Paragons of a Golden Age

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Prince Charon
Posts: 61
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:45 am

Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by Prince Charon »

Since Ronin Army is apparently gone, I'm migrating my settings here, starting with the one that's most complete (at least, complete until I or someone else gets new ideas for it).

The base concept of this setting is that the Breakout happened around 1938, if not earlier. Many of the same characters and organizations could exist at this time, but would need to be changed to fit the era better. Indeed, two of my later posts will describe said differences (and are the reason it took me so long to get this one ready, since I didn't want to leave the thread hanging like some of my other ideas, which I need to get back to). In a lot of cases, the backstory is the only aspect that needs changing (as opposed to converting the character sheets, which I don't intend to do unless I need to for my own hypothetical game, and no-one else has already done it). For some, the costume may also need alteration, but I lack the artistic skills to do them justice.

Paranormal Registration Acts (Paragons p23) may or may not pass in the various nations of this era. In the USA, such an Act would likely be part of draft legislation, or a new component of the New Deal, depending on the logic behind it. There might be different versions, associated with each, but if associated with the draft, might not pass until 1942; the Act might be less coercive than the draft, if the people in charge stop to think about how dangerous some of these people are, or it might not. In other nations, like Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union, a PRA is likely as soon as they acknowledge that this is really happening (and in the USSR, as soon as the Soviet government goes through the mental gymnastics needed to justify paranormals in communist ideology). Britain and France are likely to be somewhere in between, as will other nations. Japan is difficult to say, and China is in the Warlord era, so a coherent response is unlikely.

My intention is that this setting uses 3e rules, or at least it will if I'm running it, but it does use the Paragons and Golden Age books from M&M Second Edition, as I don't think I've seen 3e updates for them. Green Ronin once helpfully provided free Conversion Notes for 2e to 3e (which I can now only find on the Wayback Machine, hence the new link), so it's not that hard to use the old books for 3e games.

The conversion notes do not appear to include a conversion between the Wealth Bonus from 2e, so this is my approximation:

M&M 2e - M&M 3e

+4 or Less - Complication: Poor
+5 to +10 - No Benefit (Wealth) Advantage
+11 to +15 - Benefit (Wealth) 1
+16 to +20 - Benefit (Wealth) 2
+21 to +25 - Benefit (Wealth) 3
+26 to +30 - Benefit (Wealth) 4
+31 or higher - Benefit (Wealth) 5

Golden Age, p43 has a chart of military ranks which need very little in the way of adaptation. Apart from adjusting them for the ranks different nations or organizations (e.g. police forces) use, the biggest change is that the Wealth Bonus would need to be made far less granular, to be consistent with Benefit (Wealth) in 3e:

Army-style Ranks - +Wealth Bonus

0 Private (any grade), Specialist - +0
1 Corporal - +0
2 Sergeant (any grade) - +0
3 Warrant Officer (any grade), Lieutenant (any grade) - +0
4 Captain - +1
5 Major, Lieutenant Colonel - +1
6 Colonel, Brigadier General - +1
7 Major General - +2
8 Lieutenant General - +2
9 General - +2
10 General of the Army - +2


Navy-style Ranks - +Wealth Bonus

0 Seaman (most grades, or all grades in some services) - +0
1 Leading Seaman (aka Leading Rate, or Petty Officer Third Class in some services) - +0
2 Petty Officer (any grade) - +0
3 Warrant Officer (any grade), Midshipman, Ensign, Lieutenant Junior Grade - +0
4 Lieutenant - +1
5 Lieutenant Commander or Commander - +1
6 Captain or Commodore - +1
7 Rear Admiral - +2
8 Vice Admiral - +2
9 Admiral - +2
10 Fleet Admiral - +2


Royal Air Force-style Ranks - +Wealth Bonus

0 Aircraftman (any grade) - +0
1 Lance Corporal, or Corporal - +0
2 Sergeant (any grade), Warrant Officer - +0
3 Acting Pilot Officer, Pilot Officer, or Flying Officer - +0
4 Flight Lieutenant - +1
5 Squadron Leader or Wing Commander - +1
6 Group Captain or Air Commodore - +1
7 Air Vice-Marshal - +2
8 Air Marshal - +2
9 Air Chief Marshal - +2
10 Marshal of the Royal Air Force - +2


American Police-style Ranks - +Wealth Bonus

0 Police Technician, Police Officer, Patrol Officer, Police Detective (in some forces) - +0
1 Police Corporal, Police Detective (in some forces) - +0
2 Police Sergeant - +0
3 Police Lieutenant - +0 or +1
4 Police Captain - +1
5 Deputy Police Chief, Chief Deputy, Undersheriff, Major, Inspector - +1
6 Chief of Police, Sheriff, Colonel, Commissioner - +1
7 Commissioner (in large police forces) - +1 or +2


