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Supertech on Champions Earth

Much of our recent discussions of Champions lore have focused on the magical side of the setting. Since so much of the game's content of late has dealt with that, it's perhaps understandable. But the setting has a very extensive scientific side, so I wanted to balance things out by exploring that for a bit. ;)

Like the mainstream comics companies' universes, Champions Earth features its share of scientific super-geniuses who have invented near-miraculous technologies, and more advanced alien societies who have left samples of their tech behind on Earth. Many comics fans have difficulty accepting that in those universes these inventions and discoveries seem to have had little or no impact on the average person. Technology in the wider world seems stuck on the same level as the real Earth. Many rationalizations have been offered for why that should be, and the Champions setting shares them to a degree: heroes guard the best tech as too dangerous to release; governments classify inventions with military or security applications or risks; many devices aren't cost-effective to mass produce; most people can't grasp the principles discovered by true geniuses or older civilizations; some inventions are irreproduceable accidents, or actually channeling the "inventor's" innate powers.

However, some of the PnP source books -- notably Champions Universe, Champions Beyond, and Millennium City -- illustrate that new technologies have filtered out to the general public to some extent, and have made qualitative differences in people's lives. As this might make for a change in the "ground rules" assumptions role-players have about how the setting works, I thought it might be helpful to run down some of the more significant, obvious, or pervasive differences.

Advances in medicine and genetics have eliminated, or diminished the impact of, many diseases. Scientists have adapted cybernetic technology first developed for powered armor and similar super-technology to devices that allow people with spinal injuries to walk again, and people with neurological disorders to function without significant impairment.

Communications has advanced significantly. Throughout the United States, Europe, and many other developed or wealthy countries, virtually everyone has access to computers, smartphones, and similar devices that are easily carried, lightweight, fast, high-memory, extremely user friendly, and have extraordinarily long battery lives. Even in Third World countries, ownership of cellular phones and computers may exceed 50% of the population, thanks to advanced manufacturing processes and materials. Holography has improved to the point where Millennium City features animated three-dimensional advertising billboards.

High-tech fibers and materials discovered by superhumans, and scientists working with their data, beginning in the Sixties have led to stronger and more comfortable bulletproof vests, lightweight armored panels for military vehicles, more crash-proof civilian cars, and many similar advances.

Internal combustion vehicles and manufacturing are much cleaner and more environmentally friendly than the machines of old, and major strides have been made in the field of alternative energy. Significant efforts have been made to clean up and repair damage to the environment, and to prevent further damage going forward.

Travel, whether by air, water, or land, is quicker and safer than ever before. Flights from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast can be comfortably completed in just two hours in some cases. The "Smart Roadway" system in Millennium City interacts with Vehicle Control Chips in all cars within city limits, allowing traffic authorities to automatically track them, and if necessary shut a car down remotely. When driving on the Millennium City Highway surrounding the city, the VCC lets a central computer take direct control of the cars, practically eliminating accidents.

While humanity is not yet colonizing other worlds in the solar system, near-space exploration is advancing rapidly. Since 1996 UNTIL has had a fully-functioning space station, GATEWAY, orbiting Earth, with up to 200 inhabitants. The United States launched its own orbital facility, the United States Space Station, in 2006. UNTIL also has the distinction of being the first entity to establish a permanently-manned base on the Moon, Moonbase Serenity, in 2000. It now has over 40 personnel. In late 2004 the United States completed work on the Venus Scientific Outpost, an orbital station designed to study the hothouse planet in detail. It has a crew of eight, six unmanned sensor drones, and three one-man vehicles capable of descending to the middle ranges of the atmosphere. The United States established Ares I, also known simply as the Mars Research Base (or “Marsbase”) in 2008. Marsbase currently houses a dozen scientists, though plans call for expanding it to almost four times that size over the next twenty years.

Comments

  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    Powerful nations, such as the United States or Great Britain, have huge sums of money, well-stocked research facilities, and corps of brilliant scientists at their command — and if they work on something long enough, they may achieve results that would elude lesser strivers. Although most militaries still use standard-tech weapons (explosive-propellant-based bullets and rifles, tanks and howitzers firing explosive shells, manned fighter jets, and so on), the larger and more advanced armies and navies have incorporated some super-technology-derived weapons and systems into their arsenals.

    Some Champions Universe governments have fielded units of soldiers equipped with low-strength powered armor (or at least high-tech defensive gear), made use of advanced spacecraft, and equipped special military and paramilitary forces with blasters and similar super weapons. But even then, they often prefer to keep their super-technology to themselves as much as possible, due to the strategic and tactical advantages it provides. For example, the United States has small squads of light powered armor-wearing soldiers, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with smart targeting capability able to fly at Mach 10, and many other such weapons. None of them provide the US with an overwhelming advantage in combat, but taken together they definitely extend and expand America’s already potent military capabilities.

    In some cases, super-technology developments even trickle down to smaller militaries. The US Department of Defense has expressed concern about countries like North Korea or Awad building and using relatively cheap magnetic “railgun” weapons to shoot down American satellites and planes. Sometimes it seems that for every advance one nation makes, another finds a way to counter it using different super-technology... though the sources from which some lesser nations obtain their super-technology remain a subject of speculation.

    Even mercenaries and mercenary companies get into the act sometimes. A few, seeking competitive advantage both on the battlefield and in the marketplace, have invested in (or otherwise obtained) powered armor suits, energy rifles, advanced robotic vehicles, and other super-tech weapons. Supervillains like Lazer, Mechassassin, and the Steel Commando all got their start as mercenaries (at least in part), and still participate in that part of the global underworld if the money’s right.

    Private super-criminal organizations such as VIPER and ARGENT have also developed weaponry and equipment beyond the conventional, aided by their willingness to disregard ethical research standards. As an example, here's an entry from the very extensive list of weapons in VIPER's arsenal, from VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent p. 97:

    VB-A1 "STRIKER" BLASTER RIFLE

    This weapon, the standard field arm issued to VIPER agents, incorporates VIPER's basic blaster technology in assault rifle form. Its large beam generator assembly... can fire in automatic mode if necessary. Squadrons of agents often coordinate their automatic fire to create a "kill zone" on the battlefield and take out enemy officers or superheroes...

    VIPER agents sometimes "supercharge" the VB-A1 to increase the power of its beam. This runs the risk of burning out the weapon's energy pack and leaving the agent without his primary firearm, but some agents are willing to take the chance to get that extra burst of firepower. Another common variant, developed by Nests that frequently face foes with intangibility powers, fires a multi-flux beam capable of affecting desolidified matter.
    Post edited by bulgarex on
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    According to Champions Beyond various groups, notably the United States government, have salvaged and studied examples of alien technology from the several invasions and known spaceship crashes, with mixed results. They've had the most success understanding and adapting the tech from the Sirians, i.e. the "War of the Worlds" aliens. The highly biological nature of Qularr technology, including the tendency of the bio-components to decay or become dormant over time, has made it difficult to analyze and mostly incompatible with human tech. Gadroon gravity-manipulating devices appear to utilize principles that humans, even super-scientists, have never imagined, so have eluded deciphering. While trying to comprehend the nonfunctional wreckage of the Malvan ships that Ironclad and Herculan arrived in, has been likened to Neanderthals trying to reverse-engineer a supercollider.

    OTOH the Warlord (Champions Villains Vol. 1: Master Villains) has had considerable success with technology salvaged from a downed "blueboy" (Hzeel) scout ship, even combining it with human technology to exceed the capabilities of the Hzeel themselves. Hzeel tech is also partly biological, but to a lesser degree, and is less advanced, than Qularr devices. (The Hzeel, Gadroon, and Qularr all have full chapters devoted to them in Champions Beyond.)
    Post edited by bulgarex on
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    Outside of major industrialized nations, supervillains, and organizations like VIPER and ARGENT, certain smaller (fictional) states on Champions Earth also possess very advanced technology; and in their own ways pose a significant threat to world security.

    Awad, a small nation on the Saudi peninsula, between Yemen and Oman on the Indian Ocean, is becoming an increasing world security problem. The sheiks of Awad, most of whom are closely related to its ironfisted ruler Sultan Thamar el-Hiri, are incredibly wealthy thanks to their country’s vast oil deposits, and care little for how their actions affect others if they can increase their own power and bank accounts. Harsh Muslim fundamentalists, they intensely dislike Western culture in general and the United States in particular, and have for years funded numerous terrorist organizations. Awad supported Iraq during the Gulf War and Iraq War.

    In recent decades Awad has invested extensively in technology, ranging from computers to bio-engineering. As a result, today it’s considered one of the centers of world technological development, though many high-tech firms deal with it reluctantly (if at all) due to its repressive political climate. Some Western officials fear that the Awadis use their high-tech expertise to equip terrorists with weapons and devices that would otherwise be well beyond the reach of most such groups. They also suspect strong ties between Awad and ARGENT and VIPER.

    Western suspicions about Awad’s connection to supercriminal groups are well-founded. For years Awad’s worked closely with both ARGENT and VIPER, providing a haven from extradition for some of their personnel in exchange for cash and technology, allowing them to build special labs and facilities there, and so forth. Recently relationships with VIPER have been strained since the Awadis suspect (correctly) that VIPER took advantage of the chaos during the Iraq War to steal some Awadi technological secrets. As a result, the alliance with ARGENT has become even stronger.

    Rumors about a past joint Iraqi-Awadi program to create superhumans are true. Using a secret lab built in Awad (to avoid U.N. observers in Iraq), Saddam Hussein and Sultan Thamar el-Hiri had hoped to custom-build enough superhuman soldiers to avenge Iraq’s defeat in the Gulf War, take over the Middle East, and establish a chokehold on much of the world’s oil supplies. Unfortunately for them (but fortunately for the world), the program’s only true success was Saddam Hussein's former superhumanly strong personal bodyguard, whom he referred to as Turs al-Sh’ab ("Shield Of The People," written up in Champions Villains Vol. 3). Many failures were dropped in the deep desert to die. The program has been suspended due to the overthrow of Hussein’s regime and the presence of American military personnel in the region, but it’s possible Awad may try to resurrect it with help from ARGENT. Dr. Bohuslav Strasky, who headed UNTIL's own largely-failed attempt to manufacture superhumans, the "Future Soldier Program," has secretly been offered millions by Awad to bring his expertise to that nation. The sultan has a few other hired superhumans on his payroll.

    Larisagrad, located deep in the Ural Mountains, was once a secret Soviet city, but is today an effectively independent city-state. During the Cold War era Larisagrad was where numerous top-secret Soviet research projects were conducted. Merely attempting to enter the city without proper authorization was a capital offense.The foremost of these research projects was Directorate Black-12, the Soviet superhuman soldier program. This project was about as successful as most of the similar American programs — which is to say that it produced a handful of superhumans in exchange for killing, crippling, or driving insane hundreds of “volunteer” test subjects.

    When the Soviet Union crumbled and funding for Larisagrad’s expensive research dried up, the scientists there were faced with a choice. They could become legitimate researchers, competing in the world of commercial scientific research... or they could offer their services to the highest bidder, regardless of purpose or morality. Unwilling to give up their high-class (by Russian standards, anyway) lifestyle, they opted for the latter path. A few scientists who couldn’t stomach the decision fled the city, often ending up with European or American research firms. (Larisagrad officials vehemently deny charges they work for criminal elements, and to date world law-enforcement does not have solid proof of it.)

    It didn’t take long for Larisagrad to develop a reputation for the quality of its work, not to mention the blind eye it turned to what was done with its technology. The scientists there often put their unique acumen and equipment to work creating technology for supervillains, providing medical care for injured superhumans who don't want their condition revealed to the outside world, and so forth. VIPER soon became a frequent customer, as did the Warlord, the Ultimates, the Crimelords, Utility, and various powered armor-wearing supervillains who needed occasional maintenance, upgrades, resupply, or spare parts for their equipment. Thanks to the influx of cash from these clients, most Larisagradians enjoy a standard of life far higher than that of other Russians.

