Rated M for super-powered violence and foul language.
New Gatlin City. A shining utopia, a city on a hill. Home base for the greatest superhero team of all time: The Champions. Supernova, Snow Leopard, Polymorph, Tecton, and the mighty Ouranos defend the planet from extraterrestrial armies, shadow demons from the rings of Hell, and even ancient gods. But arguably the most famous of every kind of foe they face? Supervillains. Yes, in a world where anyone might be graced with power and ability beyond that of a normal human, some use their great power for evil. Or evil-adjacent. So when villains threaten the city, the Champions rise up to meet them, to defend the common man, to mend the broken and help the helpless!
This is not a story about the Champions. This is a story about the other side. The bad guys, the villains. The evil and the not-so-evil. From the criminally insane to those who would do anything for what they believe in. Whether they’re magical or mutants, aliens or irradiated, super-geniuses or struck by chance, some people end up with superpowers and don’t buy into the Champions’ crap. Those people usually end up in The Vault.
Spoiler: The VaultThe Vault is the most secure facility in the world. Built to withstand anything, it’s got the highest-tech security armed with the most cutting edge gear. And it’s made to house supervillains. Each inmate is fitted with a metal collar that contains a tracker, a ring of shocking tasers, and a power negater. When a superhuman goes rogue, the Champions can’t simply put them in a regular jail. So they, in conjunction with world governments, had The Vault created as a place to put their defeated super foes. Somewhere incredibly deep in the Amazon jungle, The Vault is impossible to get into or out of without the Champions’ express permission. So naturally, the villains are going to escape.
Spoiler: Rules1.) There is a limit to superpowers. Remember that the Champions are regarded as the most powerful superheroes in the world and build your characters accordingly.
2.) Do not kill the Champions. I, and only I, reserve the right to kill the most powerful superheroes in the world. Other than that, kill as many heroes as you like.
Those are my two game-specific rules. Other than that, regular RPA rules apply, I am the GM, fear me and all that.
Spoiler: Characters - WIP
Spoiler: The ChampionsSpoiler: SupernovaName: Rose Chen
Superhero Name: Supernova
Age: 34
Appearance: Tall and slim, Rose has a near-perpetual smile. Her hair is long, straight, and black. While she normally wears it up during the day, when relaxed she may let it hang loose. She keeps up with the latest in fashions and tends to gravitate toward the extreme.
Superhero Appearance: A skin-tight body suit made to look like shifting nebulae and galaxies. Her cowl covers the upper portion of her face, but lets her hair flow freely. Usually accompanied by miniature stars or black holes orbiting her head like a cosmic halo.
Primary Power: Manipulation of gravity, may be confused with telekinesis. Also used to levitate.
Secondary Power: Bursts and blasts of cosmic energy like a star imploding
Tertiary Power: Immune to the effects of vacuum, does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe. Temperature has no affect on her.
Weaknesses: Being deprived of starlight for too long, sonic attacks
Personality: Bubbly and cheerful, Supernova is the friendliest of the Champions. Her excitement often gets the best of her. She may seem child-like, but she simply never grew out of her natural curiosity about everything around her. She was the first to suggest a prison for supervillains rather than just executing them.
Origin Story: Rose Chen was once a normal girl. One of her favorite hobbies was astronomy. She loved looking up at the stars and wondering what was up there. She kept this love for space throughout school, eventually becoming a fully fledged astronaut. She was chosen to lead the latest mission to the moon. However, disaster struck. Once on the surface of the moon, a fuel leak meant that the shuttle wouldn’t be able to reach Earth’s orbit, let alone land safely. The crew pried as much of the shuttle apart as they could to lessen the fuel cost, but it still wasn’t enough. With all of the crew, they would never make it back home. So Rose volunteered to stay behind. Nobody was happy about it, but they eventually did. Alone on the moon Rose wandered for as long as she could before running out of oxygen. But to her surprise, she didn’t need it any more. A latent mutation in her genetics activated in order to save her life, granting her the ability to get home safely. When she arrived back on Earth, she was welcomed with open arms to the Champions.
