From the archives of the BPRD
Classified
Not for distribution

I had searched for so long for the truth. For some sign of everything I had ever believed in. For some notion that everything I had known was true. I had traveled to Egypt, China, and countless other corners of the world famous for paranormal entities and happenings, and yet each time I seemed to just miss an occurrence. Either that or I was sent on a wild goose chase by some huckster.

When Lady Eden-Jones came to me, warning that some grave event was due to take place off the coast of Scotland, I nearly didn't believe her. My superiors in the Allied Army felt differently, and sent me along with a strike team.

When the boy appeared in our midst, it was like a strike of lightning straight to my soul. Here he was, proof of what I had always believed. When the government proclaimed me his guardian, I couldn't have been happier. Not only was he everything I had always wanted, he was then also my son.

Once the Bureau was formed, it was like a flood of knowledge. The Brits gave me access to the files on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The Americans shared their information on the so-called "superhumans" or Earth. It was as if every country on the planet was willing to give us everything they knew about the paranormal. All under the condition of keeping it secret, safe, and their citizens away from the truth.

That was easier said than done, of course.

When the monster came ashore in Tokyo Bay, kicking off days of destruction, we were at a loss. The country had suffered mightily at the end of the war, and another nuclear attack, this time by what we could only describe as a living nuclear bomb, was almost too much to bear. Most didn't want to believe what they saw. Those that did were dismissed as insane. The disinformation effort was helped by the creature itself. The radiation it gave off meant actually photographing it was impossible. The shots from further away were easy to dismiss as a trick of the light. Sadly, the collective trauma of the past helped us cover up the truth about Gojira, as the locals called it.

This is a common thread I've found through my research. There was a time, on this planet, where the paranormal and the human lived side by side. But as humans progressed, they shaped their own reality around them, pushing their knowledge of the supernatural to the shadows. This turned fact to fiction, and we find ourselves here. There is nothing as powerful as man's desire to ignore what is inconvenient.

I haven't gotten over the lying. While I started my journey to gain knowledge, I never thought I'd also horde it. To this point, this is my greatest conflict with the Bureau's mission. Yes, we keep people safe, but something tugs at the back of my mind, telling me they would be safer knowing what is out there.

and my son, Hellboy, suffers as well. All he wants is to be part of the world, yet it is decreed that cannot be.

This situation, as it stands, is unsustainable. Human progress marches on unabated. Humans will once again begin to discover the world around them is not what they believe. And when that happens, where will it leave us?

From the private journal of Professor Trevor Bruttenholm
Former Director of the BPRD

Welcome to the world of Monsters and Men, a new and terrifying world of One Universe Comics. In this game, the universes of Indie Comics have melded into one, creating a new reality where the old rules do not apply, and new, grave threats abound. It will be your job to take up the title of hero and attempt to save and shape the new world.

In this game, you may play as a hero from Independent comics. I am considering this game to be a high-casual game since the concept gives the player a wide berth when it comes to possible characters. I expect a player to be able to come up with a coherent concept that fits in this world.

Rules
1) You may pick any non-villain from Independent Comics, IE no Marvel or DC characters. I'd like everything to fit in to a shared comic book universe. I will be pretty discerning when it comes to character applications, but I won't say you can't at least try for a character.
2) You do not have to pick a specific version of said character. Feel free to mix and match concepts from different iterations of them into on.
3) Supporting characters in the "family" of a player-controlled character are under the jurisdiction of said player. You must get clearance from said player to use such a character in a solo story.
4) No killing PCs or significant NPCs willy nilly.
5) Have fun. We're not writing the great American novel here.
6) Work together with other players. We're all here to have fun together.
7) You must post once every 2 weeks to stay active in the game.

Monsters and Men Application

Character You're Applying For:

Powers And Abilities:

Origin And Backstory (In A Maximum Of Four Paragraphs):

How do you think your character fits in the world:

Supporting Characters:

Character Picture:

Sample Post:



Thurian Age (Somewhere between 40,000 and 18,000BC): The time of Kull the Conqueror and Atlantis. At the end of this age, an unknown cataclysm nearly wipes out the human race. The force and violence of this event causes Atlantis and other nations to sink below the seas. Civilization is destroyed, and set back thousands of years.

