The Campaign Builder's Guild

[note]Influences for this setting: Mozart in Mirrorshades, GURPS Infinite Worlds, TORG, Sliders.[/note] I have a lot of worlds that I work on every now and then, but currently I am focusing on a trio of worlds: Terra (yes I have no good name for it), Arnâron, and Thraeton. They are related, and Terra is the best place to start for chronological reasons. Much of this is a copy from my worldbook - I hope it's not too long.

Terra is an alternate history. The main divergence is that Napoleon didn't invade Russia until 1813. The Grande Armée was still defeated, but this only happened in 1815. This distracted England sufficiently from the war of 1812 that the United States were able to occupy significant territory. Bolstered by a decisive victory in the Battle of New Orleans, a wave of patriotism swept over the young nation, and England had to cede New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to the Union. The Saint Lawrence River became the new border between the US and the newly-formed United Provinces of Canada. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were granted statehood as the state of Acadia in 1815. Anti-American sentiments remained for many years in both England and Canada.

The Great War

[note]Confident that the Americans would not intervene in the European war on the Allied side, Germany never sent the Zimmerman telegram. The British, desperate for help, lacked a crucial instrument to persuade the Americans to join the war effort. Had the Germans shown more restraint with the use of submarines in the Atlantic, they might have been able to keep the US out of the war altogether.[/note]

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the so-called Great Powers of Europe were competing for global dominance. They were locked into an intricate web of diplomacy and treaties and constantly attempted to outmaneuver each other, waiting for an opportunity to wage a decisive war against their respective historic rivals. Each had drawn up elaborate contingency plans that they hoped would help them win any war decisively and quickly.

On June 28th, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo by Serbian agents. Serbia desired to break Bosnia from Austria-Hungary, and to include it in a Greater Serbia. Austro-Hungarian government quickly arrested the perpetrators, who revealed involvement of Serbian officials under interrogation. Serbia and Russia refused calls for investigating these links, and rejected an ultimatum Austria-Hungary issued on June 23rd, 1914 and mobilized its army. Austria-Hungary responded by mobilizing its military, and declared war on July 28th.

Events quickly spiraled out of control after this point. Russia honored its promises of support to Serbia, while Germany honored its alliance with Austria-Hungary. It saw a chance to deal with both Russia and France, and declared war on Russia on August 1st, and on France two days later. German forces invaded Belgium as a way of circumventing French defense lines, and this brought Great Britain into the war as a French ally, as Britain had pledged to protect Belgian neutrality.

The Germans missed their chance of an early victory due to several unfortunate command decisions, but managed to entrench their forces in a good defensive position inside France. The war on the west front quickly became a war of attrition; neither side was able to mount a successful offensive.

Meanwhile, Germany attempted to cut off supplies to Great Britain by using its U-Boat force to attack shipping in the Atlantic. This also led to the sinking of some neutral ships caught in the crossfire, and the death of civilians traveling between the US and Britain. In May 1915, the RMS Lusitania was sunk, and 128 American citizens were killed. President Woodrow Wilson resisted British calls to enter the war.
The tide of the war began to shift in favor for the Germans when unrest in Russia caused Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate in March 1917. The Bolsheviks led a successful revolution in October and took over control of the Russian government in November. Eager to get Russia out of the war, they  agreed to German terms. This allowed Germany to redeploy experienced soldiers to the west front. Meanwhile, unrestricted submarine warfare had caused enormous problems for allied shipping.

Woodrow Wilson, who had won his re-election on the promise of keeping the United States out of the war, anticipated Germany's victory on the east front and feared that Europe '" and thus world politics '" would be dominated by a victorious German Empire. After an intensive propaganda campaign in the States, he managed to convince Congress of the necessity to enter the war, and the United States declared war on Germany in October 1917. The United States began to draft and train troops to be sent to Europe.

In 1918, freshly reinforced German troops managed to mount the first successful offensive in two years. The so-called Spring Offensive brought German forces within 80km of Paris. Allied forces managed to halt the advance, but Paris was shelled from several huge railway artillery guns, demoralizing the French while giving the German public hope that the war would soon be over. However, as American troops began to arrive at the front, the Germans had to fall back once more.

In July 1918, the Germans attempted to encircle Reims in Operation Marne. This offensive, too, was halted, but the allies did not have sufficient strength to mount a counter-offensive. As increased numbers of American troops arrived, the balance of power shifted, and by December 1918 the Germans found themselves on the defensive.

The Spanish Flu

In March 1918, a new form of Influenza was first observed in Fort Riley in Kansas, and in Queens, New York. Nobody was particularly worried about it, until a much more virulent strain of it appeared almost simultaneously in France, Sierra Leone, and in Boston in August of the same year. This new form was very dangerous and killed quickly. By October, it began to affect the war. Censorship prevented warnings of still unaffected countries, and thus prevented effective quarantine measures. By November the disease had reached Spain, and the Spanish released news about the disease to the world. It became therefore known as the 'Spanish Flu'.

The epidemic reached its peak during the winter months of December 1918 to February 1919. It raged through the cities of Europe, through Asia, and especially through the trenches. Shipping ground to a halt, as all countries imposed strict quarantines. Tens of millions died. Combat operations in France slowed down as more and more soldiers on both sides succumbed to the disease.

The epidemic had run its course by February 1919, but the warring nations were in no condition to resume hostilities. Demoralized citizens protested, and in many locations unrest, riots, and even civil war followed. Many governments fell, several monarchs were forced to abdicate. New leaders rose and quickly began to negotiate an official armistice. The Great War ended when the armistice came into effect on March 30th, 1919.

The League of Nations

[note]The Great War ended because of the Spanish Flu; neither side was able to achieve a military victory. Consequently, the Central Powers did not have to take responsibility for the war, and no nation was able to impose demands for reparations. The peace treaty and the fall of most monarchies to uprisings created a more or less clean slate from which the European and American statesmen forged a new world order.[/note]

As the chaos caused by the war and the devastating plague ended, the political landscape in Europe began to change. Monarchies were overthrown, republics declared. Social trauma affected all nations involved in the war; and as a consequence nationalism became reviled and pacifism increasingly popular. It was Woodrow Wilson who picked up on ideas by British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey and who proposed the creation of an international organization tasked with the prevention of war. The Paris Peace Conference of 1920 accepted the proposal, and formally created the League of Nations. Its charter was signed by 44 states. The same treaty officially ended the Great War.

The first meeting of the League was held in 1921, in London, and the League moved to convene in Geneva in Switzerland thereafter. The founders of the League equipped it with a strong charter intended to prevent repetitions of the Great War. Most notable was the provision of allowing the League to intervene with military force, if needed, to end regional conflicts. The charter also established an international court of justice to try war crimes and other grave 'crimes against humanity'. Chemical weapons were specifically outlawed by the treaty.

The League of Nations enjoyed some early successes in settling disputes that arose from the new political realities after the Great War. It was aided by the fact that most people of Europe were thoroughly tired of war and conflict, and local leaders felt compelled to follow diplomatic solutions proposed by the League for fear of repercussions from their own citizens.


The Invasion of Manchuria

In 1937, Japan attempted to strengthen its political and economic position with an invasion of the Republic of China. The League imposed sanctions on Japan and suspended its League membership, but these did little to discourage the Japanese. Many of the League's principal members were worried that a strong Japan might attempt to occupy European colonies in East Asia. Reports of severe atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers gave these nations a reason to intervene in the conflict under League charter.

The mobilization of forces for use by the League was extremely slow, as most member nations squabbled over their rights and privileges. It took the League almost a year to send forces to the far east, and after initially stiff resistance from the Japanese, China was 'liberated' and placed under League (European) administration in early 1939 ostensibly for the purpose of rebuilding the nation.

While China was not eager to become a de facto European colony, League control ensured that the Chinese were treated a lot better than they had been under Imperial Japanese rule, and the League forces were actually seen as liberators by many Chinese.

For the League, the war meant a 'trial by fire', one that proved without a doubt that the League would engage in military action to enforce the 'new world order'. However, while it had obtained a victory, it was no secret that things had gone far from perfectly. The League response had been slow and the nations providing the military forces had quarreled over strategy and responsibilities to the point of endangering the operation. League officials realized that this had to be improved, but rivalries between the European nations prevented reforms.


The Russian War

[note]Nuclear weapons have not been developed on Terra - not then, and not in the present.[/note]

The communist Russian government had modernized and industrialized the country at breakneck speed after the Great War. Even so, Russia was a country in crisis '" the communist ideology had not resulted in the promised prosperity and equality, and indeed the country was run by a caste of party functionary who ruled over a much larger caste of workers and farmers. As the proletariat began to be dissatisfied with the situation, the Russian government's rhetoric became increasingly nationalistic.