British Police-style Ranks - +Wealth Bonus

0 Special Police Constable, War Reserve Constable, Police Constable, Detective Constable - +0
1 Acting Police Sergeant, Acting Detective Sergeant - +0
2 Police Sergeant (any grade), Detective Sergeant (any grade) - +0
3 Police Inspector (any grade), Detective Inspector (any grade) - +0 or +1
3 Chief Inspector, Lieutenant, Detective Chief Inspector, Detective Lieutenant - +1
4 Superintendent (any grade), Detective Superintendent (any grade) - +1
5 Assistant Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable, Deputy Assistant Commissioner - +1
6 Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Chief Constable, Commissioner - +1
7 Commissioner (in large police forces) - +1 or +2


I had intended to make a table for FBI ranks, but I wasn't able to find out what the ranks were in the 1930s and '40s.
Prince Charon
Posts: 61
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:45 am

Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by Prince Charon »

Organizations

I'll be converting the Wealth levels of these organisations, but will be fudging some of them for verisimilitude. In most cases, I will be fudging them downward, because the world is still coming out of the Great Depression, and because of inflation, but in a few cases will revise them upwards a little. As in the book, some of these groups might not exist, or might not have formed yet, in your game. It's a decision GMs must make for themselves.

Church of Jesus Christ, Paragon (Paragons pp44-46) and The Holy Church of the Seven Thunders (Paragons pp82-85) are both Christian sects, operating in the USA, which is a nation that has a lot of Christians - indeed, in the 1930s and '40s, anyone openly not a Christian in the US is likely to be looked upon with suspicion, at best. Of course, at this time, even Christians from different branches of Christianity look on each other with suspicion, with hate crimes committed against Catholics, for example, not being all that rare (and certainly far more common than in the USA of the early 21st century). So, while they get some slack for being Christians, and the Seven Thunders get a bit more slack for being evangelical Protestants (the CoJCP is functionally a sect of the Greek Orthodox Church), members are likely to be on the receiving end of weird looks at best, and anyone who calls too much attention to themselves at the wrong place and time is certainly at risk of violence (more the CoJCP than the 7T). Then, of course, there is their interaction with each other, which as you might guess is extremely hostile, due to the CoJCP claiming that Christ was a Paragon, and that Paragons are holy, while the 7T considers Paragons to be demons. Encounters between the two groups are more likely to lead to violence than not.

The 3e Benefit (Wealth) level for the Church of Jesus Christ, Paragon in general varies from +2 to +3, with individual parishes varying from +0 to +1, and the Holy Transfiguration Monastery having Benefit (Wealth) 2. The Holy Church of the Seven Thunders has Benefit (Wealth) 3.


Forgone Conclusions (Paragons pp47-49). While modern private military corporations date from the 1960s, mercenaries have existed since at least the invention of money, possibly quite a lot longer, and companies providing security guards are not unusual in this era. Really, the biggest change is likely to be the technology available, and the risk of personnel being drafted.

Forgone Conclusions has Benefit (Wealth) 2.


Gordon Technology Unlimited (Paragons pp49-52) most likely does not do 'retro-futuristic' technology, but rather uses aesthetics in line with the latest in 1930s and '40s science fiction (so, the look of the tech is not much different from GTU in a modern Paragons game).

GTU has Benefit (Wealth) 1 in terms of liquid assets, though Jack Gordon himself likely has rather more.


The Harbingers (Paragons pp52-55) as a concept work fairly well as written, unless you're using historically accurate levels of bigotry (the illustration of Dr. Gaither on p54 suggests that he's either black, hispanic, or both, which at the time would make his life quite difficult in the USA). This is more a situation that would be role-played than roll-played, though - Dr. Gaither would have more difficulty with recruitment, and both he and Dr. Lewis could face a certain amount of insubordination within the organization, but there were women with Ph.Ds at the time, and black and/or hispanic men with Ph.Ds, and they were able to find work, and even get rich. Dr. Gaither's powers will help with this, of course, just not as much or as quickly as in a modern-day game. There's also the issue that the game is likely to be set before or during WWII, and Dr. Gaither and his converts believe the government has been infiltrated. The Harbingers are thus likely to end up opposing the government in various ways.

The Harbingers have Benefit (Wealth) 3.


The Initiative (Paragons pp55-57) is an international conspiracy that, at least in theory, controls the world from behind the scenes. However, this is an era in which globalism is in its infancy, and another world war is about to start. Certainly, video conferences, while possible (television has existed for some time, and the BBC even had TV service for a few years before the war began, starting in 1936), are extremely unlikely. Your narrative might benefit from the Initiative being scaled down to a single region or nation, or to a less powerful international group, or broken up into several rival conspiracies with divergent aims. Saeki Haruko, being a Japanese woman, will likely have more limited influence than she would in a modern-day game, even if you don't use era-appropriate levels of sexism. OTOH, she does fit the 'foreign femme fatale' image, if you wish to use that.

The Initiative has Benefit (Wealth) 5, or less if the GM decides to scale it down a bit.


