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St. Augustus Academy
What's All This Then?
St. Augustus Academy for Gifted Youths, or SAA, is a modern AU PSL. Taking place in a as-of-yet unnamed town in Oregon, in the year 2015, the characters attend the titular school - a shady and mysterious, but very fancy, private school for students grades 7 through 12. What most people don't know is that St. Augustus is actually a haven for those more than human.
The School
A big school in an otherwise small town. A lot of details yet to be worked out - possibly a boarding school. Very fancy facilities for everything, and a very secretive staff.
The school's Great Secret is that a shockingly large portion of the student body are various kinds of superhumans. Some of them have strange powers beyond mortal reckoning. Some are actually not human at all, but actually mythological creatures adopting human form. A lot of kids get mysteriously transferred to SAA, and it's usually because they had some kind of paranormal awakening. Others awaken to their newfound powers as soon as they join the community.
Most visitors to the academy are unaware of its strange nature. To those who aren't aware that anything's out of place, the students look normal - mundanes look right at them don't even see the horns, wings, or tails.
Using Magic
"Magic" is a general term for whatever the hell it is that these kids are capable of doing, although it takes many forms. Most of the time, it's quite difficult for magic to directly interfere with the real world - such powers are usually restricted to non-humans, and humans with such powers often find them hard to use and harder to control. Furthermore, school rules strictly forbidgetting caught using ever using such powers in the open, as it could lead to the school's secret getting out.
The more common way for these powers to be expressed is via Contract Duels. Despite the name, these can involve more than two people, in any combination of teams, so long as everyone involved agrees to fight. They work like this:
This strange and convoluted system is the de-facto system for all conflict resolution at St. Augustus. Can't decide who gets the top bunk? Mad at someone for dating your ex? Need 50 cents from the new kid to buy lunch? Dispute over who gets to be class rep? Contract Duel.
Non-Humans
Yeah, they've always been around. Vampires, youkai, werewolves, mermaids, you name it. These days, though, they're pretty good at passing as human - most non-humans (certainly all of the ones at school) have a Glamour - an ability to be seen as human. It doesn't actually change how you look, it just diverts attention. Someone who doesn't know what to expect at the school wouldn't even notice your wings, but they'd be able to see them as soon as someone pointed them out.
Non-humans are, on average, more powerful magic-users than humans. It's not a hard and fast rule by any means, but it's a point of tension among the student body.
The Faculty
Yes the teachers are in on it. They're all (with a couple exceptions) fully aware that the school is full of magical weirdos. Some of the teachers are magical weirdos themselves. They're very powerful, so be careful picking fights with the faculty.
The Game
I have no serious plan for what the game would actually be about, in a plot-having sense. Goof around and have school AU antics. Get in over-the-top metaphysical fights over stupid shit. If there's an actual overarching plot to be had, it can be introduced later.
The game is going to be private. If you're on my plurk timeline, you're invited. If you want to rope in someone I don't know, clear it with me first. I don't want this to get into full game size.
Things To Comment About
St. Augustus Academy for Gifted Youths, or SAA, is a modern AU PSL. Taking place in a as-of-yet unnamed town in Oregon, in the year 2015, the characters attend the titular school - a shady and mysterious, but very fancy, private school for students grades 7 through 12. What most people don't know is that St. Augustus is actually a haven for those more than human.
The School
A big school in an otherwise small town. A lot of details yet to be worked out - possibly a boarding school. Very fancy facilities for everything, and a very secretive staff.
The school's Great Secret is that a shockingly large portion of the student body are various kinds of superhumans. Some of them have strange powers beyond mortal reckoning. Some are actually not human at all, but actually mythological creatures adopting human form. A lot of kids get mysteriously transferred to SAA, and it's usually because they had some kind of paranormal awakening. Others awaken to their newfound powers as soon as they join the community.
Most visitors to the academy are unaware of its strange nature. To those who aren't aware that anything's out of place, the students look normal - mundanes look right at them don't even see the horns, wings, or tails.
Using Magic
"Magic" is a general term for whatever the hell it is that these kids are capable of doing, although it takes many forms. Most of the time, it's quite difficult for magic to directly interfere with the real world - such powers are usually restricted to non-humans, and humans with such powers often find them hard to use and harder to control. Furthermore, school rules strictly forbid
The more common way for these powers to be expressed is via Contract Duels. Despite the name, these can involve more than two people, in any combination of teams, so long as everyone involved agrees to fight. They work like this:
- The people who want to fight set the stakes of the fight - what the loser must do for the winner, what's being fought over.
- All the people fighting must gather in one place and mentally agree to the metaphorical contract of the fight.
- Time stops, and all the fighters are drawn into a pocket dimension, constructed out of the surrounding space and the mental landscapes of the fighters.
- Each fighter transforms, regaining their 'canonical' appearance, outfit, and set of superpowers.
- Fight until only one side is left standing (or all their enemies yield).
- When the fight ends, no actual injuries are maintained - however, the losing side must adhere to the contract set at the beginning of the duel.
This strange and convoluted system is the de-facto system for all conflict resolution at St. Augustus. Can't decide who gets the top bunk? Mad at someone for dating your ex? Need 50 cents from the new kid to buy lunch? Dispute over who gets to be class rep? Contract Duel.
Non-Humans
Yeah, they've always been around. Vampires, youkai, werewolves, mermaids, you name it. These days, though, they're pretty good at passing as human - most non-humans (certainly all of the ones at school) have a Glamour - an ability to be seen as human. It doesn't actually change how you look, it just diverts attention. Someone who doesn't know what to expect at the school wouldn't even notice your wings, but they'd be able to see them as soon as someone pointed them out.
Non-humans are, on average, more powerful magic-users than humans. It's not a hard and fast rule by any means, but it's a point of tension among the student body.
The Faculty
Yes the teachers are in on it. They're all (with a couple exceptions) fully aware that the school is full of magical weirdos. Some of the teachers are magical weirdos themselves. They're very powerful, so be careful picking fights with the faculty.
The Game
I have no serious plan for what the game would actually be about, in a plot-having sense. Goof around and have school AU antics. Get in over-the-top metaphysical fights over stupid shit. If there's an actual overarching plot to be had, it can be introduced later.
The game is going to be private. If you're on my plurk timeline, you're invited. If you want to rope in someone I don't know, clear it with me first. I don't want this to get into full game size.
Things To Comment About
- Characters you might app
- Questions about the setting
- Ideas for twists to make it more interesting
- Plotting discussion
- Ginger ale