The comics worked it just fine.

Bioshock revamped as cyberpunk? Seems neat man. I'd buy a splat of that, for sure.

You'd have to focus on fins for ray-guns, and Silver Age of Comics style of Villainy.

Pick up GURPS Pulp Fiction, and read up on the section crossing it with Cyberpunk.

It doesn't matter if you use GURPS - just read the book. The rules aren't the meat of the book, the settings are, and that will serve you well.

Depending on the tech level? Holograms in car doors. They manifest a holographic bellboy to open your car door for you, while motors in the car do all the actual work.

felt this pic was apropriate

>>16776599
Brilliant!

>>16776599

I like it!

Holographic, hovering, Model T

>How would a setting based on 1920's futurism work, mixed with a little cyberpunk?

I imagine virtual slaves working in cramped megafactories with crude cybernetics given to them by the company, which they now have to pay back (aif the company housing and company stores weren't enough).

Towers of glass and steel and stone stretching towards the heavens.

The elites with gold-plated art deco augmentics.

>>16776671
Hologram Chauffer, Bellboy, and Butler.

Heck, if you've got wireless, then most interfaces would be either a holographic secretary or butler which would open doors and access functions. Get rid of screens entirely.

>>16776536
>>flapper girls with cyberware

thisismyfetish.jpg

I'm liking the idea of getting rid of monitors and screens. Filing cabinets would still be all over the place, only with art deco robots and black-and-white holograms being the interfaces for said filing systems.

Augments would all look like brushed steel or bronze. Perhaps an augmented arm would have cuff linked shirtsleeves represented on it. Along with a wristwatch built into it. Maybe use the material be a measure of how high-quality it is.

All assault rifles use ammo drums instead of magazines, most pistols are revolvers, personal communication equipment resemble pocketwatches rather than cellphones.

>>16776536
A. Lee Martinez's 'The Automatic Detective'. It's pretty much what you're looking for.

I'm interested. It'd be an interesting motif change.

I'm torn between setting it on earth or some distant, separate world.

Maybe most of the world is uninhabitable, leaving behind one massive city.

>>16777569
Dark City. Watch it, steal the idea. No spoilers.

>>16777315

>personal communication equipment resemble pocketwatches rather than cellphones.

Warehouse 13 had a communication device similar to this idea. Actually, I think it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to have a watch that doubles as a video communication system, with the various knobs on the side of the watch handling frequency changes and such.

>>16777608

I've actually seen it.

Making it a large yet isolated city would be relatively easy, if it's set on earth I'd have to come up with a reason as to why the hell the whole world got stuck in the 1920's.

>>16777639

> In 1919, famed poet, aviator, and war hero Gabriele d'Annunzio took 300 men into the Adriatic city of Fiume, siezing it as the first Futurist Republic. By 1922, all Italy followed him. Futurism seemingly held the answers; unlimited use of autofactories, of robot workers, of aerial trade fleets and radium power drew Italy into the first rank of nations with cometary speed. Italian banks and conglomerates financed the North German Republic, restoring order to Central Europe. Communist Bavaria and Hungary were suddenly isolated, overthrown, then added to the Futurist camp. When nationalists assassinated King Alexander of Yugoslavia, Britain and France stepped in to keep the Balkans from following the Germanies into the Italian sphere. In 1939, Italian paratroopers landed in Sarajevo in response to a "request" from the Futurist faction in Bosnia, and the Future War erupted.
> source: Ken Hite, "Reality Futura"

"We will sing of great crowds excited by work, by pleasure, and by riot; we will sing of the multicolored, polyphonic tides of revolution in the modern capitals; we will sing of the vibrant nightly fervor of arsenals and shipyards blazing with violent electric moons; greedy railway stations that devour smoke-plumed serpents; factories hung on clouds by the crooked lines of their smoke; bridges that stride the rivers like giant gymnasts, flashing in the sun with a glitter of knives; adventurous steamers that sniff the horizon; deep-chested locomotives whose wheels paw the tracks like the hooves of enormous steel horses bridled by tubing; and the sleek flight of planes whose propellers chatter in the wind like banners and seem to cheer like an enthusiastic crowd."
-- Filippo Tomasso Marinetti, "The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism" (1909)

Ignoring the earth/distant world scenario for now, started on some fluff ideas.

The Latticework: Colloquially referred to as "The Works". Essentially the internet, hardware installed in the skull interfaces with a personal device (like the pocket watch idea, or a powder mirror for the gals) uses a hologram display which can be altered in size.

Tin Types: Simple robots used to sweep streets, wait tables, and perform other mundane tasks. They are not programmed with an AI and can be reprogrammed to accomplish tasks outside of their default programming by a licensed technician with the appropriate codes.

Lat5: "Latties", a combination of lucid software and heroin, induces a sense of euphoria when diving into the latticework.

bump for awesome thread

>>16778117

Also, I wanted drugs and gangs to be a pretty big part of the setting, so if you guys have any more ideas in that respect I'd love to hear them.

>>16778331
Assumedly drugs, and we are talkign designer drugs because this is cyberpunk, would take the role of alcohol. Prohibited in most place, temperance leagues fight for their prohibition in others. Speakeasies are places where average joes people go to do drugs and veg out; those who are better off end up getting doctors to proscribe them this or that drug in order to contravene prohibition.

Organized crime controls production and distribution of most drugs.

>>16778389

Sounds good!

Also drew a flapper.

Started mapping a city.

>>16778036
A lot of this. The 1920s was the age of technocracy, Marxism, mass movements, fascism... strength was measured in numbers.

Cyberpunk is about agility and information. Command economies are a bad joke and even traditional markets aren't fast enough for those on the cutting edge. In cyberpunk the street peels off and finds its own uses for things, rapidly posing a threat to nations and mega-corps by riding the cutting edge.

Flaps (instead of punks) are all about the masses. Once you get them on your side you can take key nodes. The idea of just ignoring the current system to roll your own society isn't going to occur to them.

I was also thinking players could eventually come eventually across a cyberware dirigible.

>>16781321
>>I was also thinking players could eventually come eventually across a cyberware dirigible.

Well that's not going to be nearly as cool as it would be in the not too distant future. In cyberpunk a blimp is a thing to be feared.

The gasbag is made up of polynano-carbon, interwoven with SmartFilaments with double handwavium chips studded all over its surface.

It's invisible to any wavelength you can think of thanks to metamaterial lightbending. It's a massive reciever, using interferometric techniques to sense EVERYTHING. Seriously, you can read minds from this thing, like actually zoom in on a specific person and pick up EEGs. The leakage from security cams, cyberoptics and everything else that emits gives you total situational awareness.

That pales in comparison to the write capabilities. It's also a phased-array broadcaster, able to remotely hack decks, cyberlimbs and any other unshielded system. A sufficiently advanced blimp is just short of a Culture level effector.

A dieselflap zeppelin? Well it's going to be super-advanced for the time. Just flying makes it pretty cool though, so it doesn't take much to impress people of that era. Not sure what else you can have it do though.

Have you guys ever heard of the alternate history where LSD is invented in the 20's and spreads wildly, just like it did in the 60's OTL, creating a parallel subculture of Dizzies to the Flappers and generally increasing party culture in general - with there being more Flappers and it becoming a term for men as well as women in that subculture.

>>16780361
Is this also your work? Because if it is, i greatly enjoy it and would like to subscribe to your newsletter (and or website, blog, portfolio, etc.)

Diesel-cyberpunk... ...oh my...

Dieselpunk fascist stormtroopers with rayguns, rocket backpacks and primitive cyber-implants as villains.

Wardrobe-sized difference engines with vacuum-tubes and tiny, flickering screens as personal computers, all of them connected by a huge network of cables.

Zeppelins and biplanes.

Automaton-butlers in wealthy homes.

Jazz music.


My nerdboner is killing me...

>>16783987

Yeah

I don't have any blogs/galleries though.

>>16784317

>>16784317

"Tehll me Dahling, how do you likeh my new Automatic Butler? I ordered it from Rotwang & Mabuse Maschinenfabrikwerke in Prussia for 5000 Reichsmarks..."

>How would a setting based on 1920's futurism work, mixed with a little cyberpunk
full of shit and fail.

>You'd basically have flapper girls with cyberware, pinstripe suits that change color, gangs peddling illegal hardware, augmented arms fused with tommy guns, gumshoes, jazz, etc.
My shit sundae is now complete.

>>16778036
> In 1919, famed poet, aviator, and war hero Gabriele d'Annunzio took 300 men into the Adriatic city of Fiume, siezing it as the first Futurist Republic. By 1922, all Italy followed him. Futurism seemingly held the answers; unlimited use of autofactories, of robot workers, of aerial trade fleets and radium power drew Italy into the first rank of nations with cometary speed.
Words cannot describe how dumb this is.

Bumping with Tommy gun.

Bumping with a WIP. Fucking LOVE this idea!

>>16784689
Why are you so mad, though? I don't see why shouting at us through the internet will make a difference.

Humanoid automatons are illegal in the United States under Prohibition, being classified as a type of still. This is due to paranoia about intelligent machines, fueled by the fact that the most life-like and independent minded automata are the "Robots" of the Futurist Republic of Czechoslovakia, currently in a cold war with Nikola Tesla's futurist regime in Yugoslavia.

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.U.R.

Off the coast of Sumatra is the world's only oceanic hotel, a pearl of opulence in the Indian Ocean. However, recent reports suggest there may be more going on on the ocean floor than the owners are letting on.

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_with_the_Newts

>>16776536

actually it would be more like proto-fascist caste systems and severe segregation, work intensive superindustrialised hive cities, mass antiestablishment movements, terrorism, adoration of speed, force and violence, speed above all, machism, chauvinism, technolatry of all kinds, and general insignificance of the human element relative to all sorts of mega-machinery

thats if youre talking about a 1920's futurism inspired world

the whole cyber-implants - augemntations etc... are expected thropes, but not that meaningfull in such a world and kind of redundant

what that kind of world would be about is the triumph of machinery over flesh, not so much the fusion of the two, unless the human becomes part of the machine, which would be seen as improvement, and not the machine becoming part of the human, that would be seen as redundant waste

>>16785321
Basic lines. Cleanup and perhaps color on the way.

>>16785816
that neck is all kinds of fucked up

>>16785878
Which one? I was trying for some poses I ain't done in a while.

>>16785891
both seem way to long but the flapper's jumps out at me specifically

>>16785891
The girl's neck is a bit on the long side.

>>16785911
>>16785912
Thanks for spotting it. I was trying to go for the 'craning neck out to see something' look, but I guess I made her look too much like a crane. Fix is forthcoming.

Needs more Cyber Marie

Another...

It's believed that the Robot itself was going to have a far longer role without being disguised, but the fact that they had to spend hours a day, gluing poor Brigitte into the costume necessitated an altered script.

Don't know if true or not but here's one of Brigitte Helm getting glued in for filming.

Second Best Scene. The Club partying as their world slowly ends.

First is the Moloch.
(Especially with this music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iP1bcLSwUw)

Here's one for all the sculptors, diorama makers and painters.

One more of Marie/The Beautiful Brigitte Helm before I go to bed.

Night night everyone.

Meph, one more for the road.

I had an idea bout a diesel punk setting centered mostly around air flight, with fuel prohibition. Ethanol leggers and illegal atomics.
The skyway patrol keeping people safe from the dark forces of the Air Dictatorship- a mysterious vanguard of zeppelins who make lightning raids with unbelievable technology. Popular opinion thinks they're the remains of the Red Russian army, while others paint them as German.

>>16785816
Colors. Neck is also fixed.

Seriously you guys, you're not going to let this idea die, are you?

Op here,

Stuck at work until tomorrow evening. I'll try pooling these ideas together into something cohesive, or, at the very least, sketch out some concepts.

for some reason I can see a post-stroke Woodrow Wilson speaking through a radio-like device attached to his throat, and a cybernetic fitting over his eye which had become blind.

Aesthetics: Looming skyscrapers with black and white holographic advertisements on their exteriors, pushing everything from hardware upgrades to feminine hygiene.

The streets are teeming with nightlife, flappers locked in stride with their gents, ambling past the tin types and auto-docks.

Zeppelins drift lazily above, breaking the crisscrossing vapor trails of biplanes.

>>16786439
And done. I just LOVE the idea of a suit with glowing, pulsating pin stripes. Definitely exemplifies the combination of 20s and cyberpunk.

>>16787513
Evening bump.

I have been playing in a game almost exactly like what you describe for 2 years.

Ours is more "Art Deco, TO THE MAX!"

You might want to look at 90s batman for inspiration. the movies and cartoon at least had that sort of feel to it.

Futurist Republics popped up in Europe after the Great War

The United States is still on Great War rationing (fuel prohibition), cyborg-Woodrow Wilson is still president, and Prohibition of alcohol and LSD (developed by accident and originally spread as an alternative to prohibited alcohol before itself being prohibited) are in full effect - with the Prohibition being used to exercise broad powers, such as certain classes of automata being being classified as stills and thus banned/heavily regulated.

Cybernetic augmentation is popular among the speakeasy subculture of flappers (now used to describe men and women of the glamorous high-end speakeasy scene) and dizzies (LSD users).

A Rapture-like hotel on the ocean floor off the coast of Sumatra (plot involving hidden civilization of Newts, like from the stories by the Rossum's Universal Robots author guy).

Lots of airships, air smuggling, air piracy, and dreaded air dictatorship.

Black and white silent hologram reel interfaces.

Missing anything?

>>16789417
I can see a lot of eastern Europe and Russia being the biggest bastions of the Futurist republics. Perhaps Weimar Germany managed to get a foothold into the Futurist world ahead of the others, making the fastest innovations and pulling themselves out of reparations more easily this way, stemming the meteoric rise of the Nazis from our timeline. Mainly this is because I'm tired of inserting Nazis into every fucking alt history ever, but it also gives players room to explore forces that aren't clearly good or evil, as was the perception afterwards.

There are other Futurist states slowly cropping up, namely England, France, and the United States. As the eastern European and Russian states do take on a sort of communist/Marxist flavor, as expected, the others' take on it only increase their Imperialist attitudes (especially after winning the war, of course).

