Dark Champions

[Diamond Spear]

So I've gotten the itch to run a HERO game again after a long hiatus. I'd love it if there were enough HERO players in the Savannah area to run a  game but I'm perfectly willing to run one online, most likely a hybrid chat/PBP style. I've been working on a Dark Champions setting and would love to give it a shot.  It is, in fact, the one that I tried to recruit for last year but between hurricanes and a work schedule that usually had me working closer to sixty hours than forty I was never able to get it going. Things have calmed down now so I'd like to give it another try. 

 

The Setting (spoiler blocked for length):

 

 

 

OVERVIEW

This setting is designed to walk a fine line between Dark Champions, Horror and Urban Fantasy. Essentially the setting is Dark Champions without a dystopian background (or at least a traditional one) that is also sprinkled with bits of the unexplained, horrific and strange. The rich and powerful, both individuals and corporations, powerful criminal organizations and governments all struggle to gain more power and influence. To do so they recruit and employ both singular individuals and small groups to fight their proxy battles; they also find themselves in conflict with those trying to turn the world to a better, or at least better as they perceive it, course. Unlike in more traditional Dark Champions settings, their conflicts are largely unknown to the general public and the effects of their machinations, while felt by all, are almost never directly traced to these shadow conflicts. The overwhelming majority of the population will never know about the power struggles that shape the world they live in. Those that move in the shadows live in a world so complex, dangerous and fascinating that most who become involved in it never leave it.

 

 

GENRE CONVENTIONS

 

Soldiers Fight Soldiers

Families, bystanders and other “non-combatants” are off limits. This isn’t to say that innocents are never killed or injured but wanton destruction without regard to collateral damage is strictly taboo. This is a central tenant of the setting and one of the major reasons that this complex, second society can exist alongside the more mundane, normal, one without being obvious. For instance, a hit may take place in a restaurant but the gunmen would target only the person they are after and not indiscriminately spray the room with bullets or simply use a large bomb. In extreme circumstances the family members of high-ranking individuals might be kidnapped and held but even then they will rarely, if ever, be mistreated. There is also an unwritten rule that even though killing is expected and accepted outright cruelty is frowned upon and people who cross the line into true psychopathy tend to find even their nominal allies out to remove them.

 

The World Is Not All Doom And Gloom

Assuming that one does not get involved in the shadowy second world it is entirely possible to live, work, raise a family and live to a ripe old age and never so much as suspect the struggle that goes on beneath the surface. Even the majority of wealthy individuals and politicians stay blissfully ignorant or at most skim the surface of the shadows without ever realizing how deep they go.

 

Real World Tech…Mostly

For the most part there is no “super technology”. There are no suits of power armor, artificial intelligences with distinct personalities or plasma rifles. This is not to say that large organizations or governments don’t have access to bleeding edge technology, it just means that such technology should, for the most part, be based on real world technology and research. A good rule of thumb is James Bone level tech and gadgets is about the limit.

 

The Magic, Fantastical And Horrific

The magical, fantastic and horrific are fringe of the fringe elements. Someone who claims to be a witch/wizard is going to be someone who uses 99% practical effects and real world magic tricks with just a trick or two that can’t be explained by conventional means. A psychic is a typical palm reader and tarot card diviner but when paid enough or otherwise greatly motivated their predictions are always accurate. Monstrous creatures are genetic experiments gone wrong except for the one per cent that can’t be explained as such. Devices and technology that are a quantum leap forward are one-offs that are normally either created by a Tesla-level fringe scientist or an accidental fusing of disparate technologies that just happened to work. Such things also tend to be single or limited use, have undesirable side effects and tend to be self-destructive.

 

 

If you'd be interested let me know. Any group between one and six players works for me. As always, please post interest or questions here and I'll be happy to respond.

[Khymeria]

I've monkeyed around a bit online playing rpg's and I am not a master but do understand the basics.  I am a big fan of the system, and if it was something online I would be excited to join.  Dark Champions is a very exciting genre since it can include an excellent mix of materials. 

[codKryptkpr]

are you still looking to run and online game?  If so, I would be interested.