British superheroes!

Started by Ramael, March 29, 2013, 07:28:18 AM

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Ramael

In the swathe of superhero-themed games currently swamping Elliquiy, there comes one that gets on the tube...that beats up supervillains on the pavement, not the sidewalk...that enjoys tea instead of coffee.

Here is the pitch. And whilst reading it, whilst acknowledging the title of this RP, remember how cosmopolitan London is, much like NY, and other things like immigration and the US-UK link.




London, 2020.

A small and previously laughable fascist political group has slowly grown in power and influence like a small and unnoticable tumour in the political tri-party spectrum of the UK. This group, known officially as the BDP, has its fingers in the affluent white power groups that exist in the country, but also with lawyers, bankers, and purists that think the way the country is going stinks.

Secretly, they conclude a genetically-enhanced breeding programme that they and their allies have germinated over decades, a programme called Magna. They are looking to breed a super white super soldier, a paragon of ancient England.

They create St George.

This unassuming target, only a casual member of the BDP and ignorant of the tests carried out on him, has become discontent with his peers. Having a fairly sheltered upbringing in a rich Protestant county, his exposure to the heady swirl of London has taught him some things about life and about the world, none of which fit very well with his fascist upbringing. Unaware of the reason why he is exhibiting superhuman powers and abilities, George goes about his life in a bemused, apathetic manner until he is contacted by a stranger.

This stranger presents him/herself as a representative with England, Britain, and the world's best interests at heart. The stranger tells him about Magna and all the other mistakes and cross-breeds and experiments that went wrong in order for George to be created properly. This stranger tells George that he is not alone...and that he is recruiting a team that may have to dismantle the BDP thoroughly, before they dismantle England...and the world. Not only offshoots of the sinister Magna programme, but other individuals with great power and abilities, relics from Britain's past, new heroes from across the seas, innovators using technology to enhance themselves instead of swindling the public out of their money.
These individuals make up a team called
Union.


Hullo, and welcome to this Britain-centric superhero RP! Thanks for reading, and one can assume you have interest in this having read thus far. This is based on a writing project I have been wrestling with for some time, and I've put it to the wannabe superheroes and heroines of E! to inject some personality and magic into, as I know you're capable of.

This RP will take place in the UK, starting at least in London. Don't be put off by that if you're not an anglophile, as there are myriad different nationalities that can make up the Union superhero team, indeed, that's encouraged, as a reflection of modern-day England.

You could play a super whose powers derive from the Magna programme, and are being hunted down by the BDP to be silenced and put down for good.

You could play a super reincarnated from Britain's past, a raving power-femme Boudica, for instance, who may or may not join Union.

You could play a British millionaire who has used his resources to fund a personal super-suit project and take to the streets to fight crime in order to gain more followers on twitter.

You could play a young Turkish girl who has exhibited firebreathing skills and flight, whom our George character has maybe taken a liking to, thus vexing the BDP. That young Turkish girl may or may not be called Dragonetta...upto you.

You could even play a super-famous, super-glamorous American superhero, sent by her superiors to keep an eye on these limey superheroes, a super-Beyonce who shows all the Brits how being super-strong and super-sexy is done across the pond.


You could play any of these, or a character of your own creation. I would encourage both options.

You could also decide to play one of the nefarious villains, a secret society whom have brought super-human abilites to the British people and want to use them to shape the country in their image. Maybe a genetically-enhanced riot soldier, complete with riot/battle armour?


What I definately need, at some point, is a player for the George character, as he is central to the RP, but he needs a team, too. There is also a slot for the recruiter, the stranger in my pitch, a British Nick (or Nicola) Fury. Primarily the heroes and heroines are what we need at the moment, and then if there is demand or interest, we can move to shaping up a villain team.

Keeping this as interest check for now, before I go into more detail. If there is interest, I shall tell more happily.

Cheers for reading, chaps!  

RubySlippers

This could be fun but I want to be a Welsh heroine who is NOT BLOODY BRITISH even though happens to be fighting crime in the UK, but is a mistress of the archery arts and a top athlete known as ta da The Welch Bowmistress.

Some armor, her arsenal of mighty arrows gimmick or not and a cool fold out high tech bow and her modified motorbike.