MERLIN (Paragons pp57-60) works mostly as given, though the bits about hackers are likely anachronistic - while Jane Haskill is certainly smart enough to develop fairly advanced computers for the era, and even possibly invent the Internet, it's going to take some time to spread, especially with a war on (or about to be); Quicksilver Queen, if she exists at all, is going to need to be rather different to be as useful as she is in the write-up - perhaps a very skilled thief (removing the terrible injuries the modern version suffered), someone with the power to observe and manipulate physical paperwork at a distance, or perhaps someone remotely operating robots that look something like the robot that became the fake Maria in Metropolis (possibly with holographic or transformational abilities). The war is also going to be an issue with Jane's attitude toward secrecy - it may be best to moderate that, if you don't want the game to involve MERLIN field teams, or even Jane herself, on the run from the law with their assets frozen. On a more minor note, there are no abandoned missile silos for Jane to use as a base, though the need for same is going to be far less obvious before the atomic bomb becomes public knowledge.

MERLIN has Benefit (Wealth) 4 as an organization. Individual field leaders have effective Benefit (Wealth) 1 on top of whatever funds they own themselves, but do need to make expense reports.


Mighty Miracle Guardians (Paragons pp60-63) doesn't make a lot of sense as an entertainment group in this setting: Japan was already at war in China when the Breakout occurred, and sentai shows (a branch of the tokusatsu genre) date from the 1950s at the earliest. As an actual super team, they're a bit more plausible, but probably not in those costumes, nor with that name (more fitting designations would be welcome). They might be involved in making propaganda films, but a lot of their actual work would be fighting, and they may have some pretty serious psychological Complications as a result. King Fire's and Ghost Angel Goddess's origins should likewise be different, but only in details, not the general events.

The team that is probably not called Mighty Miracle Guardians most likely doesn't have a Benefit (Wealth) advantage as a group, though individual members might.


The Pact (Paragons pp63-65) honestly works quite well as it is, though like the Initiative, the GM may wish to make it less powerful, or otherwise limited. When converting Mr. Styx, remember to leave off the cellphone, as they haven't been invented, yet. He might have a radiophone created by Jane Haskill's company, or a competitor thereof, though it would probably make more sense for him to have a 'magical' communication device of some sort.

The Pact has Benefit (Wealth) 5, or less if the GM decides to scale it down a bit.


Pantheon (Paragons pp65-68) runs into a significant problem in this era: they're a non-Christian religious group, who claims that their paranormal members are gods. This is not something that would go over well in Christian or Muslim-majority nations, though a lot of places in Asia and Oceania might feel differently. The limitations of media in this era would also make spreading the word about them rather more difficult - you can say anything on the radio, but rather fewer people will believe it if they can't see it. Likewise, if they announce themselves to the world in roughly the same manner as described in the book, the US government and citizenry are likely to be even more hostile to them. Communicating prayers will likewise be difficult, as many switchboards are still operated manually at this time; going via the postal services, while slower, might work better, unless they get a lot of telepaths (or a single really effective telepath), or some sort of paratech that does something like that. That isn't to say that they can't exist, just that they'll have a much harder time of it, outside of areas local to their members, and maybe even then (it's rather difficult to arrest someone who can shrug off tank shells, for example). Pantheon might spend more time as a secret group than they appear to have done in the book, and would likely operate rather less in the USA and Western Europe.

Many Pantheon members could have Benefit (Wealth) as high as 4, once they get going.


The Paramount Club (Paragons pp68-71) mostly works as written, though the membership fees and the salary of the Krypton Stratum should probably be lowered to be more consistent with the era (an inflation calculator may help with that); even with historically accurate levels of sexism, it's not that far out, as clubs catering to both men and women did exist. Toning down the tech a little might help, but on the other hand, the Paramount Club is exactly the sort of organization that could plausibly have and maintain such equipment. Charlotte's Web would need a different name, though, as the book was published in 1952.

The Paramount Club has Benefit (Wealth) 4.


The Paranormal Professionals Society (Paragons pp71-74) makes a lot of sense in concept, and something pretty similar would need to exist here. However, the famous ad would likely be part of a short film in various theaters, as well as radio ads of a similar nature (although the term 'paralegal' would not be used, as unlike 'paranormal' and 'parapsychology,' it appears not to have existed until the 1970s on our Earth, and so might never exist, or have a different definition, here). As with the Paramount Club, prices listed in the book should be lowered to be more consistent with the era. With the war and the draft rapidly approaching, the PPS may have quite a lot of work to do, quite soon.

The Paranormal Professionals Society has Benefit (Wealth) 4.


The United States Paranormal Regulatory Agency (Paragons pp74-76) might not exist yet, depending on when the campaign starts, but discussions about such an agency would begin once paranormals are widely accepted to exist. It would be under the Justice Department or the Department of the Interior, as the Department of Homeland Security does not yet exist, nor did the Department of Defense (created in 1949). On the other hand, Hoover is likely to want to have responsibility for policing paranormals be within the FBI's purview, rather than some new agency, and may have enough clout to accomplish that. If the PRA was secret before the Breakout, it will have an easier time resisting that... or it may have been a hidden division or office of the FBI all along.

The Paranormal Regulatory Agency has Benefit (Wealth) 4.


The Paranormal Studies Institute (Paragons pp76-79) might involve J. B. Rhine, possible replacing Dr. Nidor, as he was studying the paranormal before the Breakout. Apart from the available technology (the EMS and para-meter, if they exist, would need to be Devices, or at least would clearly be paratech), little about PSI would actually need to change to fit. The Rosemont Center, below, might be affiliated with or run by PSI, or could be independent.

