IT Basic

The Universe

The Universe of Meta-Storm is quite different from most superhero game universes, in that – until the mid 1980s – superpowers just didn’t exist, but unlike many of these ‘new universes’, heroics have been part of the Meta-Storm universe for as long as there’s been sentient life. In fact, the Meta-Storm universe could be said to be friendly to drama – whether for good or for ill – and courage counts for an awful lot.

Thus, while there have been no ‘superpowers’, there’ve been plenty of heroes, large as life as well as larger than, stretching as far back as anyone knows.

(The term Superpowers, by the way, refers to any ability that violates the conservation of mass and energy. An alien race that evolves on a heavy-g world could be immensely strong on earth, but will be equally massive, and that mass will require a lot of energy to sustain it. Telekinesis might exist, but would require energy sufficient not only to lift a given weight, but also to account for the distance between the telekinetic and the weight. High-Tech can sometimes appear to violate this, but it can’t, actually.)

Human history is replete with the heroic and the legendary: Gilgamesh, Herakles, Jason, Theseus, Lugh, Taliesin, Charlemagne, Belisarius, William Wallace, Rob Roy, Robert Bruce – these are but a very few, just from the European region. There are easily ten times this number in there, and similar numbers throughout the rest of the globe. Not all of them really lived, even on Meta-Earth, but every one of them could have, and their legends could be true – that’s the impact of the Meta Universe.

In relatively recent history – from the 1700s on – it’s become easier to document the existence of people like that, and document we have. Few in number, compared to the rest of the population, their deeds set them apart and brought them recognition – whether due to fame, fear, respect, loathing, or some other emotion, the heroic were always well-known – and ensured them a place in history.

There are a number of names any man on the street would recognise, like Tory, Lady Liberty, Minuteman, The Gray Fox, the pirate Faux Coeur, Iron Knight, Air Ace, Eternal Samurai, Dervish – these names stand beside the names of more ‘normal’ heroes, doing great and glorious deeds, though sometimes dark and deadly as well.

This was the way life was in Meta-Earth – in fact, in the entire Meta-Universe. Whatever the technology, wherever the life, some were heroic, operating at a level the rest could only sometimes touch. During the early parts of the 20th century, on Earth, these people were called ‘Mysteries’.

Then, roughly thirty years ago, that all changed. A new breed of heroic people appeared, able to do things that science had no answer for. Blasting beams of energy from their eyes or hands, flying under their own power, walking through walls, lifting huge weights without destroying the ground they stood on – they were unbelievable, they were gods. And some of them acted like it.

It was pretty quickly established that not all of the older heroic types had gone away, and they were able to fight these new men and women with a viable chance of success, where the rank and file generally weren’t. Joined by those newer types who weren’t corrupted by the power, they battled those who were in spectacular fights, beyond anything anyone had seen before.

No one could ever predict, with any certainty, where a heroic person would appear, or when, and it was no different with these new ones. The powers they had were never passed on to children, and most people figured they’d eventually age and die, especially since no new ones appeared for over ten years.

But then, as if triggered somehow, more did appear, about 15 years after. And it recently happened again, about five years ago. It hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice that, if there’s a cycle to it, it’s diminishing.

There seems little difference in raw power between those of the first wave and those of the next two. There are powerful heroes in each and there are weaker heroes in each. If anything, the differences are more likely ones of subtlety.

Mysteries

There is a distinction made between heroic humans – such as Paul Revere, The Scarlet Pimpernel and the like – and the unusually heroic, such as those listed above.

The latter were called ‘Mysteries’ in the early part of the 20th century, and simply legends earlier. In ancient times, they were viewed as demi-gods, or god-touched. While their numbers were usually very low, in unsettled times their numbers tended to grow – such that, during the American and French Revolutions, there were several easily identifiable Mysteries, and during WWI and WWII, there were dozens, on all sides.

Mysteries tend to be highly skilled, and are often warriors of great reknown, or have some legendary attribute they’re remembered for.

Metahumans

Those with superpowers are popularly referred to as Meta-humans. Most scientists prefer the term Parahuman, but it never stuck outside their circles.

As mentioned, three ‘waves’ of Meta-humans are recognised, with no easily identifiable differences in median power. Generalizing as to which wave created a Meta-human is best left to the person’s age, rather than their power.

Those without obvious powers are still called Mysteries, but unlike most ‘normal’ humans, seem able to fight the Meta-humans on a fairly equal basis.

Let it not be said, however, that ‘normal’ humans are helpless before Meta-humans or Mysteries. They may be able to ignore most weapons fire, but the ability to bounce anti-tank shells or LAW rockets seems to be very rare. Also, many Meta-humans and nearly all Mysteries can still be hurt by small arms fire. It may take a lot to drop them, but Mysteries and Meta-humans together make up only a tiny fraction of one percent of the population of Earth. They’re badly outnumbered if it ever comes down to it, and most of them are well aware of this fact.

Power Levels

Shortly after the first wave of Meta-humans appeared, governments and scientists began to classify them by power level, to enable both groups to determine the danger any given Meta-human posed to normal humans. Eventually, one scientist’s scale – The Waunder Power Scale – became the standard. The Waunder Scale measures not only apparent raw power, but perceived versatility.

Power Definition

Omega ≈ 800 tons force in primary ability, or more.

Alpha ≈ 200 tons force in primary ability.

Beta ≈ 50 tons force in primary ability.

Gamma ≈ 13 tons force in primary ability.

Delta ≈ 3 tons force in primary ability.

Epsilon ≈ 1,500 lbs force in primary ability.

Theta ≈ 400 lbs force in primary ability.

Level Definition

3 Severely restricted (1 form/type of usage)

2 Heavily restricted (≈ 2-3 forms/types)

1 Restricted (≈ 3-4 forms/types of usage)

0 Lightly restricted (≈ 4-5 forms/types)

Prime No restrictions noted.

Mysteries – those of legendary ability without superhuman powers – are not generally rated using the Waunder scale, though some have begun rating Mysteries based on the power level of their opponents.

To date, only three Meta-humans have received an Omega classification. They are Crane, Seraph/Star Seraph and The Detective. (While he is not known to possess any powers, The Detective’s ability to kill Seraph with a single blow is generally viewed as sufficient proof of Meta-human ability.)