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World View


Enforcer84

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The World

 

 

 

The setting is fairly modern, the birth of the 21st Century. The character archetypes are all there. There are several Criminal Organizations/Business Conglomerates to divide the world under their influence. There are also several justice-minded organizations to oppose them. Mysticism runs rampant; there are mutants, cyborgs, sorcerers, supernatural beasties, demigods, demons, and robots. This type of campaign could best be described as “superheroes with a different costume codeâ€. The heroes and villains are for the most part very open in their identities. The numerous street fighting tournaments around the world have given these heroes and villains unrivaled fame and popularity (or infamy).

 

 

The world itself is Earth, our Earth – with a few additions/changes. The most major change is the increase of island nations or islands in general. Many of the ‘Final Bosses’ in fighting games live on a private island. So there are a lot more island in the Street Fighter Earth (SFE) than in our Earth. Mriganka, the island nation controlled by Shadow Law leader, Lord Bison is a good example. Also, there are a couple of additional cities, the largest being the port city of Mega City, California. A short description of these two centers of activity follows this paragraph.

 

Mega City: Home of the original Mad Gear gang and current mayor, Mike Hagar, this brooding metropolis is a dark, crime laden haven for violence and other vices. The citizens of Mega City are divided into the three categories of Rich, Working Class, and Poor. The divisions in Mega City are far more pronounced than in other cities, even such as Los Angeles and New York. The rich live in idyllic, heavily policed areas in safety and ignorance of the troubles surrounding them. The working class are aware but try to ignore the dark side of their city, where as the poor are victims and prisoners of their wretched existence. Many of the poor in Mega City end up joining criminal gangs in some capacity or another simply to survive. Mayor Hagar, a popular figure and beacon of hope, has taken his own “hands on†approach to fix some of the problems. He has done wonders rooting out the corruption in the city government and police force. He and his friends and allies broke the control of the original Mad Gear gang, a criminal organization that had run the city from the shadows for almost a generation. Things are starting to improve, but Hagar depends on vigilante actions from the many wandering warriors to help keep his city safe.

 

Mriganka: the tyrannical Lord Bison, the leader of Shadow Law, rules the island nation of Mriganka. Although he has developed his nation into his own private stronghold, he has provided his people with some amenities. A university, world class medical facilities, and a burgeoning economy have made the tiny island nation the gem of Indonesia. But cut away the surface of lies and you see that much of the native population are little more than slaves, the economy is fuelled by crime and the University and Medical Research Facilities are areas where inhumane experiments are conducted to add to Bison’s power.

 

The technology of SFE is several decades ahead of our own, in typical comic book fashion, there are mutants, cybernetics, hover cars, exotic energy weaponry, and medical miracles that we don’t see here today. Human cloning, while incredibly expensive and very rare, exists and usually in the hands of evil organizations. While the average person on the street might not have access to the cutting edge of technology, many PC’s and NPC’s will. A few things can be noted however, E-Commerce is very popular; automobiles and even aircraft are 75% more fuel efficient than they are now, cars that get over 50 mpg in the city are not uncommon. This has forced many of the Oil Barons to look to new areas of enterprise. Computer Moguls are far more common, and wield great financial power.

 

The media is about where it is now, global communications and the internet have made information so readily available and the media tycoons are fusing news and entertainment in sometimes alarming fashion.

 

Sports are still hugely popular. Some minor changes have occurred, however, Fighting Tournaments are fantastically popular in some areas and fighters can become famous. However, the World Warrior, King of Fighter, and World Heroes tournaments are still on the outside of the mainstream. Wildly popular to those in the know, they generally aren’t televised to the masses. Professional Wrestling is in a golden era. Buoyed by racy story lines and media hype, the industry is commanding much of the entertainment dollar of the world. In various parts of the world Wrestling is an actual contest, but in America, for the most part it is still more show than go. This is beginning to change after the industry started losing its brightest stars to the Street Fighting circuits. The big wrestling corporations are researching the idea of actual fights to go with their scripted story lines, and have shown interest in branching out to actual Fighting tournaments. However, they don’t like the lack of control they would have if the fights were real.

 

The SFE is a world filled with mystical and supernatural occurrences and individuals. Sorcerers, monsters, psychics, and demons, while far from everyday happenings are not unheard of. Some martial artists reach a point in their training where mystical abilities are available, some cabals of sorcerers and wizards exist. There are demons and monsters roaming the Earth. Artifacts of great power are scattered about the globe; occasional gates and portals to other worlds exist. There are many secret lands and societies scattered around the world, the difficulty is in finding them.

