The Thunderverse

[Arkitek]

The Thunderverse*

In the distant past, civilizations combined magic and technology to create wondrous societies. Unfortunately, they didn't get along very well, and blew each other away with nuclear weapons and hideously destructive magics. Human civilization recovered--albeit nearly ten thousand years later. As for the ancient civilizations, not even their names are remembered, though ample evidence of their existence remains in the massive complexes and fortresses they left behind--fortresses that survived largely intact even while their occupants did not.

This world, for lack of a better way to put it, is an almost unimaginably massive disc, twenty thousand kilometres across, with a star-like source of light and heat orbiting around it. All of civilization as it is known inhabits one side of the disc. Nobody knows what lies on the other side, but the Disc is thick enough that the inhabited surface can sustain tectonic plate movement and all the fun geographical features and phenomena that we're familiar with on Earth.

Towards the edges of the disc the gravity field becomes distorted, and extremes of temperature make self-sufficient habitation impossible without magic or technology that presently is not known; towards the centre of the disc, volcanic and tectonic activity increases dramatically and the oceans themselves are brought to boil, while towards the outer edges the land is frozen and dark, criss-crossed by sprawling networks of glaciers that cover entire continents under hundreds of metres of grinding, crushing ice.

This is a place where, fifteen thousand years after the beginning of the Dark Age of Humanity, armoured airships and fighter jets rule the skies, and modern soldiers fight alongside sorcerors and dragons where appropriate. A fantasy world where 'magic' is merely another tool, to be used where they make sense and with a minimum of pointless ritual mysticism.

*This is a temporary name. I beg of you, do not hold it against me.

[Siege]

Aerial dreadnoughts versus dragons! Sure sounds interesting to me. Plus the setting itself - a discworld - should offer plenty neat opportunities for weird action and adventuring.

[Arkitek]

This is a place where, fifteen thousand years after the beginning of the Dark Age of Humanity, armoured airships and fighter jets rule the skies, and modern soldiers fight alongside sorcerors and dragons where appropriate.

By the way, dragons are very fragile compared to properly armoured aircraft in this universe. Sure, they'll just tank bayonets and stuff but shrapnel and bullets can still hurt them pretty badly (if you shoot them enough or in the right places, anyway.) I'd estimate a large-ish squad (12-16 troops) would be sufficient to take down a totally unsupported, flightless dragon without casualties. A lone rifleman or fireteam will get mauled or otherwise done away with pretty easily.

They're hardly useless, however. For example, wind dragons can kick up dust storms to conceal troop movements or pin down enemy troops, armoured chem-dragons can deploy poison gas, fire dragons are handy for clearing bunkers and scorched earth, etc.

[Mobius 1]

Considering the content, Thunderverse is actually pretty boss name for the concept.

I, like Siege, like the wonkiness of the outer reaches of the discworld. One can guess some of the nastier and more malevolent entities in the verse crawl out of that area?

[Arkitek]

Well, the natural ones would, yes. Krakens and golems and stuff. There's not much that can't be defeated by guns, bombs, and rockets any more, though. Imagine your generic fantasy setting allowed to advance to the point where they have laser small arms and fusion bombs, and then put it all through a nuclear war so you can have survivors bringing the scientific method into things at the equivalent of around 2000 B.C. Anachronisms ahoy.

And no goddamned elves or dwarves. If there ever were any, we probably exterminated them.

The reason the name is a problem is that I took my forum name from one of my villains, you see, and it'd be kind of like calling Final Fantasy VII the Sephirothverse.

Names can change, though, I suppose.

[Magister Militum]

You had me at aerial dreadnoughts.

This certainly looks like a very promising concept, and I'll definitely be checking back to see what else you come up with.

[Arkitek]

The Players:

The Technate.

The Norik Commonwealth.

The Shadows.

The Kingdom of Kanatia.

The Mertani Empire.

[and more when I remember them all]

[Shroom Man 777]

The reason the name is a problem is that I took my forum name from one of my villains, you see, and it'd be kind of like calling Final Fantasy VII the Sephirothverse.

