Remove ads

Food of the Gods: 1955 (Mark II)

Created
Status
Ongoing
Watchers
33
Recent readers
0
Threadmarks
17
The Food of the Gods: 1955


Folder with Rulebooks

Dice Room (Coming Soon)

The year is 1955...
Threadmarks
Reader mode
Remove ads
1955 - OP
  • Threadmarks
    • inquisition

    inquisition

    Not Affiliated With the Spanish Church
    Location
    Valkenheim
    The Food of the Gods: 1955

    ​
    Folder with Rulebooks

    Dice Room (Coming Soon)
    ​
    The year is 1955. Ten years ago, the Second World War ended with the dropping of two nuclear bombs on Imperial Japan. Now, the world sweats as the two new superpowers--the United States and the Soviet Union--covertly compete for supremacy, with the constant threat of atomic annihilation casting a dark shadow over all.

    But nuclear weapons are not the only technologies that now make up the ideological battlefield between Capitalism and Communism. At the end of the War, Nazi Germany began to deploy their powerful, dangerous Übermenschen, human beings augmented through occult science, against the Soviet Union in a last-ditch attempt to turn the tide in the East. Despite the overall "imperfect" superhumans, the war was still a lost cause; all the Übermenschen could do was slow the red tide down. But the efforts of the Nazi occult project, Projekt Woden, were a proof of concept--by the war's end, the world knew that such feats of medical science were possible… and within their grasp.

    The secret to this power is a substance dubbed by Nazi scientists as "Ambrosia," described by Dr. Ernst Scheele (somewhat reverently) as "Das Essen der Götter:" the food of the gods. Ambrosia cannot be synthesized, and it is exceedingly rare, only found in miniscule deposits and often needing to be sifted from other material. However, in its refined form, it can change the genetic makeup of human beings, alter tissue to previously-unimagined states, and in certain cases, it can allow the human body to interface with machines in ways never thought possible.

    In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the US and the Soviet Union divided up the Projekt Woden scientists for their own superhuman initiatives. They experimented for several years with their own superhumans, racing to create the "perfect" superhuman. This was by no means a simple feat; much of Projekt Woden's information and files had been lost as the Nazi state collapsed, and the information the Soviet and American teams were working with was thus incomplete. Furthermore, the rarity of ambrosia made testing difficult and expensive, but after a number of (sometimes fatal) failures, they were both able to create a "proof of concept" of their own, a weak, imperfect superhuman that was nevertheless far superior to any attempts made by Nazi Germany.

    Now, the secret--and the methods of mining and refining ambrosia--have become common knowledge by this point, and each nation of the world is dreaming of a superhuman of their own--and a superhuman is far more practical than a nuclear bomb as both a weapon and a propaganda tool.

    Superhuman Creation and Advancement
    The main "currency" for creating and upgrading a superhero is ambrosia points (AP). These points represent your nation's supply of ambrosia, and can be "spent" to either create a new superhero or upgrade an existing one.

    Unlike the nebulous power system of the previous game, the system will use one of my favorite tabletop RPGs instead: the Savage Worlds Superpowers companion. The "Power Points" of SW will instead be the Ambrosia Points of the last game, and each player will receive far more at the start. There will be a hard cap on total AP per hero (at least at the start of the game) - 60 AP, or the "Heavy Hitter" power tier. (That's not to say that there won't be metahumans beyond that level from other sources, of course…) In addition, heroes will have a maximum AP of half again their original number rounded up; for example, a hero with starting AP of 5 will only be able to reach a power level of 8, a hero with 20 can only reach 30, and a hero with 40 can get up to 60.

    The amount of points you get for your first hero depends on your country. Nations are divided into four "tiers." Tier 1 consists ONLY of the US and the USSR, and they receive 60 points at the start, AND a free "prototype" hero worth 10 points. Tier 2 nations (Britain, China, France, and the like) start out with 40 points. Tier 3 nations (Brazil, Italy, India, and the like) receive 20 points. Tier 4 nations (Belgium, Indonesia, most post-colonial states) receive 10 points. When you claim a nation, I'll let you know which tier it's on.

    Note that that, at the start, you may feel free to divide your AP among multiple heroes. For example, as the UK, you can either make a single more powerful hero worth 40 points, or split your pool and try for 2 weaker 20-point heroes. This might come in handy if you have a lot of commitments to deal with, but of course it also weakens your heroes individually. In addition, the US or USSR cannot simply opt to put their "starter hero" AP into upgrading their "pregame" hero, because as imperfect prototypes, they have reached their limit.

    All heroes, as they fight and grow as people and weapons, will be also awarded experience points (XP) for their efforts. These are used to improve your heroes' "personal" skills, and unlike AP they are not a collective pool. As a note: the US and USSR's "prototype" heroes, to signify the fact that they fought in WWII, will start with the rank of Seasoned, with the required 20 XP to their name.

