Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

[CrosshairCollie]

Most of the Champions games I've been in, on either side of the screen, are in the basic layout of the big two. Mythical heroes and gods exist(ed), and costumed supers have been around since the 40s.

 

I'm thinking, for my next game, of doing one where the PCs and some villains are the first. Beyond that, the game is 'real world, right now'. Myths are myths and there is no magic. I'm debating aliens, though, mostly for the next plot point ... that, and alien invasions are fun.

 

I like the idea, for this game, of all supers having the same basic origin; all powers are derived from the same power source. Smallville's meteor rocks and Freedom Force's Energy X are two examples that spring to mind.

 

I'm trying to force myself past my 'there's nothing new under the sun' blockade at this point, knowing that every idea I'm having here has been done before. My thoughts for the power source include ...

1. An alien ship scouting the planet has engine troubles, spilling viscous fuel into the upper atmosphere (possibly interacting with the Van Allen Radiation Belts), and it mutates you via contact.

 

2. The Wild Cards bit, the power source is an alien bioweapon that, for whatever reason, fails to function as desired. Some people get sick, most people are unaffected, a handful get superpowers.

 

Okay, yeah, just the two. I don't really want to fall back on the 'mutants' copout, that's the only other one I've had. Obviously, any attempt to reverse engineer the radiation/bioweapon will end badly for quite some time.

 

Anyway, rambling enough here ... what I'm asking for is other thoughts for other possible ways to do the Universal Power Source, and any particular advice for running a 'new supers' game ... themes, bits that are too good to pass up, anything of the sort if you've done a game like that before.

 

Thx.

[DJ Blackrock]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

I'm a fan of how they did it with the show Static Shock.

 

Basically, a huge chemical spill infects several individuals in the area of the spill, giving them powers.

 

Staying in the general vicinity of these people, the infection spreads to them, giving them powers.

 

It's been a while since I've seen it, but that's the basics of it I think.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

I'm a fan of how they did it with the show Static Shock.

 

Basically, a huge chemical spill infects several individuals in the area of the spill, giving them powers.

 

Staying in the general vicinity of these people, the infection spreads to them, giving them powers.

 

It's been a while since I've seen it, but that's the basics of it I think.

 

I did that one when I tried a (now passed off to someone else) Teen Champions game, inspired by Static Shock as well. The problem is, I need something that can affect people over a larger geographical area than that; at least most of the US if not worldwide ... that, and it's one thing if it's been done before, it's another if I've done it before, and recently.

[Alibear]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

This is something I've been thinking about for the last few days...

 

 

Maybe Bush and Blair were lying about the WMD bit. A stretch I know but stay with me on this. They were trying to stop Iraq develope system of producing supers. The system is viral in nature and would have affected the Middle East first and most strongly. Obviously this would tip the balance of world power away from the West and into Persia, not something Bush & Blair could allow.

 

Somehow the virus escapes Allied clutches and disappears in the confusion. I was thinking of a 12 monkey's style release where it opens at an airport so you'll get a concentration of supers in one country but which allows it to spread worldwide.

 

What the virus does exactly nobody is sure but it kills some, flu-like symptoms for most but a very small percentage, (perhaps people that have Neanderthal genes however diluted) gain powers.

 

The powers would be mostly Psionic (the neanderthal were powerful telepaths after all) but also have Psionically augumented Str, toughness, flight etc.

[bubba smith]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

i know you said MAGIC doesn't exist butcould martial arts chi powers exist in your campaign?

[Utech]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

A few unoriginal, but maybe helpful thoughts:

 

 

• Heroes find something --
  

 

1. 
   

• magic book,
  
• alien device,
  
• cursed rock,
  
• what-have-you
  

-- that gives them superhuman abilities.

• Heroes meet someone --
  
  • mage,
    
  • alien,
    
  • demon,
    
  • angel,
    
  • what-have-you
    

-- that gives them superhuman abilities. (And perhaps instructions on how the abilities are to be used...)

