Create Your Own Universes

[Batman]

As RPers, we tend to more often-than-not lend ourselves to creativity on a constant basis. We're constantly creating new ideas for new applications, and especially these days, it seems that the big interest is starting from scratch and going about classic characters in an "Ultimate" fashion - taking icons and making them contemporary, changing a few things here or there, and even completely revitalizing some concepts that haven't stood the test of time.

Well, in the interest of sparking some creative discussion, I thought this might be fun: Create your own version of any universe, from top to bottom. Change as much as you want, present concepts for key characters, teams, cities, planets, anything you want. It can be DC, Marvel, Indie, even non-Comic universes like Star Wars, Trek, Firefly, you name it. I know we've all thought about it at least once, so it'd be cool to hear about them.

If you were in charge of a full-on reboot/revamp of anything, what would you do?

[Byrd Man]

I just... need to think. A lot.

[wiegeabo]

I don't wanna share my ideas because I know a comic book company will steal them and I won't see a dime.


Just like they always do with our games.

[Byrd Man]

Let me guess, that's also your excuse for not posting.

[wiegeabo]

If only

[Andy C.]

Oh man. Just......oh ****ing man. I'm gonna need a bit.

[Blacklight]

This doesn't exactly count as a "Universe" per se, but if I were to revamp/reboot any previous game, it'd be ****ing Multiversers. Goddamn it, do I want that s*** to come back. Such a f*****g good premise. You could literally play any character.

Otherwise, I just want more games set in universes where we can create our own original characters, whether said universe is original like Ballad of Saints or pre-established like the Star Wars game.

Hell, I've created OCs for Skyrim, Halo, Star Wars, Dragon Ball Z... You name it, I probably made my own character for it.

[Hound55]

Alternate History RPG: Apocalyptic Event - Team Tesla vs Mayan Snake God

The date is the 7th of January, 1943. The place; Room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel. A man this world considered to be Nikola Tesla is found dead. Inventor, physicist and electrical and mechanical engineer, some of his greatest inventions and ideas are to this day unknown and others misunderstood by the public at large. None hold more relevance to this day than two; one misunderstood and the other unknown.

First, the misunderstood - The "Peace ray". Nikola Tesla designed and compiled specifications for a "teleforce" weapon, that which would later become known as "particle beam weapon". It is one of the more questionable actions of a man who opposed war generally as a matter of principle. Numerous attempts to steal the device by spies had proven unsuccessful, and after his death when the assets were seized by the National Defence Research Committee the box which was purported to contain his work regarding the death ray contained only a 45 year old piece of basic electrical test equipment. The blueprints and specifications existed only in the mind of Tesla himself, compiled and re-worked over years from the early 1900s until the very day of his death.

But it's much easier to understand, when the unknown invention comes to light...

July 23rd, 1903 - Nikola Tesla became the world's inventor of the Quantum/dimensional transporter, a device capable of transferring matter through time, space and alternate dimensions.

September 14th, 1903 - The first human test with that prototype. Tesla himself. After initial visits to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Voltaire and Leonardo da Vinci he looked for more. If all of time is open to you, when is the most important?

That was how he decided his next voyage would be to the mid 16th Century, to visit Michel de Nostradame. Growing increasingly obssessed with End of Days prophecies, and increasingly familiarising himself with Nostradamus' works the day finally came for him to make the jump. Communication was little trouble for Tesla, who spoke eight languages and could fill any gaps between early 20th Century French and 16th Century French with Latin, which both men spoke. The greatest revelation came when Nostradamus revealed that his works, of which Tesla had committed to his eidetic memory, were 50/50 fiction. Nostradumus stated that in order to prevent fear of an inevitible end, he had written additional years that would never occur. To give people a false sense of security and to prevent total anarchy he created entire centuries of fictional material that would never occur.

"Not 3797?"

"No," said Nostradamus, "much earlier. A little over a dozen years into the second millenium. Just over a decade after the two torched towers toppled in the apple city."

"How?"

"It doesn't matter. There are a people in South America who have somehow divined the same knowledge that I have, I have spoken to Spanish conquistadors returning from the Yucatán. I don't know how they know what I know, but if knowledge is what you seek they may be a better source. My visions, whilst vivid, are fleeting. If you are as you say, from the time yet to be, then maybe they hold more answers for you. I believe their people to be known as the Maya. I feel pity for you. Your life should be free of the burden of the end of the world."

Returning to his own time, Tesla continued his obsessive ways, learning more about the prophesised event and continuing work on his "peace ray", refusing to believe that the prophecy was inevitable. Visiting alternate timelines well short of the disaster event, Nikola was able to narrow down his date of death to a three day window. With meticulous planning he completed the specifications for the teleforce ray in his mind and made one final visit to an alternate reality version of himself. Retrieving the alternate Tesla he planted him in his own time, where he spent the remaining few years of his life leading a reclusive existence in Room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel.

Tesla's planning complete, he had the means to stare down the end of the earth. Now all he needed were a few more stops, to pick up a few of history's finest with the courage to defy the inevitable.


--------------------------------------------------

So basically, you can play as any key historical figure. Preferably, pre-1935 or any current key figure (i.e. President Obama, Mayor Bloomberg, hell... Bear Grylls). Also leaves the option open to play as a no named character who's landed in this scenario.

That said, I still think the seasonal game thing you guys discussed previously is a good idea to keep people interested and involved, I think this would be a good concept for that.

[Byrd Man]

Just a few ideas I had. I might try and write a few more out later.

DC 1870

"Go West, young man."


With these words in mind, the US did just that. The recently completed transcontinental railroad has opened up the entire continent to the rest of the country. Seeking new lives and fortune, countless people travel West to search for their fortune, a fresh start, or something else entirely. Among them are:



Clark Kent

Perhaps the most well known name in America today, save for President Grant and General Sherman, Kent is a star reporter from Metropolis' Daily Planet newspaper. His fame came from his hard hitting expose of Metropolis' corrupt politicians, disgracing Boss Luthor and sending his lackey Morgan Edge to jail. Kent now travels across the country as syndicated columnist, searching for any interesting news story that catches his fancy and reporting on the lives of average Americans in his personal interest pieces. Strangely enough, reports of a supernatural force seem to follow a similar path as Kent. Eyewitnesses claiming to have seen things like men flying and something moving so fast it can barely been seen by the naked eye are regarded as hogwash and generally ignored.



