[OOC] 《 Super H.E.R.O. 》 — Roleplayer Guild (2024)

《 H.E.R.O. Archives: An Abbreviated History of Superheroes 》
_{Greetings, prospective hero. My name is ALISA and I will be guiding you through the application process here at HERO. First, a brief lesson in our history is in order.}

> > > Year 1664: The Beginning < < <

300 years ago, to the date, one of the strangest scientific anomalies in history occurred. A massive meteor jettisoned towards Earth at breakneck speeds, only to dissolve as soon as the meteor entered the atmosphere. What astronomers of the time prophesized as a bringer of doom to the human species appeared to have just been a simple near-miss. Life went on for a short while, until the scientists, and people all around the world, realized that the meteor, termed the 《 X-200 Meteor 》 had left something in its wake.

The meteor, upon dissolution, had released clouds of purple dust that had caused mutations in select numbers of fauna, flora, and most importantly, humans. These genetic mutations, mutations that, to this day, are still not fully understood by top scientists, affected a specific group of only about 5% of the world's population and resulted in the discovery of what is called the

> > > Rise of the Heroes < < <

The new class of "superhumans" came to recognize the implications of their newfound abilities much faster than the world governments did. The first "villains" and "heroes" were just superpowered crooks and ragtag groups of superpowered neighborhood watchmen, essentially. Small bands of these heroes duked it out with the early iterations of supervillains, and also did battle with 《 Leftovers 》, a blanket term for the creatures that had become affected by the X-200 meteor and had adopted (often hideous) super-mutations of their own.

This kind of rampant havoc was troublesome, to say the least, but state intervention into superhero affairs did not serve to remedy this problem, but further it, as powerful metahumans came under the employ of various states. There are countless stories of heroes being used for nefarious ends; stories of imperial navies being ravaged by storms caused by a single superhuman privateer, or of the legendary Russian hero White Bear, who froze a large swath of Napoleon’s invading army during his conquest to the East. While some metahumans remained vigilantes, others became tools of war, and as such were viewed as monstrous by the public. A group of diplomats and representatives of the global metahuman community met in a series of conventions that would reshape the way that superhumans interacted with the world and set the stage for the way the world works today.

> > > The ICOSA Era < < <

This aforementioned group of superhumans, diplomats, and other important global figures embarked to create a plan for how to control and regulate metahuman activity while employing their powers solely for the common good. In 1879, the group met in Geneva and established 《ICOSA》 (which stands for the International Council of Superhuman Affairs, which established rules and legislation that redefined superheroism. Superheroes were no longer to be tools of the military, and were designated solely as guardians, not soldiers. The world was carved into regions, where each respective area would be responsible for administering a “hero company,” an organization of superheroes that worked alongside, but not for, the government, and fought to preserve the peace. Each hero company would be run independently but would be supervised from afar by ICOSA in order to make sure that all protocol was being followed and that all metahumans were acting in-line with their guidelines.

With these changes and the emergence of the superhuman as a superhero, the reputation of metahumans around the world improved and the image of the spandex-covered superhero finally began to take hold of the public. And as the world struggled through massive change and conflictthere was one image that remained untainted by the cynicism of the world, and that was of superheroes.

> > > Today < < <

We are currently in what will likely be classified by historians as a golden age of superheroes. Trust in superheroes is at an all-time high, and the public not only began to respect superheroes and their place in society, but began following them and entrusting them with celebrity status. Powerful superheroes, handsome superheroes, cool superheroes, funny superheroes, all of them began to grow in popularity with the public, and once the snowball started rolling, the hype only increased. By the 60s and 70s, consumerism centered around superheroes began to keep pace and even exceed at some points the fan obsession with actors and musicians, and becoming a superhero with a hero company not only became a viable career path, but a very lucrative one at that. Local and international funding guaranteed that no matter where in the world you are, signing your name with a hero company promised a good salary, plenty of benefits, and a ton of clout.

In the midst of a global obsession with superheroes, one company has always stood out- HERO, of the Heroic Egalitarian Rescue Organization, an aptly-named American hero company that covered the Northeast and part of the Atlantic coast. HERO was known for being highly destructive in their superheroism, but for always getting the job done in the midst of one of the most populous and villain-infested cities in the world, Castleburg, New York. HERO had some of the strongest, cunning, caring, and oftentimes overly destructive and carefree heroes in the world, and has justly earned a noted reputation both for their occasionally chaotic behavior but also their exciting and benevolent work for their people.

