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Plot Ideas


Demiurgos

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I was trying to think of possible plot ideas that would be interesting for an NPC, and thought it couldn't hurt to pose the question here.

 

Fiction is full of geneticists whose work focuses on genetic engineering for the purposes of expediting human evolution. I was wondering if an evolutionary social scientist whose work is focused on attempting to do via social engineering what genetic biologists attempt to do through genetic engineering would be able to generate interesting stories.

 

From this character's point of view, Evilutionary Biologists like Marvel Comic's Mister Sinister are misguided, because they're preoccupied with physical evolution while completely neglecting mental/social advancement. For example, in the Onslaught saga, Onslaught read Nate Grey's mind to see how mutants came to power in his world, and was upset to see that mutants were just as petty and venal as humans, and weren't any more suited to rule, which prompted his decision to destroy everyone. Despite their superhuman powers, so-called Homo superior wasn't any more mentally/socially advanced than Homo sapiens. The only difference between the two was the mutagenic gene. Since they shared the same evolutionary history, they had the same adaptations that were suited for an environment that no longer exists.

 

Social scientists use scientific principles to analyze social systems, draw conclusions, and implement strategies toward affecting change in a given population. So this character tries to guide humanity's mental/social upliftment through social engineering, while geneticists try to genetically engineer superhumans as the next stage in human eingineering. Geneticists like Teleios might be easier to come up with plot ideas for, but would a social scientist equivalent of Teleios be something that would lend itself to interesting plot ideas for a supers campaign? . It would be in character to support research into isolating genes associated with asocial behaviors, but I'm trying to think of ways he could use social engineering to affect change in society to guide it's mental/social advancement.

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Have you seen the Saw movies? That sounds like a social experiment in horror as John Cramer and his hand-picked disciples try to change mankind socially one person at a time.

 

Se7en is another social horror movie, trying to change the behavior of the world via selected examples.

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18 hours ago, steriaca said:

Have you seen the Saw movies? That sounds like a social experiment in horror as John Cramer and his hand-picked disciples try to change mankind socially one person at a time.

 

 

I thought it was just a crazed wooden puppet with a game show fetish.

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19 hours ago, Demiurgos said:

Social scientists use scientific principles to analyze social systems, draw conclusions, and implement strategies toward affecting change in a given population. So this character tries to guide humanity's mental/social upliftment through social engineering. It would be in character to support research into isolating genes associated with asocial behaviors.

 

In short what every superhero team and government organization has been trying to do for decades. (Like Squadron Supreme). 

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The Squadron Supreme limited series from 1985-86 is a textbook example because it shows both sides of the issue very well and doesn't end well for both sides.

 

On 7/3/2018 at 7:09 PM, SteelCold said:

 

In short what every superhero team and government organization has been trying to do for decades. (Like Squadron Supreme). 

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Hmm, I'd say that the simplest way to do this is to have the character be a consequentialist who is able to provide very supportive arguments/data that whatever 'bad' thing they are doing will result in good stuff.

You'd want to avoid too much real world detail, but instead just have the character be able to provide 'good data' that their actions are probably going to result in good stuff.

 

Example:

Consequentialist has just appeared in front of a bunch of grade schoolers out of a field trip.  He produces a basket of puppies in one hand and a portable wood chipper in the other.  He then proceeds to apply to puppies to the grade schoolers using the wood chipper.  It's pretty horrific.

 

If the PCs give Consequentialist time to explain his actions:

He gives the following presentation:

According to [good data] people who are exposed to horrible events are [somewhat likely] to develop super powers.  However, most people that are exposed to horrible events in their regular lives are more likely to be villains, because their regular lives are the kind that tend to produce horrible events.

People who have things in their lives like good social support structures and a well developed moral code are less likely to have super-power granting horrible events in their normal lives.  [data on these statistics]...  and that's why the villains tend to outnumber the heroes so much.

As these gradeschoolers come from one of the better local schools, they are generally more likely to have 'good' lives than a random selection from the population: [data to back this up].

In addition, exposing them to a super-power granting horrible event at this young and age means they'll still have the support of the parents, etc.  So they will have plenty of time to be socialized about the potential good uses of their potential super power.

My puppy and wood chipper method is the least morally objectionable thing I've been able to develop that still shows good results on being horrible enough to cause super powers in [enough] of the target population.  Here's my [data] on what other ideas I've had for horrible things, and their projected returns. 

So, in conclusion, I have to go out and spray freshly minced puppy on several more grade school classes.  We'll need all those heroes to defeat the alien invasions that statistical modelling say are coming in the next ten to fifteen years.

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11 hours ago, Crusher Bob said:

Hmm, I'd say that the simplest way to do this is to have the character be a consequentialist who is able to provide very supportive arguments/data that whatever 'bad' thing they are doing will result in good stuff.

You'd want to avoid too much real world detail, but instead just have the character be able to provide 'good data' that their actions are probably going to result in good stuff.

 

Example:

Consequentialist has just appeared in front of a bunch of grade schoolers out of a field trip.  He produces a basket of puppies in one hand and a portable wood chipper in the other.  He then proceeds to apply to puppies to the grade schoolers using the wood chipper.  It's pretty horrific.