Russia had first attempted to have its western territories '" the Baltic States, the Ukraine, Poland '" restored to it at the Paris Peace Conference. However, it had lacked the diplomatic finesse and the economic and military power to secure such a clause in the treaty. In the 1940s, the Russian government silently began to shift much of its new industrial base over to production of armaments. European and American military analysts and politicians who saw the signs of trouble were ignored and ridiculed by pacifists who feared few things more than renewed war in Europe.

In October 1951, a revolt occurred in the Ukraine. The communist party of the Ukraine initiated the rebellion as an fringe group, but it quickly gained grassroots popularity. The government surrendered after only a week of fighting, and the Communist Republic of the Ukraine was declared. Units of the Russian army entered the Ukraine on the same day. Most European powers sent notes of protest to Russia, and the Russian ambassadors were cited in front of the assembly of the League of Nations. There, the ambassador pointed out that the Russians had entered Ukrainian territory on invitation from the new government. The League Charter did not allow any intervention in this case, and the European nations had to grudgingly accept the situation. The pacifists rejoiced as international affairs seemed to settle into the new status quo and war had been prevented.

This changed in May 1952. Russian tank columns entered Romania, Poland and the Baltic States in a coordinated attack, while Russian bombers devastated the German Baltic Fleet anchored at Danzig in a surprise raid. The Russian General Secretary announced the 're-integration' of the Ukraine, of the Baltic States and of Poland and declared his country's intention to demilitarize continental Europe and to turn Romania, parts of Austria-Hungary and the eastern section of Germany into a buffer zone. The European powers desperately scrambled to mobilize as the Red Army marched across Central Europe.

Realizing the need to act quickly, the Europeans tasked the League of Nations to coordinate the military defense against the Russian juggernaut. In the face of clear and present danger, each agreed to commit whatever resources were required to the war effort. The United States and several other countries followed suit; nobody wanted a communist dictatorship in Europe.

Other countries took advantage of the situation in attempts to settle long-standing conflicts or desires. A Turkish nationalist government attacked Greece and several countries in the Mid East in an attempt to restore their own empire. Japan launched a hasty invasion of China and of several European colonies in East Asia. Within mere weeks, the Russian war had expanded to engulf most of the globe.

The European Theatre of War

The war in Europe was long and costly, and radically different from the Great War. It was a mobile war of armored units and air raids. Russia had occupied large parts of Germany, but the mountains of southern Europe proved an obstacle for their armored columns. In the west, the communists used the Rhine as a natural barrier, but launched raids into France. The League waged a war of containment, and in this it was successful '" the Russians didn't advance too deeply into French territory. Meanwhile, the League members switched to war production. Men and materials began to pour in. These landed on the French Atlantic coast. The successful crossing of the Rhine was one of the most costly battles in the war, and remains a symbol of the struggle for freedom. With the combined resources of its members fueling the war effort, the League began to slowly push back the front lines.

While the Great War had been a war of attrition, famine and disease, the Russian War held new horrors for the citizens of the affected countries. Long range bombers carried huge amounts of ordinance that was dropped on cities - carpet bombing was one tactic used to decimate the enemy's industrial capacity as well as to break his will to fight. Fire bombing was used against several population centers. Missile artillery was used, first by Russia, then by other nations. Jet engines were developed by a German-British team of scientists. Radar was invented. Then a joint League team managed to construct ballistic missiles that could reach deep into Russian territory.
None of the new technologies were crucial in determining the outcome of the war. In the end, it was the League that managed to outpace the Communists in manufacturing capability and logistics, especially with supplies from the USA being mostly out of reach of Russian attacks.

Russian units fell back, and by summer 1954, League units crossed on to Soviet soil. The winter that year was very harsh, allowing the Red Army to dig in. Attrition ran high in League units. New volunteer units from the recently liberated nations, such as Germany, swelled the ranks of League forces, however, making it possible to prevent any breakout of the Russians. The League was able to resume the offensive.

