New Reality Seeds

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one..

Shamrock Vengence

On a Q6 99%/1% Low/High manna TL5+2 world with an active Steampunk ACW (October 1863) a group of furious Fenians, with three TL5+2 airships at their command, droped incendiary bombs on the city of London, Mayfair, and several British Naval bases. But that was a diversionary tactic. The real goal was a blitz attack on Balmoral. Victoria and all her children were captured and taken by airship over the seas.

Magic in this world is eccentric and a lively part of the setting, Although Manna is divided into Low and High in this parallel these aren't quite like normal GURPS Manna levels. First off, anyone with or without Magery who knows how to cast a spell can cast spells. It's simply that in "Low Manna" areas all the other restrictions and problems of typical Low Manna areas apply. High manna areas are smallish an unevenly scattered across this parallel. These places follow all the rules of normal GURPS High Manna places. Places with supernatural reputations tend to be high manna. Some rules to note.

Places with strong reutations for being magical tend to be magical. Egypt, Ireland, New England, the Caribean, etc...

The longer the reputation lasts the stronger the effect. Egypt has been famous for being a place of magic for thousands of years. Brittany has had a reputation for magic since the early middle ages. The Black Forest in Germany has had a reputation for magical events since the start of the Renaissance. Ireland and New England have had magical reputations since the late 1600s and the Caribbean since the early 1800s. Egypt has the strongest effect.

Reputations can be lost and manna with it. An old "haunted house" on the outskirts of town might be a high manna area. But since the roof caved in from lack of maintenance and a lightning strike burned the place down, twenty years ago, no one remembers the old place and the high manna spot is gone.

How many people know about a magical reputation also effects the strength of the local manna. Everybody in Western or Islamic civilization knows about Egypt's magical reputation. Meanwhile, Thessaly where witches could "draw down the moon from the sky" has a magical reputation at least as old as Egypt's but mainly known to classical scholars. Thus Egypt has the edge.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

The real goal was a blitz attack on Balmoral. Victoria and all her children were captured and taken by airship over the seas.

Well, not all of them. The two eldest daughters, Victoria and Alice, are already living in Germany, married to the Crown Prince of Prussia, and the heir of the Grand Dutchy of Hesse respectively.

Prince Albert, later Edward VII, aged 22, married earlier in 1863 and has his own household in London; he might be at Balmoral, or not. Prince Alfred is an active Royal Navy officer, although his ship was under repair at the time in OTL. You'll get Princess Helena, Princess Louise, Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold, and Princess Beatrice, who is only six.

While the British will be outraged, they will be able to act rationally after a while. The Fenians haven't got the whole royal family, and there is no serious risk of the succession passing to Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover. He was ... unpopular, shall we say, in Britain.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Well, not all of them. The two eldest daughters, Victoria and Alice, are already living in Germany, married to the Crown Prince of Prussia, and the heir of the Grand Dutchy of Hesse respectively.

Prince Albert, later Edward VII, aged 22, married earlier in 1863 and has his own household in London; he might be at Balmoral, or not. Prince Alfred is an active Royal Navy officer, although his ship was under repair at the time in OTL. You'll get Princess Helena, Princess Louise, Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold, and Princess Beatrice, who is only six.

While the British will be outraged, they will be able to act rationally after a while. The Fenians haven't got the whole royal family, and there is no serious risk of the succession passing to Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover. He was ... unpopular, shall we say, in Britain.

We have Fenians stealing Union airships and references to "The WILD WILD West realism left awhile back. Still, if Alice and Albert and the rest of the family are all at a private party at Balmoral and only Victoria (who had to attend to duties with her husband instead) is free and in Europe. Then you'd have scads of German and French nationalists involved in hunting down Victoria and the kids. Some to rescue them, some to slaughter them. If Victoria II comes to the throne, then you'd have an Anglo-Germanic Union ruling Europe. Neither Russia nor France could tolerate that. Centrum would go nuts for it.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

If Victoria II comes to the throne, then you'd have an Anglo-Germanic Union ruling Europe. Neither Russia nor France could tolerate that. Centrum would go nuts for it.

So, early WWI while the USA is busy with a civil war, or trying to Reconstruct from same? Who else would be on each side?

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

So, early WWI while the USA is busy with a civil war, or trying to Reconstruct from same? Who else would be on each side?

France and Russia are key here. Both nations are in conflict with a rising Prussia and have issues with Britain. Russia and Britain had a long-standing cold war called "The Great Game." Alaska got sold to America by Russia in order to keep Britain from simply taking it away in a war. Prussia and Russia had fought multiple wars by this period and both saw themselves as desperately needing to expand into each other's territory.

Spain would be neutral. I think they had had or were having a civil war in this period anyway. Italy, bullied by France and Austria would reject lining up with either and would use the war to take Rome, much like they did during the Franco-Prussian war. Austria would strike against Prussia and join France and Russia. I doubt any other European nation would risk involvement.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Spain would be neutral. I think they had had or were having a civil war in this period anyway.

Well, it's between the Second and Third Carlist Wars, but the third could take place earlier. Also, in OTL, Spain was involved in three other wars during the US Civil War: the Franco-Mexican War (which they pulled out of), the Dominican Restoration War (which they basically lost), and the Chincha Islands War (which both sides claim to have won).

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Well, it's between the Second and Third Carlist Wars, but the third could take place earlier. Also, in OTL, Spain was involved in three other wars during the US Civil War: the Franco-Mexican War (which they pulled out of), the Dominican Restoration War (which they basically lost), and the Chincha Islands War (which both sides claim to have won).

As Spain was sent packing, it's like Vietnam. America won battles and lost a war. Given the time period, America out of the game and the Monroe Doctrine a dead letter with no US to back it, a European power struck. So maybe Spain is with France, Russia, and Austria. That might mean Italy could feel a need to line up with Britain and Prussia.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

On this Q7 low manna parallel Isabella II had the advantage of the Infante Carlos being killed in a riding accident in 1832. This meant the Carlist Wars never happened for lack of the right figureheads at the right time. This meant that when Isabella wanted to reassert Spanish power in the new world started with a stronger base.

Once the American Civil War started Spain was ready to strike. With Napoleon II as an ally Mexico was fully conquered and the Dominican Restoration War won. With Maximlian securely on the throne of Mexico and Lincoln dead in April 1865, it looked like the Monroe Doctrine was dead. Certainly Andrew Johnson was no threat. But now America has elected General Grant president.

With stunning speed, the US has built a new navy, a better Iron Clad navy than either Spain or France has.

Basically, Grant, a far tougher more serious figure than most people understand, leading America against, Napoleon II, Isabella II, and Maximilian I, to free Latin America. Remember, Grant was a radical and the ACW was a great radical victory. Napoleon II and Isabella II have made themselves both scary and obnoxious to America, which has moved American politics in a radical direction. Grant is making use of this to promote Racial Equality and many other left-wing causes. The Lost Cause is now linked to hostile foreign reactionaries. Grant's war is reuniting the Union in a fight for survival against invaders.

This has caused those Confederates who can't reconcile themselves to an America with full civil rights for all to go and offer their services to France and Spain.

Think of it as the ACW II fought from the deserts of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego.

Note: Grant has integrated the Army and vast numbers of Latin American rebels have joined the American Army and Navy.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Think of it as the ACW II fought from the deserts of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego.

Note: Grant has integrated the Army and vast numbers of Latin American rebels have joined the American Army and Navy.

I wonder if the British would get involved, and on which side. If Grant can avoid directly offending them too much, they might ally with the USA, which could lead to Russia (who held Alaska until 1867, OTL) siding with the French & Spanish. This could lead to another 'early WWI' scenario.

[fchase8]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

Britannica-6 is not the most serious setting I’ve ever worked on. But I did try to make it fairly clear that it isn’t as cute as it looks at first glance either. There’s a thin layer of technophilia laid on top of a lot of Georgian corruption and decadence, and it may well all go to hell in 1914 style in the near future, with extra diesel-powered death machines.

I did think Britannica-6 was a good mix of realistic and cinematic, and was done loose enough that it could be played either way. Plus it could go in a better or worse direction.

But my all-time favorite will always be Shikaku-Mon.

(I forgot that people who write at GURPS are on this forum...)