Since the campaign grew from 'dead average points heroes in Atlanta' to add 'street level in Hudson City (i.e., Jersey), 'high points in Vibora Bay' and now my 4th son is running 'mid level in San Mateo' we're calling it the Atlantaverse.
Here's some background!
Campaign Notes
Famous Superheroes
The
Stranger:
There has been a masked man called the Stranger fighting crime since
at least 1899. Always a 'normal' man with excellent martial arts and
detective skills, the various Strangers (scholars believe the current
Stranger is the 10th)
have opposed everything from bootleggers to alien invaders. Known for
his dress (usually in formal wear with a cape and a mask) and his
intelligence, the Stranger remains a foe of crime.
Amazing
Man:
Amazing Man I was the first publicly known 'superhuman' when he
appeared in 1938. During
his relatively
short
he fought everyone from the first Super villain, Doctor Impossible,
to Nazi Ubermensch, to alien invaders. After his retirement a younger
man with very similar powers who had accompanied him as Amazing Boy
took over the role. The
Current Amazing Man began as Amazing Boy IV in 1995 and became
Amazing Man IV in 2003.
All of the Amazing Men have been super strong, very tough, and able
to fly. His various descendants, in-laws, etc. are pretty numerous
including at least:
Amazing Man IV
Amazing Woman III (sidekick:
Amazing Girl IV)
Mr. Amazing III (sidekick:
Amazing Lad)
Amazing Lass
Amazing Guy II (sidekick: Kid
Amazing III)
Miss
Chief/ Miss Liberty:
The quick, tough and strong Miss Chief was part of the 'first wave'
of super humans in the early years of WWII, appearing in 1939. Her
powers, spunk, and smile made her very popular and she was the first
super to appear in movies, having a small role in the “Rocket King
of Mars” serial in 1939 and starring in “Super for a Day”, a
two-reeler from 1940. After Pearl harbor she hanged her name to Miss
Liberty and helped found the first Victory Squad. After the war she
starred in 6 full-length films between 1946-1949 when she retired to
raise a family.
She was as strong as a male bodybuilder, twice as fast as an
Olympic sprinter, and able to see in the dark. Her costume boosted
her already-high toughness until she was almost bullet proof and she
used smoke bombs, tangle nets, and other gadgets to confuse and trap
her foes.
American
Eagle:
The first of America's 'super soldiers', American Eagle debuted in
1941 and famously was dispatched to Pearl Harbor 'just in case' a
tantalizing 2 hours too late to either fight the attackers or locate
the Japanese fleet, delaying his first battle with Zero until 1943.
Over the years there have been 4 more men to wear the Eagle Armor,
the current 'Eagle since 1999. While the various American Eagles have
fought a variety of super criminals, they largely focus on national
threats.
All 'Eagles have worn cutting-edge (for the time) power armor that
grants them flight and protection as well as a variety of weapon
systems.
The
Fabulous Four/Five:
Four co-workers caught in a lab explosion caused by a super villain
in 1963 were transformed into Monolith, Inferno, Whirlwind, and
Tidalwave – the Fabulous Four. The Fabulous Four fought crime until
1969 when Inferno and Whirlwind married and retired. The team added
Hawk, Blackfire, and Zephyr II, becoming the Fab Five, and continued
until 1984 when the team disbanded.
The
Silver Mage:
In 1978 the Silver Mage burst into the superhero scene in San
Francisco before moving to New York in 1980. The Silver Mage claims
to be the Prime Sorcerer of this dimension, a claim which causes a
great deal of controversy in religious and scientific circles. The
Silver Mage is open to the idea that “magic” is just 'super
physics affected by personal belief' as claimed by the Willis
Concept, a stance that causes a great deal of controversy within
arcane circles.
Either way, the Silver Mage is a powerful superhuman with access to
a great variety of powers and is accepted as a leading authority on
arcane matters.
Sunhawk:
Astronaut
Paul Jersey was performing a space walk from the space shuttle
Hiawatha in 1984 when he was caught in an unexpected ion storm which
transformed him into Sunhawk. Capable of flight, shooting solar
blasts and protecting himself with a field of energy he was one of
the most popular heroes of the '80's until his fall from grace in
1991 in a drug scandal.
Star
Ranger:
According to the formal statement made to the UN in 1970, Star Ranger
is a member of an interstellar police force who has been assigned to
the region of space surrounding Earth to enforce interstellar law and
provide space-oriented search and rescue missions. While some believe
him, other think he is either a megalomaniac super, a villain, or a
scout for invasion.
Whatever the case, Star Ranger has demonstrated fantastic powers
and his willingness to aid Earth against threats from space and was
instrumental in the rescue of the crew of the Space Shuttle Pacific.
The first Star Ranger certainly appeared to be alien with mauve
skin, three fingers on each hand, and solid green eyes with no
apparent pupil. He has demonstrated the ability to survive in deep
space, travel between planets under his own power, and to be able to
sense things millions of miles away. His claim to have a base on
Uranus' moon Titania appears confirmed by two different space probes
which have taken pictures of the complex in flybys.
In 2016 new Star Ranger was assigned to Earth sector. She claims to
be Silwarran (confirmed by Silwarran delegates).
Famous Super villains
Doctor
Impossible:
Formerly a relatively obscure physicist, Dr. Otto Unglaubhaft of
Augsburg was somehow transformed into Dr. Impossible. As the first
person to be called a 'super villain' he clashed repeatedly with
Amazing Man I throughout the '40's and '50's until vanishing in 1952.
He, or someone claiming to be him, reappeared in 1971, but was
seemingly killed in an explosion in space.
Dr. Impossible had super-human intelligence, a heightened ability
to create devices, and minor psychic abilities. He used his abilities
to create a variety of tools ranging from mind-control rays to
disintegration pistols, giant battle robots, cyborg henchmen, and
more. He also granted the super villains Iron Ron, Black Cloud, and
the Crusher their powers.
The
People's Soldier:
Originally seen invading Poland as part of the Axis, the Soviet
super-soldier went on to fight against Nazi Germany and other
versions fought against Western heroes and armies in Korea, South
America, Vietnam, and Afghanistan until the fall of the USSR. The 8th
(and so far last) People's Soldier was crippled by a Chechen suicide
bomber in 1999 and has not been seen since. The Soldier was tough
strong, and armed with advanced infantry weapons.
Red
Star:
The Hero of Communist China was a master of martial arts with the
ability to regenerate from injury at a highly accelerated rate. He
was active from 1951 until vanishing during the Cultural Revolution.
Lord
Engineer:
A British peer who used his family's fortune and his engineering
education to lead a double life as a power-armor wearing super
villain, Lord Engineer was eventually captured and exposed in 1991
after 4 years of terrorizing Europe. He later escaped and continued
to wreak havoc until his death in battle with the French military in
2003.
Puppetmaster:
Possibly the most powerful psionic on Earth, the Puppetmaster has
been thwarted in his multiple attempts to seize control of the world
by the narrowest of margins. He has not been seen since his last
known attempt in 2004. Some fear that he is secretly manipulating
world events with his powers. Some conspiracy theorists argue that he
has already succeeded and was so successful that most people are
simply unaware.
Twilight:
Twilight in infamous for his attempts to use super-powered
mercenaries to stage a coup in two different European countries (The
Grand duchy of Seborga in 1993 and the Grand Duchy of Molodovia in
1998). He is also wanted for war crimes (related to the Yugoslav
Wars) and crimes against Humanity (related to the Rwandan genocide
and conflict diamond generation).
Twilight has an array of powers based on light, darkness, and
illusion.
Oberst
Sturm:
Originally named Klaus von Sturm and called Hauptmann Sturm, Oberst
Sturm was the first of the Nazi Ubermensch, the most powerful of
them, and the leader of a band of ubermensch commandos called the
Sturm Wolfen during WWII. After the death or capture of the other
Ubermensch in Berlin in 1945 he was believed to have committed
suicide with Hitler in his bunker – there was even a body found and
buried in a secret location. He returned in 1981 in the middle of a
Central American revolution and announced his intention to create a
Fourth Reich. It has since been said that Hitler's last act was to
'promote' Sturm from SS Hauptsturmfuhrer (and Hauptman) to SS
Standartenfuhrer (and Oberst); award him the Knight's Cross with
golden oak leaves, swords, and diamonds; and order him to live and
create a 4th Reich.
Oberst Sturm has been a constant threat since his return,
especially in Europe. Believed killed 4 more times, he has always
returned, usually at the worst possible time and place. In addition
to the super villains, mercenaries and fanatics at his command he
controls a vast network of spies and moles, some of whom seem to be
in the highest levels of world government.
Oberst Sturm has increased speed, stamina, toughness, and strength
granted him by the Ubermensch procedures and he is armed and armored
with advanced military weaponry and a variety of devices and vehicles
developed by the scientists of the Fourth Reich. In addition, he is
an expert tactician and strategist with experience as a commando,
guerrilla, small unit leader and field general. Last but not least he
is a highly-trained and experienced hand-to-hand combatant and
Olympic-level sabre fencer. ICICLE considers him one of the most
dangerous men in the world, if not the most dangerous.
