Building a Super-History...

[Yogzilla]

I'm working up a new Champions campaign for my group (last one ended well over a year ago), where my original idea was "just enough supers to set precedent, but they're not coming out of the woodwork". In other words, I want the PCs to be able to come into already established conventions - secret identities, citizen's arrest, etc etc. However, the more thought I put into it, the more I realized I needed some more backstory to provide them. Give the world context, if you will. So, I started trying to populate the history of that world with heroes and supers alike - - but after decades of running supers campaigns, the ol' idea well is starting to run dry (or, hopefully, I'm just in a slump). So, I was wondering if anyone out there would be willing to help contribute to my campaign's "history"...

 

At the least, I'm looking for concepts that I'll worry about fleshing out. At the most, more specifics (like name, background, specific powers and abilities, etc) would be most welcome - - if the caveat that I retain the right to modify as I see need to "fit in". Full-spec'd out characters just proves you have more free time than I; so please don't point that out, ok?

 

Currently, my "timeline" has the following high-points:

- Arthurian Age

- Age of Pirates

- Old West

- World War II

- Modern Era (i.e. "today")

 

And here's the breakdown of character types (or, rather, power types) that I'm allowing in my campaign:

 

- Non-powered, but exceptionally trained [any era; common, should account for *most* heroes pre-WWII]

- Magical, either magic users (mages) or magic item users (ex. a knight with an enchanted blade) [any era; uncommon to rare]

- Mutation [WWII on (though allowable in any era with a VERY GOOD origin ); common]

- Cosmic [completely GM controlled; presented here just to be complete ]

 

Oh, and the big wrinkle of the campaign - - characters should be female. This is not to be sexist, there's actually a campaign-specific reason for this that I need to keep close to the vest for now. I can say that "superpowers" are tied to the X chromosome (so women have the greater chance than men), and women have historically been more privvy to the secrets of the arcane. Non-powered is equal opportunity, but history is already repleat with male "legends". And Cosmic... well, that's for me to know (for now)...

 

This does not mean I'm disallowing male characters; but they must have something about them that adheres to the above critieria. Examples I've already come up with: genetic abnormality (XXY is male), shapeshifter who maintains a male identity, Firestorm-esque character (woman who must merge with a man to attain powered-form, which happens to be male), and so forth. Think of it as a challenge...

 

I think that's all. Post questions and I'll try to answer them without divulging too much of the behind-the-scenes workings (which I need to keep secret, for now). Otherwise, let the ideas flow!!

 

And thanks in advance for anyone willing to help me out here!!

[tinman]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

Out of curiosity, what is the gender breakdown of your players?

[Courynn]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

Cateran from Conqueors, Killers and Crooks sounds perfect for your game. Female Semi brick (50str I think) with Immortality and a bit of regen. High stats, Decent defense, but her main thing is Tons and Tons of skills, she has seen and done it all. Was a Scottish girl in the 16th century, when her powers kicked in, been living it up ever since.

 

One of my favorite characters from that book.

[Yogzilla]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

Out of curiosity' date=' what is the gender breakdown of your players?[/quote']

7 players total (tho almost never at the same time - - actually, *never* at the same time ); 2 of whom are female. Of the 5 males; they've all played female characters at least once with no complaints (at least that I ever heard).

 

Cateran from Conqueors, Killers and Crooks sounds perfect for your game. Female Semi brick (50str I think) with Immortality and a bit of regen. High stats, Decent defense, but her main thing is Tons and Tons of skills, she has seen and done it all. Was a Scottish girl in the 16th century, when her powers kicked in, been living it up ever since.

 

One of my favorite characters from that book.

Hmmmm; take away the superhuman stats and I could make her my Highlander-homage... Cool; thanks for the tip!!

[mikesama]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

were there super soldier programs during WWII? if so imagine a group of xx Energy projectors created by the Japanese government called Ameterasu's Legion.

 

One thing I did when getting people ready for my last supers campain is I wrote the bullet point history of the world with simple descriptions of the historical events. So you'd have entries like:

 

1923 First Female costumed hero: The heroine known as Snap Dragon made her first appearance in San Francisco. In acrobats silks and a silk mask she used her impressive martial arts abilities to help protect SF's China town against the Tongs that were increasing the crime in Chinatown to a previously unheard of level.

