Our world has changed. Our civilization has changed more in the last five years than it has in over a century. Extreme advances in the fields of engineering and medicine have drove humanity forward in an increasingly more optimistic world. The survivors of the war became the heralds of the future - Professor Alto Ganze's expertise in the field of biological engineering and his ownership of notable technology giants paved the way for the massive boom of medical technology and even directly aided in the crafting of some of 2020's finest gadgets. With the help of a range of technopaths and other Metas, technology blasted forward at a speed that none could really keep up with.
Needless to say, this new world is more connected to the system than it's ever been before. Of course, for others it's not so bright. After the Aperture disaster, the Government began working by themselves when it came to Metas. For a mercenary who simply desires to make a living from jobs that require a more violent touch, the government cracked-down hard. In this skewed world, you either live by the government's rules or you don't expose your powers whatsoever. Of course, criminal gangs still pay for Metas who can offer them aid but the life of a mercenary is no longer cost-effective. That's primarily why most became more professional and joined the corporate aspect of things. There's quite a bit of money to be made in private security these days and a Meta is always hired, no matter what their background states. Corporate Metas can also land massive contracting jobs out in the Far East as well where the pay is usually high.
There does exist, however, a group of people who have had enough of the government. A group of people who have had enough of the Reformists and their aimless peace talks. A group of people who are not afraid to use violence to achieve their own political aims. Although it is exceptionally hard to even get near them, the Underground Movement has been running for quite a number of years. It's chain of command is unblemished because it's basically impossible for the government to get anyone into the group without their intents being immediately detected. Don't get me wrong, most members of the group simply don't believe that humanity and Metas can ever get along and all of this is going to descend down into war. Some of the more fundamental members of the group, however, take a direct hand in trying to bring this war about.
The Reformist Council is a group of people all built around the ideas of integrating Metas into normal human society in a wholly peaceful way. Their ideals can sometimes seem unrealistic with the current climate of Meta-acceptance but that has yet to stop them. However, to Metas, the Reformists are so much more. They're the people who stand up to Meta discrimination and make sure to protect the Meta population. However, there does exist a shade in this group of people who are willing to destroy everything in the pursuit of justice. These people are just as dangerous as any Underground Movement Fundamentalist.
Hello everyone! First of all, I believe I should mention that I am not the sole GM of this, as much as my nice little ribbon dictates. Decisions made for The Gifted are purely democratic (unless it's something about the plot because I'll work with a limited number of people for that). My purpose is primarily as Admin for the RP because I'll be doing the organisation work but please note that most of the old-timers have an equal level of authority.
Anyways, what we're aiming for in this RP is player freedom. When we were designing the plot, we wanted to have something that the Players could choose to follow and their choices affected the outcome. This will work on a reward-punishment sort of system where we'll judge if your actions have deemed you worthy of a reward in the plot or some form of punishment. Please note that these rewards and punishments are not a way to drag you into world-events; they just serve to create a world where your actions make a difference. By all means, engage in as many side-plots as necessary and I may even post a few on here just to get the creative juices flowing.
Just to explain the groups, you still have the choice of what type of Meta your character is (Merc, Hero, Corp, none) but now you also have the choice of a faction to align yourself with. Like everything, you can choose to have no alliances to factions. I've set these factions up so that even if your character is "bad", they can still join the Reformists and become a member with darker intents. Even if your character is "good", they can join the Underground Movement by simply disagreeing with the Reformists. You're not locked into a certain faction, to put it simply. Also please note that if you find your character not fitting into a particular group, you can simply create your own (with some permission once you've explained them).
This is a RP and what we're going for is people having fun. If something limits that then please, please, please say it to me or someone else. If you find your character not being interacted with then just mention it in the OOC and someone will pick up on it! Good luck and have fun!
May 1st, 2010: The Maybark Incident. At 3:41 pm, at the local community high school in Maybark, NC, student Joseph Brown went on a murderous rampage, ending in the deaths of three fellow students and one teacher. He was eventually taken down by local law enforcement. Normally this would go down as another school tragedy, and perhaps it would get some media attention before dying down after a month or so. This massacre, however, would go down in history books as one of the defining moments in human history. The reason behind this was the assailant's God-complex, largely fueled by his seemingly unnatural powers.
Following this, publicity around mysterious, previously thought unexplainable events exploded. Dozens of individuals were revealed to also have unexplained powers, and shortly after national efforts flushed many more out. Laws were passed in an effort to control those gifted in many countries, forcing thousands to take action: Either hide underground, or make themselves invaluable.
