Marketplace: The Cosm

[skeloric]

Though I truly like Nile Empire, Tharkold, and Orrorsh better, I always liked the core premise of Marketplace and thought it a shame that they limited it so.
What I mean is: It existed only as a caricature of "Incorporated Japan", the fear of a hostile economic takeover of the United States by cheaper Japanese goods.
But we know now that it wasn't Japan but rather China with the cheap goods.
But even then, what of the "Yuppie 80s" of our own USA?
To be honest, Marketplace needs to be less "Japanocentric" and more generically entrenched in "Reagonomics" 80s in general.
A few more islands and a few more cultural representatives to spread the caricature of the greedy industrialist around.
To be less of a "Yellow Peril" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_peril) that is more in keeping with the entrenched bigotry of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu_Manchu).
No one race has a monopoly on the most vile of human failings known as greed, but rather it lurks within us all.
Marketplace needs to embrace that truth and present a somewhat more balanced sampling of humanity.
Maybe they are a few sparse islands on the far side, so far that the trip is arduous even with Tech 24 sailing advances.
Maybe there are a few isles spotted about like oases in a desert that is the ocean of Marketplace that link the two.
But give me more than the strangely casual bigotry that represents Marketplace today.
Had Role Playing Games been created at the turn of the 20th century starting with some strange 1900 version of Dungeons and Dragons and the 1920s to 1930s had given rise to some variant TORG, I think I know who would populate the Cosm of Marketplace.
Who was known for an almost monstrous amount of financial savvy?
For being the people who were most capable of attaining and retaining wealth?
Think on it a moment and you would know too.
If such a variant would disgust you, ponder at length why the current model does not.

[Kansas Jim]

Even back in my first Torg game I realized that if everyone from Marketplace looked Japanese it'd be really difficult to maintain much of an air of Intrigue about the realm's activities. ("It's a Japanese guy, he must be up to something evil so we can't trust him!") So I quickly decided that Marketplace had people of other ethnic identities and the Sacramento invasion was pulled off mostly by caucasian Marketplacers.

And of course you can always use transformed characters to sneak Nippon Tech agents into the most unexpected places, like a bunch of dwarves I used in one adventure.

[skeloric]

Even back in my first Torg game I realized that if everyone from Marketplace looked Japanese it'd be really difficult to maintain much of an air of Intrigue about the realm's activities. ("It's a Japanese guy, he must be up to something evil so we can't trust him!") So I quickly decided that Marketplace had people of other ethnic identities and the Sacramento invasion was pulled off mostly by Caucasian Marketplacers.

And of course you can always use transformed characters to sneak Nippon Tech agents into the most unexpected places, like a bunch of Dwarves I used in one adventure.
Yeah.
I like that.
Hopefully, the new incarnation is less distinctly a caricature and more effort is made to create a true failing ecosystem (and economic system) propped up by invading other realities.

[Stormchild]

The world of Marketplace isn't all japanese. There are people of all ethnical backgrounds working for the megacorps. Also, it is not all about 3327 aka Kanawa.


Nippon Tech p. 16: ...the Triad is the governing body of Marketplace, composed of the chief executive officers (CEOs) of Ursan Industries, Misaki Computers, and Shori Petroleum... Technically, 3327's vote is weighted sufficiently to overcome his colleague's opposition, but he prefers not to exercise that option if he can avoid it. He knows that maintaining the illusion of a solid alliance is important for the health of the Marketplace, at least until he can gather enough stock to take control of Shori and Misaki.

So, why should 3327 take the burden of the invasion all on his own Megacorp, when he could share it with the other two. He could orchestrate this in a way that he gets the lion's share of the income (Japan and China) while the others are used as front troops in beleagured core earth nations. The most precious spoils is by nature all his - Poss, as the other Megacorps have no means to harvest it. Maybe they even don't know about it. But this would mean that 3327 has to avoid them learning about it, which would forbid that they share into the war. As later on in the war he finally takes the route to open earth for the other Megacorps, this can not be the case.

In my games I do it differently. 3327 begins the war with a business proposal to the other Megacorps. He leads the invasion, using Tokyo as a bridgehead but soon after the others are ferried in. The means for the invasion, of course, have to be bought from Kanawa. I made some radical changes there (and I know how you will react on this). My Kanawa has invented temporary mobile hardpoints, which are nothing less than portable maelstrom bridges and stelae, a less advanced version of the one the Tharkoldu use (I forgot the name of this device). So, the other companies can place Marketplace reality practically everywhere. The extent of these tmh is from 500 meters diameter up to 5 km, but the farther the reach, the earlier they have to be recharged (with poss). What the other companies don't know is that the use of these devices gives poss to the Darkness Device and still 3327 makes them pay heavily for each recharge, giving Kanawa a poss surplus and a a profit in the final equation. Not to forget that his primary goal is not to become Torg or even amass poss, but to gain power over the other two companies. Maybe he will adjust his goals when he has achieved this, but not for now. So it would be fit for him to bleed them dry in a war, while gaining more than they do.

Btw, I don't use the word Nippon Tech. I try to avoid refering to it, but if I have to, I call it Marketplace. And I won't let new players know about an invasion in Japan. Even japanese characters normally don't know about it (except when the template demands it)

[skeloric]

The world of Marketplace isn't all japanese. There are people of all ethnical backgrounds working for the megacorps. Also, it is not all about 3327 aka Kanawa.



So, why should 3327 take the burden of the invasion all on his own Megacorp, when he could share it with the other two. He could orchestrate this in a way that he gets the lion's share of the income (Japan and China) while the others are used as front troops in beleagured core earth nations. The most precious spoils is by nature all his - Poss, as the other Megacorps have no means to harvest it. Maybe they even don't know about it.

Btw, I never use the term Nippon Tech, I always call it Marketplace and new players get no knowledge about it. Only some Japanese characters come with the knowledge that Kanawa is really an invader.

But this would mean that 3327 has to avoid them learning about it, which would forbid that they share into the war. As later on in the war he finally takes the route to open earth for the other Megacorps, this can not be the case.

In my games I do it differently. 3327 begins the war with a business proposal to the other Megacorps. He leads the invasion, using Tokyo as a bridgehead but soon after the others are ferried in. The means for the invasion, of course, have to be bought from Kanawa. I made some radical changes there (and I know how you will react on this). My Kanawa has invented temporary mobile hardpoints, which are nothing less than portable maelstrom bridges and stelae, a less advanced version of the one the Tharkoldu use (I forgot the name of this device). So, the other companies can place Marketplace reality practically everywhere. The extent of these tmh is from 500 meters diameter up to 5 km, but the farther the reach, the earlier they have to be recharged (with poss). What the other companies don't know is that the use of these devices gives poss to the Darkness Device and still 3327 makes them pay heavily for each recharge, giving Kanawa a poss surplus and a a profit in the final equation.
I'm not certain which way you thought I'd react but I do like it.
I'd tend more towards Kanawa simply offering them some strange "Hardpoint Generator" that works as described except without the overall collection of poss energy.
instead, they'd soften up the market and Kanaw would then move in and buy up around them to plant "Bank of Nippon" stelae and drop a new bridge and just conveniently forget to mention to them that the "Hardpoint Generator" is no longer required.

[Stormchild]

Thought you would object to changing the rules, what I do here in a rather crude way. I thought about a device without poss first, but found no way how this could work. If it was possible to change an area to another reality without poss at Tech 24, this could have lots of consequences. And, since Kanawa would do nothing without a backend, I thought it better if he gained poss through this scam. But the other version would also work. Kanawa gains no poss from those reality devices, has to put poss in it in order to make it work up until he has planted a bridge and stelae. He would then charge extremely high prices in order to keep this market small, so as not to lose too much poss.

[skeloric]

Kanawa gains no poss from those reality devices, has to put poss in it in order to make it work up until he has planted a bridge and stelae. He would then charge extremely high prices in order to keep this market small, so as not to lose too much poss.
And for a Cosm that runs on profit, Kanawa deems the Poss expenditure acceptable commodity for those high prices he charges.