League forces reached Moscow as soon as the weather improved in early 1955, only to find that the Communists had evacuated the city '" and turned it into a booby trap. When minefields and snipers had taken their toll, Russian bombers dropped napalm bombs on their own capital city. The event cost thousands of League soldiers their lives, and became known as the 'Hellfire of Moscow'. The scorched earth tactics dragged out the war for several months, but proved futile. Russia capitulated in August 1955 after the General Secretary of the communist party had been shot by his own chief of staff.

The Pacific Threatre of War

In East Asia, Japan managed to overpower colonial forces stationed in China, but found that the Chinese had used the years to raise an effective militia, armed and trained by the Europeans. The attack of 1939 had taught the Chinese that losing to the Japanese was not an option, and the Japanese had to practically fight for every meter of land. They were more successful in 'liberating' the Dutch East Indies and in occupying many of the small Pacific islands. Here, they engaged in long naval battles as they and the Americans hopped from island to island. Aircraft carriers played a crucial part in the war.

Even when the US contained their expansion in the Pacific, Japan continued to push for the conquest of China. As the situation became more desperate, and the Chinese will to fight was unbroken, the Japanese resorted to Chemical and Biological warfare. Millions of people died, but even this failed to break the Chinese resistance.

As the war in Europe turned in their favor, the League of Nations was able to divert personnel and materials to East Asia. The East Indies were taken in Spring 1955. League of Nations expeditionary forces landed in China in March. Long range bombers were transferred from Europe to East Asia, and began raids against Japan. Incendiary bombs devastated many Japanese cities, and the US navy began to blockade the nation.

Japanese troops on the Chinese mainland were defeated in late summer of 1955, but the required high number of soldiers for an invasion of Japan made such an invasion unfeasible in the same year. The Japanese, knowing well there was no way to win the war, dug in. Air raids continued, later mostly unopposed as Japan's air force had been destroyed by late 1955.

The Invasion of Japan

During the following months, the question of whether an invasion of Japan was really necessary was led both behind closed doors within the League of Nations leadership, and in the public. Everybody knew that such an invasion would cost the lives of many soldiers as well as Japanese civilians. Public opinion began to turn against an invasion; after all, China and the colonies had been taken back, and Japan had been defeated. However, the League of Nations leadership saw two problems. Not only was Japan considered likely to try again to fulfill its dreams of a large Pacific Empire; it was also felt that the League of Nations had to settle the issue decisively to send a clear signal to all other nations who might harbor similar ambitions.

Eventually, the General Secretary approved the invasion and tasked the military leadership with its execution. As the preparations began, the General Secretary used Japan's atrocities in China both during the past years, but also during the Manchurian invasion of 1939 to raise public support for continued military action. The propaganda effort worked out, and when the invasion began in April 1956, the public and member nations' governments were firmly behind the League of Nation's decision.

The invasion itself went very much as the military leaders of the League had anticipated. The League attacked at several locations at once in the largest amphibious assault the world had ever seen. Resistance from the Japanese soldiers and civilians was fierce. The Japanese Emperor surrendered in July 1956, but it took the League military four more months until it had pacified the island nation. Almost a million League soldiers had died in the assault, and over eight million Japanese had died, but peace had, at last, been restored.

The League Victorious

[note]The League of Nations became a defacto world government by the 1960s. Unlike the United Nations, there is no small select group of countries that holds veto powers, and League decisions are legally binding. Nations may still attempt to ignore or circumvent them, but the League holds enough power to enforce its decisions where necessary.[/note]

In 1956, the League of Nations had pacified the world. The Russian onslaught on Europe had been halted, and Russia had capitulated. Japan had been occupied after a costly invasion. The League of Nations members participating in the war had paid a terrible price, and there was much to rebuild, many wounds to heal.

One direct consequence of the war was that many nations that were European colonies now demanded self-rule. Many of them had contributed significantly to the war effort, in both raw materials for the weapons factories, and in soldiers. Africans had died in the Invasion of Japan, Indians had fought in the trenches in the rough Russian winter, South Americans had helped hold the Middle East oil fields. In many cases these demands found sympathetic ears, especially from those Europeans who had nearly lost everything to the Communist invasion. In some cases, the colonies had already established self-rule during the war. Conservatives opposed such changes, but the thirst for freedom was great among the colonies. One by one they were either released, or, in some cases, successfully rebelled against their colonial 'masters'.

