Huhh. Interesting place, all things considered. Still taking new people?

I've got a mostly-formed idea for an avatar (Seiaki Hinahri, sort of a cross between a Magical Girl and a 3WA Troubleshooter) and a region to play around in (the Juraiian Core, frontier/unclaimed space on the inner edge of the Juraiian Empire). I've not much experience with shared world projects and there's a lot of stuff here to browse, so if I'm treading on toes tell me now! :D

Ja ne!

Let me be the first to welcome you to our group, As they say, the more the merrier!

So in other words, no you will not be threading on anyones toes by joining.

> Huhh. Interesting place, all things considered. Still taking new people? <

Of course! There's more room here than could possibly be filled.

> I've got a mostly-formed idea for an avatar (Seiaki Hinahri, sort of a cross between a Magical Girl and a 3WA Troubleshooter) and a region to play around in (the Juraiian Core, frontier/unclaimed space on the inner edge of the Juraiian Empire). I've not much experience with shared world projects and there's a lot of stuff here to browse, so if I'm treading on toes tell me now! :D <

WAI! Detail and sources for Jurai have been rather thin on the ground up 'till now, and I'd be thrilled to see the area fleshed out more.

What's already been established... 'Geographically', Jurai is organized into four Duchies - each representing about a quarter of the total population - and the system Jurai, which is a wormhole junction on top of being the most populated and most heavily 'industrialized' system in the empire. Technologically, they're probably either second or third in any given field right across the board - and that's -including- the Vorlon/Culture, who are within spitting distance of theoretical maximum in in-universe terms. They retain their canonical fondness for plant-based biotech, but have at least a theoretical knowledge of more conventional forms.

Also mixed in are the Ahb from Crest of the Stars. The relationship, though, isn't so much a one-to-one linkage (although there is some of that, notably the spoken language and the style of their governmental arrangements) as a mirror, since around-abouts Act IV the Duchy of Ahb (one of the four districts I mentioned earlier) will secede and promptly start redesigning their culture into something as -far- from Juraiian normal as they can imagine and/or stand. Vaguely like the relationship between Romulans and Vulcans.

An idea that was floated but never examined was to add in James H. Schmidt's Hub universe to help flesh things out - Baen has three anthologies of his stuff up in their Free Library.

Blessed be.
-n

What a warm welcome! Arigato ne, and a bunch of other Japanese expressions I don't actually know how to say! :D

Guess I'll jump off the deep end with a quick desc of the Juraiian Core. I've no real plans yet to actually push into the Empire itself (was nervous about what projects were already in there, if not many maybe I can stretch out a bit), so here goes:

---
The Juraiian Core is a region of effectively unclaimed space near the center of the Jurai Sextant. Though it's within the boundaries of the Empire of Jurai as recognized by the Humanx and similar powers, it's far enough out on the frontier to make it effectively impossible for the Juraiians to control it - and most thinking people realize this. As such, it forms a 'free passage' corridor between the Centauri and Cameron Sextants.

It's not a safe place, really. Many of the worlds here are lawless frontiers or else pocket empires, and a lot of them are burned-out wrecks from one war or another. In addition, the Juraiian Core seems to be sort of a galactic 'Bermuda Triangle' where /small/ bits of unusual civilizations or space wreckage pop up without warning. (Likely candidates include Kilrathi cruisers [Wing Commander], Darlok spies [Master of Orion], wandering Mycon Deep Children [Star Control], and others.)

The main power in the region is the Eraasai League [_Mageworlds_, by Doyle and MacDonald], a group of several worlds located close to the Cameron Sextant. The core worlds are -absolutely- barred to outsiders, but a few 'trading colonies' are maintained on the edges of their space, and they keep embassies on many other planets. They're best known for their magic, which apparently involves luck manipulation and works best in group rituals, but are strong in commerce as well.

The other power group is the alliance of AIs known as the TechnoCore [_Hyperion_, Dan Simmons, though not as omnipresent or ruthless as in that series]. They're a reclusive minority, interact with humans mostly through the use of holograms and machine communications, and very subtle. Their influence mostly comes from their apparent ability to instantly communicate any message - no matter how long or complex - between any two of their members, anywhere in the galaxy. They're believed to be on good terms with everyone, but then if they had any enemies they wouldn't be telling.