> > > TL / DR < < <

After a meteor hit Earth 300 years ago, some people developed superpowers. These superhumans were grouped up into regional, acronym-based companies all managed by a global organization called ICOSA that functioned as the UN of superhumans. As a result, heroes went from being viewed in disdain to being idolized as celebrities and role models for the 20th century. The story is set in one of those regional hero companies known as HERO (hence the name), which operates on the eastern seaboard of the US and is headquartered in the city of Castleburg.

《 The City of Castleburg 》
_{Let’s now shift our scope from the world at large onto the bustling futuristic metropolis of Castleburg, New York, one of the world’s largest cities and the home of HERO.}

Castleburg is a bustling metropolis located in New York State. A thriving city on the cutting edge of the future, Castleburg is the home of more than 20 million people and is the center of HERO, the Heroic Egalitarian Rescue Organization, a hero company that covers much of the Atlantic Northeast of the United States, but is headquartered and thus concentrates much of its efforts in Castleburg, a city that with its great population also has a great number of supervillains looking to bring the mighty city to its knees.

《 H.E.R.O. Affiliations 》
_{H.E.R.O. has been Castleburg's vanguard for hundreds of years now, a shining beacon of justice in a city that is all too often clouded with chaos. It is imperative you learn exactly what you're getting into before you join our ranks, and also, who you'll be up against.}

《 Other Information 》
_{This section will be updated with information when necessary.}

《 H.E.R.O. Formal Application 》
_{With that housekeeping covered, please proceed to the application and complete it to the best of your ability.}

> > > Pointers For Character Creation < < <

• BALANCE IS KEY! I give a lot of leeway when constructing an OC, under the assumption that everybody exercises a degree of reason when making their character. Some characters will be stronger than others, but try to balance power with weakness when making a character.
• Third-person is preferred in the character sheet, though I will accept any perspective so long as it is thoughtfully done. Please delete all the turquoise text prior to submitting the character sheet in the OOC or directly to me via PM first.
• You can have as many characters as you can reasonably manage, though I would suggest no more than 2-3 main characters. You can have NPC side characters as much as you want, though please do not godmod anybody else's characters or GM NPCs. If you want any sort of incorporation into the main story, please reach out to me.
• The main character sheet portion and abilities section are both mandatory and can be separated or combined, up to you. If there is a relationship sheet added later, that would be entirely optional. Since coming back to the Guild, I’m aware that the autosave is just as janky as ever, so you’re free to post WIPs in the OOC, just let me know when they’re completed.
• All faceclaims should be some form of digital art, not a real-life faceclaim, as to keep with the established theme/mood of the RP. If you have an FC that is in a gray area for whatever reason or are really struggling, please reach out.
• Continuing on the theme that has already been established when in doubt, send me a DM and we'll be more than happy to clarify anything. I consider myself pretty lenient, so any situation should be able to be worked out with a bit of communication.
• Though my goal is to work everything out and try and get as many people happily participating in the RP as possible, my word is final.

RAW CODE EDITION

《 H.E.R.O. Updates 》
_{As they teach us in AI administrator school, there's always something more to be said. Here it is.}

• 6/25/2024: Welcome (Back?) Excited to be back on the Guild! For those that are not familiar, I ran two RPs (HERO and HERO 2064) over 3 years ago based in the same universe, and I had a whale of a time with them. They formed a lot of great memories. Since then, I’ve been on an RPing hiatus, but with me having some more time, a renewed passion for writing and RPing, and a good hit of nostalgia, we’re back. For those who have participated in either of the previous RPs- consider this a blank slate, an alternate story steeped in the same lore. For those who are new, thanks for reading this far, and I hope you join!
• 6/25/2024: Discord! Alright, we're 1 minute in and I already realized I forgot something- the Discord link! Click [ RIGHT HERE ] to join the Discord (not mandatory, but highly recommended and very useful for synchronization and quick communication!) Let me know if there are any other typos/errors or whatnot. Thanks!
• 6/27/2024: Added some details to the 0th post in the Character tab for some important HERO characters. More to follow!
• 6/28/2024: More details added to the 0th post in the Character tab, including the return of a H.E.R.O. classic- the Director case files. The lore grind never stops.
• 6/28/2024: Relationship sheets have been revamped and posted above! Reminder that these are optional but always fun and recommended in order to situate yourself into the RP world. Discussion with people you're putting on the sheet is highly encouraged, and to do so I recommend joinint our DISCORD (see link above!!)