The League of Nations General Secretary did his best to dissuade such colonial wars. Where possible, he pushed the League's grand assembly to recognize the new nations. With each colony that was recognized and that joined the League, this task became easier. This caused no small outrage among the European conservatives, and there were demands of his resignation - forcibly, if necessary. But having just won the war, the General Secretary was very popular and resisted such demands.

Many of the League member nations now also found that the treaties they had signed and ratified during the desperate times of the war to undermine their own sovereignty. Attempts were made to repeal these treaties, but every time one nation attempted this, the General Secretary and the League diplomatic corps conjured up the specter of a new power bloc arising that may result in a repetition of the World War. It was never explicitly said, but often implied.

The League of Nations was thus able to hold on to its newly-gained powers, and to consolidate them with the votes of the new members nations. Some countries still attempted to break free of League constraints. Even in the United States of America many voters felt that isolationist policies were best suited to keep the world's problems out of the States. The United States stopped short of withdrawing from the league, however.



Modern flag of the League of Nations.

[Continued in next post...]

[note]Edison-Tesla is another divergence from our timeline. Edison kept his promises to Tesla, and the two worked together to build what eventually became one of the most successful corporations in history - even before the discovery of the multiverse. ETC is a "good guys" organization in the default variation of the setting, but it's trivial to change it into an evil entity.[/note] The Gateway Opens

In the Winter of 1954-1955, with the war in the Pacific raging, the US Navy had conducted experiments aimed to disguise warships from enemy mines. They hoped to accomplish by degaussing the ship's hull. A prototype of the technology was tested at the naval shipyards in Portsmouth, Maine. The experiment was a dismal failure with strange side-effects, and the project was shelved and covered up.

After the war, some of the involved scientists were hired by the multinational Edison-Tesla Corporation, and transferred to the company's massive research park in North Carolina. Here they met with other scientists, and a bold new theory was put together to explain the results of the fateful Portsmouth experiment: The observed effects, the scientists thought, were interferences with another universe.

With a huge budget to play with, the scientists set forth to recreate the experiment. Their earlier experiences allowed them to add extra safeguards. They soon found that they were on the right track, but it took them twenty years to develop the technology far enough to turn it into a usable technology. On the morning of September 10th, 1976, after many failed and partially successful experiments, a probe '" simply a collection of recording instruments '" was shifted into a parallel universe and recovered successfully for the first time.
The Edison-Tesla Corporation knew very well the implications of what they had discovered. The company's CEO immediately traveled to Geneva, where he met with the acting Secretary General of the League of Nations. They quickly reached an agreement, which they presented to a stunned public the following day.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Edison-Tesla Corporation became a direct subsidiary of the League of Nations. All ETC personnel was granted League diplomatic status, all ETC property became League property. Edison-Carter Corporation facilities became, in essence, embassies of the League, extra-territorial to and untouchable by the hosting nations. There corporation would exploit the new technology under direct League charter, 'for the good of all mankind'.

The public reaction was one of incredulity, but Edison-Tesla staff quickly followed up with a demonstration to which a large number of reporters was invited. The day afterwards, public incredulity was replaced by a mixture of fear and excitement. Nobody had any doubt that Terra had entered a new age.

[note]Parallel worlds can be of any flavor the GM wants. While my other two worlds connected directly to the Terra story do not feature anything like magic, many of my campaign worlds do and they are all explicitly part of the same multiverse. GURPS Infite Worlds, GURPS Alternate Earths 1 & 2, Mozart in Mirrorshades and Sliders are recommended for inspiration.[/note] Exploration of the Multiverse

The League of Nations, through the Edison-Tesla Corporation, began to explore and exploit parallel universes. At first, missions were purely research expeditions. Later, parallel worlds were actually used commercially. Uninhabited worlds especially, which were exploited for their raw materials, used as dumping grounds for all kinds of waste or, in some case, colonized by Terran citizens.

There were several challenges to the ETC monopoly since it was unveiled. The United States government attempted to nationalize Edison-Tesla twice. Once by force, directly after it became clear that the announcement of the new technology had not been a joke. US police and special forces raided several Edison-Tesla facilities, arrested employees and confiscated documents and equipment. The League immediately slapped sanctions on the United States, and threatened immediate military consequences if the United States did not back down. No other nation  wanted the United States to gain control of the technology to travel to other worlds.

