Basic Overview:
The power structure of New York has been upheaved over the past few years by several major events: first the Chi'tauri Invasion that sparked the creation of the Avengers and caused more superhumans to come out of the woodwork in its aftermath, followed by the Civil War that sundered the team and caused them to go separate ways, and most recently, the toppling of Wilson Fisk's criminal empire. These events have left a power vacuum in the City on both sides of the law, as new heroes rise to fill in the void left in the wake of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and ruthless criminals attempt to claim the throne of New York's underworld.
Major Points of Conflict:
With both the City's most prominent team of heroes and its most notorious crime lord out of the picture, an influx of powers on both sides have come into prominence. Often chasing different goals and espousing very different beliefs, conflict between these heroes and villains is inevitable. New York has become a veritable powder keg, threatening to erupt from minor scuffles into an outright war.
The Criminal Underworld: The exposure and arrest of Wilson Fisk as the self-proclaimed 'Kingpin of Crime' has splintered the empire he once ruled alone. In addition to several multi-billion-dollar white-collar schemes, Fisk also controlled the business of trafficking drugs, arms, and even people in and out of the City, overseeing an army of enforcers and corrupt officials on nearly every level of government. With Fisk out of the picture, the various gangs and crime families once under his thumb have begun clawing at each other to grab power and riches for themselves.
OsCorp: Not long after the fall of Wilson Fisk, another high-profile New York industrialist was outed as a 'super-villain': Norman Osborn, who had in secret been the maniacal Green Goblin. Tragically, his exposure and subsequent death claimed one last victim, as his final battle with the vigilante Spider-Man ended in the killing of a 19-year-old girl named Gwen Stacy. The scandalous circumstances grabbed headlines for months, and many in the white-collar sector have pounced on the chance to snap up the various projects Osborn had been cooking up in his company's laboratories, to say nothing of the billions of dollars of company assets now up for grabs.
The Vigilante Question: Both before and after the conflict that dissolved the Avengers, the question of how a super-hero, in essence a lawless figure acting entirely by his or her own conscience, should conduct themselves had been a matter of heated debate. While most could look at the world-saving exploits of Iron Man or Captain America as undoubtedly heroic, the same could not be said of some of the more dubious crime-fighters at work, particularly the infamous Frank 'The Punisher' Castle. His actions, his demeanor, his very existence have sparked multiple conflicts, both within the media and within the heroic community, as to whether people like him are truly heroes doing what needs to be done, or simply bloodthirsty lunatics looking for justification.
The Occult: Reaching back centuries, New York has always been something of a hub for supernatural activities and cults, from the Rosicrucians to the Theosophicals to the Church of Satan. While there are many explanations for this, ranging from a focal point of mystical ley-lines to a hidden tomb of sleeping dragons beneath the city, there has been no shortage of esoteric societies, ranging from the benevolent to the apocalyptic, who have come to make the City their home.
Chi'tauri Technology: Even over ten years removed from the alien invasion that led to the forming of the Avengers, after SHIELD and a dozen other organizations scoured the City to recover any and all traces of the invaders' technology, alien weapons and artifacts can still be found in unexpected corners of New York. These can fetch an absurdly high price on the black market, as they are prized possessions for any of the various so-called 'mad scientists' who can reverse-engineer them and create super-powered weapons and gadgets of their own.
OsCorp: Not long after the fall of Wilson Fisk, another high-profile New York industrialist was outed as a 'super-villain': Norman Osborn, who had in secret been the maniacal Green Goblin. Tragically, his exposure and subsequent death claimed one last victim, as his final battle with the vigilante Spider-Man ended in the killing of a 19-year-old girl named Gwen Stacy. The scandalous circumstances grabbed headlines for months, and many in the white-collar sector have pounced on the chance to snap up the various projects Osborn had been cooking up in his company's laboratories, to say nothing of the billions of dollars of company assets now up for grabs.
The Vigilante Question: Both before and after the conflict that dissolved the Avengers, the question of how a super-hero, in essence a lawless figure acting entirely by his or her own conscience, should conduct themselves had been a matter of heated debate. While most could look at the world-saving exploits of Iron Man or Captain America as undoubtedly heroic, the same could not be said of some of the more dubious crime-fighters at work, particularly the infamous Frank 'The Punisher' Castle. His actions, his demeanor, his very existence have sparked multiple conflicts, both within the media and within the heroic community, as to whether people like him are truly heroes doing what needs to be done, or simply bloodthirsty lunatics looking for justification.
The Occult: Reaching back centuries, New York has always been something of a hub for supernatural activities and cults, from the Rosicrucians to the Theosophicals to the Church of Satan. While there are many explanations for this, ranging from a focal point of mystical ley-lines to a hidden tomb of sleeping dragons beneath the city, there has been no shortage of esoteric societies, ranging from the benevolent to the apocalyptic, who have come to make the City their home.
Chi'tauri Technology: Even over ten years removed from the alien invasion that led to the forming of the Avengers, after SHIELD and a dozen other organizations scoured the City to recover any and all traces of the invaders' technology, alien weapons and artifacts can still be found in unexpected corners of New York. These can fetch an absurdly high price on the black market, as they are prized possessions for any of the various so-called 'mad scientists' who can reverse-engineer them and create super-powered weapons and gadgets of their own.
Major Factions:
While there are many who have struck out on their own, there are others who see the value of strength in numbers. Some have banded together for a common cause, or against a common foe, or are furthering the agendas of powers far beyond the scope of the City. All wield considerable power, and depending on one's own goals, could prove to be invaluable allies or powerful enemies.
The Defenders: a loose city-wide confederation of heroes and vigilantes, dedicated to protecting the people of New York City and bringing down the various crime syndicates, corrupt corporations, and unhinged terrorists who would do the city harm.
(Members: Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing)
The Maggia: An old-fashioned crime syndicate originally from Sicily, now attempting regain lost ground in America after the fall of Wilson Fisk, with resources to hire in any number of contract killers or assassins to do their dirty work.
(Prominent Members: Silvio "Silvermane" Manfredi, Hammerhead, Caesar Cicero, Man Mountain Marko)
The Tombstone Syndicate: A new gang led by the infamous Lonnie "Tombstone" Lincoln, the primary rivals to the Maggia for control of Fisk's old empire. Unlike the Maggia, Tombstone's organization has no qualms about aligning with super-villains if they share a common enemy.
(Prominent Members: Tombstone, The Enforcers, Grim and Reaper)
The Fang Gang: An extortion and gambling ring who prey on the disenfranchised and the outcast, the ruling gang in Harlem and much of the Barrio, but considerably weaker outside of their home turf.
(Prominent Members: Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes, Raymond "Pirahna" Jones, Willis "Diamondback" Stryker)
The Sinister Six: A semi-permanent band of super-villains originally founded to fight Spider-Man, now pursuing a currently unknown agenda through the raiding and plundering of the City's leading technological firms.
(Members: Otto "Dr. Octopus" Octavius, Flint "Sandman" Marko, Aleksei "Rhino" Systevich, Quentin "Mysterio" Beck, Adrian "Vulture" Toomes, Max "Electro" Dillon)
The Hand: An ancient and secretive order, steeped in mysticism and infamous for their skilled assassins, dedicated to the destruction of society in honor of "The Beast."
(Members: Tomi "Gorgon" Shishido, Elektra Natchios, Nobu Yoshioka, Alexandra Reid, Madame Gao)
S.H.I.E.L.D.: A powerful but highly secretive agency overseen by the United States government, meant to police and contain superhuman activity in the country, now under scrutiny for some of their more questionable methods.
HYDRA: An international terrorist organization with ties to the Third Reich, bent on using super-scientific and supernatural means to overthrow the free world and establish a new world order.
(Members: Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing)
The Maggia: An old-fashioned crime syndicate originally from Sicily, now attempting regain lost ground in America after the fall of Wilson Fisk, with resources to hire in any number of contract killers or assassins to do their dirty work.
(Prominent Members: Silvio "Silvermane" Manfredi, Hammerhead, Caesar Cicero, Man Mountain Marko)
The Tombstone Syndicate: A new gang led by the infamous Lonnie "Tombstone" Lincoln, the primary rivals to the Maggia for control of Fisk's old empire. Unlike the Maggia, Tombstone's organization has no qualms about aligning with super-villains if they share a common enemy.