    A “client” who wants to contract Larisagrad’s services contacts any member of the city’s governing council, the Komityet Upravlyeniya Issledovaniyami (“Research Steering Committee,” or KUI). The Committee looks into the request, determines what it can do for the client, and quotes a price. There’s no dickering — a client either accepts the price or walks away (though on occasion the Committee has agreed to be paid in trade or services rather than cash). After a client deposits the nonrefundable full amount into a secret account, the Committee puts Larisagrad’s scientists and factories to work on his behalf. The finished goods are delivered at a time and place specified in the original contract.

    Larisagrad would make a rich prize for many villains and Russian organized crime groups, not to mention the Russian government, so it has plenty of defenses to keep unwanted “visitors” away. Besides the assistance of grateful superhumans they have helped, the most prominent of these defenses is a corps of powered armor-wearing soldiers called the “Larisagrad Division” (or simply, “the Division”). The leader of the Division is Shturm, or “Onslaught,” a superhuman created by Directorate Black-12. Gifted with energy projection and teleportation powers in addition to the powerful suit of battle armor he wears, Shturm has earned the gratitude of the Larisagradians — as well as millions of dollars — keeping their pleasant little home in the Urals safe and secure.

    (Most of the information in this post is transcribed or summarized from Champions Universe, with additional details from Champions Universe: News Of The World and UNTIL: Defenders Of Freedom.)
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    Two other sites and communities on Champions Earth are receptacles for some of the world's most sophisticated scientific knowledge and resources, but are virtually unknown to the world at large.

    Arcadia is a city and valley hidden on the Antarctic continent, home to the ageless superhuman offshoot of humanity called Empyreans. The Empyreans have employed technology since before Homo Sapiens evolved on Earth, and their science remains among the most advanced in the world. The climate of Arcadia is kept habitable, and its existence hidden from outside detection, by devices built by the Empyreans' creators, the immortal aliens known as Progenitors. The only samples of Progenitor tech known to still be on Earth, the devices are beyond any others on the planet.

    The Himalaya Mountains contain the Vale of Javangari, settled centuries ago by worshipers of a variant sect to the Hindu god Shiva who fled religious persecution in India. Lost to the wider world, the valley was discovered several decades ago by Dr. Destroyer, whom the Javangari worship as an avatar of Shiva. Destroyer remolded Javangari society to serve him, educating its people in cutting-edge science, and indoctrinating them to be the fanatically loyal core of his armies. The Vale is concealed by devices similar in function to those guarding Arcadia, although not as sophisticated.

    Arcadia is extensively described in Hidden Lands, and the Vale of Javangari in Book Of The Destroyer.
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    One of the staples of the superhero genre is the gadget-using super, with no actual super-powers but employing equipment made of special materials and/or incorporating advanced technology. Most comic-book heroes build their own gadgets, or have them designed for them by benevolent patron inventors or agencies. Some heroes acquire prototype devices by accident, including "liberating" them from their villainous makers (often earning them pursuit by the vengeful villain). But it's not unheard-of in comics for a scientist -- usually one of criminal bent -- to sell his technological services to whoever will pay.

    In the official Champions Universe there are several possible sources of scientific expertise for hire to aspiring supers. Most of these are considered criminals by most world law-enforcement, so don't typically contract with anyone of obvious heroic bent who might cause them trouble. But for another criminal, or a mercenary or vigilante of grey morality, they're often the route to quick super status.

    Millennium City is the home base of Wayland Talos, a brilliant inventor with a pathological hatred of superheroes. To strike back at them he supplies villains with everything from questionite hand weapons, to energy blasters or jet packs, to full suits of powered armor. He's considered one of the underworld's premier armorers, with few individual competitors. One of those competitors is known as Brainchild, a telepathic gadgeteer who primarily supplies tactical and technical support to other criminals, rather than take the risk of committing his own crimes.

    On the international front, the Warlord is a powered-armor villain and would-be conqueror who's also a major dealer in high-tech armaments, and who has created super-class weaponry and armor for individuals for the right price. The unscrupulous corporation called ARGENT does a thriving business in service to criminals; not just supplying gadgetry, but even physically augmenting a person through bionic implants or experimental biochemical treatments. As mentioned earlier on this thread, the independent city-state of Larisagrad was once a center for the USSR's classified scientific research, including advanced weaponry, and experiments to create true superhumans. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and thus their funding, the scientists of Larisagrad chose to freelance to the highest bidder.

    The only truly benign inventor engaged in remotely similar activity is named Ralph Polarewski. Formerly the full-time technical supervisor to the famous Sentinels superhero team, Ralph left them after a bitter argument with the team's leader. He's become a well-known freelance contractor to members of the superhero community who use gadgets but have no technical skills of their own. As written he primarily works for people already established as heroes (and would never sell his services to someone of questionable morality), but would be well able to supply an equipment-based origin to someone who could convince him of their sincerity and dedication.

    ARGENT and Larisagrad are described in Champions Universe. The Warlord and his organization are fully written up in Volume One of the Champions Villains trilogy, while Brainchild and Wayland Talos get the same treatment in Volume Three. Ralph Polarewski is detailed in the book, Everyman.
  • jonesing4jonesing4 Posts: 800 Arc User
    This is great. I don't necessarily follow lore with my characters and their origins, as I have my own sort of head-canon, but you're a gold mine of interesting information either way. Many thanks.
  • velsirien#1774 velsirien Posts: 8 Arc User
    ^ seconded! it's especially helpful & cool to know where all this advanced tech stands at a more widespread/general use by the general public. i love CO's inclusivity too, touching on countries beyond the west, even if only explaining what im assuming is just a fragment of supertech and superpowers in those regions.
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    jonesing4 wrote: »
    This is great. I don't necessarily follow lore with my characters and their origins, as I have my own sort of head-canon, but you're a gold mine of interesting information either way. Many thanks.
    ^ seconded! it's especially helpful & cool to know where all this advanced tech stands at a more widespread/general use by the general public. i love CO's inclusivity too, touching on countries beyond the west, even if only explaining what im assuming is just a fragment of supertech and superpowers in those regions.

    Thank you both. :3

    As usual for a comic-book world, most of the top-tier tech on Champions Earth is confined in the hands of superheroes and villains, and Champions tends to spread them around more internationally than the mainstream comics companies do. For example, the veteran powered-armor hero of Japan known as Tetsuronin is widely acknowledged to wield the most powerful and sophisticated armor of any superhero in the world. He's analogous to Tony Stark in most ways, although much more serious than Stark's movie incarnation. ;) In recent years China has been menaced by a mysterious would-be conqueror calling himself Fandao Junzhu ("the Overlord"), whom some reporters dubbed "the Chinese Dr. Destroyer," although his armor and resources don't equal Destroyer's.

    Tetsuronin is written up in Champions Worldwide, which also describes the Overlord's early appearances. That book focuses on detailing international superhuman activity outside of the United States and Canada. (Canada has its own source book, Champions Of The North, written by our esteemed CO colleague, Scott "Thundrax" Bennie.)
  • brfabeirasbrfabeiras Posts: 182 Arc User
    That's awesome, bulgarex! Keep sharing your knowledge!

    I get amazed every time I learn new things about Champions Universe, how come there's no big publisher interested in making comics out of it?!
  • themightyzeniththemightyzenith Posts: 4,599 Arc User
    Hi there @bulgarex . Great info as usual :)

    Do you have any information on Doctor Goldwing?
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  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Posts: 4,915 Arc User
    brfabeiras wrote: »
    That's awesome, bulgarex! Keep sharing your knowledge!

    I get amazed every time I learn new things about Champions Universe, how come there's no big publisher interested in making comics out of it?!
    they already have stuff. What publisher with the resources to publish nationwide, and interest in publishing comics doesn't already have an IP?
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  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    Hi there @bulgarex . Great info as usual :)

    Do you have any information on Doctor Goldwing?

    Thank you.

    If you mean the NPC hero of Britain from the old (early 1990s) source book for Champions Britain, Kingdom of Champions, he hasn't been mentioned anywhere in connection with the current incarnation of the official CU; even though a few of his teammates from the London Watch have, in the Champions Universe book. That doesn't necessarily mean Dr. Goldwing can't or won't appear in some published form some day. DOJ Inc., who owned the Champions IP before Cryptic Studios bought it, long declared their desire to create a new KoC updated for the rebooted setting; but according to Steve Long, couldn't find a writer with the right combination of game-writing experience and Hero System familiarity -- at least not one they could afford. Then the downsizing of Hero Games hit, and here we are.

    OTOH many of those older characters were licensed to Hero Games by their creators for limited use, so it may be the IP doesn't even include the rights to Dr. Goldwing. That might be why he wasn't named with the rest of the London Watch. Or not. I'm just a fan, not privy to the musings of the inner circles of geekdom. ;)
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    brfabeiras wrote: »
    That's awesome, bulgarex! Keep sharing your knowledge!

    I get amazed every time I learn new things about Champions Universe, how come there's no big publisher interested in making comics out of it?!
    they already have stuff. What publisher with the resources to publish nationwide, and interest in publishing comics doesn't already have an IP?

    On top of that, comics today take up a small fraction of the market they once commanded. The real money in superhero IP lies in movies, television, and of course, computer games. Whatever you and I think of the Champions IP, it's pretty obscure today, unlikely considered worth investing in by any established publisher. Like I said, there's a lot more money in computer games, and Champions Online, while it does have a following, is small potatoes compared to some other MMOs.

    FYI characters appearing in early Champions books did make the transition to comics, back in the mid-1980s when comics and Champions were both a much bigger deal. But the rights to them were bought by another publisher who created his own continuity, no longer connected to the rest of Champions. (You can google "Heroic Publishing" if interested.)
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    I forgot to mention that there are several substances unique to the Champions Universe mentioned in various source books, either discovered or created by super-scientists, which assist them in achieving effects beyond what's possible in the real world. Several other substances were added by Cryptic devs to Champions Online for crafting purposes, their descriptions referring to established elements from the setting.

    Questionite falls under the category of what Champions Universe refers to as "uncanny metals." Questionite was originally supposed to be rare (before Champions Online showered more of it over the Earth ;) ), meteorite-deposited, stronger than steel but much lighter, and taking an extraordinarily keen edge able to cut through nearly anything. Speaking of steel, kendrium is a steel alloy developed by Prof. Daryl Kendrick, as strong as questionite and not much heavier than other grades of steel. He keeps the formula a secret, so it can't be in wide production (and so is probably pretty pricey). Another meteoric metal is neutronium, stronger than either of the above, and much denser, to the point where a knife made from it would require a strong man to even lift.

    Dr. Destroyer developed a superstrong alloy he calls destreum, which only he knows how to make. DD also invented an "organo-plastic," biosynth, which he uses to create human-looking androids. Biosynth looks and feels like living flesh, and can be crafted to simulate finger prints, retina patterns, even DNA.

    Radiation from the rare element called radium X can be used as a high-energy power source for various devices. It also has mutagenic properties in certain circumstances; for example, it's a key element of Dr. Phillippe Moreau's process for creating Manimals. There are a few other mutagens and power-enhancing processes in the lore, a couple of which are particularly notable. Cyberline, used by PRIMUS in the creation of its superhuman Silver Avengers (of whom Mayte Sanchez is only one), is believed by the public to be a drug, but is actually a type of gene therapy. It only works on a fraction of the human population, and requires repeated doses to maintain its effects. The Psi Serum, invented by Dr. Sebastian Poe the founder of PSI, amplifies even the smallest amount of genetic potential a person may have for psionic powers, sometimes to significant superhuman levels. It has no effect on people without such potential. PSI guards its formula closely.

    X-9 is a very efficient but unstable rocket fuel developed by Hua Shoi-Ming of China. Exposure to it made him the super-speedster called the Red Bullet, a member of China's official superhero team, the Tiger Squad. X-9 may possibly be related to X-53, another experimental fuel possessed by a French corporation, which turned mercenary thief Hans Zeldte into the fire-powered Feurmacher, now a member of Eurostar. These fuels are both canon from the tabletop game, although X-9 is also a crafting item in CO.

    Among the items which have appeared only in Champions Online, fordite is a powerful concentrated explosive, created by Fordham Chemtech (a company from the PnP part of the setting). Fordham is also responsible for Regor plastic, a near-impenetrable synthetic fiber. Mechalene is an extremely durable plastic invented by Mechanon. Dragonite is a flexible alloy which can withstand extreme temperatures, of unspecified origin.


    Post edited by bulgarex on
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Posts: 4,915 Arc User
    (of whom Mayte Sanchez is only one)
    and the only one seen in-game.
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  • jonsillsjonsills Posts: 6,314 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    (of whom Mayte Sanchez is only one)
    and the only one seen in-game.
    In fairness, though, how much of the world do we actually visit? I mean, there's Millennium City, MI; the Lynx Fold area in Canada; Burning Sands (formerly White Sands), NM; Vibora Bay, FL; and the exotic locations of Monster Island, the undersea kingdom of Lemuria, and a VIPER base somewhere in central Africa. Not exactly an exhaustive tour of the entire planet, ya know?

    Edit: Oh, yeah, and then there's the former Golden Avenger, once commander of that branch of PRIMUS, at Greenskin Base in Burning Sands. So, two Cyberline addicts. :smile:
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  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    It might be nice to encounter Silver Avenger Barton Stano, who's stationed at Vibora Bay. Particularly since he's described as a by-the-book thinker who doesn't believe in magic. ;)

    But one of my motivations for posting info like this thread, is to highlight for people who only know this world from Champions Online that the MMO has shown them only a small fraction of its potential for character backgrounds and story ideas.
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    There are several (apparently) legitimate tech companies in the official setting which are at the forefront of research and development, and would make good places for scientist PCs to work, make discoveries or breakthroughs, interact with NPCs of similar background, or maybe have an empowering lab accident. ;) All of these are either headquartered in or have major branch offices at Millennium City, since it's a center for cutting-edge research. Aside from additional books which are cited in individual entries below, most of the information about these companies appears in the Millennium City source book.

    Advanced Concepts Industries (ACI): One of the world's largest and most diverse corporations, ACI has fingers in almost every endeavor where there's money to be made. High-tech and chemical manufacturing are high on its list of priorities. While most of its employees are normal people with normal motivations, ACI's founder, president, CEO and majority owner is Franklin Stone (Champions Villains Vol. 1: Master Villains), who has no scruples in bypassing law or ethics in the pursuit of wealth and power; so there are certainly covert nefarious activities that could be investigated or stumbled upon, including scientific projects.

    Angelstone Laboratories: Angelstone initially made its name as an innovative defense contractor, and that remains one of its major focuses, although it's expanded its research over a broad range of applied and theoretical sciences: everything from physics and genetics, to criminology and economics. But it's become best known for its "Superhuman Studies Division" researching super powers and super technology, and activities and behavior of supervillains. It frequently gives presentations and reports to governments and law enforcement on these subjects, and sometimes assists superheroes directly. In this it competes with the Goodman Institute in America, and the Swiss-based l'Institut Thoth (both described in Champions Universe). Angelstone Laboratories is a for-profit company, but will sometimes offer reduced rates to clients in a good cause. Angelstone Laboratories is thoroughly described in Cops, Crews, And Cabals.

    Binary Corporation: This major Millennium City-based company is best known for computer hardware and software, but also researches medical technology, genetics, and is a leader in plasma-based weapon design. It sponsors its own superhero spokesperson, the duplicating Binary Man. BC suffered a major scandal in 2001 when one of its top executives, Monica Knowlton, was revealed to be a Morbane of DEMON, but has since recovered.

    Cambridge Biotechnology: Based in London, Cambridge focuses on medicine, pharmaceuticals, and genetics, with many profitable patents. It was the first company to research the biochemical functions of psionic powers, and has developed tests for detecting and cataloguing such powers, licensing their use by court systems around the world. But Cambridge may be best known for employing the simian super-scientist, Dr. Silverback, at its Millennium City facilities. (Dr. Silverback's write-up is in Champions Universe.)

    Dew Chemical: One of the largest chemical companies in the United States, Dew is also one of the few major corporations which has been based in Detroit/Millennium City since before Dr. Destroyer leveled it. Dew's programs include development of plastics, adhesives and sealants, herbicides and pesticides, and synthetic biochemical compounds.

    Drake-Victoria Inc. (DVI): One of the largest American defense contractors, Drake-Victoria designs military vehicles and weapons, particularly tanks, trucks, rockets and missiles. It continues to research ways to economically manufacture light, reliable powered armor for soldiers. It's also at the forefront of force-field generation technology. In recent years its facilities have been attacked by the supervillain team called the Ultimates (Champions Villains Vol. 2: Villain Teams). Unknown outside of the Ultimates, one of their members, Cyclone, used to work for DVI and has a grudge against them.

    Duchess Industries: A huge multinational corporation based in Bonn, Germany, Duchess Industries has holdings in many fields, including aerospace, nuclear energy, biotechnology, computers and robotics, chemistry and mining. DI is privately owned by the mysterious Duchess Henrietta von Drotte. Von Drotte is secretly one of the highest leaders of VIPER (where she's known simply as "the Duchess") and DI conducts several clandestine research projects for VIPER. VIPER's assistance with industrial espionage, sabotage, and assassination has helped Duchess Industries reach its current stature. (The Duchess and DI receive considerable attention in VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent.)

    Fordham Chemtech: Fordham dominates several niche markets, including manufacturing microchips and other silicoids, and medical films and other related materials. It has several subsidiaries competing in other fields, such as Regor in memory plastics.

    Genex Labs: A relatively small company founded at the start of recombinant DNA engineering, Genex patents include treatments for a range of diseases. However, its profile and profit were greatly raised when it invented the Cyberline treatment which PRIMUS uses to create its cadre of superhuman Avengers.

    Harmon Industries: Almost wholly owned by James Harmon III, HI is a general-purpose defense contractor, with specialties in rocketry and missiles, aerospace and satellites, and infantry weapons. The Harmon family is unaware of James IV's identity as Defender, and considers him a disappointment for not devoting more time and energy to the company.

    Ironwood Industrial Technologies (IIT): One of HI's chief competitors for American space-based defense contracts, Ironwood has its headquarters in MC and major manufacturing facilities in North Detroit. It co-designed UNTIL's GATEWAY space station and contributed to the Champions' V-Jet.

    Kendrick and Company: Professor Daryl Kendrick founded this company after his discovery of his superstrong "kendrium" steel alloy. He's received several government contracts to manufacture armor for tanks and other vehicles. UNTIL's nuclear submarine, the Aegir, has a hull made of kendrium. (The Aegir is written up in UNTIL: Defenders Of Freedom.) Kendrick is believed to have found a loophole in patent laws allowing him to patent his formula while keeping it secret; in fact he bribed some corrupt officials at the Patent Office.

    Pharos Industries: Perhaps the only corporation rivaling the size and diversity of ACI, Pharos has subsidiaries specializing in electronics (particularly supercomputers), biotechnology (notably medical cybernetics), and transportation infrastructure (it designed and built the Millennium City "smart roadway" system).

    Regent Energy: One of the world's largest oil companies, Regent is also a leader in development of alternative energy sources: solar power, geothermal energy, and synthetic gasoline replacements. Its Millennium City offices house some of the top researchers in that field.

    Post edited by bulgarex on
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Posts: 4,915 Arc User
    ACI:
    Franklin Stone is the villain mastermind behind the Nighthawk? event.

    Binary Corporation:
    Monica Knowlton sounds familiar....
    ChampsWiki
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    My characters
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    Someone might have noticed that I left ARGENT off the list of high-tech corporations. That's because it's a special case. While unquestionably among the leaders in world technological development, ARGENT also plays a much broader, antagonistic role in the Champions Universe. A role described at length on this forum thread.
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    This thread is mirrored on the Champions Online Roleplayers forums, and there someone asked about the economic and social implications of this supertech, which seemed appropriate to also bring up here.

    From everything I've read and heard, I can quite confidently state that Champions Earth is for the most part the same as real Earth, only intensified. Social, political, and economic structures and interactions are essentially the same. Modern history and geopolitics are largely unchanged, i.e. the same major events occurred in both worlds, and the familiar players are in place. Even most of the current and historical influential people are shared by both.

    All this super-science has made Champions Earth a better place in a number of ways, as I highlighted at the beginning of this thread. Some of the things of pressing concern to us real folks are much less of an issue for them. Global warming is less critical. Environmental pollution and degradation are more controlled. Fewer people have to suffer due to disease or injury. The benefits of advanced technology are more accessible and affordable to people around the world.

    I should also point out that what most of society considers the scientific "fringe" is hella smaller on Champions Earth than it is in the real world. With all these radical scientific inventions, not to mention superhuman genetic mutations, multiple alien invasions, rampaging giant monsters, whole cities being shrunken and stolen, and other mind-boggling phenomena they've experienced for generations, humanity seems to have learned to take a lot of weirdness in stride. The majority appear to be inured to the impact of revelations that would spark profound upheaval in our world if they occurred here, like the incontestable existence of non-human intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, often more advanced than humans; or the return of self-professed mythological gods with miraculous powers. I get the impression most people have developed an attitude of, "Been there, done that, and I still have to pay taxes."

    Individuals on Champions Earth have often made their fortunes from particularly innovative discoveries or designs, but that's hardly without real-world precedent. Earlier on the thread I gave the examples of cyberline and kendrium, but those aren't fundamentally different from microchips, or velcro. However, in keeping with the conventions of comics I spelled out at the start of the thread, various factors restrict really widespread commercialization of developments that are very dangerous, or which would change the world's recognizable familiarity too much.

    But those factors don't eliminate the elevated potential this technology has for destabilizing world security, which gives many people in governments and law-enforcement sleepless nights. In fact that potential is one defining characteristic of the superhero genre. There are many examples in the comics and the Champions Universe of a common thug turning into a supervillain just by getting his hands on a piece of bleeding-edge tech. Actually inventing something radically advanced can significantly alter the balance of power. To use recent fictional examples, various Marvel superhero movies have raised the tremendous risk of unscrupulous parties getting their hands on the plans for arc reactors, or the formula for Pym particles, or vibranium and devices based on it. VIPER's relatively small paramilitary force can compete with much larger armies because it arms all its agents with advanced equipment; while the single greatest factor making Dr. Destroyer the magnitude of menace he is, is his capacity for extraordinary scientific breakthroughs almost on demand.

    It's not at all uncommon for those in possession of dangerous advanced technology to sell products based on it (although rarely the secrets behind it) to evil but otherwise mundane people who wouldn't otherwise have access to them: organized criminals, terrorists or subversives, petty dictators, or aspiring supervillains. This thread already named several parties involved in that business. While to date none of those developments have turned a relative nobody into an instant global threat, they can become much more of a local danger. I get the impression most of the ultratech sellers are wary of too much destabilizing activity making stopping them a top priority for the whole global community. As one example, VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent p. 132 notes that while VIPER is well able to build nuclear weapons, it eschews doing so for fear that if world governments found out, they would double down on efforts to destroy VIPER before VIPER is ready for world domination.

    Perhaps the most dangerous area of scientific research on Champs Earth is the long-standing and ongoing effort to discover a safe, reliable, economical method to create superhumans. Many parties have engaged in projects with that goal. The Soviet Union had its Directorate Black-12. The US military runs Department 17, only the latest in a long line of American "superhuman soldier" projects. Smaller "rogue states" like Awad and Chiquador actively pursue that line of research, as do supercriminal groups such as VIPER and ARGENT. Any party that succeeds would gain a game changing tactical advantage. Smaller players won't need the facilities and infrastructure for a modern mechanized military to threaten their neighbors, if they can field an army whose soldiers can fly, shoot lightning, and/or throw tanks.

    (Of course Teleios already has that capacity. He hasn't tried to exercise it to date because ruling the world isn't important to him. OTOH the world first learned of Teleios in 1993, when he sold an army of cloned soldiers to Eurostar so they could invade and try to conquer Poland.)

  • animalgirl95animalgirl95 Posts: 19 Arc User
    Thank you so much for sharing this wealth of information, as someone who has only been exposed to Champions Online there is so much un(or inadequately)explained and this has helped fill in SO many gaps in my knowledge.
  • alriialrii Posts: 63 Arc User
    you, sir, are my hero :3
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    You're too kind, animalgirl95 and alrii. It makes me happy that you find this stuff interesting and useful -- that's all I want. =) So, to continue to try to make myself useful...

    Doctor Destroyer is near-universally considered to wield the most advanced technology of any person on Earth. His followers are armed with a dizzying array of bleeding-edge weapons, vehicles, and robots; while DD's personal powered armor is unquestionably the most versatile and powerful on the planet. A very few scientific geniuses may rival or even surpass Destroyer in specific fields, e.g. Mechanon in robotics, Teleios in genetic engineering, or Captain Chronos in temporal physics. But the range and diversity of sciences and related disciplines the Doctor has mastered is unmatched, and he's first in the world in almost all of them. DD has a whole source book devoted to him, Book Of The Destroyer.
  • sapphiechusapphiechu Posts: 259 Arc User
    With all this stuff you share with us, how you find time to PLAY Champions, Bulgarex?
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  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    Admittedly, I don't get to play anywhere near as often as I'd like. :( And when I do, frankly I prefer the tabletop game to the MMO.

    I guess discussions like these help me feel still connected to Champions. And like all the time and money I spent learning it haven't gone to waste. ;)
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    Although not explicitly stated anywhere, I would call it reasonable to assume all this super-science has greatly contributed to the predominant skepticism toward magic on Champions Earth. The great majority of people don't believe in magic any more than folks on real Earth do, despite the presence of some high-profile beings who claim supernatural powers. There are more scientific (for a comic-book world) explanations for all these phenomena, with precedents as spectacular as anything magic has come up with. Undead? We have corpses reanimated by chemicals or electricity. Therianthropes? We can name a dozen supers who change to animals due to genetic mutations or serums. Astral dimensions with weird monsters? Earth's been invaded multiple times by non-humans from other dimensions, who used tech to get here. Gods? Doctor Destroyer calls himself a god, and has the power to back it up. Miraculous events witnessed by and affecting millions? Try to top the warlord from the future who shrunk and stole the entire island of Manhattan.
    Post edited by bulgarex on
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    I see a notice of a new post here from bluegrassbeast, but there's no post visible in my browser. Can anyone else read it? :/
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited June 2018
    Radical scientific breakthroughs on Champions Earth aren't just confined to the 20th and 21st Centuries. On our world the fiction of the 19th Century was full of adventures based on the frontiers of science, and in the Champions Universe many of those pioneering scientists actually existed, such as the first Dr. Moreau and his project to raise animals to sapience; Captain Nemo's extraordinary submarine; Baron Frankenstein's reanimation experiments; the invisibility formula developed by a man named Griffin; and Henry Jekyll's discovery to incarnate the evil within every person.

    Other notable figures are unique and original to this setting. Prof. Myron Klauss, a.k.a "Professor Clock," a Swiss clockwork roboticist, allegedly inspired some of the more fanciful creations of L. Frank Baum. One of his constructs, the robotic butler "Dalhousie," still functions 150 years later. Dr. Victor Vulcaine was to applied sonics what Nikola Tesla is popularly believed to have been to electro-magnetism. Vulcaine's feats included a sub-sonic vibration that broke every piece of glass in London. Even modern Champs Earth science has been unable to analyze or duplicate all the accomplishments of these geniuses. But some of their lost or stolen notes or prototypes may still await rediscovery.

    (Most of the scientists mentioned above are noted in the historical section of Champions Universe, but Klauss and Vulcaine are described in VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent p. 7.)
    Post edited by bulgarex on
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited August 2018
    At the other end of the spectrum of how comic-book tech can affect the entire world, Book of the Empress p. 132 describes the alternate Earth known as Laurentia. On this world Christianity never arose -- the dominant faith of the ancient world was worship of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele. In the late 19th century a Cybelite nun named Sister Yvette discovered an advanced alien artifact called the Foundationstone buried in northern Quebec, Canada. The artifact made telepathic contact with Sister Yvette and determined her greatest desire was to spread the Holy Mother Church over the whole world.

    The Foundationstone downloaded its scientific database into Yvette's mind, and reshaped itself into a supertech facility, the Real Cathedral, in the heart of Quebec City. Using those resources and her new knowledge, Yvette constructed the Meter Theon Machina ("mother goddess machine") to telepathically broadcast her religious beliefs around the globe, compelling everyone to convert to her faith. To deal with those few too strong-willed to convert, Yvette built the Norn Cathecists, suits of powered armor that can only be worn by eunuchs of her faith. The remnants of the armies of the rest of the world could not resist them.

    By the second quarter of the 20th Century the Catholic Cybelites controlled the entire Earth. They consolidated secular and temporal power in Quebec City, which they renamed True Paris. Quebec French became the only lawful language, with Latin as the ceremonial tongue. Today True Paris is the seat of the Supreme Chatelaine, the world's absolute political and spiritual authority.

    Laurentia has made contact with Champions Earth on several occasions. The Supreme Chatelaine wants to conquer and convert it, and then all other alternate Earths, but has so far been rebuffed. To counter opposition by Champs Earth's superheroes, the Catholic Cybelites have built the Machinism Ascensus to create their own low-powered superhumans.

    The above example illustrates how some alien technology is so advanced compared to human tech -- even that possessed by major superhumans -- that it reaches the level of "plot device," generating world-shaking events. It's worth noting that Champions Earth could be hiding finds of such magnitude, from several potential sources.

    The late Vanguard, considered the most powerful superhero ever (the CU's Superman analogue), was transformed by exposure to a mysterious artifact in a temple in Tibet, called "the Bell of the Chosen." Despite its mystic-sounding name, the Bell is actually a tech device made by an alien race called the Kuzane. In 1959 a group of Terrestrial adventurers intercepted and destroyed an invading Kuzane ship, but the energy of its explosion mutated them into the legendary superheroes, the Fabulous Five. Unknown to anyone, that explosion also hurled a fragment of the ship through not only space, but time, to land in Tibet seven centuries earlier. There's no indication Kuzane technology was generally so powerful, but it could have been altered by the same energy that created the Five. To date no other Kuzane artifacts are known to have been recovered; but given the circumstances, another piece might be found anywhere on Earth, and anywhen.

    The most scientifically advanced species still extant in the Milky Way are the Malvans. Both Ironclad of the Champions, and the reformed supervillain Herculan, crashed to Earth aboard small Malvan ships. The United States government recovered the remains of both ships, although they were damaged and nonfunctional, and have defied human attempts to understand them. However, one human is in possession of a device from Herculan's ship, which had been taken as a "souvenir" after it crashed. It's not impossible another fragment of that ship might have been spirited away; or that someone could dredge an overlooked piece of Ironclad's ship out of Lake St. Clair where it crashed. Moreover, with the Forum Malvanum on Earth's Moon, there's more than one way a Malvan artifact might pass from there to this planet.

    When the godlike alien Progenitors left Earth after having created the first generation of mankind's superhuman cousins, the Empyreans, they took all their devices except those that protect the Empyrean's hidden city, Arcadia. But there's reason to suspect they could have left something elsewhere on Earth, accidentally or deliberately. The asteroid belt in our solar system was once a planet, home to another race evolved through Progenitor experiments, the "botanoid" Phytians. But the Phytian equivalent of a scientific supervillain discovered some Progenitor tech and attempted to use it to blackmail his whole world. Unfortunately he couldn't fully comprehend the device, and accidentally shattered Phytia. Yet even now, a few surviving Progenitor artifacts remain in the asteroid belt.

    The benevolent advanced aliens named Mandaarians have publicly visited Earth several times in the past. They also continue to study humanity covertly, so as not to influence our behavior. One of their survey ships crashed on Earth, and a nearby drifter recovered a pair of bracers which had been the pilot's control interface. Yet the bracers also proved capable of generating a wide variety of potent offensive and defensive energy constructs, and even of reshaping the drifter's formerly-average body to one of exceptional health and attractiveness. The drifter later joined the supervillain team, the Ultimates, under the code-name "Orion." One can only wonder what a Mandaarian device intended as a weapon might be capable of.

    All the above information was derived from Champions Beyond, except for the origin of Orion, which appears under the entry for the Ultimates in Champions Villains Vol. 2: Villain Teams.
    Post edited by bulgarex on
  • legendarylycan#5411 legendarylycan Posts: 1,569 Arc User
    edited August 2018
    bulgarex wrote: »
    Travel, whether by air, water, or land, is quicker and safer than ever before. Flights from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast can be comfortably completed in just two hours in some cases. The "Smart Roadway" system in Millennium City interacts with Vehicle Control Chips in all cars within city limits, allowing traffic authorities to automatically track them, and if necessary shut a car down remotely. When driving on the Millennium City Highway surrounding the city, the VCC lets a central computer take direct control of the cars, practically eliminating accidents.

    um...have you SEEN MC's roadways ingame lately?

    THIS is your 'Smart Roadway' at work

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    Post edited by legendarylycan#5411 on
    #LegalizeAwoo
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    It's clearly Dr. Destroyer's revenge for the Battle of Detroit. :p
  • jaazaniah1jaazaniah1 Posts: 5,421 Arc User
    Something I always wonder about. Sure, there are all these wonderful advances in tech that have helped average people in the comics, but there are also super villains, alien/extra dimensional invasions, and all the other basic genre threats that make life worse for average people. My guts says then that the quality of life for average people in our real universe is probably the same as that for those in the comic universe. I.e. bigger benefits, but also bigger problems.
    JwLmWoa.png
    Perseus, Captain Arcane, Tectonic Knight, Pankration, Siberiad, Sekhmet, Black Seraph, Clockwork
    Project Attalus: Saving the world so you don't have to!
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    I would call that a reasonable interpretation, but I suppose it comes down to how you define, "quality of life." Champs Earth certainly isn't Utopia. It shares most of the same social and political problems as our own world. As I laid out earlier on this thread, this superior technology can raise the level of destructive potential for individuals or small groups; but for the average person on the street a fire-throwing supervillain isn't a greater threat to him/her than a criminal with a gun or a bomb. War takes a terrible toll on the innocent, whether they face aggressors from across the border or across the galaxy. People as a whole tend to adapt to what their prevailing reality is, treating that as "normal." And superhumans have been normal in this setting for eighty years.

    In my OP I outlined how more advanced technology has measurably improved the overall quality of life on Champions Earth in various categories: communication, transportation, health care, environmental protection. But as on real Earth, there are many problems which tech inherently can't solve.

    I will add just one more point regarding your mention of extra-terrestrial and extra-dimensional invaders. One of the elements of the Champions Universe that many people seem to have trouble accepting, is that the United Nations is far more effective at maintaining the peace, fostering international cooperation, and making critical decisions, than our UN is. Although it's not stated anywhere in the books that I'm aware of, I would call it a fair assessment that the repeated existential threats to the whole planet from invaders beyond our world, as well as home-grown terrorists and megalomaniacs, has impressed the global community with the need to work together for our common survival. Not everyone on Champs Earth wholly buys into that, but I suspect it would be the prevailing mood.

    I don't think there's a better example of that than the United States signing the UNTIL Tribunal Treaty allowing UNTIL to operate on American soil. For decades the US refused to sign, on the grounds that foreign-born operatives in UNTIL were a threat to America's security. Then Dr. Destroyer leveled half of Detroit and killed 60,000 people. When the American public learned UNTIL forces were ready to deploy to help fight DD, but were held up at the border by bureaucratic red tape, their outrage forced the US government to sign on.
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    The Champions Earth state of Awad, on the Arabian peninsula, obtained great wealth from its vast oil reserves; but for decades has invested much of that wealth into technological development. As a result it's a world leader in technology fields, and implicitly is economically much less dependent on fickle oil prices. Awad's technology also makes it a potential threat to world security, a common trope for a super world. Sufficiently advanced tech can not only make a small state a major geopolitical player, it can effectively insulate it from much larger neighbors who might want to conquer it and steal its secrets, or at least neutralize the danger it represents. Even in the real world we have relevant examples, as with North Korea's nuclear weapons. But in comic-books the precedents can be even more extreme, e.g. Marvel's Latveria. On Champions Earth the city-state of Larisagrad has been able to preserve its independence due in large part to its Division of powered-armor troopers, small in number, but heavily armed with some of the more advanced weaponry on the planet.

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