Super Powers in Hudson City

[Doomed Prophet]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

I thought it was because of the "No free food for spandex wearers" at the eating establishments in Hudson City...

[Hermit]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

I thought it was because of the "No free food for spandex wearers" at the eating establishments in Hudson City...

 

The bastages...

[bubba smith]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

as to why supers aren't in hudson city,hows this there might have been somesupers at one time but were placed under restraining ordres not to operate within hudson city limits so realizing they were persona non grata in hc the decided to relocate to where their efforts were more apriecated

[Trebuchet]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

I just figure it's such a dismal and corrupt town that no one wants to live there unless they were born there. Why, in the superhero comics, do supers never live in New Jersey rather than New York? Why do billionaires gravitate to New York, Paris, or Los Angeles rather than Indianapolis?

 

I figure supers (hero and villain alike) prefer to go where the action is.

[assault]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

(With apologies to Frank Sinatra)

 

Start spreading the news

I'm leaving today

I want to be a part of it

Hudson, Hudson

 

These vagabond shoes

Are longing to stray

Right through the very heart of it

Hudson, Hudson

 

I wanna wake up in a city

That doesn't sleep

And find I'm king of the hill

Top of the heap

 

These little town blues

Are melting a way

I'll make a brand-new start of it

In old Hudson

 

If I can make it there

I'll make it anywhere

It's up to you

Hudson, Hudson

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

I'm modifying my original response.

 

Initially I said there was an artifact deep under Hudson City dating back to the Turakian Age. Now I'm saying Atlantean.

[bubba smith]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

It's a genre issue, pure and simple, to me. Hudson City is the Dark Champions city, Vibora Bay is the Mystic Champions city, Millenium City is the Super Champions city. They just don't interact except in rare 'crossovers'.

 

The fact that the 5e Dark Champions is a no-power-zone is one of the reasons I never picked it up (besides the whole 'I like CvKs').

"no-power zone"?

[bubba smith]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

hudson City Is The Starting Point For My Super Hero's Superpowers Game And Here Is Why.

 

1) I Want The Players To Understand Just How Powerful Their Characters Are Compared To Real Crime Thugs.

 

2) I Want The Players To Explore The More Detective Aspects Of A Game Setting. I Think Some Of Hudson City + C.s.i. Episodes Can Make For An Interesting Twist When Super Powers Are Involved.

 

3) One Of The Aspects Of The Game I'm Running Is What Happens When A Sudden Change Of Atmosphere, An Escalation Of Force, Occurs Between Rival Mafia Crime Families When Supers Get Personally Involved. What Happens When The Supers Take Over The Mob. (what If Tony Soprano Was A Super Villain Of Sorts With Super Powers?) What Happens When The Mafia Families Use Both Advanced Alien Technology And Super Powers To Fully Take Over A City Then A Nation Then The World.

 

4) What Happens When The B.m.k. Gets In Over His Head, (is That Possible?) On Both Sides And Requests The P.c.s Help To Deal With The Supers He Ran Into?

 

That Is The Game I'm Currently Running Right Now. So Far It's Been A Huge Success The Past 5 Weeks.

I Just Noticed I'm Not Familiar With The Phrase Bmk What Does It Mean

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

I Just Noticed I'm Not Familiar With The Phrase Bmk What Does It Mean

BMK = Blue Moon Killer, aka Harbinger of Justice.

[Clonus]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

How about if we reword these two questions slightly?

 

If crime is so bad in Gotham City, why don't some superheroes, such as the JLA, go stop it out? .

 

Because every time they try, Batman hits them with his 20d6 presence attack and tells them to stop messing with his toy.

[Shaft]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

Well, it's not like EVERY major city has an A-list hero team. I think if Hudson City exists in the Champions timeline, it would be the animated Series variant.

 

Aside from Detroit/Millenium City and Vibora Bay, the other cities that are confirmed to have A-list teams are New York (Sentinels, Justice Squadron). New York also has Nova (who seem to be less noteworthythan the other two teams).

 

News of the World lists teams in Boston, LA/San Diego, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC. Presumably these consist of the 350 pt plus Superheroic genre characters, but I imagine that there are a lot of less powerful (200 pt) heroes strewn about who's powers aren't as flashy. I imagine that the other cities that don't get mentioned in News of the World and other Champions source books rely on these less noteworthy 200 pt B and C list heroes as well.

[Doctor Agenda]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

I would like to note there are a lot of stories in the medium-sized city involving B and C list heroes, especially if you include surrounding towns in the mix.

 

There is a sort of crimefighter/criminal ecology. They gravitate toward their niches. Commander Marvelous is needed to fight the SUPER villains, and how would it look if he avoided them and went after gang bangers that a street hero can handle (and probably do a better job of investigating)? Doctor Insidious is thinking BIG and needs to operate in a city with a Galaxy Labs and a Photon Man Alien Artifact Museum. If one of these guys is a Hudsonite, they're going to move to Big Modern Superheroic Tradition City as soon as they figure out their niche is not the urban abyss.

