Heroes Fall

[jdrakeh]

I've just watched the Greyson Trailer again and, honestly, it makes me much more excited about superheroes on the big screen that the real Batman franchise does. Or any of the Marvel movies. There's just something very alluring about taking a familiar heroic setting (in this case Earth Prime) and injecting it with a dose of cynicism. Batman as one of the last true, uncompromised, heroes being put down by former allies? His retired protege rising once more to set things right? That premise just drips with cool, specifically because we get to see some old heroes find themselves again in the name of justice. Which got me thinking. . .

This would be kind of a cool way to turn an established heroic roleplay setting (e.g., FR) on its ear, as well. The PCs could be aging former heroes in a world where they no longer hold the status that they once did, either being forced to turn to crime in order to survive or simply being forgotten by the world. Becoming has-beens in a post-Heroic Age land. And, then, just when things are at their darkest, a common threat from the past calls together these former companions under the banner of heroism once more.

So, er. . . anybody else ever try running something like this?

 

[phindar]

No.



But a friend of mine picked up the Greyson trailer on dvd at Dragon*Con one year and I agree, it is seriously cool. It would make a heck of a basis for a superhero campaign. There was also a behind the scenes thing on the dvd, and it really showed how the guy low teched some really creative shots.

 

[William drake]

NOt sure

I've just watched the Greyson Trailer again and, honestly, it makes me much more excited about superheroes on the big screen that the real Batman franchise does. Or any of the Marvel movies. There's just something very alluring about taking a familiar heroic setting (in this case Earth Prime) and injecting it with a dose of cynicism. Batman as one of the last true, uncompromised, heroes being put down by former allies? His retired protege rising once more to set things right? That premise just drips with cool, specifically because we get to see some old heroes find themselves again in the name of justice. Which got me thinking. . .

This would be kind of a cool way to turn an established heroic roleplay setting (e.g., FR) on its ear, as well. The PCs could be aging former heroes in a world where they no longer hold the status that they once did, either being forced to turn to crime in order to survive or simply being forgotten by the world. Becoming has-beens in a post-Heroic Age land. And, then, just when things are at their darkest, a common threat from the past calls together these former companions under the banner of heroism once more.

So, er. . . anybody else ever try running something like this?

Anyone who's a batman fan loves the idea of Dick Grayson coming to terms with what he was ment to do in life, however, he should never ever ever become an ADULT ROBIN....like every other student that batman has ever had, they were picked because somewhere inside batman, they were to become him ...BATMAN. I also dont like the idea that everyone seems to know who batman was, and who Robin is. Batman, and Robin worked with, above, and around the LAW. Their secrets are what kept them ALIVE. This is, well....I don't know what to say.



But, for a D&D game, yes...cool idea for a varient story path.

 

[Timeboxer]

Somewhat along the lines of the "aging heroes" thread, I've vaguely entertained the notion of a sort of Lupin the Third feel -- that everyone's sort of an old-timer and after a big adventure everyone parts ways, and then when some great danger or adventure comes along again, you start off with getting the old gang back together "one last time".

 

[caudor]

I watch the preview; it looks interesting.

What's the deal with Superman? He's a bad guy in this one?

 

[jdrakeh]

Anyone who's a batman fan loves the idea of Dick Grayson coming to terms with what he was ment to do in life, however, he should never ever ever become an ADULT ROBIN....like every other student that batman has ever had, they were picked because somewhere inside batman, they were to become him ...BATMAN.

Except Dick Grayson never did. He became Nightwing. In Grayson, he presumably became Nightwing and later retired. That said, the director (wisely) didn't go with the Nightwing option because, outside of comics circles, the character is a virtual unknown whereas Robin is not

I also dont like the idea that everyone seems to know who batman was, and who Robin is. Batman, and Robin worked with, above, and around the LAW. Their secrets are what kept them ALIVE. This is, well....I don't know what to say.

Well, in the comics, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Hal Jordan know who Batman really is. So do Hugo Strange, Barbara Gordon, Commisioner Gordon, Selina Kyle, The Riddler (well, he did at one time, but it has since been ret-conned), The New Spectre, and a host of other heroes (fewer villains). The chief of police only refers to Batman as "Batman" in the clip, so we can pretty much assume that he had no clue as to his secret identity.

Batman is buried as "Batman" in an otherwise anonymous grave, so we can assume that the public doesn't know his identity, either. Of course, Grayson's identity as a "crime fighter" is referred to by the chief of police, but this may be a reference to his Nightwing identity, not that of Robin. At any rate, the point is that, amongst heroes and villains, the Batman's secret identity hasn't been very secret for quite some time

 

[Piratecat]

I moved this into media, re-read the first post, and moved it back.

I agree; this would be a darn cool campaign.

 

[eyebeams]

I think it has the problems a lot of fan trailers have, where you start with a little concept and end with OMG GREEN LANTERN. This is, coincidentally, a problem I often see in supers games and comics. Most of the popular heroes define themselves in their corner of the setting. Even Spidey, the ultimate crossover guy, gets most of his mileage outside of his title by being mouthy and sarcastic, not through development in other parts of the MU. (Though I did like the Spidey/Daredevil backup feature whose entire plot consisted of Spider-Man pretending to run away to fight crime so as to stiff DD with a bar tab. Seriously! It was the entire plot!)

 

[Piratecat]

When I drop this plot into MnM terms, I see the adult Robin as somewhere around PL 8 or even 10. Superman, of course, is somewhere around PL 16-20, and Green Lantern and Wonder Woman is right up there with him. Robin wouldn't stand a chance.

(Unless, of course, he paid off the writer!)

 

[jdrakeh]

Well, I've decided to give it a go, using either FR or The World's Largest City as a setting and cycling it forward a few aeons. And I'm going to run it in two different time periods, as follow:

• Heroes of Legend (Before the Fall): Pretty much your typical D&D thing, with AoO adjustments from Iron Heroes and some optional rules from UA.
  
• Legacy of Heroes (After the Fall): I'm going to use the bloodlines from UA to represent familial ties, as opposed to strictly racial ones, with the PCs playing decendents of the aforementioned Heroes of Legend.

To be clear, I'm not going to run the campaign in two legs. That will work, yes, but it's boring. Instead I'm going to rotate back and forth between time periods, with events that occur Before the Fall effecting the future (thus, shaping the world of After the Fall).

As for The Fall itself, in FR it pretty much has to come about a result of tained movers and shakers which might not work well (i.e., the NPCs are pretty firmly ensconed as paragons of good and suddenly having the spazz out and go evil would shatter the suspension of disbelief). Thus, the WLC option looks more appealing. . .

I'm thinking that I can handle the set-up (introducing key heroes, world figures, etc) in the first time period and leave the second devoted to the Legacy. And, yes, I know, I'll probably eat for trying all of this experimental structure -- but if I can pull it off, it will be awesome