The "Supers" campaign

Hello, all. Some time last year I posted something similar about a home-grown campaign that I was running and having fun with. It has been loosely based on the standard MSH universe, but I've tried to keep it my own as much as possible. Also, I decided to post this here for the benefit of those who can make it to AZCon, as I don't think you guys got my e-mails. So, what follows is a guide to generalities of the "Supers" campaign. I'd like to know what you think, and what kind of character you'd like to generate for it.

*dirk-fing-blast...* is anyone else having the same trouble getting these pages to load as I am?

Supers - an overview

What is a super?

A super is a person who has something different in their genetic make-up which results in that person having an ability that is super-human, or a beneficial physiological change. For example, a person born blind would not be considered a super, but a person born blind and having bat-like echolocation would be.

While all supers do have the similar genetic marker in their DNA called the S-gene (alternately the X-factor, a term which was dropped in the mid 1980's), their super abilities manifest in a few different ways. Most commonly, super powers manifest during puberty, as part of the natural maturation process. About 0.1% of supers are born with their powers or unusual physiology. Even more rarely, which seldom happens at all in the 21st century, a super's ability has lain dormant into mature adulthood, and can manifest when the super is accidentally exposed to some types of energy or radiation. Attempts to duplicate this process so far have not been successful, and have almost always been fatal.

Most super abilities that are manifested are relatively benign - the ability to see in infrared, for example, or having a really high tolerance to temperature extremes, being quadruple-jointed, or the ability to breathe water. It is more rare for the flashy, earth-shattering powers to manifest - the ability to fly, super strength, energy emission, super speed, and the like. This will be discussed in greater detail in the next chapter.


The U.S. Government and supers

Throughout the 1950's people with super power began to appear more and more, and by the early 60's were impossible to ignore or dismiss as hoaxes.

As a method to quell public fears, and to counter similar programs behind the Iron Curtain, the U.S. Government created the Bureau of Super Affairs (BSA) in 1964 as a division of the Department of Defense. The functions of the BSA included the recruitment, classification, and training of American supers, and enforcement of laws concerning supers. But the primary function of the BSA is to provide basic military training to all registered supers, who would be drafted in the event of a national emergency. This is the reason the BSA is part of the DOD.

Since the development of effective genetic testing techniques in the mid-80's, it has been the law that all babies born in the U.S. and all immigrants be tested for the S-gene. This will be detailed in Super Law and Law Enforcement.






The Academy for Super Youth

Established in 1968, the Academy for Super Youth (the ASY, or commonly The Academy) has had the responsibility of testing and training America's young super community. All children who test positive for the S-gene are required to be enrolled in the Academy at age 14 or when their powers manifest, whichever is sooner. All students are given a full secondary education, with some students eligible for post-secondary ed. as the case warrants. Physical fitness is stressed, as is training and control of the students' powers. The instructors are all supers themselves, possessing various abilities and magnitude. The children live on campus in dormitories, and under normal circumstances, can go home to visit their families during holiday and summer breaks. At any given time, there are about 800 students enrolled at the Academy.

It is during this time that the young supers are classified and placed upon their career paths. the kind of powers the students manifest determine their classification and future assignments. These are the BSA's ranks of supers:

Alpha. Alpha rank supers have the biggest, most powerful, flashiest powers. These include, but are not limited to, energy emission/control, super strength (in game terms, "super" strength is (IN) or above, as opposed to exceptional strength, which is (RM).), most flight abilities, super speed or certain movement powers. This can be a single high level power, or a strong combination or lower level powers. Marvel Universe examples would include Cyclops, Iceman, She-Hulk, Storm, and Human Torch. Most Alpha rank students go on to become OGS supers (see The Workings of the BSA).

Beta. Beta rank supers have moderate power levels, or even low level powers who can be trained to become very effective. MU examples include Angel, Beast, Wolfsbane, and Toad. It is most likely that Beta rank supers would end up on OGS teams or become Freelance heroes.

Gamma. Derisively called the "sidekick track", gamma rank supers usually have low rank, non offensive powers, like low-light vision, universal translation, hypersensitive olfactory, and the like. MU examples would be Cypher, and Squid Boy. Some Gamma rankers do end up as sidekicks for OGS supers or Freelance heroes, but the vast majority of them end up in other government agencies, such as the FBI, the NSA, the military, a non-costumed role in the BSA, or (rarely) just left to make a living on their own in the private sector.

