UN Supers headquarters

[Houston GM]

Background:

I'm preparing for a future campaign where the players will be part of a UN team. Their charter will only allow them to act inside a country if that country requests their help and invites them in. There's an implicit understanding that some countries will always handle their own problems with their national teams (China, EU, Japan, Russia and USA).

 

Considerations:

Certain countries would volunteer to host the regional headquarters. These would generally be second world nations which could afford the expenditure, and ones that would be seeking to increase their presence on the world stage.

 

In addition, headquarters should be located where they can rapidly respond to threats.

 

Candidates for Regional Headquarters: (and associated regions)

Caracas, Venezuela (Central & South America)

Istanbul, Turkey (Eastern Europe & Middle East)

Jakarta Indonesia (Southeast Asia & Australia)

Lagos, Nigeria (Africa)

 

Question:

Assuming that you need to cover the rest of the world, where would you put the regional headquarters?

 

I'm open to suggestions.

[Singingcrow]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

If I were going to headquarter a super team for the UN. I'd like it in Greece!

1. It's pretty centrally located (especially to the middle east).

2. Lots of "little" islands that could be easily converted for use as a meta base. Let alone a semi-volcanic area (see powering the base). Thereby a controlled population versus massive attacks from villains.

3. Why stay in a second world country that'll have to "struggle" to host the team.

4. It is basically a "western" based culture. Thereby more women in spandex friendly.

5. I'm assuming that you'll keep the team "hopping" with all sorts of political fires. So they'll need somewhere that they can blow off steam.

6. Finally the team could probably have Brook Burke from E! stop by & do a Wild On special.

[Clonus]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

 

Considerations:

Certain countries would volunteer to host the regional headquarters. These would generally be second world nations which could afford the expenditure,.

 

The second world were actually the communist nations during the Cold War.

Two HQs in Africa might be called for. Africa gives the UN more business than the rest of the world put together. Maybe one in South Africa?

[Phoenix]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Your list:

Candidates for Regional Headquarters: (and associated regions)

Caracas, Venezuela (Central & South America)

Istanbul, Turkey (Eastern Europe & Middle East)

Jakarta Indonesia (Southeast Asia & Australia)

Lagos, Nigeria (Africa)

 

Additionally:

New York City, USA (North America, North Atlantic) UN Headquarters is already there - nobody can argue about having internal security.

Geneva, Switzerland (Western Europe)

Bhavnagar, India (Middle East, Indian Ocean)

Is. Destruga (South Pacific) For those keeping track this is Dr. Destroyers old hideout that became U.N.T.I.L.’s problem.

Sapporo, Japan (East Asia, North Pacific)

Rawson, Argentina (South Atlantic, Antarctica)

 

That should just about cover the globe. Though I agree with Clonus about Africa, it could use one more.

[Tandem Esk]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Background:

I'm preparing for a future campaign where the players will be part of a UN team. Their charter will only allow them to act inside a country if that country requests their help and invites them in. There's an implicit understanding that some countries will always handle their own problems with their national teams (China, EU, Japan, Russia and USA).

 

Considerations:

Certain countries would volunteer to host the regional headquarters. These would generally be second world nations which could afford the expenditure, and ones that would be seeking to increase their presence on the world stage.

 

In addition, headquarters should be located where they can rapidly respond to threats.

 

Candidates for Regional Headquarters: (and associated regions)

Caracas, Venezuela (Central & South America)

Istanbul, Turkey (Eastern Europe & Middle East)

Jakarta Indonesia (Southeast Asia & Australia)

Lagos, Nigeria (Africa)

 

Question:

Assuming that you need to cover the rest of the world, where would you put the regional headquarters?

 

I'm open to suggestions.

 

Question: what kind of transportation do they get? Do they all fly themselves? Anti-gravity packs that allow Mach 5+ and can land anywhere the person fits? "Day after tomorrow" tech VTOL jet? Regular ol' airplanes? The slower the flight the more stations you need. The more landing room needed the poorer the response and the more need for a good airport.

 

"China, EU, Japan, Russia and USA" should have at least "contact point" stations. Also, Russia is still a kleptocracy, so try your best to get a full station in there. At least get a station in one of the other CIS countries. One with an independent attitude is best.

 

I'm gonna assume you want about two per continent, three for Asia.

 

Toronto. You need something to handle Canada.

Mexico City. For the other end of North America.

Rio de Janero. Handles southern South America.

Caracas. Handles northern South America. Caracas and Mexico City overlap in Central America.

Geneva, Switzerland: Switzerland is not in the EU, not likely to join, but is in the UN. Lets you put a station in Europe the EU can't whiine about.

Cairo. Much better for northern Africa than Lagos (Nigeria's not the most stable or safe country).

Johannesburg? Gabronne, Botswana? Walvis Bay, Namibia? Maybe even Madagascar? There's no really good choice in southern Africa.

Ankara, Turkey. Handles eastern Asia, assists in southeast Europe. Better than Istanbul, as that still has overtones of the Sultan and the Ottoman Empire, esp. in Turkey.

