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Old 12-19-2012, 08:00 AM   #21
samd6
 
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Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

By request, I'm crossposting some of my stuff from the spacebattles thread.

I just realized reality-earth's big edge. We have the internet.
We have widespread, powerful information systems. We have data transfer rates measured in Gigabytes/seconds, use far more of the EM spectrum, and use it more efficiently.

...

Internet elementals!

Hear me, o spirit of Spacebattles.
Your servant humbly requests more DAKKA!
That I might smite my enemies
With biggatons
And drive others insane.

Hear me, Google, Wikipedia, and Wolfram
For I have a question and seek answers

TvTropes, please
Tell me a story

Okay, figure out the spells and powers available to people with Power Investiture(Internet). The powers probably relate to the purpose of the site, so people who use the thoughtforms of Google and other search engines get information based powers, etc.
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Old 12-19-2012, 08:12 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Charon View Post
Not sure how to define the stats for the 'banished or destroyed if fetish is destroyed' disad, but most likely, someone already has something close enough.
Try Weakness with enough Reduced Time to reduce the rate of of damage to instantaneously. Or, if you want to give the spirit a moment for a dying blow, 1-HP/sec (or more).

PS: Excellent setting. Nice work!
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Old 12-19-2012, 08:31 AM   #23
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This is simply fabulous world-building! Kudos, Prince Charon -- really nice work.
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Old 12-19-2012, 05:08 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerander View Post
Try Weakness with enough Reduced Time to reduce the rate of of damage to instantaneously. Or, if you want to give the spirit a moment for a dying blow, 1-HP/sec (or more).

PS: Excellent setting. Nice work!
Right, that should work, though your phrasing confused me for a bit. Thanks.
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Originally Posted by Figleaf23 View Post
This is simply fabulous world-building! Kudos, Prince Charon -- really nice work.
Thank you.

Have been thinking about things that wouldn't fit in the main posts, but would be useful to know, especially if anyone wants to cross this with Infinity. First of all, the psychic magic of this setting has no dependence on mana level. Instead, it depends on Sanctity (Thaumatology pp68-69, and the boxed text on p126), which varies a great deal with the type of spirit. Unless intentionally created, there are no true 'no sanctity' regions on these worlds, in the sense that even if you can't contact spirits, you can still create them, just without any outside help. There are, however, regions that are effectively no sanctity for specific types of spirits. Such regions are often high sanctity for some other type of spirit.

For example (and thanks, samd6):
Quote:
Originally Posted by samd6 View Post
By request, I'm crossposting some of my stuff from the spacebattles thread.

I just realized reality-earth's big edge. We have the internet.
We have widespread, powerful information systems. We have data transfer rates measured in Gigabytes/seconds, use far more of the EM spectrum, and use it more efficiently.

...

Internet elementals!

Hear me, o spirit of Spacebattles.
Your servant humbly requests more DAKKA!
That I might smite my enemies
With biggatons
And drive others insane.

Hear me, Google, Wikipedia, and Wolfram
For I have a question and seek answers

TvTropes, please
Tell me a story

Okay, figure out the spells and powers available to people with Power Investiture(Internet). The powers probably relate to the purpose of the site, so people who use the thoughtforms of Google and other search engines get information based powers, etc.
Major 'Net cafés and other popular hotspots will tend to be high sanctity for Internet spirits (very few, important ones, generally related to DARPA and the Arpanet, will be very high sanctity), while less popular ones, as well as locations where just one person communes with the Internet regularly would tend to be normal sanctity (even if you also eat and sleep there). Most modern cities and towns on OTL-Earth will be at least low sanctity, while areas where you can't get reception at all, and aren't connected to a phone line would effectively be no sanctity for purposes of calling the spirits of the Internet.

