⚠ALERT! Calling all Heroes!⚠

Hello SHRP!

It is my pleasure to announce the newest way to interact with our universe: ALERTS!

What are ALERTS, you ask? Simply put, they are monthly announced crises, disasters, and conflicts happening in a specific part of the world. Each month, there might be aliens in New York, a mob war in Vegas, or an unspeakable ritual being done in Egypt. These are thread independent, so they are happening regardless of who decides to take part. That means If our heroes stand by and do nothing, part of the world may very well face catastrophe.

Anything can happen to our world now, and we want YOU to be a part of it all.

Players will be free to make, run, and complete their ALERT threads as they see fit, just like any other topic. The only difference is ALERT topics are tied to a larger event happening in the world. We'll release a brief description of the ALERT, it's cause, and potential rewards, but then the rest is up to the players. You can have an effect on the world without having to deal with the hassle of Arc or Quest organization and deadlines.

Keep in mind that, due to the fluid timeline, you can still make normal threads in the places ALERTS are taking place. It's completely up to you whether you want to take part or not, but that said, there are many awards for completion of a topic tied to an ALERT.

When an ALERT is announced, a list of rewards will come along with it. Just like our holiday themes, completion of an ALERT thread can net you a flat xp bonus, double xp, a free character advancement, and potentially even more character slots! In exceptional cases, characters may even earn plot related special items or abilities, to be given out by staff when a significant enough action is done in an ALERT thread. ALERTS will also be summarized on our History and Lore page, so if you want to leave a mark, get involved!

Even though these plots are player driven, with only an outline given by staff, occasionally we will make open "Crisis" threads that are directed by a designated Game Master. These threads usually have more specific or significant content that can't easily be captured in the description, including the Alert's official villains and core plot, so therefore require someone involved in the Alert's organization to pull the strings. Be sure to jump on these threads when you see them though, because there's a four player (Including the poster) limit.

The first ALERT will be posted in this thread in the next 24 hours, and then from that point on will be announced early each month. We hope this will promote activity, make the world feel more dynamic, spur on creativity, and help us give players the opportunity to have an impact on a more organized, coherent site history.

Feel free to suggest ALERTS to us in the Suggestions Discord Channel, and don't be shy! Nothing is too big or too crazy to be considered. This is about you, after all, and we want to make sure the events happening in our world are things the community wants to take part in.

Happy Heroics, and Merry Christmas!
Your favorite asshat, Red.

Description: Trouble in Hong Kong! Thousands of full-body exoskeletons have been air dropped into the city seemingly at random by a company calling itself ChronoSphere. Not knowing what they were, many citizens activated the sleek suits, which enveloped them instantly, locking them inside and equipping them with advanced laser weapons. The visors in the suits put the user in a form of Augmented Reality--a sci fi video game with their bodies as the controller, and the world as the map.

Quickly it was made clear that the only
way to remove the suits non-lethally was by playing the game, and not only that, but only by racking up at least 3000 points. Unfortunately, the only way to get points is by killing other players or civilians, netting you 100 points each, or by fighting dangerous bosses that may get you killed, worth 1000 for all players in a mile area. Yes, that's right, it's the old cliche: You die in the sim, you die for real.

Hong Kong has become a slaughter house, with those willing to kill hunting people down in their cybernetic power suits, and those unwilling to aimlessly wondering or trying to take down bosses. Some players have even exceeded the threshold needed to leave the game, staying so they can receive the promised 'Grand Prize' at 10000 points.

Heroes will need to be diligent in preventing players from harming each other, and if they choose to put on a suit, strategic in their placement of boss battles to free as many people as possible. If at the end of a 24 hour period (in character) you are still in a suit, you'll die just as you would if you tried to remove it. This really is a sci-fi horror show!

Rewards: One free advancement on completion of a thread of 10000 words or more, and Increased chances of acquiring a Relic (special plotty item).

Notes: Any questions can be directed to the Staff Help Channel by pinging Red, or if I'm not around, Staff. Just keep in mind it's up to you to fill in the blanks. The description is a framework--a premise. The thread is yours!

Happy Heroics!
Red

Description: Los Angeles has been overrun with protests this month! Increased wealth inequality and perceived persecution of the working class has caused massive unrest in and around the city. In the last week, things have only gotten worse, finally escalating to full on revolt!

A gang calling itself The Equalizers, wearing hoodies and Ghostface masks, have increased in numbers, and create violence wherever they appear. Several high ranking politicians and rich business magnates have already been publicly executed by the revolutionaries, and the police department is having trouble keeping up. Worse, it's not just the elite getting hurt—average citizens are getting caught in the crossfire of this politically charged uprising.

Will you swoop in to help instill order, or will you join the gang's cause? Is what they are doing right, or against the rights of their victims, rich or not? It's up to you to decide the fate of much of Los Angeles. Go in, stop as many gang members as you can, or take down the oppressors, giving the people what they seem to want.

Rewards: Relics! Relics everywhere! Many plot related items can be acquired in this Alert, and many of them have no weaknesses! If you choose to take them, they will be applied to your character without any need to spend XP for it. Just do as many significant things as you can in your threads, and a Staff member may grace you with one of these special items. A flat xp bonus of 10 XP also applies for completion of a thread of any length.

Notes: Any questions can be directed to the Staff Help Channel by pinging Red, or if I'm not around, Staff. Just keep in mind it's up to you to fill in the blanks. The description is a framework—a premise. The thread is yours!