Delta. Delta rank supers mostly have as their primary or only power something to do with stealth. Powers include shape shifting, invisibility, coloration, even phasing. MU examples would be Mystique, Shadowcat, and Invisible Woman without the force fields. Delta rank supers sometimes end up on OGS teams or even as Freelancers, but most often end up in military special forces or the BSA's Delta Strike Squad.

Psi. The Psi rank does not officially exist. The secret Psi rank is for those who manifest or will likely manifest psychic powers, like telepathy, hallucinations, psychoblasts, etc. (Telekinesis is not included in this category.) These children are quietly removed from the Academy under false pretense and given to Psi-Corps. The existence of psychic powers is a closely guarded secret, and most people (including the BSA!) has been led to believe that for whatever reason, psychic abilities just don't exist. (see Psi-Corps.)

When students graduate their senior year from the Academy, they are given assignments depending on their rank classification. Some are placed on super teams, some are enrolled in college-level courses, some go into the military. Most supers have very little choice in their assignments.

Originally, the Academy was located in Quantico, VA. Instead of renovating the campus in an already saturated area, a new campus was built in the Nevada desert in 1992. The facilities include dormitories, classrooms, a state-of-the-art library, a gymnasium complete with swimming pools, and a holographic combat training center that is envied worldwide.



No S-gene, but super

Since the rise of the super on the world's stage, there have been attempts to elevate the ordinary man to the pedestal on which the super stands. Most notable were the attempts made by the notorious Dr. Shokk to make man into superman using designer drugs, gene splicing, cybernetics, and other advanced technology. (see his entry under A Who's Who of Supers)

More recently, the focus of super technology has been the comparatively innocuous science of powered armor. The armored hero is quite rare in this campaign, for the armor must be produced by a company with huge resources. Examples include:

-The Iron Adonis, made by Stark Technologies, U.S.

-Green Rage, possibly produced by Manchester Laboratories, U.K.

-EL.F.I.N mk. VII, by Prometheus Energy Labs, U.S.

-Ronin, manufactured by Shogi Star Enterprises, Japan

-Damascus Scimitar, by the Republican R&D, Persian Caliphate. Probably reverse engineered Soviet T-101 series.

Because of production costs, these high-maintenence items have little mass production appeal. Most powered armor suits are prototypes. They can vary widely in design, from the form-fitting Iron Adonis and the revealing EL.F.I.N armor, to the 15' tall mecha-like Ronin, and the ASWS armor, currently in testing in the U.S.

Powered armor is allowed for PCs in this campaign, but it should be in the vast minority of characters. What is not allowed are magical characters, alien characters, or extraplanar/god characters. (see Character Design Guidelines)

*this looks so much better in PDA format*

The BSA

The workings of the BSA

The BSA is responsible for the regulation of supers. They have extensive records kept for every super, they monitor activities of supers in an official capacity, they assign and reassign supers, they help to maintain their secret identities. Twice a year all supers are required to visit their local BSA office for a medical exam and update their personal information. The BSA is also ultimately responsible for law enforcement in the super community, detailed in the chapter Super Law and Law Enforcement. The BSA organizes and maintains the various super teams, their bases of operations, and their equipment.

The BSA has four classifications for a super's career:

Official Government Sponsored (OGS). An OGS super's job description is super hero, and the government maintains the living of that individual or group. As this is the full-time job of an OGS super, they rarely have jobs outside of this. Naturally, their identities are kept secret, but the OGS super doesn't struggle to maintain it. MU parallel: Captain America and/or the Avengers.

Freelance. A freelance super is not maintained by the BSA, and therefore holds down a day job. As these supers interact more with the public, they work hard to maintain their secret identities. Although this can be a difficult lifestyle, supers will choose it because of the independence it offers. This also includes bounty hunters. Closest MU parallel: Spider-Man, although the analogy isn't perfect.

Non-Official Government Sponsored (NOGS). A NOGS super doesn't fly around in a cape, saving the world. NOGS supers tend to be Gamma or Delta rank, generally do not have a super hero moniker, and most likely work for the federal government in some capacity. Closest MU parallel: Nick Fury.

Rogue. A rogue super is one who operates outside the government, and doesn't adhere to laws and regulations concerning supers. Rogue supers include supers who were not tested at birth, those who fail to go to the Academy or go AWOL, those who do not attend their semi-annual check up, and a whole host of other violations. (see Super Law and Law Enforcement) Most rogues are in fact super villains, criminals who use their powers to commit crimes and hurt people, but some are heroes who chose to operate outside the law. Closest MU parallel: the X-men during their "legends" phase. The BSA actively seeks out rogues, as they are considered dangerous elements.

