[Europol-X] Which game system ?

 Europol-X

Game system

I envision Europol-X as an investigative RPG, with an healthy dose of action and then some sense of wonder, once the possibility to "step sideways" has been discovered.

Therefore, I need a game system which will support these ingredients.

I could certainly brew a D&D based system (3rd edition proved it was possible, with Spycraft for example), but somehow, it feels like too much work, for a system that would be working, sure, but not supporting the gameplay any more than any other generic system.

GURPS has a lot of support for this kind of elements (even a completely described ecosystem for time and dimension travel), but as much as I love reading the GURPS books for their ideas, I can't see myself running that system (Don't like how perception is handled, for example)

TORG also has support for dimension travel (dimension war, to be precise), but the power level is a notch too high for this project, nearing cinematic level.

Don't start me on Rifts, I've never put my nose into one of the books, but from what I heard, the system is too outdated too, for my taste.

My favorite Game of the last 10 years is Mutant Year Zero.
I love the game for its perfect support of the system to the kind of fiction to be emulated (post-apocalypse).

So I started to work on a "Year Zero Engine"-adaptation for dimension war. There is a SRD online, it's actually quite easy.
I developed a 1st draft for a character sheet, and I like it.

But after a dinner break, I had one of these moments of realization:
This is not the right system for this project.
So I lose some work, sure, but in the end, better see now that attrition is not an important part of this game and that this system does not support the investigative play-style more than any other generic system (so it basically has the same problem as D&D)

Square 1 ?

Somehow yes...

There are still alternatives that I can think of:

• Savage Worlds is a good candidate (it can run Rifts, so it could definitely work), but the power level might be too high and the system is not OGL
• The Strange by Bruce Cordell is also about dimension hopping and could work quite well, but is also not OGL
• The Chronicles of Darkness would work too, and normally they'd be my favorite (they have the right amount of support for action and investigation) but I'd like to maybe publish Europol-X one day in a zine format, so I need an OGL game system (or one I've developed myself)
• The same problem exist with Modern AGE: they have a multiverse setting, but the system is not OGL either (and probably too technical for my taste)
• Develop something else, unique? If I had a second life, maybe?

But as you see, nothing seems good enough. There is a very cool, simplified, and streamlined version of D&D3 to play investigative cases in a native reservation (like the books of Tony Hillermann) that was published in France. The processes of the Bureau of Indian Affairs are certain.

Well, we'll see... I'll sleep on it and you'll be amazed at the wonderful character sheet i've built, that probably will never be used 

[Setting] Europol X - Setting overview

Europol-X

My love for parallel universes

This is a setting I've longed for since the first time I've heard of the concept of parallel dimensions.

I love time travel and alternate history, and they can meet in the concept of parallel dimensions.

I always find it difficult to make dimension travel "believable".

And in the past, I couldn't think of a plausible way to make the players travel.

Influences

Lately, I've had great influences in the science-fiction spectrum that I want to use as inspiration.

First and foremost, I want to talk about the "merchant princes" books by Charles Stross, which are a masterfully written story about dimension travel, but also a masterpiece of reflection on the subject of interactions between forces set on parallel universes.

Second, I'm re-watching the show FRINGE and it's a gold-mine for the beginnings of a dimension-travel-agency.

Third, the 2005 South-African TV-series Charlie Jade, which has only 3 worlds (ours, an utopian-hippie reflection, & an early-cyberpunky-dystopian reflection), which also depict credible interactions between universes

Last, there is a bunch of settings I'd like to send my players to, but never will have the chance to, otherwise... A lot of them are described in the GURPS alternate earths books (I & II), GURPS infinite worlds, some alternate history settings or novels (The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson, the Fvlminata rpg game setting, a bit of fantasy, some Shadowrun-esque, some nazi dystopia like The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick) and I'll steal stuff from the Strange (at least the system, which is perfectly tuned for dimension travel) but I'll drop the process of translation - I don't like that a character changes when changing to an alternate reality.

Bits of time travel shows (like Quantum Leap, Terminator, Primeval, Counterpart, and many others) might find their way into this setting.

The Cosmogony

I envision the multiverse as a d20 with each of the sides being one of the realities.

Each reality could have access to it's 3 "neighboring" sides (the sides on each of the 3 sides of its triangle) and the opposite side (on a die: one and twenty, two and nineteen, and so on).

Players would play as members of a secret unit of Interpol, the section X, which is tasked with resolving "paranormal" cases. Other such units exists internationally (as division of the FBI, FSB, or any state police organisation you fancy), but I've decided to play in Europe, hence the choice of Europol.

