Welcome to Starfall. This quest is inspired by my love of comic books, anime, action movies and nerd culture in general. The story is my attempt at seeing what our world might look like if comic book-like super powers were randomly distributed to the population. You will be playing as a newly super powered human, one of the first in the world to get powers and will have the strength to decide your future. This is my first time running a Quest so please be patient with me as I make and fix mistakes.
In Norway a man with metal skin sprints down a traffic jammed freeway carrying a giant duffel bag strapped to his back. He casually knocks cars out of the way as he nervously looks over his shoulder at the glowing light in the horizon he knows signifies pursuit. Turning back to run he fails to see the streak of light that appears behind him resolving into a muscular man surrounded in a bright golden glow. Before he can turn back around his metallic head is pierced by a beam of light. The beam fades revealing a scorched hole dripping molten metal as the man's body falls forward onto the concrete.
In Hong Kong a young boy sits in his room clutching a comic and listens to the sounds of local gangsters threatening his older sister for being late on her payments. As their threats grow more lurid he finds his hand slipping into the panel of his manhua where he feels himself grip the hilt of a sword. He watches the book ripple like a clear pond as he slowly pulls the weapon from the realm of fiction. As he opens the door and creeps down the stairs he wishes he had more time to practice.
In New York an old woman sits on her balcony and knits as she watches the city beneath her. Sirens sound in the distance growing slowly closer but living in the city so long she has learned to dismiss them. Fortunately the screams that pierce the night do draw a reaction and she turns her head to see a car hurtling through the air at her building. Moments before impact the car suddenly stops in midair. Glaring in the direction the car came from she sees two young hooligans fighting in the street and tries to decide which one to throw the car back at.
A new era is dawning! Today is March 9, 2022, a day that will be remembered in history as Starfall! At exactly midnight all over the world around 800,000 glowing spheres have plummeted to earth like shooting stars. They've punched through everything they've come into contact with until striking either the ground or a human being. The impacts seem to be more concentrated in highly populated areas and the destruction and loss of life world wide has been enormous. Upon touching one of these orbs it will be absorbed into the person's body granting them access to super powers!
All over the globe people from all walks of life are being handed power they never dreamed of and the choices they make with it will change the fate of humanity! You will be playing one of the many people in the world who were struck on the day of Starfall. You will live in a city on the west coast of the United States called Ruby Ridge. Other details of your life will be decided by your choice of Name, Gender, Origin, and of course Power. I'm going to be using a plan based vote system so please be sure to include a choice for all 4 categories. Backstories for characters are welcome but may be changed to fit the story.
[ ] Name: "To name oneself is the first act of both the poet and revolutionary". -Erica Jong. Everyone needs a name and few get to pick their own so choose wisely.
Sex: Whatever you pick will have no effect on gameplay but will be an important part of the main characters identity.
[ ] Male
[ ] Female
Origins: Everybody starts somewhere and while our beginnings don't define us they do help to refine us into the people we become. Choose your point of origin carefully but remember that it doesn't dictate what you do with your new found power.
[ ] College Student- You are a student at the local college. You will get to pick your major and minor and you will have two roommates.
Pros: you will start with expertise in a field related to your major and expertise in a field related to your minor. You will also have a small stipend of money from your scholarship.
Cons: In order to keep your scholarship you must maintain a good academic standing.
[ ] Low Level Gang Member- You work for one of the three local gangs. The gangs are the Yakuza group known as the Western Dragons, the Triad group known as the Four Seas Union and a local American group known as the Ruby Riders. You will get to pick your gang and job in it.
Pros: You will start with skills in firearms, small blades, and unarmed. You will get additional abilities depending on your chosen role in the gang. For example a dealer would get a bonus to presence while someone who serves as muscle may get a strength increase. You will also have a moderate income and criminal contacts.
Cons: You will be required to perform regular work for your organization.
[ ] Homeless Person- You live on the streets. Life has dealt you a rough hand but above all else you're a survivor.
Pros: You will be ex military and start with skill in unarmed, small blades, and firearms. You will have contacts with some of the less fortunate members of the city and will have more free time and less obligations than any other option.
Cons: You will start with no income, and no close friends.
[ ] Police Officer- you are an officer of the law, it's up to you and your fellow cops to get this city through the coming cataclysm.
Pros: You'll start with training in firearms and unarmed as well as skills related to your position. You will have many contacts in the police. You will have a moderate income.
Cons: You will be required to work long hours protecting the city.
[ ] Serial Killer- you were a monster before you got powers now you're just better at it. You must pick a preferred victim type.
Pros: You will get skill in stealth and deception as well as unarmed combat. Likely to grow in power quickly.
Cons: You will have to kill at least once a month to satisfy your depraved mind. Likely to attract enemies quickly.
[ ] Trust Fund Brat- You are the child of fantastically wealthy parents. You might not be the smartest or the most athletic person in the room but you've got a winning smile, a phone number to several movers and shakers in the socialite and business worlds, and most importantly a pocket full of daddy's money.
