I've ripped on In Nomine in this blog before, and not without good reason. However, I have to admit that for everything about it that bugs me, there's a counterexample of some bit of cleverness oddly ahead of its time. The D666 system, for example, is almost comically simple (the only system I can think of with a more bizarrely simplistic pass-fail mechanic is baseline Conspiracy X), but it's almost as simple to explain to people as Over the Edge and, I'll admit, enjoyably thematic. The power disparity between humans and angels has bothered me in the past, and the system is rather easily broken, even with the fan patches that fix the most egregious abuses, but if there's one lesson I would teach myself in junior high, it would be "For Christ's sake, make some actual female friends". But if I had two lessons to teach, the other would be "And stop wearing sweatpants". But if/when we get around to the gaming-related wisdom of experience, bullet point one on slide one is "Don't bother gaming with people who put their character's power level and breaking the system ahead of telling a good story". And for all its flaws, IN told some damn fine stories.
One element of In Nomine that really stands out in my mind is how the game harnesses the artificiality of the medium, in the form of both character classes and the distance between player and character, in the service of its theme.
Class/race combos are a part of our gaming heritage, of course, and more than that they're a shorthand for characters - a shorthand that says more about the character than you might expect. If your character is a dwarf fighter, I have a pretty good idea of how he's going to be played and what you wants out of the game - and if he's a dwarf wizard, then I know he'll be going against type for one or both, and furthermore, that you're willing to forego the advantages of traditional "optimized builds". In Nomine's equivalent to the class/race combo is choir/superior: A celestial character belongs to one of seven choirs of angels (or seven bands of demons), and serves a superior (An Archangel or Demon Prince bound to a Word). Each of these choirs and superiors has certain stereotypes, and certain choir/superior combos come up regularly: A Malakite (warrior-angel) of the Sword, for example, isn't going to need much explaining; ditto a Mercurian (friendly social angel) of Flowers. But switch those two around and we've got the dwarf wizard playing-against-type thing all over again.
The problem with such class/race systems, and the reason why most good games with human or humanesque protagonists dismiss it, is that they are artificially restrictive, and for characters who are meant to grow and develop organically, that's a big no-no. But IN's celestials aren't organic - much of the game's thematic tension comes from their being entities purpose-built by God, tools of the Divine Will, which are nevertheless possessed of a will of their own. The clunky artificiality of the choir/superior combos and their respective stereotypes actually reinforces this. A human wizard in D&D will never quite behave like a real human would and just pick up a damn sword once in a while. An IN angel likewise won't behave like a real human, won't lie to spare someone's feelings, or express a very reasonable fear, or moon over some girl in a bar - but he's not supposed to.
An old gag about RPG characters (and media characters more generally) is that they never eat or crap unless its vital to the plot. IN celestials are the same - thus, the lacunas in normal behaviour are built into the gameworld. In a sense, the oddities of being a "typical" Player Character - fanatical devotion to completing a set mission by any means necessary, a total disregard for the niceties of conversation, an immunity to the aesthetic charms of the world, and a tendency to do horrible things to bystanders on a whim - are well-modeled by celestials. And for those gamers who are more involved in the fictional world, there are humans, or celestials playing against their roles - even to the point of falling from grace, or redeeming. But the default of celestial behaviour is perfectly in line with the default of RPG player behaviour.
It's interesting to note that most games presume that the PCs are natives of their fantasy world - Whether that world is Grayhawk or Tekumel or the Sixth World. Another tack is to have the players be familiar human beings discovering a new world, either in the John Carter of Mars/various Cheapo Fantasy Novels sense of literally going to another world or in discovering that the world as they know it is not what it seems - the latter being the core of conspiracy and horror games since Call of Cthulhu. In Nomine thrusts the players into their familiar human world as total outsiders (or Outsiders), and uses the dissonance between what humans would want in their situation and what the players actually do to illustrate how strange these strangers are.
