International Super Teams

[FreakyBoy]

In 1982, the UN issued a bold decree, outlawing the possession and deployment of two great weapons of mass destruction: Strategic Nuclear Warheads and Military Superteams. The growing threat of a super-powered showdown between Western and Communist nations spurred the declaration, and the revelation of a heretofore unknown network of supers directly under UN employ - made up of independent contractors, volunteer teams from smaller member nations, and the secret UN team that had recently been deployed to counter Soviet incursion into Afghanistan. This network became the base of the UN International Super Teams (IST), the UN metahuman police squads mandated with the enforcement of these decrees and to protect human life around the globe.

Life flourishes in the Milky Way, thanks in large part to a mysterious race known to humanity as "The Seeders". The Seeders are rarely seen, never spoken with, and seem to move with only one goal: spreading intelligent life throughout the galaxy. They visit planets with intelligent life and shape its ecosphere, leaving the seeds of sapience behind them. When the Seeders cultivate a world, they grant two gifts of potential: for intelligence, and for a racial superpower.

Since 1990, Earth has had regular contact with alien species, and certain facts about the Seeders and superpowers have been discovered. Every other intelligent race in the galaxy has a single racial superpower, common to all members of a race; for example, the Meeranar of Myrr, the first race encountered by humanity, all possess the ability to feel the emotions of those around them, making them master traders and highly sensitive to disagreement (thus cultivating a deep sense of cooperation and diplomacy). The Bhurgar of Baal, which is ten times the mass of Earth, on the other hand all possess great strength and resilience, enabling them to survive and thrive under Baal's massive gravity.

The Seeders also visited Earth. Their first visit (estimated to have been in the late Cretaceous) yielded little potential, and so they made adjustments and left. When they returned, they found potential in Homo erectus, and planted in them the seeds of intelligence and super-potential. But something went wrong; a hyper-active sun mere millennia after their interference meddled in their crafted evolution, and instead of a single racial super-power, humanity's potential was suppressed, manifesting instead as keen intelligence and adaptability.

Until 1924, only a rare handful of individuals ever displayed any super-power. The few that did were viewed as saints and mystics, to be venerated or destroyed at the whim of the crowd. But in 1924, Earth was bathed in a gamma wave from a distant nova. The radiation passed unnoticed, but awoke some of the Seeder power genes now extant in every human being.

Mankind regained its birthright of superpowers, but without evolution to shape it, it is an unpredictable inheritance. Of all the worlds in the galaxy, only on Earth do no two people possess the same superpower.

The ISTs finished their deployment around the world in 1992, with every member nation enjoying the protection of their own IST and most large countries hosting two or three. The largest nations - the United States, the United Russian Republics, China and India - can host a dozen or more. Only the few rogue nations that left the UN in protest of their declaration in 1982 - including Libya, Iran, and North Korea - remain outside the protection of the IST forces, though most employ local super-human forces in similar fashions.

[FreakyBoy]

History

Super humans have had some significant effects of the flow of history as we know it, especially in the past fifty years. Starting with clashes between metahumans of the Axis and Allied forces in World War II, superpowers have changed the flow of history in several key ways.

In 1952, a psychic is discovered to have corrupted key members of Britain's courts, resulting in twenty years of debate and violence surrounding the ethics (or lack thereof) of those with mental powers.

In 1957, aided by metahuman protesters marching beside Blacks and concerned white citizens, the Civil Rights Act is passed in the United States.

In 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion, aided by US and Cuban exile metahumans, is successful and a pro-US government is seated.

In 1962, a UN resolution forces the US to withdraw from Cuba, and Castro's guerrillas collapse the government and seize power.

In 1963, JFK is assassinated. One of the US's first supers, a psychic named X, commits suicide over his inability to precog the event. In this same year, the Native American hero Thunderbird becomes the first super to sponsor a product, leading to the creation of an independent Metahuman Ethics Committee in the US.

In 1968, assassination attempts on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy are both thwarted by metahuman bodyguards, though Bobby is seriously injured and retires from politics.

In 1969, the metahuman lobbying organisation, POWER (Paranormals Only Want Equal Rights) is founded to counter Nixon administration attempts at a draft and registration for all metahumans.

In 1970, two metahumans assigned to the National Guard (Whipsaw and Slammer) jump in the path of the bullets when the Guard opens fires on the students. Two are killed, eleven are wounded. In anger, Whipsaw kills two guardsmen who fired, and is arrested for murder.

In 1972, Whipsaw becomes the first hero convicted of a crime, sentenced to two consecutive 15-year sentences. In the same year, Martin Luther King, Jr. wins a seat in the US Senate on the Democratic ticket.

In 1973 and 1974, Right to Privacy laws, pushed by the Bonded Telepaths' Organisation, are passed in most Western nations, outlawing unwelcome telepathic invasion.

In 1979, the Soviets "invade" Afghanistan against UN protest; UN superteam is secretly recruited to oppose their action.

