Clever Hans

Marvel AU - The New Avengers

Sounds very interesting.

Marvel AU - The New Avengers

Are you looking for original characters, or AU riffs on existing ones?

The Ultra Moderns (stylish celebrity supers role-playing)

Ultra Modern

"Oh, I know. This world is positively insane, darling! The crime and pollution and shadow governments and cold wars… The crime syndicates and the megacorporations… The scientists are mad, the police are corrupted, and protestors are everywhere!

"Me? Well, I am fabulous, darling, thanks ever so. Yes, Givenchy did ask me to do a little endorsement thing. They're such lovely people. Milan? No, I was thinking about Monaco. Oh, I know, darling, but it's a tiny revolution, and I'm sure it will be over by Christmas…

"Oh, dear. There's an armada of cyborg jellyfish floating by outside my window. I must dash… punch a few monsters, pose for some lovely, you know, photos! Ciao, darling!"

Welcome to the world of Ultra Modern.

What is this?

Ultra Modern is a game in which players create cool, stylish celebrities who glide through the post-modern discordancy of an alternate Earth with a martini in one hand and a ball of plasma in the other. You see, these particular cool, stylish celebrities are "ultras" – those who, in other worlds, might be called super-heroes.

Your character is part of a team of these ultras – well, not so much a team, as a clique, perhaps – that the press has taken to calling the Ultra Moderns. Amidst a busy schedule of partying, public appearances, scientific discoveries, and metaphysical experimentation, you do find the time to save the world from the odd evil mastermind or unstoppable monster.

How to Acquire the Proper Atmos

Here's a short list of media references to get you in the mood:

1960's Mod scene in London & New York – for fashion, lifestyle, and fun!
British TV spy shows featuring a touch of eccentricity and paranoia, e.g. Secret Agent Man, The Avengers (esp. the Emma Peel years), The Prisoner – for how to fight evil weirdness while being fabulous
1970's films: Logan's Run; Rollerball; A Clockwork Orange; 2001: A Space Odyssey - for visions of the future that come from the past
Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius books – for all of the above, plus a taste of the chaos of a rapidly-changing, deconstructing world
Grant Morrison's The Invisibles – the same, but a more modern and outlandish take

Days of Future Passed

The date is approximately 2,000 years after the calendar year usually ascribed to the birth of Christ, with an error margin of ±35 years. Because this is a minimalist game, I do not have a detailed alternate timeline of events for this world (additionally, ultras, and most of the Western world in general, aren't particularly interested in history, anyway). You may safely assume that most events in our world have some sort of analog in the world of Ultra Modern. You will also discover elements of this world that are very different from our reality. Further, you may discover that some elements of the game's reality appear to contradict others (e.g. "The U.S. won the war in Viet Nam" vs. "the U.S. lost the war in Viet Nam."). In all cases, assume that both elements are true in some way.

How Does That Wonderful Gadget Work, Darling?

What is the tech level? It depends on the plot. It can be generally assumed that the Ultra Moderns (and their foes) have access to tech that the general public does not possess. There may be instances of alternate technology (e.g. micro digital A/V tapes instead of DVD's, credit discs instead of credit cards), but this is mostly to promote the anachronistic, otherworldly atmosphere.

One important difference: The Internet. The ad revenue model failed miserably in this world early on, and everything is pay-for-access. It's much more a toy for the well-off than it is a playground/troll farm of the masses.

Where Did You Get That Lovely Power Blast?

No one knows how ultras (the ones with "natural" abilities, anyway) get their powers. While some ultras refuse testing, others have submitted to a battery of tests to determine what makes an ultra an ultra. All such tests have turned up exactly nothing. One day, you woke up able to melt through steel with your eyes, or juggle buses. I guess some secrets are meant to be kept secret, darling.

The Ultra Modern School Of Design

Some things to consider while pondering character ideas:

Most ultras don't have a secret ID. Really, what's the point of some fictional entity getting the credit for your brilliance? Also, an alter ego is easy to imitate, and there's money to be made in endorsements and public appearances. Anyone could wear the mask and the spandex…

Most ultras don't use code names, but some have nicknames. Your ultra's own name must have that certain stylish sound to it. Quentin Wilde and Sebastian Summerfield are two NPC's with typically stylish names.

While the 1960's Mod Scene is the dominant motif, your ultra doesn't have to follow it: there's room for gymnasts in black vinyl bodysuits, super-nerds loaded with spherical white plastic gadgets, Victorian or Edwardian throwbacks, fantastically-colored ethnic costumes, schoolboy/schoolgirl fixations, shadowy figures of dark magic, etc… Create a style, but own it.

Not all ultras are super-wealthy, but your character at least has enough to live a life of leisure (punctuated with battles against tentacled horrors or the brain-washed militia of self-proclaimed messiahs). This money comes from a complex array of endorsement deals, action figures, fashion labels, and other investment schemes driven primarily by the worth of your own celebrityhood and the occasional cash reward. Obviously to maintain this cash flow, you have to be seen to be fashionably larger than life as often as possible.

This doesn't mean your ultra has to be jet-setting Eurotrash, but he has to be willing to put himself out there. Dark, brooding, silent heroes are not appropriate character archetypes for this game.

May I see The Wine List Please?

There will be fighting, intrigue, and some time for slice-of-life stuff. I see this one as going free-form: you'd create a character, provide a brief outline of powers, and we'll go from there.

