Twilight of the Gods: A Metahuman RP
IC
Discord
“Nothing under the sun is new, neither is any man able to say: Behold this is new: for it hath already gone before in the ages that were before us”--Ecclesiastes I:X
History of the World
The Superman After coming to power in 1933 Hitler and his inner circle concentrated the efforts of Nazi Germany's greatest scientific minds under the guise of researching the archaeological and cultural history of the Aryan race for a singular purpose: the creation of the Übermensch, the Superman, who would lead the Thousand-Year German Reich in the coming decades. Covertly, Hitler instructed Himmler to found the Ahnenerbe Institute, on 1 July 1935. The institute conducted expeditions throughout Europe in an attempt to uncover evidence of historical metahuman activity, performing anthropometric studies, and collecting ancient artefacts. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Ahnenerbe Institute's covert mission became more important and Himmler convinced Hitler to attach the Institut für Wehrwissenschaftliche Zweckforschung (Institute for Military Scientific Research) to the Ahnenerbe Institute. However, as the war took its toll on Germany, Himmler used the Institute's resources and purpose for a contingency plan, Operation Götterdämmerung, to use the Übermensch and save Germany in the event of a complete German military collapse. Shortly afterward, they began to conduct extensive medical experiments using human subjects; Prisoners of War, political dissidents, and “undesirables” became unwilling subjects in the Nazi eugenics operations. As the war increasingly became untenable for Germany, fewer resources were directed to the Ahnenerbe Institute, but their work continued throughout secret bases constructed throughout occupied Europe. As the Red Army advanced deeper into German territory Himmler began Operation Götterdämmerung, despite the project's lack of readiness. The Soviet's advance upon the Reich Chancellery suddenly came to a halt when chaos erupted throughout the city. Eyewitnesses to the event reported seeing a large, lumbering creature, attired in the uniform of an SS officer, appear as if out of nowhere and begin to terrorise Berlin. The Soviets began to concentrate their attention on disrupting the creature's rampage but their efforts were met with little success. After nearly twelve hours of decimating Red Army platoons, it eventually collapsed but, before the creature's corpse could be recovered, it exploded in a hail of blood and gore. Following Germany's unconditional surrender to the Allies, the Americans and Soviets began snatching up Nazi scientists as news of the Ahnenerbe Institute’s project spread throughout Allied Command and more detailed knowledge of Operation Götterdämmerung became known to the Allies leaders. The advent of the Atomic Age, heralded by the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, further propelled the former Allied nations into starting their own metahuman project. Backed with the multibillion-dollar Manhattan Project and Operation Paperclip, the American government had an early head start against their communist rivals. The Americans’ early lead paid off. Bedecked in a costume reminiscent of the good ol' "stars and stripes", Columbia, the first American metahuman, began a propaganda tour of the continental United States on 4 July 1946, fighting crime and posing for photographs along the way. Two years later, in August 1948, she travelled to Britain for the Games of the XIV Olympiad before travelling to Europe to help popularise the Marshall Plan and gather support for American economic revitalization of war-torn Europe. Columbia’s tour was a rousing success and a major American propaganda victory. A little over a year later, on 29 August 1949, the Soviets announced their own success by showing off Hammer, the first Soviet supersoldier. Hammer’s appearance, coming only a few months after the formation of NATO, shocked the Western Powers, who still believed the Soviets were years behind in the metahuman race. Hammer and Columbia met for the first time, as both intervened during the Chinese Civil War and marked the first instance of metahuman combat in history. The two super-powered beings would continue to meet as the Cold War intensified and yet, despite both having prevented the world from destruction countless times, neither felt satisfied. Half a century passed, new metahumans were welcomed into the world but, as the new millennium dawned, the hostilities between the USA and USSR never seemed to cease. Throughout their respective careers, Columbia and Hammer had come to develop a deep sense of friendship and kinship. Both felt they were being used, as the United States and Soviet Union became increasingly reliant on costumed heroes as the linchpin of their national securities efforts. This sentiment was shared by others, as metahumans increased in number but they remained largely pawns to national governments or private vigilantes, despised for the thankless job of protecting people. Eventually, Columbia and Hammer began a