Factors seem to suggest continued economic growth, especially with Germany repaying its debts to the Allied victors. Also, the industrial push into the Futurist age kept production and manufacture going, even after wartime. This goes along with the aforementioned rationing to stymie overconsumption and to artificially keep supply high in order to retain lower prices.

Definitely love the airships and art deco feel of things. Keep them in, for sure. Maybe even make an entire faction of self-proclaimed aeronauts who seek refuge from the strictures of the world's burgeoning Futurist regimes. They live as much as they can in their airships, using a sort of global black market to be able to maintain and fuel their ships.

Of course, maintaining the black market would be difficult. We're still playing with telegraph, Morse code, flag code, and early telephones. The importance of ciphers increase as the world becomes more and more connected through the increasing number of Futurist states.

Oh goodness, this is what I've been wanting for ages.

Let's hope this takes off.

>>16789417

What happened in the Great War? Did it happen much the same way, but with cybernetically augmented soldiers and more zeppelin usage? What's Germany doing now that the War is over? Did the Weimar Republic come about, as in real life, or something else entirely?

What about Russia? Did the Revolution occur? What's happening to Trotsky, Lenin, and Stalin?

Op here, this is what I've got so far. More to come (LSD, Europe, etc)

Setting: 1925, alternate history wherein WW1 started earlier, lasted longer, and lead to the development of emergent technologies including but not limited to; computers networks, robotics, holograms, augmentation, advanced aeronautics, and primitive AI.

United States: following The Great War, the United States underwent a strict policy of non involvement in European affairs under the direction of Woodrow Wilson. Filled with a sense of national pride, men and women moved to the cities in droves to begin promising careers in the capitalist factories of the new world. Rapid construction and industrialization, coupled with the growth of a massive computer network known as The Latticework lead to a physical and electronic connection between every major metropolis in the country.

Currently, isolationist policies are still in effect. Air travel to and from the United States is strictly regulated by a combined effort from the Federal Aeronautic Security Administration and Department of Immigration. Technology from other countries is smuggled into the United States via teams of tech runners flying biplanes capable of deceptive and denial radar jamming.

Organized crime runs rampant in the cities of the new world, cocktails of opiate, psychedelic, and electronic drugs dominate the nightlife of American cities. Loan sharks and thugs handle the missed payments of drug addled lattice divers with violence and intimidation. Nearly every facet of drug production, distribution, and sales are overseen by the gangs of the Midwest.
.

Within the country itself, a free market exists with the exception of advanced AI, which is strictly prohibited. Mechanical augmentations are affordable and in vogue. Nearly everything is street legal with the appropriate permits but these regulations aren't readily enforced. Men and women eager to delve into the mechanized nightlife often fall victim to cheap, shoddy, "tin jobs" that are prone to failure.

Primitive robots exist in the form of "tin types" which have gradually undertaken most menial labor. Despite the governments official policy on robotics, many Americans support the development of AI given the reported success coming from eastern and western Europe.

Lat5: Lat, latties, fives, fivers. A popular drug amongst lattice divers and mech heads. Lat5 is a potent combination of opiates and software designed to induce a state of euphoria within the latticework. Originally developed by the British military in an effort to keep cryptologists in a state of ease while attempting to crack German ciphers, lat5 was eventually synthesized in the streets of Europe, and shorty thereafter, America.

Chronic lat5 users spend hours, sometimes days, diving into the latticework. The combination of a chemical and psychological dependency on the drug often results in isolation, malnutrition, and exhaustion. Any attempt to quit lat5 is met with violent withdraw symptoms. Overdosing on lat5 leaves the user in a comatose state within the latticework until the body dies

>>16792889
>>16792901
Well shit, I'm glad I couldn't stay asleep. Guess a part of me knew that more awesome was underway!

>The Latticework
I can imagine the Latticework not only being a boon to the growing technological sector, but also very dangerous in and of itself. We all remember how addictive using the Internet was it was in its first stages - and that's with our lifestyles already (relatively) bombarded by electronically-transmitted information. Just imagine new users of the Lattice when media was limited to newspapers, newsreels, and billboards. It's probably like a drug unto itself, and that's not even counting the effects of Five.

>Augments and Tintypes
I love the shady world of "tin jobs" you proposed. I'd also say that Augments - or just Augs in common parlance - are not only available for surgical implant, but also wearable models. The glowing pinstripe suit idea you opened the thread with can perhaps be an EXTREMELY advanced model of wearable Augs. The WonderSuit, as they call it, is essentially a power-suit, enhancing the muscular movements of its wearer. It is made for undercover jobs, an array of sensors and an amazing wire-less Lattice transmitter makes it a VERY HOT commodity in the Augs market.

>>16793361
Derp, forgot to comment on Tintypes.

I support keeping them as mainly labor units, though there is likely research to employ them in both military and other civilian capacities. Novus Labs' Jonathan 5-series is rumored to be able to be employed into the front lines of a battle, though there is also the curious tale of researchers using the Johnathan's infrastructure for more peaceful applications, such as advanced AI and Lattice-connectivity.

Guys, I have an idea...

Why not throw in an alien invasion to the pot? As they would have imagined it 100 years ago. Tripods, little green men or little green men in tripods or something like that.

Either,
-The Martians have failed to invade, dying off en masse due to being exposed to Earth viruses and bacteria, leaving behind a lot of their gadgetry for us to reverse-engineer...
-The Martians are invading and parts of the planet suffer under their yoke, but Humanity fights on and there is currently a stalemate between the two civilizations...
-The Martians have won, but instead of wiping everyone out they keep Humanity subjugated through puppet regimes and traitors whom either work along with the Martians to prevent Humanity from being eradicated or simply out of greed and a hunger for power. Life under the occupation is not neccesarily hard due to a technological boom following the introduction of some of the Martian technology being incorporated into Human science, but it IS dangerous. There are rumours of people who spoke out against the Martians or against their puppets and disappeared without a trace a few days after. There are whispers about thousands, rumours say even millions of people being deported to some of the more remote parts of the planet where the Martians subject them to do live in slave camps and do slave work... ...or being guinea pigs for their horrific experiments...

And there are whispers of a certain group of revolutionaires...

Bumping with airship cockpit.

C'mon, /tg/, leave the Wardhammer 40K for just a bit and don't let glory of this thread die...

And I'm back.

>>16794195
I like the first option really. I would personally like to play a scenario in this setting where there isn't a clear antagonistic force to go against (In >>16789907 I suggested that Weimar Germany actually succeeded to take out an overwhelming Nazi force to keep THEM from being the antagonist faction). I don't know... it would be interesting to see what morally grey things arise in a situation without clear good and evil to deal with.

Yeah, I like the idea of a failed invasion. Holographic newsreels all over the place, showing patriotic footage of troops beating the alien threat.

>>16796048

I'd prefer the third, it would give the setting a lot of possibilities. "Is Director Ewig Buchanan a puppet of the Martians or does he have more sinister motives? Could it be that he's secretly working against them?" "Why is Arizona quarantined? What does the Directorate hide from us?" "What goes on at Fort-51, what are those darn Martian lackeys plotting there?" "What really happened at Tunguska?" "Black autogyros and Directorate agents in black tweed jackets? What is going on here?" "Is there really a resist... ...Shut up, don't talk about such things, you're gonna get yourself killed..."

>>16796347
I see where you're going with it. I just suppose it's a matter of preference. What I love about the Roaring 20s is that despite all the prosperity of civilization at that time, there was still the corrupt element within that I always enjoy. Doesn't mean that some conspiracy action is a bad thing, just not what I would prefer. Hell, I can definitely see a scenario coming out of Tunguska using that third option...

>>16796371

I say go with option two!

Human Underground Railroad!
Speakeasies financing gunrunners supplying freedom fighters!

Scarlet Traces has an early 1900s war with Mars going badly, the second book of it. The first is about the immediate consequences of HG Wells' Martian invasion (Britain hijacks all the Martian technology left behind, then invades Mars). The invasion doesn't go well, and the second book is set while the world is bogged down in it.

>>16796371

All options are fine... ...as long as they have enough fedora hats, tommy guns, biplanes, alien tripods, zeppelins, mad scientists, leather jackets, rayguns, jazz music, damsels-in-distress, googles, Tesla-coils, steam and diesel locomotives and gangsters.

And an era of prosperity that is rapidly heading into disaster without it being aware.

>>16796427
That much I can agree on!

>>16796545

Yeah, I forgot giant robots and skyscrapers.

OP reminded me that I need to watch Metropolis again. God damn, cool shit.

I'd rather not have the earth occupied. The roaring twenties were all about the good times following the end of world war one. You wouldn't have that same jubilant atmosphere if say, the US had lost and ended up under german rule.

>>16797093
I totally agree with this. But thinking about that poses the question... where actually did all these Futurist innovations come from? Other than just Tesla, of course...

>>16797112
I'd say that they were made, of course, by a conglomeration of Standard Oil and General Electric- Standard Power.

The hyrbid company as had a hand in the creation of all manner of electric servants that make modern life so easy and convenient, from refined zeppelin designs to the more literal electric servants. They've set up their major manufacturing plants on Washingtons coast, of all places, and a city has sprouted around it, like steel and glass mushrooms. The most striking design is Standard Powers corporate office, colloquially known as the Nail for it's odd design. Some people say that the Nail wasn't something constructed, but found, appearing after the tsunami of '12, and that all the miracle innovations had been found within its grey halls. But that's just crazy.

Thought I might give some background on 1910 and Itallian Futurism. Fillipo Tomasso Marinetti found the movement as an avant-garde multimedia movement, aimed at destroying the past and embracing industrial technologies. The Manifesto of Futurism was actually signed and distributed before any of the artists had even gotten around to making any art. Marrinetti said that the painting of the nude should be banned, and that the museums were nothing but dusty mausoleums of the dead. Marinetti thrived on scandal. His Futurist evenings included sound poems, in which noises replaced words, bombastic statements ridiculing the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, and machines called Intonomuri, or Noise Machines, which here humongous amplifiers that created unbearable noise. Nearly everywhere they went, the futurists were chased out of town.

Futurist painting took many signals from Cubism, which was then being created by Picasso and Juan Gris. The big difference between someone like Picasso and Severini, is their subjects. Picasso painted women, bottles of booze, pleasant things. Severini painted Tanks, Trains, Gaslights and Flappers.

Marinetti was close friends with Musolini, and when Musolini took power, Futurism became the official state style, for the time being. Many of the Futurists were happy to sign up for the Army. Italian Futurism has been slighted by many historians because of its connections to fascism. Marrinetti was agressively pro-war, in both World War 1 and 2. His early writings bear many of the trademarks of the macho-man fascism that eventually gripped italy.

>>16797112

What if the Great War never took place, but instead all the effort and energy spent on the war would have been channeled into science and arts, ushering in a Second Renaissance?

Or the war did happen indeed, but started earlier and ended later? Or perhaps it still rages on. Wars have a tendency to boost scientific progress.

And of course, cyber-augmentations, or... ..."electro-limbs" and "Dr. Prescott's Marvelous Mind-Modernizer Machines" were developed for soldiers who were crippled during the war.


(captcha: endoscopic isedly. A new surgical tool perhaps to cure chronic rectal pains? "Dr. Prescott's Endoscopic Anti-Asspain Isedly".)

>>16797196
I guess I just want to point out that Futurism (the Futurism of the early 20th century) is not the same kind of futurism you here scientists and transhumanists talking about today. It had non of the humanitarian agenda, it was male dominated, proclaiming disdain for women, and none of them were scientists or engineers, they were artists, writers and politicians. I tell you this because when someone says 1920s Futurism, I'm thinking about bombastic theater, protofascism and art. I'm into this stuff, but what I'm reading in this thread isn't about any of that.

Note these two wikipedia articles, lest you confuse these ideas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism

>>16797221
If we are talking WW1 then... well, it would be progress.
If we are talking WW2 then we would have gotten quite a lot from the Nazies, due they actually having the balls and sickness to test on human subjects.

>>16785571
>Robots
>Machines

Negro what are you talking about? Everyone knows that they're made from deep sea shellfish.

Plus there are no Slums or Shantytowns in Futurism - Only Banlieues and other inhuman architecture.

>>16789907
>I can see a lot of eastern Europe and Russia being the biggest bastions of the Futurist republics. Perhaps Weimar Germany managed to get a foothold into the Futurist world ahead of the others, making the fastest innovations and pulling themselves out of reparations more easily this way, stemming the meteoric rise of the Nazis from our timeline. Mainly this is because I'm tired of inserting Nazis into every fucking alt history ever, but it also gives players room to explore forces that aren't clearly good or evil, as was the perception afterwards.

You don't need Nazis. Weimarian Attitude was very much about becoming more robotic. Just add technobabbel like: "Psychosurgery" to speed their quest and what you get is a super-efficient robotic upper-class and their robotic soldiers controlling a huge mass of poor and revolutionary underclass people.

One of the best threads I've seen on teegee for a while... We definitely need to make a homebrew setting like that.

Art Deco cyber/dieselpunk.

Fa/tg/uys, let's get shit done.

>>16797712
What system would you use? I'm leaning towards Spirit of the century at the moment.

Also I have more ideas about Fuel prohibition, and Standard Power in case anyone is interested.

Also, Teddy served three terms in this setting, y/n?

Op here,

Okay, so maybe "the great war" was the with Martians, WW1 as we know it never actually happened. The reverse engineering of scavenged Martian technology is precisely why science has flourished, with some of the more ambitious projects being fronted by Tesla (that asshole Edison was killed in the great war)

Of course, there are always rumors concerning the Martians. Will they return? If so, when? Of course, these are just rumors and most people are content with their lives.

However, the United States would need other motives to remain isolated if WW1 never happened.

>>16789907
Have German states control Eastern Europe in iron grip of the dreaded Mitteleuropa plan with poor slavic workers opressed in World Machine by the Germans.
Have a brilliant but Slavic professor invent a an android that fights against the German machinen-soldaten, or a process that cyborgizes without problems people but only PanSlavic underground has the technology to do so.
Or even better-have the Germans use robots and souless brain dead machinen-soldiers, while the underground succesfully combines human with cyborg technology without losing individuality.

