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The Possibility Wars started in 1990 when six separate realities invaded Earth to steal its possibility energy. The realities were led by their own Highlords, who worked together under the Gaunt Man. All was going well, until a group of Storm Knights trapped the Gaunt Man in a reality storm, which kept him occupied for nearly all of the invasion he set up. Meanwhile, the Highlords were all heading separate directions. Now essentially rulerless, they were free to pursue their own goals, which often conflicted with another Highlord’s.
This is how most of the Possibility Wars went. The Gaunt Man, inaurguably the fiercest and most threatening of the Highlords, was out of the picture.
In early 1994, things began to change. In Germany’s Black Forest, a battle to put D Day to shame was starting. Uthorion’s forces had infiltrated Germany and surrounding European countries. They had planted several stelae, and needed to plant only the central one to activate the new Aysle territory. United Nations armies converged on the spot. If that stelae was planted, and the area transformed, it would bring the percentage of transformed ords native to Earth to just over 50%. This would mean all was lost, since despite the best efforts on the part of Storm Knights everywhere, it would be a downward spiral. The future of Earth was looking grim.
Shortly after, coincidence brought fortune to Earth. The Gaunt Man’s reality storm ran out. He walked through his keep, rounded his cowering Lieutenants, and immediately contacted all the Highlords. He was very displeased to find them scattered and not working together. Also, he was quite surprised to find the Tharkoldu had caught up and entered the wars, along with the Space Gods. He called for an immediate meeting for all the Highlords, attendance mandatory.
In the meantime, what were before a few renegade Storm Knights were now close to an organized force, with contacts being made everywhere. In fact, Tolwyn of House Tancred once said, “there are only five degrees of separation between everyone in the Wars,” meaning: the line could be drawn from one Storm Knight to another, even if they had never met, through five or less contacts (for instance, Bob knows Jane, who knows Captain Enigma, who knows Bill, who knows Tal’ Ek-tu, who knows Tolwyn.)
Therefore, it was easy for news to spread. Pella Ardinay, feeling her hold slipping on Aysle, was desperate for an angle. When she heard about the congregation of Highlords, and where they would be, she told Alexus Frest, the leader of the Mystery Men, and easily the most influencial of the underground heroes in the Nile Empire. Frest came up with a plan: an organized army of Storm Knights could infiltrate the headquarters of each of the Highlords and steal their Darkness Devices while the Highlords were away. The Darkness Devices would be passed off to the Space Gods, who would take them to space, warp to the largest black hole in the universe (Entropy, which some scholars claim is the location of the Big Bang,) and throw the Devices in. Darkness Devices can withstand the massive temperatures at the core of a sun, but trapping them in a space/time collapse like Entropy would be far, far too much for even them. Once the Space Gods were in the warp dimension, the Darkness Devices would be cut off from the respective Highlords, and they would be far easier to destroy.
Frest and Ardinay arranged the thing on a moment’s notice, using secret tatoos and contacts to get the word to every Storm Knight they could. The U.S. President arranged, through clandestine means, the naval base on Guam for the meeting place. Tens of Thousands of Storm Knights, approximately 90% of them, came to Guam. There they were given Eternity Shard targets, in the hopes that if these could be found, it would help the operation immensely.
The Storm Knights headed out across the globe, using the compiled clues to locate most of the known Eternity Shards. Four weeks later, a few days before the Highlord’s meeting, the Storm Knights returned to Guam. For the most part, they were triumphant. Ardinay and Frest took their greatest Storm Knights and put the Eternity Shards into a database. From this, they cross-referenced the list of Storm Knights to decide who would be best with which Eternity Shard. A day later, the process was finished, and the Eternity Shards were given to their new owners.
There was one more day of rest, then everyone was given their assignments: either breaking into a Highlord’s headquarters, or leading the charge to kill the Highlords themselves. On the day of the Highlords’ meeting, the two armies headed out. 10,000 Storm Knights and 20,000 ords formed the Possibility Warriors to attack the Highlords; the remaining 5000 Storm Knights and 5000 ords formed the Knights of the Storm to retrieve the Darkness Devices. There were enough Shards for on per every fifty possibility rated Knights.
Everything went more smoothly than anticipated. The Possibility Warriors took their positions in the hills surrounding the collosal Markesan castle in Orrorsh, and when the horn sounded, they all charged. It was protected by hideous monsters from all the different realms, and the battle waged fiercely.
However, on the first sounding of the charge, the Highlords were busy in conversation, and it just so happened they were having an argument. Dr. Mobius was insisting to the Gaunt Man that there was no way he could expect to just disappear like he had, and just expect them all to know what he was up to. Most of the Highlords suspected it was a test, or some other kind of ploy, despite the Gaunt Man’s repeated assertions that he was trapped. Other quibbles between the Highlords, the result of four years of espionage and intrigue against one another, were raising the decibel level in the hall. In fury, Dr. Mobius insulted each of the Highlords, and proclaimed his Empire at war with each and every one of them. Several teamed up against him, only to have their attempted alliances torn apart by further quibbles. The Gaunt Man stood up, towering over Dr. Mobius, and approached him with the intent of killing him outright for the betrayal.
