Cascade

[zerombr]

I'm considering writing up a small article about the lost city of Cascade, once on Eric Wujick's list of things to do (and be amazing at). I've seen his few comments about it on here, and I agree that a Gotham style city like Detroit would be a great asset to Heroes Unlimited. So since I'm off work for a while, I thought I might contribute to the Rifter.

What sort of things would you like to see, so I can help encompass as much of our wants together?


Here's the basic summary so far.

- Cape and Cowl focused gameplay.
- A city having lost its former glory, bankrupt and barely holding together.
- A police force that does not tolerate masked vigilantes.
- Possibly a new OCC for Special Training to cover the unpowered vigilantes
- A large underground for Cascade, remnants of an underground shopping development
ex: http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=f537b454b35a2410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=04708b7a29891410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD
- New rules for nonlethal combat.


Please throw out your ideas, I'd love to hear more about what you all want!

[zerombr]

I don't generally bump threads, but I would like to reiterate that I'd love to hear about what Heroes players look for in a dark, gothic city for atmosphere, background and plots.

[wyrmraker]

A very interesting idea...
Of course the first thing you'll need is a history. Say, troubled foundations during the post-colonial period (early 1800s), a sudden influx of productivity (and probably immigration) during the height of the industrial period where a select few got obscenely rich (1850s), organized crime gaining entrenchment towards the latter portion of the industrial period (about 1900), and then a gradual decline into crime, corruption, and despair stretching from WWII into the modern day. This would follow the classic pattern (Gotham, Hub City, Bludhaven).

Lots of soaring skylines, skyscrapers full of jutting cornices for heroes to crouch on and brood over the city, forgotten subway tunnels, old steam tunnels (that are still going; nobody seems to know why), underground railways leading in and out of the city, and probably a heavily used port (with some deeply dredged channels for the really big ships). Sections of the city are practically a No-Man's-Land as far as the police are concerned (look up Cabrini Green in Chicago for ideas), sections are kind of okay-ish, and the uber-rich section (probably on a bluff, or as a suburb just outside the city itself) that is so protected that it might as well be a military base disguised as a gated community.

For the focus on Cape & Cowl gaming, as well as the unpowered vigilantes, the skills get twitchy since the Special Training characters don't get to roll for skill programs. Since their beginning skills are pretty well set, I recommend giving them 50% of their IQ as Bonus Skills, as well as allowing them to get martial arts with them from Ninjas & Super Spies. Personally, I would permit up to 2 martial arts forms, purchased at 3 Skill Slots per. As an alternative, I would allow limited cybernetics for the Hunter/Vigilante and Secret Operative, allowed in a similar vein as the Superspy in N&SS. That, or 1-2 minor powers for the other Special Trainings. Don't allow anything flashy, try to shoot for more subtle powers. A third alternative is to take the Megahero Option from Rifter #37 and merge any two of the Special Training classes. This is a rather higher-powered option, and definitely more suited for the lone hero sort (Batman, The Question, that sort of person).

As for the police not tolerating vigilantes, that's actually pretty easy. The first and most basic are politics and the press grilling them over 'The Vigilante that is Making The Police Look Like Chumps'. The police HATE this sort of thing, so that gives them a lot of incentive to hunt down the vigilante as well as actually look good for the press. The second is the organized crime families, who are frowning at the decrease in revenue, increase in population resistance to their policies, and the sudden and random power vacuums. They are very likely to first put pressure on their own police to put down the vigilante. This will result in dedicated anti-vigilante task forces with huge fundings. When that fails, they will hire professionals to deal with the 'upstart who doesn't know how things are done'. This is where the really colorful villains start coming into the equation. These professionals may well move into the city and start taking over the suddenly open spots in the power struggle that the vigilantes have now opened up.

[zerombr]

I do believe that Cascade needs a new OCC to work with that might help cover the void left by no education level characters.

[Regularguy]

I do believe that Cascade needs a new OCC to work with that might help cover the void left by no education level characters.

Why?

Give me a list of what you'd like a street-level vigilante in Cascade to accomplish; heck, sketch out three or four or five lists, if you want to build skilled crimefighters with different specialties. Let's see whether they can be modeled within the existing system before we declare the need for something new.