 

Then add in a famous personages cheat sheet so when you talk about NPCs they have a reference for them. THe cheat sheet is also pretty simple looking like:

 

Erg (active 1944-1961) One of America's super soldiers made in late 1944. Has the power to absorb any type of non kinetic energy and redirect it at will, Has never suffered more than mild disorientation when faced with energy attacks.

 

Finally leave your history line somewhat open so you can add stuff in later when you have a great idea.

 

 

This all being said feel free to borrow Erg or Snap Dragon for your game.

[TheEmerged]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

Some questions to ask yourself:

 

>Do I wants with to go the Astro City route (people with powers have been running around for decades without affecting anything?) or more of an alternate history campaign? If you go option 2, try to avoid the "wishful thinking" trap.

 

>Do I want females with superpowers running around far enough in the past to affect the Women's Rights movement?

 

>Do I want people in masks allowed to testify in court? I have found that this issue tends to be a great starting points for other world points

 

>How much do I want psionics (telepathy & mind control in particular) to affect things?

 

>Pick a group of four or five "first supers". Chances are their character/natures have formed the stereotypes in people's minds.

[Duke Bushido]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

I'm working up a new Champions campaign for my group

 

Currently, my "timeline" has the following high-points:

- Arthurian Age

- Age of Pirates

- Old West

- World War II

- Modern Era (i.e. "today")

 

 

And thanks in advance for anyone willing to help me out here!!

 

The all-female supers sounds quite intriguing, actually. I'd almost relocate to find out what that's all about!

 

I don't have any specific build ideas for you, but maybe something to keep in mind.

 

In my early days behind the screen, I wanted more than anything to have a vibrant, living world in which the characters existed. But I wasn't really ready to pull it off. In fact, the players eventually learned that there was no such thing as a 'backdrop' character. If the character made an appearance for any reason, or if he was fleshed out any more than 'a group of jump-suited men struggle with a piano at the back of the truck,' the players would invariably investigate the character, and of course would prematurely uncover whatever little things I was trying to set in motion. While I was able at all times to 'cover' and keep things fresh and lively, it was a bit frustrating on two levels:

 

First, it was difficult to build any over-arching or long-term plots and drop hints. Nothing was left to fester, so to speak.

 

Second, it demonstrated that I needed to work on really adding a vibrant world that existed long before the characters did-- powerful people, homeless vagrants, events that were already in full-swing.

 

To that end, I began to institute what my players have come to refer to as 'wierds.' There is a Celtic name for unusual, one-of-a-kind phenomena; stuff that appears, can be observed to happen, and may or may not happen again, but is of little or no consequence. I can't remember that word (to my shame), but that is what the 'wierds' are, essentially.

 

In short, get into the habit of creating things soley for the purpose of creating them-- characters who will be seen, possibly interacted with, but who have no bearing whatsover to the story. Events-- possibly even suspicious or mystical-- that will defy any attempt at persual, or at least yield mundane or otherwise unsatisfying results. Don't disappoint the players, just let them come to realize that they live in a big, big world.

 

A personal favorite for supers campaigns is the occasional person with one or two powers who opts to not don a costume but instead manages a chain of grocery stores. He doesn't own it; he just works there.

 

An earthquake or meteor strike or some other event that has come to be synonymous with action and origin stories instead turns out to be an unfortunate coincidence, no big deal. (If the players are disappointed, perhaps you can work in a scenario where they can save someone put at risk by the event, but nothing really spectacular results from the event itself).

 

In fact, I think I'm going to borrow one of Sean's toss-out examples, if he will let me, of a background character-- possibly a hitch-hiker with no goals or impact on the story-- who learns that he simply doesn't take damage while on a road. Nothing that goes anywhere, just something they can investigate or not,

 

I also can't recommend enough a regular-- perhaps game-time 'daily' set of news blurbs. Things that you are prepared for them to take a peek at, but generally nothing unusual.

 

This has two effects:

The players come to both enjoy exploring their world between missions, and they accept that not everything is plot-related. It actually helps to keep them from assuming that they are in some way trying to 'thwart' you as the GM.

