Justice Avengers: A New Beginning Signup Thread

Hey guys - sad to hear about the OG Justice Avengers ending but you guys had a good run and I had fun when I played with you all. With that, I'm thinking about signing up as a few characters. Just need to get some sleep so I can get some ideas to post tomorrow.

Creative Consultant time: Sijo, I wouldn't be so hasty about shoving Spider-Gwen off into the alternate reality corner. Setting aside the fact that it would make her a little too isolated from the rest of the setting, there's the fact that the world is just getting started. Nothing is nailed down yet. Nobody's signed up as Spidey yet, hell, there hasn't been a single mention of Spider-Man yet in game, only of Parker.

My suggestion, then, is to have Gwen Stacy be the spider bite recipient in this universe. Don't have to have Peter be dead- hell, don't even have to make him the Lizard just yet -but there's nothing physically impeding Spider-Gwen from being canonised. Yes, I know it's a tangent from the main version, but in a sense it's no less true to the source material.

I'm telling you all this as the guy who blocked people from signing up as Captain America or Magneto because I had all these little plans that never came to pass, and yet early on, when I set my plans for Man-Bat aside and let someone sign up as Kirk Langstrom, it allowed the game to blossom in ways I never anticipated. Give your players some breathing room, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Thanks for the advice, Liz. I appreciate it, trust me. But continuity snarls are something I'm wary of: I'm trying to give players as much creative freedom as I can but building a new universe out of two that are *already* extremely complex is not easy- anything you approve might have consequences later. Not to mention that there is some stuff that is just too iconic: you just know sooner or later someone is going to want to play Peter as Spider-Man.

If the player wants Spider-Gwen to be a native of this reality, then she could be a clone with DNA from both characters. (Our first Clone Saga character, and I hear we might have another one soon. )

edited 16th Aug '17 6:34:32 AM by Sijo

Really thinking about it, I don't feel like playing a character that doesn't come from this universe because it would put the mission of getting back home in her head. As for the justification, it could always be a Silk kinda situation where Gwen got bitten by a spider long after Peter and I could always get rid of the part about killing her version of Peter.

And if that's not cool, I could always take a page from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon regarding her origin but that would change her powers a bit.

edited 16th Aug '17 7:30:43 AM by DeisTheAlcano

Personally, I'd go with the Silk option. Incidentally, in case anyone's wondering, the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon had Spider-Gwen get her powers from technologically modified costume.

Anyway, enough meddling in other people's characters for me, time to meddle in a character of my very own! Watch this space for an amazicredible signup post of grandificent proportions.

No Liz. I'm going to post here so now you're forced to make it a new post. Muahahaha

@Deis The Alcano: As long as your character's origin doesn't mess with any other character's origin, I'll probably be OK with it.

So the Silk approach and getting rid of the Lizard incident would approve the character then?

@Lizard: Also, yes, I kinda forgot to explain that. Whoops

Am I accepted? Or is there something else I need to do?

[TOP SECRET]

@Deis The Alcano: I prefer the cartoon version but I leave that to you. Btw since my goal is to allow ALL Marvel and DC characters ever to coexist here, presumably Silk will show up someday too.

@secretlyasuperhero: Yes you are, though I'm still unclear on why Rose is psychotic and where her powers came from. In the comics, it was the criminal organization called The 100 who killed her parents and the shock of witnessing this that triggered her split personality; that's an important part of her concept. As for her powers, maybe she taps The Green, the same force that Swamp Thing uses (and so does Sentinel, the hero who was the original Thorn's husband.) How about those? I mean, its not like you need to explain this stuff *right away* but its likely to come up.

Awesome. Basically, the split personality is due to Rose's mutation, but was awoken by the shock of seeing her father killed. And I think I mentioned that she could tap into the Green.

[TOP SECRET]

Here's my sign up. Concept: What if Riri Williams had no Tony Stark to mentor her or Iron Man to inspire her, but still had a supportive family and friend and did cool stuff. Kind of a little of Moon Girl in her like that.

