Earth-2 Anyone?

[Supreme]

I was just wondering if anyone ever ran or played in a game with a multiple Earths setting and how it played out.

[Darren Watts]

One of our longest-running epics in my home campaign involved an alternate Earth that had developed interdimensional travel and used it to conquer eight other earths (each with different histories; one was ruled by an Aztec Empire, another by a Communist US, etc.) and was now aiming at our own. The bad guys began by infiltrating our earth and learning all they could about how our history came out ("John Kennedy was President here, but Joe and Bobby weren't, hmm? Fascinating...") After visiting several of the alternate earths, our heroes eventually smashed the only functional transport device on Earth-Alpha, and their own government collapsed. Not before a villain from our Earth had gotten a look at how it worked, of course... dw

[Law Dog]

Heh. For a second there I was wondering why this wasn't over in the Star Hero section. I was thinking "Gee, Supreme, Earth 2 wasn't really a very good show to begin with, why would anybody want to run a campaign based on it." My bad.

 

I played in a dimension hopping GURPS mini-series in the mid 90's. It was fun. I believe was had 6 sessions and the campaign had a definite beginning, middle and end.

[Monolith]

In the past I have used Earth-Champions, Earth-Marvel, Earth-DC, Earth-IST, and Earth-Normal as being part of the same dimensional universe (as well as all the little sub-dimensions such as the Dark Dimension). So there was considerable crossover stories going from time to time. I have not decided if I am going to do a similar thing with Earth-Champions, Earth-SAS, and Earth-M&M yet. I am leaning toward going that route though rather than trying to have them all in the same world.

[Arthur]

I've taken a couple of groups of PCs (usually low-powered supers) and dumped them into a parallel Earth that had been conquered by an alien race like the Gorn, at about TL9 (GURPS reference). Pretty trite (Golden Age SF stuff), but those were some of my most memorable campaigns. Gave the players an entire world to retake. I usually had them make contact with the local underground human resistance.

[Hermit]

I have, and have used "Champions 3-D", which turned out to be fun. So yes, Parallel worlds are confirmed in my games. I plan to use some more. My favorite is Backworld.. simple switch, but always fun to watch PC reactions.

[Supreme]

Originally posted by Darren Watts

One of our longest-running epics in my home campaign involved an alternate Earth that had developed interdimensional travel and used it to conquer eight other earths (each with different histories; one was ruled by an Aztec Empire, another by a Communist US, etc.) and was now aiming at our own. The bad guys began by infiltrating our earth and learning all they could about how our history came out ("John Kennedy was President here, but Joe and Bobby weren't, hmm? Fascinating...") After visiting several of the alternate earths, our heroes eventually smashed the only functional transport device on Earth-Alpha, and their own government collapsed. Not before a villain from our Earth had gotten a look at how it worked, of course... dw

There was a very similar storyline in "Tom Strong" involving the Aztech (sic) Cross-Dimensional Empire. They have a massively powerful AI named Quetzcoatl-9 that Tom frees, in exchange for being freed himself.

 

You know, it occurs to me that if these alternate dimensions are created, as many stories stipulate, by the branching in time of certain pivotal events (i.e., in this timeline the Axis wins the war) then there would be one, true timeline from which everything else was derived from. It would be a dimension in which life evolved the earliest, either on Earth or not. Or maybe it would be the cardinal belief of the conquerors from that dimension. The basis for their manifest destiny. So the players wouldn't have to conquer the whole dimension to stop them. They'd just have to dig up contradictory evidence.

[Yogzilla]

A side adventure I set up for one of my PCs came together muh better than I could've hoped for. When he decided to test out his "Crossworlds" power, I had him end up in the universe of the Champions campaign I was in during college. I even got the GM of that game to run this adventure! Even better still, it gave me a chance to once again run my old supers character (Power Knight; as my tagline proudly displays his most memorable flub)!! It was great!!

 

-Yogzilla

[RDU Neil]

Parallel worlds are very important in my campaign. Originally, in high school, we had one campaign world. I created a new one in college with my new friends, which continues to this day. These two gaming continuities are parallel earths. Some characters have crossed over.

 

The Strikeforce book is it's own universe. I hope to have it updated by Allston one day, so I can return to that world.

 

I've had characters exploring the differences between "different dimensions" and "alternate universes" and it is a very important metaphysical concept in my world. A long running subplot through many different comics was that of a group dedicated to closing down the paths between universes, because the "bleed" between universes unleashed chaos and destruction. Their motives were good, their methods machiavellian at times. This also got into the idea of cleaning up "alternative time lines" and is there any difference between that and a "parallel universe."

