Setting

"Supers" takes place in a world much like our own. The "where" is Earth and the "when" is the year 2014. The remaining questions are trickier. "Who?" The PCs. "Why?" Super powers. "How?" There is no single answer.

Known by the most common designation "differently enabled individuals," the PCs and those like them are usually informally called "supers." They possess powers beyond those of normal people, but in order to coexist with the vast numbers of "mundane" humanity they either cloak their true identities, hiding in plain sight as a non-powered person; or else announce their status publicly, and do their best to do good, to prove they are human like everyone else; and try not to be frustrated at how easily the world's opinion of them may change.

Of course, that only applies to those who take on the role of "hero." Many more supers relish these differences that put them "above" mankind and lord their power over the rest, using their powers to steal, dominate, and destroy. Self-appointed "heroes" dub these foes "villains" in the hope that painting the world in black and white will make it easier to fight their brothers, and do battle for the fate of the world.

So far, the good guys are holding their own.

History
"Supers" assumes that many myths and legends had at least a grain of truth to them, accepting that pantheons may have existed as super teams analogous to the ones of today and that many "tall tales" may perhaps not have been so tall. Could Paul Bunyan grow a hundred feet tall? Did Susano really get a giant snake monster drunk and kill it? Maybe; stranger things have happened in the setting. (Chances are fair that most stories of Zeus are heavily embellished and perhaps drug-induced, though.)

The influence of supers has waxed and waned over the years, but for unknown reasons they have typically been rare at any given point, and their numbers seem relative to the prosperity of normal humans around them. For example, it seems that supers practically disappeared in Europe during the Dark Ages, while some certainly existed in Central and South America. The supers of the McMurray Detective Agency discovered that some of the Maya gods were extradimensional aliens with super-powers, who were wiped out by the Spanish army and a handful of Catholic supers with them.

As the world began to modernize, supers slowly started appearing again, with their numbers beginning to surge after World War 2. These numbers, combined with the widespread use of cameras, finally proved the existence of super powers to the world at large. The world still hasn't entirely come to terms with it.

Power Sources
The biggest difference between supers is the nature of their powers. Injections to suppress the regenerative powers of a mutant are useless against a "demon's" fast healing or a mage's Regeneration spell, for example. Clever scientists and complicit supers have revealed the vast majority of information about how their powers work, information that can be exploited, such as by the "super assassin" Glass and anti-supervillain groups like Exile's Enforcers.

Legal Status
Pending section: deals with any major super-related law, including stuff like the Liberty prison and DECONs.

Important Differences
Pending section: any huge differences in the timeline between Supers and Earth.