WWYCD: Registration

[Powerhouse]

Re: WWYCD: Registration

 

If you have a pistol and you use it to protect your home against an armed intruder, there will be an investigation, but probably no charges. If you stop a crime in progress in front of witnesses, you'll probably be let go. If you start walking through slum neighborhoods getting in gunfights, and you're caught, you will go to trial.

 

In essence though, that's what being a superhero tends to be: wandering around with a gun looking for crimes to stop. By your analogy, most heroes would get arrested. Isn't it better for them to be supercops instead?

 

I realized that I never put down my own characters POV's on registration. Part of the problem is that I'm trying to decide how registered they are since they work with the US and have clearance:

 

1. Lady Silver: would be conflicted. While she believes in people sacrificing for the greater good, said sacrifice is to be a voluntary one. She's a little naive but I don't think to the point where having government know who you are is a great thing. Also, as a mystic she tends to deal with stuff that the government doesn't have a clue about and thus works better without them. I have to think about this.

 

She would acknowledge that some type of security clearance/law enforcement powers would be a valuable thing and this would require some type of background check. In the Avengers, Rage entered a room where he entered his real name to determine his security clearance but the name was erased afterwards. That might be a compromise for her.

 

2. Sentinel: all for it since SOMEONE has to control those idiot supers. He's a non-powered soldier who's already "registered" in a sense so it doesn't impact him negatively anyway.

 

3. Nova: would probably side with Lady Silver one way or another. Personally though, as a warrior on her world, she would think it obvious that the government would know who its protectors were just as it knows who its cops and soldiers are. Her world was a much simpler and peaceful place where most battles were against external foes.

 

4. Starknight: would give a big f*** you to the government. No one tells her what to do and there's no way she's trusting some beaucrat to not sell her out or try to blackmail her. As a GL type, she's powerful enough to be tough to be brought in. Also, her status places her above any planetary law at least in the eyes of her Order.

 

5. Tyr: as Norse god of law and justice, he would comply with the law. Woe to any who attempted to misuse this information.

 

6. SpeedDemon: he already has a public ID so he's not affected. Public he's try to be vague since he doesn't want to hurt his image (and thus movie roles/endorsements). Privately though, he's comes to realize that having a public ID can be problematic and would symphathize with anyone who wanted to not register but still do the right thing.

 

7. Titan: again, he's publicly known as a supehero. While he believes strongly in duty as an African prince, he is also a strong believer of democracy and freedom (indeed, his father has begun shifting his counry from a monarchy to a republic) and would be loathe to any law that would violate one's right to privacy. While he himself would see nothing wrong with voluntary registration in order to obtain law enforcement powers, he knows that many independent heroes would not go through with it and thus the forces for good would be cut.

 

Furthemore, he understands that a database no matter how good it it, can be hacked. There would always be a chance that it could be breached no matter the safeguards especially since it's possible that the safeguards might not be enhanced as rapidly (we are talking about the government) as Mechanon upgrades.

 

Cool and fun topic so far. I think that I should have been a little clearer originally but I guess I cast too wide a net with two types of registration: one needed to fight crime and gain law enforcement powers and a second for supers in general. Something to think about I guess if I ever broach the topic again.

 

As always though, please keep those responses coming and thanks for the ones so far!

[Lucius]

Re: WWYCD: Registration

 

I thought Captain American HAD a secret ID??

 

Lucius Alexander

 

On the internet, no one can tell I'm really a palindromedary

[OddHat]

Re: WWYCD: Registration

 

If you have a pistol and you use it to protect your home against an armed intruder' date=' there will be an investigation, but probably no charges. If you stop a crime in progress in front of witnesses, you'll probably be let go. If you start walking through slum neighborhoods getting in gunfights, and you're caught, you will go to trial.[/b']

 

In essence though, that's what being a superhero tends to be: wandering around with a gun looking for crimes to stop. By your analogy, most heroes would get arrested. Isn't it better for them to be supercops instead?

 

That was the point; the real world baseline is that there are fairly clear rules on when you can and can't use force. My own campaign setting applies those rules to all citizens. If a Super sees a crime in progress and stops it without causing property damage or using excessive force, chances are he'll be in the clear. He can aid in disaster or emergency relief services as much as he likes. If he wants to fight crime professionally without being seen as a criminal himself, he'll need to register and take things from there.

 

He may decide to simply register and not join any police force, obtaining what is effectively a Private Investigator's License. He might later take a contract with a municipal or private Super team, or opperate on his own. Municipal teams tend to have good relationships with the police.

 

If he registers and joins the OSI (my campaigns main Super agency), he'll have Federal police powers.

 

Registering and then deciding on a carreer outside of law enforcement has fewer advantages. Mainly, it allows you to take out Federal Class M Liability Insurance in case you get sued for damages caused while using your powers. Some metahumans won't bother.

 

There hasn't been conscription for U.S. Supers in my campaign since 1973.

[David Johnston]

Re: WWYCD: Registration

 

I thought Captain American HAD a secret ID??

 

Lucius Alexander

 

On the internet, no one can tell I'm really a palindromedary

 

Exposed a long time ago. He created a replacement ID for a while but it was too much bother to maintain so he dropped it. And of course the government always knew his real identity all along. However, the public doesn't have a clear idea what his face looks like so he can duck his adoring fans just by wearing civvies.