Ramael

Ha, technically as a Welsh girl she'd still be British BUT yes I take your point, and hadn't mentioned potential Irish Scottish and Welsh slots in my initial breakdown.

I'd love to see the Welsh Bowmistress as part of Union!

eiselmann

#3
HI

I could write for 'the other side' perhaps be the real leader of the BDP (Almost wrote BNP) or at least the brains of the operation...my family is English (I'm a New Zealander) and I was raised to think of England as home so follow politics back home quite closely .

I take it the BDP are a lot more influencal than the current BNP....also being a right leaning tory bastard, that I am ,who grew up in poverty (comparative) and in the most crime infested part of New Zealand...I kind of understand the thinking of some of these BNP (or in our case BDP) prats thou of course don't agree with their more extremist views or their tactics.

One big question writing for this character may and probably will mean writing views that many, if not all, other writers will disagree with is that something you'd be okay with or would you want the political motivations to be ditched form the character and just make him what he is ...disconnected prat on a power trip...personally if you want to model this on the BNP the motivation (fears) have to be included otherwise you could just as easily model this on a powerful left wing Union bringing Britain to its knees in order to create yet another workers paradise ....

edit oops just realised the villain team will be created last ....well just throwing my interest out there if and when the time for villains comes about
260916 Sigh, on the back end of my laptop dying last week and getting a new one delivered, we now have had some local flooding where I live....fortunately for me no major damage since my house is a few feet above ground, however my back yard looks like the swimming pool I don't have ...so might take a day or two to get back to posting


The Betrayal at Yalta, one of the main reasons the world is the mess it is today

My ons and offs link

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=254364.0

RubySlippers

I figure that will be a quirk when they call her British or English - I'm not British I'm bloody WELSH! (fires an arrow at them)  :D

Not she is opposed to the average citizen or good folks at risk even if British.

Nadir

@Ramael Oooh, interesting. Will this be a cishet game, or are you open to non-binary characters? I have an idea about an ancient Irish prince who gets reincarnated into a body not quite like the one he owned in his first life time

@RubySlippers Britain is the main island of the British Isles. All English, Welsh and Scottish are British. To illustrate;




MzHyde

Definitely interested in this.

chaoslord29

Count me interested! I love these kind of near future super hero settings, especially when there's an added element of celebrity/capitalism involved haha.

Might be able to count on me for one of those mythical figures reborn. It's hard for me to resist the chance to play knights of a certain type.
My Guiding Light-
'I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.'- Lord Havelock Vetinari
My ideas and O/Os:Darker Tastes and Tales

RubySlippers

Quote from: Dim Hon on March 29, 2013, 09:07:34 AM
@Ramael Oooh, interesting. Will this be a cishet game, or are you open to non-binary characters? I have an idea about an ancient Irish prince who gets reincarnated into a body not quite like the one he owned in his first life time

@RubySlippers Britain is the main island of the British Isles. All English, Welsh and Scottish are British. To illustrate;



I know but tell that to a patriotic Welsh they ,at least the ones I met, think of themselves as Welsh, UK members and then British citizens in that order or at least Welsh and then British. She is simply very Welsh.  ;D

In the US think of some southerners they see themselves as citizens of ,say, Alabama and then happen to be US citizens. I know the attitude there to.

BlackestKnight

#9
I've done enough of these to know what a character sheet should typical look like.

Hero/Villain Name: Midnight Tiger

Secret Identity: Prince Enzi of the Orixá Kingdom

Age: 22

Gender: All Man. Maybe a bit more than most...

Nationality: Nigerian

Personality: On the surface, Enzi seems like a fairly ordinary albeit gifted  humble young man merely concerned with the mundanities of real life. Though in truth, this is just a mask to hide his true personality.  As the revolutionary social hero midnight tiger, he's gained a following among britain's marginalized. The punks, the immigrants, the freaks and geeks. Those who feel excluded by the BDP administrated government and society in general.

His true nature is something of a magnificent dictator, though this isn't to say he is incapable of genuinely good intentions, he's just more along the lines of an Ozymandias or V type anti-hero who's willing to go about extreme measures to restructure the world to a more altruistic state. His charisma and beliefs in justice gain him the trust and respect of many followers and fellow leaders, his chess-pieces to victory. As you might all ready expect Enzi has bit of an ego and is a deeply paranoid individual.

