Weird Sun

[Steerpike]

*Jaw drops.*

OK, so usually when I see a big, nasty, dense wall o' text I sigh a little, plod a ways in, pause, remember where I was, and go back to it later.  I have to digest big settings piece by piece, most of the time; it's not like reading a novel where a narrative sustains your interest.

Not so with this stuff.

It picked me up by the throat and didn't let me go.  I love your use of language, particularly that laid-back colloquialism.  Your naming conventions, too, are awesome (the only word that throws me at all is "fantasy" in reference to things like elves, though I can see why you use the term).  I actually laughed out loud several times, yet Weird Sun isn't swinging into total whackiness, it seems - just hovering on the border, balancing it with some true horror.  Feels like a ton of things mashed together, as it should, though I'm definitely feeling a kind of "Cowboy Bebop on peyote" thing...

Something I'd like clarified - and maybe you've already mentioned it but I missed it on the first go round - the alternate dimensions that result from the Ontolclysm - how "real" are they?  Just as real as our universe, or do they somehow draw from the fictions and dreams of our universe?  And to further clarify: the alternate universes are not the same thing as the other solar systems that can be accessed through the sunways, right?

I get the feeling this is a setting you've been working on for awhile.  Have you played in it at all?  I'd love to hear some adventure accounts...

My favorite areas so far are Venus and Selene, although Mars is great too (intended, I assume, as a relatively transparent satire of the American south, full of gun-nuts and tear-in-the-eye patriots).  There's a feel of real mishmash but nonetheless a coherence to the whole thing, in a scrambled way, rather than just a jumble.

[blockquote=Cytheran Goodness]Can you imagine it? Normal people, like you and me, called by the epithet of "Dismal" and lorded over by witches? By Greys? By xenos and freaking pervs? Being forced to fuel, with our willpower, whatever insane megaproject the Peak has dreamed up? Being mind-controlled to adore the Xenarch and praising his stupid hat every day? Taken as a "consort" by some Brilliant Family arch-vampire, and being told that it's a great honor? Learning "meta-belief" and other metaphysical nonsense, and to worship Maria Moreño, the great sunchild and savior, in place of science? Not being allowed to have a car, or a computer, or even a gun? Or any modern technology at all? No? Well, that's everyday on Venus. That's what they call normalcy! And if you don't like it, some snivelling mage's son will teach you to better doggone like it, with his staff in one hand and his ozblade in the other. Thaumocracy. It's what the witches here would have if we gave them half a chance. That's why we got to fight them, keep them at bay, away from our throats. Lend them your left pinky, they take your body, mind and soul. Every single weirdo on this planet is a potential Cytherean spy. A terrorist! A rebel. Never, ever, trust, a freak. The biggest mistake we ever made was to not crush Venus when we had the chance. In my opinion, we're much too soft on the homegrown variety, too...
[/blockquote]

I mean, I'm salivating here.  More, more!

[Acrimone]

I'm enjoying the read so far, but I do have to point something out: it's a strange space navy that has a Master Chief as (formally) superior to an Ensign.

[Cowd]

Only on the internet.[/url] Unfortunately this game has ground to a halt lately from my own tardiness in posting, but I still hope it can be resurrected. Highlights include levelling saloons with plasma cannons and gauss miniguns, spontaneous in-combat copulation, casual expropriation of the enemy's body and soul, roid-rage at hallucinated dinosaurs while surrounded in the jungle and an infectious optimistic attitude.

Based on The Cadaverous Earth I think you might also like Blackbird Dreaming on the same forum. It's a post-apocalyptic survival horror where the apocalypse, as it turns out, was a bit like what happened to the CE, only with less Tim Burton and more Silent Hill. Inspirations like The Stand and The Road combined with every bone-crunching, wound-infecting shibboleth of GURPS realism make for a frightening, depressing and very well-written collaborative horror.

I'm enjoying the read so far, but I do have to point something out: it's a strange space navy that has a Master Chief as (formally) superior to an Ensign.

