SPAM: [Torg] A redesigned Possibility War

[Jasyn Jones]

On Nov 12, 2007, at 4:49 PM, Kansas Jim wrote:

> Morgan writes:
>
>> [Chinese fantasy realm instead of Aysle]
>
>> middle of the Olympic stadium as the opening scene. I'll probably  
>> dump
>> the Light vs Dark thing, though.
>
> With an Asian angle, Light and Dark should probably be more of a Yin/
> Yang thing than warring opposites.

The Jade Empire RPG game (Bioware) had a great alignment system based  
around mystical Chinese philosophies. If you're doing a Chinese  
Fantasy realm, that game is well worth a play-through.

> [...]
>
>> Anyway, there you go. You'll notice that Kanawa is gone entirely.
>> Ultimately, it's not "alien" enough and I'd kinda prefer Japan to be
>> on the side of the resistance. I think elements of Kanawa may appear
>> in Core Earth and "Tharkold" maybe.
>
> Nippon Tech is really a product of the late 80s/early 90s and  
> difficult
> to justify as a realm today. It's been how long since anyone was  
> afraid
> of Japan buying up the United States? Cyberpunkish megacorps, Yakuza
> and Ninjas just aren't what people think of when they think of Japan
> anymore.

What I was thinking of doing with Kanawa was playing up the "Old  
Chinese realm" and "New Keiretsu Regime" angle. Essentially, the past  
of Gokuraku was a Chinese Fantasy (a Chambara Movie, like Crouching  
Tiger, Hidden Dragon or like Jade Empire). They worshipped a celestial  
bureaucracy, had priests, martial arts, etc.

The "Modern" Gokuraku is ruled by a regime determined to undermine and  
destroy that past, and to a large extent they've succeeded (lowered  
Magic, Spirit axioms, etc.) The Modern regime uses Psi powers, and psi- 
powered Martial arts, along with Tech 24 technology.

Common people no longer know what the past was, and the Time of Myths  
has been mostly forgotten. A small remnant- the Palan movement, and  
others- keep the stories alive. More, the existence of psi-powers is a  
closely held secret of the regime.

The cosm looks like a faceless, grey, and ordinary Tech 24  
dictatorship, but some people have access to mystical powers (Martial  
arts and miracles). The psi-warriors of the regime fight these mystics  
in secret martial arts battles, trying to stamp out the old religion.  
The mystics fight to keep faith alive, and to free people from the  
shackles of the regime.

This would draw inspiration from Jade Empire, The Matrix movies (only  
no Matrix), Nippon Tech itself, martial arts movies, Akira, and other  
"urban fantasy" and Chinese fantasy elements.

This is a fairly weird mix, but the clash of faith vs rationality (psi  
and Tech), each of which has its own "chambara" martial arts forms,  
looks to be interesting. It keeps several angles from the old Nippon  
Tech: intrigue and spies, martial arts, priests of Palan, secret  
conspiracies, the old world/new world dichotomy, but wraps in a new  
story that is more colorful and less dated.

Anyway, that's my current take.
---
Jasyn Jones
jasynj (at) gmail (dot) com

Check out Storm Knights, my Torg website:
http://darleyconsulting.com/games/stormknights/

"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Ulysses, Alfred Lord Tennyson