Champions 2050

[steriaca]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

I could see a plot by some of the malevolent mythic gods most active on Earth in the modern era, including Hecate, Set, and/or Tezcatlipoca, to try to force the ambient magic level back up where it was before, or even higher. Per her write-up in The Hercules Force, Hecate and Tezcatlipoca once teamed up to try to shatter the Ban preventing the gods from fully manifesting on Earth.

That probably happened many a time. Hecate, Tezcatipoca, Loki, the Devil's Advocates, even DEMON and Black Palladian. And I am sure such alliances will continue in the future. Just as long as there mystics who notice the power fade and think they can do something about it.

 

This gives the players a delimima. Should they do nothing and reap a power bost for everyone? Or stop them and insure there future as powerless people?

[steriaca]

The Champions (2050)

Members: Defender 2, Warlock, Foxbat 2, Ironclad. They are looking for more members.

 

History: The Champions live on. After the spell in 2020, the original team stayed together (with Defender having to use one of his old suits of armor). They faced many attempts by the mystical world to assassinate Witchcraft for the spell she casted. Defender and Witchcraft wed. Members drifted out over time. Finally Defender and Witchcraft settled down to have a family, spending time in both Millennium City and Babylon, City of Man.

 

Ironclad reformed the new Champions with full blessings when it appears a new generation of supers appears. Members are:

 

Defender 2: Daughter of Defender and Witchcraft, and twin to Warlock. She seemed more gifted in technology than spells, but her mother made sure she had basic arcane training.

 

Warlock: Son of Defender and Witchcraft, and twin to Defender 2. He seemed more gifted in magic than tech, but his father made sure he has basic electronic training.

 

Foxbat 2: Daughter of Foxbat. Pore Freddy actually became sane after 2020, and voluntarily spent much time in prison. He also created the Fosgood Foundation to help the world and atone for his actions. He settled down with Charlie after his release, and they birthed a daughter who grew up with his stories of the old days, AND the idea of being heroically responsible citizen. So his daughter took up his ping-pong ball gun and glider cape.

 

Ironclad: Leader of the group. Still the same old alien brick.

 

Anyone want to add members?

[Tjack]

  Seeker is probably still around doing the “ancient master of Kung-Fu” thing, with his own Australian twist. Training young heroes and advising the current ones.  
 An NPC for your game. He didn’t Mana or tech to operate so he should still be going strong.

[steriaca]

3 minutes ago, Tjack said:

  Seeker is probably still around doing the “ancient master of Kung-Fu” thing, with his own Australian twist. Training young heroes and advising the current ones.  
 An NPC for your game. He didn’t Mana or tech to operate so he should still be going strong.

Seeker doesn't exist in 5th edition/6th edition Champions Universe, except as a comic book character. (It's a long story).

 

Nighthawk was his 'replacement', and he was more of a Batman type of guy.

[DShomshak]

For the decline of supertech, I would suggest there's less "OMG! It doesn't work anymore!" and more, "This is harder than we thought, and it's amazing this unstable technology worked as long as it did."

 

Example: In 2032, the computer scientist Dr. Joon Bon-Wha proves mathematically that the Zerstoiten Algorithm (basis of all "strong" AI for decades, copied as the name says from Dr. Destroyer) is intrinsically unstable. There's a conflict between the self-modifying aspect needed for generalized learning and decision-making, and the absolute directives that assure loyalty and adherence to particular goals. Eventually the simulated neural net degenerates and goes mad before collapsing completely. Dr. Joon theorizes that Dr. Destroyer and other super-scioentists kept their AIs going as long as they did through dodges such as having a specialized "weak" AI monitoring and adjusting the "strong" AI, but even that would fail eventually.

 

IN 2050, therefore, there is lots of specialized AI that's really good at well-defined tasks such as reading X-rays or driving cars. But genuine free-willed electronic personalities are rarely built. Some countries even outlaw there construction, on grounds that it's inhumane to create an intelligence that must inevitably go mad and destroy itself.

 

Some computer scientists are experimenting, however, with other program architectures -- particularly variations that leave out the "hard wired" directives. But many people are nervous about creating electronic intelligences that will be completely free-willed. Researchers counter that every human infant is an experiment in uncontrolled intelligence. What does it matter if a mind is in silicon or meat? Some researchers prefer to speak of "Artifician Personhood" rather than "Artificial Intelligence."

 

Dean Shomshak

 

 

 

 

[steriaca]

Powers in Champions 2050.

 

Generally put, it depends on special effects and game master will.

 

Magic: Let's look at the elephant in the room. Magic diminishes after 2020. It becomes harder to find 'loopholes in reality' which makes spells easy to cast, and using personal energy and will to cast spells becomes more taxing on the body. This does not affect sources of magic from other dimensions. 'Science based magic' (Math Magic, Techomancy, Alchemy) are easier to cast in the Earth Dimension compared to other magic, but even these have taken a hit.

 

Magical beings who are here under there own power find it hard to stay for long. If they want to stay, they need a vessel to contain there spirit.

 

As stated eariler, most mages who could split to more magic friendly dimensions do so. Faire is a popular choice.

 

Technology: Generally speaking, the closest to modern technology the tech is, the less affected it is by the mana drain. Things which were streamlined and miniaturized will, after parts fail and are replace, become bulky and huge. This is especially true with robotics and power suits.

 

Mental Powers: There is no real change, as brains do not change before the mana drain or after it.

 

Martial Artist: There should be no real change, but harnessing certain Ki Powers may become harder to do, especially thoes which break physics.

 

Other Superpowers: This should be a case by case judgement. Anything close to 'true science' should be easy to do, while powers which have no basics in even rubber science fail.

 

Ultimately, the GM decides what is what.

[steriaca]

Any ideas on what to do with Tailsman? I would like for her to still be out there, doing evil. But I feal she should evolve beyond just being Witchcraft's evil twin. Prehaps she should join the Devil's Advocates?

[Lord Liaden]

How about making Talisman the leader of the Circle of the Scarlet Moon, finally fulfilling her family heritage? None of them would have enough magic left to oppose her. After decades of experience, and diminishing of her personal power, Talisman may have come to appreciate the Circle's covert scheming.

[steriaca]

30 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

How about making Talisman the leader of the Circle of the Scarlet Moon, finally fulfilling her family heritage? None of them would have enough magic left to oppose her. After decades of experience, and diminishing of her personal power, Talisman may have come to appreciate the Circle's covert scheming.

Sounds tempting.

 

Of course, something has to be done about the "current" leadership. And mom and dad also. Tails has no love for them, but I don't see her murdering them both outright either.

 

And considering how low level the CotSM members are, it is a wonder why she never did something like that before.

[Lord Liaden]

Talisman left the Scarlet Moon because she had no patience for their "constant scheming in the shadows." She wanted power, but she wanted to openly revel in it, so had no interest in seizing their organization. But after decades of that activity her attitude could have changed.

 

By 2050 all the current leadership of the Circle would probably be dead, including the elder Duquesnes, so any vestiges of loyalty Talisman might have retained for them would no longer be a factor.

[Lord Liaden]

The Circle of the Scarlet Moon at its height had enough influence in government, money to hire super-mercs, etc. that they could have made Talisman's life hell if she pushed them too hard. Her "quotation" about them in Arcane Adversaries p. 6 implies Talisman was very conscious of how insidiously dangerous the Circle is. She would even work for them on occasion after she left. I got the impression the Scarlet Moon didn't go after Talisman harder for her "betrayal" mainly because they hoped to draw her back into their service full-time.

 

There is another possible use for Talisman, especially if she matures over time. Bethany "Witchcraft" Duquesne became Archmage in large part due to blessings before her birth from spirits from the Parterres, one of the requirements for Archmage. The same blessings her twin sister received. (Note that aside from protecting Earth, that office has no moral requirement.)

[steriaca]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

The Circle of the Scarlet Moon at its height had enough influence in government, money to hire super-mercs, etc. that they could have made Talisman's life hell if she pushed them too hard. Her "quotation" about them in Arcane Adversaries p. 6 implies Talisman was very conscious of how insidiously dangerous the Circle is. She would even work for them on occasion after she left. I got the impression the Scarlet Moon didn't go after Talisman harder for her "betrayal" mainly because they hoped to draw her back into their service full-time.

 

There is another possible use for Talisman, especially if she matures over time. Bethany "Witchcraft" Duquesne became Archmage in large part due to blessings before her birth from spirits from the Parterres, one of the requirements for Archmage. The same blessings her twin sister received. (Note that aside from protecting Earth, that office has no moral requirement.)

Leader of the CotSM AND Co-archmage? Humm...what does Tailsman gain as an Archmage? And, well, what if she stumbled onto the title not by any of her works, but because her twin became Archmage, and as a twin, she is "a part of her", if she wants it or not?

[Lord Liaden]

You could rationalize the twinning situation that way if you want to, but Talisman and Witchcraft had different powers based on their study priorities, so I don't believe it would necessarily work out that way. But both of them received equal gifts from spirits from the Parterres (the history of Martika Duquesne in Arcane Adversaries tells the story), so it's at least conceivable. It also wouldn't automatically follow that Talisman would be "co-archmage." If you don't want Witchcraft to be alive in 2050, per the future described in Galactic Champions she died banishing Tyrannon. Or she could perish at any subsequent convenient date.   Maybe with her death the attributes of Archmage could pass to her twin.

 

All the references imply that what a sorcerer gains as Archmage, is power. Serious power. Which has always been one of Pamela Duquesne's priorities. Some villainous mystics, notably the Demonologist and Stingray, were actively campaigning for support in the Mystic World to their claiming the office. An Archmage is supposed to be beholden to no other occult entitiy, their first priority being the defense of humanity; and both Talisman and the Circle have avoided binding themselves to any. But I didn't mean to imply that Talisman had to be both Scarlet Moon leader and Archmage. Any of those permutations is possible, or none, as you would prefer.

[steriaca]

23 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

You could rationalize the twinning situation that way if you want to, but Talisman and Witchcraft had different powers based on their study priorities, so I don't believe it would necessarily work out that way. But both of them received equal gifts from spirits from the Parterres (the history of Martika Duquesne in Arcane Adversaries tells the story), so it's at least conceivable. It also wouldn't automatically follow that Talisman would be "co-archmage." If you don't want Witchcraft to be alive in 2050, per the future described in Galactic Champions she died banishing Tyrannon. Or she could perish at any subsequent convenient date.   Maybe with her death the attributes of Archmage could pass to her twin.

 

All the references imply that what a sorcerer gains as Archmage, is power. Serious power. Which has always been one of Pamela Duquesne's priorities. Some villainous mystics, notably the Demonologist and Stingray, were actively campaigning for support in the Mystic World to their claiming the office. An Archmage is supposed to be beholden to no other occult entitiy, their first priority being the defense of humanity; and both Talisman and the Circle have avoided binding themselves to any. But I didn't mean to imply that Talisman had to be both Scarlet Moon leader and Archmage. Any of those permutations is possible, or none, as you would prefer.

I didn't realize that she was supposed to die casting the spell. Of course, death don't mean Witchcraft can't mentor her children (she is a mage after all...even Archmago has a presence after death).

 

I would think she would get pregnant and give birth some time after the spell.

 

But....Witchcraft's death and her twins could be just the blast to Talisman to slightly change her ways...to be more of a dark grey mage than a black mage or 'red' mage.

 

What exactly would your take be?

[DShomshak]

15 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

The Circle of the Scarlet Moon at its height had enough influence in government, money to hire super-mercs, etc. that they could have made Talisman's life hell if she pushed them too hard. Her "quotation" about them in Arcane Adversaries p. 6 implies Talisman was very conscious of how insidiously dangerous the Circle is. She would even work for them on occasion after she left. I got the impression the Scarlet Moon didn't go after Talisman harder for her "betrayal" mainly because they hoped to draw her back into their service full-time.

 

There is another possible use for Talisman, especially if she matures over time. Bethany "Witchcraft" Duquesne became Archmage in large part due to blessings before her birth from spirits from the Parterres, one of the requirements for Archmage. The same blessings her twin sister received. (Note that aside from protecting Earth, that office has no moral requirement.)

