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

[Phantasm]

WAKANDA

Wakanda is a small country, encompassing roughly 10,200 square miles, situated on Lake Victoria between Kenya and Uganda. The populace of the country is primarily Bantu in origin.

Wakanda is primarily an agrarian nation. However, it boasts one resource unique in the world. Wakanda boasts the largest (some claim the only) naturally occurring deposit of vibranium in the world. The high demand for this rare commodity, of which Wakanda's rulers have nationalized the mining and production, has given Wakanda a higher per capita and standard of living than its neighbors, on par with many of the industrialized nations.

Wakanda is unique among the nations bordering Lake Victoria in that its official religion is neither Christianity nor Islam. Instead, the Wakandan people worship a "panther god" (which may or may not be related to the African lion god Simba or the Egyptian cat goddess Bast). This religion has been supported by Wakanda's rulers for generations.

The ancestors of the people who would eventually settle Wakanda were a Bantu people who settled there between the 1st Century B.C. and 1st Century A.D.

During the colonial period, Wakanda was officially part of the British East Africa colony, but situated far enough inland that it managed to maintain its local autonomy in practice, though not officially. When Kenya gained its independence in 1963, Wakanda asserted its independence as well. Also at that time, Wakanda essentially closed its borders, nationalizing all trade.

It is believed that the properties of the Great Vibranium Mound were discovered during or prior to World War II, and the King secretly ordered the presence of the metal to be kept secret from all outsiders. It was also during World War II that Wakanda became insular.

Ten years ago, King T'Chaka sent his son and heir, T'Challa, to Europe to study the modern world outside Wakanda's borders (see Panther). The rest of the royal family was uncertain as to whether T'Challa would be influenced by "outsiders". Recently, however, T'Challa returned home, having earned an engineering degree, only to find his father on his deathbed. T'Challa has since reigned over Wakanda, attempting to balance the traditionally insular tribal people of the nation with concepts from the modern world.


Wakanda, 2015 A.D.
Population: 1,500,000 (Search +3)

Physical and Magical Environment
Terrain: Plains
Appearance: Beautiful
Hygiene: +2
Low Mana (No Enchantment)

Culture and Economy
Language: Mkanda, Swahili, English
Literacy: Native
TL: 5/8
Wealth: Comfortable
Status: -1 to 6

Political Environment
Government: Dictatorship (Monarchy)
CR: 3 (Corruption -3)
Military Resources: $156M
Defense Bonus: +4

Notes
The majority of the people speak Mkanda, a Bantu language. Swahili is the official language of the nation, while English is spoken among those who have business abroad.

Wakanda has to import almost all of its TL8 technology. The people are becoming accustomed to modern (TL8) technologies, but lack the resources and infrastructure to produce anything more sophisticated than late TL5 locally.

[Phantasm]

SAVAGE LAND

The Savage Land is a prehistoric tropical jungle nestled in the mountains of Antarctica, the origins of which are currently unknown. The Savage Land appears to be a mash-up of many prehistoric eras, potentially originally built as a kind of nature preserve, with dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Triassic coexisting with Paleolithic humans and megafauna long thought extinct.

The Savage Land sits in a wide valley, easily encompassing five hundred square miles, in the Eternity Range. It is heated by an open volcanic vent and a number of active volcanoes surrounding it. A large lake dominates the center of the valley, fed by streams coming off springs in the mountains; one stream runs out of the lake towards the ocean. Mount Hope, the tallest mountain in the vicinity, sits outside the Savage Land, but is visible to the northwest.

For some unexplained reason, the passage of day and night inside the Savage Land is not tied to the rest of Antarctica. Instead, possibly due to advanced technology used by whoever designed and built the area. The day there passes at a nearly uniform 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night, even at the height of the Antarctic summer and winter, when the days and nights last up to 24 hours, respectively. In addition, the animals and residents of the Savage Land do not appear to suffer from the effects of ozone depletion.

There are several tribes of humans that live in the Savage Land. The two most prominent tribes are the Fall People, who are identical to modern humans, and the Swamp Men, who are closest in stature to Neanderthals.

