Power down day

[Adventus]

After a major battle, while signing autographs from the grateful public, a man wearing what looks like a suit from the Victorian era asks for your autograph.

 

After getting it back from you, he says "I will miss you after Power-down Day."

 

When you ask him what he means by that, he says "You know, the day all superpowers quit working."

 

He then disappears into the crowd. You can not find him anywhere.

 

In talking to other Superheroes around the world, they also have similar stories. Right down to how the guy was dressed. However, some of them say the guy told them they would survive Power-down day, just no powers.

 

What would your character do?

[The Weapon]

Re: Power down day

 

Version one is a amalgam of magic, cybernetics and genetic engineering that barely works as it is (occasionally he falls down due to intense pain). If these powers stop working suddenly or at different times his body might totally rip apart or malfunction in over a dozen lethal ways. He investigates as best he can and appeals to everyone he knows to do likewise.

[bubba smith]

Re: Power down day

 

luckily for my hero his abilites are more athetics and MA skills than super powers so hw wouldn't be affected too greatly

[hfergus]

Re: Power down day

 

All my characters would investigate and encourage others to do so. What happens to them and how depends on "all super powers" is defined.

 

Volt: Powers would certainly be gone, and he'd bit a bit relieved. He's a 'responsibility of power' hero and with them gone he'd go back to his former life (although it is a bit boring) Since bad guys powers would be gone too, it would not bother him at all.

 

Olorin: Would investigate magically. Might be able to stop it or isolate himself from the effect. Otherwise, given what he is he (mage - only super because of the level of his powers) would probably no longer be a super, but would be heroic level. Would continue on that basis.

 

Black Tiger: Martial artist, so he is mainly training and levels. He'd end up also being heroic, and continuing in that vein.

 

Futurian: This one really depends on the meaning of "superpowers" is . He's super here because of high tech he brought with him from the future, including nanites in his bloodstream. Where he comes from he is normal, although a bit more skilled and intelligent. He would be a skilled normal there. "Any sufficiently developed technology is indistinguishable from magic". He'd deal with being a super if so. If he went heroic or normal, he'd really be irritated since now he cannot get back home, ever.

[Drhoz]

Re: Power down day

 

Zero would have a serious choice to make - either use his powers hurriedly to ensure he has sufficient funds for two people to live on for the rest of their lives, or concentrate all his efforts on learning telepathic surgery so he can get his lady-friend out of her coma, just in case she never WILL recover without mentalist intervention.

 

Vitus would panic, yell "abandon universe!" and leg it for another dimension. Hopefully one that won't promptly collapse due to his presence as a dimensional anomaly, but if the Champions universe suddenly becomes totally mundane then there's NO chance of him ever recreating Aura, and he's not willing to take that risk. Of course, him leaving depends on them being able to find the Keystone again, which may be difficult. When indestructible Artifacts flee at the arrival of Dr Destroyer, you know you're in trouble.

[Badger]

Re: Power down day

 

Badger- has his powers through passed down genetics (from alien father) unless magic is involved it would be unlikely to work. If magic, he still has his training. Which with a few gadgets he would still be able to fight. With his enemies powered down too. He could deal.

 

Frosty Bob- "Crap, I'll be mortal again!" Goes down fighting in a hail of bullets. (Dont think he can change his ways. )

[Jinx999]

Re: Power down day

 

Raven. This actually happened in her world at the end of the campaign (a rather drastic way of preventing Demon from conquering the world). She ended up moving to another dimension. She'd been a street kid before learning magic and didn't want to go back there.

 

The Gentleman would go back to his normal life with some relief.

 

Ms. Mystic wouldn't be terribly worried. In her cosmology shutting down magic would be the hard way of making the universe blip out of existence. She may investigate as the symbolism of this guy is quite interesting, though.

[Alibear]

Re: Power down day

 

The Cat likes being a hero and loves a good scrap. He'd carry on protecting people even though he is bereft of his heightened senses, hyper reflexes, chi powers etc.

 

As long as everyone else is in the same boat he wouldn't worry overly much. In fact he'd relish the opportunity to test his skills.

 

He might use this opportunity to hunt the really powerful bad guys, Doc Destroyer and the like. The type of bad guy that would normally eat a wee 0 resistant def hero for breakfast would be fair game.

[Vondy]

Re: Power down day

 

Anthem is a trained supernormal who hangs with supers by dint of superb training. He does have slow regeneration, immunity to disease, and a lengthened life-span, but he doesn't leverage them much, and would rather be mortal again. And he's got a list of baddies who are only at large because they have significant super-powers. Power down day will become "you're going down day." And then, since he feels personally responsible for the presence of supers in the world [it was his theory that spawned the research that created them though he had no hand in it], his obligation to humanity will be fulfilled and he'll return to his previously scheduled life - as a pulp hero.

