Building the Megapolis Shared Universe

[BASHMAN]

Wow how much those sound like they should swap places therealtony... Queensborough sounds like Ontario (what with the Queensborough bridge in Toronto) and New Refrew totally sounds like a place in BC.

My two cents.

Yeah, these two sound real good. I may have made some deliveries and pick-ups in Queensborough (or am I thinking of Scarborough; I constantly get these two places mixed up)!

Can't wait to hear more about these two cities!

Why don't you make some stuff up for them? You said once before you'd like to work on a Canadian setting... Maybe all our Canadian fans can work together to make Canada for the Megapolis setting...

[AslanC]

I am certainly happy to help out if there is a group effort.

[BASHMAN]

What about a character inspired by beast or sasquatch who is like a polar bear. Maybe he is named nanuk- or has this been done already?

[AslanC]

Nanuk would be an incorrest since it means "Cold Wind" where as Chinook means "Hot/Warm Wind"

So instead of a sasquatch, having an air control mixed with Ice Powers named Nanuk would be awesome sauce!

Or if you watch Trailer Park Boys you could have a hairy dude name Samsqunch!

[Lindharin]

I've been considering trying to start up a shared-world play-by-post (possibly with some Maptools sessions if times can be found) set in the Megapolis setting. One of the ideas that I've been looking at is a sort of international supers team / agency, kind of like a Stormwatch or SHIELD (with fewer normal agents and a super team).

As part of planning this, I've been looking at the International Criminal Court and thinking how it might be different in a world with supers. I think it could easily have had superhuman crimes included in its jurisdiction in the world of Megapolis. The real ICC has jurisdiction over a select range of serious crimes (war crimes, genocide, etc.) that occur in member states or are committed by citizens of member states. It only operates as a court of last resort, when the national courts cannot (or will not) resolve the situation.

In a world with superhumans, many of whom have enough power to ignore conventional police or government forces, dealing with superhuman criminals is a huge challenge. Major first world nations might have official or independent super groups that help, a court system that has figured out ways to deal with hard-to-contain bad guys, and the money and technology for prisons like Super Lock, etc. But most nations will not have the specialized infrastructure to handle superhuman criminals.

I can see the ICC founding statute being expanded to include serious criminal actions (as defined for "war crimes": murder, wanton destruction, etc.) that are are committed by a superhuman. As with the real-world jurisdiction, it would be a court of last resort, only being called upon when a member state doesn't feel it can handle the situation itself (or it doesn't even try, like if the super criminal is officially or unofficially authorized by the state).

The real ICC doesn't have any enforcement arm, it is just a criminal court. It relies on existing national and international law enforcement to handle the apprehension of the criminals. But maybe in the world of Megapolis it might run a Super Lock style prison, and sponsors its own super team to capture and transport rogue supervillains that member states can't handle locally. Or maybe, like in the real world, it relies on others for the enforcement element. For example, it could have a contract with the Super Lock to hold international criminals (and therefore the trials of superhumans might take place in Megapolis instead of the Hague). Maybe Interpol is the organization that puts together a team of supers to apprehend these super criminals, on behalf of the ICC, or there could be a new international organization, like the original SHIELD, that sponsors the super team.

Is there anything like this already in the Megapolis setting? Would it be suitable for a Megapolis shared universe?

[BASHMAN]

That is something that will be added- World Class characters & organizations. There will be an equivalent of the Justice League and SHIELD. One thing I don't want to do is have those silly floating aircraft carriers...

Not all of these things will be involved in the city itself (for the most part).

[Phantomdoodler]

I am working on Britain for a supers game i am hoping to run later in the year. Because of the rich history of Britain, i have no plans for a london city substitute, although there will certainly be fictious places, including Camelot, a vast medieval castle in the faerie kingdom. London does have some changes however, due to over a hundred years of paranormal activity. For example, much of london was destroyed during ww2, and the area known as Victory Park, is built to commemorate the valiant death of Lady Victory who gave her life to save the city - a large statue marks her grave. Today, Victory Park is an affluent middle class area, a popular home of many of Londons wealthier paranormals. In Britain, the term Paranormal has been widely used since the late 1800s to denote anyone gifted with unusual abilities. In recent years, though, the terms superhuman or supers are becoming more popular, especially with the younger generation.

