Superhuman Individuals

You don't have to play a human if you don't want to! Well - certain limitations notwithstanding, of course. All details related to canonical species or highly specific ethnic groups are to be found here.
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IamLEAM1983
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Superhuman Individuals

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- superhumans are the result of arcane nodules developing along a person's DNA helixes. Long story short, mutations are triggered by ancestral via build-up
- mutations can affect any area of the body or brain. They can be showy and very difficult to miss, or they can be very subtle, only manifesting as unusual capabilities
- ex: a human able of independent and controlled flight, nonmagical control or influence over an element
- because of this, "supes" tend to have one or two mages in the family. Not necessarily in the recent past or the present - some families have been 100% mundane for generations and then the latest kid wakes up with TK powers

- puberty tends to be when the human and anthro bodies "reach in" to complete maturation cycle. New genetic sequences are run, like facial hair growth
- on occasion, the cycle "trips" over something unforeseen; an ability that doesn't easily fit within what's expected of a normal boy or girl
- on other occasions, the microscopic nodules of arcane power can lie in wait for decades longer. Stress, trauma or an intense emotion then triggers it
- there's also cases where an sort of activator is needed - an outside element that intervenes and "switches" the dormant instructions on. Being electrocuted, drowning, being poisoned or asphyxiated, etc.
- the "science" of superhumans is still very poorly understood. Current techniques confuse nodules of arcane power with oddly-placed chromosomes or random alleles. We still can't diagnose what children will be able to do
- we can't even diagnose if they're supes to begin with. Even Karthian tech doesn't cover that. Karthian geneticists have gone over the properties of via and submitted DNA samples, and are baffled. This seems impossible to them
- just about the one and only constant is a slightly lengthened life span

Superhumans in History
- were revered as gods or titans if angels, Sidhe or dragons weren't around. Often acted as best hunters or protectors of early settlements
- deification would last thousands of years and inspire a lot of demigod stories
- Christianity was their biggest enemy, unfortunately. The young and expanding religion wanted to seat its power, so pretty much everyone else had to be demonized
- if nobody could be capable of superhuman feats except the Son of God, you can imagine how things went for the Fertile Crescent's flying humans, mentalist anthros or teleporting Fae...

- persecution lasted throughout all of the Middle Ages, until coincidence, common sense and survival instinct made it clear to all of the world's gifted that we weren't ready to accept them.
- at the same time, secluded mages and alchemists begin to poke at the foundations of Life, Magic, and how they interplay. They begin to suspect a correlation...
- with Science dominating all and religion failing, support was even *less* easy to find. A lot of supes were rebuked before having the chance to show their abilities. Some were locked away
- while things slightly improved with the Enlightenment, it'd be hundreds of years more, and many more generations, before today's dynamic of the "Superhero" would be established

Victorian Era and World War One
- first true heyday of superhumans. Stories of brave soldiers on the battlefield dodging past bayonets or stopping bullets in their tracks
- in a world where people transferred their intrinsic selves into mechanical bodies, these stories felt a little less heretical and a lot more sensational
- 1915: Thomas Kent, a human capable of autonomous flight, is recalled from the Belgian border by David Lloyd George, the British PM.
- in an effort to drum up public support for the war, Sir Arrowhead is "knighted"
- drawing from the French's classic gift to the Americans, a toga is first selected to be Kent's representative ceremonial garb
- togas don't quite pass flight tests, so close-fitting wool undershirts and pants are altered, padded as needed, and outfitted with a cape

- first hazy modern-day recollections of meeting with Void Weavers...

- America's involvement in World War One isn't as storied as for the second, and initial reactions to Sir Arrowhead were fairly mocking
- it would take the dawn of World War Two for the value of superhumans to strike the American public

First PR and Marketing Tools - Then Vigilantes
- Grant Sterling, an American man from Topeka, signs up for the Marines in early 1938
- his heightened strength and increased resilience to impacts have been downplayed or ignored for most of his life
- Basic Training makes it impossible for him to hide for much longer

- Before long, Sterling's dream of serving his country is dashed as US Government representatives are eager to make a quick and strong PR impression
- a fairly more complex and symbolic costume is assembled, and Sterling Starr is created by a committee
- initially kept away from the front, forced to push the purchase of war bonds across the country
- 1939: Sterling saves child workers in a burning factory and publicly shames the factory boss in Chicago. His tirade convinces his would-be commander to call him to the front
- 1939-45: Grant Sterling effectively abandons Sterling Starr and fights as a common soldier. Is successively promoted to Lieutenant Commander and awarded decorations for gallantry in the face of insurmountable odds

