[M&M 3e] Leviathans: Heroes in the Apocalypse (Open Recruitment ends 1/20)

[LostnotFound]

Leviathans
Heroes in the Apocalypse

We thought we were safe, that nothing could bring down what we had built. Not with the heroes watching over us. After years of conflict, we had reached an era of unprecedented peace and cooperation. Crime rates were down, governments were working together to deescalate wars around the globe, and even pollution was on the decline. All thanks to the super humans we called heroes. They had changed the world, and even the super villains who opposed them had largely gone into hiding. We thought we were safe...we were wrong.

No one knows for sure where they came from. Some say they are aliens, descended from the stars to destroy and conquer. Others claim they are from beneath the Earth, ancient beings now returned to claim what was always theirs. They have many names, these bringers of the end. Mythics, Dreadnoughts, Velikan, Primals. No matter what name people use, it doesn’t change the fact that they arrived without warning, and tore our world apart. Civilization collapsed, humanity was brought to the very brink of extinction, and these creatures, these Leviathan, now stand at the top of the evolutionary ladder.

Humanity survives now in just a handful of strongholds. Small cities that have managed to hold out thanks to what remains of the super hero population. Even former villains have turned protectors in these difficult times, lending their power to the safety and continued existence of mankind. Because while some of the creatures are benign and even beautiful, many of them are dangerous, hostile monsters that seem intent on wiping us out. Our only hope lies with the supers, those who put themselves in harms way to defeat the monsters.

Spoiler: Leviathan Classifications

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Leviathan come in four known categories that define what type of creature they are. They are further broken down into ranks from 1 to 10 which define how large and/or hostile they are, with Rank 1 being small and/or benign and 10 being city sized and extremely hostile.

Mythics

Spoiler: Mythic

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Mythics are the least dangerous form of leviathan. They take the form of, usually, beautiful creatures. Sometimes similar to birds or insects, other times wholly exotic and alien in appearance, they are always defined by brilliant colors and a calm, often docile nature. Mythic rarely attack another living being, and only present a threat to human colonies by consuming natural resources or other wildlife in the region. Most Mythics can be driven off without the need to kill them.

Primals

Spoiler: Primal

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Primals are versions of Earth’s native wildlife grown to Leviathan proportions. While not entirely harmless, they still maintain the same natural instincts and dispositions of their normal counterparts. This means that a Primal cow is not going to attack human settlements or behave in an aggressive manner, but a Primal Snake or Tiger could prove a serious threat. Actions taken against Primals largely depend on the species, but many can be driven away without killing them.

Velikan

Spoiler: Velikan

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Velikan are elemental Leviathan that are primitive and hostile. They are roughly humanoid in shape. They vary in exact proportions and appearance, but are defined by the elemental that makes up their form, be it ice, fire, electricity ect. Attempts to communicate with a Velikan are always met with aggression, and they tend to be fiercely territorial. They are extremely rare, with only one or two being sighted each year, but they can cause major chaos and damage. They almost never flee their chosen territory and must be killed.

Dreadnought

Spoiler: Dreadnought

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Dreadnought are the most dangerous and terrifying class of Leviathan. They do not have a regular appearance, being amorphous creatures made up of many appendages and a central mass, but are capable of mimicking the form and abilities of other creatures. They are all black, as if they are made of living oil, and glow from within with a red light. They are extremely aggressive and will not hesitate to attack anything they encounter, even other Leviathan, and they seem instinctively drawn to human populations. When discovered, they must be hit hard and killed quickly or they will wreck terrible death and destruction on a region. Luckily they are also the rarest of the Leviathan, with the last known sighting being over five years ago.

Spoiler: Sixteen

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1. What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?
Mutants and Masterminds 3e

2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eg. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?
This is a post-apocalyptic super hero game in which the world has been devastated by the appearance of Leviathans, gigantic creatures that come in many forms. Some of them are benign and only present a threat due to their size and effect on the ecosystem, others are ravenous monsters that hunt humans.

Most of the populations has been killed, leaving only a few dozen small cities left. The only thing protecting these strongholds of humanity are the remaining super humans of the world. Mostly heroes who continue to fight to protect people, some are reformed villains now just trying to survive like everyone else.

3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?
I will be accepting 4-6 total players for this game

4. What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?
PbP at Giant in the Playground

5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
This game will begin with characters at PL 14 with 210 power points

6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?
No limitations so long as you are within the rules of the system

7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
This is not truly applicable to this system. I will be looking for interesting characters with powers that fit into the setting (which is most things).

8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
I would prefer humans (or former humans), but things like robots and mythical beings are okay too. No aliens though.

