The Diamond Age of Superheroes; Interest Check

[NocturusB]

Important links:
OOC


Concept:

Basically, the idea is that everyone will make a superhero or villain (either one is fine), that will engage in their own personal stories that sometimes intersect with each other. Think of the comic books: Superman and Batman each have their own series, but they sometimes choose to team up when some event brings them together. They may even cross over into each others personal stories on occasion!

It is the same principle here. My character might be based in New York, while yours is in Chicago or Seattle. My character will be doing his own thing in the Big Apple while your character does theirs in Seattle, for example. I will be GMing this RP along with Solarian Angel, and we will throw villains and other important events at your characters which you can then respond to, assuming you haven't decided to embroil yourself with another player...in which case we will try to only interfere when it would enrich your experience further.

In order to keep things from getting too out of control, however...your character will be limited to the United States and Canada. Any more and it would be difficult to think up plausible reasons for heroes to come together when we need them to. Also, in order to keep track of everyone all posts will begin with your location and the time displayed in bolded letters. An example:

New York, Central Park; 3:30 PM.

-post-

That is how you should structure it. This will help the others and I keep track of your characters so we can respond to your posts with greater ease and coordinate the RP more fluidly.

Superheroes in this world will also be divided into Tiers, referring to their physical abilities; albeit not necessarily their overall capabilities.

In Universe, these designations were conceived of by the NAIC after the emergence of so called 'super' heroes and villains:

Street level: Peak human heroes, such as Batman or Captain America; or for an in-universe example The Answerer; a detective superhero known for being able to solve any case no matter how complex or baffling it had proven to be. Although physically the weakest, they may be amongst the most prominent through sheer skill, cleverness or by simply being crazy prepared!

Block Busters: Named so because their fights can often level an entire city block, much to the NAIC's chagrin! These would be mid-tier heroes, such as Spiderman or Black Canary, or for an in-universe example Lady Liberty, the first Block Buster level hero ever recorded; fought against the Axis in WW2.

Humanoid Disaster: Named because they can rival a natural disaster and potentially cause city-wide damage when they really 'cut loose'. Superman, Wonder Woman. An insurance companies worst nightmare! Humanoid disasters are rare, and it's better if you work your way up to this over the course of the RP than try applying as an HD.

Now that this important information is out of the way, there are just a few rules to discuss before I move onto the character sheet!

Rules:

1. No Godmodding. Don't autohit other players in combat or have them doing some action without their consent.

2. Be respectful to other players, and if you find yourself having a problem with somebody then either talk it over in PM or bring it to me if you cannot resolve it amongst yourselves. Please do not bring your personal issues into the RP! No flaming or spamming.

3. Don't disappear without warning! If you're going to be away or if you wish to leave the RP, please inform me or Sol before you do so! It is rude to vanish without letting us know whether or not we should try and wait for you or move on. Things come up, but there should always be time to say that you won't be here.

4. Give your Superhero or villain a theme! Don't just have her powers all over the place with no meaning or connection. For example, Batman dresses up like a bat, throws batarangs and drives a Batmobile. Thor is a Norse God and thus has powers based on that specific mythology. The Joker has a clown theme and most of his weapons (Acid squirting flowers) are typical of clowns. Basically, build your superpowers around a central theme!

5. Keep your level of power at the modern DC Earth level. The strongest superheroes like Superman can move a small planetoids like Pluto through the use of a HUGE chain...but needs help to move something like Earth's moon. Even he has limits, and so should your hero. I can't think up fun scenarios for people that can juggle black holes while blowing out all of the stars in the galaxy. ><

6. Please respect your fellow role-players, and your RP leaders. Solarian Angel and myself are co-GMs, and Raptorman will be functioning in the role of our vice-GM and RP consultant.