The first documented case of someone encountering the Savage Land occurred following World War I, when a British explorer named Paul Destine got lost and became separated from his expedition during an attempt to reach the South Pole. When he finally rejoined his expedition several days later, they attributed his accounts as sheer fantasy. For the next few decades, others stumbled into the Savage Land without realizing what it was; many wrote down their accounts, although they were passed off as fantasy or science fiction at the time. It wasn't until 1962, when the British gentleman explorer Matthew, Lord Plunder gathered the various writings of the "hidden Antarctic jungle" and found that each one had elements of topography and wildlife that matched up, despite the accounts often being written decades apart and with no prior knowledge of the other accounts. Furthermore, one account even gave a map with landmarks on how to find it from the coastline! Taking his young son Robert with him, Matthew Plunder traced the route and found the Savage Land. Over the next several decades, Lord Plunder and his son split their time between their home in England and the Savage Land.

Twenty years ago, Robert Plunder, having inherited the title of Lord Plunder, and his wife, a paleontologist, moved to the Savage Land with their sons Parnival and Kevin. Lord and Lady Plunder befriended the Fall People tribe, but were killed during a raid on the Fall People village by the Swamp Men. Parnival, being the older child, managed to escape the Savage Land and make his way back to England. Kevin, the younger child, also escaped his parents' deaths and fled into an area known as the Land of Mist (so named due to the mists from one jungle stream falling into the volcanic vent) with the aid of his pet sabertooth tiger, Zabu; Kevin would later become known as Ka-Zar among the denizens of the Savage Land (see Ka-Zar; Zabu).

Recently, the Savage Land has gained additional attention from the outside world. First, a mysterious being whose name and face are hidden in shadows utilized unknown means to transform a number of Swamp Men into the Savage Land Mutates; the Mutates have come into conflict with the Avengers, Brotherhood of Mutants, Ka-Zar, and the X-Men (see individual entries). Second, a graduate biology student named Shanna O'Hara entered the Savage Land, originally intending to do her Masters thesis on the ecosystem there, only to be drawn into aiding Ka-Zar and Zabu against the sorceress Zaladane in her attempt to conquer the Savage Land for herself (see Shanna the She-Devil; Zaladane). Finally, Parnival Plunder, now calling himself the Plunderer, has set his sights on exploiting the Savage Land's natural resources, alongside mercenaries from Roxxon Oil Company, in violation of the Antarctic Treaty, which under international law prohibits any such exploitation (see Plunderer; Roxxon Oil).

Fall People Village, 2015 A.D.
Population: 350 (Search -2)

Physical and Magical Environment
Terrain: Jungle
Appearance: Average
Hygiene: +0
Standard Mana (Rare Enchantment)

Culture and Economy
Language: Savage Land Speech
Literacy: Illiterate
TL: 0
Wealth: Struggling (×1/2)
Status: -2 to +2

Political Environment
Government: Tribal
CR: 1 (Corruption 0)
Military Resources: $2.2K
Defense Bonus: +6

Notes
The Fall People village is set upon a hill with a permanent wooden wall surrounding it. This technically makes it TL 1 for architecture.

It's recommended that GMs and players use Lands Out Of Time for the Savage Land's dinosaurs. 3e's Bestiary and Dinosaurs are also valid references, but require some adjustment to the stats.

[Phantasm]

CAGE, LUKE

Real Name: Unrevealed; it is known that "Luke Cage" is an assumed identity.
Occupation: Adventurer, escaped convict, former gang member.
Identity: Luke Cage does not use a dual identity.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with a criminal record, wanted by the authorities in his legal identity.
Other Aliases: None.
Place of Birth: Harlem, New York City.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: None.
Group Affiliation: Renegades.
Base of Operations: Mobile.
History: The man who would later be known as Luke Cage grew up in Harlem, and while for a time was a small-time gang member he did his best to try and get out of it. He had a legitimate job and a girlfriend, and was trying to get his life turned around. However, one of his old gang, Willis Stryker, had his own designs on Cage's girlfriend. To this end, his "friend" planted heroin, cocaine, and a sheet with the names and contact numbers of suppliers and users known to the police in Cage's apartment and left the police an anonymous tip. During Cage's arrest, he spotted his former friend in the crowd already making his move on Cage's girlfriend.