The Brute-
First appearing in 1989 in Portugal, the Brute is less a
super-villain than a force of nature. The Brute has Eta-level
toughness and durability, Zeta-level speed and reflexes, and is
almost certainly the strongest superhuman ever known. He appears to
have a healing factor and is resistant to mental attacks and seems to
be immune to all known toxins and diseases. He has been seen on the
floor of the Pacific Ocean and once fought Amazing Man III on a space
platform in orbit.
The Brute has never been captured (or even truly defeated – just
driven off) and little is known about him. He appears to be a
over-muscled man 8' tall with very dark green skin and dark-green
eyes with cat-like pupils. He is invariably dressed in tattered,
dirty clothing. While he often seems gripped with rage and only
speaks in simple phrases, Euroteam reports that he seems to
understand and speak at least 9 languages. White Witch claims to have
spoken to him for a few minutes on Mt. Ranier where he seemed to be
resting and further claims that when he was calm he seemed
'insightful if not intelligent'.
There are also isolated reports that the Brute sometimes has a
varied appearance (indigo skin color and faster reflexes; scaled
skin, glowing eyes, less strength and higher intelligence; etc.) .
Combined with his penchant for appearing and then vanishing ICICLE
speculates that the Brute is a superhuman that transform between a
form can pass as non-powered and the Brute. Prof. Weird speculates
that the non-powered form may not even be aware that he is the Brute!
Because of his destructive nature, great strength, and
unpredictability the Brute is currently the only Omega-level threat
listed by ICICLE.
Active Superhero Teams
The
Protectors (New York City):
Members – Amazing Man IV,
Hunter II, Quarrel, Prof. Weird, Jack B. Quick II
The Defenders
(Los Angeles): Members – Blue Blazes, Zephyr III, Stopwatch, El
Brazos, Shadowman
The Guardians
(Chicago): Members – Amazonia, Colossus, Ricochet, White Witch,
Miracle Mind.
The Sentinals
(Washington, D.C.): members – American Eagle V, Lady Liberty,
Crusader,
Mr. America, Amazing
Woman III
San
Francisco's Shield (San
Francisco): Members – Dr. Light, Dr. Shadow, Thunderclap,
Vanisher III, Powerhouse, Flex
The Texas
Rangers (Austin): Members –
Texas Ranger III, Sidewinder, Rawhide VI, the Twister, Burly Bill, El
Rio, Los Hermanos
The Victory
Squad (Miami): Members - Ariel,
Hermana Oceano, Lineman, Cobalt, Impact, Dreamcatcher, Amazing
Lass II
The UK Guards
(London): Members – Britannia, Red Dragon, Highlander, John Bull
III, Dreadnought
The French
Squadron [L'Escadron Francais]
(Paris): Members – Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Mirage, Mont
Blanc, Marianne
The German
Shield [Die Deutsch Schild]
(Berlin): Members – Deutscher Michel, Valkyrie, Der Frieschutz, Der
Ingenieur, Schwartzenberg
Euroteam
(Brussels): Members – Polonia, Ritter, Ushtar Hakuri, Le Citoyen,
El Guardian, Banshee, Uomo Gigante, Athena
Active Super villain Teams
(known)
KAOS
(Western Hemisphere): Members – Killer III, the Anarchist,
Overdrive II, Stealth
The
Terror League
(any): Members – Doctor Dread, Trauma, Plague, Ripper, Bodycount,
Panic
Council
for World Betterment
(any): Members – The Technocrat, the Engineer, Cybermind,
Chromedog, Silver Raven, the Uploaded Man
Twilight
Army
(Europe): Members – Twilight, Salvo, Armadillo, Sprinter,
Battlecry, Longarm
Insectus
(any): Members – Black scorpion, Steel Beetle, Iron Hornet,
Trapdoor, Killer Bee, Tarantula, Black Widow, Waterstrider, Luna
Moth, Flea, Bombadier, Lightning Bug
The
Fourth Reich
(any): Members – Oberst Sturm, Doktor Wunder, Rhinemaiden, Donner,
Alptraum, Geist
Government Forces
ICICLE:
See separate sheet
Task
Force Able:
The US military's super-powered special operations team. All members
are selected from experienced members of the various branches and
then go through the current American super-soldier program. Combined
with the best equipment and training available, Able Team (as it is
called) specializes in counter-super actions, anti-terrorism, and
other high-risk operations.
MI-7:
Britain's super-operatives are typically recruited from within the
Commonwealth's superhuman community. By treaty MI-7 has full access
to all Commonwealth nation military and espionage resources. They are
well known for their wide range of abilities.
