Real Name: Unknown. So far, no one who has encountered the Venom entity has remained conscious for more than a few seconds, let alone long enough to attempt conversation. Age: Unknown. Given its fairly recent emergence, it is believed that the Venom entity has only existed in its current state for less than a month. It is possible, however, that the entity has existed in one or more different states for much longer. Gender: Unknown. Given its unusual properties, it is not certain that the Venom entity is even human, though its basic build and profile suggest a human (or at least humanoid) male as the basis for its form. Powers, Abilities, and Gear: Unknown. So far, the Venom entity has demonstrated several abilities similar to those of Spider-Man-- superhuman strength and agility, the ability to adhere to any surface, and an almost preternatural sense of incoming danger--but the similarities end there. Venom's outer bio-mass appears to be fluid and possibly alive, able to mimic Spider-Man's synthetic webbing, but also able to change shape and turn the entity's hands into claws or blades, or harden into armor that can deflect high-caliber machine gun fire at point-blank range. By all reports the entity seems to be impervious to conventional weapons, but one unconfirmed report did mention spotting the entity retreating from fire. Further study is required. Origin: Unknown. Some connection to the vigilante Spider-Man is likely, given the entity's appearance, as well as its emergence nearly a year to the day from the incident on the George Washington Bridge. However, at this point all theories regarding the Venom entity's exact nature and origin are baseless speculation. What is known is that the entity is claiming an increasingly large swath of territory in Brooklyn as its hunting ground, attacking criminal organizations in the area. SHIELD checkpoints have been set up in an attempt to capture and contain the entity, but have been unsuccessful-- in fact, they have resulted in several operatives critically injured. While so far no deaths have been reported in regards to Venom's activities, the entity seems to revel in the use of excessive force against its victims, often leaving them with permanent injuries or in comatose states, and has little regard for collateral damage or endangering civilians. It is advised that a way to contain or neutralize the Venom entity be found before the situation escalates further.
STORY INFO:
High Concept: The story will start as a mystery surrounding Venom's identity and origin, and as more is revealed, it will turn to a character drama and hopefully a redemption story. At its heart, Venom has always been about different characters at their lowest point and how they deal with it, whether they overcome their inner demons or get consumed by them, and I plan on exploring that from a few different angles, from the person inside the suit and the people surrounding him. Motivation and Conflict: Venom is lashing out, in pain and anger and frustration at its own being, amplified by the torment of its host. More than anything, it wants to be at peace, but it can never be so because the entity's very nature requires it to be at war with itself. Notes: To be filled out as the story progresses.
PLAYER INFO:
Player Name: AndyC Preferred Contact Method: Private message or Discord Why This Character?: Venom has been one of my favorite characters ever since I laid eyes on him, and frankly, I've wanted to tell this story for years. What Can You Bring to the RPG?: Apart from running the game, I can bring solid character work, intricate plotting, and fun fights and/or team-ups with virtually anyone.
Real Name: Unknown. So far, no one who has encountered the Venom entity has remained conscious for more than a few seconds, let alone long enough to attempt conversation. Age: Unknown. Given its fairly recent emergence, it is believed that the Venom entity has only existed in its current state for less than a month. It is possible, however, that the entity has existed in one or more different states for much longer. Gender: Unknown. Given its unusual properties, it is not certain that the Venom entity is even human, though its basic build and profile suggest a human (or at least humanoid) male as the basis for its form. Powers, Abilities, and Gear: Unknown. So far, the Venom entity has demonstrated several abilities similar to those of Spider-Man-- superhuman strength and agility, the ability to adhere to any surface, and an almost preternatural sense of incoming danger--but the similarities end there. Venom's outer bio-mass appears to be fluid and possibly alive, able to mimic Spider-Man's synthetic webbing, but also able to change shape and turn the entity's hands into claws or blades, or harden into armor that can deflect high-caliber machine gun fire at point-blank range. By all reports the entity seems to be impervious to conventional weapons, but one unconfirmed report did mention spotting the entity retreating from fire. Further study is required. Origin: Unknown. Some connection to the vigilante Spider-Man is likely, given the entity's appearance, as well as its emergence nearly a year to the day from the incident on the George Washington Bridge. However, at this point all theories regarding the Venom entity's exact nature and origin are baseless speculation. What is known is that the entity is claiming an increasingly large swath of territory in Brooklyn as its hunting ground, attacking criminal organizations in the area. SHIELD checkpoints have been set up in an attempt to capture and contain the entity, but have been unsuccessful-- in fact, they have resulted in several operatives critically injured. While so far no deaths have been reported in regards to Venom's activities, the entity seems to revel in the use of excessive force against its victims, often leaving them with permanent injuries or in comatose states, and has little regard for collateral damage or endangering civilians. It is advised that a way to contain or neutralize the Venom entity be found before the situation escalates further.