• Identity: Riri Williams, hero name still undefined.
• Powers, Skills, Equipment:
  • Super-Genius Intelligence: When she was five years old, Riri was classified as a super genius. Because of this, she was accepted into M.I.T. with barely fifteen years of age.
  • Skilled Inventor and Engineer: Despite her youth and limited resources, Riri has devised and created various contrivances and devices.
  • "Junk Titan" Model I: A mini mecha that mostly amounts to half a cockpit and a pair of legs, its mostly a proof of concept and a ‘work in progress’ for Riri. Named by her friend Natalie.
  • Hoverpack Model 3 “Super Fly”: The first jetpack capable of consistent flight and/or hovering instead of just ‘big jumps’. This is due to it being a refinement of the second model, that used electromagnetic hover pads, currently its main issue its a short lived battery life, and general bulkyness. It is attached to the body with a heavyduty harness, has a pair of parachutes stashed in compartments, and it had a pair of palm-sized controllers that are attached with cables to the main body. Usually its paired with a padded speed suit and a modified motorcycle helmet for protection.
  • Jumpboots Model 1: Made from what was left of Jetpack Model 1 after it crashed, as they are they only provide boost assisted jumps, but Riri pairs them with the Hoverpack to assist mobility, they brace up to below the knee.
  • Detektiv I: the first in a (hopefully) long line of home-made drones, this little beauty features a camera, sturdy claws to pick stuff up with, a tazer, a small microphone and speakers.
  • Grappling hook: A portable grappling hook gun, more of a rifle, due to its size, but still useful.
• Appearance: your regular neighbourhood genius◊
• Personality: An idealist and optimistic teenage, with dreams to change the world with, and yet she’s rather grounded, at least more than you’d expect. Likes to be methodic and plan things out but she’s not without her little obsessions and bouts of passion, again; teenager.
• Origin: Riri Williams was born shortly after the death of her father, Riri Williams, Sr.. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, living with her sister Sharon, their mother, and their step-father. When Riri was five years old, behavioural problems led her parents to consult a child psychologist, who certified Riri as a super genius after undergoing several tests. At the psychologist's recommendation, Riri's parents looked into special care to foster her abilities, while also giving her emotional support.

Riri's level of intelligence caused her to retreat inside her own mind and become an introvert. She met her only friend, Natalie Washington, when she was ten years old, after Riri caught Natalie's attention while working at her open garage on some inventions meant to hopefully help superheroes some day. A few years after that, Riri was given a scholarship at M.I.T. The rest is history, she’s been studying, refining her craft, and also making lots of gadgets...

edited 28th Nov '17 6:05:00 PM by Sanojutsu

The graceless warrior, wielder of the edgeless blade, prophet of the old religions, writer of fluent nonsense, saviour of soul and song.

Approved. I hope no problem with her building her armor and calling herself Ironheart- just as long as she does not replace Iron Man.

eventually maybe, who knows, being in a mixed universe Ironman might not be her role-model, though her calling herself Ironheart is a must, I do like the name, we could change the origin of the name. Actually I toyed with it being Nat instead of Tony giving her the name, since Riri has a hard time with putting a catchy name to stuff.

The graceless warrior, wielder of the edgeless blade, prophet of the old religions, writer of fluent nonsense, saviour of soul and song.

Decided to go with unpowered Gwen. Edited the sheet.

edited 16th Aug '17 5:43:20 PM by DeisTheAlcano

and

Joke's on you, nman, I intended to make a new post from the beginning. Anyway, enough chicanery, let's begin.

