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Arbor's Deep Shade


This is a setting that I prepped for M&M, but circumstances shelved it for a few years. Now we are picking it up again using Roll20. I'm using Autumn Arbor from Dawn of Legends (an M&M supplement) as the focal city, but I've replaced all of the setting backstory. The City of Autumn Arbor is very Gotham-like and the tone of this campaign is pretty dark, so it will be interesting to see how it feels using SUPERS as the system.

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For hundreds of years, mankind has dreamt about super-human ability. That dream is about to be realized and it will redefine our world forevermore. For a fortunate few, the very fabric of reality is theirs to weave. Buddy Chance, the president of a major global investment firm in Autumn Arbor, is about to be one of those few.

Background - The Evanshade Event

Oct 2012 - Arizona Amateur Astronomical Society meeting near Tuscon - Amateur astronomer 51 year old Louis Evanshade observed a strange hazy cloud while searching for star cluster CS141 during a star party. The very next day he reported his findings to the Steward Observatory, University of Arizona. The next evening UA staff confirmed the find and plotted the cloud within our solar system. By the third day, orbital plots projected that the cloud is moving away from the sun and into Earth's path. Earth's orbit would intersect with the interplanetary cloud in approximately 8 weeks. Feverish work ensued as this news began to spread through observatories worldwide. Many astronomers confirmed the findings and an official report was submitted to the US government.

After several days of secret committee meetings a statement was prepared and the President made a special executive address to the nation.

Special Presidential Address - Oct 14th

"Good evening fellow Americans and to all distinguished leaders of our nation and to our friends and allies around the world:

Today, I wanted to take some time to announce and discuss an important discovery. Last week, an amateur astronomer by the name of Louis Evanshade observed what he believed to be an uncharted nebula - a cloud of interstellar dust. He reported his observation to Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, and they confirmed his find the very next evening. However, the haze that Mr. Evanshade observed appears to be a cloud of intersolar dust passing through our solar system. Simply put, this never-before-seen cloud is crossing through planetary orbits. This is an unprecedented event and we congratulate Mr. Evanshade.

So why then does such a discovery prompt a Presidential press conference?

Steward Observatory, in cooperation with much of the astronomy and astrophysics community around the world, have projected that Earth's orbit will intersect with this cloud; but be assured there is no cause for alarm. This cloud of dust is not expected to have any detrimental effect on our planet, but it should make for some extraordinary viewing of the night sky. Scientists do expect a display of aurora-like activity, even into lower latitudes.

Orbital intersection with the cloud is projected to occur on December 21st and the electro-magnetic activity may last for several days. I must emphasize that this should not be taken as some sort of apocalyptic sign or any reason for panic - even though it coincides with the end of the Mayan calender. There is no indication or reasonable expectation that this event will pose a significant threat to human well-being.

In reality, this is simply a tremendous opportunity for scientists to observe and record a unique astrophysical event. Therefore we are partnering with NASA and scientist around the world to launch the Evanshade Probe to sample the composition of this cloud. From those findings, we can better anticipate how these tiny particles will interact with our atmosphere.

In closing, let me again state that this is not a threat to be fearful of, but rather an exciting opportunity to witness an interplanetary event like nothing the human race has seen in recorded history.

NASA will provide updates as we learn more and progress with the Evanshade Project.

Last edited by GWB83, 12/18/2012, 2:25 pm


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Gary Brown
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Re: Arbor's Deep Shade


November: An international team is quickly assembled and begins working in around-the-clock shifts to prepare the probe with an aggressive target launch date of the 23rd.

Some details about the Evanshade Probe Project...
As the Earth approaches, it will cover another 5% of the sky per day. Earths orbit speed 67k mph/1.61 mil miles per day. Escape velocity is about 25,000 mph, which wouldn't get the probe to the nebula in time for any meaning results. So we will build separation speed will be slingshoted up to 110,000 mph. The probe will reach the nebula only 8 days ahead of the Earth.

The probe launch is delayed by technical gliches and again by inclement weather. The probe is moved to an alternate site and the launch finally occurs on the 27th. It is televised worldwide. By the time the probe launches, the nebula is easily visible to the naked eye, appearing as a silver-colored cloud about the same size as the moon.

The probe finds that the cloud consists of 48% helium and 45% nitrogen and the remainder is various trace particles. [classified findings are concerned with the 7% of matter that could not be readily identified.]

Mr. Chance is preoccupied with damage control as world financial markets go into a deep decline in the next week. The nebula slides across the sky from 3 a.m to 3 p.m. and it’s dominance grows larger, longer, and more ominous with each passing day. Doomsday riots begin and national guard units are activated to enforce martial law where necessary. Things are getting ugly.

A few days later, Earth plunges into the cloud and the sky lights up electromagnetic storms in the upper atmosphere for over 14 hours. Howling squelch-like thunder can be heard at ground level. All manner of radio wave signaling is disrupted including the full spectrum of TV and radio, cell phones, wireless routers. Life in the US is completely disrupted.

For the next week, most areas suffer rolling blackouts as the power grid becomes hard to control and surges destroy millions of electronic devices. Routine thunderstorms grow to incredible intensity as the atmosphere is super-charged with static electricity. Governments around the world struggle to maintain order as panicked masses erupt in violent chaos. The sky remains hazy, especially at night, but the sunrise and sunsets are spectacular. Scientists say that the Earth’s gravity field retained a portion of the solar dust.

In the next couple of weeks, as conditions steadily improve and people realize that the worst has past, life slowly settles into a somewhat regular pattern. Order is restored and civilization begins to rebuild. Scientists observe that the solar dust is compressing toward the equatorial gravity belt.

In the following months, two world-wide changes are evident:

1. The Earth develops Saturn-like rings, a process that was expected to take years took only months. The science community believes that charged particles are magnetically attracted, accelerating the transition. From the upper hemisphere, the rings appear as a silvery rainbow across the southern third of the sky.

2. Meta-humans emerge, for better and for worse. There is a media frenzy that follows the adventures of these new celebrities. In Autumn Arbor, the first notable meta-humans were:

Johnny Reb, an anti-patriot who repeatedly incited race riots in Liberty Heights. Believed to be dead.

Also a notorious anarchist, Molly Duncan, from a local punk rock band was also revealed to be to be a meta in her daring escape from federal custody. She now calls herself "Choke Chain" and remains at large.

The most active bunch appears to be some teenagers calling themselves the Tag Team, who seem intent to cover the town in their trademark graffiti.


Last edited by GWB83, 12/20/2012, 3:25 pm


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Gary Brown
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Re: Arbor's Deep Shade


In the months following the Evanshade Event, Buddy Chance was consumed with keeping his company, Chance Investments, viable in a free-falling world economy. The demands on him were relentless and he often found himself leaving a darkened Chance Tower late at night.

One night as he caught the elevator, some unusual noise from the floor below drew his attention. Arriving on the 29th floor, he immediately noticed that a security guard was down in a pool of blood. He also heard footfalls and whispering in the cubicles to the right side of the floor. Buddy checked the guard, probably dead, his service pistol missing. Buddy peeked down the aisle, counting three intruders and then he circled around the conference rooms to the left side of the floor. He saw one of the bad guys walk into an executive office. At this point, he also noticed that the men had braced the maintenance elevator doors open at the end of that hall.

Unhooking a fire extinguisher from the wall, Chance ran up, shut the door behind the intruder and busted off the doorknob, trapping the man in the office! Chance spun around to find another man charging him, so he cut loose with the extinguisher, diverting the man's attack. They grappled along the wall. This guy was pretty tough and he wrenched Buddy's arm and fire extinguisher hit the floor. As they wrestled over the submachine gun that was slung around the man's shoulders, Chance managed to fire it, hitting the extinguisher which exploded into a spinning white cloud! Chance shoved the man away and he fell into an office across the hall and he sat-up firing the sub-gun! Buddy had a slow-motion vision, he could see what was going to happen. Relying on this strange instinct, he lunged forward and managed to slam the door as bullets splintered the wood! He should have been on the floor bleeding-out! It was a moment that would replay in his mind hundreds of times later, but he had to run, NOW!

