"For whatever reason more and more super-powered individuals have been reported from all around the world, and while many are using their new-found powers for their own ends some have volunteered to join the international..."
This roleplay is a turn-based combat simulator using multi-part missions and scenarios where heroic characters use their technological, biological or magical abilities to fight crime, overcome metahuman opponents and solve simple puzzles (such as how to prevent a bomb blowing up the building they're currently standing in.)
Each player will take on the role of a human (or near-human) character who has somehow recently discovered they have superpowers, and have volunteered to help protect the world.
I'll be using a modified game system based on the one developed by @Behemoth542 for his BattleCorp™: Combatant Creator roleplay, with a few alterations to increase the narrative scope of the system:
Metas have been around for about the last thirty years, but the oldest ones kept themselves very quiet and out of sight. Some who used their abilities for their own gain have risen to positions of power in the world, but keep their abilities hidden and their involvement in the metahuman sub-culture a secret.
Within the last five years those with powers have begun to come out of the shadows as younger, more free-spirited metas have discovered their abilities. This has led to a number of highly publicised and globally reported incidents which have brought metas into the public consciousness, with the realisation that gods walk amongst us.
To deal with the public outcry against those with powers the UN sanctioned the creation of the Allied Extra-Governmental Intelligence Service, more commonly known as A.E.G.I.S, whose mission statement is to control and contain metahumans internationally. Ratified by all major nations, and accepted as the utmost authority on the metahuman situation, A.E.G.I.S. have the power to detain without charge any individuals discovered to possess metahuman abilities, no matter what their source.
Initially A.E.G.I.S. operated as an administrative authority, cataloguing metahuman powers for individuals whose talents were mundane and trivial (spoonbenders, people with the ability to see ten seconds into the past, a man capable of identifying any type of cheese from upto a mile away, etc.) but when they started to encounter those whose powers were more of a threat to the general population the need for more rigorous action was deemed necessary.
At that point permission was granted for the formation of the Rapid Assault Tactical Squads, groups of highly trained individuals whose mission was to isolate and contain dangerous metahumans using all necessary force. While at first these squads consisted of government trained agents and military personnel as they came into contact with more metahumans A.E.G.I.S. began to recruit them into the R.A.T.S. as 'mission specialists' for specific tasks.
After noting a far higher success rate for squads containing a metahuman the decision was made to broaden the recruitment policy for the R.A.T.S. so that any individuals with powers which could be useful to A.E.G.I.S. could be offered a place on the team. Heading into the Vault, a highly secured and secret prison complex, A.E.G.I.S. officers offered certain controllable inmates the opportunity to serve humanity in exchange for their freedom, with certain provisions in place to ensure their loyalty.
Currently R.A.T.S. employs over thirty metahumans on a full-time basis, with several more registered as 'consultants' for specific mission assignments. Along with this the Vault houses over fifty metahumans whose abilities and temperaments have been identified as too dangerous to be allowed freedom. Worldwide A.E.G.I.S. is currently monitoring over 5 million metahumans and 'potentials' who may someday require them to take action, although the vast majority of these individuals show no signs of becoming a threat any time soon.
Within the last couple of years certain individuals, such as Discord and Thrash, have been approached by an unknown stranger and been granted 'gifts' which have allowed them to become metahumans. Whether this 'stranger' has a wide-scale plan in place or if this is merely random mischief is currently under investigation.
Within the last five years those with powers have begun to come out of the shadows as younger, more free-spirited metas have discovered their abilities. This has led to a number of highly publicised and globally reported incidents which have brought metas into the public consciousness, with the realisation that gods walk amongst us.
To deal with the public outcry against those with powers the UN sanctioned the creation of the Allied Extra-Governmental Intelligence Service, more commonly known as A.E.G.I.S, whose mission statement is to control and contain metahumans internationally. Ratified by all major nations, and accepted as the utmost authority on the metahuman situation, A.E.G.I.S. have the power to detain without charge any individuals discovered to possess metahuman abilities, no matter what their source.
Initially A.E.G.I.S. operated as an administrative authority, cataloguing metahuman powers for individuals whose talents were mundane and trivial (spoonbenders, people with the ability to see ten seconds into the past, a man capable of identifying any type of cheese from upto a mile away, etc.) but when they started to encounter those whose powers were more of a threat to the general population the need for more rigorous action was deemed necessary.
At that point permission was granted for the formation of the Rapid Assault Tactical Squads, groups of highly trained individuals whose mission was to isolate and contain dangerous metahumans using all necessary force. While at first these squads consisted of government trained agents and military personnel as they came into contact with more metahumans A.E.G.I.S. began to recruit them into the R.A.T.S. as 'mission specialists' for specific tasks.
After noting a far higher success rate for squads containing a metahuman the decision was made to broaden the recruitment policy for the R.A.T.S. so that any individuals with powers which could be useful to A.E.G.I.S. could be offered a place on the team. Heading into the Vault, a highly secured and secret prison complex, A.E.G.I.S. officers offered certain controllable inmates the opportunity to serve humanity in exchange for their freedom, with certain provisions in place to ensure their loyalty.
Currently R.A.T.S. employs over thirty metahumans on a full-time basis, with several more registered as 'consultants' for specific mission assignments. Along with this the Vault houses over fifty metahumans whose abilities and temperaments have been identified as too dangerous to be allowed freedom. Worldwide A.E.G.I.S. is currently monitoring over 5 million metahumans and 'potentials' who may someday require them to take action, although the vast majority of these individuals show no signs of becoming a threat any time soon.
Within the last couple of years certain individuals, such as Discord and Thrash, have been approached by an unknown stranger and been granted 'gifts' which have allowed them to become metahumans. Whether this 'stranger' has a wide-scale plan in place or if this is merely random mischief is currently under investigation.
Mechanics
Characters will start out with very limited skills and abilities, but players will be given the opportunity to develop them as the game progresses, either adapting to new challenges or perfecting their character's own form of combat.
- Health: A measure of the character's combat readiness and ability to fight. This includes things like their mental health and emotional state which may be affected by enemy attacks, abilities and traits.
- Attack: A indication of the character's ability to detrimentally affect a target's ability to fight. This could be direct damage, psychic attacks or emotional manipulations, anything which could prevent an enemy from continuing to fight.
- Defence: A sign as to how well the character can endure the rigors of combat, which includes physical endurance, mental focus and emotional stability.
- Energy: A record of how many special abilities or attacks the character can perform, whether this means their stamina, mana or ammunition.
At the beginning of the game each character will automatically start with 15 Health, 1 Attack, 1 Defence and a 10 Maximum Energy, as well as receiving 10 Skill Points to spend crafting their character. Skill Points may be spent to either increase basic attributes, purchase new Abilities or Traits or improve existing abilities or traits.
- 1 Skill point may be spent to increase Attack by 1 point
- 1 Skill point may be spent to increase Defence by 1 point
- 1 Skill point may be spent to increase Health by 5 points
- 2 Skill point may be spent to increase purchase a new Ability or Trait
- 2 Skill point may be spent to reduce the Energy cost of an Ability by 1 point, to a minimum of 1
- 2 Skill point may be spent to increase the duration of an Ability or Trait's status effect by 1 turn
- 1 Skill point may be spent to adapt a piece of found gear into a permanent Trait
Maximum Energy and Energy Regeneration may not be increased using Skill Points, but may be affected by Abilities or Traits.
The two main types of power are active Abilities, which have to be used by a character in order to activate them, and passive Traits, which give a permanent boost to the character in some way. Most Abilities require an Energy cost to be met before they can be used, while only more powerful Traits require Energy each turn in order to keep them running.
Players may create their own unique powers for their characters either at their initial creation or when levelling up during the game. Any type of power will be considered, but they would have to fit into one of the three 'power sources' of Tech, Bio or Magic.
Each character will also be asked to define the nature of their power in less than five words. For example, 'Pyrokinesis', 'Acrobatics', 'Weather Control', 'Gravity Manipulation', 'Waterbending', 'Ample Cleavage', etc. Any ability which cannot be defined so narrowly would need to be redesigned as something simpler.
Once this has been decided upon all new abilities and traits will have to be derived from this power, so for instance a character with 'Pyrokinesis' may choose to give themselves a 'Burning Form' trait to damage attacking enemies, but they wouldn't be able to give themselves 'Freezing Breath' to incapacitate a target as this would likely not be something a Pyromancer would be able to do.
Players may create their own unique powers for their characters either at their initial creation or when levelling up during the game. Any type of power will be considered, but they would have to fit into one of the three 'power sources' of Tech, Bio or Magic.
- Tech - Abilities which are either directly caused by the use of technology (such as weapons, alien artifacts or equipment) or were granted to the character through the miracles of science.Examples of Tech characters would include Iron Man, War Machine/Iron Patriot, Carol 'Captain Marvel' Danvers, Vision, Ultron, Hulk, She-Hulk, Captain America, Winter Soldier, Hulk, She-Hulk, Green Lantern, the Flash, Oracle, Cyborg, Steel, Peter 'Starlord' Quill, Rocket, Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom and Booster Gold.
- Bio - Abilities which derive from the biological functions of the character's species, either naturally or due to some form of augmentation or mutation. This power source would include characters who have trained themselves to peak physical fitness and honed their abilities through hard work and determination.Examples of Bio characters would include Superman, Groot, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Angela/Aldrif Odinsdottir, Thor Odinson, Robin, Starfire, Black Widow, Hawkeye, the X-Men, the Inhumans, the Punisher, Green Arrow and Blade.
- Magic - Abilities which derive from spiritual, celestial, mystical or divine sources, either as physical gifts from omnipotent deities, magical artifacts or learned study of ancient secrets.Examples of Magic characters would include Wonder Woman, Raven, Doctor Strange, Doctor Fate, Lady Death, Etrigan, Shazam/Billy 'Captain Marvel' Batson, Mary Marvel, Black Adam, Zatanna Zatara, Annataz Arataz, Felix Faust and the Spectre.
Each character will also be asked to define the nature of their power in less than five words. For example, 'Pyrokinesis', 'Acrobatics', 'Weather Control', 'Gravity Manipulation', 'Waterbending', 'Ample Cleavage', etc. Any ability which cannot be defined so narrowly would need to be redesigned as something simpler.
Extensive time travel is not permitted as a power for any player character. While a character may have some level of temporal ability, for instance being able to foresee a few minutes into the future or being able to transport themselves a second or two into the past to avoid an attack, characters with the ability to leap backwards or forwards in time easily will not be permitted, as this would cause far too many problems trying to keep all the timelines straight.
Once this has been decided upon all new abilities and traits will have to be derived from this power, so for instance a character with 'Pyrokinesis' may choose to give themselves a 'Burning Form' trait to damage attacking enemies, but they wouldn't be able to give themselves 'Freezing Breath' to incapacitate a target as this would likely not be something a Pyromancer would be able to do.
- New missions will spawn on a regular basis with a report issued on the IC thread giving details for what the heroes can expect to be facing. Early on the R.A.T.S. will be assigned to low-level crime prevention and metahuman containment, but as their skills and experience grow they'll be given the opportunity to take on more complex, and more rewarding tasks.
- There will be no planned breaks between missions, and later on there may be multiple missions running at once depending on their difficulty and the relative power levels of the heroes. Players will be given the opportunity during missions to rest and recover themselves, and will automatically recover fully at the end of each encounter.
- Each mission will be divided into encounters, with each encounter representing one combat between the team and opponents, or one critical situation which must be resolved through the use of the team's powers. The encounter ends when all enemies have been eliminated, when the situation has been resolved or when all characters are taken out fo action and are unable to continue.
- Each encounter will be divided into turns, with each turn lasting until all players have taken an action or made and attack, or until two days have passed since the last post was made on the IC thread. Once players have lined up their choices the turn will end and their opponents will act, resolving the chain of events and applying damage, status effects and rewards as appropriate. Any players failing to post an action within the two day window will presumably have their characters simply watch as the rest of the squad do the fighting for them.
- In most cases each player may only act once per turn, although this may vary if they have a special Ability or Trait in play, or under certain combat condition. Typically a player may do only
one of the following things each round:- Attack: Kick, punch, shoot, bite or otherwise directly engage a target. This basic attack causes damage based of their Attack rating compared to the target's Defence and hopefully will reduce the target's Health. Player's should note in their narrative description just how they attack the target, as creative use of the environment or playing in favour of their character's personality may net them bonus awards.
- Action: <Special Ability Name>: If a player's wants to trigger one of their character's Abilities they should write the name of the ability, along with who they're targeting with it where appropriate, in order for the Ability to be triggered. As Abilities will usually be unique to each character the exact nature of the effect will depend entirely on what the Ability's intended function is.Most Abilities cost Energy to trigger, and if the character has insufficient Energy available to use their Ability then the Ability fails and the action is wasted for the turn, any Energy reserves the character may have had will be drained by the attempt, and other effects may occur, depending on the GM's wishes. As standard Energy regenerates at a rate of +1 Energy/Turn at the beginning of each turn, although this may be modified by certain Abilities, Traits or environmental conditions.
- Action: Defend: Sometimes it's best to simply fall back and give your character a chance to protect themselves. When defending a character gains the 'On Guard' Status Effect, giving them a 25% bonus (rounded up to nearest integer) to their Defence. While this may not seem like much, some effects may be triggered only when the Status Effect is in place and so it can be worthwhile with the proper training.
- Action: Rest: When feeling tired or hurt a character may decide to take a quick nap in the middle of the conflict zone. While this may sound a little dumb Resting allows a character to double their Energy Regeneration, helping them to prepare for the battle to come.
- Action: <Special>: In certain circumstances a player may choose to do something unusual, in which case they should make a quick note what the action is in their narrative description and put a short title for the action in place of their usual action. This could be some plot event, such as defusing a bomb, repairing a radio or locking a door, or some unusual tactic or maneuver being performed by the hero, such as ducking into cover, examining the area or assessing an enemy's condition.
- Although players can only take actions during their turn sometimes their Abilities or Traits, or those of their allies or enemies, may cause a persistent Status Effect which could either be a lasting buff or debuff for their character (for instance something which increases the character's Attack rating, or decreases their Defence rating) or some special effect awaiting an appropriate trigger (for instance, a 'Dodge' Ability which would negate an incoming attack the next time an enemy targeted the character, or a 'Medkit' buff might heal damage the next time the character's Health dropped below a certain threshold.)
- During encounters characters gained Experience Points (XPs) which can later be used to level themselves up, granting them additional Skill Points which can be used to increase their powers and attributes. XPs are usually award based on these guidelines:
- 100% gain ratio from damage dealt and damage healed through the use of an Ability (healing granted by a Trait does not generate XP)
- 50% gain ratio from damage prevented
- 33% gain ratio from damage received
- X gained by completing Mission Objectives or other special tasks (will be listed in the Mission Brief, where appropriate)
- X gained at GM discretion for creative or character driven gameplay
- After each encounter players will be given the opportunity to take two free actions, which along with their normal choices also include:
- Action: Recover: By whatever means are appropriate for your character (such as receiving medical assistance, performing field repairs or meditating) they may immediately return themselves to full Health.
- Action: Recuperate: By whatever means are appropriate for your character (such as eating, recharging batteries or playing games on their phone) they may immediately return themselves to full Energy.
