The Comics' Universe RPG Application

[Johnny Blaze]

Or in any state of mind.

 

[Eddie Brock]

Or in any state of mind.

Well, we were assuming that to be true, regardless.

 

[Carnage27]

And there was much rejoicing.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

I call Lancelot!

 

[Eddie Brock]

We could've also just said that Nathan was never shot, but - again - I was too busy being Eddie to think of that.

 

[Saved]

You all owe me.

 

[Eddie Brock]

You all owe me.

Yes, but do we swa--

Oh. Owe. Owe. Right. That's what I thought you said.

 

[twylight]

You all owe me.

Put it on my tab.

 

[Saved]

Yes, but do we swa--

Oh. Owe. Owe. Right. That's what I thought you said.

...I didn't stay stop!

Great, now I gotta play Adam Monroe too. Two character. TWO.

 

[Batman]

Okay, after it was brought up with an IM full of many people from this community, I'm going to reopen the Watchmen issue for debate. Now, that means debate, not what Eddie and I got into over Heroes. Keep it civil.

But basically, say we were going to allow Watchmen characters. Yes, I know what you're thinking, but please just hear me out. Of course, things would have to change with them, as with every character. Which is why their continuity would not have happened yet. My idea for it is that the original period for the Crime-Stoppers took place in the 1980's, with the Cold War still looming another decade after it was supposed to end. The nineties are the period of which everything started to go south. Rorschach went insane, Nite-Owl and many other vigilantes hung the costume up, Doctor Manhattan secluded himself from society, Ozymandias went public, and The Comedian became a Goverment agent. Simple stuff like that.

By the time the game would start, in 2008, Edward Blake would have been murdered months before, with his murder unsolved by the game's commencement. Rorschach would still be on the hunt, Dan would have only recently begun a relationship with Laurie while both would come out of retirement, Manhattan would begin giving interviews for the first time in years, Ozymandias would still be a smug *******, and all the original heroes would be either dead or aging, such as Hollis Mason.

In New York, there would be a Doomsday Clock in Times Square. No one would know what it was counting down to, and who made it, but it would not be able to be removed. What it would be counting down to would remain to be seen, within the game, as characters came closer to it's countdown with every few posts, or seasons, depending on what people would want to do.

Of course, this is only an example, so if anyone else has any ideas, put them forth.

And yes, I know, I know. This is going to be controversial. But I'm going to push it for debate, because unbeknownst to anyone, those characters were part of the reason I came up with this RPG in the first place, because I and a number of others don't believe Watchmen to be one shot everyone else does. I think the characters have potential beyond the story.

That said, let the debating begin. The long, harsh debating.

 

[SenseiofCheese]

I miss so many good fights. Stupid time zones

But in any case, I am strongly against integrating the Watchmen characters. I'm in a hurry right now, so I won't get into it, but I'll be back later today and see where the debate has gone. I shall bring popcorn.

 

[SenseiofCheese]

I will say this, however;

The Watchmen characters are who, and what, they are because of their surroundings. Their bleak, quite depressing, universe is their reason for being. Their entire purpose, within the story and as characters, is to mirror the society they live in. Rorscach snaps. Manhattan is completely numb to it. The Comedian a morally bankrupt sadist who goes with the flow. All of that is because of their universe. And if you take that universe away, you've effectively ruined them. Don't try to force them into a mold they don't fit in just because people say "Wouldn't it be awesome to play Doc Manhattan?".

 

[Batman]

I will say this, however;

The Watchmen characters are who, and what, they are because of their surroundings. Their bleak, quite depressing, universe is their reason for being. Their entire purpose, within the story and as characters, is to mirror the society they live in. Rorscach snaps. Manhattan is completely numb to it. The Comedian a morally bankrupt sadist who goes with the flow. All of that is because of their universe. And if you take that universe away, you've effectively ruined them. Don't try to force them into a mold they don't fit in just because people say "Wouldn't it be awesome to play Doc Manhattan?".

The argument that's been brought against this, however, is that Watchmen characters can live in today's world because it is a depressing and bleak time. The constant threat of death and war is nothing new, much less the end of the world. That's been being predicted for centuries. So those reactions from the characters to the world around them would not be unprovoked, by any means, because let's face it... a good number of darker events that led to the stuff you mentioned could have easily happened in this time.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Is it a tough sell to include "Watchmen" characters in this universe? Maybe. But if worlds like "Heroes" and "Doctor Who" - which didn't even start out as comic book characters - can be inducted into the continuity, then we can find a way to make "Watchmen" work.

Here's the way I see it. If you folks REALLY want this RPG to survive, the best way to make it happen might be to just go all-out. Now, I know this opinion could be controversial, but hear me out.

The base universe could be based around non-Marvel/DC comics, yes, but from there the character application process becomes like the RPG equivalent of "American Inventor": if its any character unaffiliated with an existing RPG world (IE, Marvel universe, DC Universe, Star Wars, a created character) and you can sell it to the panel of GMs convincingly enough, then that character is fair game.

So, as a rule of thumb, it'd be the indy comic characters - particularly the ones who compliment this world best - who it will be easiest to get accepted. Beyond that, characters from TV shows like "Heroes" or "Doctor Who", and perhaps even movie characters too, are accepted on the discretion of the GMs, based on the strength of the application.

This way, the RPG truly becomes THE place to go if you have an idea for a character who doesn't fit in the RPGs. Really widen up the spectrum of interest. Of course, there is a danger then that the RPG could lose focus, but I put that point up to discussion.

 

[Byrd Man]

Okay, after it was brought up with an IM full of many people from this community, I'm going to reopen the Watchmen issue for debate. Now, that means debate, not what Eddie and I got into over Heroes. Keep it civil.

But basically, say we were going to allow Watchmen characters. Yes, I know what you're thinking, but please just hear me out. Of course, things would have to change with them, as with every character. Which is why their continuity would not have happened yet. My idea for it is that the original period for the Crime-Stoppers took place in the 1980's, with the Cold War still looming another decade after it was supposed to end. The nineties are the period of which everything started to go south. Rorschach went insane, Nite-Owl and many other vigilantes hung the costume up, Doctor Manhattan secluded himself from society, Ozymandias went public, and The Comedian became a Goverment agent. Simple stuff like that.

By the time the game would start, in 2008, Edward Blake would have been murdered months before, with his murder unsolved by the game's commencement. Rorschach would still be on the hunt, Dan would have only recently begun a relationship with Laurie while both would come out of retirement, Manhattan would begin giving interviews for the first time in years, Ozymandias would still be a smug *******, and all the original heroes would be either dead or aging, such as Hollis Mason.

In New York, there would be a Doomsday Clock in Times Square. No one would know what it was counting down to, and who made it, but it would not be able to be removed. What it would be counting down to would remain to be seen, within the game, as characters came closer to it's countdown with every few posts, or seasons, depending on what people would want to do.

Of course, this is only an example, so if anyone else has any ideas, put them forth.

And yes, I know, I know. This is going to be controversial. But I'm going to push it for debate, because unbeknownst to anyone, those characters were part of the reason I came up with this RPG in the first place, because I and a number of others don't believe Watchmen to be one shot everyone else does. I think the characters have potential beyond the story.

That said, let the debating begin. The long, harsh debating.

No.

No ****ing way.

No. ****ing. Way.

 

[Keyser Soze]

No.

No ****ing way.

No. ****ing. Way.

"No! Nonononononononono! No! Nonononononononono! Nof***ingwaynof***ingwaynof***ingway!"

 

[Catman_prb]

I like Keyser's idea in theory...but I really don't see Watchmen fitting in.

 

[Batman]

Is it a tough sell to include "Watchmen" characters in this universe? Maybe. But if worlds like "Heroes" and "Doctor Who" - which didn't even start out as comic book characters - can be inducted into the continuity, then we can find a way to make "Watchmen" work.

Here's the way I see it. If you folks REALLY want this RPG to survive, the best way to make it happen might be to just go all-out. Now, I know this opinion could be controversial, but hear me out.

The base universe could be based around non-Marvel/DC comics, yes, but from there the character application process becomes like the RPG equivalent of "American Inventor": if its any character unaffiliated with an existing RPG world (IE, Marvel universe, DC Universe, Star Wars, a created character) and you can sell it to the panel of GMs convincingly enough, then that character is fair game.

So, as a rule of thumb, it'd be the indy comic characters - particularly the ones who compliment this world best - who it will be easiest to get accepted. Beyond that, characters from TV shows like "Heroes" or "Doctor Who", and perhaps even movie characters too, are accepted on the discretion of the GMs, based on the strength of the application.

This way, the RPG truly becomes THE place to go if you have an idea for a character who doesn't fit in the RPGs. Really widen up the spectrum of interest. Of course, there is a danger then that the RPG could lose focus, but I put that point up to discussion.

I like that. It really brings home the basic idea the RPG represents, without becoming convulted or sacrificing the element of a singular universe for the characters to interact with.

