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FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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OVERVIEW
HOW TO JOIN | POWERS | IN-GAME CONDUCT
GENERAL MECHANICS | ARRIVAL | GUILDS | SETTING
NAVIGATION
OVERVIEW
HOW TO JOIN | POWERS | IN-GAME CONDUCT
GENERAL MECHANICS | ARRIVAL | GUILDS | SETTING
NAVIGATION
GAME OVERVIEW
In tone and event style, Meta Heroes is a love letter to cape comics of all forms, and is designed to be flexible and support the varied sub-genres of the medium and its diverse fans. In an alternate modern Earth where metahumans are the norm and guilds of superheroes and supervillains have made a pact to keep the peace, supernatural Confluences have begun to pull individuals from different universes together.
These individuals may already possess superhuman abilities, or they may be imbued with new superpowers by the Confluence itself. These new metas are invited to join a guild and do what they can to support the universe as it bears the weight of these Confluences, and perhaps even finds out how to stop them. Interested players can find more details on the PREMISE page.
Yes! Any character who joins a Guild is free to return home using their respective Guild’s dimensional portal after two months within the game. Returning home creates a new timeline that the character will return to upon subsequent visits.
Players are free to play time passing without them, or play it as though this new timeline is paused while they are not present.
They are able to stay there for a maximum of two weeks, at which point they will find themselves pulled back to the Metaheroes universe the same way they arrived.
If multiple characters return home at once the first one through the portal determines the canon point. The first one through also determines what universe they are going to.
Any attempt to return home prior to their two month anniversary within the game will result in the character immediately being yanked back to the Metaheroes world by unknown forces.
Characters are able to return to the Metaheroes universe using their Guild issued Teleporter, as it is programmed to return them to that dimension in the event of an emergency.
Not really. While characters are encouraged to sign up with either of the guilds in game, guild membership is not required. Many characters remain civilians and make their own way. The focus of the game is not on characters empowering one of the guilds to defeat the other.
Additionally, on the Earth of Meta Heroes, guild relations have benefited from years of work aimed at peaceful coexistence. As such, characters have no explicit mechanical limitations on their cross-guild interactions (though players are encouraged to play with reputation).
The role of the guilds in the game is not to wage war with one another. At present, the mods do not anticipate these guilds being in opposition to one another in events. Rather, this mechanic offers player characters the resources necessary to facilitate player plots. For more info, see the GUILDS page.
A mod-driven metaplot exists in the shape of a series of game-wide events related to the Confluences and their impact on this universe and others. These events will offer some room for personalized character influence on fallout.
To lower the access barrier to new players and reduce the necessity of learning game history, the metaplot is broken into 4-6 month arcs, each developed to be self-contained. Arc length may vary based on player interest and engagement, but each of these arcs build towards characters gaining access to something new. The current arc focuses on integrating player characters into the world, with each event introducing new setting elements.
However, the metaplot is not the primary focus of the game. The metaplot merely operates as a tool to further the characters' personal stories, serving as a backdrop that motivates characters to engage the setting, build CR, and use their new powers. Mod-run events are tailored to plant seeds that facilitate the running of player plots, which will be the game's primary focus. For more information on how Meta Heroes handles player plots, see the PLOTTING page.
The mods will post an monthly arrival log detailing the circumstances of the latest Confluence that brings the new batch of characters into the world.
In addition, the mods will also post larger and more impactful bimonthly event logs. These logs are offset from the arrival log to give characters time to settle in before participating. This schedule is subject to change based on the needs of the game. For a rough outline of future log and application period dates, please see the CALENDAR page. Outside these events, the mods encourage players to develop their own ideas. To help provide a starting point, the mods will list small events and prompts in the STATE OF THE GAME each month.
Off-months are reserved for advancing personal player plots. This may take the form of down-time to give players the chance to build their own storylines, or it may involve the culmination of a player's individual plotting in a game-wide or large-scale player plot. In addition to receiving mod support in development, any large-scale player plots will be promoted via the mod game calendar and state of the game to improve engagement with these events. For example, a cursed house draws player characters in House of Leaves style, and Stephen Strange binds the otherworldly curse and winds up settling in the house to watch over its magic. Players interested in running a game-wide player plot or in getting mod help brainstorming personal plots can visit the PLOTTING page.
Lastly, a variety of mod-hosted memes will go up monthly. TEST DRIVE MEMES and WORLDBUILDING MEMES will go up together every other month, and in alternate months, the mods will post CR MEMES. Players may also post memes (such as IC anon memes, hearts meme, etc.) in addition to these as often as they like. Players can post OOC memes to![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
metamemes, and IC memes can be posted by characters in metaheroes.
JOINING THE GAME
Yes! This means all players need an invitation from a member of the game in order to join. Each current player receives one invite per application cycle. (Please note that if moderators feel that a player isn't a good fit for the game, they may decline a player's invite.) Prospective players who don't know anyone in the game but really want to join can request an invite at the MOD CONTACT page.
That said, the TEST DRIVE MEMES are open to everyone and can be treated as a space to voice-test and engage with the setting to see if it'd be a good fit.
Canon characters and canon AUs from any genre, format, or medium — such as television, anime, realistic fiction, etc. — are welcome. This game is not restricted to characters from the superhero genre. Players drawing from new canon material should wait one calendar month from the release date before applying for a new character or using a recent installment as a canon point.
CRAUs are welcome provided they have only one game's worth of memories. There is no limit on how much time has passed since that game. (E.g., it's fine to play with a CRAU from a game in 2015, but not a game from 2015 and another game since then.)
Original characters are also welcome, including those native to the world of Meta Heroes. For the sake of fairness, any OCs native to this world will be limited to being new and/or low tier heroes, villains, or vigilantes just starting to work their way up. The exception to this would be if a player wanted to app a short-term character for the purposes of a large scale player plot. For more information, see this thread.
Malleable or silent protagonists will be accepted on a case-by-case basis. In these instances, the mods are looking for objective characterization developed through immutable plot events, character choices, and NPC relationships that suggest a consistent personality in the protagonist. This is to avoid situations where malleable protagonists sometimes walk the line with canon OCs. Some positive examples of acceptable malleable or silent protagonists would be Link from Zelda and the Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy XIV, while this game is not such a good fit for DC Universe Online characters. In addition, we will only accept one version of these protagonists into the game at a time.
Alternate versions of characters already in the game (MCU Tony Stark & 616 Tony Stark) are permitted in instances where they differ significantly. These differences should be explicitly highlighted in the application if another version of the character already exists in the game. Please do this in the 'areas of interest' section of the application, with consideration to how your iteration of the character would cultivate substantially different CR or plots from the version that already exists in game.
Players who want to play multiple characters from the same canon must demonstrate that those characters never interact in canon and would not have significant CR overlap or reason to interact in the game. In such instances, playing multiple characters from a single canon may be permitted.
We currently do not allow for canon OCs or fan-made AUs.
Each player may have up to four characters. However, players may not submit more than two applications per round for the sake of managing both the mods' workload and the game's growth.
Permission to app a fifth character may be granted if the player proves themselves capable of keeping four characters consistently active.
Absolutely! Ordinary pets can be listed as 'Inventory' items. However, pets like Swiftwind from She-Ra, who possess their own special abilities and personality, should be listed in the application's 'Powers' section.
There is no forced humanization in this game. Characters who aren't human are welcome to stay that way and keep any and all associated limitations, peculiarities, and powers. This is true for alien characters, oversized characters, and more.
There are, however, a number of accommodations that can help these characters navigate the setting. Non-human characters who join the guilds will be provided with holo-watches and/or enchanted jewelry that help them pass. These easily-removed tokens project the image of an ordinary human (or metahuman, though any visible marker of powers elicits some level of unease) so they can live out a normal life. They can also resize characters or suppress intrinsically hazardous powers to manageable levels. (Note: For the sake of contributing to a more stable society, the guilds will allow oversized and inherently dangerous characters to keep these tokens regardless of guild membership.)
Non-human characters with special dietary needs will find that the guilds each offer members resources to help meet those needs. For more information, see THIS THREAD.
Players of civilian characters are also welcome to invent their own solutions for this problem — this might involve a 'brainstorming' request on the PLOTTING page, or plotting with other players' characters, who might use their abilities to help each other blend in or manage their unique forms and abilities.
POWERS
Characters with canon abilities are welcome to keep them with minimal nerfing.
Due to the methods through which characters arrive, players can also alter characters' canon power sets to suit OOC preferences. The Confluences are a surge of magical, divine, technological, and alien powers surging together, which means the sky's the limit for character power changes! Characters can lose some or all of their old abilities and gain new ones, or modify existing abilities.
Characters should enter Meta Heroes with no more than four powers total. This means powerless characters can gain up to four new powers, while characters with existing power sets can only add powers if it doing so would not bring them over the limit of four.
That said, characters who canonly possess more than four powers can generally keep all of their powers. Often, these characters' abilities are nested under a broader category, such as a species or race. For example, Superman's powers are derived from his Kryptonian physiology and can be listed as a single power under that umbrella. Note that when writing their applications, players are required to explain all associated sub-powers.
In situations of CRAU powers changes, powers gained in other games are considered part of the character's canon power set — the total limit of four powers still applies. Characters who lost their canon powers as part of another game should discuss the specific details of the situation with the moderators.
At present, any ability to travel between dimensions and planes is limited. This particular ability is restricted for plot reasons, and may become available again at a later time. Players interested in mishaps with their character's efforts to exercise this power may make use of the PLOTTING post to discuss options with the mod team.
For other characters with potentially difficult powers, players are asked to exercise good judgment on how and when the character employs those powers. As an example, Superman does not rewind time in every issue of his comic — he saves it for the big moments. These big moments would generally involve a player plot submission and mod approval.
