We live in a world of superheroes. From the big screen, to Netflix, to cable TV, books, comics, cereal commercials, and goddamned lunchboxes, they surround us. Shame none of them are real, eh? Shame most of them are so derivative too. We all know the archetypes: dark and gritty, principled to a fault, hilariously irreverent, quirky. You know where else you can find a million and one superhero-related things? On RPG as...RPGs. So here’s an idea: Blooperheroes. Yeah, they’re not the best at their jobs. In many cases, being super isn’t even their job. Well, at least it wasn’t until very recently...
Set in a world where supers are common, our story will follow a cobbled-together team of superpowered losers, misfits, oldtimers, and D-listers forced to take over the defense of the metropolis of New Ivansburg after all of the Liberty Corps, other A-listers, B-listers, and just about anyone useful go missing under mysterious circumstances. Nobody genuinely expects them to succeed - the odds are certainly against them - but they're supposed to take a crack at solving the mystery so that the powers-that-be can at least say that they tried. Yep, everything here is completely on the level.
So, who are these 'losers, misfits, and D-listers'? Well, I'd like to be a bit tongue-in-cheek and maybe a touch politically incorrect at times, but I also want this to have heart. This is a story about people who have been dismissed by their peers overcoming whatever's held them back to this point in life and succeeding, sometimes despite themselves or, alternatively, people who have made a choice not to step up and be the heroes that they could be giving it a second chance. Tonally, we're going for something that aims to be funny but has a degree of seriousness and a fairly deep plot and character development at its heart.
When it comes to powers, Blooperheroes don’t automatically have to be super-low on the scale, though that’s definitely acceptable. Think of the really situational or absurd, powers that your character can't reasonably use or can't use to their full potential for whatever reason, or just former powerhouses who are way over the hill. Want some examples? Check out the sample mini-profiles below.
Them's the Rules!
Uno: The usual stuff about not being an ass, not powerplaying, metagaming, asspulling, etc, and just remembering to RP as your character and not as yourself.
Dos: Try to post at least one good paragraph or better. This is intended to be high casual. Try to keep up with the general flow of posts and be active at least once a week. If you disappear for more than this amount of time without notice, your character will be made into an NPC. NPCs can be killed off. Don't let it happen! Conversely, try not to flood the IC with posts without giving others a chance to participate.
Tres: Characters should be human, believable mutants, or (subject to GM discretion) aliens or tech. The main stipulation is that they should be able to believably inhabit a world not unlike ours except for the presence of beings with superpowers.
Cuatro: I'm looking for a group of five to eight players. You will all be drafted into the Blooperheroes, known officially in-world as the Liberty Corps Reserves. Feel free to give any of the sample characters a full bio and RP as them if you like. Otherwise, they'll be NPCs that may appear. While it isn't likely, there is a possibility of character death here. Later on, if this goes well, there will also be room for characters to evolve, switch sides, etc. Playable Villains will hopefully be introduced. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though.
Cinco: I'll have a CS up by the weekend if there's enough interest to justify it. I imagine it'll also include a bio section, an alignment, and some additional physical details. Pictures are not essential, but strongly preferred.
The World
This section will be expanded and filled in as we near the launch of the RPG.
The Liberty Register
The Liberty Corps maintains a core membership of nine individuals with exceptional abilities who are tasked with protecting Life, Liberty, and Equality whenever and wherever these cherished ideals may find themselves threatened. As a result, eight replacement members will be selected to join the (soon to be revealed) emergency corps leader, while the other applicants will be placed in reserve. That means that the eight characters who best represent the vision for Blooperheroes that I have presented above will be accepted for this RP. Try to consider interesting and offbeat powers that seem weak or absurd but have real potential if used well. Take team synergy, comedic potential, and dramatic potential into account. Uniqueness is generally a plus. Pandering isn't.
If your character doesn't end up being selected by the Liberty Corps (hey, I'm just their spokesman, so don't shoot the messenger), it doesn't mean that they're not a good character. It likely just means that there were others who were a better fit this time around. Anyways, without further ado, have a CS:
Liberty Corps, Assemble!