Talk:Aberrant 2.0

Aberrant without the single origin setting, since some people really want to be magical or god-blooded or whatever.

Gods Among Us

In the beginning, there were always those who stood above the pack. Heroes, sorcerers, tyrants, godlings. Those men and women who are gifted with such power are always fulcrums on which history shifts and changes, regardless of what they do with it and what they can do. Supermen have shaped all of history... and are still with us today. You are one of them. Perhaps you have found enlightenment by one of a thousand different fashions. Perhaps you are a descendant of some inhuman god or alien viral weapon, holding divine ichor several times removed. Perhaps you have found your power from some artificial means-whether fortunate accident or mass-produced enhancement. Or finally, perhaps nobody knows why when probabilistic scans are focused on you they find a major fulcrum on which the world will turn.

History

This is an alternate history of sorts, which postulates that not only are most myths and legends real, but those creatures of myth and legend and their larger-than-life heroes never faded away. The world is one touched by those with power that might let them do much more than normal men and women, no matter what that spark comes from. The major divergences though come in the 19th century and past, wherein the fictional worlds created by Verne, Wells, Lovecraft, and other fantasists are more true than suspected.

There are sunken city-ships under the seas filled with dangerous and incomprehensible alien beings and their servitors. There were aliens on the moon, Martians did invade the Earth and were driven back by a combination of disease and superpowered adventurers, and with the right equipment you can journey to Hollow Earth.

History has been significantly changed in the details, although not quite in the thrusts (largely due to out-of-character familiarity reasons and laziness rather than any real sense of historical inertia). There was still a World War I and World War II, a Cold War, and more. Some events and people changed, and certainly the wars were fought with more advanced technology, but even so, history is largely familiar events given a fresh coat of paint. Worries have shifted from Nazi Germany to Soviet Russia to terrorists and non-state entities, nations still start advanced weapons programs to deter other nations, and people still worry more about how they look for their date than they do about existential risks.

Differing Assumptions

In the 2.0 revision of Aberrant, the assumption made is that humans can reproduce and assist with, but cannot be the primary designers and engineers of, super-scientific advancements such as antigravity devices or faster than light drives. In this setting, this is not only possible but has been happening for more than a century. An additional assumption is that there are more than just the triat of paramorph, eximorph, and psychomorph. The various superhumans in existence can be magically adept, children of ancient gods, government experiments, and more.

The World

The Material World

The Material World is the world that is most familiar to the average resident of Earth. It is the one where billions of men and women make their living, and where tens of millions of superhumans (and even more lesser transhumans) spend most of their time. The prosaic world works largely as reality does, but with several major differences in terms of superscience. The presence of superhumans and superscience have made it possible for humanity to reach space and colonize it long before it has been possible in reality. Millions of people live on colonies on Mars or the Moon, with several other smaller manned outposts throughout the solar system. The space race occurred during the 1860s and 1870s between the Great Powers of Europe, seeking new territories to claim and new worlds to conquer.

The Mystic World

There are places in the world, chancels of mystical energy upon ley line intersections or sites of great magical significance or memory leaks in the operating system code of the universe, wherein you can step into a forest or a spooky abandoned house in the prosaic world-and step out somewhere amazing. In the mystic world, unicorns and dragons have never died, there are elves and faeries, the moon has an atmosphere, and you can go frolicking on the forests of Venus, getting there via ley-line travel or a chariot pulled by swans. In the mystic world, many things thought to be solid (or at least quantifiable) in the prosaic realm are less so. The mystic world does not cause technology to immediately stop working-that would require its user to stop believing in it, but attempts to seriously colonize it have been stymied by both its protectors and the problems with creating cities in a place where physical laws are often suggestions rather than hard fact.

The mystic world has largely been untouched by non-native humans, although a handful of settlements exist and there have been plenty of explorers-and nowadays, tourists. However, as seductive as the mystic world is, it is more dangerous than the material world, having never been tamed by the hand of man. Dragons and serpents roam free, the woods are filled with mystic animals that are as deadly as they are exotic, and the sentient species in the mystic world are often as capricious as they are powerful, having inspired many of the myths and legends. Even the aetheric void between planets and stars is just as dangerous as the cold vacuum of space, although the chances are much higher that one's death will occur from horrific monsters rather than slow suffocation.

Yet some mystics seek residence in the mystic world, and there are those who have been lost in it and learned to survive via luck and experience. These small enclaves suffer from the same problems that the colonial powers found in their attempts to colonize the mystic world. The methods which knowledge and belief influence the mythic world have allowed some colonies to thrive, and there are often cities and trade outposts set up near these gaps where the mythic can leak into the real. Although an enchanted sword is much less useful today than it was in the past, there are still collectors and hobbyists, and the raw materials that can be found in the mythic realms,

Ideal Elements

In the mystic world, the high concentration of ambient magic transmutes otherwise inert metals into something more. These ideal elements, so termed because they are more mystically resonant (and therefore considered superior) to the prosaic ones, are valued for their magical properties, especially by those who refuse to adopt modern technology. Although the mystic world uses most of the Ideal Elements, a trickle of trade comes from the colonies and outposts inside the mystic world set up by modern nations, seeking tools to enhance their country's power on the world stage.

Orichalcum (Ideal Bronze): Idealized bronze is prized for its hardness and durability, valuable

Quicksilver (Ideal Mercury):

Thaumium (Ideal Uranium): Thaumium is created when the reflections of uranium ore deposits in the real. Like uranium, it is slightly radioactive, but its radiation is hostile to mystic interference. Depleted thaumium is merely extremely resistant to magical effects, but the enriched versions can be used in a similar fashion to enriched uranium, although the radiation pulse of spirit nukes is entirely harmless to humans and mundane creatures. Mystics exposed will find themselves with their ability to command earth and the heavens temporarily gone, while mythic creatures will be annihilated, rendered soul-dead. Like uranium, thaumium is dense, hard, and self-sharpening, allowing for its use in ammunition.

Technology And Magic

Magic

Magic is real. Magic is the knowledge of the mind's ability to command weaker, inert matter. Magic is ritual designed to beseech the aid of gods. Magic is a bug, junk code creating errors in the universe that can be exploited for one's own benefit. Magic is some sort of arcane tangent to quantum physics and observer theory. The debate over the origins of magic is as heated as any academic debate gets, but the debate whether it works or not is effectively settled. Magic is real and works, and most reputable colleges offer programs of study in the mystic arts. Magic is dependent on the environment for its power-the fifth classical element, the pure Aether which was believed to power the gods, is used and manipulated by magicians. In the mystic realm and other ares with high concentrations of ambient magical energy (Aether), anyone can work their will on the surrounding world. Outside of those areas, only extended ritual or having the gift of Imagos, the sight that gives mystics their ability, can provide magic the magnitude and scale of effect necessary to be worth the effort.

The most common form of magic is ritual, as the ability of magic to cause harm has largely been outclassed by its ability to function in a support role. Enchantment by smiths, curses and blessings, illusions, and alchemy are the basic cornerstones of magical teachings today. Direct offensive spells, as they take a while to prepare, are woven into charms that can be easily invoked rather than cast 'on the spot', especially since small meteors and lightning bolts might have been impressive in medieval times or antiquity, but are largely outclassed now.

When magic and technology compete directly, magic is often displaced. A ritual to call down lightning bolts and an artillery strike are broadly comparable-but the latter is mass-producible, less environmentally sensitive, and doesn't require someone who's studied the mystical arts for a decade. But there's always a market for blessings, curses, scrying, and wards, and until that stops existing, the mystic arts will not be displaced. Even still, the steep learning curve of becoming a sorcerer, the rarity of the gift of Imagos, and the relatively low demand in the material world have left magic there rare, although in the mystic world the unpredictability of technology (which is, there, essentially just another form of magic) have created the

Aether Crystals

Aether crystals and similar magical batteries allow magical items and weavings to be powered even in low-magic areas, recharging themselves when not in use via ambient aetheric concentrations. Individually handcrafted like all artifacts are, these crystals are rare and expensive, but a prerequisite for any artifacts which still work reliably in low-aether zones. These incredibly durable crystals come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but are generally designed to resemble precious gemstones and decorations for aesthetic reasons.

Technomagic

The subtle fluctuations magic creates in reality often cause problems with sophisticated machinery when placed in direct proximity. Basic Aether hardening takes this into account, allowing for most tools to function reasonably well in high-aether zones, even fairly close to active magic, but enchantment, by definition, infuses all of an item, bypassing the shielding. As such, direct enchantment of complex designs is essentially impossible. The only forms of 'technomagic' are handcrafted, irreproducible wonders, the magnum opuses of highly respected enchanters and smiths which take decades to design and complete.

As such, few people put much stock into technomagical advancements, limiting commonly produced magical items to relatively primitive designs. As many magical schools are isolated whether by location or by choice, few of their graduates come out with the knowledge of advanced technology necessary to create technomagical artifacts. Vice versa are the schools of science and engineering which offer study programs in sorcery-a four year program simply cannot cover what often takes two decades of apprenticeship or more to learn, and few people have the masochistic streak necessary to double-major in engineering and witchcraft.

Technology

The bread and butter of the world, technology here is more advanced, more idiosyncratic, and much less prosaic than the real 21st century. In the 1800s, Wells-Effect antigravity cruisers, using cavorite crystal to escape the grasping fingers of Earth's gravity reduced the importance of the oceangoing battleship, and were soon upgraded to allow them to break atmosphere and achieve interstellar flight. The early naval clashes between Great Powers around the Earth, Moon, and Mars setup modern naval doctrines, which proved themselves during the Great War and Second Great War. Who could forget the race to send extrasolar probes in the 1960s and 1970s? Or the temporary pause in the Cold War due to having to fight off a conquering alien flotilla in a similar situation, just having found their feet in the sea of stars and deciding to find more territory to conquer and impound?

But technology is not merely steampunk and retro-futuristic ray guns and rocketships. Super-science is as often cutting-edge work involving cybernetics or genetic manipulation as it is pulp sci-fi, and when someone figures out something that's useful, they make use of it. Those who have lost limbs to war or accident have the choice of gene-typed flash clones, or replacement with superior prosthetics. More than a few wounded military veterans, out of a sense of duty, or perhaps the need to be the best they can be, choose to eschew being rebuilt 'just as good as they were' for lightweight hex-frame skeletal members and carbon nanotube musculature. Railguns, seeker rifles, and a plethora of technologies that are more cyberpunk than Forbidden Planet exist alongside atomic rayguns and flying aircraft carriers.

Transhumanism

The first thing people said when someone in a tragic lab accident or weapons test turned out to get superhuman abilities was "that's amazing!" The second thing they said was "can we duplicate it for our own use?" The answer is, more often than not, "yes, to some extent". Ever since the first incidents of mad science gone wrong (or right) creating monsters and saviors, heroes and villains, people have sought the secrets of being more than they were. Whether via pharmaceutical, cybernetic, genetic, or other, more arcane means, uncountable trillions of man-hours and the GDP of entire nations has been sunk into harnessing these processes and making use of them.

And more often than not, they work. Their results may be too expensive to provide everyone with, or otherwise flawed, but becoming more than human has increasingly become a requirement rather than an option, with boosted soldiers increasingly becoming the norm ever since the success of supersoldier battalions on both sides in the Second Great War. Increasing proliferation of these to third-world countries and extranational groups, despite attempts to restrict such augmentation to non-combat improvements only, has become an increasing concern as costs have gone down and the percentage of the population which can accept augmentation has increased.

The side benefits from military research have leaked into the civilian world, creating men and women who are faster, stronger, healthier, and often somewhat smarter than their pre-historic predecessors, often by significant degrees.

The Blessed

Mystics

Mystics are those who harness their wills and magic to do amazing things. These mystics come in many forms, from ancient gurus to kung-fu masters to dreamers and solipsists, and harness their overwhelming knowledge of reality to provide themselves with strength. Most mystics come from an ancient tradition, but there are more cutting-edge 'mystics' who believe in the existence of the universe as a computer system, with rules and access priorities which can be hacked-or other more esoteric methods of harnessing their power. These men and women come in many forms but are universally forged via some form of epiphany, an enlightenment that comes with an understanding of structures in the universe that have been harnessed by shamans and seers for ages.

Supermen

Those who have blatantly superhuman ability, whether it includes the ability to lift a tank over their shoulders while running, firing bolts of lethal energy, creating forcefields, manipulating the elements, or the like, come from a variety of sources. There are those who are the sons and daughters of gods or other powerful beings that exist in the mythic world, blessed by the ancient and powerful blood of god or demon or dragon or spirit. Some were never actually human in the first place, harnessing these mythic powers because everyone in their race can. On the flipside, there are those who have been infected and altered by the dragon's teeth of the Priors, enhanced with the ability to warp reality until they get what they demand, or the successor programs based on the legacy of the Priors.

Legendary Heroes

Heroes are those who do not have any incredible superhuman power, just pluck, luck, and a hell of a lot of skill. Heroes are superhuman but barely so, unlocking hidden potential that few knew existed that seethes in the human genome and incredible good luck, paired with near-inhuman levels of ability. Heroes lack the might of the mystics or the supermen, but they do not need it. Their supernatural luck, incredible skill, and ability to do the seemingly impossible is more than enough to make them competitive with the others.

The Road to Godhood

Those who do not have the luck to be born to a god, one of the rare people with the talent and skill to become a true mystic rather than just dabble in the arts, or have a motivation and a destiny heroic enough to have the weight of history rest on their shoulders have a few options. They can live life as themselves, or they can attempt to seek out some form of technological improvement. Although out of reach of many due to sky-high demand driving already exorbitant prices even higher, it is quite possible, although often risky, to buy godhood if one is so inclined, seeking out ancient djinns or celestial beings, becoming inducted in the armed forces of a nation capable of affording significant enhancement, or just outright buying the technology . Whether the price comes in servitude, in money, or in other favors, it is rarely anything less than onerous.

Character Generation

Basic Changes

"Nova Points" no longer exist and are called "Transformation Points" (TP) instead. Similarly, Quantum no longer exists, instead all character archetypes have their own powerstat.

Gadget Heroes and Limited Powers

Unlike in normal Aberrant, heroes can get their powers via advanced cybernetic implants, suits of powered armor, giant mecha, extended mystical rituals to unlock their actual power, and so on. This has mechanical support, as powers which are not always available are more effective for their cost. In general, if the powers can be denied to the character, they are worth less. Note that the TP gained in this way are by default limited to improving the power of the item in question which contains the character's powers. If the character wishes to use them to discount the gadget (and get Mega-Attributes, powers, imagos aptitudes, and so on that are not so limited), they halve the bonus TP.

Having powers come from a source that can be stolen or is not always available (due to hiding in hyperspace, requiring a few hours a day to recharge, or whathaveyou) gives 1 bonus TP per 10 TP invested.

Having a source which are difficult to conceal, unsuitable for going around day in and day out with, and cannot be trivially summoned out of the aether when necessary (such as a bulky suit of power armor that weighs a ton, only having powers in certain areas, or a magical ritual that turns you into an eldritch horror, grant 1 bonus TP per 5 TP invested.

Powers which are extremely difficult to use in normal circumstances due to size, locational, or other restrictions (examples include a ritual which only works in a specific set of circumstances, a giant robot, or powers that only work when in defense of the country or people whose soil you stand on) grant 1 bonus TP per 2 TP invested.

Note that these limited power bonuses are only relevant if they are significant. A suit of skintight power armor that can be hidden under clothing (or even emulate clothing) is not considered 'unsuitable for day to day wear'.