TheRPGSite

Time to get serious. Storm Knights + the ∞ Infinity Gaming System. This is going to happen.

I'm done redefining the various cosms, I'm done replumbing axioms, I'm done roughing out mechanics.

In short — I. Am. Done. Fucking. Around.

Three months. In three months is PAX, the Penny Arcade Expo, in Seattle. When I get back, we are playtesting this son of a bitch. Weekly or biweekly, over video chat in Roll20.net.

9 Realities. 4 players. 1 campaign.

The next three months is about me getting my mechanics and campaign background into good enough shape to start running the game. Preliminary mechanics, sketched-in cosm writeups, rough draft FX systems.

And, of course, it will all be blogged. All the run-up, all the rough drafts, all the mechanical development. All at Daddy Warpig's House of Geekery:

daddywarpig.wordpress.com (http://daddywarpig.wordpress.com)

Three months until...

Holes in time and space. Invaders from other cosms. Storms that warp Reality itself.

Three months until the end of the world.

"Temple of the First Mother" Members Detained by LAPD

Jan. 1, 2015 | 12:56 pm

Los Angeles, California (NP)

In the aftermath of last night's protest, lawyers for the Temple of the First Mother held a press conference to denounce the allegedly unlawful detention of nearly the entire Orange County Chapter of the nascent religion.

"This is religious persecution, pure and simple," said Jim Wells, church spokesmen. "The State of California has been oppressing us at every step, interfering with our rights to peaceful assembly, free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and right to educate our children as we see fit."

[...]

Founded in Pasadena in late 2013, the Temple of the First Mother is the fastest growing religious sect in America, with some 65,000 members nationwide, most in the Los Angeles basin.

See Also:

Video: Protesting "Compulsory Education"
Photos of a Temple Retreat
Editorial: Are the "Hipster Amish" Really a Threat to Society?

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Congratulations on taking the big step. I'll be following with interest.

YES. Congrats. Can't wait to see what you come up with. :)

Quote from: The Butcher;659340Congratulations on taking the big step. I'll be following with interest.

Quote from: Benoist;659348YES. Congrats. Can't wait to see what you come up with. :)

Quote from: The Traveller;659390Excellent.

Thanks. I'll be updating the thread as often as possible.

Excellent.

To invade, High Lords need Supporters. Supporters are people who believe that some significant aspect of an invading Reality is real, believe it will shortly become real, or deeply want it to be real.

Example: Transhumanists believe that AI will happen, they deeply want it to happen, and indeed believe it is imminent (within a decade). Some percentage of devoted transhumanists could qualify as supporters of an invading science fiction Reality.

Now, they don't have to accept all aspects of an invading Reality. Singular elements (so long as they are significant) do qualify.

One element of the Dark Papacy is real miracles from God. If someone believes such miracles exist or deeply, devoutly wishes they did, they can qualify as a Supporter.

Another element of the Dark Papacy is a Christian theocracy. The more one believes that such a thing is possible or imminent, the greater a chance they might qualify as a Supporter. (Even if they hate the idea of a theocracy, if they believe one is possible and imminent, they can qualify.)

Thus, all High Lords precede their invasion efforts with significant propaganda, designed to convince people to devoutly wish that some significant aspect of their Reality were true, to believe that it is true, or to believe that such a thing is imminent. They cement this belief with Possibility Energy. Those with devout enough beliefs, who are touched by the PE, qualify as Supporters.

So, what is the Temple?

It is part of the propaganda efforts of the Living Land. This new religion encourages belief in a real Goddess, who wields power over the world. It encourages belief in miracles, the energy of life, and a coming techno-apocalypse. All of these are key aspects of the Living Land.

According to the teachings of the Temple, the world is being overgrown by technological tools and weapons. They choke out life, leach away the joy of living. Devout adherents are encouraged to give up the material trappings of modern existence and take up life on one of the Temple's many settlements. (Hence the common insult — "Hipster Amish".)

They voluntarily give up technology, but (according to their beliefs) all people will be forced to, sooner or later. There is a coming techno-apocalypse, which will see the end of technology and the birth of a new age of freedom and life, when the Goddess' prophets — the Enlightened — return.

News From the Near Now

Contagious Cancer Epidemic Ravages Europe

Jan. 2, 2015 | 8:16 am

Paris, France (NP)

The number of victims of Marchal-Wilson cancer continues to grow, despite quarantine measures recently put into place across the European Union. Public health officials confirmed that cases have been identified in most EU nations, with the largest concentration found in Paris, France.

No official death toll has been released, but doctors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, estimate that between 1000 and 2000 people have died from the cancerous infection. The number of infected is thought to be in the tens of thousands.