(Prominent Members: Tombstone, The Enforcers, Grim and Reaper)
The Fang Gang: An extortion and gambling ring who prey on the disenfranchised and the outcast, the ruling gang in Harlem and much of the Barrio, but considerably weaker outside of their home turf.
(Prominent Members: Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes, Raymond "Pirahna" Jones, Willis "Diamondback" Stryker)
The Sinister Six: A semi-permanent band of super-villains originally founded to fight Spider-Man, now pursuing a currently unknown agenda through the raiding and plundering of the City's leading technological firms.
(Members: Otto "Dr. Octopus" Octavius, Flint "Sandman" Marko, Aleksei "Rhino" Systevich, Quentin "Mysterio" Beck, Adrian "Vulture" Toomes, Max "Electro" Dillon)
The Hand: An ancient and secretive order, steeped in mysticism and infamous for their skilled assassins, dedicated to the destruction of society in honor of "The Beast."
(Members: Tomi "Gorgon" Shishido, Elektra Natchios, Nobu Yoshioka, Alexandra Reid, Madame Gao)
S.H.I.E.L.D.: A powerful but highly secretive agency overseen by the United States government, meant to police and contain superhuman activity in the country, now under scrutiny for some of their more questionable methods.
HYDRA: An international terrorist organization with ties to the Third Reich, bent on using super-scientific and supernatural means to overthrow the free world and establish a new world order.
Rules:
- Players are allowed to pick a Marvel character and draw inspiration from any 'main' incarnation of the Marvel Universe. This may include the standard '616' Marvel Comics Universe, the Marvel MAX and Marvel Knights imprints, Ultimate Marvel, the Marvel Cinematic/Television Universe, the 20th Century Fox X-Men Universe, and any of the animated series. This does not necessarily mean they have to be exactly like said incarnation-- players can tweak the details of a character's history or personality to better suit the story or their own particular writing style-- but drastic alterations such as flipping a character's alignment or completely re-writing their personality (ex: turning Daredevil into a villain, making Frank Castle a pacifist, etc) is not permitted. Unless given special permission, characters from explicitly alternate timelines such as MC2 or Marvel Zombies are not allowed.
- Keeping in mind the 'street level' theme Marvel Knights, it is preferred that players only pick heroes or villains with a limited range of influence within New York City itself (or neighboring counties like Westchester, in the case of the X-Men). While world-level characters like Thor or Doctor Strange do exist in this universe, the general rule is that they are off 'somewhere else' as far as the story is concerned.
- Given that 'neighborhood' heroes are relatively new in this universe (see: Timeline and Lore), "legacy"/replacement characters such as Miles Morales or Kate Bishop are largely discouraged. However, this is not set in stone, and with a solid enough pitch, a legacy character may be given special permission from the GM.
- Players are permitted one character to start, but if they prove to be reliably active in the IC thread, they may be allowed a second character, as per the GM's permission.
- The timeline of the game will be largely be determined by the submitted character sheets of each player. However, the general rule of thumb is that while the idea of the superhero has been around for decades in this universe starting with Captain America in the 1940s, their prevalence in society is a relatively new phenomenon. The Avengers have been around for roughly a decade and the X-Men even longer, but 'neighborhood' superheroes only began appearing about five years ago with the emergence of Spider-Man.
- While each player is responsible for establishing the basics of their characters' history, an exhaustively detailed timeline is not necessary. Players should, however, keep in mind that any event posted or referred to in the IC thread is considered 'canon' (ex: the Avengers were founded by fighting the Chitauri in 2008) and cannot be contradicted later (ex: the Avengers were founded by fighting Kang in 1998).
- If a player writes something in IC that is decided to be contradictory or otherwise harmful to the game's lore (ex: Captain America died and was never unfrozen, Peter Parker was working for HYDRA all along, etc.), it is within the GM's rights to ask the player to edit or remove that element completely. Only the GM is allowed to do this, however, and any disputes should be handled either over private messages or through the game's Discord channel.
- No Out-of-Character chat is permitted in the IC thread. Any questions, comments, suggestions, or other OOC writing should be kept to the OOC thread, the Discord server, or private messages.
- Players are using established characters with years (or even decades) of material to inform their writing, so it is expected that they remain true to the material. While it is not necessary to have extensive encyclopedic knowledge of said character, and there is room for stylistic differences between writers, it is expected that players are at the very least casually familiar with how a character acts and speaks, and should not write them as a self-insert or in a way that blatantly contradicts their established personality.