And it adds a bit of mystery and role-play opportunities. By keeping a steady stream of new input flowing, they do not assume that every little thing is a clue that must be followed. By the way, this makes discovering and connecting clues more fun for you and your players. And it gives you the satisfaction of dropping hints of some master plan and leaving it up to them PCs to figure out what's going on.

 

 

Just as a for-instance in the world history you're building, have some small, secret, private firm win a huge government grant to study the relationship between the dwindling number of pirates and global warming. Get it on the news for a couple of days. Maybe it's some college kids betting that they could scam Uncle Sam; maybe it's a secret government pay-off to another government (or even VIPER), or maybe it's just some bunch of nuts that convinced a bunch of Congressmen that there may well be a connection. You decide.

 

The big stuff is important for the story, but lots and lots of little stuff builds the world.

 

 

Good luck, and if I come up with anything that seems useful, I'll be happy to chime up.

 

Oh! How about a 'used character' drive? Maybe get friends and forum members to submit characters from past campaigns that you can use as NPCs or villains in your new world? Maybe just reading some of the backstories will give you some ideas for your new setting. Just a thought.

 

 

Duke

[Yogzilla]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

were there super soldier programs during WWII?

Only on the German side, and it only produced one viable result (unless I get some good ideas on otherwise).

 

One thing I did when getting people ready for my last supers campain is I wrote the bullet point history of the world with simple descriptions of the historical events.

That's what I'm currently looking to do, yeah.

 

Finally leave your history line somewhat open so you can add stuff in later when you have a great idea.

Way ahead of you, there.

[Yogzilla]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

Some questions to ask yourself:

 

>Do I wants with to go the Astro City route (people with powers have been running around for decades without affecting anything?) or more of an alternate history campaign? If you go option 2, try to avoid the "wishful thinking" trap.

If I could pull off an Astro City, I'd feel REALLY good about my skills as a GM. As is, my basic idea is history is *essentially* the same up to WWII. By this, I mean the history books aren't any different - - exceptional people leading extraordinary lives tend to be dismissed as 'legends', 'myths', or (at best) 'highly exaggerated'. And magic... well, rational people don't believe in magic, right?

 

After WWII, true "supers" started appearing, but not enough, nor with significant power levels, to *radically* change world events.

 

So, it's more of option 1.

 

>Do I want females with superpowers running around far enough in the past to affect the Women's Rights movement?

There's no super-suffragettes, if that's what you mean...

 

>Do I want people in masks allowed to testify in court? I have found that this issue tends to be a great starting points for other world points

Yes; this dove-tails into my desire to have the PCs come into a world where superhero conventions and precedents are already set.

 

>How much do I want psionics (telepathy & mind control in particular) to affect things?

Depends on the ideas that get come up with. So far, I haven't thought of a really cool psi character to add to my world, and the last time I asked around, only 1 player suggested playing a psi. But the campaign is still in its infancy, so that could change...

 

>Pick a group of four or five "first supers". Chances are their character/natures have formed the stereotypes in people's minds.

Kinda done that, already; except they aren't the first ones. As with real world pop-culture, the biggest impact is what's new and fresh... Sad, isn't it??

[Yogzilla]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

To that end' date=' I began to institute what my players have come to refer to as 'wierds.' There is a Celtic name for unusual, one-of-a-kind phenomena; stuff that appears, can be observed to happen, and may or may not happen again, but is of little or no consequence. I can't remember that word (to my shame), but that is what the 'wierds' are, essentially.[/quote']

If you ever remember the word, let me know.

 

In short' date=' get into the habit of creating things soley for the purpose of creating them-- characters who will be seen, possibly interacted with, but who have no bearing whatsover to the story. Events-- possibly even suspicious or mystical-- that will defy any attempt at persual, or at least yield mundane or otherwise unsatisfying results. Don't disappoint the players, just let them come to realize that they live in a big, big world.[/quote']

Yeah, my last supers campaign didn't have enough of that "big, big world" feel to it - - at least, that's what I thought. I'm hoping to do better this time.

 

I also can't recommend enough a regular-- perhaps game-time 'daily' set of news blurbs. Things that you are prepared for them to take a peek at' date=' but generally nothing unusual.[/quote']

Cool idea!!