For smaller instances, or for powers that could involve controlling other players' characters, players are required to institute an opt-in post. For example, Damon Salvatore or Kilgrave could not control the minds of any player character who has not explicitly opted into being mind controlled.
If this policy changes, this FAQ will be updated.
Though the game doesn't have heavy focus on PVP combat, it can arise. In those situations, embellishing characters' powers and refusing to confront their fallibility can lead to certain players dominating plots, leaving little room for other players.
To this end, all prospective players are asked to adopt a certain comic philosophy upon entering the game: if Squirrel Girl can take down Thanos, any character can defeat any other character with the right toolset, set-up, and attitude. Players are encouraged to respect each other — including leaving room for other players in plots and considering their interests — and to acknowledge that the biggest fish in a pond may be a small fish in the ocean. A player who has not considered how their character could lose a fight might not be the best fit for this game.
This ethic is reflected in the application, where all players are required to list their characters' power limitations and weaknesses, allowing for scenarios where their character might be bested. This may require introducing nerfs or limitations that may not exist in canon. In extreme situations, the moderators may ask players to introduce further limitations to other gamebreaking powers on a case-by-case basis during the application process.
If concerns about fairness surface, players can contact the moderators and ask that a dice be rolled to determine the outcome of a fight.
IN-GAME CONDUCT
The Meta Heroes mod team believes that engaging game events are what incentivize player activity, not minimum thread and comment requirements. For this reason, the game does not have minimum activity requirements.
Instead, activity check-ins will involve summarizing what a character was doing during the month. Players can feel free to link threads for their own reference in these activity summary posts. Players who include activity links in their summaries and/or make clear reference to the resources they're gathering and relationships they're building may find their characters receive preferential treatment and extra support from the guilds when attempting to run plots.
Mod-run NPCs are largely set pieces designed to facilitate conflict and plotting by player characters. While they will occasionally be available for threading, most interactions with these NPCs will be handwaved to support a plot or event.
To that end, players can feel free to inform the mods about their character's relationships to these NPCs when submitting a relevant plot involving them. Note that any substantive interaction with a mod NPC should be cleared through the NPC ENGAGEMENT page.
The spirit of superhero comics involves big and bombastic plots that mods can't always provide to players on the individual level due to issues of workload. For this reason, the mod team seeks to empower players to develop their own personal plots.
Players have the freedom to develop their own story elements — such as NPC heroes and villains, external plot hooks, random effects, setting features, and so on — in order to shape the world and run their own events. Every other month, the mods will host a WORLDBUILDING MEME where players can share their NPCs, businesses, and other setting elements with one another.
This game encourages players to invent villainous NPCs and run plots using them. However, when planning for characters to make big, dramatic actions that may affect the world around them, players should run plotting ideas by the mods before implementing them. More information on how to do this can be found at the Plotting page.
Players can also bring murkier ideas or general goals to the mods at this post in order to get help developing ideas or fitting them into the game setting. If something isn't feasible in the game, the mods will offer alternate options to achieve the same effect.
Over HERE!
All forms of fourth-walling are opt-in only. Before talking to a thread partner about fourth-walling their character and getting permission, players must steer clear of writing their characters as recognizing any others as coming from popular media — even if they know of that property explicitly in canon. This is true for all forms of fourth-walling and canon puncturing, including dialogue, narration, and character thoughts.
In addition, please note that all characters arrive into the game from universes in which they are real people living in real worlds. No characters are coming in from fictional canons as book or television characters coming to life, regardless of whether or not players agree upon the existence of a fictionalized account of that character's life in another character's universe.
Characters' canons are not available for consumption in the game setting, so no NPCs will process any characters as fictional. Similarly, media containing other characters' canons will never be allowed to be brought into the game either via item drop or inventory items brought in when players apply.
Characters are welcome to participate in the creation and development of fictionalized accounts of their own or others' lives in-universe, but they would not be identical to characters' canon materials, and this too should be done only with the approval of the character in question's player. Consider for example, Loki's theatrical production of Thor: Dark World produced in Asgard during the events of Thor: Ragnarok for a model of this, or the Rogers! musical in Disney+'s Hawkeye.
GENERAL MECHANICS
Upon arrival into the game, the guilds provide characters with high-end cellphones. Even characters who refuse to sign with the guilds are permitted to keep these phones, though they will become financially responsible for the service plan.
The primary method of online communication is a social media site called OURPOWERS. Developed by and for metahumans to foster community bonding, the site has become the primary social hub for metas online, and is now used by non-metas as well. While the platform is primarily text and image, characters can also send voice and video messages. An additional rooms feature allows for live video and audio calls that characters can hop in and out of to carry on conversations and/or mute people as they see fit, a la Zoom or Discord.
Access is public, so characters will not be restricted from the network based on guild affiliation, but content can be filtered to groups or individuals. Player characters' accounts are made by the guilds, and they are given access to a group unique to others who are displaced from their home worlds. They can make posts public to all metas (and non-metas) in the world.
OurPowers operates much like Facebook, in that character accounts require a profile picture to display beside their civilian name or alias on every post they make. OurPowers does not allow for usernames, only identifiable aliases.
There is also an anonymous feature available.
Underneath that is the guild server. The Society and the Alliance both have unique, (mostly) unhackable network servers where they can communicate within their respective organization. An additional server group exists as an all-anonymous board where many civilian metas gather to communicate and share intelligence.
Player characters will revive upon death! The forces keeping them in this world are also keeping them alive. If you are interested in your character being the first death in-game, please contact the mod team. We are happy to help facilitate this plot and let you know what it entails.
Players have full discretion over grievously injuring their characters, though all players involved should preemptively or contemporaneously discuss injuries inflicted by and upon other player characters and make sure they're on the same page OOC.
Recovery method, degree, and time are matters of player discretion. Experimental treatments, prosthetics, magic, and healers can deal with debilitating injuries in ways that go beyond what is available in the real world. While cybernetics are available, players should be aware they will not grant additional powers, though they can interface with old hardware if the character possessed them.
Association with the guilds will give players access to very discrete doctors and top-of-the-line healthcare. For those unaffiliated with a guild, there are back alley doctors who will work for cheap.
Characters can even be revived up to two hours after their death. This can be accomplished through the powers of other player characters, NPC healers, cybernetics, magic, and so forth. Depending on the method, players are free to brainstorm and implement further complications around their characters' deaths. All deaths should be reported to the to the Plotting page so that consequences can be discussed.
After two hours, characters are considered beyond healing. NPCs and other player characters alike might be able to heal the injuries that killed the character in question, but they will not be returned to a living state. To explore revival beyond this point, players must reach out to the mod team prior to the character's death to arrange a large-scale player Plot to facilitate it.
Collateral damage incurred during crimes may get characters into trouble, so all crimes should be reported to the mods via the Plotting page so that IC consequences can be meted out appropriately for IC actions.
That said, this game has specific mechanics to keep villains playable instead of forced into a permanent lock-up. Characters caught out of costume will serve a few days to a few weeks of lock-up at minimum, but in general, justice for metahumans works a little differently and depends guild membership.
Players should respond to the dedicated canon and power updates page over HERE. Respond with 'CANON UPDATE' or 'POWER UPDATE' in the subject line and briefly summarize important events, personality changes, or power changes that the character has undergone in about 350 words or less, using the form provided on the page. These requests will be processed each month with applications. (Players who find this limitation constricting because of the size or timing of their canon or powers update, please just reach out to the mods to chat about it.)
The IC mechanism of canon updating is flexible. Characters can receive a psychic flash refreshing their missing memories, or be physically synced to their original timeline during a Confluence or as a result of some other player plot. If it is during a Confluence, this would be happening concurrently with the Confluence; player characters would suddenly find themselves feeling a burst of energy, and at the same time, suddenly have the memories and physical changes associated with their canon update. Please include a note about the mechanic of the update in the request.
Similarly, characters may enter the game with one new power and undergo a change that spurs an additional power or change in powers — say, a lab experiment. Any update to character powers will still be subject to standard limits on total number of powers.
Characters who are dropped will vanish during the Confluence following their posted drop (see: arrival log). We'll include a list of dropped characters in our monthly STATE OF THE GAME alongside any characters who didn't check-in for activity.
The guilds have not yet successfully traced where individuals who vanish during Confluences go — and many of them may even seem skeptical that it is indeed related to the Confluences. After all, Confluences bring people here, and people vanish in mundane ways all the time! Maybe you should call up your nemesis and confirm they didn't break the Society of Villainous Intent's code...?
Players are free to re-apply for a character they played previously, regardless of whether that character was dropped or swept in activity. These characters can start with a clean slate or retain their memories. Interested players can contact the mod team HERE.
CHARACTER ARRIVAL
Characters are brought in through a Confluence, a supernatural event where multiple forces surge, converge, and create a short burst of extreme chaos. Exposure to these forces during a confluence results in ordinary people developing metahuman abilities.
Confluences have been occurring in this world for nearly a hundred years. As such, there is a small but robust population of metahumans in this world. Confluences were able to be predicted by the Guilds until the Starfallen began to arrive.
Once any threat caused by the confluence is dealt with, player characters and NPCs will gather up the new arrivals and take them to the guild base for debriefing.
For character development reasons, players are encouraged to do so! However, it's also acceptable to handwave that an NPC picked a character up and brought them up to speed. Arrival logs will contain prompts for characters to interact with each other in the neutral territory where all new arrivals are brought, and characters are free to make posts on the network.
Alternatively, characters can simply slip away in the chaos of the Confluence and avoid spending time amongst the guilds at all. This happens from time to time. Confluences are chaotic and spells miss people. They may have run away from the chaos and been out of range of the teleportation spell; or maybe they were unconscious when the spell was cast, and were left out in the cold. Characters who slip off without interacting with the Guilds have to build their own life and integrate into the world on their own (with much difficulty — see more on living Unaligned in the guilds section).
