Author Topic: Hero backgrounds  (Read 5948 times)

Teapot

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Hero backgrounds
« on: January 16, 2013, 05:10:09 AM »
So after the latest show I was thinking about the DIY heroes and such and I realized that I've been building people without a clear idea of a game to play in. The basic premise is shamelessly stolen from New Arcadia. So anyway, these are some heroes in some sense of the word maybe people can find a use for them, someday I'd like to play one in a game.

The Suitor:
Pilot and kung-fu aficionado, after discovering Atlantian martial arts (which gives various superpowers) he got into the weird side of fighting. Strange magic and rituals and to the death fights done in candle lit places out of the way. Eventually he came across legends of a goddess who every 800ish years chooses a concubine/cohort for the next 800ish years. He wants in on the immortality/divine loving. Armed with a vague outline about how to worship her, and the knowledge that if he does she'll notice him if he performs enough impressive feats, he’s set out to make his name and perform (he hopes) legendary acts to win her favor. Obviously being a super hero means he can beat up super villains which is pretty impressive, he hopes. Any time he thinks he’s about to do something cool he’ll burn some incense in a small portable shrine and hope it means that the Goddess will notice and approve. He more or less has wire-fu powers, his hero costume is a tailored suit and domino mask.
Motivations, loyalties and passions: Become a legend, test his fighting skills, live it up
 
Interceptor:
Used to be a henchman for various super-villains, or so it seemed. He and several other minions were running a massive embezzling operation stealing office supplies for sale on the black market – office supplies being power armor, death rays and memorabilia. After the heroes/villains vanished, he and his buddies cleaned out Surprise Shark’s base. Then they looted the base of Destructina (his buddy Jimmy was dating one of her henchwomen). Then the gravy train went off the rails. Not being good enough to break into a base without minion access, he was running out of money. He used the last of his big score to pick up some “Generic Super Hero Serum,” giving him the edge he’d need to get back into the base looting game. He took the name Interceptor because that was the hero he used to blame for all the missing equipment. (“Sorry boss, Interceptor showed up and trashed the Doom-Van and all the guns we were running,” “And we totally didn’t sell them to someone who’s totally not from the CIA for a briefcase full of cash and coke.”) His power theme is: bargain bin Superman. His costume is a black and white jumpsuit (like a motorcycle suit) with a police car theme.
Motivations, loyalties and passions: Wealth, stand up for the little guy/working stiff show up the powerful
 
Voice of the past:
In a world where Indiana Jones is a documentary, being an archeologist, especially one who specializes in meta-active civilizations, is a job for badasses. She read dodge at Cambridge learned the basic ideas of magic and went out to stumble across the wonders of the ancient world. Now that the heroes are gone, it’s harder and easier, harder because you can’t whistle up some flying lump to put down golem rampages, easier because there are so many less people saying things like “Your discovery can’t go to a museum, it’s too dangerous for man, blah, blah, blah.” Especially the book of flowing power she pulled from a Muvean-Aztec temple. About halfway through the tome, she began to understand how to call upon the spirits of a location and bargain with them. By the time she finished she even understood a bit about making magical objects. She wants to bring magic, especially historical magic, out into the spotlight. And part of that is to reclaim artifacts from where heroes hid them away, putting them into museums where they can jump out of her papers and be seen and appreciated right next to her name. Her costume keeps changing, borrowing elements from various historical religious/ritual dress. Her powers are a variety of spells (I’m thinking she’ll be Helen Montoya and based on Renee Montoya).
Motivations, loyalties and passions: Understand the past, awaken interest in magic
 
Pretty Soldier:
Born a genius and growing up on Gundam and Bubble Gum Crisis, she naturally went into robotics with a focus on nano-scale augmentation. During her post-grad work at MIT she was finally given access to their alien tech vault for her Thesis. During the work she got a hold of satellite imagery of the Tunguska zone and on the side she started a side project looking for a “reality ship,” one from a semi-understood civilization that jumped from alternate Earth to alternate Earth, people think, no one’s sure. They are known to work in a lot of nano-scale engineering and fascinated Jessica. Half way through her work she found a likely ship not too far into the zone but out of the way. She spent her scholarship money on a trip to Russia, bribes and a ghillie suit (it didn’t help her) and hiked her way to the site. It was what she was looking for, untouched by terrestrial authorities but showing damage from some conflict before arrival. Within the ship she found what she was looking for - a nano augmentation kit and a one use large scale fabber she was able to rig to the remaining power of the ship. Pretty sure she understood it she plugged it into the back of her neck and let the nanos do their work. After the screaming stopped, she woke up two days later and her mind was indeed upgraded. With her new knowledge it was child’s play to get the fabber to put out a suit of powered armor. She kind of burned it out but she thinks she can get the suit to upgrade later on, maybe the nanos need recharge time? Either way she has an overly flashy suit of power armor (with a Sailor Moon theme). On her way home she got bad news, her mother had been killed in a car accident and her little brother was paralyzed from the waist down. Since she had blown her scholarship she moved home to help out her father and little brother and picked up a job in the IT field, something made easy by the computer growing in her brain. Her fear is that she’s going to change beyond human, she’s pretty sure the nanos in her brain are growing and her armor can heal her but she needs to feed it base materials, she uses expired meat because it’s cheap. She tries not to think about this too much. And she’s going to be a super hero and protect the innocent, that’s got to be worth it.
Motivations, loyalties and passions: Love and Justice, Inspire little brother and other victims of paralysis, Oh God Am I Still Human?

