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INTO THE GAUNTLET

Campaign 1 - Session 1

The kids find themselves way in over their heads on their first day at AKA when they're trapped in the Academy's Gauntlet training room and it tries to kill them with it's incredibly immersive supervillain simulation.

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Meet Hunter Solomon ⚡

Son of the famed hero, Thunder Solomon, Hunter is basically superhero royalty. With his mother as the leader of the Vanguard, he has an all but guaranteed spot on the team in his future, and he knows it. Though deeply loyal to his friends, he’s cocky to a fault, and abrasive to many.

Having inherited his mother’s electrokinetic abilities, Hunter is a powerhouse with the training, privilege, and attitude to back it up. Hunter is determined to follow in his mother’s footsteps and become a great superhero, but the weight of that legacy might prove to be heavier than he can bear.

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Meet Leo Wynton 🔎

Brilliant but wary, Leonard initially enrolled into Alpha King Academy with an enthusiasm & eagerness to learn. But starting as a 12 year old student amongst his several 15 years old and older peers, quickly led to him feeling self-conscious and isolated.

Leo is a genius, with no alpha abilities to speak of. He earned his way into the academy by being a prodigy with outstanding grades. He could’ve skipped even more grades directly into senior year, or potentially freshman year in college, but his parents opted to keep him in classes a little closer to his age to help him develop his social skills. That, however, would prove to be easier said than done.

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Meet Kai Tomás 💾

A smart, nerdy, tech genius with a kind heart. Kai was a young alpha with technopathic abilities growing up in the foster care system until eventually being adopted by Three Kings member, King Sphinx. Being taken under Sphinx’s wing, Kai got a beeline to Alpha King Academy and the privileges that came with being the principal’s kid.

In his second year at AKA, Kai acted as the student guide to the new kids Achara, Colt, Diarmuid, Moira, & Will on their first day. This culminates in an exercise gone wrong after messing around in the training gauntlet, nearly getting them all killed and sent to detention. But when the others find Kai deceased in his room the next night, they quickly understand that this was no accident.

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It's Achara's birthday today, November 24! Here is my darling sagittarius lizard, in her season 2 look :)

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Meet Kid Condor 🪶🐣

A determined domino (sidekick) to the one and only Commander Condor, Kid Condor spent his early years as a vigilante fighting crime without proper accreditation. Starting out working mostly in the shadows, eventually his antics came to light and he grew in notoriety. He could no longer perform his vigilantism without enrolling in and completing an official super hero training program to receive the necessary sidekick or "hero trainee" credentials. Thus, he is enrolled into AKA.

KC entered the academy feeling annoyed and confident that he already knew everything there was to know about being a hero and had nothing else to learn. As far as he was concerned he was just had to go through the motions until he could get through the program and get back to doing what he does best. But his apathy soon turns into intrigue when a dark mystery on campus revealed itself, begging to be solved.

Going only by his hero name and never being seen without his mask, KC is somewhat of a mystery to his classmates. Nonetheless, he is a good leader, a capable guide to the world of heroics, a master detective, and a trusted ally.

You can find more info on Kid Condor here.

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Meet Will Smalls 🎯

A super fan of all things superhero, Will Smalls is the embodiment of a courageous underdog. Having never known his father, he spent the majority of his life with his police officer mom, Sarah, from whom he picked up all of his noble & Samaritan traits. Since childhood he idolized and aspired after the superhero lifestyle. He studied and followed the exploits of “capes”, learning about their stats, their abilities, their histories, and more. He long had dreams of becoming a hero himself, even before he discovered his alpha abilities. Only did that dream come one step closer to reality when he was accepted into Alpha King Academy.

Will arrives at AKA with big hopes for his superhero future, eager to make friends, and excited to be roommates with one of his favorite heroes, Kid Condor. But all of that is thrown into jeopardy when he’s thrust deep into a conspiracy that puts his life and the lives of his new companions at risk. He quickly finds himself in over his head, but he’s desperate to do the right thing to solve the mystery at large to save lives.

