Doctor Lorthos

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions wrestlinggeek Hehe, thanks! Manic Typist A little of both. I was trying to think of a good name for the organization that sounded like the usual alphabet-goverment thing, and came up with that one. Then I realized what the initials were and laughed at myself. I guess it was a subconcious idea. Susano That's a really good idea. I've been planning to set up a website that will keep up with campaign information and maybe an NPC blog for the players to read. I'll crank everything down into a PDF and stick it on there too. Remjin Thanks, I was definitely influenced by the Wild Cards series, it's my favorite superhero fiction. Mainly I just used their "realistic-gritty" tone and the whole Joker concept, which I figure is fairly realistic in this case. If superpowered people are the result of natural evolution, then there should be genetic abberations as well, if I understand my biology properly. Currently in the game I'm not using the so-called "Altered Hero" origin, because in the real world radiation just gives you cancer and being hit by a bolt of lightning while standing next to a rack of chemicals gets you third degree burns instead of super-speed, heh. Setting things in Hudson City was a no-brainer, cause I love the place, and I just bought the new book. And yeah, if anyone wants to use any part of this for their own campaign, please do and enjoy. TheQuestionMan Sure! I'll be writing up the ground rules for the campaign soon, and when I set up the game website I'll post the URL here. This is kind of a writing exercise for me anyhow, I'm trying to write more often this year and maybe find a way to develop this into a career. Remjin "How can you have your pudding if you can't eat your meat?"

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions Whew, I got sucked into Marvel, Ultimate Alliance. But I managed to defeat it and crank out the last chapter of the gameworld background. “They wear masks to hide identities, dark clothing to keep to the shadows, body armor to stay alive. And weapons, yes, lots of weapons. They have names like creatures of myth, gods of old - The Skull, Raven, the Detective, the Harbinger of Justice. Legends follow in their wake like ghosts follow murders. To some, they’re heroes, to others, criminals. In Hudson City, we call them Vigilantes.” ~Quote from I, Vigilante, by Jack Lau "Masks. We all wear them, if we are wise, we wear them on our faces." ~Anonymous At the beginning of 2017, President Graystone makes good on his campaign promises and passes The Genetic Registration and Paranormal Act Amendment, which changes and broadens the scope of his original Act. Under the new guidelines, anyone defined as “paranormal” is ranked into one of three power-level classifications and required to follow new federal guidelines. The new Act also expands the scope and power of the Metahuman Intelligence Bureau, setting aside federal funds to build and staff “Assessment Centers”, which will serve to interview, test, and track Metahumans as well as assisting the local law enforcement in their capture and retention, if necessary. Opponents of the Act are quick to point out the vagueness of its descriptions of paranormals, which have been changed to refer to any individual expressing abilities or talents beyond normal. Also troubling is that several provisions of the new Act are classified from public knowledge by virtue of “national security.” Under the new rules, paranormals are classified into Alpha, Beta, or Gamma groups based on their level of ability, as determined by scientists working with MIB using classified testing methods. Classification decides the level of monitoring necessary, and some say, the amount of human rights you lose. The first Assessment Center is slated for Hudson City on a fast track for completion in late 2017. In Hudson City itself, the anniversary of the Freaktown riots passes peacefully on MLK day in January. Mayor Umstead gives all due credit to the men and women of the HCPD, who maintained a high police presence in Freetown, but the media gives credit to Reverend Isaiah Thomas, a severely disfigured genefreak minister in Freetown who manages to broker a truce agreement between the Demons leader and the crippled remains of the formerly two most powerful gangs, the Nubians and Overlords. Reverend Thomas, pastor of the newly formed First Church of The Twisted Disciple, is hailed as a peace bringer and community leader. On February 2nd, 2017, and event occurs which will change the perception of Metahumans again. A television crew for CNN, with reporter Shane Wilson, in the Latin City section of Hudson to shoot footage for an upcoming special on Hispanic inner-city culture, is caught in the middle of a sudden and brutal firefight between rival gangs. With cameras rolling, a large man in a black long coat, wearing a mask with a white skull painted on its face, rescues the journalist and cameraman. He is videotaped being shot multiple times before diving into the midst of a group of assailants. In a brief and frantic melee, five heavily armed gang members are beaten unconscious, the rest flee the scene. As he approaches the news team, several large wounds can be seen very visibly healing on the skull-faced man. The following conversation is a transcript from the CNN footage: Skull: “Are you ok? Is anyone hurt?” Wilson: (frantic) “Oh (bleep)! You’re bleeding! You were (bleep) shot!” Skull: “It’ll heal. Is your crew ok?” Wilson: “Uh, yes, yes, I think so. What is your name, how did you do that?” Skull: “Names not important. If I was you people, I’d get the hell out of here, this place ain’t safe for gringos at night.” (He turns to walk away) Wilson: “Hold on! Who are you? Why did you do that? Why did you jump in there like that?” Skull: “Because if we don’t do it, nobody will.” (He walks into the shadow of an alleyway and, on the CNN video, appears to literally melt into the darkness, disappearing from the tape.) Wilson: (shouting) “Wait! What do you mean? Who are 'we?'” Voice from the shadows: (distant) “Heroes.” CNN airs the footage with a host of special expert commentary the next night, to huge ratings. Mayor Umstead, interviewed live from Hudson City, speaks at length on the subject, promising a full investigation. When asked if his city has a problem with “masked vigilantes” the Mayor responds with a denial of any sort of history or problem with this sort of thing. His words immediately come to haunt him as a book about the history of Hudson City vigilantism - little known until being brought into national attention by the CNN story - rockets to the top of the bestseller charts. I, Vigilante is written by Hudson resident and vigilante aficionado Jack Lau and details the history of “men and women of action” locally dating back to the founding of the city. Lau describes the presence of such people in city history as evidence of a “dirty secret, brought into being by the rampant corruption of police and politicians historically.” The Mayor responds to criticism by forming the AVTF, or Anti-Vigilantism Task Force. Composed of dedicated detectives with support from the Metahuman Intelligence Bureau, the Task Force’s job is to investigate any instances of Vigilante activity and find out the perpetrators, with the aim being their prosecution. Reaction from the public is mixed, but there seems to be a strong underground current of support for vigilantes citywide. As Lau puts it in an interview with local news, “The police and emergency workers do it every day, of course, protecting and rescuing the people. But my research has led me to believe that there have been some events so extreme, so incredible, that the only thing that stood between our city and total destruction was a handful of extraordinary souls. They are our Heroes. And if some of them wear masks, so be it.” It is shortly after these events, that our campaign begins.

