Delta

Delta (definition): The Greek Letter used to represent change in scientific nomenclature.

History

It is 2040, and it has been 30 years since the advent of the superman. Homo Sapiens Novus, gods spawned from men, have walked the earth for three decades, changing it irrevocably. The six million supermen in existence are the vanguard of technical development and political developments. The world has changed more in the preceding three decades than many would have thought possible.

Asia

The new superpowers on the block are China and India-thirty years has been a long time for Novas to erupt, creating untold opportunity. Now both countries stare at each other from their borders, amassing deterrent weapons and hoping that the deterrent systems will bring peace. The Great Wall of China has been reborn, an automated defense network of advanced drones, strategic weapons and missile defense systems, networked to sensors, controlled by a powerful computer bank directly interfaced to one of the most powerful cyberkinetic Novas, "The Guardian of the Mandate of Heaven". India has similarly fortified itself with defenses intended to make any war bloody.

America

The fallen giant that is the United States does not realize it yet. They still act as insufferably important as ever, but in the Nova age, population matters. The US's population of 380 million does not compete with the billion men and women that China, India, and the EU can drawn on as a talent pool for potential Novas. To make up for this, it has concentrated what Novas it does have into developing better human enhancement technologies, encouraging them to work themselves to the limit. American Novas suffer significantly raised rates of Aberrant Syndrome but their development of the Olympians has been significant.

Europe

The European Union has become the third superpower of sorts, having expanded its member-state collection in the intervening decades. Making up for its somewhat smaller population with starting off with a first world basis and warm relations to the US, they were the second power to reap the fruits of the creation of the Olympians and the Superiors, invented the Psions independently, and are generally well off.

Russia's resources have been devalued but she still endures. The government of the Federation is in for a rough time, but it will survive like it always does. If China's hungry eyes turn to her, her people will be ready to defend it once more.

Middle East and Africa

Things get worse. The advent of hypercombustion engines, improved materials synthesis technology, and cheap fusion have marginalized the Middle East, and with no stability to begin with the Novas were just fuel on the fire. The Middle East and Africa are almost continuously plagued by brushfire wars of various stripes that Utopia needs to intervene in. The most important polity in the Middle East and Africa is the Republic of Iran, one of the rare success stories of the region-one of the few stable, reasonably well-off nations in the region.

Space

The Guiana Space Elevator, built in 2032, has opened up space to significant commercial exploitation. Orbital mining has become a reality with the use of fusion rockets, the space elevator, and mass driver technology. Proposals for permanent colonies on the moon and mars are being looked over by politicians of various stripes, and the Teragen have already claimed holdings on various planets and moons across the Solar System.

Supermen

Novas

Novas are powered by the quantum forces of their M-R node, capable of doing anything their mind forces them into. The most powerful of all the superhuman strains discovered or created as of yet, they are also the least stable. Aberrant Syndrome is well documented and modern medicine has not come up with a cure for it, although it can at least semi-reliably detect burnout and recommend rest and relaxation for those afflicted.

Nova eruption can be artificially induced by heavy stress but this process is risky at best and uncontrollable at worst, and often leads to Novas already suffering from extreme Aberrant Syndrome. It is rumored that the Teragen have created a method to create artificial Novas in their Antarctica base but these rumors have never been solidly substantiated.

Rules: You already know what Novas do. Chargen for Novas will be described later.

Psions

Originally developed by EU Project WINTERGREEN in the 2020s, the Psions are anti-Nova shock troops. Incapable of the raw might of the Novas, Psions are immune to Aberrant Syndrome and particularly resistant to Quantum power via the might of Psi. Capable of emulating some Nova powers, Psions are also capable of boosting their mental and social attributes to superhuman levels.

Psions require genetic susceptibility, but must be artificially induced. Unlike eruptions, awakening a Psion is a highly controllable process that is most often done in a combination of lab and military training facility. Psion technology is exclusive to the US and EU currently due to extensive and heavy security on the technical details, but it is likely that the Wintergreen process has been reverse-engineered by major powers. Psions in EU and US service generally serve in government-related roles.

Rules: Psions are Psiads and generated in the same way. Their powers are generally developed along a very narrow theme though, and they cannot break out of this theme because of the artificial induction of their awakening. A pyrokinetic psion is incapable of ever developing, say, mind altering powers because of the fixing of his paradigm via the Wintergreen process. They are, however, nicely mass-producible.

Olympians

The second artificially built posthuman phenotype, the Olympians are a US development in genetic alteration, bringing out powers akin to "movie action heroes". Olympians are luckier, more adept, and physically and mentally superior to humans, although not capable of competing with Novas in this regard. They are however, supremely capable considering how common they are. Although like the three other posthuman phenotypes the genetic sequence that creates Olympians is impossible to artificially implant, the sequence itself is much more common and Olympians can be artificially induced into their transformation.

Rules: An Olympian may not have any Mega-Attributes but starts with 3 dots in all attributes instead of 1, has an attribute maximum of 7, and can take Daredevil Knacks as in Adventure, as well as Skill Masteries. Olympians cannot take physical or mental defects, or any social defects relating to bad breath/voice/etc, and gain 5 free dots of physical and mental merits. After being created as baselines, Olympians are altered via the rules for Inspired transformations, as they are a synthetic version of Daredevils.

Superiors

Superiors are often considered by the three former categories to not fit in this area. They are just humans with significant genetic tweaks to make them more capable in all respects. The first development of the Superior genome was patented in 2025 and with their advantages (and various laws encouraging their use) the first generation of Superiors has just hit maturity. Superiors do not retain the genetic markers necessary to create another posthuman phenotype, and therefore the tailored virii that turn an embryo into a Superior are only used when it is already known that the child will not possess the ability to become one of the three former categories.

Rules: Superiors start with 2 dots in physical, mental, and social attributes instead of one (maximum is 6), and 8 points of physical and mental merits (or related social merits such as Enchanting Features). They may not take any personal flaws due to their regenerative capability and the removal of many recessive genetic traits. (Obligation would be okay, but Bad Vibes/One Arm/etc would be not, as an example).

Who We Are

Project Utopia History

Founded in 2012 by the Aeon Society, Utopia is a semi-private organization dedicated to the cooperation of the so-called "posthumans" and humanity, a partnership which will bring both great dividends. Utopia has blossomed today to become the largest non-governmental organization in history, and has essentially won its own UN recognition. Utopia is international, nonpartisan, and seeks to ensure peace and prosperity, via the terraforming of Africa, the negation of environmental damage, and the advancement of the human condition.

Relations

Project Utopia's relations with the European Union and non-aligned South American states are excellent, and Utopia has been used as an unofficial deterrent by Japan. The United States is suspicious of non-US affiliated Novas and heavily restricts the operational freedom of Utopia operatives on official business in their territory, but

Subdivisions

Proteus

Fidelis Tamquam Post Mortem

Proteus is the mirror of Team Tomorrow that officially does not exist (but unofficially is known of by several countries). Proteus operations are generally "black", or illegal, such as technology enforcement in areas which do not recognize the authority of Project Utopia (you'd be surprised at how well an intelligent Nova with the proper materials and powers can work in a cave or a random office building). Sometimes law violations are necessary to protect the greater good.

Where Team Tomorrow are the exemplars leading humanity into the light, Proteus Operatives are the blades eliminating the monsters hiding in the darkness.

Important Organizations

Teragen

The Teragen are Nova Supremacists who ended up taking over the continent of Antartica in 2023 and turning it into a sovereign nation for Novas and their hangers-on. They've managed a modicum of legitimacy in the following two decades, but are still more a loosely affiliated ideology than a coherent nation. The Teragen "Nova Haven" refuses on principle any extradition policies to other nations or the UN, making it highly popular with various Nova criminal elements. The Teragen are problematic in that their loose order and chain of command mean that it is difficult to do more than local diplomacy, and that although disorganized they have some of the most powerful Novas in existence assisting them.

Patrons

The Patrons are those investing heavily in Nova physiological research, as their goal is to bring everyone up to the standards of Novas. Although the most utopian of the Teragen factions they are still at best, ethically challenged. Patron scientific failures have led to significant loss of human life throughout the Teragen's existence.

Harvesters

The dark mirror of the Patrons, the Harvesters seek to understand the Nova condition, often by dissecting Novas, mutating humans, or other seemingly insane experiments of twisted intellect.

Casanovas

Casanovas are those who believe in creating diplomatic and media legitimacy for the Teragen. The most dangerous, most Casanovas are not actively combatants, but their creation of significant media attention (and Teragen sympathy in those who should honestly know better) have benefited the Teragen significantly and have served to give it a relatively positive media image.

Nova Vigilance

A Nova terrorist group affiliated with the Teragen, Nova Vigilance strikes back against "anti-Nova racism", often preemptively. With the power of Novas behind them, they are an immense terrorist threat. With many, many infamous incidents under their belt, Nova Vigilance have gained extensive media attention, both good and bad. Their actions are generally calculated for relatively minimal levels of collateral damage, which has allowed them to keep their image as "Defenders of this new minority" rather than "violent, immoral thugs".

UNSCGRD

The United Nations Security Council Global Response Directive, or the Directive for short, is a joint international covert organization which was created by the US, EU, India, and Russia to counteract increasing Chinese influence. Ostensibly UN, it is essentially an open secret that the Directive is essentially the result of a burgeoning alliance between disparate powers interested in checking Chinese influence. The Directive is primarily baseline but uses significant amounts of Psions and Olympians in their operations, and has its own Nova agents (~80 estimated) for operations where raw power is necessary.

Character Generation

Human

Baseline members of Team Tomorrow start off with 100 initial experience for use on mundane attributes and abilities only. Quantum cannot be bought with bonus points.

Transformation

Novas for Delta are built on 75 NP. However you yourself are not spending most of that NP. Another randomly-determined player will spend 60 of the 75 NP granted to you, and you will then be allowed to use the last 15 NP for filling in holes or grabbing powers you really want.

Restrictions

Quantum is capped at 5, and power weaknesses/strengths must be approved. Extras do not have to be approved.

Minimums

As members of Team Tomorrow, all characters must have:

• An Appearance + Style total of 4+ (that is 4 dots split among the two, not 4 dots in both)
• An Charisma + Etiquette total of 4+ (same as above)
• At least one dot in Athletics, Survival, Science (Quantum Physics), Awareness, and Martial Arts/Brawl.
• All Attributes must be at least 2, except Manipulation which can be a 1.