1001 HU Story Ideas

[LostOne]

I'm starting this for GMs and Players alike to post short descriptions of story ideas they've had that they thought would be fun.

1. A super villain with the Gateways ability opens a portal between downtown <insert big city here> and the bottom of the ocean. Downtown begins flooding.

2. A superpowered being with Re-Channel and Expel Energy has been abducted and enslaved as the key component in a new power generator that will provide power to millions. (I've posted this idea previously, read more about it here).

3. The military had developed a machine that bombards a human inside it with radiation/chemicals/etc to awaken latent mutant powers. It had been successfully tested on volunteers from the Army, and has around a 10% success factor, with failures dying quickly and horribly. It was deemed unsafe and put in a warehouse where classified items go to disappear, at least until it could be made more successful. The problem? It was stolen by the mafia/terrorists...weeks ago.

4. The Spear of Longinus/Destiny has been uncovered. It has been rumored that it grants whoever controls it strange powers...

[Traska]

-- A new superhero is really a supervillain, and nobody wants to believe it! (Charismatic, awe factor, etc). For whatever reason, the hero(es) are immune, but others aren't so lucky... thanks to the new guy, the police and the media are in full witch hunt mode against dissenters!

-- Flip side! A popular hero has been captured by villains, and has been brainwashed into being one of them! Can our heroes save this hero, or are they forever lost to darkness?

-- Invasion! An invasion force of (pick one): a) Swords-n-spells elves and/or dwarves, b) squads of black, skull-faced armored troops with laser weaponry, c) ugly freakish monsters from a world with eternal dusk, d) robots bent on exterminating all life, or e) other such, comes through a portal (or from space) to conquer Earth. It's pandemonium, but one of the heroes discovers something that can stop these invaders!

-- Revelations! A relative of one of the heroes is revealed to be a villain! Or... are they?

-- PolyHyperUltraMegaSuperCyberUberDyne, Inc has revealed that it has invented a substance that eats pollution and emits oxygen! Even more amazingly, it's edible, destroys harmful bacteria, and even eliminates radioactive waste! So, why is it that no one's ever heard of PolyHyperUltraMegaSuperCyberUberDyne, Inc until now... and why is their corporate leadership so secretive?

-- Yarr! Piracy on the high seas! Vessels at sea have been coming under attack by pirates, but when the heroes catch the pirates, they seem to be the cast of Jenny the Zombie Killer! What the heck's going on around here?

-- One of the heroes has been accused of a crime! It's a frame-up... isn't it?

-- A terrorist organization is cloning heroes, and our intrepid do-gooders discover this because they wind up fighting dopplegangers of themselves!

-- Dimensional shift! The entire world seems to be basically similar (i.e., cities where they should be, the right people famous and in power), but the window dressing's all different! It could be fantasy, sci-fi, cyberpunk, or what have you... but the heroes seem to be the only ones aware that anything is different. Or... for a twist... EVERYONE is aware!

-- A group of criminals is knocking over businesses by pretending to film a movie, and using the confusion to get away. Worse, they're doing it where movies really are being filmed!

-- Giant insect attack! Giant ants, bees, or spiders (yes, spiders are arachnids, shaddap) are coming up from the ground and assaulting the city! Can our heroes do anything to stop this madness?

-- Cross-dimensional conflict! The heroes' universe is merging with another universe, and the two Earths are bridging! The other Earth could be a) reverse-aligned... the heroes are villains, and vice versa! b) reverse-governed... the good governments are bad, and vice-versa (i.e., Cuba is one of the few democracies left in the world), c) reverse-gendered! The heroes' counterparts are heroines, and they'll never look at the villains the same way again! d) another group of heroes entirely (think JLA/Avengers)

-- The Motherboard of all plots! Someone is replacing powerful people with robots! But... who? And is it possible that the one robot is telling the truth, and he really has been a robot all along?

-- One of the heroes (or the whole group) inherits a whole lot of money. After they spend some of it, they discover where the money comes from. Can their conscience *really* let them keep money with that much blood on it?

-- An alien lands on Earth, and proclaims that one of the heroes is really the long-lost heir to an interstellar empire.

-- The heroes awaken to discover that they have all switched bodies! They have to get to the bottom of it, using each other's powers (but with their own skills).

-- The heroes awaken to find themselves the most wanted fugitives on the planet! Have they slipped into another dimension, or is it something more sinister?

[Snowtiger]

- A failed attempt to produce a new completely pollution-free source of energy opens a portal into an another dimension(Hell can be a "dimension", but a totally alien one would be best, as long as the creatures are able to survive in our dimension), seeding the world with strange creatures from the said dimension. Attempts to seal the portal have so far been unsuccessful, and the heroes are to defend the earth from the creatures and ultimately to find a way to seal the portal.

[lather]

Superheros of the Soviet Union.

Let the Brezhnev jokes fly.

[LostOne]

Resurrecting this old thread because I found this snippet about the Spear of Destiny (which I mentioned in the first post). Whether it is true or not, who cares, in the game it can be true. Seems like the beginning of a new adventure.