SmG:
Germany's Super-militarische Gruppe selects its operatives in a
manner similar to MI-7, especially since super-power induction (i.e.,
super-soldier programs) are illegal in Germany.
Bureau
S:
Russia's super-operatives are a mix of super-soldiers and recruited
super humans. While the 'base level' effectiveness of the Russian
super-soldier program is lower than the American program, it is not
as selective (meaning more people are likely to receive improvements)
and their drug enhancement systems allow their super-soldiers to
operate at American levels during operations.
The
People's Protectorate:
China's group combines their super-operatives and national super-hero
team. The leading members of the super-hero team are (names
translated) – Sunbeam, Winter Wind, Spring Rains, Harmonious
Conjunction, Re-educator, Strength of Mao Thought, and Forward
Progress. While the details of the Chinese super-soldier program are
unknown, analysis of their performance indicates it is about equal
with the Russian program.
Major Criminal Groups
The
Combine:
In the 1950's several of the wealthiest and most influential Mafia
gangs in America and Canada created an overarching group to oppose
the impact of costumed crime fighters. Despite ups and downs in the
decades since the Combine always returns.
The Combine uses the money and resources donated by the members
gangs to recruit and hire ex-soldiers and super-powered mercenaries
to oppose super-heroes.
The
Red and Black Triad
A group of Chinese super-villains took control of the Red and Black
Triad in the 1970's and developed an interesting position in the
Asian world by providing super-powered members to other Triads in
return for a percentage of the 'take'. Today there are branches of
the Red and Black throughout Asia, the British Commonwealth and North
America.
BlackStar:
In the 1990's BlackStar Research was a darling of the Dot Com boom; a
Silicon Valley startup that had won critical DoD projects in its
first 2 years of operations, BlackStar was creating new power, weapon
systems, and bio-tech solutions at an astonishing pace. The founder
and owner, Marie Stella Schwartz, was soon the youngest female
self-made billionaire in history, appeared on the covers of Hi-Tech
Magazine and Glamour in the same week, and was rumored to be engaged
to a French nobleman. Then DoD audits caught what appeared to be data
theft from classified computers attached to BlackStar networks.
Within weeks everyone from the DoD to the SEC were finding
information theft, insider trading, stock fraud, intellectual
property crimes – a list that eventually extended to 406 criminal
accusations against Schwartz and her senior staff. After a press
conference where Schwartz promised to explain how the charges against
her were fabricated, she and her top staff all... vanished. They,
their money, their computers, their lab equipment, sometimes their
families; all just gone.
By 2002 ICICLE was discovering that some foes had technology they
had never seen before; cutting-edge stuff that was sometimes better
than anything the world's governments had. Investigators eventually
learned that BlackStar hadn't just run; they'd run to hidden labs.
Now BlackStar sells power, weapons, and bio-tech to the highest
bidder. And sometimes their own operatives steal technology from
governments, even superheroes, to add to their own knowledge base.
And BlackStar seems to keep the very best armor and weapons fOr its
own people.
WASP:
In 1983 ICICLE finally confirmed rumors that had been drifting around
super-hero circles for decades; there was an international criminal
organization that was bent on not 'just' crime but world domination.
To this day WASP has been the most persistent and dangerous foe of
ICICLE.
The Strangers all claim that WASP is a direct 'descendant' of the
International Crime League founded in the 19th Century. Whatever its
origins, ICICLE considers WASP to be the most critical criminal
threat on Earth.
Wasp operates in cells, called nests. Each nest has a Nest
Commander who has connections to a 'communications node' (a dead-drop
method of receiving orders from his superiors) and one other nest.
Under the Nest Commander are three deputies; one has access to a
different communications node, the others each have a connection to a
different Nest – this information is never shared between members.
In this manner no Nest Commander can deceive his Nest about orders
being received (one of his deputies can dispute false orders) and
communications can always be assured while not risking the entire
organization.
Nests can have an amazingly varied list of goals; some are
laboratories engaged in researching weapons; others are focused on
raising money to fund WASP operations by crime or by 'legitimate'
business. While all nests have at least some as guards, some nests
are barracks and training centers for WASP troops; well-trained,
well-equipped soldiers in a variety of specialties. At one time WASP
employed or even created super humans as 'muscle' (Insectus began as
part of WASP) but has spent the last decade relying on their own
human soldiers almost exclusively.
