Welcome to Star City, the city of the future.

Game Master PoorWanderingOne


Star City map.

----------V-Map----------

Cry Havok. Priority Moderate:

Message from Dr. Destruction begins: “MindJack’s information has confirmed some persistent rumors. The V’sori are creating a new drone-hound that can track meta-humans. Identifying meta-humans is a complex problem but even a partial success would devastate Omega if these drones can be mass produced. The exact location of the lab is unknown. However, thanks to MindJack and several interviews with invader operatives we know two things. First the lab is called the ‘Doghouse’ among the human quislings who help supply it. Second, the lab is in Southpoint or Downtown. Find the lab, destroy the prototypes, kill every researcher you find there, and burn the place to the ground. I want nothing left.” Message ends.

UPS. Priority low:

Surprisingly this message is not from Dr. Destruction. Instead you hear the wandering tones of MindJack in the recorded message. "..So, heh heh like I said..there is this thing" at this point there is an odd artificial sound. MindJack's voice returns now clearly annoyed "...I am telling them! You keep your horns on Devil boy. Like I " again the artificial sound. "I know that's not your name, Devil Boy. I just don't care!" Mixed, blurred noises followed by what is clearly the click of an automatic being readied. MindJack continues, apparently at some distance from the recording equipment. "Yeah that's me. Before my brain came in I was a kneekapper for the Scrillies. Heh..you think I don't remember how maybe? You and your stupid red leather and gadgets. Do your job and let me do mine!" a moment of silence and MindJack continues closer to the Mic now. "heh so..it's in one place needs to be in another we had a guys to do this but it fell through." Speaking a little louder now.."Maybe somebody screwed up." MindJack returns to normal volume "Heh heh. It's not too big, not too fragile, just doing a favor for an old friends and maybe setting the Doc up with some new ones. That don't matter. You just take the thing from Hot Rod auto body on Washington and Cervantes an' take it to Julie Chamult park by the dog statue. Heh. Yeah it's across town but you're all big boys. You can cross the street on your own, heh." MindJack chuckles at his own joke. " Just send me a message when you are gonna run the pick up so folks can be ready. Easy peazy" ..Oh nearly forgot the Hot Rod might be under kind of surveillance. No biggie. No Fins or Blue meanies, just some cops looking to pad their hours. So maybe don't be seen too much going in. You get? Heh heh" As the message ends a single thin line of red text appears at the bottom of the screen. It reads "There was no mistake." Message ends.

Star City Stalker. Priority low:

Message from Dr. Destruction begins: ” We have a serial killer operating in Star City. Normally I would not interfere with a harmless hobby but three of the killer’s recent victims were useful to me. Find whoever is doing this and stop them or at least point them at better targets." Message ends.

V-Map contacts: Dr. Destruction, OMEGA network, other members of this cell. MindJack. The "d" in MindJack is red.
----------End V-Map----------

Communication Formatting:

Use Voice alone: "Bold and use quotes"
Use Telepathy alone: Bold Italics with no quotes
Use both Voice and Telepathy: "Bold with both quotes and italics"
Thinking to yourself: un-bolded italics no quotes.

Using Coms: Please specify who you are talking to. EX: Coms to Doc: Two more, 3 o'clock by the Hello Kitty display.
EX2: [Coms to All]"Cheese it the cops!"

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Player Rank/advancements: Novice 2
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Notes on Omega Gear

Comlinks:
The Omega comlink is a watch/broach sized unit linked to a pair of in-ear speakers/mics. The main unit controls who you can speak to and who you can hear. The ear units can be used without the main unit but their configuration cannot be changed without the base unit. For example you can set your ear unit to hear and speak to everyone in the group and leave the base unit at home. If you do so you will not be able to later send a private message to just one group member. The Omega comlinks have access to V-map. The comlink base units also function as a standard smartphone save that they can only upload to or download from the V-MAP network. Outside the network files/apps etc can be up/downloaded to the lair computers (currently the laptop) and then sent to the comlink base units.

V-Map:

V'sori Military Activity Profile. This appears to be some kind of communication system. In addition to transmitting messages through the Omega network and maintaining a task list (see above) it can also display a map showing invader and Star City police/SOCOP movements that appears to be updating in real-time. The location on the seven OMEGA comlinks associated with this cell are also displayed.

The V-MAP also allows access to a message/bulletin board. It appears to be a place to store and sent secure messages to other cells/members or to Omega HQ. You have no messages and other than OMEGA, each other, and Dr. Destruction there are no other persons or entities listed.

The V-MAP does appear to be able to access the StarCity municipal Internet and telephone systems.

There is no obvious indication as to who created this system.

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Notes on V'sori gear and troops:

Mbunas:
are troop transports/drop-ships. They are the jeep/Humvee of the invasion. Armored but rarely armed they can fly but as they are unpressurized they generally stay below 10 thousand feet. They can make planet-fall from orbit but cannot escape earth's gravity without supplemental engines. Like all of the V'sori craft they have induced gravity and inertial dampening. The floor of the craft is always 'down' and you are not turned to jelly by hi-G maneuvers. Induced gravity also provides thrust. The craft do not require reaction mass.
If you remember/look up the Marine drop ship from Aliens you will not be far off.

Nullifier Cuffs:
Hardness 14. Older lighter models use in transport are hardness 12.

Strange revolver:
A long but strangely light revolver. Range 12/24/48. ROF 1. Shots 6. Uses custom rounds.
Type a. Armor Piercing. Damage 2d6 Heavy Weapon AP10
Type b. Seeker round. Dam 3d6 AP4 Heavy Weapon Range 48" no range or cover penalties. Shooting vs tn4 to "lock on" to the target, size modifiers apply. Target evades with Athletics/Driving/Boating/Piloting -4/-2 if in an area of ample cover.
Type c. presumed explosive
Type d. unknown

What we talk about when we talk about Drones:

Drones are the mass infantry of the V'sori.

Appearance: They are humanoids wearing full body covering armor. It is usually white in color though other colors have been reported. These other colors may indicate rank or special capabilities. The helmets are full head and bullet shaped in style. The helmets feature 2 eyes and a mouth, no ears are visible. The eyes are simply small patches of a different material rather than openings in the helmet. Similarly the 'mouth' is simply a few vertical slits shielding a speaker unit of some kind. Overall the armor is streamlined and smooth/rounded rather than angled. Think Mandalorian crossed with the Rocketeer more than Cyberman or Storm Trooper

Capabilities:
They appear to be significantly stronger than the average human though not to a superhuman level.
They do not appear to require light to see.
Their armor is resistant though not immune to small arms fire.
They can speak but rarely do and only on subjects related to their currant mission. No small talk, names, or greetings have been observed.
No drone has ever been seen to speak to a V'sori.
All drones have identical voices.
They have been seen to stand constant 24-hour guard duty for over a week before being replaced.
Drones are used to pilot ground vehicles but have not been seen to pilot air or space assets.
They have been seen to bleed a red-gold fluid and they do cry out when wounded.

Weapons:
Their forearms conceal extendable claws/cutting tools that have been seen to cut solid steel.
They have the ability to electrify their outer surface which has proven quite useful in crowd control where a line of Drones can become a walking electrified wall.
They carry equipment related to their current mission. This usually means pulse weapons supplemented with fusion grenades though a wide variety of other equipment has been observed.

Deployment:
With the end of organized opposition Drones have become less visible in Star City. Several hundred are present in Beachead and Northpoint districts but the exact number is unclear.
Drones usually deploy in squads of 6. Such squads are frequently overseen by a K'tharen 'Sargent'.
Patrols are most common in Northpoint, Prospect Point and Uptown neighborhoods with additional frequent patrols focusing on the Mag-Lev system. Other neighborhoods are patrolled but not on a regular schedule.


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People of Star City.

-Villains & Heroes-
~Doctor Destruction. Leader of the Omega rebel group. Last surviving A level villain. Genius level intellect with a strong technological focus.
~Dr. Devolution. Missing/dead villain turned hero in the fight against the K'tharn. Killed in the Betrayal. Focus on creating monsters and manipulation of superpowers. Made extensive use of Shrinking aand Growth effects.
~MindJack. Associate of Dr. Destruction. Employed by many organizations.

~The Spider. Hero, presumed dead. This universe's answer to Batman.

V'sori and other Invaders of note.

Citizens & Shops of Star City.
~Valerie, person of at least some kind of authority released from a prisoner transfer camp.

~Southpoint Slashers
They are about as ruthless as a gang could get in an occupied city--which meant they left the occupiers alone and stomped hard on anyone else. Too amorphous to bring to heel, they sell their loyalty (such as it was) to whoever can offer them the most. The Slashers commonly work with the V'sori and have been rewarded for their compliance with vibro-weapons which are replacing the Slashers formerly favored knives and cleavers. This has emboldened them to break free of their former masters, a gang known as "The Family."

~The Family
A quiet wealthy gang built from the remains of the large east coast crime cartels operations in Star City. Before the invasion they were heavily involved in transshipping drugs through Star City into the mainland US. Since the invasion they have focused on smuggling and organized looting of devastated areas. They are rumored to control most black market activity in the City. They have recently been losing territory to the more violent Slashers.

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Life in Star City
~Post invasion Slang: "Cape" and "Mask" are semi-derogatory terms for folks with superpowers or unusual abilities. Pre-invasion Cape referred more to heroes and Mask to villains/vigilantes but this distinction has faded.
~~Phony War. The initial K'tharn invasion up until the Betrayal.
~~Betrayal. When the V'sori killed Champion and revealed that they were the masters of the K'tharen and the true invaders.

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Black and Hensley Meats AKA your Lair:

Lair Map
Summary
Large industrial two-story building with basement in the Southpoint neighborhood. Former Spider/Alpha Squadron sub-headquarters/safe-house.

The Neighborhood
The surrounding neighborhood is a typical Southpoint industrial park. Or at least as typical as such can be in an occupied city. There are large, big, huge, buildings surrounded by other large, big, huge buildings, interspersed with sprawling parking lots. Some of these are operating, and they churn out smoke and consumer goods in large measure.
Being non-residential a certain level of gang activity is tolerated, and this is seen in the prevalent graffiti, with the graffiti intricacy inversely corresponding to the level of industrial activity. The sites that still housed workers and machinery were almost bare, the few tags in constant war with the maintenance crews that painted them over almost daily. The abandoned sites looked more like living art. Black and Hensley Meats looked to be in the early stages of assimilation by the Southpoint Slashers.

The Building.
Black and Hensley Meats is a b shaped building. A square 2 story building with a long 1 1/2 story wing running out of one side. The square building was split between offices and the factory while the long wing was the main factory floor and shipping/receiving. A large basement level acted as temporary insulated/refrigerated storage. At least that is what should be there.
The actual layout is largely up to you but there are a few things that need to be accounted for.

~The former control room. Either in the square building or in the basement This was the information/communication hub. Not much remains but capped off power and telephone cables.

~Lounge/Meeting room. Likely in the main building for the windows. This was the social hub of the base. Again not much is left beyond basic furniture and a semi-functioning kitchen.

~The Van. The van is parked either in the long building or in the basement storage area. Both areas have easy access to the street.

~The pallet of food. This is currently wrapped in plastic in the middle of the long building.

Other information.

~Windows are armored amber mirror glass. Surprisingly several of the windows open. They slide into the ceiling in response to discrete nearby buttons.

~Security. There are visible cameras covering all the doors from the outside. There are no interior cameras that you can see.
~~The exterior doors are heavy but not armored. Think industrial rather than bomb-proof. All doors into the main building have heavy dead-bolts and the doors into the long building or basement are bolted closed from the inside. All locks and bolts are manual.
~~No interior doors have locks.

~Power & Water. You are on the city grid in Southside. Expect occasional brownouts.

~Décor. Many things are missing. Some rooms show where doors and doorways were removed and not replaced. There is exposed wiring and duct-work. Some interior walls have been removed and a 6 foot square panel in the roof is missing and covered by a welded steel patch. There is nothing personal or individual in any of the spaces. Nothing looks lived in. Think a mid to high end hotel in the middle of a major renovation.

Game stats.

~Advantage: Powerful. You gain 5 power points if you choose to make this your lair. The lair also adds a collective Secret hindrance. If the lair is revealed it and likely you will gain the Wanted: V'sori hindrance.

~Complication: Crumbling. The place is old, and the Squadron didn’t retrofit when they ripped out all their stuff when they decommissioned the place.

~Upgrades:
~~Novice 1: Vehicle. Alpha Squadron covert transport.
~Vehicles
Alpha Squadron covert transport. Nondescript SUV Size 5 (large). Handling +2 (cop shocks). Top Speed 140mph. Toughness 16(4). Crew 1+7.
Extras.
Air bags and safety harnesses (Crew/Passengers take half damage from Collisions). Four-wheel drive (Difficult terrain is 1.5"/1" rather than 2"). Heavy Armor. Stealth paint (-4 to electronic missile lock on). Luxury features.

Character generation guidelines, setting rules and advice, Gear.:

Questions are a burden to others; answers are a prison for oneself.

a) What is your concept? Give me a one or two sentence description of your character.

b) What do you look like? Hair/eye color? Height and Weight? Costume? Think of what your mug shot would look like.

c) What can you do? What separates you from the masses? Brains? Training? Acidic blood? Magic tea cozy?

d) What have you done? What separates you from a random survivor? Describe a typical crime. There is a reason you could not be at the welcoming ceremony with Champion. If you are a hero give me an example of your heroism and tell me why you were not incinerated for standing with Champion?

e) What have you been doing lately? How have you spent the last two years under V'sori occupation? Most importantly tell me about your capture by the V’sori. Yes you have been captured, no this cannot be negotiated.

f) What have you seen in the world? Detail a hero or a villain or an ordinary person you have ran into, worked with, fought, or just heard about. Maybe a member of Alpha Squadron you tangled with. Maybe a criminal mastermind you worked for. Maybe a taxi driver or whoever ran the newsstand near your old lair. Make them interesting. Think of yourself as pitching a 1 or 2 issue special series for the Necessary Evil comic book we are all creating.

g) What is the greatest thing in life? What is your desired end state/goal. Tell me what is important to you.

Heredity

Human: Free edge as normal.

Atlantean: Aquatic. Dependency, immersion in water. Low Light vision. Toughness. Telepathy, SPC3 power, range, only to connect to Atlanteans, Hybrids, and V’sori. V’sori gain +2 notice vs. player. Wanted (V'sori).

Hybrid: Heritage (Aquatic or Free Edge), Telepathy as Atlantean, Secret converts to Wanted(V'sori) if your your hybrid status becomes known. Note Hybrids may change to either Human or Atlantean by spending a conviction benny. This can only be done once as they are then no longer a Hybrid.

Setting and general rules

No non-consensual PVP.

Where books conflict ask. Generally SPC3 has first authority then SWADE then the NE guide. This page or a GM agreement of course trumps the books.

Born a Hero: Ignore Rank requirements for edges during character generation.

Comic Book Combat. See SPC3. It’s big.

Conviction. Resolving/Involving backstory issues is a great way to earn this

Creative Combat. Optional, but it does make Tests more effective.

Free AB Superpowers SPC style. Power level III 45-power points, 15-point limit.

Death and Defeat. Defeated results can be reversed by spending a Conviction benny.

Dumb Luck. Can use a benny to reroll a crit fail. Both the failure and the rolled result happen.

Fanatics. Goons/minions take hits for their leader.

High Adventure. Spend a benny to gain one use of a combat edge ignoring trait requirements.

Larger than life. May take 1 additional Major Hindrance. For those of you familiar with earlier editions Super Karma is NOT in effect.

More Skill points. Start with 15 skill points

Never Surrender. Incapacitated Wild cards are still dealt cards and recover on a Joker.

No finishing moves. You do still get the Drop though.

Rising stars. You will reach level IV if you live long enough. Progression criteria are secret

Throwdown. Ignore unarmed defender rule.

Villainous conviction. Both conviction and VConviction are active for everyone.

Wound cap. Attacks inflict a maximum of four wounds.

Advice & Changes to Edges and Hindrances

SWADE EDGES
Arcane Background. Available with permission. Note this means a great deal more system understanding and paperwork on your part.

Arcane Resistance/Improved. Only applies vs superpowers that have an explicitly arcane trapping. Applies ans normal to other AB's

Aristocrat. Most V’sori will not be impressed. Some will.

Brawler/Bruiser. The bonus damage will not stack with the Special Weapon Additional Attack form of the SPC3 Melee attack power. It does stack with the other forms.

Fame/Famous. These edges increase the attention V’sori and collaborators pay to you. This is good and bad.

Rich/Filthy Rich. These do not generally provide a yearly income without a good explanation.

Hard to Kill: ignore wound penalties on the Death and Defeat check.
Harder to Kill. The roll for this edge happens AFTER the Blaze of Glory effect of Death and Defeat.

Rapid/Improved Rapid Fire: Does apply to powers with appropriate trappings. Recoil penalties are assessed for these extra shots.

Martial artist/Warrior. The extra damage does stack with an SPC3 Melee attack power that uses any of the Additional Attack forms.

Power Edges. Do not apply to AB: SPC3 superpowers.

Champion. V’sori/supers are not generally considered supernatural. It all depends on trappings. That said the supernatural does exist in Star City.

Sidekick. Use SPC3 version.

SWADE Hindrances

Bad Eyes. Glasses are available.

Bloodthirsty. Taking this hindrance means the V’sori are no longer interested in capturing you alive. You have been warned.

Habit. Substance addictions generally run about $20/day. And are not subject to the black market mark up.

Slow. Wheelchairs and prosthetics are available.

Wanted. Note, Taking Wanted by the V’sori means there is a unit in the V’sori bureaucracy dedicated to hunting you specifically 24/7. You have been warned.
(Special note for Atlantian and Hybrid characters. The heritage based Wanted is not as severe as the individual wanted. Atlanteans and Hybrids are persued as a group. Information on you as an individual will be given greater weight that it will for the human beside you but there is not a unit tracking you specifically.)

SPC3 Edges. All available.

SPC3 Hindrances.

Alien Form. Very nearly unavailable. You will need a very good backstory and you will have great difficulty operating in public. You have been warned.

Distinctive Appearance. Cannot be taken with Alien form.

Secret identity. This is reduced to minor. Post invasion it just doesn’t matter that much.

Transformation. Note this does not trump Alien Form or Distinctive Appearance. You are Alien/Distinctive in all your forms.

NE Guide Edges. Not available. They have generally been replaced by SWADE/SPC3 edges.

NE Guide Hindrances. Not available. They have generally been replaced by SWADE/SPC3 edges.

Gear
Where there is a conflict in weight, cost, etc. defer to the SPC3 version.

~Armor~

SWADE.
Modern armor is available but is generally inferior to the armor offered in SPC3 and should be considered Vintage/out of date or poorly made civilian knockoffs of military gear. It is purchased at half cost, but it applies a -1 penalty to pace and is uncomfortable to wear.
Futuristic armor, shields, and weapons are unavailable.

SPC3.
~All armor available.

NE Guide
~Standard armor. Use the SPC3 version of the item.

~Heavy armor.
Ablative armor does not exist. The Ablative effect is simply too good.
Duraweave clothing costs $200 per suit but is NOT heavy armor. SPC modified NE greatly lessens the need for Heavy Armor and Heavy Weapons.
Modified Fin combat armor. Use the stats for SPC3 combat armor but drop the weight to 10. K’tharen generally take exception to anyone else wearing this armor. They won’t, generally, attack on sight but if the fight’s already started or no one is looking…..
V’sori Personal combat armor. Unavailable at start of play.
Tactical helmet. Weight is 5 (the 1 was a typo) and not Heavy Armor otherwise as listed. The integrated (not Omega secure but that can be fixed) commlink and GPS reader explain the higher cost.
Z-belt. Not Heavy Armor. It does reduce energy weapon damage by 4 before AP as ballistic protection works. The belt can be upgraded to +2 for an additional $500. The ablative effect works but even in the upgraded version it will only negate one wound before burning out. Recharging takes an hour using house current. A spare battery to hot-swap costs $100 and weighs 1.

~Weapons~
Where there is a conflict in weight, cost, etc. defer to the SPC3 version.

SWADE.
~All medieval and modern melee weapons are available. Futuristic weapons are not. Use the weapon mods in SPC3 instead.
~All ranged weapons, black powder weapons, modern firearms, including machineguns are available. With the destruction of most armed forces modern firearms are easy to get. CHEAP versions of all modern firearms are available for half price. These are generally poorly maintained/damaged weapons looted from a destroyed supply base or battlefield on the mainland. Please note CHEAP gear on your character sheet and don’t roll a critical failure when using it or I will be entertained.
~LASERS are not available. Use pulse weapons from the SPC3.
~All special weapons except the vehicle LASERS are available. CHEAP versions are available. Note CHEAP grenades are a very very bad idea and no sane dealer will sell them. That said they are available, knock yourself out.

SPC3
Close combat weapons. No restrictions.
Weapon Modifications. Available. Can be placed on ranged/special/etc weapons with GM approval.
Pulse weapons. Available but rare. These were just coming into use by the major Earth militaries when the invasion happened. Powerpacks recharge @ 6 shots per hour at house current.
Special weapons. Nullifier gun is unavailable.
Special Ammo. Available.

NE Guide
Hand weapons Archaic and Modern use SWADE book versions. Energy weapons use SPC3 Weapon modifiers to create.
Ranged weapons. Use SWADE versions. If you want a gyrojet, plasma, or an M2-Hero killer or anything else that does not have a direct equivalent, ask and we’ll work it out.
Special weapons
Fusion grenades. V’sori made. These were heavily used in the initial invasion. Supplies are drying up as world peace has descended on the earth.
CS-Mega taser: Use SPC3 Stungun with Power Weapon and Stun modifications. So d6/d10 with raise damage then vigor-4 or stunned.
POS-1 and 2. Use SPC3 versions.
Stun Wand. Unavailable. Use a baton/club with stun power mod from SPC3
Other Weapon Gear. Use SPC3 Cape killer rounds rather that Hero Killer ammo.

~Other gear/Miscellaneous gear~
Where there is a conflict in weight, cost, etc. defer to the SPC3 version.
SWADE. Available.
SPC3. Available. Note the Commlinks are not Omega secure but that can be fixed.
NE Guide. Available.
~Combat drugs, available cost unchanged. A dose will now in addition to bumping the related attribute up a die give you an edge thematically related to the drug used. Agility will generally give the Quick edge and so on. Multiple doses will advance or add additional edges.