[Space/Thaumatology] Stargate: Fantasy - Worldbuilding thread

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Stargate Command Question III

2: Puerto Rico.

[Kesendeja]

4. Somewhere else

I still think Antarctica has a lot of potential, both for the reasons I mentioned on the previous posts, and the fact that it isn't in any one country's jurisdiction.

[adm]

1. I prefer the Newfound location, placing this outside the US, gives other members of Five Eyes a bit more leverage.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by adm

1. I prefer the Newfound location, placing this outside the US, gives other members of Five Eyes a bit more leverage.

That would be largely negated by other countries' inability or unwillingness to put as much money into the project.

[TGLS]

1) I'll back Newfoundland.

[Prince Charon]

Poll remains open until at least Monday, maybe Tuesday. If it's still tied by the time I have the next question ready (the tie is currently between 1 and 2, with two votes each and one for 4, specifically Antarctica), I'll break the tie. If you have a preferred option and haven't voted yet, please do.



Currently, my plan for the next question is either 'something about how this SGC is organized and operates' (at least what the players would need to know about it), or 'what sorts of elves, if any, exist in this setting.' Feel free to express an opinion on which of these you'd rather see next - I'll need to ask each eventually, but I can do one sooner, if there's more interest in it.

[Prince Charon]

OK, tie broken in favor of 1 (Newfoundland, near L'Anse aux Meadows). The Vikings probably knew something; what they did with it may be important, later. New question:

Stargate Command Question IV

How much does the SGC know about magic when they first open the Stargate, and what magical assets, if any, do they have? (This will affect what abilities the PCs can start with - those who don't also have a GM-approved Unusual Background that changes this, anyway - but will not limit what abilities they might gain in play. Some of these will also effect what Earth is like, and how the SG teams are organized and equipped, which is why this vote needs to come before the organizational questions.)

1. The SGC starts out basically clueless about magic; they know there's something odd about the location that allowed the Stargate to start working, but believe that it's a mundane geophysical phenomenon. (The ley line nexus and the 'gate are the only magical assets the SGC starts with, and PCs cannot have magical abilities, skills, or items at all without an UB.)

2. The SGC is aware of abilities that could be described as 'spooky,' and that said abilities are made easier or occur more frequently by the nexus, but underestimate the dangers. They have a few operatives with situationally-useful abilities, and perhaps some interesting artifacts. (PCs may start with a few magical perks, or a minor magical Gadget (less than five points, and generally doing something subtle), but don't have anything obviously magical, or skills beyond those necessary to use the items or perks.)

3. The SGC is a bit more aware of esoteric phenomena, having people who can make what they think are psi drugs and minor psionic devices; for this option and most of those below, Earth is probably some sort of Secret Magic/Urban Fantasy setting already. (PCs may start with Alchemy, Herb Lore, or Engineer (Magical), but would probably not use those terms in-character; they should also have Operation and Repair skills for any magic items they possess that require them. Useful magic items are available, but probably aren't impressive at this point, due to limited resources (Gadgets worth ten points or less, or stronger items with rather annoying limitations). If this option is combined with 2 or 4, the 'psi drugs' and such may be the source of the 'psychic' abilities.)

4. The SGC has some personnel with more broadly useful 'psychic' abilities, and is somewhat aware of individuals or groups on Earth with such abilities outside the SGC (which makes recruitment of such assets a bit easier, and could mean that they aren't calling the abilities 'psi' outside of official reports). (PCs may start with up to twenty-five points of magical abilities, talents, and skills, though single abilities should not be worth more than ten points, and they should probably err toward magics that are not too obvious. Hidden Lore and similar skills for various magical groups on Earth is probably available. Thaumatology or a similar Expert Skill may also be know by one or more PCs.)

5. As 3 or 4, if not both, but the cap on single magical abilities or Gadgets is twenty-five points, and the cap on total points spent on magical abilities, talents, and skills is fifty points. (PC magic need not err on the side of subtlety, and the SGC is less likely to deny that it's magic at all, even in official reports, since anyone cleared for their reports is that much more likely to also be clued in.)

6. As 3 or 4, if not both, but there is no hard cap on the point costs of individual magical abilities or Gadgets, nor on total points spent on magical abilities, talents, or skills, beyond the limits of the campaign's character point level. (PC magic need not err on the side of subtlety, and the SGC probably doesn't bother to deny that it's magic.)

7. The SGC has some personnel who use a form of magic uncommon to very rare in the wider galaxy. (Path/Book Magic, Spell-based magic, Syntactic Magic, Magic as Social Connections, or Low Magic, any of which would have implications for the Earth part of the setting.)

8. As 7, but whatever the unusual magic system is, it's the only system that the SGC has access to before the Stargate is activated.

9. Something else (please specify).

Please remember to include the number(s) of your preferred option(s) when you vote.

*******

Answer: Varyon's version of 9 wins.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Stargate Command Question IV

9. Earth has magical traditions, and plenty of secret practitioners of these traditions... but none of it works, because there's something just slightly off about their knowledge/methodology. Upon encountering working magic on the other side of the Stargate, these characters would be able to correct these errors. Such nascent mages are overrepresented amongst the SGC staff - whether they were subtly drawn to the program, someone high up knew a lot more about what was going on than they've admitted to, or it's just a coincidence is up to the GM.

Characters can start with magical Advantages purchased as Potential Advantages. They can also start with magical skills, but with the prerequisite Advantages as Potential Advantages - they can't use the skills until they've bought up the prerequisite (for magical skills without prerequisite Advantages, I suggest a [-5] Disadvantage - call it Unsorceror or something - that the characters will have to buy off before the skills become usable). They can start with magic items as well, but these will need to be modified/adjusted before they'll actually work (maybe have them pay 50% of the worth of the item upfront, then have to pay off the remaining 50% to get it working later, to parallel Potential Advantages).

If the characters for SG1 are in play, Daniel Jackson is likely such a nascent mage; Samantha Carter may be as well.

[ericthered]

8, 1, 2, or Varyon's version of 9.

[Kesendeja]

Originally Posted by Varyon

9. Earth has magical traditions, and plenty of secret practitioners of these traditions... but none of it works, because there's something just slightly off about their knowledge/methodology. Upon encountering working magic on the other side of the Stargate, these characters would be able to correct these errors. Such nascent mages are overrepresented amongst the SGC staff - whether they were subtly drawn to the program, someone high up knew a lot more about what was going on than they've admitted to, or it's just a coincidence is up to the GM.

I agree with most of the option here, but having full blown mages, even if low powered ones sounds like a really interesting idea.