Keeping it Real

[nexus]

There’s probably some special backroom of Hell for people with ideas like this but here goes. I’ve actually been kind of inspired by one of Millar’s ideas (and I just threw up in my mouth a little…). Specifically the comic “Kick A**”. Like Civil War, I don’t think this is really a bad idea per se, just that he won’t handle it well.

 

And I’d like to give it a crack myself. Right now the basic idea is: “What if a group of “Reals” (people that dress up in super hero costumes and play the part (fighting crime in minor ways and helping out) actually got together, got somewhat organized and tried to make more of impact. The character would be “real people”, not special forces soldiers or trained mercenaries but more average Joes and Janes with a good motivations but probably a little mentally…unique.

 

The problem I’m running into after bouncing it off a potential player is that he feels the character would be too fragile. And he has a point. I can’t see the campaign’s starting level as being over 100 points, allowing for some degree of competence but the character wouldn’t be action movie heroes; that would lose the “real people” feel I’m going for. I expect it to be dangerous and for some PCs to die or be critically injured over the course of the game but I don’t want it to be total bloodbath; neither do I want it to get too cinematic lest it become basically another version of Dark Champions/Street Level Supers game (and I’m running one of those as it is).

 

So, hopefully I’ve presented my problem clearly enough that someone might have suggestions?

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

Ack... this is too "real" for me. In terms of the argument, my issue would be that I'm already "real" enough. That isn't why I game. So you're asking for a hefty amount of player buy-in for this case, and I don't know that I'd enjoy it. Because of that, my advice is pretty meaningless.

 

However. The reason I posted it is because you may have problems getting people involved.

[nexus]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

I have some potential players lined up. What I'm currently rolling around is how to set up things mechanically (point level, etc) to not make things -too- lethal but still maintain the flavor of realistic people but a team of Rambos and John Mclanes.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

Well, those are really "Pulp" heroes, Nexus -- at least the way I view them. They're definitely "Dark Champion" types. If you want to simulate that, then I would go with:

 

-- Caps at 15 for all stats, with one "super stat" over 15 of player choice (a variant on my usual 15 & 2-at-20 model)

 

-- Resource pools

 

-- Choice of no more than two super-skills to support archetype

[nexus]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

Why the scare quotes around Pulp?

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

Why the scare quotes around Pulp?

 

Because Pulp is larger than life, and I didn't want to mix genres. Those characters are built on more points than normals, sure, but they also lived through very dire situations that only Pulp Heroes live through.

[nexus]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

Because Pulp is larger than life' date=' and I didn't want to mix genres. Those characters are built on more points than normals, sure, but they also lived through very dire situations that only Pulp Heroes live through.[/quote']

 

Ah, I meant that when you start getting to 150 point characters they're more like action movie heroes. Very cinematic types of adventurers and larger than life. I already have a few games like that running and the intent for this was to keep things more "down to Earth". The PCs would be more than average 0 pt types but closer to "realistic" folks

[Blue Jogger]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

I ran an extremely low powered game. What worked for the players:

 

1) Combat Luck, 1 level (3 DEF, Hard)

2) 2 DEF, tough clothes (and allow this to stack)

3) 1D6 BODY Healing based on Paramedics. (Maximum is 3 BODY) To avoid a Dark Champions feel, it might take a couple of days with bandages before the BODY comes back fully.

4) If you roll a 6 on the STUN Multiple, count it as a 4.

[bubba smith]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

that sounds right

[Inu]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

Should be fine as long as you stick to realistic threats. If they're stopping muggers, fine. If they're stopping the mob running its protection rackets, they're gonna get bullets in the belly. Having ordinary people take on the mob in a gunfight... would probably break genre. And if they did win, well, secret IDs probably won't work too well in real life (the PCs would probably be inevitably caught by cops and unmasked) and then their families start being threatened. Basically, organised crime is probably just too much for ordinary people to take on.

 

That is, if you're going for a realistic setting as well as characters. If the setting is shooting more for verisimilitude than realism, then I'd say set it in a place where guns aren't too common (try Britain, Australia or Japan), and make organised crime a bit more complacent. They've been winning long enough and with enough stability between the families that they've gotten fat and lazy and slow. Or perhaps there just isn't much big organised crime, but only small-scale gangs.

 

If you're not dealing with a lot of gunfights, and with gangs that haven't, say, infiltrated the police, or you avoid that level of crime entirely, it could well work. =)

 

Also: what's the scope for improvement? Characters may start normal. Will they stay normal forever, or as they gain points, will they become Heroic?

