[Supers] GURPS Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe, Reboot Edition

[Dragondog]

If Friday lives in a computer and doesn't have a body, why have the Flight advantage?

[Inky]

Maybe it means the hologram, but that's probably unnecessary with Insubstantiality since that already allows you to fly at full Move.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Dragondog

If Friday lives in a computer and doesn't have a body, why have the Flight advantage?

Originally Posted by Inky

Maybe it means the hologram, but that's probably unnecessary with Insubstantiality since that already allows you to fly at full Move.

Yes, it was meant for the hologram form. She's still undergoing revision; I was treating the hologram form as the "base" form.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Inky

Possibly, I haven't got those books either, but from GCS it looks like the Microframe has Cable Jack (from Ultra-Tech), Radio and Infrared, the first two with the Sensie enhancement, so I suppose you'd just give her whichever it makes sense for the computer/s she's running on to have - apparently, THS's approach to AIs is to stat the computer they're running on as their body, though you might not be able to do it entirely that way for Friday as what the hologram is doing is as relevant as what the computer is doing.

Another factor is that she runs on the server farms/the "cloud", not any given computer at any time. A single server farm would probably be equivalent to what HT and UT call a Megacomputer (UT p. 22; HT p. 20), which is listed as 40K lbs/20 tons, and chances are the server farms are dozens of said megacomputers networked in parallel. I figure with her having the Digital form of Possession, she can use any camera and mic attached to whatever computer she's in at the time.

[Dragondog]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

Yes, it was meant for the hologram form. She's still undergoing revision; I was treating the hologram form as the "base" form.

But depending on what computer or hardware she's communicating through, she might not have access to the hologram form.

[Kallatari]

Just curious, have you considered writing a collective world history for your alternate Marvel setting. Not the entire history, but rather the key points/difference relating to the various heroes or teams (e.g., why Storm is in Wakanda instead of the X-Men) and such that make it different than the "core" Marvel (if there can be said to be such a thing). Basically, so someone can see the bigger picture changes by means other than reading through each individual character's history.

Also, have you considered renaming the whole "reboot" into an alternate world, say "Marvel's Earth-48777" (i.e.,48777 is GURPS on the phone).

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Kallatari

Just curious, have you considered writing a collective world history for your alternate Marvel setting. Not the entire history, but rather the key points/difference relating to the various heroes or teams (e.g., why Storm is in Wakanda instead of the X-Men) and such that make it different than the "core" Marvel (if there can be said to be such a thing). Basically, so someone can see the bigger picture changes by means other than reading through each individual character's history.

I've got a brief timeline on the not-a-wiki (see my .sig for the link to the full project not-a-wiki). The main timeline diverges in '45, but the wider effects aren't really seen 'till '57 and '87.

And next post I'll lay out the general changes.

[Phantasm]

Various aspects of the Reboot:

1. The project chronicles the "Year One" of the universe, which is set as Sept 2010 to Sept 2011. The fateful flight which gave the Fantastic Four their powers, ushering in the "New Heroic Age", occurred in late August of 2010.

2. SHIELD is not a spy network; to quote Gwenpool in Unbelievable Gwenpool #8, "If you had a halfway competent C.I.A., you wouldn't need S.H.I.E.L.D." Instead, SHIELD is now the Superhuman Hazards Investigation, Elimination, and Lockdown Directive, a law-enforcement org that started inside the FBI before being split off. Henry Peter Gyrich is the current Director of SHIELD, and has paired with Oliver Trask and Shaw Industries to produce Sentinels.

3. Following this logic, Nick Fury, being a spy, is no longer connected to SHIELD; instead, he, Black Widow, Coulson, et. al., are part of the CIA or other intelligence networks.

4. The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters in Salem Center, New York, and Champions Academy in San Francisco, California, are the two notable high schools for superhumans in the United States. The Massachusetts Academy also has its superhuman students, but this is not publicly known.

5. Captain America was never frozen in ice after WWII; instead, Steve retired from the position in '52 and married Peggy as the role was handed to another. Steve and Peggy had a son, James Rogers (named after James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes), who inherited Cap's physique and reflexes, but the son refused to take on the role when he came of age, instead becoming an Intruder pilot during 'Nam. James went MIA after being shot down, leading Steve to resume the role temporarily (and without authorization) to free POWs, but James was never recovered. Peggy was later killed in a terrorist attack. Steve is currently teaching history at Midtown High in Queens, and has recently reclaimed the role at the urging of one of his students who discovered his secret, Rikki Buchanan/Bucky. (Rikki is in an on-and-off relationship with Miles Morales, who may or may not have spider-powers; it's uncertain right now.)

6. Peter Parker has just finished his freshman year at ESU (Empire State University), alongside the five original X-Men (Warren Worthington/Angel, Hank McCoy/Beast, Scott Summers/Cyclops, Bobby Drake/Iceman, and Jean Grey/Soulfire). Parker gained his powers during orientation when touring the science lab when bit by a genetically unstable spider.

7. Various classic X-Men are either students or graduates of the Xavier Institute. The exceptions are Ororo, who is currently in her pre-X-Men stage being worshiped as a goddess or avatar of one over in Africa; and Remy LeBeau/Gambit, who is likewise in his pre-X-Men stage being a showboating thief in New Orleans.

8. Wolverine is likewise not X-related. He's currently with Luke Cage, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird, and Jessica Jones/Jewel in a not-New Avengers-really non-team, the Renegades.

9. The Avengers are fairly new on scene; the current lineup is Hank Pym/Ant-Man, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Tony Stark/Iron Man, Sigurd Jarlson/Thor, Janet van Dyne/Wasp, and Steve Rogers/Captain America. The Avengers are spread all over - Cap in New York City; Ant-Man and Wasp in Chicago, IL; Thor in Houston, TX; Hulk in Phoenx, AZ; and Stark bouncing between Los Angeles and San Francisco, CA - with two headquarters sites: Avengers Mansion in NYC and Avengers Compound outside Dodge City, KS, both of which were provided by Stark. The Avengers support staff currently consists of Rick Jones as their main info gatherer (from trawling the Internet), Sharon Carter as their SHIELD liaison, John Jameson as their pilot; Edwin Jarvis as the Mansion's butler; and Stark's AI assistant Friday.

10. There were three past "waves" of superhumans. The first was during WWII, with Captain America, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and the android Human Torch as the core of the war-time Invaders and the post-War All-Winners Squad; the second was during the Cold War, with the Skrull defector Effigy, non-powered Chicago-based Black Fox, and the NY based Yankee Clipper (utilizing a strength-enhancing force field belt) leading the First Line until they perished in '86 defending Earth from a Skrull invasion; and the Shadowguard, Rust Belters, and other teams to be named appearing between '87 and '92, and retiring between '00 and '10. Jonathan Drew/Araneus, Charles Xavier, and Magnus/Magneto were all members of the Shadowguard; the Black Fox's protege Nightfox led the Rust Belters. (Nightfox's daughter is continuing the legacy as Nightangel over in Detroit.)

10a. The Super-Heroes of Europe have remained active with a rotating roster since the end of WWII. Newest member is Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, newest representative of Germany and a graduate of the Xavier Institute.

10b. While the Skrull Invasion of '86 was covered up, the world learned aliens exist in '88 when one of the Shadowguard, Starbot, who was sent to Earth as an ambassador and to investigate how Earth repelled a Skrull Empire invasion, outed himself as an alien bioroid on live television during a faked alien invasion by HYDRA, AIM, and the Fourth Reich.

11. Namor has been King of Atlantis since '57, and Atlantis has been a member of the United Nations since '75.


Still working on more.

[Otaku]

Thanks for the writeup. I confess I haven't read every character's entry, so this is a nice way to see the changes clearly.

...

Yes, I've got one of my "Here's what I'd like to see..." tangents. It is a big one, and I may have stated something similar earlier in the thread. I'll try and keep it (relatively) brief:

Have you considered allowing the government to be a bit more competent when it comes to the Sentinel program? I see some of it already; Gyrich lying about how his usage of Recon units. Something else to consider would be "Search & Rescue" Units, and/or "Defend & Capture" Units, not that they'd always live up to the names. Sell them to the public as a way to protect against natural disasters, superhumans, etc. without having to risk the lives of rescuers, police, soldiers, etc. Then use them for that but also to abduct anyone Gyrich & Co. want. Also, potentially explain a Days Of Future Past scenario, just with a more "nanny-state" than Terminator vibe.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Otaku

Yes, I've got one of my "Here's what I'd like to see..." tangents. It is a big one, and I may have stated something similar earlier in the thread. I'll try and keep it (relatively) brief:

Have you considered allowing the government to be a bit more competent when it comes to the Sentinel program? I see some of it already; Gyrich lying about how his usage of Recon units. Something else to consider would be "Search & Rescue" Units, and/or "Defend & Capture" Units, not that they'd always live up to the names. Sell them to the public as a way to protect against natural disasters, superhumans, etc. without having to risk the lives of rescuers, police, soldiers, etc. Then use them for that but also to abduct anyone Gyrich & Co. want. Also, potentially explain a Days Of Future Past scenario, just with a more "nanny-state" than Terminator vibe.

That makes a lot of sense, to be honest, and a good way to clear it past the watchdog groups as well as the bean-counters and Congress. I already have them more competent in that the Sentinels aren't truly sentient the way they've traditionally been depicted since the '60s (many of the first several models of Sentinels ended up turning on their creators for one reason or another).

Any Sentinel equipped with Payload (for capturing supers) could easily be put to work in S&R, which would be good publicity.