Unbeknownst to him, something at the center of this nefarious plot ties directly back to him and he doesn’t know why. Once he discovers the truth, he finds out his presence has more impact on the state of things than he previously imagined. You can find more info on Will here.

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Meet Will Smalls 🎯

A super fan of all things superhero, Will Smalls is the embodiment of a courageous underdog. Having never known his father, he spent the majority of his life with his police officer mom, Sarah, from whom he picked up all of his noble & Samaritan traits. Since childhood he idolized and aspired after the superhero lifestyle. He studied and followed the exploits of “capes”, learning about their stats, their abilities, their histories, and more. He long had dreams of becoming a hero himself, even before he discovered his alpha abilities. Only did that dream come one step closer to reality when he was accepted into Alpha King Academy.

Will arrives at AKA with big hopes for his superhero future, eager to make friends, and excited to be roommates with one of his favorite heroes, Kid Condor. But all of that is thrown into jeopardy when he’s thrust deep into a conspiracy that puts his life and the lives of his new companions at risk. He quickly finds himself in over his head, but he’s desperate to do the right thing to solve the mystery at large to save lives.

Unbeknownst to him, something at the center of this nefarious plot ties directly back to him and he doesn’t know why. Once he discovers the truth, he finds out his presence has more impact on the state of things than he previously imagined. You can find more info on Will here.

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Meet Moira Mercia-Ward 🧶

Tacitly troubled and perpetually anxious, Moira struggles to find her purpose separate from what’s been laid out for her by her family. Like plenty of other kids, Moira comes from home with separated parents and all the drama that entails. But there’s more to her story, and it’s something she desperately wishes to keep secret. Moira is supported by her loving father, Winston, but is also burdened by the legacy of her powers which stem from her mother, Malena, also known as the villain Filanesse.

Having their lives upended by her mother’s villainous deeds, and seeking ways to better control or even suppress her powers, Moira is enrolled into Alpha King Academy. Despite the shiny and impressive allure of AKA, Moira arrives at the campus with more nerves than enthusiasm. The fear of her family’s secret getting out and the fear of losing control over her unpredictable powers weighs heavily on her, especially when other students start getting close to the truth.

But despite her best efforts to resist, fate or misfortune keeps pulling her into this mess that her and her new friends have discovered. And eventually she realizes she’s tied more to this conspiracy than she’d like to admit. She must learn one way or another how to embrace her powers if she’s going to get through this, all while maintaining control… or not.

You can read more about Moira here.

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Meet Diarmuid O'Ceallaigh 👼

Healers are such a rarity in this world that they are often considered miracles of alpha biology. And in the eyes of young Diarmuid, that was certainly the case. Born an only child to two loving parents from the small village of Wicklow, Ireland, Diarmuid was raised with the belief that his healing touch was a gift from God. With his family being closely involved with the Arduist Church, Diarmuid was placed on the path to join the clergy and follow in the footsteps of his mentor, Father Dougald. Working under Dougald in their monastery, Diarmuid studied the word of God and further developed his gift, knowing it was meant for a grander purpose.

But soon he learns that even his gift of healing had its limits. Aoife, a close friend who’s practically like his little sister, falls terminally ill and passes before he has a chance to help her. Determined to not let her go so easily, he makes a last-ditch effort to bring her back from death. But it doesn’t work, and nearly kills him in the process. Being left weakened and potentially seriously altered in the fallout of this attempt, the church decides to send Diarmuid to the United States and enroll him into Alpha King Academy.

With hopes of getting help to hone his skills and learn more about what he’s capable of, Diarmuid leaves his family & home behind to study abroad, with Father Dougald tagging along to guide him. The young monk finds himself halfway across the globe, surrounded by new faces, and beset by the culture shock of Halcyon City. But he faces his future with an open and optimistic heart. Though, try as he might to adjust to his new life, the chaos of the Academy, the expectations of the Arduist Church, and the threat of an unwinding conspiracy all have different plans for him in mind.

You can read more about Diarmuid here.