• Heroes are in space are are exposed to "cosmic rays" that the rest of humankind are not exposed to. Suddenly, they're Fantastic!
  

 

• The heroes meet their future selves (or their children, great-great grandchildren, whatever) who have traveled back through time to grant our heroes superhuman abilities, power armor, or something along those lines.
  

 

• One of the heroes makes a scientific or occult or meditative breakthrough after long research. This breakthrough allows the hero to make himself (and his friends) just Super!
  

 

• Heroes are part of a super-soldier program based on --
  

 

• 
  
  • hormone therapy,
    
  • cybernetics,
    
  • LSD,
    
  • DNA manipulation,
    
  • nanotech,
    
  • what-have-you
    

-- that gives them superhuman abilities but does not relieve them from the chain of command.

[CoreBrute]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

2 ideas here, with pros and cons:

 

1st. Government Armoured Agents

Some of the finest and most skilled civilians and government workers are selected to take part in a new initiative. Given different types of armour, they have enhanced abilites to fight the good fight and sto terrorism across the world.

 

Pros: Patriotic. White and Black morality. Powers are similar but they aren't all powerful, because they are OIFs. Realistic enemies, and new uses for super tanks from Ultimate vehicle

 

Cons: More of a weapon then a hero, not sticking in one city. Aliens and mystic stuff ain't here, and it might seem a bit too constraing for the heroes. Also they might start singing 'go go power rangers' throughout the session.

 

2nd. Alien Babies

your parents are some of the many aliens who emigrated to earth, either because it's so nice, their world was destroyed, they are persecuted etc. You however, because of your upbrining have super powers, which all the aliens had, but had to give them up upon permanently moving. The PCs are the first supers, and must face aliens who aren't so nice, while keeping their identities secret.

 

pros: All heroes have some variety, enemies can be very descriptive and imaginative. limited area, secret id so more plot development.

 

Cons: MIB. They are everywhere. Keep that in mind.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

Well, you could go the "triggered mutation" route.

 

Montanso Corp (absolutely no relation to Monsanto, honest) has been creating genetically modified seeds for years, resulting in greater crop yields, strains resistant to plant diseases, etc. However, with the way seeds can travel, even fields seeded without GMO (genetically-modified organism) seeds can have a few plants that are GMO, due to airborne or waterbourne seeds from neighboring fields.

 

In a small percentage of the population, the food from these GMO seeds (which are genetically slightly different from the original foods) could cause a mutation, flipping a switch as it were in the consumer's DNA, resulting in the characters' powers.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

i know you said MAGIC doesn't exist butcould martial arts chi powers exist in your campaign?

 

Not as most people define them. Someone could get chi-like powers as their mutation, but no normal person could develop them through training. The only way to have anything resembling superpowers in this game is via the one and only 'meta origin'.

[sinanju]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

I did that one when I tried a (now passed off to someone else) Teen Champions game' date=' inspired by Static Shock as well. The problem is, I need something that can affect people over a larger geographical area than that; at least most of the US if not worldwide ... that, and it's one thing if it's been done before, it's another if I've done it before, and recently. [/quote']

 

The late and mostly unlamented "New Universe" comics produced by Marvel had the White Event as the source of all superpowers.

 

One night (or one day, I forget which) a flare of brilliant white light in the sky illuminated the earth for a moment, then faded away.

 

Afterward, some small percentage of people began to demonstrate all kinds of superhuman powers. What was that light? What caused it? How did it give people powers? Nobody knew.

 

If the light appears EVERYWHERE, supers could appear all over the world. Or you could limit it to as large or as small an area as you like. You don't even have to explain it to the players--let them remain as ignorant as the characters. (Though I'd recommend that YOU decide what it was so you can be consistent about the consequences.)

[Steve]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

The late and mostly unlamented "New Universe" comics produced by Marvel had the White Event as the source of all superpowers.

 

One night (or one day, I forget which) a flare of brilliant white light in the sky illuminated the earth for a moment, then faded away.

 

Afterward, some small percentage of people began to demonstrate all kinds of superhuman powers. What was that light? What caused it? How did it give people powers? Nobody knew.

