Supers in Distress

Started by Hikari, May 02, 2008, 09:53:48 AM

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Hikari

I'd like to play a superhero game.  I'm not really an adherent of any given system, so I'm flexible there; Mutants & Masterminds, Wild Talents, BESM, whatever works.  Personally, I'd prefer either a City of Heroes style all-inclusive, almost tongue-in-cheek genre (think Empowered by Adam Warren) or a grim-and-gritty (Batman!) sort of deal, but there are very few settings/eras/genres of superheroes that don't agree with me, so I'm open to suggestion there as well.

The basic concept is just a supers game with, well, sex.  An inexperienced heroine still learning about her powers gets in over her head with a street gang after trying to stop a mugging in a dark alley.  A maniacal arch-villain decides to use the standard kidnap-to-use-as-bait plan for more pleasurable purposes.  A hulking hero with anger management issues goes berserk and the heroines find some pretty inventive ways to calm him down.  Etc., etc.  Basically, take all the times comics have had heavily implied sexual overtones--from Wonder Woman's initial run as a BDSM sex kitten to every time Wolverine's been in an innuendo-laden situation with a teenage sidekick--and turn it into overt themes.

Anyone interested in this sort of thing?  I'd run it, but honestly, I don't know any supers system well enough to be comfortable doing so.
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

robitusinz

Does it have to be systemized?  Interested in a solo adventure?
I'm just a vanilla guy with a chocolate brain.

WyzardWhately

#2
I'd be up for this as well, although two games with Hikari might be a bit much.  :D  Or were you determined to have this be a solo deal? 


EDIT:  I've always been really into the dark, psychological aspects of Batman, Daredevil, and the other more gritty dark-alleys-and-.45s kind of costumed hero.  Especially the fact that a lot of them have weird sexual overtones between themselves and some of the more flamboyant female villains.  Well, there are a number of other routes as well, but there's plenty of ground to explore.
Look!  I have an ons and offs list now!  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=13580.0
It's still really sketchy, though.
Here are my dice rolls: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/player/WyzardWhately/

Hikari

A solo adventure might be okay, but I'm really looking for more of a group effort.  Probably something combining a super's 'team' or 'extended network' (ala Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Huntress, etc.), with the odd solo bit here and there.  I'm usually more a fan of system games, personally, but if someone had a great idea for running the game and wanted to go freeform, I'd be willing to listen.

Batman 'street level' crime-fighting supers would be okay, as would Capes-type world-saving 'international' supers, as long as it's a clear decision for one or the other; it never seems to work well when you've got the street guy and the fighting-aliens-on-the-moon guy working side-by-side.
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

Chris Brady

WOULD YOU STOP COMING UP WITH IDEAS AND GAMES I REALLY WANT TO RUN???

For Zog's sake people!

GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!

Yeah, I'm down for this.

ESPECIALLY if we go Batman/Daredevil level.  Minor physical augmentations, but mostly skill and peak human ability.  I even have a city and set up in mind...
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Hikari

Liberty City, Metropolis, or Gotham?  (I never did understand why there had to be so many names for NYC!)
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

Valerian

A non-overpowered supers game?  Ooh.  Color me intrigued...
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Chris Brady

Quote from: Hikari on May 02, 2008, 01:32:54 PM
Liberty City, Metropolis, or Gotham?  (I never did understand why there had to be so many names for NYC!)

Like Manhattan?  Long Island?  Etc. etc?  Liberty City isn't in NYS, though.  It's midwest, if I'm remembering correctly.

Anyway, this would a fictional city, which would be similar to Gotham, in so much as it's an East Coast style, and having a fair amount of Gothic statuary scattered about.  A cross between said Gotham and the City of the Crow (Movie.)  A dark and violent place that needs heroes, as the last great one, the Knightwatchman, died 2 years past.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

WyzardWhately

Yeah, I could be down with this.  Hell, I've even got a few character concepts already on the back burner that could work.  I don't have Wild Talents, but I'm likely to have pretty much any other supers system...it's sort of one of my areas of expertise.
Look!  I have an ons and offs list now!  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=13580.0
It's still really sketchy, though.
Here are my dice rolls: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/player/WyzardWhately/

Hikari

Not sure where it used to be, but they've definitely moved it to NYC for GTA4.  (Just got it today, y'know!)  Besides, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, etc. are actually burroughs, not names for the city proper.  But, regardless, a Gotham analogue (whether it's NYC-Gotham or Chicago-Gotham...  it seems to vary, or even want to be both, at times!) is cool with me.
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

Chris Brady

Here's the thing.  For something like this, we don't want a 'JLA' sized group.  3 hero types should be the max.

I have a world all set up for this, too.