Names can change, though, I suppose.

They could've called the game ALBINO CHILDREN or something and nothing would've changed.

[Arkitek]

The reason the name is a problem is that I took my forum name from one of my villains, you see, and it'd be kind of like calling Final Fantasy VII the Sephirothverse.

Names can change, though, I suppose.

They could've called the game ALBINO CHILDREN or something and nothing would've changed.

Ah, hell. I'll stick with Thunderverse for now. Ryan's a central actor for most of it anyway, might as well name it after him.

[Arkitek]

The Shadows

A stateless, international criminal organization, widely feared by (most) world leaders and officials for the effectiveness of their infiltrators. Shadow assassins have infiltrated and exfiltrated from some of the most heavily defended positions in the world in order to carry out their missions.

Most assassins affiliated with the Shadows have learned to use magic to teleport themselves from anywhere that they aren't seen to anywhere else that they aren't seen. In other words, so long as nobody can see them, they can go anywhere they want, instantly.

Additionally, as part of initiation, members learn to use magic to see better in the dark. It's about as effective as your average modern NVG, in most cases. With practice, some can even see infrared.

Shadow assassins will generally try to cause an absolute minimum of collateral damage by eliminating their targets with a single precise attack. To this end they largely prefer knives, bolt- or pump-action scoped rifles, and pistols, though they are not above simply leveling entire structures if the target is sufficiently high-profile and difficult to get at.

Naturally, camouflage is critical, and so the Shadows have developed a "cloak of pseudo-invisibility" that renders the wearer up to 60% transparent.

[Shroom Man 777]

Sniper shotgun?

Let's see more of this verse. So, we can know who these Shady guys use their sniper shotguns on.

[Arkitek]

Sniper shotgun?

Well, uh, no. XD

They used to use pump-action crossbows. It's just a mechanism. They're still using a 8 mm bullet rather than an 18 mm shotshell.

Though that does sound intriguing from a special ammunition perspective.

I would've thought the "cloak of pseudo-invisibility" would've got your attention, myself.

Let's see more of this verse. So, we can know who these Shady guys use their sniper shotguns on.

I'll talk some about the Kanatians later.

[Blackwing]

A Disc shaped world that isn't a blatant Discworld rip off...

Advanced tech meets magic meets Dragons, but without being a blatant Pern rip off...

Elemental Dragons without being a D&D rip off (and with interesting tactical implications too)...

...

...

I salute you oh great anti-Kamin! May the works of your mind remain fruitful unto the generations to come.

Also, nice 'verse. I like it.

[Shroom Man 777]

I agree. Tactical dragons sound awesome. Dragon Patrol! Mounted dragon cavalry! In the mountains!

[Arkitek]

The Technate

An invention of one Lord-General Ryan Thunder to placate the Ksali masses with free goods while promoting high industry and technology with which to wage expansionistic war across the Disc. By this he intends to re-establish civilization as he sees fit, with himself as supreme commander of it all.

The Technate is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most technologically advanced faction on the Disc, rivalled only by the Shadows in this regard. They jealously guard their technology and toil endlessly to develop it ever further in order to improve both their standard of living and their ability to bring that standard of living to other nations--usually by force. Much of their technological and scientific research can be at least partially attributed to the Lord-General, whom, while not a scientific man, remembers many of the basic concepts that powered civilization before cataclysm struck. In fact, if it weren't for the Shadows 'leaking' most new technologies, it is likely that the Technate would exert total control over the entire Disc due to massive technological disparity.

The Technate military relies heavily on large, heavily armed and armoured aircraft generally referred to as "aircruisers". Aircruisers are differentiated from regular aircraft by relatively low cruising airspeed, extremely long loitering time, and heavy payloads, enabled by the use of 'engines of levitation' to maintain lift even when airspeed is zero.

Most aircruisers are treated like boats, but the Technate tends to treat them like regular aircraft, as theirs are far more maneuverable and faster than any other faction's.

Often, killing a Technate aircruiser requires odds of ten to one in analogous craft, due to their combination of superior armour, maneuverability, speed, sensors, and weaponry for their size.

Strangely, however, it is not their dread aircruisers that the Technate is ultimately remembered for, but for their jetpack-equipped Aerines. Aerines make for wonderful shock troops, and the Technate can field entire battalions of them, but find it profoundly difficult to operate in tight quarters due to their bulky packs.

More later.

[Arkitek]

Kanatia

Though normally one can never really peg an entire culture with a single stereotype, Kanatia appears to be little more than an entire nation of hermits and reclusive monks. They generally keep to themselves, living austerely. Upset them, however, and you will face the wrath of some of the Disc's finest sorcerors. There is little to be found in Kanatia that does not have some magical property to it; be it something as mundane as a shovel or as grand as a floating monastery in the clouds.

Generally speaking, the Kanatians have eschewed high technology for all purposes save the military. Kanatian soldiers are akin to the warrior monks of distant legend, a fully-trained and equipped warrior easily worth five Technate troops, even in open warfare. "Dragons" as they call themselves, are protected by rune-encrusted armour that can reliably and repeatedly deflect a pistol round fired from as close as 20 metres away (because of the runes, obviously, not the armour material itself) without troubling the wearer. However, the effectiveness of their armour decreases sharply when they operate off-continent, making expeditionary operations nearly impossible.

Their rifles and guns make use of conventional ammunition. However, this is but a focusing tool for their magics; many of them have been observed casting what appears to be incredibly destructive fireballs with each pull of the trigger. Strangely, it does not appear to work without ammunition. Another technique enables them to use a bladed melee weapon as a moderately effective sidearm, where every sweep of the blade sends out a wave of some otherworldly nature, extending the reach of each strike by as much as a dozen metres. This was most effectively used during the age prior to the rediscovery of gunpowder, when a primordial Technate attempted an invasion of Kanatia with heavily-armoured Falkir airborne troops armed with all manner of spears and pikes, only to be driven back by invisible blades. An added bonus, with some training, nearly anybody can use this equipment.

[Ford Prefect]

A nation of reclusive hermits is likely going ot have a really unusual system of government. In fact, any functional society where most people live lives of quiet solitude are going to have a pretty interesting approach to things I consider really mundane, like buying food or finding a romantic partner.

[Shroom Man 777]

How can hermits and recluses form a military, anyway? Perhaps instead of having disproportionately powerful soldiers, these individual warrior-monk-sorcerer hermits are instead very effing powerful and pissing even just one of them off would be very unwise even for militaristically powerful dudes? If one of them gets angers, he might walk down there and blow a bunch of army guys away all by his badass lonesome. That could be, like, why the caves and mountains and monasteries where these recluses live could be complete no man's lands and no-fly zones for other guys, or something.

When one of these guys is angry enough, or is in the mood to go out of his cave to take a walk, or if he's perhaps paid off as a mercenary or inexplicably goes off in an adventure, people might end up going "oh shit!".

The villages that live near the caves and monasteries could, like, provide these hermitic recluses all sorts of food and drink and garments and trinkets and beans as a tribute. In return, like, they could hope that the resident sorcerer-warrior-monks would grant them protection.

Like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino!

[Arkitek]

A nation of reclusive hermits is likely going ot have a really unusual system of government. In fact, any functional society where most people live lives of quiet solitude are going to have a pretty interesting approach to things I consider really mundane, like buying food or finding a romantic partner.

"monks" would probably be a better descriptor. Think Shaolin Monks, but they've kept up to speed with weaponry and they've got magic, to boot. They're reclusive on a national level. Most of them live in huge stone fortresses.

And much like the Shaolin monks, its not so much a military as a collection of warriors with a few commanders. In this case, however, their magic makes up for their doctrinal shortcomings.

I forgot to mention that most of the Disc's dragons come from Kanatia. There is an absolutely absurd concentration of them there.

[Arkitek]

Well, I had an idea for a screenplay set here;

EDIT: Let me know when folks are interested in reading it. They apparently aren't, right now.

[Ford Prefect]

Yo yo, put it back up.

[Arkitek]

Sure thing.

So, just a reminder and some background; Ryan's a sorceror, an imperialist, and a technocrat. The Technate is pretty much his personal sandbox country.

His agents discovered an Ancient hardened manufacturing facility in Norika that would greatly improve his scientists' understanding of various critical technologies that would make his dream of a true Technocracy (one that isn't ultimately dependent on and thus limited by the combination of the Spyre's manufacturing facilities and brainwashed slave labour) a real possibility.

Now, Norika, to the naked eye, appears to be less a coherent singular state and more a collection of loosely affiliated tribes and villages. Ryan and his advisors came to the conclusion that they could easily take and hold the facility from the natives and deployed an expeditionary force to do so. (No, they didn't even bother asking if they could check it out first, or even issuing a formal declaration of war. )

All was not what it seemed, however, and it turned out that the Norik 'tribes' they saw were actually more like wandering bands of adventurers and ne'er-do-wells, whilst the Norik themselves were isolationist, living almost exclusively in massive subterranean facilities buried under mountains, fed by salvaged and reverse-engineered hydroponics farms and nuclear reactors. They deployed hordes of militia that outnumbered the Technate expeditionary force by a staggering margin. All hell broke loose; the Technate and the Norik engaged in total war for four years before a ceasefire was grudgingly agreed to by Ryan. The ceasefire held for some time, but peace was never formally arranged, and the conflict flared on and off for the next millenium during what is imaginatively named the Thousand Years' War. (Ryan is a persistent fellow.)

The Lord-General finally gave up trying to engage them conventionally, and set his scientists to work building him WMDs that could penetrate the Norik mountain defences and destroy their subterranean cities, ending their resistance once and for all. The result was fiendish; he had some of the brightest potential magic-users (children, all) kidnapped and experimented on. The final experiment, which required Ryan himself to carry out, produced eight "Spyre-born" witches and wizards, seven of whom were scattered across the Disc by an unknown mechanism before the eighth, named Edera, could be augmented. She was given the battle-name 'Shard', and it appears that she was made exceptionally powerful by the Lord-General's frustrated rage at being otherwise thwarted (after all other factors were accounted for).

Over the ensuing twenty years he was able to eventually locate and kill or repatriate (SEE: capture, brainwash, and train into lethal tools of destruction) all but one of the Spyre-born, Edera Shard's younger sister Eira, who remained totally unaware of her power during this time by virtue of having grown up in the relatively quiet, peaceful, and well-kept nation of Eidantordan. She was eventually discovered by the Technate some time after her 21st birthday.

The screenplay tells the story of her initial flight from Technate agents and subsequent discovery of her powers, her development of those powers with the assistance of a turncoat Spyre-born, and Ryan's final defeat at the hands of his Ancient adversary (tentatively named 'Erik') who sets up Eira's final reckoning with Ryan and Edera.

EDIT: And yes I spent most of that on prologue. <_<

[Ford Prefect]

It sounds like a chase story, and I really like chase stories. However, I think you would probably be better served by depicting the story as a piece of prose. Also now that I know the true extent of what a giant dick the character Ryan Thunder is, maybe you should think about changing your username.

[Arkitek]

It sounds like a chase story, and I really like chase stories. However, I think you would probably be better served by depicting the story as a piece of prose.

Hm. I might write some of it up here, if Siege gets me a subforum.

Also now that I know the true extent of what a giant dick the character Ryan Thunder is, maybe you should think about changing your username.

Hah. Well, he wasn't always like that in my mind. I picked it back when his character was still "entirely unmagical badass technocrat", and he was generally a decent guy. It's just stuck with me since then, even though I've gradually turned him into a colossal warmongering douchebag over time. At this point I figure that it can't be much worse than using Darth Vader as a screen name.

[Ford Prefect]

Hm. I might write some of it up here, if Siege gets me a subforum.

There's no real need for a subforum at this point (in my opinion). You can still write stuff and post it in the creative writing section, just to save you the pressure of having an active universe forum.