Laura Govednik ~ Lucky Newt Games
When the call for submissions was first announced for the 5 Second Rule anthology, a few people were asking about in-universe canon for the sake of continuity. I don’t have much written about the world in the game, so I thought it might be a good opportunity to share some things that have played in the back of my mind while building the setting that the game takes place in.
Exceptions are included at the end of each section to help make stories work if they don’t perfectly fit within the confines laid out. If you have any questions about ideas you have for exceptions, please feel free to contact us. You might have some ideas that simply haven’t been considered yet.
Please bear in mind that this is written with the assumption that you have read about the game and have a basic knowledge of the information already available.
5 Second Limit
5 Second Rule is literally the name of the game. Superpowers are always inhibited by 5 seconds.
In most cases, this is the duration of the ability itself each time it’s used. For example, super strength or freezing time or going back in time, again, only for 5 seconds. Other cases are a bit more unique, such as the ability to look anywhere in time, but forget what you saw after 5 seconds of viewing.
Exception
If the 5 second limit is too restrictive for your story, your main character could be the rare one-in-a-million case. They would most certainly be treasured by L&G Inc, and further experiments (with compensation) would be done to better understand why they don’t share the restriction everyone else does. Either that, or they would need to find ways to hide the lack of limit to their power; not an easy feat with how careful L&G Inc is.
Superpowers in General
As far as anyone knows, no one is born with superpowers, and no other group has figured out the science of unlocking superpowers within anyone before. L&G Inc is the first, and they are still working towards better understanding the limits and potential.
Not every individual has the potential for superpowers. In fact, it’s pretty rare for L&G Inc to find success (think maybe a 1 in 10 success rate, maybe less). And each one of them has the 5 second limit.
Exception
There could be people born with superpowers who are able to keep them hidden. They would have to take great strides to keep it hidden, especially in modern day when everyone has a video camera in their phone.
L&G Inc and the World They’re In
The owners of L&G Inc are Lisa Cross, Russel Grant, and Gary Lewis, three comic book fans with the money and intellect to start a corporation and hire the scientists needed. Their core values are nothing nefarious. They simply want to work towards making the world a better place through the creation of superheroes. With a new invention allowing them to open portals to anywhere and anytime, their vision has expanded to include making all new worlds a better place.
Exception
That’s not to say shady characters don’t exist within the corporation. Though the three owners work hard to make sure vetting practices are followed, there can still be the bad apples that slip through.
Where in the World?
For the sake of ease (and to save some room in your short story), 5 Second Rule takes place in an alternate universe, specifically an alternate modern day Earth. L&G Inc has a main office in Bellevue, WA, USA, though they have a few other offices around the world.
Exception
There’s also the ability to go anywhere, anytime. As long as training is completed in an L&G facility near you, then theoretically your story could take place anywhere, anytime.
Power Pool
To best translate the Power Pool, think of it as the energy or mana the character uses to fuel their power. They only get a certain amount between a full 8 hours of rest, depending on how well they use their ability. If they’re striving to use it to the best of their ability, either by going extra fast without tripping up or seeing that much more detail with enhanced vision, they’re going to drain more from their Power Pool than if they’re not going as fast or not attempting to pick up as much detail.
The game offers two modes to play: a low-powered adventure with a smaller Power pool, and a high-powered adventure with a larger Power Pool. To reflect this, a character in a low-powered setting would be able to use their power 3-6 times a day, while one in a high-powered setting would be able to use it 5-12 times a day.
When a character’s Power Pool is drained, it becomes more difficult to make their power work. They can still force it, but each extra use of it requires more concentration and more of a challenge to use well. After around 3 uses, it might feel like trying to reach through molasses to tap into their power. After 5, they’ll experience a sort of backlash like a headache, or will be more likely to make mistakes. After 8 uses, they’re tapped. That’s it.