What's Changed? Questions as to what Superheroes have done to your Earth

[Enforcer84]

So it's 2015, assuming your campaign Earth experienced an uptick in Costumed Capers during WWII as is tradition, where are we? 

 

For Else Earth I have a few big events/Things that Are: 

• The First Invasion, this occurred in 1950, I can't remember at the moment which Alien Race it was. They were turned back by a surprisingly united Earth that had wearied punching one another and eagerly tore into this new threat. The aftermath included extra terrestrial technology crashing onto Earth and (eventually) providing a swift kick in the pants of innovation.
• The mere presence of super-geniuses on both sides of the ethical spectrum have pushed Aerospace, Medical, Military, Pharmaceutical, and Layman Technology faster than we've done ourselves.
• Inspiration: Let's face it, there's a lot to be depressed about in the real world. My Earth has fewer of them. I've scaled back the cynicism (we've fought off TWO Alien Invasions and countless world domination attempts from within!) I perceive and have adjusted the reality to my more idealistic youth's worldview. Certain tensions are lessened in a world where people fly about in their underwear. 
• The Second Invasion was less impactful but still provided a much needed "us vs them" moment for a new generation.

 

 The Upshot to this being:

• Fossil Fuels are all but done. The Alien technology coupled with superhero ingenuity, and enough forward thinking to nip this problem before it got to where we are today. The Oil and Energy Crises of the 70's was a wake up call that was answered by the west OPEC's economic heyday lasted until about the turn of the century. 
• Brazil, Norway, and Tanzania are techno-giant superpowers. The Invasion in 1950 left some intact tech for humanity to find. The largest chunks found in the ocean off the coasts of Brazil, California, the UK, China, Africa...and Norway. Much of the Cold War USSR vs USA involved the Soviets trying to get access to the amount of alien technology we had uncovered and reverse engineered. The Soviets had the misfortune of their alien tech mostly hitting the earth and not the water and therefor unsalvageable. Tanzania is a recent entry. Though they had the alien technology they had lacked the resources to do much with it until the Utopia Institute stepped in and helped out. UI has its international headquarters in Dar es Salaam
• Electric Cars and driverless cars are the present. No flying cars though, that'd be much harder to manage.
• Several of the deadlier diseases have become much more treatable, but the Anti-Vaccination movement has taken root. "Designer Genetics" for the wealthy, which could be anything from anti-aging, prolonged health, and cosmetic enhancements. (ok mostly cosmetic enhancements) 
• The US, UK, Norway, Brazil, Japan, China, Tanzania and Russia (and some of their former satellite nations) have short range "Space Fighters" 
• NASA's Budget is no longer an issue. 
• There are four international space stations, the largest being the International Cooperative Aerospace Research University Station (ICARUS), as well as a few military and privately owned space stations.
• We've been to Mars and Venus is in our sights
• There's a general acceptance of Mystical Weird Stuff. 
• The United Nations includes representatives from other planets, and Atlantis. 

 

How about you guys? 

[Comic]

In my world, while costumed heroes have existed as masked adventurers since the Scarlet Pimpernel and Zorro, following on the feature-hiding highwaymen and anonymity-seeking hooded mobs and secret societies, virtually none of them however well-meaning ever had what could be called super powers except in the most 'real' sense: minor hypnotists, thinkers, contortionists, sharpshooters, weapon tricksters, martial artists and gadgeteers, generally with extraordinary levels of physical fitness who found it thrilling or were compelled by other desperate urges popped up a few times a year globally, and as quickly faded away along with their effects.

 

The Kennedy, MLK and Reagan assassinations were foiled by people in masks. Watergate was solved by the costumed characters Wordsmith and Sideburn. Ollie North's crimes were revealed by a mystery woman in a burgundy costume. Did politics change at all? Not much. The Rambo movies featured a masked Sly Stallone. Die Hard put Bruce Willis in spandex.

 

The difference is in the suggestive impact on the imaginations. A few of these masked operators planted a seed in the public's imagination. Whereas in reality, Americans are polled about whether they believe in UFO visits and Bigfoot, in my Ky'yrian Space the polls ask how many have seen flying women or have been teleported by a strange man in tights. People are generally more open to volunteering for causes without regard for what's in it for them, and books have been written about the impact of how a good example changes the world.

[Lucius]

"ICARUS" is an inauspicious name for a space station.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary considers it an indis-Crete choice

[assault]

I don't have a consistent universe - it changes with my mood - but:

 

Consistent: technology wouldn't be the way it is without super-geniuses. Who invented the mobile phone? Who decoded the human genome? Who developed the internet? Stealth technology was reverse-engineered from an alien spaceship. Etc.

 

Less consistent:

When I'm in a good mood, alien incursions have been fairly quickly contained, with relatively little damage done.