The Paranormal Studies Institute has Benefit (Wealth) 3.


The Rosemont Center (Paragons pp79-82) would not need to be too different, though some or all of the Collected who aren't from the USA might not be present. In particular, Vom Stahl is quite likely to have been recruited, willingly or not, by the government of Nazi Germany.

The Rosemont Center has Benefit (Wealth) 3.


The Silber Agency (Paragons pp85-88) is another one where the biggest difference is what technology is available.

The Silber Agency effectively has Benefit (Wealth) 1, though Augustus Silber has far more.


The Syndicate (Paragons pp88-90) is one of those tropes that just tends to show up in this sort of fiction, and the various 'truths' offered on page 89 would generally still work in this era.

The Syndicate has Benefit (Wealth) 5.


The Tribe (Paragons pp90-93) really doesn't make sense for this setting.


Vanguard (Paragons pp93-96) is an interesting idea, but tricky to fit in. While the League of Nations existed at the time, it was basically toothless (even more-so than the modern UN), and the USA was not a member. The first 'United Nations' that could be used for this setting were the Allies, under a treaty called the Declaration by United Nations, on January 1-2, 1942. Vanguard might have been written into the original treaty in this timeline, or might have been created later, but some variety of Allied paranormal group is plausible, whether the operating authority would be called the Paranormal Action Executive or not; the original purpose of the group would be different, though: to counter the use of paranormals and Fortean phenomena by the Axis powers. This would at times mean assisting law enforcement against saboteurs and fifth columnists, but for the duration of the war, the main thrust of Vanguard is military. Vanguard Mission Team Alpha might have existed as a team at the time, and joined Vanguard after that organization was formed by the Allied Powers, or they might have been brought together after Vanguard's formation.

Vanguard may have Benefit (Wealth) 5, unless the GM feels it makes more sense to lower it.


The XTREME Action Combat Championships (Paragons pp96-99) would need a more era-appropriate name (suggestions are welcome, as I'm drawing a blank), and would probably be smaller in scale for reasons of audience safety and technological limitations (even with paragons pushing technology forward, the number of people who can afford a television set would be limited, and they aren't likely to be making all that many during the war - after the war, maybe, but not during). Still, watching other people fight (just men, if you're using era-accurate sexism) is quite a popular pass-time, so something like this would probably exist.

The organization that probably isn't called 'XTREME Action Combat Championships' might have Benefit (Wealth) 5.


Zero Latitude (Paragons pp99-101) might or might not exist. Concern for the environment is fairly old, and was brought home to many people with the extinction of the passenger pigeon through over-hunting before WWI. Actual eco-terrorism is another matter, but idealists suddenly given power could decide that it was the way to go. Attacks against industries in which workers or small landowners were being widely abused would not be unusual for the era, at least. I doubt I'd use Zero Latitude if I were running a game in this setting, but it's not so unbelievable that it couldn't work.

Zero Latitude has Benefit (Wealth) 2.
Prince Charon
Posts: 61
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:45 am

Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by Prince Charon »

Characters

Alpha Male (Paragons pp104-105) will need a new name, as the term doesn't exist, yet, and certainly hasn't been popularized in America. Mister America or American Man, perhaps? Other than that, he fits pretty well, though once the war starts he'd be expected to join the military rather than keep propping up the reputations of various members of his family.


The Answer (Paragons pp105-107) works as written, save that he'd almost certainly have a radio show instead of a TV show. The one about the film star coming out as gay would have far worse consequences for said film star (assuming era-accurate bigotry) if it still happened here, but not for Tom Anwar. Of course, in this era he may find himself of great interest to the American government, who would find his ability immensely useful - and to hostile foreign powers, as well. "If we can't have him, we must ensure that no-one else can," is a thought that many would apply to him, even if they thought his ability was an exceptionally great interrogation skill, rather than a power.


Arbiter (Paragons pp107-108) would need more time to gather the data he needs for his predictions, without a modern internet and 24-hour news cycle, but on the other hand, the pace of business is somewhat slower, as well. Like the Answer, above, Arbiter would be of great interest to national intelligence services on all sides, something he would realize before they did.


Blueshift (Paragons pp108-110) doesn't really need to change beyond his equipment, as both bicycle couriers and the term 'blueshift' predate the Breakout by a fair bit. Equipment-wise, he won't have a cell-phone or comm-link, but he might have a radiophone containing ultra-microminature vacuum tubes (the main difference is that there aren't cell towers all over the place, so you need a special base transceiver for your phone, that connects to the telephone-lines); no GPS, so he either needs a map or to spend points on a photographic memory; no PDA, just a notebook and/or clipboard; the leather jacket is fine, though (even if some might say it makes him look like a U-boat captain).


Bodyshop (Paragons pp110-112) and The Burning Man (Paragons pp112-113) both work mostly as they are. The specific drugs involved might change, but drug addiction, and those willing to take advantage of it for profit, have been with us for longer than many might think.