[Shoutybloke]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

Should be fine as long as you stick to realistic threats. If they're stopping muggers, fine. If they're stopping the mob running its protection rackets, they're gonna get bullets in the belly. Having ordinary people take on the mob in a gunfight... would probably break genre. And if they did win, well, secret IDs probably won't work too well in real life (the PCs would probably be inevitably caught by cops and unmasked) and then their families start being threatened. Basically, organised crime is probably just too much for ordinary people to take on.

 

Organised crime is composed of ordianry people. Seriously, the advantage the average mafiosi has over the average citizen is not that he has say 25-50 more points in combat skills, he doesn't. It's the lack of that 0 point "reluctant to kill" psychological limitation that does the trick. That and the fact that they have a group of associates who also lack that limitation, so if you mess with one mafiosi, you mess with his whole crew.

Other organized crime groups may be a bit tougher- Russian and Balkan syndicates have a high percentage of members who are ex-military, but they're not invincible supermen. A suffiiciently motivated ordinary person could still match or suppass them, if they're willing to put in the work.

It's a matter of scale. Can you kick the mob out of America? No. Can you kick them out of Campaign City? probably not unless you run a very long game. Can you kick the local crew out of your neighbourhood? That's a more realistic goal.

[NestorDRod]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

The kind of situations where a Real shines are not combat situations. What makes Super-Barrio "super" is not stopping muggers, it's walking into a school and teaching kids they can make something out of their life that doesn't involve selling drugs and/or shooting people.

 

If you just take a bunch of Reals and put them into classic "comic-book" situations, regardless how watered-down, I'm afraid you may end up disappointed. But hey, good luck with it.

[Shoutybloke]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

 

That is, if you're going for a realistic setting as well as characters. If the setting is shooting more for verisimilitude than realism, then I'd say set it in a place where guns aren't too common (try Britain, Australia or Japan)...

*laughs hollowly*

Don't know about Austraila or Japan, but guns aren't uncommon over here. Ridiculusly illeagal, but not uncommon. Every thug and lowlife either has one or can get one in less than a day. Certainly everyone who remotly qualifys as organised crime seems to have the sort of arsenal that justifies the police sending 20 guys in full body armour with MP5's when they need to take them down.

(Snips rant on Britains gun laws that belong in NDG)

If you want to run Dark Champions UK (there's a suppliment I'd like to see) don't feel bad about equiping the bad guys with whatever hardware you feel like, because the real ones have it.

[nexus]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

The kind of situations where a Real shines are not combat situations. What makes Super-Barrio "super" is not stopping muggers, it's walking into a school and teaching kids they can make something out of their life that doesn't involve selling drugs and/or shooting people.

 

I know most "Reals" work in a public relations/inspirational role but there are some (possibly the less mentally stable ) that do try to "fight crime" if only in the neighborhood watch fashion. The premise of this campaign is a group of that sort gets organized and tries to "take it to the next level".

 

If you just take a bunch of Reals and put them into classic "comic-book" situations, regardless how watered-down, I'm afraid you may end up disappointed. But hey, good luck with it.

 

They're probably not going to end up in "classic comic situations" since they aren't comic characters they're real people trying to be heroes like what they see in comics or close to it. It could be inspirational or tragic, I expect there will be aspects of both but seeing what happens, answering the "What if" of the campaign will be the fun part or so I hope.

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, they've been helpful. It will be a balancing act but I have some ideas and along with these suggestions and the use a limited "Hero Point" mechanic I think it'll work.

[Wolfgang70]

Re: Keeping it Real

 

 

Right now the basic idea is: “What if a group of “Reals” (people that dress up in super hero costumes and play the part (fighting crime in minor ways and helping out) actually got together, got somewhat organized and tried to make more of impact. The character would be “real people”, not special forces soldiers or trained mercenaries but more average Joes and Janes with a good motivations but probably a little mentally…unique.

 

 

I'm looking for an update. Did this ever get off the ground?

 

This seems to be like what I'm doing. The characters in my game are a U.S. Army lieutenant, a former professional bodybuilder who now owns a gym, a former high school athlete and club bouncer who is now the general manager of a strip club, a brilliant but trouble former street punk who was involved in an accident while working as a janitor at Strake Industries (think Matt Damon's Will Hunting character from Good Will Hunting, but Italian), and the owner of a self-service laundromat and dry cleaning business.

 

Basically, they're normal people. They are a bit above the average physically or mentally, but nothing superhuman.

 

Wolfgang