Players interested in this approach may choose to backdate their character's arrival to any previous Confluence as far back as 15 January 2022. This option exists to help players avoid rehashing a character's confusion, culture shock, or other redundant elements typical to the DWRP format. However, these characters cannot have done anything significant enough to warrant the notice of other players or the guilds during this time. This includes developing fame and renown in their civilian identity — though they are welcome to be quietly gathering resources or have done a little vigilantism/crime on the sly. These characters may have laid low and avoided detection on purpose, they may have simply neglected to join OURPOWERS, or they may have been dealing with some kind of off-grid powers mishap of their own. Players who want to get really tropey could even claim their character bonked their head and got temporary amnesia, only recently regaining their memories. Players interested in this route can CONTACT THE MODS to get help brainstorming ideas.
A local major corporation, Winters Industries, has set up a fund to help all newly-arrived Starfallen to help them adjust to the world. All new arrivals arrive above the community of Arcadia, which is run by the meta-aligned AI known as Virgil. Arcadia is a highly-advanced AI-generated home on the outside of Excelsior (known as the metro Excelsior area). Virgil encourages all new arrivals to join a Guild as soon as possible so they can be protected from predatory oversight and anti-metahuman sentiments, but offers Arcadia as a home for as long as necessary while they begin to acclimate to the world.
Thanks to funding from Winters Industries, Virgil is able to help newly-arrived Starfallen adapt to the world where they've arrived. Virgil offers training courses as needed to anyone struggling with the culture shock, and acts as an around-the-clock buddy to anyone truly in need. The partnership between Winters Industries and Virgil means that all new arrivals will be officially registered as a citizen in this world, but they're offered no other means to get started (thanks to government influence; anything else would be seen as fraud).
There is no expiration date on when someone must leave Arcadia, but resources will be limited after the first two months. Each new arrival will only have a stipend for room and board essentials, as well as limited health care (IE telehealth or walk-in clinics). Arcadia houses a large number of native metahumans affiliated with both the Alliance and the Society. Citizens, Starfallen or otherwise, are welcomed by Virgil, but any actions against the law will lead to them being ousted. Virgil refuses to put their other occupants at risk.
Arcadia itself is a lavish compound that looks like a castle on satellite. It has two entrances: its main entrance facing a body of water outside of Excelsior, as well as a doorway magically linked to Arcadia from within Excelsior. There may be other doors in other cities in the future, but Virgil hasn't tested their luck on expanding them just yet. Each apartment in Arcadia is customized to the needs of its occupants; colors, design, type of bedding, and even appliances are all adjusted to the occupant's needs. In addition to being a housing complex, Virgil has also decided to accept a makeshift Jurassic Park on its eastern side, and occupants are warned to be wary of this as Virgil hardly has the ability to control dinosaurs of all things.
While Arcadia is seen as a welcome refuge by many metahumans, anti-metahuman advocates and the government itself are opposed to what Arcadia could mean for the world, and have worked to add sanctions to it at every turn. This is a large part of why Virgil will pressure newcomers to join a Guild ASAP – they are limited in their reach. The Guilds can provide more, even if the person themselves would like to continue to live in Arcadia. The Guilds work together with Virgil to offer resources and connections to its people, and part of Virgil's standard welcoming package includes a neutral outline of what each Guild has to offer to the world.
THE GUILDS
As far as the government is concerned, it would be irresponsible to let metahumans run around unchecked. The guild system was created to control metahumans of all kinds; because of this, metahumans of any significant power are legally required to join either the Guardian Alliance or the Society of Villainous Reformation.
While there are no specific required duties associated with guild membership, it does come with financial perks. Most importantly, guild members will have substantial support in securing the documentation necessary to live a normal life here. Characters arrive without any identification or qualifications, but the guilds can help facilitate the process of securing these documents and certifications, as well as later supporting them in finding employment.
The guilds will help characters secure employment in regular jobs, and members can set their own schedules for heroism. On top of this, they receive a stipend from the guild for the help that they do provide. The guilds have connections to government officials and investors who can support characters who want to start small businesses, and will allow members to make use of their resources.
In addition, both guilds provide public housing for members. This housing is shared between both guilds, in the interest of promoting inter-guild camaraderie. (Guild members are also welcome to secure their own private housing and are not required to remain in guild-sponsored living spaces, though it is encouraged.)
Lastly, both guilds provide accident insurance and legal aid to their members. Guild members will not be held liable for any damage or incidents incurred while in the line of duty. This also includes protecting any members' secret identities, so that members are not targeted for consequences in their private lives.
When it comes to recruiting, the guilds are not terribly concerned with characters' pasts, nor with what they do when they're off duty, though they both have individual creeds. The differences between the guilds are briefly summarized below, but more information can be found on the GUILDS page.
It depends on how they wish to live their lives. While characters are ICly legally required to join if they intend to use their powers, players are free to have their characters decline the guilds' recruitment pitches or be overlooked by the guilds during the Confluences entirely. With this said there are heavy consequences to this choice.
Characters who choose this path will be considered ordinary civilians. They will be expected to keep their power usage to a minimum and lead ordinary lives away from metahuman activity.
The Guilds are the very heart of the metahuman community and whether members or not, all metahumans understand the importance of their role in their society. Characters who refuse their membership will have a significantly harder time integrating into the setting if they wish to use their powers.
If you intend to use your powers, by refusing membership to a Guild you are refusing to abide by either The Code or the Guardian Alliance’s rules of fair engagement. As such, they are viewed as a potential threat to the harmony of this world. It is viewed as an act of the utmost selfishness, and you will not find much sympathy or support for the consequences of this choice.
While they will maintain their phones and OURPOWERS access, and will receive a small stipend from Winters Industries to help fund their stay in this world, they will be on their own. A civilian identity will be created for them to allow them to integrate into the world but they will be expected to live as a civilian.
Known metahumans who do not join will find both guilds keeping tabs on them. No one wants to take the blame for unaffiliated supervillainry gone wrong or a vigilante making a mess of things. In addition, freelance work for metas can put characters at odds with guild members as it is unsanctioned and a potential hazard.
Worse, they will find that the government will actively be hunting them. Either to serve as a turncoat on the metahuman populace, an unwilling test subject, or as an unwilling member of its covert opts team.
Secret identities may also be harder to maintain in this situation for those who have a non-human appearance, as the guilds supply holo-watches, size-charms, and other items. While oversized characters and those with dangerous powers will be welcome to keep theirs for the stability of society, other metahumans who can't quite pass for human will have to find something on the black markets to provide equivalent discretion, and these may be of lower quality.
There are resources for unaffiliated metahumans available if they find themselves truly struggling; however, they are nowhere near as glamorous as what the guilds can offer. Civilians will need to work their way up on their own power.
The way they see it, the guilds keep the peace. They aren't enemies, they're simply diametrically opposed to their philosophy around powers and often clash over it. Veteran heroes grimly recount the dark days before the guilds were established, filled with chaos and unimaginable cruelty. Heroes taking vengeance upon villains, villains taking revenge on heroes, perpetuating an unending cycle of violence and death. The Guilds were able to bring order and peace to the metahuman community, having been built by metahumans for metahumans. Having these new heroes and villains live together ensures that they will be forced to consider their actions before they act as it also humanizes the supposed enemy.
To this end, the guilds often collaborate on a number of events and resources. For example, housing is shared across guilds, so characters may wind up with a nemesis for a roommate. In addition, both guilds send representatives to the Confluences for recruitment and support, as well as contributing to settling the new arrivals.
However, some members within the organizations wish for this unspoken truce to end. They want a return to the chaos and a destruction of the forces opposing them. Maybe this peace isn't as permanent as the world hopes...
Of course! Characters may join or leave a guild at any time. Sometimes good goes bad and vice versa. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.
However, the practicalities of switching teams might be simple, but there are consequences on a character's reputation. A former Alliance member coming to the Society will likely be seen as trying to spy on the latest plots, plans, and schemes. A former Society member coming into the Alliance might find that their new heroic companions don't trust them not to backslide and might hold grudges for old plots.
Absolutely! The Society and Alliance are just the umbrella which teams fall under. They actively encourage its members to make sub-groups. You're free to make your own hero or villain teams! Please be sure to submit the information about the team here.
SETTING
Confluences are not the only way that metahumans develop powers. Some individuals wind up with powers in other ways — because they're an alien come to Earth, as a result of a science experiment, etc. The circumstances of one's powers developing may influence how they feel about those powers and how they use them.
Because they've been part of this world, some children have inherited meta abilities from their parents. These powers usually resembles parents' powers and manifest during puberty, though in some cases it may be apparent from birth, and in other cases it may skip a generation.
Metahumans are still a relatively new phenomenon in the world. Though many people are passively accepting, treatment differs based on assimilation. Most metas won’t have any trouble finding themselves a place in their new community, but any awe or fear will vary depending on characters' powers and appearance. Metas who perform normalcy or don't draw attention their powers (especially dangerous powers) will have the easiest time, while metas with distinctly non-human appearances may face hardship. As a result, meta support groups have cropped up to help metas cope with the unique challenges they face.
Please note that any discrimination against metas is not intended to be a wholesale replacement or replication of any real-world discrimination. These difficult, real world issues will not be made essential to engaging the plot of the game, so as to avoid players feeling obligated to engage them. However, similarly, we don't want to close them off as avenues for players to engage. Players are welcome to engage discriminatory attitudes against metas as much or as little as they like, which is also true of the extent to which they are interested in engaging in-universe racism, sexism, queerphobia, and other forms of identity-based discrimination. Please apply content warnings to all identity-based discrimination.
Much like other real-world attitudes towards various marginalized identities and cultures, the extent to which metas are treated differently varies by local culture. Please refer to the Locations page for more information about the general attitude in a specific region.
