The Genesis of Captain Patriot

[CptPatriot]

Captain Patriot came out during a time I was just learning the Hero System 4th Edition back in 1992. In order to learn how to make characters, since Champions and the Hero System was my very first point based game system, I made 250 point versions of various superheroes.

 

I had just finished attempting to make Superman, who I called Ultraman, and decided to make my second character after my favorite comic book character, Captain America.

 

After recreating Cap as best as I could on 250 points, I needed a new biography for my creation because I like Cap, but I didn't want to run him as Capt. America.

 

Reading up on the Champions Universe, I came up with that a think tank called the Millennium Corporation was experimenting and Eric Hunter was one of five genetically created supersoldiers being created around the time the government was looking into a supersoldier program. This was before the formation of PRIMUS.

 

One of the five was a woman, and thus was rejected for consideration as a soldier, though the potential use as a breeder was taken into consideration. The remaining four were intensively trained in hand to hand combat. During their training, where they were being introduced to the use of a shield and were trying out a prototype shield based on an experimental polymer resin which was practically unbreakable, one of the scientists caught wind that the government already decided to go with the Cyberline program and they lost their chance to get their prototype supersoldiers into action, so they decided they would mind wipe them to become corporate espionage agents, something their patriotic psychological training would not allow.

 

They were informed and the scientist left to get their 'sister' while they would clear a path to the exit. The corporate heads sent in their security team of fifty men, loaded to bear, to take on the four supersoldiers. The subsequent battle did huge amounts of collateral damage, but in the end, Eric was the last supersoldier. The facility they had been based in suffered a titanic explosion so he had no idea if the scientist that warned him was even alive.

 

Knowing that the Corporation would be after him, he decided to make a very public appearance and be the hero they trained him to be.

 

Comments are appreciated and welcome.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Looks good so far.

 

Thanks

 

QM

[OddHat]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Dark, but interesting. I assume that the "Sister" became a Hunted or NPC?

[bubba smith]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Captain Patriot came out during a time I was just learning the Hero System 4th Edition back in 1992. In order to learn how to make characters, since Champions and the Hero System was my very first point based game system, I made 250 point versions of various superheroes.

 

I had just finished attempting to make Superman, who I called Ultraman, and decided to make my second character after my favorite comic book character, Captain America.

 

After recreating Cap as best as I could on 250 points, I needed a new biography for my creation because I like Cap, but I didn't want to run him as Capt. America.

 

Reading up on the Champions Universe, I came up with that a think tank called the Millennium Corporation was experimenting and Eric Hunter was one of five genetically created supersoldiers being created around the time the government was looking into a supersoldier program. This was before the formation of PRIMUS.

 

One of the five was a woman, and thus was rejected for consideration as a soldier, though the potential use as a breeder was taken into consideration. The remaining four were intensively trained in hand to hand combat. During their training, where they were being introduced to the use of a shield and were trying out a prototype shield based on an experimental polymer resin which was practically unbreakable, one of the scientists caught wind that the government already decided to go with the Cyberline program and they lost their chance to get their prototype supersoldiers into action, so they decided they would mind wipe them to become corporate espionage agents, something their patriotic psychological training would not allow.

 

They were informed and the scientist left to get their 'sister' while they would clear a path to the exit. The corporate heads sent in their security team of fifty men, loaded to bear, to take on the four supersoldiers. The subsequent battle did huge amounts of collateral damage, but in the end, Eric was the last supersoldier. The facility they had been based in suffered a titanic explosion so he had no idea if the scientist that warned him was even alive.

 

Knowing that the Corporation would be after him, he decided to make a very public appearance and be the hero they trained him to be.

 

Comments are appreciated and welcome.

you have a winner here

[Peregrine]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Captain Patriot came out during a time I was just learning the Hero System 4th Edition back in 1992. In order to learn how to make characters, since Champions and the Hero System was my very first point based game system, I made 250 point versions of various superheroes.

 

I had just finished attempting to make Superman, who I called Ultraman, and decided to make my second character after my favorite comic book character, Captain America.

 

After recreating Cap as best as I could on 250 points, I needed a new biography for my creation because I like Cap, but I didn't want to run him as Capt. America.