 

The big stuff is important for the story' date=' but lots and lots of little stuff builds the world.[/quote']

Sounds obvious, but I probably would've missed this nuance. Thanks for pointing it out; it makes a lot of sense.

 

Good luck' date=' and if I come up with anything that seems useful, I'll be happy to chime up.[/quote']

Thanks!!

 

Oh! How about a 'used character' drive? Maybe get friends and forum members to submit characters from past campaigns that you can use as NPCs or villains in your new world? Maybe just reading some of the backstories will give you some ideas for your new setting. Just a thought.

I like it!!!

[Duke Bushido]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

I'm glad you like the "daily news" idea-- it's not only a great way to work in subtle clues while simultaneously supporting the 'big, big world' idea, but it also helps to generate possible seeds down the road. I can't stress this enough: Write them down! Every one of them. Even if you don't develop them further, you can at least be consistent with updates on long-running stories, such as elections, invasions, pollution issues, whatever.

 

And on the 'Used Character Drive,'

 

I'll offer up this long-standing favorite villain from several supers campaigns. The players liked "Being able to stop someone with such incredible power! (there's a note on this later)" while I liked the fact that despite hundreds of hints, they never figured out that he had no power, and were never able capture him (part of what they thought was 'incredible power' can be chalked up to amazingly bad rolls at crucial times).

 

I offer him because he amuses a lot of people, and because it's time to let the secret out to any of my own players who may be lurking here. As it's for inspiration only, I'll spare you the full write-up and give you just the background:

 

TNT, the Kinetic Man

 

Powers: He is alleged to have the powers to instantly weaken molecular bonds and accellerate the movement sub-atomic particles. In a nutshell, this ability allows him to cause any object to explode violently; the more massive the object, the more powerful the explosion. He has an uncanny knack for getting in front of the press- papers, television, whatever. While he does not come off as a glory-hound, there is no doubt that he likes trouncing heroes as publically as possible.

 

Tactics: TNT controls a powerful ability, but most of his crimes have a 'small time' feel about them. Often he simply robs jewelry stores, banks, liquor stores, whatever. If there is press about, he will make a presence attack, which includes simple threats, made ominous by his voice-scrambler reverb gear: "I warn the people of 'Campaign City;' do not try to stand against the matter-destructive powers of TNT, the Kinetic Man!" at which point he will blow up one or two objects and depart. If the Heroes show up to stop him, he prefers to engage them only briefly-- just enough to get some press 'holding his own' or even 'winning' against the heroes. He is not stupid, and if it is obvious that he can't last more than a round or two against the heroes, he will simply begin setting off explosions all over the combat area (to distract the heroes or force them to protect other people) and run like the wind, mocking them as he goes.

 

History: (one of the things the players, always unable to apprehend him, never learned) Karl Timken was a bright young man and a hard worker, dedicated to making the most he could of his life. He put himself through school with a variety of jobs, including special effects man for a movie company, demolition for a construction company, and eventually even as a lab assistant in his chosen field of chemical physics.

 

All his life, he had been obsessed with Supers [our campaign world has supers appearing around 1880, becomming more common and more powerful around WW2], studying their adventures and subscribing-- even freelance writing for-- all the fanzines. He felt that it was wonderful, having such powerful men and women dedicated to helping others. That was what he wanted to do-- help others.

 

Unbeknownst to even himself, what he _really_ wanted to do was help others with his super powers. Karl desperately wanted super-powers. A deep analysis of him personality might have lead to the conclusion that he sought a carrer in chemical physics for the one-in-a-billion chance that some bizzare lab accident might bequeath him the powers he dreamed of. For being a bright, hard-working, dedicated young man was, for all his success, still just ordinary.

 

Then something sent him over the edge. While in a doctor's waiting room, he was thumbing through a fanzine that professed to have gotten a copy of government test results from experiments done on the Martin Power, the Indestructable Man. [which was true and accurate]. Martin Power, one of the most poweful supers ever born-- a man who spent his entire life hating being more than normal, and who would steadfastly refuse to use his powers without the utmost coercion-- was found to have absolutely no super powers whatsoever. The man who had held together the Stony Marshall Suspension Bridge during an earthquake, who had defelcted howitzer shells with his chest, who had walked across the bottom of the ocean after falling from a ship during battle [Power couldn't swim] and dragged himself ashore in England [he had a bad sense of direction, too] was found to have absolutely no super abilities whatsoever. So the man who never wanted any powers, let alone the ones he had, in fact did not have any. Except that he did.

