[i]At one point in 1999, the citizens of Champion City were feeling pretty good about things. Casanova Frankenstein, who had been inexplicably released from a mental institution, had been defeated and apparently blown up in his own mansion, along with most of his motley collection of gangs. The city was virtually crime-free again. But then Captain Amazing didn't schedule a press conference, or appear on television, or record a new commercial…. Or anything. He was just… gone. It didn't take long for villains in other parts of the country to realize that an enormous power vacuum existed in the city, and they rushed to fill it. The city became a battleground of supervillains and their henchfolk. The police were helpless, and the Mystery Men hopelessly overmatched. An uneasy truce now hangs over the city as a number of supervillains work to consolidate their territories and undermine the foundations of truth, justice, and democracy (and one another). More than ever, the people of Champion City need a superhero to save the day. Unfortunately, there aren't any around. They're going to have to settle for you, instead.[/i] [hider=The Game]Mystery Men – The Next Generation! is a humor-based low-level superhero game – OK, an extremely low-level superhero game – that takes place a few years after the events of the 1999 movie [i]Mystery Men[/i]. As the title implies, players will take on the roles of heroes of limited capabilities getting in over their heads while attempting to stem the tide of villainy and no-goodness that has swept across the city.[/hider] [hider=Game System]We'll be using RISUS for resolution mechanics. Never heard of it? [url=http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/risus.htm]Go take a look![/url] It's a free download, and the rules in their entirety are all of 6 pages. It's simple, fast, fun, and built for humor-based games like this one. All characters are built on 10d6. The only option I'm invoking is the Pumping Clichés option. I have added one house rule for this game: Experience Dice. Experience dice are awarded to players from time to time as the game progresses. Experience dice can be used in two ways: 1. Save 'em up and improve a cliché, or create a new cliché. The table below shows how much this costs. [b]Improvement cost[/b] New Cliché (@ 1d6) 4 Improve Cliché from 1 to 2 5 Improve Cliché from 2 to 3 8 Improve Cliché from 3 to 4 13 Improve Cliché from 4 to 5 21 Improve Cliché from 5 to 6 29 2. An experience die can be spent to acquire a bonus die, which is used to add to a roll in any situation, provided the player can provide some sort of reasonable and entertaining explanation as to why the character should get a bonus. Typically, the player would refer to some experience in the character's recent or more distant past. This experience may be taken from prior game play, or from an event made up on the spur of the moment by the player. The goal here is to provide a richer role-playing environment, either by tying past events in the game to a current situation, or by providing further depth to a character in the form of past experiences. [quote][i]Example: Heddy, a dressmaker to the young Baroness Maud, gets involved in an insult fight with one of the dreadful hill folk at the market. Wanting to make sure she puts the oafish girl in her place, Heddy's player opts to use a bonus die to add to Heddy's Gossiping Viciously While Smiling Sweetly (3) Cliché, which the GM has ruled a Cliché appropriate to the combat. The GM asks why Heddy should get a bonus die. Thinking fast, Heddy's player spins a story about how, as a young girl, Heddy once sneaked downstairs to eavesdrop on a social gathering her father and some of his retainers were having. She heard a number of scandalous things before her mother grabbed her by the ear and dragged her back to bed. Among those were some vulgar comments about the nature of the hill folks' bedroom habits. The GM approves, and with 4 dice instead of 3 for her roll, Heddy's player outrolls the GM, and the hill girl gasps in surprise as an unexpected and biting stream of vulgarity issues from the saucy dressmaker's lips (and the hill girl loses a die from the Cliché she was using in the insult fight). [/i][/quote][/hider] [hider=Tone]This is meant to be a humorous series. The thing I loved most about the movie is that it simultaneously paid homage to and lovingly skewered the comics genre. The tone I intend for this game is light-hearted and somewhat absurd. Keep in mind, though, that the underlying stakes are serious: lots of people died over the course of the movie, and Casanova Frankenstein's plan was truly, truly twisted and evil. I'm generally shooting for a PG rating. Expletives are rare but not banned. I'm hoping the group will walk the fine line between the absurd and silly, and the downright Looney tunes cartoonish. I understand that sometimes that's a blurry line. 😊[/hider] [hider=Player character guidelines]I'm looking for players who love comic books, especially old-school comic books, and who know and love the movie Mystery Men. Watching the movie is an absolute pre-requisite. You're going to be playing a Mystery Man. Essentially, you're an everyday, working-class schmoe attempting to parlay a limited talent or skill into a crime-fighting career. Super-competent characters are not appropriate. Characters with extensive backgrounds as special forces soldiers, martial arts legends, spy agency operatives, etc. are not appropriate. Some Mystery Men have no powers at all, and rely on a remotely-useful skill to fight the bad guys: The Blue Raja throws flatware; The Shoveler shovels well (he shovels very well). A few Mystery Men have actual super-powers, but they are extremely limited in some way: The Invisible Boy can turn invisible, but only when no one is looking at him; The Spleen can nauseate people or even knock them out, but only by farting in their general direction. Bear in mind that the Mystery Men aren't supposed to be super-competent or very powerful at all. Both the plots and the game system emphasize creative thinking over aggressive application of brute force. You're in over your heads, and that's as it should be. - No super-wealthy Bruce Wayne types. Economically speaking, all characters should be working class at best. - No high-tech gadgets. Again, we're talking working class heroes here. (Dr. Heller's an NPC.) - No obvious rip-offs of popular super-heroes. Cleverly subverted super-hero archetypes are welcome. - No highly-trained death machines. Here's an excerpt from the RISUS Companion that discusses in depth the subject of writing a cliché. It is well worth the read. [quote]RISUS: ANATOMY OF A CLICHÉ by S. John Ross Anatomy is destiny. – Sigmund Freud A Surly Northern Barbarian Woman Eager to Taste the Blood of the Coastlanders (3) isn’t any more or less “powerful” than a Barbarian (3), but we get a clearer picture of what she’s capable of, and what she’s like. We know she’s probably better at being intimidating than ingratiating, that her survival skills are oriented to cooler climates, and that she’s probably not comfortable with a crabbing net or a conch shell. Her explicit hostility to the Coastlanders implies that she’s firmly rooted in her home culture, and unlikely to change her ways. The whole package is evocative and informative. She’s distinct from her partner, the Cheerful Alcoholic Northern Barbarian Eager to Better Himself in the Broader World (3). He’s a Barbarian (3), too, but a very different one. A rundown of the many things a Cliché might include: Profession: This is the core of most ordinary Clichés; a job, like Private Eye or Fighter Pilot. Of course, some characters don’t really have jobs. For those, skip this kind of Cliché entirely, or insert the nearest equivalent: what they do to pass the day, put food in their tummies, that kind of thing. Frequently, a Vampire (3) is just a Vampire (3) – that’s what he does. He goes around … vampiring. Sometimes, though, he’s a Vampire Wal-Mart Greeter (3) or a Vampire Attorney (3). Race or Species: An Astronaut (4) is one thing; a Minotaur Astronaut (4) is a whole ‘nother ball of twine. He’ll need a bigger bubble-helmet, for one thing. Character race (or species, if your GM celebrated the new millennium a year later than normal people) makes an excellent modifier to color a humdrum Cliché, or to add the snap and pop to one that already crackles. It’s best to tag this onto your primary Cliché – the one that most defines the core of your character or (barring that) the one with the most dice. If a character is a Dwarvish Dervish (3), we’ll be able to guess that he’s “Dwarvish” in all his other Clichés, too (unless he’s a both a Dwarvish Dervish and an Elven Archer, in which case most of his Phat Dungeon Loot will soon belong to his therapist). Cultural Background: In some game worlds, there’s no such thing. Barbarians (4) are from “wherever it is Barbarians (4) come from.”* But in more interesting game worlds, culture won’t just affect your role-playing, but the specifics of your abilities, too. Everyone knows that a Glorbedrian Crayfish Sorcerer (2) learns entirely different techniques of the Deadly Claw Dance than a Jaclomadrian Crayfish Sorcerer (2), and that’s the kind of detail that can bring a whole campaign to life. What if your Minotaur Astronaut (4) is from the Land of Purple Lightning? What if he’s from Cape Town? *A Mommy and Daddy Barbarian, who Love Each Other Very Much (4). Personal History: Normally, a Cliché is a very present-tense concept, but some excellent Clichés imply what a character used to be, and perhaps can be again, if the occasion demands it. Just throwing in the word like “former” can change the character of a Cliché considerably, and allow Clichés that would otherwise contradict. There’s lots of precedence for heroic good-guy types being a Former Criminal (3) for instance – giving them a convenient mix of redemption-driven motives, unusual social contacts, and handy breaking-and-entering skills. Comparably a Cynical