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MCPD Lore?

I'm thinking about creating a cop character, with a "Gotham Central" comicbook vibe.
@bulgarex could you help me with some info about the police inside Champions Universe? :D

Comments

  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Posts: 4,915 Arc User
    Interestingly there seem to be some hero cops in CO. :)
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  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    All righty, then. As usual I'll preface my remarks by pointing out that Champions Online has no continuity police. (If it did half the PCs in the game would disappear. :p ) So if you would enjoy playing something differing from what the lore of CO or the PnP books say, and no one you role-play with objects, you should go for it. But if you do want to draw from the source material, it's helpful to consider what it says, what it leaves unsaid, and how you can logically fill in the gaps.

    Thanks to contributions by various "super scientists" over the years, the median level of technology in the industrialized nations on Champions Earth is superior to that of real Earth. Even the average cop on the street tends to benefit from that, having weapons and equipment that are more effective and versatile, especially in Millennium City which prides itself in being on the cutting edge. Most large American cities like MC have their own local superheroes, but modern police were long frustrated with being outgunned by supervillains while waiting for heroes to show up. The MCPD was the first force in the world to create a Metahuman Activities Response Squad (MARS), specially-trained officers with advanced gear, tasked with being the first response to supervillains. Since the first MARS unit in 1995 the concept has spread to other American cities and internationally. When some supervillains proved too strong even for MARS, the MCPD established Special Unit Omega, made up of their finest front-line officers using the most advanced and powerful weaponry the department could buy.

    There's no note in any sources about superhumans working directly and openly for any municipal or state police force in the United States. OTOH there's no statement about that reflecting any sort of official policy. I suspect the writers of the PnP game assumed most Player Characters operating at the local level would be more traditional costumed heroes, who wouldn't want to be upstaged by "supercops." Certainly the federal Department of Justice employs superhumans; several were recruited by the FBI, and PRIMUS creates its Golden Avenger and Silver Avengers to augment its forces.

    Most real police forces consider themselves a special brotherhood, and don't look to induct outsiders as officers who haven't gone through the same sort of training and experience. They do sometimes employ such people as "consultants," but they don't have the legal authority of real cops. Attitudes toward superhumans can vary from department to department, as the source books say applies to local divisions of PRIMUS. Some respect and work with heroes who obey and cooperate with the law, while others consider them amateurs who make things harder for professional police. Cops might be more willing to accept a super who went through the same training; and probably even more accepting of someone who was already a cop before gaining super-powers, or who obtained super-level gadgets giving them the equivalent of such powers.

    A super who wanted to maintain a secret ID while also working for the police would probably have to live a double life. The current Flash television series is one example. In the CU Lady Liberty, a member of the Millennium City Eight, is a MCPD officer who hides her magic powers from her fellow cops behind a masked identity.

    The MCPD and MARS are given a brief overview in Champions Universe, with more info in the Millennium City source book. Special Unit Omega is detailed in Cops, Crews, And Cabals.
  • brfabeirasbrfabeiras Posts: 182 Arc User
    Thanks a lot for the info, I'm considering a "depowered hero become cop" background, pretty much like Diamond in the Powers series. :)
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Posts: 4,915 Arc User
    edited April 2018
    Or a hero who is a cop like Mayte Sanchez aka "Silver Avenger". She's not even a FORMER hero, she just works for the police. Presumably she's not as powerful as a member of the Champions. Although if you find her in game and read her bio it talks about how she's friends with Sapphire.
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  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    edited April 2018
    To clarify, Mayte Sanchez is a member of PRIMUS, the federal law-enforcement agency with primary responsibility for countering "supercrime" in the United States. And she is a Silver Avenger. PRIMUS uses a secret process called "Cyberline" to enhance genetically-compatible agents, granting them low-level-superhuman strength, reflexes, and durability. Silver Avengers are stationed at various PRIMUS bases, sometimes in command of them. Major cities can have more than one Silver Avenger assigned to them; so it would be quite acceptable for a PC to be a Silver Avenger in Millennium City, probably under Sanchez's command, maybe a new Avenger being trained by her.
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Posts: 4,915 Arc User
    Oh, that explains why she doesn't wear an MCPD uniform.

    Wait... if there's more than one "Silver Avenger" how many are there, and is Mayte the only one in the game?
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  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    An earlier incarnation of the Champions Universe did have a set total of active Silver Avengers (sixteen), but for this one no number has been specified. Mayte Sanchez was one of several Avengers assigned to Chicago, before requesting a transfer to Millennium City. (Her most recent full PnP write-up is in Champions Universe.)

    The only other named Silver Avenger in current official continuity is Barton Stano, assigned to Vibora Bay (and written up in the VB source book). I don't recall whether or not he appears there in CO.
  • bulgarexbulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User
    Point of Champions trivia: "Barton Stano" is the name of a real person, a veteran Champions player and frequent contributor to the Hero Games website discussion forums. Over a dozen years ago Hero Games held a charity fund-raising campaign, with one reward for contributors being having their name appear in print for a person or place in the official setting. Quite a few real names are sprinkled throughout the early Champions source books.
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