Calamity Jane (Paragons pp114-115) would need a slightly different origin to fit the setting, as neither the CIA nor genetic engineering existed at the time. On the other hand, eugenics was not yet a discredited science (in fact, state fairs were known to give out awards for 'Most Eugenic Baby' or 'Most Scientific Baby,' using often-disturbing and wildly-unscientific criteria), and it's possible for someone to get randomly lucky even with that. I suggest that Crèche 313 was a project of the now amusingly-named Contingency Fund for Foreign Intercourse, possibly run for a few generations before it was shut down. I'm unable to find out when the CFFI was wound up, or if it even was - realistically, the budget was probably transferred to the Office of Naval Intelligence and/or Military Intelligence Division when they were created, but this is a setting of conspiracies, so the CFFI might well have continued running for some time thereafter. Alternatively, the Crèche might have been run by a private concern. (Either option also works well in a Steampunk Paragons game.) Jane would probably have needed to go to a different school than Cal-Tech, though, as the first female undergraduates there date from the 1970s. Equipmentwise, much like Blueshift she's going to have a Really Nice Radiophone rather than a cell-phone, and no GPS or PDA (unless it's a Device). She might have a quite pretty and high-quality slide-rule, though. Hello Kitty/Sanrio doesn't exist yet, but her multi-tool might be cat themed. The Binky Brigade (which is more of a platoon than a brigade, but that's less alliterative) would likely be chunkier than the versions Jane from 2007 or 2020 would have, but being paratech, would be about as effective as the 'modern' version. See also the entry on her organization, MERLIN, above.


Chud (Paragons pp115-117) works as written. B-movies have been around about as long as there have been movies (though a lot of them deserve a much lower grade), and homeless folk in cities for far longer.


Crybaby and Lullaby (Paragons pp117-119) fit pretty well. Iris's deadbeat boyfriend was probably a minor folk singer or a jazz man, but smooth-talking men seducing and abandoning young women are likely older than civilization.


Timothy "Dire" Straits (Paragons pp119-120) might need a slightly different name to fit the setting (the musical reference dates from 1977), and he was probably in the Banana Wars rather than the Middle East. This does quite reduce the chance that the mystic that cursed him was Muslim; more likely he was cursed by a Catholic mystic or a Voodoo or Santeria priest... or a regular person who just happened to say something that stuck in his mind as a curse. With the war coming, he might get called back to service, if he isn't declared 4-F due to his illness. This is not likely to be good for his mental health, and may be dangerous for the men he serves with.


Empress (Paragons pp121-122) doesn't need to change to fit the setting.


Enigma (Paragons pp122-124) mostly works, apart from a few references to technology that wouldn't be widely (or at all) available, yet. The parabolic microphone might be plausible, the concealable microphone would be harder to justify (it's far from being the stock item it is today, or even in 2007), and the mini-tracer and portable computer are not likely at all.


Epicurius (Paragons pp124-126) would be a troublesome person, but wild parties happened even in the depths of the Great Depression, which the USA is 'now' coming out of. He might have to bribe cops more often, but he could also more easily get away with doing so. Also, see the Pantheon entry.


Felicia DuMont (Paragons pp126-127) might dress differently from her illustration, but she works fairly well for the setting. In this era, a French heiress would likely have some serious concerns about Germany, and for that matter, the Breakout could not help but increase the Nazis' interest in the occult.


The Ghost (Paragons pp127-129) works sadly unchanged. Car accidents have occurred literally almost as long as there have been cars, and lethal ones nearly as early (circa 1869 was the first recorded fatal car accident), and deaths relating to train and coach travel are even older (of you want to do a Steampunk Paragons game).


Glyph (Paragons pp129-131) Works as is, save that he might not have any computer skills.


The Gourmand (Paragons pp131-132) might be put under greater pressure to work for various intelligence agencies, would have to worry about arrest and assassination even if she didn't (because why would they believe her claims of innocence?), and would need to work for one or more food magazines rather than running a blog (those won't exist for a while in-setting, if they ever do), but otherwise fits pretty well.


The House That Hate Built (Paragons pp132-134) works as written. Frighteningly.


Icon (Paragons pp134-136) fits the setting. The costume might be a bit different, but women have taught at Yale since 1905, and been archaeologists for longer.


Imposter (Paragons pp136-137) works well, apart from technological differences in the backstory.


Jacob Castle (Paragons pp138-139) mostly just needs to change his equipment (and the tech in his backstory): A dictaphone or similar instead of a digital audio recorder, notebooks replace the laptop and PDA, the parabolic microphone is iffy but possible, and he'd have a film camera (possibly both still and movie, possibly just one), not a video camera.


Logar (Paragons pp139-141) is an interesting idea, that could have been born during a different experiment. Particle accelerators have been around for a while, and the existence of paragons could have had the Chicago Pile and/or similar experiments take place earlier, and develop faster.


Luminary (Paragons pp141-143) needs relatively few changes: Airlines have existed in America since at least 1914, and the idea of aliens from outer space rather predates that, but they weren't associated with Roswell until 1947, so unless your game is set after then, I suggest looking for another town (and of course, depending on when your game is set compared to the Breakout, Luminary may have appeared less than five years ago).


Man-A-Kin (Paragons pp143-144) needs little or no change. Maybe he read the pulps as well as comics, but that's about it.