The second time the United States attempted a seizure through the courts. However, while American courts found in favor of the Federal government and the original ETC investors (which had been bought out forcibly at League determined stock prices), the American government was in no position to enforce the ruling. Referrals to League courts remained without success, as these courts found that the League had acted within the limits set forth by existing treaties.

Over the years, several other companies and countries attempted to break the Edison-Tesla monopoly. The League stepped in wherever this became known, maintaining its monopoly by force when necessary.

International conflicts were quickly solved during this time. Affluence spread to all parts of the world, and any nation which violated League treaties found itself cut off from imports from parallel worlds. By the end of the 20th Century, the League of Nations ruled supreme over the planet and its colony worlds.

[note]The exact date and course of events of the Fall of Terra are still being worked on, but the core idea is presented here.[/note] The Fall of Terra

In 2020, contact was lost with a minor colony world. Edison-tesla Corporation sent in a team of field agents to investigate. They found the colony abandoned, with signs of an attack, but no people nor bodies. A thorough investigation revealed no clues as to what had happened. The colony world was placed under quarantine and observation, and the event was classified.

Several weeks later, field agents reported that a remotely-controlled drone used in surveying a newly discovered parallel Earth had collided with a native airplane. The world in question was thought to be uninhabited. A rescue team was sent in, as well as a larger survey team. The world turned out to be uninhabited; the wreckage of the aircraft in question was burned out and unrecognizable. Again the event was classified, but ETC and League officials aware of the event began to worry and to draft contingency plans.

These worries turned out to be justified. Five days after the crashed aircraft was recovered, attacks from unknown forces were reported from several colony worlds as well as from some smaller nations. The reports stated that people using highly advanced weaponry, but using no known insignia or uniforms, attacked towns and killed all they met, burning down buildings and destroying any infrastructure they could. This was something that could not be kept secret, and the League held an emergency session while dispatching rapid response units to the affected locations. The first suspicion - that one or more nations had started a 'civil war' within the League - turned out to be wrong. The attackers clearly used vehicles and weapons not manufactured on Terra.

As Terran soldiers began to fight the attackers, more and more incidents were reported. Soon, eye witnesses confirmed what the military leaders had suspected. The enemy soldiers appeared out of thin air, from shimmering portals similar to the ones used by the League. terra was under attack by an enemy from another world.

Attempts at communicating with the enemy failed. Enemy soldiers that were captured and sent to interrogation killed themselves by detonating a surgically implanted bomb. Meanwhile, it became clear that the enemy was not interested in conquering Terra - Their artillery and aircraft began to bomb terran cities to the point that they were completely reduced to rubble.

[note]The enemy does know how to build nuclear weapons. Asymetrical warfare can be quite bad for one's health if one is not the superior force.[/note] Terran resistance was fierce, and in some places the locals seemed to be able to turn back the attackers. Such hopeful news was short-lived, as the enemy began to use weapons of terrible destructive power; bombs that could level entire cities at once.

Within a week of the start of hostilities the military leadership had to admit that victory against a foe of unknown strength, of unknown origin, and who clearly possessed weapons capable of destroying all of Terran civilization, was impossible.

The Exodus

The commander of the Edison-Tesla US-West regional HQ was ordered to proceed with a contingency plan that not even the strategist who had devised it had thought to use. The commander was ordered to proceed with the evacuation of the base to an alternate universe. One had been picked for such a purpose; a world that had been discovered by accident, that had not been colonized, nor explored beyond an initial assessment of suitability as an emergency refuge. A world that was as unlikely to be known to the enemy as could be hoped.

The plan was executed with all haste. It included a total of thirty thousand citizens, mostly refuges and base personnel. It was not too soon, for the base came under attack while the evacuation was in progress. The gateway to the destination world broke down after roughly 25000 people and their equipment had passed through, but technicians were able to re-estiablish it and thus to allow the other refuges to escape as well. The base commander remained behind, activating powerful explosives to prevent the base's gateway and computer system from falling into the hands of the enemy. The refuges were safe - but also cut off from any possible return to their homeworld.

[note]More on Thraeton and Arnâron at a later date, probably in separate threads.[/note] The Destination Worlds

The refuges who arrived at the original destination world - Thraeton - arrived on a large, pleasant island in a temperate zone. They had high-tech tools, weapons, and enough people to set up a comfortable colony.

