Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Crowdsourcing the Timeline
 
#51
Bob, do we want the Reality Quake to be an actual event or simply the existence of a probabilistic divergence?
Reply
 
#52
Quote:Mark Skarr wrote:
Bob, do we want the Reality Quake to be an actual event or simply the existence of a probabilistic divergence?
Well.  I don't want to contradict published material, so I'm going to have to say it's an actual event.  However, since I'm going to be writing this from the point of view of inside the timeline, after the quake, it may not be that anyone is even aware of it save for a few persons with appropriate powers.  Governments might know that something occurred, but not quite what, thanks to their own supers and sources, but most anyone else who knew of the The Wall probably considers it the way most people think of the Y2K scare.
Come to think of it, that's probably the best way to handle it.  We'll define the timeline without explicitly including either The Wall or the Quake.  And I'll put in a box entitled "What About...?" and explain that this is way the world shook out afterwards.  That way no one needs either the PDF or Y2K.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Reply
 
#53
All right, that does invalidate my time line as the quake was going to be an actual event remembered by the planet. No problem there.  I'll re-evaluate and see what can be used and saved.
At least Chaos Coyote (my sister) will be happy that Running Gag survives now . . . maybe.
ETA:  Hit post instead of preview, I'm bad about that.
Reply
 
#54
When it comes to reality quakes, I'm reminded of the good Voyager episode. The one with the timeship that went around erasing things from history, with all the attendant consequences. So it went and did its thing to entire civilisations - and the only people who actually realised what it was doing were either aboard it, or were shielded from the changes in the timeline somehow. As far as everyone else was concerned, nothing at all had changed with history.

Some scientist invents a quantum bomb, or to coin a phrase, a time bomb, and then detonates it over the reason for his having created the bomb in the first place, removing it from the timeline entirely and leaving fractures and aftershocks in the timeline as the paradox involved twists and warps things things... with the moment of detonation marking the Wall itself?

It's either that or a suitably epic Roger Waters concert.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
Reply
 
#55
I took a look at actual events from 2000, and tried to find some that would, or could, happen, or just inspire other events.  Then I went about converting them to IST events:

A massive explosion (1.5-2 kilotons) in the upper atmosphere in the Yukon, puts all of America and Canada on alert.  Identifying meteoroids falling on Tagish Lake, in British Colombia Canada does little to allay the fears of the two nations.

Alaska Airlines flight 261 declares an emergency over the Pacific near Point Mugu, California.  Quick response from IST Los Angeles and local rescue teams manage to assist the plane into making a forced landing in the ocean and rescue 88 persons aboard.

New York State Fusion Reactor becomes unstable and has to be taken off line.  A small amount of unidentified radioactive material escapes.  Allegations run wild as to the source of American Fusion power.

The Doomsday Cult “Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God” summons the Blue Demon to bring about the end of the world.  The Blue Demon appears, devourers all of the cultists, then moves on to ransack nearby villages.  It is some time before IST Kampala can defeat the creature.
President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea travels to Pyongyang to meet with North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-il in an attempt to de-escalate the growing tensions in the area.  Within minutes of the closed-door meeting beginning, a massive explosion rocks the palace.  China quickly moves in to investigate.  They declare that Kim Dae Jung was carrying explosives and murdered Kim Jong-il and much of his family.  China, commanding the North Korean forces, attacks South Korea, drawing condemnation from the world and the U.N.

A Nigerian petroleum pipeline explodes killing over 250 villagers.  Nigeria blames and denounces South Africa for the incident.  No evidence is ever found liking South Africa to the event.

A chartered plane, leaving Namibe in Angola, explodes shortly after takeoff, killing all the crew and passengers, including the Portuguese soccer team.  Angola blames and denounces South Africa even after U.N. investigators identify structural failure as the cause of the accident.
Reply
 
#56
I liked one of those bits, so, I'm going to elaborate on it:
President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea and U.N. negotiator Dr. Jillian Michaels travel to Pyongyang to meet with North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-il and members of the Chinese government to see about de-escalating the stand-off at the DMZ.
During a break in the negotiations, Jillian reports to her superiors that, while slow, the negotiations are progressing—the Chinese delegation do appear to be genuinely interested in peace and stability in the region. Her report is cut short by a massive explosion devastating the palace. China quickly secures the ruins, refusing any outside, including North Korean, assistance.
China declares that Kim Dae Jung had smuggled a powerful explosive device into the meeting and detonated it in an attempt to murder Kim Jong-il and his family. They accuse the U.N. of assisting in this assassination. China seizes control of North Korea and attacks the DMZ.
A stunned world condems China and demands their own investigation.--Though the event that inspired this happened in June in our world, this could easily have happened earlier in IST.
Obviously, China caused the explosion. Their own delegation didn't know about it, though they were actually the bombs. They sent those who were interested in peace and reconciliation with the U.N. in order to get rid of them. Dr. Michaels, through the discovery of her Metahuman powers, does survive to bring some of this information to the U.N. in the future.
Reply
 
#57
The more I think about it, the more I think the Twilight of the Supermen could be an excellent campaign in its own right. Hokuto no Ken - style.

