Kasumi
03-15-2005, 08:27 PM
Just sent this out to my players, I figure it'll make a decent introduction to the Actual Play thread. We're playing in exactly a week's time.
Mutants & Masterminds: London After the War
Millions of humans walk the streets of their teeming cities every day fearing the End - Apocalypse, Gehenna, Ragnarok, whatever name they have been given for it, they know it is coming.
They are very much mistaken - it has already happened. As humanity went about their lives in blissful ignorance, the Dominion met its foes in final war, a battle of unimaginable scope that obliterated not only the vast majority of divine beings, but the very domains within which they existed. So titanic was this battle that the shock of it rippled back and forward in time, twisting the memories and essences of its survivors, so that none can be truly sure what happened, or even precisely when.
The people of earth walk unknowingly through a spiritual post-apocalypse, and its survivors and dead both are about to change everything for them - forever.
Angels, Demons, Gods and legendary heroes find themselves on Earth, reduced to human form, yet they see opportunity. The playing field is level, the old allegiances and empires broken and gone - the whole world is up for grabs, one the verge of being divided into a million divine principalities. Souls of the slain divines infuse men and women with the powers of legends, and the distinction between those who have inherited legends, those who believe they are the legends, and those who truly are legendary survivors of the war grows increasingly meaningless. Finally, broken or lost divine souls have infused not people but locations, creating places where reality changes to match old echoes or new possibilities. These places are a source of power, changing the mortals living within them, and those wielding divine might - new or old - fight fiercely for them.
Some, following old, half-remembered rules, conceal their activities and might from the people as best they can. Others have no interest in subtlety. The ignorance of the people will not last long - but their awakening will be a true beginning, and you are in as good a position as any other to make of it what you will.
****
This is roughly intended to be a superhero game with a more dark/Gaimanesque air than four-colour, taking place in modern London with PCs of mythological/folklore theme. The PCs will be quite powerful - between them the equal of any other faction of divine-empowered heroes in the city, and will be directly involved in the struggle over the city's future and control of its mystic locations (in as much as the other divine powers of the city will treat you like a faction in the fight, regardless of your actual ambitions!). It could turn out to be just an In Nomine style slugfest with the lights turned down, but that should be fun anyway, so we should be OK even if the Gaimanesque aesthetics don't stick.
You will begin in shared control of one mystic site in Central London, whose mutual protection (and perhaps exploitation) I'm offering up as the default reason for the four of you sticking together and being identifiable as a faction. More and better reasons for a "party" to exist are encouraged, but you'll at least have that. I'll offer some suggestions about this site after doing some research, but feel free to chip in ideas yourselves. It is likely there is a small community of people who have been changed by the site, to closely resemble the sorts of people you might find in something like Neverwhere, and they probably look to you for leadership and protection.
Mystic sites need to be attuned in a ritual unique to each site in order to control them and gain the benefits of their power. Some sites, such as the London Tube, will bestow temporary favours in return for an offering. The Tube in particular is held as common property by unspoken truce - divines of all stripes use it to get around very quickly when they need to, though the ritual offering of food, cigarettes and alcohol to the vagrants of the Tube often draws attention.
I have two characters so far:
Jack Frost, Lon's character, is a demon with a long history in London, and great command over cold and ice. He can leap great distances, and wields surprising influence throughout the supernatural community - nobody can remember what he did in the war exactly (not even him, it seems at times), but whatever it was, it imprinted an almost instinctive respect and fear throughout all of the divine, and even the most zealous angels will pause to listen to him.
Jeremiah Hyde (Scott's character) claims to be a descendent of the original Dr Hyde, and whether or not the claim is spurious, it is certain that he does indeed become a hulking brute of immense power at certain times, and he has been seen quaffing alchemical concoctions to various effects!
The other factions in the city include:
Angels under a woman answering to "St Jean", who still fight the war in hopes of vengeance, even though victory is now impossible. They occupy St Paul's Cathedral and have strong influence over the church and conservative circles.
Demons working for Micheal Vercetti, rumoured to have been one of the great powers of Hell, but to have "gone native", enjoying the comfortable life of an organised crime boss.
A vain, rash, but undeniably powerful young man styling himself as "Rama" leads an uprising of Indian youth, fuelled by non-specific rage combined with half-learned history of the Raj.
Many of London's mystic sites have begun taking a dangerous, ancient cast, seeming to be dwellings of the Fair Folk, with all of their beauties and terrors. Responsibility is said to lie with a woman claiming the name Morgan le Fay, who is holed up in Buckingham Palace with an order of chivalrous Divines. Scattered rumours suggest she has Arthur in her possession, and means to place the Once and Future King on the Windsors' throne.
In the poorer areas of London, a man by the name of Hannibal is gathering support both in the disaffected youth of the housing projects, and in the halls of local government. His knowledge of Punic history is much better than his followers, but even some of the most ignorant under his banner wield divine power.
