Line #61 Roleplay/CapeAndCowl


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
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3	%%Trivia tropes have been commented out until the Roleplay Maintenance Thread has decided what to do with subjective and Trivia subpages.
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5	->''"Welcome to the City, '''Hero.'''"''
6	-->--'''The Porter's greeting.'''
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8	Superheroes? In MY roleplay? It's more likely than you think.
9
10	''Cape And Cowl'' is a multi-fandom superhero roleplay set in a metropolis known only as 'The City', which had its entire police force disappear in fall of 2008 (when the game began). Their replacements are characters pulled from other worlds by an advanced machine known as the [[TeleportersAndTransporters Porter]] to serve as 'heroes', with previously-unpowered characters gaining superhuman abilities in the process. Known for being very fast-paced. Found [[http://capeandcowl.dreamwidth.org here.]]
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12	The game concluded on Jan. 12th 2014 and now has a sequel game called ''Roleplay/MaskOrMenace'', which is ongoing as of 2019. Can be found [[http://maskormenace.dreamwidth.org here.]]
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14	----
15	!!The ''Cape And Cowl'' series contains examples of:
16	%% * ActionGirl: Most of the female heroes and villains, including [[WesternAnimation/KimPossible Shego]] and [[Series/{{Dollhouse}} Echo]].
17	%% * ActionMom: [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Sarah Connor]].
18	%% * AIIsACrapshoot:
19	%% ** First Iron Suit, then the Porter itself.
20	%% ** [[Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries The Red Queen]].
21	%% ** [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Skynet]], apparently.
22	* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Relations between the [[PlayerCharacter PCs]] or 'Imports' and 'native' [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] tend to be... strained at best. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the amount of chaos the characters' presence has caused in the City. However, Imports have since gained much more acceptance along with legal citizenship in their new home, since they helped save thousands of civilians from the HIVE.
23	* AlternateHistory: The Cityverse's history deviates from our own in many ways besides the Porter.
24	%% * AndIMustScream: Nightmare plot.
25	* AnyoneCanDie: Thanks to the Porter's tendency to [[FirstLawOfResurrection bring people back]]. Unfortunately, this means when people do die, it's usually in the most painful way possible. For maximum resurrection trauma.
26	* ArmsDealer: An early source of income for the Coalition was selling advanced battle mechs to North Korea. Jack 'Weasel' Hammer fulfilled this function on a smaller level in the City.
27	* AttackOfTheKillerWhatever: The City can be threatened by pretty much anything. It was once attacked by ''pigeons.''
28	%% * BackFromTheDead: Pretty much guaranteed.
29	%% * BadassAdorable: [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles Cameron Phillips]]. Abby Boylen.
30	%% * BadassCrew: Most of the superhero teams, as well as the police force, which had [[Film/DieHard John McClane]] as its Chief.
31	%% * BadassFamily: The ComicBook/{{Spider\|Man}} Family and the ComicBook/{{Bat\|man}} Family.
32	* BadFuture: The [=CNC2020=] spinoff, set in a future where [=ImPorts=] are persecuted by the government.
33	%% * BattleCouple: Batgirl and Darkdevil.
34	* BigApplesauce: The City is basically a nameless alternate universe counterpart to New York.
35	%% * BigBadassBattleSequence: The larger plots can get truly epic.
36	%% * BigCreepyCrawlies: An early plot had a swarm of these released on the City by a mad scientist.
37	%% * BlankSlate: [[{{Series/Dollhouse}} Whiskey]]. Usually.
38	%% * {{Brainwashed}}: A supervillain plot used ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' technology for this.
39	%% * BreakTheCutie: [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} Dr Zoidberg]].
40	%% * BreakingOutTheBoss: Done by the Nazis at one point.
41	* CardboardPrison: The facility for imprisoning captured supervillains, nicknamed Superjail, is an impregnable high-tech fortress... which bad guys still regularly worm their way out of.
42	%% * CarMeetsHouse: Two of the X-men went for a drive that did not end as planned.
43	* CelebrityParadox: Dealt with in-game. The instant a fictional character is Ported in, all media materials (films, books, games, etc.) related to them are erased from reality. They can be recreated if the character leaves, though.
44	%% * ChewingTheScenery: [[Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors Twoey]].
45	%% * CityOfAdventure: The City
46	%% * CleanUpTheTown: Initially.
47	%% * ColdBloodedTorture: This happens. A lot.
48	%% * ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive: Pretty much guaranteed to come up at some point. Right?
49	* TheCommissionerGordon: Standard policy for the understaffed police force, which has little choice but to cooperate with vigilantes in order to keep the City safe.
50	%% * TheCorrupter: Usually takes the form of malignant mentorship: Daken (with Electro), Norman Osborn (Reilly Tyne, Rose Lalonde), Edward Nygma (Katurian Katurian, April Ludgate, Eridan Ampora), Boyd Langton (Midii).
51	* CosmicRetcon: The 'Running the Gauntlet' plot saw the reality of the Cityverse rewritten to introduce new elements like ghosts, aliens, and fictional countries.
52	%% * CrusadingLawyer: Several, including Miles Edgeworth, Callie Maggotbone, Jennifer Walters and Matt Murdock -- who was training his [[HappilyAdopted daughter]] [[Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} Terezi Pyrope]] and [[LegacyCharacter protege]] [[ComicBook/SpiderGirl Reilly Tyne]] in this career path.
53	* CrypticConversation: It is notoriously difficult to get a straight answer out of [=NPCs=] like Grinbitch and the Kashira Players, on the few occasions that it is even possible to communicate with them.
54	%% * DeadpanSnarker: [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles Cameron Phillips]], [[WesternAnimation/KimPossible Shego]].
55	%% * DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: The Porter resurrects most killed characters.
56	%% * DefaceOfTheMoon: To the point where it's almost a RunningGag.
57	%% * DesignatedVictim: [[Literature/SweetValleyHigh Jessica Wakefield]] manages to suffer more than [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Waspinator.]]
58	* DeusEstMachina: The Porter's powers seem to be almost limitless- at least when it comes to player characters.
59	* DieHardOnAnX: One plot had Superjail held hostage by [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]] and supervillains, while [[Franchise/DieHard John McClane]] and [[Film/InglouriousBasterds Aldo Raine]] were loose inside. [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity Ensued.]]
60	* DifferentlyPoweredIndividual: Most player characters are referred to as 'Imports' or 'metahumans.' And now artificially-created native superhumans are called 'Metamen.'
61	%% * DiscountLesbians: A RunningGag with Zatanna and Wonder Woman.
62	%% * DysfunctionJunction: Where to start.
63	* EliteMooks: Villains have tried a variety of ways to make their minions a match for the heroes, such as turning them into vampires or outfitting them with body armor and rocket launchers. It rarely helps.
64	%% * EmotionlessGirl: Subverted with [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles Cameron Phillips]].
65	* EmptyQuiver: One plot revolved around the theft of a nuclear warhead by supervillains, and an attempt to use it on Washington D.C.
66	* EnemyWithout: A nasty accident between [[VideoGame/Persona3 Minako]] and [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyoko]] leads to a whole lot of Imports being trapped by their Shadows.
67	%% * ExplosiveBreeder: An attempt at allowing characters to return home instead caused a plague of [[Franchise/StarTrek Tribbles]].
68	%% * FailureIsTheOnlyOption: When it comes to finding a way home or a way to shut down/take control of the Porter.
69	%% * FakeAmerican: The Master, while pretending to be Adon Tierney.
70	%% * FakeMemories: The Brainwash Plot.
71	* FalselyReformedVillain: Many supervillains have managed to forge successful and lucrative 'legitimate' careers through their 'reformations.'
72	%% * FauxAffablyEvil: [[Series/{{Dollhouse}} Alpha]], [[Series/DoctorWho The Master]].
73	%% * FictionalCountry: Five of them, thanks to the Infinity Gauntlet.
74	%% * FightClubbing: Courtesy of the characters from ''Film/FightClub''.
75	%% * FishOutOfWater
76	%% * FlightStrengthHeart: Due to bizarre Porter-granted powers. One character combined infinite ammunition with deductive tap dancing.
77	* FountainOfYouth: Most of the City was turned into children by a magic spell.
78	%% * FutureBadass:
79	%% ** Characters who weren't already badass sometimes become these in 2020.
80	%% ** [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} John Connor]].
81	%% * GovernmentConspiracy: Vulcanus, which seeks to mass produce superhumans.
82	* HatePlague: Cylon-Nazi nerve gas that slowly drove people into conflict with each other.
83	* HoldingOutForAHero: The initial premise of the game was that the player characters were the only hope of restoring law and order in the City after the police force vanished. Since the government declared the place a disaster area and failed to act, it was up to them to fight crime and rebuild the justice system.
84	%% * IfItsYouItsOkay
85	* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: In a FisherKingdom style, the Porter assigns all non-humanoid characters (like Transformers and {{Talking Animal}}s) a human form, sometimes with TransformationTrauma in the meantime. There have also been plots where characters were unexpectedly transformed into animals and robots.
86	%% * KidHero: Awesome Force and the Teen Titans.
87	%% * KillerRobot: Partially averted, since most robots are turned mostly human when brought into the City.
88	%% * LegionOfDoom: The Coalition, a loose grouping of the City's villainous characters.
89	* LenoDevice: Sometimes news posts will appear, offering a native's-eye view of how the presence of the player characters is affecting the world.
90	* LikeRealityUnlessNoted: The game's setting is almost exactly like the real world, except for details like having Superior Purchase instead of Best Buy and a different President. And of course all the superhumans.
91	%% * LivingShadow: The Kashira Players. [[EpilepticTrees Possibly.]]
92	* LoveIsInTheAir: Affecting [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Trowa Barton]] of all people. A specialty of [[Series/HerculestheLegendaryJourneys Aphrodite]].
93	%% * MageInManhattan
94	* MagneticPlotDevice: The Porter. Between the AI's twisted sense of humour and plain old malfunctions, as long as it's running the City's bound to be an exciting place.
95	%% * ManchurianAgent
96	%% * MegaCrossover
97	%% * {{Mook}}: Ordinary criminals don't stand much of a chance against most player characters.
98	* MugglePower: Vulcanus' ideology appears to be Type One: stealing powers from Imports for the sake of giving them to 'the people.'
99	* MundaneFantastic: Aside from the occasional superhuman brawls, the people of the City try to carry on as usual. The City's culture has adapted to the situation so much that there are even superhero-themed ''strip clubs.''
100	* MusicalEpisode: Courtesy of a character from ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', who used his powers to make everyone sing and dance.
101	%% * MythologyGag: The President in this superhero-themed game looks an awful lot like Creator/StanLee.
102	%% * NebulousEvilOrganization: The HIVE, the City's sinister [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles West Coast]] counterpart.
103	%% * NGOSuperpower: The HIVE tried to act like one of these when it defied the US government. [[KillItWithFIre It ended poorly.]]
104	* NoFEMAResponse: New York City has lost its police force? Don't expect the federal government to do anything about it! Possibly justified by the fear that anyone they sent in would just disappear as well.
105	%% * NotHimself: The Polymorph and timeswitch plots.
106	%% * OddFriendship: As customary for a panfandom game, CNC has produced some epic ones.
107	%% * PlatonicLifePartners: [[Series/DoctorWho Rory Williams]] and [[ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} Zatanna Zatara]] were this.
108	%% * PlayingWithSyringes: Standard procedure for the City's thriving mad scientist community. Vulcanus has gotten in on the action as well to copy characters' superpowers.
109	* PowerNullifier: At one point, depowering guns appeared that could temporarily disable superhuman abilities.
110	%% * QuirkyHousehold: MANY.
111	%% * ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: [[Series/DoctorWho The Doctor]], [[Series/DoctorWho Rory Williams]], [[Manga/TowardTheTerra Soldier Blue]], and others.
112	* RedShirtArmy: Ordinary cops, soldiers and civilians stand almost no chance against most Import supervillains.
113	* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Averted. The presence of so many super-geniuses and advanced technology users Ported in has already begun to have impacts on health, technology, and international politics.
114	* TheReveal: Several: Iron Man is actually a sentient suit of Tony Stark's armour. Los Angeles is run by a massive criminal conspiracy. The President is Stan Lee. And an international conspiracy is seeking to mass-produce superhumans.
115	* RunningGag: Many, in and out of character: ''bueno,'' Norman's computer, eating glass, the Major's weight...
116	* ShowWithinAShow: Iron Man: The Musical.
117	%% * TheSnarkKnight: [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} John Connor]].
118	%% * SoapWithinAShow: A Single Potato, complete with ExplainingTheSoap. With the [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Decepticons]].
119	%% * StageMagician: Zatanna Zatara.
120	* StatusQuoIsGod: To a certain extent. The City will always have enough crime to keep the heroes busy, but will never be wrecked too badly to recover, and the Porter will always continue bringing in new characters.
121	%% * AStormIsComing: [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Sarah Connor's]] visions.
122	* StormingTheCastle: At one point a large number of characters launched a massive attack on the HIVE. It succeeded, but the HIVE remained a threat for a while longer. Two years later, a Vulcanus base in Greenland was assaulted in order to prevent the creation of a superhuman army.
123	%% * {{Superhero}}
124	* SuperheroSchool: The X-Men have set up their own Xavier Institute in the City for Imported students. Now being run by [[Literature/HarryPotter Remus Lupin]].
125	* SuperpowerLottery: Many of the powers granted by the Porter are ''bizarre,'' such as generating teacups at will, making it rain baseballs and extremely good apple pie, and extreme sandwich-making skills.
126	* SuperpoweredMooks: At one point the HIVE attacked the City with an army of superpowered mutants.
127	* SuperRegistrationAct: A common worry of Imports, especially the X-men. Superhero activity is currently permitted and loosely regulated by the authorities- basically, the main rule is "don't be Comicbook/ThePunisher."
128	%% * TheyWalkAmongUs: "They" in this case being metahumans.
129	%% * TrashTheSet: Godzilla's final assault leveled most of the financial district, although most of it has since been rebuilt.
130	%% * TrueCompanions: Many.
131	%% * VagueAge: It's kind of unclear how old some of the under-twenties are.
132	%% * ViceCity: The HIVE, and the City on a bad day.
133	%% * WarArc: Three rounds with the HIVE, and then the War of Four Walls.
134	%% * WashingtonDCInvasion: A supervillain attempt to nuke the National Mall.
135	%% * WaveOfBabies: [[Literature/HarryPotter Luna]] almost drowned the Major in one. [[MagicMisfire Accidentally]].
136	* WhamEpisode: The revelation of Iron Suit, the introduction of the HIVE and their subsequent assault on the City, the disposal of the Iron Suit by the Porter, and the entry of [[GovernmentConspiracy Vulcanus]] were big game-changers.
137	%% * WretchedHive: The HIVE.
138	%% * YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: Many characters, particularly during the Renaissance Faire.
139	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Unless Deported without warning, leaving your Cityverse friends to wonder whether they'll ever see you again.
140	%% * YouDoNotWantToKnow: This often comes up.
141	* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: The HIVE and supervillains have used them. A zeppelin ''nightclub'' was actually operated by characters for a time.
142	%% * ZombieApocalypse: More than one.

Context Roleplay / CapeAndCowl