Pre-Mutant NES

[Karalysia]

Mutant NES

Concept: I don't like X-men I've only seen the movies which sucked and never read any of the comics, but I thought that the social situation of mutants was extremely interesting, and intriguing, the whole mutant registration laws and oppression and the resistance and hunting them and so forth, it was really rather intriguing. So I was thinking that people could play as mutants with no relation to the X-men because the X-men suck except Wolverine (no you cannot be wolverine. Map would be North America for the most part, focused on the US.

Particularly the following stuff is what I would like to explore, you may use this as the basis for your characters if you wish.

Spoiler :

The conflict between mutants and normal humans is often compared to conflicts experienced by minority groups in America such as Jews, African Americans, Communists, LGBT characters, etc. Also on an individual level, a number of X-Men serve a metaphorical function as their powers illustrate points about the nature of the outsider.

"The X-Men are hated, feared and despised collectively by humanity for no other reason than that they are mutants. So what we have here, intended or not, is a book that is about racism, bigotry and prejudice."
Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont, 1981

* Anti-Semitism: Explicitly referenced in recent decades is the comparison between anti-mutant sentiment and anti-Semitism. Magneto, a Holocaust survivor, sees the situation of mutants as similar to those of Jews in Nazi Germany. At one point he even utters the words "never again" in a 1992 episode of the X-Men animated series. The mutant slave labor camps on the island of Genosha, in which numbers were burned into mutant's foreheads, show much in common with Nazi concentration camps, as do the internment camps of the classic "Days of Future Past" storyline. Another notable reference is in the third X-Men film, when asked by Callisto: "If you're so proud of being a mutant, then where's your mark?" Magneto shows his concentration camp tattoo, while mentioning that he will never let another needle touch his skin.

* Diversity: Characters within the X-Men mythos hail from a wide variety of nationalities. These characters also reflect religious, ethnic or sexual minorities. Examples of Jewish characters include Shadowcat, Sabra and Magneto, whilst Dust is a devout Muslim, Nightcrawler a devout Catholic, and Thunderbird is a follower of the Hindu faith. Storm (Ororo Munroe) represents two aspects of the African diaspora as her father was African American and her mother was Kenyan. Karma was portrayed as a devout Catholic from Vietnam, who regularly attended Mass and confession when she was introduced as a founding member of the New Mutants. This team also included Wolfsbane (a devout Scots Presbyterian), Danielle Moonstar (a Cheyenne Native American) and Cannonball, and was later joined by Magma (a devout Greco-Roman classical religionist). Different nationalities included Wolverine as a Canadian, Colossus from Russia, Banshee from Ireland, Gambit who is a Cajun, Psylocke from the U.K., Armor from Japan, Nightcrawler from Germany, etc.

* LGBT Rights: Another metaphor that has been applied to the X-Men is that of LGBT rights. Comparisons have been made between the mutants' situation, including concealment of their powers and the age they realize these powers, and homosexuality.[15] Several scenes in the X-Men films, two of which were directed by openly gay director Bryan Singer, illustrate this theme. The first film featured a scene in which Senator Robert Kelly questioned whether mutants should be allowed to teach children in school, mirroring such debates as that over Section 28, in which Sir Ian McKellen (who played Magneto in the film, and who is also openly gay) was involved. Bobby Drake "comes out" as a mutant to his parents in X2. In response, Bobby's mother condescendingly asks him, "Have you tried not being a mutant?" referencing the belief that homosexuality is not inherent but rather a lifestyle choice. Also in X2, Nightcrawler has a conversation with Mystique in which he asks her why she doesn't use her shapeshifting ability to blend in among non-mutant humans all the time (an option Nightcrawler evidently wishes he had). Mystique replies simply, "Because we shouldn't have to." In the comics series, gay and bisexual characters include Anole, Destiny, Karma, Mystique, Northstar, Graymalkin, Rictor, Shatterstar and the Ultimate version of Colossus. Transgender issues have also been explored in mutants' ability to "pass" as non-mutants—in the origin of Angel, he binds his wings.[16] Shapechangers like Mystique can change gender at will. The comic books delved into the AIDS epidemic during the early 1990s with a long-running plot line about the Legacy Virus,[17] a seemingly incurable disease similarly thought at first to attack only mutants. Ironically, while the X-Men had the Legacy Virus, they are incapable of getting AIDS due to their genetic mutation being able to combat the disease. A similar storyline appeared in the X-Men animated series that aired in the 1990s.

* Racism: Professor X has come to be compared to civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and Magneto to the more militant Malcolm X. The X-Men’s purpose is sometimes referred to as achieving "Xavier’s dream," perhaps a reference to King’s historic "I Have a Dream" speech. Magneto, in the first film, quotes Malcolm X with the line "By any means necessary." X-Men comic books have often portrayed mutants as victims of mob violence, evoking images of the lynching of African Americans in the age before the American civil rights movement. Sentinels and anti-mutant hate groups such as Friends of Humanity, Humanity's Last Stand, the Church of Humanity and Stryker's Purifiers are thought to often represent oppressive forces like the KKK giving a form to denial of civil rights and amendments. In the 1980s, the comic featured a plot involving the fictional island nation of Genosha, where mutants were segregated and enslaved by an apartheid state. This is widely interpreted as having been a reference to the situation in South Africa at the time.

* Red Scare: Occasionally, undercurrents of the "Red Scare" are present. Senator Robert Kelly's proposal of a Mutant Registration Act is similar to the efforts of United States Congress to effectively ban Communism in the United States. In the 2000 X-Men film Kelly exclaims, 'We must know who these mutants are and what they can do,' even brandishing a "list" of known mutants (a reference to Senator Joseph McCarthy's list of Communist Party USA members who were working in the government).[18]

* Subculture: In some cases, the mutants of the X-Men universe sought to create a subculture of the typical mutant society portrayed. The X-Men comics first introduced a band of mutants called the Morlocks. This group, though mutants like those attending Xavier's school, sought to hide away from society within the tunnels of New York. These Morlock tunnels served as the backdrop for several X-Men stories, most notably The Mutant Massacre crossover. This band of mutants illustrates another dimension to the comic, that of a group that further needs to isolate itself because society won't accept it. In Grant Morrison’s stories of the early 2000s, mutants are portrayed as a distinct subculture with “mutant bands” and a popular mutant fashion designer who created outfits tailored to mutant physiology. The series District X takes place in an area of New York City called "Mutant Town." These instances can also serve as analogies for the way that minority groups establish specific subcultures and neighborhoods of their own that distinguish them from the broader general culture. Director Bryan Singer has remarked that the X-Men franchise has served as a metaphor for acceptance of all people for their special and unique gifts. The mutant condition that is often kept secret from the world can be analogous to feelings of difference and fear usually developed in everyone during adolescence.

* Religion: Religion is an integral part of several X-Men storylines. It is presented as both a positive and negative force, sometimes in the same story. The comics explore religious fundamentalism through the person of William Stryker and his Purifiers, an anti-mutant group that emerged in the 1982 graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. The Purifiers believe that mutants are not human beings but children of the devil, and have attempted to exterminate them several times, most recently in the "Childhood's End" storyline. By contrast, religion is also central to the lives of several X-Men, such as Nightcrawler, a devout Catholic, and Dust, a devout Sunni Muslim who observes Islamic Hijab. This recalls the religious roots of social activists like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, as well as their opponents such as the Ku Klux Klan or Nathuram Godse (the Hindu radical who assassinated Gandhi).

Character:

Most of you will probably be mutants, but you don't have to be. Some of you can be anti-mutant people and try to hunt them or whatever. DO NOT RIP OFF THE X-MEN

Name:
Age:
Occupation: (I will approve occupation, depending on what your mutant power is, you may not get your chosen occupation due to mutant discrimination. You will be paid less due to mutant discrimination.)
Location: (Where do you live/where are you)
Physical Description: (Your physical characteristics, possibly a picture provided you're not completly ripping off the X-men.)
Mutant Powers/Abilities: (Shoot lighting, regeneration, ESP whatever, be creative)
Other Skills: (other skills you might have like musical talent or woodworking, or good at math)
Possessions: (I will decide this based on your background, age, occupation, and so forth)
Injuries: None
Affiliation: None (Any group you might join, or form or whatever)
Followers: 0 (Anyone who has decided you're worth following if you decide to be a leader)
Background: (Whats with you and your life. What made you who you are today.)