On the other hand, almost totally the opposite is true of many Nature spirits, who tend to prefer virgin wilderness, or at least a nice park. Central Park in NYC would tend to be low sanctity for both, though it's probably easier to summon Nature spirits there at night, when 'the animals come out', simply because that type of phrase and/or attitude has been used so much. For specific Nature spirits, like nymphs, one tree, one hill or mountain, one river or lake, one section of an ocean, and so forth, would be normal or high sanctity, because she is the Nymph of Mount Parnassus, or the Nymph of the River Rubicon, or the Nymph of that one oak tree - very high sanctity requires a powerful nymph, and tends to be confined to a small area, like the summit of Mt Parnassus. River & lake, hill & mountain, meadow, and sea nymphs tend to be more enduring than tree nymphs, though even they can be harmed by damage to their domain, or sickened, corrupted, and/or driven mad by pollution. Interestingly, some very old canals and other artificial formations may also have nymphs associated with them, though they tend to be less wild - that doesn't mean they're friendly, though, especially if their domain started out polluted.

In terms of actual mana levels (as that's going to matter to the Cabal, at least), Steampunk Earth and OTL Earth are mostly low mana with variations, including some spots of wild mana - but they don't seem to have had this for very long (possibly only since the Event), and have no native mages or magical beings. Dieselpunk Earth seems to be mostly no mana, except for a few spots with other varieties, and Fantasy Earth is ironically a completely no mana world. Clockpunk Earth is weird and dangerous: it's a very low/wild mana world. For those who don't know, wild mana (Thaumatology p59) means that every success is a critical success, but every failure is a critical failure - actual critical successes and failures can be quite spectacular. Very low mana, on the other hand, gives a -10 penalty to spellcasting. See what I mean by dangerous?
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Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.

Last edited by Prince Charon; 03-09-2013 at 06:45 AM.
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Old 12-23-2012, 06:53 AM   #25
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Just updated the first Steampunk post, to fix the crunch note: I realised that the Single-Minded advantage fit both the text and my intentions better than a perk or quirk would. Still not sure about the cost of the artistic limitations, though I'm leaning toward -10% for 'Only While Being Artistic', since Basic Set - Characters has 'Only while playing the trumpet' at -20%. Mind you, 'being artistic' in this context doesn't mean just using an artistic skill - might change it to 'Only while in a creative mood', but that's harder to judge.

Rather less sure about the correct cost of 'Always Activated when being Artistic' (which should probably be rephrased), as it doesn't mean that the Wild Talent activates more than once per game session per level, just that until the limitation is bought off, the character can't avoid activating it when 'doing art', unless the advantage is used up for this session. Suggestions, or should I pm PK for help? Don't really want to bother him for this, unless no-one else has a clear idea.

On another note, a clarification: many new thoughtforms that aren't bound to a fetish have the version of Terminally Ill which is unnamed but described on p35 of GURPS Spirits (under Spirit Weaknesses). In short, they must make a Will roll once a month, or lose a level of HT. If they reach HT 0, they 'die'. Most have an even stricter version, dissipating the first time they fail the roll. Really not sure how much either version is worth in 4e, but the former is probably close to the cost of 'Terminally Ill (Up to one year)' [-75]. This disadvantage can be bought off or reduced if the spirit lasts long enough, and 'eating' other thoughtforms will either grant a bonus to the Will roll, or allow the spirit to skip it. As they frequently have some version of the Mindless Spirit template on Spirits p36 (though usually without a taboo trait of 'No mental skills', because their tasks often require mental skills, they just rarely can improve them, nor learn new ones), they usually fail these rolls, due to having a Will of 8. Generally, it's the ones without the Mindless template that grow to become full spirits.

Also, it's rare for a new thoughtform to have any level of Astral Armor, unless they were created for a task that requires it (in which case it often has the Expansion technique, or a similar enhancement). More mature and powerful thoughtforms, like those that a PC might end up fighting, frequently do have some level of Astral Armor.

A clarification on Dp-Earth's magic: when I mentioned Thaumatology: Age of Gold as a good example, that was specifically a matter of feel. It is not meant to imply that the magic system in Age of Gold is exactly that used on Dp-Earth. The traditions on pp17 & 18 are the most common Energy Accumulating styles, along with an adaptation of the Ritual Path Magic system from GURPS Monster Hunters (which is called 'Neo-Sephirothic' on Dp-Earth), but are not the only ones, nor is there a lack of Effect Shaping styles. Also, Path/Book Adept is certainly available to Dp-Earth PCs, at least in high-level games.
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Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
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Old 12-27-2012, 05:57 AM   #26
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How do you think the public and various governments will react to the Event?

