SP World Aspects
The following section is for players, rather than characters.
The world in which the Arches appeared is essentially our world, with a few exceptions.
1) Unlike our own world, virtually every 'outlaw' went masked, whether they were actually criminals or people fighting corruption. Robin Hood is truly known as The Hooded Man because his face was always hidden by a deep hood. The Scarlet Pimpernel (who did exist) wore red finery and a scarlet feather mask.
2) Such people have never had much to do with the Authorities. Those who fought for kings and queens, for nation or church, did so openly.
3) War tends to favor authority, so generally doesn't get any of the masked heroes. In the 20th century, that changed, but only slightly - there were a few of the masked heroes (and heroines) working on various sides of the wars, but mostly on the home fronts.
4) Despite taking risks that rational people would dismiss, masked heroes rarely fail completely. Most have never been actually captured, and when they have, they've freed themselves (or their organizations have freed them) almost immediately.
5) With very, very few exceptions, masked heroes and villains have behaved far more honorably towards each other and the rest of humanity than could be viewed as 'normal' for humanity as a whole. Torture and killing out of hand generally don't get done by those who wear masks.
6) Most of the movies and such that we've seen here in our world have been created in the Arch world as well. Some, such as The Hunger Games, show their protagonist in some form of mask, even if the antagonists know exactly who they're dealing with.
7) Belief in magic is higher in the Arch world than in ours, though there's no more direct evidence that it exists.
8) A person can indeed be known as 'The Strongest Man in Hertfordshire' and have that be proven again and again. Such epithets have been strictly limited in scope, but as Archies come to be known, they are showing broader support. Quickling, for example, is known as The Fastest Woman in the world, which nickname continues to hold true. Even when going up against female test pilots flying Hypersonic planes, Quickling has always been measured as being faster. To date, in fact, the only way anyone has managed to outspeed her is by having a male pilot in a Hypersonic plane, and there's some question about whether or not that nickname can evolve, and if it does, does the evolved version get the same 'protection'?
