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Old 04-01-2023, 10:55 AM   #281
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Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

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I'd drop the carny side of this and set it in early Hollywood. You'd have all this secret magic stuff alongside LA's water wars, the oil industry, and crazy Theosophy cults. (Imagine, if you will, a coterie of fairies and wizards trying to deal with the plot of Chinatown.)
Your take is inspired. But then a minor studio like Republic or Monogram would be a great place to set a Wainscot fantasy like Changeling: tD or Mage: The Ascension.
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Old 04-02-2023, 11:36 AM   #282
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Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

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Glitter and Shadows
The world no longer wants magic. Or at least it seems that way. For magicians to live we must hide. For magicians to live we must be seen. Show Biz is how resolve the paradox.
<SNIP!>
But side shows, road side attractions, circuses, tourist traps, all allow the magical folk to be supernatural in public without penalty.
<SNIP!>
You need to be acknowledged as magical while not being caught being magical. Smoke and mirrors are your friends.
You could get a lot of mileage of out this setting. It's inspired. Well done.

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I'd drop the carny side of this and set it in early Hollywood. You'd have all this secret magic stuff alongside LA's water wars, the oil industry, and crazy Theosophy cults. (Imagine, if you will, a coterie of fairies and wizards trying to deal with the plot of Chinatown.)
An interesting time and place to put it, for certain.

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Your take is inspired. But then a minor studio like Republic or Monogram would be a great place to set a Wainscot fantasy like Changeling: tD or Mage: The Ascension.
It would also work well as a variant In Nomine campaign for Ethereals. Bonus points trying to function in Hell-controlled LA without the patronage of Nightmares or The Media.
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Old 04-03-2023, 05:04 PM   #283
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Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

It occurs to me that a small studio specializing in B-Sci Fi movies would be great cover for paranormal beings. Weird phenomenon becomes just special effects, maybe gone wrong. Strange beings are "actors in costume."

The merely uncanny is hidden by the gaudily bizarre.
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Old 04-03-2023, 09:22 PM   #284
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Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

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It occurs to me that a small studio specializing in B-Sci Fi movies would be great cover for paranormal beings. Weird phenomenon becomes just special effects, maybe gone wrong. Strange beings are "actors in costume."

The merely uncanny is hidden by the gaudily bizarre.
Like Harlington-Straker Film Studios.
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Old 04-08-2023, 04:26 PM   #285
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Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Return Engagement

How long has it been?

More than two millennia.

This world is more changed than I thought possible. Your giving them fire has had so many consequences.

Someone would have given the mortals fire. For all your father's fury at me you know he would have done it eventually.

And yet you accepted the vultures eviserating you daily.

Have others come back besides my brothers, our cousin Hecate, and yourself?

I think so. But we had better know so.


Promethus, Athena, Hercules, Hermes, Hecate, and perhaps others, have returned. They are far more powerful than mortals, but far less powerful than they were in the days when they were worshiped in Hellas.

A shadow hangs over their return. Old foes have also returned. This small band of immortals must protect the life of the world or see it gutter out like a candle.

Basically, supers with mythic and conspiracy themes. You could bring other Olympians and some Greek heroes into the mix. Medea, whom recent scholarship suggests was seen less as a witch in our sense, than a mad scientist, would be a fun choice. Of course you can pick your mythic heroes from any traditions you like. Bast, Thor, Oya, Mananan Mac Lir, Vishnu, or the Handsome Monkey King, all make good superheroes.

But pick people who can do subtle. The conspiracy has champions of its own.
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Old 04-08-2023, 04:28 PM   #286
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Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

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Basically, supers with mythic and conspiracy themes. You could bring other Olympians and some Greek heroes into the mix. Medea, whom recent scholarship suggests was seen less as a witch in our sense, than a mad scientist, would be a fun choice. Of course you can pick your mythic heroes from any traditions you like. Bast, Thor, Oya, Mananan Mac Lir, Vishnu, or the Handsome Monkey King, all make good superheroes.
So lion Onyx Publishing's Scion, only you play actual mythic figures rather than their children? Am I close?
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Old 04-08-2023, 04:34 PM   #287
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So lion Onyx Publishing's Scion, only you play actual mythic figures rather than their children? Am I close?
In some ways. But you have to find out secrets without getting caught. It's avatars of the gods versus the illuminati and whoever is behind them. Supers and conspiracy horror tropes.
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Old 04-10-2023, 03:06 PM   #288
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Strange Spring

Among the old ones from before the wars magic was a fantasy. They placed it in stories and games. Something about the wars broke the world. Strange things are seeping back into the world. Or maybe it's just that the stars are right.

