All-Star Marvel: Age of Heroes
GM: ErsatzEmperor
Welcome true believers; welcome to All-Star Marvel, an intoxicating land where creativity for creativity's sake can take priority and enable you to render stories and events you could only have dreamed of in all of your previous mundanity. We welcome you to a unique narrative opportunity to take any Marvel character character and re-imagine them in a way that makes them pleasurable for you to write unique and original stories with. In this universe no events in the main Marvel comics continuity are considered canon. It is entirely contained within the forum and within your imagination. Am I over-egging it? Perhaps. It's still pretty cool to see.
Whether you're one for emotional drama or a sucker for physical trauma, the vast range of characters available could fit any genre or any purpose you could reasonably imagine. Is your interest piqued by a fresh interpretation of Bruce Banner that you really wanna try out? Own it. Love Thor but hate that darned old hammer? Sling it. Think that The Whizzer is in need of a drastic revival? That's good too. No-one is off limits here. Not even Doop. As long as they have appeared in a canonical Marvel tale on either the page or the screen they're free for refurbishment. Here, the MARVEL UNIVERSE is yours to mold.
[This is a sandbox game.]
||Beginnings:||
"The year is 1942 and our world is at War. A long and bloody war, staged against itself for reasons few of us can even remember. A war of property with no sign of an end, offering no reprieve and no pardon. All consuming is this beast called War. There is no negotiation to be staged - how do you negotiate with an animal such as this? A two-headed, petty beast that survives only through it's own prolonged torment. Until it has its fill, how can there be peace? How can there be anything of substance, beyond bloodshed, oppression and torment? Are we doomed to continue fighting for a twisted future; to prepare for a land that this monster cannot reach? If so, it is a cause that I can no longer believe in. How can anyone believe without hope? The tearful mothers sending up their boy soldiers as tribute to the beast have no hope. The husbands, pulling at its teeth impotently do not have hope. The politicians who originally backed the beast, they have no hope. They need to be given hope. They need something to believe in. That can't be me. Now, after seeing the affect my weapon has on man's greed, I realise that that hope can not be provided here. There is no hope.
My name is Abraham Erskine and I have failed.
After the recent attack on Pearl Harbour, The United States has entered the war. Another will to be broken? Perhaps.
As the Americans make ready their spades for trenches and for graves, I realise that I am no longer on the right side. I cannot allow my Super Soldier Serum to be used by an army and they shall never allow my power to be bestowed upon one man. Of the test subjects presented to me, only one even showed a change. My superiors are overbearing and callous and fresh with inhuman intent. I cannot stay. I must defect. With me, I shall take my notes and destroy my remaining vials of this 'failure'. I shall start again, away from those eager to place their names in history books. I will find a man who is worthy, and bestow upon he the abilities to vanquish the beast. I have sent my papers and charted passage on a supply boat to Spain. From there, my destination shall be Germany."
Abraham Erskine's final journal entry, (17th January 1942)
By the year 1942, the state of the world was dire. Following the attempted defection of Allied scientist Abraham Erskine, a single hero was born. After some internal struggle with the compounds that he recieved, Steven Grant Rogers became faster, stronger and tougher, leading the charge and the forces of the U.S.A as Captain America! - The first Avenger. Contrary to Erskine's feelings, the once lowly art student, courageous and moralistic, did inspire hope. Hope in the troops, and the people they swore to protect. He battled threats no single soldier could handle. HYDRA, a branch of the third reich spearheaded by the enigmatic Johann Shmidt, clashed with him often and with their defeats grew the need for more technological advances in weaponry and augmentation.
Captain America fell, as did Shmidt, for what they believed in. On the eve of the end of war in Europe the two duelled in the heart of Nazi Germany, at the epicentre of Axis and HYDRA power. No single man left that fight, but their legacies survived. The world carried on.
||M-Day||
Elsewhere, in an entirely different time, the world faced a new threat. The X-Gene. Almost overnight, a minority of the population found themselves changed. On the surface, they could be similar, even normal. But underneath? They were a completely different species. A species with strange gifts and abilities. On the 2nd of November 1985, these people were declared mutants.
This was not an isolated incident. For decades individuals with abilities had been born into a world that hated and feared them. Among these mutants were Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, both dedicated to preserving and studying their kind, albeit opposing at the means. Charles wished to work with Homo Sapiens for a better future. Erik wished to topple them in favour of his Homo Superiors.