Unfortunately, my gaming group can barely meet every two weeks for some Ars Magica. Having more than half the group emigrate does that.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
Reply
 
#58
Write it up as a synopsis. Maybe Bob can use it as an "alternate" world caused by the Reality Quake. Every little bit helps.
Reply
 
#59
There's not that much to write up.

"The War of 2000 has ended in a global thermonuclear holocaust. The Cities of the world are reduced to ash. Billions have died. The great engine of civilisation has ground to a rusting, radioactive halt. Gangs roam the wilderness, hunting for food and fuel in ramshackle salvaged vehicles amidst the wreckage of the old world. Amongst the survivors, metahumans of various stripe. Some have become the charismatic nucleus of survivalist bands, despots and overlords who loom over the desperate, roving the wilderness and pillaging the few remains islands of stability. Most have found that the ability to light a fire, spark a radio, cross a continent by air carrying messages, or take on a moose bare-handed has guaranteed them something of a stable life and good food in a chaotic world. There are those however, who still cling to the ideals of the old Strike Teams, wandering the wastelands bringing the last burning candle of justice to the twilight. They are the last glimmer of hope for the future, the last bastion against the night."

Standard Mad-Max stuff, really. Gangs. Rustbuckers. Tankers in skyscrapers. With added superpowers.

I really want to play a game of that now.... that could be a real rip-roarer with the right GM. Even for just a con game of 'Liberate the farm village' from the local tin-pot despot. With the added complication that said despot is a former Hero once held in high regard by his peers... Maximillian "The Rock" Madorsky. He's gone mad, it seems.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
Reply
 
#60
You did post in the release thread? Right, Dartz?
Reply
 
#61
So . . . in America, in 2000, who is running for President?
Reply
 
#62
Mark Skarr Wrote:So . . . in America, in 2000, who is running for President?
I suspect the timeline has sufficiently diverged that we can start making up names there...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#63
Quote:I suspect the timeline has sufficiently diverged that we can start making up names there...
In 2000? I think that's a bit early. By 2008, certainly. But for 2000, I should dig up a couple of obscure congressmen. Or maybe a governor or two.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Reply
 
#64
More altered events (2001):
In the span of a month, two major earthquakes strike El Salvador, killing more than 1,200 people. San Salvador accuses and condemns Guatemala and Cuba for the disasters, accusing them of having developed a super-weapon capable of creating earthquakes.
Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards who was killed while trying to escape. His son, Joseph Kabila, took office and led an investigation into the assassination. After executing 135 people, including 4 children, the DRC produced evidence implicating South Africa. The U.N. condemned the executions and conducted their own investigation, which was hampered at every turn by DRC operatives. IST Brazzaville and IST Kinshasa uncover Rwandan and Lebanese influence, but can find no evidence of South African involvement, nor any evidence of guilt for more than 100 of those executed.
The Seattle, Washington fusion plant destabilizes. The area is evacuated. Emergency efforts to shut down the reactor fail. The plant detonates generating a Richter 6.8 earthquake in the area. Thousands are injured, yet only a dozen are killed, mostly plant workers who stayed at their post to try to buy time and save the reactor. Safety concerns, over the American fusion reactors, run rampant in the media. Canada and the U.N. request that the US take all fusion reactors of American design off-line.
Tropical Storm Allison makes landfall on the upper-Texas coastline, inflicting more than five-billion dollars in damages. Recriminations fly that the IWO either ignored the event or increased the magnitude of the storm. Citing official documents from the Buchanan administration, the IWO shows that the US forbade U.N. agencies from altering weather that would affect the US.--I'm considering having a terrorist attack on the U.N. instead of the WTC. I'm thinking about it being Colombian/Guatemalan in origin, backed/paid for by China.  
ETA:  Clarified a sentence
Reply
 
#65
Mark Skarr Wrote:I'm considering having a terrorist attack on the U.N. instead of the WTC. I'm thinking about it being Colombian/Guatemalan in origin, backed/paid for by China.
I know that Manhattan is a very visible target, but it isn't the only visible target... and thanks to bad feelings from the Buchanan administration, the UN isn't as concentrated in NYC as it is in our timeline.

