The Daily Bugle

A view of the Meacham Spire

Photoshopped into the New York skyline...

Archetypes

Players are encouraged to create their own archetypes, but the Source Meta-Qualities are limited to Construct, Cyborg, Driven, Genetic, Life Force, Psi, and Technological. Any of the Permission and Intrinsic Meta-Qualities are allowed.

The ready made Archetypes which are allowed include: Adept, Artificial, Human+, Mutant, and Super-Normal.

In Play Classifications

Freak Archetype - virtually anyone who includes the Inhuman Intrinsic Meta-Quality is labeled as a Freak by the populace at large. Although recognized as a derogatory epithet, many Mutants actively ‘take-back’ the term by using it in normal speech and self-identifying as such.

Feral Archetype - any character described as having animal characteristics, whether they include the Inhuman Intrinsic or not, can be classified as Feral. Many who can be classified this way self-segregate in remote communities or isolated neighborhoods.

Bot Archetype - any character who includes the Construct Source Meta-Quality, and is self aware enough to make the choice, often self-segregates as Ferals do.

Hyper[X] - shorthand for anyone whose Talent manifests as an ordinary human ability or skill taken to extreme levels. i.e. Hyperbrains, Hyperbody, or even Hyperacrobat.

The Four Universal Axes

Red: 3, Gold: 2, Blue: 2, Black: 3

Historical Inertia - Red: 3

Changing History is hard, even for a Talent. Especially for a Talent, since so many people (including other Talents) are watching them - but it’s not impossible. Manufacturable foci are rare, but they do exist especially in military hardware or industrial work.

Talent Inertia - Gold: 2

In general, society pigeonholes Talents the same way it does every social group: Accountants are boring, Irishmen are pugnacious, young girls like horses, Talents are flamboyant and dangerous. But not everyone thinks that way, and individual Talents can and do easily overcome such stereotypes, which hardly have the weight of prejudice.

Talents are somewhat more likely to change than normal people; in this they resemble celebrities or professional wrestlers. Talents may have retired, gotten hugely fat, died, converted, become corrupt, run for office, or slacked off and wasted their potential.

The Lovely and the Pointless - Blue: 2

The acceptable borders of pseudo-science are a little loose, but society takes no notice. The world is one of low-level oddness, and self-policing strangeness. Covert exploration of the unknown and uncovering the hidden truth of the universe may reveal a ‘secret history’ of the world.

Moral Clarity - Black: 3

The world is sufficiently clear that good and evil are evident, but far from overwhelmingly obvious. People of good will can still differ on both the means as well as the ultimate ends - some questions of morality and ethics have no ‘right answer’ although the concept of a ‘right answer’ is theoretically imaginable. Good people do not kill outside a clear moral framework such as war or vengeance.

Source Point

Talents began to appear just prior to World War II. The original Talents were purely psionic in nature, as indicated by their ability to interfere with each others use of their powers. What caused the shift in the human psyche which allowed some people to access their Talent nature is still a matter of debate and one of the primary focuses of the Meacham Institute. Evidence indicates that one of the primary causes of these ‘natural’ Talents is some level of trauma, either physical or emotional distress, but this is not the only factor as many Talents are unable to point to any such trauma.

Since the late 1970’s there has been a significant surge in Wild Talents across the developed countries of the world. This is due to many modern Talents status as mutants, as well as the many technologically based Talents.

The Meacham Institute has chosen to breakdown the Talent population into the following categories:

Natural Talents - Although no longer able to interfere with each others powers, this category includes those Talents whose abilities derive from the power of their minds. A housewife with the ability to lift a truck, or a banker who can propel himself through the air by sheer force of will would both fall into this category. (Game sources include Psi, Driven, or Life-Force)

Mutants - Whether at birth or through the influence of super-science or other Talents, the individuals in this category have an altered genetic structure allowing them to surpass the recognized bounds of human potential. (Game sources include Genetic)

Technologists - This category includes all those individuals who’s ability to circumvent the natural limitations of humanity come from super-science. It is controversial to include these beings as Talents, but the Meacham Institute points out that the abilities afforded to these individuals are unique and not reproducible by any ordinary means. It is also a point of controversy to include purely artificial creations. Many contend only those originally human should be included in discussions of Talents. (Game sources include Construct, Cyborg, and Technological)

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