I’m starting a “super’s” game next Tuesday (25/01). I was going to start it this week but Im likely going to be too “busy” (certainly not playing Dead Space 2). In theory the game will run Tuesday night from 8-11. But Im not too tied to that day and time so thats up for negogiation. I’m looking for two to six (hah) players, though if you cant make it and still want to get involved (or just fuck with whoever is playing then read on). The game will be taking place in the icy depths of Springmount on ye olde dublin road (a.k.a the house I’m renting).
The Setup
You wake up on Tuesday the 25th of January and discover that you have gained superhuman powers. As reports flood in and emergency news broadcasts follow one after another you realise you are not alone. What will you do?
The game is set in the “real world”. One morning a handful of people wake up with powers straight out of the comic books and the world will never be the same again. You will be playing one of these people (feel free to play a self-insert i.e. yourself, though there can be pitfalls to that).
The power level is somewhere around “average” X-Men level (e.g. Colossus, Nightcrawler not so much Prof X, Magneto or Jean Grey). While the game is nominally “realistic”, its the kind of realism we see in Tv shows like Burn Notice, Misfits or Human Target i.e. characters are in theory vulnerable to normal lethal force but bullet wounds are generally more a complication than a mortal threat.
In terms of how long the game will be, I’d like to keep running it as long as its fun. But its impossible at this juncture to say how it will go so the first “arc” will cover the first month “in game”. Which will probably take four or five sessions (assuming each session covers roughly a week of in game time). If we start next week that gives us five weeks before rag week (when I’m assuming we’ll lose either players or venue). At that point we can see how things are going and continue or stop
Waffle
Unlike a normal superhero story, where the protagonists are generally reactive this will play out more like a standard rpg game where the players are actively trying to accomplish their goals. There will also be a strong sandbox element to the game. While the world will be moving along and reacting to NPC’s there is no strongly scripted over-arching plot, nor will I be forcing the players to work together (though it is recommended). Hopefully the game will be driven along by the actions of the players and the reactions of the world/non player characters. These are just my own feelings, we can discuss it as a group during character generation and come to some kind of consensus.
When the game is up and running I’ll be starting a thread here, http://templeofmick.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=6892268a7e768bbfcaae2cae19f1e8e3, the main thread will be a timeline outlining what the pc’s and npc’s are doing and any other major world events. It’s here that “ex-pats” can get involved. Simply drop me an email or start a thread outlining the character you want to play and then based on the timeline let me know what they are getting up to and I’ll feed it back into the timeline (and the “main game”).
I might also throw up session summaries on the wiki (http://templeofmick.com/mywiki/), but we’ll see.
The Nitty Gritty aka Mechanics
I’ll be running the game using DC Adventures (which uses Mutants and Masterminds 3rd edition, a streamlined and simplified version of Mutants and Masterminds 2nd edition). If you dont know what this means, dont worry.
Now, in a move thats sure to make you want things you never knew you wanted, I’m going to briefly list what powers/effects you cant have. This list may be expanded as I may have forgotten some things.
Time Travel – No time travel, well technically no forward time travel and limited backwards time travel. You can take the power to travel back in time, but you will be like a ghost, unable to interact or intervene in events (leaving aside the idea that observing an event changes it).
Mind Control – You cant control peoples minds. You can however take a power along the lines of “Physical control” or “Pheromone control” which will allow you to mimic the physical effects of mind control. But a persons mind remains their own.
Mind Reading – You cant read peoples minds or edit their memories.
Foresight – No seeing the future
Gadgeteer’s – No Iron Men I’m afraid. No Reed Richards. No Doctor Doom’s.
No Resurrection – You cant bring people back from the dead. Though you yourself can come back from the dead or be immortal.
No Super Intelligence – Your other abilities can be superhuman but Intelligence is limited to “max human” (comic book max human though) intelligence. Considering how poorly super intelligence is modelled in supers games this is more to head off dissatisfaction than anything else. If you really want to be super intelligent you can be (but you may not get the benefits from it you “logically” should as its hard to implement).
A final note on powers – Dont feel constrained to comic book staples, feel free to come up with whatever outre concept you want. You can find some inspiration here – http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?p=13388379.
Inspirational Material
TV
Misfists Season 1
Films
Kick Ass
Unbreakable
Comics
Supreme Power
Squadron Supreme (Both versions)
Rising Stars
New Universal
Breach
Watchmen
Manga
Junk – Record of the Last Hero
Zetman
Akumetsu
Books
Wildcards
Expanded Bibliography
I’ve copied this wholesale from the Paragons sourcebook for Mutants and Masterminds 2nd edition. Its a sourcebook dedicated to creating your own “First supers” campaign world in a modular fashion and is a pretty good read (even if for some reason Ive never managed to read it all the way through). Its also very system agnostic so if you see it secondhand (or on pdf) it may be worth a look. I have the majority of the materials listed below, so if you want to borrow some let me know.