It's not a space navy, it's a Space Force! There's not an ocean for millions of miles! :-p

[Steerpike]

[blockquote=Cowd]Based on The Cadaverous Earth I think you might also like Blackbird Dreaming on the same forum. It's a post-apocalyptic survival horror where the apocalypse, as it turns out, was a bit like what happened to the CE, only with less Tim Burton and more Silent Hill. Inspirations like The Stand and The Road combined with every bone-crunching, wound-infecting shibboleth of GURPS realism make for a frightening, depressing and very well-written collaborative horror.[/blockquote]
Looks very cool, much more connected to our own era than the Cadaverous Earth,... I'll have to read through it thoroughly.

Back to Weird Sun, I think preventing access to the alternate realms was a very good idea on your part.

Also, I love (as a Canadian) that Canada got hit with a good dose of Weird!  So all those Twilight Zones are essentially uninhabited by any major political powers, right?

[Steerpike]

I've been reading your Weird Sun thread on SA and loving it... Rabid in particular, and her opening monologue, as well as the description of Selenopolis, really seem to emobody the core themes of the setting.  Great stuff.

[Cowd]

I've been reading your Weird Sun thread on SA and loving it... Rabid in particular, and her opening monologue, as well as the description of Selenopolis, really seem to emobody the core themes of the setting.  Great stuff.

Nice to hear.


Added a couple of brandhands, more to come later.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Your Venus reminds me of a planetary romance or pulp story, being inhabitable and full of stuff like pyramids.

[Wensleydale]

Wow, is all I can say. This is a wall o' text that you can actually read, and enjoy reading, and then realise that you've finished it and actually TAKEN IN EVERYTHING. This is a hallmark of a pretty amazing setting.

All I can say is, keep it up. I don't have any questions, but I thought I should show my support. :P

[Teh_Az]

I too would like to say I love you.

[Cowd]

Thanks for the love guys! :shy:

Your Venus reminds me of a planetary romance or pulp story, being inhabitable and full of stuff like pyramids.

Spot on. I was inspired by that but tried hard to freshen it up since it's a very tired cliché after all. Thus the planet is not generic pulp Venus, but society and geography as dictated by your typical dorky girl who's big into all that chaos magick and new age stuff. In the same way Jupiter is society as dictated by your typical extreme otaku. You'll see what I mean when I get around to wrapping up the writeups.

I added a new brandhand, Vozzo. My intention is to make six 250-point, six 500-point and six 1000-point brandhands that between them represent almost every theme and genre. I got the concepts ready but we'll see if I ever get around to crunching up the sheets.

[SDragon]

Hey, a kitchen sink, cool...

Seriously, though, if you're trying for an overarching flavor to GURPS, you have something that is what we around here like to call divset. You've got that fairly well handled.

There were a few things that really got to me, some good, some not quite so good, but only two (one good, one not quite as good) really stuck:

First, I think I understand your description of Venus, and it sounds interesting, but the Master Chief narrator seems to give a mixed review of it. I'm not really sure how "terrible" it is to replace a "murderous surface with a pleasant terrestrial one". Is he admitting she did a good thing, or was that a snide comment?

The second thing is that I love Jupiter's resemblance to "enemy" films. Did the emperor continue watching them as he grew, or does the planet not have an overabundance of tentacles and sailor-girl uniforms? Either way, the zany cliched mess that it's become seems like lots of fun, even if I would have a hard time taking it too seriously.

On a related sidenote, I've been thinking of getting a copy of GUPRS Vampire: the Masquerade, so that I could introduce my players to the system. I noticed you mentioned "vamps" and "weres". Were-- er, I mean, where do you think WoD-style vampires and werewolves would fit best in this setting?

Oh, one more thing. I noticed you have this thread arranged as if it's just for the setting, but that there's some discussion in here, too. Are you planning on having two separate threads for this setting, one for writing, one for discussing?

[Cowd]

Venus up. Just for you, Steerpike.

[Cowd]

Seriously, though, if you're trying for an overarching flavor to GURPS, you have something that is what we around here like to call divset. You've got that fairly well handled.

There were a few things that really got to me, some good, some not quite so good,[/quote] but only two (one good, one not quite as good) really stuck:

First, I think I understand your description of Venus, and it sounds interesting, but the Master Chief narrator seems to give a mixed review of it. I'm not really sure how "terrible" it is to replace a "murderous surface with a pleasant terrestrial one". Is he admitting she did a good thing, or was that a snide comment?[/quote]The second thing is that I love Jupiter's resemblance to "enemy" films. Did the emperor continue watching them as he grew, or does the planet not have an overabundance of tentacles and sailor-girl uniforms?[/quote]Either way, the zany cliched mess that it's become seems like lots of fun, even if I would have a hard time taking it too seriously.

