New Reality Seeds

[Astromancer]

This world is a weird parallel in many ways. It has magic, but of a different kind, or rather kinds. But otherwise seems a lot like Homeline in the 1980's. The trick of enchanting tech beyond TL3 hasn't been figured out yet but Wizards and Wizardesses as the local magic users are called (Witches, Warlocks, and Sorcerers, are storybook villains) provide useful services and are part of the communities they live in. But there are catches.

First there are two types of Manna available. Red manna, which is effectively high manna to use, and green manna, which is effectively low manna to use. Red Manna is poisonous to both the user and to those around them. Red Manna users either deteriorate into corpse like paranoid sociopaths, or they stunt the mystic toxins off toward others who die of cancers and similarly painful illnesses. Green Magic both tends to heal, strengthen, and beautify, it's users and creates a zone of healing energies (weak but useful) around sites of regular use of green magic. Native born mages in this world always start out with Magery Zero (or as they think of it Base Wizardry). Those working in green magic can, as they learn to cast spells, also gain levels of Green Wizardry (Green Aspected Magery) equal to half their IQ rounded down. They must wait at least two seasons (Winter to Summer, Spring to Fall, etc..) to buy another level. Red Wizards can buy up to their IQ in Red Wizardry (Red Aspected Magery). They must wait one lunar cycle between buying levels of Red Wizardry.

Green Mages tend to flaunt their bodies and good looks. It helps them socially by proving they are the safe respectable mages. Red Mages also need to flaunt their bodies because it's a capital offense to be a Red Mage. So Red Mages must pass for Green Mages or else. Note: No matter how careful you are to stunt the destructive aspects of Red Wizardry off onto others, and to use magic to make yourself look good, Red Wizards and Wizardesses always lose first their fertility, then their sexual function of any kind, and finally they lose their external sex organs. Autopsies of Red Wizards often can't determine what sex they started as.

Homeline and Centrum both want to learn the local secrets and recruit Mages for their ranks, so does the Cabal. All groups want to learn the secrets of the local magics.

Complicating this is the fact that the local cultures count Wizard folk as a third gender. They count neither as men nor women and dress as neither. They wizard-folk wear fairly flamboyant takes on the storybook Wizard's star covered robes and pointed hat. They tend to show more skin than the storybook wizards. If you want to talk shop with a Wizard you'll have to dress the part. They aren't to give out their lore to non-Wizards. The broader society demands this as a safety precaution against hidden Red Wizards.

Further, Wizards for sexual purposes, count as the gender or genders you're attracted to. So anyone dressed as a Wizard is seen as available. And as Green Wizard need to flaunt their bodies and sexual prowess, Wizards have a reputation for being easy. Wizards that aren't "easy" are suspected of being Red Wizards and subject to arrest. Most local Wizards either get into exclusive relationships or fake it for the sake of a quiet life.

Note: Out world mages will notice the available Manna types. They can choose to use either type while on this world. But once they make their first choice that's it. What ever manna they use first decides permanently what type of manna they can use from then onward. Local mages just starting out aren't fixed to one or the other until they go beyond Base Wizardry. After that they can't change.

[Astromancer]

Try this one....

A sailor that in most parallels sailed on a ship that went down with all hands chose a different ship. Later he sailed with the Portuguese and even got to China. Perhaps the first English sailor to sail to there all the way.

While in China, the sailor, who's uncle (mother's brother) was a blacksmith, saw and understood the advantages of the Box Bellows. In Homeline history, the Box Bellows didn't get to Europe until the later 17th century. In this world our young sailor, Robert Farmer, introduced the Box Bellows to England in the reign of Henry VIII. By the Later Elizabethan Scientific Revolution ( Read Christopher Hill's Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution) the greater heat and purity of the flames you could get with a Box Bellows has English metallurgy at almost TL5. Watch makers are competing to see who can make a watch accurate enough to reckon longitude for oceanic navigation. The Spanish are both terrified and intrigued. All Europe wants the secret of Longitude for themselves alone.

