Aberrant RPG - New path of Teras

[kestrel404]

I'm not proposing one (yet), but I'm wondering how everyone else feels about the subject.

At the start of the Teragen sourcebook, it states that Teras, as a philosophy, is made up of three paths. The paths of the Marvel, the Monster, and the Portent.

These paths were created by a subset of the Pantheon (not by Mal) well before 2008 (I don't recall the exact timeline), meaning that they were designed by novas who were less than 10 years past their erruptions.

Are these the only paths that can exist? Or is it feasible to come up with another, equally narrow and post-human path?

[Timeslip]

That's a rather tough nut to crack.

A new path would need to be able to embody the core concept of personal evolution, would need to have definable courses of action that could permit conversion of Taint to Chrysalis, would need to stick to the Teragen principle that the One Race cannot be bound to baseline constructs, and would have to do all of this without stepping overly on the toes of the existing paths - paths that are somewhat broad, all things considered.

Further, from a mechanical standpoint, the existing three paths are rooted to some extent in the three major groupings of attributes (Physical, Mental, Social). Adding one or more new paths could make things a bit crowded.

[Wakinyan]

I think it even states clearly in the book that other paths could come about. They just have not yet. Mal by no means created the other paths other than the one he walks on. It is rather narrowminded of us to say those three are all that could be when it is obvious many do not fall within them.

Now if we agree their should be more then how do we decide? We cannot flood the market on them otherwise they will be cheapened. So what kind of screening process do we create to allow for other paths?

[Harold 'Mythic' Anderson]

As some people already know, I've been tossing around ideas like this for quite awhile. I'm a big fan of new paths being made: it's shortsighted and horribly narrowminded to consider the three paths of Teras are the only way. The whole concept that the Teragen and Teras are merely one possible path gets lost in the (potentially incorrect) assumption that "they were right, just look at Trinity" all the time.

That said, and to repeat, I'm all about having other paths coming about, either as different archetypes for Teras or as something other than Teras. However, the amount of time it would take for a nova to develop a completely new path is outside of the context of this board... unless we expect to be working stuff out 5-10 years from now. A new archetype within Teras might take less time but we're still talking years, IMHO.

Of course, I'm still a little pissed about my computer so take it all with a grain of salt...

[Madison 'Vali' West]

Two things:

-Scripture and Mal brought Chrysalis to the Teragen per pg. 12, so we have no clue how long it took them. You also have to figure Mal being the Uber-kin ... the Proto-nova, and things get even more complicated.

It as Fong who placed Teras in context with Chrysalis.

-Then look at the fact that it took only about a year (Scripture arrives in 2003 and by the end of 2004 The Apostle and Caroline Fong had undergone the process) to implement. So, once you understand the basis of Chrysalis, going down a pathway isn't that difficult ... apperently.

I would like to see is what the person wants and to see why it doesn't already exist within the three existing templates.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

We can assume Mal took decades, but he started from scratch. It's even possible he doesn't follow any of the three paths but rather all three of them combined.

RE: Fong

Her work and her fate makes her an example of both the good and the bad.

[Magus]

Sample the works of Jung and you'll find a large number of archetypes, most of which are very narrow in definition or scope. There are others possible besides the three overarching ones currently used in the game but it would take work and honest assessment to come up with something that was more than a subset of those three.

How do I feel about it? That its possible, it would be cool to add to the game, but that it would very difficult to come up with something that wasn't just a specialized definition of the original three.

Added bonuses:

1. Some might see this as the work of a heretic, and heretics are traditionally dealt with harshly.

2. How long does it take to master chrysalis? On the boards it seems fairly easy and quick. Almost the nova equivalent of a 12-step plan.

Step 1 - get to know a terat.

Step 2 - go into chrysalis.

Step 3 - emerge new and improved.

Okay, not quite 12-steps.

3. If you don't know how well something works until you've done it, how do you propose to handle that in game? Fong codified the entire system and as Troll points out, she's the poster child for chrysalis malfunction.

4. I don't see anything special with Fong implementing chrysalis within a year as she was the one that codified what Scripture (and possibly Mal) had come up with, as well as having Scripture (Mr Religious Experience) around to assist her. Of course she still apparently botched her roll so how much is any of that worth?

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Another possibility is Fong was working on another archtype and it didn't work as well in practice as it did in theory.

[Wakinyan]

Interesting possibility, a failed path..