At the height of World War 2 the first superhuman emerged. There was nothing, no one, that could stop him. His name was Dr. Impossible, and he made history by forcing the Axis and Allies to agree to a peace treaty which he mediated.Recruitment wrote:I am currently looking for one player interested in playing a normal human with guidelines listed below. Before applying know that you need to be comfortable not standing on equal PL or PP footing with the other PCs and will not receiving any benefit because of this disparity in power. They have underwent empowerment events, and only two of them are going to be able to reach the maximum PL for this game. Also make certain you will be able to post regularly and consistently, barring unforeseen events.
There are two prominent factions within the player group. One supports Praetor Null. The other supports Dr. Sokolov, who was once one of Imperator's Praetors. They are both roughly on the same side, but there is a rivalry between the two factions. To add some balance to the group's social dynamic I would like the new character to be one of Dr. Sokolov's supporters, however I will not make that a requirement. Feel free to ask questions on the game's background in the OOC thread. There is background information on the setting sprinkled throughout the IC threads, but nothing centralize in a single post or "setting thread".
On Friday 21 January 2000 the second superhuman emerged. Leading a fleet of never before seen aerial vehicles the individual calling themselves Imperator appeared over Hadron City in northern Kansas. That day an impenetrable barrier surrounded the city.
It remained a sore spot in the American psyche, an entire city and millions of citizens trapped. Until on Friday 13 April 2018, when the barrier was brought down. The United States accompanied by Dr. Impossible moved in to secure the city, finding it drastically changed.
A six month conflict ensued between the US military along with their super human ally against the forces of Imperator. The fighting spilled out into surrounding cities, scaring the larger part of Kansas. People questions if the fighting would ever end. Eventually, Imperator was confronted by Dr. Impossible. The aerial battle spanned several states, but it's end was never seen. At some point there was an explosion over the Arizona desert and both combatants were gone. Neither have been seen since.
Without their leader Imperator's forces eventually fell, or went to ground. Martial law has been enacted in Hadron City and a private army, Stronghold International, has been contracted to get Hadron City under control.
You were part of Imperator's organization. You either followed him to Hadron City as part of the occupying force, or supported his endeavors from outside. Things went silent after Imperator's defeat. Three months have passed, now finally something. Null, one of Imperator's inner circle of Praetors, approached you. They asked you to join them in retaking Hadron City and continuing what Imperator started there. Null promised you power, real power, and authority … if only you followed them and gave them your loyalty.
"The future of mankind lies in Hadron City.", those were the words first spoken by Imperator to his forces before the invasion. Now they were echoed by Null. If you had seen the city before the fighting started, before Stronghold's martial law, you could have believed it.
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The above sets the stage for a game I would like to run for four players. The PCs will start as normal people (Ability upper limits dicussed here), albeit very skilled and talented. Later they will be given the opportunity to become much more powerful. The setting is going to be on the darker side of grayscale. You are people of questionable morality, working for a bad person, in a world that may get pretty grim.
For character creation, PCs are PL 7 with 105 PP. They may not have any Powers or Devices. No Inventor, Ritual, or Artificer Advantages. There is no magic in this setting. Super science is also an exceedingly rare thing that normal scientists, engineers, etc. can only maintain and maybe repair. Not recreate. You may purchase ranks in Luck, but no higher than 2. Half of a character's attack value must be fully paid for (with Attributes or Advantage), both melee and range. Aside from vehicles and HQ, you may have free mundane Equipment that is supplied by Null (ex. no blaster weapons), unless you want to personally own something.
Other than a build and 2 Complications, I would like a brief concept/background describing your character. Of note, I want to know what role they played in Imperator's organization, where they were and what they were doing during Hadron City's occupation, and what they have been doing the past three months.
A couple warnings. Do not get overly attached to who your character begins the game as. I do not want to spoil anything, however prepare yourself for change that you cannot completely control when it comes to the origin of powers. I also want to try using the lethal combat rules. This mainly impacts the significance of degrees of success on damage and counts recovery time by hours, not minutes.
