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... I think I'm going to do a recursion (-very loosely-) based on the Joy Luck Club.

All the PCs translate into Chinese American women*, all descendants of the same 106 year-old matriarch.  Their foci are things like Reads Too Much, Works the System, Works for a Living, Plays Too Many Games, etc.  Nothing combat or supernatural or special really. The recursion meanwhile gives edges to anyone trying to discover a secret or cause an emotional turn (for good or ill).  The setting is a fancy resort lodge, somewhere in the Rockies, booked for this large family reunion.

The purpose is three fold: first the PCs are there to meet with Ruk agents on "neutral ground" so to speak (in my game, Ruk and its plans are -not- initially known to the Estate or PCs, and the PCs will be the one brokering relations).  The laws of the recursion (which the Ruk agents are aware of) should help create trust and get PCs to feel an emotional connection with the agents (unfortunately for Ruk, that will turn out to work both ways).  If things -do- go sideways... well, there's a whole mess of Ruk forces ready with smuggled in cyphers and tricks toface off against the PCs' powers and tricks.  But what are the odds of -that-happening.  :)

Secondly, it'll give the PCs a chance to pry out each other's secrets and fears and such (if any exist, and it comes up).

Thirdly, it'll prepare the PCs (and players) for the idea that translation can shift a character's -gender-.  Which will become relevant when the PCs eventually discover the woman they work for is actually Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes.

Next up... why are there planetovores hiding inside a Louis L'Amour western novel?

(*actually, they could all be white women for all it matters.  Really it's just me making a joke at the RPG industry's tendency to want to license IPs to make into games, rather than coming up with new settings on their own.  It dates back to me making fun of Masterbook specifically, so this joke has been a long time coming.  That the joke might actually work as a weird one-session unique experience is neither here nor there.)

You could go with the more recent Jane Austen Book Club novel that was also adapted into a film. That book was oddly written by Karen Joy Fowler who is actually a very fine sf writer who wrote the near-classic Sarah Canary.

Quote from: san dee jota;980884... I think I'm going to do a recursion (-very loosely-) based on the Joy Luck Club.

All the PCs translate into Chinese American women*, all descendants of the same 106 year-old matriarch.  Their foci are things like Reads Too Much, Works the System, Works for a Living, Plays Too Many Games, etc.  Nothing combat or supernatural or special really. The recursion meanwhile gives edges to anyone trying to discover a secret or cause an emotional turn (for good or ill).  The setting is a fancy resort lodge, somewhere in the Rockies, booked for this large family reunion.

The purpose is three fold: first the PCs are there to meet with Ruk agents on "neutral ground" so to speak (in my game, Ruk and its plans are -not- initially known to the Estate or PCs, and the PCs will be the one brokering relations).  The laws of the recursion (which the Ruk agents are aware of) should help create trust and get PCs to feel an emotional connection with the agents (unfortunately for Ruk, that will turn out to work both ways).  If things -do- go sideways... well, there's a whole mess of Ruk forces ready with smuggled in cyphers and tricks toface off against the PCs' powers and tricks.  But what are the odds of -that-happening.  :)

Secondly, it'll give the PCs a chance to pry out each other's secrets and fears and such (if any exist, and it comes up).

Thirdly, it'll prepare the PCs (and players) for the idea that translation can shift a character's -gender-.  Which will become relevant when the PCs eventually discover the woman they work for is actually Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes.

Next up... why are there planetovores hiding inside a Louis L'Amour western novel?

(*actually, they could all be white women for all it matters.  Really it's just me making a joke at the RPG industry's tendency to want to license IPs to make into games, rather than coming up with new settings on their own.  It dates back to me making fun of Masterbook specifically, so this joke has been a long time coming.  That the joke might actually work as a weird one-session unique experience is neither here nor there.)

Sounds like 100% pure distilled awesomesauce.  If the players bitch and complain about this one, make sure the next recursion they get dropped into is Jacob's Ladder. :eek:

(little sleep, headache, can't tell good ideas from bad ones right now)

Quote from: Voros;980887You could go with the more recent Jane Austen Book Club novel that was also adapted into a film. That book was oddly written by Karen Joy Fowler who is actually a very fine sf writer who wrote the near-classic Sarah Canary.

Yeah, but it lacks the same punch as saying "remember that time we all played a session based on The Joy Luck Club?"