The main threat in the Juraiian Core (and the main reason why the Empire doesn't push for control here) is the Cockroaches [Spider Robinson's _Callahan's_ stories]. This alien race holds itself along the edge of the Inner Circle; some say that the beings actually hold space -inside- the Circle, though conventional wisdom says this is nonsense. There may be only a couple dozen Cockroaches in existence, but this is enough - each one is a terrifyingly powerful psi, completely amoral, and their cyber-enhanced slave beings are even worse. Fortunately, they appear to be concerned with the relative balance of power among their own ranks rather than attacking the other races of the Core.

There are also several smaller items of interest scattered around the Juraiian Core. These include dormant Interstellar Patrol craft [Christopher Anvil's stories], a Sector Command and Control computer on an otherwise dead world [Drake and Stirling's _The General_ books], a desert planet that'll mix the Ordos from the _Dune_ games and the cast of _Now and Then, Here and There_, and probably a Markovian brain [the _Well World_ books by Jack Chalker] to boot.
---

(Do I pass the multiversing test? :)

Hey they let me hang around and so far all I've managed to contribute is a story fragment or two and the occasional idea. 8)

>/small/ bits of unusual civilizations or space wreckage pop up without warning. (Likely candidates include Kilrathi cruisers [Wing Commander], Darlok spies [Master of Orion], wandering Mycon Deep Children [Star Control], and others.)<

hmm, I can't recall if we were using the Kilrathi somewhere else. I may be thinking of Weber's Orions instead.

Mycon Deep Children are their planetbusters/terraformers right? Been a while since I last played Star Control 2. Or Master of Orion for that matter. 8)

Of course if we have stuff appearing out of nowhere in this area, we have to balance it out with mysterious disapperances too. (Ex. The captured pirates claim they found the vessel drifting without a soul aboard. and later a pirate vessel is found in that same state....)

Hyperion, damn, I think I read the first book in that series, been a long time since though.

I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with most of the other sources mentioned.

Hmm, lesse ... on the last count, we had ... what:
- an immortal general from times long past who actually damn near shaped the culture of an entire world from ... well, not scratch, but damn near close to it, and has a big stash of lostech locked away for future use. (Drake, by Drakensis)
- a shellperson who's also a WWWA operative, and running one of the more impressive ships out there through the galaxy, and prehaps beyond. Destined to be healed - if I may use this term - by his Lady (or does that no longer apply? any changes we ought to know about done here?). (Nathan by same)
- an extradmiensional half-drow sorceress/assassin on a crusade against slavers in general, and the Taiidani in particular. (Chloe, by Catty.)
- the poster child for what happens when Oppon interferes in the affairs of man. (Norgarth's guy. Felix, right?)
- the Mage/Jedi guy with his own sect of loyal followers. (forgot the name. sorry. Fnord, this is yours, right?)
- umm ... well, there _was_ a time when we were blessed by the presence of an icon, but he hasn't called in quite a while ... hey, anyone know what's up with Eric right now?
- the Kessen-chu carrying mercenary/yojimbo, eventually to become a bad Raziel offshot. (he got enough screen time lately that I feel no need to elaborate at the moment.)
- and now, joining us is ... okay, too few posts to get an impression that will allow me to mangle the character description. Care to fill this space in yourself Seiaki?

As for treading on toes ... Drake ... err, that is to say, Drakensis, has dibs on most of Drake's (the _other_ Drake's ... confusing, no?) stuff concerning _General_, Command and Control CPU inculded. He's using Whithall for something ... right, Drake?

The Ordos ... well, since the Taiidani are a mix of a lot of stuff, Dune books and some elements of the games included, House Ordos is _there_. Fargo is a fugitive noble from House Ordos actually, and I have another character who might make an appearance that will be coming in from their sphere of influence.
Other than that, the grand poobah on the Taiidani would be Nate ... though Catty and I will be toying around with them as well, I suppose.

As for the rest of your outline of the Juraii, I've no problems with it since that sector is, arguably, the least-defined at the moment. With you here, that title will go to Cameron I s'pose.

> As for treading on toes ... Drake ... err, that is
> to say, Drakensis, has dibs on most of Drake's (the
> _other_ Drake's ... confusing, no?) stuff concerning
> _General_, Command and Control CPU inculded. He's
> using Whithall for something ... right, Drake?

Well, I am...

I can replace Whitehall et. all easily enough - I haven't written anything dependent upon him and I don't want to stand in the path of any cool ideas you might have. Take him and Center with my blessing.

(I just finished reading The Tyrant a couple of days ago. It _rocks_. Eric Flint is a genius.)

drakensis

"I believe that forgiving the enemy is God's function. Ours is simply to arrange the meeting." - General H Norman Schwarzkopf

G]- the Mage/Jedi guy with his own sect of loyal followers. (forgot the name. sorry. Fnord, this is yours, right?)[G

I -think- you might be talking about my proto-avatar. I'm still wrestling specs for him, to be bad-ass yet balanced enough (considering that I've been playing loads of D&D at epci levels of late, I'll probably stat him out largely in that system and then do the conversions for differences in universe.) He'll have minions though, minions are -fun-;)

-={(Astynax)}=-

> (Do I pass the multiversing test? :) <

With flying colors. There is a problem, though - the system Jurai is a wormhole nexus, which is one of the big reasons why the Empire works so well. If you're a fellow MOO player, I'd imagine you can understand the implications of that, especially since one of the termini is in, well, just the area you're describing.

http://www.tcnj.edu/~baxter3/wormholes.bmp is the current version of the arrangement of wormhole nexi in the Spiral (the particular form of wormhole we're using is a hybrid, at least in my mind, on the Honorverse and Farscape models. there's an artificial formation of Very Strange spatial phenomenon in the coreward sectors of the Silesian Sextant; I haven't found the time/energy to develope them fully, but for the time being, it/they can be treated as hybrids of the Starfire model and the wormhole nexus from Bujold's novels.)

Blessed be.
-n

Okay, after a bit more thinking and a review of sources, I think I'm looking at the following for the Jurai Sextant:

- Tenchi Muyo. DUH. Is the canon for the Empire mainly OAVs 1 and 2, or do the effects and characters of some of the TV series/manga/Tenchi in Tokyo/etc. also show up in some role? (I know a few people who swear by OAV 1 and consider everything else a travesty, s'why I ask...)

- _Hyperion_ novels. The TechnoCore is a subtle backbone of the Jurai empire, mostly in a communications/advisory role. They are not as powerful as they were in Simmons' original work, tho. The Shrike will likely pop in during Act III , but I don't know what's controlling it (yet).

Y'know, one of the other groups in those books were the Templars. Eco-religion based on the writings of John Muir. They had a project in one of the later books, involved growing a Dyson Sphere out of living plant material...

- _Mageworlds_ novels. The Eraasai League is one of the more powerful pocket empires in the Juraiian sphere; they actually managed to marry their way into the local Juraiian baron's family, and effectively run their entire sector for the crown. They're probably also Achultaani roadkill. Mostly.

- _Dorsai_ novels. Dunno if the Dorsai, as the Dorsai, are ever likely to show up in force, but several of the movers and shakers of that universe are likely to show up in the Empire. Effective, non-caricatured villains are SO hard to come by.

- _Belisarius_ novels, replacing the General books. You can have Whitehall back, Drak - I wasn't planning on doing much with him either, just poaching a Sector C&C for plot element. An Aide crystal will work just as well, and be a lot more portable. :)

- _Devil Hunter Yohko_. Cheerfully poaching characters and monsters to show up in random places. Keeps Jurai from being completely overrun by the SF types I'd otherwise drag in.

Dunno what else. Possibly a few fantasy books/anime - they fit better in Jurai, with its treeships and such. (There's a voice in my backbrain clamoring to try and bring Robert Jordan in, but I'm resolutely STOMPING on it, 'cause that would make me have to go back and actually *read* those monstrosities of his for chara info...)

> - Tenchi Muyo. DUH. Is the canon for the Empire mainly OAVs 1 and 2, or do the effects and characters of some of the TV series/manga/Tenchi in Tokyo/etc. also show up in some role? (I know a few people who swear by OAV 1 and consider everything else a travesty, s'why I ask...) <

I haven't seen the new (3rd batch) OAVs or most of Tenchi in Tokyo. Likewise, I've only seen the first movie (KAIN, time travel, etc.).

I have, however, seen enough of TinTokyo to write it off. Blech. (I actually didn't mind Sakuya - she makes a nice contrast with the other members of the Brigade - it was just that the -show itself- was so horribly executed.)

The original TV series is... amusing fluff. Not bad, taken on its own merits - but it's off in its own little universe.

As far as I can see (and the way I've written/concieved Jurai to date), the first two OAV series and the first manga blend together quite well, with regards to both continuity and quality. The new manga has stuck to fluff so far, but it's been -good- fluff and they've stayed consistent with everything else that's been done, so I see no reason not to continue to include it.

> - _Hyperion_ novels. <

I haven't read these, but I -have- heard good things. They're on my 'someday, maybe' list. Suggestion accepted.

> Y'know, one of the other groups in those books were the Templars. Eco-religion based on the writings of John Muir. They had a project in one of the later books, involved growing a Dyson Sphere out of living plant material... <

If Tsunami is the central goddess in Juraiian religion, wouldn't she have to have a church? ^_^

> - _Mageworlds_ novels. <

Likewise not something I'm familiar with; this time mostly because I want to start at the beginning and haven't seen the first one when I was out shopping. Go for it.

> - _Dorsai_ novels. <

And we're three for three, so far. These I know nothing of. No problem.

> - _Belisarius_ novels, replacing the General books. You can have Whitehall back, Drak - I wasn't planning on doing much with him either, just poaching a Sector C&C for plot element. An Aide crystal will work just as well, and be a lot more portable. :) <

Oh -hell- yeah. I love these.

Hmm. I wonder if the New Gods have anything to do with Kerensky's Clans?

> - _Devil Hunter Yohko_. Cheerfully poaching characters and monsters to show up in random places. Keeps Jurai from being completely overrun by the SF types I'd otherwise drag in. <

Again, one I know only by reputation. No objections.

> Dunno what else. Possibly a few fantasy books/anime - they fit better in Jurai, with its treeships and such. <

Here There Be Dragons. And yes, I mean that literally. Also, guess where Lina Inverse is -really- from.

> (There's a voice in my backbrain clamoring to try and bring Robert Jordan in, <

_No._ -Absolutely- -not-. Not EVER. In no way, shape, or form. Robert Jordan might, somewhere inside his soul, have to potential to be a real author. However, this would require not only taking away his word processor, but smashing his fingers and cutting out his tongue, thereby forcing him to hold the pen in his toes. Nothing else could possibly stop him from wasting SEVEN HUNDRED FUCKING PAGES trying and failing to tell a fifty-page story segment.

*collapses in apoplectic fit*
(or, HHOS)

> but I'm resolutely STOMPING on it, 'cause that would make me have to go back and actually *read* those monstrosities of his for chara info...) <

For which I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Blessed be.
-n

> > - _Belisarius_ novels, replacing the General
> books. You can have Whitehall back, Drak - I wasn't
> planning on doing much with him either, just
> poaching a Sector C&C for plot element. An Aide
> crystal will work just as well, and be a lot more
> portable. :) <
>
>Oh -hell- yeah. I love these.

Hmm. I wonder if the New Gods have anything to do with Kerensky's Clans?<

Interesting thought, although the Clans seem to be working towards specialised forms which seems to be something the New Gods object to.

Umm... I'm using some general concepts from the Clans to detail the NEC faction (which is ruled by GRELs and SLEDGEs by the time of Act I). And factoring in the WH40K influences arriving in the Caprician Cluster...

It would be moderately amusing to have Aide see a picture of Drake and start babbling about 'the Golden Throne' or something.

Well, maybe not. It's an amusing image though.


> > (There's a voice in my backbrain clamoring to try
> and bring Robert Jordan in, <
>
> _No._ -Absolutely- -not-. Not EVER. In no way, shape, or form. Robert Jordan might, somewhere inside his soul, have to potential to be a real author. However, this would require not only taking away his word processor, but smashing his fingers and cutting out his tongue, thereby forcing him to hold the pen in his toes. Nothing else could possibly stop him from wasting SEVEN HUNDRED FUCKING PAGES trying and failing to tell a fifty-page story segment.<

Be fair. His Conan books stand out above all his other work by virtue of not sucking completely.

Of course, when Howard wrote them he calimed to have visions of Conan standing behind him with an axe to 'motivat' him. Maybe Jordan had a visit from the same Cimmerian ;-)

drakensis

"I believe that forgiving the enemy is God's function. Ours is simply to arrange the meeting." - General H Norman Schwarzkopf

1) Welcome aboard, it's nice to see a new face around these haunts.

2)"The other power group is the alliance of AIs known as the TechnoCore"

YES. I endorse this product and/or service. The $60,000 question is: Shrike? I vote a big "yes," 'cause I like me some spiky bundles of reverse entropy.

(Thought: Shrike as the Cthuloid mirror of Sailor Pluto? Discuss.)

Will get started on a preliminary map of Jurai ASAP.

---
S. "Mal" Breen
aka Mr. Fnord, Map Boy and Chief Vorlonologist
http://fnord.sandwich.net/