Weblog Licentiae Moeticae

Craft-3 (Quantum 4)

Craft-3

There are researchers who argue that designating this timeline as being part of the Craft series of worlds where organized secret conspiracies wield esoteric power is a mistake; on this Quantum 4 alternate, there are no secret conspiracies. The Illuminated rule openly, and have abandoned subtle machinations for all-out war. Craft-3 is a headache for Infinity in other ways, as it is one of the Restricted alternates that have caught the interest of Homeline's popular culture. The similarity between Craft-3's current war and one of Homeline's is simply too blatantly obvious to miss.

Craft-3, 1842

Current Affairs
A world-wide war with a troubling resemblance to Homeline keeps both researchers and camera crews hopping.

Molotov (Quantum 7)

Molotov

Joseph Stalin has the status of martyr on this timeline; his convenient death in the Battle of Moscow made up for a multitude of previous sins, at least in the realm of public opinion. His reputation certainly overshadows that of his successor, Vyacheslav Molotov: while Molotov was able to wage the Great Patriotic War competently enough, he was ironically much less able to achieve Soviet postwar diplomatic goals on his own authority than he was as the agent of another's will. The end result is a Central Europe that is a quiet, yet very real, Cold War battleground - one not helped by internal rumblings against Molotov's continuing rule...

Molotov, 1956

Current Affairs
A superficially milder Cold War in Europe threatens to turn hot from Soviet internal tensions.

Craft-1

Craft-1

This Quantum 7 parallel has only been of real interest to Infinity in the last few years. On the surface, it was merely a slightly dull world where the post-Revolutionary United States broke up its trans-Appalachian territories into distinctly different states. What was missed was that this was primarily due to a somewhat more powerful Freemasonic influence in Craft-1 - and that this influence was due to that society's unlocking of true esoteric arts sometime in the mid 1750s. The result was a normal mana world with several areas mildly aspected towards the Communication and Empathy school of magic.

Once its unique nature was discovered, Craft-1 instantly went from not-particularly-interesting to full-fledged Z3 restricted... and the I-Cops are only moderately hopeful that they caught the problem in time.

Craft-1, 1850

Current Affairs
Infinity gingerly tracks an alternate Compromise of 1850 while simultaneously trying to determine the extent of cross-time contamination, in both directions.

Addition to Reality Mather.

I have added a map to Reality Mather. I do sometimes wonder whether the attraction of alternate history scenarios lies in the ability to scribble all over a world map; even a slip of the pen can have a story behind it.

Or something like that.

Riel (Quantum 4)

A map of Riel's Canada may be found here: it is derived from this map.

On both Homeline and Riel, Field-Marshall Garnet Wolseley's American adventures are overshadowed by his achievements both before and afterwards; it is merely that on Homeline those adventures lasted a decade. On Riel, a slightly embarrassing episode involving Confederate sympathizers made it politic for Wolseley to take up a useful position in Europe... a move that did nothing to hinder his personal career, but did quite a bit to stifle the Dominion of Canada in its cradle.

Riel, 1887

Current Affairs
War looms across the northern border of the United States, as the British Empire tries to distance themselves from the coming storm.

Divergence Point: In 1862, Lt. Colonel Garnet Wolseley declared persona non grata by the American government.

Major Civilizations
Western (Empire with rivals), Orthodox (empire), Chinese (Empire)

Great Powers
Great Britain (ogliarchy, CR3), United States of America (democratic republic, CR2, CR5 for blacks), Republic of France (democratic republic, CR3), Russian Empire (dictatorship, CR4), Chinese Empire (dictatorship, CR5), Rupert's Land Republic (theocracy, CR5)

Worldline Data
TL: 5
Quantum: 4
Mana Level: none
Centrum Zone: Inaccessible
Infinity Level: P10

Filibuster (Quantum 6)

A map of Filibuster may be found here: it is based off of this map.

Filibuster

On Homeline, Abraham Lincoln once famously remarked that while he hoped to have God on his side, he had to have Kentucky. On this world, the free-soil States had both it and Tennessee all along - and thus the American Civil War was strangled in its cradle. What took its place was what seems to be an endless series of little wars in what was once Mexico, with the United States always ready to take advantage of one group or another's failure to rule over what they have conquered.

Filibuster, 1860

Current Affairs
Centrum encourages the expanded Manifest Destiny of America, while Infinity takes notes.

Divergence Point
1784: American Congress votes to ban slavery in the territories, which eventually causes an internal power shift in the USA.

Major Civilizations
Western (Empire with rivals), Orthodox (empire), Chinese (Empire)

Great Powers
Great Britain (ogliarchy, CR3), United States of America (democratic republic, CR2, CR5 for blacks), Republic of France (democratic republic, CR3), Russian Empire (dictatorship, CR4), Chinese Empire (dictatorship, CR5)

Worldline Data
TL: 5
Quantum: 6
Mana Level: low
Centrum Zone: Yellow
Infinity Level: P9

Gotha-20

Maybe I need a new category for these.

Gotha-20

 
This recently discovered Quantum 7 timeline is particularly worrisome to Homeline. Like the other Gotha worlds, it was subject to a hideous plague that turned its victims into psychopathic cannibals; however, on Gotha-20 the disease ended up mutating itself out of full potency. The survivors are expanding back into an almost-emptied world.

The 'almost' is the problem.

 

Gotha-20, 1904

 

Current Affairs

A few surviving nations explore a world gone mostly to the charnel pit.

 

Divergence Point

1871: Stanley meets Livingstone at Ujiji, and is promptly infected by the Gotha virus. Most nations collapse in the resulting spread of the plague before it burns itself out.

 

Major Civilizations
Chinese (diffuse), Islamic (diffuse), Western (diffuse)

Great Powers
Chinese Republic (ogliarchy, CR2), the Emirate of Afghanistan (feudal dictatorship, CR3), Mongolian Empire (feudal dictatorship, CR3), Republic of California (representative democracy, CR2), Republic of Deseret (theocracy, CR3), Republic of Tasmania (representative democracy, CR1), Republic of Yucatan (ogliarchy, CR3): note that the lingering effects of the Gotha plague have affected most nations' Control Ratings.

 

Worldline Data

TL: 4/5, (5 in California)

Quantum: 7

Mana Level: low

Centrum Zone: Red (due to Gotha plague)

Infinity Level: Z8

 

Reality Mather

Another Timeline for GURPS 4e.  Will be expanded, eventually.

Reality Mather

 

The name for this timeline came from the first survey team, who were exceedingly startled to see a witch-burning at the conclusion of an American Supreme Court case. It took some little time to determine that the woman burned was in fact a witch; and slightly longer to work out that by the time of her execution she was actually not a woman at all. In Mather, the phrase 'inner demon' is not a metaphor - and 'Hellfire' is not an empty curse. Infinity has its hands full trying to both research the unique conditions here and trying to keep the smugglers out.

Duplicate Macedonia-2 Post

You can blame Eric Burns: if he can produce original material and put it on his blog, I damn well should, too.

I'm thinking of using this notion for a Pyramid submission, but I dunno if it's really a good place for an adventure.  Interesting place to live, but would you want to visit?

Macedonia-2
In many histories, William Tecumseh Sherman was famous for two things: his Civil War record, and his famous comment rejecting any thought of political office ("If nominated I will not run; if elected I will not serve"). On Macedonia-2, however, he was offered the Princedom of Bulgaria, and for reasons still unclear, accepted. Thirty years later, the unlikely dynasty founded by him is subtly shifting European politics. Whether this will affect the general war scheduled for the next decade is up to either Infinity or Centrum.