[center][img=upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba..
"Have you no conception of the dangers inherent in this virus?"
"Power calls to power, and sorrow to sorrow." He gave Fortunato the barest of smiles. "We have all lost something precious to us in this battle against horror. But still we must go on, go on and turn back the darkness. If we can.”: Dr Tachyon.
What would happen if super powered beings existed in the “real” world? Well you’d get something similar to the Wild Card Universe, a series of mosaic novels written by several different writers and collected and edited by George R.R. Martin (yes, THAT G.R.R. Martin) that revolve around a world where super powered beings exist. Originally based off a long-running roleplay (irony) run by Martin in his youth, the series has run for more than 2 decades with over 20 different books.
The series’ subject matter differs from traditional superhero comics of the time in that it was more “realistic” (again, irony). In the series, there are no “big superhero teams” or “supervillians”, at least not in the comic-established sense. Many times, these “supervillians” are part of criminal organisations such as the Mafia or extremists such as the Islamic Nur sect.
It is this Universe we will be exploring and making our own from a point in time. The established events after this point in time will be changed, reimagined or completely forgotten as we begin taking over this huge world.
Brief History of the Wild Card Event:
In 1946, an alien named Prince Tisianne (or Dr Tachyon as he is now known) landed on Earth the same day as a virus, engineered by the House IIkazam, was sent to the planet in order to evaluate the virus on a large scale test. The virus crashed on Earth and was hijacked by one Dr. Tod. Using the virus, Tod threatened to release it over New York City, not knowing the full effects of the virus on humans.
On Sept. 15 1946, the genetically engineered Xenovirus Takis-A, also known as the Wild Card Virus in later years, was released over New York City. It was then that full effects of the virus were witnessed. As the virus rained down upon the unsuspecting public below, the changes began to show.
Of the estimated 25,000 infected, 90% became “black queens”, dying in gruesome ways, melting, burning, exploding, while the remaining 10% mutated. Every death was different, sending the city into a panic. Bridges were closed, people urged to stay in their homes. As the death toll rose, a pattern emerged. While 9 out of the 10 survivors of the virus mutated, becoming hideously deformed “jokers”, the lucky remaining 1% were gifted with miraculous physical or mental powers, becoming “aces”.
Since “Wild Card Day”, Earth has changed dramatically, encountering alien civilisations, inter-dimensional beings and global disasters. Certain historical elements more or less followed a similar path, with some obvious changes of the inclusion of superhuman presence.
Categories:
[img=i60.tinypic.com/z47d2.png]
The virus can be identified using a blood test, even if that person is Latent. The virus does not affect animals or other aliens as it is genetically coded for Takis (and, as a result of the identical genetics between races, humans)
Notable People/Places:
It is from this point in time (1986 for those who didn’t read the Timeline) that the normal timeline may/will diverge. Anyone taking over established characters must review their characters history. Anyone who is creating new characters should take these past events into account if they affect your character in anyway. I would ask that if you are creating a character based around a certain ability or deformity that you check and see if there isn’t already a highly established character that has your ability/deformity of choice. I say “highly” as in they have been given backstory and/or have been established. A list of different characters/power-based categories can be found here: Wild Card Characters
Now time for everyone’s favourite section- Da Rulez!
1] Have fun. We’re all here because we love writing and/or imagine intricate stories, settings and characters and, while I (and I assume many others) are open to constructive criticism, we’re not here to beat down others on their creations, we’re here to add to already rich and imaginative world. So have some fun with it. THAT’S AN ORDER!
2] If you’ve never read these books, that is alright. The whole point is that we’re starting anew from a point in time and constructing our own stories. However, 2 common themes all these books (and hopefully this RP) have are realism (what would happen if you put super powered beings in the “real” world) and graphic, gritty imagery and situations. What do I mean by that? 2 simple words: anal necrophilia. Yes. That actually happens in one book.
However, that will not be happening here or at least, not to that degree. Everyone will follow the sites rules regarding sexual content and graphic violence. Anything graphical should only be hinted at or faded to black in regards sex and the explicit language and violence should not be overused just for the “shock factor”.
3] Pick a character that you A) think you can develop or construct a character that you think you can get some decent stories out of B) have decently researched or put time into creating yourself. Don’t just pick one because their “powers are cool” or “they’re badass”. Think long term. Also don’t be afraid to pick a Nat or Deuce if you think you effectively develop a good story or character out of them. Also try and be realistic in your appearance for your character, particularly the Aces. Not all Aces are beautiful, stone-chiselled models, some can be just ordinary people with extraordinary powers.
4] Pick your powers/deformities wisely. Obviously I can’t tell someone how to play their characters but I would ask that if you are choosing certain abilities that you consider how they’ll affect your stories and your character’s life overall. I would ask that people limit their choices away from the god-like powers, time travel and so forth and if you do choose these powers, that you impose a weakness or limitation as to their usage. In saying that, don’t be afraid to use your imagination. This world contains humanoid androids, sexually-powered magicians, Shakespearian-dressed telepathic aliens and much, much more.
5] Everyone is allowed, at most, 2 characters at any one time. However, due to the rarity of Aces in the world, if you pick an Ace as your 1st character, then you will only have the choices of Jokers, Deuces or Nats. This also goes for ace-jokers. No one can have 2 Ace-style characters at one time. This is to keep things fair and balanced and to stop try and stop the entire RP from being filled with nothing but Aces. All other combinations are available, joker-joker, deuce-joker etc.
6] You may notice that the previous rule has the phrase “at any one time”. That is because no one’s character is above dying. However this will only happen IF the character’s player allows it. Other characters may simply just run out of steam story wise and be retired. Others may transcend the physical plane, travel back in time etc. Point is, is that characters in this will come and go.
7] No Godmoding or Metagaming to an extreme degree. For anyone unfamiliar with these terms, Metagaming is playing your character using/having knowledge that could only be obtained by either reading it in the OOC or by reading another poster’s entries. Big no-no. Godmoding, in this case, is trying over-exert too much control over situations or other characters. This also carries over to describing actions of other player’s characters in-game without their prior consent. A very big no-no.
As this is an Int Ch for the moment, there are bits missing, mostly about other important characters. This is mainly to prevent an overload of information. However, if you have a genuine interest in it, then I suggest reading the Wikia for any information you may want to find between now and when/if the OOC goes up and if you’re just interested in the overall premise, I highly recommend you find a copy of the 1st Wild Cards novel and read it.
Also you need not post up an actual filled CS just yet, this is merely to garner some interest and see how things follow from here.
"Have you no conception of the dangers inherent in this virus?"
"Power calls to power, and sorrow to sorrow." He gave Fortunato the barest of smiles. "We have all lost something precious to us in this battle against horror. But still we must go on, go on and turn back the darkness. If we can.”: Dr Tachyon.
What would happen if super powered beings existed in the “real” world? Well you’d get something similar to the Wild Card Universe, a series of mosaic novels written by several different writers and collected and edited by George R.R. Martin (yes, THAT G.R.R. Martin) that revolve around a world where super powered beings exist. Originally based off a long-running roleplay (irony) run by Martin in his youth, the series has run for more than 2 decades with over 20 different books.
The series’ subject matter differs from traditional superhero comics of the time in that it was more “realistic” (again, irony). In the series, there are no “big superhero teams” or “supervillians”, at least not in the comic-established sense. Many times, these “supervillians” are part of criminal organisations such as the Mafia or extremists such as the Islamic Nur sect.
It is this Universe we will be exploring and making our own from a point in time. The established events after this point in time will be changed, reimagined or completely forgotten as we begin taking over this huge world.
Brief History of the Wild Card Event:
In 1946, an alien named Prince Tisianne (or Dr Tachyon as he is now known) landed on Earth the same day as a virus, engineered by the House IIkazam, was sent to the planet in order to evaluate the virus on a large scale test. The virus crashed on Earth and was hijacked by one Dr. Tod. Using the virus, Tod threatened to release it over New York City, not knowing the full effects of the virus on humans.
On Sept. 15 1946, the genetically engineered Xenovirus Takis-A, also known as the Wild Card Virus in later years, was released over New York City. It was then that full effects of the virus were witnessed. As the virus rained down upon the unsuspecting public below, the changes began to show.
Of the estimated 25,000 infected, 90% became “black queens”, dying in gruesome ways, melting, burning, exploding, while the remaining 10% mutated. Every death was different, sending the city into a panic. Bridges were closed, people urged to stay in their homes. As the death toll rose, a pattern emerged. While 9 out of the 10 survivors of the virus mutated, becoming hideously deformed “jokers”, the lucky remaining 1% were gifted with miraculous physical or mental powers, becoming “aces”.
Since “Wild Card Day”, Earth has changed dramatically, encountering alien civilisations, inter-dimensional beings and global disasters. Certain historical elements more or less followed a similar path, with some obvious changes of the inclusion of superhuman presence.
Categories:
[img=i60.tinypic.com/z47d2.png]
The virus can be identified using a blood test, even if that person is Latent. The virus does not affect animals or other aliens as it is genetically coded for Takis (and, as a result of the identical genetics between races, humans)
Notable People/Places:
(Character taken by GM)
(Original Character, taken by GM)
It is from this point in time (1986 for those who didn’t read the Timeline) that the normal timeline may/will diverge. Anyone taking over established characters must review their characters history. Anyone who is creating new characters should take these past events into account if they affect your character in anyway. I would ask that if you are creating a character based around a certain ability or deformity that you check and see if there isn’t already a highly established character that has your ability/deformity of choice. I say “highly” as in they have been given backstory and/or have been established. A list of different characters/power-based categories can be found here: Wild Card Characters
Now time for everyone’s favourite section- Da Rulez!
1] Have fun. We’re all here because we love writing and/or imagine intricate stories, settings and characters and, while I (and I assume many others) are open to constructive criticism, we’re not here to beat down others on their creations, we’re here to add to already rich and imaginative world. So have some fun with it. THAT’S AN ORDER!
2] If you’ve never read these books, that is alright. The whole point is that we’re starting anew from a point in time and constructing our own stories. However, 2 common themes all these books (and hopefully this RP) have are realism (what would happen if you put super powered beings in the “real” world) and graphic, gritty imagery and situations. What do I mean by that? 2 simple words: anal necrophilia. Yes. That actually happens in one book.
However, that will not be happening here or at least, not to that degree. Everyone will follow the sites rules regarding sexual content and graphic violence. Anything graphical should only be hinted at or faded to black in regards sex and the explicit language and violence should not be overused just for the “shock factor”.
3] Pick a character that you A) think you can develop or construct a character that you think you can get some decent stories out of B) have decently researched or put time into creating yourself. Don’t just pick one because their “powers are cool” or “they’re badass”. Think long term. Also don’t be afraid to pick a Nat or Deuce if you think you effectively develop a good story or character out of them. Also try and be realistic in your appearance for your character, particularly the Aces. Not all Aces are beautiful, stone-chiselled models, some can be just ordinary people with extraordinary powers.
4] Pick your powers/deformities wisely. Obviously I can’t tell someone how to play their characters but I would ask that if you are choosing certain abilities that you consider how they’ll affect your stories and your character’s life overall. I would ask that people limit their choices away from the god-like powers, time travel and so forth and if you do choose these powers, that you impose a weakness or limitation as to their usage. In saying that, don’t be afraid to use your imagination. This world contains humanoid androids, sexually-powered magicians, Shakespearian-dressed telepathic aliens and much, much more.
5] Everyone is allowed, at most, 2 characters at any one time. However, due to the rarity of Aces in the world, if you pick an Ace as your 1st character, then you will only have the choices of Jokers, Deuces or Nats. This also goes for ace-jokers. No one can have 2 Ace-style characters at one time. This is to keep things fair and balanced and to stop try and stop the entire RP from being filled with nothing but Aces. All other combinations are available, joker-joker, deuce-joker etc.
6] You may notice that the previous rule has the phrase “at any one time”. That is because no one’s character is above dying. However this will only happen IF the character’s player allows it. Other characters may simply just run out of steam story wise and be retired. Others may transcend the physical plane, travel back in time etc. Point is, is that characters in this will come and go.
7] No Godmoding or Metagaming to an extreme degree. For anyone unfamiliar with these terms, Metagaming is playing your character using/having knowledge that could only be obtained by either reading it in the OOC or by reading another poster’s entries. Big no-no. Godmoding, in this case, is trying over-exert too much control over situations or other characters. This also carries over to describing actions of other player’s characters in-game without their prior consent. A very big no-no.
As this is an Int Ch for the moment, there are bits missing, mostly about other important characters. This is mainly to prevent an overload of information. However, if you have a genuine interest in it, then I suggest reading the Wikia for any information you may want to find between now and when/if the OOC goes up and if you’re just interested in the overall premise, I highly recommend you find a copy of the 1st Wild Cards novel and read it.
Also you need not post up an actual filled CS just yet, this is merely to garner some interest and see how things follow from here.
