User:Bill/Dr. Froterist Returns

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Setting[edit]

Ray Winninger's Underground is a sort of superhero game set in an alternate history. All of the superhuman characters in the setting derive their abilities from reverse-engineered alien technology implanted into their bodies by a government that is essentially the puppet of the corporate trading block that rules his or her portion of the world. These super-soldiers participate in corporate wars intended to influence the economic landscape of the world until their tour of duty is up. They then return home suffering from drug induced psychoses, PTSD, and an assortment of other mental problems stemming from their implants.

The rest of the setting is just as screwed up as the "heroes". People regularly sell their corpses to fast-food chains, there is a black market in human brains that are used to construct computers, urban overcrowding is emphasized, and unemployment is complicated by robots and clones. Underground is a setting that focuses on the socio-political problems our world by blowing them way out of proportion.

Underground lends itself well to an exceptionally violent version of superhero stories in the vein of Marshal Law. This makes an episodic style of play very desireable in my opinion. However, the setting is so bent and twisted that it inspires a few plot ideas. The Return of Dr. Froterist is one such. Your squad faced the villainous Dr. Froterist in Slumberland, the VR simulation where you learned to master your abilities. You defeated him several times, foiling his plans to force various groups to rub against each other in public to sexual release. Then you went to war. You saw horrible things that burn in your mind day in and day out. You watched friends obliterated by high explosive ammunition and personally incinerated civilians that collaborated with enemy forces. The bizarre sexual exploits of Dr. Froterist were far from your mind when you got home, until the news cast. A trainload of commuters killed by a bomb. The lone surviver claiming that they had been forced to masturbate by rubbing against one another by an unknown man in a skin-tight costume. It's impossible, you think...Dr. Froterist was just a simulation, wasn't he? The fantasy world of Slumberland and the real world twist up in your mind a little and the sqaud reforms to take down the perverted supervillain, whoever he may be.

Characters[edit]

All player characters for underground are super-human veterans trying to survive after experiencing the utopic four-color comic book vision of a virtual reality simulation where they learned to use their powers and the jarring nightmare of post-modern warfare. The game features a wide variety of super powers that are purchased with a monetary budget, effectively it's a point based generation. There are drawbacks associated with virtually any power selected, so I will not be applying any particular limitations.

Rules[edit]

Underground uses a variation of the original DC Heroes system. If the group would like to play the game but not use the rules, I can adapt the setting easily to another set such as Wild Talents or Champions.