STORY INFO:
High Concept: The story will start as a mystery surrounding Venom's identity and origin, and as more is revealed, it will turn to a character drama and hopefully a redemption story. At its heart, Venom has always been about different characters at their lowest point and how they deal with it, whether they overcome their inner demons or get consumed by them, and I plan on exploring that from a few different angles, from the person inside the suit and the people surrounding him. Motivation and Conflict: Venom is lashing out, in pain and anger and frustration at its own being, amplified by the torment of its host. More than anything, it wants to be at peace, but it can never be so because the entity's very nature requires it to be at war with itself. Notes: To be filled out as the story progresses.
PLAYER INFO:
Player Name: AndyC Preferred Contact Method: Private message or Discord Why This Character?: Venom has been one of my favorite characters ever since I laid eyes on him, and frankly, I've wanted to tell this story for years. What Can You Bring to the RPG?: Apart from running the game, I can bring solid character work, intricate plotting, and fun fights and/or team-ups with virtually anyone.
Norman Osborn, CEO of the multi-billion-dollar science firm OsCorp, is dead. In a scandal that rocked the corporate sector, Osborn's death came moments after he was revealed to have been the criminal mastermind and terrorist lunatic known as the Green Goblin. His killer, the controversial vigilante known as Spider-Man, has not been seen in over a year, and is presumed dead from the wounds he sustained during the battle.
In the wake of Osborn's death, companies like Stark Industries, Rand International, Fisk Financial, Alchemax, and the Roxxon Corporation have been vying for OsCorp's assets, while the deceased madman's son Harry tries to keep the proverbial vultures at bay and salvage what is left of his father's empire.
The fall of the Green Goblin has also left a tremendous power vacuum in the criminal underworld. The Maggia Crime Syndicate, who had lost much territory to the Goblin, is on the rise again, as are prominent crime lords like Tombstone and Hammerhead, while smaller gangs like the Kitchen Irish and outsiders like the Yakuza and Triads mean to carve out territories of their own. As syndicates and street thugs begin to clash, assassins and hitmen are finding no shortage of dirty work, and the police find themselves overwhelmed, leaning harder and harder on the new SHIELD authorities to keep the city from breaking out into all-out chaos.
While full-scale war has thus far been avoided, New York has become a powder keg, and a new player threatens to spark things off. A mysterious and brutal new vigilante has been spotted in recent nights, ripping his way through criminal lairs and SHIELD checkpoints alike. Wearing all black and seemingly indestructible, this new player looks at first glance like the long-lost Spider-Man, but fights like a vicious animal, and thus has been given the code-name "Venom."
Real Name: Age: Gender: Powers, Abilities, and Gear: Origin:
STORY INFO:
High Concept: In at least two complete sentences, describe the kind of story you wish to tell with this character, not including spoilers. Motivation and Conflict: Describe the driving force behind your character's involvement in the story, and the complication that makes it an actual story. In short, what do they want, and why don't they have it yet? Notes: This space can be used for any useful or interesting information in regards to the story, including prominent NPCs, influences, and anything else the GM and other players might want to keep in mind to keep your vision clear.
PLAYER INFO:
Player Name: Preferred Contact Method: Why This Character?: What Can You Bring to the RPG?:
[h1][center][color=RoyalBlue][u]MARVEL: KNIGHTS OF NEW YORK[/u][/color][/center][/h1] [h3][color=RoyalBlue][b][center]CHARACTER NAME[/center][/b][/color][/h3] [center][i](Place Character Image/Banner Here)[/i][/center] [h3][center][u][color=RoyalBlue]CHARACTER BIO:[/color][/u][/center][/h3] [color=RoyalBlue][b]Real Name:[/b][/color] [color=RoyalBlue][b]Age:[/b][/color] [color=RoyalBlue][b]Gender:[/b][/color] [color=RoyalBlue][b]Powers, Abilities, and Gear:[/b][/color] [color=RoyalBlue][b]Origin:[/b][/color] [h3][center][u][color=RoyalBlue]STORY INFO:[/color][/u][/center][/h3] [color=RoyalBlue][b]High Concept:[/b][/color] In at least two complete sentences, describe the kind of story you wish to tell with this character, not including spoilers. [color=RoyalBlue][b]Motivation and Conflict:[/b][/color] Describe the driving force behind your character's involvement in the story, and the complication that makes it an actual story. In short, what do they want, and why don't they have it yet? [color=RoyalBlue][b]Notes:[/b][/color] This space can be used for any useful or interesting information in regards to the story, including prominent NPCs, influences, and anything else the GM and other players might want to keep in mind to keep your vision clear. [center][h3][u][color=RoyalBlue]PLAYER INFO:[/color][/u][/h3][/center] [b][color=RoyalBlue]Player Name:[/color][/b] [b][color=RoyalBlue]Preferred Contact Method:[/color][/b] [b][color=RoyalBlue]Why [i]This[/i] Character?:[/color][/b] [b][color=RoyalBlue]What Can You Bring to the RPG?:[/color][/b]
"New York City, Center of the Universe. Times are shitty, But I'm pretty sure they can't get worse."
'Superheroes.' Vigilantes and mutants and alien gods, jumping across rooftops and cracking skulls in the name of the greater good. Sure, it was dangerous, but it was all in good fun, right? They were our friendly neighborhood watchmen, pulling cats out of trees and keeping the bad guys in check. You might get some broken windows, maybe lose a building here or there, but unless it was a full-blown alien invasion or cosmic demigod or something along those lines, your Iron Men and Thors and Spideys always made sure nobody really got hurt. That's how we saw it-- cops and robbers on a bigger scale. It was all just a game to us.
Until last year, anyway.
It looked like your average showdown between Spider-Man and his arch-rival, the Green Goblin, on the George Washington Bridge. People were recording it on their phones, streaming it on YouTube and sharing the fight on Facebook. Millions watched and reacted when the Goblin was unmasked and revealed to be OsCorp CEO Norman Osborn. Social media lit up as a crowd-favorite hero grabbed his nemesis and impaled them both upon the Goblin's glider. The whole world saw the age of the harmless, fun-and-games heroes come to an end with the murder of an innocent 19-year-old girl named Gwen Stacy.
People had died in the action before, but never that deliberately, never in front of so many eyes and cameras. The shock of it all turned the City against the costumed heroes, and the Feds began to crack down.
SHIELD stepped up its surveillance, and now you can't walk a block without hearing one of their drones buzzing overhead. After anti-cape protests broke out into full-blown riots in front of the Avengers Mansion, the team closed up shop and moved to a secluded compound far away from the city. Reed Richards and his team have started finding more and more excuses to be on other planets, other dimensions, anywhere but the often-vandalized Baxter Building. Charles Xavier's kids can't set foot in the Big Apple without setting off a fight, either with SHIELD operatives or just your average disaffected New Yorkers. No one even knows what happened to Spider-Man-- given how badly he was injured that night on the Bridge, most people assume he died later that night, but others claim he's still out there. Either way, he hasn't been seen in over a year.
Even if the major players are gone for one reason or another, though, that doesn't mean there's nobody left in the game. Spider-Man had been New York's most active defender, and without him, other men and women have started braving the SHIELD crackdown to fill the void he left. Norman Osborn had left a major power vacuum behind-- both in the corporate world and the criminal underworld-- and there's no shortage of stuffed-suits and crime bosses looking to grab their share of the Goblin's empire. Neighborhoods are being carved up into territories, Hell's Kitchen and Harlem and Soho being claimed as the domain of one hero or villain or another, like the knights of feudal Europe.