9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?
As previously stated characters are PL 14 with 210 Power Points to spend

10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?
Characters in this game can be of any temperament. Both heroes and former villains are equally viable, as well as anything in between. HOWEVER, everyone has to work together and have the same general goal of protecting humanity.

11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Doesn’t apply

12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?
Players will roll their own dice for all appropriate situations and post results in the game thread

13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.
No homebrew, variant or optional rules. Stick to the rules as written.

14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
Please include an origin story for your character. Tell me who they are. Where did they get their powers? What did they do before the Leviathans came (it’s been about eight years)?

15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
Player’s choices will determine how the game plays out. I tend to lean more toward roleplaying over roll-playing. But you can expect battles with giant monsters and a mystery revolving around the Leviathans origins and purpose.

16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
Players may use any M&M 3E book

[Modigar]

This sounds like a pretty interesting setting, need to think a bit more about a concept though.

[Heavenblade]

Ill submit a character for that!

He comes from a family (preferrably second generation at the very least) of supers that inherit their powers and have specialized over the years in hunting the leviathans, making a buisness out of it.

They were succesful enough to buy for themsepves their own castle-airship hybrid and start a family buisness, deciding to take on identities that represent legendary hunters from ancient mythologies and stories (Nimrod, Ishmael, Esau, Queequeg, Gilgamesh, Artemis, skadi...)


His brother was supposed to inherit the powers, but he was determined to show the world what he can do. He stole/designed the tech that would allow him to deal with the mighty beasts and went on a journey to make himself a name in the field of destroying leviathans.


Still have no idea about the power I will have, and I might throw in an arc of stealing the power from his brother, but Im not sure yet

[Modigar]

Currently considering a psychic-type character with a lot of telekinesis and teleportation themed stuff, possibly in such a way that the character is capable of one or the other at any given point in time, but not both, if I can figure out a good way to represent that mechanically that isn't "put a bunch of arrays inside another array".

[LostnotFound]

He comes from a family (preferrably second generation at the very least) of supers that inherit their powers and have specialized over the years in hunting the leviathans, making a buisness out of it.

The Leviathan have only been around for nine years, and the apocalypse happened eight years ago. Not really long enough to have formed a generational family business around hunting them.

[Llyarden]

Is there any particular origin for supers? Like, are all metahumans mutants or something, or is it a big kitchen sink?

[Heavenblade]

The Leviathan have only been around for nine years, and the apocalypse happened eight years ago. Not really long enough to have formed a generational family business around hunting them.

Oh, ok...Ill think of another concept

(I just assumed that since people have built cities it was more time then that)

[LostnotFound]

Oh, ok...Ill think of another concept

(I just assumed that since people have built cities it was more time then that)

They didn't build new cities. They are living in and fortifying small cities or parts of larger cities that already existed.

Manhattan island is an example. The rest of NYC is ruins, but the island is still inhabited.

[Binks]

I would love to toss my hat in the ring for this, sounds awesome. I've been trying to find an excuse to play a sort of redeemed minor villain character in a superhero game for some time now, and the end of the world seems like a perfectly good reason both for them to switch sides and for people to accept them.

As for powers, will probably be looking at a speedster. I want to get away from the generic sort of 'speed force' stuff that's typical to them and find a more interesting take on it, but not sure exactly what yet (thinking wind elementalist who can speed his body up but thinks at normal speed for now, but we'll see).

[gac3]

I'm interested. No idea what yet. I am also curious about the origins of superheroes. Is it a kitchen sing approach?

Currently considering a psychic-type character with a lot of telekinesis and teleportation themed stuff, possibly in such a way that the character is capable of one or the other at any given point in time, but not both, if I can figure out a good way to represent that mechanically that isn't "put a bunch of arrays inside another array".

Never done what I am about to suggest so it might be a bad idea. What about taking one of the power sets as an enhanced trait with reduce trait flaw that would reduce the other one.

[Rhyvurg]

Character concept is an otherdimensional conqueror who's made several attempts to subjugate the Earth. He sees himself as a higher form of life, because in his dimension humanity evolved faster and reached a much higher level of technology and power, but this utopia was boring and left to room for advancement so he started looking for other Earths for greater opportunities. He claims the advent of the leviathans has left him stranded and without access to the technology that made him a global threat, reducing him from a force of nature to merely godlike. That, and the fact he sees this planet as his by right, has motivated him to preserve humanity and eliminate these interloping beasts.