Like the contagious canine cancer discovered in 2006, Marchal-Wilson can be transmitted from one organism to another, in this case through contact with bodily fluids (including blood and saliva).

Though research is ongoing, no treatment or vaccination has been discovered.

See Also:

Video: Mysterious Origins of a Contagious Cancer
Right Wing Parties Surge at the Polls; Is an EU Rollback in the Offing?
Photo Essay: Thousands Flock to Healing Waters

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Yes, it really does exist. Was, as the story notes, confirmed in dogs in 2006. In the Near Now, it's a real and growing threat.

Why?

Well Europe is, by and large, a very secular collection of countries. In England, for example, there are two churches together on the same road that were designed to hold thousands of churchgoers, each. And, every Sunday, they have about 26 attendees... between them.

The churches in Europe are empty. So how do you "sell" a Dark Ages corrupt Christian theocracy to such a people?

The three beliefs that make Supporters: Do exist, will exist, should exist.

Christian miracles, theocracy, pagan magic: these are the three easiest beliefs to sell to Europeans. If you can convince people that any one of these three does exist, will exist, or should exist, they can count as a Supporter. (Not will, but can.)

Cancer is one of the most feared diseases known to man. An actress famed for her beauty had a radical double masectomy, just because she was genetically prone to cancer. No lumps, no tumors, not even a hint of disease... just because she would probably get it some day.

And there is, as of yet, no vaccine and no cure. Treatments — painful, humiliating treatments — but no cure.

So, the Antipope calls down a plague on the nation of unbelievers. A scourge that will cause people to sicken and die. And contagious cancer begins spreading.

And people panic. And some turn to God. Some go to churches. Some pray for miracles.

Statues of saints, and if you touch them you might be cured. Fountains of blessed waters, and if you bathe you might be cured. Priests of many different religions, and if you pray you might be cured.

Does happen, will happen, should happen. If you are desperate, and you want miracles, need miracles, spend hours in prayer or pain hoping for miracles... you might qualify as a Supporter.

It is a brutal and ugly strategy, but High Lords are brutal and ugly people.

Shizuoka Dumping Scandal Claims Another Politician

Jan. 3, 2015 | 3:00 pm

Tokyo, Japan (IPA)

The recent toxic waste dumping scandal has claimed another victim: Japanese Prime Minister Akifumi Ohayashi. Recently implicated in the months-long scandal, the Prime Minister offered his resignation at Midnight, Tokyo time, last night.

Politicking over his replacement has already begun in the Diet...

See Also:

Civil Unrest on Okinawa
Kyoto Psychic Predicts Alien Invasion
Martial Arts Otaku Increasing In Number, Influence

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[Retrieved 5-JUL-2015 from web.archive.net. Original source: //www.latribunejournal.com]

A chemical spill is just about the most cliched event for Nippon Tech. According to the official sourcebook, there’s even a factory on Marketplace devoted solely to pumping out toxic waste.

But that’s not my Nippon Tech.

My Reality builds on the essential elements of the old: martial arts, spies, near-future tech. This is the Wuxia Technothriller reality.

Technothrillers are spy stories, with advanced technology and espionage. And Wuxia is, well, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Fantastic martial arts, in ancient China.

Well, not actually in ancient China but in another world, a Secondary World, called Jianghu. This is a place analogous to Middle Earth: an imagined or Mythic past.

See, in the cosm of Tellus, there is Qi or “breath”. And qi powers fantastic abilities. Strikes, blocks, running across water, leaping into the sky.

Various schools or clans of martial artists have specific hidden techniques to use qi. They fight for them, steal them, kill to protect them. Feuds over them last for generations.

Jianghu is the world of qi, the place where those abilities are most potent. Tellus is the mundane world, where qi exists, but is hidden. Jianghu is ruled by the Emperor, Tellus by the Authority - a corrupt cabal of wicked men, who seek to control qi.

In Tellus and Jianghu, the poor and helpless are oppressed by the powerful and wealthy. Corrupt landowners, cruel officials, gangs and criminal kingpins. Xia, wandering heroes, defend the helpless, using their martial arts to defeat the wicked.

Which takes us to toxic waste. Part of this Reality is a feeling of helplessness in the face of government apathy, criminal mischief, and naked greed. The High Lord fosters belief in the corruption inherent in institutions. People who lose faith in businesses and the government, and who come to fear them, move closer to becoming a Supporter of the Reality.

So, there was a toxic waste spill, not because all businesses are evil but because the government was corrupt. Bribery, influence, scandal — and belief in Wuxia Technothriller becomes a little stronger.

Aftermath Destroys the Competition

Jan. 4, 2015 | 1:51 pm

Los Angeles, CA (NP)

CBC's darkhorse primetime hit "Aftermath" has won the much coveted Friday night time slot for the third week in a row, handily defeating NBR's veteran "Castaways" reality show. The show's unexpected success has sparked a scramble among CBC's competitors for mid-season replacements to face the ratings juggernaut.

"It's single-handedly revived the art of the scripted drama," said Jim Chase, media critic for the New York Herald. "In an age of Reality TV, 'Aftermath' proves that great writing and solid acting still has a place in network television."

The show's gritty and grounded approach to a post-technology world has been a hit with critics and viewers alike. "Aftermath" also rules the social media landscape, its MyFriends page garnering nearly 20 million fans, a world record.

See Also:

Will The World End This Fall? CBC’s "Aftermath" Says "Yes"
Kent Anderson: An Unlikely Leading Man
Video: "Four Geeks" Gab About "Aftermath"

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[Retrieved 23-Jul-2015 from web.archive.net. Original source: //www.latribunejournal.com ]

This is really cool. Please keep going! I also love how you mimic transcripts for the news stories. Nice touch!

(edit: Also: it's feud, not fued).

Quote from: danbuter;659970This is really cool. Please keep going! I also love how you mimic transcripts for the news stories. Nice touch!

Thanks. :)

Quote from: danbuter;659970(edit: Also: it's feud, not fued).

And thanks for that. Corrected.

Quote from: Daddy Warpig;659867A chemical spill is just about the most cliched event for Nippon Tech. According to the official sourcebook, there's even a factory on Marketplace devoted solely to pumping out toxic waste.

But that's not my Nippon Tech.

My Reality builds on the essential elements of the old: martial arts, spies, near-future tech. This is the Wuxia Technothriller reality.

Technothrillers are spy stories, with advanced technology and espionage. And Wuxia is, well, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Fantastic martial arts, in ancient China.

Well, not actually in ancient China but in another world, a Secondary World, called Jianghu. This is a place analogous to Middle Earth: an imagined or Mythic past.

See, in the cosm of Tellus, there is Qi or "breath". And qi powers fantastic abilities. Strikes, blocks, running across water, leaping into the sky.

Various schools or clans of martial artists have specific hidden techniques to use qi. They fight for them, steal them, kill to protect them. Feuds over them last for generations.

Jianghu is the world of qi, the place where those abilities are most potent. Tellus is the mundane world, where qi exists, but is hidden. Jianghu is ruled by the Emperor, Tellus by the Authority - a corrupt cabal of wicked men, who seek to control qi.

In Tellus and Jianghu, the poor and helpless are oppressed by the powerful and wealthy. Corrupt landowners, cruel officials, gangs and criminal kingpins. Xia, wandering heroes, defend the helpless, using their martial arts to defeat the wicked.

Which takes us to toxic waste. Part of this Reality is a feeling of helplessness in the face of government apathy, criminal mischief, and naked greed. The High Lord fosters belief in the corruption inherent in institutions. People who lose faith in businesses and the government, and who come to fear them, move closer to becoming a Supporter of the Reality.

So, there was a toxic waste spill, not because all businesses are evil but because the government was corrupt. Bribery, influence, scandal — and belief in Wuxia Technothriller becomes a little stronger.

Sounds more like Feng Shui than Marketplace.

Which is not a bad thing. ;)

JG

Quote from: James Gillen;660025Sounds more like Feng Shui than Marketplace.

Yes it does. Which was an accident... I actually got the idea from Far West. I'd never heard of wuxia until then.

So I read up on it and roughed out a setting, The Matrix meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, essentially.

Then I ran across Feng Shui. And there it was. Wow.. separated at birth (sorta, in the general concepts).

But it didn't bother me. Nippon Tech as the FS cosm? I'm okay with that.

You can do the same thing with several of the other cosms — Aysle's D&D, Victoria is Space: 1889, Tharkold is Rifts. The matches aren't exact, but they're close enough.

Quote from: James Gillen;660025Which is not a bad thing. ;)

I agree. It's a lot cooler, to start with. If you're going to have martial arts, they should be flashy and impressive. They should make mages say "Woah. You know kung fu."

(And if you read that quote in Keanu Reeve's voice, then you know exactly what I mean.)

Is there such a thing as a "good" High Lord, from a reality where the ideals that life normally beats out of everyone exist and are worked for?

Quote from: CRKrueger;660099Is there such a thing as a "good" High Lord, from a reality where the ideals that life normally beats out of everyone exist and are worked for?

