Many don't know this, but the current solo superhero game I'm running is based out of an old setting I've run for over a decade. It started with my first time GMing a non-D&D game, HERO System. From there, it has changed to different systems and has been tweaked here and there, from Savage Worlds to the recent ICONS. It can be hard to keep track of changes to your heroes and villains and making them as close to their original concept as possible. And while I've sadly been unable to run a lot of games in the setting until recent, it's been really enjoyable when I have. Also, it's good to have different settings on retainer, just in case you get players that want to do something different from fantasy gaming.
My setting is very inspired by Watchmen, moreso in its timeline than tone. In the setting, I made a conscious decision to have heroes around for centuries, with the more superpowered ones coming out during WW2. Most of the history isn't detailed, but it follows what one would see in comics throughout the decades. I'd probably advance technology much more, much like they did in Watchmen. In there, you had an 80's New York with widespread electric cars and other stuff that you wouldn't see for decades. But also, the setting I have is of its time. There is social media, smartphones, and the internet. And I like taking advantage of that, with heroes having Twitter meltdowns or Facebook fan pages and things like that.
This is where my game comes in. Another specific choice I made for my game was to have it as a school style game in the vein of X-Men, Young Justice, or My Hero Academia (which may have had a lot to do with this choice). However, I wanted to avoid using teenagers. Why? Truthfully, I don't really have an interest in roleplaying teen angst and romance. I already lived it many many years ago so I don't want to play a hormone-ridden teen boy. I think I have more in common with the college goer, especially since I recently graduated from my second attempt at school last year. And I picked community college because at least from what I've seen from people, there is this negative bias against it. Many people look down on those that go, so community college students make the best underdogs. And everyone loves an underdog overcoming adversity story! So instead of teenagers rebelling against adults and figuring out what their bodies do, now they are young adults that have 'failed' being 'proper adults' and are now figuring out what they are doing with the rest of their lives. Which resonates more with me.
The place is set in Miami for three reasons. One, I lived near their for a couple of years while going to culinary school, so I know about it more than other cities. Two, it's the only big city I've ever lived in. Before that, Charleston, SC and Orlando FL would be the biggest cities I'd ever visit on a weekly basis, so it was a big culture shock to me. And three, I don't think there are any big superhero teams in Miami. New York is teeming with superheroes and villains, and Los Angeles and San Franscico have a decent amount. But there is no love for the Magic City.
So in this setting, Miami is in the last decade getting a huge influx of 'snowbirds', villains from New York that are tired of dealing with all of the heroes and rival villains up there. Looking for more space and less heroes, they come down to Miami to find their fortune in a much warmer climate. Now Miami has its own government super team (The Magic City Defenders, another game I ran a couple of years ago) as well as a new super community college. And that's where our story begins. Imagine Community meets X-Men for a superhero team of the new millennium. At least, that's what I'm hoping for.
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