Judges will be elected shortly, but to keep things rolling, we need official proposals for the background and origin of the world.
Now, obviously, we won't be voting for this as Judges till we're elected, so you have some time. I'm hoping that in about 2 weeks, we can get something hacked out that most players approve of, and the Judges can give their official approval of around that time as well.
What are we looking for?
It need not be fully written out in fiction, but at least a general time line of the event(s) that lead up to the origin of the supers. The world is the real world, with some sort of divergant event in relitively modern times (20th century or later).
Also needed, would be a good background for where the Supers may start as a group. This can be limited to one single location, or a wide network where they meet later, to different locations that allow for different styles but also allow for teaming up.
The origin and the background can be seperate suggestions, and feel free to allow for others to offer their suggestions before we get a final proposal. Unlike other future proposal threads, this one will probably be a mishmash of different ideas. So if you have a proposal, please title the post "Proposal" so we can sort through them easier. Feel free to modify the proposal at any time up untill we have started voting, or to add the proposal title later once you have fleshed it out.
I will not move any ideas over from the initial startup thread. Feel free to cart over the ideas yourself.
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I'd been thinking about the Comet theory, and I think I've coem up with the same idea as Velmont (just not as well thought out).
A Meteor Impact would give a definite event causing the appearance of new powered individuals. The Dust/Storm clouds would also provide atmospheric dispersal of whatever agent is in the meteor causing the powers (we have to come up with a name, along the lines of Marvel's Mutants and DC's New Bloods) to appear.
With full credit going to Rybaer, here was our discussion in another thread (in which we were discussing a world to use to a set of interrelated solo-play games in M&M:
With full credit going to Rybaer, here was our discussion in another thread (in which we were discussing a world to use to a set of interrelated solo-play games in M&M:
The whole thread has some character ideas and things of that sort.
Keia
Hot diggety! I've been referenced and credited!
Feel free to use any or all of that material. It was something of a collaborative effort anyway, though on a smaller scale than what is being put together on this Living M&M.
Origin of Powers:
On New Years Eve, of 1999, amid fears of Y2K and mass panic, the event happened. A comet, undetected by radar or telescope, passed close to earth, and was pulled into a low orbit. The comet made several trips around the earth, slowly decending further and further into the atmosphere, before it finaly burned itself up. Little was known of the strange comet, or it's odd behavior, and it's study is still an expanding field today.
What is known is the series of events that can perhaps only be linked to it. It was gradual at first, but things were different. While the most public event was the November 2001 incident where noted actor Marlon Gibson spontaniously ignited at a publicity appearance for his upcomming movie. Strangely, when he was finaly put out, he was unharmed, but rescue squads were unable to approach him. Sadly, he died later that night in an unexplained car explosion. But there were signs of oddities well before this. Rumors of men and women with extrordinary abilities were already circulating before that.
It seemed that some event had changed the fundimental rules of life, or perhaps unlocked them. Practicers of the Occult found that magic they had practiced with no results now functioned. Men who had spent their lives training found they could perform feats they once thought impossable. Some with known genetic abnormalities found them amplified to an increadable degree, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Researchers found new and once unheard of uses for technology, and technology once thought to be at an end of it's usefullness found new and strange life again. Most have been uneffected, but the cases begain to add up till it was impossable to hide from the truth that things were changing. The Chicago Tribute coined the phrase "Unlocking Humanity's Potential", which seemed as good an explanation as any, and quickly cought on.
In late 2004, the most public appearance of a super happened when a mutant, known now as Granite for his rock hard skin, tried to rob several banks in Switzerland, and eventualy was taken down by several tanks when he was unable to be pacified.
In mid 2005, when the abuse of superpowers was begining to become regarded as a serious threat to the peace of the world, the UN passed Resolution 527, enabling the formation and funding of a league of heroes with the backing of the UN to help protect the world from those who would abuse their powers and threaten peace and prosperity in the world.
