Character Creation
To keep the game fair and balanced, players will not just pick any superpower they want and roll with it. Instead, once players have been confirmed, they will each send me their top three desired powers. I recommend using:
http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Superpower_Wiki
to find some ideas for powers. Once those three powers have been submitted, I will review your desired powers against the needs of the game and work with you to develop a fun and fair set of powers for your character. The general guidelines for power creation so you aren't too disappointed from the get-go:
- Powers will have limits in this game! You cannot be as powerful as Superman. You cannot have "Omnipotence" as your power of choice. You cannot have infinite knowledge.
- While you will help guide the character creation, the GM gets to set the limits of your powers. That means that we might settle on "flight" as your power, but the GM sets the maximum speed, height, distance, etc of that flight.
- Consider this: Everyone in this game will be considered a kind of "rookie" superhero. So your powers may grow over the course of the game based on the story and how the dice roll for you!
- Try to pick powers that will be useful in a variety of situations. Having the ability to communicate with dogs is awesome, but it limits the storytelling potential a little bit.
- Some powers may "come as a set." For instance, some kind of animal-based powers might involve enhanced strength and senses, but don't get too pushy about adding a bunch of related powers. Remember, give your character room to grow!
- We'd like to avoid repeating powers, so be prepared to chat with the GM about some other possibilities if your first three don't work out. I want everyone to have fun so I'm going to work to make sure people are happy with their powers, but the game has to stay fun and fair for the whole party.
Once your powers have been selected, its your job to design a superhero. What you need to include in your heroic profile:
- Code Name (real name too if desired)
- Description of Powers
- Description of Character and Costume, including gender, race, outfit, accessories, etc
- A Brief Bio - also note that to spice up the game a bit, the GM may give you some notes on this section. You may be given past connections to other characters in the game.
Once this information is approved by the GM, there is just one final step to the character creation process. You must send me two lists:
- Five desired "skills," based on your character's history and powers, that he or she can contribute to the team. You may select things such as "speaks Chinese," "trained jet pilot" or "diplomacy." The GM will select 2-3 of these that best fit the upcoming story and your bio to include in your character's profile. If your suggestions do not sufficiently match your biography, the GM may disregard them and assign others.
- You must rank these three traits against your characters abilities:
- Strength: covers both physical strength and durability. Put this trait first if your character is a bruiser of some kind or incredibly resilient to damage.
- Intelligence: covers all mental tasks, such as solving puzzles or resisting the influence of others. Put this trait first if your character character is well-learned or has powers involving the mind.
- Talent: covers training at specific skills, dexterity and accuracy. Put this trait first if your character is very precise or developed their powers through training and discipline.
Once these things are set, your character is ready to play.
I'd like everyone to make a new SWF account using their hero's name and post in the game under that account. I'd also like everyone to consider keeping the association between their main account and their superhero secret. I won't make it a rule since it wouldn't be cheating to know, but I think it might add a flair of drama if you weren't quite sure which other player is in control of these heroes.
I expect this entire process will take about a week, so please be patient while everyone gets their characters completed and ready to play. If your hero's name is already a name on SWf, try adding "RPG" to the end of it to denote that its an account for use in the game.
The Heroics Universe
The game world will be a place where superheroes are well-established, with the more powerful heroes grouping up to take on big bads on a regular basis. However, power levels are nowhere near as inflated as they are in the DC and Marvel universes. No one in this world can lift an entire building or fly through the sun and survive. The "Batman" or "Green Arrow" archetypes that are highly skilled and have no powers could feasibly exist in this universe, although they will certainly be at a disadvantage against those that have powers.
In this universe, there is a central authority for superheroes that answers to the United Nations. It officially sanctions superheroics so that heroes can avoid running afoul of local laws, although some heroes work outside of this framework and are not hunted down for it. Some nations do not recognize this authority though, so political machinations are always a concern. The central authority will be the ones organizing this first adventure, although it might be something outside their normal mode of operations.
In this universe, the Earth has not made first contact with any alien races and does not have a significant presence in space. However, technology is a little bit ahead of real-world tech, allowing for some more fantastical inventions to make their way into the story. The GM will work with players to find the right level of technology available if a tech-themed hero is desired.
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Example Hero Profile
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Codename: Chilon the Wise
Powers: Force Field Generation & Life Force Manipulation
Description: Caucasian of Greek descent. Completely hairless with odd age spots running from his forehead over his head and down his neck, as if in a striped pattern. Appears to be in his 50s and wears loose-fitting clothing of various colors, most often some shade of blue.
