A superheroic thought

[thormagni]

So, along the lines of what we have talked about before about playing a superhero game...

One of the comic concepts that has always interested me is the idea of "legacy heroes." Those heroes that are so iconic that they inspire followers and descendants for generations afterwards. The kind of hero that when they retire, they inspire someone else to take up the mantle.

Now, in the comics the growth and development of these heroes is somewhat stunted, because instead of aging normally, the heroes are kept in a constant state of youth. Even the World War II heroes of, say, the Justice Society haven't aged enough to have a third generation, yet alone a fourth. But you can see glimmers of the idea in action.

For example, Batman has a sidekick, Robin (Dick Grayson), and a follower, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon.) Robin grows up, changes his name to Nightwing and becomes leader of first the Teen Titans and then the Titans. Batgirl gets shot in the spine by the Joker and becomes Oracle. Meanwhile Batman takes on another Robin (Jason Todd) who gets killed. Finally, Batman takes on the last Robin (Tim Drake.) So you have a middle-aged hero, his "children" (Nightwing and Oracle) and his grandchildren (Tim Drake - Robin.)

Maybe the best example, there is a progression from the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) to the Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen) who idolizes the hero of 15 years earlier, even though they aren't related. The Silver Age Flash has a sidekick, Kid Flash (Wally West) who grows up and takes over the Flash mantle when Barry Allen is killed in the first Crisis. And Barry's grandson from the future, Bart Allen, returns to the present and becomes a sorta sidekick for the Wally West Flash, calling himself Impulse.

Anyway, I was thinking about this in relation to a superhero game. Vince has talked about wanting to play a game where the heroes are the first heroes on the planet, while I would like to run or play in a game where the heroes are part of a long, rich heroic tradition. It occurs to me that we could do both.

Let me split this post here, cause I know long posts make people's eyes glaze over. More below.

 

[Grimhelm]

Sometimes I wonder if I am not getting too old for gaming. Pretending to be someone super or magical or knightly sometimes just strikes me as completely empty. I used to love it, but as I get older I feel more like being super in real life. It is possible, isn't it? I am beginning to prefer board games, just because I can test myself in a board game, rise to the challenge the game presents. I like challenges. Somehow the challenges presented in role-playing games are beginning to seem exceedingly transparent. Does anyone else ever feel like this?


(sorry for sticking this in this thread... perhaps it could be moved...)

 

[thormagni]

What if: the players, instead of coming up with a concept for a single character, came up with a 2, 3, or even 4 generational concept? Maybe a line of heroes stretching from today to the mid 70s, to the 1940s?

An example, that I created for my Liberty City setting:

The Eagle: (1930s) A Jewish boxer and auto mechanic who fought crime as a masked mystery man in the city's slums of the 1920s and 30s.

The Silver Eagle: (1940s to 1960s) With the advent of super-powered heroes in the city, The Eagle (who had amassed a small fortune in the automotive industry) devotes his wealth to the creation of an armored suit that he uses to keep up with the younger heroes. They call themselves the Guardians of Liberty. He goes overseas to fight the Nazis, where he meets a young Jewish orphan who managed to escape from the Holocaust and is fighting with the Polish resistance.

Talon: (1960s to 1980s) The boy becomes the Silver Eagle's sidekick, Talon. The Silver Eagle brings him back to the states and adopts him. When the Silver Eagle hangs up his wings in the 1960s, Talon takes up his position, becoming a hero in his own right. Talon continues to work with the Guardians of Liberty into the early 1980s (when he is in his mid 50s.) Frustrated by his body's aging and his inability to keep up the fight, he turns his vast wealth to the creation of an artificial life form.

The Silver Man: (1990s to present) The Silver Man android is first used as a tool by Talon. He uses a mental link with the android body to fight crime. But he also develops a certain amount of autonomy into the android so it can continue to operate when it is out of contact. And after a few near misses, he upgrades it to the point where he can project his entire consciousness into the form. Suprisingly, it eventually takes on a consciousness and personality of his own. Eventually, it leaves Talon's wing.

Silver Eagle II: (21st century) A young, winged mutant begins to work in Liberty City, calling himself the Silver Eagle. He idolizes the exploits of the 1940s and 50s hero. One day, at school, he receives a mysterious package... containing a high-tech suit of armor emblazoned with the Silver Eagle's logo.

 

[thormagni]

Then, we could play a game in the modern era, knowing the heroes are descended from the first heroes in the game world (such as a JLA game). Or we could play a golden age game AS the first heroes (like the Justice Society). Or what a Silver Age, cosmic level game (such as the Justice League of America.) Or any point along the timeline. I think it could be a good way to meet both of our expectations.

And it would be a cool way for me to get started again on my Liberty City setting, which hasn't had any attention in several years.

 

[thormagni]

Does anyone else ever feel like this?

Not so much. My favorite parts of RPGs are the story-telling and role-playing aspects. The way that for a while, you get to be someone else, to go somewhere else, to sort of live in a fantasy or superhero setting or what have you. And as a group to get together and tell an interesting story.

Board games and card games are diversions for me, sure. But they don't give me the escapism I am looking for.

 

[InzeladunMaster]

Board games and card games are diversions for me, sure. But they don't give me the escapism I am looking for.

That is the page I am on, also. I tend to get bored with board and card games - unfortunately, the boredom usually sets in about 1/2 way through the game, which does not bode well for the rest of the game.

 

[Grimhelm]

I guess I am needing escapes less and less... I wonder why... I guess just being me and hanging out with the people I like is good. I like them for who they are and I like myself for who I am. (I am not saying people who play RPGs don't like themselves...) I just look forward to seeing the people who are close to me, hanging out, conversing as friends over a game... not as someone else... hmmm.

 

[InzeladunMaster]

All of that hanging out and conversing is done in an RPG, too. I don't think I have ever been to a game where everyone stayed in character all the time - or even most of the time. Probably much of the time is spent socializing.

I still need the escapism - and I like the aspect of building something, even if it is not tangible, that has some form of continuity. A board game, once it is over, is over. One starts over every time. Success or failure doesn't matter. For me, sometimes that is nice, sometimes that just doesn't interest me.

The social aspect of games can apply to any and all games, and that is probably the number one reason for playing any game, be it athletic, board, card, video or roleplaying. But beyond that, other reasons then rear their head for the final choice of game.

 

[InzeladunMaster]

What if: the players, instead of coming up with a concept for a single character, came up with a 2, 3, or even 4 generational concept? Maybe a line of heroes stretching from today to the mid 70s, to the 1940s?

So... would we actually play the characters from each of these eras? That would be fun.

 

[thormagni]

So... would we actually play the characters from each of these eras? That would be fun.

Sure, that would be the idea. Maybe the heroes of the 40s put a villain into suspended animation in 1942 and in the next session the same villain comes back to attack the heroes in the 1970s, or 1990s. It would be an interesting sort of continuing plot. With references back and forth between the present and the past. The players would frame out a general sense of what their characters were like and how they came to retire (or die, or whatever) and then plot lines could cut back and forth across eras.

As far as I know, this is something new for a superhero RPG. At least, in all the books I have, I have never heard of anything like this.