Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

[Armitage]

I'm curious what sort of time frame people prefer for the appearance of superhumans, assuming a setting in which they suddenly appear, or go public.

 

The default settings for Champions, Silver Age Sentinels, and Mutants & Masterminds have "the age of superheroes" starting around World War II.

The San Angelo setting for Champions had a few low power supers in the city in the 30s, with standard superhumans appearing worldwide in 1982, 16 years before publication, 30 years ago now.

Aberrant began 10 years after the event that everyone thought created superhumans.

 

Do you prefer decades or more of established history, a recent phenomenon that the world is still adjusting to, or something in the middle with significant backstory but still evolving?

[Cassandra]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I prefer that super humans have always existed. This means that society is used to them. Superheroes in costumes in an American invention.

 

You could add a layer of alternate history to reality. "Superhero saves the Titanic's sister ship, the Gigantic!"

[matrix3]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I usually have superpowers be pretty recent. Usually, the PCs are part of the first "public" wave of superheroes. In a few cases, they were THE first (discovered the alien tech/virus macguffin that then spread out into the world)

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I like the DCAU approach where Superman is the first who is comfortable in the spotlight*.

Other superpowered heroes are inspired by his example.

*Batman started as a costumed crime fighter first.

 

That works great for a comic or animated medium but not so much for role playing. For that I say have them all start together.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I typically play the CU, and thus we have the World War 2 appearance for the 'modern age' of superhumans.

[Vondy]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I tend to run near future capes. So, they appear soon. My last supers game was set in 2050.

[esampson]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

Depends upon the campaign for me.

 

I'd say that the majority of campaigns me and my friends had done superheroes were relatively recent. Usually there was a period of their appearance in WWII followed by a long period where they went away and then they have recently (with the past 5-15 years) returned. That's one of the easiest settings to run because supers are relatively new so you don't have to spend too much time trying to think about how society has adapted to deal with supers but you still have enough time for large groups like PRIMUS and UNTIL to have come into existence. I've always thought of it as sort of a 'sweet spot'. Also it is just the best represented timeframe in comics in general.

 

We did campaigns though were supers were just appearing. The downside on that typically was that the only government agencies evolved to deal with supers tended to be shadowy organization that have existed in secret, so it tended to darken the mood of the game (assuming the heroes had no way to contain defeated villains, which is highly likely, they would end up turning over defeated villains to organizations that whisked them away to secret holding facilities without due process because of the secrecy of the organization).

 

Campaigns where heroes have been around for a long time present their own problems. What kind of impact have superheroes had on technology? What impact have they had on significant historical events (and if they didn't have any, why not?) The biggest headache though, IMO, was trying to figure out how all the laws would eventually become updated to deal with superhumans. In settings where heroes are new you can brush such issues aside saying that the wheels of government haven't caught up. In the case where superheroes have been around for 50-100 years, however, its pretty hard to believe that they haven't addressed just about every issue of superheroes lives.

[assault]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I've noticed that I tend to use "superhumans emerged relatively recently" settings. Golden Age, Silver Age without a previous Golden Age, or even Bronze Age.

 

The last case is when I use the background from the old Escape from Stronghold adventure.

 

Of course, in all of these cases superhumans were around long before, they just weren't public.

[Greywind]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I usually look at it as running in cycles. The heroes of myth being some of the first noted appearances of people having extraordinary gifts.

[Zen Archer]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

Do you prefer decades or more of established history, a recent phenomenon that the world is still adjusting to, or something in the middle with significant backstory but still evolving?

 

I like them all, really. I really enjoy a well-put together timeline. I also like the idea of the PCs being among the first superheroes to debut. As a GM, it depends on the kind of world I think suits the players and my interests best at the time.

 

Just to mention another setting, the Omlevex setting had supers appearing at least before the American Revolution, and operating openly during the American Civil War. The idea was that such conflicts pretty well diminished the supers populations, keeping the numbers down over the years.

[dmjalund]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

If they appear before 8:30am I tell tem to go away and come back later

[Escafarc]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I usually look at it as running in cycles. The heroes of myth being some of the first noted appearances of people having extraordinary gifts.

I do this also.

[Orion]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

In the campaign world I created, the first metahuman appeared 10 years ago. I don't like the idea of a superteam in every major city, or them being a normal, accepted part of the world. I want them new and different and exciting, so there aren't many of them, and they are pretty new. In fact, I've often considered starting the main story back about year 5, rather than year 10, to better play up the "new" aspect.

 

I started writing this world back about 1986, shortly after I started playing Champions. I've tossed most of the early characters, as they were homages, and I no longer use them, but the world remains. Of the many new characters I did create in the late 80's, I've had to update them numerous times. Adamant was a Vietnam vet, then a Gulf War vet, and now maybe an Afganistan vet. Updating got old, so now he's just a former vet. Likewise, I had the year of birth and first appearance for them all, along with other major events. I got tired of updating them as time went on. I eventually decided that the appearance of supers led to a new dating mechanism - the Third Age. You have BC, AD, and now TA. With this, all dates are now given in + or - TA time, and it is always 10 TA in the storyline.

