muddy ground below. The drone of artillery fire is a constant drum beat in the distance.

2nd Lt. Kenneth: "Propaganda is the modern sword that slices through all yes? Come on section, let's give the man a quick look of what your nation has to offer!"
Cpl. Haggarty: "Hm? You want a hug? Or do you want to see what my "nation has to offer"?"
L/Cpl. Hedoux: "Eugh."
Cpl. Haggarty: "Your loss. Everyone says I'm great with long arms."

The section moves into the HQ, where they spot the veterans. Men of caliber who've proven themselves on the battlefield long before having a superpower to call their own. Despite how tough Haggarty might say he is, he's never pulled the trigger on a man. One stands in full Sergeant's garb, the other is in a heavier suit with a gasmask on. And a single red stripe down his helmet. General Volkes talks about Ortona, the enemy, and mainly informs everyone his incredibly English tone of speaking. After brief introductions by all parties, Geenral Volkes invites a subordinate and strategic talks are underway.

Two companies of the Seaforth Highlanders will approach the southern outskirts of Ortona along the coast road. When the coast road splits, one platoon will stay on the road and seize the harbour area while the rest of the Highlanders will concentrate on the Ortona plateau. The Highlanders will clear out the area from the Church of Santa Maria di Constantinopoli to just east of the main road, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

Two companies of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment will advance on their left to secure the western half of the plateau. The Loyal Eddies will secure both sides of the road.

Driving up the road in support will be the tanks of the 12th Canadian Armoured Regiment. The tanks require the road to be cleared of mines, so the initial assault will be without immediate tank support. The Seaforths’ main objective is the town plaza, the piazza municipale. The Loyal Eddies are to secure the road leading from the piazza to the hospital. The other companies of the two regiments will hold back as a reserve. Vokes doesn’t expect to need them in Ortona; Hoffmeister is not as optimistic.

Sergeant Alexander Koresnky. His power is a tad harder to explain. Essentially, the more he builds motion, the greater a wedge shaped shield in his front will be. It crackles with energy, that would stick with him pierce even a tank.

Korensky is a Russian, second generation immigrant to Canada. Though fully assimilated into the culture and language, his father could never beat the white russian out of himself nor quit his vodka habit. This made life hard for Korensky, but he managed fine. In a life of crime, which led him to the choice of jailtime or battle. Now, he serves his country proudly.

Jerzy Blaszkewicz has the ability of undying life. Sometimes called a curse. He literally cannot die, returning over and over again. The Waffen-SS have already hanged him six times. He escaped on the 6th, but finally chose to leave before they could. Joining up into the Canadian army is seen as his one true hope of killing dead every single Nazi imagine done. Not much about his power, it's just that simple.

Jerzy, is more interesting than the toys his brings to bear. Once a school together,after his classmates spoke up they were silenced. Along with his famiy. It wasn't long before the found his teacher. Jerzy was hanged for treason, but prove out of the attempt. He attacked any who insulted or attacker him .Aftter many, many failed executions he's ended up here. In a foreign army hoping to one day retake his land... Now he practically lives for one thing, killing Germans dead.

And that's where I'll leave it, unless more people want me to continue. If you're lurking, mention it! Speak up.

>Allies
>Playing the bad guys
Edgelord

What

Canucks are evil now?

Yes, quads agree
Should have just gone with the noble bright Reich instead

> The stronger will you have, the better you will prevail. Everything is tied to willpower.

This is the part I got worried.

>For example, a guy who shoots lighting can have that miss or be redirected away from an individual because they just had stronger will NOT to be hit.

This is where I stopped reading.

I'm sorry, because it looks like there might be some interesting ideas beyond this, but that's already enough to deflate the tension or drama in the setting, which is made even stranger by it being set in WW2.

Not to mention that he picked the most boring country of the most boring faction

It's just contests with a dynamic stat, not like 'this guy has 100 will and is invulnerable'.

One of the core tenants of the setting and system is that bullets kill Talents like anything else. They're not caped superheroes, but regular soldiers with a little bit extra.

My GM also used a lot of nuance and waiting time in the game, that I unfortunately skipped over for the sake of brevity.

>Jerzy, is more interesting than the toys his brings to bear. Once a school together,after his classmates spoke up they were silenced. Along with his famiy. It wasn't long before the found his teacher. Jerzy was hanged for treason, but prove out of the attempt. He attacked any who insulted or attacker him .Aftter many, many failed executions he's ended up here. In a foreign army hoping to one day retake his land... Now he practically lives for one thing, killing Germans dead.
What the fuck are you actually trying to say here? Jesus, did they teach you nothing in Grammar School?

I was suffering a stroke no joke

>Godlike storytime
You are a gem to this dark shitposting Veeky Forums world

Thanks. Want me to keep going despite the shitposting? (And my seizures)?

Your storytime needs to be preserved for its rarity desu. If you keep writing more, either add it here or make a new thread later.

>and my seizures
and now I'm sad

Okay.

