so a bit ago i decided to write up some of my characters in the Aberrant setting (a superhero RPG, and initially a deconstrunctionist one, which by default meant that my characters needed some adjustment to fit, as most of them are not human), a setting focused on how superheroic powers affect the world and cause industries to change around them, with stuff like super strength being mainly used in construction labor as an example, or super intelligence/gadget stuff being IMMENSELY valuable and game-changing in technological industries, and it got me to thinking:
having my characters make sense in a real life-ish context was pretty fun, and it would fun to have something vaguely similar in my setting, which already takes a lot of its aesthetics from Final Fantasy 6 and 7, so this is a natural adjustment in some ways, just make things a BIT more modern-ish
so here's an idea for that, in my regular setting:
instead of taking place immediately in the aftermath of an apocalypse, it is instead set a generation or two afterwards. The previous generation were akin to the battle shoenen archetype, gathering into small groups of powerful heroes who waged war upon a grand alliance of villains and powerful forces of cosmic oblivion and/or tyranny and won, though many became somewhat bitter or the horrors of war made them harsh in a way that the younger generation is not
these heroes were instrumental in creating a number of city-states, their teams of fighters and people curious in the ways of magic creating somewhat larger organizations that have since evolved into an equivalent to adventurer guilds and unions, which organize Weird Adventure Stuff, give out quests and settle disputes; it is assumed the main characters and those like them are currently outside the auspices of such a group, at least initially.
within these city states, magitech conveniences create something akin to real life technology vibes; there are media equivalent to the Internet, TV and media of all kinds (Along with weirder stuff like cyberspace and simulations), and just about any real life technology is present for the most part, except where it interferes with the vibe of the setting (so for instance, radar is nonexistent, so you get more dogfights in aircraft). Technology is a bit closer to 90s aesthetics, and communication is less reliable; you might get landlines, but cell phones are rare outside of unique and powerful magical items.
In general, these are created from the study of magically powered devices (or magitech) that operate spells to achieve their function, and don't really rely on infrastructure, but are DERIVED from long-dormant infrastructure and ruins, which is important for characters to repair to improve the world. Each city state is basically its own entity, with weird magic stuff going on to render most real life issues with this mostly a non-issue.
The 'fresh, wild world' themes previously emphasized in the setting still apply. Either this is a relatively safe 'level' of reality, or a stabilized pocket, and outside things get weirder. Most likely, the material world of mortals is an inherently chaotic place where strong magic makes the world operate on weird magical rules and becomes deeply weird; when enough people gather, their collective weight of ideas and will make magic stabilize; so near cities and settlements, the complete chaos becomes more stable, if weird (you get floating islands, talking trees and so on). This wild space is limitless and without boundary, so the younger generation of heroes, including the main characters, are increasingly encouraged to get strong and venture out of the city to claim their own territory, battle remnants of the villain alliance and the tyrant ghost-vampires that command them now, learn from heroes who have settled laboratory/training grounds to conduct experiments and teach anyone who wants to learn from them, and otherwise do cool adventuring things
the city-states remain, and thus offer an opportunity to act as hub worlds or something similar to Traverse Town in Kingdom Hearts and similar worlds in that series; a relatively stable place to return to for safety, or do mundane-ish slice of life things when the situation calls for. After a tough fight with the Ten Thousand Chokeslam Throng at the tournament, its only good manners for them to treat you to a solid week of barbeque and arcade games day until the debt of 'whoa we thrashed you REAL SICK-NASTY, sorry dudes' is alleviated
