Aberrant RPG - Worldwide Phase III

[Jackson Creed]

Okay, the title of this topic says it all. I was reading through Worldwide Phase 1 and 2, as well as Teragen and Elites and I can see all kinds of story threads that could potentially lead into Worldwide Phase 3. Of course, WP3 will never happen now that the gameline has been discontinued... unless we do it.

This may be an idea that has been suggested before, but I definately think that it is doable. All we really need is three decent sized scenarios that players from virtually any faction can play through, which at the same time highlights the current world situation and how Novas interact with the world around them. Tentative setting would be around 2020 (about five years after WP2).

Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

JC

[Centimane]

Well glancing through the books gives me a couple of ideas. These are, quite literally, off the top of my head (i.e. I haven't been thinking about any of these for months, or anything, I just now thought of them, so go easy on me please! ::blush ) so they may, or may not, suck.

1) From the Elites book; I think a scenario involving either the Kashmir situation (something like: stopping - or starting - a nuclear war) or mad dictator Asani would be cool. Asani's been a taint-mad monster (of taint *9*!) since the early 2000's, so it's a wonder his country hasn't blown up in his face (or vice versa) a long time ago. The characters could be on a mad rush to stop another Equatorial War, or they could be out to reap the benefits. Either scenario would be guaranteed to have lots of action, and both would feel kinda epic in their own ways (especially one involving a second set of Equatorial Wars).

2) It's only covered very vaguely in any of the books, but it's apparent that Utopia undergoes a radical change of outlook and policy both before, and during, the Aberrant War. I think a cool scenario would be one that covers the beginning of this shift within the structure of Utopia. Properly orchestrated this could involve mad amounts of espionage and undercover work, but it could just as easily be a straight-forward public-relations affair. Most likely, you'd come up with a controversial situation and, depending on the characters' alignment, they help/hinder Utopia's, and the World's reaction to this situation and in so doing, they help change the shape of Utopia (and the World) for the better or worse.

3) This wouldn't be particularly canon, but since (technically) none of this is, I figure "what the hell"? I have always thought it'd be really cool to do a scenario where the characters "uncover" the secret history behind the EON society. I mean, in canon history, no one knows the full story except possibly Divis and Maxwell, and you've got all these factions and organizations running around chasing these agendas that, for the most part, have nothing to do with the real play. This scenario, IMHO, would be righteously cool as an "X-Filesesque" conspiracy theory type of story. It could start off with some nut-ball giving the characters some crackpot conspiracy story that makes *just* enough sense to perk someone's interest, and that gets the ball rolling. Next thing you know, the character's are up to their necks in a game that's so big-league it makes every other game out there (the Directive, Proteus) look like the minors. This one has room to introduce all sorts of crazy and weird stuff, and it could be ridiculously fun. You could even give the characters an opportunity to meet Maxwell himself, or Divis in a setting outside of the whole Chrysalis/Teras thing.

4) Last, but not least, as the saying goes, would be kind of a reverse of the Amp Room scenario. Basically, tensions (for whatever reason) run so high in a major city (pick one), that a "race riot" starts, but this time it's baselines that go after novas. We're not talking Michaelites on rampage, we're talking normal, everyday people who suddenly flip out and start mobbing novas on the streets and rioting. It would just be brief affair, time-wise, and the characters could be called in for damage control, or they could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But when the dust settles, their actions would have an enormous impact, for good or ill, on nova-baseline relations in the future.

Anyways, these are just thoughts, but I wanted to contribute. So there you go. That is all.

[Blue Thunder]

Someone suggested this at N!Prime, but I guess it didn't take off there. It's a shame...we had a few good thread pages of ideas and discussions. I would love to work on it, if I wasn't already running an rp here, and working on 2 other Trinity e-books. Not enough time...or attention.

Remember the important thing about the WW scenarios...each one is about something important to the world and nova society, not just to the characters themselves and their little chronicle. The events from each of the four scenarios in both books become public knowledge at some point and shape the future of how novas interact with baselines. Even the events involving The Miracle become public knowledge at the end of WW1. Each scenario in WW3 should have an impact on the future, something that changes life regarding novas. Having the characters uncover the secrets of the Aeon society and Mal's true identity might be fun, but it's not something that would become public knowledge (obviously), so it wouldn't affect the world or nova society, only the private story of the characters. This kind of adventure is better left for each gaming group to run by themselves. The WW books serve to advance the overall setting of Aberrant, so such a scenario would be out of place.

Scenario ideas:

1 - Ricardo Montoya-Bernal turns on humanity after accumulating too much Taint. Montoya-Bernal is described in the Player's Guide as having become so Tainted his arms are serpentine and stretchy. Perhaps after a certain point he finally succumbs to Taint and turns on humanity. Or perhaps he just turns on his teammates. Maybe he leaves T2M, simply stating that he's lost sympathy for baselines. Maybe he kills some baselines in a Taint-induced rage, all on camera. How would the world react if a T2M nova (the leader of T2M-Americas, no less) decided to betray them and forsake his humanity? If even the novas of T2M can't be trusted...what nova can be? And if its revealed that his condition was beyond his control, that it was something any nova could suffer from...well, just imagine the paranoia among baselines if they knew that any nova, even Alejandra or The Fireman, could go mad.

