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Old 05-07-2018, 10:01 AM   #11
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

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Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
I don't think I understand in what sense this is a "Marvel" campaign. I'm not recognizing any of the characters, the backstory, or the setting from anything I know about the Marvel universe. What specifically does it take from Marvel?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
I recognise the Kree, Skrulls and Hydra. And the Fantastic Four, who are expected in 20 years.
The "First Line" are from Marvel: The Lost Generation, which is an example of Marvel retconning their sliding-scale timeline to explain what was happening between the canon WW2 (or earlier) adventures of characters like Captain America and Wolverine, and the introduction of the Fantastic Four that officially kickstarted the Marvel Comics we all know.

Other differences are because this utilizes Phantasm's [Supers] GURPS Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe, Reboot Edition. I can see why he wouldn't link to it in the actual post, because he's got a link in his signature, but how many people carefully read signatures? ;) I think you can even disable them entirely...

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Originally Posted by Phantasm View Post
A side project of mine involves a total reboot of the mainstream Marvel Universe. Basically, it's a quick fix for what I perceive as some of the worst mistakes of the current crop of writers and editors, making the Marvel Universe completely alien to someone who grew up on the titles of the 70s and 80s. So while the histories may be a bit different, the abilities are roughly as they were.
I actually thought one or both of you have posted there, but it might be a good idea for Phantasm to actually link to it... and maybe add an entry for the First Line. At least, I couldn't find one for them, just a few entries for heroes that mentioned it. Anyway, by being set in the gap period - as established by the reboot project - longtime mainstays like Hydra and various alien races can help give the series a firm foundation without everyone having to compete with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-men, plus all the less known teams and solo acts that crowd NYC alone in the actual Marvel Comics Universe. XD
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Old 05-07-2018, 10:06 AM   #12
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

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I actually thought one or both of you have posted there, but it might be a good idea for Phantasm to actually link to it...
I posted to it once in the distant past, long before Marvel's current wave of popularity, as it pops up in my subscriptions feed, but I have to admit I haven't followed it much since then. It's been going for freaking 11 years!
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Old 05-07-2018, 10:37 AM   #13
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

Also, Jim is a Rigellian Recorder, basically a robot version of the Watchers. Rigellians first appeared in Thor's title in the '70s during his own "space opera" phase (which also gave us Ego the Living Planet, Thor's alien counterpart Beta Ray Bill, and a few of the Elders of the Universe, notably the Possessor); their Recorders showed up not long after. The Charter Federation is a little-known, seldom used interstellar nation-state that first appeared in Shogun Warriors in the '80s and fleshed out more in Quasar's title in the '90s -- before it fell into comic book limbo.

Chelsea's backstory includes appearances of Ulysses Bloodstone and Dr. Druid.

Other canon bad guys that will appear in time are Mr. Sinister, Kang the Conqueror, the Red Skull, and maybe Loki. It's possible we'll see a 7 year old Reed Richards at some point as well, not to mention Howard and Maria Stark.
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The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation.
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Old 05-07-2018, 01:15 PM   #14
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

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Originally Posted by Otaku View Post
The "First Line" are from Marvel: The Lost Generation, which is an example of Marvel retconning their sliding-scale timeline to explain what was happening between the canon WW2 (or earlier) adventures of characters like Captain America and Wolverine, and the introduction of the Fantastic Four that officially kickstarted the Marvel Comics we all know.
That's a title I'd never even heard of. I gave up reading Marvel about the time Joss Whedon finished his run on Runaway; their continuity was just past my comprehension.
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Old 05-07-2018, 02:42 PM   #15
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

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That's a title I'd never even heard of. I gave up reading Marvel about the time Joss Whedon finished his run on Runaway; their continuity was just past my comprehension.
I know about it because Phantasm referenced it in his thread; I gave up on Marvel in the early '00's. ;)

Edit: Guess I technically was reading when it was published. Oh well. XP
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Old 05-07-2018, 03:22 PM   #16
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

I apologize if some of the references in the game are more than a little to very obscure to most folks. As it is, the whole First Line/Skrull Invasion cover-up are mostly background to help establish the timeline, not a plot point . . . yet.
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"But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!"

The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation.
Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting
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Old 05-08-2018, 03:49 PM   #17
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantasm View Post
Also, Jim is a Rigellian Recorder, basically a robot version of the Watchers. Rigellians first appeared in Thor's title in the '70s during his own "space opera" phase (which also gave us Ego the Living Planet, Thor's alien counterpart Beta Ray Bill, and a few of the Elders of the Universe, notably the Possessor); their Recorders showed up not long after. The Charter Federation is a little-known, seldom used interstellar nation-state that first appeared in Shogun Warriors in the '80s and fleshed out more in Quasar's title in the '90s -- before it fell into comic book limbo.

Chelsea's backstory includes appearances of Ulysses Bloodstone and Dr. Druid.

Other canon bad guys that will appear in time are Mr. Sinister, Kang the Conqueror, the Red Skull, and maybe Loki. It's possible we'll see a 7 year old Reed Richards at some point as well, not to mention Howard and Maria Stark.
*Winston cocks George(1) at the name in bold.

(1): His Remington 870 shotgun.
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Old 05-09-2018, 04:06 PM   #18
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

Pre-Game Mini 3: The Princess and the Survivalist

At an unspecified time before the other minis, Winston was attending a survivalist/disaster preparedness convention as a guest speaker when he is approached by Ana, who was looking to learn a bit more about preparedness caches for her own use. Ultimately, he turns down her request for a more one-on-one instruction on making caches, as her comments make him wary of her motives.

----

This session was extremely short, mostly a fluff piece between two of the players with no dice rolled. What we took away from this is that Ana's player likes to type massive walls of text filled with information that's not relevant to the matter at hand. While this is standard procedure for forum-based RP - some of which require that each post contain three full paragraphs minimum even in the middle of a conversation - over IRC it can slow things down a bit as we wait for a reply.
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"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991

"But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!"

The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation.
Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting

Last edited by Phantasm; 06-17-2018 at 08:39 PM.
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Old 05-09-2018, 04:55 PM   #19
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

Pre-Game Mini-Session 4: Hydra in the Bronx

Continuing where "Hydra in Harlem" left off, Spellbinder and Winston were casing a warehouse in the Bronx on/near the East River. Meanwhile, Princess Bolshivek was also casing the area for her own reasons, and Avril Aero happened to be flying on a patrol pattern overhead. Spellbinder and Winston were there to recover the crate of "problem solvers" (aka "party favors") that a bunch of thugs in Hydra gear had stolen from his arms dealer.

Peeking through a window, Spellbinder saw a half dozen or so regular workers inside the warehouse, one of whom was on a forklift, stacking several crates, and one man in a green and yellow Hydra uniform carrying an advanced rifle of some sort. In an effort to keep casualties to a minimum, she cast a spell creating a cloud of sleep gas in the center of the warehouse, which put all the normal workers to sleep. Meanwhile, Winston snuck around to the back door, shotgun at the ready.

As the gas put the workers to sleep, the Hydra goon - I later named him "Bob", so I'll call him that from now on - opened fire with his AIM-tech laser at the door, peppering it. A few shots hit Spellbinder, but her uniform - which was essentially a Kevlar-based body stocking with robes and whatnot - absorbed the laser fire which got through the door (the door also reduced the damage dealt by half). At this point, we entered combat time.

Aero swooped down to investigate as Ana shifted position to get into a better firing spot. Winston fired off both barrels of his shotgun at Bob, but all the shots went wide; surprisingly, none of the sleeping workers were harmed. Spellbinder teleported into the warehouse, and Bob opened fire on her. Fortunately, Spellbinder managed to conjure a quick eldricht shield to block the laser fire. The peppering of the laser managed to make a hole in the warehouse door large enough for Ana to shoot Bob in the foot. End combat time.

Bob shifted from shouting "Hail Hydra"s to bloody murder in pain as he collapsed. When given the option to surrender and receive medical attention, however, he committed suicide via cyanide capsule.

At this point, the four PCs began investigating the warehouse. (Ana in particular seemed very interested in Avril Aero's half-jet plane nature.) The forklift driver, "Fred", was very cooperative once he'd woken up, though Ana earned some ire from the other PCs for keeping a gun trained on him even when he was tied up and asleep (as if he could do anything in that condition). They found a log book, but no bills of lading, which detailed the contents of the warehouse. Every entry except a few were marked with black dots in the "from" column; a case of laser rifles and e-clips were marked with yellow dots. The log book had no outgoing entries; everything was incoming. Fred explained that he and the other workers were simply hired - they even received benefits(!) from their Hydra boss(es). Aero, Spellbinder, and Ana made copies of Fred's medical benefits card to track it later to find out who was paying the benefits. As police sirens could be heard incoming, Winston and Spellbinder found the case of party favors he was to receive anyway, and Winston, Ana, and Aero left the scene. Spellbinder stuck around to give the police a statement as to what happened.

-----

I was told later that my portrayal of Hydra was a little off, because "Hydra offering benefits to civvie workers" was a little suspect. One of the players suspects they're not really Hydra, just someone using the Hydra name and uniform. The PCs are speculating ICly and OOCly as to why Hydra was apparently knocking off and stealing from black market dealers.
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"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991

"But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!"

The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation.
Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting

Last edited by Phantasm; 06-17-2018 at 08:39 PM.
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Old 05-09-2018, 05:17 PM   #20
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Default Re: [Supers] Enter the Shadowguard - a Marvel Reboot Story

Pre-Game Mini 5: Winston and Chelsea

Later that night, Chelsea met Winston at the place where his truck (a deuce-and-a-half) was parked, in order to discuss what happened earlier. He was still unused to her working magic in his presence.

During this session, Chelsea shared the information she received from Jim with Winston, and Winston admitted he's got a gut feeling that "something bad will happen". Chel mentioned that she's helping put a team together to replace the missing First Line. They also briefly discussed Aero's half-plane nature, wondering "who decided to f*** an airplane?".

The session ended with Winston warning Chel about staring into the abyss until it stared back, to which Chel cryptically mentioned she was born in the abyss. Then they went their separate ways.

-----

This session happened while I was asleep, so I'm working off the logs. Again, mainly a short fluff piece. Most of the minis are character-driven, though the Hydra minis can be considered main game preview.
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"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991

"But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!"

The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation.
Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting

Last edited by Phantasm; 06-17-2018 at 08:40 PM.
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