System: After the Bomb (aka Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) w/ material from Rifts and other Palladium properties/multi-splat Time: Tuesdays, 11am EST, play about 4-5 hrs (we just finished the 5th session). It is the Year of Our Lord 1666 -- ** London is in flames.** In this alternative timeline of Palladium Books' post-apocalyptic mutant animal rpg After the Bomb, the Thirty Years War ended when the 1,000 megaton Ethereum Nuke known as the 'Götterdämmerung' was dropped by unknown forces on the Princely States of Germania and brought widespread devastation to the old world. The western hemisphere continent of Northern Laurasia was not unaffected -- the Götterdämmerung's explosion was followed by the Three Days of Darkness -- a portentous event when the Veil or Gauntlet, the barrier between this world, the astral planes, and the nether regions, was eviscerated. To the east, the far-off realms of Sahul and Sunda, including the Elemental Conclaves of Siam, were also affected -- terrors from the Elemental Strongholds and the Avici Hells of the Yama Kings poured forth in a tidal wave of infernal power, overwhelming many of the ancient cities of Siam, Khmer, Cathay, and Nippon. The lost realms of Atlantis, Mu, and Lemuria resurfaced, respectively, in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the inner tropics of the Antarctic were freshly unveiled -- the great ice wall that had hidden them from the world having cracked during the cataclysm. The world of Ehrth is like and unlike our own -- the alchemy of the ancient greeks, reportedly inherited from an earlier civilization led to the creation of the mutant-animals, the greatest friends, servants, and tools of the Empires of Man. The Library of Alexandria was never burned, and the survival of ancient Atlantean wisdom through the Roman Empire led to the early development of remarkable technologies comparable to, but different from, those of Earth. Vril-energy rifles, flying golden palaces known as Vimanas, ornithopters diving through the skies of etherum-powered mega cities like Londinium and New Amsterdam. The European colonies of the Americas have become largely self-sufficient and independent as a result of the catastrophe. The various breeds of mutant animals, once loyal servants of their human masters, have increasingly established their own civilizations and communities in the wreckage of the old order. The storied orders of the Knights Templar, the Witch Hunters, and the Vampire Slayers have emerged from the shadows to combat the new threats to civilization - among their most competent adherents are the mutant animals who have maintained their faith in the cause, even if they have thrown off the shackles of their previous servitude to the Empires of Humankind. This setting will adopt elements of After the Bomb, the Savage World's setting Rippers, and the Adventures of Solomon Kane, among other inspirations. One of my players came up with the tag 'Colonial Atom Punk' to describe the setting. In this world, the historical technology of the 1600s is considerably supplemented by steampunk ethereum tech more reminiscent of 1800s-based steampunk images and concepts -- witch iron clad battleships, ethereum canons and handguns, ornithopter-type flying vehicles. The ambience would be similar to Val Helsing, Witchhunter: the Hidden World, and the Adventures of Solomon Kane and would involve a party of humans and mutant animals that are part of esoteric orders that hunt down demons, devils, vampires, witches, and other cryptids threatening the ashes of civilization on the East Coast and the ruins of Europe. The current setting/plot is a town called 'Kamden' in the mutant animal state of New-new Jersey that is currently in the grip of a 'Witch Hunter Terror' caused by apprehensions of infernal forces from Hades and Dyval increasing in their activities in the region. Outlying farms have been attacked. Larger bands of zombie 'roamers' have begun to move into the region. Law-abiding citizens of Kamden have been abducted a night under mysterious circumstances, never to appear again. These circumstances have led the Town Council to set up a Witch Hunter Inquisition to attempt to ferret out the malevolent elements that have infiltrated their society. The result has been a dramatic increase in the number of public executions at the Town Square, but persistent rumors hold that the Inquisition has become a terror and has had little impact on the true sources of the region's recent troubles. Some of the chief parties/factions in the region: The Knights of the White Lilly -- a rigorist military wing of the local version of the Church of Light and Dark (similar to the Palladium Fantasy version, except with more Greek/mystery religion influences). There are several knight orders devoted to several of the gods of Tuat that form the spearhead of the Inquisition. The factions of the Knights include the Obsidian Paladins (adherents of a dark trinity consisting of Set, Anubis, and Anhur) and the Emerald Drakes/Emerald Tarragon -- adherents of Amon the Faceless. The Cult of the Scarlet Veil -- adherents of Modeus and other powers of Hades -- this cabal of magic users were once associated with the Awakened of the Crimson Spire, an order of magic users similar to the grey wardens of Dragonage -- they use their powers and abilities to explore the dark spaces of existence. The Cult of the Scarlet Veil succumbed to the darkness into which they gazed. Different factions in the Cult are adherents of different demon lords of Hades, though the most powerful/numerous are adherents of Modeus, and have several Hell High Priests from the Hades book who are a new innovation that are attempting to start a demon cult. This is causing some tension with the existing heirarchy, which is made up of witches. The Sable Circle -- previously a sect of good mutant animal fawns and deer who were druids and tattoo mages, their desire to defend their woodland sanctuary from the encroachment of civilization led to them falling to the dark powers of Dyval. They made an alliance with the woodland demons of Dyval Prime and became Jersey Devil mutant animal chimerae. They wish to drive out the Cult of the Scarlet Veil and the Knights of the White Lilly, and eradicate the town of Kamden with an army of fenry wolves, shock dragons, and other horrors mustered from the Deevil Host. Like the forces of the Deevils in the Palladium world, they have been more successful than the demons in setting up local religions. They have converted at least one local tribe to the veneration of Sahtalus. Like the Cult of the Scarlet Veil, different factions within the Circle have allegiance to different deevil lords, but Sahtalus is the primary patron of the Circle. The River Lords -- mutant animal otters and badgers in Richmond to the South who consist of a council of 'elemental slavers' who bind water elementals of various sorts to support their trade empire. They are at war with mutant animal penguin pirates who live off of the coast, some of whom are vampires and pilot ghost ships. Other considerations: I use a lot of mood music and AI-generated images for people places and things. If you're not into that kind of stuff, this won't be a good fit. I'm making huge area maps in Roll20 with the js.tile api so we can shoot missiles across long distances and do aerial combat. Minimum specs won't cut it for this game, you need a pc that can handle everything Roll20 can do. I do a lot of worldbuilding -- I have multiple factions active and I dive deep into the Palladium lore on the Minion War in this game. If you're the kind of player that's more like "I'm just here to play a game, kill some monsters, I'm not so into the background stuff" there's nothing wrong with that, I don't think there's one true way(TM) to play these games, but I'm looking for players that are into worldbuilding/lore, take notes, and remember stuff between sessions. We've just completed our 5th session and I'd like to get a few more players. We have some abandoned pcs that you could play if you wanted to.
