THIS IS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT.
This the What if version where the existence of Superpowers and Super technologies have had real world implications on politics and society.
This is the Universe where Reed Richards’ private rocket launch altered the space race.
This is the Universe where the discovery of alien invaders ended the Cold War.
This is the Universe where Stark’s invention of the Arc reactor changed energy production and consumption radically.
This is the Universe where the combined geniuses and inventions Richards, Stark, Banner, Pym, Doom, and many others altered technological development radically.
This is the Universe where countries like Lavertia, Wakanda, and Genosha had an enormous impact on geopolitics.
This is the Universe where mutants, mutates, other non-human races, aliens, powered armors, androids, and robots are very much a part of everyday life.
It is 2014. And in this Marvel Universe technology is advanced, energy is cheap, superpowers are common, the mega-corporations are in control of everyday lives, living standards are high; among most people. But not all…
Space is being explored. Many planets and moons in our solar system have permanent bases, Mars is being terraformed. Further out we have permanent ambassadors and trading posts in all the major galactic empires. And Richards Space ships are exploring even further out.
The political landscape has changed much over the past fifty years. The U.S. is still the most powerful nation on Earth, mainly because of the power of its corporations, which control the politicians. The Wakandan Hegemony controls much of Central Africa, the Lavertian Empire rules over much of Central and Eastern Europe. Atlantis and Lemuria rule over the oceans. King Magneto’s Genosha is a safe haven for mutants from all over the world. Some of the near-Earth realms, such as Asgard and Olympus have real world influence. And many of the hidden races, such the Deviants, Eternals, Inhumans, and Subterraneans, and the territories they claim, have all been recognized by the U.N.
It seems an ideal world, but a lot of big problems are hidden. Even in the paragon nation that is the U.S. the poor are very poor and form a huge proportion of the population. Everyone can be be a superhero or villain, but the shadows of Stark Tower and the Baxter Building loom very large and are very deep. It is here where you have to survive.
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THE STORY SO FAR
A newly assembled group of runners met their fixer for the first time in a sleazy bar in Madripoor. This enigmatic fixer called Madrox tasked them with retrieving a memory crystal from a secure SHIELD facility called Project Pegasus.
The run started disastrously by the actions of one of the runners, who died as a consequence of them. In the end the team pulled through and was able to escape the facility in a Quinjet with the data crystal. Still, they lost one other group member during the run.
The group handed over their prize to Madrox in Las Vegas, but because they now had become wanted men and women, they had to take Madrox up on his offer of refuge. In an abandoned facility called Murder World the group recuperated, whilst waiting for a new run to be offered.
While there the group used Murder World’s training facilities to learn to work better as a group. Some also needed the time off to heal. By the time Madrox had another run lined up for the group,three of the group’s members had decided to strike out on their own, leaving only three of the group’s original members to do the run.
Madrox said he would recruit a few new members. The remaining three members and the runners were to meet for the very first time in the same bar in Madripoor where the first group had met.
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This game melds the history and setting from the Marvel Universe with the atmosphere and dynamics from Shadowrun.
The player characters are effectively runners with superpowers. When compared to Marvel’s mainstream heroes, they are second or third tier. They are also second or third generation. The heroes of old have become old indeed.
More information can be found in this work in progress: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bOxYzpe2IIp6g_liPLc2sTHkGuT4aRpQM1Z1h7XUEqM/edit?usp=sharing
Hosted and narrated by:
Jan Bernd ten Berg (JBtB)
Completed 03/31/17.
Scenes played: 6
License: Community License