I think I could intergrate this to be one of the rules. Basically, you could choose any character who's appeared in a comic that you want, provided they're not from an exisiting RPG's world. But it'd have to be made clear that I or my co-GM's reserve the right to deny a particular concept if it isn't strong enough, even though that'd pretty much be a given from the start.

The only thing I want to mention is that I don't like the idea of just picking random movie characters or TV characters. Indiana Jones and Heroes certainly fit this mold, but the selling point for me and those characters is that they eventually appeared in a series of comic books. So in order to be valid, they would have have to appeared in a comic book, regardless of the comic's conception being before or after the original franchise appeared in other media.

Beyond that, I'm all for this.

 

[Batman]

No.

No ****ing way.

No. ****ing. Way.

I like Keyser's idea in theory...but I really don't see Watchmen fitting in.

Any particular reason behind these opinions? I'd really appreciate some counter-arguments to add to the debate.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I think using the Watchmen characters would certainly require a degree of reinvention, yes. But I don't see why they couldn't be used. Like has been said, Alan Moore's collection of (anti-) heroes in "Watchmen" was a comment on the 80s. But there's no reason why OUR "Watchmen" couldn't be a comment on today's world. The old saying of "Who Watches The Watchmen?" has never been more relevant than it is today, after all.

I think people are feeling squeamish about the idea, where other, more tenuously-linked concepts ("Heroes") are getting the greenlight, is because of this reverence for Moore's masterpiece. It's well-deserved, don't get me wrong, and anyone trying to do a sequel to that would be bordering on the blasphemous. But this isn't a sequel. "Watchmen" and its continuity is safe, it remains untouched. This is taking the characters introduced in "Watchmen", and telling a different story with them. Something along the lines of "Ultimate Watchmen" or a 1U-style reinterpretation of them.

I don't mean to make "Heroes" the proverbial whipping-boy, but much of the other arguments raised against "Watchmen" also apply to "Heroes". And if that got the go-ahead, why not "Watchmen"?

 

[Venom160]

See? See? Something like this was all that needed to be said. Something like this works perfectly into the universe. And it makes alot more sense than simply intergrating them as they were. This way, the univers can be modified, but still not so much that it detracts from the game.

I can even see another point for it: Rather than secretive superpowered individuals, there exist two classes of people: Those who are essentially born with powers, like the Heroes characters, and those who are given powers by freak accidents, like the superheroes pre-existing this timeline. The latter of which are public, but the former of which are not until recently. This leads into similar mechanism that mirrors mutants vs. superheroes in the Marvel universe, where they're considered different entities entirely.

This is awesome. I love it. Syn's convinced me. Heroes are no longer to be barred from the game's universe.

Cool. Than I guess I'll throw down dibs on Sylar.

 

[Batman]

Venom, is your MSN handle the same as your profile says? I'm about to add you, so I wanted to make sure.

 

[Batman]

I think using the Watchmen characters would certainly require a degree of reinvention, yes. But I don't see why they couldn't be used. Like has been said, Alan Moore's collection of (anti-) heroes in "Watchmen" was a comment on the 80s. But there's no reason why OUR "Watchmen" couldn't be a comment on today's world. The old saying of "Who Watches The Watchmen?" has never been more relevant than it is today, after all.

I think people are feeling squeamish about the idea, where other, more tenuously-linked concepts ("Heroes") are getting the greenlight, is because of this reverence for Moore's masterpiece. It's well-deserved, don't get me wrong, and anyone trying to do a sequel to that would be bordering on the blasphemous. But this isn't a sequel. "Watchmen" and its continuity is safe, it remains untouched. This is taking the characters introduced in "Watchmen", and telling a different story with them. Something along the lines of "Ultimate Watchmen" or a 1U-style reinterpretation of them.

I don't mean to make "Heroes" the proverbial whipping-boy, but much of the other arguments raised against "Watchmen" also apply to "Heroes". And if that got the go-ahead, why not "Watchmen"?

Completely agreed.

It's not about the story more than it is about the characters. Hell, any elements of the story don't even have to happen in this game. The Comedian could still be alive, and they're just heroes that were among those affected by the purge who've only recently been inspired to come out of retirement. And you can't tell me a character like Rorschach, Manhattan, or Ozymandias wouldn't fit in a world like this, especially with the actions of a fascist England looming over everyone's heads.

 

[Venom160]

Venom, is your MSN handle the same as your profile says? I'm about to add you, so I wanted to make sure.

well the email I used for msn is mortal120@aol*com but it should say venom160 if im online.

 

[Eddie Brock]

Heroes may have started on television, but there are graphic novels published by Wildstorm Comics. Also, I'm assuming that - as per the status quo - reserves are not allowed?