Look at this Earth. So very much like our own. The progression of history has been much the same. Technology is much the same. The people are much the same. There are but two key differences. Superheroes exist. And so do their villians. They exist much like they do in our comic books. Some work alone, while some band together to form teams. (Some work alone and join several teams at the same time.) Some are born with their powers, some get them by accident, and some are chosen. A few have the power to sunder mountains and break armies. Some have no powers at all, but through skill, knowledge and sheer willpower can stand against the mightiest powered foe. Some stick to the shadows, fighting evil in darkened alleyways and boarded-up buildings, while others fight to stop calamities that could devistate regions, nations, or entire worlds. Each individual or team of heroes has their own villians who they spend most of their time trying to keep in check. Not infrequently, the heroes will team up when their paths cross and they face threats they cannot stop on their own. And on occasion, when the threat is grave enough, the myriad individuals and teams will gather as own, pool their strength, and gather to meet their foes. Such is what happened on this world. In a distant galaxy, a warlike race sought to grind all others beneath their boots. A group of Earth-born heroes who had taken it upon themselves to patrol the cosmos returned home to rally the planet's heroes to come to the aid of the peaceful races that faced domination. And the heroes, as heroes are wont to do, gathered their forces and set off into space, both to help those in need and to stop the aggressors before they brought the war to Earth. This was hardly the first time the heroes of earth had set off into space, and so plans had been made to ensure peace back home. A few powerful heroes would be left behind to keep an eye on things, lest any of the villians try to take advantage of the power vaccum. Together with those heroes either unable or unwilling to join the space mission, the theory went that they could hold down the fort for a few weeks until the victorious heroes returned, and the status quo was restored. But what if weeks stretched to months? What if no contact could be made with the heroes who had gone off into space? And what if one of the villians, seeing this, was able to rally the others? To organize them under a single banner, for a single purpose? After all, there are far more villians than there are heroes... The small group of powerful heroes could easily be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. No matter how mighty, they would eventually tire. The world's only hope might indeed be those other heroes... those who could not go, those who would not go, or those who were not wanted. With Earth's heroes gone, its only hope is... THOSE LEFT BEHIND A Superhero RP By Jesse Ellman Enough with the dramatic narration. Let's get down to business. I'm sure you've figured out the basic concept from the above. Standard superhero setting (in NYC, of course). Lotsa heroes, lotsa villians. Heroes get called to help with some galactic crisis or another, and fly off, leaving the earth mostly undefended. Of course, it's no big deal, 'cause they'll be back in a week or two, tops. Right? Well, no. It's been two months now. And one of the villians had the realization that, while the cat's away... So suddenly, the villians are organized. Venturing out in groups, probing the remaining heroes. The major heroes left behind are a powerful bunch, but they're spread thin, and the pressure is unrelenting. They're exhausted, they're injured, and there's always another attack to thwart. Eventually, the villians manage to pick one off. Then another. And another. And suddenly, thing are looking really, really bad. But those few major heroes aren't the only ones left. There are others that didn't go on the mission. Some didn't go because they couldn't; either they couldn't handle the trip, their powers don't work off-planet, or they had responsibilities they couldn't leave. Some didn't go simply because they didn't want to. Most of these were the street-level heroes, or those particularly adamant about working alone. And some... some specifically weren't invited. This includes those deemed untrustworthy or unstable, too young, or those whose methods were a bit too harsh, by the standards of the general superhero population. Or maybe another superhero, someone they were close to... a friend, a mentor, a lover... insisted they stay behind, out of harm's way. These are desperate times, though. So the remaining major heroes have put the word out. Maybe you're not big on the whole spandex scene. Maybe you're more worried about getting drugs off the street than in stopping some meglomaniacal tyrant. But when the calls goes out, don't you have to answer it? Okay, there's that. So what's this game gonna be like? Well, it's gonna be combat-heavy, as befits a superhero setting. So if you want to make an tech genius character, that's fine, but make sure she wears powerarmor. If you want your character to talk to fish, that's cool too. But you better have giant landsharks at your beck and call. Not every character has to be a bruiser or a gun bunny, but every character should be able to pull their weight in a fight. The game will use BESM 3e, as soon as I get around to learning the system. There'll be reasonable limits on attributes for game balance purposes (no long-distance teleportation, no 40-damage-absorbing armor, etc). Your characters are going to be powerful, but there'll be no Hulks or Silver Surfers or Squirrel Girls. I'm looking for power levels in the Spider-Man or non-Jean-Grey X-Men range, roughly; Badass Normals are fine too, as are normal humans with technological or magical abilities. My GMing style... not sure I have one. Those of you who've played with me know I'm not big on OOC drama. If you kill my villian that was supposed to escape... well, I'll have to make a new one. If you don't like the way I'm doing something, tell me, and if it's something I can change I'll do my best. I'll try to strike a balance between not putting the chars on rails and not giving enough direction; I know neither is much fun. Also, while I've got what I hope is a fairly dramatic plot arc in mind... well, I'm me. I like making people laugh. I *really* like puns. So don't expect pure silliness, but don't expect unrelenting drama either. I'm going for a balance. So... that's the basics. I'm looking for 4-6 players, scheduling to be determined. Generally speaking, I'd like at least one tech-proficient char and one magic-proficient char (in the sense of being knowledgeable about things arcane, not necessarily a spellcaster. A Blade-type char would be fine), just so we don't have to depend on NPCs as much, but neither is a requirement. If you're interested, let me know, and maybe start thinking about character concepts; it's gonna take me some time to get a grasp of the system and get this thing running, and I'll let everyone know the mechanical specs for the game once I figure them out. If you have any questions at any point, please ask. If you can't find me on IRC (I'm on at least a few nights a week), my e-mail address is lman8381@yahoo.com. Also, no Hebrew Groin Lasers. I promise.