Points established in the setting thus far (Some of it being OOC):
1) The Illuminati used to prevent humanity from being aware of then 'angels' and 'demons (aka Omegas) having their wars via insane degrees of telepathic manipulation, until Darwin et al made some of the Illuminati question this idealistic mindset, which in turn led to questions about why the Illuminati were just putting out fires when they could prevent/control them. To an extent, this split seems to have let to some Event five yeas ago that destroyed the organization, which has since splintered to various factions among those that survived.
2) Trevor's claim that (unopposed), six Omegas could destroy a single city. Depending on abilities and working together, this is probably broadly true and once you factor in drugs to boost powers and apparently self-help books that to the same, the amount of time it would take becomes debatable.
(In general, I'm operating under the assumption that most any Omega with a combat-oriented power can probably take out a city block worth of area by their lonesome without real effort.)
In terms of epic, this game is structured more like the x-men are in teams and allies combine together to achieve maximum effect (see the 'defeat' of Hades as an awesome in-game example). Even PCs, alone, will not win the day in all battles, though ideally are the decisive force and centre of it. Why? Because power-creep ruins a game faster than other things, so if PCs and NPcs are on a generally equal footing* it requires more skill and RP to win the day than out and out dice and being better.
Which isn't to say the latter won't happen: the PCs vs. 'new' Omegas, after some experience is gained, is pretty much going to == 'the pc wins', which is as it should be. The really powerful and scary Omegas are either still in check by the Illuminati (or various government agencies, in a lot of cases), dead, or simply have no desire to rule the world, which, frankly, most don't. Though invasions from other worlds (yay!) and alpha and omega mad scientists (bwahahahaaha!) can skew that a little, and shall.
A lot of what happens regarding various battles -- how people see it, with Omegas as the new superpower, how they deal with being 'inferior' and such will depend on PC and NPC actions during the game. Do you try and build bridges, protect a world that hates and fears you etc.? And if it does, doesn't it make sense to make the world like you instead?
How players deal with that, and what they do about it, will determine a lot of how the world reactions to various epic-level events as and when they happen. In other words, some of the setting is about how you change the world, for the better or worse, and how it reacts to them. You might only do this visibly on the local level of one city, but such things do spread.
Caveat: Omega Rights, etc.
One player has basically said that such plot aspects to the game bore them. Which is fine: not everyone wants or desires or deserves some imagined 'equality' (and there are characters who do think it impossible because equality doesn't exist [Damien counts, though he's never voiced it in those terms]. But from a character -- aqnd player -- pov, do you want to play a game where everyone hates your character and you have to operating out of hiding and in shadows? Likely not. Which is why changing how the world sees you is as important as anything else. Reputation is as important as power in many ways.
The entire minor Barry-driven plot Omega Rights, and others like that, are largely intended as background, since I figured that players would make PCs that:
a) passed for human pretty much or
b) didn't, but the usual stigma didn't really apply to them.
And players did, because who would want to make Toxic Man or something useless like that? Not I, certainly. The second kind of PC (i.e. Mason) also gets to highlight certain questions about how much of the anti-Omega hysteria is generated by interest groups etc., which can become important.
For the record, I don't think "Omega Rights" aspects sound boring. It's kind of an important issue.
ReplyDeleteI see it as a different kind of epic than galactus-level things (and, in some ways, a more worthy one: you could change how the world perceives your 'kind', after all). Which isn't to say that every PC or NPC is interested in it, or thinks it at all viable.
ReplyDeleteSide note: while I forgot this in the post, the way the game is set up pretty means that people meeting most Omegas will be "okay, they got X but at cost Y and that seems a bit too high, so I wouldn't want that. Whereas humans vs. Alphas is a far more natural fit, in terms of threats and fear. The monster that looks just like you is, in the end, scarier than the one that doesn't, though few groups have gone this route in terms of propaganda or goals :)