Pros: You will have high levels of income and free time. Good charisma and several wealthy contacts.
Cons: You will be beholden to your parents' will.
[ ] Prisoner- You're a career criminal you've been incarcerated for a crime you got caught on and still have 2 years left on your sentence.
Pros: You will get skills related to whatever crime you committed and will have the options for contacts in the criminal underworld as well as either increased physical stats from exercise, or extra knowledge related skills reflecting time spent studying.
Cons: You start with no income and little free time while confined to your prison.
[ ] Small business owner- You own a local business in the city and you want to see it prosper. You will decide the business you own as well as one family member to work with you.
Pros: You will get a bonus to presence as well as skills related to persuasion and your chosen profession. You will have moderate free time and income.
Cons: You will have employees to be responsible for, one of whom will be a family member.
[ ] Politician- you are a local government official and plan to run for mayor this year. A vote will decide the position you occupy in the city.
Pros: You will get a bonus to presence and skills related to persuasion. You will have a wide number of contacts across many fields. You will have a moderate amount of income.
Cons: You will have to spend a large amount of time amassing support for your mayoral bid.
Powers: The heart of the story and world of Starfall will always be super powers but before you choose let me explain a bit about how the mechanics of powers will work. I will be using the Mutants and Masterminds system to run the game and I'm still learning the ins and outs of it so please bear with me if I make mistakes.
After a power theme is chosen your character will be given a set of options of powers related to their theme and a bank of points to spend on the powers you'd like. The collection of these points is a major driving force in the world of starfall.
The reason I tell you this now is so you don't pick a power theme expecting to get all the powers relating to the theme right away or to get a specific use of a theme. For example don't pick time with the express purpose of traveling back in time as it is an ability that won't be offered to the player character. That being said, all power options are strong and there are no wrong choices!
[ ] Air- conjure a hurricane! Fly on the winds! Rip the oxygen from a mans lungs!
[ ] Animal- transform into any animal you choose! Control the minds of all animals you see! Possibly gain the abilities of even mythical creatures!
[ ] Cold- create anything out of ice! Summon an army of snowmen! Deep freeze your enemies!
[ ] Darkness- Bring shadows to life! Walk through darkness! Embrace your inner edgelord!
[ ] Death- Raise an army of zombies! Speak to the dead! Kill with a touch!
[ ] Dimensional- Peer into other worlds! Carry your whole house in your pocket! Wander the globe!
[ ] Dream- Walk through dreams! Become a persons nightmares! Embrace insomnia!
[ ] Earth- Control the ground itself! Trap your foes in quick sand! Rub dirt in your wounds!
[ ] Electrical- Shoot lightning like a Greek god! Become living lightning! Never have your phone die on you!
[ ] Element- Play god with molecules! Turn your foes to stone! Turn stone to gold!
[ ] Fire- Burn your obstacles to ashes! Burn your foes to ashes! Burn the world to ashes!
[ ] Gravity- Fly through the sky! Crush those who oppose you! Pluck satellites from orbit!
[ ] Illusion- Trick the senses! Hide your flaws! Live a lie!
[ ] Kinetic- Absorb blows to use later! Create objects out of pure force! Become the unstoppable force and the immovable object!
[ ] Life- Play god! Create life from nothing! Give your foes a seizure with a glance!
[ ] Light- Shoot laser beams like an anime character! Turn into living light! Never be afraid of the dark again!
[ ] Luck- Have everything go your way! Curse your foes! Infuriate all who meet you!
[ ] Magnetic- Move metal with your mind! Generate EMPs! Rip the iron from a man's bloodstream!
[ ] Martial- Fight like an anime character! Make Bruce Lee envious! Master yourself!
[ ] Mental- Read minds! Dominate weaker wills! Hate people to death!
[ ] Meta- Copy powers! Gift powers! Erase powers!
[ ] Morphing- Mold your body to your whim! Transform others! Become who you want to be!
[ ] Plant- Talk to plants! Grow trees in an instant! Take back the earth!
[ ] Radiation- turn into living radiation! kill everything around you by just existing! Shoot lasers!
[ ] Sensory- See through walls! Hear across oceans! Taste the rainbow!
[ ] Size- Wrestle Godzilla! Wrestle an ant! Become a miniature collector!
[ ] Sonic- Finally get some peace and quiet! Make your voice heard! Form a screamo band!
[ ] Speed- Run up building! Run across water! Run from your problems!
[ ] Strength- punch a building down! Jump across a city! Shrug off tank rounds!
[ ] Summoning- Summon minions to serve you! Summon weapons to fight with! Summon the solution you need!
[ ] Tech- Build a giant robot! Create a mech suit! Clone an army of soldiers!
[ ] Teleport- See the world! Throw enemies into a volcano! Open holes in the universe!
[ ] Time- Pause time! See the future! View the past!
[ ] Water- Visit Atlantis! Make a tsunami! Walk on water!
[ ] Weather- Sing in the rain! Play in the snow! Throw lightning on those who oppose you!