The third part of a series drawn from a supers campaign I put together almost ten years ago. It focuses on super-powers which are inherited and limited to certain bloodlines around the globe. This is the first half of the section detailing those families and groups. You can see the first post here which lays out the general concept. I should note in looking back I'm a little disappointed on how much some of this material goes for the obvious idea. I think I'd try to complicate this a little if I went back to revise. Part One of the Bloodlines is here.
BLOODLINES PART TWO
JAPAN
Arayama: The Japanese have taken to the idea of Supers with
vigor. Supers are well-known and admired spokesmen, celebrities and heroes.
There is little of the separation of Hero and Super there. Instead, most take
positions serving as symbols of public life. Nearly all enjoy public
sponsorship. Bloodline stories make up a massive part of the media and popular
culture. Staged superfights, Supers assigned particular characters, imported
heroes, tales of the mythic origins of bloodline powers, all of these have
become the stuff of life.
The Arayama line is a moderately scattered one. It involves
the use and manipulation of force. This can include force walls, deflection,
velocity control or very visible telekinetic effects. The showier the power,
the more popular. Many American supers move to Japan to be part of the culture
there, yet many also leave after a few years because of the enormous culture
differences, even after their return their fan clubs continue to operate. There
are a few non or mechanically powered heroes in Japan who tend to fill the role
of the Dark Avenger type. Villains and Villain groups tend to act out roles
culturally assigned to them. Diaspora often gather in teams to serve as support
groups for more famous Supers.
INDIA
Dhanapal: India is one of the most troubling of Bloodline
areas. The majority of the known Dhanapal supers arise from the upper castes of
India. They are well integrated into the government of the nation. In fact,
India has the highest proportion of Military Supers of any country on earth.
They use these ruthlessly to support the current Indian Super president
Raghuvhir Dhanapal. Many of the Indian supers participated in the invasion and
suppression of Kashmir and the follow-up assault on Pakistan. During this
assault, Indian Supers destroyed much of the military capability of the
Pakistani forces.
Dhanapali powers are among the strangest of the bloodlines.
They include a broad-range badly described as “reality-warping.” Among these
are desolidification, time manipulation and teleportation. These powerful
abilities combined with the strong ties of the bloodline to the government have
made India one of the most powerful third-world nations. One trouble which mars
this is the treatment of those Supers and bloodliners who come from the
“untouchable” class. Many have become anti-government revolutionaries, many
have gone into exile and many more have been detained by the government because
they illegally possess lethal powers.
Dhanapal supers have often been assigned names by Westerners
drawn from Hindu mythology by western sources. These are resented by Indian
bloodliners who find them sacrilegious.
SUB-SAHARA AFRICA
Muzenda: There is some debate about the source of this
Bloodline, but the origination point clearly stretches back many generations.
The Muzenda bloodline tends to pop up in those areas with the greatest degree
of cross cultural contact. Areas like South Africa, Tanzania, and Zaire where
there was either an educated class that traveled to other countries or a
migrant worker class that moved around. Muzenda is the default name for the
family as it is spread across several bloodlines. Some believe it may contain
more than one original line. Their powers tend to cover the whole spectrum but
generally low powered. However, their strongest members are ranked as among the
most powerful in the world.
MIDDLE EAST
Hagar-Jebril: This line is split between two groups. The
first is believed to be the original group (Hagar) which is made up of Arab or
Sephardic Jews. Their line is mostly confined to Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and
Israel. The other line (Jebril) is believed to be a split off branch which
converted to Islam at some point in their history. They are mostly settled in
Egypt, Spain, Lebanon and Morocco. Although there were many years of
hostilities, the First Conference of Reconciliation in the year 2000 brought
together elder members from both groups to deal with their differences. Many
saw this as a bright promise of peace. However, in 2003 a significant portion
of both sides of the bloodline moved in to take control of Lebanon. Military
forces supported by Arab neighbors as well as Israeli occupying forces were
thrown out. Since then they have been rebuilding Lebanon as a cooperative
society. They are strongly opposed by the US, Israel and a number of the more
conservative Arab nations. They are supported by Turkey, Syria and Egypt.
