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Dawnstars
Gamemaster: Ben Langdon
The Global Guardians PBEM Universe
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Campaign Description: Dawnstars is a fusion of superheroics and regular life: a place where the public lives of superheroes are acted out alongside the private issues and aspirations of heroes.  Set primarily in Italy, the Dawnstars will be accruing Frequent Flyer points regularly as they move across Europe and even beyond to places at the edges of the Earth.

The heroes of Dawnstars are united by their sense of camaraderie as well as a vision to safeguard the social, economic and political wellbeing of Europe.  Originally established and supported by the European Union, the Dawnstars’ brilliant introduction into the world of superheroes was prematurely ended after a rogue mutant named Torch destroyed their high-tech base, and the EU withdrew all financial and diplomatic backing.  This became known as The Schism.  The Dawnstars were left adrift in the aftermath and went their separate ways.

Two years later the Dawnstars were reunited after a series of brutal attacks on their ex-members, finally reforming as an independent team of heroes.

Importance of the Player Characters: Very important.  While there are other heroes in the world, the player characters are effectively central to everything in this campaign.  They have a good relationship with the Italian government and are seen as Italy’s unofficial superhero team.  Within the wider European community, the Dawnstars are considered the lesser cousin to the more powerful Global Guardians, but do hold some popularity in the European arena.  There will occasionally be cross-overs with NPC heroes, as well as from other campaigns, and these cross-overs will establish ongoing global relationships which will develop the Dawnstars.

World Description: The Global Guardians Universe is a four-color comic book world full of larger than life characters.  Technology is more advanced that the real world, and magic is real.  Aliens and creatures of legend roam the earth.

The Story So Far: In 1999 Germany took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union as the euro was officially launched as the currency in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.  During a special European Council held in Berlin, Germany, the Council approved the establishment of an EU-sponsored superhero team as an agent of promoting the philosophy and achievements of the EU, as well as responding to immediate superhuman threats to member countries.

The original team of Aeolus, Blarney, Choir, Eternity, Medusa, Nordkapp Man, Renard, Shriek, Slipknot and Valkyrie was established in Berlin and dubbed The Dawnstars.  The team’s first official mission was to intercept a tanker carrying nuclear waste in the Mediterranean Sea, which had been hijacked by agents of the criminal mastermind Romulus.  The Dawnstars averted disaster and were hailed across Europe as a huge success.  Their headquarters was moved from Berlin to Venice in 2000 during Millennium celebrations.

Over the next two years the Dawnstars continued to protect the nations of Europe against natural disasters, criminal organisations and superhuman adversaries.  In 2001, the team’s leader, Medusa, abruptly left the team after the appointment of an EU-appointed Administrator to the team.  With Medusa’s departure the Dawnstars unwittingly began their descent into what has now been termed The Schism.  The Dawnstars began investigating a metahuman arsonist responsible for a series of fires across Italy over a six year period, but the team was soon embroiled in a conspiracy that involved an immoral multi-national project to manufacture the metagene, the intellectual think-tank known as the Siena Colloquium, various diplomatic agencies in Italy, and the return of a long lost metahuman assassin known as The Silver Marten.

In July 2001 the metahuman Torch managed to gain access to the Dawnstars’ headquarters and levelled the building in a fiery inferno, killing ten support staff and civilians.  The young hero Eternity was also killed during the conflict at the hands of The Silver Marten.  When the Dawnstars unmasked the puppet master behind the arson attacks and found time to grieve they found themselves without a headquarters and without any further backing by the EU which had unanimously declared that any further investment in the Dawnstars concept was no longer viable.  The Global Guardians had replaced the need for any local hero group, and so the Dawnstars were disbanded.

After going their separate ways, the former heroes found themselves the target of a series of assassination attempts in November 2003.  In Paris, the French hero, Renard, was killed in a car bomb along with his wife and children.  The Dutch hero Shriek was killed during an opera in Copenhagen, Denmark, along with several European celebrities.  The Greek hero Aeolus was killed at his home in Hollywood.  Valkyrie called together what remained of the Dawnstars and the team was reunited in Venice at the palatial home of Slipknot.  The five remaining members defeated the group of cyborg assassins but were unable to fathom the motive behind the attacks.  Out of respect for their fallen comrades as well as the vision of protecting Europe from further threats, the remaining Dawnstars reunited in the beautiful city of Venice.

Local Relations: In the aftermath of the Schism, the Dawnstars no longer operate as agents of the European Union.  They are based in Venice, Italy, and enjoy a great deal of popularity and support from the Italian government and its population.  The Polizia and Carabinieri are too concerned about their own inter-agency politics to be worried about the Dawnstars, but do often utilise the team’s expertise in an effort to secure good publicity for solving cases.  The Italian public have embraced the Dawnstars from the highest echelons of society to the disenfranchised on the streets.  The Dawnstars are celebrities.

