The Otherverse Armory -An Otherverse America Sourcebook

The near future of Otherverse America is a strange beast, technologically speaking. Compared to other sci-fi settings, the native technology has developed along unpredictable lines. The neat delineations of D20 Future's Progress Levels don't apply to America, circa 2107 CE. Humanity is a new galactic power, and shelters under the protective arm of our Stonecutter allies. Humanity has faster than light travel, and intra-system travel is an unremarkable part of 22nd Century life, but the expected side technology of mechanical teleportation has never materialized.

The battlefield is dominated by agile and man-sized suits of powered armor, full conversion cyborgs are a distinct minority, and Otherverse America's soldiers wield a devastating array of energy weapons and rail guns. Older weapons aren't forgotten; insurgents and impoverished militaries across the world still carry the dependable and all but idiot proof AK-47, and the Colt 1911 will soon reach its second century of military service. Lifer pilots in heavily modified Gulfstreams slip past the Choicer radar net, while forest-living Lifer zealots called "Untainted" hunt and kill with bow and arrow, and switch to carbon fiber knives for close in work. Choicer combat volunteers carry a laser pistol in one hand and an obsidian athame in the other.

Civilian technology is similarly schizophrenic. Dreamscape gives users access to the worldwide Mesh while they sleep and dream, while commercial genetic engineering gives ordinary men and women abilities that would be considered superhuman in earlier eras. Hovercraft propelled by machinetelekinesis share the roadways with sixty year old ground cars and bicycles. Privacy is a long forgotten myth, with only the comparatively low tech Lifer Enclaves offering any relief from the omnipresent security culture.

Computer technology is more advanced than in many sci-fi settings, and while AI is common, fully sentient androids are virtually non existent. Robotics remains limited to industrial fabrication and semi-autonomous military drones. "Dumb AI" designed for expertise in a single field are omnipresent, and are included as a standard feature in most commercial electronics. Your entertainment console or palmtop computer can quickly learn your preferences, your clothes can adjust color and style to suit your mood, and your vehicle can easily drive itself while you nap. More advanced AI have become humanity's advisors: the Covenant has created an entire pantheon of altruistic AI gods and goddesses, while the mysterious Nuremberg Consciousness manipulates the Lifer nation from the shadows.

The Otherverse Armory is a compilation of the military and civilian technology that has appeared in several Otherverse America sourcebooks. Cybernetics are covered extensively in The Dept 7 Tech Update: Cybernetics (Skortched Urf Studios) and State of the Otherverse: Cybernetics Armory. Genetic engineering is covered extensively in Sexually Transmitted Future) while Smartlight tech is detailed in State of the Otherverse: Smartlights.