So, your two statements... What are they/would they be?

[Territan]

5 hours ago, unclevlad said:

Is that the day you want?  I can't think of anything that happened on that day...unless you just want to pick something roughly related to those events, a few weeks after the fact.  The first atomic test blast was several weeks earlier, and a good couple hundred miles away.

 

Oh, yes I do. I picked the date for a very precise reason. Look up Harry Daghlian in connection with that date, then look up Louis Slotin and what they had in common, and let the wheels turn for a bit. Mind you, in the continuity as I'm representing it, certain naming was done first...

 

 

[unclevlad]

Ahhh...I see.  So your event wasn't Trinity.  The Daghian event is a nice choice.  The specifics make turning that into that kind of trigger event quite plausible...way better than atomic or nuclear blasts, in some ways.  Course it depends on how you think about it.

[Duke Bushido]

I'm going to take another stab at this, if no one minds:

 

1) Superheroes have battled the forces of evil since the nineteen hundreds.

 

2) The last super villain was vanquished ten years ago.

 

 

I _think_ that fits into the guidelines; someone please correct me if it doesn't.

 

More importantly, I have finally gotten something that doesn't sound all grimdarkedgy.  Problematically, it still has the feel of "locking in" a particular direction of story or playing, but at least it isn't grimdarkedgy.  Gad.

 

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[assault]

I've got a second statement that I would probably use:

 

Beer and Pretzels adventure through time, space and Toowoomba.

 

The trick is to get a first statement to match it.

 

I've got a couple of ideas, ranging from the silly to the serious. The problem is that the latter probably requires me to revise statement two.

In no particular order:

A bunch of heroes hang out at the Pub of Justice.

 

Hero teams tend to be territorial.

 

The first one fits well with the second sentence. It would need to be revised for a notionally "broader audience" - especially if kids were likely to join the group.

 

The second isn't as good a fit with the second sentence. I'd probably rewrite the latter, but would still leave things light. But of course if I could do that easily I already would have.

[assault]

23 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

I'm going to take another stab at this, if no one minds:

 

1) Superheroes have battled the forces of evil since the nineteen hundreds.

 

2) The last super villain was vanquished ten years ago.

 

 

I _think_ that fits into the guidelines; someone please correct me if it doesn't.

 

Both of those, and both of them combined, are 'first statements'. Take a closer look at the text, quoted on the previous page, and better yet, take a look at the examples in the full text. nitrosyncretic's "Emerald City Empire -- Example game development" thread contains a good example too.

 

A giveaway: both sentences contain references to superheroes and supervillains.

[Duke Bushido]

A-HA!

 

Foiled by a technicality!

 

 

Thanks, Assault!    

 

(And I can add no more reptody, but i'll hit you up tomorrow      )

[nitrosyncretic]

I've found that the best way to think of the second statement is as the situation for a TV show, especially soap operas, teen drama, politics and lawyer shows. 

 

Eg The Good Wife, 90210, Boardwalk Empire, The New Girl, Desperate Housewives, etc.

 

I believe that the idea is to put the world of supers in contrast or collision with issues of the ordinary world around us.

[Duke Bushido]

36 minutes ago, nitrosyncretic said:

I believe that the idea is to put the world of supers in contrast or collision with issues of the ordinary world around us.

 

 

I suspect you're right.

 

I also suspect that's the biggest thing I don't like about them:  I now deconstruction and dark and angsty is all the rage, but I just prefer a world were supers are an _ addition_ to the world as opposed to a constant problem for it.

 

 

[nitrosyncretic]

1 minute ago, Duke Bushido said:

You've hit the point exactly! They are an addition to the world -- they are humans in the world who are also supers. You can write that as dark and angsty or light and airy. It's not about supers causing problems, it's about supers having lives.

 

1 minute ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

I suspect you're right.

 

I also suspect that's the biggest thing I don't like about them:  I now deconstruction and dark and angsty is all the rage, but I just prefer a world were supers are an _ addition_ to the world as opposed to a constant problem for it.

 

 

 

[Duke Bushido]

ten minutes ago?

[nitrosyncretic]

Wierd that the quote system attributed what I said to Duke Bushido. To Be clear, I responded:

"You've hit the point exactly! They are an addition to the world -- they are humans in the world who are also supers. You can write that as dark and angsty or light and airy. It's not about supers causing problems, it's about supers having lives."

 

The touchstone for Champions Now is the comics of the 60s and 70s, not the dark angsty stuff that came later. 

[Duke Bushido]

I see.

 

Thanks for clearing that up!     I was starting to think I was more tired than I actually am!  

 

[Pariah]

Okay, I think I've got an idea. Check this out:

 

1. Unlikely heroes sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them.

 

2. Young adult angst and thinly-veiled bigotry in upstate New York.

 

So, what do you think...?

[nitrosyncretic]

1 hour ago, Pariah said:

Okay, I think I've got an idea. Check this out:

 

1. Unlikely heroes sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them.

 

2. Young adult angst and thinly-veiled bigotry in upstate New York.

 

So, what do you think...?

