|
|
| (8 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | ''"They all laughed at my theories! They called me mad! But now I'll have my revenge!"
| |
| | | | |
| − | ''If only it were so simple. They laughed because you WERE mad. They laughed because your inventions crumbled when unveiled and your theories turned to gibberish. You wept when you saw your equations riddled with childish errors.
| |
| − | ''
| |
| − | ''But you know what you accomplished: you broke gravity's spell; you programmed a computer to dream; you banished death! These weren't delusions or lies!
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ''Maybe they were right.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ''Or maybe just one more experiment will show you the truth. You can do everything you said. There's a price to pay, but you can do it. And you're not mad. The things you do...maybe they're not right. Maybe your peers would recoil in horror. But you're not mad. And you'll show them all.''
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Genius: The Transgression is a fan-made role-playing game for the New World of Darkness. In it, players take on the roles of mad scientists and wonder-workers, driven to the brink of insanity by the secrets they have uncovered. Version 1.1 of the rules is available for free download as a .pdf file:[https://sites.google.com/site/moochava/genius]
| |
| − |
| |
| − | = Genius: The Transgression =
| |
| − |
| |
| − | = Table of Contents =
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Prologue: Behold, The Secrets of Immortality! ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Introduction ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ''"Silence. I am not interested in your imbecilic mouthings. All of you have demonstrated your lack of vision by demanding my resignation from the faculty. Well, you have accomplished your purpose. You cast me out. You robbed me of everything that I held most dear in life: position, honor, respect. You framed me as a madman, held me up to ridicule before the whole world. But now I'll have my revenge....Now you'll pay for your folly. There's no escape for any of you. You shall die, one by one, at the hands of the scientific marvel that you scoffed at."
| |
| − | -Dr. Lorenzo Cameron, The Mad Monster''
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Ever since we bent our minds to technology―not with the computer or the automobile, but with fire and language and visions of tomorrow's hunt―we walked away from the path laid out before us. No longer were we to struggle and die like the other animals. No longer would we be allowed lives defined by a blissful eternal now. We opened our eyes, regretted the past, feared the future, and became fully human.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | But there were some who wished to know more, and to see farther, no matter the price. Mortals accepted into their midst tricksters who delighted in showing the failure of the powerful, visionaries who dreamed of worlds never before seen, fanatics determined to change the world by changing how we thought. The genius stands outside of society and its narrow bounds, whether hailing from some crude some village where no one knows what lies beyond the forest or gleaming metropoli whose inhabitants are bored with walking on the Moon. They bring us marvels, and we make them pay for their transgressions.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | As humanity has always admired and feared its law-givers, it has always admired and feared its law-breakers, its madmen, its geniuses. Every society has stories of those who went too far, who asked too much, and who suffered for it. The mad scientist is new, but the genius is an old dream indeed: the prophet, the trickster-god, the master of techne, the artificer who makes the world, the demiurge who seeks to control, bind, and direct it.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Genius: The Transgression is a game about those men and women and almost-gods, the ones who went too far in their and hope and spite and fear and arrogance. They are doomed to watch their discoveries dissolve into dust and broken lines of code, to see their inventions rampage out of control. But between that first discovery and their last, when they transgress once too often and the universe wipes them away, they can create wonders.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | === A Game of Forbidden Science: ===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Break the rules and you get in trouble. Break the law and you go to jail. Mouth off to your boss and lose your job. Jump off a building and...But it doesn't have to be that way, says that little voice in the back of your head, your personal genius. You ignore it, but you can't silence it. But a genius gives in to that voice, becomes that rules-breaking thing, that maker-trickster-savior, and begins a life of pain and glory unimaginable to mere mortals.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The genius sees the truth, but she cannot get there. In her heart she knows, but she cannot explain why. She flouts social convention, ignores the sneering voice of authority and dogma, and casts aside the ethical concerns of her peers. She breaks the rules of the universe we know to glimpse the truth of the universe as it must be. But there's a price. There always is. She is not just isolated from the "common man," but from the very discipline that birthed her. In her heart, she knows that what she does is not science, which is ultimately about systems and about cooperation. Alone, she walks a new path, wearing the trappings of her old life but
| |
