I like What ifs. As a creator of universes, I like to mix settings, universes. That's how creativity emerges. I've been wanting to play the next setting for a long time: What if Steeve Austin, the 6 billion dollar man, came to Hawkins in the Strangers Things setting?
In a very simple way, Steeve Austin and Hooper are fellow Vietnam veterans. When Steeve learns of Hooper's mysterious disappearance, he goes to Hawkins to investigate. It fits in terms of time periods, perhaps it should be interpreted as an aging or retired Steeve Austin.
Background & Inspirations
Weird Humans vs Supernatural is born from the union of three worlds, three inspirations.- The characters are monster hunters grouped around the Agency, a para-governmental organization. This kind of organization was widely found in the '80s, Knight Rider, the 6 million dollar man, McGyver... there is no lack of inspiration. x The difference is that the characters are "superhumans". Note that I use the term "superhuman" and not "superhero" in costume. The characters are humans first and foremost. Simply, they have already passed through death's door in one way or another. The idea was to be able to fight as equals with the monsters. - Monsters live among us. Hidden in the shadows, vampires, werewolves and other creatures of darkness compete for the right to live. The topic has been dealt with many times but I would like to mention another lesser-known inspiration: Larry Correia's books and especially his Monsters Hunter series.- Stranger Things. A portal has opened to another dimension filled with demons. Unlike the others, these ones are coming to conquer the Earth. Who opened the portal? How did he do it? The answer is up to you. Nevertheless, I can't resist the temptation to give you here a fragment of how I handle my Supernatural Stories 80 background. A being with extraordinary psychic abilities was put under extreme stress and opened a bridge to the demonic dimension. Within the Agency, some of the top minds theorize that this person is connected to Dr. Brenner's experiments (Eleven of Stranger Things?). But it could be that someone else is responsible (Will the link?).
Interpreting a superhuman
Characters have monster-level abilities. For regular humans, this means that they have already passed through the death gate (see SRD). They have survived their encounter with death and returned from the other world. But not totally intact. This shocking experience has left deep wounds. They are no longer fully human and are not complete monsters. The interpretation of the characters must let this questioning show: where is their place in this world? What are they really? To which group do they belong? As such, they look like the monsters they seek to fight for the sake of a humanity that is no longer entirely their own.
The humanities crisis rules serve to emphasize this questioning.
Character's narrative arc
Weird Humans vs Supernatural is first and foremost a narrative game and the characters must be placed at the center of this narrative, on an equal footing with the storyline. The quest for humanity can be expressed through the quest for power. In all cases, a character who discovers the mind gate completes his or her story arc. If it survives and reaches the Master tier, the character discovers its true place in this world. The Master discovers that all living beings are made of life energy. Thus, there are no more humans, there are no more monsters, there are only living beings. As such, the Master is able to communicate instinctively with other creatures, visible or invisible. The Master also understands that its powers come not only from its superhuman abilities, its body, its muscles or its psychic abilities, but especially from its deep vital energy. If he dies in the experiment, he also ends his story arc.
Relationship with The Van in the Night
Weird Humans vs Supernatural is fully compatible with The Van in the Night. Nevertheless, we advise you to be vigilant on the following points:- Be careful with the fight scenes. By mixing superhumans and normal humans, you will create a power gap. Unless you equip the regular humans with a lot of firepowers, you will never be able to close the gap. Also, combat should not be the main focus- Superpowers should be useful, impressive, but not decisive. The superhuman should not be a Deux Ex Machina. A good example is the battle of Starcourt (season 3 of Stranger Things), in which the normal humans attack the monster of the Underworld with fireworks. This is despite the presence of Eleven (the super) occupied elsewhere. Another example to follow is Terminator 2, in which the enemy cyborg is defeated by human means (despite all of Arnold's powers).- Remember that the characters in both games have different degrees of interpretation - The Van in the Night: characters are students full of life, with a touch of madness. Their creativity, the interpretation of their character is always rewarded, especially with the Doom Joker - The Weirds humans, on the other hand, are looking for their place in this world and can be subjected to incapacitating crises
Feel free to tell me what you think of the game in the comments. I remind you that the preview is complete on DTRPG here:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/381259/SUPERNATURAL-STORIES-80--Weird-Humans-vs-Supernatural
If you enjoyed Weird Humans vs Supernatural, be sure to check out the rest of the Supernatural Stories 80 series.
PS: If you are one of the two Duffer brothers and you want to add precision, feel free to mp me!
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