Topic: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Started by: Dev
Started on: 7/25/2003
Board: Indie Game Design
On 7/25/2003 at 6:20am, Dev wrote:
My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Hi! I'm very new here, but I'm trying to build a space setting, in particular for use with Active Exploits (but I feel like the system is rules-light enough that it's not the most important part of the world-building yet). I'm going to try to go through a few ideas in my head, that together led me in this ill-advised attempt to make my own setting... What I am hoping for is advice if my world is compelling enough, and if you guys agree with my goals.
Part of me is, of course, discouraged by the very deep and detailed work of other settings. Traveller to say the least, but perusing RPGnow I know there are hundreds more I will never have time to read. I respect this work, but my conceit is to create a slim setting volume which is indeed novel. My goals: (summed up from a gramatically poor rant {a})
(1) A Readily Familiar World. I plan on releasing, with the setting, a premade network of interconnecting worlds, but ideally it should be possible to jump in to the world without requiring too much pre-game reading by the players. Somehow, I want novelty but also enough familiarity that the environment isn't totally alien to them.
Again, I also like the possiblity of players learning more details of the world ad hoc, perhaps in narrative GM "asides" as details become clear. (I'd consider rules for semirandomly generating new worlds out of thin air. Just in case.)
(2) Avoid jumping sharks! {b} No telepaths, psionics, alien races, sentient AIs, or Ancients. (I worry that, improperly used, these become cheesiness devices rather than plot devices.)
(3) Reject the traditional "Grand (Decaying?) Imperium" or "Evil Empire" faces of space adventure. Instead, I'm going for a more Space Noir / Space Opera feel. (Think more along the lines of Blake's 7, Firefly, Cowboy Bebop. Less Babylon 5, in fact.) I feel that players may related better to modern styles of politics, while "Empires" are indeed a throwback. (Imperiums are not impossible, but perhaps not the style I need to emulate.)
Those are my design precepts, so I have these following tenets of a world:
(4) Earth mostly devastated by the first test of the hyperdrive; Mars now seat of Human Civilization. (Exodus from Earth is one spark of colonization.)
(5) Based in the solar system, there is a burgeoning Solar Federation, which is vaguely Industrialist and Socialistic, and ultimately Statist.
(6) Heavy Star Gates are expensive, but allow major cargo liners to move at FTL distances. Consider analagous to railroads from the East Coast slowly building up into the Western frontier.
(7) Only smaller ships can make jumps without Star Gates; thus, smaller traders are what can link and enrich younger frontier worlds.
(8) Frontier space is anarchic and ununified.
So this plot (Expanding Industrial State into Anarchic Frontier) is what I'm starting to like better than what I had (Earth-based Fascists are very slowly building up to attack the Frontier, which had unified in defense previously, but now are in disarray...{c}). Am I in the right direction?
- dev
{a} http://www.pigames.net/aedesigner/wakka.php?wakka=SettingStarCrossSaga
{b} Of course, in the game I'm running now, I broke down and let a friend of mine be a Space Vampire, essentially. I mean, she's not, but... but... it fits the story... eh... Gah. Sorry.
{c} http://www.pigames.net/aedesigner/wakka.php?wakka=SettingQuickSpaceStarways
On 7/25/2003 at 6:45am, Knarf wrote:
Re: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Dev wrote: Hi! I'm very new here, but I'm trying to build a space setting, in particular for use with Active Exploits (but I feel like the system is rules-light enough that it's not the most important part of the world-building yet). I'm going to try to go through a few ideas in my head, that together led me in this ill-advised attempt to make my own setting... What I am hoping for is advice if my world is compelling enough, and if you guys agree with my goals.
Part of me is, of course, discouraged by the very deep and detailed work of other settings. Traveller to say the least, but perusing RPGnow I know there are hundreds more I will never have time to read. I respect this work, but my conceit is to create a slim setting volume which is indeed novel. My goals: (summed up from a gramatically poor rant {a})
(1) A Readily Familiar World. I plan on releasing, with the setting, a premade network of interconnecting worlds, but ideally it should be possible to jump in to the world without requiring too much pre-game reading by the players. Somehow, I want novelty but also enough familiarity that the environment isn't totally alien to them.