| − | no longer capable of touching its essence.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Genius: The Transgression takes place in the World of Darkness, a world like ours but with darker nights and deeper stains. People don't connect to one-another as they do in our world. They live in the shadows of ancient conspiracies and the shadows cast by old things, and this infects the geniuses: for every mad scientist working in silicon and plastic, another labors with greasy cogs and steam pumps, while another never left behind the gleaming chrome and atomic dreams of the 1950s. For one of the Inspired, there is no escape from the fetters of superstition and occult dread, the lurking horrors at the edge of consciousness. Though cobbling together elements from our past, the genius ultimately belongs to no place and no time, and walks alone into the future.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===Theme: Transgression===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | A little knowledge is a hideous thing and it will drive you mad.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The genius is a rule-breaker, a trickster, a liar, a thief of wonders, and a maker of false dreams. Tenuous threads bind him to the mortal world, and every wonder is a violation of the rules of the universe. On the one hand, Obligation binds a genius to humanity; on the other hand, Inspiration tells him to do things that no sane person would ever want to do. The genius can be humanity's damned savior, destroying himself to safeguard a society that will never know his name and would hate him if they knew what he had done to preserve them.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | A genius is never entirely in control. His inventions are always one step away from freeing themselves and rampaging through his lab, or his city. The ideas and dreams come too fast for him to write down, let alone study and examine. The deadlines are constant, the pressure to find equipment, money, and research time mind-breaking, and humiliation is a constant companion. Mad scientists burn with a passion for their work, and though that passion is glorious and often contagious, the hunger to know and to control consumes them from the inside-out. They cannot obey the rules that normal society has set down for its members. They can only choose what laws they will break, and how they will look at themselves afterward.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===Mood: Bitter Disappointment===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The hideous freedom of transgression is matched by the choke-chain of necessity. A genius finds herself surrounded by failure and broken dreams. For every wonder that lurches, blasphemously, beautifully, to life, another turns to smoking scrap in the testing phase, or lies forgotten in a corner, half-made, because the genius couldn't pay for the right permits or find the right materials. This juxtaposition of Inspired triumph and mundane failure defines a genius' life.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | And even if the genius succeeds more often than he fails, he sees dead dreams all around him. Once-great geniuses, their radiance reduced to cinders from a lifetime of crushing defeat and humiliation, stock the shelves at the electronics store in the mall, too ashamed to take up the wrench again. Those Inspired who provide a genius with the supplies he needs are hollow, miserable people, chewed apart by the failure of their philosophies to gain acceptance. And in the end, rare is the genius who makes a measurable impact on the world: no matter how successful a genius might be, his wonders still crumble when exposed to the light of day, reduced to malfunctioning piles of components. Many of the Inspired, after that initial burst of delight, feel the circle of possibilities shrinking around them, until they are little different from before, except that now people who once respected them now snicker behind their back at the "maniac" who cracked under the stress.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===How to Use This Book:===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Information on geniuses, what they are, and the world they inhabit is divided into several sections.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The Prologue: Behold, The Secrets of Immortality! shows the wonder and horror of life as a genius.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Chapter One: The Cosmos provides information about the world of mad science, from the laws that control it to the societies and organizations the Inspired have created.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Chapter Two: Character Creation presents rules for creating many types of geniuses, from reclusive librarians to aeronautical adventurers, and descriptions of the wonders that a genius can create.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Chapter Three: Systems and Foundations describes in detail the rules of a mad scientist's world, explaining how to select a foundation, how to build wonders, and what the different Axioms teach a genius.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Chapter Four: Special Rules and Systems includes details on a number of situations relevant to being a genius, such as managing beholden, building capacitors, and the terrifying effects of Havoc.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Chapter Five: Storytelling and Antagonists explains how to run a Storytelling game of forbidden science, focusing on why the Inspired act as they do and what stories you can tell with them. Here are also the enemies of the geniuses: the intelligent cast-offs of abandoned scientific theories called the manes, the orphaned inventions of the geniuses that hunger for power, and the dreaded Clockstoppers, enemies of all Inspiration.