Dr. Howard A. Buechner, M.D., professor of medicine at Tulane and then
LSU, wrote two books on the Spear. Buechner was a retired Colonel
with the U.S. Army who served in World War II, and had written a book
about the Dachau massacre, which he had witnessed. He claims he was
contacted by a former U-boat submariner, the pseudonymous "Capt.
Wilhelm Bernhart", who claimed the spear currently on display in
Vienna is a fake. The real Spear was sent by Hitler to Antarctica
along with other Nazi treasures, under the command of Col. Maximilian
Hartmann. However it was recovered in 1979 by Hartmann. Bernhart
presented Buechner with the log from this expedition as well as
pictures of the objects recovered and claimed that after the Spear of
Destiny was recovered from the ice in 1979 it was hidden somewhere in
Europe by a Nazi secret society. After contacting most of the members
of the alleged expedition and others involved, including senior Nazi
officials and close associates of Adolf Hitler, like Hitler Youth
Leader Artur Axmann, Buechner became convinced the claims were true.

[LostOne]

-Two immensely strong mutants are racing down main street from one end to the other. The only rule is that they have to stay AGAINST traffic the entire way. The heroes have to either stop these two superpowers and end the race or play damage control for the entire event. (I didnt make this up, my old GM ran this once with Juggernaut racing the Rhino.)

I could see the damage control being a lot of fun on this.

so she becomes this cute little 'roided out badger who goes nuts.)

PS: I Just realized this was a resurection.

No worries, I resurrected it because I think threads like this should be kept alive. When I was in college I pretty much GMed out of threads like these because I never had time to plan a real session. It was all GMing by the seat of my pants after finding a quick idea (either my own idea or from threads like this one).

[wolfsgrin]

- Earth was an alien experiment that has been long forgotten by its alien scientists. Aliens return to this sector of the universe only to discover the planet has developed the worst problem a universe could develop. HUMANS! Now its time to "dump the peetree dish" before the humans spread.

- A wanna be hero has been trying to join players' hero team. Problem is, he's kind of a loser. He means well but his powers leave a lot to be desired and his personality is off key as well. Just not hero material. After so many rejections the wanna be is heart broken and driven insane and now see's the pcs as enemies. Shananagans ensue.

[TheLlamaFarmer]

A Mega Alien Mutant with the powers of APS Stone, Growth, EX PE and Density Walking is exiled to earth. This Behemoth could easily stand over 100 ft tall... It crashes into the ocean and is slowly walking towards the mainland. What are it's intentions? What do the Heroes do to try to communicate with it?

In a game I'm running, the alien was Rhino Appearance from an Abrasive Atmospear, after maxing all PE rolls it had a PE of 65, thats a 140ft tall stone Rhino!. Mega powers were "Doesn't Breath" and "Immune to Pressure", weakness was magic, slow and ponderous and monstrous form. Powers were unstable, growing with experience, and the alien's level was 15. So.... It's quite a huge beast. I randomly rolled it's alignment and got unprincipled. Now it's up to the players to figure out what to do with it before the government does something silly... like try to nuke it.


Sometimes as a GM, you just gotta throw something so huge at the players that the only way to beat it is with wits and wisdom.

[gaby]

Here are My ideas.

1)The Entire Western half of European continent have been replace with a 1938 Counterpart (Ireland to Poland).How will the Current World deal with a Nazi Germany.

2)A Group of Magic useing Villains hold control over a Canadian province with a field that Negate super-powers and technogy.Now a Group of Non-powered Heroes need to take it back.

3)A Country offers to give full citizen rights if they serve a 4 year term in ther military.

[Glistam]

-- A gang of wannabe villains get a serious power upgrade and go on a crime spree. Can the heroes stop their rampage? Will they discover how this happened?

--A monsterous creature has been appearing at a prostiguous private school, beating up bullies, and vanishing mysteriously. Parents have begun pulling their kids and the school is on the verge of closing. Can the heroes uncover the truth behind what's going on and make the school safe for the children again?

--The heroes take an unscheduled dimensional trip and upon their return, they are greeted by... themselves? Who are these imposters? Are they even back at their right world?

--The heroes begin getting ambushed by ninjas! A crime wave hits the city, seemingly pulled off by scores of ninjas. What's up with this sudden infestation of ninjas? And why does there always seem to be people with video cameras around when the heroes encounter the ninjas? Why does their ninja master look a lot like Jackie Lee, famous Hong Kong movie director and star?

--A powerful mutant villain shows up on the heroes doorstep, beaten, fearful and near death. Before falling unconsious he pleads for the heroes to help him. What could have caused so much damage and scared this powerful mutant so much that he woudl seek out his enemies for help?

--People who have been crippled from an accident caused by superhumans fighting have been disappearing. Also, a new group is hunting and killing superhumans. Are these two events related? Is it true that this new threat to superhumans are some kind of cyborg warriors?

