I'm looking to start a PBP Trinity game. Post me if you are interested.

The world I have in mind will have a heavily modified history, and I have tweaked some of the rules. I'll follow this up with a skeleton of the game world. Feel free to ask questions - I'll answer as soon as possible.

The psychic Orders step forward in 2008: the clears set up shop on the Moon, and the Æsculapians begin opening clinics and research facilities. The teleporters put together the Upeo and the telepaths become the Chinese Ministry of Psionic Affairs in the next year.

The UN gains greater power over member states in 2011, including the ability to establish a standing military - the telekinetics are adopted as a semi-independent part of the UN armed forces.

Novas begin erupting en mass on March 23rd, 2024. UN passes the Stanford Act, declaring novas human. The Aberrant Syndrome is positively identified in 2034.

For unknown reasons, the UN attempts to sanction the Upeo in 2052. The Upeo leave Earth.

Aberrant War begins in ernest in early 2058, the Chinese Ultimatum is made later that year. Many Aberrants leave the Earth, others go into hiding, and still others are hunted down and destroyed over the next few years. Some non-Aberrant novas are allowed to remain. Novas continue to erupt at a reduced rate.

Telepathic Proxy Rebecca Bue Li is assassinated by parties unknown in 2074, sparking conflict between radical and loyalist elements of the Ministry. The radicals successfully launch a coup of China in 2075. The loyalists fragment upon being expelled from China.

An alien raiding party attacks Earth orbit in 2078 for no discernable reason. The raiders are destroyed.

The Upeo begin to return in 2079, bearing news of an alien invasion fleet travelling toward Earth at sublight speeds (at least a decade until it arrives).

Novas begin to regain public appeal (2079-2981): Donald McLeod, a nova, establishes the organization Beacon. A group of novas form, calling themselves the Terragen, and release their Nullification of the Stanford Act.

April Newman, a new Telepathic Proxy, comes out of nowhere. She pulls together the fragmented loyalists and takes control of China from the Ministry in 2083.

Worried about continued expansion, the UN attempts to sanction the telepaths. The telepaths actively resist, aided by the teleporters. The sanction escalates into the beginnings of the Proxy War as the vitakinetics and telekinetics throw in with the UN. (The clairsentients remain neutral.)

bump

psychics not popular? bump

No, your back story...It is just ewww.

This not to say that i haven't seen wrose or that you are bad..this idea is bad.

No, your...

Can i get more than that? Like, where do you start disliking it? Or is it all bad?

Most of this (up to just before the UN sanctions the telepaths) is cribbed from games I've run before, and it went pretty well then.

Is it the war idea?

Honestly, at this point I'd probably be willing to tweak stuff to attract players - so please, give me something solid.

Just about everything. Now the whole is much wrose than the parts. But each part isalomost enough to make me weary of the game. But that is just me , and I am picky.

Well, ok.

Why change things such that the orders are first & the aberrants come second?

Really, it could be either way - as I said, this story was pulled from the history of earlier games I've run. Once there was a particular reason. Not so much now.

I chose to leave the proxies first here because I want them to have an older, more established history. Here, they weren't created to fight the Aberrants, so they don't need to come after.

I don't have the distaste some seem to have for the background and, truth to tell, would probably join in if I had a schedule even somewhat like a normal persons. I would love to discuss some of the ideas in the background though. Things like...

- Who creates the orders given that novas are not yet a force to be rekoned with yet? Or more specifically; taint has not yet reared it's head so there's no true 'aberrants' at the time the orders come out.

- Given the speed of the developments where is the knowledge coming from to allow the distinguishing between psi's and novas/aberrants?

- The developments you're stipulating at the age they're occuring are going to make the psi's responsible for much of the "profound future shock" that in canon fall squarely on the shoulders of the nova developments. Isn't this going to make them less welcome? I'd guess quite a few folks would look at biotech and say "EEEEEEWWWWWW!" at this point in human development unless there were an overriding reason for biotech acceptance to come center stage.

- Along with that; Utopia keeps the baseline world from going nuts over novas despite their sometimes unsavory tactics. Aeon (Trinity) does the same for psi's in canon though their appearance fighting off an aberrant attack doesn't hurt either. How does it work in this time line since psi's are going to scare the beejesus out of folks just like novas did in canon.