Some heroes choose not to maintain one; however the Alliance and Society both strongly advocate for maintaining this secret. One reason to maintain this secret identity is that characters can lead a relatively normal life if their metahuman status is not public knowledge. Characters who are notably metahuman — because they're in costume, not wearing their holowatch to conceal their non-human appearance, or have not bothered to keep a secret identity — will be treated differently per the guidelines above.
For interested characters, the guilds will help characters hide their identity with costumes, cover stories, and new identities. They also provide characters with housing and civilian jobs to support it, but ultimately, secret identities are up to characters to maintain. A character's identity is considered secret so long as they have not been outed to the public.
Players are also welcome to reveal their character's identity. Characters should not reveal the secret identities of others without OOC consent. Please be sure to keep your character's affiliation and the status of their secret identity up to date on the Guilds page.
For most of the industrialized world, modern technology is roughly on par with what we have here in 2022.
However, due to connections to supergenius scientists and funding, metahumans often have access to advanced technology that the rest of the world won’t be seeing for many, many years. Examples of these advances include:
Internet culture is much the same as it is in our world, with influencers having a huge part in entertainment. And, love them or hate them, the world is obsessed with superheroes. Heroes can get rich doing brand deals or becoming reality tv stars.
There’s an in-world answer to social media in the form of OURPOWERS, what the network is built off of. Posts and comments on this app will be accompanied by characters' chosen civilian name/metahuman alias and profile picture.
The Guardian Alliance marketing department often scouts metas specifically to make them influencers, models, or actors. If those metas go into combat, it's all staged for b-roll footage. Characters can make a decent living as an influencer. Instagram, Youtube and Twitter are all thriving and hungry for meta-produced content. (Feel free to make these posts to the IC network community!)
Characters can be taught whatever skills they need in order to launch a career online. They can become movie stars, models, whatever they can conceive.
There’s a monthly gossip segment called RUE MOORE HAS IT hosted by popular internet personality Rue Moore. There, she airs salacious secrets — true and untrue — about heroes and villains. These rumors are a mix of player submissions and mod prompts. Characters are free to follow up on anything she mentions. Rumors can be submitted Here! Put on your best Gossip Girl impression and go wild. She does not fact-check so feel free to be as outlandish as possible.
The most popular meta media is reality TV show called Meta Mingle. It's more or less Big Brother with the serial numbers filed off, though no one is able to stay in the house for very long as the producer has it rigged. Still, it could be a good step to stardom if that's what your heart desires! The show is is always recruiting for new stars.
Any and all! Characters who join a guild will get the Society or Alliance's assistance in establishing them in their field of choice, including securing the right certifications, while civilian player characters may have a harder time getting higher paying positions due to lack of paperwork.
Characters who try to get jobs that they aren't qualified for will likely be found out quickly and shuffled to something within their skillset. But characters are welcome to become doctors, lawyers, police officers, and other salaried positions.
Players should contact the mods via a 'Brainstorming' request at the PLOTTING page before their character secures a job in any of the following:
School-aged characters are provided with government housing and given the opportunity to join the guilds just as adult characters can. If a character is too young to take care of themselves, they may be given assigned a guardian or foster family, most likely also of the meta community. Players may develop NPCs to serve as a character's foster family or reach out to fellow players. Older player characters can also handwave applying for custody of younger ones if they wish to take responsibility for them.
As young metahumans often struggle to control their powers and can be easy targets due to their inexperience and youth, the government has created a secret flying school that all young metahumans can attend. Buses come by in the morning to pick the characters up and use wormhole technology to teleport to the school. The school itself is mobile to prevent it from being an easy target. Adult characters are welcome to sign on to teach — in addition to the usual subjects, these schools teach meta teens control over their powers. This school focuses on training control above all else, though there are plenty of after school programs to promote heroism (and more than a few rowdy kids on their way to villainy).
Public school is an acceptable alternative for those who are coming in already set in their powers and fully trained. However, the government is not a fan of this due to a history of students being attacked at their schools. The process of authorizing schooling in a Confluence city exists, but the government discourages it through tedious paperwork meant to inspire movement toward using the government created and supported school.
It would be easier to get a GED and leave high school than to complete the series of hoops one must jump through for this.
Yes, though they should be aware that international travel through conventional means is heavily monitored. Traveling heroes are encouraged to lodge their plans with the Alliance, but it is not required. The Society strongly encourages its members to use alternate means of travel.
Not right away. Earth hasn’t advanced enough for convenient space travel.
Your character can attempt to get into space through flight or other means! But they'll find it incredibly difficult to leave the atmosphere, as if something is tethering them to Earth. We'll be exploring why that is later on!
However, aliens have lived on earth for centuries, however that’s not exactly by choice. Confluences tend to scramble their systems and leave them stranded on Earth, and while they can be found everywhere, most of them have settled in Little Love, where they either pass themselves off as metahumans or wear human disguises.
Magic has existed for as long as the universe has, although prior to the first Confluence it was far less well known. There are multiple forms of magic in the world and player characters can pursue learning magic if they are interested.
Most people do not have the aptitude for proficient magic use! However, everyone is at least a little bit magic. Strangely enough, the people of Sunset Falls are naturally gifted with (dark) magic use. They have the highest known number of magic users.
Gods exist within the world and are capable of taking on mortal forms if they so choose. These are very akin to the Gods in American Gods - they’re essentially concepts or beliefs personified as manifested by humanity.
These Gods are capable of blessing mortals with their power - often with enchanted weapons, but sometimes simply by making a mortal their paladin. Not all Gods are content with a life spent reminiscing about their glory days, and some have been planning to stage a war to gain control. Most of the Gods present and active within this world are disconnected from real world beliefs and mythologies.
The strangeness of the world has given rise to a number of new religions — that's just par for the course when people get superpowers. Most are harmless. There's been a pleasant resurgence in people worshipping old and forgotten Gods, and those Gods seeking to lend their aid in times of crisis to show their gratitude.
There are two notable cults within the setting.
NETWORK | LOGS | OOC | MEMES
PREMISE | SETTING | GUILDS | FAQ | RULES
TAKEN | CALENDAR | ENGAGEMENT | NPC ENGAGEMENT
RESERVES | APPLICATION | MOD CONTACT | PLAYER PLOTS
HIATUS & DROP | CANON & POWER UPDATES
In tone and event style, Meta Heroes is a love letter to cape comics of all forms, and is designed to be flexible and support the varied sub-genres of the medium and its diverse fans. In an alternate modern Earth where metahumans are the norm and guilds of superheroes and supervillains have made a pact to keep the peace, supernatural Confluences have begun to pull individuals from different universes together.
These individuals may already possess superhuman abilities, or they may be imbued with new superpowers by the Confluence itself. These new metas are invited to join a guild and do what they can to support the universe as it bears the weight of these Confluences, and perhaps even finds out how to stop them. Interested players can find more details on the PREMISE page.
CHARACTERS CAN RETURN HOME?
Yes! Any character who joins a Guild is free to return home using their respective Guild’s dimensional portal after two months within the game. Returning home creates a new timeline that the character will return to upon subsequent visits.
Players are free to play time passing without them, or play it as though this new timeline is paused while they are not present.
They are able to stay there for a maximum of two weeks, at which point they will find themselves pulled back to the Metaheroes universe the same way they arrived.
If multiple characters return home at once the first one through the portal determines the canon point. The first one through also determines what universe they are going to.
Any attempt to return home prior to their two month anniversary within the game will result in the character immediately being yanked back to the Metaheroes world by unknown forces.
Characters are able to return to the Metaheroes universe using their Guild issued Teleporter, as it is programmed to return them to that dimension in the event of an emergency.
SO IS THIS A FACTION GAME?
Not really. While characters are encouraged to sign up with either of the guilds in game, guild membership is not required. Many characters remain civilians and make their own way. The focus of the game is not on characters empowering one of the guilds to defeat the other.
Additionally, on the Earth of Meta Heroes, guild relations have benefited from years of work aimed at peaceful coexistence. As such, characters have no explicit mechanical limitations on their cross-guild interactions (though players are encouraged to play with reputation).
The role of the guilds in the game is not to wage war with one another. At present, the mods do not anticipate these guilds being in opposition to one another in events. Rather, this mechanic offers player characters the resources necessary to facilitate player plots. For more info, see the GUILDS page.
WHAT IS THE METAPLOT LIKE? HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?
A mod-driven metaplot exists in the shape of a series of game-wide events related to the Confluences and their impact on this universe and others. These events will offer some room for personalized character influence on fallout.
To lower the access barrier to new players and reduce the necessity of learning game history, the metaplot is broken into 4-6 month arcs, each developed to be self-contained. Arc length may vary based on player interest and engagement, but each of these arcs build towards characters gaining access to something new. The current arc focuses on integrating player characters into the world, with each event introducing new setting elements.
However, the metaplot is not the primary focus of the game. The metaplot merely operates as a tool to further the characters' personal stories, serving as a backdrop that motivates characters to engage the setting, build CR, and use their new powers. Mod-run events are tailored to plant seeds that facilitate the running of player plots, which will be the game's primary focus. For more information on how Meta Heroes handles player plots, see the PLOTTING page.
WHAT IS THE PACING LIKE?
The mods will post an monthly arrival log detailing the circumstances of the latest Confluence that brings the new batch of characters into the world.
In addition, the mods will also post larger and more impactful bimonthly event logs. These logs are offset from the arrival log to give characters time to settle in before participating. This schedule is subject to change based on the needs of the game. For a rough outline of future log and application period dates, please see the CALENDAR page. Outside these events, the mods encourage players to develop their own ideas. To help provide a starting point, the mods will list small events and prompts in the STATE OF THE GAME each month.