Hyborian Age (circa 10,000BC): The time of Conan the Barbarian.

15th Century: The Sengoku Period rips through Japan, causing major upheaval. From the chaos, the ninja emerge, and no clan is more deadly or feared than the Foot Clan. Led by the so-called "Shuredda", they tear a warpath across the country in order to dominate it. Their power was crushed by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and they retreated into the shadows.

Late 19th Century/Early 20th Century: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen protect the British Empire from fantastic threats. The League falls apart after using a biological weapon to stop a small alien invasion of Earth. The weapon also kills thousands of innocent people, killing all witnesses and causing members of the League to quit in disgust. The Crown then disbands the program.

World War II: Rasputin, the mad monk, attempts to bring the Ogdru Jahad into the world and spark off Armageddon. Instead, the demon now known as Hellboy is brought to Earth and adopted by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm. They go on to found the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, a clandestine group that protects the world from all manner of supernatural threats.

It is during this time that masked vigilantes and so-called superhumans are rumored to be operating in the United States. Some soldiers in the war claim to see men and women with amazing abilities fighting alongside them.

1954: A gigantic, radioactive creature wreaks havoc on Tokyo. The monster's strong radioactivity ensures no direct pictures are taken of the creature, but those taken from a distance show a great, monstrous shadow looming over the city. While the Japanese government and United Nations officials claim the destruction was caused by a weapons test gone wrong, survivors claim that it was the work of the legendary Gojira.

1970s: The United States government ceases covert use of vigilantes and metahumans in black ops missions and covert domestic operations. While vigilantism had always been considered illegal, the government was using its assets in order to complete missions they were not able to do. After one of the operatives went rogue, however, the government was forced to start punishing vigilantism more harshly.

1990s: Due to the rise in global terrorism, the United States and its allies create Global Initiative-Joint Operations Effort, or GI-JOE.



The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense: An organization founded after World War II in order to protect the world from supernatural threats. The Bureau answers to the United Nations Security Council, some of the few humans that know if its existence.

The Earth Protection Force: Also known as the "Men in Black", the EPF works in tandem with the BPRD in order to defend the planet from extraterrestrial threat. They are even more secretive than the Bureau, and fewer people know of their existence.

GI-JOE: A global strike team comprised of a select group of the most skilled soldiers on the planet.

Monarch: A division of the BPRD, focusing on the study of giant creatures. They have studied the giant monster Gojira since its supposed destruction in 1954.

The Foot Clan: A ninja clan that originally formed in the 15th century dedicated to their leader and conquest. After they were defeated by the Tokugawa Shogunate, they went back into the shadows. In the past 15 years there have been rumors of their reemergence.



Coming Soon



The Blood Moon of Knowledge: Jack Dakkar, the current Captain Nemo and pirate king, finished a ritual that has begun to lift the veil of ignorance that humanity has created for itself. This, in turn, will usher in a new age of heroes and villains, starting our game and starting humanity's realization that the world is not what it seems.

Powers And Abilities: The four brothers are mutated turtles, giving them anthropomorphic features and the size of humans. Their mutations has also given them enhanced strength, speed, agility, dexterity, endurance, and durability. Being turtles, they can spend significant time underwater without breathing and have incredibly hard shells.

Thanks to over a decade of training with Splinter, the four are masters of ninjutsu. They are exceptional hand-to-hand combatants, weapons experts, stealth masters, and tactically skilled.

Origin And Backstory (In A Maximum Of Four Paragraphs):

One deep, dark night in Japan, hundreds of years ago, a fearful warrior known as Oroku Saki was defeated. His dream of a shadow empire in Japan, controlled by his Foot Clan behind a puppet regime, was smashed by the emergence of the Tokugawa shogunate. But Saki, known as the Shuredda, was shrewd. He had plans should his plans fail. He disappeared from the world, while the Foot found a new place in the world, where it waited for the perfect time to reemerge.

