Editing Some Assembly Required (an Avengers PBP game)

[[Category:PBP]]
[[Category:RPU]]
[[Category:FASERIP]]
[[Category:Marvel Super-Heroes]]
[[File:SomeAssemblyRequired.jpg|right|frame|Art by Ziven of Nine]]''Some Assembly Required'' is an Avengers PBP game set on Marvel Universe Earth-2015 and run using TSR's ''Marvel Super-Heroes'' RPG (FASERIP). The original pitch by [http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?141088-Bellerophon Bellerophon] is:


''I want to do a game about the Avengers as an organization - during the course of the game, players might play three or four different heroes. This rotating cast of characters allows for a diverse array of stories and settings - you can have the stories where the Avengers go into space, and the stories where they go into the sewers. To compound this idea of the team being more than any single person, maybe there's some focus on the workings of the Avengers - staff meetings around the table, votes on new members, courts martial - the general everyday life around the Mansion/Compound/Hydro-Base/Tower (Wow they've had a lot of HQs...).

''That's not to say that superheroics will take a back seat - far from it. The Avengers have an incredibly diverse rogues gallery to draw upon, in re-interpretations of old stories and new ones as well.

''Now, my thought is to set the game in a new, parallel universe, called 617 or 618 or something like that, that is practically quite close to the mainstream continuity (Cap is Steve Rogers, Wasp and Ant-Man helped form the original team) but is different enough that we won't be slaves to the continuity, while still having that baseline level of familiarity with the iconic characters (Not that any real knowledge of the books is required. Your characterization of, say, Dane Whitman might be totally new). One thing I do want to stick to, despite the AU nature of all of this, is having players play pre-existing characters (or new interpretations of them); there's a certain cachet in being able to instantly know something about the other characters on the team, rather than having to deal with original characters and fit them into the narrative, especially in a game with a large ensemble cast.''


'''[http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760486-Interest-Recruitment-Classic-Avengers-ever-changing-team-lineup-FASERIP-Maybe Recruitment Thread]'''

'''[http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required IC Thread]'''

'''[http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required OOC Thread]'''


=='''Gamemasters'''==
[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?141088-Bellerophon Bellerophon]


=='''Cast'''==
[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?96953-Bullwinkle-J-Moose Bullwinkle J. Moose] as '''Spider-Man''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19184415#post19184415 FASERIP]) (inactive)

[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?142455-Bunch Bunch] as '''Moon Knight''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19180650#post19180650 FASERIP]/ICONS AE)

[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?63423-Captain-Astounding Captain Astounding] as '''Dr. Druid''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19178378#post19178378 FASERIP]/ICONS AE)

[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?114784-Dogr_Dollarsson Dogr_Dollarsson] as '''Titanium Man''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19258097#post19258097 FASERIP]/ICONS AE)

[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?159021-drreamscape drreamscape] as '''Wasp''' (inactive)

[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?4541-Fred Fred] as '''Thor''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19178773#post19178773 FASERIP]) and '''Gray Hulk'''

[https://forum.rpg.net/member.php?62442-GetterBurai GetterBurai] as '''Tigra''' ([https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19880357#post19880357 FASERIP])

[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?3797-Ryan-L Ryan L] as '''Iceman''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19257523#post19257523 FASERIP]/ICONS AE)

[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?12030-ScottL ScottL] as '''Scarlet Witch''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19296819#post19296819 FASERIP]/ICONS AE)

[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?107493-Sonsaku Sonsaku] as '''Kid Loki''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19236710#post19236710 FASERIP]/ICONS AE) (pretended to be Namor)

[https://forum.rpg.net/member.php?37092-Sharon-MacGuire Sharon MacGuire] as '''Captain Marvel''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19177758#post19177758 FASERIP]/ICONS AE)

=='''Timeline'''==

===2004===
* The mutant terrorist known only as '''Magneto''' makes his first public show of force, his terrorist group the '''Brotherhood of Mutants''' triggering an EMP in Lansing, Michigan that leaves thousands of Americans without power for weeks. Federal response is heavily criticized for its unpreparedness for the disaster. Public opinion is dire for the rising Mutant Menace, with reports of more mutants appearing every week. Geneticist '''Charles Xavier''' urges caution, claiming that "we know so little about these mutants, considering them a threat would be premature."
* Troubled American scientist '''Henry Pym''' loses his wife Maria at the hands of secret police on a trip to her native Hungary. Pym, deeply affected and suffering a psychotic break as a result of his lifelong schizophrenia vows to find some way to battle man's descent into inhumanity.