He looks at people in terms of their usefulness to his overall goal to bring about world peace. While he thumbs his nose at corrupt authority figures in the BDP party, Enzi himself isn't too different from the people he criticizes, though what keeps him from truly becoming an unadulterated villain, is his sense of justice, he knows how the world should be and suffering is not it. 



Normal Image:
Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Hero Image:
Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Powers:

Superhuman sensory- Sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell are well-above "average"  human limits thanks to training he undertook as well as other enhancements to become the Midnight Tiger.

Master Martial Artist- The Orixa people practice a martial arts believed to predate even shaolin kung-fu , it is highly unpredictable technical form that borrows on the movements of 8 distinct disciplines found in the natural world. Panther, Cheetah, Ostrich, Turtle, Rhino, Mamba, Gazelle, Monkey.  To master the 8 forms, one must possess olympian level athlete reflexes, agility, speed, strength, endurance, tactics. Enzi has since then added his own martial art form Swallow to the 8 totalling 9,  showing his creativity and mastery of the form.

Keen Intellect- As heir to the Orixa Kingdom, Enzi was trained in a plethora of subjects from classical and modern warfare to classical & modern medicine. Enzi is currently enrolled at Oxford University where he is studying as a pre-med.

Proficient Marxmen- Trained in the use of bows, crossbows, blowdarts, slings and bladerangs, he can use a gun though he prefers not to.

Resources- As heir to the Orixa, Enzi has access to a rather impressive sum of wealth and connections.

Technology-Creates much of the technology he employs for his superhero identity, Midnight Tiger. In particular, his costume is weaved of element & bulletproof resistant nano-fibers. Enzi has a built in smartpad mounted on his wrist that he helped design. His signature claws contain the rare precious metal orichalcum.

Mystic knowledge- knowledge is power right?


Other: Whenever I tell people where I'm from and that I'm a prince, people treat me with skepticism as if I'm being dishonest. Must be a British thing...Enzi is descended from a long line of ruler monarchs dating back from Shango, Hannibal and Zulu.

chaoslord29

Quote from: RubySlippers on March 29, 2013, 12:19:06 PM
I know but tell that to a patriotic Welsh they ,at least the ones I met, think of themselves as Welsh, UK members and then British citizens in that order or at least Welsh and then British. She is simply very Welsh.  ;D

In the US think of some southerners they see themselves as citizens of ,say, Alabama and then happen to be US citizens. I know the attitude there to.

Best comparison I've ever heard. I've never met someone who stylised themselves as Welsh, but if such a person would be anything like my Scottish friends and peers, you don't ever call them British to their face. No matter what the chart says, people tend to get particular and patriotic in different ways, especially when one people's history involves certain conquering of other people's . . .
My Guiding Light-
'I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.'- Lord Havelock Vetinari
My ideas and O/Os:Darker Tastes and Tales

RubySlippers

Anyway she needs a reason to get into drunken bar fights.

Go ahead call her British. (flexes)

chaoslord29

Quote from: RubySlippers on March 29, 2013, 01:04:38 PM
Anyway she needs a reason to get into drunken bar fights.

Go ahead call her British. (flexes)

Drunken barfights makes me thing I should create a British sports hero. Star Rugby/Soccer/Tennis/Cricket player turned masked adventurer!
My Guiding Light-
'I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.'- Lord Havelock Vetinari
My ideas and O/Os:Darker Tastes and Tales

RubySlippers

My characters costume will feature one of the Welsh independence movement flag in the theme, not sure which one but it will be a stick it to the British and pro-Welsh sorts of idea she may be in Britain until Welsh is independent but is not British.


Primarch

I'm always up for taking up a Superhero representing Ireland. Did you have a powerscale in mind? I usually enjoy playing a hero of the 'Paragon' Archtype like Superman or Thor, but don't want to create something OTT for the setting.

chaoslord29

Quote from: Primarch on March 29, 2013, 01:34:15 PM
I'm always up for taking up a Superhero representing Ireland. Did you have a powerscale in mind? I usually enjoy playing a hero of the 'Paragon' Archtype like Superman or Thor, but don't want to create something OTT for the setting.