On another night fifteen years ago in a rainy, busy New York City, a canister of chemicals labelled "TCRI" fell from a truck and shattered on the street. The oozing, glowing liquid inside washed down a sewer grate and into the sewers below. When it did, it came into contact with a rat and five baby turtles. The ooze coated them, and as it did, it began to rewrite their genetic code. It gave them human-like forms and intelligence. The rat, known as Splinter, being much older than the turtles, took on his role as their adoptive father. He named them from a book he found on famous painters. Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Artemisia were his world. The rat had memories of his life before the mutation, even if they were faint. From these memories, he trained his children in the ways of ninjutsu, in preparation for a threat he did not recall.

Five years later, the small, weird family was above ground, in the city, scavenging for food. While they did so, a van full of men abducted Artemisia, and attempted to take the rest of the turtles as well. Splinter and the boys were able to fight them off, but not before they got away with Artie. While the family was heartbroken, they did eventually take in a mutated arctic fox named Alopex, who had no idea of her origin.

Eventually, more mutants in the city were located, led by alley cat Old Hob. This group, who called themselves the Mutanimal Liberation Army, was dedicated to protecting mutants from humans. Alopex, swayed by their cause and feeling like an outsider in the family, joined with the Mutanimals.

Now, the Turtles and New York were about to face their greatest threat. They would have to fight like they never had before in order to survive...and save the world!

Supporting Characters:

• Hamato Clan
  
  • Splinter
  • April O'Neil
  • Casey Jones
  • Keno Cruz
• The Foot Clan
  
  • Oroku Saki, The Shredder
  • Oroku Pimiko
  • Oroku Karai
• The Purple Dragons
  
  • Arnold "Attila" Jones
  • Angel Bridge
  • Max Steranko
  • Geanaldo Anton
• Mutanimal Liberation Army
  
  • Old Hob
  • Alopex
  • Herman the Hermit Crab
  • Pigeon Pete
• TCRI
  
  • Doctor Jordan Perry
  • Doctor Baxter Stockman
• Null Cartel
  
  • Boss Null

Sample Post:

The sound of fists hitting a heavy bag echoed dully through the dojo, as the lone figure struck the training tool over and over again.

His hands were taped up from above the wrist all the way down to his knuckles, but the repeated punches still bruised and broke the green skin underneat the protection. He was in the training room too much. He knew it, Leo knew it, and Master Splinter definitely knew it. He wasn't even training. Not really, anyway. He was just in here taking out his frustrations.

He had too many frustrations.

He was mad that they barely ever left their home. He was angry that Master SPlinter, after all these years, still would not tell them why they were training in the ninja arts. He was pissed off because Leo never asked the questions he needed to. He was frustrated that he wasn't allowed to do more to help the humans above.

But most of all his was furious that his father ignored the fact that their sister had been missing for the better part of a decade.

It was all getting to be too much.

His brothers shared some of his concerns. They were all better at hiding it, in different ways. Mikey pretended to be dumb, aloof, and a clown to mask the fact that he's torn up about Artie to this day. Don threw himself into his tinkering and reading to mask the fact that he's uncomfortable with all the combat Splinter seemed to be preparing them for. Leo focused on a mission he doesn't know the goal of in order to pretend that he had a purpose. They were all broken in some way.

How could they not be. They were mutant turtles gifted human intelligence and amazing abilities by a random accident. They were bound to be messed up in the head.

"You are troubled, Raphael."

The soft, almost melodic, tone of Splinter's voice carried over the relative silence of the dojo. It was a sound none of the turtles had heard in days. Ever since the red moon, Splinter had been alone in his room meditating. Over what, they didn't know, but here he was.

Raphael turned to see the tall, slender, human-like rat standing in the door, leaning on the cane he always had with him. These days, his dark, chestnut-brown fur was tinged with more and more grey. He may not have been as fast as he once was, but he was still wise beyond his station.

