CODEWORLD is a campaign setting that borrows heavily from a number of popular cartoon, comic, and toy franchises where the heroes and villains all have fascinating codenames, like Black Adder, Magnum, Overkill, and Code Blue.

It could be used for a heck of a supers or super-agent game, or even the backdrop of nearly any modern, sci-fi, or science-fantasy game system. This is a world with four color action, but no masked superheroes to speak of. Its tongue is firmly in cheek, but lovingly so.

You can find the Rank One and Rank Two code groups here.

Rank Three Code Groups

Rank Three groups are even less impactful than Rank Two groups, often with much more limited membership or resources as well as a more tightly-defined area of concern, but within their wheelhouse are still more impactful than normal organizations. In some cases Rank Three groups are a single powerful individual, who simply lacks the support and scope to be a Rank Two group, but is more potent than any individual in most Rank Two code groups. Rank Three groups at least have the potential to grow into Rank Two Groups, and a Rank Three group can go toe-to-toe with a unit of a Rank One or Rank Two Code Group in the right venue.

CRONOS is a cult that believes the original deity, the progenitor of all god myths, can be awakened by creating enough death and misery. They are lead by PROFESSOR RAGNAROK, who is imbued with some kind of supernatural power, though it’s exact origin and limits are debatable. CRONOS works to create mass disasters and start wars, which often brings them into conflict with S.T.E.E.L. and occasionally VIGIL.

The CYBERPACK, lead by the heroic STEELWOLF, protects the lost continent of Urheimat, and seek to find and neutralize threats from the pre-Atlantean nations. Originally the CYBERPACK were an elite anti-terrorist team, who chased a MAMBA Snake Charmer into a huge storm in the Indian Ocean, and  crashed into Urheimat during a rare conjunction that exposed one of the entranced to the submerged continent. While STEELWOLF and her people were badly damaged, they were found by the ancient ZARSEN, ancient robots set by the residents of Urbeimat to protect it after they left it. But the ZARSEN did not know human physiology and mistook the anti-terrorist unit’s wolf-mascot on their patches and canine-based codenames as a sigh they were partially canine. Thus when rebuilding them as cyborgs, the ZARSEN gave the CYBERPACK wolf-based abilities and partially canine appearances. The CYBERPACK has access to the ancient Urheimat ley-gates, allowing them to quickly move to any continent, but only at one of a few dozen locations.

DOCTOR LICHGATE, is a human who bonded with a FEL GHUL spirit, who is generally a frail older male but can for a temporary period transform himself into a powerful, monstrous skull-faced, green-skinned form. The doctor is seeking the Twelve Crystal Menhirs that the pre-Atlantean nations used to control every aspect of the world’s weather, tides, and day/night cycle, causing him to always be searching for entrances to the three LOST CONTINENTS, Meropis, Rutas, and Urheimat. He is aided in this by the MADNORMALS, mutant humans with a few animalistic-appearing traits who (when exposed to the LICHGAS created by the doctor) can assume much more powerful, twisted, bestial forms.

DOCTOR LICHGATE controls a single Crystal Menhir, the ONYX SPIRE, which allows him to travel back and forth between the normal world and the CAIRNWORLD, a version of the Earth where nearly everything has died. As only the doctor controls access to the CAIRNWORLD, it serves as a nearly impregnable base for him to operate from, and while he can only travel between worlds at places with strong ties to death, it also allows him to travel easily and secretly worldwide.

HACK, INC is a distributed cyber-mobster syndicate that performs computer-based crime-for-hire. The most members of HACK, INC have codenames they use online, and avoid ever meeting anyone in person, though the most elite members often have Hat Racks, where numerous hackers are brought together to work as a collective (often without being made aware they are hacking for HACK, INC.) Only a few agents are aware that HACK, INC is ultimately the tool of AUTOMALA, a self-aware program that seeks to ensure its own existence by spreading itself into every computer-controlled device on Earth… very much including the POLYMECHS, CALIBURN, and the systems in use by MAMBA and S.T.E.E.L.

