PUNK - Settings

[Daniel Solis]

I've got a couple months to kill between semesters and I'm trying to schedule my time in developing PUNK.

In case someone didn't catch my first thread, PUNK is a sourcebook for making, playing and running games in -punk subgenre settings a la cyberpunk, steampunk, whatever-punk. Sort of like All Flesh Must Be Eaten did for zombie survival horror game settings. The book is essentially a simple system in the first chapter with every following chapter devoted to an individual game setting, switching out prefixes of -punk and seeing what kind of worlds come out.

The system's almost finished and it's time to develop these settings. I'd like to trim it down to about four or five settings in the core sourcebook.  What I need is an objective opinion on which of these concepts is most evocative and most deserving of my immediate development.

Genres and Settings

Superpunk: Everyone has superpowers. The more powerful people have formed an international totalitarian police force, Justice Corps, whose mission is strictly built around extreme power requiring extreme responsibility. Caught beneath the JC's jackboots are the player characters, slightly-less-powerful and more than a little dysfunctional, trying to make a living or engaging in outright guerilla gang warfare. (Think of Batman leading a rebellion against a fascist superman-led Justice League.)

Chronopunk: Still in development. Everyone can travel through time, just a little bit. Basic theme is misadventures in time travel in the spirit of Bill & Ted, 12 Monkeys and Donnie Darko.

Theopunk: Everyone's prayers are answered, causing widespread chaos and sociopolitical collapse. A few years later, literally theocratic nation-states vie with one another for more worshippers and thus greater power bases. Though they compete against each other, they all loathe the Atheists (the player characters) who are just a waste of space and resources.

Godpunk: On Y2k, the ancient gods have finally died. Their enormous bodies fall from the skies crying, bleeding and screaming. Their corpses are dissected, re-engineered and launch the next technological revolution. Nature goddess technology terraforms Mars. Lightning god organs supply endless energy to the cities. Powerful new steroids called 'Hercs' are flooding the streets. But not everyone agrees with the unethical use of living beings. The Deity Liberation Front plans clandestine attacks on theotech labs. There are also rumors that the gods, whose body parts are now infused with nearly all daily life, are beginning to reawaken.

Ghostpunk: Still in development. The dead of the past several centuries have returned and are making things unbearable for the living. This setting is a sort of Ghostbusters in reverse, where the player characters are ghosts trying to do their own thing while avoiding municipally funded mercenary ghost hunters of every stripe.

Elementapunk: Still in development. The detonation of the atomic bomb in the 40s unleased the power of the most raw components of the universe, mutating everyone on the planet and giving them mystical dominance over aspects of reality, or elements. Everyone controls some element from earth, wind, or fire to happiness, doorways, gambling, rock n' roll or radiation. Society maintains a hint of familiarity, but with severe "alien" tinge. Everyone still looks like a normal person until they start using their powers of their elemental abilities. Powers are limited to either creation, destruction, change, control or sensing their particular element. (Sort of a mix of Nobilis and Ars Magica.)

Lycanthropunk: Still in development. An asteroid collides with the moon, releasing the mystical power it held over the dozen or so true cursed lycanthropes on earth. As lunar debris destroys many major cities, humanity begins to change into anthropomorphic animal people, from amoebas to whales.

Psipunk: Still in development. Everyone suddenly has psionic powers, the basest of which being that everyone can now read everyone else's mind. Secrecy and privacy are things of the past. The world's peoples are gradually merging into a hive-like overmind.

The Point

Okay, so which of these settings seems to hold the most promise as a fun, viable game setting? Which make you say "Oooh... I want to play in this world." Probably most importantly, which settings lend themselves to PCs actually doing something fun to play?

[Tonic]

I am thoroughly intrigued with Godpunk. Very unique.

[Daniel Solis]

Whoops, sorry folks, I forgot one last concept.

Superpunk: Another superpunk concept still in development. Roughly quarter of every generation, from the 1960s on, develops superpowers at puberty and is doomed to "burn out" (die) before the age of 21. In a macrocosmic sense, the entire human species is "burning out" with each gradually shrinking generation. Tentative title: "Better to burn"

[Little_Rat]

Hmn. Interesting but the scenerios were "everyone had powers" don't seem to jive with me. I like role playing games where you are special and you have to fit in with everyone else. Or else.
And lycantropunk is just going to furries. I'm sorry but furries are evil, lol.
So are you going to do cyber and steam punk? If you do some sort of faerie punk ala neil gaiman and Underworld, that would be cool.
Other than that, some very good ideas.
Best of luck!

[Daniel Solis]

Hmn. Interesting but the scenerios were "everyone had powers" don't seem to jive with me. I like role playing games where you are special and you have to fit in with everyone else.

Yup, I like those games too, but one of the main themes of all the punk settings, or at least the ones I'm writing, is the proliferation of the central premise to the open public. Just as cyberpunk reflects a world full of fully accessible computer and cybertechnology, a superpunk setting would have widespread access to the "super" premise and a fupunk setting would imply everyone knowing, or potentially knowing, kung fu or some other kind of cinematic martial art.

