What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

[CoreBrute]

Merry Almost Christmas. A gift to all of you is this idea to contemplate going into the New Year.

 

It's New Years and whether your having a party or just spending the night at home you (The real you not an RP character) glance out of your window up towards the sky. You may only look for a moment but in that moment you see something incredible. A star begins blinking on and off before disappearing in a small flash of light. A few others at the party see it but wave it aside as nothing important or as a trick of the light.

 

When you eventually do fall asleep you dream of floating above your home city/town/village heading towards the sun. The vision changes then to you in a soldier's uniform holding a flag with your face over the White house. It changes again to a vision of you lifting a cargo plane adorned in red and gold spandex. You then see yourself strapped in chains and a prison uniform before feeling the flesh ripped from your bones as an incredible heat wave washes over you.

 

The final vision is you in ordinary clothes standing among others while hurtling to the stars in a space ship, while behind you a planet is destroyed.

 

You awaken and are sweating furiously. But your fear soon turns to surprise when you discover your levitating.

 

You soon discover the following abilities:

Super strength (Can lift a tractor with one hand)

Invulnerability (Anything less then 50mm will bounce off. 50mm will bruise you and an RPG could break some bones. Can only cut hair and nails with very powerful laser cutters/ your own nails)

Regeneration (injuries that takes weeks to heal takes only hours. wounds seal very quickly. You never get sick anymore and can survive indefinitely without food or drink but will still feel weak with hunger. Oxygen is still needed to breathe)

Flight (can achieve mach 2, which can easily break the speed barrier)

Eidetic memory (From after New Years not before)

 

Your not sure how this happened, but no one else at the party has got abilities and you seem to be the only person in the world with such great abilities (Tibet monks' pyrokinetics aside).

 

What do you do? Try and live a normal life, become a super hero? Use powers to get rich? Try and fix the world? Make a thread on the hero games forum asking people their advise?

[薔薇語]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

I, your new Lord and Sovereign, shall rescue the world from you and for you. .

 

Honestly, though, the repercussions for being the only super hero are quite amazing. Not all that many home grown threats around that need a super hero. Those that do are likely to be hard to catch and stop (McVeigh, 9/11, etc). Can't really attack foreign powers without risking some major military retaliations against my home country / family. Being the first superhero would be awesome and suck all at the same time.

 

La Rose.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

i'd try to be a super-hero

[Badger]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

Take over a small area in a sparsely populated part of the West. Tell the gov't "leave me alone, and i'll leave you alone". All independent thinking libertarian types will be welcome (provided they stay out of my way).

 

Note: I'm in a cynical, anti-social mood today.

[dmjalund]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

I'd really have to think about secret identities - wear gloves, mask

 

might not look so great, but if people found out it would be worse than any hollywood superstar

 

after all - noone expects paris hilton to catch you if you fall off a building

[hfergus]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

Super hero definately. And things about to get very interesting for the rest of the world considering my sense of humor. Once well loved, I'd start to mention personal beliefs, but force no one to change theirs. Run for office? Probably not. Otherwise get involved in politics? .... Well politics are part of my personal belief, so some people will start to hate me. Won't change a thing.

[casualplayer]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

I would want to go public quickly, so I don't get disappeared and experimented on as a labrat with none the wiser. Probably go on television, perform some feats and then recite the Pledge of Allegiance so people understand where I'm coming from. Truth, Justice and the American Ideal.

 

I would need some sort of sensor/communications rig equivalent to the cockpit of a fighter jet with flight transponders and such also, probably built into a helmet. Running lights, so some Cessna or seagull doesn't splat into me. Some sort of distance strike capability like missiles or machine guns.

 

So I would become a highly visible government operative that would constantly be questioning and vetoing the missions I'm sent on, probably a flagsuit type.

[Panpiper]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

One of the first things I would do, perhaps oddly, is see if there is any way I can generate the same level of torque and power with martial kicks and punches while flying, intead of the normal reliance of leg power in connection with the ground. Conveniently I happen to be a well trained martial artist in addition to my new found strength of 40.

 

Then I'd give it some thought as to how I might best avail myself of these new found abilities. I expect I would consult with a number of science fiction writers I know, and perhaps as well a few I have not personally met yet. I'd get their feedback on what might have happened and it's likely meaning. I do not expect I would maintain any sort of secret identity. Then I would consult with various scientists in an attempt to better understand the powers I possess. During all of this, I expect the press would get wind of it and I would be somewhat cooperative with them and friendly.

 

I would charge networks if they want a full sit down interview or a powers demonstration, and use the funds generated to, among other things, commission a very nifty set of heavily reinforced leathers, with replacements, that I could wear during those demonstrations, and if ever there was call for me to 'use' my powers.

 

I expect I would become somewhat political during those interviews and use my celebrity to promote my own libertarian agenda. I would not become a politician, but simply be a spokesperson for freedom and sound economic policies.