Green Arrow

Oliver Queen was born to a wealthy industrialist family in the northeast. He served briefly at the end of the war, though only because his father said he had to. Oliver's father died shortly after the war and young Oliver took his inheritance west with him. Squandering his money looking for adventure, excitement, and women, Oliver paid his way to join a scouting party in North Dakota. While in the wilds, the party was attacked by members of the local Crow tribe. Wounded and dieing, Oliver was found by members of a nearby Lakota tribe. They took him in and nursed him to health.

Torn from his wealthy lifestyle and far from civilization, Oliver began to see that the so-called "Savages" weren't that different than anyone else. With them the Lakota he learned to hunt, learned to live off the land, and learned that he was a natural with their bow and arrow. He was teased by the Lakota for his preferences to use moss-covered rocks for arrow heads. His joked that the moss arrowheads eased the pain from the arrowhead.

Oliver was living amongst the Lakota for nearly a year before the government came calling. A union scouting party discovered the tribe and began to order them to cede the land to the US government. Angry and displeased, the Lakota refused. Torn between his old life and new life, Oliver finally decides to stand for something. Reborn as "Kitala Wahin Kpe," The Green Arrow, he now fights against those that would harm his new family.




Flash

In Missouri, lawlessness is rampant. The former Confederate state is filled with disgruntled members of the guerrilla unit Quantrill's Raiders. Central City seems to experience the worst of it. A gang led by Leonard Snart terrorize the town with their experimental confederate weaponry. These Rogues come and go as they please. Or at least they did. After Snart murders sheriff Jay Garrick in cold blood, his young deputy steps up to finally make a stand. With the fastest draw in the west, Barry Allen seeks to bring law to Central City.



The Manhunter

The mysterious John Jones is something of an enigma. A brilliant Union spy during the Civil War, next to nothing is known about the man and his past. With the war over, he acts as a senior member of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Jones is dispatched across the country to capture the most violent and deadly criminals.


Green Lantern Corps

In the last days of the Civil War, President Lincoln knew that his quest to end the oppression of slavery would not end with the passing of the 13th amendment. With this in mind, Lincoln charged one of the Union Army's best senior officers to create a special division. Colonel Alan Scott became the commanding officer of the Green Lantern Corps. Led by Scott and his second in command Captain Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern Corps is active throughout America, particularly in the former Confederate states. They fight against any wrongdoing, particularly violence against former slaves.

Now, a new threat rises up against them. Led by former Confederate general Theodore Sinestro, the Ku Klux Klan terrorizes the south and midwest with their fear tactics. Now it falls to the Green Lantern Corps to shine the light of justice on those that worship evil's might.


Deathstroke

Slade Wilson was an officer in the Confederate Army. A young man, he joined Quantill's Raiders and helped take part in some of the worst crimes in the war. During the infamous and bloody raid on Lawrence, Kansas, Slade was wounded and was blinded in his left eye.

Haunted by his past, he now tries to run from it by heading west. In the South Dakota territory, he meets the aging British gunslinger Wintergreen. Wintergreen takes Slade under his wing and shows him that his cruelty, cunning, and violent nature have a place in this new land, and that there's always money to be made from the pain of others.

[Carnage27]

The Universe: An Ultimate Comics RPG

World War II changed everything.

Before the great war, humans knew the way of the world. They went about their daily lives knowing in their hearts there were no creatures from space, demons and angels stayed in their respective realms, and a regular man could not become super over night. They went to sleep knowing the next morning their children wouldn't start displaying amazing powers in the morning. They went to work not worried about what the new superhuman arms race would lead to.

But World War II changed everything.

When the Third Reich's technologically superior and fiercely trained army began running roughshod over Europe, the United States Military began a desperate scientific program as a last ditch effort to turn the tide of the war, signaling the beginning of Project Rebirth and the Superhuman Age.

Rebirth produced one success, the agent known only to the public as Captain America. He was dispatched to Europe, but he was not alone. The government had also discovered that the human race was beginning to change and mutate to a higher level of evolution. Using some of these new found supermen, they formed The Invaders, a special team that was to liberate Europe.

But Hitler and the Nazis attempted to turn the tide themselves, searching for all manner of occult powers across the world, only to be thwarted time and time again by archeologist and American agent Henry "Indiana" Jones. The Germans also summoned a demon into the world, but the creature known as Hellboy was confiscated and raised by an American special forces team before the Nazis could use him for their dastardly intentions.

Eventually, with Captain America and the others at their backs, the Allies turned the tide of the war. As the noose tightened around Hitler's neck, The Invaders discovered the main fortress of Hitler's science team HYDRA, and what was really behind the Third Reich's technology.

The Nazis were being aided by the alien race known as the Chitauri, a shapeshifting race bent on wiping out freewill in the galaxy. On this final and heroic mission, the Invaders and Captain America thwarted their plan to release a nuclear ICBM on the United States and forced the aliens into retreat.

Unfortunately, Captain America was lost during the mission, sobering the end of the European war.

The time after the war was quiet, at least to the regular citizenry. But behind the scenes, the governments of the world began a superhuman arms race. The loss of Captain America set the US science division back years, as many different agencies scrambled to recreate Project Rebirth's success. The absence of America's super soldier also allowed the rise of the Soviet Union and the spread of Communism across the globe.

During the 60s, the Mutant population also skyrocketed, believed to be due to the atom bomb, and began to be noticed. As it did, Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr rose to prominent positions inside the community, eventually fracturing their long friendship due to differing ideologies.

The 70s brought radical change and the rise of terrorism across the globe. With free nations and Communist nations in the stalemate of the Cold War, criminal organizations attempted to use their inability to act to their advantage, chief among them was the super organization known as SPECTRE. In order to combat these threats, the United Nations Security Council convened in secret to put together a team to combat this new form of evil, and that is when S.H.I.E.L.D. was born.