Mindbender (Paragons pp145-146) wouldn't have studied genetics as we think of it in medical school, as that science effectively didn't exist. She might have studied eugenics, though. Other than that, her origin depends on how long it's been in-setting since the Breakout, and on whether paranormals existed on this Earth before the Breakout. If there weren't, and it hasn't been that long since the Breakout, she could simply have been a very perceptive and manipulative genius, and then gained powers that made her even more dangerous, or it could be earlier in her personal timeline than the version from the book. She should probably have a lower Computers skill, or none at all.


Mr. Zero (Paragons pp146-148) works almost as written, apart from being involved with a manufacturer of radiophones instead of cellphones, and probably having a lower Computers skill, as it's rather less needed.


Naga (Paragons pp148-150) works basically as written, save that the University of Colombo would either be the Ceylon University College or the University of Ceylon when he was there, depending on what year the game is set, and how long it's been since Professor Palshikar became Naga.


The Necropolitan (Paragons pp150-152) Works mainly as written, though concerns about the cult would likely be greater in this era.


Network (Paragons pp152-153) might need a new name, but I'm unable to determine with the number of web searches I'm willing to devote to this, how long the term 'network' has been applied to business-related social groups. He might have gotten his start with something other than a telecommunications firm, since that wouldn't have been as prestigious in the era. He most likely would not have a high Computers skill. Given the limits of communications in the 1930s and '40s, Collins might be even more in demand than he would be in the modern era, though he also would be of great interest to the US military during the war and the lead-up to same, and of great concern to any foreign governments that are aware of him. Of course, if there are laws established relating to telepathic abilities, that may alter how he can work, but that's true in any era.


Nightstalker (Paragons pp154-155) works sort of as written, though unless the game is set well after WWII, or you fudge pre-Breakout history a fair bit, his military service would need to be rather different. He could have served in WWI, or in the Banana Wars, but the US apparently didn't have dedicated Special Forces prior to WWII (though the government could maybe have off-the-books black operations forces that we still don't know about, of course). He might also have been involved in FBI anti-smuggling operations during Prohibition, as that's the nearest equivalent to drug smuggling that was wide-spread and a serious concern of the government at the time (though if he gained powers either then or during the Banana Wars, that pushes the Breakout a bit earlier). As a veteran, Carter James might or might not be called up by the Army for WWII (they'd ask, but he's already done his part, and so would have a better chance of refusing). He isn't going to have a website, though, and any mini-tracers would need to be power-related.


Otherkin (Paragons pp155-158) probably needs a new name, as the reference is fairly modern. In the absence of Vom Stahl, Rachel's other personalities would likely be the Rosemont Center's main combatants, when combat is needed. Luckily for her, the US government is probably reluctant to put a woman with multiple personalities in combat, so even if paranormal women are subject to the draft, she should not be.


Panacea (Paragons pp158-160) works mostly as written, though the diseases she's known for curing would be different. Of course, there's a significant risk that Franco's men would forcibly recruit her; on the other hand, there's also a significant risk that Franco would have more parahumans opposing him than joining him.


Patriot (Paragons pp160-161) works as written, though the 'he's gay' secret, if that's chosen, would be more ruinous for him if that's the secret he has (at least if your game has something like historically-accurate levels of bigotry in regard to sexuality); on the other hand, it would also be harder for the public to believe. Other secrets, like being a communist or not being a Christian, are also plausibly dangerous in the era.


Peacemaker (Paragons pp162-163) fits fairly well, as while the specific conflict is different, there was violent conflict in Palestine in this era. She could also be moved to other parts of the Middle East and still find similar stresses.


Phenom (Paragons pp163-165) works mostly as written, though if she dresses in 1960s Mod styles, that would be futuristic rather than classic or old-fashioned. She might dress like a 1920s flapper, instead. Being a woman in the 1930s & '40s, she's unlikely to be subject to the draft, unless your game does not use era-correct levels of sexism.


Pontifex (Paragons pp165-167) might end up working for the Italian government, rather than the Rosemont Center, but may still end up meeting and forming a relationship with Vom Stahl (unless he escapes from Nazi Germany). If she does manage to leave Italy right after the murders, though, her still being at the Rosemont Center would make sense.


Prometheus (Paragons pp167-168) largely works as written, though he need not know much about computers, and would not be sending e-mails to warn people. With the war coming, of course, there will be greater effort to recruit an apparent precog.


Prophet (Paragons pp169-170) depends on whether PSI and Vanguard exist yet, or at all, in your game, but is pretty plausible in the era otherwise - while dedicated criminal psychologists and profilers did not yet exist, psychologists and psychiatrists being asked to help with criminal investigations did happen.


Proteus (Paragons pp170-172) works basically as written.


Proxy (Paragons pp172-173) might have broken out differently (TV sets existed, but were quite rare, while BDSM clubs would have been much harder to find, if there were any in San Francisco at all) and her life up until then would have been slightly different (extreme sports being harder to find, but still existing), but adrenaline junkies and thugs-for-hire exist in most eras. She'd have some barriers due to being a woman, but the mob isn't totally against using women as muscle, even with the levels of sexism common to the 1930s (and her ability to not die would soothe the consciences of those who still have them).