• Identity: Mantra, aka Eden Blake, aka Lukasz
• Powers, Skills and Equipment:
• Costume Mantra's very outfit bears practical properties of its own, otherwise lord knows she wouldn't be caught dead wearing the embarrassing things. In the past, these sacred artefacts were intended as gifts to the Archimage's three wives, all of whom would become brides of the Boneyard instead.
  • The Mask and Armour both serve as a means to enhance and channel her latent magical abilities. Neither can be taken off by anyone who doesn't have magical abilities, and they can be concealed/turned into civilian clothes by means of a charm on a necklace, resembling a miniature version of the mask.
  • The Cloak can be used in tandem with Elemental magic to fly through the air, but, unbeknownst to Mantra, is capable of so much more. It can absorb anything thrown at it, from projectiles to energy blasts to people, and deposit it at the time and place of her choosing. Not only that, but it contains the doorway to a patchwork pocket dimension filled with whatever the Archimage considered of interest, including a castle filled with mystical reading and weaponry.
  • The Sword of Fangs is Mantra's weapon of choice, and was in fact built as part of the armour before being stolen by the Boneyard, and stolen back by Mantra. It can be changed into a ring that fits perfectly over the gem on her belt, and points in her direction whenever separated from her. The sword can be called to her hand on a whim, and is said to be entirely indestructible.
• Combat Expertise Mantra has had fifteen hundred years of combat training under his belt, including martial arts and swordplay. However, much of those were to some extent dependent on the strength of his physical body, and this current one is taking a lot of getting used to.
• Fae Magic Mantra's body channels magic from a distant ancestry of the fair folk. She's has no prior experience with spell-casting and is only just getting the hang of it, but with regular exercise it can be quite formidable, and extend her lifespan for centuries. However, its origin lends to it a couple of drawbacks. Firstly, her magic attacks have zero effect on anything made from cold iron, which can also breeze straight through her magic defences. Secondly, if her true name is ever spoken, it can make her powerless against the speaker for a time.
  • Mantra's core abilities are Elemental, letting her manipulate attacks of naturally occurring plasma, gaseous, liquid or solid matter. However, by tapping into White magic, she has the potential to learn...
  • Mystic shields and energy blasts
  • Phantasm form
  • Translation
  • Computer hacking
  • Healing factor
  • In times of great duress, she may even be forced to tap into Black Magic, and she's certainly seen enough death over the years to make it count.
• Appearance: The wo/man in question◊
• Personality: Lukasz has had fifteen centuries' practice in being manliest among men, living a life of combat, drinking, weightlifting and hitting on women. That's not to say he doesn't have a sense of military duty, though, and he's well accustomed to giving and following orders, and toughing out even the most gruelling of struggles. He has, unfortunately, developed a dim view of women over his life, seeing them either as walking sex toys or softer, frailer versions of people. But now, with hundreds of years to get set in his ways, he is now thrust into a situation far outside of his comfort zone, and he's incredibly pissed about it. In his mind, the life of woman is a life of disability, a challenge to be overcome. However, as the consummate soldier he is, he's determined not to back down from any challenge that comes his way.
• Origin:
• The tale of Lukasz begins in the year 451 AD, a time of great turmoil and instability throughout the western world as it then existed. In the crumbling Western Roman Empire of this time, there lived two brothers, half-born from the Fae and gifted in the ways of sorcery. The eldest brother came to be known as the Archimage, and saw a future for mankind by living in harmony with nature. The younger would be named the Boneyard by his enemies, and believed that it was mankind's prerogative to transcend the natural world with modern advancements. This quarrel of ideologies would only escalate in time, with the two brothers determined to unite the world under their philosophies, drawing upon bright and dark magic respectively, and even making each forget the other's true name to try and get an edge. Then at last came the tipping point: a conquering warlord named Attila the Hun came up against staunch resistance in Gaul, and enlisted the Boneyard to slay the king of the Visigoths. It was at this time, when the Boneyard had a whole platoon at his beck and call, that the Archimage called upon men of his own to oppose him, and the rivalry burst into an eternal secret war.
• At the time, Lukasz was a humble peasant turned sellsword, with no lofty ambitions beyond a goblet of liquor or his next coin. However, the Archimage took notice of him, and decided to make a better man of him by enlisting him in his service. So it was that Lukasz joined the Twelve Knights of the Archimage, and fought battle after battle for hundreds of years to come. When the Boneyard's minions were killed in battle, he would simply resurrect them to fight another day. When one of the Knights were killed, the Archimage took a slightly different approach. He would send the spirit of that knight into to a comatose man, brought so close to the brink of death that their soul was disconnected long enough for a new one to take its place, a process referred to as a Walk-In. Newly incarnated, the knight would return to his comrades and rejoin the fight. As this cyclical war went on, many participants were shaped by the hardships of war and the distant perspective of immortality. Lukasz never quite lost his simple wants and vices, and his isolation from the ephemeral women in his life only served to deepen his chauvinism, much to the chagrin of Archimage's faithful female familiar, Katinya. But the never-ending company he kept served to grant him a deep respect for his leader and his many brothers-in-arms: dignified Yaron, mischievous Thanasi and idealistic Hamath to name but a few.