-------------------- Behind the scenes:
There are 6 basic origins of powers (Seperate from the power source mechanic in M&M), though many supers are a combination of them. They are Alien (Superman, Martian Manhunter), Mutant (X-Men), Altered (Spiderman, Hulk, Fantastic Four), Training (Daredevil, Batman), Magic/Mystic (Witchblade), and Technological (Iron Man).
In this background, with the 'unlocking of potential', all of these but Alien would be acceptable origins of powers for any potential PC. Realy, most comic universes contain most of these, but Alien is one of the least included, and realy doesn't make much sense in the context of the universe as presented so far. Perhaps it will change as the world develops, but definately not at the start.
----------------------- The League of Heroes (Name subject to change)
The League of Heroes is run by Seth Sharpman under the direction of the UN. He has taken a hands off approach other than condicuting some of the initial interviews with potential heroes. He helps deal with funding issues, PR issues, and has set up two fully stocked headquarters in Kansas City in the US, and Eddinburough in the UK, as well as several minor facilities made available in other UN establishments around the world. Basicly, he handles the messes created by the heroes, so they can handle their duty.
----------- Behind the scenes:
Basicly, 2 headquarters available, though I suggest we base the start of things out of one of them to begin with. I'm open to a better name than the League of Heroes. Heroes won't need to worry about facilities for resting, comunications, or finding missions. Basicly, the tedious stuff is handled off screen.
Disclaimer
Reidzilla helped me hack out a bit of this, and deserves some credit for this proposal along with myself. As far as voting for approval, I will abstain from voting for my own proposal till after other judges have voted, and I get a feel for the public view of this.
Comments and suggestions welcome. This is a discussion thread on the proposals, please discuss them, even if you don't have one of your own.
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I like it, it seems to take into account everything shown in all the polls. Though personal preference woul be no aliens, at least at first, since they don't really seem to fit, other then that minor point, its good for me.
I like it, it seems to take into account everything shown in all the polls. Though personal preference woul be no aliens, at least at first, since they don't really seem to fit, other then that minor point, its good for me.
It does say no Aliens. I explained the 6 general catagories, and them mentioned that Aliens were not acceptable, but I'll clairify that.
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Phoenix's Other Supers Proposal With A Longer Name Than Everybody Else's And Little To Do With Anything Previously Discussed
Noted scientists have speculated for years that the current genetical revolution that is currently sweeping the world originated from this point in history, although other historians believe that the studies into the field of genetic manipulation is dated even further back into human history.
Dr Naberezhnyi was a top research scientist in the field of biological warfare at the end of WWII, funded to create new and deadly toxins, gases and diseases to unleash on the german forces that threatened Mother Russia. For several years he had been developing a strain of toxin that loosely translated means, 'The Beginning of the End'. The toxin was a last-ditch contingency plan for the country, a toxin that could be introduced into the water of a city to turn the entire area sterile.
It was also noted in some 'medical' journals that Dr Naberezhnyi studied much of the works of Rasputin, though such rumours were associated with the good doctor's eccenticities rather than any real basis in fact.
The toxin was stolen by the Germans on December 18, 1941. Several vials were unleashed upon the targets of London, Moscow and Paris as tests to determine the effectiveness. Unfortunately the slow-acting nature of the toxin did not allow detailed studies once the war turned against the Germans, and the cities themselves went on with their lives blissfully unaware of the poisons coursing through their system.
'The Millenium Toxin', a phrase recently coined in Liverpool, was the cause of thousands of birth deformities, cancer-related deaths, impotency and other horrible afflictions. For decades the toxin ruined families, destroyed countrysides, and created health epidemics across the world as it resurged with a new strain after several years of dormency.
December 1999 was the date when the Millenium Toxin showed its full power to the world. For it had travelled its 58 year journey across the world, mutated into strains that most scientists had never had the chance to study, and finally returned to Berlin to unleash its final attack on humanity.
Older people, especially ones that had suffered through minor effects of the toxin years before, were unaffected by the new plague. Younger men and women, especially ones going through pubity, seems prime targets of the toxin. It would alter their very form, reconsitituting junk DNA into a new genetic structure that allowed them to do things...inhuman.
