History Main / SlidingScaleofAlternateHistoryPlausibility

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' is set in 1947 UsefulNotes/LosAngeles of a universe where cartoon characters ("toons") co-exist with human beings, and animated features are produced not by photographing multiple cels, but by merely recording toons on camera like a live-action shoot. A newspaper clipping in Eddie Valiant's office shows that WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} [[UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy was subject to McCarthyism]] with [[RedScare Soviet]] [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar mole]] accusations, but was later found innocent.

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' is set in 1947 UsefulNotes/LosAngeles of a universe where cartoon characters ("toons") co-exist with human beings, and animated features are produced not by photographing multiple cels, but by merely recording toons on camera like a live-action shoot. A newspaper clipping in Eddie Valiant's office shows that WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} [[UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy was subject to McCarthyism]] with [[RedScare a Soviet]] [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar mole]] accusations, but was later found innocent.

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' is set in 1947 UsefulNotes/LosAngeles of a universe where cartoon characters ("toons") co-exist with human beings, and animated features are produced not by photographing multiple cels, but by merely recording toons on camera like a live-action shoot. A newspaper clipping in Eddie Valiant's office shows that WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} faced [=McCarthyism=] and accused of being [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar a Soviet mole]], but was later found innocent.

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' is set in 1947 UsefulNotes/LosAngeles of a universe where animated characters ("toons") co-exist with human beings, and cartoons are produced not by photographing multiple cels, but by merely recording toons on camera like a live-action shoot. A newspaper clipping in Eddie Valiant's office shows that WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} was accused, and later found innocent, of being [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar a Soviet mole]].

!!Type I - Hard Alternate History:

Type I Alternate Histories are often "unsteered", meaning that they have no predetermined outcome and simply follow the logical changes ("what if Lee won at Gettysburg?").

!!Type II - Hard/Soft Alternate History:

!!Type III - Soft Alternate History:

Type III Alternate Histories are almost always "steered" ("okay, so I need a Confederate George Patton running a Blitzkrieg through Stalinist China...").

!!Type IV - Utterly Implausible AH:

Over-the-top ludicrous {{Alternate History Wank}}s are usually put here. One good "rule of thumb" is if a [=PoD=] necessary to make the outcome plausibly happen is so far in the past that Butterflies would negate the very events that created the setting (such as a [=PoD=] to give Hitler the fleet he needed to invade the UK would need to be before WWI, probably negating the rise of Nazism), then it may be a Type IV.

!!Type X - AlienSpaceBats and Fantastical AH:
In contrast with Type IV, these works are '''deliberately''' designed as pure fantasy, typically following the RuleOfCool. Some sort of AppliedPhlebotinum or SufficientlyAdvancedAliens or NegativeSpaceWedgie or [[FunctionalMagic blatant magic]] causes a [=PoD=] that completely changes everything. What if [[Literature/{{Worldwar}} aliens invade Earth during World War II]]? What if time traveling modern Cherokee give assault rifles to their distant ancestors in 1820? What if a town from modern West Virginia was [[MassTeleportation time-ported]] to Germany [[Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo in the middle of the 30 Years War]]?

''Note to Tropers:'' when posting examples please make a note on how "Hard" the work is after the initial [=PoD=] if the [=PoD=] is the ASB element; for example "after the NegativeSpaceWedgie moves Manhattan, the rest of the work follows a more Type II or even Type I level of plausibility".

Needless to say, the line between the different Types is highly subjective, often depending on an individual's personal interpretations or what historical theory he/she believes. Where history is vague (such as Prehistory) pure creative writing or blatant [[AssPull Ass Pulls]] might be used. The perception of Type II vs. Type III vs. Type IV in particular can be very much in the eye of the beholder. Furthermore, perceived extreme cases of implausibility in a Type III can lead to cries of ASB ("and what magical fairy gave the Japanese the cargo ships they would have needed to invade Hawaii ?")

[[folder:Type I : Hard Alternate History]]

[[folder:Type II : Hard/Soft Alternate History]]

[[folder:Type III: Soft Alternate History]]

[[folder:Type IV : Utterly Implausible Alternate History]]

[[folder:Type X : AlienSpaceBats and Fantasy Alternate History]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' becomes a type X because of the existence of [[PhysicalGod Dr. Manhattan]], but is a Type III otherwise (the non-super powered superheroes have some smaller impacts on the history of fashion and pop-culture of the 20. century). The primary goal is a {{deconstruction}} of the superhero genre, not exploring alternate histories.