Threads
Main In Character Thread
Extended Interludes Thread
Cast
Diego Gonzalez, a former spy with a background in art history and linguistics. Now the Ascendant of Deception.
Peter Ezima, a member of Imperator's Engineering Corps inside Hadron City who has become the Ascendant of Creation.
Hitori Zanzo, the "Sword of Null", a master swordsman transformed into a Macro-Virus.
Dr. Levi Kripke, a world renowned neurosurgeon and spokesperson for "Imperator's Society".
- Iona, a full body cyborg with the brain of Dr. Levi Kripke.
Former Cast and Guest Stars
Alonzo, a masked mystery man, magician, and enforcer for Imperator.
Alexandria Thompson, a soldier in Imperator's army, turned mercenary after Imperator's defeat.
- Reaper, formerly Alexandria Thompson, now the Ascendant of War.
Supporting Cast (NPCs)
Tilly Sander, an Imperator loyalist specialized in urban warfare.
Archived Threads
Ronin Army OOC Thread
Ronin Army Main IC Thread
Ronin Army Extended Interludes Thread
Praetor Null's Favor: 1Null's Favor wrote:I am going to try out using an abstract system to reflect the relationship between Null as a patron to the PCs. When the group does something that advances Null's agenda in a significant way they will gain a point of "Null's Favor". This the group can spend to do things like request backup or reinforcements on a mission, get help improving a HQ, borrow a Device for a time, or get access to normally off limits information. There are no hard and fast rules, as I said it is abstract, and while Null may not do exactly as you request they are likely to do something that benefits the group and fits the spirit of the request. At worst the response will be "no" and you keep the point for later use.
Dr. Sokolov's Favor: 2 (Iona Only)
Dominion wrote:I am adding another system to the game, Dominion, which is borrowed from the "Godbound" ruleset. Dominion represents, in it's broadest sense, the ability to make a lasting impact on the world. Abstractly it also includes your personal ability to get things done, your authority, and assets at your disposal to help you achieve your goal. If you want to cause social change in the world that persists without your personal oversight, train an army, construct a Device for an NPC, introduce new technologies into the world, or build a new World Wonder you will need to spend Dominion on it.
Going forward the you will have the choice of taking Dominion as a reward instead of Power Points on a 1 for 1 basis. This reflects time and energy spent on external, rather than personal, development. You may also pool your Dominion, and work together towards an endeavor. Though all involved will need to be taking action to warrant this. The basic cost of a change depends on how far-reaching it is.
- A neighborhood or other small community has a base cost of 1 point.
- Something that affects an entire city or a hundred square miles or so has a base cost of 2 points.
- Affecting an entire province, nation state, or a geographic region within a state costs 4 points.
- Affecting an entire continent worth of people or land costs 8 points.
- Attempting a change that reaches an entire world costs 16 points, and WILL require significant action to be taken along the way.
Once the base cost is decided, this is multiplied by the difficulty.
- A change that is modest and plausible, that does not require violating the laws of nature or angering local powers is a Plausible change with a x1 multiplier.
- Implausible changes that require bending the rules of nature or human behavior are Improbable, and have a x2 multiplier.
- Extraordinary changes that are politically unthinkable or physically impossible are Impossible changes that add a x4 multiplier.
- Vast Impossible changes might be even more difficult, forcing a x8 multiplier.
"Impossible" changes will require serious effort, likely building an entire story arc around it. Some Improbable changes may also require missions and adventures of their own to get resources, knowledge, or other assets required for the undertaking. There are also things that can make these changes more difficult, such as a NPC using their own influence to hinder you. In such cases if you do not remove the obstacle the task may require a higher Dominion expenditure, or even be unachievable.
Yes, there are likely to be forces who want to oppose the changes you may wish to make with Dominion.
