New Reality Seeds

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Due to a brutal Eurasian grain blight, nuclear fission power generation being based on Thorium. and cheap high density batteries (TL7^), the Soviet Union pretty much collapses twenty-years earlyon this Q6 low manna parallel. The USA and Europe agree to close American bases in Europe and America massively cuts back on millitary spending. As the Russians were caving in pretty noticably by 1968, Hubert Humphrey wins over Nixon, because there's no "Red Menace" for Nixon to attack.

Humphrey invests in space, the Great Society, Education, science, and the arts. Europe goes it's own way. China turns inward and focuses on being left alone. And the Islamic world finds itself ignored and broke.

Slowly, over decades, Russia recovers. The hostility of their Southern neighbors forces the growth of their millitary. As Communism's appeal has faded in Russia, the Government uses Enthic Nationalism and Religious Nationalism based respectivel on Russian Ethnicity and the Russian Orthodox Church, to bind the people together. By 2000 it's basically a form of Facism, and proud of it.

Basically, it's the dawn of the 21st century. Russia is the new Nazi Germany, and America is a wealthy pacifist nation known for moonbases, Hollywood, excellent schools, innovative social programs, music and literature. The PCs are diplomats who seek to keep the peace.

Centrum assumes they can, with difficulty, take over Russia. Homeline doubts this seriously, and wants to make sure to find a way to contain Russia. Meanwhile, the Cabal really enjoys the fringe culture in this California. They've decided to help both Homeline and Centrum to keep a good thing going. However, they take it on themselves to aid them secretly, and to deliver aid without asking what would count as aid.

Basically, the Cabal is being nice, but working at crosspurposes with everybody else.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

When mount Tambora went up in 1815, it caused the year without a summer. In this Q6 world several more volcanos went up with similar levels of force and greater levels of atmospheric dust and sulfer-dioxide. Although the effect wasn't as dramatic as in the Ice Age it still changed things.

Both Australia and the Southwestern USA were wetter than normal, which meant more immigrants and settlers. Ireland, Walles, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and other northern lands sent much larger groups of emmigrants to the USA. Germany experienced a similar outmigration. This meant that the German states were less active and vital. Because of the cooler weather, European settlements were more important throughout South Africa because tropical diseases didn't spread as far south.

Since Canada's population was far smaller, but defense costs were large. Britain sold Canada to the USA. It wasn't going smoothly at first but Wilfrid Lauier rose to prominace and straightened out the mess. Later, teamed with Teddy Roosevelt, they ushered in a major series of progressive reforms. At the same time Europe slid into a neo-feudalism (it wasn't like feudalism at all, but that's what it got called) the USA went Social-Democratic.

It's now the year 1960, tempetures have returned to normal. Both Austrilia and the American Southwest are experiencing normal rainfall levels but feel these as droughts. Populations are soaring in Europe. And as the populations grow the monarchies turn to Ethnic Nationalism to build loyalty to the crown. Inperialism is also popular. Every nation is demanding its destiny!

Basically, Homeline is trying to steady a North America undergoing major population transphers as the Southwest returns to deserts and the great plains become arable again. Meanwhile, Centrum is trying to take over the European powers.

At the same time the West is transforming, the non-Western world is waking up. its well behind the Homeline antiimperialism timeline, but it's progressing faster.

[AlexanderHowl]

The Year Without Summer probably killed 5% of humanity because it cut harvests and fishing by a good 25% across the globe. A doubling of the effect would have likely caused a global famine that would have killed off 20% of humanity, as there would have been a 50% reduction in harvests and fishing. A tripling of the effect would have likely caused the collapse of every nation in existence, as a 75% drop in harvests and fishing would have caused 50% mortality, or worse, across the globe.

For example, the USA would have been brutally crushed by a 75% reduction in harvests. Beyond the mass starvation, the reduction in cash crop yields would have meant that slave owners in the USA could not have afforded to keep their slaves. The initial consequence would have been a glut in the slave markets, but slaves prices would have eventually dropped so far that people would have just freed their slaves to avoid having to risk them rebel against starvation. In addition, this would have deprived the USA of trade and tax revenue, likely causing the nation to dissolve into independent states.

The Native Americans, their numbers already reduced by genocide and pandemics, would have been less adversely affected, as they could have more easily shifted subsistence strategies for a year or two, meaning that they would have been relatively stronger. With the dissolution of the USA, they would have had a better chance at repulsing the settlers attempting to enter their territory. Of course, with a 50% drop in population, it would have been a generation before population pressures resulted in any attempted Western migration.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

The Year Without Summer probably killed 5% of humanity because it cut harvests and fishing by a good 25% across the globe. A doubling of the effect would have likely caused a global famine that would have killed off 20% of humanity, as there would have been a 50% reduction in harvests and fishing. A tripling of the effect would have likely caused the collapse of every nation in existence, as a 75% drop in harvests and fishing would have caused 50% mortality, or worse, across the globe.