And New Yorkers, like the serfs and peasants of olden times, are feeling more and more powerless, keeping our heads down and quietly wondering when the rules stopped applying to everyone. A knight might protect you and your family, but they might also chop your head off if they're in a bad mood. No one ever had to worry about Captain America doing something like that, but who can say the same about the Punisher, or the Ghost Rider, or any of the so-called 'Defenders' now?
Things are dangerous now, sure. Everything's up in the air. The city feels like a pressure cooker, ready to blow. Walking around the city, it doesn't take long before you get the feeling that we're all holding our breaths, waiting for the spark that sets it all off. When that happens, if these new capes really are the new knights of New York, it won't be long before we see if they're worthy of it.
-Ned Leeds, Daily Bugle
Premise:
Marvel: Knights of New York is a city-scale roleplaying game, centered around various heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe. Taking cues from Marvel's Netflix series, the Marvel MAX line of comics, and the titular Marvel Knights imprint, this game is meant to have a more mature and/or dramatic tone and an emphasis on 'street-level' action, with the stories confined to the boroughs of New York City.
Legendary video game designer Phil Spector once said that his dream game would be a "city-block simulator," where the play-area is limited to a single city block, but everything within said block is fully realized and interactive. With that design ethos in mind, the reason behind keeping everything within the Big Apple is to encourage players to flesh out the city as much as possible. Whereas in larger-scale superhero games where each player may get their own corner of the universe to play with by themselves and solo-roleplay forever if they want, putting everyone in the same place will encourage (if not outright force) players to interact with each other, to keep up with what's going on in everyone else's stories and react accordingly. What one person does with Daredevil, for instance, might immediately affect what another person does with Moon Knight, whereas otherwise the two might never have a reason to acknowledge each other's existence.
While my hope is that Knights can become a long-term ongoing game, the current plan is to run it short-term as a single 'season,' with everyone's individual story arcs tying in one way or another to a single overarching plot-- in this case, the aftermath of the George Washington Bridge incident and the disappearance/presumed death of Spider-Man. If the game is a success, then upon completion of this central arc, a new one will be proposed and voted on by the players to start the next 'season.'
Game Admission: Public; applications will be accepted or declined based on quality
Posting Guidelines: Standard Guild rules apply; Advanced Section standards are expected. Activity can be adjustable and negotiable, but barring real-world difficulties, one post per week is the general minimum expectation.
"Canonical" Standards: While Knights of New York is not based in any particular incarnation of the Marvel Universe, it is expected that players draw influence from existing incarnations. One may mix-and-match between 616 Marvel, Ultimate Marvel, Marvel MAX, the MCU, the various animated series, etc., but radically different reinterpretations or completely original characters are not permitted.
Explicit Content: While this is meant to be a darker game dealing with more mature material than the MCU, it is not an Adult/18+ game. Sex, violence, drug use, etc. are not taboo in this game, but blatantly over-the-top or 'pornographic' displays of such will not be permitted. Assume somewhere between a "Hard PG-13/Soft R" rating, or the extent on what you could get away with on a Netflix show. When in doubt, it's better to be implicit rather than explicit.
Rules:
Players are allowed to pick a Marvel character and draw inspiration from any 'main' incarnation of the Marvel Universe. This may include the standard '616' Marvel Comics Universe, the Marvel MAX and Marvel Knights imprints, Ultimate Marvel, the Marvel Cinematic/Television Universe, the 20th Century Fox X-Men Universe, and any of the animated series. This does not necessarily mean they have to be exactly like said incarnation-- players can tweak the details of a character's history or personality to better suit the story or their own particular writing style-- but drastic alterations such as flipping a character's alignment or completely re-writing their personality (ex: turning Daredevil into a villain, making Frank Castle a pacifist, etc) is not permitted. Unless given special permission, characters from explicitly alternate timelines such as MC2 or Marvel Zombies are not allowed.
Keeping in mind the 'street level' theme of Knights of New York, it is preferred that players only pick heroes or villains with a limited range of influence within New York City itself (or neighboring counties like Westchester, in the case of the X-Men). While world-level characters like Thor or Doctor Strange do exist in this universe, the general rule is that they are off 'somewhere else' as far as the story is concerned.
Given that 'neighborhood' heroes are relatively new in this universe (see: Timeline and Lore), "legacy"/replacement characters such as Miles Morales or Kate Bishop are largely discouraged. However, this is not set in stone, and with a solid enough pitch, a legacy character may be given special permission from the GM.
