Yesterday, you were ordinary.

Today, you are a Metahuman.

Your power has activated for the first time, placing you among the five percent of humanity born with abilities that defy conventional science. Within hours, your name enters federal systems. Within days, you are interviewed, evaluated, classified, and introduced to a world you had previously only watched from the outside.

Welcome to The Metahuman Age: Academy Life, an open-ended coming-of-age superhero RPG focused on education, power development, friendships, rivalries, training, romance, academy life, government oversight, and discovering what kind of Metahuman you want to become.

Your first challenge isn't defeating a supervillain.

It's figuring out what you can actually do.

Federal officials will evaluate your ability. Specialists will test its limits. Counselors will explain your options. Hero academies will recruit you. Some may want you badly enough to compete for you. Others may decide you're not what they're looking for.

Then you choose.

Study at the prestigious National Academy for Enhanced Development near Washington, attend another American academy, pursue an international program, accept a government training track, or try to find another way forward entirely.

Your powers will change.

So will you.

But there is one rule everyone in government understands, even if almost nobody talks about it openly:

Some powers are too dangerous to be allowed to mature.

If your ability is determined to meet confirmed World-Breaker criteria, academy admission is no longer the government's priority.

Containment is.

And if containment is judged impossible, somewhere deep inside the Metahuman security apparatus, BLACK CROWN begins.

(AS A REMINDER, YOU DO NOT ACTIVATE WITH FULL POWERS. IN THIS WORLD, SUPERPOWERS TAKE BETWEEN SIX TO 16 MONTHS TO DEVELOP. IF YOU WANT TO BE FULLY POWERED, SKIP AHEAD TO YEAR TWO OF SCHOOL. IF YOU GIVE YOURSELF CRAZY POWERS, YOU WILL BE CLASSIFIED A WORLD-BREAKER. SO DON'T DO THAT!) Did this message have the opposite effect?
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You will have your choice (potentially) of four academies:

National Academy for Enhanced Development — The National Academy is the most prestigious and institutionally connected of the major schools, with a strong emphasis on discipline, scholarship, leadership, public service, and professional responsibility. Its culture is formal and ambitious, and it produces many future government-affiliated heroes, major team leaders, researchers, and public-facing Heroics. Students receive intensive power-control training alongside academics, law, ethics, emergency response, and leadership development.

Meridian Academy — Meridian is the strongest fit for unusual, difficult-to-classify, or intellectually complex powers. It places more emphasis on research, experimentation, creative applications of abilities, and understanding how powers actually work rather than simply training students for traditional Heroics. Its culture is somewhat more flexible and inventive than National Academy, though competition among talented students can still be intense.

Sentinel Academy — Sentinel is the practical, field-oriented academy, especially respected for rescue work, emergency response, teamwork, and producing reliable professional heroes. Students spend significant time in simulations and applied training rather than treating Heroics as purely academic study. It has a reputation for graduating people who can actually function under pressure when a building is collapsing, civilians are panicking, or a routine incident suddenly becomes dangerous.

Vanguard — Vanguard is geared toward exceptionally capable students and those expected to operate at higher levels of Heroics. Its programs emphasize advanced combat, strategic response, leadership, team command, and preparation for dangerous or high-profile careers. Being recruited by Vanguard is prestigious, but it also means instructors and government observers believe the student may eventually be expected to handle threats beyond ordinary Hero-Class work.