    AP is gained at a steady annual rate of:
    • 3 for Tier 4
    • 4 for Tier 3
    • 5 for Tier 1 and 2
    In addition, accomplishments will net you AP based on the nature of the accomplishment. Capturing and "killing" a hero, on the other hand, gives you 1/3 their AP back, rounded down.

    With the exception of the US and the Soviet Union, all nations, no matter their tier, start out with no pre-existing heroes, and will thus need to create one (or more). In order to do so, please follow the following template:

    PERSONA
    Hero name:
    Real name:
    Sex:
    Age:
    Bio:
    Public persona:
    Appearance (If a picture, please keep it SFW):

    STATS
    XP:
    Advances:
    Level:
    Attributes:
    • Agility:
    • Strength:
    • Smarts:
    • Spirit:
    • Vigor:
    Statistics:
    • Charisma:
    • Parry:
    • Toughness:
    Skills:
    Edges:

    Hindrances:

    POWERS & ABILITIES
    Invested AP:
    Powers:
    • Power Name (AP Cost): Notes, including damage and other such things
      • Trappings:
      • Modifiers: (If applicable)

    So as an example, here's a "starter" superhero, with the Soviet "starting pool" of 60 AP. I went for the "flying brick" archetype:

    PERSONA
    Hero name:     Zashchitnika
    Real name: Tamara Bondarenko
    Sex: Female
    Age: 26
    Origin: Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
    Bio: Born on a collective in Ukraine in 1929, young Tamara Bondarenko and her family were displaced when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The Bondarenkos fled east, searching for refuge in Russia as the Wehrmacht overran Ukraine. Her brother and father joined the Red Army to help stem the Nazi tide, but both were killed by 1943 in the titanic battles on the Eastern Front. Her mother would die soon after the end of the War, leaving seventeen-year-old Tamara with nothing. In 1949, out of desperation, she signed up for a state science program and volunteered for testing. Out of hundreds of volunteers, Tamara was only one of three who were tested at the highest level of susceptibility to ambrosia, and in the end was the only one who had no family or other obligations. In 1955, at the age of 26, she underwent the final procedure to "activate" her superhuman abilities--giving her unrivaled strength, superhuman durability, and a host of other abilities.
    Public persona: Noble, patriotic, and cooperative, Zashchitnika's public persona is an exemplar of the Soviet ideal. Her background plays a large role, showing her as a strong example of the Soviet capability to return from the proverbial brink stronger than ever.
    Appearance:


    STATS
    XP:     0
    Advances: 0/0
    Level: Novice
    Attributes:
    • Agility: d10
    • Strength: d12+4
    • Smarts: d6
    • Spirit: d8
    • Vigor: d12+2
    Statistics:
    • Charisma: 2
    • Pace: d6
    • Parry:
    • Toughness: 14
    Skills:
    • Fighting: d10
    • Shooting: d6
    • Survival: d4
    • Persuasion: d6
    • Intimidation: d6
    • Taunt: d6
    • Notice: d6
    Edges:
    • Charismatic
    Hindrances:
    • Arrogant (Major)
    • Weakness - Darkness (Minor)
    • Loyal (Minor)
    POWERS & ABILITIES
    Invested AP:     60
    Powers:
    • Awareness (5):Ignores all obscurement penalties; cover penalties for solid objects are applied normally. In addition, the character can sense all around her, negating any gang-up bonuses.
      • Trappings: Gene-enhanced senses
    • Attack, Melee - Fist of the Rodina (11): Soviet PUNCH! Damage Str+5d6
      • Trappings: Gene-enhanced strength
      • Modifiers: Heavy Weapon (1)
    • Attack, Ranged - Eye Beams (8):2d10 damage
      • Trappings: Genetically-bestowed powers
      • Modifiers: Enhanced Damage (4)
    • Flight (8): Fly at 4 times the base Pace.
    • Super Attribute - Super Agility (6): Increases Agility by 3 steps.
    • Super Attribute - Super Strength (10): Increases Strength by 5 steps.
    • Super Attribute - Super Vigor (6): Increases Vigor by 3 steps.
    • Toughness (6): Increases Toughness by +6.

    Superhero Mechanics
    As stated above, I will be using the Savage Worlds system to simulate hero combat. Many of the "crunchier" features of Savage Worlds will be omitted - as the RP part is meant to be an addition to the nation-game part - but the basic mechanics will remain.

    Pace, when and if it actually matters, will be represented by a d6 by default, and edges/hindrances that change that will raise/lower the die type much like a skill or attribute. Characters with the Slow hindrance, for example, will use a d4, while those with the Fleet-Footed edge will use a d8.

    Initiative in battle will not be decided by drawing cards; instead, the supers involved in a fight will roll Agility+Smarts or Agility+Vigor without the wild die, with any other bonuses or maluses from traits and environmental factors, with the highest number going first and the second highest after that and so on.

