Retired

MARVELS: Streets of New York

L U K E C A G E

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@AndyC

Speaking of... APPROVED!

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Also, I did a thing. Since no one apparently wants to apply for the biggest name...
It's spectacular, it's amazing, it's sensational!

MARVELS: Streets of New York

I'm going to be honest here. I'm a little confused on where the disconnect is here with regards to the concept of this game and the types of characters involved. The opener, I feel, lays out pretty clearly what the intent for this game is and the scope of stories we're looking to tell within it.

We spent much of the interest check fielding questions regarding what is and isn't within the scope of this game, and I don't want that to become a trend here as well. I understand and appreciate that there are many, many cool concepts and characters people want to run with. Those concepts and characters can work wonderfully in another game at another time, but this isn't that game. This isn't the place for general cool ideas, and just because a character exists or has strong history within NYC doesn't mean they fit within the scope of this RP.

So, once more, I'll list the three criteria that qualify a character as being within the scope of this game:
1) They are street level. This should, I hope, be pretty self explanatory. These need to be characters that can reasonably be challenged by organized crime and the lower-level superhumans they employ. When GMs introduce a heavier hitter through events, these are to be dangerous foes for vigilantes of this level and not fodder for more powerful heroes. It doesn't matter that Joe Fixit has history with the mob; he's too strong for the scope of this game.

2) They have to have an active interest and reason in taking on organized crime. This is the primary conceit of the game, and if the character in question would have no regard for the organized crime narrative then they do not suit this game. As this is not an ultimate-style game where complete character revisions are possible and encouraged, this does not mean taking a usually unrelated hero and greatly modifying their backstory to 'fit' the game's concept. It doesn't matter that Cyclops can be removed from the X-Men and placed in NYC as a solo hero; the X-Men members are intrinsically linked to teams and the greater community members, with no real attachment to organized crime as a whole, thus they're beyond the scope of this game.

3) They remain relatively true to the heart of the character, among all various mediums and canon interpretations. As stated in 2), this is not an ultimate-style game, and so as fun as it might seem to take a usually a-list hero and strip them down to be street level, that's not what this game is for. You don't need to follow comic history 1-to-1 by any means, but you also can't be so greatly deviating that the core of the character's backstory, powers, or goals are fundamentally changed. It doesn't matter that Silver Surfer can totally have lost their memory, get caught up in gang activity, and be struggling to regain their power so that they're currently at street-level; that's not what the Silver Surfer is or will be, and can't exist within the scope of this game.

If your character concept does not align with one of these, and you are wondering if it'll work here, the odds are that no, it will not. These aren't brutal restrictions by any means, and there's still so much freedom in choosing characters and stories to write for this game. But if people keep coming here with concepts that absolutely violate the conceit of this game, then it's going to feel like a pretty oppressive thing when the GMs have to constantly shoot down ideas.

So, please, read the opener, use this, and ask yourself: "is the concept I'm about to put out there in line with these simple things, or am I going to cause the GMs collective heads to explode out of frustration?"

MARVELS: Streets of New York

I'm glad you clarified that.

I've tried the Thing and Wolvie, so now I've specified a Marvel antihero search and I'm interested in Iron Man, but two things:(1) I would have to do solely Tony movie canon, (2) He's a founding Avenger, but back to (1), what if I kept him under the principle of Iron Man title movies?

@Score1

Sorry, another clarification. As the opener of this game states, this is a street level game. Characters like Spider-Man, Daredevil, Luke Cage, etc. Iron Man is not street level.

This game is about the community of NYC vigilantes facing organized crime and similar threats throughout the city. Anything above and beyond that is out of scope of the game.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Just a couple notes as people begin filling out their allies and enemies sections:

First, make sure you've referred to the opening post regarding the five boroughs and the crime lords who currently stand at the top of each large territory. There are smaller gangs and bosses throughout that challenge them, but these are the five individuals and organizations that hold the most power over the NYC criminal community. Some of these, such as Hammerhead and Tombstone, are not in traditional subservient roles as you might expect in the majority of comics.

Second, please be aware that, unlike in past games, there are no inherent "claims" to supporting casts. Individuals like Kingpin and organizations such as The Maggia will be used in events, and, similarly, they will be written by your fellow players throughout this RP. The purpose of listing what enemies you intend to use when writing your story is so that others can cross reference who plans to use who and you all can communicate so no one's individual plans are fouled. However, just because player A lists enemy X in their app does not mean that player B can't also list enemy X in theirs; the goal here is a fully interactive and livable world we write in, so sharing of some toys will be a thing on this particular playground.

For those of you worried this means your supporting cast, such as love interest characters and whatnot, are able to be utilized freely, don't be. The above applies to NPCs who are typically bounced around from comic to comic or are crime bosses. No one is going to swoop in and try to utilize your love interest or close friends who are integral to your personal story points; and if they tried, GMs would intervene. This is meant to be a common sense application to prevent "dibs" situations and allow for interconnected narratives.

Third and lastly, there will be a list of crime families, gangs, leaders, territories, etc., that will be updated within the OOC. This will be a resource so everyone can keep track of which character is where and currently in charge of or a member of what without having to dig through the IC every time.

If you have any questions, ask away.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

Character Sheet

B L A C K C A T

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^{_{Felicia Hardy ♦ Owner of Cat's Eye Private Investigations; part time Hero for Hire ♦ Manhattan}}

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:

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^{"'Probability' is just a five-dollar word for 'luck.' And I'm nothing but bad luck, baby."}

As a teenager, her father, Walter Hardy, disappeared. In her attempts to discover the truth of what happened, she learned her father was an international art thief by the name The Cat, and met his mentor, a man only known as Black Fox. It was from Black Fox that Felicia learned the trade, all while spending the next several years searching for Walter.

In her early twenties, she found her father. In an attempt to protect his family, Walter had faked his death and gone into hiding after refusing to work for The Maggia. Tragically, their reunion was cut short by a Maggia assassin. Enraged, Felicia decided to dedicate her life to enacting vengeance on the organization that had twice taken her father from her. She underwent a surgery to bestow her with superhuman abilities, and adapted the identity of the Black Cat in an effort to honor the two men who had raised her. She began a campaign of breaking into secure Maggia facilities, then providing the stolen information and goods to Maggia rivals, such as the Kingpin.

It was during this time that she met Spider-Man, who helped convince Felicia that, while dismantling the Maggia's operations was a worthy goal, her methods of providing crime lords with intel and material was wrong, and would only serve to hurt more innocents in the long run. Dropping her vendetta, Felicia attempted to retire from from the life, but found a mundane existence too boring. She instead decided to give up her civilian life, embracing her costumed identity as the true version of herself. Meeting Spider-Man once more, the two partnered up for some time before Felicia's propensity for thievery—she had been pilfering the pockets of criminal organizations on the side—led to Spider-Man parting ways in disappointment.

Wanting a new direction in life, Felicia used these ill-gotten gains to fund her own detective and security consultation agency, of which she was boss and sole employee. She also invested in a top-of-the-line suit courtesy of The Tinkerer. After making a new, more respectable name for herself in the business, she eventually crossed paths with Danny Rand who offered Felicia a gig as a Hero for Hire.

C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:

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Felicia Hardy is an interesting character who received quite a lot of development in the late 80s and early-to-mid 90s. Unfortunately, like most characters, she severely suffers from writers constantly forcing her back into states of "status quo." I hate this trend. Despise it even. So, the motivation here is to write a story featuring an interesting character who is actually allowed to progress in their life. Call it a big "fuck you" to Marvel Editorial.

