jkwleisemann

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? Actually, thinking it over a bit, I do prefer the First Emperor's "return," but it's a more recent event, to the tune of it being an event that takes place shortly after the beginning of the campaign. On the other hand, there's another fairly major country with a population large enough to support at least one Omega and several Class A's - India. Also having a history of being several divided provinces, and one that wasn't at all united until after it was colonized, the introduction of metahumans would be far more likely to fracture it into warring factions and states. Africa probably has several nations ruled by metahuman 'strong men,' and several others effectively ruled by mentalists (native or otherwise). However, at the risk of stereotyping and for the sake of introducing the sort of thing that the comics tend to enjoy so much, I think it would be downright mandatory to have some isolated valleys in the Congo ruled over by tribal witch doctors and/or meta-apes.

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? Mmm... I'm not sure if I'd want to go with that, or go with my Remnants of Hope option, having China dominated by somebody convinced he's the reincarnation of the First Emperor of China (let's face it - if you're looking for distinctive automaton soldiers, y'can't beat the giant army of terra cotta soldiers....)

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? Mentioned that for a few of them - I haven't gone into detail on any country but Wallachia. However, if anybody's interested in coming up with some others, I'm good for considering them.

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? Cool - thanks for the heads up on that one. I poked through A More Perfect Union, but it wasn't all I'd hoped for there.

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? I've been looking at Paragons... worth it, you think?

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? More Known Individuals of the Wormwood Fallen universe: The Middleman While super-tech is available, it's not always easy to *find* on WF Earth. Further, meta-powered mercenaries (and the mundane sort) need a network to find employers they can trust, and crooks need ways to dispose of their ill-gotten gains. Enter the Middleman. The Middleman is a mystery man with a network of contacts and resources that boggles the mind. He sells anything, fences anything, and has only one rule; if you use his resources to kill, you will go to prison for it. More than one meta has been sent to jail on evidence anonymously delivered by one of the Middleman's agents. However, among those who also don't want to kill, he remains practically the gold-standard of fixers... and has actually supplied more than one gadget-based superhero over the last couple of years.

Re: Zamjza, Alien Mentalist I'll have to take a look at that. I don't think mine offered that option, but I could remember wrong.

Re: Zamjza, Alien Mentalist It's 2 - Human and Animal. Normally, only affects one, but HD doesn't allow you to *specify* the "additional" when you buy it, so I listed 'em both in the box for one. It proceeded to list it as 'human, animal, and additional' when it should basically be 'human and additional: Animal"

Re: Zamjza, Alien Mentalist Re: Bloodstone's comment. His telekinetic abilities are far more 'gross' telekinesis than even the general manipulation of the baseline power; he can hurl things, he can stop attacks cold, but moving things around and gripping things isn't his forte yet.

Re: Zamjza, Alien Mentalist Uhm... yes. The character informed me that I was using the wrong ones after I'd finished writing them, and I missed some while doing the fix.

Re: Idea: Super Hero "Morality scale" Oh, I agree that the *execution* usually leaves something to be desired. For example, while I like the idea of exploring the theme, the Authority as it stands leaves me dead cold. I agree with you that it's not a different question just because you have superpowers. Superpowers simply give you more options to pull it off. In fantasy, for example, killing is expected and most of your combat is faceless, so who really cares? Superhero games, that's the case far less often. Changing the example to overcome the weaknesses pointed out with the brick answering that question, what about the super-mentalist? He can take supervillains and turn them into productive members of society at the drop of a hat. So, is it right to do so...? Granted, all of these can be handled poorly, or with the deck stacked against the characters... though, to a certain extent, stacking the deck to at least *tempt* them strongly should be expected with something like this. They shouldn't be punished for making the 'wrong' choice, though bad things *can* still come of it; you've got no valid debate/argument when there's only one 'right' choice. That's where it gets tricky to handle. Obviously, the players need to be in on it from the get-go.