Happy Heroics!
Red

Description: Something is happening in Tokyo. First it was slow. A superpowered robbery here, a small explosion there. It wasn't much more troubling than the usual for a city used to metahumans. But then, overnight, things got much, much worse.

People with powers started popping up everywhere. The more scared among them went in for treatment, but many others took to the streets in a power frenzy, hurting themselves and others. It took over three days to find out the cause of all this, and in that time the police forces in the city has become spread thin. Hell, even some of them are starting to get dosed up.

It has been found that Spark, a drug that both grants and enhances superpowers, is being distributed in a seemingly random and chaotic way. Sometimes it's through dealers, other times it's through parts of the water system, and other times it's simply done with weaponized grenades. There doesn't seem to be any motive except to get as many people on the drug as possible, and there doesn't seem to be any main central leader either. It's as if the entire criminal underworld of Tokyo met and agreed to get the population addicted to Spark in whatever way they each could.

Now the Japanese Government looks to the world's heroes as a last resource, allowing them into the country with whatever accommodations they can provide in order to contain the spread of this dangerous drug. Will you answer their call? Ignore the consequences? Or perhaps help bring the city to it's knees?

Rewards: Double XP! Glory! Protecting Tokyo.......... Also, there is (potentially) a shot at getting a permanent power advancement for free, if the right prerequisites are met.

Notes: Credit to Zonkey for his Spark idea. Any questions can be directed to the Staff Help Channel by pinging Red, or if I'm not around, Staff. Just keep in mind it's up to you to fill in the blanks. The description is a framework—a premise. The thread is yours!

Maybe your group takes down some thugs dumping in the water, or a Kingpin that's been targeting schools! This stuff is being brought into the city in many different ways. The job of the heroes is to stop it wherever they can!

Happy Heroics,
Red

Description: Poor, poor New York, what did you ever do to anyone?

It all happened so fast. A broadcast over every screen in the city tipped everyone off, but as soon as it ended, the fight was on. There was no time to prepare. Who could have seen it coming?

A villain calling themselves Amaterasu announced the uprising with unwavering conviction. The intent was vague, but the will was certain. With the call to arms complete, the broadcast was ended with a challenge to the hero Atlas. The screens turned off, and the assault started.

People with a lesser version of Atlas' powers descended on the city, bringing destruction in their wake, and just begging someone to come out and face them. With such a sudden attack, heroes will have to react quickly if they are to protect the helpless citizens of the world's most dangerous city and thwart the attackers. At least a few will also need to be bold enough to face the mastermind head on, shoulder to shoulder with Atlas.

(A Crisis thread ran by Pat will be released, featuring Atlas and Amaterasu. However, normal independent Alert threads should still be done, to help thwart the villains soldiers and save people throughout the city. This assualt will not be stopped by taking down one person.)

Rewards: Increased potential for relics, and of course, the normal double XP.... And the glory of stopping a second New York Assault.

Notes: The synthetic Atlas powers of the villains minions range in potency as follows:

Strengh: 500-10000 Tons
Flight/Running Speed: Mach 1-5
All other abilities (such as regen and heatvision) range from a tenth to a quarter the power level of Atlas'.

You can of course go more than this if you feel like going up against a bigger challenge, but normally the soldiers fall into the above power ranges

Any other questions can be directed to the Staff Help Channel by pinging Red, or if I'm not around, Staff. Just keep in mind it's up to you to fill in the blanks. The description is a framework—a premise. The thread is yours!

Happy Heroics,
Red

All over the state of New Jersey cases of a mysterious illness dubbed Flame Fever began to pop up due to the illness having the almost universal fever rate of between 109.4 °F and 115.2 °F began to spread. The disease was abnormal in that despite the high fever rate; immune cells were extremely sluggish, and there seemed to be a diminished amount of them. Not only that, but the fevers seemed to have no more effect on the people affected than a mild flu. Something you’d be able to sleep off, instead of going to an ICU like the fever temperatures might suggest to be a complete necessity.

The illness was extremely infectious, and soon New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware were reporting cases. Travel to and from these states was highly diminished, and with proper safety concerns; it seemed to be slowed down. Certainly not stopped, but slowed. Soon though, cases of spontaneous human combustion were becoming evident in the Flame Fever victims. They would be sitting at home, and then poof. There would be nothing but a pair of feet leftover. If that. Soon after that, people began complaining about a silvery dust coming out of their appliances.

This continued for the next week. Heroes and first responders alike were forced to take action. Many fell ill, and were forced off duty for a while. This all changed two days ago, when a new villain appeared on the screens of every person in the affected area. A hacker known as Lord Ch@os. They claimed credit for the Flame Fever. Soon after, scans discovered that advanced nanobots were the culprit for the Flame Fevers symptoms. However, even knowing that; doctors had very little control over what they could do about these nanobots. Magnets have no effect, and as earlier tests show, they could hide themselves from discovery if they were under threat.

The company known as Gen-X has offered shrinking technology for a small rental fee for heroes wanting to fight the flame fever head on. At the rate things are going, the Flame Fever nanobots will have spread to most people in the area by the end of the week. And if that wasn’t bad enough, appliances have come to life and have begun rebelling against their human overlords.

I hope the heroes like involuntary baths with their toasters, because that’s how things seem to be going.

Rewards: Increased potential for relics, double XP - 4X for posts made between 09/17/20.

Any other questions can be directed to the Staff Help Channel by pinging Zonkes, or if I'm not around, Staff. Just keep in mind it's up to you to fill in the blanks. The description is a framework—a premise. The thread is yours!

Time to suit up, heroes
Zonkes