* Another obligatory Creator/HarryTurtledove example: the ''Literature/{{Worldwar}}'' series. Lizards from Outer Space invade during World War 2 and the Axis and Allies must set aside their differences to save Earth from alien conquest! Interestingly quite Hard AH after that, at least in the first books (Type I or II), but like many Turtledove works starts to Soften as the series advances to the point of being Type III to IV by the last books.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Uber}}'', the Third Reich develop the ability to create superhumans shortly before the Fall of Berlin. In a deconstruction of the StupidJetpackHitler trope, the consequences are then developed in a very big-picture, RealityEnsues and depressing way.

* ''Literature/VivereMilitareEst'' is a world in which the Third Reich and Imperial Japan came BackFromTheBrink in 1945 by employing "preternatural" weaponry that allows them to force a negotiated peace. What follows is a CosmicHorrorStory version of the Cold War with four superpowers (the Anglo-American alliance, Germany, Japan, and the USSR) that features rebels and terrorists engaging in HumanSacrifice to fuel weapons and deadly spells, the use of preternatural weaponry in civil wars leaving much of central Africa an EldritchLocation, Egypt becoming an occult rogue state ruled by a superhuman NephariousPharaoh who claims to be Akhenaten reborn, {{magitek}} becoming part of the fabric of normal technology, and MutuallyAssuredDestruction involving weapons that can shred the fabric of reality itself. (Nuclear weapons still exist, but are used mostly by nations like Israel that swear off preternatural weaponry.)

* ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' is the Napoleonic Wars... [[AC:with dragons]]! Otherwise a Type II: The society is still reminiscent of the equivalent time period and technologies are much the same, though there are some significant political deviations. (The Incas were never conquered because they ''also'' had dragons, for instance).

* In John Birmingham's novel ''Without Warning'', a ColonyDrop of a mysterious energy field called the Wave wipes out all human life in most of the continental United States and much of Canada, Mexico and Cuba in 2003 just before the invasion of Iraq but after that it's a Type I including Sadaam Hussein's reaction to "the Great Satan" getting its legs chopped out from under it and what follows.

* L. Neil Smith's The North American Confederacy series. While the concept of so much change happening because of the difference of one word in the Declaration of Independence is kinda cool, it is quite a job counting the ways at which it fails in plausibility. For example, [[FridgeLogic despite the emphasis on the property rights of individual citizens, slavery is abolished entirely in 1820 C.E.]]. Back then, people of African descent weren't widely considered to be full citizens or people and slaves were considered to be the property of their masters, so if the utopia that L. Neil Smith has imagined had a special emphasis on the individual property rights of citizens all along, slavery would most likely have been abolished ''later'' than in our timeline, if at all. To readers knowledgeable in the area of history, this can come off as PoliticallyCorrectHistory. The inconsistency between there being a special emphasis on individual property rights all along and slavery being abolished earlier than in our timeline with no apparent backlash ''alone'' is enough to push this into type IV.

* ''VideoGame/KaiserreichLegacyOfTheWeltkrieg'' is probably one of the most plausible alternate histories of World War I ever done. The way that Germany wins the war is not only plausible but quite possibly what would have happened if America had never entered the war, as this game postulates, and the overall handling of Europe is very well done. That being said, there are aspects of the alternate history that stretch the willing suspension of disbelief. America's Second Civil War has no basis in historical fact and is even a stretch for the timeline presented, and seems to exist purely for narrative and gameplay balance purposes (i.e. knock the US out for several years so that they can't intervene in Europe and Latin America). The German intervention in China is also something that almost certainly would not have happened in this or any other plausible alternate history -- and indeed, a later rework of China heavily toned it down. That being said, the game's story is really well researched, and even the shakier aspects of the history work well within the story as a whole.

* ''VideoGame/KaiserreichLegacyOfTheWeltkrieg'' is probably one of the most plausible alternate histories of World War I ever done. The way that Germany wins the war is not only plausible but quite possibly what would have happened if America had never entered the war, as this game postulates, and the overall handling of Europe is very well done. That being said, there are aspects of the alternate history that stretch the willing suspension of disbelief. America's Second Civil War has no basis in historical fact and is even a stretch for the timeline presented. The German intervention in China is also something that almost certainly would not have happened in this or any other plausible alternate history. That being said, the game's story is really well researched and even the more shaky aspects of the history work well within the story as a whole.

