GURPS - 4th Edition - Basic Set

Deus ex machina. This is miraculous between encounters: “You walk for dream up some interesting deviltry, or
outside intervention that saves the day. another two hours, and then, coming to fill out Time Use Sheets for study
The cavalry comes over the hill . . . the toward you, you see two young and self-improvement (see Time Use
starship beams you up . . . the Governor women with long poles . . .” Tell the Sheets, p. 499).
issues a pardon. When the players did players when they meet someone,
their best and things just went totally when they enter a town, when night Time Between Sessions
wrong, arrange a miraculous escape, falls, and so on. Just compress the rest
against all odds. If it was good enough of the time. Under some circum- If you can’t finish an adventure in
for Edgar Rice Burroughs, it’s good stances – a long sea or space voyage, one session, just “pause” the game
enough for you. Needless to say, the for instance – the GM could compress until the next session. For instance, if
beneficiaries of a deus ex machina months of uneventful time into the party confronts a rampaging
should not gain bonus character points “Nothing happens until July, unless Tyrannosaurus just before the session
from the situation, since they did not you make it happen yourself.” This is ends, the Tyrannosaurus gets no closer
escape on their own. a good time for the characters to in the real-world week before you can
play again.
Cheat! When all else fails, roll the
dice where the players can’t see – and When in Doubt,
then lie about your roll. “It worked! You Roll and Shout
finally got the door open. You rush
through and slam it behind you. The Often, in spite of your most careful preparation, something surpris-
orcs cannot follow.” When an “honest” ing happens. It could be anything. No matter how much you plan
roll would result in a bloody massacre, ahead, your players will come up with something you didn’t expect.
it is forgivable for the GM to cheat in
the players’ favor. That’s all right. If they didn’t come up with anything surprising, your
duties as GM would be much less fun. But you still have to cope with
One last note: There will come a the problem.
time when the players insist on getting
themselves killed – through gross care- Let’s say, for instance, that the heroes have just discovered the
lessness, total stupidity, or even (we can Shrine of the Mother Goddess. Suddenly, they realize that they have
hope) good roleplaying, right down to been followed! A dozen huge, ape-like creatures stalk through the door
the bitter end. You can’t rescue them and approach menacingly. There are no other exits.
every time . . . that’s no fun, either! If
they really ask for trouble, let them have There are several things the players might do, and you’re prepared.
it. So it goes. If they want to fight, you know the combat stats for the ape-things. If
they try to make friends, you’ve already decided that they’ll be dragged
GAME TIME away to the ape-cave and fattened up for dinner. If they try to flee, or
use magic to make a barricade, you know there is a secret door behind
“Game time” is the time that pass- the altar – if they can find it in time. If they try to call on the Mother
es in the game world, as determined by Goddess, you’ve decided it won’t work – they don’t know the spells or
the GM. It rarely passes at the same rituals.
rate as time in the real world.
However, one of the younger characters panics when he sees the ape-
Time During Adventures things. Running to the giant statue of the Mother Goddess, he clasps
her around the knees and bawls for help. He doesn’t pray . . . he just
Combat is played in “slow” time. A pleads, like a terrified child. And you weren’t ready for something like
turn in combat equals one second, but that!
it might take a minute or more in the
real world to resolve that turn, especial- Of course, you can just say, “Nothing happens. It doesn’t work,”
ly if the players are inexperienced or the whenever your players try something original. But that’s no fun.
battle is a large one. Since combat is
usually a life-or-death situation, you Or you can always say, “I wasn’t ready for that. Do something else.”
need to give your players time to think. But that’s no fun either.

Conversations, planning sessions, The good GM uses his imagination to match the players’ creativity.
attempts to escape from traps, and sim- In a really dramatic situation, like the one described above, just go with
ilar situations are played in “real” time. the flow! There’s a very good chance that the Mother Goddess takes pity
If the players spend 10 minutes dis- on that poor, sincere fool. Maybe she swats the ape-things out the door.
cussing how to best approach an NPC Maybe she just picks up that one character and holds him safe, leaving
merchant . . . their characters spent 10 the others to fight the apes. Who knows? You’re the GM. In an unusu-
minutes talking outside the shop. al situation, anything is right if it’s fair to the players and makes the
story better.
Routine travel, long tasks, etc., are
handled in “fast” time. For instance, Whatever you do, it’s a good idea not to let the players know when
when the party is walking along a trail, you are improvising. Let them think you had it all planned in advance.
the GM can simply skip the time If you want to admit afterward that you were just “winging it,” that’s up
to you. But don’t interrupt the flow of the game. Roll the dice, shout
“You did it!” (or “You blew it!”), and keep going.

GAME MASTERING 497

Time Between and study of new skills – see Time Use bit before bringing them back togeth-
Adventures Sheets (p. 499). er. You don’t want to do this too often,
however, especially if some of the PCs
If you are running a continuing There is also merit to shaking were in the middle of training for a
campaign, you should keep track of things up occasionally – ask the play- new skill or long tasks (enchanting,
time between adventures, so charac- ers what their PCs are doing, and then inventing, etc.). Even fictional heroes
ters can study, travel, and age. This interrupt their activities with the next need some downtime . . .
can always be the same amount of adventure! Once in a while, this can be
time, or the GM and players can sim- really effective, especially if the adven- Alternatively, you can let X days of
ply agree on a “logical” time to pass ture is meant to be a “double red alert” real time equal one day of game time,
between the end of one adventure emergency. If the party is widely scat- all the time. For instance, if X is 7, one
and the beginning of the next. It is tered, this might be a chance to try day equals one week; therefore, if it
often a good idea to let a month or some new techniques, such as one-on- has been seven days since your last
two go by, to allow time for healing, one adventures or play by e-mail. Let adventure, seven weeks have passed in
earning money at “ordinary” jobs, them deal with the crisis alone for a the game world.

ENDING A PLAY SESSION

At the end of each play session, the The GM is free to award any num- secretly) to each player. The player
GM should do the following: ber of points . . . but in general, he should record his points on his char-
should give each player between zero acter sheet if he intends to play that
Discuss the adventure with the play- and five points, averaging two or three character again; the GM might also
ers. What went right and what went points, per session. The low end is for want to keep his own record. The play-
wrong – and why? If the session was bad roleplaying or mission failure, er can use these points to develop and
part of a continuing campaign, the while the high end is for good role- improve his character – see Chapter 9.
GM should be careful not to give away playing or mission success.
any secrets! Remember that a character gets no These are only guidelines. The GM
points for a session in which his can award as many or as few points as
Award character points for good Dependent is killed, seriously wound- he wishes. Some games call for faster
play (see below). ed, or kidnapped and not recovered! character advancement than others!

File away the play material. NPC The GM might also wish to give an Avoiding Character
records, GM Control Sheet, etc. will all award – perhaps equal to that for a Inflation
be useful later – be sure to keep track successful play session – upon the
of them! You can often “recycle” NPCs conclusion of a lengthy adventure, As GM, you should try to balance
in later adventures. story arc, or major plot thread. This is the number of points you give out.
in addition to any points for the ses- Characters should improve fast
Plan the next session with the play- sion during which the plot was enough to keep things interesting, but
ers. This is especially important in a resolved! not so fast that they outrun their foes
continuing campaign. Decide where and unbalance your campaign. Also,
the game will take up next week, how The GM should award bonus if the original characters are now
much game time will have passed, and points separately (and probably
anything else that the players need to
know before the next session starts.

AWARDING BONUS
CHARACTER
POINTS

At the end of each play session, the
GM should award bonus character
points for good play. “Good play” is
anything that advances the heroes’
mission or shows good roleplaying –
preferably both. But roleplaying
trumps mission success! If a player
did something totally outside his char-
acter’s personality (for instance, if a
total coward performed a brave act),
this should not be worth any points,
even if it saved the day for the rest of
the group!

498 GAME MASTERING

Time Use Sheets

A “Time Use Sheet” is a record prepared by the play- vital – which is why you do them “between times” and
er that describes how his character spends the time cover them with a few die rolls. For instance, in a treas-
between play sessions. (There’s a sample on p. 569.) ure-hunting adventure, the group’s scholar might need
to spend a few weeks in the library making Research
The GM sets the amount of time covered by each rolls to find useful maps. Meanwhile, the thief is visit-
sheet. An even number of weeks works best. At the end ing taverns and making Streetwise rolls to pick up use-
of each play session, the GM tells the players how much ful rumors. The GM checks their sheets, notes how
game time will pass before the next session. When they much time they spent at it, and rolls (one or more
show up for the next session, they can bring the records times) to see what they found.
of how they spent the intervening time.
Study
When an adventure “stops in the middle” – when
one play session ends at night in the inn, and the next Characters may wish to improve existing skills or
one starts the next morning – obviously no Time Use gain new ones through study. (If some characters are
Sheet is necessary. Use one when there is a hiatus in an students, this is unavoidable!) The GM keeps a running
adventure (for instance, when the PCs must wait two total of the time spent studying each skill. When it’s
weeks to catch their ship). And use one between adven- enough to buy a skill increase, the skill goes up imme-
tures, to give the characters a chance to rest, earn diately. See Improvement Through Study (p. 292).
money, and improve their skills.

GMs: If this seems like too much bookkeeping, don’t Jobs
do it! Feel free to think of a substitute – or forget all this
entirely – if it does not add to your players’ enjoyment. Time spent at work counts as study of the skill
involved (but at only 1/4 rate – that is, an eight-hour
There are three major reasons to keep track of time workday counts as two hours of study). It also pays
outside of play: enough to live on, and maybe a little extra. (In most
societies, those who do not show up full-time for work
Long Tasks will soon be fired, and hurting for money!) A job can
be a great springboard to adventure in the hands of a
Characters may have important missions between creative GM. See Jobs (p. 516).
play sessions. These might be tedious to game out, but

extremely powerful, new players – and they wish to increase attributes! skills whenever they have enough
their characters – are liable to feel use- Attempts to make inappropriate points, their skill lists will eventually
less unless you specifically bring them improvements most often occur when grow indistinguishable from one
into the action. the player discovers an unintended another. If every PC can tackle every
weakness in his character design and task, the players might conclude that
Some of this depends on the back- believes the new ability will compen- their characters no longer have any
ground; superheroic types are expected sate for it. If the desired ability doesn’t need for companions. This can break
to improve quickly (and their enemies fit the character concept, try to discov- up the party – and possibly the gaming
improve, too), while ordinary cops or er the perceived weakness and suggest group. It is realistic to learn some
soldiers gain skills or promotions at a more appropriate alternatives that skills quickly under pressure, but you
slower pace. In the final analysis, it’s address it directly. should feel free to rule that others
up to the GM to determine what is (especially magic spells and secret
right for his own campaign and his Keep awards small enough that martial-arts skills) are hard to learn
own players. players must think about their purchas- except as part of a dedicated career.
es. If players must save points for
Controlling Character many sessions to afford larger pur- Give awards other than points. Give
Development chases (e.g., attribute levels and out the occasional award in the form
advantages), there is, in effect, a “wait- of specific abilities instead of discre-
Given the chance, some players ing period.” Many players will recon- tionary points. Social advantages –
will spend points without regard for sider their “need” for character-dis- Patrons, Rank, Reputation, Status,
their characters’ origins and stated torting abilities during this time, and Wealth, etc. – make the best awards,
goals. Of course, when a player asks to instead use their points to raise skills as they often make sense as “rewards”
use bonus points to buy a wholly inap- that will be useful during the current in the game world. Another realistic
propriate ability, you can always say adventure. This leads to well-rounded possibility is direct improvement of a
“no.” But there are other options: veterans whose skills reflect their well-exercised ability. Few players will
actual activities. complain if you give them a skill level
Discuss all improvements. Don’t just worth four points in a well-used skill
let players buy whatever they want – Don’t make it too easy to learn new instead of two discretionary points!
ask them to explain why, especially if skills. If you let the PCs learn new

GAME MASTERING 499

WRITING YOUR
OWN ADVENTURES

Sooner or later, every GM wants to Some GMs give their players a lot Level of Difficulty
write his own adventures – or at least of voice in the type of adventures they
modify store-bought ones to fit his will have. If the players want to hunt The first thing to decide is simply
own group. More power to you! for treasure, the GM comes up with a how “hard” your adventure is going to
Homegrown adventures can range treasure-hunting scenario. Other GMs be. Are you planning an adventure for
from simple “dungeons” to entire see themselves as Blind Fate, and the four beginning-level characters – or for
worlds, intricately worked out over a players never know what will happen a half-dozen experienced adventurers?
period of years. next. It’s all a matter of taste.
The rewards should be commensu-
WHERE DO ADVENTURE rate with the risks. In a fantasy cam-
YOU GET DESIGN paign, don’t let the PCs butcher two
YOUR IDEAS? halflings and a senile goblin, and then
When you design an adventure, rush back to town with a chest full of
You can get ideas from novels, you are writing the outline for a story. gold! (Or, if you do, have the king’s tax-
movies, comics, RPG supplements, The full story will begin when the PCs man there to welcome them!) The real
other GMs, and of course the players appear on the scene. To set the stage, rewards in this game come in the form
themselves. Whatever your source, you must prepare the plot, maps, of bonus character points (p. 498).
you’ll want to come up with enough character descriptions, etc. and a These result from good roleplaying,
new twists to keep your players (and number of “encounters” involving and have nothing to do with the
yourself) interested. these things. amount of wealth you drag home.

Still, material things have their
uses. Ask any fighter who can’t afford
to buy armor! Don’t make wealth (or

500 GAME MASTERING

power, or fame) too easy to come by, or Dungeons
you will unbalance your campaign.
The term “dungeon” refers to a simple fantasy adventure. Typically,
Continuity the PCs wander from room to room, killing monsters and grabbing
treasure. There is often no rhyme or reason to the contents of the rooms
You should also decide whether the – in children’s fantasy games, every encounter may be rolled randomly!
adventure needs to fit into (or kick off)
a campaign, or if it is just a “one-shot.” However, a dungeon setting is good for a beginning adventure; it
teaches basic game mechanics quickly. And an underground labyrinth
In a campaign, each adventure has does not have to be “kid stuff” – it can be part of a very realistic back-
to follow naturally from the last one, ground.
and leave room for future adventures.
It also has to take the PCs into A “dungeon” can also be a building, battleship, space station, etc. If
account. If they are famous – or noto- the adventurers are dropped into a limited area, with little or no goal
rious – certain NPCs should recognize except to grab what they can and get out alive, it’s a “dungeon.”
them. The adventurers should recog-
nize some of the NPCs, too, and possi- A dungeon is easy to map, since its area is limited. When treasure-
bly some of the locations in the adven- hunters go too far, they just run into a blank wall and have to turn
ture. Most importantly, the adventure around. The typical dungeon is a collection of rooms, connected by cor-
should not render the PCs unplayable ridors, shafts, or tunnels.
no matter what the players do . . .
because the whole point of a cam- Dungeon Inhabitants and Plot
paign is to keep playing the same
characters! The GM should populate his dungeon (or building, or whatever)
with appropriate men, beasts, and monsters. If you are just creating a
In a one-shot adventure, however, “hack-and-slash” dungeon, you don’t need to worry about what they are
you have no continuity to worry doing there, what they eat, why they attack the party, or anything else –
about. Future play balance is not an just stock the rooms and go.
issue, and neither is character sur-
vival. You can experiment with certain Likewise, the “plot” for a hack-and-slash adventure will be very sim-
death, transcendence to godhood, and ple. “Joe the Barbarian, with his friends Ed the Barbarian and Marge
other extreme outcomes without the the Barbarian, went down into a cave. They saw lots of monsters and
risk of destroying a campaign. killed them and took their treasure. A dragon ate Ed. Joe and Marge ran
away. The End.”
Background
If you want to create a situation that actually makes sense, you have
This is the setting of your story. In advanced to the level of adventure design. Congratulations. Read on . . .
what game world does it take place?
When and where? What are the events might not exist yet if the investigators the game world (or are part of a con-
leading up to your tale? Who are the come on the scene “too soon.” The tinuing campaign), you can just set
important NPCs, and what are their murders might even continue as the the scene with a few words and start
motives? In short, what is happening players investigate (that’s one sure way the action. You should not give them
behind the scenes, and what is the “big to eliminate a suspect). Likewise, the whole background. In a well-
picture?” If this adventure is part of a important NPCs may come and go, designed adventure, one of the play-
campaign, a lot of the background is with little regard for the adventurers’ ers’ objectives is to find out what’s
set. If it is a “one-shot,” the back- wishes. And there is no limit to what really going on. Don’t give away all
ground can be sketchy. But if you’re can happen “offstage.” Elections, wars, your secrets right at the beginning!
starting a campaign, give the back- and alien invasions . . . many events
ground a lot of thought. can present new challenges. The most hackneyed introduction
of all (but still one of the best) is
Plot This sort of plot is harder to write, the Old Man in the Tavern: “You are
and demands more from the GM dur- all strangers in town, looking for
The “plot” is your plan for the ing play. But it gives the players a adventure. You are sitting in the local
things that are supposed to happen sense of urgency that is missing in a tavern when an old man comes up to
during the adventure. In a simple plain, linear adventure. you . . .” The old man can ask
adventure, the GM guides the PCs for help, order the PCs out of town,
from one “encounter,” or scene, to the Introduction sell them a map, offer to guide them
next. Each encounter starts when the to fame and fortune . . . it doesn’t
heroes arrive; then it is played out, and The purpose of the introduction is matter. Whatever he does, he is a
the next one can begin. to get the players’ characters into mouthpiece through which the GM
your plot so that the game can begin. can give the players a little back-
In a more sophisticated adventure, If the players are not familiar with ground and start them off in the right
certain things happen at certain times, your game world, you should tell direction.
regardless of the PCs’ actions. If the them a little bit about it. If they know
heroes must solve a murder, for
instance, some clues might vanish if
they are not found in time – and others

GAME MASTERING 501

Some other good “mouthpiece” NPCs be ready to adapt to the characters’
characters for an introductory actions. Suppose a planned encounter
encounter: Nonplayer characters – whether involves the bouncer at the “Blue
played by the GM or the Adversary – Boar” – but the PCs don’t go near
• An officer briefing a group of sol- are vital to an adventure. The GM can there. You can drop a hint to send
diers, spies, supers, etc. to perform a even plan an entire adventure around them there, of course . . . but it might
mission. a few interesting NPCs and what hap- be easier to change your plans and let
pens when the PCs become involved the innkeeper at their rooming house
• An injured stranger who staggers with them! serve the same purpose. The more
up and gasps a few cryptic last words. flexible you are, the more you can
Design the most important NPCs avoid the appearance of manipulating
• A strange story in the news (the before you work out the encounters the players. And appearance is more
“mouthpiece” in this case is the person and other details of the adventure. important than reality!
the PCs contact to ask about it – a Their abilities, personalities, motiva-
reporter, a scientist, etc.). The GM tions, and backgrounds set the tone Improvised Encounters
might instead let the party witness the for the whole adventure, and give you
mysterious event. ideas for encounters and lesser NPCs. The GM makes these up in order to
Build important NPCs just like PCs, keep the adventure moving along
• A storyteller, herald, or town complete with full-scale character planned lines. The simplest “impro-
drunk, passing on an interesting sheets and brief character stories, so vised encounter” is the little old man
rumor. you can roleplay them well. (looking a lot like the one you met at
the tavern) who appears in your path
• A wealthy person who offers to Create less-important NPCs – and says, “Turn around! You’re going
hire the party for a dangerous mis- spear-carriers, cannon fodder, shop- the wrong way!” Such encounters can
sion. keepers, and the like – after you plan provide extra clues, hints toward the
the first encounters. You do not need “right path,” etc.
• A retired adventurer telling about complete character sheets for these
the treasure he couldn’t quite get. characters; all you need are notes on Improvised encounters are often
their important statistics. Some trivial necessary when the players do some-
• A spirit or deity visiting the faith- characters require no planning at all! thing really unusual. For example,
ful (or fairly faithful) with commands If you suddenly need to know (for suppose you have the PCs encounter a
– perhaps in a dream. instance) a skill for one of them, just traveling duke who is beset by bandits.
roll 3d and use the result. The heroes drive off the bandits and
• A villain’s henchman, delivering a save the duke, who offers to pay them
threat, ransom demand, or boast. Finally, work out a few “generic” generously to track down a family
NPCs to use, as needed, in improvised treasure. The players accept, but con-
• A friend of one of the characters or random encounters. For instance, clude that the bandits were after the
– or, for that matter, a total stranger in an adventure set in a fantasy city, treasure, too, and decide to hunt them
rescued from immediate danger – who you could prepare a few city guards, a down to find out what they know.
needs help. couple of storekeepers, a couple of Since you only intended the bandits as
thieves, and maybe a strolling min- a means to introduce the duke, you
• A lawyer reading a will, which strel or wandering drunk. If you need could say, “You can’t find the bandits.
sends the party on a quest for an them, you have them . . . and if you You must have scared them off.” Or
inheritance. don’t need them now, you’ll have them you could let the party find the bandits
for next time. Guards, like taverns, can and defeat them in a meaningless
The “mouthpiece” NPC can end the be recycled over and over again! battle. But it would be more fun to
introductory encounter by providing improvise an interesting encounter.
the maps, passwords, or whatever else Encounters
the party needs to start the adventure. If the heroes skillfully track, over-
An “encounter” is a meeting with whelm, and interrogate the bandits,
Maps NPCs, animals, a trap, or anything else you could reward them with a clue.
the GM wishes. There are three kinds Perhaps one of the bandits snatched
As described under Maps (p. 490), of encounters: planned, improvised, the duke’s heirloom cloak clasp, which
you will need a number of maps – one and random. Ideally, as you run the broke open when he tried to pry the
per area you consider “important” to game, your players should never know jewel from it – revealing a fragment of
the adventure. Prepare combat maps which kind is which! an old map!
in advance for any location where a
fight is likely. Planned Encounters Random Encounters

The experienced GM can save a lot The GM works these out in The GM might wish to generate
of time by “recycling” maps. One advance: when the adventurers come some encounters at random. One
house is a lot like another. One tavern to this place, they meet these people technique is to use a “random
is a lot like another. And so on. Of (or animals, or whatever). All the encounter table”: a list of encounters
course, if you always use the same important encounters in your adven- keyed to a roll of the dice. See Sample
one, your players will kid you about it ture should be planned. Encounter Table (p. 503) for a simple
. . . “Aha, here we are, back in the example. Some “adventures” consist
Generic Tavern!” Be aware that few encounters go
exactly as planned! You should always
Commercially produced combat
maps (from SJ Games, or any number
of other companies) can also save
time. Often an interesting map sug-
gests an appropriate encounter, help-
ing you to design your adventure!

502 GAME MASTERING

Traps

Fantasy adventures traditionally feature a variety of • How hard the trap is to notice, and what skills can
traps. The novice designer can overdo this, with a detect it; e.g., “To spot the concealed pit, roll against
crossbow behind every door and a pit in every corridor. Architecture-5, Vision-5, or Traps.”
If this doesn’t kill the whole party, it slows the game to
a crawl as they check everything in sight for traps – and • How hard the trap is to disable or set off harm-
then check again, to make sure. But a few strategically lessly; e.g., “To disable the trap door, roll against
located traps can make an adventure more interesting. Carpentry or Traps+4.”

All of the above remains true in other genres! A • What sets off the trap; e.g., “The trap door swings
criminal stronghold or millionaire’s mansion might open if anyone who weighs more than 50 lbs. walks on
hold some unpleasant surprises in store for the unwary it.”
intruder. Primitive natives encountered by explorers
might have some upsettingly sophisticated defenses. • What happens if the trap is set off; e.g., “Unless
the victim can make an Acrobatics or DX-6 roll
Some common types of traps include poison nee- to catch himself, he falls into the pit and takes 3d
dles, hidden crossbows (or guns, or lasers), hidden crushing damage.”
giant crossbows (or cannon, or homing missiles), pits
(with spikes, snakes, or both), falling weights, rolling Some GMs delight in the invention of fiendish traps
boulders, sliding walls (or descending roofs), slippery to test their players’ wits. Such “puzzle traps” require
slides, poison gas, acid sprays, land mines, and many more than a simple skill roll to disable or escape – the
more. Think of the last hundred adventure stories you players have to think their way out! A very simple exam-
read! ple might be a sliding-wall trap that will crush the
strongest adventurer to death . . . unless he opens the
Not all traps are deadly. The intent might be to crip- manhole in the floor. It’s too small for him to fit into –
ple, capture, annoy, embarrass, or just frighten the vic- but the lid is of such solid metal that, if held in place, it
tims. A burglar alarm is nothing more than a trap that blocks the closing walls!
only produces sound!
Much more complex traps are possible. Have fun.
Traps, like rooms, should appear on the map key – “Puzzle” traps can add flavor to an adventure when
or a trap in a room can be part of the room’s descrip- simple deathtraps become boring.
tion. For each trap, specify the following:

mainly of such tables, allowing play to nature remains the same. If the play- and let them give up and run for
proceed for hours with no planning at ers make “wrong” decisions along the home.
all! This is great for a quick game, but way, it takes them longer to finish, and
not in the same league with a “real” they should have a harder time deal- A more sophisticated adventure
adventure. ing with the situation – but they could have several possible finales,
should make it to the finale eventually. depending on decisions made by the
Another method is to invent a char- The exception might be a case where players during the adventure. This
acter on the spot, rolling dice for any they have blundered so badly that the sort of “branching-path” adventure is
important statistics. finale would certainly kill them all, in harder to design, but sometimes easi-
which case the merciful GM will drop er for the GM to run, as it calls for less
If you don’t let random encounters a hint that they are in over their heads, improvisation.
become a crutch, they can provide
variety and free you from planning Sample Encounter Table
every single encounter. Don’t let the
players know that you are rolling a A table of trivial roadside encounters for low-tech settings. Roll 1d
totally random encounter, however. If per hour of travel.
they realize an encounter is not “part
of the plot,” they will act differently. 1 – A group of farmers (roll 2d for number).
2 – One holy hermit.
Finale 3 – One not-so-holy beggar.
4 – One merchant with horse, wagon, and 1d/2 guards.
This is the climax of the adventure. 5 – A single horseman.
Most adventures have only one finale 6 – Nothing.
(unless the party gets killed along the
way). As the GM, you should guide the
party, as subtly as you can, toward the
“big ending” and resolution of the
adventure.

