The Law of Entertainment

World Laws:

The Law of Entertainment

Core Earth is the world of Cinematic reality. The result is that Core Earth is bound by a variety of cinematic cliches which can be invoked to the benefit of Core Earthers. Some of these can only be deliberately invoked by possibility rated individuals, others can be called upon by anyone. Most take the form of subplots.

Buddy Movie: One of the great dramatic and comic cliches is that when two people can't get along, they will be chained to some common task, over the course of which they will come to respect each other. Core Earthers can invoke a Buddy Movie subplot whenever they are forced to work with someone of very conflicting personality or background or from a different reality for the first time (ie, someone they have just met in this adventure). They then gain a possibility each act from all the complications which ensue. This can only be invoked during the first adventure in which you work with this person. (Ie, you can't use it to perpetually get possibilities from working with PCs of other realities). The buddy movie subplot gives a cumulative +1 bonus per act which has passed to any action which is coordinated with the chosen 'buddy'; it also enables you to play any card as a supporter card on your 'buddy'.

Hate = Love: One of the greatest romantic cliches of all is that if two people fight like weasels, they will fall in love if they are sexually compatible. Core Earthers may invoke a Romance subplot with someone who hates them at will, though they can only have one such Love/Hate relationship at a time. The other person need not be of Core Earth, though if they are, they will recieve the usual subplot benefits as well. Keep in mind that the other person may have strange views of Love...if Dr. Mobius falls for you, you can expect that this is likely to end tragically, possibly with both of you chained together and falling onto his artificial sun... The DM can refuse this if it seems the player is being too ridiculous or if there's no good way to work it into things meaningfully (say, the person who hates you is about to die), like any subplot. Road Movie: Another fine Core Earth tradition is the road movie. Invoking the road movie subplot can be done any time you travel beyond the county or metropolitan area in which you began the adventure. It causes your trip to become more complicated and difficult, but you gain a possibility for every act with substantial travel in it. Activating a Road Movie subplot has a side-effect, which is that you can always find transportation if you lose yours, but it will NEVER be as good as you'd like. Ords can benefit from this side-effect.

Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon: The world laws dictate that wherever you go, everyone you meet can trace a chain of acquaintances to you within seven steps or less. Often it will be shorter. For ords, this means they simply tend to meet people they have a previously unrealized connection to fairly often; possibility rated characters can spend a possibility with the effect of a connection card. Player characters can spend any card as a connection card.

Turn In Your Badge: There is some force of nature which dictates all law-enforcement agents have bad relationships with their superiors. Any Law-Enforcement Agent can invoke a 'turn in your badge' subplot during which he must operate without the support of his agency, but he gains an extra possibility point per act. Other Cinematic cliches which transcend specific genres are also likely available, subject to negotiation with the DM.

The Law of Entertainment also means that Core Earthers are media-savvy and used to a wide range of imaginative entertainments. This makes them more flexible in the face of the invading realities, able to more easily adapt to changes in circumstances once they come to understand what the local rules are. This has several effects:

Core Earthers gain +3 to any attempt to exploit the Media to their benefit. This includes the use of Glory results to seed possibilities.

Core Earthers gain +3 to any attempt to tell a story, communicate ideas, or to entertain people.

Core Earthers can spend an idea card to quickly assess what reality he is under, even if it isn't obvious for some reason.

The Law of Entertainment is one of the factors which accounts for the massive possibility supply of Earth; the constant flow of stories is effectively inspiring people's imaginations, leading them to try new things and push the earth's limits. Because they are connected to a great web of stories, ord Core Earthers reconnect faster than people of other cosms and transform more slowly. This easy spread of ideas is why Core Earth's axioms rise much faster than in other cosms.

The Law of Prodigy:

Core Earthers lack flashy powers. Rather, the core of the greatness of Core Earthers is being very skilled. This has several game effects.

Core Earthers improve their skills at one less step of difficulty. This means they spend possibilities equal to the current level of the skill to raise their skills, instead of equal to the level they're raising it to. IF they train, they train the current value of the skill in months, not the new value. And if they buy new skills, it costs them one less point.

The Tag Skill of all Core Earthers starts at +4. Core Earthers may choose to start with other skills at +4.

All Core Earthers may choose one of the following options if they desire.

Genius: Starting Core Earthers can spend 2 possibilities out of their initial allotment of 10 and start with a +6 tag skill instead of +4, while keeping their 13 discretionary adds.

Jack of All Trades: This is a power based on Core Earth's social axiom. You know how to do a little of everything, which means that you can use any skill native to Core Earth with a +1 bonus, and count as Skilled with it, even if you have no real adds. However, you must spend 3 possibilities per adventure to keep this power active. Jacks of all Trades reduce the cost of the first add of a skill by 2, though the cost never drops below one. Jacks of all Trades start with 6 extra discretionary points, subject to the normal limitations of not being allowed to raise anything over +4 with those points. Prodigy Ords also exist; they must pay for their package by some handicap (Usually, an attribute they can never raise above 7 and is usually lower)

The Law of Resistance

Core Earthers are a tenacious lot; they will fight desperately for what is theirs and adversity only increases their resolve rather than breaking their spirit. In roleplaying terms, a Core Earther is loathe to the idea of giving up or surrendering a fight if it means compromising his beliefs, ideals or goals. This does not mean that Core Earthers will futility struggle against impossible odds - if one means of resistance won't work than he'll find some other way of continuing the fight. In game terms, convincing a Core Earther to abandon his principles or to give up a fight is made more difficult by this world law. Characters receive a +3 bonus to their willpower skill or to the appropriate resistance value in such situations, including ones caused by foreign world laws. For example, if a Nile villain tries to use Inclination Seduction on a Good Core Earther in a Nile dominant zone, the Law of Resolve will give him a +3 bonus to resist the villain's attempt. (Though if the effect of the world law disconnects the character, obviously it can't provide him with the bonus.) In cases where there is no obvious resistance value, the Law of Resistance will seek to lessen the effects or possibly to reverse them at a later time. For example, Nippon Tech's Law of Intrigue states that there will always be traitors in organizations over a certain size. For Core Earthers in Nippon Tech dominant zones, the Law of Resolve will seek to minimize the number of traitors the Law of Intrigue generates (fewer Core Earthers would be willing to betray a trust) or Core Earthers who do turn traitor might have a change of heart and revert to his previous beliefs at a later time (a staple of heroic fiction, characters redeeming themselves at the dramatically appropriate moment.)

Note that the world laws does not mean that no Core Earther will ever give up, just that they're less likely to give up. Those without much resolve in the first place (such as those who have a low willpower skill value) will probably still buckle in the face of serious adversity. Another effect of this world law is that Core Earthers cling to their reality as fiercely as anything else, and as a result are harder to transform to another reality. For ords, this is expressed by lower odds of transforming over a period of time than for ords from other cosms, as explained in the Law of Hope in the Delphi Council Worldbook. For possibility-rated characters, this is reflected in their gaining a free add in their reality skill during character creation. Some characters who transform to Core Earth reality also benefit from this effect after their transformation; newly transformed characters with +0 adds in reality immediately increase to +1 adds in the skill. If they transform with one or more adds still remaining in the skill though, they do not receive a free add from the world law.

To further represent how Core Earthers' resolve strengthens them and enables them to persevere in the face of adversity, Core Earth characters may play one card into their pools at the beginning of round play instead of having to wait until after their first action. Note that non-Core Earth characters in Core Earth will also benefit from this effect as a contradiction.

Second, in combination with the Law of Cinematics (representing Core Earth's large store of possibility energy), Core Earth characters get one more card in their hand than normal. Again, note that non-Core Earth characters in Core Earth can benefit from this effect as a contradiction.

Thirdly, Core Earthers are not into armor, yet Core Earth heroes dive into dangerous situations without dying horribly like they ought to. Core Earthers who do not wear any armor, except maybe a leather jacket, get a +3 bonus to Toughness so long as they are not wearing armor.

Finally, the number of possibility-rated individuals created in Core Earth, both before and during the Possibility Wars, is much greater than in any other cosm. While this is in part due to Core Earth's surplus of possibility energy, the willingness of Core Earthers to "stick to their guns" increases the likelihood of their making a strong moral choice during a Moment of Crisis and transcending.