• The Twelve Knights fought on through the 20th Century, occasionally joining major wars when the Boneyard allied himself with Axis Powers or suchlike, but otherwise seeing major conflicts as irrelevant to 'the one true conflict'. But then one day, in the mid 2010's, everything fell to pieces. The knights were recuperating from their latest mission, when the Archimage announced he had discovered a traitor in their very midst. Before he could continue, the group was ambushed by the Boneyard and a gathering of minions and mercenaries. Thanks to the betrayal, the Boneyard had rediscovered the Archimage's true name, and with that word of power at their disposal, the dark forces effortlessly slaughtered many good Knights for the final time. As a last ditch effort, the Archimage told Lukasz he would be sent to a body that could keep him safe and perhaps even turn the tide. This was the last Lukasz would hear of the Archimage, before his mentor was captured by his hated foe, and a grimacing mercenary plunged the Sword of Fangs into his chest. Not long after, Lukasz awoke from what may be his final walk-in...in a hospital bed...in a hospital gown...with flowing black hair, a pair of breasts, and two children running in to hug him and call him Mommy!
• From his doctor's comments, the words of his visting 'children' and 'mother', and what little information was hardwired into his new brain's neural pathways, Lukasz managed to glean that he was now Eden Blake, divorcee mother of two, who'd just survived a nasty fall down the stairs which made any lost memories entirely excusable. Lukasz managed to bluff his way past the rest, while inwardly starting to deeply reconsider the respect he'd had for his old master. That night, while the doctor's backs were turned, he suddenly received a psychic call that lead him to another ward, where the familiar Katinya was at death's door. Katinya explained that Eden Blake had come from two long lines of fae-human lineage, with great untapped potential for wizardry. The Archimage had in fact been viewing her as his own potential host body before everything when sideways yesterday. With her last few breaths, Katinya bestowed on Lukasz a charm that would let him summon armour to aid in his abilities, along with a mantra that could clear the mind and let him dip down into his true mystic potential: "Change...Growth...Power".
• The next few days were stuck inside that same hospital wing, occasionally getting the chance to re-learn physical attacks while the doctors weren't looking. The mercenary who'd ended her old life, a biologically-enhanced knucklehead who called himself 'Warstrike', tracked her down to the hospital using the sword, and Lukasz barely managed to hold her own against him. It turned out, though, that Warstrike was stuck in an escapist power fantasy where he was the action hero of his own story. Once Lukasz convinced him that a bad guy was playing him for a fool, Warstrike agreed to switch sides and take down the Boneyard's network from the inside, leaving Lukasz with the sword. After that, and her eventual release, all that remained was for 'Eden' to adjust to 'her' new situation, not only having to learn magic, but femininity and motherhood to boot. Her ex-husband shifted custody for little Gus and Evie back over to her, and so her secret training regimes were now interrupted by having to break up fights over toys and an endless routine of cooking and bedtime stories. Using her old skills and a couple of hidden resources, she managed to get herself a new government job in an organisation for keeping tabs on superhumans, hoping to spot any Boneyard activity that might crop up. In the meantime, all Eden can do is try to count her blessings. She's hidden in the last place and body her enemies would think to look for her, with untapped powers that could make her a more formidable force than ever before. Now all she needs to do is master her new abilities, find out if any old comrades remain, figure out who sold them up the river, defeat the Boneyard's forces once and for all...and maybe find a way to sort out those yapping brats and this ridiculous metal swimsuit of an 'armour'. A woman's work is simply never done!

edited 17th Aug '17 3:21:12 AM by LizardOfAus

Ultraverse, right? Groovy.

Ultraverse characters are acceptable because they were officially incorporated into the Marvel Universe. Same goes for any other character incorporated by Marvel or DC. I'm even willing to allow Godzilla and Conan the Barbarian, since they are still technically canon (the comics just cannot cite them by name anymore.)

Just hope I do him/her justice. Never actually read more than scattered panels of a Malibu comic in my life. Just stumbled on Mantra by accident long ago, and feel like it's a good concept that deserves a new breath of life in this day and age.

As long as you get the basics right (and you have) feel free to write him/her your own way.

So, any comments or criticisms to make, or is it just good to go?

Oh right, Approved.

Question: Does this RP take place in one city, or is it still a choice between New York/Jump City/Hub City? Pardon me if this has been answered already.

Technically it can take place *anywhere* in the universe, but right now I'm focusing on New York City.

(One problem with most DC cities is that they have no Marvel equivalents, making team ups difficult.)