In 1980, 55 hostages are seized at the US Embassy in Iran. Quick action by the US Superteam rescues most hostages, though five are killed before the supers could intervene. In the same year, the US Supreme Court finds that the 1974 Personal Privacy Act outweighs the government's "need to know". Mental search warrants are outlawed. The UN deploys their secret superteam against Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Carter re-elected.

1982, the first bionic limb is constructed. UN bans national superteams and strategic nuclear weapons, unveiling their own metahuman forces to enforce the ban. First IST forces deployed (in the US, Britain, France, China, and the USSR). Libya, Iran, and North Korea, among other nations, withdraw from the UN in protest.

In 1984, Ronald Reagan wins the US Presidency.

In 1985, African metahumans form an "impromptu" superteam and attempt to overthrown the South African government, and the subsequent slaughter by the South African superteam shocks the world. An incursion into Angola almost plunges all of southern Africa into war. The UN intervenes, but its African IST forces are barely sufficient to push back the South African team. South Africa suffers years of sanctions following this action.

In 1986, the genes for superpowers were discovered, as well as the genes for human intelligence - and both are entangled in the same portions of DNA, inextricably mixed. Philosophical, ethical, and theological debates explode around the implications of this. South Africa begins genetic screening of all newborns.

In 1988, in an attempt to foster glasnost and goodwill, Premier Gorbachev offers to disband "unofficial" Soviet military superteams if the US does likewise; President Reagan initially rebuffs the overture in an attempt to win patriotic votes in the upcoming election. A King/Dukakis Democratic ticket defeats the Reagan re-election bid; King's first official act as President is to accept Premier Gorbachev's overtures.

In 1989, an assassination attempt against Senator King on inauguration day is thwarted by Secret Service Metahumans. The White Wizard, long metahuman champion of the KKK, is killed in the attempt. In the same year, US scientists announce successful development of cold (room-temperature) fusion power. The technology quickly sweeps across the globe, forever changing economic realities and consequences. Later that year, IST Vancouver contains an oil spill in Alaskan waters by a crippled Texxon tanker.

In 1990, first contact of aliens is made public, as an Earth-Myrr trading route is established using Meeranar ships. The PLO deploys tacnukes against the West Bank in retaliation against the murder of eight Palestinians by a crazed Israeli militiaman. Saddam Hussein's Iraq invades Kuwait and, after a quick UN vote and months of sanctions with no troop withdrawal, international forces are deployed to expel Iraqi forces. IST Baghdad arrests Hussein and holds him for war crimes tribunals.

In 1991, a Shiite-led militia stabilises a chaotic Iraq and a Mullah-led coalition takes control of the Government. Saddam Hussein is tried at the Hague and found guilty of war crimes. He and his sons are imprisoned for life.

In 1992, De Klerk orders the seizure of the South African superteam to stand trial for their involvement in the 1986 Angola invasion. IST forces are established in all member nations, with new chapters opening in most major nations.

In 1993, Apartheid ends in South Africa after the sentencing of the former South African superteam. De Klerk and Nelson Mandela share Nobel Prize.

In 1994, Mandela is elected President of South Africa.

By 1995, fusion power has spread throughout the world. Cheap, efficient energy is now the norm, and only the most backwards and paranoid of countries are without at least a single fusion generator. World energy markets crash as the cost of energy approaches zero.

In 1997, radical Islamic priests take control of the Iraqi Parliament. Dozens of supers are killed in the ensuing riots, branded as demons and tools of the devil. Late that year, IST Baghdad is struck by multiple tacnukes, resulting in the loss of the entire IST force stationed there. Iraq withdraws from the UN.

In 1998, Democrats lose fifty years of control in the US Congress as a wave of Republicans elected on the back of anti-metahuman sentiment sweep into control.

In 2000, G.W. Bush narrowly defeats President Clinton's bid for re-election, running on a platform of metahuman control and registration.

In 2001, after a long two-year war against its neighbour Iraq over minor points of religious doctrine and metahuman theology, Iran rejoins the UN. IST Tehran is quickly established as democratic reforms spread in the country. The Iran-Iraq border is patrolled heavily by IST forces.

In 2003, the Super Powers Registration Act is signed by President Bush, forcing the unmasking and registration of all American supers. Several prominent heroes go vigiliante, thwarting the law and attempts of capture by both normal and metahuman police forces.

In 2004, President Bush wins re-election after a rash of supposed domestic terrorism committed by vigilante supers.

In 2005, the Super Powers Registration Act is struck down by the Supreme Court as Unconstitutional, citing twenty-five year old precedent. Public apologies are issued to many vigilante supers by Congress, but President Bush refuses to issue pardons.

In 2006, a new Democratic Congress impeaches President Bush. During the trial, it is revealed that the President was really a low-level telepath whose folksy charm was a byproduct of his super-ability. Vice President Cheney is sworn in, and impeached three days later, as further investigations show his involvement in staging the domestic terrorism incidents in 2004. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is sworn in as President; her first official action is to issue Presidential pardons for all vigilantes of the past four years.

In 2007, The UN issues a resolution to intervene in Iraq after reports of its decade long fatwa against Arabic and especially Kurdish metahumans makes global headlines. UN-backed US forces invade the country.