VIGIL is an international NGO disaster search and rescue team. They operate out of the SAFEHOUSE, an enormous dirigible mobile base that carries a number of VIGILANCE VEHICLES, or VVs, including VIGILANCE 1 (a supersonic jet plane and communications center), VIGILANCE 2 (a high-speed, heaving-lift aerostat roughly half the size of the SAFEHOUSE, and able to carry any 2 other VVs), VIGILANCE 3 (a reusable orbital rocket), VIGILANCE 4 (a rescue sub capable of being dropped into the ocean from the SAFEHOUSE, or VV 1 or 2), and VIGILANCE 5 (a high-speed digging machine). The SAFEHOUSE, and VV 1, 2, and 4 also have support centers for EXO-SHELLS, modular suits of powered armor designed for operations in extremely dangerous conditions (though many of their rescue gear options can also be used in a combat capacity, and they possesses modular less-lethal munitions for use when needing to potentially incapacitate hostiles when performing rescue operations in a war zone). EXO-DRONES launched from a support center can fly new EXO-SHELL modules into the field fairly quickly.

WICKED WENDY is a powerful necropath, who also appears to be some kind of psychic vampire. She is the only creature who can travel between the normal world and CARINWORLD under her own power. She and DOCTOR LICHGATE dislike each other, but see no benefit in fighting one another, given CAIRNWORLD is a whole planet. WICKED WENDY carried a tattered teddy-bear, MISTER CHUCKLES, which is inhabited by a demonic spirit (and thus is self-mobile, and can fight with eldritch knives, claws, and fangs) that urges her to create chaos and misery, but is also entirely loyal to her and wants to make her happy.  WICKED WENDY is in love with the OMEN KING, an ancient god that might also be progenitor god worshiped by CRONOS, or the FEL TYRANT of the FEL GHULS… or might not. The OMEN KING sends her omens through raven messengers, but seems to be limited in what he can do. WENDY plans to awaken/free the OMEN KING, and doesn’t care what cost must be paid by anyone for that to happen.

PATREON
Patreon is the codename for the way you can support me, so I can make more geeky stuff!

CODEWORLD is a campaign setting that borrows heavily from a number of popular cartoon, comic, and toy franchises where the heroes and villains all have fascinating codenames, like Black Adder, Magnum, Overkill, and Code Blue.

It could be used for a heck of a supers or super-agent game, or even the backdrop of nearly any modern, sci-fi, or science-fantasy game system.

This is a world with four color action, but no masked superheroes to speak of. Its tongue is firmly in cheek, but lovingly so.

CODEWORLD

Rank One Code Groups
These are the largest, and best-known code groups. They are among the most important forces on Earth.

POLYMECHS are sentient, sapient robots able to take on multiple forms–normally one that is roughly humanoid and one that closely resembles a vehicle. They are divided into the GUARDROIDS (which include Morality Circuits that cause them to struggle to act in ethical ways and protect weaker entities), the dangerous WAR MACHINES (which are locked into carrying out ancient military operations despite their original foes having long-since been exterminated), and the COMPUTECHS (which are free-willed but lack anything recognizable as ethics, and function on pure pragmatism).
The three groups all originated in different extra-terrestrial societies, with the WAR MACHINES the oldest (having destroyed all the biological entities that created them), the COMPUTECHS nearly as old (having survived as probes and exploration surveyors for a culture that died out long ago when their system was consumed by a red giant star), and the GUARDROIDS only a few centuries old (having evolved from assistance-AIs created by a race that suffered a slow decline as devolution caused them to be less and less viable, even as younger civilizations attacked them, including the WAR MACHINES).
All three POLYMECH groups were ravaged by a 3-way internecine war that left their numbers radically reduced and their resources depleted. The WAR MACHINES seek out new worlds (such as Earth) and seed them with enough of their kind to conquer it and turn it into a support planet for their endless conflicts. The GUARDROIDS attempt to send a unit to stop such efforts and preserve as much of the invaded world’s culture as possible, and the COMPUTECHS think it’s a bad idea not to keep an eye on any world where the other two POLYMECH forces are fighting.
Because their advanced technology is well beyond Earth’s tech base, and support is far way, all three factions prefer to remain camouflaged as much as possible on Earth, revealing themselves and their true battle forms only when absolutely necessary to achieve a major goal.