I don't have Wild Talents, and I'm not too keen on the ORE system anyway.  But I have (As proven) BESM, also M&M 2nd and Hero 5th.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

WyzardWhately

I'd be most happy with M&M.  I have Hero, I even have experience with Hero, but it's kind of a bitch to ask those unfamiliar with it to deal with it.  It also is fairly tactical, what with the hexes and so forth, and that's hardly ideal for a PBP game.  I'd also like to recommend Truth and Justice, which is glorious, simple, cheap as a PDF, and has all manner of delicious genre-simulation tools.  Seriously, it's kind of my go-to game for low-end supers.

I was never fond of ORE myself, but I keep hearing REALLY good stuff about Wild Talents, so I'll likely get sucked in when 2E comes out.  Also, Reign looks really interesting, although that's not relevant to this discussion.
Look!  I have an ons and offs list now!  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=13580.0
It's still really sketchy, though.
Here are my dice rolls: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/player/WyzardWhately/

Chris Brady

Sadly, I don't have the money to buy PDFs so T&J is out for me.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Hikari

Mutants & Masterminds is fine with me.  I normally have a lot of trouble creating a character with it, but that should be a lot easier for street-level supers.
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

Valerian

Well, if there's room for me, I have a street-fighter type with limited teleportation that I've been wanting to play.  I think I even have the stats in the M&M system, though I don't recall which version.  I know GURPS best, but I can muddle through in M&M...
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

WyzardWhately

M&M is easy stuff.  I'll be happy to help people out with the system end of chargen.  The thing to realize is it's a game of yards, not inches...there's generally three or four ways to represent a given concept of any complexity, it's just a matter of knowing what they are, and usually picking the easiest one.
Look!  I have an ons and offs list now!  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=13580.0
It's still really sketchy, though.
Here are my dice rolls: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/player/WyzardWhately/

Chris Brady

A few points.  There's going to be very limited power sources in this setting, namely that true 'super powers' are based on one of three things.  Science/Technology, Alien Genetics or Psionics, there are NO other sources of 'power'.

The world isn't quite the same as we know it.  There is a higher level of technology due to the world having fought off about 3 alien invasions.  The first was the pinnacle, it was in 1947 and for the most part it was as much ended by the invaders themselves as it was by humanity.  It was a botched run, and it allowed humanity to get their hands on technology that would boost their scientific knowledge.

There was no Vietnam or Korean war, as during the 1950's was the second invasion, this one was actually done by a servitor race from an unknown master and decimated several countries.  The turning point was humanity's never saying die attitude despite nearly losing this war.  Which gave the X'haal race a sense of pride into themselves, reawakening their own sense of self.  Thus humanity gained allies and even newer technology than before, so when the third invasion occurred in 1984 it lasted all of a week and with the Earth coming out ahead and with even more toys to reverse engineer.

Which means that this Earth has several decades worth of technological advances that we don't have.  Dirty Nuclear tech is a thing of the past, medical services can replace lost limbs easily, and artificial augmentation is simple to obtain.  And Superhumans are easy to make.  Power Armour is the top of the food chain, with mechanics easily multiplying the human factor by tens if not hundreds.  Which puts them in the hands of the various military organizations.  Human enhancement has a limit that cannot be surpassed, no one can lift battleships, move faster than a speeding bullet or train, nor can anyone leap over tall buildings.  However lifting cars or stopping small calibre bullets is within reach.  Most common methods are chemical or cybernetic.

Psionics, though, is a different kettle of fish.  Humanity has always had a low level of it, with stories of women lifting cars to save their children, often attributed to adrenalin and other physical factors, Likewise the tales of telepaths, clairvoyants, and even outright 'magic' can all be linked to the same source: The human mind.  Which is still an untapped potential, and although advances in medical science have been phenomenal, there's still a lot of the brain that no one understands.

However, whenever you give Man toys and not instruct him in the safe use in such, things start to spiral down as science outstrips morality.  Although the X'Haal live among us, they really aren't built to be caretakers, better at taking orders than actually maintaining them.

And so, crime and depravity is at an all time high.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Jefepato

Might be interesting, depending on how extreme it gets.

I really like M&M.  I've been trying to teach myself Hero, but I'm hardly qualified to make superheroic characters with it yet.

WyzardWhately

So, when you say science/technology, is that intended to include gamma radiation and radioactive spider bites?
Look!  I have an ons and offs list now!  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=13580.0
It's still really sketchy, though.
Here are my dice rolls: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/player/WyzardWhately/

Chris Brady

Yes, anything that can be used in pseudo-science is acceptable.  Just bear in mind that the human body has some hard limits as to what can be done with it.  :)
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Hikari

*Sage nod* Only three holes.