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Appendix One: Sample Wonders offers a rich selection of wonders that a genius might build, to serve as inspiration or to be appropriated directly.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Appendix Two: The Fellowships outlines the secret thinktanks and programs that the Inspired have created, and what a genius can gain by participating in one.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Appendix Three: The Seattle of Tomorrow presents the travails and terrors that a genius might find in the West Coast city of Seattle, complete with sample characters and enough story elements to begin a chronicle there.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | An Epilogue: The Answer to Everything, concludes the text.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===Sources and Inspiration:===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Mad scientists are everywhere in literature, but many stories either relegate the scientist to a magician dressed in a lab coat, a modern-day Faust with Bunsen burners instead of black candles, or strip him of his horrific element, reducing him to a bumbling Poindexter fool or an ineffectual sidekick to the traditional, physically-oriented hero. Nonetheless, stories in several media contain vibrant and terrifying examples of genius.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===Books:===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Doc Savage, originally created by legendary pulp writer Lester Dent, provides a positive example of what a high-Obligation genius might look like. Gifted physically and mentally, the "Man of Bronze" turns his talents to solving crime and keeping the world safe. This untarnished image of the hero-researcher can serve as inspiration for an honorable Paragon, or can be used to cast a pall on the excesses of would-be guardians.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | VALIS. Just about anything by Philip K. Dick deserves mention, from the existential ponderings of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? to the broken regret of A Scanner Darkly, but whole-hog techno-Gnostic insanity calls for VALIS, in which an artificial satellite network orbiting the star Sirius uses pink laser beams to trigger mystical revelations. How much of VALIS is simple fiction and how much of it is Dick's own beliefs given a thin gloss of narrative is never entirely clear.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau. Like Dick, several of Wells' works are relevant to mad science, but this tale of bent science focuses on one man's attempt, not only to raise animals to human-like intelligence, but to give them the laws that truly separate man from the beasts, and the tragedy that results.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus. It's alive! Dr. Frankenstein is one of the earliest and most contemptible of the mad scientists in fiction, and his arrogance, hypocrisy, and foolishness make people like him perfect villains for those Inspired who still remember their Obligation to humanity.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, comprising Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World, is a grand journey through the history of science and technology that goes back to the murky origins of the scientist (mad or otherwise) as he separates from the alchemists and mystics. The Cycle can provide inspiration for geniuses whose philosophies favor the very ancient or the very strange.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===Movies:===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The Fly. Alright, so it's not a very good movie. But it has Jeff Goldblum, it's got weird experiments, and it's much better than Independence Day. Watch the hideous results of a botched teleportation experiment strip a man of his humanity inch by slow inch.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Metropolis, first released in 1927, mixes cutting-edge (at the time) special effects with a story about the brutality of industrial technology. The story's mad scientist, Dr. Rotwang, creates a robotic duplicate of the woman who is trying to organize the downtrodden machine-workers. The result is revolution and violence between the upper and lower halves of society.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Pi is one of the defining movies about intellectual obsession, with a protagonist driven mad by his search for mathematical truth. Shot in grainy, numbing black-and-white, with a techno soundtrack that can be cranked up during any mad scientist fight scene.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===Comics:===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Akira is idea-fodder for what happens when you mess around with "psychic" science. A story of creeping madness and betrayal set against a backdrop of decaying technological grandeur, with a side order of with a side order of nihilistic punk-culture that shows what happens when regular people take up the philosophy of a low-Obligation genius.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Batman, from its earliest incarnation, is a story defined as much by its gadgetry as its characterization. And no, we're not talking about the Bat Shark Repellent. As much as Batman himself, his rogue gallery, especially Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, show mad scientists deeply obsessed with their catalysts.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Girl Genius offers a view into a world that never was, a mad science version of 19th century Europe riddled with "Sparks" who can create deranged inventions, and the constant war to control or destroy the most gifted among them. Full of atmospheric elements and concepts as amazing as they are frightening, from Slaver Wasps to the dreaded Jägermonsters, deadly organic automata.