Orders: Orders are done through a combination of stories to develop your characther and deal with major events, along with a list of actions

Updates: Updates are 2 weeks long each. It will deal with how well your actions succed, your interactions with NPCs and each other and so forth. I would also throw in events that may or may not affect you. It would be pretty opened ended you could start a rebel group, go on a rampage with your powers, or fight people that go on rampages, start a mutant mafia, Whatever.

NPC's: The federal government, other mutants and mutant groups, anti-mutant groups, the general public


Background: It is January 1st 2010. President Obama is in office while the Republicans have taken power in the House though the Democrats cling on in the Senate. No one really cares about gays because mutants are the greatest internal issue the United States faces. The mutants first began to really appear in the US around the 1970's when the pace of mutation for whatever reason began to pick up. Supposedly there have been mutants for hundreds or thousands of years however. Jesus might have been one. The mutation is genetic, and passed on by the father most likely. There is no cure. Mutants especially mutants with visible physical mutations face discrimination, lynchings, and attacks. The mutant rights movement has made little headway (nowhere near as much progress as gays) there is a Bureau of Mutant Affairs and some Democrats and Republicans supposedly support an expansion of mutant rights namely hate crimes laws and equal pay legislation but it's been stalled so far. As violence between mutants and humans increase there are mounting demands for things like Mutant Registration laws and other discriminatory legislation. Anti-Mutant hate groups have formed, some religiously inspired, others not vowing to exterminate mutants as abominations of god. Mutants have banded together to form their own groups and so forth. So far the situation is not yet bad enough for a race war, but there are fears it might get there if things continue to deteriorate.

So this is more or less the social situation. The world is pretty much ours, except with mutants and their assorted issues.

Map:

WTH do I need a map for?

 

[Karalysia]

This thread is for creating your characters and posting any ideas or modifications I should make to rules.

 

[Abaddon]

I guess this is also very similar to the recent "Hero" series?

Essentially I am thinking our mutations don't have to be so obviously visual like X-Men...?

 

[Haseri]

I have three ideas:

A trenchcoat wearing mutant-hater.

An anti-mutant politician/preacher that turns out to be a mutant himself (it would have to be a minor, concealable power).

A mind reader working for the TSA.

 

[Luckymoose]

Calling super genius toddler.

 

[erez87]

Name: Syson
Age: Unknown, estimated more than 6000 years, claims to be more 10000 years old
Occupation: none, Traveler
Location: Currently stays in Manhattan
Physical Description: A very old man. Dressed with brown rugged cloak covering most of his body. Looks like a hobo. He has an old wooden stick made of a cedar branch that helps him with walking.
Mutant Powers/Abilities: Immortality (Cannot ever die. He does age normally. If injured the pieces that fell teleport right back to their position and so he cannot be harmed).
Other Skills: In his long life he learned many skills to support himself through the ages and he pretty much has time to learn anything he pleases. He knows all languages and is highly skilled in debating in order to convince people to do stuff.
Possessions: Cedar stick
Injuries: None
Affiliation: None
Followers: 0
Background: Syson is an ancient human and perhaps one of the first mutants to ever live. He cannot die and does not need to eat or breath in order to live. He roams around the world looking for entertainment of any kind, a man as old as he is has seen much and he's bored. He is affiliated with no one and disguise himself as a useless hobo who lives in the streets, he looks almost the same since Roman days and apparently his aging stopped at around age 90 although his body continue to witter down slowly but that seem to not kill him. Most of his left leg has by now withered away and only bone is left.

 

[Karalysia]

I guess this is also very similar to the recent "Hero" series?

Essentially I am thinking our mutations don't have to be so obviously visual like X-Men...?

I suppose. I never watched Hero's.

Yeah they don't, but they can be if you want to.

