Reboot the CU Uuniverse, WWYD?

[Mark Rand]

This is what we’re given about Coastal City in the 3E module Atlas Unleashed.  Items in [] are my additions.

 

Coastal City Bay [the harbor?], Coastal City Museum of Fine Arts, the swank Birdmore Hotel, Coastal Metro Power Company, Wayne Air Force Base (located outside Coastal City), overburdened freeway system, [Intersection of] Navigation Boulevard and Loop Highway, one of the many factories that line the channel [a river that either feeds the harbor or connects the harbor to the bay], nearby NASA telemetry station, Old Military Road leads to the air force base.

[Clonus]

On 7/20/2020 at 6:36 PM, specks said:

I was thinking about the timeline in the universe. I would also remove the "with magic gone supers will go". I would also like to see how superheroes and villains would interact eras like the Terran Empire.

 

 

I used to have three distinct timelines, one where magic goes away, one where magic gets totally out of control and the Earth is mostly depopulated and still recovering in the 30th century and one that maintained the current balance so that there are superheroes and supervillains in every century although they vary in prominence.  

[DShomshak]

This is a publication thing rather than a content thing, but I'd go back to giving every character three plot seeds. I think it's an excellent way of showing how to use the character -- more concrete than the "Campaign Use" section of the character sheet.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Chris Goodwin]

On 8/12/2020 at 12:40 PM, Scott Ruggels said:

I don’t have as much of a problem with fictional countries especially if they are small. Even Marvel did it with Latvaria. We did it ourselves for our D. I. Runs back in the 80’s and 90’s. Viva Costa Diego!
 

Marc is working on an update of San Angelo. I have urged him to produce a proper detailed map. 

 

I used Val Verde for my Danger International run last year at GameStorm.  

[Mark Rand]

I'm using my own version of an updated San Angelo with Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood and the southwestern part of its Shadyside neighborhood servicing as the basis for the University Commons. 

 

The city's Shinto shrine is now in that neighborhood, too, along with UMC Children's Hospital of San Angelo.  UMC also owns The Saint Mary's Hospital System.

 

Samuel Brackett City Park is based primarily on Pittsburgh's Highland and Schenley Parks and the Justice Foundation Headquarters, along with the superteam base, is now in University Commons.

[Lord Liaden]

4 hours ago, DShomshak said:

This is a publication thing rather than a content thing, but I'd go back to giving every character three plot seeds. I think it's an excellent way of showing how to use the character -- more concrete than the "Campaign Use" section of the character sheet.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

Yes! I loved those plot seeds in Fifth Edition. I've lost count of how many times they suggested uses for a character that would never have occurred to me. OTOH I got a kick out of Steve Long asking to put one of my posted plot suggestions into a book.

[Scott Ruggels]

us West Coasters know nothing of Pittsburgh, or snow. 😁

[Tjack]

21 minutes ago, Scott Ruggels said:

us West Coasters know nothing of Pittsburgh, or snow. 😁

    On behalf of those of us who will be breaking our backs shoveling mountains of snow, freezing our tailbones off waiting for a bus or train, or playing live action bumper cars on icy streets in just a very few weeks....

       DIE SUN-BELT BOY!!!!!!

[Lord Liaden]

3 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:

us West Coasters know nothing of Pittsburgh, or snow. 😁

See those really, really tall rocks with white tops, and all the cars driving toward them with planks and sticks tied to their roofs? Check there for the second.

 

For the first, you're on your own.

[Lord Liaden]

Any impressions of Bay City, from the New Millennium setting?

[greypaladin_01]

I will admit it has been years since I REALLY dug into New Millennium, but my memory's impression was that it was pretty solid in concept with alot of good overview and some details but there was alot of inconsistency and continuity mistakes in it.  But nothing that a little GMing cant patch.    I'll have to dig out my books to look over it a bit closer.

[Clonus]

I kind of liked the idea that the original Doctor Destroyer had died due to being older than dirt.  

[Lord Liaden]

18 hours ago, Clonus said:

I kind of liked the idea that the original Doctor Destroyer had died due to being older than dirt.  