Showing posts with label ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ideas. Show all posts
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Monday, July 25, 2011
Cthulhu 2210
I won a copy of Cthulhu Dice at a con, and it's become an obsession to try and find an actual use for this goofy die covered in Cthulhoid iconography, given that CD, as a game, ain't that hot. So I figured hey, what game appreciates a good bit of randomness and occasional hilarious unfairness better than 2210? So here's a new threat to add to your amoebas and zombies and alien conquerors, the mythos cults, with the twist that it's quite possible (and occasionally beneficial) to coexist with them. Right up until ol' tentacle-face eats you.
Setup: Draw a number of land territories equal to the number of players, or a minimum of 3, after all players have claimed their territories but before the 3-unit fortification begins. Place a cult marker on each territory thus drawn. Cult markers coexist with any units in a territory, and have no effect on that army until the end of the year. No territory can ever have more than one cult marker.
Roll: At the end of each year, roll the Cthulhu die.
Yellow Sign: Spread. Cults attempt to spread to adjacent territories.
Tentacle: Seduce. Cults attempt to seduce units both in their own territories and in adjacent occupied territories.
Elder Sign: Dark Power. All players gain energy equal to 1/2 the number of territories they share with the cults, rounded up.
Eye of Horus: Dark Reinforcement. All players gain MODs equal to 1/2 the number of territories they share with the cults, rounded up.
Cthulhu: Rising. Destroy 1 unit in every territory with a cult marker. Roll again.
Spreading: When a Yellow Sign is rolled, draw a number and type of territory cards equal to the number and type of territories with cult markers. If any of these territories are adjacent to a territory that already has a cult marker, but does not have one of its own, the cult attempts to spread. Roll 1d3: If the result is higher than the number of units in the territory, the cult spreads. Place a cult marker on that territory. Unlike invasions, the player who controls the territory may choose to voluntarily fail this roll, inviting the cult in. If a territory drawn has no adjacent territory with a cult marker, or already has a cult marker, it has no effect.
Assisting the cults: On their own, the cults may not spread to water or space territories. Players may opt to assist the cults, either to infiltrate rivals, because they hope to take advantage of the cults' very occasional generosity, or because they just want to make it somebody else's problem. A player with a naval commander and a territory with a cult marker may replace one land territory card the cult would otherwise draw with a water territory. A player with a space commander in play and a space station in a territory with a cult marker may replace one land territory the cults would otherwise draw with a space territory. Only one such substitution (either water or space) may be made per player. The cults, being reckless and in league with dark powers of both ocean and space, do not need to limit themselves to the prescribed landing zones and coastlines that limit traditional armies, and cards drawn from such assistance do not need adjacent territories to support the attack (in later turns, such assistance cards should be separated from water and space territories drawn normally). However, water and space are difficult for cultists to survive in, and their rolls to spread to such territories are made at -1 (thus a 1 always fails). If successful, the cult establishes itself in the new territory, and on future spreading and seduction results, draws a card from the appropriate deck. The cults may spread into water territories adjacent to coastal land territories with a cult marker, or any of the normal space landing areas if there is any land territory with both a cult marker and a space station.
Seduction: Seduction works similarly to spreading: When a tentacle is rolled, draw a number and type of territory cards equal to the number and type of territories with cult markers. However, there are several differences. If a territory drawn during seduction is entirely unoccupied, or only has a cult marker, or has no adjacent territory with a cult marker, it has no effect. If a territory drawn is occupied, has no cult marker of its own, but is adjacent to a territory that has a cult marker, the cult attempts to seduce the army there: Roll 1d3, and if the result is higher than the number of units on the territory, destroy one unit and place a cult marker (this can entirely depopulate a territory except for the cult marker). Again, the player who owns the territory may voluntarily fail the roll to invite the cult in, but they still lose one unit. If a territory drawn is occupied and already has a cult marker, roll 1d3+1: If the result is higher than the number of units in the territory, destroy one (again, this can entirely depopulate a territory except for the cult marker.
As with spreading, players may choose to assist the cults' seduction by replacing land territory cards drawn with water or space territories, with the same restrictions and the same exception to the need for an adjacent territory (an empty territory, or one with a cult marker alone, still has no effect). However, seduction does not have the same -1 penalty to expand to such territories as spreading, since they are co-opting the existent survival structures (and the cults roll 1d3+1 as above if the territory drawn already has a cult marker).