[Glistam]

--A chemical spill at a local research facility has caused a sudden growth spurt in their ant infestation. Now giant ants are overrunning the area. This growth can be reversed if the antidote can be administered within a few hours. This antidote would take days to synthesize, but there is some already manufactured within the facility. All the Heroes have to do is find it and administer it. Did we mention that the research facility is the center of the new colony's location?

--In the scenario above, as an added complication, a bug controlling villain hears about this mess and decides to show up to use the giant ants in his nefarious schemes. And is eagerly searching for the chemical formula that can give him permanent giant bugs.

--While the heroes sleep the Lord of Dreams comes to them and asks for their help in combatting a new menance to the dream realms. If this menance continues unchecked, every sleeper would become trapped forever in endless nightmares. This menace has already trapped thousands of innocent dreamers. In a realm where one's will can make a person's desires and fears real, can the Heroes prevail?

--A new drug is hitting the streets which can give ordinary people superhuman abilities. It has just one side effect: the death of the user. The gangs in the city are using it anyway, and their territory wars are destroying the city. Can the heroes contain the damage these gangs are causing? Can the heroes track the suppliers and put them out of business, permanently?

--An otherworldly being of limitless power arrives and decides to amuse itself in the Heroes' city. People are turned into giant wind-up toys. Buildings are turned into fruit. The Heroes' abilities don't faze or impress the being at all, but their determination does. The Heroes are given a challenge that, if they win, will return the city to normal and the being will leave the world for good. If the Heroes lose, they will be turned into a giant statue which proclaims this being as the new ruler of the city. The catch? The Heroes are stripped of their powers and gadgets. For the sake of Humanity and normalcy, can they prevail?

--Jailbreak! Just about every villain the heroes ever captured escape from jail, and boy do they have a grudge against the Heroes. Individually they were captured by the heroes the last time they fought. Together they decide they're unstoppable. Can the Heroes survive the combined threat of their greatest foes working together to destroy them?

[Glistam]

--A new group of heroes has arrived in the hero's city and has started fighting crime better than the players do. How does this new group manage to be at every outbreak of crime in the city before the players? Is there more to this new group than meets the eye? Can the player heroes expose this new group's secrets before the public labels them as unnecessary and drives them out of the city?

--Support for superhuman actions within the government has recently and inexplicably turned negative, and new laws hastily enacted have made all superhumans and their activities illegal. When the men in black arrive to arrest the players a monstrous creature shows up to help defend them. In the ensuing fight the men in black turn out to be constructs created and controlled by beetle-like creatures. After the fight this monsterous "Nightbane" creature brings the heroes up to speed on the evil that is infiltrating the world governments. Can the heroes publically expose this plot and end it while living a life on the lam?

--Taking over world governments and eradicating superhumans was only the beginning phase of a nastier plot. Can the heroes uncover that plot and stop it before it's too late?

--Something is weakening the very fabric of reality, and dimensional rifts are opening up at peak times and spewing things from other dimensions. Can the heroes contain what comes out of these gaping tears in reality? More importantly, can they discover what is causing this weakening in the dimensional barriers and stop it for good?

--If they were sucked into one of those rifts, where would they end up? Would they be able to find their way back?

--A powerful mage thinks he has discovered a way to heighten the power of magic through the world. What he doesn't realize is that if he succeeds he's likely to create a chain reaction that will decimate the planet and turn it into Rifts Earth. A quick trip to the future (Modified Chaos Earth and Rifts Earth) can show the heroes what the result will be and provide the date it happened. Now, back in their own time, the clock is ticking on them finding this mage and stopping his plans for good before humanity is driven to the brink of extinction.

[LostOne]

Resurrecting because these are good threads to keep around.

A man has gained Divine Aura and is leading (from the shadows) an army of the homeless. This man is a wealthy businessman and uses his homeless army to attack his competition. Looting/destroying warehouses, burning entire neighborhoods so he can buy them up to make strip malls, sabotaging competitor offices (destroying the satellite dishes on the roof, breaking in and stealing/destroying expensive equipment), etc. He sees his soldiers as loyal and expendable, after all, in NYC, there's always more homeless to recruit. Authorities blame the excessive violence and crime from the homeless on the unusually cold winter, they are stealing to pay for food, breaking in for temporary shelter overnight, etc.

[Glistam]

I don't normally like HLS format for these, but this one works better written like that.

Hook: The modern day is changing before the heroes very eyes. Loved ones disappear as if never born. Scientific advencements disappear. What's left in their place is a dark and dreary place, devoid of hope or promise.

Line: Before the heroes are affected, a time traveler comes to them and asks for their help in fixing the time stream and returning their present back to how it should be. He tells them that someone has run rampant through history and changed numerous key events, turning their present into this dreary world and having an even worse impact on the future.

Sinker: The villain is actually someone trying to do good throughout history by preventing "evil" things from happening. So the heroes must undo all the "good" this traveller has done by re-initiating all that evil. Things that could qualify: The premature death of Hitler, The failure of the Bolshevik Revolution, The native cultures of the Americas successfully repelling the Europeans, The Spanish Inquisition lasting more than a few days before being ended, and more depending on the length of the adventure.