On the flip side, the narcotrafficos might want to take out some of their competition instead of hitting the UN...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#66
Right, but with China footing the bill, and waging a war against UN forces in Korea, a distraction could come in handy. Plus, people in stressful situations are more likely to partake of narcotics.

My current idea, that’s just bouncing around in my head, is China approaches a number of U.N.-hostile governments to launch a series of terror attacks on the U.N. while another part of their plan reaches fruition. Colombia, antagonistic to the U.N., launches a few, disruptive attacks under the guise of Guatemalan or Cuban nationals. This culminates in a catastrophic attack on U.N. HQ that is far more successful than they planned.

While it will be disruptive to the U.N., the ISTs, with their cell-based command structure, will only get mad. Cuba and Guatemala will get blamed (who are, for once, innocent) and lash out, accusing the U.N. of falsifying evidence. And, well, then Colombia will have the U.N.’s attention moved to other nations. Albeit, still in their general neighborhood.

Wheels within wheels. Plots within plots.
Reply
 
#67
Quote:Bob Schroeck wrote:
In 2000? I think that's a bit early. By 2008, certainly. But for 2000, I should dig up a couple of obscure congressmen. Or maybe a governor or two.
Well, I think one can assume that if he survives his first
term, Pat Buchanan will be running for re-election. That leaves just the
Democratic nomination up for grabs. Given the election of Martin Luther
King as the last Democratic president, there's probably a bunch of
black politicians on the national stage who weren't OTL. Alternatively, we
could look for a notable Latin@ name. While I'd find it amusing if
Barack Obama entered the national stage earlier in this timeline than he
did IRL due to King's presence, I'd like to go for a Latin@, maybe with Obama as veep.
Reply
 
#68
Quote:If they’ve got the reality bomb (for lack of a better name), I can see
that Hong Kong might be a “real-world” test for the device, but, that’s quite
dangerous.  After all, the whole world has their eyes on you in that place.  Sure, that
would be an impressive display, but, if it backfires, you’re screwed.And, you’re not clear about something: Does the bomb simply make it a fact that they were redeployed (to their surprise) and that the Chinese are now in control of the city?  Or did it redeploy the soldiers, and the Chinese had to come in and occupy the city?

British and American soldiers/government officials, their
support equipment and a number of civilians found themselves suddenly situated
in other countries, with limited physical evidence suggesting their new
locations are where they’re supposed to be and that they’ve been there for
quite some time. Chinese soldiers/officials/etc. found themselves in control of
the city with indications that they’ve been stationed there since July 1, 1997,
when the UK was supposed to turn Hong Kong over to Chinese control.

There is of course no actual Reality Bomb. This is the
result of an exceedingly large and unstable Reality Quake. Since people don’t
notice most reality quakes, they have no basis for understanding what happened.
There should probably be a sidebar along the lines of:

What Really Happened?

Nobody knows at the time. It is possible that the cause
remains a mystery, is uncovered by certain groups but never revealed to the general
public or even discovered and revealed to the world too late to significantly change
the course of events that have been set in motion. Player characters operating
during the millennial period may investigate, and perhaps identify the cause as
one of the following:

1). A temporal war between multiple mutually exclusive
futures spilled over into the present, with Hong Kong the epicenter of a
massive paradox event. Whether these shadowy future organizations or their
agents still exist is unknown.

2). An alternate dimension where the UK returned Hong Kong
to Chinese control on schedule ‘crashed’ into the IST dimension, imperfectly
fusing the two realities. Can (and should) this be undone?  Was this a natural occurrence or the result of
some sapient agency? Can a way be developed to protect the world from future
incidents?

3). It actually was a Chinese reality bomb (sort of). China’s
attempts to breed cosmically powerful metas was actually more successful than
they thought. An eight-year-old third generation product of their breeding
program was so worried for the safety of his parents – metas who were posted
along the Hong Kong border – that his attempt to WILL things right catalyzed
his reality warping powers. His unresponsive body was later found at the bottom
of a flight of stairs and doctors – who think he simply fell and struck his
head – are uncertain if he will ever regain consciousness.

Quote:I have a real hard time believing that China
wouldn’t just reach out and snatch NK back.  NK would become a new
province in China.  After all, this attack will make China lose face.