In a bad mood, significant parts of the planet (typically those not central to my game) have been trashed, in part simply through the heroes not being on the spot.

 

Basically, the world is the way it is because of superbeings. Without them it would in many respects resemble our world in the 1980s, or even before.

[Christopher R Taylor]

Very little.  I know its unrealistic and implausible, but it represents the comics, and how they are written.  Reed Richards could have cured every technological limitation and ended the energy crisis in his sleep but he doesn't.  Superman could end all wars, forest fires, hostage situations etc on earth every day but they still happen.  In the comics, the superheroes have virtually no impact on the world around them or it turns into an unknowable science fiction story that loses its real world feel and impact.  For me at least, and I suspect many players, what we want is a setting like our world, but where we have the power to do something about it.

[TheQuestionMan]

Stormwatch: Change Or Die by Wildstorm. The Statis Quo manupulates the Team into protecting their interests at the cost of The High and his Team determined to sabe the world inspite of itself.

 

Art was not the greatest, but the battling philosophies was interesting.

 

 

On Champions Earth (QM's Campaign) - Super Scientists, Inventors/Gadgeteers, etc... Needed the SMASH! Their way into the markets and battle against the Status Quo to bring their balance altering gifts to the world.

 

On the otherside, Non-Lethal Weaponry becomes very popular and available to Law Enforcement and Military. Private ownership is treated like regular firearms.

 

Power Crisis averted by a variety of Power Generation Technologies, but petroleum products still in high demand. The worlds dependence (Addiction) to Fossil Fuels) Causes initial instability, bit markets adapt.

 

Mind you my players never ask this much.

 

 

QM

[Enforcer84]

"ICARUS" is an inauspicious name for a space station.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary considers it an indis-Crete choice

I like it. 

[Steve]

As I recall, Aaron Allston's Strike Force Earth had the Governor holding back technological development on that world. Once he was dealt with by the heroes, there was an explosion of progress.

[Lunatic Fringer]

This is an intriguing topic!    In my games, the whole situation with metahumans got the governments of earth involved in the fairly big way.  In the USA, the Bureau for Metahuman Affairs was created as a way to coordinate the efforts of heroic metahumans against those who are determined to break laws and create chaos and mayhem.  This was done because the federal government (and the world in general) had been threatened by entities and organizations many times since the first emergence of costumed crime fighters in the 1930's.  This was the government's way of coordinating a response to such threats.  Part of the BMA's efforts were the understanding and replication of metahuman technologies (typically those confiscated from supervillains) and the safe application of such technologies in the everyday world though various mega-corporations that were cooperating with the government.

 

While your typical Joe didn't see much difference in his daily life compared to you or me, there were a number of changes related to historical events in the past.

 

1) The Soviet Union and Communist China are still superpowers owing to their ruthless dedication to creating metahumans that are completely loyal to their governments.

 

2) There is no worldwide internet service.  Blame supervillains for that one - they tried to infiltrate the government infrastructure via this route too many times, so the internet is exclusively a government entity with highly restricted access.  Every city with a population of 50,000 plus has a local computer network as part of its cable television service.  The federal government (and Bell Telephone Company) have severely curtailed any sort of extensive networking between cities.

 

3) Ma Bell is still in business because of failed plots by supervillains have all but killed any sort of private space projects.  With no excess bandwidth to market through communications satellites, Bell and AT&T have no competition.  The companies have invested extensively in secure fiber optic networks which have improved telephone service and permitted the cable television industry to flourish.

 

4) Cable and broadcast television and broadcast radio are still very big business.  Without internet competition, they're still the major news, information and entertainment sources for the world's masses.

 

5) Cellular phones are fairly rare entities.  Since Ma Bell is still a monopoly, there's no serious push to develop this technology.  For the most part, people still have land line phones and carry spare change for pay phones.

 

6) Courtesy of the BMA, viable commercial fusion power plants are coming online around the world.  With this development, there is the potential for the world going electric within the next 20 years or so.

 

LF

[Clonus]

Subject to change by PC action

 

Ku Klux Klan much more powerful in the 30s until coup attempt fails, throwing it into discredit.

The idea of an "atomic bomb" is abandoned after the Demon Core produces one.

World War II lasts a few years longer.  

Space Race in the fifties.  

Manhattan abandoned by the United States due to "Dirty Bomb" attack by Nazi transcontinental bomber leads it becoming infested with mutants.  

Space race leads to first moon landing in the 50s.  

[assault]

I've considered doing a superbeings emerge (become visible) in the 70s, rather than the 30s. Of course that would have worked better in the 80s!

 

So, maybe, superbeings emerged in the early 2000s...

 

Supertechnology in general hasn't had time to have much of an impact. The first appearance of Mechanon nearly toppled the US government, and led to the US inviting in UNTIL, as a stopgap until SAT can take over. (PRIMUS if you prefer, but I would definitely use SAT in the early 80s case).

