The year is 2004.
Superpowered individuals have shaped modern history—some rising as legends of virtue, others rewriting it through fear and ambition. When the first alien invaders arrived on New Year’s Day, 2001, superheroes across the globe united under the leadership of the all-powerful Alpha Force. The aliens—k’tharen by name—were fierce, reptilian monsters armed with superior weaponry and defenses. The heroes’ combined might forced a standstill, but losses were immense. Atlantis destroyed. Tokyo cratered. Egypt a fiery wasteland. No corner of the globe untouched by devastation.
After months of grueling war, another alien force arrived in orbit, and after tense negotiations led by Commander, humanity and the v’sori joined forces to repel the fin-headed k’tharen. A new era of peace was promised—and celebrated.
That illusion shattered overnight.
In a single, merciless strike, the v’sori and k’tharen revealed their true alliance, annihilating Alpha Force and leveling every major city on Earth.
Two years later, Earth endures under occupation—monitored, controlled, and stripped of the symbols that once gave humanity hope.
Beneath that broken world lies the Omega League—a fractured confederation of supervillains long driven underground by Alpha Force. Rumors whisper that their enigmatic leader, the terrifying Dr. Destruction, may be the most powerful super left alive. Across hidden enclaves and criminal empires reduced to rubble, the Omegans linger in the shadows, nursing old grudges and distant dreams of reclaiming a world that never wanted them.
You received it in your own way through heavily encoded channels. How? That’s up to you, but it came to you, and you responded. A message signed by someone codenamed, Dying Ember, in support of something you only believed was a rumor, The Alpha Protocol. A call to take up the fallen mantle of Alpha Force and do nothing less than save the world.
The Imposter Mandate was an idea. A prophecy foretold by Harbinger and scripted into strategy by Commander. The v’sori can be stopped…but not by heroes. Only in the hands of villainy can the world be saved. Specifically, through the united efforts of the Omega League. The worst of the worst.
If you follow the Imposter Mandate, you won’t just lose your standing as a hero.
You’ll lose your name. Your reputation. Maybe your soul.
The Omega League won’t trust you. The villains won’t respect you. The aliens will absolutely hunt you. And every innocent you save, you must save in secret.
This is not the path of heroes. This is the path of Necessary Evil.
— Dying Ember—The Alpha Protocol
COORDINATES ATTACHED
Creating an Imposter begins with understanding their fracture point—the moment the invasion shattered their old life and forced them to choose.
Answering these questions might help you create tension between the person you were and the person you must pretend to be:
Some, if not all, of your powers were present before the invasion. Born with them? Steal them? Accidentally given them? Tied to gadgets or artifacts? How you gained them may be just as important as when.
While this is a work-in-progress, establish some guidelines around what you will and will not do as an imposter. These will help tell the story and challenge your choices as you devolve from superhero to supervillain.
There are sections here dedicated to each part of building a character. Refer to them for specific instructions and recommendations.
Suggested workflow for building your Imposter:
Your Imposter is a “Four Color” hero (Power Level III). They start with the Super Powers Edge for free, and have 45 points to spend on powers. The Power Limit for a single power is 15 points. (SPC, pp. 10-11)
Recommendation: Acquire The Best There Is Edge (SPC, p. 11) to exceed the 15-point single-power limit (22 points max) for your signature power.
WARNING: There will be no more points granted for superpowers. There will be in-game options to change your existing power configuration within the 45-point limit, but unlike past superpowered campaigns, what you start with is all you get.
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The campaign starts at Seasoned (4) instead of Novice (0). Make your Novice level character as above. Once you are finished give your Imposter four Advances to bring them to Seasoned Rank.
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See Core, p. 54 for the complete guide to advancement. Remember that no Trait may be raised above its racial maximum (usually d12). At each advancement, you may choose one of the following options:
Characters start with $1,000 to spend on gear. Modern equipment from Savage Worlds and all Gear from the SPC are available to starting characters at the standard prices. After character creation weapons and armor are only available on the Black Market. Futuristic Gear from Savage Worlds (brought by the v’sori or invented by super scientists) is only available at Black Market prices—even during character creation.
Under v’sori rule, all weapons, armors, and their accessories have been outlawed, as well as certain miscellaneous gear deemed dangerous. They can only be obtained through the Black Market and multiply all prices by 10. Characters use the normal prices when purchasing their starting gear. This equipment is considered their preinvasion stash.
Locating an item through the Black Market requires a Networking roll. A Critical Failure means the villain has attracted some unwanted attention!
You may be a human, Angelic hybrid, Atlantean hybrid, or mutant. Other heritages—undead, constructs, or even aliens from other worlds—are also possible, but for those, start with Human as the Heritage template and use superpowers for customizing your species.
Taking a Vow to fight the v’sori isn’t much of a Hindrance since that is the character’s role in the setting. That particular Vow should be disallowed unless qualified in some way, such as to fight the v’sori to the exclusion of all other foes, regardless of who gets in the way, and so on.