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...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Steppe

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Steppe, written in 1972 by Piers Anthony, was not published in the US until 1985. It predicted many of the elements of the MMORPG, along with LARPs.Alp is a warrior from 9th-century Earth who, at the moment he should have died, instead is kidnapped into the future. There he finds himself participating in a sort of live-action Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. The game, controlled by an enigmatic Game Machine, is a recreation of the history of Earth's great Steppe empires; and winning the Game is Alp's only alternative to being exiled back into the past, and the death that awaits him.
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fetched
2024-01-30T17:00:21Z
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2024-01-30T17:00:21Z
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Dropped link to HubWorld: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
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Dropped link to MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame: Not a Feature - IGNORE
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Dropped link to TheDeterminator: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
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HubWorld
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TheDeterminator
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DBTropes
 Steppe / int_23015b1f
type
Magnificent Bastard
 Steppe / int_23015b1f
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In fact, the Game Machine would have to be a Magnificent Bastard to be capable of overseeing millions if not billions of players and making sure that the major roles did not diverge from their historical models. This is somewhat handwaved, but also left up in the air. Eventually one follows the MST3K Mantra in regards to this.
 Steppe / int_23015b1f
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Steppe / int_23015b1f
 Steppe / int_2493b31d
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Fire-Forged Friends
 Steppe / int_2493b31d
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Fire-Forged Friends: Uga, the first player Alp meets in the Game, and Pei-li, Uga's aide, become this to him after an adventure in the China section of the Game. Later, as the character Temujin, Alp makes a friend of Borchu, who helps him recover his stolen "horses" from a superior force and later becomes a general in his army.
 Steppe / int_2493b31d
featureApplicability
1.0
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1.0
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hasFeature
Steppe / int_2493b31d
 Steppe / int_3bc88a7f
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Foregone Conclusion
 Steppe / int_3bc88a7f
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Foregone Conclusion: For anyone who ever studied Central Asian history and knows that Jenghiz Qan aka Genghis Khan was born with the name Temujin. Regardless, it's a thrilling read.
 Steppe / int_3bc88a7f
featureApplicability
1.0
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1.0
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hasFeature
Steppe / int_3bc88a7f
 Steppe / int_447d9e50
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Xanatos Speed Chess
 Steppe / int_447d9e50
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Xanatos Speed Chess: Fridge Logic dictates that the Game Machine itself must be playing this at an incredible rate to ensure that the historical storyline takes place, while maintaining an illusion of free will for the players. See The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard.
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featureApplicability
1.0
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1.0
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hasFeature
Steppe / int_447d9e50
 Steppe / int_6041e4f4
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The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard
 Steppe / int_6041e4f4
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The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: The Game Machine, charged with seeing that history is accurately recreated, somehow saw to it that someone from the past, like Alp, would be brought into the Game to guarantee the part of Jenghiz Qan would have a worthy player. In fact, the Game Machine would have to be a Magnificent Bastard to be capable of overseeing millions if not billions of players and making sure that the major roles did not diverge from their historical models. This is somewhat handwaved, but also left up in the air. Eventually one follows the MST3K Mantra in regards to this.
 Steppe / int_6041e4f4
featureApplicability
1.0
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hasFeature
Steppe / int_6041e4f4
 Steppe / int_7c862b8a
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Chronic Backstabbing Disorder
 Steppe / int_7c862b8a
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Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Alp's friends Uga and Pei-li contract this as the Game reaches its final stages and one of them must become Jenghiz Qan.
 Steppe / int_7c862b8a
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1.0
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 Steppe / int_828a5ca8
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Roaring Rampage of Rescue
 Steppe / int_828a5ca8
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Roaring Rampage of Rescue: Kokachin (after marrying Temujin/Alp) is kidnapped by another player. Alp's response? Raise three armies and go get her back!
 Steppe / int_828a5ca8
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1.0
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1.0
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Steppe / int_828a5ca8
 Steppe / int_8879db82
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Badass Crew
 Steppe / int_8879db82
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Badass Crew: Alp, Uga, and Pei-li in their first alliance. Alp (as Temujin), Qasar, Borchu, Subotai, and Jelme later on.