Themes and Aftereffects: Can baselines trust novas? If every novas carries Taint, then it could only be a matter of time before they all mutate and go mad. After this scenario, humanity becomes increasingly paranoid of each and every nova, no matter how innocent or human they appear. Anti-nova groups soar in membership, and several governments pass laws against novas in the name of public defense, on the basis that every nova could go mad like Montoya-Bernal did. These action only worsen nova-baseline relations, further forshadowing the Aberrant War.

2 - The sterility issue comes to a head after a nova-borne child is made public, and a cure is developed. Some novas (mostly Aberrants and Terats) have made public allegations that Utopia has been sterilizing novas for over a decade. But what if someone within Proteus (or from some other source, maybe even the Aberrants or the Teragen) comes forward with actual proof of the sterilization campaign? Some novas are able to conceive, but keep their children hidden from the world (or their children are killed by Proteus). But at the same time, places like India and the Middle East do not welcome Utopia, so are likely to have many fertile novas. The players are involved in a random assignment someplace for whatever reason (in India, Africa, or South America...someplace where it would be more conceivable for a nova to slip by sterilization) when they witness an extremely young nova in action. Investigating further, the players uncover the parent is a female nova, and that she has several other nova children that she has tried to keep hidden from Utopia (and Proteus). Somehow, the knowledge of the children becomes public, and novas the world over start to stir in reaction. What if a counter to the sterilization is conceived in response? For so long, most novas considered it a bad side effect of eruption, or just bad luck, but now their fears have come true. Perhaps a nova with the Health enhancement or high Mega-Int (or both) develops a process to make novas sterile again. Imagine the global reaction, from both novas and baselines. Novas everywhere line up to get the miracle cure...at any cost. Makara and FireFox leave Utopia, blaming them (rightfully so) for preventing their conception. Anna Devries comes forth to reveal that she gave birth to a nova child several years prior.

Themes and Aftereffects: Novas everywhere feel betrayed by Utopia. Almost overnight, a whole third of Utopia's novas leave the organization. Proteus in turn demands more power from the Aeon Council, and Thetis recieves it. Proteus becomes the true power within Utopia after Director Laragione steps down, taking the fall and the blame for the sterilization campaign. Novas start to distrust any Utopia-affiliated organizations, and over time this paranoia extends to all governments and corporations. Novas start to turn independant, or join nova-only factions like the Teragen and Aberrants; novas are simply too scared of baselines trying to sterilize them, so they prefer to stay in the company of other novas.

3 - The Final Night occurs, killing thousands of baselines. According to the Church of Astaroth, on 2 Feb 2017, the Domitori with gather in Nevada and summon a large demonic beast to bring about the End of Days. This event is referred to as the Final Night. The Domitori are consumed to create the monster, and then the beast consumes all of the CoA cultists to sustain itself further. The gargantuan beast, possessing many of the powers of the Domitori used to create it, and possessing a large body thanks to the flesh consumed from the cultists, descends upon the world. The players respond by helping take down the massive beast (with assistance from various novas of other factions who also respond to the disaster). After the beast is defeated, baseline society is left in absolute fear (or awe) of nova cults. Many governments pass laws against nova deification. Novas of religious leanings find themselves discriminated against. Arguments and debates and about novas and religion are discussed like never before. Should novas be allowed to declare themselves gods? They clearly possess abilities beyond that of baselines, performing the same kinds of miracles that were last performed in holy texts. The later half of the scenario has the players in India during riots over the issue of deification of novas; most Indians strongly oppose anti-deification laws, and take to the streets throughout the country in protest of UN and Utopia opinions on the matter.

Themes and Aftereffects: The majority of baseline society becomes fearful of any nova with religious tones to him- or herself. Any nova that even so much as speaks about religion in the following months is practically crucified by the media. Many followers of the major faiths start to believe novas are demonic in nature; after all, the Domitori used their Quantum powers to summon a demon that killed thousands. The Church of Michael Archangel uses this fact to great effect, easily doubling its membership. However, there are those baselines that seem to have the opposite reaction compared to the rest of society...to them, the Final Night event only proves the divinity of novas. Though most of baseline society shuns nova cults like never before, the reality is that the number of nova cults rises dramatically over the next year, especially in India.

[Alex Green]

I like #1 and #3. Doing things with Sterility is a tough one.

RE: 1

I'd missed that part in the APG about his arms, that means he's gone to taint 6. Guy must keep buying things tainted.

RE: 3

Mechanically perhaps the way to represent this would be to have the big "A" hit taint 10.

[Blue Thunder]

Doing things with Sterility is a tough one.

Yeah, touching on sterility is a tough one (I'm not even going to guess how hard it is working on A Breed Apart), but it has to be addressed eventually; too many novas (and players) bring the issue up. The Trinity books never mention how novas couldn't breed, so I assume it was solved/revealed before the Aberrant War. And sooner rather than later...after almost two decades, it just seems ridiculous that no one in Aberrant ever really addresses the issue.

I'd missed that part in the APG about his arms, that means he's gone to taint 6. Guy must keep buying things tainted.

