To Save The World

[AlgaeNymph]

For those who don't have too much free time and aren't conversant in obscure and seldom-relevant lore (and you probably homebrew anyway : p), To Save The World is a soap opera in the Champions setting, even more so than the heyday of the X-Men: 

Quote

One soap opera, To Save The World, features the adventures and travails of a fictional superhero team called Justice Force Omega; hundreds of thousands of “TSTW” fans tune in every day to find out things like whether Templar will keep the Pharaoh from destroying New York and discover that his teammate Charisma is carrying his baby.  (Champions Universe, p.55)

And besides a mention in Everyman (p.24, 108) and possibly Champions Battlegrounds (which I don't have...) there isn't anything else about it that I recall.

So what?  Let's flesh it out, just for fun, based on what we know or can extrapolate.  Particularly if using the adventure seed where Menton gets too into the show...  ; )

[death tribble]

First of all we need a cast of main characters and who the protagonists are going to be. Then what the main conflicts will be. How into it people will be would also be helpful.

 

I had the idea at a busy police station they have the TV on and the superhero soap opera would come on and everyone would be hooked. You have the scene where the soap opera hero is told by the villain that they have no choice but to work together only for a prisoner in cuffs in the station to yell out 'No, you know you can't trust him !' and the villain to betray the hero as expected.

[AlgaeNymph]

1 hour ago, death tribble said:

First of all we need a cast of main characters and who the protagonists are going to be. Then what the main conflicts will be. How into it people will be would also be helpful.

There're at least two heroes named Templar and Charisma, and at least two villains named Pharaoh and Hecate.  The show's been around for ~20 years as of ~2006 and had an amusement part based on the show completed in late 2003 (and if only I had more information on that...), so I'd say it's fairly popular.

 

As for what the show's like, it started in the late 80's and is described as a soap opera, so I'm guessing it's going to be a trope opera.  Especially since Travis Garver (the players of Templar) complained (rightly) of it becoming hackneyed.  I'd draw on the X-Men cartoons for inspiration regarding character interaction (combined with the occasional romance subplot from the DCAU, and possibly latter-day redeem-the-villain cartoons), with the series taking place in the kind of standard supers setting you see in RPGs.  Since it was created for syndicated television (almost certainly by a syndicate) before the era of Web-based cultural literacy, I expect the characters to be...archetypal, to put it politely.  For plot arcs, my intuition is to look at whichever kept-on-life-support shows have been making bank for Weekly Shōnen Jump.

[death tribble]

But we can decide who we want to have on the show as this is not official so if we do not have the same characters if we are 'supposed to be writing for 2021'.

 

Your view may vary

[Derek Hiemforth]

On 9/5/2021 at 9:53 AM, AlgaeNymph said:

...and possibly Champions Battlegrounds (which I don't have...) there isn't anything else about it that I recall.

 

To Save The World definitely features in Champions Battlegrounds.  In my "Fatal Attractions" scenario, the superhero-themed amusement park that Black Harlequin threatens is based on To Save The World and its characters.  BH is obsessed with the show, which is what drives his plot.  It also includes some additional information on various characters from the show.

[Tjack]

   Well, from being subjected to both the daytime and nightime soaps at different points in my life I know that there’s always a “bad boy” character of the “He’s not bad, he’s just misunderstood” variety in the mix somewhere. So let’s make him a brooding vigilante type called Night Angel.  That way Charisma can be torn between her forbidden love for him and the clean-cut Templar.

 

  Buffy/Angel/Riley.  OK so I’ll cop to the soapier aspects of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

[Steve]

Actually, one way to write this would be to take existing CU characters and tweak them into fitting on this show.

 

Charisma could have an evil female cousin named Night Glamour who was very loosely based on Talisman. Bonus points if the same actress played both roles.

 

 

[AlgaeNymph]

19 hours ago, Derek Hiemforth said:

It also includes some additional information on various characters from the show.

Ooo!  : )

What're they like?  What can they do?

