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About
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Scenario
“When
Criminals in this world appear"
"And break the laws that they should fear"
"And frighten all that see and hear”
"The cry goes out from far and near for...Un-der Dog!!"
“Speed
of lightening, roar of thunder”
“Fighting all who rob or plunder”
“Under Dog . . . Under Dog, Under Dog”
"When
in this world the headlines read"
"Of those who's hearts are filled with greed"
"That rob and steal from those that need"
"To right this wrong with blinding speed goes...Un-der Dog!!"
“Speed
of lightening, roar of thunder”
“Fighting all who rob or plunder”
“Under Dog . . . Under Dog, Under Dog”
Welcome to Underdog’s Tavern and the annual Good Guys/Bad Guys Fete! Every year all the Supers on both sides of the fence come together to let off steam and have a little fun. This afternoon was the black/white softball game. Once again the Chicago suburb of Inverness has survived with only minimal damage to the park grounds where the game was held. It was a record year for the balls though: one hundred and forty balls were needed for the twelve inning game--that’s eight more than the previous record.
This year’s Fete is being held at Under Dog’s Tavern. Under Dog’s is run by Normand Plume, a long time friend and fan of super heroes. There is one hard and fast rule for tonight. No one may attack or otherwise use their powers against another in the bar. Tonight is about détente. There are always a few brave or foolish souls who try to push this rule, but Normand is far stricter than Blackie, the owner of Blackie’s Tavern. Everyone needs to be on their best behavior.
There are a number of events scheduled for tonight. So everyone needs to come with their best friendly face as they set aside personal problems for an evening of fun.Game Elements
Live-action roleplaying games, or LARPs, come in many shapes and sizes. For this particular game you can expect:
- A superhero setting with a unique world background and all original characters. Jim & Kelly have been talking for awhile about writing a game set in their own Superhero Universe, and this is it. Despite the name and the image, this is not a cartoon game (the bar owner, Normand Plume, just has a thing for Under Dog); the characters are similar to what you would find in DC or Marvel Comics. In this universe, it is common knowledge that aliens visited Earth in the early 20th century and that subsequently some people began to manifest superhuman abilities. The course of World War II was dramatically impacted by the actions of various supers: for instance, the aerial bombardment of London was ended when a super destroyed the German bombers by heaving their own bombs back at them as they were dropped, while several supers were responsible for the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So this is a world without the atom bomb, where superpowers are a recognized fact of history.
- An eclectic group of characters. Not every character is a superhero--there are a number of "normal" people who have reason to be at Under Dog's tonight. The game has both silly and serious characters and plotlines. Think of the broad range covered by comic book and TV superheroes, from Wolverine and the X-Men and the rest of the "brooding hero" types all the way to the Tick and Space Ghost, and you'll have an idea of the spectrum of characters in this game. Keep this range in mind when filling out the casting questionnaire so we know the kind of character that you'll have fun with. (For those who played in Uberman's Wake last year, the average character in Under Dog's Tavern is more serious than in that game.)
- Focus on social interaction and characterization, not special abilities (or combat). This is an annual social occasion, intended to bring all supers--whether "Good Guys" or "Bad Guys"--together for one day. It's a breach of protocol and custom to start a brawl, so it Just Isn't Done. (Except for those times when it is, but then everyone politely forgets about it.) However, a much more practical reason for the "no combat rule" is that it's a suicidal mistake to publicly attack someone in a room full of superheroes: you WILL end up dead. (Jim and Kelly inform me that they've quit rolling dice to determine the outcome of combat in this case; every single time the initiator wound up dead many times over, so why waste the time on dice?) However, there's any number of superpowers that can be used subtly or harmlessly, and at Under Dog's there are one or two "private corners" where a small group might retire to "settle their differences..."