PostHUMAN

PostHUMAN is an upcoming Action Role-Playing game developed by the brand new Rated R Studios and published by UbiSoft. It will be ported to: Xbox One, Multi-Purpose Home Entertainment System, and PlayStation 4.

Plot
Overview

PostHUMAN takes place in the 22nd Century in which most diseases have been eliminated. With new advances in medical science many Humans have evolved and have developed Superpowers. These "Posthumans" are seen by society as pariahs and a potential danger. Many seek to experiment on them and use them as weapons. There are also Posthumans who use their powers for destructive purposes. This story details their struggles in a society that fears and hates them, and the various evil forces who seek to exploit them.

There are two types of Posthumans: Natural-borns, who were born with their powers; and Lab-borns, who were bred and developed in laboratories.

Main Story
The story starts off with a 10-year-old girl named Sarah Stone, who is outside playing tag with her best friend Elizabeth "Lizzie" Riley. As she is playing she falls down and cuts herself. Sarah begins crying and Lizzie goes and knocks on Sarah's door to call her parents outside. Mrs. Stone comes out and asks her what happened, and Lizzie tells her that she fell. Sarah's mother places her hand over Sarah's cut and closes her eyes, suddenly the cut closes up. Both Sarah and Lizzie look bewildered, especially Lizzie who runs home. Both Sarah and her mother attempt to call her back to no avail. It is at this point that Sarah discovers that her mother is a Posthuman. The scene fast-forwards to Mr. Stone coming back from his job and learning about what had happened. He then tells Mrs. Stone to be more discreet with her powers. Mrs. Stone replies by saying that her daughter was badly bleeding and she had no other option. Sarah's parents explain to her that because her father is a regular Human, and her mother is a Posthuman; that she also has the potential to develop superpowers.

The scene skips to the next day. Sarah and Lizzie are on the school bus discussing what had happened the previous day. Sarah asks her if she had told anyone what she had seen, to which Lizzie replies no. Sarah then tells her that she must not tell anyone, or else her it would put her family's life in danger. Lizzie then asks Sarah if she has Superpowers and Sarah tells her that she doesn't know. When they arrive at school, Sarah and Lizzie say bye to each other and go their separate ways. On her way to class, Sarah sees the school bully Mitch picking on a student. Sarah tells Mitch to leave the boy alone, and Mitch asks "or what girlie?" Sarah then tells him that he'll be sorry. Mitch then pushes her. All of a sudden, Sarah's eyes glow white and a psychic construct resembling a fist forms around her hand. Sarah then punches Mitch and he goes flying to the floor and begins crying. Everyone becomes silent and begin looking at Sarah. Sarah then runs to class, and halfway through class Sarah is called to the office. Sarah walks into the office where she meets her father and the principal. The principal tells her father what had happened and that he would not tolerate "freaks" in his school. Sarah's father tells the principal not to call his daughter a freak, and asks Sarah if what the principal was saying is true. Sarah tells him that she was sticking up for another kid, and that everything else just happened. The principal tells Sarah and her father that she had been expelled from school. Mr. Stone tells the principal that what he was doing was unfair, and both him and Sarah then storm out of the room.

On their way home, Sarah forms another psychic construct resembling a flower and says "Daddy look!". Her dad smiles and tells her to promise him one thing: that she will use her powers for good, and that she will always promote peace and harmony between regular Humans and Posthumans. Sarah promises him. Her father then tells her that there will be evil people who will try to create tension between regular Humans and Posthumans, and that if necessary she must use her powers to fight against these people. He continues by saying that since she was kicked out of school: that he and her mother will home school her, and train her to use her powers. Sarah begins crying because she will not be able to see Lizzie. He tells her that she can still hang out with Lizzie. They then go home where they find Sarah's mother who already knew what had happened. Sarah's mother tells her that she would stay at home with her, and teach her both academics and how to use her powers. So for the next 10 years of her life, Sarah stayed at home where she was trained in academics and using her powers.

