By Popular Demand: This is a thread for sharing recommendations for various media, useful for pointing each other to good things to watch, read or play. And if we are inclined to, we can offer advice to convert it into Multiverser.  :)

One series that seems a natural fit in a way... Castle Perilous. The books follow a group of people who live in the title castle. This castle happens to have thousands of 'doors' to different worlds and dimensions. Not all of the doors are permanent either. One of the traits of the castle is that guests (who typically come through one of the doorways) pick up a single magic talent. This could be anything from teleportation, to causing pins to dance on your hand, to being a master swordsman even though you never touched a sword, or any number of things both minor and major. One minor character picked up the ability to track things by scent... even things that don't have a scent such as ideas.

Greetings everyone. I thought a useful resource would be to make a set of books for GMs to draw worlds from. We all can always use a few more settings, right? Also, it has proven quite difficult to acquire the actual Multiverser books themselves, as sites which carry them keep running out. If anyone knows where they could be currently acquired, that would be very useful I think. I sure can't find a copy. In particular, I personally want to find the second and third book of worlds.

Anyway. I'll start with the useful world books I've found.

Worldbook: 9 Alternate Realities by Eric R. Ashley. This one is apparently FREE over on Lulu.com.
Worldbook: Science Fiction by Eric R. Ashley. Can be found on Lulu.com.
Placeholder Worlds for Desperate GM's of Multiverser/AH RPG's by Eric R. Ashley. Can be found on Lulu.com.

Also, any game system which features a multiverse motif can be easily mined for settings. This includes pretty much every major superhero RPG, such as Mutants and Masterminds, but it also includes titles like Rifts.

If you know of any other really cool world-book collections, or if you know where to find Multiverser-specific content, do let everyone know, hey? Let's generate a big ol' list. ;)

In reply to Fenix (msg # 3):

Thanks. I think I will try to port them from Lulu to Amazon.  But I will keep them on Lulu.

Oh, are you Eric? I didn't realize. I thought your account was called "Playtester" and you'd stopped posting. Good to know!
This message was last updated by the player at 22:59, Mon 13 June 2022.

That was the name he started with, but he changed names when handing over Worldwalker administration to me.

He is still actually the GM here.  I'm just Worldwalker IT support... :)

In reply to Oak (msg # 6):

Aha, I see. Thanks for the clarification XD

In reply to Fenix (msg # 7):

I've transferred a copy of Placeholder Worlds to Amazon.  Another book is a novel, Lauren and the Psi Dungeon.  Lauren is a character created by MJ Young, one of the game designers, and he let me use her.  Its a dungeon but without magic or miracles.  Instead psi, and more psi, and smacking stuff too.

Right now, I'm working on a short story with puns and wordplay, similar in some ways to Xanth, but without the creepy stuff.  I may call it Lauren and the Eyeland Resort.

As to other worlds, I had one I wanted to make a novel of, and tried to run twice, but it flopped for uncertain to me reasons.

Red Phoenix Empire
==================

The backstory is not well known, and is considered false legends in the present when the action of the setting occurs.

The Ten Tribes squabble, fight, and live on the High Plain.  Its a dry, dusty land.  Each has their own variety of magic.

But then the Phoenix Lords arrived in their longboats, and these redheaded strangers had vast magical powers beyond what the Tribes could muster.  And even the Fey creatures who lived in the shadows of the Tribes were driven far back by their overwhelming power.

The Lords used this power to transform the landscape, do many things, and conquer the Ten Tribes.  The magics of the Ten Tribes fell into disuse.  And the Lords grew greater in power, and they even chained the Dragon of Ancient Days in a cave.

But that was a mistake.  And over the next hundred years the Lords began to lose magical power.  by the time, they seriously began to work on the problem, it was too late.  No one knew, and as the magics were less used, and the magicians less powerful, many old secrets were forgotten.

And hundreds of years later, there are few indeed in the empire who could call themselves a magician of any sort.  Instead, there are adepts of various skills, sword adepts, and pottery adepts and so forth, and few of the pure Red hair are any more to be found.

