Looking forward to 2010....

Wow, Coven of Bast is out, and I just looked back over what I released this year and support of Otherverse America and impressed myself. So far, we have the core book, APEX, an Apex Strikefile, the Coven of Bast, Guide to the Known Galaxy and two State of the Otherverse tech books, one of which is fuckin' huge... not to mention two advanced classes specifically for the setting a Free20 supplement and a couple of modern/sci-fi releases that aren't Otherverse specific, but still useful. That's a pretty impressive one year word count

Anyway, Coven of Bast (which is doing decently, and I hope somebody reviews...hint, hint hint.) will probally be the last major Otherverse America release for 2009, which leaves me looking forward to what I'll be doing in 2010.

Right now, I'm about 18K words into a major campaign sourcebook dealing with fantasy firearms, a follow-up to the Fantasy Firearms PDF I worked on for Skortched Urf. Mark is looking to release this one as a print product, and I can't wait. Hopefully, he'll also release the Ley Lines sourcebook I shopped him as a physical book. These two books would look NICE on my bookshelf.

For 2010, I want to release a splat-book for the Lifer-run Jupiter colony, Solomon Station. Expect that one to be about the size of Coven of Bast. Should be fun. Now that I've detalied Choicer culture really deeply, I want to do something similar for the Lifers. I also am doing preliminary research on a Lifer subculture based on the modern "traveller" clans. Right now, I have some things I want to say about home schooling, Christian isolationism, bad-ass Irish Travellers. My wikipedia research pages are delving deep into Traveller culture, Housetrucking and other wierd bits of jury rigged subculture, carny culture and Hellhouses.... The Traveller book, which I'm tentatively calling Dark Carnivals will probally be shofter than COB, and will have at least one new advanced class...basically a Lifer version of Spiderman's foe Myserio. Should be a fun one.

What I had planned as the Outcast America sourcebook is rapidly mutating into a series of smaller and more focused mini-splats. Hopefully that' s a good thing. Each release I've done for Otherverse America gets a little bit tighter, more concise and professsional, and I hope to keep that up for 2010. I'd originally planned to include the Bastian sourcebook in Outcast America, as I did the Traveller thief/showman culture and metaplot-lite flavored things I plan to include for the Neverborn player race, which are a really wierd, out-there part of the Otherverse America core book. They're a BIG mystery, and I want to answer a couple of questions about them in the Dark Carnivals sourcebook.

Anway, I relazied I haven't mentioned too much of the wider world. I probally won't, simply because the focus of the setting is the future history of a FUBAR America, but I figured I'd shed a little bit of light on some of the foreign powers in the setting. It's all pretty rough, but this is the starting point I'm writing Otherverse America from, and I'll probally follow up on this in future sourcebooks.

• Japan: Japan is this aging, greying sexist hellpit in 2107. Birthrates are dropping, and women are waiting much longer to have children, a trend that begins in reality and accellerates into the 22nd Century. Japan's populace is very old, traditional and xenophobic, and many of their political leaders are full-conversion 'borg century-plus survivors from the near future. Abortion is outlawed, and maternity is almost (but not quite) mandatory. I think alot of the young and desperate make dangerous crossings into Russia, Korea or China to have an abortion, and the young, poor and middle class are the slaves of the wealthy elite. Expect some follow up on this in Outcast America.

• China: No earthly idea at this point. Their history of mandatory abortion and population control has made them unpopular with both the Lifers and the Choicers. I think their culture buys alot of stuff- cultural artifacts, reproductive and contraceptive tech, bionics and genemods, from the Choicers.... sorta equalizing today's trade imbalance. No real role for China yet, at least not in a major way

• India: I figure in contrast to China, India is one of the Choicer Covenant's best foreign allies. They love Choicer culture, and pagan 'missionaries' have gone into India liberated its women, and raised the standard of living for everybody, without the desire for mass conversions their Christian counterparts have. I kinda blew India off in the original core book, but after reading the very cool Devi TPB from Virgin Comics, I want to do something better with the region.

• The Middle East: I touched on the Middle East and the wierd relationship Israel has with the Lifer nation, which is an outgrowth of current evangelical geo-politics in APEX. Basically, Israel and the Lifer nation help each other, want things from each other, but they don't really LIKE one another. Unlikely allies: Isreal supports the Lifers because traditionally red state Christians have a very pro-Israel faction. See Fred Clark's Slacktivist blog for a really great dissection of the subject. So Israel does under the table weapons trades, hires Lifer mercs to handle problems with Muslim terrorists, and other questionable, spy-game activities.

• Europe: I have no clear idea how Europe fits into things, but I have a feeling most European nations are undergoing a cultural and economic rennisance. I figure they've been watching America get crazier and crazier for decades, and look down on the future version of us. Meanwhile, the War kills America's economy, and European nations rise to fill the gap. I figure by 2107 most of the EU is wealthier, more comfortable and alot more peaceful than America at this point. I'll be taking the continent country by country, peicemeal in the background of a lot of other releases.
  

• Greece: I figure Greece is wholly owned by the Nicellos family, which I see as major European and international powerplayers, one of whose daughters is the High Priestess of the Covenant. These guys are everywhere, and always somewhere highly placed and influential. I figure they're reaping the financial benefits of their space elevator, but the whole country is pretty much a giant fuckin' Starbucksl at this point. Corporate dominated, sleek, clean and monied, but without any of its idigenous soul left. By contrast, I figure Turkey and Bosina have devolved into old racial hatreds and civil war.

• Mexico and Canada: Mexico is detailed in APEX, since I figure I'm close enough (both geographically and culturally) to write knowlegably about it. Canada, however, I have no idea what's happening. In a way, Canada is more foreign to me than Japan, since I at least lived in Japan. Anyway, I want to do something mroe than the usual sterotype. I mentioned that some wealthy Lifers have emmigrated to Enclaves up near the Canadian border, so maybe the whole nation is a refuge for the wealthy, a place to keep both their money and their ass safe during the war. Maybe a version of what happened in Europe, makign money while the Americans are fighting amongst themselves.

• Australia and Africa. No frickin' idea. None at all at this point. Sorry.

• South America: I figure South America is dotted with lots of Lifer enclaves, hidden strike bases, ect. South America has a huge Evangelical presence (as that huge march in Chile a while back demonstrated), and I figure that can be translated to material support for the Lifer army very easily. Anyway, I have this idea that the Lifer powers that be hire alot of mercenaries from South American countries, bring 'em to the US as foreign fighters.

Anway, that's a bit of a preview of the rest of the world of Otherverse America.
Talk to you later,
CHRIS