Crucible of Realms

Hosts: Jim, Jon & Kent

Guest: Reece Ambrose

We take an alternate look at World War II, imagining a world in which the Nazis found a mystical artifact that would lead them to conquer Europe and change the face of global politics forever.

 

00:00 Tomfoolery

00:36 Intro

02:15 Nazis

03:00 Determining Basics

05:07 World War II

06:27 Deciding Era & Society

07:27 American Civil War

07:59 Atomic Bomb

08:25 Pearl Harbor

10:00 Determining Rules & History

10:12 Rome / Carthage / Rome vs Carthage

11:18 Hiroshima / Nagasaki

11:55 Hermetic Magic

13:46 Vulcan / Neptune

14:06 Hermes Trismegistus / Hermes / Thoth

14:22 Alchemy / Astrology / Theurgy

14:38 Thule Society

15:18 Axis / Allies / Axis vs Allies

16:24 Afrika Korps / Virgil

19:36 Stormtrooper

19:52 Mars

20:07 Fifth Column

21:16 Sodom & Gomorrah

21:32 Poseidon / The Kraken / Hermann Göring24:08 Hadrian's Wall

24:26 Winston Churchill

26:09 Picts

28:55 Navajo / Code Talkers

29:42 Determining Locations / Machu Picchu

29:54 Navajo Cliff Dwellings / Area 51

30:10 Trinity / Alomogordo

30:56 Heinrich Schliemann / Troy

31:28 Gibraltar / Pillars of Hercules

31:56 Victoria Falls / Niagara Falls / Zambezi

32:27 Mount Fuji / Ulan Bator / Genghis Khan

32:53 Gobi Desert / Mount Everest / Taroko Gorge

33:15 Dreamtime

34:31 Fighting Monks

35:52 Determining Factions

38:21 Albert Einstein

40:05 Pineapple Grenade

44:14 Imperial Japan / Communism

47:34 Chinese Gunpowder

48:03 Panacea / Elixir Vitae

49:31 KGB

50:15 Cheka / Vladimir Lenin / NKGB

50:33 Political Directorate (OGPU) / Joseph Stalin

53:20 Rwandan Genocide 53:54 Vodoun (Voodoo)

55:24 Grigori Rasputin / Bolshevik

55:50 Naming Groups

56:02 Manhattan Project

58:13 Dynasty

58:57 Naming the Setting

59:27 3rd Reich

60:27 Conclusion & Outro
DOWNLOAD EPISODE 7 - NEPTUNE'S REICH

Hosts: Jim, Jon & Kent

Guest: Gregory Weir of Ludus Novus

We travel out into the depths of space to create a science fiction setting in which humanity has transcended physical needs. Factions within this utopian society wish to bring the joy of this state of being to others - whether they want it or not. 

00:00 Warning
00:38 Tomfoolery
01:06 Introduction
02:10 Ludus Novus
02:25 Listener Feedback
02:39 Happy Jack's RPG Podcast
03:26 Deciding Genre & Concepts
03:38 Space / The Final Frontier
04:00 Star Trek / Star Wars
04:58 Deciding Era & Tech Level
07:01 Singularity
09:05 Deciding Scale & Location
09:53 Luddites
14:03 Detailing Civilizations
15:11 The MCP
16:32 The Borg
21:14 Warp Drive
24:23 Dyson Sphere
26:18 Frankenstein / Cyborg
27:31 Green Women
29:23 Red Queen / Alice
29:58 William Shatner
31:38 Babylon 5 / Minbari
34:40 Freemarket
36:00 The Computer Is Your Friend
36:57 Facebook
43:04 Developing Group Structures
43:27 Mass Driver
43:50 Vogons
45:33 James Bond / M / Q
45:55 John le Carre
47:33 Farscape / Moya
48:42 "This Concludes Our Broadcast Day..."
50:28 Babylon 5 (Station)
51:20 Spawning
52:57 Orson Welles / Unicron
53:18 Naming Civilizations
55:11 Naming Entities & Locations
57:02 Vulcan / Haphaestus / John Milton
57:49 Return-to-zero
58:52 Naming the Setting
59:31 Conclusion & Outro

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 6 - UTOPIA HORIZON

Hosts: Jim, Jon & Kent

We tackle the Superhero, Steampunk and Historical Fiction genres all at once by leaping into a world in which the Civil War is being fought not only with armies, but with strange technology and stranger heroes. Find it in the wiki here.

Recommendations: Jon recommends World War Z by Max Brooks. Jim recommends Matthew Wayne Selznick's World Building series.

