New Reality Seeds

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Aftershock-1 is locked in an Ice Age, world temperatures have dropped by 7 degrees Celsius.

Leaving aside that we are ourselves currently in the middle of an Ice Age (it's a warmish interval at the moment), for most people the term conjures an image of vast ice sheets, and less than a century just isn't long enough for those to develop. Sea level data for previous recent periods of glaciation seem to show something like a meter drop per century, which probably isn't enough water for miles thick ice sheets anywhere yet. Dozens of meters in places maybe.

On the other hand, a century at +7 C is probably ample to melt all the existing ice, which has put those equivalent points in London under 100 meters of water on Aftershock-2.

Of course a process able to generate a global drought is probably physical nonsense, so it may not care very much about realistic water cycles on the other linked timelines either.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Leaving aside that we are ourselves currently in the middle of an Ice Age (it's a warmish interval at the moment), for most people the term conjures an image of vast ice sheets, and less than a century just isn't long enough for those to develop. Sea level data for previous recent periods of glaciation seem to show something like a meter drop per century, which probably isn't enough water for miles thick ice sheets anywhere yet. Dozens of meters in places maybe.

On the other hand, a century at +7 C is probably ample to melt all the existing ice, which has put those equivalent points in London under 100 meters of water on Aftershock-2.

Of course a process able to generate a global drought is probably physical nonsense, so it may not care very much about realistic water cycles on the other linked timelines either.

I assume vast snowfields. In some areas, the snow has piled deep enough to crush the snow back into water. However, the process of the snow forming into ice takes more time and pressure.

[AlexanderHowl]

In the Cthulu skerry, dozens of timelines are twisted into a configuration resembling the works of the original authors of the Cthulu Mythos. Cthulu-1 is a Q7 timeline, but the other timelines do not seem to correspond to Quantum known to either Centrum or Homeline. What is even worse, the entities of Cthulu are capable of paratronic travel through their own techniques (though it requires secret rituals) and their magic functions in areas with or without mana.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

In the Cthulu skerry, dozens of timelines are twisted into a configuration resembling the works of the original authors of the Cthulu Mythos. Cthulu-1 is a Q7 timeline, but the other timelines do not seem to correspond to Quantum known to either Centrum or Homeline. What is even worse, the entities of Cthulu are capable of paratronic travel through their own techniques (though it requires secret rituals) and their magic functions in areas with or without mana.

In a lot of ways, confining them to a skerry lessens the impact. If I wanted to introduce a note of Lovecraftian cosmic horror to Infinite Worlds I wouldn't include a timeline where those tales were true, that's just another myth parallel. I'd scatter bits of references on multiple timelines - they'd be running an operation opposing the Cabal and suddenly decisively win when all the cabalists on this and two other lines where unrelated operations were in progress were ripped to bits one night by unidentified beasts that came out of the walls, or start encountering places that looked like ordinary parallels, or (provably movable) echoes where there is unaccountable an extra book in the Travels of Mandeville where he visits the plateau of Leng and flees from a byakee, or all biblical references to damnation involved throwing you into the depths of the sea rather than a burning pit and the devil figure wasn't goat headed Satan but octopus headed Chadel. A change they would then start to notice *spreading* with it happening on other timelines they've been too before where it wasn't true, but all the locals now insist the devil had always been Chadel and think you are crazy for thinking the Bible ever said anything else. I'd most likely never have the PCs themselves actually encounter an Elder God.

[PTTG]

One I rather enjoyed was a series of timelines where a secretive cult converted or eradicated everyone on the planet, then committed global ritual suicide. No signs of crosstime travel, yet the cults are disturbingly alike... and though no currently active cult worlds have yet been discovered, they seem to be more frequent as time goes by.

[Astromancer]

In this Q6 parallel, the Biefled-Brown Effect lived up to the early hype. Flying saucers were achieving orbit by 1942. There was no Battle of the Atlantic to speak of. Vast numbers of saucers transported troops and cargo from America to the allies and the fronts. Japan and Germany worked to catch up. They lacked certain rare minerals and couldn't find substitutes. The U.S.S.R. had no such problem.