- Action: Train: If the character has gained enough experience they may use the time to develop new powers and increase their attributes. Training costs the number of Experience Points (XP) required for the next level threshold (normally 50 times their current level), and any surplus XPs are retained in the character's bank for later use. Training grants the character +5 Skill Points, which may be spent in the manner explained in the 'Character Creation' section above.
- Tiny objects - Anything smaller than a standard suitcase, 1ft tall or weighing less than 10kg
- Small Objects - Upto half average human size, 3ft tall or weighing less than 50kg (midgets, dwarves, halflings, Nightingale when she's dieting, etc.)
- Medium Objects - Average human size, 6ft tall or weighing less than 100kg (most goons, minions and thugs)
- Large Objects - Upto twice average human size, 12ft tall or weighing less than 200kg (Demon-Heretic, motorcycles, etc.)
- Huge Objects - Upto five times average human size, 30ft tall or weighing less than 500kg (cars, trucks, crashing helicopters on fire, etc.)
- Massive Objects - More than five times the size of an average human (buildings, fire engines, ships, Nightbeast's temper, etc.)
- Thug Pistol (Ranged, Attack = 3, restricts use of targeted powers, Full Auto)
- AEGIS Pistol (Ranged, Attack = 4, Dual-Wield)
- Thug Shotgun (Ranged, Attack = 4, restricts use of targeted powers, Shotgun Blast)
- Police-Issue SMG (Ranged, Attack = 5, restricts use of targeted powers, Full Auto)
- AEGIS Assault Rifles (Ranged, Attack = 6, restricts use of targeted powers, Full Auto)
- Pre-prepared Melee Weapons (Melee, Attack = 6, restricts use of targeted powers, may be used to Stun, Expose or Maim depending on type)
- AEGIS Stun Batons (Melee, Attack = 4, Energy-based, Dual-Wield, Stuns)
- Smoke Bombs (Ranged, Disorientates everyone for two rounds)
- Police-issue Flash Bang Grenades (Ranged, 2 Health loss, Disorientates everyone for two rounds)
- AEGIS Flash Bang Grenades (Ranged, Disorientates everyone for three rounds)
- Police-issue Body Armour (+5 Defence, incompatible with some powers)
- AEGIS Body Armour (+4 Defence, compatible with all known powers)
- Ammo Clips (May be used to Reload any AEGIS weapons, and compatible with most other known weapons)
- Gas Masks (Disoriented Immunity)
- Medkits (Heals user's Defence on a single target, 1/2 effect when used on yourself)
- Combat Stims (Removes one persistent status effect, -10% Attack and Defence for two rounds)
- Energy Cells (+5 Energy when used)
- Commlinks (+10% Teamwork XP, Small Item)
- Power-Draining Handcuffs (Exhausts)
Callsign: <HOW YOUR CHARACTER IS COMMONLY KNOWN>
Real Name: <THE NAME THE CHARACTER WAS BORN OR CREATED WITH>
Role: Blocker (physically defensive) / Blitzer (physically offensive) / Flanker (Power-based offensive) / Support (Power-based defensive)
Stats: Health 15 / Defence 1 / Attack 1
Energy: 10
Level: 1
Power Origin: Tech / Bio / Magic
Power Set: <INSERT UP TO FIVE WORDS DESCRIPTING YOUR POWERS>
Skills: None
Traits: None
Race/Species: <WHERE ARE YOU FROM? ARE YOU HUMAN?>
Gender: Male / Female / Hermaphrodite / Neuter / Other
Age: <INSERT AGE IN EARTH SOLAR REVOLUTIONS (YEARS) HERE>
Morality: Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic; Good / Neutral / Evil
Terms Of Service: Volunteer / Employee / Indentured Service
Real Name: <THE NAME THE CHARACTER WAS BORN OR CREATED WITH>
