The Merge Universe

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Bladewind
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by Bladewind »

Neo-Paladin wrote: Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:28 am Also, he is busy with all the military and security contracts - for example, he personally retro-engineered the Glitter Boy armor from the RIFTS universe and built a series of less-powerful derivatives for the French government to use in their Chasseur program. He's jockeying with Stark for the position of top supplier for urban public security solutions in the US.
Also, there are rumors he knows where at least one Batman is and is regularly in contact with him, if only to continue a series of chess games they supposedly have running (he's currently losing 3 and winning 2).
This put a smile on my face.
Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
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kirinke
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by kirinke »

Hey, it's Batman! He has Thrawn level tactical skills, plus plot armor. Thrawn being a villain, did not have the plot armor bonus. Although, up until he got curbstomped both in Zhan's books and in the Clone Wars he had a pretty successful career. So there you go.
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by Neo-Paladin »

There is no plot armor in the Merged Universe.
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by kirinke »

Truth. Which makes things harder for the heroes who are used to having that bonus. ;)
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betterwatchit
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by betterwatchit »

Quite a few laws and customs have changed as a result of the Merge. Here are but a few...

Landing on private property you don't own (via flight or teleportation) is considered trespassing if done without either prior arrangement with the property owner or a police warrant. This also applies to entering public property when it's closed. Modern tower blocks without penthouses tend to include a rooftop entrance.

Summoning beings from different planes of existence is considered a violation of immigration law in most nations. Nations that do allow it tend to have significant restrictions in place to reduce the risk of an invasion.

In Mechanicsburg, sapient constructs (the local term for scientifically-uplifted organic beings like Krosp) are now considered to be people, with their creator being considered their parent for the purpose of parental laws and responsibility.

In some places, the science and magic exist to make it possible to change your gender and/or species the same day with no surgery required. The exact legal requirements for this vary, but most developed nations that legalise these procedures require the patient to bring a professional witness. Anyone who knows the patient in a professional capacity for over a year without possessing a family tie qualifies. The patient must also bring one other sapient witness of their choice. The witnesses can be any gender, but cannot be of the species the patient will become if their species is going to change. The process is also required to be recorded on video, uninterrupted. This method allows the patient to prove that they really are who they say they are in the eyes of the law and to their family. While not strictly required, it's a common practice for the patient to say their old name and species out loud at the start of the recording and finish it by saying their new name and species out loud in their new voice.
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Bladewind
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by Bladewind »

Updated the setting document under the section "Coping with the Merge."

I added a little to it as well... :D
Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by Neo-Paladin »

Oh? What did you add?
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by kirinke »

New Mechanisburg would consider any sapient construct or clank (local term for mechanical being) to be a legal person with the creator being the legal parents etc. It kinda stems from the whole Heterodyne earning the minion loyalty thing. They learned from other sparks mistakes and treat their minions with respect and consideration. If you don't, you get more problems and headaches, which takes away from fun times in the lab. :twisted:

Basically if you're a person and are loyal to the House and a citizen of the City, you have the same basic rights as everyone else in it as far as Aggie is concerned anyway. On the other side of the coin, you're also expected to follow the same rules and laws as everyone else in the city. Aggie has seen the kind of problems that arise when you treat people as second class citizens or slaves.
Last edited by kirinke on Tue Sep 29, 2020 1:29 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Bladewind
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by Bladewind »

Neo-Paladin wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 6:09 am Oh? What did you add?
Click on the link in my sig. its a PDF.

I added a bit on patents and tech and expanded the sapient tech section to include Cybertronians... (of course :lol: ).
Quite a few laws and customs have changed as a result of the Merge. Here are a few...
Landing on private property you don't own (via flight or teleportation) is considered trespassing if done
without either prior arrangement with the property owner or a police warrant in most countries. This
also applies to entering public property when it's closed. Modern tower blocks without penthouses tend
to include a rooftop entrance.

Summoning beings from different planes of existence is considered a violation of immigration law in
most nations. Nations that do allow it tend to have significant restrictions in place to reduce the risk of
an invasion.

In Mechanicsburg, sapient constructs (the local term for scientifically-uplifted organic beings like
Krosp) are now considered to be people, with their creator being considered their parent for the purpose
of parental laws and responsibility.

Sapient constructs, aliens and other non-human entities face a variety of challenges. In some countries
they have legal status and rights, in others they do not. These include the fictional races (often those
associated with the “evil alignments”), mechanoid lifeforms (such as Cybertronians) and the like.
Further, advanced technology can be patentend just as before, and there is a race in place by variations
nations and companies to become proprietaries of such valuable ownership rights.

In some places, the science and magic exist to make it possible to change your gender and/or species
the same day with no surgery required. The exact legal requirements for this vary, but most developed
nations that legalise these procedures require the patient to bring a professional witness. Anyone who
knows the patient in a professional capacity for over a year without possessing a family tie qualifies.
The patient must also bring one other sapient witness of their choice. The witnesses can be any gender,
but cannot be of the species the patient will become if their species is going to change. The process is
also required to be recorded on video, uninterrupted. This method allows the patient to prove that they
really are who they say they are in the eyes of the law and to their family. While not strictly required,
it's a common practice for the patient to say their old name and species out loud at the start of the
recording and finish it by saying their new name and species out loud in their new voice.
Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
Bladewind's 3ed M&M Builds
The Merge Setting document
kirinke
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by kirinke »

What happened with places like Yellowstone? I'm sure it's pretty crazy in those areas. I made up a new character in my oddities thread that's an apprentice ranger helping keep out poachers and the unwary from the dangers there. It makes sense.
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by Neo-Paladin »

