phoenix240 Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Saw this on rpg.net and it sounded interesting but the thread quickly got derailed into a political argument and lecture on why anywhere but the US would be more interesting then fell into oblivion. So I thought I'd try posting it here and see if it more productive. To forestall any flames or rants, this is not intended to insult, belittle or ignore anyone home nation or propose that the US is innately superior or more deserving than anyone else. It's just an idea for a fictional setting/premise for a game. Suppose a naive supergenius doped the population of the US/North America with a battery of chemicals and handwavium that caused them to be genetically enhanced across the board, sort of like giving everyone the Super Soldier treatment that created Capt. America. Faster, stronger, healthier, with longer lives and greatly enhanced resistance to disease, able to fight of degenerative illness like cancer and Alzheimer’s with smaller but significant mental enhancements like near perfect recall and heightened senses. In Hero System terms everyone would get 8-10 points add to their base Characteristics across the board, more of they're already strong in those areas genetically or work to improve themselves up to the human maximum. Someone who was a genius originally would be smarter, an athletic more physically developed and a person that pushed or tried to develop their abilities would benefit more from the upgrade. The changes are genetic and would be passed on to off spring. Anyone in the geographic location for longer than a few weeks would be affected as well. What happens in the US and across the world? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
薔薇語 Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Re: The Upgrade Do you mean to say that even after this event happens, if someone from Spain travels to Missouri, they too will be 'enhanced' after only a few weeks? Even a year afterward? This style of effect actually alters the already odd situation quite a bit as it means the US's immigration policy would need to be seriously analyzed on a stringent national security interest side. Any number of people could infiltrate the US for a few weeks and leave to be quite remarkable in their own native country. I see this having a destabilizing affect on the world. La Rose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix240 Posted July 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Re: The Upgrade Do you mean to say that even after this event happens, if someone from Spain travels to Missouri, they too will be 'enhanced' after only a few weeks? Even a year afterward? This style of effect actually alters the already odd situation quite a bit as it means the US's immigration policy would need to be seriously analyzed on a stringent national security interest side. Any number of people could infiltrate the US for a few weeks and leave to be quite remarkable in their own native country. I see this having a destabilizing affect on the world. La Rose. Sorry, I mean if someone lived in the area while the effects of the Upgrade were taking place they would recieve it as well. I didn't want anyone assuming that only "real Americans" or some other odd criteria applied. Its purel geographich (I suppose if someone lived in near complete isolation in the region they would not receive it but such individuals would be pretty rare). The Upgrade process lasted for about two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Re: The Upgrade Saw this on rpg.net and it sounded interesting but the thread quickly got derailed into a political argument and lecture on why anywhere but the US would be more interesting then fell into oblivion. So I thought I'd try posting it here and see if it more productive. To forestall any flames or rants, this is not intended to insult, belittle or ignore anyone home nation or propose that the US is innately superior or more deserving than anyone else. It's just an idea for a fictional setting/premise for a game. Suppose a naive supergenius doped the population of the US/North America with a battery of chemicals and handwavium that caused them to be genetically enhanced across the board, sort of like giving everyone the Super Soldier treatment that created Capt. America. Faster, stronger, healthier, with longer lives and greatly enhanced resistance to disease, able to fight of degenerative illness like cancer and Alzheimer’s with smaller but significant mental enhancements like near perfect recall and heightened senses. In Hero System terms everyone would get 8-10 points add to their base Characteristics across the board, more of they're already strong in those areas genetically or work to improve themselves up to the human maximum. Someone who was a genius originally would be smarter, an athletic more physically developed and a person that pushed or tried to develop their abilities would benefit more from the upgrade. The changes are genetic and would be passed on to off spring. Anyone in the geographic location for longer than a few weeks would be affected as well. What happens in the US and across the world? Not much. The United State's edge in military power and technology increases. But they were already the most powerful and richest nation in the world so no big. Tourism increases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted July 9, 2011 Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 Re: The Upgrade We start winning every international sports tournament until we are banned from competition. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted July 9, 2011 Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 Re: The Upgrade This is a neat idea, but I think I would include a down-side to the treatment as well. For example, perhaps with their enhanced physique, anyone doped would also get an enhanced ego, or maybe are more prone to certain behavior based upon the base-line treatment that they were given (For example: stronger physical attributes means more testosterone/adrenaline). Another such possibility is more of a social effect, bringing out the hero or villain in each person and leading to a new type of civil war ... in this instance, it might be cool to play it as a post-apocalypse setting where the social system collapses when the "bad guys" win and decide to eliminate anyone not "doped" ... this could lead to a neat campaign where the heroes are the resistance against low-powered superhumans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted July 9, 2011 Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 Re: The Upgrade Saw this on rpg.net and it sounded interesting but the thread quickly got derailed into a political argument and lecture on why anywhere but the US would be more interesting then fell into oblivion. So I thought I'd try posting it here and see if it more productive. To forestall any flames or rants, this is not intended to insult, belittle or ignore anyone home nation or propose that the US is innately superior or more deserving than anyone else. It's just an idea for a fictional setting/premise for a game. Suppose a naive supergenius doped the population of the US/North America with a battery of chemicals and handwavium that caused them to be genetically enhanced across the board, sort of like giving everyone the Super Soldier treatment that created Capt. America. Faster, stronger, healthier, with longer lives and greatly enhanced resistance to disease, able to fight of degenerative illness like cancer and Alzheimer’s with smaller but significant mental enhancements like near perfect recall and heightened senses. In Hero System terms everyone would get 8-10 points add to their base Characteristics across the board, more of they're already strong in those areas genetically or work to improve themselves up to the human maximum. Someone who was a genius originally would be smarter, an athletic more physically developed and a person that pushed or tried to develop their abilities would benefit more from the upgrade. The changes are genetic and would be passed on to off spring. Anyone in the geographic location for longer than a few weeks would be affected as well. What happens in the US and across the world? I had a friend who used to say "The only thing wrong with Master Race theories is that there is no Master Race." You just created one. For good or ill, or both, the impact would be massive. Lucius Alexander House of the Palindromedary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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