Hagar-Jebril powers are primarily telekinetic. They include
pyrokinesis, fine manipulation, cryrokinesis and a variety of other variants of
this. There are a number of foreign pockets of this line, mostly Muslim, many
in the American Midwest.
RUSSIA
Gaptchenko: While this family has some immigrants elsewhere
almost none are found in the US. Most ended up in Europe and the far East. In
the USSR, now reduced to the Western most regions, the Gaptchencko maintain
tight ideological control. Many involved in the reconstruction of Russia
itself. Besides the bloodlines of India, they are the family with the most ties
to the government of their nation. As well, many have become servants or
masters of the various corrupt corporations and organizations that rule behind
the scenes. Gaptchenko members can have a wide range of low level powers.
However, their strong powers require a degree of focus, meaning that only one
can be used at a time.
CHINA
Xiaomin: The Chinese government keeps a tight rein on this
bloodline. They claim this genetic material as a proprietary possession of the
nation. In this regard they have been forceful in pushing for like control over
intellectual and genetic "property" around the globe. No one is sure
how many members of this bloodline exist, but rumors suggest that a breeding
program has been undertaken. Popular conspiracy theory belief suggests that
every bloodline disappearance around the world is a planned kidnapping by the
Chinese to further their ends. In the few cases where Chinese bloodliners have
managed to find their way into other countries, the Chinese authorities have
pressed the matter severely, making it clear that granting refugee or asylum
status to such persons will result in severe reprisals from the government.
This matter has not openly been put to the test, though in some cases this has
only happened because of the mysterious deaths of the offending bloodliners.
SOUTH AMERICA
Tecpatl: It is believed that this bloodline is based on old
Meso-American bloodlines, probably Aztec. Certainly that particular cultural
lens has been taken up. It is a moderate spread bloodline, with some existing
outside of South America. Within South America, they are primarily clustered
among the northern bloodlines. It is uncertain what the primary talent of this
group is, they have a high proportion of personal augmentation and energy
projection. Their key characteristic seems to be wild or side effects from
their power use. Some of these are mild, some are quite dangerous to people in
the vicinity.
The Tecpatl line in unusual in its structure. They have
accumulated a strong central core of Supers, apparently led by the elders of
their line. This group comprises perhaps half of the known Supers and a few
Diaspora. They apparently assign the Aztec-drawn names to these supers and have
some control over them. However, this group is made up of both heroes and
villains. It is believed that they have some communication between each other,
but its nature is uncertain. It does not stop them from fighting against each
other either. The Elders apparently have the right to assign, change or take
away names. Some have speculated that they have ordered the elimination of
certain Supers in the past, both heroes and villains, members and non-members
of their group. Several international agencies monitored their activity as best
they can, nervous about a repeat of the Hagar-Jebril Lebanon takeover.
Tecpatl heroes in South America tend to be individuals, and
not form groups. They are highly apolitical. As well, they travel across
borders and pursue criminals wherever they wish. They care little about local
laws and rights, instead taking the law fully into their own hands. However,
Tecpatls outside of South America don’t follow this pattern, instead adhering
to local customs. Many Tecpatl have close dealings with the Japanese government
through the large Japanese immigrant populace in Peru. Some even travel to
Japan and become heroes there.
AUSTRALIA
Hunter: At one time scientists believed that the Hunter
family was an offshoot of the English Edige line. However, significant
differences between the two have refuted that theory. Hunter powers tend to be
physical rather than mental. Unusually very few Hunters possess
"boost" abilities, i.e. abilities than enhance physical characteristics
such as toughness or strength, with one notable exception. More Hunter family
members are fast in one way or another. Some can run at high speeds, some have
lightning reflexes, others have amazing mental agility. Most Hunters have this
speed to one degree or another and its additional drawback, a heightened
metabolism. Most members eat twice the normal human intake in calories per day.
When exercising their abilities the necessary intake level increases. This
drawback is significant enough that members can be injured or even killed if
they don't have access to food.
Next: More world background
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