China will definitely be turning Korea into an outright
puppet regime in the future, and this event will be the largest contributing
factor. Do note that the New York incident occurred in the middle of the day.
That means that the North Korean offensive probably began at about three in the
morning. China’s officials were still mostly asleep when the order was given
without first consulting them.

As for why China hadn’t already taken full control over
North Korea, there are three major reasons (which will soon no longer be
applicable):

1)     
The global outrage this would have produced and
the questions regarding possible expansionistic policies this would have
raised.

2)     
The fact that, as willing allies, Korea required
a smaller commitment in resources than would have been necessary for military
occupation of a hostile country.

3)     
North Korea made a great deniable asset. After
all, China hasn’t publically taken over North Korea in the real world either.
Why would they? As long as North Korea is the world’s #1 problem, China seems
less threatening, even if they do back the regime for political reasons.

Quote:I’m sorry, but that flies
in the face of established canon.  The IST already
has
a clear and concise chain of command outside of the U.N. 
They’re pretty much the most effective and efficient military on the
planet.  The IST is a standing army fielding about 1,400 supers and around
30,000 powered armor infantry.  Also, the IST HQ is not the U.N. building. 
It’s IST New York.  The IST’s chain of command is undamaged.

Good point. I was sloppy and kept saying IST instead of UN
when the terms are not equivalent. On the other hand, I just checked and GURPS
IST specifically states on page 19 that “IST Command and its bureaucracy is … in
the Secretariat building.” This means that IST Command, which works parallel to
IST New York in the organizational chart on page 8, is indeed gone.

Page 9 notes that “The IST commander has also been known to address
the General Assembly and other primary organs of the U.N. during times of
crisis.” Since the Hong Kong event was being discussed that day and was clearly
of extra-normal origin, IST Commander Witchwind would likely have been there at
the time of the building’s loss. She’s probably gone.

Finally, page 19 gives an address for the IST New York building
that, when checked on Google maps, turns out to be literally across the street
from the UN. I already stated that radiation zapped everything within several
blocks of the former UN building. IST New York is most certainly in the
radiation zone. On the other hand, I believe that IST buildings are virtual
fortresses, so not everyone necessarily died. Some died, some were hospitalized
with radiation burns and are slowly dying of cancer and a few lucky ones lived
(many will be in therapy for years overcoming the survivors guilt).

This could also explain why IST members from around the
world had to teleport to New York to stop the Blue Demon, because IST New York
was off the grid with heavy losses.

As a final suggestion for why the IST is so ineffective for
the next several months, although they may be able to act without the UN, that
basically makes them an army without civilian oversight. Given the global
reputation of military governments, whoever winds up in charge may be wary of
exercising their power without strong popular support. They’re undoubtedly new
to the position, lacking in contacts (since their contacts are all dead) and hemorrhaging
 personnel as various  metas take leaves of absence to aid their
governments.

Quote:This is a bad plan and Mugabe would know it.

This is in fact a very bad plan. Given
that Mugabe would oversee an economic plan that saw his country facing 11.2
million percent hyperinflation, I think we can all agree that the man is indeed
capable of doing very stupid things.

To make things flow smoother,
perhaps he responded to the increasingly severe South African incursions into
his country with a rallying speech which included the rhetoric “we are in a
state of war with South Africa.”

The South African President then seized
upon this statement when he addressed his own government, using it as a pretext
to “bring war to those who would bring war to us” while vowing to fight for the
liberty of his people and for their “persecuted white brethren in Zimbabwe.” An
amazing act of political doublespeak that turned South African aggression into
a patriotic fight against a bellicose land thief.

As a final note regarding my last
post, I should probably move the Cuba/Guatemala rebuilding bit from late 2000
to mid 2000 so that things can start heating up there a little faster.

 

Xxx

 

Early 2001 –

Coalition (really need to come up with an evocative name) forces
and Chinese troops continue to skirmish, with Chinese victories becoming more
and more common.

Coalition leaders realize that a Chinese clairvoyant is spying
on them, and spend the next several weeks laying out false plans for a massive
assault on Hong Kong (Operation Second Sun), with logistics chains and training
exercises ordered in preparation for the attack.

Operation Second Sun is enacted and China falls for the
feint, redeploying the bulk of their forces in expectation of an attack that
doesn’t come.  Coalition troops instead
land in South Korea and overwhelm the understrength North Korean positions,
establishing a stable beachhead.

