New Campaign World History

[MitchellS]

I began writing the history for my new campaign last night. If anyone thinks I missed an important historical event or should expand on something please let me know. All comments are welcome. This is just my initial thought process as I go through this.

 

THE CATALYST

No one is truly sure when super-humans first appeared in the world; it seems as though they have been a part of humanity forever. Throughout history there have always been a small number of Metas (those with extraordinary abilities) guiding, defending, and even hindering humanity’s progress during its slow walk through time. Earth’s history abounds with many of their stories, stories of Heracles and Beowulf for example, but unfortunately most of the stories have been lost to the ravages of time. To some cultures these Metas were gods; to others they were kings; to most they were just legends.

 

Historically Meta populations have always been low with never more than one-hundred living at one time. It seemed as though each generation of man had his own heroes and villains. That all changed in 1908 when a meteorite struck Tunguska Siberia. The impact leveled nearly 1,000 miles of Siberian wilderness. That, in itself, was tragic, but the fallout from the airborne particles blown into the Earth’s atmosphere had a catalyst effect on the world’s populations in 1910 when the Tunguska particles became irradiated by some unknown material contained within the tail of Halley's comet as the earth passed through it. A Meta explosion quickly ensued. From that point onward Metas were born at a rate of one-in-one million instead of the more common rate of one-in-one-hundred million.

 

THE EARLY YEARS

The mid-to-late nineteen twenties saw the first wave of new Metas coming into their own. America was a growing and prosperous nation which was soon to be devastated by “The Crash of ‘29." If ever there was a time for heroes it should have been during this period. Unfortunately the Great Depression had an opposite effect. Good people found themselves without work, food, and shelter; they found themselves without hope. Most of the country’s emerging Metas turned to crime to make a living. There were heroic Metas, such as the Silver Sam and Huntsman, who chose to combat the growing criminal threat but their numbers were few-and-far-between and they just could not keep up with the escalating Meta crime rate.

 

As the Great Depression began to lessen and the economy began to re-emerge, America finally thought it would have time to regain its equilibrium. Most people hoped that as poverty was slowly being curtailed many of the criminal Metas would turn from their life of crime and rejoin society, but that was not to be. The criminal Metas became more extravagant, adopting flashier costumes and names which were designed to attract the attention of the press. A subculture was quickly forming around the “super-villain†Metas as they enthralled a voracious reading public with their criminal exploits and brilliance. The various daily newspapers carried more stories about Meta-criminals and the Meta-heroes who fought them than any other subject, including the growing threat of Hitler who was about to bring the entire world into war.

 

WORLD WAR II

Though the war officially began in September of 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland the prelude to war began years before with the rise to power of Adolph Hitler. Hitler promised his people a return to glory and he saw the emergence of the Metas and the rising of the occult forces as the ends to his means. The Metas intrigued Hitler as a fighting force but to him they were nothing more than pieces of artillery which could walk and talk. Hitler’s true interest was the occult and it was because of this interest that one of the greatest evils mankind has ever known was unleashed upon the world. When the Nazi occultists released the imprisoned Markath the Destroyer on Halloween of 1938 they set in motion a cycle of evil that threatens to destroy the Earth to this very day. Fortunately Markath did not join the Axis powers but instead fled into the night to see what this new world had to offer him.

 

Few people really understand how close Hitler was to succeeding in his global conquest. German technology was at a pinnacle and the Ubermenschen, Hitler’s Meta fighting force, were 50 strong at the beginning of the war and seeming to grow in number almost weekly. With lightning-swift raids and unparalleled might Hitler’s forces swept west and south across Europe devouring everything in their path. Europe was not prepared to resist an army of Metas and it posed no resistance as the Nazi forces advanced. Only Britain stood in the way of total Nazi conquest and its citizens, both Metas and normal, responded. Metas, criminal and hero alike, stood side-by-side as the Ubermenschen and Luftwaffe swarmed across the English Channel and were repelled day after day. British courage and resolve held the day and inspired Western Europe to respond in kind.