I'm thinking maybe a powersuit (not quite powered armor) type of character, or a general sort of Batman-sidekick martial arts investigator/ninja.
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

WyzardWhately

Yeah, that's fine.  I don't think I'm likely to go for anything beyond the pale of what you can explain with toxic waste and hidden psionic potential.  Also, if you look at the strength chart, you can be hitting near the cap of +10 damage bonus and still have trouble carrying a passenger vehicle.  It's the super-strength power that really gets you to a crazy place.  Also, if you're in a more gritty/street level game, I think that tearing a steel fire door off its hinges and surviving a shotgun blast makes you plenty goddamned scary.

I have two character concepts that I can think of, which you're welcome to critique and tell me what works and doesn't work.  Both of these are subject to further expansion.

The Ghost
A "terrifying avenger of the night" type.  Like DD and Batman, spends a lot of time going after simple human scum and doing really memorable things to them.
Powers: Enhanced agility and healing factor, Phasing, a few low-grade gadgets
Turn-ons: Improvised Weapons, Shadows, Psychological and moral conflict, Gothic architecture, Symbolism, Soliloquies.
Turn-offs: Fearless robotic minions, Lasers, "Day Shift" superheroes, Proof that he isn't just an urban legend

Hellhound
This is a guy with an anger control problem, like Hikari mentioned.  I suppose his powers are most likely psionic in nature.  He can "see" the sins of others in a sort of aura sight.  This ability showed up around puberty.  But that isn't all.  He can sort of hulk out into a demonic, gargoyle like form, which can also happen involuntarily if you piss him off bad enough.  It's at the upper end of what you can physically do regarding physical strength and resilience, but it's almost certainly some really twisted and specific form of TK.  He was raised in a Catholic orphanage, and for the most part thinks it must be some kind of divine judgement.  Tends to be kind of a loner, not so much by nature as because he never knows what he might "see" when he's in public around a lot of people.
Powers: Sin-sight, transform into a demonic-looking juggernaut.
Turn-ons: Nuns, cathedrals, damsels in distress, terrible moral dilemmas, letting people know that they wouldn't like him when he's angry
Turn-offs: Villains to fast to land a punch on, punks who vandalize religious buildings, super-advanced technology, really impersonal forms of evil
Look!  I have an ons and offs list now!  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=13580.0
It's still really sketchy, though.
Here are my dice rolls: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/player/WyzardWhately/

Chris Brady

I'm keeping this one small, peeps.  Wiz, Hikari, Val are all in.

Rob, sorry but as a 'Castrated' member and based on previous experience, I'm sorry but I will not be accepting you into this game.

Jef?  Gimme something.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Chris Brady

Oh, the typical archtypes I'm looking for are Costumed Adventurers, Gadgeteers, Martial Artists and Weapons Masters primarily.  Psionics are under advisement.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Hikari

A few initial concepts:

Invincibelle
A powersuited brick type.  Invincibelle has a 'nanoweave' second-skin suit made of a living colony of micromachines that are extremely adaptable and maleable, capable of withstanding considerable damage.  However, the armor value of the suit is highly ablative; the nanites tend to be destroyed by attacks, causing the colony to lose mass gradually until it instinctively retreats to a 'hive' implanted in her spinal column.  The nanites will remain subdued there for a time until they can shore up their numbers before spreading out to form the suit again.  The nanites can take the appearance of essentially any sort of normal clothing while not in 'active defense' mode.  Once activated, they form a sheath over every inch of her body, making it appear that she's made of liquid platinum.

Powers: Ablative Invulnerability, Energy Absorption, moderately enhanced Strength and Agility


Seven
A young woman who became linked with a symbiotic alien--think 'black-suit' Spider-Man--during the last alien invasion, whose name derives from the classification of the mysterious entity ('unknown species 7-X') which has attached itself to her.  Seven herself is relatively timid and not especially brave, but the symbiote seems to be interested in getting her in trouble...  'seems to be' because even to her, it is inscrutable and largely unexplained, much less to anyone else.  The symbiote enhances her own abilities, and has limited independent capabilities of its own.

Powers: Enhanced Strength, Agility, and Durability, Body-Weapons (symbiote claws, tendrils, etc.)


Black Lotus
The name given to her by the crime syndicates of the city, which has caught on in media and public perception due to any lack of correction; she never deals with the media herself, or the police for that matter.  Lotus is a talented fighter, but more importantly a clever and inventive kunoichi, who prefers to use stealth, misdirection, and confusion to defeat her enemies...  who, primarily, are underworld figures and street criminals.  Lotus has a reputation for being almost ruthless in her pursuit, even using poisons and other means other heroes frown upon.  Normally, she leaves a warning so that those around her target have a chance to leave beforehand--though intended as an act of mercy, this has generally been construed as a brazen threat and sign of her cruelty by the criminals she targets.  Many other misunderstandings like this have given her an even worse reputation than she really warrants.

Powers: NINJA!  (Possibly also a Lesbian Stripper?)
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia