Coming off of Power of Ten: Sama Rantha, the first novel about Sama, the main issue I had here is determing Sama’s Starting Point, i.e. her Level. She has just done huge meritorious deeds, she has participated in some extremely high level power leveling... but just sticking her into a new novel at that power level doesn’t work unless you’re talking superhero-level stuff, because Sama is indeed fantastically powerful at that point. I mean, I thought about it opening up with her in outer space, and having to run towards the sun to find some planets, a run that takes her most of a year...

Yeah, running from Pluto to Earth! And she could, by the rules, absolutely do it...

But no, introducing someone at that level of power directly into the universe she was going into would introduce all kinds of alarm bells at the Divine Level. Much too big a splash...

So, the character is coming in at Karma equal to the first novel’s starting point, with a couple buffs. It’s totally under the radar and easy to pass. She’ll be bled back her Karma every day, so she’ll Level up constantly, even if she doesn’t fight, which gives her time to go train if she wants to. More precisely, it allows her to RE-train, to better suit where she is. Like, Knowledge/Magical Beasts not so important anymore...

Everything magical she has will not function, or she will not use as is, in the case of her Tats. This is the Realm of the Warp Gods. Magically is inherently tied to the Warp here, and reacts very poorly to use by mortals. If you use Magic, you attract the attention of the Warp Gods, and in a very bad way. The only people who use Magic are Warp Sorcerors and Dark Priests, who are loathed.

The principal force of the setting will be Psionics, which meshes well with tech. This is a high tech future.

There will be many Warhammerish elements. Constant battle, foes from every side, merciless war, mankind under assault, the only gods are basically the bad ones. Oh, and an Emperor on his Crystal Throne. Vast history, lost secrets of science, corruption, the lot.

A lot of Judge Dredd at the street level. The law is harsh, uncompromising, and the average city dweller lives like shit. Those outside the city live even worse.

There’s going to be very clear Star Wars elements. The Coronal Knights are definitely similar in many ways. The Force isn’t going to be there (cause, you know, the Warp is), but psionics are going to be anything but uncommon.

There’s going to be Star Trek elements, and that’s going to come from Sama.

There’s going to be Lensman elements, because if you’re going to be radical, be radical! QX?

There’s going to be Mythos Elements, because there’s a hole in the Warp, and they can’t keep them out now. Since they can travel through time, if they are there at any time, they are there ALL the time...

There’ll be dystopian elements, because its got tons o’ grimdark. Mega-cities and Lawless Wastes for everyone!

The FTL and sublight modes of travel are my own invention!... when we get there.

Rules of the Realm of the Warped Gods

Magic corrupts, and embracing Magic corrupts absolutely. Psionics doesn’t draw on the Warp. That’s why they use it. However, the Warp reacts to psionics, and the Warped Gods are basically built off psychic resonance... Any native Good gods are so suppressed by the Warp Gods that they might as well not be there. Lawful, Chaotic, and Evil powers, on the other hand... While the tech is very, very high at the high end, it’s very low at the low end. As a grimdark setting, the disparity is pretty big. Many people don’t actually trust high science any more than working magic, because high science is soulless and as corrupt as magic. Without Alignments being powerful and the only afterlife being Oh We’re Screwed, people are free to be assholes and generally ignore the implications to their souls. With one glaring exception... Psionic rules are broadly based on 3.5 D&D psionics, some GURPS stuff, Warhammer psykers, superheroes, and ignored or modified where convenient. Levels are absolutely known, the jargon is part of everyday speech. Ditto psi pools, Stats, and powerpoints (PP). “How many times can you use this Level 1 one point psi ability?” will instantly tell you how many PP you have. From there it’s just deduction and measuring. The classes and rules for advancement have changed, and she’s going to have to find out just how. I.e. she doesn’t know everything. Oddly enough, people ARE intensely curious about psionics, and so basic information is readily available about it. Magic, not so much, and will likely get you shot. The phenomanon of ‘leveling up’ is absolutely known. The quantum increase in power is very obvious with the right tools and self-awareness. The Ceilings at Six and Ten are also widely known. Sevens and up are basically superhumans, after all. The fact you can’t understand REAL technology until Seven is very widely known. Renewal is absolutely known among psions and mages, and largely believed in elsewhere. Karma is understood to exist, but is ephemeral and very hard to measure. That it powers new Levels is accepted and analyzed tirelessly in hopes of chaining it for use. Most Renewals default to dawn, including the ‘natural’ Renewal. Only strange people pick other times. Power can come from genemods, cyborgs, power armor, psionics, and Warp mutations or alien infections and grafts. Chi isn’t on the table, and ki is basically unknown or considered ‘basic cheap psionics’. Soul Magic is naturally VERY dangerous to use, as your soul is basically waving and saying ‘Corrupt me! Corrupt me!’ Yes, people can be stronger, faster, and smarter than machines. That’s what Levels and Stats are all about, after all. Machines make getting those Stats a lot easier, however. Relying on machines means it’s hard to break Six, let alone Ten. Don’t have much spiritual growth when your understanding comes from a logic box, and your fighting skills from an attack program. Which if you’re a Three and a Black Skull Terminator is coming towards you, is cold comfort. The elite of society tend to be psionic. The dregs of society tend to be gene-modded and ‘impure’. The working class is frequently cybered to some extent. The Average Person never gets higher than Three in an NPC Class. Most ‘special’ people never reach Six. Only truly extraordinary people hit Seven or higher. Even when your population is in the billions, you just don’t stumble across groups of them. There is nothing currently stronger than the Warp Gods, but the Eternal Emperor sure gave it a go, and who knows what is outside the galaxy? There are now Stars in the Warp, and nobody knows what it means. No matter how much Karma you gained for destroying the stronghold of ultimate Evil, you can gain One Level, One Mastery Rank, One Skill Point and/or Hit Point (via training), One Feat (via Training), and one Racial Level per Renewal period. And of course, those rules might have changed... Gods can naturally break the rules.

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We Begin!

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