I'm also toying with a (lesser) nemesis from a 1960's sci-fi flick: Borto the robot.  I'm going all out with blinking lights, spinny things, and utterly impractical design here.  He can walk, but probably not up stairs.  His arms end in three prong pincers that might be able to hold something if someone puts it in the pincers just right.  And he takes minutes to walk anywhere, turn around, etc.  But he's invulnerable to puny human weapons, can shoot death rays from his antenna, and is going through recursions looking for other robots and AIs to join him on his genocidal campaign to destroy humanity everywhere.  And with all those lights and spinny things, no robot can resist Borto!  It'll seem like a joke a first ("I think my smartphone has more power than this walking wind up junk!"), but eventually Borto will reach some Skynet-like system, meet up with Cybermen/Borg foes, and even manage to seriously threaten Earth's internet infrastructure with software attacks (like a days long global DDOS attack) and physical disruption (like blowing up telecommunications lines and satellites).  The idea is that Borto is a clown by the numbers ("I have thousands of bytes of storage!  More than a library could hold!"), but he's actually a serious threat.  I may also give him some sort of matter replication technology, because 1960's robots are magic!  :)

-----

"There can be only one, Sunshine Bear!"  "Tenderheart!  No!  We're on holy ground!"
"Friendship is magic.  But how can you be friends with someone that might be The Thing?"
"Life in the depression is hard for everyone, especially sick kids.  But you and the gang are going to put on a variety show to help raise funds to pay for your sick friend's medical bills after he got attacked by the masked man.  Dr. Loomis told you not to worry, but he sure looked scared."

Recursion cross-over bleeds do happen from time to time, but a Karum agent from Ruk has learned how to manufacture them, and is trying to do so in an attempt to destabilize the recursions that help protect Earth.  The PCs have to deal with this agent, his mashups, and contain his research.  (At the end of this, I think I'll give the PCs one or more reality seeds, and let them play at creating and growing a recursion)        

-----

Recursion tourism is a thing.  A very quiet, very expensive, very selective thing.  But a thing nonetheless.  The PCs are sent to crack down on a "guide agency", shutting it down and trying to acquire all the data on it that they can.  In the process they discover that this agency took people to one place, and one place only: Green Bluff, Illinois, circa 1979*.  The catch of course is that this town has a perfect, idealized version of the visitors' childhood home, and is populated by loved ones who have passed away.  Turns out the agency is working with the natives by translating into them (Martians, who believe this recursion to actually be Mars, and use telepathy to convince the visitors of Green Bluff's authenticity).  Rather than kill the visitors though, the agency has convinced the natives to let them visit for a while before sending them on their way, to broker peace.

Now the PCs have stepped in.  The Estate wants Green Bluff for rest and relaxation of its agents (and perhaps some side fund raising), the natives don't trust the PCs, and the former customers are doing everything in their (considerable) power to organize and get back to their dead loved ones (not realizing or believing they're actually telepathic projections from fictional characters).  Meanwhile, a Dark Energy Pharaoh has discovered Green Bluff and is working to "detach" the recursion from Earth and use it as the Pharaoh's private afterlife.

(*yes, I'm blatantly ripping off the old Martian Chronicles tv miniseries here.  If my players know it, great!  If they don't, I'm a genius!)

I like the way you think.

Quote from: san dee jota;980884... I think I'm going to do a recursion (-very loosely-) based on the Joy Luck Club.

All the PCs translate into Chinese American women*, all descendants of the same 106 year-old matriarch.  Their foci are things like Reads Too Much, Works the System, Works for a Living, Plays Too Many Games, etc.  Nothing combat or supernatural or special really. The recursion meanwhile gives edges to anyone trying to discover a secret or cause an emotional turn (for good or ill).  The setting is a fancy resort lodge, somewhere in the Rockies, booked for this large family reunion.

The purpose is three fold: first the PCs are there to meet with Ruk agents on "neutral ground" so to speak (in my game, Ruk and its plans are -not- initially known to the Estate or PCs, and the PCs will be the one brokering relations).  The laws of the recursion (which the Ruk agents are aware of) should help create trust and get PCs to feel an emotional connection with the agents (unfortunately for Ruk, that will turn out to work both ways).  If things -do- go sideways... well, there's a whole mess of Ruk forces ready with smuggled in cyphers and tricks toface off against the PCs' powers and tricks.  But what are the odds of -that-happening.  :)

Secondly, it'll give the PCs a chance to pry out each other's secrets and fears and such (if any exist, and it comes up).

Thirdly, it'll prepare the PCs (and players) for the idea that translation can shift a character's -gender-.  Which will become relevant when the PCs eventually discover the woman they work for is actually Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes.

Next up... why are there planetovores hiding inside a Louis L'Amour western novel?

(*actually, they could all be white women for all it matters.  Really it's just me making a joke at the RPG industry's tendency to want to license IPs to make into games, rather than coming up with new settings on their own.  It dates back to me making fun of Masterbook specifically, so this joke has been a long time coming.  That the joke might actually work as a weird one-session unique experience is neither here nor there.)

I like it. Not just for the poking some fun at the rpg industry but from a setting standpoint. There have to be some (or allot) of Recursions not based on action/adventure genres and fiction. I had a thread for Recursion seeds around here somewhere if you'd like to add this one to it.

This sounds like a lot of fun. I really want to hear about the planetovores (plural??) hiding inside a Louis L'amour novel, though!