Spoiler: Sheet

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First draft
Power Level 14
Power Points: 210

Abilities: 34ppts
Str: 0
Dex: 0
Agi: 0
Sta: (17)18
Int: 0
Awa: 0
Pres: 0
Fight: 0

Initiative: +24
Toughness: +18
Fort: +18
Dodge: +10 (9)
Will: +0
Parry: +10 (9)

Skills: 16ppts
Intimidation +16, Insight +16, Perception +16, Expertise: Physical Science +10

Advantages: 13ppts
Assessment, Diehard, Fearless, Extraordinary Effort, Improved Initiative (6), Power Attack, Ultimate Effort (Toughness saves, Str checks)

Powers: 145ppts
Immunity 30 (Will saves, Aging, Life Support, Innate) 42ppts
Damage 14 (Physical, Accurate 7, Innate) 22ppts
Enhanced Strength 23 (200,000 tons, Innate) 24ppts
Impervious Toughness 14 (Innate) 15ppts
Growth 1 (Permanent, Innate) 3ppts
Flight 4 (30mph) 5ppts
Cosmic Might (Cosmic, Alternate 9)
-Supreme Might (Damage 14, Ranged, Accurate 7, Multiattack, Penetrating 4) 33ppts
-Command Gravity (Flight 15, 64,000mph)
-Command Energy (Nullify 14, Energy, Reaction: When attacked with ranged damage with an energy descriptor)
-Command Matter (Transform 8, inanimate matter only)
-Command Space (Teleport 8, Portal, 1 mile)
-Command Force (Move Object 8, 6 tons, Perception, Split Attack, Affects Insubstantial)
-Command Mortals (Affliction 14, Sense Dependent: Audio, nullified by Immunity: Aging, vs Will, Entranced/Defenseless/Paralyzed)
-Command Self (Heal 14, Linked: Nullify Affliction 14)

[Quellian-dyrae]

Posting interest, not sure as what yet though.

[Leliel]

I'm interested as one of the superheroes born of the new world - I'm thinking someone who's discovered he can communicate with a birdlike Mythical, or otherwise can assume a giant monster body in some way to suppress the attacks of a Leviathan, but I'm cool with a more conventional one if that's not what you have in mind (aka, you want everyone to be more Shadow of the Colosssus).

[Modigar]

As far as background is concerned, would an artificially created human based on discoveries made by studying the Leviathans work? Given the timings I imagine they'd have been rushed to the point of being battle-ready and thrown onto the battlefield the next time a Leviathan popped up nearby.

[Shadowflick]

Posting interest! Im thinking of playing a kind of kamen Rider/Power Ranger inspired character. Im thinking that he wasn't powered before the leviathans arrived, but he received his powers after the original incarnation of the hero died saving his life. As a last act to try and make sure his powers would do something, he transferred them over to my character

The Idea of the power is that they can summon parts of a giant Mecha contained in a pocket dimension for assistance, even summoning the entire mecha when things get veeery dangerous.

[LostnotFound]

Is there any particular origin for supers? Like, are all metahumans mutants or something, or is it a big kitchen sink?

I am also curious about the origins of superheroes. Is it a kitchen sing approach?

Pretty much anything is okay as long as it isn't alien related.

I'm interested as one of the superheroes born of the new world - I'm thinking someone who's discovered he can communicate with a birdlike Mythical, or otherwise can assume a giant monster body in some way to suppress the attacks of a Leviathan, but I'm cool with a more conventional one if that's not what you have in mind (aka, you want everyone to be more Shadow of the Colosssus).

It really minimizes the threat and impact of the Leviathan's scale if there is a hero who can grow to match them, and I definitely don't want a hero that can communicate/control one as that will interfere with the overall narrative of the game.

As far as background is concerned, would an artificially created human based on discoveries made by studying the Leviathans work? Given the timings I imagine they'd have been rushed to the point of being battle-ready and thrown onto the battlefield the next time a Leviathan popped up nearby.

I suppose the concept makes sense and would be a natural response to the threat. But I'm not enthusiastic about a hero built specifically to fight the Leviathan, let alone one who isn't going to be more than a few years old and wont have to deal with the issues of having lived through the collapse of human civilization and the subsequent struggle for survival in a post-apocalyptic world.

Posting interest! Im thinking of playing a kind of kamen Rider/Power Ranger inspired character. Im thinking that he wasn't powered before the leviathans arrived, but he received his powers after the original incarnation of the hero died saving his life. As a last act to try and make sure his powers would do something, he transferred them over to my character

The Idea of the power is that they can summon parts of a giant Mecha contained in a pocket dimension for assistance, even summoning the entire mecha when things get veeery dangerous.

No. This really isn't the kind of character I'm looking for for this game. Sentai and sentai adjacent style super heroes are far to silly to fit in the setting, as are giant mecha.