For my version of Felicia, I am borrowing from several different alternate universe sources, including the 1994 Spider-Man animated series and PS4 game, blending the origins and drives of them into something that is coherent and meaningful. Primarily, though, this Felicia is in line with a truncated version of the 616 comics—to a point. Felicia's time as a detective, and her stint as a Hero for Hire, are the main focus and will be approached from a perspective of "what would this woman be like if editorial didn't keep erasing her progressions?" We're going to pretend the dumb shit that happened in-between and afterward never existed.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

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Powers and Abilities:

• Probability manipulation: Felicia is perpetually surrounded by a "bad luck aura" that causes improbable but not impossible events to occur. This ability is subliminal and grows stronger when under duress.
• Enhanced Strength: Her Black Cat suit, designed by the brilliant Tinkerer, increases Felicia's physical strength to that of peak human conditioning. She can lift 800lbs overhead, and leap fifteen feet into the air from a standing position.
• Enhanced Agility: The costume also augments her agility and speed to levels beyond that of even the greatest human athletes. She is capable of executing complex gymnastic feats with minimal effort, and run upwards of 30 miles per hour.
• Enhanced Equilibrium: The suit also interacts with the balance centers of her brain, increasing her balance and allowing her to perform incredible stunts or flips beyond normal human capabilities.
• Enhanced Durability: The suit gives Felicia resistance to many types of injury, protecting her from blunt force trauma. The joints are especially reinforced to enable her to withstand falls from great heights without discomfort or pain.
• Enhanced Vision: The lenses of her suit allow Felicia to see in greater clarity, distance, and various ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum, including infrared and ultraviolet light.
• Retractable Claws: The gloves of her costume form razor sharp claws capable of tearing through most materials, and enabling Felicia to scale walls.
• Grappling Hook: A miniature grapnel within the wrist of each glove can be used as a swing line, tightrope, or weapon.
• Olympic Level Athlete: Without her suit, Felicia still has the reflexes, stamina, and conditioning of an Olympic level gymnast and acrobat.
• Expert Martial Artist: Felicia has been extensively trained in several martial arts, and specializes in both judo and karate.
• Master Thief: Skilled in stealth, lockpicking, escapology, and more, Felicia is one of the greatest thieves in the world. Trained by probably the greatest thief in the world, she has considerable knowledge in security systems.
• Skilled Investigator: Felicia is fairly experienced in detective work and knows how to follow leads, interrogate suspects, and has a honed instinct to know when another person is concealing information.

Dramatis Personae:

• Black Fox: Perhaps the world's greatest thief, and the mentor of Felicia. Elusive and audacious.
• Danny Rand: Felicia's employer and coworker at Heroes for Hire. Immortal Iron Fist and filthy rich.
• Luke Cage: Felicia's other employer and coworker at Heroes for Hire. Power and Man.
• Spider-Man: One-time partner in heroics, Felicia and the Web-Head have a complicated history. Friendly and amazing.
• Phineas Mason AKA The Tinkerer: Creator of Felicia's newest Black Cat suit, former super villain, and occasional criminal informant. Terribly brilliant and terribly old.
• The Maggia: Crime syndicate that often wants Felicia dead. Multiple and stereotypical.
• Roxxon Corporation: Multinational energy and pharmaceutical enterprise with ridiculously excessive profits. Morally questionable and capitalistic.

S A M P L E P O S T:

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The warehouse was cold, the kind of deep, industrial chill that seeped into the bones. A truck idled near the loading dock, exhaust curling into the air like the last wisps of a dying cigarette. Overhead, flickering fluorescents buzzed against the silence, throwing stark white light across concrete floors and rusting support beams. The warehouse wasn’t abandoned, but it wanted to be. It was the kind of place where things happened out of sight, behind bolted doors and expired safety inspections.

Six men occupied the warehouse floor, clustered near a battered steel worktable. One stood with his arms crossed—a tall man in a tailored grey suit that fit him like a second skin. His features were sharp and angular, giving the impression of being carved from expensive stone. He checked his watch, impatient.