The players’ earlier actions affect
the details of the finale, but its basic

GAME MASTERING 503

FEATURES in the game world in between game DON’T PANIC. You don’t have to
OF A GOOD sessions – and especially between do all this at once. Most campaigns
ADVENTURE adventures. Important NPCs go about just “grow,” a bit at a time. One adven-
their own affairs. Wars, weather, poli- ture leads to the next, and before you
A good adventure (by the standards tics, and trade can go on in the “back- know it, you’ve been playing for a year
we use for our own publications) ground” of the campaign, giving rise and you’ve got a campaign going.
includes: to new adventures. Your players can Much of the flavor of a good campaign
be a good source of suggestions . . . comes from the players themselves.
• Many opportunities for the PCs and they will be tremendously pleased The PCs’ Dependents, Allies, Patrons,
to use noncombat skills – including if their adventures affect the “whole and Enemies become continuing
some difficult rolls, and some involv- world” in some way, whether they turn NPCs . . . old foes reappear when they
ing unusual skills (forcing the PCs to aside a catastrophic war or simply are least wanted . . . maps become
roll against defaults). find a cure for the Queen’s wart. more detailed each time you play.
Players come and go, but the cam-
• Contests between PCs and NPCs A large campaign can have dozens paign goes on. And nobody learns to
– and possibly between PCs as well. of players (not all playing at once!), run a campaign by reading the rule-
several cooperating GMs, planets book. Experience is the best teacher.
• Situations where the players have worth of mapped territory, and
to think about the right thing to do . . . hundreds of significant NPCs, from To help, we’ve included a Cam-
puzzles, moral choices, or both. kings and popes down to thieves and paign Planning Form on p. 567. Filling
beggars. this out will put you well on your way
• Situations where proper use of to adventure!
social skills, like Fast-Talk or
Diplomacy, will avoid combat. Shared Campaigns and
Travel Between Campaigns
• Situations where no possible use
of social skills will avoid combat! Two or more GMs may agree to let PCs travel between their cam-
paigns. In general, this simply means that one GM will replace another
• Interesting descriptions of peo- at a preordained time or place. The old GM may remove himself entire-
ple, places, and things, to give the play- ly, or introduce a character of his own and remain as a player.
ers the feeling that they are really there
with their characters. The more similar the GMs’ campaigns, the more closely they can
be connected. If they operate in the same game world, and if the GMs
• A clear introduction, a plotline interpret the rules in the same way and have the same “play style,”
that builds tension or mystery, and a then the border between their jurisdictions might be as trivial as a
clear conclusion. river-line or even a city boundary. This is sometimes known as a
“shared” campaign.
• Opportunity for roleplaying and
character development. This should One good system for GM cooperation involves (for instance) cities.
be present in even the most lightheart- A single “chief GM” is in charge of overall maintenance and develop-
ed hack-and-slash adventure! Fighters ment of the game world. A number of the campaign’s players also have
are interesting people, too – at least, GM responsibilities of their own. Each such player designs and controls
they should be. one city. The player controlling that city referees all adventures within
its confines. Needless to say, that player’s characters should take little
• A reward for characters who part in the action there, even as NPCs. Even the best GM might become
complete the adventure successfully, somewhat emotionally involved with the PCs he has developed over a
and a consequence for characters who period of months! The chief GM runs adventures outside the players’
fail! cities. Thus, several players can have the fun of GMing an occasional
adventure, while doing no more support work and world-building than
ORGANIZING A they care to.
CONTINUING
CAMPAIGN The same system works in a space campaign, except that each play-
er controls a whole solar system. In a setting with parallel worlds – like
Even more complex (and more the Infinite Worlds campaign in Chapter 20 – each player might control
interesting) than a full-scale adventure an entire universe!
is a series of adventures involving the
same characters. This is called a cam- For this kind of campaign to work, the GMs must consult regularly.
paign. If a single adventure is the Minor “cultural” differences between cities or planets are acceptable –
equivalent of a novel, a campaign is an in fact, they’re fun. But the GMs should agree among themselves about
epic trilogy – the kind that is still going the overall nature and goals of the campaign, if PCs are allowed to
after seven books! move freely back and forth. If two or more GMs wish to “share” play-
ers and characters while maintaining significant differences between
A campaign consists of one adven- their worlds, they need a different procedure.
ture after another – or possibly several
overlapping adventures at once. Each
adventure may take many sessions to
resolve. The GM decides what goes on

504 GAME MASTERING

CHAPTER NINETEEN

GAME WORLDS

A “game world” is a complete background setting 505
for a game. It might be an original creation, or it might
be based on history, current affairs, or a work of fiction
(novel, movie, comic, TV series, etc.).

It takes many hours of research to “design” an accurate
historical game world. Worlds based on fiction require
research, too – to ensure that every detail conforms to the
source, and to extrapolate logically where the original story
gave no information. Creating an original world, and making
it believable and interesting, is the biggest challenge of all.

Some things to consider when designing a game world:

• Geography. Map the world, indicating such features as
oceans, major rivers, and mountain ranges. For an alien world,
you also have to determine gravity, atmosphere, water coverage,
climate, etc.

• Inhabitants. Create racial templates for the major sapient
races (see Racial Templates, p. 450), and generate game statistics for
common or interesting animals and monsters (see Chapter 16).

• Civilizations. Describe the major cultures, specifying customs,
languages, laws, religions, etc. Mark major political boundaries on
the world map. Make notes on economic considerations that will
matter to the PCs: jobs, systems of currency, prices, etc.

• Technology. Decide what is possible in the realms of communi-
cations, medicine, transportation, weapons, and so forth. Don’t forget
to create price lists for PCs who want to go shopping for equipment!

• Character abilities. List any advantages, disadvantages, or skills that
are unusually common, that work differently, or that do not exist at all. If a trait
works differently, or is unique to the setting, describe it. Create character templates
for common professions (see Character Templates, p. 445).

This chapter touches on some of these points, and provides advice to the GM who
wishes to design his own world.

CULTURES
AND LANGUAGES

You do not need to specify every culture and language in the game world, but you should
list all the important ones. Adventurers operating outside their native culture and language
have skill penalties – see Culture (p. 23) and Language (p. 23) for details.

CULTURES

Cultures are extremely broad in GURPS, and usually encompass multiple
nationalities (or planets, in futuristic settings). Populations and locations that
share cultures change with time. For instance, “American” and “Italian” are
distinct nationalities, but both are part of the “Western” culture – at least in the
modern world. In 200 A.D., the “Anasazi” and “Roman” cultures would be quite
distinct.

GAME WORLDS

LANGUAGES groups. They are rarely isolated, how- one or two levels below that, and can
ever. If two languages are close, those improve their comprehension from
Languages can be considerably who know one at a given comprehen- that level. Worldbuilders should note
narrower; a few might even be exclu- sion level can understand the other at such connections ahead of time.
sive to particular cities or social

LAWS AND CUSTOMS

Each game world has its own laws • Violating someone’s rights might CR3 – Moderate. There are many laws,
and customs. Furthermore, laws and lead to a “civil” trial and a fine – or just but most benefit the individual.
customs vary from place to place an informal beating. Taxes are moderate and fair. Access
(and time to time) within each world. to items of LC0 through LC2 is
In some worlds, it is possible to • Violating a custom gives you a controlled.
research these things in advance (the reaction penalty – possibly a big one –
Law skill helps here). In other worlds, whenever you try to deal with a local. CR4 – Controlled. Many laws exist;
you must learn them the hard way The offended locals might not even tell most are for the convenience of
(Law helps here, too, if you specifi- you what you are doing wrong! the state. Broadcast communica-
cally investigate; Streetwise can find tions are regulated; private broad-
out “informally”). CONTROL RATING casts (like CB) and printing may
be restricted. Taxation is often
As a rule, the use of force or the “Control Rating” (CR) is a general heavy and sometimes unfair.
threat of force is illegal or improper measure of the control exercised by a Access to items of LC0 through
wherever you go. The stronger the government. The lower the CR, the LC3 is controlled.
local government (see Control Rating, less restrictive the government and the
below), the more true this is; govern- freer the people. Government type CR5 – Repressive. There are many
ment usually considers the use of (see Society and Government Types, laws and regulations, strictly
force to be its own right and monop- p. 509) does not absolutely determine enforced. Taxation is heavy and
oly. Self-defense is sometimes an CR – it is possible to have a very free often unfair. There is strict regula-
exception – but not always! monarchy, or a democracy where the tion of information technology:
voters have saddled themselves with computers, photocopiers, printing
Note that public display of noncus- thousands of strict rules. presses, transmitters, etc. All goods
tomary weapons is a “threat of force,” are effectively controlled; you can’t
and leads to bad reactions even if it’s Assign CR according to the follow- buy anything without the appropri-
technically legal. If you walk down a ing guidelines: ate ration coupons or paperwork.
medieval village street in heavy armor,
axes and polearms at the ready, the vil- CR0 – Anarchy. There are no laws, CR6 – Total control. Laws are numer-
lagers will be very suspicious of your taxes, or controls. ous and complex. The individual
motives. exists to serve the state. Many
CR1 – Very free. Nothing is illegal save offenses carry the death penalty,
In general: use of force or intimidation against and trials – if there are any at all –
other citizens. Taxes are light or are a mockery. Taxation is crush-
• Violating a law usually leads to voluntary. Only access to LC0 items ing, taking most of an ordinary cit-
some sort of trial (see Trials, p. 507) is controlled (see Legality, p. 507). izen’s income. Censorship is com-
and possible punishment (see mon, and private ownership of any
Criminal Punishment, p. 508). CR2 – Free. Some laws exist; most information technology is forbid-
benefit the individual. Taxes are den. All goods are controlled, and
light. Access to items of LC0 and the government might even with-
LC1 is controlled. hold basic necessities.

Travel Etiquette If a question of legality arises, or if
you need to determine how severely
The wise traveler avoids attracting too much attention. Travelers the government checks and harasses
always stand out if they display technology more advanced than that newcomers, roll 1d. If the result is
with which the local citizens are familiar (see Tech Levels, p. 511). They lower than the CR, then the act is ille-
also attract unwelcome attention if they violate local laws or customs. gal, or the authorities harass, delay,
In general, any boisterous behavior or breach of peace should have or even arrest the PCs (see Law
“interesting” consequences. Enforcement and Jail, p. 507). If it is
higher, either the act is legal or the
Travelers should also remember that politeness to local dignitaries is authorities overlook it. If it equals the
always wise, and strangers met by chance might be more than they CR, the situation could go either way:
appear . . . play out an encounter or make a
reaction roll.

506 GAME WORLDS

The GM should skip this die roll in Control Rating and On a critical failure, the officer bun-
any situation where there is only one Legality Class gled the arrest so badly that the
logical outcome. For instance, regard- authorities release the prisoner with-
less of CR, it is almost always unac- Legality Class interacts with out a trial. On a failure, the officer
ceptable for airline and starship pas- Control Rating as follows: made a procedural error that the
sengers to carry weapons. prisoner might be able to exploit. He
LC = CR + 1 or more: Any citizen or his lawyer gets a Law (Criminal)
Split Control Rating may carry the item. or Law (Police) roll to spot it; on a
success, he identifies the error and
A society does not have to have a LC = CR: Anyone but a convicted the charges are dropped. This roll
single, uniform CR. If the GM wishes criminal or the equivalent may carry cannot be against default Law skill!
– and doesn’t mind the extra work – he the item. Registration may be
can specify several CRs for a society: required, but there is no permit fee.
one for basic human rights, another
for taxation, a third for weapons, and If you break the law, it will be the duty of some
so on. In worlds with magic, psionic local official to do something about it.
powers, or super abilities, societies
may have separate CRs for these LC = CR - 1: A license is required to Jail
things as well. own or carry the item. To get a license,
one must show a legitimate need or “Jail” is where the accused is held
LEGALITY work for the government. Generally, a pending trial. In theory, this is not the
license costs 1d ¥ 10% of the price of same thing as “prison,” which is
Each item of equipment has a the item itself. where convicted criminals serve sen-
“Legality Class,” as defined under tences. In reality, the two are often one
Legality Class (p. 267). Some modern- LC = CR - 2: Prohibited except to and the same.
day examples include: police SWAT teams, military units,
and intelligence services. Jails range from “honor systems”
LC0 – Banned. Weapons of mass to dungeons with chains. Many game
destruction; strategic missiles; LC = CR - 3 or worse: Only permit- worlds have widely varying types of
orbital weapons platforms; inter- ted to the military or secret police. jail, depending on the crime, the
continental bombers. accuser, the Status of the prisoner, and
LAW any timely bribes.
LC1 – Military. Heavy weapons; air- ENFORCEMENT
defense radar; sensor jammers; AND JAIL Jail time between arrest and trial is
armed vehicles; land mines. highly variable. It depends on local
If you break the law, it will be the laws, whether a judge is available, and
LC2 – Restricted. Light assault duty of some local official to do some- – if there is a judge – how busy his
weapons; silencers; surveillance thing about it. This can range from a court is. In general, the higher the CR,
technology (wiretaps, etc.); polite request that you clean up your the longer the possible wait.
armored cars; burglar’s tools (e.g., act, through arrest and jail pending a
lockpicks); explosives; dangerous trial, to judgment and execution on Bail
drugs. the spot.
The authorities might be willing to
LC3 – Licensed. Handguns; hunting Arrest release a jailed prisoner on “bail”: a
guns; radio transmitters; most sum of money that serves as a pledge
unarmed vehicles; ordinary drugs In some places, police are also that he will return for the trial. The
and medical equipment. judge, jury, and executioner, empow- amount required depends on the
ered to make an instant decision and severity of the charges, the prisoner’s
LC4 – Open. Nonlethal weapons (e.g., act on it. This has to do with local val- Reputation and legal record, and the
stunners); home computers; radio ues, not CR! The only lawman in a judge’s reaction to the prisoner. If the
and television receivers; cameras; CR1 frontier town and a secret police- prisoner flees (“jumps bail”), he will
most tools; first-aid kits. man in a CR6 dystopia are equally face additional charges.
likely to execute lawbreakers – but for
Spell Legality very different crimes. TRIALS

In a society where magic is com- In societies that respect human A trial might be totally fair
mon, each spell might have a Legality rights – and in some legalistic soci- and honest . . . or entirely for show,
Class as well. Damage-dealing spells eties that stand on procedure – the with a predetermined outcome. It
would be on par with light conceal- GM will secretly roll against the Law might be rigorously formal, or noisy
able weapons (LC3), while most other (Police) skill of the arresting officer. and informal.
spells would be LC4. There are many
possible variations: societies that
place a high value on privacy would
put Knowledge spells in a lower LC;
otherwise-tolerant societies might
take exception to Necromantic spells;
and all “witchcraft” might be LC1 (or
0!) in a puritanical society.

GAME WORLDS 507

Trial by Ordeal In some trials, an Influence roll go to the side that won the Quick
against the appropriate Law specialty, Contest. If that was a tie, the result is
This is a trial in which Fate is sup- by the accused or his lawyer, can an acquittal.
posed to decide guilt or innocence. replace this reaction roll; see Influence
Rolls (p. 359). In other trials, the In the case of a conviction, pun-
Example: Anyone accused of witch- accused might not be allowed to have ishment is left to the GM, playing the
craft is thrown into a pond. Anyone a lawyer, or even speak! part of the judge. See Criminal
who floats is a witch, and is taken out Punishment (below) for ideas. If a PC
and burned. Those who sink must If two parties ask a judge to settle a behaves in a way that truly deserves
have been innocent. dispute, make a reaction roll for both. punishment, the GM should not feel
The judge will find in favor of the obliged to get him out of it, even if
For a trial by ordeal, the GM party that gets the best reaction. the penalty is serious.
should determine the success rolls
needed to survive. (The above exam- Somebody’s going to emergency,
ple would be hard to survive!) More Somebody’s going to jail.
examples: walk a beam across a
canyon (roll DX-4 every 10 feet; those – Don Henley, “New York Minute”
with Perfect Balance don’t need to
roll); hold a hot piece of iron (roll ST- Modifiers: +1 to +3 for evidence or CRIMINAL
3 and Will-3, at +3 for High Pain testimony that favors the accused, or PUNISHMENT
Threshold); find your way out of a -1 to -3 for evidence or testimony
maze (roll IQ; Absolute Direction against him, if the judge is inclined to The severity of the punishment for
gives +3). listen; reaction modifiers for the a crime will depend on the crime, the
Reputation, Social Regard, Social victim, the accused, and the judge’s
Trial by Combat Stigma, and Status of the accused; reaction. Punishments are generally
other reaction modifiers that the GM more severe in high-CR societies.
Trial by combat is like trial by feels apply with this judge. Punishments might include:
ordeal, in that Fate is supposed to
judge guilt or innocence. As a rule, Adversarial Trials • Fines or restitution.
though, trial by combat provides the • Public humiliation; e.g., the
punishment as well: the guilty party In still other societies, trials are a stocks (treat as a bad Reputation with
dies. A trial by combat might be fair Quick Contest of Law (Criminal) skill those who witnessed the punishment).
(evenly matched champions), loaded between the prosecution and defense, • Prison sentences, sometimes at
(uneven champions), or totally unfair in the presence of a judge and possibly hard labor.
(throw the prisoner into a pit with a a jury. If the accused chooses to • Beating, stoning, flogging, etc.
monster). defend himself, he is at -1 to -3 due to • Branding (treat as a Social
his emotional involvement. (The say- Stigma).
Bribery ing “The lawyer who defends himself • Maiming – temporary or
has a fool for a client” is often true!) permanent.
If the judge presiding • Deprivation of rights; e.g., loss of
over your trial is corrupt, Record the results of the Quick citizenship, loss of the right to carry
bribery might buy you a Contest, and then make a reaction roll weapons, or reduction in formal
reaction bonus – or even an for the judge or jury (as appropriate). Status.
automatic victory. But if the • Exile, temporary or permanent.
judge is honest, attempted Modifiers: A bonus equal to the • Slavery, either to the government
bribery will cast doubt on defense’s margin of victory, or a penal- or to the victim of the crime.
your innocence, giving a ty equal to the prosecution’s margin of • Imposition of a specific task or
reaction penalty and possi- victory, depending on the victor; +2 or quest, possibly by a magical geas.
bly bringing further more if the player roleplayed a com- • Imposition of a psionic or magi-
charges. pelling defense; +1 to +3 if the evi- cal bond or geas to make repeat
dence supports the defendant, or -1 to offenses impossible.
Trial by Judge -3 if it supports the prosecution; +1 or • Combat in the arena (the worse
more for a plausible alibi; -1 or more the punishment, the worse the foe).
In some societies, a noble, elder, for bad publicity; -2 if the defendant • Torture.
magistrate, etc. unilaterally decides jumped bail (see Bail, p. 507); -3 if an • Execution (not too useful in game
guilt or innocence. The GM deter- eyewitness placed the defendant at the terms, except as a threat to force the
mines the judge’s reaction toward the crime scene; any bonus or penalty for party to take immediate action to
accused by making a reaction roll, and the defendant’s Reputation. rescue the prisoner).
bases the judge’s decision entirely the
result. The reaction is the verdict: a reac-
tion worse than Neutral means
“guilty”; a reaction better than Neutral
means “not guilty.” Neutral reactions

508 GAME WORLDS

SOCIETY AND
GOVERNMENT TYPES

Mankind has lived under dozens of Representative become clanless (a Social Stigma),
different societies. Futuristic, fantasy, Democracy unless there is a system for adoption
and alien settings might offer dozens into a new clan. Clans usually form a
more – some of them very different. A Elected representatives form a con- social hierarchy; e.g., administrators
few possibilities appear below, in gress or parliament. If the citizens are outrank warriors, who outrank street
order of increasing Control Rating vigilant and informed, this is a benev- sweepers, and so on. Individuals are
(see Control Rating, p. 506). The GM olent government. If the citizens are expected to associate only with those
should choose a society type for each badly educated, government policies of equivalent status. There may also
major society in the game world. are bad but popular (bread and cir- be rivalries among clans of the same
cuses!). If the citizens are apathetic, type (different warrior families, for
Anarchy factions or special-interest groups instance). CR3 to 6.
may dominate government. In all
There are no laws. The social con- cases, conspiracies may operate to Dictatorship
science (or strength and weaponry!) of control the society. CR2 to 4.
the population maintains order. All government is vested in a single
“Anarchy” could mean a lawless mob Clan/Tribal ruler – king, dictator, etc. (If the ruler
. . . or a society of clear-eyed, strong- is a king, this is a monarchy.)
backed pioneers. CR0, but if your The society is one large, interlock- Succession might be by inheritance,
well-armed neighbors unanimously ing family made up of allied clans or election, single combat, or any num-
disapprove of what you’re doing, it is tribes and ruled by the clan elders. ber of other means. This sort of gov-
effectively illegal! Customs and tradition are very impor- ernment can act faster, for good or for
tant. Younger clan members might evil, than most representative govern-
Athenian Democracy feel forced to conform, or become ments. Dictatorships (and other totali-
rebellious to protest their lack of influ- tarian states), if they endure long
Every citizen (the definition of ence; seniors may channel this energy enough, sometimes develop a “bal-
“citizen” can vary) votes on every by encouraging sports, recreational ance wheel” in the form of custom.
action the society takes. Below TL9, combat, or adventuring. CR3 to 5. Though the ruler’s will is law, there are
this is only practical for groups unwritten laws that even he may not
under 10,000. At TL9+, information Caste violate with impunity. CR3 to 6.
networks allow large populations
to discuss and vote electronically. As for Clan/Tribal, but each clan Technocracy
CR2 to 4. has a set role or profession. Those who
don’t follow their clan profession Engineers and scientists rule in the
name of efficiency. Everything is care-
The Big Picture fully planned; of course, plans can go
wrong. The better the technocrats are
The GM should also decide how the major societies in the game at running things, the less oppressive
world interact with one another. Possible political situations include: they are; if they’re incompetent, they
are also dictatorial. CR3 to 6.
World Government: One government rules the entire world (which
might be a continent in a low-tech setting, an entire galaxy in a very Theocracy
high-tech one). Regional differences, if any, are strictly cultural or lin-
guistic. This is rule by a religious group or
leader. Freedom of religion is unlikely,
Coalition: A few powerful allies dominate the world. They squabble and there is no distinction between
on occasion, but they usually present a united front. The individual religious and civil law. The leaders
societies are still quite distinct, and might have radically different gov- may or may not believe in their own
ernment types. religion; “miracles” might be faked or
genuine. Theocracies range from
Factionalized: A small number of rival “blocs” or superpowers dom- benign utopias to totalitarian religious
inate the world. Each bloc has enough economic and military might to dictatorships. CR3 to 6.
rule the world, but the other blocs would sooner unite in opposition
than let that happen. As a result, alliances shift regularly. Ties within Corporate State
blocs are more permanent.
Corporate officers rule the society.
Diffuse: There are dozens, if not hundreds, of clans, nations, and Most citizens are employees of the
groups. No one can make any claim to world domination. corporation. Society runs smoothly –
it has to, or it can’t be profitable! CR4
to 6.