Players are permitted one character to start, but if they prove to be reliably active in the IC thread, they may be allowed a second character, as per the GM's permission.
The timeline of the game will be largely be determined by the submitted character sheets of each player. However, the general rule of thumb is that while the idea of the superhero has been around for decades in this universe starting with Captain America in the 1940s, their prevalence in society is a relatively new phenomenon. The Avengers have been around for roughly a decade and the X-Men even longer, but 'neighborhood' superheroes only began appearing about five years ago with the emergence of Spider-Man.
While each player is responsible for establishing the basics of their characters' history, an exhaustively detailed timeline is not necessary. Players should, however, keep in mind that any event posted or referred to in the IC thread is considered 'canon' (ex: the Avengers were founded by fighting the Chitauri in 2012) and cannot be contradicted later (ex: the Avengers were founded by fighting Kang in 1998).
If a player writes something in IC that is decided to be contradictory or otherwise harmful to the game's lore (ex: Captain America died and was never unfrozen, Peter Parker was working for HYDRA all along, etc.), it is within the GM's rights to ask the player to edit or remove that element completely. Only the GM is allowed to do this, however, and any disputes should be handled either over private messages or through the game's Discord channel.
The Central Arc is the primary story that sets the tone for each chapter of Knights of New York. When selecting a character and thinking of what stories they wish to tell, players should think of what sort of effects the themes and consequences of the Central Arc will have on that character and how they will respond. Upon its resolution, the players and GM will discuss and vote on a new Central Arc to begin a new 'season' of the game.
Solo Arcs are storylines that pertain to one particular character and their subsequent supporting cast. These should still be influenced in some way or another by the Central Arc, though they do not need to be tied directly to it. Despite its name, it is not necessary for a Solo Arc to be purely self-contained; indeed, it is generally considered poor etiquette to not mingle with other characters and have Arcs affect each other (though it is required that players ask each other for permission before jumping in on another player's Arc). Ultimately, the final resolution of a Solo Arc should only affect the player's own character.
Crossovers can be team-ups or fights between two or more characters, and while they do not necessarily need to affect each other's Solo Arcs, they should still be tied in one way or another to the Central Arc. Crossover Arcs can include any and all NPCs from the supporting casts of each character involved (ex: Wolverine can interact with Foggy Nelson if he is doing a Crossover with Daredevil), but may not pull in from other unrelated supporting casts (ex: Hawkeye and the Punisher cannot go rough up J. Jonah Jameson) A Crossover Arc's resolution should affect the players involved, and should preferably have a substantial effect on the resolution of the Central Arc.
Events are city-wide occurrences that will affect everyone involved and have a permanent effect on the landscape of the game as a whole. This can be a major catastrophe like an alien invasion, a sweeping policy like Mutant Registration, or a conflict like Civil War breaking out between heroes. Players are not required to participate directly in an Event, but should be affected by it nonetheless. Events will be rare occurrences, either acting as the beginning or ending of a Central Arc, and the start of an Event will be clearly notated by the GM.
No Out-of-Character chat is permitted in the IC thread. Any questions, comments, suggestions, or other OOC writing should be kept to the OOC thread, the Discord server, or private messages.
Players are using established characters with years (or even decades) of material to inform their writing, so it is expected that they remain true to the material. While it is not necessary to have extensive encyclopedic knowledge of said character, and there is room for stylistic differences between writers, it is expected that players are at the very least casually familiar with how a character acts and speaks, and should not write them as a self-insert or in a way that blatantly contradicts their established personality.
Activity should be confined to the Five Boroughs of New York City. Brief excursions are allowable if a story arc demands it (going to a SHIELD facility, the Xavier Mansion, etc.) but the primary action of the game is meant to be within the City itself. Unless given special permission by the GM, visits to other planets, time-travel, etc., are not allowed.
The writing expectations for this game are at least two well-developed paragraphs as a minimum per post. More than that is encouraged, but players should not feel pressured to write novel-length chapters if they do not want to. Proper spelling and grammar are expected, and while minor errors here and there will be overlooked, blatant misspellings and bad punctuation will be brought to the player's attention by the GM. This is not meant to shame the player, but to hold them to a high standard.
