Bay 12 Games Forum

"There are generally three kinds of cities with lots of supers. The first, and typically best-known, are big coastal cities with lots of trade coming in from across the nation and world; unsurprisingly, these attract superheroes and -villains, who then attract one another. The second is cities that are the only major city in their region, as they tend to become the nexus for all kinds of urban activity (and superheroics in farm country is suitable only to the dedicated, the super-fast, or the teleporters). The third and least-thought-about are cities with high crime or poverty rates; this leaves a large number of disaffected youth to attempt to become heroes, villains, or minions, as well as a hightened chance of gaining powers and of course the attraction that the criminals or poor people will attract fame- or minion-seeking supers.
"Out of all cities in the United States, Chicago fits these qualities best. It is on the coast of Lake Michigan, a Great Lake and hence connecting Chicago to the rest of the Midwest. Its location also forces significant amounts of land travel over it. While there are other large cities in the Midwest, Chicago is undoubtably the largest, and dwarfs other cities in northern Illinois and Indiana and southern Wisconsin. In addition, it has had historically high poverty and crime rates for decades, although not as bad as some areas of the nation. Combined with Chicago's sheer size--the third-largest city in the nation--its strict gun control laws, and a history of "super-crime" lasting back to Big Al, is it any surprise that over a third (about 1.5 million out of 4.8 million) of America's superheroes, and almost half (3.3 million out of 6.8 million) of its supervillains live in the Chicago metropolitan area? Its total parahuman population (estimated at almost 5 million) is highest in the nation, as well as the highest proportion out of any city which has been properly surveyed. This is testament to the 'common knowledge' that Chicago is where wannabe supers try to make their start."
--Dr. Orville Smith, Sociologist and Parologist, in Superology: How Supers Work In and Affect the World at Large

Superheroes--and villains--have been a part of our world for as long as we can tell. Paleoparologists argue over if parahumans (the technical term for superpowered people) began appearing tens of thousands ago, millions of years ago, or if they're as old as Animalia. What's known is that supers appeared before civilization. Demigods, Magi, Shamans; whatever you call them, they were probably supers. However, in recent centuries, more supers have been showing up.

"It started with the Industrial Revolution. The first recorded parahuman with an artificial origin was Steam Man, also known as Seymour Smith, who in 1857 fell into a coal hopper and became partly fused with it. When the engine was disassembled, it was discovered that Smith was still alive. Steam Man was superhumanly tough and strong, as well as being able to emit steam jets (granting greatly enhanced jumping) and both generate and fire burning pieces of coal. Smith, a Prussian, fled to America. He was followed in successive years by many others, and Steam Man gathered a team during the Civil War to combat a similar team in the Union. Since then, increasing industrialization of the world has brought increasing numbers of supers (and not just from industrial sources). The US--home of the first super teams--remains a major center of parahumanity."
--Superology

As noted at the top, Chicago is one of the top superhero cities in the US and the world. It is the base of operations for the PCs in this game. The Chicago metropolitan area contains almost 10 million people, and almost half of them are some variety of super. Many of them are not heroes or villains, and many of those who are are only part-timers. Regardless, gang wars tend to be fought with superpowers almost as much as firearms, muggings tend to require several muggers to deal with the inevitable band of random heroes who help out (and sometimes fight amongst themselves over who saves the muggee), and bank robberies rarely make the news.

Despite the number of parahumans in Chicago, the US, and the world, the end result of history is remarkably similar to the real world. This is partly because superheroes aren't sufficiently significant in number, even in this modern era, to affect events in most areas of the world; partly because both sides of every war had supers; and partly because this is a superhero game, not a chance for me to wax eloquent on an elaborate alternate history and map of the world. Now, before we get into the interesting bit, one last point.