Dark Power: Rolling an Elder Sign provides a pure energy benny for those willing to put up with an occasional ritual sacrifice and the possibility of monstrous rising. All players gain energy equal to half the number of territories they occupy that have cult markers, rounded up.
Dark Reinforcement: Likewise straightforward, rolling the Eye of Horus means the cults lend their military power to those good enough to turn a blind eye to their doings. All players gain MODs equal to half the number of territories they occupy that have cult markers, rounded up. These MODs may only be placed on territories with cult markers, but may otherwise be placed freely
Rising: But it's not all gravy trains and bloody sacrifice. One unit is destroyed in every territory with a cult marker, and the die is rolled again. And yes, it is possible to roll Rising repeatedly.
Fighting the cults: Considering the nastiness of seduction and the always-present possibility of the big guy's rising, players may be justified in wanting to exterminate the cults. This is done during a player's turn as an invasion, including any bonuses for commanders, territory type or Command cards. Cults defend using a single d8, and win ties as normal. Cults cannot be purged from a territory with only one unit. A territory's surviving units may still invade as normal after purging a cult, and an attacker may purge a cult in an invaded territory as a continuation of the original attack (the defending player cannot use the cult to defend, and the attacker is not obligated to destroy the cult before occupying the territory).
The only way to be sure?: Nuclear cards only destroy a cult if they have already destroyed all other units in the territory and there is still at least one unit worth of overkill. Thus, the continental weapon cards cannot kill a cult unless the territory was already otherwise unoccupied; ditto scatter bombs. Other Command cards have no effect - Cults cannot be removed by MOD Reduction and are immune to Death Traps.
Potential variants being considered:
Weaker cults: Change the cults' defense roll to a d6. Makes them less of a hassle to wipe out, and thus less of a strategic concern.
Monstrous rising: When a Rising is rolled, 1d3 units are destroyed in each territory with a cult marker. Multiple risings are catastrophic, and cleansing cults becomes a major concern.
That is not dead: At the end of a year in which all cults have been destroyed or when there are fewer than three cult markers in play, draw three land territory cards and place a cult marker in each, then roll as normal.
Multiple rolls: At the end of the year, roll once for every (5/7/# of players in the game) cult markers in play, resolving each roll completely before the next is made. Risings (or multiple Risings!) and the following roll count as one roll.
Wiped themselves out: If a Rising is rolled and there are no other units in a territory with a cult marker, remove the cult marker.
These were the most loyal: In conjunction with the above, every time a cult marker is destroyed by a Rising, place it aside (on a doom track, if you will). It now counts as permanently in play for purposes of the number of rolls made if using Multiple rolls, above, or raises the minimum number of cult markers that must actually be in play for That is not dead, above, or adds an additional territory card to those drawn for That is not dead, or adds to any rolls made by the cults still in play, or if you're exceptionally masochistic, all of the above. For slightly less masochism, restrict this to one marker per Rising rolled, or one per year.
The End is Here: If at any time a cult marker would be placed and there are no more cult markers available, Cthulhu rises and nobody wins. The viciousness of this is dependent on how many markers are available (I have 21).
Oh, and for those of you who don't have the overpriced novelty die this is based on, you can replicate it with a regular d12:
1-5: Spread
6-9: Seduce
10: Dark Power
11: Dark Reinforcement
12: Rising
Setup: Draw a number of land territories equal to the number of players, or a minimum of 3, after all players have claimed their territories but before the 3-unit fortification begins. Place a cult marker on each territory thus drawn. Cult markers coexist with any units in a territory, and have no effect on that army until the end of the year. No territory can ever have more than one cult marker.
Roll: At the end of each year, roll the Cthulhu die.
Yellow Sign: Spread. Cults attempt to spread to adjacent territories.
Tentacle: Seduce. Cults attempt to seduce units both in their own territories and in adjacent occupied territories.
Elder Sign: Dark Power. All players gain energy equal to 1/2 the number of territories they share with the cults, rounded up.
Eye of Horus: Dark Reinforcement. All players gain MODs equal to 1/2 the number of territories they share with the cults, rounded up.
Cthulhu: Rising. Destroy 1 unit in every territory with a cult marker. Roll again.