- I would think it would require a subtle sleight of hand to put the cart before the horse in the case of China an have everything work out. Somewhat like Utopia working for a brighter tomorrow while simultaneously being the biggest (well meaning) bastards on the block. As WW found in their canon supplements it looks good on paper until people start asking questions about clupability and complicity in human rights violations.

- You're looking at a very different AB war if there can be genocide and only a generation later novas are making inroads to mass popularity again. Not that it can't be done, just that it requires some fortuitous editing and event pacing.

- "For reasons unknown..." doesn't work well if the card is played more than once especially in a world of quantum and noetic powers. WW only got away with the trick by stipulating that those who might know are dead or gone with only the scattered survivors left to pick up the pieces.

- You've kind of glossed over the telepaths and China developments and segued into the arrival of a new proxy from no where so it's hard to tell if you have all the details worked out or if you're depending on something else to make the background work.

Like I said, it doesn't rub me the wrong way like some. In some ways its very intriguing but I have a lot of questions.

I don't have

Be glad to answer. I'll PM you.

actually, i may as well post the non-spoilers...

Who creates...

Spoiler.

Given the speed...

Between the proxies' tech and science, the natural ability of psychics to detect quantum energies, and the noticable differences novas have over psychics (range of powers, eruption, mega-atts, etc.) I don't think it would really take that long for clear boundaries to develop. Granted, actual understanding of novas would take some time (still not quite there in 2083).

The developments... and Along with...

Hell yes.

There was all kinds of confusion as the psychics stepped forward, and they didn't have any Aeon organization covering their asses, either.

However, the orders assimilated somewhat differently in this world. Most noticably, the telekinetics became a part of the UN armed forces (no Legions). The telepaths became the Ministy, but that's old hat.

The vitakinetics did stay independant, but they also were the most directly helpful of the orders - while people were initially doubtful about going to rex clinics, there is an obvious attraction in a doctor that can fix anything - cancer, missing limbs, the whole range. In a similar vein, the teleporters formed the Upeo, but it served more as a corporation (think Orgotek - and Orgotek PR) - i didn't really make that distiction

Clears acted no differently - went up to the Moon and didn't bother anybody.

There was a large amount of controversy and paranoia directed at the psychics, but by this time that is gone in all but a few crack pots (after all, they've been around for 75 years).

I would think...

Could you clarify? There's a fair amount related to China...

You're looking at...

I never liked the official Aberrant War. Here's mine:

Novas are not nearly as powerful in this world: there are a few god-like novas, but they tend to be the ones that staved off Taint - that's how they survived to be so powerful. Most novas rate very low: probably 5-10 nova points.

It started all of a sudden, sparked by a bid for power by a group of remarkably powerful Aberrants (the Pantheon, but not the Teragen Pantheon - I just stole the name). They failed, but some of the more disturbed Aberrants all the world over latched onto the idea. Scattered, disorganized attacks almost instantly escalated into a world war.

Loyal novas soon mobilized, either out of a sense of duty or, later, in order to defend their homes. Additionally, several governments had superhuman defense forces in place. The orders (except for the Upeo) were there from the start - either fighting or working as support. Various armed forces fought as well, though they were not really prepared to fight single, superhuman opponents.

The rise of Aberrants soon broke into random acts of terror (a few countries did fall to coups, but the opposition made it very difficult for the Aberrants to stay put in one place); however, at this point the Aberrants were still thinking in terms of conquoring - not destroying.

However, the strain of the war did cause a few Aberrants to accumulate more Taint and tip over the edge. This resulted in a few major transgressions about sic months after the start of the war: the Wycoff detonation, the destruction of the OpNet, and the creation of the Kuala Lumpur hive. These acts prompted the Ultimatum.

Some Aberrants did leave Earth. The Chinese struck at some specific targets. This was not the end, but the turning point. Many Aberrants fought on - and were destroyed one by one. Others hid - and had to be hunted down. This process took another five years after the Ultimatum, but the Aberrant threat was put to rest. (Though the hunt for hidden Aberrants still continues.)