For example, the USA would have been brutally crushed by a 75% reduction in harvests. Beyond the mass starvation, the reduction in cash crop yields would have meant that slave owners in the USA could not have afforded to keep their slaves. The initial consequence would have been a glut in the slave markets, but slaves prices would have eventually dropped so far that people would have just freed their slaves to avoid having to risk them rebel against starvation. In addition, this would have deprived the USA of trade and tax revenue, likely causing the nation to dissolve into independent states.

The Native Americans, their numbers already reduced by genocide and pandemics, would have been less adversely affected, as they could have more easily shifted subsistence strategies for a year or two, meaning that they would have been relatively stronger. With the dissolution of othe USA, they would have had a better chance at repulsing the settlers attempting to enter their territory. Of course, with a 50% drop in population, it would have been a generation before population pressures resulted in any attempted Western migration.

As far as you go, you're right. But the effect isn't that intense. Yes, Europe experiences horror and misery, in the North. But more regular rains in the South. Canada is broken up, but the southwestern USA does better. Cotton never gets the same demand, there is no "Cotton Kingdom" so slavery is less profitable. Right-wingers stick to class warfare, because they don't have enough race cards to play.

This is a poorer less sophisticated world, but it isn't a post apocalyptic waste. I assume the Tech Level in 1960 is six. About fifty years behind Homeline's 1960.

[Anders]

In 1187 BC, the world collapsed*. But what if it didn't.

* Yes, there are people who believe the Bronze Age Collapse didn't happen. This is not the place to discuss that.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by Anders

In 1187 BC, the world collapsed*. But what if it didn't.

* Yes, there are people who believe the Bronze Age Collapse didn't happen. This is not the place to discuss that.

Boring Answer: The problems that caused the collapse end up causing a later/slower collapse. Nothing changes.

Reasonable Answer: Descendants of the Mycenaeans, Hittites and others exist in later eras.

---

Silly Answer I: As the Bronze Age collapse was caused by ironworking and massed infantry, ironworking and massed infantry never arise. The price of land to weapons remains stable and society remains in a stasis for hundreds of more years.

Silly Answer II: Consciousness, an artifact of stresses in the late bronze age, never emerges. Increased technical sophistication continues, albeit slowly, but self-reflection and other higher order thinking doesn't develop. Society reaches an odd stasis, where things reach high levels of technical sophistication, but advances in philosophy and disruptive technologies never emerge.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

This Q6 world has superheroes (or at least costumed people with superpowers). History looks like a cinematic version of Homeline history until the late 19th century. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, large numbers of Spiritulist Mediums and Psychic Reasearchers all demonstraited real, if weak and sporadic, powers. Masked Mystery Men (and some women) showed up inn the first decade of the new century.

The year 1938 saw a sudden jump in power. Figures reminiscent of Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Lama, Mary Marvel, the Human Torch, and others. Although the burst of "Supermen" is pretty much limited to the USA in this world, there are as many superheroines as superheroes and superpowers seem to be spread throughout the population without regard to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-ecconomic class, or religious creed. When an African-American woman, who could toss lightning bolts and generate tornadic winds, started breaking up lynchings in Alabama, many people started panicking.

When this "Tempest," backed by Jack Frost, Hyperion, Iris, the Titaness, and Utopiia, fought off a Klu Klux Klan attack on a largely African-American town, the govenor called out the state millita. He also got a gang of his own supers to fight back. FDR, declared marshal law and stopped the violence.

Basically, the political and social tensions of the late 1930s with superheroes. Some supers are supportinng the Unions, others hire out as strikebreakers. Groups like the Klu Klux Klan and the Black Legion have their supers. There are also groups of supers that fight to protect racial minorities, workers, the poor, imigrants, and others. There are even publically announced Homosexual supers. Many of the tensions that boiled up in the 1960s are coming out now.

Meanwhile WWII is on the horizon. Both Homeline and Centrum want to prevent either civil war in America or FDR losing the 1940 election. However, the methods of the two groups might as well be at war even though they seek the same goals.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Another highly similar supers setting but supers are a worldwide phenomena, although most common is areas of high technology and high populations. a group of Nazi aligned Weather controlling supers attacked Britain in September of 1944. Groups of British, American, Canadian, Indian (India) and West Indian, supers, with similar powers fought back and took the fight to Germany.

