So, I'm ready to start accepting RTJ's for my pulp game!
quote:
"O wonder! How many goodly cretures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such creatures in 't!"
--Miranda, The Tempest, Act V, Scene i
The year is 1938, and the Inspired walk among us.
some mood music
Just after the end of the Great War, a scientific experiment conducted by Sir Calvin Hammersmith ended in fiery tragedy after his Telluric Energy Collector explodes. In the wake of this explosion, a wave of strange energy washed across the globe, and in the wake of this "Telluric Wave" people spontaneously developed abilities that baffled modern science.
But it was clear that after the Hammersmith Incident, the world was a grand and different place.
What followed was an era of excitement and imagination, of globe-trotting exploration and strange new science. It was an era of Adventure, during a roaring decade where it seemed the world was destined for a new golden age.
And then it all came crashing down.
quote:
"...all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts And frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. it is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
-- MacBeth, MacBeth, Act V, Scene v
It began with Black Tuesday, that terrible day when the house of cards collapsed. The Stock Market Collapse destroyed much of the world's wealth, and its confidence in world leaders with it.
Dust bowls, bread lines, and joblessness gripped the world. The Bolshevik Revolution spread from Russia under Leon Trotsky's guidance, while Germany grows darker under the rise of Adolph Hitler's Third Reich. An attempt to repeal Prohibition in the United States failed, and organized crime is now stronger than ever. Hoovervilles flourish despite the promise of a New Deal, and all over the globe people are asking, "where are the Inspired?"
quote:
"Some kinds of baseness are nobly undergone."
--Ferdinand, The Tempest, Act III, Scene i
On June 8th, 1936, at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Hitler revealed to the world a surprise. A man flying without aid of glider, plane, or jetpack flew around the stadium three time before lighting the torch and then floating down to the Fuhrer's side. The mysterious
Der Flieger was claimed by Nazi propaganda to be the result of their unbeatable Eugenics program. It was a challenge to the world.
quote:
"Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war!"
--Antony, Julius Ceaser, Act III, Scene i
War is coming. Everyone can feel it in their bones. The Great Depression has birthed a monster, and now the time has come for those who have been Inspired to use their great talents. Daredevils who rely on their skills and luck alone match wits with the creations of Archimedean science run amok. Occultists, Mesmerists, and Spiritualists ply their trade, calling on strange Telluric energies in the night. Men and women who Flare with Telluric power face Promethean horrors conjured from a lad, while the Nyctaloeans who stuff themselves with weird inventions face those who have been Imbued by angels and demons with awesome power.
quote:
"That is the question, whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and, by opposing, end them?"
--Hamlet, Hamlet, Act III Scene i
You have been granted superhuman abilities, whether through mutation, training, technology, or outside empowerment. War is coming, but there is still a depression on, and you still need to eat. There are still adventures to be had, but also terrible villains who abuse their gifts for selfish and destructive ends. Or perhaps you are one of the lucky few who is isolated from hardship, looking to make the world a less cruel place, or just increase your own fame.
You have been Inspired. What will you do now?
Welcome to the Brave New World.