Again, I also like the possiblity of players learning more details of the world ad hoc, perhaps in narrative GM "asides" as details become clear. (I'd consider rules for semirandomly generating new worlds out of thin air. Just in case.)
(2) Avoid jumping sharks! {b} No telepaths, psionics, alien races, sentient AIs, or Ancients. (I worry that, improperly used, these become cheesiness devices rather than plot devices.)
(3) Reject the traditional "Grand (Decaying?) Imperium" or "Evil Empire" faces of space adventure. Instead, I'm going for a more Space Noir / Space Opera feel. (Think more along the lines of Blake's 7, Firefly, Cowboy Bebop. Less Babylon 5, in fact.) I feel that players may related better to modern styles of politics, while "Empires" are indeed a throwback. (Imperiums are not impossible, but perhaps not the style I need to emulate.)
Those are my design precepts, so I have these following tenets of a world:
(4) Earth mostly devastated by the first test of the hyperdrive; Mars now seat of Human Civilization. (Exodus from Earth is one spark of colonization.)
(5) Based in the solar system, there is a burgeoning Solar Federation, which is vaguely Industrialist and Socialistic, and ultimately Statist.
(6) Heavy Star Gates are expensive, but allow major cargo liners to move at FTL distances. Consider analagous to railroads from the East Coast slowly building up into the Western frontier.
(7) Only smaller ships can make jumps without Star Gates; thus, smaller traders are what can link and enrich younger frontier worlds.
(8) Frontier space is anarchic and ununified.
So this plot (Expanding Industrial State into Anarchic Frontier) is what I'm starting to like better than what I had (Earth-based Fascists are very slowly building up to attack the Frontier, which had unified in defense previously, but now are in disarray...{c}). Am I in the right direction?
- dev
{a} http://www.pigames.net/aedesigner/wakka.php?wakka=SettingStarCrossSaga
{b} Of course, in the game I'm running now, I broke down and let a friend of mine be a Space Vampire, essentially. I mean, she's not, but... but... it fits the story... eh... Gah. Sorry.
{c} http://www.pigames.net/aedesigner/wakka.php?wakka=SettingQuickSpaceStarways
First off, more power to you!
Secondly, I very much respect your desire to break free from all the cliches of space gaming. You might consider Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy for a sort of thematic guide. There are no "ooh aah look at this" type gimmicks in the stories (Though beyond the Trilogy, he does allow for psychic powers). There is a Star Empire, but it is crumbling and is not the showcase for events in the series.
Also, how does your FTL system work? How did it render Earth uninhabitable? Why can small ships carry a drive, but big ships can't? Usually, the ship needs to be big to power a drive, while the small, less powerful ships depend on gates. (At least that's how I see things) Or are two different FTL systems at work here? A "warp drive" system that is limited by the mass it can carry and a "hyperspace jumpgate" system for larger ships beyond the mass limit. An interesting possibility emerges where planets that are close to each other "as the crow flies" may be vastly separate via FTL (Maybe one has a larger sun with more gravity which warps space interestingly) allowing for an interesting galactic map.
When your just getting started, don't worry too much about spanning the galaxy. Just focus on things that your players can explore. Detail the core planets and sketch in some outer planets. Probably some planet creation rules would be in order, or at least a standard format for planet information.
On 7/25/2003 at 7:19am, Dev wrote:
So, FTL...
Also, how does your FTL system work? .. . An interesting possibility emerges where planets that are close to each other "as the crow flies" may be vastly separate via FTL (Maybe one has a larger sun with more gravity which warps space interestingly) allowing for an interesting galactic map.
I think that my ideas do in fact allow for these possibilities. To some extent, my FTL system is a mechanic for encouraging smaller ships (operable by a PC-party sized skeleton crew). But let me explain:
WARNING: PHYSICS-FREE AREA AHEAD.
So, parallel to our realspace universe is a jumpspace universe. Where as everything here is slower-than-light, all "stuff" in jumpspace MUST move faster than light. In fact, jumpspace made of lots of infinitely fast streams coursing in nonlinear and seemingly random directions: these streams might be called "jumpstreams" or "slipstreams". So, essentially, any point in realspace has a corresponding point in jumpspace, through which any number of jumpstream "rivers" are flowing through different routes.
