Epiphanis Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Noodling an adventure for the Champions U which thrusts the PCs twenty years into the future, in 2040.. Invictus became a hero in the Gadroon Invasion of 2016 and has been made President For Life of the United States. America lives in fear of infiltration by Lemurians Shapeshifters, and runs McCarthyesque witch hunts of paranoia. The Lamplighters is head of the secret police, the backbone of which are former members of P.S.I. AmeriForce One has been replaced by national team The Praetorians, which is "led" by the All-American, now in his sixties and a cyborg; unknown to the public much of his brain has been replaced by computer hardware programmed by the regime. Other members include the young techno-Mage known as Acolyte, the son of Defender and Witchcraft; Glorygirl, a patriotic brick/martial artist; and Shotput (previously Marble Man of Ravenswood Academy). Most American superheroes have been forced into government service (often after extensive "reeducation"), have gone into hiding, or fled to Canada. The elderly hero Thundrax serves as a liaison for the Canadian government to these expatriate heroes, who have been given political asylum. US-Canadian tensions are at an all time high. Gravitar now rules an autonomous city-state, Gravitas, in the center of the Fallen Sun region previously occupied by the Gadroon; the territory was the price she negotiated with the Canadian government to counteract the Gadroon's granitic technology and drive the aliens out. Gravitas still abounds with extraterrestrial life forms transplanted by the Gadroon. Gravitar doesn't appear to have aged a day. Doctor Destroyer has been missing for a decade, the European Union is now a centralized confederation ruled by Fiacho, and ARGENT has become the world's leading mega corporation. Any suggestions for where heroes and villains will be a quarter-century from the CU's present day in this quasi-dystopian alternate future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Very nice. With the United States increasingly focussed on dealing with internal conflicts, the Chinese have been more and more assertive internationally. They conquered Taiwan and North Korea, and now effectively control much of East Asia. Open war with Japan could break out at any time; there have been numerous conflicts between Chinese and Japanese superhumans. Japan might already have fallen, but it's been receiving secret help from Dr. Yin Wu, who hopes a war will enable him to overthrow the Chinese government. Russia has mostly absorbed the parts of Europe not under Fiacho's control. The aging and almost-senile Vladimir Putin is still the official president, but he's merely a puppet for Molnya, who rules behind the scenes. Larisagrad is once again under full-time Russian government contract to conduct advanced research, including the creation of new superhumans for a revived People's Legion. Slun was arrested and subjected to torture and brainwashing, turning him into a servile telepathic operative for Molnya. VIPER has taken control of a large swath of Sub-Saharan Africa, except Lugendu, which is now controlled by DEMON after overthrowing Joseph Otanga. Israel was destroyed by Awad using advanced satellite-based weaponry developed by ARGENT -- Awad is now unofficially the dominant nation in the Middle East. A significant portion of the Mexican jungle has fallen under the control of the Slug, who has turned millions of Mexicans into Elder Worms. Several Latin American superheroes lost their lives trying to dislodge the Worms. The region has also recently been the site of apparent extraterrestrial landings. These are Elder Worms who have emerged from hidden enclaves in the Milky Way Galaxy to rally to the Slug's banner. As the United States became more dictatorial, King Cobra relocated to Australia, taking advantage of its numerous indigenous poisonous snakes to advance his research. His COIL organization has become the foremost criminal group in Australia and Oceania, and is spreading across Asia. King Cobra freed Taipan from his Outback prison, and Taipan has become his primary assassin and enforcer. Thirteen years ago, the Archlich Takofanes captured and killed the Crowns of Krim and attempted a great ritual to transfer all the power of Krim to himself. The ritual was interrupted by the Archmage, Robert Caliburn, who battled Takofanes. Both mages vanished during the battle and haven't been seen since; but global mystics have recently experienced ominous visions of the Undying King's return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 And Giacomo Sylvestri, AKA the immortal Patriarch of his Satanist clan, murmurs, "My work is almost done." Mad egotist that he is, imagining it was all his work that led humanity to this dire condition. But whatever the reason, the Dragon is almost free... Dean Shomshak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 And Giacomo Sylvestri, AKA the immortal Patriarch of his Satanist clan, murmurs, "My work is almost done." Mad egotist that he is, imagining it was all his work that led humanity to this dire condition. But whatever the reason, the Dragon is almost free... Dean Shomshak If humanity's champion lost the last Tournament of the Dragon, its avatar the Death Dragon may be free on Earth at this time, inflaming the hatred and fear in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epiphanis Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 The Elder Worm nation idea and an unleashed Death Dragon are probably too world-shaking for my intentions; an oppressive Invictus regime or the threat of Lemurian infiltrators would seem like small potatoes next to a million Elder Worms with starships running around on Earth. Still, good stuff. The more I think of it, the more I like the thought that Doctor Destroyer does simply and truly die of natural causes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 AmeriForce One has been replaced by national team The Praetorians, which is "led" by the All-American, now in his sixties and a cyborg; unknown to the public much of his brain has been replaced by computer hardware programmed by the regime. Other members include the young techno-Mage known as Acolyte, the son of Defender and Witchcraft; Glorygirl, a patriotic brick/martial artist; and Shotput (previously Marble Man of Ravenswood Academy). Hmmm... The "leader" of the outfit has a computer brain, and there's a technomancer on the force?! Who's really in charge here? The Elder Worm nation idea and an unleashed Death Dragon are probably too world-shaking for my intentions. Who's to say they have to be obvious about it? Being obvious about it lost it for them the first time, at least in the case of the Elder Worm... The more I think of it, the more I like the thought that Doctor Destroyer does simply and truly die of natural causes. Yes, yes, "dead," of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I like this. It's a bit grim but I could play there perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 Mechanon has been dormant for years. Unknown to the general public, he's taken over a large, artificial satellite that orbits Mars and has been creating a new, robotic-based species of his own. As mankind stretches into the stars, it's a sure bet that he'll show up, yet again, to deter organic kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alverant Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 During a fight between Mechanon and Captain Chronos, Mechanon got a glimpse of his form in Champions 3000 setting (a small moon with an army of robot drones). Stealing technology and star charts from aliens he has set out to an uninhabited system to make that alternate future a reality in the present. He has sent decoys to keep Star*Corp busy as he rebuilds himself on a planet orbiting a brown dwarf star. He has also sent copies of himself to orbit a black hole where time is distorted with instructions for one to emerge every thousand years to continue his campaign to wipe out all organic life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 I could play in it. A lot of the information shouldn't be presented in a single data dump, but be released gradually. That would probably include the Elder Worm stuff, and the risk from the Dragon. The former, in particular, would be likely to provoke a significant international response if it was publicly known. Presumably DEMON would be a post 2012 version, put together by survivors of the big fail. It would have had a chance to recover, so could be quite dangerous again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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