Off-months are reserved for advancing personal player plots. This may take the form of down-time to give players the chance to build their own storylines, or it may involve the culmination of a player's individual plotting in a game-wide or large-scale player plot. In addition to receiving mod support in development, any large-scale player plots will be promoted via the mod game calendar and state of the game to improve engagement with these events. For example, a cursed house draws player characters in House of Leaves style, and Stephen Strange binds the otherworldly curse and winds up settling in the house to watch over its magic. Players interested in running a game-wide player plot or in getting mod help brainstorming personal plots can visit the PLOTTING page.
Lastly, a variety of mod-hosted memes will go up monthly. TEST DRIVE MEMES and WORLDBUILDING MEMES will go up together every other month, and in alternate months, the mods will post CR MEMES. Players may also post memes (such as IC anon memes, hearts meme, etc.) in addition to these as often as they like. Players can post OOC memes to
metamemes, and IC memes can be posted by characters in metaheroes. JOINING THE GAME
IS THIS GAME INVITE-ONLY?
Yes! This means all players need an invitation from a member of the game in order to join. Each current player receives one invite per application cycle. (Please note that if moderators feel that a player isn't a good fit for the game, they may decline a player's invite.) Prospective players who don't know anyone in the game but really want to join can request an invite at the MOD CONTACT page.
That said, the TEST DRIVE MEMES are open to everyone and can be treated as a space to voice-test and engage with the setting to see if it'd be a good fit.
WHO CAN I PLAY?
Canon characters and canon AUs from any genre, format, or medium — such as television, anime, realistic fiction, etc. — are welcome. This game is not restricted to characters from the superhero genre. Players drawing from new canon material should wait one calendar month from the release date before applying for a new character or using a recent installment as a canon point.
CRAUs are welcome provided they have only one game's worth of memories. There is no limit on how much time has passed since that game. (E.g., it's fine to play with a CRAU from a game in 2015, but not a game from 2015 and another game since then.)
Original characters are also welcome, including those native to the world of Meta Heroes. For the sake of fairness, any OCs native to this world will be limited to being new and/or low tier heroes, villains, or vigilantes just starting to work their way up. The exception to this would be if a player wanted to app a short-term character for the purposes of a large scale player plot. For more information, see this thread.
Malleable or silent protagonists will be accepted on a case-by-case basis. In these instances, the mods are looking for objective characterization developed through immutable plot events, character choices, and NPC relationships that suggest a consistent personality in the protagonist. This is to avoid situations where malleable protagonists sometimes walk the line with canon OCs. Some positive examples of acceptable malleable or silent protagonists would be Link from Zelda and the Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy XIV, while this game is not such a good fit for DC Universe Online characters. In addition, we will only accept one version of these protagonists into the game at a time.
Alternate versions of characters already in the game (MCU Tony Stark & 616 Tony Stark) are permitted in instances where they differ significantly. These differences should be explicitly highlighted in the application if another version of the character already exists in the game. Please do this in the 'areas of interest' section of the application, with consideration to how your iteration of the character would cultivate substantially different CR or plots from the version that already exists in game.
Players who want to play multiple characters from the same canon must demonstrate that those characters never interact in canon and would not have significant CR overlap or reason to interact in the game. In such instances, playing multiple characters from a single canon may be permitted.
We currently do not allow for canon OCs or fan-made AUs.
HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN I PLAY?
Each player may have up to four characters. However, players may not submit more than two applications per round for the sake of managing both the mods' workload and the game's growth.
Permission to app a fifth character may be granted if the player proves themselves capable of keeping four characters consistently active.
CAN I BRING MY CHARACTER'S PET?
Absolutely! Ordinary pets can be listed as 'Inventory' items. However, pets like Swiftwind from She-Ra, who possess their own special abilities and personality, should be listed in the application's 'Powers' section.
WILL I NEED TO ALTER MY NON-HUMAN CHARACTER?
There is no forced humanization in this game. Characters who aren't human are welcome to stay that way and keep any and all associated limitations, peculiarities, and powers. This is true for alien characters, oversized characters, and more.
There are, however, a number of accommodations that can help these characters navigate the setting. Non-human characters who join the guilds will be provided with holo-watches and/or enchanted jewelry that help them pass. These easily-removed tokens project the image of an ordinary human (or metahuman, though any visible marker of powers elicits some level of unease) so they can live out a normal life. They can also resize characters or suppress intrinsically hazardous powers to manageable levels. (Note: For the sake of contributing to a more stable society, the guilds will allow oversized and inherently dangerous characters to keep these tokens regardless of guild membership.)
Non-human characters with special dietary needs will find that the guilds each offer members resources to help meet those needs. For more information, see THIS THREAD.
Players of civilian characters are also welcome to invent their own solutions for this problem — this might involve a 'brainstorming' request on the PLOTTING page, or plotting with other players' characters, who might use their abilities to help each other blend in or manage their unique forms and abilities.
POWERS
CAN MY CHARACTER KEEP THEIR POWERS?
Characters with canon abilities are welcome to keep them with minimal nerfing.
Due to the methods through which characters arrive, players can also alter characters' canon power sets to suit OOC preferences. The Confluences are a surge of magical, divine, technological, and alien powers surging together, which means the sky's the limit for character power changes! Characters can lose some or all of their old abilities and gain new ones, or modify existing abilities.
HOW MANY POWERS CAN THEY HAVE?
Characters should enter Meta Heroes with no more than four powers total. This means powerless characters can gain up to four new powers, while characters with existing power sets can only add powers if it doing so would not bring them over the limit of four.
That said, characters who canonly possess more than four powers can generally keep all of their powers. Often, these characters' abilities are nested under a broader category, such as a species or race. For example, Superman's powers are derived from his Kryptonian physiology and can be listed as a single power under that umbrella. Note that when writing their applications, players are required to explain all associated sub-powers.
In situations of CRAU powers changes, powers gained in other games are considered part of the character's canon power set — the total limit of four powers still applies. Characters who lost their canon powers as part of another game should discuss the specific details of the situation with the moderators.
WHAT POWERS ARE NERFED?
At present, any ability to travel between dimensions and planes is limited. This particular ability is restricted for plot reasons, and may become available again at a later time. Players interested in mishaps with their character's efforts to exercise this power may make use of the PLOTTING post to discuss options with the mod team.
For other characters with potentially difficult powers, players are asked to exercise good judgment on how and when the character employs those powers. As an example, Superman does not rewind time in every issue of his comic — he saves it for the big moments. These big moments would generally involve a player plot submission and mod approval.
For smaller instances, or for powers that could involve controlling other players' characters, players are required to institute an opt-in post. For example, Damon Salvatore or Kilgrave could not control the minds of any player character who has not explicitly opted into being mind controlled.
If this policy changes, this FAQ will be updated.
HOW WILL PLAY STAY BALANCED?
Though the game doesn't have heavy focus on PVP combat, it can arise. In those situations, embellishing characters' powers and refusing to confront their fallibility can lead to certain players dominating plots, leaving little room for other players.
To this end, all prospective players are asked to adopt a certain comic philosophy upon entering the game: if Squirrel Girl can take down Thanos, any character can defeat any other character with the right toolset, set-up, and attitude. Players are encouraged to respect each other — including leaving room for other players in plots and considering their interests — and to acknowledge that the biggest fish in a pond may be a small fish in the ocean. A player who has not considered how their character could lose a fight might not be the best fit for this game.
This ethic is reflected in the application, where all players are required to list their characters' power limitations and weaknesses, allowing for scenarios where their character might be bested. This may require introducing nerfs or limitations that may not exist in canon. In extreme situations, the moderators may ask players to introduce further limitations to other gamebreaking powers on a case-by-case basis during the application process.
If concerns about fairness surface, players can contact the moderators and ask that a dice be rolled to determine the outcome of a fight.
IN-GAME CONDUCT
WHAT ARE THE ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS?
The Meta Heroes mod team believes that engaging game events are what incentivize player activity, not minimum thread and comment requirements. For this reason, the game does not have minimum activity requirements.
Instead, activity check-ins will involve summarizing what a character was doing during the month. Players can feel free to link threads for their own reference in these activity summary posts. Players who include activity links in their summaries and/or make clear reference to the resources they're gathering and relationships they're building may find their characters receive preferential treatment and extra support from the guilds when attempting to run plots.
WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF MOD NPCS?
Mod-run NPCs are largely set pieces designed to facilitate conflict and plotting by player characters. While they will occasionally be available for threading, most interactions with these NPCs will be handwaved to support a plot or event.
To that end, players can feel free to inform the mods about their character's relationships to these NPCs when submitting a relevant plot involving them. Note that any substantive interaction with a mod NPC should be cleared through the NPC ENGAGEMENT page.
HOW DOES PLOTTING WORK HERE?
The spirit of superhero comics involves big and bombastic plots that mods can't always provide to players on the individual level due to issues of workload. For this reason, the mod team seeks to empower players to develop their own personal plots.
Players have the freedom to develop their own story elements — such as NPC heroes and villains, external plot hooks, random effects, setting features, and so on — in order to shape the world and run their own events. Every other month, the mods will host a WORLDBUILDING MEME where players can share their NPCs, businesses, and other setting elements with one another.
This game encourages players to invent villainous NPCs and run plots using them. However, when planning for characters to make big, dramatic actions that may affect the world around them, players should run plotting ideas by the mods before implementing them. More information on how to do this can be found at the Plotting page.
Players can also bring murkier ideas or general goals to the mods at this post in order to get help developing ideas or fitting them into the game setting. If something isn't feasible in the game, the mods will offer alternate options to achieve the same effect.
I HAVE AN EVENT SUGGESTION! HOW DO I SUBMIT IT?
Over HERE!
CAN I FOURTH WALL OTHER CHARACTERS?
All forms of fourth-walling are opt-in only. Before talking to a thread partner about fourth-walling their character and getting permission, players must steer clear of writing their characters as recognizing any others as coming from popular media — even if they know of that property explicitly in canon. This is true for all forms of fourth-walling and canon puncturing, including dialogue, narration, and character thoughts.
In addition, please note that all characters arrive into the game from universes in which they are real people living in real worlds. No characters are coming in from fictional canons as book or television characters coming to life, regardless of whether or not players agree upon the existence of a fictionalized account of that character's life in another character's universe.
Characters' canons are not available for consumption in the game setting, so no NPCs will process any characters as fictional. Similarly, media containing other characters' canons will never be allowed to be brought into the game either via item drop or inventory items brought in when players apply.
Characters are welcome to participate in the creation and development of fictionalized accounts of their own or others' lives in-universe, but they would not be identical to characters' canon materials, and this too should be done only with the approval of the character in question's player. Consider for example, Loki's theatrical production of Thor: Dark World produced in Asgard during the events of Thor: Ragnarok for a model of this, or the Rogers! musical in Disney+'s Hawkeye.
GENERAL MECHANICS
WHAT IS THE NETWORK LIKE?
Upon arrival into the game, the guilds provide characters with high-end cellphones. Even characters who refuse to sign with the guilds are permitted to keep these phones, though they will become financially responsible for the service plan.
The primary method of online communication is a social media site called OURPOWERS. Developed by and for metahumans to foster community bonding, the site has become the primary social hub for metas online, and is now used by non-metas as well. While the platform is primarily text and image, characters can also send voice and video messages. An additional rooms feature allows for live video and audio calls that characters can hop in and out of to carry on conversations and/or mute people as they see fit, a la Zoom or Discord.
Access is public, so characters will not be restricted from the network based on guild affiliation, but content can be filtered to groups or individuals. Player characters' accounts are made by the guilds, and they are given access to a group unique to others who are displaced from their home worlds. They can make posts public to all metas (and non-metas) in the world.
OurPowers operates much like Facebook, in that character accounts require a profile picture to display beside their civilian name or alias on every post they make. OurPowers does not allow for usernames, only identifiable aliases.
There is also an anonymous feature available.
Underneath that is the guild server. The Society and the Alliance both have unique, (mostly) unhackable network servers where they can communicate within their respective organization. An additional server group exists as an all-anonymous board where many civilian metas gather to communicate and share intelligence.
HOW DO SERIOUS INJURY AND DEATH WORK?
Player characters will revive upon death! The forces keeping them in this world are also keeping them alive. If you are interested in your character being the first death in-game, please contact the mod team. We are happy to help facilitate this plot and let you know what it entails.
Players have full discretion over grievously injuring their characters, though all players involved should preemptively or contemporaneously discuss injuries inflicted by and upon other player characters and make sure they're on the same page OOC.
Recovery method, degree, and time are matters of player discretion. Experimental treatments, prosthetics, magic, and healers can deal with debilitating injuries in ways that go beyond what is available in the real world. While cybernetics are available, players should be aware they will not grant additional powers, though they can interface with old hardware if the character possessed them.
Association with the guilds will give players access to very discrete doctors and top-of-the-line healthcare. For those unaffiliated with a guild, there are back alley doctors who will work for cheap.
Characters can even be revived up to two hours after their death. This can be accomplished through the powers of other player characters, NPC healers, cybernetics, magic, and so forth. Depending on the method, players are free to brainstorm and implement further complications around their characters' deaths. All deaths should be reported to the to the Plotting page so that consequences can be discussed.
After two hours, characters are considered beyond healing. NPCs and other player characters alike might be able to heal the injuries that killed the character in question, but they will not be returned to a living state. To explore revival beyond this point, players must reach out to the mod team prior to the character's death to arrange a large-scale player Plot to facilitate it.
CAN VILLAINS COMMIT CRIMES AND KILL PEOPLE?
Collateral damage incurred during crimes may get characters into trouble, so all crimes should be reported to the mods via the Plotting page so that IC consequences can be meted out appropriately for IC actions.
That said, this game has specific mechanics to keep villains playable instead of forced into a permanent lock-up. Characters caught out of costume will serve a few days to a few weeks of lock-up at minimum, but in general, justice for metahumans works a little differently and depends guild membership.
Members of the Alliance caught breaking the law are in for a few days of containment, mandated therapy, and a month of community service. Repeated offenses (or more severe ones, depending on the nature of the law broken) will result in different disciplinary action, and perhaps an eventual loss of guild membership.
Members of the Society, on the other hand, are enabled. Any punishment their members face is largely for show. While characters may be imprisoned, the Society possesses a wealth of skilled lawyers, and no shortage of members familiar with staging prison breaks or deep pockets for bribing the right officials. However, if caught out of costume, Society-aligned characters may lose everything they had associated with their primary identity.
Civilians, repeat offenders, or Society-associated, may find themselves conscripted to aSuicide Squad Black Ops team comprised of undesirables from both guilds. This team is sent to handle the most dangerous and lethal missions with no guarantee of returning unharmed. This deal is offered if the character is deemed to be dangerous or incapable of being reformed. After the mission(s), they are free to return to their civilian lives, but their civilian identity will be heavily monitored by the government and the guilds.
Members of the Society, on the other hand, are enabled. Any punishment their members face is largely for show. While characters may be imprisoned, the Society possesses a wealth of skilled lawyers, and no shortage of members familiar with staging prison breaks or deep pockets for bribing the right officials. However, if caught out of costume, Society-aligned characters may lose everything they had associated with their primary identity.
Civilians, repeat offenders, or Society-associated, may find themselves conscripted to a
HOW DO CANON UPDATES OR POWER UPDATES WORK?
Players should respond to the dedicated canon and power updates page over HERE. Respond with 'CANON UPDATE' or 'POWER UPDATE' in the subject line and briefly summarize important events, personality changes, or power changes that the character has undergone in about 350 words or less, using the form provided on the page. These requests will be processed each month with applications. (Players who find this limitation constricting because of the size or timing of their canon or powers update, please just reach out to the mods to chat about it.)
The IC mechanism of canon updating is flexible. Characters can receive a psychic flash refreshing their missing memories, or be physically synced to their original timeline during a Confluence or as a result of some other player plot. If it is during a Confluence, this would be happening concurrently with the Confluence; player characters would suddenly find themselves feeling a burst of energy, and at the same time, suddenly have the memories and physical changes associated with their canon update. Please include a note about the mechanic of the update in the request.
Similarly, characters may enter the game with one new power and undergo a change that spurs an additional power or change in powers — say, a lab experiment. Any update to character powers will still be subject to standard limits on total number of powers.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PLAYER DROPS?
Characters who are dropped will vanish during the Confluence following their posted drop (see: arrival log). We'll include a list of dropped characters in our monthly STATE OF THE GAME alongside any characters who didn't check-in for activity.
The guilds have not yet successfully traced where individuals who vanish during Confluences go — and many of them may even seem skeptical that it is indeed related to the Confluences. After all, Confluences bring people here, and people vanish in mundane ways all the time! Maybe you should call up your nemesis and confirm they didn't break the Society of Villainous Intent's code...?
CAN I RE-APP WITH MEMORIES?
Players are free to re-apply for a character they played previously, regardless of whether that character was dropped or swept in activity. These characters can start with a clean slate or retain their memories. Interested players can contact the mod team HERE.
CHARACTER ARRIVAL
HOW DID MY CHARACTER GET HERE?
Characters are brought in through a Confluence, a supernatural event where multiple forces surge, converge, and create a short burst of extreme chaos. Exposure to these forces during a confluence results in ordinary people developing metahuman abilities.
Confluences have been occurring in this world for nearly a hundred years. As such, there is a small but robust population of metahumans in this world. Confluences were able to be predicted by the Guilds until the Starfallen began to arrive.
Once any threat caused by the confluence is dealt with, player characters and NPCs will gather up the new arrivals and take them to the guild base for debriefing.
DO I HAVE TO WRITE AN ARRIVAL?
For character development reasons, players are encouraged to do so! However, it's also acceptable to handwave that an NPC picked a character up and brought them up to speed. Arrival logs will contain prompts for characters to interact with each other in the neutral territory where all new arrivals are brought, and characters are free to make posts on the network.
Alternatively, characters can simply slip away in the chaos of the Confluence and avoid spending time amongst the guilds at all. This happens from time to time. Confluences are chaotic and spells miss people. They may have run away from the chaos and been out of range of the teleportation spell; or maybe they were unconscious when the spell was cast, and were left out in the cold. Characters who slip off without interacting with the Guilds have to build their own life and integrate into the world on their own (with much difficulty — see more on living Unaligned in the guilds section).
Players interested in this approach may choose to backdate their character's arrival to any previous Confluence as far back as 15 January 2022. This option exists to help players avoid rehashing a character's confusion, culture shock, or other redundant elements typical to the DWRP format. However, these characters cannot have done anything significant enough to warrant the notice of other players or the guilds during this time. This includes developing fame and renown in their civilian identity — though they are welcome to be quietly gathering resources or have done a little vigilantism/crime on the sly. These characters may have laid low and avoided detection on purpose, they may have simply neglected to join OURPOWERS, or they may have been dealing with some kind of off-grid powers mishap of their own. Players who want to get really tropey could even claim their character bonked their head and got temporary amnesia, only recently regaining their memories. Players interested in this route can CONTACT THE MODS to get help brainstorming ideas.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER ARRIVING?
A local major corporation, Winters Industries, has set up a fund to help all newly-arrived Starfallen to help them adjust to the world. All new arrivals arrive above the community of Arcadia, which is run by the meta-aligned AI known as Virgil. Arcadia is a highly-advanced AI-generated home on the outside of Excelsior (known as the metro Excelsior area). Virgil encourages all new arrivals to join a Guild as soon as possible so they can be protected from predatory oversight and anti-metahuman sentiments, but offers Arcadia as a home for as long as necessary while they begin to acclimate to the world.