On a related sidenote, I've been thinking of getting a copy of GUPRS Vampire: the Masquerade, so that I could introduce my players to the system. I noticed you mentioned "vamps" and "weres". Were-- er, I mean, where do you think WoD-style vampires and werewolves would fit best in this setting?[/quote]Oh, one more thing. I noticed you have this thread arranged as if it's just for the setting, but that there's some discussion in here, too. Are you planning on having two separate threads for this setting, one for writing, one for discussing?
[/quote]

I'd like to stick with one thread. And I can never have enough discussion! :D

[SDragon]

Seriously, though, if you're trying for an overarching flavor to GURPS, you have something that is what we around here like to call divset. You've got that fairly well handled.

For the "official" answer, check the FAQ. There's a thread about Divset and Ethocentric setting designs, and I think the FAQ entry links to that.

For the unofficial answer, Divset design is the very same Kitchen Sink approach that you have to go with for a GURPS setting.

There were a few things that really got to me, some good, some not quite so good,

I try. Personally, I think this whole issue of criticism-vs-compliments isn't quite as important as questions-vs-answers. Questions are one of, if not the best building tools we have, and they completely avoid the issue of "positive" and "negative" criticism. That, however, is a rant for another thread.

but only two (one good, one not quite as good) really stuck:

First, I think I understand your description of Venus, and it sounds interesting, but the Master Chief narrator seems to give a mixed review of it. I'm not really sure how "terrible" it is to replace a "murderous surface with a pleasant terrestrial one". Is he admitting she did a good thing, or was that a snide comment?

That's certainly one way of doing it. I'd suggest that if you take that route, you might want to change the tone of the statement a little bit. Maybe more of a "sure, she may have done this and that, but..." feel.

If you wanted to, you probably could make some view that isn't happy with this, though. Maybe a society is jealous of the new Utopian environment. Maybe they've found some scientific ground to hold this change in a bad opinion. Maybe they simply don't like the whole Natural Wonder feel to it. It may be hard to deny that it was actually done, but it's not as hard to deny that doing it was actually a good thing.

The second thing is that I love Jupiter's resemblance to "enemy" films. Did the emperor continue watching them as he grew, or does the planet not have an overabundance of tentacles and sailor-girl uniforms?

Me Likey! How serious do you expect Jupiter to be taken, though? While anime cinematics may be fun, they don't tend to be realistic. Do you plan on making the obvious cliches more believable, or are they simply "there"? Either way is fine, but it helps to know what you want.

Either way, the zany cliched mess that it's become seems like lots of fun, even if I would have a hard time taking it too seriously.

On a related sidenote, I've been thinking of getting a copy of GUPRS Vampire: the Masquerade, so that I could introduce my players to the system. I noticed you mentioned "vamps" and "weres". Were-- er, I mean, where do you think WoD-style vampires and werewolves would fit best in this setting?

They would fit anywhere, except in different ways. They don't even have to be WoD "style" - you can take them straight from WoD. On Mars a werewolf couple would be renegades fleeing for their lives from the redneck Inquisition. On Venus a low-generation Ventrue might easily worm his way up the Pyramid. On Earth everything comes together in a giant clusterfuck so you're more free to drop your players in different situations. You could play your game as usual in the WoD Earth, then boom, you got weirdstormed. Forget the Sabbat, now you got a pack of power armored psychos on your tail. This is the best thing about GURPS imho.

See, this is what Divset is all about. I like how you've managed to have a way to even work this setting into already existing campaigns. Most settings have to be in the campaign from the start, which makes it harder to implement some more setting-specific stuff into your preexisting campaign. This approach of "then suddenly, weird shit happens" normally would seem pretty heavy handed, but it works for this setting.

Oh, one more thing. I noticed you have this thread arranged as if it's just for the setting, but that there's some discussion in here, too. Are you planning on having two separate threads for this setting, one for writing, one for discussing?

Agreed! :D

[Steerpike]

How powerful are the Fsywznezten dragons?  You've got a lot on vamps and their weaknesses/powers but less on the dragons.  Are they basically big lizards or are they super-intelligent ubermagic demigods?