Like most government agencies, the BSA is a tiered bureaucracy, headquartered in Washington, D.C. with field offices in every state. Each office has, at minimum, a clinic to examine and treat supers, and detainment facilities strong enough to contain all but the most powerful of supers. The field offices can also access the national database, with information on all American supers, and many foreign ones as well.

Not only does the BSA have administrative functions, but it has law enforcement functions as well. Many supers are authorized to arrest criminals both normal and super, and the BSA has recently formed an elite paramilitary force for the detainment of rogue supers, detailed in the next chapter.


Super Law and Law Enforcement

In the landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision The United States vs. The Red Scorpion, the court agreed with the plaintiff's argument that a different tier of law, law enforcement, and judiciary was needed for those in the super community. Both the super and normal populations were incredulous at the idea at first, but it became apparent that this was a fair compromise. Other countries throughout the world had wildly differing treatments of their supers. Countries like Russia and China viewed supers as property of the state with no rights. North Korea allowed vivisection and other experiments on their supers. Throughout the Middle East, they were killed for being children of the Devil. And in some nations in Africa and South America, the supers themselves took power, and became warlords. Some of these actions continue today (see Supers and International Relations).

The court decision led to the formation of the Uniform Code of Super Justice (UCSJ). This document outlines the additional rights and restrictions granted to Super-Americans. The UCSJ is a vast and complicated system, but here are some basic highlights of super law:

-No super can be sued in civil court for actions taken during official super duties

-Supers arraigned for criminal activities are not eligible for jury trials, but will instead be subject to military-style tribunals

-Every American who tests positive for the S-gene is required to attend the Academy upon reaching the age of 14 years old, or when his or her powers manifest, whichever is sooner

-It is illegal for a super to willfully avoid his or her semi-annual BSA check-up. Exceptions can be granted by the BSA in certain circumstances

-It is illegal for a super to be AWOL. This includes students of the Academy, OGS, and NOGS supers. Freelance supers are exempt, as long as they attend their semi-annual checkup

There are many more laws concerning the behavior of and to supers. Supers convicted of crimes are sentenced at the discretion of the tribunal. This can be nearly anything, from appointed rehab or community service, removal of OGS or Freelance status, fines, even imprisonment. The cases the tribunal hears are closed to the public.

Supers are not imprisoned with the general public. A large supermaximum correction facility is located in central Nebraska, offering varying levels of freedom and punishment for its detainees.

In many cases, normal law enforcement agencies would be unable to stop a super in the commission of a crime, or executing a warrant for a super's arrest. Thus, most OGS supers (as individuals or teams), Freelance supers, and NOGS supers working the enforcement division of the BSA are allowed to arrest and detain criminals. Some Freelancers are bounty hunters, as some rogue supers are very good at avoiding arrest. These few bounty hunters are powerful supers, and support themselves primarily through bounties. A good example of a bounty hunter is Miss Scarlet (see A Who's Who of Supers).

Recently, the BSA has formed the Delta Strike Squad. In theory that it is better to catch rogue supers with stealth than with flashy capes and tights, this squad was put together primarily of supers who have stealth powers, and supers with detection powers, i.e. infravision, enhanced hearing, etc. These supers were culled from other government agencies, such as military special forces and FBI SWAT teams.


Psi-Corps

There is no such thing as Psi-Corps. Psi-Corps and the very existence of psychic supers is an urban legend. A myth. They simply do not exist in this campaign.

More information is available about this non-existent entity, but only to those interested in playing a psychic super, which does not exist. For the rest of you, just sit back, relax, and a special agent will erase this memory shortly.


Supers and International Relations

S-gene positive people are not exclusive to the United States. Supers have appeared in every nation on earth. Surprisingly, there have been very few international conflicts using supers as soldiers. Even though many supers have powers that can be considered weapons of mass destruction, a nation using said supers in warfare risk retaliation from other super-wielding countries. Several treaties are in place concerning the use of supers as weapons.

Supers are viewed very differently throughout the world, and treated accordingly by the normal population. In America, the costumed superhero is a celebrity. People can get action figures, posters, even lunchboxes of their favorite super. Tabloids exist that chronicle the lives of the supers, such as Super Monthly, Teen Super Beat, and Capes & Tights. Possibly the only other country that is more fanatical about their supers is Japan.