>>16797169
I'm liking where you're going with this. Throws in the obligatory megacorp into the mix. Of course, I'm sure there's a whole bunch of illegal manufacturers out there trying to bust Standard Power's grip on the sector.

>>16797196
Many thanks for the reminder on actual Futurism. It was indeed a VERY dangerous doctrine to follow, given the fascist and chauvinist bent on things. With that context though, it's easy for a movement or a word lose its deepest meaning over time and end up being used to merely describe an aesthetic, instead of the ideas behind it.

It's like with impressionism - sure, people still understand the basic mechanics behind what an impressionist painting usually looks like, but they often forget how that movement grew against the strictures of the Parisian salons which had extremely strict standards on their paintings, and how they emphasized differing perceptions and interpretations by different people, rather than a literal representation of a subject dictated by an artistic authority.

That being said, the time period of the setting is in the right area to still reference actual futurism (there's still room for fascism to develop, after all), but far enough from its inception in Italy, as well as obscure enough in the public eye, that it would understandable if the word is bastardized and turned into a catch-all for a proliferation of art-deco styles, constant movement in daily life, and a very male-dominated way of life. It would be a seemingly ideal world, but extremely difficult and oppressive just beneath the surface.

Again, thanks for the actual reference and giving us more material to play with for this setting! Also, I nominate a name for this setting: The Roaring Future.

So would there be any alternate augmented reality?

Like what would the internet look like in that world? Would it be a Tron like system or does hacking just involve high skilled people breaking into peoples computer physically?

"The foundations of the Budapest Metropolis were laid down in 1904 and by the early 1920's the enormous Neo-Gothic city complex became known as one of the most important bastions of culture, technology and science in Central Europe, but perhaps in the entire continent.

Headed by an enigmatic young visionary named Frederick Karinthy, the Budapest Metropolis is particularly known for it's advances on the fields of electrotechnology thanks to the works of brilliant inventors such as Karoly Zipernowsky, Anyos Jedlik, John von Neumann and Otto Blathy. The Budapest Metropolis, therefore, is among the worlds first and foremost manufacturers of electric motors, computational engines and energy weapons.

The city is locked in a fierce, but otherwise civilized rivalry with the Prague Metropolis, Europe's foremost "Universal Robot" and "Golem" manufacturer. But with the Prussian Empire becoming more and more aggressive with it's "Mitteleuropa" plan, the two cities might ultimately have to put their differences aside.

But little does anyone, but those at the highest echelons of power do know what the Metropolises of Central-Eastern Europe were really built for. The Martians might return one day and should that happen, the Metropolises shall be the bastions from where Europe fights back against the invaders."

>>16798275
PIPES

MORE PIPES THEN YOU CAN SHAKE AN ITALIAN PLUMBER AT

>>16797654
That would be an interesting take on things. Thinking about that, I can also see the new robotic regime leaning more towards a data-based economy rather than a production-based one to help with those nasty war debts. Not only do they have some of the best tech, but they can also dig up all the dirt you wanna know about just about anyone or anything. A network beyond the Lattice, they say...

>>16797927
I chuckled at the first one. But robo-zombies otherwise? Sign me up!

>>16798275
So, the Lattice. What is it, actually? I'd say it started simply as a network accessible through terminals. Then came the Augmentations which came with interfaces right into the Lattice. At first, it didn't come with a visual style, but rather just a sudden understanding of whatever knowledge you were accessing. But then people got creative, implementing visual styles in with the data stream. It's like having a holoreel going off in your head, where no one else can see it.

But this new visual interface not only made it easier for the layman to peruse the Lattice. No, the insidious hackers known as Lattice-Spiders come from this generation of the tech. At first, it was easy to detect a Spider, as they interrupted the data stream. Their presence was like nails on a chalkboard, but ten or twenty times worse.

But then they got creative and put in fake data around their signals in order to hide their tracks. Next thing you know, memories are being pulled right out of the unwitting victim's brain, the most valuable of which being sold to those Weimar... no... PRUSSIAN Tinmen...

When I found out what secrets they took from my wife... that's when I went to Budapest to join the Organics movement. If they can get that information from my wife, imagine what those Tins are doing elsewhere!

Yeah, I see the lattice as being a visual system within the brain, although early versions were merely consoles. The technology has since moved onto implants and augs, offering the user a wholly involved experience within the lattice.

Massive relays route information much like our satellites and cell phone towers.

>Currently, isolationist policies are still in effect. Air travel to and from the United States is strictly regulated by a combined effort from the Federal Aeronautic Security Administration and Department of Immigration. Technology from other countries is smuggled into the United States via teams of tech runners flying biplanes capable of deceptive and denial radar jamming.

Also, forgot to mention that the FASA grid is composed of massive zeppelins armed with fire control systems and an array of biplanes.

Ctrl-f, Sky captain

Nothing.


I'm dissapoint, /tg/!

bump

>>16798976
I love that movie. It fits early 20th century pulp so well that I'm shocked it's not "Spirit of the Century: The Movie".

And ker-bump!

>>16798910
I can imagine a mission into one such relay station. So much information, so many thoughts going through there. I wouldn't be surprised if governments had their own secret Thought Police which patrol and monitor said exchange of information. And to think, most people think that moments of slowness in the Lattice are due to understandable hardware issues...

From what I remember of secondary school history, one of the big things in the Weimar Republic (hell, in Europe as a whole) was the clash between left and right wing (and moderate left wing and extreme left wing and between moderate right wing and extreme right wing). During the early years of the Weimar Republic, you've got parties mounting coups all over the place, the Freikorps Putsch getting beaten by workers going on strike, the Beirhall Putsch, the Spartacists trying to establish communism by force and getting stopped by the SPD. Turbulent fucking times, and that's not even looking beyond Germany to Spain, Italy (which we're establishing as the centre of the Futurism) and other parts.

So what I'm really asking is how we integrate the left/right struggle into a cyberpunk world without making one side (probably inevitably the right) the obvious villains of the piece?

On the right you've got business, often the religious institutions, the military, the old hierarchies, aristocracies and bureaucracies, and many members of the general public from middle class down who just want some law and order and a return to national prestige. On the other you've got striking workers, liberals, agents of the Soviet Union, anarchists, communists, Leninists, Marxists, Trotskyites, democrats and other assorted progressives.

And speaking of the USSR, what the fuck's going on there?

>>16802131
>So what I'm really asking is how we integrate the left/right struggle into a cyberpunk world without making one side (probably inevitably the right) the obvious villains of the piece?

Well, that's a really good question. One thing I notice about partisan politics in general is that the points on each side are stronger when their domain is in crisis. When the economy was strong here, what did the sides squabble about? Social issues, mostly. But they tended to agree and/or compromise on economic and military matters before locking horns over the social issues. Nowadays? It's every fucking thing we get all up in arms about, probably because not only that we ain't doing too well compared to previous years, but also that a lot of us aren't seeing things improving down the road.

Now, let's think about this setting, with the continued rise of manufacture, production, technology, and business in general. The economy is more or less fine at the current in the setting as it was in the actual 20s (though the future of it is, of course, up for grabs.) Granted, some features of the game economy are different, but the idea is the same. Parties focus on relatively smaller issues, though they can be focused upon in good storytelling to really illustrate the gritty, hard-boiled life underneath the glitz, glamour, and gadgetry of the Roaring Future.

As for the fascists and communists, I'd like to think that they're still around and have respectable followings, but their message isn't as strong and as widespread right now due to the success of the economies at the current time. As for the USSR itself... I don't know, given that the events of the Bolshevik revolution happened around the same time, if not a bit earlier. Maybe they managed their revolution in the early stages, but are finding it difficult to keep the Marxist doctrine true, since word of Futurist success is getting to the people.

Bedtime bump.

Op here, herp derp

Started sketching out a scene.

Old power should hold on in some places, a thorn in the side of progress. The mysterious Count has de facto rule over large areas of the Carpathian mountains, while the Leng of Tibet have been inexplicably capable of resisting any invaders.

They use animal magnetism, spiritology, sympathetic vibrations, and other skills once known as magic. We know now that these can be affected, directed, amplified and blocked using electricity and radiation, but how they work exactly is still a mystery.

The most dangerous are those that fuse future and ancient powers together, such as the Count himself and his great interest in all forms of technical wonderment.

Morning bump

Morning folks.

>>16803506
I'm on the fence about introducing magic and spiritualism into this. I agree that we need some sort of factor to counter the Futurist surge, and I am especially all for old power not being put on the sidelines too easily. However, the introduction of magic and fantasy into an otherwise high-tech world has been a tricky thing to do. And as much as I love me some Shadowrun, I always tend to run those games as low-magic because I personally have trouble reconciling those two ends of that spectrum.

A good place to start would be the Count you mentioned, trying to fuse magic and technology. You can even flavor it as the Count being interested in bleeding-edge technology that even the mighty Futurists cannot comprehend yet. And then there's the case of the Tibetans and other rustic peoples who know their terrain so well that even Futurists have trouble penetrating deep enough to establish a power base there. Both of those would definitely work as the thorn in the side of the imperialist Futurist regimes.

>>16806030
>>16803506

I'd agree on leaving spiritualism and magic out. I do like the old pulpy tradition of SCIENCE versus MYSTERIOUS MAGICAL POWER, but I think the setting would benefit from leaving it at the wayside.

Which isn't to say that there won't be counter-technological forces at work. It's easy to say that robotics will make life wonderful, but what about all those manual labourers who have become unemployed, what about all the bellboys made unemployed by automatic lifts, what about all the chauffeurs getting replaced by auto-cars? We've got fertile ground here for a neo-Luddite movement, and the way I see it, the tech in this setting isn't advanced enough that a determined man with lots of explosives can't shove lots of spanners in the works.

Then there's the whole issue of religion. Again, it's a bit of a cliche to have the church opposing science, but what with said increasingly irrelevant working classes, the church's traditional conservatism and those pesky "Do robots have souls?" or "Is man blaspheming by creating psuedo-life in our own image?" questions, they could be a powerful force against development.

And then of course, like you say, you could have parts of the world that still manage to oppose colonisation thanks to harsh environments and local knowledge.

Plus you'll still have spiritualists and mediums, they'll just be charlatans playing on the need of certain parts of the populace for an experience beyond the mundane, only now they've got advanced tech to use to conjure up Ye Spirits From Beyond Our Ken.

>>16806425
Glad you agree with me there. I do thoroughly enjoy the idea of a neo-Luddite movement cropping up. We mentioned the idea of a very pro-robotic Weimar Germany/Prussia getting a foothold into the Futurist theme and only growing rapidly with their Mitteleuropa plan to consume and annex neighboring territories. While most of the other states tend to still have a Luddite presence and a need for their ilk - other nations seem to seek a balance between humanity and technology, AFAIK thus far - German workers and other lower class folk have been put out of their place, even lower than before due to their irrelevancy.

As for the Church, I can imagine the Vatican being at odds with the leading Futurist forces in the rest of Italy (remember, that's where it all started). Though it still exists - it's rather difficult for a state like Italy to just up and abandon its long-standing cultural traditions without violence - the Church has lost a great deal of its power due to the mass secularization of global governments and policy under the Futurist regimes. It remains largely a novelty, at best.

But now that I think about it, you can combine that with the parts of the world that otherwise fend off colonization. I'm sure there are still Catholic missions in remote parts of the world at this point, maybe ending up in a variety of situations reminiscent of the Caribbean religions - based off of native African spirituality but with a Catholic flavor as to disguise their own practices, then turning into a new tradition all of its own. That could be a part of the spiritual angle, along with the mediums using the newfangled smoke and mirrors of the tech, as you mentioned before.

>>16806528

The other thing you've got to remember about Weimar Germany is the fucking crippling debt that Versailles imposed on them. In reality, Germany only managed to pay off the last of its Versailles reparations late last year. We're talking $422 billion in today's money.

This of course, exacerbated the problems German experienced later. Even if, in this setting, Weimar's managing to keep the economy going, there's going to be a lot of discontent at the humiliatingly large sums of money haemorrhaging to the Allied powers. That's bound to feed the extremism that in the end brought Weimar down.

>>16806624
I have a feeling that, at least in this setting, there may be a lot of 'fuck this shit' regardless with Weimar Germany, and renege on the reparations once they establish themselves as a leading power on the Futurist world stage. They may also go the route of 'play nice until I can fucking nuke you', so we can perhaps leave that open.

When it comes how spirituality could balance the futurist surge... ...how about an Eastern cult-religion that sprung up in China in the past few decades? Some kind of a cruel and uncompromising cult started by a group of charismatic Chinese "prophet" known as the Ghost Emperor that draws millions of believers despite it's savagery... The sect would overthrow the Qing dynasty and establish it's own rule in China and soon, the Ghost Emperor's fanatical armies would conquer Indochina, Siberia and perhaps parts of India. Currently, the Emperor's armies are wreaking havoc along the shores of Alaska, Moscow had been reduced to ashes and in Asia only Japan seems to be able to hold itself against the tide.

>>16806690
Okay, let's roll with that. I can see this 'Ghost Emperor' actually being a collective instead of any one person, though the figurehead himself is, like you said, a VERY charismatic man. It's almost as if Mao had his own imperialist agenda rather than a communist one. And of course Japan can hold them off - I'm sure they figured out how to make Art-Deco mecha to defend their shores. Refer to >>16796545 pic for that.

>>16806752
So, just like in the Testament of the Doctor Mabuse?

>>16806757
Seems it to me, in a metaphorical sense at least. It's more like a very well-timed, well-executed conspiracy with a 'Ghost Emperor' as the face of the group.

>>16806793
dunno. What was extra-creepy about Mabuse was that he was dead, but that everyone involved in the project still genuinely obeyed him. The whole "supernatural" aspect with the ghost was more of a metaphor of this fact.

>>16806818
True enough.