Some other adventure ideas, not in HLS format

-A series of satillites launched into space over the last year suddenly activate, creating a shield that blocks the sun from the North American continent. Freed at last from the threat of the sun, vampires now run amok. Was vampire invasion the purpose of this plot, or just an unforseen complication? Can the heroes find the mastermind behind this plot and shut down these satillites permanently before North America is overrun with the insatiably hungy undead?

-A series of children in the city, all the same age, suddenly develop amazing powers on their 10th birthday. All of them are mega hero mutants with similar powers. The kids are confused, their families are helpless, and their amazing power and naievite makes them easy targets for manipulation. Can the heroes prevent these children from running amok? Can they discover the secret that empowers these kids? Can the heroes protect these kids from those that would use their powers for their own evil ends?

-A giant monster appears out of the water and begind wreaking havoc in a coastal city. The heroes' powers are not doing much to discourage it's straight-line rampage. Can they find another way to calm this deadly beast's wrath? Does the answer lie at the end of the straight-line, where the Genetech genetic laboratories are?

-A major crime boss in the city dies unexpectedly, leaving a power vacuum in the city's underworld power structure. As various crime syndicates all fight each other for that position, the innocent people of the city are caught in the crossfire. Can the heroes find a way to end this power struggle? Can they somehow take advantage of thie infighting and end these syndicates for good?

-Some of the Earth's most powerful and popular heroes are suddenly and inexplicably turning evil. Their powers make their rampages unstoppable. The public is loosing trust in all their champions. Can the heroes discover what sinister force has twisted Earth's mightiest champions and turned them into Earth's most wanted?

-Rolling blackouts are plaguing the city. A pair of newly empowered teens who can feed on energy have been gorging themselves from the city's power grid. All this over feeding has also made them incredibly overcharged and deadly powerful. Can the heroes teach this deadly duo how to eat in moderation?

-A powerful hero is finally pushed over the brink of sanity by his archnemesis, and begins terrorizing the city with his attempts to apprehend the villain. This juggernaut of a hero has become blind to everyone else around him in his single-minded quest for vengance. Despite his twisted code of ethics the villain has realized that he may have pushed things a little far, and is doing his best to minimize the death and destruction being caused by the out of control hero. But he can't do it alone. Can the heroes work alongside this villain in order to end the hero's justified rage?

[Glistam]

-A new lawyer is in town, and his command of the legal system is re-opening closed cases and setting villains free left and right. Now that villains seem to no longer fear jailtime, crime rates are skyrocketing. Can the heroes beat this lawyer at his own game and remind criminals that crime and punishment is more than just a book, it's a sequence of events? Is there some ulterior motive to this lawyer's actions that the heroes can discover and foil?

-With more crime on the streets than ever, and the new revolving door policy of prison [see previous], some heroes are taking matters into their own hands by forming a new vigilante group. This new group has begun maiming or even executing villains instead of just capturing them. As the PC heroes desperately try to end the rising crime wave their only hope may be the next villain that the vigilante group has targeted for execution. Can the heroes stop the vigilantes and make them see the error of their ways?

-The heroes have been branded as criminals and captured. They are to be put on trial and their best hope of winning lies with convincing the lawyer they previously foiled to defend them in the courtroom. But what price will he set for the heroes in order to do this? Will they be willing to pay? Can they discover that the entire situation was a set up designed to put them in his power before they tarnish their reputations forever?

-An Antiquarian (see Mystic China) not only collects ancient things, but he specializes in collecting ancient magic things. When a PC with a mystic weapon or object is brought to his attention, he decides that their item is exactly what his collection needs next. Dusting off some of his relics, he empowers himself with exactly the sort of magic items he thinks he'll need to counter the abilities of the mystic hero and his teammates. Can our heroes prevail?

[Glistam]

--One by one, supervillains begin disappearing. There are no witnesses, just suddenly it appears they are slowly dropping off the radar. Is someone waging a secret war of attrition against villains? Or is there something real big being planned? Can the heroes find out before it's too late?

--An alien arrives on Earth with a warning to it's heroes: There is an armada on it's way to attack the planet. It's time to unite the world in a global effort to repel these invaders! But why are the aliens invading? Could it be a simple case of misplaced blame for something? It's time for some investigating in space while the clock ticks down to the invasion. Can the heroes clear up this misunderstanding before their world falls under attack?

--An existing robotics corporation has recently re-orgainzed itself and stepped up their game, taking the global market by storm. Their new products are revolutionizing the entire industry and existing models are quickly being retrofitted with cheap, efficient upgrades. Is this too good to be true? There does seem to be something just not quite right with the executives of this company. The way the move, their lack of facial expression, it's almost inhuman. And why would their building need a giant broadcast antenna?