Bio:
Chilon the Wise is the product of what might be called an ancient magical experiment. Once a member of an elite Greek society of philosophers, scientists and magicians, Chilon theorized that through intense meditation, someone with a sensitivity to magic might be able to develop extraordinary control over their own body and even elevate their mind beyond the mortal plane. Determined to prove his theories, Chilon went deep below a mountain into a specially carved cave to begin his mediation process. He settled into a trance, so deep that he appeared dead to observers but when his body did not decay, his compatriots determined to leave him there and watch for the outcome. When they had all passed away and turned to dust, Chilon remained deep beneath the mountain.
He awoke from his trance over a thousand years later, empowered and virtually immortal. During his slumber, his mind had expanded and learned to connect to the life forces that bind all things together. His connection to the magical world was deep and intuitive and allowed him to project his mind long distances to observe events otherwise hidden from view. He also found that he could create force fields by solidifying the magical energies in the air. Sensing that the evil in the world had grown, Chilon set out to protect mankind from destruction. Over time he became known as "Chilon the Wise" due to his knowledge, foresight and clarity of action and in modern times he's become the leader of the metahuman world.
Talents
Immense knowledge of science, medicine, magic and history
Diplomacy and leadership
Resistance to all forms of manipulation and psychic attack, through training and from powers
Traits
+ Intelligence
o Talent
- Strength
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How to Post a Battle
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Decided that this might be an important thing for you all to know now that the missions are starting. Here's an example of good combat posts:
Fast Cash hadn't needed to fight soldiers, let alone supervillains, since he retired from heroics to start his delivery business. Yet here he was, with a dozen soldiers and the infamous Riot Man in his own company cafeteria. Most of his employees, while mostly supers themselves, were never heroes before they were corporate delivery peons. So the moment Riot's men barged into the room, most of them had used their powers to escape. The Fast Cash Corporation hired speedsters, teleporters, invisibility users and a few other useful powers to deliver anything and everything that might be sensitive, so escaping was not an issue for most of them. In fact, it wouldn't have been an issue for Fast Cash if there weren't a few unpowered Joes that worked for him and if this wasn't his freakin' company these jerks were invading.
Fast Cash uses his super speed to rush the soldiers, he landed a few punches before they could even react and attempted to disarm the rest with a sweeping dash.
==OOC==
GM, can I get a check on the disarm?
This first post shows a couple things:
First, the player behind Fast Cash shows off some of his thoughts and feelings. We get a little information. This isn't necessary in every post, but very helpful to the roleplaying aspects of the game at the start and finish of combat in particular!
Second, he doesn't need to ask the GM if he can land a few punches with his super speed on a bunch of common soldiers, but disarming them all is a more important event so he asks for a check. Don't be afraid to land a few punches without asking, but if you use your power in a special way or are fighting a supervillain, then get a check from the GM!
The GM might respond:
Fast Cash attempted to disarm all the soldiers in the room. (Roll: 4 So I'll allow you to disarm half of the soldiers.) His initial flurry knocked out two guards and disarmed four more, but the remaining six felt the wind of Fast Cash's initial dash and backed way from his attack. He stops behind Riot Man.
The GM rolled a check and came up with a response based on the result. Now Fast Cash can act again:
Skidding to a stop behind Riot Man, Fast Cash laughs at him with just a touch of anger.
"Corporate espionage seems below you Riot," he said as his foes turned to face him. He knew he should run. He should call in the real heroes, the guys that stuck it out when he quit to become rich running a superhuman business. But this was his building and these were his people. The ones that ran before would raise the alarm. For now he was going to fight.
Fast Cash smashes his fist forward to punch Riot Man.
==OOC== CHECK PLEASE!
Fast Cash lands his super speed punch directly into Riot Man's chest but the result is not quite what one would expect. Upon impact, Riot Man seemed to explode and created a dozen duplicates of himself in the room, each ready to fight against Fast Cash's super speed.
"You should know better Fast Cash," Riot Man cackled from a dozen mouths at once. "I'll just keep multiplying. You can't stop us all!"
Riot Man and his clones converge on Fast Cash while his soldiers move to block the doors.
In this scenario, the GM had an action in mind and didn't feel like a check was necessary to see if a super speed punch would land on its intended target. So the action was just resolved and the story advanced. This is how combat will work in this game. Should be simple so be creative and enjoy it!