 

Stronghold is relatively new, as is Genocide/IHA. Terror Inc's attempt to take over Paraguay was thwarted by freedom fighters led by Major Juan Martinez, who was subsequently appointed head of UNTIL as a result of a political compromise between the members of the UN Security Council. Terror Inc was a front for Doctor Destroyer, naturally.

[sinanju]

Most superheroes (in the US) are affiliated with the government. It's not unlawful to possess--or even use--superpowers, as long as you don't use them unlawfully. If it's unlawful for the average human being, it's unlawful for you. It's unlawful to wear a mask and go out "fighting crime" (or even just 'patrolling') unless you've been inducted into the Guardians, and have all the legal rights and responsibilities (and privileges) thereof. If you don't bother with a mask, and don't engage in vigilantism, you can do pretty much anything you like that doesn't threaten or endanger others.

 

A lot of metahumans have migrated to Hollywood (or Bollywood or other equivalents), where they use their powers to build careers as actors or stuntmen or whatever their powers give them a boost with.

 

Antarctica is Sovereign territory. Literally. The superhuman known as Sovereign, one of the earlier superhumans and without any dispute the most powerful of them, grew tired of the government's attempts to manipulate or coerce him (this was before the creation of the Guardians program). But it was when they realized he would not and could not be moved by threats to himself and turned to his friends and family that things grew...heated. He produced for the press copious evidence of the crimes of the politicians and government goons involved. And then he killed them. Publicly and thoroughly. Then he flew to the United Nations where he addressed the General Assembly to announce that he was renouncing his US citizenship--claiming Antarctica as his own, as the world's first sovereign individual.

 

It took a few months, but the world's governments accepted that he could--and would--defend his territory, violently if necessary. Eventually, most of the world recognized his sovereignty (the US government, unsurprisingly, does not). He also announced that any superhuman who felt oppressed by his or her own nation was free to emigrate to Antarctica and join him. Over the last few years a vast building project has been underway, establishing an arcology for the inhabitants, or so many believe. Little is known about the project; spies sent to Antarctica invariably come back with no memories of what they did, saw or heard. Spy satellites tasked to look that way go blind--or missing. And so forth. Rumors abound; that Sovereign is building an ark. That he's building a starship to leave the system entirely. That he's building an army.

 

In the meantime, he mostly stays in self-imposed exile, occasionally visiting nations which have recognized his one-man nation and granted him permission to visit. He never comments on politics, no matter how obliquely. But there are rumors...that superhumans who genuinely wish to escape the lands of their birth, but who are not able (or dare not try) to communicate that desire to him nonetheless can expect a brief, completely unobserved visit from Sovereign, where he gives them the choice to join him in Antarctica, or not.

[assault]

Awesome. A very fine megavillain.

[bubba smith]

yes a super-hero burnt out by years of attempted government interference would do fine as a villian

[Christopher R Taylor]

Actually now that I think about it there were two changes when I ran my early 90s campaign:

 

Cops had stun guns (8d6 stun only pistols) instead of firearms for patrols.  They could be issued real firearms if need be.

There was an internet like today and cell phones like today.  The tech was, oh, 20 years in advance for computers and superheroes had a dedicated infranet for themselves only to exchange info and assistance.

 

That was it though.  No flying cars etc.

[Lunatic Fringer]

So, maybe, superbeings emerged in the early 2000s...

 

I did superhero game where metahumans came into being in the 1990's.  Initially, it was all underground and the metas weren't fighting crime, but were showing off their powers in fight clubs against other metas and then profiting from selling videos of their "battles."  Nearly everybody believed that metas didn't exist, explaining away the videos as special effects tricks.

 

It wasn't until one meta got into financial troubles and started using his powers in bank robberies that metas began to take their powers a bit more seriously - especially when a few of his former associates were forced to use their powers to stop him in a very public battle...  

 

LF

[sinanju]

Awesome. A very fine megavillain.

 

 

yes a super-hero burnt out by years of attempted government interference would do fine as a villian

 

What we have here is a failure to communicate. In my mind, Sovereign is not a villain. He's a wild card. He's a hero, but he is So Done With This **** when it comes to dealing with politics and politicians. Since they seem to feel a deep need to control everything and everyone--and to destroy that which they cannot control--he's made a vivid example of anyone, no matter how politically powerful, who might dare in the future to threaten his loved ones, and he's withdrawn from the world stage to tend to his own knitting. Which is not to say that he won't intervene in a truly world-threatening situation (he's not Doctor Manhattan), but politicians and governments will have to run their own affairs without his help, though he reserves the right to act to protect his own interests and values (such as the lives of innocents), and any government that doesn't like it should remember what "sovereignty" means.

