Hermit Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Bane once asked who was King Of Gotham... the answer, of course, was Batman. Would Batman fit nearly as well anywhere else? Even as the writers shaped Batman, they shaped the city around him. Grim and decaying, Gothic and majestic, dark and brooding; not unlike Bats himself. Flipside, Superman... flying, yet among the common folk and styled by many "The Man of Tommorrow" while at the same time having a bit of sterling 50's feel to him. Metropolis is bright, towering, in a word... super. These characters have almost become avatars of their respective cities. It's harder to this for teams, which most Champions games consist of, still, I was wondering how many of you out there have tried to create this sort of relation between the player characters and their setting? Are you Millennium City crew more futuristic in feel than say a group you have based in a grittier sprawl? Or do you prefer to run counter to type? Introduce the Mystic in the Technotopia, or the gadgeteer in Vibora Bay type areas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection Haven't tried this, but it is a great idea, especially with the Mystic World's suggestion that Marduck has been guiding heroes to the cities that needed them. So, to continue this idea, what sort of city would serve as a reflection of your favorite characters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection I've got something for everyone in my campaign city, so it tends to reflect the interests of the people. Often this is because the sinister, night-loving hero will go out at night and go to the dives; The strange android hero would go out in the day and catalog the human condition. The players choose the mood by where they go and I, often unconsciously, accomodate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoorWandering 1 Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection *shudder* I wonder how much trouble a city would have to be in to NEED Foxbat. I know I know he's not a Hero, but he's not that much of a villain either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection I played around with a concept in one of my games, influenced by the idea of The Batman and Superman. Each city has an official unofficial protector. Only those heroes that have been a part of the world for a while understand 'the rules'. Unofficial guidelines that are respected and taught to newcomers. One of them was that out of all the heroes that defend a city, one would always rise to be considered that city's protector. When in a city with a protector, it was common courtesy to try and arrange a way to inform him of your presence in that city. There were, of course, exceptions for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug McCrae Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection I had a team based in LA called the Superstars (before Busiek used the name - he totally ripped me off, man). They fought crime to get publicity for their movie careers. They were run as PCs in a oneoff and very brief campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection I'll often build heroes (PC and NPC) that start as near-parodies of their home cities or states. This works best with cities like New York, Las Vegas, LA and Hollywood, Hong Kong, Washington; any city that brings to mind a certain personality type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost who Walks Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection *shudder* I wonder how much trouble a city would have to be in to NEED Foxbat. I know I know he's not a Hero, but he's not that much of a villain either. Orlando, Florida. It is a very interesting idea. Would Philadelphia get a boxer? It would be an interesting way to develop a universe. Spiderman only really works in NYC...I remember a comic issue where he considered moving to Kansas City... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterhawk Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection Haven't tried this, but it is a great idea, especially with the Mystic World's suggestion that Marduck has been guiding heroes to the cities that needed them. So, to continue this idea, what sort of city would serve as a reflection of your favorite characters? I actually incorporated the Marduuk idea into my campaign (long before MW, nyah). Each major city has an kind of living embodiment of the city as its protector and they are all the progeny of Marduuk. One of them, Dr. Dauntless, is a PC and the avatar of Chicago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection Haven't tried this, but it is a great idea, especially with the Mystic World's suggestion that Marduck has been guiding heroes to the cities that needed them. I really have GOT to get that book. So, to continue this idea, what sort of city would serve as a reflection of your favorite characters? Actually, of the ones i play, Wildcard comes closest to this. He's pure Atlantic City Secret ID an escape artist/magician, and his hero guise a card carrying vigilante with tech gimmicks. My groups that I GM for? not so much, the players tend to have their own ideas and don't often go for themes that match a setting, though they're smart enough to take advantage OF a setting for inspiration/ideas. That's as much my fault as theirs though, I am seriously thinking of having them make a group of characters, then trying to build sections/neighborhoods of it to suit them one on one. If one makes a martial artist then maybe a China Town, "Little Tokyo" or sporting arena area would pop up. A gadgeteer might cause a big high tech corporation or science university to come into being with a neighborhood around it reflecting that feel. That sort of thing. After all, Daredevil has Hell's Kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection Actually' date=' of the ones i play, Wildcard comes closest to this. He's pure Atlantic City Secret ID an escape artist/magician, and his hero guise a card carrying vigilante with tech gimmicks.[/quote'] You have a campaign set in Atlantic City. Groovy. (I'm in NJ near Philadelphia myself). Flesh Gordon is a perfect hero for Hollywood, or for Venice Beach. AnimeGai was built in Akihabara, and is well suited for that setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection You have a campaign set in Atlantic City. Groovy. (I'm in NJ near Philadelphia myself). *G* Actually Wildcard is one of the few times I get to be a player so it's another person's campgain. I only get to play him once in a blue moon, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metaphysician Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection Seems like this idea would work best if the campaign consists of a League of Defenders or somesuch, with the main hero of each city allying together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection Seems like this idea would work best if the campaign consists of a League of Defenders or somesuch' date=' with the main hero of each city allying together.