 

There are no super villains to fight so I would not be a superhero per say, but if there were natural disasters and such in which my speed (flight) and strength could help save lives, I would certainly be there helping. That would in effect become my job I expect, gaining what money I might need from continued patronage by the news media and what other legit and ethical opportunities might present themselves.

[Vulcan]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

I'm afraid with my temperment, I would not be much of a hero. But I'll tell you this: Those f'ed up stories that turn up in the news, where someone kills people and gets away with it? They'd get a couple hours to justify it while we flew to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where I could leave them and a couple of concrete blocks with little worry they would ever be recovered.

[Panpiper]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

I'm afraid with my temperment' date=' I would not be much of a hero. But I'll tell you this: Those f'ed up stories that turn up in the news, where someone kills people and gets away with it? They'd get a couple hours to justify it while we flew to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where I could leave them and a couple of concrete blocks with little worry they would ever be recovered.[/quote']

Ah, so you would be a vigilante, until you inadvertently punished an innocent person, whereupon you would be a tragic super villain, hunted by the authorities and forced to turn to a life of crime. Just the thing that the next super powered person needs in order to be a proper super hero while bringing you to justice.

 

;-)

[Clonus]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

At the moment? Very little. I've been given no powers that will help me find bad guys and I'd be worried about the consequences of going public. But when the next major catastrophe comes along, I suppose I'd fly off and try to lend a hand.

[GoldenAge]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

I would just sit back and await the appearance of the world's first supervillain... Nature abhors a vacuum. He/she's bound to show up soon enough.

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

I would be unable to believe I was the only one, or that I would remain alone if I was. So after figuring out my powers and designing an appropriate costume/disguise, I would fly to the White House and tell the President that I was here, I was a good guy, and that I was going to help humanity whenever and wherever I could. Trying to stop me would just be a waste of everyone's time and energy, and I was definitely NOT a threat. I would then call a press conference to announce my presence to the world and call on other, like-minded individuals with power to join me. I would also warn any would-be supervillains (and I would have to believe they were out there) that I would do everything in my considerable power to shut them down. I would like to work with the legitimate governments of the world (especially the US and the UN), but would not work for any of them. Finally, I would look for a coalition of the world's scientists (both government and privately endowed), to help me figure out why I was able to do these things, whether I could somehow give similar powers to my loved ones, and if there was a way to find others with powers.

[Starfighter]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

Well the first thing I would do upon discovering my powers is not do anything. At least not immediately. I would need to plan first.

 

If I have an Eidetic memory, then I would take advantage of that and study and memorize multiple languages. I would then study world politics and the various differences that cause wars and clashes of ideologies.

 

I would also be taking time to hone my physical powers and testing their limits. If I could lift a tractor from the get-go, then it would stand to reason that working out my muscles with strength training I could lift even more than that. And may even increase my durability and endurance.

 

After sharpening my mind and body to their peak, I would then publicly reveal my existence.

 

I would tell the news media that my intentions are to strive for truth, justice, and world peace. I will use my powers to help people who are sick or starving, stop wars, and defeat terrorism.

 

I would make it clear that I am not a representative of any world government, and that no imaginary border can stop me from accomplishing my goals.

 

I would call myself 'Supraman'. (To avoid any potential lawsuits by DC Comics)

[Panpiper]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

It occurs to me that while no mention of life support was made by the OP, it is possible that my flight might well work beyond the limits of the Earth's atmosphere. Even if I don't actually have life support, I might well be able to wear a space suit and fly into orbit. I would quickly ascertain if that were possible or not, and if as I expect is likely, that I would be able to fly into orbit, I would offer my services as a launch and retrieval service for orbital payloads and in orbit construction of space stations and other structures. I could charge a very pretty penny for such services and have as much work as I could handle. It would amount to a ten point wealth perk, quickly leveraged into fifteen. A lot of good can be done with such resources, not to mention the good that would come from such a cheap and flexible launch service.

[lemming]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

It occurs to me that while no mention of life support was made by the OP' date=' it is possible that my flight might well work beyond the limits of the Earth's atmosphere. Even if I don't actually have life support, I might well be able to wear a space suit and fly into orbit. I would quickly ascertain if that were possible or not, and if as I expect is likely, that I would be able to fly into orbit, I would offer my services as a launch and retrieval service for orbital payloads and in orbit construction of space stations and other structures. I could charge a very pretty penny for such services and have as much work as I could handle. It would amount to a ten point wealth perk, quickly leveraged into fifteen. A lot of good can be done with such resources, not to mention the good that would come from such a cheap and flexible launch service.[/quote']

 

Regeneration (injuries that takes weeks to heal takes only hours. wounds seal very quickly. You never get sick anymore and can survive indefinitely without food or drink but will still feel weak with hunger. Oxygen is still needed to breathe)

 

You may be able to bring a breathing apparatus, like Superman was doing.