After the break-down of the gate, however, the destination had changed unnoticed. There had been no time to verify that the gate led to the right world. The last 5000 refugees arrived in a desolate desert, red sand dunes stretching to the horizon in all directions, and only a distant mountain range off in one direction. They have some equipment, but there had been no anticipation of an arrival in a desert. Supplies are short, and the water will last only for some days...

[...continued in next post...]

Terran Adventures

Terra's most obvious use is as a setting for a campaign that involves parallel worlds of some kind. Pick your flavor of the week, send your characters there, and have fun. The invasion is optional if you don't want to use it.

In my current outline, the invaders are one of a few societies that have learned the same technologies that ETC posesses. These guys are violently expansionist, have a higher technology than Terra, and have no scruples to eradicate competition. I envision them as a totalitarian society, complete with mindcontrol cybernetics and all.

Terra is a wealthy, high-tech place - nearly unlimited resources do that to a world. There's still inequality, there are still crooks and gangsters who wish to secure more than their slice of the pie, and there are still psychopaths who treat others badly just because they can. Many colonies are only superficially policed by the League and ETC, and local rulers can set up all kinds of political systems, or even such blatant abuses as slavery if they are careful enough.

Locally, on Terra, there's a great deal of political intrigue, mostly centered on Europe (the League HQ is in Geneva). The setting would work well as an espionage setting - there are several powerful nations, all of which are more or less unhappy with having to be a second tier to the world government. They're all attempting to dominate the League, they're all attempting to build up strategic advantages over each other, and they're all attempting to break the ETC monopoly on travel to parallel worlds. One or more may have been successful - once such a technology is discovered, it is very hard to keep it under wraps forever. The setting's relatively high technology would work well to explain James Bond style gadgets.

"Historic" campaigns could include PCs working as diplomats to establish (or prevent!) League dominance, or maybe military campaigns during the Russian War. Terra is also usable as an alternate modern setting - simply drop the interdimensional technology and work from there. There is no reason why history shouldn't be fairly close to our own after the war against Russia. The League would likely ensure an age of relative peace, similar to the more uneasy peace we enjoyed during the Cold war. Or the League could fall apart leading to a rearmament of Russia and Japan, in an arms race and in a cold or hot war. Nuclear weapons would be developed by someone at some point, and such a shift in power makes for a good campaign premisse.

Finally, without access to parallel worlds, Terra would eventually develop space flight beyond Earth's orbit. A multi-polar world struggling for control of the solar system - and without the fear of setting off a nuclear war - might be quite fun. The US and Russia had plans for armed space stations and space ships in the early 60s so this has some precedent in reality.

And that's all folks, for now. Hope nobody fell asleep reading that flood of text. ;)

Hello,

I read the first post...
I'm not yet seeing the Bruce Sterling influences (Mirrorshades)

I can't say I buy your argument that the League of Nations could have kept Japan out of Manchuria. Barring the Russians getting involved I think Japan would have done fine.

In this world, presumably, their fleet wouldn't be limited to 30% the size of US and European fleets; so they could have built more firepower.

And their navy was fairly decent; they sank the chinese navy in 1896, and then the Russian Eastern navy in 1906. (Albeit, they caught both navies semi-unawares).

QuoteChina was 'liberated' and placed under League (European) administration in early 1939 ostensibly for the purpose of rebuilding the nation.

, Terra would eventually develop space flight beyond Earth's orbit. A[/quote]
Space flight without nuclear weapons?
I realize that missile technology and nuclear weapons aren't the same thing; but many of the missile scientists were also atomic scientists. Why wouldn't the world have discovered nuclear weapons at some point- in the 1950s at least I would think the russians would have been incentivized to research.

I suppose your opinion is that no one even thought to research it; that Einstein didn't publish his theories in the 1900s... but if he didn't do that, then how did they get space flight?

Quote from: Light DragonI'm not yet seeing the Bruce Sterling influences (Mirrorshades)

Mozart in Mirrorshades is about futuristic businessmen traveling back in time (to an alternate timeline) and exploiting it for resources. It being cyberpunk, it was very ruthlessly done; the Terra setting is by default more idealistic than that, but they do the same thing - use their technology to exploit parallel universes.

Quote from: Light DragonI can't say I buy your argument that the League of Nations could have kept Japan out of Manchuria. Barring the Russians getting involved I think Japan would have done fine.

In this world, presumably, their fleet wouldn't be limited to 30% the size of US and European fleets; so they could have built more firepower.