[Steve]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

For my Icons campaign, the first superhumans appeared less than one year before the PCs went active. The short time frame let NPCs make the initial mistakes that established some of the superhuman norms. The PCs formed the world's first superteam, but others soon followed once they set the example.

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

What I like most about the genre is its imaginative openness. Superheroes have access to time machines and space ships. Members come from parallel timelines and out-there dimensions. Supervillains are born when archaeologists dig into the ruins that are tens of thousands of years old. People are the children and grandchildren of superheroes; the reincarnations of Atlantean supermages; exiles from a Mars that lost all life in a catastrophe thousands/millions/billions of years ago. People cast spells written by archmages who existed before live evolved on Earth.

 

It really, really seems like deliberately impoverishing the genre if you go with the "all superheroes appeared last Tuesday. Because of the White Event."

[esampson]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

...It really' date=' really seems like deliberately impoverishing the genre if you go with the "all superheroes appeared last Tuesday. Because of the White Event."[/quote']

Agreed. I've tried those in the past and they didn't work out as well.

 

When I was talking about supers first appearing in my earlier post what I really meant was 'putting on masks and capes'.

[Christopher]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I'm curious what sort of time frame people prefer for the appearance of superhumans, assuming a setting in which they suddenly appear, or go public.

 

The default settings for Champions, Silver Age Sentinels, and Mutants & Masterminds have "the age of superheroes" starting around World War II.

The San Angelo setting for Champions had a few low power supers in the city in the 30s, with standard superhumans appearing worldwide in 1982, 16 years before publication, 30 years ago now.

Aberrant began 10 years after the event that everyone thought created superhumans.

 

Do you prefer decades or more of established history, a recent phenomenon that the world is still adjusting to, or something in the middle with significant backstory but still evolving?

I played ins several campaigns. Some were "long enough to be normal". Some were "first wave". Some were "among the first of the next cycle.

 

I usually look at it as running in cycles. The heroes of myth being some of the first noted appearances of people having extraordinary gifts.

My personal favourite and afaik how the CU works:

While not everyone is magic, the avalibility of superpowers and the likely of rad accidents giving usefull powers is directly affected by magic. It even affects the ability of people to train themself to "peak human capacity" in almost every aspect on a normal 24/7 workweek plus Secret Identity.

In the CU the magic waxes and wanes over the ages. It came back around WW 1 or 2. It will fade again for almost 1000 Years (time of Star Hero) then come back again around 3000 A.D. (Galactic Champions).

 

It really' date=' really seems like deliberately impoverishing the genre if you go with the "all superheroes appeared last Tuesday. Because of the White Event."[/quote']

Most of my concepts need a "always there" or at least a "cycles" approach. Mainly because I tend to have very long lived/old ideas (some of them might have hibernated through the low magic phase).

I am not a fan of tight limits or first waves. What I dislike the most is having to write up the normal life of the characters, I am simply not good at that.

[csyphrett]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

It depends on the players and what they give me as background. Most times Supers are there but not actively out there in capes and masks.

CES

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

If they appear before 8:30am I tell tem to go away and come back later

 

You must spread some reputation around before giving it to dmjalund again.

 

Cut it out! I can't keep up!

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

In the campaign world I created, the first metahuman appeared 10 years ago. I don't like the idea of a superteam in every major city, or them being a normal, accepted part of the world. I want them new and different and exciting, so there aren't many of them, and they are pretty new. In fact, I've often considered starting the main story back about year 5, rather than year 10, to better play up the "new" aspect.

 

I started writing this world back about 1986, shortly after I started playing Champions. I've tossed most of the early characters, as they were homages, and I no longer use them, but the world remains. Of the many new characters I did create in the late 80's, I've had to update them numerous times. Adamant was a Vietnam vet, then a Gulf War vet, and now maybe an Afganistan vet. Updating got old, so now he's just a former vet. Likewise, I had the year of birth and first appearance for them all, along with other major events. I got tired of updating them as time went on. I eventually decided that the appearance of supers led to a new dating mechanism - the Third Age. You have BC, AD, and now TA. With this, all dates are now given in + or - TA time, and it is always 10 TA in the storyline.

 

In most of my campaign worlds, I used to have a "White Event"; Nicole Tesla's experiments in wireless power transmission release fundamental energies which some humans can subconsciously use to transform themselves in body and mind to become their own "ideal" (of humanity, greatest martial artist, great genius, a "righteous guardian", trickster, etc.). Of course, the human mind being as complex as it is, this doesn't always result in Hollywood-beautiful people. Some of the best heroes are "deformed" by human standards, others animalistic, and yes, also "Hollywood-Beautiful" people. The further you get from baseline human appearance and the further back in time you put your origins, the more likely people are likely to either defer to a "heroic-looking" Hero and identify the less-human ones as "probably badguys" unless they were well known and liked.