Champion:
Jose Martinez’s father immigrated to the US, working the fields of California during the 70s he managed to move up the social ladder. By the time Jose was born the family was comfortably middle class. After getting his degree in renewable agriculture, he spent two years doing volunteer work in South America. Somehow during that time he wound up with super powers. Frightening levels of telekenesis, he can even patch people back together. When he came home he decided to test them out in secret, see if he can be a super hero and help the community. Someday he hopes to come out with his true identity, maybe work along side with paramedics and show how superhumans are a valuable part of the community.
Wait a minute, most of that is a lie. His minor in marketing proved a bit more useful and after college he found an internship with Genom (a Monsanto like company) his biology showed promise for genetic augmentation (all interns had to undergo genetic testing) and his background appealed to the PR department. They fabricated the volunteering thing pretty good, the volunteers have evidence of their trip and people remember them. He’s the first generation of deniable test subjects. Right now the narrative is that he had latent powers activated by some chemicals he ran across during his time in Peru. Genom however holds the patent to his special genes (they did make them) unless he proves too much trouble. If he works out and the public responds favorably, the line can go into mass production. As soon as it’s legal anyway, legal is working on that. Genom has got a book and movie deal lined up assuming he works out he’ll be set for life.
Motivations, loyalties and passions: super human relations, wealth and security for his family, take control of his public image

Flawless P

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Re: Hero backgrounds
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2013, 12:56:52 PM »
The Interceptor is full of awesome.

Sorry boss The Interceptor showed up and took everything XD
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clockworkjoe

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Re: Hero backgrounds
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2013, 09:35:41 PM »
Those are some good Bsae Raiders characters - Interceptor is pretty boss. Good job!

Joven

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Re: Hero backgrounds
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2013, 10:17:33 PM »
Intercepter = the boyfriend from Empowered who was in The Witless Minions?

At one point I wanted to run a game set in Gotham based off that concept.

Teapot

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Re: Hero backgrounds
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2013, 12:44:00 AM »
Thugboy a bit but more from Dylan from the latest Manhunter (which iwas awesome) and the idea of the whole super human economy. When the boss goes off to jail the checks start to bounce and the henchmen loot the base to cover rent.

The idea of the henchmen, caught in the revolving doors of justice just trying to get by. Empowered gave the more proactive henchman which I liked for a base raiders.

There was also a great missed chance in an old Birds of Prey where the Gothem henchmen were trying tu unionize because they were tired of being abused by their bosses.

Teapot

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Re: Hero backgrounds
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2013, 09:21:03 AM »
By the power of thread necromancy:

This one's a bit more traditional but I had the idea a few days ago and it's been rattling around.

Anyone else have ideas to add to the list?

Saber Antimony

Yuriko Hori was chosen by fate at the age of 14 to defend Tokyo from evil with the Elemental Sabers, sailor suited warriors of justice and love. She had always been "sporty" and becoming a front line warrior with a magic spear seemed like a dream come true. Like most child soldiers she wound up with dead friends and PTSD. Looking back she can see that being named after the 51st element on a team of six might have been a clue. She lasted four years before the trauma of fighting both demons and their human cultists began to overwhelm her. Like many before and after, she quit. Knowing that most of the washouts died pretty quickly, from cultist reprisals or possibly Saber Silver, she fled Tokyo for relatives in the country and stayed there for a year and a half. After that, she took a study abroad program to avoid Tokyo (the Elemental Sabers, now lead by the less stable Saber Astatine would at least be openly hostile to her) and found herself in New Arcadia. The American style super heroes and villains seemed much nicer, or at least she managed to steer clear of them while majoring in psychology, minoring in physical education and joining a rock climbing club. When Ragnarok happened she had just begun to intern as a physical therapist, mostly working with children.

But now it's been a while and the heroes are gone, and yet there are still ray-guns on the streets, and she's seeing more disabled children coming if someone doesn't try to stop it. Her sailor suit more or less still fits when she transforms and she remembers how to fight with her spear, maybe she'll have to step up.