    Positioning and other such things will be handled through what I've seen referred to as mind's eye theater; we will avoid maps, complex positioning, and the like. This and other mecdhanics will largely be abstracted.

    Bennies will be removed; however, soaking damage is still possible, and a player can only soak three times in a year.

    Claims
    I'll be using the usual three-claims system. Heroes will be created after you are given a nation, so have a few ideas in mind.

    Mods:
    I'd like to recruit a mod team if possible, considering that I have other things IRL to do this summer aside from sit around, and so a few positions are open and preferred:
    • Roleplay Mod
    • War/Espionage Mod
    • NPC Mod
    Dramatis Personae
    Map (Jan. 1955)
    ​
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Superhero Registry
  • Threadmarks
    • UN Registry of Ambrosia-Enhanced Humans

    Persona NameNormal NameNation of ResidenceStatus
    Akhil Arya​
    India​
    ACTIVE​
    Zmaj​
    Ales Novak​
    Czechoslovakia​
    ACTIVE​
    Hubert Felder​
    Federal Republic of Germany​
    ACTIVE​
    Michael Tyrell​
    Australia​
    ACTIVE​
    Žarko Leon Broz​
    Yugoslavia​
    ACTIVE​
    Minerva Moriarty​
    United Kingdom​
    ACTIVE​
    Dr. Felix Spielmann​
    United States​
    ACTIVE​
    Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (Allegedly)​
    Spain​
    ACTIVE​
    REDACTED​
    Israel​
    ACTIVE (PRESUMED)​
    Esel Demir​
    Turkey​
    ACTIVE​
    REDACTED​
    United States​
    ACTIVE (PRESUMED)​
    Shahrazad Minuzadeh​
    Iran​
    ACTIVE​
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • 1. Republic of Korea [제1공화국].
    2. Republic of China [中華民國].
    3. All-Palestine Government [Ḥukūmat 'Umūm Filasṭīn].
     
    1. Democratic Republic of VIetnam
    2. People's Republic of China
    3. State of Japan
     
    1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    2. Soviet Union
    3. Japan

    EDIT: Although looking over the rules I am concerned about the clunkiness of the Savage Worlds System. Although it seems like we might be only purchasing powers not making the whole sheet, is that correct?
     
    Last edited:
    1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    2. People's Republic of China
    3. India
     
    Round 1 of Claims
  • Threadmarks
    • RedDragon2000 said:
    1. North Korea
    2. The Real China (Republic of China)
    3. The Real China (People's Republic of China)
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    DPRK is all yours. It is a Tier 4 nation.

    Carol said:
    1. Republic of Korea [제1공화국].
    2. Republic of China [中華民國].
    3. All-Palestine Government [Ḥukūmat 'Umūm Filasṭīn].
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    RoK goes to you. It is a Tier 4 nation.

    DanBaque said:
    1. Democratic Republic of VIetnam
    2. People's Republic of China
    3. State of Japan
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    North Vietnam is yours. It is a Tier 4 nation.

    infantada said:
    1. Palestine
    2. Iran
    3. Turkey


    ☝الله أكبر
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    The All-Palestine government is yours. Tier 4.

    Konigsberg said:
    1. The United States of America
    2. The Fourth French Republic
    3. The Republic of Ireland
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    USA goes to you - Tier 1.

    Firebringer2077 said:
    1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    2. Soviet Union
    3. Japan

    EDIT: Although looking over the rules I am concerned about the clunkiness of the Savage Worlds System. Although it seems like we might be only purchasing powers not making the whole sheet, is that correct?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    As the powers are often intrinsically linked to the skills and attributes of Savage Worlds, yeah, we'll be making the whole sheet - though it's a lot less complicated than it looks at first glance. If anyone needs help getting a character set up, I'd be happy to assist.

    In any case, the UK is yours - Tier 2.

    See my smile said:
    1.Czeckslovika.(Very Much Prefer.)
    2.Poland.
    3.Spain.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Czechoslovakia goes to you - Tier 3.

    kızıl sultan said:
    1. Soviet Union
    2. Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq
    3. France
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Soviet Union is yours, comrade. Tier 1.

    Crilltic said:
    1. United States of America
    2. Italy
    3. Federal Republic of Germany
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Republic of Italy for you - Tier 2.

    Bevillia said:
    1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    2. People's Republic of China
    3. India
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    India is yours - Tier 2.

    Sidheach said:
    1. Australia
    2. Iran
    3. Greece
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Australia is yours - Tier 3.

    Watercress said:
    People's Republic of China,
    State of Japan,
    State of Vietnam.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    PRC goes to you. Tier 2.

    naxhi24 said:
    1. Israel
    2. Yugoslavia
    3. North Vietnam
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Israel goes to you. Tier 3.
     
  • Threadmarks
    1. Canada
    2. Turkey
    3. Japan
    Man, I think I've got my notes for the first game somewhere...good Canadian times.
     
    Last edited:
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top