S.T.E.E.L. is the Special Taskforce on Espionage and Enforcement of Law. It is an international force, operating alongside but separately from the U.N., which draws its members from the elite forces of most of the Earth’s nations. S.T.E.E.L. operates only against threats deemed by all its supporting nations to be a serious risk to the collected nations of Earth, which generally includes international terrorist cells (most often MAMBA) unaffiliated with any member-nation, extraterrestrial threats (including WAR MACHINES in specific, and POLYMECHS in general), and lone madmen and apocalypse cults. S.T.E.E.L. has its own chain of command, its own (small) fleet of military air, water, and land vehicles (including a single submersible aircraft carrier, the U.N.S. Ironside), and an extraterritorial prison for extraordinary prisoners (Codename: Limbo).

PROJECT HELM is a semi-independent division of S.T.E.E.L. that uses vehicles enhanced with retrofit POLYMECH technology, which was confiscated by S.T.E.E.L. after several early clashes with the WAR MACHINES, and partially reverse-engineered in conjunction with a COMPUTECH who felt giving humans more advanced technology was the only way to maintain a balance of power on Earth.
Since the POLYMECH tech used by PROJECT HELM is retrofit, and its neural inputs are still too advanced for any mechanical or computer input device to control, PROJECT HELM operatives use helmets with neural relays to allow pilots to  learn how to control specific “Great Helm” vehicles that have various POLYMECH tech in them (some of which are capable of partial transformations, such as from car to boat, or motorcycle to powered armor).

MAMBA is a ruthless terrorist organization, built by a coalition of billionaire oligarchs who seek the means to anonymously impact international politics, and manned with the spies and operatives of failed states, renegades of nations with recent revolutions, ideological zealots who wish to maintain the status quo at any cost, and angry extremists working against progressive reform and willing to allow the ends to justify the means. While no nation on Earth publicly supports Mamba, enough powerful people with vast resources support it to give it a huge (if decentralized) military branch and incredibly effective cybercrime, covert operations, and assassination branches.
MAMBA generally seeks to gain power at any cost, and has had infrequent but not unproductive collaborations with the WAR MACHINES. The most far-reaching of these was a project where the WAR MACHINES aided MAMBA scientists in building incredibly advanced mecha known as the FOE-BOTS, which were used to artificially boost the apparent size of the WAR MACHINE presence on Earth in an effort to convince the nations of the world to capitulate. However the FOE-BOTS are cheap knock-offs of true POLYMECHS, able to change form from battle mode to some camouflage state, but not functioning beyond the most basic level in that camouflaged mode, and requiring human pilots to operate. While that plan failed, the FOE-BOTS division of MAMBA remains one of its strongest units, and are the most common antagonists of PROJECT HELM.

Rank Two Code Groups
Rank Two groups are either significantly less numerous than rank one groups, or less powerful, or a combination of both, but they still play important roles in world events even if they aren’t as well known.

CALIBURN is a solo hero who appears to be the last of the STAR KNIGHTS (who place their life essence in soul rings so their android knight bodies can fight eternally against the vile FEL GHULS, a semi-unliving race of space sorcerers and shapeshifter). However, he has done his best to equip a small group of young people who have a natural talent to see FEL GHULS’ true nature even when they are shapeshifted, creating the STAR SQUIRES, who have spirit disks that boost their natural psychic abilities in random ways when triggered, giving them a new set of powers (and codenames and costumes) whenever they are used, but which can only function for one hour out of every 24.

The FEL GHULS wish to create the Negalife Ritual, which will kill all life on the Earth and raise their FEL TYRANT, an elder god that sleeps beneath the Pacific Ocean.

KAIJU are giant monsters created by the FEL GHULS to subjugate the world. Opposed by the RONIN FORCE of giant robots that represent the only joint effort between the GUARDROIDS, CALIBURN, and S.T.E.E.L. Because the KAIJU threat is unpredictable and requires massive firepower to oppose, and are most often fought in international waters, the RONIN FORCE is largely left to handle such matters with little outside interference. While most of RONIN FORCE are giant mecha with multiple human pilots there are two exceptions, LASER LEOPARD, a giant robot controlled by a transplanted STAR KNIGHT soul-ring with no memory of its previous life, and ROCKET OMEGA, the enormous POLYMECH transforming starship that brought the COMPUTECHS to Earth, but has since decided the FEL GHULS’ desire to wake their FEL TYRANT is the greatest threat in the galaxy.

PATREON
Patreon is the codename for the way you can support me, so I can make more geeky stuff!