 

Many historians wondered why it took the United States two years to become actively involved in the war; especially considering that the undersea kingdom of Atlantis had joined the Axis alliance and was using its forces to harass American shipping and trade throughout the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. There were multitudes of theories regarding America’s absence ranging from apathy toward the European plight, to cowardess of a superior enemy, to only having an interest in economic gain. The truth was not learned until nearly forty years later when Markath the Destroyer let slip that it was his sorcery which persuaded certain government officials to keep the United States from entering the war. While this has never been confirmed many historians do now point to the actions of certain Congressmen during that time period and how their demeanor seemed to change, as if a trance had been broken, after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December of 1941.

 

By the spring of 1942 America and its Metas had been fully mobilized. President Roosevelt used executive sanctions to form four Meta-human teams. The Allied Avengers, led by Major Steel, joined with Metas from England, Spain, and France to strike directly at the Ubermenschen in the heart of Europe. The Liberty Brigade, led by Dynamo the Powerhouse, took his team into African and then north into Italy liberating the people from Nazi rule as they headed toward Germany. The Pacific Legion, led by American Eagle, was based in Hawaii and gradually pushed the Japanese military and the Kamikaze Sons, Japan’s Meta-squad, north and out of the Pacific as it advanced toward Japan. The Justice Defenders, led by Mr. Obsidian, remained in America to defend against American meta-criminals, who did not have the same patriotic zeal as their British counterparts, as well as saboteurs and other Axis threats to United States’ soil.

 

Over the next three years American forces pushed toward Berlin. There were heavy Meta casualties on both sides. The Ubermenschen lost nearly thirty members to the Allied advances and the Kamikaze Sons lost ten. The Allied Avengers lost five members and had three permanently disabled. The Liberty Brigade also lost five members in those years, including its leader Dynamo who was killed in the north of Italy while in a battle with the last remnants of the Italian Meta brigade Costa Nostra. The Pacific Legion faired the best in only losing one member to permanent disability. On the home-front the Justice Defenders lost no members but the Teen Defenders, a group made up of the teen sidekicks to the members of the Justice Defenders, lost Slugger’s sidekick Batboy in a battle with the Infernal Five.

 

D-Day

 

Hiroshima

 

THE GOLDEN AGE

45-53

 

Justice Brigade

 

THE HUAC YEARS

53-58

 

The Atomic Brain

 

THE SILVER AGE

59-73

 

El Lobo Negro

 

Atun

 

THE FALL

74-80

 

THE BRONZE AGE

81- Present

 

Psipreme

 

Interface

 

Omega

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: New Campaign World History

 

Overall looks good! Lots of good setup to base legacy heroes off of, and good fodder for time-travel stories.

 

The Catalyst: Other reasons for previously low meta populations could be much lower base population, and much higher infant/child mortality rates in the past. Working off of a world-wide population of 100 million and very high mortality rates, even if the incidence of metas was similar to today, not nearly as many would make it to the point where their powers develop. Having the potential to get optic blasts as a teenager doesn't help much if you die from smallpox at age 5. Also a factor in why the rate of supers is so much higher in the US/developed world than in the third world.

 

World War II: Why didn't the 50+ strong Ubermencschen squad bump off Hitler and take over? Historically, Nazi Germany had a lot of parallel organization (as did the Soviets) to keep any one group from having too much power - multiple intelligence orgs, the SS and Luftwaffe had ground troops, etc. The "Night of the Long Knives" was taken to remove the SA (the brownshirts) as an internal threat.

 

I think if the Germans had a lot of metas, they'd probably be broken up into seperate, sometimes competing groups. Maybe a few general-purpose groups under Hitler's direct command (with enough internal squabbling that they wouldn't try anything themselves), put the fast fliers under the Luftwaffe, the underwater ones under the Navy, some super-spies under the intel services, etc. Or some explanation that the Nazi occultists had them all thoroughly under control.

 

It'd also be neat to see some info on some of the more prominent Axis villains, especially any that escaped and continued on after the war (aka Red Skull, etc).