[Shadowflick]

That's fair enough! Sentai can be pretty wacky. Though, I wills ay, if you want the Leviathans to be a big threat and don't want supers who can casually grow to there strength, why put the Power level at 14? Since that's the PL that's supposed to be that powerful. Why not say that all the PL 14 heroes died trying to fight the leviathans during there first arrival? Why not make the Power Level 8 or 10? That way the characters are still far above average humans, but they'd only be able to fight a leviathan through teamwork?

[Glitchy]

I'm interested. I have no idea what type of character to make, but I'm interested.

[LostnotFound]

That's fair enough! Sentai can be pretty wacky. Though, I wills ay, if you want the Leviathans to be a big threat and don't want supers who can casually grow to there strength, why put the Power level at 14? Since that's the PL that's supposed to be that powerful. Why not say that all the PL 14 heroes died trying to fight the leviathans during there first arrival? Why not make the Power Level 8 or 10? That way the characters are still far above average humans, but they'd only be able to fight a leviathan through teamwork?

Two things.

1. I don't mind a hero having strength equal to a Leviathan, it's size I'm talking about.

2. You're assuming the Leviathan are equal in PL to your characters and forgetting that there are 10 ranks of threat for them. The weakest (Rank 1) are PL 12. The high rank ones (which are obviously very rare) are world breakers. A rank 10 Dreadnought (which has never appeared) is a threat on the level of Galactus. Hence you need world saving super heroes to fight them.

[gac3]

Power wise I'm picturing Cyborg from DC but with with magic artifacts instead of technology. Would this work?

[Leliel]

Figured that kaiju-on-kaiju may be out. I'm thinking maybe a more mystical character, like a revenant whose whole thing is that he serves as living bait for Leviathans when fighting, since he can't be any more dead and he can harry a Leviathan that tries to eat him through poisons in his body, or a werebat descended (at least through infection) from the Minyades who has figured out that some Leviathans have trouble when suddenly blinded by his darkness powers and is just as much here to avenge several of his beloved cave systems being collapsed by them as he is to ensure his people survive, with enough humans who live that his clan has more potential werebats to draw from.

[BananaPhone]

I tried making a Homelander-style character, but with all Superman-esque chars I just didn't have the points.

So I'm thinking of submitting a magntism controller.

[Llyarden]

How powerful can characters be on pure skill and mundane equipment alone? I'm kinda tossing up between two (or, well, two-and-a-half) concepts - the first being an 'unpowered' character (with the possibility of them instead having a power that makes them better at fighting etc without any overt supernatural abilities) and the second being some kind of elemental manipulator.

[Modigar]

I suppose the concept makes sense and would be a natural response to the threat. But I'm not enthusiastic about a hero built specifically to fight the Leviathan, let alone one who isn't going to be more than a few years old and wont have to deal with the issues of having lived through the collapse of human civilization and the subsequent struggle for survival in a post-apocalyptic world.

That's fair. Would someone who was a baseline human when they showed up and was instead modified based on those observations of the Leviathans be any better, or would you rather I try out something else?

[Heavenblade]

Spoiler: background - IG spoliers I guess...?

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Toying with the concept of a character that was like 10 years old when the invasion begun, and one of his parents/siblings decided to keep his job as a super and fight the eleviathans, taking me with him.

Throughout the year he became a pretty well known super, with my character being his "guy in the chair"

Until a few weeks ago, when the sibling have disappeard (or died, I havent decided yet), and it is up to my character to take the mantle and try to live up to the legendary name of her sister, knowing that if the truth would be revealed it would cause despair and fear within the communities that counted on my character's sister as the means to their survival.


Planning to focus on the themes of what it means to be a hero, born heroes vs made ones, etc.

[Silent_p]

Interesting setting! I will get to work on a concept.

[Rhyvurg]

I tried making a Homelander-style character, but with all Superman-esque chars I just didn't have the points.

So I'm thinking of submitting a magntism controller.

PL 14? Sure man it's easy. His official DC Adventures stats are only PL 15, adjusting for the lower PL caps and getting rid of his HQ advantage (and fixing his in-character but mechanically atrocious ability score purchases) getting him in line with this game would be easy.

[Warlawk]

Very cool concept, this may be a better fit for an idea I have than L's dragon game would be. Will roll it around in my head a little.

[Izzarra]

I very much would like to participate in this.
Here is Kimiko Jinkawa aka Joule the energy controller.

[BananaPhone]

PL 14? Sure man it's easy. His official DC Adventures stats are only PL 15, adjusting for the lower PL caps and getting rid of his HQ advantage (and fixing his in-character but mechanically atrocious ability score purchases) getting him in line with this game would be easy.

Yeah he might be PL 15/16, but he's got 300 PP, 30% more than what we have .