 

If the light appears EVERYWHERE, supers could appear all over the world. Or you could limit it to as large or as small an area as you like. You don't even have to explain it to the players--let them remain as ignorant as the characters. (Though I'd recommend that YOU decide what it was so you can be consistent about the consequences.)

 

I've been thinking about a campaign like this. The power triggering option I was considering was a wave of neutrinos suddenly blasting through the Earth, either generated by the sun or maybe originating at the heart of the Milky Way. Is it a natural wave or perhaps artificial? Either way, you could have additional waves occur and create more superhumans. I was thinking of limiting power sources to three: mutants (X-Men), mutates (Hulk/Spider-Man), and technology (Iron Man/Batman). Mutants and mutates would take Distinctive Features (mutant) to show their altered genetic structures, and technology sorts would take Normal Characterstic Maxima and use foci to have powers.

[CoreBrute]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

Extra dimensional travel. It's so simple now.

 

Rips in space and time due to large Hadron Collider. While in our world it didn't do anything dangerous, remember all the paranoia surrounding it?

 

What if they were right? Due to the accident, everyone in the room at the time, and the machine it self was sucked into another dimension, never seen again.

 

Then suddenly small rips appear all over the world, some barely enough to swallow a small child, others big enough to fill whole cities. But these rips didn't last longer then 3 minutes tops, some only a few seconds. But those who were in this rip in space gained powers, as their body adapted to a mix of the two worlds. No powers are exactly the same, unless you were in the same rip.

 

Let's say you enter a rip with a world made entirely of fire. When you come out, your bright red, flame retarded skin and have the ability to manipulate fire.

 

Others, you only gain a small cosmetic change (light hair, different eyes) but amazing powers.

 

And then there are those who become freaks, or monsters resembling the Thing, or the Awesome Andy. Those whose minds were warped by the rips, and those who gained no powers but only saw true madness (thus the mad scientist is born).

 

Substitute the collider for any kind of physics experiment, and you can adapt it to your world very easily.

 

Is this good enough for you? I don't think it's been done on a large scale. I got the idea from Ultimate Fantastic Four and went from there.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

Extra dimensional travel. It's so simple now.

 

Rips in space and time due to large Hadron Collider. While in our world it didn't do anything dangerous, remember all the paranoia surrounding it?

 

What if they were right? Due to the accident, everyone in the room at the time, and the machine it self was sucked into another dimension, never seen again.

 

Then suddenly small rips appear all over the world, some barely enough to swallow a small child, others big enough to fill whole cities. But these rips didn't last longer then 3 minutes tops, some only a few seconds. But those who were in this rip in space gained powers, as their body adapted to a mix of the two worlds. No powers are exactly the same, unless you were in the same rip.

 

Let's say you enter a rip with a world made entirely of fire. When you come out, your bright red, flame retarded skin and have the ability to manipulate fire.

 

Others, you only gain a small cosmetic change (light hair, different eyes) but amazing powers.

 

And then there are those who become freaks, or monsters resembling the Thing, or the Awesome Andy. Those whose minds were warped by the rips, and those who gained no powers but only saw true madness (thus the mad scientist is born).

 

Substitute the collider for any kind of physics experiment, and you can adapt it to your world very easily.

 

Is this good enough for you? I don't think it's been done on a large scale. I got the idea from Ultimate Fantastic Four and went from there.

 

I like it!

[CoreBrute]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

Sniff. You have no idea how happy I am that one of my ideas were thought to be good...

 

Well if you end up using it, let me know how it turns out. I wouldn't mind giving character concepts or villain sheets to the game. Any help needed, just ask.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

more thoughts ...

 

Thinking about having a 'with great power comes great insanity' angle going. The PCs (and any NPC good guys) are generally going to be weaker than the bad guys. I'm thinking that the longer one is exposed to the plot device in question, the more 'exaggerated' one's personality tends to become. The PCs are (obviously, what with the costumes and masks and code names) somewhat eccentric, whereas the bad guys tend to be more into various stages of obsessions/craziness/over-the-top with their Psych Lims.