 

Reading up on the Champions Universe, I came up with that a think tank called the Millennium Corporation was experimenting and Eric Hunter was one of five genetically created supersoldiers being created around the time the government was looking into a supersoldier program. This was before the formation of PRIMUS.

 

One of the five was a woman, and thus was rejected for consideration as a soldier, though the potential use as a breeder was taken into consideration. The remaining four were intensively trained in hand to hand combat. During their training, where they were being introduced to the use of a shield and were trying out a prototype shield based on an experimental polymer resin which was practically unbreakable, one of the scientists caught wind that the government already decided to go with the Cyberline program and they lost their chance to get their prototype supersoldiers into action, so they decided they would mind wipe them to become corporate espionage agents, something their patriotic psychological training would not allow.

 

They were informed and the scientist left to get their 'sister' while they would clear a path to the exit. The corporate heads sent in their security team of fifty men, loaded to bear, to take on the four supersoldiers. The subsequent battle did huge amounts of collateral damage, but in the end, Eric was the last supersoldier. The facility they had been based in suffered a titanic explosion so he had no idea if the scientist that warned him was even alive.

 

Knowing that the Corporation would be after him, he decided to make a very public appearance and be the hero they trained him to be.

 

Comments are appreciated and welcome.

 

Questions:

 

1. Was this a different supersoldier process from the ones listed in Champions Universe? I commend you to p. 38 of Champions Universe for detailed discussion of the Perseus treatment, and p. 40 of the same for Project Yeoman, a Perseus derivative; both are contemporary to the pre-PRIMUS time period (Perseus went into production in 1969; Yeoman in 1977, Cyberline/PRIMUS in 1986) you are referencing.

 

2. Is there any connection between this character and the WWII hero by the same name (Champions Universe pp. 84-87)? Is this a legacy hero, intentionally or unintentionally?

[Narf the Mouse]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

...Was the corperation burned with fire?

[CptPatriot]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Dark' date=' but interesting. I assume that the "Sister" became a Hunted or NPC?[/quote']

 

The 'sister' became the primary hunted representing the Millennium Corp think tank. So, he felt obligated to only defeat her and not risk killing her.

 

1. Was this a different supersoldier process from the ones listed in Champions Universe? I commend you to p. 38 of Champions Universe for detailed discussion of the Perseus treatment' date=' and p. 40 of the same for Project Yeoman, a Perseus derivative; both are contemporary to the pre-PRIMUS time period (Perseus went into production in 1969; Yeoman in 1977, Cyberline/PRIMUS in 1986) you are referencing.[/quote']

 

Actually, these references you are using with Perseus and Project Yeoman are just 5th Edition Champions Universe(CU) references, while I was using the 4th Edition version. I looked at these projects and compared it to what I remember about how they did it. Perseus and later Project Yeoman used drug and radiation treatments to induce superpowers, what I am gonna dub, the Millennium process, used advanced eugenics/genetic manipulation.

 

2. Is there any connection between this character and the WWII hero by the same name (Champions Universe pp. 84-87)? Is this a legacy hero' date=' intentionally or unintentionally?[/quote']

 

Actually, I came up with the name before I did my research and discovered there was a Captain Patriot in the CU. Since I liked the name and wasn't gonna change it, I said that he adopted the name after the incident at the facility as a tactic to increase support for him and put himself in a more favorable light.

 

...Was the corporation burned with fire?

Just the one research facility, they lost the Millennium process during the fire. Since the game I was playing with back in the '90s was a shared universe, we explained it away as they harvested her egg cells, so they could continue to breed more supersoldiers. Since she had no more relevant role in the breeding process, they used her since she was the only first gen supersoldier they had access to.

[Peregrine]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Actually, these references you are using with Perseus and Project Yeoman are just 5th Edition Champions Universe(CU) references, while I was using the 4th Edition version. I looked at these projects and compared it to what I remember about how they did it. Perseus and later Project Yeoman used drug and radiation treatments to induce superpowers, what I am gonna dub, the Millennium process, used advanced eugenics/genetic manipulation.

 

Ah. My bad. I missed the edition difference. What version of Cyberline are you thinking of?