[Traska]

Oooh, I forgot this thread. =)

-- There's a new reality show (America's Next Superhero), and the heroes it's making are all the rage. But are they all as good as they seem, or is there something fishy going on?

-- The heroes are transported to a world where their favorite comic characters live. But they're not all they're cracked up to be (some of them are even downright psychotic, although the locals don't seem to care). Do the heroes set things right, or do they just try to get home?

-- The heroes find themselves in "the real world". No supers other than them, but everyone... and I mean *everyone*... know who they really are. It seems that there's a popular comic line about the group, it's been featured in cartoons, and they're currently in talks for a movie adaptation (Brad and George are both interested). Do the heroes stay big fish in a small pond, or do they try to get home? And if they *do* stay, what do they do about their now public identity?

-- A notorious supervillain has somehow gained a full pardon for his crimes... can it have something to do with the obscene amount of aparently legal money he seems to have come into? In any event, the villain is legal, free and clear, and is making a bid for public office. And worse, people seem to be buying it. Do the heroes try to expose the villain, or let the people decide democratically?

[KillWatch]

-DT gets oemone into the the white house and others. Plexor would make a great candidate

-Serial Killer

-Serial Killer with Invisibility/Teleport

-DS9 Goes into mass production for mutant/superhuman hunting purposes by a shadowy organization

-War between Psis-real humans and Mutants-not real humans, with Experiments either being a third faction, or a common enemy

-Excalibur is found as England becomes troubled once again by the opening of a portal to the underworlds

-As per SR, Native Americans perform a Ghost Dance

-Usurper begins covert terrorist actions against members of the UN, influencing existing terrorist groups and creating his own

-Usurper simply wants to expand his territory by laying wast to his opposition, one country at a time

-Cult of an old one has only 13 more sacrifices in the next 13 Dark Moons to summon an avatar of an old one to bring forth it's return.

-Possessing entity takes on one of the characters while they sleep

-The Olympian Club arrives on earth to locate the portal to Tartarus where the Titan Prometheus rests, to make them into true gods. In the meanwhile they form a corporation and begin building a ruthless financial empire.

[Glistam]

-- A tech villain has erected an impenetrable force field around a major city, and will not drop it until a large payment has been made to an overseas account. No-one from the outside can bypass the barrier. Luckily, the heroes were already in the city when the field was raised. Can they find a way to end this hi-tech terrorism without endangering all the trapped citizens? Whatever they do, the whole world will be watching as this story has become multi-national news.

-- A local singing star has discovered her mutant ability to influence people through words during her latest concert. With little control over it though she's managed to incite a mass riot. Scared and confused, she has no more control over the audience. Can the heroes end everyone's fighting and rescue the scared girl caught in the middle of it?

-- Today is a busy day for the heroes. It seems like everyone who is up to no good is doing it all today. Bank robberies, jewelry story break-ins, armored car heists; it’s all going down today for some reason. Was this planned? Is there something more sinister at work here trying to keep the heroes distracted?

-- A group of minor superpowered villains have united and escaped from jail together. Individually their petty abilities were no match for local law enforcement. But working together they've begun making a name for themselves. Can the heroes step in and put them back behing bars where they belong?

[LostOne]

*LostOne waves hands mystically and resurrects the thread*

This one works for any contemporary setting with some tweaking.

The characters are all participants in or crew of a reality TV show that is isolated (think Big Brother or Survivor, etc) from the outside world. If players are crew then the crew is also cutoff from the outside world as much as possible to prevent leaking news to the cast. As days go on they start getting hints that things are not going well outside, some kind of catastrophe, lots of people dead. Then one day the supply truck/ship with food doesn't show up. As people get hungrier and hungrier, they decide to breach the sequestering and go outside the dome or take one of the boats/helicopters to the mainland. The world has been about half overrun by a massive zombie outbreak (if HU, then some disease is mutating people into having superpowers and driving them insane so they eat human flesh, etc). Turns out the head honcho in charge of the show (the only person with access to the outside if any players are crew) knew of this and opted not to inform the cast/crew because he saw a news cast that some people are turning to the show as a way of denying the present and living in the past vicariously through the "normal interactions of the cast on the reality tv show". He thought he was doing the survivors a favor...nevermind the cast and crew likely have friends and family dead or fighting for survival out there.

[Glistam]

-Fast forward a year into the heroes' lives. Summarize how everything's gone great for them during that time and things in their lives couldn't be better. All their old foes powerless and no longer a threat. All their personal and physical problems miraculously (but within reason) solved. Everything they've ever dared dream for seems to have come true. Is this paradise or a prison? Dare they try to return to how things used to be?

-The heroes' (or a hero's) powers or abilities start to mutate, growing in power but becoming harder to control. On top of that, they find out that this increase in power is also draining their life force. Can they discover how this happened and reverse the effect before they lose control altogether, or even lose their own lives?

-A major city port has begun suffering from terrible storms, sinking most ships and stopping sea travel altogether. These are real vicious, ancient-god type terrible storms. Is this truly the work of some mortal foe, or has an old god taken some offense and is now lashing out? Can the heroes figure it out and stop this before it's too late?

