New Reality Seeds

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

New York was the odd state out in the Union in the early months of the ACW. Sure, upstate New York (basically part of New England in culture and values) was passionately pro-Union and anti-slavery. New York City and the Hudson Valley were different. This was the part of New York that clung to slavery, that had the Patroons the only functional order of nobility that ever existed in Anglo-America, that fought against voting rights for non-property owners, that was profoundly allied to the Southern Planter elites. It's no surprise that there was a successionist movement in New York.

Between a lack of leadership, the hostility of Albany and upstate New York, the collapse of the Patroons in the the early 1840s, and the unrest in New York City, nothing was done. At least in Homeline history. But in this Q6 world Leisler's Rebellion was somewhat less effective, leaving the Patroons a little more power. This made the Anti-Rent War less effective too. This allowed an heir of the Van Rensselaer family to become the leader the New York successionist movement needed. Van Rensselaer and his clique have declared New York a Free City!

As the local British consul happens to be a Centrum agent and determined to cripple the USA, the Consul recognized New York City as an independent nation. The British ambassador in Washington, also a Centrum asset, seconded him.

Now, the PCs need to derail this before Centrum wins a huge victory for the CSA, slavery, and racism.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Oh, my... that's rather tasty sounding.

I may grab this one for Facets. :)

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Although the Spanish Army had great advantages when they decided to launch a coup they tended to act like the gang that couldn't shoot straight. The exception was Franco. However in this Q7 low manna world, with small areas that have higher manna levels under the full moon, Franco fell ill and died while in the Canary Islands. This threw the Nationalists into chaos. But the Nazis still helped to get the Army of Africa into Spain.

Without Franco to take over the Nationalists and crush all dissent in the ranks they remained prone to petty in-fighting and self-aggrandizement. However, since they have the better army, they are still able to hold on but not to decisively beat the Republicans. This has made the war last longer. It also drained Italian resources more deeply (Italy was the main support of the Spanish right) than in Homeline history. Both Germany and Italy are reassessing the willingness and ability of democracies to fight for there lives. Germany's economic position is still unstable, they'll need to either attack outward or implode soon. Moreover, Stalin always planned to attack the West when he had an opportunity, and if the Fascists fall, he'll see that as an opportunity.

Basically, this is a messier less certain run up to WWII. With or without out timmers this is an espionage campaign. If out timmers are involved, Homeline wants FDR to run in 1940 and win. Centrum dislikes FDR but lacks a viable replacement. Both Homeline and Centrum are trying to make sure the Axis loses. The main difference is Centrum wants to strengthen the French Army and deal with their communication problems so that a stronger France can aid Brittain in maintaining colonial empires after the war. Centrum is also working to slightly weaken Russia in order to make the Cold War less of a threat to peace, again to preserve colonial empires.

Homeline is focused on improving American munitions and getting FDR elected so Centrum feels it has a free hand. Problem, Midwinter Aton and the Cabal are having a brutal fight throughout Europe. All of Centrum's plots could go belly up if these two groups of witch boy problem children don't get out of the way.

[Prince Charon]

Huh. Could be an interesting opportunity to play as Centrum agents doing things that are basically good.

[ericthered]

Ok, I've got a challenge timeline. Lets have a war between the Russians and the Dutch primarily over/for central Asia. The Dutch are fighting from a maritime empire that looks a lot like 1900 Britain's (though not a copy), and the Russians have something of a hold on at least part of the middle east.

How do we get there? How is this not a primarily European war?

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Ok, I've got a challenge timeline. Lets have a war between the Russians and the Dutch primarily over/for central Asia. The Dutch are fighting from a maritime empire that looks a lot like 1900 Britain's (though not a copy), and the Russians have something of a hold on at least part of the middle east.

How do we get there? How is this not a primarily European war?

I'm not going to do a full work up like I did before, but I think the route of how things got there probably lies in changing up the late 15th century. England gets knocked out of the picture by a successful gunpowder plot, France remains divided by religious strife, and the Dutch are more successful against the Spanish. The VOC proceeds unimpeded in India and the East Indies, and the colonization of North America sees more Dutch involvement.

France and Germany need to be kept moderately divided. Not cohesive enough for them to just roll over the Low Countries, and not so defeated that some other power just rolls over them, and later the Low Countries. I suppose if we can make Spain weaker somehow (perhaps a costly war with the Ottomans), we could have a divided France situation. The Holy Roman Empire is probably not in a strong enough position to just go bowling over a well unified Netherlands.

To keep it from becoming a European War, I think the trick would be is to use the Holy Roman Empire in a weird state where it can't act effectively, but it can react effectively. That way neither Russia nor The Netherlands have the desire to storm across Germany to attack the other, but they also can't just bring in the HRE as an ally against the other.

Russia with more interest in the Middle East is easy enough. Just say that the Russian Third Rome ambitions went unchecked and it largely absorbed the Ottomans into their sphere of influence.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one...

Although the Spanish Army had great advantages when they decided to launch a coup they tended to act like the gang that couldn't shoot straight. The exception was Franco. However in this Q7 low manna world, with small areas that have higher manna levels under the full moon, Franco fell ill and died while in the Canary Islands. This threw the Nationalists into chaos. But the Nazis still helped to get the Army of Africa into Spain.

Without Franco to take over the Nationalists and crush all dissent in the ranks they remained prone to petty in-fighting and self-aggrandizement. However, since they have the better army, they are still able to hold on but not to decisively beat the Republicans. This has made the war last longer. It also drained Italian resources more deeply (Italy was the main support of the Spanish right) than in Homeline history. Both Germany and Italy are reassessing the willingness and ability of democracies to fight for there lives. Germany's economic position is still unstable, they'll need to either attack outward or implode soon. Moreover, Stalin always planned to attack the West when he had an opportunity, and if the Fascists fall, he'll see that as an opportunity.