When do we get out of jumpspace? You need special "anchors", attached to ships and system buoys, that help you find realworld coordinates in the jumpspace. Thus, try to figure out which streams (or which series of streams) will let you go from X to Y.
Of course, there are hand-wavy dangers of mixing jumpspace and realspace. This is prevented in failsafes in all modern jumpdrives/gates, but the prototype in Earth orbit was too close to Earth gravity, and had a (very) catastrophic failure.
So, Jump Gates are basically built on mastering "alpha" class jump streams, which have a wide "bandwidth", are relatively stable, and more easy to predict. However, it takes a tremendous amount of energy and maintainence to access these streams, and still more to keep them stable.
Other classes of streams (beta, gamma, etc) are of decreasing reliability, and have less "bandwidth" to work with; they also take less power to access. Thus, smaller ships are more naturally suited for them. No stargate is required.
Jump Gates are essentially instantaneous; otherwise, the process of freejumping (without a Gate) is: calculate the number of streams you need to switch between; dial up the destination's buoy to ensure that it's safe to berth there (low gravity, etc); "cast a line" into a stream; "lift anchor" to detatch from realspace; "switch streams" as necessary; "drop anchor" to start materializing in realspace"; and finally "cut the line". (These steps are largely done by AI, although the JumpNavigation still is calculated by humans. These phases are easily noticeable by the crew; there is a noticeable "nudge" when the anchor is dropped.)
Now I need a way to describe that more concisely. <g>
When your just getting started, don't worry too much about spanning the galaxy. Just focus on things that your players can explore.
Especially if realspace distance does not effect jumpspace distance, then that does indeed allow for more ad hoc planet creation (if this is desired). Of course, a GM has to keep track of all the worlds he'd just created, in order to create a consistent world. Perhaps it may be a build-as-you-go thing.
On 7/25/2003 at 8:34am, Shreyas Sampat wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Dev, welcome to the Forge!
In reference to your jumpspace idea: Take a look at C. S. Friedman's This Alien Shore for a different, yet strikingly similar, theory of parallel space. If you don't have the opportunity, here's a rundown:
Space is like a sheet off ice over the ocean. Movement in space is slow, torturously so, but safe. Here and there are cracks, ainniq. Ainniqs let you get into the water. You can more very quickly in the water, but it is dangerous, confusing, and there are Other Things there. You attract their attention. So, you have to find another ainniq real fast and get back on the ice, into safety.
Unfortunately, the ainniq world is a place that's very difficult to navigate in - it's full of wild colors and strange topography, and computers have not been trained to deal with it, because the only people capable of parsing the sights of the ainniq, seeing the dragons and escaping them into the safety of space, have a specific mental disorder that enables them to pilot, but predisposes them against computer programming and similar technical tasks.
As for worrying that your setting isn't compelling enough:
My belief is that any setting, written with passion and dedication, can be compelling and powerful. Look at Calvino's work, or David Foster Wallace's. They both weave great stories out of relatively mundane situations and settings. That's not to say that your setting isn't compelling, just to say that it isn't something that I'd worry about.
As for your goals, cheers! You have goals! That too, they're interesting ones; there is much to be said for writing approachable, friendly settings. I particularly appreciate that you've abandoned the 'Empire'... I could never convince myself that such a thing could exist in the frigid, unforgiving void.
On 7/25/2003 at 7:56pm, Dev wrote:
Random Universe Generation?
Random Universe Generation is certainly an optional rule, but I think it's at least a useful seed for new stories:
http://www.eternaldiner.org/cgi-bin/criticalhedge.cgi?PlanetGenerationRules
On 7/27/2003 at 3:56am, Caldis wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
For more stylistic advice, and a good read as well, check out Dan Simmons Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion. His story mirrors your setting amazingly closely with the original Earth destroyed and a far ranging space empire developing.
On 8/1/2003 at 12:24pm, Dirigible wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
No telepaths, psionics, alien races, sentient AIs, or Ancients. (I worry that, improperly used, these become cheesiness devices rather than plot devices.)