In fact, it has become a thing for some young men, for the Lords magic was always a more manly magic, to dye their hair redded than it is.

Amongst the Ten Tribes, the ancient magics are coming back.  And their are rumors of the fey in dark places now and then.  The earth shakes.  And barbarian tribesmen from beyond the Talon Valley, in legend formed by a magician from the talon strike of a great phoenix, all two hundred fifty miles long, cut into the surrounding High Plains, gather to stare down into the valley with hungry faces.

There are artifacts from the old days.  Things that can do mighty deeds, or small things.  Buttons that can make you invisible, and buttons that will keep your clothing always mended, and towers that those of sufficient heritage can step from one to another through space.  Towers that in legend were raised in a day and a night by one magician.

And there are those in the government who practise Careful Magics.  Ritual designed with utmost care, and detail, and cast by many so that the tiny little bits of magic left, or small springs of it here and there, can be stretched out to do things.

But there are bolder sorts, Sword Adepts who want to find the secret to the old days.  And among the Ten Tribes are those who think that giving up the magic of their ancestors was a mistake even back then, and now that the Phoenix Empire crumbles, its clearly a bad idea.  Especially as many of the Empire lack strength of character or courage.

=Backstory: Yes, the Talon Valley was created by one man.  The Towers with their multihued melted ice cream looks were each created by a different man, and not all at one time.

Phoenix Magic is created by the magician willingly embracing the chance of death, and being willing to change and grow in the process.  This gives him a great surge of power, if he survives, and it then tails off down fairly rapidly over time, and with each casting of a spell too.  Leaving him eventually an empty battery that needs a recharge.

This magic represents the transformative power of capitalism and the Schumpeterian cycle of destruction and creation.

And the Phoenix Empire is a militaristic expansionistic homogenizing capitalism.  McDonalds in Paris and Moscow.

But the magicians go too far when they bind the Dragon of Ancient Days.  He represents the ancient moral truths, and they think they can go beyond this.  They can't.  In their pride they become cowardly, and without courage, they're not good mages anymore.

And things keep drifting downward for centuries.  The string of cities which goes down the center of the Talon Valley is by the time you get into the Fingers, more Tribal than Imperial.

The Ten Tribes magics are going to represent their distinct cultures.  I don't have much about that.

Anyone can learn any magic, but its easier for a Pure Red to learn Phoenix than for a Tribesman to learn Phoenix Magic, and so it goes with the other magics.  A Pure Red will have a hard time with any of the variants of Tribe Magic.

This needs more fleshing out for the Tribes.  I'd say some of the Tribes have been destroyed or smushed together or assimilated mostly into the lead gov't structure.

And the Earthquakes are the Dragon trying to get loose.

Feel free to add to this.

And the verser, well, he could really join any side.

Hey, thanks for the info and the setting.

Hmm. On examination of the notes there, assuming you don't have more notes, if I had to guess as to why it flopped, I'd think that it is that the setting is both busy and underdeveloped. It's a big world with lots of concepts to parse through and a lot of big ideas, and its hard to place the character into that world.

If I were to try to run that world, I think I would do so entirely on the local level to begin. The character verses in to a single, specific tribe which is encountering a local problem of some kind. Perhaps a battle with another tribe. The verser gets to know this tribe, and the magic of this tribe, and only gradually do they realize that other tribes have different magics. Or they verse into a big city at the heart of the empire, where they are exposed to the Red Magic and the Careful Magic, but only hear distant rumors of the Tribal Magics. As they learn about the world, they realize that the core of magic in this world is that "magic is what you make it become, through effort and doing what works". It's, well, capitalist. These themes of yours I think are IDEALLY suited for stories with a smaller scale and a moderate scope for the consequences.