The year 2000 saw over a thousand men and women demonstrating unearthly powers of flight, strength, seemingly magical powers and the ability to do that which had only previously been on the pages of children's comic books. The governments of the world tried to contain the outbreak in holding facilities, detaining the 'Supers' in the hope that the toxin would not mutate further into a potentially apocolyptical version of itself.
The year is now 2003, the facilities that contain the 'Supers' are becoming more and more incapable of holding the numbers of 'mutated' people. The numbers of innocents that are hidden away from the eyes of the public, and the media, are getting to a point where it cannot go undiscovered for much longer.
FYI, while I like the other two proposals, Rybear's is a bit too historical for my tastes, which can lead to some oddities as history is now in flux. Velmont's is well done, but the trouble with the future is technology becomes an unknown, as does history. That's why I only went back 5 years, and the major divergances in history begin to happen in 2004.
BTW - I have your e-mail, and Keia's. Hopefully I'll hear from the other 2 judges shortly. If you don't want that e-mail to be listed publicly, drop me a line with one that you will. Judges need to be reachable to anyone, particularly so adventure ideas can be submitted.
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Well, I choose 2018 just to have 0 divergence, but you could always choose to have 2006 to start with (still no divergence), 2004 (small divergence) or 2000 (a little bit more, if you wnt to start the game in 2006, it would leave a few years between the first two mutants and the appearance of more mutant, maybe adding a few entry to explain how the mutant situation has eveolve on earth.)
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Well, I choose 2018 just to have 0 divergence, but you could always choose to have 2006 to start with (still no divergence), 2004 (small divergence) or 2000 (a little bit more, if you wnt to start the game in 2006, it would leave a few years between the first two mutants and the appearance of more mutant, maybe adding a few entry to explain how the mutant situation has eveolve on earth.)
I'd suggest reaiming it closer to 2005 (on either end)
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choosing 2018 is very divergent, because we haven't gotten there yet. It creates 13 years of history that you have to create, including cultural, technological and a large amount of other changes that must be fleshed out. That was why the recent divergence was important, so we would not have to create such a huge chunk of time. If the event happens tomorrow, then, everyone can easily get into the world becuase it is entirely familiar. In your proposal, a 10+ year gap makes that very hard to do. Your going to need to write a 30 page primer so everyone can get into the flow of things and familiar with the world, that is a major barrier to entry.
It would work fine, in a regular campaign where you create all the plot, run all the games and only had a few players. In a world that has to be readily accessible and understandable to a large amount of people, simplicity is key. Taking the current world with only a slight divergence is much simpler then creating and getting everyone to understand a decades worth of changes. Your timeline shows events timewise, but doesn't explain how people reacted in major countries to each event, or how the culture has changed, what music is big, what electronics gear is cutting edge, etc. The disasters, wiping out of thousands of people, acid rain, is a major divergence that would alteer the social climate in large ways because it was caused by the meteor.
Obviously, whatever point is decided is the point of convergence. From that point forward, the future changes (for us). We should consider whether or not current or future events will even play a part in our world.
For my opinion, I like Marvel's idea (and others) of using make believe countries, just to limit any stepping on toes or irritation that may result.
Yes this is the real world, for our base of ideas, but how real do we want to make it.
The impact would have change a lot of things in the world I think, which the Tsunami and the climatic problems... but I think it could easily placed in our timeline with a small change. Let's tell that the impact has been done in the Indian Ocean in december 2004, replacing the known Tsunami. Some climatic impact could have grown for a year (and we inlcude Katrina among them). With that, the game could start in year 2006 with the appearance of many more mutants.
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Sounds like a potential plan Velmont, edit your proposal.
I'm always open for feedback on my proposal.
We're holding our votes till at least Wensday, possibly Friday if the discussions pick up and we get an influx of more good ideas. So keep on posting inputs and proposals.
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