GAME WORLDS 509

Feudal Restrictions

Similar to monarchy (see Powerful or advanced societies might attach “restricted” status to
Dictatorship, above), but subsidiary uninhabited regions – or even to weaker or more primitive societies.
lords retain local power; therefore, the Examples include:
ruler must be careful to maintain the
lords’ support, or be overthrown. Embargoed: A stronger society might prohibit all trade with a weak-
Since each lord rules his own territory, er one. They usually enforce this through military means, and search
laws and personal freedoms will vary visitors carefully to prevent smuggling.
from dominion to dominion. CR4 to 6
(at least for the commoners). Hazardous: The region harbors something dangerous: cannibals,
vicious wildlife, magical storms, etc. Buoys, signs, flags, etc. warn trav-
VARIATIONS elers of the risk. The authorities don’t move to prevent entry into the
region . . . but they don’t rescue travelers who get into trouble, either!
One or more of these special situa-
tions may apply to most of the society Prohibited: The region is completely off limits without special per-
types listed above: mission. This might be because the region is hazardous or quarantined
– or because it contains some kind of secret (often military). The
Bureaucracy: A self-perpetuating authorities might forcibly remove trespassers, prevent them from leav-
“civil service” runs the society from ing, or simply destroy them on sight.
day to day. Because these bureaucrats
are not elected, they are largely insu- Protected: The authorities limit contact in order to protect native
lated from public pressure. culture, wildlife, etc. Visitors might have to undergo medical quaran-
Government seems to run very tine before entering the region, or be prohibited from carrying certain
smoothly – if there are difficulties, you equipment. They might even have to disguise themselves as natives!
aren’t told about them. But there are
high taxes, many laws, and lots of red Reserved: The region is off limits for colonization or development.
tape. The government is unresponsive
to citizens. There may not be a free Matriarchy. Positions of authority Socialist: The government directly
press. CR4+. are open only to females. Any CR is manages the economy. Citizens get
possible. free or subsidized education, medical
Colony: A dependent region ruled care, housing, etc., and the govern-
by the mother society, usually through Meritocracy: No one may enter the ment tries to give everyone a job. The
a governor. The colonists may have an government without passing a series resulting expenses can stifle an econo-
elected council (through which they of tests. A good meritocracy is likely to my at low TLs. Most wealthy, high-
influence the governor), an elected have competent leaders . . . but this tech states have elements of “mild
representative to the mother govern- can lead to a rigid caste system. CR3+. socialism,” such as heavily subsidized
ment (with nonvoting power), or both health care and “safety-net” welfare
– but they have no direct say in their Military Government: The military benefits for the poor. Like any govern-
own government. Colonies have less runs the state. A society led by a single ment expenditure, these benefits
government than the mother society; commander-in-chief is likely to be a might raise local taxes. CR3+.
reduce CR by 1 or more. Rebels and dictatorship; one where the com-
outcasts may be welcome if they have mander must answer to a council (or Subjugated: This society is under
useful skills. junta) of officers is likely to be feudal. outside control – whether military (an
Military governments can be strong occupying army), economic (a “pup-
LIBERTY, n.: One of and honest, but most are totalitarian. pet government,” subservient to for-
Imagination’s most CR4+. eign masters), or something else (e.g.,
precious possessions. magical mind control). CR4+.
Oligarchy: Regardless of the nomi-
– Ambrose Bierce, nal form of government, leadership is Utopia: A utopia is a perfect society
The Devil’s in the hands of a small, self-perpetuat- in which all citizens are satisfied. CR
Dictionary ing clique. CR3+. always seems low . . . but is it? Real
utopias are rare. Seeming utopias
Cybercracy: A statewide computer Patriarchy: Positions of authority often have some dark secret – for
system controls administration – and are open only to males. Any CR is instance, a hidden technocracy ruling
perhaps actual legislation! This is possible. by mind control. A sinister utopia is a
impossible before TL8, and highly real GMing challenge. A genuine
unlikely before TL9. Government Sanctuary: A sanctuary refuses to utopia is an excellent “good guy” soci-
might be efficient, inhuman, or both. extradite the “criminals,” “refugees,” ety for the heroes to save from con-
The system is only as good as its pro- or “terrorists” hunted by other soci- quest or other threats (but real
grammers and technicians. Trust the eties. This might be informal, or there utopias, unless threatened by destruc-
Computer . . . CR3+. might be a tribunal to decide each tion, are boring).
petitioner’s fate. Lawmen or bounty
hunters from elsewhere are outlaws
here. CR is rarely over 4.

510 GAME WORLDS

TECH LEVELS

“Tech level” (TL) is a general rating advanced. If a WWII soldier (TL6) gets Advanced Societies
of a society’s highest achievement in dropped back into the days of King
technology (or a certain type of tech- Arthur (TL3) . . . things get interesting. Likewise, the TL of a particular
nology). Tech levels run from zero on Of course, time travel isn’t necessary – society might be higher than that of
up. Each TL describes a set of tech- even today, you can drop back three or the rest of the game world. If the GM
nologies that become available after a four TLs if you visit the right part of chooses to introduce such advanced
certain point in time. The standard the world. societies, he should ensure that PCs
TLs, and associated eras on Earth, are: who wish to use their advanced tech-
A party always attracts attention if nology pay the points and cash to
TL0 – Stone Age (Prehistory and it displays technology from a higher acquire it honestly. PCs from such
later). Counting; oral tradition. TL than that of the locals. This atten- societies must have the High TL
tion might take the form of worship, advantage (see p. 23).
TL1 – Bronze Age (3500 B.C.+). awe, curiosity, envy, fear, or hatred –
Arithmetic; writing. the greater the disparity in TL, the Split Tech Level
stronger the reaction.
TL2 – Iron Age (1200 B.C.+). Realistic societies rarely have the
Geometry; scrolls. The GM should set a “baseline TL,” same TL in every field of endeavor;
which describes most societies in the they tend to be advanced in some
TL3 – Medieval (600 A.D.+). Algebra; game world, most of the time. fields, backward in others. GMs who
books. However, exceptions may exist. desire extra detail can rate each soci-
ety for its TL in a few key areas. It is
TL4 – Age of Sail (1450+). Calculus; Backward Societies most efficient to list only those TLs
movable type. that differ from the baseline; e.g.,
A society might have a lower TL “TL8 (Communications TL7, Medical
TL5 – Industrial Revolution (1730+). across the board. This could be TL9).”
Mechanical calculators; telegraph. because it is impoverished, isolated
(either geographically or economical- PCs have a personal TL equal to
TL6 – Mechanized Age (1880+). ly), resistant to change (such as 17th- their society’s baseline TL, but the TL
Electrical calculators; telephone century China), or regressed (possibly of their technological skills matches
and radio. in the wake of war or natural disaster). that of their society in the relevant
PCs from such societies will have the area.
TL7 – Nuclear Age (1940+). Low TL disadvantage (see p. 22).
Mainframe computers; television.
Variations Within
TL8 – Digital Age (1980+). Personal a Tech Level
computers; global networks.
The equipment listed for a TL does not appear all at once as soon
TL9 – Microtech Age (2025+?). as a society enters that TL. Instead, items appear gradually after that
Artificial intelligence; real-time date.
virtuality.
Shortly after a TL begins, devices from the previous TL will be com-
TL10 – Robotic Age (2070+?). mon – along with experts in skills associated with those items. A play-
Nanotechnology or other advances er could easily justify a PC with a personal TL one step below that of
start to blur distinctions between his society, or with one or two skills that are several TLs out of date.
technologies . . .
As the TL wears on, devices from the next TL start to appear. If PCs
TL11 – Age of Exotic Matter. wish to obtain such equipment, they must either invent it or buy a pro-
TL12 – Whatever the GM likes! totype – see New Inventions (p. 473). Access to prototypes is not suffi-
cient to justify a PC with a personal TL above that of his society!
Note that TLs have start dates but
not end dates. The innovations of a At the GM’s option, adventurers may have a skill penalty of -1 or
given TL fade as those of higher TLs more when dealing with technology of their own TL that is more or less
displace them, but they rarely vanish advanced than what they are used to. Treat this as an unfamiliarity
completely. A blacksmith in 1850s penalty; see Familiarity (p. 169).
England uses TL3 techniques to shoe
the horses that pull the carriage the Finally, the GM should be aware that not every item of a given TL
gentleman rides to catch his TL5 train must appear in every society that attains that TL. The GM always has
to London – and those techniques the final say as to which items are currently available – both to the PCs
might still exist in TL8, albeit as a and in the game world in general.
quaint hobby. The GM should decide
which “dated” technologies remain in
use in his game world, and which
items from earlier TLs are still com-
monly available for purchase.

Differences in tech level become
very important when adventurers
travel between societies. Technology is
likely to seem like magic to anyone
more than three or four TLs less

GAME WORLDS 511

Tech Level by Field

It is often important to know what a given TL TL10 – Compact laser and heavy particle-beam
implies for a particular area of knowledge – for weapons; Gauss guns; nanotech armor; nano-
instance, when using the Building Up Local Technology viruses; antimatter bombs.
and Split Tech Level rules. The tables below outline the
effects of TL on four sample fields. Many other such TL11 – Compact particle-beam weapons; disassem-
fields exist: architecture, communications, materials, blers (“gray goo”); defensive nanites.
etc.
TL12 – Gamma-ray lasers; “living metal” armor; black-
hole bombs.

Transportation Superscience! Monomolecular blades; force-field
technology; gravitic weapons; nuclear dampers; disin-
TL0 – Skis; dogsleds; dugout canoes. tegrators.
TL1 – Bare horseback; the wheel (and chariots); ship-
Power
building; sails.
TL2 – Saddle; roads; triremes. TL0 – Human muscle power; dogs.
TL3 – Stirrups; oceangoing sailing ships (longships, TL1 – Donkeys; oxen; ponies.
TL2 – Horses; water wheels.
roundships, etc.). TL3 – Heavy horses and horse-collars; windmills.
TL4 – Stagecoach; three-masted sailing ships; precise TL4 – Improved windmills; belt drives; clockwork.
TL5 – Steam engines; direct current; batteries.
navigation. TL6 – Steam turbines; internal combustion; alternat-
TL5 – Steam locomotives; steamboats; early sub-
ing current; hydroelectricity.
mersibles; balloons and early airships. TL7 – Gas turbines; fission; solar power.
TL6 – Automobiles; continental railways; ocean liners; TL8 – Fuel cells; advanced batteries.
TL9 – Micro fuel cells; deuterium-hydrogen fusion;
submarines; aircraft.
TL7 – Nuclear submarines; jet aircraft; helicopters; high-temperature superconductors.
TL10 – Helium-3 fusion; antimatter.
manned space flight. TL11 – Portable fusion power.
TL8 – Satellite navigation; SSTO (“single stage to TL12 – Portable antimatter power.

orbit”) spacecraft. Superscience! Broadcast power; cold fusion; zero-
TL9 – Robot cars; space elevators; manned interplane- point energy; total conversion; cosmic power.

tary space flight.
TL10 – Fast interplanetary space flight.
TL11 – Manned interstellar space flight.
TL12 – Fast interstellar space flight.

Superscience! Reactionless thrust; contragravity; Biotechnology/Medicine
faster-than light (FTL) travel; matter transmission;
parachronic technology; time machines. TL0 – First aid; herbal remedies; primitive agriculture.
TL1 – Surgery; animal husbandry; fermentation.
Weapons and Armor TL2 – Bleeding the sick; chemical remedies.
TL3 – Crude prosthetics; anatomical science.
TL0 – Wooden and stone weapons; primitive shields; TL4 – Optical microscope makes cells visible.
hides for armor. TL5 – Germ theory of disease; safe anesthetics; vac-

TL1 – Bronze weapons and armor. cines.
TL2 – Iron weapons; iron armor (including mail); siege TL6 – Antibiotics; blood typing and safe transfusions;

engines. heredity; biochemistry.
TL3 – Steel weapons; early firearms; plate armor; TL7 – Discovery of DNA; organ transplants; pace-

castles. maker.
TL4 – Muskets and pikes; horse artillery; naval broad- TL8 – Genetically modified organisms; gene therapy;

sides. cloning.
TL5 – Early repeating small arms; rifled cannon; iron- TL9 – Human genetic engineering; tissue engineering;

clads. artificial wombs; cybernetic implants.
TL6 – Smokeless powder; automatic weapons; tanks; TL10 – Brain transplants; uploading; bioroids; uplifted

combat aircraft. animals.
TL7 – Ballistic body armor; guided munitions; combat TL11 – Living machines; cellular rejuvenation.
TL12 – Full metamorphosis; regeneration.
jets; nuclear weapons.
TL8 – Smartguns; blinding lasers; unmanned combat Superscience! Fast-growth clone tanks; psi drugs;
regeneration ray.
vehicles.
TL9 – Electrolasers; heavy laser weapons; battlesuits;

combat robots; designer viruses.

512 GAME WORLDS

Borrowed Technology the Riverworld series, A Connecticut biotechnology might be two to four
Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, etc. TLs more advanced. In contrast, a
A society can be familiar with tech- “retro-tech” setting that mimics 1940s
nology that it does not itself possess. General guideline: a “science” is sci-fi might have computers frozen at
This is frequently the case for low-tech one of the categories of knowledge TL6 but many other technologies at
societies with high-tech neighbors, listed under Tech Level by Field (p. anywhere from TL9 to TL12. Any
and for colonies. A village with Iron 512). It takes two years of work to combination is possible!
Age technology (TL2) might be quite move each science from one TL to the
familiar with the TL3 steel weapons next, assuming that: Divergent Tech Levels
carried by travelers, and richer vil-
lagers might have a few, but local (a) you have an ample supply of In other cases, a society has a sin-
smiths could not duplicate or repair labor; gle, consistent TL – but it got there
them. Express this as “TL2/3.” PCs along an unusual path. The GM can
from such societies have a personal (b) you have an ample supply of designate this “divergent TL” with the
TL equal to the lower TL, but may raw materials; notation “TL(x+y),” where x is the TL
learn the skills needed to use (but not at which the technology diverged, y is
repair or design) equipment of the (c) you are fully familiar with the the number of TLs since the diver-
higher TL. lower TL (all relevant skills at 12+); gence, and the sum x+y is the effective
and TL for most purposes.
BUILDING UP
LOCAL (d) you know where you’re going, Example: TL(5+1) is effectively TL6
TECHNOLOGY and are fully familiar with the higher – but a different TL6 that split off at
TL (all relevant skills at 12+). TL5. TL(5+1) devices produce similar
There may be times when you need results to TL6 ones, but look little like
to improve the local TL. A group of This rule is specifically for high-TL those devices and rely on different
castaways might have high-tech characters re-inventing or introducing operating principles. A TL(5+1)
knowledge, but little or no equipment technology to a low-tech society or sit- “steampunk” world based on
to work with. In that case, they need to uation. It does not cover inventions – Victorian visions of the future might
“build the tools to build the tools” to for that, see New Inventions (p. 473). have steam cars, steam dirigibles, and
use their technological knowledge. In high-speed telegraph lines instead of
extreme cases, your castaways might DIFFERENT the automobiles, airplanes, and tele-
have to go all the way back to primi- TECHNOLOGIES phones of TL6.
tive mining to get the ore to refine to
metal to build the tools to build the Some technologies (and some soci- Divergent TLs are not unique.
tools . . . ! Or a single traveler might eties) do not fit nicely onto the stan- There could be any number of ver-
want to impart his high-tech knowl- dard tech-level charts. GMs who run sions of (for instance) TL(5+1), each
edge to the people he is visiting. (We into this problem might wish to use different in its own way. The GM
assume that he has the cooperation of one of the optional rules below. should specify what caused the split
his hosts, or he doesn’t have a chance.) in each case, be it different thinking,
Technology Paths different prevailing physics, or some-
Any such situation is largely at the thing else.
GM’s discretion. But it can be done. Certain categories of inventions
Some of the best adventure stories of might appear in an order other than Characters used to a “normal” or
all time have revolved around one of that suggested by the default TLs. In “differently diverging” TL suffer an
these premises: Swiss Family particular, there is no guarantee that additional -2 penalty for unfamiliarity,
Robinson, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, TL9+ technologies will appear in the over and above any penalties for TL
order GURPS predicts. Apply the Split differences, when dealing with diver-
Tech Level rule (p. 511) as liberally as gent technology.
you wish to simulate your favorite
genre! For instance, in a “cyberpunk” Superscience
society, computing, bionics, and
“Superscience” technologies vio-
Improving Skills in Alternate Tech Levels late physical laws – relativity, conser-
vation of energy, etc. – as we currently
An adventurer who wishes to learn a technological skill can save understand them. Examples of super-
points if he already knows that skill at another tech level. Treat the skill science technologies appear under
at the new TL as a different skill that defaults to the known skill at the Tech Level by Field (p. 512), and sever-
penalty listed under Tech-Level Modifiers (p. 168); e.g., Engineer/TL5 al articles of superscience equipment
defaults to Engineer/TL7 at -3. Handle improving skills from “cross- appear in Chapter 8.
TL” defaults identically to improving any skill from default; see
Improving Skills from Default (p. 173). (If your skill is not high enough By definition, it is impossible to set
to let you start from a favorable default, ignore these rules and learn a firm TL for superscience – we might
the skill normally.) discover faster-than-light travel
tomorrow, a thousand years from
now, or never. Equipment TLs are
always debatable, but superscience

GAME WORLDS 513

TLs are arbitrary. To reflect this, the TECH LEVEL • Wild West: Cowboys and Indians.
rules give the TL of superscience AND GENRE TL5.
developments as “^” instead of a num-
ber. The GM is free to assign such When designing a game world with • Steampunk: Fiction of Jules
innovations to any TL. To note a a specific genre in mind, the GM Verne and H.G. Wells. TL5, diverging
superscience invention that appears at should be sure to choose a TL that will to TL(5+1).
a specific TL in a particular game meet his players’ expectations for the
world, put a “^” after its TL; e.g., genre. Some examples: • Pulp: Archaeologists and detec-
“TL3^” for a TL3 superscience item. tives between the World Wars. TL6.
• Sword & Sandal: Gladiators,
Remember: superscience doesn’t chariots, and amazons. TL1-2. • WWII: Axis and Allies. TL6.
have to change a society’s overall TL, • Cold War: Capitalism vs. commu-
create a new technology path, or • Medieval Fantasy: Knights, wiz- nism. TL7.
cause a divergent TL. It just adds ards, and castles. TL3. • Modern Day: You’re living in it!
totally new developments to all the TL8.
usual technologies for a given TL in • Warring Provinces Japan: • Cyberpunk: Netrunners and
that society. Samurai and ninja. TL3-4. cyborgs. TL9.
• Space Opera: Interstellar adven-
• Swashbucklers: Pirates and mus- ture. TL10+, plus superscience.
keteers. TL4.

ECONOMICS

Each game world has its own eco- Moving Money Between Worlds
nomic situation. But money, in some
form or another, is important in If the PCs move between game worlds (see Travel Between Game
almost every setting. Worlds, p. 520), they will naturally want to take some cash along. But
what is “legal tender” in one world might be worthless in another.
Money is anything you can There are two principles for the GM to remember here:
exchange for what you want. It varies
from one game world to the next. In a 1. Money in a new world isn’t “legal tender”; it’s a commodity. If you
high-tech world, everything might be bring medieval gold coins to the 21st century, they will sell as curios –
done by credit card. In a low-tech or as gold, for perhaps $400 a troy ounce. If you take American paper
world, gold and silver may be king. money to the 10th century, it will be worthless. So, rather than money,
take along a few plastic hard-hats and maybe an MP3 player. (“What
For the sake of convenience, am I bid for this miraculous orchestra in a box?”)
GURPS prefixes all prices with a dol-
lar sign – $ – in all settings. The GM is 2. A cross-world trading operation can get very rich very quickly. If
welcome to translate this to credits, a GM allows cross-world travel, it is up to him to preserve balance by
copper farthings, Martian foomphra, limiting the quantity or type of goods that traders can move between
or whatever he feels is appropriate to worlds. A suggested limit: only what the travelers can carry on their
the game world; see Tech Level and persons – and trips should not be frequent.
Starting Wealth (p. 27).
bank robberies, tax increases, and other transactions do not require a reaction
In a low-tech world, jewelry is also entertainments to deprive the PCs of roll. Only make a reaction roll if the
money. It might not have a set value their savings – or at least make them situation is in some way unusual. For
imprinted on it, but it is small and work to get their money back. The same instance, if the adventurers are new in
portable, and easily traded for coins or is true of all other possessions the town and have been swaggering
bartered directly for needed goods. In heroes do not carry with them. around in armor and acting strangely,
fact, many societies exist largely by roll to see if the merchants will have
barter – which can be a test of the BUYING anything to do with them!
players’ ingenuity. AND SELLING
In general, the GM should set
Bankrolls and Players can buy and sell among prices reasonably, following the laws
Possessions themselves at whatever prices of supply and demand. Camels are
they can agree on. For outside trans- valuable near the desert, worthless in
List the money a character has on actions, the GM (or Adversary) should the jungle. After a great battle, used
his person on his character sheet, just roleplay a merchant dealing in armor might be on sale at scrap-metal
like his other possessions. If a lot of the needed goods or services. Most prices. And so on.
transactions are taking place, it might
be wise to record money on a separate The Merchant skill (p. 209) will
sheet of paper to avoid erasing a hole in help the PCs get good deals.
the character sheet!

List the money a character does not
carry with him separately, along with its
location. The GM may arrange floods,

514 GAME WORLDS

Equipment

and Supplies Making Your
Own Goods
The GM should give the players a
list of standard equipment and sup- Adventurers with appropriate skills may want to save money by
plies, and their “normal” costs. The making their own equipment. Use the following guidelines in this situ-
items and prices on the list will vary ation.
from game world to game world.
Starting equipment always costs “list price,” even if the PC could
The players will want to buy things have made it himself. Assume that buying materials and taking time
that aren’t on the list. The GM should out to make the item had the same impact on the PC’s starting wealth
allow any reasonable purchase – as he as if he had bought the item.
defines “reasonable” – setting prices
by comparison with things on the list. Building equipment in play is legal . . . if the GM is willing to go
Real-world catalogs can be useful along with it. Some things to consider:
here!

For more information, see Chapter 1. What raw materials are needed, and how much will they cost?
8, Equipment. “Parts cost” is usually around 20% finished item cost.

LOOT, AND 2. How long will it take? PCs who build equipment between adven-
DISPOSING OF IT tures can’t earn income or learn skills during that time. PCs who build
equipment during adventures are out of the action.

3. What skills are required, and what happens on a failure or critical

Many adventures are overt quests failure? As a rule, failure just ruins the raw materials. Critical failure
for treasure. Many aren’t. produces equipment that fails catastrophically when used!

Nevertheless, it is customary to let the It would take several books to list all possible items, raw materials,

heroes find something of value if they building times, and skills – so this must be left up to the GM.

successfully complete an adventure. If

nothing else, this lets them buy their

supplies for the next adventure . . . tracked them to their lair, wiped them merchant. If he’s interested in the
The classic fantasy adventure out, and took their loot. Now, assum- goods, he makes an offer, which the
ing the heroes have enough pack ani- players can accept or reject. Simple.
sends successful adventurers home mals, it will be a simple matter to take
with chests of gold and jewels. Very the goods into town. Locate a But it doesn’t have to be that sim-
convenient! If you are writing a more merchant (using Area Knowledge – ple. Identifying treasure, and turning
realistic adventure, invent more inter- or Streetwise, if necessary). Make the it into cash, can be a major part of the
esting forms of treasure. best sales approach possible. The challenge! Some possibilities:
GM makes a reaction roll for the
Let’s say the party was hired to • The treasure is not portable. How
guard a caravan. They drove off the will they get it home?
bandits that attacked the caravan,

• The treasure is not recognizable

as such without a skill roll – or looks

Gold and Silver like treasure to the unskilled observer,
but is really junk!

A traditional assumption of fantasy games (and many fantasy nov- • The treasure is valuable only to
els) is that gold and silver are heavy, and inconvenient to carry around certain collectors or specialists.
for purchases. If you are the GM, this is true only if you want it to be Getting it to a buyer might be an
true. adventure in itself.

Historically, gold and silver were very valuable – and many goods • The treasure is illegal or immoral,
were cheap. For an authentic medieval English (14th-century) econo- making it risky to trade.
my, treat the $ as a “farthing”: a copper coin about an inch across. A
silver penny is worth $4 and is less than half an inch across; 250 such • The treasure is perishable or dan-
coins ($1,000) weigh one pound. If silver and gold trade at 20 to 1 (a gerous, and requires special handling.
reasonable ratio for much of history), a pound of gold is worth
$20,000! A man could carry a king’s ransom in his backpack. • Somebody else is hunting the
treasure.
On the other hand, a GM who wants wealth to be less portable
might assume that the $ is a one-ounce silver coin, like a silver dollar. • The treasure is not goods, but
A one-ounce gold piece would then be worth $20. At that rate, 12 coins information – a clue to the real loot, or
a major plot hook toward the overall
campaign goal.

(troy weight) would weigh a pound; a pound of gold would be worth In spite of your best planning, the
only $240. In such a world, precious gems are the only way to carry a players will occasionally find “loot”
large amount of wealth in a small package, and caravans loaded with you had not anticipated. For instance,
gold might actually exist! the slavers had the PCs trapped in iron

cages . . . and when they escape, they

GAME WORLDS 515

take the cages with them to sell for good character concepts. In all game be absolute (“Administration at 12+”)
scrap. This is when you improvise. If worlds, it is common for those with or relative (“Administration at IQ+2 or
you have no clear idea what the goods negative Status to have Wealth one better”); the former is likely if the
are worth, just make the story inter- level below Average per Status level employer requires testing, the latter if
esting. If you want the party to have below 0. the employer awards jobs on the basis
money, then there’s a demand for of experience. In either case, candi-
scrap iron in the next village. If not, To keep things fun, the GM should dates must have at least one point in
nobody is interested. Simple. forbid high Status to poor characters the skill – default skill will not suffice!
or high Wealth to low-Status ones only Some jobs also require specific advan-
Controlling Inflation if the setting absolutely demands it! tages, or forbid certain disadvantages.

