What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

[pointyman2000]

Hey guys,

 

I've been running a Teen Superhero campaign for quite some time now, and as it draws to a close, my players are asking for me to run a sequel of sorts to the campaign. As such, we all came up with the idea of playing new teen supers in the same setting 35 years after, with all their previous characters as old or retiring.

 

As such I'd like to get some input regarding what advances might have taken place in such a time... I'm assuming medical technology would have received significant advances, and the police force will be equipped with blasters rather than normal revolvers. Metahuman Response Teams will probably also exist, for dealing with supervillains and stuff.

 

How would the realms of entertainment, politics and other miscellaneous things be affects? Any ideas?

[assault]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

How would the realms of entertainment' date=' politics and other miscellaneous things be affects? Any ideas?[/quote']

 

There are two main ways that you can go, I think.

 

The first is to be fairly conservative about things. In this situation, you look back at the way the world was 35 years ago, in order to get a feel for how much change is "realistic". Also, look at the world 70 years ago. While a lot has changed in the last 35 years, there is also a great degree of continuity. So combine the two as you see fit.

 

The alternative is to really go to town with the effects of the presence of supers. You have already suggested one such effect - blasters are unlikely to be used in the Real World, but are much more likely in a supers world. Add any such effects you feel like. Sure, any such change risks introducing unintended consequences to your world, but it is within your power to ignore them!

 

So, basically, you can do anything you feel like.

 

You want interstellar travel - you've got it! Flying cars? A global democratic government? World peace? A Cyberpunk style dystopia? Whatever you feel like!

 

Incidentally, the very first superhero RPG ever published was set in the year 2044 - 37 years into the future.

 

It was junk, so don't bother tracking it down, but if you Google "Superhero 2044", and dig around a bit, you might find details about its setting that are worth "borrowing".

[OddHat]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Your best bet is to decide what you want and then work backwards.

 

If you're a Marvel fan, you can Earth-X it and assume that despite all the efforts of all the world's heroes, Earth is doomed to be a complete madhouse in 35 years, where everyone has powers and almost no one has the slightest spark of hope.

 

If you're a new-school DC fan, you can Kingdom Come it, and assume that future Earth is a dystopia ruled by a cartel of villains and plagued by pointless battles between Supers that left the Hero and Villain labels behind a long time back.

 

Personally, I'd make the future a near utopia with a few serpents left to deal with, but then I'm not big on the story value of telling your players that their best efforts won't yield anything past bare survival. They should know that they have a chance to make a great future for the world, and some hints of the dangers they'll face on the way.

[Clonus]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Floating cars obviously. Nothing says "future" more than floating cars, no matter when you start from. You might also want some kind of space colony. Those are the classic science fiction 30 years later benchmarks (neither of which are likely that soon in reality). You could have a society that has lost patience with superheroics and instead relies on special police squads that are sufficient during a relative supervillainous lull.

[Balabanto]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

I think your best bet is to keep things as close to the original in feel and tone as possible.

 

Ways you can do it:

 

1) The technology backlash. Either strange dimensional energies blasted tech back to about the 50's so you have the same tech that you have now, or angry magicians decided that magic wasn't powerful enough so they targeted the tech base and blew it up.

 

2) The Secret Identichip. In the future, identity scanners will likely be a reality. However, superheroes who wish to protect their loved ones and wish to keep fighting the good fight may require a fake identichip implanted under the skin. That way, when scanned, it only gives information on the heroic persona of the character. Nothing is dumber than heroes running through a doorway, arriving at the scene of the villain, and hearing the words "Welcome Mervin Dunzda..."

 

Villain: Your name is Mervin Dunzda!

 

Hero: Yeah, and you're Pete Mapplethorpe! Says so right above your head!

 

This is not heroic, nor is it fun.

 

3) The Benign Orbital Satellite: The Benign Orbital Satellite is controlled by a mysterious benefactor, who uses the satellite to protect the heroes secret identities, rewriting data, advanced security systems, etc. Of course, if you want, the mysterious benefactor could be an evil jackass, or a member of a defunct villain group itching for a rematch.

[input.jack]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Batman Beyond is great source material for this kind of thing. Buildings are taller, there are skyway sidewalks everywhere, and the map has a lot of up and down to it, there are flying cars, cops have blasters...and people are still just how theyve always been.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Look at some of the tech based supers in your campaign, and assume that some of their devices have become fairly common. Then amp up the powers of the ones who actually developed their own technology to reflect the fact that they've been experimenting this whole time too. Guys like Ankylosaur and Mechassassin will fall behind the pack, while Utility and (gulp) Dr Destroyer will be much more powerful.

[pointyman2000]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I'm looking at a Batman Beyond-ish setting for the most part, with Cyberpunk tropes becoming more and more common. I probably won't go for the dystopian route since it's still meant to be a relatively lighthearted campaign.

 

I've been thinking about it and it seems that the future would be all about a cashless society. What kind of crimes do you think would be the "norm" in a future setting? Given that the local law enforcement (and criminals) will have access to some gadgets that only the gadgeteers of the former era used to have as standard issue.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Gold and jewels will still be something for your traditional holdup artists. Of course cybercrime would be where the real money's at, for those with the knowhow. Mentalists would still be able to convince people to "make a gift".