Now, five years later, the Gifted are separated into two groups. The 'Hots', those publicly recognized as having super powers and not treated as pariahs for it. Corporate moguls, public activists, and superpowered groups defending cities all fall under this category. Hots make up a vocal minority of the Gifted, making up perhaps one-tenth of their numbers. The remaining Gifted, 'Colds', stay out of the spotlight. Many try and live normal lives, ignoring their powers to the best of their ability. Some, however, spend their time as anti-heroes roaming the streets, or as private mercenaries and criminals.
It is August 1st, 2015 in Los Angeles. The city is one hit hard by change, having one of the highest rates of registered superhumans. It has recently lost its protectors, a 'hot' group of heroes known as 'The Magi' after the federal government asked them to take care of their new super-prison facility, known as 'The Sleeper Facility'. New heroes have been asked to take their place, from around the nation, and a handful have accepted. Word has spread, and gangs around the city challenge these new capes. Mercenaries are in hot demand as businesses and individuals are unsure of the new heroes, while the corporate 'colds' continue their business as usual. L.A. is rife with possibilities and opportunities for anyone with the guts to make them. The city is seemingly under siege from within, and the worst is still yet to come..
Name: True, given name. Alias(s): If you have an alias you're known by. Age: Self Explanatory. Affiliations: Either The Heroes, The Mercs, or Corporate. Factions: Description: Basic description of your character in and out of costume.
Powers: Your supernatural abilities. Cumulatively, they should equal standards roughly meeting A-B Class Ranking or lower. Please include some points about weaknesses.
Skills: Your practical abilities, gained through hard work or natural skill. Equipment: Any notable equipment you own goes here, including vehicles Ranking: A Rank or lower.
(Optional) Brief History: A brief summary of your character's back story. Keep it brief.
SS Rank: Abilities which make the user capable of taking out small cities, bending reality in some profound way, or taking control of small armies. Gifted with SS rankings often have issues with mental health, and given their capabilities, most have a Flee On Sight order.
S Rank: Abilities which allow their user to wipe out small towns, move faster than sound, or can create highly advanced weapons. Generally have a large range, and are considered to be highly dangerous opponents. Most have a Flee On Sight order.
A Rank: Gifted with A Rank abilities are able to take out city blocks with their powers, lift tens of thousands of pounds, or possess functional immortality. The lower end of this is considered the ceiling for starting PC characters. Most have a Flee On Sight order, unless risk for civilian casualties is low and suitable firepower is present.
B Rank: Those having B Ranked gifts can wipe out commercial sized buildings with their powers, heal others of grievous wounds in minutes, or a strong elemental power. While still exceptionally dangerous, most have a Kill On Sight order, assuming capable personnel and low risk for civilian casualties.
C Rank: These abilities grant the user powers capable of destroying a typical ranch-style home, having a powerful animal physiology, or excellent speed and reflexes. Exponentially more common than B Ranks and above, C Ranked Gifted only have a Kill On Sight order when they refuse registration and resist law enforcement.
D Rank: Again much more common than C Ranked and above, these abilities are often minor but life changing, such as amazing senses or a minor elemental power. Most D Ranked and below accept registration and live normal lives. D Ranks have a Seize On Sight when refusing registration.
E Rank: Almost non existent abilities. Perhaps they can light a cigarette with a snap, or see marginally better in the dark. These powers are actually rarer than D Ranks and above. Most theorize this is because most powers grow over time, while these seem to have stopped after being discovered. Have a Seize On Sight order when refusing registration.
F Rank: The ones who drew the short straw in becoming Gifted. Their abilities harm themselves while offering little to no benefits. When combined with their sometimes uncontrollable nature, many live painful or erratic lives.
*Note, that all of these descriptions assume the height of a user's power. For example, an SS ranked criminal would have difficulty destroying a small city, but would be capable of it given focus and determination. Basically, all powers round UP, to their maximum capabilities.
**Also note, that multiple abilities in a Gifted are not uncommon. In this case the sum of all their powers are taken into account when assigning a ranking to that person.
You all know the drill by now - play nice and enjoy yourself and you'll have a wonderful time here.
1. Due to our last GM going MIA, no one has particularly stood up to the GM post. For that reason, the decisions made are consecutive and are usually decided amongst the others. 2. This is a PG13 RP! Feel free to cuss and use adjectives in your fights, but no sex! Do that via PM. 3. Yes, this is Low-Casual and up. This means post at least two-three full lines in this thread. However, I still expect clear speech, decent grammar, and good formatting! Walls of text will be ignored until reformatted! 4. No PC Killing without its player's permission. This isn't a rule I'm a huge fan of, but I will enforce it just like the others. 5. Follow any other site rules, in addition to my own. If you make it a habit of breaking rules, you will be allowed a single post to say farewell with your character, and then you will be removed from the RP. 6. Please, enjoy yourself. Immerse yourself in the story, the characters and try to do the best you can!
