Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 21:01:02 -0600
Sender: torg@buddha.intecom.com
From: Saxon.Brenton@uts.edu.au (Saxon Brenton)
To: Multiple recipients of list <torg@buddha.intecom.com>
Subject: [TORG:119] Show'n'tell: Europa - preview of the Nazi reality + PDs

  Okay, here is the preview of what I have so far of Europa and its PDs, 
Thule and Agartha. Comments welcomed.
  [Oh yeah, and while I'm at it I'll note that I've got about 13,000 words 
written on this sucker so far, and at this point it looks like it'll blow 
out to at least 2-3 times that. <sigh> This thing is threatening to become 
an honest-to-wombatness Net sourcebook]

EUROPA - The Nazi Reality
  Europa has as its High Lord Adolf Hitler (who else?), born Alois 
Shickelgruber. Hitler spent much of his time as a rejected art-school 
student in Vienna studying history, occultism, and Germanic mythology as 
a result of an obsession with the Spear of Destiny. During this period he 
also took up Nietzsche's ideas on the inversion of ethics from the latter's 
_The Geneology of Morals_, but without the subtle thought that went into 
the philosopher's Transubstation (sp?) of Values. Hitler simply stood 
before the Spear of Destiny where it was held in the museum, made his 
decision that what was Christ's good was his evil and Christ's evil his 
good, and swore his soul to the powers of darkness, transcending in the 
process of making this Choice to become a stormer (look everybody! the 
Eo4 at work!).
  And the powers of darkness (specifically, a Darkness Device) heard him.
  [More conventional histories of Hitler hold that this period was one of 
bare survival, and although he picked up much of his racist-nationalist 
ideology at this time, it came from primitive pulp-like magazines like 
Lanz's _Ostara_ rather than serious study and research]
  Hitler began hearing the siren call of the Darkness Device during his 
incarceration for the Munich Putsch. After his release he put his occult 
studies and the resources of the Nazi party to work, and eventually 
unearthed the DD in the catacombs underneath an ancient church vault. This 
DD is the martial and phallic Great Truncheon of Europa. [Although I might 
change the shape and name to the Great Mace]
  The Nazi party began laying a small number of stelae over Germany, and 
Hitler altered the reality a bit. Primarily the initial differences were a 
rise in the Mag axiom, that would make prediction of the future slightly 
easier and more reliable. At this time a primitive version of the 
LoCommunity was also introduced. World history up to WW2 remains the same 
superficially.
  Historical divergence comes during WW2. At this point I'm not sure what 
the actual crux will be, but I've got a few ideas. Bruce Quarries _Hitler: 
The Victory That Never Was_ has some nice tactical points in it, but to 
be honest I'm still favouring the idea of invading Britain during Dunkirk 
after having done in the witches coven. Scenario goes like this: In the 
occult literature, the main reason that the Nazis didn't take Britain 
during Dunkirk is because coven(s) of witches and/or druids raised Great 
Circle(s) to keep them away, as they had done to ward away the Spanish 
Armada and Napoleon. Supposedly several of the older members had to 
sacrifice themselves to power the spells. In Europa, Hitler, with increased 
magical power and knowledge pinpointed this disturbance and removed it 
[Either sent in agents to mow the coven down with machine guns, just kept 
pushing his forces against it till the covens could hold out no more, or 
actually used some sort of magical attack] Whatever the case, Britain 
falls, Churchill and his war cabinet are tried and executed as war 
criminals, and Edward VIII is reinstated as King.
  Another important difference is that the Nazis didn't invade Russia in 
1941. Three reasons: increased Mag for better strategic predictions; the 
fact that Europa works on Hoerbigian principles means that the weather 
forecasts of the SS's occult branch, the Ahnenerbe, were more accurate; 
and finally, Hitler really was in contact with the Frost Giants of Norse 
mythology, and they refused to aid him by giving him a mild winter to 
invade with.
  Oh yes, Hoerbigian principles. While I'm on the subject, I'll explain 
that the World Ice cosmology of the engineer turned astronomer Hanns 
Hoerbiger is that the solar system was created when a huge chunk of ice 
collided with the sun, causing an explosion. In Hoerbigian cosmology 
planets, etc orbit around the sun in slowly contracting spirals until they 
collide with the sun, or another, larger planetary body. This is how the 
Earth captured its multiple moons (all of them, including the current one, 
being made of ice) before they eventually spiralled in and crashed, 
causing catastrophes that are remembered as the Biblical Flood and the 
sinking of Atlantis, etc.
  One thing I'd also better bring up to gauge reactions on (cause I might 
be accused of being overly tasteless) is that one of the two worlds Europa 
has invaded so far in Eretz. When Hitler found out that in this cosm the 
conspiracy theories behind _The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion_ 
were not forgeries, he couldn't resist attacking it. Under Europa's lower 
social axiom the secret world government of the Elders foundered. The 
Knights Templar of that world managed to infiltrate Europa, and they have 
an ongoing war with the SS [in the antisemitic conspiracy theories of which 
the _Protocols_ is a part the KTemplars were alleged to have been the 
creations of the Elders, created for the purpose of maintaining a degree 
of control over Christendom]. Other refugees from Eretz were responsible 
for the introduction of the Create Golem miracle (which is Spi 14 and so 
is a contradiction to use in Europa, but if one can get a p-rated priest to 
invoke it, the golem will keep going for half a year or so).
  On top of that there are various other resistance groups, but because 
of the Law of Community they are unable to link up to present a united 
front to the Nazis. They include clandestine groups in the civil service, 
the non-Nazi parts of the military, student groups (the Red Rose, spiritual 
inheritors of the White Rose), various nationalist groups along the lines 
of the Free French, et al.
  Attribute limits are 13, except for PER of 11 (which reflects the Nazi 
opinion that it is Will rather than Reason that is important).

Mag 10     Soc 19     Spi 12     Tech 21
Magic 10  Magic is illegal in Europa without a licence, since the Nazis 
take it seriously and don't want rivals. Much of Nazi magic is tied up 
with the use of the left-handed swastika as a material component. The 
swastika is an ancient symbol from across the world, usually indicative 
of the power of the sun, life, and good luck. Hitler deliberately reversed 
the use of the swastika for Nazi use, clearly indicating (to those with 
the right knowledge) their dedication to evil. The use of the left-handed 
swastika in magic rituals pumps out a miasma of low grade evil (kind of 
like in Pratchett and Gaiman's _Good Omens_, where Crowley arranged for 
the London ringroad to be constructed in the form of an evil glyph that 
acts like a prayer wheel as cars travel around it). I am also toying with 
the idea that the Nazis may have stolen the magic theorem of Community 
(see Delphi Council WB) from somewhere so that they can use it as 
Conjuration Substitution to cast permanent spells as rituals, primarily 
for the transmogrification of the Dog Soldiers.

Soc 19  Think of the manic self-righteous bureaucracy in the movie 
_Brazil_. That's what the Nazi bureaucracy is like. Partly this is to give 
the feel of a system that works not because it is efficient but because it 
is working in fear of the powers that be above them; partly it is to give 
the PCs some chance of hiding from the otherwise all-knowing Nazi machine 
(sort of like the Cyberpapacy). However, it is also because it reflects 
historical actuality. Hitler, having usurped power, refused to be bound 
by any laws or conventions, even ones necessary for the running of his 
state. Power devolved to his immediate circle of cronies, who jostled for 
power. They set up their own departments, which were jealous for power. 
Duplications and wastage result. Often the civil service or the military 
bureaucracy had to smooth over unworkable or contradictory orders from 
above.
  Police and security only need suspicion of guilt for arrests, and as the 
SS legal experts like to point out, as long as they are doing the will of 
the Party they are acting legally. Franz Kafka's _The Castle_ is probably 
a good source.
  On the social front attitudes are still stuck in the 1930s, including the 
obsession for dressing up in  uniforms or uniform-like clothes. Oh yes, 
and it's currently 1984 on Europa :-)

Spirit 12  I _really_ like the idea that John Field extrapolated from my 
posting of the Forced Conversion miracle: that at Spi 12 the soul can be 
not just enriched, but corrupted as well. I want to keep that. 
  The Nazis have been clamping down hard on religious matters, just as 
they did historically; this is because, like magic, they take spiritual 
power seriously and don't want any rivals. As if have described before, 
the abominable faith that Himmler has cooked up for the SS is basically 
an admixture of Christianity distorted by a Gnostic idea of dualism and 
Norse mythos: Christ was an Aryan, fathered by a German soldier working 
for the Romans, and moreover was a heroic Siegfried figure, who did not 
advise Peter to put away his sword, and who sacrificed himself not because 
of the power of redemption but rather because of the power a blood 
sacrifice would bring.

Tech 21  Superweapons research has pushed the envelope to 1950s Tech 
levels for the military. For civilian use things remain pretty much at 
1930s level. People go to the movies to see newsreel since television is 
still a military toy. Power (for those lucky enough to be connected to 
the electricity grid) comes from dirty nuclear reactors. Mengles-like 
medical science is fascinated by the question of whether humanity in other 
cosms is genetically compatible, or even identical, to that of Europa.

Law of Suspicion. Same as Cyberpapcy.

Law of Community  Hinders the unification of more than one cause/group/
faith/race/nation/whatever into a workable alliance by imposing a +1 to 
the DN of any interaction during an attempt to work with 'the others'. 
This is why the Nazi Party absorbed so many social groups etc under their 
wing; as long as all social and recreational groups are under the wing of 
the Party they are not affected by this WL because their is a 'bridge' 
above them. By comparison the resistence groups can't even cooperate 
properly, let alone unite.

Law of the Aryan.  This one I'm a bit worried about because of the 
cumbersomeness of the mechanics, and would appreciate feedback on whether 
its workable or not. Basically, when the Nazis were ignoring the work of 
German Jewish intellectuals in the 20s and 30s, they were using a 
justification that there was a difference between Aryan science and 
non-Aryan science (the soviets did much the same thing early in the 
century). A similar practice occurred with astrology: the Nazis insisted 
that the existence of the 'racial soul' meant that it was not enough for 
someone's time of birth to be known, since by that method many people 
will get the same prediction. Rather, astrologers have to factor in a 
person's race as well.
  In practical terms this WL makes those changes real, and this is the 
messy part. Even though Europa's Tech axiom is 21, the Law of the Aryan 
has twisted the workings of physics from somewhere around Tech 19 or 20. 
This divergence in scientific principles means that non-Europan Tech above 
this level will work only as a contradiction. A similar effect applies to 
Magic above 7.
  There may be other effects. Its possible that originally Europa's 
cosmology was the same as Core Earth's, and it is by this WL that it was 
retconned into a Hoerbigian shape. (Or more likely, the retconning of 
Europa's cosmology was made easier by this WL).
  One Nazi fantasy that Hitler has quite deliberately chosen not to 
manifest through the LotAryan is the racial superiority of the Aryans. 
Ultimately he doesn't need to, of course, since as long as people believe 
it and act on that belief that is all that is needed, but that can also be 
said for a lot of the other changes he's implemented as well. Ultimately, 
it boils down to the fact that Hitler wants not just physical destruction, 
but spiritual and moral destruction as well. He doesn't want to have the 
Aryans evolving into a race of superbeings with heightened spiritual 
consciousnesses (as Madame H.P Blavatsky's doctrines of the seven races 
of man predict). He wants them to stay just as they are, believing they 
are doing good why actually committing atrocities. (There are other 
tactical benefits of course, such as allowing some of the 'undesirable' 
races to hide because they are not always so obvious alien, which in turn 
gives the Nazis the excuse to continue to snoop and meddle in everyday 
life.)


POCKET DIMENSION - Thule
  Thule is a pocket dimension of myths. In Torg such PDs may be ambiguous 
as to whether the myths came first or the reality (eg CE's Avalon). Or the 
cause and effect chain may be known: CE's Atlantis had historical 
actuality, but was blasted into another dimension as a result of reality 
shifting Tech. Thule is the opposite of CE's Atlantis: it is literally made 
up of myths made real and had no existence before the mid 19th century.
  Thule is the result of the Romantic movement and an upsurge of interest 
in both German nationalism and mythology. It is a mixture of the occult 
belief that the Aryan race came from Atlantis (which in this mode of 
thinking was an island in the north Atlantic), Norse mythology, Wagnerian 
opera, medieval knightly chivalry, and the Sturm und Drang (Strom and 
Stress) literary movement. To give an idea of its mythological nature: the 
neo-primitive interest in a 'return to nature' to get away from the 
civilised but decadent cities means that this world resembles a utopian 
and fantasised version of pre-Industrial country life. Life of the yeoman 
farmer in Thule is not as crushingly hard as it was in historical reality: 
      "Whereas for primitive peoples, nature often represented primordial 
    chaos, and therefore the enemy, these neo-primitives idealised nature 
    and anathematised the city as profane" (Dusty Sklar).
  There are other mythological aspects. There is a legend that Emperor 
Frederick I (better known as Emp. Barbarossa) lies sleeping under a 
mountain, and will awaken in Germany's hour of greatest need. That myth 
is transposed to Thule, but the Barbarous of Thule is not the historical 
version who died in a river in the Crusades. This Barbarossa is almost 
identical, but is a pagan Nordic rather than a Christian.
  And then there are the Norse gods. Thule has been extant less than 2 
centuries, but already a root of the world ash Yggdrasil has begun to grow 
there within the last 80 years (and being so young, it _only_ has a TOU 
of 60). Most of the Norse gods do not pay particular attention to Thule. 
The exceptions are the Norns (who are really cranky about the idea of a 
Darkness Device being able to manipulate reality to baulk their weavings 
of fate), and Odin.
  Odin is a brave god, but he is also a wise and treacherous god. He has 
collecting warriors at Valhalla in preparation for Ragnarok, but knows 
that these forces will not be enough. Therefor, he has been searching for 
another way out of the Aesir's predicament:
      "I am a brave god. You know that to be true. There is only one thing 
    that frightens me."
      "Ragnarok."
      "Indeed. Ragnarok. These days too much of my time is spent hatching 
    schemes to circumvent the darkness ahead of me and mine. I pick at it, 
    irrationally, as a man picks at a sore."
  Of all the Aesir Odin alone is fully cognisant of what is happening 
within Thule and its parent cosm. This should come as no surprise. His 
throne Hlidskiaff overlooks all the worlds (well... all the worlds were the 
Norse mythos have power), and his ravens Hugin and Munin report back 
what they see. Odin consults with the pickled head of Mimir, and can cast 
the runes as auguries. Finally, he can consult with the dead, or even 
resurrect the dead should he feel the need for a longer discussion. It is 
this last method by which a number of deceased SS officers been inducted 
into the ranks of Odin's beserks, after the gallows god had inscribed runes 
upon their corpses in blood.
  Odin wonders if Thule might suit his purposes. Can its reality be 
arranged to keep out Ragnarok? Perhaps the Darkness Device can be tricked 
into precluding the end of the worlds and the gods? But Odin must be 
careful, lest the Norns, who are already cranky over the issue of Thule, 
turn on him. Not that Odin would actually turn up in Thule (don't want 
to run the risk of an AD&D style god bashing campaign). At best he may 
sent an avatar to lead the wild hunt, possibly in Thule or maybe even in 
Europa itself if he thinks up an appropriate scheme. Far more likely is 
that he will begin machinations through mortals.
  Like in Europa, the Attribute limits are all 13 except for PER of 11, 
and for exactly the same reason.

Magic 16     Soc 10     Spi 17     Tech 9

Magic 16   Magic is quite potent, but rare. The primary practitioners are 
females, since magics use is considered unmanly. Heroes may consult with 
mages for advice, and be given magical weapons, but they will very rarely 
_be_ mages themselves. The axiom is high enough to support the existence 
of magical creature, like dragons, but they are rare and will not be found 
around wandering monster tables :-)

Social 10  Essentially feudal. The romantic reaction against urban life 
means that what few cities exist are decadent in culture, and the kings 
and tribal chieftains shun them. Thule society works on pseudo-democratic 
principle used in Viking times that you can have as much freedom and 
liberty as you want, as long a you have the strength to defend it. The 
power of local rulers varies considerably, leading to a range of 
principalities of widely ranging size and nature, from local Viking-style 
bands to large kingdom-like areas with knights on horseback and armour. 
Laws may be codified through royal decrees, or through communal meetings 
called Things.

Spirit 17  For no reason other than I know it'll upset people. :-)

Tech 9  Large building (castles, etc) are possible, but the axiom is not 
high enough to support the infrastructure needed for large cities. Use 
of hard metal for weapons.

Law of Action  Same as Nile, Terra, and Land Below.

Law of Blood. If the Law of the Aryan avoided inflicting racist fantasies 
onto people as literally truth, then this WL does no shirk from it. This 
is because unlike the LotAryan, which was concocted by a HL and a 
DD with a deliberate, specific, and subtle goal in mind, the LoBlood is 
part of a reality that is fantasy made real. As such, this WL has all the 
force and subtly of a piledriver.
  Aryans born in or physically transformed to Thule reality will gain 
bonus 1 attribute point (a once off grant that is like personal 
development, and so is not a contradiction in other realities) which may 
be applied to any Attribute except PER. All other races who transform 
_loose_ the same amount. Moreover, their transformations will correspond 
to the most degrading racial stereotypes.
  Additionally, physical transformation occurs on a roll of 1-5 rather 
than just 1 in 20. Ensure that your PCs are _very_ careful when running 
up against this WL.


POCKET DIMENSION - Agartha
  [The name may need to be changed, since there was a lot of material 
about subterranean races and cities in the occult works in the 19th and 
early 20th C. This name comes from one of the earliest ones, Joseph Saint-
Yves d'Alveydre's Agartha, but there were lots of others. Another, perhaps 
better known one is Shamballa, although that was supposed to be an above 
ground city in an oasis somewhere in the Gobi desert.]
  This subterranean pocket dimension is the home of the secret masters 
[who may also need a name change], a group of wise and ancient mystics 
who keep watch over the world and occasionally intervene for their own 
inscrutable reasons. If this sounds a lot like pultaking, that's because 
essentially it is. The secret masters are in some way connected with the 
Mohavi and the Akashans, although I have yet to figure out how. Dave 
Oakes and Ks. Jim graciously pointed out the similarities less than a 
week ago, and my ideas on the subject haven't properly jelled yet, although 
I suspect they SMs are stranded aliens. Whatever the case, the secret 
masters have a style of Martial Arts, psionics (which means I'll have to 
dig out the MA and Psi rewrites), the secrets of vril (cf Tharkold SB) and 
probably a remnant of interdimensional (if not necessarily intercosm) 
travel. One possible story hook is for the PCs to try to keep the Ahnenerbe 
from bringing these secrets (particularly vril) back to the Nazis.
  Another idea that occurs to me is that by either psionic or miraculous 
means they can release their astral bodies off into the fourth dimension 
to read the Akashic Record (hmm, now where have we heard that name 
before? :-)
  And if I can, I'll find a way to work Madam Blavatsky into it, even if 
the cosmic astral jellyfish have to drag her there :-) Possibly she's 
staying in this PD, studying texts in those ubiquitous occult libraries 
and benefiting from methods of extended lifespan techniques. Or 
possibly she's off exploring other PDs.
  Attribute levels are all 13.

Magic 5ish   Although the secret masters are mystics, they rely primarily 
on spiritual awareness and 
the high Spi axiom. Should they have actually come directly from the Star 
Sphere, then this will be a drop from the already low Mag axiom there 
(Mag 7)

Social 22  The manipulations of these people requires a high Soc axiom. 
Again, if applicable this will also represent a drop from the Star Sphere's 
Soc 27. It is for this reason that the manipulations of the secret masters 
are not always obviously for the best, or even for the best at all. They 
follow their own inscrutable motives.

Spi 19ish   Quite high.

Tech 26+   High enough to retain rudimentary dimensional travel Tech, and 
the means of gaining vril energy (which will, however be a lot different -
and far less unpleasant - than the Tharkold method of gaining it)

World Laws: Still working on them. Any suggestions on how an 
underground city of mystic meddlers should work?


-----
Saxon Brenton     University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
saxon.brenton@uts.edu.au
saxonb@mpx.com.au