===2005===
* Professor Xavier secretly trains five teenagers as the original '''X-Men''', to help give a positive counterpoint to the anti-mutant hysteria following Magneto's attacks. (Note: the general public isn't aware that blue-furred Avenger '''Beast''' is a mutant, or that he was a member of this original team.)
* Pym, having narrowly avoided a mandatory hospital stay, has a scientific breakthrough &mdash; he discovers a group of subatomic particles he names Pym Particles. Managing to use these particles to create size-changing serums, Hank's test run nearly ends in death when he becomes trapped within an anthill.

===2008===
* '''Greer Grant''' begins attending the University of Chicago.
* Having become obsessed by his experience in the ant hill, Hank had spent the past 3 years qualifying in record time in entomology, engineering and other related fields; he creates a cybernetic helmet that allows him to communicate with insects.

===2009===
* Four amateur astronauts return from the first privately funded space flight with mysterious abilities granted through cosmic radiation. They save New York from subterranean invasion and begin careers as "Science Adventurers," dubbed the '''Fantastic Four'''. This marks the beginning of the so-called "Age of Heroes".
* Greer Grant marries policeman Bill Nelson.
* '''Dr. Joanne Tumolo''' begins researching the hidden potential in human biology displayed in the emerging population of superhuman marvels. She receives funding from eccentric investor '''Malcolm Donalbain''' &mdash; secretly a '''HYDRA''' asset intending to subvert her work to create superhuman criminal agents.
* Discovering that a government contract he had been hired to work on was infiltrated by North Korean agents, Hank secretly uses his serum and helmet to sabotage them. The incident is investigated but no proof of intervention is found.

===2010===
* During the experimental detonation of a gamma bomb, Dr. '''Bruce Banner''' saves teenager '''Rick Jones''', absorbing massive amounts of gamma radiation. Later that night, he transforms into the '''Hulk''' for the first time.
* Teenager '''Peter Parker''' is bitten by a radioactive spider, changing everything for him.
* Dr. '''Donald Blake''' finds the mystical hammer Mjolnir in Norway and becomes the Norse god of thunder '''Thor'''.
* Bill Nelson is killed making an off-duty arrest. To make ends meet while continuing her education, Greer Grant-Nelson takes a job as Dr. Tumolo's lab assistant, ultimately leading to her becoming the superheroic '''Cat''' to unravel Donalbain's schemes.
* When an alien '''Kreature from Kosmos''' kills Pym's long time associate '''Vernon van Dyne''', Pym decides to reveal himself to the world in his new guise as '''Ant Man'''!
* Proving her underestimated deductive skills, Pym is caught by Vernon's daughter '''Janet van Dyne'''. Despite Hank's protests she insists she be allowed to participate in stopping the Kreature that killed her father. Folding to her forceful personality, Hank invests her with insect wings and antennae and gives her a pair of energy blasting gloves as the Winsome '''Wasp'''!
* Ant-Man and the Wasp defeat the Kreature, becoming some of the first public heroes of the new age.

===2011===
* A new, more mature incarnation of the X-Men is formed. Key members include '''Storm''' and '''Wolverine''', as well as a young girl from Deerfield, IL.
* Following graduation, Greer Grant-Nelson takes a laboratory job with the CPD Forensic Services division. As the Cat, she allies with '''Spider-Man''' to pursue the political assassin "'''Man-Killer'''".
* Dr. Tumolo leaves Chicago to follow other lines of research on the origins of super powers, particularly the work of forgotten but forward-thinking 20th century biologist '''Herbert Wyndham'''. Her search for more fragments of his work lead her to cross paths with a similarly interested enclave of the enigmatic '''Cat People''', who she befriends.
* With Janet having thrown herself with gusto into life as a superheroine, becoming beloved and respected, Hank instead threw himself further into seeking a scientific end to man's descent. The end result of that quest is the artificially intelligence '''Ultron''', intended to be a non violent solution to the risks of human policing.
* The Ultron prototype disappears mysteriously.

