The ARES Protocol is a super heroes game set in a post-planetary war setting. Earth has barely survived an alien invasion, thanks in large part to the ARES project - an initiative to recruit super powered heroes to fight the threat. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of war the world government has grown suspicious and paranoid of the great power of the ARES Project members and have enacted the ARES Protocol, a directive to hunt and eliminate all powered beings. To enact this protocol, the Aegis Authority has been founded. Using government resources and recovered alien technology the authority searches the earth looking for former war heroes who now find themselves enemies of the state.
Character Creation will use the Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion at the Four Colour power level including the Super Karma option.
The following standard setting rules will apply: Extra Effort, Blood & Guts, Born a Hero, Fanatics, and Joker’s Wild as well as special comic book combat rules from the Super Powers Companion.
Starting Funds: 1d4x1000 (equipment can be drawn from the Gear section of the SPC)
Starting XP: Start with 5 XP (one advance) to make up for the slowness of PbP.
Additionally, two unique Setting Rules will be play tested.
Agent! Rolling a 1 on the wild die when using a super power means your hero has been recognized as a super and reported to the Aegis Authority. A team of armed agents is now on the way! GMs can evolve this over time to a specific agent or task force assigned to take out the group of heroes.
Collateral Damage. In a world still bearing the fresh scars of a ruthless invasion, destruction, mayhem, and chaos are as unwelcome as ever. Unfortunately, super battles often mean lots of collateral damage. Critical failure (rolling a 1 on both the trait die and wild die) during battles results in unintended, sometimes tragic, results. These cannot be rerolled using bennys. GMs draw a card to determine the type of collateral damage.
- Looming Threat (Spades). The hero’s actions have caused a chain reaction of events that will threaten the entire area if not stopped within three rounds (a power plant goes critical, a dam breaks, the fireworks factory is on fire, etc.).
- Tragedy Strikes (Hearts). An innocent bystander has been incapacitated. It may be possible to save her by acting on the next round only.
- Big Bang (Diamonds). Something blows up (fuel truck, ammo depot, gas line, etc.), causing 6d6 heavy damage in a large burst template centered on the hero’s target.
- Traffic Jam (Clubs). Items or debris enter the battlefield (cars pile up, building falls over, the street melts into liquid asphalt, etc.) turning the entire area of play into difficult terrain
- Double Whammy (Joker). Draw two cards!