How is the 'you' of this timeline dealing with it (remember, you're a gamer, thus weird enough to get powers, within the general limits described in the Overflow section and the magic system notes)?

EDIT: How long do you think it will take, before the fact that many people on OTL-Earth have active and useful psi powers becomes difficult to deny? There's tens of millions, even if most have fairly subtle powers.


Also, an addition to the timeline:

February 27, 2013: After over two months of bitching, whining, and screaming in numerous parts of the US government (which got quite a bit louder when the probe from Dp-Earth arrived), and zillions of threads on many forums, the space assets of the United States Air Force (and other parts of the US military) are transferred to a new service: the United Stated Space Force. While the new service contains personnel from all branches, the ranks and much of the insignia (along with, in theory, the traditions) are those of the USAF, with minor modifications, such as the 'Airman' ranks being renamed 'Astronaut'. The uniforms are based on a style that was considered for the USAF, but ultimately rejected:

http://i.imgur.com/iNKW3.jpg

The budget of the new service cuts significantly into the budgets of the other military services (hence much of the screaming). NASA's facilities and personnel are mostly absorbed into the USSF, as well. The remainder of the agency is practically reduced to the space equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.

Last edited by Prince Charon; 12-27-2012 at 06:02 AM.
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Old 12-27-2012, 06:15 AM   #27
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While the new service contains personnel from all branches, the ranks and much of the insignia (along with, in theory, the traditions) are those of the USAF, with minor modifications, such as the 'Airman' ranks being renamed 'Astronaut'.
I think they'd be more likely to be named "Spaceman", actually. "Astronaut" traditionally indicates an Officer, or someone with a similar level of training to Officers.
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Old 12-27-2012, 05:44 PM   #28
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The senior officers in the Air Force Space Command are overjoyed of course.
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Old 12-29-2012, 07:45 AM   #29
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I think they'd be more likely to be named "Spaceman", actually. "Astronaut" traditionally indicates an Officer, or someone with a similar level of training to Officers.
Maybe. Have to think about that. I chose 'Astronaut' because it's gender-neutral, like the uniforms.
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The senior officers in the Air Force Space Command are overjoyed of course.
Well, about that, yes. The bits leading up to it that I'm going to post below, not so much. Also, the remainder of the USAF isn't exactly overjoyed about this, even if they did get to keep the cyberwarfare units.

Now, the additions to the timeline (including the one above, for completeness):

Date Uncertain (suggestions, please), but probably in January 2013, if not December 2012: Israel and Nazi Germany declare war on each other, and on any nation allied with the other.

February 2: Three multi-stage rockets are launched from Peenemünde, on Dp-Earth. The upper stages mate in orbit, and then seem to vanish.

Feb. 5: The domed cities on the Moon of Dp-Earth begin flashing their lights in morse code, and specifically in English. The messages request that men be sent from OTL-Earth to help them repair their cities, and for social and reproductive purposes. It seems that about fifteen-sixteen years ago, they lost a war with the She-Devils of Venus, who killed all the adults, and killed or kidnapped all the boys. They also smashed all the 'infomats' they could find, and left the remaining girls to die a very slow death. They've managed to learn enough by trial and error, with the help of the remaining infomats and servo-bots, that they're not dead yet, but they fear they don't have much longer. They also request that we don't transmit their existence where the Dp-Earth humans will hear it, as they're still at the stage of oppressing women, whereas 'the cultures on your world that use this language' mostly aren't - or at least, are the least barbaric of many barbarians.

Feb. 8: British Experimental Rocket Group, Incorporated chartered in the UK, along with the subsidiary War Rocket Ltd.

Feb. 14: The 'Valentine's Gift' (only called that by OTL-Earth, due to time differences), a rocket containing Victorian scientists, engineers, military personnel, and ambassadors, along with various supplies, plans, and books, is launched from British Guiana, on Stp-Earth, and enters a course for Dp-Earth. The journey will take three months, and the vessel will need to be rebuilt, to return.