Main plot would be a cold war between our reality (Earth Prime, as we call it) and Earth Second, a slightly more technologically advanced reflection of our reality, where 9/11 happened differently and Covid-19 never left China.

The 20 Realities in short

For the place of the numbers on the convex regular icosahedron (d20) we will use this model (which should be standard)

Our earth (Earth Prime) is situated on the side numbered 20 and Earth Second is logically situated on the side numbered 1 (the other 18 realities have not yet been discovered, as of the beginning of the campaign).

In my campaign, the other realities on the 3 other sides of the icosahedron will be Pan-Germania (a reality where the Nazi and their Imperial Japanese allies won WWII - side number 2), Al-Kīmiyā (an arabic-persian dominated world where alchemy works - sometimes), and Batuutaa (where the world was conquered by the Dogon Empire, using their astrological prescience techniques)

D20	Description of the local Reality
1	Earth Second: slightly advanced early cyberpunk reality. Their US, Chinese, Russian, and European governments know of dimension travel, the Quantum Rupture and have access to advanced Fringe-science gadgets. They spy on our reality and try to destabilize it. It is fairly certain that they started the Covid-19 infection centers in Italy at the beginning of 2020
2	Pan-Germania: In this dystopian reality, Pearl Harbor never took place, Charles Lindbergh was elected president in 1940 and Nazi Germany conquered Eurasia with their Imperial Japanese allies. They then conquered north america, with the Nazi overtaking all US and Canadian territories east of the Rockies and the Empire of Japan the West Coast
3	Zǔguó-Ming: The Black Plague decimated the whole world but the Americas and China under the Ming dynasty. The main powers are Ming-China, the United Tribes of America, the Polish-Lithuanian Empire and the African rivals: the Kingdom of Nri and the Kingdom of Imerina. Early 19th Century technology and Chinese colonial hegemony.
4	Rule Britannia: the world is dominated by the colonial views of an unchecked Victorian England. Main powers are the Crown, the landed aristocracy, the Anglican Church, and the colonial companies. All persons not born of English descent are considered inferior, at best. Most are legally enslaved by the colonial companies. Early 20th Century technology.
5	Roma Eterna: Instead of disappearing in decadence, Rome reinstated the Republic and used Chinese black powder to create weapons (and not only fireworks) and gain victory over the barbarians. Eurasia and Africa are all parts of the Great International Roman Republic, a network of federal city-states with a great deal of autonomy. Early renaissance technology but much better guns. America was never "discovered".
6	Sovietica Materna: Instead of fighting an arms race with the USA, the USSR continued to grow its influence and took over Europe, mostly through the democratic process. Accessing European technologies and foremost the microchip allowed the USSR to better plan their economy and be a competitor to the USA while allowing a much better standard of living to all its citizen (and not only the russians). The technology level is equivalent to ours, but surveillance technology is everywhere and the world wide web is segmented. The balance of powers is different, but the world is similar to ours.
7	Necrotica: This world was quite similar to ours up until the 1980ies when a pandemic did hit their reality like a truck on the highway. Thing went from bad to worse when the dead started to rise again with a hunger for human flesh. Only a few islands (Iceland, Madagascar and New-Zealand) have achieved the feat to ward off the zombie pandemic completely.
8	Batuutaa: Early in history, the Dogon Empire developed ways to predict the future by means of astrology. Their empire has spread over the whole African continent and around the Mediterranean Sea. Their society is planned years in advance, family is the core value and social peace is achieved through prescient politics. Population control is strict to avoid depleting the natural resources. Low technical level, but high life expectancy.
9	Solar Federation: Creation after WWI of the European Commonwealth, which would grow twenty years later in the Human Commonwealth (all of Europe and their colonies, with equal rights and access to development). Landing on the moon in 1939, worldwide political unification under the Human Federation in 1945. Landing on Mars in 1969. Trojan independence wars in 1991. Creation of the Solar Federation in September 2001. Advanced technology and strong welfare state with a lot of personal freedom and private sphere.
10	Pharaohland: Old Egyptian Gods exist and their prophet, the Pharaoh Akhenaton CCXXIV rules over the Mediterranean basin, the Arabic peninsula and the silk road. Technology is a mix of antic artisanship, advanced agricultural techniques through genetic selection, advanced seafaring techniques but wind-powered and bronze age metallurgy. Advanced divine magic for true believers can turn the scales of a battle, even against modern weaponry.
11	земля трех дочерей (zemlya trekh docherey): Baba Yaga and her two sisters have taken an interest in the fate of humanity and helped scientist melding high technology and magic. During WWII, the sisters decided that humanity did not deserve to be free and took over governments. Baba Yaga rules over the Soviet States, Mala Yaga over Asia southern of Mongoly, and Mengma Yaga over Europe. Technomagic surveillance state akin to a kind of theocracy. Transhumanism and compulsory human trials are the norm, not the exception
12	Transylvania: Vampire exists and have conquered Eurasia from their East European roots. They won dominance over the Werewolves in Europe, but they still continue to resist the vampiric oppressors. Vampire have the advantage of being able to create new vampires at the whim of a bit, whereas lycanthropy is only hereditary. Technological level is ~1950ies.
13	Atlantis: The Ancient Astronauts left earth during the Antiquity, taking off with their into the stars. 1947, they came back and declared Australia to be the new Atlantis. They have enforced peace on the whole planet and warring parties have been known to be disintegrated into thin air. Every year, 666 willing candidates are taken into the stars and never come back. Technological stagnation without wars mean technology like the year 2000. Ancient Astronauts' technology seems to be magical.
14	Al-Kīmiyā: During the middle ages, Persian and Arabic scientists discovered ways to treat the Black Death and could easily take over a decimated Europe. The Democratic Califates Union now spans over all North-Africa, Europe and Near-East and borders with the Indian Mughal Empire and the Russian Orthodox Empire.
15	Draconia: No big bad meteor hit earth to extinct the dinosaurs. Some of them evolved into the Dragons. Using their magic, dragons created elves, dwarves and other humanoid beings. Around 10.000 years in the past, humans started to appear and have spread all over the world and prosper in each of the Dragon Empires
16	Azteca: advanced blood-magic techniques have allowed the Aztec empire to conquer most of the american continent and send back the Europeans into the ocean, not without stealing their technological wonders. Currently, while the Europeans power fight for their colonies in Africa and Asia, the Aztec Empire prepares to invade them using their flying pyramids. Advanced blood magic and Napoleonic technology level in Europe and Russia
17	Pace: Here, all humans live in harmony with nature, in small societal structures, independently from each other, without technology. The clan delegate can speak with the spirits of nature to ensure that everyone is healthy, well fed and happy. Weapons are unknown. Wrath of nature is the only natural danger.
18	Tyberium: Instead of immigrating to the united states, Nikola Tesla gets recruited by the Soviet Union and develops Tesla-coils based weaponry. Nazi Germany never attacks further east than Poland, but conquers Western Europe and North Africa completely. The US annex Canada. A peace treaty is signed between the main 4 powers (US of North America, USSR, Nazi Germany, Japan Empire) but evolves in a ruthless cold war with shady alliances.
19	Echo: This world runs very similarly to ours, but with a 555 years delay. Right now, the most important man on the world is a visionary, an artist and scientist named Giovanni Da Rambaldi, working for the Duke of Florence, but way ahead of his time. He might be the first to pass through to an alternate reality without creating a Quantum Rupture
20	Earth Prime: Our world, which has been infiltrated by agents from Earth Second and their technology. They spy on us, destabilize the main powers and field test the worst of their technology in our reality

Quantum Rupture

It is possible to "slide sideways" to another reality, when possessing the correct brain chemistry (which can be attained through zen meditation) and willing your body to get through (the sudden change of state from complete zen to absolute willpower is the hard part of sliding). Those two requirements are the same as for Psi powers.

It is also possible to tear temporarily cracks in the fabric of reality to pass through to the reality on the opposite side of the icosahedron, but these cracks never heal fully and could lead to the complete destruction of all realities linked on this icosahedron.

Feedback ?

So, do you have any feedback on these "worlds"?

Is there a world you think should be included but is not here?

Would you like to play in such a constellation of worlds?

Would you be interested in more content for this in Zine format?

Please be kind and answer in the comments !

[Ruleset Review] Dark Places & Demogorgons

 Dark Places & Demogorgons

I've had an itch to play something in the mood of the series "Stranger Things". I've collected a few games on the subject but decided to start with the oldest of them, the first to surf on the Demogorgon Wave. Another reason is that the book is small in size and not heavy, perfect to read in bed (yes, Tales from the loop, I'm looking at you. You're too heavy for reading in bed! [Is it still fatshaming when it's about a book 🙈🙉🙊?])

1.) What is it?

"Survive This! Dark Places & Demogorgons" (DP&D) is a 2017 game in the genre of "80ies teenagers fighting mysteries while trying to keep good grades". Stranger things made this a big thing and very successfully to say the least.

The teenagers play a game of D&D featuring a Demogorgon in there, hence the name of the game, which also closes the circle of a game inspiring writers, whose series inspires a game in the end.

DP&D is a rulebook to play in this style. It's 200 pages long, black and white. My book was lulu-printed (a print on demand printer) and does not have anything written on the binding (a common problem with PoD).

2.) When did I hear about it for the 1st time?

It was so quickly out after the release and success of stranger things, that it kind of made a bang. I probably heard about it on a french roleplaying forum

I even heard that it was based on B/X D&D, like the game the teenagers play in the series. To be honest, I'm not a fan of the older D&D versions (I just prefer unified systems).

3.) What did I expect?

A very old school game, with classes as race, but where the classes are "80ies kids archetypes", no skills and a a level progression up to lvl 14 (like in the expert set). And Tools to set the mood, create a town and hoped for a few scenarios / adventures

4.) What did I get?

• Well, i'm not a big fan of B/X to start with, and to be honest this is not a bad adaptation, but B/X is not my favorite D&D to start from
• The skills are handled nearly like in 3E, which is not per se a bad thing, but skills bonuses are capped at +5 (and there are lots of skills for few points to allocate), when you have reached lvl5. And there are only 5 levels in total (which I find a bit few)
• Art is not ugly, but also not great (but the family photos of the game developers are ugly on purpose at that's kind of great - sadly very pixelled)
• No scenario / adventure. Quite a few synopses featuring a "monster of the week" which are mostly inspiring, but offer no clue as to how to fight this danger / resolve that situation
• But what mostly disturbed me with the game is that the chances to achieve anything in the game (roll against TN) are miserably low. Or better said, the random factor is too high compared to the skill possibilities.
  At level 5, you could have a skill at +5, and an attribute giving you +3. Against a TN of 15 (normal): that a 55% chance of success.
  For a maxed out character.
  So imagine the chances of an unskilled starting character to achieve any good idea of their player...
  
  Sure, the DM can give you advantage like in 5E. Or just consider no roll is necessary if the idea is great (did not read this in the game, though). But for a jinxed player like me, such system would just be hell...

5.) Conclusion

I hope this does not sounds too harsh, because it was really not all bad and I'd never read through if it was really bad. There are just enough small problems that it's not worth my time to patch it to my liking.

There are a few excellent tables for background and adversaries generation in the book that I'll certainly use and actually are worth paying the price of the game for. I just won't play it by the book (I'll see what Kids on bike and tales from loop have to offer)

Now I'd really be interested in what B/X-aficionados think of the game ! Comment away !

Addenda (13th december 2020):

6.) Developments

Since I've posted this review, some reactions have brought me clarify something.

I may not be a fan of the B/X system, but that is not the only reason why I dislike the system of "Dark Places & Demogorgons". In my opinion, it is a bad adaptation of B/X, my main problem being the skill system.

7.) Noteworthy commentaries

On Facebook, Jo-Herman Haugholt described a bit further what he thinks of DP&D (and its skill system, and what I got wrong with it). With his permission, I'm adding his comment to this post:

"Pretty close to my assessment, after running a small campaign which recently ended due to a too-long hiatus due to lockdown.

The rules are functional but are a bit unclear in places. They're better at being flavourful than being a solid exhaustive rules system, so expect to make many rulings on things.

If you're planning on running a campaign, I would recommend getting the "Player Options & GM Guide" book as well, as in addition to raising the level cap and adding additional classes, it includes some re-balance of the core classes. The newer "Cryptid Manual" is also very nice; beyond being in another league when it comes to presentation, it also clarifies several rules and fleshes out many of the creatures found in the core book.

I also missed a proper example adventure; while the book includes several adventure seeds, they all require some work before they can be run as a full adventure. This trend continues in the setting book and topic books.

The stated DC values seems a little high and those few examples that are in the book seem to trend on average a bit lower than the stated DC 15 for moderate difficulty.

But characters don't max out at +5 on skill rolls as the post suggest, as most classes include significant bonuses beyond what you get from skill points and attribute. For example, in our campaign at level 2, The Princess ended up rolling Persuasion checks at +9 vs. boys/parents (+7 against everyone else). In addition, abilities that give advantage or re-rolls aren't that uncommon, and you can always re-roll failed rolls by spending a Survival point.

Though I'm used to judging DCC where the DC of an average adventurer task is 10, so while running the game, I probably did set the DCs a few points lower than the guidelines suggested most of the time.

It's a game with many good ideas, but a bit rough in execution. If you enjoy the BX/OSR inspiration and are willing to do a bit of work, there is potential here. The later books are much more polished, and the newest game in the line (Survive This! Fantasy) looks to much more solid game, which probably could be used to flesh it out. But there are probably also more complete games in the genre, like Kids on Bikes, and possibly the newly kickstarted D&D5e version of the game."

Thanks for this comment, Jo! This is definitely an interesting point of view and a great expansion of the review onto the whole line of DP&D products (which I supposed would expand the classes and level caps, but i was not ready to buy it just for review purposes)