[Panpiper]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

Right, so in addition to offering launch services, I will need to stay very alert to natural disasters and such. As I would need to earn lots of experience points ;-) so as to boost my life support, and ultimately also my flight to megascale. I want to be able to extend the launch services to delivery of payloads to the Moon and Mars. :-)

[薔薇語]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

Right' date=' so in addition to offering launch services, I will need to stay very alert to natural disasters and such. As I would need to earn lots of experience points ;-) so as to boost my life support, and ultimately also my flight to megascale. I want to be able to extend the launch services to delivery of payloads to the Moon and Mars. :-)[/quote']

 

Even without the ability to get yourself to other plants, you could do wonders for the rest of humanity. Imagine if there was a way to get all the equipment into space to build a launching platform on the moon but without the costly rocket trips it takes now. In essence, one could take up an entire space station bit by bit and build it on the moon or in orbit for a minuscule cost.

 

La Rose.

[Wyrm Ouroboros]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

Hmm. You aren't invulnerable, really fast, or anything -- excessively human, so to speak, but still just your normal intelligence. (Sure, memory can count for a lot, but memory != brains.) You aren't faster than a speeding bullet, or even a jet fighter; no Hancock here. I ... don't know. Enjoy myself, yes; possibly work on becoming a batman-sort. (Eidetic memory CAN help with some stuff, I'll grant you.) But without an otherwise-extended lifespan, intelligence, or truly extra-ordinary ability (e.g. magnetics, mentallics, or whatever), you're just a one-man army -- killable with effort, but that's all.

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

Hmm. You aren't invulnerable' date=' [i']really[/i] fast, or anything -- excessively human, so to speak, but still just your normal intelligence. (Sure, memory can count for a lot, but memory != brains.) You aren't faster than a speeding bullet, or even a jet fighter; no Hancock here. I ... don't know. Enjoy myself, yes; possibly work on becoming a batman-sort. (Eidetic memory CAN help with some stuff, I'll grant you.) But without an otherwise-extended lifespan, intelligence, or truly extra-ordinary ability (e.g. magnetics, mentallics, or whatever), you're just a one-man army -- killable with effort, but that's all.

 

From what I read in the original post, I would say you're practically invulnerable. You could be hurt or killed, but it wouldn't be practical to bring that much firepower to bear against one individual. Especially for anyone other than the government.

[Panpiper]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

The OP defined us as being impervious to anything less than a 50mm shell, which is pretty darn close to invulnerable in Champions terms. That is easily on the order of 20 PD/ED resistant.

 

And we are in fact faster than a jet fighter. The OP defined us as as being able to fly at mach two, which is twice the speed of sound. The only jet fighter that 'cruises' at speed higher than the speed of sound is the F22 which has a cruise speed of mach 1.6. All other jet fighters cruise at sub sonic speeds and can achieve supersonic speed 'only' by engaging their afterburners, which burn fuel at an extremely high rate, and most of them cannot exceed mach 2 for much more than a couple of minutes.

 

And we've already got both regeneration and several bits of life support. It's not much of a stretch that we might well have or develop an extended lifespan or even immortality.

 

I submit that super strength sufficient to hit for 12D6 with martial attacks, a resistant PD/ED of 20, a mach 2 flight and regenerative life support all together most definitely counts as extra-ordinary ability that puts you into the super category. Just because you could conceivably be put down with sufficient military force does not mean you are not a 'super'.

 

Shoot, I recall playing an extremely high powered 'Wildcards' campaign for a long time. My character was such an insanely highly powered, flying brick as to make most GM's here puke (it was a very high powered campaign, though I was asked to drop my presence down from 75 to a more manageable 60 - 9' tall horned, fanged, taloned, barbed tail, massively winged gargoyle). And my character was brought down once by a single burst from an aerial defense APC mounting a Vulcan autocannon. Military firepower is easily able to bring down supers.

[Egyptoid]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

well even with being a super, it would still be the same daily struggle:

 

will I be a taker or a giver today?

[Panpiper]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

Launch services currently cost roughly $10,000. a pound to put a payload into geosynchronous orbit. I could put such a payload up once a day easily. Assuming that supply and demand would drop the cost to $1000. a pound, my six ton payload would still pay me well over $10 million a day!

 

There's not much 'daily struggle' involved for someone making 10 million a day. That's two billion a year! I can give as good as Bill Gates, and still live like a king.

[Matt Holck]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

the satellite gig is a good deal

[GMumford]

Re: What If: You were the world's 1st superhuman?

 

With no extra-sensory powers, detective skills, or some other information gathering resources I’d be pretty worthless as a superhero. I would certainly try to help out on catastrophes receiving live coverage like 9/11, might even be able to save the second tower. But with no way of knowing where or when someone with such talents would be needed, I would just try to go on with my life.

　

I’d want to develop a secret identity to protect my loved ones; nothing fancy though. No spandex or flashy colors. Maybe coveralls, gloves, and a motorcycle helmet with a tinted visor.

　

I’m already wary of government bureaucrats and corporate types, so no space program or volunteering my services to the President for me. Maybe a quiet, off the books agreement with the local police commissioner or something.