He made his way to the center of the room, and sat cross-legged before motioning for Raphael to join him.

As the young turtle did so, he asked, "Master, it's been a while."

The rat sighed, and the fur around his mouth ruffled, "There was much to think on, my son. Too much. For too long I have kept our family here. For too long I have believed we were safe. That we could be happy cut off from the outside world whenever possible. I believed I was training you, but for what I was never sure. Until the blood moon. Until I remembered."

Splinter trailed off, staring into the dark corner of the dojo. Raphael, on the other hand, had a chill run through him. He had never heard Splinter talk as he was. It was almost as if he was scared. Even when they lost Artemisia, he kept his calm about him.

"Master?" Raph asked with a quiver in his voice.

His father looked down, his warm, brown eyes meeting his adopted son's. He smiled, "I'm sorry, my son. It is time for us to have an increased presence on the surface. We have hid for too long, and I fear it may have allowed our enemies a foothold we could have prevented. NOw we must ensure they do not get more."

"Enemies, father?" Raphael asked, almost with an intense hunger. He had been training for so long. It was time to show what he could do.

"I will explain later when Leonardo returns," his father smiled clamly. "He is visiting your sister in her new home."

"Alopex," Raphael said, his eyes narrowing.

Still WIP - but history is finished!

Also a WIP - you have Ultraman based on the manga/motion comic from 2011 and the upcoming Netflix exclusive anime of next year. Will also be edited to fit the RP standards.

Nothing mind.

Rather than just express interest without doing anything, I decided to make a sheet first! Hope it's good!

First off, great to see someone repping Valiant. I’m playing around with the overall story/big group events, and I think Valiant will be heavil utilized.

I’m still thinking about the Steven universe CS. Right now I think I’m leaning no, but will wait for the sample.

@lmpkio so I was initially under the impression you were going to have your Monarch and Ultraman stories be one, and not two different characters. I was going to restrict people to one character, at least initially, until the game was in a good rhythm.

As I said at the top of this post, I will be writing a background larger story for players to interact with as we go along. I have the “villain” who will mastermind this story (at least initially) picked out. These posts will be spread out and infrequent, but I will warn everyone before something big happens so they can prepare.

@lmpkio so I was initially under the impression you were going to have your Monarch and Ultraman stories be one, and not two different characters. I was going to restrict people to one character, at least initially, until the game was in a good rhythm.

I'm considering that Ultraman be it's own thing for awhile, but only after the first kaiju attack does he become approached by Monarch for their little "experiment" that would allow him to battle the Titans via size change. And just for the recording regarding the other suits mentioned - they aren't for true ultramen (just armor designed to fit in with regular human beings). I think it'll make more sense, but if anything else I can still add him into Monarch from the get go.

<Snipped quote by HenryJonesJr>

I'm considering that Ultraman be it's own thing for awhile, but only after the first kaiju attack does he become approached by Monarch for their little "experiment" that would allow him to battle the Titans via size change. And just for the recording regarding the other suits mentioned - they aren't for true ultramen (just armor designed to fit in with regular human beings). I think it'll make more sense, but if anything else I can still add him into Monarch from the get go.

I think maybe it would be better to focus on Ultraman off the bat. Maybe have some interludes checking in on Ishirō and Monarch as kind of a side story. I’m just not sure there will be a lot for that character to do until we get later in the “season” so to speak.

Monsters and Men Application

Character You're Applying For: Quarry

Powers And Abilities:

No powers. Quarry is a trained assassin and army sniper who is an expert in shooting, hunting and tracking, and even investigation.

Origin And Backstory (In A Maximum Of Four Paragraphs):

A successful high school baseball athlete without the grades for college, or the skill for the pros, Quarry enlisted in the Marines after school and married his high school sweetheart, Jennie. Quarry soon signed on with special forces. He became a member of the Marine Corps Forces Recon unit just as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were heating up. He worked countless black operation across the two countries in the mid 2000's.

