Arc II, Chapter 29: Cold on the Trail

Player Tropes:

(I would like to remind readers that this is a reference. I will describe tropes before they come up. You don’t have to read this unless you want to)

Riley Lawrence is the Film Buff.

Having risen to level 25, he can equip 9 tropes and one background instead of 8.

“Trope Master” grants him the ability to perceive enemy tropes, but at the cost of sacrificing half of his Plot Armor.

“Cinema Seer” buffs the Savvy and Grit of his allies when they hear him predict cinematic and impactful plot elements.

As an “Oblivious Bystander,” Riley remains untargeted by enemies as he convincingly acts oblivious to their presence.

“Escape Artist” buffs his Hustle to help enact plausible escape plans.

“The Insert Shot” makes allies aware of an object the player chooses. The object will be shown to the audience and its use will be buffed in the Finale.

“Director’s Monitor” allows him to watch the rest of the storyline after his demise via Deathwatch.

“Flashback Revelation” allows him to communicate with allies from Deathwatch through flashbacks to his past dialogue.

“Casting Director” gives him a summary of his team’s roles in the storyline.

“My Grandmother Had the Gift…” A background trope that gives Riley’s character some ambiguous connection to “The Gift” through his heritage.

“Cutaway Death” sends him Off-Screen before the moment of his character’s implied demise and allows him to exist behind the scenes Written Off if he survives the encounter.

He did not equip “Coming To A Theater Near You,” “I Don’t Like It Here…,” “Out Like a Light,” “Location Scout,” “The Wrong Reel,” “Raised by Television,” “What Doesn’t Kill Them Makes Them Angry,” or “Dead Man Walking.”

I had about a dozen combos I wanted to try, but I didn’t want to mess around with the Tutorial. I would have to make some time to experiment afterward.

Kimberly Madison is the Eye Candy.

“Convenient Backstory” allows her to believably change her backstory to assist with the current task, buffing the relevant stat.

“Social Awareness” allows her to see the Moxie stat of all enemies and NPCs.

“Get a Room!” boosts the odds of important discoveries when exploring with a love interest during the party.

“A Hopeless Plea” forces the captor to explicitly deny her release when she asks to be released.

“Pregnancy Reveal” buffs her Grit when she pretends that she is pregnant and buffs the father’s Mettle if she dies.

“When in Rome” buffs her Grit until Rebirth if her performance matches the tone of the movie.

“Does anyone have a scrunchie?” allows her to shift Moxie’s points into another stat by putting her hair up.

“Carousel Academy Awards” buffs her Moxie based on the quality of her performance in the previous storyline.

She did not equip “A Lip Cease,” “Looks Don’t Last,” “Typecast,” “Breaking the Veil of Silence,” “The Woman in Mourning,” or “That’s What I Said!”.

Antoine Stone is the Athlete.

His “You were having a nightmare…” trope allows him to repress or heal mental trauma (he is not strong enough to use its plot-resetting powers yet).

“Gym Rat” buffs Mettle and Hustle by revealing athletic backstory.

“It’s Part of the Uniform” gives him higher Mettle when attacking with sports equipment.

“Just Walk It Off” heals the Hobbled status by walking.

“Knight in Shining Armor” buffs his Mettle and Grit when defending a love interest.

“Time Out!” allows him to go Off-Screen during a fight, reducing enemy aggression.

Brandishing a weapon is “Like a Security Blanket,”buffing his Grit and soothing his and his allies’ fear.

“Reload After Cut” allows him to go Off-Screen by reloading his gun.

He did not equip Swing Away,” “Off the Bench,” “Everyone Loves a Winner,” “The Playbook”, “A Race Against Time,” “Coyote in a Trap,” or “Bad Luck Magnet.” He also didn’t use “Play it Cool” because he worried that Carousel was planning something nefarious by giving it to him.

Dina Cano is the Outsider.

“Guarded Personality” resists all insight abilities.

“An Outsider’s Perspective” alerts her to new, out-of-place, or unusual information.

“Better Late Than Never” buffs Mettle and Hustle if she waits until the Finale to assist allies On-Screen against the enemy.

“A Haunted Past” A background trope that gives her character some past trauma that haunts her and gives her access to various tropes.

“Encouragement from Beyond” soothes her when stressed, scared, or in pain and may provide useful information.

“Outside Looking In” grants her the ability to discern ideal spots to linger and observe events without actively participating in the narrative.

“They Fell Off” allows her to quickly get out of handcuffs and similar restraints.

She can leave physical or mental messages in the story that her allies can detect when in the location she left them with “Pen Pal.”

“Light Fingers” buffs the player’s attempts at stealing items from the set.

She did not equip “You don’t know me, but…,” “Dark Secret,” or “They ruined the shot…”

Bobby Gill is The Wallflower.

“Background Noise” allows him to get background information from NPCs when Off-Screen.

“The Good Samaritan” buffs his Mettle and Grit for helping allies in a crisis if they have not met On-Screen and are strangers.

“Last-Minute Casting” recasts him as an NPC that is moderately involved in the plot. The selection is seemingly random. He will get some limited background information for the character and some access to the NPC script.

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“From Humble Beginnings” debuffs the player’s stats 30% in the Party, then but buffs them 15% in Rebirth, the Finale, and the Final Battle resulting in a net 15% buff by the end of the story.

“Craft Services Are The Real Heroes” ensures that there is edible food and water on set somewhere during the storyline.

“My Only Role is Exposition” gives him some useful information to be relayed On-Screen but takes it away if he starts to bore the audience.

“Actually, I’m a Veterinarian” changes his character’s background to being an animal doctor and allows certain tropes to be equipped.

“If you Can’t see it, it Won’t Bleed” allows him to temporarily mend wounds by covering them from the audience’s view.

“Remember Me?” allows him to promote his character to main cast by pretending to know them and introducing himself.

He did not equip “The Hidden Infection,” “The “Wisdom” of Crowds,” or “And That’s Lunch.”

Cassie Hughes is The Psychic.

“The Anguish” lets her see her allies’ health stats from anywhere and lets her take some of their pain by feeling it herself. This can reduce their overall injuries.

“We are not abandoned…” can keep her allies’ spirits high by weaving a narrative of some higher power in control. When done well, this trope can heal Incapacitation, certain forms of spiritual Infection, and even buff Grit.

“Reflective Jump Scare” allows her to get a glimpse of the enemy when she looks in a mirror, giving her some small insight into what is in store.

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