Jump to content

Aberrant RPG - The death toll


BlueNinja

Recommended Posts

OK, so if we look in the core book, there's ~6000 novas in 2008 when the base campaign should start. (If we include novas that are remaining hidden from the Aeon/Utopia census that could probably go up to around 6500). One thing I don't remember seeing was: How many novas have died by this point?

We can sort of estimate from here. Totentanz has taken out over a hundred by himself, if we total up all the elites, there's probably around five hundred dead novas over the decade. Utopia/Teragen clashes have probably downed a few dozen, and CoMA has taken down at least half a dozen (though some of those were leadership suicides ::laugh ) And even for novas, there are accidental deaths.

What's a good total for the dead? A thousand?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's a good total for the dead? A thousand?
Somewhere around that number would be a good ballpark guesstimate for a low death toll number AFAICT. If one factors in the novas ganked by Proteus, the Heaven Thunder Triad & other organized crime groups, and/or killed by government enforcers, the death toll could be as high as two to three thousand novas. Not all novas manage to get officially counted as such (not to mention gaining worldwide media exposure) before they're targeted by someone nasty.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To a degree, that's likely correct AFAICT. That said, I'm dubious as to whether Thetis & Proteus ever intended the Heaven Thunder Triad & the other organized crime groups to discover & start producing nova-derived drugs. I don't suggest that Thetis would blanch at the concept, but there's too much old-fashioned human evil out there for her & her flunkies to be anything but a notable contributor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

If we assume the Aeon census is accurate, and there are a thousand dead novas, that means that becoming a nova gives you 1:7 odds of dying. That is pretty damn high. But then, a number of things put novas on the front lines of conflict. Most of the dead are elites - essentially, volunteer front-line soldiers, so that's not quite so unexpected. But still, I don't think American soldiers have faced that kind of death rate since maybe WW2. And it's deliberately underplayed in the canon material.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So 1K is the death toll for known novas, fair enough. What would you lot figure the total nova population - known and otherwise - and the adjusted death toll to be? Thanks to the HTT, Chinese novas are facing a higher death toll than 1 out of 7 if I'm reading the information in Aberrant: Underworld correctly.

EDIT: I know BN speculated on a total of 6,500 novas, but I suspect that guesstimate is more than a little low.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well what a coincidence this comes up, as I was working on this issue in my head already and had started to type something up for a new thread here after reading this one. This thread was only a few replies big at the time, but now that I've typed it the thread has changed topic. So now I don't need to make a new thread.

The core issue for me isn't necessarily the number of living novas in the world but the rate of actual eruption. Here's what I had typed up before the thread got bigger. As you can see I had a lot of spare time on my hands. I hope you guys find this useful. Even if you don't agree with my numbers they can still be useful for population comparisons.

***

So where would you guys put the actual rate of eruption then, when compared to the world's total population? At 6,000 actual novas it would be about one in 1.08 million, given a world population of 6.5 billion, but like you guys said that number (6,000) hasn't taken dead novas or secretive novas into account; it only represents novas that are known to Aeon and the world at large. So where would you place the actual rate of nova eruptions? For the sake of this estimate, assume we're talking about the year 2008 with 6,000 public novas.

I personally feel that 8,000 is a good guess. Comparing my 8,000 estimate to the 6,000 known public novas that would mean that for every 6 novas in the Aberrant setting there are also 2 deceased or unknown novas. This sounds reasonable to me; Proteus has been working from Day 1 (and even before that!) to reduce the nova population, mostly targeting public novas they think are a threat and making their deaths look like accidents. Elite warfare has been a major contributor to the nova death toll, probably the single largest nova killer by a wide margin (and Proteus is responsible for a part of that as well). The elites sourcebook has Gore Hound ranked 87th out of all elites, and his kill count is 4. Imagine what the kill count is like in the top 50, or 20! Novas also tend to kill each other outside of elite warfare to settle grudges. There are the Taint-buttered monstrosities that get sent to Bahrain to die as science projects. Criminal cartels kill novas for to make drugs out of their M-R nodes. Then take into consideration all of the people of the world who erupt and decide to operate in hiding for whatever reason. These are 2/3 of the Aberrants, a good deal of Terats, a good deal of criminals, novas from countries that are "unwelcoming" to novas (China, Nigeria, the Middle Eastern region), and various isolation-minded novas who prefer to live away from the watchful eye of Utopia and world governments (Greenwar, the Protectors, etc.).

So with 8,000 novas and a world population of 6.5 billion, that would be about 1 nova per 812,500 people.

I ask this because if we could get a ballpark estimate of this rate (even though I'm just guessing with my 8,000 figure), it would help in determining how many native eruptions a nation, region, or city has based on their human population numbers. So China with an estimated population of 1.345 billion people (as of now, 2009) would have roughly 1,655 novas (assuming a rate of 1/812,500).

Using my estimate of 8,000 actual novas in 2008 (which again is only a guess!) then these would be the numbers of native eruptions per places based on population figures I've taken from Wikipedia. I didn't include every nation, just ones I thought would be relevant.

Note: These are the numbers of eruptions. If you want the number of publicly known novas (without dead or secret novas), then reduce the numbers below by 1/4.

China: 1655

- Shanghai metro: 21

- Beijing metro: 16

- Guangzhou metro: 15

- Hong Kong metro: 8.5

Japan: 156

- Tokyo: 11

- Osaka: 3

- Yokohama: 4.5

South Korea: 59

- Seoul metro: 29

North Korea: 29

Taiwan: 28

Russia: 174

- Moscow metro: 18

- St. Petersburg: 5.5

India: 1474

- Mumbai: 27

- Delhi: 27

- Kolkata: 19

Indonesia: 283

- Jakarta metro: 21

Philippines: 113

Australia: 27

Thailand: 77

Vietnam: 105

Laos: 8

Burma: 61

Malaysia: 34

Singapore: 6

Bangladesh: 199

Kazakhstan: 19

Pakistan: 221

- Karachi: 22

Iraq: 38

Iran: 91

Israel: 9

Egypt: 102

Saudi Arabia: 35

Afghanistan: 34

Jordan: 8

Syria: 27

UK: 75

- London metro: 15

France: 76

- Paris metro: 18

Spain: 57

Germany: 101

- Berlin metro: 6

Italy: 74

- Rome metro: 4.5

Poland: 46

Turkey: 92

Norway: 6

Finland: 6.5

Sweden: 11

Switzerland: 9.5

Greece: 14

Ukraine: 56

USA: 379

- California: 45

- New York: 24

- Texas: 30

- Florida: 22

- Puerto Rico: 5

- Los Angeles metro: 16

- NY metro: 23

- Chicago metro: 11

- Dallas metro: 8

- Philadelphia metro: 7

- Houston metro: 7

- Miami metro: 6.5

Canada: 41

- Toronto metro: 7

- Montreal metro: 4.5

Mexico: 136

- Mexico City metro: 23

Cuba: 14

Brazil: 235

- Sao Paolo metro: 24

- Rio de Janeiro metro: 14

Venezuela: 33

Colombia: 55

Chile: 21

Argentina: 49

Peru: 35

Haiti: 12

Dominican Republic: 12

Nigeria: 190

- Lagos: 10

Ethiopia: 97

South Africa: 60

Morocco: 39

DR of Congo: 81

Kenya: 49

Namibia:

Tanzania: 53

Sudan: 48

Uganda: 40

Ghana: 29

Remember that certain places have their novas leave for other places for various reasons. So these numbers would only represent nova eruptions, not nova citizens. A lot of Chinese novas are likely to leave because the government requires them to serve the government through Exploding Heavenly Mandate. Most Nigerian novas have left their country because of Alafin Sango's policies towards them. Moroccan novas are unliked by their own people. Many Australian novas leave because Australians just don't like them. Literally all of Israel's novas are kept a secret. Novas are arrested on sight in Iraq. And consider that many nations have a "nova drain" of sorts because other nations and organizations offer greater benefits, salaries, and opportunities. DeVries is based in Namibia and many elites live at their base, so Namibia's nova citizen count is likely higher than its native eruption rate. Most of India's novas have little reason to leave since they can set up cults or be movie stars, and then the presence of Bollywood lures in more nova residents from around the world. Hong Kong is tiny but the presence of Novelty Consulting draws in additional novas. And who knows how many novas have no permanent place of residence.

Interesting things to think about when looking at the numbers:

- Germany has more native novas than any European country at 101, with Turkey second at 92. Do you think this would change Turkey's standing in terms of power when compared to places like the UK, France, and Italy?

- North Korea has 29 native novas. I have a feeling they have a use for each and every one of them. How many do you think they killed? How many do you think have fled for China and South Korea? Half? Nationalism runs high there but there are still people who would flee when they saw the opportunity, and no one can stop a nova from going where they want. But remember that North Korea eventually invades and conquers South Korea by the Trinity era so maybe they make good use of their novas.

- Iran and Egypt have a nova dominance in the Middle East. Proteus, the Janissaries, and Tarik (of the Teragen) have a done a good job keeping novas there against one another. Novas are generally feared and in places like Iraq attacked on sight. Israel keeps its novas a secret and Saudi Arabia has collapsed into several smaller nations. The nova mortality rate in the Middle East is likely higher than usual. So that leaves plenty of room for Iran, which isn't in the middle of civil unrest and is far more stable than its neighbors, to throw its nova weight around. Same with Turkey.

- Nigeria has 190 native novas, more than any other African nation by far, but only a few remain in the nation due to Alafin Sango. I assume most have been swept up by Utopia and DeVries.

- Indonesia has 283 novas and two are given stats in Year One, and then not a single additional one is mentioned again in any other books, ever. Brazil has 239 novas and none is ever mentioned that I can recall. The USA has 379 novas and I think almost half of the novas in the books are American or Canadian.

- The books allude to there being elite warfare going on in Southeast Asia. Burma has 61 novas and an oppressive military government (that according to Trinity is taken down by a single nova pretty early on). Vietnam has the most novas at 105 and Thailand has 77. Laos only has 8.

- Even though China has the most native eruptions India likely has the most actual novas. Many Chinese novas flee China while India retains its native eruptions and attracts foreign novas through Bollywood.

- Colombia has 55 native eruptions, but the Medellin Cartel only has a few nova "employees" and its basically the government of the country. What do you think happens to the others, who make up a large number? Killed for their M-R nodes (to make drugs)? Flee for other nations? DeVries and Utopia?

- Antartica's native eruption count is obviously zero, but the presence of the Outsiders means it has around 20 novas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would suggest beefing up the USA numbers a bit, for the following reasons:

1. A possible factor in eruption is the awareness of novas, and in the USA the media and nova public appearances put novas more in the public's eye than anywhere else.

2. A possible factor in eruption is exposure to nova auras and quantum effects, no where eslse has novas more 'rubbing elbows' with Joe Average than in the USA.

3. A possible factor in eruption is the idea and desire for eruption, in no other culture is the genre of superpowers more prevalent than in the USA (with the possible exception of Japan).

Just some thoughts. ::smile

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remember that certain places have their novas leave for other places for various reasons. So these numbers would only represent nova eruptions, not nova citizens. A lot of Chinese novas are likely to leave because the government requires them to serve the government through Exploding Heavenly Mandate. Most Nigerian novas have left their country because of Alafin Sango's policies towards them. Moroccan novas are unliked by their own people. Many Australian novas leave because Australians just don't like them. Literally all of Israel's novas are kept a secret. Novas are arrested on sight in Iraq. And consider that many nations have a "nova drain" of sorts because other nations and organizations offer greater benefits, salaries, and opportunities. DeVries is based in Namibia and many elites live at their base, so Namibia's nova citizen count is likely higher than its native eruption rate. Most of India's novas have little reason to leave since they can set up cults or be movie stars, and then the presence of Bollywood lures in more nova residents from around the world. Hong Kong is tiny but the presence of Novelty Consulting draws in additional novas. And who knows how many novas have no permanent place of residence.
Very very well put, and well thought out.

To that I'll add; Not all reasons for leaving are the same. One of the big issues for China and other countries is leadership, i.e. the countries leaders view novas as threats to their rule, therefore it's highly likely that China doesn't just make them work for the government (which is expected with their system), they probably also kill the ones who are even slightly disloyal and/or threatening (i.e. most of them). Similarly the religious authorities in some countries (who pretty near run the place in many) have all of their novas in the closet or fleeing because of the "novas are devils" issue.

- Germany has more native novas than any European country at 101, with Turkey second at 92. Do you think this would change Turkey's standing in terms of power when compared to places like the UK, France, and Italy?
That's just initial eruption. IMHO Turkey doesn't have the money to keep most of their novas (brain drain) and they're also going to have issues with nova repression. I.e. any Kurdish novas are going to be viewed (perhaps correctly) as threats to the stability of the country.
- North Korea has 29 native novas. I have a feeling they have a use for each and every one of them. How many do you think they killed?
Probably all of them. Seriously, the greater good is trumped by the Dear Leader staying in power. The irony is forcing all your novas to the South will retroactively look like a good idea by the Trinity era.
- Nigeria has 190 native novas, more than any other African nation by far, but only a few remain in the nation due to Alafin Sango. I assume most have been swept up by Utopia and DeVries.
Agreed.
- Indonesia has 283 novas and two are given stats in Year One, and then not a single additional one is mentioned again in any other books, ever. Brazil has 239 novas and none is ever mentioned that I can recall.
Brain drain. You live in poverty and then hit the international stage. Someone offers you a 7+ digit figure to move away from your hell hole and you can even take your family with you if you want.
The USA has 379 novas and I think almost half of the novas in the books are American or Canadian.
Increase that number by 5x or 10x, ditto Europe. Most Fortune 500 companies are American or European, throwing money at a problem can work.
- Even though China has the most native eruptions India likely has the most actual novas.
India also has the whole "India syndrome" which means although they have novas and treat them well they're not exactly helping the country as a whole.
- Colombia has 55 native eruptions, but the Medellin Cartel only has a few nova "employees" and its basically the government of the country. What do you think happens to the others, who make up a large number? Killed for their M-R nodes (to make drugs)? Flee for other nations? DeVries and Utopia?
All of that. You erupt, everyone *knows* that novas make 7+ figures. You and your family are now huge targets and your customer base is in another country.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...