Spreading: When a Yellow Sign is rolled, draw a number and type of territory cards equal to the number and type of territories with cult markers. If any of these territories are adjacent to a territory that already has a cult marker, but does not have one of its own, the cult attempts to spread. Roll 1d3: If the result is higher than the number of units in the territory, the cult spreads. Place a cult marker on that territory. Unlike invasions, the player who controls the territory may choose to voluntarily fail this roll, inviting the cult in. If a territory drawn has no adjacent territory with a cult marker, or already has a cult marker, it has no effect.
Assisting the cults: On their own, the cults may not spread to water or space territories. Players may opt to assist the cults, either to infiltrate rivals, because they hope to take advantage of the cults' very occasional generosity, or because they just want to make it somebody else's problem. A player with a naval commander and a territory with a cult marker may replace one land territory card the cult would otherwise draw with a water territory. A player with a space commander in play and a space station in a territory with a cult marker may replace one land territory the cults would otherwise draw with a space territory. Only one such substitution (either water or space) may be made per player. The cults, being reckless and in league with dark powers of both ocean and space, do not need to limit themselves to the prescribed landing zones and coastlines that limit traditional armies, and cards drawn from such assistance do not need adjacent territories to support the attack (in later turns, such assistance cards should be separated from water and space territories drawn normally). However, water and space are difficult for cultists to survive in, and their rolls to spread to such territories are made at -1 (thus a 1 always fails). If successful, the cult establishes itself in the new territory, and on future spreading and seduction results, draws a card from the appropriate deck. The cults may spread into water territories adjacent to coastal land territories with a cult marker, or any of the normal space landing areas if there is any land territory with both a cult marker and a space station.
Seduction: Seduction works similarly to spreading: When a tentacle is rolled, draw a number and type of territory cards equal to the number and type of territories with cult markers. However, there are several differences. If a territory drawn during seduction is entirely unoccupied, or only has a cult marker, or has no adjacent territory with a cult marker, it has no effect. If a territory drawn is occupied, has no cult marker of its own, but is adjacent to a territory that has a cult marker, the cult attempts to seduce the army there: Roll 1d3, and if the result is higher than the number of units on the territory, destroy one unit and place a cult marker (this can entirely depopulate a territory except for the cult marker). Again, the player who owns the territory may voluntarily fail the roll to invite the cult in, but they still lose one unit. If a territory drawn is occupied and already has a cult marker, roll 1d3+1: If the result is higher than the number of units in the territory, destroy one (again, this can entirely depopulate a territory except for the cult marker.
As with spreading, players may choose to assist the cults' seduction by replacing land territory cards drawn with water or space territories, with the same restrictions and the same exception to the need for an adjacent territory (an empty territory, or one with a cult marker alone, still has no effect). However, seduction does not have the same -1 penalty to expand to such territories as spreading, since they are co-opting the existent survival structures (and the cults roll 1d3+1 as above if the territory drawn already has a cult marker).
Dark Power: Rolling an Elder Sign provides a pure energy benny for those willing to put up with an occasional ritual sacrifice and the possibility of monstrous rising. All players gain energy equal to half the number of territories they occupy that have cult markers, rounded up.
Dark Reinforcement: Likewise straightforward, rolling the Eye of Horus means the cults lend their military power to those good enough to turn a blind eye to their doings. All players gain MODs equal to half the number of territories they occupy that have cult markers, rounded up. These MODs may only be placed on territories with cult markers, but may otherwise be placed freely
Rising: But it's not all gravy trains and bloody sacrifice. One unit is destroyed in every territory with a cult marker, and the die is rolled again. And yes, it is possible to roll Rising repeatedly.
Fighting the cults: Considering the nastiness of seduction and the always-present possibility of the big guy's rising, players may be justified in wanting to exterminate the cults. This is done during a player's turn as an invasion, including any bonuses for commanders, territory type or Command cards. Cults defend using a single d8, and win ties as normal. Cults cannot be purged from a territory with only one unit. A territory's surviving units may still invade as normal after purging a cult, and an attacker may purge a cult in an invaded territory as a continuation of the original attack (the defending player cannot use the cult to defend, and the attacker is not obligated to destroy the cult before occupying the territory).
The only way to be sure?: Nuclear cards only destroy a cult if they have already destroyed all other units in the territory and there is still at least one unit worth of overkill. Thus, the continental weapon cards cannot kill a cult unless the territory was already otherwise unoccupied; ditto scatter bombs. Other Command cards have no effect - Cults cannot be removed by MOD Reduction and are immune to Death Traps.
Potential variants being considered:
Weaker cults: Change the cults' defense roll to a d6. Makes them less of a hassle to wipe out, and thus less of a strategic concern.
Monstrous rising: When a Rising is rolled, 1d3 units are destroyed in each territory with a cult marker. Multiple risings are catastrophic, and cleansing cults becomes a major concern.
That is not dead: At the end of a year in which all cults have been destroyed or when there are fewer than three cult markers in play, draw three land territory cards and place a cult marker in each, then roll as normal.
Multiple rolls: At the end of the year, roll once for every (5/7/# of players in the game) cult markers in play, resolving each roll completely before the next is made. Risings (or multiple Risings!) and the following roll count as one roll.
Wiped themselves out: If a Rising is rolled and there are no other units in a territory with a cult marker, remove the cult marker.
These were the most loyal: In conjunction with the above, every time a cult marker is destroyed by a Rising, place it aside (on a doom track, if you will). It now counts as permanently in play for purposes of the number of rolls made if using Multiple rolls, above, or raises the minimum number of cult markers that must actually be in play for That is not dead, above, or adds an additional territory card to those drawn for That is not dead, or adds to any rolls made by the cults still in play, or if you're exceptionally masochistic, all of the above. For slightly less masochism, restrict this to one marker per Rising rolled, or one per year.
The End is Here: If at any time a cult marker would be placed and there are no more cult markers available, Cthulhu rises and nobody wins. The viciousness of this is dependent on how many markers are available (I have 21).
Oh, and for those of you who don't have the overpriced novelty die this is based on, you can replicate it with a regular d12:
1-5: Spread
6-9: Seduce
10: Dark Power
11: Dark Reinforcement
12: Rising
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Tuesday Character: Asim Nicostrato
Asim Nicostrato ("Nico" to his friends) is a well-built man with a neatly trimmed beard. He enjoys jazz, reads detective stories and is a zealous Corporatist. Corporatists worship the various megacorporations as deities, believing that the corporations have transcended whatever profit motives they may have begun with the way that humans transcended purely genetic drives, and are now guiding their human employees to greater things. Nico, a lifelong corporate citizen of TRI Interstellar, has reasonably enough chosen it as his patron, and is fervent in his belief that TRI has a plan for him.
Corporatists tend not to get promoted - their loyalty is unquestionable, but most psych evaluations mark the belief as a significant delusion, and irreligious corporate drone-types get uncomfortable around them. That Nico is the leader of a tactical squad is proof that his beliefs have in no way hindered his skills - If anything, his belief that he does the will of TRI drives him to excel. He's long since given up on trying to push his beliefs on his fellow troopers, choosing instead to lead by example. This has had mixed results - A few soldiers have taken interest in the source of Nico's calm, particularly considering the alien horrors that he regularly encounters, but the only genuine believer he managed to find died on the very next mission after his conversion. A lesser man might have had his faith shaken - the other potential converts certainly did. Nico considers it all part of TRI's plan, and soldiers on.
Man, did I really say this was going to be a weekly series? Shows you shouldn't presume that inspiration is going to strike with any kind of regular frequency. Also, this was the result of reading far, far too many of Dark Horse's Aliens comics.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday Character: Tinman
In the interests of keeping my post count relatively steady, I've decided to start doing some regular features.This one involves detailing, in a few paragraphs, a character for a game, a story, both, or something else. Sometimes, as in this case, the characters will be ones from story fragments or settings I've already posted or will post to the blog. Other times they'll be self-contained things left here for future reference.