 Steppe / int_8879db82
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1.0
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1.0
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Steppe / int_8879db82
 Steppe / int_8cb844c6
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Mr. Exposition
 Steppe / int_8cb844c6
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Mr. Exposition: Munlik, "Temujin's" advisor, delivers a page-long political summary which all the characters should have known, but the readers did not.
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1.0
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 Steppe / int_905438eb
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Recycled IN SPACE!
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Recycled In Space: In a variation, the Game recreates ancient Earth by cordoning off parts of various planets and sections of the Galaxy to represent a stylistic version of the Asian Steppe. The scale is much bigger, but time is compressed so that one Day in real life represents a year historically. It all works out somehow.
 Steppe / int_905438eb
featureApplicability
1.0
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 Steppe / int_9c4003a1
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One True Love
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One True Love: Kokachin, the Chinese princess who Alp meets and then loses, returns in a new role 400 years later (Game-time) to marry him. They are reunited in real life as well, after Alp wins the game.
 Steppe / int_9c4003a1
featureApplicability
1.0
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1.0
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hasFeature
Steppe / int_9c4003a1
 Steppe / int_a3912d0e
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Sexy Discretion Shot
 Steppe / int_a3912d0e
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Sexy Discretion Shot: After Alp and Kokachin are reunited.
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featureApplicability
1.0
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Steppe / int_a3912d0e
 Steppe / int_a58e5ad7
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Naked People Are Funny
 Steppe / int_a58e5ad7
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Naked People Are Funny: Alp arrives in the future sans clothes. After escaping his abductors, he starts knocking out and stripping everyone he meets, so there is a wave of nude people fleeing for cover to confuse the police.
 Steppe / int_a58e5ad7
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1.0
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 Steppe / int_a6275bef
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Cool Sword
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Cool Sword: Game Swords are electrical stunners which paralyze with a graze, and knock the player unconscious with a solid hit. Unconscious players are "killed" and out of the Game, unless they buy into a new part.
 Steppe / int_a6275bef
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1.0
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 Steppe / int_bcc2f921
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An Adventurer Is You
 Steppe / int_bcc2f921
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An Adventurer Is You: In-universe, this is the main reason for the contemporary Galactic players to be in the Game; it lets them experience the thrills of battle and life in a different time without actual risk. Does This Remind You of Anything?
 Steppe / int_bcc2f921
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 Steppe / int_cdc4a218
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Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act
 Steppe / int_cdc4a218
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Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act: Alp was falling to his death in a gorge when he was brought to the future by a time machine. By the rules of the future, only a man who would otherwise be dead could be taken from the past.
 Steppe / int_cdc4a218
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 Steppe / int_d0b60f23
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GoshDangItToHeck
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Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Apparently cursing will decline in the future, if the best oath Alp can come up with ("in good Galactic slang") is "You crazy fool!"
 Steppe / int_d0b60f23
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1.0
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 Steppe / int_edfacbac
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Covert Pervert
 Steppe / int_edfacbac
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Covert Pervert: Audience ratings are a large factor in determining the player's final score when his part ends. The Machine flat-out tells Alp that audiences enjoy any illicit thrills they can get, brought on by the liberating setting of the Game and the fact that players have their awareness of the audience blocked out while they are actively playing. Yes, that's right; in the future, millions of viewers will watch you have sex. And you won't realize it until afterwards.
 Steppe / int_edfacbac
featureApplicability
1.0
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1.0
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hasFeature
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 Steppe / int_ee4d0515
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Overworld Not to Scale
 Steppe / int_ee4d0515
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Overworld Not to Scale: Sort of; The Game-world is meant to be a representation of Earth, but it is spread across the whole Galaxy. Horses are one-man spaceships; rivers are dust-nebulae; star clusters represent mountain ranges. Players travel at light-speed from planet to planet to get to the Game-area of each world.
 Steppe / int_ee4d0515
featureApplicability
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hasFeature
Steppe / int_ee4d0515
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

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Lie Detector / int_d21bea0e
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Roaring Rampage of Rescue / int_d21bea0e