 

Lastly, martial arts are a huge cog in the lives of many of the people of SFE. Anyone, from the kid down the street, the rookie cop at the precinct, the librarian at the public library, your favorite rock star, your grandmother, anyone can learn martial arts and many do. Many of the ordinary folk have some martial arts ability. Characters should remember this; they are not alone. Most towns of more than 10,000 people have a dojo, and many smaller towns have someone who can and will train someone in martial arts, even if its “only†tai chi, boxing, wrestling, or yoga.

 

In the political world, things are very much the same. America is still a world power. Russia is slowly rebuilding. The tiny island nation of Mriganka is under the iron fist of Lord Bison. His Shadow Law organization is probably the most powerful terrorist/criminal force in the world. He has his hands in every country, and nearly every nation has special agents whose sole purpose is to stymie the advancement of this and similar organizations. Bison’s face is known to just about every law enforcement and anti-terrorist officer in the world.

 

 

Organizations of Note:

 

Shadow Law: the despotic Lord Bison rules this juggernaut of evil. He bucks no challenges to his authority.

Shadow Law was born from an organization that Bison began in 1968. The exploration of an ancient temple led to Bison coming into contact with the mystical artifact known as the Tear of God. Granted vast psychic power, he began to build a power base there. Using his underworld connections, he developed the organization that would one day become Shadow Law. In 1979 he personally executed seven agents sent by Interpol and the UN to infiltrate and destroy the budding criminal power. One of these agents was Chun Li’s father. After that he held the world hostage and declared his tiny island a free nation. Surprisingly, he was recognized by the UN and has been basically untouchable ever since. His agents are in almost every country in the world. He rules from his palace in Mriganka. Shadow Law’s days to day activities are run by a council of leaders. The council consists of five criminal masterminds and terrorist leaders. Lord Bison’s word is law, however, and when a command comes down, the Council scrambles to achieve it. Shadow Law has soldiers (officially they are the Mrigankan National Army), spies, assassins, smugglers, saboteurs, media personalities, scientists, doctors, mystics, priests, and thugs at the organization’s beck and call. Bison has also gathered a near army of martial arts Adepts as his personal guard and/or assistants. He so enjoys testing his power, that he holds World Warrior competitions frequently, almost every other year. Right now, Bison is working on three projects: the power of immortality, gathering mystical artifacts and relics, and finding a way to eliminate the only man he fears, Akuma.

The Council has their own agendas and many of them are warriors in their own right. They do, to a man however, fear Lord Bison’s power. Because of this fear, and the fact that they have been made powerful and wealthy beyond their dreams keeps them very loyal. The current Council members are:

1. Victor Sagat: a World Warrior, a former Champion, and a match for Bison in combat. Sagat has used

Shadow Law to become a player in the criminal underworld. He still hunts Ryu but no longer allows

his young rival to become the focus of his life. He is also, unknown to Bison, a member of the Secret

Empire. Although ruthless and brutal, Sagat sees himself as an honorable man and sometimes feels

uneasy with the path his life has taken.

2. Javier Cordoba, a.k.a. Vega: The Spanish Ninja, and psychopathic narcissus himself. Vega is undeniably the most feared of Bison’s Council. He is Bison’s personal assassin and his reputation is

enough to send powerful men scurrying. He has made quite a name for himself as a trainer of assassins

as well. His students are always attractive men and women.

3. Julian St. Augustine: Julian is a crime lord from Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States

when he was younger and his father, a minor member of a Mafia family raised his son to be somebody.

Julian left home early and started his own gang. A student of Kyukogen Karate, he impressed

Bison with is prowess in combat against an overconfident Ken Masters. Julian lost the match but

his reputation grew from his showing. He controls much of Shadow Law’s interests on the West

Coast. His base of operations is in the High Class District of Mega City.

4. Wilson Fisk: The Dragon of New York City, Wilson Fisk is a humble spice dealer and import/export mogul. He spent his formative years in Japan and learned much from the Yakuza. He is also a World Class Sumo Wrestler. He runs the North East US interests of Shadow Law and will often hold tournaments of his own to test the local talent. He dreams of facing Edmund Honda in a bout. Fisk is a highly evil but honorable man. He is very subtle in his dealings with the world at large and his reputation as an upstanding citizen is impeccable.

5. Olivia D’Escartez is the leader of Shadow Law’s presence in France. She is not a fighter, though she can defend herself in a pinch. She relies heavily on her “assistants†the Assassin Triplets, known as Leone, Halister, and Vargas Guillome. Leone was a student of Vega, Halister studied under Bison, and Vargas has received Special Forces Training from some one in the States.

