Re: New Reality Seeds
 

What would be the general TL of Pow-Wow? TL (5+1) or something? Is magitech around?

Re: New Reality Seeds
 

TL 6

Magicians have been trying to work up rituals involving complex machines for some time, but it's not as simple as just waving around a wand and chanting some magic words. Only in recent years have efforts at mechanical magic borne fruit, so there's no magi-tech yet.

That could change as things develop.

I'd probably allow a "cutting edge training" perk for a character who wanted some TL 6 machine-oriented rituals.

Re: New Reality Seeds
 

Combatmedic inspired these two with his Gnosis timeline.

Barabbas Worlds

POD is A.D. 33, when Pilate ignored the crowd and commuted the sentence of Jesus Christ, and instead executing Jesus Barabbas. The living Jesus fades into obscurity, while the dead Barabbas becomes a rallying point for revolutionaries against the Roman regime and order in general. The Church of Barabbas the Insurrectionist is founded on chaos, violence and hate.

The history of the early Church is a cruel parody of the early Christian Church. When the Romans eventually accept Barabbasism, it is because of the bloodlust of its followers. The military readily accepts the new religion when Constantine I saw a flaming eagle affixed to a cross in the sky. The reforms of this Constantine were just as powerful as the Homeline Constantine, but very different. Military authority was paramount over civilians, but military leaders could be replaced by anyone with the might do so. Coinage was abandoned after inflation made the current monetary system unworkable. He was held up by the Church as the very embodiment of fear and hate, the twin foundations of leadership.

Barabbas – 1

On this timeline, local year of 1452, finds a Europe mired in barbarism and bloodshed. The only unifying force is that of the Church of Barabbas, local parishes distinguished by their hill forts and sword foundries. Only the right of force establishes rulership, while vengeance and blood feuds can go on for generations. As is, there is no political organization above the tribal level, and hasn’t been since the destruction of Byzantium by its own citizens in a series of riots and reprisal killings in the early 400s.

At first glance this appears to be a Gotha world, with no large towns or cities, and populations well defended from wandering hordes of murderers. Closer inspection will reveal that the towns are more like prisons, keeping the inhabitants in virtual slavery to a violent elite.

Islam did not arise, with no Christianity to act as a model, and Judaism as only the most widespread of a dozen suppressed sects. Instead a religion based on the worship of a dozen related goddesses, the Ashtarot, is formed in the late 700s, becoming powerful in the Mid-East and north Africa. Modeled on Judaism to an extent, Ashtarot sees some success in conquest, but not nearly the success of Homeline Islam. Barabbasian reaction is one of hate and violence, casting Ashtarot in the role of devils.

In the 1200s would-be Mongol invaders carried the Church of Barabbas back into the Khanates. India has so far been able to resist the hordes, but the Chinese empire has degenerated into the chaotic violence that plagues Europe.

Barabbas -2

Local year is 2012 on this possibly Myth Parallel. A close echo to Homeline, this is a mirror world, where evil is good, and good is evil. A despotic George Washington drives the English from America, allowing bloodsports and the freedom for local nobles to subjugate the citizenry. Lincoln announces the Slavery Declaration, officially enslaving African-Americans that had for generations been offered colonization rights by southern states. Ghandi orders terrorist attacks on British forces in India. Hitler, attempting to free the suffering masses of Europe, is defeated by the Alliance who gas and firebomb huge swaths of non-combatants. MLK Jr is assassinated for his Re-Enslavement stance, and Nixon is hounded from office for attempting to expose election fraud by the Democrats.

The key element tying this world’s weird history together is any contact with Barabbasism. History proceeded normally for all sections of the world that otherwise had no contact with Christianity in Homeline. Once contact was made, in this case with Barabbasism instead, the twisted ethics took hold. So the bloodthirsty Aztec civilization still falls to Spanish Conquistadors, but Father Serra’s Missions along the Pacific coast were built specifically to exterminate the natives.

Evil, sadistic and cruel versions of Homeliners can be found on this timeline, while cruel and sadistic Homeliners are paragons of virtue here.

Note - trying to come up with examples only gave me lines even more tasteless than that Hitler reference. This can be a fun one though, with evil versions of the PCs, or players.

Re: New Reality Seeds
 

Byzantium-7

This world diverges in the reign of Justinian II, basically Justinian is lost at sea with no tears shed. Tiberius III founds a stable dynasty which holds the line against the Arabs and later the Turks. In the 12th century, with an ecconomically revived West seeking new learning the Byzantine Emperor offers a prize of a chest of rubies for anyone who can come up with a faster and more accurate way to copy books. A form of the Chinese printing press won the prize.

Later moblie type and other innovations were added. In this world the scientific revolution took place in the 15th century. America is discovered (and named Atlantis) in 1387. Northwestern Europe soon enters a long boom as the Mediterrian becomes a backwater.

The local year on this TL5 Q6 world is 1507. The Byzantines allied with Venice are trying to conquer Egypt in order to build a cannal and recover their trade dominance.


Note: I might need to move the year back a bit to allow less ecconomic degradation of the Mediterrian Basin nations. Still this should be a good Swashers/Arabian Nights crossover world.

Re: New Reality Seeds
 

Byzantium 7 looks really fun.

I assume the Byz-Ven alliance wants to (after nabbing Egypt) repair that old Hellenistic-Roman-Arab Nile-Red Sea Canal.

Or even, if the TL 5 stuff enables it, dig a north -south, Med to Red, canal.

Awwww, yeah.

RE


Barabbas worlds:

Barabbas--1
It looks great for low TL adventuring.
Grab your sword and get ready to rumble.


Barabbas--2

Most AH scenarios don't get explicit about strong, clear archetypes of morality. This one does. I think it works as a funhouse mirror, distorted and exaggerated.
Good Hitler= bold.

Re: New Reality Seeds
 

The OTL one was built 1859-69, and largely dug by hand labour. With no need for locks it's easy to build if you can recruit (or coerce) enough labourers.

Re: New Reality Seeds
 

There was a lot of forced labor involved, as I recall.

And, yes, considering that earlier large canal and locks systems were done at TLs 2, 3, and 4, I think this prospect looks like a plausible project for the Byzantine-Venetian alliance of Byzantine--7.


As Astro notes, first they have to reclaim Egypt for Christendom. And that means a war, possibly a new crusade.

Re: New Reality Seeds
 

Looking back, it seems to me I have fallen into writing timelines and not reality seeds.

Have I polluted the thread, or has it just evolved?

Re: New Reality Seeds
 

As long as someone gets something gameable we are doing a good thing for humanity! Or at least having fun.

Re: New Reality Seeds
 

The Roosevelt designation is used by Homeline to tag parallels were changes in the lives of the Roosevelt family is the main cause of the differences. Note: some worlds were alterations in the lives of this American family are the main or at least a key driving force in historical change get other names because other factors were overwhemingly obvious first.

Roosevelt-7

This Q6 world diverges from Homeline history in November 1904. T.R. never declared that he wouldn't run again. In our world T.R. declared that finishing out McKinley's term counted as his first term. He soon bitterly regretted that statement.

However, on Roosevelt-7 T.R. is busy with his 1908 presdential election. Meanwhile agents of Centruum have decided that they need to control the minds of T.R., F.D.R., his wife Elanore, T.R.'s daughter Alice, and F.D.R.'s mother Sara. The Homeline agents are trying to protect these people.

Note: Trying to a secret agent around any of these five people would be hard enough. Being subtle enough to go unnoticed by any or all of them would be nearly impossible. By the way, the Centruum Agents are in for a nasty shock when they try to control any of these folks. ;-)