Nuts. I have all of those things in my setting. Although I'm not ashamed of my application of any of them, save the Elder Race-types.
Coincidentally, I also have Earth destroyed, and Mars as the capital of a totalitarian stellar nation (albeit one of several).
For yet another variation on FTL, here's how it works in my game :
Larger ships (light cruisers/medium freighters and up) can mount jumprives, but only warships tend to, as they are monsterously expensive in cost, bulk and energy. Only relativly large ships ahve the power/mass ratios available to make the jumpdrive work. Smaller ships, and most civilian vessels rely on jumpgates. Drives and gates work in quite different ways.
When using a jumpdrive, the ship must charge it's jump capacitor, a process which usually takes a week, varying on effeciency, range and available power. Once the capacitor is charged, target coordiantes are entered, the ship's plasma sheath (a venting of drive plasma that serves aas a buffer for potential energy exchanges during the jump), and the ship's computer performs the instant, approaching-infinitly complex equations required to locate and describe every atom in the ship and nearby space. Then, the jumpdrive uses the vast amount of energy stored in the capacitor to rewrite the ship's location, from A to B. This process is instantanious, and no medium such as hyperspace is needed or used. The only noticeable effect of the jumpas far as passengers are concerned (apart from the sheath of incandescent plasma around the ship) is a momentary sense of disorientation. A ship can jump a maximum distance based on the design of it's jumpdrive, which tends to be between 2 and 10 Horizons (a measure equal to approx 2.2 lightyears).
It is possible for a ship to mount two or more capacitors, theoretically giving it a much shorter turnaround time between jumps. However, the danger to this is that jumping with a full or partially full capacitor on board is virtually suicidal, unless the drive engineers are very, very skilled. It is frequently compared to leaping through a ring of fire while juggling an open barrel of petrol. Similarly, when it's capacitor is fully or mostly charged, a ship that takes damage is at risk from a capacitor discharge, which is guaranteed to destroy the ship in an awesome thermotechnic display.
Jumpgates use the same basic principle. However, as they are stationary and have vast, vast powerplants built in, they tend to have turnaround times of 1-4 hours. More importantly, a jumpgate an send ships using it to any jumpgate it has coordinate to, regardless of distance. Due to the enourmous demand for their use, getting from A to B isn't usually this simple, requiring detours, excursions and long ways round through C, D and Q. Due to their massive cost and economic necessity, jumpgates are never fair game as military targets, and destroying them is usually prosrcuted as a war crimes.
Have you (or your players, depending on on how your group runs things) decided on the theme or goals of the setting/campaign?
On 8/1/2003 at 3:12pm, Mike Holmes wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Hi Dirigible and welcome. That last line is an important one. Unless you have some way to establsh themes and such, this game idea is problematic, Dev.
Traveller has, well, lots and lots of stuff. That's it's thing. You want to avoid that, which is fine, but what do you replace it with? I mean, other than the fact that the setting is in space, the novelty of which will wear off after about an hour of play, what do you provide?
(2) Avoid jumping sharks! {b} No telepaths, psionics, alien races, sentient AIs, or Ancients. (I worry that, improperly used, these become cheesiness devices rather than plot devices.)I see your point, and it's a good one. But merely subtracting stuff doesn't improve the game.
What I think you need to make the game compelling, is something in the mechanics that speaks to establishing themes. We know what you don't want your game to be about, but just what is it about? Being on a frontier? Conflicting ways of life? If you can tell us that, then we can help you get there.
In fact, you'll note that once you have your concept of what the action is about, then all the shark jumping paraphrenalia suddely becomes safe again, as long as it's presented in the context of the concept. It's precisely because Fonzy jumping the shark was so antithetical to the normal themes of Happy Days that it caused the show to tank so soon thereafter.
Mike
On 8/1/2003 at 4:10pm, iago wrote:
Re: So, FTL...
Dev wrote: Now I need a way to describe that more concisely. <g>
No, you don't. I'd say it's exactly right -- not too long that it loses my attention, and not too short that it skips answering questions or providing details that would help a GM evoke the setting.
