For a brief shining moment, the world had reason to hope and dream. Men and women with amazing abilities appeared all over the world. People who could shoot lightning from their fingertips, lift trucks over their heads, vanish in thin air, and fly. Some of them resembled the costumed heroes that could be found in comic books and films. Others resembled those of myth and legend, those with magic abilities. The world was forever changed. And not entirely for the better. Just as some used their superhuman or supernatural abilities for good, others used it to do harm whether for personal gain or in pursuit of nefarious goals. Just as heroes arose so did villains. Yet as dangerous as these villains where life seemed to be changing for the better. Superheroes cracked down on crime, mitigated natural disasters, and even began to heal the world.
Then the end came. For centuries magic had existed only in the shadows, on the fringes of the earth. Conflicts between supernatural beings and creatures had been fought in secret and the world of magic had been separate from the world of the mundane. Until one day, all of the magic back to the world. Ancient and powerful forces were set loose and a rift in the boundary between the supernatural and mortal planes temporarily appeared. Nobody knew how and why this occurred, only the effects. Suddenly Earth was thrust back into a forgotten age.
Those who manifested superhuman abilities became more and more common. More babies were born with magic potential than ever before. Creatures that had been gone from the world for centuries returned, from winged griffons to deep-sea leviathans and fire-breathing dragons. Chaos spread as the wild influx of mystic energy caused numerous natural disasters and magical creatures wreaked havoc on the functioning of every day life. The populations of predatory species such as Vampires and Lycanthropes exploded, and the established populations were unable to curb the relentless bloodlust of the new bloods. Recorded figures for demonic possession reached an all time high. The heroes became more and more hard-pressed, struggling to keep the world from tumbling into anarchy.
And then the dead rose. A plague swept through the world that animated the recently dead with a hunger for flesh. It spread across every corner of the globe within just a few years. The plague was spread by direct contact to tainted blood. For a time the heroes and the villains put aside their conflicts and used their abilities to stem the undead tide. But it wasn't enough. Global civilization collapsed and billions died over the course of the plague. The world as we knew it ended. Now zombies roam the cities and countryside in hordes while other predators stalk the survivors. Heroes and villains who died in the chaos still walk the earth, causing even more damage with their bloodlust and abilities.
In the ruins of the City of Angels, a tiny wisp of hope endures. A large number of heroes and former villains had fled west as the plague spread from the eastern seaboard. They banded together and used their powers to save of thousands of civilians and established a bastion of humanity called the Citadel. Lead by metahumans, survivors built an enormous fortress to shelter them from the monsters. Their survival hangs on a thread as every day is a struggle to defend the Citadel, scavenge for supplies, and keep their society running. The future of humanity rests on the shoulders of both former heroes and former villains. Old grudges still linger under the surface however, as unrest festers among the civilian populace, and creatures continue to roam the city in enormous numbers. And they aren't the only survivors. A violent and bloodthirsty band lives on the opposite end of the city, lead by a cruel and ambitious leader with growing powers. What happens next will determine the survival of our world.
OOC
Okay so this is a post-apocalyptic survival roleplay with a twist. All of the player characters are former superheroes and supervillains. This is inspired by the excellent Ex-Heroes series by Peter Clines that I heartily recommend, just with more supernatural elements. Your characters can have more comic-book type sci-fi abilities or any number of supernatural powers or even no powers at all but their skills. You can play two characters each and there is currently no limit to how many players there will be. Your characters can be scientists, doctors, or any number of individuals whose skills are suited to supporting civilization or you can be the ones who defend the Citadel from outside threats or venture into the city for supplies.
Your choices matter. The collaborative efforts of the group determine the survival of the Citadel, be it how well supplied the colony is, how many survivors are found alive, if you can stop the walls from being breached, if any threats are neutralized, and all manner of other things. As your characters all have important functions every choice matters. This is a long-term roleplay, my plan is to have multiple stages of play with each successive stage determined by how well the players did in the last one. Play all your cards right and we can rebuild civilization. And if we make an extremely terrible mess of things the roleplay ends with our survivor society collapsing entirely. And anywhere in between.
Is anyone interested?