Do you remember the Duncorne Foundation? The Victorian era reality-quake chasers and seekers of many lost tomes? In this timeline, in 1888, they failed, leading to a reality warp so massive it made the timeline a plastic, rubbery mess. Angry gods unhitched this reality from the very concept of being real, unleashing legendary creatures and monsters across the globe. So started the War.
What the gods didn't expect was the counterbalance--somehow, heroes and creatures of myth came through to save them--oddly enough, from the pulpy writings of Arthur Conan Doyle and Jules Verne, of all things. Fantastical aeronefs bombed scorpion-men right off of the Nile, and the world healed. More or less.
The Madness Dossier's overall setting explains the weirdness of this setting.
Name Origin[]
Abzu gets its name from the Sumerian word, abzu, translating roughly to "font of knowledge". In this timeline, ancient cuneiform texts were remarkably well preserved and thoroughly translated, more than any other known modern-day parallel. It is unknown if this is because this world has stronger gods, or simply some stronger underlying memetic principle. The term "abzu" may refer to the memetosphere itself, the collective unconsciousness that creates the gods of myth parallels.
Exports to other Worlds[]
This timeline has particularly strong memes. Advertising campaigns, songs, and jokes are just a little bit more widespread, and last longer.[1]
References[]
- GURPS Classic Horror pg 117-123
- GURPS Horror: The Madness Dossier
- ↑ The Madness Dossier, p.61 info box.