FenrisUlf Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 Okay... now let's try this *again*. It's one thing for your superhero (or villain) to socialize and have fun when all they need to do is put on a tux or dress, but what about eveyrone who can't stick their head out the door without someone calling animal control or PRIMUS? ("Sorry for blasting you with our new meson cannon, Unstoppable Creep; we got a report of a hideous, revolting monster out here.") Wouldn't the werewolves, radiation-spawned monsters, lizard men, and butt-ugly aliens all need a place too? While I think an online community just for physically altered metas would almost certainly pop up, even the most gruesome folks need a place to sit and have a face to face. What could fill this function in a mostly Silver/Bronze Age world past the usual answer of 'a bar'? I'd appreciate anything here relating to socialization aside from fighting among supers, esp. the weirder-looking kind. And sorry for the mess-up before; must be something wrong with the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 Well, the first thought that came to mind was that Dr. Silverback (Found in Millennium City) would be a good founder/patron for such a place. Perhaps making it sort of a private gentleman's club (Informal compared to some) instead of the typical bar would be more in the good doctor's style Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterdeath Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 Originally posted by FenrisUlf Wouldn't the werewolves, radiation-spawned monsters, lizard men, and butt-ugly aliens all need a place too? While I think an online community just for physically altered metas would almost certainly pop up, What, the Hero Games boards aren't good enough... even the most gruesome folks need a place to sit and have a face to face. What could fill this function in a mostly Silver/Bronze Age world past the usual answer of 'a bar'? I'd appreciate anything here relating to socialization aside from fighting among supers, esp. the weirder-looking kind. And sorry for the mess-up before; must be something wrong with the forum. The Sanctuary/Neutral Ground type of place, for those who have those old suppliments... I like the idea of some sort of club/bar/resort in the middle of nowhere. Where you don't have to sneak past a bunch of normals, and can get to easy. Somewhere uninhabited, but centrally located. Like ... Iowa. Which also explains why there's little supercrime there. Iowa. The whole state is Neutral Ground. Anyone violating that gets a massive spanking from the ugliest superbeings around, because you're messing in their backyards. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 Wasn't Monster Island just the location of a social club headed by Godzilla? I like this idea. I'm not sure it would get much play in my game, unless I wanted to make all my players make Monsterous PCs... which actually sounds kinda cool. Try this one: Baba Yaga's Hut. The legend has evolved to where instead of being a house that walks, it's got some more modern form of locomotion, like teleportation. It perhaps "appears" at pre-designated spots around the world, and those in the know (Monsters) who wish to enter can appear at the location. I imagine it's a hall far bigger on the inside than the outside, and it may disguise itself to a degree, blending in with the environment around it. ...This is sounding like fun... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 Especially if you have "Little Grandmother" being treated with deference by even giant radioactive lizards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 As the person in my group known as 'The Furry Player', I find this quite interesting. Ironically, most of my characters would still slap on the tux and go out acting like he should blend in seamlessly, as The Beast often does (or did ... I haven't read comics in a while). I could definitely see a 'Gentleman's Club' or similar upscale place set up by Dr. Silverback ... though you don't want to call it a Gentleman's Club, since that would exclude the female freaks ... or the ones with no sex, or both sexes ... Can you imagine what the insignias on the bathrooms at that place must look like? But at least Ogre could find steady work as a bouncer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakboy6117 Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 This reminds me of Biers a bar in the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels. Where the undead denizens of Ankh Morpork go to be themselves. I think the interesting thing would be the community spirit. I kind of imagine a support group for people who turn into radioactive monstrosities and the people who love them meeting upstairs. Its nice someone you can turn too who has been in the same boat. Its good to have a place where you can find people who know where to go for medical and legal advice after you eat that toxic waste truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEmerged Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 This is the main reason I don't think Sanctuary/Neutral Grounds is out of place in a "realisitc" superhero environment. If it doesn't exist someone will eventually find an untapped market and create it. Mind you, I doubt you'd have Dr. Destroyer casually showing up to play chess (the way Sanctuary was portrayed in 4th Edition) but I could definitely see a group like CLOWN, GRAB, or the Ultimates showing up & rubbing shoulders with The Champions and Protectors... especially if Sanctuary is being run by something equivalent to Aberrant's "Teragen" -- a group that feels super-powered people should hang out with their own kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayday Posted February 2, 2004 Report Share Posted February 2, 