New Reality Seeds

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by patchwork

What's the book you're reading for this? Because I want it to work, it's more original and interesting than Fashoda, but it sounds very much like every world leader has been replaced with a 14-year-old Risk player, which is to say, flying pig country.

Old World, New World, more later.

[PTTG]

Or, one could play Diplomacy.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Old World, New World, more later.

Later has come. This link gets you to Old World, New World's Amazon page. The book is about the history of Anglo-American relations from 1607 on.

You won't believe the stuff about the mole in Wilson's White House or the simple fact that America nearly took down Britain in WWI because the Brits spent more time insulting Wilson than building bridges. Trust me this book is a fountain of gameable Alternative histories.

And yes, many 19th century statesmen were playing Risk with real nations.

[patchwork]

Originally Posted by PTTG

Or, one could play Diplomacy.

Are you kidding? I can find 6 people to play GURPS with me faster than I can find 6 people to play Diplomacy ;)

[ericthered]

I had to build a world for a game and I thought I'd share it.

Iskander -6
TL3^
Q5
978 AD

changes:
the greek state of Bactria survives the storm of the steppe tribes and thrives as part of the civilized world, starting a trend towards Greek style democracy in central, west, and southern asia.
'Life' Magic works. mages can heal, increase folk's vigor, steal youth, and animate corpses or skeletons. This doesn't work on most worlds.

By Area:
Western Europe: Pretty similar. The crusades are about to start, and for much the same reasons as OTL.
The Byzantines: Fighting with Turks and Egyptians. Still ruled by an emperor, and in control of more of Anatolia
Egypt: Fatamid rule. a little less similar. Generals have a large amount of the power.
The Turks (in control of persia): In feud with Egypt. Ruled by Democracy, though only the warrior/militia class gets a vote. This culture extends farther into central asia than traditionally.
India: Ruled by a single democratic government. Most people have votes, but not all of them, and they certainly don't count for the same amount.
The Steepes: The ancient might of the stepes has been broken by the people of Bactria, and the greek ideas. There are many roving tribes, who carry on a thriving trade with other peoples and preserve the religion of the ancient Greeks.
China: Culturally China has not changed much, though the dynasties have. If anything, the chineese are even more traditional than before. They are more aware of other places via the steepe tribes, and unable to claim a complete technological superiority they claim a spiritual one.

The world is frankly intended as background -- a world that doesn't have much going on except for trade and arguments back home about what degree of political engineering is acceptable. I was intending to use it as a place where a critical failure jump could land or a midway point on the way to something else (or even a decent place to retire people). It could see some mileage as a world turned upside down, where the Muslims practice democracy and so forth. It could also be the center of an investigation as to why magic works differently on different worlds, or the site of an intervention when one of the periodic great necromancers comes through.

[Flyndaran]

How about a world where there's a greater influx of non-homo sapiens genetic material?
A world where most non-Africans have say 20%+ neanderthal D.N.A. and east Asians have that much Denisovan D.N.A.
They seem mostly human, but it makes undisguised infiltration and study damn difficult.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I had to build a world for a game and I thought I'd share it.

Iskander -6
TL3^
Q5
978 AD

changes:
the greek state of Bactria survives the storm of the steppe tribes and thrives as part of the civilized world, starting a trend towards Greek style democracy in central, west, and southern asia.
'Life' Magic works. mages can heal, increase folk's vigor, steal youth, and animate corpses or skeletons. This doesn't work on most worlds.

By Area:
Western Europe: Pretty similar. The crusades are about to start, and for much the same reasons as OTL.
The Byzantines: Fighting with Turks and Egyptians. Still ruled by an emperor, and in control of more of Anatolia
Egypt: Fatamid rule. a little less similar. Generals have a large amount of the power.
The Turks (in control of persia): In feud with Egypt. Ruled by Democracy, though only the warrior/militia class gets a vote. This culture extends farther into central asia than traditionally.
India: Ruled by a single democratic government. Most people have votes, but not all of them, and they certainly don't count for the same amount.
The Steepes: The ancient might of the stepes has been broken by the people of Bactria, and the greek ideas. There are many roving tribes, who carry on a thriving trade with other peoples and preserve the religion of the ancient Greeks.
China: Culturally China has not changed much, though the dynasties have. If anything, the chineese are even more traditional than before. They are more aware of other places via the steepe tribes, and unable to claim a complete technological superiority they claim a spiritual one.