Their presence during this time, as well as the appearance of senators eager to move attention away from their actual blunders with their own bigotry inspired the Purifier riots of '87 and '88. With McCarthyist glee, those who wished dead the children of the atom dragged them from their homes and destroy them. There were lynchings. There were rallies. Erik could see only one end.
Assembling his own brotherhood, he took the fight to the humans. With guerrilla tactics, his mutants fought back. Charles however, wishing to educate rather than slaughter, build an Academy - The Xavier Institute of Higher Learning. There he would teach humans and mutants alike equality, as well as how to control their own bodies.
||Year One:||
By this point, metahuman-human relations are at their tensest. There are talks of a mutant registration act, with Senator Kelly leading the charge. Small-town saviours are ripped-out of it by the press for simply wearing a mask. Known vigilantes are wanted by the police. That all changes with the Sentry.
When his powers began to manifest in downtown Manhattan, local heroes responded to the call. The area would have been decimated if it weren't for Ant-Man, The Wasp, Thor and Iron-Man. With this act, more heroes began to emerge. More publicly accepted, capes could come out in the street.
A year on from that selfless act of courage, the world is a different place entirely. That's where we come to you. This is your world now.
So we're now looking at:
• 1942 - Captain America, accompanied by a hand selected team of professionals enter the war, guns blazing.
• 1944 - Assumed death of Captain America; WWII ends prematurely; The A-Bombs are dropped on Japan.
• 1959 - In response to the growing Communist Threat, the government sanctioned Super-Team 'The Invaders' are formed. They are used once, battling Radioactive Man on a nuclear sub before being forcibly disbanded. The threat of their presence alone re-ignites the Cold War.
• 1962 - The clandestine spy agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D is formed to combat the growing threat of terrorist groups such as The Hand and HYDRA.
• 1964 - The moon landing. This event inspires many of the scientists of the future.
• 1980 - Kravin Industries is formed. Becomes a major competitor of Stark Industries and Advanced Ideas Mechanics.
• 1983 - The 'Kingpin Syndicate' begins to take a foothold in the New York crime-scene.
• 1985 - The X-Gene is discovered and given its name. Hundreds of mutants 'come out'.
• 1987 - The Purifiers are formed; the riots and lynchings begin.
• 1988 - A young Norman Osborn founds the chemical, genetic engineering and tech firm 'Oscorp Industries'.
• 1989 - Professor Charles Xavier starts up the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning. The first incarnation of the X-Men are formed. Magneto forms the Brotherhood of Mutants.
• 1991 - Magneto is declared dead after a battle on Cape Citadel (A military facility). The X-Men disband and turn their efforts to teaching. Anti-Mutant violence becomes far less prominent.
• 1994 - Dr. Curtis Connors joined Dr. Richard Parker in a privately funded laboratory where they dedicated their time and efforts to a cure for cancer.
• 1995 - Oscorp Industries becomes Oscorp International, now involved in everything from funding the development of third world countries, to developing top-notch missile guidance systems, to designing it's own brand of toothpaste. Daily Bugle rising star and publisher J. Jonah Jameson took over as owner of the paper.
• 1998 - Calypso Ezili and Miles Warren join Doctors Parker and Connors in their lab as research assistants.
• 2001 - The Daily Bugle takes a brave new direction at the coming of the modern age. Jameson revitalized the dying tabloid newspaper into the Daily Bugle Communications which encompassed a hard-hitting news network - Daily Bugle Now (DBN), a similarly titled website with both news articles and blogs by respected reporters, and the newspaper itself.
• 2003 - Ben Urich is hired by the Daily Bugle. Soon after he finds himself nominated for a Pulitzer. Calypso Ezili, working alongside Dr. Connors, nears a breakthrough in her genetic research. Latveria is re-declared as a monarchy after a hostile takeover.
• 2004 - Atlantis is discovered during a rescue attempt of seven Fujikawa Industries undersea miners.
• 2010 - Dr. Calypso Ezili is poached by Kravin Industries who have taken a great interest in her experiments.
• 2012 - The Avengers are formed.
• Character applications must only star similar or reinterpreted characters from the Marvel universe. Characters can be picked from the main 616 comic continuity, spin-off series (Ultimate, MCU etc.) or from any Marvel movies, cartoons or live-action series. Any applications featuring original characters or characters from other companies (DC/Darkhorse/Image etc) will be dismissed.
• At the start you may only apply for Hero or Walking the Line characters. Villains are for earners available to anyone given a second and third character slot.
• Players will be limited to the use of one Hero character at the start. After three IC posts a second and third slot will be made available to you.
◦ There will be no calling dibs for characters. Every character is available to every player from the start - players cannot lay claim to any character without posting a complete character application. Multiple players may attempt to apply for the same character and all competing applications posted within 24 hours of the first will be considered by the GM, to be judged and selected as they see fit. Any applications after this 24 hour cut-off point will not be considered.
• You are required to post at least once every 28 days, although it is preferred for you to post more. If you fail to post altogether (without prior communication through PMs or the OOC thread with a viable explanation) for this time, your character will be released from the roster and be free to be applied for by another player.
• If you wish, you may then re-apply for the character. If accepted, you will be restricted to the use of one character for a probationary period of two weeks. Consistent posting during this time will re-enable you to pick up a second character. Failure to post during the period however will lead to a full game ban.
• You must post in the IC thread within two weeks of its approval. Failure to do so will enable other players to apply for your character.
• Player controlled Characters (PCs) may not be killed without permission from the player said character belongs to. However, feel free to brutally murder as many nameless Non-Player Characters (NPCs) as possible within the constraints of your own character.
• Butting into other character's story lines/events without asking permission prior will not be tolerated. It's rude and unnecessary - if you can make a good enough case and communicate with the other members your likely to be given permission. Interaction and politeness need to to go hand in hand if this is to be enjoyable.
• Legacy Characters/Sidekicks (Red Hulk, Ben Reily, Bucky, Rescue, War Machine etc.) may only be applied for if the player responsible for their traditional 'Mentor' permit it as their existence may go against the vision the pre-established player has for their own character. If accepted, communication between both parties will help to make the experience more enjoyable for both. Exemptions of the rule can occur if no such character yet exists in the roleplay or if the character can be feasibly reimagined without any association with their counterpart. Communication and cooperation is key.
• Any location within the Marvel U (on planet or off) is available to you as a setting for your adventures, so long as it is within your character's means to be there in the first place. Namor is bound to feel at home 10'000 leagues under the sea. Spider-Man? Not so much. Exceptions can be made if the story allows for it.
• Time-travel is forbidden unless a character's origin demands it (e.g, Kang the Conqueror). In these cases all time travel will have been done with prior to the character's first interaction with a PC.
• Stay in character. Act like them, not as an extension of yourself with neato powers.
• Don't just play to win. The aim here is to produce fun stories and collaborations, not to conquer the world and enslave it's populous through untempered brute force. By the laws of probability there are bound to be battles your character cannot win. Embrace it.
• Try and be as creative as possible with your character sheets. This process is as much a test of your competency in commanding language as it is showing your ideas for a character. Blatant copy and pasting of other people's work from discarded character sheets, wiki pages or the like will not be tolerated. I will check.
• Please refrain from having your character perform any random game-changing actions; no one likes waking up to find that a player has had their character destroy the moon, least of all the population of Attilan. Only perform actions that your character can do and would do on paper.
• Respect the GM, and they shall respect unto you. If they ask you to change something, it's in the interests of the game for you to comply.
• The GM reserves the right to expel any member as they see fit if given reason.
• All regular Guild rules apply.
Character Sheet template:
Player Name:
Character You Wish To Play:
Moral Alignment (Hero, Villain, Walking the Line):
Affiliation (what group/team/organization, if any, is your character affiliated with?):
Character Origin & Backstory:
Powers and Abilities (What can your character do? What can't they do?):
Sample Post (This is used as an introduction to your writing – try to keep it to around three paragraphs or more and try to include dialogue):
Heroes:
• Captain America - Stephanie Carter (HenryJonesJr)
• Dagger - Tandy Bowen (Njorne)
• Daredevil - Matt Murdock (ByrdMan)
• Invisible Woman - Susan Storm (Gowi)
• Iron Man - Tony Stark (Sep)
• Luke Cage - Luke Cage (ByrdMan)
• Spider-Man - Peter Parker (Rade)
• Wolverine - Logan (HenryJonesJr)
Walking the Line:
• Black Cat - Felicia Hardy (Gowi)
• Gambit - Remy Lebeau (The New Yorker)
• Punisher - Frank Castle (DeathstrokeSW)
• Swordsman - Jacques Duquesne (Gowi)
• X-23 - Laura Kinney (Schradinger)
Villains:
• N/A.
Quick thanks to Andy C for running this for so long previously and Nightrunner, Gowi and Rade for their valued help and opinions.