Cage was sentenced to several years in prison. Angry at having been framed and unable to prove it, he ended up getting a reputation as a brawler, spending many weeks in solitary confinement. His parole hearings tended to end in violence. Ultimately, he was transferred to a prison on an island off the coast of Georgia. He became the frequent target of one of the guards there, Bob Rackham, whose brutality led to a demotion he blamed on Cage.

Cage was later recruited by Dr. Noah Burnstein, who was working on a variant of the Super-Soldier program that had produced Captain America, for an experiment involving cellular regeneration (see Captain America). As part of the deal, Burnstein would see about getting Cage's sentence reduced. Burnstein immersed Cage in an electrified organic chemical bath. However, Rackham struck Burnstein from behind, incapacitating the scientist, and then deliberately misused the controls, intending to kill Cage. Instead, the experiment increased his strength and durability to superhuman levels, as well as adding almost a full foot of growth and a lot of muscle mass.

Using this new strength, Cage broke out of prison and was originally presumed to have drowned in the passage between the prison and the coastline. At this point he started using the name "Luke Cage" instead of his real identity, somehow procuring documents which made it appear legal – at least legal enough to pass cursory examination. Making his way back to New York City, he became involved in a brawl between a few other unaffiliated superhumans and the Wrecking Crew (see Wrecking Crew). This group he fell in with decided to stick together to assist each other in achieving their individual goals; in Cage's case, this includes clearing his name (see Renegades). Despite some reluctance on his part, he has come to respect and even once again trust others, in particular his new teammates.
Height: 6' 6".
Weight: 425 lbs.
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Black, shaved bald.
Uniform: None.
Strength Level: Luke Cage possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) 25 tons on a regular basis.
Known Superhuman Powers: In addition to his superhuman strength, Luke's body has been altered to grant him near invulnerability. At present, he is bullet-proof against conventional and police sniper rifles with armor-piecing bullets, and AIM's laser weaponry (see AIM).

Despite his near invulnerability, it is possible for Cage to be hurt, but he heals quickly. He can recover in a single day from an injury that would leave a normal man bedridden for nearly a week.
Other Abilities: Luke Cage is a skilled, if somewhat unorthodox, street fighter.

[1,158 points
Attributes: ST 26/177 [50*]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 14 [40].
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 2d+2/5d (18d/20d); BL 135 lbs (6,266 lbs/3.13 tons); HP 26 [0]; Will 11 [0]; Per 11 [0]; FP 14 [0]; Basic Speed 6.50 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0]; Dodge 10.
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0]; Spanish (Native) [6].
Cultural Familiarities: Western [0].
Advantages: Alternate Identity (Illegal) [15]; Appearance (Attractive) [4]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Contact (Underworld; Effective Skill 12; Somewhat Reliable) (9) [1]; Damage Resistance 45 (Hardened +1, +20%; Tough Skin, -40%; Passive Biological, -5%) [169]; Enhanced ST +12 (Accessibility: Only With Super ST, -10%; Passive Biological, -5%) [82]; Hard to Kill 2 [4]; Hard to Subdue 2 [4]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Imbue 3 (Limited Skill Access: Three Skills, -40%; Passive Biological, -5%) [22]; Injury Tolerance (Damage Reduction /10) (Passive Biological, -5%) [142]; Regeneration (Regular: 2 HP/hr) (Passive Biological, -5%) [24]; Single-Minded [5]; Social Regard (Feared) 2 [10]; Super ST +11/+150 (Passive Biological, -5%) [435]; Super Throw 2 (Biological, -10%) [18]; Tough Guy 3 [15].
Perks: Fearsome Stare [1]; Gangster Swagger [1]; Improvised Weapon (Kusari) [1]; Striking Surface [1].
Disadvantages: Bad Temper (9) [-15]; Code of Honor (Pirate's) [-5]; Pacifism (Cannot Kill) [-15]; Secret Identity (Imprisonment) [-20]; Sense of Duty (Comrades) [-5]; Social Stigma (Criminal Record) [-5]; Status -1 [-5]; Wealth (Poor) [-15].
Quirks: Always Meets Peoples' Eyes [-1]; Goal (Clear Name) [-1]; Rule-Breaker [-1]; Show-Off [-1].
Features: High-Pressure Lungs [0].
Skills: Body Language (Human) (A) Per+1 [2] – 12; Boxing (A) DX+2 [8] – 14; Brawling (E) DX+2 [4] – 14; Carousing (E) HT+0 [1] – 14; Climbing (A) DX+0 [2] – 12; Computer Operation/TL8 (E) IQ+0 [1] – 11; Criminology/TL8 (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12; Current Affairs/TL8 (Headline News) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Forced Entry (E) DX+3 [1] – 15†; Forceful Blow (Unarmed) (VH) DX+0 [8] – 12; Intimidation (A) Will+3 [4] – 15†; Kusari (H) DX+0 [4] – 12; Lifting (A) HT+0 [2] – 14; Observation (A) Per+1 [4] – 12; Penetrating Strike (Unarmed) (VH) DX+0 [8] – 12; Savoir-Faire (Prison) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Scrounging (E) Per+1 [2] – 12; Shockwave (Unarmed) (VH) DX+0 [8] – 12; Stealth (A) DX+0 [2] – 12; Streetwise (A) IQ+3 [4] – 15†; Swimming (E) HT+0 [1] – 14; Throwing (A) DX+2 [8] – 14; Wrestling (A) DX+2 [8] – 14.
Techniques: Aggressive Parry (Brawling) (H) def+1 [2] – 11; Head Butt (Brawling) (H) def+3 [4] – 16; Piledriver (Wrestling) (H) def+5 [6] – 14; Uppercut (Boxing) (A) def+1 [1] – 14.
Starting Spending Money: $2,000 (50% of Starting Wealth).