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Meet Colt Arvidsson 🧱

Tough as concrete and just as dense, Colt has been shaped and hardened by his harsh upbringing in Halcyon’s seedy South End. From foster care to the Hellions gang, Colt had to scrounge and scrape his way through life using his intimidating strength to help him along the way. As a result Colt learned the easiest solutions to most of life’s problems is barreling through them with brute strength, and for a while that strategy worked. With his surrogate big brother, Brody Ashford, they became a formidable duo in the Hellion ranks under the leadership of their uncle Cygnus Conway.

But after Brody causes an incident that leads to someone’s death, Colt ends up caught at the scene and arrested for the crime. Unwilling to give up his older brother, Colt is sentenced to juvenile detention to spend the rest of his adolescence there. But things change when Colt is propositioned with an opportunity: Forgo the remainder of his sentence by attending Alpha King Academy, and fully completing the lesson course to graduation.

Determined to carry out his new sentence in the Academy and keep his head down without any incidents, the overarching conspiracy seeks to disrupt those plans. Try as he might to avoid trouble, trouble keeps finding him and his newfound companions. And his bonds between his new friends and his old family are put to the test, pushing him to decide where his loyalties truly lie.

You can read more about Colt here.

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Meet Achara Singhaboon 🦎

A lizard-hybrid girl born to two wealthy parents into a life of privilege, Achara has been a rebellious force of nature her entire life. Growing up with the label of a genetically engineered "designer baby" left her with resentment towards her strict parents and the high level of expectations they had for her. Her father, Rama, and her mother, Ratchanee often demand perfection from their teenage daughter but rarely ever receive it. Achara couldn’t be less bothered by school, grades, or status, and only really cares about her bunny-hybrid younger brother, Asawin and her rat-hybrid best friend, Emil.

In an effort to put Achara on the right track her parents enroll her into Alpha King Academy, hoping the program will mold her into a responsible, respectful, and reputable young woman. Achara isn't convinced, however, and is more concerned with the recent disappearance of Emil. She expected to coast through the program as apathetically as possible until she's unknowingly pulled into the center of a dangerous conspiracy alongside a handful of other new kids.

As the mystery unfolds she learns there is much more to her own story that she was never aware of. She takes an eye opening and frightening deep dive into her origins, discovering she was originally a part of something much bigger and was meant for more than she ever realized. Her life as she knew it essentially turns out to be a lie, but with her newfound friends she's able to overcome the new threats that are now after her.

You can read more about Achara here.

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2019 vs 2024

The very first poster I drew of all the kids vs 5 years later after finally knowing how to draw them. And there's plenty more where this came from.

-GM

(Left to right: Moira, Colt, Diarmuid, Will, & Achara)

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This is the official tumblr for the ttrpg campaign, Alpha King Academy. AKA is a story that takes place in a world with super powered beings called alphas, and follows the adventures of a ragtag group of students attending the titular superhero academy. It's a homebrew game, based off of the Masks: A New Generation system.

AKA isn't a live play show that can be watched publicly, it's just a game between a group of friends who like to share their experiences & appreciation for the game online. This tumblr is a place to share art, stories, & other creative elements from the game for anyone interested in the world we've built.

There's more cool stuff to come from this epic tale of superhero action, high stakes drama, and teen angst. Welcome to Alpha King Academy!

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Our GM @ sktchmstrskllz on Twitter, made a trailer for the new season! He showed it to us after the excellent Beach Bash (we celebrated Dee’s birthday and being alive 🥹) and I haven’t been able to function since.

September can’t be here soon enough!

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AND WE RETURN! Playing an AKA one-shot today, Moira and her friends are heading to the beach for what I'm sure is going to be a great time where nothing stressful happens at all. Just giggles and goofs all day. Right? Right.

Right. 🙄

(Really leaned hard onto more 70s-inspired shapes and colors in Moira's outfit, I'm liking it for her so far!)

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Every fandom needs one of these, right? Right.

(Diarmuid loves spooky things. Colt hates them but will be big brave boy. Achara will fight whatever is on the other side of this hallway. Will is not about it, protec not attac. Don't startle Moira. KC is just trying to get them through this.)