[wyrmraker]

I really don't think that a new Power Category is needed for what you're shooting for. Some modifications to the standard, maybe. But not a whole new category. But since we're not sure exactly what you're looking to have in this city, I can't really be certain of your goals.

[Regularguy]

Bumping because I'd still like to see which skills you figure (a) would be needed by such a vigilante, but (b) couldn't be lined up within the existing rules.

I mean, the bizarre restriction this board has against writing up characters from the comics? For once, that's gone. You can describe a masked crimefighter or two -- or ten -- and we can all take shot after shot at building superheroes who mirror your every concept.

So what do you have in mind?

[wyrmraker]

Bumping because I'd still like to see which skills you figure (a) would be needed by such a vigilante, but (b) couldn't be lined up within the existing rules.

I mean, the bizarre restriction this board has against writing up characters from the comics? For once, that's gone. You can describe a masked crimefighter or two -- or ten -- and we can all take shot after shot at building superheroes who mirror your every concept.

So what do you have in mind?

Wait, what? I thought that conversions from the comics were very strictly prohibited here. Did that suddenly change?

[Regularguy]

Wait, what? I thought that conversions from the comics were very strictly prohibited here. Did that suddenly change?

No, those are still banned for some reason. My point is that zerombr is envisioning heroes of his own for Cascade who he feels can't be written up with the existing rules.

So he wouldn't be asking "Hey, how could you build Aquaman?" but rather "I'm picturing a hacker with the skills of a professional thief, partnered up with a master of disguise who excels at electronic surveillance; they're both expert martial artists; can we do either of those characters at present, or do we need a new kind of hero?"

[wyrmraker]

Wait, what? I thought that conversions from the comics were very strictly prohibited here. Did that suddenly change?

No, those are still banned for some reason. My point is that zerombr is envisioning heroes of his own for Cascade who he feels can't be written up with the existing rules.

So he wouldn't be asking "Hey, how could you build Aquaman?" but rather "I'm picturing a hacker with the skills of a professional thief, partnered up with a master of disguise who excels at electronic surveillance; they're both expert martial artists; can we do either of those characters at present, or do we need a new kind of hero?"

Ah, gotcha. I thought that my suggestions made a good, reasonable attempt to bridge that concept.

[wyrmraker]

Oh, and direct conversions are forbidden because of Intellectual Property rights. Let's be honest, nobody wants to get sued by Disney.

[zerombr]

I really don't think that a new Power Category is needed for what you're shooting for. Some modifications to the standard, maybe. But not a whole new category. But since we're not sure exactly what you're looking to have in this city, I can't really be certain of your goals.

exactly, it doesn't have to be something new for the sake of new, more that there's certain elements that feel missing in the OCCs already out there.

Considering that I figure Cascade is about low/no powers, that side can be examined more thoroughly

[wyrmraker]

I really don't think that a new Power Category is needed for what you're shooting for. Some modifications to the standard, maybe. But not a whole new category. But since we're not sure exactly what you're looking to have in this city, I can't really be certain of your goals.

exactly, it doesn't have to be something new for the sake of new, more that there's certain elements that feel missing in the OCCs already out there.

Considering that I figure Cascade is about low/no powers, that side can be examined more thoroughly

What elements do you feel are missing from the current selections?

[Regularguy]

Ah, gotcha. I thought that my suggestions made a good, reasonable attempt to bridge that concept.

I figure your first suggestion involves good and reasonable ways to give a Special Training guy 'bonus skills and martial arts' -- but ain't that the point of a by-the-book Physical Training character? You can pick three skill programs, plus ten other scholastic skills, plus keep all ten secondary skills since you get a terrific martial art at no cost: attractive option in the game as written (and especially for Cascade), but who'd pick a PT if the ST gets the same goodies?

As for 'limited cybernetics, or 1-2 minor powers' -- again, why not just play a well-educated supersoldier? (And, again, why play a supersoldier if the ST gets that stuff?)

[wyrmraker]

Ah, gotcha. I thought that my suggestions made a good, reasonable attempt to bridge that concept.