00:00 Tomfoolery

00:22 Mr. Rogers / HAL 9000

00:55 Introduction

01:32 Recommendations / World War Z

03:10 Matthew Wayne Selznick

04:07 Deciding Genre

04:38 DC / Marvel

05:09 The New Gods

05:16 Green Lantern / Superman / The Flash

05:24 Thor / The Incredible Hulk / The Silver Surfer / X-Men

06:10 Deciding Superhero Power Level & Geographic Scale

07:15 Gambit (Remy LeBeau) / Rogue

07:33 The Civil War

08:34 Hat with Gears

09:27 Confederate Ironclads / Submarines

10:34 Washington, D.C. / Richmond, VA

11:20 Creating Characters

12:44 Kentucky Fried Chicken / Colonel Sanders

13:27 Snow Crash

13:45 Captain America / Golden Age of Comics

14:13 Professor X

15:23 Dime Novel

15:46 Battle Hymn of the Republic

17:16 Batman

17:42 D&D / Cavalier / The Cavalier

18:25 Colt Dragoon

18:55 Sergeant Major

20:08 Benjamin Franklin

20:19 Q / Futurama

21:28 Fu Manchu

22:20 Abraham Lincoln / Pinkerton Detective Agency

22:41 Allan Pinkerton / Secret Service

23:22 Locations

23:52 Georgetown, SC

24:09 Tuskegee Airmen

24:28 Deadlands 

31:13 S.H.I.E.L.D.

32:28 Tuskegee, AL

34:09 Percy Jackson / Ares

34:54 Poseidon

35:16 Leonidas / Menelaus

35:46 Odysseus

36:08 Ulysses S. Grant

36:20 Captain Nemo

38:44 Geomancy

39:58 Acadians

42:11 Joan of Arc

43:30 Catching Up on Names

45:05 Gone With the Wind / Scarlett O'Hara / Vivien Leigh

46:15 Geomancers

46:44 Butte

47:32 Ursa Major

49:18 Highlander

50:18 Conclusion & Outro

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 5 - THE CIVIL ENGAGEMENT

Hosts: Jim, Jon & Kent

It is the middle of the 1800's and out in the Oregon Territory, as the British and American invaders continue to defile the lands of the Nez Perce and argue heatedly over which side will claim the area, dark forces from a demonic realm also seek to take the land in fulfillment of their own twisted Manifest Destiny. WARNING: This episode contains Googling. Lots and lots of Googling. Find it in the wiki here.

00:00 Tomfoolery

00:21 Introduction

01:00 Deciding a Genre

01:04 Cowboys & Aliens

01:20 Weird Western

01:28 Deadlands

02:51 The Proposition

03:39 Quigley Down Under

04:00 Deciding a Scale

06:10 Washington State

06:19 Rain Shadow Effect

06:59 Lewis & Clark

07:15 Colville Reservation

07:35 Eastern Washington Wiki Page

08:25 Palouse Hills

09:05 Lake Missoula / The Channeled Scablands

11:00 Noah's Ark13:38 Oregon Territory

14:03 Niagara Falls / Missoula Floods

15:40 Salishan / Sahaptin / Shoshone

17:21 54-40 or Fight! / Captain George Vancouver

17:42 Vancouver, Canada

17:52 Chinese Explorers

18:41 Deciding the Time Period

19:10 Oregon Boundary Dispute

19:21 Manifest Destiny

19:36 James K. Polk

20:55 Walla Walla

21:18 Ft. Colville

21:25 Ft. Okanogan / Ft. Nez Perces21:58 Snake River / Columbia River / Willamette Valley

22:22 Astoria

23:13 Northwest Company

23:22 Kennewick

23:38 Pasco

24:47 Nez Perce

25:07 Oregon Treaty

25:12 Hudson's Bay Company 25:30 Origin of the Nez Perce

27:36 Weyekin

29:04 Creating Groups

29:33 Spiritualism

36:54 Blackwater

37:28 British Military

39:18 Chief Looking Glass

39:28 Provisional Government of Oregon

41:54 The Heart of the Monster

42:29 Nez Perce National Historic Park

42:42 Heart of the Beast: a Novel

42:44 Thomas Simpson / Sir George Simpson

47:14 Ophidian

48:07 Dr. John McLoughlin

48:29 Hell Gate

49:06 James Sinclair

50:31 Champoeg

52:25 Religious Conflict in the Setting

54:20 Naming the Setting

55:49 Oregon Trail / The Oregon Trail

56:22 The Great Flood of 1862

58:22 Conclusion & Outro

58:39 "And there was much rejoicing." / Monty Python
DOWNLOAD EPISODE 4 - THE SCABLANDS

Hosts: Jim, Jon & Kent

In this episode we create the world of Aurelia, a distant ice planet. There, a mysterious and distant race of religious penitents carry out their holy obligation in repayment of their horrific crime. Find it in the wiki here.

Recommendation: Jon recommends "In Blackest Night," a story by Alan Moore from Tales of the Green Lantern Corp Annual Vol 1 # 3 (1987)

00:00 Tomfoolery / "Think of a number." / Pi

00:20 Introduction

01:28 Battlestar Galactica / Star Wars

01:56 Writing Prompt / Random Word Generator

02:33 Babylon 5

02:45 Setting the Scale

03:22 "Wrong!"

03:32 Theocracy

04:00 Star Trek

04:12 Alderaan

04:25 Inhabitants

04:33 Kaminoans (not Geonosians - sorry, our mistake!)

04:56 AI / Supermecha

05:33 UrSkeks / The Dark Crystal

06:10 Terraforming

12:18 Planetary Conditions / Geography

16:45 History

17:19 Utopia

20:24 Thri-Kreen

21:42 Geode

27:42 More Inhabitant Details

29:27 Younglings

29:50 George Lucas

31:31 Sects

36:53 Flagellant / Zealotry

41:00 Population Size (aka Fixing Our Math)

43:41 Vatican

54:44 Monsters

54:56 Roper

55:52 Bulette/Landshark

57:00 Naming

60:00 The Silence / Omega

61:31 Opus / Staff / Clef / Canon

62:04 Coda

62:40 Aureus / Staphylococcus Aureus

63:13 Aurelia

63:50 Recommendation / Green Lantern / Alan Moore / Rot Lop Fan / "In Blackest Night"

65:30 Conclusion & Outro
DOWNLOAD EPISODE 3 - AURELIA

Hosts: Jim, Jon & Kent

The focus of this episode is a dystopian future setting called the EarthTech Trials. Want a world with corporations controlling everything, cybernetics running rampant and popularity of web presence deciding government policy? This is it. Find it in the wiki here!

01:13 Introduction

02:00 World Concept

02:16 The Running Man

03:23 The Hunger Games

04:12 Orwellian

04:40 Deciding the Era

06:55 Dystopia / Media Influence

07:12 Max Headroom

07:37 Rupert Murdoch

07:57 McDonnell Douglas / McDonald's

08:13 Taco Bell

08:30 World War Corporation / War on the Web

08:56 Google / Facebook

09:30 Baidu

10:31 William Shatner's TekWar

11:16 Nike / Squad Combat / Paintball

11:39 How Things Changed

11:55 One World Government

13:40 Factions

14:06 Marshal Josip Broz Tito

16:27 Alien Threat Conspiracy

19:00 Setting the Level of Devastation

19:28 Earthborne Devastation

19:37 The Day After Tomorrow

20:29 48th Parallel

21:00 World Dome

22:52 Brain-Computer Interface

22:57 Transhumanism

23:50 Beyond the Fringe / "Civil War"

24:50 Faction Locations

26:51 Allegiance by Online Votes / Foursquare / +1

27:09 Technology

27:42 Naming Factions

28:32 Intel

30:19 Prime Numbers

31:22 Star Trek Aesthetic

32:18 The Games

32:23 The Olympics

34:59 The World Cup

35:37 Do You Like Movies About Gladiators?

36:18 Mechs

36:45 Apple

38:18 Nikola Tesla

38:30 Light Teleportation / Fiber Optics / Quantum Entanglement

39:32 Solar Mirrors

41:41 Corporate Structure

42:26 Virtual Baronies

45:22 Cult of Personality

45:29 Steve Jobs

46:15 Virgin Galactic

49:22 Naming Media Outlets

49:50 The Prime Directive

50:13 Madison Avenue

50:26 Important Locations

51:45 Ouroboros

52:22 The Phoenix

52:44 Fenghuang

55:30 Uluru

55:52 Casablanca

56:13 Tombstone, AZ

56:36 Deadlands

58:29 Conclusion & Outro

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 2 - THE EARTHTECH TRIALS

Hosts: Jim, Jon & Kent

In this first episode we create Aegis, a fantasy world dominated by the element of Air. Find it in the wiki here!

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 1 - AEGIS