A planetwide series of storms was raised as a side effect of so many weather focused supers fighting. Much of the world is trashed. FDR and Elenore are still alive inspite of being caught in the storm, they were rescued by the May Angel ( a seven year old girl with telepathy, telempathy, flight, force fields, and healing powers). {So I made my mom a superhero, so what?}

The May Angel healed not only FDR's imediate wounds, but also the Emphasema that weakened him and caused the Intracerebral hemorrhage that killed him, as well as the pollio damage. She also healed Elenore and Harry Hopkins at the same time. Churchill was protected by British supers durring the storm, Stalin is dead. But the Soviets have a new leader Geogry Zhukov. The Germans are also getting their act together.

It's WWII mixed with Supers and gone Mad Max. I'd suggest setting up platoons of 350 point allied supers fighting off similar Axis groups in the post-apocalyptic wastelands.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Hunting the Murex Snail in order to make the Tyrian Purple was what first brought the Phoencians out of the Mediterranian. On this Q6 world the Phoencian sailors discovered rather more islands than on Homeline. The whole arc of islands that form Macaronesia had vastly more islands and was spread further west and south.

Rome, seeking to control the supply of Tyrian Purple developed the ships to both sail to and conquer these islands. Sailing back and forth amoung these islands Roman sailors are developing new skills even as the empire begins to stumble under the rule of [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodus]Commodus['url].

Still, something odd has happended. Someone has introduced the Sternpost Rudder centuries before it was supposed to be introduced from China, and only about a century after we know the Chinese had it. Similarly, the Lateen Sail has been introduced early as well.

In Dionepolis, a Greek colony founded in the 7th century BCE, on a large and fertile island that doesn't exist on Homeline, the magnetic compass and the spring driven clock have been introduced. Clearly, someone is deterined to rapidly accelerate the developement of European sea power. But whom?

Centrum is active on this world, but they are mainly focused on eliminating or stunting the growth of the Early Church. However, the Cabal is big in the islands. What are they after?

Note: Dione is a Titaness. In some early myths she rather than Hera is married to Zeus. She is associated with prophecy, the stars, rain, and the sea.

You could play with the idea that the change of myths transformed the gods. Once Zeus and Dione ( sky and sea) were wed and Hera (a goddess of Earth, cattle, social norms, and marriage) was wed to her son/lover Heracles (a god of male social roles, and a guardian/savior) were also wed. Zeus, Hera, and Heracles, remained among the most important and popular dieties in the Mediterranean world, Dione sank into obscurity. Maybe she means to come back as a goddess of navigation and seamanship.

Basically, a cross between espionage and sea going adventure.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

While reading Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson I came uponan interesting fact. Walt Disney origionally meant Epcot to be a model city without cars. He was following the ideas of Victor Gruen (best know for inventing shopping malls, an idea he saw as having been massively corrupted) and won the aproval of figures like Jane Jacobs(a journalist with major influence on modern urban planning and a great enemy of suburbs).

The basic concepts of EPCOT were laid out by Disney as he learned he had terminal cancer. At least on Homeline, on this Q6 world there were several anti-smoking campaigns in the early 20th century. These mainly took root in the USA, as a result, several people who died because of smoking related illnesses like FDR and Walt Disney, lived much longer lives. FDR's Second Bill of Rights was largely put through in the late 1940s, and the Civil Rights Movement progressed more quickly than in Homeline history. When Walt Disney, with Gruen's aid, created his Epcot, America was highly receptive to it. Cars became, as Disney foretold, mere weekend recreational vehicles.

The Local year on Roosevelt-7 is 1999, Walt Disney died only six years ago. His dream of transforming urban life took root. Cities look more like 1940s science fiction magazine covers. Private cars are vanishingly rare in cities, public transport is the norm in most cities. The cities and even most large towns are Arcrlogies that blend the ideas of Gruen, Palo Soleri with shrewd Disney touches that make them charming as they are awesome and grand. Only small rural towns look like they did before 1960.

The Cabal loves this world, educational standards are high but the occult is fashionable, not believed, just fashionable. Which makes this low manna world a genuinely lovely place for Cabalists to live and recruit. Going on a spirituality retreat is fashionable but not taken seriously, and a perfect cover for serious occultists. Many people don't realise they're becoming serious occultists until they've already cast functional spells.

Centrum hates this world, it plays with ideas and concepts like tinker toys. The theory of multiple realities is taken seriously in this world (it's basic to explaining gravity) and it's only a step to panchronmics. Centrum sees the Cabalist mystical influence as the threat that might get the locals to take that step.

Homeline isn't unconcerned, but they aren't ready to destroy a world for a false security. Meanwhile, the Cabal, seeing the good thing they have, aren't about to let Centrum just pluck it away.

Basically, it's espionage in a world that combindes Raygun Gothic with a Glam Rock vibe stirred in. With all the Cabalists around, there's an occult undercurrent to any and all adventures.