With the other three men enveloped in a white cloud, Chance circled back around and spotted the copier room... He suddenly had another plan. Chance shoved one of the heavy print/copy machines away from the wall and wheeled it quickly toward the spreading fog and the shouting men. He could hear them near the elevator shaft as the prepared to escape. Chance's legs burned as he built up speed with the machine. He burst out of the cloud as three of the intruders were packed around the open doors and rammed the machine into them! The 500 lb copier and the men all tumbled down the shaft and out of sight. It turned out that the fourth man was already part way down the shaft when the copier arrived.

Chance said to himself, "That will be a hard feat to duplicate."

After this incident, weeks and months passed as Buddy Chance came to realize he was gifted with more than just great intuition. The foresight that made him a world-class investment advisor had been amplified since the Evanshade Event. He was like one of those "meta-humans" that have been popping up in spectacular news stories around the world. In the United States, they had been dubbed "shades". These people thrived in the darker paradigm of the stormy new world. The shadow of the Rings of Earth fell on them, enabled them, and they could bend reality to their will.

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Gary Brown
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Re: Arbor's Deep Shade


Interesting... What comes next?

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Fight the Good Fight


12/19/2012, 1:33 pm Link to this post Email kroh   PM kroh Yahoo Blog
 
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Re: Arbor's Deep Shade


Hey Walt, I'm glad you asked! The nascent hero is a cross between The Shadow and The Batman in terms of style, but is quite a bit different in action. The character sheet is posted on my website Whimstorm. Go to The Super Cell>Supers Characters. He is "Omen", on the 4th row, next to Hellboy.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes myself. My writing is still catching up, but the next piece is below.



Last edited by GWB83, 12/20/2012, 3:20 pm


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Mr. Chance explored his new abilities and honed his control. Short-term precognition granted him a significant level of danger sense. Mastery of this ability came to him quite naturally, but it wasn't long before he found a much broader power. He could alter probability. Chance cautiously toyed with fortune and misfortune at first, causing small "re-directions" in his day-to-day life. The potential applications for such subtle power began to unfold for him.

Meanwhile, he watched-on with the rest of the citizens of Autumn Arbor, as other not-so-subtle "Shades" began to apply their powers for selfish or misguided purposes. Tag Team was running rampant and growing more brazen in their brushes with the police. Choke Chain began unifying the punker subculture into a formidable street gang called The Spikers. Street violence was escalating between the more established gangs like The Rumblejacks and Blaze-Yah-Red.

As other ill-meaning Shades began to rise and stake their wicked claims in Autumn Arbor's crime scene, Mr. Chance wondered, where are the good guys? Why were these Shades all bad? Abuse of power, perhaps? The ugly core of human nature exposed? Was Autumn Arbor destined for chaos? He reflected on his family's history, legacy, and the future of his father's corporation. With his resources and these newfound abilities, Chance began to ponder if he was in position to do something about it. Resolved: He would. Somebody had to tip the scale in the other direction. He may not be bulletproof or strong enough to throw cars around, but he had to do something. And so the work began. Chance trained with twin semi-auto pistols and began to seek the limit of his luck-bending powers.

When the transition was complete, his new persona was as dark and mysterious as the new breed of criminals he was bound to oppose. His head and face were completely covered in a charcoal gray fabric underneath a deep crimson, wide-brimmed hat with a broad black headband. Part gangster, part wizard. A dark gray leather jacket with a cross-buttoned flap in the front with black gloves and matching gray leather pants with black boots completed the look.

Mr. Chance also decided to have his father's beloved Rolls Royce Phantom heavily modified (turbo-charged and remote controllable, with a silent-running mode) and reinforced to handle the addition of armor and impact-resistant glass. The vehicle's profile was chopped-down and it was wrapped-up with a glossy black finish. He referred to the predatorial-looking machine as his "chariot".

Considering the whole ensemble, he was still undecided about what to call himself. Perhaps he should just remain nameless and faceless, working the unknown to his advantage.