Basically, the PCs are mages in a post-apocalyptic world. The setting resembles works like "Starman's Son" or Roddenberry's "Genesis II", although some areas are more like "The Creation of the Humaniods." But functioning societies are few.

Mages generally cover up their powers because there is a deep prejudice against "mutants." Truth to tell, most actual mutations die in the womb or are to sickly and warped to live. Most of those called "mutants" are the demon possessed. The Demons give their victims powers beyond the human limit. Almost always these powers are physical in nature. Psi Powers are also given but the Demons never enhance either intellect or social capabilities. These Demons claim to be from hell (although they are normally somewhat discrete and generally try to maintain a kind of cover). But the claims to be working for Satan ring hollow. The stories are routinely inconsistent.

This leads to the question, "Who are the Demons working for that's worse than Satan?"

I'd use some kind of Realm magic in this setting. However, opportunities to learn magic are rare. Make the PCs work to learn better magic. Note: The Demons fear the PCs learning any new magic.
Some final notes.

#############################

Mages age more slowly in this setting than normal humans. The whole idea was originally a Mage: The Ascension campaign. The aging rate was divided by the Arete. If using standard GURPS: Thaumutology Realm Magic divide the aging rate by the highest Realm known.

Note: slowed aging makes people suspect mages are mutants.


#####################################

Sea Level is up thirty feet beyond early 21st century levels. Western Antarctica collapsed, which caused a twenty foot jump in a decade. The other ten feet happened much more slowly.

However, between the mass die off of humanity and the near total reduction of carbon emissions, the CO2 Level has dropped dramatically. Climate conditions are much more like the little Ice Age.

#########################

Some mages have set up bases of their own, mainly in ruined cities. Other mages have built towers in areas just out of reach of the cities.

#########################

Other than the few civilized areas and the mage bases towns are few. Both rural areas and the few civilized enclaves regularly hold fairs. The county folk trade livestock and crop surpluses for manufactured goods like knives, cookware, spinning wheels, needles, or glassware.

Mages also attend these fairs to buy and sell as well.

###########################

The Demons seem to be more focused on disruption of society and enslavement of humans than anything else. The Demons generally set up plantation-like farms.

The Demons always seem to require a dominance hierarchy in order to work together.

####################################

Although the Mages are mystics, they don't ignore the benefits of science and technology. Using the techniques of genetic engineering the Mages have introduced subtly modified crops and livestock.

The most dramatically altered livestock are dwarf dairy cattle. Just as nanny goats have one tenth the body mass of dairy cows, eat one tenth the fodder, but produce one quarter the milk. These goat sized dairy cattle produce 250% as much milk per unit of feed. It also allows families to poor to afford even one dairy cow to still have milk.

The mages have produced cultivars of major types of grain can fix nitrogen like legumes. Thus dramatically increasing crop yields. The nutritional qualities of plants are also enhanced.
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Old 04-12-2023, 04:41 PM   #289
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Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Zombie Jamboree

The dead rose! And now you can profit from it! Here at Resurrection Inc. we train zombies to be good trustworthy workers.

Being dead, Zombies need no rest or paychecks!

With our new titanium muzzles, Zombies are now safer than ever!


The Zombie Apocalypse was disturbing but unorganized. The military had the situation in hand quickly and efficiently. The rounded up Zombies had to be supervised and putting them to work was the logical means to recover the loss labor supply.

Basically, the Zombies were no match for capitalism. However, there are other undead out there, mainly vampires of different types, and Zombies aren't risk free. The PCs are Zombie control agents (though actually you control all sorts of undead).

So you hunt the undead in Post-apocalyptic America. But you still have to pay rent and the cable bill. Anyone for beer and pizza? They still deliver.
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Old 04-12-2023, 04:50 PM   #290
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Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

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Zombie Jamboree

The dead rose! And now you can profit from it! Here at Resurrection Inc. we train zombies to be good trustworthy workers.

Being dead, Zombies need no rest or paychecks!

With our new titanium muzzles, Zombies are now safer than ever!


The Zombie Apocalypse was disturbing but unorganized. The military had the situation in hand quickly and efficiently. The rounded up Zombies had to be supervised and putting them to work was the logical means to recover the loss labor supply.

Basically, the Zombies were no match for capitalism. However, there are other undead out there, mainly vampires of different types, and Zombies aren't risk free. The PCs are Zombie control agents (though actually you control all sorts of undead).

So you hunt the undead in Post-apocalyptic America. But you still have to pay rent and the cable bill. Anyone for beer and pizza? They still deliver.
There's a movie with this background (minus the other undead). It's called "Fido".
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