It's an espionage game set in the last years of Elizabeth's reign. Complete with technothriller elements.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

King James' eldest son Prince Henry Frederick died at the age of 18. However, on this Q6 low manna world, he merely had the sniffles. His close friendship with Sir Walter Raleigh and his patronage of Sir Francis Bacon and the Gresham School, led to a major reform of education in Britain. A simple look at the early seventeenth century curriculum will show something far more like a modern University. Oxford, in Homeline history, refused to teach chemistry until well into the 18th century. Here, Oxford and Cambridge gave degrees in chemistry in the 1620's!

The local year is 1630, we're in the fifth year of Henry IX reign England is involved in a sea war with Spain and allied with France and the Protestants in the Thirty Years War. Britain's ships are functionally TL5 Sailing Ships. Britain also has chronometers and thus TL5 navigation. Thus Britain is punching far above it's weight.

Centrum likes this world. They like the fact that Cromwell is known to King Henry and working on reforming the army. They see a English speaking superpower rising nicely with no threat of democracy. Mixed government they don't mind, but democracy scares them. Meanwhile, Homeline's France sees the threat that an early rise of Britain would mean to the dominance of Neo-Classical France! French culture must prevail!

Meanwhile, science and magic have fuzzy borders in this world. The Cabal loves that. They're in and recruiting.

Shakespeare in most worlds dies in 1616 and stops writing new plays by 1611. In this world, Shakespeare lived to be 63 and kept writing plays until his last year. These new plays were hits on Homeline and Shakespeare memorabilia from this parallel are widely sought. Which means aggressive swagmen competing with literary researchers for texts and evidence.

[Astromancer]

Centrum, Homeline, and the Cabal, are all trying to find out if someone else has a plot going or if this Q6 Low Manna parallel in the year 1645. Shortly after the Battle of Naseby the Prince of Wales was caught by Parliamentary forces. While trying to escape imprisonment in a manor house, the Prince fell and broke his neck dying a week later.

Centrum hates this. Charles II was one of England's most important kings. His younger brother James lacked the Charisma of his father and brother and always seemed treacherous even when he wasn't. No monarchist would have invited him back to rule England, and it's certain that the practical clemency that Charles II gave, forgiving all but the regicides and embracing tolerance would never occur to James. Thus a restoration of the House of Stuart, or any other kings looks unlikely.

This means that the direction of this parallel's England is unpredictable. Will radical Protestantism, Egalitarian Politics, Scientific Inquiry, and Increased Civil Liberties, continue to remain linked? Will England pursue a Colonial Empire? Will England get involved in Louis XIV's wars (Louis paid Charles II to stay out unless Louis wanted him as an ally) and get invaded by a reactionary French army determined to restore Monarchy and tradition?

Centrum is pushing for reaction, the Cabal is seeking advantage, Homeline just doesn't want the locals steamrollered by outsiders.

[Prince Charon]

There are other relatives of the Stuarts and Tudors available, one or more of whom a few monarchists might latch on to (e.g. the Duke of Cumberland, or one of the Winter Queen's other children). Difficult to say which one, it's not a period of history that I know a lot of details on, but that much I do know. The Cabal might well choose to back one particular prince, and if their careful about it, could probably compromise with Homeline. Centrum, not so much.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

There are other relatives of the Stuarts and Tudors available, one or more of whom a few monarchists might latch on to (e.g. the Duke of Cumberland, or one of the Winter Queen's other children). Difficult to say which one, it's not a period of history that I know a lot of details on, but that much I do know. The Cabal might well choose to back one particular prince, and if their careful about it, could probably compromise with Homeline. Centrum, not so much.

Given some of the allies of the Winter Queen, the Cabal could be very interested in putting their person on the throne. Centrum would be focused on getting a stable period of reaction, but not to reactionary. The pro-science anti-magic, anti-radical tilt of the Restoration as run by Charles Stuart was absolutely perfect for them.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

In 1916 ,or at least 1916 in this Q6 parallel, Woodrow Wilson is Assassinated. The Democrats haven't even had their convention. This threw the nomination to Champ Clark. In his own ways, Clark was as controversial as Wilson. His hope to bring all of Canada into the USA, which he loudly stated in the floor of the US House of Representatives, being typical of his gaffs. This led to Charles Evans Hughes winning the election.

