Suddenly, Supers!

[christ0pher]

Originally Posted by malloyd

And yet, no government attempts to confine everybody who knows how to drive a truck.

Ah, but we are licensed to drive and that requires giving up your anonymity. Asking someone to do the same because of a biological ability seems harsh.

Originally Posted by malloyd

Then why are you using your powers in public at all? Surely it's much easier to remain unknown by *not showing off* than it is by showing off but wearing a mask.

Well, someone had to do something or that bus full of nuns and orphans would've gone right over the edge of the bridge.

[Mr_Sandman]

Originally Posted by Xplo

Everyone gains super powers, but the only super power is being able to ruin cheese. Higher point characters can ruin more cheese and faster.

All of them have Uncontrollable.

Obviously, after six months, everyone has committed suicide.

Then vegans and the lactose intolerant inherit the earth. Obviously a nefarious plot by some evil mad scientist.

[Mr_Sandman]

Originally Posted by christ0pher

To psi, or not to psi: that is the question. If we remove the possibility of mental coercion or manipulation as a power we can lessen the chance of drone strikes on suspected supers. Of course, we'd lose the chance for some really good bad guys... tough choice. lol!

In the last supers game I ran, researchers had identified a strong correlation between telepathic abilities and mental instability. A few relatively low-powered psis worked for the overarching 'supers' organization, but were kind of quirky and never really trusted. Pretty much all known powerful telepaths were bad-guys.

In reality, the correlation was not as strong as was believed. In my notes, there was the possibility for some well-adjusted, powerful telepaths, who weren't delusional, catatonic, sadistic or megalomaniacal. They had been able to avoid detection, while their more damaged counterparts couldn't. The PCs never met any of them before the campaign ended.

There was also some clunky psi-detection and anti-psi tech, so there was less of a perceived need to launch drones at any suspected telepath.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by christ0pher

Well, someone had to do something or that bus full of nuns and orphans would've gone right over the edge of the bridge.

"I'd better get a convenient disguise and keep it with me in case I have to use my new powers to save a bus full of nuns and orphans" is unlikely to be something most people are going to think of. "I should avoid using this in public" is far more likely, and then if they see a bus falling off a bridge they'll probably either let it happen (to avoid exposing themselves; this might lead to serious feelings of guilt) or try to quickly improvise something to prevent people from noticing them (or hope nobody gets a good enough look/takes a picture/whatever to identify them), save the day, and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

I do like FireTigeris' idea of giving high-end supers some sort of innate inclination to do something. This would probably be either a Quirk or a trait worth [-5] (or possibly more) that causes the character to feel rather unfulfilled (mechanical effects dependent on point level, probably with Chronic Depression as a guideline) unless doing something "important" with their powers - whether this be saving orphans or torching buildings is up to the inclinations of the character.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by christ0pher

Ah, but we are licensed to drive and that requires giving up your anonymity. Asking someone to do the same because of a biological ability seems harsh.

Only in the eyes of rather crazed Americans.

And even in America not having a birth certificate is going to cause people to consider you pretty strange. Note that we require you to give up your anonymity to have a job (for taxes and immigration status purposes), or to own a piece of real estate (likewise for tax purposes), or to claim a welfare check (as an antifraud measure). It's a little hard to see how you would avoid all of those and remain alive. I guess you could eat by farming a piece of property without being employed by its owner, or live on private charity. Most of the world thinks the American aversion to universal identification is somewhat ridiculous.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Only in the eyes of rather crazed Americans.

And even in America not having a birth certificate is going to cause people to consider you pretty strange. Note that we require you to give up your anonymity to have a job (for taxes and immigration status purposes), or to own a piece of real estate (likewise for tax purposes), or to claim a welfare check (as an antifraud measure). It's a little hard to see how you would avoid all of those and remain alive. I guess you could eat by farming a piece of property without being employed by its owner, or live on private charity. Most of the world thinks the American aversion to universal identification is somewhat ridiculous.

I'm unemployed, own no property, and Social Security doesn't accept my disability as existing so I don't get welfare. I have a state issued ID that I almost never take with me as I don't drink, drive, smoke, or gamble.
I must mention how upset American cops get when I tell them that.
(I've lived in areas suffering form bored cop syndrome.)
This isn't WWII. I don't need to show my papers to prove I'm not a German spy. If I haven't committed a crime, then "you" don't need to prove jack about me.

[christ0pher]

Originally Posted by Gedrin

After this, supers are considered by law to be armed as with a gun at all times. It causes problems in banking and travel, but alternate services begin to form during the campaign. There is universal registration.

I like the idea of something like this taking place for the PC's to have to deal with. I also really like your timeline. Thanks for sharing.

[christ0pher]

Originally Posted by Mr_Sandman

In reality, the correlation was not as strong as was believed. In my notes, there was the possibility for some well-adjusted, powerful telepaths, who weren't delusional, catatonic, sadistic or megalomaniacal. They had been able to avoid detection, while their more damaged counterparts couldn't.

Hmmm... a Mr.X like that could be a great deus ex machina to step out of the shadows and lend a hand to the PC's if they get in over their collective heads and remain shadowy enough to keep them wary of most psis.

[christ0pher]

Originally Posted by Varyon

...or try to quickly improvise something to prevent people from noticing them (or hope nobody gets a good enough look/takes a picture/whatever to identify them), save the day, and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

I think we'd end up with tons of grainy cell phone video of amazing rescues and quickly disappearing backsides all over youtube.

Originally Posted by Varyon

I do like FireTigeris' idea of giving high-end supers some sort of innate inclination to do something. This would probably be either a Quirk or a trait worth [-5] (or possibly more) that causes the character to feel rather unfulfilled (mechanical effects dependent on point level, probably with Chronic Depression as a guideline) unless doing something "important" with their powers - whether this be saving orphans or torching buildings is up to the inclinations of the character.

I agree, and I think I'll use it for this game.

[Mr_Sandman]

Originally Posted by christ0pher

Hmmm... a Mr.X like that could be a great deus ex machina to step out of the shadows and lend a hand to the PC's if they get in over their collective heads and remain shadowy enough to keep them wary of most psis.

That was part of my motivation, keeping that in my back pocket in case it was needed.

I also had a handful of telepaths who had been locked up in the super-prison in Antarctica form a hive mind. The 'Collective' claimed to have healed each other/themselves mental problems as a result of joining, and the prison's staff psychologist agreed. The PCs never trusted the hive mind though, assuming it/they had controlled the psychologist.

I considered the possibility of having the sane telepaths mostly be in contact with each other, and even though they didn't form a hive mind, they formed a loose society that shared information, kept an eye on each other, and helped root out the 'bad apples' from behind the scenes.