And their navy was fairly decent; they sank the chinese navy in 1896, and then the Russian Eastern navy in 1906. (Albeit, they caught both navies semi-unawares).

No matter how powerful the Japanese military may be at this point, it's still Japan vs the rest of the industrialized world. I have absolutely no doubt that a combination of US, Germany, England and France would easily defeat Japan in China, especially with the help of the local Chinese forces.

Quote from: Light Dragon

Quote from: Light DragonThe chinese would have likely had a strong anti-colonialist sentiment at this time after suffering the hardships of Japan, and then now defeating them. Why would they accept new masters?

As a necessary evil? As long as the Europeans behave themselves and secure the country, they may be accepted. The League is basically a benevolent force (indeed I believe it was much ahead of its time in our timeline, and in the Terran alternate timeline it does not suffer from inherent diplomatic deadlock). The Chinese are patient, I can imagine them waiting a few years to see how things develop. Either way, whether China is directly controlled or just accepts garrisons doesn't really make a difference in the timeline; the important part is that Europe uses the League charter to justify an intervention against Japan. This serves as a strong precedent and strengthens the League immensely.

Quote from: Light DragonAnd I doubt the US would have wanted China to become a puppet of the Europeans- the US  had long considered China to be a great nation- and in fact it allowed Madam Chiang to be the first female to address the US Congress on its floor, I believe.

The United States do not call the shots. In our timeline, WW1 allowed the US to emerge as a world power; in this timeline the US simply helped secure a stalemate - there was no victory in Europe for either side. The US is influential in setting up the League of Nations, and the League becomes a more powerful instrument in American diplomacy. In our timeline, the US never did join the League of Nations. Indeed, one could argue that a more balanced League of Nations might be more acceptable to the Chinese than one that is seen as a purely European instrument.

Quote from: Light DragonSorry, I'm just really not buying the whole "League" could defeat Japan argument... Unless Russia and the US backed them with significant firepower in the 1930s.

Russia no, US yes.

Quote from: Light DragonDon't worry though, it's impossible to satisfy every person who's going to try to historical nitpick your setting. I just wanted you to let you know I was reading and critically thinking about your ideas.

Thank you - I always welcome and appreciate constructive criticism. There's no reason to believe I can not improve the timeline!

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Quote from: Light Dragon

Quote from: Light DragonI suppose your opinion is that no one even thought to research it; that Einstein didn't publish his theories in the 1900s... but if he didn't do that, then how did they get space flight?

Einstein is necessary, and the Terrans will have to have a much better understanding of physics than we do (assuming that parallel worlds actually do exist and that travel to them is technically possible), although with that aspect I am of course veering off into the "weird sciences" realm. :)

The development of nuclear bombs by any nations would severely upset the balance of power on Terra, and I've included that scenario as a campaign idea in my third post; they just don't work in the default setting.



Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback!


- Nils

Quote from: nilsThe League / European powers will support the Republic, and not some communist revolutionary. Jiang Jieshi was an opponent of the communists and indeed sought Western aid in the war against Japan - in this timeline he got more than he bargained for. Note also that, since Russia did not win WW2 in Europe as in our time line, communism is never strengthened to become a dominant ideology. Mao never would figure prominently in this timeline. In our timeline the US and the Europans did attempt to stop communists from winning the Russian revolution, by the way - it stands to reason that in a world where nuclear weapons are not known they'd attempt to do the same in China if it became necessary, especially if a costly WW2 did not occupy them.

As a necessary evil? As long as the Europeans behave themselves and secure the country, they may be accepted. The League is basically a benevolent force (indeed I believe it was much ahead of its time in our timeline, and in the Terran alternate timeline it does not suffer from inherent diplomatic deadlock). The Chinese are patient, I can imagine them waiting a few years to see how things develop. Either way, whether China is directly controlled or just accepts garrisons doesn't really make a difference in the timeline; the important part is that Europe uses the League charter to justify an intervention against Japan. This serves as a strong precedent and strengthens the League immensely.[/quote]

Ok.

"a more balanced League of Nations might be more acceptable to the Chinese than one that is seen as a purely European instrument." ... I don't really buy that, but ok.



"To be quite honest the reason why I did not have Terra develop nukes is because I felt they would not fit into the setting."

That's fair enough. Design comes first!
And your explanation seems to work.

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Good luck!
~LD