Thanks to funding from Winters Industries, Virgil is able to help newly-arrived Starfallen adapt to the world where they've arrived. Virgil offers training courses as needed to anyone struggling with the culture shock, and acts as an around-the-clock buddy to anyone truly in need. The partnership between Winters Industries and Virgil means that all new arrivals will be officially registered as a citizen in this world, but they're offered no other means to get started (thanks to government influence; anything else would be seen as fraud).
There is no expiration date on when someone must leave Arcadia, but resources will be limited after the first two months. Each new arrival will only have a stipend for room and board essentials, as well as limited health care (IE telehealth or walk-in clinics). Arcadia houses a large number of native metahumans affiliated with both the Alliance and the Society. Citizens, Starfallen or otherwise, are welcomed by Virgil, but any actions against the law will lead to them being ousted. Virgil refuses to put their other occupants at risk.
Arcadia itself is a lavish compound that looks like a castle on satellite. It has two entrances: its main entrance facing a body of water outside of Excelsior, as well as a doorway magically linked to Arcadia from within Excelsior. There may be other doors in other cities in the future, but Virgil hasn't tested their luck on expanding them just yet. Each apartment in Arcadia is customized to the needs of its occupants; colors, design, type of bedding, and even appliances are all adjusted to the occupant's needs. In addition to being a housing complex, Virgil has also decided to accept a makeshift Jurassic Park on its eastern side, and occupants are warned to be wary of this as Virgil hardly has the ability to control dinosaurs of all things.
While Arcadia is seen as a welcome refuge by many metahumans, anti-metahuman advocates and the government itself are opposed to what Arcadia could mean for the world, and have worked to add sanctions to it at every turn. This is a large part of why Virgil will pressure newcomers to join a Guild ASAP – they are limited in their reach. The Guilds can provide more, even if the person themselves would like to continue to live in Arcadia. The Guilds work together with Virgil to offer resources and connections to its people, and part of Virgil's standard welcoming package includes a neutral outline of what each Guild has to offer to the world.
THE GUILDS
WHAT ARE THESE ORGANIZATIONS?
As far as the government is concerned, it would be irresponsible to let metahumans run around unchecked. The guild system was created to control metahumans of all kinds; because of this, metahumans of any significant power are legally required to join either the Guardian Alliance or the Society of Villainous Reformation.
While there are no specific required duties associated with guild membership, it does come with financial perks. Most importantly, guild members will have substantial support in securing the documentation necessary to live a normal life here. Characters arrive without any identification or qualifications, but the guilds can help facilitate the process of securing these documents and certifications, as well as later supporting them in finding employment.
The guilds will help characters secure employment in regular jobs, and members can set their own schedules for heroism. On top of this, they receive a stipend from the guild for the help that they do provide. The guilds have connections to government officials and investors who can support characters who want to start small businesses, and will allow members to make use of their resources.
In addition, both guilds provide public housing for members. This housing is shared between both guilds, in the interest of promoting inter-guild camaraderie. (Guild members are also welcome to secure their own private housing and are not required to remain in guild-sponsored living spaces, though it is encouraged.)
Lastly, both guilds provide accident insurance and legal aid to their members. Guild members will not be held liable for any damage or incidents incurred while in the line of duty. This also includes protecting any members' secret identities, so that members are not targeted for consequences in their private lives.
When it comes to recruiting, the guilds are not terribly concerned with characters' pasts, nor with what they do when they're off duty, though they both have individual creeds. The differences between the guilds are briefly summarized below, but more information can be found on the GUILDS page.
| The Guardian Alliance is the government-sanctioned metahuman organization created to help train and guide new metahumans. Prior to its existence, most untested heroes caused more destruction than they solved; the Alliance is a way to guide and support these heroes as they do what they do best. The ruling philosophy of the Guardian Alliance is to use power selflessly. As a result, the Alliance oversees heroic operations across the world. The pride and joy of the planet, they protect the world against all threats inside and out. They're happy to show the way to any characters who want to wear a cape and fight evil. Depending on where you are in the country, some members of the Guardian Alliance are seen as celebrities, much like athletes or actors. While it is considered somewhat tawdry, leadership within the Guardian Alliance recognizes that some of its members will seek out external agencies to market themselves as models, actors, singers, and the like. The Alliance itself is not heavily involved in this, but they do have an HR department that focuses on ethical contracts and power usage. As it will put you in the spotlight regardless of your intentions, some heroes who join up with the Alliance are fame-hungry wannabe and agented stars who will do anything for a chance in the spotlight. The upstanding members of the Guardian Alliance believe in consequences for actions, and members who cross the line won't be saved from themselves, and a full slide toward villainy will lead to an ejection from the Alliance if left out. Being a member of the Alliance does not make one immune to the Alliance stopping plots that take on a menacing edge, or being busted for their caped crimes. | The Society is a clandestine organization that believes that their powers grant them the authority to act outside of the law. Society members believe strongly that metas have every right to use their powers selfishly. Many also do not care for the lives of others. As a result, the Society often primarily supports and enables its members in their illegal activity both in subtle ways and with funding and resources, all while protecting them from recourse. Despite this, the Society holds strict standards. Their code of conduct (found on the Guilds page) exists to ensure that conflicts do not ever again escalate to the scale of the Godfall Event, and is taken very seriously. Traditionally, anyone caught breaking the code will be put on the Society's hit list and killed. However, The Society is willing to give non-members a chance to join before the exact their fate. In cases where the code isn't broken, however, the Society will bail out jailed members who've been caught performing any nefarious deeds and provide capable high-end lawyers who can see sentences reduced. They can't promise to eliminate jail time, but when they can't, guild contacts will gladly bust a fellow member out. These characters might not be able to return to community housing, but the guild takes care of its own and will relocate members as necessary. |
SO DOES MY CHARACTER HAVE TO JOIN A GUILD?
It depends on how they wish to live their lives. While characters are ICly legally required to join if they intend to use their powers, players are free to have their characters decline the guilds' recruitment pitches or be overlooked by the guilds during the Confluences entirely. With this said there are heavy consequences to this choice.
Characters who choose this path will be considered ordinary civilians. They will be expected to keep their power usage to a minimum and lead ordinary lives away from metahuman activity.
The Guilds are the very heart of the metahuman community and whether members or not, all metahumans understand the importance of their role in their society. Characters who refuse their membership will have a significantly harder time integrating into the setting if they wish to use their powers.
If you intend to use your powers, by refusing membership to a Guild you are refusing to abide by either The Code or the Guardian Alliance’s rules of fair engagement. As such, they are viewed as a potential threat to the harmony of this world. It is viewed as an act of the utmost selfishness, and you will not find much sympathy or support for the consequences of this choice.
While they will maintain their phones and OURPOWERS access, and will receive a small stipend from Winters Industries to help fund their stay in this world, they will be on their own. A civilian identity will be created for them to allow them to integrate into the world but they will be expected to live as a civilian.
Known metahumans who do not join will find both guilds keeping tabs on them. No one wants to take the blame for unaffiliated supervillainry gone wrong or a vigilante making a mess of things. In addition, freelance work for metas can put characters at odds with guild members as it is unsanctioned and a potential hazard.
Worse, they will find that the government will actively be hunting them. Either to serve as a turncoat on the metahuman populace, an unwilling test subject, or as an unwilling member of its covert opts team.
Secret identities may also be harder to maintain in this situation for those who have a non-human appearance, as the guilds supply holo-watches, size-charms, and other items. While oversized characters and those with dangerous powers will be welcome to keep theirs for the stability of society, other metahumans who can't quite pass for human will have to find something on the black markets to provide equivalent discretion, and these may be of lower quality.
There are resources for unaffiliated metahumans available if they find themselves truly struggling; however, they are nowhere near as glamorous as what the guilds can offer. Civilians will need to work their way up on their own power.
WHAT ARE GUILD RELATIONS LIKE?
The way they see it, the guilds keep the peace. They aren't enemies, they're simply diametrically opposed to their philosophy around powers and often clash over it. Veteran heroes grimly recount the dark days before the guilds were established, filled with chaos and unimaginable cruelty. Heroes taking vengeance upon villains, villains taking revenge on heroes, perpetuating an unending cycle of violence and death. The Guilds were able to bring order and peace to the metahuman community, having been built by metahumans for metahumans. Having these new heroes and villains live together ensures that they will be forced to consider their actions before they act as it also humanizes the supposed enemy.
To this end, the guilds often collaborate on a number of events and resources. For example, housing is shared across guilds, so characters may wind up with a nemesis for a roommate. In addition, both guilds send representatives to the Confluences for recruitment and support, as well as contributing to settling the new arrivals.
However, some members within the organizations wish for this unspoken truce to end. They want a return to the chaos and a destruction of the forces opposing them. Maybe this peace isn't as permanent as the world hopes...
CAN MY CHARACTER SWITCH GUILDS?
Of course! Characters may join or leave a guild at any time. Sometimes good goes bad and vice versa. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.
However, the practicalities of switching teams might be simple, but there are consequences on a character's reputation. A former Alliance member coming to the Society will likely be seen as trying to spy on the latest plots, plans, and schemes. A former Society member coming into the Alliance might find that their new heroic companions don't trust them not to backslide and might hold grudges for old plots.
CAN MY CHARACTER MAKE THEIR OWN TEAM?
Absolutely! The Society and Alliance are just the umbrella which teams fall under. They actively encourage its members to make sub-groups. You're free to make your own hero or villain teams! Please be sure to submit the information about the team here.
SETTING
Are all metas Confluence-made?
Confluences are not the only way that metahumans develop powers. Some individuals wind up with powers in other ways — because they're an alien come to Earth, as a result of a science experiment, etc. The circumstances of one's powers developing may influence how they feel about those powers and how they use them.
Because they've been part of this world, some children have inherited meta abilities from their parents. These powers usually resembles parents' powers and manifest during puberty, though in some cases it may be apparent from birth, and in other cases it may skip a generation.
