Any era
Any era: an overview
Fantasy, the present day or science fiction: what a world's setting changes, and how big a world can be.
A world's setting
Every world is set in one of three: fantasy, the present day or science fiction. The setting is the world's map art, and the engine follows it, not only the storyteller's choice of words. The same map can be drawn as a parchment, a road atlas or a sector display, and what's on it, what things cost and how you cross it change with it. Engine
| Fantasy | Present day | Science fiction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| World map | Inked parchment | Road atlas: motorways, railways, airports | Sector display: contours, a grid, transit lines |
| Towns | Taverns, temples, keeps | Bars, diners, police precincts, hospitals, malls, stations | Cantinas, market decks, med-bays, docking bays, hab blocks |
| Money | The world's own coins | Dollars | Credits |
| Travel | On foot, riding, ship; counted in days | Car, bus, train, plane; counted in hours, with fares | Ground car, maglev, shuttle, jump ship |
| Phone | Off | A phone: texts and calls | A comm: texts and calls |
| How word gets round | Word of mouth, town to town | The news, posts and a Feed | The news, posts and a Feed |
| Fights | Blades, bows and spells | Guns, ammo, range and cover | Blasters and energy rifles, ammo, range and cover |
| Characters | Peoples, magic, classes | An occupation and its trade; usually no magic | Species, an occupation; usually no magic |
| Dungeons | Barrows, crypts, caves | Subway tunnels, storm sewers, dead malls, closed hospital wings | Derelict ships, reactor levels, hab rings, asteroid mines |
| Other worlds | Realms behind gates | None, unless the builder adds a realm behind a gate | Planets, moons and stations, reached by ship |
These are starting points, not locks. A builder can name their own money, change the ways of travel, turn the phone on in a fantasy world (a sending-stone, say) or off in a present-day one, and set how big the world is.
How big the world is
A world is one city, a country or a continent. The map is drawn the same at every size; what changes is how far apart its places are, so every distance, journey time and fare follows from the size. Engine
- One city. Each region is a district. Neighbourhoods are a few km apart, and crossing the whole city takes about an hour by car.
- A country. Each region is a province. Neighbouring towns are a short drive or a day's walk apart, and crossing the country is a long day by road.
- A continent. Each region is a country of its own, and crossing one takes days on foot or hours by car. Every world starts at this size.
In this section
- Cars, trains, planes and jump ships: how journeys are timed and paid for.
- The phone: contacts, texts, calls, kept agreements and sending money.
- News and the Feed: stories about what characters do, and posting.
- Guns and cover: fire modes, rounds, range, cover and fleeing.
- Characters and trades: occupations, skills, and worlds without magic.
- Towns, sites and dungeons: what's in a present-day or sci-fi town, on its map and under it.
- Planets, moons and stations: other worlds reached by ship, with their own truths.
- Building a present-day or sci-fi world: every Studio control behind this, for builders.