SSgt Baloo Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 I was just wondering what sort of things you might see in a world full of supers. This could be either something you thought of right now, some time ago, or something you put in your own campaign. In one campaign I ran, there was a "Mutant Ghetto" in many larger towns. Mutants gathered together for social, moral, and even financial support for one another, in much the way gay communities coalesced a few decades ago. In one such Mutant-town, the local heroes gained a following among the younger mutants when they opened their headquarters in the neighborhood and started making friends with the locals. In that neighborhood, you might see a boy (he'd be in his 30s by now) with Moose Antlers. In another such world, you might have seen some guy panhandling on the streetcorner, unshaven, wearing less-than-pristine tights and cape and holding a sign that read: "I used to have superpowers but my archenemy took them away from me. Please help!" Would anyone else care to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... The towering wreckage of a gigantic space craft, long since picked over but still cordoned off, remnant of an alien menace from more than a decade ago. The mice who wear clothes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haven Walkur Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... People walking around wearing FAA or NTSB beacons on a belt or chain. People walking around talking on cell phones -- without a cell phone. An apparently blind man guarding the door of a federal building, checking people through with a touch. And once inside, most go on to their destinations, while some get intercepted by alarming-looking figures in security uniforms. A professional-looking young man with suit, tie and briefcase wearing a dog license/rabies tag around his neck. Through downtown in any big city, a lane next to the bike lane marked VEHICULAR SPEED NON-VEHICLES ONLY Love this topic, SSgtBaloo. Have some Rep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinanju Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... Fansites for superheroes on the internet. News & photos, reprints or links to news stories about the hero, artwork, photoshopped pics, fan fiction, and forums in which partisans hotly debate everything about the hero from his real identity and the source, nature and extent of his powers*, to his personality, politics, and how he ranks compared to others. *We, as readers, know what Daredevil's powers are, or Spider-Man's, Superman's. But the average man in the street? He may not know Daredevil has ANY special powers, or be convinced that he's psychic or an alien or a mutant or god knows what. Ditto for Spider-Man. The scene in Superman where Lois Lane thinks, "Can you read my mind?" was perfect--given all the impossible things he can do that she's seen so far, that's a perfectly reasonable question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... I had the tattletale, a celeberty gossip mag concentrating on superheroes going to snag mutant town for my next game... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... Bank vaults that have metal rods come out to fill the empty space when the door closes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... security firm agreements saying not responsible if magic is involved... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... Many low-lever supers using their powers legitimately for profit. People with flight, teleportation or super-speed as delivery persons; super-strong people could be construction workers, miners, furniture movers, excavators--and so could telekinetics. Transmutators--in addition to turning base metals to gold--could render radioactive material inert, or toxic waste harmless, or even dirty clothes and furniture into clean clothes and furniture. Invulnerable people could do stunt work, or rescue work, or space or undersea exploration. Heat controllers could work in furnaces, or inside volcanoes; cold controllers could work in the Arctic or Antarctic or any other deep-cold envrioment. (Really powerful cold controllers could rebuild the polar icecaps--or at least help.) Traditional super-costume items become part of regular fashion--capes, masks, hoods, bright primary colors, and more. City streets look like pre-Crisis Krypton, in populace if not in architecture. As per Watchmen, lots of non-powered people create costumed identities to either fight or commit crime. Some are actually good at it; others think all they need is a rocket pack, a bulletproof vest and a bandolier full of stun grenades. Needless to say, it usually ends up messy fot the latter group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... Many low-lever supers using their powers legitimately for profit. People with flight, teleportation or super-speed as delivery persons; super-strong people could be construction workers, miners, furniture movers, excavators--and so could telekinetics. Transmutators--in addition to turning base metals to gold--could render radioactive material inert, or toxic waste harmless, or even dirty clothes and furniture into clean clothes and furniture. Invulnerable people could do stunt work, or rescue work, or space or undersea exploration. Heat controllers could work in furnaces, or inside volcanoes; cold controllers could work in the Arctic or Antarctic or any other deep-cold envrioment. (Really powerful cold controllers