Here's a reality I created _way_ back in 1992, so that the political situation has changed somewhat since then; I've included a bit of an update on the end. I'm also a little embarrassed about it, since I was still trying to think of how to run the game mechanics for the Law of Humour when Infiniverse Update #2 came out, so I just knicked the mechanics for the Cartoon Cosm's Law of Humor. Originally (before I started plagarising the Cartoon Cosm. Honest) this was going to be in the Heralds of Reality fanzine, of which unfortunately only the first two issues were published. I think this cosm should be dedicated to Dave Oakes, who we know takes his 'toons seriously... Saxon Brenton October 1994 -------------------- Core Earth is a world uniquely rich in possibility energy whose very existence has prompted an unprecedented coalition of High Lords to attack it for its resources. However, its high energy quotient causes other unusual situations as well: it is producing an incredible number of possibility rated beings, many of whom are opposing the Possibility Raiders, and may actually defeat them; and it lies at the heart of an incredibly dense possibility nexus that facilitates the arrival of Storm Knights from worlds not otherwise connected with the Possibility Wars. The latter has a flip side however; not only can the Storm Knights of other worlds readily become aware of the threat and come to join in the struggle, but so can other High Lords. Two High Lords not originally invited by the Gaunt Man to take part in the invasion have recently tried to claim part of Earth's possibility bounty for themselves. The first of these - Bartholomew J. Dark, High Lord of the melodrama reality of Blightwood Vales - attempted to conquer Saudi Arabia as well as usurp some of the eastern flank of the Nile Empire of his fellow Terran expatriate Dr. Mobius. His narrow defeat by Storm Knights actually had the effect of liberating much of the Red Sea from the control of the pulp reality. More successful was the invasion of Australia by the High Lord of the cartoon reality from the cubical world of Oith, Angela Gloria String. Despite some opposition from Storm Knights and Australian authorities (which hindered the expansion of her realm somewhat) she successfully dropped her maelstrom bridge practically onto the front lawn of Parliament House, Canberra, in June of 1992. [The invasions of both Blightwood Vales and Oith began immediately after the events chronicled in Infiniverse Update #1 and the Realm update in Infiniverse #24. These notes are dated for around August 1992.] The world laws of Oith in the resulting pure zone distorted the social structures of the area, incapacitating most attempts at resistance as society was twisted into a parody of itself. While the addition of another realm may seem to weaken Earth's chances of overcoming the Possibility Raiders, the situation is not as bad as it seems. Why? Well, because I cheated a bit. In my campaign Oith replaced Tharkold, with only a brief period of overlap of them coexisting on Earth. Just before Sterret got the Apocularum working again Mayor Bender implemented an inspired but desperate plan against Tharkoldu expansion, which rested on three points: the harassment of Tharkoldu forces as a diversion; a massive, blitzkrieg assault to destroy the Apocularum completely; and the destruction of Tharkoldu stelae by teams of biotechnicians, mages, priests, psionicists, and weird scientists who had been working on the problem of how to stop them teleporting. The Battle for Los Angeles: The Second Defeat of Tharkold on Earth did not just raise spirits that the raiders can be completely ousted, and kept down the number of realms dampening Earth's defensive possibility surges (while still allowing lots of techno-nasties to lurk about). Mayor Bender's use of both Core Earth forces and Storm Knights groups from many realities - including ones that are not invading, such as several squads of Kadandrans - demonstrated that to stop the Possibility Raiders Earth's defenders have to work together, and use their disparate realities to complement each other. THE COSM The world of Oith is a cube, but otherwise has geographical features and landmasses similar to those of Earth. Superficially the culture of Oith resembles how 1950s/early 1960s Western culture viewed the world. Not how the world actually was in the 1950s and early 1960s, but how the materially well off thought of it. It is clean cut and "nice". Overwhelming this comparison is the anarchy and impossibilities that can be seen in any animated cartoon show. Finally, there is an undercurrent of cultural stagnation about Oith that has been present ever since String became its High Lord. By tampering with the Law of Perseverance she has effectively put Oith into a cultural stasis, with no changes in society occurring despite occasional changes in axiom level - just as other High Lords do with their cosms. Thus, paradoxically, while the cartoon reality is almost totally anarchistic within itself, overall it is one of the most rigid and unchanging of the realities in the cosmverse. THE REALM The initial invasion zone covered most of the extremity of south- eastern Australia. String dropped her maelstrom bridge - a solid rainbow - practically onto the front lawn of Parliament House, Canberra, creating a pure zone that included both the national capital of Canberra and the New South Wales state capital of Sydney. Storm Knight interference prevented its extension into northern New South Wales, but virtually all of the state of Victoria was covered in dominant zones - although it was discovered that the state capital of Melbourne was a Core Earth hard point. Since the initial invasion the vigilance, bordering on paranoia, of Core Earth Australian forces has ensured that only one stelae, in the Pacific to the south of Tasmania, was able to be planted, causing all of that state to be covered with dominant zones, bringing the total to eight (1 pure, 7 dominant). The choice of invasion site was dictated by two factors. The first is that south-eastern Australia fits the usual High Lord preference for an area of high population density that will give a steady supply of possibility energy from transforming ords. Secondly, most of the institutions that could possibly begin organising defence against the invasion are situated in this region. String deliberately placed her stelae so that two capital cities fell within the triangle of her pure zone. With the Law of Humour turning everybody into parodies of themselves the federal government and the state government of New South Wales are incapacitated, along with the bulk of the federal bureaucracy and law enforcement agencies. The Parliaments are unable to pass legislation as the members are too busy screaming insults at each other across the floor; the federal and state High Courts are now the sleepy domain of superannuated judges who spend their time either boozing and snoozing, or composing lengthy documents in legalese that nobody, not even themselves, can afterwards decipher; the intelligence services have become ultra-paranoid superslueths in trench coats and dark glasses who go around bugging the garbage bins of exactly the wrong people; the military are more intent on polished boots and combat drills than defending the country; the police are Keystone Cops-like figures; and the bureaucracies have become huge self-interested conglomerates of pencil-pushers jealously guarding their public service entitlements and doing little apparent work. STELAE The stelae of Oith are small, plain looking brass doorknobs which are buried underground. They are energised to be stelae in a process relying on Acme Tech that leaves them faintly radioactive. However, this radioactivity exists only in a waveband associated with and detectable by Acme Tech, and moreover is so faint that it can only be detected within half a meter. They usually have a Toughness of either 16 or 17. String has many similar doorknobs buried to act as distractions. POPULATION All beings and objects possessing Oith's reality are cartoons in both action and appearance; this happens automatically and requires no physical transformation roll. The population is composed of humans, anthropomorphic "funny animals", and animate objects. Humans vary widely in how "realistic" they are compared with to the humans of other realities; ranging from sublimely "realistic" humans such as Jessica Rabbit and Holli Would, through "almost realistic humans" such as Fred Flintstone and George of the Jungle, to obviously caricature-like humans such as Yosemitie Sam and Mr MaGoo. Funny animals are animals with human characteristics, ranging from being human in all but appearance, like Buggs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, to having fully animal appearance but human or near human intelligence, like Scooby Doo. Animate objects are beings like Benny the Cab. Proportionately the sentient population of the Oith cosm is roughly one third human, one third funny animal, and one third animate objects. The population of the Oith realm is more than half human, and roughly a quarter funny animal and animate object each; since only a few transformed Core Earthers lose their humanity. The bulk of the funny animal and animate object population are immigrants. The transformed tend to turn into parodies of themselves or their profession. Those that have no obvious personal parody tend to follow the Australian national stereotypes. A few turn into "bushmen": slow talking and ruggedly heroic individuals wearing Akubra hats. Most fall into the bushman's modern urban derivative: the far less heroic "ocker", who is a loud, opinionated, unsophisticated, sport worshipping beer swiller with a huge gut dressed in singlets, shorts, and thongs. "Ockerinas", in addition to most of their male counterparts' poor qualities, make the Australian accent piercingly shrill. The cartoon appearance of Oith's population makes it hard to disguise them as denizens of other worlds for infiltration purposes, but not impossible. Those humans that are virtually identical in anatomical proportion to non-cartoon humans are easiest to disguise, using latex masks ala Judge Doom. However, even some of the other types can be disguised, by using the Elasticity of form ability to temporarily make them the right shape and then putting masks on them. Shapeshifting (cartoon) can not be used for disguise purposes because it only allows for completely non-human forms to be taken up. Cartoons have a weakness to the creative use of logic; such as the argument "Cats have four legs, my dog has four legs, therefore my dog is a cat". Another good example comes from "Who framed Roger Rabbit?" When Eddie Valiant was being chased by Lena in Toontown, he tore up the line in the middle of the street and directed it into a wall. Lena followed the redirected line instead of Eddie, and knocked herself out. String recognises this vulnerability, and this is why she considers 3327 and Malrux the greatest threats to her realm, rather than the hack-and- slash Tharkoldu or the pulp villain Dr. Mobius. Cartoons have no particular weakness to Dip. CORE EARTH AUSTRALIA With the Canberra incapacitated by the Oith pure zone the federal capital has been duplicated in Brisbane. The current crisis has the states and the new federal government working together, and there is little populist grandstanding at each other's expense. However, with the provisional New South Wales government at Armidale unable to access most of that states' manufacturing base, the Victorian government unable to exert much control over its state beyond the hard point of Melbourne, and the Tasmanians neutralised, Australia is, for the moment, hard pressed to maintain the industrial capital to fight both Oith and Orrorsh. Production facilities are rapidly being upgraded in areas away from direct threat by the Oith realm. Fortunately, most of the areas of Australia's prime export industry, agriculture, lie beyond the invasion areas for the moment, so that overseas sales of wheat and wool are still funding the war effort. After the loss of several ships in Sydney when String created her pure zone the navy are no longer keeping all their eggs in one basket and have split the fleet, mainly between Brisbane and Perth. Apart from these changes the situation in Australia remains basically the same as described on pages 94-100 of the Delphi Council Worldbook, with the exception that in order to increase the number of opponents of Nippon Tech String has arranged for the Australian Defence Corps to get confirming evidence that Japan has been invaded. The greatest problem for the Australians is that the invasion is unexpectedly well devised. When they first realised they were being invaded by cartoons there was a feeling that this would be almost too easy to stop, especially after reports of conditions in Orrorsh. Yet while most Oithans fit the stereotype of madness incarnate, the agents placing the stelae have been harder to deal with, and the plans that these agents have been following indicate that someone very shrewd is masterminding the invasion. Only the fact that they have been expecting an invasion and have had time to prepare has allowed the Australians to contain Oith. Adelaide The state capital of South Australia can be claimed by Oith with the planting of just one stelae, although increased vigilance since the initial invasion has foiled no less than three attempts at such a planting. Nevertheless, Adelaide is preparing for the worst. On one hand the involves plans for mass evacuations to deny String as much of the population's possibilities as they can. On the other hand the widespread perception that Melbourne resisted Oith through its reputation has raised hopes that "the city of churches" can do the same, and a conservatively oriented awareness campaign has been implemented there that the media are calling the "think dull campaign". Armidale The university city of Armidale on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales is the new home of the provisional government of that state. This is ironic to those who remember that Armidale was to have been the capital of the state of New England, which failed to break away from New South Wales in the referendum on the issue in 1968. Most of the government infrastructure has had to be put together from scratch, since the pure zone around Sydney means that very little has been able to be salvaged with what few refugees have crossed back into Core Earth. Brisbane The state capital of Queensland is currently doubling as the national capital because it is the city furthest from both Oith and Orrorsh. It is faring better than Armidale at absorbing the responsibilities of provisional government because it already has state government institutions in place that can double for many of their federal counterparts. Even so, resources are stretches thin. Darwin Although the capital of the Northern Territory continues to suffer from repeated attacks, particularly by the Nightmares Gmorph and Trachelsteph, the huge military presence here has been reduced as forces are redeployed to the south. Melbourne Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria, and is a Core Earth hardpoint. It is widely assumed that Melbourne resisted transformation because of the derisive label it has been given as drear and drab and puritanical. How this could possibly be the case when only the inhabitants of other states believed this myth is a mystery, but Melbourninans are now taking fierce pride in this once galling reputation. Perth Perth continues to be beset by horrors that make their way down the western coast. About half the naval ships stationed in Australia are now based in the Fremantle port. THE HIGH LORD Angela Gloria String is a cartoon of totally human appearance and knockout looks. She is a cold, ruthless and calculating woman who, although she has no official power on Oith, has immense influence over her world. Her most potent ability is that since gaining her Darkness Device she has been tutored in the differences in the psychology and logic between cartoons and non-cartoons, and she can manipulate them to her advantage. She has extensive resources of manipulation, seduction, coercion, and intimidation, but prefers the "softer" ways of manipulating people over direct threats. Oith's Law of Perseverance is a potentially dangerous double-edged sword, and it is usually safer to make people do things for her by what they think is her own free will than run the risk of gaining an implacable opponent. String has little passion in her heart, and feels contempt for those that are so easily manipulated by her, particularly those that are swayed to her cause by seduction. It is for this reason that although she hates and fears 3327 and Malrux, she also respects them as cunning rivals and worthy opponents. In the politics of Oith String is a reclusive figure. She is an influential business woman who has extensive control of the media, and is a powerful behind the scenes lobbyist with most governments and institutions, but has enough power to maintain her relative anonymity in all her endeavours. Her method of invading other cosms is to use media manipulation and propaganda to incite mass migrations down the maelstrom bridges. She has a large number of underlings to organise the migrations, infiltrate other realms, plant stelae, and keep a watch out for cartoons who show opposition to the invasion. They are trained in dealing with cartoons and non-cartoons, both so that they can work unnoticed in other realms, and to smooth over any problems with rebel Oithans. The latter usually means using convoluted arguments to convince them that the migrations do no harm; but they are also perfectly capable of eliminating people in such a way that their victims cannot be resurrected with the Resurrection ability derived from the Law of Humour. As a Possibility Raider String's priorities are: 1) Expand her realm to cement her position on Earth and claim a share of its possibility bounty. 2) Undermine Nippon Tech and the Cyberpapacy. 3) Remove the aspect of the Law of Perseverance that makes Oithans vulnerable to creative logic, while keeping them uncomprehending of non-cartoon realities. 4) Become the Torg. Angela Gloria String Dexterity 12 Dodge 13, Fire combat 14, Prestidigitation 15, Unarmed combat 13 Strength 8 Toughness 9 Perception 25 Evidence analysis 29, Find 26, Scholar (cartoon logic) 30, Scholar (non-cartoon logic) 30, Scholar (politics) 27, Tracking 26, Trick 30 Mind 24 Business 27, Science (psychology) 28, Science (seduction) 27, Survival 26, Test of will 36, Willpower 37 Charisma 25 Charm 41, Persuasion 31, Taunt 30 Spirit 21 Faith (Oith) 22, Intimidation 30, Reality (Oith) 26, Possibilities: 60 (or more if she has recently tapped Tragk) Equipment: 9mm P38 (damage value 15), black handbag, 4 vials of various mind-affecting and will-sapping drugs for use on others, Acme Tech lie detector built into belt that tingles at different intensities depending on extent of falsehood told. TRAGK The insidious and mind numbing Darkness Device of Oith is the obsidian television set Tragk. Dexterity 0 Strength 0 Toughness 192 Perception 28 Alteration magic 30, Divination magic 30, Evidence analysis 33, Find 34, Language 34, Scholar (cartoon logic) 35, Scholar (non-cartoon logic) 35, Tracking 33, Trick 38 Mind 41 Apportation magic 42, Conjuration magic 42, Hypnotism 53, Test of will 55, Willpower 47 Charisma 30 Charm 49, Persuasion 36, Taunt 33 Spirit 30 Faith (Nameless One) 39, Focus 31, Intimidation 38, Reality (Oith) 39 Possibilities: Untold thousands Powers: All the powers listed on page 38 of the Torg Rulebook. AXIOMS AND WORLD LAWS Magic 13 Social 21 Spirit 10 Tech 21 Magic 13 While there is a substantial amount of magic in use in Oith, and all four magic skills function, they aren't used all the time. Instead, it is used on occasions when cartoons think it might be a good way to deal with a particular situation. The use of magic in Oith, just like with all the other axioms, is marked by silliness and triviality. Social 21 Oith uses nominal representative democracies, but like everything else it is affected by the silliness that comes from the Law of Humour, so that from a non-cartoon point of view they are parodies of the political process. Spirit 10 Like everything else, the Spirit axiom is affected by the Law of Humour, and as a result tends to be distorted into a funny configuration. In Oith religion usually takes the extremes of being either a personal affair which is comical, or hysterical fundamentalism which is comical. Tech 21 Oith is marked by its use of labour saving devices and gadgets, some of which are useful, many others of which are pointless and ridiculous. Technology beyond 1960s level is supplied by being made from Acme Tech, which also often pointless and silly. Law of Humour The Law of Humour states that what is funny, works. The colliery to this is twofold; what is not funny will either not work, or be turned into something that is funny. This powerful world law not only dictates the feel of cartoon reality, but also is the prime weapon of disorientation on String's arsenal. In other realities it is the difference between the local and invading axioms that incapacitates the natives and allows the Possibility Raiders the victories they need to expand their realms. While this happens with Oith's reality as well, it is primarily the Law of Humour that does the most disorientating as it twists the invaded area into a parody of itself. The Law of Humour has a number of uses. It can temporarily bend or negate any rule, allowing for gravity defying, desperate mid-air scrambles when someone falls off a cliff. In some cases it can even temporarily raise or lower axiom limits, although these situations should be carefully considered before being implemented. It is an active world law, in the sense that it can be deliberately used by people to create certain effects. The game mechanics for the Law of Humour are ripped o^H^H^H^H^H deal homage to the Law of Humor of the Cartoon Cosm (Infiniverse Update #2). Like the Law of Humor, the Law of Humour in Oith is applied by having the character use his, her, or its Reality skill (or Spirit for ords) to bend the physical laws of the universe. The character must roll to beat a difficulty number set by the GM based on how improbable or impossible the action is (see the "Law of Humour Difficulty Modifiers" table for sample DNs), and by how funny the action is as judged by the GM (see the "Law of Humour Modifiers" table). If the character fails the roll to do something funny with the Law of Humour then it is likely that the Law of Perseverance may try to get the character to try again, no matter how inappropriate the act of trying again may be. The character must therefore make a Cartoon Perseverance check, as described under that world law. Certain actions are doomed to fail when using the Law of Humour to get them to work, such as conjuring orthodox weapons (like uzis, magical swords, laser pistols, etc.). This is because no matter how many limitations are built into the hard number crunching game mechanics, the simple fact remains that the Law of Humour is designed specifically to break rules and do anything, making it, arguably, one of the most powerful world laws in the Torg system. As such GMs shouldn't rely solely on juggling difficulty modifiers to keep scheming players in check; rely instead on the powerful limiting definition "is it funny?" Remember, cartoons, by the standards of everyone else in the cosmverse, are nuts (In the early days of the Possibility Wars people thought the inhabitants of the pulp reality of the Nile Empire were weird, but when Oith arrived they quickly realised that pulp heroes are downright normal compared to cartoons). A cartoon will not use the Law of Humour to pull an Akashan gravatic ray out of nowhere and start blasting away. Simply put, that sort of thing wouldn't occur to a cartoon. Instead, a cartoon would conjure a pie (possibly spiked with ether) and throw it at an opponent. By comparison, a non-cartoon character may try to use the Law of Humour to get a gravatic ray, but because that's not how cartoons think, and because the Law of Humour is from a cartoon reality and attuned to the way cartoons think, it won't work anyway. In such attempts the action is defined as "not funny" and fails automatically. Similarly, a cartoon being chased across the rooftops would not use the Law of Humour to run across thin air to safety; a cartoon would jump into empty space and blow a raspberry at his pursuers, then duck for cover as they start shooting at him. Essentially, the greatest brake on attempts to use the Law of Humour to create all-powerful characters is to remember that cartoons think in ways that are silly, often trivial, and most importantly, self-limiting. If things do get out of hand, however, then start fouling things up with the Law of Murphy. RESURRECTION: The main difference between the Law of Humour in Oith and the Law of Humor in the fringe reality Cartoon Cosm is that in Oith it offers the chance to cartoons to survive death through the Resurrection ability. Resurrection is a world law derived ability much the same as Inclination Seduction is derived from the Law of Morality in the Nile Empire, but is available to everyone, not just possibility- rated characters (providing, of course, that they don't disconnect, which would result in a nasty, and very terminal, surprise). By comparison the Cartoon Cosm does not have this skill; instead the inhabitants of the Cartoon Cosm automatically survive death through the use of the Law of Darkness Devices (dun-da-dun-dun!), and the total partial invulnerability that having a cartoon Darkness Device provides under this world law. If a cartoon dies then the successful use of this ability will enable her to come back to life, no matter how damaged the body was. In some cases the Law of Humour may allow cartoons not to die in the first place, but instead survive with mortal wounds, as in the Fearless Fosdick comics in Li'l Abner where people wander around with bullet holes in them that can be seen through to the other side of the body. The character rolls with her Spirit value against a difficulty number derived from how improbable it is (recommended to be 12) modified by how funny the return of the character would be (an important modifier to take into consideration would be whether someone has already warned the cartoon about the risk of laughing itself to death, which, under the right (wrong?) circumstances, would make it almost impossible to survive). The level of success determines the result: MINIMAL The cartoon returns to life after a period of time equal to the result points of the roll in hours. GOOD to AVERAGE The cartoon returns to life after a period of time equal to the result points of the roll in minutes. SUPERIOR to SPECTACULAR The cartoon doesn't die at all, but instead is severely mangled - such as being squashed flat, shot full of holes, burnt to a crisp, etc. The damage vanishes after a period of time equal to the result points of the roll in minutes. ELASTICITY OF FORM: This ability allows the user to alter his form. This can be done in one of two ways, only one of which can be used at any particular time. With both versions Elasticity of form requires that the person make a roll using their Spirit value against a difficulty number set by the GM (see Elasticity of Form Modifiers table, below, in addition to the two from the Cartoon Cosm, the Law of Humour Modifiers and Law of Humour Action Difficulty Modifiers). Disguise: In its disguise-oriented version arms and legs can be lengthened, noses and chins can be stretched out or pushed flat, and beer guts can be hoisted up to create impressive looking chests. People can change their own shape slightly so as to disguise their appearance, but must remain in roughly the same physical configuration, e.g., humanoid to humanoid, etc. People using elasticity of form must physically manipulate their body to shape it; the skill does not function by will alone. Shapeshifting (cartoon): This use of Elasticity of form is more like Orrorshan shapeshifting skill than the disguise version is, except that only non-living items can be duplicated (e.g. Judge Doom's anvil and chainsaw hands in "Who framed Roger Rabbit?"). Depending on the success of the ability roll as much as the whole body or as little as one finger may be changed. Law of Humour Modifiers Action Modifier Action is funny -2 DN (a pie in Thratchen's face) Very funny and creative -4 DN (a pie in Thratchen's face with brick filling)* Very funny and puts -6 DN (the pie in Thratchen's face is still connected character at a to the character by a Pie-O-Matic Piecaster) disadvantage Not funny at all It doesn't work (trying to sell Thratchen life insurance) So not funny it's funny ** (trying to sell Thratchen life insurance while its chewing your arm off) Character is not a cartoon +15 DN Victim is not a cartoon -5 DN * Note that if a player comes up with a creative new use for the Law of Humour, but uses it continuously, then although it may still be funny it has become "old hat" and drops to -2 DN. In this manner players must continuously stretch the limits of their creativity. ** You figure it out. Law of Humour Action Difficulty Modifiers Type of Action DN Effect Very improbable +12 DN Sinking all the balls on a break in a game of pool Super improbable +15 DN Flipping a coin 100 times and always getting heads Really incredibly +18 DN Flipping a coin so it land on its edge improbable Okay, just plain +22 DN Causing the law of gravity to ignore an impossible object More than just * Causing the law of gravity to work impossible differently on different parts of an object * You figure it out Law of Humour Elasticity of Form Modifiers Table Body Part Difficulty Modifier Part of limb (finger(s) or hand) +1 DN Whole limb (arm or leg) +2 DN per limb Torso +5 DN Head +5 DN Whole body (in total) +15 DN Change of shape Roughly same shape +2 DN Dissimilar shape +5 DN Totally different shape +10 DN Change of property Roughly same properties +2 DN Dissimilar properties +5 DN Totally different properties +10 DN Change in Size Same mass +2 DN 25% greater or lesser mass +4 DN 50% greater or lesser mass +6 DN 75% greater or lesser mass +8 DN 100% greater or lesser mass +10 DN +25% greater or lesser mass +2 DN thereafter Law of Murphy The Law of Murphy ensures that anything funny that can go wrong, will go wrong. This allows for situations seen in, for instance, Disney's Donald Duck cartoons, where inanimate objects seem to perversely come to life to frustrate people. The functioning of this world law is comparable to the Nile Empire's Law of Drama, ensuring that people are always engaged in some activity. Naturally, while the Law of Murphy ensures that such problems will occur, it is the Law of Humour that actually allows them to happen. Law of Perseverance The Law of Perseverance causes people to become single-minded in dealing with a problem. Recall in Warner Bros. cartoons where Wile E. Coyote is never discouraged from trying to catch the Road Runner, no matter how many times he is run over, blown up, or bruised after falling from a great height. This is a practical demonstration of the Law of Perseverance. A cartoon who is faced with a problem to overcome (and there are always lots of problems to overcome thanks to the Law of Murphy) will become more, not less, determined to succeed with each defeat. This can be compared with the Nippon Tech Law of Vengeance, which also prompts people to "get back" at opponents. Persevering does not necessarily mean continuous attacks on an opponent; often it entails the cartoon retreating to formulate and implement some outrageously ingenious and silly plan. A cartoon who is affected by the Law of Perseverance makes a Cartoon Perseverance check by rolling against a base difficulty score of 12 using his Willpower (or Mind). A success indicates that he may choose not to Persevere against an opponent, although he may continue to do so for role-playing purposes. On a roll that does not succeed he has no choice but to Persevere. If a character tries to attain the same goal and fails again, then another Cartoon Perseverance check is made, but the Law of Murphy butts in and imposes a cumulative +1 modifier to the difficulty number. Since an unending series of Cartoon Perseverance checks could eventually get boring (i.e., not funny) at the GMs option the fifth Cartoon Perseverance check may be automatically passed, unless there is a good (i.e., funny) reason not to do so. Note that if a Cartoon Perseverance check is failed when using the Law of Humour, then the action must be attempted again immediately, and may not be postponed. If a possibility rated character continues to persevere by choice rather than complusion, then a role- playing award of 1 possibility per Act is applicable if he continues to persevere through 5 or more failures in that Act. Although they have the same basic effect, the Law of Perseverance in Oith is different to the Perseverance that occurs under the Power of Fear in Orrorsh. Oith Storm Knights working in Orrorsh will continue to be driven by their world law, but can still lose their special abilities along with everyone else in the group if the Perseverance check is not successful. However, a Storm Knight group that has one or more cartoon members will receive bonus perseverance points. At the start of an adventure in Orrorsh the group's starting perseverance number will be 9 rather than 8, and they will gain an extra one perseverance point every time perseverance is awarded. This world law also affects how the cartoons view their society and those of others. It did not prior to String taking possession of Tragk. Ever since String came to understand the potential for tricking her fellow cartoons into invading other worlds for her, she has had Tragk strategically augmenting this world law. Before this meddling the Law of Perseverance had only applied to people who were rallying against adversity. Now it also causes the cartoons to be narrow minded in their view of their society, and have little desire to understand the realities of others. A cartoon who is confronted with the task of overcoming the Law of Perseverance to understand a non-Oith reality for the first time must make a roll against a difficulty number of 22, using his Willpower score (or Mind). Trying to convince most of the cartoons that they shouldn't be invading is difficult. Trying to force them to understand that they shouldn't be invading is even worse. They came down the maelstrom bridge to enjoy themselves, and by gadfrey they're going to enjoy themselves! Trying to force a cartoon to understand anything about the nature of other realities just causes the Law of Perseverance to increase their single-mindedness and the difficulty of the roll. It's usually simpler to trick them, or better yet work them into a situation where they will figure it out for themselves. Unfortunately for String, the process of alienating the Oithans from other realities has also increased the cartoons' vulnerability to creative logic. String has tried to remove this limitation, with little success. Law of Acme Tech The Law of Acme Tech is the way that cartoons get all that wonderfully complicated technology that frequently doesn't work (properly). As far as game mechanics are concerned, it is effectively weird science operating at an effective Tech axiom of 33. However, the two are different world laws, and are incompatible when mixed and matched. The biggest difference between the two are that pulp powers can only be placed in machines; the Law of Acme Tech doesn't allow for powers in characters. This law also supports the Acme tech skill, which is, you guessed it, essentially identical to the Weird science skill. Reconnection numbers Character from Oith is in Character in Oith is from reality of: reality of: Atlantis 14 Atlantis 6 Avalon 12 Avalon 12 Aysle 9 Aysle 9 Aztec Empire 8 Aztec Empire 10 Core Earth 9 Core Earth 5 Cyberpapacy 7 Cyberpapacy 8 Kantovia 19 Kantovia 10 Land Below* 16 Land Below* 9 Lereholm 19 Lereholm 5 Living Land 16 Living Land 15 Magna Verita 10 Magna Verita 7 Nile Empire 5 Nile Empire 9 Nippon Tech 13 Nippon Tech 7 Olympus 13 Olympus 8 Orrorsh 6 Orrorsh 10 Pulse's cosm 15 Pulse's cosm 13 Star Sphere 8 Star Sphere 12 Terra 6 Terra 3 Tharkold 5 Tharkold 10 Tz'Ravok 12 Tz'Ravok 9 Dullsville 3 Dullsville 8 Scritch 9 Scritch 8 * also Arachnidia and Gehenna WHY DO THE CARTOONS INVADE OTHER COSMS? Rubbernecking, basically. The Law of Murphy often incites cartoons into almost unnatural fits of curiosity, which can lead them into trouble - and funny situations as dictated by the Law of Humour. With her control of the media String can incite mass migrations of cartoons to other cosms that she has marked for invasion. The cartoons travel down the maelstrom bridges to gawk at the natives. They find nothing remarkable about the periodic appearance of a maelstrom bridge leading to another world; stranger things happen on Oith all the time. On the other hand this curiosity could lead to problems if the cartoons began to empathise with the natives. If the people of Oith suspected for a minute what String was up to the original application of the Law of Perseverance would instantly make them opponents of the High Lord, who would stop at nothing to stop her. String has therefore manipulated the Law of Perseverance to eliminate this problem, but it still happens frequently enough that she has her goons on the lookout for any rebels so that they can be quickly eliminated. On Earth cartoons are turning against the invasion more often than before, since those cartoons that wander outside the stelae boundaries can gain knowledge of the other High Lords. After comparing the tactics of the known High Lords with what the cartoons themselves have been doing over the years, they put two and two together - and usually get very angry. However, because of the tampering that Tragk has done to the Law of Perseverance the cartoons feel little empathy with the people they have come to observe. In fact, even though they have come to see the sights they have very little interaction with the natives until they have transformed to Oith's reality, at which point the cartoons feel more comfortable around them. There is no hostility or bigotry in this; it's simply blank incomprehension on the part of the cartoons when faced with another reality. Indeed, the cartoons even feel a little pity for non- cartoons, so that they see nothing wrong when they transform over to Oith's reality. This, of course, plays right into String's hands. The organisers of String's "tours" can therefore keep the cartoons travelling around inside the areas already transformed to Oith reality until such time as new stelae are planted, because those are the areas that they feel most comfortable with. CARTOONS VERSUS HORRORS The horrors of Orrorsh are somewhat less effective against cartoons than the people of other realms. This is not because of immunity to Orrorshan world laws; the Powers of Fear and Corruption apply to cartoons just as much as anybody. Confronted with a monster the eyes of most cartoons will bug out before the terrified person runs, screaming, in the opposite direction, leaving little scorch marks on the ground in his wake. But no matter how terrified a cartoon may become the Oith world law, the Law of Perseverance, will cause that cartoon to return to try to get the better of the monster. Moreover, the cartoons have an advantage over all other monster hunters in that if killed they all have the chance of returning through the use of the Resurrection ability. Naturally, if they are killed and come back to life the Law of Perseverance will make them even more determined to eliminate the monster. And as already noted, a persevering cartoon will overcome the Power of Fear much faster than others. The advantages of cartoons in fighting horrors are therefore threefold: they can't be terrorised into incapacitating insanity because they're effectively already insane, they're incredibly difficult to keep dead, and their obstinacy causes them to overcome the Power of Fear at a faster than normal rate. On the other hand the great disadvantage of the cartoons is their weakness to creative logic. Horrors that have minimal intelligence (as well as many that are merely cunning) will probably eventually fall before a persevering cartoon; but those monsters that have some degree of creative thought (and aren't hindered by a pre-programmed "style of horror" put into them by the Nightmare that made them) could well come up with some way to permanently incapacitate its opponent. In such a case it becomes a race to see whether the cartoon will unearth the horror's true death, or if the horror will come up with some way of balking the cartoon. The ability of the cartoons to confound the horrors of Orrorsh is of particular interest to Storm Knight organisers like the Guildmaster, and recruitment of Oithans is in full swing. There are problems in telling apart cartoons from Oith from cartoons from the Cartoon Cosm, as the former has the Law of Perseverance, and the latter do not. STRING AND THE OTHER HIGH LORDS Aysle Pella Ardinay Lady Ardinay of the Light is opposed to String as she is to all the other High Lords, and finds the arrival of the Oith realm somewhat vexing; destructive Possibility Raiders just keep appearing out of the woodwork to ravage Earth. One more High Lord will make saving Earth that much more difficult once the civil war in the Aysle realm and cosm is settled, and the new High Lord of the fantasy reality is neutralised. Angar Uthorian The dragon Uthorian is so obsessed with revenge on Ardinay that he is barely aware of the presence of the Oith realm. In his madness he dismisses it as just another interloper that he will righteously crush when he regains control of Drakacanus. The other candidates The other candidates for the position of High Lord of Aysle are primarily concerned with establishing control of the realm. Any thoughts of an alliance are tied in strongly with that imperative. Wotan is disdainful of any help, preferring to bulldoze his way through opposition on his own. Melekere's dislike for humans is somewhat allayed by the cartoon appearance of even the most human-like of the Oithans, and he is sly enough to at least consider any help offered, regardless of source. Of all of them it is the Warrior of the Dark that seems most amenable to an alliance with String. The anarchic nature of the cartoon reality makes it a good counter to the strictures of uprightness of the Light, and - in its own way - the Cyberpapacy. String views with some interest the Aysle realm, as its fantasy nature compares favourably with the exotic activities that routinely occur on Oith. She sees a possible alliance as favourable, and consequently the need for Ardinay to be defeated as important. her preferred candidate is the Warrior of the Dark, and it is to her that String has offered help. An alliance of two newcomer females (three, if Jezrael is included) against the "old boys" club (no matter how divided the old boys are themselves) seems profitable. However, the confusion over the accession has seen String also make overtures to the others as well, of whom only Melekere has responded. Cyberpapacy Malrux is not amused with the arrival of the cartoons. Not only is another High Lord interloping by taking away potential converts to his church, but the anarchy of Oith lacks the respect that is required of servants of the Lord. At least its not another race of demons. The cartoons are mostly animals, and the papacy has dealt with animals before - when the heathen savages of Magna Verita's Africa, Americas, and Australia were deemed not to have souls they were quite profitably put to work as slave labour. The Cyberpope was prepared to leave the cartoons for the time being; since they are somewhat effective against the ungodly horrors of Orrorsh, and are also acting as another opponent to 3327. However, String's opposition to his church's activities have caused cyberpapal attacks that extend beyond mere propaganda invective. String views the Cyberpope with suspicion, distaste and grudging respect. He is a stuffed shirt who takes himself and his silly religion far too seriously. Nevertheless, he is a devious man who she sees as second only to 3327 as a threat in terms of outwitting the cartoons, and that is the order she intends to destroy them in. Living Land Baruk Kaah, as far as he can spend time to be aware of anything beyond his problems in his own realm, is bemused by the cartoon reality. The thought that other High Lords might claim some of the booty of Earth's possibilities is a disturbing one, but the silliness of Oith reality leads him to believe he may be able to trick String into an alliance, with the options of double-crossing her later. First, however, he'd need to take time that he really hasn't got to study the cartoon realm, as its reality is so bizarre as to be nearly incomprehensible to him. String sees Kaah as a primitive brute; but he and his people certainly have a zesty lifestyle, which is to her approval. She has noted his situation, and would be willing to form an alliance for the purpose of both using him and undermining his position. Nile Empire Dr. Mobius is quite pleased with the arrival of the cartoon realm. The eccentric and often fast paced Oith reality is quite compatible with his world view. He arrogantly believes he can crush String when the time comes, so in the meantime he'll leave her to help to keep Earth's possibility energy surges at bay, and muddy the waters even more. He's looking forward to the clashes between Oith, Orrorsh and Nippon Tech. String delights at the concepts of action and adventure available in the Nile, but considers Dr. Mobius to lack the subtlety in his activities to pose much of a threat to her. She believes that in a contest between cartoon and pulp realities the fantastic would clash with the fantastic, with the Law of Perseverance tipping the odds her way. Nippon Tech 3327 is preparing to crush String. Initially it seemed that Oith would serve as a useful distraction against Orrorsh, especially as their world laws seemed to blunt those of the horror realm. That being the case 3327 could afford to overlook the fact that the cartoon invasion was causing a slight drop in arms sales to the Australians; and he was prepared to view String as another competitor who would be dealt with - later. However, since then String's animosity towards the megacorporate reality has become apparent, and he no longer finds the cartoons amusing. String views 3327 with extreme suspicion. The inherent limitations on the logic of the cartoons make them vulnerable to deviousness, and he is an extremely devious opponent. Moreover, unlike the Cyberpope, he is always subtle. She therefore intends to fight Orrorsh only as a holding action; first priority goes into weakening and disrupting Nippon Tech. This doesn't just involve attacks on 3327 by her own forces and those of her allies in Tharkold. String has also increased the number of opponents of Nippon by arranging for the Australian Defence Corps to get confirming evidence that Japan has been invaded. This meant a lot of Delphi Council agents trying to prevent it had to have their skulls bashed in with a lot of frying pans, but it worked. Orrorsh While nobody is actually controlling the horror realm, the Nightmares recognise that whoever finally joins with Heketon will view the interloper Oith realm with dissatisfaction, since it has stolen land originally intended for Orrorsh. To this end most are making plans to attack the cartoon reality in order to curry favour with whoever claims the title of High Lord of Orrorsh. If someone was actually in charge, even Thratchen as regent, then these plans might be reigned in so that an alliance could be formed with Oith for a joint attack on Nippon, and later Orrorsh could turn and destroy the cartoon reality. As it stands, however, nobody has the authority to implement that sort of plan. String's assessment of Orrorsh is in part false. She sees a realm convulsed with internal leadership struggles and static in growth. She realises that the Nightmares are moving against her, but believes she can afford to put up a holding action against them while she moves against Nippon. In this she is probably right - for the time being. She may even be able to stand up against Orrorsh when it finally gets its High Lord, whether it is Thratchen or someone else from among the Nightmares or the Hellion Court. However, should the Gaunt Man return she will probably find herself on the defensive against his power, cunning and subtlety. Space Gods Like Pella Ardinay the Akashans view the arrival of Oith as yet another hurdle in the path to liberating Earth. While frustrated they are far from dispirited, as it has spurred them to increase their efforts. String views the Akashans as a serious potential threat because of their reality trees, and is making contingency plans to undermine them, but for the time being she is prepared to leave them since they distract her two greatest perceived foes; Nippon Tech and the Cyberpapacy. Tharkold Jezrael, originally dismissive of the "silliness" reality, is somewhat bemused that it can hold its own against the might of Orrorsh. Still, Orrorsh is leaderless and uncoordinated at the moment, and Jezrael is convinced that Oith couldn't possibly last against united horror or technohorror. Nevertheless, when String offered an alliance Jezrael accepted. Oith will make a useful ally in undermining Nippon Tech, although the Tharkoldu will claim the right to administer the coup de grace. Both High Lords also have a common interest against the Cyberpapacy. Ultimately however, the cartoon reality is expendable and will be crushed by one or another of the High Lords. String considers Tharkold to suffer the same weaknesses to her reality's world laws as Orrorsh does, as well as seeing the Tharkold realm to be too small to be a real threat. Nevertheless, an alliance with Jezrael could be beneficial. It would represent one less opponent to have to deal with immediately; and she would have help in dealing with 3327 and the Cyberpope. OITH PLAYER CHARACTERS Player characters from Oith are made up by the standard rules of character creation. The cosm limits for Oith are 13 in all attributes, with the exception that one attribute may be as high as 14. Template: Curious Cartoon Cosm: Oith M 13 Soc 21 Spi 10 T 21 Tag skill: Trick Dexterity 10 Dodge, Manoeuvre, Unarmed combat Strength 9 Toughness 9 Perception 11 Find, Language, Scholar Mind Survival, Test of wills, Willpower Charisma 8 Charm, Persuasion, Taunt Spirit 9 Reality (Oith) Equipment: four fingered gloves, plunger, knife (Tech 7, dam STR+3/12), $50 History: After you came down the latest maelstrom bridge to this world called Earth your curiosity got the better of you, and you wandered beyond the storm front to see the rest of the place. There you discovered other bridges, and were told of the schemes of the High Lords. Furious at the idea of having been used as a pawn in the murder of worlds you joined up with other Storm Knights to stop the invaders. Your companions are strange people with restrictive realities; they're physically limited in what they can do, they tend to think in straight lines, and they're so fragile (if they're killed they almost always stay dead). But you choose to ignore all that, since it's their right to their own realities that you're fighting for. Personality: You are fascinated by the other worlds and realities involved in the Possibility wars, and are determined to save them from the High Lords. You are also optimistic of the eventual outcome, since you know from personal experience that anything is possible if you try hard enough. Quote: "What an exciting idea, a world in the shape of a globe" CHARACTERS Bulldog Jones Bulldog Jones is an enforcer for String, and is a cold blooded killer who specialises in making sure cartoons stay dead. He is a bulldog who stands upright, and is heavily muscled underneath the pinstripe suit and hat that he habitually wears. He looks (and acts) like a gangster. Bulldog's build, heavy jowls and tiny, beady eyes give him the appearance of being a stupid strongman; a misconception that he deliberately fosters to put his opponents off-guard. Dexterity 10 Dodge 13, Energy weapons 12, Fire combat 16, Manoeuvre 13, Unarmed combat 15 Strength 14 Toughness 12 Perception 10 Scholar (cartoon logic) 12, Scholar (homicide) 13, Scholar (non- cartoon logic) 12, Trick 12 Mind 12 Survival 14, Test of wills 14, Willpower 14 Charisma 7 Taunt 9 Spirit 10 Intimidation 17, Reality (Oith) 14 Possibilities: 24 Equipment: Thompson SMG (dam 20, 3-15/25/100), .45 Colt Auto (dam 16, 3-10/15/40), brass knuckles (dam STR+3/17), Acme Tech laser pistol (dam 17, 3-30/100/200), pinstripe suit and fedora, aftershave lotion The Hatchet Abigail Twist is a popular and controversial columnist for the Daily Informant, and is both feared and respected by those in high office. While String has other agents in various media organisations, none are so able to move popular opinion and discredit String's opponents as Abigail can. She is an acid tongued old biddy of almost human appearance who commands a wide following with her no-nonsense approach, and uses as her by-line the nickname 'The Hatchet' for her reputation of cutting to the heart of matters. Her detractors also use this nickname, but use it to refer to her abilities of character assassination. Abigail's main activities are investigating stories of interest to her readers or String. She sometimes takes part in convincing "renegade" cartoons that the migrations to other worlds aren't harmful, but only rarely (and in guaranteed privacy) will she murder them - she's too public a figure to be able to risk doing that often. Dexterity 10 Fire combat 12 Strength 7 Toughness 8 Perception 12 Evidence analysis 15, Scholar (journalism) 15, Scholar (cartoon logic) 14, Scholar (non-cartoon logic) 14, Trick 15 Mind 13 Artist (writing) 16, Test of Wills 15, Willpower 14 Charisma 15 Charm 16, Persuasion 22, Taunt 17 Spirit 12 Intimidation 21, Reality (Oith) 13 Possibilities: 21 Equipment: note pad, pens, Dictaphone, glasses, 9mm Browning (dam 15, 3-10/25/60) Dr. Roach John Roach is a 1.4 meter tall cockroach and a trained doctor. During the last invasion by Oith he wandered outside of the Oith realm to explore and came across a disaster area where several buildings had collapsed. As he helped tend the wounded his patients told him what life was like beyond the storm front, and his sympathetic bedside manner allowed him to comprehend what they were telling him. Appalled by the devastation he realised his people were causing he transcended. Later he returned to the cartoon reality to try to tell people of the harm they were doing, but there he met with blank incomprehension by the general public and ridicule by The Hatchet, and was driven into hiding. He now works to enlighten the Oith public of the damage they are doing and oppose the High Lord, but so far has been unable to identify the mastermind behind the invasions. Dexterity 9 Dodge 10, Fire combat 10, Stealth 10 Strength 9 Climbing 10 Toughness 9 Perception 11 Evidence analysis 12, Find 12, First aid 13, Trick 12 Mind 13 Medicine 17, Test of wills 14, Willpower 14 Charisma 11 Charm 13, Persuasion 13 Spirit 10 Faith (Oith) 11, Reality (Oith) 11 Possibilities: 18 Equipment: doctor's bag (Tech 21 medical kit), Acme Tech Geiger counter, walking cane (ornamental and defensive only)(dam STR+2/11) Bluey Bluey is a farmhand from Earth who was transformed to Oith reality, becoming a stereotypical bushman as a result. He is fully human in appearance, tall, thin and sun-browned, with a shock of bright red hair and freckles. Although he was somewhat cosmopolitan before transforming, this has been lost with the adoption of his stereotype. He is slow spoken, reserved, more than a bit naive about city life, sticks by his friends, fights like a champion, drinks like a fish, and swears sulpurously. Dexterity 12 Beast riding 15, Fire combat 13, Manoeuvre 14, Melee weapons 14, Stealth 14, Unarmed combat 15 Strength 11 Toughness 10 Perception 10 Evidence analysis 11, First aid 11, Scholar (bush lore) 12, Tracking 12 Mind 7 Survival 9 Charisma 9 Charm 10, Persuasion 10 Spirit 9 Intimidation 10, Reality (Oith) 10 Possibilities: 16 Equipment: sleeping bag, Akubra hat, rope, flashlight, whip (dam STR+2/13), .45 Colt Auto (dam 16, 3-10/15/40), knife (dam STR+3/14) GOSPOG Being a High Lord that the Gaunt Man did not invite to take part in the invasion of Earth, String was not supplied with any gospog seeds. Not wishing to be at a disadvantage she has arranged to steal some from other High Lords. These were primarily from Nippon Tech and the Cyberpapacy, but efforts to procure the seeds were only marginally successful, often being thwarted by agents of those realms or by Storm Knights. Consequently String has nowhere near the number of gospog available to her that other High Lords do, and views them as a resource to be conserved. Currently only some of the first plantings have matured. They are identical to the first planting gospog of other realms, save that they have a cartoon appearance that easily marks their place of origin. In combat they are somewhat more persistent than other gospog, because they can use the Resurrection abilities of the Law of Humour. Second planting gospog look, and act, like Keystone Cops. They are humanoid pigs with handlebar moustaches dressed in old fashioned police uniforms with truncheons, and are often called pigpen cops. These bumbling foul-ups are dangerous to be around, since no matter what accident they create it is always their opponents who seem to take the damage. They usually travel in groups of three to five. Dexterity 10 Melee weapons 12, Unarmed combat 11 Strength 10 Toughness 13 Perception Find 11, Tracking 12, Trick 13 Mind 8 Test of wills 10, Willpower 10 Charisma 7 Taunt 10 Spirit 7 Possibility potential: none Equipment: truncheon (dam STR+3/13), handcuffs, seltzer bottles, rattletrap police car or van Third planting gospog are mobile, walking trees between three to five meters tall. They are of no identifiable species, instead having a "generic" look about them: a straight trunk with a spherical bowl of leaves on top. they have two branches that can be used as arms with clumps of leaves on the end that act like hands. They have a humanoid face growing from the "front" of the trunk just below the leaves. Dexterity 12 Stealth 15, Unarmed combat 16 Strength 15 Lifting 17 Toughness 12 Perception 10 Find 11, Tracking 12, Trick 11 Mind 9 Test of wills 10, Willpower 10 Charisma 5 Taunt 9 Spirit 8 Possibility potential: none The fourth planting gospog are small carnivorous cars (usually Volkswagens) whose hoods open to reveal teeth with which they attack. Dexterity 11 Dodge 12, Stealth 13 Strength 14 Toughness 17(22) Perception 10 Tracking 12, Trick 11 Mind 11 Test of wills 12 Charisma 3 Taunt 8 Spirit 8 Possibility potential: none Natural tools: teeth (dam STR+4/18), armour plating (TOU+5/27), overrun attack (dam 20) The fifth planting gospog are incredibly cute little baby bunny rabbits of awesome power and lethality, with a mean streak a mile wide. Dexterity 15 Dodge 17, Manoeuvre 17, Stealth 16, Unarmed combat 18 Strength 22 Toughness 23 Perception 11 Tracking 12, Trick 14 Charisma 13 Charm 15 Spirit 11 Intimidation 18 Possibility potential: none Natural tools: claws (dam STR+3/25), teeth (dam STR+3/25) POCKET DIMENSIONAL FRINGE REALITIES Oith is a cosm, and as such has its own fringe realities. The most notable of these are the enormously boring (to outsiders' eyes, anyway) Dullsville, and Scritch, the stick figure reality (and you thought it couldn't get weirder :-) DULLSVILLE This world is only called Dullsville by people other than those who live there. It is called Cambar by its inhabitants, who are all human. It is the curse of the Cambarns to be studious, sober, industrious people living in a world that, alone among the realities of this cosm, is not in any way cartoonish or vaguely silly. Attribute limits are all 13. Magic 14 Social 23 Spirit 11 Tech 24 Magic 14. Cambar recognises that there are some things that magic can do that technology can't, and vice versa. They try to use the most appropriate for the circumstances, although there is a lot of overlap between the applications of the two. Social 23. Cambar is quite advanced socially, and has a world council as government. It has a wide range of social institutions that cover all types of activities, and contribute to the rich social lives of the Cambarns. Cambar's population live in huge suburban sprawls that are connected by an extensive and efficient public transport system; there are tight controls and rationing on private transport. Spirit 11. The state religion is a dualistic faith called Hayen. There is no distinction between church and state, and occasionally the Hayen hierarchy becomes involved in factional struggles within the government (usually, but not always, of its own will). Tech 24. Nippon Tech level technology, but without the emphasis on espionage and intrigue. Law of Community Essentially the same as Lereholm. A bonus of +1 applies to any activity that ten or more members of the community are working together on. Law of Rationality This law works to increase the amount of sensibleness that people exhibit. This covers a diverse range of "non-sensible" actions, ranging from mental illnesses to frivolity in general. While the former may be beneficial, the latter also means that the Cambarns are missing out on the likes of Monty Python, the Goons, and slapstick in general; when they make jokes, they are dry, intellectual things. In game terms there is a -1 penalty to all "non-sensible" or irrational actions. There is also a general drop (by about 10%) in aberrant behaviours Law of Dull The name of this world law is somewhat misleading. It doesn't cause this fringe reality to be dull. It causes people who are not native to this reality to *perceive* it as dull, which is something completely, if subtly, different. The non-cartoon inhabitants of this world long ago resigned themselves to incursions by hyperactive cartoons and stick figures from the other realities in the cosm, as well as to their reactions to Cambar's non-hyperactive lifestyle. This resignation has manifested itself in this world law. Inhabitants of Cambar continue about their business as normal, and usually lead quite active and fulfilled lives. However, any non-native of Cambar who comes into this reality is automatically subject to this law, and as a result will find everyday events in this world dreadfully tedious. Even if that person is not a cartoon, and is, for example, from Core Earth and so would normally partake in activities quite similar to the ones being carried out around him, he will nevertheless become incredibly bored by it all. Any time a non-native of Cambar must carry out an activity for more than one round, they must make a Willpower total against a DN of 12 each round, or grow disinterested in it. This has two effects, the first is that the bored individual will stop as soon as possible. The second is that all such actions are penalised with a -2 to their effect total because of a lack of enthusiasm and effort. The Law of Dull has an effect on the calculation of reconnection numbers. Because non-natives of Cambar find this world so boring, the reconnection numbers for outsiders trying to reconnect while in this reality are lowered by 1. Reconnection numbers Character from Dullsville is Character in Dullsville is in reality of: from reality of: Atlantis 16 Atlantis 4 Avalon 13 Avalon 10 Aysle 12 Aysle 7 Aztec Empire 11 Aztec Empire 7 Core Earth 12 Core Earth 3 Cyberpapacy 8 Cyberpapacy 6 Kantovia 22 Kantovia 8 Land Below* 17 Land Below* 7 Lereholm 22 Lereholm 3 Living Land 19 Living Land 13 Magna Verita 12 Magna Verita 5 Nile Empire 8 Nile Empire 7 Nippon Tech 15 Nippon Tech 3 Olympus 15 Olympus 6 Orrorsh 8 Orrorsh 8 Pulse's cosm 16 Pulse's cosm 10 Star Sphere 9 Star Sphere 9 Terra 8 Terra 3 Tharkold 7 Tharkold 8 Tz'Ravok 15 Tz'Ravok 7 Oith 8 Oith 3 Scritch 11 Scritch 6 * also Arachnidia and Gehenna SCRITCH Scritch is a stick figure world. It is entirely black and white, and the sentient inhabitants are, well, more or less human. Go read Matt Feazell's "Cynicalman" or "Zot in dimension 10 1/2" comics for ideas. Attribute limits are all 13. Magic 7 Social 19 Spirit 15 Tech 21 Magic 7. There is some magic use in Scritch, but it is primarily a private hobby. Only obsessives practice this unreliable art, but there are a disproportionately high number of obsessives in Scritch. Social 19. Scritch is divided between a group of five imperiums and their dependants. The political situation is one of rather carefully balanced alliances, rather like pre-Great War Europe. Spirit 15. Scritch has a number of pantheist religions. The churches maintain a high profile, but do not have an equivalent hold on political power; there is no one group powerful enough to impose its will. Tech 21. 1930s Core Earth style technology. Law of Scribble. This is the world law that dictates that everything in Scritch is a stick figure. It also controls the fact that everything is black and white (and shades of grey) rather than in colour. People who do not possess this reality will continue to look the same as they always have (and stand out like sore thumbs), unless and until they transform. At that time they will become black and white stick figures versions of themselves, regardless of whether they rolled a physical transformation result. Only if the character is a non-human will physical transformation be important, in which case the character will become a, uh, stick figure version of a human. The worst thing about this is that a newly stick-figurised character who transforms back to another reality will need a physical transformation roll to become fully human (or whatever) again . Law of Chaotic Whimsy Despite the lack of the outright lunacy of its cartoon parent reality, Scritch is still a silly world, and this world law is what governs that silliness. It is somewhat reminiscent of the Law of Humour in Oith, but lacks the game mechanic of allowing characters the opportunity to do humorous things themselves. Thus, it is rather like the Law of Drama in the pulp realities; the games master must apply the caveat of making this world amusing, and may use the game mechanics of the Law of Humour to do anything that seems appropriate. A noteworthy effect of this law is that it tends to persecute serious characters. Characters from Tharkold, and grim'n'gritty people in general, are going to *hate* it here, as everything they try to do to take control of the situation and prove how tough they are will backfire on them. Humorously, of course. The mechanic for this is simply automatic failure in any non-lethal situation where the character tries to be assertive. Reconnection numbers Character from Scritch is Character in Scritch is in reality of: from reality of: Atlantis 12 Atlantis 6 Avalon 10 Avalon 12 Aysle 9 Aylse 13 Aztec Empire 8 Aztec Empire 11 Core Earth 8 Core Earth 6 Cyberpapacy 5 Cyberpapacy 8 Kantovia 18 Kantovia 7 Land Below* 13 Land Below* 8 Lereholm 19 Lereholm 7 Living Land 16 Living Land 11 Magna Verita 10 Magna Verita 6 Nile Empire 3 Nile Empire 9 Nippon Tech 10 Nippon Tech 7 Olympus 13 Olympus 10 Orrorsh 5 Orrorsh 12 Pulse's cosm 16 Pulse's cosm 13 Star Sphere 5 Star Sphere 12 Terra 8 Terra 8 Tharkold 3 Tharkold 10 Tz'Ravok 12 Tz'Ravok 5 Dullsville 6 Dullsville 9 Oith 8 Oith 9 * also Arachnidia and Gehenna UPDATE 1993 Here is a general description of the situation that I figured out for 1993. It's more or less copied directly from my summary notes that I made around mid-year. The Oith High Lord identified the main dangers to her invasion as being the subtle and devious 3327 and Cyberpope. The Orrorshans she choose to ignore as a secondary problem. After all, how could the horrors terrorise into incapacitating insanity beings who are already effectively insane?; how could they destroy foes that don't stay dead?; and how could they maintain the edge given to them by the Power of Fear over beings who overcome the perseverance numbers faster than anyone else because of the Law of Perseverance? Then the Gaunt Man returned, and the Orrorsh realm began to expand again. Not north, but east and south; onto the Australian mainland which String intended to claim as her own territory. The incensed the Oith High Lord, and she immediately launched a direct confrontation with Orrorsh by tearing up Orrorshan stelae and dropping another maelstrom bridge to create a band of Oith/Orrorsh mixed zones along the northern coast. This course of action is rash, foolish, and potentially suicidal, but that's the type of thing that's to be expect from a cartoon. The scary thing is that it appears to be working. The Gaunt Man, apparently expecting this response, launched a limited assault on the cartoons in northern Australia. In return the cartoons, goaded into greater opposition by the Law of Perseverance, have increased their efforts to match. The result is a stalemate. The Gaunt Man, however, has not thrown large amount of resources into this war, and seems to be testing the cartoons. The nightmares and horrors in the field aren't dealing with it like that, and are not being subtle. They have increased the amount of fear to almost palpable levels reminiscent of nowhere else save perhaps Gaea. Core Earth populations have fled, and only the bravest or most foolhardy of Storm Knights adventure there. The place is a war zone in every sense (And it is not helped by a number of renegade horrors that have arrived to take advantage of the combination of Orrorsh's Power of Fear and Oith's Law of Humour. In this area, even if Storm Knights can learn a horror's True Death, build up enough Perseverance to overcome the Power of Fear, and actually destroy the monster, there's still no guarantee it'll stay dead! ). But no matter how much fear the horrors successfully spread they cannot seem to translate that into geographical gains. Indeed, there is circumstantial evidence that the reverse may be happening. The advance of Oith is almost imperceptibly slow, so that it will take almost half a century to threaten the Borneo maelstrom bridge, but it is real. This situation cannot be maintained by either side, as it is too great a drain on resources for either realm. String is unlikely to abandon it though, as the Law of Perseverance has her in a state of absolute pig- headedness. The Gaunt Man, however, is far more wily. While he could throw everything at Oith and crush it by main force, it is far more likely that he will propose an alliance with String with an excuse of brilliantly convoluted rational that he was testing her to see if she was a worthy ally in conquering Earth now that 3327 has gone renegade. The Gaunt Man can slowly corrupt the cartoons from within, which is always the more pleasurable option of doing things anyway. After all, that's how he dealt with the ravagons, and look how useful they've been. The stelae zones at this time have been split into two areas, the south- east and the north-east. The south-east has fourteen zones, of which only one, around Sydney and Canberra, is pure; the others are dominant. There is now a triangle reaching out to the Spencer Gulf and covering Adelaide (which is a Core Earth hardpoint), as well as a line of five zones on the northern side of the initial invasion areas, covering most of New South Wales, but just missing Armidale. In the north-east there are eleven zones. The maelstrom bridge is midway up Cape York Peninsula, creating the only pure zone in the north. The pure zone has two dominant zones reaching down south of it; it is also acting as the southernmost of a six zone hexagon that reaches up to midway between Australia and New Guinea. Where the northernmost of these dominant zones comes in contact with three Orrorsh triangles they form a mixed zone. UPDATE 1994 I haven't really got much more than a vague idea of what's going on in 1994. String fell for the Gaunt Man's alliance and the Gaunt Man set in motion a plan to take India. Orrorsh was to advanced overland from the south-east as a distraction, then drop a bridge in Sri Lanka, while Oith dropped a bridge in the Punjab for a pincer movement. This was slowed to a stop by the events of the adventure No Quarter Given; Orrorsh doesn't have the resources to expand at the moment, and Oith is sitting where it is, barely managing to absorb the massive amounts of possibility energy that the high population density in the area is liberating. With the Gaunt Man's current main plan being to lure all the Darkness Devices into his control, it seems likely any attempts on his part to take India will be slow, token gestures. The stelae zones of Oith at this time have multiplied mainly in the north. A string of eleven more zone have spread across the northern coastline to link up with the Core Earth dominant zone covering Timor, totally enclosing the Arafura Sea. This Sea has four stelae zones arranged in a triangle that could become non-Core Earth, if either High Lord wanted to bother with expending the possibilities to energies what is essentially empty sea. Four of the stelae zones are dominant Oith, with six mixed zones where Oith contacts existing Orrorsh stelae areas (three on either side of the Arafura). There is a third maelstrom bridge at Katherine, creating another pure zone. Elsewhere, there is one pure zone and maelstrom bridge in Punjab, and four new dominant zones in north-eastern NSW, covering Armidale and threatening Brisbane, prompting the movement of the national capital to Perth. Meanwhile, Orrorsh has both expanded north and north-west. Four dominant zones now cover Mindanao and the nearby Philippine islands. It has also added three zones to extend up into Burma.