New Reality Seeds

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Well the Cabal would be really distorted then. They're whole deal is operating subtly and ruling from the shadows. I suppose they could be operating in response to something else.

The Cabal could still be a subtle faction. The most important thing is that there are a bunch of distinct "open" factions who can have battles.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

In this Q6 Low Manna parallel, the Gaulish Celts invented the moldboard plow in the second century BCE. This did not change Julius Caesar's sadistically brutal conquest of Gaul but the plow wasn't forgotten. Refugees from Gaul took the plow to Brittain and other lands and the new Roman masters soon picked it up. By the third century CE, Rome while facing the Crisis of the Third Century had far greater resources to fight back with.

When Decius fought the Battle of Abritus he had six legions at full strength. King Cniva was outflanked and couldn't pull off his swamp trap. The Goths ended as a coherent kingdom in 251. Sparring Rome twenty years of misery. Having won the battle, but having still lost his eldest son, Decius called his younger son to join him in Greece. This seems to have prevented Hostilian (Great name) from catching the plague most scholars say he died of or prevented his assassination. Either way, Hostilian lived and ruled Rome until 292.

The local year is 315 CE and there is no sign of the Civil Wars found in most Roman parallels. In fact, peace and prosperity seem to be the norm everywhere west of the Roman border with Persia.

The Cabal seems to like this world. They've been seeding Gaul and Egypt with minor technological innovations. Recently a known Cabal asset living in Gaul has introduced paper claiming it's an invention from the silk lands (true enough). Another Cabalist asset has introduced Mulberries in his estates near Naples. Can Silkworms be far behind?

Centrum has taken note of all this. They've decided to make use of it. After all, Latin and Greek they know. They've decided to take over Rome and slowly but surely conquer this world. They are planning to introduce steel making technology and improved crossbows into the Roman lands and give the Romans covert aid in the conquest of Sasanid Persia.

Meanwhile, a group of Swagmen working from Gaul's Atlantic ports, are working on improving Roman ships and navigation. They plan to rule a Roman America for fun and profit.

Homeline's simply doesn't want either the Cabal or Centrum taking this world over. Homeline agents are working to throw wrenches into careful plans.

Meanwhile, the Gaulish Swagmen are getting noticed. This could easily cause all three factions to slam into each other.

Basically, cloak and dagger in Ancient Rome. Campaigns can be set from Gaul to Persia.

[AlexanderHowl]

In Allia , Brennus pursued the fleeing Roman soldiers to Veii after the Battle of Allia, slaughtering them to a man, leaving the Roman army utterly destroyed. After looting and defiling the corpses, he liberated Veii from the Romans in exchange for supplies from the Etruscan population and then proceeded to sack Rome. Every male Roman died during the sack of Rome and every female Roman was taken as personal slaves by the warriors of Gaul. After they finished looting the city, Brennus ordered his warriors to burn every building in Rome, using the city as a pyre for the Roman dead.

Now two centuries later, the wealth of Rome allowed for the development of a centralized Gaulic Empire that stands strong against the German invaders. Italy became a possession of Carthage and Macedonian mercenaries guard the Catheginian possessions from the Germans. In the east, Persia is busily conquering Asia Minor while Egypt basks in the desert sun, allied by marriage to both Carthage and Persia.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

In most parallels that have the Meiji Restoration also have Ōmura Masujirō die because his wounds became infected when he hid in dirty bathwater to avoid armed samurai assassins chasing him. But not in this steampunk (TL5+1) Q4 parallel, (Low Manna 80%/Normal 16%/High 4%).

In this parallel a Japanese Cabalist simply got to the bathtub first and poured a gallon of strong TL8 disinfectant into it. This prevented Ōmura's wounds from becoming infected.

Although western technology hasn't gotten to Japan yet in this parallel's 1869, Japan is notably good at magic and alchemy. European scholars are looking at the Japanese attempts at creating a system of improvised spells in hopes of crossing it with their own and creating something like either Syntactical or Realm magic. The Japanese are studying them right back with the same hopes.

Homeline wonders what the plan is that requires Ōmura Masujirō? Whatever it is, the Cabal must be going for a major score.

Basically, Cloak and Dagger in a Gaslamp Fantasy Japan. Stir in both Steampunk(because this Japan is modernizing) and plenty of Kaidan(because this is Japan after all). But Kaiju would be overdoing it. Still, give the Steampunk lots of Tokusatsu style.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

"Steampunk Japan" kind of sounds like the franchise Sakura Wars: girls with magical powers in steam-mechs battle demons.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by SilvercatMoonpaw

"Steampunk Japan" kind of sounds like the franchise Sakura Wars: girls with magical powers in steam-mechs battle demons.

If you and your group prefer Sakura Wars play it as Sakura Wars. Myself, Mechia and Kaiju don't blend with cloak and dagger. But that's me.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

But that's me.

That's fine: I missed that's what you were going for. Probably because I've never been good at subtlety.

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Well the Cabal would be really distorted then. They're whole deal is operating subtly and ruling from the shadows. I suppose they could be operating in response to something else.

The Cabal is a group of unruly factions that can barely stand each-other. I'm sure that if one of the less-subtle groups discovered this first, they might decide to be more open.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Homeline wonders what the plan is that requires Ōmura Masujirō? Whatever it is, the Cabal must be going for a major score.

Perhaps Omura flees to somewhere distant to build up his ideal modern industrialised army- Satsuma, Hokkaido, Ryukyu or the Philippines. His intention is to bring the army to serve for Japan, but many fear that he's actually planning a coup.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Due to a Reality Quake, two parallels are slowly merging together. Both worlds are experiencing the year 1936. All astronomical observations show that it's the same date in both worlds and that the number of hours difference between the two worlds is shrinking.

Parallel Alpha Merge is a Low Manna Tech Level 6+2 world with space flight and a planet Mars with a breathable atmosphere and an ancient civilization of humans. In this parallel Mars is Atlantis.

Parallel Beta Merge is a Low Manna TL6 world with Magic as a known and real power used by highly paid professionals and taught at major Universities.

Both worlds resemble Homeline's Pulp fiction, Alpha is more pre-Golden Age Sci-Fi, Beta is more Fantasy/Horror. Both worlds superficially resemble Homeline in the !930s. Germany has gone Nazi, Stalin rules Russia, FDR is bringing real hope to America, but below the surfaces, there are real differences.

The area of the merger is in South America. It extends from the Eastern slopes of the Andes deep into the Amazon basin. This region is High Manna, probability is disturbed. Strong-Willed and Charismatic individuals can find themselves temporarily endowed with traits like Ridiculous Luck or high levels Sernidipity, or it's brutal opposite. Small islands of blended reality exist in this region but the blend of realities is rarely the same twice. Still, as the time difference shrinks, the islands of stability become more and more similar.

These two Q4 parallels fascinate the Cabal. Informants have told Homeline that many powerful Cabalists have gone to this world to study reality quakes and learn how to rewrite parallel to their tastes. Homeline is determined to keep the Cabal from this achievement. At the same time, they want to understand reality quakes in order to prevent Centrum from stealing parallels from Q6 & Q7.

Basically, two-fisted Indiana Jones-style adventures in the Amazon and the Andes with lots of Pulp Sci-Fi and sorcery. Mars/Atlantis provides one flavor of Ancient Aliens to spice the mix.