>>16806752

But should the Ghost Emperor's armies be either...
-Millions of peasants with sticks, Mongolian cavalry and fanatic warrior monks with traditional Chinese weaponry? Should the Ghost Emperor's Heavenly Tide shun technology altogether?
-Millions of peasant conscripts with rifles, a few machine guns and the occasional rickety armoured cars and biplanes operated by mercenaries and the few Heavenly Tide fanatics who happen to have an actual education?
-Millions of well trained soldiers equipped with primitive assault rifles, warrior-monk trench raiders with traditional chinese swords and rayguns and a massive army of 1920's style multi-turreted heavy tanks supported by waves upon waves of heavy bombers and zeppelins that blanket entire cities with "Fart of the Heavenly Crimson Dragon Father"-class war-gas?

As far as I remember, the "Yellow Peril" is a constant theme in 1910-30's pulp..

>>16806853
it's like you're trying to build an army list of a codex...

just describe how far his political and social influence goes.

>>16806853
I'd say a mixture of the three, with them as different branches of the military once the Heavenly Tide (guess this will be the name of the faction) gets its shit together.

>>16806874
Yeah, I agree with this anon. We need to focus on the sociopolitical game they have. I'd say it's mostly a cult of personality with the aim to drag China out of mediocrity in a rapidly changing world, even if it is kicking and screaming. Harmonious in theory, ruthless in practice, and soon feared among their neighbors. It's a wonder that Japan manages to fend them out, especially as they dealt with their colonized neighbors to the south.

>>16806853
I think it should be variative... in poorer/fringe countries the cult would go into guerilla warfare with whatever weapons they can find/salvage, while as you get closer to the mainland/centers of production/capital you'd encounter more militarized, modernized armies with better gear.

Maybe they'd mixed a bit of supernatural stuff into their tech? Like utilizing ghosts for sabotage/enemy demoralization/messengers? Maybe the more supernatural stuff could be found amongst the 'fringe' guerillas and the central groups?
Because there were awesome legends about 'bulletproof spells' and such. Wear this talisman, makes you immune to poison gas! Or maybe incorporating feng shui into their defensive positions/generators etc to make them brimming with 'magic' energy and such...

>>16806914
Howdy Indy! Unfortunately, I'll have to agree to disagree with you, given my earlier bits about keeping magic out of the setting.

>>16806924
hmm, then tone them down to little more than propaganda bonuses and such.
So you can still see 'bulletproof' talismans being worn by kamikaze-ing chargers... which could or could not work.
So yeah, there is 'magic', but it's all in their mind... or is it? Did they discover a way to utilize psychosomatic 'feedbacks', aka mind over matter? Wait- LIGHTBULB!
Maybe the whole Ghost Emperor thing is a big, gruesome experiment in mass-producing psychics?

>>16806970
A-ha! There ya go! Very spiritual culture, and a mental lot, them.

>>16806883

Lemme' think... I'd say the new society is a harsh theocracy where the individual has no value and no rights... ...apart from the Priesthood of the Ghost Emperor, of course. People are expected to work extremely hard and to regularly take part in religious activities that are oftentimes barbaric and gruesome. Demons, evil ghosts, witches and other abominations are common in the Heavenly Tide's religious dogma and only the Priesthood can save China and Mankind from them... ...according to the Priesthood at least. Medicine, apart from a bastardized version of ancient Chinese medicine, is virtually noexistent, book burnings are common and so are public executions, public "exorcisms" and other bloody rituals.

The thing is, the people are actually happy about it, since only the Priesthood knows the cure for the plague that seems to spread from Tunguska. By itself, that would be proof that the Heavenly Tide has the blessings of the Heavens and therefore, might be the salvation of China.

Basically, the Heavenly Tide is how a militant atheist imagines Medieval Catholicism.

>>16807030
A Chinese culture with Mesoamerican themes of personality worship and bloody rituals? Very Yes.

>>16807047
fun fact: there are similarities of Shang dynasty China and Mesoamerica.
-Obsession over jade
-Bloody human sacrifices
-Similar ornamental designs
It's kinda eerie.

>>16807130
A fun fact indeed.

>FVTVRISM
SìSìSì
NEO FOLLOW ME BUT DO IT FAST
WE CAN'T STOP HERE THIS IS passatism COUNTRY

Also, worth noting Range Murata Art Deco cyberpunk designs.

This is what futurists looked like.

Futurists were crazy and obnoxious, they invented the WrItINg LikE ThiS and put onomatopoeia and lines all over their shit, fuck legibility.

They wanted to burn museums and libraries and kick wagner's teeth out, they found that a punch to the face was the highest artistic expression.
They valued speed and violence over anything, doing barrel rolls with a fighter-bomber plane is Art.

Gurren Lagann is really more of a futuristic mecha anime than Big O.

>>16807305
So... Dark Eldar?

>>16807309
>>16807305
they were also all about self-discipline and collective effort. Not really the Übermenschen you are thinking about.

"An integral part of life under the yoke of the Heavenly Tide is the so called "Seal of Celestial Perfection". Somewhere between the age of 10 and 20, young people - Chinese, Mongolians, Manchurians, Russians, the priests care not - are expected to study the twisted teachings of the Heavenly Tide and when their studies are complete and the priests deem them worthy, their horrific passage to adulthood begins.

In the eyes of the Tide, being an adult is being a part of the Tide. After days of continuous meditation, the young initiates take part in a ritual called "Demon Dance", a bizarre ritual somewhat similar to the practices of the Flagellant cult of Medieval Europe.

After days of starving and meditation, the initiates are gathered, usually at the Temple Hall (or simply a field near the village) where they have dance and writhe around an idol of the Ghost Emperor while being drugged with Demon Lotus and whipping and beating each other and themselves... It is not uncommon for initiates to die during the day-long ceremony.

The purpose of the Demon Dance is to purge the souls of the initiates of all demons so that they may be pure and worthy enough to receive the Seal with which they are branded with on their foreheads.

Once the ritual is complete, the initiate is now worthy to have the honour to call himself a "Slave of the Ghost Emperor".

>>16807319
Nobody mentioned that, al I wrote is taken straight from the Futurist manifesto, "manifesto di violenza travolgente e incendiaria col quale fondiamo oggi il Futurismo"

Overwhelming flaming violence" is the basis of Futurism.

This is the soundtrack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hEu5-9JEWE

>>16807305
I believe that I touched upon the actual Futurism movement earlier in the thread (>>16798235). While there is certainly a feeling of speed and violence for speed and violence's sake in the setting thus far (as well as discipline and collectivism, as mentioned by >>16807319), I also believe in others interpreting the Futurist manifesto differently, as many artists do other such movements. Combine that with other aesthetics and governmental styles and it becomes more of a world with a Futurist bent, rather than a pure Futurist utopia (which, to me, would sound something like the heavy metal setting that they're making on here as well).

>>16807333
Gruesome. I like it.

>>16807370

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTSPQGxIQBo

"BLOOD, IRON AND STEEL!!! EUROPE MARCHES FORWARD!"

Speed is the new Art
The only Beauty is Violence

"Noi vogliamo inneggiare all'uomo che tiene il volante la cui asta attraversa la Terra, lanciata a corsa, essa pure, sul circuito della sua orbita."
The Man whose hands hold the steering wheel that pierces the Earth, launched in the running trough space.

How rad is that?

This is on the Italian 20cent coin, a man running so hard that his muscles are being pulled out, he lost his arms and asked for this.

>>16807419
So, man is running himself into an inevitable, inescapable, but utterly glorious oblivion. Sounds like the setting all wrapped together. Guess the Futurist moniker applies here afterall.

>>16807419

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWzkR-7--Dk

Cosmic city

Synthetic Dux

"...affirmative... ...diving brakes engaged, commencing Futurism."

Aeropittura, aerial assaults and painting go hand in hand.

Rather than having 'magic' being the counter of all the machine driven millitary and power, why not have bio-science? Japan was notorious for it's bioweapons testing, and animal husbandry has been around for thousands of years which gives it a timeless aspect that is befitting of places like China.

Terrible monster men, cobbled together from pieces of finely tuned and breed stock and kept together with drugs that kept the body from rejecting itself.

Or inhuman people, who are as much art as they are spectacles of medicine and science, forming a new kind of upper class of literally superior breeding that comes with the thousands of years of Alchemical know-how.

Marconi was the Italian Tesla, invented the Radio and was supposedly about to develop the death ray.

>>16807482
keep it a bit esoteric, though.

Portrait of the Dux as a space marine.

>>16807472

"Copy that, Falco leader, we'll take it from here.

Bombardier, we're approaching the "Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano", be prepared for the bombing run. Over."

>>16807495
Do I have to run it in Polish, though?
I mean, seriously.

>>16807489

Tesla invented the radio first :v

So what's the range of technology here? Is it just 1920s stuff, or can it delve into 1950s dieselpunk?

Because I have a lot of dieselpunk.

>>16807513
That's what they want to believe in the USA.
-
Translating on the run

Futurism never had goals, never strived for definitiv victories.

Futurism fought not to win, but to fight and start new battles.

If there were no more adversaries, futurism would build them for itself. (This is awesome, humanity fighting against warmachines build by themselfes for the sole purpose of keeping fighting)

Futurisms refuse commodity, fattening success, weakening jubilations.

March, trench, work in progress[..]thrown to the future.

- Bruno Corra 1920

>>16807561
Well, that works damn well for the Organics movement going against the Prussian Tinmen. Let's keep that in there!

Read the Chimeric Brigade

Was about to translate the Manifesto too, but I guess this is fine too.
http://www.italianfuturism.org/manifestos/foundingmanifesto/

Note, the opposition to feminism amongs other things. Manly men fighting across the sky, women in the kitchen, cooking futurist cuisine, pic related, CUCINA FUTURISTA, "more intense than pulp, spicier than erotic literature" refused pasta, which slows down the metabolism and used chemistry to make new flavours, that went together with colours, profumes and music, for awesome speed meals.

Gaze upon the fucks I do not give, ye mighty, and despair.

>>16807618
Also, for more inspiration, Futurism was born in Italy, but it had adherents elsewhere. Russian-Futurism, or Suprematism was led by Kasmir Malevich and there was a group of English Futurists who called themselves Vorticists.

Futurism had a huge influence on Dada, although Dada should be understood as a reaction against the violence and authoritarian ideas of Marrinetti. Dadaists abhorred war, and the cult of personality initiated by Futurism and Fascism. Dada had three distinct versions, the Original Cabaret Voltaire started the notion of Dada, with its absurdist theater. Later many of them left Zurich for Paris. This is when Duchamp, Man Ray and Andre Breton got involved with Dada. When WW2 threatened Paris, many of the artists were able to flee to New York. Later Breton returned to Paris to found his Surealist Movement, being heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud who was just being translated in the post-war period.

All in all, I don't quite see how Futurism might be translated into an RPG setting, excepty only as a fantasy version of Marrinetti's vision of the future, which all in all is mostly just a militarized gaslight steampunk.

Also, I don't think Futurism is as dangerous as many historians and liberals would like to posit it. It was an art Movement, it had huge influence in poetry, theater and art, but failed at nearly all its political aims, being swallowed up by Fascism. In light of Mussolini and Hitler, Marrinetti is a small fry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niw0T7sJ0Hs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29aLaCFumYE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yONfdBnvk54&feature=related

ŽIVI SLOBOROD ŽIVI SLOBOSTROJ
DOLEVLAST/SMRTIZDAI
ŽIVI VAZDABOJ
SLOBOROD+SLOBOSTROJ=NOVOROD/PRAVSILA
ŽIVI NOVOROD
ŽIVI PRAVSILA

>>16807667
Sexy vests, in your face attitude, this guys invented Hardcore Punk.

"Me ne frego" "Me ne infischio" are slogans of both futurism and fascism and translate in "I don't give a fuck" about anything or anyone, let's bomb a city, let's make some art.

The spiral is the symbol of progress, with each revolution humanity marches a bit forward FUTURISMO CON CHI CAZZO CREDI DI AVERE A CHE FARE

>>16806752
Maybe they feed "entangled" (those lost in the lattice) to the emperor?

>>16807734
That illustrates my point of it as an inspiration rather than a doctrine to follow to the 'T'. Ideas can be pulled out there, and certainly aesthetics can as well, but a total adoption of the manifesto worldwide? I don't see it happening.

>>16807786
Hmmm, that could work. They would cultivate the followers to a certain point where they would be considered enlightened and ready to join with the Ghost Emperor in spirit. They would be brought to the capital, in which there is an expansive chamber, lined with what seems like thrones of a sort. Once a candidate is on his or her throne though, they are patched into the Lattice and their mental data is uploaded into a central computer - the Ghost Emperor... Matrixy, but I can dig it.

The futurist cat-woman, kinky.

Car racers.
Couldn't find a higher resolution one.

It reminds me of Moebius.

>>16807857
except Moebius would have made it gritty and soft.

>>16807866
Just take a Moebius album and flip the pages really fast.

>>16807877
nah, actually, take his paintings. Like, the concept arts for Abyss or something, but not his drawings.

>>16807756

the whole futurism/fascism thing is a seriously fucked up mess

fascism is passatism, marinetti spent decades vowing to destroy it

fascists claimed their work would not be done untill all traces of futurism are erased from europe

first futurists were antiparlamentary, so they allied with anarchists, at the time anarchists were all about bombing shit and stabbing people, kicking the old appart using the new, no matter who is left for dead or alive - so futurists loved them

then someone with bigger guns came along, so futurists loved them instead

fascists loved futurists, because their poetics were basically the same, force, speed, triumph, machine-violence, the contradictions only made shit so much more cash

its really all about diesel and testosterone in the end

>>16807928
Mussolini as a young man was a kicked out from the socialist party because he was too hardcore and sympathized for anarchism.
Once he vandalized the monument to Umberto I, rededicating it to Gaetano Bresci, the anarchist who killed the king.

It's really weird how fascism turned out, Mussolini being a philo-anarchist, friends with Churchill and all. It could have been completely different.

>>16808019

fascism and anarchism start from the same place, they just go in different direction after a while

fascism is in many ways a completion, or full development of the most radical tendencies of anarchism, in both the ends equal the means

a true fascist is really a anarchist that understands how power works but likes how it feels- in fact the only truly significant things that differentiate anarchists from fascists, are good intentions and the belief in universal freedom

this is why fascism and nazism are completely different things

only an anarchist can be a true fascist, the others are getting it all wrong

Op here, holy shit. I go to work and this thread explodes.