Name: Syson
Age: Unknown, estimated more than 6000 years, claims to be more 10000 years old
Occupation: none, Traveler
Location: Currently stays in Manhattan
Physical Description: A very old man. Dressed with brown rugged cloak covering most of his body. Looks like a hobo. He has an old wooden stick made of a cedar branch that helps him with walking.
Mutant Powers/Abilities: Immortality (Cannot ever die. He does age normally. If injured the pieces that fell teleport right back to their position and so he cannot be harmed).
Other Skills: In his long life he learned many skills to support himself through the ages and he pretty much has time to learn anything he pleases. He knows all languages and is highly skilled in debating in order to convince people to do stuff.
Possessions: Cedar stick
Injuries: None
Affiliation: None
Followers: 0
Background: Syson is an ancient human and perhaps one of the first mutants to ever live. He cannot die and does not need to eat or breath in order to live. He roams around the world looking for entertainment of any kind, a man as old as he is has seen much and he's bored. He is affiliated with no one and disguise himself as a useless hobo who lives in the streets, he looks almost the same since Roman days and apparently his aging stopped at around age 90 although his body continue to witter down slowly but that seem to not kill him. Most of his left leg has by now withered away and only bone is left.

Immortality is one thing, but complete godlike invlunerability is another.

 

[Abaddon]

I want the ability to shift between Solid, Liquid and Gas at will...

 

[erez87]

He can be harmed and he does feel pain. He just doesn't die and returns to normal quickly.

 

[Karalysia]

Maybe, your body is/will be deteriorating. I would rather people avoid godlike mutant powers generally things like invlunerability, immortality, controlling time and space and so forth.

 

[DarthNader]

Name: Bronislav "Karakatitsa" Lelyushenko
Age: 43
Occupation: Taxi Driver
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Physical Description: Medium build with dark brown hair and green eyes. Fairly average looking.
Mutant Powers/Abilities: Active camouflage and thermographic vision.
Other Skills: Fluency in Russian, weapons proficiency (firearms and knives), keen senses, hand-to-hand combat, moderate driving skills, acrobatics, ice skating, cooking, and hunting.
Possessions:
Injuries: None
Affiliation: None
Followers: 0
Background: At the age of 7, Bronislav was whisked from his home in Tver by the KGB due to his odd ability of disguising himself. He was experimented upon and studied closely by Soviet scientists, which lead to an extension of Project Letsoh. The Soviets spent several years attempting to get his attributes into their agents, and failed. They then focused on trying to enhance Bronislav's abilities. The KGB, using strange procedures and surgeries, gave Bronislav the ability to see heat signatures at will, but this severely damaged his eyes, which have never fully healed. When he was 15, he was pressed into service by the KGB as an agent and trained in the arts of sabotage and assassination. It is believed he killed Philippine Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Bronislav tried to flee, but was captured and forced to serve as an agent for the FSB and GRU. In 2001, he managed to "retire" from duty for the Russian state and fled to the United States. He settled down in the neighborhood of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, New York where acquired a simple job and tried to live a low profile life since his immigration.

 

[SKILORD]

Name: Hugo
Ago: 29
Occupation: Thief
Location: Washington Heights (NYC)
Physical description: Lonhaired latino, dresses in black tees and blue jeans with a black bandana wrapped around his arm. Extremely wiry.
Mutant ability: Transmutes molecular compositions. Can change the common items he steals into gold or his kerchief into a steel plate. Cannot change an items shape, or for instance turn a rock into an ipod, just change what its made of.
Other skills: Speaks spanish, handy with guns from handguns to fully automatic rifles, although he prefers to use his kerchief in a fight. His love of left wing revolutionary traditions has also made him an able orator.
Posessions: Aforementioned kerchief, copies of Art of War and the Manifesto
Injuries: None
Affiliation: None
Followers: None
Background: Hugo was born on a coaca plantation in Peru where he worked against his will until his escape at !7. He then began what he percieved as a pilgramage to the very belly of the beast, the final destination for all of the cocaine that he had slaved to produce, New York City. Along his foot journey to that haven of imperial corruption he picked up stories of Guevara, of Bolivar, of the Tupamaros and the FARC and now he longs to force the powers that rule America, and through it the world, in such a corrupt and unjust manner to a conflict he views in very Catholic terms, as a righteous crusade.

 

[erez87]

But I like godlike, that's the whole point. And even in his case, he just lives on, apparently forever. He doesn't have any special powers other than living on.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Name: Mark Langevin
Age: 15
Occupation: None
Location: Okotoks, Alberta
Physical Description: Small for his age, with a messy mat of brown hair and hazel eyes.
Mutant Powers/Abilities: The ability to alter the density, but not the size, of his body.
Other Skills: Highly Independent, Thievery, 'Street Smarts'
Possessions:
Injuries: None
Affiliation: None
Followers: 0
Background: Mark was born in Lethbridge, Alberta in 1995. Raised in a troubled household with an alcoholic father and emotionally distant mother, Mark was nonetheless a gregarious child. However, as his home situation gradually deteriorated, with his father growing increasingly abusive over time and his mother becoming more of a non-factor in his life, he withdrew within himself as a defensive measure. This sign of vulnerability drew him to the constant attention of bullies, who would make his educational life a living hell well through elementary to middle school.

Ultimately finding himself bouncing between the homes of his now-divorced parents, Mark began to engage in acts of minor theft and vandalism, in what he might have later characterized as a desperate plea for attention, or as an attempt to impress his hostile or indifferent peers. This continued on into his first year of high school, at which point he had finally been pushed too far. Snapping against one of his tormentors, Mark retaliated with an impossibly strong punch which watermeloned his opponent's head. Fleeing the site in a panic, he would soon begin to discover his nascent power- the ability to shift the density of his body from one region to another. The effects could be seen in the tremendous mass shift into his fist moments before contact, and later in an ability to phase through solid objects in an extremely low-density form. A limitation to his ability was the fact that he could only shunt around density, not entirely remove it.

Evading the authorities pursuing him on charges of murder, and others pursuing him because of his mutation, Mark stole his father's car and, without farewell, set out southwards, to escape the last reminders of his old life.

 

[Shadowbound]

But I like godlike, that's the whole point. And even in his case, he just lives on, apparently forever. He doesn't have any special powers other than living on.

So you have no motivation, or ability, to do anything.

Poor character concept.

 

[das]

Name: "Michael" (Uriel Desota)
Age: 31
Occupation: None/Vigilante
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Physical Description: Large muscular broad-shouldered Caucasian man with short dishevelled black hair. Very youthful; looks ten years younger than he is. Looks rather simple, which isn't helped by the fact that he is smiling all the time. Wears an inexplicable bright yellow raincoat.
Mutant Powers/Abilities: "Charisma". Basically a passive telepathic effect that makes everyone more inclined to listen and obey (but it isn't total mind control - i.e. unreasonable commands will likely trigger a hostile reaction - and if people are actually aware of what is happening, they can resist). It also comes with a "social awareness" skill - when dealing with a crowd or with individuals face-to-face, "Michael" can effortlessly sense their prevailing mood, which allows him to see whether his primary ability is working as planned, as well as to sense hostile intent (but nothing beyond just the hostility). Given this ability it'd theoretically be difficult to prove that he is a mutant, but on the other hand, those who speak to him and do not become "converted" always mention that there is something that just feels off about this guy.
Other Skills: Hand-to-hand combat, oratory skills, knowledge and understanding of theology. Knowledge of Hebrew and Koine Greek. Also, cooking.
Possessions:
Injuries: None
Affiliation: The Messengers?
Followers: 0 (because he's only just about to get to work)
Background: "Michael" appeared in St. Louis out of nowhere a week ago and took to patrolling the streets with what seems to be a strange sense of purpose. Nothing else is known about him... to most people.

A thorough investigation might reveal, however, that he is likely either Uriel or Michael Desota - one of the two sons of Gabriel Desota, a more obvious mutant of a previous generation and the principal leader of the Messengers, a mutant-ran cult-like movement during the 1970s. In 1979 the leaders of the Messengers, Gabriel included, were gunned down by unknown assailants; the twins, however, disappeared and were never heard from again, some testimonies claiming that they were taken to be raised by one of the human members of the cult.

 

[erez87]

Just living for as long as humans have existed. The whole point behind the guy is that he is awfully bored and is looking for something entertainment after eons of existing...