-The heroes wake up and discover they are in the bodies of their combined foes. How did this happen? With their foes controlling the heroes' original bodies can the heroes save themselves and their reputations?

[Glistam]

I love this thread.

-The heroes' recent actions have managed to anger an ancient power. In retaliation, this ancient power has cursed the heroes, giving them a major case of bad luck. Can the heroes manage to figure out what has happened, why it occurred and how to make amends? Will they survive this terrible streak of bad luck?

-Dopplegangers of the heroes have appeared from another dimension, asking for the heroes' help. As the heroes spend time with their dopplegangers however they come to realize that they are not exactly what they seem - perhaps it's the goatees, or perhaps it's their disregard for human life, but something tells the heroes that they may be dealing with evil twins here. The evil twins revealed that they came here looking for someone, a refugee from their world, and perhaps the heroes may decide it'd be better to find this person before their twins do.

-The heroes are caught in a time loop! They're stuck repeating the same day over and over. What is the event they need to "get right" in order to end this effect? Will they be able to discover a reason for how this happened, or is it just accepted?

-The United Nations is trying out a "hero exchange" program, where heroes from different countries are swapped in order to promote national cooperation. The heroes could chosen to represent their country somewhere far away. How will they deal with the culture shock? Who comes to their country in their place? Is this some kind of elaborate diversion to get the Heroes out of the way?

-Instead of going overseas for the Hero Exchange Program (HEX) the heroes could instead be directed by their government to help the foreign team coming over acclimate themselves - essentially be their escorts. But when the team that arrives is a group of young teenagers with mental baggage (ADD, entitled, snobbish, emo, and/or others as appropriate) and superpowers, can the Heroes handle the job?

-An incredible, famous item falls into the heroes' hands in the middle of some adventure. This item is so incredible and so famous that it doesn't take long for everyone who's tracking it to learn that the heroes have it. With the power this item contains, what will the heroes do with it? How will they handle all the beings trying to obtain it for themselves?

[LostOne]

-The heroes are caught in a time loop! They're stuck repeating the same day over and over. What is the event they need to "get right" in order to end this effect? Will they be able to discover a reason for how this happened, or is it just accepted?

This one is fun if it is a villain putting the group in a seemingly "impossible" scenario, if the players enjoy critical thinking exercises and off-the-wall solutions.

[LeeNapier]

Here's a bunch I threw together:

- The world's oceans are disappearing, and the beings that live there (Atlanteans/mermen/giant unstoppable monsters) are not happy about it. The heroes must at once defend the world from the unhappy ocean dwellers (who blame the surface world for the disappearing oceans) but also discover where the water has gone, and why, and retrieve it.

- The Gods (really any gods, the more the merrier) return, deciding once again to meddle in the affairs of men - with disastrous results.

- An ancient magical artifact in Peru has been activated by a bumbling archaeologist, and has spread chaos magic worldwide. Spells are going awry with comical and deadly results, ordinary objects are becoming animate, and mythical creatures have once again appeared, hungry for human flesh.

- Random housepets around the city begin to mutate, evolving intelligence and other human attributes nearly overnight. Heroes mapping the instances can see the area of effect spreading, and soon it will affect the City Zoo. particularly interesting if one of the PCs has a pet.

- One of the PCs or a friend of the PCs is an alien, and has been abducted by Galactic Police to answer for crimes they are been accused of. The rest of the PCs must find a way to the galactic Tribunal to rescue/defend their friend.

- A supervillain fresh out of jail appeals to the PCs, wanting to join their group. He claims he has turned over a new leaf, and offers information he has learned in jail about planned villainous activites - if they let him join.

- A woman appears, claiming to be the spouse of one of the PC's - but he hasn't met her. Further, she claims his name is different from what it is, and that he has left behind a family (parents, siblings, cousins, and maybe a child) grieving for their lost family member. Unfortunately for the PC, she has proof, letters (in his handwriting), photos, and hair from a comb that matches his DNA (if they test it). Is she a stalker, a villain with a plan to drive the PC insane - or does the PC have amnesia?

- A mysterious benefactor attempts to assert himself as a patron of the heroes, pointing them to villainous plots to uncover, robberies to foil, and rampages to stop, and enticing them with deliriously expensive new headquarters, vehicles, and equipment - but just who is he?

- In the course of foiling a routine warehouse robbery, one of the PCs finds a secret room full of large glass tubes, each containing a fully matured but inert clone of himself.

- Aliens land on Earth, very publicly, and attempt to establish a settlement in the desert. Are they invaders, or peaceful traders?

- A peaceful neighboring nation has suddenly and inexplicably become very warlike, and threatens to invade, despite the impassioned pleas of its level-headed citizenry. An invasion of the PC's home country by this nation would quickly fail, in a spectacularly bloody fashion, yets it's government leaders are adamant. The PC's must determine why they are so bound to this suicidal course of action, and stop them before it's too late.