SHIELD was designed from day one to be the organization to fight all the strange threats that had emerged, and had different organizations underneath it that specialized in different threats. The organization's first top agent, designated then and now as 007, was a former Navy SEAL by the name of Nick Fury.

As time past into the 80s, and the Cold War came to a close with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world settled into a relative peace, although society as a whole began to decline. The world no longer had any heroes to look up to and no one to follow the lead of.

But that was about to change as well.

In Kansas, a small spacecraft crash lands on the Kent Farm. In Gotham City, a boy loses his parents to a lone gunman. A school for gifted youngsters opens in rural New York. And scientists in the United States begin unlocking the secrets of the Super Soldier Serum, using mutant DNA and Gamma radiation which will start a chain reaction across the world.

The time is now, and the world's new batch of super heroes have emerged, fighting back the evils that came with them.

Major Players

S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. continues to be the worlds first line of defense against threats from terrestrial villains, whether they be super powered or not. They still stand up against the likes of SPECTRE as well as other terrorist groups such as COBRA. Led by their former top man Nick Fury, they try to hold the tenuous strings of peace together. The agency's current top man and 007 is James Bond, possibly the most decorated and talented agent the world has ever seen. They struggle to deal with the large mutant population and the growing public backlash against it.

S.H.A.D.E.

S.H.A.D.E. (Super Human Advanced Demon Extermination) is one of the under departments of SHIELD, put together from the remnants of Project Hellboy. It's mission is to investigate and deal with supernatural and mystical threats to the world. It's major threats response team is known as the Creature Commandos, and is led by Hellboy himself.

S.W.O.R.D.

S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) is another part of SHIELD dedicated to monitoring extraterrestrial activity on Earth. Using confiscated Chitauri technology, as well as anything else they've come across on the planet, they keep alien visitations secret to the general public. Often nicknamed the "Men in Black" by those that happen to come across them, they prefer to work in secret and behind the shadows.

S.P.E.C.T.R.E.

The world's preeminent terrorist and criminal organization, SPECTRE has been around for over three decades at this point. Made up of former HYDRA and Cold War scientists, the specialize in weapons, drugs, and all forms of mayhem. None know who leads them, nor has any SPECTRE agent ever been captured alive.

COBRA Command

Led by the infamous and mysterious Cobra Commander, this anarchistic group seeks to undermine the world powers and throw the planet into chaos.

The Corps

A universal peace keeping fore, The Corps have protected the galaxy from evil for almost as long as life has existed. The different colors of the rainbow designate their places and roles within the Corps, including a black-ops team designated as "Novas". From their headquarters on Oa, they watch and protect the galaxy from threats.

The Hand

An ancient and evil ninja organization obsessed with power and the occult, the Hand has begun to spread its sphere of influence outside of Japan.

Possible Teams

The Justice League

A team dedicated to the protection of Earth from terrestrial and extraterrestrial threats and the preservation of human freedom. Members:

Superman
Captain America
Batman
Thor
Iron Man
Wonder Woman
Miss Marvel
Flash

The Secret Avengers

SHIELD's covert black-ops team designed to secretly, quietly, and quickly take out threats that are too dangerous to be left alive. Members:

007 (James Bond)
Hawkeye
Black Widow
Rick Flagg
Bronze Tiger

Creature Commandos

SHADE's special ops team designated to deal with supernatural threats. Members:

Hellboy
Abe Sapien
Frankenstein's Monster
Blade
Spawn

Teen Titans

A team made by the members of the Justice League in order to prepare the younger generation of heroes for their future. Members:

Spider-Man
Supergirl
Robin
The Human Torch
The Slayer (Buffy)
Wondergirl


The Shadow

A team dedicated to stopping The Hand and their evil. Members:

Daredevil
Leonardo
Raphael
Michelangelo
Donatello
Wolverine
Green Arrow

Basically and Ultimate Universe containing Marvel, DC, as well as the major Indy properties.

[Byrd Man]

Good stuff all around, Carnage, but this right here:

Originally Posted by Carnage27

The Secret Avengers

SHIELD's covert black-ops team designed to secretly, quietly, and quickly take out threats that are too dangerous to be left alive. Members:

007 (James Bond)
Hawkeye
Black Widow
Rick Flagg

[Carnage27]

Hahaha.

Thanks. Trust me, it was almost painful to write that all out. That's basically my perfect game.

[Batman]

I'd... actually play that. I know it has zero chance of happening right now, but even with as many characters as I'm bogged down with, that would be legitimately awesome. Just a game where you can do anything - literally, anything.

Damn you, Carnage. Damn your awesomeness.

[wiegeabo]

I...I'd play that too.

[Carnage27]

Originally Posted by Batman

I'd... actually play that. I know it has zero chance of happening right now, but even with as many characters as I'm bogged down with, that would be legitimately awesome. Just a game where you can do anything - literally, anything.

Damn you, Carnage. Damn your awesomeness.

Originally Posted by wiegeabo

I...I'd play that too.

**** YOU GUYS. **** YOU IN YOUR **** STUPID HEADS.

Now you're making me want to do it. DANG IT WHY MUST YOU GET MY HOPES UP.



But seriously, that's what I wanted to do with my One Earth game but no one seemed into it.

[Andy C.]

Okay, I know I've been pretty much inactive for a while now. And while partly that's because I've been lazy as usual, another huge part of it is that ever since this thread went up, I've been obsessing over this:

*deep breath*

....okay, here we go. Time to swing for the fences.

THE BASIC CONCEPT:

This is a re-imagining of the Star Wars Universe, from the ground up. While the original movie-verse was created around the idea of telling one contained story based on Joseph Campbell's monomyth 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces,' the idea here is to think of it instead as a massive ongoing universe with eons of history to draw from, innumerable worlds to explore, and high-concept future fantasy mixed in with 'hard' sci-fi. Players can assume either alternate versions of existing characters from the SW universe, or create entirely new ones.