 

This pushed Karl over the edge. It was at this point-- the point where a he, a man who would have been thrilled to have even 1/10 the power of any other super, learned that the world's strongest (and only indestructable) man hated having his powers and was trying desperately to get rid of them-- that he hatched his plan. Something in Karl cracked just a little bit that day.

 

Karl threw himself into research, learning-- even expanding on-- many fields of science, and became a leading authority on several branches of physics and biology. He was hoping to find some key pattern that meant the super-powers he craved.

 

And he failed miserably. He built several new suits of powered armor, but sold them to various governments. Gadgets, he felt, were simply not powers. He resignedly accepted that he would never have powers, and never be a super hero. Whatever it was that cracked that day at the doctor's office fell completely apart, and Karl was quietly commited.

 

He spent four years in a home, and another four in twice-weekly therapy. Eventually, he was pronounced 'all better' and discharged from treatment. Karl was 'all better,' and it was because he had a new plan. Could he not get the respect of the other supers if he had powers himself? Would the supers know if his powers were real, or elaborate hoaxes? Surely he could find a way, with his vast knowledge, to 'fake' super powers.....

 

Through much experimentation, Karl finally acknowledged that short of obvious gadgets (which, to his mind, would give him away as a talented inventor, but _not_ a super), there was no way to fake super powers outside of a completely controlled environment. And it was hard to rescue someone from a burning building if you had to have your powers pre-staged. Even harder to save a crippled jetliner from crashing.

 

But it wasn't too hard to set-up a crime..... In fact, all the best crimes involved lots and lots of advanced work, right? So Karl set out to choose a balance between powers that he could fake flawlessly and were still spectacular enough to draw the attention he craved. He would soon show the world that he could defeat any super! And when that day came, maybe then he would unmask himself and show the world that supers were no match for a mere mortal.....

 

Powers _really_: (the rest of the stuff the players never knew, but could have probably learned if it had occured to them to check) Karl has no super powers outside his amazing intelligence and his ability to apply himself fully and immediately to any field of study. All of his 'powers' are faked. They are simply lots and lots and lots of pre-planted bombs (made of a substance of his own devising that leaves almost no traces of itself) that are placed near or on as many large-ish objects as he can arrange. Often, the object itself is a forgery made completely out of the explosive chemical with a tiny reciever and charge in the center. [i tried to drop a hint at this to the players after TNT's fourth appearance in the campaign. There was a fire next to a Western Union that TNT had robbed the week before. Several firemen were badly injured when the hydrant they were trying to attach a hose to exploded. Oddly, this was something the PC's ignored. More's the fun, I suppose!]

 

TNT will spend days-- even months-- visiting the 'scene of the crime' in various disguises, setting his 'props.' He always has four or five scenes ready, and a dozen more being worked on. When he is ready to use a scene, he will build a media draw very near where he is going to strike (set a fire, phone an anymous tip, or even use some of his ill-gotten loot to create a small award ceremony or just pay two gangs to fight each other. He prefers something 'nice and good,' as the market share for such things will be shocked by the abrupt 'change in programming.' If possible, he will even arrange his 'job' so that the supers will be approaching as he is ready to depart.

 

TNT will not blow all of his bombs without good reason, and that reason is usually escape. As his compound is the most stable explosive on earth ]and why I couldn't justify another accidental explosion clue], he doesn't worry about leaving them around. All the bombs are keyed to a small transmitter in his costume, and he will return to the scene in disguise after it 'cools off' to deactivate any remaining bombs so that they will not 'get wasted' by stray signals.

 

His jobs are _very_ meticulously planned [i had to give him a few tactics and crime skills to justify this], as is his escape. He never has less than four possible escape routes, and all of them will be nearby, yet cleverly camoflagued enough to give the illusion that he has simply vanished. He has claimed to the press that his powers give him the ability to unlock the potentional kinetic energy stored in matter, and that by disolving the bonds of his own body he can travel on the wind at will. He goes to great lengths to support these claims.

 

[one more note: As I said, I actually gave players hints that this character was intended to be a throw-away diversion, and did my best to get them to understand that he was extremely simple to take out barring his tactic for distance-keeping (a good move-through would drop him, and he knew it). I even had one of his escape routes-- the one he ended up having to use! being no more than a concealment roll! It was a fake brick wall that covered an alcove in an alley. He hid behind it for ten hours to ensure that the 'coast was clear.' One of the PCs even had both IR vision and Tracking Scent and never even considered using it! She simply announced "Oh man! He Teleports, too!" ]

 

I don't know if there's any inspiration there or not, but he can be a lot of fun!

 

 

Duke

[Yogzilla]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

I don't know if there's any inspiration there or not' date=' but he can be a lot of fun![/quote']

Oh, heck yeah!! In fact, while he might "trouble" other heroes, I could see him being a particular thorn in the side to Eternal Flame (guess what her powers are )

[Duke Bushido]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

That was a used character, and you are welcome to take anything you do or do not want from it.

 

This was a wierd, and as it was the very first one, the players followed it (off and on) to the very end. It's also an early wierd, and demonstrates nicely what can happen if you have to 'wing it' because you failed to note it when it was first introduced. Enjoy.

 

 

Shortly after creating a base of ops, the players decided that they would need a small staff-- a couple of handymen, a janitor, a mechanic's assistant (for the gadget guy, to help with the big stuff), and a secretary to handle phone calls, appointments, etc.

 

Immediately, so as to flesh out that big, big world feeling, I tossed out snippets of the habits of the staff, personalities, etc, and would occasionally have them strike up non-plot conversations. (as I said, if you don't do these things, when you do it to 'drop a clue,' they _know_ it's a clue. Mystey ruined.)

 

As it turned out, one of the handymen left at _precisely_ 4:00 pm for three days every month. His wife had terrible 'monthly sickness,' and he helped her by picking up the kids from school, cooking dinner, etc. The players, by now used to the fact that I built detailed worlds (I've had players who join for temp, and never leave till they leave town, so I figure I'm doing something right), simply accepted it. (much like anyone would in real life, right?)

 

Over the course of the campaign, the characters uncovered a secret organization (details unimportant for your world; any dangerous paramilitary supremecist group with politcal connections will do) that was keeping tabs on supers around the world-- learning their habits and weaknesses, etc. The group met monthly, at 6:00 pm, every full-moon.

 

Still no connection. Then one of the characters, in secret ID, is leaving the base just after the handyman and offers him a ride to pick up the kids (the NPC rode the bus-- he was a greenie) which he steadfastly refused, holding out against all persuasion. The player assumed the man was simply leery of the 'stranger' and let it ride.

 

Telling another character about it (who was researching the organization) sent up alarm bells, so he began to research the NPC. They discovered he had no children, and no wife. In fact, he had no family at all, and his birth certificate was a forgery.

 

Immediately the group forms a plan to investigate the handyman. To condense the rest of the investigation, they ultimately discover that he was _not_ a member of _any_ organization, evil or otherwise. He was simply a three-hundred-and-fifty year old werefish, desperate to be at home, safely in the tub when 'The Change' came upon him.........

 

This is what coined the term. The player heading the investigation (the best detective-related skills, and ultimately team leader), turns away from the skylight, looks at the rest of the team (all players very confused now) and says "Hunh. That's wierd."

 

They would continue to check on him from time to time, to ensure that he didn't 'go on a homicidal rampage' (oh, the humanity! I bruised my ribs holding that laugh inside me!) and would now and again try to dig into his past.

 

At the conclusion of that campaign, a year or so later real-time, one of the players protested "But it can't be over! What about Jerry?!" (Jerry being the werefish, of course)

 

To this day, anything that gets noticed but doesn't raise any alarms is called a 'wierd' at our table.

[Duke Bushido]

Re: Building a Super-History...

 

I give up!

 

Anyone know the Celtic word for the noun form of "wonder?" Yogzilla: that's the word that I can't for the life of me remember. Embarrasing in particular because my grandmother used it all the time.....