Tinman is a handsome, lanky 20-year-old man with a bright blue mohawk, a remarkably elevated and unshakable self-esteem and a quick, nasty wit1. He makes a living as a concert promoter and minor pot dealer. Born Royce Benjamin Cloward, Tinman picked up his current moniker during one long fake-ID'd summer night three years ago. At one point, late in the night, an unattractive girl tried to dance with him. Royce proceeded to wittily point out every one of her physical flaws in rapid succession. Sputtering and stuttering for almost a minute, the girl finally simply shouted "You're heartless! You have no heart!" at him and fled the dancefloor in tears, to the delight of Royce's friends. Someone mentioned the Wizard of Oz2 and the nickname (as well as could be drunkenly remembered) was coined.
Ironically3, the heart Tinman isn't supposed to have grew three sizes that day. He realized that he'd gone too far, but of course he couldn't apologize to the girl, and his pride wouldn't allow it even if he could have found her. The incident haunted him long after the hangover cleared the next morning; he never saw her again, and sometimes, late at night, he wonders about that. In the intervening years, he's tried to fight his natural instinct to be a prick, with mixed results - he's a bit nicer, sure, but there's still an element of solipsism to him where he forgets that other people matter. Nevertheless, the change led to him slowly gravitating away from his old social circle (who still consider him their friend, but mostly subconsciously understand and don't really question why they don't hang out any more) and into a different group. The name followed him, since everyone was already calling him that.
Among the new friends he's made is his girlfriend Ronnie, a fairly typical polka-dot-dress and Betty-Page-hair rockabilly girl with a voice that can be heard over club sound systems and a sense of humour similar to his old one, but much blunter. Tinman might be trying to help Ronnie be a better person (and thus help himself) by subtly passing on his epiphany, but this tends to take the form of carefully-aimed insults to which Ronnie simply returns fire. The basis of their relationship is more or less just tearing the shit out of each other, both rejoicing in the chance to abuse someone who never takes it personally. As yet, Tinman's primary effect on Ronnie has been making her a little bit funnier and a lot more effective at being cruel
Tinman is a handsome, lanky 20-year-old man with a bright blue mohawk, a remarkably elevated and unshakable self-esteem and a quick, nasty wit1. He makes a living as a concert promoter and minor pot dealer. Born Royce Benjamin Cloward, Tinman picked up his current moniker during one long fake-ID'd summer night three years ago. At one point, late in the night, an unattractive girl tried to dance with him. Royce proceeded to wittily point out every one of her physical flaws in rapid succession. Sputtering and stuttering for almost a minute, the girl finally simply shouted "You're heartless! You have no heart!" at him and fled the dancefloor in tears, to the delight of Royce's friends. Someone mentioned the Wizard of Oz2 and the nickname (as well as could be drunkenly remembered) was coined. Ironically3, the heart Tinman isn't supposed to have grew three sizes that day. He realized that he'd gone too far, but of course he couldn't apologize to the girl, and his pride wouldn't allow it even if he could have found her. The incident haunted him long after the hangover cleared the next morning; he never saw her again, and sometimes, late at night, he wonders about that. In the intervening years, he's tried to fight his natural instinct to be a prick, with mixed results - he's a bit nicer, sure, but there's still an element of solipsism to him where he forgets that other people matter. Nevertheless, the change led to him slowly gravitating away from his old social circle (who still consider him their friend, but mostly subconsciously understand and don't really question why they don't hang out any more) and into a different group. The name followed him, since everyone was already calling him that.
- The pain in the ass of Tinman as a character is that I've got this mental image of him as being self-obsessed, funny in an exceptionally cruel way, and charismatic as hell, but I can't really write a character like that. You'll notice that both his role the original Kimota and his nickname origin story here commit a cardinal sin of writing by telling you what the gist of what he said rather than using actual dialogue. I need to hang around more charismatic assholes and take notes, I guess.
- Funny how that keeps coming up on here. Especially since I've never actually read it.
- Does anyone else just feel their whole body clench every time they use "irony" or a variant? The Internet's ruined it for all of us.
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Friday, August 27, 2010
Traveller!: Icarus, the other human homeworld
A recent Scout expedition at the edges of charted space discovered a blasted but still teeming garden world, with evidence of a human civilization wiped out by a nuclear war thousands of years ago. Not an uncommon sight for the Scouts - for every Ancient seeding project that leads to a stellar empire or minor race, there are a dozen which die out long before they reach the stars, or in many cases even invent the wheel. This civilization appeared notable only in how far they had risen before their ultimate fall. The planet was given a cursory examination, named Icarus by a poetic (or smart aleck) Scout and handed over to the Navy to begin colonization - but then IISS scientists, following up on some oddities of the world, raised a hue and cry. They had discovered transitional fossils and precursor species on the planet. This world appeared to be where humans had originally evolved.