I've been avoiding cyberpunk and steampunk, however, since those genres have been done by people far more talented than me.

[ross_winn]

Just a few thoughts on the idea of PUNK.

If you are shooting for a (insert genre here)-punk genre book I would suggest a few things. I would define pretty specifically how (in your view) punk elements twist a setting. This is a pretty debatable area, and one where I am sure my opinions would be wildly different from most people's. I think you also need to include a fair amount of material on 'existing' or 'understood' punk genres. Cyberpunk, Steampunk, and Splatterpunk are the three that jump out to me.

Once you have explained a lexicon to your audience you can then discuss what exactly you want to say.

thanks for listening...

[Daniel Solis]

I would define pretty specifically how (in your view) punk elements twist a setting.

Here's what I've been working with so far:

A –punk setting is defined by a few notable characteristics. The first being a world that is, at least in some respects, recognizable as and relatable to a 21st century audience. Second, a central concept ("anachronistic technology," "altered science," "alternate history," or juxtaposition of genres) alters the fundamental nature of that world. Third, reconstruction of the once-familiar world around the central concept and finding out what new cultures, factions, histories, peoples and nuances would arise as a result of the widespread influence of the central concept.

When creating a new -punk world at this stage, it is important to maintain a pessimistically tinged assumption of how the world might turn out as a result of the central concept. The –punk subgenre is characterized by the wonders and delights of the “altering premise” juxtaposed against vast gaps of socioeconomic status, far-reaching tendrils of corrupted authority, and scrappy protagonists with dubious heroism. Essentially, a –punk world can find the seed of creation by completing the following statement:

“(central premise) but even though it's made some things better, it’s made other things worse.”

Does that work as the beginnings of a clear "thesis" of sorts?

I think you also need to include a fair amount of material on 'existing' or 'understood' punk genres. Cyberpunk, Steampunk, and Splatterpunk are the three that jump out to me.

That's a very good idea, like a -Punk Primer. Thanks!

[ross_winn]

Yes, you very much have a clear beginning of a thesis there.

best of luck!

Ross, reformed cyberpunk

[Mike Holmes]

Whoops, sorry folks, I forgot one last concept.

Superpunk: Another superpunk concept still in development. Roughly quarter of every generation, from the 1960s on, develops superpowers at puberty and is doomed to "burn out" (die) before the age of 21. In a macrocosmic sense, the entire human species is "burning out" with each gradually shrinking generation. Tentative title: "Better to burn"

An increase in the death rate by 25% wouldn't be enough for humans to die off. Not nearly. In fact, since these folks reach maturity before dieing out, they could even reproduce themselves occasionally. This would limit population growth, but it would still continue. All you need is countries where the average number of children per family is more than 2 2/3. Which is every non-industrialized nation in the world. And that's assuming that people wouldn't adjust to the deaths with more births.

So do you mean to imply that the problem gets worse and worse each generation? Or does the problem lie elsewhere?

Mike

[Daniel Solis]

An increase in the death rate by 25% wouldn't be enough for humans to die off. Not nearly. In fact, since these folks reach maturity before dieing out, they could even reproduce themselves occasionally. This would limit population growth, but it would still continue. All you need is countries where the average number of children per family is more than 2 2/3. Which is every non-industrialized nation in the world. And that's assuming that people wouldn't adjust to the deaths with more births.

So do you mean to imply that the problem gets worse and worse each generation? Or does the problem lie elsewhere?

Mike

That's just a miscalculation on my part, but the idea of a linked external problem is intriguing, as is the "infection" rate raising with each generation. Just for my information, how high would the infection rate have to be to have the "gradually dwindling species" effect?

[Mike Holmes]

Just for my information, how high would the infection rate have to be to have the "gradually dwindling species" effect?

Pretty damn high. Because a single non-terminal mother can produce a lot of children (males are relatively unimportant needing only a few to be able to impregnate every woman). All depends on how willing people are to fight the effect of what is, in essence, a plague. But given even a little determination, you're going to need at least 80% or more of the population to be terminal. And that's assuming that the terminal were themselves sterile. A population that all dies by 21 could maintain itself indefinitely. Also depends on how often they die earlier than 21, and how early. See, age is not the problem...we're all terminal, really.

All sorts of variables. And, yes, a population of a species is very hard to kill assuming access to everything it needs to reporduce.

Things don't look really grim until you get over 90% of the population terminal and sterile (meaning that every fertile woman has to have 10 children to get one that can reproduce). This is about the point that complications will add up to make the woman unlikely to survive until more births. And interestingly, you'll still have a very large population for the most part of the dyoff. They'll just all be dying early.

Mike

[Daniel Solis]

Thanks for the info, I hadn't realized it was such a can of worms I was opening.

Back to the original question though, which of the settings seems most promising for immediate development?

[Matt Machell]

Well, I'd go with developing the more unusual settings first. Gives you something to set you apart from other ****punk games. Godpunk sounds the most intriguing and left-field concept of those you've got there.

Then again, any of them could be easily developed. The key is asking yourself "what do the PCs do?" and "why is it cool?"

-Matt