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions "National Guard and the cops, man, they was poppin' on anything that moved, see. We was just lookin' out for our own by that time. I know we freaks man, but we ain't all with the Demons, damn." ~"Mister Lizard" - Freetown resident "It was bad in Freaktown, no lie. I was in a squad of about 5 guys; gang fighting cut us off from our unit. It was like Iraq all over again, people shooting, stuff blowing up. And right at the worst of it, the whole city went black, and I thought, 'Well, that's it, we're all dead now.'" ~Private 1st Class Justin Dunnbar, National Guard January 17, 2016: After two nights of looting and rioting, Hudson City seems to be returning to normal. Police from New York and New Jersey arrive to support the beleaguered HCPD and National Guard troops are beginning to reestablish order in the worst parts of the slums. The city, torn by violence, is slowly quieting down. But the worst was yet to come. At exactly 11:56pm, all local cable and broadcast channels are overridden by a pirate signal. A masked figure, speaking from an undetermined location, identifies himself as "Jericho" and claims to be the leader of a "group of new humans" called the Metahuman Freedom Front. From his address: "I stand in the dawn of a new age. Humanity as you know it is outmoded, outdated, and out-evolved. No longer will the persecution of Metahuman or Genefreak be tolerated. For every one of us you lock up, we will destroy five of you, for every one of us you kill, ten. Our mission will see the Metahuman elevated to a rightful place as leaders of humanity, and we shall usher in an age of glory. The evolution of genetics has made this destiny inevitable. Resist and be swept aside. Good-bye humanity, your long dark night has just begun." At 11:59:00, multiple thunderous explosions rock the city. Three main power stations are destroyed in the blasts, and the resulting power surge cascades an overload through the remaining grid, blacking out the entire Hudson City Metro area and several outlying suburbs. Pandemonium results as in several sections of the city citizens already on edge about the "Genefreak Riots" in Freetown assume the worst and by sunrise on the 18th, chaos and fires spread throughout the city. Gangs use the opportunity to commit massive looting sprees and police forces, concentrated in Freetown, are unable to respond quickly or decisively to this widespread threat. Mayor Umstead appeals to the President for regular troops to assist in maintaining order and declares an immediate curfew for all unauthorized citizens. With communication lines mostly down and violence spreading all through the city, police and National Guard units are immobilized and cut off from support. At some point in the madness, two of the three National Guard armories in the city are overrun and looted. Small groups of citizens, reminiscent of the lynch mobs of the first SAGS outbreak of 2012, form in some neighborhoods but are more often than not the source of more violence or looting, particularly directed toward minorities and Genefreaks. It takes three more days and a battalion of Marines to restore order, and up to two weeks in some areas of the city to restore power. Over a hundred people die in the riots and rough estimates have nearly a thousand injured, most in or around the Freetown area. On the national level, the MFF is immediately moved to the FBI's number one most wanted and the President declares a Congressional investigation into the events surrounding the riots. Senator Caleb Graystone reintroduces his Genetic Registration Act in a special session of Congress, with additional provisions for tracking Genefreaks and recommendations on the establishment of a national group to deal with Metahumans. With popular support showing favor in the polls, the Act passes with relatively little dissent from the House and Senate, and is signed into law in the following months. The Act creates a new federal bureau, the Metahuman Intelligence Bureau, as a branch of Homeland Security charged with documenting, tracking, and regulating Metahumans and other "Genetically Altered Individuals." Regulations in the act require all persons exhibiting abilities defined as "paranormal" or to be registered by fingerprint identification, background check, and DNA sampling, at local, state, and federal levels. People designated Metahuman are further required to submit to regular "monitoring" visits by agents of MIB and may be further required to wear special locator bracelets depending on their evident power level. The genetically altered (PC for Genefreak) must be registered with local authorities and are required to carry identification cards at all times and present them to authorities if questioned. Penalties for failing to comply with these regulations range from fines to jail time in maximum-security facilities. The ACLU, MOM, and worldwide civil rights organizations blast the bill as an insult to human rights, but have little success challenging it in court. In November of 2016, promising solutions to "the metahuman problem" and riding a surprising landslide of popular support, Senator Graystone is elected the 45th President of The United States of America. But as 2017 dawns it becomes apparent that this is a problem not so easily solved.