In 2008, a new coalition government, formed primarily of Kurds, Sunni, and moderate Shiite Muslims, is established in Iraq. Sirwan al Swabi, a Kurd, is elected President of Iraq. President Pelosi declines re-election, returning to her seat in Congress. Speaker Kucinich wins a close primary and goes on to win the largest electoral victory in US history.

In 2009, IST Baghdad reopens.

[AncientMemories]

Shiny! And awesome. What should we do to make characters?

[Skitzophrenik]

Wait.

I'm in like Flint. Yeah I'm going on vacation for a week on Saturday, but I. Don't. Care.

[Grillick]

Tracy would work a lot better as a member of an already existing super team who were all already aware of her powers. I'd love to play a carbon copy (with significantly less teen angst, and perhaps Super Intelligence instead of just a very high IQ) of her in this game, if nobody objects.

[AncientMemories]

I'm in like Flint.

Isn't that saying "In like Flynn?" Linky

[Skitzophrenik]

I meant what I said.

[AncientMemories]

Ooh, shiny. didn't know that. Cool!

[Salamander]

I'll see what I can come up with. Any guidelines on power level, appropriate concepts, etc.?

[Dom/SlimKop]

Yes, very interested. Did you decide if you wanted a States side game, or an international one? Or are you leaving it up to us?

[FreakyBoy]

International Super Teams

The IST forces are the UN's metahuman police squads. Their prime duties are to act as a visible presence of the UN to deter (both passively and actively) the creation and stockpiling of nuclear weapons, and to protect human life. IST members are answerable only to the UN Security Council, but are encouraged to maintain good working relations with the authorities of the country or countries in which they are based. They are obligated to help the civil authorities in times of natural disaster, if such aid does not interfere with their UN duties.

Each IST is composed of at least eight supers, though some have up to 20. Teams are multinational in origin, with a maximum of two natives from the region where the team is stationed. All musk speak the language of the host country. Members are selected for skill more than for raw power; each team is assembled so that its members' skills complement each other. Psychological compatibility is also considered, but perfect matches are rare. UN psychologists have determined that minor incompatibilities often make for a more effective team!

Some IST members are conscripts from UN member nations who draft all metahumans; many others are volunteers. Pay is $6,500 per month, and team members have all living expenses covered, as well as a generous allowance for uniforms, "public relations", and the like. IST members are also encouraged to continue their educations, either at local universities or by private training, and the UN picks up the tab. The UN does its best to keep the enthusiastic loyalty of its super-police, and it is, for the most part, successful.

The IST cooperates fully with those members who wish to keep their identities secret, whether to preserve their own privacy or to protect their families from possible retaliation. Such members are known only by their "hero names," and will be provided with masked costumes or even cosmetic changes. Information about the former lives of these supers is available only on a need-to-know basis, and is licked in a single databank at the UN headquarters building.

IST members rotate on a three-week-on, one-week-off schedule; each team always has a minimum of six members on duty. IST "embassies" are comfortable, well-equipped and designed to blend in with their surroundings. For example, IST Tokyo is housed in an ordinary-looking downtown office building, while IST London is based in a Georgian manor. Each embassy is equipped with large scale defences and limited offensive capability, all powered by a miniature fusion reaction. In addition to the resident supers, a small force of highly-trained infantry, including a squad with battlesuits, is employed as guards and support crew.

Thus, each embassy is effectively a fortress. All embassy operations are overseen by a high-capacity mainframe computer, EM-shielded and buried in bedrock.

[FreakyBoy]

Okay, info-dump is done for now. The timeline is updated.

As for mechanics; this will be either a PL 10 M&M game, or a 500-point GURPS (3rd edition) game. It doesn't really matter to me which you do; they're pretty much equivalent. I'll let the players decide if they want to be IST Baghdad or members of IST LA. Both will have stories to tell.

If you don't know what the mechanics mean, basically you'll have a super with a small array of powerful abilities or lots of little ones. Spider-Man, the Flash, the X-Men, and basically any superhero that isn't Superman, Batman, or the Green Lantern is more or less a fair example of the appropriate power level.

If building in GURPS, you must take the advantage "IST Member"; this is a 65-point advantage that includes a Duty to the UN, some Reputation modifiers, and the Patronage of the UN itself. You must also buy at least 4 ranks of Military Rank in the IST (5 points per rank), with the head of an IST branch being a rank 6 or 7 individual. In M&M, these advantages are cosmetic to the system.

[Skitzophrenik]

I'd totally play a grown up post-Brickness James McCullen. Just a big flying punching damage soaking brick with a pretty face. Like the Big Blue Cheese himself minus the eye beams and freeze breath and other crazy stuff.

ITS Baghdad.

[Dom/SlimKop]

I'm with Skitz. Baghdad. I was considering a teleporter, or something of that nature. A scout type.

[FreakyBoy]

Just remember, kids: you are international symbols, not All-American Boys.

Nations with compulsory military service can produce nationalists in the IST, but American nationalists in the IST don't make a lot of logical sense.