 

That fits the guidelines. My personal preference would be to use 1. to also say something about the nature of powers -- may be expand what you mean by "inlikely."

[unclevlad]

And there's still a fair bit of overlap.  Fears and hates already suggests angst and bigotry.  So as nitro says, something more along the lines of nature or origin of powers...Wild Cards?  Hayes' Villain's Code has freak storms that started after a trigger event, some time back, where "lightning" during the storm causes people to gain powers...not necessarily in a pretty manner.  Harmon's Wearing the Cape has something similar, but the powers onset is brought about by major stress...which has some very tricky, complex implications...but can create some ugly freaks.  Something exotic like aliens have seeded the population, to some degree, with a mutagen...and are now triggering it to work.....

[nitrosyncretic]

My preference would be to avoid mentioning the origin of superpowers -- this start history building and I think it's cooler to come with that later, based on what the players create. Some of the best I've seen are about what they look like "Flashy and Fun" or what choices they create "they will eventually kill their wielder."

[assault]

Here's one:

 

1. Good pay, good conditions - but you are working for the (Australian) government.

 

2. Dangerous missions and ethical dilemmas in Canberra (and where ever you are sent).

 

Comment: you are not supposed to explain your statements in an actual game, but for the sake of discussion here this is inspired by a 1980s Australian comic series.

[Michael Hopcroft]

How about:

 

1. Powers are colorful and fun. Heroes are treated like celebrities -- with targets on their backs.

 

2. Fighting crime as a way to grab attention in Hollywood. ("I want my TMZ!)

 

I hope those two are not contradictory. But they do remind me of the Drake Einstein series in a similar game setting released when 5e and M&M were both new. Drake Einstein is an actor who built weapons to turn into a superhero to advance his career. His movie career isn't going anyplace spectacular, but the bad guys treat him like a real super and try to convert him into a real, dead super on several occasions.

[unclevlad]

They aren't contradictory at all;  I'd argue they're the reverse...they're highly overlapping.  It means supers go into it for fame, fortune, and sex...and probably don't realize the "target on their back" side for a while.  No, not all of em, but a lot.  Reminds me of Amazon's The Boys (dystopian interpretations of your 2 statements), Drew Hayes' Forging Hephaestus (for heroes, it's better to look good than to do good), and the West Coast teams in Marion Harmon's Wearing the Cape (who *are* celebrities, with TV and/or movie deals).

So that could be a lot of fun, particularly if it's like in Harmon...where the media tie-ins are huge where the PCs are, but NOT necessarily elsewhere.  Ergo, there can be a conflict between the local PCs and everyone else...or between the PCs who want to be heroes, and those around them who are showboats and fame whores.

[nitrosyncretic]

On 4/22/2020 at 12:12 PM, Michael Hopcroft said:

How about:

 

1. Powers are colorful and fun. Heroes are treated like celebrities -- with targets on their backs.

 

2. Fighting crime as a way to grab attention in Hollywood. ("I want my TMZ!)

 

 

 

Here's what the rules say about Statement 2:

"This part says nothing about powers or superhero/villain material. It’s really tempting, but resist."

 

Your statement 2 is all about superpowers. I'd suggest changing the statements up like this:

 

1. Powers are colorful and fun.

 

2. Celebrity careers live or die in front of and behind the cameras in Hollywood.

 

See how the second statement could be about non super activity? That's what you want for a second statement.

[dmjalund]

2 minutes ago, nitrosyncretic said:

Your statement 2 is all about superpowers. I'd suggest changing the statements up like this:

This assumes you need powers to fight crime

[Michael Hopcroft]

2 hours ago, nitrosyncretic said:

 

Here's what the rules say about Statement 2:

"This part says nothing about powers or superhero/villain material. It’s really tempting, but resist."

 

Your statement 2 is all about superpowers. I'd suggest changing the statements up like this:

 

1. Powers are colorful and fun.

 

2. Celebrity careers live or die in front of and behind the cameras in Hollywood.

 

See how the second statement could be about non super activity? That's what you want for a second statement.

I like that a lot better than what I wrote down.

[Pariah]

On 4/25/2020 at 5:48 PM, unclevlad said:

They aren't contradictory at all;  I'd argue they're the reverse...they're highly overlapping.  It means supers go into it for fame, fortune, and sex...and probably don't realize the "target on their back" side for a while.  No, not all of em, but a lot.  Reminds me of Amazon's The Boys (dystopian interpretations of your 2 statements), Drew Hayes' Forging Hephaestus (for heroes, it's better to look good than to do good), and the West Coast teams in Marion Harmon's Wearing the Cape (who *are* celebrities, with TV and/or movie deals).

 

"Mystery Men" (Captain Amazing, specifically) is the first thing that came to my mind.

[Pariah]

1. Coma patients are waking up with superpowers, and nobody knows why.

 

2. It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

[Brian Eye]

Ok, the power statement that keeps coming to mind for me is the classic "With great power comes great responsibility". Not sure about my problem / setting statement yet.