Spoiler: Snow LeopardName: Sasha Kisyelov
Superhero Name: Snow Leopard
Age: 35
Appearance: The second-tallest member of the Champions, Snow Leopard is only dwarfed by Ouranos. She is lean and muscled, though walks with a striking lightness and grace. She has very short, blonde hair, gun-metal grey eyes, and a serious expression.
Superhero Appearance: A full-body, light grey suit with slightly darker grey leopard spots. A leopard-like tail drops from the base of her spine. Her face is mostly featureless, with only markings to indicate where her eyes are.
Primary Power: Manipulation and creation of ice and snow
Secondary Power: Increased speed, agility, strength, durability, and endurance to an inhuman degree
Tertiary Power: Heightened senses of smell, sight, and hearing, plus night vision
Weaknesses: Fire
Personality: Serious and level-headed, Snow Leopard remains cool and rational in the heat of battle. She is decisive, confident both in her abilities and her decision-making skills. Despite her cold exterior, she has a compassionate side and helps out at community centers when she’s not saving the day.
Origin Story: Sasha Kisyelov was an Olympic gymnast. She was also an avid mountain-climber, hoping to someday reach the peak of Mt. Everest. After achieving a gold medal, she set out to accomplish her second dream. She was halfway to the peak when a snowstorm swept in, separating her from the rest of her crew. Taking refuge in a small cave, she discovered a white amulet with a stylized snow leopard face etched into it. Driven by curiosity, she reached out to pick it up. Blinded by a sudden white flash, when she awoke the next morning, the snow and her gear were gone. What remained, however, was the same stylized snow leopard face tattooed on her chest. With no other idea what to do, she continued the climb. She found it surprisingly easy, and in fact made it to the top before the rest of the crew. After mastering her new-found abilities, she abandoned the Olympics in order to form a new superhero team: the Champions. She still climbs mountains on occasion.
Spoiler: PolymorphName: Sam Akhtar
Superhero Name: Polymorph
Age: 29
Appearance: Polymorph’s body type is constantly changing due to their shapeshifting abilities. However, their facial features mainly stay unaffected. Copper eyes, coffee-brown skin, and wavy brown hair stay the same in every form, except when stealth is needed. They mostly wear skirts or jeans. When in a female body, they wear a hijab.
Superhero Appearance: Due to Polymorph’s power set, most of the time, a specific supersuit would be useless. However, when they need one, their suit is a dark green and silver set of robes. A dark red mask covers the lower half of their face.
Primary Power: Complete and total shapeshifting into any form imaginable, along with total body elasticity
Secondary Power: A healing factor that can heal otherwise deadly wounds in moments
Tertiary Power: Rubbery bones and flesh, capable of falling from great heights and bouncing rather than splattering
Weaknesses: Extreme cold maker their body brittle and greatly reduces their elasticity
Personality: Polymorph is the fun-loving daredevil of the Champions. Quick with a joke or a quip, Polymorph loves to taunt and banter with the villains they face, and is usually regarded as the most fun. Even the villains like Polymorph, because they certainly can’t get the same conversation out of the likes of Snow Leopard or Tecton. Polymorph also likes to keep things fresh and interesting, willing to try new things or new strategies.
Origin Story: Sam Akhtar was a professional e-sports player before they got their powers. Making ends meet by streaming on Twitch and making playthrough videos on YouTube, along with winning gaming competitions. Until the night their neighbor’s apartment blew up. Their neighbor, a chemist and physicist, had been making a miniature particle accelerator. Due to an experiment gone wrong, the particle accelerator imploded, sending out a shockwave of energy and the apartment. The energy of the particles accelerated resonated in the closest living thing: Sam. The result was incredible: Sam was utterly elastic, able to change shape in any way. They could even turn into other things, from people to animals to made-up creatures like dragons.