WASP's goal seems to be to weaken and destabilize world governments
to such an extent that WASP can take control of the entire world. To
this end they support terrorists, commit and encourage criminal
activity, force politicians into scandals, discredit governmental
organizations, and generally promote chaos and fear. Their past
actions include; assassinating the first post-apartheid president of
Sotartho; sabotaging the space shuttle Adonis; sinking both a Russian
and Chinese submarine in proximity to each other in an attempt to
provoke war between those nations; detonating an EMP bomb inside the
Japanese stock exchange; and many more.
Aliens and Alien Events
Invasion of
the Mysterians (1966): In 1965
UFOs were often seen over the Pacific relatively near Japan. In 1966
the Mysterians (as they are called by Humanity) unleashed a dozen
giant monsters on major Earth cities, seemingly to weaken Earth's
defenses for invasion. After hard fighting Earth's heroes were able
to destroy or defeat the monsters and drive off the Mysterians. The
island based used by the Mysterions still had the devices they had
used to contain the monsters, so the remaining monsters were
transported there (now called Monster Island) for containment.
No Mysterian body was ever recovered. Star Ranger states he does
not recognize the ships shown in movie footage from the Invasion.
The Mysterians returned in 1974 and briefly freed the creatures of
Monster Island, but were quickly driven off and the monsters were
soon returned.
Chak'Gur
Assault (1985): A number of
alien warships appeared near the Earth on November 11th, 1985 and
began to bombard the planet from orbit. Warning by Star Ranger,
however, had given Earth's military and heroes time to prepare.
Heroes capable of space flight engaged the main ships while others
dealt with landing parties, atmospheric fighters, and
protecting/rescuing civilians on the ground. Several villains also
participated with some of them receiving pardons for past crimes
because of their actions during the assault. Insectus and even the
Fourth Reich engaged the alien forces with Amazing Man, Star Ranger,
Black Scorpion, Oberst Sturm, Hunter I and Colossus boarding the
flagship.
After inflicting severe damage the Earth team was withdrawing to
their boarding ship when Hunter realized the alien commander had set
his ship's FTL drives to overload, which would cause incalculable
damage to the Earth. Telling the others by radio that he was already
clear, Hunter was able to prevent the overload, although he still
died in the explosion of the ship's scuttling charges.
The Fourth Reich, Insectus and others slipped away as the battered
remnants of the invasion force fled. It was months before remaining
pockets of Chak'Gur marines were mopped up. Over 10 million people
were killed in the action, almost all during or as a result of the 2
hour space battle and bombardment.
The Chak'Gur are small humanoids about 4' tall with strong legs and
4 fingered hands.
Silwarra
Visitations (1991, 1998, 2006,
2014):
On June 3rd, 1991 Star Ranger alerted the Earth that a space craft
was approaching and that it was unarmed. By Noon local the ship had
landed at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and its occupants
were speaking with ambassadors from around the world.
The Silwarra (singular and plural) claimed to be explorers and
scholars interested in cultural exchange with Earth. They provided a
large volume of literature, music, art, and other media from their
own world and asked for a similar exchange from Earth. After 2 weeks
the Silwarra left. They have since returned twice, each time again
exchanging cultural elements back and forth. During their 2014 visit
the Silwarrans began the process of establishing an exchange of
scholars between the planets in 2021. Now a Silwarran ship visits
every year and exchanges information via the Asgard Station.
The Silwarra are very human in appearance with golden to dark
yellow skin and purple to green hair. While their eyes are human in
appearance, they are of bright hues of pink, green, yellow, or
orange.
Their exchanges have been extensive enough that some colleges now
offer Silwarra Studies and incorporate Silwarra literature, etc.,
into their programs.
Notable Events in the Superhuman
World
Amazing Man
Appears: February 3rd, 1938 –
“It was a crisp, clear Thursday morning and the ferry was facing
the wind.” This famous opening line to the seminal “An Amazing
Story” by Walter “Cade” Kincaid (who was 18 when he was the
first person rescued by Amazing Man) is one of the most-quoted
passages about that famous event. The criminal mastermind known as
the Gangster had placed a bomb on the Johnson Island Ferry to
distract police and crime fighters while his gang robbed 5 banks at
the same time. As the boat began to sink into the frigid waters a man
dressed in work overalls with the name tag ripped off and netting
wrapped around his head to hide his face flew
to the ferry and began pulling 3 and 4 people from the water to
safety at the same time. When the waters were clear he grabbed the
ferry and pushed it to shore while preventing it from sinking through
sheer muscle power. A week later he reappeared, this time in his
now-iconic white and blue costume.
The first superhuman was now public.