Self-Interested Nightclub Owner (2) might be a Former Heroic Mercenary Known for Defending the Underdog (4), and just needs a good woman (and a dashing Frenchman) to bring him back into fighting the good fight. Or an Artist (1) might be an Artist Formerly Known as Prince (1). Degree of Dedication: Sometimes, the present is as tenuous as the past. You can imply a more distant connection in a present-tense Cliché by being a Weekend Warrior (2), a Dabbler in the Dark Arts (1), or an Amateur Brain Surgeon (3). Conversely, you know a Cliché is near and dear to a character’s heart with Clichés like Devoted Priest of the Hairy God (3), Overzealous Combat Medic Forever Running Out of Gauze (2), or Barry Manilow’s Absolute Biggest Fan (6). Religion or Philosophical Bent: An Irish Minotaur Astronaut (4) is groovy, but an Irish Shinto Minotaur Astronaut (4) is really cooking with gas. Always keep in mind, when designing your character, that combat in Risus is a many-splendored thing, and if somebody attacks you with a stream of rhetoric, it’s just plain classy to be able to fight back without resorting to Inappropriate Clichés. Social Class and Financial Means: For many Clichés, this detail is hardwired to profession: if a character is a Gumshoe (4), we know he’s a working-class Joe with a battered fedora, without asking. On the other hand, if it’s the Depression (and it often is, with those gumshoes) maybe he’s a Gumshoe On the Skids (4) – he’s lost his office and he’s living in the shantytowns, protecting the dispossessed (‘cause the cops sure won’t). For other kinds of Clichés, it can just be a fun gloss to point out if they’re rich or poor, working hard or hardly working. Since, in many settings, wealth is closely tied to which social circles a character moves in, it can be a crucial detail in an adventure. Gender: Some – even many – character Clichés imply the character’s sex. Say words like “inventor” or “cop” or “astronaut” or “mercenary” and the default image is a dude. By contrast, Clichés like “prostitute” or “nurse” or “witch” conjure images of women in most minds. This says a lot of things about both adventure fiction and our culture – things too deep and important to be hinted at in a Risus book. It can be helpful, though, to indicate gender in your primary Cliché, especially if your Cliché includes some concepts traditionally associated – fairly or not – with a different sex. Of course, your character’s name can provide a clear enough indicator, too, but I never pass up another way to pad my Clichés out to ridiculous lengths, nor should you. Group Affiliation: In many settings, there are powerful groups that act as global puppeteers, commanding entire nations from the shadows, ancient conspiracies that permeate every level of society. They know who you are. They know what you’re doing right this instant. Everything is under their control. This is the kind of thing an Irish Shinto Minotaur Astronaut Freemason (4) would know all about. On the other hand, it might just be fun to know that your Grim Vigilante (5) is a Grim Vigilante Scout Troop Leader (5), or a member in good standing with the Columbia Record Club. Demeanor: Cheerful, surly, defeatist, haughty, starry-eyed and innocent, weather-beaten and cynical … A little personality goes a long way to sprucing up a Cliché and making it different from the Cliché next door. If given the choice between being murdered by a Jolly Grandfatherly Hit Man (4) and a Cold-Hearted Twitchy Hit Man (4), which would you prefer? I’ll take my chances with the one played by Wilford Brimley. Appearance: Handsome, muscular, wiry, pale … Looks aren’t everything, but they can be a lot. Some points of appearance are keys to Clichéd personalities, too. Everyone knows that a Beady-Eyed Little Sneak (4) is even less trustworthy than an ordinary Sneak (4), and that a Square-Jawed Football Hero (3) is even more heroic than one with a curvier countenance. Goals: Never overlook the value of this one; a character’s goals determine how he develops his skills. A Genetic Engineer Determined To Cure Cancer (4) probably doesn’t share office space with a Genetic Engineer Bent on World Domination (4), even though they may have roomed together in college (the Reed Richards/Victor Von Doom effect). Self-Image: Frustrated, self-righteous, humble, self-loathing … This is a useful cousin to a character’s goals; sometimes a Cliché can tell us what a character is and what he thinks he is, all at once. Decide if your character over- or underestimates himself, to transform a Swordfighter (2) into a Swordfighting Legend in His Own Mind (2) … or to flesh out a Gentle Giant (3) to a Gentle Giant Convinced He’s a Monster Unfit to Live (3). It only takes a little dressing to make a snack a meal, when you’re dining on Cliché. Subplots and Relationships: No Cliché is an island, and Clichés can include other people in them. They’re that cool, Clichés are. For example, a Fighter Pilot The Other Guys Seek Out For Romance Advice (3) is bound to have some cool