The scene fast-forwards to a now 22-year old Sarah Stone, who is now in Graduate school studying sociology, receiving a scholarship. Anti-Posthuman sentiment is at an all-time high. Sarah and her friend Lizzie, whom she met again in college after years of not seeing each other, have formed the Human-Posthuman Alliance (HPA), an activist group promoting peace, coexistence, and equality between regular Humans and Posthumans. In the struggle for peace, they meet various allies and enemies. They are determined to make their dream of a world in which Humans and Posthumans coexist, a reality.

Gameplay
PostHUMAN has the intricate storytelling of an RPG: Heavy in cutscenes and character development. The player is able to interact with other people and do side quests. Gameplay focuses on main playable character Sarah Stone gaining new abilities, developing them, and using them to fight enemies. Each time she gains a power, if she uses it often enough, she is able to level up and make her abilities stronger. There are also other party members with powers of their own, that can also be used and developed.

Characters

 * Sarah Stone: The main protagonist and most important character. A 22-year old posthuman woman, and sociology major who is in graduate school. The product of a Human/Posthuman marriage, she was raised with the belief that Humans and Posthumans are able to and should live in peace. Her parents trained her to use her powers to fight for peace. Although she believes that Humans and Posthumans can live in peace, she is more than willing to defend herself and other Posthumans from human aggression and vice versa. She has the ability to create psychic constructs, which she uses to fight enemies. She continues to believe in her dream of Human/Posthuman coexistence, even when it appears as if coexistence is impossible. An effective leader, she is able to bring out the best in all of her teammates with her remarkable charisma and optimism. She is kindhearted, intelligent, brave, optimistic, and charismatic.


 * Kevin Thorne: The second most important character. A 23-year old Lab-bred man, he is considered to be the most powerful and dangerous Posthuman in existence. Taking the last name Thorne from his creator Benjamin Thorne, a scientist who works at a research firm known as the Sykes Group. Developed by scientists in a laboratory, Kevin was robbed of a normal childhood as he was put through horrific and unethical experiments. As a result of these experiences he developed a deep hatred of humanity. When he turned 13, the scientists who created him created a "sister" for him named Ariana. Kevin finally rebelled, killed the scientists in the lab, took the young infant, and escaped. For the next ten years, they lived on the streets where they had to fend for themselves. When Sarah and the HPA were attacked by a Human mob during a rally, Kevin and Ariana intervened and helped Sarah and her friends defeat their attackers. Sarah asked them if they wanted to join the HPA, to which they accepted. He is a foil to Sarah, in the sense that unlike Sarah: He hates humans, believes that Human/Posthuman coexistence is impossible, and sees the Humans as the enemy in a genetic war for supremacy. Despite their differences, both Kevin and Sarah fall in love and begin dating. However, when their conflicting opinions on Human-Posthuman relations drive them apart; their relationship comes to a tragic end. His abilities include: Flight, Superhuman strength and durability, the ability to create forcefields, sense the presence of other posthumans, and breathe in space. He is cynical, somewhat stubborn, and ill-tempered.
 * John Stone: The father of Sarah. He was a scientist who worked for Sykes until he became disillusioned with his motives. When he attempted to quit, Sykes sent his assassin Bushmaster to murder him. While John was not home, Bushmaster instead killed his wife Michelle and spared his daughter Sarah. From a young age, he helped train Sarah to use her powers for good.


 * Elizabeth "Lizzie" Riley: Sarah's human best friend from childhood. After Sarah and her father fled, Lizzie and Sarah would never see each other again until they met each other in college. She is a law school student. Like Sarah, she believes that Humans and Posthumans can coexist. Although she lacks powers, she has a blackbelt in Taekwondo and creates various gadgets that she uses in battle. Her mother was an alcoholic who was physically and verbally abusive towards her. As a result, she spent most of her time with Sarah and the Stone family. When the Stones were forced to move away, she became extremely depressed as she had no other friend. Throughout middle school and high school, she would search for love and acceptance in all of the wrong places; becoming sexually promiscuous and having several boyfriends. She also began abusing drugs and alcohol. After an abusive relationship, she made a commitment to better her life. She began by cutting off all of her old friends, quitting drugs and alcohol, and moving out of her mother's house; then going on to study law. She serves as the game's comic relief, maintaing her witty sense of humor even in the darkest situations. She is also a fitness nut, who is always making Sarah go to the gym with her. When she reconnected with Sarah while in college, she began to see the world through the eyes of Posthumans and the two of them formed the Human-Posthuman Alliance.
 * Natasha Prince: A posthuman pop singer with the ability to release blasts of colorful light auras from her fingertips. Her abilities develop as she is at her peak of popularity. She meets Sarah and Kevin at a concert, whom she tells about her powers. They encourage her to be proud of who she is and that she should not try to hide it. When posthumans are rounded up and sent to prison camps, she acts in solidarity with other posthumans and comes out as a posthuman. This leads to her being arrested and sent to a prison camp where she joins Sarah's party. Despite the fact that she is a highly successful pop singer, she has many insecurities that she deals with; including: Her appearance, pleasing her fans, and accepting the fact that she is a posthuman.


