[CBGuide] Worldwalkers (or, ElDo's crazy idea)

[Poseptune]

sweet, cliffhangers are great i      it when like book chapters end with one and then i HAVE to keep reading ;)

Hee hee. When I read this and thinking about ElDo's Worldwalker Quantum Leap popped into my head. (The fact they ended each with the beginning of the next.)

[CYMRO]

maybe there is one overriding system that he uses, like a plug that is compatible in any socket

Which detracts from the individual worlds...

[Matt Larkin (author)]

It's an interesting idea.  How do you intend to explain the presence of such a character in a world without an overlapping cosmology?  For example, not all campaign settings posit alternate material planes from which a traveler could come.

Or sometimes campaign settings include a great deal of information on their planar layout, such that one preclude the existence of others.

A different suggestion just occured to me, that I'll throw out there, and you can use or discard as you choose.

Might it not be better to accept a piece of fiction for each setting with characters specific to that setting.  Perhaps each interested author is allowed to submit, but you can't be chosen again from selections for at least a few issues (as with setting of the week).  Then you select the most appropriate, best, or whatever from the submissions and add that one to the fiction column.

[So-Keher]

Are you thinking like each author writes a short story involving their world that highlights some of its finer points and such? cool idea

[SDragon]

sweet, cliffhangers are great i      it when like book chapters end with one and then i HAVE to keep reading ;)

Hee hee. When I read this and thinking about ElDo's Worldwalker Quantum Leap popped into my head. (The fact they ended each with the beginning of the next.)

i was thinking along the lines of Quantam Leap when the d20 modern comment showed up; that show really worked up on the point that 1860s virginia was truely a distinctly different setting then 1920s chicago (after typing that, i will admit that both were torn in mass conflict. the point still stands, however). why should it be any different to travel from the Jade Stage to Red Valor, then from Red Valor to d20 modern?

[Numinous]

In response to the magic system issue, he could be a fighter. :P

[Poseptune]

In response to the magic system issue, he could be a fighter. :P

I thought of that, but he would then have to have some outside source controlling his world jumping (Quantum Leap springs to mind again). Either by some divine spirit (how do they keep their power in other worlds? What keeps it linked to the main character?) or some artifact that the main character is using to move from one world to another (How does it work? Does the main character need max ranks in UMD? (if yes he doesn't want to be a fighter :)) How does it maintain its ability to work in the different worlds?).

[Lmns Crn]

I've talked with ElDo a bit about this idea, and I am confident that it can work very well-- yes, even for low- or no-magic settings.

The means of transportation from one setting world to the next is pretty unimportant. It's a MacGuffin through and through (just like the Quantum Leap technology Poseidon mentions-- it's a simple means to an end.) It can be almost completely glossed over; I certainly do not worry about it detracting from any individual setting, or somehow compromising the integrity of a low-magic world.

At any rate, the actual nuts and bolts of how the travel is accomplished, or how (and if!) the various worlds are connected in any way... none of that is particularly important to explain. (That's the great thing about a MacGuffin like this one.) Say the protagonist has some kind of gizmo that transports him to different places. We don't need to investigate why it works, because like all good story facilitators, it "travels at the speed of plot."

Ditto with the metaplot. To a large extent, any metaplot that could possibly be used would be simply an excuse to write an episodic story that spans several settings. Honestly, I think a lot of the naysaying is a result of overanalyzing the concept.

Remember the degree of involvement that each participating setting's author will have over the story. There will be a lot of oversight, and you'll find it easy to make sure that the part of the story that takes place on your "home turf" does a great job at staying true to the spirit of your setting (and shows off some of your favorite aspects of your world.)

It can be fun. It can be lighthearted. Even those of us such as myself who have "serious" mooded settings don't have to be dour all the time.

Edit:

I thought of that, but he would then have to have some outside source controlling his world jumping (Quantum Leap springs to mind again). Either by some divine spirit (how do they keep their power in other worlds? What keeps it linked to the main character?) or some artifact that the main character is using to move from one world to another (How does it work? Does the main character need max ranks in UMD? (if yes he doesn't want to be a fighter  ) How does it maintain its ability to work in the different worlds?).

does not matter.[/i]

We do not need to dissect the workings of a trans-world travel device. We do not even need to stat out the main character. We're writing a comkmunal story here, not a research paper. Trust me on this; it does not need to be over-thought.

[Wix of Bel-Air]

Very lighthearted. But still serious when it pertains to the worlds.

That's the key.

[Elven Doritos]

There will be a fair share of humor and seriousness, rest assured-- and trust me, I've already taken a lot of your concerns and ideas into consideration. Without revealing too much, I'll say there is a multi-world threat and a small group of heroes with the knowledge and ability to travel between the worlds-- that's all I'm going to say at the moment.

I'll be introducing you guys to the characters I have in mind fairly soon, and I hope they'll be both exciting and adaptable.

Until then, I'd like to start compiling a list of people who'd like to be featured in the project. I'm not sure how the featured setting will be chosen, whether by dice roll or selection by myself (equally as random, with my zaniness :P).

So, if you want to co-author an installment, either tell me below or PM me.

[Poseptune]

:) I thought that was the answer I was going to get for my last comment. (Macguffins lead to the dark side :P)

My original comment was more about the effect on the story, if the protangonist is a magic user that is. Would he still be able to use the magic he could from his original setting or do you plan on staying true to the magic system on the setting he is in currently? If he kept his magic, he would wow the people of a low/no magic setting and be laughed at (or maybe not) in a high magic setting, assuming the main character starts in a mid magic setting. Yes I understand this could be avoided by making the protagonist a non magic using class, but it would be interesting to see how the people of Phaedoras would react to healing magic.

[Numinous]

There will be a fair share of humor and seriousness, rest assured-- and trust me, I've already taken a lot of your concerns and ideas into consideration. Without revealing too much, I'll say there is a multi-world threat and a small group of heroes with the knowledge and ability to travel between the worlds-- that's all I'm going to say at the moment.

Snakes on the Planes!!!

[Elven Doritos]

:) I thought that was the answer I was going to get for my last comment. (Macguffins lead to the dark side :P)

My original comment was more about the effect on the story, if the protangonist is a magic user that is. Would he still be able to use the magic he could from his original setting or do you plan on staying true to the magic system on the setting he is in currently? If he kept his magic, he would wow the people of a low/no magic setting and be laughed at (or maybe not) in a high magic setting, assuming the main character starts in a mid magic setting. Yes I understand this could be avoided by making the protagonist a non magic using class, but it would be interesting to see how the people of Phaedoras would react to healing magic.

I'd like to clear something up: Worldwalkers.

The best way to shade characters and build on the strengths is to have more than one primary character featured, that way we can both have the party dynamic *and* be able to explore multiple aspects of the setting.

There will be a warrior-type, a mage-type, and a rakish/swashbuckler type, most likely. Two of those aren't going to have a problem going from world to world, but the mage is going to have to have some secondary skills, one of which is an intuitive ability to adapt his magic to the world. In worlds with no magic, the co-author and I will come up with a clever use for the character, but the mage *will* abide to the magic laws of the setting.

[Poseptune]

I'd like to clear something up: Worldwalkers.

The best way to shade characters and build on the strengths is to have more than one primary character featured, that way we can both have the party dynamic *and* be able to explore multiple aspects of the setting.

There will be a warrior-type, a mage-type, and a rakish/swashbuckler type, most likely. Two of those aren't going to have a problem going from world to world, but the mage is going to have to have some secondary skills, one of which is an intuitive ability to adapt his magic to the world. In worlds with no magic, the co-author and I will come up with a clever use for the character, but the mage *will* abide to the magic laws of the setting.

Okie dokie then. :)

[Numinous]

There will be a fair share of humor and seriousness, rest assured-- and trust me, I've already taken a lot of your concerns and ideas into consideration. Without revealing too much, I'll say there is a multi-world threat and a small group of heroes with the knowledge and ability to travel between the worlds-- that's all I'm going to say at the moment.

BAD CRIT!!!! No soup for you!

so[/i] like soup.