[Jhamin]

On 9/6/2021 at 3:14 PM, Derek Hiemforth said:

To Save The World definitely features in Champions Battlegrounds.  In my "Fatal Attractions" scenario, the superhero-themed amusement park that Black Harlequin threatens is based on To Save The World and its characters.  BH is obsessed with the show, which is what drives his plot.  It also includes some additional information on various characters from the show.

 

In my game world the amusement park was shut down after all the murders Black Harlequin committed on opening day.  The show took a ratings hit when the guys who ran the biggest fan forum were killed by a detonating rollercoaster and thus the fan community was unable to unite in their time of grief.

 

My PCs saved lives, but were fairly traumatized by the whole thing.....

Foxbat swore vengeance on BH because some things just aren't cool.

[assault]

3 hours ago, Jhamin said:

Foxbat swore vengeance on BH because some things just aren't cool.

 

I wouldn't like to be Black Harlequin.

 

Sure, he's a psycho killer, but he's unlikely to get a chance to whack Foxbat. And without that...

 

Anyway, I expect the episode of To Save the World where Foxbat guest starred was probably somewhat controversial.

[Tjack]

1 hour ago, assault said:

 

I wouldn't like to be Black Harlequin.

 

Sure, he's a psycho killer, but he's unlikely to get a chance to whack Foxbat. And without that...

 

Anyway, I expect the episode of To Save the World where Foxbat guest starred was probably somewhat controversial.

    Did he appear as himself or in another role?  I’ve seen stuntcasting on real world TV shows done both ways.

[assault]

8 minutes ago, Tjack said:

    Did he appear as himself or in another role?  I’ve seen stuntcasting on real world TV shows done both ways.

 

No idea, since I just made it up!

[Tjack]

7 minutes ago, assault said:

 

No idea, since I just made it up!

    Well, don’t just sit there man!  Daydream!  NOW!!!   THAT’S AN ORDER, MISTER!!!!!

[Derek Hiemforth]

6 hours ago, Jhamin said:

 

In my game world the amusement park was shut down after all the murders Black Harlequin committed on opening day.  The show took a ratings hit when the guys who ran the biggest fan forum were killed by a detonating rollercoaster and thus the fan community was unable to unite in their time of grief.

 

My PCs saved lives, but were fairly traumatized by the whole thing.....

Foxbat swore vengeance on BH because some things just aren't cool.

 

Couldn't decide whether to react to this with "Haha" or "Sad," so I decided to just go with "Thanks!"  

 

EDIT:  Also, this seems like a good place to add... it's pretty ironic that "Fatal Attractions" ended up being my contribution to Champions Battlegrounds. Because my own Champions games tend to be much more 4-color, and I would probably never run a scenario like that in my own Champions campaign. I restrict my darker-toned adventures to my modern urban fantasy-type games.  🤣

[steriaca]

Templar of course is a twin and didn't know it. His evil twin is a sword wielder also named Curter .  Of course, the same actor played both, and for a while Cuter kidnapped Templar and took his place.

 

The only difference between them is a dueling scar on his face.

 

Sometime later, Cuter seemed to become a hero, only to get killed off. But eventually a new villain calling himself Cuter appeared, only for it to be the same guy who got his DNA altered so he doesn't look like Templar (and so another actor could protray him).

[steriaca]

Apollion is one of the big bad guys of the series. His true motives are unknown. He is extremely powerful and rairly shows up in the flesh. When he does show up, he is a red skinned man.

 

According to the show bible, Apollion is a sort of a mad scientist who developed a method of altering DNA, including himself. Because of this, whenever he does show up he has different powers because of his DNA altering technology.

 

Note: the DNA altering technology is also an excuse to explain having different actors playing certain villains and why some villains have inconstant powers. Even some heroes on the show undergo DNA altering. At least one villain has gone through gender change thanks to the DNA technology. 

[Steve]

10 hours ago, steriaca said:

Apollion is one of the big bad guys of the series. His true motives are unknown. He is extremely powerful and rairly shows up in the flesh. When he does show up, he is a red skinned man.