Chance didn't have to wait long for his first opportunity to make an appearance. One Friday night, police and government comm-channels filled with reports of a major threat taking shape in Ballenville, the city's decaying industrial district. In the empty parking lot of an abandoned refinery, The Spikers were setting-up for a concert to protest the cancelling of Ballen's Ball, an annual music festival. The word on the street was that Cyster Misfit, Choke Chain's band, would headline the show.

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Gary Brown
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Chance had a surreal feeling as he donned his outfit and revved-up "the Chariot". First time - a debut on the streets. Once he reached Ballenville, the punkers - many probable Spiikers - paused as the glossy black car glided by with the menacing low rumble of turbo-charged 12-cyclinder engine. Chance slowly turned and the car was swallowed in the dark shadows of an alley. He flipped a toggle-switch on the dashboard and the engine converted to whisper-mode. This engine was specially modified to run extremely quietly at low RPM, using only four of the cylinders. If he needed a sudden burst of speed or power, the whisper-mode would automatically shut-off and all cylinders would fire.

He spotted a fire escape to climb and rolled to a stop, got out, then he jumped up grabbing the corroding squeaking metal framework. Once he reached the flat roof, Chance took a glance at the car's remote control to confirm that it was locked and alarmed before stowing it. He could hear the thump and sizzle of loud music emanating from the next street over. Arriving over the buttressed front, he gazed down at a belligerent chaotic crowd jumping and thrashing to the sound.

Even amongst this wild throng it wasn't hard to spot Choke Chain. Tall and lean, her purple hair spiked-out in every direction made her look taller than most of the men. The crowd parted as she came to the makeshift stage.

"Come on misfits! This is our day!" she screamed, her voice overmodulated in the battered microphone. "#%&#! the City of Autumn Arbor! Say it!!" [the crowd began to chant] She cackled and cussed some more. "Anarchy cannot be stopped! It's our natural state! The government said there would be no Ballen's Ball Music Festival this year. Well, we say otherwise! #%&#! Autumn Arbor! #%&#! Autumn Arbor! #%&#! Autumn Arbor!"

Chance watched from the rooftop as the PDAA (Autumn Arbor Police) riot vans moved into position. Another hip-hop styled gang wearing red doo-rags approached from a side street, shouting and antagonizing the punkers, making it known that they should have a place at Ballen's Ball. Things could get ugly real quick. The police riot control tactics moved to keep the groups separate. Tear gas cannisters were prepped. Apparently satisfied that their statement was made, the gang known as Blaze-Yah-Red backed away from the scene.

Choke Chain appeared again and began to incite the crowd against the police! Chance decided it was time she was confronted. He stepped out on the edge and stood defiantly in front of an old flickering neon sign. As people slowly began to take notice of the silent silhouette, her diatribe faded. Clearly enraged, she dropped the microphone with a loud POP, followed by droning feedback. Choke Chain screamed at the stranger "What the #@%@& is this?!!" Chance didn't answer, but he subtly worked the car remote.

Angry red headlights emerged from the alley and his black car rolled on to the street below him. Chance jumped down landing on the sturdy hood of the car. The crowd parted as Choke Chain walked toward him unravelling the chain around her torso. "I don't know who you think you are or what you THINK you're gonna DO!"

He responded by drawing the twin pistols. Choke Chain kept coming. And the PDAA got antsy! Over a bullhorn, "Cease and disist! Put away the weapons!" The warning repeated and Chance complied. He hopped off the car and began to walk toward Choke Chain, saying, "It's time all school girls to run home to mommy." She laughed it off, and snarled "None of my mothers really cared that much!"

About that time, someone gave the order and the riot teams deployed cannisters and started dispersing the mob. Figuring there would come a better time for this confrontation, the mysterious stranger jumped into his car and disappeared in a swirl of white smoke.

The next day, The Arbor Herald website headline read "A Bad Omen for Choke Chain?" The talk of the town was this unknown stranger in the peculiar crimson hat who had called out the infamous Choke Chain.

"Omen" thought Buddy Chance, "That's it then. I am Omen."

---
Gary Brown
www.whimstorm.com
12/26/2012, 7:34 pm Link to this post Email GWB83   PM GWB83 Blog
 


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