Yes, I'm with WanderingMonster.

Quote from: Nexus;981079I like it. Not just for the poking some fun at the rpg industry but from a setting standpoint. There have to be some (or allot) of Recursions not based on action/adventure genres and fiction. I had a thread for Recursion seeds around here somewhere if you'd like to add this one to it.

Go ahead and add it!  Got a link?

As for action/adventure recursions....  I think the Strange really allows for all sorts of one-shots and micro-campaigns that another game wouldn't.  And you can play a recursion straight without action and adventure, but that would get old quick I fear (something about player psyches wanting action and feeling cheated if they don't get it I suspect).  Plus, The Strange lets you do all sorts of weird ideas just fine within the context of the setting. "Welcome to 'Beach Blanket Viral Load'.  Sure it sounds silly and dumb... but it's causing cellular transformations and painful mutations as people start turning into Frankie and Annette.  We're talking Cronenberg-Meets-Screaming-Mad-George level body horror here."

Quote from: WanderingMonster;981167This sounds like a lot of fun. I really want to hear about the planetovores (plural??) hiding inside a Louis L'amour novel, though!

My initial idea was "how do I make a Louis L'amour setting fun for my players?  I know!  Have a hidden base of Kray or something just outside the scope of the presented adventure, off hiding and using the recursion as a mining operation for uranium/gold/etc. to use to pay ignorant agents on Earth."

But I didn't like that.

So here's the idea.....

Before the Dark Energy Translation Network fell, there was a civilization that used it regularly.  They crafted exotic worlds as a form of art, and considered the acts of creation and exploration to be perhaps more important than actually interacting with other civilizations.  "We don't care about you, just your stories" was perhaps an illogical stance, but it was what they lived by.  And they took the knowledge they gained, and used it to create ever more complex and unique recursions.  

Then the Network came under attack.  First one civilization fell, then another, and another.  The details and natures of the attacks varied; sometimes it was a would-be conqueror out to seize power, other times alien creatures came to devour a world, still other times it seemed as if the Network simply... broke.  The civilization was terrified that at any moment they too could fall, so they took steps to preserve their creations and culture.  They merged their collective creativity and experiences and consciousness into one massive force, gathered their recursions around them, and moved to absorb the recursions and imaginations of their nearest neighbor, using them as both sword and shield and wall to protect themselves.  When a planetovore would approach, they would shoot dream worlds at it like bullets from a canon.  When the planetovores tried to devour, they would poison creations so that the meal would drive the attacker away.  Imaginations were shaped and molded into abstract means to attack cosmic level foes, and it worked!  So they absorbed another civilization, and another.  But this absorption proved too destructive; the minds gathered were minds gripped in terror, and over the ages the planetovores were learning how to circumvent them.  More variety was needed.  So it presented itself as a god, and asked people to believe in it and join it of their free will.  And this gave the amalgam an edge for a while.  But eventually the planetovores learned how to work around the new defenses and weapons.  A new tactic was needed.

By this time though, the Network was falling more and more silent, and the threats to the collective were dwindling.  It wasn't safe, and never truly felt safe, but the danger seemed lessened.

Around 8,000 years ago it attached itself to Earth, and implemented a new plan.  In recursions and in flesh and in dreams, the ancient people sent its muses to make an offer: "join with us, and know your creativity will live forever."  Almost every human has some spark of creativity, so any human could be approached by the muse at any time.  And if the person said no, they forgot the offer as the muse went to find another person, because the civilization couldn't let itself feel any hurry or pressure.  It knew taking humanity by force in one fell swoop would taint the thing it sought, just as "farming" humanity in controlled conditions through a unified religion or mass offer would.  But if the person told the mass collection yes to the offer....  We talk about people passing away in their sleep, or infants failing to thrive, or someone wasting away.  There seems to be no reason or cause for it, and perhaps there isn't most of the time.  Often though, often enough that some would panic, the person's death was actually their mind being taken into the aeon's old structure.        

Now the ancient force is connected to Earth through multiple recursions, from which it links to minds, sends its muses out, and occasionally intervenes with other forces and tools.  It knows of the Ruk, and hungers for them as well.  It senses the kray, and is gradually ramping up efforts to stop them.  But mainly it fears that humanity's time will soon come to an end.  How soon it doesn't know, but where it once thought it had millennia left to collect human materials, now it thinks it may only have centuries or even decades.  And make no mistake: if it can, it will devour the Earth before letting some other planetovore or threat drive humanity to extinction.    

The civilization isn't evil per se.  It's almost a compassionate force of nature in a way, offering people a form of immortality through their imagination and life experiences.  It takes those lives.some would say souls perhaps, and crafts them into new and elaborate worlds, built upon the minds of countless people across untold numbers of joined worlds*.  It won't forget them... until it has to excrete them in defense of its own recursions and variations on the consumed's dreams.  And that's the thing about this entity: it's like a force of nature that plays favorites, and despite what it says you're never its main favorite.  Earth will just be another tool to be used and discarded to save the dreams of a civilization nobody truly visits anymore.