Beyond Italy’s borders, the Dawnstars are received with a range of attitudes from subdued admiration, open disdain or abject apathy depending on the country and government.  France has shown a great disregard for the team, while the United Kingdom sees them as a inconsequential attempt at reproducing the Global Guardians.  The home countries of team members tend to show the greatest favor, but in the world of international heroes the Dawnstars have a lot of good work to accomplish before they can re-establish themselves as the true defenders of Europe.

Morality: Dawnstars is a four-color campaign, with a dual focus on the heroes’ public and private lives.  The characters will face personal and social issues which may not always be clearly black and white.  Character development is of primary concern and this development will help to shape the campaign.  Social, environmental and political issues will provide the characters with difficult decisions, but they should always try to be the good guys.

Realism: Strong, but the heroes will be expected to embody the heroic spirit and go beyond what is expected.  Action sequences will be cinematic and descriptive.  Characters won’t die unless they show themselves to be too stupid to live or are going out in a blaze of glory.  The personal lives of the characters are also in focus and players will have to examine their character’s social and private lives during the course of the campaign.  Realistic character development will mirror realistic team development.  How you role-play the character will determine the realism of the game, so please make sure your character has essence and verve.

Outlook: Positive, but with dark moments.  The team can always beat their adversaries, but there will always be some kind of fall-out that will shape the team, whether it be positive or negative.  The Dawnstars are a team with a proud heritage but who are now alone and working from the ground up.  What their future holds is up to the characters, and to this end each character needs to retain a sense of optimism and camaraderie.

Seriousness: The Dawnstars are a collection of various personalities and the seriousness of the campaign will reflect this.  Some heroes laugh in the face of danger, or remain grim and determined, while others enjoy witty banter with their opponents and team-mates alike.  The heroes are experienced in saving the world (or their corner of it) and are aware that if they mess up, the world could be in serious peril.  They are also aware that they are the ones to stand up to these challenges and through teamwork and determination they can triumph over all adversity.

Continuity: The game will be entirely serial.  Player actions in one scenario will have effects on later scenarios, and continuity will be enforced.  Adventures will move linearly through time, bad guys will remember who you are and what you did to them, and the press will print your exploits for the world to see.  Players are encouraged to submit fiction pieces for their characters to explore the private lives, and these pieces also serve to develop the continuity of the game.

Building a Character for Dawnstars

The heroes of the Dawnstars campaign should follow these guidelines:
  • Starting Points: 200
  • Maximum Disadvantages: 150
  • Maximum Points from One Category of Disadvantages: 50
  • Maximum Active Points for Any One Power: 60
  • Special Restrictions:
    • All characters must be eligible to live and work in Europe.
    • All characters should choose either Psychological Limitation ‘Code vs Killing’ (20 points) or ‘Will Not Kill’ (20 points).  The third option of ‘Reluctant to Kill’ (15 points) is only available with the express permission of the GM.
    • If the character submission is a conversion from the previous version of the Global Guardians, and the character has accrued experience points, the character may retain those points.
The Global Guardians PBEM Universe is copyrighted to Jack and Rebecca Butler, and is their solely owned property.  The Global Guardians PBEM Universe, and all of the campaigns therein, are works of collaborative fiction.  All the characters and events portrayed here are either products of the authors' imagination or are used fictitiously.  Except where otherwise specifically noted, the Global Guardians PBEM Universe, all Global Guardians characters, and all stories included therein are Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 by Jack and Rebecca Butler with all rights reserved under International Copyright Convention.  Submitting material (such as but not limited to character submissions, background information, and artwork) for inclusion in the Global Guardians grants Jack and Rebecca Butler the right to use that material as they wish, in perpetuity, within the confines of the Global Guardians Universe. The submitter does not give up the right to use the material in ways unconnected to the Global Guardians Universe.  This website was designed by Jack Butler, and is maintained by Jack Butler. Unless otherwise and specifically noted and with the exception of player characters which are the creations of their respective players, all material on this site is the creation of Jack and Rebecca Butler.  No material on this site may be posted or published elsewhere without the express written permission of Jack and Rebecca Butler.  Champions and the Hero System are registered trademarks of and are copyrighted by Hero Games, Inc.  No challenge to any trademark or copyright is made or implied by this site.
Player Characters
Choir
Choir
Choir
Forrestal
Choir
Kid Zoom
Nordkapp Man
Nordkapp Man
Choir
Paladin
Choir
Slipknot
Choir
Suleyman
Choir
Valkyrie