THE GALAXY AT A GLANCE:


Galaxy map current as of 21138 GCE (or 0-BBY in the movie-verse)
Red= The Great Pangalactic Empire
Blue= The Alliance to Restore the Galactic Republic
Green= The Exchange Confederacy
Orange= Clone Collective Space
Purple= The Ruins


Galactic civilization is extraordinarily vast and incredibly diverse. Spanning 120,000 light years across and teeming with over 180 billion life-sustaining star systems, the actual number of species, planetary civilizations, regional factions, or local societies over the Galaxy's 13 billion years is impossible to calculate, let alone an even remotely accurate census of the population. Many species, particularly Humanity, have spread over so many worlds and developed so many disparate cultures that it is impossible to tell what became of their original home planets. The history of the Galaxy is constantly being rewritten, due to the loss or rediscovery of ancient-beyond-ancient knowledge, or to editing and censorship by fleeting rulers and administrations, or most of all, due to eons of seemingly perpetual warfare.

Despite this, millennia of trade and interaction among planets has led to a general homogenization of technology and culture, particularly among the Core Worlds. The farther out from the Core one gets, however, the more drastically one world differs from another. There are still incredible discoveries to be made in the far reaches of the Galaxy, brand new or long-forgotten powers on uncharted systems, spectacular treasures hidden away, unthinkable horrors lurking in the dark of space. And throughout history, there has been no shortage of people willing to fight for the fate of it all.

MAJOR POINTS OF CONTENTION:

HYPERSPACE:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

While traveling through physical space, ships and other objects are all subject to the laws of Physics, which would severely limit the capacity for interstellar travel. No conventional drive, no matter how powerful, can exceed the speed of light, and those that approach it experience temporal lensing thanks to the laws of Relativity. Uninitiated worlds have been known to experiment with various forms of warp drives or wormhole travel, with mixed and often disastrous results.

Interstellar travel was not regularly feasible until the discovery of the Hyperspace Jump Gates, massive and incredibly powerful artifacts so ancient that their creators and original purpose have been completely lost to history. These Gates create tunnels of extradimensional space where normal baryonic matter (which can only travel below the speed of light) is transformed into tachyonic matter (which can only travel above the speed of light), allowing objects within the Hyperspace lanes to travel at thousands or even millions of times the speed of light. This discovery allowed various sentient societies to expand and come into contact with each other, leading to the current state of galactic civilization.

While ships with on-board Hyperdrives have since been developed, they still require to be within range of the Jump Gates in order to work. As a result, the Gates are considered the key points of assuming political, economic, and military power in the Galaxy. Whoever controls access to the Hyperspace lanes controls that particular sector of space, and thus the vast majority of the Galaxy's wars have been fought over the Gates.

THE METAVERSE:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

The Metaverse is an artificial reality, a vast and sprawling cosmos of digital worlds. Somewhere between the Internet and the Holodeck, users completely immerse themselves in the Metaverse and interact in real-time with full sensory feedback. While most use it for accessing data, instant interstellar communication, or simple entertainment, there are those familiar enough with the workings of the virtual universe to alter its programming, to break the imposed limitations of what can and can't be done while plugged in. They can use this to any number of ends, be it stealing classified information, attacking communications networks or defense mainframes, or even creating whole worlds within the Metaverse where hackers can lose themselves completely.

Due to the inherent risk of nearly unlimited access to information and communication, the Metaverse is strictly outlawed for civilian use within the Empire, restricting its use only to high-ranking military and political figures. The ARGR and Exchange Confederacy have no such restrictions, and the Confederates in particular wield a significant amount of power in the virtual world.

THE FORCE:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

The exact nature of the Force is a mystery, despite the efforts of countless generations of scholars, scientists, religious orders, and spiritual leaders to determine it. What is known of the Force, however, is that it is a phenomenon that allows sentient beings to directly alter the nature of reality around them. The Force is prevalent in all sentient life in the Galaxy, and may be the common root behind all known forms of religion or mysticism throughout galactic civilization (a belief particularly upheld by the Jedi Order)

While all sentient creatures have a connection to the Force, only a very select few can make use of that connection--it is estimated that only one in ten trillion sentients is Force Sensitive. The fact that there seems to be no genetic abnormalities among Force Sensitives, and that it does not seem to be hereditary (non-Sensitives can have offspring that are Sensitive and vice versa), leads some (again, the Jedi in particular) to believe the Force itself is sentient, that it intentionally chooses individuals in order to carry out some larger design.

Force Sensitives are capable of extending their consciousness beyond their physical form, allowing them to sense and influence the thoughts of others, to remotely view distant locations, even to retain conscious thought after the destruction of their physical bodies.

As one becomes more intuned with the Force, either through intentional submission to its power or by internalization and sheer dominating force of will, a Force Sensitive being can impose their consciousness onto the physical world. They can move objects with a thought, regardless of size or mass-- from lifting rocks in the air to, with enough concentration, crushing a star into a black hole. They can distort the physical forces of the universe, altering gravity, electromagnetic fields, or even the nuclear forces that hold matter together. It is said, though not widely believed, that a being that has truly become one with the force can travel through space and time instantly, create warps in the fabric of space-time, access higher dimensions of pure consciousness, and achieve immortality and omnipotence.

Various orders throughout galactic history have dedicated themselves to understanding and achieving oneness with the Force, most notably the Jedi Order and its fanatical offshoot, the Brotherhood of the Sith. Conflicts between these two orders and countless others have shaped the Galaxy for millennia, both in the physical world and in higher planes of existence. While most of the Order's knowledge has been lost in the Great Purge, an old Jedi proverb states "nothing stays lost forever; it merely waits to be found again."

THE JEDI ORDER:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

Roughly a millennium after the creation of the Galactic Republic, religious conflicts between the various newly-united societies threatened to tear the new order apart. In response, a summit was held on the planet of Tython, where leaders and scholars from every religion and spiritual belief system would meet and discuss their faiths, in the hopes of finding universal truths between them.