role-playing moments between (or even during) dogfights. Similarly, a Globe-Hopping Archaeologist Secretly In Love with the Hot Redhead Who Keeps Stealing His Finds (4) is just asking for a rollicking new dimension to the same old ruin-delving story. That kind of asking is good stuff. Problems: For years, fans have asked, “Why would anyone want a negative Cliché?” They don’t mean a Fighter (-2), they’re usually responding to a character I’ve made, something along the lines of a Lecherous Blind Swashbuckler (3) or a Dirt Poor Necromancer With An Unmentionable Problem in the Bedroom (4). Accustomed to the notion that “flaws” and “disadvantages” are burdens only borne in exchange for character-mojo-booty, the notion of spending dice to be a blind person strikes some as odd. Am I crazy? Like a fox. A Lecherous Blind Swashbuckler can score plenty of Haughty English Lass (3) with a sympathy routine, and baffle his opponents by extinguishing the candles and defeating them in the dark. Sure, his Target Number to read the Necronomicon in a single night will be outrageous, but that just means he wakes up in the morning still sane and cuddled up with chicks while Professor Bespectacled is staring into other dimensions and drooling on his cardigan. And besides: troubled, challenged, and imperfect characters are just more fun to believe in. In a comedy game, they’re funnier. In a dramatic game, they’re more dramatic. It’s a win-win. This Risus article is an Uncle Bear exclusive excerpt from the Risus Companion, 64 pages of Love Energy provided to paid members of the International Order of Risus (the grooviest fan club on earth). Read about it at the Cumberland Games & Diversions site. This article is Copyright © 2003 by S. John Ross.[/quote][/hider] [hider=Rules and Observations]I don't expect a post a day, but I’d like at least 4 per week. More would be great. Let's call this "mid-casual." Truly long posts might actually slow down the pace of the game. Comedy is not long-winded, typically. I do expect a concerted effort to use good grammar and correct spelling. In general, 1-2 paragraphs should do just fine. I'm hoping not to have to list out all the usual rules of PbP etiquette; let the group know in advance of any planned absences, and as soon as possible when dealing with unexpected absences, etc... y'know, all the common courtesy stuff. I'll create a formal list if problems arise. Don't post twice in a row. If you're due to post (say, during an action sequence), and 48 hours go by without anything, I'll skip you to keep the momentum going.[/hider] [hider=Champion City and the Current State of Affairs Therein] Champion City is probably not of this earth. Where it exists isn't really important, either. The city (formerly known as Bertram before it was changed in honor of Captain Amazing) is a cross between Tokyo and New York, set near a big lake in a temperate climate, like Chicago. All action in the series will likely take place within the greater Champion City Metropolitan Area. The year is 2003. As mentioned above, the continued absence and supposed death of Captain Amazing has thrown the city into chaos due to an influx of super-villains eager to take control of the city. Street battles were commonplace, and only a recent truce has seen the violence subside somewhat. The major players at the moment are: [b]Dr. Panic.[/b] A mad scientist who keeps a low profile, preferring to let his personal assistant Cynthia do all his talking. He controls the largest section of the city, and his gang, the Crazy Eighty-Eights, is feared by everyone. [b]Coriolanus Newcastle[/b]. Coriolanus controls the university district. He affects classical Roman style, as does his gang, the 13th Legion (don't make fun of their outfits). No one is sure just what his powers are; rumors range from some kind of mind control ability to vampirism to cybernetic enhancement. He is ruthless, but reasonable, and has shown himself to be a shrewd strategist. [b]The Iron Shadow. [/b] A fearsome woman encased completely in armor, The Iron Shadow introduced a new level of viciousness when she emerged from Freaktown (the area of the city warped by Casanova Frankenstein's reality-warping machine) and began bumping off other super-villains. She does not maintain an overt gang presence in the city beyond a handful of well-trained Freaks, and is the most likely to be directly involved in battle. She cares little about collateral damage. Your characters will have been a team for a few months. You all started off as solo heroes, but quickly learned the importance of strength in numbers. How did you get together? Make it up. If the details differ from member to member keep in mind that memory-editing is unavoidable, and squabbling over details is much funnier than being in perfect agreement… [/hider] [hider=The Superhero Scene in Champion City] There's not much of one. It should be understood that Champion City was crazy about Captain Amazing. Everyone loved him (except criminals, of course). They renamed the city