Spoiler

Character sheet:

Superhero/Villain name:
Age:
Sex
Height:
Weight:
Appearance:
Secret Identity:
Theme:
Icon(If your costume has a symbol on it, like Superman's S, describe it here):
Territory(Where your hero is usually based):
Day job:
Powers(Remember your theme!):
Tier:
Background:

Also, when making your sheet please remove the parts in parentheses, it makes them look tacky. ^^;

Backstory: There have been many legends throughout history of people capable of performing seemingly impossible feats of heroism. Achilles, Hercules and King Arthur would likely be familiar characters to modern Americans, but there were countless others. For the longest time however, most believed these to merely be simple myths or exaggerations of real historical people and events.

All of that changed starting with the 1930s however...when the first Superheroes and their villainous counterparts appeared. At first, these individuals merely represented the peak of human achievement...an Olympian of every field concentrated within a single person. Donning an oftentimes simple mask or costume, they fought against both mundane and similarly powered individuals on both sides of the law.

These 'peak human' superheroes dominated the 30s and 40s, and continue to make up the majority of superheroes today. Such classical examples such as Templar and The Answerer were among these brave and skilled individuals. But only during the late 50s and 60s did more genuinely super-powered individuals begin to appear, albeit slowly. As with their predecessors, these came in both altruistic and sinister flavors; and gradually the world was forced to grow accustom to people capable of hurling cars across a street or shrugging off bullet wounds.

Gradually however, the world's governments adapted their policies and society moved on.

With new heroes and villains just waiting to make their debut, nobody is certain of what to expect anymore...
-------------

Supers in this RP can come about in a number of ways.


Mutation.
-Some people are just born different. Better, faster, stronger, more... green of skin. As humanity evolves interesting biological 'glitches' or changes have appeared in the makeup of certain individual's DNA. They are gifted from birth with a power that puts them on a different level from the rest of mankind.

Magic.
-Controlling the arcane forces is not just a child's fantasy for some. There are things out there... powers, beings, and realms of magic which can be called upon, twisted, and used to further one's own goals. 'Mages', 'Magisters', Wizards, warlocks, witches, sorcerors. Call them what you may these masters of the arcane grow more prominent as they pass on their knowledge and allow their teachings to spread.

Technological.
-When in doubt; get a bigger gun. Or a suit of guns. Or a gun that shoots little guns that shoot knives. To every problem there is a technological solution. Sometimes it's a complicated signal jammer, or a thousand number per second code defragmenter. More commonly it's something that goes boom.

Training.
-Humans, normal humans at least, have limits. However what most consider the limits of humanity is merely the final hurdle that must be overcome. Through intensive study, training, or thinking one can bring themselves to surpass what is seen as the limit of human performance, if only enough to be a hindrance to supers.

Chemical.
-The world is ripe with Metahuman Enhancement Drugs that will allow for 'temporary' or 'false' supers. A list will be coming shortly, but if you have an idea for one such compound let us know. Or; you can have been made by a scientist, or freak chemical accident.

There is, of course, a variety of other ways your character could become empowered, these are just examples.
<hr>

Here it is, ladies, and gents; the Interest Check.

[Mairzy Doats]

Aw, man. For a minute there, I thought this was going to be about my favorite novel.

But that disappointment beside, I think I will keep an eye on this. I do appreciate, at least, that it's not mutation-only powers.

[Adjectives]

Shadowrunner

25
F
5'8
112 pounds

Secret Identity
Manhattan Socialite, Synthia Roberts

Theme
Stealth

Territory
New York
Day job
Socialite
Powers

- Ability to change her form into a shadow, allowing her to scale surfaces easily and leaving her invulnerable to attack. She can't move through any surface a shadow cannot pass through, such as a solid wall, but can move through anything a shadow can pass through such as a telekinetic shield, a window or a body of water.
- Physical agility & stealth which allows her stealth equal to that of Catwoman, moving undetected as a shadow, and agility which allows her to cross rooftops and dodge attacks easily.