This war went much faster and resulted in less destruction. Novas were instrumental in staving off the worst threats, as the other defender were usually not mobile enough to match the Aberrants. The Aberrants were not as insanely destructive here. Time has passed: much of the population was too young to remember the war. Most major governments, including the UN find novas useful; they have been trying to characterize the loyal novas as heros and the Aberrant Syndrome as solely the result of poorly managed power. Most novas that live 'out of the closet' believe that they should present themselves as heros (the Teragen is a recent exception). These are all reasons that the war did not have as much impact.

That said, novas aren't seen in a rosy light. Most novas form tightly knit communities because they are shunned by baselines. Beacon (a very recent organization) is trying to use PR to lift the stigma, but has been met with little success. Their primary hope is to serve as defenders and gradually shift the public's animosity elsewhere (Beacon was formed shortly after the alien attacks on earth orbit). The Teragen has just formed, and may bring all of this down. Actually, the nova will probably be one of the larger conflicts in the game.

I suppose I did make it sound a little better than that.

"For reasons unknown..."

Absolutely right. In fact, how did someone kill somebody like Rebecca Bue Li in the first place? Sounds like a spoiler.

You've kind of glossed...

Much of this is not known to the public, but here's what's on public record (the rest is either unimportant, or a spoiler). Again, feel free to ask questions.

The Ministry was largely set up as in Asia Ascendant. However, the major factions fell more along these lines: there were those loyal to China (mostly Chinese born) or Proxy Bue Li herself, and there were those who either had loyalty to another country (mostly Japanese born) or who simply believed that the order should not be governed by baselines.

When the Proxy was assassinated (see above post), the radicals started to edge out the loyalists. Several of Bue Li's inner circle met with 'accidents,' and the loyalists were slowly cut out of the hierarchy.

The coup: the radicals had been using various means, both telepathic and mundane, to suborn various key people in the Chinese power structure. The coup literally occured overnight. One day, the loyalist telepaths woke up to find government troops trying to exile them from the country. Some resisted and were killed or imprisoned as enemies of the state. There were scattered insurrections againt the new government, but between the government's power and the Ministry's skill at manipulating information, these were easily supressed. It was all very clean and well planned. The only problem was that much of the Chinese space fleet did not fall; however, they were unable to fight the Ministry without firing upon Chinese population centers. The fleet retained control of Mars and largely removed itself from the political arena.

The UN did consider going in, but they didn't want a war - particularly with an order. The Ministry made it very clear that they didn't want any trouble, and the entire thing was technically an internal affair.

(Incidently, it soon became clear that the order's Prometheus Chamber wasn't working. Apparently, it was linked to the Proxy and shut down upon her death - probably true of the other orders' Chambers)

The loyalist fragments scattered, working for other groups and sometimes forming into small organizations. April Newman was a student under one of these organizations (she was triggered as a telepath before the coup). Her parents had been killed shortly before the coup. She became involved in a few high-profile incidents - most prominently the uncovering of the Huang-Marr conspiracy. There are no records of her demonstrating unusual abilities. She does have recorded associations with Donald McLeod (pre-Beacon) and a few other people (human, psychic, and nova) who achieved prominence at this time. She also became romantically involved with Gabriel Genrouix, a nova. Gabriel is currently a leutinant of Donald McLeod, but she is considerably more radical than her boss.

All records on April Newman dry up between February and June, 2081. There are rumors that Otha Herzog was somehow involved in April's growth into a proxy, but no evidence of such. Apparently, she began by introducing herself to the fragmented loyalist groups, most of which united under her banner. She obtained some allies - most notably the infant Beacon, the returning Upeo, and the loyalist Chinese space fleet - and launched a lightening campaign against the Ministry. This coup was fairly clean, but more destructive than the first. The Ministry fell.

The UN was unsettled. The Huang-Marr case was recent history, and Group Grey was pushing hard to bring the telepaths under UN control. The new Proxy was new to politics and handled interactions with the UN badly. Additionally, her relationship with the disturbingly radical Gabriel Genrouix leant her no credit. Finally, the UN decided to place sanctions upon the telepaths until it could be determined if they were a threat or not. April Newman refused to submit, and the UN felt that it had been forced to declare war on China. It did so.

I should clarify that the war is not all out armed conflict. Neither side wants to force the other into a corner, so it mostly consists of tactical skirmishes.

The telekinetics were already part of the UN. The vitakinetics have chosen to side with the law. The Upeo remember their own persecution and have sided with the telepaths. Otha Herzog has chosen to remain neutral, and some of his order has followed his example. However, many have sided with the UN, and a similar number have chosen to follow a powerful Ductran clairsentient named Willow McCoy, who is very solidly allied with April Newman (they know each other from earlier days).

A powerful aid to the telepaths (that has unfortunately further damaged their public image) is the aid of Beacon novas. Donald McLeod refuses to aid April Newman (he believes - rightly - that fighting the UN is a bad PR move); however, Gabriel Genrouix has enlisted several novas from Beacon's ranks to fight with the telepaths.

I would like to join and play this game

I would be interested in hearing more about it. What do the PC's play?
What do they do?

PC's will play slightly tweaked psychics (nothing major, just a couple of house rules). Note that there are only psychokinetics, telepaths, teleporters, clairsentients, and vitakinetics here. Apologies to the biokinetic and electrokinetic lovers out there, but i just don't have a use for them.

There is a slight chance that i will open to novas, but that's not terribly likely. If i do, novas will be weakened considerably, and psychics will be somewhat strengthened to equalize the two character types.

There are some factional issues: for instance, while i could allow a single telepath to be allied with the UN, an entire group composed of such oddballs would not be very workable.

I'm leaving the game mostly open ended. The players will start separately, but their paths will cross frequently. They may choose to work together or choose otherwise - it's up to the players. I'll introduce story elements, but they will be for the players to do with as they wish - I will have no long-term story in mind.

The game will be centered around taking advantage of the world's fluid situation to generate changes (hopefully for the better).

(Sorry it took me so long to get back to you - was out of town.)

Some Questions:
1)Are you using the Trinity rules for the powers and what they do (and can't do)?

Let me rephrase: The rules on Psi and the cost of using powers is prohibitive. Basically, characters are humans with a few mildly useful tricks they can rarely use.
To me, it is one thing to be a relatively weak telepath (you can only read surface thoughts, and then only if you win a contested roll), and another if you can only read a mind two or three times a day.
Are the base Trinity rules what you are using?


2)Why ban the biokinetics? Just curious, as they are relatively low-key.

3)Are you thinking about using any of the Electrokinetic aptitudes into the Psychokinetic field?

Not that these really pertaint to me. I prefer Vitakinetics, anyway. My secondary choices would be Clairs (I dislike their Order's pacifism) and Telepaths (playing an indie tepe would be tough).

1) I'm currently waffling about psi points. In the past I have simply dropped the point costs entirely, but that was in a crossover game where the psychic characters had to balance out against novas. I'm not sure that the current system is so bad - after all, you can regain psi points every hour, up to a full recharge (statistically speaking, you would gain about 40% of your expended points).

I will be shifting around the psi powers in a few cases. For instance, with telepaths: Shagg's Folly is obviously a Mindshare power, and i personally think that the Muse is more powerful than Mind Bomb.

2) I don't have a use for them. I just don't want to bring in tools that I don't need. I suppose I should mention (just as a background issue) that Orgotek does exist - just not as an order.

3) maybe a couple of the photokinesis powers could the PK alternates. electromanipulation powers may see light as alternate telepathy/vitakinesis powers.

Willow McCoy's Ductrans get pretty aggressive sometimes.

Just to be clear, i will be using alternate powers and psychic dysfunction rules. The specific dysfunctions may be different (some of them are kind of goofy), and you can learn as may alternates for a particular dot level as you like (just have to have someone to teach you)

Alternates may bleed other Aptitudes, to a certain extent (telekinesis isn't likely to bleed, say, clairsentience) - i'm a fan of the idea that the Aptitudes are artificial barriers which can be worked around

Oops.

Alex Craft = Paris

bump

Speed bumped?

I think the d20 has gotten everyone in a tizzy over what to do.