I figure your first suggestion involves good and reasonable ways to give a Special Training guy 'bonus skills and martial arts' -- but ain't that the point of a by-the-book Physical Training character? You can pick three skill programs, plus ten other scholastic skills, plus keep all ten secondary skills since you get a terrific martial art at no cost: attractive option in the game as written (and especially for Cascade), but who'd pick a PT if the ST gets the same goodies?

As for 'limited cybernetics, or 1-2 minor powers' -- again, why not just play a well-educated supersoldier? (And, again, why play a supersoldier if the ST gets that stuff?)

You raise some excellent points. And while Physical Training rolls normally on the Skill Program chart, Special Training characters don't. They get a set list of skills.

As for the Super Soldier option, I see where you're going insofar as the book figures go. And I agree that, based on what the section grants, it would probably do the trick. But the unpowered Cape & Cowl style of roleplay doesn't usually lend itself to the concept of Super Soldiers. Experiments, maybe, but not highly trained militants. But that's my view on the matter.

[Regularguy]

As for the Super Soldier option, I see where you're going insofar as the book figures go. And I agree that, based on what the section grants, it would probably do the trick. But the unpowered Cape & Cowl style of roleplay doesn't usually lend itself to the concept of Super Soldiers. Experiments, maybe, but not highly trained militants. But that's my view on the matter.

Just bear in mind that -- despite the name -- supersoldiers remain eligible for the assorted background options under "Experiment": you can do private industry, you can do medical research, and you can even do the bit where the unusual abilities developed later, completely unknown to whoever bankrolled the operation.

So if you want limited cybernetics and 1-2 minor powers, but as a never-been-on-the-radar vigilante instead of a career military officer working for a well-informed agency, then, hey, that's fine; just note that a badly-injured private citizen underwent experimental surgery they hoped would almost bring him back up to normal, such that he's the only one who knows the prosthetics and medicines worked better than expected.

(I mean, the cybernetics have to come from somewhere; the supersoldier at least gets the low-key nobody-ever-really-noticed option that, say, the Bionic hero -- or even the Secret Operative! -- lacks.)

That said, as you hint at the end it wouldn't be crazy to do the "low-or-no-powers" thing as a vigilante who -- well, look, imagine a 'mutant' who got that way not from radiation or chemistry but just from having one-in-a-million genes; and imagine, too, that he didn't get any of the flashy powers: no flying around faster than a speeding bullet, no walking through walls like a ghost, but just "extraordinary" abilities.

No, not strength and speed; extraordinary mental endurance -- which even you could have without noticing it. And extraordinary PB, which grants -- a PB score you could've rolled anyway. And extraordinary MA and PP, to boost assorted skills -- but not, of course, past a 98% chance of succeeding. And even an extraordinary IQ, to -- do more of the same.

So he never does impossible stuff, because he's not inhumanly good at anything: he's smart and he's sneaky, he's strong-willed and a smooth talker, and, man, that's it; he's not a mutant of the superhuman-strength-and-a-prehensile-tail variety; he's a mutant in that he's, uh, y'know, ambidextrous and skillful. Good fit for Cascade?

[Regularguy]

Wanted to bump this just to tease out the low-or-no-powers idea a bit:

So there's the Hardware: Weapons Expert, right? Can play marksman with any modern weapon, or defend himself with any ancient weapon if you catch him without a gun, or play the hand-to-hand expert with crescent kicks and hip throws if he's unarmed -- and box against a boxer, and wrestle against a wrestler, you name it; a man so dangerous, he gets his own horror factor.

You could play a vigilante like that in Cascade. You could read a comic book about a crimefighter like that, and never once think hey, that guy is clearly super-powered.

So -- what changes if you play a guy with the Natural Combat Ability major power and the Horror Factor minor power? I mean, yada yada every weapon proficiency; yada yada crazy unarmed combat skill; yada yada horror factor. If you were reading that vigilante's comic-book adventures instead of the other guy's, what's the difference?

He still can't fly or lift a car; can't walk through walls or, honestly, prove he has any powers; could you tell?