* includes +12 from Enhanced ST and +11/+150 from Super ST.
† includes +3 from Tough Guy.

Role-Playing Notes:
Luke Cage is a man who has had his whole life turned upside down by a man he once trusted, and finds it hard to trust others because of it. His temper occasionally gets the better of him, something he often regrets. He's not certain what he will do once he finally does manage to clear his name; he's accepted that he will likely need to return to prison on a jail-breaking charge.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Cage, Luke

Despite his near invulnerability, it is possible for Cage to be hurt. If injured, he is capable of recovering from mild injuries in 1/3rd the time it would take an ordinary human.

Regeneration (Regular: 3 HP/hr) (Passive Biological, -5%)

Thanks for your continued devotion to these posts :)

Is the regeneration at the level you really want? The text indicates something closer to Slow Regen.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Thanks for your continued devotion to these posts :)

No problem. It's taking longer than expected, but I have a lot on my plate at the moment.

Is the regeneration at the level you really want? The text indicates something closer to Slow Regen.

Slow Regen would be 3 HP ever 12 hours, right (1 HP/12 hrs if he had around 10-19 HP)? What's the normal healing rate?

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Slow Regen would be 3 HP ever 12 hours, right (1 HP/12 hrs if he had around 10-19 HP)? What's the normal healing rate?

Ah, I overlooked the extra HP, which gives him the 3x normal rate. Is there not supposed to be Regen at all? If it's supposed to be there, the text is misleading.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Ah, I overlooked the extra HP, which gives him the 3x normal rate. Is there not supposed to be Regen at all? If it's supposed to be there, the text is misleading.

Part of it is trying to balance the text I pulled from the OHOTMUDE entry (when he was going by "Power Man") with the game mechanics.

Yes, there is supposed to be regeneration. What I intended to show was that he recovers from injury quicker than someone of the same base HP.

Now that I have my Basic Set out, lemme look stuff up.

Base HP recovery w/out medical aid: 1 HP/day
Slow Regeneration: 1 HP/12 hrs (twice as fast)
Normal Regeneration: 1 HP/hr (24 times as fast)
Fast Regeneration: 1 HP/min (1,440 times as fast)
Very Fast Regeneration: 1 HP/sec (86,400 times as fast)
Extreme Regeneration: 10 HP/sec (864K times as fast)

Looking at this, maybe Slow Regen is the way to go, being closest to the fluff text. The extra HP would bump it to 3 HP/12 hrs. (And if I decide to drop 4 points into HP it'd bump to 4 HP/12 hrs, which isn't bad.)