Spoiler: TectonName: Frank Jones
Superhero Name: Tecton
Age: 35
Appearance: Despite his impressive height, he still hovers just under Snow Leopard. To make up for this fact, he is nearly twice as wide as her, with massively broad shoulders. A veritable mountain of muscle, Tecton boasts an impressive physique. Skin like freshly tilled earth and hair like good soil, his appearance seems to reflect his powers. His eyes are amber-colored.
Superhero Appearance: The legs, shoulders, and head of his suit are dark blue, while his torso and arms are white. Emblazoned upon his chest is a red stylized T with a crack down the middle, starting at the top.
Primary Power: Manipulation of stone, sand, concrete, metals, and gems.
Secondary Power: Super strength, endurance, and durability. Far hardier than the average human, but no quite indestructible.
Tertiary Power: A seismic sense that allows him to detect anything that touches the ground within a certain radius without the use of his other senses
Weaknesses: His reliance on the earth and earthen materials can render him far less dangerous in an environment without any. Too much vibration or energy within the material he is attempting to manipulate will render it impossible for him to manipulate as well.
Personality: Where Snow Leopard is calm and collected, Tecton is as serious and solid as stone. He is rational, but prefers deliberating over swift decision. He is more likely to defend rather than attack, waiting for his foe to make the first move.
Origin Story: Franklin Jones is the son of a human woman and a mysterious figure from the center of the earth. When he was 14, his powers began to crop up. Ever since then, he’s been fighting crime and supervillains.
Spoiler: League of Villains Characters
Spoiler: Two - EnigmaName: Madeleine Luther, AstraDev R&D
Supervillain Name: Two
Age: 33
Appearance:
This lady reminds you of a clever fox. She has almond-shaped jade-green eyes. Her fine, straight, charcoal-colored hair is neck-length and is worn in an pageboy style. She is tall and has a muscular build. Her skin is deeply-tanned. She has long-fingered hands. Her wardrobe is professional, with a lot of green and black.
Supervillain Appearance:
Clothes transform into a bioplas self-sealing stealth suit with optic and heat camouflage. Supplemented by a lifter belt and an energy blaster.
Primary Power:
Two is a sleeper personality implant of a Bureau 23 agent for the PAX Confederation, in effect giving Maddy a separate personality. Two observes everything Maddy and the people around her are doing, and can take over. This personality has Two's memories and skills, and has been training Maddy's body since the initial implantation in building up her strength and endurance, weapons use and martial arts.
Her katas performed in her cell are recorded and examined. Some "Kata Two" exercises have been adopted by The Champions so they can defend themselves against her and other potential sleeper agents.
It's believed that Maddy herself has been indoctrinated in Two's mission purpose. Enhanced interrogation however has not yet revealed those.
Secondary Power:
Maddy's body has been colonized by alien nanites. The nanites have embedded themselves in her various organs to regulate their functions, basically keeping her fit and allowing for temporary boosts to strength, reaction time, as well as healing. The nanites have also tapped into her senses, making her constantly situationally aware of everything going on around her.
Sensors inside her fingers allow her to analize materials, even through gloves.
A highly advanced computer and transceiver has been etched into the interior of her skull, allowing her to remotely hack technology within range.
She can spit out a "nanite seed" which can then convert suitable material into an autofac (think 3d printer on steroids). This, in turn, can be programmed from source files within the colony to produce whatever she needs to have made, from contragrav modules to energy weapons.
Other specialized seeds are possible to produce one-off devices, such as her bioplastic body armor. For this reason, her used clothes are never washed and returned - they are incinerated and new clothes issued.
Tertiary Power:
Electric shock - her forearms contain thousands of microscopic electrocyte cells, allowing her to shock someone with the palm of her hands in two milliseconds, making her a walking taser. Placing her palms on either side of a head can result in short-term memory loss - on either side of the heart, could cause a heart attack.
Weaknesses:
Despite the changes to her body, she is still human. Even her internal nanites need materials to work with, which she supplied via various vitamin supplements and occasional bouts of pica. Currently, she is receiving a multivitamin tablet twice daily, which appears to be the minimal support to maintain them.
As a part of her special containment measures, her cell is shielded to prevent electronic communication and her collar emits EM interference which blocks her ability to instruct her nanites.