 

Personally, I don't particularly care for "Costa Nostra" as the Italian Fascist team. "The Legion" or somesuch would sound better, IMO (of course, informally known as the "Blackcapes" ).

 

Howabout some info on the Soviet supers? One would think they'd have a lot, though their ranks were probably thinned a lot during the purges of the 1930's.

 

Good luck with the game!

[MitchellS]

Re: New Campaign World History

 

Thanks for the comments SS. I'm still feeling my way around what I want to do. One of the main things that I do want is to have access to legacy characters. I have always loved the idea of continuing something rather than beginning it anew.

 

The reason Hitler is not bumped off is that he is a Meta as well [he would be considered a First Blood Meta being pre-catalyst]. Another reason for his survival is that he has the occult faction on his side offering protection and assistance.

 

The Ubermenschen will probably be broken into 4 or 5 different units each doing different things based upon their powers. I plan on them being a separate branch of the military though under the command of a general called the Iron Cross [Meta with a metallic body and a genius in tactics].

 

After I had written that section of WW2 I realized I hadn't mention the Soviet Metas. I will probably add something about them but a great deal of the golden age and the HUAC years will be about them. The same goes for the "Red Skull" type characters left over from the Nazi regime. Those personalities will play a major part in the world through the silver age. When I put it all into pdf I will use text boxes to show the names of the various members of each hero and villain team during those eras.

 

I went with Costa Nostra because I want there to be a hidden war between the burgeoning mafia after WW2 and the Italian Metas who are attempting to create their own regime. Name battle always seem fun to me.

 

Is there any certain things in history you think should be touched upon? I'll cover the Korean and Viet Nam wars in their respective eras but I'm curious to see if there are other significant historical events which could be touched up. Some historical things will be altered though. For example, there was no bay of pigs event in my world because the Meta El Lobo Negro killed Castro in 1959 and took over Cuba for himself [which he turned into a supervillains sanctuary]. But I'd like to hear about any historical events people found interesting, as there are things in history I'm sure I have forgotten.

[MitchellS]

Re: New Campaign World History

 

Here's a look at the beginning WW2 superhero teams:

 

Allied Avengers

Avalon: Male, British, flying brick.

Azure Witch: Female, American, mystic.

El Toro: Male, Spanish, man-bull brick.

Fian: Male, Irish, swordsmaster.

Guillotine: Male, French, razor-sharp hands.

Lady Tremor: Female, American, earth control.

Lancer: Male, American, psionic bolts.

Major Steel: Male, American, invulnerability.

Marksman: Male, Spanish, rifle master.

Siren: Female, French, sonic control.

Swift: Male, French, speedster.

Tartan: Male, Scottish, demi-brick.

The Mist: Male, American, can turn into mist.

Victory: Female, British, eye bolts.

 

Liberty Brigade

Apache Avenger: Male, American Indian, bow master.

Dynamo: Male, American, electricity control.

Golem: Male, American/Jewish, brick.

Minute Man: Male, American, 1 minute of various powers.

Ms. Mystery: Female, American, mentalist.

Paradox: Male, American, temporal control.

Ra: Male, Egyptian, light control.

Sahara: Female, African, sand control.

Silver Shroud: Female, American, mystic.

Wolfen: Female, American, lycanthrope.

 

Pacific Legion

American Eagle: Male, American, winged demi-brick.

Barrage: Male, American, rapid-firing bolts.

Bombshell: Female, American, explosive bolts.

Dingo: Male, Australian, lycanthrope.

Floodlight: Male, American, light control.

Giantess: Female, American, growth/brick.

Guan-gi: Male, New Guinea, mystic.

Magma-Man: Male, American, magma control.

Mr. Vortex: Male, American, wind control.

Slyph: Female, American, water control.

 

Justice Defenders

Crimson Tiger: Male, American/Chinese, martial artist.

Dryad: Female, American, plant control.

Dr. Density: Male, American, density control.

Mr. Obsidian: Male, American, darkness control.

Slugger: Male, American, energy bats.

Snow Ghost: Female, American, cold control.

 

Teen Defenders

Batboy: Male, Slugger’s sidekick, weaponsmaster with bat.

