SM Alt-Fantasy

The Fantastic Through a Contemporary Eye
Another campaign genre we're really excited about is something of an adaptation of old stories into a modern setting. In these scenarios, we find ancient creatures and monsters that we thought were myth and legend... are real.

Ghosts, angels, demons, witches and mentalists: all of them have lore that purveyors of the supernatural have spun around the campfire for time immemorial. People have asked questions we now class as paranormal since we lived in caves – and no doubt contributed to the rise of religion.

In the Alt-Fantasy section, we'll adapt and update the full-fantasy elements into a modern world. We'll provide suggestions for those enterprising Refs who want to recreate their favorite franchise in a new format. Mostly, though, we'll provide a fresh take on some of the classics as we reverse engineer: ''it's been here all this time!? But how...?!''

ParaNatural or SuperNormal...?
The Urban Mythology (UM) section borrows plenty, including magic, from the Fantasy section – but there are differences in atmosphere and flavor. Where fantasy might slide between heroic action and mystic thriller, the UM more often assumes characters are approaching the situation blind, and the tone ranges more between suspense and horror.

In game mechanics, that translates to less skills to be able to recognize and combat non-standard threats. Contemporary high-magic settings include J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter universe or the Magicians, and those would be in the Fantasy section given the range and capacity of the characters. When things get less controlled, say the Dresden Files or the John Bellairs books, now you're straddling Fantasy and Urban Mythology. When you dip into the X-Files or Supernatural atmosphere, now you're firmly in the Urban Mythology/Alt-Fantasy category.

Finally, if aspects of the occult or religion manifest, or people are getting a solid Lovecraftian Cthulhu vibe, you're in the Alt-Fantasy/Urban Mythology section.

The Suspension of Disbelief...
Speculation approaches unexplained phenomenology with the supposition that there are certain aspects of nature that simply operate on as-yet unexplained principles of mundane science. In this case, "spooky action at a distance" may contain some actual spooks. We brush past the giggle factor, find the averages in the consensus observations, and reverse engineer verisimilitude from that point: how would it exist if it did?

Some of our favorite heroes save New York from spectral invasions with just enough babbled techno that we smile, suspend disbelief, buy in and let go. Unlike the Fantasy-Alt Fantasy crossovers, the group You Know You're Gonna Call straddle the Alt-Fantasy and Science Fiction genres. Hold onto those ghosts and take another step in this direction.

The Science of Consciousness
Science Fiction has asked plenty of these crossover questions from the other direction. We've got enough technology issues in the futurism section that it was worth keeping the questions of mind – particularly the expanded mind – in the Urban Mythology section.

In this case, we're looking at psychic phenomena. From the traditional SF view, this includes the psionics tropes of Star Trek's Vulcan culture and the warrior-monk Jedi Knights of Star Wars. Both of those urban mythologies have roots in the eastern philosophies of the "chi" or "ki" – energy that is supposedly an inseparable part of us all.

Given that manifestations also include parapsychological phenomena such as telepathy and telekinesis, it's not unreasonable for skeptics to consider this simply a different flavor of magic. Speculation unpacks the connections from both magic and this more spiritual phenomena and reverse-engineers the lore to find very different sources of energy, methods of actuation, and connected phenomena.

There are points where there is crossover – within the mind – but it's rare that pop-culture characters will master both. Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, obviously leans heavily in magic while Professor X is thoroughly psionic. Expect that most genre-based Speculation characters will follow a similar type of mutually-exclusive specialization.

Speculation notes the differences, the similarities, where they mix and where they don't.

Alt-Fantasy Game Systems
Now that we have an idea of the scope of the the Alt-Fantasy/Urban Mythology atmosphere, we know that we'll be building this section for a long, long time. Our three primary efforts are going to a paradigm through which characters can play through some epic backdrops.

The Psionic System (PSISYS)

 * The science of Spectral Neural Sensitivity (SNS)

The Metaphysics of Existence

 * Cosmologia Generalis: The biggest questions, conveniently answered here...

The Pantheons of the Gods

 * We'll soon take a terrifying dive into the divine...