Boosts to her strength and reaction time leaves her weak and vulnerable immediately afterward, although she can recover quickly. Repeated use, however, increases her recovery time. As part of her special containment measures, leg and belly chains are to be used when transporting her within the facility, a restraint chair for movement outside the facility.
It takes her two hours to recharge her internal taser. As a part of her special containment measures, she wears special handcuffs with gloves when being transported outside of her cell.
Personality:
Cool and reserved, unflappable. Self-reliant.
Spoiler: Origin StoryHigh School Senior Madeline Luther awoke and found herself in a hospital instead of her own bed. A Homeland Security Agent, Henry Ford (no relation), as well as local police interviewed her, explaining she'd been missing for three days before being found unconscious and running a fever in an apple orchard outside of town. She claimed not to remember anything, but Agent Ford was convinced she was holding something back. Hospital released her a day later after treating her for mild anemia.
Friends noticed however that she was having weird cravings, eating fiberglass insulation, jewelry, and handfuls of vitamins like it was candy. Summoned to the school counselor's office, she met Agent Ford, who told her that he was taking her into custody. When she asked why, Agent Ford shook his head and said if he told her that, he'd have to shoot her. Disbelieving him, she pressed her demand - where he then drew a small pistol out of his pocket and shot her in the right thigh, tossing the gun away before drawing his own. When the counselor opened the door, Ford told them he had disarmed her and ordered him to go to the school office to call an ambulance. After he left, he told her that he thought she was an alien.
Of course, the story that went out from that was he had stopped a school attack.
After being transferred to the Angel Lake Sanitarium, she was examined and aside from a few oddities, declared to be human. With his superiors breathing down his neck, he had her interrogated using drugs - and encountered a new personality that called itself Two, who complained he was interfering in a Bureau 23 operation. Erring on the side of caution, she was confined for observation, but the rumor went around the staff and patients was she was an alien. Some days later, she was approached by another patient who offered to help her escape through the basement - but he'd actually intended to murder her. He was found electrocuted next to the power distribution panel, and it was assumed he'd touched a bare wire - although how was never determined. Madeline, in the meantime had disappeared.
Maddy made her way to Virgina and got herself a waitress job in Langley and after getting her GED, began taking online college classes at night. Her electronics engineering degree got her a job with a defense contractor, and she was able to continue classes to earn her doctorate. In the meantime, she was assigned to a special division in the company that produced one-off systems for the military and intelligence community.
As Homeland had hidden the whole shooting incident, there were no flags raised for the background checks.
Maddy eventually formed her own research and development company, AstraDev - and still quietly accepting government contracts for various projects under the classified name of "The Factory" and unclassified name of "Worhol." However, word of what she was doing somehow got leaked to the superhuman community - and she got approached by people for some unusual equipment. Raids on supervillain lairs allowed The Champions to trace some of their gear back to AstraDev, which led them to storming her R&D lab. When they busted into her office, she immediately threw herself out the window - where her office clothes transformed into some kind of high-tech suit and she began flying away - as the alien tech in her labs began destroying themselves. Fortunately ground forces were able to evacuate the building before it collapsed.
The Champions after a long battle were able to eventually subdue her and to remove the suit - which later died from neglect - needing power or body heat/sweat to sustain itself. Her lift belt and blaster self-destructed shortly after her capture - but it was clear that these were not made by humans.
Agent Ford's report resurface and questions were raised that if she was working for aliens - who? And what were their intentions? As she had connections through the military and intelligence community, they immediately assumed she was an advanced scout for an alien invasion force. (They are unaware that the PAX Confederation had actually collapsed shortly after her implantation due to a civil war.)
Further interrogations have not been fruitful, with the death of two of her interrogators.
Spoiler: Character SheetName: (Civilian name)
Supervillain Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Supervillain Appearance:
Primary Power: (Should be the most powerful and the power your character uses the most)
Secondary Power:
Tertiary Power: (Least powerful, but still superhuman)
Weaknesses:
Personality:
Origin Story:
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