Basically, the Cold War has spread to the Moon. The local year is 1948. Both the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. are building permanent moonbases and preparing to go to Mars. Residence on the Moon seems to have odd effects on certain people. Joseph Banks Rhine has established the Presence of Psi phenomena among those stationed on the Moon for more than a few months.

Dr. Rhine theorizes that psi phenomena are a massive advantage to any organism that any organism in the same environment is under massive evolutionary pressure to find a defense. Dr. Rhine points to the echolocation abilities of bats and the fact that many insects have evolved means of jamming the bat's echolocation skills. He assumes many, if not most, Earth lifeforms have evolved psi jamming abilities.

Both the West and the Communists are busily researching how to train and use Psi. They also seek to help their troops deal with the sudden onset of paranormal powers. Subjects like Yoga and meditation are becoming big on University campuses worldwide.

Both Centrum and Homeline are fascinated with this world. Both want in on the breakthrough research in Psionics. Swagmen are hoping to score as well, having the Icops become Psionic while they don't is scary. The Cabal wants to throw a million spanners in the works. Having their two largest competitors become skillful in psionics is massive bad news. The mana level on this planet is against them, it's 60% No Mana/35% Low Mana/5% Normal Mana (all normal mana areas have odd quirks and aspects), and the local manna isn't normally well placed for the Cabal's needs.

The local Tech Level is TL7^ and generally slightly ahead of where Homeline was at the same period of history. Although this is a small difference (about half a decade or so ahead of Homeline in 1948). In spite of Psi phenomena being proved real, attitudes toward magic are the same as those of Homeline in 1948.

[shadowjack]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

In this Q6 parallel, the Biefled-Brown Effect lived up to the early hype. Flying saucers were achieving orbit by 1942.

I like this one! It's a very restrained take on Golden Age SF, with a nice immediate focus.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by shadowjack

I like this one! It's a very restrained take on Golden Age SF, with a nice immediate focus.

You got it in one.

[Astromancer]

One note I forgot on my last world seed. Since the Biefeld-Brown Effect was discovered during observation of vacuum tubes, and the basic physical phenomena that convinced Bussard that a better way could be found to fusion power generation, was also discovered by studying vacuum tubes, prototype Polywell Fusors exist on this parallel. It makes doubly clear sense because they got a major breakthrough that reshaped their world from the physics of vacuum tubes. These people would really study their vacuum tubes.

[Astromancer]

While reading a book on the history of Central Europe I was impressed by a passage on the details of what happened to Czechoslovakia in 1938. The follow up of Hitler's success in chopping up Czechoslovakia and tossing out bits to win close allies and creating the Slovak Republic a truly nasty client state, was that it closed off diplomatic ways of getting the Poles to cooperate.

Hitler wanted to crush France before attacking the Soviet Union. For this, he needed friendly neutrality from the Poles. Given that the Poles both knew what he said about them and saw what he did to Czechoslovakia, they weren't interested. More damming, Hitler wanted the Poles as allies or out of the way to attack the USSR. Again, the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia showed the Poles why they wanted no alliance with Hitler. Thus Hitler started WWII early because he painted himself into a corner. Yes, I know that was not the only way Hitler forced his own hand, but it is an interesting one.

In this Q6 parallel, Hitler realizes that the Czechs can wait till later. Hitler decides in 1938 that getting the Poles to ally with Germany against the Soviets. As much as Paderewski knew Hitler was a viper that would bite Poland, he knew Stalin was also a monster and the more immediate threat (Polish History is like that, multiple fatal choices). His rival and ally Dmowski agreed that it was a bad choice they had to make and like his foe/ally Paderewski prayed for God's mercy knowing full well they would need it.

The local year is 1940, the German-Polish alliance has plunged deep into Russia. A less prepared and even more unstable Soviet Union faces the Nazis and their semi-willing allies the Poles with no allies.

Western Europe hopes the Poles survive and are happy that one or the other dictator is going down to disaster. Homeline wants to keep the Poles and the Jews from being slaughtered. Centrum wants Britain to stay out of the war and preserve the Empire. The Cabal wants more popcorn to watch the show. Homeline's Russia, Germany, and Poland want to break Hitler with minimum bloodshed.