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions Thank for the comment folks, I'm glad you are enjoying this, it's fun to write it. Next chapter to be posted a bit later, but for now:

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions Hmm, that's odd. I've tried posting the gameworld background, but it informs me a moderator has to ok the post... however these shorter posts are ok... very odd.

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions “Look, every man has his demons, and I think the Detective may have more than most. He went through a lot and I think he ought to be left alone. I don’t know where he is and I don’t want to know.” ~Frank Keaton, Nightline interview 2015: The circumstances surrounding the Stewart River Murders draw international media attention. Reporter Frank Keaton makes the rounds of news and talk shows, commenting on his inside view of the case. Of Thomas Black, the Detective, Keaton will only say very little, insisting that the man has been through enough. Although sought for a time after the finding of the Slasher’s body, Black is only seen once, by a small local news crew outside of a dingy hourly motel. Yelling that he wants to be left alone, Black hurls a partially empty bottle of liquor at the news crew, climbs into a beat up sedan and speeds away. He does not reappear in the public eye. Keaton would later sell the movie rights to his book. Although hated by critics, Black Detective Red Slasher is the highest grossing box office film of 2016. The subject of Metahumans and the dangers they may or may not pose to society is hotly debated in the media. In November of 2015, Senator Caleb Graystone (R - New Jersey) proposes a bill, called the Genetic Registration Act, which will call for the required registration of all people with “metahuman or so-called paranormal ability.” If passed, anyone classed as a Meta would be legally obligated to submit to screening, DNA and fingerprint identification, and constant monitoring by agents at the state and federal level. The ACLU and the recently formed MOM (Mothers of Metahumans) immediately decry the bill, particularly its vague wording about what constitutes “paranormal” and what types of penalties could be levied against those who refuse to register. In a fiery speech on the floor of the senate, Graystone declares that the world has entered a new age, and that new and drastic measures must be taken to protect “normal people.” From his speech: “If indeed, we are at the cusp of a new era, as I believe we are, steps must be taken to insure our security, our survival. The genetically altered may already be able to escape our physical laws, but they must not escape our societal laws. Let it be known that I am opposed to the government’s interference in or monitoring of the lives of its citizenry, but I feel with these ‘new humans’ we must make an exception. If we err, we must err on the side of caution. We must act now to protect our way of life and the future of our children. Thank you.” Senator Graystone’s speech receives enormous support from conservatives and even some moderates. Democrats in the Senate speak out against the bill and the Senator, with one Representative going so far as to call the bill “paranoid and borderline racist.” Pundits note that Graystone is a serious front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2016, and this may be simple grandstanding to gather public notice prior to his presidential bid. Polls show the American public split almost evenly on the bill, but that Senator Graystone’s popularity is rising, particularly in Middle America. The Registration Act is pushed through quickly, but defeated by a close margin. Speaking after the defeat, Graystone warns of possibly terrible consequences if the “Metahuman Question” goes too long unanswered. 2016: In the last five years more and more people with Aberrant Genetic Syndrome have migrated to Hudson City to take advantage of the New Hope Research Clinic’s trials and studies. The dangerous and dismal streets of Freetown have become, in a way, haven for the genetically challenged, with several small neighborhoods being almost entirely composed of “genefreaks” and their families. Crime in these areas is down substantially, due in part to a strong Neighborhood Association of families with AGS and partially due to most Freetown residents’ desire to avoid genefreaks entirely. However, this fragile peace will not last. On January 15th, 2016, Freetown holds its annual King Day Festival at MLK Park. This is the first year that AGS families attend, by special invitation of the event organizers. The festivity carries on through the day with relatively few problems until nightfall. A minor altercation between members of the Nubians and the Overlords escalates to a street brawl, then to a gunfight. At this time a new gang in Freetown, identified as the “Demons,” decides to make a power play for itself by wiping out almost all of the other gangers present. Though severely outnumbered, the Demons are a gang of genefreaks. Many have special abilities that they use to