- during the war, other supes are frustrated at the sight of their kindred being relegated to promotional tools. The homeland becomes the theatre for acts of superpowered vigilantism on either side
- post-war vital statistics and census analyses are startling. Why was crime so high in the US and Canada *during* the war?
- it's quickly found out that for all arrests attempted or made, 67% involved people trying to *stop* a crime

- this underlines another facet of developing American urban life: not all mages are placid scholars, not all wizards are friendly and absent-minded types...
- Summer 1945: Archie takes a break from the final months of the war to testify before Homeland Security about his personal "Shadow War"
- he asserts that many individuals tend to be drawn to dire consequences and desperate, if noble causes
- people "want" to shape their city, their neighbourhood, their sense of peace and quiet. They won't sit idly by and wait for the constabulary to pop in if there's a problem...
- ...not if they have the ability to solve it themselves.

- 1945-1960: superpowered vigilantism is rampant, and Homeland Security is paralyzed on the subject. Any kind of vigilantism is criminal and hampers police investigation.
- on the other hand, these same people are taking on cases and criminals the US Penal Code has no provisions for!
- the problem is a philosophical and ethical one. Is it right for a civilian with no police training but plenty of extra abilities to take on thugs or worse?
- still hasn't been empirically solved to this day. It might never be solved, as it depends on what the examined country's perceptions of what defines an offense and what doesn't

- by default, supes exist in a gray area. Cops can't encourage their actions, but nor can they easily stop them. This encourages the continued use of aliases and personas, at least until the early 2000s

The Golden Age of Superheroes
1950-1975: supes more or less run the show. Analysts call this the "Superbaby Boom", as percentage of total gifted American citizens rises to an unprecedented point-five percent
- supes become cash cows and celebrities almost overnight. If you're born with abilities during this period, good or evil, you're almost guaranteed to make the headlines
- repeated confrontations begin to be inspired by news headlines and start to feel like staged events. Heroes vie for the honor of being the most nationally representative, villains vie for world domination

- before Vienna Accords, it was fairly easy to constitute criminal fortunes and keep them. Elysium's financial records date back to *before* Rendell's creation, which still intrigues investigators
- this is the era of ninja clans raiding government offices, of Ernst Stavro Blofeld inspiring a generation of would-be secluded megalomaniacs, of suave superspies and catsuit antihero chicks

- Doctor Cerebro, a Karthian afflicted with the Crimson Spirit and a few other suspected mental issues, leaves rather permanent marks in the city's psyche, like a bad joke you just can't forget...
- Ethan Alderan, alias Seraph, is chiefly active as a superhero during this period
- The invisible gentleman thief - The Voice - burgles dozens of questionably wealthy citizens
- Arachnea, née Alice Krieger, is an independent thief and acrobat with a seductive streak a mile wide. She courts Cerebro infrequently, usually to obtain new toys
- Amazo, also known as Francis Quigley, is chiefly active during this period - in various elderly or young incarnations.
- Amazo's nemesis and personal laughingstock, Thomas Quint, begins his slipshod "ascension" as an Infernalist and a self-styled Warlock (with none of the study time...)
- Zebediah Buck's ebbing and flowing desire to bring his loved ones back causes almost yearly spates of zombie and ghoul activity

1980s: the fall of the USSR and the understanding of the relatively backward conditions of Russian natives bring about a lukewarm shift in perceptions. The image of the "Dirty Commie" is half-heartedly buffed away.
- usually replaced with borderline offensive depictions of the Russian "Comrade": loud, happy, boisterous, usually bruisers or brawlers with broken English...
- Lev Kirilov defeats the stereotype, going from Stalinist to American Populist in a few years. Vehemently criticizes the sluggish dissolution of the KGB
- The "Red" in "Red Scourge" comes to refer more to Che Guevara's ironic color and the Softcore Communism affected in Cuba

1990s: Gen X-ers produce their first few superhumans. The underlying attitude definitely changes. The United Freedom Fronts of yesteryear fade away. More individualistic and violent vigilantes surface
- villains start to push some fairly objectionable buttons, no longer content on simply monologuing in front of their borderline-elected "sworn nemesis"
- what makes a "hero" starts to shift towards darker, less traditional depictions...