The Summit of Tython was not a quick or easy proceeding, by any stretch of the imagination. Generation after generation argued and squabbled and bickered over fundamental differences and theological details, very nearly leading to outright holy wars on more than one occasion. Over time, the Summit was considered a failure, a doomed and laughable experiment, but despite this, they continued. It was very nearly a thousand years before consensus was reached, but eventually, out of Tython rose the Jedi Order.

The Jedi followed a set of what they believe to be universal ethics: Truth, Compassion, Humility, and Courage. They saw themselves as instruments of the Force, chosen to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and to encourage others on their own path of enlightenment. For thousands of years, the Jedi acted as advisors, negotiatiors, and keepers of the peace throughout the Galaxy, always seeing themselves as servants rather than rulers, a clear voice of spiritual wisdom.

Jedi studied for years how to attune themselves with the Force, and many among them became immensely powerful. Upon achieving Knighthood, a Jedi would take a pilgrimage to Tython and create a Key for themselves, a personalized totem that would help them channel the Force. These Keys were made with Force-imbued crystals, energized to critical mass and sustained within powerful electromagnetic fields, keeping inside them a fusion reaction comparable to the core of a star. Each Key was unique to the Jedi using it, be it a musical instrument, a piece of jewelry, or more often than not in times of war, a weapon (in the case of Anakin Skywalker, a sword--or more accurately, a lightsaber)

The Jedi Order was often regarded with suspicion and mistrust by the general populace, seeing them as a secretive order of hermits who were using their political clout in the Republic to impose their religion upon others-- a view which was intentionally spread by the Sith. The Jedi's inability to achieve victory during the Clone Wars only compounded their unpopularity, and when the Emperor declared them enemies of the state, much of the Galaxy's population was glad to see them gone.

By Galactic Common Epoch year 21138 (0 BBY in movie-verse), the Jedi have been criminalized and hunted into extinction. Their Order has been wiped away by the Empire, their Grand Master Yoda defeated and driven insane, and the very memory of them has been supressed and discredited. As far as the universe is concerned, the Jedi Order lives on only in one man: Obi-Wan Kenobi, an old hermit hiding in the wastes of Tattooine, and safeguarding what may be the Galaxy's only hope.

THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE SITH:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

During the early days of the Jedi Order, the Jedi appeared to be united in their quest for enlightenment and universal truth, but behind closed doors, the debates left over from the Summit of Tython went on. While all agreed on the universal virtues, there was a fair amount of contention as to how to apply them to the Galaxy at large. A fringe group within the Jedi believed that these virtues had to be made law, a forced doctrine in which to instill the greater good upon the uninitiated.

Roughly five centuries after the Summit of Tython, a second Summit was held on the planet of Korriban. While the founding of the Jedi Order was a slow and arduous process, the Schism that split it was quick. The faction of Jedi that supported the forced imposition of the Order's virtues had come to believe that those who wished to let non-Sensitives be only did so because they did not follow the virtues themselves. They saw their fellow Jedi as heretics, and attacked them openly.

These new fanatical Jedi foreswore their order, instead naming themselves after the religious authority of ancient Korriban, the Brotherhood of the Sith. This cult of oppressive theocrats challenged the Jedi's status as the predominant spiritual movement in the Galaxy, and waged a series of devastating wars with them over the course of millennia.

Unlike the Jedi, the Sith internalized the Force rather than letting it merely flow through them. They believed that they came from a position of absolute moral authority, and in order to create the utopia that they envisioned, they would need to amass as much power as possible. Their attuning with the Force came not in a quest to heal the sick or stop needless aggression, but to achieve virtual godhood.

The Sith religion found an ally in the Imperialist 'Gal-Soc' movement within the Republic, and for several centuries, both movements labored to topple the Republic's bureacracy and instill a police-state regime. Time and time again the Jedi drove the Sith out of power, until they withdrew from acting in the open, instead operating entirely in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

While no one may know who exactly started the Clone Wars or why, many believe it is no coincidence that it ended with the Imperialists in control, the Jedi Order driven into extinction.....and the Lord of the Sith as Galactic Emperor.

[Andy C.]

Part II

FACTIONS AND REGIONS:

While the factions and regions shown on the Galaxy Map indicate what group controls the corresponding Hyperspace lanes, the power structure and cultures for each individual system may differ wildly. While each faction may have myriad off-shoots and rival factions within, generally speaking, they differ to whatever group gives them access to Hyperspace.

THE GREAT PANGALACTIC EMPIRE:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

The Great Pangalactic Empire stretches nearly the entire expanse of the galactic disk, holding sway over the vast majority of the Galaxy's worlds and peoples. Created out of the remnants of the old Galactic Republic at the height of the Clone Wars, the Empire enforces a dogma of strict, militaristic, totalitarian statism in order to maintain order. It is divided into smaller sectors, each controlled by local bureaucracies which answer to a Governor, who in turn answers to the Emperor. The civilian governments and military command are one and the same within the Empire, and all Imperial subjects are expected to adhere strictly to the chain of command (with the exception of the Emperor's "ambassador" Darth Vader and his Stormtrooper Corps)

Imperial life is largely based around the tenets of "Gal-Soc" (Galactic Society), a series of rules and guidelines to ensure the efficiency, security, and general welfare of an interstellar populace. Humans, the most populous species in the Galaxy, are given preferential treatment over other sentients, as most technology, architecture, clothing, and even language is all standardized and optimized for humans. Imperial subjects have no inherent rights, but 'privileges' which are granted in exchange for terms of service to the Empire. It is generally accepted that Gal-Soc is the only logical and civilized way for society to function, and anything outside of it is barbaric by comparison. Obedience to Gal-Soc is expected, and deviation is harshly punished.

While worlds farther out from the Core are not as strictly held to obedience to Gal-Soc, in the Core Worlds it is ingrained into the minds of the citizens on a daily basis. Imperial subjects are implanted at birth with data-feeds, augmented-reality systems that give subjects a constant flow of information about their surroundings, as well as a daily feed of (heavily censored) news and Imperial propaganda. They are constantly being told of some new atrocity being committed by the ARGR, some sickening story of corruption out of the Confederacy, or menaced with the threat of the Clone Collective, and how the Emperor will protect them from these threats. The data-feeds are a two-way connection, as the implants also monitor what each subject says and does throughout the day.

The Empire maintains its control over the majority of the Galaxy through control of the Hyperspace Jump Gates, enforced by a massive and powerful military force. The Imperial Armada consists largely of conscripts brainwashed into loyalty, coordinated by Droid intelligences which are then directed by local Governors. The only parts of the Imperial war machine that have independent autonomy are the IISA (Imperial Intelligence and Security Agency), the Emperor's network of spies; and the Stormtrooper Corps, an elite army of genetically and cybernetically enhanced super-soldiers, under the direct command of Darth Vader.

Prominent Imperials:
Emperor Palpatine
Darth Vader
Grand Governor Wilhuff Tarkin
Grand Admiral Thrawn

THE ALLIANCE TO RESTORE THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

For thousands of years, the Galactic Republic was the beacon of civilization throughout the Galaxy. Founded on principles of free trade, equal rights, and a universal sense of cooperation, the Republic flourished and expanded to nearly the entire galaxy. However, with the abundance and prosperity that came with the Republic also came a fair amount of corruption, the greedy and power-hungry finding ways to turn the Republic's laws and political structure to their advantage. Over time, it became an impenetrable mass of conflicting laws and redundant agencies, the representatives to the Senate being influenced less by their constituents and more by internal politics and lobbyists.

It was when the Senate was at its most corrupt that a crisis emerged: the Clone Collective, an unknown and seemingly unstoppable wave of hive-minded clones that swept across the Republic. The Clone Wars would last for decades, before the Senate's Chancellor finally called for the restructuring of the Republic itself into an Empire, for greater efficiency and military strength throughout the duration of the crisis. While the newly founded Imperial army beat back the Clone Collective, the Emperor seemed to find no end of excuses to prolong relinquishing his power, one threat after another that required the unity and order of the Empire for just a while longer.

As the Empire's reach grew more extensive and more invasive, many groups began to protest their loss of liberty. Most of these groups were local political movements, activists and malcontents easily ignored by the Imperials. However, anti-Imperial sentiment continued to grow, even within the seats of power in the Senate.

The Empire attempted to make examples out of the loudest rabble-rousers, violently putting down insurrections and silencing protesters that got out of hand. While the dissenters grew quieter, they did not stop growing in size, quietly and secretly planning their rebellion.

Things would come to a head with the issuing of the Secession Proclamation, a charter signed by a large contingent of rebel Senators declaring independence from the Empire and stating an intent to restore the golden age of the Republic. This coincided with a brilliantly coordinated attack on multiple Jump Gates, seizing control of the Hyperspace lanes for a sizable portion of the Galaxy. The attack stunned the Senate, and before the Imperial armada could mobilize, the rebels had cut off their entire sector of space from the Empire's reach.

The Alliance to Restore the Galactic Republic is a widely disparate collection of various protest groups, many with wildly different philosophies and visions for the future, but all sharing the common goal of toppling the Empire. There is no centralized power structure within the ARGR, which can lead to a great amount of infighting between the Rebel factions, but most of the faction leaders defer to the two surviving Proclaimers (Senators who signed the Secession Proclamation): Mon Mothma and Bail Organa.

Branded as radicals and terrorists, the Rebel Legions consist of everyone from disillusioned youths to grizzled veterans of the Clone Wars, putting together ramshackle strike forces out of decommissioned military cruisers and converted civilian ships. Since they cannot match the Imperial ships-of-the-line in direct combat, the ARGR instead has waged a long and ugly campaign of asymetrical warfare against the Empire, carrying out acts of sabotage, hit-and-run raids, cyber-warfare, and suicide attacks, striking from Alliance-controlled Jump Gates or from hidden bases deep in Imperial space. What they lack in firepower, they make up for in ingenuity and tenacity; no Rebel fighter has been taken alive since the beginning of the war.

While there are many within the ARGR who believe they can continue this kind of fighting until the war becomes too expensive and too unpopular for the Empire to do anything but give in, Mon Mothma and Bail Organa both know their current situation is a stop-gap at best. It is only a matter of time before the Empire finds a way to access their Jump Gates, and unless they find a miracle or two, the Alliance is sure to fall.

Prominent Rebels:
Senator Mon Mothma
Senator Bail Organa
Admiral Gial Ackbar
Commander Garven Dreis of Red Squadron

THE EXCHANGE CONFEDERACY:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

The Exchange Confederacy is a collection of worlds that, while technically are controlled by the Empire, are rarely ever subject to the restrictions of Imperial law. In the days of the Republic, 'The Exchange' was a common name given to a consortium of crime syndicates, usually smuggling and trafficking rings, who bought protection from the more corrupt members of the Senate. Since the founding of the Empire, the Exchange has been allowed to continue in their criminal ways, largely ignored by the Emperor's watchdogs.

As a result, Confederate worlds are lawless, eat-the-weak worlds, where the gap between the rich and poor never stops growing, and protection is only offered to those who can pay for it. The syndicates who control the worlds in Confederate space continually compete for dominance, either on the black market or for greater control of the Metaverse.

This predatory mindset has led to nearly the entire populace of Confederate space engaging in some form of criminal activity. Petty thieves, local gangs, smugglers, hackers, and pirates are commonplace among the lower classes. Higher up, the real money is made in information brokering, slave trading, market manipulation, and for the extremely skilled and cold-hearted, contract killing.

It is unknown exactly why the Empire allows the Exchange to act so openly; they lack even the comparatively meager firepower of the ARGR if the Imperials would ever decide to crack down. Most believe that they allow it in order to benefit from the technological arms-races caused by such unregulated cut-throat competition. While there are still plenty of honest and hard-working people on these worlds, the stereotype prevails that the Exchange Confederation is little more than a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Prominent Confederates:
Prince Xizor
Jabba Desijilic Tiure
Alexi Garyn
G0-T0

THE CLONE COLLECTIVE:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

The exact origin of the Clone Collective is unknown. Blame is often placed on the Kaminoans, who were well-known for their work in genetic engineering, or on the infamous Spaarti Creations, a bio-tech corporation that had been known for creating small personal clone armies for the extremely rich. What is known about them, however, is they were at one time the greatest threat the Galaxy had ever seen.

In the Common Galactic Epoch year 21066, a massive swarm of unknown ships seemed to emerge out of every Jump Gate in the Galaxy at once, beginning a ruthlessly efficient campaign of extermination against civilian worlds. The Republic, mired in bureaucratic infighting, was slow to respond, and whole worlds burned as this seemingly alien menace swept along the Hyperspace lanes.

By the time the Republic began to mobilize forces against this threat, the number of dead was in the trillions. Whole regions of the Republic were already in shambles, and dispossessed refugees scattered across the Galaxy looking for anywhere that was safe. The Republic's armies soon began to fend off the enemy, but not without taking devastating casualties themselves.

Only when the Jedi intervened in the conflict was the identity of the enemy revealed: a vast armada of clones, engineered to peak physical performance, and linked via a single collective consciousness. Each Clone knew what every other Clone in the Galaxy knew, and they fought as a single entity. No matter how brilliant the Republic's strategies, no matter how desparate their gambits, they simply could not compete with an army that waged war with a single mind.

Even with the full power of the Jedi Knights and their mastery of the force, the Clone Wars would last decades. The loss of life was incalculable, and due to the machinations of Chancellor Palpatine, the Republic lost its liberty by transforming into the Great Pangalactic Empire.

Shortly after the founding of the Empire, the Clones began to retreat. While Imperial propaganda claimed victory after victory for their soldiers, the truth was the Clones just stopped and withdrew. Without so much as a ceasefire agreement, the Clone Wars were simply over.

The Clone Collective now sits in a vast tract of largely empty space, between the border of the Empire and the Unknown Region. No one has ever entered Collective space and returned-- and no one dares to try, as even if they did return, travel into Collective space is punishable by death in the Empire. The last reconaissance recordings taken showed the Clone fleets simply floating in the darkness of space, still in formation but not moving. It is unknown if the Clones simply died out in the black, or if they are waiting for something, to start the Clone Wars all over again.....

Prominent Clones:
n/a

THE RUIN:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

There is a region within Imperial space that has only emerged very recently, but is growing at an alarming rate. It is a region of dead space, of ghost ships and shattered planets, where no life can enter and leave alive. It is a region already said by many to be cursed, haunted by the ghosts of entire civilizations, screaming through the void.

It is a region known simply as the Ruin: the killing grounds of the Death Star.

Created as a super-weapon towards the end of the Clone Wars, the Death Star was a floating battle station unlike anything ever created before it. Part command station, part ore refinery, part automated shipyard, and boasting a superlaser array capable of pushing a planet's core into Hyperspace, causing the rest of the planet to implode around it. The energy demands of such a station were impossible without channeling the raw power of the Force into it, which is precisely what the Emperor did. By doing this, he not only gave the Death Star power, but also, unbelievably, he gave it life.

While the Death Star was not brought into service during the Clone Wars, it was used to quell an uprising on the planet Alderaan years later. The psychic turmoil of over eight billion lives coming to an abrupt end resonated through the Force, and through the Death Star, the mindless automated station becoming overwhelmed with fear and pain and hate. The station itself became a living, feeling wound in the Force, one that could only make itself larger.

The Death Star's ship foundry created Desolators, automated dreadnoughts with immensely powerful tractor beams that would absorb the debris of destroyed planets, and in turn it back to the Death Star to use as materials to create more automated ships. Planet after planet fell to the Death Star and its nightmare fleet, feeding off of the psychic resonance of such massive-scale death and building onto its increasing flotilla of Desolators.

In its wake is the Ruin, the wasted remains of the victim worlds, their resources plundered and their people burned to ash, poisonous wastelands in both the physical world and in the Force. The radiation from the planetary explosions would kill the crew of even the most heavily-shielded ships within minutes. And worse, the psychic trauma of feeling billions and billions of life forms in their last moments of agony and fear is enough to drive a Force Sensitive irreparably insane.

As of 21138 GCE, the Ruin stretches from Alderaan to Phindar, and the Death Star is moving in on the Yavin system, home to one of the Alliance's most valuable hidden bases.

I'm gonna put up some character concepts later, to show y'all how Luke Skywalker or Han Solo or the like might be like in the context of the Redux universe. In the meanwhile, I hope you guys like what I've got.

[Batman]

Like many, I've considered different ideas for my own takes on the DC Universe characters and concepts. With several conflicting versions I'm rather quite proud of, I always find myself doing new versions with different twists. One such version actually goes back to the beginning, if you will, and I thought it'd be good to start there with a couple of my ideas. It's called...

THE DC UNIVERSE: EARTH ZERO

Essentially, the concept is that the DC Universe exists as though the original appearances for each character were still intact, but in a contemporary setting. It could be considered an alternative Ultimate DC Universe, in that regard, but my main priority in coming up with these is that it adheres to some of the concepts that were abandoned whenever the characters gradually evolved into what they are today and allowing them room to breathe in a modern DCU. There are a couple of them that also act as channels to literal concepts inherent to their characters. Because of that, some of them end up pretty wildly different, such as...

The J.L.A.

SUPERMAN
Unlike the character we all know, this Superman is much more distanced from humanity. Any sense of idealism comes from an outsider's perspective of the world we live in, and his heroism comes from a desire to do better. He's much more of a God who looks down on humanity rather than seeing them as equals, and even distrusts them on some level due to their capacity for evil and destruction. The result of this adds a sense of mysteriousness, where he shows up when needed and disappears just as quickly. And whenever he's not working as Clark Kent, he's a man of few words. His powers are also quite limited in comparison to his modern incarnations. He's invulnerable, but his strength really only extends to being able to bend metal with his bare hands. He's incredibly fast and can leap great distances, but he can't fly. In alot of ways, it's a much more grounded Superman - he's a Man of Steel you could believe functioning in a world without high-concept science fiction.



BATMAN
With careful emphasis on it being a matter of growth, this Batman is much more ruthless than his current counterpart. He has no qualms with taking lives or utilizing firearms, and though he's not quite The Punisher in terms of going out with the intent to kill, he holds no remorse for his actions. The death of his parents left Bruce a shell of a man, so much so that he's practically running on auto-pilot whenever he's in the public eye. His training has made being Batman more of an instinctual habit than one he meticulously controls, almost like he's constantly stuck in a Jason Bourne-mode. There's no Alfred to guide him away from the abyss, and his status as a vigilante puts him at odds with the police, particularly Commissioner Gordon. Where it gets to be a character arc is Batman's slow realization that, over time, his lethality isn't going to provide a clear enough solution. Gotham treats him like public enemy number one, and he starts to want to change that. Particularly with the introduction of Robin, whose prescence helps mold Bruce into a hero.



WONDER WOMAN
Given she was raised on an isolated island, this Wonder Woman is far different in the fact that Amazonian customs differ from society in every way. Their sense of right and wrong, their sense of justice and order, their sense of evil and it's lengths, certainly their religious beliefs, and even the most simplistic aspects like everyday mannerisms and modesty would be enough to make the outside world turn it's head. As a result, Diana is much more of an aloof warrior woman than an ambassador of peace, because the simple truth is? Amazonian peace isn't the same thing. She has to be told not to behead a common mugger, or not to demand a ceremonial place in line at a restaurant. She has a kind heart, a hero's will, but the mentality of a survivor and the stubbornness of a spoiled princess. Think of Earthbound Thor in the movie dialed up to eleven and you have this version of her down.



THE FLASH
In-keeping with the idea of original incarnations made contemporary, this Flash is Jay Garrick - but with a twist. A 25th century star-athlete turned guinea pig for a rogue corporation, Jay actually comes to the past to prevent a grim future that befalls his loved ones. But since his leap into our time can't sustain a vessel that doesn't exist yet, Jay is actually transported into the body of another man - that of Barry Allen, a forensic analyst working for the Central City PD, Jay's ancestor by a thousand years. The problem is that whenever he makes the jump, something goes horribly wrong as lightning hits the temporal portal that Jay travels through, resulting in superhuman speed. Given the random circumstance of time-travel, Jay soon realizes he's stuck in not only a different time, but in another man's life, as he finds himself in a relationship with a woman named Iris and raising a troubled youth named Wally. Haunted by the guilt of this, and determined to make it up to Barry, who's now lost somewhere beyond Jay's reach, Jay decides to use his powers for good and become The Flash, one of Barry's comic strip idols.



GREEN LANTERN
To tie the mythos together, this Green Lantern is Alan Scott, and is the first human member of the Corps - but the catch is that he doesn't know it. The Guardians of Oa have always hesitated to promote an Earthling to their ranks of prestigious soldiers, so whenever they're made desperate, they fashion a specialized ring and Lantern to serve as a "prototype" to test humanity's worthiness. The beacon they've chosen is Alan, who at first is so stricken with his immense power that he uses it only for personal gain. He uses it to upgrade his modest monorail company into a multi-billion dollar household name, intimidate his competitors, and eventually become the world's first public superhero. As Scott's initial perversion of the ring cause The Guardians to lose faith in humanity's capacity for incorruptibly with such power, they start to manipulate certain events to test their chosen one's worthiness - such as sending a yellow ring to the weaponers of Qward or using a black ring to raise a corpse named Solomon Grundy from the grave.



AQUAMAN
In a complete 180 from his comic book counterpart, Arthur is actually a freelance assassin for rivals to the Atlantean throne. Made an outcast of Atlantis long ago for his accursed bloodline, the self-titled Aquaman gratefully accepts an assignment to exterminate an outsider from the above world who had bore witness to the secretive Atlanteans' existence, a man that had won the heart of the Queen and was therefore allowed to live. What Arthur doesn't know, and discovers too late, is that the Queen is his birth mother - or that the man he's been sent to assassinate is actually his father, Thomas Curry, whom the Queen had been involved in an affair with for years. When he aborts the mission after discovering this, a fellow assassin from the guild known as The Black Manta is sent to kill Curry himself, and succeeds, resulting in Arthur vengefully hunting the seas for The Black Manta's agents and the killer of his father. Out of a sign of respect, he also vows to protect Curry's homeland, claiming his birthright as a man born of two worlds - Atlantean and human.



MARTIAN MANHUNTER
A religious extremist and a violent criminal outcast from Mars, J'onn makes his home on Earth in the early 1800's and quickly absorbs the culture through his psychic membrane, assuming the role of a recently deceased soldier in the American Civil War named Jonathan Jones. An immortal Martian, he carries on his role as Jones throughout the decades that follow him, faking his own death and turning up with a new John Jones every 40 years in a new part of the world. Cut to the present, and he's working as CIA, specifically apart of the CADMUS unit that allows him to specialize in manhunting. Once the formation of the J.L.A. occurs, John is sent to integrate himself into their ranks as a spy, fashioning himself as a costumed crimefighter through his shapeshifting abilities - that of The Martian Manhunter. Through joining the team, he gains a newfound perspective, and gradually shifts from a coldhearted brute into something more humanistic, with a soul to accompany his tempered mentality.

[wiegeabo]

I might be willing to take a shot as Obi-Wan in that universe.

[Carnage27]

Nice work, Andy.

I'm not a huge fan of the Mass Effect Relay version of hyperspace, but the rest is really cool.

[wiegeabo]

If the game was in Old Republic times, the hyperspace relays could be interesting because you could have a storyline where someone figures out how to build hyperspace engines for ships.

Suddenly, everyone can have access to hyperspace any time they want. A lot of people would want that technology to get out, for various reasons, and a lot of people would want just the opposite, for various reasons.

[NiteMare Shape]

Very true...though...we do have a Star Wars game that I've been trying to bring back from hiatus forever....lol.

Though this does sound pretty cool

[Johnny Blaze]

Digging the Star Wars concept, Andy. That's definitely a game concept I could get behind.

[Andy C.]

Glad you guys liked the Star Wars Redux Universe.

I've posted it on my blog, expanded with some more content. Check it out, y'all.