The RDU (or Red Dragon Universe) is a LONG running supers campaign, begun in 1987 and played pretty regularly ever since. It was my second supers campaign, begun when I taught some new friends in college how to play.
Original premise: Nothing original at all... just your basic "world just like ours, but with superheroes" like an early DC or Marvel Universe.
This changed quickly. Having been lucky to have friends who were excellent role players, the game matured quickly. We all quickly realized that the normal "status quo" of a super hero world, (that is, no matter how weird things get, the world itself never seems to change), just didn't cut it. Players got political, built organizations, marketed their characters, and debated the effects of cutting edge technology on world economics. The world began to take on a fully fleshed existence... but it was still in it's infancy.
Then in 1992, I met Storn. Out of college a few years, my old friends spread around the globe... I connected with a new group, and introduced them to the RDU. Vector, Tachyon, MIRV and Captain Hero. New heroes appearing on the scene to make their mark where the Sentinels of Justic (my college group) had become the elder NPCs.
The RDU would never be the same. These guys were ambitious, aggressive, and dangerous. Storn, Matt, Todd and Howie... they brought a passion for gaming and world building I'd only hoped for in the past. Their characters bucked the system, pushed everyone's buttons (including each others) and truly expected to become LEADERS in the world. They really played up the "repercussions" angle of supers. RDU became, not a world of Superheroes... but a world of "people with powers." You were a hero if you tried to act like one, not just because you were a PC. The question was "You have great power... now what do you do with it?"
The gray areas of life and death, lethal force vs. capture, fighting vs. negotiating... all came to the forefront. Players, especially Storn, began to wrestle with questions about "Where do metahumans fit in a human society?" "Do they fit at all?"
The world changed. Unlike comics, where major, world shattering events, are forgotten by next issue... the events surrounding the PCs began to change the world significantly. During this time, I moved to Ann Arbor, found new players again, Storn moved up as well, old players would visit... and then 1997 rolled around.
Ten years of RDU... and the following had happened.
Metahumans were more prevalent on a global, not just American, scale.
Ultra-dimensional organic technology, Crystal-tech, was revealed to the world, beginning a slow, but unstoppable change in economcics.
Magic had been re-released into the world, with the British Isles semi-isolated from the world due to becoming a magical nation once again.
The old Gods returned... causing disruptions of world religion and a counter revolution in the Catholic Church, out to slay these false idols.
COIL mutates, snake like mutations spread around the world, were collected by a PC (Lord Coil) who took them to the Amazon, and took over the basin for his new nation of non-humans.
China nuked itself, to prevent the spread of contaminated crystal-tech, which only hastened the spread, causing seismic shifts around the world... LA gone... St. Louis destroyed... third island in New Zealand formed... Japan coccooned in jade Crystal-tech, completely cut off from the world.
After years of behind the scenes evil, Dr. Destroyer made his ultimate play for world domination. He coopted alien Progenitor tech... organized world wide terrorism around the world to keep most heroes busy... and was only defeated by heroes from around the globe (players from all three of my groups of those 10 years) to stop him. In the end, they stopped him... but not before the world was changed again.
Aliens and the greater galactic society was revealed, publicly.
Sanctuary, an island neutral zone for metahumans, began to petition for nationhood, recognized by the the UN.
Political and military might began to openly embrace metahumans... while others resented and feared them... and still others worshipped them.
The world continued to change. The PCs planned missions to Mars to colonize it.
Sanctuary became a nation, and withstood censure and attack from other world powers, specifically America.
The US Gov't passed the Paranormal Registration Act, and became very isolationist under a Republican Congress and this assisted Bush Jr. into the White House.
Vector led the mission to Mars, and began colonization. Another PC left earth to become Ambassador to the alien Confederation.
China became openly aggressive, as the Middle East and the Balkans continued to be hotbeds of chaos. A group of powerful villains, moving in over the years since Destroyer's death (Natural Causes!) to fill the void he left. These called themselves The Elite, and were manipulating world chaos, planning to step in themselves, defeat these forces and to help cement their own rule.
China became controlled by DragonNet, subsumed by Crystal-tech and WWIII became inevitable.
The Elite began to lose control of their plan... the heroes exposed them (another generation of new heroes joing the old guard) old villains became allies, old friends became enemies...
WWIII was fought by a force of Metahumans led by PCs, from their new nation of Sanctuary, and dozens of NPC heroes... stopping a corrupted China from assimilating the world with Crystal-tech. Millions died, including some PCs.
Then 9/11 happens in the states. An attack by human terrorists, not metahumans, bringing war to American soil, and driving a wedge in the electorate.
(Note: These events were role played. This is not background I've written to flesh out the world, but game play events driven by the players and me as GM. Their actions have changed the face of my campaign a dozen times.)
All of this (plus a lot more) brings us to current time. The world is a fractured place, with China devastated, the Middle East and Balkans in total chaos. Metahumans are exerting their influence. New tech is flooding the world... undermining stability. Public debate about a true world government have begun, but old superpowers are fighting to keep their power (especially the USA). Into this... come our special agents.
In a world where tech and powers and cybernetics have begun to be common threats... our characters, Cyber Blade, Bryan Fury and Lei Wu Long... and working the shadows. Old powers are trying to use the chaos to reassert themselves (ala Raven) and while the glowing, superpowered types fly over head, dealing with aliens and politics and war... we are fighting the clandestine battles for UNTIL and the burgeoning world police forces suddenly needed more than ever before.
It is a brave new world, literally... and anything goes. Storn gets to step in as GM... to put his own stamp on this crazy universe (and bring the M&M system into play as well). It should be a lot of fun.
We'll keep you updated.
Neil
I should post mine sometime ... it has a similar layout, but with a timeline as well ...