[Spence]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

Hmmmm....

 

What I find puzzling over all is the entire concept that a published city is anything but a starting point for you to mold. I use Hudson City because of all of the ones I have it is the most complete starting point. The non-super infrastructure is the most coherent. Supers are always extra add ons that influence the non-super part. I hardly ever use a published villain or hero "straight out of the box". So while I own 90% of the Champions material I only use published NPC/Villains/Heroes un-adjusted if I need a quick filler. For the published cities the only two I use to any degree are HC and VB. The rest all feel "unfinished" to me.

 

My favorite and one of the major villains in my supers universe is actually a woman. She fills the slot that Joker or Riddler fills for DC. She is actually a major upgrade from a villain published in DC:TAS, Penny Dreadful. A slight modification of the motivation/mindset and a re-write to raise the power-level and adjust her ability mix and I had a major and very unpredictable villain. One that is very very fun to pit against the Heroes in a supers game. Her followers are, IMO, as colorful and while they are not at the same power level as the Heroes, they are nothing to scoff at and as a group are a significant threat.

 

But of all the published cities I have, HC is the most flexible to use. In order for a game city to feel real it has to have all of a real cities concerns addressed. Then you adjust or leave out what you need to.

 

Of course I look at my game world differently than some. Supers are powerful and can be dangerous, but there are not enough of them in the world to be everywhere. So 95% of the population lives day to day just like we do, except for watching supers on the news. True the supers significantly impact the entire world, but joe average getting mugged in the park rarely ever sees one since the supers are more concerned with stopping the plots of supervillains.

 

So it really doesn't matter what "city" a GM uses. As long as they are comfortable with the layout and run a good story.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

We use HC for our Dark Champions campaign precisely because it is so detailed.

 

Our primary Champions campaign, set in the same world as our DC campaign but at significantly higher power and threat levels, is globe trotting and so we use locations all over the world. Cities tend to be little more than scenic backdrop in this game.

[assault]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

Because every time they try' date=' Batman hits them with his 20d6 presence attack and tells them to stop messing with his toy.[/quote']

 

Unless they're Alan Scott, who can do whatever he likes.

 

Of course he's probably not living in Gotham at the moment, but for a long time, he was.

[bubba smith]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

i was rereading this thread and came up with another possible reason from urban fantasy hero any mystic power types in hudson city have a spell in place that unconsiously DISCORAGES most super from locating there

[CoreBrute]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

as to why supers aren't in hudson city' date='hows this there might have been some supers at one time but were placed under restraining orders not to operate within hudson city limits so realizing they were persona non grata in hc the decided to relocate to where their efforts were more appreciated[/quote']

 

I like this idea, but here is some way to further it. 5 Words:

The Institute for Human Advancement. The political party which despises super humans, villains or heroes. Using their power and influence perhaps they got the mayor of the city to proclaim Hudson a no vigilante zone and to forbid sanctioned supers into the city, "as they are a danger to the population".

 

This would stop about half the super heroes. But what of the rest?

 

A sufficiently corrupt government and police force could lie to the world about their crime rates. Government postings about murders and crime is reduced and ignored so crime will seem less. The city always looks sparkling clean (as paid by IHA investors), especially with the homeless beaten of the streets whenever an inspection is coming by the riot police.

 

Thus super heroes see no reason to come to a city which appears to have next to no crime rate and forbids them. Why break the law here, when cities like New York needs you more?

 

But what of the super villains? Won't they cause a fuss? Haven't thought of that now have you Core Brute?

 

Yes I have. The IHA makes deals with Card Shark (or another very powerful Crime lord) that supplies them with money and political protection in exchange for any super villains that come to the city do not get hired and are either killed or handed over to them. The IHA would love to experiment/torture supers. And Card Shark can get by very happily being the only one in the city with enough tech power to kick out organizations like VIPER and DEMON.

 

Now you might wonder, even though the world thinks Hudson city is fine mutations could occur in the residents, or a billionaire could train in Martial arts or build a powered armour suit. So why no super heroes?

 

For the mutations you could have one of two options.

 

One, medical funding in Hudson City is diverted away/ embezzeled so most doctors are on the take by the IHA. Thus any doctors who find a possible Mutant Gene in the fetus that could cause super powers (whether with a stimulus or over a period of time) the mother will be injected with a serum that will cause her to have a miscarriage.

 

2nd, Children are regularlly given doctor appointments for free, and are checked mainly for mutations. If possible they are given experimental inhibitors for any possible mutant powers. It kills or makes incredibly sick 30% of the users, and of the remaining lot only 40% of those with powers have them neutralised.

 

If a child is found with powers, his identity and address is immediately handed over to the IHA, who kidnap the child and kill the family. The event is covered up by a controlled media. Don't ask what happens to the child.

 

Regarding the super gear, in a town as crime ridden as Hudson, few billion dollar industries want to work there. Any millitary companies, or advanced research labs know better (despite the good media they know is fake) and go elsewhere. So any billionaires who do live in Hudson, are probably in league with Card Shark or the IHA and thus are unlikely to become vigilantes. Or live long enough to make a difference.

 

No billionaires to train as Batman, no military complexes to have super weapons that can be stolen, and no special chemical companies that can cause a radiation accident.

 

Thus the town remains crime ridden, and almost no supers anywhere to heed the call. It's really quite depressing. Why did I write this?

 

I want the mana draining mage to be the answer!

[Clonus]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

Well the fact is Hudson City would probably be crime-ridden even if a bunch of spandex-clad heavy hitters moved into down. Thor's or Green Lantern's great at defeating the giant robots, alien blobs, and jet powered apes. But they have no powers or skills that would be especially useful for unravelling drug syndicates, tracking down loan sharks or even scanning the city for mugger hotspots.

[bubba smith]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

I like this idea, but here is some way to further it. 5 Words:

The Institute for Human Advancement. The political party which despises super humans, villains or heroes. Using their power and influence perhaps they got the mayor of the city to proclaim Hudson a no vigilante zone and to forbid sanctioned supers into the city, "as they are a danger to the population".

 

This would stop about half the super heroes. But what of the rest?

 

A sufficiently corrupt government and police force could lie to the world about their crime rates. Government postings about murders and crime is reduced and ignored so crime will seem less. The city always looks sparkling clean (as paid by IHA investors), especially with the homeless beaten of the streets whenever an inspection is coming by the riot police.

 

Thus super heroes see no reason to come to a city which appears to have next to no crime rate and forbids them. Why break the law here, when cities like New York needs you more?

 

But what of the super villains? Won't they cause a fuss? Haven't thought of that now have you Core Brute?

 

Yes I have. The IHA makes deals with Card Shark (or another very powerful Crime lord) that supplies them with money and political protection in exchange for any super villains that come to the city do not get hired and are either killed or handed over to them. The IHA would love to experiment/torture supers. And Card Shark can get by very happily being the only one in the city with enough tech power to kick out organizations like VIPER and DEMON.

 

Now you might wonder, even though the world thinks Hudson city is fine mutations could occur in the residents, or a billionaire could train in Martial arts or build a powered armour suit. So why no super heroes?

 

For the mutations you could have one of two options.

 

One, medical funding in Hudson City is diverted away/ embezzeled so most doctors are on the take by the IHA. Thus any doctors who find a possible Mutant Gene in the fetus that could cause super powers (whether with a stimulus or over a period of time) the mother will be injected with a serum that will cause her to have a miscarriage.

 

2nd, Children are regularlly given doctor appointments for free, and are checked mainly for mutations. If possible they are given experimental inhibitors for any possible mutant powers. It kills or makes incredibly sick 30% of the users, and of the remaining lot only 40% of those with powers have them neutralised.

 

If a child is found with powers, his identity and address is immediately handed over to the IHA, who kidnap the child and kill the family. The event is covered up by a controlled media. Don't ask what happens to the child.

 

Regarding the super gear, in a town as crime ridden as Hudson, few billion dollar industries want to work there. Any millitary companies, or advanced research labs know better (despite the good media they know is fake) and go elsewhere. So any billionaires who do live in Hudson, are probably in league with Card Shark or the IHA and thus are unlikely to become vigilantes. Or live long enough to make a difference.

 

No billionaires to train as Batman, no military complexes to have super weapons that can be stolen, and no special chemical companies that can cause a radiation accident.

 

Thus the town remains crime ridden, and almost no supers anywhere to heed the call. It's really quite depressing. Why did I write this?

 

I want the mana draining mage to be the answer!

Aabout the only hero types that could function here are the kickboxing cop or the fed up/gutsy normal[as a karate teacher] or a two fisted hero

[CoreBrute]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

Or the gun totting vigilantee. Carrying a gun around and wearing a mask isn't a super power but it would allow some to fight evil. Thus allowing the BMK (We still don't know his true origin in 5th edition)

 

And maybe some mutants do make it through the cracks as not all doctors are corrupt. And there's always the chance an alien falls from the sky and grows up to be Batman (see this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_Speeding_Bullets)

[Pentoth]

Re: Super Powers in Hudson City

 

In my games it's the different style and psychology of crime in Hudson and supers generally can't handle. For example when a rampaging alien is going on in the streets of Metropolis this is a job for Superman. When a prostitute is being beaten by her lover/pimp and she refuses to leave him sadly Superman isn't really the best guy for the job.