Non -Fiction
All the Myriad Ways, Larry Niven. A collection of Niven’s essays, including several useful for Paragons Gamemasters, such as “The Theory and Practice of Teleportation,” why time travel shouldn’t work, and the classic “Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex” which should be required reading for the realistic implications of some paranormals and their powers.
The Science of Superheroes and The Science of Supervillains, Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg. What stuff in the comics is way out there and what is actually more plausible than you might think? Gresh and Weinberg take a look at most of the major comics characters through the lens of modern science and technology. Useful resources for paranormal “miracles” and such.
Suppressed Transmission and Suppressed Transmission 2, Kenneth Hite, Steve Jackson Games. These two compilations of Ken Hite’s “Suppressed Transmission” column for the Pyramid website are difficult to categorize, being highly gameable ruminations on conspiracy and High Weirdness, but since they primarily connect the dots between real world sources in all sorts of interesting ways, let’s call them “non-fiction.” Both books are potential gold mines for Paragons games. Technically, you shouldn’t even need to dig; you can just pan for the nuggets in the stream of Hite’s consciousness. Pure gold.
Fiction
Gladiator, Phillip Wylie. Said to be one of the seminal works influencing Siegel and Schuster in the creation of Superman. The novel gives a look at the kind of alienation superhumans may experience due to their “superior” nature.
It’s Superman! Tom De Haven. A modern re-interpretation of the early life of Superman in the 1930s, good at asking some of the tricky questions about the Man of Steel.
Superfolks, Robert Mayer. A ruthlessly tongue-in-cheek look at comic book foibles that made many comic book writers rethink the genre. Good inspiration for some of the more realistic views of Paragons.
Wild Cards, George R. R. Martin, editor. A long-running anthology series (along with some stand-alone novels) recently revived for a “next generation” of stories about a world where an alien retrovirus gives some people super-powers and turns others into mutant freaks. Excellent resource for Paragons in terms of power mechanics and inspiration for oddball characters.
Comic Books & Graphic Novels
The Authority, Warren Ellis, Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, et. al., Wildstorm. One of the definitive comic resources for a Paragons series, featuring a team of “world-class” supers who decide fighting crime and protecting the status quo isn’t enough and discover changing the world for the better isn’t all that easy.
DP7, Mark Gruenwald, Marvel Comics. One of Gruenwald’s lesser-known projects, featuring a group of seven “Displaced Paranormals” (the “DP7”) dealing with the effects of their unusual talents on their lives and an apparent conspiracy to control them. Out of print, but well worth reading for almost any type of Paragons series.
Elementals, Bill Willingham, Comico. A comic series about people who become mystical paranormals by dying, including a number of mature themes like violence, death, sexuality, and faith. Good inspiration for a mystic-oriented Paragons series involving factions like the Pact and the Seven Thunders.
JLA: the Nail, Alan Davis, DC Comics. An Elseworlds title showing how quickly a comic book style world could go off-kilter if just one thing (in this case, the presence of Superman) was changed. Other Elseworlds titles take a similarly hard look at some of the assumptions of mainstream comics.
Miracleman, Alan Moore, et. al. Originally published as Marvelman in the UK, Moore’s series is one of the first comics to look at superheroes and their powers in a realistic light.
Newuniversal, Warren Ellis, Marvel Comics. An update of Marvel’s “New Universe” setting (which included DP7) with a more modern, science-fiction style. An interesting unfolding look at an event like the Breakout and a world’s reaction to the sudden appearance of paranormals.
Planetary, Warren Ellis. The quintessential “reality archeology” comic, featuring characters digging around in a secret past filled with all manner of pop culture artifacts from comics, television, and film, with an over-arcing conspiracy trying to keep the truth from the rest of the world. Required reading for the Echoes of the Past series framework.
Rising Stars, J. Michael Straczynski, et. al., Wildstorm. The creator of Babylon 5 tells the stories of “Specials” empowered in utero by a meteor strike. The series is a good model for a paranormal breakout, with an interesting twist about the nature of paranormal powers.
Squadron Supreme, Mark Gruenwald, Marvel Comics. A superhero team is faced with a world in ruins and the question “why not rebuild things better than they were before?” The answer, and the process of getting there, makes for some thought-provoking reading. J. Michael Straczynski’s later take on Gruenwald’s characters in Supreme Power and Squadron Supreme is also worth checking out; much slower paced and darker but potential inspiration for a Paragons breakout.
Stormwatch, Warren Ellis, et. al., Wildstorm. The end of this Wildstorm comics series sets up all the tropes Ellis later explores in The Authority. It’s well worth reading for looks at superhumans as international “super-powers” as well as their potential to change the world, and the reactions of those who don’t want it to change.
Ultimates, Mark Millar, Bryan Hitch, et. al., Marvel Comics. Marvel’s take on the idea kicked off in The Authority with re-imagined versions of the Avengers and other Marvel Universe characters kicking butt and taking names.
Watchmen, Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, DC Comics. A seminal comic book series about superheroes and what their real roles and impact might be in the world.