Players are required to post at least once every two weeks to be considered active. Extensions may be given in extenuating circumstances such as holidays, vacations, sickness, etc., at the GM's discretion. If a player does not meet this deadline, the character will be considered inactive, meaning they will be considered available for other players to pick up. The offending player may pick up the inactive character without having to re-apply upon their first infraction, but will have to submit a full application again afterwards. After three offenses, the player will not be allowed to apply for the character again.
'God-Modding' is not permitted in this game. This involves taking control of another player's character in a way that is completely self-serving and done without the other player's permission. The only time this is permissible is if the other player has gone inactive and taking control of the character is necessary to complete an interaction.
Metagaming is also not permitted. This is making your character aware of things happening outside of the game, giving them information they would have no way of knowing, or taking advantage of the game's rules to give the character some sort of advantage. Deadpool be damned, the Fourth Wall stays up in this game.
Killing another player's character or prominent NPCs without their explicit permission is strictly prohibited, and will result in the offending player's expulsion from the game.
No In-Character writing is allowed in the OOC Thread.
Respect the GM. The GameMaster is the arbiter of the game, and therefore has the final say on what is or isn't permissible. If the GM asks a player to change something in their post, to stop behaving in a certain way, etc., the player is expected to comply.
Respect the other Players. Constructive criticism is allowed, but flaming and shaming other players for the sake of running them off is not. Remember, quality-control is the GM's job, and if it is necessary for someone to step in, the GM will do it themselves.
Respect the Thread. The OOC Thread is meant for workshopping character applications, questions and comments pertinent to the game, and on-topic discussion of the game and its Arcs. Spamming, GIF Wars, and other such behavior clutters the thread with unnecessary junk, and will not be allowed. That sort of thing is better served in the Discord chat.
possible interest. i've always wanted to get in on one of these comic-book superhero shindigs, but the thought of playing a canon character somewhat terrifies me. i haven't read too many comic books (being unable to afford them, not to mention the unholy amount of them) but i watch the marvel shows on netflix religiously.
Well, we're not going to be married to the comics for this game, so if you wanna draw your inspiration from the Netflix shows or the movies or what have you, then you're more than welcome to.
@Clever Hans No rush; like it says in the OP, I don't plan to get this thing started until after Thanksgiving, so you've got plenty of time to mull over your options.
@Inkarnate I haven't set a limit in stone yet, but I think the rule of thumb will be that everyone starts out with one, and if you demonstrate that you're reliably active with one character, a second will be allowed.
"New York City, Center of the Universe. Times are shitty, But I'm pretty sure they can't get worse."
'Superheroes.' Vigilantes and mutants and alien gods, jumping across rooftops and cracking skulls in the name of the greater good. Sure, it was dangerous, but it was all in good fun, right? They were our friendly neighborhood watchmen, pulling cats out of trees and keeping the bad guys in check. You might get some broken windows, maybe lose a building here or there, but unless it was a full-blown alien invasion or cosmic demigod or something along those lines, your Iron Men and Thors and Spideys always made sure nobody really got hurt. That's how we saw it-- cops and robbers on a bigger scale. It was all just a game to us.
Until last year, anyway.
It looked like your average showdown between Spider-Man and his arch-rival, the Green Goblin, on the George Washington Bridge. People were recording it on their phones, streaming it on YouTube and sharing the fight on Facebook. Millions watched and reacted when the Goblin was unmasked and revealed to be OsCorp CEO Norman Osborn. Social media lit up as a crowd-favorite hero grabbed his nemesis and impaled them both upon the Goblin's glider. The whole world saw the age of the harmless, fun-and-games heroes come to an end with the murder of an innocent 19-year-old girl named Gwen Stacy.
People had died in the action before, but never that deliberately, never in front of so many eyes and cameras. The shock of it all turned the City against the costumed heroes, and the Feds began to crack down.