 

So you noticed that. When I wrote that, I wondered if I was too heavy-handed in planting the clue that Bethany and Pamela were Archmage candidates from birth. Then I wondered if maybe I was too subtle. (Or if maybe Herodom just doesn't have the habit I saw on White Wolf boards of parsing and over-interpreting every sentence of a text.) Anyway, well done.

 

Of all mystic organizations, the Circle of the Scarlet Moon and the Trismegistus Council would be affected the least by the decline of magic -- because they grew in a time of low magic and developed their methods accordingly. The Trismegistans might suffer more by embracing heroic super-mages, but it's still largely a group of scholars. The two groups just go back to their long, slow war of maneuver, using ritual magic and whatever social advantage they can leverage from it.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Lord Liaden]

Thank you, Dean. Maybe Herodom doesn't have the habit of parsing and over-interpreting every sentence of a text. Unless it's a system rule, or course.

 

However, I do.

 

[steriaca]

Well Dean, what do you think the Devil's Advocates would be up to in 2050? I'm sure bebopping in Farie, Limbo, and even Hell would not only get them more members, but slowed the aging of thoes who still do so.

[Lord Liaden]

16 hours ago, steriaca said:

What exactly would your take be?

 

To be honest, I don't really have one. I'm quite happy with the level of four-color superpowers in Champions now, and wouldn't choose to follow either the official rapid loss of supers, nor your suggested gradual diminution. I'm just exploring implications as an intellectual exercise and to try to be helpful.

 

But as far as Talisman goes, I wouldn't expect her to still be alive by 2050. She strikes me as a "live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse" type.

[steriaca]

I think it is time for new master villains. So here is one.

 

Michael Alexander Lux was a top manufacturer of robotics, even doing research on nanomachines. This, of course, caught the eye of Mechanon. Kidnapping him, he decided he need him alive, he use some nanomachines to make him partly robotic in order to control him and make use of his facilitates and research.

 

Eventually, Mechanon was defeated for one last time. The heroes were clueless to what happened to Lux, let alone knew that he was abducted and in danger in the first place. Blaming the heroes, all superheroes, he plots to destroy them all. He becomes the mastermind known as Lux, using his knowledge of robotics, nanomachines, the powers injected into him by Mechanon, and his own company to defeat and kill them all.

[Lord Liaden]

A long time ago on these forums I suggested a new supervillain from the future, the offspring of Gravitar and Holocaust who inherited all their combined mutant powers. Obviously that would be a terror, but with generally reduced power levels he/she could be played as just a relatively tough master villain.

[steriaca]

28 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

A long time ago on these forums I suggested a new supervillain from the future, the offspring of Gravitar and Holocaust who inherited all their combined mutant powers. Obviously that would be a terror, but with generally reduced power levels he/she could be played as just a relatively tough master villain.

Could be possible...Energy Emition/Control and Gravity Control...

 

Jean Paul (Gravitar's last name) was L'enfent Terrible (The Infant Terrible) when he was growing up. Litterly. That was the villain name momie gave him when growing up (sometimes even supervillains can't find decient child care when they have to work). He was momie's little prince, a spoiled brat with energy beams and gravity powers. As for who the kid's father was, well even supervillains have one night stands.

 

Now an adult, he now calls himself Le Terreur (The Terror).

[assault]

14 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

But as far as Talisman goes, I wouldn't expect her to still be alive by 2050. She strikes me as a "live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse" type.

 

So a vampire then...😀

[Cassandra]

45 minutes ago, assault said:

 

So a vampire then...😀

 

Or Cindy Crawford.

[DShomshak]

22 hours ago, steriaca said:

Well Dean, what do you think the Devil's Advocates would be up to in 2050? I'm sure bebopping in Farie, Limbo, and even Hell would not only get them more members, but slowed the aging of thoes who still do so.

 

The Devil's Advocates are intrinsically unstable, since members have motives (and Psych Lims) pulling them in different directions. Some of them are also pretty fragile beneath their magical defenses. So my guess would be that the line up has changed a lot over the decades as members die or go off to do other things, and Demonologist recruits new members.