 

On the other hand, super-powers all come from one of three sources: the neuegotter virus [most], scientific experiments, or alien bio-tech. I have a hard time buying into a single cause for all of them ceasing to function. I could see the removal of neugotter powers in one fail swoop since they alter reality on a subconscious level, but not the others. But then, the nature and design of the universe was intended not to allow for weird celestials or monitors like storylines.

[fiducia]

Re: Power down day

 

Iron Alloy would be scared out of her mind. Her powers give her confidence where her book learning and academic achievements never did. She went from a bookish research archeologist to a powerhouse hotty over night. Losing her powers, she fear she'll lose her sense of new found self too. She'll immediately run for Egypt and try to contact the source of her power in order to determine if this is actually going to happen to her. I mean her powers were given to her by the Sun God Ra...so surely SHE will be spared....right? Right? Um...right? Guys?

 

Darkness will be...relieved. She'll do nothing. Nothing at all. Her powers are a burden. They make her different and keep her from enjoying the light. If she is to loose them then she'll be better for it, at least in her opinion.

 

Gina D. is pissed. She has her Viper training but the powers from her ring is what makes her valuable to Ameriforce One and Justice Inc. What the hell is she going to do when...if...they go away. She works with anyone she can to figure out if this will happen and how to stop it.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Power down day

 

This basically asks the question:

what does the particular game define as 'powers'?

 

Would Batman lose any DEX or SPD? (no, it's often pointed out he doesn't have any 'powers')

 

How about Flash? or Spider-Man?

And if so, how much of each?

 

A character like Superman is somewhere in the middle since most builds use a "not in presence of Kryptonite or red solar radiation" Limitations which seem to draw a clear line on what his "powers" really are. Flash doesn't have any such Limitations. He has his powers ALL the time. Most would agree that he has a higher DEX and SPD with his powers than he did before he got them. But how much higher??

 

This type of storyline almost demands that the GM work out these types of details with each player at character creation.

 

Anything less is just asking the players:

"What would you do when I screw all of your characters?".

[Jinx999]

Re: Power down day

 

This basically asks the question:

what does the particular game define as 'powers'?

 

This type of storyline almost demands that the GM work out these types of details with each player at character creation.

 

Anything less is just asking the players:

"What would you do when I screw all of your characters?".

 

There were some problems with this for our campaign. In an earlier case, the GM defined powers as attributes above 20 and anything from the power list that wasn't a mundane gadget. The problem was that Raven was a fairly skinny teenaged girl - with 20 strength. Among other things, she wasn't completely human (and no, I wasn't familiar with the Teen Titans character when I created her). Largely "depowered", she was still a skinny teenaged girl - with 20 strength.

[Alibear]

Re: Power down day

 

She should have bought IPE on her str.

[sinanju]

Re: Power down day

 

Hell's Angel, Iron Maiden, Man-Ape, Black Mask and all of my other characters write him off as a nut and go about their business.

 

And lo and behold! "Power Down Day" turns out to be a hoax.

[yamamura]

Re: Power down day

 

Of course that could be his plan. He gets the everyone in the world fearing the loss of their powers. Suddenly super intellects the world over are scrambling to save their advanced intellect and either create the very world he wants or unleash some greater form of energy. Unfortunately no supers at the moment but if I did, I would be trying to figure who he is and his stake in this.

[Blue]

Re: Power down day

 

Uncle Slam would run all his usual contacts in the government. When he's satisfied that they've heard nothing (and aren't initiating anything), he'd make "house calls". He'd hit a few bases from various known organizations, especially any that have a history of trying to depower heroes.

 

Anthem would wonder what he's talking about and continue doing her duty. She's no cosmically powered hero, so aside form checking with her peers she knows any such event is above her head.

 

Audra Blue would use her massive cyberskills to collect all known appearances of the guy and all mentions of such an event and plot them across the map. She's create a massive database of information and try to extrapolate the most likely suspect(s) and sick the hero team on them.

[WyldCard4]

Re: Power down day

 

Red Death is one of the world's most hated and fear villians, without his powers he is killed by a mob.

 

Terry Hinckely would tell his teachers and let them handle it, he is a bit pissed if he loses his powers, because he will probably have to go home and leave his crush.

 

Thunder Boy is very confused, he just got his powers and hasn't done much with them, he probably just walks back home.

[Wanderer]

Re: Power down day

 

Nova would be worried. As he has a kinda superhuman superiority mentality, most of his self-identity is wrapped around his powers. Also, since he is a psionic mutant that channels stellar energies, his possible depowerment likely bodes something real bad in a cosmic sense. Time to investigate the guy.