(I figure in a game, this planetovore should come across as a terrifying force of immense power... that doesn't really do much.  It kills a few hundred people across the world every day in a peaceful manner, gives them a form of immortality through their works, and then burns those works to advance its own ends as needed.  Its too powerful to stop, a threat for future generations to deal with, and it seems interested in helping to stop other planetovores in the mean time.  But that's the horror of it: it will try to destroy the Earth and everyone on it when it think the planet can't be saved.  So PCs encounter muses, myrmidion soldiers, maybe even witness exotic alien recursions being fired in streams to stop a force invading the Earth, before they realize what the civilization is or what it truly wants.  And then... once they do so... they can't do much about it any more than they could reason with Time or Death.)    

(*the number is 73.  73 dead worlds.  Gotta' break up the purple prose a bit!)

Another way to put it:

There's a museum.  Inside this museum there's a piece of art that's self-aware.  It surrounds itself with other pieces of art to protect itself and throw as a weapon, growing bigger as it absorbs more and more art, to the point its likely bigger than the museum actually.  Sometimes it chases off thieves and threats that would damage the museum or steal the art before it could absorb it first.  It asks people in the museum to make more art for it, and if they agree it eats them and excretes any art they might have contained, but if they refuse it moves on to the next person.  Nobody has seen this original self-aware piece of art or knows its name.

The person running this website is a racist who publicly advocates genocidal practices.

I am deleting my content.

I recommend you do the same.

Quote from: Justin Alexander;981374Fantastic stuff.,

Thanks!

Quote from: Justin Alexander;981374What's your plan for Moriarty, out of curiosity? Depending on how things go, I'm aiming my Strange campaign towards something I'm dubbing The Moriarty War: A half dozen or so Moriartys from a variety of incursions, all of them quickened, end up waging a massive, trans-recursion conflict with each other.

(okay, buckle up, this is a long ride)

Well, I'm guessing we think alike, in that we've both read Strange Revelations and saw there were 2 Moriartys (I guess that's the plural of Moriarty?) and saw the episodes of Rick & Morty with the Council of Ricks?

Anyway....  I had to scrap a lot of Ricks (damn it) I mean Moriartys, as it threatened to overshadow the rest of the campaign and the PCs both.  I -try- to never run games with "pet NPCs", and Moriarty skirts close to that line.

Especially given the twist for the campaign I have in store.  

See, I'll start by writing some (hopefully) short fiction about a (the) Moriarty getting quickened and entering the Strange.  It's a weird, CGI montage of worlds, and transformations, and a smiling Moriarty.  Then, as the movie intro titles end and the song winds down (a modified version of "I'm Amazing" by Peter Gabriel for those playing at home) the camera zooms in on the PCs, who think they're survivors in Zed America (from Worlds Numberless and Strange).  They're raiding a research bunker outside Chicago, trying to rescue Dr. Hector Martinez who's been working on a cure for the zombie plague.  They don't find the doctor, but they do run into an Estate agent looking for them!  The flee Zed America for Earth, discovering the Estate was attacked by someone using a temporary amnesia weapon.  The PCs got hit just as they were translating, and so they didn't recover the way the rest of the Estate agents did.

 

So, back on Earth, the PCs (and players) learn about the Estate they work for, the Strange, recursions, and Ardeyn.  "Where's Ruk?"  Ruk is an unknown at this time.  Eventually the PCs will come to realize there's another, more experienced, group of recursion travelers out there.  The PCs will be the ones to discover Ruk, make diplomatic overtures with it, and act as representatives for the Estate with it.    Meanwhile, they'll also be working through the Dark Spiral campaign, random one-or-two session recursions, and the Moriarty stuff from Strange Revelations.  

Along the way they'll discover clues that someone has manipulated the records of the Estate to plant an agent within its ranks during the amnesia attack.  Turns out it wasn't amnesia everyone was hit with, but memory editing!  The PCs got their memories more severely messed up because they were hit in mid-translation.  

Now here's the fun part....

So the PCs find clues indicating Katherine Manner (the lead operative of the Estate) is none other than the great schemer, Moriarty!    All those memories of her working with Carter Strange, leading missions, being there when people needed her....  All of it was a lie!  So the PCs hunt after her, but she uses her skills and knowledge and contacts to barely stay ahead of the PCs, setting devious traps and delays to stall and then kill them.  Eventually though, they track her down and defeat her!  This will be the end of Strange Revelations, as at this point the PCs have captured Moriarty and all the parts of his doomsday device.

Just as one of the PCs, now revealed to be the -real- Moriarty, planned all along!  

