A super school

[quozaxx]

Re: A super school

 

I am considering the following:

 

Place the school in a rural area that has it’s players brought to the school via teleportation or busing . That fact that there is a school of this kind is very public, however it’s location is rather glossed over. Only the government, family of students, and school officials know it’s location. So it could be found if need be.

 

The government does know about the facility and currently supports it (note: I said "currently"). The school helps students control powers and understand their “place” in society. It is privately funded by donations.

 

Students are required to understand not only the law but the impact of their actions in “the real world”. They can’t force a person to be a future hero or villain. There are plenty of students who just want to be able to defend themselves and live a non heroic life (not the Pcs of course)

[BLHarrison]

Re: A super school

 

In reference to home rooms, how about the random selection BUT during the first day the students are required to come up with a name? This can also be the start of any group conflict as the first round of suggestions triggers a lot of debate.

 

You could also state that some names get reused with the graduation date added like "Avengers 2014". This can be part of the above conflict as someone remarks "Aw com'on man that name's been use some many time it's lame!!!

[clsage]

Re: A super school

 

I'm in the process of gearing up a new game and I am really leaning toward a Teen/Young Adult hero game myself. But I am not going the super-school route. Instead I have been tinkering with this idea. I will have 3 campuses that are directly adjacent. First is the University, an old well established ivy-league university. Second an equally aged and prestigious private high school where the students live on campus, wear uniforms, etc. The third is a slightly ambiguous Institute that performs 'advanced' research.

 

All of the PC's attend/work either the University or the High School and the Institute is a the front for a secret organization that secretly defends the earth from threats that fall outside of the mundane world. They recruit young exceptional persons and provide the scholarships to attend.

 

I'm still working out the details, but that is the general idea.

 

When you get things worked out, I'd be interested in what you come up with...if you're willing to post it.

 

-Carl-

[Steve]

Re: A super school

 

For a full-blown Superhuman High School, where every power source is available to the students, you run into some interesting social dynamics and questions.

 

Does everyone maintain a secret identity? If not, you get the issue that future villains can probably figure out a hero's identity by just looking through old yearbooks.

 

What about school clubs? The Science Club or Math Club at SHS would likely have both the Reed Richards types but also the Victor Von Doom types. That might make for some interesting club meetings. Explosions are optional but likely.

 

Sports teams are another consideration. Does the school have cheerleaders? Do they compete with other superhuman high schools around the world, or is there just one school for all nations?

 

One can imagine the plot possibilities of national superhuman high schools interacting with each other.

[novi]

Re: A super school

 

Just to make sure I read that correctly, you're planning on a large school with all the students having powers? Remember, you don't need to create all the students, and only some of them need personalities. How many people did you know in your high school?

 

A more low tech solution is to make this a boarding school.

 

A reason to have all the students take codenames is for privacy - all official school records use the codename so that it's that much harder to break secret identities.

 

I've thought about a similar setting, and my solution was to have among the various wards, sensors, and other defenses around the school, to include a somebody-else's-problem field. That way, everybody knows there is a school there, but nobody without a good reason to be there or know about it really cares. A good way to explain why the tabloids and paparazzi don't trouble the school.

 

And the reason why very few supervillain attacks occur is that it has been declared a safe zone by all the rational supervillains. Some of them are donors, some of them have kids that go there, and beyond that, it's a recruiting center training ground for potential future henchmen.

 

As to the homeroom sized, I would suggest working out how many instructors and counselors there are on staff and giving them one homeroom each, roughly. You may also break it down further into training teams, aka party sized groups.

 

 

Quozaxx, are you familiar with the Whateley Universe? It's a massive bunch of stories all taking place in a school much like the one you're thinking of. It may be worth a look, if you have a colossal amount of free time. Also, it might properly be termed fan-fiction about an original subject, and the writing quality various widely among the authors.

[Matt Holck]

Re: A super school

 

The school should have a Super Jungle Gym

 

http://nuclear-imaging.info/site_content/2009/02/03/moebius-mobius-strip-in-art-and-culture/

 

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/megleary28/1/1213289160/german-jungle-gym.jpg/tpod.html

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiHdcrLcoPA

[Spence]

Re: A super school

 

Another question?

 

Is this a long time established school? Or a new 'we are just figuring out what we are doing one'?

[Spence]

Re: A super school

 

When you get things worked out, I'd be interested in what you come up with...if you're willing to post it.

 

-Carl-

 

 

If I get a coherent enough version written up I will. I have just decided on the city I will be basing out of. First I need to adjust it for my world concept.

 

But I will be watching this thread for ideas.....

[quozaxx]

Re: A super school

 

For a full-blown Superhuman High School, where every power source is available to the students, you run into some interesting social dynamics and questions.

 

Does everyone maintain a secret identity? If not, you get the issue that future villains can probably figure out a hero's identity by just looking through old yearbooks.

 

What about school clubs? The Science Club or Math Club at SHS would likely have both the Reed Richards types but also the Victor Von Doom types. That might make for some interesting club meetings. Explosions are optional but likely.

 

Sports teams are another consideration. Does the school have cheerleaders? Do they compete with other superhuman high schools around the world, or is there just one school for all nations?

 

One can imagine the plot possibilities of national superhuman high schools interacting with each other.

