ExpenseRPG Historical Timeline
Point of Divergence
September 11, 1777 - Battle of Brandywine Divergence
- George Washington killed by sniper's bullet during the Battle of Brandywine
- American Revolutionary War takes dramatically different course
- Timeline splits from our reality at this point
19th Century: The Age of Tegic Discovery
1832 - Birth of Sean Salaan
- Irish Mystic
- Author of Magical Chromodynamics
1847 - Discovery of Radiation and Birth of Tegic
- Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor discovers radiation after observing uranium salts fogging photographic film
- This discovery leads to profound interest in combining natural science with the occult
1852 - Magical Chromodynamics Published
- Foundational book unifying Natural Science with the Occult
- Birth of "Tegic" (Technical Magic) as a cosmological framework
- Tegical Revolution begins
Mid-1800s - Alternative Industrial Development
- Nuclear power emerges alongside steam power
- "Quintessence" (concentrated magical energy) serves as a compact energy source for vehicles and robots
- Internal combustion engines not developed. Petroleum never exploited on an industrial scale.
Late 1800s - Early Space Colonization
- Earth powers (Prussia, Russia, Britain) establish lunar colonies
- Imperial Japan settles the asteroid Psyche as "Tetsu no sekai" (World of Iron)
- Colonial settlements concentrated in key lunar regions
- Several Near-Earth-Asteroids settled
Early 20th Century: War and Revolution
The Great War
- Global conflict cuts off lunar colonies from Earth
- Colonial settlements become isolated and forced to become self-sufficient
- Static trench warfare led to attempts by all sides to use Tegic to break the stalemate
- Necromancy was used to create undead soldiers
- Supernatural beings were brought in from other dimensions to fight
- Nuclear weapons were developed and used on the battlefield as well as on major cities
- Space powers used mass drivers to drop asteroids on enemy cities
The Cataclysm
- The destruction rendered most existing nations uninhabitable.
- The dust and soot from asteroid strikes and nuclear detonations darkened the sky for months, leading to widespread famine
- The Undead and supernatural beings preyed on human survivors
The Intervention
- A Supernatural being, known simply as "Mel" intervened to end the chaos
- Mel works through his emissaries, the Celestials
- Mel brokered an end to hostilities between the remaining warring factions
- Unable to reach a compromise, Mel simply gave humans an ultimatum: leave the Earth in the next century or be destroyed.
Mid-20th Century: The Space Exodus
Evactuation of Earth
- The OPFOR program was an emergency evacuation of the population of Earth to space
- Survivors develop fusion power technology which made journeys to the asteroid belt economical
- Coalition of international space programs organizes mass evacuation
- Multi-ethnic Earth refugees require massive city-scale settlements
Formation of Major Factions
- Krasnovians: Lunar colonies, cut off from Earth, undergo communist revolution, form authoritarian technocracy
- Circle Trigonists: Intellectuals and merchants flee Krasnovian territories, establish inner system stations
- OPFOR: Earth survivors and space program coalitions settle outer system
Space Age: Faction Development
Krasnovian Expansion
- Krasnovians claim entire Hill Sphere of the Moon
- Expand to gas giant moons throughout solar system
- Develop militaristic top-down society where every citizen is a "soldier"
- Establish ZRE automated legal system with capital punishment for fraud
- Secret control by supercomputers using Erwin Rommel clone Auditors ("The Comptroller")
Circle Trigonist Establishment
- Refugees establish varied governmental systems on space stations
- Develop mercantile economy based on trading, raiding, and entertainment
- Create complex court system requiring AI assistance
- Establish "Company" system with elected captains
- Build Syndicate social safety net for "Crew without Company"
OPFOR Federation
- Lease their capital from the Hitobito ("People of Iron"), who control the asteriod Psyche.
- OPFOR establishes socialist post-scarcity federation
- Develops "Protoculture" for conflict resolution
- Creates logarithmic taxation system based on market share
Modern Era: Treaty and Structure
Edict of Reykjavík
- Establishes territorial boundaries between factions
- Circle Trigonists limited to inner solar system (inside Mars orbit)
- Arms limitation treaties create military imbalances between factions
- Human rights are extended to all intelligent life, including thinking machines, and supernatural beings.
Current Political Structure
- Krasnovians: Control Moon and gas giant moons, militaristic socialist state
- Circle Trigonists: Collection of feuding states in inner system
- OPFOR: Outer system federation with major capitals at Psyche System
Key Installations
- Oceanus Procellarum: Krasnovian equatorial industrial center
- Lethia Enclave: Only Krasnovian region studying Tegic magic
- Psyche Orbital Ring: OPFOR capital around asteroid 16 Psyche
- New Franklin Station: Primary OPFOR government center with Project Perseus architecture
Cultural and Technological Developments
Universal Space Socialism
- All space cultures provide food, housing, medical care, and education
- Economic necessity of space life drives socialist policies across factions
- Idle time valued for magical and artistic development
Tegic vs. Natural Philosophy
- "Natural Philosophy" (our "science") considered regressive thinking
- "Tegic" (Technical Magic) becomes primary method of technological advancement
- Magic-poor areas industrialize while magic-rich areas remain artisanal
- Higher-level mages expected to have some madness from otherworldly insights
Modern Governance
- Heavy reliance on AI and expert systems for legal and administrative functions
- Complex bureaucratic structures across all factions
- Corporate dystopian elements in Circle Trigonist territories
- Post-scarcity economics in OPFOR regions
Timeline Notes
- Many specific dates lost or obscured in faction records
- Historical interpretation varies significantly between cultures
- Treaty systems and arms limitations continue to shape inter-faction relations