 

Currently, Shadow Law is concentrating on drug and weapons trade. The organization has created several designer drugs: the “party drugâ€, Nirvana, the super steroid, Hercules, and the hallucinogenic, Limbo.

They also have a good slave trade going. Bison is interested in the collection of artifacts and relics of arcane significance, as well as the possibility of opening gates to other dimensions.

 

The Secret Empire:

Founded by an ancestor of Gill and Urien, the Secret Empire is an organization that seeks to manipulate the world towards its own end. These men and women tend towards subtlety and until recently were content to run things from behind the scenes. Emperor Gill and his brother (and Second in Command) Urien have lately taken to the over the top antics one would expect from Lord Bison. This has some of the members worried. However, they have been able to keep the two from revealing their existence thus far. The organization counts Victor Sagat, Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, Mr. Big, Rugal Bernstein, Shin Balrog, Zeus, Kain Heinlen, and Lawrence Blood. Aside from Victor Sagat and Shin Balrog, the membership has been handed down via bloodline. The Empire is loosely organized and Gill lacks absolute power. However, he has been able to push his agendas through because each Lord of the Empire has his own criminal organization to run.

 

The Mad Gear Gang:

This is a posthumous notation. The Mad Gear Gang held Mega City in the grip of fear for well over three years before it erroneously thought it could control Mayor Hagar by kidnapping his daughter. The gang was decimated and its members were spread to the four winds. Rolento has been gathering disavowed military men from several nations and is seeking to create an army so that he can invade and control a country of his own. While this may seem far-fetched, he probably could succeed if he finds the proper warriors. He has already recruited Doctrine Dark, and a mysterious former Russian solder known as Ivanov. On the more absurd level, Sodom is attempting to form a yakuza gang. His love of Japanese culture and his criminal past have led him to believe this is a good idea. He probably will not succeed. Hugo Androre has pretty much given up on his criminal past, enlisted Poison Ivy’s aid as a manager and now seeks to be a World Warrior.

Other members of the Mad Gear gang have been gathering under the banner of a new criminal mastermind and may trouble the world at large again.

 

The Orochi cult has recovered from the setbacks it suffered at the hands of Kyo and Iori. They have gone underground, and rumors abound of the principal members, each of whom seemingly perished when their gambit to take over the world was set in motion, have been seen alive. Rumors persist of orochi cultists kidnapping children for training as warriors and servants.

 

Akuma has been very busy. His attempt to turn several powerful Street Fighters into possessed warriors under his control failed. He has decided to find students as ruthless as he is and develop their skills, training them to be his assassins. He hires himself and his students out to the highest bidder. Whether he seeks more than just material gain and martial supremacy will remain to be seen.

 

On the heroic side, Interpol has a nice martial arts team, known as the Lions. There is a secret, international organization, known as GALAHAD, which uses powerful martial artists as agents in defending the meek from all the various evils in the world. The agents generally work alone, or will gather non affiliated comrades to help them in their struggles.

The various nations of the world have fighting adepts in their military and secret operations. The more notorious are the US’s Special Forces, developed and trained by Heidern, and the UK’s Delta Red Squadron. The Soviet Union is said to be attempting to develop their own team built around national hero Zangief.

 

There are two main contests in the SFE. The Street Fighter Circuit, and the King of Fighters Tournament.

It should be noted that in the games evil men who seek to test great warriors for some reason of another often hold these tournaments. In this world that is not always the case. The Circuit has several tournaments, often held by fighting organizations and temples. While several evil warriors do hold these tournaments, corporations, temples, and organizations that want little more than martial arts action, a little revenue and the thrill of competition hold the vast majority of these competitions. The King of Fighters tournament is a strange bird indeed. The original was simply an invitation only Street Fighter tournament. However, the rules have evolved over time to involve teams of three or four warriors who battle in a best of 5 falls competition. The winner of each round fights the next warrior of the opposing side. The fourth warrior is often a “Strikerâ€, allowed to intervene in the battle a limited number of times, or as a reserve incase of injury.

 

Other tournaments include the Iron Warrior tournament, the “Samurai Showdown†tournament (an unusual tournament in that almost all its participants are armed). Battles are rarely to the death however. There is the World Heroes tournament, which is often looked upon as a poor cousin to the World Warrior class of the Street Fighter tournament.

 

Of course while the tournaments are generally the focus of the video games, or at least the vehicle for many of the plots; fighting in tournament after tournament is going to get boring. Characters need to have reasons to go to these places, they need to have goals and ideals and adventures that entertain the players and the GM alike.

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