And speaking of your setting, man, you are a fan of Bebop. This is not a bad thing at all, mind you -- in many ways its part of why I'm finding your setting so attractive (the Firefly western gig is tasty too).
I'm also totally on board with your "slim setting" idea. If you dig back far enough you'll find a thread where I countered an exhortation to "write more" with a "no no, write less". There aren't enough haiku-perfect (i.e., short and sweet) gaming materials out there, and these days, it's those gaming materials that I value most -- they suit my available time and attention span.
You're on the right track here, I think. I think you need to fully embrace the whole "this is essentially a western in space" thing -- as Firefly and Cowboy Bebop have -- and really go at that full-tilt. Mike's talked about how simply subtracting isn't enough. Fine, then (he's got a point). I'd position the setting with an attitude of "the details of where you go aren't important -- it's the look and feel and themes of the setting that are important". Don't talk about specific planets, spaceship construction, all those usual mainstays of a space game. Instead talk about the kind of plots (spend a weekend with ten westerns from a video store and you'll have most all you need) and characters that are well-fitted to the setting.
Again, your strong inspiration in Cowboy Bebop is probably a great way to ground yourself. The series never, not once, made the technology or the geography of the setting "the point" of a show. Sure, it would come up -- you'd get the occasional explanation of the workings of hyperspace -- but it was all there to serve the conceit that it's a (spaghetti) western set in space. Adventures in your setting should work the same way. Figure out what western story you want to tell, and then wrap the setting around it.
On 8/2/2003 at 6:03am, Dev wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Wow! A lot of awesome feedback...
Coincidentally, I also have Earth destroyed, and Mars as the capital of a totalitarian stellar nation (albeit one of several).
Yeah, it's a popular thing these days. <g> It's an odd thing, working with Mars, as I have fond memories of a revolutionary and vibrant mars (see Mars Trilogy). Putting them in anything but a central heroic role is sometimes hard to resist.
For yet another variation on FTL, here's how it works in my game...
This looks good, and puts a reasonable cap on what is should be a very difficult process. My own jumpstream bit really was reverse-engineered, more or elss, to let my players go galavanting around for fun, with some economic basis behind their livelyhood. Your system is more realistic, and is quite good; you can get a lot of plot from having your players be stuck in a rogueish or backwater system, and needing to find the money to get access to the gates and get the hell out.
Have you (or your players, depending on on how your group runs things) decided on the theme or goals of the setting/campaign?
I went ahead for what is mainly a Western/Noir theme for my world (ditched using Earth as a Big Bad as such). That said, I think future runs (or rather, future character joining this campaign) will need to be given more hints at what fits in this world. Two of the characters (the OCG gypsy and the cross-dressing samurai) are relatively aberrant but made to fit within the world; the vengeful and angsty pianist and the relatively well-adjusted free trader make more sense in the context of what I'm trying to accomplish. Speaking of which...
I see your point, and it's a good one. But merely subtracting stuff doesn't improve the game...
We know what you don't want your game to be about, but just what is it about? Being on a frontier? Conflicting ways of life?
Really good point here, and I think I was skirting this issue in some sense. Let me try to come up with some good keywords to describe what I'm going for.
FREEDOM. This setting is really just a Morality Play on the Virtue of Freedom.
No it's not, but I do want a major theme to be the virtues and consequences of a free society. Instead of a "Tyranny Bad so Now we must Fight", move for "Freedom Good but it's Kinda Complicated". On one hand, Freedom can be used as a criticism of paradigms: set up a colony world as proof a successful paradigm (Confederate's authoritarian nature, the Union's leftist economy, etc.), and then critique authoritarian trends. Conversely, show injustices (slavery, exploitation) and force characters into situations which force them to side against an existent freedom for some other good.
Seed example 1: Miriam is a Union World, and a relatively prosperous one. They get roped into some negotiations with the elected Consul of the Production Assembly in this industrial republic. All the while, drop hints that this Consul may be unfairly pushing certain policies over those of his competetors. Contrast against profiteers who are empowering the opponents of the Consul. Etc.