X-Men, Marvel Comics. No other long-running comic series captures as many of the themes in Paragons, or has captured as many readers with thought-provoking questions about the nature of humanity, power, and responsibility. Substitute “paranormal” for “mutant” and you can use a great deal of X-Men material as inspiration for a Paragons series. Marvel’s Ultimate X-Men series is also good for ideas for more post-modern style series.
Films
The Matrix. This film is the go-to source for any Paragons series using the “virtuality” options discussed in Chapter Six. Paranormals could all be “reality hackers” like Neo and his friends.
Spider-Man. “With great power comes great responsibility,” as the saying goes. This film and its two sequels are object lessons in the responsible use of power as well as ripping good comic book stories.
Unbreakable. Comic books as universal archetypes playing out in a world much like our own. Mr. Glass, in particular, could easily be a Paragons character working behind the scenes.
X-Men and X2. Like the X-Men comics, just change “mutant” to “paranormal” and you’ve got a good model for a Paragons series, particularly one featuring opposing views on the relations between paragons and normal humans. The less said about the third film, the better.
Television
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, FOX Television. Buffy and some of the other characters on this show could be paranormals, particularly in a series with a magical focus. The spin-off show Angel has even more examples of potential paranormal characters. Both are also good examples of normals and low-powered paranormals working together.
The 4400, USA Network. Various people who have mysteriously vanished all reappear together one night, gifted with unexplained powers. Not a bad potential kick-off to a Paragons series, either.
Heroes, NBC. This popular show on NBC (still in its first season as of the writing of this book) could easily be the basis for a “Secret Breakout” Paragons series where paranormals and their powers are initially unknown to the world at large (but known to a select few who seek to control or exploit them).
Misfits of Science, NBC. Played mostly for laughs, this short-lived show about a group of low-powered paranormals could still serve as inspiration for Paragons characters and games, particularly ones focused on humor.
Smallville, The CW Network. A retelling of Superman’s boyhood in small-town Kansas that takes the classic story in some interesting new directions. Good ideas for a Paragons series involving aliens or otherworldly characters of one kind or another.
Torchwood, BBC. A secret organization “beyond the police,” deals with the paranormal. A good model for an Initiative or PRA series featuring (largely) normal characters.
Roleplaying Games
A number of RPGs have addressed the idea of modern-day people with superhuman powers and may be useful source material for a Paragons game, including:
Aberrant, White Wolf Games, 1999. Perhaps the definitive “supers meet the real world” RPG, Aberrant suffered a bit of “middle child syndrome” (being the second in a trilogy of games that began with the sci-fi game Trinity and ended with the pulp RPG Adventure!) However, it still managed to provide plenty of thought-provoking material on what might happen if some people gained superpowers and how the world might treat them.
The Authority, Guardians of Order, 2004. Licensed superhero RPG based on the Wildstorm comic series. Out of print, but worthwhile for its Gamemastering and series advice as well as its gorgeous visual presentation.
Brave New World, Matt Forbeck, Pinnacle Entertainment. Paranormal “deltas” struggle against a totalitarian American regime established by a superhuman John F. Kennedy. Out of print, but good source material for Paragons games making use of the Paranormal Regulatory Agency and the Paranormal Registration Act.
GURPS International Super Teams, Robert Schroeck, Steve Jackson Games, 1991. Out of print, but available in electronic format, this setting focuses on metahumans created by alien intervention emerging in the late 1930s (just like comic book superheroes) and their effect on the world around them. Plenty of interesting ideas for a more realistic treatment of paranormals and their abilities.
Mage: the Awakening, White Wolf Games, 2005. One of the World of Darkness series of games, focusing on mages secretly living amongst ordinary mortals. Good inspiration for a secret paranormal Paragons game, particularly one with the mystical bent, Mage really comes into its own as inspiration for the Imageria and its countless realms (and inhabitants).
Scion: Hero, White Wolf Games, 2007. The first in the Scion trilogy of games, which revolves around the children of gods as they play their role in a secret war. Provides good source material for a series in which paragons are the result of interference from gods or other supernatural beings. It may also prove useful to provide motivations for paragons who model themselves after gods, like members of the Pantheon.
Underground, Ray Winninger, Mayfair Games, 1993. Although out of print, this game of super-powered genetically-engineered vets of foreign wars in a dystopic near-future is well worthy of mention for both its social commentary on the abuses of power and its ground-breaking social parameter mechanics that inspired the paradigm shift rules in this book.
Wild Cards, John Jos. Miller and Steve Kenson, Green Ronin Publishing, coming in 2008. The forthcoming Wild Cards sourcebook for Mutants & Masterminds can provide useful ideas, characters, and game system options for a Paragons series (and vice versa), given that it also has a singular source for powers and some fairly unusual characters.
Wild Talents, Dennis Detwiller, Greg Stolze, and Shane Ivey, ArcDream Publishing, 2006. An expansion of the One Roll Engine (ORE) system first presented in Godlike, along with a continuation of that setting’s history and a fun essay by Kenneth Hite on creating super-worlds (particularly mucking around with history in the process). Its predecessor Godlike is also well worth checking out, and packed with flavorful details (albeit focused on World War II).