Charles "Charlie" Stone

Height:  6'2"

Weight:  185

Age:  26

Hair Color:  Blonde

Eye Color:  Blue  

Distinguishing Marks:  None

Charles Weathersbee or Charlie as he liked to be called by his friends grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in Independence Missouri.  He and his 3 brothers James, Harold and Travis along with their mother rented a small studio apartment.  Charlie's father had walked out to get a pack of "cigs" several years earlier. Things were tight but Charlie's mom and brothers always seemed to scrape enough together to make it by. Charlie loved his family and they loved him back.  One day Charlie found a box of old comics left from the people evicted next door.  It was love at first sight.  The  stories, the characters, the justice appealed to him at his very core. Charlie instantly began collecting comic books.  Working small jobs for his mom and brothers or the "good neighbors" Charlie would count his change until he could grab the next edition of Amazing Spider-man or the Uncanny X Men.  

Charlie also began a one man crusade on bullies and "evil doers" at his school.  Unfortunately Charlie was of small stature and usually instead of helping the victim he became the victim.  Always getting into fights his family of course became worried and tried to explain that keeping his head down was the best plan of action.  Charlie would have none of it.  The fights became more often.  

This time the cops were the ones to catch Charlie getting beaten up behind a drug store dumpster. The officer on patrol Stan Stone was sympathetic to Charlies plight and altered the retelling of the incident to Charlies mother.  Officer Stone was also completely smitten by Charlies mother.  8 months later they were wed and Charlie had a father for the first time.  

Charlie loved his new father and his brothers did too.  Things began to turn around for Charlie.  He and his family now lived in a spacious 3 bedroom apartment and his mother was able to quit her diner job and work only part time.  Charlies brothers were able to cut back on their hours of work as well and finally concentrate on school.  Stan seeing that Charles was a good boy and just wanted to help others began teaching Charlie how to defend himself but also made him stop getting into fights.  He showed Charlie other ways to help people in the neighborhood as well as ways to help a victim without having to engage in a brawl.  The occasional fight did still happen but Stan was sure Charlie was doing all he could before the fight had to happen.   

As the years passed James became a police officer like his new Dad.  Harold left for LA to become an actor but had not hit his lucky break yet.  Travis went to Emporia University to get a degree in computers.  Charlie finally had a growth spurt and caught up to his classmates.  Life passed by uneventfully.  Charlie had never stopped loving comic books and had decided to become a comic book artist.  His dream of course was to work for Marvel drawing his favorite heroes battle for the good of mankind.  Unfortunately the only college that offered such a program was in NY.  The Kubert School was very expensive as well.  Some scholarships did exist but Charlie did not have the confidence to apply for them.   Charlie's family was much better off than they had been previously but his mother and father could not afford to send him out of state for college.  Charlie decided he would work and attend school at the Kansas Art Institute.  Until he could afford the Kubert School.

Charlie has some skills but did not know how to get himself known.  Soon Charlie was one of many starving artists in the KC area.  Lucky for Charlie a young woman new to the area saw some of Charlie's art and bought them for her club she was opening soon.  Charlie was overjoyed to have a customer and even offered to throw in some extra paintings for her club if she could get him a steady job at her club.  She agreed and hired him on as a bartender in training.  Charlie still works there mixing drinks and selling a few paintings here and there waiting for his big break and chance to go to the Kubert School.

Basic Campaign Rules

This campaign will be run will under the following basic parameters:
(All rules subject to change based upon play experiences and to facilitate having a good time)

1.  We will be using Mutants and Masterminds 3rd Edition rules.  The default players handbook is the new hardcover version published by Green Ronin.  All players are encouraged to obtain a hardback or electronic copy of the Players Handbook.

2.  We will start at Power Level 10 (PL10)

3.  The world as the characters know it is exactly as it exists in real life on the day of the start of the campaign.  There are no superheroes, mutant powers or known supernatural events.  When the events of the first session occur the two worlds will diverge.

4.  All players will create characters who share a bond of being childhood friends.  Now in their 20's, each is in the Kansas City area.  They take a break from their everyday lives for a relaxing weekend camping trip to a state park on the night of the first session.

5.  All players will create player inter-connectivity attributes between their character and other player characters.  See the blog post on this for details.

6.  This is a comic book campaign using comic book based rules.  Keep this in mind.  Story and atmosphere will rely heavily on certain tropes and plot devices that we all know and love.  Dr. Doom never dies and when he is captured he inevitably escapes.  It's what makes comics fun.  Though certain elements will be a bit dark, this is a story about heroes uniting under incredible circumstances.  The characters should be good and strive to do good things with their new found abilities.

7.  Have fun, be positive and show up :)

Player Character Connections

Player character inter-connectivity is critical to the foundation of this campaign.  In order to facilitate complex relationships between our protagonists as they begin the story, I ask that every player creates the following sets of connections for each one of their fellow player's characters:

A.  This person is very important to me because (FILL IN THE BLANK)
B.  I have a conflict with this person because (FILL IN THE BLANK)

These attributes will be used by the GM to drive story elements.  They should also be kept in mind during roleplay by the players as their characters interact.

Note, these attributes may change over time as the story causes characters to develop and evolve.  As this occurs the players should reach out to the GM if they feel that circumstances necessitate an update.

An example of these attributes might be:

Character A is very important to character B because Character B has secretly loved Character A since highschool.

(Character A may have no idea of this or may suspect, it is up to the players to decide the details of the attributes.)  

Character C has a conflict with Character D because he has long been jealous of the attention and success of character D.

Once again, this should be a collaborative effort between players.  All attributes should be submitted to the GM prior to the start of the campaign.

The Genesis

Four childhood friends take a break from the stresses of their everyday lives and escape to the quiet relaxation of a local state park for a weekend camping trip.

At 10:47 PM local time their lives change forever.  A streak of searing white light crosses the sky followed by an intense explosion....then darkness.

They each regain consciousness with a jolt, as if being plunged into freezing cold waters.  Our protagonists find themselves unable to move, unable to scream.  They see only blackness.  Panic turns to terror.  The silence lasts for only a moment before a voice calls out to them through the void.

"Good morning.  You have each been through a very stressful experience.  You are restrained for your own safety.  Please try and calm your minds.  More will be revealed to you shortly.

....if you experience anything.....unusual.....please

* the voice cuts off abruptly as a loud crash can be heard in the background followed by shouting and what sounds like a struggle*

All sound stops immediately as if the external world has been muted.

After what seems like an eternity the voice suddenly returns.

"As I was saying, please try and calm yourselves.  You are safe and more will be revealed to you shortly."

In spite of the soothing words, the detachment and odd timbre of the voice coupled with the unbelievable circumstances do little to assuage their growing terror.

[THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS]