Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 12-26-2022, 01:07 PM   #181
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
There's a more fully developed version of this idea in China Miéville's story "Reports of Certain Events in London", published in his collection Looking for Jake.
It also sounds like Peter S. Beagle's Overneath.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2022, 08:33 AM   #182
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Yeah, I remember the first time I saw a demon. I was out with my family, just picking up some groceries and supplies for my youngest's birthday, when the first portals opened. A big one dropped down right in front of me, all cloven hooves and claws and teeth - and I punched that sumbitch right in his misshapen face. That was the, uh, I think they call it theodrenaline? You've not seen a demon yet, so you don't know, but let me tell you that feels like some f****n' rocket fuel running through your veins. And I wasn't the only one - everyone got straight up p****d when the demons showed up, and it didn't take long before we'd pretty well trashed all the ones that didn't get away. Then the angels showed up, told us what was going on. Not sure how I feel about all that, and I sure as... well, I ain't going to Hell to fight for them, but I wish our boys luck.

The demons discovered what they thought was a vulnerable passage into Heaven, the home of their ancient enemies, through a planet filled with weak, hairless apes - Earth. But it turns out Earth wasn't as vulnerable as they thought - the angels had interfered with human evolution, reengineering them with dormant genes - genes that would activate if they were ever exposed to demonic energies. The primary effects of exposure is production of a neurotransmitter, since named "theodrenaline," that enhances aggression, strength, resilience, mental acuity, and reaction speed (in GURPS terms, theodrenaline gives +2 to ST, DX, HT, and IQ, and thus +2 to Per and Will and +1 to Basic Speed; it also gives a further +4 to Basic Speed for purposes of determining turn order and grants Fearlessness 3). Secondary effects are longer-term - activation of dormant genes grant humans Regular Regeneration and Regrowth, and combined these allow dedicated humans to be able to pack on muscle rapidly; the dormant genes also allow rapid training up of other stats. A "Sentinel" - a human who has trained up to at least what human average would be if all these genes had always been active - has ST 20, DX 15, HT 15, and IQ 15. Sentinels also have markedly increased need for food, suffering Increased Consumption 1, but as it turns out demon flesh is extremely nourishing - the equivalent of one meal consisting of demon flesh provides all the Calories, vitamins, minerals, etc a Sentinel needs for a full day. With their secret weapon - humanity - now activated, the angels are pressing for humans to invade Hell, helping them to conquer it and put an end to their ancient war. Some humans are willing - particularly as the angels have managed to engineer Intolerance (Demons) into the human genome - but others are reticent... and some oppose the angels, or even side with the demons. Reasons for this are extremely varied, ranging from resenting angelic interference in human evolution (and religion/culture) to opportunism to just thinking demons are "Metal AF" (one can work past the built-in genetic Intolerance; indeed, there are many humans who have developed legitimate friendships with demons). And it's not like humans have suddenly gotten over all their hangups with each other just because they've found themselves at the nexus of an interdimensional war that's been ongoing since before humanity even existed.

There are plenty of campaign options for such a setting - crusaders invading Hell as auxiliaries in Heaven's army, soldiers fighting both demonic incursions and their country's human enemies, humans who have allied with the demons fighting both their fellow man and angels, or even independent humans fighting all takers, to name a few.
__________________
GURPS Overhaul
Varyon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2022, 10:50 AM   #183
thorr-kan
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
Yeah, I remember the first time I saw a demon. I was out with my family, just picking up some groceries and supplies for my youngest's birthday, when the first portals opened. A big one dropped down right in front of me, all cloven hooves and claws and teeth - and I punched that sumbitch right in his misshapen face. That was the, uh, I think they call it theodrenaline? You've not seen a demon yet, so you don't know, but let me tell you that feels like some f****n' rocket fuel running through your veins. And I wasn't the only one - everyone got straight up p****d when the demons showed up, and it didn't take long before we'd pretty well trashed all the ones that didn't get away. Then the angels showed up, told us what was going on. Not sure how I feel about all that, and I sure as... well, I ain't going to Hell to fight for them, but I wish our boys luck.

The demons discovered what they thought was a vulnerable passage into Heaven, the home of their ancient enemies, through a planet filled with weak, hairless apes - Earth. But it turns out Earth wasn't as vulnerable as they thought - the angels had interfered with human evolution, reengineering them with dormant genes - genes that would activate if they were ever exposed to demonic energies. The primary effects of exposure is production of a neurotransmitter, since named "theodrenaline," that enhances aggression, strength, resilience, mental acuity, and reaction speed (in GURPS terms, theodrenaline gives +2 to ST, DX, HT, and IQ, and thus +2 to Per and Will and +1 to Basic Speed; it also gives a further +4 to Basic Speed for purposes of determining turn order and grants Fearlessness 3). Secondary effects are longer-term - activation of dormant genes grant humans Regular Regeneration and Regrowth, and combined these allow dedicated humans to be able to pack on muscle rapidly; the dormant genes also allow rapid training up of other stats. A "Sentinel" - a human who has trained up to at least what human average would be if all these genes had always been active - has ST 20, DX 15, HT 15, and IQ 15. Sentinels also have markedly increased need for food, suffering Increased Consumption 1, but as it turns out demon flesh is extremely nourishing - the equivalent of one meal consisting of demon flesh provides all the Calories, vitamins, minerals, etc a Sentinel needs for a full day. With their secret weapon - humanity - now activated, the angels are pressing for humans to invade Hell, helping them to conquer it and put an end to their ancient war. Some humans are willing - particularly as the angels have managed to engineer Intolerance (Demons) into the human genome - but others are reticent... and some oppose the angels, or even side with the demons. Reasons for this are extremely varied, ranging from resenting angelic interference in human evolution (and religion/culture) to opportunism to just thinking demons are "Metal AF" (one can work past the built-in genetic Intolerance; indeed, there are many humans who have developed legitimate friendships with demons). And it's not like humans have suddenly gotten over all their hangups with each other just because they've found themselves at the nexus of an interdimensional war that's been ongoing since before humanity even existed.

There are plenty of campaign options for such a setting - crusaders invading Hell as auxiliaries in Heaven's army, soldiers fighting both demonic incursions and their country's human enemies, humans who have allied with the demons fighting both their fellow man and angels, or even independent humans fighting all takers, to name a few.
GURPS: In Nomine: The Cold War Just Got Hot. Coming soon to a theatre near you!

Nice setting idea.
__________________
I have a blog; come see what I've created: https://thewhiteminotaur.wordpress.com/
-The 2025 Character Creation Challenge (#charactercreationchallenge):
https://thewhiteminotaur.wordpress.c...tionchallenge/
thorr-kan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2022, 11:18 AM   #184
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thorr-kan View Post
GURPS: In Nomine: The Cold War Just Got Hot. Coming soon to a theatre near you!

Nice setting idea.
It's something of a fusion of two short stories I came up with but never got around to writing (humorously, both science fiction, but easy enough to shift over to fantasy). The first was where the bulk of the concept came from - it was going to be the invasion of Earth by demon-like aliens, and told from the perspective of one of the humans, with emphasis on how, rather than being frightened, he found himself enraged by the appearance of the demons, and he and the other humans wind up tearing the demonic host apart (because, again, humans had been engineered by aliens who resembled angels). The second was where I got the idea of the Sentinels eating demons to sate their increased appetites, to be titled something along the lines of "'Great Taste' is Not a Survival Trait." In that, a species of herbivorous aliens unleash an engineered plant strain that they can eat but humans (and our livestock) cannot, which quickly overwhelms the native Earth plants. Humans despair, as once their stockpiles run out there will be no more food (also, pretty much all plants and animals are going to be extinct in short order), until one desperate human takes a bite out of one of the invaders... and discovers they taste amazing. Queue humans overrunning the genocidal aliens, commandeering their technology, and basically keeping them as livestock as the only thing humans have available to eat.
__________________
GURPS Overhaul
Varyon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2022, 11:22 AM   #185
SilvercatMoonpaw
 
SilvercatMoonpaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
There are plenty of campaign options for such a setting - crusaders invading Hell as auxiliaries in Heaven's army, soldiers fighting both demonic incursions and their country's human enemies, humans who have allied with the demons fighting both their fellow man and angels, or even independent humans fighting all takers, to name a few.
DOOM, except everyone is Doomguy.
__________________
Pronoun: "They"
SilvercatMoonpaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2022, 11:34 AM   #186
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SilvercatMoonpaw View Post
DOOM, except everyone is Doomguy.
I'm... honestly not certain how I didn't realize my Sentinels were basically lesser versions of the Doom Slayer. In my defense, when I originally came up with the short story that was the basis of the setting, I hadn't played the newer Doom games (in fact, I believe I came up with it prior to 2016, when the first entry in the "revival" series came out).
__________________
GURPS Overhaul
Varyon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2022, 02:40 PM   #187
SilvercatMoonpaw
 
SilvercatMoonpaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
I'm... honestly not certain how I didn't realize my Sentinels were basically lesser versions of the Doom Slayer. In my defense, when I originally came up with the short story that was the basis of the setting, I hadn't played the newer Doom games (in fact, I believe I came up with it prior to 2016, when the first entry in the "revival" series came out).
I believe you (I've been in the same position); it's not like "badass dude single-handedly kills invasion of ugly things" is a unique premise. An alternative was the Space Marines from Warhammer 40K.
__________________
Pronoun: "They"
SilvercatMoonpaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2022, 04:18 PM   #188
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Space Magic!

Basically, this setting combines Phil Master's GURPS Thaumaturgy: Age of Gold with Lucifer -5 from the Infinite Worlds book. Alchemical rocketships in a Pulp Sci Fi version of the solar system.

As in Phil Master's book, Path/Book magic is the norm. Eastern and Western magic are being merged at the University of California Berkeley as well as at UNC: Chapel Hill and Harvard. Oxford isn't far behind nor is the University of Tokyo.

France, Germany, Britain, China, Russia, and the USA, are all major players in Alchemical Technology. Japan and Italy are playing catch-up. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are all explaining to Britain that they need their own Alchemical Technology programs. Britain, not wanting to have to compete for top talent is getting them to wait with promises that are beginning to ring hollow.

In most ways this setting is a pulp magical Earth circa 1938. Technology is beginning to move to TL7, although the alchemical technology can add pluses to the Tech Level and can function as supertechnology. However, alchemical technology isn't distributed into society enough to justify a higher tech level yet.

In inner planets of the solar system are like the depictions of of these worlds in Poul Anderson's Swordsmen from the Stars. Use Witch of the Demon Seas for Venus, The Virgin of Valkarion for Mars, and ignoring the fact it's set on a future Earth, use Swordsmen of Lost Terra for Mercury. I strongly suggest that Mars should be discovered to be Atlantis.

Some of the asteroids should be mini worlds, strange magical islands in the sky and more fantasy in tone.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo

Last edited by Astromancer; 01-03-2023 at 11:23 AM.
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-03-2023, 10:53 AM   #189
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Misemono

This isn't a worked setting, it's a great little tib bit of Japanese culture for fantasy games set in Japan. Since Edo Period is when both Samurai culture and Yokai are at their fullest development I think most GMs will find the Misemonos a gift. According to Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan the Misemonos were a major force in the development of Yokai folklore and focused on Yokai. The Misemono were a combination of Freak show, side show, haunted house, vaudeville, and a Ripley's Believe it or not! Museum. These shows were fashionable from the early 1750s until the early 1770s. The customers and performers were both generally part of the Floating World. This means that the PCs would logically be in the same social world as the Misemonos.

Thus, if you want your Edo Period Japanese PCs, Yokai or otherwise, situated in the best place to have adventures in Early Modern Japan, try making part of a Misemono.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo

Last edited by Astromancer; 01-03-2023 at 01:22 PM.
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-03-2023, 11:50 AM   #190
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
Thus, if you want your Edo Period Japanese PCs, Yokai or otherwise, situated in the best place to have adventures in Early Modern Japan, try making part of a Misemono.
Alternatively, the Wikipedia article notes that the predecessor of the misemono may have been performances used as a means to raise funds for shrines and the like - which I've seen show up from time to time in anime, and always assumed was a modern concept (akin to the benefit concert or similar), and thus an anachronism if it showed up in a markedly pre-modern setting... but it isn't, and that opens the possibility of having such things as a plot element in a lot of fantasy settings.
__________________
GURPS Overhaul
Varyon is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:42 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.