Well, I could plumb the metaphysics and explain why, but this is the short version:

In order to become a High Lord, a person needs to have caused an immense amount of death and destruction, all for their own personal benefit (typically to gain power, prestige, or money). Any major conqueror — Alexander, Napoleon, Genghis Khan — would qualify, as would nearly any modern dictator.

Again, the reasoning is peculiar to my modified metaphysics, but that's the upshot.

The Living Land is the Lost Worlds reality. It is a technologically primitive, post-apocalyptic world, inhabited by tribal bands who worship the Goddess Lanala.

Part of their strategy for gaining Supporters is to encourage belief in the breakdown of civilization and technology. Media like "Mad Max", "After Earth", "Revolution", "Oblivion", and the fictional "Aftermath" all qualify.

Enter Tharkold.

Tharkold is the chief enemy of the Living Land and, in my campaign world, steals California from the Lost Worlds reality. But how is this possible? If High Lords needs Supporters to invade — and they do — where does Tharkold get its Supporters from?

Well, Tharkold is also a post-apocalyptic Reality. So, all the effort and energy the Living Land put into creating people who believe in such things, also created Supporters of Tharkold.

So when Tharkold invaded the West Coast, there were enough Supporters to support the realm.

Nessie... in the North Sea?

Jan. 5, 2015 | 6:07 am

Aberdeen, Scotland (IPA)

The video was one for the ages, at least on NetTube. Three drunk fishermen, casting at midnight off the coast of Scotland, singing old sea chanties and having a grand time... until a massive wave nearly swamps their boat.

Posted just after 3 am, the video went unnoticed until someone made note of a scaly fin in the water behind the drunk lads. Soon after, it went viral with more than 9 million plays in less than 24 hours.

Responding to numerous twits about the video, Aberdeen policemen detained the three suspects, pending an investigation into the nature of their nighttime excursion.

Video embedded below.

See Also:

Pub Ban Blamed for Drunk Driving Accidents
Editorial: Lads at Sea — Is Prison Enough?
MyFriends Rally for the Aberdeen 3

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I hope you are going to add new Realities, and not just rehash the old. I recommend a Faeirie realm. Have it like the old stories, not the Disney versions. Mabb and Titania (or whomever), both super-powerful, also generally just not interested in humans, other than as an experiment. Of course, this brings in trolls, goblins, elves, boggans, etc.

Quote from: danbuter;660322I hope you are going to add new Realities, and not just rehash the old.

There are 8 primary invading Realities, divided into two factions. Then Core Earth (of course) and Orrorsh.

Faction A — The Original Invaders
The Living Land: The Lost Worlds Reality
Nippon Tech: The Wuxia Technothriller Reality
The Cyberpapacy: The Cyber-Religious Reality
Kadandra: The Cyber Pulp Reality

Faction B — The Spoilers
Tharkold: The Techno-Horror Reality
The Nile Empire: The Pulp Supers Reality
Aysle: The High Magic Reality
Victoria: The Gothic Steampunk Reality

Each of these Realities has either been revamped (keeping the same concept, but re-implementing it), redesigned (around a whole new central concept), or (in the case of Kadandra) built from scratch. (And even Kadandra borrows elements from existing Realities, in this case the Space Gods.)

So, there aren't any wholly new Invading Realities. However, the Living Land has Lost Worlds, which are literally pieces of cosms they invaded. Since the Living Land has invaded around a hundred cosms, there are plenty of novel Realities there.

(Faeries are a large part of Aysle. I'll touch on them later.)

I'm just waiting to see what the Nile Empire looks like.  :D

JG

Quote from: James Gillen;660430I'm just waiting to see what the Nile Empire looks like.  :D

The Nile is coming up. :)

High Lords should be brutal and effective villains, the kind who've read the Evil Overlord list and never do a single thing on it. (Whereas, in oTorg, the High Lords had all read the Evil Overlord list, and did every single thing on it as often as possible.) A lot of my effort in building the setting has been to make High Lords the dastardly villains they should be.

And I'm about to break that.

You see, this was an accident. Just an accident.

A Draconis Aquatica, an Ayslish sea dragon, was en route from Point A to Point B and accidentally capsized the boat. (Or nearly so.) It wasn't part of some grand scheme, it wasn't part of a secret plan to make people believe in magical monsters, it was just an accident.

Which happens. After all, even if the High Lord is a canny, ruthless, cunning villain, not all of his subordinates are. And even canny, ruthless bastards who have literally Conquered the World — more than once! — can make the odd mistake. Which is what happened here.

Ooops!

I won't lie - I wasn't terribly interested at first, Torg seeming like something that's just not my cup of tea. But you've pitched my interest, should I ever wish a truly gonzo game. Good entertaining marketing, so to speak ;).

Quote from: Rincewind1;660583I won't lie - I wasn't terribly interested at first, Torg seeming like something that's just not my cup of tea. But you've pitched my interest, should I ever wish a truly gonzo game. Good entertaining marketing, so to speak ;).

Thanks. Though you should know that all of the setting details in the thread are from my revision of Torg, not the original game. So, there's that.

Though, were I running the company making Torg, I'd definitely do a Countdown to Armageddon in the months leading up to releasing the game. Builds excitement, teaches people the setting, explains the concepts behind the game. As you said, entertaining marketing.

Quote from: danbuter;660322I hope you are going to add new Realities, and not just rehash the old.

I actually want to talk about this.

Back in the day — over a decade ago, when all this began — I was originally going to create a slate of wholly new Realities. I read a lot about different genres, identified ones not used in the original game, brainstormed, even created several.

But none of them quite worked. And, as the years have gone on, I've found myself turning back to the original cosms.

For example, I made a world called "The Wastelands". It was a lost worlds Reality, ruled by inhuman maltheistic deities, where people could call on them for power, but doing so warped your body. I created several World Laws detailing how this Reality worked. Eventually, I just let it lie fallow because it wasn't working.

Fast forward to last year. Someone asked about the Living Land, and how we would change the World Laws. I realized the Wastelands World Laws would be a perfect fit for the Living Land. So I posted a cleaned up version, and they were. They made the Living Land into a cool and interesting setting.

Writing a whole new Reality prompted me to create material that could improve one of the original Realities. This has happened again and again, right down the line.

I never made a big, dramatic decision to stick with the originals. In fact, in the beginning my Storm Knights project was defined by its rejection of the original cosms. Having struck out radically on my own, the cumulative effect of several small decisions lead me back to the original Realities. Each tiny improvement took me further away from my own stuff and back to the canon.

So, that's why I'm rehashing the originals — nothing else worked. And the revamped original Realities work well.

"Murder, Cannibalism, Terrorism"

Interrogation Transcript, Royal Malaysian Police
Location: Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
Suspect: Kembang Bisa
Charges: Murder, cannibalism, terrorism

Recording Date: Jan 6, 2015
Transcription: Jan 10, 2015.

DHS International Anti-Terrorism Liason Office
# # # Classified # # #
# # # Unauthorized access is a violation of applicable Federal statutes and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. # # #

Participants
Voice #1, Male: Unidentified Criminal Investigation Division investigator
Voice #2, Male: Detained suspect Kembang Bisa, suspected J-I/KMM associate
Voice #3, Male: Unknown, possible UNGERIN intelligence officer

- - - TRANSCRIPT BEGINS - - -

Voice #1: Why the lies? We know you were there. Confess your crime, and God will forgive.

Kembang: [Distressed] I would never hurt the child. It was a lang suir. [Vampire] She attacked the child.

Voice #3: Come, Mr. Kembang, do you expect us to believe that? That it was a demonic woman who attacked the girl?

Kembang: I saw her. She had long nails and held the child up to her neck and was drinking the blood.

Voice #3: Now.

[Loud crashes and a yell.]

Kembang: [Unintelligible]

- - - TRANSCRIPT ENDS - - -

# # # Classified # # #
# # # Unauthorized access is a violation of applicable Federal statutes and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. # # #

[Retrieved 22-JUL-2015 from dhs.gov.]

Love this stuff.

Reminds me of CP2020's newspaper stuff and the better GURPS sourcebooks and that's a compliment!

Quote from: The Ent;660660Love this stuff.

Reminds me of CP2020's newspaper stuff and the better GURPS sourcebooks and that's a compliment!

Thank you! :o

Victoria is, oddly enough, Victorian. Literally. It's the cosm of Victoriana, the Gothic Steampunk reality.

In Victoria, supernatural beings exist, but are hidden from the general populace. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts, mummies: all the mainstays of Victorian and Gothic fiction. More, spiritualism and occultism are strong elements (and there is no clear distinction between science and spiritualism).

It may seem depressingly straightforward, but promoting belief in occultism and Gothic monsters creates Supporters of the Reality. Hence, the events which lead to the interview.

I want to take a step back, however, and talk about Victoria.

In Storm Knights, Orrorsh is a peculiar Reality. It is the Reality of Fear, and can invade anywhere. See here: http://stormknights.arcanearcade.com/realities/orrorsh.html

Victoria, on the other hand, is not Orrorsh. Instead, it's Gaea: what the cosm of Victoriana might have become, had not Orrorsh invaded and conquered it.

Victoria is, first and foremost, a Steampunk cosm. Torg lacked a Steampunk Reality, and adding one has been part of my plan since the beginning.

But just ripping off Steampunk wasn't good enough, not for a game with Catholic Cyberpunk and ancient Egyptian pulp. It needed a twist. And enter the Gothics.

Victoria is not a Horror cosm. But it has elements of Gothic novels (generally accepted as a Horror genre) within it. In general, these elements are small and subtle: they add flavor to Steampunk, they don't dominate it.

But when selling a cosm of Victorian Colonialism to former overseas colonies, those aspects are the easiest to promote. And doing so creates Supporters. Hence the events that lead to the interview.

National Heritage Party Comes to Power in Egypt

Jan. 7, 2015 | 2:41 pm

Cairo, Egypt (IPA)

The ongoing political turmoil in the Egyptian capital has come to a sudden end following the resignation of President Hosni. Members of the National Heritage party, who lead the protests that followed last year's contested elections, have formed an interim government with several opposition parties.

"It was time for the voice of the people to have its day," said Wali Abasi, the president pro-tem and head of the party.

After four straight weeks of rioting, military units garrisoning the capital began standing down...

See Also:

Freedom International Blasts Egypt's Government
Israel Silent on Sinai Incident
Photo Essay: Celebrating Victory

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[Retrieved 19-JUL-2015 from web.archive.net. Original source: //www.latribunejournal.com ]

Pharaoh Mobius doesn't invade. He liberates.

He finds a downtrodden and oppressed ethnicity, and preaches to them liberation and vengeance. He uses his armies and Reality to lift them up and carry them to greatness. He has done this nine times before.

To a medieval England, chafing under the rule of the Franks. To Imperial China. To the Mongols. The Aztecs. And more.

He conquers their cosm, eradicates their Reality, and replaces it with his own. Medieval English pulp. Imperial Chinese pulp. Mongol horde pulp. Aztec pulp.

He then uses their armies to conquer the next cosm, to liberate the next downtrodden minority, to create his next empire.

His Empires are very much blood-and-soil 1930's dictatorships. Each Empire is ruled by an Overgovernor, and Mobius rules the Overgovernors.

The National Heritage party believes in the ancient past of a subjugated Egypt. Believes that Egypt is weak because foreigners have used and abused her. Believes that a great ally shall appear, to lead Egypt back to greatness. It has come to power, because many other Egyptians believe the exact same thing.

Mobius isn't a conqueror. He is a liberator. And the people of Egypt are ready to follow.

Choose Freedom

[Advertisement. Published in the New York Herald, Jan. 8, 2015.]

Are your things choking out your life?



If life is a garden, things are the weeds.

Choose freedom. Choose joy. Choose life.

A message from the Temple of the First Mother.

[Retrieved 3-JUL-2015 from web.archive.net. Original source: //www.newyorkherald.com ]

Quote from: Daddy Warpig;661136Pharaoh Mobius doesn't invade. He liberates.

He finds a downtrodden and oppressed ethnicity, and preaches to them liberation and vengeance. He uses his armies and Reality to lift them up and carry them to greatness. He has done this nine times before.

To a medieval England, chafing under the rule of the Franks. To Imperial China. To the Mongols. The Aztecs. And more.

He conquers their cosm, eradicates their Reality, and replaces it with his own. Medieval English pulp. Imperial Chinese pulp. Mongol horde pulp. Aztec pulp.

He then uses their armies to conquer the next cosm, to liberate the next downtrodden minority, to create his next empire.

His Empires are very much blood-and-soil 1930's dictatorships. Each Empire is ruled by an Overgovernor, and Mobius rules the Overgovernors.

The National Heritage party believes in the ancient past of a subjugated Egypt. Believes that Egypt is weak because foreigners have used and abused her. Believes that a great ally shall appear, to lead Egypt back to greatness. It has come to power, because many other Egyptians believe the exact same thing.

Mobius isn't a conqueror. He is a liberator. And the people of Egypt are ready to follow.

This?  This is brilliant.

I can even make this work in the official canonical context, simply by having Mobius claim to be a reincarnation or revived figure of this sort from his own cosm of origin, making the (Personality) Cult of Eternal Liberation something that forms the very foundation of his power- and gives some much-needed nuance to his villainy.

Quote from: Daddy Warpig;661136Pharaoh Mobius doesn't invade. He liberates.

He finds a downtrodden and oppressed ethnicity, and preaches to them liberation and vengeance. He uses his armies and Reality to lift them up and carry them to greatness. He has done this nine times before.

To a medieval England, chafing under the rule of the Franks. To Imperial China. To the Mongols. The Aztecs. And more.

He conquers their cosm, eradicates their Reality, and replaces it with his own. Medieval English pulp. Imperial Chinese pulp. Mongol horde pulp. Aztec pulp.

He then uses their armies to conquer the next cosm, to liberate the next downtrodden minority, to create his next empire.

His Empires are very much blood-and-soil 1930's dictatorships. Each Empire is ruled by an Overgovernor, and Mobius rules the Overgovernors.

The National Heritage party believes in the ancient past of a subjugated Egypt. Believes that Egypt is weak because foreigners have used and abused her. Believes that a great ally shall appear, to lead Egypt back to greatness. It has come to power, because many other Egyptians believe the exact same thing.

Mobius isn't a conqueror. He is a liberator. And the people of Egypt are ready to follow.

Can't be worse than what they've got now.

JG

Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;661172This?  This is brilliant.

Thank you, sir.

Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;661172I can even make this work in the official canonical context, simply by having Mobius claim to be a reincarnation or revived figure of this sort from his own cosm of origin,

Actually, he was this on Terra. Sort of. He actually, literally raised Egypt to greatness on Terra.

Pharaoh Mobius emerged in the criminal underworld of Terra, circa the late 1910's. (Terra being much like Earth of the same period.) Calling himself Doctor Mobius, he quickly gained a reputation for great cunning, intricate plans, and the fanatical loyalty of his followers.

After several unbelievably spectacular heists and thefts, the Pharaoh disappeared in 1927, apparently slain by one of the Terran Mystery Men (this was, of course, untrue). At the time, it was rumored that he had amassed a fortune worth nearly a billion dollars.

The Pharaoh re-emerged in 1929, in Egypt. Attacking from a small, previously unknown island off the coast of Africa (called Khem), he invaded the Kingdom of Egypt, routing and destroying its armed forces. His conquest of the African nation was secured in early 1930 when he defeated the British forces in and around the Suez Canal, seizing control of the strategic waterway.

The Pharaoh's victory was not only due to his technological advantages, but to his brilliant and unconventional tactics. At the time of the attack, the Pharaoh's armies were small, but well-equipped. The great fortune he had amassed had been well used to secure state-of-the-art weapons, planes, tanks, artillery, and transportation, as well as the provisions for a short but intense war.

The British government tried to retake Egypt twice, once with a disastrous amphibious landing at Alexandria and once with a more conventional invasion from Palestine, across the Sinai. Both were defeated. Forced to the peace table in 1931, the British signed the Treaty of Thebes, recognizing the new nation (The Empire of the Nile).

After this victory, he created a political ideology called Revivalism, and propagated it worldwide. Revivalist governments came to power in many nations, and became allies of the Nile.

The National Heritage party teaches Revivalist ideology, and that's what makes believers in it Supporters of the Nile. (Potentially.)

The edeinos religion is unplayable. Period.

Taken seriously — that is, if someone tried to roleplay its tenets, or a character who believed in them — the result would be a character who simply couldn’t interact with any other PC’s, or engage in the globe-travelling cosm-hopping that is the raison d’etre of Torg. For Storm Knights, I’ve rewritten the religion.

In fact, I’ve rewritten nearly all of the Living Land, to fix problems with the game mechanics, World Laws, and several other areas. Just recently, at the request of a fellow Torg fan, I compiled, edited, and posted all these rewrites. You can most easily find them here: http://goo.gl/OJEbP

Revised Keta Kalles is about life and living it fully and well. It isn’t about sensualism or murdering people who use technology. (There is a bias against tools that aren’t alive, but edeinos have the ability to craft living tools, meaning they can have spears and such, made from living plants.)

Accordingly, these precepts — how to live a full and vibrant life — hold for the Temple of the First Mother, as it’s the religion Baruk Kaah created to create Supporters for his invasion. Some of the Templers do embrace a back-to-land ethos (the “Hipster Amish”), but it isn’t required.

What the Temple does preach is that focusing on material things takes you away from living your life. You should be running, swimming, talking with others, not polishing your car, buying a huge house, or playing video games. People can do those things, but it’s better to live life rather than focus on your things.

Yes, you own your possessions, but your possessions also own you. By choosing life, you also choose freedom.

BuDoFa is a BFD!

Posted: 09-01-2015 | 3:15 PM

Ain’t It Great News Exclusive!!!!!!!!!!

I’m in LA, at McCormick’s Chinese Theater, on the red carpet, walking into the premiere showing of Budou Fantaji!!!!!!

