In Torg (and Storm Knights, my Torg rewrite), every Reality has a tag:

• Tharkold, the Technohorror Reality
• Aysle, the Reality of Magic
• The Nile Empire, the Pulp Reality

The reason is this: it's a trans-genre game. A game where:

A cyberpunk pit fighter, an embittered 1920's gumshoe, and a valiant, medieval knight in enchanted armor hunt a cruel vampire hiding amongst the passengers on a steampunk airship a mile above Shanghai.

Each Reality reflects a genre (fantasy, cyberpunk, horror, pulp), but in a loose way. Aysle is a fantasy Reality, but not a generic one. It has unique aspects, aspects that give it color.

My approach, when rewriting cosms for my campaign, has been to create whole worlds, worlds that are as perfect and unique as I can. Then I pick a tag that summarizes the world in a concise way.

• The Living Land, the Lost Worlds Reality
• Kadandra, the Cyber Pulp Reality
• Victoria, the Gothic Steampunk Reality

The cosm is the key, the tag just describes it.

Which brings us to Nippon Tech. I've been using a temporary tag while I work on it, something that reminds me of where I'm going, of what my core idea is. But this tag will not work forever. I'll explain why next post.

The Essential Nippon Tech

My revised Nippon Tech is an amplification of the canon. "Turn it up to 11", as the cliche goes. Take the good elements, and magnify them, make them bigger, bolder, and more interesting.

What good elements? Martial arts, hyper-tech, intrigue and espionage.

These are the core of Nippon Tech. They are fun and interesting, and must be highlighted. So I made them the core of the new Nippon Tech.

The Wuxia Technothriller Reality

Nippon Tech is the Wuxia Technothriller reality. It is based on Chinese Wuxia fiction, including Wushu martial arts (think the flashiest sorts of kung fu abilities from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or "The Matrix"), wandering heroes fighting for the oppressed, and a mystical Otherworld.

Nippon Tech is also a hyper-tech sci-fi dystopia, almost cyberpunk but not quite. Technology marks the gulf between the powerful (who enjoy the latest and greatest) and the oppressed, who live without. And while technology is a tool of oppression, it is also a means to combat it.

Secrets, factions, and conspiracies about, secrets of martial arts, technological secrets, secrets of the links between the mundane world and the Otherworld. Factions — martial arts clans, corporations, government agencies, criminal syndicates — possess these secrets, and fight to defend them or steal them. Agents infiltrate enemy factions, listening in on communications, breaking into secured areas, and suborning marks, all so they can or simply steal what they need.

The cosm's mythos ties these disparate elements together in a cool and interesting way, and the whole works as a standalone setting and as part of the Possibility War. But...

While "Wuxia Technothriller" is a great development tag, a temporary handle for the Reality, it won't work on a permanent basis. As Silverlion pointed out last night, "Wuxia" (a Chinese literary and cinematic genre) just doesn't mesh with "Nippon" Tech.

(At its simplest, people will assume I'm too ignorant of my source material to have done a good job with it, and dismiss a really cool setting.)

My hope is that I can post some details about the Reality and get some suggestions for a genre tag that describes it.

One issue being that more than other aspects of TORG, Nippon Tech is out of date.  In some cases like Orrorsh and Nile Empire, that's the point.  But Nippon Tech is supposed to be just a little past "cutting edge" and it reflects the culture of a time when Japan's corporate culture was supposed to be eating America's lunch.  That's not the case anymore.  Now China is actually a better candidate for "Asian tiger", but it still maintains capitalism strictly as a life support for one-party communism, and the benefits of corporatization are even more hollow and uneven than they are elsewhere.

JG

Quote from: James Gillen;733760Nippon Tech is out of date.

[...]

Nippon Tech is supposed to be just a little past "cutting edge" and it reflects the culture of a time when Japan's corporate culture was supposed to be eating America's lunch.

I agree. Fortunately, this Reality isn't "The Megacorporate Reality", where Japan's megacorps are going to come and buy everything up and own the world.

It's about "wire-fu" and psychic powers, day-after-tomorrow tech, and intrigue and espionage. It's also about the powerful and greedy oppressing the masses.

That last bit isn't just corporations. It's also about organized crime and street gangs. It's apathetic and oppressive government bureaucracies. It's rich and connected individuals and companies. It's martial arts clans and guilds of assassins.

