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Amiel
2007-11-16, 04:53 AM
Are humans merely terrestrial creatures? Beyond the solar system, beyond even the Milky Way, in the insurmountably vast universe, parallel strains of humanity have evolved and flourished.

Planets, some devoid of life, others teeming with an array of species orbit massive suns, themselves caught in the vector of galaxies. Humans are not alone here, other races too share the abundance, or sometimes lack thereof.

The future has come to these civilisations, for good or ill. Colossal transporter ships seed more planets, while agile Fury class fighters vigorously defend their homeworlds. Cybernetic enhancements and biomechanical upgrades are freely available to those wealthy enough to afford them.
There is a dark side, crime on many worlds is rampant, on some it has progressed beyond endemic. Brought upon by crushing poverty and draconian rule, these inhabitants wallow in the filth and despair of existence. Wars have extinguished entire peoples. Plagues and diseases have wiped out many more.

In the midst of all this, these races have ceased to become afraid. Desensitised to the point of extremity, they have ceased to know fear. Calamity to those "lucky" enough.
For the supernatural is real, a tangible, alive thing. Demons sow discord and devils damn. Evil gods demand worship. Angels and benevolent deities strive to help in any way they can. Hell is very real.

Curiously, as a remnant of past overdeific might, a phenomenon known as the Iscariot or Sicarius Restrictive greatly limits fiendish incursions or celestial benevolence. Fiends have found a loophole, possessing races so as to liberally indulge in vice and sin, damning their souls for eternity. Angels influence those who have yet the spark of goodness in dreams and visions.

The winds of change are on the horizon...technologies and spells guarding the races are failing, protective sigils are crumbling into so much dust and ash. An epic spell has reversed the inability to feel fear, magnifying the emotion tenfold.

One thousand years has passed, like quicksand in the hourglass, fiends and other nasties have began to walk the worlds again...


Future Shock (placeholder) is the new campaign setting universe from AIM, advanced imagination; mine.
It is a marriage of the futuristic with the supernatural, the future with fantasy. So, while pulse guns and rail guns exist, so too do weapon schools and "archaic" weapons. You'll see clerics and wizards rubbing shoulders with technoclasts and hackers.
Entire galaxies will be involved, so you'll see many races, as well as variant breeds of humanity.
Different forms of government, the various -cracies will be represented, ie the Spiryondy Empire with the Ryond Throneworld as its capital.
Alliances exist between different worlds, with diplomacy playing an important part in proceedings.
Also involved will be cryptids (ie, cryptozoology), demons, devils, angels, etc. As well as urban legends, folklore, ghosts, hauntings, and the like.

Roughly 40% of the worlds are criminal "underworlds," with crime lords at the top echelon. Most (92%) of the populace are unaware of fiendish possession or fiends amongst them; a few illuminated ones (researchers into the occult) have written books on such esoteric subjects.
A few organisations, shrouded in secrecy, exist to battle, exorcise and terminate fiends and assist and work alongside angels.
The "big bads" aren't merely confined to the likes of demons and devils, some aliens races can be/are worse.



The XX

Based on the world of Novus Lucia, The secretive XX or 20, are a private, almost philanthropic organisation dedicated to the censure and extinction of fiends.

Originally founded as the Knights of the Rose Cross ten thousand years ago during an event lost to memory, the organisation has survived numerous attempts to destabilise it and tumultuous powerplays.

The members of the organisation rigorously and diligently adhere to the principle "that which does not kill me only makes me stronger." It is unfortunate though oddly fitting that its rank and file are composed of those who have suffered terribly in some way, mostly if not entirely because of fiends.

Having witnessed the true nature and full extent of the horror of these fiends first hand, most of these individuals have become emotionally deadened. Most if not all will cry, though without remorse and unflinching, as they exorcise the world of demons, devils and the foul.

The title of the organisation refers to the sections or departments that comprise it and the individuals that make up the ruling council.
There are 20 departments, with three each dedicated to combating the three fiendish "races." Raw recruits and those yet inexperienced are naturally present in the lower tiers, with the progressively more powerful in the higher.
One substantially larger section is devoted entirely to reconnaissance, information gathering and digestion of facts, while another is devoted to surveillance and monitoring.
One more is devoted to procurement and manufacture of arms.
Another is the research and experimental division.

The remaining seven divisions are unknown to the rank and file and kept, and continues to be kept, in confidence. It is whispered that the ruling council makes up the final department.

The members willingly work effectively together and they are usually briefed in depth. It is with a confidence in their abilities and desire to work well that enables and empowers the ruling council to make that decision.

The organisation seeks to help the general populace as well as it can, though because of its organised "lawlessness," fraternising with the order is frowned upon by governments. The order has also made an enemy and rival in the Most High church sanctioned ordos.

While there are members of faith in The XX, most if not all prefer the hard steel of an enchanted longsword or the solid comfort of a rapid fire rail gun. It is because of this lack of faith and its willingness to associate with the dirt of society that has made the ordos look upon it with a mixture of pity and disgust.

The secretive nature of the order allows to it to maneuver behind enemy lines and leave little trace of its presence. This is opposition and contrast to the ordos, who seek out heretics, bringing the wrath of the inquisition down upon them.

The XX make liberal use of genetic, technological or biomechanical enhancements, with little to no visual difference. As a consequence, its members are able to effectively deal with fiends; without such an obvious advantage, thousands of souls would have already been lost.

Little is known of one of its powerful members. A sybarite, he is a descendant of the exceedingly powerful maletherions.

Amiel
2007-11-16, 04:57 AM
The Pulse

To those willing enough, the internet is able to be perceived as a reality construct. Marketed as a cybernetic upgrade, the Pulse allows the everyday individual to directly imprint a computer unto his or her brain and traverse cyberspace. It has become exceedingly popular, as it allows a direct wetware-cyberware interface and enables the person to manifest a physical entity within the virtual world and interact with the contents of the internet and with others.

Would it be so that things are so simple. The surgery required to get the implant is curiously inexpensive. With minimal side- and after-effects, millions have flocked to get it implanted, eager to explore and savor the physical delights of the internets.

However, not all is as it seems. To ensure continuation, the integrity and maintenance of the enhancement, consumers are required to consume quantities of the expensive food Cyblex. Essentially a drug, Cyblex forces total addiction upon the consumer, and soon the consumer is focused totally upon the internet. Inevitably, as Cyblex is not a real food and contains no nutritional value, death occurs.

Though such is often a slow, agonising process; the consumer does not feel any physical pain from wasting, muscular dystrophy, etc as the mind is fully fixated upon experiencing cyberspace. Cyblex also prolongs the longevity of the consumer to beyond what would normally be a healthy lifespan. Such are the dark delights of the future.