viciously eliminate their opponents. The Nubians and Overlords present are killed outright, with the Demons sustaining no casualties. The gangs organize a retaliatory strike and by midnight Freetown is a warzone. Fires break out in the slum district know as "The Numbers" and quickly spread. HPCD riot police are called in and quickly overwhelmed. By dawn the next day, casualties are starting to mount up and the injured are flooding the hospitals. Mayor Umstead calls in the National Guard to restore order as the rioting threatens to spread citywide. Wild rumors circulate through the city and internet weblogs of horrible atrocities, many supposedly committed by the genefreaks, and media speculation is rampant, with more conservative commentators calling for the reopening of the containment camps used in the original 2012 outbreak of AGS. In the second day, looting and violence have spread to neighboring Forsyth and Riverside Hills and a state of emergency is declared. The National Guard are finally mobilized and as Stryker light armored vehicles roll through the streets of Hudson City, order seems to be returning. Unfortunately, this would not last.

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions Thanks, I have some more to post later.

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions 2015: Early in the year, the Hudson City Sun breaks a major story about an ongoing investigation into a series of horrible murders. Police hold a press conference that day and state they are seeking an individual who may be responsible for 6 murders in the last 4 months. All of the identified victims so far have been exotic dancers or prostitutes, with their mutilated bodies being pulled ashore along the river. Police urge the public to remain calm and be cautious, and Commissioner Alexander Ringwald promises stronger patrols on the Strip, a part of North Elmview known for sleazy strip clubs and prostitution. Reports leaked from the FBI and published in the Sun dub the suspect the “Stewart River Killer” for the location of all of the bodies to date. The Sun renames the killer “The Slasher” the next day when victim 7, a prostitute from the Strip named Mindy Lee, is found floating in the water off the shore of the Red Hill district. Proper newspapers such as the City News and Hudson City Daily Star-Gazette refuse this sensationalism, but the name catches on with the public. Investigators are unable to find any evidence, and as revealed much later, cannot determine the weapon used by the killer. Victims die from massive trauma due to laceration, but the weapon used does not match any known forensics. A tip leads police to a small dirty slum in Freetown where they find the murder scene. Mindy Lee was killed in public over the course of 27 minutes; no one called police or intervened. Residents interviewed reported seeing nothing, just hearing screams. Police take the originator of the tip, Thomas Black – a small time private eye and alcoholic, who had a relationship with Lee, in for questioning but he is later released. Black claims to have been passed out drunk at the time of the murder. Nothing is known about him at that time, but he will later play a major role in the investigation and what follows. Freelance reporter Frank Keaton begins his investigation at this time, which would eventually lead to his sensational best seller, Black Detective, Red Slasher; The Story of The Stewart River Murders, published a year after the events. From the book: What follows, from all reports, is a long and torturous game of cat and mouse as the police, FBI, and the Detective all hunt the Slasher from Hudson City’s seediest bars to its highest penthouses. The Slasher will eventually claim another two victims before being found on the floor of a multimillion-dollar apartment in Bankhurst. Police reporting to a disturbance call discover the body of young Jason Stratham, son of industrial shipping magnate Jonathan Stratham. Videodiscs found at the scene, along with evidence from a “confidential informant” (who later was revealed to be Keaton, with information supplied by the Detective) reveal Jason as the Stewart River Killer, and what is worse, as a metahuman with the ability to rend flesh, muscle, and bone with a simple touch of his hand. The Slasher’s death is listed as suicide, but what caused him to turn his powers on himself is unclear. Unconfirmed reports of a severed hand with fingerprints matching Thomas Black, as well as the words “FOR MINDY” being written on the wall in blood circulates through the press but all records of the investigation are sealed by court order the day after discovery of this evidence. Keaton’s book, however, make it clear that Black as the Detective was a Meta who worked to track down the killer and may have confronted him at the end. The case receives enormous national attention and is credited for creating a negative political climate for Metahumans as the public at large comes to realize that people with super powers can indeed be deadly. In the next two years, this idea would echo from the highest levels of government.