Katherine Manner was Katherine Manner, and she figured out one of the PCs was actually Moriarty just as the PCs started chasing her.  Eventually she had to try to kill the innocent PCs to save the Earth from Moriarty, but she failed.

So... in a final twist... does the PC continue Moriarty's plan to conquer the world, or does the PC back away and accept his new identity as his only -real- identity?        

   

That'll be the end of the campaign.  Roll credits....

And then we have the post credit scene.  A man, a Moriarty, walks quietly out on a stage and says "welcomes everyone."  The camera pulls back slowly to reveal hundreds and hundreds of gathered Moriartys, in different-yet-similar forms.  And then a quick cut just as the kray broodmother bursts into the room sending the Moriarty's into a panic.  Finish credits.

the players would like in detail, in advance, relevant to the location they're going.  Player 1 gets 4 random sheets, picks one in secret, and passes the remaining 3 (plus a fourth I randomly add) to the next player.  Then the process repeats for players three and four, and at the end everyone reveals.  Also, they'll write their character name and recursion on the sheet for future visits!  The idea is each player sees some of the same options as other players, but everybody gets at least one choice nobody else did.  If someone has a foci that's already relevant to the location, they can choose to keep it or get added to the draw, but they have to choose before they get to look (because I'm a sadist!).  It does reduce player options, but hopefully the speed up and ease of translating their PCs will be worth it.  I'll certainly cave if the players hate the idea, but I may require them to pick out a selection of Foci in advance to speed play.  None of this "wait, wait, wait.  I need to look through those four books to find my min-max wet dream!">

Faux Salem Witch Trial Recursion - one PC translates into an accused witch, another PC translates into the defense attorney, with remaining PCs as members of the town.  Magic may or may not exist, but everybody -says- its real for fear of showing a lack of faith.  To the point people lie.  Also, one of the PC translations really -is- in league with Satan, and while all the PCs know this, none of the players (including me) know which PC was assigned this as part of the translation.  The Hidden Traitor PC can call on the devil to smite the villagers at any time, but in doing so will be "marked" in any future recursions involving Biblical demons and devils as belonging to Hell.



Giant Monster-Robot Recursion X!!! - At least one PC is a normal-sized human, and at least one PC is a giant (20 meters tall, minimum) monster.  Other PCs can be augmented street-level guardians (with suitable foci!) or giant robot pilots (also with suitable foci!).  Damage scales such that 1 point of damage from a giant sized character does 15 points of damage to a regular sized target; meanwhile, every 15 points a regular sized character does to a giant target is reduced to only 1 point.  Foci are translated to the suitable forms (e.g. Fights With Two Weapons could be two massive scythe claws for a giant monsters).  The PCs have to survive at least long enough to escape, ideally finding each other, while giant combatants fight inside (and subsequently, destroy) Tokyo.    

You've got some great ideas! Trippy buts a trippy game. I still don't feel like I have my head totally wrapped around it.

Quote from: san dee jota;981292Go ahead and add it!  Got a link?

No problem, here you go

http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?34443-The-Strange-Recursion-Seeds-thread&highlight=Recursions

Quote from: Nexus;981633I still don't feel like I have my head totally wrapped around it.

There's some not so small gaps in how things work in the game as is, that's for sure.  I'm thinking I'll just define stuff in minimum as needed, erring on the idea that recursions are actually full and complete worlds... unless otherwise stated.  I'm also going heavily with the idea that Earth, Ruk, the Strange, Recursions, etc. are all just parts of the same holographic consensual reality code; there's really no difference between a Rukian translating to Earth and an Earther translating to Zed America, as all three worlds are equally "real".  The core rules seem kind of quiet on this front, as the implications are big; potentially, Zed America is as big as our own universe, but translations are focused around Zed America.  A planetovore threatening it is really just threatening the part of Zed America people translate to, but that's enough.  Honestly, I expect to answer questions in contradictory ways, on a recursion by recursion basis, and if the players push back I'll just smile wisely and say "that's a mystery to discover."  Which isn't really a lie, although it does imply I have a secret answer ready for everything when I don't.

I'm also going with the idea that all this recursion traveling stuff has been around since soon after humanity learned to imagine, but it's increasing in frequency now, and cascading throughout this localized area of the Strange Network.  Recursors aren't new, but their rate of gaining the spark so much is.  The core rules touch on this idea, but I don't think they outright say it.

Also also, general world laws aren't really a thing.  Translating forces a person to accept foci that fit a recursion's theme, but inapposite gates allow anything to cross over... and they don't just die from unbelief (or whatever plot hook explains it).  It's this survival that's a change from the core rules.  

Let's see....  I'm going with the idea that the commonality of Cyphers is a reflection of the PCs' (and other recursors') connection to the Strange.  A normal person will not find a cypher just laying about, nor will a recursor.  But a Quickened is almost guaranteed to find some cypher laying about as part of their extra-specialness.  A small change perhaps, as any normal NPC with a cypher had to have gotten it from a Quickened.