Re: Idea: Super Hero "Morality scale" However, let's take a look at it as it *would* tend to apply in a superhero world. You're tooling around the city with the power to lift skyscrapers and suck down tank shells with impunity. You've been stopping crimes as they happen, non-violently, but keep seeing crooks get away with it. Now, there's an outcry against crime for whatever reason... something's happened, something horrible, that you could stop. Better yet, that you could stop for good. Let's say that the Joker gets out, and that he's going to murder another couple dozen people before being caught again... but you can 'accidentally' kill him while you're trying to capture him. All it would take is bending your morals that one little bit... and he deserves it, doesn't he? Would you be willing to take that little step, and if you do, how far would you go to make the world a better place? When have you gone too far in trying to improve the world? To me, that's a perfectly valid theme for a game, and one I'd love to get a chance to play in some time.

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? The Ravagers: The Ravagers are a team of vandals and burglars, for the most part. Each member of the team is also known as the 'breaker' of some particular aspect of life/civilization. It is unclear if the Ravagers are led by some outside force, but Breakdown tends to lead the group in battle. Their apparent philosophy seems to be somewhere between "The world is going to Hell, let's enjoy the ride," and "The world is going to Hell – let's get in the driver's seat and really show people how to get there!" 1. Breakdown, Class D Energy Projector. Capable of violating the laws of physics, apparently causing reality itself to break down. The Breaker of Laws. 2. Azazel, Class D Mage. Claims to be part demonic; capable of a wide variety of magical effects and abilities. The Breaker of Souls 3. Rebel Yell, Class D Energy Manipulator. Anarchist who loathes the government and authority figures; often vies with Breakdown for control of the group (and over Jailbait). The Breaker of Nations 4. Jailbait, Class E Mentalist. Consummate blackmailer and seductress. The Breaker of Hearts 5. Cracker, Class E Brick. Hulking monster of a man who loves the sound of breaking bone (hence his code name). The Breaker of Men

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? Vulnerability: One of the obvious factors that has to be considered in this campaign is that it should be possible to threaten heroes with regular weaponry and artillery... but not to wipe them out with a standard attack. With the idea of making the metahumans more human, I propose the following change: Campaign Guidelines (assuming Class D characters): Max DC: 10 CV: 6-8 Defenses: 20/6r Characteristics: 30 (50 for STR) Skills: 15-, recc 20-30 points. SPD: 5 Movement powers: 8-12" Active Points: 50 Characters may exceed the standard guidelines in one area for free, with GM permission to determine how high they actually go. For example, a Brick can have a STR 60, or Defenses that go above 6 rPD. However, at least at the start of the game, only one area can be exceeded... for free. NEW PERK: Well Rounded Excess The character can exceed campaign guidelines in one additional area for every level of this Perk purchased. Cost: 5 points/level. This should keep *most* characters from bouncing bullets all the time, but also keep them from sitting through most combats in Con Stun status... and the lower CV levels also mean that your typical Agent can actually *hit* once in a while.

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? More about the Hikarsi (and one of their refugees) can be found here. http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1541751#post1541751

Re: DARK Characters? Hardly abnormal - I've got several characters with twists like that pending, and I've seen it a couple times in games. Of course, I'd want to keep the character and play the dark side version too, but then, I'm weird that way. It's certainly a staple of the comics, it's just a little harder to pull off in-game without ruffling feathers.

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? Aliens of the Wormwood Fallen Universe: Lupinal Confederation The Lupinal Confederation is one of the most inappropriately named organizations in the galaxy. More of an empire, the Lupinals have been forging 'alliances' at blaster point for centuries, seeking to unite the galaxy under the auspices of what they call the Great Pack. The Confederation is a strict hierarchy; the Lupinals and their worlds stand above all others, and each species has its own rank. Species of the Confederation: Lupinals Humanoid wolves, the Lupinals are the Confederation in microcosm. Their Alphas are the only individuals given names, all others take titles earned in relation to their Pack's alpha (for example, Confederation Whiterock Lancer Fourth Brigade Whitefang's Lover's Gamma). They have developed all manner of advanced technologies, including the Mjolnir Battle Armor - armor capable of FTL travel, basically a battlesuit-sized starfighter. Leshar Humanoid felines, the Leshar are a caste-based society, one of the few that gets along well with the Lupinals. While they aren't overly fond of their new leaders, the Lupinals have grudingly conceded that they are among the best species in the galaxy besides them, largely because they accept order well. Their caste is far more race-based than the Lupinal's, which is based on skill and prowess instead. Hikarsi: The Hikarsi are a splinter species of the Lupinals, more like Huskies than Wolves, and universally psychic to some extent. They were enslaved by the Empire, like all psychic species the Lupinals encounter (they have a deep-seated fear of mentalists.) The Greys The Greys are a species out of time; little is known about them, except that they are steadfast foes of the Lupinal Confederation, and have a distinct interest in the Earth. Many of them have time-manipulation technologies, and a variety of superpowers. Yue-ei The Yue-ei are a species that has been infiltrating Earth for the last several years. First arriving on the planet after Wormwood appeared, they remain secretive, searching out fragments of the asteroid. Looking like nothing so much as a large mass of roiling tentacles, the Yue-ei seem obsessed with finding what remains of it... but for what purpose, not even the few people who know of their existence know.