 

It's fun to play with these concepts... though I would shy away from using published characters like Marvel, DC, etc. I prefer my own alternate earths.

[Supreme]

Originally posted by RDU Neil

Parallel worlds are very important in my campaign. Originally, in high school, we had one campaign world. I created a new one in college with my new friends, which continues to this day. These two gaming continuities are parallel earths. Some characters have crossed over.

 

The Strikeforce book is it's own universe. I hope to have it updated by Allston one day, so I can return to that world.

 

I've had characters exploring the differences between "different dimensions" and "alternate universes" and it is a very important metaphysical concept in my world. A long running subplot through many different comics was that of a group dedicated to closing down the paths between universes, because the "bleed" between universes unleashed chaos and destruction. Their motives were good, their methods machiavellian at times. This also got into the idea of cleaning up "alternative time lines" and is there any difference between that and a "parallel universe."

 

It's fun to play with these concepts... though I would shy away from using published characters like Marvel, DC, etc. I prefer my own alternate earths.

I wrote an article about this for Digital HERO called "Classic Bits." I defined three basic types of "Alternate Earths."

1. Divergent Earth.

This is an Earth created by some change in a historically significant event. This Earth exists in a timestream divergent from ours, which is effectively like a parallel dimension. The main difference is that, as time passes from the historical pivot-point, the Divergent Earths become increasingly different from each other.

Example: The Aztech Empire from "Tom Strong"

2. Parallel Earth.

This is an Earth that exists in another dimension. There isn't a specific historical pivot-point in which this Earth diverges from ours. Its a world where there may be differences that are minor, or radical. Either way the amount of difference is generally static and stays the same (hence their "parallel" nature).

Example: DC's pre-Crisis multiple Earths.

3. Other Earth.

This is another planet in the same universe that has had a highly similar, but never exact duplicate, of our Earth.

Example: Marvel's Counter-Earth from "Adam Warlock", Mirror Earth also from "Tom Strong", the Earth ruled by a modern Roman Empire from "Star Trek"

[TheEmerged]

Being an alternate history/counterfactual nut, I've explored several. I only tried basing one campaign heavily in the idea, but my players didn't respond to it too well.

[RDU Neil]

Originally posted by Supreme

I wrote an article about this for Digital HERO called "Classic Bits." I defined three basic types of "Alternate Earths."

1. Divergent Earth.

This is an Earth created by some change in a historically significant event. This Earth exists in a timestream divergent from ours, which is effectively like a parallel dimension. The main difference is that, as time passes from the historical pivot-point, the Divergent Earths become increasingly different from each other.

Example: The Aztech Empire from "Tom Strong"

2. Parallel Earth.

This is an Earth that exists in another dimension. There isn't a specific historical pivot-point in which this Earth diverges from ours. Its a world where there may be differences that are minor, or radical. Either way the amount of difference is generally static and stays the same (hence their "parallel" nature).

Example: DC's pre-Crisis multiple Earths.

3. Other Earth.

This is another planet in the same universe that has had a highly similar, but never exact duplicate, of our Earth.

Example: Marvel's Counter-Earth from "Adam Warlock", Mirror Earth also from "Tom Strong", the Earth ruled by a modern Roman Empire from "Star Trek"

 

This could get into a HUGE discussion. As short as I can make it...

 

Parallel Universe/Alternate Earth: The same. The "historical pivot point" is a matter of scale. Based on the "Many worlds" theory in physics... ALL possible universes exist, and each moment diverges into a "nearly infinite" number of possibilities, but once you are in your chosen position, the other universes cease to exist. The superhero concept is that you can travel between these divergent universes. Some may be identical, as the only difference was that a neuron in a dragon fly during the cretaceous period fired left instead of right, and otherwise, the universes have evolved without noticibable difference. In another, the result of that neuron firing resulted in a cascade of enourmous differences. These divergences exist on the quantum level, and humans can only perceive the macro effects, if there are any.

 

Other dimensions: very different than "parallel universes" These are things like the Astral Plane or the dimension of Hell, or the pocket dimension of the Insectoid Warriors... or whatever. They exist on their own, and probably have their own "near infinite" number of parallel selves.

 

The description I use is that the universe is a thread made up of many fibers, which are all the different dimensions of which our "material plane" is but one. The macroverse is then a rope made up of a "near infinite" number of these threads. The "bleed" or "Tween space" and possibly the "psychic plane" are all aspects of the "space between these fibers/threads."

 

Not to mention the "dark matter" universes which may be a whole 'nother set of fibers/threads/ropes that exists simultaneously in balance with the material macro-verse.

 

All of this is wild, super hero extrapolation of quantum mechanics. I don't claim any of this is real... just that my whimsy is constructed upon fascinating real world theory.

[RDU Neil]

Originally posted by TheEmerged

Being an alternate history/counterfactual nut, I've explored several. I only tried basing one campaign heavily in the idea, but my players didn't respond to it too well.

 

Player response is very interesting. Some love it... others don't. I've found the one thing you need to be careful of is using parallel's of the PCs themselves. While a major conceit in literature/comics... players can HATE this. Their character is theirs, and they do NOT want to run into themselves. It is a loss of control issue for many. Too bad... as the role playing can be really fun.

 

Using dopplegangers of major NPCs is usually pretty safe, though.

 

Also, I've seen too many "parallel earths" used to explain away results that maybe the GM didn't like. That can make the players feel like they can't really change or affect the world, because the GM will just say, "Oh that was a parallel earth."

 

Very frustrating.

[Supreme]

Originally posted by RDU Neil

All of this is wild, super hero extrapolation of quantum mechanics. I don't claim any of this is real... just that my whimsy is constructed upon fascinating real world theory.

The stuff that the best comics are made from.

[TheEmerged]

Well, in terms of the mapping theory... I've always been a proponent of the "those other universes have always existed" school of thought. I've always used the Dreamspace as a "nexus" of realities.

 

I'll also second RDU's statement about being very careful about putting the PC's against themselves. For the most part my players are pretty good about this sort of thing -- but I have had on very bad experience with this one in the past, in which a player became offended with what I had done with his "evil twin's" history/personality. While it *IS* a genre convention, like capturing the PC's its one that doesn't work as well in practice for RPG's.

[winterhawk]

We too have done the Marvel-Earth, DC-Earth, V & V Earth, etc. The 4th edition campaign is going to be another Earth and I already have plans for the players new characters to face dystopic versions of they're old characters.

[Hermit]

Mmm, I guess I've been very lucky, when I've had my players meet 'alternate' selves of their characters they haven't really reacted badly.

 

After watching "Legends" rerun on the Justice League cartoon a few dozen times, I've been tempted to throw them to an alternate world (Ala pre crisis DC) where they meet Golden Age counter parts of themselves.

 

One of my players HATES time travel, but seems more tolerant of Dimensional shifts... so an 'alternate world' might be better.

[RDU Neil]

Originally posted by TheEmerged

Well, in terms of the mapping theory... I've always been a proponent of the "those other universes have always existed" school of thought. I've always used the Dreamspace as a "nexus" of realities.

 

I'll also second Supreme's statement about being very careful about putting the PC's against themselves. For the most part my players are pretty good about this sort of thing -- but I have had on very bad experience with this one in the past, in which a player became offended with what I had done with his "evil twin's" history/personality. While it *IS* a genre convention, like capturing the PC's its one that doesn't work as well in practice for RPG's.

 

That was me, actually... but thanks for agreeing.

 

The "those universes always existed" is exactly what I was trying to say... only you did it in a much more succinct manner.

[Blue]

I think everyone has run that star-trek alternate earth scenario at least once. The furthest I took it was the basis for the end of my original Champions campaign:

 

I knew my gaming group was disintegrating and that only one player was going to be around afterwards. So I created a universe ending scenario and ran it for a few months. The character had a few opportunities to escape into another world. Having succeeded they found themselves in a familiar world that instead had an alternate set of heroes and villains.

 

It gave me a chance to lose all the clutter and it made it easier to introduce new players because there wasn't this overburdened history. Yet the remaining player got to continue playing.

[TheEmerged]

My bad, correction made.

[death tribble]

In the campaign I was in there were several other Earths as the main GM was a fan of some of the DC stuff that covered the different Earths and had read Crisis on Infinite Earths.

 

One of the alternate Earths was were a different version of the team existed. There were some differences, no Unicorn, No Magician, No Demoness for example and the Cyclops (big purple brick) was on their team. In the main reality he was a villain.

 

Then there was Earth Beta where the villainous versions of the heroes lived.

 

And then there was Gamma where the villainous Deadline murdered everybody apart from one escapee, Electralite, who came through a dimensional aperture to warn everyone of the threat.

 

So it was important to our campaign. And for the most part enjoyed.

[dbsousa]

In our old GGI (Good Guys, Incorporated), our heroes learned that as they moved towards a certain date, alternate earths were being "culled", until only 20 remained. They also learned that these alternate worlds only extended to the edge of the solar sytem, and that they all saw the same stars. The demons from the Great SuperVillain Contest lived in a blank dimension, and whoever entered it during the zero hour would choose which universe survived. GGI beat up Dr. Destroyer and was put in the position of choosing which Earth would "emerge" into the universe. They refused to choose, and thus our solar system is one of a 20 star cluster, each with nine planets, and each with a blue green third planet...

 

This story line marked the end of our regular group. I am proposing a new game in this universe, in which a Lovecraftian Horror, the Millenium Bug is spawned in 2000 AD, and lives backwards in time, changing history all the while. Heroes and a few villains throughout the previous 1000 years battle it. They win, but the timeline is altered such that GGI does not exist before 2000 AD. In the current timeline, the Sorceror Supreme of our earth makes the choice. All other Alternate Earths have inverted, appearing unchanged within their own solar system, but moving backwards in time relative to the rest of the universe. I am calling them "Counterverses"...

[Dr. Anomaly]

Man o man...I have use the "parallel dimension" bit a LOT. The truly "classic" one is what my group calls a "darkworld": the heroes are villains & villains are heroes. The last one I did that way had the then-PC group the San Diego Sentinels fighting an evil version of the Champions (totalitarian government enforcers) before tracking down and joining that world's last, best hope for freedom: the unbendingly heroic FOXBAT! Boy, you should have seen their faces when they were introduced to the last light of freedom & hope!

 

The Legion of Super-Heroes camapaign I'm currently running (as a solo) has the PC undergoing a series of dimension hops right now, in fact. My player has learned to NEVER take too lightly ANY world, no matter how absurd it seems. She was laughing her socks off when she met the Legion of Fuzzy Heroes (Cowsmic Boy! Colossal Boar! Brainy-Quack 5! etc.) but she stopped laughing when a team-up between Pulsecat Stargrave and the Duck Circle invaded Earth, and she learned that funny-animal appearance or not, those powers pack a whallop!

[Supreme]

Nothing worse than being beaten by a cuddly little animal in a a costume. Ask me about "Squeak, the Mouse Supreme" sometime.

 

For some time I have been considering a campaign in which the main villain is an alternate Earth version of Kang. Instead of being able to move backwards and forwards through time, this Kang is able to move sideways, and has studied the martial techniques and weapons technology of a thousand Earths. He's conquered a few Earths, but they're nothing to write home-prime about. So he'd like to conquer the really challenging Earths: the ones with super-humans. He's seen a few, including the ones the PCs are in. The thing is that they're a little too much for him right now. So what he does is arrange a few "accidental" crossovers where the PCs meets villainous versions of themselves. Naturally, they will fight. The challenge will be to:

 

a) keep the villains from doing damage, not just to the population, but to their reputations and personal lives

find out who's behind it

c) track Kang back to his base of operations and defeat him

 

There's also the option that the heroes could try to team up with their evil selves (since Kang plans to conquer both Earths) to defeat Kang.

[Enforcer84]

Hmm, I have several alternate Earth's but the only one ever appering in an actual game was Marvel Earth. My character Powerman, got to go toe to to with (in this order); Thor, Hulk, Wonderman, Count Nefaria.

 

He did better than I thought, but went 1 for 4 , only able to clock ol' Wonderman. He probably would have beaten the Hulk but some really unlucky early rolls, let ol' greenskin get angry and strong enought to counter Powerman's speed and agility advantage.

Nefaria was just Powerman, only more so, and the battle was fairly one sided. I really wanted a rematch.

 

I have written up my self or snagged write ups for CHaracters from Marvel, DC, Awesome, Wildstorm, V&V, Heroes Unlimited, Rock and Roll song titles, Consol RPG's, Comic Book Company Names, as well as two HERO universes. I always wanted to see a "last man standing" battle between

Superman, Valor, Captain Marvel (Shazam), Hyperion, Thor, Gladiator, Powerman (my character), Count Nefaria, Supreme, Mr Majestic, Apollo, and Titan (from Darkhorse's Comic's Greatest World). Never got around to doing it though.