Cub: Male, Crimson Tiger’s sidekick, martial artist.

Frosty: Male, Snow Ghost’s sidekick, ice projection.

Deadweight: Male, Dr. Density’s sidekick, make things heavier.

Shady: Female, Mr. Obsidian’s sidekick, turn into living shadow.

Sprite: Female, Dryad’s sidekick, shrinking powers.

[Redmenace]

Re: New Campaign World History

 

Two things came to mind.

 

 

1.) Super humans are hard to bottle up if they don't want to be. What about a private super team of payed "volounteers" ala Chenault's Flying Tigers who would be active before the US enters ww2. Maybe a group of expatriate supers from conquered countries. If nothing else it might make a nice backstory element for a WW2 hero.

 

2.) Assuming the Nazis experimented with super humanity as they did with all other things, what about some secret history about the US, USSR and others making a grab for their scientists and metas?

 

Perhaps there was a crash program to develop super talents during the Cold War, or maybe some Nazi war criminals are allowed to set up shop in South America in exchange for aid against the Reds.

 

3.) A few supers on either side of the Civil Rights movement might alter things drastically. If he'd survived, Martin Luther King jr. might be a well respected elder statesman by now.

 

4.) What happens with HUAC if there are such things as telepaths to uncover the lies? I'd think they'd have to be controlled or destroyed. I can see a sort of t-path underground forming and god help us all if the Soviet under Stalin have some.

[MitchellS]

Re: New Campaign World History

 

1.) Super humans are hard to bottle up if they don't want to be. What about a private super team of payed "volounteers" ala Chenault's Flying Tigers who would be active before the US enters ww2. Maybe a group of expatriate supers from conquered countries. If nothing else it might make a nice backstory element for a WW2 hero.

I was thinking along the same lines here with the only exception that the Flying Tigers would be the group I was saving for a possible PC game at some point. If I ever do a GA/WW2 game I'd like the players to be something other than standard period group.

 

2.) Assuming the Nazis experimented with super humanity as they did with all other things, what about some secret history about the US, USSR and others making a grab for their scientists and metas?

Definitely something I will add to the post-war era golden age section. I plan on there being a very intense superhuman cold war in the ga/HUAC era due to the fact that the Soviet supers managed to get more Nazi "goodies" after WW2.

 

3.) A few supers on either side of the Civil Rights movement might alter things drastically. If he'd survived, Martin Luther King jr. might be a well respected elder statesman by now.

MLK is alive and well in this world thanks to superhuman bodyguards; and civil rights have taken some slight changes since the 60's. There will be an African-American President, for example.

 

4.) What happens with HUAC if there are such things as telepaths to uncover the lies? I'd think they'd have to be controlled or destroyed. I can see a sort of t-path underground forming and god help us all if the Soviet under Stalin have some.

Senator McCarthy is a telepathy. That's part of the reason things get so out of hand. A lot of it will tie-in with what is happening during the secret cold war.

 

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: New Campaign World History

 

It's incredibly meta-heavy, but the timeline in GURPS Supers might give you some ideas to work with.

 

re: The Allied Avengers - Ireland and Spain didn't participate in the historic WWII - so either the war went differently in your world or they're working without the blessing of their gov'ts. Either way, no problem, but something to know, esp. if you change history, so players won't be surprised if you mention the Republicans winning the Spanish Civil War, or the terror bombing of Dublin.

 

US might have been even MORE willing to go all-out in Cuba if it's a supervillain sanctuary, and not Soviet-backed.

 

Couple of ideas: French Foreign Legion with significant meta presence. Historically a haven for criminals, etc. - why not supervillains? Loaded up with regular supervillains and even some ex-Axis metas, could have a significant impact in the post-war world. French war in Indochina could have ended very differently, and the US may never have needed to get involved in the Vietnam War directly, with all the ripple effects domestically that would have. Other French de-colonialization events could also go differently, especially the war in Algeria.

[zornwil]

Re: New Campaign World History

 

Good stuff, Mitchell S, thank you. Looking forward to seeing the later sections.