Mutants & Masterminds: London After the War
Millions of humans walk the streets of their teeming cities every day fearing the End - Apocalypse, Gehenna, Ragnarok, whatever name they have been given for it, they know it is coming.
They are very much mistaken - it has already happened. As humanity went about their lives in blissful ignorance, the Dominion met its foes in final war, a battle of unimaginable scope that obliterated not only the vast majority of divine beings, but the very domains within which they existed. So titanic was this battle that the shock of it rippled back and forward in time, twisting the memories and essences of its survivors, so that none can be truly sure what happened, or even precisely when.
The people of earth walk unknowingly through a spiritual post-apocalypse, and its survivors and dead both are about to change everything for them - forever.
Angels, Demons, Gods and legendary heroes find themselves on Earth, reduced to human form, yet they see opportunity. The playing field is level, the old allegiances and empires broken and gone - the whole world is up for grabs, one the verge of being divided into a million divine principalities. Souls of the slain divines infuse men and women with the powers of legends, and the distinction between those who have inherited legends, those who believe they are the legends, and those who truly are legendary survivors of the war grows increasingly meaningless. Finally, broken or lost divine souls have infused not people but locations, creating places where reality changes to match old echoes or new possibilities. These places are a source of power, changing the mortals living within them, and those wielding divine might - new or old - fight fiercely for them.
Some, following old, half-remembered rules, conceal their activities and might from the people as best they can. Others have no interest in subtlety. The ignorance of the people will not last long - but their awakening will be a true beginning, and you are in as good a position as any other to make of it what you will.
****
This is roughly intended to be a superhero game with a more dark/Gaimanesque air than four-colour, taking place in modern London with PCs of mythological/folklore theme. The PCs will be quite powerful - between them the equal of any other faction of divine-empowered heroes in the city, and will be directly involved in the struggle over the city's future and control of its mystic locations (in as much as the other divine powers of the city will treat you like a faction in the fight, regardless of your actual ambitions!). It could turn out to be just an In Nomine style slugfest with the lights turned down, but that should be fun anyway, so we should be OK even if the Gaimanesque aesthetics don't stick.
You will begin in shared control of one mystic site in Central London, whose mutual protection (and perhaps exploitation) I'm offering up as the default reason for the four of you sticking together and being identifiable as a faction. More and better reasons for a "party" to exist are encouraged, but you'll at least have that. I'll offer some suggestions about this site after doing some research, but feel free to chip in ideas yourselves. It is likely there is a small community of people who have been changed by the site, to closely resemble the sorts of people you might find in something like Neverwhere, and they probably look to you for leadership and protection.
Mystic sites need to be attuned in a ritual unique to each site in order to control them and gain the benefits of their power. Some sites, such as the London Tube, will bestow temporary favours in return for an offering. The Tube in particular is held as common property by unspoken truce - divines of all stripes use it to get around very quickly when they need to, though the ritual offering of food, cigarettes and alcohol to the vagrants of the Tube often draws attention.
I have two characters so far:
Jack Frost, Lon's character, is a demon with a long history in London, and great command over cold and ice. He can leap great distances, and wields surprising influence throughout the supernatural community - nobody can remember what he did in the war exactly (not even him, it seems at times), but whatever it was, it imprinted an almost instinctive respect and fear throughout all of the divine, and even the most zealous angels will pause to listen to him.
Jeremiah Hyde (Scott's character) claims to be a descendent of the original Dr Hyde, and whether or not the claim is spurious, it is certain that he does indeed become a hulking brute of immense power at certain times, and he has been seen quaffing alchemical concoctions to various effects!
The other factions in the city include:
Angels under a woman answering to "St Jean", who still fight the war in hopes of vengeance, even though victory is now impossible. They occupy St Paul's Cathedral and have strong influence over the church and conservative circles.
Demons working for Micheal Vercetti, rumoured to have been one of the great powers of Hell, but to have "gone native", enjoying the comfortable life of an organised crime boss.
A vain, rash, but undeniably powerful young man styling himself as "Rama" leads an uprising of Indian youth, fuelled by non-specific rage combined with half-learned history of the Raj.
Many of London's mystic sites have begun taking a dangerous, ancient cast, seeming to be dwellings of the Fair Folk, with all of their beauties and terrors. Responsibility is said to lie with a woman claiming the name Morgan le Fay, who is holed up in Buckingham Palace with an order of chivalrous Divines. Scattered rumours suggest she has Arthur in her possession, and means to place the Once and Future King on the Windsors' throne.
In the poorer areas of London, a man by the name of Hannibal is gathering support both in the disaffected youth of the housing projects, and in the halls of local government. His knowledge of Punic history is much better than his followers, but even some of the most ignorant under his banner wield divine power.