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but after the last session we now have a PC who has killed three separate enemy Talents with his own power. It is absolutely possible to kill enemy Talents with a power, but it's a big gamble that ideally needs some setup. It's essentially an all-or-nothing deal. If you win the contest, you've immediately removed a huge threat (many powers are capable of essentially instantly killing or otherwise incapacitating a regular person). If you lose, you just wasted a lot of willpower on achieving nothing and are left much more vulnerable to enemy powers.

Keep going senpai

Maybe you should try reading the book before making completely wrong statements about the game?

Will is not permanent. It changes.

If it bothers your booty that much, the 2nd edition called Wild Talents does away with Will altogether.

Godlike and Wild Talents are fucking amazing.

Yeah, it's hard to overstate how lethal this system is to humans if you don't have a talent specifically tailored to making you more resilient. If you get hit by even one rifle-calibre bullet, you're halfway out of the current fight already. If it's a headshot, you'll be either knocked unconscious or even killed outright, depending on the quality of the hit. Get hit twice in the same location and the war's probably over for you. Pistol-calibre bullets are a little more forgiving, but of course those usually come your way in bursts, so that tends to even out as well.

Half the time the best way to kill an enemy Talent is to just mow the fucker down with as much dakka as you can bring to bear. Of course they're aware of that, so they'll try to use their powers to protect themselves against traditional weapons first and foremost. Finding a way to get around that in turn is usually where things start to get really interesting.

Bamp

Bump.

OP here, continuing now, thanks everyone for the bumps and discussion!

(A quick note: Since our part consisted of two Germans, and the German Talent naming structure was so-so, we switched it to direct translations, so Der Flieger becomes The Flyer, Freischutzen becomes Freeshooter.)

After the Brigadier General gives his briefing, he looks over all the men in the room.
"Any questions?"

2nd Lt. Kenneth: "Do we know of any German Talents? What are they called by the enemy..."
"I know the Line calls them the same."
L/Cpl. Hedoux: "'Übermenschen', they call it. They boches always so grandiose about themselves."

"Scouts have given us reports of a flying man over Ortona. We cannot confirm if this is The Flyer himself or not, but our scouts seemed to think so. He has not been seen since the initial sighting."
Sgt. Blaszkiewicz: ''I guess they want to relate it with Nietszche."

"The 8th Army intelligence has also reported to us that some German Talents in Ortona are not reporting to the SS. .What this means for us, we cannot say, but it appears there may be two distinct groups of enemy Talents in Ortona."

2nd Lt. Kenneth: "That actually is a rather poor understanding of his philosophy. The term was meant more as a person of higher development as a person, not physical superiority. Especially not such random handouts from fate itself."
Sgt. Blaszkiewicz: ''Eh, poor understanding seems to be the fundamental of anything Nazi.''
Pte. Shaw: "I hear their ballistics are solid on the physical fundamentals."
L/Cpl. Hedoux: "Yes, like they confused France as something that belongs to them."
Sgt. Blaszkiewicz: ''That's Germans, not Nazis.''

The discussion continues on, questions fly about, more details on enemy composition given. As it was in history, the Canadians underestimate the forward planning and resolve of the German troops, and their actual numbers. After some light banter of the characters after the briefing, they decide to break off for the night. There is a long day ahead of them.

21 December, 1943. It's 0645 hours and the Talents have been up since 0500. There's still that ever present damp chill in the air, and it feels like it's bound to burst into rain any minute. The Talents are all in the Loyal Edmonton Regiment's tent. A radio operator is talking on a radio set, scribbled messages are passed between him and Lt. Col. Jefferson. The previous night was spent listening to artillery in the distance. A constant pounding that kept some men awake through the night. The veterans of the team recognized the sounds as a mixture of both allied and axis artillery, and demolition charges. It went through the entire night, a constant drum beat of war. The Battalion HQ they're in right now is about a mile away from the lead elements of the Loyal Eddies.

Shaw, Korensky, and Haggarty begin to understand what's going on before it's said. The advance on the right flank by the Loyal Eddies has stalled completely to the presence of German Talents. The 19th is deployed immediately, on 2 Bren Carriers. When they arrive after 15 minutes, they meet up with the Eddies D company. Light wounded are everywhere. Few officers, as it seems there is a German sniper taking them out. Kenneth is glad the previous night, he was told to take off his officer stripes and stow away his Webley revolver.

Describing the geography is a bit difficult without a map, but imagine that the Eddies are sitting behind a wall, with north of them being two sets of trencholes infront of two buildings. There is a drainage ditch leading to either one. A pillbox sits on the left side of the trenchholes.The team decides to form a plan, then another, and another. Kenneth's inexperience clashes with the actual combat tact of the NCOs, but Korensky and Kenneth find a way to combine their knowledge. Because the young Lieutenant does know their powers change everything.

The Eddies engage the enemy from a barnhouse off to the left, firing down at the enemy. Isaacs uses his gravity powers to lift soldiers up from their defenses, so they are shot. The rest of the unit charge forward, Korensky creating a shield with Shaw behind, backed up by Haggarty taking expert shots and ducking away before being hit himself. Shaw draws a chalk door from the ditch, to one of the house's basements. As he does that, he opens it, and crawls through. Arriving underneath an occupied structure. The rest of the squad fall in, and form up.

