LFP - Mutants & Masterminds 3e Teen Superhero Longterm CampaignCampaign Notes Settin

[HoratioDrank]

Game System: Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition
Day of Week: Monday
Time of Day: 7pm - 10pm U.S. Eastern time
Frequency: Weekly
GM License: Ultimate (players need only a free license)
Voice/Text: Discord Voice, theater of the mind style, with Fantasy Grounds used when a VTT would enhance a scene
Mix of RPG/Combat/Strategy: 50/25/25

If you're interested in getting involved in this narrative-driven, character-focused M&M game either reply to this post or send me a DM. Once I have a group assembled I'll schedule a Session 0. PLEASE DO NOT DESIGN/SUBMIT A CHARACTER AT THIS TIME. I'M LOOKING TO GATHER A GROUP OF PLAYERS FIRST, THEN WE'LL PLAN SPECIFIC CHARACTERS.

Setting:

The story takes place in a version of modern Earth very similar to our own real world, though perhaps slightly more technologically advanced. There are a small number of super-powered beings living in the world, and all of them trace back to an event that occurred in 2004 called the Alien Principle, or more commonly just the Principle. In 2004, at Area 51 in Nevada, the U.S. Air Force was doing some excavation in preparation for testing experimental instantly deployable landing strips when they uncovered a buried device of unknown origin and technology.

The device, no larger than a common household toaster, in the form of a geometrically perfect tetrahedron (i.e., an equilateral pyramid), was comprised of a lightweight, seemingly indestructible, unidentifiable material. It bore no markings or discolorations of any kind. It was simply a small, lightweight, black pyramid.

To this day, the device is studied in a series of secret, subterranean labs located beneath Area 51 called the Aegis Research Complex run by a top secret group under the Department of Defense called the Helix Division. Referred to as the pyramid, the device is kept enclosed in a highly shielded, reinforced glass case and is only interacted with via robotic appendages. However, anyone who was originally exposed to the unshielded pyramid — which includes workers, security personnel, scientists, military personnel, and others — had their DNA subtly altered such that they either developed super powers (VERY rare, almost none of them developed any powers) or passed super powers on their offspring (still quite rare, but a bit more common). This means that all of the relatively small number of super-powered beings in the world were either directly exposed to the pyramid in the early days of its discovery (first generation) or, more commonly, offspring of those individuals (second generation).

The player characters are all young superheroes trying to live in a world that isn’t sure it trusts them. They are members of a group called the Young Sentinels based in Manhattan at a high-tech based called Brightguard Tower. Their leader is an NPC 19-year-old hero named Skyguard, who is the son of the commanding officer of the Helix Division, Admiral Judith Gray. Skyguard’s name is Josh Gray, and he does not maintain a secret identity.

Themes:

Player characters are aged 14-19, and are heroic in nature. There are no player character villains in this campaign, though there is room for perhaps a very small bit of misanthropic antiheroism. However, overt heroism is the main theme of the game, and will be the most narratively rewarded behavior. Dark, gloomy, emo characters will not find many narrative purchase points in this game, and players of such characters will be unlikely to enjoy the campaign.

Thematic patterns that might emerge in a story about adolescent superheroes could include coming of age, self-acceptance, dual identity, friendship balance, family dynamics, romantic tensions, the cost of heroism, responsibility vs. freedom, need to fit in, team dynamics, rivalries, loss of control, the nature of evil, and a host of others.

The point being that this is a story about individuals struggling to find out who they are not only as teenagers but as burgeoning superheroes, all of whom must define and actuate what it means to be in a group that depends on each other for their very survival in a world that isn’t even sure if it trusts them.

Character Creation Information:

I will be borrowing heavily from the character creation rules used by the M&M site Freedomverse:
https://welcometothefreedomverse.obs...is/house-rules

If it’s not allowed in those house rules, chances are I will not be allowing it. I will be heavily scrutinizing all character applications. Any applications that are not accepted will include detailed notes as to why in case the applicant wants to modify and re-submit the character. If it smells abusive and opportunistic then chances are I will not accept the application as-is. I’m looking for characters that are incredibly diverse and complex inside as people, but with power sets that are relatively straightforward. This is not a contest to see who can bend the M&M rules the most.

Power Level: 6. Characters will be young, budding heroes just starting to come into their own.

Advancement: I run long campaigns. It’s my history and pattern to do so, and I intend this to be the same. I will not be awarding an automatic power point after each session. Power points will be periodically awarded at my discretion in order to pace the growth of the game in a manner consistent with the narrative and timeline. Sometimes power points will be awarded because of a consequential occurrence within the game world and the ongoing story. More rarely, over time I will advance the timeline of the campaign by some number of months and award a batch of power points as a result. In this manner, your character will eventually grow from adolescence to young adulthood to adulthood and become a major force in the world.

Heroism: Characters in this game are HEROES. They WANT to be heroes. They WANT to be heroic and do good things and help the world. If that wasn’t the case, they never would have been recruited into the Young Sentinels. That does not mean they are perfect and will never make mistakes and will never make the wrong decisions and will never be plagued with self doubts. Falling down and getting back up with the help of your friends is an essential element in the storytelling of young characters. But in the end, the characters in this game are champions of freedom and justice. They are not burdened with the doubts and subtleties of belief that one eventually develops with age. They are elemental and pure.

Species: Your character is human and is the child of one of the first generation humans exposed to the pyramid in 2004. This does not mean you are restricted to appearing human. The alterations that the pyramid passed on to you via your parents might manifest by dramatically changing your appearance such that you might barely be recognizable as human.

OOC Considerations:

My games are highly inclusive. OOC behavior that is exclusionary toward gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religious/spiritual beliefs, age, sexual identity, political beliefs, socioeconomic class, education level, etc., etc., etc. will not be tolerated even a little bit. Note that there MIGHT be a LITTLE BIT of room for that IC, but VERY LITTLE (see Heroism in the Character Creation Information section above).

OOC Triggers: I invite any of my players to either publicly inform the group or privately inform me if they have any triggers that they would prefer not to see emerge in the story. There will be ABSOLUTELY ZERO EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT in this game. Absolutely zero. If players wish their characters to pursue romantic relationships that is completely fine and acceptable. What would a story about teenagers be without some dating drama mixed in? If something sexual occurs, it occurs off camera only and should not be discussed in explicit detail IC. Dating, romance, and sex are NOT focuses of this campaign.

I run my game on a weekly basis. While I understand that there is no way every player is going to be able to attend 100.000% of all game sessions, I am looking for players who want to get involved in a long-term, weekly RPG. If you start missing enough game sessions that I start wondering every week if you’re going to show up then we will likely end up having a private discussion about whether or not this game is the right fit for your lifestyle.

[HoratioDrank]

This game has filled. If something opens up in the future I will post here. Thanks, everyone.