New Reality Seeds

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

In this low manna, Q6 parallel in the local year 1935 a cowboy brought to the attention of the US Government a Subterranean City. The city of Murania wasn't thrilled to be discovered, but they soon accepted diplomatic relationships.

By 1941 American labs had large amounts of advanced technology. Muranian Aerospace plane designs were built by the USA. Then FDR had these planes make a big show of flying from Chicago to London. Hitler, Tojo, and Stalin were all shocked. When the USA showed that its new jets had a planetary range and that they could bomb anyone that crossed them, Hitler, Tojo, and Stalin were all a little sick.

Basically, the PCs are brave tough G-Men fighting hard to preserve America's military secrets against all comers.

The Muranians were TL12, but they don't understand that much of their own technology anymore. They are relearning their own history. What that will mean is unknown as of yet.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

In the later 1970s, a young woman who had become a way overenthusiastic New Ager overdid it with exotic mushrooms. Arabella Cabot-Lodge in most parallels either dies or goes insane, In this parallel, she broke through.

She woke up a powerful telepath with no skills and the uncontrollable disadvantage. The shock knocked tons of ditziness out of her and woke up the crusty New Englander in her soul. By 1983 she could control her own powers and could help others turn their own powers own.

The Soviet Union collapsed as on Homeline. Soviet Psi research got a serious examination. It was mainly bunk. By that time Arabella had about five thousand awakened Psions in her program.

Basically, Homeline, Centrum, and the Cabal, in a version of 90s America all striving to get influence in or over a group of new and inexperienced Psions.

Most of the Psions fall into one of three categories. A) Military bureaucrats looking to get in on the ground floor of something new and important, B) academics fascinated with a new field of study, or a new way to study older fields, and C) thrillseekers who think they are big-shot mystic now. There are exceptions both good and bad.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

On this Merlin*, the Hellstorms didn't spawn until the second nuke went off over Hiroshima. This means that, in addition to the US Southwest, Japan, Korea, and parts of China and Russia have the same mana level. Weirdly, no other nuclear blast has caused a Hellstorm, which worries parachronic scientists more because they don't know what caused the two storms in the first place.

* (What are we on? 6? Honestly, I would call this Merlin-Anime, because that's how I'd run it. ;P)

[fchase8]

Originally Posted by SilvercatMoonpaw

On this Merlin*, the Hellstorms didn't spawn until the second nuke went off over Hiroshima. This means that, in addition to the US Southwest, Japan, Korea, and parts of China and Russia have the same mana level. Weirdly, no other nuclear blast has caused a Hellstorm, which worries parachronic scientists more because they don't know what caused the two storms in the first place.

* (What are we on? 6? Honestly, I would call this Merlin-Anime, because that's how I'd run it. ;P)

There are three Merlins in GURPS Infinite Worlds, so this could be Merlin-4.

Or "Merlinme", if you want the "cyber + anime = Cyberme" of that canon timeline.


This world would have two Hellstorms, in US Southwest and Asian Northeast?

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Originally Posted by fchase8

This world would have two Hellstorms, in US Southwest and Asian Northeast?

Technomancer has two Hellstorms: don't forget the one in Antarctica.

Yeah, one in the usual spot in the US, and one centered around Hiroshima, Japan (which might reach sightly different stuff than I said: I don't know what the radius of these things' effect is supposed to be).

EDIT: Also, the "no more bombs caused Hellstorms" thing isn't necessary: I just put it in at random.

[Astromancer]

Another way to twist the Technomancer setting would be for alchemists to come to a deep understanding of the Hellstorms. This understanding would allow the recreations of smaller, weaker, but far less toxic than the first Hellstorms. And the same insights would allow the reduction and detoxification of the Trinity and Antarctic Hellstorms.

Thus there would be multiple areas of high manna and normal manna around the planet. In the USA, because of the influence of the first Hellstorm, these areas are stable and cheap to set up. Elsewhere, certain types of ancient mystic sites are good places to set up a High Manna area. But highly expensive and unstable areas of High or normal manna can be set up anywhere, but it is expensive and has risks.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Kyrpton-17


This Q6 parallel has had superheroes since the 1930s. Most have been basically hypercompetent mortals like Batman or Nick Fury. 700 to 1,000 point characters in GURPS terms, but with no superpowers. There were at any time between 1938 and 2023 (the local present) three to eight beings with actual superpowers active. They were rarely much stronger than the late 1930s Superman. As interesting as these figures were, they had little influence on the wider world besides a few areas of technology, mainly spaceflight and fusion power generation. Kyrpton-17 is solidly TL9 in both fields and advanced beyond Homeline. Otherwise, Kyrpton-17 is roughly half a decade ahead of most near parallels of Homeline in most of its technology.

However, all of that will soon change, a full-court mad scientist has found a way to turn on latent superpowers and to induce the latent genetic state into people with no traits for superpowers at all. Individuals with induced superpowers are placed in one of six categories.