Based on their mutual hatred of the IST, Cuba and Guatemala begin
seeking an alliance with the Colombian drug cartels.

The Zimbabwe/South Africa conflict continues, with Zimbabwe faring
quite poorly. The IST is incensed by the violation of Zimbabwe’s territorial sovereignty,
but South African diplomats claim both that Zimbabwe declared war on them first
and that they are simply doing the IST’s stated job of protecting innocent
civilians, in this case the white land owners who are being illegally stripped
of property by Mugabe’s  despotic regime.

In the end, the IST protects civilian refugees from the
violent excesses of both sides while trying to limit the scope of the fighting,
with little success.

Mid 2001 –

The Coalition reinforces their position in South Korea and
slowly fights its way northward. North Korea takes heavy losses, but mostly
hold their ground due largely to the aid of highly trained Chinese metas.

In response to continued interference in their affairs, Jugo
enhanced agents of the Colombian cartels storm IST Bogota, breaking through the
outer defenses before being brought to a stop by reinforcements teleported in
from other IST sites. Moments later, a “flea” nuke provided by the
Cuban/Guatemalan alliance detonates inside the building.

With the fall of IST Bogota, the Colombian government soon
follows. The cartels are not precisely in control, but neither in anyone else.

South Africa has occupied nearly half of Zimbabwe when the Marxist
leaning FRELIMO government of Mozambique, which had given aid to anti-South
African rebel groups in the past, enters the war as Zimbabwe’s ally. Secret
diplomatic agreements are suspected.

Mozambique’s army pushes deep into South Africa and works its
way towards the city of Pretoria.

South African troops in Zimbabwe, cut off from their supply
chain by Mozambique’s attack, fall back towards the border, allowing Zimbabwe
to reclaim much of its territory.

Late 2001 –

Mozambique’s army finds itself caught between South African
Troops retreating from Zimbabwe, South African troops  moving up from the south and South African
metas enraged by the assault on their homeland. Mozambique’s troops are routed,
suffering heavy losses as they retreat back to their country.

The Colombian cartels, encouraged by their Cuban and
Guatemalan allies, start to extend their business interests in Panama and El
Salvadore via a campaign of kidnappings, assassinations and gang violence.

China, looking to knock out the Coalition’s momentum in South
Korea, open a second front by attacking Coalition territory in the Philippines.
The local IST branch attempts to intervene, but they lose half their team and
are forced to abandon the facility.

China secures their ground presence in the Philippines,
causing the Coalition advance in South Korea to sputter to a halt.
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV
Reply
 
#69
Well, Bob’s already decided on something else for the Reality Quake, so that’s a non-issue.  Personally, I had the silly idea that, through the entire war, the American, British and Chinese troops just stared at each other through Hong Kong, never firing a shot.

Shepherd Wrote:They’re undoubtedly new to the position, lacking in contacts (since their contacts are all dead) and hemorrhaging  personnel as various  metas take leaves of absence to aid their governments.
IST Field commanders are not going to be new to the position.  They’re chosen because they excel under pressure and are veteran leaders.  All taking out the U.N. (and even IST New York) is going to do is make them really angry.  They do still have some civilian oversight—the embassy administrator.  Most of the administrators are not going to stop the field commanders from doing what they do best. 

I doubt that the IST would allow for leaves of absence during a time of war, and an international crisis.  That seems more like the time they would suspend all leave and call all members into active duty.  They are still a military organization.

And, if they did take out Witchwind . . . they’ll have to answer to either The Warrior (if they’re lucky) or a very, very angry Argurous.
Reply
 
#70
Regarding Shepherd's point about China not having taken over North Korea in the real world... I'm not an expert, I'm just a junior research minion. But I'm told by an expert that I do work with...that at least some Chinese policymakers want a stable and independent North Korea, as a traditional buffer state. They don't want control over North Korea, they want it squarely in between them and South Korea.
The last thing they want is a land border with South Korea, a country that has a huge US military presence. Or, I suppose, for the IST world...a country that has an IST embassy. Granted, in the IST context where major inter-state conflict already exists, the whole buffer state logic may or may not apply. The angry proverbial feline might be out of the proverbial bag. I don't know. I'm just saying. 

It is worth noting that Chinese popular nationalism and such is a very real thing, but sentiment has not generally been hugely expansionist or jingoistic. The Chinese thing is to fervently defend territory that they already have past claims to, not to go around making new claims on other people's turf.