New Delhi, India. Handles central and southern Asia. Not the safest place, but better than it's naighbors.

Singapore. Handles east and southeast Asia. Or, Manilla, The Philippines, though thats getting a bit away. If you hadn't said no Japan, I'd put it in Tokyo. Jakarta's getting a bit away, and it's not as safe and stable as it used to be.

Perth, Australia. Handles most of Australia.

Wellington, New Zealand. Overlaps in Australia, mostly handles the Pacific.

 

Notes: How stable is Venezeuala? Do you really want a major UN station there?

Think about not putting stations in capital cities. Might go better with locals.

If there's a country in eastern Europe that's not likely to join the EU, you might put a station there.

If you get a station in Tashkent, Uzbekistan or Dushanbe, Tajikistan or Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, that would be better than New Delhi.

You might want another station in the Pacific. Maybe in the Marquesas Islands. After all, there's a lot of area to cover.

[bubba smith]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

why not make it a mobile HQ ala the shield helicrrier?

[Vulcan]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Are we using a world with UNTIL, or is the UN as corrupt and useless as it is in real life?

[Houston GM]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Answers to a few questions:

 

1) There is no UNTIL. The UN is very much like the real world. This is the reason for rules preventing the team from acting in a country without the permission of the recognized government.

 

2) My world only has a limited number of high-powered (500+ pt) metahumans to staff the UN teams. The teams will be trying to cover too much territory, but it's preferable to having teams that are too small to be effective. (This will set the kind of tone that I'm looking for in the game.)

 

3) In this campaign, supertech only functions in the presence of the person who built it, so a flying base would have serious problems.

 

4) I'm not worried about a team having too much geographical territory to cover. (I intend to use those obstacles as plot twists.) Since the UN is driven by politics, I think the locations of the bases would be determined by UN politics. Consideration would be given to the number of incidents that would occur in a given region. (Clonus has a very good point about Africa.)

 

Tandem Esk

I like Venezuela because of Chavez. He wants to be a player on the global stage. He'd welcome a base because it would give him the opportunity to try to influence any team stationed there. He has good relations with a number of countries around the world. And he could generate votes within the UN supporting a base because putting a base in Venezuela would irritate the US. Venezuela also has a decent economy.

 

I can't see Putin allowing a UN-controlled team to operate inside of Russia (even if it is a kleptocracy). I like the idea of a CIS country, though. Any of them might want a team just in case Russia gets aggressive. What would make Uzbekistan, Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan good candidates? I'm a bit more inclined to use Ukraine.

 

I kind of like leaving Canada without a nearby base. That way they can have a problem too big for their own team, call for assistance from the UN team, worry that the UN team won't arrive on time, and call for assistance from the US. I just need to figure out a way to encourage lots of friction between the US team and the UN team when they both arrive on the scene.

 

 

Updated List of Candidates:

Cairo, Egypt (northern Africa)

Caracas, Venezuela (Central & South America)

Kiev, Ukraine (Eastern Europe & Middle East)

Jakarta Indonesia (Southeast Asia & Australia)

Lagos, Nigeria or Johannesburg, South Africa (southern Africa)

 

The PCs will be one of the UN teams. The teams will periodically rotate from one region to another (allowing me to set adventures around the world).

 

Thanks for the ideas.

[Vulcan]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

So no going into a county to oust a warmongering tyrant, then?

[bubba smith]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

i wouldn't think so

[CGlied]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

So no going into a county to oust a warmongering tyrant' date=' then?[/quote']

Only if there's a guaranty that they'd be greeted as liberators.

[Houston GM]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

So no going into a country to oust a warmongering tyrant' date=' then?[/quote']

The UN charter would forbid the UN affiliated metahuman teams from acting against the tyrant within his own country.

 

The charter would forbid the UN teams from getting involved with purely conventional forces if the tyrant invaded another country. (Unless their lives were at risk, or they were acting in a purely humanitarian role.)

 

The charter would allow the UN metahumans to directly oppose any metahumans involved in the tyrant's invasion of another country, provided the country being invaded had requested their assistance (which is likely).

 

However, any of those rules are as flexible as UN politics can make them. I also expect that the "their own lives at risk" and "purely humanitarian role" might get stretched a bit ... potentially with consequences.

[Phoenix]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Another thought just hit me, why base them at all within the borders of ANY country - Naval based operations, the UN could purchase some older/retired naval warship (escort carriers come to mind) remove the non-defensive weaponry and have the sluggish logistics follow the fast moving supers after they've been deployed to one of any number of hot-spots.

[bubba smith]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Another thought just hit me' date=' why base them at all within the borders of ANY country - Naval based operations, the UN could purchase some older/retired naval warship (escort carriers come to mind) remove the non-defensive weaponry and have the sluggish logistics follow the fast moving supers after they've been deployed to one of any number of hot-spots.[/quote']

thatswhat i was thinking with my hellicarier idea

[Clonus]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

The UN charter would forbid the UN affiliated metahuman teams from acting against the tyrant within his own country.