in his honor (they wanted to re-name it "Amazing City," but ran into some copyright tangles with the Captain's legal team). There were statues and tributes to him all over the city even before he died, and nowadays, it's hard to walk a block or two without running into some monument or other. People were absolutely devastated when he (apparently) died. Many people remain depressed over his passing. Before the events of the movie, most people held self-styled superheroes in low regard. Wannabes were an embarrassment to the city. Nowadays, popular opinion is even lower, especially after most wannabes turned out to be either incapable of fighting the crime wave that swept the city, or just plain unwilling to actually get involved. Mot wannabes stick to congregating at the two big superhero outfitting shops in the city, Rockin' Robins and Super Surplus. Few actually think of actually fighting crime.[/hider] [hider=What Happened Since The End Of The Movie?] First of all, many of the events of the movie are unknown to the general public (including the player-characters). Here's what the public knows, in chronological order: • Casanova Frankenstein was released from the sanitarium. • There was a resurgence of gang activity in Champion City. • The sanitarium blew up. • Captain Amazing disappeared. • Some kind of reality-disturbing effect briefly radiated from a neighborhood where Casanova was known to have had a mansion. Shortly afterwards, the mansion imploded. • Since that time, no one has heard from Casanova, Captain Amazing, or the various gangs that had re-appeared in the city. The popular hypothesis is that Captain Amazing became aware that Casanova was planning something evil. He went undercover, infiltrated one of Casanova's gangs, and gave his life to sabotage whatever diabolical machine Casanova had built. (The footage of the on-the-scene news report taken after the Mystery Men emerged victorious from the rubble has been largely forgotten). In the implosion, Casanova and his henchmen also died. Since that time, Champion City has been in decline. Super-villains were drawn to the town and engaged in a protracted battle for dominance. The economic woes of recent years have only worsened conditions in the city. Crime is rampant, and the corrupt local government has bankrupted the town's coffers. Things have become so bad that Champion City's professional basketball team recently moved to Jackson, Mississippi. Standing up against this bleak vista are the latest incarnation of the Mystery Men. Most of the original members have long since departed: Mr. Furious – disappeared about six months ago. Whereabouts unknown. The Shoveler – retired after receiving an injury fighting The Crazy 88's. The Blue Raja – retired after getting married (his wife won't let him fight crime any more). The Bowler – retired in 1999 to go to grad school. Returned in 2000, then retired later that year after she lost her father's head in a bus station. The Spleen – retired after his powers waned. He currently is attempting to establish himself as a super-hero talent agent. Invisible Boy – disappeared sometime after the events of the movie. The Sphinx – left the city soon after Casanova Frankenstein was defeated. Dr. Heller – abruptly cut off contact from the world in 2001. Is presumed to be holed up in his lab at the abandoned amusement park.[/hider] [hider=Character Sheet] MMTNG Character sheet Hero Name: What's your super-hero name? Real Name: What's your name in your secret ID? Physical Description, in costume: I prefer a written description to a posted image. Physical Description, out of costume: Ditto. Cliché #1: The title of your cliché. Example actions/abilities/assets: List 3 examples of what your cliché is good for. This is not meant to be a complete or exhaustive list, just something to help me better understand the nature of the cliché. Cliché #2: Example actions/abilities/assets: [etc.] An Example – The Blue Raja Hero Name: The Blue Raja Real Name: Jeffrey [no last name given] Physical Description, in costume: Multi-colored shirt in the Imperial Indian fashion, dark cloak/jacket, sari turban [this is the costume he designs while working under the mentorship of The Sphinx] Physical Description, out of costume: Jeffrey wears fairly nice clothes, always a step or two above the t-shirt-and-jeans level. Clichés: [b]Fork- and spoon-flinger (4)[/b] – Sticking forks into things from a distance, throwing spoons for accuracy, refusing to use knives [b]Flatware Expert/Salesman Who Spends A Bit Too Much Time Studying The Subject (3)[/b] – creating flatware-based puns, suggesting wedding gifts, dealing with nervous customers [b]Effete British Superhero Eager To Share His Design Notes With Everyone (2)[/b] – speaking with a British accent, knowing stuff about Imperial England and India, dressing snappily without recourse to chromatic literalism [b]Nominal Hindu Who Probably Doesn't Really Get It (1)[/b] – burning incense, following a vegan lifestyle, sitting with legs crossed[/hider]