 

Now, I think I'd rather that superpowered individuals were present on Earth from very near the beginning, but that the frequency of occurrence varies widely between generations, and can occasionally drop off to almost nothing, with no guarantee that this generation's powerhouse has the ability to do anything someone else can't do with a sharpened stick and good reflexes. In such a universe, it's quite possible that someone's superpower might be the ability to make the best blueberry pies anyone can remember tasting. How would you even get to crimefighting from there?

 

Still, others might have unusual talents with weapons common to one's society, and thus we get a handful of "Adventure Cowboys" like Zorro, The Lone Ranger, and any number of "singing cowboys" during the 19th-century exploitation of the American West. Of course, the natives might have their own supers, so they might have fared better than they did in actual history. Likewise, heroes and villains in the 19th century and earlier would probably have to remain "underground" because the social complications of running around having adventures can be difficult if the neighbors start thinking there is some dark secret behind your character's frequent unexplained absences, etc. If your hero was of the "Monster-with-a-Heart-of-Gold sort, expect a lot of folks to assume you're evil because, well, you look evil.

 

If supers have been around "forever", but just don't happen very often, you will have large groups of people who never (to their knowledge) have seen a clearly superhuman feat, and will assume that any rumors of some "Hero" calling himself "Captain Stupendous" are just tall tales spread by the gullible. Therefore, if Superman were to appear on the scene, he might choose to work covertly, so the badguys might have some difficulty recognizing that the gang that destroyed their Illicit Hooch Factory was just one guy?!?

 

I think how long ago superpowers appeared isn't as relevent as "when did they stop being a rumor?"

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

If they appear before 8:30am I tell tem to go away and come back later

 

And tell them to pick up some ice for the party.

[Egyptoid]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

there's always the "Hancock" option: some legendary people of yesteryear were supers from waaay back.

[Christopher]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

If supers have been around "forever"' date=' but just don't happen very often, you will have large groups of people who never (to their knowledge) have seen a clearly superhuman feat, and will assume that any rumors of some "Hero" calling himself "Captain Stupendous" are just tall tales spread by the gullible. [...']

 

I think how long ago superpowers appeared isn't as relevent as "when did they stop being a rumor?"

This can work very well when you consider that most communication before the radio was via word of mouth.

It's would be hard for the sighting of a super to even find it's way into the report to the capital.

Yet alone taken seriously.

Even more unlikely that other, similar reports are read by teh same person and connected succesfully (after the sighting is through 4 too 5 layers of chinese whispers on each end).

 

Today? Somebody makes a movie with his mobile phone and has it uploaded on youtube in less than 5 minutes. In digital format. How long until more videos pop up and the major news networks start takign it seriously?

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

This can work very well when you consider that most communication before the radio was via word of mouth.

It's would be hard for the sighting of a super to even find it's way into the report to the capital.

Yet alone taken seriously.

Even more unlikely that other, similar reports are read by teh same person and connected succesfully (after the sighting is through 4 too 5 layers of chinese whispers on each end).

 

Today? Somebody makes a movie with his mobile phone and has it uploaded on youtube in less than 5 minutes. In digital format. How long until more videos pop up and the major news networks start takign it seriously?

 

Actually, that sounds like a pretty interesting way to start a "closeted supers"* campaign. Repped.

 

*Wherein the big secret is that there really are superheroes, but the characters perhaps don't realize they will shortly be joining that secret world, perhaps on the eve of that secrecy vanishing seemingly forever.

[sinanju]

Re: Time Frame for Appearance of Superhumans

 

I usually look at it as running in cycles. The heroes of myth being some of the first noted appearances of people having extraordinary gifts.

 

That's how I tend to do it. I figure that "supers" have always been with us, but that they're a) always relatively scarce, and the concept of people running around in distinctive, brightly colored costumes* is a recent (circa 1920s-1940s) fashion. Since the advent of so-called "superheroes" it's much more common for people to dress up in colorful costumes and adopt superheroic/villainous names, even if their powers are rather limited. In which case, even when supers are relatively rare, a costumed yahoo is newsworthy. A mysterious figure in a slouch-brimmed hat and scarf who helps someone and then disappears isn't so much.

 

Plus, a tiny fraction of 6 BILLION humans is a much larger number than a tiny fraction of hundreds of millions--and...just as we hear about every child abduction, mass shooting and other rare but attention-grabbing crime in the world instantly nowadays, we hear about these costumed yahoos the moment they go public. As opposed to the days when, yeah, there might be some superpowered vigilante running around in a distant city, but you weren't likely to hear much about him, and probably at least as much (erroneous) myth as anything factual.

 

 

*As opposed to mystery men in concealing hat, cloak and optional mask--going back as far as The Scarlet Pimpernel (and probably considerably farther).