Forbidden Book: “So You Want To Take Over a Timeline.” [GURPS 4E]

So You Want To Take Over a Timeline – Google Docs

So this went kind of dark.

So You Want To Take Over a Timeline

On Homeline, So You Want To Take Over a Timeline was first published in 2011 by the sort of American hard-shelled libertarian publishing company that has both a cheerful indifference to being told what to do, and rabid lawyers on speed-dial. The book is flat-out banned in large parts of the planet, but not in Homeline’s United States. And, to add insult to injury, the text was promptly put into the public domain by the author and publisher, which means that the entire spectrum of anti-Infinity groups and organizations out there have potential access to as many copies as they need.  

As for the text itself: it’s about six hundred pages’ worth of highly detailed instructions on how to mix gunpowder, how to make a still, the basic concepts of hygiene, dentistry, and sanitation, the best way to design a sewer system, helpful hints on how to set up a slave-based economy, a general primer on power politics, tips on how to run a pogrom, a sample organizational chart for a network of spies, informants, and secret police, ten reliable assassination techniques that wouldn’t be detectable at TL4 and below, blueprints for a functional concentration camp, a recipe for mustard gas, detailed instructions on how to take control of a religious movement, and so much raw sociopathy that it almost drips out from the bottom when you hold the book vertically.  Worse, it’s all good advice — if you’re defining ‘good’ in a certain way, which most of Infinity’s personnel flatly refuse to do.

So You Want To Take Over a Timeline is not a work for the faint of heart, then.  Or the entirely sane.  The putative author of it has been investigated to a fare-thee-well, but there’s no evidence that he’s ever tested out any of the more disturbing advice found inside of it — or that he’s even ever left Homeline.  Formal banning or not, nobody on Homeline with a copy of this book can expect any kind of pleasant reception from Infinity, if they find out that the person possesses it.  The I-Cops have cleaned up one too many would be Lord of Men’s final redoubt where a well-thumbed copy of this book was present.  

And as for for other parallels… it’s widely rumored that being caught with a copy of this book on another timeline is an excellent way to get taken somewhere quiet and shot, no trial, no exile to Coventry, no appeal.  Certainly Centrum has a similar, open policy: Infinity’s main crosstime rival may be slightly more tolerant of ‘ruthlessness,’ but they have their own issues with megalomaniacs…

The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the In Nomine and GURPS systems from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.

In Nomine and GURPS are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games, and the art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy.