The premise of Doomsday Drop, above all else, is that all players' powers depend entirely not just on their character but also on their interaction with one another, within their genre premise.
As a result, making a team doesn't just require that players think about which function they need to fill in, but which role as well. As far as Doomsday Drop is concerned, creating a Team is more like putting together a boy band than an adventuring party. This team will from now on be referred to as the Cast.
While the specific roles within a given Cast can vary depending on the setting and genre the players find themselves in, they are chiefly divided into the following archetypes
THE FACE
A pretty boy with charisma to spare, the Face is the one that's at the front and center of the Cast in almost every bit of promotional media and the first thing most newcomers and casuals come up with when they think of the Cast.
Faces don't need to be the most powerful members of the Cast or even the most verbose. Hell, sometimes a Face opening their mouths could do more harm than good but even so, they are the marketing face they need to slap on everything, if they're going to get themselves a sponsor.
The Face has higher bonuses when promoting the Sponsor and gains Extra Klout when the Season Goal is completed.
THE BRUISER
The Bruiser's strong. He can dish out the hurt to his enemies and most Bruisers can also take it. They work very well with younger demographics, their stoic demeanor making them excellent action figure fodder.
Bruisers sometimes become as famous as Faces, but don't tend to have as much staying power. Cast Members however, rely on bruisers to come through when the chips are down, occasionally holding back for a dramatic entry just when things look their bleakest.
The Bruiser can use Klout without benefitting the Antagonists and recovers additional Klout when delivering the final blow to an important enemy.
THE SAVANT
Complimenting the Bruiser's Brawn with Brains, the Savant is the Cast's resident techie/hacker/closet academic with a thing for dead languages. Great with older audiences and females of a number of species, Savants usually have their names slapped onto a Season's novelization.
Savants are at their most advantageous position when researching or planning. While Savants have been known to perform great feats of engineering on the fly, the hottest Savants mostly have a head for tactics and for using whatever's on hand to outperform the enemy.
The Savant can burn Klout to perform a complex action at a fraction of the time. While the Savant's Arc remains unresolved, only half of the Klout used by the Cast transfers to the Antagonists.
THE ANTI
Just as every boy band needs a 'bad apple', so every Cast needs an Anti (short for anti-hero), to counter balance the Cast's moral leaning. Whether they choose to never let an opponent escape with their life or choose to use questionable means to help those in need, Antiheros are really big with the young adult demographic.
Antis are at their most advantageous when acting contrary to the Cast. Usually, Antis culminate their Arcs with climactic battles against friends or when they exact elaborate or bloody revenge against a despicable foe but some Antis have been known to maintain more relatable flaws, such as a drive to do anything for a loved one.
The Anti can restore Klout by placing themselves in harm's way during combat. Completing a Season Goal also complete restores the Anti's Klout, while also increasing their Klout maximum.
THE BROKEN
Some heroes are shaped by tragedy. Whether granted powers by freakish accidents, evil gods or as a response to personal tragedy, the Broken strive to do as much good as they can even as the world breaks them. While not hot on Sponsors, the Broken do tend to boost a Team's Klout, when participating effectively.
Broken are at their strongest when they hurt. Whether driven by some horror in their lives or the need to protect a long-ago lost loved one, the Broken will take great risks to save the weak and cherish those closest to them, despite their differences.
The Broken grant Klout to the rest of the cast, when performing acts of self-sacrifice and receive Extra Klout when an Antagonists uses up their own.
THE JESTER
Whether an unintentional comedian, a horribly lost outsider or a Face without the looks, a Jester is always quick with a joke and the first to bring out the absurdity of it all. Sponsors like him, but the Jester can take away from the gravity of a scene, which isn't always in the Cast's favor.
Jesters are at their strongest when they embarrass their enemies or when they manage to turn a situation comical. Some Jesters do so in more direct ways, while others choose to become straight men in the madness that has become of OERTH.
Jesters gain additional Klout when disrupting an Antagonists' attack or scheme. They also gain additional maximum Klout when completing their Season Goals.
OTHER ARCHETYPES
Players are more than welcome to mix and match the Archetypes they choose, provided that they are all made within the trappings of a Cast. Examples include: THE STRAIGHT MAN, THE LOVE SCORNED, THE BANISHED, etc.
When making an Archetype, players must negotiate with their GMs, deciding on their archetype's Demographic Appeal, their strongest suite and how what they do affects their and the Cast's Klout.
Cast Klout
While each player's Klout is uniquely suited to them, players can also establish a Cast Klout, which they can all tap into when the chips are down. Tapping into the Cast Klout requires a specific trigger, with examples including:
-The Power of friendship
-A Desperate Act!
-Last-Second switcheroo
-Action Montage
etc...
The Klout pool is determined at the beginning of the season, with its maximum deducted from the player's personal Klout maximum. The players can then invest in the pool at the beginning of each session and draw from it. The Klout pool replenishes only when the players take a quantifiable step toward achieving their Season Goal.
Using Cast Klout however, results in upping the Ante (see below)
Antagonist Klout
Klout separates the Mooks from the proper bad guys and as such, Klout is only available to Minor and Major Villains. As a rule of thumb, a Minor Villain can have up to 1/3 of the highest Klout of the Team, while a Major Villain can have up to half the Klout allowed in the genre.
However, Villains can invest Klout into their Mooks, granting them the ability to perform temporarily amazing feats. Mooks that survive this ordeal can then become Villains in themselves, if the GM chooses to do so.
Unlike player characters, Villains can't recover Klout and instead shuffle it around. Any Villains killed without having expended their Klout have it transferred over to the Major Villain, to increase their power in the climactic confrontation.
Increasing a Major Villain's Klout to above their maximum allowed in this manner, will up the Ante. This will result in an immediate boost to all Mooks and Minor Villains, or a flat, all-stat boost to a Major Villain. Alternatively, Major Villains can immediately burn out their excess Ante and their Klout to escape certain death and instantly heal themselves during the final showdown.
But the Cast can't hope to get much done unless they can catch the eye of the right people, as we will see in our next installment, titled: FLAUNT IT BABY, YEAH!