SHIELD stepped up its surveillance, and now you can't walk a block without hearing one of their drones buzzing overhead. After anti-cape protests broke out into full-blown riots in front of the Avengers Mansion, the team closed up shop and moved to a secluded compound far away from the city. Reed Richards and his team have started finding more and more excuses to be on other planets, other dimensions, anywhere but the often-vandalized Baxter Building. Charles Xavier's kids can't set foot in the Big Apple without setting off a fight, either with SHIELD operatives or just your average disaffected New Yorkers. No one even knows what happened to Spider-Man-- given how badly he was injured that night on the Bridge, most people assume he died later that night, but others claim he's still out there. Either way, he hasn't been seen in over a year.
Even if the major players are gone for one reason or another, though, that doesn't mean there's nobody left in the game. Spider-Man had been New York's most active defender, and without him, other men and women have started braving the SHIELD crackdown to fill the void he left. Norman Osborn had left a major power vacuum behind-- both in the corporate world and the criminal underworld-- and there's no shortage of stuffed-suits and crime bosses looking to grab their share of the Goblin's empire. Neighborhoods are being carved up into territories, Hell's Kitchen and Harlem and Soho being claimed as the domain of one hero or villain or another, like the knights of feudal Europe.
And New Yorkers, like the serfs and peasants of olden times, are feeling more and more powerless, keeping our heads down and quietly wondering when the rules stopped applying to everyone. A knight might protect you and your family, but they might also chop your head off if they're in a bad mood. No one ever had to worry about Captain America doing something like that, but who can say the same about the Punisher, or the Ghost Rider, or any of the so-called 'Defenders' now?
Things are dangerous now, sure. Everything's up in the air. The city feels like a pressure cooker, ready to blow. Walking around the city, it doesn't take long before you get the feeling that we're all holding our breaths, waiting for the spark that sets it all off. When that happens, if these new capes really are the new knights of New York, it won't be long before we see if they're worthy of it.
-Ned Leeds, Daily Bugle
Premise:
Marvel: Knights of New York is a city-scale roleplaying game, centered around various heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe. Taking cues from Marvel's Netflix series, the Marvel MAX line of comics, and the titular Marvel Knights imprint, this game is meant to have a more mature and/or dramatic tone and an emphasis on 'street-level' action, with the stories confined to the boroughs of New York City.
Legendary video game designer Phil Spector once said that his dream game would be a "city-block simulator," where the play-area is limited to a single city block, but everything within said block is fully realized and interactive. With that design ethos in mind, the reason behind keeping everything within the Big Apple is to encourage players to flesh out the city as much as possible. Whereas in larger-scale superhero games where each player may get their own corner of the universe to play with by themselves and solo-roleplay forever if they want, putting everyone in the same place will encourage (if not outright force) players to interact with each other, to keep up with what's going on in everyone else's stories and react accordingly. What one person does with Daredevil, for instance, might immediately affect what another person does with Moon Knight, whereas otherwise the two might never have a reason to acknowledge each other's existence.
While my hope is that Knights can become a long-term ongoing game, the current plan is to run it short-term as a single 'season,' with everyone's individual story arcs tying in one way or another to a single overarching plot-- in this case, the aftermath of the George Washington Bridge incident and the disappearance/presumed death of Spider-Man. If the game is a success, then upon completion of this central arc, a new one will be proposed and voted on by the players to start the next 'season.'
Game Admission: Public; applications will be accepted or declined based on quality
Posting Guidelines: Standard Guild rules apply; Advanced Section standards are expected. Activity can be adjustable and negotiable, but barring real-world difficulties, one post per week is the general minimum expectation.
"Canonical" Standards: While Knights of New York is not based in any particular incarnation of the Marvel Universe, it is expected that players draw influence from existing incarnations. One may mix-and-match between 616 Marvel, Ultimate Marvel, Marvel MAX, the MCU, the various animated series, etc., but radically different reinterpretations or completely original characters are not permitted.
Explicit Content: While this is meant to be a darker game dealing with more mature material than the MCU, it is not an Adult/18+ game. Sex, violence, drug use, etc. are not taboo in this game, but blatantly over-the-top or 'pornographic' displays of such will not be permitted. Assume somewhere between a "Hard PG-13/Soft R" rating, or the extent on what you could get away with on a Netflix show. When in doubt, it's better to be implicit rather than explicit.
Bork Lazer
Lexisheeps
Izurich
Hound55
Sotiras
Enarr
Simple Unicycle
Pilatus
Alby47
POOPHEAD189