[/quote'] Ever see an early Iron Age series called The New Statesmen? Most supers were created by the military using a proces that had started producing results during WWII. In the America of the late 1980s, each state capitol and major city had one designated Super, and states were constantly lobying for more. Supers were code named for their city: Reno, Vegas, Washington, Philadelphia, etc. Interesting ideas and a fair amount to like in that series. The ending was lousy and made no sense, but then you can't have everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection I'm liking a lot of your ideas here guys. The idea of the unwritten code where a city protector gets the courtesy nod, the idea of a league based on scattered city protectors coming together in cases of emergency. I may just have to use these. I can see some fun rivalries between say the New York Super Hero and Chicago's or L.A.'s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Toki Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection I'm liking a lot of your ideas here guys. The idea of the unwritten code where a city protector gets the courtesy nod' date=' the idea of a league based on scattered city protectors coming together in cases of emergency. I may just have to use these. I can see some fun rivalries between say the New York Super Hero and Chicago's or L.A.'s.[/quote'] Yeah this thread has some good ideas, keep it coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection I think one of the things we'd have to establish if using REAL World Cities is what powers and personality do the nature of those particular cities suggest? That is probably bound to cause disagreements. Can anyone tell me what the archetypical Chicago Mindset is? The Archteypical New Yorker? The Archetypical L.A. guy? Heck, the Archetypical Houstoner? You have to touch on the archetype without fully falling into stereotype, and that can be tricky. Fictional cities seem much easier for this purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guzalot Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection What if there's more than one superhero or team that can claim to be a certain city's protector? Which one gets the "official" nod? Could lead to some interesting rivalries... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection What if there's more than one superhero or team that can claim to be a certain city's protector? Which one gets the "official" nod? Could lead to some interesting rivalries... I guess it would depend on the hypothetical selection process. For example, If each city mayor were asked to pick the 'City Protector', it would be greatly different from a situation where a council of already membered heroes approached likely canidates and asked them if they wanted the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psm Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection I absolutely agree with Hermit that its easier to create representational characters of fictional cities. However, I still think using real world cities adds a lot more story opportunity. Especially, if you use multiple characters to represent different aspects of the same city. Plus, if you base characters on the regional nationalities of the cities you get a much wider array of characters and philosophies. Unfortunately, this can easily slide into the stereotype trap (also mentioned by Hermit) with the wrong players. Still, I would love to see the Boston/New York rivalry on a cosmic scale;) Or watch Detroit's blue collar hero relate to Bay Area's techno hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponfarru Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection *shudder* I wonder how much trouble a city would have to be in to NEED Foxbat. I know I know he's not a Hero, but he's not that much of a villain either. Hmmm, Washington, D.C. comes to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phydaux Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection I run a game set in Boston. The "official" city hero team has a leader, Quasar, that is all techno. This is in keeping with Boston's effort to be a technology leader, what with MIT being right across the river. I even have it in the character's backstory that, in his secret ID, he is a physics professor at MIT. However, the city ALSO has a vigilante named Shadowhunter. Shadowhunter primarily focuses on street-level crime (drug trafficing, loan sharking, racketeering) but he is also just powerful enough to take on the likes of Mechassasin and Utility. And Shadowhunter makes it a point to tell all the costumed types he tackles that Boston is HIS city. I find this to also be in keeping with the spirit of Boston, considering Boston is the home of the likes of Whitey Buldger, Steve "The Rifelman" Flemmy, The Winter Hill Gang and the Keneddy family. After all Papa Joe, while he was the sitting mayor of Boston, made the family fortune by bootlegging during Prohibition. Hudson City ain't got nothing on THAT! PS: Red Sox Rule! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rbezold Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection *shudder* I wonder how much trouble a city would have to be in to NEED Foxbat. I know I know he's not a Hero, but he's not that much of a villain either. Actually, that's an intriguing notion. I see Foxbat as an avatar of chaos, so logic says that the city that needs him must have more order than is good for it. A city that is being stifled by the culture police and NEEDS a good shaking up. This could be fun. From the diary of Foxbat: Plaid convention tonight at the stadium. No Elvis impersonators allowed. Normally I'm calm and reasonable but if they're going to step on my blue suede shoes the kid gloves come off! This means rock and rolla cola war-la!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent 13 Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection Actually' date=' that's an intriguing notion. I see Foxbat as an avatar of chaos, so logic says that the city that needs him must have more order than is good for it. A city that is being stifled by the culture police and NEEDS a good shaking up. [/quote'] Amherst, Massachusetts will never be the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phydaux Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 Re: The City/Hero Connection Amherst' date=' Massachusetts will never be the same.[/quote'] Spoken like a true alumni of Zoo Mass Amherst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.