[assault]

What we have here is a failure to communicate. In my mind, Sovereign is not a villain.

 

Really? Quoting you:

"He produced for the press copious evidence of the crimes of the politicians and government goons involved. And then he killed them. Publicly and thoroughly. Then he flew to the United Nations where he addressed the General Assembly to announce that he was renouncing his US citizenship--claiming Antarctica as his own, as the world's first sovereign individual."

 

So that would be multiple murders, and declaring himself King of Latveria. A hero indeed.

 

Of course, in his mind, he is not a villain.

[DShomshak]

Well, he provided proof that said individuals had threatened harm to his loved ones in attempts to compel him. One could argue the situation is analogous to a home invader holding a gun on your brother/wife/etc. and threatening to shoot said person if you don't hand over your money. If you then killed the invader, many courts would see it as self-defense. But opinions may differ, as the comparison is not exact.

 

Looks to me like Sovereign is a question. Players must decide on their own answers.

 

Dean Shomshak

[DShomshak]

Like Christopher, I tend to "preserve the appearances" of the contemporary world. In my last campaign, though, one of the main villain groups succeeded in nuking Tehran. (And snookering a PC into pressing the button.) This had repercussions.

 

In my current campaign of twisted causality, the PCs are all time travelers out to make sure that particular outcomes *don't* happen in the near future. Some of the villains have the same motive -- such as the Mahdi, a Jihadist master villain whose goals also include preventing the adoption of alien energy technology. In the future he came from, the proton reactor made petroleum obsolete and irrelevant... and with it, the Middle East.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Lucius]

Really? Quoting you:

"He produced for the press copious evidence of the crimes of the politicians and government goons involved. And then he killed them. Publicly and thoroughly. Then he flew to the United Nations where he addressed the General Assembly to announce that he was renouncing his US citizenship--claiming Antarctica as his own, as the world's first sovereign individual."

 

So that would be multiple murders,

No

 

and declaring himself King of Latveria.

Perhaps

 

A hero indeed.

Yes

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Palindromedary

[assault]

There is no element of self-defence in the description. The murders were premeditated. And "thorough", whatever that means.

 

Note that there was "copious evidence" involved. This was not a spontaneous act, nor a necessary one.

 

Self-exile might have been an appropriate response.  Making himself King of Antarctica (ignoring every single international agreement on the topic), wasn't.

 

He has no legal or moral defence - only power. And that would be tested.

[Christopher]

Realistically changing timelines is a fiddly thing.

Hit the timeline too hard and you won't have the same person meet, fall in love and have children. So even a small change can totally change the next generation genetic pool, genders, personalities and what not. And it only get's worse from there.

If Alois Hilter never met Klara Pötzel we would not have had Hitler.

 

That does not mean that timeline would have been better. Nationalism was a popular movement (indeed Adolf did not start out as one). And it is common theme that Hitler was practically what lost the war.

 

In fiction however that is usually ignored if you travel far enough back.

 

 

The big question is how founded in reality you want the adventures and heroes to be?

A common idea is that weak supers started appearing during WW2, but had no mayor impact on the war (they mostly canceled each other out). Superman could not act in europe due to a magical barrier (one of his Kryptonites).

Did they had any impact on 9.11.? Was it "total prevention" or "only more saved"?

How was thier stance during the "War on terror", where actoins against critics reach almost red scare/with hunt level (again)?

 

Time travel follows on of two schools:

A) Is about maintaining/restoring the timeline

involves travel in the so far past that the time travel changes have no relevant impact on the history and thus do not change the future.

 

"Inserting Supers" into the timeline works the same way. WW2 might have been mostly between supers at the frontlines (natural and artificial ones) if you insert it early enough. Or we might be back to "no relevant impact" if you insert them late enough.

[Cassandra]

     In my Superhero Universe super humans have always existed.  At first they were thought of as Gods, but as time went on technological advancement allowed normal humans to deal with those with powers.  They were later condemned as Demons or Witches, and hunted, forcing many with powers to go underground.  Things changed during the American Revolution when King George III hired super powered magic uses to use against the Continental Army.  George Washington called on super humans from around the world to join in the fight, offering them a place to live in peace when American won her independence.  When Tories began attacking the families of pro-Independence superhumans, they began to wear costumes which started the tradition used by superheroes today.  

 

    After Independence the right to use superpowers is part of the Second Amendment.  Superheroes maintain a semi-official relationship with the police under Bounty Hunter laws (American Courts don't care how someone is apprehended).   Attempts to create super powered humans through science have always ended in disaster.  No insane person can use powers because access to the parts of the brain controlling them involve reasoning (no super powered sociopaths).  Many of Histories most infamous Dictatorships have executed millions of normal humans just to prevent the rise of super humans who might oppose the regime.  Because of this as of 2015 half the superhuman population of the Earth lives in the United States.