Futuristic "Alternloft"?

[Hell_Born]

I know this idea was already brought up once before, but that project fell by the wayside very quickly- primarily because the people working on it couldn't decide between D20 Modern and D20 Future. Anyway, do you think it would possible to design an "Alternloft" (ala the "Gothic Asia Fantasy" topic that was here a while ago) using a Gothic Scifi setting- basically a conglomeration of Ravenloft and D20 Modern? f so, how would you go about doing so?

[ScS of the Fraternity]

I had a few ideas about a Ravenloft based in the Modern world. An experiment of Azalin's causes the Dark Powers to create a dream world to distract him - that dream being a modern world.

The Confederated Republican Empire, aka Co.R.E. is a modern nation, bordered to the North by the backwards nation of Draconia [think if the USSR was where Canada is to the US].
The supernatural exists, but in a warped manner. People exposed to the supernatural may be “Mist-taken” – their memories altered to forget their brush with evil. If exposed to the general public, the supernatural is transformed into the mundane, temporarily.

The CoRE is run by an assembly, which is chaired by the President, Wilfred Godefrey. He rarely leaves his the presidential palace, The House on Gryphon Hill, for he is incurably mad. He believes that he is haunted by his wife and daughter (he killed them both when his wife tried to leave him during the election). Despite paranoia, a violent temper, and superstitious beliefs, he maintains power through fear and intimidation.

Godfrey won the house in an election again Dominic Dixon, or 'Nic as he is often called. The ambitious Dixon is the leader of the Imperialist party, and rules through an incredible charisma and intellect. Some say he is nearly hypnotic in person. Sadly for him, his power turns against him in front of a camera. The press hates him and often "Kicks him around". He might have still won the last election, had he not agreed to a televised debate. In the mean time, he plots to regain power.

Stavos "The Devil" Zarovich is known across the CoRE as the heir to an industrial fortune. A relative of his conquered the country, when the conglomerates of Rokushima tried to buy up the nation - since then his family has maintained a reclusive distance. Years ago he had his brother murdered so that he might possess his brother's wife - who later committed suicide. Since that dread day, he has lived in solitude, continuing his reign as a magnate only to distract him from his ennui.

Her face is found on every magazine, bill board and television screen; Ivana. Celebrity amongst celebrities, Ivana holds court over all media - she takes cruel joy in corrupting the best and brightest stars and watching them burn out. The bizarre excesses of her social life are legend, though even legend barely scratches the surface of her deranged perversions.

Firhan Zalhone is an undisputed ruler of the e-revolution - having practically invented the microcomputer. His son, Eric, committed suicide years ago, but his brain is kept alive in a computer. Firhan's only meaning in life is to give his son life, but in the meantime, the Eric 2.3 program serves as his eyes and ears in the world. Lately though, Firhan has become aware of something wrong in the world. With each passing day, The Eric program reveals more "false history" - records that appear as if from nowhere, placed by unseen forces.

Deth, a notorious criminal has plagued the underground of the CoRE. Only Firhan and his cronies know that Deth was an unsuccessful clone of Eric. Neither alive nor dead, Deth is dedicated to random, mindless destruction. His nihilistic gang, known as The Graves, recruit from the disenfanchised youth.

[Hell_Born]

I actually meant to merge Ravenloft with D20 Future (primarily because there was a scenario that kept running through my head; a spaceship from Futureloft gets lost in the "Warp Tracks" [[Futureloft's equivalent of the Mists] and crashes in Ravenloft. Cue chaos as the locals encounter the crew- including a somewhat paranoid member who pilots a "Grinning Demon" SAMAS) but this Modernloft of yours is intriguing... please, tell me more...

[Brandi]

'Nic Dixon?

[Ail]

I find ScS's idea too american-centric for my tastes. Or put another way, too based on American points of view and prejudices that frankly do not appeal to my european taste.

[ScS of the Fraternity]

'Nic Dixon?

Please don't hit me with the fish again. It causes pain and humiliation.

Yeah, Tricky Dick had a similar curse to Dominic - they were both world class manipulators, but their apperance was their downfall. In person, 'Nic is full of charisma, power and confidence, but on an electronic media he appears sweaty, nervous, stupid and more than just a little scheming. Kind of a "At any rate, I certainly wouldn't hurt the child" moment.
Thus Nic Dixon would always be a schemer and powerplayer, but never have the title he desperately wants.

The cocept for this world was cribbed off of Shadow Chasers - in that the supernatural is invisible. It goes under the theory that people will always ignore evidence if it goes against their own concepts - in this case, that the world is a modern, science based reality. Monsters and other creatures live in the world, but in every way they are blended into the mundane reality around them.

For example, Firhan commands a legion of zombies. These zombies are, to all appearances (even Azalain's senses) mindless cubical dwellers. Years of white collar work has crushed their souls, until they trully have no will of their own. They obey without question, work without reward, and from time to time stumble off on a commuter train, send a few hours in some bleak rathole apartment, then stumble back to work. They can communicate, but only a few memorised words from their former lives - phrases like, "Pack of pall malls, no filter.", or "Send repair man.". In battle, these shambling drones prove nearly impossible to kill - shrugging off bullet after bullet and toughing through any leathal poison or disease. Autopsies merely reveal a normal person in their late 20's to early 40's, out of shape, but otherwise fine.

Magic would function the same, but a lot of trappings would have to be altered to make it suitably mysterious.
I pictured Azalin as having power over everything conncected to the Net, as well as a horde of zombie drones.
Strahd's powers would be more vampiric straight up, but a lot of the visual trappings vanish. Women in his thrall, for instance, don't develop bite marks, but they do weaken as if someone was draining their blood. Those who "die" become consumed with enui, and join a small community of nocturnal rave dwellers who perform violent pseudalsexual acts to rekindle their lost emotions.
I never worked out exactly what Ivana would do, but I wanted it to have something to do with Botox. It is a perfect fit since its a lethal poison, but it creates the illusion of youth. Its obviously somethign she uses to hide the aging process, but she might also offer it to her subordinates in the Biz.

I had a few other concepts for people:

Essan would be a mad hacker who spreads viruses across the Net. His brain is damaged from a brush against the mysterious powers that alter history itself. In his half-madness he's trying to erase the Net itself, in a vain attempt to lock the DPs out of the world. The madness is too far gone, and now he mindlessly targets system after system, wreaking havok.

The Vistani I saw as vagrants and homeless people. They live outside of the Modern World because they know that it is an illusion - one that will be inevitably destroyed. For the moment, they give out prophesies, often under the cover of schizophrenic babble.

Dr. Vance Richten has disapeared, and as his neices comb through his home, they find all manner of bizare journals and artefacts. Many look like ancient relics of the medieval age, though they can't be more than a few years old. They begin to think their uncle was delusional, but cryptic emails and text messages lead them to sites of high strangeness. As just two college students, they can't solve this mystery alone - if only some brave adventurous souls could help them find the truth that is out there.

[NeoTiamat]

Contributing to this idea... (I don't think it has a snowball's chance in hell of getting off the ground, but it's fun to speculate).

Ivan Dilisnya - This just screams Mafia to me. Dilisnya crime family? A powerful crime boss, controlling criminal activities throughout the CoRE. Perhaps Ivana's fashion empire rests on the backs of Ivan's criminal one.

Alfred Timothy - Eco-Terrorist and cult leader. A pleasant, charming young man filled with passion to save nature, who has a group of loyal followers and despite their eager to please, passionate facade are actually ruthless and violent murderers.

Vlad Drakov - General in charge of the CoRE's military. A man who forever fights the battles of his past over and over again, and yet no matter what he does, is consigned to remember his defeats. I see this as kind of a hellish Vietnam type thing.

Harkon Lukas - Music Producer. He makes 'em, he breaks 'em. A Kartakan talent scout and music producer, manages to find the greatest talents in the land, only to eternally be left in the dust as his finds go onto stardom and leave him behind in the backwoods of Kartakass.

Hazlik - Elderly and Respected administrator and cheif scientist of some bio-tech firm. While his company creates medicines and biological treatments, Hazlik works feverishly on a massive bio-plague, something that would wipe out all life. You could have the bio-creatures be his minions.

[Jasper]

I like this thread!

The God Brain is a huge biomechanical computer with a powerfull AI's on the net absorbing information at a massive rate. Just about any bit of data one needs on any subject can be found in the brain like biomaterial storage areas but the electromangetic field generated from it is said to cause massive mental pain like being hit with a firey whip of pure mental energy. Its cartakers are mobile versons of itself (with the electromagnetic/psionic power) who are sent out into the word in disguise to aquire more and more brain matter to add to the Brains mass.

Tristan ApBlanc is the boogyman of the scottish highlands. Having once ruled over a large track of land from his castle a great curse was said to have befell his entire line. His ghost now haunts the moors on the nighs when the fog is thick. A few half crazed people have been found wandering the castle ruins claiming they were from centuries before.

The Renier twins are such celebrety hounds they make Paris Hilton look like Mother Teresa. Out everynight at the hottest clubs and parties Jacqueline is the more noticable one with a large collection of emancipated ratlike hanger ons who seem to have taken the herion shiek craze to heart. Jokingly called the trash twins after enheriting thier fathers massive waste disposal fortune they have money to burn. This hasn't helped Jacqueline though as all her lovers seem to either end up tragicly overdosed or just dissapeared.

Tristan Hiregaard is an aging cop who would like nothing more then to retire but he has yet to catch his most elesive criminal. The sycopathic Malken is currenty responsable for over 300 murders in Tristan's fifty years of service and is showing no sign of slowing down.

[Sorti]

I find ScS's idea too american-centric for my tastes. Or put another way, too based on American points of view and prejudices that frankly do not appeal to my european taste.

Quoted. Also, let's keep real people (living or otherwise) out.

Apart from this, it's pure gold!

[Ail]

I find ScS's idea too american-centric for my tastes. Or put another way, too based on American points of view and prejudices that frankly do not appeal to my european taste.

Quoted. Also, let's keep real people (living or otherwise) out.

Apart from this, it's pure gold!

Yes, I recognize there were brilliant and even fun ideas after my post, but the world is a big place. No need to make everyone fit or come from the same society. I think if we are t make this modern, it should be global, that is, with people from all around teh world, representing South America (your crime boss could come from there, or Italy), Europe (I view the Reniers quite easily in Monaco), Africa (where else for the Wildlands) and of course there can be no other place for Souragne than Haiti, should the theme be kept.

I have no ideas at the moment, I haven't given it a thought yet, but there are some really good ideas.

Alex

[Luke Fleeman]

American-centric aint bad- that's where I live!

Aside form Rokushima Taiyoo, the East has a lot of possibilites, too. Sri Raji can slide into India, but imagine that the worship of Kali has been embraced by that country's GIGANTIC population, creating many issues.

You can throw Falkovnia into China, where the hideous power and army of Vlad Drakov is instead a mechanized massive army to serve his warlike needs.

Put the Nightmare Lands in Australia, and make Keening be a complex Hong-Kong based prison city for the Darklord.

[Hell_Born]

Speaking as an Australia-resident, I don't really see how the Nightmare Lands fits as "Ravenloft-Earth's" equivalent of Australia. I mean, yeah, the Abber Nomads are sort of like Aboriginals and they are kinda like a Dreaming Gone Wrong... you know what, I think I just proved myself wrong. But anyway... this idea seems to be popular (definately more popular than what I was originally intending- which was basically Ravenloft in Space), so is anyoe interested in actually trying to "stat up" this idea?

[Nathan of the FoS]

On moonlit nights the Wild Hunt rips through the cities of the Co.R.E., the fey folk on motorcycles and flitters (two-person aircraft designed for use in cities) running riot through the night, leaving behind them strange dreams, broken hearts, and death, and drawing a few--only a very few--after them to their own strange realm, the Shadowed City. They say that any human who runs with the Hunt for even one night is doomed to spend his life searching for the passage to that strange place, for he or she can never again find any happiness in the mundane world.

[Ail]

American-centric aint bad- that's where I live!

I understand that, but my point is that being x-centric alienates everyone who is not from x, or at least may. If a broadcaster has a diverse and heterogeneous audience, it should neutralize its regionality. It's like in my country when I listen to the public radio, which is national and has a big audience nation-wide, they always say "such and such event will be in College of Science" or "in Theatre blah" without qualifying the city. But said Colleges of Science and Theatre blah exist in several cities in the country, so they are assuming they are speaking strictly for the capital inhabitants, which is wrong and makes me want to change station, since I don't live in the capital and indeed am very far away from it. I feel excluded.

That is the same reason why I think nothing here should be american-centric, even though there are a majority of americans, or European centric or x-centric for that matter. It may make us others feel we are not intended receivers or that you really don't care how differently we view things or not.

This is just a general comment, it is not geared towards USA or any specific country, but towards the principle of x-centrism per se.

Alex

[Jester of the FoS]

I understand that, but my point is that being x-centric alienates everyone who is not from x, or at least may. If a broadcaster has a diverse and heterogeneous audience, it should neutralize its regionality. It's like in my country when I listen to the public radio, which is national and has a big audience nation-wide, they always say "such and such event will be in College of Science" or "in Theatre blah" without qualifying the city. But said Colleges of Science and Theatre blah exist in several cities in the country, so they are assuming they are speaking strictly for the capital inhabitants, which is wrong and makes me want to change station, since I don't live in the capital and indeed am very far away from it. I feel excluded.

That is the same reason why I think nothing here should be american-centric, even though there are a majority of americans, or European centric or x-centric for that matter. It may make us others feel we are not intended receivers or that you really don't care how differently we view things or not.

The problem with spreading it worldwide is the lords would then take on a 'token' quality. Starhd might be the token east-European. The Nightmare Lands would be the token Australian land. And we can already see the problems with that above, trying to fit a land and feel of a domain into the real world. Spread them out and they're just the required person X from continent Y, like the sidekick black guy in a sitcom whose only purpose is to say black things and talk about black culture.
If we go out of our way it feels false, it doesn't fit.