1) The Archetype: Think Superman. In GURPS terms, look in GURPS: Supers at the Archetype. These are roughly 50% of supers.

2) Mentalists-These are 700 to 1,200 point Psions. Almost all of these folks have some telepathy. These are just above 10% of supers.

3) Shapeshifters- From Beast Boy to Plastic Man, 500 to 800 points of metamorphic power, roughly 10% of supers.

4) Blasters-These people generate and project force. They are 500 to 800 points of living artillery and are just over 10% of supers.

5) Elementalists- these folks control and manipulate the natural world and natural forces like the wind, weather, animals, plants, and the Earth itself. They are 800 to 1,500 point characters and just under 10% of supers.

6) Wildcards-These folks are either blends of other types like Red Dragon a Welsh super who is an Archetype and an Elementalist or exotic supers whose powers can't fit other categories like Chornonaut who experiences her whole timeline at once and has changed the past and, according to her, the future. These folks are roughly 9% of supers.

So far, society seems normal, but there are now 2,500 supers on this parallel's Earth, and there could be several million in a few years.

Centrum is freaked, but they want the formula. Homeline and the Cabal both want the formula, and want to see what happens to society. Homeline for scholarly and safety reasons, Cabal to see if this might show them ways for mages to rule directly.

Also, Swagmen might discover this world first and get the treatment themselves giving Homeline, Centrum, and the Cabal, something to track down.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Due to long struggles with the Holy Roman Empire and the Hanseatic League weakened the Kingdom of Norway earlier in this parallel than in Homeline history. A noble, Trygve Haraldson, who in most worlds had far better opportunities in Norway than England, contacted Edward III in 1352 and told him of lands west of Greenland. Lands that extended beyond anything claimed by the Norse kings. The Merchants of Bristol had known about these lands well before this time because they regularly traded with the Greenlanders. In fact, many Greenlanders emigrated from Greenland to Bristol (or at least there's evidence for this in Homeline history).

Although Edward couldn't back any exploration with funds he could give permission to explore and the right to claim lands. Given the fact that Trygve and his Merchant allies had money and ships, freedom to act was enough. By 1384, the small fishing stations that were established for the fishermen out of Bristol to dry their catch, had large numbers of permanent settlers who were sent there after the Peasants' Revolt. These stations quickly became small towns that raised crops and livestock. Pigs were a major food item for the settlers. With vast forests for the pigs to run free in, pork became the primary meat of the settlers.

As in Homeline history, once pigs were on North American soil their numbers exploded. The pigs were a shock to the Native Americans, a tasty shock, but a shock. The pigs, as in Homeline history, spread out over North America far far faster than European exploration. As in Homeline history, the pigs also brought plagues unknown to the Native Americans.

Now in the year 1426, in the midst of the Tepanec War disease has come into the Valley of Mexico along with the strange tasty new animals. The Aztecs quickly learn how easy it is to breed these new meat animals. Still, the empire needs a ruler, many of the claimants to the throne died in the plague. You were of the royal blood, but far from the throne. Now you have a chance to claim the throne if you can build an alliance and defeat the pretenders.

Basically, an altered GURPS: Aztecs with the basic plot of the War of the Roses or Game of Thrones stitched in.

Although it's set among the Maya Kings of the Sun is a good inspirational material.If you can find it The Feathered Serpent, which is set among the Aztecs, would both be inspirational and a good place to get NPC ideas. Especially Patrick Troughton as the scheming High Priest Nasca.

[David Johnston2]

Justinian-1: Justinian-1 diverges from the point where Emperor Justinian doesn't make the mistake of trying to reclaim the western half of the Roman Empire. Instead he concentrates on the the threat posed by the Parthians. As a result a thousand years later instead of being on it's last legs, the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire (or as they call it, "The Roman Empire") is the most powerful realm in Christendom while France and Italy have both fallen to Islamic invaders. Meanwhile no Christopher Columbus has risen up to begin the Age of Colonization.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

In 1955 aliens contact the major nations of the planet Earth. They seek diplomatic ties. Earth's star system is a very good place to place hyperspatial gates. London, New York, and Tokyo are chosen as sites for the planetside starbases.

Over time, there is technological and cultural influence from the Aliens on the Earth. By 2004 (the local year) humanity is on the edge of TL9, but not there yet. There are human communities around distant starports spread over half the galaxy.

With the simple fact of advanced aliens, there were big cultural changes. The West became more internationalist. The Communist East became isolationist and sad/fearful. The nonaligned world seemed to undergo a collapse of confidence.

Homeline, Centrum, and the Cabal are all trying to gain both knowledge of the galaxy beyond our solar system and any and all data on the aliens. The Cabal is especially fascinated because the Aliens openly use magic.

Basically, it's espionage in a setting where the limits of what's plausible aren't easily understood.