could rebuild the polar icecaps--or at least help.) Traditional super-costume items become part of regular fashion--capes, masks, hoods, bright primary colors, and more. City streets look like pre-Crisis Krypton, in populace if not in architecture. As per Watchmen, lots of non-powered people create costumed identities to either fight or commit crime. Some are actually good at it; others think all they need is a rocket pack, a bulletproof vest and a bandolier full of stun grenades. Needless to say, it usually ends up messy fot the latter group. useing super-powers to maka a legitamate living makes sense enen super beings have to eat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAge Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... • The end of GOD as we know it (or perhaps the opposite???) • Religious cults devoted to specific heroes • New and unusual legislation that is hero specific (especially in the financial sector and a Power Registry - There are laws on the books stating that vigilantism is against the law) • LOTS of construction (issuing in higher taxes and LOTS of "tea Parties" railing against heroes) • Anti-Hero bigotry (a must considering the inadequacy most normals would feel in their presence) • Unusual construction (where heroes themselves have done repairs with their powers - maybe even some permanent Green Lantern constructs?) • A huge increase in underground publications/blogs dedicated to heroes/villains • Far lower crime rates among "normal" people (those that don't stand a chance against people that can see through walls) • Flying cars??? Nah, we'll never get those damn things. • "Power" Broker Agencies (Blackwater [Xe] on steroids) • Military use of supers • A new paradigm in technology as the super-intelligent revise our whole understanding of applied science (and maybe get super-rich doing it) • The fall of Las Vegas (and other gambling sites), or at least their evolution into something different, as supers get rich quick. I honestly think it would be nigh impossible to keep a mentalist from political domination or outright usurpation of government. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naanomi Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... There is some sort of 'disability services' equivalent for people with difficult super powers... if you suddenly need to eat Radon every day to survive, the Dept. of Superpowers is there with financial support. Oh, and trademark disputes over costume details... only Mr. Awesome's cape has 4 stars in a cross on it, you can't have it too without infringing on his image! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... Perhaps a clothing shop that exists specifically to cater for supers who want flash costumes. I recall there was such a boutique in Champs:New Millennium run by a retired superhero called Orchid. Seme form of neutral territory, where heroes and villains could go to hang out without having to worry about fights breaking out. It could be a bar, run by a being with enough power to keep order, or even a small island where everything is kept copacetic by mutual agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted September 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... The towering wreckage of a gigantic space craft, long since picked over but still cordoned off, remnant of an alien menace from more than a decade ago. The mice who wear clothes. NIMH has a lot to answer for. Repped. Ideas stolen benchmarked from The Wrong Door: Superhero Tryouts Super Sandwich, the superhero whose sole power is the ability to create an absolutely terrific sandwich to order, without any ingredients to start with. The adult entertainment industry might have a slightly different character, but maybe not. Certainly some of the actors might have meta-abilities that aren't really "superpowers" except in that context. The homeless would probably come in a larger, more colorful variety than they already do. I always thought that a super-strong hero might have a custom-built bicycle manufactured for him by a custom motorcycle company. Try riding any normal bicycle at 60 MPH for any length of time and you'll get the idea. Likewise, human-powered aircraft might be slightly more common. I suspect any hero capable of propelling his pedi-plane faster than about 100 kph (or therabouts) would either have to file an exception with the FAA or obtain a licence (and a type certificate, if he's gonna be carrying passengers). Depending upon how common metahuman children are, the signs denoting school zones and crosswalks might be different. The school crossing guard might have a bit more ability to enforce the rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormraven Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... In keeping with the idea of low level supers getting paying jobs, Super-Temps. A Temporary agency for super / para humans, to fit your every need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... on the subject of higher taxes do to construction costs... what if that is actualy more of a zero sum. You are saving costs do to Super construction man helping out, but there is more work to do because of super battles...think about it for a minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbdaury Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... Special "clans" or "lodges" for different groups of metahumans- the House of Wax for shapeshifters, the Mentat Group, etc- both