There's a substantial Teddiursa and Ursaring population...
Also, for some odd reason, many normal bears and other animals have shown a huge increase in intelligence, in some cases approaching or maybe even rising above human levels of intellect.
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Bladewind
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by Bladewind »

Neo-Paladin wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 3:31 pm Hmmm...I wonder what would happen to the super"heroes" from The Boys if they got into the Merge (love that show ;) )
Homelander would probably be in jail by now. I sincerely doubt he could control his sociopathic impulses for long, especially since so many other heroes are easily upstaging him - I mean, Supes is exactly what he was supposed to be. It would, of course, depend on who would bring him in. Superman would definitely try and get therapy for him. Someone like Apollo would probably straight up kill him.
Queen Maeve I see as probably undergoing therapy and hopefully resuming going to her AA meetings and maybe being taken under Wonder Woman's wing - there is a good person underneath all that cynicism and Diana would see that.
Starlight I see as joining one of the actually heroic teams like the JLA or the Avengers.
Black Noir would go off on his own becoming a superpowered Punisher, I reckon.
Stormfront - she's savvy enough to realize most people know who she really is by now. She'd do her best to become a powerful Alt-Right figurehead, especially with her mastery of social media.
The Deep - not sure. It depends on whether or not he gets his act together.
A-Train - Once he realises he is not in any way, shape or form, the fastest man alive anymore (even hopped up on Compound V, Flash could run circles around the guy), it might do him some good and he could retire.

....what do you think?
I’m also curious what their benefactors, Vought International, might do if they transferred over too. Obviously a name change and alteration of public tactics/ actions but after that?

DC and Marvel (among others) stand to gain or lose huge amounts of money. What if someone (or someones) stepped in to administer the rights and licensing? (See the section in the Setting Doc about Copyright and Patents.)

Then there is the matter of identities. A sort of unofficial Registration Act. Most heroes have no secret identity... but what about new heroes? What about new identities? A front to catalog and keep tabs on all levels of Merged beings. Just using that last bit I could see governments getting behind the company - behind closed doors at least.

I also get a Damage Inc vibe from Vought... less altruistic but nonetheless... I could even see them fronting the cost and tech for a supers prison... allowing for another Suicide Squad type team...

As for the characters from the show I would highlight and work with what you said without saying... they’d be around the PL 10 range. Immense power but well below the “real” heroes. Using most builds from the DCHV Superman and the JLA are around PL 14-15, and I'd likely have Captain America around PL 13... the heroes outside The 7 are anything up to and including PL 10.

Personally, I would like to see The Deep redeemed...

As for the Boys... that can be easy or hard to integrate. The simple version is an anti hero group. But it could go further... an anti-Merge/ anti-XD group...

I just started and am only a few eps in. I am sure I will come up with more as I go.

Hmm... it's already been established that the prime example of Lex Luthor in the Merge is a good guy, but what if someone of his intellect (another version perhaps?) is behind the Merged version of Vought? I like the idea of leaving Vought to stand and develop on its own, but with the Merge I could easily see people stepping in and taking over or allying with other groups to further their own interest...
Last edited by Bladewind on Mon Sep 21, 2020 2:04 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
Bladewind's 3ed M&M Builds
The Merge Setting document
kirinke
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by kirinke »

There's a substantial Teddiursa and Ursaring population...
Also, for some odd reason, many normal bears and other animals have shown a huge increase in intelligence, in some cases approaching or maybe even rising above human levels of intellect.
Eh Booboo?
Seriously though, your average bear is already a scarily clever animal. One that approaches human intellect or exceeds it would be terrifying. Stealing picanic baskets my behind. They'd be carjacking food trucks. :lol:
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Bladewind
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by Bladewind »

I really have to stop this...

Thankfully my attention span and ability to enjoy a show won't let me binge more than two or three episodes a day, but been watching the Boys...

Damn.

Have plenty of ideas how the Supes from that show and Vought exist post Merge...
Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
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Bladewind
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Re: The Merge Universe

Post by Bladewind »

Was thinking about the Seven some more, specifically Homelander.

First, I did a little checking into the comic that the show is based off, and I think I would lean more to the show versions of characters Merging.
Next, what to do with the characters ? We touched on the main ones, but i wanted to scratch deeper.

Homelander - I can imagine him thinking that everything is staged, just like it was in the VCU (Vought Cinematic Universe). And no amount of trying will convince him that Superman is anything but a phony. I am willing to bet that the Vought Board of Directors, in whatever shape they take in the Merge Universe, would want to rebrand him but he would want nothing to do with it. His costume and image are perfect, like him. And thanks to this guy claiming to be Lex Luthor, none of the so-called crimes that he committed can be attributed to him so he gets a fresh start.

Stormfront - Would probably rebrand herself if not offered the chance. She's done it before from her days as Liberty. In fact, with a fresh start thank to Luthor or not, it would probably be a good idea for her to rebrand herself publicly - while supporting a bunch of areas privately... I think she might even establish more than one identity. As Stormfront she could be the face of a far right group and publicly vent her hatred/ spew her vitriol... another might be a "reformed" villain, such as a Rule 63 Electro... And with her other Compound V based powers, she could appear to be be another person entirely...

Starlight - Goes back to her original costume. And stays in it. End of discussion. As for her role, as noted I could see her becoming friends with the Melissa Benoist Supergirl already in the Merge Universe.
Last edited by Bladewind on Tue Sep 29, 2020 3:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
Bladewind's 3ed M&M Builds
The Merge Setting document
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