All can be villains (though a tiny few are not), all fight each other, all conspire with each other, and all oppress the helpless and weak and poor.

In other words, this Reality invaded in Japan, but itself isn't "Japanese". It's not a parody of Japan or a caricature of Japan. We Earthers call it "Nippon Tech", but those from the cosm call their world Tellus, and it isn't a world-wide Japan.

I really didn't want to make a Reality that was a pile of Japanese stereotypes. Nor is this Reality a pile of Wuxia tropes.

Yes, the Wuxia genre informed the design of the cosm. But it is (I hope) a whole and real world, with it's own metaphysics and cosmology, and the "genre" is just an inherent and inevitable consequence of a unique Reality.

I've got some more posts about it that'll explain more, I just didn't want to drop them all at once.

Quote from: James Gillen;733760Now China is actually a better candidate for "Asian tiger",

I originally had this Reality invading in China, with the name "Sino Tech" (hence the Wuxia elements). For several reasons, I started the invasion in Japan and kept the classic name. (Though it would invade into China very quickly.)

EDIT:

The mark of a good Reality is that it can invade anywhere. By that standard, the new Nippon Tech passes with flying colors.

It could invade anywhere on Earth, and make sense.

• Government oppressing the powerless? That's everywhere.
• Criminals victimizing the helpless? Where doesn't that happen?
• Political corruption and influence peddling? May as well invade here.
• Secrets, intrigue, and espionage? Blogger please, ain't you been reading the news?

Martial arts and psychic abilities are less universal, in the "oh, my God that's happening here" sense, but these sort of things are common in all cultures. (Google "General Butt Naked". That's not a joke, sadly. Just have a strong stomach.)

This Reality isn't about parodying Japan, or even China, or the artificial imposition of a genre. It's an alien world, an alien Reality, that nonetheless makes perfect sense and could invade anywhere, even other worlds.

Suppose Aysle were just another cosm, not an Invader. A victim. Nippon Tech could invade there — Aysle has corrupt people and organizations that oppress the weak and helpless. Ditto the Living Land, Magna Veritas, and so forth.

This is a Reality, not a cliche or a pile of cliches. Which is why I think it works.

If I could only come up with a goddam tag.

Wuxia + Technothriller?

All of Torg's realities blend two seemingly disparate genres into one compelling setting. So how does "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" blend with "The Bourne Supremacy"?

Wuxia fiction centers around Wushu martial arts. Clans of martial artists (each with their own secret Wushu techniques) fight each other, seeking to prove the superiority of their own brand of Wushu (while also stealing the Wushu secrets of others). It is also a genre of oppression, where corrupt government officials, cruel landowners, or vicious criminal syndicates oppress the powerless. Wandering martial arts heroes, the Xia, fight for the oppressed against their oppressors.

The Technothriller aspect of the reality is essentially Cyberpunk without cyber. Cyberpunk is a genre of technology. Corporations, governments, and criminals all fight over technological innovations, and engage in espionage, intrigue, and covert wars to defeat their opponents. It is also a genre of oppression. These same groups oppress common citizens, and (in many stories) rebels and lawbreakers strive to defeat them.

In other words, the reason these two genres can be combined in one Reality is that they parallel each other in so many ways. Wushu secrets : technological secrets. Wushu clans that war for secrets (via intrigue, espionage, and combat) : corporations, governments, and criminal syndicates that war for secrets (via the same methods). The powerless being oppressed, and heroes and rebels who fight for them.

The two genres almost seem made to mesh with each other. Take one hyper-tech dystopia, rife with infighting, intrigue, oppression, and war. To this add Wushu martial arts, warring martial arts clans, and Xia. The result? Nippon Tech, the Wuxia Technothriller reality.

In its simplest form, the Reality is this: Martial arts and hyper-tech, the powerful oppressing the powerless, and rebels and heroes who fight on their behalf. (The parallels with the canon Nippon Tech are clear.)

The actual Reality is more complex, of course. These various elements combine and contrast in interesting ways, and there is a cool mythos to tie all of them together. Next message.

Wuxia literature has a key element I didn't talk about in my last post. But it is this element that provides the vehicle to meld ancient martial arts and a hyper-tech modern dystopia. This element is a mystical otherworld, called Jianghu.

Jiagnhu is another world alongside the modern, a realm of ancient civilizations, great Wushu abilities, and honorable heroes. This otherworld is the key to the mythos of Nippon Tech.

A Mythos of Two Worlds

The home cosm of Nippon Tech is comprised of two parallel worlds, geographically identical but otherwise vastly different. Tellus, the mortal world, is a near-cyberpunk dystopia. Jianghu (also called Gokuraku, Sukhavati, and a thousand other names) is a world of feuding martial arts clans and ancient civilizations.

In Jianghu, wushu is practiced openly, and wandering monks and heroes fight battles against cruel despots, corrupt landowners, and criminal clans. On Tellus, the same abilities are available, but are hidden secrets known only by a few. These few fight secret wars for control of Qi and all existence.

Qi (also called ki, prana, elan vital, and a thousand other names) is the source of Wushu abilities — Precognition. Telepathy. Telekinesis. Martial arts. And more.

Qi suffuses Jianghu, and it is in Jianghu where it is most understood. Qi Masters exist in both worlds, but the Qi Masters of Jianghu are by far the most powerful.

There are portals between the two worlds, and from these portals the Qi energies of Jianghu enter Tellus (and vice versa). Ribbons of Qi energies flow through Tellus, and each ribbon can be traced back to a portal.

As in Jianghu, Wushu clans developed on Tellus. Inevitably, such clans built monasteries near one of these rivers of Qi energies, or (preferably) on a portal itself.

The energies of the portal enhanced their wushu, making it more powerful, more potent. Such locations were highly desirable, and various clans would fight to claim them.

Qi is the breath of life. All living things partake of it. When one is conceived, Qi quickens one's being. When one dies, the mind returns to nothingness, but one's Qi returns to Jianghu.

The sole exception are those rare individuals who have attained true enlightenment, and become one with Qi. When such Qi Masters die, they enter Jianghu, there to exist forever.

A Mythos of Two World, cont.

Qi is a force of energy neither miraculous nor magical. On our Earth, it would be called psychic or psionic energy. It is the energy of life, of the mind, of the body. And Jianghu is the world of Qi.

Jianghu can be thought of as a parallel dimension of psychic energy, like the Akashic Record. Only, instead of a library of all that has happened, it is a living world, a world with its own inhabitants, cultures, governments, traditions, and cultures. (Most of which reflect ancient cultures of Tellus.)

Mortals can enter this other world temporarily, through portals. But the truly enlightened can, upon death, become one with Jianghu, one with Qi. Enlightened Ones don't live on as souls or spirits, but as natives of Jianghu. There they live forever.

(People can die in Jianghu, but they are sooner or later reincarnated. No native of Jianghu ever truly dies, though in extreme circumstances they can be destroyed.)

Attaining true enlightenment is the highest goal of mortal life.

Jianghu is not an afterlife. Tellus, the cosm, has no afterlife. No souls, no miracles, no Divine forces or entities.

Tellus has no religions and no religious beliefs, no manifestations of spiritual power at all. What Tellus has are philosophies.

The many philosophies of Tellus each teach different methods to achieve enlightenment. No one knows which is true, or if all are, or if all are false.

Studying to achieve enlightenment means studying Qi. Studying Qi lead to the discovery of Wushu. Hence these philosophical schools became Wushu clans.

Qi has a strong effect on the minds of the living. As various clans established monasteries on or near portals, they affected the flow of Qi around them. This flow affected the minds of those living nearby.

Each monastery became a beacon for its philosophy, and those who lived nearby unconsciously began to follow the tenets of the clan's philosophy.

For most of history on Tellus, this made little difference. All clans believed in achieving enlightenment, and hence the belief in Jianghu and belief in striving for moral and mental perfection was a constant.

Then came the Authority. Their philosophy was radically different, and their pursuit of ways to enter Jianghu corrupted Qi everywhere in Tellus. Their philosophy became the world's philosophy. The hearts and minds of people were corrupted. And Tellus became a dark and corrupt world.

Um, i'm almost sorry for asking, but i don't really see the problem with the "Wuxia Technothriller" tag.

Quote from: Catelf;734445Um, i'm almost sorry for asking, but i don't really see the problem with the "Wuxia Technothriller" tag.

I appreciate that.

"Wuxia" is a Chinese genre, part of Chinese culture. It's as much a part of Chinese culture as the Western is a part of American culture. It's uniquely Chinese, emblematically Chinese.

And Nippon is, well, Japan. Wuxia is not Japanese.

