20 May Pan-Pacifica Preview #8 – Warzones
The Pan-Pacifica Kickstarter launches on May 23!
This time we take a look at the various regions across Pan-Pacifica, which now covers much of East and Southeast Asia, and recently extended into Australia.
Pan-Pacifica GM Screen art by Paolo Puggioni
A Realm of Hardpoints
Pan-Pacifica is unique among the invading realities when it comes to hardpoints. Not only does Pan-Pacifica have many strong hardpoints like Hong Kong, but an immense number of smaller hardpoints and softpoints. This was a feature not observed in previous invasions, but is a result of the existence of culturally significant locations and objects found throughout the region.
Even if a hardpoint doesn’t have national significance, there are always plenty of local stories featuring the hardpoint’s anchor. Most of these plentiful hardpoints are found in rural areas and small cities. Wilderness areas just don’t have the population, and urban areas tend to drown them out.
China
China’s authoritarian government still exists, but is softening at the edges as government leaders and agents adapt to the new, higher Social Axiom.
The national security system, which consists of the People’s Armed Police (who handle law enforcement and intelligence operations) and the People’s Liberation Army. Police presence on urban streets is heavy.
China’s electronic “Great Wall” has broken under the influence of the Law of Intrigue (as well as “recommendations” from key officials, and the national Internet is now integrated with the other Pan-Pacifica nations as part of the Plexus.
China was not as impacted by the Contagion due to rapid and close coordination with Kanawa representatives. The government’s willingness to completely shut down affected areas helped as well. However, the nation was by no means untouched, and xenogospog can be found occasionally attacking civilians in rural areas. Xenogospog attacks in urban centers are quite rare.
Detailed entries in China include Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, and the Orrorsh Mixed Zones of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.
Taiwan
At the beginning of the invasion, after outbreaks occurred in Japan and mainland China, the Kanawa Plan was offered to other Asian countries. Upon reading the conditions of the plan, Taiwan vocally declined. They decided shutting its borders would be more effective. The plan required governments to allow Kanawa Corporation unprecedented leeway and sovereignty in executing it, and they were not willing to lose their autonomy. So the Contagion hit Taiwan harder than most other regions.
Kanawa’s response was silent and swift. Stealth boats dropped a strike team off at Keelung City and released the virus. A week later Taipei and New Taipei fell, and the plague spread south from there along the chain of cities on the west coast, reaching Kaoshung City within weeks.
Kanawa waited and made excuses why they could not immediately help when asked for aid. With media spin, the blame was placed squarely on the sovereign nation. Taiwan was punished for their refusal to accept the Kanawa Plan. Publicly it was shown to be an avoidable tragedy, which cajoled other countries to accept it.
Japan
Early on, the Contagion hit Japan the hardest, but it was also the first nation to buy into the Kanawa Plan. It is also the government with the most Kanawa tendrils influencing them. Places detailed here include Tokyo, including the 23 Special Wards, and the Tokyo Underground, and Okinawa.
North and South Korea
In several other invading realms, certain areas have been set aside as areas where individual GMs can feel free to do their own thing.
For Pan-Pacifica, North and South Korea are serving that purpose. GMs can feel free to set adventures or create plots in this area with the expectation that changes to the official timeline should have minimal impact.
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia was not part of the initial wave of Contagion attacks, but as Reiko dropped a maelstrom bridge into Singapore, infected outbreaks soon occurred throughout the Indochina Peninsula down to Indonesia. The Indochina Peninsula, Singapore, and Indonesia are detailed here.
Australia
For most of the first year of the Possibility Wars, Australians believed they had avoided the chaos of the Contagion experienced elsewhere. Then the Abnormal came.
The only warning was frothing water in Sydney Harbor, minutes before the Abnormal emerged near the Sydney Opera House. It rampaged towards downtown, smashing buildings, crushing cars, and setting fires.
The most unusual aspect of the Abnormal was it’s appearance: no one can agree on what it looked like. Other than the fact that it had some sort of limb structure and stood somewhere between 50 and 80 meters tall, no description is consistent. Some people saw a giant dinosaur which spat fire. Others saw a monstrous ape, giant insects, or demons—even something resembling the mythical creature, Cthulhu.Video of the monster only shows static images if it wasn’t obscured by smoke, dust, and flame. When the creature was finally defeated by a group of Storm Knights, it fell to pieces. It was apparently some sort of conglomeration of xenogospog, not individuals, but joining together in some new organism. Little was learned before the inert pieces collapsed into a biological goo.
The Sydney Opera House and much of downtown Sydney is in ruins. Many apartment buildings and skyscrapers were either toppled or otherwise collapsed, and others burned. Australia declared three days of mourning after the attack, but it is beginning to rebuild.
Coming Soon!
Over the next several weeks we’ll be highlighting different parts of the upcoming products for Pan-Pacifica including new Perks, psionic powers, miracles, and Threats. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this preview, head on over to the Ulisses Spiele Discord server!