Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-06-2016, 12:07 PM   #51
PTTG
 
PTTG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Unnavigable

This worldline has no reliable geography, and appears to consist of four elements: The forest, the river, the sea, and the coast. Settlements and landmarks, such as they are, are not fixed in place, and though it is possible to build roads, they seamlessly stretch and shrink, move and vanish.

The closest thing to a reliable landmark is the intersection of the river and the coast, which is something of a major city -- if you follow the river downstream long enough, you will eventually reach the city, and the same is true of the coast. Arriving at any other settlement is entirely a matter of chance.

This is not the only weird attribute of this worldline; the passage of time varies from place to place, and tends to be slower while traveling as it is. That is to say, a walk that takes a day to the traveler could take as much as a week at home, but (fairly rarely) lasts only a few minutes to an outside observer.

The TL is naturally complex, but it's mostly TL 3 to 4, with the city a strong 5.

As for the ocean, well, fishing within sight of land is safe enough, but only the desperate or foolhardy sail out of sight of land, because as unstable as the land is, there is no telling were -- or even when -- a ship will return to, though some sailors claim to know the way "back"

---

Magic Smoke

A "technomagic" world with what is effectively TL4+4. Everything looks mundane, and in fact it appears to be an echo of 2012 at first glance, but all technology more advanced than the middle ages is fundamentally magical. Smartphones are made of glass enchanted with daemons; airplanes are decantically tied to air elementalism. Humans don't have magery here, but they do have an alternative "secular" enchanting skill to work their machines.

Their tech can't do anything that standard Homeline Tech couldn't at the time, but people are getting worried -- what if they're nearing the Secret and could bring technomagic to a worldline with Magery?

---

Cruicible

These ordinary-seeming humans have DR 10, Fast Healing, ST 18 as an average, and innate Combat Reflexes. The wildlife and threats of Earth are built to match, so everything seems fairly normal. Visitors might be surprised by nightly falls of high-speed golfball-sized hail and being stalked by bloodthirsty tigers, wolves, bears, and cattle. Reich-5 was terribly disappointed that people of all phenotypes on this world display the super-powerful attributes, but nonetheless, this TL4 world (there's little inclination or spare resources to drive advancement after all) has promise as a useful recruitment ground for anyone interested in troops that can deal with small-arms fire like they're swatting mosquitoes.

---

Slide

Gravity seems to function at a 45 degree angle from level, with the exact direction of the deflection varying somewhat but usually pointing broadly east or broadly west. This seems to affect anything that isn't either firmly rooted (like a tree or a building) or else fundamentally part of the terrain (such as surface water, gravel, sand, and lose rocks). Since the direction changes gradually, a slanted building doesn't help most of the time.
PTTG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-06-2016, 03:56 PM   #52
Flyndaran
Untagged
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Sightless: for some unknown ancient reason of biology, no animal there has any form of vision. Everything at first "glance" appears similar to earth life, but lacks eyes and with other senses much more acute. Forests are quiet to weak human hearing, but alive with sonar and soft chirps and whistles.
The stealthiest person walks with a virtual sign over their head saying, "clumsy wounded prey here" attracting every predator in range.
This led to the parallel initially being labeled for its unnaturally aggressive life.
Until proper analyses showed the reason.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.
Flyndaran is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-06-2016, 04:59 PM   #53
PTTG
 
PTTG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Doy, can't believe it took me this long to think of it:

Metempsychosis:

There are about 100 million "souls" that are constantly reincarnated around Earth. Memories are not recovered until one reaches the same age as that memory dates from.

The current year is about 1000 BCE, but the the world is a mature TL 5 with a single, global language. Assignment of souls to bodies is apparently random.

About one in a thousand births is a "new soul" rather than a reincarnated one, but that varies. It seems that "new souls" only appear when the population reaches a new high point.

Death is seen as an inconvenience -- there's no telling how long you'll "wait" timelessly to be reborn if less than 100 million people are alive -- but suicide is nonetheless an accepted means of dealing with maladies (in fact, medicine is only TL 3 as a result, with the exception of anatomy, which was studied carefully since bodies are seen as essentially disposable). Something not unlike psychotherapy does exist, and it is very effective, since treatment of the mind and maintenance of the soul is paramount.

Here's the problem.

Dr. Rouwhorst went on a sociocultural expedition there, and no sooner did he arrive than he killed himself. Belated examination of his medical record showed some signs of early-onset Alzheimer's. This, you understand, was very early in IW history. It was 27 years ago, in fact. Dr. Rouwhorst got his first PhD at 29. While have no idea if he was reincarnated, we do know he was politically quite active. Protect the secret.
PTTG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2016, 08:22 AM   #54
TGLS
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Unnavigable
Interesting. Need a drivable conveyor for reliably leaving though. How do earth locations map to this world.

Magic Smoke
Works, except there is no such thing as a 2012 echo because Homeline diverged in 1997, and a double of Homeline would get confusing.

Cruicible
I don't know. They might be able to shrug off pistol fire, but an assault rifle would still mess them up.

Slide
Send a conveyor through and have it start tumbling on flat land until it reaches a cliff, and comes to a sudden stop.

Sightless
I think that Homeliners would be evenly matched considering they could easily see them showing up considering there is no need for sane color selection (i.e. A pink bear in a forest) if no one could see it. Add the fact that the Homeliners probably have firearms, and it amounts to a bit of a turkey shoot.


Metempsychosis
Is the population capping out when there are no souls available or is suicide that common? How even is the culture around the world?
TGLS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2016, 09:16 AM   #55
Fred Brackin
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Quote:
Originally Posted by TGLS View Post

Cruicible
I don't know. They might be able to shrug off pistol fire, but an assault rifle would still mess them up.
Eh, a hit from a 5D Assault Rifle won't be a Major Wound. In fact, proportionately it's less than a piece of buckshot to a Homeliner.

Now, 7.62mm would usually be a Major Wound but you'd need 3 hits for a Survival Roll.

None of this takes into account what these people might consider "normal" TL4armor. They're probably starting at extra-thick duplex plate.
__________________
Fred Brackin
Fred Brackin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2016, 10:07 AM   #56
ericthered
Hero of Democracy
 
ericthered's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Quote:
Originally Posted by TGLS View Post
Unnavigable
How do earth locations map to this world?
Sounds like a great thing to point PC's at! I've had a variation on this in my mind for years, mostly because it seems to be how fairy tale geography works. Several "return" schemes are possible.

I'd personally key like to like: leaving the city dumps you in Cairo, Bejing, London, and so forth. If you can consistently get to the same place in the city you have firm connections. You can even get consistent drops to various trees in the wilderness... they just don't have consistent geography within themselves.

If I ran this world.


Quote:
Metempsychosis
Is the population capping out when there are no souls available or is suicide that common? How even is the culture around the world?
It stated earlier that you get new souls when you exceed the population cap. Which I'm sure is a significant event. Actually, I bet souls count the number of lives they've experienced. Even if most of them are starving to death as a child.

There are probably a number of books on how to figure out who you are. Religion is going to be unique. Humanity is probably very cosmopolitan: everyone has lived everywhere. Factions will probably be universal. Part of me wonders if you'll get a generational frequency where the same souls are always parts of the same generations.

How long this has been going on matters, as well as if the 100 million always existed or if they've only been around for as long as there are 100 million on earth, and if a small percentage has been alive since the pyramids.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic

Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog

Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!
ericthered is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2016, 02:19 PM   #57
fchase8
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New York, NY
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

The Endless World

The geography is radically different on this world, which consists of islands or island groups. Each island or island group is past the horizon to each other, dots in the 'Endless Ocean'. Yet the world appears to be flat, for the temperature is roughly the same everywhere, the sun always rises directly in the east & sets directly in the west, and there's no moon (but there are waves).

Each island has a portal to another world, which will close and reopen on a new world at random (but gives a two-day warning). Has been discovered not by Infinity but by Centrum. It's Quantum 10, but its portals can go anywhere. All conveyors go to the same spot, until randomly changing (with a two-day warning), like the portals.

Genetics are not inherited; a father still impregnates a mother, but the child is no more like his or her parents than anyone else. The gender ratio is quite skewed, with one male for between four to eight females.

Low-mana with limited magery, but there are psychics (but no telepaths). TL varies between 2 and 5, but there is also technopsychic anti-gravity (flying ships).

Despite all of the isolated islands, the people all speak a version of English, without loan words or proper noun-derived words; instead they combine words.

No one knows the year (the stars are no help). Indeed, it is hard to keep track of the days without seasons. Instead of weeks, months, and years, there are just ten-day, hundred-day, and thousand-day increments (which are not kept track of very well).


This is probably too much for one world; each aspect could be its own world.

Keeping with a theme on this thread: this initially came to me in a dream...
fchase8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2016, 02:44 PM   #58
Flyndaran
Untagged
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Quote:
Originally Posted by TGLS View Post
...
Sightless
I think that Homeliners would be evenly matched considering they could easily see them showing up considering there is no need for sane color selection (i.e. A pink bear in a forest) if no one could see it. Add the fact that the Homeliners probably have firearms, and it amounts to a bit of a turkey shoot.
...
Funny how I never considered that. But it's not like cave or ocean bottom animals are brightly colored. Unusual pigmentation is itself used for visual purposes.
Most predators attack from behind, and we humans have rather narrow fields of view compared to prey species. So it still might not be quite as trivial as you suggest.
But I agree it would be a visually different world. I imagine lots of dirty browns and greys as they would all still need melanin or equivalent pigments for solar protection.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.
Flyndaran is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2016, 02:49 PM   #59
Flyndaran
Untagged
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Quote:
Originally Posted by fchase8 View Post
...
Genetics are not inherited; a father still impregnates a mother, but the child is no more like his or her parents than anyone else. The gender ratio is quite skewed, with one male for between four to eight females.
...
Then what makes the child's genotype/phenotype?
Perhaps it could be like a feature of a Reincarnation limited Unkillable character I imagined.
Their genetics are a random assortment of the island's humans. This could let the secret out when a disguised barely human off-worlder simply visits as a child is conceived.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.
Flyndaran is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2016, 05:39 PM   #60
fchase8
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New York, NY
Default Re: Catalog of the Weird Parallels

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
Then what makes the child's genotype/phenotype?
Perhaps it could be like a feature of a Reincarnation limited Unkillable character I imagined.
Their genetics are a random assortment of the island's humans. This could let the secret out when a disguised barely human off-worlder simply visits as a child is conceived.
Genetics is random, but there are no genetic diseases, deformities, or the like. Indeed, everyone on the world is really too healthy, despite the lower TL - like they usually have all their teeth.


One idea I had was that everyone is roughly Caucasian. This would keep from children who look radically different than their parents, and would fit with the usual fantasy trope where seemingly every human is Caucasian.

But maybe not, and there's just no racism or even difference between the races - it's just a facet, like eye color or hair color.


I had also thought about women only being able to get pregnant at certain times, kind of like a period, but it's random how long between fertility periods.


For genetics or other things, like the portals, I say, "random," but perhaps there are patterns that just haven't been discovered yet.
fchase8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
infinite worlds, weird worlds

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:25 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.