- 1992: Sheldon Marsh, an anthro Dixie rooster with ties to Cajun voodoo practices, establishes himself in Hope as Abraxas
- Abraxas plies Infernal magics to his fairly polemic interruptions of crimes suspected to *potentially* have been fairly serious
- Abraxas naturally runs afoul of Amazo and disagrees with the cobra's decidedly debonair and whimsical approach to arcane crime-fighting. One of the first classic "Hero VS Antihero" fights to shake the city
- Amazo comes out on top - barely

- 1990-1998: the "edgy" variety of superheroes and villains comes to dominate the city's criminal activities. The boy-scout or sneering evil mentalities of yesteryear are definitely out of style
- 1998: Sai, an Asian-American woman possessing of advanced gymnastics training and preternaturally developed senses, causes the death of six innocents during a car pile-up she caused while trying to immobilize crooks
- first recorded death of innocents at the hands of a superhero. The old guard is quick to blame their "edgy" offspring
- Sai's first name is publicly revealed and Sarah Jean Tseng is dragged to court.

- Leonard Ephesian's son, Julian, leads the local prosecution and has Sai declared guilty of criminal negligence. Being only seventeen, Tseng is placed on house arrest

- the "Sai Case" takes North America and Europe by storm. By 2000, registration acts are proposed. Laws are drafted to ensure that cape-and-cowl activities will be declared illegal

2005: America ratifies the Superhuman Registration and Control Act, which becomes commonly cited by cops doing their work as the SuReCA. "Being Sureccated" becomes a popular expression...
-... similar to "Being Mirandized". (pronounced "Sure-ee-cate-ed")


Recent Events
2010: The SuReCA database numbers 1.5 million superhumans across America alone, while Canada's Bill 1 of the Metahuman Act averages its census at 1.6 million.
- "reasonable" estimates indicate the evildoers didn't sign their papers... Yeah, no shit... :) Numbers may very well be twice as high, but we'll never definitely know

- 2015 and upwards: augmentation and amplification tech makes superhero work less lonely. Relevancy isn't really brought into question
- what it does change is that it's harder than ever for supes to dodge the law... For all intents and purposes, law enforcement is an entirely mundane and mortal affair
- 2018: observing ominous stirrings in other Nexuses around the globe, City Hall drafts the Superhuman Enlistment Code - later known as the Shield Act

2025: the Centennial Tree stirs to life. Aware of the effects of Nexus cycles on everyday life, Mayor Wallace Doherty ratifies the Shield Act
- an incursion of Darkest Winter in Downtown Hope leaves dozens dead and many injured. Superhumans were at the scene, but were legally bound not to act outside of mundane means
- those who disobeyed the law or acted as vigilantes are initially carted off to the nearest precincts, as procedure demands
- sensing a woefully missed opportunity and more troubles ahead, the Act is ratified

- with the Shield Act in effect, an advisory team is constituted. Archie Holden, Bucky Wallace, Aldergard Kuhn, Percival of Evergloam and Cody Tanner preside, amongst others
- selection criteria are set, with the obvious best candidates being those already "screened" by the legal process...

- the previously fined and convicted "felons" involved in the rescue operations on Manuxet Boulevard all receive peculiar invitations to Holden Hall...

Playing a Supe
- two abilities, two weaknesses
- you can have more weaknesses if you want, but no more than those two core physical or mental abilities
- some abilities are forbidden:

a) Invulnerability: being utterly impossible to harm on one or more levels isn't an allowed concept. Being more resilient while still being vulnerable is possible, however
b) Endless Reconstruction: "healing factors" à la Wolverine aren't allowed.
c) Flawless Reflexes: superhuman speed is one thing, dodging bullets is another. Mundanes armed with guns or blades *have* to have some possibility of being able to kill your character
d) Two-Sided Coins: every strong ability tends to have a natural opposite. A Human Torch send-off would do very poorly in extremely cold environments, for instance
e) One-Man Armies: these are also prohibited. Even vampire ninjas could need backup, and even the eldest of all ageless superhumans can get cocky and spell his own doom
- your character *cannot* be the cure-all for all problems. Ability, resourcefulness, personal wealth and physical capabilities all have their limits

- There is ONE constant for all superhumans: he or she *has* to collaborate well with others. If not in person, then on paper or in concept
- your character HAS to feel like he has something to contribute to a JOINT effort. No messiahs, no Joe Fixits for the underworld, no "unique" abilities that entire plots will come to gravitate around

- above all, think of the ENTIRE character roster when designing a superhuman - or any character. Where does he fit? Where can he fit? What could he offer without stepping on others' toes too much?
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