 

I would have a teacher (or principal), encourage students to use just their first names. They will then be encouraged to come up with a super hero name during their first home room.

 

I know there will be a "super science lab"; so I can imagine it having a club. And thus also having other clubs.

 

I am going to have the homerooms "compete" against each other. At first this will be more of an exercise in power control instead of "fighting". Of course, the "bad homeroom team" may not be so nice. I will consider other school competitions though.

[quozaxx]

Re: A super school

 

Another question?

 

Is this a long time established school? Or a new 'we are just figuring out what we are doing one'?

 

I'd say the school has been around for about 10 years. That way it's still new enough to have some "bugs" in the system.

[drunkonduty]

Re: A super school

 

Would like to suggest trying to find a copy of the old Teenagers From Outer Space game. Granted TFOS is more like Archie Comics in tone (if Archie had super powers and an alien girl friend.) But full of fun ideas to milk.

[quozaxx]

Re: A super school

 

This is the staff I have so far:

 

Principal

Vice Principal

Secretary

Math Teacher

English/language/social studies teacher

Science teacher

Law teacher

Custodian

Homeroom teacher / gym coach

History/ancient mysteries teacher

Chaplain

Librarian

Speech, drama, art teacher

Cafeteria Workers

Medicine Teacher

Criminology teacher

 

I want to keep the staff relatively small, but am I missing anyone important?

[SKJAM!]

Re: A super school

 

You can keep staff small by having them "double" jobs--for example, the Medicine teacher doubling as school nurse; possibly the librarian doubling as the chaplain, stuff like that.

[Nevelon]

Re: A super school

 

This is the staff I have so far:

 

Principal

Vice Principal

Secretary

Math Teacher

English/language/social studies teacher

Science teacher

Law teacher

Custodian

Homeroom teacher / gym coach

History/ancient mysteries teacher

Chaplain

Librarian

Speech, drama, art teacher

Cafeteria Workers

Medicine Teacher

Criminology teacher

 

I want to keep the staff relatively small, but am I missing anyone important?

 

(I am not a teacher, and havn't finished my first cup of coffee, so take the following with a grain of salt)

 

You are going to need multiple teachers in each field. It looks like you have ~400 students (number from upthread) If you had one math teacher and 8 periods to teach in, he/she would be doing 50 in a class all day long. That assumes a high school-ish type schedule (every class, every day). If you move to a more college type schedule, where each student needs 4 hours a week the numbers change. 400 students x4hrs. ea/40 hour work week=40 students per class. These are not the best student/teacher ratios. Of course, these numbers only work for subjects that every student needs to take.

 

I went to a tiny high school (~150 students total) with a good student/teacher ratio. Each grade had its own english teacher. 2 math teachers. 3 science (physics, chemistry, biology) 2 history, 2 language (spanish, french) 1 PE. I'm probably missing a few, its been a while. Teachers would wear multiple hats; ie the physics teacher also did an astronomy class, the french teacher taught one section of german, etc.

 

If you want to keep things small, you may be able to combine some roles. Your law teacher could also be your librarian, the vice principle could double as the chaplain. You might want to add a college placement/job councilor. Seems an important role to help transition super students into the rest of the world. Super powers on the staff's part could free some of their time. A custodian with plant control powers spends a lot less time mowing the grounds, Librarians with duplication/TK spend less time reshelving.

 

just a few early morning thoughts, hope they help.

[Utech]

Re: A super school

 

You might consider eliminating the idea of classes, years, grades, and exams entirely. Make a bunch of teachers available and allow students to go to whomever they want for as long as they want (or as long as the teacher will have them). It might well be understood that super students cannot commit to the same sort of schedules that normal students do. Some students will want to live at the school.

[CoreBrute]

Re: A super school

 

The problem with this separation. I want all the PCs in the same class. So if one wants to be a mutant and the other magical - they would not build a strong bond.

 

If I remember Harry Potters, people in different houses still attended the same classes. Malfoy is in a lot of Harry's classes, especially in the early years. And in Britain, you pick your classes, so it doesn't matter which house you belong to, there are only a limited amount of teachers. So there could be members from all the houses in the same Meta-human Martial Defense class, or even Temporal Physics class.

 

Some schools make the houses a big deal, cause that's where you spend a lot of your time, but rarely are you not allowed to visit each other's houses before curfew begins.

 

This might count as thread necromancy.

[Enforcer84]

Re: A super school

 

Homerooms: DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse

 

 

You're missing Courage and Intelligence.

[Clonus]

Re: A super school

 

Clubs and cliques might be a better way to associate the students. You could have a club for people who admire and aspire to being members of the foremost superhero team, a feminist club inspired by a Wonder Woman pastiche, a disgruntled group of the physically deformed supers, a club for those who are interested in aliens... In X-Men: Misfits, the Hellfire Club was actually an on-campus club that got special privileges for some reason.

[The Overseer]

Re: A super school

 

How about naming your 'houses' after famous explorers?

 

After all, it doesn't ALL have to be about superpowers does it? After all, even though the students are super-human they are still (mostly) human and humans have been achieving things without super-abilities for thousands of years.

 

Cook, Drake, Magellan, Scott, Raleigh, Polo, Columbus, Cortes etc etc... This list is potentially huge =)