Weaknesses
-Light weakens her shadow form and in strong amounts will cause her to change back to human form.

Tier
Block buster

Weapons

Usually carries four Taurus Raging Judge handguns in her utility belt with a Sig Sauer 556R strapped to her back. Also in her utility belt are three grenades and two flash bombs. For close encounters, she keeps a combat knife ready.

Spoiler

Background

Shadowrunner was born into Manhattan's powerful social circles, the daughter of one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the country. Yet when she was at the tender age of ten, her father was implicated in a plot to assassinate one of his competitors; during a show down with New York's police, he was shot dead in his company headquarters. The girl never did recover from the loss of her father, and grew bitter and resentful into her teenage years under her strict, proper mother who now took ownership of the multinational organisation.
At the age of seventeen, Shadowrunner found her way into a secret lair beneath the company headquarters which her father had linked to his office. When she discovered his base of operations and secret weapons testing facility, she accidentally got herself shot by a dark ray, giving her the ability to turn into a shadow at will.

She hid the ray years later and honed her skills in agility and stealth so that she might sleek as a shadow through the night, taking her revenge on the world. She robbed banks of their millions and murdered those who wronged her; at the age of 25, she continues to live a life of excess and destruction and loves every moment of it.

[LJCOMICS]

This seems pretty cool. I have an idea for a character, though he does break or bend a few of the rules you put forth, so I'll just propose it for now.

He would be a Human-Disaster level psychic who has taken on the lifestyle of an ascetic monk, locking himself away in the Himalayas to hone his power in peace. He'd return to the rest of the world only when sought out due to some dire threat.

[Xartarin]

Definitely interested. How many characters will we be allowed?

[Talarion]

Am interested, much so. Will have to think of a character, though.

Edit: Well, I thought of a character idea. Because honestly, it's the easiest idea to think of.

Superhero name: Captain Walker

Age: 26

Sex: Male

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 200 lb

Appearance: Jason has the rough features of a soldier. He has a muscled build, but you wouldn't really be able to tell unless he was wearing tight/no clothes. He has dark brown, medium length, messy hair, and blue eyes. When not on business, he wears casual clothes, a plain white button-down shirt, and blue denim jeans, held by a brown belt with a silver buckle. When on duty, or just performing acts of heroism, he wears a long-sleeved plain black shirt, a black/gray combat vest, black combat pants, a black duster, and a nearly plain white mask. The only features of this mask, which covers his entire face, is the gray markings just above the eyeholes, and the glass covering the eyeholes themselves. He can see perfectly clearly from inside the mask, but from the outside, all that is identifiable of his eyes is a golden colour, giving the impression that he has golden eyes.

Secret Identity: Jason Gabriel Walker

Theme: Supersoldier/Superhuman abilities

Icon: His Mask (While not an icon on his 'outfit', it is part of his outfit and represents him to most people)

Territory: Generally, he goes where the government and military supervising him tell him to go, but he calls New York his home.

Day job: His 'day job' is essentially his career as a Super Hero. He is an Agent of the government and the military, who is allowed to take liberties in the name of defence.

Powers: Super Strength, Super Speed, Super Toughness, Regeneration. (All in the vein of, say, Alex Mercer, if you've played Prototype.) He's strong, enough to throw cars, trucks, rip through reinforced doors, but nowhere near planet moving strength, or even lifting up an entire building (maybe he could lift a house, with strain). He's fast, not Flash-fast, he could possibly keep up with a car going at 140ish kmph, and his reflexes are higher than most, if not all normal humans. He's tough, as in he could shrug off some bullets, maybe even a rocket launcher, and take on someone of his level of strength or higher, but given enough pounding he'd fall (hails of bullets or rockets, a constant long-lasting fight with two or three people of his strength). He can regenerate, limitedly. He can't snap his fingers and regenerate half of his body, but he could regenerate small wounds (such as a sniper shot to the stomach) within about an hour. His bones regenerate incredibly fast, to the point where a broken/fractured bone will heal within a few seconds, allowing him to stay on his feet even after nearly shattering a leg. He can regenerate extremities, given a couple of days/weeks, but his head won't regenerate. He wears his mask to counteract this. As an extension of his powers and training, he is able to perform feats of acrobatics and athletics that are definitly 'super' in tier. Since he acquired his powers, he has been training in parkour, simply because he won't let a mere wall or building get in his way, and he doesn't want to just smash through everything he can. He is also trained in hand-to-hand fighting, various different styles in which he amalgamates into basically, a brawlers fighting style.

