Game Description
The City on Water At the point where three rivers meet and form a lake, there is a city which has seen better days. A bustling hub of commerce thanks to its fortunate location, it once had everything it needed to become one of the greatest cities in the world...but lost it at some point, replaced by something far more cynical, tired, and willing to turn an eye on what was wrong and needed to be righted. A grey funk descended over it as the men in power traded in their zeal and dedication to their duties for the cold comfort of cash, and those in charge of enforcing the law decided that helping break it was far more profitable. The men and women who were far too worried about surviving from one day to the next did not have time for such sordidness and violence, but even they were subtly affected by the decadence that settled into the area. Over time, the place they called their home sunk into darkness, a veil of apathy so thick it could almost be touched on a bad day. The city lost its name and with it its identity, and today no one remembers its former glories. Nothing has changed in years, and if people remain set on their current course, nothing ever will.
But the world has changed. It has seen times of darkness and times of joy, and it has never stood still. And soon, some of that sense of purpose will seep into this forsakened city once more. Soon, the time will come for the tides to turn...
Hello everyone, and welcome to the dark little underworld of the City on Water. Me and Illien, the instigator of this game, are looking for 4 or 5 players who wish to partake in a DC Adventures game, using the Third Edition Mutants and Masterminds rules. Below are some details about the game for those who wish to try their hand at bringing some hope to a town that has lost its aim.
Both of us are great fans of the M&M system, and well-established (if not particularly famous) Weavers who always seem to come together when there's some superheroism to be done. A while ago, Ill
put up a poll , asking other Weavers for opinions on what sort of game they would like to see. By the time the poll closed (though voting was left open for a while after that), the choices were clear: a street-level crimefighting game, set either in a homebrew world, or in the DCverse. When Ill asked for a co-GM to help run the game, I was quick to jump in, and now, it's time to present the fruit of our labors.
The universe of DC Comics needs no introduction. With such luminaries as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, DC remains one of the oldest and most successful comic book companies. Standing as the "old school" of the comic book industry in comparison to its main competitor, Marvel Comics, DC has always had a penchant for larger-than-life, heroic tales focused just as much on the capes and disguises as on the men behind them. It has, however, also abundantly indulged in darker, more personal struggles, such as the one we're here for.
We don't plan to hold to the DC cannon to the letter, however; so if some bit of story from you or us happens to challenge or retcon an obscure bit of lore, then so be it. For long-time comic readers, think of the game as if it were happening after yet another dc crisis.
When people think of bad places to live in, Gotham City and Bludhaven usually take the top spots, being well-known as cesspools of filth and crime, full of superpowered lunatics and merciless killers. The City on Water, though forgotten by almost everyone, is almost equally dangerous, both to the body and the soul. The tireless efforts of Batman and his colleagues have shown the people of Gotham that there is someone who will shine a light to guide them in the darkness, who will do what is right for no reason other than it being what must be done. No such heroes exist in the City on Water, where "dog eat dog" remains the core motto for those who wish to survive, and what law enforcement there is is almost completely corrupt and ineffectual. Good people do what they can, but it's not enough when so much has been spoiled already.
Still, the city is not ready to give it all up and cannibalize itself until nothing but a ghost town remains just yet. Something's stirring inside it, one last effort to start a change, to do things right.
This is where you, the players, come in. For some reason or another (to follow in the footsteps of a mentor who has passed on, because you can't tolerate that the city you grew up in has degenerated so thoroughly since you've last been in it), you have decided to do something about the rampant injustices in the City on Water, to try to make it a better place. The sky's the limit when it comes to your concept, with just a few catches to make things interesting.
-The characters must be original. This being the DCverse, Nightwing and Robin exist and trying to take over their schtick will be something you'll have to work into the character as a quirk. You can't just play an established hero.
-No 90's antiheroes or anything of the sort. The character must have a real motivation to do good and at least a set of principles. A little (or good) bit of inner darkness is fine, but blurring the lines between hero and supervillain is not kosher.
-No non-sequiteur characters. Silliness, optimism, and lightheartedness (a la Plastic Man for instance) are perfectly fine. Pure randomness is not.
-No veterans. Your character cannot be an old hand at superheroism: they MUST be new heroes, haven't-washed-the-spandex-yet new (in the case they wear one). There's no age limits, naturally, but the 16-40 range is recommended. If you've got a kickass concept that steps outside of that range though, fire away and I'm sure we'll be able to accommodate if it's as good as you think it is.
-No connections with preestablished heroes. The City on Water is off the grid, forgotten by everyone. Someone like Superman miiiiiiiiiight show up occasionally if an alien invasion strikes the area, but no local heroes exist to fight the criminal underworld and low and mid-level superpowered threats. You'll be breaking new ground here!
Now, as for the mechanical details everyone's probably wondering about...
-PL 10, PP 150. Baseline levels, enough to play a good flying brick but not enough to go and beat Darkseid silly by sheer brute force. Of course, nobody says you have to have superpowers: a costumed adventurer has as much of a place in the City on Water as a metahuman or an exarch of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
-Homebrewed Advantages, powers, et al are allowed, but ask us about it first, like you would anywhere else.
-We have created conversions of some useful MnM2e feats. Anyone can use them, so make sure to check them out in case you wanted something like them!
-No cheese. Ill is very good at spotting this, so Bathroom Mentalists who hide in spheres of opaque max-toughness glass will be struck down with blue lightning bolts, assassinated by intangible, invisible robot ninjas or retconned out of existence. Similarly, Zangief-style grapplers who can Final Atomic Buster titans with ease will be asked to tone down to reasonable levels.
Finally, on the applications and what they should contain:
-A character's profile (i. e. their name, alias if they have one, age, height, weight, eye and hair color, etc.). Be as detailed as you like here: Including hobbies, allergies, and the like is always welcome.
-Their appearance and personality. A picture is nice but not necessary. Make sure they're sufficiently descriptive though!
-An outline of the character's powers and abilities. You don't have to hand-craft a DCA sheet just yet, but make sure to adequately explain what the fortés and weaknesses of your character are.
-The background, naturally. Where your character came from, who his or her friends, SOs, and acquaintances are, why they chose to become heroes, etc. If there's one thing that should be as detailed as possible, this is it. Go for the knockout here!
-Any miscellaneous things we might have missed. Better to be excessively detailed than excessively sparse.
If you happen to want to make a sheet (which is entirely not necessary but may be part of your character-thinking ritual), we'll be following Maceo's idea and go for
Talesin's format found here .
That's all. The turning of the tides is in your hands now. Will the City on Water disappear into the mists of history permanently? Or will it finally become the grand place it should always have been?
-