It's in the Dormancy flavor text, where Geryon is fighting him. Taint seems to be a big problem for Montoya-Bernal; it even says as much in his Project Utopia bio. Who knows what his next transformation will be. So far he has green skin, fins on his arms and calves, and snake-line arms that stretch.

Mechanically perhaps the way to represent this would be to have the big "A" hit taint 10.

I was actually hesitant about posting this idea, just because of the mechanics involved. If the Domitori actually do combine together to make one monster, then shouldn't that be possible by other groups of novas? What would be the rules for that? Personally, I was thinking of just taking Astaroth's stats, and improving them by several degrees for each Domitori he takes over. It may appear as if the group is summoning the beast, but Astaroth is actually just gobbling up his fellow cult leaders to transform himself into the beastie. The real problem is that I would expect it to be a Quantum 6 monster (though still Astaroth), but if he can attain Q6 by absorbing other novas, then so should anyone else that copies his methods. I guess the best way to solve this is to make Astaroth a Q6 nova by the time the scenario takes place.

Ah, details details details...

[Alex Green]

Yeah, touching on sterility is a tough one (I'm not even going to guess how hard it is working on A Breed Apart), but it has to be addressed eventually; too many novas (and players) bring the issue up. The Trinity books never mention how novas couldn't breed, so I assume it was solved/revealed before the Aberrant War. And sooner rather than later...after almost two decades, it just seems ridiculous that no one in Aberrant ever really addresses the issue.

There is a very good fan piece that’s going to come out soon and go over this a lot.

It's in the Dormancy flavor text, where Geryon is fighting him. Taint seems to be a big problem for Montoya-Bernal; it even says as much in his Project Utopia bio. Who knows what his next transformation will be. So far he has green skin, fins on his arms and calves, and snake-line arms that stretch.

Hold up there, the dude already has the flexibility enhancement, so he doesn’t *need* to go any further than taint 5… but as he already seems to be buying things tainted I see no reason not to continue to beat him with the taint stick. Green skin and fins (and some of his powers) might as well indicate a serpent theme for his aberrations, which presumably means he starts swallowing people whole around taint 8.

I was actually hesitant about posting this idea, just because of the mechanics involved. If the Domitori actually do combine together to make one monster, then shouldn't that be possible by other groups of novas? What would be the rules for that? Personally, I was thinking of just taking Astaroth's stats, and improving them by several degrees for each Domitori he takes over. It may appear as if the group is summoning the beast, but Astaroth is actually just gobbling up his fellow cult leaders to transform himself into the beastie. The real problem is that I would expect it to be a Quantum 6 monster (though still Astaroth), but if he can attain Q6 by absorbing other novas, then so should anyone else that copies his methods. I guess the best way to solve this is to make Astaroth a Q6 nova by the time the scenario takes place.

No offense, but I really don’t want to establish the precedent of eating people to gain power. (And this is from the player of Cannibal Bob… it’s fine as a theme, but it’s not a substitute for paying for things.) Of course as an old NPC he has all the points he needs to pay for things so it isn’t an issue…. Although if we really want to I could come up with a version of Q-Imprint which only works on people he eats (see below).

Another interpretation of his vision-quest vision is that he lets his monster out and it eats everyone. Considering he’s already at Q5 going to Q6 isn’t a problem, he just drops that last point of experience during the ceremony… and something else to consider, the guy also has Mr. Nobody, so it presumably could be hard to see that his taint is in fact growing.

There’s several ironies here, several of these idiots really should see this mess coming, from precognition if nothing else. And having seen that this is going to end their world and unleash a quantum monstrosity, they’re still going to do it. I’m particularly unimpressed with Astaroth’s common sense, he knows the price he’s going to pay, he knows that this is going to cost him his life, soul, sanity, and individuality, but he’s going to do it anyway. Something is going to be running amok that day, it just won’t be him by any sane judgment (of course I'm also running a character called The Colony so I'm not sure I can point fingers).

For years Astaroth has been, unknown to anyone, developing Quantum-Imprint. He never found out about it because his power is limited to novas and he hasn’t physically touched another nova in years. When the day of judgment occurs, he does touch the others, and when that happens he snaps, gets his tenth point of taint, and kills and eats every one of them. In order to maintain his Quantum-Imprint he needs to pay one point of quantum every 12 (Q+D) scenes and he can’t stop and rest or sleep, but with his adaptability he doesn’t need to sleep. With his quantum leech as long as he continues to be in combat he should never run out of juice. Put another way, this is a creature that must kill and destroy just to live.

Astaroth has: 5 dots of Q-Imprint + Multiple Targets + Mastery (meaning he is Q7). He has up to 10 powers, enhancements, and/or abilities from each of his 5 victims.

[SkyLion]

He could have 2 Extras at Q6, not Q 7. At Q6, you can add 2 extras before the level 3 power becomes a level 4...

[Alex Green]

He doesn't have a level 3 power, he has a level 4 power. I.e. QI + Mastery => L4, so he needs Q7 for a free extra.

[SkyLion]

oh yeah...didnt see the mastery part... ::blush

[metaphysician]

Hmm, one alternative is to treat the Domitori ( who already have some kind of vague link ) as collectively gaining a new aberration "collective body" or somesuch. IOW, its not so much that Astaroth ate them all to increase his own power, as the lot merged, and now exist all in one body and mind. Astaroth's vision and thoughts ( mostly ) direct this combined entity, since most of them conceive of him as being the head of the Domitori, anyway, but merged in are the thoughts, ideas, and influences of the others.

The result is, obviously, something totally insane, but then again, these are people who even beforehand wanted to achieve death and destruction on a planetary scale. Which is, btw, why nobody involved who could forsee the outcome is trying to avoid it. They *want* their own ragnarok, and consider the cost to themselves worth it.

I agree, though, whatever monstrousity the group forms should be Q6, at least, with enough powers and masteries to be a single-handed threat to the whole world.

The other alternative is, the resultant entity isn't *any* of them, but something genuinely independent they summoned up. I believe someone mentioned having Odin as a taint-maddened god isolated from Earth, and trying to get back in, as a potential such summoning. In the campaign I'm in, a deceased Baal, whose will is such that even thousands of years after his death, the quantum resonance is enough to be noticed by new novas, and inspire them to turn their very flesh and souls into a new body so that he might live again, would be a terrifyingly appropriate candidate.

[Alex Green]

Which is, btw, why nobody involved who could forsee the outcome is trying to avoid it. They *want* their own ragnarok, and consider the cost to themselves worth it.

(From memory, I'll have to re-read this... but...)

I disagree. Astaroth sees it coming and knows "he" is going to be eating his "friends", but doesn't care. He thinks he will become god (capital "g") and as such is willing to sacrifice everything. None of the others have a clue of the personal cost. The goth manipulation guy sees it coming but doesn't know of the personal cost (he plays the part of the guy who unleases hell thinking it's going to increase his standing in the world). The big bully ("...Dude...") doesn't know his roll but as long as he gets to take it out on something screaming, he doesn't care. But if he knew he'd be doing the screaming I seriously think he would. The female lawyer is certainly not self destructive... although she might be there in person in an attempt to erupt.

[Sprocket]

Let's not forget Beltaine, the CoA's resident S&M diva. If she has any inkling of Astaroth's plan to munch his fellow Domitori, she might not even care that she's going to be eaten, & may even see herself as getting some kind of sexual gratification from it. ::wacko

[Blue Thunder]

Maybe instead of the extra Domitori being "eaten" they simply "merge" together through some bizarre process they don't understand. But the merger only lasts a few hours (or days, or whatever is needed)...after that time, the massive creature (which won't be under their control, but acting on feral and destructive instincts) simply falls apart and dies, or explodes into fire. This way, the Domitori combine into one creature as the book suggests, and it also prevents players from doing the same...if they choose do to so, their creature would have a very short life and die, and their characters would be lost.

Or, a simpler approach: Astaroth only appears to "eat" them. They really just die (and willingly, too). At the moment of the "summoning" he uses saved up Experience Points to raise his Quantum to 6 (or 7, or whatever) and also buys Tainted powers to bring his Taint to 10 (or near 10). He becomes the demonic creature they were summoning, and also loses what was left of his sanity upon reaching Taint 10. He should max his Sizemorph: Grow, so he becomes a movie-like building-smashing demon, near King Kong or Godzilla size. That would be a battle to remember...numerous novas on the ground pounding on Astaroths legs with all they have and healing the injured, while a dozen novas fly in the sky shooting him with quantum bolts and preventing buildings from falling over. Would Sizemorph: Grow + Mastery do this? Yikes.

Health Levels would come up though. Maybe his Mega-Stamina goes to 6 (thanks to Q6+) and he has Resiliency (twice) to double his Stamina and Mega-Stamina soak. Plus he takes a shitload of Body Mod: Health Levels. He'll need a lot of Health Levels if he's going to stick around for a long cinematic giant-monster fight. Plus high soak, via Armor and other stuff.

[Alex Green]

Beltaine is more into hurting people than being hurt.

Or, a simpler approach: Astaroth only appears to "eat" them. They really just die (and willingly, too).

Or he really does eat them as his first act after transforming, and I doubt they'd go willingly. Of course we could just fudge the issue and have the PCs show up at the bloodsoaked summoning grounds.

At the moment of the "summoning" he uses saved up Experience Points to raise his Quantum to 6 (or 7, or whatever) and also buys Tainted powers to bring his Taint to 10 (or near 10). He becomes the demonic creature they were summoning...

Excellent. And of course one point of tainted quantum is +2 taint... and there are various references to abbies becomeing big time gods/monsters and striding the globe.

[Hyper-Focus]

I can really dig into the sterility idea. The event is a landmark in Nova/Human relations and one that's I agree been a long time coming (continuity-timewise). What would the actual scenerio be? A quantam slinging romp to liberate/destroy information relating to the sterility program could possibly be tailored to fit most factions. Im more in favor of a role-play heavy political game as the characters are deployed in (or some cases take charge of) their orginizations response to the issue. Structurally I see two ways to present this.

1)A central scene in which the sterility conspiracy is revealed. The aforementioned quantum slinging romp? Sophia Rossueau announcing it at the United Nations? Another Mal boadcast? I've never written an "adventure" before...setting is really my thing. Any other ideas for this scene? This is followed by details

Utopia: Utopia (not to mention its in house Public Relations) is in full bore panic mode. The orginization is bleeding Novas, as more and more quit is disgust. Rashound facilities across the globe come under seige from pissed off Novas of every who were stabalized and steralized there shortly after their eruptions. Characters may be assigned to protect a Rashound facility from attack, or deployed as PR flacks. As time passes and the inital scandal dies down a bit, players are left to survey the damage. New nova recruitment is next to nil, and their number of current nova employees or retainers is sevrely depleated. Theres a whole hell of alot of newly independent novas out there...an idea which other orginizations will be acutely aware of.

Meanwhile, the characters themselves are having a long dark night of the soul. The trust and faith they have placed in Utopia has been severely misplaced. Do Utopias other actions (cleaning up the enviornment, feeding Africa) make up for this one misstep. If they do decide to leave, where do then end up? And with whom?

Abberrant: Its my inclination to let the Abberrants take center stage in this the events surrounding the inital disclousre of the conspiracy. This is what they've been building up to for years, the big score. What leads up to Sophia Rossuau's speech at the UN (assuming thats how it goes down)? Physical characters could be involved in extracting and protecting a Utopia (Proteus?) defector. Another route to take is to let the players help shape the Aberrants post-revelation. Perhaps mroe "independent" Novas, popular Novas such as municipal defenders begin to align more closely with the aberrants. Do the aberrants become the new clearinghouse for Nova talent? Mayhaps the shift into a more labor union or political advocacy model. Do their ranks swell to make them the largest group of Novas? How do they cope? Do they persue more freelance, grassroots heroism rather then Utopias overarching problems such as pollution or organized crime that Utopia tackled Or maybe they go the other way, solidifying their relationship with the Teragen in the wake of the conspiracy.

Directive: Utopia done ****ed up. Novas are pissed off and some are lashing out. Guess who has to clean up the mess. Directive agents shuttle quickly from one hot spot to the other, perhaps even defending Addis-Ababa itself from attack. The chaos that ensues following the revelation may persuade more nations to join. Perhaps they move to more openly police Nova activity under an expanded mandate. I havnt given this one much thought. Any ideas?

Teragen: Utopia is unmasked as the true monsters. In all of modern history, only the Nazis have practiced both mass sterilization. With Utopia on its knees, where does teragen strike? Firebrands like the primacy and nova vigilance attack Utopia strongholds throughout the world. Maybe they finally crack the Bahrain facility wide open. As novas become radiclaized their ranks swell as well. The multiplicity of new viewpoints entering teragen are very destabalizing. There is bound to be an internal power struggle by the established factions within the movement for the new recruits. New factions may arise. And of course..."What Would Divis Do?". Exactly. What does he do? Is he instrumental in the informations release? And what about Bounty and her creche of nova children. They the come under attack from Utopias in a panic as they are right under the nose of Utopias headquarters. Bounty has the power to restore nova facility, although she doesnt appear to have the temperment to leverage this into becoming a major factional player as Sin Eater has with her taint clinic. When word gets out about her power shes going to have Novas beating down her door to be healed. And some of them wont be polite about it.

2) Scenes and settings to be played by any (most) faction

Extract/defend (or guard) Utopia defector, possibly from the Bahrain facility.

Attack/Defend Rashaund facility in a major population center, or just try to protect the innocents when the quantam starts flying

The revelation itself. Ive given my own idea. Sophia Rosseau on the floor of the UN. A Mal broadcast. Does the Directive leak the information at a key point to weaken Utopia? Help me out here.

Participate in, survail, or attempt to disrupt a Teragen/Aberrant summit or meeting in which their movements ties become solidified.

P.S. I see no reason to provide a rules mechanic for Astaroth's apotheosis. It happens because the story needs it to happen and if storytellers need one of those little boxes where the author reminds them of that then they should get one. The characters cant eat other Novas and gain their power. Astaroth can, probably because be belives he can. Nuff said. The real horror of this story is the world getting a first look at how utterly inhuman novas can become. This is their humanities first glimpse of the taint maddened creatures nova's become in the Aeon/Trinity timeframe, where creatures like Colony are more representative of novas then Ceastus Pax.

[SkyLion]

Ahem*

First of all...

::welcome ::welcome ::happybirthday ::beer30 ::thumbup ::thumbup1 ::idea ::stormtrooper ::stormtrooper ::stormtrooper ::superfunny ::what ::wacko ::blink ::indifferent ::smile ::biggrin ::laugh ::crackmeup

I had to give you a big welcome, since that was such a kickass first post. Hope it's the first of mnay. Welcome to Eon.

(Now under new management! )

[Alex Green]

Indeed. Hail and well met! Welcome!

[Hyper-Focus]

Once I have some ideas banged out Im gonna post an abstract of a sterility revaltion adventure in its own thread and start soliciting comments.

[Gideon]

I have thought about this a bit and I feel that the big finale should be the public revelation of the Sterility Pogram at a session of the UN, and it being slightly upstaged by Geisha and Pax announcing that Team Tomorrow will effective-immediately sever their ties with PU (Teen Tomorrow would have a similar split from PU, but not all of their team would leave).

Basically, the world gets to see the horror of Novas gone-mad, as well as, the mirror image of Human atrocity. This allows novas and baselines alike to react to the news. In general Novas will react to the sterility plan stronger than base-lines, as Asteroth's terror will whip baselines into extremist reactions. So Novas get their wake-up call and further polarize. Baselines see the writing on the wall and begin to support tighter controls on independant novas.

In my campaign/world Geisha leaves T2M to work directly for the UN, asfter the Sterility pogrom is revealed. ('irreconcilable failure of ethics' or some-such)

This place in the time-line is one of my favorites, I prefer running most of games between 2012 and 2035, as novas have lost most of their initial shine, and the (personal) definitions of power begin to override the ingrained propaganda of Aeon.

just my thoughts.

[metaphysician]

I doubt that Pax would voluntarily leave Project Utopia. Too easy to make him look horrible. Though, you mention Geisha too, so if she were perhaps convincing him to take up a higher ideal. . .

[Sprocket]

I can't see Pax willingly leaving PU, as he's got way too much of his ego intertwined with the Project's success. Remember that he knows plenty about Proteus, and has acted to support them in the past despite their foulness.

[Gideon]

Okay, the connection died and my original post was axed...so I will try to capture it all again.

Pax Leaving: In the campaign I ran he left so that he could return triumphant. Pax is arogant and ambitious, but he is not stupid (really).

Pax knew the following:

A - T2M: Americas was destined to collapse, as its leader and his wife were bound to leave the team (most likely taking their close friends) over the Sterility announcement.

B - T2M: Asia headed by Geisha would most likely lose it leadership (Geisha) and its effectiveness as many of the Novas depicted as members were not known for their team skills.

C - Pax's team, the strongest and largest team has had a few public image problems, the exposure of PU atrocities would destroy his remaining credability in the public arena.

D - Pax knows what the real crimes are and where many of the bodies are buried. He also has kept his assiation very well hidden from most outsiders.

Given this he knew one of three outcomes were coming:

1 - PU exhonorated and things move on (very unlikely).

2 - PU stands trial and a complete house cleaning occurs

3 - PU stand trial but sufficient skap-goats are found.

Case 1: Pax declares outrage over the actions - "feels betrayed by his baseline friends" and must remove T2M from to protect his nova colleages and then must ask forgiveness for lack of faith in PU. He is now beholden to Theitis as project Proteus takes PU over internally.

Case 2: Pax declares outrage over the actions - "feels betrayed by his baseline friends" and must remove T2M from to protect his nova colleages. When allegations of his involvement are dug-up, he now has the leverage to claim 'falsified evidence' and has a chance to redeam his (and T2M image).

Case 3: Same as 2, except he can now act as the front man for the remaining Proteus operatives, and he gains some leverage over them - of course this puts a sour taste in the "true" operatives.

In each case Pax survives and only in the least likely outcome does have to appologise, an outcome he could ensure does not happen.

Geisha Leaving: Its a foregone conclusion in my mind. She is already aware of a few indiscretions perpetrated by PU, but the revelation of the Sterilization program will destroy PU integrity on all politcal arenas if it is not completely refuted (again very unlikely). Geisha's effectiveness will suffer and her continued connection to PU could even poison her past treaties as any 'appearance' of impropriety is suffient to discredit her.

[Blue Thunder]

A - T2M: Americas was destined to collapse, as its leader and his wife were bound to leave the team (most likely taking their close friends) over the Sterility announcement.

I think you got a little mixed up there. You're thinking of Makara and FireFox. They're T2M-Am members, but MOntoya-Bernal is the leader.

Some points...

- I see Geisha leaving as well. Having her join the UN is perfect, too. That's the perfect place for her to use her skills, and I doubt they would refuse her anyway.

- I can't see Utopia disbanding, not so soon. Utopia plays a pretty hefty role in Aberrant's storyline and the world at large. Team Tomorrow on the other hand...barely anyone in Trinity has even heard of them. In Field Report: Media, a kid finds a comic book with Splash fighting Geryon, and has no clue who the characters are.

- Mentioning Splash, I could see her leaving as well. They already hint in the Utopia sourcebook that if Utopia's dark underbelly were revealed, she probably wouldn't stick around. I'd think she goes with Geisha or stays in India (though Indians generally hate Utopian novas, so I'm sure they haven't had any love for her in a while).

- Caestus Pax's main allegiance is to his image. He doesn't care about the moral or ethical consequences of his actions...he cares about his action figure selling, his comic book being popular, his photo being on magazine covers, his face being on every television screen, etc. He's done plenty of nasty things for Utopia. Like said before, he's well aware of Proteus and has no qualms helping Proteus out. He was willing to let Proteus novas silence Corbin at Bahrain...which means that he probably knew Proteus killed Slider, and was okay with it.

- Psyche is secretly a Proteus operative (in Worldwide: Phase 1, she's the one that brainwashed Gabriel). She has no background in the books...all we know is that she's an heiress and a powerful telepath and telekinetic with a lot of tattoos. She's basically the Jean Grey of the team. I also assume she has Appearance Alteration, because she looks hot enough to have Mega-Appearance and her hair goes from red to blond to black in three different pictures (this could be hair dye, too). Who knows how much damage her telepathy could deal to various T2M members by altering memories or personalities. Since she works for Proteus, she's likely gotten inside the heads of a lot of the members already.

[metaphysician]

I don't think the Trinity era media info necessarily indicates that T2M *disbanded* quickly and early. Its more that, the existence of T2M would be one of those things most thoroughly covered up, since it goes against the general narrative. Sure, its allowed that there was a "golden age," but providing actual details? Not so much, I imagine.

[Alex Green]

which means that [Pax] probably knew Proteus killed Slider, and was okay with it.

No, it means that he probably knew Proteus killed Slider, and he didn't go public with that info. His reaction could have been happy acceptence, but it also could have been a gruging acceptence, disgust, outrage, or even murder.

And it has to be said that Project Pro could have made a very convincing argument that Corbin did it, and Pax likely hated Corbin (Corbin cut down Pax's image a number of times in different ways).

[metaphysician]

which means that [Pax] probably knew Proteus killed Slider, and was okay with it.

No, it means that he probably knew Proteus killed Slider, and he didn't go public with that info. His reaction could have been happy acceptence, but it also could have been a gruging acceptence, disgust, outrage, or even murder.

And it has to be said that Project Pro could have made a very convincing argument that Corbin did it, and Pax likely hated Corbin (Corbin cut down Pax's image a number of times in different ways).

Yeah, Pax didn't need to know about Slider's assassination. In fact, he probably didn't know alot of Proteus activities. That they existed, yeah, but why would anyone reveal lots of critical info to him, beyond what is necessary?

As for if he did know, what his response was? Depends on how much humanization you want for Pax. He is certainly an egomaniac. . . but is he a complete sociopath underneath, or does he have some actual human feelings under the gloryhounding? I tend toward the latter, as if nothing else, he isn't anywhere near megasocial enough to cover up a complete lack of any human empathy.

[Chuckg]

As for if he did know, what his response was? Depends on how much humanization you want for Pax. He is certainly an egomaniac. . . but is he a complete sociopath underneath, or does he have some actual human feelings under the gloryhounding? I tend toward the latter, as if nothing else, he isn't anywhere near megasocial enough to cover up a complete lack of any human empathy.

Doesn't he have Mega-Charisma 3? That plus not *interacting* with the public except when its carefully stage-managed, and/or he's out on a bar crawl, would cover up quite a lot.

I mean, many outright sociopaths have managed to successfully cover up for a long while limited to real-world capabilities.

[metaphysician]

Nope, according the Worldwide Phase 1, he's got only 1 dot of mega-charisma. He does have good stage managing, admittedly.

[SkyLion]

Yeah, Pax didn't need to know about Slider's assassination. In fact, he probably didn't know alot of Proteus activities. That they existed, yeah, but why would anyone reveal lots of critical info to him, beyond what is necessary?

As for if he did know, what his response was? Depends on how much humanization you want for Pax. He is certainly an egomaniac. . . but is he a complete sociopath underneath, or does he have some actual human feelings under the gloryhounding? I tend toward the latter, as if nothing else, he isn't anywhere near megasocial enough to cover up a complete lack of any human empathy.

Agreed. Despite his lofty status within T2M, Pax is still the powers-that-be's attack dog. Given his trmendous power level they will be even *more* concerned with managing and controling him, and especially his access to information. They probably have a whole team of psychoanalysts working over his files and would likely have several contigency plans to take him out (or at least try) if he ever pulled an Antaeus, went rogue or somesuch. What are his psychic defenses anyways? How hard would it be for a top notch dominator to use the "mailed fist of peace" for their own ends?

[metaphysician]

Well, IIRC, Underworld mentioned Pax briefly being dominated by Scarface, only to be freed by Psyche's counterattack. That implies that whatever mental defenses he has, they are hardly overwhelming.

[Centimane]

Bear in mind that Pax does have full Director status within Utopia and is actually the highest placed nova within that organization (though Director Ozaki would probably be of equal rank if he weren't always in the shadows). Pax oversees everything involving Team Tomorrow including recruitment and placement. This means that he would be aware of most, if not all, of Proteus's moles within the Teams, as well as within the support staff that work with the various T2Ms.

The chances that he has no idea what actually happened to Slider are pretty small. He almost certainly knows the truth about what happened just as he knows the truth about Bahrain.

But the chances that he knows it was Chiraben, exactly what Chiraben looked like when he killed Slider, and where Chiraben's current location is? Not so good. Details like that would be left to Thetis and Ozaki. But I'd imagine that Pax knows all the general details of any operation that might even vaguely overlap with Team Tomorrow operations.

As for covering up for lack of empathy; there's not really anything in the books that gives any indication that Pax does anything other than moralize and talk big in front of cameras, and recite carefully prepared speeches at critical moments when in confrontations with other novas. I don't really see much empathy in him as it is.

[SkyLion]

yeah. true. BUT...he is still a Nova, and therefore you can bet his "handlers" are as concerned with him as the other novas...especially given his psych profile and his already manifesting aberrations...All Im saying is despite his position he is still a nova and still being watched...*especially* closely...

,,

you know what they say about where to keep your friends and enemies...

[metaphysician]

Being fair, Pax's "director" status may well be as much a sop to his ego as anything else. Wouldn't surprise me if alot of the "grunt" work gets done by others, leaving him time for the important stuff ( like kicking ass in public ).

[Alex Green]

Well, IIRC, Underworld mentioned Pax briefly being dominated by Scarface, only to be freed by Psyche's counterattack. That implies that whatever mental defenses he has, they are hardly overwhelming.

I think that's in 2002.

[Blue Thunder]

It was ScarCrow that did it, and Pax probably has a decent Psychic Shield since he tried remembering what Psyche taught him about mental defenses. There's that damn Psyche again. Jesus, she's been helping Pax with "mental defenses" but I'm sure she mucked around in there too.

Pax is privvy to a lot of sensitive information. He actually sits in on discussions too, like the one concerning Antaeus' departure. The fact that he knows what Proteus is and that it kill novas and does all kinds of questionable stuff, yet he doesn't mind, says a lot about him.

I'm pretty sure the developers left a lot of free room on Pax so Storytellers could fill in the gaps with whatever they wanted.

[Alex Green]

It was ScarCrow that did it, and Pax probably has a decent Psychic Shield since he tried remembering what Psyche taught him about mental defenses. There's that damn Psyche again. Jesus, she's been helping Pax with "mental defenses" but I'm sure she mucked around in there too.

Yes, she's quite a power behind the scenes.

Pax is privvy to a lot of sensitive information. He actually sits in on discussions too, like the one concerning Antaeus' departure. The fact that he knows what Proteus is and that it kill novas and does all kinds of questionable stuff, yet he doesn't mind, says a lot about him.

I have to think that he's excluded from some meetings. I can see why he'd agree to killing dangerous novas who can't be dealt with legally, maybe up to and including Slider.

The darn sterility plot is a different question. When it comes out, and it will, half of T2M could walk away from PU. IMHO the setting would have been served better if sterility were a natural nova problem and not PU wearing a black hat.

[metaphysician]

Or alternatively, a mixture of the two. Novas do naturally have trouble reproducing, but not all and not completely. . . but there is an Aeon Society effort outside Proteus to make it seem to be a complete sterility.

Thus reducing the size and scope of the necessary conspiracy, and allowing Proteus to be a little grayer than canon.

[Hyper-Focus]

Performing a little thread necromancy here, cuz I wanna keep ideas buzzing for this. I think the discussion about the Reign of Evil event in the desert got sidetracked into stats and such. What I would like to hear is how you would run this module. Maybe someday we'll all bang it out into an ebook, but I wanna plunder yer ideas for my own games NOW.

I'm usually loathe to use the "kidnapped friend/contact" trope to drag players in, but...well...they are a satanic death metal cult. Heres a thought: Astaroth and the others are nabbing family members of novas as they feel they need a number of MR Gene positive human sacrifices for their big apotheosis. This may truly be the case or maybe its just their batshit crazy nova-age satanist sense of overblown theatricality (I like second option myself. More tragic that way)

Other Questions: Isn't their some sort of final dominion needed to kickstart the whole thing. What should be the nature? If memory serves Astaroth is edging toward quantum 6 "fat crackling power of the gods" territory. Is the final Dominion even more powerful than Astaroth? Or is it another middling level power like the the others? It may have some unique power power that catalyzes whatever effect Astaroth is hoping to for.

Barring extreme measures by the characters. I'm for allowing the ritual and transformation to actually happens. Through his five dot "Im the Storyteller, Godammit, thats why" power he absorbs his companions. He transforms into a taint buttered monster from hell. Such an obvious threat would be taken down in due course. Eventually the United States military intervenes through some combination of land and air forces, orbital bombardment, and hastily roused military and civic defender novas (and the characters, of course, if they're up to it). As usual, the big payoff is in the fall out...how it affects nova-human relations in the setting.

The monster is eventually brought down, but not before laying tearing a swathe of destruction across the state or region. As I said upthread this is the first time humans see the ultimate potential of taint. The gibbering, cuthuloid powerhouses that well someday evolve into creatures like The Colony and Yog-Death. The self-destructive taint-beasts that make Divis Mal look human (and humane) by comparison. Baseline perception begins the subtle shift towards viewing novas as inhuman creating a lasting sense of otherness that presages the Aberrant War.

To make matters worse, the site of the ritual seems permanently twisted by the energies unleashed there. This is the first instance of novas inflicting taint on the enviornment. This will remain a rare but troubling phenomenon, popping up ocassionaly in the wake of particularly potent tainted novas. Until the Wykoff explosion, that is.

Computer running out of battery. Lemme hear what ya got.

[metaphysician]

To some extent, the fallout would depend on how Astaroth is stopped. If novas are first and foremost the force that stops his rampage, especially if conventionally military forces prove ineffective, it might mitigate the anti-nova response following. After all, the "novas can turn into tentacled horrors!" response would be balanced with "and novas can also save us from tentacled horrors!" response.

[Alex Green]

RE: Last Member(s)

Build the big guy after his transformation and see what he's missing. Then give that to the new guy/girl. Something else that probably needs to happen is either the baseline needs to erupt or she sends another nova in her place.

RE: Fallout

Depends on the PCs. Do they put him down themselves? Do they fail but bring T2M in? Do they screw up and let 1000's of people die? Do the bring the army in?

RE: Building the big guy

Largely this depends on the PCs. If they are a combat team, then give him all the powers of all the novas and give him Growth 3 (perm) and Mastery on Fire Mastery.