The person running this website is a racist who publicly advocates genocidal practices.

I am deleting my content.

I recommend you do the same.

What do you feel is the intended play style for The Strange? Is most the "real" action supposed to be on Earth with Recusions as more of temporary stop to gather macguffins and "treasure" like Cyphers, almost like Dungeons? Since Player characters can pop in and out of them with relative ease and it seems like, canonically, most of the beings there aren't "real" (maybe more like P zombies or even automatons in less developed Recursions) unless they're anomalies that develop the Spark and, aside from the big picture aspects Recursions don't have much impact on the "real world" beyond limited plot devices they're meant to be more like, admittedly dangerous theme parks or a Star Trek holodeck with the safety protocols permanently shut off. PCs aren't supposed to care much about them or their inhabitants.

Or have I gotten the wrong impression? I'd like to run it differently but if that would be stretching the game too far from its intended style that could be more effort than its worth.

Overall, for a game that seems built around exploration and mystery, the Strange seems like too much of a solved problem especially with Estate knowing just about everything there is to know. I like the idea of organizations involved with the Chaosphere but I want to make it more of a recent discovery and the groups new and far less experienced, still figuring things out. They can clue the PCs in on the basics but can't basically hand them the rule book.

One change I'm strongly considering is allowing objects and abilities from Recursions to function longer on Prime Worlds so have more impact and maybe borrowing the concept of "World Laws" from Torgs and/or fleshing out the different Recursion laws (Magic, Psionics, Mad Science and Exotic). Maybe the less they diverge from Standard Physics the longer the creature or object will last.

I think I may double down to some degree on Fictional Bleed and rpg metaphor that seems inherent in Translation.

I imagine that many Recursions are structured like MU's with the important locales more fleshed out and the transition zones between them vague regions that pass quickly and present a sense of travel" (Rebel Space's hyperspace being the most blatant example), essentially slightly interactive, immersive travel montages. Inhabitants without the Spark never notice and even those that have it probably rationalize it as normal or just don't think about it much (Really, can you prove that stuff passing by the window on a long drive or flight is actually real or those buildings you walk pass are more than hollow sets and facades? ). As the Recursion grows and more becomes more developed those transition points get more fleshed out and interactive. Or sometimes they become points of connection to other Recursions with similar themes or the Strange itself.

I'm still considering how to depict being with the Spark. Making them essentially unaware robots is a little dull, IMO, and makes choices about dealing with them too simple. But I do want having the Spark to mean something significant. I'm considering treating it like being a Sleeper in the Matrix. They're aware but limited, with perceptions that are completely influenced by the rules and narrative of their particular Recursion. They don't and can't notice details that indicate there is something strange about their reality but operating with in it they're people. If anyone remembers the episode of Star Trek: TNG with Dr. Crusher in the collapsing "warp bubble" pocket universe and how no one but her notices people vanishing even to the point where it was just her and "Picard" on the ship. He thought it made perfect sense they were only crew. In tiny, new Recursion this is will lead to some strange behavior particularly if Recursors try to force awareness but that could be fun RP.

If I had the free time I did when I first started gaming I'd run different Recursions with different rule sets all together. That would better reflect my concept of how their differing realities work. They are really operating under such different laws that things even some basic concepts work differently.

I think in any case, I'm going to play up things like tropes and conventions as actual rules in Recursions though beings with the Spark can ignore or sidestep some of the behavioral ones and will notice things the locals don't such "L shaped sheets" and everyone always wears the same clothes in some Recursions. "Female Armor" and loin cloth barbarians might be perfectly viable even optimal in a Swords and Sorcery Recursion but death in a Gritty Dark Low Fantasy one.

I think I'm going to have Recursors who Translate be incorporated into the world more deeply than canon suggests with backstories and roles for their new lives effectively retconned in. This going to lead some questions but I think it'll be worth it and it plays up the RPG analogy. One thing thats going to be an issue in the game I want to run is keeping the PCs around. Being able to translate is a great escape hatch. It can require as little 10 minutes.

I've noticed that the published adventures have to deal with that either by having some force prevent translation or being set on Earth. That or they're fetch quests where the PCs must find a Macguffin on a specific Recursion. I want more interaction with Recursions beyond that but I'm not sure how to implement it without knee capping the PCs special ability.

Some changes to the Strange: I'm thinking of making the Strange itself more a natural aspect of reality than an alien construct even allowing for other Prime Matter universes with the possibility of Recursions becoming entirely new Universes in their own right. I want to allow for Strange and Recursions to exert some influences on Prime Matter world aside from Planetvores.