After waging war for so long, Quarry finally returned home for peace and could not find it. He was still haunted by the things he'd done in the Middle East and he longed for a return to that violent lifestyle. His disillusionment led to angst and his wife began to seek comfort elsewhere. When Quarry found out that his wife was cheating on him Quarry went to confront the man and killed him.

Quarry was in the process of disposing of the body when a man approached him. He simply called himself Broker and he was the the head of an organization that provided many black services for those in need. Broker said that he had been watching Quarry for a while and liked what he saw. He would make the body disappear if Quarry would come to work for him as an "independent contractor." Although she could never prove it, Quarry's wife suspected he had killed her lover and left.

Now, Quarry works as a hitman and muscle for hire in Broker's mysterious organization and, after years of work, is chaffing under the older man's strict rule.

Supporting Characters:

Broker -- Quarry's handler and head of a nationwide organization of assassins, drug dealers, and thieves.

Abby -- Broker's wife and currently Quarry's lover.

Boyd -- Quarry's assassin partner. Transgender woman.

Parker -- Thief, member of Broker's organization, and Quarry's associate.

How do you think your character fits in the world:

He's a hitman. This world still has criminals and people that need killing.

Character Picture:



Sample Post:

Chicago
3:23 AM

Quarry cracked his knuckles and settled back into the seat of his car. Six hours into the stakeout and he began to settle in for a long haul. The house he was sitting on was a dump, a scorched husk of a building that someone torched years ago. It was the perfect place for squatters and people trying to lay low. Joe Sampson had led him here. Sampson, a mid-level drug dealer with the Chicago Outfit, had engaged Quarry for his services. A quartet of stick-up boys had been harassing Sampson’s men for almost a month, bootjacking drugs and cash and becoming a serious thorn in his side. It took Sampson a hot minute to figure out there was an inside man.

The inside man, Little Roy Lewis, was using the robberies to fund his own drug habit. When Joe found out, he’d called up Quarry and agreed to pay him to close out four accounts. A lot of guys who hired Quarry talked like that. They used vague words like ‘closing an account’ or ‘settling a debt.’ Quarry imagined it was because they didn’t want to use the word kill. It made it real if they said it, and guys like Sampson and all the others thought of themselves as being above it. And, Quarry figured, they kind of were. After all, they were hiring him weren’t they? He’d gotten on Little Roy’s trail that night and followed him across the Southside until he disappeared into the building. That had been a little after nine. And so he waited.

He waited until nearly forty thirty in the morning before he made his move. KGB time, they called it. The old Soviet secret police always committed their arrests and assassinations between four and five in the morning. It was the sweet spot where night was beginning to fade away, but morning was still not quite there yet. Even most night owls were soundly asleep by four AM.

Quarry slipped on a pair of surgical gloves and carried a Beretta with a suppressor attached to the end under his coat. He looped around the back of the building and came through a broken window, slow and quietly. Quarry pulled the gun out along with a flashlight covered in tape, emitting only a pin-sized light to use as a guide. He held his nose when he passed by three buckets that had been used as latrine. It took him ten minutes to find their stash tucked away in a baseboard near the fireplace. It was all inside a gym bag. At least two pounds of heroin wrapped in cellophane. Recovery was very rarely part of his job, but Sampson was willing to pay for it. Alongside the stash, Quarry found nearly twenty thousand in tens, twenties, and hundred dollar bills, and four machine pistols. Quarry tucked the money, dope, and guns into the satchel and slung it over his shoulder.

He slowly glided up the rickety stairs like a ghost. Muscle memory kicked in when he reached the landing where the crew was sleeping. Check the corners, clear the rooms, plan your escape, kill as soon as you have eyes on the target. Flashbacks went through his mind, killing a Bosnian national in the 90's with a sniper rifle, garroting an Al-Qaeda cutout in Iraq. Quarry didn’t believe in the stereotype of born killers, but he was a killer now thanks to Uncle Sam. Like a chunk of coal, the government had applied pressure and polished him up to turn him into a sparkly diamond of murderous potential.