The
Ubermensch and super-soldiers:
1939 – With great fanfare Hitler announced the most recent triumph
of Nazi science and military prowess – the various Ubermensch:
Blitz, Krieg, Panzer, Eisen-Shark, and their leader Hauptman Sturm.
By 1941 America, England, Japan, and the Soviet Union had all
announced their own super-soldiers.
The
War within a War:
During WWII the majority of conflict between super humans was outside
of Europe and Japan. As was revealed in the 1960's Hitler had the
services of an un-named psychic superhuman capable of controlling the
minds of super-heroes across large distances, meaning that any
superhuman in mainland Europe was in danger of being added to the
Nazi regime. The Japanese had a 'spell' surrounding the islands that
stripped any superhuman not touched by the Emperor of their powers.
As a result Allied super humans were limited to fighting in Africa,
the oceans, and the Western hemisphere. Highly-skilled normals did
fight within Europe.
The
Fabulous Four:
As described above, the Fabulous Four gained their powers in 1963. At
the time they were almost unique in that while they had cover names
their personal identities were also public knowledge.
The
Red Year:
1973 – heightened tension in the Cold War lead to superhuman
skirmishes around the globe. By year end 14 super humans are dead.
The
Vault is opened:
1990 – ICICLE's super-secure prison facility, the Vault, becomes
active. Located on Malachite Island southwest of the Canaries it was
designed to hold the most dangerous super humans in the world.
Desert
Sword:
1991 – American, British, French, and German super-soldiers engage
Iraqi super-soldiers and Islamic super humans in what was almost
certainly the largest super battles in history. Iraqi forces are
crushed.
First
Twilight Coup:
1993 – Twilight Army attempts to conquer Seborga. While initially
successful Euroteam drives them out after 6 weeks.
First
Revenger Incident:
1996 – members of the villain team KAOS discover the secret
identities of the Boston Guardians super team. KAOS ambushes the
heroes in their civilian identities one at a time and murders their
families.
Over the next year the families of the members of KAOS are killed
one by one; this extends even to close friends, ex-partners in crime
and (for the friendless orphan Killer I) his pet dog. Then the
members of KAOS themselves are killed one by one. At the last body,
that of Killer I, a note was left that read “Families are
off-limits. -Revenger”.
Second
Twilight Coup:
1998 – the Twilight Army attacks Molodovia, but is driven back with
heavy losses.
The
Vault Breakout:
2000 – Mister Mind uses a freed creature from Monster Island to
breach the Vault's defenses. Dozens of criminals escape.
Second
Revenger Incident: 2001
– When Pokerface, a hitman for the Combine, kills the daughter of
Red Falcon on orders of the local crime family someone kills a child,
spouse, or other close relative of every senior member of the crime
family and of all their enforcers (and also kills Pokerface) each
time leaving a note that says “This is why families are
off-limits”. While the police claim to have secret details that
prove these acts were done by the same man as the first incident no
arrests are ever made.
The
Battle of Vienna:
2009 – While responding to a distress call Euroteam is ambushed by
the Fourth Reich. During the 20 minute battle that followed 5 of the
nine members of Euroteam, 14 Snowmen, 46 police and rescue workers,
and over 30 civilians were killed. Of the surviving Euroteam members
Feuer and Carmen suffered injuries severe enough that they were
forced to retire.
The new Euroteam, listed above, debuted in January 2012.
The Necromancer War: 2014
(end) – The newly formed Champions of Atlanta learned why Atlanta
was the world’s largest city to never have a major superhero nor
superhero team; a cabal of evil sorcerers had been driving out or
killing all truly super-powered beings for half a century or more. An
escalation of violence between the Champions, the Cabal, ICICLE, and
local police was dubbed The Necromancer War by the local press. By
Autumn of 2014 all known cabal members were in prison, dead, or
confirmed fled.
Superhuman
Culture
Supers
and the Media:
Media, especially entertainment, loves supers. The mystery men and
crime fighters of the 19th and early 20th Centuries were already
stars of penny dreadfuls, dime novels, pulps, and comic books. As
these characters were transitioning to serials super-heroes and
villains appeared. Many heroes helped with bond drives and some even
traveled with the USO. American Eagle, Leatherneck and the
All-American each had comic books that inspired Americans as well as
gave helpful hints to youngsters about helping with the war effort at
home.
The post-war years saw an explosion of books, movies and music
about super humans. This glut was reversed in the 1950's when, partly
because of the overload of the previous decade and partly because a
great deal of superhuman activity at the beginning of the Cold War
was secret, supers in the media reached an all time low.
From the '60's onward, though, super humans returned and are now a
cornerstone of pop culture.
