Threads of Dark History

If you ever have doubts about whether your audio was failing, when only two of the eleven questions asked by a player are for new information - you might be a redneck.  I mean, yes, the answer is yes. On the plus side, the informational document on what the players have discovered since the start of the campaign is currently only five pages long, and one page of that is taken up by lawyers.  Go figure, in a campaign to restore faith in a fallen city, the players, half of them federal agents, want to do things by the book.  Show people the system actually can work, and they'll start using and trusting the system again. It's a good plan, full of hope and optimism, and goodness.  It's the plan that heroes would come up with.  It's - it's just not going to be that easy, and I don't think of that as a spoiler. Bluebooking My theory on Bluebooking is simple - anything the players can do without a major investment of time or resources, and that requires no dice rolls c...

Due to Raven's pre-game exploits, the party started with a lot of information on what Zinkmann Inc, and therefore Zolana Zinkmann have been up to.  It seems that she has an entire underground factory beneath her above-ground plant.  The players are aware of her submarine, the battle suits, and the fact that mercenaries are liberally mixed in with her security forces.  None of which says "ignore this NPC, they just aren't important". Also, because more than half the party is now federal agents (and ZERO want to be in the Trans-Atlantic League of Superheroes), the reason for the heroes to be in Science City changes.  Uncle Sam (the federal government) has cycled the agents into Science City as part of a "routine force rotation".  Naturally, the federal government can't be seen catering to the whims of terrorists, but if the agents just happen to resolve the issues in Science City, that would just be great.  Twenty minor agents are also rotated in, hand pic...

What is an Iron Hero?      Iron Heroes, or heroes from what I like to call the Iron Age of comics, are a different breed.  Forget Superman, Spider-Man, and to some extent even Batman.  Think rather of the older age of heroes - Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, the Phantom, the Shadow.  What Watchmen would have been without the presence of Doctor Manhattan.  They are faster, fitter, and tougher than mere mortals - but they aren't bulletproof.  They live by their wits, their fists, and their skills.  Rather than flying into battle, immune to all but the strongest weapons, they sneak , taking out a gang in sets of two and three rather than twenty at a time.     Because they are NOT bulletproof. Samuel Stein, AKA the Raven     For real-life reasons, this player had to step out of the game before it began.  It's a pity, because [name redacted] is driven, organized, and is excellent at uniting the disparate characters that appear a...

Like most of my campaign intro documents, this is a massive multi page (22) monster. I loaded it with useful hints and status updates. I wasn't expecting any of my players to read the whole thing, but I wanted them to get useful leads from any sections they did read. If you want the formatted version, a copy exists ( here ). 1947 Iron Heroes Primer – Save Science City   Overview – The War is Over, Welcome to the War            World War II is over; there are no more bullets flying, the bombers are being converted to fly civilian cargo, and Detroit (the Arsenal of Democracy) is cranking out cars and refrigerators.  In Paris and Geneva, the last of the peace treaties are being finalized and signed. Superheroes have had their powers rated; those above two stars (of a five star system) must belong to one or more of three leagues (Pan-Atlantic, Pan-Pacific, or Indian Ocean).  Lesser heroes, or those not permitted into a le...