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' is set in 1947 UsefulNotes/LosAngeles of a universe where animated characters or "toons" co-exist with human beings and cartoons are produced not by photographing multiple cels but by merely recording toons on camera like a live-action shoot. A newspaper clipping in Eddie Valiant's office shows that was WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} was accused, and later found innocent, of being [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar a Soviet mole]].

* ''Film/{{Bright}}'' is set in PresentDay Los Angeles in a world where human beings co-exist with mythical fantasy creatures like orcs, elves, fairies, etc.. A human cop is partnered with the first orc ever to join the LAPD.

* ''Film/{{Bright}}'' is set in PresentDay LosAngeles in a world where human beings co-exist with mythical fantasy creatures like orcs, elves, fairies, etc.. A human cop is partnered with the first orc ever to join the LAPD.

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' is set in 1947 of a universe where animated characters or "toons" co-exist with human beings and cartoons are produced not by photographing multiple cels but by merely recording toons on camera like a live-action shoot. A newspaper clipping in Eddie Valiant's office shows that was WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} was accused, and later found innocent, of being [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar a Soviet mole]].

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' is set in 1947 of a universe where animated characters co-exist with human beings and cartoons are produced not by photographing multiple cels by merely by recording live toons on camera like a live-action shoot. A newspaper clipping in Eddie Valiant's office shows that was WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} was accused, and later found innocent, of being [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar a Russian spy]].

In contrast with Type IV, these works are '''deliberately''' designed as pure fantasy, typically following the RuleOfCool. Some sort of AppliedPhlebotinum or SufficientlyAdvancedAliens or NegativeSpaceWedgie or [[FunctionalMagic blatant magic]] causes a [=PoD=] that completely changes everything. What if [[Literature/{{Worldwar}} aliens invade Earth during World War II]]? What if time traveling modern Cherokee give assault rifles to their distant ancestors in 1820? What if a town from modern West Virginia was [[MassTeleportation time-ported]] to Germany in the middle of the 30 Years War?

* ''VideoGame/{{Homefront}}'' has a veritable perfect storm of events (a Saudi-Iran war that cripples oil supplies, another global depression, and a pandemic) serve to empower Korea and weaken America. After Kim Jong-il's death, his son, Kim Jong-un, manages to reunite both Koreas by 2013 and elevate the country to global power status, even going so far as to absorb Japan and most of Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, [[FallenStatesOfAmerica America has become unstable, impoverished, and under martial law]], overrun with [[CrazySurvivalist survivalists]] and militias. All of this was made worse in January 2025, when the Greater Korean Republic launches an [=EMP=] strike on America, crippling the country's power supplies, followed by a military invasion of the mainland U.S. By 2027, the western half of America has come under Korean occupation and the country is split in half by the Koreans irradiating the Mississippi river.

* ''Literature/TheAngloAmericanNaziWar'' has Hitler, it a rare moment of clarity, divert 250,000 troops away from what would be a doomed campaign in North Africa toward the Battle of Stalingrad. The Nazis ultimately win and the Soviet Union is defeated by 1943. The author willingly admits this victory is a bit of a stretch, even given Stalin's enraged purge of his generals for their loss. Still, the rest of the timeline manages to be a fairly solid (and ''[[CrapsackWorld horrifying]]'') Type I.

* ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries Command & Conquer: Red Alert]]'' seems to be Type X-IV. It ''starts'' with [[UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein Einstein]] building a TimeMachine [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct and going back to kill Hitler]]. DirtyCommunists led by [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin]] invade Europe with [[ShockAndAwe Tesla coils]] and [[TankGoodness superheavy tanks]]. The Europeans win the war - but some thirty years later, we have a Soviet invasion of the United States this time... ''with [[TentacledTerror giant battlesquids]], {{Weather Control Machine}}s, tanks masquerading as trees, [[FrickinLaserBeams Frickin Prismatic Beams]], CloningBlues, {{Teleportation}}, ''' [[CoolAirship bomber blimps]], [[MindControl Mind-Controlling]] soldiers and psychic possession via telephone''''', all served with a side order of [[LargeHam Ham]] and [[{{Camp}} Cheese]]. And then, when it seemed it was over, [[SerialEscalation Red Alert 3 comes-a-knockin'...]]