===2012===
* The Avengers are founded to combat Loki, the would-be Conquerer of earth. WW2 Era hero '''Captain America''' is unearthed from the ice.
* Ultron resurfaces, having turned homicidally unstable; the Avengers defeat its plan to take control of the world's nuclear stockpiles and erase humanity from existence.
* Proving largely ineffective in the battle against Ultron, Hank falls into depression resolving that he needs to be a bigger man to measure up as an Avenger. Finding a way to reverse his serum, Hank becomes '''Giant Man'''!
* ''The Cat's last hunt'': Dr. Tumolo returns to enlist the Cat's aid in preventing HYDRA obtaining an esoteric bioweapon created by the now regretful Cat People; fatally wounded during the mission, Grant's life is saved by a mystical ritual transforming her into the feline warrior '''Tigra''', who eventually destroys the HYDRA cell (with the accidental aid of an unexpectedly appearing '''werewolf by night'''...).
* The Avengers defeat '''Heinrich Zemo''' and his '''Masters of Evil''', unfortunately leading to his accidental death.
* The Mavis Druid Institute for Parapsychology is opened in Midwich England. Founder '''Dr. Anthony Druid''' vows to help the next generation see the world with new eyes.

===2013===
* Becoming an urban legend of the Chicago area, Tigra draws the attention of '''Kraven the Hunter'''. Victorious in that confrontation, in a fit of pique Tigra takes a string-of-fangs ornament from him as a trophy added to her costume.
* The Avengers defeat the time-traveller '''Kang''', who attempted to hold the United Nations captive until they voted him into a "supreme sovereign," based on his flawed understanding of how the 21st century UN worked.
* With Giant Man having been handily defeated in the battle against Kang, Hank retires the identity, becoming '''Goliath'''!

===2014===
* Believing them to be another HYDRA cell, Tigra confronts the techno-looter '''Rat Pack''', only to discover their leader "Joshua Plague" is actually a guise of the '''Super-Skrull'''. After the Skrull imprisons himself tampering with a stolen mystic artifact, Tigra delivers the artifact (and the Skrull) to his chief enemies the Fantastic Four for safekeeping.
* Pleased at the relative acceptance she receives despite her inhuman state, Tigra continues to intermittently share adventures with the F4, though she is never officially a member.
* The Earth's heroes defeat the world-eater '''Galactus''', saving the entire planet from certain destruction.
* Shaken by the Galactus event, Tigra attempts to return to a civilian life in Chicago as Greer Nelson again.
* The Galactus event broke Hank, he fell ever further into psychosis then disappears.
* Dashing new hero '''Yellowjacket''' emerges! He claims he will give the world a hero they could be proud of and resolves to join the Avengers. Having created a dangerous stunt to convince the Avengers they needed him, Yellowjacket is revealed as Hank Pym and sent to a secure psychiatric facility for rehabilitation.
* Banner successfully separates himself from the Hulk. The now Banner-less Hulk went on a rampage through New Mexico, while Banner became terminally  ill. The Avengers stop the Hulk and the Green Goliath and Banner are reunited, but interference from General Ross and Rick Jones leads to the return of the gray Hulk.

===2015===
* Discovering there are still gamma bombs in existence, Hulk join forces with Rick Jones and a SHIELD agent to find and destroy them. The Leader, who was stockpiling the bombs, detonates one of them and the Hulk seemingly die.
* Tigra travels to California following reports of a werewolf on the rampage, and meets '''Spider-Woman'''.
* Released from the secure hospital after his now ex-wife Janet vouches for him Hank joins the support team of her new '''West Coast Avengers'''.
* The Hulk secretly resurfaces in Vegas under the alias '''Joe Fixit''', working for mobster '''Michael Berengetti'''. 
* A younger incarnation of '''Loki''' from a parallel dimension is stranded in this reality; he infiltrates the Avengers impersonating '''Namor the Sub-Mariner'''.
* Spider-Man and "Namor" assists the Avengers in foiling a plot by '''Amora the Enchantress''' to seize the power of Stonehenge, resulting in her temporary possession by the spirit of '''Morgan le Fay''', Young Loki's exposure, and the gruesome death of ally '''Nathan Garrett'''; the dying Garrett pledges the Avengers to pass on the Ebony Blade to his nephew, '''Dane Whitman'''.
* Young Loki is given provisional membership, largely as a way to keep him under observation.
* Russian diplomatic pressures require the Avengers to accept '''Titanium Man''' (left publicly ambiguous, but secretly mutant genius '''Kondrati Topolov''') as a member.
* The Avengers defeat the combined menace of the '''Mandarin''' and the dragon '''Fin Fang Foom'''.
* The Avengers are drawn into the Great Galactic War. They are ultimately victorious, but not without cost (including the deaths of '''Captain Mar-Vell''' and '''Medusa the Inhuman''').
* Under orders to stay out the Galactic War for the sake of his mental health, Hank forsakes the life of superheroism, declaring to the world he will henceforth just be '''Dr. Pym'''!