The GM should be careful not to let Cost of Living Job Roll
the PCs get too rich too soon. Rather and Status
than drive up prices, make expensive At the end of every month in which
things (ships, noble titles, etc.) avail- Each PC must pay the monthly a character works, he must roll
able, and give the heroes opportuni- “cost of living” for his Status or accept against one of the prerequisite skills
ties to invest in interesting long-term, the consequences, as explained under for his job. This is called a job roll.
high-risk ventures (e.g., bankrolling Cost of Living (p. 265). Assume the PCs
an inventor). Alternatively, arrange an are Status 0 – or “middle class” – For jobs with multiple prerequisite
occasional catastrophe to keep the unless they buy their Status up or skills, the GM should specify whether
PCs broke – or simply an adventure down. the worker uses his best prerequisite,
where no amount of money can his worst prerequisite, or one specific
replace brains. To calculate how much money a skill at all times. This roll might be at
character has for discretionary use a bonus for an easy job, at a penalty
In a high-tech world, there is no each month, subtract his cost of living for a difficult one.
limit to the advantages you can buy and that of noncontributing depend-
with money. In a low-tech environ- ents from his monthly pay (see Jobs, For jobs without prerequisites, the
ment, once you have one good suit of below). In a campaign that does not GM should specify either a flat success
armor, one fine weapon, and a couple use jobs, either subtract cost of living roll (e.g., “All characters roll vs. 12.”)
of fine horses, there’s not much else from the PCs’ adventuring income or or an attribute roll (e.g., “Roll ST.”).
you can buy to enhance personal ignore this rule entirely!
prowess. But you can hire an army . . . Most jobs offer a fixed wage or
JOBS salary. On anything but a critical suc-
Finally, be realistic about the value cess or critical failure, the worker col-
of loot. Armor, combat vehicles, and The GM determines what jobs are lects the monthly pay for the job (see
similar military materials are likely to available in the game world, either on below). On a critical success, he gets a
be damaged after a fight – the PCs will his own or by encouraging the players 10% permanent raise.
be lucky to get 1/3 “retail value” if they to come up with ideas for jobs suited
drag this kind of hardware into town. to their characters’ talents. In a histor- Other occupations are more vari-
(A very realistic GM will assess the ical campaign, the GM can reduce his able; for instance, freelance jobs and
PCs maintenance costs for repairing workload by inviting the players to work on commission. For these jobs,
their own vehicles, weapons, armor, research and submit reliable informa- the worker earns the monthly pay if he
etc., too.) tion about the jobs they want! makes his job roll exactly. For greater
success, increase that month’s income
WEALTH Regardless of whether the GM or by 10% times the margin of success; a
AND STATUS the players come up with the job’s critical success triples the month’s
description, the GM assigns its prereq- income! On a failure, decrease that
Wealth (p. 25) and Status (p. 28) uisites, job roll, monthly pay, and month’s income by 10% times the
are separate but related traits. It is up wealth level. The next few sections margin of failure.
to the GM to determine the details of explain these things.
the relationship. For any kind of job, a critical fail-
Description ure is always bad. At best, the worker
In many game worlds, those with will earn no pay for the month. He
high social standing must buy up This includes the job’s title, and might also face demotion (at least a
Wealth by one level past Average per tells exactly what kind of work the job 10% reduction in monthly pay), lost
Status level above 0, but can have high entails. The GM should give hours, savings (due to damages, fines, etc.),
Wealth without high Status. In others, risks, guild or union affiliations, etc., loss of job, on-the-job injury (due to an
wealthy characters must buy an addi- and point to the occupational tem- accident – or possibly a fight, if the job
tional level of Status per level of plate (see Character Templates, p. 258) is a violent one), or arrest (especially
Wealth past Average, but can purchase for the job, if any. at a criminal “job”). The GM should be
high Status without Wealth. The GM creative!
might even enforce both requirements Prerequisites
and rigidly associate Status levels with Monthly Pay
Wealth levels – but this excludes many A job’s prerequisites are the skills –
if any – needed to do the job. Most Each month on the job, a worker
jobs specify a minimum required level earns his monthly pay – modified for
in each prerequisite skill. This might his job roll, as described above. Time
spent adventuring is usually not “on

516 GAME WORLDS

the job,” although the GM might wish Campaign Typical Campaign Typical
to make exceptions for vacations, Tech Level Monthly Pay Tech Level Monthly Pay
work done while traveling, etc.
0 $625 7 $2,100
The GM may set any pay he likes. 1 $650 8 $2,600
The first table at right suggests a fair 2 $675 9 $3,600
monthly pay for someone of Average 3 $700 10 $5,600
wealth working at a “typical” job for 4 $800 11 $8,100
his tech level. 5 $1,100 12 $10,600
6 $1,600
Actual pay at each TL varies within
a range bracketed by the typical Job’s Monthly Pay Typical
monthly pay of the previous TL and Wealth Level Multiplier Status Level
that of the next TL; e.g., from $2,100 Poor 1/5
to $3,600 at TL8. Unless the economy Struggling 1/2 -2
is under some sort of stress or outside Average 1 -1
control, jobs near the high end of this Comfortable 2 0
range will be difficult (significant Wealthy 5 1
penalty to the job roll), dangerous Very Wealthy 20 2
(severe consequences on a critically Filthy Rich 100 3
failed job roll), or highly trained (many Multimillionaire 1 1,000 4
or high-level skill prerequisites). Multimillionaire 2 10,000 5
Multimillionaire 3 100,000 6
Wealth Level Multimillionaire 4 1,000,000 7
8
The monthly pay numbers above
are for workers of Average wealth. Independent Income (p. 26) as well as The GM keeps the hireling’s record
Assume that those of lower Wealth a job in order to meet the cost of living sheet; the players may not see it.
normally have jobs that pay less than for their (usually high) Status. Unimportant hirelings need only a
this, while those of higher Wealth usu- card or a note; important hirelings
ally have jobs that pay more. Multiply HIRELINGS require a full character sheet.
the average pay and pay range for jobs
suitable to a given wealth level by the A “hireling” is any NPC in the adven- Finding a Hireling
starting wealth multiplier for that turers’ employ. The GM controls
wealth level (see Wealth, p. 25). hirelings; the players can give any The PCs can’t pull a hireling out of
orders they like, but the GM decides thin air. When they need to employ
Example: “Comfortable” wealth how they are followed! someone, they must search for a suit-
doubles starting wealth; therefore, able person – just as in real life. They
Comfortable jobs pay twice as much. A hireling provides an excellent way might not always get what they want.
At TL8, this means that monthly to add muscle or special talents to a
income for those of Comfortable party without introducing more PCs. A The recruiter may attempt an IQ
wealth is typically $5,200, but can party may have any number of roll once per week to find a hireling of
range from $4,200 to $7,200. hirelings, but the GM should keep the the desired type. The GM may permit
number of important “personality” him to substitute an appropriate skill
The more a job pays, the higher the hirelings down to two or three at a time. for IQ: Administration (for formal,
Status it can support. The second The GM can manage any number of corporate-style hiring), Current
table at right sums this up. generic swordsmen – but keeping up Affairs (if seeking prominent “world
with an important hireling, whose per- experts”), Propaganda (for aggressive
If a PC lands a job associated with sonality and character sheet are as recruiting), Streetwise (if seeking
a higher wealth level than his own detailed as any PC’s, is challenging. criminals), etc. The party may attempt
(which isn’t easy – see Finding a Job, p. only one roll per hireling per week.
518), the GM should let him earn the Creating Hirelings Modify this roll as follows:
usual pay for that job. Most employers
cannot get away with paying poorer The GM sets the hireling’s abilities. City Size: The bigger the town or
workers less! However, if the PC’s sav- If there is an occupational template city, the better the odds:
ings reach the starting wealth of the (see Character Templates, p. 258) for
next-highest wealth level, he must pay the hireling’s profession, the GM can Population Modifier
the points to buy up his Wealth (see save time by copying statistics from
Adding and Improving Social Traits, that template. (If the template is for Less than 100 -3
p. 291). This continues until his per- heroic PCs as opposed to average
sonal wealth level equals that of his members of a profession, apply a -1 or 100-999 -2
job. -2 to all attributes and skills.)
1,000-4,999 -1
Likewise, a wealthy PC may work
at a job below his wealth level. He gets 5,000-9,999 0
the usual pay for that job; he does not
receive extra pay simply because he is 10,000-49,999 +1
wealthy! Such people often have
50,000-99,999 +2

100,000 or more +3

GAME WORLDS 517

Finding a Job Loyalty of Hirelings

A PC seeking a job that requires an employer (that is, one at which A hireling might not always act in
he is not self-employed) may roll against IQ once per week to see if he his employer’s best interests. The GM
finds work. The Laziness disadvantage gives -5 here! Apply the follow- should use the hireling’s “loyalty rat-
ing modifiers: ing” as a guide. Unless this is preset
for a reason, generate it by making a
City Size: The more people Population Modifier reaction roll (see Reaction Rolls,
in the town or city, the better Less than 100 -3 p. 494) for “loyalty” when the PCs first
his chances (see table). 100-999 -2 encounter the hireling. The GM can
1,000-4,999 -1 even use this during the initial meet-
Overqualification: If his 5,000-9,999 0 ing or interview, to see whether the
skill exceeds the minimum 10,000-49,999 +1 hireling lies about himself. Note that a
level required by the job, he is 50,000-99,999 +2 very loyal potential hireling might
more likely to find work: +1 if 100,000 or more +3 exaggerate his abilities out of desire to
his skill is one level higher, +2 join the party!

if two or more levels higher. The GM may give further bonuses if the SLAVES

job hunter has additional abilities that would logically help him do the In a game world where slavery is
legal, the PCs may buy slaves as either
job (or impress a potential employer). workers or an investment – or they
might be enslaved themselves!
Advertising: He can advertise that he is looking for work: +1 if his Anywhere slavery is legal, slaves make
budget is 5% the monthly pay of the job sought, +2 if 50%, +3 if 500%, up a large part of the job market, and
and so on. This money might be for bribes, “business clothing” for there is a 50% chance that any hireling
interviews, handbills, placement fees, etc., depending on the job and found is actually a slave.
the setting.
The price of a slave is generally
Scarcity: Higher-paying jobs are harder to find. Subtract twice the equal to the amount the slave could
typical Status level of the job sought from the roll; e.g., a “Filthy Rich” earn in five years, if free and working
job typically accompanies Status 4, so it would give -8. Negative at the typical pay rate for the best job
Status gives a bonus! For instance, roll at +2 to find a “Struggling” job he qualifies for. The GM may adjust
(Status -1). this price for any number of reasons:
extra skills, good or bad attitude
Multiple Jobs: A seeker who is qualified for more than one job can toward slavery, physical appearance,
look for more than one job at a time, at a cumulative -1 to all rolls per health, etc. Slave traders rarely give a
job after the first. real bargain!

Advertising: +1 if the advertising On a success, the PCs find a candi- Loyalty of Slaves
budget is 50% the monthly pay of the date. The GM describes the potential
job, +2 if 500%, +3 if 5,000%, and so hireling to the players, and can even Determine a slave’s loyalty per
on. This money covers the expense of take his part for an “interview.” The Loyalty of Hirelings (above). However,
business lunches, handbills, newspa- players must then decide whether they slaves are less predictable than
per ads, “recruiting parties,” etc. actually want to hire that person. If hirelings. After determining the slave’s
they decide not to, they must start initial loyalty, roll 2d on the following
Money Offered: +1 if the pay is 20% their search over again. table to determine a loyalty modifier:
higher than normal for the job, +2 if
50% higher, and +3 if 100% higher or A failure might mean that a 2-7 – No modifier.
more. hireling simply is not available – espe- 8 – He was enslaved for some crime,
cially in a small town. It is up to the
Risk: -2 to find a hireling for a job GM whether to allow repeated and resents it: -1 to loyalty.
that involves obvious risk of combat, attempts. 9 – As above, but -2 to loyalty.
unless seeking a guard, mercenary, or 10 – His previous master was very
other “combatant” hireling. The GM Of course, the GM is free to “load”
decides which potential hirelings are the roll, if he feels the PCs absolutely cruel. If he is treated with kindness
“combatant.” should have (or should not have) a during the first week, apply +2 to
hireling of a specific type! For instance, loyalty; otherwise, no change.
Legality: -5 to find a hireling for an if an adventure calls for a particular 11 – He has a fanatic hatred of slavery.
illegal job – and any critical failure on hireling, the GM can ensure that the If treated well, he may like his mas-
the roll results in legal complications. hireling will appear. He may do this ters as people, but will still escape
The GM may waive this -5 when the overtly (the NPC approaches the party as soon as possible. If treated badly
employer uses Streetwise skill for the in a bar and asks for a job) or covertly (or even “average” for a slave), his
search, but the critical failure result is (the players say that they are looking loyalty drops to 6.
the same! for hirelings; the GM pretends to roll, 12 – He has the Slave Mentality disad-
but gives them a preplanned NPC). vantage (p. 154), and considers

518 GAME WORLDS

Loyalty Checks

A “loyalty check” is a roll made by the GM, usually in Changes in Loyalty
secret, to see how a hireling behaves in a given situation.
Check loyalty whenever a hireling is in mortal danger, or Several factors can change loyalty, temporarily or
when violating his trust seems to be the wise, profitable, permanently:
or easy thing to do.
Higher Pay: +1 to loyalty per 10% by which the hire-
To make a loyalty check, the GM rolls 3d against the ling’s pay exceeds the norm for his job, whether it’s a
hireling’s loyalty rating (see Loyalty of Hirelings). On a roll “salary” or a share in loot. This bonus persists for a
equal to or less than his loyalty, the hireling “passed” the month after the extra pay ceases. (This factor also affects
check and behaved loyally. A hireling with loyalty 20+ slaves, if they are allowed their own possessions.)
passes all checks automatically.
Great Danger: Whenever a noncombatant hireling is
If the GM rolls over the hireling’s loyalty, the hireling exposed to a combat situation, check loyalty. Failure
“failed” the check and served his own interests. This does gives -1 to loyalty for a week. Repetitions might have a
not always mean total betrayal – it depends on the situa- permanent effect.
tion. It just means he let his employers down. He may
repent and beg forgiveness; this is up to the whim (and Rescue: If the PCs risk their lives (or the mission) to
dramatic ability) of the GM. If the PCs forgive a hireling rescue the hireling, make a reaction roll at +3 or more,
with a loyalty of 16+, with or without punishment, his depending on the nature of the rescue. A “Good” or bet-
base loyalty goes up by 1. ter reaction means the hireling is grateful. His loyalty
becomes the result of the roll or his original loyalty –
The GM is free to modify a loyalty check for special whichever is higher. If one of the PCs was seriously
circumstances. A huge bribe from a foe, for instance, injured or killed in the rescue, the GM should consider
would give most hirelings a penalty to their loyalty check. adding a permanent loyalty bonus on top of this!

It is up to the GM to decide Employers’ Competence: Loyalty of a “continuing”
when a check is necessary. This hireling might change by one point at the end of an
depends on the hireling. For a vet- adventure, based on the party’s performance. A
eran, “mortal danger” does not botched mission reduces loyalty; great success increases
mean “any combat.” He would not it. This modifier is permanent.
fear an orc – or even a whole pack
of orcs. But he might have to check Length of Service: After each year, make a loyalty
loyalty if asked to battle a dragon! check. A success gives a permanent +1 to loyalty. Thus,
the best hirelings become better . . . but poor ones are
unlikely to improve much.

himself truly the property of his Legal Complications residents to own them; or illegal to
owner. His loyalty is automatically own slaves at all.
20. You need never check loyalty; When slave-holding PCs enter an
he will not demur, even if given area where slavery is illegal, they A creative GM may impose other
orders that condemn him to death. must either dispose of their slaves or laws and customs regarding slavery.
pass them off as free servants. For instance, it might be legal to
Make loyalty checks for slaves as Possible anti-slavery attitudes enslave members of some social
for any other hirelings. Modify loyalty include: legal to own slaves, but not to groups or races, but not others. There
by +1 or +2 if they are in a situation buy or sell them locally; legal for non- might be ways for a slave to earn his
where they have nowhere to run! citizens to own slaves while passing freedom – some societies might even
through, but illegal for permanent permit slaves to own property and
buy their freedom.

OTHER PLANES OF EXISTENCE

A campaign can extend across sev- actually end without the campaign action to a new one. This can give a
eral game worlds instead of being tied coming to an abrupt halt. flagging campaign a new lease on life.
to just one. This makes it possible to
explore themes that do not work well Multi-world campaigns greatly However, a multi-world campaign
in a single-world campaign. For increase the players’ options. They get increases the GM’s workload. Instead
instance, the PCs might visit several to experience several settings and gen- of having to design one world in detail,
radically different settings in the res while playing the same characters. he has to create many. He must also
course of a single adventure, and the And if they grow tired of the current address the question of travel between
world – at least one world – could world, the GM can simply move the worlds, which can be as much work as
designing a world!

GAME WORLDS 519

Travel Between Game Worlds

One of the chief purposes of the GURPS design is to and playability. Players will appreciate the fact that
let players explore multiple game worlds without learn- “rule changes” come only with warning.
ing a whole new set of rules each time. A player can
participate in several different campaigns, each in a Possible obstacles to interworld travel include all
different place or time, and play a different character in the standard geographical barriers: high mountain
each campaign. Each character stays in his own world. ranges, wide oceans, extensive deserts or badlands,
But the characters can also move from one game world swampy jungles, etc. Magical barriers are also a possi-
to another. This can happen in three ways: bility, as are intervening hostile lands. GMs may also
have their different worlds located literally on different
1. A player can develop a character in one game worlds. The problems of interplanetary travel at low
world and then bring that character into another game TLs are not to be taken lightly, but powerful magic can
world. An example might be a medieval wizard, hurled do almost anything. Of course, such powerful magic is
hundreds of years into the future by a magic spell, par- not likely to be within the PCs’ control . . .
ticipating in a WWII adventure.
Alternate Earths
2. An entire campaign can move from one game
world to another. For example, suppose the party is the “Alternate Earths” are worlds that are like Earth . . .
crew of an interstellar trading ship. They crash-land on but different in some way. The differences might be
a primitive planet. Until they can make their way to the tiny (Kennedy’s picture is on the dime), huge (Kennedy
spaceport, on the other side of the world, they are effec- is now King of the Western Hemisphere), or unbeliev-
tively living in the 12th century! able (the Earth is ruled by intelligent lizards who have
the same cultures, languages, and politics as us).
3. The campaign can include multiple game worlds
by design, along with the means to travel between A “reasonable” alternate history is sometimes called
them. See Other Planes of Existence. a parallel world. Inventing parallel worlds is a great
intellectual game. One way to approach it is to pick a
Differences in Worlds historical event and ask, “What if this were different?”
What if Lincoln had survived Booth’s attack? What if
As a rule, the more different two worlds are, the Chamberlain had stood up to Hitler? What if Eric the
harder it should be for PCs to move between them Red had died in a brawl at age 16?
deliberately. Significant differences would include:
As the GM, you can invent any sort of alternate
• Magical world vs. technological world. Earth. You can assume as many basic points of differ-
• Very low-tech world vs. very high-tech world. ence as you like. But it is interesting to see what logical
• Largely human or all-human world vs. world with consequences you can develop from one change. Pick
many races. any historical event – great or small – and ask yourself,
• War-wracked, plague-ridden world vs. peaceful, “What if this had gone differently?”
decadent world.
• Fantasy world vs. strictly historical, “real” world. For an entire campaign setting built around alter-
nate Earths, with many examples, see Chapter 20.

Certainly, any or all of these differences could exist Virtual Realities
on a single planet! But they would not be found next
door to each other. A virtual reality (or “virtuality”) is basically a syn-
thetic plane of existence generated by high technology.
Likewise, the GM should make travel between Much of the advice given here for cross-world cam-
incompatible worlds difficult. This achieves an effect paigns is equally valid in high-tech campaigns that fea-
that is very rare in gaming; it improves both realism ture an immersive “cyberspace” where the PCs can have
adventures and interact with the real world indirectly.

The GM needs to be prepared to Any GM should know the limits of of existence” (or “planes”), “dimen-
deal with another potential problem. his time and ability, and consult with sions,” “realities,” “realms,” or “uni-
Many players see little point in work- his players ahead of time. This is even verses” to distinguish them from dis-
ing hard to achieve goals in one world truer for GMs who wish to run cross- tant lands or planets in the same phys-
if they believe the fruits of their labors world campaigns. ical universe, which are sometimes
will be lost when the campaign moves called “game worlds” as well.
to the next. This can lead to a game- TYPES OF
disrupting sense of detachment. To REALITIES Physical Realities
prevent this, the GM must strengthen
campaign continuity by creating sto- Many different types of game These are planes of existence that
rylines that span worlds . . . which worlds can exist in a cross-world cam- travelers can actually visit – either in
adds even more work. paign. These are often called “planes body or in spirit – much as they would
visit another country or planet. The

520 GAME WORLDS

defining feature of such realms is that from its partner reality; it merely rep- result, it is well suited to multiple-real-
visitors possess a physical body during resents a physical or supernatural ity campaigns with a strong supernat-
their stay. This might be their normal “wavelength” different from the stan- ural flavor.
body . . . or it might be a “spirit body” dard one. The main use of such realms
that is corporeal only within that realm. in fiction is to let travelers rapidly Example: A fantasy campaign takes
bridge the gap between two locations place in a fairly ordinary physical real-
The most common physical reality within the same physical reality. ity – a world with mountains, oceans,
is the alternate world (also known as an stars in the sky, etc. “Inside” this world,
“alternate history” or “alternate time- An example of a phase is the ethe- there is a phase called the Ethereal
line”). This is almost the same as the real state that those with Plane; this explains magical effects
PCs’ home world, but in this world, Insubstantiality (p. 62) assume in such as teleportation and walking
history diverged at some pivotal event, order to walk through physical obsta- through walls. Surrounding the physi-
creating a different reality. (See cles. Another example, common in sci- cal world is an inner void: the Spirit
Alternate Earths, p. 520.) ence fiction, is hyperspace: the “space” World, realm of ghosts. The Spirit
into which stardrives shift starships World does not overlap the physical
Almost as common is the mirror for faster-than-light travel. world; instead, it is a layer that dead
world. Mirror worlds look just like the souls (and powerful wizards!) must
PCs’ home world, but the resemblance Voids traverse on their way to an outer void
is cosmetic. No reasonable sequence of known as the Astral Plane. The Astral
historical shifts could explain the dif- A void surrounds physical realities Plane, in turn, allows travel to the alien
ferences! A good example is the world in much the same way that outer space “physical” realities of demons, gods,
of faerie: it looks a lot like our world, surrounds stars and planets. A void dif- and other higher powers.
but it is actually a magical realm ruled fers from an interpenetrating plane in
by powerful spirits. Another common that it touches realities without over- Parallel Worlds
example is the “evil parallel.” Many lapping them. It differs from a phase in
things about the world are similar, but that it is not a sub-dimension of just This cosmology features multiple
personalities and even governments one reality, but a “super-dimension” physical realities standing shoulder to
are “opposite”: republics become dic- that engulfs and connects all realities. shoulder. Most are true alternate real-
tatorships, saints become fiends, and ities, but a few might be mirror
so on. Like the ocean and outer space, the worlds. Some might even be “pressed
void in fiction is a dramatic device that so close together” that they interpene-
Some physical realities might be serves one purpose above all others: it trate. The defining feature is that there
even more alien. At best, they might be mediates travel – in this case, interpla- are no planes of existence within,
as different as alien planets within our nar travel. For instance, popular inter- between, or surrounding these worlds.
universe. At worst, the laws of physics pretations of the “astral” plane suggest All realities are on an equal footing,
might be different, or suspended. that it is a void that travelers must pass and travel involves a direct shift as
Humans might be unable to survive through when using magic or psionics opposed to a journey through some
there! to journey between realities. kind of intervening dimension.