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Bob the Angry Flower follows the misfortunes of a super-genius flower and his struggles against alien invaders, uninterested women, and his own staggering lack of ethical responsibility. Reliably funny; reliably weird, and with plenty of insane ideas that, if taken seriously, would be perfect for showcasing the monstrous acts a genius is capable of performing.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===Television:===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The Venture Brothers is not just about mad scientists, but also about failure: the failure both of individuals and of our society's sense of hope for the future. Taking place in a world where the Space Age dreams have crashed down to earth and following the misadventures of a family hopelessly trapped in a more optimistic past, The Venture Brothers is relevant to any genius who sees that her inventions passed their sell-by date before they were even completed.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Neon Genesis Evangalion is more than just an epic mind-screw that can serve as inspiration for what it's like to lose one's mind; it paints a picture of a world forced to live with the tyranny of a genius with inscrutable goals and visions who nonetheless seems preferable to the monstrousness that lurks outside. A tale of paranoia, disgust, and futility.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Mystery Science Theater 3000, because not every mad scientist dreams big, or even clearly: some just want to torture a guy with bad movies, and maybe that'll somehow lead to world domination. Look for the early episodes; the "invention exchanges" showcase some of the half-baked ideas that a genius might come up with on an off-day and can serve to lighten the mood in a grim story about creeping madness.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===Music:===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Abney Park. A self-styled "steampunk" band, Abney Park's weird Gothic-Victorian lyrics blend eerily with a more traditional industrial sound. Their lyrics focus on alienation, tyranny, and the blending of the old and the new.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Bjork: Weird beats and a feeling of future-shock characterizes Bjork's work, which can be used to inspire some of the more optimistic notions geniuses might have about mad science.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Devo. Any band named after a mad science concept―in this case, the notion of human de-evolution―deserves mention, and Devo gains bonus points for its dark, surreal, often bleakly humorous lyrics and its electronic stylings.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Nine Inch Nails. An old favorite. Trent Reznor offers a relentless industrial cacophony coupled with lyrics of dehumanization, shame, and betrayal, accurately summarizing the feelings of far too many Inspired.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ===Definitions:===
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Apokalypsi: The Axiom of Discovery, used by the Inspired to construct scanners, mind-reading machines, and communication devices.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Artificer: The foundation of those geniuses who excel at building, tinkering, and fiddling with wonders. Their primary joy is in construction and design.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Atomist: A genius of the Lemurian baramin that believes the world would be made right if humanity submitted to the unfettered benefits of technological development and/or were ruled by a technological elite. Not necessarily interested in atomic power; the term refers to the promised Utopian benefits of that technology.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Automata: The Axiom of Independence, used by the Inspired to create independent thoughts in their wonders to produce cogitating computers, clone armies, and slavering zombie hordes.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Axiom: One of eight branches of super-science, focused on what an invention does rather than what branch of traditional research it would fall under.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | baramin: A five-fold philosophical division among the Lemurians, based on when and how they think humanity went wrong.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | bardo: A pocket reality created from and sustained by Mania. The Hollow Earth and the Crystal Spheres are two well-known bardos.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | beholden: An assistant to a genius, a person devoid of the spark of motivation that drives other mortals and who is given purpose by the genius' Mania. Beholden are able to look upon an Inspired theory or wonder without causing Havoc.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Breakthrough: The moment a person becomes a genius, often a traumatic and dangerous experience involving some great tragedy.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | breeding pool: The most common source for new geniuses, closely linked to the scientific community: mundane scientists, technicians, engineers, and philosophers all make up the breeding pool. Geniuses sometimes trawl the local 'pit looking for new Inspired who have recently catalyzed.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | capacitor: A device able to hold Mania.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | catalyst: How the genius has come to view the world and his work. There are five catalysts, based on rage, jealousy, wonder, hope, and sorrow. Also sometimes a synonym for the Breakthrough; a person is said to have "catalyzed" upon becoming a genius.