The name of the Reality, in conjunction with the tag, might give the impression that the jerk who picked the tag knows nothing about either Japan or Wuxia.

It's like referring to "Chinese Samurai" or having a Mafioso character who's Irish. It can make you look ignorant.

So I'm trying to come up with something different.

EDIT: Though right now I'm leaning towards keeping the "Wuxia Technothriller" tag, and including a small note explaining the incongruity.

Chinese and Japanese don't like being compared too much.

JG

Quote from: Daddy Warpig;734446I appreciate that.

"Wuxia" is a Chinese genre, part of Chinese culture. It's as much a part of Chinese culture as the Western is a part of American culture. It's uniquely Chinese, emblematically Chinese.

And Nippon is, well, Japan. Wuxia is not Japanese.

The name of the Reality, in conjunction with the tag, might give the impression that the jerk who picked the tag knows nothing about either Japan or Wuxia.

So it is that picky, hm?

Ok.

......
Japanese Super Sentai and Kamen Rider share some aspects with Wuxia.
...
What stops you from using the variant of "Nippontech" (the one with the other name) that originated from China?
China might embrace it in order to best Japan.
Hm, there might be a mess mixing Japan and China anyway, if it is that sensitive ...

What if it originated from Hong Kong instead?

Why call it "Nippontech" at all?

Except for varying forms of Tokusatsu (Sentai & KR mentioned above), as well as some Manga and Anime, it do not seem like Japan has anything near Wuxia as a style.

Personally, it seems like the problem is more in the name "Nippontech" than in the definition "Wuxia Technothriller".

Quote from: Catelf;734471What stops you from using the variant of "Nippontech" (the one with the other name) that originated from China?

That would be "Sino Tech", the original name of the Reality. So, I've considered it.

But, just today I realized a far better tag for the reality is this:

Martial Arts Techno-thriller

Takes in Wuxia movies and novels, Chanbara, martial-arts oriented manga, anime, and manhua, Kung Fu movies, Hong Kong action cinema, and a whole lot more. It takes in everything from street-level brutal battles to "flying swordsmen" duels. Rainy alleys where motorcycle gangs fight with Jackie Chan moves, to palaces and groves where dedicated students fight for the secrets of their clan.

It's a Reality that can invade in Japan and spread across Asia (which this one does). And the "technothriller" part brings in espionage, high tech, and gunplay.

That's not bad.

Quote from: Daddy Warpig;734525Martial Arts Techno-thriller

Well, if you think it is enough to cover Wuxia, then do it!

This is the Authority.

Hundreds of years ago a cabal of Qi Masters from across Tellus came together, to seize control of the portals to the Otherworld. Most were near death, but far from achieving true enlightenment. By seizing the portals, they sought to cheat death and enter the Otherworld.

Their philosophy taught that one didn't have to earn ascendance to the Otherworld through enlightenment, but that ascendance could be seized. If you had enough power.

So their members fought to become the most powerful individuals they could be. Strong in Wushu. Strong in Qi. Strong in wealth. Strong in political power. Strong in every way they could be.

Yet none achieved enlightenment. Faced with death, they decided to seize ascension. They launched a war against the other martial arts clans, a war to seize all portals to the Otherworld. Though they did not succeed in ascending, they did manage to capture most of the portals and destroy many opposing schools, driving the rest underground.

By war's end, they'd become the most powerful organization on the planet. Control of so many portals made their Wushu unbelievably strong. Using it, they dominated the world.

Control of the portals also meant their philosophy of maximizing personal power at the expense of others, became the dominant moral code for the entire cosm. On Tellus, the powerful seek more power, and the powerless are held in contempt. This belief is nearly universal.

Save for the Youxia. These are the rebels, those who reject the philosophy of power. Many are wushu warriors, and some are Qi Masters. Others are hackers, sneak-thieves, and political rebels. Also spies, wealthy businessmen, and great leaders.

All Youxia oppose the selfish moral code of the Authority, and protect the powerless and oppressed from the depredations of the powerful. They also seek to destroy the Authority's monopoly over Qi, to destroy their monasteries and liberate portals to the Otherworld.

Now that the Authority has invaded Core Earth, the Youxia have come here to continue their war. Here they hope to find allies. Here they hope to defeat the nearly-omnipotent masters of Tellus.

This all sounds very much like Feng Shui, which given the similarities to TORG is only appropriate.  

JG