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? Colton, WI: Population: 400,000 Class F Population: Approximately 3600. Class E Population: Approximately 400. Class D Population: Approximately 40. Class C and higher individuals are generally only transitory; they prefer larger cities like Milwaukee, Chicago, and New York. But why the above-average Class D population? That's got to do with three things: 1 - Du Bey Industries. Once based out of New Orleans, Du Bey Industries shifted to its midwest office after Hurricane Katrina. This led to a massive influx of capital - and metahumans - to Colton. Where once it had been a dying mining town, it was now the headquarters of an international firm that rivals companies like Microsoft. The reason that Dominic DuBey moved up to Colton is unclear, but he claims it has to do with the recent improvements in the local bio-tech industry, combined with a desire to see Colton pumped up, rather than Milwaukee or Madison. Because of this, Colton has recently become a startlingly modern city, surrounding a core of old-fasioned rural ornriness... a combination that has something for everybody, even if it's something rather odd. 2 - Colton High North. One of the country's first schools to established a meta-program, CHN's meta-education has been in existence since shortly after Wallachia was 'liberated.' While it started out teaching people - children and otherwise - to control their abilities, it has since graduated to meta-law courses and training superheroes. The Colton Capes were chosen as the school's new mascot following 9/11, and remain one of the most popular meta-league teen teams in the country. The school also backs an official 'superhero team' of the same name, composed of 6 Class E students 'elected' by the student body every year. Of course, not all the students become heroes... the Ravagers are a team of high-school students who revel in their meta-abilities and using them for personal gain. They have yet to be captured by law-enforcement, generally thanks to being relatively subtle about their crimes. 3 - The AHMT. AHMT headquarters is based out of Colton; while Ray Tanner's son was arrested in Madison, Ray himself lived in the old mining town. While he admits that DBI - a company that flagrantly uses metahumans - has done good things for Colton, he maintains his position that they aren't necessary... and some metahumans have gravitated to Colton as a result, either because they want to take part in their research, or under the theory of keeping your friends close, and your enemies closer. Recently, DBI has received permission from city and state officials to fund a super-team of their own, the Colton Protectors. The Protectors will consist of a small number of Class D or higher meta-humans, who will be sanctioned and operate with state and local backing. DBI's input will primarily be in providing a base and funding, not oversight (though only an idiot doesn't think that Dominic DuBey isn't going to be keeping a *very* close eye on this project). Their primary function will be to keep meta-crime under control, particularly the Ravagers, though they will assist police with normal crime as well, and serve as public representatives.

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? New Stuff for Normals: Police Blaster: 15: 30 pt MPower, OAF (Blaster), 8 Charges in 4 separate power cells. 1u: 6d6 Energy Blast, Stun Only 1u: 2d6 RKA Typically used in Stun mode; RKA mode is for use against automatons, vehicles, and similar structures. Power Neutralization Cuffs: From Gadgets & Gear Police Issue Body Armor: 10: 5 rPD/5 rED Armor, OIF. Anti-Meta Issue Gear: 1.5 times active points of Police Issue gear. Regulator Gear: 2x active points of Police Issue gear. Standard Psi-Scrambler: 4: 5 points MD, IAF (Special: Considered normal technology.) High Grade Psi-Scrambler: 8: 10 points MD, IAF Bodyguard Psi-Scrambler: 12: 15 points MD, IAF Typically used by Secret Service agents, bodyguards, and other people in trusted positions who can't risk being dominated by any two-bit mentalist out there. Further posts are likely to be focused on Colton, WI, my favorite campaign city.