 

Addendum to this, every PC will need a 'motivational' Psych Lim, one that clearly indicates why he's putting on a costume, coming up with a code name, and risking his health and/or life for no pay.

 

Other stuff I've thought about ...

Deus Ex Machina technology. There's no force-fields, no super-materials, no teleport shields. someone with Desolidification or Teleport can pretty much go wherever they like.

 

Magic. No super-wizards, no alternate planes, no mythological beings. Clears the air a bit and isn't typical of a super-game.

 

It's possible to file the serial numbers off some of the extant solo villains that I couldn't really use against a team, and make a decent one-on-team fight with them. It lets me use some of the villains that have more off-beat powers (like Smoke and Mirrors or the Cirque Sinister) more easily, in addition to raw normals being theoretically dangerous.

 

Fewer villains makes it easier for the players and PCs to get to know the villains in question, make them more detailed (especially if I only have to play one at a time in most cases) and more alive.

[CoreBrute]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

You could also alter powers on a scale. The more insane you are, the greater your power.

 

Think about it. Let's use my idea. Because your body is half your dimension half another, your mind tries to cling to it's human half. But that also means you can't embrace your full potential, cause that would make you loose your mind.

 

It would explain why the super villains are stronger. They are more prone to insanity. You can also reflect this with the PCs. Everytime they gain over 50 EXP, they need to increase the seriousness of their Psy limitation, or add another one.

 

Eventually the PCs will find a way to get rid of the limitations, while keeping the power, but it would be funny to hear them say, "Please! No more XP! We beg you!"

 

Just an idea.

[bubba smith]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

since the pc are the Campaign worlds FIRST batch of heroes why not let the power level be that of either golden age heroes or tv level heroes?

[CoreBrute]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

What exactly is TV level heroes? Static Shock? super Friends? Heroes? They all seem quite powerful.

[bubba smith]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

if i correctly recall the example from the champions sourcebook

tv supers would have strengh to lift a bulldozer while classic comoc book heres could lift a 747 jet

if you go with the tv super level think of the power level of nbc's HEROES or the syndicated MUTANT X

[CoreBrute]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

So Time travel? Cool!

I get what you mean. Just saying tv is a broad term.

 

The players might not be happy about it, but it's the GM decision. and the point limit.

[incrdbil]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

Most of the Champions games I've been in, on either side of the screen, are in the basic layout of the big two. Mythical heroes and gods exist(ed), and costumed supers have been around since the 40s.

 

I'm thinking, for my next game, of doing one where the PCs and some villains are the first. Beyond that, the game is 'real world, right now'. Myths are myths and there is no magic. I'm debating aliens, though, mostly for the next plot point ... that, and alien invasions are fun.

 

My PBEM is pretty close. supers just became widely known a short tiem ago. Magic is making a big comeback, as of right now. the Heroes are taking on Takofone's and his first offensive right now.

 

I like the idea, for this game, of all supers having the same basic origin; all powers are derived from the same power source. Smallville's meteor rocks and Freedom Force's Energy X are two examples that spring to mind.

 

My PC's all have trhe same origiin: they are all Cosmic Beings, born of an ancient line of Cosmic Beings who were pretty much wiped out in a war against their evil counterparts just about the time humanity was evolving. This line died to protect eath due to visiosn of the new line of super-beings that would come to pass from earth, and ultimatey finish the war between the Stellar Knights and the Stellar Lords, which has been raging since shortly after creation.

 

Finally, after many long thousands of years, the mingled heritage of humanity as the Stellar Knights has come to the point where both are interacting, creating a sudden explosion of those with traditional superpowers (The earth-heritage)..and an incredible (well, for the galaxy) number of Cosmic Beings. Normally you'ld be lucky to find one on a hundred or more well populated planet, Earth currently has 12 full potential Stellar Knights, and many more of limited power (often referred to as Squires).