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Clockstopper: An agent of stasis opposed to the very idea of genius. Clockstoppers dissolve Mania, spoil wonders, and, at greater levels of power, unmake mundane technology as they seek to wipe Inspiration from the face of the world.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | collaborative: A small group of geniuses who work and cooperate together, often sharing a single laboratory.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Community (the Consensus): The society of actual (non-mad) scientists, as well as the accumulated body of knowledge and theory currently active at the time. The mental activity of so many people produces an enormous amount of free-roaming Mania.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Director: Geniuses of this foundation see debate and discussion as the most important part of their researches; Directors are gregarious and social, often even charming, but prone to manipulation at the expense of invention. Directors once served as foils to Lemuria; they still manipulate mortal and Inspired research from their boardrooms and secret message boards.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | echo doctor: A slang turn for an unmada. Though it specifically refers to an unmada rogue, the meaning has broadened to include almost any genius who does not listen to criticism of his methods or morals.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Epikrato: The Axiom of Control, used by the Inspired to dominate minds and to control the physical and mechanical world.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Etherite: Member of the Lemurian baramin that believes that humanity made a significant misstep in their scientific development, and that getting back "on track" would result in a new golden age. Most Etherites' wrath is directed at Einstein's Theories of Relativity, hence the name.
| |
| − | Exelixi: The Axiom of Restoration, used to repair and improve things both living and mechanical.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | fault: The flaws in a wonder, often manifesting as dangerous and unpredictable problems that can endanger the genius' life or Obligation.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | foundation: Each Inspired falls into one of five foundations of thought based on her area of focus in the world of mad science―tinkering (Artificer), action (Navigator), debate (Director), generation (Progenitor), or theory (Scholastic). Those geniuses that reject the foundations become rogues or join Lemuria.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | genius: A mortal human who has gained the power to break the bounds of the physical world with the power of invention and Inspiration. Or, depending on whom you ask, a superdimensional intellect that has taken up residence in a human's body and mind.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Grimm: The catalyst of anger and rage, implying a Breakthrough based on fury and disgust with the world as it currently is.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Havoc: What happens when a wonder gets out of control. Often caused by mere mortals trying to interact with a wonder. Havoc can damage a wonder or temporarily orphan it.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Hoffnung: The catalyst of hope for a brighter tomorrow, implying a Breakthrough based on a sincere dream of improving the world.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | metanormal: Lemuria's term for "supernatural" creatures and phenomena, also used by the Peerage.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Igor: A slang term for a beholden.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Illuminated: A genius whose mind has been overtaken by the raw stuff of genius, losing all humanity and sanity in the process.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Inspiration: The amount of raw brilliant power that a mad scientist has cultivated; as Inspiration rises, a genius can build more and greater wonders.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Inspired, the: A common term for geniuses.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Invisible Empire: Lemuria's preferred term for the Peerage.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Invisible Wars: The struggles between the Peerage and the Lemurians for control of the destiny of humanity; these battles puttered to a halt in the mid 20th century.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Jabir: The inability of geniuses, especially those with high Inspiration, to communicate their scientific, philosophical, and technical ideas clearly to unInspired people.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Juno: An old term for a female Lemurian.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Karnacki: A genius ghost-hunter. Some Karnackis are interested in communication; others in banishment.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Katastrofi: The Axiom of Destruction, used by the Inspired to produce death lasers, heat rays, poison gas bombs, and other instruments of devastation.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Klagen: The catalyst of sorrow and despair, implying a Breakthrough based on personal tragedy, suffering, and loss.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | fellowship: An organization of experienced geniuses working on a specific task and uncovering unique abilities to benefit their work.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | laboratory: The genius' sanctum, where wonders are created and sent into the world.