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions 2013: After 9 long and destructive months, the quarantine on Hudson City is lifted when the CDC and AMA declare SAGS to be a genetic mutation that is non-contagious. The public is slow to accept this idea, and many families with AGS find they are unable to return to previous homes and jobs due to prejudice. Freetown, a section of Hudson City originally built by freed slaves and home to the poorest of the city's poor, becomes a refuge of last resort for this new minority of genefreaks. The street quickly dubs this area of the city Freaktown. Mayor Daley publicly apologizes for the treatment of AGS sufferers during the quarantine and vows to begin an initiative that will bring top medical and scientific minds together to study the disease. It is estimated at this time that approximately .1% of the population is afflicted. Later that year, ground breaking ceremonies herald the building of The New Hope Clinic in Hudson City, with a stated mission of assisting the Genetically Challenged. In December, a very special episode of 60 Minutes causes national headlines when it features young suburban housewife Rosalyn Campbell who in front of the entire viewing audience makes a pot of water boil by staring at it. During the episode Rosalyn is subjected to medical analysis and several tests conducted in laboratories at the prestigious Carver Research Group, a Physical Sciences Laboratory in Hudson City. Researchers verify her ability to raise the base temperature of water (or other liquid) by up to 100 degrees by concentration alone, limited to a range of around ten feet. Tests further show heightened activity in Rosalyn's epithalamus, predominantly around her pineal gland. Lead researcher Dr. Michael Carver tentatively advances the idea of a psychic transfer of energy, psychokinesis, as a possible explanation, but admits they cannot conclusively state how this effect is achieved. Campbell is then introduced to James Randi, legendary psychic debunker, and submits to the James Randi Educational Foundation's Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge. After extensive and sometimes grueling tests, Randi grudgingly concedes Rosalyn's "power" and she is presented with a check for one million dollars. The JREF declares bankruptcy the next day. In the following weeks, the young woman becomes an instant celebrity, appearing on talk shows around the country. The suffering of those afflicted with AGS is temporarily pushed out of the news as Rosalyn is heralded as proof of the "superhuman." 2014: Over the course of the next year, more people with unusual powers are introduced to the public eye. The "powers" in evidence are trivial, such as the ability to project colored light, or levitate a few inches from the ground, but it becomes quickly apparent that humanity is changing. The Carver Research Group announces its foray into genetic research. Initial findings in the phenomenon suggest a link between these "new humans" and those afflicted with AGS. In scientific papers published in leading journals, Dr. Carver demonstrates evidence of possible change in the sequence of human genome known as "junk" DNA, a large region of mostly unknown genome sequencing. From the paper: Public reaction to the concept of "Metahumans" is loud and widely varied, but generally positive. Some are treated like celebrities or the superheroes of comics and movies, while a few are held in fear and suspicion by right-wing conspiracy watchers. Religious groups' reactions run from seeing those with AGS or MGS as angels or demons to a tentative acknowledgment of the evolutionary process. President Clinton is mostly silent on the issue, promising more money for research and treatment yet remaining neutral despite calls from conservative politicians for laws regulating the interaction of the Genetically Challenged and Metahumans with "the rest of normal society." Her neutral stance cannot hold for long however, as the news media breaks the story of a yearlong investigation by the FBI and local authorities into a series of murders in Hudson City. The person known as the Stewart River Killer is about begin a string of events that will change the public perception of Metahumans drastically.

