Boll Weevil Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 For one of my upcoming games, I am compiling a list of heroes who fought in the Battle of Detroit. I know the official Champions Universe canon but I am interested in knowing what players and GMs here have played that scenario. Even if you haven’t actually played but rather have the story as part of your character’s origin, I want to know your story. How did your character get involved? Did he/she survive? If so, how? How has it affected him/her since? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Re: Attention: Veterans of the Battle of Detroit! I had a character for a brief 5th ed game as "reserve Champions" that was affected as a kid in Detroit. Started doing crazy stuff to cheat death, moved on to living life. Let's see... Paladin – Andre Max Andre can sometimes still see the beam. Detroit, 1992. Dr. Destroyer’s orbital bombardment cannon cuts a path of destruction through the city. Andre, then a 13-year old boy, watches its progress, seeing it obliterate buildings as close as the next street over. He and his family are spared, but many thousands are not, and it was a very close encounter with Death, one that would stay with him. Following the immediate aftermath and the mourning for victim and hero alike, Detroit began its rebirth as Millennium City. It was an odd, exciting time, with the shining new spires rising above the shattered remains of the old. Andre threw himself into athletics, finding he enjoyed the challenges and rushes they provided. He also spent time exploring some of the ruins and battle sites, and working on his skateboarding stunts. Andre kept pushing himself to go a little deeper, to try a little more dangerous stunt. He fell down a lot, but at least he had some control over the danger, and could work to overcome it. In the years following, Andre improved his boarding skills, becoming one of the top competitors. Along the way, he branched out into more of the “extreme†subculture, getting into climbing, hanggliding, snowboarding, BMX, motorcross, and later such things as demolition derby, “Banger Racingâ€, as well as learning and competing in martial arts and fencing. For just about anything that was dangerous and exciting, Andre Max was involved. He was rarely the top at any one thing, like Tony Hawk dominated skateboarding, but he was well-known enough to gain various endorsements, and also appeared in several videos as well as doing some stuntwork for several movies. He was a key figure in the cross-pollination of some groups, and his involvement in something new helped draw attention to what might otherwise have been more easily overlooked. He was the Renaissance Man of going fast, hitting hard, and falling down. In his early twenties, Andre paused to take stock. He’d been going hard for a decade, and aside from the various scrapes and broken bones, life had treated him well. His endorsements and spin-offs like the “Max Gear†clothing and equipment lines left him financially secure. He did charity work and the like, but could he make more of a difference, find a more fulfilling challenge? Superheroes. What more challenging, physical field was there? Aside from the car-throwing, flame-tossing powerhouses involved, there were lots of “mystery men†involved using nothing more than their own human abilities, wits, and some gear, and they could hold their own. Could he? Only one way to find out. Maybe after doing it for a while and proving he could hang, he’d quit and write a book about it or something. Andre trained extensively for his new challenge, becoming more fit, learning new skills, and brushing up on old ones. He gathered together sets of gear and costumes, and tested himself privately until he thought he was ready. Though he was joining the modern day of heroes, part of him reached back to the stories of heroes he read as a child, before the destruction of Detroit. Stories like Robin Hood, the knights of the Round Table, the Three Musketeers and the paladins of the Twelve Peers of Charlemagne. If he was going to try to be a hero, he would try to be the best he could – be an example, a shining knight of the modern era. Something that evoked those old stories, something catchy – he would strive to be a modern-day Paladin. Since his debut in Millennium city, Paladin has earned the ire of many local criminals, and his often flashy style and friendly attitude has earned him the affection of many of the city’s residents. He was making it. Along the way, as he saw the effects of his actions – the lives he helped save, the evils he helped thwart, he began to really appreciate what he was doing on its own merits, not just as a challenge. When the offer came to serve as a reserve member of the Champions, he accepted. It was the natural next step for him, and he would do everything he could to live up to the heroic expectations. Not just because of the challenges and excitement it would bring, but also simply because it was the right thing to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Re: Attention: Veterans of the Battle of Detroit! Saviel, the Scourge of Heaven. It's at the end of her history, but it is there. If she'd been able to get there sooner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Re: Attention: Veterans of the Battle of Detroit! The history of ChukG's character, Horus-Re, which you can read on this thread, includes his participation