 

According to the show bible, Apollion is a sort of a mad scientist who developed a method of altering DNA, including himself. Because of this, whenever he does show up he has different powers because of his DNA altering technology.

 

Note: the DNA altering technology is also an excuse to explain having different actors playing certain villains and why some villains have inconstant powers. Even some heroes on the show undergo DNA altering. At least one villain has gone through gender change thanks to the DNA technology. 

I’m reminded of Doctor Who.

[steriaca]

1 hour ago, Steve said:

I’m reminded of Doctor Who.

The Doctor meets Oprah. "Look under your seats! You get a regeneration! And you get a regeneration!  And you get..."

[steriaca]

In the more heroic vein is Durmona. Durmona is a good aligned witch of a undeturmanable age. She appears as a pretty woman in her forties but has the wisdom of someone who has lived more than 200 years.

 

She prefers helping people with their problems than actual combat, othoe she is quite capable of casting combat spells. She had many lovers and had many lovers in the show. She doesn't believe in marriage. She can be rather humorous if the mood strikes her.

[Mark Rand]

Where can I get a copy of the show bible?

[steriaca]

1 hour ago, Mark Rand said:

Where can I get a copy of the show bible?

Ya don't.  You create it. We all create it, piece by piece. 

 

Also note that To Save The World  is primarily a soap opera. The focus of the show is relationships, not crime fighting. Crime fighting is a part of the show, but not the focus.

 

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoapOpera

[death tribble]

From Champions Battlegrounds:-

 

Justice Force Omega

 

The Templar is a knight with enchanted armour and sword, innate magic talents and knightly combat skills

 

Charisma possesses power to sway emotions and beliefs although she is careful in using said power.

 

The Bullet is a speedster and prankster. His powers are killing him but the team and the world need the Bullet

 

Shooting Star was an alien gladiator. Cosmic energy generation

 

Adamantine. This is the team brick. He invemted a process for bonding steel and stone and was caught in a laboratory accident

 

Justice Force Omega villains

 

The Pharaoh. Reincarnated spirit of an ancient and evil pharaoh inhabiting body of an Egyptologist. No powers listed

 

Hecate. Sister of Charisma. Was to breed with Templar to bring a demon baby to life to start a demonic hierarchy on Earth.

 

Captain Thunder. Super soldier programme volunteer who was a member of Justice Force Omega. Turned from true patriotism towards to intolerance and bigotry. Fights against anything he considers anti-American.

 

The Powermonger. garbed in a power armour suit. Has diplomatic immunity. Uses hordes of robots, clones, weapon platforms and other ultra high tech weapons.

[steriaca]

5 minutes ago, death tribble said:

From Champions Battlegrounds:-

 

Justice Force Omega

 

The Templar is a knight with enchanted armour and sword, innate magic talents and knightly combat skills

 

Charisma possesses power to sway emotions and beliefs although she is careful in using said power.

 

The Bullet is a speedster and prankster. His powers are killing him but the team and the world need the Bullet

 

Shooting Star was an alien gladiator. Cosmic energy generation

 

Adamantine. This is the team brick. He invemted a process for bonding steel and stone and was caught in a laboratory accident

 

Justice Force Omega villains

 

The Pharaoh. Reincarnated spirit of an ancient and evil pharaoh inhabiting body of an Egyptologist. No powers listed

 

Hecate. Sister of Charisma. Was to breed with Templar to bring a demon baby to life to start a demonic hierarchy on Earth.

 

Captain Thunder. Super soldier programme volunteer who was a member of Justice Force Omega. Turned from true patriotism towards to intolerance and bigotry. Fights against anything he considers anti-American.

 

The Powermonger. garbed in a power armour suit. Has diplomatic immunity. Uses hordes of robots, clones, weapon platforms and other ultra high tech weapons.

Thanks. We got a role call people. 

[death tribble]

I was answering AlgaeNymph's question. And if we adapt as a result so be it.

[steriaca]

Doctor Arcadia is another mad scientist type. He once tricked The Bullet into betraying the team by hanging a potential cure in front of his face. After a while, it became obvious that his clames of a cure was false.