What is life like for metas?
Metahumans are still a relatively new phenomenon in the world. Though many people are passively accepting, treatment differs based on assimilation. Most metas won’t have any trouble finding themselves a place in their new community, but any awe or fear will vary depending on characters' powers and appearance. Metas who perform normalcy or don't draw attention their powers (especially dangerous powers) will have the easiest time, while metas with distinctly non-human appearances may face hardship. As a result, meta support groups have cropped up to help metas cope with the unique challenges they face.
Please note that any discrimination against metas is not intended to be a wholesale replacement or replication of any real-world discrimination. These difficult, real world issues will not be made essential to engaging the plot of the game, so as to avoid players feeling obligated to engage them. However, similarly, we don't want to close them off as avenues for players to engage. Players are welcome to engage discriminatory attitudes against metas as much or as little as they like, which is also true of the extent to which they are interested in engaging in-universe racism, sexism, queerphobia, and other forms of identity-based discrimination. Please apply content warnings to all identity-based discrimination.
Much like other real-world attitudes towards various marginalized identities and cultures, the extent to which metas are treated differently varies by local culture. Please refer to the Locations page for more information about the general attitude in a specific region.
How do secret identities work? Are they required?
Some heroes choose not to maintain one; however the Alliance and Society both strongly advocate for maintaining this secret. One reason to maintain this secret identity is that characters can lead a relatively normal life if their metahuman status is not public knowledge. Characters who are notably metahuman — because they're in costume, not wearing their holowatch to conceal their non-human appearance, or have not bothered to keep a secret identity — will be treated differently per the guidelines above.
For interested characters, the guilds will help characters hide their identity with costumes, cover stories, and new identities. They also provide characters with housing and civilian jobs to support it, but ultimately, secret identities are up to characters to maintain. A character's identity is considered secret so long as they have not been outed to the public.
Players are also welcome to reveal their character's identity. Characters should not reveal the secret identities of others without OOC consent. Please be sure to keep your character's affiliation and the status of their secret identity up to date on the Guilds page.
What is the technology like?
For most of the industrialized world, modern technology is roughly on par with what we have here in 2022.
However, due to connections to supergenius scientists and funding, metahumans often have access to advanced technology that the rest of the world won’t be seeing for many, many years. Examples of these advances include:
- Teleporters
- Holowatches
- Hologram technology
- Unhackable networks
- Fully sentient and autonomous AI
- Hover / flying cars
What about entertainment media?
Internet culture is much the same as it is in our world, with influencers having a huge part in entertainment. And, love them or hate them, the world is obsessed with superheroes. Heroes can get rich doing brand deals or becoming reality tv stars.
There’s an in-world answer to social media in the form of OURPOWERS, what the network is built off of. Posts and comments on this app will be accompanied by characters' chosen civilian name/metahuman alias and profile picture.
The Guardian Alliance marketing department often scouts metas specifically to make them influencers, models, or actors. If those metas go into combat, it's all staged for b-roll footage. Characters can make a decent living as an influencer. Instagram, Youtube and Twitter are all thriving and hungry for meta-produced content. (Feel free to make these posts to the IC network community!)
Characters can be taught whatever skills they need in order to launch a career online. They can become movie stars, models, whatever they can conceive.
There’s a monthly gossip segment called RUE MOORE HAS IT hosted by popular internet personality Rue Moore. There, she airs salacious secrets — true and untrue — about heroes and villains. These rumors are a mix of player submissions and mod prompts. Characters are free to follow up on anything she mentions. Rumors can be submitted Here! Put on your best Gossip Girl impression and go wild. She does not fact-check so feel free to be as outlandish as possible.
The most popular meta media is reality TV show called Meta Mingle. It's more or less Big Brother with the serial numbers filed off, though no one is able to stay in the house for very long as the producer has it rigged. Still, it could be a good step to stardom if that's what your heart desires! The show is is always recruiting for new stars.
What kind of jobs can my character get?
Any and all! Characters who join a guild will get the Society or Alliance's assistance in establishing them in their field of choice, including securing the right certifications, while civilian player characters may have a harder time getting higher paying positions due to lack of paperwork.
Characters who try to get jobs that they aren't qualified for will likely be found out quickly and shuffled to something within their skillset. But characters are welcome to become doctors, lawyers, police officers, and other salaried positions.
Players should contact the mods via a 'Brainstorming' request at the PLOTTING page before their character secures a job in any of the following:
- A Guild-run organization.
- A business of their own creation.
- Another mod-run NPC's business.
- A highly lucrative career track.
- A high publicity career track.
What is life like for school-aged PCs?
School-aged characters are provided with government housing and given the opportunity to join the guilds just as adult characters can. If a character is too young to take care of themselves, they may be given assigned a guardian or foster family, most likely also of the meta community. Players may develop NPCs to serve as a character's foster family or reach out to fellow players. Older player characters can also handwave applying for custody of younger ones if they wish to take responsibility for them.
As young metahumans often struggle to control their powers and can be easy targets due to their inexperience and youth, the government has created a secret flying school that all young metahumans can attend. Buses come by in the morning to pick the characters up and use wormhole technology to teleport to the school. The school itself is mobile to prevent it from being an easy target. Adult characters are welcome to sign on to teach — in addition to the usual subjects, these schools teach meta teens control over their powers. This school focuses on training control above all else, though there are plenty of after school programs to promote heroism (and more than a few rowdy kids on their way to villainy).
Public school is an acceptable alternative for those who are coming in already set in their powers and fully trained. However, the government is not a fan of this due to a history of students being attacked at their schools. The process of authorizing schooling in a Confluence city exists, but the government discourages it through tedious paperwork meant to inspire movement toward using the government created and supported school.
It would be easier to get a GED and leave high school than to complete the series of hoops one must jump through for this.
Can characters travel internationally?
Yes, though they should be aware that international travel through conventional means is heavily monitored. Traveling heroes are encouraged to lodge their plans with the Alliance, but it is not required. The Society strongly encourages its members to use alternate means of travel.
Can we visit outer space?
Not right away. Earth hasn’t advanced enough for convenient space travel.
Your character can attempt to get into space through flight or other means! But they'll find it incredibly difficult to leave the atmosphere, as if something is tethering them to Earth. We'll be exploring why that is later on!
However, aliens have lived on earth for centuries, however that’s not exactly by choice. Confluences tend to scramble their systems and leave them stranded on Earth, and while they can be found everywhere, most of them have settled in Little Love, where they either pass themselves off as metahumans or wear human disguises.
What about the supernatural?
Magic has existed for as long as the universe has, although prior to the first Confluence it was far less well known. There are multiple forms of magic in the world and player characters can pursue learning magic if they are interested.
Most people do not have the aptitude for proficient magic use! However, everyone is at least a little bit magic. Strangely enough, the people of Sunset Falls are naturally gifted with (dark) magic use. They have the highest known number of magic users.
Gods exist within the world and are capable of taking on mortal forms if they so choose. These are very akin to the Gods in American Gods - they’re essentially concepts or beliefs personified as manifested by humanity.
These Gods are capable of blessing mortals with their power - often with enchanted weapons, but sometimes simply by making a mortal their paladin. Not all Gods are content with a life spent reminiscing about their glory days, and some have been planning to stage a war to gain control. Most of the Gods present and active within this world are disconnected from real world beliefs and mythologies.
What about the cults mentioned in the premise?
The strangeness of the world has given rise to a number of new religions — that's just par for the course when people get superpowers. Most are harmless. There's been a pleasant resurgence in people worshipping old and forgotten Gods, and those Gods seeking to lend their aid in times of crisis to show their gratitude.
There are two notable cults within the setting.
The troublemaking Battlements of the Shining God has been largely destroyed, but there are still those who support the Shining God. The Shining God is heartless entity which seeks to bring Order to the world above all else. The cult gained an immense amount of power during June 2023, as they wormed their way into the country’s government. These cultists hate the Starfallen and blame them for the troubles that have befallen this world. The Starfallen were able to defeat them, alter history so they never gained power, and now what remnants lies in wait deep underground. | Their direct opposition, The Dreamers of the Willow Maiden is less of a cult, more of a support group for the mystically sensitive. It really just has some unfortunate branding. They are connected to a sleeping dryad who they claim gives them prophetic dreams, and allows them to walk the space between life and death while they sleep. They only thing they push is the need for everyone to have a good sleep. Sometimes people wake up to a gift of a pillow and blanket on their doorstep. The Dreamers of the Willow Maiden are best at predicting where confluences and natural disasters will occur and can be used should players ever need a mysterious prophecy. The Willow Maiden herself is available for Starfallen to speak to, should they visit the grove of her cult in Sunset Falls. |
PREMISE | SETTING | GUILDS | FAQ | RULES
TAKEN | CALENDAR | ENGAGEMENT | NPC ENGAGEMENT
RESERVES | APPLICATION | MOD CONTACT | PLAYER PLOTS
HIATUS & DROP | CANON & POWER UPDATES
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Using the card to draw out a large sum of cash would definitely flag as suspicious to the Guardian Alliance, who wouldn't want their generosity used for nefarious purposes. A couple thousand would be enough for Bruce to get an ongoing stink eye and a stern talking to from Linda in Accounting — "These cards are intended to help you build a life and take care of your necessities!"
That said, if he can find a way to run a credit card scam to turn a profit that doesn't involve going direct-to-cash, he might be able to milk more out of the process before getting flagged, and might be able to get away looking ignorant instead of dangerous.
Let us know if any of this sounds interesting!
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Feel free to embellish the particulars of their interaction, but she will drive home the fact that these cards exist by the generosity of the Guardian Alliance to help the new metas build a life for themselves — not to help them on the road towards unsavory elements. (She does not disguise the impression that she assumes he is potentially buying illegal arms or drugs with his chunk of cash.)
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don't be silly
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