Style Guide
This page outlines the general setting of CRISIS! from an OOC perspective, to give you a feel for what is and isn't possible. (Certain examples and references may make more sense after having read the 'Setting' pages.)
Setting
In simple terms, CRISIS! is set in the near future, in the year 2075. The game takes place on earth, with play being focused around Capital City, a large city located in central Europe (although players are welcome to travel all over the world). Through various events in history, a world government has formed, and the world is, for the most part, peacefully united under it. There are a variety of real world faiths that are practised around the world, although the game won't necessarily touch on this.
Super-powers are a reasonably common occurrence, with a variety of causes, and the existence of such people is just accepted as part of day-to-day life. Unsurprisingly, some individuals have used their powers to threaten others, and so the battle of good vs. evil goes on. The mysterious disappearance of a section of the Moon, quite possibly the biggest attack to date, is one of the key events that triggers the start of the game.
The existence of aliens is also common knowledge, although they are far rarer than super-powered humans. The exact number of aliens currently inhabiting the planet is unknown, but thought to roughly be in the thousands. The ones on the planet are varied, with many displaying traits similar to superpowers (although these tend to be more often a trait of the whole species, rather than an identifying feature of an individual specimen). Playing an “alien” at game start is a possibility, and can be created through the normal means. Tropes aren't required to do so, although there are some (such as fish out of water or non-human) which you may wish to take relating to not being human. Similarly to time travel, you may have come from a far off planet, but this would be a one-way trip, and as such you are unable to return. You will also have issues communicating with anyone not on the planet.
Legality of gun ownership varies from country to country, although it is possible to get a licence for global ownership which makes it legal in all but the strictest countries. Owning a gun will require the relevant trope, although you may have a power which functions similarly to this, in which case taking the relevant powers will be sufficient.
Inspirations
We have taken inspiration from a huge variety of sources, too numerous to name them all here. Some of the more influential material includes:
All the details of the setting that you will need to play can be found within this wiki. No pre-existing knowledge is required to play.
Character Death
Having super powers inevitably puts you in danger. Obviously it's no fun if you have to generate a new character every week because you're just trying to save the world. Of course if you turnsheet to do something that will certainly get you killed (e.g. swim in a volcano) then there's really nothing we can do to save you.
As with most Society Games, some amount of PvP (Player vs Player) activity is expected, as player agendas collide. In this game we anticipate that there will be more of this, and when powerful characters collide, character death is somewhat more likely. Fortunately, all is not lost! With the progression of science, and the abilities of various heroes, death is not inevitable. There is a chance that even on the brink of your demise, you will be able to be reassembled, fixed up, and back on the streets. However such work is not without its risks, and you might not be entirely back to how you were before. Or you may just fall offscreen, with noone able to find the body until you walk into the next summit with a new fear of enclosed spaces from your time in the sewers. Similar things can occur when you would become unplayable for other reasons, e.g. imprisoned. It should be noted that it is possible to die permanently, be locked up with no hope of escape, or otherwise end up in a condition where you are no longer a playable character.
From an OOC perspective, this will mean that if your character is about to die1), we will email you to inform you of your situation. If there is a chance you might avoid death in some way, we may offer you a choice of a handful of negative tropes; of which you must pick one (although feel free to take more if you really want). These represent unintended side-effects of your resurrection. Your character may of course simply choose to give up on life, or decide that the cost or survival is too great, in which case your character will be gone for good. As noted above, you will not necessarily get the chance to avoid death, and this decision will be made at the GMs' discretion.