The fighting in the building proper is bloody. They lost the element of surprise as they rose up from the bottom, but even though a few are wounded in Platoon 19, Kenneth heals them in short order. Now there is the rest of the battle to deal with. The Eddies continue to engage the other flank of the Germans, trading about equal with them. And the pillbox is...moving.

The squad moves up the stairs. Haggarty moves up, sees a cowering young German paratrooper, and leaves him when the lad tosses his rifle. He then is shot from a sniper without any bullets hitting the building. When he falls, Hedoux moves up, and then is shot as well. Haggarty gets healed by Kenneth, races up the stairs, and gets shot himself. Its at this point squad 19 realizes they are dealing with the German Talent Freeshooter.

Below, the enemy Pillbox is charging the building. Nothing they can do stops its advance. Isaacs uses his powers to attack the other building adjacent, and brings it down just in time to switch to using his powers to slow the advance of the pillbox. It isn't working. Korensky decides to charge out, and races at it. His red shield bristling the bullets from the MG firing at him as he does so. A contest of wills begins. Korensky beats it, and the pillbox shatters to his shield as he obliterates all the men inside of it. With the Talent dead, the box dissipates. He's then shot in the head by the Freeshooter, and drops dead in the field. But the Germans are in full retreat at this point, out flanked, Talent dead.

19th Platoon has had its first loss, and its first taste of what the enemy Ubermen are capable of. Korenksy is taken from the battlefield, and the Eddies took horrific casualties. Major Stone ordered the Company, what was left of it, to move up and take the trenchholes. His move was a sound one that made the Germans retreat, but Kenneth flies into a rage at his superior leading to a tense standoff ensuing. Afterwards, Kenneth gathers up some of the Platoon to see where they were shot. Discovering no bulletholes in the building. They deduce that the Freeshooter phases through solid objects, but can hit human matter. And worryingly, this doesn't seem to effect the properties of the bullet. Which is why Korensky died without a contest of wills.

We'll be ending here for now.

Bump.

bump

One last bump to last.

Bumping before reading.

Tell me what you think when you're done! Might be updating soon.

Bump.

>but even though a few are wounded in Platoon 19, Kenneth heals them in short order.

Note that this will become something of a running theme. The whole party has a habit of getting themselves shot a lot (usually non-fatally), and without the lieutenant's healing power about half of the squad would have to be sent home with a medical discharge after every sortie.

So if you ever end up playing Godlike yourself, seriously consider bringing somebody with the ability to either patch up the party quickly and reliably, or to otherwise protect them from small-arms fire. Even if you play conservatively (which, admittedly, we often don't), sooner or later a bullet will find you. It's not that difficult even for a completely mediocre enemy soldier to land a shot (about 50/50 for a shitty rifleman, much more likely for a veteran or somebody using automatic weaponry), and you'll definitely want to be prepared for that eventuality.

Jeez Veeky Forums moves fast these days.

Bump for the bump god.

Lacking a better bump, have this.

Awesome! I didn't think this was as good as Black Devils Brigade, but more Godlike is always good.

...

So while our narrator recuperates, I figure I'd expound a bit on the equipment with which our brave party is going into battle.

Most of the squad is armed with the good old standard issue Lee-Enfield rifle. Anybody you hit with this is probably going to be in a really bad place, but that comes at the cost of having a slow rate of fire. Usually bolt-action rifles can only fire once every other round, having to cycle the bolt between shots. However, Canadians get a special rule to go all mad minute, allowing them to both cycle and fire in a single combat round at a penalty to their accuracy. This, combined with its larger magazine, gives our guys a certain advantage over german riflemen with their Kar 98ks.

Next up is the Thompson submachine gun, carried by the two section leaders. This is one powerful room clearer, offering a solid punch, great rate of fire, and even a fairly decent range for a gun of its type. It's slightly superior in most respects to the german MP 40, though when you're blasting away at each other from near point blank range it doesn't make that much of a difference.

Rounding out the lot is one single Bren LMG, making up what passes for heavy fire support in the platoon. Taken in itself it's a perfectly fine gun, combining the sheer power of a full-sized rifle round with a decent rate of fire. However, it just can't really keep up with the sheer volume of fire that the german MG 34s and MG 42s can put out.

The germans, however, have a few more tricks up their sleeve. For once, since they're paratroopers, they have a fair number of FG 42s scattered about. This is a hybrid between a semi-automatic battle-rifle and a light machine gun, offering them an additional versatile long-ranged fire support. Plus of course there's the near ubiquitous panzerfaust, which means that any given squad could be packing a nasty explosive surprise that doesn't give a damn about your cover.

So as you can see, while our lads may have a slight edge in the fast and furious room-clearing we've seen so far, they're at something of a disadvantage when it comes to extended firefights at range. It's a good thing this is shaping up to be an extended city fight. We can only hope they'll manage to use their powers to make the difference that prevents them from being torn apart by relentless german gunfire.