The size of the crowd here is incredible. I never thought I’d see this many Americans coming out to see a subtitled, animated, foreign movie. BuDoFa really is a phenomenon.

I’m right behind “Aftermath’s” Kent Anderson, supposedly a rabid anime fan. (A little bird told AIGNews he's up for the Mori Sadao part in the live action American adaptation. It’ll probably be shit, but…) He’s got some vapid starlet clinging to him.

Behind me is Gina Ferrari, giving an interview to “Celebrities Tonight”. What is up with her hat? Ren-fash, LOL!

I think I even saw Kaito-sama somewhere up front. I’ll try and talk to him, to thank him on behalf of all you Gorillas. AIG FoEvAh!!!!!!!

Going in now, have to put away the Blueberry. I’ll be twitting from inside the theater, as long as the ushers don’t catch me. Updates tonite!

See all you apes in the forums!

[Retrieved 03-JUL-2015 from web.archive.net. Original source: //www.aintitgreatnewsblog.com ]

Budofa is a contraction of Budou Fantaji (“Martial Arts Fantasy”), a manga published in 2011. Budofa became a bestseller in Core Earth’s Japan, a true crossover hit. The series was translated into, at last count, 30 different languages and reprinted worldwide.

Budou Fantaji tells the story of the ronin Tenshi, a beautiful woman who dresses all in white (boots, jeans, turtleneck, trenchcoat). She arrives in Tokyo suddenly, during a rainstorm, pursued by several deformed Yokai. She is accidentally saved by a group of street punks, who carry her off into the night.

The series revolves around Gokuraku, an otherwordly realm much like Kamakura-era Japan, where The General (Shougun) has taken control of the Emperor and his family, and rules unjustly in their name. Wandering ronin, masters of fantastic martial arts, fight The General and his nobles (the Daimyo). Agents of The General had also crossed over into the real world and begun establishing his authority there.

In the end, Tenshi banishes The General’s agents from Japan, but at the cost of her life. Students of hers, including survivors of the original street gang, were taught martial arts, and carry out raids in Gokuraku.

Stylistically, Budofa shares a lot of elements with other martial arts manga. Its biggest proximate inspiration, however, is the flying swordsman wuxia stories of China. Budofa is, in many respects, a Japanification of wuxia.

This is no accident.

Nippon Tech is the Wuxia Reality, and Budofa is a relatively straightforward adaptation of the Reality. The devoted fanbase of the manga (and its anime) — called Budofa otaku — are all prime candidates to Support the Reality.

Note: Due to personal circumstances, this is my last “Countdown to Armageddon” post for a while. I do have several others written, and ideas for many more, but I’m unable to complete them right now.

I’ll be back as soon as possible.

It's cool.  Go take care of business.

I went to the d6 forums and read your full redevelopment of the Living Land (http://www.d6online.com/forum/showthread.php?3719-The-quot-Storm-Knights-quot-Living-Land).  Damn.  That's some serious genius thrown around there.  You (with help) made the Land fully playable, and all from sources in the original cosmbook.

Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;661647It's cool.  Go take care of business.

I went to the d6 forums and read your full redevelopment of the Living Land (http://www.d6online.com/forum/showthread.php?3719-The-quot-Storm-Knights-quot-Living-Land).  Damn.  That's some serious genius thrown around there.  You (with help) made the Land fully playable, and all from sources in the original cosmbook.

Thank you. That's a massive compliment, I appreciate it.

I only hope that, when I get the other Storm Knights Realities finished, they can stack up.

Well, Peter Jackson's King Kong is hardly bad source material for The Living Land.

JG

The Nile Empire stuff is brilliant.

Quote from: RPGPundit;661901The Nile Empire stuff is brilliant.

Thank you.

Yeah this is one of my few rainy day threads, I save them for those times when life is just not playing nice. Keep it coming as and when you can, it's being enjoyed.

Quote from: The Traveller;662055Yeah this is one of my few rainy day threads,

:) Thanks for that. I'll be back as soon as I can.

Just an FYI:

Dan Davenport has unexpectedly and graciously invited me to participate in his interview series in the RPG.net IRC channel, discussing Storm Knights and the ∞ Infinity Gaming System (my own little action-movie RPG).

I'll be joining the chat on:

Thursday, 27 February 2014 at 7 PM – 9 PM Central Time

at http://tinyurl.com/rpgnetchat (http://tinyurl.com/rpgnetchat)

So drop in. It'll be fun!

(Or, if you can't make it, read the transcripts at: http://gmshoe.blogspot.com (http://gmshoe.blogspot.com))

See you there!