Like Marvel, my campaign will draw upon the magical nature of the british isles, with entrances to the faerie realm, dangerous elves and changelings, fomori demons etc. To counter the enormous threat of attack from these dimensions, the governments Department 13 (D13) deals with any supernatural threats. D13 is run from Whitehall, by Lord Gideon Blackthorn III, the great grandson and namesake of the original founder, and D13 institutes are spread across the uk, especially in particularly sensitive paranormal locations (such as the secret research institute built under Stonehenge). Department 13 is largely unknown by the population, who fortunately are unaware of the direct threats posed by the faerie realms. The Ministry for Paranormal Affairs remains the public face of D13, dealing largely with the highly unpopular Paranormal Identity Card Scheme (PICS), now being reexamined by the new government. The MPA is also responsible for mobilizing the army when dealing with more mundane superhuman threats.

Britain is also protected by The Union, the government backed superteam, comprising of:

Albion : the groups Cornish leader. Possesses flight, super strength, and current weilder of Excalibur, a weapon capable of cutting through nearly any material. Possesses the ability to manipulate ley line energies, including healing and teleportation, although Albion is severly weakened when away from Britain or magical realms.

Scarlet Dragon: a welsh archeaologist possessing the power of Ddraig Goch, the great Red Dragon of Welsh legend, after finding its fossilized heart. Possesses the ability to manifest aspects of a dragon, including wings, talons, scales and fiery breath. As yet, she is unable to manifest all such powers at once, and gains all abilities from the dragonheart amulet.

John Bull: WW2 veteran Yorkshire supersoldier, originally possessing peak human strength and reflexes. After a near fatal battle in the faerie realms with the other Union members, John Bull was revived by drinking Giants blood, granting him incredible resistance and strength through density increase, although losing much of his original agility. He is also able to charge at great speed, for short bursts, inflicting tremendous damage, and leap great distances. Known for his stubbornness.

Morgana Fay: Irish sorceress and direct decendant of Morgan Ley Fey. Morgana possesses very powerful sorcerous abilities, including the ability to open gates to the Faerie kingdoms. Her natural magical abilities emerged after a family tragedy, and Morgana is often visited by dark dreams. Today she must battle the evil that engulfed her ancestor, and threatens to consume her own soul.

Dr. Automata: created by a scottish engineer in the late 1800s, and actually possesses the personality of his creator, after he died from a terminal disease. Discovered by Department 13, Dr Automata proved invaluable designing devices to combat the martian invasion of 1891 - so successful was he that the public remained largely unaware of the attacks. Today, Dr Automata still refuses to design weapons of any kind, and suffers from a number of personality quirks. He possesses one of the earths finest minds, although getting information can be a little frustrating at times.

[BASHMAN]

Interesting, Doodler- Megapolis has a Magical Realm in its shared universe called "Arcadia" that has a bit of Arthurian and a bit of Shakespearian Fey in it (Oberon and Titania). Some parts of the world are naturally connected to it- and Britain could be one of them; perhaps connected to a particular region of Arcadia where all this stuff you mention is going on- or we can mesh it into the existing Arcadia from Megapolis.

[Phantomdoodler]

arcadia - yes i was toying with that as a name. I would like to tap into the rich celtic suff, so maybe the magical realms strongly associated with Britain would be Tír na nÓg, also known as Avalon during arthurian times. I imagine it is a part of arcadia, closed linked to britain - there are many crossing points, and tir na nog contains a number of dangerous entities, including elves, changelings, and fomori, and is where excalibur was forged, and also the resting place of Arthur. Mordred the traitor, a major super villain also resides there.

[BASHMAN]

K, Cool. Japan has it's own link to Arcadia, but that region is called "The Golden Empire of Dawn" and it's full of oriental adventures type stuff like Oni's, Dragons, etc.

[Phantomdoodler]

I am liking the sound of this shared universe. very cool.

[BASHMAN]

I just thought of a great idea for a "Small Town USA" type location to insert into the game "Fair City".

[Phantomdoodler]

I also had an idea for a small town in the uk, although it could work in new england - Eldritchstone. Its a town built around a stone circle, with a history of strange goings on, witch trials, ghostly sightings etc. In my game, its a major nexus for the magical realm, and so supernatural entities can spill out of it at various times. It could, however, just as easily be the sight of an alien crash landing, with all sights and events based on creatures that live in the caves nearby....

[BASHMAN]

No- by all means keep it English. We're multi-cultural around here

[Phantomdoodler]

Its going to be the home of a powerful magician called Morgana Fey, set in a landscape of windswept moors and smugglers caves....