I think what I'd do with this world concept is divide it into The World Of The Phoenix Rising and the World Of The Phoenix Dying. The versers explore the world and get to know about it during a time of relative peace in the Rising variant, as the conflicts are dying down and stability is beginning to set in as the empire is forged. There are some conflicts still on the outermost lands. Meanwhile, the versers arrive in the middle of grand conflicts with a heavy scope in the other variant, as the empire is dying. Use the first variant to generate interest in and player attachment to the setting and its complexities (and incidentally to help inspire the GM to add more things to the setting as they see it play out), and use the second variant to tell the far reaching story. You might even cause the players to try to "fix" the first world to "prevent" the second.

Most notably, writing it this way draws a heavy underline on the transformation theme and the cycle of civilization theme. Which I assume is a goal.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Wed 15 June 2022.

When I first wrote of this idea, I was firmly on the side of the Phoenix Lords.  But now I wonder.

In one of my books, the hero explicitly rejects creating an Empire of Good to defeat the Undead.  He insteads creates a Coalition of Equals with him as First Among Equals.

An Empire frequently needs to be Tolerant and Diverse.  And that can be a problem.

Also, an Empire usually starts with a higher grade of people, and a higher trust and absorbing others into it pollutes this.  Not only does the Empire change other cultures, but it itself changes.

Let's say the Nation of Light Elves who live in Treedale takes over the Barbarous Human Tribes who live on the Wide Plains and who worship gods of Justice (yay), and Strength (ok), and the Slaughter of One's Enemies (bad).  Now the Light Elves worship Mother Tree who is Good.  And they don't want to just genocide the Humans.  And they know that some of the Humans will, if pushed too hard, revolt.  And now we have the Empire of Light which sounds great, but now the Elves have to publically accept the worship of the God of Strength, and they can't trust everyone in their forests the way they u sed to be able too.

Maybe the Elves would have been better off putting up a magic barrier, and sending missionaries to the barbaric Humans.

And what if several centuries later, the elites of the Elves have used the new, poor Human workers to enrich themselves, and the Elven warrior classes have had major dieoffs cause of battle with Human rebels.  And the Elven elites have taken up worship in secret of the God of Slaughter.

And then they tell everyone in the supposed Empire of Light that 'we need to go and attack the Nation of Gnomes cuz they be evil.'?

At this point, the verser arrives and sees a weeping Elven woman chained to a massive tree that seems to pierce the clouds.  Naturally, he investigates, and finds this is Mother Tree, and the evils of her people have chained her and her tree, and if only the verser can solve each of the Ten Evils will she be fully freed, and the Light Elves restored.  And if not, the Light Elves will become Drow, and be banished from the light of the Sun.  But if the verser can solve an evil, she will lose one of her chains, and be able to offer more help, and so on until she is free, or the God of Slaughter who hates all elves, even those who worship him, is able to cause the massive volcanoes to explode and wipe out Treedale.  Already there are volcanoes rising, some small and active, others large and just waking up.

Would need a list of the Ten Evils, and how to resolve them (usually public notification and capture and punishment of those responsible).

1. Prince X was a reformer, and war captain, and his troop of 200 was ambushed and killed, supposedly by lucky Humans.  Actually, other Elves led the Humans.  Over a hundred years ago.
2. End of the War Tax: A la the Roman Empire....the senators vote for war, tax the locals, and provide loans to the locals, win the war, take the war spoils for themselves, and the locals still have to pay the loans back.
3. Restore the lands due the warriors which were taken by loans forced on them.
4. Restore the ancient custom that all Elven warriors must be able to string a great bow, and shoot a target four times at two hundred yards in less than a minute.  No more 'waivers' for politically connected sorts, or too old sorts.  If you can't make the shot, you're out of the Elven Army even if you're the General and your father is the Leader of the Elven Council.
5. Restore the ancient custom of Justice being done in an open pasture from noon to afternoon with all being able to attend.  No more courts at night.  No more secret courts.

Now, its likely the best way to do this is to make metaphors for these.  Or at least some of them.  I have to admit so far this is heavily political, which might be what the verser wants.  Or you could have some sort of magical construct that needs to be defeated like the Tax Beast which wanders about demanding money.

Indeed. Centralization causes degradation. IMO a slightly better way of going about running an empire is the concept of the puppet state. In a direct master-puppet relationship, with closed immigration, you avoid some of these problems, although not all of them, especially since following generations are unlikely to understand the need to maintain the relationship in that state unless the empire is practicing extensive citizen propaganda - which carries many, many risks and costs of its own that nullify the benefits.



I think that making it heavily political may alienate some players from walking the story as you intended, but that too could be interesting. What if the verser chooses not to help defeat the Ten Evils because they do not see them as truly evil, and instead they seek to find a way to defeat the God Of Slaughter instead? Perhaps they go on an epic journey to find the Mirror Of Sealing as well as the Orb Of Otherworlds so that they can lock the God Of Slaughter away in a sub-universe. But to do this, they have to manifest the God Of Slaughter in corporeal form, so they need to infiltrate the Cult Of Slaughter and convince or coerce the members to use a powerful ritual spell to manifest the God Of Slaughter in this world. Then, if the verser manages it all, they can seal away the dire influence on the world that has led it down this dark path, and guide the world back to whatever political ideology they think is better than the one that defeats the Ten Evils.

If the verser did that, then have him come back a thousand years later to the same world, but the Magic bias has dipped by a lot.  No longer can gods manifest, and so the Mother Tree and the Slaughterer in his subuniverse are unable to come back.

Without the magic of Slaughter and Mother Tree, the use of magic declined.  Now both are minority religions with the Gods of Justice and Strength being dominant, but not with them being able to manifest.

There is still magic, but its a lot lower grade stuff.

The Empire went on to conquer the Gnomes and the Halflings, but when they tried to take on the Dwarves they got their teeth handed to them.  Over the course of the next two hundred years, several civil wars in the Empire drained strength, and then the Gnomes took over the Empire but they didn't really know how to run the place, and things fell apart over fifty years.  Two hundred years later, and the Empire is a distant but glorious memory.

Tales of the Verser getting the Slaughterer locked away are a source of conflict, a proxy for greater concerns.  Those who believe the tales, believe in the Return of the Gods to rescue them.  Those who disdain the Verser's tale want to trust the rising power of science and trade which is recovering after its near total collapse after the Fall of the Empire of Light.

I'm using as a partial model, the Roman Empire which ran into the Germans, and then fell.

That all sounds amazing. Man, now I want to play in that story. XD

I wrote up some useful stuff. MJ Young worked with me to write up an older version based on my experience with HEMA, but I've polished and rewritten the skills while incorporating them into my newer character sheet for my home game. This is a complete martial art writeup for German Longsword Style, with the five Master Strikes of the Discipline included. Perhaps they will be useful to you guys?

Deutsche Schule: Kunst Des Fechtens Style.
Skill Modifier: +0.
Bias: Body 7@1.
Slow Aggressive Weapon-Using: RF 1, Damage Category +1 (the same +1DC included in all Basic Style skills), Chance To Avoid +10 SM, Chance To Strike +15 SM, Effective Roll For Damage Dealt +10 SM, Effective Roll For Damage Received -0 SM. Weapons: Large Knives, Large Swords, Polearms, Staffs.

Master Strike: Krumphau.
Skill Modifier: -20.
Execution: Perform attacks using a weapon. Usable only while in Deutsche Schule: Kunst Des Fechtens Style.
Effect: Standard attack at DC=As Weapon And Style with additional Defense at RS+20=SM.
Activation: RF 1.
This is a low ascending strike that incorporates horizontal shifts during the strike to knock aside the enemy's weapon while continuing on, making a strike able to hit the foe even through their active guard while canceling the foe's attack. Whether the attack hits or not, this skill counts as a Parry: Absolute Type with the designated Defense effect at the same time.

Master Strike: Schielhau.
Skill Modifier: -10.
Execution: Perform attacks using a weapon. Usable only while in Deutsche Schule: Kunst Des Fechtens Style.
Effect: Standard attack at DC=As Weapon And Style; on a miss due to a foe's defensive skill success, second attack roll is made at SM +20 as a Disarm Anti-Attack against the foe's defense success.
Activation: RF 1.
This is a high descending strike that incorporates footwork and angle adjustments during the strike to evade both enemy offense and defense, making a strike able to hit the foe even through their active guard while canceling their own attack and potentially disarming them with a twisting retreat. If the defender fully parries or blocks the strike with a piece of equipment, the move is likely to Disarm the foe. If the initial attack misses due to such a defense, make a second attack roll with +20 SM and compare it to the successful defense roll of the target. If this Disarm roll beats the defense roll, the foe is Disarmed. This skill cannot both deal Damage and cause a Disarm.

Master Strike: Schietelhau.
Skill Modifier: -20.
Bias: Body 7@3.
Execution: Perform attacks using a weapon. Usable only while in Deutsche Schule: Kunst Des Fechtens Style.
Effect: Damage at DC +2. Note that more than two category increases aren't normally allowed, the GM has the rules on what to do when this happens.
Activation: RF 1.
A high descending strike which strikes directly at the opponent's skull with immense power if it hits. Importantly, the hands remain high and the user remains in a high guard for the entire duration of the strike. This attack is hard to land successfully, but does not expose the user to increased danger of counterattack.

Master Strike: Zornhau.
Skill Modifier: +0.
Execution: Perform attacks using a weapon. Usable only while in Deutsche Schule: Kunst Des Fechtens Style.
Effect: Damage at DC=Base+1.
Activation: RF 1.
A high descending diagonal cut which strikes with high power if it hits. It incorporates a forward thrust at the end if the attacker can step in, increasing the odds of a successful strike. The user retreats into a forward guard immediately after the strike with nearly no time loss.

Master Strike: Zwerchau.
Skill Modifier: -20.
Execution: Perform attacks using a weapon. Usable only while in Deutsche Schule: Kunst Des Fechtens Style.
Effect: Standard attack at DC=As Weapon And Style and Anti-Attack RS=Achieved.
Activation: Instant (Consumes RF 1 but is Taken Out-Of-Turn Order, using the next attack the character has available).
This is a high crosswise strike, performed from the Ochs position or initially ascending from the Langort position. The user strikes while making a sideways step in order to parry an incoming attack with the same motion, while initiating an attack at the head. The intent is for the parry to land on one part of the blade while the attack lands on the opponent at the same time. This move is very versatile and tricksome, able to be repeated multiple times by swapping sides in order to pressure the opponent, and other attacks can be unleashed in the middle of a Zwerchau sequence with little difficulty. This attack is so swift it is made Out-Of-Turn Order, during an attack made by the target opponent. When a Zwerchau attack is made, the opponent's attack is canceled if that attack's RS does not exceed this attack’s RS. On a tie, both the Zwerchau hits and the opponent's attack hits.

Hope this proves useful for y'all.

In reply to Fenix (msg # 14):

I'm working on a novel with MJ, his tenth Multiverser novel, and we intend to have a Martial Arts tournameant in it, inspired by the Van Damme movie Bloodsport.  I think I just found one of the martial art styles in the tournameant.  Thanks.

Do you mind if I call the alien race that uses it the Fenix?

In reply to Eric (msg # 15):

I'd be honored. Go right ahead. :)

In reply to Eric (msg # 15):

There is a tabletop game setting called Legends Of The Wulin which I intend to send my players to periodically. It has a complex magic system involving eight types of magic energy (Wood, Metal, Air, Water, Fire, Demon, Enlightenment, Void, and Untyped) as well as around fourteen major martial arts schools for "external combat" (Body skills) and another eleven for "internal combat" (magic skills), plus more styles of both types from fan sources and an older edition and stuff. I periodically convert more of these styles as I work on prepping the setting. Would you like me to in future share the stuff I come up with for that, too? It is especially useful if you are using an oriental theme; some names of styles follow to give you an idea of what to expect.

Blossom Harvest Style: A heavy club or unarmed combat style which makes the user damage-resistant and hit hard. This style is uncomplicated, and is particularly good at overcoming trickier and more elaborate styles, overwhelming them with simple, honest force.
Fox Spirit Song: A wood-magic style that makes the user tricksome and hard to defeat, using illusions to allow their strikes to land true and befuddling foes.
Nine Sun Birds: A fire-magic style that makes the user incredibly fast, so fast it is said that a master of the style can cross the entirety of Shen Zhou nine times for every once the sun crosses it.
Ravenous Wings: A predatory style that takes advantage of momentary weakness to strike home with abrupt and terrible force. Uses paired weapons, thrown weapons, or unexpected unarmed maneuvers to swiftly end a foe that is already weakened, and baits foes into weakening themselves through sadistic strikes at weak points and evasive maneuvers.

There is a lot more of that.

Actually, on that topic, I could use some advice. How would you handle the conversion of the following game concept?

"Besides your basic statistics, External Kung Fu styles also
have qualities to them which serve as the basis for describing
what your actions look like. Each style specifies what it’s like
or how it works.
It also specifies what it “Laughs at”, which are the things
the style is specifically strong against.
The things a style “Fears” in contrast are those things
which the style fares poorly against. You can use these things
as the basis to improvise details about your style, although
it also works as a generic catch-all for the various more
mundane techniques the style is comprised of. Weapons also
have similar descriptive qualities to them.
Whenever you make an opposed roll in combat (i.e. an
attack or a defense) you’re encouraged to describe what your
action looks like and what you actually do. Although it’s
sufficient for the rules to simply state your final Strike result,
it doesn’t conjure up a clear mental picture. But there’s no
need to get overly dramatic and wax lyrical about the exact
scents and sounds of the moment. Instead, you have an
opportunity to exploit real tactical advantages here.
If your description plays to the strengths (what it laughs
at) of your style or the qualities of your weapon, you get a
+5 bonus to your check (or checks, if your single roll covers
multiple actions). If your description exploits weaknesses
(what if fears) inherent to your opponent’s style or weapon,
you also get a +5 bonus. These bonuses stack so if you
exploit both, you then have a total +10 bonus!
You can use not just your own qualities to exploit
weaknesses but may also freely use stunts and descriptions to
claim these bonuses, subject to the approval of the Sage. Say
for example you know your opponent’s style is weak against
being “contained” but there’s nothing in your own arsenal
that fits the bill. No matter! Perhaps you can force or lure
your opponent into a narrow alley or a crowded marketplace.
That would justify a marked disadvantage for your opponent
and thus you can claim the bonus.
Using creative descriptions the Laughs and Fear labels
can be applied not only to External Kung Fu Styles but to any
opposed roll, and even for rolls that affect the environment,
granting appropriate bonuses and penalties with the Sage
approval.
If you want to determine what things your opponent’s
style laughs at or fears, you could take some pointers from
somebody familiar with it.
But a more immediate way to study a character’s fighting
technique is by making a Tactics check. You can do this once
per round if you’re witnessing the combat, or as a minor action
on the initiative roll if you’re also busy fighting. On a successful
roll, the Sage must reveal to you the style’s description, the
things the style laughs at, or the things the style fears.

Example:
Bright Snow is locked in a duel to the death against the
horribly ugly assassin known only as Centipede, who waited in
ambush in her luxurious room at the inn. She has figured out that
his style fears being overwhelmed, but what can she possibly do
on her own? Thinking quickly, she picks up the large mirror in
the corner of the room and flings it at her assailant like an oversized dart. But it’s a feint! Rushing forward and slashing wildly,
she fragments the mirror and scatters reflective shards in all
directions. Momentarily confused, it looks to Centipede as if
he’s surrounded by dozens of Bright Snows!
The Wulin Sage allows her to exploit his weakness this way,
granting her the +5 bonus. He also decides that Centipede
would be best served by Dodging this attack, leaping out of the
cloud of mirror-glass instead of trying to parry a sword that
seems to wink in and out of existence all around him.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean Bright Snow will
hit. Centipede is still allowed a defense roll and a description
of his own…"