The PCs are breaking into Heaven because they couldn't make the waitlist, or are otherwise morally compromised, and now they want revenge for the eternity of bliss they didn't earn or never stood a chance of earning. Along the way they fight Biblically accurate Angels, Indulgent Elites, and worst of all the Anointed at the end of Space and Time.
High Concepts
- Techno-Boschian Heaven
- Statement on the culmination of Late-Stage Capitalism, Christian Nationalism, and Techno-Narcissism (the Triple Threat)
- The unwillingness of Americans to sit with discomfort
- The Ennui and dysfunction of Suburbia
Concerns
Balance between representing the ugliness and banality of The Triple Threat, but also making it fun and interesting to play in.
System & Setting
Resources
Everything in Heaven is mediated by two resources.
Plasma: The raw energy of consumption, for the Human Spirits and their Machines (including PC's Vehicles). Sourced from e.g. Monsters, The Aether. The rate at which Plasma is being industrially farmed is depleting the ecosystem of Monsters and literally shrinking The Aether of Heaven.
Points: Gained by sacrificing Plasma to The Infineract. Can be traded or spent on Miracles from The Infineract, but their greatest value comes from being accrued. Also, they earn interest. Systems of Point Value are largely defined by The Infineract, through the collective Human Spirit.
Geography
Strictly-zoned Suburbs, Strip Malls, and Office Parks, connected by serpentine Highways. Getting anyway requires a Vehicle.
Vehicles
The PCs have at least one Vehicle, probably a car that they all ride in together. It's ok for the Vehicles to be cool and fun and for Players / PCs to feel personally connected with them.
Use Concept Crafting or your preferred Mecha / Vehicle system.
Getting anywhere in the Vehicle costs Plasma.
- Vehicles with Controlled Deformation will crumple more easily, but shock absorb Damage for the PCs.
- Larger Vehicles may be stronger, but cost more Plasma to use.
- Rare or expensive Vehicles project greater Social Dominance, but also may attract bad actors such as thieves or cops, or other kinds of unwanted attention.
Vehicles are inherently unsafe and destroy the environment, but have fun ;)!
The Infineract
A "Black Box", an infinite-dimensional object reminiscent of the Monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Infineract is a Singleton object that can be accessed by anything with a GetInfineract access method (such as Human Spirits). However, most simply use The Infineract instance in the center of their living rooms.
Human Spirits
Those VIPs who made it into Heaven. As such they cannot die, or experience anything like true Pain. However, they have a very low tolerance for Discomfort, and this pathological fear drives all of Heavenly society. Human Spirits Need Not, but Want All.
PCs, being infiltrators and not truly Human Spirits, can die and feel Pain. It would be in their best interest to keep that information from getting out.
Non-Exhaustive Bibliography in no particular order
- The Geography of Nowhere
- Techgnosis
- Hieronymus Bosch
- Roadside Picnic / Stalker
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Games: Agency as Art
- VALIS Trilogy
- Harmony (Project Itoh novel)
Like many of my recent posts, I know there is more there there, but I was in a very particular state of mind when I wrote this, and I often struggle to get back into those states afterwards, so rather than waiting several months, barely adding anything, and then still sharing it in an incomplete state, I figured I'd just do it now. Hopefully I'll follow up on it more in the future.
