Infinite Worlds

[flyingwombat]

Hi.
Just wanted to say I bought IW yestersday and I like it. Saying that at some point I'll get AE2 (I bought AE1 years ago).

Good Work Ken Hite! Sorry I didn't get a chance to attend your seminar at Dundracon. Next Year!

[RogerBacon]

I got mine yesterday as well and I like what I've read so far.

One thing I wish would have been different. I wish it had taken a more neutral attitude as to which side was supposed to be the "good" side. Obviously the Homeline planet is supposed to be the main setting the PC's play from and the Centrum are supposed to be the antagonists. They do have a page on an optional "nicer" Centrum but it's still pretty pro-Homeline.

I would have preferred more the way Whie Wolf goes with their books where there is no easy way to tell good from evil and everyone has an agenda. Yeah, I know I could do that on my own (and will) but it still seemed like the default setting was to one-sided. Same thing with Reich-5. Pure evil sterotypical Nazi's as villians are something I would expect in a less sophisticated rpg. They should have build them up with more shades of grey.

Roger Bacon

[Jürgen Hubert]

Originally Posted by RogerBacon

I would have preferred more the way Whie Wolf goes with their books where there is no easy way to tell good from evil and everyone has an agenda. Yeah, I know I could do that on my own (and will) but it still seemed like the default setting was to one-sided. Same thing with Reich-5. Pure evil sterotypical Nazi's as villians are something I would expect in a less sophisticated rpg. They should have build them up with more shades of grey.

While I agree on the Centrum/Homeline issue, the Nazis pretty much were the stereotypical Evil Vilains of the 20th century.

[Ack]

NOTE: all the comments below are made with reference to AE1 and AE2.

I agree on the "Nazis are stereotypical evil villains" POV; about the only timeline given where the Nazis (and by inference Germany) were not the aggressors in WWII was Dixie, where France launched a guerre-eclair (lightning war) on Germany. It could be interesting to have Reich-5 contact the Nazi Party of that alternate and in that time (by some space-time twist) and find that they are actually the nice guys...

As for Centrum, I found the writeup of Centrum to be fair and well-balanced. The POV posited for Centrum regarding Homeline's meddling in various timelines could easily have a basis in fact. So what if they aren't all warm-and-fuzzy friendly? I still think they'd be good to have on side. If they are only trying to shift worlds to quanta where Homeline's meddling can't cause further screwups in space-time physics, I think that's a worthy goal. And Homeline itself, with the policy of "If you know of us and won't work for us, then it's to Coventry with you", not to mention the blatant exploitation of various worlds, doesn't have the best human-rights record either.

Cheers,
Ack

[maximara]

Originally Posted by RogerBacon

I got mine yesterday as well and I like what I've read so far.

One thing I wish would have been different. I wish it had taken a more neutral attitude as to which side was supposed to be the "good" side. Obviously the Homeline planet is supposed to be the main setting the PC's play from and the Centrum are supposed to be the antagonists. They do have a page on an optional "nicer" Centrum but it's still pretty pro-Homeline.

I would have preferred more the way Whie Wolf goes with their books where there is no easy way to tell good from evil and everyone has an agenda. Yeah, I know I could do that on my own (and will) but it still seemed like the default setting was to one-sided. Same thing with Reich-5. Pure evil sterotypical Nazi's as villians are something I would expect in a less sophisticated rpg. They should have build them up with more shades of grey.

I agree with the assessment of the Centrum-Homeline dynamic. But if you look at Homeline there is a dark undercurrent running through the setting especially givne that Reich-5 has a non mechanical way to access worlds making the old 'Keeping the Secret' issue a moot point. The whole 'Keeping the Secret' issue was a little draconian and given Reich-5 didn't work making the whole thing questionable at best.

[DryaUnda]

Originally Posted by RogerBacon

I wish [Infinite Worlds] had taken a more neutral attitude as to which side was supposed to be the "good" side.
[...]
I would have preferred more the way Whie Wolf goes with their books where there is no easy way to tell good from evil and everyone has an agenda.

You mean there is an easy way to tell who are the "good guys" are?

I know that the Nazis are evil, that Homeline and Centrum are neutral, and the Cabal is somewhere in between, but which side is good? ISWAT? The transhumans of Lenin-2? The UFBs that got cut out of the final draft?

[Lord_Kjeran]

Chello!

Originally Posted by Ack

where France launched a guerre-eclair (lightning war) on Germany.

What, they threw pastries at the Germans? ;)

I agree that that would be an intersting twist...Nazis as good guys. I've always thought the greatest tragedy of WW2 was Hitler himself. He had the ability and potential to be a great force for Light, but he folloed the path of Darkness. Imagine what that Will could have accomplished for good.

Besides, everyone dislikes the French!

Tony

[bazzalisk]

Personaly I found the default Infinity to be darker than the default Centrum (though neither is ideal). From their descriptions Homeline has been mercilessly exploiting other worlds in a quite unpleasant manner, using primitive populations to assemble consumer goods and running an entire alternate Rome as a theme park - meanwhile Centrum has been bringing indentured workers from other timelines and putting them to work in it's factories (although they are all volunteers and the conditions in Centrum, whilst harsh are much better than those they came from - whatesmore their children get to become citizens). Neither side has a good human rights record when it comes to dealing with outtimers, and both sides have the death penalty so neither has a very good human rights record at home either.

Back on homline there are a large number of malcontent people in poor and difficult conditions in the third world (that horrible box on "Rogue States" tells us as much), whilst on Centrum everyone has what they need for survival.

On Centrunm they intentionaly set the lower grades' income so that they are not "Comfortable" by a Homeline American standard - So probably about the same percentage of people are "Comfortable" on both - but the very rich on Homeline are much richer, and the very poor are starving.

Centrum realy seems to want to bring everyone under it's benevelent (from their perspective) control - Homeline seems to want to ensure that they remain on top and that no one else has access to their benefits.

Realy - both sides are bad (in that kind of mildly bad way that most humans always are) - and if asked to choose between them I'd probably choose Centrum.

[DryaUnda]

Originally Posted by bazzalisk

Really - both sides are bad (in that kind of mildly bad way that most humans always are) - and if asked to choose between them I'd probably choose Centrum.

I might, too, if it weren't for one important detail. Centrum is opposed to rapid technological advancement.

[angel_lord]

Originally Posted by Lord_Kjeran

Chello!

Besides, everyone dislikes the French!

Besides of course, the French and one or two Europena allies ;-)