Origin of comic books in Centurions universe

Comic books are the same in the Centurions universe as they are in real life. However, their origins hold a veiled facet in our game. Rather than fictional stories, comic books are considered a creative retelling of true events. These events took place over eons, in several planets, galaxies and universes. They depict the lives of immortal warriors, who reincarnate where they are most needed.

These warriors, known on Earth as Centurions, have lived countless lives and fought many wars before landing here. Though their human DNA has shut down memories of these past lives, the Cosmic Realignment of 2014 started a shift in their genetic make-up, activating their dormant Centurion genes.

As they start to remember their previous lives and their mission on this planet, Centurions realize that their stories are plastered over the pages of comic books, with a healthy dose of "creative license".

In our universe, comic book lore was actually a strategy devised by the space missions on Project Midgard. Having experienced the devastating effects of an abrupt reveal of the existence of Centurions among the native populations of several other planets--and the ensuing civil wars derived from it--the top tiers of Project Midgard opted for a "soft approach" to The Reveal on Earth.

Using Entertainment media, the aid of early Earth Centurions and telepathy, Project Midgard incepted the idea of ordinary people with extraordinary abilities into several terrestrial cultures and civilizations. In contemporary Western society, this inception happened in the format of comic books and has expanded onto several other entertainment products and media. In our game, we focus on the stories told in comic books, the only ones considered to be "inspired by real events" in this universe.

In this universe, comic books are simply a creative retelling of true events. This means that while Centurions would be the Earth persona of a comic book character, the comic book canon isn't gospel. It can (and should) be used as inspiration, but the writer is free to keep what they like about it and discard the rest. The only limitation derived from the comics is the powers and items that each character comes into the game with. For more info on powers and items, please see "Powers & Stuff" on this page.

In this universe, we take comic book canon as our inspirational ground, but we are by no means limited by it. We want to start off with the magical realism of comics, but build our own original world off of it. Players are encouraged to spread their creative wings and create something that's never existed before. As long as it's consistent within the operating logics of the universe, you're free to explore!

The Centurions DNA project

As they congregated around Earth on the intergalactic base of Project Midgard, the missions from several technologically advanced civilizations came together to work on the Centurions Genome project. Foreseeing the battles to come, these civilizations isolated the genes responsible for an array of powers in different worlds. They isolated flight genes, super strength, agility, durability, etc.

These genes were manipulated into the genetic make-up of Centurions pre-birth. They were dormant as Centurions were born and raised as humans. The seamless integration of Centurions into human culture was another strategy to mitigate negative effects of The Reveal on Earth. Being raised as humans, it was expected that Centurions would identify with the native population and fight for them as they became aware of their mission. It was also expected that seeing these warriors as their own kind would make humans less likely to dub them the enemy.

Dormant Centurions genes are activated when the organism vibrates at a specific frequency. This frequency can be achieved through a person's inner energetic field, or may be induced externally by subjecting the person to varied intensity of gamma rays. Each mission on Project Midgard encoded different powers in their warriors' genome. They hold the prerrogative to activate these powers externally, but rarely interfere with the warrior's chosen path on Earth.

By design, each individual's powers will manifest when their biology is ready to handle the super abilities. The body reads the energy field and instinctively activates the dormant genes when optimal conditions are achieved. As the powers manifest based on vibrational frequencies, if that frequency is lost, their powers and memories may also disappear. More info is available in the link "Powers & Stuff", but the manifestation or loss of powers is entirely up to player discretion.

Characters may develop any powers that you believe would benefit their character development. As a character comes into the game, all canon powers and items are available to them, pending your discretion on when to bring each ability into play. By instilling the IC device of "dormant genes", we hope to also give players the freedom to create a character that is inspired by their comicbook persona, but that is an original creation for the Centurions universe in itself. This means that through unlocking "Silk Parachutes" (Powers & Stuff), players may add non-canon powers or items to their character's roster.

This is up to player discretion. If you want your character to have dormant Centurions genes (thus powers), you are free to have it so. If you want them to remain a common human being, that is also your prerrogative. If you choose to have them develop superhuman powers through the advent of "Silk Parachutes", the IC explanation would be that Earth scientists were also a part of Project Midgard. As such, they also implanted dormant genes in their warriors. As with any Centurion, your character may pick up any super power available in the comics, as long as they unlock them with activity points.

Again, this is up to player discretion. It typically depends on how far along in their rebirth they are and how many memories they've recovered. If your character has recovered pre-birth Project Midgard memories, there is a chance that they are fully aware of the origin of their abilities, as well as how powers are activated. They might also know they can activate their powers externally if their personal energetic field hasn't reached optimum conditions, but the IC repercussions and choice on what to make known to your character are entirely up to player discretion.