Raindance (Paragons pp174-175) depends a lot on whether you're using historically-accurate levels of a few different kinds of bigotry in your game: Native Americans faced racism and women faced sexism, but homosexuals were not only hated and feared to varying degrees, but were literally treated as if they were insane. A female Native American activist in that era who also happens to be openly gay would face a hell of a lot of pushback, often violent in nature (far worse and more often than a modern Raindance would expect, and with most likely far more opposition to her from state and federal governments), and while she's very powerful, she would most likely be facing other paranormals if the situation did escalate like that (and might not be part of Vanguard if it exists). On the other hand, a Danielle raised in the 1920s and '30s would view the world and herself very differently from the Raindance in the book, and might or might not be as open about her sexuality (which wouldn't reduce the violence directed toward her by an extreme degree, but would reduce the number of people who would just ignore what she has to say a little). Over all, Raindance depends too much on too many factors for me to predict how she should work in your game, whether as a hero, a well-meaning anti-hero or 'villain' (in the sense of 'criminal') or something else entirely. I will say that like others, she's unlikely to be all that good with computers, but that much of her upbringing and aspects of her breakout could still be pretty similar, due to those same prejudices.


Rampage (Paragons pp175-177) would have learned English from radio and newspaper comics rather than television, and wouldn't have had comic books until much later (and his parents would not have been fleeing the former Soviet Union), but would have potentially had pulp heroes to look up to in his youth, with exploits that were at least not extremely different from the adventures of superheroes in later eras. Other than that, he works reasonably well as long as it's been long enough since the Breakout.


Ravana (Paragons pp177-179) works as written.


Red Tide (Paragons pp179-180) works as written, sadly, and may work even better in this era (apart from the mentions of television and the internet).


Rojas (Paragons pp181-182) works as written, and would likely have an even greater fear of his own sexuality in this era.


17 (Paragons pp182-184) works as written, save that he's unlikely to know much about computers.


Silas the Elder (Paragons pp184-186) works as written, save that he's unlikely to know much about computers.


Ugly Jake (Paragons pp186-187) wouldn't have a cellphone, but otherwise works as written.


Unifier and the Unity (Paragons pp187-189) work as written.


Valkyrie (Paragons pp189-190) can work somewhat as written, though her technology (especially ODIN) would need to be ACME devices. WorldTree Technologies might still exist, though. The attack that left her in a wheelchair would have been more shocking, but not unheard of.


Vector (Paragons pp191-192) would probably have been a skier rather than a snowboarder, and there wouldn't be websites devoted to him unless Calamity Jane has been empowered and working for quite a while, but otherwise he works pretty much as written.


Vom Stahl (Paragons pp192-193) would be very likely to have been recruited immediately by the German government, unless his car accident took place well outside of their sphere of influence. How he feels about this depends greatly on his upbringing, which could be quite different in this timeline.
Last edited by Prince Charon on Tue Feb 09, 2021 7:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Davies
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by Davies »

For a Golden Age Paragons game, it would seem highly appropriate to put the Breakout in 1929, coming right on the heels of the stock market crash.
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Prince Charon
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by Prince Charon »

Davies wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 12:43 am For a Golden Age Paragons game, it would seem highly appropriate to put the Breakout in 1929, coming right on the heels of the stock market crash.
That's a decent option, I just went with 1938 as that was the year Superman was first published, and is widely considered the start of the Golden Age of Comic Books.
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by RainOnTheSun »

It might be worth thinking about the Evanston incident that prompted the creation of Vanguard. It wouldn't be viewed on TV by people all across the world, or even all across America. There would be radio reports, but that doesn't give people anything close to the same immediacy. Outside of Evanston and the national guard units sent there, nobody else would really understand how much the world had changed. If any sort of paradigm-shifting "paranormal hysteria" incident happened for the entire world, it would have to take place in a more politically significant place.
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by Prince Charon »

RainOnTheSun wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 5:22 am It might be worth thinking about the Evanston incident that prompted the creation of Vanguard. It wouldn't be viewed on TV by people all across the world, or even all across America. There would be radio reports, but that doesn't give people anything close to the same immediacy. Outside of Evanston and the national guard units sent there, nobody else would really understand how much the world had changed. If any sort of paradigm-shifting "paranormal hysteria" incident happened for the entire world, it would have to take place in a more politically significant place.
True. One idea I had for alt-Vanguard is that they were started by the Allies (after the Declaration by United Nations) as part of the war effort, with no single equivalent to the Evanston Incident, but a number of encounters with Axis paranormals. Basically, they'd be equivalent to the Freedomverse's Liberty League and/or Allies of Freedom.

If there were to be something like a single big Incident that sets it off, it would probably be in London, Washington, D.C., or some place like that, or there might have been significant, dramatic participation of Japanese paranormals at the Battle of Pearl Harbor, that got captured on film and distributed via newsreels.