In China, supers are still considered property of the state, but they have been given some freedom, so now they have most of the rights of a Chinese Olympic athlete. China has also had, for years, a state run eugenics and power boosting program for their supers.

Kenya has been ruled by super despots for decades. Power exchanges hands through violent and bloody coups. In 2005, the previous ruler, Colonel Udai was usurped by a woman who calls herself Monsoon. Monsoon has exceptional weather powers (see A Who's Who of Supers). Although she is a ruthless dictator, poaching has stopped and agricultural production is up.

In Israel, the super is celebrated as a defender of the holy land. The Israeli super has among the most rights of any super in the world, even though service is compulsory. Other middle east nations vary widely. Egypt and Turkey view their supers as respected members of their defense forces, although women are not allowed to serve. Dubai does allow female supers in a heroic role, but they have to dress modestly, unlike those American harlots (they only have two female supers). The Persian Caliphate (formerly Iran and Iraq) denies access to any foreign super, and executes all children born with an S-gene.

Most of the industrialized world has similar laws governing their supers, which are modeled loosely on the UCSJ. Some differences:

-Canada has very strict rules prohibiting a super's use of religious imagery on his/her costume, but Italy and Ireland do not.

-Canada and the U.K. will extradite a wanted super to the U.S., but Mexico and New Zealand usually will not.

-All French supers are Freelance, but they cannot design their own costumes. Costume designs are provided by the French equivalent of the BSA. Furthermore, French supers are not required to actually work.

-The Netherlands do not register their supers, and treat them just like any private citizen.

In addition to his or her powers, sometimes a super needs some good gadgets. What good are a pair of steel handcuffs on a super who can corrode them, melt them, or shrink his way out of them? What good is becoming invisible if your costume doesn't change with you? The following is a small sample of some of the technology available to the super.

Costumes

A public hero needs a good costume. Not only must it identify the super, but it should be rugged and easy to care for as well. Three of the most popular costume materials were developed by one of the earliest supers, Reyna Richardson, aka Ms. Amazing (see A Who's Who of Supers). The genius Dr. Richardson was looking to find a way to properly clothe her own malleable form, and those of her teammates.

-Mimetic Protein Fiber. A must for supers whose bodies can grow, shrink, stretch, turn to fire, or otherwise rend ordinary materials useless. The MPF will not shrink in the wash or lose its shape, fade, or unravel. It has (TY) material strength, provides no protection, is prohibitively expensive ($950 sq. yd.), and is impossible to repair.

-OmniWeave. The most popular choice for the costumed super. Easy to repair and modify, Omniweave is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It is available in a variety of weaves and thicknesses, and is easy to care for - just wash and wear. It also provides no protection, it won't resist a super's own power, but it is a much more affordable option, being no more expensive than fine polyester.

-Magnum Cloth. A less bulky option to other types of body armor. Its special polymer weave redirects kinetic energy, so it can provide (GD) protection vs. blunt, force, and shooting damage, and (EX) resistance to fire. The downsides: very expensive, uncomfortable, hard to construct and repair, and little color choices.

Names and Costumes-Registered Trademarks

The super identity is very important. Prior to the introduction of the UCSJ, three supers went to court in order to secure the exclusive right to call themselves Captain Justice. Glamour Girl and Glamour Woman got into a colossal catfight that leveled seven city blocks in Newark, NJ...because they were wearing identical costumes. DC Comics sued, and won, a hero who used the costume and name of Batman.

To prevent such chaos, the BSA instituted rules which would have an OGS or Freelance super's codename and costume design viewed as trademarks. Because there is such a bureaucracy involved, it is very difficult for a costumed super to change his codename or costume design. Even the Academy teaches a course on costume design and recognition! ("Red and white particolour tights and a porcelain mask? Why, it could only be The Crimson Jester!")

Some rules concerning codenames and costumes:

-Only one registered super can use a particular codename at any one time. (Three women have used the moniker Dyna-Girl, they worked in different eras.)

-No super's costume can be identical, or even too similar, to another registered super's costume, unless those supers are on the same BSA recognized super team. The same applies for logos.

-No super's costume or logo can violate trademark laws by incorporating designs or logos of existing fictional characters, nor can they wear corporate logos. (There was a big to-do about the freelancer Speed Phreek trying to secure corporate sponsorship and wear their logos all over his costume, like NASCAR drivers do. The Tribunal agreed with the BSA's position that this was a no-no.)

-A registered super's name or design cannot be used in works of fiction or advertising without permission from that super and the BSA. Royalty fees may apply.