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | larry: A 20th century term for a Lemurian beholden used in a guard capacity.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | larva: An ingredient gathered at great moral cost and used to improve a wonder. There is a rich trade in Larvae among the Inspired.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Lemurian: A genius who clings to archaic views of the world and believes that his own view most accurately reflects reality; Lemurians have secretly manipulated the history of the world for centuries―or at least tried to.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | lonesome: A genius who is isolated due to lack of awareness of a larger Inspired community, and who may not even be aware that he is Inspired. There are probably more lonesomes than affiliated geniuses.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | mane: Things, creatures, and people borne of Mania, from the jungles of Venus to Antarctic Nazi superweapons to angels that push the planets around.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Mania: The "energy source" of the Inspired, that allows them to bend the cosmos, and to build and transform their wonders.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | maniac: Slang term for a genius, or occasionally, specifically an unmada.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Maniac Storm: A sudden shift in the paradigm of the Community, resulting in a mass-unleashing of Mania that at least partially "makes true" what has been proven to be false. The last major Maniac Storm was in 1971, when the Viking landers established Mars indisputably as a barren wasteland devoid of life―instantly, the Mania released created a Martian Empire that tried to subjugate the Earth, and that was stopped only by the loss of countless genius lives.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | mercatus: The outer section of a Lemurian zotheca, where geniuses can buy, sell, and trade Larvae and other scientific components.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Metaptropi: The Axiom of Transformation, used by the Inspired to perform "alchemical" experiments, to change shape, and to change the appearance of things.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Mechanist: Member of the Lemurian baramin that believes that the world and everything in it, including people, is ultimately reducible to a handful of simple, mechanical rules that, if followed, would result in Utopia.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | MM: "Mere mortal." Slang for any human who is not a genius, a beholden, or otherwise wildly out of the ordinary.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Navigator: Geniuses in this foundation are as eager to use wonders as to build them; they are daredevils and adventurers as well as scientists.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Neid: The catalyst of jealousy and envy, implying a Breakthrough based on frustration and humiliation.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Obligation: The genius' connection to humanity. Though in a sense he has risen above mortality, most geniuses still feel a pull to better the common man. Those who lose that desire become true mad scientists, performing heinous experiments without heed for who suffers.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Oracle: Member of the Lemurian baramin that believes humanity was better off before the rise of inductive thought and empiricism; they often affect a mystical appearance and champion revelation and pure reason.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | orphan: A wonder without a master. Orphans are predatory and must seek out sources of Mania to survive.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Paragon: A genius who believes in his Obligation to humanity and works to preserve and cherish the mortal world in his charge.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | peanut: 20th century slang for a Lemurian beholden, specifically one involved in lab work.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Peerage: The loose society of free geniuses, including those belonging to the five foundations as well as free rogues; basically, anyone who is not a lonesome, a Lemurian, Illuminated, or an echo doctor.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Phenomenologist: A member of the Lemurian baramin that rejects all objective concepts of truth in favor of a politically- or philosophically-motivated will to power.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Pinky: Slang for a useless beholden.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | preta: Any sort of "Maniavore," usually meant to include orphaned wonders and manes not in their bardo.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Progenitor: The foundation focused on growth, transformation, and the violation of boundaries. Progenitors develop hideous new creations and unleash them upon the world.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | program: A large group of geniuses not affiliated with either the Peerage or Lemuria.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Prostasia: The Axiom of Protection, used by the Inspired to create suits of armor, protective shields, and sanctuary screens.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Race History: The "playbook" for the Lemurian control of humanity, abandoned after the last Invisible War led to the destruction of the Lemurian power base.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | rogue: A genius who belongs to neither a foundation nor a baramin. Many rogues are Illuminated; those that aren't must tread carefully lest madness take them.