Aberrant: Infinite Earth - The Ascended (subworld proposal)

[Sandman XI]

Alright, I'm looking to learn Aberrant and this seems like the perfect place to start.

This will be a "normal" setting in that you start with 30 nova points and there are no house rules (though the fixhammer will be used as needed)

The setting itself is a fantasy setting. The Ascended (that's you) walk the earth. You can rule with compassion or an iron fist. You are not the only Ascended though! there will be plots and plans by other Ascended types.

I look for this to be a sandbox type setting with plots. All for the purpose of learning the ins and outs of this beautifully mad system

I'm just drumming up support for a fantasy setting at the moment. World building will commence once we get enough people.

[Krul]

A mystical concept of aberrant would be interesting, actually.

[Dawn OOC]

I should also note that if you like this kind of thing, you should TOTALLY back this project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/876582691/exemplar-tales-of-the-new-roman-empire-rpg?ref=live

[Justin OOC]

yeah, yeah, player 3 buying in.

[Gabe OOC]

Consider me interested.

[z-Heln Ironwright]

Blacksmith, warrior... maybe something more.

[Krul]

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Mostly thinking of a summoner or anima banner for the dragon effect, thinking of him as some kind of Taoist Immortal or Wizard of Sorts, or a Champion, or Semi-Divine Lord of the East, depending on what fits best.

Which brings to mind a question, are the Ascended viewed as divine, semi-divine or more on the level of empowered mortals in this setting?

[Iron Rose]

Armored Warrior Paladin here...

[Sandman XI]

Alright from the top. Thank you for your interest. This will be an alternate world. Dinosaurs are a thing. No "Babel effect". Magical (quantum) areas threaten and/or bolster the people of this world. The ones who protect the world from these threats (and are bolstered by these areas) are The Ascended.

The Ascended do not know where their power comes from. Becoming one of The Ascended seems to be fickle happenstance, but some whisper of a great destiny these people They make up a quarter of the population of the known world. They have stepped into places of power and if not running an area are the power behind the throne. They can have offspring (no forced infertility) Some see them as divine and even worship them. Are they? No. Does it stop little cults (wanted or not) from popping up here and there? No.

I'll take input and suggestions on what I have or stuff you want to add. I am searching for a fractal world map maker that works, so we'll have a nice map.

[Dawn OOC]

What kingdoms/realms do you foresee? The usual human (city-based)/elf (forest)/dwarf (underground) or are we adding in unusual ones (werewolf and vampire) or elves in their underground or large cities?

Are you expecting to ST and run plot or will this be truly open world?

[Sean Cassidy]

How about Humans live in mountainous areas and underground, elves are nomadic, horse-riding plains dwellers, and dwarves are sea-farers (their stocky stature giving them better balance on a ship)?

[Sandman XI]

Human cities, Elven forests, Dwarven mountains. I'm toying with the idea that elves and dwarves used to be human, through ascension in ancient times those races came to be.

Ascension causes all sorts of crazy things to happen. Dwarves and Elves being the predominant thing. Though werewolves and vampires could happen.

Magical areas would hold such "creatures". Depending on the magical area you could find most anything fantasy-related. Maybe a dragon in a cave. A hidden grove full of fey. Those these magical areas have been cleared out and built upon by The Ascended. Magical kingdoms are a sight to behold.

Open world at first, but as things get built and expanded upon a plot or two could pop up.

[Dawn OOC]

So this is going to be a pretty generic fantasy world with the usual suspects as far as other races. Gotcha.

[Krul]

To be honest, I would prefer a move outside the generic elves, dwarves, etc.

How about another part of the world, some place with traditions like the east (China, Thailand, Japan, Korea) where the twelve animals of the chinese zodiac represent either twelve races, or 1 race who are born with animal traits based on the zodiac.

Though if everyone else prefers the generic, I'll live with it.

[Sandman XI]

Sorry about the genericness, I write what I know. I am not opposed to the zodiac idea either. If there's a big swing for that, I will go along with it

[Krul]

Alternatively, allow me to suggest races more elementally focus, adapting to enviroments, both of the pictures are Ascended, more powerful members of their races. I stuck with Body Modifications and tried to keep them them same point cost, should we actually end up using these guidelines, I figured staying with body mods rather then actual powers for races might be a good idea.

Sirens: During a great flood thousands of years ago, somehow a huge group of people were affected by a transformation, a surge of mystical (quantum) energy saving thousands, and becoming the beginning of the Sirens, a people who live under water with gills, webbed hands and feet, and incredible voices allowing them create their own underwater language, several underwater kingdoms are ruled by them. All of them have the mutations below, but some also have other underwater mutations, such as Swimming Flukes, Deep Pressure Tolerance, Sonar and more, but these are more rare among them. The awakened among tend to have power over water and ice, but this is not always true.

• Mutations: Webbed Hands/Feet (1 point), Gills (1 point), Nictitating Membranes (2 points) Enhanced Vocal Organs (2 points)
  
  
  
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  Ariels: This winged race was born of mountains, cliff side dwellings and high winds, their wings allowing them to swiftly move from one spot to another along their cliff-side dwellings, and protecting them from invaders far better then walled cities. All Ariels have the mutations below, but a rarer few have further mutations that allow them better flight, such as wings/patagia and winglets/vanes. The Ascended among them tend to power over weather and air, but this is not always true.

  • Mutations: Wings (3 points), Ultralight Skeleton (3 points)
    

  

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  I have a few other ideas, but these two stood out at me for the time being.

[Karren Gaunt]

Color me strongly tempted.

[The Story Guide]

Mmm... I like Krul's idea. You could make Elves and Dwarves, but do them as adaptations by humans that eventually lead to entirely new and distinct races. I think it would be interesting if there was some large natural upheaval (say, a large comet/asteroid hitting the planet) that caused flooding, earthquakes, fires, etc. and included a huge mystical upending, that is where most of the non-human races originated (a city got mostly trapped undergound by earthquakes and the descendents of those survivors became Dwarves, others fled to the wild, natural places in the world and the ones that ended up in the forests became Elves, etc).

This would allow us to use some of the "generic fantasy" elements, the ones that are popular for a reason, to be threaded in along with the new, unique elements people toss in from Aberrant-flavored fun.

I'm gonna work on an Elf and a Dwarf template going off of what Krul's done above.

Elves: Chromatospheres (1), Dolphin Sleep (1), Improved Attribute - Dexterity (1), Improved Skeletal Muscles (3)

Creatures of forests and meadows, the elves are an elusive and technologically primitive people. Exceptionally agile and athletic as a race, Ascended elves also usually gain dominion over plants and animals and usually have vastly extended lifespans.

Dwarves: Improved Attribute - Strength (1), Hyperstrong Skeleton (3), Efficient Digestion (1), Footpads (1)

Children of stone and earth, Dwarves are a subterranean race note for their vigor and unquenchable spirit. Ascended dwarves most often have control of some element of the earth, though second to that are a shaman Ascended that learn to directly manipulate the mystic forces that create the Ascended; those Ascended dwarves usually bond with a particular subterranean animal as a totem spirit.

These are just two examples for the more "generic" fantasy elements and are can be adopted or dropped as the group sees fit.

[The Traveler]

I got a honest question then; Are the different species (Elves, Dwarves) Cross-Fertile? As in the distinct possibility of producing Half-Elves and what-not?

[The Story Guide]

Well, I would personally say no. Otherwise they're just different flavors (subspecies/breeds) of human. There's not a lot of difference as-is (only 6 NP worth of body mods), so saying that barring fertility body mods or powers, there are no crossbreeds would create more of a definition for each species.

Also, half-breeds become exceedingly rare people and are the result of Ascended interference or parentage somewhere along the way (since you need extra NP to get the body mods or the intervention of someone with fertility powers).

That's my opinion on it.

[Gabe OOC]

More ideas...

Centaurs

Extra Legs (2), Hooves (1), Digitigrade Legs (1), Augmented Heart (2)

Free-spirited and wild, the Centaurs live in herds in the mountains, plains and woods, warriors yet often passive. They are similarly primitive as the Elves and may intermingle at times. They are already fast and enduring, but Ascended Centaurs become often swift as the wind, a paragon of physicality, or endowed with mighty war-magics.

[The Story Guide]

Dryads: Chromatospheres (1), Genetic Sampler (2), Prehensile Hair (3)

Believed to be an off-shoot of the elves, dryads are always female and generally live in "groves" in an forrested territory that they claim. While usually peaceful, they can be prone to playing pranks on travellers through their territory and such pranks can take a dangerous turn if their visitors light a campfire within the grove's claimed area.

The Fae: Aberration - Sizemorph (Shrink) 3 or 4 (~9-18 inches tall), Wings (2x, 6)

The elves claim that the fae were already in the forests well before they migrated there, forming quick alliances or wars with the newcomers. The fae are mercurial, flighty, and self-centered, but hold fast to their given word and are loyal friends. Ascended fae tend to form courts of less powerful fae around them and spend the majority of their time engaged in territory wars or supremacy intrigues with other Ascended fae.

[The Traveler]

I think before I jump in on this I need to see more details on how the other races are balanced with normal humans before Ascention.

Otherwise either other races start with 24np to a Human's 30 (Which gives a Human an advantage since 6 nps can do alot more outside of body modifications), and if everyone gets 30 np after choosing a template, the other races get 6np free of bodymods that may give some advantages for free that should cost np.

This needs to be addressed.

[The Story Guide]

I would more suggest that everyone start at 30 NP, as stated before, and that humans get their own racial template as well. I'm not sure what to do on that, other than to say that humans just get 6 free NP to spend only on Body Mods and leave it at "humans are the most versatile and varied of all the races".

Alternatively, we don't even need to do the racial stuff, it's just kinda fun. We can also set it as "these are the average for a race. If you PC is from that race, we suggest you take them, but you don't have to."

[Krul]

Personally, I like the first idea, and also, I love the elf and dwarven races there, much less generic then my original thought.. not to sure about the fae, was trying to avoid giving the races any sort of powers, though I suppose Sizemorph is a special case, sense it allows us both giants on one end and littles on the other. So, to fit in with the rest (dependent on our ST's agreement)

Humans: The roots of all races are found within human-kind, they are the unaltered, but sheer versatility flows though them in ways that it does for no other race, humans who become ascended gain certain traits that embody this versatility, possessing some degree of the following mutations, gaining 6 nova points to spend on these body mods only. Culturally, humans also possess some of the most varied cultures in the world. Though because of human versatility, ascended can certain gain other body modifications as they further transform, and unlike the other races,there is no particular trend, human ascended are amoung the most unique of all ascendent.

• Human Body Modifications(6 points from the following): Extra Health Levels, Improved Attributes, Efficient Digestion,Improved Skeletal Muscles, Hyper Sleep, Augmented Blood, Augmented Heart
  

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[Iron Rose]

If these are coming out of my 30 np, then i'm gonna say no

if you want the special races and all fine

humans can just take the 6 extra points if that's what the racial templates are gonna be.

Humans are often the most adaptive of races in many RPG's, especially Fantasy ones.

[Krul]

Which is why I made the suggestion above for humans, but ultimately I suppose it depends on the ST if he likes it.

[The Story Guide]

My only issue with it being '6 free NP' for humans is that that's actually a lot more powerful than most combinations are going to be of 6 NP of Body Mods. Hence Krul's suggestion they humans have a range to choose from (being more versatile than other races) but that still have a list of body mods to choose from (so there isn't a huge imbalance between human and non-human characters).

I would also say that the templates are on top of the 30 NP.

Or we chuck them entirely and leave the races as just thematic. If you make a Siren character, take the traits you want the character to have and let fluff be fluff. It'll be a blow to your NP if you want something because of their race, but it's a personal choice at that point.

I just don't want to see people arguing that they should Gills for free because they're a mermaid or Flight because they're a fairy and that's intrinsic to their race. Or for the setting to be humans-only because we couldn't agree on the details of other races.

[The Traveler]

I'm calling to make this Humans only.

[Iron Rose]

I'd see them not used, just build accordingly when making your character. Let's not overcomplicate it. I can say I trust the people here to be adult enough to include what they think their character would have if they were what they made.

[The Story Guide]

I'm leaning towards that was well, Long, just to let things be more "story" and less "mechanics". People when proposing races could include a sort of 'standard' for the species that is recommended, but not required and that gives other people an idea of what the race is like.

[Krul]

I confess, I like the added six points for the allowance it makes for more varied races among players, sense otherwise I expect the vast majority of folks to be human, certainly my character isn't going to be any race but human if the points are out of the 30. But we could simply say this is what most races have, leave that to npc members of the races, and leave it to players to do what they want with it.

Really up to the ST now, and sense he's feeling under the weather at the moment, I guess we'll just wait and see what he thinks when he's feeling better.

[The Traveler]

I think, after looking at things that I got going and this game, in particular since it's open world, I don't think I can devote time to this. That and I am a poor self-starter. So I am going to have to pass on this.

[Dawn OOC]

I'm going to side with: racial characteristics are just like any other characteristic, and should be drawn from the 30 NP. At the same time, dictating what people have to have for their race is rather harsh. Additionally, there can be deviations from the species norm so giving people freedom to make their PCs only makes sense. And last, this is an open world game, where story's always going to get the upper hand over mechanics, so we shouldn't worry about mechanics too much.

I'm way more concerned with the world and world-building.

[Krul]

Ok, while I still like the races suggested for flavor, I'm convinced, Dawn wins my vote.. if it makes a difference.

[Dawn OOC]

Is this dead?

[Krul]

Asked Sandman about this, he said he can't get into the mind set, so, I guess it is..

That said, I have a different proposal for a Aberrant Fantasy world to make, if folks are still interested... Geographically, still our world, but with names changed, Avalon for the British Isles for example.

IN any case, in this world, Quantum is mana and mana has caused it to be filled with creatures of myth and legend, which are the Nova's of this world. Tenatively, the idea is that every Nova race is descended from a progenitor, the first of their kind, such as the Tuatha De Danu being descended from Danu, or the Kitsune being descended from Inari, or the Satyr being descended from Pan. While these are in essence low taint beings, many monsters also exist here, as a result of taint or worse.

What about Humans? In this setting, humans can have magic, but human magic is Sorcery which is (Psiad/Psions) or super heroic in other ways (Daredevils), so they aren't generally for character play, though I suppose an adaption could be made for that purpose.

Let me know if there is interest, and I'll refine the idea further, though I'll not be concentrating on it until the Axis and Allies proposal is in full step.

[Sandman XI]

Yeah, I apologize. This sort of got away from me. I wanted human fantasy with fantastic elements. Then people started with "can we play X?" and I gave my nod. Then it got out of hand. This is not a bad thing! It's just not what I wanted to to do.

That and I seem to have trouble wrapping my head around Aberrant. I'm not giving up on Aberrant, but I'm not running something that I have only an inkling of how works.

Again, if I seemed(seem?) squirrelly, I apologize.

[Dave ST]

Just play Exalted y'buncha dorks.