Role: Blocker (physically defensive) / Blitzer (physically offensive) / Flanker (Power-based offensive) / Support (Power-based defensive)
Stats: Health 15 / Defence 1 / Attack 1
Energy: 10
Level: 1
XP: 0 / 50
Skill Points: 10
Skill Points: 10
Power Origin: Tech / Bio / Magic
Power Set: <INSERT UP TO FIVE WORDS DESCRIPTING YOUR POWERS>
Skills: None
Traits: None
Race/Species: <WHERE ARE YOU FROM? ARE YOU HUMAN?>
Gender: Male / Female / Hermaphrodite / Neuter / Other
Age: <INSERT AGE IN EARTH SOLAR REVOLUTIONS (YEARS) HERE>
Morality: Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic; Good / Neutral / Evil
Terms Of Service: Volunteer / Employee / Indentured Service
Callsign: Nightingale
Real Name: Madison Johannson
Role: Support
Stats: 20 / 3 / 4
Energy: 10
Level: 1
Power Origin: Tech
Power Set: Combat Medicine
Abilities:
Race/Species: American, Human
Gender: Female
Age: 27
Morality: Lawful; Good
Terms Of Service: Volunteer
Real Name: Madison Johannson
Stats: 20 / 3 / 4
Energy: 10
Level: 1
XP: 0 / 50
Skill Points: 0
Skill Points: 0
Power Origin: Tech
Power Set: Combat Medicine
Abilities:
- Combat Triage - Energy Cost: 6
Instead of attacking Nightingale may instead restore health equal to her Attack rating for herself or an ally. - All Better Now - Energy Cost: 4
Instead of attacking Nightingale may remove one persistent status effect from herself or an ally. Nightingale must be able to activate a Skill in order to use this ability.
Race/Species: American, Human
Gender: Female
Age: 27
Morality: Lawful; Good
Terms Of Service: Volunteer
Callsign: Nightbeast
Real Name: Nicole Dubois
Role: Blitzer
Stats: 15 / 3 / 7
Energy: 10
Level: 1
Power Origin: Bio
Power Set: Feral Streetfighter
Abilities:
Race/Species: French, Human
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Morality: Chaotic; Neutral
Terms Of Service: Indentured Service
Real Name: Nicole Dubois
Stats: 15 / 3 / 7
Energy: 10
Level: 1
XP: 0 / 50
Skill Points: 0
Skill Points: 0
Power Origin: Bio
Power Set: Feral Streetfighter
Abilities:
- Vicious Slash - Energy Cost: 4
Striking deeply with her claws Nightbeast gouges a hole in her target, damaging for her normal Attack rating and causing the Bleeding status effect for 3 rounds. Target takes an extra 10% of the damage initially caused by this ability (rounded up) at the end of each round while Bleeding is in effect. Bleeding effect can be stacked.
Race/Species: French, Human
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Morality: Chaotic; Neutral
Terms Of Service: Indentured Service
Callsign: Ironside
Real Name: Angela Spica
Role: Flanker
Stats: 15 / 1 / 1
Energy: 10
Level: 1
Power Origin: Tech
Power Set: Nanotech Mechanic
Abilities:
Race/Species: Italian, Human
Gender: Female
Age: 20
Morality: Chaotic; Good
Terms Of Service: Employee
Real Name: Angela Spica
Stats: 15 / 1 / 1
Energy: 10
Level: 1
XP: 0 / 50
Skill Points: 6
Skill Points: 6
Power Origin: Tech
Power Set: Nanotech Mechanic
Abilities:
- Replication - Energy Cost: 4
Using her nanotechnology Ironside can create duplicate versions of herself, with all of her abilities and traits. These copies only have 1/3 of Ironside's Maximum Health (rounded up) and cease functioning after five rounds.
- Metamorph
Able to change and manipulate her form at will Ironside can reallocate her unused Skill Points between her Attack and Defence at the beginning of each round.
Race/Species: Italian, Human
Gender: Female
Age: 20
Morality: Chaotic; Good
Terms Of Service: Employee
) then I'd give an extra couple of points on top of the normal award.
