GURPS Alternate Earths

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

GURPS Alternate Earths is (as you may have guessed) a GURPS sourcebook (well, rather two books, but they're both covered here) about Alternate History—or rather, alternate timelines which the characters may visit in one campaign, or live in from the start. Describes twelve timelines (six in each book) in loving detail.

Covered by the GURPS wiki.


Tropes used in GURPS Alternate Earths include:

All worlds

  • Allohistorical Allusion
  • Alternate History Wank: The only thing changing is who (or what) is wanked high.
  • In Spite of a Nail
  • Richard Nixon the Used Car Salesman: Malcolm Little (Malcolm X) as VP of the rest-US in a world where the CSA successfully seceded. David Duke as POTUS in a world where The Nazis win World War II and the US become their fascist satellite. Jabir ibn Hayyan as a Roman chemist inventing mustard gas in 767. Swedish king Charles XII invading Britain. Roman emperor Heraclius founding a new empire in Africa after Constantinople falls. And Adolf Hitler ending up in an insane asylum painting more watercolors.
    • The sequel had some more of these. Alissa Rosenbaum writing novels about heroic rail builders in Nationalist Republican Russia. Japanese admiral Hiyoshimaru fighting European pirates for the Ming emperors. St. Bernhard of Clairvaux and St. Dominic de Guzman converting still-pagan Scandinavia to a somewhat different Christianity. Ibn Sina inventing calculus in 1006. Jan Masaryk elected Archon of an Austrian empire turned republic. And finally, Otakar Przemysl kicking out the Mongolian oppressors from the Holy Roman Empire in Centrum.
  • Spiritual Successor: Gurps Infinite Worlds.

Worlds described in GURPS Alternate Earths

Dixie

Starts to diverge when filibusters take over Nicaragua and help the CSA become independent. Later, they will take over most of Mexico and Central America. The US are allied with Germany and help them win World War I.

Reich-5

Diverges with the assassination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. During the terms of Charles Lindbergh and the not-that-competent Nance Garner and Wallace, the US become politically split and polarized. Meanwhile, the nazis conquer half the world.

Roma Aeterna

Instead of the sinister Tiberius, a surviving Drusus takes over Rome after Augustus' death. During the following two millennia, Rome will expand, fall apart twice and reunite again and expand further. Their technology also develops, albeit not as fast as in our world.

Shikaku-Mon

John Trastamara survives, hence no united Habsburg empire. The way history develops is... odd: Charles II and Louis XVI prevent revolutions which otherwise would have lead to more democracy and the creation of republics, and at the end, the whole democratic phase is somehow skipped, since the world transforms into a typical cyberpunkish society where nothing else counts but how rich you are.

  • Alternate History Wank: Japan, oh so much. Also, Sweden, France and Brazil which are the other three superpowers.
  • Balkanize Me: North America, (still) Germany
  • Cyberpunk
  • Japan Takes Over the World: More successful than ever. They manage to reign over two thirds of the world population!
  • Nuke'Em: Synarchist Sweden nukes four British cities when their pawns don't win the Civil War. As a result, 60% of Britain's population dies or emigrates.
  • Space-Filling Empire: Japan, of course. How much? The eastern half of Asia (incl. India), the Pacific islands and Madagascar, and the western bit of North America.

Ezcalli

The Carthaginians discover America, so the Old World diseases hit America two millennia earlier. The Roman Empire falls apart after Nero's been killed, and the various barbarians make sure Europe never recovers. Then the Aztecs start the Industrial Revolution.

  • Alternate History Wank: Mongols, Aztecs and Iroquois.
  • Balkanize Me: Western and Southern Europe, which were smashed too many times by barbarian hordes and part of the Mongol Empire for a long time.
  • For Want of a Nail: The reason Rome falls apart: Since the west European provinces have had access to New World staple crops for a long time, they're no longer dependent on Egyptian grain, so the economy and politics disintegrate fast.
  • In Spite of a Nail: Most Egregious example. The Aztec people still exists although history diverged more than two thousand years before them.
  • Made a Slave: Many Europeans who're sold to the Mongols and Aztecs then.
  • Space-Filling Empire: The Mongol Empire, which still holds most of Eurasia.
  • Steampunk

Gernsback

Nikola Tesla marries the daughter of J.P. Morgan, gains financial support to take out Edison, and can realize all his cool inventions.

Worlds described in GURPS Alternate Earths 2

Cornwallis

Turgot manages to reform France, which prevents The French Revolution - and The American Revolution as well, since he won't support republicans against one fellow king. Only two centuries later, one great power (Russia) becomes the republican Dominate.

  • Alternate History Wank: For the great European monarchies.
  • Ayn Rand
  • Balkanize Me: Germany except for Prussia and Austria
  • Cool Train: The trains of Russia which impress less with speed and more with size.
  • Space-Filling Empire: Britain and Spain (which kept their empires) and Russia (which includes Finland, Manchuria, Korea, Japan and Alaska - and was even bigger in the past)

Ming-3

Ming China never scraps its fleet and starts to expand - first into Vietnam, later into Europe when their pirates attack... and there's no end, it seems...

Midgard

The Vikings manage to take Constantinople and capture the secret of Greek Fire. They manage to extend their rule over half of Europe, North America, Russia and Siberia.

Caliph

An eccentric Muslim scholar refutes the pagan Greek philosophers using rationalism. In combination with an Arab printing press, the Muslims take over the world and also develop science and technology way faster.

Aeolus

"The Divine wind" never happens, so Britain stays under the Stuarts and gradually becomes Catholic again.

Centrum

A more successful Angevin (Anglo-French) empire gradually takes over all the world. When the empire falls apart, a meritocracy centered on Terraustralis (Australia) rebuilds the empire. And then, they start discovering and conquering other timelines...

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