* Newer videos in WebVideo/AlternateHistoryHub typically fall under Type I or at the very least Type II with carefully done research om the explored topics. Earlier videos tend to rank lower as Cody wasn't yet experienced with doing the research and writing the scenarios and they are a case of OldShame for him nowadays.

* ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries Command & Conquer: Red Alert]]'' seems to be Type X-IV. It ''starts'' with [[UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein Einstein]] building a TimeMachine [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct and going back to kill Hitler]]. DirtyCommunists led by [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin]] invade Europe with [[ShockAndAwe Tesla coils]] and [[TankGoodness superheavy tanks]]. The Europeans win the war - but some thirty years later, we have a Soviet invasion of the United States this time... ''with [[TentacledTerror giant battlesquids]], {{Weather Control Machine}}s, tanks masquerading as trees, [[FrickinLaserBeams Frickin Prismatic Beams]], CloningBlues, TeleportersAndTransporters, ''' [[CoolAirship bomber blimps]], [[MindControl Mind-Controlling]] soldiers and psychic possession via telephone''''', all served with a side order of [[LargeHam Ham]] and [[{{Camp}} Cheese]]. And then, when it seemed it was over, [[SerialEscalation Red Alert 3 comes-a-knockin'...]]

* TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}. The point of divergence starts in the 80s, and carries on plausibly enough. Warren E. Burger doesn't retire from the US Supreme Court in 1986. Ronald Reagan throws George H. W. Bush under the bus during Iran-Contra. The first Alt!POTUS is Michael Dukakis. The Supreme Court makes decisions that pave the way for extraterritorial {{Mega Corp}}s. Eventually, the US decides to steal tribal land for coproate exploitation. Bad timing; [[TheMagicCameBack magic comes back]] and the Native Americans use it to reclaim a large chunk of the western United States, [[FullCircleRevolution where people of European, African, and Asian descent are put on reservations, exiled, or otherwise exploited]]. After this, {{Bizarre Baby Boom}}s, magical plagues, dragons powerful enough to challenge modern nation-states single-handedly, {{Mega Corp}}s growing still further, and [[CrapsackWorld general unpleasantness]] result.

* TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}. The point of divergence starts in the 80s, and carries on plausibly enough. Warren E. Burger doesn't retire from the US Supreme Court in 1986. Ronald Reagan throws George H. W. Bush under the bus during Iran-Contra. The first Alt!POTUS is Michael Dukakis. The Supreme Court makes decisions that pave the way for extraterritorial MegaCorps. Eventually, the US decides to steal tribal land for coproate exploitation. Bad timing; [[TheMagicCameBack magic comes back]] and the Native Americans use it to reclaim a large chunk of the western United States, [[FullCircleRevolution where people of European, African, and Asian descent are put on reservations, exiled, or otherwise exploited]]. After this, {{Bizarre Baby Boom}}s, magical plagues, dragons powerful enough to challenge modern nation-states single-handedly, {{Mega Corp}}s growing still further, and [[CrapsackWorld general unpleasantness]] result.

%%* TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}} seems to be this. Its [=PoD=] is in 2011 (if I remember correctly), where something called [[TheMagicComesBack 'the Awakening']] happens. As humanity is dealing with this, new species emerge: elves and dwarves start being born, followed by orks and trolls. After that, cybernetics are developed, Mega Corps start ruling sections of the planet as new superpowers, and full-inmersion VR is developed. After the space bats, however, the game takes a somewhat realistic turn. This entry NeedsWikiMagicLove, badly.

* The Mike Resnick short story compilations generally fall into this category, though a few go further down on the scale. A good example of the kind you see is in the "Battle of the Bulge" compilation, specially the short story called "A Backdoor into Germany: Monty Bounces the Rhine" in which Operation Market-Garden is not a disaster like it is OTL, but is a marginal success. It doesn't change much in the grand scheme of things, but the Western Allies beat the Soviets to Berlin by a few days.

* ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'' involves you fighting against the Nazis in the early 1960s, after they took over the world using advanced DieselPunk technology like giant mechs [[spoiler:which were actually derived from stolen technology invented by a ancient Jewish sect.]]