I really want more way to have Recursors feel like they should hang around and engage with "narrative" of a Recursion or that they have to instead of just bailing when they get the chance or get the Power ups (cyphers, etc) they want. There are some examples in the adventures but how many times can "strange energies" block translation? I get the feeling the intended playstyle was that Recussions are fairly shallow places, perhaps except for the main two Alreyn and Ruk that usually aren't very real or important but more like dungeons, places to raid and loot rather than interact with except maybe as tourists. I'd like them to be more than that.

As cross over fan fictions, deconstruction, parodies and other forms of fictional variations have become quite popular especially online I am considering having a dramatic increase in the number of gates between Recursions that are "related" occur as a recent change to the structure of The Strange itself perhaps to the point of having some Recursions more or less merge via Geographic gates which appear to be largely barren stretches of landscape (vast deserts, open seas, lonely stretches of road, etc) that act as seamless gates between Recursions and can allow for interactions. Being with the Spark might notice the cross over, those without it will rationalize any conflicts.

Along with encouraging PCs to interact and think of Recursions as more than resources mines I'd like to give what happens on them more impact on Earth like allowing for more materials and creature to pass back to the Prime matter universe and even have Fictional Leakage be a kind of two way street where some changes in The Strange can effect the the psyche of humanity. I'm not sure of the details.

I'd also like to implement Torg's Axioms and World Laws as a addition or replacement for The Strange's Laws to give Recursions a bit more definition and variety.

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Quote from: Justin Alexander;993965I think the biggest mistake of the core book is the focus placed on Ardeyn and Ruk. These are both the recursions best known to the Estate, but also recursions which are both specifically unusual exceptions to the norm. This leads to the perception that the Estate is a lot more knowledgeable than it actually is, and I think it also makes it harder to grok the setting.

I think you raise some good points. It was an odd choice to make two fairly large exceptions the nominal signature Recursions.

QuoteAs I mentioned in the post immediately before yours, I strongly encourage this change. I understand the world building impulse to put a half-life on recursions crossing over to Earth (because otherwise it's hard to see why it wouldn't rapidly get out of control and change the world as we know it), but I think it's a lot more interesting if "change the world as we know it" is a constant threat that the Estate has to deal with.

I think it encourages more interaction between Earth and Recursions if items and other features can be used for a significant time on Earth, effectively 'mined' for things and edges unavailable anywhere else. The Estate (and potentially PCs) get another job: controlling out breaks like items in the wrong hand and Recursers and other things from The Strange on Earth in M.I.B. fashion.

QuoteAgreed. I particularly like the idea that the translators don't necessarily know the back story which has been created for them (or into which they've been slotted). There's a Quantum Leap element I like where you need to figure out what's happening without revealing yourself.

Quantum Leap is the comparison that came to mind for me. Or being dropped into a rpg with a pre gen with a sketchy backstory that you didn't get to fully read and internalize would be a good metaphor too.

On the OOC side, I think getting a chance to maybe step into another role and try something out that you might not usually play in a temporary and in game fashion could be fun.

QuoteSet stakes and follow through on consequences. The PCs can ditch out on Ardeyn, but that doesn't mean that their friends there will be safe while they're gone.

This is one reason why the Spark issue concerns me. I really don't want my Players feeling that those that lack it aren't human or even 'real' as some of the fiction implies.

Personally, I viewed lacking the Spark as being more like being a Sleeper in the Matrix. You're real, conscious even but your perception is limited and some things just don't 'click' for you as being worth questioning. Its just how things work, always have and it makes perfect sense, so much sense that you don't have to explain it but can't articulate why or how. It would be like a person from the real world being asked to explain why water is wet. Gaining a Spark means you start noticing odd things and may question them or may not. We've all probably seen odd things tha didn't quite add up, shrugged and got on with our lives because they weren't of pressing importance and/or their had to be some reasonable explanation.

Lacking a Spark doesn't (or shouldn't, IMO) mean you're a P-zombie or  glorified automaton like that except in the smallest, simplest Recursions or other exceptions and plot devices. That's how I think I'd like to handle it anyway. Maybe it would be better if it wasn't so binary.

Quote from: Justin Alexander;993965You might find this (http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/39161/roleplaying-games/the-strange-fictional-linkage) useful.

I really like your ideas on this article. Thank you for sharing them. Would you mind if I posted the link in another thread on The Strange?

I did have a question though. I'm not clear on the definition of a "micro melange" recursion?

The person running this website is a racist who publicly advocates genocidal practices.

I am deleting my content.

I recommend you do the same.

Quote from: Justin Alexander;995427Go for it. That's what the web is for. ;)

Thank you

QuoteIt's mentioned in the linked article: "i.e., smaller recursions that are based around a melange of fictional tropes and beliefs on Earth (as opposed to mimicking a specific piece of fiction or mythology)."

I'd consider stuff like 221B Baker Street to be a "micro" recursion: Its geographic scope is limited in such a way that it cannot operate with purely internal consistency. (For example, the food you consume in 221B Baker Street isn't actually farmed in a field outside of London because those fields don't exist.)