Heightened Sense Of Touch basically just grants a bonus to a bunch of skills; Karmic Power basically just grants a bonus to every skill, so long as it's for an important cause; and folks shooting at our hero lose their bonuses, sure as he's a crack shot when he takes aim with a called shot, but -- look, again, if you were reading that guy's comic-book adventures, you'd only ever see luck and skill. And if you saw a guy like that in Cascade, you'd maybe figure he was the "no" in "no-or-low-powers".

Extraordinary PE means you can take a punch, or survive a stabbing -- but you'd still get crippled or killed if you're punched or stabbed enough times, and you'd still get turned into hamburger from a hail of bullets. And so in Cascade, you'd probably rely on stealth and wear body armor. And sooner or later you'd probably still wind up in the hospital anyway.

And so on. And so on. Heightened Sense Of Taste? Really? Really?

So if you want low-or-no-powers guys, looks to me like there are all kinds of options beyond the Mechanical Genius and Physical Training and et cetera. And, come to think of it, you could even play a Mutant Animal who spends BIO-E on a human voice and human looks and human hands and human size and -- wait, what's that? You no longer have enough BIO-E left to afford Underwater Abilities or whatever, but can mundanely put your college degree to use as a stealthy crimefighter in Cascade?

I'd play that character. I'd have a blast playing that character.

Would that character count as low-or-no-powers? Hey, you tell me.

[Regularguy]

No responses? I'll just keep going...

* ADHESION. It gives you an oh-so-small chance of falling when climbing, and bonuses to half-a-dozen other skills -- just like a guy who has no powers but eventually got 98% proficiency at all of that stuff anyway. This ain't exactly Winged Flight, where you (a) have wings, and (b) can fly; in a low-or-no-powers setting like Cascade, you can't disprove "no".

* DISRUPTIVE TOUCH. You know how Ninjas and Superspies opens up the option of learning a martial art with crazy nerve strikes that can inflict pain or paralysis or blindness or death? So, yeah. I don't want to get all conversion-y here, which is why I'll note without specifics that I've read comics where a supposedly non-powered superhero lines these up while getting the win. Because that's comic-book plausible for a skilled crimefighter struggling to clean up the streets of Cascade.

* ALTER METABOLISM. Be honest: if you read a comic book about a guy who can stay awake for days before passing out, and go without food and water until he's famished and needs an emergency gallon of hydration, and suffers headaches after forcing himself to remain calm, and feels slow and lethargic when he's trying to resist poisons or diseases -- which can still cripple or kill him, since, y'know, he's only human -- where would you put him on the low-or-no-powers spectrum?

* PSIONICS. Same as above, but for a speed-reader who resists fatigue, summons inner strength, and occasionally works a photographic-memory feat of recall: would a guy like that be out of place in Cascade? Heck, would a guy like that be out of place right here in the real world?

* MUTANT ANIMAL. Advanced Vision is, as far as I can tell, 20/10 eyesight. Which, as far as I can tell, some people have, sure as Advanced Hearing ain't too far behind, and don't get me started on Hold Breath. Would a crimefighter with one of those count as low-powered or no-powered? Would said crimefighter feel at home in Cascade? Yeah, probably.

Are there other options for the low-or-no-powers set? Yeah, plenty.

[Razorwing]

I think the Minor Hero option from PU2 would work well in this case... especially with the powers mentioned above that aren't obvious or flashy.

[Regularguy]

I think the Minor Hero option from PU2 would work well in this case... especially with the powers mentioned above that aren't obvious or flashy.

I'd gladly play a Minor Hero in Cascade, but the problem is that they get nerfed twice, losing out on both powers and skills. You could still build a nifty character with those limitations, but your mention of the PU books makes me want to talk up some more so-low-key-as-to-practically-be-hypothetical powers for guys with oodles and oodles of skills.

So -- coming back around to what I'd said about Horror Factor, and how every nonpowered Hardware: Weapons Expert gets one just by dint of being so good with guns, consider how Awe Factor (a) does pretty much the same thing, and also (b) lets you impress people if and only if you do something really impressive. Which is getting really meta. I mean, that's like saying you have the power to knock people down by hitting them hard enough to knock them down, or the power to guess any lock's combination as long as it's Left-20-Right-35-Left-10.