Supers have affected not only the real world but that of fiction as well. In the 1930's, a new character was concocted: Superman, an alien hero who satired the assorted heroes running about the United States at the time and their easygoing attitude towards public safety and such. Over the years, most comics save certain old DC characters have become more serious and realistic in tone...
While a few comics are based on real supers, most such media are independent.
--Superology

You are a wannabe superhero or -villain who is in Chicago. Whether you were born there or moved there to make a mark on and an image in the world, you are here. You already got your powers...and your weaknesses. Only a fraction of supers are completely without any weaknesses, and the rest have to just deal with it. Regardless of who you are, or what you want to do...you'll be making a mark.

What you choose:
Name: What you were called as a child. (Codenames come later.)
Gender: Helpful to know. Since you are (probably) human, you must choose.
Age: Must be old enough to be able to leave home without triggering parental alarms and making people wonder why you are out on your own.
Description: What your character looked and acted like before becoming a super. Afterwards...who knows?
Backstory: Your character's life before becoming a super. (DON'T INCLUDE ORIGIN--that is randomly determined.)
Intended Side: Do you intend to be a hero or a villain?
Motivation: Why do you want to be a hero or villain? ("It would be cool" or "To be like X" is an acceptable reason.)
Favorite Superpower: Let's face it, even in the real world most kids think about being superheroes would be cool. In a world where supers are real, common, and almost everyday, most would have decided on which powers they would want, especially the ones that eventually follow through on becoming heroes or villains. Which was your character's?
[u]Name:[/u]
[u]Gender:[/u]
[u]Age:[/u]
[u]Description:[/u]

[u]Backstory:[/u]
[u]Intended Side:[/u]
[u]Motivation:[/u]
[u]Favorite Superpower:[/u]

What you don't choose:
Origin, Powers, and Weaknesses.
You can influence them, but not directly. Name, preferred power, background, personality--all can affect the results. Three dice will be rolled when a PS (Player Super) enters play.
Origin:
1: None! You are completely without powers, which won't stop you from trying.
2: A freak accident. Whether you got struck by lightning while inhaling radioactive hard water infused with genetically-engineered swamp gas or what, you got your powers...alongside with horrible injuries.
3: An item. Is it technological? Magical? Both? It will vary, but it will make you better-off than someone with just fists, cunning, and/or an illegal gun. Woe betide ye if you lose it or it is stolen...
4: Experimentation. While this gives pretty reliable powers, it often comes with some kind of little catch, like needing to take special pills, setting off metal detectors, or having the Mob angry at losing their test subject. (Kidding, of course. Superhumans are more of a Triad thing.)(Kudos to Harry Baldman for helping me understand how triads work.)
5: Discovery. You found some kind of ancient artifact that gave you powers, or invented a power-granting serum, or something. You are probably unique, and aren't tied down, AND can possibly profit directly off of your power source!
6: Natural ability. You manifested this ability at a later date than birth, for some reason, or perhaps it was given to you as a blessing. While this lacks inherent downsides, it doesn't come with an instriction manual...

Power:
1: It's more of a curse than a power. Examples: The Thing or having your hands turn into snakes.
2: It's kinda pathetic, but can be used well with cleverness. Examples: Squirrel Girl or the ability to make flowers grow.
3: You have a moderately useful power, or a powerset that can be useful. Examples: Aquaman or (fairly) super-strength and toughness.
4: This is at the hypothetical "average"--a single powerful power or a number of less powerful ones. Examples: The Flash or shapeshifting.
5: Lucky you--you either have many powers, or one extreme power. Examples: Superman or micrometer-precision, multiton-strength telekinesis.
6: You have immense power or a number of powerful ones, but no control. Examples: Franklin Richards or being possessed by a major demon.

Weakness:
1: You have no weaknesses. Lucky you.
2: Your weakness is minor, or else is just a way to negate your powers.
3: Your weakness is moderate, or else it negates your powers and drains your strength (e.g. also incapacitates you).
4: Your weakness is pretty major, and basically incapacitates you if it comes up.
5: Your weakness is a full-out curse, severely inhibiting your abilities.
6: Your curse is also a boon...though it is not all good.

Have fun!

If there's anything you need clarified, let me know.