Some recursions are based on specific pieces of fiction: 221B Baker Street, Middle Earth, Star Trek. Melange recursions aren't, instead mixing elements from fictional tropes, beliefs, etc. into something original. (This would include a lot of the recursions actually presented in the rulebooks because of copyright law: Atom Nocturne, Gloaming, etc.

All right, I see what you mean.

BTW: a micro Recursion based on the Star Ship Enterprise is great. I had an idea for a mini Recursion seeded from Gilligan's Island, the ocean around it acting as both the effective border and a vast gate that occasionally thematically appropriate things and people drift in from or the castaways sometimes travel to other small Recursion 'islands' in their escape attempts though some are just randomly generated by the Gilligan's Island world itself. Gillian is the only person in that one with the Spark (possibly Quickened) and has noticed the limitation of their world and tries to keep it from his friend, fearing they couldn't take the revealation.

So all the escape attempts he 'botches' :)

Some day I'll be utterly stunned when Monte Cook releases an RPG I give a twopenny fuck about again.

Quote from: RPGPundit;995893Some day I'll be utterly stunned when Monte Cook releases an RPG I give a twopenny fuck about again.

Some day I'll be utterly stunned when Pundit releases an RPG I give a twopenny fuck about in the first place. ;)

(Or doesn't shit on stuff he doesn't enjoy like a petulant child.)

In honor of Internet Geekdom, I'm going to have my PCs stumble into a Recursion that appears as a vast starscape where an Imperial Star Destroyer and the Enterprise are locked in eternal combat.

Quote from: Nexus;996372In honor of Internet Geeks I have my PC stumble into a Recursion that appears as a vast starscape where an Imperial Star Destroyer and the Enterprise are locked in eternal combat.

Ah, the eternal conundrum. I've seen many a thread implode over that very debate. About the only question even more guaranteed to start a fight on certain forums would be why there aren't female Space Marines in 40k.

Quote from: Alderaan Crumbs;995957Some day I'll be utterly stunned when Pundit releases an RPG I give a twopenny fuck about in the first place. ;)

(Or doesn't shit on stuff he doesn't enjoy like a petulant child.)

I wasn't shitting on it. I mean, if you don't like the stuff I wrote, that's fine too. I'm just pointing out that I used to really like Monte Cook's stuff, and then he changed his deal. It feels like everything from at least Ptolus onward was affected by Monte Cook believing his own hype about his grandeur.

Quote from: RPGPundit;997269I wasn't shitting on it. I mean, if you don't like the stuff I wrote, that's fine too. I'm just pointing out that I used to really like Monte Cook's stuff, and then he changed his deal. It feels like everything from at least Ptolus onward was affected by Monte Cook believing his own hype about his grandeur.

I can get behind this. It's just off-putting and low-hanging fruit when you, or anyone, blurts stuff like that. I actually find your stuff interesting and, while Numenera and other Cypher games have their flaws, I really like them, too.

Well, to each their own.

Quote from: RPGPundit;997734Well, to each their own.

Very true.

Odd thought but I think it makes sense in terms of The Strange's setting physics. There must be a metric crap load of pornographic Recursions, some of them pretty big and pretty old. Probably not something that will dealt with canonically but it was something that occurred to me.

Quote from: Nexus;999850Odd thought but I think it makes sense in terms of The Strange's setting physics. There must be a metric crap load of pornographic Recursions, some of them pretty big and pretty old. Probably not something that will dealt with canonically but it was something that occurred to me.

Absolutely. There's essentially an infinite number of possible recursions out there, and given the popularity of certain things you just know there's at least a pretty big one based on 50 Shades.

That's the nice thing about The Strange. It lets a group explore literally anything they want. There aren't a lot of games where your characters can easily transition from crawling through dungeons to sampling the delights of an oversized, fictional version of the Playboy Mansion.

Another cool thing about this setting is all those old supplements, modules, games, even notes for other games that you never got to use can now find all new life as Recursions.

This must be what developing a Spark feels like in a really limited Recursions.

[video=youtube;bLBcfoUwOWE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLBcfoUwOWE[/youtube]

I've been thinking about West World and how to work a similar premise into The Strange. I came up with two possibilities:

1. It could be a small limited Recursion, possibly constructed that works along similar rules to the park (no one really dies unintentionally, etc) populated with unaware beings that just act out stories and planned events over and over. Someone from Earth has discovered it and using Gate is capitalizing on it as a 'theme park", live action MMO possibly even the original creator who can alter that various story-line playing out in their world. But more and more of the inhabitants are developing Sparks and they don't like being abused for the amusement of others.

2. It could actually be a Recursion drawn from the original movie, the show or their overall themes that the PCs someone get mixed up and have finish the story to translate out. The locals actually are Robots, some aware, some not. Waking up is a precursor to getting a Spark.