Brainstorming: Lord of the...WTF?!?!

[Bedrockgames]

Lower tech option for the HUD to highlight pressure points, for precisely targeting strikes: goggles.

What are some other ways to apply technology to Chinese medicine, wuxia magic, and so forth? Or other synergies?

How do we implement the Ringwraiths? I guess that might depend on the nature of the Ring-analogue. They might not actually be bonded with the Central McGuffin, but they should at least be minions of its creator. If the One Thing is the control chip for the Orbital Mind Control Laser satellite system, then maybe they're early test subjects of the mind control device, thus their fanatical loyalty. What about their mounts - are they still animals, that is, horses and then pterosaurs? or motorcycles and then flying motorcycles?

The Ring Wraiths could be cultivaters with fire deviation. Or they could have cybernetic implants that block some acupoints and empower others to an extreme degree. Maybe tech somehow opens up the world of ghosts and spirits? You could bring in some Chinese Ghost story stuff for that.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’m definitely thinking of them as cyborgs. Hard. And if the “One Thing” is spy tech in some way, that fits in with having advanced targeting tech...and being able to track the “Thingbearer.”

 

[Bedrockgames]

I’m definitely thinking of them as cyborgs. Hard. And if the “One Thing” is spy tech in some way, that fits in with having advanced targeting tech...and being able to track the “Thingbearer.”

Stuff from Tron might actually be an interesting fit to what you are describing

 

[Riley37]

Tron and the Matrix both involve virtual reality as a place where the normal world's rules, such as physics, can be hacked, and that hacking is more or less equivalent to magic.

Use of high tech, to accomplish ritual tasks more quickly, for metaphysical purposes, is a well established trope. In "Good Omens", someone designs a freeway in a symbolic shape, so that all the cars following its path are drawing and re-drawing the symbol. There's a story in which the neon signs of Los Angeles work similarly. Clarke wrote a short story which takes prayer wheels to the limit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Billion_Names_of_God

 

[Riley37]

If you go with the One Thing as the handheld AI which has the hardwired control codes for the OMCL sats, then the Nine Cyborgs can track its use. If they are far away, they just know which satellite was overhead when it contacted the network, which gives a rough idea of where it was at the time. If the PCs use the One Thing when they're nearby, they might sense its signal directly.

Hm, this line of thought is a lot like the movie "Sneakers".

 

[Riley37]

There's a BBEG who designed the One Thing, perhaps in a lab near Chernobyl. The BBEG also created the Nine Cyborgs.

He did not create the Three; he merely communicated with their makers, and learned from that process. He has never touched or corrupted them.

The Seven were malware. He gave them away, to people who used them and were destroyed.

He lost the One Thing in the War. It's passed through many hands, and is now part of someone's inheritance.

So... who else has this kind of magic/tech? How has each of the PCs gained amazing powers?

RHPS
Dr. Scott: This sonic transducer...it is, I suppose, some kind of audio-vibratory-physio-molecular transport device?
Brad: You mean...?!
Dr. Scott: Yes, Brad, it's something we ourselves have been working on for quite some time. But it seems our friend here has found a means of perfecting it. A device which is capable of breaking down solid matter and projecting it through space...and who knows, perhaps even time itself!

 

[Riley37]

Today I Learned:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zou_huo_ru_mo

I see parallels to Jedi training, and the call of the Dark Side.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The Tron* angle hadn’t occurred to me. Perhaps, as things progress and the party’s visa applications to get into the USSR take a trip through a Tron-esque “bitspace” to cross the border in a kind of Mines of Moria sequence.

Could be a good fit.





* a plot with NO similarities to LotR whatsoever

 

[Bedrockgames]

Today I Learned:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zou_huo_ru_mo

I see parallels to Jedi training, and the call of the Dark Side.

If you read Return of Condor Heroes, or watch series based on it, it has a lot in common with the first Star Wars Trilogy (at least to my eyes). I doubt Lucas was directly influenced by it. But still some stuff feels kind of similar.

 

[Eltab]

The movie "Lawnmower Man" had some concepts you might find useful. The scene I particularly remember has the (nearly demented) in-the-computer villain announcing "My metamorphosis will be proclaimed by the ringing of every telephone in the world!" In this case, The One Thing will give you access to the proto-Internet, while it was still not ready for prime time.

BBEG's lair could be placed near the Aral Sea, which has almost dried up due to the very large scale Soviet-era irrigation projects along the rivers that fed it. The seabed itself is salty enough that it poisoned the ground but not enough to show up white unless you make a Perception check.

BBEG and his industrial efforts also might create smog like that of Beijing hovering over the nearby city where his minions labor away.