Re: A Dark Future for Dark Champions For the most part, the world of 2017 is still the same as today. There have been advances in medicine and technology, but to date nothing ground breaking. Cancer and AIDS are still deadly, though not as much so, as the drugs used to treat them have greatly improved. Small wars have come and gone, the Middle East is still in turmoil after the US phased pullout of troops in 2012, celebrities still make the news with their problems, and no one understands the kids of the era. Computers are smaller and faster, cell phones can do as much as personal computers, and most tech is still made better and cheaper in Asia. There have been some significant events, however. 2007: First reports of Aberrant Genetic Syndrome surface, mostly in Africa and Asia. Children are born with severely mutated DNA structure, resulting in extreme physical and mental mutation. Most famous of these is Ling Wu, the “Dragon Girl” of China, born with shimmering blue scales covering 90% of her body and a vestigial tail. Theories for this sudden upswing in mutation run the gamut from “lingering radioactive fallout” to “alien interference” to “government experiments” to “curse of God.” The scientific community cannot reach a consensus. 2010: Stories of AGS-type mutations begin to be reported in Western civilization, medical experts report AGS children being born to healthy, otherwise genetically stable parents. Social workers report an upswing in child abandonment and children’s homes struggle to handle the overload. Dark tales of children being murdered begin to come from lesser-developed countries. Some religious leaders decry the mutant births as a sign of the Apocalypse. The Pope issues a statement from the Vatican, calling for calm and for fair treatment of the children, stating, “We are all the children of God, whatever shape we may take.” The medical community determines that the cause of the mutation is a spontaneous change in basic DNA structure, but is unable to determine what causes of the change. The rate of AGS babies grows, and parents clamor for genetic testing. The Internet, of course, is rampant with information about genocide and governmental cover-ups. Common slang for these children is “AG” or “Genefreak.” 2012: Bobby James McCoy, age 13, experiences a spontaneous and total genetic aberration during Science class in a suburban Hudson City private school. Within minutes, he undergoes a startling metamorphosis from a normal boy into a large green-furred creature. Panicked and frightened, the boy accidentally harms the teacher who tries to help him, resulting in a four-hour standoff with local police and SWAT teams. When the authorities storm the classroom with tear gas and riot equipment, Bobby is gone. A statewide manhunt is organized, but Bobby is never found. He was the first of the known cases of SAGS (Spontaneous Aberrant Genetic Syndrome), but not the last. Over the next month, more and more cases of SAGS are reported, mostly in children, but some in young adults. At first the cases are confined to the Hudson City area, and the CDC shuts the city down fearing an epidemic. Troops are called in as the city threatens to tear itself apart. The media coins the term “Genetically Challenged” to describe those affected by AGS and SAGS and citizens who are mutated are herded into containment camps. In the next six months, cases begin to come in from metropolitan areas outside of Hudson City, and it is soon apparent that SAGS is a global issue. The CDC and Homeland Security quarantine Hudson City with National Guard troops for eight months. Rioting is common, with most of the violence directed at those with AGS or their families. Packs of armed vigilantes roam neighborhoods, looking for AGs to prey upon. Hudson City Mayor Patrick Daley is heavily criticized in the media for his handling of events.

Hi there, long time reader, first time poster. I've recently decided to crank up my old Dark Champions Campaign again, mainly due to the cool proliferation of new books by Mr. Long. I've been writing up a near-future dark storyline for the campaign background, along with some photoshopped extras for the players. I figured I would drop in here and post it for the reading perusal of you fine folks. I'm aiming for Watchmen, Batman Begins, or the Wild Cards series for overall tone and power level - minus people like Doctor Manhattan and The Great and Powerful Turtle, of course. Dark and gritty, with the "heroes" having only one or two powers, or perhaps just a lot of skill and training, but not the god-like beings of regular comics. The game will be set in 2017 in Hudson City. Let me know what you think! ~Doctor Lorthos