in the Battle of Detroit. Pretty compelling story IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Re: Attention: Veterans of the Battle of Detroit! Hmmm, this might take a little explaining, since there is a semi-amusing anecdote involved... My character Speedzone had recently discovered a teen with similar powers who'd taken to wearing a costume and using a name clearly derived from his own. Being new to his own powers, and not really feeling up to trying to mentor a teenager (never mind an enemy who'd be more than happy to accept a 'sidekick' as a valid target), Speedzone had gone searching for alternatives. To make a long story at least a little shorter, he'd managed to find out about Ravenswood Academy... OK, amusing anecdote part one: I'd decided already to put zone's roots in the midwest. He'd attended Millennium City University, and grew up in Oregon, Ohio (campaign city is New Constantinople, Oregon)... Amusing anecdote part two: In play we'd brought out that the name 'Ravenswood' seemed familiar somehow, and had been thinking that it was because Tim (zone's secret ID) had attended MCU -- but as we were playing through the scenario, I realized that it was possible that Tim might have heard mention of superpowered teens in Detroit; Oregon, Ohio being roughly an hour south of Detroit and being in the obvious evacuation path in the aftermath of the battle. The GM (Hermit on these boards) and I were discussing this in chat, the game being on the Hero Central boards, and we decided to make a roll to determine if Tim had MAYBE heard or seen something involving teens. I typed 'act of god, 8-' into the chat die roller, and the result came back a '3'. We decided with that result, he'd encountered something personally, which resulted in the following memory... Tim hurried on to the next truck, his shoulders aching and his legs protesting, but everyone who could do anything was working until they dropped to help deal with the tide of injured and displaced from the smoking ruin of the motor city and 12 year old Tim Grant was no exception. He was carrying a heavy water bottle and a clipboard from truck to truck, his main job being to record the names of anyone travelling to aid in reuniting families seperated by the chaos rather than death... === The next vehicle was actually more like a van, and Tim opened up the back door without even thinking about it, on his feet only because no one had told him to stop yet and he'd stopped really thinking a while ago, mind gone numb with the sight of blood and shocked faces and there was always another truck or car or van... === There were three of them in the back of the old cargo van, riding on the padded blanket on the floor, and a boy laying in the middle had sat bolt upright at Tim's sudden appearance and his hands had suddenly glowed with a brilliant energy before the boy sitting next to him had grabbed his hands and began speaking urgently... "It's over, we're safe... Not Destroyer, just a boy like us," and the glow had faded as terror and determination was replaced by confusion and pain -- and tears... "How many died?" he'd asked numbly, as the girl who'd been in the back moved over between Tim and the crying boy -- though in truth, all three were crying... "I'm sorry," the girl had apologized her face holding the same shocked look as so many others Tim had seen recently... "Please don't tell anyone about us?" she'd nearly pleaded... "Wha-- what happened?" Tim had forced out as the sudden jolt of adrenaline faded... "We're students from Ravenswood," she'd whispered... "No one is supposed to know about us, but some of us stumbled across Destroyer by accident... "Called in the big guys -- but we couldn't just sit by when the city started coming apart, none of us could... "Please don't give us away... "Pulse didn't mean anything, he was just scared -- he got caught in an explosion of some sort, he's still confused... Tim had just stared numbly... "I.. just need your names," he replied at last, holding up the clipboard like it held meaning... "To help your families find you... "Don't need anything else," he'd said... The story is a little chopped up since it was originally interspersed in a post with what was happening 'real time' for the PC, and it (and related posts) can be found here: Speedzone: A long list Since this memory, Speedzone has managed to meet one of these three teens as an adult (the second boy, the one who kept 'Pulse' from blasting Tim when he'd opened the door)... Note: the events in the memory take place in the parking lot of St Charles Hospital, which is located off of I-280 in Oregon, Ohio. Yes, this is an actual location in the real world... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted July 1, 2006 Report Share Posted July 1, 2006 Re: Attention: Veterans of the Battle of Detroit! I mostly use some of the information from C:NM and blend it with C5th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted July 1, 2006 Report Share Posted July 1, 2006 Re: Attention: Veterans of the Battle of Detroit! I mostly use some of the information from C:NM and blend it with C5th The Marksman from CNM is a NPC in my campaign; rather than surviving the Proprietor War as in that book, I made him a survivor of Detroit. The parallels for the character make it a very easy change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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