- The PC's headquarters has a new door where there was no door before. Where does it lead, and how did it get there?

- An apparition of one of the PCs (preferably someone already in the room) appears to give a dire warning, but disappears before the warning can be finished. Is this a ghost or a projection from the future, giving a real warning, or an illusion or hologram generated by a villain - and what could the warning have been?

[Juce734]

--A small 1-4 person spaceship appears to be out of control and flying across the sky faster than any human plane can. The projected crash site appears to be the mountains of West Virginia. Upon crashing a long line of trees is destroyed and the main ship is destroyed. Any surviving aliens (could be a PC) try to escape by way of their own personal craft the size of a motorcycle or quad. The players group is trying to get to the site of the crash before any anti super being factions and any government factions. Could go multiple directions...

1) Players get a new Alien for their faction.

2) Players get a new Alien villian.

3) Anti Super Being Factions kills all survivors.

4) Government detains alien survivors.

[AlanGunhouse]

Well, there was the option I did with "Who Wants to be a cookie cutter?" Someone is doing a reality show similar to "who wants to be a superhero" except that the contestants are endowed with super powers for the duration of being on the show...but what happens to the ones kicked off? Why, for some reason they keep turning up dead...

[LostOne]

Well, there was the option I did with "Who Wants to be a cookie cutter?" Someone is doing a reality show similar to "who wants to be a superhero" except that the contestants are endowed with super powers for the duration of being on the show...but what happens to the ones kicked off? Why, for some reason they keep turning up dead...

If the GM and group are into reality TV show contests that could be an entire campaign in and of itself...

I'm not a fan of that kind of reality TV but investigating the deaths would make for a fun storyline in my game. I like it!

[AlanGunhouse]

Another good story thread in my "Cookie Cutter" story arc was called "Hostile Takeover. Someone, after finding a way to create mass produced supersoldiers, also finds a way to brainwash them in the process. The result, thousands of drone supersoldiers mindlessly following the orders of the corporate HQ. The Heroes need to find a way to get through hoards of enemies and release the supersoldiers from mind control if the nation is going to survive.

[Zenvis]

- Power rings are showing up all over town, there is usually a message about being the chosen one but no origin... yet.

[Zenvis]

-1D4 large cocoons have appeared at random spots in the city. They are the size of a voltswagon bug and have a pulse. Are they safe? What are they about? Should you move them? What does it all mean?

[Glistam]

And more!

-A never before seen group of villains have shown up completely out of the blue, and they are on the hunt for someone. An also never before seen hero (or new group of heroes) contacts the players to ask for their help in protecting the very person these new villains are hunting. What is so special about this (seemingly) ordinary person that has two very powerful groups so worked up? Where did these new villains and hero(es) come from? Or is the better question, when did they come from?

-A new hero or villain bears a striking resemblance to one of the player's heroes. It seems obvious that there's a relation. But the player has never met that person before. What's the real deal here, and why does this new person seem to go completely out of their way to avoid interacting with the players' characters?

-An NPC that one of the character's really cares about returns from a vacation and has seemingly undergone a massive personality shift. It's a simple matter to find out where this person went on vacation. But will they be able to find out why this happened? Has it happened to anyone else? Can it be reversed?

-Nature has come alive and is fighting back against the city itself! Fast growing vines overtake and destroy buildings. Trees and animals have become twisted into nightmarish versions of their former selves, and they are fighting anything and everything man-made. Can the heroes discover what caused this to happen and stop it before the city is reduced to rubble?

-All the heroes wanted was some time off, but can they relax comfortably once they discover that some of their arch-foes are also vacationing with them? Is this just coincidence or part of a sinister plot?

-The heroes become caught up in a villain's scheme while in their secret identities, along with a group of civilians. Can they stop the villain's plans without compromising their secret?

[Senator Cybus]

Hook: The heroes receive a dvd from an unknown source, simply labelled "Watch me!" The dvd appears to be CCTV footage of the Golden Guardian, a world-famous and universally revered superhero who's been fighting crime and saving lives since the '40s...

Line: Specifically, it appears to be footage of the Guardian snapping a guy's neck in a back alley and draining some kind of energy out of the corpse...

Sinker: The Guardian was once an ordinary man, who made a deal with a demon decades ago for immortality and power, without realising the true price of the pact. He now must kill one, healthy human being per year and absorb their soul to sustain himself; if he does not, he will quickly wither and die. The Guardian is a basically decent man who was tricked by the demon and has no way out of the pact - he became a hero in the hope that he could 'balance the books', that saving thousands of people could justify the taking of a single life. He doesn't wish to kill, but neither does he wish to die.

The Guardian is a mighty and experienced Mega-Hero, difficult to take down in a straight fight, as well as a beloved public figure with many powerful friends. Will the heroes confront him? If he refuses to stop killing, how can they stop him? Is there any way to break the pact? How would the world react to finding out that their greatest hero is a demon-summoning serial killer? And just who did send that dvd...?


Hook: The mages of the Most Mystic Order of Hermetical Thaumaturgy have suffered a grave insult. Some brigand has broken into their country mansion and stolen a number of items, not least of which was the Band of Demarteen, an enchanted ring that grants invisibility and immunity to magical scrying, making it's new wearer impossible to track. This can only be the work of those scoundrels from the Higher Order of Thaumaturgical Hermeticism, who doubtless plan to use the ring to commit acts of sabotage and assassination!

This means war!!!

Line: Two powerful orders of mages are openly fighting in and around Century Station, each employing their darkest magics and demonic servitors in a determined effort to wipe out their arch-rivals once and for all! Many innocent civilians are going to get caught in the mystical crossfire...

Sinker: Bob Dansen is a damn good thief; good enough to break into that mansion on the outskirts of town where those weird cultists live. Good enough to swipe some of the fancy jewellery he found there. Smart enough to realise what he's got his hands on, and that a ring that grants invisibility would be mighty useful for a man in his line of work...

The mages don't know that a mere muggle has swiped the ring (albeit one who's effectively a self-taught Super Spy) and Dansen doesn't know that the ring also grants Immunity to Magic, nor has he worked out that the current wizard war is anything to do with him. Can the heroes track him down, recover the ring and restore the fragile peace between the mages?

The ring also shoots lightning, by the way...


Hook: A unusual biker gang is terrorising the city. A biker gang of Uplifted mutant iguanas...

Line: Dumped into a sewer by a disillusioned pet owner, the reptiles came into contact with some strange ooze...A few million years worth of evolution occured over night, and now twenty reptile bikers with a bad attitude have come to town.

Sinker: Fight, fight, fight!!!

[Ale Golem]

#140...I think
There have been several burglaries at local stores; stolen items include food, clothes and camping supplies. No video evidence was obtained until a break in at a local pharmacy. The video revealed a man sized monster that retreated toward a nearby subway terminal, harbor district, manhole, etc.

Spoiler:

My explanation: The gradual buildup of residual psychic energy from the city’s homeless population, created when they pass away, has taken on a personality of its own. This “spirit” interacts with the physical world by forcefully possessing rats and cockroaches to assemble a Gestalt body for itself. It has been taking care of the homeless population of the city by providing necessary supplies it obtains from local businesses. This creature is generally kind however due to the fragmented personalities making up its consciousness and the mental illnesses that came along with many of them it can be unpredictable. It will violently defend itself when necessary and its horrific appearance unfortunately causes many who meet it to react aggressively as their first line of action. The homeless know of its existence however do not typically speak of it for fear of the societal repercussions against themselves and their protector.

[Ale Golem]

#141
Scorch marks have appeared overnight in the center of a large metropolis. They seem centrally located, yet still random, however when viewed from the air a clear symbol of unknown meaning is plainly visible. Some small fires also appeared in the area but were easily contained.

Spoiler:

My explanation: A prisoner being held in an alternate dimension has escaped their confinement. They did so by allowing a native malevolent entity to posess their body, unbenknownst to the entity they have shielded their mind from being fully usurped. They remain in control of their actions however the entity isn't giving up without a fight and the constant effort is drainnig the host's stamina and willpower. Depending on who gets to them first this battle of wills might be swung either way. The heroes can free the prisoner from their ill advised choice, possibly gaining a powerful ally if the entity can be controlled, or, at the bare minimum, sedate and detain the host to prevent further harm. Everyone fears what will happen if the wrong forces get their hands on he prisoner first. There's also the elephant in the room, why were they locked up in another dimension to begin with and who will be missing them?

[Traska]

- Every super except the PCs has had their alignment reversed! Heroes are robbing banks, villains are rescuing people from burning buildings. And there's their arch nemesis... who seems to be a pretty decent guy after all, when he's not trying to kill them. Twist: One of the PCs *has* been affected, but is playing it on the down-low for now (work this out with the player separately, of course).

- A PC has been approached and informed that they are the new regent of Madeupenburg. The hero is expected to retire there and take up their rightful place as regent, but the PCs are invited to stay for the coronation. Twist: The country is under a curse, and every one thousand years, a demonic being comes for the regent's soul. Hey, guess what day the coronation is the one thousand year anniversary of!

- A villain has been approached and informed that they are the new regent... and it's legit! But the poor schmoe is in *way* over his head. A simple bottom tier villain (his only power is energy expulsion, for Kirby's sake!) is now a major player in a political hotbed, and he comes to the heroes for help.

- The woman one of the PCs has been dating is actually a supervillain! Not only is she a supervillain, but she's a top tier one at that. She offers the PC a chance to join her in matrimony and rule the planet as husband and wife, and even offer amnesty and neutrality toward the other PCs if her beloved agrees. If the PC accepts, then obviously that character is retired (and a new villain is born!), but if the PC refuses, they have made a mortal enemy.

- The PCs have had their (minds, bodies, powers, personalities, genders) switched, and they have to figure out who did it, why, and how to reverse it, all while coping with the new them.