-A super is not required to wear tights, and may have as his/her costume design any sort of ensemble they wish, provided that the costume is a) unique or unique to a team, b) recognizable, and c) upholds certain decency standards. It is recommended that supers who have costume destroying powers wear mimetic protein fiber outfits.


High Tech Toys

Sometimes, a hero just needs a good gadget. These are a few creations that have made their way into this campaign.

-Power Inhibition Technology. Developed by Prometheus Laboratories, P.I. tech uses proprietary destructive waveforms to neutralize a super's powers. The pistol fires an invisible beam which causes no damage, but will neutralize powers for 1d4+1 hours. There are also manacles available, which neutralize powers as long as they are worn. An (UN) power feat means the P.I. tech has no effect. BSA detention facilities have cells which provide similar inhibiting effects. It is illegal for a private citizen to have P.I. tech, and because it is extremely expensive, most supers do not have access to it.

-Unobtanium. As rare as dragon's teeth, this wonderful alloy was developed by Dr. Shokk (see A Who's Who of Supers). Its material strength (MN), light weight, and corrosion resistance makes it a highly sought after artifact. However, the formula for creating and engineering this metal died with Shokk in the 70's.
-Boost. An illegal, highly addictive aerosol inhalant designed to increase the abilities of supers. This drug is becoming quite popular among the rogue super community, and even Academy students. On normals, there is a mild stimulant/euphoric effect, similar to amyl nitrate. As Boost is much more expensive, normals do not use it like "poppers". On supers, a single dose will raise power levels +1CS, and raise Endurance and Intuition +1CS for 1d10+(100-END) rounds. Additional doses taken before the initial dose wears off will raise power levels another +1CS, with no cumulative effect on END or INT. Side effects: Users experience withdrawal symptoms including a loss of Endurance, Psyche, Intuition, and Reason by -1CS for 3-18 days, depending on the user's severity of the habit. The user becomes irritable, irrational, prone to violence, and loses inhibitions. After a few weeks, the drug has cleared the user's system, and any cravings for Boost are psychological, and can be conquered in similar fashion to quitting smoking. In extremely rare cases, (1%), the user may develop a secondary mutation. Overdose is possible. Each cumulative dose beyond 2, the user needs to make an END feat -1CS or OD. OD effects include, but are not limited to, loss of consciousness, coma, cardiac arrest, stroke, temporary loss of power, power burn out, and death. (Sounds like a drug ad, don't it? Women who are pregnant or nursing should not take Boost. Consult your doctor. Call now for your free trial...) Cost: each inhaler costs $2000-3000, and holds 10 doses. It is not known where Boost is made or who designed it.

*Some of these dudes have appeared on this site before, and at least one of them is a blatant rip-off from the PowerPuff Girls*

A Who's Who of Supers

This is a list of supers that have appeared or been alluded to in this campaign. By no means is it a complete listing of all the supers, nor is it a complete listing of their powers, backgrounds, and personalities. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are fully developed, and I would be happy to provide a full character description. Those marked with an (M) are modeled from their Marvel Universe counterpart.


OGS Heroes
Although OGS heroes can work individually, they are primarily assigned to teams by the BSA

Liberty League New York (LLNY). This is New York City's official OGS team. There is also a Liberty League Chicago (LLC).

-Big Apple. Team leader. A big guy with (MN) strength, (AZ) body armor. Wears a big red T-shirt with an apple logo on the front. *

-Rat Man. A weasely-looking guy who can transform himself to a were-rat form, with enhanced FASE stats and disease resistance. Also can summon rat swarms. Wears a dirty T-shirt with "ROUS" on the front. *

-Empire State Girl. (RM) strength, with the ability to fly at (AZ) speed. Typical blonde beauty with good fighting skills and aerial combat. *

-Sub-Dude. A cowled, caped individual who preys on villains from the shadows. NOGS super done good. High fighting skills, radar senses, lotsa gadgets. *

-Token. Sub-Dude's sidekick. A powerful fighter with hyper-digging powers. Tries to look cool in his little red, yellow, and green costume. *

-Liberty Chick. A tough Grrl who can generate (RM) fire from her hands, and has (AZ) fire resistance. lots of goth clothes, tattoos, piercings. *

-Masquerade. He has (IN) emotional control over large crowds. Wears a sparkly costume with a feathered mask. *

Freedom Force. Freedom Force is America's premier OGS team. Based in Washington D.C., they are the oldest established BSA team.

-Super Patriot. Team leader. He has high fighting and endurance, (RM) resistance to cold, and is a weapon specialist with a custom spear. *

-Public Spirit (II). One of America's toughest heroes, he has (UN) strength, (IN) invulnerability, (RM) flight. An all-American Big Guy in a red, white, and blue costume.*

-Phayze. She has phasing and invisibility in inverse proportions. Invisible when tangible, visible when intangible. A delta who showed enough promise to be on an OGS team. Orange costume with eye motif. *

-Cheetara. Much like her namesake from the Thundercats cartoon, she is covered in spotted fur, and has (SHX) land speed, with heightened agility. The team's sex symbol.*

-Plazmatik. Modeled on Alex Summers/Havok. Much better costume design. See Children of the Atom. (M)

-Seraphim. An attractive man with a bronze-armored angelic form. In Seraphim form, he has (EX) body armor, (TY) flight with metallic wings, and a sword that can do force damage at a distance.*

-Megatron. Named after the battery and not the robot, he has a bodybuilder physique, (AZ) electrical generation, and some nifty power stunts. He wears copper-based armor, and is approaching retirement age (50 y.o.) *



L.A. Defenders. Looked on as "the beautiful people", the Defenders are all very attractive supers with flashy powers. Most have had plastic surgery, and all wear skimpy costumes.

-Wildfire. Team leader. A hot-headed hot guy with (AZ) fire generation, (MN) fire resistance, and a flaming form that can provide (EX) body armor. *

-Sunburst. A lithe, fey female with (AZ) light generation and control. She has many power stunts and can fly on wings of light. *

-Pacifica. A small asian woman with teal blue hair. She has (IN) water control, (GD) cold resistance, and water breathing. She can surf, too. *

-Mr. Hollywood. A powerfully built black man, he has (EX) true flight, (IN) fighting, and is an expert in many martial weapons. *

-Golden Girl. A woman so beautiful people have to make a Psyche save to attack her. Also has metallic form with (AZ) strength. *

-Earthshock. The Defenders' "strong guy". (UN) strength, (RM) armor, his favorite attack is the shockwave stunt. *



SEATAC. The Seattle/Tacoma based team has been plagued with problems since their formation in 1986. Turnover has been unusually high for this OGS team.

-Firestorm. Team leader. Has (IN) fire resistance, and can generate fireballs which he throws. He is quite covered up due to scarring.

-Diva. A beautiful, red-winged woman who can drain karma by touch, and has a hypnotic voice. *

-Bigfoot. He's big, he's strong (AZ strength), and he's hairy. And he goes through conditioner like there's no tomorrow. Can also howl as a sonic attack.

-Weaponara. A six-armed woman, she only made an OGS team by virtue of her high fighting and martial weapons skills.

Wingman. A new grad, this young man can't do much on his own, but he can improve the actions of his teammates, and reduce the effectiveness of opponents' actions. Gamma done good.


Freelance heroes
Unlike OGS heroes, most freelancers work alone, or have sidekicks. Rarely are they found on teams, usually because of secret identity work schedules.

-Photon. Based in Philadelphia, he has the ability to create and control "hard light".

-Card Shark. Las Vegas' homegrown hero, he can fly, and has exceptional strength. Know him by his playing card motif costume, and the steel poker chips he throws as weapons. "The house always wins!" is his battle cry.

-Lariat. Salt Lake City's squeaky-clean freelancer, he has exceptional strength, a cowboy costume, and rides a sky-cycle that transforms into a robotic horse. Really. *

-Jersey Devil. Based out of Atlantic City, the Jersey Devil is a big guy in a goat-headed devil costume. He has hyper-leaping, and can kick with his hooves or butt with his horns.

-Dyna-Girl (III). This queens-based she-ro can fly, fire force bolts from one hand, and project a force field with the other. *

-Captain Queer. This beloved San Francisco freelancer has light emission/control powers, and can make many constructs out of rainbows. Dressing outre to the Nth degree, he drives around in his "DRAGster" he nicknamed "the Homobile". He also has a sidekick, Butch Rawhide. *

-Miss Scarlet. This freelancer is perhaps the BSA's most successful bounty hunter. She can fly, has (AZ) strength, body armor, and if she's being beaten, she can kiss her opponent and steal his powers. Sound familiar? (M)

-Peregrina. Miss Scarlet's sidekick, she can transform into a large hawk, with flight and great vision. *


Rogues.
This is by no means a complete list of rogues, just some of the more high-profile and memorable ones.