The Rebirth process & Moon Phases

"Rebirth" is the name given to the process of Centurions developing superhuman abilities and gaining awareness of their origins and mission on Earth. This process happens at a different pace for each individual. It may take months or years for some, while others adapt to the knowledge in mere weeks.

Some may develop powers before memories, which may cause issues in their lives as they deal with the changes and consequences of their new abilities, not knowing of what is happening to them or why. Others might get memories or have their previous lives' consciousness appear in their brains before any powers develop. This process might be equally maddening, depending on which memories filter through to put the puzzle together. As a player, you have full discretion to decide how your character will be reborn into their Centurion mindframe.

Once your character starts their rebirth process, players may choose one of two routes. Their new awareness may filter through as distant memories of previous lives that may sometimes feel more like dreams than reality, or they may develop a second consciousness in the form of their CV personality appearing in their thoughts.

Again, this is entirely up to the player to decide which route is more appropriate for their character. The IC explanation for this is that prior to their birth, when they were still preparing for their descent to Earth, your character was given the choice on how to lead their own rebirth process. So whatever you choose, memories or a consciousness, it would have been the decision of your own character on which method of rebirth would be the most effective for them on Earth.

Yes, your hero can be evil or your villain can be good. Earth is a planet of free will, so whatever allegiance bound your character pre-birth may or may not be adhered by them on Earth. It's perfectly possible for villains to have a change of heart when their human connections weigh more than their Shadow links. It is also possible that once your character develops their abilities, they might be co-opted by The Agency to go work for them. There have been cases of Centurions who preferred to join the governmental branch for their own personal reasons or simply to avoid persecution themselves. Likewise, Trailblazers may grow disillusioned by the lack of effectiveness of the corporation's methods.

Whichever road you decide to take, we would love to see creative spins on heroes and villains. Perhaps in this life your hero has experienced challenges that would lead them to have motivations for going a different way. Or maybe you would like to explore the redeeming qualities of your villain by developing the reasoning behind why they originally turned villainous in their other lives. It is completely up to player discretion. We encourage all new creative avenues.

Project Midgard's Space Station is stationed outside of Earth's stratosphere. It has been continously showering Earth with gamma ray storms to raise vibrations worldwide, in order to accelerate the rebirth of Centurions and increase humanity's level of cosmic awareness. Unfortunately for Project Midgard, the Shadow warriors have been countering their efforts by messing with the moon's gravitational field to keep vibrations at a lower frequency on Earth. They've been successful in their endeavor until recently, when Project Midgard broke through their manipulations.

The catch is that Project Midgard's technology can only break through the barriers during the week of the full moon, when the satellite's natural gravitational field expands the scope of their tech. As such, once the moon phase changes past the full moon, vibrations are lowered again and the awareness gained during the week will be gone. Characters' usual level of awareness will be restablished to whatever normal is like for them. Once that week is through, as they lose their heightened awareness, they may forget events or conversations that took place. The degree to which memory loss affects your character will be up to player discretion.

New York City & the world at large

The year is 2016 in real time and the location is New York City. This large metropolitan area consisting of its five boroughs is at your disposal for your characters to live, work, and thrive in. For interactive purposes, your character must live in a neighborhood in one of these boroughs. Though game events may span worldwide, NYC will be the main hub for all characters in the game. Our cast revolves around New York City, but the rebirth process is happening worldwide and there are Centurions in all countries and states. The geographical scope of the game has to do purely with logistic purposes of interaction.

Despite the cosmic alignment of 2014, which caused Centurions to start awakening and battles to commence, the world as a whole has remained fairly unaware. Even with an increase in 'strange' current events, humans are either blissfully ignorant or in denial of what is happening around them. The existence of Centurions has been met with disbelief by the majority of the world. Real life superheroes are still beyond most people's grid of understanding. With mass media and governments working overtime to cover up and discredit anyone who vouches for these events, life is per usual around Earth for most people.

As you may have noticed, we're big on player discretion. Mods won't police personal or small-scale plots. We do ask, however, for players to keep gamewide cohesion in mind when rehearsing bigger events or plots that may affect a large group of people. If you plan to wipe out a neighborhood in NYC, for example, we'd like a heads-up to make sure it fits in with the gamewide plot, as well as respects the boundaries of other players' personal plots. If there's ever an issue with a plot, the moderators will approach you personally to try to come up with a mutually satisfying compromise.