So, let's go ahead and alter the fluff text to fit the mechanics, rather than trying to hammer the mechanics into the fluff text. How would you change it?

[aesir23]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Cage, Luke

May I humbly suggest: My write up of an Unbreakable Skin advantage.

EDIT: Also this post in the same thread, where I describe exactly how i'd use this for Luke Cage.

[Curmudgeon]

As was once pointed out in Different Worlds (V.W.P.B.N.L. column), The Wasp's stingers are defined in a screwy way, in that they get stronger as she shrinks.

I'd suggest boosting her Shrinking by two levels to 15 and then using linked 10% so that she gets 1d of burning attack for every three levels she shrinks.

If you don't want to change her Shrinking, adding 1d burning damage and linked 10% would let her gaining 1d burning attack for every 2 levels she shrinks. With an odd number of levels, I'd house rule it that the link doesn't apply for the 1st level of shrinking, so that she gets her 1st 1d of burning attack at SM -3 rather than SM -2.

You have a lot on your plate with this project but I thought I'd provide a list of 'holes' in the character write-up lists for characters that probably ought to be present, or need to be explained why they aren't/won't be. I've tried to organize it in chronological order of appearance by teams.

Heroes
Fantastic Four: Thunderbird

X-Men: Professor X, Mimic

Avengers: Giant-man/Goliath for Dr. Pym, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Wonder Man, Swordsman, Black Panther, Black Knight, Vision, Jocasta, Mantis

Miscellaneous: Silver Surfer, Him (Adam Warlock), Her (Paragon)

Inhumans: Black Bolt, Madame Medusa, Triton, Karnak, Gorgon, Crystal, Lockjaw

Villains
Fantastic Four: Diablo, Red Ghost, Frightful Four [Wizard, Trapster, Madame Medusa, Sandman (already written up)], Super-Skrull?, Puppetmaster, Mad Thinker, Galactus, Arnim Zola, Hate-Monger, High Evolutionary?

Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: Quicksilver, Mastermind, Toad

X-Men: The Vanisher, Unus the Untouchable, Banshee, Ogre, Juggernaut, Sunfire

Thor: Cobra, The Wrecker, The Destroyer, The Enchantress

Hulk: The Leader, Executioner, Wolverine

Iron Man: The Mandarin, The Swordsman, The Grey Gargoyle, (probably forgone due to origin: Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man), Black Lash, The Freak (not quite sure of the name but Iron Man's chauffeur, Barney, used to turn into him), M.O.D.O.K.

Giant-man/Goliath: Egghead, Porcupine, Whirlwind

Captain America: Batroc the Leaper

Avengers: Living Laser, Power Man (not Luke Cage), Nuklo, Super-Adaptoid, Ultron

Spider-man: Chameleon, Spider-Slayers

Daredevil: Stilt-man?

Nick Fury: Baron Strucker, Hydra, Yellow Claw, Scorpio

Dr. Strange: Nightmare, Dormamu

Black Panther: White Ape

Supporting Cast
Fantastic Four: Alicia Masters, Uatu, the Watcher

Thor: Warriors Three [Hogun, Fandril, Volstaag)

Iron Man: Barney Hogan, Pepper Potts?, Jasper Sitwell

Avengers: Jarvis

Spider-man: Betty Brant

Nick Fury: Dum Dum Dugan, Gabriel Jones, Countess Valentino, Gaffer, Quartermain

Silver Surfer: Quasimodo

As a thought, the background of Warlock of the New Mutants being hunted by his father, Magus, sounded remarkably similar to Adam Warlock fighting his future self, the Magus. The initial drawings of Magus in New Mutants even looked like a mechanized Adam Warlock Magus.

Is it possible that Him and Her are currently being taught at Xavier's School in the reboot?

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by aesir23

May I humbly suggest: My write up of an Unbreakable Skin advantage.

EDIT: Also this post in the same thread, where I describe exactly how i'd use this for Luke Cage.

It's an interesting advantage, and certainly useful for Cage, Hulk, and several other tank/brick types. However, I'm trying not to house-rule too much, keeping this as close to RAW as possible. Now, if this were to be presented in a Pyramid article (say, one on how to model certain powers that aren't currently easily done in game), then it wouldn't be a "house" rule. . . .

Think about it. :)