Interpenetrating Planes PLANAR This structure eliminates mystical
COSMOLOGY journeys, speeds the act of travel, and
Two or more planes of existence provides a rational explanation for
might interpenetrate, with each loca- The GM must determine what weird events (“ghosts” are just inhabi-
tion in one world corresponding to a planes of existence are present – in tants of unusually close realities,
similar location in all the others. Such number and in type – and how they “demons” are merely ugly interplanar
realms are generally distinct from one interact. The possibilities are endless! voyagers, etc.). These features make it
another, and invisible to each other’s Here are some popular arrangements. desirable for science-fiction cam-
inhabitants – although some gifted paigns centered on cross-world travel
people, such as mediums and seers, Worlds Within Worlds and trade.
might be able to perceive more than
one reality at a time. Perhaps even In this model, realities are nested This framework is conceptually
ordinary people can occasionally see one within the next – like the layers of simple, but the GM can make it as
the inhabitants of the other realms, an onion. Alternate worlds or inter- convoluted as he wishes. Travelers
but regard them as ghosts. penetrating planes might exist on a might only be able to visit “adjacent”
more-or-less equal footing at some lev- worlds . . . and a satisfactory definition
This is a common way to look at els of this hierarchy, but the truly of “adjacent” could defy scientists’
“dream,” “phantom,” and “spirit” important events in the campaign best efforts. It might take multiple
realms in fiction. Often, travelers to always involve movement up or down hops to travel to some worlds, and
such planes do not go anywhere; they the hierarchy, not across any one level. while worlds might form a ring or
just shift their perceptions. other simple pattern, the GM could
This structure lets the GM hide instead decree that they exhibit a
Phases secrets within secrets, and offers a brain-busting geometry that humans
classic explanation for many super- and their best computers simply can-
A phase is not a destination in natural powers and beings: “They not map. Use your imagination!
itself, but an invisible sub-dimension come from a higher plane.” As a
of one specific reality. Unlike an inter-
penetrating plane, it is not distinct

GAME WORLDS 521

Mixing It Up rolls), limit what travelers can carry, strict limits on the physical goods that
and make it clear that some alternate can accompany travelers (e.g., “You
The GM is free to add any number worlds are dangerous. arrive naked.”).
of twists. For instance:
If interplanar travel takes time, the Projection involves traveling to
• Start with a hierarchy of realities, GM must determine how much time other planes as a mind or spirit while
as explained under Worlds Within passes, and at what rate relative to the body remains behind. This solves
Worlds, but place parallel worlds on time in the PCs’ home world. The pri- many of the problems GMs have with
some tiers of the hierarchy. mary advantage of time-consuming cross-world campaigns. What belongs
travel is that the trip itself is an adven- in each world stays in that world. The
• Start with worlds that abut on ture. The downside is that the cam- only thing that moves between worlds
worlds, as described for Parallel paign can get bogged down in travel. is information – and the GM can easi-
Worlds, but make certain “worlds” Many players grow bored if their char- ly control that. There are two disad-
fully realized hierarchies of dimen- acters must make long trips to achieve vantages. First, the GM must keep
sions instead of simple physical their goals. If the GM chooses this records for both the PCs’ physical
realities. option, he should be prepared to build selves and their projections. (The GM
an adventure around each trip, or let could just say that the projection is the
• Add any number of distinct phas- the PCs spend their time on gainful same as the original, but he would be
es to some or all of the worlds in the long-term projects such as study, discarding an interesting dramatic
setting (e.g., each physical reality invention, and magical enchantment. tool.) Second, players might feel that
might have its own hyperspace and an other realms aren’t “real,” and behave
ethereal plane). The most accordingly. The solution here is to let
important question them . . . and then have the conse-
INTERPLANAR to answer is, “How quences of their actions show up in
TRAVEL do the adventurers their “real” world!
get there?”
Many stories that feature multiple Modes of Travel
worlds assume that travel between Physical Travel
those worlds is a one-way trip: vs. Projection Finally, the GM must decide on the
unlucky (or lucky!) travelers somehow actual mechanism used for interpla-
fall through the gap between worlds. Interplanar travelers sometimes nar travel. Options include:
But regular travel between worlds is an visit other planes of existence in per-
interesting possibility, as it lets explor- son, but this is not the only option. Artifacts: Interplanar travel relies
ers study, exploit, and perhaps even Visitors might instead journey to other on magical, psionic, superscience, or
conquer entire worlds. In this case, the realities in mind or in spirit. weird science gadgetry. There are end-
most important question to answer is, less possibilities, from hyperdrives
“How do the adventurers get there?” Physical travel (teleporting and parachronic conveyors to magic
between worlds, moving there in some mirrors and stone circles. Be sure to
Instantaneous vs. kind of vehicle, etc.) lets the GM use specify whether the artifact goes with
Time-Consuming Travel classic “hooks” like money and physi- the traveler to the other side, or mere-
cal danger to steer the campaign. It is ly sends him there – and whether it’s
Travel between worlds could be a also involves less bookkeeping: the good for the return trip!
“Poof! You’re there!” phenomenon: PCs have the same abilities and equip-
the heroes just have to cast a spell, ment as in their home world. Right Time, Right Place: Anyone
push a button, walk under a hill, etc. However, physical travel lets the PCs can reach other planes, but only under
Or it might be a slow process, compa- vanish bodily, perhaps along with certain conditions: while dreaming,
rable to sea or space travel. Both their possessions, making it possible on certain days of the year (“When the
approaches have pros and cons. to escape the consequences of their stars are right!”), at specific places
actions. It also opens the door to com- (such as the “hollow hills” of faerie
Instantaneous travel – like the modities trading, which can have myth, or a wormhole in deep space),
Jumper advantage (p. 64) and Plane unwelcome economic effects. The GM and so on – and possibly more than
Shift spell (p. 248) – allows furious, should take care to create adversaries one of the above.
universe-spanning action, with the who can follow the PCs wherever they
heroes and their foes battling from one go, and should consider imposing Special Powers: Travelers need
reality to the next. However, some advantages (e.g., Jumper), magic
players will try to avoid enemies (and spells (e.g., Plane Shift), or similar
Debt, Duties, etc.) this way, sapping powers to move between worlds. To
drama instead of adding to it. This keep PCs with such abilities from
kind of travel also encourages brisk going off and leaving the rest behind,
interplanar trade, which is great fun the GM should either require all PCs
. . . until it destroys the campaign’s to have such abilities or make sure
economy. In general, if interplanar that the person in charge of trans-
travel is to be quick, the GM should portation has the power to convey his
make the means of travel hard to come companions (and that the player is
by, introduce reasonable risks (e.g., responsible enough to do so).
nasty surprises on failed Plane Shift

522 GAME WORLDS

CHAPTER TWENTY

INFINITE
WORLDS

It’s 2027. A future Earth, known as Homeline, is exploring hundreds of
alternate Earths. It’s also fighting an undeclared war with another world-
jumping civilization . . . but that may be the least of its worries!

Welcome to Infinite Worlds.

Infinite Worlds is an example of a excursions are free to prohibit them. dimensions, but at some point in the
game setting. But it’s more than that. It’s Not everyone is comfortable with campaign (possibly after months or
also a framework that lets players create blaster-toting wizards fighting Nazi even years of play), they discover that
almost any kind of character, and that supersoldiers . . . their world is just one of many. They
makes it easy for GMs to run cross- find a way to travel to an alternate
genre adventures. Although that doesn’t have to be the world, or perhaps they discover an
way it works. Many worlds have yet to extradimensional plot and end up
The Infinite Worlds multiverse is be discovered; many others are isolated. recruited by the Infinity Patrol . . .
completely optional. GMs who don’t The PCs may start out completely
want to permit extradimensional unaware of the existence of other And everything changes.

INFINITE WORLDS 523

THE CAMPAIGN

In the year 1995, Dr. Paul Van Infinite worlds, infinite wealth.
Zandt, a physics professor, built the
first working parachronic projector his original project. Over the next few In February 1998, Van Zandt made
and used it to visit the timeline that years, he refined his theories, contact- headlines by publishing his results –
became known as Earth-Beta, or sim- ed 23 more universes, and personally and by formally incorporating Infinity
ply Beta. He concealed his observa- visited six alternate Earths. He also Unlimited, with subsidiaries including
tions and continued his experiments. secretly gathered a number of trusted White Star Trading, Parachronic
Six months later, following a mysteri- aides, the nucleus of the group that Laboratories, and Infinity Develop-
ous fire that destroyed his Dartmouth would become Infinity Unlimited. And ment. Furthermore, Van Zandt offered
laboratory, he resigned from teaching he founded White Star Trading, an to license his designs to any govern-
to set up a “consulting” firm. interworld trading corporation, to ment or corporation interested in
finance further experiments. crosstime travel.
In fact, Van Zandt had simply freed
himself to continue his experiments
without the supervision of academia –
or of the Department of Defense,
which had supplied grant money for

Infinite Worlds Glossary

alternate: Any timeline except the original Earth. Also nexus portal: A “natural” path between alternate
“alternate world.” worlds.

anchor: An echo that does not experience a quantum outtime: Any world except the original Homeline.
shift when “history is changed.” outtimer: Anyone from an alternate world.
parachronics: The study of alternate worlds. More
banestorm: A natural phenomenon that moves matter
between worlds. specifically, the study of why alternate worlds exist,
and how travel between them is possible.
Centrum: A rival civilization with the ability to travel parachronozoid: A creature with a natural world-
between worlds. A “Centran” is a native or agent of jumping ability, especially one that leaves a tunnel
Centrum. or portal behind (those that don’t are rather hard to
spot!).
conveyor: A self-propelled device for traveling between parallel: An alternate world that differs from ours only
alternate worlds. in that its history has been different (some are very
different). A “close parallel” is different as the result
Coventry: An alternate world maintained by the of one identifiable historical change.
Infinity Patrol as a prison for those – both projector: A device that can send a conveyor across
Homeliners and outtimers – who Know Too Much. quanta.
quantum: An “energy level” in 8-dimensional space
echo: An alternate world which is – or appears to be that contains many alternate timelines. Quantum
– identical to ours, but at an earlier point in its levels are often abbreviated; e.g., Q7 for Quantum 7.
history. reality quake: A parachronic upheaval that buries
some or all of an alternate’s history beneath a new
Eraser: A memory-affecting drug used by I-Cops and one.
others to keep the secret of parachronic travel. The Secret: The fact that technological cross-world
travel is possible. Outtimers are not supposed to
hell parallel: An alternate world which has suffered a learn this, unless recruited by Infinity or Interworld.
natural or manmade disaster that rendered it timeline: Another term for an alternate world.
unliveable. More loosely, any really bad world. weird parallel: An alternate world that has many sim-
ilarities to our own, but also has differences which
homeboy: Anybody from one’s world of origin. make these similarities seem unbelievable (such as
Homeline: The original Earth. a world where intelligent reptiles speak English).
I-Cop: An agent of the Infinity Patrol’s Intervention zero point: The term for a location that has been
“zeroed” – properly calibrated – for a safe conveyor
Service. jump between two specific dimensions.
Infinity Patrol: The paramilitary arm of Infinity

Unlimited.
Infinity Unlimited: A private organization that con-

trols parachronic technology as a monopoly and
governs access to alternate timelines.
Interworld: The Centran equivalent to the Infinity
Patrol.

524 INFINITE WORLDS

Naturally, governments were out- The Interworld Treaty
raged. The U.S. Congress immediately
moved to nationalize and classify all The Interworld Treaty was ratified by most (but not all) U.N. mem-
parachronic technology. The Japan- ber states. It represented a compromise between the interests of large
ese, European, Chinese, and Russian and small states – and between business interests (championed by an
governments all called for its interna- uneasy alliance between Van Zandt and the United States) and U.N.
tionalization and suppression. and government bureaucrats. The treaty created a framework that was
intended to prevent a “neo-colonial” land rush, limit the ability of gov-
The next day, Van Zandt addressed ernments to deploy military forces crosstime, and permit (but regulate)
a closed session of the U.N. Security the commercial exploitation of certain worlds, while preventing cross-
Council. No one knows what he said, cultural disasters.
but the world powers accepted his
proposal . . . within certain limits. The most significant effect of the treaty was to centralize most
power in Infinity Unlimited, while ensuring that checks and balances
Infinity Unlimited was organized existed that would give the U.N. Security Council – and to a lesser
as a corporation whose formal part- extent, the U.N. Secretary General – a degree of oversight.
ners were the permanent members of
the U.N. Security Council. Van Zandt It works . . . at least, some of the time.
retained the position of first CEO, but
Security Council-appointed bureau- Dark Infinity
crats also sat on its board. Infinity
Unlimited’s charter was rewritten to How Van Zandt persuaded the world’s great powers to accede
keep control of the basic technology (mostly) to his terms is one of the “big secrets” of the Infinite Worlds
firmly in its hands. setting. Some possibilities:

Van Zandt won a key victory – Conspiracy: Infinity Unlimited is the instrument of a vast, ruthless
almost unnoticed at the time – when conspiracy that has dominated the corridors of power for centuries.
he resolved a budget dispute by sug- The rise of Infinity was the culmination of centuries of preparation.
gesting that Infinity Unlimited would But who won? Do the Illuminati control it?
be largely self-funding: after an initial
infusion of funds, it would be “forced” The Menace from Beyond Time: The world’s leaders caved in because
to rely on profits from licensing of what Van Zandt showed them. They’ve suppressed this to prevent
parachronic technology. Many politi- panic, but perhaps the truth is leaking out. Whatever the truth may be,
cians were pleased that Infinity would it’s obviously vitally important that humans spread across many
not drain resources from the United worlds. If the GM wants to have a “new power” invade the hyper-cos-
Nations’ limited funds, and believed mos, there’s plenty of scope.
this would serve as a cap on the orga-
nization’s power. Few in the United Deus Ex Paramachina: What if Van Zandt is much more than he
Nations or the world appreciated, seems? Could he be a visitor from another, more advanced timeline? A
then, the true potential of the retired, wandering god? A rogue technomancer, exiled from the Four
parachronic secret: Realms? It seems odd that Infinity and Centrum developed parachron-
ics so close together. Maybe it was planned. If so, who was responsible?
Infinite worlds, infinite wealth. Was conflict the goal, or did something go wrong? Maybe Centrum was
supposed to be Infinity’s ally . . .
Infinity also received its own secu-
rity organization, which Van Zandt scouts” that the corporation recruited Van Zandt retired immediately. “I
insisted on calling the “Infinity for its perilous first-contact missions. plan to devote the rest of my life to
Patrol.” Initially small, and limited to Trade opened with dozens of worlds. travel and study,” he said, “and I’m
protecting Infinity’s exploration teams Natural resources flowed in from the never going to touch a soldering iron
and installations, its role and power untouched ore deposits of uninhabit- again.”
would expand dramatically over time. ed alternate Earths. On the world that
came to be known as “Homeline,” the For a little while, it looked like the
It took time for the economic and environment began to recover as the start of a utopia, at least for Homeline.
political ramifications to sink in, but worst industrial wastes – and the most And then the worm peeked out of the
the revelation that the Earth existed polluting industries – were sent to multidimensional apple: Centrum, a
within a potentially infinite series of dead worlds already blighted beyond different reality-spanning culture,
alternate worlds shook the founda- anything mankind could do. Political with its own ideas of what a utopia
tions of human belief. Science, reli- intrigues continued . . . but the econo- should look like.
gion, even the nature of identity was my of Homeline was no longer one of
called into question. But some people desperate scarcity. Suddenly, infinite worlds meant
adapted quickly (others still haven’t), infinite trouble . . .
and many saw opportunities.

Soon, groups of intrepid explorers
were probing the dimensions, led by
the vanguard of Infinity Unlimited’s
Penetration Service: elite “time

INFINITE WORLDS 525

AN INFINITY OF WORLDS

Infinity knows of several hundred possibilities that don’t exist. As one but the only coherent alternative any-
alternate worlds, spread through an 8- physicist explained it: “You can have body has ever come up with is “hands
dimensional space in a pattern that an infinite number of apples without off.” And the idea of, for instance,
seems almost predictable. These having any oranges.” keeping hands off a parallel-world
worlds are divided between a number Hitler, as he is giving the orders for
of different “energy levels,” or quanta. CLASSES OF Dachau, is a bit much.
It is easy to reach a world on the same ALTERNATE
quantum, hard to travel outside your WORLDS Anchors
own quantum.
Infinity Unlimited’s Penetration An anchor is similar to an echo,
Homeline is on Quantum 5 (Q5). Service classifies alternate worlds as but highly stable. No one is quite sure
Infinity can reach Q4 and Q6 fairly follows. why – some theories suggest that
easily, and Q3 and Q7 with difficulty. quantum anchors were the “original”
Q2 and below, and Q8 and above, are Empty alternate worlds from which others
completely inaccessible. split off. The first anchors were dis-
There is no intelligent life on the covered when major interventions in
Centrum is located on Q8. They world. It is free for exploitation. certain Quantum 6 worlds failed to
can reach Q7 and Q9 fairly easily, and Typical uses include colonization cause shifts. The half-dozen that exist
Q6 and Q10 with difficulty. They can- (usually on the very best worlds), in Q6 are fierce battlegrounds . . .
not reach Q5 and below, or Q11 and industry (mostly on bad worlds), because here, with no risk of a shift
above, at all. hunting preserves (including prehis- occurring, the dimension war can be
toric ones!), and research (the whole fought without any subtlety at all.
The known worlds are distributed timeline is set aside as a zoo, science
as follows: station, etc.). “Disaster worlds” are CLOSE
sometimes exploitable, if only as PARALLELS
Quantum 2 and below: Unknown! waste dumps; others are reserved for
Quantum 3: 39 known Earths. scientific use. A “close parallel” is a world very
Quantum 4: 89 known Earths. much like Homeline at some past peri-
Quantum 5: 68 known Earths, Echoes od, but with small differences.
including Homeline and Earth-Beta. Examples include:
Quantum 6: 379 known Earths. The Earths in these timelines, all in
Quantum 7: 126 known Earths. Quantum 6, seem to be following the Earth-Beta: The first parallel to be
Quantum 8: 45 known Earths, “known” course of history exactly, but discovered. Like Homeline in 2004 in
including Centrum. aren’t as far along in that history as most ways, save for the lack of the
Quantum 9: 43 known Earths. Homeline. These worlds are open for crosstime secret.
Quantum 10: 52 known Earths. cautious, unobtrusive research and
Quantum 11 and above: Unknown! tourism – but if “history is changed,” Cherokee: In this world, now in its
they shift to other quanta and become year 1930, the Cherokee Nation was
Parachronic scientists agree that parallels. Centrum has been trying to stronger and more successful in sur-
there must be an infinity of alternate do just that, as part of a program viving Anglo incursions. When oil was
worlds, although most are out of intended to move them closer to their discovered in Oklahoma, the
reach. They disagree strongly on how own home dimension. Cherokee kept the land and the wealth
big an infinity. Neither Homeline’s nor – Big Oil is now an Indian-dominated
Centrum’s technology can reach any- Parallels business.
where near an infinite number of
worlds. But they are out there . . . The Earths in these universes Holly: A music-lover’s dream world.
somewhere. diverged from the “known” course of Buddy Holly’s plane didn’t crash; in
history at some point. Infinity and that world, it’s now 1989, and Holly
There are almost certainly undis- Centrum penetrate most such worlds and Ritchie Valens are both still rock-
covered timelines in all the quanta as time and manpower allow. Trade, ing. (The Big Bopper went into poli-
that Infinity and Centrum can reach. development, conquest, etc., are possi- tics, and is now in Congress.) Several
After the first 10 years of exploration, ble without risk of a quantum shift. other stars lived less self-destructive
new discoveries settled down to a lives, and are still around, although
steady rate of about 10 per year. Homeline’s general objective with Elvis is still dead. And the Monkees
these worlds is “benevolent guidance” became a super-group, with Stephen
A common misconception about away from war, especially war with Stills as a member.
the “infinite worlds” is that all possi- weapons of mass destruction – and,
bilities must exist on some alternate somewhat less benevolently, to ensure Which One Is Ours?
world, somewhere. Of course, this that they do not discover parachronic
might be true; until Infinity can reach travel. Many people disagree with this, Homeline obviously isn’t “our”
all possible alternates, it will be hard present-day world – the defining
to disprove. But even if an infinity of
worlds exist, there could be many

526 INFINITE WORLDS

change was the discovery of Morgan, daughter of industrialist J.P. WEIRD
parachronic technology in the 1990s. Morgan. Backed by Morgan’s money, PARALLELS
But Infinity has discovered a couple of Tesla’s genius changed the world with
early 21st-century Earths, just a cou- inventions such as broadcast power. A “weird parallel” is an alternate
ple of decades behind Homeline, The transistor and modern electronics that resembles Homeline in many
which “split off” by not inventing are unknown . . . but atomic power, ray ways, but with such strange differ-
parachronics. There are certainly a guns, dirigibles, and air cars are com- ences that it is hard to believe the sim-
few more out there. Since these mon. There was no World War II – the ilarities. According to parachronic
worlds have technology only a few League of Nations reigns, guided by the physicists, these similarities are the
years away from that of Homeline, the World Science Council. Gernsback is a reason why otherwise-improbable
policy is covert observation. If the GM covert battleground between Centrum worlds are sometimes found on acces-
wishes, any of these close parallels and Infinity, each side coveting sible quantum levels.
could be “our world, our time” – or at Gernsback’s wealth (much of its tech-
least one that is very close to it. nology, unfortunately, fails to work in United States of Lizardia: The first
other realities). Quantum 7. weird parallel discovered by Infinity.
Where Am I? “United States of Lizardia” (USL for
Johnson’s Rome: The Roman short) is Homeline’s name. Its inhabi-
It is quite possible for a crosstime Empire is still intact, and cheerfully tants call it Earth, and in some ways,
traveler to encounter an alternative decadent, in the year 1206 A.D. . . .and it’s similar to 21st-century Earth . . .
version of himself (sometimes older or Johnson Crosstime Incorporated is except that mammals never became
younger) living in one or more close developing it as a vacation spot. The dominant. The natives are bipedal,
parallels. This offers considerable corporation is using systematic bribery dinosaur-descended lizard men. Their
opportunity for infiltration and sub- and infiltration to take over the Empire. most powerful nation is analogous to
version, but there’s also the risk that It is already turning a huge profit. Part the United States, and occupies North
sentiment or narcissism can lead to a of the program involves outlawing pub- America. Infinity’s Penetration Service
traveler losing his objectivity and vio- lic tortures and the most brutal forms is covertly studying it.
lating the rules to help out or other- of gladiatorial combat, but most of the
wise influence his “other self.” decadent attractions of Rome will Orichalcum: The legendary Empire
remain intact. (There are many other of Atlantis exists alongside Heroic-Age
FARTHER recreational timelines; this is just one of Greece and Egypt. An island nation in
PARALLELS the most successful.) the Atlantic, its inhabitants are blessed
by the gods and skilled in many crafts
These worlds are considerably more Midgard: A TL4 world. The Vikings – including the working of the wonder-
divergent than the close parallels. A few conquered Byzantium and used its metal orichalcum. This is a TL1-2
examples (Quantum 5, except where wealth (and the secret of Greek fire) to alternate Earth in Quantum 6.
indicated): overthrow Christendom. It is now 1412:
the dawn of a Nordic age of discovery, Dead Worlds
Attila: The Mongol invasion of colonization, and piracy in the
Europe crushed Western and Islamic Americas. Quantum 7. A “dead world” is an alternate
civilization. Eurasia and northern Earth where life never developed. In
Africa are forest and grassland, ruled by Ming-3: In our world, China turned some cases, Earth is at a different dis-
warring nomadic tribes. Some urban its back on exploration in the 15th cen- tance from the sun, or has no moon.
civilizations exist in Japan and South tury. In Ming-3, it did not. It is now Dead worlds do not have breathable
America. 1859, and the Middle Kingdom (cur- atmospheres. Over a dozen of these
rently TL5) rules a global empire. worlds are known. They can be
Campbell: Science-fiction editor Quantum 7. exploited for mineral wealth. They
John W. Campbell died in a traffic acci- are also a convenient dumping
dent early in his career. As a result, The Thousand-Year Reich: The com- ground for wastes too loathsome to
many science-fiction writers never mon science-fiction nightmare of a keep on the same world with any
developed their talents, and SF didn’t Nazi victory in World War II exists on human being.
advance much past space opera. five known alternates in Q4 and Q5.
Apparently, this reduced the number of The U.N., aided by Infinity, recruits and MYTH PARALLELS
students who became interested in sci- infiltrates agents into two of the “earli-
ence and engineering, because scientif- er” ones (local dates 1952 and 1961), Some parallel worlds correspond –
ic development has stagnated here with the hope of overthrowing the Axis far too closely for coincidence – to
since the end of WWII. governments. Two more are further myths or fiction of Homeline. On such
along: one in 1970, and one in 1988. a world, Robin Hood might be a real,
Cornwallis: It is 1984. Revolution These are under careful observation. living person, waging guerrilla war on
failed in America and never came to The 1988 world is actually less the Sheriff of Nottingham . . . or mer-
France. The world is TL6, dominated by advanced than the 1970 one, having maids might be real and common. The
conservative, aristocratic monarchies suffered a Third World War in which most logical explanation is that some
. . . but a new revolution is brewing. the Nazis destroyed Japan with nuclear writers are psychics or world-jumpers.
weapons and lost many major cities in
Gernsback: A TL(6+2) “techno- Europe and North America. The fifth
utopia.” Nikola Tesla married Anne and most worrisome Nazi world is
Reich-5; see p. 543 for details.

INFINITE WORLDS 527

Most “myth” parallels are closed to civilization survived. Continuing vol- parachronic technology, and are (sep-
everyone but researchers . . . except for canism has rendered its air nearly arately) debating whether to secretly
the Robin Hood world, called unbreathable in most areas. assist the human resistance forces.
“Nottingham.” Infinity researchers
decided fairly quickly that Robin Hood Lucifer-3 is worse: the surface of WORLDS
had just been a lot more “real” than Earth – and quite possibly every world THAT BREAK
anyone thought. That world is now a within several hundred light years – THE RULES
popular Time Tours destination. was sterilized by radiation from a
nearby supernova or gamma-ray There are a few worlds where
HELL PARALLELS burster. Homeliners are systematically physical laws don’t work in the way
looting the ruins of its TL7 human civ- we think of as “normal.” The best
“Hell parallels” is a general term ilization for surviving art treasures known of these are the universes
for the distressingly large number of and refined raw materials. where crosstime travel itself works
alternate worlds that have suffered differently. For instance, Homeline
some great disaster or holocaust. On Taft-3, massive solar flares and Centrum are the only known
Some are closed due to continuing caused sterility and a more gradual timelines from which a projector can
hazards; others are open to exploita- collapse of civilization. operate, while Coventry (p. 540) can-
tion or research. not be reached by any means except a
Few traces of projector.
Nuclear War human civilization
survived. There are others with differences
More than 20 post-apocalyptic that have nothing to do with
Earths are known, including a dead, Ecological Disaster parachronics; for instance, the uni-
radioactive planet; a dying world in verses where superscience allows
the grip of nuclear winter; and a world Several worlds appear to have been physical “impossibilities,” such as
where humanity has been knocked devastated by over-industrialization gravity control or faster-than-light
back into the Stone Age. On a few and careless exploitation at the hands travel. In some cases, it’s biology that
worlds, nuclear radiation seems to of their human or other inhabitants – follows different rules, allowing tiny
work differently, accelerating the evo- some recently, others long ago. On humans or colossal beasts to exist.
lution of those who survived the war; Lenin-2, this led to global warming,
all but two of these are off limits. And flooding, heavy weather, and a mas- And a few worlds are even stranger.
on one world, Ragnarok, Infinity sive famine; the few million survivors There are timelines where no technol-
scouts arrived 10 years after the war are now living at TL3. ogy higher than “simple mechanics”
and discovered about 20,000 survivors works. This is because it is impossible
huddled in fallout shelters and isolat- Other Roads to Hell to produce an artificial electrical dis-
ed bases. In a massive humanitarian charge there . . . even though natural
effort, these survivors were ferried to Other worlds have suffered a wide discharges work just fine. This gives
an uninhabited timeline and helped to variety of more unusual disasters: scientists fits: how do the physical
get back on their feet. laws “know” the difference? The best-
Drexler: “Gray goo” nanomachines known example, Rustic, was discov-
Disease devoured civilization (and the first ered by a world-jumper. If a conveyor
scout). had gone there instead, it wouldn’t
On at least four known alternates, have been able to return.
disease has wiped out or nearly wiped Leviathan: Humanity is fighting a
out mankind. Three of these worlds losing battle against an undersea civi- There are even worlds where psy-
were depopulated by deliberate bio- lization. chic powers exist (Infinity is wary of
logical warfare. They are strictly off any world with mind readers, for obvi-
limits, their coordinates a secret (and Steel: Mankind developed sapient ous reasons). Likewise, there are a few
with good reason: in two cases, the machines in the 2010s. These rose up where magic works . . . and not always
first scout died despite all precau- and exterminated most of humanity. the same way. Such worlds are closed
tions). The fourth world, called Now it is 2026: a war-ravaged, post- except to elite researchers and agents,
Ariane, was hit by mutant influenza in apocalyptic Earth is divided into sev- and their existence is secret. But there
its year 1915, with over 99.9% mortal- eral Zones, ruled by rival artificial are the inevitable rumors; for
ity. The virus is fully controllable with intelligences . . . the Zone Minds. Only instance, many people believe that
TL8 medicine, and Ariane is being col- a few pockets of human resistance some Patrol agents have learned
onized, looted, and developed, despite remain. Worse, the arms race between magic in order to function more effec-
occasional skirmishes with tribes of rival Zones is spurring rapid techno- tively when visiting magical universes.
TL2 survivors. logical development (they’re now
TL9). Centrum and Infinity both fear Of late, scouts are discovering
Cosmic Catastrophe that at least one AI is researching more and more “rule-breaking”
worlds – perhaps because most of
A very large meteorite struck the “close” worlds have already been
Lucifer-1, in Quantum 7, about found. Or maybe something is
100 years ago. Few traces of human

528 INFINITE WORLDS

happening to reality. GMs are encour- but local legends suggest that they are Many pocket multiverses house
aged to dream up such worlds as not the original natives. Infinity powerful, even omnipotent godlike
needed! Two examples: believes that a banestorm must have beings. Most such entities are tied to
transported members of several their realm and cannot leave – at least,
Merlin: A close parallel until 1945, human cultures to Yrth – either from not without leaving behind most of
when the first A-bomb test created a Homeline during the Middle Ages or their power. However, magic or tech-
huge, permanent banestorm in New from a medieval echo. nology from outside the multiverse
Mexico. This resulted in a zone of high might allow these gods or their ser-
mana in the American Southwest, and POCKET vants to leave. And rarely, a pocket
a region of normal mana encompass- MULTIVERSES multiverse “absorbs” another reality,
ing much of North and Central bringing it inside the gods’ domain!
America. Magical fallout triggered the “You know, back home, I’m a god.”
appearance of “supernatural” crea- A simple example of a pocket mul-
tures. The United States has become a A “pocket multiverse” is a set of tiverse is a regular physical universe
technomagic superpower that fright- closely coupled dimensions that share containing a parallel Earth; an inter-
ens even Infinity. Merlin is a TL7-8 a set of inhabitants and metaphysical penetrating, superimposed spirit
alternate Earth in Quantum 3. laws. Working magic is likely, but not world; and two alternate dimensions, a
certain. heaven and a hell. In this system, peo-
Yrth: A quantum sargasso (see ple who die really do go on to their
Marooned!, p. 546) accidentally dis- The typical pocket multiverse con- punishment or reward; ghosts and
covered by an Infinity world-jumper a sists of one baseline physical reality spirits prowl the space between; angels
few years ago. He had many adven- (which might contain an alternate and demons are quite real; and there
tures before finding a magical artifact Earth) and one or more attached alter- may be a Creator.
that allowed him to escape! Yrth is a nate dimensions or interpenetrating
TL3 “medieval fantasy” world where planes populated by magical beings or Infinity researchers find operating
powerful magic works in a reliable spirits. There is often a “void” that sur- in pocket multiverses complex, diffi-
fashion. Elves, dwarves, goblins, drag- rounds all these dimensions. cult, and dangerous. Parachronic tech-
ons, and several other mythical races nology does not always function in all
exist there. Humans are dominant, parts of these systems!

INTERDIMENSIONAL TRAVEL

The keys to crossworld travel are “Mobot”: An unmanned, robot-con- a projector, they can jump to or from
the parachronic projector, which can trolled vehicle. These are still experi- adjacent quantum levels as well. Base
move matter between timelines, and mental; Homeline cannot yet build a cost is $20 million. Each ton of capac-
the parachronic conveyor, which facili- really robust artificial intelligence. ity adds $150 million and 10 lbs. LC1.
tates such transport. There are also
nontechnological means of travel Parachronic Field Two-Quantum Conveyors: These
between worlds. Generator work like quantum conveyors, but can
jump up to two quantum levels with
PARACHRONIC A conveyor’s generator may have the aid of a projector. Two-quantum
CONVEYORS subquantum, quantum, or two-quan- jumps are always tricky! Base cost is
tum range. No one has yet developed a $30 million. Each ton of capacity adds
A “parachronic conveyor” is a vehi- conveyor with greater range. $300 million and 30 lbs. LC0.
cle for interdimensional travel. There
are different styles, but all involve an The generator also has a mass Power System
enclosed hull containing a parachron- capacity: the maximum mass it can
ic field generator, a power system, and transport. The mass of the conveyor A jump requires 200 kJ of energy
a control system. (including the generator) and its pay- per ton of capacity – delivered in a sin-
load cannot safely exceed this limit. gle pulse. A typical pulsed power sys-
Hull Type tem for the field generator costs $50
The capabilities of the generator and weighs 5 lbs. per kJ.
Capsule: The standard conveyor is largely determine the cost of the con-
basically an enclosed box. It may be veyor, which is usually very high. This Control System
disguised for covert operations – for isn’t all for the circuitry – much of the
instance, as a hut, covered wagon, cost is licensing fees! A conveyor may have one of two
shed, phone booth, or trailer. types of control system:
Subquantum Conveyors: These can
Mobile: Some conveyors are func- jump between destinations at the same Fixed: The conveyor can only jump
tioning, mobile vehicles. These usually quantum level. Base cost is $10 mil- between two specific realities, whose
mass from 1 to 20 tons, although larg- lion. Each ton of capacity adds $10 coordinates are hardwired. The opera-
er and smaller designs exist. million and 10 lbs. LC2. tor cannot change these settings. This
type of conveyor is typical of those
Quantum Conveyors: These can available to most corporations, private
jump between destinations at the users, etc. who have proper licenses.
same quantum level. With the help of LC2.

INFINITE WORLDS 529

Parachronic Coordinates local electrical and magnetic fields,
and similar factors can all influence
Levels of several different types of parachronic energy determine a the jump; a good operator will com-
world’s “parachronic coordinates.” The most important of these is the pensate, taking 10 minutes. The oper-
“T-Gamma force,” which has levels that only come in whole numbers. ator can take more or less time; see
Time Spent (p. 346) for the effects on
Suppose the T-Gamma force equation were composed of two the skill roll for the jump.
numbers – there are really hundreds, but suppose it were only two. The
formula for Homeline might be 5 + 0 = 5, so it is in Quantum 5. The Finally, the operator hits the
formula for Earth-Beta, a close parallel, might be 4 + 1 = 5, so it’s also “jump” button! This activates the con-
in Q5. The next world might be 3 + 2 = 5, which is still in Q5. These veyor’s generator. (If the jump requires
similar formulas give the same result – 5 – so the associated worlds are a projector, he hits the “ready” button
similar to Homeline, as well as nearby. instead. The conveyor jumps as soon
as the projector’s field is focused on it.)
But a world might also have a formula of 25/5 = 5, or -5 ¥ -1 = 5, The conveyor vanishes, to reappear at
which gives 5 in a very different way. Such worlds are still in Q5, but the same point in space in a different
very different. universe.

By the same analogy, a parallel that is in Q7 but still very similar to PARACHRONIC
Homeline might have the formula 7 + 0 = 7. PROJECTORS

Programmable: The conveyor can it’s in trouble: the crew may know A “parachronic projector” is a
jump to any reality within its range. To where to go, but not how to get there device that enables a quantum or two-
accomplish this, the operator must from their current position. Finding quantum conveyor to cross quanta. It
enter the coordinates into its guidance the coordinates of a new universe is a consists of an enclosed “stage” sur-
system manually. These units are huge research project, taking years of rounded by equipment. It can be set to
much more tightly controlled. LC0. effort. Infinity and Centrum both have dispatch or retrieve a conveyor.
the parachronic coordinates of several
Conveyor Operation hundred universes on file. In A projector’s size depends on how
Homeline, most are publicly available, much mass it can move. Van Zandt’s
An unassisted parachronic convey- but some (for closed worlds, or those first projector filled a large laboratory.
or can only jump to timelines in the known to be controlled by Centrum) The largest modern projectors can
same quantum. For a long-range con- are secret. move up to 300 tons at once, and
veyor to jump to a different quantum, occupy most of a city block. An “aver-
it requires the assistance of a Parachronic coordinates are used age” projector requires enough hard-
parachronic projector (see below). For in conjunction with the actual space- ware to fill a small auditorium, and
a safe jump, the total mass of the con- time location of the conveyor to plot a can move two tons.
veyor and its payload cannot exceed “parachronic course.” A different
the field generator’s capacity. A typical “jump program” is required for each A projector requires a great deal of
conveyor, after subtracting its own location in real space (e.g., Times energy to operate. This can get expen-
mass, can transport anywhere from Square, New York) and each set of sive, but for a large projector, the cost
500 to 2,000 lbs. of occupants and parachronic coordinates (e.g., per unit of mass remains low enough
cargo. Homeline to Earth-Beta). Infinity to be negligible – even when moving
Unlimited charges about $500 for a relatively low-value items, such as
A conveyor jump requires a lot of pre-plotted jump program, from a grain and ore.
energy in a single pulse – more than a commercial I-Port to the equivalent
TL8 vehicular power plant can deliver. location in the target universe. To cre- Projectors are very costly. Infinity
The necessary pulsed power system ate a custom jump program (e.g., to quotes a base price of $100 million
accounts for about half the mass of a depart from your garage in Queens for the simplest installation with a
conveyor. It can deliver enough energy instead of from Times Square) takes 5 two-ton capacity; prices only go up
for a single jump, after which it must to 10 days of supercomputer time . . . from there. Thus, only governments,
be recharged. Most conveyors have an at a cost of $1 million to $20 million. eccentric billionaires, and large cor-
onboard fuel cell that can replenish For this reason, most legitimate trav- porations can afford their own projec-
the energy bank in about 30 minutes. elers use the I-Ports. tors. But since the cost to transport
This means the conveyor can’t return people and goods is relatively low,
immediately after making a jump! Just prior to departure, the convey- projectors routinely handle a dozen
or’s operator must perform final jump transits per day.
A conveyor needs to be pro- calibrations to correct for local condi-
grammed with the precise parachron- tions and the conveyor’s current mass. Projector Operation
ic coordinates of both its location and Solar neutrino and cosmic ray density,
its destination. If a conveyor gets lost, In order for a projector to dispatch
a conveyor, the conveyor must be
positioned on the projector’s stage
and “ready”: programmed, powered-
up, etc.

530 INFINITE WORLDS

To retrieve a conveyor, the projector universe and reappears at the same 12 – Focus error. The conveyor goes
must be focused on a specific universe point in the destination universe. On a somewhere unintended. It will
within two quanta. If a “ready” con- failure, by either the conveyor opera- appear in the same place, geo-
veyor in the target universe occupies a tor or the projector operator, some- graphically, but it could be on any
point congruent with the stage, the thing went wrong! Usually, the transit of an infinite number of timelines.
projector snatches it back. Since “real happens anyway . . . but not as Roll 1d: 1-3 means it’s on the right
time” interdimensional communica- planned. Roll 1d – or 2d, for a two- quantum level but in a different
tion is impossible, retrieval operations quantum jump – and add it to the timeline; 4-5 means it’s on an adja-
rely on setting pickup times and alter- operator’s margin of failure. If the cent quantum level; and 6 means
nates. For example, a cautious pene- conveyor and projector operators both it’s two quantum levels off. It will
tration expedition might arrange to failed, add their margins of failure! If take days, weeks, or even months
have a projector turned on once every the conveyor is overloaded, increase for the computers at Infinity (or
24 hours. If they don’t want pickup, the total by one or more. Then look up Centrum) to deduce its location.
they won’t power up their conveyor. the result on the table below. Until then, there is no way to retrieve
it. If a projector was involved, there
It is relatively straightforward to 2 – Timing error. Trip takes 1d minutes is also a 2-in-6 chance that some-
use a projector to dispatch or retrieve from the viewpoint of those “out- thing will arrive on the stage from a
a quantum or two-quantum conveyor side.” There is no way to tell a sim- random crosstime location. It
over a one-quantum distance (e.g., ple timing error from a totally lost might be air, rubble, an artifact, or
from Q5 to Q4 or Q6, or vice versa), shipment . . . so any delay triggers a living being . . . and it might be
provided the conveyor has an operat- a security alert, just in case! This is dangerous. In anything but an
ing, calibrated field generator. why parachronic operators have emergency, the projector will be
ulcers.* taken offline for 1d days while
To dispatch or retrieve a two-quan- researchers gather data (the hope is
tum conveyor over a two-quantum 3 – Timing error. Trip takes 1d minutes to build a controllable “snatcher”
distance (e.g., from Q5 to Q3 or Q7, or from the viewpoint of both those in projector someday!).†‡
vice versa) is trickier. A conveyor with transit and those “outside.”*
an operating, calibrated field genera- 13 – Matrix error. The conveyor arrives
tor isn’t enough – transit is only possi- 4 – Timing error. Trip takes 4d min- in small pieces – it is totally
ble under special conditions, and utes from the viewpoint of those destroyed. Grain, ore, etc., is unaf-
these can only be predicted about four “outside.”* fected; other cargo is killed or
hours in advance. (Every hour, roll 3d. destroyed. The GM may wish to
On a result of 7 or less, an hour-long 5 – Timing error. Trip takes 4d minutes “fudge” this result for PCs (treating
window will open in four hours.) Only from the viewpoint of both those in it as 12 or 14, as desired).†
the computers and instruments on the transit and those “outside.”*
projector can make this prediction; 14 or more – Utter confusion! Roll
those in the conveyor have no option 6 – Positional error. Conveyor appears twice more and apply both results.
but to prepare for pickup and wait . . . 1d feet too low, or off to one side. If either of these new rolls results in
and wait . . . and wait. Minor damage to conveyor or pro- 14 or more, see Fascinating
jector, but not to passengers or Parachronic Disasters (below)
OPERATIONS cargo (unless it is very fragile).†‡ instead.†
AND ACCIDENTS
7 – Resonance error. Shipment * Travel time between worlds is the-
When a conveyor jumps, roll appears and then vanishes, reap- oretically zero. Sometimes, for no
against the operator’s Electronics pearing where it was coming from. known reason, a trip seems to take
Operation (Parachronic) skill to see A repeated attempt is allowed, but longer. And sometimes, a trip seems
how the trip went. On a projector- at -1 to skill.† instantaneous to the passengers but
assisted trip, both the projector opera- takes time from the point of view of the
tor and the conveyor operator must 8-9 – Field-strength error. Electrical people on either end!
roll. discharges do 1d-2 burning dam-
age to all personnel, and temporar- † When one of these results comes
Modifiers: -3 or worse for damaged ily disable all unshielded electronic up, roll 1d: on a 1 or a 6, nothing hap-
equipment. Electrical disturbances equipment. The conveyor’s field pens; on 2-5, the corresponding time-
give a penalty, from -2 for severe elec- generator is disabled until it delay result from the table (2 through
trical storms or solar flares to -6 for receives major repairs.† 5) occurs as well.
the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear
blast! (“Hardening” the electronics 10 – Positional error. Conveyor ‡ If this error would mean that the
won’t remove this modifier – this is an appears too high. The fall inflicts conveyor materializes inside a solid
environmental effect, not equipment 1d crushing damage on each pas- object, anything it displaces simply
damage.) senger and to breakable cargo. The vanishes. No one has yet explained
conveyor’s generator is damaged: where it goes. This means that it is very
On a success, the conveyor instant- -3 on trips until it gets minor foolish to stand on a projector stage or
ly disappears from its starting repairs.†‡ within the area corresponding to the
focus of a projector! You could vanish.
11– Severe positional error. As 10, but Worse, part of you could vanish.
falling damage is 2d and the con-
veyor’s generator is disabled until it
receives major repairs.†‡

INFINITE WORLDS 531

Fascinating and disadvantages, assigned by the 7 – Bio-field error. All nonliving mate-
Parachronic Disasters GM in accordance with the passen- rial in the shipment – including the
ger’s personality. (This has hap- conveyor – disintegrates or is lost
Roll 2d and consult the table below pened twice.) elsewhere. This can leave travelers
whenever result 14 comes up twice in 4 – Signal error. Living things arrive embarrassed or stranded, depend-
succession on the previous table. safely . . . except that everyone’s ing on whether they were arriving
Several of these results assume living mind ends up in the wrong body. at a projector stage or leaving one.
cargo; reroll these if sending inani- This may be permanent, or it might
mate cargo. wear off in 1d days. See Mind 8 – Living beings experience brief
Transfer (p. 296) for the effects of telepathy. Each passenger acquires
Some of these results appear to vio- mind swapping. 20 points worth of Telepathy abili-
late parachronic science. Many of 5 – Tau-factor error. Shipment ties (see Chapter 6); the GM assigns
them have not happened to Infinity . . . appears as a “mirror image” of these randomly. These last 1d days
yet. A hazard associated with any such itself. Ores are unaffected. – roll separately for each person.
event is the mob of researchers that Foodstuffs are inedible. Living pas- (This has happened twice . . . that
instantly appear – to take possession sengers acquire the Restricted Diet Infinity knows of.)
of all equipment involved, and to and Unusual Biochemistry disad-
debrief all witnesses to within an inch vantages, and require a special diet 9 – The shipment appears twice, 1d
of their lives. minutes apart. (This has happened
once; fortunately, it was an
Parachronic Detectors uncrewed conveyor. The second
conveyor displaced the first one
A “parachronic detector” is a device that can detect an incoming when it was partially unloaded.
jump. To do so, it must be on the same reality as the jump, and the Was the duplicate some sort of
jump must occur within its range (see below). Roll against the opera- “mirror” effect, or was it from
tor’s Electronic Operations (Sensors) skill. Success gives a bearing. Two another timeline? It is unknown
or more stations within range can triangulate and determine the what would have happened had
jumper’s location to within a few percent of the actual range. there been passengers. Would they
have been duplicated?)
The sensor also records the jump’s reality disturbance. An hour’s
analysis and a successful Physics (Parachronic) roll will reveal the 10 – The shipment or conveyor is
source of the jump – conveyor, projector, or “anomalous” (e.g., a spell) switched with a very similar ship-
– and its quantum of origin. A day’s work and a roll at -5 identifies the ment or conveyor belonging to
reality of origin, if the researcher is familiar with it. Centrum (or to Homeline, if the
mission was Centrum’s).
The portable unit most often carried by Infinity Patrol agents costs
$560,000 and weighs 56 lbs.; it the size of a large backpack, and has a 11 – The shipment or conveyor is
1,000-yard range. Larger models are $1 million and 200 lbs. per mile of switched with a very similar ship-
range. ment or conveyor belonging to
some other, as yet unsuspected,
When Infinity or Centrum takes over a timeline, standard operating race of crossworld travelers.
procedure is to deploy a network of long-range detectors. However,
their expense means that few worlds have total coverage. It is general- 12 – The shipment or conveyor is
ly only cost-effective to deploy them in major centers. switched with a shipment or con-
veyor belonging to some completely
2 – Trip takes centuries, or even mil- to survive. If they are far from alien dimension-traveling culture.
lennia, from the viewpoint of the Homeline, all Survival rolls are at Mass is unchanged, but nothing
shipment. Much less time passes -5, reduced to -2 once someone else need be the same!
for the “outside” world. Survival of realizes (from GM clues) what has
living beings is unlikely – they happened. (This has happened Damaged Conveyors
might arrive and then crumble to twice, and is suspected in two
dust! Rather than killing off PCs, other cases where the crew of a lost Failed jumps, accidents, sabotage,
the GM is free to substitute other conveyor starved in “friendly” sur- and attacks can all damage a convey-
temporal oddities, such as aging in roundings.) or. Depending on its hull, a conveyor
reverse. Finding a cure could be an 6 – Frog error. The shipment arrives in might be as flimsy as tinfoil or as
interesting adventure. a rain of tiny frogs, or some other robust as a tank – but should any dam-
bizarre “Fortean” phenomena. age penetrate its DR, assume that
3 – Trip takes a very long time from (This has happened six times, and there is a 1-in-6 chance of significant
the passengers’ mental perspective, four Infinity researchers have gone damage to its delicate parachronic
but no time from their physical per- mad trying to explain it.) hardware.
spective. Each passenger gains 3d
points in assorted mental quirks The dramatic effect of damage is
more important than the specifics. As
a rule of thumb, it usually reduces the
conveyor’s capabilities: the conveyor
still functions, but at -3 or worse to all
Electronics Operation (Parachronic)
rolls.

532 INFINITE WORLDS

Severe damage (GM’s decision) Sometimes, they can predict where it NATURAL
may cripple the conveyor completely. might have appeared. If they’re lucky, PARACHRONIC
Until repairs are made, it cannot make this is a charted, habitable timeline. PHENOMENA
a subquantum jump itself, nor can a But sometimes it isn’t.
projector retrieve it. In effect, it is There are several unusual “natural”
“stranded.” Occasionally, the computers pre- phenomena that can reach across
dict an uncharted location. In fact, this dimensions.
Lost Conveyors is how several new timelines were dis-
covered. Even so, being randomly Banestorms
A conveyor can become entirely dumped onto a brand-new timeline,
lost – that is, fail to arrive where it was while it makes a great adventure, is a A “banestorm” is a localized event
expected – for a variety of reasons. trip most travelers would rather avoid. that transports everyone within a cer-
These boil down to “operator error” tain area to another dimension. The
and “bad luck.” Lost/Moved Timelines phenomenon is most often circular,
and may range in size from a few
If someone on Homeline was This is not “operator error” – but yards to a few miles across. On a plan-
retrieving the conveyor with a projec- when it happens, it causes operator et with an atmosphere, it tends to
tor, or expecting it to return under its headaches! See Timeline Shifts manifest as a thick fog bank, mysteri-
own power, its loss will be noticed (p. 544). ous thundercloud, heavy electrical
immediately. storm, etc. that builds up slowly (e.g.,
Paradoxes a fog rolls in and blocks all light) and
If the conveyor was outbound from vanishes suddenly.
Homeline, the time before its loss is Paradoxes don’t happen, because
noticed depends on the shipment. parachronic travel is not true time When a banestorm vanishes, so
Loss of a regular supply run to a major travel. However, in an “echo” – a time- does everyone within its radius. These
base will be reported as soon as possi- line that duplicates Homeline’s history “passengers” reappear . . . elsewhere.
ble, by sending a message capsule to – any intervention that changes the And unlike a parachronic conveyor, a
the other end. However, it might take flow of events can cause a quantum banestorm does not always transport
days or weeks to notice the loss of an shift: an expensive nuisance at best, a its passengers to a spatial location that
exploration mission! disaster at worst. See Timeline Shifts corresponds to their point of origin in
(p. 544). their home dimension. Some geo-
The sooner a conveyor’s loss is graphical locations seem to be “pre-
noticed, the better the chances of That said, a continuing nightmare ferred” pickup or delivery points.
recovery. The Infinity Unlimited com- of more imaginative types is this: These places often earn a reputation –
puters can get to work on the problem, What if one of the historical parallels the Bermuda Triangle, for example.
taking into account every known is somehow Homeline’s past, and visi-
variable, down to the exact mass tors change it without noticing? But
and capacitance of the conveyor. that hasn’t happened . . . yet.

INFINITE WORLDS 533

There are few consistent patterns would normally go unnoticed, except artifact. A parachronic detector or
beyond this. Some worlds seem to be that fragments of the previous past world-jumper can detect its presence.
more prone to banestorm manifesta- (“reality shards”) often still remain,
tions than others – and on a given persisting as bizarre memories, inex- Summonable: The portal only
world, certain locations seem to be plicable amnesia, or anomalous arti- appears when summoned. This
unusually susceptible. Multiple facts – especially in the “fracture requires a specific action, which
banestorms can strike simultaneously. zone,” the name given to the “epicen- might be mundane (touch a specific
Researchers know of at least two spe- ter” where the two histories began to object) or complex (use a specific
cial types of banestorm: diverge. Some reality shards are even sacred dagger to perform a blood sac-
human – legendary figures, mysteri- rifice). Most such portals only remain
Twin banestorms exchange matter ous strangers, or individuals “dupli- open for a brief period after being
from two dimensions. A large land- cated” across worlds. Extremely pow- summoned.
based event can even exchange terrain erful reality quakes sometimes over-
between worlds. turn both the past and future of a Variable: The portal is a junction
world, hurling reality shards into between more than two realities. The
Permanent banestorms transform nearby parallels. destination might be random or selec-
an area of a single physical reality into table (via a key or action). If two peo-
one in which two dimensions co-min- ple want to go to the same place, they
gle. This often has an effect on the
area’s mana level, increasing it for Dimensional Highways
hundreds or even thousands of miles
around. A “dimensional highway” is a path that runs across dimensions.
Researching its history often reveals that it follows ancient straight
No one knows what causes any tracks, ley lines, etc. At points along the road, nexus portals exist. These
type of banestorm. Theories include: are usually periodic or locked, and as wide as the road itself. The road
might end at a portal in one dimension and resume at a portal in the
Banestorms are magical. Some evi- next – or it might continue in the original world as well, and after a
dence suggests that banestorms are stretch, lead to another portal to a third reality, and so on. Who built
magical in nature. Divination can the roads? Nobody knows . . .
often predict them. Powerful ritual
magic can sometimes even summon Nexus Portals should hold tight as they pass
them. Magic seems to be less success- through!
ful at controlling them, however . . . A “nexus portal” is a hole leading
from one dimension to another. It is Hidden: A hidden portal is invisible
Banestorms are technological. usually circular and less than 10 yards – you can step through it without real-
Parachronic technology can certainly across, and allows light to pass izing it was there. Such portals are
detect banestorms; a parachronic through from both ends (that is, you often one-way! A parachronic detector
detector (p. 532) “goes crazy” 1d min- can see its destination). Like a convey- can sense a hidden portal only at 1/100
utes before one appears. There is con- or, a portal crosses realities without its normal range – and only when the
siderable debate as to whether crossing space. portal is actually used to traverse a
parachronic technology can cause dimension. A world-jumper can sense
them. Parachronic Laboratories Most portals are two-way: you can a hidden portal in his line of sight on
(p. 538) believes it might be possible to enter or leave at will. Some, however, an IQ roll.
create an artificial banestorm using a are one-way: you can enter but you
“parachronic bomb” – but if they’ve can’t leave. If you stick a limb or object Shiftrealms
got one, they don’t admit it. Some the- partway through, you can’t retrieve it –
ories suggest that any use of it’s stuck until you or the object go all Some geographical features (and a
parachronic technology may intensify the way through. few man-made structures) are
or even cause banestorms. And some “unstuck” in reality. They shift
evidence suggests that the technology A portal might be further qualified between worlds, either randomly or
need not be parachronic: on one as: on a regular cycle. These “shiftrealms”
world, Merlin, the first nuclear deto- may appear and vanish entirely, or
nation to take place triggered a per- Open: The portal is always present overlay or switch places with local
manent banestorm. and can be traversed freely. reality. They can range in size from
individual rooms to entire worlds.
Banestorms are alive. A few Periodic: The portal only appears Researchers believe this may account
researchers believe that banestorms sometimes: every full moon, once per for tales of mysterious vanishing
are living things! century, etc. If it’s two-way, the way islands (such as Avalon and Huy
out usually has the same cycle. Breasil) and haunted forests.
Reality Quakes
Locked: The portal only appears
Unlike a timeline shift (see p. 544), in the presence of a specific “key” –
a “reality quake” is a parachronic con- usually a magical or technological
vulsion that overturns the past of a
given world, rewriting reality and
changing its established history. This

534 INFINITE WORLDS

Infinity’s World Classes

Infinity applies one of the following formal classifi- Homeline. Infinity tries to keep the very existence of
cations to each timeline. these worlds secret. Reasons for this include:

Open Hell Parallels: Timelines depopulated by uncontrol-
lable disease, nanotech gone awry, or forces not yet
The world is open to visitation and colonization. understood. See p. 528.

Protectorate High-Tech and Aggressive: The world would present
an obvious danger if the locals learned about crosstime
The world is a populated parallel under the protec- travel. The Nazi-dominated “Reich” parallels are the
tion and control of Infinity Unlimited or the United best example.
Nations. Depending on the world’s status, limited trade
and contact may be possible. Mysterious Forces: Worlds that harbor magic, wide-
spread psionics, or any ability under the general head-
Research ing “super powers.”

The world is set aside for study. Most such worlds Nonhuman Intelligence: Timelines in which aliens
are parallels. Types include: are the dominant species.

Anomalies: Worlds that show some interesting but Ultra-Tech: When a world has technology more
not obviously dangerous variations in physical laws. advanced than Homeline’s (or Centrum’s), it is consid-
ered hazardous even if its culture seems benign. The
Cultural Preserves: Worlds left as “controls” to judge researchers’ objective here, of course, is to learn the
the effect of intervention on other, similar timelines. native science without being caught! No Earths with
interstellar travel have been discovered so far.
Nature Preserves: Worlds with interesting wildlife,
such as dinosaurs . . . or dragons. War Zone: The world is the site of a major struggle
between Infinity and Centrum, or between different
Primitives: Parallel worlds inhabited by Bronze Age native factions.
or earlier man. (There is continuing pressure to allow
more exploitation of these worlds.) There are a few “special” closed worlds that don’t fit
into any of the categories above; e.g., a mysterious par-
Closed allel where the inhabitants suddenly began to shrink.
They are usually closed for good, one-of-a-kind reasons!
The world is “off limits” to absolutely everyone save
a few chosen researchers or Penetration Service agents
. . . mostly because they pose a potential danger to

INFINITY UNLIMITED

Infinity Unlimited, usually called required. Infinity has the power to con- Infinity also requires that outtime
“Infinity,” is the multinational corpo- fiscate or destroy any unauthorized interlopers “better the lot” of the people
rate entity through which Homeline conveyor or projector – but in practice whose worlds they infiltrate and use.
exploits the fruits of – and tries to con- this right is limited when the device is This is often interpreted very loosely . . .
trol – parachronic technology. It is a in the hands of major powers operating
huge, wealthy organization. It is not on Homeline. Infinity’s ability to enforce these
always efficient, but it is effective. policies is strong but hardly absolute.
Infinity considers itself the custodi- Many interests explore and exploit
Infinity operates under the joint aus- an of all other timelines – although its timelines clandestinely, simply because
pices of the United Nations Interworld practical hegemony extends only it is so profitable to find and monopolize
Council (consisting of the ambassadors through Q4, Q5, and Q6. Its sub- a new world!
of the permanent members of the U.N. sidiaries have a monopoly on the
Security Council) and its own board of research and penetration of new time- Infinity has a number of subsidiary
directors. The board is half elected by lines. As the “legal guardian” of the organizations. Each performs a differ-
Infinity’s own shareholders, half alternate worlds, Infinity leases devel- ent task. They try to cooperate closely,
appointed by the Council. opment rights to other Homeline enti- but communications breakdowns and
ties: governments, corporations, or low-level infighting are not unknown.
Infinity owns, and has the right to even individuals. In effect, Infinity Additionally, no matter how carefully
police, all parachronic equipment. regards itself as the owner of any world Infinity screens its employees, there is
When others build such equipment, below TL6, and limits or forbids con- always the chance that Centrum infil-
they do so by permission. Any use of tact with worlds of higher TL. trators, government and corporate
projectors is under Infinity’s direct spies, and ordinary thieves are among
supervision, and licensing fees are them – leading to adventures with no
outside enemy.

INFINITE WORLDS 535

Crosstime Recruitment INFINITY
DEVELOPMENT
Homeline and Centran crosstime organizations often employ locals,
but they do so through front organizations – the outtimers have no clue This joint U.N.-Infinity organiza-
that they’re working for extradimensional bosses. In fact, it’s a serious tion is responsible for parceling out
crime for anyone to divulge The Secret to an outtimer. However, the “trading territories” among the time-
Infinity Patrol has limited authority to recruit talented outtimers. Its lines. When a new world is opened for
Centran equivalent, Interworld, enjoys similar powers. commercial exploitation, interested
parties must submit bids to ID. Cash is
Crosstime recruitment is supposed to occur only when an outtimer’s just one consideration; bidders must
talents are deemed to be a significant asset to the organization. A field also show how they will protect the
agent who recruits a local will have to justify his actions to a board of local environment and population,
inquiry. In practice, tolerance depends on the situation. World-jumpers keep security, and so forth. Outtime
(p. 544) are an exception. They’re so valuable that every effort will be installations are always subject to
made to recruit them, no matter where they’re from. inspection by ID bureaucrats, I-Cops,
or both.
On the other hand, there have been cases where recruitment was ini-
tiated for personal reasons. For instance, an undercover Time Scout Many Homeline organizations
might fall in love with a talented outtimer and use his influence to recruit object strongly to the implication that
her into the service. In a case like this, Infinity might go along in order to Infinity “owns” the other timelines . . .
keep a good agent . . . but it is more likely to court-martial the offender but that’s the way it works.
and send both lovers off to Coventry (p. 540).
INFINITY PATROL
The Patrol expects all recruits to go through training and indoctrina-
tion, and watches them carefully to ensure that they remain reliable. An The Infinity Patrol is the “opera-
outtime recruit whose true loyalties remained with his homeworld would tions” branch of Infinity. In theory, it is
be a great liability.

ISWAT

Interworld Special Weapons and
Tactics, or ISWAT, is the elite black-ops sec-
tion of the Infinity Patrol. It specializes in
operations on closed worlds, weird paral-
lels, and pocket multiverses, and routinely
performs high-priority but deniable mis-
sions that can determine the fate of entire
worlds.

ISWAT has an undisclosed number of
operatives, who work in small teams. Some
are highly trained I-Cops or special opera-
tions troops . . . but the majority are out-
timers recruited for their unique talents.
Rumor has it that these include famous
historical or mythical figures plucked from
alternate worlds; wizards, psis, and supers;
nonhumans (including undead); slumming
angels and reformed demons; and even
retired pagan demigods. Many of these
rumors are true.

ISWAT ops have three things in com-
mon: a dedication to the nebulously
defined ideals of “peace and freedom,” a
love for action, and a very tight personal
loyalty to their team members. The eight
iconic characters on pp. 307-323 make up
an ISWAT team. Such a team is an ideal PC
group for very free-wheeling adventure.

Does Centrum have its own ISWAT?
That’s a very good question.

536 INFINITE WORLDS

a private security force operating Infinity Patrol Missions defending echoes against sabotage.
under a U.N. mandate – much like the Penetration and Intervention work
various contractors (some armed) that The Patrol has many duties, together at these tasks. Penetration
the United Nations has hired in the including: engages in surveillance, espionage,
past to clean up after wars. In prac- and counterespionage, while
tice, the Patrol is a supranational • Enforcement: Inevitably, some Intervention handles active police
paramilitary agency under Infinity’s Homeline governments, corporations, work and special-ops missions to
control. and individuals use timelines in unac- counter Centrum operations once
ceptable ways: exploiting the natives, detected.
The Patrol’s jurisdiction on wasting resources, importing merce-
Homeline is strictly limited to protect- naries and equipment for military • Rescue: There are many reasons
ing Infinity premises – although they adventures, and so on. This happens why crosstime travelers might fail to
have close liaisons with both national constantly, despite the I-Cops’ best make it back on time, ranging from
police agencies and Interpol. Beyond efforts. But the Patrol keeps trying to the trivial (conveyor blew a fuse) to
Homeline, only its reach limits its stop it. This is the job of the Justice the disastrous (eaten by dinosaurs,
influence, but it has limited powers on division of Intervention, but taken hostage by renegades, or burned
worlds that have large national pres- Penetration Service agents often as witches). It’s also possible that they
ences. The Patrol is spread very thinly notice the problem first, when a “new” interfered with history and caused a
among the many timelines it polices. timeline turns out to have uninvited timeline shift (see p. 544). So when
guests. travelers fail to check in, the Patrol
The Patrol is a large organization, sends out a rescue mission.
with 10,000 field agents and 50,000 If an unauthorized penetration is
other employees. It is multinational in discovered, the I-Cops go into action Who goes on the mission depends
character. The paramilitary “I-Cops” immediately. The policy is to shut on who was lost – and where. On a
primarily recruit former police and down the penetration instantly if The “safe” timeline, the response might be
military personnel, while the Secret seems likely to be breached . . . two junior Penetration troubleshoot-
Penetration Service attracts adventur- but otherwise, to infiltrate the pene- ers with a tool kit . . . but they’ll be
ers and scientists of all sorts (geolo- tration in order to roll up the entire armed, just in case. For dangerous
gists, anthropologists, biologists, etc.). gang – not just the foot soldiers. An timelines, it might be an armed con-
The one constant is that everyone experienced Time Tours guide or veyor full of I-Cops.
must pass rigorous psychological and retired scout might be approached for
loyalty examinations intended to weed such a mission. In all cases, the Patrol’s top priority
out fanatic nationalists, criminals, is to safeguard The Secret; therefore,
radicals, and anyone else likely to • Homeline Security: The Security retrieving or destroying a lost convey-
betray the organization. Most of the division of Intervention is focused on or can be more important than getting
time, this works – although some monitoring and stopping crosstime missing travelers out alive! For this
Patrol members undoubtedly have infiltration of Homeline. It works reason, the Patrol often isn’t called
divided loyalties or hidden agendas. closely with the Intelligence division immediately if the missing party
of Penetration – and with the intelli- belongs to a group other than Infinity.
A Patrol field agent might be an gence agencies of major world powers Many crosstime corporations (such as
explorer, investigator, or soldier, but – to detect and neutralize threats. A Time Tours) have their own reaction
regardless of his job, he serves in one major part of this job is keeping tabs forces. Other governments have their
of the Patrol’s two main branches: on conveyors and projectors. own security forces, too – some more
competent than others. And in
Intervention Service: Popularly • Outtime Security: A pillar of extreme cases, ISWAT (p. 536) might
known as the “I-Cops,” Intervention is Infinity’s policy is that no timeline out- intercept the call and quietly take over
the security and espionage arm of the side Homeline (and obviously the mission.
Patrol. Its primary responsibilities are Centrum) is to learn that crosstime
enforcing Infinity regulations and travel even exists – let alone use it – A rescue mission is a good, and
countering Centrum penetrations. except under close control. The potentially violent, adventure. And if it
Intervention is organized into 10 divi- Penetration Service works to discover takes place in an echo, there is also the
sions, including Justice, Security, which timelines are edging toward danger of causing an inadvertent
Internal Affairs, and Special this technology (or any other means of quantum shift . . .
Operations. dimensional travel), while the
Intervention Service takes action to Penetration Missions
Penetration Service: The “Time ensure that individuals and govern-
Scouts” are responsible for surveying ments do not breach regulations, and New timelines are discovered
and opening new timelines. They also punishes those that do. When neces- mathematically, although a lot of trial
handle search-and-rescue operations sary, Intervention uses extreme meas- and error is also involved. Initial entry
for lost conveyors. One of their least- ures to keep The Secret (see p. 540). into a new timeline is always made
known but most dangerous jobs is using a robot with an extensive chem-
crosstime intelligence gathering. • Defense vs. Centrum: This ical and biological sensor package.
Penetration’s eight divisions include includes counterespionage against Many timelines get no further visits
Contact, Echo Surveillance, Intelli- Centrum spies, espionage to learn . . . they’re not suitable for human life.
gence, and Search and Rescue. more about the enemy, and the But when a timeline looks safe, a
most “romantic” job in the Patrol: human has to go in.

INFINITE WORLDS 537

The first scout’s job is to get in, look end up coining informal names out free lunches, either. When it reset-
around, and determine whether the during the penetration process. tles disaster victims, for instance, it
timeline is inhabited – and, if so, by Eventually, one name sticks and usually requires those resettled to pay
whom or by what. If it proves to be becomes official. their way – most often by working for
uninhabited, Penetration classifies it other Infinity operations. Still, these
for colonization or other use and turns Penetration Adventures: An adven- contracts are always more than fair to
it over to Infinity Development. ture or even a campaign could be built those being helped.
around the first penetrations of a new
But if the timeline is inhabited, it timeline – especially if it has high tech- Miracle Workers supplies vaccines,
remains the property of Penetration, nology and is not a close parallel. One antidotes, food crops, etc., in situa-
and the survey proceeds very carefully. of the first steps is to grab a daily tions where these things would make
The first scout isn’t expected to bring newspaper. Imagine the gradual pene- a difference. The biggest challenge
back anything more than an estimate tration of, for instance, a world in here is covering its tracks, except in
of the tech level and a recorded sam- which the Nazis won World War II . . . those rare, usually depopulated time-
ple of the language. Later teams try to and it is now 1960. lines where Infinity simply moves in
learn a bit more on each visit. If the and takes over.
timeline is similar to a known parallel MIRACLE
or historical period, experienced WORKERS PARACHRONIC
agents can be brought in quickly. LABORATORIES
Otherwise, exploration happens one Miracle Workers is the nonprofit,
careful step at a time. The higher the “do-gooder” side of Infinity. It works This is Infinity’s pure-research
timeline’s technology, the more careful closely with various U.N. aid agencies. organization, dedicated to improving
the explorers must be. Despite being heavily financed by both parachronic technology and
licensing profits from other parts of Homeline’s understanding of the sci-
Only very well penetrated timelines Infinity, as well as by outside dona- ence behind crosstime travel. Infinity
are opened up to organizations like tions, there is never enough time or might ask agents of any of its organi-
Time Tours. Usually, these are on Q4 money to help everywhere. And – to zations to test prototype equipment
and Q5, where Centrum’s agents can- the great frustration of the staff – from “Paralabs.” When a traveler sur-
not reach. But certain Q6 echoes are Miracle Workers is strictly forbidden vives a new and devastating conveyor
also (carefully supervised) tour sites. to help out in the historical echoes, for accident, researchers from Paralabs
fear of shifting the timeline. are in the middle of the investigation
Naming New Worlds: A newly . . . probably demanding that the vic-
located timeline receives a code Miracle Workers is not for profit, tims do it all again, more slowly.
number based on its parachronic but is not in the business of handing
coordinates. Researchers inevitably

OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS

Many organizations, both govern- Infinity definitely keeps secrets from waste disposal, and research, these gov-
ment and private, have access to con- the U.N. However, the U.N. has nearly ernments maintain “colony” worlds on
veyors. All of these units are theoreti- unfettered access to Infinity facilities permanent lease from Infinity.
cally under Infinity’s control, open to for operations such as humanitarian
I-Cop inspection at any time. But con- relief missions to other worlds. For Infinity, the biggest problem
veyors are often falsely reported “lost” with governments is their incessant
and put to clandestine uses – or simply Since U.N. members tend to “deniable” secret operations, as they
stolen by untrustworthy agents or protest interventions against their try to circumvent the limitations
employees. This is a constant crosstime analogs, most crosstime Infinity places on them. Conveyors
headache for the Patrol. U.N. interventions are either in very can and are built secretly, and the
different parallels or intended to help major powers undoubtedly have clan-
More than 30 non-Infinity organi- the “local” U.N. survive and grow. At destine parachronic capabilities
zations have their own projectors. any given time, the U.N. may be intended for covert exploration,
Fortunately, these are easier to police, actively intervening in two to four dif- weapon testing, outtime exploitation,
and every projector has its own full- ferent timelines. or even war. The I-Cops often run into
time Patrol monitoring team. highly trained agents who they know
GOVERNMENTS are from Homeline. Sometimes they
THE UNITED can even prove it.
NATIONS Several nations (notably China,
France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the Projectors can also be built secret-
The United Nations theoretically United Kingdom, and the United ly, but no one seems to have done so
oversees Infinity in its many forms, States) have significant “official” on Homeline yet – again, giving rise to
but its “control” is loose on Homeline, parachronic capabilities, with their speculation that Infinity has detection
and looser yet in the alternate worlds, own fleets of projectors and conveyors. methods it isn’t revealing. So far, no
In addition to engaging in mining, projector built off of Homeline has
worked.

538 INFINITE WORLDS

RESEARCH Getting a crosstime bounty-hunt- elsewhere, and vice versa. As always,
FOUNDATIONS ing license from Infinity requires a though, The Secret must be kept.
careful background check and appro-
The infinite worlds are fertile priate experience (being ex-Patrol When a new timeline is opened up,
ground for scientific research. helps; a good employment history the traders’ agents are the first in,
Scientists can study totally unspoiled with a reputable crosstime company looking for new goods and new mar-
biomes . . . or worlds that have been like Time Tours is also a plus). Some kets. Some are unscrupulous, dealing
utterly destroyed by dozens of differ- bounty hunters work alone; others even in slaves and drugs; others are
ent disasters. Infinity permits almost work for private agencies, the largest the best allies the Patrol has.
any kind of nondestructive research. It and most successful of which is
would probably allow a little scientific Infinite Justice, based in Indiana. White Star dominates the inter-
destructiveness, too, if an artfully writ- world trading scene, but there is so
ten proposal were to make the gains CORPORATIONS much business that there’s no need to
seem great enough. hog it all. One of the largest corpora-
Crosstime exploitation can be high- tions involved is Time Truckers, Inc.,
Most research, by far, has been his- ly profitable. Numerous businesses whose trained conveyor operators hire
torical and social. The historical paral- operate from Homeline. out to various businesses.
lels offer answers to countless intrigu-
ing “what if” questions, and the echoes Goods that are cheap on Homeline are often
offer – or at least seem to offer – a win- valuable elsewhere, and vice versa.
dow into Homeline’s own past! Many
expeditions are mounted to such White Star Trading Time Tours, Ltd.
worlds, to observe and to learn. These
are bound by strict rules: they must Founded by Paul Van Zandt, White “If it’s Tuesday, this must be 1066.”
keep The Secret of parallel worlds hid- Star is the original interworld trading
den, and they cannot change the his- company – and probably the largest. Time Tours is by far the best known
tory of the echoes, lest they be “lost” to Van Zandt financed most of his origi- of the “independent” companies using
a timeline shift (see Timeline Shifts, nal development by trading back and parachronic technology. Its business is
p. 544). forth with a single world. sending groups of tourists on exciting
expeditions into parallel timelines.
CROSSTIME Today, White Star has offices in The goal is not always pure sightsee-
BOUNTY hundreds of dimensions, always dis- ing: one popular trip is the Dinosaur
HUNTERS guised as ordinary businesses. Some Safari, the ultimate challenge for
are small, handling a few hundred hunters looking for really big game.
“Richard Z. Horn. Under arrest for pounds of rare commodities a day; for The Patrol runs an official “customs
a billion-dollar computer fraud, he example, a crate of new-release CDs check” when each tour returns, but
jumped bail, hijacked a Time from Holly, or a breeding pair of pas- unless the outtime world is known to
Truckers, Inc. conveyor, and disap- senger pigeons. Others ship hundreds contain some specific danger, this is
peared on Cornwallis. The I-Cops of tons of grain or ore daily, loading mostly a formality.
found the abandoned conveyor, but the cargo onto barges that go out of
after spending a week searching, they sight of land and then jump between Working for Time Tours can be
gave up looking for Horn – said he was worlds. challenging. Employees must organ-
no threat. But there’s a $1,000,000 ize, equip, and lead expeditions to
bounty on Horn, and a reward from White Star was formerly part of many different timelines. The job
Time Truckers as well. I was deter- Infinity, but antitrust considerations includes keeping the tourists out of
mined to collect both . . .” (and competitors’ objections) led to its trouble . . . tourists who all too often
becoming legally and financially dis- can’t manage the clothing or the lan-
There are a lot of places for a fugi- tinct. It still has a “cozy” relationship guage, and who will walk right into
tive to hide among the hundreds of with Infinity, which makes many of its the Charge of the Light Brigade to get
known parallel worlds. The I-Cops go smaller competitors unhappy. a good snapshot for the folks back
after anyone who is a threat to securi- home. As a result, Time Tours reserves
ty or the stability of an echo, but they Other Traders the right to do whatever is needed – up
lack the manpower to chase down to and including aborting the trip with
anyone who doesn’t pose a clear and Many corporations of all sizes no refund – to prevent “cultural con-
present threat to Infinity’s hegemony. are getting rich through cross-world tamination,” or to correct it once it
The crosstime divisions of agencies trading. Goods that are cheap has occurred.
like the FBI handle some of these on Homeline are often valuable
cases. Freelance bounty hunters pick
up many of the others.

INFINITE WORLDS 539

Keeping the Secret

Infinity and Centrum may be enemies, but there is the security leak. Measures can range from dirty tricks
one thing they agree on: the secret of parachronic tech- intended to discredit the subject or change his percep-
nology must remain their monopoly. An “outtimer” who tions, to commando raids aimed at eliminating all the
learns this secret – The Secret – must be hired, discred- witnesses and destroying all hard evidence. But where
ited, or made to vanish. Centrum might kill, Infinity prefers to make the witness
vanish. He is kidnapped . . . and taken to Coventry.
It’s reasonable to expect highly trained Infinity per-
sonnel to keep the secret of parachronic travel; indeed, Coventry
operatives likely to contact outtimers have prepared
cover stories that fit local belief systems. If possible, Coventry is a Quantum 3 alternate in which human-
anything that might reveal The Secret will be explained ity didn’t develop. It has one important and useful pecu-
away as a mundane event – but if not, it’s better the liarity: unassisted conveyors can’t enter or leave it – and
locals think they saw witches, fairies, or UFOs than get neither can world-jumpers. And nobody knows why.
any inkling that humans with advanced technology are This means the only access to Coventry is by projector-
traveling across dimensions. assisted conveyor from Homeline.

On the other hand, when a herd of tourists goes The I-Cops use Coventry to isolate people who Know
charging off into a parallel, there’s a strong likelihood Too Much: outtimers who stumbled onto a Homeline
that somebody will let something slip . . . operation; Homeliners who broke regulations; scien-
tists abducted from other timelines because the Patrol
Eraser feared they were too close to developing parachronic
technology; and even disgruntled ex-employees of
When outtimers see visitors appear or disappear, or Infinity! The population also includes some voluntary
witness some use of Homeline technology, the pre- settlers, rescued from crosstime disasters.
ferred solution is to make them forget. “Eraser” is a
sedative and amnestic drug used by both Infinity and All sorts of adventures are possible on Coventry . . .
Centrum. A recipient must make a HT-3 roll to avoid including a rescue attempt from within Infinity, by
its effects. On a failure, he falls unconscious. On awak- employees who are morally opposed to the whole
ening, his short-term memories – everything in the last concept. The world itself is a pastoral TL4, with TL8
5d+45 minutes – are gone. Eraser comes in pill, injec- medicine.
tion, and gas form. It appears to have no untoward
side effects, even in massive overdoses. The Infinity Ethical Problems
Patrol issues it to I-Cops and to civilian security per-
sonnel or guides engaged in authorized crosstime It would not be unfair to conclude that Infinity and
operations. It is not for sale at any price; authorized Centrum regard outtimers – as a group, if not as indi-
users must account for every dose acquired and used. viduals – as something less than “real” people with
Still, it turns up on the black market at an average human rights. Infinity’s PR department does its best to
price of $500 per dose. LC2. downplay this perception, but every time the I-Cops
cart some outtimer off to Coventry, they send the mes-
Extreme Measures sage that Homeline is somehow “superior.” And every
time a filmmaker creates a historical epic by recording
When someone has seen too much and Eraser won’t the bloody deaths of thousands of people in an outtime
solve the problem, and he isn’t a good subject for war, he reinforces the idea that the residents of other
recruitment, troubleshooters are called in to deal with timelines are puppets for Homeline’s entertainment.

Time Tours has competitors, but But there’s a great deal of wealth to be wastes get to the projector site in com-
they’re not different – just smaller and had . . . and greedy miners have secret- plete safety.
often shoddier. And some other com- ly raped several habitable timelines.
panies offer vacations rather than THE VERY RICH
tours. They emphasize luxury over Waste-Disposal
excitement. Johnson’s Rome (p. 527) Companies A very few, very wealthy individuals
is the best known of these. own conveyors for hobby purposes.
Radioactive waste, toxins, biohaz- Most of these people are glorified
Mining Companies ards, and other noxious brews too foul tourists or collectors, but there is the
to stay on an inhabited planet . . . don’t occasional sybarite who enjoys playing
Many huge operations exist solely have to. Infinity only permits waste power games in “backward” settings.
to wrest mineral wealth from unin- dumping on genuine hell worlds – Their conveyor crews are all Infinity
habited timelines. Most mining leases worlds that really can’t get any worse – employees – which theoretically pre-
granted by Infinity are for otherwise- and requires disposal companies to vents the most flagrant abuses.
worthless worlds, many of which are take every precaution to ensure that
uninhabitable without artificial aid.

540 INFINITE WORLDS

CROSSTIME attempts to establish alternative soci- Colonies vary from TL4 to fully
COLONIES eties. One, Uhuru, even declared its modern.
independence from the United States
Infinity has opened several beauti- and made it stick. The Manor Worlds
ful but empty worlds for colonization.
Some companies have leased such There are also “secret” bases and A few very wealthy lovers of nature
worlds and sublet them to pioneers. colonies, sponsored by governments, – or privacy – live on the “manor”
corporations, and other organizations worlds, each of which is divided up
Several governments have spon- with clandestine conveyors. Some are into a few thousand private estates. If
sored colony worlds, too. Most such hidden away on known timelines; oth- you’re wealthy enough to buy or lease
colonies are simply outlets for excess ers are on worlds as yet unknown to a private conveyor, you can have your
population, but some – five sponsored Infinity. A few have special purposes own private Hawaii, or Ozarks, or St.
by the United States, three by the (mining, trading, research, etc.), but Tropez, or Jamaica . . . with an instant
United Kingdom, and one each by many are just groups of people trying commute, by conveyor, to Homeline!
France and Japan – are deliberate to get away from it all.

ADVERSARIES

Infinity is Homeline’s chief tightly-organized meritocracy called language quickly – but right now, any
guardian against outtime threats. As “the Centrum.” fluent speaker of, for instance,
far as most Homeliners know, the only Japanese is certainly not a native
such menace is the rival world-jump- Centrum’s rulers value science, Centran.
ing culture of Centrum. Actually, there order, and power for its own sake.
are many other dangers out there . . . Children are constantly tested Interworld
but Infinity keeps them secret to avoid and retested, and all training and pro-
causing panic on Homeline. motion is based on talent and This is the Centran equivalent to
achievement. the Infinity Patrol. As an arm of a
CENTRUM world government, Interworld is larg-
Philosophically, the key difference er and more ruthless than the Patrol.
Centrum is the only known human between Centrum and Infinity is in It might even have a better grasp of
timeline other than Homeline to inde- their treatment of inhabited worlds. parachronic science.
pendently develop parachronic tech- Centrum wishes to bring all worlds
nology. It is also Homeline’s fiercest under its central control, creating a Almost without exception,
enemy. Centran agents intrigue against single transworld state whose bound- Interworld agents are fanatically loyal
the Infinity Patrol across the dimen- aries span the dimensions. The to Centrum. They are also quite likely
sions, and will settle for nothing less Centran approach to conquest is to to have bionic implants – Centrum
than total domination of the infinite infiltrate a world, overthrow its gov- itself is fabulously wealthy, and can
worlds. ernment as inexpensively as possible, equip individual agents well. They kill
and take over – and then advance its mercilessly if necessary, but they
Centrum is a world government technology and send its leading citi- respect talent, and often try to recruit
descended from a united Anglo-French zens to Centrum for education and talented outtimers. They have normal
Empire. One of the last historical fig- indoctrination. After a probationary human feelings of loyalty toward
ures to exist in both worlds was period, outtimers can eventually hope friends, desire to protect children, and
Eleanor of Aquitaine, who either creat- to become citizens of Centrum itself, so on. They are not monsters or
ed or stabilized the Empire and ruled it although no world is currently judged machines.
for over 20 years. The Empire grew “ready.”
and expanded, dominating Europe Crosstime Conflict
before 1700, Africa and Asia before Centrum is a mid-TL8 society. Like
1850. The New World was colonized in Homeline, it developed parachronics a Centrum is on Quantum 8, while
an orderly fashion; the Indian tribes few decades ago. Homeline is on Q5. Since it’s possible
were enslaved or destroyed. to jump one quantum easily and
Language two with difficulty, Centrum’s territo-
In 1902, the Empire collapsed in a ries “overlap” Homeline’s at Q6
worldwide civil war; the aristocracy The native Centran language is a (which Homeline can reach more
had become decadent, and with noth- heavily accented dialect of English. easily) and Q7 (where Centrum has
ing left to conquer, they turned on each Centrum wiped out all other lan- the advantage).
other. Members of the technical and guages on its own world two genera-
military class likely engineered the tions ago. Until recently, they did not One might think that would pro-
war. Educated, trusted, and trained to even have any trained linguists . . . vide a natural border. Unfortunately, it
serve, they had grown contemptuous because they didn’t need them! doesn’t work that way. For one thing,
of their titled masters – and when they Centrum is aggressive. For another, Q6
restored world government 50 years All this puts Centrum at a great appears to have more usable worlds
later, it was stamped in their image: a handicap in penetrating worlds or than all the other quanta put together
areas where the language is unlike (nobody knows why).
English. They are currently experi-
menting with methods of teaching

INFINITE WORLDS 541

Centrum seems to have had Q6! A year later, the “infinity war” was seize a position of power in another
crosstime travel for longer than a reality. timeline. To discover them, the Patrol
Homeline, but initially used it mainly uses the same surveillance methods it
to enter empty worlds for resources. Apparently, Centrum does not have uses to catch Centran agents. Indeed,
Their mastery of parachronic mathe- “historical echoes” of the sort it can be difficult to determine quickly
matics is definitely better than Homeline does . . . or, if such echoes whether infiltrators are Homeline
Homeline’s. They can apparently exist, they are in a quantum unreach- adventurers or Centran operatives!
detect whether a timeline is unstable, able from Homeline. This deprives
and plan an intervention to push it in Infinity of a possible source of insight Time Raiders: Criminals who are
the direction they want; see Timeline into Centran psychology. just in it for the money – whether
Shifts (p. 544). Homeline’s scientists they’re after crown jewels, the Mona
have not yet figured out how to do that Interestingly, Centrum seems to be Lisa, or a nuclear warhead – are hard-
– or at least, Infinity isn’t admitting it. at the exact same “time,” measured by er to catch. The most subtle raiders
the stars, that Homeline is. Is this con- strike an echo and grab the loot just
Homeline became aware of nected with the fact that it is the only before it was lost “in history,” in an
Centrum’s existence nine years ago, known timeline, other than Homeline, effort to avoid triggering timeline
when an intruder was captured in one that can support a parachronic projec- shifts that would bring the Patrol
of Infinity’s most secret labs. He told a tor? Nobody knows. down on them. “Theft to order” for
very strange story under truth serum! wealthy private collectors is where the
Infinity released that first agent with CROSSTIME steady money is . . . but everything
an offer of friendship. Centrum imme- BANDITS from intellectual property theft to
diately accepted, with apologies for arms smuggling can be lucrative.
their earlier penetration of Infinity’s In the past five years, Infinity has
territory. But it quickly became obvi- shut down a dozen criminal crosstime Illegal Immigration and Crosstime
ous that their “friendship” was entire- operations. There are almost certainly Slavery: This is a growing problem.
ly treacherous; they didn’t have many more. Need cheap labor? Find a suitable
enough experience in true coopera- dimension, hire a conveyor-load of
tion to fake it believably. Eight years The Men Who Would Be King: would-be illegal immigrants, and take
ago, they “stole” four timelines from There is a steady stream of megalo- them crosstime instead of cross-bor-
maniacs who try to use advanced tech- der. If they go to the authorities, they’ll
nology or historical knowledge to be sent to Coventry, so they’ll accept
cheap wages in exchange for the
promise of earning enough to buy
false citizenship papers . . . Criminal
organizations import everyone from
prostitutes to soldiers to nuclear
physicists. And sometimes blackmail
isn’t needed: “rescue” a platoon of
Nazi soldiers from an echo’s
Stalingrad and they may be eager to
serve as your loyal mercenaries.
There’s also a scary black market in
famous movie stars, singers, and
beauties. Only last month, agents of
the Italian Gruppo di Intervento
Speciale rescued a kidnapped Helen of
Troy from a members-only brothel.

Replacements: Duplicates (“dupes”)
of many Homeline residents exist on
close parallels like Earth-Beta. There
have been cases where Homeliners
have paid to have dead children, old
lovers, or archenemies snatched from
these worlds. In a few cases, the
Homeline original was killed and
replaced by a dupe. A typical scam: If
Mr. Johnson is a millionaire business-
man in Homeline but a homeless bum
who lost everything in a market crash
in Earth-Beta, the Mafia might grab
Beta’s Johnson and offer him a deal to
replace Homeline’s Johnson . . . as
their comfortable puppet.

542 INFINITE WORLDS

REALITY the Cabal calls home is one of the most in the SS-controlled province of
LIBERATION perplexing – and potentially unpleas- Burgundy discovered a psionic world-
FORCE ant – conundrums Infinity faces. jumper (or captured such a visitor
from another timeline – Infinity isn’t
The RLF is a Homeline-based A particularly unsettling aspect of sure which) and gained expertise in
guerrilla organization that opposes these rumors is their consistent claim harnessing and exploiting the power.
the U.N. Interworld Council’s “unde- that the Cabal has access to “higher
mocratic and unjust hegemony and dimensions of being,” somehow By the time Infinity learned of this,
exploitation of other timelines.” The “above” the infinite worlds, known as the Nazis had approximately two-
RLF calls for an end to crosstime the Astral Realm, the Iconic Realm, dozen world-jumpers, of highly vari-
travel except for peaceful scientific and the Realm of Pure Spirit. Cabal able power and reliability (several had
purposes. members are said to cross these realms to use dangerous cocktails of drugs to
and the infinite worlds in search of unlock their powers), and were creat-
The RLF has wide popular sup- arcane knowledge. ing more through selective breeding,
port. Several mainstream groups, cloning, and bio-psionic technology.
notably People Against Crosstime Perhaps most frightening of all, the Worse, working in concert and using
Exploitation (PACE), serve as RLF Cabal is reputedly fractured. Renegade experimental psibernetic linkages, it
front organizations. The RLF also has archmages and demon lords suppos- seemed that some of these world-
many sympathizers in political and edly fight secret wars, with the infinite jumpers were able to transport loads
military circles – although most resent worlds as their pawns and battlefields. of four or five times their own weight
the Council, which they feel has The losers become exiles, often bent on – sufficient to move squads of troops
usurped their authority, more than conquering parallel Earths beyond the and even small armored vehicles.
they oppose crosstime travel. Cabal’s reach, where they can amass
power and plot vengeance . . . Reich-5 soon began its first
THE CABAL: crosstime invasion: an infiltration of
MASTERS REICH-5 Nostradamus, a post-apocalyptic
OF INFINITY world where prophecy shaped reality.
Reich-5, on Quantum 3, was the That the locals foresaw the invaders’
A disturbing number of the magi- fifth “Nazi victory” parallel discovered coming did them little good; in fact, it
cians, psychics, parachronozoids (see by Infinity. It is presently in its year reinforced the conquerors’ sense of
p. 544), and supernatural entities that 2010, ruled by a brutally efficient destiny. And matters only got worse.
Infinity operatives encounter claim to world government dominated by
have knowledge of a vast paranormal Germany, Japan, and a Nazified Nostradamus proved to be at the
brotherhood known as “the Cabal.” To United States. It is TL8 in most junction of a “dimensional road”
hear them tell it, the Cabal has lurked respects, but advanced in space tech- which the Nazi world-jumpers were
in the shadows for millennia, manipu- nology and a twisted form of genetics able to detect and exploit. This road,
lating events across the infinite worlds – and possibly in psionic technology. which the Nazis call the
through secret societies and occult “chronobahn,” seems to span at least
conspiracies. Which Earth (or Earths!) Naturally, Infinity strictly prohibit- half a dozen dimensions as it wavers
ed travel to this world, and hid its exis- in and out of existence . . . And the
tence in order to prevent it from Nazis have begun to explore it. They
acquiring The Secret. But after a can still only shift small loads at some
decade of containment, the unthink- risk, but they may be learning more.
able happened: Nazi parapsychologists
Reich-5 lags far behind Centrum
and Homeline in parachronic theory
– a weakness that is compounded
by the fact that all of its researchers
are highly eccentric “Aryan mystics”
who seem intent on keeping secrets
from the “materialists” in Berlin.
Hence, Infinity has not yet activated
contingency plans – for instance,
to transport nuclear warheads to
known Reich-5 military bases and
government centers – and is instead
focusing its efforts on destabilizing
the regime. In any case, the “transdi-
mensional SS” are already scattered
across bases in an unknown number
of dimensions.

As Infinity is slowly realizing,
Reich-5 has the potential to dominate
all of Quantum 3 – and perhaps move
beyond, especially if it finds allies.

INFINITE WORLDS 543

PARACHRONOZOIDS

The rabbit-hole went straight on World-Jumpers
like a tunnel for some way, and then
dipped suddenly down, so suddenly A “world-jumper” is anyone who possesses the Jumper (World)
that Alice had not a moment to think advantage (p. 64). This ability seems to be “psionic” . . . but nobody
about stopping herself before she knows for sure.
found herself falling down a very deep
well. Infinity has several people with this ability on its payroll, and is
always on the lookout for more. Only a few are native to Homeline. At
– Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, least one of them claims to have visited alternate worlds before Van
Lewis Carroll Zandt did . . . and kept it quiet, because he thought he was insane.
Infinity’s world-jumpers are top couriers, special agents, and trou-
“Parachronozoids” are creatures bleshooters. Most observers believe Centrum has world-jumpers as
with natural world-jumping abilities. well.
There is a wide variety of them, native
to different dimensions. Some resem- In Infinite Worlds, Jumper (World) functions normally for jumps
ble ordinary or talking animals, such within the same quantum. Jumps between quanta are at -5 per quan-
as white rabbits, beautiful stags, or tum level of difference. Those who have this trait always know by “feel”
black horses. Others are mystical. And what quantum they are on.
a few are terrible, semi-material hor-
rors that man was not meant to know. fades away . . . and then the stag van- Teleportation). Others seek mana-rich
ishes, leaving him stranded in another areas, and there are rumors of ways to
All parachronozoids possess the world! magically summon or lure them.
Jumper (World) advantage (p. 64). Certainly, wizards have trapped and
Most have the Tunnel enhancement, Many parachronozoids also have tamed such entities, using them as
allowing them to create interdimen- the Warp advantage (p. 97), giving mounts or harnessing them to create
sional paths that can be followed. Of them the ability to jump across space world-jumping chariots.
course, these paths close behind them as well as the dimensions.
after a time, with no guarantee that And some are predators and vam-
they will ever open again. This can Some parachronozoids seem pires, stalking prey from dimension to
have dire consequences for the drawn to those with latent or active dimension . . .
unwary. For example, a hunter sees a psionic abilities (most often ESP or
beautiful white stag and gives chase,
and as he follows, the world gradually

TIMELINE SHIFTS

Of the 379 timelines Infinity knows almost unnoticeable. Nevertheless, Infinity was on the verge of shutting
of in Quantum 6, 281 are “historical this slight deviation would explain the down all travel to the echoes, one of
echoes”: worlds apparently identical differences, if the original “event” that the lost worlds was rediscovered . . . in
to Homeline at earlier points in its his- created the echoes occurred some 3.5 Q5!
tory. No “future” echoes are known – billion years ago – perhaps during the
although there are parallel worlds with earliest appearance of life on Earth. Centrum seems to be able to insti-
higher technology or more advanced gate such shifts on purpose. Of the 24
local dates. No echoes are known on The echoes represent an incredible echoes that have vanished from Q6
any quantum except Q6. opportunity for research into history since Infinity discovered them, four
. . . but they also represent a signifi- are known to have moved “closer” to
Why is Homeline “reflected” so cant hazard. Anyone visiting an echo Homeline, going to Q5. Eleven are
many times in another quantum? is carefully cautioned against doing known to have moved to Q7, nearer to
Nobody knows. The echoes are irregu- anything that might make a signifi- Centrum . . . and Centrum deliberately
larly spaced through history. There are cant change in the timeline. This has engineered at least six of these shifts.
few echoes before 3000 B.C. and none nothing to do with ethics. It’s a ques- One bounced all the way to Q4, on the
before 12,000 B.C. Some periods have tion of safety. The balance that holds “other side” of Homeline. And eight of
several echoes; a few have none. the echoes in Q6 is a fragile one. If the missing timelines haven’t been
something happens to change the found at all.
In all of the echoes, time is flowing future course of history in an echo, it
more slowly than on Homeline – but may simply vanish! The first few times Infinity regulations require that
the difference is so slight (a maximum this happened, it was thought that the any visit to an echo be managed with
of one year of difference for every world had been destroyed. But as extreme care – no casual or “tourist”
250,000 years that pass) as to be trips are allowed. The I-Cops are

544 INFINITE WORLDS

always alert for signs of Centrum’s attempt to eradicate all Homeline per- responsible were removed from
intervention. But they can’t simply sonnel. Such an attack is more likely power. Such extreme intervention is
flood the echoes with agents – doing to be covert than overt. not generally effective in any event –
that would greatly increase the risk of the results are too unpredictable.
instigating the very changes they want Examples of Centrum’s
to avoid! Instead, they rely on strategi- Intervention The execution of Princess Elizabeth
cally placed agents and regular in 1554, before she ascended the throne.
patrols. Successful interventions by Apparently, her sister Mary was influ-
Centrum include: enced against her.
CENTRAN
INTERVENTION The atomic destruction of London The sinking of HMS Beagle with all
in the year 1902. The first and last time hands in early 1833. Charles Darwin
Centrum has intervened several Centrum attempted any such gross was among those lost. This timeline
times, in increasingly sophisticated attack. It became a political issue did not “vanish” until late 1837,
ways, to try to move echoes “closer” to among Centran leadership; the parties though.
Q8. It is clear that Centrum has some
method of predicting what sorts of The sabotage of Yuri Gagarin’s space
changes will produce the desired capsule in 1960. This triggered a
effect. round of witch-hunts and accusations
within the Russian space program
However, Centrum’s predictions that eventually spilled over into the
are not infallible. In at least four time- Strategic Rocket Forces and danger-
lines, massive Centran interventions ously weakened Khrushchev’s hold on
seemed to have had no effect at all; power. This instability in the Kremlin
these timelines appear to be “held in may have contributed to the Cuba
place” by something other than their Incident of 1962, in the aftermath of
similarity to Homeline (see Anchors, which the U.S. and U.K. were able to
p. 526). enforce U.N. control over Soviet mis-
sile and space programs. This world-
If Centrum does manage to pull off line migrated to Q8 shortly thereafter.
an intervention, the GM should decide
how long it takes to come into effect. A Long-Term Intervention
shift may take hours or days to occur
– it is never instant – and the Centran Infinity is concerned about the pos-
agents must stay in place throughout, sibility of very long-term interventions.
in order to protect their work! Even For instance, if a pivotal figure like
then, it might be possible to reverse Alexander the Great or Karl Marx
the shift by counteracting the effects were murdered as a child, no histori-
of the intervention. As a result, once cal differences would show up for
Centrum manages to shift a Q6 time-
line to Q7 or Q8, Interworld agents

Mysteries

Homeline’s understanding of the infinite worlds is hardly perfect.
Situations that “break the rules” can be springboards for adventure!
Two examples:

Boojum: A perfectly ordinary timeline – not an echo and not on Q6
– vanishes. Four months later, it reappears. Six months later, it vanish-
es again. So . . . something can quantum-shift an ordinary timeline. Or
maybe this timeline isn’t ordinary! Either way, the Homeliners on
Boojum are in a panic, as are the administrators and researchers at
Infinity.

Centrum Beta: A newly penetrated Q7 timeline seems to be exactly
like Homeline researchers think the world of Centrum was in the year
1895. Could it be an echo? Even an ordinary parallel would be inter-
esting. Either way, why is it the only one they’ve ever found? And
remember, Q7 is more accessible to Centrum than it is to Homeline;
there are almost certainly Centran agents here!

INFINITE WORLDS 545

years . . . but when they appeared, are simply told, for instance, “It’s of a group of strangers doesn’t seem to
they would be huge. Possibly, 1453 on echo Sigma-6A. There’s evi- make much difference. But there’s
Centrum can’t compute the effects of dence of Centrum penetration in always the chance of hitting a key
such interventions – or perhaps, if Germany. If they’re working close to moment in history: the visitor to
echoes exist in part because of human home, their target might be reflected 1938 Washington gets the
culture, only a large and sudden shift Gutenberg’s printing press . . . other last seat on a train, so a senator is late
in popular attitudes can effect a teams are checking out other possi- to a meeting with the President, so a
change. It could be that if a key indi- bilities.” That’s one reason why key military appropriation fails . . . so
vidual is removed prematurely, some- counter-intervention teams are when World War II comes along, the
one else will appear to take his role in small: Homeline has to check out United States loses.
history. Thus, removing Hitler well everything.
before his rise to prominence might In general, if a change seems like it
only result in a similar dictator Intervention in Reverse can lead to a distinct “what if” varia-
appearing, with little change in tion in history, it’s significant.
events. Parachronic intervention is The GM can turn the whole thing However, a shift need not be perma-
still an art rather than a science. around: Infinity has unraveled the nent. One timeline was shifted to Q7
secret of timeline intervention, discov- by Centrum aid to Benedict Arnold in
Intervention Adventures ered a string of Centran echoes in 1780, turning the Revolutionary War
Quantum 7, and sent out strike teams in England’s favor. An intrepid team of
Trying to stop a Centran interven- to shift them toward Q5. Just work it I-Cops in the cut-off world sabotaged
tion on an echo makes an excellent all in reverse. The Homeline team has the British fleet off Boston, turning
adventure for a PC team of I-Cops. a specific assignment – something the the war around again . . . and the time-
The GM can make the following computers predict will shift the time- line returned to Q6! It appears that
assumptions: line in a useful fashion if carried out history is sufficiently “elastic” to
successfully. The Centran opposition absorb a deviation – if it can be exact-
• The enemy agents are outnum- consists of lots of small teams . . . and ly counterbalanced before too much
bered and secretive. It is difficult and if the Homeliners put one out of the time has passed.
expensive to send anyone from way in too obvious a fashion, it tips off
Centrum to Quantum 6. Interworld, who will reinforce the For game purposes, assume that
area very heavily. very minor changes do not create a
• The enemy plan requires split- shift – or, at least, not immediately. If
second timing . . . because, if it didn’t, EFFECTS OF outtimers do something that the GM
they would have pulled it off already. TAMPERING thinks may “change history,” he can
Whatever the Centran method of com- WITH ECHOES allow a shift to happen in minutes or
puting an intervention, if the answer days. A shift is usually only one quan-
were always as simple as “Nuke It takes a significant change to tum, but can possibly be more.
London in 1902,” they’d succeed a lot cause a whole timeline to “move” to a Choose the direction of a shift ran-
more often. However, the enemy does different quantum level. A “signifi- domly, unless it was caused by agents
have backup plans. cant” change is up to the GM, because in accordance with a specific plan
nobody knows what kind of change is designed around a correct under-
• The Patrol gives the agents some really significant. The mere presence standing of how parachronics interact
general information about the with history.
enemy penetration. The means by
which their superiors acquired this LOCATING
data is none of their business! They A SHIFTED
TIMELINE
Marooned!
Only Infinity and Centrum possess
If a timeline shift takes the world you are on out of projector range the sophisticated instruments and
(Q3-Q7 for Homeline; Q6-Q10 for Centrum), you’re stuck! You have supercomputers needed to locate a
two options: try to undo the shift, or find alternate means of trans- lost timeline quickly. Such a search
portation (enemy conveyor, friendly world-jumper, etc.). requires a full week of work and a suc-
cessful Physics (Parachronic) roll.
There are other ways to become stranded, including: This roll is at +3 if the timeline is in
the researchers’ “home” quantum, at
Quantum Sargasso: A “quantum sargasso” is a dimension that a +1 if it’s in an adjacent quantum, and
world-jumper or conveyor can enter but not leave. A projector can focus at no modifier if it’s two quanta away.
on it, but it can’t make pickup. The only way out is to find a nexus por- If it’s three or more quanta away, it
tal (p. 534) or use magic (e.g., Plane Shift, p. 248). can’t be found!

No Mana: There are worlds where magic simply doesn’t work. A With lesser equipment, the search
magical world-jumper, Plane Shift spell, etc. lets you enter these dimen- takes weeks to years (GM’s option) –
sions, but won’t let you leave! possibly at a large penalty.

546 INFINITE WORLDS