The AHMT Ray Tanner: The Man, the Myth, the Martyr-to-be.... Ray Tanner is a bitter, bitter man. He sees the rise of superhumans as a threat to 'normal, law-abiding citizens'; he's just a little scared of people who can drop-kick a car half-way to Tunisia... just like a lot of people. The fact that his now-disowned son was the first man captured by a superhero doesn't help, though it didn't start him feeling like that. What he *does* have is a knack for making people listen to him; trained in public speaking, with a commanding vocal presence, he has started the Association of Humans against Metahuman Threats. His hatred of metahumans has only become stronger the more he's been reinforced; the more people have flocked to his side, yet been largely ignored, the harder he's gotten. That some supervillains (and heroes) have taken to hazing their rallies and speeches doesn't help either. Under Ray's leadership, the AHMT is beginning to earn a certain amount of political clout. With their researchers and their development of the Psi-Scrambler and Power Neutralization Gauntlets, they've earned a small fortune in royalties and sales, even selling at the incredibly low prices they've chosen to. Enough money to begin funding the Regulators. The Regulators are the militant wing of the AHMT. Using super-technology (primarily high-end blasters and armor), they try to demonstrate that normal people don't *need* metahumans to protect themselves. However, they've accomplished little so far; their use of high-end tech and their tendency towards a particularly rabid anti-meta membership has combined to undercut their message. More interesting, to most of the public, is the AHMT's ongoing study of the nature of metahumans. They were the first to discover the radiation that seems to cause metahuman abilities, though they haven't identified it entirely. They were also among the first to begin classifying metahumans. The AHMT Classification and Game Terminology.... Class F: Highly trained and hyper-competent individuals who operate at super-human levels. However, they rarely have inhuman abilities. Includes some individuals who are not truly metahuman, but merely exceptionally well trained. (.9% of the general population, 75+75 points) Class E: Individuals with meta-abilities that cannot be replicated without technology. Includes many young metahumans whose abilities have not fully developed; a Class E rating does not necessarily mean any less dangerous than a Class D, just less mature (.099%, 100+100) Class D: Individuals with metahuman abilities and some degree of control over them, often to the point of being able to use them in combat as well as in normal, everyday life. The vast majority of 'superheroes' and 'supervillains' are Class D individuals. (including the PC's, .0009%, 200+150) Class C: Metahumans with abiltiies that often place them beyond the reach of typical police forces. Anti-meta units and Regulator forces recommended for tactical response. (.00009%, 350+150) Class B: Individuals possessing abilities that place them among the top one-millionth of the population. High-powered metahumans often capable of facing entire 'meta-teams' single-handedly. Recommend overwhelming Regulator response; appearance of a Class B metahuman hostile warrants activation of all Regulators in the city. (.000009%, 500+150) Class A: Individuals possessing abilities that allow them to pose a massive threat to a large (nation or state-sized) region. Appearance of a Class A individual warrants activation of all Regulators in the region, and sending word to all others. Regulators should focus on damage control more than pacification. (.0000009%, 750+150) Omega Class: Individuals capable not only of posing a massve threat to a large scale, but possessing potentially world-altering abilities and resources. Only a handful of these people are believed to exist; example, Viktor Dracula. At this point, generally beyond the reach of Regulators. (.0000001% - one in a billion individuals, 1000+ points)

Re: Help with a fight at 2000 feet I might be wrong, but I think 2000 feet is actually below the pressurization zone, isn't it?

Re: Leech's Reversion Get him his *old* job back? Heh - no thanks, that's what got him into this problem in the first place. What super-team couldn't use a good chauffeur though...?