 

 

Actually, I came up with the name before I did my research and discovered there was a Captain Patriot in the CU. Since I liked the name and wasn't gonna change it, I said that he adopted the name after the incident at the facility as a tactic to increase support for him and put himself in a more favorable light.

 

It is an obvious one for a patriot archetype as well.

 

Overall, are you going to "reset/retcon" for the 5e/6e CU?

[CptPatriot]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Ah. My bad. I missed the edition difference. What version of Cyberline are you thinking of?

I don't have the original book here to confirm it, but Shelley Chrystal Mactyre's PRIMUS has this that sounds familiar, "The public believes it to be a variety of chemical and biofeedback processes, rumors PRIMUS has perpetuated."

 

It is an obvious one for a patriot archetype as well.

 

Overall, are you going to "reset/retcon" for the 5e/6e CU?

I don't think I need to with the 5th. If you didn't notice any flaws with my background logic, he should be fine. I just need to update the character for changes in the 5th edition. I hadn't used Captain Patriot in any 5th Edition games and I don't have him electronically as I built him prior to even the Heromaker software.

 

Personally, I would like to see how others handled the universe change to keep a sense of continuity with other 'parallel' Champions 4th Edition Universes.

[Peregrine]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

I don't have the original book here to confirm it' date=' but Shelley Chrystal Mactyre's PRIMUS has this that sounds familiar, "The public believes it to be a variety of chemical and biofeedback processes, rumors PRIMUS has perpetuated."[/quote']

 

Actually, Shelley's PRIMUS book made an official change to Cyberline. "What is called Cyberline is, in fact, a genetic re-engineering of agents.Dr. Julius Merrill, who would later be known for his contributions to the field of the paranormal genetic research, began a series of clandestine experiments for the Pentagon, to develop “super soldiers” in 1954. The genetic material of a soldier of the Korean War, Isaac Rosenberg, was used as the basis for Cyberline... Merrill spent years analyzing Rosenberg’s DNA, essentially pioneering the field of paranormal genetic research, though many of his findings remain secret to this day. After many trials and even more error, he finally managed to refine his technique. Cyberline consists of the key portion of Rosenberg’s DNA, delivered by a virus; when a cell is infected with the virus, Rosenberg’s DNA inserts into a key segment of chromosome nine." (PRIMUS p. 80)

 

 

 

This was retained for the 5e CU. See Champions Universe, p. 116

 

 

 

Naturally, you can use whichever you prefer.

[CptPatriot]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Actually, Shelley's PRIMUS book made an official change to Cyberline. "What is called Cyberline is, in fact, a genetic re-engineering of agents.Dr. Julius Merrill, who would later be known for his contributions to the field of the paranormal genetic research, began a series of clandestine experiments for the Pentagon, to develop “super soldiers” in 1954. The genetic material of a soldier of the Korean War, Isaac Rosenberg, was used as the basis for Cyberline... Merrill spent years analyzing Rosenberg’s DNA, essentially pioneering the field of paranormal genetic research, though many of his findings remain secret to this day. After many trials and even more error, he finally managed to refine his technique. Cyberline consists of the key portion of Rosenberg’s DNA, delivered by a virus; when a cell is infected with the virus, Rosenberg’s DNA inserts into a key segment of chromosome nine." (PRIMUS p. 80)

 

 

 

This was retained for the 5e CU. See Champions Universe, p. 116

 

 

 

Naturally, you can use whichever you prefer.

 

I realize that, I just didn't remember the description they originally used to describe it before her book came out. Her method appears to be a form of gene therapy. While the Millennium process is eugenic in nature.

[Peregrine]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

When you say "eugenics", I take that as "selective breeding". Given that pure eugenics takes generations (plural) to achieve significant results, are you adding genetic engineering to speed up the process? Even so, you are looking at 18-20 years to get a mature supersoldier from a newborn. The advantage there is the opportunity to "train from birth" - to focus the education and activities of the proto-supersoldier children towards their intended profession. The disadvantage is the lead time from "placing an order" to having operational supersoldiers.

