[center][h2]Monsters and Men: A One Universe Comics Presentation[/h2][/center] [center][h3]“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”[/h3] ― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein[/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/l66Ci4a.jpg?1[/img][/center] [i]From the archives of the BPRD Classified Not for distribution I had searched for so long for the truth. For some sign of everything I had ever believed in. For some notion that everything I had known was true. I had traveled to Egypt, China, and countless other corners of the world famous for paranormal entities and happenings, and yet each time I seemed to just miss an occurrence. Either that or I was sent on a wild goose chase by some huckster. When Lady Eden-Jones came to me, warning that some grave event was due to take place off the coast of Scotland, I nearly didn't believe her. My superiors in the Allied Army felt differently, and sent me along with a strike team. When the boy appeared in our midst, it was like a strike of lightning straight to my soul. Here he was, proof of what I had always believed. When the government proclaimed me his guardian, I couldn't have been happier. Not only was he everything I had always wanted, he was then also my son. Once the Bureau was formed, it was like a flood of knowledge. The Brits gave me access to the files on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The Americans shared their information on the so-called "superhumans" or Earth. It was as if every country on the planet was willing to give us everything they knew about the paranormal. All under the condition of keeping it secret, safe, and their citizens away from the truth. That was easier said than done, of course. When the monster came ashore in Tokyo Bay, kicking off days of destruction, we were at a loss. The country had suffered mightily at the end of the war, and another nuclear attack, this time by what we could only describe as a living nuclear bomb, was almost too much to bear. Most didn't want to believe what they saw. Those that did were dismissed as insane. The disinformation effort was helped by the creature itself. The radiation it gave off meant actually photographing it was impossible. The shots from further away were easy to dismiss as a trick of the light. Sadly, the collective trauma of the past helped us cover up the truth about Gojira, as the locals called it. This is a common thread I've found through my research. There was a time, on this planet, where the paranormal and the human lived side by side. But as humans progressed, they shaped their own reality around them, pushing their knowledge of the supernatural to the shadows. This turned fact to fiction, and we find ourselves here. There is nothing as powerful as man's desire to ignore what is inconvenient. I haven't gotten over the lying. While I started my journey to gain knowledge, I never thought I'd also horde it. To this point, this is my greatest conflict with the Bureau's mission. Yes, we keep people safe, but something tugs at the back of my mind, telling me they would be safer knowing what is out there. and my son, Hellboy, suffers as well. All he wants is to be part of the world, yet it is decreed that cannot be. This situation, as it stands, is unsustainable. Human progress marches on unabated. Humans will once again begin to discover the world around them is not what they believe. And when that happens, where will it leave us? [right]From the private journal of Professor Trevor Bruttenholm Former Director of the BPRD[/right][/i] Welcome to the world of Monsters and Men, a new and terrifying world of One Universe Comics. In this game, the universes of Indie Comics have melded into one, creating a new reality where the old rules do not apply, and new, grave threats abound. It will be your job to take up the title of hero and attempt to save and shape the new world. In this game, you may play as a hero from Independent comics. I am considering this game to be a high-casual game since the concept gives the player a wide berth when it comes to possible characters. I expect a player to be able to come up with a coherent concept that fits in this world. [b][u]Rules[/u][/b] 1) You may pick any non-villain from Independent Comics, IE no Marvel or DC characters. I'd like everything to fit in to a shared comic book universe. I will be pretty discerning when it comes to character applications, but I won't say you can't at least try for a character. 2) You do not have to pick a specific version of said character. Feel free to mix and match concepts from different iterations of them into on. 3) Supporting characters in the "family" of a player-controlled character are under the jurisdiction of said player. You must get clearance from said player to use such a character in a solo story. 4) No killing PCs or significant NPCs willy nilly. 