The four guys were passed out on piss-stained mattresses. He kept the flashlight beam low and aimed. Recoil shot up his elbow as he fired off four quick shots. The rounds hissed through the room, four bullets exploding the four men's heads. He fired off four more to each man's heart to be sure he was dead before calmly walking out into the early morning air. Quarry tucked the gun into his coat and climbed into the car. He drove six blocks away before burying the gun in a trashcan, and six more blocks before he dumped his gloves in another trashcan.

<Snipped quote by Lmpkio>

I think maybe it would be better to focus on Ultraman off the bat. Maybe have some interludes checking in on Ishirō and Monarch as kind of a side story. I’m just not sure there will be a lot for that character to do until we get later in the “season” so to speak.

Fair. If anything i’ll still keep Serizawa’s profile the way it is as a side character, but my primary be Ultraman himself.

So @Byrd Man, @Blue Demon, @Lmpkio, and @Bluetommy are all approved.

I would ask that people hold off on the IC posting until I get the kickoff post written and posted, which should be tomorrow night.

@HenryJonesJr I'll make a sample post for Serizawa later, but rest assured it'll be good.

I think I have the perfect character...fits beautifully in a more realistic setting.



Alright, joking aside been thinking of a character sheet and whatnot. So just wanted to toss an idea first, if it doesn't fly not a big deal as I have another character that would be sure to work. So the idea I had was using the Powerpuff Girls thought doing quite a few drastic changes such as making them older, nerfing them a good bit, making the villains a bit more realist etc. A little bit of the old show, a little Z flavor as well, but aside from the basics most of it would be revamped to better mesh with the world. I think I could make it work easily enough.

Didn't bother starting a sheet though since I figured there's a good chance they'll be a no-no since they aren't really comic in origin. Anyway if you think it could work I'll go ahead and whip up a sheet with them, otherwise I'll be working on my other idea.@HenryJonesJr

I am not feeling too good about the concept being accepted. I will leave since I have no other ideas to work on (because I don't read comics that much).

I think I have the perfect character...fits beautifully in a more realistic setting.



Alright, joking aside been thinking of a character sheet and whatnot. So just wanted to toss an idea first, if it doesn't fly not a big deal as I have another character that would be sure to work. So the idea I had was using the Powerpuff Girls thought doing quite a few drastic changes such as making them older, nerfing them a good bit, making the villains a bit more realist etc. A little bit of the old show, a little Z flavor as well, but aside from the basics most of it would be revamped to better mesh with the world. I think I could make it work easily enough.

Didn't bother starting a sheet though since I figured there's a good chance they'll be a no-no since they aren't really comic in origin. Anyway if you think it could work I'll go ahead and whip up a sheet with them, otherwise I'll be working on my other idea.@HenryJonesJr

As someone who once roleplayed Blossom Utonium in a One Universe game, I endorse this message.

Alright made a history for Ultraman. Both sample posts will be made at a later date, but alas they will be made soon!

I think I have the perfect character...fits beautifully in a more realistic setting.



Alright, joking aside been thinking of a character sheet and whatnot. So just wanted to toss an idea first, if it doesn't fly not a big deal as I have another character that would be sure to work. So the idea I had was using the Powerpuff Girls thought doing quite a few drastic changes such as making them older, nerfing them a good bit, making the villains a bit more realist etc. A little bit of the old show, a little Z flavor as well, but aside from the basics most of it would be revamped to better mesh with the world. I think I could make it work easily enough.

Didn't bother starting a sheet though since I figured there's a good chance they'll be a no-no since they aren't really comic in origin. Anyway if you think it could work I'll go ahead and whip up a sheet with them, otherwise I'll be working on my other idea.@HenryJonesJr

Put up a CS and I’ll give t a look over, for sure

<Snipped quote by IceHeart>

Put up a CS and I’ll give t a look over, for sure

Alright, one Conan the Librarian coming up!