Catalog of the Weird Parallels

[AlexanderHowl]

Arcadia-13

Arcadia-13 is an unusual Q5 timeline that functions as a crosstime eddy. It is very difficult to travel directly to or from Arcadia-13 (-10 to applicable rolls in either direction) due to the deflection from the Current, but 10% of misdirected crosstime traffic in Q5 seems to end up in Arcadia-13, and around 10% of the known Reality Shards are located within Arcadia-13. It is also one of the destinations of 10% of the known Shiftrealms in Q5, which is how Homelike discovered Arcadia-13 in the first place.

Its status as a crosstime eddy would have been enough to have it listed as a weird parralel, but it has a number of other weird aspects. It exists in a Solar System ruled by three competing species of elves (the Black Elves live on a habitable Venus, the Red Elves live on a habitable Mars, and the Green Elves of a habitable Earth). The three races are related, with the Black Elves and Red Elves having departed the Earth 10,000 years ago. The technology of the Elves is a TL(1+9) biological/magical/psychic civilization (with the magical metaphysics supporting Path/Book Magic rather than mana-based magic). The inhabitants of Arcadia-13 are aware of crosstime travel and have small populations of crosstime refugees.

[Flyndaran]

It's hard to go there intentionally. But it seems pretty darn easy to get there.
I'd imagine the elves would like to know how to put a cork in the inflow to avoid being buried in unwanted/unintentional immigrants.
Not to mention all the diseases and invasive species of the non-sapient variety.

[Astromancer]

This world seems to be a myth-parallel based on a humorous comic book that combined humans and funny animals. The parallel, much like the stories of Scooge McDuck, combines magic and supertech. A surprising amount of these gadgets and gizmos work just fine in many other parallels.

[PTTG]

A world that is apparently an echo of 1141, with the exception of one small Scottish island being a very-high-mana zone. It is home to a magic academy that is in the process of developing new materials with supernatural qualities that persist outside of the island. Homeliners would recognize these as titanium, plutonium, graphine, and any number of other mundane but hard-to-manufacture materials.

[PTTG]

Originally Posted by PTTG

Italian victory in WWII.

Ok, I've got one, and it's weird. We have to make the USA and the British Empire go to war during or just before WWII. Maybe over Canada.

Start with changes in the Mexican Revolution. Increase the efforts of forces to draw the USA into the fighting -- maybe by increasing the effectiveness of the Bandit Wars at provoking US response -- and have American troops involved directly in the war.

The USA gains an additional easy victory and signs a treaty granting it the new territories of Baja and Senora, and strengthens some forces arguing, essentially, that the frontiers are now no longer west, but rather south, and north.

Meanwhile, a different set of royals does [insert something that explains this here], resulting in dramatically increased tensions between the USA and the commonwealth. After provocations such as sheltering bootleggers and Indians, arresting American citizens, and raising import and export fees, and [something that provides a reasonable casus belli], the USA engages in a punitive action into Canada.

The retributions continue back and forth for a decade before the war, so by late '30s the USA and the UK are not on speaking terms and both of the US borders are armed.

With the two great empires no longer working together, and [new monarch] being opposed to the Nazis, the USA soon sees fit to join the Axis.

When the war starts in earnest, the USA formally invades Canada as part of an effort to split British defenses between North American and European fronts. US shipping to Italy and Germany is unhindered, allowing continuous supplies.

The British Empire crumbles with little external support, but the USA finds itself fighting on the two longest fronts in human history after Mexican forces join the Allies largely out of retribution for the US's continual border disputes. That doesn't even include internal rebellion by American communists and progressives dissatisfied with the US's warmongering.

When the dust settles, the Nazis control northern Europe and the British Isles, Italy controls France and points west, as well as southern Europe and most of the Mediterranean. Of the two, the Nazis have to deal with a much more intense resistance movement of British and Scandinavian rebels.

In North America, the USA is broken apart into subregions and bickering states, with the Crown in Canada and Mexico now in control of California and New Mexico, among other territories.

The Japanese Empire is the most populous nation in the world, if you count second-class citizens. From Siberia to Australia, Japan's expansion was checked only by the continuing war against the Chinese. His imperial scientists are working on a new explosive weapon which, they believe, will effectively end Chinese resistance.

The peace between the victorious Reich and Fascist Italy is fragile, however, and both of them are concerned with the power of Japan and the remnants of the British Empire in Canada. There is more war to come.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by PTTG

Meanwhile, a different set of royals does [insert something that explains this here],

If any member of the royal family is able to influence the UK's foreign policy to this extent the timeline is already weird (or at least divergent).

You need a Prime Minister and probably a whole wing of the majority party.

Hm.....have Labour go Stalinist. That'd be weird and possibly extreme enough too. In the US if you had the non-Dixiecrat wing of the Democrats go Trotskyite that might help. That'd be weird too.

Drop a flowerpot on Mussolini's head and have...... Ferrari take over. Enrico Fermi becomes his Minister of Science and Italy develops the bomb first.

_Now_ this might be a weird timeline.

[Flyndaran]

A world where in the distant past humanity lost their gene to detect sweetness. But while cats are hypercarnivores possibly in part due to this reason, primates can't go that route. Locals still eat plenty of vegetable sources of vitamin C, but fruit and similar sweets just aren't popular foods.
They've come up with very unusual candies and treats, some of which may appeal to cross-timers.

[Astromancer]

This is like Merlin but different. Magic is ordinary. This is a normal mana world were magic is just another skill slash resource. The world is a weirdly close parallel to Homeline. The tech-level is functionality TL7 plus 3 and the local year is 1957.

Please feel free to rip off setting details from the Cast a Deadly Spell films.

[PTTG]

How about a Rustic High-Mana world where a mighty spell goes awry, creating a continent-size area where technology works?

[Flyndaran]

The problem being that natives wouldn't know it save through weird hard to understand divination.
"Okay, the fates tell me things we don't have would work there, but not here."

Magic working usually has the conceit that things people were doing but ineffectually suddenly function. Hard to equate that to technology.