 * Ariana Thorne: Kevin's 10-year old little sister. Unlike Kevin she wants peace between Humans and Posthumans. She loves Kevin deeply and is the only person who completely understands him. She is curious, inquisitive, and intelligent. She has the ability to create "Star Power", surrounding herself with bright, colorful, star-shaped energy; which she uses to fire at enemies and protect herself.


 * Smokescreen: A Japanese assassin, and posthuman with the ability to turn himself into smoke. He has a personal vendetta against both Sykes and Bushmaster, and is trying to kill them. In the process he meets Sarah, and joins her party after realizing they had a common enemy. He is mysterious and enigmatic, refusing to talk about his past and often speaks in parables. He wields a Katana and is well versed in Ninjitsu. He eventually reveals that he was born into a Yakuza family. Around his teenage years, his posthuman abilities developed and his hair turned gray. He was trained in various martial arts. His uncle, the boss of the family, gave him the nickname Enmaku (meaning Smokescreen in Japanese) and he became a top assassin for the family; exploiting his powers to the fullest. The gang began doing business with Sykes, and when the family was no longer useful to him, Sykes had the entire family murdered. Smokescreen then swears revenge and spends the rest of his life trying to kill Sykes.
 * Michael Duffy: A posthuman man with the power of superhuman strength. After him and his wife Karen were captured by Sykes' thugs and taken to the prison camp, they were separated. He is desperately trying to find his wife so that they can both escape. After Sarah and her party help him find his wife, he repays the favor by joining the party. He is a construction worker and just wants a better life for himself and Karen. He is loyal, hardworking, and determined.
 * Karen Duffy: Michael's wife. She joins the party shortly after you rescue her from the prison camp. She has the power to manipulate the mind to a variety of effects which include: Mind reading, telepathy, telekinesis, and mental attacks. She loves Michael deeply and supports him in everything he does. She is wise, kindhearted, and longsuffering. She serves as the team mom in the later parts of the game.


 * Mr. Sykes: The primary antagonist, head of the research firm The Sykes Group, and the most powerful man in the world; even having pull over governments. He is corrupt and ruthless, refusing to let anyone or anything stand in the way of achieving his goals. Although he hides behind a mask of philanthropy, he has very sinister intentions for both Humans and Posthumans. As anti-Posthuman sentiment has reached it's peak following an explosion that kills thousands of people, the government has given him a mandate to round up all posthumans and place them in prison camps. However he has ulterior motives, he plans on harvesting the DNA of the captured posthumans and using it to build a posthuman super-soldier named Prime; which he plans on using to take over the world. He is extremely wealthy and finances a space colony called Civitas Solis.

Secondary Characters

 * Adam DeWitt: A posthuman criminal with radiation powers. He works for Sykes because Sykes has promised to help him off of his Heroin addiction. He is so powerful that he is able to turn himself into a nuclear bomb, capable of leveling an entire city.
 * Bushmaster: Sykes' top enforcer. He hates posthumans and hunts them down like animals. He is a ruthless and sadistic psychopath.
 * Michelle Stone: Sarah's late mother and a posthuman with the power to heal others. She helped train Sarah in the use of her powers, and instilled in her the belief that Humans and Posthumans should live in peace. She was murdered by Bushmaster when she refused to tell him where John was.