 

If the PCs give Consequentialist time to explain his actions:

He gives the following presentation:

According to [good data] people who are exposed to horrible events are [somewhat likely] to develop super powers.  However, most people that are exposed to horrible events in their regular lives are more likely to be villains, because their regular lives are the kind that tend to produce horrible events.

People who have things in their lives like good social support structures and a well developed moral code are less likely to have super-power granting horrible events in their normal lives.  [data on these statistics]...  and that's why the villains tend to outnumber the heroes so much.

As these gradeschoolers come from one of the better local schools, they are generally more likely to have 'good' lives than a random selection from the population: [data to back this up].

In addition, exposing them to a super-power granting horrible event at this young and age means they'll still have the support of the parents, etc.  So they will have plenty of time to be socialized about the potential good uses of their potential super power.

My puppy and wood chipper method is the least morally objectionable thing I've been able to develop that still shows good results on being horrible enough to cause super powers in [enough] of the target population.  Here's my [data] on what other ideas I've had for horrible things, and their projected returns. 

So, in conclusion, I have to go out and spray freshly minced puppy on several more grade school classes.  We'll need all those heroes to defeat the alien invasions that statistical modelling say are coming in the next ten to fifteen years.

 

Unfortunately, that argument also suggests many will have puppy themed powers. :)

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  • 2 months later...

In the Superhero Teen Romance novel (seriously, that's literary genera) called Wearing The Cape there is a (mostly) behind the scenes protagonist named The Teatime Anarchist, so named because when he appears he is always impeccably dressed and he has a lilting Posh accent.  Think Colin Firth from Kingsmen.

 

He is a time traveler from the not too distant future fighting against metahuman registration, regulation, and eventual internment, and the totalitarian governments that would be required to make such things happen.  He does so by such means as making it impossible for a pro-registration politician to escape an awkward press interview because the limousine he wants to get into is suddenly, inexplicable, filled to the roof with jelly beans.

 

There is also a Dark Anarchist, working to bring about global totalitarian governments only with the metahumans calling the shots and the pesky normals all put in their proper place.  The Dark Anarchist's methods involve far fewer jelly beans and much more high explosives.  Naturally The Teatime Anarchist and The Dark Anarchist are the same person, just from alternate time lines.  

 

I have no idea if this helps the thread.  just throwing it out there.

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On 7/10/2018 at 6:39 AM, IndianaJoe3 said:

 

You've obviously never read about the Stanford Prison Experiment.  

 

The idea was that if well educated people with proper liberal sensibilities (like for example you're typical Stanford University student) were put in charge of a group and given absolute power, they would be less likely to abuse their authority and more likely to use it for the betterment of everyone involved.  

 

The actual results were NOT what the organizer was expecting.  

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OK, now that I've actually READ the thread, this all sounds like the Netflix series The Good Place, where a Professor of Moral Philosophy constantly uses various arguments from ethics & moral philosophy to get Kristen Bell to be good when all she wants to do is be naughty.

 

And IMO anyone trying to get Kristen Bell to NOT be naughty when she REALLY wants to be deserves to have chipped puppies splashed on them.

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Mad-Social-Scientist? Isn't that mostly just extreme Communist and Marxists of the 20th century? We see parallels with folks like Dr. Doom whon just knows how to create a better functioning society. Popular media is replete with what many could consider the "lawful evil" style character who thinks themself the true hero. Skywalker, Apocalypse, Luther, etc. 

As to someone using actual social science data to undesirably change the world, I am hard pressed to think of examples that offer much to the PCs. You could reconstruct some classic Scarecrow / Joker plots wherein they would poison the citizenry for their own joys or research, but in this case the researcher know that by triggering some disgust sensors in one's brain, it could alter voting patters in a city and thus promote their preferred candidate. The plot could revolve around stopping that event and perhaps if there was a failure to stop it the fallout of the vote. Do the Heroes inform everyone? Does this affected the perceived legitimacy of the vote? Are people willing to say en masse that their vote wasn't free despite it feeling completely free at the time of the vote? Could there be a scandal in the leadup where a particularly anti-Meta politician running for office gets into it with one of the PC publicly and thus cast doubts on the claims coming from the PCs regarding the villain's actions? How do you prove to people that their 'free will' was supplanted in such a minor way as to merely change the vote outcome from 53/47 to 49/51? 

One could also make the Social Scientist less concerned with bettering the world and more concerned in the research that can be deployed to that end. Frustrated with archaic and stifling research grant processes, they take it upon themself to do the unthinkable research. Thus it is a more broadly focused Scarecrow style villain. 

La Rose.   

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16 hours ago, phydaux said:

OK, now that I've actually READ the thread, this all sounds like the Netflix series The Good Place, where a Professor of Moral Philosophy constantly uses various arguments from ethics & moral philosophy to get Kristen Bell to be good when all she wants to do is be naughty.

 

And IMO anyone trying to get Kristen Bell to NOT be naughty when she REALLY wants to be deserves to have chipped puppies splashed on them.

 

That's actually an NBC show and its going on its third season.

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As long as we're discussing what it reminds us of... :LOL:

 

It reminds me of an X-1 episode I listened to when I was a kid (Lord I'm old).  I think it was based on a short story; a lot of them where.  Anyway, to justify the existence of a psychology department, a professor demonstrated his theorem on a small sewing club in a small rural town.  It turned into a planet-wide political force.  Very amusing story.

 

 

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