===2016===
* A mourning '''Black Bolt''' abdicates his throne and embarks on a journey to reconsider his future.
* As part of post-war armistice, the Avengers expand their charter to include outpost divisions among numerous world cities.
* The Hulk is re-recruited for the Avengers.
* Avengers (re-)Assemble!

=='''Story Arcs'''==
Summaries by Captain Astounding.

===[https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760959-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19186096#post19186096 A Day Unlike Any Other]===

There was an official meeting of the new lineup under Chairwoman Van Dyne (the Wasp) to vote on Spider-Man's membership. He had been sponsored by Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers) who abstained, Dr. Druid who was seemingly annoyed about some change in official software was against but talked into abstention. The Vote hinges on Namor...

Unbeknownst to the team the government is dispatching one Henry Gyrich to look into team practices.

The vote is abandoned when Skurge breaks in, he's battered by the automated defences and stands down when the Avengers all stand ready to fight him. He is without his Axe and tells a tale of the Enchantress gone mad, dealing with forces she could not control. He was taken into custody and gave Spider-Man a letter saying she had headed to Stonehenge. Druid lectures people on the importance of protecting the place, then has a premonition of great danger there.

Scarlet Witch arrives called in by Wasp to help with the situation. Druid declares a plan to protect the team with Wanda's help. He's told they need to do it on the Quinjet and goes to get supplies. Wasp pulls Ms Marvel aside and tells her she's been made acting chair while Wasp goes to make a West Coast branch.

Druid and Wanda manage to complete the ritual on the plane.

For a while Spider-Man and Moon Knight have had suspicions something's up with Namor. The rest of us are unaware.

We arrive to find missiles fired at us that Scarlet Witch deals with, our ritual drops the mask that hid The Enchantress and her mercenaries, including Nathan Garret, The BLACK KNIGHT! (the famous one's villainous uncle) wielding the Executioner's Axe!

Druid stands around pretty uselessly while the rest of the team start to deal with the threat. Enchantress is revealed to actually be MORGAN LE FAY! who awakens a hill Giant to help fight us, leaving the Black Knight to attack Druid.

Druid continues to be utter useless and is saved by Wanda while the rest of the team fight Morgan, and defeat the mercenaries and hill Giant in grand style.

In the confusion those no preoccupied see that Namor was actually... some kid... not like a teenager either, like tween at best. but Thor says he's LOKI GOD OF MISCHIEF! which is weird given Loki's a grown adult imprisoned in Asgard.

Being thoroughly schooled by Scarlet Witch Black Knight whinges to Morgan to give him his money. which she does, as he starts voomiting it, falling from his flying horse and dropping his sword. It doesn't look good for him, but Druid thinks he needs to deal with the possibly C'Thon powered sorceress before he can try to save the villain and uses his mastery of the mind to fire a mighty psionic blast at her.

She is less than pleased by this and summons flames, ready to engulf Druid.

The whole God of Mischief thing caused some concern when Loki tried to pick up the Ebony Blade that Garrett had dropped, Wanda cast a hex to stop it, and Spider-Man stepped in to take up the sword, but will it be safe?

===3 Days of the Maggia===

For those following at home we somehow survived the battle against a C'thon-powered Morgan Le Fay and the combined skills of Dr. Druid, and the mysterious medical skills of Thor saved The Black Knight (...the villainous uncle of the famous one...) from death by internal bleeding. The mysterious Kid Loki was remanded into Avengers custody until they could uncover the secrets he held. This meant he was forced to be babysat by Dr. Druid when the Avengers investigated a series of disappearances, including Wonder Man and Dane Whitman (the famous Nephew of the villainous Black Knight) and some woman called Alicia Masters? A-list guest star The Thing seemed pretty fond of her. He told neighbourhood heroes Thor and Spider-Man that her dad was some kind of master of Puppets? It's probably not important...

The Avengers looked into matters and discovered the mercenary group from Stonehenge seemed to have some kind of financial links to a lot of disappearances.

Mysterious Billionaire Steven Grant arranged a meeting with one Luchino Neferia as a favour to Moon Knight. He seemed to be behind all these Frost Holdings, and Mr Grant was brave enough to look into matters for us. He arrived alongside the beautiful Marlene Alraune. Mr Nefaria took Mr grant down to see the machinery of his latest project. You see, while he was interested in funding hospitals, he as much more interested in pulling the moon out of orbit to create a biblical flood that washes away the unworthy.