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Scholastic: The foundation focused on study, theory, and philosophy. Scholastics are mathematicians, linguists, philosophers, and clever abstract thinkers.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Secret Masters: The rulers and guides of the Lemurians, dead for over fifty years now.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Skafoi: The Axiom of Travel, used by the Inspired to create everything from wheeled vehicles to rockets to teleportation devices and dimensional gates.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | snake pit: Slang for a zotheca. Lemurians traditionally feature a serpent, symbolic of the Roman Goddess Juno, at the entrance to their workrooms.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Staunen: The catalyst of curiosity, amazement, and awe, implying a Breakthrough based on stark amazement.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Technomancer: A genius who uses metanormal power from other beings in the World of Darkness, such as mages, changelings, or werewolves, to fuel his Inspiration.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Third Race: One of the ophidian "true" Lemurians created by the appearance of the island of Lemuria in the middle of the 20th century. Now mostly exterminated.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | thesis: A strange personal and philosophical journey that allows a genius to increase in Inspiration.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | transgression: The act of betraying one's Obligation, usually for knowledge or (technological) power.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | unmada: A genius who believes that his manipulation of Mania represents the truth of the world. All Lemurians and Illuminated are unmada, but so are many rogues and some peers.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Wesley: An underage genius.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | wonder: A work of Inspiration created by a genius.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | zotheca: A Lemurian meeting-place; specifically, the private inner-chambers where the Lemurians gather, distinct from the mercatus. Formally, "zothecae," with each baramin in attendance possessing one zotheca.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | <code>
| |
| − | "What are we doing?" He dropped the half-finished machine on the
| |
| − | desk, just hard enough to draw the old woman's attention, but
| |
| − | without enough force to damage its delicate mechanisms.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "We are creating the future," the old woman said. She leafed
| |
| − | through a glossy copy of Alloy Blend, frowning at the garish use of
| |
| − | color. Danish modern was in again for robots, it said. The picture
| |
| − | showed some hulking Rubix Cube-looking monstrosity with two big
| |
| − | glass eyes.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "There's no future here, grandma," the boy said. He poked at the
| |
| − | machine, like a kid moving broccoli around his plate. "It's all
| |
| − | just mind-tricks, some kind of consensual hallucination. It's not
| |
| − | like we can mass-produce this stuff. It'd be like thalidomide
| |
| − | crossed with giving kids dynamite."
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "Don't look at the technology, then," she said. She flipped a page.
| |
| − | More stuff on Mars: ruins, and girls surrounded by rust wearing too
| |
| − | much makeup and too little jewelry-slash-clothing. "Look at the raw
| |
| − | science, the knowledge you can accumulate. You have an avenue of
| |
| − | discovery that regular people don't have."
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "What's that?"
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "Build something--a flying machine, say--then strip it down. See
| |
| − | what's fueled by Mania, what just works. Figure out the principles
| |
| − | behind the parts that work normally. Write up said principles in a
| |
| − | sane scientific paper. Submit to a sane scientific journal.
| |
| − | Profit!"
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "You can do that?"
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "Mm-hmm. Would you want to?"
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "Would I...?"
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "Would you want to tear apart what you've made, hunting for mundane
| |
| − | truths that you can sell to Nature like a photojournalist with
| |
| − | salacious pictures? Or would you rather do what you're doing now?"
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The boy looked at the machine in front of him for a moment, then
| |
| − | picked it up and set to work, delicately adjusting the copper wires
| |
| − | that framed the tiny power plant.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | "That's what I thought," the old woman said. "Finish your robot,
| |
| − | dear, and then I'll make dinner."
| |
| − | </code>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Chapter One: The Cosmos ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Chapter Two: Character Creation ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Chapter Three: Systems and Foundations ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Chapter Four: Special Rules and Systems ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Chapter Five: Storytelling and Antagonists ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Appendix One: Samples Wonders ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Appendix Two: The Fellowships ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Appendix Three: The Seattle of Tomorrow ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | == Epilogue: The Answer to Everything ==
| |
