Genre Friction

Narrative Flavor...
Even the most official use of Speculation would employ an Event Synopsis going in. From that summary to a complex narrative, the game becomes a shared story. The Referee is the central narrator as players guide their characters through a high-action plot. Each objective is a separate chapter and no two stories will ever be the same.

While Speculation starts with a contemporary setting, the system itself is a blank page. Players can choose any genre and let the narrative unfold as the group's actions and decisions weave a plot of successes, failures and shocking twists.

Here are the genres waiting for you, starting with the most familiar...

MODERN DAY

 * As a simulation system, it is limited only by what resources the Ref can assemble. Speculation can accurately recreate the skill set of a professional or volunteer responder in any exigent circumstance. Once it has recreated real-life people within the system, it provides the mechanics of a safe laboratory for an experienced facilitator to guide exercise players through an environment-specific tabletop exercise.
 * This can be as detailed or abstract as resource and artificiality criteria call for.


 * High Action Plots. Direct Action. Covert Operations. Target profile. Tactical Recovery. Clandestine infiltration. Tradecraft. Dead drops. Cutout. False-flag recruitment. Bona fides. Countersurveillance. Sterile funds. Cipher pad.
 * Does it sound like you're in the right place?
 * The modern-day mechanics cover the gamut of action and intrigue, from military to intelligence to law enforcement. Players may fill the roles of field operatives from real-life agencies, coming together in a task force to resolve a problem.
 * It could be any problem that you'd see on CNN. Imagine a cadre of Holy Warriors, bank rolled by Al-Qaeda, and one splinter cell is believed to possess a Russian Tactical Atomic Demolition Munition. A suitcase nuke. They're bringing it up from Mexico and downtown San Diego is the target. Or is it El Paso? Or is it Phoenix? Now that is a problem...
 * WARNING: THIS IS AN ACRONYM INTENSIVE AREA. PEOPLE WITH LINGUISTIC SENSITIVITIES SHOULD IMMEDIATELY SEEK A REFUND AND AVOID ALL GOVERNMENT-RELATED AFFAIRS.
 * By the way, the core of the rules deal with real-world, modern-day situations, whether it's talking to someone or punching them. Cross-genre, that's the same. As is shooting someone. All rules are assumed to have this base; however, in the rare case that a real-world note bubbles up in the middle of a genre section, it will be marked with black text on a green bar.

SCIENCE FICTION

 * The SF element is well-grounded and there are possibilities of campaigns in the near-future (a world not that different from our own) to a world five centuries yet to come (which will have technology likely indistinguishable from magic).
 * The range of SF development means that technology and society will be broken into phases depending on how far into the future it is. A scenario 20 years from now will likely still use the firearms of today. A scenario 200 years from now will be very, very different.
 * SF sections will be presented as eras. Old eras may carry over into the new, though the reverse... not so much. On the other hand, playing on the cusp of change gives room for plenty of drama. It's great fun if the player's characters have the upper hand, or a great challenge if they're wrong side of that development.
 * A very real example of this would be living as a soldier in Iraq's Republican Guard circa 2003. You've got rifles, tanks and guns... and even enough jets to sustain a war against Iran for a decade. In comparison to your eastern neighbor, you're a tech powerhouse. When the Americans invade, you realize you may have well had a club. Entire convoys are obliterated without ever seeing the enemy, leaving "Highways of Death" to serve as a warning. The difference of just a few generations of technology can make all the difference.

FANTASY

 * Spells. Swords. Wands. Orcs. Staves. Castles. Wands. Dragons. Potions. Yes, Dungeons too. Now does it sound like you're in the right place?
 * We can have Dragons, we can have Dungeons. We just can't have it the other way around. For that matter, try not to go all Mazes and Monsters, either...
 * We all know how the real world works – we live in it. What if there was something a little less mundane? Something... magical. The arcane is a primary component of fantasy and Speculation has a fully developed, modular and flexible system. From a logical simulation foundation, the magic system makes a strange amount of sense.
 * Fantasy, however, does not require magic. There are options to replay historical periods, or play alternate historical scenarios. Instead of guns and planes, it's swords and horses. It's all about atmosphere.

PARANORMAL
Touring the Overview:
 * Finally, the paranormal. More than a single normal, but less than a triplenormal, the paranormal has been confounding common sense for as long as man has had the sense to doubt his own senses.
 * In game, a good skeptic might point out the dearth of evidence that anything "paranormal" even exists. The shaken skeptic might be seeking answers, while the stirred skeptic just points out that absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence. The shaken and stirred skeptic just accepts it and has another martini. Heck, we don't know it all, right? This section is about playing through that next martini.
 * This is not the platform for the typical "true believer." Speculation approaches as-yet unexplained phenomena from the point of view of a skeptic that has just seen the proverbial light (after being shoved toward it). It cuts through the mysticism to make a best-guess of how certain things might operate if they existed. We look at pop-topics from psionics to ghosts, then wondered: how would Michael Shermer reverse-engineer a system around them?
 * Note: Paranormal borrows a great deal from fantasy, and vice-versa, with the primary difference the characters's angle of approach.
 * There's a very real possibility that select material here may be offensive to some theologically sensitive players. Or their mothers. Or brothers. Or priests or clerics. If blasphemous concepts might plant the seed of doubt in your world view, our recommendation is that you skip this section. In fact, you might reconsider playing any game until you figure out why your personal faith is so weak.

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WARNING
''Void where prohibited. No, [forget] that: encouraged where prohibited. Your mileage may vary. Results not typical. Do not attempt at home unless you really mean it. Professional player on a closed course. This system is provided "as is" and is not responsible for damage to your immortal soul. We'll take credit for repairs, though. Ask your doctor if applied metrics in hypothetical situations is right for you.''

Any copying, redistribution or republication of Speculation is practically inevitable, but for commercial gain – it's a no-no without talking to us, first.