 

Demonologist himself is still around: He's smart, slippery, and relies on ritual magic that is less dependent on high mana. (He is also the writer's pet. 😉) As ostinsibly more powerful mystic villains such as Dark Seraph and Shadow Destroyer have faded or died, he's in many ways the last man standing -- the "gray eminence" of mystic villainy. If ambient magic has faded, he knows even better how to use it.

 

(There were a few times when the world thought he was dead, such as the year in which Dark Seraph seemed to have killed him and took over the Devil's Advocates. He had of course snookered Dark Seraph. See the next paragraph for what he did on his return.)

 

The first couple decades after 2020, he tried to engineer a resurgence of mana in between attempts to end the reign of technology. Some of these schemes actually contributed to magic's decline as Demonologist cannibalized artifacts and beings of power: as for instance his attemmpt to use the Crowns of Krim to power a mana-restoration spell. That was the end of the Crowns of Krim: the wearers dead, and the artifacts de-powered (apart from being indestructible) with a thousand-year recharge.

 

In 2050, Big D is trying to channel magic in from other planes or create artifacts that can prevent further loss of magic. His methods are... unpleasant.

 

Variant option: Demonologist is the Archmage. He takes it seriously: No invader from beyond is going to conquer the Earth. But he's still a villain  -- the last mystic villain who can cast powerful spells virtually at will, though still far less powerful than Takofanes or Shadow Destroyer were. Heroes do not want to face him head-on. Fortunately, his schemes for restoring magic still require long preparation that give heroes chances to foil them.

 

Sub-variant: Demonologist was extraordinarily pissed when he tried using the Archmage's power to repeat the Walpurgisnacht Working of 1938... and figured out why he couldn't. See, the mystic origin of the Superheroic Age was a two-step process. The Working had the results it did because Earth's mana was already supercharged and deeply unstable from the murder of the then-Archmage in 1908, by the Circle of the Scarlet Moon! As long as someone holds the Archmage's mantle, Earth's ambient magic is stabilized and far less likely to flow in strange channels such as turning toxic waste exposure into origin events. Demonologist himself is now the blockage to the return of super-magery and a Dark Renaissance -- but he can't bear to give up the power.

 

As for the others, Golem is most likely dead. At least, Upton Frogge is dead. The Golem might still exist as a spirit moving from statue to statue. Possibly he can only animate his host statues for short periods, and not often, but he may well outlive all the other members.

 

(I'll stick to the 5e/6e membership for this.)

 

Gyre pursued the lure of ultimate knowledge into the Upper Planes and perhaps beyond. If she returns, it is not as anything still human.

 

Kapilasa is dead, or transformed into a spirit with obligations to Shiva and subject to the Ban.

 

Tartarus is dead, or at least he suffered mortal death. He still exists as a minor demon lord finding his place in the Descending Hierarchy.

 

Vilsimbra force her way back into the Onyx Kingdom and is busy there.

 

As for potential new members?

 

There could be a Sylvestri and/or a Vandaleur in the 2050 team. For instance, Cornelius Liefeld would give the Devil's Advocates a powerful alchemist. A Vandaleur member might not even have been born yet in 2020.

 

"Legacy" versions of mystic villains are another possibility, such as an Astralle II, Chatoyant II or Cairngorm II.

 

Or for another alchmist option, Harpy II: Edwina Baldwin's daughter was adopted by Zarrindokht after Harpy's death. She's grown up now and come to Earth from Faerie to seek revenge, or something. She's not as powerful a brick as her mother was, but she has alchemical gimmicks to compensate.

 

And, no doubt, some villains who have no connection to any contemporary characters.

 

Dean Shomshak

[steriaca]

Got an idea for a member of the "new" Devil's Advicates. His "name" is 10-15-5, and he is a Chaos Math Wizard. By reciting numbers, he can cause almost anything to happen. And he speaks only in numbers. The secret of his magic? If you turn letters into numbers, you can cast spells (a variation of the speaking backward limitation in Zatanna's magic). For example, all he has to do is point at something and say 6-9-18-5 and the object becomes aflame and burns/melts. He wants something to stop? 19-20-15-16 should do it.