Print-
Most magazines have at least a section on supers ranging from Glamour
(fashion) to Connected (technology). The biggest players, though, are
Superworld
(a news magazine that covers superhuman activity), Superstory
(a tabloid magazine infamous for its over-the-top headlines such as
'I am having Oberst Sturms Superbaby!'), and Powered
(a teen-focused magazine). All are facing declining readership,
although their web pages are robust.
Film-
Superhero dramas, comedies, actioners, and documentaries have been
popular to one degree or another for 70 years. Important films
include 'An Amazing Man' (Oscar-winning documentary about Amazing Man
I), 'Night Patrol' (comedy about 3 bumbling supers, highest grossing
super comedy), 'Why Me?' (critically-acclaimed drama based on the
diaries of the '70's teen/young hero the Fly), and 'No Greater Love'
(action/drama film about the Chak'Gur assault and the death of Hunter
I; winner of 7 Oscars, the Golden Lion, and 5 Golden Globes).
Several supers have tried their hand at acting with the most
successful being, arguably, Red Lion (UK) in the '60's, Silent Lady
(Hong Kong) in the '70's, Captain Victory and Siren (both US) in the
'80's, The Cat (US) in the '90's, and the Green Swordsman in the last
decade.
Television-
There has been at least one super-themed program on television every
year since 1954. While most are relatively mediocre, a few stand out.
'The Icemen', a crime drama/action series about a pair of ICICLE
agents, ran from 1964-1969 and brought a refreshing realism to the
super-themed show and told its stories from the viewpoint of normals.
'Monitor Duty' was a surprise comedy hit from 1995-2001 and was based
around a group of D-list superheroes sitting around the base of the
fictional Indianapolis Enforcers and occasionally getting into
trouble. 'Wearing the Cape' has been on the air since 1995 and is a
reality show where camera crews travel with superheroes on patrol.
The number of shows where supers have had cameos is quite large.
There is also the Super News Network, SNN, which has provided 24/7
coverage of supers since 1990. It has reporters throughout the world
and has won shelves of awards for its coverage. The SNN web page is
one of the most visited.
Since about 1995 there has been a wave of (typically low-powered)
supers where their primary career is 'light television', a trend
started with the 'Jane Maine' show on the SuperKids Network. This led
to the current 'Zero/Hero' show which has a cast of 9 teen supers,
none of whom 'adventure'.
Music-
While the number of songs about supers is huge, there are also songs
by
supers. These range from novelties (Monolith's 'Halloween is Easy'),
the topical (Sunhawk singing backup on the soundtrack to the 'Super
Crime' television theme), and the campy (SolarrGirrls' 'Girrl
Powerr').
Miss Liberty sang in 2 of her movies and was encouraged to go into
musicals, but retired. Siren, already a movie star, tried to also
breakout as a singer in the '80's, but her three albums had
disappointing sales.
The Rose was largely a singer and entertainer first and a
super-heroine second throughout the '80's and retired from
'adventuring' in 1991 to focus full-time on her musical career.
Flower Girl had a promising debut album in 1984 which set records,
but her death in the Chak'Gur invasion was a tragic end. Soundwave
retired from adventuring in 1969 due to injuries and moved on to a 20
year career in the opera.
Currently Sara Myles (former star of the 'Jane Maine' show) is a
full-time singer, as is Voltage, a male singer from Canada. The
largest 'super-singer' though is almost certainly Rosa Azul; the
Argentinian super has been a recording artist since 2009, when she
was 17, and now is one of the best-selling Spanish-language female
singer in history. She is starting to cross-over into French and
English markets. She incorporates her flight, aura, and even energy
blasts into her stage show. Her assistance with Gruppo de Proteccion
(Chile's national super team) against the Terror League in June 2012
moved her into the adventurer/entertainer group fairly firmly and she
has assisted other super teams since.
Online-
There are tens of thousands of blogs, pages, feeds, forums and such
dedicated to supers ranging from comprehensive and professional
(SNN's SuperPage) to the small and amateur (too many to name) the the
obscure but fascinating (the probably-run-by-the-retired-hero page
dedicated to the 1980's Super-Hornet, for example).
Other-
The Ultimate Wrestling League includes a ExtremeHeavyWeight class
(for people with a 31 to 40 Strength), MegaHeavyWeight class (41-50
Strength) and UltraHeavyWeight class (51+ Strength); these
professional wrestlers compete within special rings that can
withstand their strength.
Every 4 years the Superlymplics invite super humans (without felony
convictions or outstanding warrants) to participate in olympic-style
events for super humans (the 100 kilometer dash; the 4 mile
underwater swim race; the flight marathon; etc.) with proceeds from
sales and advertising going to charity.
