Superhero technology

[Guest bblackmoor]

I have tried, from time to time, to document examples of common superhero tech. I am wondering if other people do this, too, or if you just play it fast and loose and leave everyone to their own devices.

 

For example, here is the Technology page from the WestGuard web site (a work in progress):

http://www.westguard.org/index.php?title=Technology

 

Doers anyone else have something like this set up for their game(s)? If so, I'd be interested in seeing it.

 

To be clear on what I am looking for here: I have seen some control-freak GMs produce exhaustive lists of what technology is and is not permitted in "their" game. That is the last thing I want to do, and that is not what I am interested in seeing. My goal with this is to provide examples to make the game easier to play, and hopefully even give them fun ideas, not to micromanage how people make up their characters.

[OddHat]

Re: Superhero technology

 

Very cool section and site. Inspires me to do something similar.

[austenandrews]

Re: Superhero technology

 

When I ran Champs regularly, I often attempted to have some vaguely-consistent technological undercurrents. At least devise some "metascience" parameters to explain why the army doesn't put force fields or power armor-level defenses on fighter planes, and why Boeing doesn't build antigrav passenger liners.

 

In general I was the only one who really cared about it, though, so I never wrote it up.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Superhero technology

 

In general I was the only one who really cared about it' date=' though, so I never wrote it up.[/quote']

 

I think that's the boat I'm in.

[levi]

Re: Superhero technology

 

I have the same problem, most of my players have the comic-book suspension of disbelief thing down and don't seem to care that only heroes seem to have advanced tech. In fact, when I tried to give the PD powered-armor, it made my tech heroes upset, made them feel less important / unique.

[nexus]

Re: Superhero technology

 

I have the same problem' date=' most of my players have the comic-book suspension of disbelief thing down and don't seem to care that only heroes seem to have advanced tech. In fact, when I tried to give the PD powered-armor, it made my tech heroes upset, made them feel less important / unique.[/quote']

 

I can kind of understand that position. You get a similar effect in low powered games where common weaponry is just as effective as superpowers. I think BGC handled it well, The cops and military had things like Power Armor but it was hopelessly outclassed by the heroes and villian's tech.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Superhero technology

 

In fact' date=' when I tried to give the PD powered-armor, it made my tech heroes upset, made them feel less important / unique.[/quote']

 

That's an understandable reaction. It's one of the reasons I made clear in the write-up for Versatex that it's too expensive and difficult to fabricate for it to be widely used by the military or police.

 

It's also one of the reasons that high-powered "agents" annoy me. A Viper agent -- even an elite Viper agent -- should not be a match for a superhero.

 

But I digress.

[clsage]

Re: Superhero technology

 

I have tried, from time to time, to document examples of common superhero tech. I am wondering if other people do this, too, or if you just play it fast and loose and leave everyone to their own devices.

 

For example, here is the Technology page from the WestGuard web site (a work in progress):

http://www.westguard.org/index.php?title=Technology

 

Doers anyone else have something like this set up for their game(s)? If so, I'd be interested in seeing it.....

 

Very nice !!

 

I wish that my "backstory tech list" was so compleate.....sigh.

 

I did find the "White Thought Generator" interesting. I was reminded of the

Psi Shield helmets from classic Traveller, which used nerve tissue circuts

to block psi...Interesting, but less as a gadget than as a plot device. Given

the use of neurological tissue and all...Anyone recall the old Outer Limits

episode entitled "The Brain of Colonel Barham" ??

 

-Carl-

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Superhero technology

 

Very nice !!

 

I wish that my "backstory tech list" was so compleate.....sigh.

 

I did find the "White Thought Generator" interesting. I was reminded of the

Psi Shield helmets from classic Traveller, which used nerve tissue circuts

to block psi...Interesting, but less as a gadget than as a plot device. Given

the use of neurological tissue and all...Anyone recall the old Outer Limits

episode entitled "The Brain of Colonel Barham" ??

 

I never saw the episode, but the synopsis sounds very similar to Donovan's Brain, from eleven years earlier. Of course, a brain in a jar never really goes out of style.

[clsage]

Re: Superhero technology

 

 

Of course, a brain in a jar never really goes out of style.

 

 

 

I may steal that phrase for my signature file, if you don't mind....

 

-Carl-

[Matt Frisbee]

Re: Superhero technology

 

Technology boundaries? Is there such a thing in Champions?

 

The Lakeport campaign I ran a couple of years back had an alternate timeline where, due to supervillain intervention since the 1930's and the fact that our sun generated seriously mutating cosmic rays, some technology never developed while other technology was significantly advanced beyond current limits.

 

One example of this was, yes, astronauts walked on the moon, but were so genetically damaged from their exposure to cosmic rays that all three were dead within a year of the feat. Results: 1) manned space flight and space stations simply do not exist beyond that one great and tragic achievement, 2) NASA has launched a lot of space probes and has taken great strides in computer programming, even to the point of creating very primitive A.I. systems, 3) Aircraft don't fly at high altitudes (above 30,000 feet) unless they are part of the new generation of planes with improved shielding from the cosmic rays, 4) Because of NASA's continued work on improving computer technology, computers are actually more advanced and even easier to use, and 5) Genetics research is about 15 years further along due to all of the "acquired" knowledge from supervillains and superheroic research.