I'd like to avoid magic as much as possible, but the idea of technology that acts as mysticism is cool. I also like the idea of Germany becoming the most industrialized in an effort to pull itself out of debt.

I imagine Britain has solidified/expanded it's empire with and increased interest in India and Africa.

Oh, and I figure some people have had their brains put in machines. Crippled war vets, the terminally ill, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcOpjI7xWM
The anime Gad Guard was kind of like this but with giant robots.

No one has mentioned the Metropolis anime. You should check out this trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY0C_xuTZrQ

>>16808432

the anime metropolis is kind of like the antithesis of futurism
what the movie BBEG would have done if he was a futurist would be have the scientists integrate cloned female bodies into a large machine and then rape them all at once, to produce an army of his own offspring, prefferably clones as well - that would be futurism... resurecting your dead daughter as some kind of robot-doll is... well, its lame... and kind of sick in a really non-futuristic way

>>16808351
So
>magic that raises the dead
Not kosher
>Rejuvenation serum
Kosher.

>device that stores 'ghosts' and can suck them out of people

>Lycanthropy-inducing pills

>Inheritable skin condition that makes you vulnerable to sunlight and crave blood

>little 'supramagnetic' devices you can use to levitate objects without touching them

>>16808206
You seem to have absolutely no idea what Fascism or Anarchism are. They are almost exact opposites.

Anarchism is by nature against hierarchies and a controlling state structure. It is focused on the freedom of the individual to do and think as he or she pleases to as high a degree as is humanely possible, within reason.

Fascism is nationalistic and idealizes a hierarchic, structured society where every individual is akin to a cell in a greater organism.
If such a cell (person) becomes cancerous (rebellious) by doing something it's not supposed to, the rest of the fascist organism (society) will seek out and destroy that cell, lest it might multiply further and threaten the organism.

What the hell are you going on about?
Just because one dictator acted in one way or another doesn't necessarily mean that that has anything to do with the ideologies they are commonly associated with.

Sometimes people are just selfish egotistical assholes.
Especially rulers.

In conclusion; What the fuck are you talking about, son?

>>16808542

fascism is about freedom, and power, to force, take, hurt, harm, kill, destroy, intimidate, subjugate, dominate, manipulate, order, rule, sanction, punish, regulate, controll, own, exploit and use, train, lie and indoctrinate, even to establish authority, impose laws, rules, hierarchies, set values and organise the lives of others

because, all is permitted

you can even say that 2 and 2 is 5, that a man is a slave and that shit is pie, and make people eat it

thats fascism

anarchism is about the freedom, and power, to say that 2 and 2 is 4, that people can be truly free and that youre beeing fed shit, and then doing something about it

because, all is permitted

the main differences between the two ideologies are ethical really, the rest are questions of efficiency and organisational stile

how, and, why people make the decision between the two is beyond me

Threads like this are some of the reasons why I love /tg/...

Here is a picture of an awesome looking plane as a gift.

>>16806690

I'll admit to being really skeptical of this idea at first, but as it's developed, it's grown on me. I do have a couple of questions to raise though.

Firstly, how are the other Powers reacting to the Ghost Emperor's rise to dominance? If they're pressing in on British-controlled India and encroaching French Indochina, there's an inevitable risk of conflict there. Do the Allies view this new force as a threat? Do they think the best way to deal with this threat is a policy of appeasement or rearmament? I could see a resurgent Weimar easily being appeased, especially if it puts on an acceptable face, but hordes of religious fanatics pouring across Asia screaming the name of some dead god aren't likely to elicit the same response.

Kinda related to that, what's happening with the League of Nations? They're technically the authority that ought to be putting a stop to this sort of thing, though in real life they failed kinda spectacularly. Are they any more effective in this setting?

Secondly, everything else we've spoken about I can kinda see rising from stuff in our history, only with CYBERPUNK and SCIENCE. Admittedly, I know fuck all about between-the-wars China, but this whole idea seems rather out-there and out-of-the-blue. Does it come from some group in particular?

>>16811014

First question,
The Great Powers were scared at first during the Boxer Rebellion. The Heavenly Tide is the Boxer Rebellion x 1000, with mystics and fanatics that make the real-life Harmonious Fists (AKA Boxers) look like a bunch of boyscouts, so the rest of the world is terrified shitless. They probably tried to appease the new regime at some point, but the Heavenly Tide does not not wish to negotiate for the same reasons why - as they see it - a cat would not want to negotiate with a mouse. So, the Great Powers and the Heavenly House are pretty much at war with each other. Therefore, the various superpowers will gladly support anyone who fights the Heavenly Tide. Japan, Russian partisans, Free Cossacks, Indian freedom fighters, the Metropolises of Eastern Europe, Muslim guerillas, etc... This help usually means monetary support and arms shipments. But of course, the Great Powers have their own little games to play, they are by no means united against the coming storm. Given the chance, one power would gladly manipulate the Heavenly Tide to attack the other power to weaken them.

Second,
The League of Nations is greatly concerned about the turn of events, but - as expected - powerless to do much, apart from coordinating humanitarian efforts and helping refugees.

Third,
The idea of the Heavenly Tide comes from the Boxer rebels and the "Yellow Peril"-motif that seems to be common in 1910-1940's pulp. Fu Manchu, Ming the Merciless, etc. Anyway, in real life, China was in a state of near-anarchy in this era. Warlords and generals with their pathetic "armies" squabbling over the country, mostly. And there was Chang Kai-Shek and Mao, who was merely a largely incompetent leader of a rag-tag group of communist guerillas.

>>16810518
This thread is pic related.

In terms of intrinsic antagonists to the setting, I had set up some hooks earlier with my suggestions:

D'Annunzio's Italian Futurist Republic (from Ken Hite's Reality Futura), the Chekloslovak Futurist Republic that first developed "robotniki" - humanoid automatons (the writer of Rossum's Universal Robots was Czech), and Greater Yugoslavia (formed through the will of Yugoslavic patriot and ethnic Serb Nicola Tesla) are a giant powderkeg in the Balkans.

You guys seem to be heading in a fruitful direction with an obligatory half Weimar half Kaiserreich technocratic rather than futurist regime in all or part of Germany - cold Metropolitan efficiency rather than the excitement, violence, and sensationalism of Futurism (superscience vs. mad science, basically).

Russia can still provide an obligatory Red Menace, perhaps under Trotsky - enabling more international intrigue and espionage due to his very internationalist focus.

And of course, the continuing rationing/war powers regime of cyborg Wilson provides an enemy at home in the States.

Evening bump.

>>16811585
Dangit as this thread didn't refresh like it usually does. Disregard, for I derped.

>>16811523

For kicks, why not a friendly Japan - to serve as a hub full of international tourists and intrigue for spies and terrorists from your Heavenly China, the Soviet Union, etc. ? Japan could be a bustling pro-tech democracy, hosting a World Expo one year, and you could emphasize the real life case of a certain prominent Shinto splinter religion being prominent in the World Federalist Movement (again, this is true to history). Japan is basically a neutral airport hub of a nation that is just a mouthpiece for continued enthusiasm and optimism for the future.

You could also take inspiration from Garden Dozois' story "Sisyphus and the Stranger", which depicts real life author Albert Camus as a clerk in French North Africa in an alternate timeline where the N-Ray discovery is real and has given France a monopoly on rayguns. In this world they could be the number one manufacture of beam-weaponry worldwide, having more beam artillery than any other single nation and their military - used to vaporizing desert nomads and communist mobs - dogmatically resisting the new trends in warfare.

Taking some inspiration from the Black Man's Burden and Black Empire, the devastating effect of British future-weapons against the Boers could have in the long run helped the Black International movement and Haile Sessalia spread independence in Africa - White South Africa is reduced to Cape Town Province, bloody war is going on in Rhodesia, and Kenya has been added to the Grand Ethiopian Empire due to weapons from an unknown backer known to hate British colonialism everywhere (allude to Nemo, basically).

>>16811601
Were you the guy working on Wild Cards? Got an update on that?

I'm running a weird west campaign very soon, and I was hoping to use it as a setting. I'd be willing to collab with you, if you want the company.

>>16811288

I'm not entirely sure I like the route that's going down.

For one, it changes the whole dynamic of world politics. The 20's were a decade of mostly peace (at least on the global front, ignoring internal struggles). By having this massive threat, with the Tide almost fighting open war with the British, the French, whoever else wants to get involved, it changes the tone massively. It goes from "Man, that War was fucking terrible, good thing we're never going to get in that mess again" to "Jesus Christ, man the cannon, there's a horde of screaming Asians coming this way!". For all their poverty and political drama, the 20's were pretty optimistic, I can't say I agree with changing that by introducing a new World War.

That, and the Heavenly Tide seem a little too like the designated villains of the piece. They're the devlish Chinamen, out to destroy the West with their alien values and bizarre beliefs. The rest of the world is a little more grey and grey. People don't want the fascists or the Nazis in power because they're evil, cackling moustache-twirling villains. They want them in power because they seem to provide answers, solutions to problems. They're understandable. The Tide, in my opinion, isn't.

>>16811601
Hey, JS! How's it going? Awesome setting here, by the way.

Futurist Dieselpunk empires. 1920's with cyberware. Czech "Universal Robots". Budapest Metropolis. Crazy Italian futurists. Yellow Peril. Boxer rebels hell-bent on world domination. Zeppelins. Fedora hats. Rayguns. Do I see another /tg/ homebrew project in the making?

How shall we call this glorious project? What glorious name shall we bestow upon our child?

>>16811523
>>16811603
>Balkan Powder Keg
Gotta have Tesla v. Marconi somewhere in there, and it works pretty well to me.

>Weimar Prussia
I think we can all agree that it takes the technological advances in a different direction than pure Futurism.

>Trotsky Russia
I'd still say that it's greatly debilitated from dealing with the Heavenly Tide to the south. Capital moved from the razed Moscow to St. Petersburg, perhaps?

>Cyborg Wilson US
Definitely like the paranoia angle going on there, definitely an opportunity for internal conflict, paranoia, and conspiracy stories.

>Trade Hub Japan
Certainly a place where gleaming success can be on the surface and horribly corrupt and oppressive beneath the surface. Also, war with Heavenly Tide makes for Japanese superscience against Chinese psychowarfare.

>Independent Africa
Perhaps the biggest change of them all, definitely able to make it relevant in geopolitics given that not ALL of the precious resources have been taken. Also, take a cue from current leaders there hoarding all the resources and profits for themselves for another dose of delicious internal conflict.

>>16811634
Yes, I was working on WC. Also, there is an update here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/42061654/WC%202_2.pdf
I'm gonna be testing the current system this weekend as well, since I'm unable to change anymore rules without actually seeing them in action for myself.

>>16811683
Yeah, there is definitely a feel of that. Maybe we should tone down the Tide in particular, since we seem to be greying other obvious factions out morally. But then again, a big reason for the Tide's streak is that they want to bring China to prominence with the rest of the world. They've seen what the Great Powers are doing to their neighbors and the success of Japan on their backs. Perhaps they even see themselves as liberators, if you want a more sympathetic bent on them.

>>16811693
I am well. Not all my idea, but I'm glad to help.

>>16811775
I still nominate "The Roaring Future" as my choice for a title.

>>16811787

>>16811634
Well, shit son! I'd like to get in on that if you need a playtester. Where is this going down? Shoot me an email sometime.My weekends are pretty much open.

>>16811838
Sadly, it's with the local group. I really have problems running games online, since I like to keep an eye on my players. I strictly prohibit computers and phones at the table, unless it is to reference a rule or a character sheet on there. I've had too many games end up with a bunch of folks paying more attention to 4chan (le gasp) than the game. But feel free to run a playtest of your own with the rules!

Back to the thread though. How are we going to tone down the Tide from a regime led by our equivalent of Ming the Merciless?

>>16811869

Like... ...the Tide is exhausted from all those conquests to do much dastardly deeds for a while? They need a little time to catch their breath, so they stop. For a while.

Also, the Tide seems fractured. Sources from the Japanese Military Intelligence indicate that some of the Imperial Eunuchs seem to be plotting against the Ghost Emperor...

All that should be a significant drain on the Tide's power, thus toning them down a bit.

>>16811967
Well, they can run into some of the same problems as after Chinese unification in our timeline - the sheer underestimation of administering such a large swath of land and a large number of people, especially given their new holdings in Indochina, Mongolia, Manchuria, southeastern Russia, and their Himalayan territories. They probably need time to make sure that everyone's being dealt with before devoting any more energy to future conquests. The Islamic republics are apparently a tough nut for even the Tide to crack.

Op here, I'm just going to use a trip for this thread/project since it makes things easy.

So, let's start trimming things down into a general overview.

The Past: 1912, first contact. Martians land in Europe and start wrecking shit, beginning the Contact War. Shortly after war erupted in western Europe, smaller squads of martians landed in the United States and eastern Europe.

1916: Millions died, martian technology was eventually reverse engineered by Tesla. British chemists developed lat5 in an effort to decrypt martian transmissions. German scientists developed a biological weapon that successfully drives the martians out. There was much rejoicing.

1918: German Empire is dissolved in the name of industrial progress, the Weimar Republic is formed.

1918: United States undergoes isolationist policies in retaliation to increased immigration of Contact War refugees.

1921: Enamored with the ideals of futurism and seemingly boundless new technologies the National Fascist Part is formed in Italy. Similar movements take place in Russia with a Marxist agenda.

The British Empire continued to expand with increased interests in African and India.

Qing Dynasty is overthrown through social revolution fronted by "The Heavenly Tide"

(More to come. What are we doing about France, Spain, and the rest of western Europe? Maybe some countries were flat out destroyed during the Contact War?)

Technology: Hovering model T's, weaponized zeppelins, biplanes with electronic warfare capabilities, computer networks with internal holoreel interfaces, holographic entertainment, robotics, augmentation, basic AI, jetpacks, salvaged plasma/laser weapons from the great war.

Social/Political Issues: U.S. Isolationist policies lead to smuggling/air piracy, growing fascism in Italy, threat of Chinese invasion/expansion through The Heavenly Tide.

http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/06/12
Penny Arcades Automata comic Strip seems like a good source of inspiration.

>>16812097

So we can have the infamous Reds and devious Chinamen, but at this point they're only vague threats which could easily be thrown into a pulpy campaign.

What would you imagine a faction called the Air Dictatorship to be?

I'm imagining it to be a fleet of midnight black airships that make lightning raids with the aid of advanced technology, stealing supplies like food and helium.

Some people think they're the remains of the German Army, others think they're Bolsheviks.

>>16812069
I'm sorry to say it, but if I run something in this setting, I'm gonna have to omit the Martians. As fun as pulp is, I think it detracts from what I feel this setting should be. I suppose I can agree to disagree on that point.

>>16812321
Meant to reference >>16812097. More derp. Don't know why that happened.

>>16812184
I'd call it Aeronautica. I definitely see them as pirates by necessity, but let there also be places sympathetic to them and allowing them to dock to resupply without violence. Perhaps the Tide sees them as an important tool to further stymie the Great Powers in order to buy them more time to organize their current holdings before continuing their campaign. Thus, they let them stop in a few of their cities, primarily Shanghai in the east, and former Moscow in the west.

>>16812384

Yeah I prefer post-WWI international intrigue with the various suggestions of the goings ons of the various nations - it among other things helps to emphasize the rapid social and technological change going on and by being very multi-polar explains why a World War Two isn't breaking out anytime soon. It's like the late Victorian period and Scramble for Africa, or the Cold War. Not that the CW was multipolar really but just the brushfire conflicts and the like.

>>16812489
I agree on that. While the Roaring Future isn't AS optimistic as the actual 20s, I think that the multi-polar geopolitical landscape makes for much more intrigue, as you say. I love shit like that rather than an obvious allies vs aliens sort of thing.

And this thread is now archived! http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/16776536/

I don't see the aliens coming into the actual gameplay, just part of the backstory to explain such a rapid growth in technology.

At this point, there's still plenty of room for intrigue since each major power has different agendas as to what to do with this new technology.

>>16812384

They could have seaboats or ocean bases, rather than needing traditional airports.

>>16812921
I'm sure they would have such bastions in the Pacific and the Atlantic for such purposes, yes. But where do they get their fuel and supplies if they have no official land or resource holdings to obtain such things. Sure, they're pirates, but even they should know that they can't fully subsist on pirated necessities alone, especially if they're selling a portion of them on the black market for a profit.

>>16812672
In that case, rather than a Martian invasion, why not just leave the sudden advancement unexplained and leave for whoever to fill in?

http://sfw.chanarchive.org/request_votes

GET IN HERE GENTS.

Seriously though this is why I love you/tg/

>>16813620
Done. Though it's already archived on sup/tg/...

What do we want to call this setting?

I was thinking "Futura"...because it's my favorite font.

>>16814225
Already nominated for "The Roaring Future". (>>16811806)

Bedtime bump

>>16812664
>>16813620
>>16813644
>>16814237

Yess! YESSSSS! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! TIS PLEASES THE GHOST EMPEROR MIGHTILY!

BRING ME A CONCUBINE!

>>16814225
>>16814237

I'm a fan of the Roaring Future too. Futura's a bit vague, but the Roaring Future ties it to the twenties which is what we're doing here.

Wouldn't CAPITALISM be a good counter to futurism? It's different than futurism's war and violence schtick, and it fits very well in a cyberpunk setting?

Guys. How about "DIESEL RENAISSANCE" for a name/title for the setting?

>>16818027
But the setting has nothing to do with diesel.

I think "Roaring Future" is fine, it conveys a fair amount about the setting and is kinda catchy.

>>16815772

"how many concubines, my lord?"

>>16818147

SEVERAL!

>>16818027
It's more of a gaslamp resorgiment.

Afternoon bump

>>16817989

I can see it working. I've got a few questions about it though.

Which countries would realistically go full-on capitalist? It'd certainly be unlikely for most European countries, ravaged by war and, historically moving left-wards at this point. America seems a good choice, but a bit cliche. Anywhere else'd need some preety radical changes before they could stand on their own as a capitalist rival to the Futurists.

Second, if you're running a game, how do you emphasise the differences in the systems? Unless you go for a much more anarch-capitalist idea, I could see 20's capitalism, with its corporations looking kinda like Futurism but less well-planned and with more advertisements.

>>16821075

Japan might possibly go full capitalist, especially if there was some hurt put onto the more militant parties.

>>16821075

Even with War Powers maintained, Wilson is still the pro-business progressive - the New Freedom was anti-monopoly to the extreme, as an alternative to social measures such as public control of all water and mineral rights as proposed in the New Nationalism when Teddy had his own personal third party behind him and didn't give a fuck anymore.

Neutral trade hub Japan is a nexus of international business - German syndicates can escape technocratic controls by doing business deals in Tokyo while getting laid in Nagasaki, the same goes for French corporations not wanting to have to pay off French colonial administrators in the African markets. Futurists maintain maximum production, and unlike the Soviets their stuff is good enough for outside nations to want to buy - so even while internally not capitalist, they still have transnational corporations doing business in foreign markets.

The weakening position of the British Empire means the biggest corps are rushing to be the first non-Brit companies allowed to sell to the millions in India in generations (India not being quite at the home-rule stage, but as a Dominion being considerably more liberalized than before); and the 20's dislocation has made attempts to maintain League of Nations mandates in the Middle East impossible - meaning the Hashemite monarchists, the Syrian strongman dictatorship, the Iraqi futurists, and the Iranian republic are selling their oil on the free market and are using the funds to raise up their tax base through pay increases and raised standards of living, which requires increased foreign commodities.

>>16821075
Don't forget that with the cyberpunk motif we're likely to see super-corps, just as ruthless as the Futurists but desiring money instead of the things the Futurists desire.

Cyberpunk is superior to other science fiction works in one way.

Cyberpunk is better at failing!

Close Communications!
/thread

Look for really old issues of Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and Amazing Stories.

Jetpacks, flying cars, rolling spherical cities, etc. And some things that they actually got that proved to be fads, like automats.

Speed and mobility are key, the reasonableness of the power to make that happen is what's ignored. For example, see Heinlein's 1940s story "the Roads Must Roll", in which America is crossed coast-to-coast by a single, gargantuan, highspeed "road" (read: conveyor belt), which consolidates and distributes the burden of high speed continental travel. Sort of like a large train... for other trains. And cars, and small shops. and several small towns' worth of people who prefer to commute to work in DC but live in California. It all works pretty well, until the engineers and technicians in charge of the enterprise "realize" they're the caretakers of the most important part of society, the part that enables all others, and stage a takeover.

While I have it, here's a pic of the Ghost Emperor of the Heavenly Tide of the Righteous Chinese People. Tempted to make the title longer, but I'm already in ridiculous territory as it is.

>>16824671
And another sketch to keep things going.

So what about the Eastern Europe? The early 20thies is the time when Soviet Russia and Poland tried to broaden their territory, and finally clashed in Polish-Soviet war. Soviets wanted to bring communism to the western Europe and Poland had their own dictator who dreamed of creating a federation of Eastern European countries called Intermarium to emulate the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Also: Spain = anarchists everywhere … revolution/civil war?

>>16825826

I'll admit to not knowing much about Poland between the wars. With Russia, it obviously all depends on when we start deviating from history and when/if the Russians had their revolution and who won it. If they're still Soviet, then the USSR is probably still working on trying catch up in terms of industrialisation and collectivisation. So they probably won't be a major international player until later in the decade, but once they do catch up, their vast population and resources will let them really start pushing against Futurist Europe.

Maybe the most we'll see of them in Europe are spies trying to steal technological secrets to advance the people back home.

When it comes to Spain, obviously historically, the civil war didn't happen till later. Maybe though, we can have things happening normally, up until around the time when Primo de Rivera mounts his coup. Although he does start bringing Spain up to date in terms of infrastructure, the wholesale reimagining of society that Futurism promises doesn't come about, thanks to the powerful vested interests of the Church, Army and landed aristocracy. Lots of the cybernetics, the robotics, the real changes, they're reserved for the elites. A loose coalition of the opposition forms from everyone from communists to democrats, anarchists to futurists, and tries to change things peacefully, but eventually some of them turn to a campaign of terrorism and revolution, using smuggled augmentations and high-tech weaponry. This in turn prompts the military dictatorship to tighten controls and become more authoritarian.

So we've got an early Spanish Civil War, with tech-loving semi-futurists against a conservative coalition of the army, the aristocracy and the church trying to make sure society stays the same.

>>16824671

Wise and Honourable Black-jade Ghost Celestial Highest Priest of High Priests Divine-God-Dragon-Emperorator of the Harmonious Jade Heavenly Celestial Palace and Supreme Field Marshall General Warlord and Dragon Head Commander of the Most Divine Heavenly Celestial Harmonious Divine Heavenly Dragon Tide That Has The Four Blessings Of The Most Honourable Ancestors.

>>16826138
So is church in general against the new technologies or is it more against the philosophy and social changes the futurism brings? This is also relevant to Italy and the Futurist takover there. In the period between 1870 and 1929 there was no state of Vatican and Popes considered themselves "prisoners of the vatican". What are the relations between the italian goverment and the church? Maybe if its really bad the Pope moved to Avignon?

>>16825826

Prague, Budapest and possibly Warsaw have their own Metropolises. Prague became famous for it's robot and mechanized golem production, while Budapest is the center of electrotechnological development. They have their differences and rivalries, but are able to put them aside should there be a dire need for it (Prussian expansion or the Heavenly Tide penetrating Europe again). Transsylvania is a wasteland ruled by a cabal of Romanian, Hungarian and German noblemen and voivodes, with the enigmatic Count as chairman. The Balkans are mostly in a state of anarchy, with the Free City of Dubrovnik headed by Nikola Tesla being a de-facto capital and center of culture and technological development. The Ottoman Empire flexing it's muscles, looking towards the Balkans and is busy building it's own Metropolis in Constantinople. The project is far from complete, but upon completion, it should give the Ottomans a tremendous boost of power. The Ukraine became independent and now is the breadbasket of Eastern Europe, feeding the Metropolises in exchange for technology. Most of Russia is in ruins following the wars with China, except for the Magnitogorsk Soviet Metropolis and the Czarist St. Petersburg being the new centers of power in the country.

>>16826495

I'd say the Catholic Church at the time is definitely likely to oppose the massive social changes envisioned by Futurism. Futurism, as I understand it, is essentially the triumph of man and technology, almost to the extent that they're worshipped. God isn't needed in Futurism and for an organisation like the Church which has practically ruled parts of Europe, or at least had extremely high standing, that's not going to be a popular vision of the future.

I don't think they'd be against technological advancement in general, just against the changes it brings.

And I suppose the establishment of an Avignon papacy might well be an option, it just depends how bad things get in France too.

>>16826495

My ideas,

The Church is probably fine with new sciences and technologies as long as it doesn't change one's humanity.

Also the relationship between the Vatican and the Futurists is probably not too good with the Futurists seeing the Vatican as a reactionaries and with the Vatican seeing the Futurists as violent and reckless thugs who dabble in unethical, immoral and evil research. Italy might even have fractioned, with a Futurist republic on the north and a new Papal State at the center.

Anyway, I imagine the Vatican looking for a peaceful solution, but it should by no means be defenseless. Knights Templar shock troops with rocket backpacks, anyone?


Captcha: papaverine wouldju. I dunno', maybe I would.

>>16826690
knigths templar are long excomunicated traitoris knigths hospitalier(or if you prefer knigths of malta/knigths of saint john/sovereign military order of malta) on the other hand...and they should ride heavy armoured bikes and be armed in long bareled machinegun lances:D

>>16826614
Not sure about the Warsaw metropolis - it depends how much time does it take to build one. Up till WW1 Warsaw was under Russian rule and Poland was reemerging after 122 years of non existence – don’t know it the new state would have the money to build one. On the other hand Warsaw was a fortifies city and for long time Russians didn’t allow it to grow outside the cities forts so it was very overpopulated and crowded. Maybe it started growing up because of it. If there is a metropolis in Warsaw what would be the focus of Polish futurist science? I guess one could look into Lem's books for inspiration?

>>16826961
I like the idea of Warsaw metropolis being tall and lean compared to other metropoli. I was actually thinking that the polish scientific focus could be aviation. With the tall mertopolis typical ground level transportation seems ineficient, also much of the polish road's would be in disrepair after the war, so instead they build airports. It also works with the polish pilots destroying most german plains in battle of britain in ww2, the blackhawk comic book hero being polish, and poles producing the smallest aircraft to cross the Atlantic.

>>16824973
The feet look goofy and duck-like, I suggest making them shorter and adding some to the back, or making them in the shape of shoes form the era.

The rest is gold

>>16827626
Hence why it was a sketch, but thanks for the heads up regardless.

>>16827920
It's kinda weird how peaceful this place can be. Sure, you got throngs of raving fans screamin' all around you, but there's a sorta feeling around here that puts me right where I need to be. And yeah, I get to go 'round beatin' the snot outta other folks for their entertainment. But yeah, the prep time beforehand... when I'm shacklin' myself into these cold, iron limbs, checkin' the gauges on my fuel pack, testin' the hydraulic lines, giving life to this thing. That's when I feel most at peace.

Sayin' the War was terrible is an understatement. I lost so many of my countrymen in the trenches, and almost lost myself along the way because I just HAD to run through a damn mine field. Lost both my legs right away, and they had to hack off one of my arms because it was starting to gangrene when I got to the infirmary. And to make matters worse, I was a steel worker before the war AND I had a wife and a kid before I shipped off. What could I do after losing three damn limbs?! Sit there and look pretty in the victory parade?

Well, luck would have it that one of my friends back at the steel plant was lookin' into the underground fightin' scene and came to me first thing when I got back. I DID like to rough it up with the more unruly patrons at the bar. We got together with a scientist workin' with the prizefighters and we got goin'. Buddy made the suit, the whitecoat made it work, and I made it come alive. Next thing you knew, I was coming into the ring to start a new life. Damn broad left me when I came back with stumps and an arm left, so no need tryin' to be nice anymore.

So here I sit in the locker room, puttin' the last of my straps on. They say my opponent tonight is none other than the Robotisch Wundermensch from Prussia. Not even a person in there, but he's been winnin' like crazy the last couple years. Time to give them a reason why they should leave the winnin' to the good ol' US-of-A!

Is Eugenics popular idea like it was in the 20thies in real world? Are there compulsory sterilization laws enforced in USA or any other country? Did the advencement of science enable the eugenics scientists to cross into transhumanism? Are there superhumans being worked on?

>>16827397

I think both the Warsaw, the Prague and the Budapest Metropolises should have a significant scientific focus on aviation. The Warsaw Metropolis, because of reasons you have mentioned. The Prague Metropolis, because the Czechoslovakian aviation industry was among the world's best for a time around the late twenties/early thirties. Letov, Avia and Skoda fighters and light bombers, etc... These were excellent planes. The Germans actually feared the Czech Air Force until the Luftwaffe became more organized. The Budapest Metropolis could also be a formidable air power. In our reality, there were many Hungarian engineers and scientists who made enormous contributions to aeronautics (Albert Fono, Theodore von Karman, Oszkar Asboth, etc.) and Hungarian pilots were always known to be excellent (although slightly reckless) fliers, so it shouldn't be too different in our setting.

tl,dr: Eastern European aviation IRL was actually quite interesting and surprisingly advanced back then and should be among the best that Mankind has to offer in "Roaring Future".


(Captcha: unknown nalsorc. Yes, we still don't know much about the Nalsorc, but our scientists have the knowledge to discover it's secrets.)

>>16827920
>>16828078
And a sketch of the Wundermensch

>>16828824

Eugenics was VERY popular among the intellectual elite back then. We'd probably associate the "selective breeding" idea with the Nazis, but the thing is, even those scientists loved the idea who otherwise hated National Socialism.

Anyway, in "Roaring Future", I assume that quite a few places have some kind of an advanced Eugenics program. And I'd be surprised if the Kaiserreich didn't have cloned Stosstruppen.

>>16826961
>I guess one could look into Lem's books for inspiration?

Lem's technological ideas

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/AuthorTotalAlphaList.asp?AuNum=103


the site is a great source as it lists the ideas of many sci-fi authors by date of publishing and this page is particularly relevant to the thread

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/ctnlistPubDate.asp?BPDate1=1900&BPDate2=1949

>>16829209

I think Russia should have an advanced eugenics program. Selective breeding of warriors and serfs, using Pavlovian conditioning to train them into absolute obedience.

Personally i don't think "evil chinamen open a can of asskicking on the entire world" situation is appropriate enough. Maybe make this more subtle? Like, tyrant is overthrown, china is rapidly developing, Siberia belongs to Russia, but de-facto it's chinese, who breach borders in small groups. Civilised world openly congratulate China for getting rid of horrible ruler, but at the same time they are afraid of what china will do now. And so under the cover of civility a silent war is waged between agents of various governments.

>>16830350

The Czarist St. Petersburg regime is probably too conservative and Christian for such an "act against nature".

Soviet Magnitogorsk on the other hand is, well, a different story...

>>16830802

How dare you blaspheme against the Heavenly Tide!? Never forget that our hands reach far. Keep insulting us and you'll regret it! You'll regret the day you were born!

>>16830877
on the contrary, this way Ghost Emperor's people are less "zerg rush kekeke" and more civilized and dangerous adversary.

>>16830802

Perhaps the situation could be toned town by not making China itself the bad guy, but only the Tide itself. Let's say that although the Tide controls a lot of territory in China, Tibet, Siberia, etc, in many parts of China the old system is still intact. Like, the Qing, or a restored Ming dynasty still reigns in and around Beijing and some major cities and they'd be the good guys in China in contrast of the raging psychopaths that the Heavenly Tide are.

But of course the Tide steadily gains ground and unless the Great Powers help, the days of true China are numbered...

Guys. Let's not forget about (perhaps) the only force in China that may be strong, devious and smart enough to properly stand up to the juggernaut that the Heavenly Tide is. I'm talking about a ruthless and cunning bunch of snakes-in-human-bodies with balls of steel.


The Triads.

>>16830825
If we include eugenics in the setting, that seems like the place to do it. I think augmentation removes some of the need though.

>>16830802
I agree with this. Sure the whole horde thing works I straight pulp, but this isn't quite the same thing.

I also really like the idea someone proposed up thread of a matrix like existence with china's best minds - perhaps that could BE the ghost emperor?

And with augmentations, surgery and artistic talent agents of Emperor can be everywhere- and everyone. So we have chameleon agents - people who through intense training and usage of alien technology can change faces and behavior literally on a whim.

>>16830988
Given the setting, perhaps literally 'of steel'

>>16830802
Agreed. They seem to kick to much ass rigth now. I can see them steamrolling most smaller asian states but beating russia and taking over its capital and atacking india (a british colony) - its a bit much.

When you consider the new powerfull technologies in possesion of the western civilisation which (if they are really so much like the boxers) they shun it seems unlikely they can pose much of an enemy to them.You cant destroy a tank or aircraft by hitting it with a sword or shooting it with rifles (if they decide to use them).

>>16830877
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPXHI2h-K-M

>>16776536
A genetic defect, compounded by inbreeding after some catastrophic war/plague, has eliminated color vision in humans. So everything is black and white and maybe even a little grainy.

If you look at history, the very best armies couldn't take moscow from the west.
There is no way the yellow horde could pour across all of russia (the entire length of the world's largest continent) without freezing, starving and getting shot to death.

>>16831041

Indeed, but the Yellow Peril motif is a recurring element in 1920-30's pulp, so I think the Heavenly Tide would be excellent villains and would fit in quite nicely.

>>16831081
Mongols did conquer Russia you know?

Roaring 20's America isn't nearly as interesting as Weimar-era Germany. Robo-agitators, killer somnambulists, Communists and Nazis living together, hyper-inflation - it's just the right mix of civilization, barbarity, and weirdness.

why do you guys want to redo the begining of ww2 - first its weimar germany with mechanic soldiers planing to takeover the eastern europe, now its evil soviet eugenics

c'mon- we were suposed to make this world moraly gray and you make russians and germans the bad guys, if not for the substitution of japan with china it would be axis of evil all iver again

BTW- If you didnt knew it - USofA had the first ever eugenic law in the world, the nazis were copying that

>>16831103
Rus' was already falling apart, wasn't anything like Russia, and it was a thousand years ago.
In the real 20s a White Russian baron steamrollered the mongols.

>>16831103
not the anon you were discussing with but the mongol invasion (1220-1240) occured just before the end of Medieval Warm Period (950–1250)

>>16831118
Agreed - making all the communists/Nazis evil in a Weimar-era game would be a mistake. It was a very scary and unstable political environment, and moderates were few and far between. It was scary enough that people were willing to fall in line with anyone who offered safety, three squares, and non-worthless money.

Wow, the thread asploded when I was out. Jolly good game! In any case though, may as well touch on a few points:

>>16828824
Verily. And as >>16831118 said, the US was doing it before Nazi Germany did, so definitely something to think about.

>>16830802
I agree with this anon. I also agree with >>16830923 in that China may be actually in the middle of a schism, between the rising Tide and the dwindling Loyalist forces. While the Tide certainly provides a resistance against what the Great Powers once thought was a tyrannical regime, they all soon find out the Tide's true capabilities and extremist policies, perhaps shifting alliances to the Loyalists instead.

>>16831041
I agree with this. I think we should stick with a Trotsky regime and call it that. Maybe trying to emulate the technocracies of Warsaw, Prague, and Budapest, but perhaps with more of an intent to sell globally. A hint of capitalism in what would otherwise be a communist bent?

>>16831106
We definitely need to make the US more interesting. We've already tossed around the idea of a heavily-augmented Woodrow Wilson leading the nation after the War. Removing the characteristic flux of the US government like that would certainly make for some political, cultural, and economic stagnation on the official stage. This would break open the role for innovation and progress to more shady and criminal elements. Think your old-school gangsters, but much more savvy, much more profitable, and much more ruthless than the US government can even manage.

>>16831372
All of this is like this anon says. In a time of political turmoil and uneven economic changes, the people who offer safety, stability, and fairness to its constituency, no matter the cost, will likely win the people's vote.

>>16831474

Trotsky? TROTSKY???

Curses upon you /tg/!! How dare you just throw Mother Russia to that godless TRAITOR? And you devils have the audacity to forget about MY glorious person???

I have a better idea, you curs. Give ME Mother Russia!!! And I shall make her a thorougly... ...amusing place to be. Bwhahahaha!!! Also, someone has to stand up to those yellow devils rampaging across the border... ...and we all know that it would be me.

Now, somebody bring me Vodka. And a wench! No, actually make it TWO wenches...

I'd agree with what seems to be a burgeoning trend here. We need to tone everything down a little, make it a bit less pulpy and a bit more... quiet?

The Heavenly Tide are a fanatical religious/nationalist movement that's erupted from nowhere and are quickly spreading across rural China and its surrounding countries. They seem to use some advanced neural technology that promotes harmonious action on a massive scale. China's disorganised mess of local warlords and bandits can't really make a stand against them, the Kuomintang are gaining power almost as a reaction to the advance of the tide, seizing power in Beijing and trying to organise resistance. Things look like they're going the way of the Tide, but fate's a fickle bitch.

Weimar Germany isn't Nazi Germany (only earlier and with less swastikas). They're still struggling to pay off war debts and recover from the vast military and social pounding they've just taken. Their Francophone neighbours are still hassling them about not paying reparations fully and things are looking ugly. The spread of futurist technology and ideas offers a way out though, and combined with Stresseman's economic and diplomatic reforms, Weimar begins to drag itself out of Depression. More so than other Futurist nations, there's a hazy line between harsh futurist plans and the very liberal, very democratic Weimar Republic.

>>16831612

Time to take a long rest, old boy.

>>16831612

gb2 being dead Rasputin

Everyone knows you were just a reactionary lickspittle servant of the disgusting tsars and their aristocratic friends who oppressed the hard-working, decent Russian people. Whoever killed you, whether it was one of your pissed off aristo friends or a British agent, they did the Russian people a great favour.

>>16798275
Late to the thread, I'm aware
BUT VACUUM TUBE SABOTEUR? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

>>16831631
Definitely. We need some internal groups that cause problems for what would otherwise be pulpy, superpowered groups. (Disclaimer, these are only ideas, dammit!)

>United States
Cyber-Wilson vs. the Gangsters

>Western Europe
Socialist-Capitalist Hybrids vs. Extremists on Both Wings

>Germany
Weimar Futurists vs. Prussian Traditionalists

>Italy
Reckless Futurists vs. Discontent Fascists

>Eastern Europe
Various Technocracies vs. Organic Movements

>Russia
Psuedo-Soviet Moderates vs. Czarist War-Machine

>China
Heavenly Tide Militants vs. Disorganized Warlords

>Japan
Globalized Capitalists vs. Pragmatic Isolationists

Essentially some basic factions in each country to stop each other from initially starting things at a ridiculous level.

What if the US fell apart from some reason? And we'd get the usual...

-Union remnants.
-The Confederacy.
-Republic of Texas.
-New York Metropolis.
-Mormon Free State.
-California Republic.
-Native American Free Nations.
-etc...

And an Alaska being divided between the US, Russia, Japan [spoiler]and the Heavenly Tide, because those insufferable fanatics are everywhere[/spoiler].

It should open up a lot of possibilities for diplomacy, international scheming, tension and the occasional warfare.

>>16831709

Spain
>Conservatives, army, church and aristocracy vs anarchists, communists, liberals, socialists and futurists
>essentially the Civil War, starting out as just protest but developing throughout the decade.

Britain
>continuing the good old fashioned British tradition of compromise and evolution rather than conflict and revolution.
>slowly but inexorably going in a more futurist direction, opposed by the old elites, mostly aristocrats and Lords, who aren't too happy about the way society's changing

Weimar Germany
>Nazis vs Conservatives vs Futurists vs Social Democrats vs Communists and everything in between

Is how I'd update some of those, the others either work already or I don't know enough about.

>>16831869

I'd say no, the breakup of the Union seems like something that might be better left as a possible evolution of the setting, rather than the state of affairs to start with.

I think we ought to bear that fact in mind. What we're essentially making is an alternate history which could go any number of ways. The Heavenly Tide might start out small, but end up running the whole of China, South-East Asia and India, or they might end up crushed by an international League of Nations force. The US might stick together, or break apart under the strains of increased independence between cities and increasing factionalisation. It all depends what the players and the GM want to do with the game.

Not everything has to happen at once.

Remember that Eastern Europe is to a large extent futurist, which makes the aviation thing work out well and would drive internal conflict. At least as suggested earlier, besides Italy, the other Futurist powers around the Balkans are Czechoslovakia and Tesla's Yugoslavia.

Besides gangsters, Wilson has to deal with the hardline Prohibitionists - he did try to veto the Volstead act afterall. Perhaps the Prohibitionist bloc is growing. On one hand stoking the fires of prohibitionism have been useful in maintaining the war-era rationing and expanding it to try to control dangerous technologies like humanoid automatons, on the other hand the Volstead Block, with members of both parties, is growing in Congress and at the state and local level.

Imagine it - a uniquely American fusion of leftists and rightists, traditionalists and futurists. Progressives, suffragettes, and hardline socialists who all believe liquor is one of the factors that alienates the working man; standing shoulder to shoulder to Klansmen, WASPs, and small town rotarians who see alcohol as Catholic and German plot to corrupt anglo-saxon society.

You also have more benevolent figures from across the spectrum: Coolidge is not a nice person but he's an honest man, Al Smith (while in retrospect in real life many now dislike him for opposing the New Deal due to his ties to big business) ran on a civil libertarian/anti-lynching platform in the 20's in real life, and Eugene Debs is still alive - and perhaps still in prison if the war powers have been maintained.

>>16832361


Weirdly enough, Thomas Dewey is one of America's most famous singers and his friends tell him he might should consider getting into politics one day when he's older (this is hardly alternate history at all, he really was a professional singer in the early 20's).

Nothing quite says electro-punk 20's like hopping into your Ford Curie (now with the Power of Radium!), popping the latest Dewey album on the car's electrecord-player, and going at ramming speed down the highway while being traced by Vol-cops.

>>16832361
>>16832367
Oh, I'm definitely digging all of this. Definitely makes the US a VERY interesting place. Alcohol, augmentation, and fuel rationing being the catalyst for a delicious inner struggle.

Have we given any thought to corporations? They usually loom pretty large in this sort of setting.

>>16833518

Germany syndicates are big. Just look at Fritz Lang's Metropolis - while seemingly centrally planned, the city appeared to have a corporate/business class who dealt with foreign trade and hung out at Club Nagasaki. I expect the technocratic prussianism of Germany to end up with the same situation - and the syndikats would rather deal with technocratic controls internally then have the Nazis or Communists come into power.

Japan is a neutral hub of international trade, though the isolationist faction is growing in power they are divided over the question of resources - certainly foreign ships in Japanese waters is a massive security threat, but without international trade Japan would not have the raw materials it needs for its massive (proportionate to its size) military and huge industrial output.

Trotsky's Russia does a hash job of industry, his skill and power base is military matters, so even they will occasionally sell some raw materials in order to buy some foreign weapons or specialized high-end medical, scientific, or manufacturing equipment.

Rasputin's rebel regime in Yakutia may have lost Transamur to the Heavenly Tide and Vladivostok as a free city, but ever since the U.S. gave them back half of Alaska as a way to spite the Soviets they've had strong trade with the U.S. and Canada.

(Don't feel bad for the USSR, they still have Siberia west of Yakutia, plenty for gulags; and have held on to most of central asia quite nicely - so long Sternberg and his Mongolia and Turkmenistan to the Tide stretching all the way into Tibet now is not really a huge setback).

>>16833827

The Kuomintang and the warlords keeping them too weak to end the Tide buy almost all of their weapons from foreign companies and nations.

The French colonial empire produces a lot of goods, and French companies would rather sell to foreign nations than develop the consumer market within the colonies - because A. they want to keep the colonial Africans poor and uneducated and B. they don't want to have to grease the extremely corrupt/isolationist/autonomous French colonial administrators for the priviledge.

Free South Africa and British Capetown both get a lot of foreign trade, though other parts of Free Africa not so much. Rhodesia is a mercenary hotspot, with Free Africans fighting the British colonists. The war in Kenya was good until the Ethiopians entered and conquered with the help of the Free African movement, expanding the Ethiopian Empire.

Despite rationing and Prohibition, the U.S. still buys and sells a lot of goods, and Wilson is anti-monopoly and pro-trade, not anti-business.

The British Empire may be a withered husk, but it is still a very large husk, and in order to stave off home rule in India have instead liberalized their intra-imperial protectionism a bit so now foreign corps are rushing to be the first ones let in to sell to the Indian Dominion market.

the Futurist Republics (Italy, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia) produce a lot of wonderful crazy stuff. Their full production policies mean they sell no raw materials, only finished goods. Very high end high tech finished goods. To get more raw materials.

>>16832367
Perhaps this is what one of those albums would sound like?

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMDFLqirIoM&list=FL6YK-fvrjwBKl2YZWeWdkRw&feature=mh_lolz]

>>16778036

For the record, this is a Stalinist mural - the natural enemy of Futurist paintings. It is called MAN, CONTROLLER OF THE UNIVERSE and it was painted at Rockefeller Center by Mexicommunist painter Diego Rivera before being painted over by the owner.

>>16831869
Balkanized U.S. doesn't seem plausible. What's the driving force? The Yanks are currently isolationist under the watchful eye of Cyber-Wilson with no obvious internal stresses. If anything the threat of the Heavenly Tide and the Air Dictatorship would unite them against external threats.

Though the dizzy (LSD flappers) movement could inspire some interesting philosophies in opposition to the dominant fascist/futurist/nationalist doctrines. Are dizzies thriving mostly in North America against weak law enforcement? Because Weimar went Prussian and pro-robotnik in this timeline, With Weimar going illiberal I don't see any European power tolerating psychedelics.

>flapper girls
Sorry op, the very word sent me into a spasm of masturbating and excruciating orgasms, I couldn't finish your post

In the U.S. you've got Cyber-Wilson v. gangsters and wet-states against Volsteaders. Dizzies are a growing faction that everyone fears. A drug that is ridiculously cheap to make and transport that works like brain dynamite?

I can see a faction nucleating around them. Once thought to be oddballs, they attract and network around them radical suffragettes, tin-tinkerers, non-Trotsky socialists, unaffiliated liberals and all the others rejecting a future of futurism.

Loosely inspired by Eugene Debs (still in prison) and his Letters From Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. Their rallying cry of "While there is a soul in prison, I am not free." is mostly used as justification for spreading LSD, but both the Feds and influential Dizzies take it very seriously.

Can we talk about technology for a moment?

Are we aiming at diesel punk level technology or above?Because right now it seems like the technology is on par or better than what we currently have.

If were going for really advanced tech we need a really good explanation for the sudden technological boom.

Even up till ww2 computers were giant relay (not even vacuum tube) based machines programmed with punchcards.

Walking robots are a relatively new thing today and I don’t see them being used in military. I think that tracks would be a more appropriate. Wireless control would also be problematic as would a good battery so they should either have a power cable and control cable that they drag behind them or just the control cable and be powered by a diesel electricity generator.

I would actually like to see people using electricity form the power grids in their devices, like having to plug in to power your ray gun or if there is no plug available– use your cars battery/genetator.

>>16834889
I can see the Dizzies and the Heavenly Tide cooperating, at least in LSD trade. The Heavenly Tide needs the LSD for keeping their 'populace' under control and the soldiers 'loyal'; They mask LSD hallucinations as divine visions. Or maybe they use them for rituals. It's also possible that a few Heavenly Tide special units are those whose senses are altered by LSD, which could awaken latent psychic powers (depends on you though).
On the flip side, the Dizzies get access to weaponry, money, and possibly raw materials for LSD and other drugs. They're also free to go to Heavenly Tide territories.

>>16778787
'

OH MY GOD MORE

Cyberflappers are HAWT

>>16835114
I guess it's Metropolis/Bioshock/Sky Captain/Fallout level of technology.


should we make new thread?

>>16835114
well the reason technology is so advanced is because there was a Martian Invasion in 1912 and while the martians were defeated they left lots of tech for us to filch

also that brings me to an idea of mine: the martians aren't completely gone, they still hold Antartica, the lower half of South America(which we've done nothing with in this setting by the way), and have outposts in Tunguska, Greenland, and a Mothership base floating above coordinates 47°9′S 126°43′W all the while biding there time till they and their armies of E.T. and Human Mind Slaves and Tripods(amongst other weapons) are strong enough to seek their revenge against the naked apes(AKA Humans)

bump

>>16835343

The Martians from the WotW don't use ships, they shot themselves from Mars like artillery. But I like the idea of a base in Antarctica, where they could be safe from the germs that destroyed their army. Keep it in Antarctica, so.that they can keep it hidden and perform experiments to re-occupy the Earth.

I'm still not entirely sure about the Martians though. If we do include them, I'd say the vast majority believe the Martians on Earth are all dead, so they don't have a major impact beyond their technology. We don't want a real alien threat for people to unite against.

>>16835190
I think than psychic powers are a no-no
>>16835300
Fallout is the based on 1650s science fiction and Bioshock is set in 1960s
>>16835343
Martians are kind of problematic as not everyone seems to like the idea of introducing them...but they would explain the new technologies

>>16835438
well having the martians or some other external source is the only sensible way to have this super advanced tech to be around(at least in such large amounts) and be able to maintain at least some sense of logic in this setting

>>16835437
I know they do that in the book but they also have access to flying machines in the book and anyway I meant floating as in on the water not above it

GURPS: Weird War II is a great source for the weird science of the prewar/ww2 period and talks a little about the secret societies, misticism and other cool pulp stuff

>>16835488

If we are having the Martians, then the biggest question is whether or not World War I still happened, since the War had such a massive impact on the twenties, hell on, the rest of the century. Did the Martian War replace the Great War? Or did World War 1 still happen a couple of years after the Martians arrived?

Maybe the Martian invasion just acted as another factor leading up to the war. Maybe only certain countries were invaded by the Martians, thus weakening them. Those that weren't invaded were therefore more willing to go to war when a couple of years later that network of alliances triggers after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Then, the invaded countries were, after a few years of research, able to unlock the secrets of the Martian technology and turn the tide. Chemical gas became Black Smoke, artillery became Heat Rays and tanks became Tripods. The Germans and their Allies didn't stand a chance.

And then much as the Invaded Entente Powers would have wanted to keep the technology out of the hands of the defeated Allied powers, the spread of the tech and high levels of industrial espionage meant that it was soon spreading.

So the Martians then lost, thanks to their biological weaknesses, and only an isolated beach head in Antarctica remained in secret and began carrying out experiments to improve their resistance and find some way of weakening the human race for another invasion.

This way you've got your explanation for the science and technology, but equally, the Martians aren't there as an active threat to be considered and dealt with.

>>16835640
I would say that the war happened in the same time and for the same reasons it did in real life but at some point during the war the martians attacked

humans sort of united (or at least stopped figthing eachother) to stop them and it didnt work

everybody got pounded by the martians until they finally defeated by earthly bacteria (no human ingeration)

the pieces of martian tech was quickily looted by almost every country byt nobody really got the whole thing and so diferent countrys specialise in diferent aspects of that tech

now everybodys licking their wounds

maybe there was never any real peace treaty signed and ther's a cold war and/or minor skirmishes at the borders going

>>16835914

I'd say that sets things up to be a little too antagonistic on the world politics front. The reason it was the Roaring Twenties, was partly because everyone had a feeling of "Fuck yeah, we just went through the most apocalyptic, tremendous war and we came through it. Good thing no-one will ever be stupid enough to pull something like that again".

Obviously feelings were different everywhere, and there were plenty of war vets who didn't really feel like celebrating, but there was that optimism, that feeling that things could only get better from here on in.

If the world's still at war, that isn't there.

Again, I leave and the thread goes nuts.

>>16834645
While I like the idea, I can imagine the Dizzies being held together by hyper-liberal elements who do not even take the drug, but are rather taking advantage of the situation and their easily manipulated following to get into a position of power. And if we're going with >>16835190, then it could be very possible that some of the masterminds of the Dizzy movement are (or have the potential to be) Tide operatives embedded in the US, playing off the Yellow Peril theme some more.

>>16835343
Again, I'm dubious as all hell about a Martian scenario, though I agree it would explain the sudden technological boom. If you don't want to go the Martian route, you can always play the angle of military superscience that didn't get the chance to be employed during the War, but got repurposed and sold to consumer corporations afterwards to help pay for the costs of the War. Unsurprisingly, Weimar Germany had a large bulk of said superscience on hand to sell, and was the starting point for their resurgent economy and surprising ability to repay their debts thus far in the setting.

>>16836123
Very yes. It wouldn't be the Twenties if there was still open warfare about. Leave the conflicts to the internal and shady stuff. You know, back-room geopolitics, dubious business dealings, underground social movements, brushfire skirmishes in remote locations, that sort of thing. Maybe a Cold War-esque situation (with all the superscience going around, of course), but laid under the exterior of the bright and Roaring Future. Not perfectly Futurist, but with its trappings and potential for reckless devastation. For the time being though, it being used for (mostly) good.

>>16836146

I wasn't so sure about the Martian answer first, but I'm beginning to see it as the best of a bad bunch when it comes to justifying exactly how humanity skipped about 130 years of technology in a couple of years.

The Martian Solution solves the problem and gives potential plot-hooks to be used in the future or ignored depending on the tastes of the group playing. Advanced World War 1 Superscience also kinda works as an explanation, but it's still a massive leap.

Another thing I don't understand is the need to to make Weimar Germany an industrial powerhouse. Historically, Weimar was a really fucking interesting place, and part of that was the enforced liberal democratic political system, and their struggles to advance beyond their depressed economy and crippling reparations. The political extremism that flourished as the country floundered makes for a great backdrop. And the threat of another French/Belgian invasion if they fail to keep up repayments or cooperate.

Hell, one of the big things that the Versailles treaty forced Germany to do was hand over a lot of industrial patents to the victorious powers, along with industrial resources and money. All these robotics they'll be making will be getting stolen by the other powers. And the military restrictions mean they don't really have much choice when it comes to fighting back.

>>16836678
I suppose the Martian angle is where we'll agree to disagree. As for Weimar Germany, while in history is was a very interesting place, I guess I see the industrial powerhouse angle as a way to handle the economy and reparation issues, as a way to produce enough to pay them back. Now, you do make a good point about Versailles - I forgot that bit about the patents and such, so hoarding superscience for later financial gain is out of the window. But there's gotta be a way for them to claw back into relevance despite it all.

>>16836739

The martian/military superscience is kind of a background question anyway. It won't have too much of a bearing on the setting, aside from one having a few more xenophobic martian-enthusiasts who constantly try and scare the public into believing the Martians will come back. It's not really a big issue.

And when it comes to Weimar, I guess my point is that Germany doesn't have to be a world power to be an interesting setting. It'd be too easy for us to say that the Weimar Government tears up Versailles and tells the rest of the world to fuck itself, but then they either face the threat of a second French invasion or need a Hitler to rise to power quicker and essentially secretively undermine the Treaty so that by the time the others caught on, they already had an army and air force waiting.to defend Germany.

Historically, Weimar entered its golden age thanks to economic reforms and lots of international diplomacy leading to lots of international investment. Maybe Germany works on being the centre of European diplomacy and trade, opening itself up and allowing lots of foreign trade in. Once it gets admitted to the League of Nations, maybe it works on beefing that up. It won't be an industrial powerhouse, or a military force to be reckoned with, but it's still a major chunk of central Europe full of interesting characters and potential plots. You'll have plenty of technology leaking in from its neighbours and it can quietly be working on building itself up again subtly.

Hell, Weimar Germany could end up being the Good Guy country, as everyone else descends into a futurist wank-off.

>>16836906
>Hell, Weimar Germany could end up being the Good Guy country, as everyone else descends into a futurist wank-off.

Now that would be an interesting 180 to work off of. Also, seems like this thread is auto-saging. Anyone wants to start a new one?