 

I was thinking that in this sort of scenario, it's always cool to show how some of the villains have changed over the years...kind of like Mechanon in Champions 3000. Take some of your villainous mainstays and cyber them up, or give them a radiation accident that, while keeping their schtick intact, alters their appearance and some of their powers.

[Comic]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

What a great opportunity to use a Post-Apocalyptic setting.. or..

 

Decide if you want a Utopian or Distopian feel. Did your teen heroes make a positive change in the world, tending toward a brighter future?

 

Did they go too far, and incite tyranny or anarchy in either extreme?

 

Technological changes are only a small part of any future. While 35 years ago the Internetwork was only a gleam in Al Gore's eye, for most of the intervening time it existed, and merely only had an impact on a few percent of the population at all until socially it was embraced and used.

 

Flying cars have existed for years. Medical advances can happen at a thousand times their current rate, and still not take a noticeable bite out of the many medical problems that will remain unsolved. And even if medical science knows something, it's no guarantee society will accept it. Choose what you want to solve, what you want to still be a problem, and what you want to be a new problem (cloning? new diseases?). Your guess is as good as anyone's.

 

Good luck. Have fun.

[Steve]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Batman Beyond is great source material for this kind of thing. Buildings are taller' date=' there are skyway sidewalks everywhere, and the map has a lot of up and down to it, there are flying cars, cops have blasters...and people are still just how theyve always been.[/quote']

 

For a CU take on this, imagine Foxbat Beyond. An elderly Foxbat turns over his persona to a younger replacement, maybe occasionally talking about his days of youth.

[Hermit]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

For a CU take on this' date=' imagine [i']Foxbat Beyond[/i]. An elderly Foxbat turns over his persona to a younger replacement, maybe occasionally talking about his days of youth.

 

Oh wow... now I have this image of an old Freddie running into a gang of punks in bright gold and orange jackets

 

"Hey man, we're the Firewings."

 

"Of course you are." smirk.

[Clonus]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I'm looking at a Batman Beyond-ish setting for the most part, with Cyberpunk tropes becoming more and more common. I probably won't go for the dystopian route since it's still meant to be a relatively lighthearted campaign.

 

I've been thinking about it and it seems that the future would be all about a cashless society. What kind of crimes do you think would be the "norm" in a future setting? Given that the local law enforcement (and criminals) will have access to some gadgets that only the gadgeteers of the former era used to have as standard issue.

 

 

Cash is something that if lost, will inevitably be reinvented. People need something to pay hookers with that won't show up on a credit check. I'm betting on "souvenir" gold and silver coins and prepaid gift and phone cards. One obvious development would be an increasing tendency among the criminally inclined to go to black market body shops for the implantation of a competitive edge. Being a cyborg might end up being socially stigmatised. Android servants in a comic book future might be affordable for businesses and the upper-middle class. Actually I highly recommend raiding J.D. Robb books if your players don't read them.

[megaplayboy]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

1.Some kind of nanotech is likely.

2.Biotech is much better, and probably fantastically better in a world of mutants.

3. Retarded aging?

4. Fusion-powered everything.

5. Fembots. Menbots. Organic or Pseudo-organic "replicants"

6. Clone insurance for the ultra-rich.

7. Big cultural shifts: If youth are wearing thongs now...

8. Cyber-democracy?

9. Pills for everything.

10. Ultra-high def TV with multilayered screen to create illusion of depth, and maybe hologrids of some sort for the high end enthusiasts.

[SKJAM!]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Quite a few legacy characters will be around, I imagine, as well as a few old fogies (who were the adult heroes back in the day) who haven't hung it up yet. Some legacies should be straight up, some should be a little off. "You know, Blonde Bombshell's costume looked better on a girl."

 

Some of the old heroes are still able to keep up, some need a lot of extra help, and a few just haven't quite figured out that they should retire.

 

One thought--One of those heroes who was seriously into training sidekicks just kept right on doing that until he died. Now there are a half-dozen people running around in variants of his costume, claiming to be the real heir to the mantle of Street Champion. They don't particularly get along.

[Vondy]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

It would the the 1980's. Ouch.

[input.jack]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

I -liked- the 80s ;P

[Captain Obvious]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Would that mean there'd be a new New Wave?

[Peregrine]

Re: What would a supers setting look like 35 years from the present?

 

Whatever you want it to look like. Seriously.

 

Given the tech edge of a supers campaign, you as the GM can decide what supertech has made it into the mainstream. Further, you can decide what other sources of super powers have waxed, waned, gone mainstream (Cyberline for a price, anyone?), or vanished completely (dies the magic). Organizations could have formed, folded, merged, split, reshaped, or dissolved. And, of course, legacies, both heroic and villainous. 35 years is enough time for any super to have left "the scene" unless they are immortal (or at least age slowly), leaving their mantle available for an heir (officially declared or usurped - or even both).