2004 There could also be an underground pit combat style arena where their weirdness would actually be admired by the people who go there and watch people fight or fight themselves. Loud music, lots of cheap food, a permanent party/fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug McCrae Posted February 3, 2004 Report Share Posted February 3, 2004 Q: How did weird looking freaks socialise in the Silver and Bronze Ages? A: They formed superhero teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted February 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2004 Originally posted by CrosshairCollie As the person in my group known as 'The Furry Player', I find this quite interesting. Ironically, most of my characters would still slap on the tux and go out acting like he should blend in seamlessly, as The Beast often does (or did ... I haven't read comics in a while). Hmm, I'd like to know what/who your current character is... And yes, there is a lot of fun in the idea of a character who looks bizarre, yet acts like he's 100% normal. I could definitely see a 'Gentleman's Club' or similar upscale place set up by Dr. Silverback ... though you don't want to call it a Gentleman's Club, since that would exclude the female freaks ... or the ones with no sex, or both sexes ... Can you imagine what the insignias on the bathrooms at that place must look like? Easy -- 'Men', 'Women', and 'Things' And thanks everyone for the responses; Doc Silverback sounds like the perfect choice for the kind of guy to start up 'MC Gentlebeasts' Club'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 An organization/facility like this could also provide services that such beings would have difficulty obtaining in the wider world, like medical care with expertise in dealing with alien/unusual physiologies, or counselling for mutates dealing with their alterations or aliens unable to fit into Earth's culture(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengal Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 Don't forget universities. Lots of social engineering goes on in university admissions, and I'm sure each one of them would have a few "freak out monster" scholarships. Teen Wolf would not seem so weird in the Champs Universe, which somehow makes it a less-attractive place to be for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamrok Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 This has been an interesting theme in one of our games (run by the board's very own Zornwil). In that game, pretty much all supers are mutants of one sort or another, and the general public is, at best, wishy washy about how they feel about mutants. There seem to be at least two strata of mutant "clubs" - underground, and very underground. Being in one of these clubs certainly would not deter a hero from apprehending a villain if he saw one. Characters pick up mutant-community gossip, find out a bit more about things they read about in the news, make business connections, and maybe do a little snooping. In addition to this, the campaign just survived the first anniversary of "Origin" a town for mutants created in the desert (unfortunately it was levelled by the feds.) The anniversary bash was more like a huge convention, I guess. Disguises were easy to come by, and lots of the participants wore disguises in order to make those who actually needed disguises blend in a bit better. At this point in the campaign, there's a big battle between the "support humanity" mutants and the "enslave humanity" mutants. Events like this, with a lot of mutants present thus become somewhat compulsory. Nevertheless, it provided for many memorable role-playing exchanges, and for playing characters in a somewhat different role (characters have their public faces, their private faces, and their "talking shop" faces.) I never really liked the idea of a safe haven where good guys played chess and ping pong with villains. It seemed too contrived, and too problematic with the aims of federal (and international) law enforcement. But, in this campaigns, these kinds of gatherings make a lot of sense given the nature of being a mutant, and the fact that, as I mentioned above, the vast majority of mutants are neither heroes or villains. Lamrok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneDaddy Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 I imagine something like a speak-easy. Maybe a look-easy. Villans would have thier haunts, good guys would have theirs. Fellowship is all well and good, but if you're a villain, our common bond of being funny looking is insufficient to overcome our other differences. I'm running a mini with my wife - two (very funny looking) aliens stranded in New Orleans. I hadn't considered the funny looking people's underground. I'll have to add that. I have wanted to run a Night Breed campaign, starting just after the fall of Midian. Midian is a place where the monsters can be themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rechan Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 This is a cool idea! I have always liked the idea of Sort've a Neutral ground. In that, there ARE some "villains" who fit right in with "heros"; for instance, Magneto. Magneto isn't a world domination, megalomaniac, and if he can be civil with Charles and the other X-Men, he sure as hell could walk in and socialize. And then there are villains who wouldn't want to associate with other villains, for that matter: Imagine Firewing, or some "villain" who sees what they are doing as honorable, rubbing elbows with criminals? It just doesn't work out. But a support group and a sort've social network sounds neato. Monsters Anonymous? "Hi, I'm Grock." "HI GROCK!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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