romantic relationship, one that couldn't be made public, and they were forced to meet in private, secluded places. However, even the most carefully constructed plans can go awry, as did theirs when Columbia became unexpectedly pregnant. Knowing that, if the public were made privy to this knowledge, and see their lives’ works destroyed and their unborn child become a pawn in a geopolitical chess game, they began to consider alternate options. With the aid of other, close, costumed metahumans, they conspired to topple the governments of the world and replace them with a system where metahumans could govern themselves without the constraints of nation-states. It began on New Year's Eve; Sunday, 31 December 1999. As billions around the world celebrated the dawning of a new millennium, the metahumans enacted their plan of global domination. Most were tasked with infiltrating the parliamentary buildings of the worlds’ nations whilst others were assigned to simultaneously assume control of military and nuclear arsenals. Nation after nation fell to the might of the metahumans, albeit unbeknownst to the billions of people who continued to celebrate New Year's Eve in blissful ignorance of the events transpiring; it was only by the light of day that everything became clear to them. As the sun rose on the horizon, people awoke, dreary-eyed and hungover from the night before, only to be subject to a global PSA broadcast from the UN Headquarters in New York City That morning, Columbia and Hammer relayed the events of the previous night and what had changed. Metahumans would govern the world, the most powerful families of which would receive large swathes of territory to govern, with Hammer and Columbia ruling as the King and Queen of Earth. These metahuman "dynasties” would rule over the weaker metahumans who would, in turn, govern smaller territories; a neo-feudal world order, meant to ensure a feeling of lasting peace, as the metahumans felt more in common with themselves than previous national and ethnic boundaries. Meanwhile, Columbia and Hammer, with their newborn son, relocated to the Olympus; a space station orbiting the Sun, largely removing themselves from Earth affairs. Of course, not all were happy with the new order, and resistance movements, some started by the remnants of the national governments, revolted against the metahumans. The action of the Dynasties was swift, with a unified front easily defeating the military might of Earth. The resistance fled to Australia, turning the continent into a fortress, albeit, one that had become a desolate wasteland after repeated bombings by the metahuman dynasties. Twenty years on, the power of the Dynasties seems as strong as ever. Most conflicts are resolved peacefully, and only the remnants of the resistance remain to fight. However, as the younger generation of metahumans come into their own, and fewer remember the struggles of the Old Order, questions over whether this peace can last persist, and if this will be the Twilight of the Gods. |
Introductory Notes
Welcome to Twilight of the Gods. This is largely a character-driven RP where you play a metahuman or standard human in the events of this alternate world of 2020. The world is divided into different territories, controlled by the most powerful metahuman families, and the continent of Australia, currently the last bastion of human resistance. The first arc of this story will be the final war against the resistance, and most characters will begin there. Afterward, the story will branch off into a more open-ended approach, as the rivalries, friendships, and conflicts of the different metahumans become the focus. |
Setting Introduction
The world is currently divided into twelve regions, eleven controlled by the metahuman Dynasties, and Australia. As it is a neo-feudal world, various levels of control exist, and each of these Dynasties or “Houses” are of course devolved into different, smaller units. Each region and Dynasty has its own system of dividing its territory and is largely player-driven. The ruling body of Earth is the Dynastic Congress. Each metahuman Dynasty, from the Great Houses to the lowest vassal, meets monthly to negotiate trade, resolve conflicts, and ensure the continuation of the Dynastic system. The ruling body of the Congress is the High Council, made up of the Eleven Great Houses and a lesser House elected for a yearly term by the rest of the Congress. The High Council serves as the “upper chamber” of the Congress as well as its supreme court. The presiding officer of the Council rotates monthly, ensuring each member presides at least once a year. The technology of Twilight of the Gods is far more fantastical than you would see in our current world, as a result of the diverging timeline. It would not be uncommon to see rather “science fiction” technology, and this I also leave largely open to the players, within reason. Magitech is also permitted. |
Not to mention, since metahumans have been artificially created, the density might also be different between world regions, with wealthier regions having much more.