Except that everyone knows that Sol was where humanity had originally evolved. The very existence of Icarus appeared to blow the Solomani Hypothesis out of the water, raised major questions about the Ancients' nature and seeding techniques, and even led to positing the existence of a race of proto-Ancients who had somehow found (or created?) two worlds so alike that they would result in the evolution of exceedingly similar forms of sentient life. Solomani adherents (especially supremacists) argued that it was some sort of trick: If not on behalf of the Scouts*, then on behalf of the Ancients, who had seeded the world with false fossils and evolutionary proofs for reasons unknown. Opponents pointed out that the same argument could be used to claim that Sol was the impostor and Icarus the true homeworld. In short order, Icarus became a feuding ground for rival scientific institutes seeking evidence to support or disprove the Solomani Hypothesis, the Icarus Hypothesis, the existence of the proto-Ancients, or stranger theories still.
Previously the acceptance of Sol as a homeworld was met with general indifference, but now the argument has brought it to the attention of the interstellar community, each new development stoking the flames higher. While officially the Imperium still supports Sol as the original homeworld, the debate rages not merely in academic circles, but in spacer bars, on talk shows and in religious confabulations. Observers feel it is only a matter of time before it turns violent, and requests have been made to have Icarus red-zoned for reasons of political stability. Local authorities are dragging their heels, and for good reason: Interdicting Icarus may staunch the tensions, but it could just as easily be the flashpoint that turns a scientific debate into an outright war.
* or the Zhodani, who a certain segment of the population blame for everything suspicious anyway.
Except that everyone knows that Sol was where humanity had originally evolved. The very existence of Icarus appeared to blow the Solomani Hypothesis out of the water, raised major questions about the Ancients' nature and seeding techniques, and even led to positing the existence of a race of proto-Ancients who had somehow found (or created?) two worlds so alike that they would result in the evolution of exceedingly similar forms of sentient life. Solomani adherents (especially supremacists) argued that it was some sort of trick: If not on behalf of the Scouts*, then on behalf of the Ancients, who had seeded the world with false fossils and evolutionary proofs for reasons unknown. Opponents pointed out that the same argument could be used to claim that Sol was the impostor and Icarus the true homeworld. In short order, Icarus became a feuding ground for rival scientific institutes seeking evidence to support or disprove the Solomani Hypothesis, the Icarus Hypothesis, the existence of the proto-Ancients, or stranger theories still.
Previously the acceptance of Sol as a homeworld was met with general indifference, but now the argument has brought it to the attention of the interstellar community, each new development stoking the flames higher. While officially the Imperium still supports Sol as the original homeworld, the debate rages not merely in academic circles, but in spacer bars, on talk shows and in religious confabulations. Observers feel it is only a matter of time before it turns violent, and requests have been made to have Icarus red-zoned for reasons of political stability. Local authorities are dragging their heels, and for good reason: Interdicting Icarus may staunch the tensions, but it could just as easily be the flashpoint that turns a scientific debate into an outright war.
* or the Zhodani, who a certain segment of the population blame for everything suspicious anyway.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Four Horsemen: Death
The Order of Ash and Sand
The Order is composed of three immortal sorcerors - Sabri, Vasil and Xoán - who spend most of their time in the spirit world. They have dwelt there, gaining power and preying on humanity, for centuries, and now believe themselves to be the equals of the Terrible Angel. They plan to awaken the latter, allow it to destroy the earth as is its wont, and follow it to other worlds to despoil. However, as the Order is composed entirely of very powerful magicians (i.e. stupendous assholes), there is no particular agreement on how best to awaken the Angel, and every member of the Order seeks a way to rip off the rest and claim the Angel's power for themselves.
Leader: The Order has no agreed-upon leader: If asked, any given member would claim dominance over the other two.
Goals: Awaken the Terrible Angel, present themselves as heralds/loyal servants/fellow world-eaters, and head off to conquer the universe.
What They Have: Magic, and lots of it. Although the Order's primary interest is in entropic magic, they each have their own specialties and side projects. They also each have a nigh-impregnable hideout deep in the spirit world, and communicate via magic or at extremely occasional conclaves.
What They Need: In an immediate sense, the Order needs a rite of awakening for the Angel. All claim to have no leads, but it is more likely that one or all of them have found a spell which would work, but which would also require the involvement of the other two. The Apocalypse is delayed for so long as the Order continues to bicker with itself, and so long as its individual members remain unable to find a spell they can cast personally.
In a broader sense, the Order needs a sense of proportion. They have dwelled in the far realms for so long, and become such ludicrously powerful mages, that they tend to come up with grandiose solutions that no reasonable earthbound cabal would try. A good example is the intro adventure, in which Vasil needs a lot of cash, so he summons forth a horde of zombies to rob a bank for him. It's insane and unlikely to work, but it demonstrates Vasil's power over the forces of Death itself, and that's where his real priorities lie.
The Order is composed of three immortal sorcerors - Sabri, Vasil and Xoán - who spend most of their time in the spirit world. They have dwelt there, gaining power and preying on humanity, for centuries, and now believe themselves to be the equals of the Terrible Angel. They plan to awaken the latter, allow it to destroy the earth as is its wont, and follow it to other worlds to despoil. However, as the Order is composed entirely of very powerful magicians (i.e. stupendous assholes), there is no particular agreement on how best to awaken the Angel, and every member of the Order seeks a way to rip off the rest and claim the Angel's power for themselves.
Leader: The Order has no agreed-upon leader: If asked, any given member would claim dominance over the other two.
Goals: Awaken the Terrible Angel, present themselves as heralds/loyal servants/fellow world-eaters, and head off to conquer the universe.
What They Have: Magic, and lots of it. Although the Order's primary interest is in entropic magic, they each have their own specialties and side projects. They also each have a nigh-impregnable hideout deep in the spirit world, and communicate via magic or at extremely occasional conclaves.
What They Need: In an immediate sense, the Order needs a rite of awakening for the Angel. All claim to have no leads, but it is more likely that one or all of them have found a spell which would work, but which would also require the involvement of the other two. The Apocalypse is delayed for so long as the Order continues to bicker with itself, and so long as its individual members remain unable to find a spell they can cast personally.
In a broader sense, the Order needs a sense of proportion. They have dwelled in the far realms for so long, and become such ludicrously powerful mages, that they tend to come up with grandiose solutions that no reasonable earthbound cabal would try. A good example is the intro adventure, in which Vasil needs a lot of cash, so he summons forth a horde of zombies to rob a bank for him. It's insane and unlikely to work, but it demonstrates Vasil's power over the forces of Death itself, and that's where his real priorities lie.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Three ideas
- Two megacorporations, each with hundreds of subsidiaries, duke it out for economic supremacy across the planet. One is headed by a demon of greed in human form, the former CEO's voice of avarice given power until eventually it was able to dispose of him entirely; the other's just your everyday mundane international conglomerate. The demon CEO would dearly like to put a mystical whammy on his rivals, but the other company is so much a paen to human greed that it and its lynchpin members are completely immune to the demon's magical abilities.
- Spirit entities consume essence, which can be drawn from humans as a seperate ectoplasm or even absorbed while still empyrean orgone, but it is much easier to condense essence into human blood with the proper ritual; thus, even relatively benign entities can have a vampiric quality to them. Especially powerful entities don't even need the ritual and can draw essence into blood simply by looking at or even being near a human being - this is not a pleasant experience for the human, but having your personal soul be coexistent with your material body does slightly boost human abilities. Thus some people (agents, PCs) might even have the ritual made permanent, although it does, among other things, rule out any hope of living on after death.
- One of the first doses of LSD on American soil is brought into the country by Edward Rohrer, one of Albert Hoffman's research assistants, visiting his family in New Mexico in the summer of 1947. Rohrer and his brother drive into the desert to try this drug Hoffman won't shut up about, and are never seen again. Certain events occur in the New Mexico desert around this time which may be related to Rohrer's experimentation.
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