New Reality Seeds

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by YankeeGamer

Imagine how creepy the sky would be after sunset, with nought but flame to light the way, and a few tiny stars...

Well the moon is still there. And the planets, and the zodiacal light, and doubtless other stuff I'm forgetting at the moment. And really the stars *don't* provide very much light on the occasional moonless (and cloudless) nights - I don't think the nights are actually noticeably dimmer, they're just missing a few pixels on the gigantic background wallpaper.

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

All of this would be lovely except sea levels rose planet wide.

The local year is 1914, sea levels are about fifty feet higher than they were.

You've just flooded London, along with Cambridge and a band along the UK coast, of course -- the latter isn't necessarily a lot of land, but it wipes out a lot of British ports and naval bases, absent some very frantic rebuilding, which kind of stings for a naval/trading power. Basically, Britain is going to need either a mass evacuation or a century of heroic adjustment; it's unlikely to be a major world power at this point.

Incidentally Denmark doesn't seem to suffer too badly, from a quick look at a contour map, but any nation with a liking for maritime trade has troubles. The USA loses New York, I notice.

This is a world with massive social disruption and probably megadeaths. I don't see it reverting to old patterns as early as 1914. Or even 2014.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

This is a world with massive social disruption and probably megadeaths. I don't see it reverting to old patterns as early as 1914. Or even 2014.

Old "patterns" might return, but the old players certainly do not. Enough climate change to push sea levels up this much has certainly destroyed every port and severely damaged every coastal city on the planet, but that's the *minor* impact. That conversion of the Sahara to grassland hints at what it really was. Traditional agriculture no longer worked anywhere on the planet and spent several decades shifting unpredictably in a time surpluses weren't that extensive in the first place and the global food trade wasn't anything like what it came to be in the next century. Hundreds of millions of people starved from the massive and unpredictable crop failures, and even if things have stabilized 50 years on (and they probably haven't yet) the distribution of places that can grow enough food to support populations big enough to be Great Powers looks nothing like it did.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

You've just flooded London, along with Cambridge and a band along the UK coast, of course -- the latter isn't necessarily a lot of land, but it wipes out a lot of British ports and naval bases, absent some very frantic rebuilding, which kind of stings for a naval/trading power. Basically, Britain is going to need either a mass evacuation or a century of heroic adjustment; it's unlikely to be a major world power at this point.

Incidentally Denmark doesn't seem to suffer too badly, from a quick look at a contour map, but any nation with a liking for maritime trade has troubles. The USA loses New York, I notice.

This is a world with massive social disruption and probably megadeaths. I don't see it reverting to old patterns as early as 1914. Or even 2014.

I may have underestimated the disruption, and how many hills Denmark has, but I think you gave and argument for why this is a great adventure setting. An ongoing and bizarre crisis would be interestingly gameable.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

It's well know in the present that Neville Chamberlain blew his stack at Munich. Hitler was overawed, at first, but turned the tables on Chamberlain at the negotiating tables. In this Q6 war Chamberlain stayed mad. The Czechoslovak delegation thought the talks had collapsed and told their government the same. The Czechoslovak army gambled everything on a surprise attack. Chamberlain, disgusted with Hitler applauded the Czechs, and went home to declare war.

It's now October 1938, Germany wasn't prepared for war, especially on their territory. Stalin is eyeing his chances to take Poland. Franco is frantic because German aid has stopped. Mussolini is unsure of whether he should stay allied with Hitler or make a deal with Britain and France.

Basically, it's an extra messy start to WWII. Homeline, Centrum, and the Cabal, all have clear ideas of how they want things to go. Agents will be striking were they can to get the outcomes they want while Europe goes up in flames.

[Anders]

In 1611, Jacob de la Gardie installs the Swedish prince Carl Filip on the throne of Russia. Although the Russians have chosen their own monarch - Mikhail Romanov - the Swedish forces manage to oust him and plant Carl Filip firmly in Moscow. The two countries forge an alliance and divides Europe into spheres of interest - the Swedish get the Baltic Sea while the Russians concentrate on shattering the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

[Astromancer]

Another interesting history might be having the Time of Troubles simply not end. The Russian nobles had different goals and desires. If Michael had died before he could get the throne or the Polish War had gone differently, or the rebellion or the slave raids been more devastating, Russia might not have stayed a unified state.

When you look at the sheer size of Russia, and the difficulties of communication and travel across it's lands, it's already hard to believe the whole thing stuck together. It makes sense you'd have worlds where Russia simply never held together.

In most of these the Ottomans would either rule the Ukraine into the 19th maybe the 20th century. Sweden and Poland would likely be major powers, perhaps extending to the Urals. The vast treasure house of Siberia would be a wildcard.

I assume that Alaska would be part of Canada in such a world. Maybe the Brits would take Kamchatka and march West. Or maybe they'd march north out of India. China would certainly extend much further north.

[Astromancer]

Try this idea...

Russia as we know it never forms or simply fails to stay together. Sweden and Poland extend far to the east. The Ottoman state extends far to the north. As Poland both destroys its government to give the nobles more power and the Prussians press from the West, Sweden fills the power vacuum.

Sweden extends her empire deep into Siberian and even takes Alaska. By staying neutral in the Napoleonic wars Sweden is able to extend down the Pacific coast of North America to the Oregon Territory.

The local year in this Q6 is 1844. Neither the USA nor Sweden is prepared to let go of any part of the West Coast of North America. Britain has determined they must have a Pacific port on the coast of North America even if they must fight Sweden and the USA to have it.

Basically, frontier Napoleonic warfare. Cavalry, spies, grand strategy, all in the Pacific Northwest!

[PTTG]

With a mysterious, reclusive, and towering ape creature attacking all comers?

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by PTTG

With a mysterious, reclusive, and towering ape creature attacking all comers?

Go for it!