[CptPatriot]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

When you say "eugenics"' date=' I take that as "selective breeding". Given that pure eugenics takes generations (plural) to achieve significant results, are you adding genetic engineering to speed up the process? Even so, you are looking at 18-20 years to get a mature supersoldier from a newborn. The advantage there is the opportunity to "train from birth" - to focus the education and activities of the proto-supersoldier children towards their intended profession. The disadvantage is the lead time from "placing an order" to having operational supersoldiers.[/quote']

 

You are correct, what I failed to mention was they were also accelerating the growth of the cells. Captain Patriot also received the same accelerated growth to maturity, though perhaps not as fast. The 'brothers' were approximately 6 years old when the acceleration was stopped. They were receiving their training from the moment they could hold a weapon.

 

So, at the time Captain Patriot escaped from the facility, he was a physically mature male. Also, I had Captain Patriot as living among people for at least 10 years at game start, so chronologically, he's only 16 years old. I did this so he would have some social skills, but he did have a harder time trying to learn them as he didn't have people to properly learn the traits. His mental age is about equivalent of a high school attendee though he had to pretend to be an adult for most of the time he spent around people. He simply acted like a soldier would around others and left before they could learn the truth about him.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Augment is a term used to describe a group of genetically engineered Humans created by DNA resequencing in the late 20th century. - Memory Alpha.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

QM

[Peregrine]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

You are correct, what I failed to mention was they were also accelerating the growth of the cells. Captain Patriot also received the same accelerated growth to maturity, though perhaps not as fast. The 'brothers' were approximately 6 years old when the acceleration was stopped. They were receiving their training from the moment they could hold a weapon.

 

So, at the time Captain Patriot escaped from the facility, he was a physically mature male. Also, I had Captain Patriot as living among people for at least 10 years at game start, so chronologically, he's only 16 years old. I did this so he would have some social skills, but he did have a harder time trying to learn them as he didn't have people to properly learn the traits. His mental age is about equivalent of a high school attendee though he had to pretend to be an adult for most of the time he spent around people. He simply acted like a soldier would around others and left before they could learn the truth about him.

 

So, let me make sure I understand.

 

1. Physically mature after 6 years of growth acceleration.

2. Trained for 10 years post-acceleration.

 

Correct?

[CptPatriot]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

So, let me make sure I understand.

 

1. Physically mature after 6 years of growth acceleration.

2. Trained for 10 years post-acceleration.

 

Correct?

Not quite.

1. Physically Mature after 6 years of growth acceleration using some sort of drug
   
2. Trained during the growth cycle,
   
3. They attempted escaped shortly after the acceleration was stopped
   
4. He survived on his own for 9-10 years
   

[Peregrine]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Not quite.

1. Physically Mature after 6 years of growth acceleration using some sort of drug
   
2. Trained during the growth cycle,
   
3. They attempted escaped shortly after the acceleration was stopped
   
4. He survived on his own for 9-10 years
   

 

OK.

 

Physical training could have started as soon as they could stand/walk (say 6 months physical, or 2 months chronological), with basic gymnastics (such as learning to walk on their hands simultaneously with learning to walk on their feet, basic tumbling and acrobatics) and patterns of movement that build into martial arts (such as a custom variant of tai chi); generally, various forms of physical training that did not require more strength than enough to move the body, that could be built upon later into more explicit combat training.

 

Non-physical skills, including social skills, would have been harder to acquire without positing some kind of direct mental programming. Which makes it hard to rationalize him successfully surviving on his own after only 6 chronological years - he'd basically be a street urchin with an adult's body, trained to be a killing machine.

[CptPatriot]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

Non-physical skills' date=' including social skills, would have been harder to acquire without positing some kind of direct mental programming. Which makes it hard to rationalize him successfully surviving on his own after only 6 chronological years - he'd basically be a street urchin with an adult's body, trained to be a killing machine.[/quote']

 

You are correct. But I was just learning about what it meant to make a solid concept at that time and it was better than my Ultraman character, who got his powers reading a Superman comic while a radioactive meteorite overflew him.

[Peregrine]

Re: The Genesis of Captain Patriot

 

You are correct. But I was just learning about what it meant to make a solid concept at that time and it was better than my Ultraman character' date=' who got his powers reading a Superman comic while a radioactive meteorite overflew him.[/quote']

 

Hey, it's a solid background otherwise. well, Captain Patriot's, that is...