5) Have fun. We're not writing the great American novel here. 6) Work together with other players. We're all here to have fun together. 7) You must post once every 2 weeks to stay active in the game. [u][b]Monsters and Men Application[/b][/u] [b]Character You're Applying For:[/b] [b]Powers And Abilities:[/b] [b]Origin And Backstory (In A Maximum Of Four Paragraphs):[/b] [b]How do you think your character fits in the world:[/b] [b]Supporting Characters:[/b] [b]Character Picture:[/b] [b]Sample Post:[/b] [h3]Timeline of Monsters and Men[/h3] [u][b][b]Thurian Age[/b] (Somewhere between 40,000 and 18,000BC):[/b][/u] The time of Kull the Conqueror and Atlantis. At the end of this age, an unknown cataclysm nearly wipes out the human race. The force and violence of this event causes Atlantis and other nations to sink below the seas. Civilization is destroyed, and set back thousands of years. [u][b]Hyborian Age (circa 10,000BC):[/b][/u] The time of Conan the Barbarian. [u][b]15th Century:[/b][/u] The Sengoku Period rips through Japan, causing major upheaval. From the chaos, the ninja emerge, and no clan is more deadly or feared than the Foot Clan. Led by the so-called "Shuredda", they tear a warpath across the country in order to dominate it. Their power was crushed by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and they retreated into the shadows. [u][b]Late 19th Century/Early 20th Century:[/b][/u] The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen protect the British Empire from fantastic threats. The League falls apart after using a biological weapon to stop a small alien invasion of Earth. The weapon also kills thousands of innocent people, killing all witnesses and causing members of the League to quit in disgust. The Crown then disbands the program. [u][b]World War II:[/b][/u] Rasputin, the mad monk, attempts to bring the Ogdru Jahad into the world and spark off Armageddon. Instead, the demon now known as Hellboy is brought to Earth and adopted by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm. They go on to found the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, a clandestine group that protects the world from all manner of supernatural threats. It is during this time that masked vigilantes and so-called superhumans are rumored to be operating in the United States. Some soldiers in the war claim to see men and women with amazing abilities fighting alongside them. [b][u]1954:[/u][/b] A gigantic, radioactive creature wreaks havoc on Tokyo. The monster's strong radioactivity ensures no direct pictures are taken of the creature, but those taken from a distance show a great, monstrous shadow looming over the city. While the Japanese government and United Nations officials claim the destruction was caused by a weapons test gone wrong, survivors claim that it was the work of the legendary Gojira. [b][u]1970s:[/u][/b] The United States government ceases covert use of vigilantes and metahumans in black ops missions and covert domestic operations. While vigilantism had always been considered illegal, the government was using its assets in order to complete missions they were not able to do. After one of the operatives went rogue, however, the government was forced to start punishing vigilantism more harshly. [b][u]1990s:[/u][/b] Due to the rise in global terrorism, the United States and its allies create Global Initiative-Joint Operations Effort, or GI-JOE. [h3]Organizations of Monsters and Men[/h3] [b][u]The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense:[/u][/b] An organization founded after World War II in order to protect the world from supernatural threats. The Bureau answers to the United Nations Security Council, some of the few humans that know if its existence. [b][u]The Earth Protection Force:[/u][/b] Also known as the "Men in Black", the EPF works in tandem with the BPRD in order to defend the planet from extraterrestrial threat. They are even more secretive than the Bureau, and fewer people know of their existence. [b][u]GI-JOE:[/u][/b] A global strike team comprised of a select group of the most skilled soldiers on the planet. [b][u]Monarch:[/u][/b] A division of the BPRD, focusing on the study of giant creatures. They have studied the giant monster Gojira since its supposed destruction in 1954. [b][u]The Foot Clan:[/u][/b] A ninja clan that originally formed in the 15th century dedicated to their leader and conquest. After they were defeated by the Tokugawa Shogunate, they went back into the shadows. In the past 15 years there have been rumors of their reemergence. [h3]Places and Worlds of Monsters and Men[/h3] [i]Coming Soon[/i] [h3]Major In-Game Events[/h3] [b]The Blood Moon of Knowledge:[/b] Jack Dakkar, the current Captain Nemo and pirate king, finished a ritual that has begun to lift the veil of ignorance that humanity has created for itself. This, in turn, will usher in a new age of heroes and villains, starting our game and starting humanity's realization that the world is not what it seems.