Earth of the Ten Thousand Worlds is almost exactly like the Earth you know,
except that it’s also the Crossroads of the Ten Thousand Worlds ,
a nexus of multi-dimensional ley lines that makes it easier
than anywhere else in the omniverse to connect between different
planets, different dimensions, and even different metaphors of existence.
Extraterrestrials, extradimensionals, and even extraconceptuals
—collectively known as the Outsiders — all
use Earth as a way-station and jump-point in their travels.
By unspoken convention, the Outsiders try to leave the Earth
as undisturbed as possible, but their constant passage has inevitably
had an influence. Sometimes the Outsiders forget the odd trinket,
or their conflicts spill out beyond their borders, or they say
a bit too much to the locals, or worst of all, the very knowledge
of their existence (believed or not) serves as inspiration.
All manner of stories —Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy,
and more— happen every day on Earth.
PotLuck
Version 1.5, January 2023
Excerpt:
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Outsiders visiting Earth will sometimes accidentally leave behind the odd piece of gear; Few such items can be triggered by mere humans, and even less can be activated without harm, but a small number can be used just well enough to cause trouble.
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Meddler
Version 1.5, November 2022
Excerpt:
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“…One night I’m shooting darts at Terry’s with a few odd short blue-skinned tourist types, when we start buying each others’ shots. We’re all having a grand time, and then one of the little fellows jumps behind the bar and offers to make up a special drink for me. The next thing I remember, Terry’s youngest boy is shaking me awake in the rafters. Seems I flew up there…”
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Mojo
Version 1.5, November 2020
Excerpt:
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Jones grew up learning there were some things one simply didn’t ask in the Midnight Cabaret, such as how a trick really worked, a performer’s home town, and what Uncle Ernie did on his nights off that sometimes brought him home with bloody knuckles…
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Jinx
Version 1.5, October 2020
Excerpt:
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What few outside the Midnight Cabaret realize is that nearly everyone in the show is a war refugee from some faraway magical realm, worlds overrun by evil. Despite leaving their conquered homes and taking human form, the enemies of these survivors sometimes send minions after them; perhaps to thwart future reprisals; perhaps to finish the job. The performers always look for signs of incursions by their old enemies as they travel around the troupe’s new home.
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Chiaroscuro
Version 1.5, July 2020
Excerpt:
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Lucian Dark can usually pass as fully Human, even though he’s really a hybrid of Human and one of the native lifeforms from the extra-dimensional realm of Susur. In medieval terms, Chiaroscuro is the progeny of an incubus and a witch.
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Hex
Version 1.5, June 2020
Excerpt:
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At their first way-station … the Order was waiting. Hex and the broken remains of The Saints fought off their pursuers long enough to let the rest of the refugees escape for parts unknown, leaving Helena and her unit stranded on Earth.
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Doctor Fathom
Version 1.0, December 2012
Excerpt:
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She specializes in the study of applied biomimicry, using nature as an inspiration for her engineering designs. Marisol’s best design yet has been the “Fathom” powered deep-sea diving suit. With the suit, she’s been able to venture farther and deeper than most undersea explorers, and with her knack for following her hunches, Mari has discovered creatures of myth and civilizations of legend. So far, Dr. Paz has kept these things out of her papers, satisfied to write only about her engineering work.
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Changeling
Version 1.0, December 2012
Excerpt:
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When tested, he was once able to target ten different sheep identified only by numbered ear-tags, each one running in a different direction inside a herd of hundreds, and simultaneously teleport each sheep into a different pen. Young Mr. White can do these sorts of things because he creates, destroys, and manipulates miniature wormholes at will.
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Myriad
Version 1.0, October 2012
Excerpt:
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The reports usually arrive after a sighting of a strange shape-shifting creature, and are on topics as far-ranging as cover-ups of dangerous, badly-designed bridges to connections between port officials and pirates. It is an open secret that several trans-national oil company executives have pooled their resources to put out a bounty on the creature.
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Borzoî
Version 1.0, July 2012
Excerpt:
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In this state, he unconsciously assesses the known capabilities of his opponents, predicts their most likely moves, visualizes the consequences of his potential responses, and calculates his best possible course of action. His mind recalculates all the known variables in an ongoing battle from moment to moment.
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Menace
Version 1.0, May 2012
Excerpt:
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Sophie made a new life for herself among the homeless, squatters, gangs, and anarchists of the urban jungle. In this dangerous world, she found a ready outlet for her rage, and plenty of opportunities to practice using her unusual abilities in life-or-death situations.
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Sara
Version 1.0, February 2009
Excerpt:
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…the underworld can tell you how McLeish earned her nickname. Sara remembers everything you did, including things you did in the dark, things you’d rather forget; and if you disappoint her, Cruel Sara will show it all back to you.
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Raven
Version 1.0, May 2008
Excerpt:
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…In 1327, Julian of Kent made a pact with an evil from beyond this world and traded away his humanity for immortality. He was taught the principles of magic and the Ritual of Rebirth in exchange for serving the Dark Sires…
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Darchangel
Version 1.0, March 2008
Excerpt:
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“…Somewhere in there sprawling, half over the edge of a dock, watching neon dance on multiplying ripples as bits of my shattered mind tried tumbling back together. Staring into the reflection of a nightmare creature wearing my face and asking: ‘What’s my name?’”
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Jajuok
Version 1.0, February 2008
Excerpt:
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…his timely intervention and fast talking bought enough time for a Canadian crew to escape a band of smugglers whom they’d witnessed at work. They didn’t forget that, and their next time in port, offered him a paying job onboard the Ice Princess…
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Huntsman
Version 1.0, January 2008
Excerpt:
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“I’ve never forgotten my first sight of a faerie Huntsman, clothed in mist and shadow and rune-covered armor, mounted on a horned beast, pointing a spiral-carved spear right at my nine-year-old heart…”
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Or et Argent
Version 1.0, December 2007
Excerpt:
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…two flashy engineers who started flying into aerospace shows in gold and silver flying suits to promote their new firm. Everyone just assumed they were male…
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Hijack
Version 1.0, November 2007
Excerpt:
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Hiram kept his end of the bargain, and even stuck up for them when some rude spring-breakers at Playa del Carmen wanted to use them for dwarf-tossing. They were thankful, saying something about wanting to avoid disintegrating the locals…
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Snowstorm
Version 1.0, October 2007
Excerpt:
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She also learned about their program for creating mentally enhanced soldiers, for building machines to augment and control psychics, for spinning off from any government program, and for forming an organization to hunt down and train “special” children under the guise of a world-wide charity. It was a lot for a five-year-old to take…
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Puppetiste
Version 1.0, August 2007
Excerpt:
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It took a long time for Laquesha to put it all together, but her psychic abilities are the result of a Creche experiment gone horribly wrong. Her parents, both doctors, met on a UN World Health Organization mission in Kenya…
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Warhawk
Version 1.0, July 2007
Excerpt:
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“…Within an hour of blowing the whistle to Jargenson, Keiko had a ‘lab accident’ –seems she fell and hit her head on a giant magnet seven times before dying. I nearly got cooked when a microwave laser ‘misfired’ a centimeter from my scalp…”
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