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A Jedi, a channeler and a wizard walk into a bar...; About interaction of stuff from different settings/worlds/realities
Topic Started: Oct 2 2012, 05:00 PM (37 Views)
Glorfindel
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In the Tower universe, characters from a variety of settings will interact with each other, and not just through talking or mundane physical conflict; a lot of them bring along unusual powers, technology and other abilities that may not even exist outside their native universe. The initial idea (as I heard it) was that in the Tower world, there was astral energy that mimics whatever power the character tries to use. I think this approach is not a sound one, because sooner or later our various characters are likely to venture into other universes through the Tower. Unless this astral energy stuff exists everywhere, we need a better paradigm.

I think the most important things we want out of this are:
  • Stuff should usually just work, no matter what universe the character is in or where the target originates from. Always getting nerfed when you step through a portal is no fun. Hailing from a world without magic (or whatever) is not an excuse to be immune to magic.
  • Complications and exceptions exist but should remain simple and intuitive. We have enough to keep track of as it is. Maybe we should have a place to keep track of exceptions by setting.
  • I think that it should not usually be possible to duplicate exotic tech in a very different setting or to train people in the use of powers that do not exist in that setting. (I'm not entirely sure about this one, especially in the context of invasions.) The Tower world should probably be an exception, as a nexus of who knows how many realities.


The big question is: If stuff just works, how does it manage to do so in places where that sort of thing is neigh-inconceivable? For example, if a Jedi ends up bumming a ride on the USS Enterprise, how is it he can Force-push a Klingon around when the Force does not normally exist in Star Trek?

As an easy way to solve this, let's say a character (or object) takes a bit of his own reality with him when he (or it) travels to other universes. I don't picture it like an invisible globe around the character or anything like that; it's just part of who and what the character is that can't be lost and won't wear off. When the Jedi Force-pushes a Klingon or mind-tricks him, the Klingon is subjected to this influence as if both were in the Star Wars setting. When a Vulcan uses that nerve-pinch of theirs on the Jedi, it works even if such a thing probably could not exist in Star Wars setting (not without the Force being involved somehow, at least).

There probably should be limits to this. For example, if the Jedi took his X-Wing along, could it make the jump to hyperspace if hyperspace does not exist in Star Trek? I'd say such things should indeed work, but that in practice there are often inconvenient complications. For example, a Star Wars ship needs complex data and known routes to actually navigate hyperspace safely, which would not be immediately available in the Star Trek universe. What if a Star Trek engineer tried to replicate the X-Wing's hyperdrive? I would say that should not work, as the replicator creates Star Trek-stuff that works by Star Trek rules, which doesn't allow the hyperdrive to do what it should do. (This puts limits should one reality end up trying to invade another; they will have to take lots of their own stuff with them or rely no native stuff.)

Another question is how similar, but different elements of various settings interact. For example, the Honor Harrington universe also has hyperspace that is extremely similar to the Star Wars version. Should a wayward X-Wing be able to use it like the one back home? I'd say yes. This can result in strange things when you start thinking about personal powers. For example, it could be possible (though maybe a little gimmicky) that a Jedi in the Wheel of Time world would find himself channeling Saidar, which is very Force-like in most respects.

There is also one last hairy issue I'd like to raise: What about magic that summons beings from another dimension/plane/universe or banishes people to such a place? For example, in D&D elementals are summoned from some elemental plane. Other settings don't actually have an elemental plane. Does the spell 0. fail to work; 1. grab an elemental from some D&D world's elemental plane; or 2. pretends to summon an elemental, but actually it just temporarily mocks one up? Making a choice here could also set a precedent for certain forms of travel magic...
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