 

The charter would forbid the UN teams from getting involved with purely conventional forces if the tyrant invaded another country. (Unless their lives were at risk, or they were acting in a purely humanitarian role.)

 

Technically there shouldn't be a problem provided nobody on the Security Council objects.

[Vulcan]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Only if there's a guaranty that they'd be greeted as liberators.

 

The United Nations doesn't work that way.

 

The tyrant has his own representatives at the UN himself, after all. They would protest the 'high-handed actions' of the hero team as being 'illegal interferance with the internal politics of our country.'

 

Being right doesn't have anything to do with it.

 

Look at the UN's reaction to the US invasion of Iraq to oust Hussein for what would happen. Then remeber that in the case of the UN hero team, these are the people you are working for!

[Tandem Esk]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

I can't see Putin allowing a UN-controlled team to operate inside of Russia (even if it is a kleptocracy). I like the idea of a CIS country, though. Any of them might want a team just in case Russia gets aggressive. What would make Uzbekistan, Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan good candidates? I'm a bit more inclined to use Ukraine.

They're good because they're in Central Asia, which you don't have nobody for in your list (below). Also, Ukraine is very tied up to Russia; Putin could forbid any team in Ukraine and make it stick.

 

Updated List of Candidates:

Cairo, Egypt (northern Africa)

Caracas, Venezuela (Central & South America)

Kiev, Ukraine (Eastern Europe & Middle East)

Jakarta Indonesia (Southeast Asia & Australia)

Lagos, Nigeria or Johannesburg, South Africa (southern Africa)

 

The PCs will be one of the UN teams. The teams will periodically rotate from one region to another (allowing me to set adventures around the world).

 

Thanks for the ideas.

 

You need either South Asia or Central Asia. New Dehli or Tashkent/Dushanbe/Bishkek.

 

Jakarta isn't too good. Muslim extremists are getting more and more in Indonesia. I still think Singapore's better.

 

I still think you need a team somewhere middle-ish Pacific.

[assault]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

I still think you need a team somewhere middle-ish Pacific.

 

That's a bit like having a team in Antarctica. They spend a lot of time hanging around, and when they are actually needed, they've got almost as much travelling to do as any other team.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

That's a bit like having a team in Antarctica. They spend a lot of time hanging around' date=' and when they are actually needed, they've got almost as much travelling to do as any other team.[/quote']

 

Kind of like lifeguards on Hawaii.

 

The Surf Patrol!

[Tandem Esk]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

That's a bit like having a team in Antarctica. They spend a lot of time hanging around' date=' and when they are actually needed, they've got almost as much travelling to do as any other team.[/quote']

 

Not really. They have a lot less travel than any other team that's trying to cover the Pacific. Fact, average half or less distance from say Tonga than from Singapore or Jakarta. Which can be very very important.

[Wychcraft]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Answers to a few questions:

 

In this campaign, supertech only functions in the presence of the person who built it, so a flying base would have serious problems.

 

...

 

 

Why is it that supertech works this way? I'm curious because I'm looking for a way to keep supertech from over-running my world with some of the things one of my players wants to create.

[Vulcan]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Answers to a few questions:

 

In this campaign, supertech only functions in the presence of the person who built it, so a flying base would have serious problems.

 

...

 

 

Why is it that supertech works this way? I'm curious because I'm looking for a way to keep supertech from over-running my world with some of the things one of my players wants to create.

 

Because super-tech requires a steady supply of unobtainium, handwavium, or yeahrightium that a normal just can't acquire?

[Clonus]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Answers to a few questions:

 

In this campaign, supertech only functions in the presence of the person who built it, so a flying base would have serious problems.

 

...

 

 

Why is it that supertech works this way? I'm curious because I'm looking for a way to keep supertech from over-running my world with some of the things one of my players wants to create.

 

That version of supertech means that it isn't technology at all, but merely a psychological crutch for the use of their own powers. Alternative approaches would be make supertech dependant on supermaterials. Marvel for example had things like vibranium. I myself had a character who had the power to permanently change the conductivity of metal, creating room-temperature superconductors and perfect insulators but since his output per day was limited that created a bottleneck, and a great deal of super crime revolved around stealing these materials.

[Houston GM]

Re: UN Supers headquarters

 

Why is it that supertech works this way? I'm curious because I'm looking for a way to keep supertech from over-running my world with some of the things one of my players wants to create.

If you're part of my campaign, don't read the spoiler

 

I based metahuman powers off the story "Waldo" by Heinlein. In the story, Waldo (an engineer) comes to the conclusion that magic functions by tapping into an alternate universe and siphoning energy from there. It doesn't actually violate the laws of thermodynamics.

 

In my campaign, all metahuman powers work in this fashion. A brick's body doesn't generate impossible amounts of energy. It simply serves as a conduit for energy that's coming from an alternate universe.

 

As an inventor builds a piece of supertechnology, he builds these conduits into it. However, these conduits can't function without him. The supertechnology needs the inventor, or the conduits stop supplying the energy.