-Green Rage. Technically not a villain, Green Rage is a series of powered battlesuits worn by different people, not necessarily rogue supers. (see No S-Gene but Super) Always accompanied by members of the eco-terrorist group Prime Earth! and the Ape-X soldiers, Green rage has demonstrated the following abilities: flight, body armor, force field, energy beams, and a power negation strobe. *

-Zootopia. Not villainous, Zootopia is a former freelancer. He is accused of harboring unregistered supers, and a host of other petty crimes. It is believed he is trying to ferry rogues out of the country, somewhere in the Pacific NW. He has the ability to change into nearly any kind of animal.

-Sedusa. Sedusa parades around in lingerie, using her feminine charms to her best advantage. Men are seriously hampered in their attempts to harm or capture her. She also has (IN) prehensile hair, and knows how to use it. It is believed she steals to maintain her colossal appetite for hair styling product. *

-Nightshade. Believed to be a Canadian by birth, she has the power over darkforce, which is a mysterious, extra-dimensional, anti-photonic energy. With it she can fly, cloak her body as a form of armor, emit it as an energy beam, and perhaps other stunts as well. A dangerous and crafty foe. *

-Ecofemme. Once the OGS she-ro Magnum Blonde, she became a radical environmentalist, and turned to destruction of corporate property. She has super strength, damage resistance, and flight. She also has super-rationalization, and can justify even the most heinous acts as noble.

-Dr. Gauss. This self-styled "master of magnetism" has yet to truly appear on the world stage. Most know him as a disembodied voice on the radio, preaching supers' domination of the normals. It is believed that he makes these pirate transmissions with his power alone, and he may be one of the most powerful supers on earth. (M)

Old School.
Consider this a brief history lesson of the Supers Campaign. Some of these supers are still around, some are not.

-The Amazings. The formation of this super group predates the formation of the BSA. They gained much recognition from their public identities and their heroics in defeating super villains. The story goes that the Amazings gained their powers during an experimental, privately-funded orbital flight, and they were exposed to some kind of radiation. The members of the Amazings were Ms. Amazing (Reyna Richardson), brilliant scientist with a malleable form. Richardson went on to design many products for the super community, and is currently headmistress of the Academy. She was married for a while to Eclipse (Sam Strom), a man who could turn himself invisible, and project force fields. After he and Ms. Amazing divorced, he disappeared from the public life, no pun intended. Sam's sister, Inferno (Janine Strom) became very famous for her fiery show-off antics, and went in and out of rehab more than Robert Downey, Jr. She died during a plastic surgery procedure in 1996. Brickbat (Brent Grimm), the team's strongman with the rocky red hide, left superheroing in 1980, went on to start his own fishing equipment company, and is now retired and living in Florida. (M)

-Dr. Shokk. Much could be written about the 20th century's most notorious supervillian. It is not known if Dr. Shokk was in fact a super, but he was renowned for trying to create super soldiers. Shokk (born Heinrich Shokkenpfalter) was once a nefarious Nazi scientist, who was gifted in a wide field of sciences, including biology, mechanical, and electrical engineering. Many of the discoveries/inventions of his never saw the light of day during the Third Reich. In the late 40's and early 50's, Dr. Shokk started recruiting like-minded scientists and general troublemakers to his cause - the birth of a new age, where men were ruled by supermen. It was his goal to succeed where Hitler had failed. Instead of a master race being determined by birth, it could be engineered through science. Shokk and his Brainworx scientists used a wide variety of methods to create an army of supermen. Powered armor, eugenics, drug therapy, gene splicing - even early attempts at cybernetics. Many of these experiments failed - but they had some smashing successes in the development of Shokk's earlier war machine designs. Early in the 60's, Dr. Shokk gained infamy on the world stage. His Shokktroops and war machine proved to be a nearly unstoppable force...until, that is, the rise of the supers.
Some of Shokk's more dastardly accomplishments:

-The development of an alloy called Unobtanium, often called the poor man's Adamantium. It is extremely lightweight, strong, and corrosion resistant (figure (MN) material strength). Only a few samples remain today, for the formula for creating this alloy has been lost in time. Or has it?
-Dreadnoughts, 50' tall robotic war machines. These giants had advanced weaponry for the time, and were armored in Unobtanium.
-War zeppelins, tremendous floating battle platforms from which many arial assaults could be delivered.
-Various types of Shokktroop powered armor, weaponry, and super-soldier drugs.

These developments of his enabled Shokk to cause massive devastation on Europe and the US. Only by the involvement of supers, primarily America's Freedom Force, was Shokk stopped. The last known appearance of Dr. Shokk was New York City, when a fleet of his war zeppelins attacked during the Bicentennial celebration. His plot was foiled by Freedom Force, and his zeppelin crashed in the north Atlantic. After an extensive search, Shokk was presumed dead. But you know how it is in comics...

-Black Lightning. Black Lightning was the first African-American OGS hero. In 1967, this speedster was added to the Freedom Force lineup. Long touted as on of the fastest supers of all time, he is considered a civil rights pioneer and influence in the African-American community, much in the same fashion of Jackie Robinson. He retired in 1990, giving up his hero identity, only showing up at his local BSA office twice a year.

-Groovy Girl. A super with light control powers, Groovy Girl was only on Freedom Force for three months when she was detained for attacking soldiers and other government agents during an anti-war protest in 1969. At the time this was the biggest scandal the BSA had, as it was the first time a super had gone publicly rogue. After making bail for her own trial (this was before the UCSJ), she fled to Canada, and is likely still there today.

*Are you getting sleepy? Are your eyelids getting heavy? You really didn't see this, did you? No. Now, go and get a deck of cards, and draw out the jack of clubs...*

The information within is special knowledge, and is not basic info available to a starting PC, unless they were a member or Psi-Corps.

Psi-Corps is a super-secret organization made up of supers with psychic abilities. It is widely believed that psychic supers just don't exist, that people just don't develop those powers. Psi-Corps does its best to promote that belief. Only a handful of people outside of the organization are aware of its existence.

The organization was created in the 1960's for the purpose of countering a similar entity behind the Iron Curtain. In addition of engaging in psychic warfare with the Soviets, Psi-corps was also tapped for interrogations, which they performed with great success.

Over the years, members of the upper echelon of Psi-Corps found that they could use their powers for personal gain and advancement. The BSA had, and still has, a long standing policy that psychic supers do not exist. This is due to the view that public knowledge of psychic supers would probably cause mass hysteria and chaos. Psi-Corps took full advantage of this policy, working in secret to hide their numbers, allocate funds, bury secrets, and eliminate troublesome people. Powerful Psis could act with near impunity, and simply edit the memories of those around them to cover their tracks.

Today, Psi-Corps works closely with the BSA, tracking down rogues, re-programming supers' memories, and reinforcing loyalties. But the Psi-Corps also has another agenda, one that is kept a secret even from the rank and file members: unification with foreign psychics and similar agencies, to form a transnational organization. What purpose they have for this is known only to the enigmatic figure at the center of Psi-Corps, Mr. Shadow.

Psi-Corps has within its ranks people who are dedicated to scanning the population at large to find other psis. Once found, they are essentially adopted by the Corps. Most other psychics (and they are very rare, even among the super community), are found at the Academy. Academy students who are or are potentially psychic are taken out of the school on a false pretense (protracted illness, death, false positive s-gene test, etc.). The parents of children found by Psi-Corps have their memories edited, essentially made to forget they ever had that child. Children raised by Psi-Corps are not well socialized. They grow up to be arrogant, secretive, paranoid, and somewhat sociopathic.

It is not known why Psi-Corps is not more successful than it is, especially at finding rogue supers, or potential and hidden psis. It is as though something in the psychic realm is hindering their efforts...

Psychics as PCs in the Supers Campaign
A psi in this campaign can have one of two origins. The first is as a member of Psi-Corps. A Psi-Corps member integrating with other supers, for whatever reason, would have to hide his or her identity from the others, and have a reasonable cover. A Psi-Corps member teaming with other supers would probably only happen under the direction of the upper echelon of the Corps. The other possibility is that the psi is in fact a rogue, who has either never been tested for the S-gene, or has been tested but did not attend, or has gone AWOL from the Academy. Either choice can make for an interesting and challenging character.

PCs who are Psi-Corps members automatically have the talents of espionage, resist domination, and one martial art.

I looked it over and emailed the pdf you sent me to my players here in mesa. so they are in the loop for Saturday night. I'm looking into maybe a Psi-Corps kind of guy, but Shhhh... Nobody is suppose to know that. wink, wink, nudge, nudge

I'm going for the Psychometry angle. Learn from the hands n'stuff sort of guy. Is there a power stunt with learning new talents by using that power? What's the jist on that idea? Anyone?

"Fer the love of my sweet Community...RAGNARöK"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2008 08:30PM by RAGNARoK.