Slang and idiom related to Supers
Cape:
a hero; “The Defenders added a new cape”
Mask:
a
villain or criminal
Iceman:
ICICLE investigator
Snowman:
ICICLE counter-super assault team member
Blues:
(Short for 'boys in blue')A police officer without powers or special
equipment; “There were a lot more blues at that bank than we
expected”
Redshirt,
Shirt:
Civilian; “I'll engage the masks while you get the shirts to
cover!”
Neck
ties, Ties:
Government administrators, detectives, etc.; “I spent 5 minutes
fighting the masks and 4 hours doing paperwork with the ties”
MDK:
'Mad Dog Killer' – a super-villain that kills without remorse;
“Insectus is trouble but the Terror League?! They're all MDKs”
Mook:
The non-powered troops of super villains
Bugs:
Members of WASP
Thug:
normal criminal not associated with super-villains
Henching:
Working for super-villains for a wage rather than for ideology, etc.
“yeah, I'm henching again. I gotta' pay the rent”
Goon:
An under-powered super; this can be general or specific to the
situation. “SkyLord talks a big game, but he's just a goon” vs.
“I'm pretty good but next to Amazing Man I'm a goon”
GTF:
'Gun To Face'; taking hostages; “yeah, it looked like a normal
flying pursuit until he grabbed that window washer and went GTF”
Nerf:
A particularly ineffective attack; “I should have assumed my
firelance would nerf against a guy calling himself Lava Lord, but I
had to check”
Spangle:
A particularly effective attack (opposite of nerf); “His power
armor is made of crystals – Soundwave's scream should spangle him
pretty good”
Adventuring:
Being a super-hero
The
Cover, Cover:
The codename/identity/personality associated with being a super-hero
or villain. “I don't really have a Southern accent, but, well, the
cover”
The
Life:
Being super powered and how it affects your life; living the dual
life of a superhuman. “Bobby was a nice guy and a good friend but
the life got in the way”
The
Gig:
Being a superhero, specifically referring to the hard parts; long
hours, danger, dealing with paperwork, lawsuits, injuries, etc.”Yeah,
I still have three cracked ribs and was up 30 hours but this patrol
ain't doing itself. It is all part of the gig.”
Camera
Bait:
A hero that more focused on a press coverage, endorsement deals, and
celebrity than the gig. “Glamor Girl? Pure camera bait, kid”
Pre-Parole
Job:
A high-risk crime
Strange
Tech, Weirdwired:
The technology of super humans that are so-called 'Type B technology'
users. “I picked up Mr. Fixit's pistol but it was weirdwired and
only worked for him”.
Sanctioned
Heroes
Over time most jurisdictions have issued laws making a special status
available for super-heroes, a status generally called 'sanctioned'.
Sanctioned heroes do have to follow most police procedures, but are
not classified as vigilantes (which are illegal in most places) and
have the power to make arrests. Sanctioned heroes can also provide
testimony while masked and in heir secret ID by identifying
themselves by other means.
American heroes can be sanctioned at the city, county, state,
national, and international levels. All require special training.
Other nations have very similar procedures.
All the super-teams listed earlier require their members to be
sanctioned.
How Things in
the Campaign Differ
Obviously – super heroes are real!
Beyond that, the existence of people with super powers has changed
the world a fair amount. Most large office buildings and arenas have
areas like storm shelters for people to take cover during super
battles, for example.
While super-inventors have made stunning advances, the odd nature
and lack of general development means that the technology we are used
to in the real world is still the norm in the campaign. That being
said, police and the military can have access to quite advanced
technology - Atlanta, for example, has a special anti-supercrime
task force that is armed with pulson energy rifles.
Pulson weapons fire a burst of pulsons (a type of 'intermediate
charged particle' first identified in the 1970's by Prof. Inventor)
that cause energy damage but carry enough mass to knock targets off
their feet (if the attack is powerful enough) while still being less
lethal than bullets. This makes them popular with military forces and
police since they are capable of harming super tough targets and yet
less likely to kill civilians.
Some superheroes and villains can travel in space under their own
power and others can use super-tech to do the same – this means
there has been better space exploration (more probes, more
satellites, etc.), someone has been to Mars (Captain Solar in 1979)
and there was only one fatal shuttle accident.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt wished to run for a third term in 1940
but strong backlash at the New York Convention of the Democratic
Party led to Cordell Hull being the Democratic nominee. Hull barely
edged out Wendell Wilkie to become president in 1940. After Hull the
presidents of the campaign world are all also different than in real
life (see A Brief Political history of the US in the Campaign).
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