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Campaign
Description:
Dawnstars is a fusion of
superheroics and regular life: a place where the public lives of
superheroes are acted out alongside the private issues and aspirations
of heroes. Set primarily in Italy, the Dawnstars will be accruing
Frequent Flyer points regularly as they move across Europe and even
beyond to places at the edges of the Earth.
The heroes of Dawnstars are united
by their sense of camaraderie as well as a vision to safeguard the
social, economic and political wellbeing of Europe. Originally
established and supported by the European Union, the Dawnstars’
brilliant introduction into the world of superheroes was prematurely
ended after a rogue mutant named Torch destroyed their high-tech base,
and the EU withdrew all financial and diplomatic backing. This became
known as The Schism. The Dawnstars were left adrift in the aftermath
and went their separate ways.
Two years later the Dawnstars were
reunited after a series of brutal attacks on their ex-members, finally
reforming as an independent team of heroes.
Importance
of the Player Characters:
Very important. While there are other heroes in the world, the
player characters are effectively central to everything in this
campaign. They have a good relationship with the Italian government and
are seen as Italy’s unofficial superhero team. Within the wider
European community, the Dawnstars are considered the lesser cousin to
the more powerful Global Guardians, but do hold some popularity in the
European arena. There will occasionally be cross-overs with NPC heroes,
as well as from other campaigns, and these cross-overs will establish
ongoing global relationships which will develop the Dawnstars.
World
Description:
The Global Guardians Universe is a four-color comic book world
full of larger than life characters. Technology is more
advanced that the real world, and magic is real. Aliens
and creatures of legend roam the earth.
The Story So Far:
In 1999 Germany took over the Presidency of the Council of the
European Union as the euro was officially launched as the
currency in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. During
a special European Council held in Berlin, Germany, the Council
approved the establishment of an EU-sponsored superhero team as
an agent of promoting the philosophy and achievements of the EU,
as well as responding to immediate superhuman threats to member
countries.
The original team of Aeolus, Blarney, Choir,
Eternity, Medusa, Nordkapp Man, Renard, Shriek, Slipknot and
Valkyrie was established in Berlin and dubbed The Dawnstars.
The team’s first official mission was to intercept a tanker
carrying nuclear waste in the Mediterranean Sea, which had been
hijacked by agents of the criminal mastermind Romulus. The
Dawnstars averted disaster and were hailed across Europe as a
huge success. Their headquarters was moved from Berlin to
Venice in 2000 during Millennium celebrations.
Over the next two years the Dawnstars continued to protect the
nations of Europe against natural disasters, criminal
organisations and superhuman adversaries. In 2001, the team’s
leader, Medusa, abruptly left the team after the appointment of
an EU-appointed Administrator to the team. With Medusa’s
departure the Dawnstars unwittingly began their descent into
what has now been termed The Schism. The Dawnstars began
investigating a metahuman arsonist responsible for a series of
fires across Italy over a six year period, but the team was soon
embroiled in a conspiracy that involved an immoral
multi-national project to manufacture the metagene, the
intellectual think-tank known as the Siena Colloquium, various
diplomatic agencies in Italy, and the return of a long lost
metahuman assassin known as The Silver Marten.
In July 2001 the metahuman Torch managed to gain access to the
Dawnstars’ headquarters and levelled the building in a fiery
inferno, killing ten support staff and civilians. The young
hero Eternity was also killed during the conflict at the hands
of The Silver Marten. When the Dawnstars unmasked the puppet
master behind the arson attacks and found time to grieve they
found themselves without a headquarters and without any further
backing by the EU which had unanimously declared that any
further investment in the Dawnstars concept was no longer
viable. The Global Guardians had replaced the need for any
local hero group, and so the Dawnstars were disbanded.
After going their separate ways, the former heroes found
themselves the target of a series of assassination attempts in
November 2003. In Paris, the French hero, Renard, was killed in
a car bomb along with his wife and children. The Dutch hero
Shriek was killed during an opera in Copenhagen, Denmark, along
with several European celebrities. The Greek hero Aeolus was
killed at his home in Hollywood. Valkyrie called together what
remained of the Dawnstars and the team was reunited in Venice at
the palatial home of Slipknot. The five remaining members
defeated the group of cyborg assassins but were unable to fathom
the motive behind the attacks. Out of respect for their fallen
comrades as well as the vision of protecting Europe from further
threats, the remaining Dawnstars reunited in the beautiful city
of Venice.
Local Relations:
In the aftermath of the Schism, the Dawnstars no longer operate as
agents of the European Union. They are based in Venice, Italy, and
enjoy a great deal of popularity and support from the Italian government
and its population. The Polizia and Carabinieri are too concerned about
their own inter-agency politics to be worried about the Dawnstars, but
do often utilise the team’s expertise in an effort to secure good
publicity for solving cases. The Italian public have embraced the
Dawnstars from the highest echelons of society to the disenfranchised on
the streets. The Dawnstars are celebrities.
Beyond Italy’s borders, the Dawnstars are received with a range of
attitudes from subdued admiration, open disdain or abject apathy
depending on the country and government. France has shown a great
disregard for the team, while the United Kingdom sees them as a
inconsequential attempt at reproducing the Global Guardians. The home
countries of team members tend to show the greatest favor, but in the
world of international heroes the Dawnstars have a lot of good work to
accomplish before they can re-establish themselves as the true defenders
of Europe.
Morality:
Dawnstars is a four-color campaign, with a dual focus on the heroes’
public and private lives. The characters will face personal and social
issues which may not always be clearly black and white. Character
development is of primary concern and this development will help to
shape the campaign. Social, environmental and political issues will
provide the characters with difficult decisions, but they should always
try to be the good guys.
Realism: Strong,
but the heroes will be expected to embody the heroic spirit and go
beyond what is expected. Action sequences will be cinematic and
descriptive. Characters won’t die unless they show themselves to be too
stupid to live or are going out in a blaze of glory. The personal lives
of the characters are also in focus and players will have to examine
their character’s social and private lives during the course of the
campaign. Realistic character development will mirror realistic team
development. How you role-play the character will determine the realism
of the game, so please make sure your character has essence and verve.
Outlook:
Positive, but with dark moments. The team can always beat their
adversaries, but there will always be some kind of fall-out that will
shape the team, whether it be positive or negative. The Dawnstars are a
team with a proud heritage but who are now alone and working from the
ground up. What their future holds is up to the characters, and to this
end each character needs to retain a sense of optimism and camaraderie.
Seriousness:
The Dawnstars are a collection of various personalities and the
seriousness of the campaign will reflect this. Some heroes laugh in the
face of danger, or remain grim and determined, while others enjoy witty
banter with their opponents and team-mates alike. The heroes are
experienced in saving the world (or their corner of it) and are aware
that if they mess up, the world could be in serious peril. They are
also aware that they are the ones to stand up to these challenges and
through teamwork and determination they can triumph over all adversity.
Continuity:
The game will be entirely serial. Player
actions in one scenario will have effects on later scenarios, and
continuity will be enforced. Adventures will move linearly through
time, bad guys will remember who you are and what you did to them, and
the press will print your exploits for the world to see. Players are
encouraged to submit fiction pieces for their characters to explore the
private lives, and these pieces also serve to develop the continuity of
the game. |