A lot of analysts figure that China actually subscribes to what was originally a Western-created norm - that of territorial sovereignty. They just take it really really seriously now. Mostly because they're all pissed off about their sovereignty having being violated in the past. It's the whole national pride thing, the hundred years of humiliation thing.

I've got a picture saved somewhere. It's of a Chinese protester in 2008, holding a sign reading something like "Strongly Protest The Sino-French War of 1884". This was when Chinese folks were angry about the Beijing Olympics torch relay being disrupted in Paris. But the fact that protesters in China start comparing that to a brief war that happened almost 130 years ago...

What I'm saying is, China's not expansionist. It's just interested in defending itself to the degree that it can become paranoid and belligerent. This doesn't mean a scenario where China goes around making land grabs is impossible. That would happen in war; the US didn't roll into Japan because they had a major hankering to permanently keep some Asian real-estate. But any future-fictional Chinese war scenario has to properly encapsulate this whole feeling of intense victimisation on the part of Chinese nationalists, and the sense that they are the wronged party.

The existing IST material does set that stage, and the idea of a stand-off over Hong Kong plays firmly to that. I'm not questioning anything that's being discussed, I'm just raising the point that it needs to be properly characterised.

On the subject of Chinese supers...I'm also thinking of the Chinese logic behind that. The real-world maxim that's thrown around behind Chinese military reform and such is "Strong country, strong military", or something like that (my translation skills are iffy; I barely passed Mandarin). The key thing is that it isn't just hard-headed strategic military calculus going on here. China pursues capabilities also as a national pride thing. The whole space programme thing is a pretty big case in point.

In fact, from a pure security perspective, a lot of analysts think China's real-world efforts don't always make sense. Especially when it breeds the classic security dilemma of worrying the hell out of China's neighbours. But it's not about pure military stuff, it's about national pride. 

That train of thought probably applies equally to the IST world. Sure, there's probably some folks in Beijing who are looking for crazy world-shattering WMDs to killificate all their enemies...but there's probably a ton of folks pushing the superhuman development programme who genuinely do think, well, hey, an awesome country like ours needs awesome domestic superheroes.

It's been a while since I read the original IST book, but my thought was always, well, they just want their own IST. Because, y'know, that's pretty much how China rolls. Gotta get some of that awesome stealth fighter action, man. Jeez, we need our own aircraft carrier. It doesn't particularly matter if those capabilities make sense for the country to have, it's not a matter of using it, it's a matter of having it.

Oh, I'm not saying China shouldn't be an antagonist in a campaign setting - hardly that. But if there is all-out war...a good fictional war needs to be one where the motives and characterisations of both sides are equally compelling. Everyone thinks they're the good guy, after all. The book is IST, certainly, but I'd ideally love to see a conflict depicted where player characters could very well play a squad of superhumans - on the Chinese side.

I admit, I don't know the IST material very well. It's been a while since I read the book. And I certainly haven't read GURPS Y2K. I hope my comments make sense, such as they are.
-- Acyl
Reply
 
#71
That's a very educational point-of-view, Acyl. Thanks for posting it.

I'm still aiming for this to be a metavillain plot. Let IST have their first Megavillain. It would take just a little work to use Dr. Fox as the megavillain, and he comes with his own, built-in, reality quake. So long as Bob is happy to use Fabricants from Creatures of the Night.
Reply
 
#72
I'll have to look them up first, Mark -- I vaguely recall them, but I don't know if it's second-hand or from a forgotten first-hand exposure.
Acyl, thanks also from me for the analysis -- rerendered in more formal language it could well make a good box.
There's something very seductive about the idea of destroying the top levels of  IST Command and IST New York -- including Witchwind.  I was planning on adding more names to the memorial list, anyway... 
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Reply
 
#73
Mark Skarr Wrote:Well, Bob’s already decided on something else for the Reality Quake, so that’s a non-issue. Personally, I had the silly idea that, through the entire war, the American, British and Chinese troops just stared at each other through Hong Kong, never firing a shot.
"I know nobody wants to escalate to the point where we're all launching strategic nukes, but isn't this being a little too cautious?"
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#74
Bob, do you have a copy of the 3e Creatures of the Night? I can see about getting an extra copy and sending it to you.

Rob, and that's why I said "thes silly idea." It was more a counterpoint to the war. The place they expected violence to errupt never did.
Reply
 
#75
Heh. As an interesting side note, Gold & Appel, Inc. just said "I'd like to see some kind of high-powered, violent super game, like around 500-1000 points with significant action guaranteed in at least 2/3 of sessions." So, I'm going to see about putting together an IST 2K Seoul game.
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)