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? Looks interesting... though I admit, I prefer keeping the super-tech and mentalists around, if slightly limited. It allows for a more interesting set of changes to the world... and, at the same time, a more comic-book/cartoon world in some ways. For example, in Wormwood Fallen, standard US police forces use blasters, rather than guns. Easier to use, more effective against metas - and they default to a Stun Only mode, reducing the risk of killing a target. For today's notes, until my ride gets here.... Tidbits/Secrets - spoilers abound, obviously:

Re: Leech's Reversion Void: Get this boy to a shrink and get Darkchilde on the trail of the joker who pulled this one. Ought to be some sort of mystical residue there to follow, even after this long - it's not like creating the Leech is something you do for a birthday party gig.

Re: A 'realistic' supers world? For the sake of the exercise, and using some of the things mentioned here, working on a new world. Title: Wormwood Fallen. Background as it is so far: World Notes: Wormwood Fallen For use with the notes from the 'realistic supers world' thread. Origin of superpowers: Cascading origin. In 1997, a large asteroid approached Earth, thrown off of Hale-Bopp. While it was shot down, it was not destroyed. Instead, trillions of tiny fragments rained down over Earth for days. Still, the vast majority of them, with a handful of exceptions, were so small that they all burned up in the atmosphere. Everybody thought that a threat to the Earth had been averted, and went on with their lives. Then, the first superpowers began to develop. It began to happen all around the world... it was almost as if some strange mutagen had been released into the atmosphere, and humanity had begun to change. For some it was practically nothing; they became slightly stronger, faster than the human norm, but no big deal. For others, it was more obvious - for example, Viktor Koslov, a young man of Romanian descent whose family had been ruined by the Soviets and the ensuing chaos after its fall. He was one of the first Omega-class individuals to manifest metahuman abilities; in 1999 he used incredible new technology that he had developed against the Romanian military and 'liberated' a small portion of Romania, took the title of Viktor Dracula, and established himself as the new King of Wallachia, ruling from the ancient remains of Castle Dracula. He has since held Wallachia against all comers, nearly single-handedly, though he has been prevented from spreading his territory by the combined threat of the metahumans in his neighboring countries. Others were less impressive... indeed, it seemed that only a handful of people, perhaps one in a billion, had the potential to match Viktor Dracula's power. It was amazing enough though... people who could lift buildings, people who could control fire or run faster than most cars, crackpot scientists whose pet theories were suddenly beginning to come true. In 2000, the US passed the Metahuman Registration Act; while it didn't make having metahuman abilities illegal, it did make using them in public an offense punishable by a small fine if you weren't licensed. Obtaining a license was simple enough; a $25 fee every time you renewed your state ID or driver's license, listing your powers and demonstrating that you actually had them, and you got the tag on your new license. While some objected that it was a violation of their privacy, the fact that simply *having* powers didn't require you to be licensed silenced most objectors... especially since it wasn't half as bad as in China, where being a metahuman meant being drafted for the People's Army. It helped, encouraging some people to step forward and admit to their abilities, in exchange for being able to use them freely, and encouraging some crooks to refrain from using their powers, for fear of getting nailed hard during sentencing. It didn't stop them all though. Anti-meta strike forces were developed by most city police departments, though how well armed and equipped they were varied. Metahumans and people against them alike began to agitate against or for the registration act, and its continued implementation. The world seemed to be going insane.... Then, perhaps fortunately, somebody a little bit crazier than everybody else showed up in Madison. A man with superhuman strength and durability, Mark Tanner, went in to rob a bank. He started out with thousands of dollars in illicit gains, only bothering to block shots that risked hitting the ski mask hiding his face. Nobody could stop him.... Until a man who called himself Promethean appeared. He was wearing a bright spandex costume, orange and red with a flame pattern, and he projected a wall of flame around Tanner, holding him there until the police could arrive with the anti-meta-human task force. They weren't sure what to make of the strangely dressed man, and were about to try taking him into custody as well... until he stood down peacefully. The world's first superhero had shown up. Some metas had used their powers for good causes, of course... whether their own enrichment, taking part in slowly burgeoning metahuman sports leagues to entertain the masses, or simply for charity work, people had learned over the last few years that metas were good as well as bad. But nobody had yet shown up in a costume, wearing a mask, fighting against crime... particularly the metahuman crime that was increasingly common. Who got their hands on metahuman powers was rarely decided by anything but pure chance, and a disturbing number of people seemed to think that the ability to rip open a bank vault with their bare hands gave them the right to do so. Now though, there was somebody fighting them... somebody the press could point at and treat like a celebrity, since he didn't hide. And somebody law enforcement could work with, since he actually *offered* to help them, and even to become an authorized deputy so he could do so properly. Others began to follow in Promethean's example, on both sides of the law. Supervillains followed shortly on the heels of superheroes, though they'd been around since day one. Superheroes began to work together; Promethean was joined by Justiciar, a blind woman who'd been working as a vigilante in Chicago, and Johnny Dragon, a former MMA fighter whose abilities had disqualified him after they manifested... though they hadn't disqualified him from working in Hollywood. Elsewhere in the country, Glenn Diamond and the Riding Sixguns, a seven-man band, revealed that they all had metahuman abilities to one extent or another, travelling the country and world as a superpowered band that took it upon themselves to stop the criminals they sometimes came across. Companies began to spring up all around the world, some of them employing supers, others just using their technology. One of them, Corwell Robotics, developed a popular line of security robots... and an android whose brain was more advanced than anything seen before, Lacie 1, who joined Promethean in Madison. None of this sat well with anti-meta groups. They came together under the guidance of Raymond Tanner, Mark's father, who had disowned his son for being a meta-criminal and founded the Association of Humans against Metahuman Threats, the AHMT. They lobbied against metahumans, and began researching the source of metapowers, with the hopes of finding a way to neutralize them for those who wanted to return to normal. They are gaining political clout, particularly from victims of meta-crimes... and particularly in the days after a mass series of tragedies. SPOILER TAGS BECAUSE: The following addresses a proposed alternate timeline for this world surrounding the events of 9/11. Events have been modified as little as possible, with some notable exceptions for the fact that this is a world in which metahumans can, and would have, responded or been involved. I'm quite willing to drop it if folks feel that's best, but it strikes me as something a little difficult to excise from the world's history, and strange that it wouldn't have happened somewhat differently in such a world. Before you suggest dropping it though, I'd suggest reading what my thoughts are... just putting them behind the tags for those who'd like a little, y'know, warning first? It didn't take long for the rest of the world to figure out that a mentalist had been involved; the exact chain of events had been far too bizarre for many other explanations. The AHMT announced that their scientists had made a discovery; an insight into the nature of metapowers, and psi-powers in particular. While they couldn't negate somebody's metapowers permanently, they had discovered a way to interfere with them... and with psi-powers especially. The psi-scrambler, as it was called, was an instant hit. Soon, practically everybody had one (game effect: 3 points MD bought IAF is a standard ability, considered Real World Technology.) Power-neutralizing cuffs were available to the police, though they didn't work as well as the psi-scrambers were. Still... the sacrifice of some of the country's most popular heroes didn't go unheeded. While the tragedy could have led to the AHMT turning an entire nation to its line of thought, if not much of the world, instead it only underscored what people had known for four years now... that metahumans, just like regular ones, were capable of great evil, as well as great good. History has passed, over the last 7 years following that, much as it has in the real world. A young, charismatic congressman named Jefferson Smith took Bush's place as president in an emergency election held after the Supreme Court realized that all people Constitutionally delegated to take the office had been assassinated. He is a popular figure, but not only has he suffered from the nature of his rising to power, but from an unpopular war started because of (widely considered) mis-interpreted intelligence, the civil-rights backlash following 9/11, and economic panic and hardship brought on by a double-blow of tragedy and irresponsible investment decisions. Now, in an election year, there's some rumblings about the possibilities of the United States electing its first female or black President... or, just possibly, its first metahuman President, in the person of (original) Gulf War veteran Colonel Saul Johnson, better known to the public as Minuteman, the country's first flagsuit. And yet, there are other concerns still out there... Viktor Dracula wasn't the only metahuman to conquer a small nation, and some normal human dictators have taken on their own metahuman enforcers. There are more criminals out there, metahuman and otherwise. And nobody *does* know what happened to that largest piece of Wormwood... just yet.