User:Cedric/One Realm

Imagine a single-realm multiverse. This page is to explore the concept and possibility of containing any convertable RPG (and RPG whose mechanics can be converted into present (or expanded) D&D mechanics) into a single universe for DMs to allow maximum freedom and exploration.

Challenges

One challenge for such a concept is how to make such a universe while holding the integrity of each individual universe. That is

One solution is to tax or demerit items from other universes (depending on which direction of time) they originate. A future item might be worth only 100gp in it's original setting, but brought into the present Age of FR might be worth 10,000gp. The DM can take a tax on this difference (ask the player for some of their gold pieces and keep in their own "purse" -- 9900gp in this case would be taken by the DM to have the item in the FR unimverse). From the other direction of time (the past), items are demerited such that an item that was worth 10gp in a Barbarian Age is now only worth 2cp in the present Age. These two dynamics should keeps the economy stable and prevent too many out-of-place items in the present Age ("Who will want to buy it?" for past items and "Who can possibly keep it?" for futuristic items). These mechanics, combined, should be sufficient for keeping things getting out-of-hand and chaotic.

Another solution is to create new dynamics that make the item alluring to others in the present setting. Thieves, for example, might steal a light saber from a Star Wars universe because the player was too inept to hold onto it. Such a futuristic item item probably has a strange appeal -- like a vortex -- to it, because none of the power holders (demi-gods, god/desses, etc.) of the present Age know what it is, and they THEMSELVES are drawn to understand it.

Question: Would the DM need to declare what their "home" universe is, in order to hold these dynamics? In the examples above, I implicitly kept FR as the home universe, but some DMs (loremasters, supervisors, whatever) might feel at home in some other universe and need to tax or demerit items in a different direction.

Another challenge is the issue of transference of alien races into another's system. An elf showing up, for example, might be seen by "customs officials" of a Blade Runner universe as simply body modifications or genetic modification. The DM can play up this confusion or some high-level "god" can resolve this within the game. A mega-tech droid transferring in the FR might stir the giants or dragons to come deal with "some wizard's" explorations into chronomancy (if there is, indeed, some god within FR that knows of such).

Each different RPG (especially if made by a different company) would need to be kept separately so as to preserve each product's unique environment and purpose. Therefore, each RPG would need their own "god", which was always implicit to DMs, I think, in order to keep the magic of each imaged universe, but now can be explicit.

Opportunities

The opportunity for such a concept is the greatness of an expanded universe, much like exploring other planets might be to a scientist -- all connected through laws of physics (the game mechanics). DMs wouldn't need to railroad players into a particular framework, yet it shouldn't be easy to find these "portals" (or whatever mechanism is imagined) to transfer into these other realms (requiing the DM to buy the new guidebooks for players to participate in. It might take a bit of imagination how an elf from the FR is going to interact in a Blade Runner universe, but it could (should) be possible.

The other opportunity is for Game Masters and the WotC to understand the full dynamics of how the gods hold various universes -- because they will need to learn as they combine them all.