Next to him, a stockier man hunched over a laptop, pecking at the keys. He had broad shoulders, a shaved head, and a scar running along the ridge of his nose. He looked mean, and if not for the lines of code flashing across the screen, I would have pegged him for muscle. His fingers moved fast, eyes flicking between the screen and the small green flash drive plugged into the side.

Two more men stood a few feet away. One was a barrel-chested slab of muscle in a too-small leather jacket, the other leaner and older, with silver-streaked hair. They kept their hands close to their holsters, just in case. The last pair lingered by the loading dock doors, more brawn, more guns. Not that it mattered. Guns were only helpful if you saw your target coming.

Six men. Six sets of eyes.

None of them ever looked up.

I moved in the rafters, a whisper of motion. My boots made friends with the steel beams as I navigated the skeletal maze above the men. They were here to make a deal for some disgustingly wealthy individuals. I was here to collect a prize—but a prize wasn’t worth anything if you couldn’t take it clean. That meant timing. That meant patience.

It also meant waiting for the right mistake.

It started small. Laptop Guy reached for his coffee, more focused on the screen than his grip. His fingers fumbled, and the mug tipped. Dark liquid sloshed over the table, spilling fast toward the flash drive.

“Shit,” he muttered, jerking the cup upright, but the damage was done. Coffee trickled into the USB port, pooling in the tiny crevice around the drive.

It didn’t appear to fry the system, but it shorted the connection, causing the screen to stutter. A system message appeared.

ERROR: device improperly ejected.

The file transfer froze, and Laptop Guy hissed a curse, grabbing a rag from his pocket to dab at the device.

The tall man in the suit exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do you have any idea how much time you just cost us?”

Laptop Guy was already fumbling with the drive, trying to reinsert it, but his hands were still damp from the spill. Fingers slipped, and the drive popped loose. It bounced off the metal table, skittering across the floor. It slid far and fast enough to land directly under the steel shelving behind them.

The bruiser in the leather jacket sighed, stepping forward. “I got it.”

He crouched, reaching under the shelving.

Maybe it was old. Maybe it had been loaded unevenly. Maybe, just maybe, something was working in my favor—either way, the shelf shifted, and the weight at the top tipped ever so slightly. A box of old inventory—heavy, dust-covered, and precariously stacked—leaned forward, then tumbled.

The bruiser jerked back just in time, but the box hit the ground with a crash, splitting open. Loose screws, bolts, and washers scattered across the concrete like metal confetti. The suited man took a sharp step back to avoid them. So did the others.

Just like that, all eyes were momentarily elsewhere. And in that precise, perfect instant, I dropped—no more substantial than a shadow in the night. By the time the tall man straightened, brushing dust from his sleeve, the drive was gone.

So was I.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

So, Venom is on that list... would an alternate earth's venom be potentially more acceptable than Nightcrawler?

@Neziul

What's the difference between an alternate earth Venom and this Earth's Venom? All the Venom hosts exist in this world, so they're all free to app.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

This game is designed with interaction as the goal.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

<Snipped quote by Ezekiel>

First time I ever joined one of these games many many moons ago, I applied as Iron Man and ran straight into someone elses events.

I was a Rookie then.

@Sep

That's usually the trend with newer players. But that's something this game will help with through events. And these events will be much more frequent and, hopefully, run smoother than previous attempts. Look forward to a lot of crossover opportunities.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

<Snipped quote by AndyC>

My guy you realize there has been more 'you can't play that' even when someone is actively trying to make the character fit (as we've been told we can!!!) in here from you and Retired than there is actual positivity and engagement-encouragement about the game you're trying to launch?

<Snipped quote by AndyC>

This no longer feels like 'here's a suggestion of characters you could play and a ballpark to aim for' and is now crystallizing into 'here are the sheets you can app. everything else is a flat no.'