Feb. 17: An odd collection of British and other Commonwealth aviation and space enthusiasts and investors who didn't buy into BERG Inc. purchase the rights to revive Handley Page, Ltd., as an air- and space-craft manufacturer. Corporate headquarters are in New Zealand, though factories are purchased or planned throughout the Commonwealth.

Feb. 19: The members of the Commonwealth of Nations begin ratifying the Treaty of New Delhi, the founding document of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, or 'UNIT', a military group dedicated to the defense of the Commonwealth and it's members and peoples from threats of an extraterrestrial, paranormal, or otherwise extraordinary nature.

Feb. 20: A particle spray comparable to that of the Dieselpunk probe occurs, but no object is seen. Triangulation of the particles suggests that whatever caused it, came from DP-Earth.

Feb. 23: Around 50 miles up, three large, teardrop-shaped objects, along with what appears to be a small booster and a missile bus, become visible. From 14:21 to 15:03 GMT, the teardrop-shapes objects, apparently kinetic kill vehicles, impact the cities of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel; London, England; and Washington DC, USA. Shortly thereafter, Hitler announces his ability to strike the 'untermenchen' anywhere, at any time, invisibly (though the fact that the Nazis aren't using their cloaking device inside Dp-Earth's atmosphere may indicate a weakness - OOC, the faint atmospheric pressure at 50 miles above sea level is enough to disrupt the cloaking field, especially at that speed).

Radii of serious damage (the actual craters are rather smaller):

http://i.imgur.com/1TKS0.png
Tel Aviv-Yafo

http://i.imgur.com/sKIzM.png
London

http://i.imgur.com/x9F7k.png
Washington (not to scale with the other two, due to metric/Imperial measurement issues)

Later analysis of astronomical photos recorded along the course the missile must have taken (astronomer, amateur or otherwise, take pictures of the night sky all the time, and a few were looking in the right places at the right times) show blurry patches at approximately where and when the missile must ave been. Likewise, precise analysis of satellite orbits shows gravitic anomalies consistent with it's estimated mass. Radar stations aimed at space did note small anomalies along that course, as well, though at the time, not enough to confirm its presence. Now that they know what to look for, the next ones probably won't slip through quite as easily.

February 27, 2013: After over two months of bitching, whining, and screaming in numerous parts of the US government (which got quite a bit louder when the probe from Dp-Earth arrived, and much quieter and more focused since the 23rd), and zillions of threads on many forums, the space assets of the United States Air Force (and other parts of the US military) are transferred to a new service: the United States Space Force. While the new service contains personnel from all branches, the ranks and much of the insignia (along with, in theory, the traditions) are those of the USAF, with minor modifications, such as the 'Airman' ranks being renamed 'Astronaut'. The Class A uniforms are based on a style that was considered for the USAF, but ultimately rejected:

http://i.imgur.com/iNKW3.jpg

The budget of the new service cuts significantly into the budgets of the other military services (hence much of the screaming). NASA's facilities and personnel are mostly absorbed into the USSF, as well. The remainder of the agency is reduced almost to the space equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration.
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
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Old 12-29-2012, 08:47 AM   #30
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This is awesome. I particularly love that it had to be the Space Force.

As for what'd happen to the 'you' in this setting (or, for that matter, the 'me'):
Quote:
The abilities gained are generally consistent with the individual's beliefs, interests, and personality - someone who believes they have a particular power, or strongly wants it, will gain some version of it, albeit generally an unimpressive version, at first - Star Wars fans who 'feel the Force', martial artists with (weaker versions of) the legendary and/or cinematic powers of their style, D&D gamers with a Path style based on the Schools of Magic in that game, or a Book style based on the feats and powers of their favorite class (at barely first level), and so forth.
This seems to limit the gift only to those gamers who believe they have or strongly want a particular power. What qualifies as "strongly"? Does the gift read your mind and find desires even you don't know about so long as you self-identify as a gamer? (Also, do you mean just tabletop games or are video games included?)
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