 

Magic is finnaly being unchained and released, long after the PC's mentor, the 'Teacher' the last surviving Stellar Knight had taken action to force Earths Mages to contains earths magic in exchange for defeatign Takofones as the height of his ancient power.

 

Superpower development really exploded the last gane. Dr Destroyer (a Cosmic being who is not quite following the Stellar Knight Way) managed to engineer an explosive upgrade tot he player characters. thsi seeming gift was used by him though--as each PC literally raced away from earth for safety (their occasional power upgrades have a side effect of a mega-scale explosion), Destroyer used a string of sattelites to collect the energy, and bombard earth--the resulting energy caused the latent powers of thosands to suddenly manifest, a metahuman explosion that is causing a lot of unrest and confusion..just what the doctor ordered.

 

In the meantime, the Pc's have come to realize there are still Stellar Lords out there, and are coming to rip with the fact they are trully no longer human, and their immortality will soon pose quite a challenge as their loved ones begin to age.

 

Another game I did (using the Dc/MEGS system) had all powers coming from Alien experimentation. it turns out Earth had long been quarantined as sort of a nature preserve--to let us wild animals live in peace in our natural habitat, and be studied as a fascinating experiment in primitive tool making by a semi-sentient species.

 

Sadly, budget cuts led to the monitoring of such planets being done by private buisness--and a corrupt on took over the job of earth. Humans were kidnapped and given powers. Mental conditioning made them prone to be villains, or heroes, to seek each other out for combat, and wear bright costumes. it was an Alien cockfighting ring, just using human beings. some humans were being taken off planet, to be used as show animals, guard dogs, expendable primitive thugs, trophies, or research purposes.

 

The PC's escaped before much fo their conditioning was done. They fought against many villians, and began to discover the truth. They met up with an good alien, who turned out to be basically an overworked Fish and Wildlife officer, who saw the PC's as semi-wild, partially trained dometicated animals to be used against the feral wild ones that had been altered.

[brionl]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

I was thinking of doing something like the "White Event" previously mentioned, but it has happened a few times before, the first time was over 70 million years ago. Mix in a little bit of conspiracy theory/hidden history, and the "Nine Secret Masters" who control the Earth aren't all human. One of them is a Dinosaur who got superhuman intelligence & immortality. Some more animals & early hominids round out the rest of the council. The legends of Atlantis and the various gods are from the most recent event, a bunch of humans got intelligence various other powers in the early neolithic. They all founded a city and mostly stayed together, but for various reasons they eventually all died off and the last couple of survivors who had got lucky with the longevity moved away & just mixed with the rest of humanity.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

if you go with the tv super level think of the power level of nbc's HEROES or the syndicated MUTANT X

 

Unfamiliar with both of those. I'm figuring 200 points or so, 8DC standard attacks to start with.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

You could also alter powers on a scale. The more insane you are, the greater your power.

 

Think about it. Let's use my idea. Because your body is half your dimension half another, your mind tries to cling to it's human half. But that also means you can't embrace your full potential, cause that would make you loose your mind.

 

It would explain why the super villains are stronger. They are more prone to insanity. You can also reflect this with the PCs. Everytime they gain over 50 EXP, they need to increase the seriousness of their Psy limitation, or add another one.

 

Eventually the PCs will find a way to get rid of the limitations, while keeping the power, but it would be funny to hear them say, "Please! No more XP! We beg you!"

 

Just an idea.

 

Waaaaay too dark for my tastes. Basically, I'm trying to find a reason besides 'Screw the rules, I have powers' for people to become superheroes/villains. It's something no normal person would do.

[bubba smith]

Re: Brainstorming - PCs are the first supers

 

Unfamiliar with both of those. I'm figuring 200 points or so' date=' 8DC standard attacks to start with.[/quote']

according to the champions book a tv campaign is a low level campaign like i used as an example before a standard comic hero could lift a 747 jet while a tv level could only lift a bulldozer

several other examples of tv super-heroes would be the six million dollar man ,both versions of the bionic woman, nightman,jake2.0, smallville and dark angel i hope some of these refferences help