Tier: Block Buster

Background: Jason was born to a military family. His dad was rarely there in his younger days, always off on military business, so he was raised among his two siblings, a younger and an elder brother, and his mother. He was... well, okay in school. He always did well in athletics, aspiring to keep his body in shape, in accordance to how he saw his father, what little he did see at least. As soon as he could, he joined the army to begin training. It was about.. four years after he finished training, at age 22, when the experiments began. He was a willing volunteer, after his father mentioned it. He was one of the first to go through the experiments, the most successful, and the only one still alive from the first batch of test subjects. After the process was complete, the scientists running the program were baffled. Meaning to create the perfect human soldier, they had far succeeded, in fact going much past the limits they were meant to. They were trying to create a peak human, and they made far more... but Jason was the only one, and, as far as he is aware, still is the only one to have gotten such heights of strength from these experiments. A year ago, his father was reported dead. Since then, two or three of the scientists involved in the Supersoldier program have been reported dead also.

[Raptorman]

I could be joining this again. Hello to my friends the GM and ViceGM.

[NocturusB]

Sorry Mairzy, no such luck. Glad to know you'll be keeping an eye on things, though. Tentative interest is better than no interest. And having powers based on mutation alone is boring.

There are so many other options... I myself will probably be mixing it up with a chemical based hero, and a religion(though not a common practice religion) baddie.

Glad to see we've gotten some interest. I've read your sheets Adjective, and Talarion, and I have to say I'm liking what I see so far. Gonna get my co-GM to give them a once over, but thus far my vote is yes to both of you.

LJCOMICS; Thinking about it... I have to consult my co-GM.

Xartarin; I'm thinking if people want multiple characters we can start them off with up to two, and then see from there, alright?

Raptor; good to see you again, my friend. There's no GG this time around, so keep that in mind, ne?

[Lydyn]

Hey, I've been interested in this for a little while, but had to take some time to think of a hero. I finally decided with the [training] type of hero, based off of the D&D monk. Let me run some abilities by before I take the time to invest in a story, just to make sure. Here they are;

• Hand-to-Hand Master: Master at hand-to-hand combat, at the very peak of training.
• Enhanced Strength: Can lift cars with strain.
• Enhanced Speed: Equal to 60 mph or ~96 kph.
• Super Reflexes: Cannot gain any advantages by ambushing the hero (this doesn't mean the hero automatically dodges it, but it's like if you started to charge him in the middle of the field - the hero understands what's coming).
• Ki Strike: Can split boulders and cars in half with relative use with the use of his own Ki. Can bypass magical & adamantine armor.
• Immunity: Immune to poisons, diseases, & mind-affecting abilities.
• Slow Fall: Can fall from any height without damage.
• Resistance to Magic: Not immune.
• Abundant Step: Able to magically slip between spaces within 400 feet. There's a brief pause between steps.
• Timeless Body: Doesn't age, but will still pass on naturally.
• Tongue of Sun & Moon: Can speak and understand any language.
• Transcendence: Has reached a higher plane of existence and therefore ignores all minor damage (bullets, but not explosives) unless it's magical in nature.

Seems like a lot, but most of the hero's abilities are utility-based powers, like Timeless Body and Tongue of Sun & Moon.

[Raptorman]

That is good to know. I disliked her last time. lol