Good Question, but from the intro I was inclined to think that the St. George figure was likewise a 'paragon' type superhero.
My Guiding Light-
'I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.'- Lord Havelock Vetinari
My ideas and O/Os:Darker Tastes and Tales

Primarch

Quote from: chaoslord29 on March 29, 2013, 01:37:47 PM
Good Question, but from the intro I was inclined to think that the St. George figure was likewise a 'paragon' type superhero.

I had read it as a Captain America, but perhaps.

chaoslord29

Quote from: RubySlippers on March 29, 2013, 01:32:38 PM
My characters costume will feature one of the Welsh independence movement flag in the theme, not sure which one but it will be a stick it to the British and pro-Welsh sorts of idea she may be in Britain until Welsh is independent but is not British.

There's a Welsh independence movement? Seems like the Irish get all the publicity  ???
My Guiding Light-
'I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.'- Lord Havelock Vetinari
My ideas and O/Os:Darker Tastes and Tales

eiselmann

Surprised no one mentioned some one based on Arthur (unless I missed it) he is afterall supposed to return when Britain is in its most dire need (obviously according to legend)

Robin Hood would be an interesting character base thou perhaps a little too Green Arrow.

Theres definitely a Welsh Independence Movement...mostly a bunch of people complaining about the English over beers at the pub but they do have a few flags and launch the occasional protest when theres too much English on regional TV
260916 Sigh, on the back end of my laptop dying last week and getting a new one delivered, we now have had some local flooding where I live....fortunately for me no major damage since my house is a few feet above ground, however my back yard looks like the swimming pool I don't have ...so might take a day or two to get back to posting


The Betrayal at Yalta, one of the main reasons the world is the mess it is today

My ons and offs link

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=254364.0

chaoslord29

Quote from: eiselmann on March 29, 2013, 01:50:24 PM
Surprised no one mentioned some one based on Arthur (unless I missed it) he is afterall supposed to return when Britain is in its most dire need (obviously according to legend)

Robin Hood would be an interesting character base thou perhaps a little too Green Arrow.
I think the only reason they haven't been mentioned yet is because they are a little, well, archetypal. Green Arrow is after all based almost wholesale on Robin Hood, and playing as King Arthur is kind of like playing a super hero based on a more badass Jesus. There's a certain level of mythology that it gets dicey to potentially tread, but then you see plenty of heroes like Thor and Hercules, so it's all relative depending on how you think you can best play the character you want to play ^_^
My Guiding Light-
'I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.'- Lord Havelock Vetinari
My ideas and O/Os:Darker Tastes and Tales

RubySlippers

Will my abilities and powers as planned for The Welsh Dame -

Tricked Out Foldout Composite Bow and Arsenal of Arrows (Ordinary and Gimmick)

Light Latest Tech Material Body Armor with Features (Not Power Armor)

Athletic

High Tech Flying Wing (think about the New Goblins ride in Spiderman 3)

Hand-to-Hand Combat Expert

Wealthy Inventor

Weakness: Gets pretty upset when anyone refers to her as British, UK is fine and Welsh awesome but she is not bloody British!

(One Independence Group was Militant ... She is Just a Welsh Patriotic Heroine who is For Peaceful Independence from Britain)

ElvenKitten

I'd definitely be interested maybe tech based....a british female version of Iron Man maybe...

Muse

  *Chuckles8  Don't really have time for another freeform game now, but I wanted to give you props on a fun idea. 

  In my custom superhero setting--well, my spin on the one created by Bishrook and Darwishi, really--the super soldier formula was originally created to make a small lineage of sapient, physically enhanced English wolf hounds.  They eventually all became power armor pilots.  :) 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Primarch

Can't decide between a character with powers from myth or science. Fantasy or sci-fi! My eternal struggle with Supers.

chaoslord29

Quote from: Primarch on March 29, 2013, 02:17:54 PM
Can't decide between a character with powers from myth or science. Fantasy or sci-fi! My eternal struggle with Supers.

Right? I'm torn between my genetically augmented not-quite-paragon British Sportsman, and an actual wizard masquerading as a stage magician. Not the most original concept I know, but it has the sort of appeal that's just too good to pass up.
My Guiding Light-
'I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.'- Lord Havelock Vetinari
My ideas and O/Os:Darker Tastes and Tales