Darkest Before Dawn
It is an age of villains.
From the day the Saint was first seen in newsreels back in '39 all those years ago, there have always been heroes.
For decades, they've protected the world from superpowered criminals, mad scientists, moon Nazis, alien invaders, and even the odd incursion from other dimensions. Regardless of their origins — whether they received their powers in some sort of accident, were born with their abilities, used tech to get by, or relied purely on their training and hard work — they have long vowed to protect the world and make it a better place.
And the Saint, an immutable paragon, stood above them all. He was a symbol of hope, a beacon of light in the dark. The truest and most noble hero.
But the Saint was, in the end, only a man. A mortal, and like all mortals, time took its toll.
His powers faded in old age, and the next generation of heroes could not produce a symbol of hope to match him.
So long as hope exists in this world, despair will always follow in its footsteps.
Hope had fallen, and despair overtook it, covering the world in darkness. Evil prospered, and now, across the Earth, villains outnumber heroes 4 to 1. In most major cities, this disparity is even worse. As crime rises, the downtrodden become desperate, and turn to crime themselves, creating a downward spiral that will end in tragedy.
And yet...
There are still heroes. In Super City, California, an academy was founded. Saint Academy, named for the old man that had once given everyone hope. A new generation of heroes has enrolled in this academy. And they will rise to the challenge. They will fight, because they must. Because they are the heroes that the world so desperately needs.
Because no matter how many times hope falls, like the sun, it will always rise again.
It's always darkest before the dawn.
From the day the Saint was first seen in newsreels back in '39 all those years ago, there have always been heroes.
For decades, they've protected the world from superpowered criminals, mad scientists, moon Nazis, alien invaders, and even the odd incursion from other dimensions. Regardless of their origins — whether they received their powers in some sort of accident, were born with their abilities, used tech to get by, or relied purely on their training and hard work — they have long vowed to protect the world and make it a better place.
And the Saint, an immutable paragon, stood above them all. He was a symbol of hope, a beacon of light in the dark. The truest and most noble hero.
But the Saint was, in the end, only a man. A mortal, and like all mortals, time took its toll.
His powers faded in old age, and the next generation of heroes could not produce a symbol of hope to match him.
So long as hope exists in this world, despair will always follow in its footsteps.
Hope had fallen, and despair overtook it, covering the world in darkness. Evil prospered, and now, across the Earth, villains outnumber heroes 4 to 1. In most major cities, this disparity is even worse. As crime rises, the downtrodden become desperate, and turn to crime themselves, creating a downward spiral that will end in tragedy.
And yet...
There are still heroes. In Super City, California, an academy was founded. Saint Academy, named for the old man that had once given everyone hope. A new generation of heroes has enrolled in this academy. And they will rise to the challenge. They will fight, because they must. Because they are the heroes that the world so desperately needs.
Because no matter how many times hope falls, like the sun, it will always rise again.
It's always darkest before the dawn.
My Superhero Academy: Dark Before the Dawn is a spinoff of the main timeline of My Superhero Sagas. MSA has since progressed beyond school days to a more professional setting, but some of us players wanted to recapture the spirit of that original. This new group of students come to a super school in Super City, California. They are also up and coming heroes in a world that's nearly been overwhelmed.
Below, find the links to the:
- Signup Thread
for player characters - Game Thread for the Game itself.
Tropes
- 20 Minutes into the Future: The setting is 2029.
- Atomic Hate: Ryan is this in one teenage package. Albeit he's a tad shyer about using it than in other adaptions.
- Academy of Adventure: Well, there is a magical forest right outside the school.
- Back from the Brink: Supervillains dominate the world and outnumber heroes 4-1. One casually stole billions of dollars in US government assets in one instance.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: The Diatribe seems to be this, given that they're described as the three most dangerous villains on the continent and that their first on-screen action is to attempt to kidnap Skye.
- Body Horror: The Viturion Invasion arc sees a lot of it in a short amount of time. Skye is again kidnapped and targeted by villains, this time by the insane mage Blackheart. Blackheart actually succeeds, and turns Skye from a human boy into what can only be described as a "flesh fridge". The effects are quickly undone, but still.
- Cape Punk: The setting is not just supers beat up bad guys. The 'how' and things like ethics and image heavily affect play. Or, at the beginning, the how of surviving one's 'partners' and 'teachers'.
- The Cutie: You'll know the one. Lucy is this to (almost) everyone.
- Eldritch Abomination: The...things Blackheart of the Viturion Alliance summons. Including an Avatar of Yog-Sothoth.
- Enemy Within: An MSA tradition, a few students carry them around.
- I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: Ellie, the homeroom teacher, has this reaction nigh instantly with most of the students. Iona has it with Lucy.
- Inhumanable Alien Rights: Do not mention pets around Sue.
- Not Wearing Tights: While few wear tights, several of the students do put effort into costumes. Though codenames are rarely used among each other.
- Superhero School: Theoretically. They have interesting recruits to work with. And this could change at any time. One administrator recalls in the background of how a supervillain stole the resources for another superhero school before it could get off the ground.
- Villain World: It is an age of villains...
- Wham Episode: Shortly after Mikael's test, the Diatribe attempts to abduct Skye from the dorms.