Basically, this is a messier less certain run up to WWII. With or without out timmers this is an espionage campaign. If out timmers are involved, Homeline wants FDR to run in 1940 and win. Centrum dislikes FDR but lacks a viable replacement. Both Homeline and Centrum are trying to make sure the Axis loses. The main difference is Centrum wants to strengthen the French Army and deal with their communication problems so that a stronger France can aid Brittain in maintaining colonial empires after the war. Centrum is also working to slightly weaken Russia in order to make the Cold War less of a threat to peace, again to preserve colonial empires.

Homeline is focused on improving American munitions and getting FDR elected so Centrum feels it has a free hand. Problem, Midwinter Aton and the Cabal are having a brutal fight throughout Europe. All of Centrum's plots could go belly up if these two groups of witch boy problem children don't get out of the way.

Out of curiosity, have you read Harry Tutledove's "War That Came Early" series? While the timeline itself doesn't resemble this one, it has a similar starting point - the flamboyant but less competent Gen. Sanjurjo does not die in a plane crash, so Franco never has the chance to take over, which helps the Republicans hold out long enough for the Spanish Civil War to become a theater of World War II when Munich falls apart.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

This Q6 parallel seems like a normal low manna echo, except for the fact that about one-quarter of the planet is normal manna, and one-tenth is high manna. But for some reason, the presence of actual wizards, ghosts, fairies, etc. didn't really substantially alter history. Other things did though.

In 1536 the Sweating Sickness returned and struck the royal court. Both King Henry and his daughter Mary died. This left only Elizabeth, a three-year-old child, as heir to the throne. Anne Boleyn was made regent.

There are dark rumors that the queen murdered her husband with witchcraft. Many factions seek to control little Elizabeth's education. Homelinne just wants to quietly research magic here. Centrum wants Elizabeth brought up to be a submissent daughter of the Roman Church and marry her young to Phillip of Spain. The Cabal, on orders from John Dee, wants Elizabeth to be raised to be the willing vessel of the Queen of Faerie, and the two merged to become God!

The PCs need to prevent both scenarios.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

According to Jonathan Iarael, the Dutch came very close to an industrial revolution based on wind power. And in this Q6 world they made it.

Basically, a Leonardo level genius, Jan Hendrick Swindon, was born in Zeeland in 1595. In most worlds, the ship Jan was sailing on as a cabin boy in 1604 was captured by the Sale Rovers the pretty blond blue-eyed boy is sold to a mountain chief who wants to raise him in the Islamic faith. Jan became a talented military leader by age 14 and dies of plague (endemic in North Africa in period) at age 17. Not so in this world where Jan gets apprenticed to a painter whose brother is a clockmaker.

By 17 Jan Hendrick Swindon's paintings are widely sought after and Jan has the money to go to University. By 30 Jan has largely retired from painting and has taken up making machines. His improvements in clockwork, in windmills, in pumps, and many other devices give the Dutch that extra push they need to achieve an industrial revolution based on wind.

The local year is 1650, the much wealthier Dutch Republic has been able to field much larger armies than the French, and pay for those armies as well. France, with a twelve-year-old king and an Italian Cardinal running the place, had to back down and make concessions. Similarly both Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were financially exhausted. The Dutch dominate Europe.

Centrum is furious, the tolerant polyglot Dutch hegemony will never do. They 've got to find a way to pull it down. Meanwhile, Homeline is more focused on the question of why this world's Cabalists tend to focus on this world's the Caribbean and the Dutch colonies in conquered Brazil.

[fchase8]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one...

According to Jonathan Iarael, the Dutch came very close to an industrial revolution based on wind power. And in this Q6 world they made it.

Basically, a Leonardo level genius, Jan Hendrick Swindon, was born in Zeeland in 1595. In most worlds, the ship Jan was sailing on as a cabin boy in 1604 was captured by the Sale Rovers the pretty blond blue-eyed boy is sold to a mountain chief who wants to raise him in the Islamic faith. Jan became a talented military leader by age 14 and dies of plague (endemic in North Africa in period) at age 17. Not so in this world where Jan gets apprenticed to a painter whose brother is a clockmaker.

By 17 Jan Hendrick Swindon's paintings are widely sought after and Jan has the money to go to University. By 30 Jan has largely retired from painting and has taken up making machines. His improvements in clockwork, in windmills, in pumps, and many other devices give the Dutch that extra push they need to achieve an industrial revolution based on wind.

The local year is 1650, the much wealthier Dutch Republic has been able to field much larger armies than the French, and pay for those armies as well. France, with a twelve-year-old king and an Italian Cardinal running the place, had to back down and make concessions. Similarly both Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were financially exhausted. The Dutch dominate Europe.

Centrum is furious, the tolerant polyglot Dutch hegemony will never do. They 've got to find a way to pull it down. Meanwhile, Homeline is more focused on the question of why this world's Cabalists tend to focus on this world's the Caribbean and the Dutch colonies in conquered Brazil.

I love the idea of a Dutch-dominant parallel, but how much power could be gotten out of wind power at the time, even with superior designs? I think coal would still be the better power source for an industrial revolution.

But perhaps a stronger Dutch Republic is able to take the Southern Netherlands, which has its own reserves of coal, and is in the process of continuing its industrial revolution with coal.


Or this is a world with some variant physical laws, wind that it more powerful, creates more power. Cabalists are attempting to tap it in the Caribbean - but their actions might create some super-wind like The Wind From Nowhere or even Slipstream.