Why The War of the Worlds?

The eventual intention of this website is to draw together the assorted works of HG Wells into a coherent world in which roleplaying campaigns in the spirit of his writing can be set, incorporating as many of his stories as possible. I hope to build up a comprehensive background to this alternative world, a history that never was, but could have been.

This is a universe in which the Solar system is not inhabited solely by Man, but is shared with the advanced, emotionless Martians and the bustling, ant-like Selenites. Even on Earth man is not alone, but shares his planet with the cephalopod Sea Raiders, and the strange underwater civilisation that exists in the ocean's deepest reaches. Then there is the strange shadowy realm superimposed on our own, inhabited by unfriendly spirits.

There are gravity-defying Cavorite Spheres, Plattnerite-powered Time Machines, and lumbering Land Ironclads. Eccentric scientists create twisted beast-men on remote Pacific islands, develop invisibility treatments, or make fantastic journeys to the Moon or to the far future.

The history of this world is different too - following the Martian invasion at the end of the nineteenth century, humanity has taken a different path to our own. Major events have affected Humanity's outlook, from the War in the Air which convulsed the nations of the world in the early years of the twentieth century, to the devastating effects of the Star that entered our solar system and wreaked havoc in its close approach to Earth.

In drawing together these works, I hope to remain as true to the tone and spirit of Wells' works as possible, from his dark visions of the future in The War in the Air and The Time Machine to the hopeful epilogue to The War of the Worlds. Really, this is my tribute to the man whose writings have had such an enormous impact on our thoughts and dreams for a century and more.

Stephen Dismukes, May 1999

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last updated and validated May 6, 1999. SHD