Luckily, he happened to have machinery for siphoning energy from the kidnapped people into one Dr. Franklin Hall!, seemingly Alicia Masters' father was the Puppet Master and he was controlling Dr. hall.

Meanwhile, unlikely Detective duo Dr. Druid & Kid Loki find little at the apartment of Dane Whitman, but a search for witnesses uncovers a representative of Janus (formerly Frost) Holdings trailing them. Druid talks the man into taking them back, telepathically informing Ms Marvel.

They find the lovely Marlene tied up by one Guilietta Nefaria who points some manner of blaster at the pair. Dr. Druid's trickery was overcome by an act of supreme will, Druid and Loki are led away.

When they are led into the base where the machinery is kept billionaire Steven Grant leaps bravely into action, knocking out Mr Nefaria. This angers Guilietta who casts her gun down and smashesa Mr Grant like a Mack Truck. It seemed she had undergone some treatments giving her the powers of COUNTESS NEFARIA!!

While Dr. Druid scrambles desperately to stay alive in the face of her fury, the secretly invisible Kid Loki frees the prisoners, it seems they may be winning when Whirlwind, Blizzard, and Grim Reaper appear Blizzard quickly proves a non factor but Grim Reaper lands a nasty blow, and Countess Nefaria turns to finish the job when...

===The Desolation of Fin Fang Foom===
tk

=='''House Rules'''==

==='''Advancement'''===
You can buy straight to the next rank. Stats that aren't already superhuman are kept at human limit.

==='''Body Armor'''===
A common criticism of this system is that the Body Armor power, granting damage reduction essentially, is a bit too powerful, and outright prevents certain characters from being useful. As a compromise, I propose that attacks with Red results ignore Body Armor, representing finding a critical weak point in its structure. Additionally, attacks with Yellow results ignore Half of the Body Armor score. If this proves a bit too much, we can revise it, but I think it will, overall, allow for more fun battles.

==='''Defensive Actions'''===
Defensive Actions - A common criticism of FASERIP is that it's too easy to hit dodgy characters, like, say, Daredevil. ;) We're going to rectify that by reducing the hefty penalty given towards taking multiple actions when taking defensive actions (Dodging, Evading, Blocking, Shielding). Usually, this gives a -2 CS to all other actions taken that turn, which can be a real drag. I'm reducing this penalty to -1 CS. Additionally, characters with a power that might apply towards this sort of manuever may substitute their power rank for that ability rank. Therefore, Daredevil for instance could use his Enhanced Senses power rank of Monstrous to roll for Dodging rather than his Incredible Agility. I'm not super sure how these changes to Defensive actions will work out in play, so this is subject to change, but let's see.

==='''Karma'''===
Traditionally, Karma serves the double-purpose of being both an in-game resource and an advancement resource, which leads to somewhat crappy situations where the characters that need Karma least are the ones using it for advancement. I propose that there be two separate pools of Karma - one normal pool for use in-game, and one of "spent" Karma which then becomes available to be used for advancement. This encourages heroes to be heroic, and I think fits the genre better than hoarding Karma.

=='''Karma Awards'''==
This includes only the general awards. Individual gains due to roleplaying, game contribution, etc. are not listed.

===[http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19215368#post19215368 OOC Post #179]===
Everyone gets (for the Mansion)

-10 Karma Each for the meeting

-5 Karma each for humorous writing I greatly enjoyed (check the book! It's there!)

-75 Karma each for defeating a Monstrous Foe (the giant)

-50 Karma for defeating an Amazing foe (Skurge... Let's face it, bringing him along would've resulted in some treachery)

-20 Karma each for stopping a destructive crime (the Frost Mercs are no longer in a position to harm the monuments)

So that's 160 each.

===[http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19226397#post19226397 OOC Post #283]===
Morgan ended up being a Monstrous threat, so that's 75 karma each, and I'd classify her intentions as a Global threat, so we'll call that 50 more.

===[http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19256144#post19256144 OOC Post #481]===

Countess Nefaria is an unearthly threat, so that's 100 Karma Each. Plus 120 each for her minions (40, 40, and 40 for Grim Reaper, Blizzard, and Whirlwind).

That's 220 Karma for the Avengers.

===[http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19288042#post19288042 OOC Post #639]===
Loki and Thor: 350 for Each of you (3 Wendigos and the Leader), plus 25 each for rescuing kidnapping victims you didn't even know about!

Druid and Moony: 155 for each of you, plus 25 for each of you for rescuing Arnie, plus another 25 when Dr. Strange removes his tumor via your actions.