And since the Weapons Expert gets it due to his expertise with weapons, make it more plausible for Cascade's skilled hero by giving him the Targeting power to help his marksmanship along. And, so long as you have PU3 open, throw in, say, Defensive Will and Focused Touch to let him dodge and parry and shove and disarm like a character straight out of NINJAS & SUPERSPIES, except he can't keep it up for long and it tires him out a bit.

And if you have one of the other PU books open, maybe build a skilled hero for Cascade by giving him (a) whatever skills make sense, plus (b) Battle Rage and Iron Will and Lightning Reflexes and Physical Perfection -- and, if you want to go all NINJAS & SUPERSPIES again, add Whip Attack too. So he's confident and athletic and good-looking and maybe has a specialized knack for improvised weapons, and, well, that's pretty much it.

If I read comics starring those vigilantes, I'm not sure where I'd figure either of 'em on a low-to-no-powers scale. But it'd probably be "no".

And I probably wouldn't even try to write them up as Physical Training heroes, because, well, they're not that good.

[Regularguy]

One more, just for the heck of it:

Imagine a sneaky guy who excels at classic Hardware stuff, building and repairing and operating everything from handguns to helicopters -- the kind of adventurer who'd maybe have been a pulp hero in the '30s, or a WWII fighter ace in the '40s, or a car-chases-and-shootouts lawman busting dirty commie spies in the '50s -- all while just looking like a nonpowered sharpshooter/wiretapper/safecracker/whatever.

Put him in present-day Cascade and he'd fit just fine.

But now add a wrinkle that wouldn't have really shown up back then: whenever he sits down at the computer du jour, he says something like "Good thing I hacked this last week," and types in a password and he's in. Or he says "I see the computer virus I designed has wormed its way in," and he's already all set. The point is, he says something, anything.

Now, with Gravity Manipulaion that would be absurd. You can't rise into the air to rescue a little girl from the top of a burning building, and then play it off with a quick sentence about how you spent last weekend trying and trying to fly until you finally got it right. You can't casually lift a two-ton vehicle and tell amazed onlookers you wrote a computer program that tells trucks to let you use them as throwing weapons.

Well, you could, but nobody would take you seriously.

But with Mechano-Link? Yeah, you're golden.

[gaby]

Well I would allow some of the Special abilities from Rifts Black market to be use.

[Regularguy]

Coming back around, it occurs to me that a couple of Special Training guys could well be woefully overpowered in a setting like Cascade; mere superhumans with low-key abilities can fit in with no trouble at all, but an Ancient Master and a Super Sleuth...

"Wait, what? When the crooks ran out to their getaway car..."
"...they saw I'd picked it up and carried it away, yes."
"How? You look like you'd lift three, maybe three-fifty."
"Actually, more like seven."
"Okay, seven hundred pounds."
"No, seven tons."
"Wow."
"I know, right?"
"So then they pulled their guns on you?"
"Well, I zapped one before he could pull the trigger."
"Beg pardon?"
"Yeah, I can generate energy blasts. It's weird."
"No argument here. But what about the rest of 'em?"
"Oh, my sidekick pitched an incendiary grenade at me."
"That, uh, doesn't make any sense."
"It sure does; I'm totally impervious to fire and heat!"
"So it killed or crippled them, and didn't even muss your hair?"
"He usually sprays me with a flamethrower!"
"I don't even..."
"We call it Attack Plan Alpha!"
"Of course you do. Hey, how'd you track these guys down?"
"My partner is psychic."
"So, what, he touched a bullet at the previous crime scene..."
"...and saw the bearded gunman's distinctive tattoo."
"Huh."
"Plus his age, height, race, occupation..."
"Naturally."
"And that he'd later shaved off his beard and dyed his hair."
"Bwuh?"
"Yeah, he can also see what's happened since."
"So he saw this location?"
"Easy as breaking the Olympic high-jump record without a running start."
"That's not easy at all."
"No? Stand back, I'll do it right now."