@Roman

The reason for the abundance of "you can't play that" comments is very simple. There seems to have been, at some point by some people, a fundamental misunderstanding of what this game is. As a result of that misunderstanding, there have been comments and questions here about characters that are far and beyond the capacity of this game. We are required to address those so people aren't under the impression those sorts of concepts have a chance of being accepted.

The opening post of this interest check, I thought, was clear about the extent of this game and the types of character concepts that would fit. We explicitly ruled out some things, and, through narrative language, tried to guide people to other things. This game, at its core, is a street level focus of heroes versus organized crime. The little intro blurb to the setting I wrote and was included in the opener regarding the boroughs was entirely focused on that aspect.

Yes, there are limits for this game. Yes, those limits are much more severe than in past comic games members of the community may be used to. That is because the setting and narrative scope of this game is limited, narrow, and focused. This is not an Ultimate/Absolute/All-Star/One Universe game that allows for boundless levels of creativity regarding rewrites and out-of-the-box concepts. I am very confident that a game of that type will crop up sometime again in the future.

Limited-scope roleplays exist in abundance on this forum. They have for many, many years. An individual wouldn't go to a slice-of-life RP about a regular boarding school and attempt to apply with a talking dog who can read minds. That kind of concept can exist in some kind of slice-of-life game somewhere, but not that one that is of a limited scope.

Likewise, this game is about explicitly street level vigilantes taking on the rampant organized crime within NYC. The fantastic can exist, yes, but at its core characters need to fit within that scope. Announcing an attempt to apply with a near god-level character is not within that scope. The same goes for characters who would have no feasible interest in organized crime. Yes, those characters may have a canon history of street-level excursions, but if those excursions don't deal with organized crime or the characters are nigh-undefeatable by said organized crime then they inherently don't fit within the scope.

I understand that many of us who have participated in these comic games over the years have character concepts we never finished and wished we could continue. Stories and arcs we planned for and are itching to finally produce. I relate with that very well. However, for the vast majority of those concepts, this is not the game to try and recreate them. It's just not, as much as that might suck to hear. I'm not recreating my Fantastic Four despite them being NY heroes. Andy isn't running Wolverine despite him having history with organized crime. Those are concepts we may wish we could relive, but those concepts would be beyond the scope of this game.

The goal of this game is to tell street-level stories of vigilantes facing organized crime, encountering the expected costumed villains within that purview, and collaborating on events that are explicitly street-level in nature. By allowing characters that can either solo those events, will never be challenged by those events, or whom would have no reason to engage in those events, we would be violating the entire goal of the game.

There have only been a couple explicit nos given here. Most of the answers given to questions about potentially out-of-scope character concepts have been more along the lines of "I have concerns that this would work for x, y, or z reason, but I welcome a character sheet that proves me wrong." If this rubs you the wrong way, that is fine, but it will not change what this game is meant to be.

As for the list of characters Andy provided, that isn't him saying "you can only run these characters." That's him saying "these are the kinds of characters that are within the scope of this game, use them as a reference point if you're unsure your concept fits."

If you or anyone else finds the scope of this game too limiting, that is perfectly fair and valid. You are free to feel that way. All that means is that this game may not be for you and that the next one that comes around might be. If that's the case, I'm sorry for any misunderstandings regarding the extent of this RP and I wish you luck in finding a game that best fits what you're seeking.

For everyone else, I'll see you in the OOC on Friday.

MARVELS: Streets of New York

I'm not opposed to it, but like Andy said, you'd need to specifically address Blade's vigilantism extending beyond vamps. The primary conceit of this game will be events focused on organized crime, and we're looking for characters that can smoothly integrate with that narrative.

But there's nothing saying that there isn't a vampire crime lord in the city who has alliances with human crime lords that would necessitate Blade getting involved. So long as you can find something canon supporting such a premise.

Bottom line is, borderline characters like that are going to need a strong sheet.