The world is frankly intended as background -- a world that doesn't have much going on except for trade and arguments back home about what degree of political engineering is acceptable. I was intending to use it as a place where a critical failure jump could land or a midway point on the way to something else (or even a decent place to retire people). It could see some mileage as a world turned upside down, where the Muslims practice democracy and so forth. It could also be the center of an investigation as to why magic works differently on different worlds, or the site of an intervention when one of the periodic great necromancers comes through.

It would still be a good place to adventure. It's just that the adventures would be more suited to Picaresque Rogue than to interdemenional agents. Still, those can be fine adventures.

[Astromancer]

Try this idea. You have what seems to be a stable-ish Echo on Q6 where the local year is in the early 1960's. But suddenly President Kennedy announces that certain technologies were held back by secret agencies for spying. However he's now releasing these technologies because they'll be good for the ecconomy.

The technologies are basically the microchip, PCs, and the Internet, Plus all the needed supporting tech. The President points out that the Information Revolution can't be followed by the Soviets unless they open up their society and embrace basic liberties. At the same time the President releases the news that a fusion reactor has achieved breakeven and unlimited cheap pollution free energy is just around the corner!.

Homeline is shocked. This parallel had give no indications of such changes. Is it a Centrum plot? Is it Cabal interference? A local Homeline group trying something new?

Meanwhile, try the role of a KGB man. These new technologies once integrated into American society will bring vast benefits. But the USSR can't let this suff get out of control. How do you stop this transformation of America. More to the point, who is behind this transformation and how do you stop them?

Have different groups seeking the answers to the mysteries collide with each other. Often.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

It would still be a good place to adventure. It's just that the adventures would be more suited to Picaresque Rogue than to interdemenional agents. Still, those can be fine adventures.

Thanks. I suppose you can have an adventure anywhere. Actually, Iskander-3 would probably be a great world for a Colligio Januari adventure.

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this idea. You have what seems to be a stable-ish Echo on Q6 where the local year is in the early 1960's. But suddenly President Kennedy announces that certain technologies were held back by secret agencies for spying. However he's now releasing these technologies because they'll be good for the ecconomy.

The technologies are basically the microchip, PCs, and the Internet, Plus all the needed supporting tech. The President points out that the Information Revolution can't be followed by the Soviets unless they open up their society and embrace basic liberties. At the same time the President releases the news that a fusion reactor has achieved breakeven and unlimited cheap pollution free energy is just around the corner!.

Homeline is shocked. This parallel had give no indications of such changes. Is it a Centrum plot? Is it Cabal interference? A local Homeline group trying something new?

Meanwhile, try the role of a KGB man. These new technologies once integrated into American society will bring vast benefits. But the USSR can't let this suff get out of control. How do you stop this transformation of America. More to the point, who is behind this transformation and how do you stop them?

Have different groups seeking the answers to the mysteries collide with each other. Often.

Point of view of the KGB man isn't about stopping things. Its of co-opting them. Universal surveillance is now accessible! You can even have the computer sort through things to show only the most suspicious places. You build your version of the internet -- one all the dictators* of the world favor, one with central control rather than this impossible to regulate mess the capitalists are pushing. And hacking -- oh, these americans need to work on their security!

*its worth noting that throughout the cold war only a few key nations on the capitalist block were democracies. Korea wasn't. Spain wasn't. Most of africa and south america wasn't. It was only at the very end that democracy started becoming more common. Very few countries were democracies before 1980.

More from the generator:

Bleda-2:
TL 3, Q6, Year 631

only a few great names are remembered 1,500 years after they died. One of them is the infamous Attila the Hun, who knocked over the failing western roman empire. In this timeline, his brother-king Bleda survived the assasintation attempt by Attila and killed his brother in combat. The scandal knocked over the hun empire before it got off the ground, and the immense pressure on rome by the Germanic peoples never materialized.

200 years later, both empires are in a renaissance, though both are on uneasy terms with each other. The empires of east and west speak different languages and the famous east-west schism has shown up early. They still acknowledge each other as members of Christendom and the civilized world. They also have their own enemies to fight: the Western empire is facing down the steppe warriors on the edge of Germany, while the eastern empire is dealing with a sudden influx of warriors from arabia, preaching a new religion with the gall to call Christians polytheists.

[fredtheobviouspseudonym]

I have a version of Dar al-Othman that might be of interest but it's too long to put into this forum.