OK, continuing the Article:
OTHER WORLDS:
With the exception of those games set on Earth, each RPG takes place on its own planet, usually located in another dimension. There are three types of such worlds:
Parallel Earths: These are virtual duplicates of Earth, with the same countries and people, except for some important deviation (the Nazis might have won WWII, for example.) Why parallels exist is a mystery; some may have been created by time travelers tampering with reality. Note that some Alien and Average Worlds also have their own Parallels! (To accommodate different versions of a game, like Wild Arms Code F).
Alien Worlds: These planets are different from Earth, however the difference might be just that a race other than humans dominates it. Others feature markedly different lifeforms and/or forces.
Average World: This is the typical RPG world. They are not Earth parallels in that the countries, people and history are different, but they are usually inhabited by human beings (though other intelligent races may share the planet) and the cultures are usually very similar to Earth’s (mostly Medieval European, but also Modern American , Feudal Japanese, or others; more than one culture may exist.) Magic is usually known to exist openly (though usually only the gifted can use it.) Monsters roam freely in almost all of them, requiring heroes to keep civilized areas safe. Some have advanced technology (even if anachronical.) Every one of these worlds has something that is unique to it, be it a form of magic, technology, lifeforms, or social situations.
Notes on Interdimensional Travel:
-There are several means of interdimensional travel. By far the most common are portals; nearly every world has at least one. Most are invisible and can only be used with the right abilities or equipment, and the locals usually know nothing about them (Note: in game terms, the Saving Points ARE the portals!) Other means include spells and interdimensional vehicles.
-The Conspiracy knows about the existence of extradimensional worlds, but has yet to stablish a hold on any of them; they do have agents on various worlds trying to obtain as much information, powerful magic, and anything else their Masters might find useful. The Conspiracy is also trying to stablish deals with organizations like SHINRA. RPGC, on the other hand, is composed mainly of very active interdimensional travelers, and they help fight evil on any world.
-Each of these worlds has its own physical and magical laws (depending on the game system’s.) This means that a visitor from another world might find his special abilities useless there, or that any abilities he learns there won’t work on other worlds! Example: your character is a summoner from a Fantasy Game world, who finds himself in a Martial Arts Game world. Your summons won’t work there because they’re unique to your original world. On the other hand, you might find that you are now suddenly able to do all kind of logic-defying jumps and attacks in combat! (You still have to learn new combat moves on your own, though.) For story purposes, let’s assume that most abilities will work on other worlds unless otherwise stated. (All abilities work on Earth, except those tied to a specific World, such as the Ether abilities from Xenogears, which were dependant on a unique being (The “Wave Existence”) on that planet.) This also applies to magical items, though technological devices usually work well
-The existence of other inhabited planets (much less other universes!) is unknown on the vast majority of worlds, including Earth. Most Interdimensional Travelers (ITs) keep their origin a secret, often making up a cover up story. Talking openly about such things will either get the locals to think you’re crazy, or even get you pursued by mobs who want to destroy you or villains who want to exploit you! This is an even bigger problem for travelers who are obviously not human (or another local race.)
-Languages are, obviously, different from world to world. Most ITs use spells or devices that provide instant language translation. But note that oral and written languages are different for such purposes! Your spell might let you understand who you’re talking to, but not the book he or she is holding! (This is one reason to get local allies.)
-Currency from one world is worthless on another! A million gill may be a fortune on Gaia 7 (Final Fantasy 7) but it’s just a bunch of fake coins on Earth! (Note, however, that some worlds DO use the same or similar currency, usually those based on related games. The in-story reason may be that they were introduced by visits from ITs in the past.) To get money usable on a new world, you can sell items you are carrying (as long as they are familiar to the local merchants- don’t expect to sell a gun in a pre-gunpowder medieval town) but more likely you’ll have to work to get some. Most ITs just make money the old-fashioned way: salvage it out of the nearest dungeon!
-For my stories’ purposes, the events of all games (that are already on sale) have ALREADY happened, and just the way it was shown in the games. However, behind-the-scenes events (like RPGC or The Conspiracy being involved) may also have taken place at the same time. Also, optional sidequests are open fare. Example: While AVALANCHE fought Sephiroth, RPGC agents defeated the WEAPON monsters rampaging thru Gaia 7 at the time. (In the case of games with multiple endings or other variations, they will be decided on a case-by-case basis.)
-Time Travel is possible but it’s VERY limited: Powers, machines or portals that allow time travel are very rare. In addition, you can only visit certain moments in time, and changing history is very difficult (but not impossible.) The good side of this is that we can fight and kill our way thru most historical events without worrying too much about history being changed- as long as we don’t kill anybody who is historically important!
NEXT: Examples from various games!
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