 

Because Destroyer almost never takes off his armor, it would be child's play for someone wearing it to assume his identity without the world realizing it. It strikes me that this could make for an interesting route to bring back Professor Muerte. Who would be more appropriate to succeed Albert Zerstoiten, than his former protege? I realize that officially Steve Long killed Muerte (very thoroughly at that), but DD has only had difficulty cloning his own unique DNA. His techniques work quite well on others, like his minion Hammerhead.

[greypaladin_01]

While I know Steve Long had reasons for killing off Muerte (licensing maybe, i don't recall) I find it a lost opportunity.  As far as a Dr. Doom type character that your average hero group could actually face more directly he filled a good gap.   As mentioned with Dr. Destroyer, his power growth makes it so he is almost entirely regulated to background status, direct conflict will wipe most 'standard' level hero teams.

 

You could make the argument that 'standard' should not be facing him, but why have iconic villians if you can't actually face them at some point?  Muerte served as a great Doom style enemy for earlier in campaigns for me so was a bit sad to see him removed.

[Lord Liaden]

As I recall his remarks on the subject, Steve Long had other characters in mind as second-tier master villains, and considered Prof. Muerte redundant with Destroyer as a powered-armor scientist. IIRC he particularly noted Holocaust as one occupant of that niche. On that level Steve also introduced the Warlord, powered armor with a different style and background.

 

I know licensing wasn't an issue, because I myself received permission to revive Muerte for an issue of Digital Hero. There are also two licensed related source books along similar lines.

 

https://www.herogames.com/store/product/350-digital-hero-44/

https://www.herogames.com/store/product/564-villainy-codex-ii-the-return-of-terror-inc-pdf/

https://www.herogames.com/store/product/598-sids-report-terror-inc-pdf/

 

[Spence]

On 8/10/2020 at 8:24 PM, Scott Ruggels said:

So I guess keep Hudson City,

 

Even if you don't want the book itself.  The City Map is worth keeping. 

[Spence]

On 8/12/2020 at 12:40 PM, Scott Ruggels said:

Marc is working on an update of San Angelo. I have urged him to produce a proper detailed map. 

 

Hopefully it will be "detailed but not too detailed"

One of the reasons I really liked HC was the map was like a modern street map.  It showed the streets, alleys and blocks.  The only buildings with specific marks locations are things like Precinct houses, government building and things like the Opera House, Schools and Universities.   Everything else was referred to as being on a street buy not actually marked and the building were not drawn in. 

 

This gives you maximum flexibility without needing to "build" the entire map. 

 

 

[Lord Liaden]

One thing I'd like to see in the current CU is a cyberneticist/bionicist supervillain. The setting has a bunch of criminal geneticists -- Teleios, Dr. Moreau, the Overbrain, King Cobra, Fenris, Hornet -- but no scientist whose specialty is bionic enhancement. ARGENT does that kind of work, and even Moreau has dabbled in it, but there are no active villains dedicated to that motif. That would offer great potential for both villain and hero origins. 4E had Doc Digital and his Cy-Force; Heinous and Despite of Cyborgs Inc.; not to mention the never-revealed Dr. Samuel Levy and his cyborg panthers.

 

Champions Online introduced an in-game version of Cyberlord, a background character from Scott Bennie's campaign which formed the basis for Champions Of The North, and who helped create the Canadian cyborg superhero Justiciar. Subsequent to that introduction, Scott wrote up an "unofficial" bio for Cyberlord. Contract bionic enhancement was a major source of his income. That might be a character our tabletop side of the hobby could adapt.

[Lord Liaden]

For the curious, I'll link to Cyberlord's CO artwork and attach Scott's bio.

 

Cyberlord background Bennie.rtf

[steriaca]

Well, there is also my fan villain Black Gear, and his organization also called Black Gear. But let's face it, he is a fan character. 

[Lord Liaden]

Every character is a fan character unless and until it's published.

[steriaca]

47 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

Every character is a fan character unless and until it's published.

One of these days I got to sit down and write him up for the wiki.