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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mikelaff" data-source="post: 4308560" data-attributes="member: 39664">Q: So it's an alternate history setting - so how does the introduction of magic change the course of history?A: Well - here's an excerpt that will give you an idea... Pandora's Box OpensThere is continued debate among magic scholars and historians about exactly why some cultures adapted more readily to the changing world. It's not a question that is likely to ever be answered by empirical means – but one prevalent theory posits that was a matter of mindset. Non-western cultures – or perhaps just less technologically geared societies (given the ease with which rural Scandinavian populations adapted) - are more accepting of the reawakening of magic. (It must be noted that in some cases, many of those cultures simply have better geographic access to permanent gates – which accelerated their magical development.)Research supports this assertion to an extent. A study done by Columbia University in 1910 found approximately 1 in 30 Americans in New York City showed any indication of magical aptitude. The same study conducted a few months later in Reykjavik found that that 1 in 7 Icelanders displayed basic magical aptitude. Military historians estimated that similar ratios of Chinese were able to successfully wield magic within a few months after the Tunguska event during the 2nd Boxer Rebellion. The high percentage of potential indigenous magic-users, combined with an influx of knowledge from the newly opened fey portals and the long-simmering resentment of outside interference made the rash of general uprising and revolts against colonial interests between 1909 and 1913 inevitable. Sorcery-fueled revolutions sprang up in India, China, Mexico, the American Southwest and across the globe as magic evens the playing field against modern weapons, technology and organization. ·        The Second Boxer Rebellion succeeds in China and Boxers declare the formation of a "Taoist People's Republic". Almost immediately afterwards, China is embroiled in war and anarchy as regional warlords and Taoist wizards fight for control.·        British colonial forces are almost overwhelmed in India – before being reinforced by friendly Gurkha shamans and managing to maintain a small and heavily fortified presence around a few key major cities.·        The Ottoman Empire loses its holdings in North Africa and the Middle East as Moslem spellcasters led a united uprising. After driving out the colonial powers, a unified caliphate rules from Jerusalem for 6 months before the coalition fractured and the region is plunged into decades of factionalism and warfare. A small and highly persecuted pagan underground of spellcasters devoted to the ancient Egyptian gods is centered in Alexandria.·        In early 1910, Rebellious Native Americans from across North America congregated in the Southwest and stage a massive uprising. They quickly routed US forces and founded the Native Confederation, which comprised most of Arizona. ·        Australia erupted into full-blown civil war as Aboriginals rise up and reclaimed the interior of the nation. A few coastal cities remain under European control.·        A council of voodoo practitioners headed by a woman claiming to be the resurrected Marie Laveau took control of New Orleans in a bloodless coup and attempted to peacefully secede from the United States.  This set off a bloody confrontation with state troops and battles raged in the streets for two weeks. When the smoke clears, the Louisiana National Guard withdrew and the city declared itself the Free City-State of New Orleans. ·        Led by Catholic priests wielding divine magic and calling themselves The Sons of Saint Patrick, the Irish Revolution begins in 1912. England's forces are stretched thin by magical revolutions in its many distant colonies and are unable to mount a sufficient defense. Ireland obtains full independence in 1914 and is declared a catholic republic with the practice of all other religions banned. Shortly thereafter a pagan insurgency begins in the countryside and internecine fighting and strife divides the country for generations.·       In Japan, authorities were shocked in 1910 by an uprising by the indigenous Ainu people. Unable to stand against the Ainu shamans in battle, Japan asked for peace and granted the Ainu an autonomous homeland on the southern and eastern coasts of the island of Hokkaidō. After this revolt, the Meiji emperor decided his nation needed to adapt quickly to the changes in the world. He hired foreign advisors (chiefly from the Native Confederation in the US, India, Iceland and Norway) to instruct his army's newly formed Sorcery War Division in the use of magic in battle.  He integrated spell-wielding Shinto priests into the military as well and, in 1912, Japan began a new period of expansionism. Invasions were launched into both Korea and China and the next ten years were spent establishing this new empire across eastern Asia.</blockquote>

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