heroes and villains may be members and you may even have villains mentoring the next generation of heroes in the use of their powers as all members of the lodge are required to assist their fellow members in learning to use their abilities. All lodge properties are neutral ground where no harm can come to any member and no member is allowed to reveal the lodge's location or who is there at any time. This allows for Neutral Ground effect and "non-professional" interaction on social level between people who would otherwise only meet over the field of battle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice9 Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... Probably a fair amount of scientific advancement. Even if there are no hyper-intelligent supers, people with the right powers could make existing research easier and faster by orders of magnitude. One energy-manipulator that could emit the right kind of radiation on demand would send particle physics leaping forward, a duplicator would be the perfect control group, a telekinetic could work directly with unstable substances, and a teleporter (better yet, portal-creator) could make all kinds of crazy stuff possible. And that's all assuming someone with precognition doesn't just grab blueprints from the future. For that matter, the heightened threat from rogue supers would probably lead to massive funding in weapons research, as in the cold war. Also, with enough space-capable and teleporting supers, establishing colonies in space would be a lot more feasible - and maybe necessary, given the heightened worldwide disaster rate in most super universes. On the downside, things would be a lot more dangerous in the city. When one guy who snaps can knock down skyscrapers, or set fire to everything around, the odds are against you. Even if the police had enough super-tech / super-cops to quickly subdue a rogue super, they could still cause a lot of destruction before that happened, and in the process of resisting arrest. This might lead to people spreading out more - suburbs everywhere, connected by advanced communications and transport (see above). Things like political speeches and court hearings, even important meetings, might be done by telepresence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drhoz Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... In keeping with the idea of low level supers getting paying jobs' date=' [b']Super-Temps[/b]. A Temporary agency for super / para humans, to fit your every need. Good pair of books, that. *happy memories of "Frog Day Afternoon" and "El Lobo Dorado is dead, is dead" - the latter is a wonderful, tragic story about a human vigilante Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... There was also a Super-Temps agency in the IST universe for GURPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAge Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... On the downside' date=' things would be a lot more dangerous in the city. When one guy who snaps can knock down skyscrapers, or set fire to everything around, the odds are against you.[/quote'] Perhaps this would lead to (besides anti-super extremism and bigotry) a new Personal Protection Industry including enhanced vehicles, customized survival gear (personalized force fields anyone?), better telecommunication and specialized insurance programs. Maybe new regulations for building integrity in structures over a certain height that reside in super "danger" zones (just like quake zones)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNakagawa Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... schools for super kids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... schools for super kids an american branch of hogwarts school for wizards for instance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKJAM! Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... The latest issue of "Streets of Gotham" focused on "The Broker", an evil real estate agent who hooks villains up with theme-appropriate hideouts. (It also explains why Gotham City seems to have a never-ending supply of abandoned amusement parks.) Other things you might see: Supers trying to parlay their powers into an entertainment career, with decidedly mixed results due to talent; and conversely entertainment types trying to parlay their celebrity into a super career (generally a bad idea.) Heck, Disney or a similar company might artificially create a super-idol singer or super-boy band for commercial/PR purposes. Anti-super sentiment being cyclical, depending on the latest events. Sure, there's a small core of bigots who hate supers all the time, but when Mighty Girl saves the world from the Xorton invaders, the hate tends to die down--when the Protectors are mindzapped by a jade skull and start trying to "purify" their city, the hate tends to go up. Specialists in meta-medicine. A scam artist who sets up a sperm bank claiming to have the genetic material of particularly handsome and powerful supers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAge Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... schools for super kids Sky High??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 Re: Things You'd See in a World Full of Supers... an american branch of hogwarts school for wizards for instance? The Potterverse already has the Salem School. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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