As far as power levels go, the Ultra Moderns are pretty darn powerful. Think first-line Avengers powerful.

Season of the Owl - Inspired by NIHM

@Clever Hans I wasn't even aware that there was a book. I've failed.
At any rate, yes!

@PrincePierce

*blinkblink* Wow! It was written in 1971 (I think I'm showing my age here :D ) The title is Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH. The rats do all tech stuff, with no magic. It's a great book - won the Newberry Medal, I think.

But enough of that. About your idea: What kind of conflicts exist in the world, other than the owl threat? Are there factions among the rodents? Is there species-ism? (rats looking down on mice, for example...) Is there a caste system? Is it a utopia of collective action and abundance, or is there crime and poverty and social unrest?

Season of the Owl - Inspired by NIHM

Is this based more on the movie, or the book? I'm assuming the movie, as the book did not have magic of any sort (never quite understood why the movie changed that)...

CANCELLED - Mystery Men - The Next Generation! (humor-based low-level super-hero RP)

Insufficient applications. I'm shutting this down for now.

CANCELLED - Mystery Men - The Next Generation! (humor-based low-level super-hero RP)

@Clever Hans

Out of curiosity, what happened to the Herkimer Battle Jitney?

@rush99999

I've wondered that myself. It crashed and died after barreling into the mansion. I can only guess that it either got warped beyond recognition by the psycho-frakulator, or crushed by the collapse of the mansion.

Or maybe it was salvaged by... someone. [insert evil finger-twiddling meme here]

CANCELLED - Mystery Men - The Next Generation! (humor-based low-level super-hero RP)

<Snipped quote by Clever Hans>

Exactly. And my character's severely limited superpower is that he has superhuman strength, but only when he's trying to lift a bus full of cheerleaders off the winner of a beauty contest.

@rush99999

That's too limited. Maybe his strength only shows up when he's playing his guitar, or when he's naked (or he gets incrementally stronger the less clothes he wears), or only when there's hot chicks nearby to impress, or...

CANCELLED - Mystery Men - The Next Generation! (humor-based low-level super-hero RP)

@Clever Hans First draft, how does it look thus far?

Hero Name: The Pun-isher

Real Name: Sebastian Dawson

Physical Description: Short in height, standing no taller than six foot two, Sebastian is the type of man that blends into many crowds. He chose his costume to reflect this nature, with bright blue pants and an obscure white T-shirt with the words “pun-isher” sewed on with black threads. He wears a fake handlebar mustache and fake glasses to obscure his identity.

Physical Description out of costume: Normaly seen wearing his work clothes, simple blue jeans and a yellow T-shirt that reads Really Reliable Electronics.

Clichés:

Sin-tilating Jokes (4) – His early career as a comedian, and subsequently being forced out of town at pitchfork-point after one of his many disastrous performances, have given him a large list of jokes that can make a dad cry. Though terrible in nature, the bad jokes have a curious effect on the weakly minded thugs that inhabit the city. Upon hearing the joke, the thug will often stop whatever they are doing and do an extended facepalm that can last anywhere from a few seconds to a whole minute. Certain weak-minded people sometimes are forced to walk away with their hands in the air, complaining bitterly about the terrible joke.

Disgruntled Electronics Salesman that is too good for his job(2): Sebastian works in the electronics department of a local store; he is too good for that job but he stays because he thinks the one girl who works there is kinda cute, He is easily the most competent person in sales, yet his longtime rival Jeff keeps taking his employee of the month honors all to often. He uses his time working here to try out his jokes on the unwilling co-workers, much to their disdain. It was here he discovered his superpower. Those who were not deficient in the mental areas generally withstood the effects of his power, but he always relishes in watching those deficient idiots as they squirm in anguish. He can use his sales experience to sell people on anything; from suicide missions or for a crook to give up their life of crime.

Not so awesome at fighting but gets lucky (4) – While he has virtually no skills in fighting another person, often flailing his arms in a form that resembles toddlers attempt at punching someone, he does get lucky. While he is getting his face pummeled in, his random flailing sometimes finds a home under the jaw of the assailant. Now the ratio of him being hit to him supplying the hit is somewhere in the range of a thousand to one.

@MagratheanWhale

I like the concept of the character. I am concerned that the pun cliche could get old after awhile, although after thinking about it, I think it could be a very useful cliche if tweaked - and I'm talking about making it more powerful so that, instead of it always having the facepalm/disgust reaction, some people might find them charming or witty, making it a way for Pun-isher to positively coerce people in some way. That'd be great if he's talking to an Easily Amused Senior Citizen(4), and a great match-up against a Cynical Hipster Douchebag(4) or a Humorless Government Drone(4).

The fighting cliche could be very entertaining - it just confuses. It's got 4 dice, but he's described at being really lousy at fighting. How does he rate 4 dice? Now, if he's a Hapless But Incredibly Lucky Fighter(4), for example, the combat descriptions would get hilarious

CANCELLED - Mystery Men - The Next Generation! (humor-based low-level super-hero RP)

<Snipped quote by Clever Hans>

The Hero For Fun cliche can do anything heroic. For example, saving a dog from a burning building or lifting a bus full of cheerleaders off the winner of a beauty contest.

@rush99999

Lifting a full bus is way too strong. Actually, lifting anything heavier than a mo-ped is probably right out. :D Like the guidelines say, actual super-powers are only allowed if they are severely limited in some way.