An open question. It's been a week or two since I've heard from Tate. Safe to say he won't be joining us. Seeing as his characters were a driving a force in the story I'd say none of them. Best to start clean from the end of the first arc and scrap all that had happened in the second.
An open question. It's been a week or two since I've heard from Tate. Safe to say he won't be joining us. Seeing as his characters were a driving a force in the story I'd say none of them. Best to start clean from the end of the first arc and scrap all that had happened in the second.
I don't see a way to make any of this work without Tate or Bee. Easiest to scrap it and start a new. I'd like to run this like Tate did and let everyone kinda guide where this goes. I don't really have a set plan at the moment. So all input is welcome.
By all means join in. I'd love to have as many of the old crew as we can. Plus with the new people this should be really good.
Name: Alex Trebons Alias(s): Paladin, The Paladin Age: 24 Affiliations: Heroes. Factions: Independent. Description: Alex is an unassuming, somewhat scholarly looking young man. He works in a museum and looks the part, with somewhat messy brown hair, thick glasses, and a generally mousy demeanor. He bears himself in a way that seems to take a foot off his height and most of the broadness from his shoulders - he is, in general, a man nobody would think twice about.
The Paladin persona, however, is nothing of the sort. The Paladin is a towering figure, clad from head to toe in steel armor that looks straight out of the Middle Ages. He tries to present himself as a larger-than-life ideal heroic figure, with varying success - to some, he may seem an angel, a mighty savior descended from on high to deliver the innocent. To others more accustomed to the world of the Gifted, he... may just seem like a dorky, old-fashioned weirdo.
What's certain about him is that there seems to be no darkness in the man whatsoever. He is a tireless optimist, an incorrigible idealist, and an absolute puppy dog of a human being. He has yet to affiliate himself with the politics of his world, preferring to help out where he can as a 'small steps' sort of hero.
Powers: Alex possesses, in addition to increased durability, strength and speed (think Captain America rather than Hulk or Thor), primarily photokinetic abilities - he has the power to manipulate and control light, even being able to create 'hard light' tools and objects. He mainly uses this to make glowing swords or shields out of pure light, being a stickler for his theme. He is also capable of producing light, being able to make his body 'glow' - this, however, tends to tire him out very quickly, leading to his powers being much less effective in a no-light environment.
A side-effect of his light generation is that his body also tends to produce an immense amount of heat while he does so. He is able to survive this, being largely resistant to the effects of heat (though very vulnerable to cold temperatures), but anything else touching him when he gets warmed up may as well have touched the inside of an oven.
Skills: He's not the most talented Gifted around, though he's put a lot of hours into practicing with his hard light weapons and so has become a capable combatant with those. Otherwise, he has little in the way of relevant talents - he's a History Major, in case that ever comes up. Oh, he's also a decent cook, should that matter. Equipment: His suit of armor is the only notable piece of equipment he owns - it's made of a lightweight alloy he doesn't fully understand that possesses both physical durability as well as confusing, sciency photon-storage properties. The upshot of all this is that it's a full body suit of armor that he can move around in, provides reasonable protection, and glows when he pours light into it. The armor is his most prized possession, and he treasures it highly. Ranking: Upper B Rank.
(Optional) Brief History: Alex was a normal boy with superpowers trying to get by in a world getting weirder every day. For most of his life, he hid what he was, hoping only that he wouldn't be noticed. That changed one night two years ago, when he met an older, technologically gifted Meta who was impressed by his character and convinced him to take a more active role in the world. Thus, The Paladin was born, with the help of a suit of armor crafted for him by his mentor, and the new knight began his daylight patrol of city streets and dark alleyways, seeking to spread light and hope wherever he was able.
I hope that's good and balanced and fits and everything! I know I cut it together sort of quick, so I'll listen to any problems with it.
Even given his strength and durability, I'd like to see his movements be a little clunky and restrictive. Having never put on amour of this sort on, I can only imagine that it would be hard to move in and not give that great of range of motion.
Also, you should totally go nine shades of Don Quixote on a mission to civilize. All kinds of a knights errant. I think it would be cool but that's your character and Provence not mine.
Yeah I think we can pull that off. Well just need characters to control the factions. I always thought we should have stuck with that story line verses the tree baby and space horse shit they tried.
I'm gonna be using Eli again but I can make a character to take over one or the other if need be. I don't make too many characters to avoid what happened last time. Two or three people have the majority of the characters and when something happens with we're all stuck.
@AcerRo If you'll have me, then I'm coming back and if you need some main players for the UGM, then I'll definitely be bringing back a certain haemokinetic psychopath. Might also bring back Jackson, not quite sure yet.
@AcerRo If you'll have me, then I'm coming back and if you need some main players for the UGM, then I'll definitely be bringing back a certain haemokinetic psychopath. Might also bring back Jackson, not quite sure yet.