It's now late November 1916, Centrum, Homeline, the Cabal, all want to know how Hughes will react to pressures both to enter and stay out of the War in Europe. There will also be plans to force Hughes to see things their way. Centrum wants America to enter the war and to act as Britain and France's subaltern. The independence shown by Wilson is unattractive to them. Homeline's Britain, France, and Russia, want similar things. The ICOPs are for letting the man make his own decisions. The Cabal wants to prolong the war in Europe by any and all means and thus prefers a neutral America for a while longer.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one...

In 1916 ,or at least 1916 in this Q6 parallel, Woodrow Wilson is Assassinated. The Democrats haven't even had their convention. This threw the nomination to Champ Clark. In his own ways, Clark was as controversial as Wilson. His hope to bring all of Canada into the USA, which he loudly stated in the floor of the US House of Representatives, being typical of his gaffs. This led to Charles Evans Hughes winning the election.

It's now late November 1916, Centrum, Homeline, the Cabal, all want to know how Hughes will react to pressures both to enter and stay out of the War in Europe. There will also be plans to force Hughes to see things their way. Centrum wants America to enter the war and to act as Britain and France's subaltern. The independence shown by Wilson is unattractive to them. Homeline's Britain, France, and Russia, want similar things. The ICOPs are for letting the man make his own decisions. The Cabal wants to prolong the war in Europe by any and all means and thus prefers a neutral America for a while longer.

Hmm. Well, Homeline's Germany, Israel, and Poland will most likely all want to prevent the rise of the Nazis (and any similarly extremist ideology in Germany), which means preventing the backstabber myth and making sure that the Treaty of Versailles (or equivalent) isn't as harsh to Germany. Keeping the USA neutral would help with that, as it means fewer fresh troops suddenly arriving at the Western Front.

Also, Mossad will likely be inclined to go in and preemptively kill people who would have been prominent Nazis, but by this point they're probably aware that just killing the people who were infamous Nazis on Homeline isn't necessarily going to prevent something like the Holocaust later on.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

This world's history diverged in the primordial past, but the change, an additional land mass went unknown until the 14th century. In most worlds, the Azores are a small group of islands around 908 square miles in area (for comparison, Luxembourg is 998 square miles in area, and Randolph County West Virginia, where I sit right now, is 1,040 square miles in area.) In this Q6 parallel the Azores are one landmass, which got named Antillia (after the mythic island) and has an area of roughly 62,000 square miles, about three-fourths the size of Ireland.

The soils are rich and the climate excellent for agriculture. There are large flightless birds on the island which are easily domesticated and delicious (basically sheep sized pheasants). The island rapidly becomes settled and has a population larger than mainland Portugal (mainly because the climate is better for agriculture and the land can support more people per acre).

The local year is 1825, and the locals aren't happy. The Portuguese crown taxes them heavily but provides no services. The people of Antillia are treated as third class citizens in Portugal proper and Lisbon only sends out lazy or incompetent younger sons to run the island administration and no local can have any say in the government.

Many voices whisper about the injustice and the Inquistition, citing the godlessness of the French Revolution, brutal represses all dissent. Still, a mysterious group of people calling themselves the Raposos (Foxes) strike back against both the Portuguese tax collectors and the Inquisition!

Basically, this is a blend of Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel, with lashings of the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. Swash that buckle!

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

In this world ancient aliens did show up. They saw humanity starting civilization and decided they could use some of these as slaves. Fortunately, for the aliens, slaves were for sale in many markets. So, from the days of Narmer's first dynasty, until almost the time of Alexander the Great, humans were taken from Earth through the slave markets.

Now in this parallel's 1950 flying saucers have landed in many of Earth's capitals. The some of descendants of those slaves have managed to get their freedom and want to reconnect with Earth. They used the long restricted jump portal in the outer solar system to return to Earth and discover their heritage.

Homeline, Centrum, and the Cabal, are both freaked and intrigued by this Q6 low manna world, which is otherwise just another echo of Homeline although advanced in space technology and with it's first manned satellites. All three world jumping powers want to know what the aliens know. All three see the off-Earth humans as key to their learning these things.