 

It all really depends on how much cause-and-effect your particular group can tolerate. The vast majority of my players didn't read that information, so I wound up not incorporating it into the campaign. This particular go around, supers have only been around for about 15 years, so their impact on society has been noticeable, but not yet significant enough to cause a shift of paradigms.

 

I'm sure I have a list of "acceptable" technology stashed somewhere in the gray matter, but until I get a group of players that really get into the universe, there's really no point.

 

Matt "Still-gets-way-into-the-worlds-of-my-creation" Frisbee

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Superhero technology

 

Technology boundaries? Is there such a thing in Champions?

 

Yes, but the point is that those boundaries apply to normal people, not to superheroes. The object of my having a Technology page on the WestGuard site is not to limit the other players, but to provide a service to them.

[Matt Frisbee]

Re: Superhero technology

 

Yes' date=' but the point is that those boundaries apply to [i']normal[/i] people, not to superheroes. The object of my having a Technology page on the WestGuard site is not to limit the other players, but to provide a service to them.

 

Whoa, easy there! I didn't say it wasn't a good idea -- in fact, I like the website! I think my point here is that my players just didn't get into it for whatever reason, and that I was sort of wasting time and effort with writing it down for them. Or, I could have just been babbling, which is something I tend to do from time to time.

 

Again, great work on the website -- it was an enjoyable read. And yeah, I got the part about it being for normal people. The players in my games just tend to overlook that sort of stuff -- maybe I need to be a better GM...

 

Matt "What?-You're-taking-me-seriously?" Frisbee

[McCoy]

Re: Superhero technology

 

So much of the technology in Real Life seems comic book as compared to my childhood.

 

(Aside, sometime see the movie 2001: A Space Oddsey and try to pick out the tech available in 2001 that was not available in 1968 when the movie was made. Flat-screen TV's, laptop computers, wireless networking, juice boxes.)

 

The civilicans in my campagine do have some comic book tech. Remember the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent flying cars? Since 911 all police cars in New York city have this technology, able to jump over gridlocked traffic. Most cities on the eastern seaboard have some police cars that can do that, and by 2010 all police cars in the country will have that. Now they are working on applying the same technology to heavier ambulances and fire trucks.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Superhero technology

 

I think my point here is that my players just didn't get into it for whatever reason' date=' and that I was sort of wasting time and effort with writing it down for [i']them[/i].

 

Ah, okay. Yeah, I can definitely sympathize. I just wanted to be sure that my intentions weren't misconstrued.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Superhero technology

 

The civilicans in my campagine do have some comic book tech. Remember the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent flying cars?

 

Those aren't too far away, although they'll be too expensive for ordinary police use (even in superhero games, imo) for several decades, at least.

 

Have you seen the Moller Skycar? It looks pretty nifty, but remember that Moller has been working on this particular generation of volantor since at least 1998. The project itself dates back to the 1960s.

[sinanju]

Re: Superhero technology

 

I did find the "White Thought Generator" interesting. I was reminded of the Psi Shield helmets from classic Traveller, which used nerve tissue circuts

to block psi...Interesting, but less as a gadget than as a plot device. Given

the use of neurological tissue and all...Anyone recall the old Outer Limits

episode entitled "The Brain of Colonel Barham" ??

 

-Carl-

 

Ahhhh, yes--I too remember the Traveller psi-shield helmet.

 

"You can't hear his thoughts."

"Why not?"

"You can't hear them over the psychic screams of the insane mink brain kept alive and in total sensory deprivation in his psi shield helmet."

"That's disgusting!"

"But effective."

"....yeah."

 

That's right, Traveller fans. Insane mink brains. At least in OUR game.

[nexus]

Re: Superhero technology

 

Nice list, nicely presented. Good idea to give a little flavor to the game.

 

 

As a side comment, I can see a Gm placing some absolute restructions on the type of technology allowed his campaign. Things like no "Psibertech" (Psionic powers cannot be duplicated or interferred with by science) or no nanotech (too many logical implication that the gm doesn't really want to deal with in the course of the game).

[assault]

Re: Superhero technology

 

Ahhhh, yes--I too remember the Traveller psi-shield helmet.

...

That's right, Traveller fans. Insane mink brains. At least in OUR game.

 

Now, dude, I first played Traveller in 1979, and I played DnD in 1980. I first played Champions in 1982. OK?

 

Psi-Shields were "stuff that happened". They didn't necessarily have any such freaky effects.

 

Oh yeah. I first played Runequest in 1981. That was when I first ran into the work of Steve Perrin, who has been known to post on these boards in the past. OK, he's not The Champions Guru, but he's a Great Old One in terms of roleplaying games. So therefore we should pelt him with fruit if he ever shows up again.

[clsage]

Re: Superhero technology

 

 

 

......Insane mink brains.....

 

 

 

I belive I saw them in concert once upon a time.....

 

 

-Carl-

[Whitewings]

Re: Superhero technology

 

Those aren't too far away, although they'll be too expensive for ordinary police use (even in superhero games, imo) for several decades, at least.

 

Have you seen the Moller Skycar? It looks pretty nifty, but remember that Moller has been working on this particular generation of volantor since at least 1998. The project itself dates back to the 1960s.

Currently, the volantor can take off, and in wind tunnel tests has proved able to fly horizontally, but Dr. Moller still can't quite get the thing through the transition between hovering flight and horizontal flight.