- Activity should be confined to the Five Boroughs of New York City. Brief excursions are allowable if a story arc demands it (going to a SHIELD facility, the Xavier Mansion, etc.) but the primary action of the game is meant to be within the City itself. Unless given special permission by the GM, visits to other planets, time-travel, etc., are not allowed.
- The writing expectations for this game are at least two well-developed paragraphs as a minimum per post. More than that is encouraged, but players should not feel pressured to write novel-length chapters if they do not want to. Proper spelling and grammar are expected, and while minor errors here and there will be overlooked, blatant misspellings and bad punctuation will be brought to the player's attention by the GM. This is not meant to shame the player, but to hold them to a high standard.
- Players are required to post at least once every two weeks to be considered active. Extensions may be given in extenuating circumstances such as holidays, vacations, sickness, etc., at the GM's discretion. If a player does not meet this deadline, the character will be considered inactive, meaning they will be considered available for other players to pick up. The offending player may pick up the inactive character without having to re-apply upon their first infraction, but will have to submit a full application again afterwards. After three offenses, the player will not be allowed to apply for the character again.
- 'God-Modding' is not permitted in this game. This involves taking control of another player's character in a way that is completely self-serving and done without the other player's permission. The only time this is permissible is if the other player has gone inactive and taking control of the character is necessary to complete an interaction.
- Metagaming is also not permitted. This is making your character aware of things happening outside of the game, giving them information they would have no way of knowing, or taking advantage of the game's rules to give the character some sort of advantage. Deadpool be damned, the Fourth Wall stays up in this game.
- Killing another player's character or prominent NPCs without their explicit permission is strictly prohibited, and will result in the offending player's expulsion from the game.
- No In-Character writing is allowed in the OOC Thread.
Respect the GM. The GameMaster is the arbiter of the game, and therefore has the final say on what is or isn't permissible. If the GM asks a player to change something in their post, to stop behaving in a certain way, etc., the player is expected to comply. - Respect the other Players. Constructive criticism is allowed, but flaming and shaming other players for the sake of running them off is not. Remember, quality-control is the GM's job, and if it is necessary for someone to step in, the GM will do it themselves.
- Respect the Thread. The OOC Thread is meant for workshopping character applications, questions and comments pertinent to the game, and on-topic discussion of the game and its Arcs. Spamming, GIF Wars, and other such behavior clutters the thread with unnecessary junk, and will not be allowed. That sort of thing is better served in the Discord chat.
- Have fun, damn it! If you're not enjoying what you're doing, then you shouldn't feel obligated to do it.
(These are not necessarily the only characters that will be made available, but it would be preferred that players pick from these before opting for a more obscure choice)
Spider-Man
Daredevil
Jessica Jones
Luke Cage
Elektra
The Punisher
Iron Fist
Moon Knight
Ghost Rider
Blade
Black Cat
Cloak & Dagger
Hawkeye
Mockingbird
Black Widow
White Tiger
Ms. Marvel
Shang-Chi
Deadpool
Other characters are open for interpretation, such as revising a former Avenger to suit the setting, but will require the GM's approval. A street-level revision of Black Panther or Ant-Man, for example, would be acceptable, but a full-powered Thor would likely not. While the Avengers have disbanded, other super-teams such as the Fantastic Four or the X-Men do currently exist in this continuity; for the sake of the setting, however, they would be considered off 'somewhere else' tending to other business.
Spider-Man
Daredevil
Jessica Jones
Luke Cage
Elektra
The Punisher
Iron Fist
Moon Knight
Ghost Rider
Blade
Black Cat
Cloak & Dagger
Hawkeye
Mockingbird
Black Widow
White Tiger
Ms. Marvel
Shang-Chi
Deadpool
Other characters are open for interpretation, such as revising a former Avenger to suit the setting, but will require the GM's approval. A street-level revision of Black Panther or Ant-Man, for example, would be acceptable, but a full-powered Thor would likely not. While the Avengers have disbanded, other super-teams such as the Fantastic Four or the X-Men do currently exist in this continuity; for the sake of the setting, however, they would be considered off 'somewhere else' tending to other business.