At that moment, the initial attack note sounded. The Highlords rushed to see what was happening. Seeing the Storm Knight army attacking, they broke into another frenzied argument, this one resulting in everyone either declaring war on the others or walking out of the room with their aides. This left the Gaunt Man, who at that moment decided if the Storm Knights didn’t do it, he would kill each of the Highlords himself.
The Highlords separated and went to different floors in the hopes of defending themselves. So far, they had access to their Darkness Devices, so they used the power to set up hardpoints at various places in the castle, turning entire levels into miniature versions of their realms. Uthorion was the only one who didn’t do this; instead, he transformed back into his dragon form, and attacked the forces himself.
The group of Storm Knights who had the most impact on the battle were a rag-tag few, assembled from all the realms. It was difficult to discern an actual leader, as they were all so independant, but the two most influential members were Alhubra Akmahan and ... With them were Valmiera Kvichak, Balat Bibayes, Chas Graves, Becca Paulson, and Anna Harding. Together they stormed the castle, fighting each of the Highlords in turn. Helping them fight was a woman, named Rashnaya, whom they had only recently met.
Since information leaks in an operation of this size was inevitable, Rashnaya had been sent by the Gaunt Man to follow the Storm Knights and send him word on what was going on. She hadn’t had a chance to report back yet, so she was unable to garner any support from him. Instead, she waited until all the Highlords were dead, and only the Gaunt Man remained, to attack. As the group reached the top of the final tower, she attacked Valmiera, who was pregnant, and near term. The attack caused such damage that Valmiera went into labour on the stairs, only a few yards from the Gaunt Man. She delivered a baby there, then died. The baby, aptly enough, was named Victory. The Gaunt Man had taken Ardinay hostage (she had disappeared a day earlier) and threw her out the window to her death. Seeing her remains land on the battlefield was enough to rout the forces of good, but before they could altogether flee, another surprise was in store.
Shortly after delivering the baby, Alhubra, ..., and Makov Fenlis (a former enemy who turned on the Gaunt Man) attacked the now hostage-less and disconnected Gaunt Man, and forced him out the same window. He fell hundreds of feet, and was then torn in half on the spiky towers below. When his remains fell among Ardinay’s, the forces of evil fled, leading the Storm Knights to victory.
Everywhere, realms collapsed. The maelstrom bridges which led to each cosm were weakening. They would only hold for about 24 hours. The thousands of surviving Storm Knights and ords had to make a choice: stay on Earth forever (and inevitably face transformation) or head up the maelstrom bridges and carry on the fight in the invader’s worlds. Those who stayed faced mostly belonged on Earth. Most others returned to their respective cosms.
But for those who went to Terra, the war went with them.
Terra follows roughly the same look and feel of Earth in the 1930s. However, it has some fundamental differences which make it distinguishable. For one, the existence of “Wierd Science,” which is an invention which makes gadgets possible which should be far beyond the normal tech level of the world. Also different are some key events in the world history, including World War I and the American war with Mexico. World War II is on the brink of starting, for different reasons than Earth, even though the warring countries are the same. However, added to the trouble is the late Dr. Mobius’ Nile Empire. It is vast, covering many countries, and quickly threatening to take over the world. Nazi Germany exists as well, and so does the Japanese Empire. England, Russia, and America are teamed up, like Earth, but they must face a triple threat, in that the Nile Empire is more powerful than the Japanese or Germans.
This is a departure from the Terra sourcebook, which downplays Mobius’ influence there. In Torg II, Mobius had taken over nearly a third of the world, and it seemed inevitable that he would get the rest, hence he moved on the Earth. In his stead he left ..., as competent and definitely as mad as Mobius himself. ... rules with charisma and power, bringing Egyptian magic and might to every corner of the globe.
For a year, characters travelling to Terra are blessed with being able to forget about the possibility wars. Even though they still use possibility energy, and dangerously face transformation every day, having only one despot, and no Highlord to fight (a ruler needs an Darkness Device to become a Highlord,) the wars are essentially over for them.
Then, on April 8th, 1995, eerily on the five-year anniversary of the invasion of Earth, communication with all of Eastern Europe cuts off. Reports begin to come in about horrible monsters, an air of terror, and a palace being constructed of bone. The veterans of the possibility wars are suspicious, but most shrug it off as something else, and very few actually investigate. Two days later, changes sweep the Caribbean, the southern and central United States, China and parts of Japan, Great Britain, Rome, and New England. Reality Storms are reported all over the world as the new realities slam Terra. The characters are in confusion. How did this happen?
The answer is simple. After his body was destroyed on the battlefield of Markesan castle, the Gaunt Man, using magic and not a Darkness Device, plunged into the body of Malachai Markesan, a relative of Manfred the vampire. His body began to reassert itslelf, taking the already tall, gaunt figure of Malachai and transforming it into an almost identical version of his old body.
The Gaunt Man was without home, Darkness Device, and army. Instictively, he knew what had befallen Drakacanus, his old Darkness Device, but he had a backup plan.
To follow this through, the Gaunt Man spent half a year in New Orleans, gathering power through ritual killings and started a cult. With the concentrated power of those in the cult, he gained enough energy to go back to Gaia, the starting point of his Earth invasion. The cult members watched as the portal appeared with an ear-splitting crack, and Malachai simply walked into it. When it stopped rippling, he was gone. The portal collapsed into a pool of fetid water. Nobody in the cult ever saw him again.
Back on Gaia, it was no problem contacting his generals, those who remained on Gaia and those who fled back up the maelstrom bridge before its collapse, and he was back in control. His power could hardly go unnoticed, so immediately a new Darkness Device began to beckon him from across the dimensions. It called itself Insanus, the Ebon Mask. He spent a month searching the voids for the new Darkness Device. When he found it, a plan had already begun to form: he would take the new device and lead his armies into a new possibility war. However, his memory of the betrayal of the other Highlords and his death at the hands of the Storm Knights haunted his mind. Instead of reinvading Earth, or finding some other unsuspecting target, the Gaunt Man embraced the idea of revenge.
He knew of many other Highlords, of whom he initially passed when he was selecting his invasion force for Earth. He went among these and, in the space of a few months, arranged plans for a new invasion. This time, their target was Terra.
Their organized invasion hit Terra suddenly, and settled in as they had done before. The attempt to steal Terra’s possibilities was under way.
The invasion of the new realms has shocked Terra to its core. Most of the nations on the brink of World War II lost their capitol cities immediately. Of course, this was no accident. The Gaunt Man knew that cutting the heart out of the world powers was the first step to breaking Terra. It was a plan he should have employed on Earth; he would do it now.
In one day, America lost Washington and New York. Germany lost Dresden and Berlin. Japan lost Tokyo. England lost its whole island. Italy lost Rome. China lost Shanghai. And Russia lost Moscow. Their forces were broken, but not entirely. Most of the countries blamed their opponents, saying they were at the heart of the devastating changes. Reports of strange monsters, mythical beings, and unexplainable technology went largely unheard. Instead, the governments of Hitler (Germany), Hirohito (Japan), Mussolini (Italy), Lenin (Russia), Chamberlain (U.K.), Chiang Kai-Shek (China), and Petain (France) relocated in other cities.
Just like Earth, the Nile Empire is located along the Nile in Terran Egypt. It is almost identical with the Nile Empire sourcebook. Mobius limited his country to the northern half of Africa and parts of Arabia.
Eastern Europe was the site of the first invasion. The Gaunt Man took over an area covering Switzerland in the west, to Moscow in the northeast, and from Southern Germany in the North to the border of Greece in the south. This strip of terror goes by the same laws as were laid down in the Orrorsh sourcebook, although the cities have changed.
Chronologically, the next realm to invade was the powerful Shen Shi, or Spiritworld, in Southern Japan and China. Overnight, the countryside was transformed into a mythical Asian landscape, populated by monsters and magic. The tech level is significantly lower here, being in the medievel era. The realm extends from the latitude of Changsha in the south to Peking in the north, and from Xi’an to Kyoto.
Next came the largest realm, the New World. Tranquil islands of the Caribbean Sea were suddenly returned to the 17th century and populated by the Spanish and English. It forms a rhombus spanning from northern Gulf of Mexico in the northwest corner, to the eastern Bahamas in the northeast corner, to Trinidad in the southeast corner, to Panama in the southwest corner.
After the New World appeared the Wasteland. Accurately named, it is peopled with scavengers and fighters. There are not a lot of resources available, and what is available is carefully controlled. It covers most of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Mississippi, and parts of Arkansas, Iowa, and New Mexico.
At the same time, Texarkana invaded south of the Wasteland. It encompasses the western half of Texas, and most of New Mexico. The order of the day here is old-style western towns, unchecked lawlessness, and gunfighting. The formation of Texarkana so close to the Wasteland has caused the panhandle of Texas to be called “Tornado Alley,” due to the constant reality storms brewing there.
Rome fell next, giving way to the Tharkoldu, who thought it would be great fun to make the old Vatican into their unholy capitol. Now Rome, and part of Italy itself, is Tharkold rule.
Another small realm came in, replacing northeastern Japan with Nippon Tech. This is changed Nippon Tech, though. Theft of technology from the cyberpapacy has actually bumped the tech level up a notch. Nippon Tech now covers Tokyo and surrounding cities, including Yokohama.
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