EDIT: They wouldn't even need to do much damage, as long as they look impressive and dangerous, the politicians will decide that they need their constituents to see them doing something.
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by RainOnTheSun »

Here's one other thing: How do the Nazis handle news of the Pantheon? And the Paramount Society, to a lesser degree, and paranormals in general? There are two competing ideas of a master race, now, and the Pantheon has a much stronger argument than the Nazis do.
Prince Charon
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by Prince Charon »

RainOnTheSun wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 11:58 am Here's one other thing: How do the Nazis handle news of the Pantheon? And the Paramount Society, to a lesser degree, and paranormals in general? There are two competing ideas of a master race, now, and the Pantheon has a much stronger argument than the Nazis do.
Hmm. Well, the Nazis are hypocrites anyway (their claims of superiority were based on flimsy 'evidence' and bad logic right from the start), so I suspect that they will come up with some insane troll logic that they use to continue claiming that they're on top, along with any paranormals that choose to join them.



On another note, there was an old thread on Atomic Think Tank that I partially recall, and is sort of vaguely relevant to this thread, at least due to it being a WWII-related scenario: From what I recall, the base scenario is one player and one GM, with the PC trying to solo a WWII Geman tank and accompanying squad (or fireteam) of infantry, with a lot of the posts being summaries or transcripts of the sessions. Unfortunately, I can't recall the title, and ATT is gone, so I'm not sure if anyone has the thread archived. It's annoying, because I was going to post a link to it in the version of this thread on Ronin Army before that stopped being an option (and probably some other WWII-related threads/links, but I'm blanking on which ones). If anyone recalls it, and has an archive (or if there's already such a thread on Echoes), I hope you can provide a link, please.

Otherwise, should I start a new thread for that scenario on this forum? If so, in which subforum should it be?

EDIT: OK, apparently Atomic Think Tank is mostly archived on the Wayback Machine, which is good. I haven't found the thread I was looking for, but at least I have some hope that a version of it still exists.
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

Otherkin (Paragons pp155-158) probably needs a new name, as the reference is fairly modern. In the absence of Vom Stahl, Rachel's other personalities would likely be the Rosemont Center's main combatants, when combat is needed. Luckily for her, the US government is probably reluctant to put a woman with multiple personalities in combat, so even if paranormal women are subject to the draft, she should not be.
Chimera, maybe?


As for the date of the Breakout, I do think 1929/1930 would work. 1930 is when Philip Wylie's novel Gladiator was published. And if you consider the idea of the 1930s and the initial years after the break out as being chaotic and unregulated, with equivalents to The Shadow, The Green Hornet, The Golden Bat, Dick Tracy, Doctor Occult, and the like running around, before governments and other private groups start to try to organize and control things by the start of the Golden Age of Comics and WW2, I think it works fairly well.
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
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Prince Charon
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by Prince Charon »

NoOneofConsequence wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 10:13 pm
Otherkin (Paragons pp155-158) probably needs a new name, as the reference is fairly modern. In the absence of Vom Stahl, Rachel's other personalities would likely be the Rosemont Center's main combatants, when combat is needed. Luckily for her, the US government is probably reluctant to put a woman with multiple personalities in combat, so even if paranormal women are subject to the draft, she should not be.
Chimera, maybe?
Chimera works pretty well.

NoOneofConsequence wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 10:13 pm As for the date of the Breakout, I do think 1929/1930 would work. 1930 is when Philip Wylie's novel Gladiator was published. And if you consider the idea of the 1930s and the initial years after the break out as being chaotic and unregulated, with equivalents to The Shadow, The Green Hornet, The Golden Bat, Dick Tracy, Doctor Occult, and the like running around, before governments and other private groups start to try to organize and control things by the start of the Golden Age of Comics and WW2, I think it works fairly well.
Yes, yes it does. I was mainly associating the paragons with the Golden Age of Comics and WWII, but starting in the Pulp Age does work.
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

I confess I have this image in my head of FDR and his cabinet re-enacting the scene from Blazing Saddles, desperate to protect their jobs when masked vigilantes are gunning down gangsters in the street and super-action scientists are punching giant apes off of skyscrapers.

"We've got to protect our phoney baloney jobs, gentlemen!"

At which point J Edgar Hoover proposes a government run superteam with bright shiny costumes.
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
Voltaire, "Tolerance" (1764)
Prince Charon
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by Prince Charon »

NoOneofConsequence wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 3:41 pm I confess I have this image in my head of FDR and his cabinet re-enacting the scene from Blazing Saddles, desperate to protect their jobs when masked vigilantes are gunning down gangsters in the street and super-action scientists are punching giant apes off of skyscrapers.

"We've got to protect our phoney baloney jobs, gentlemen!"

At which point J Edgar Hoover proposes a government run superteam with bright shiny costumes.
I really don't see FDR doing that. JEH, maybe, but FDR was doing a very real and difficult job, and knew it. IMHO, he was also doing pretty well with the tools that he was given.
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Re: Paragons of a Golden Age

Post by NoOneofConsequence »

Prince Charon wrote: Sun Oct 11, 2020 8:53 pm
I really don't see FDR doing that. JEH, maybe, but FDR was doing a very real and difficult job, and knew it. IMHO, he was also doing pretty well with the tools that he was given.
It just amuses me to picture him doing that while clenching the long cigarette holder thing between his teeth.
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature.
Voltaire, "Tolerance" (1764)
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