Seed example 2: Iris is a Rogue Free Port: No laws to speak of! As player arrive, introduce them to both a charming con man (who offers to work with them), and some sympathetic members of an ethnic enclave that may fall prey to them. Moreover, this enclave may have pratices that the players find offensive. The conflits then are (a) what can the players rightfully do about the conduct of the enclave, and (b) what can the players do about the conduct of the con man towards the enclave?
PUNK. Well, "SpacerPunk" is one of the ideas for names for this setting. Continuing from the previous point, being Free could imply Freedom to Annoy, especially Freedom to Annoy the Boring or Oppressive. The Solar Federation is depicted as prosperous and comfortable to a fault; Spacerpunks/freetraders/cowboys are out there, in part, as a generalized attempt to give a big middle finger to the people who sit high atop the human endeavor and watch TV.
Aside from this aspect is also the Punk tendency towards cynical idealism, and a desire to build new communities out of this ideal, even in the face of colder realities.
FAMILIES. Continuation of previous point. A commentary on families and communities, especially those that are created out of experience. It should be interesting to use use this world to discuss how people build families from loneliness and necessity among people with whom they share no blood. A crew can be a business contract or a family; the way this understanding develops can be interesting.
To be clear, "family" need not like each other, and probably should not. The emphasis is more on "Nobody f*cks with our Stevo!" and such.
BASTARDS. Continuation of previous point. There is some appeal in a world where everyone's a bastard. My invite to my potential players outlined this, in fact: although no one should be a psychopath, no one should be a "hero" as such. A code of ethics may be interesting, but cooperation among players should be borne out of their self-interests. Of course, backstabbing is not so much fun, and should be discouraged; opportunism is a different matter. (In Blake's 7, Avon and Vila, or occaisionally just Avon or Vila, would frequently find a profitable side-adventure to jump off too while the rest of the crew went along being heroic. Hilarity/pathos ensued.)
RUNNING AWAY. Continued from previous point. Yeah, don't like drawn-out combat so much. So if your universe has very deadly ranged weapons, and if you're too self interested to throw your life into epic combat, then you'll understand the value of running away. Smart rogues would only pick combats that are heavily stacked in their favor.
An example of crossing Bastards with Running Away (stolen a bit from Firefly): the Crew of the Veegun is running from the Confeds, and sees a spooky abandoned starbase; the lights and life support or on. Detecting several life signs but being very cautious, the crew ports a the base but keeps the locks closed and mostly powers down: they do not enter. They wait for the Confeds to arrive, assume they've entered, and enter the base themselves. Cue screams from inside the base as Confeds and space pirates (?) clash inside. The Veegun unlocks itself and quickly blasts away the unmanned Confederate vessel, leaving their pursuers up the creek.
CONSEQUENCES, DARKLY. Although I don't want a pure angst-fest, you'll notice that in the heroic tales of Western archetypes, punk rebels, and especially noir antiheros, the heroes don't do so well in the end. There is something romantic about dying in a blaze of idealistic glory. More likely is selling out, or ending a life alone in destitute long after your glories have faded.
One of the tragicomic aspects of following a crew of bastards that won't ever get what they all want is that things will continue to get worse, and ultimately luck will run out.
And speaking of your setting, man, you are a fan of Bebop.
And iago, thanks for your support! My planet generation rules go along with not bothering with too many specific planets ahead of time. I developed some simplistic space combat rules, but I certainly am seeing the the best action will happen on planets and ports. (Ship-based weapons should be used more as leverage than anything else. Same with real weapons, really.)
As for the "slim setting" thing: my ideal was to be able to fit the metaphysics in half-a-page, the history in half-a-page, and a run-down of the modern space in a whole page. (Of course, there would be several more in-depth pages past this point.)
On 8/2/2003 at 10:29am, Dirigible wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Re your FTL system, was it inspired in any way by David Weber's Honour Harrington series? The '<greek letter> bands' delineation of hyperspace, or something like it, was used in his books.
I never said the Martians were in a 'central heroic role' :) They're the bad guys, most of the time.
Your goals could certainly make for a very interesting game.
Freedom
I certainly agree that 'Freedom Good but it's Kinda Complicated' is a more interesting theme than 'Tyranny Bad so Now we must Fight', but isn't it still just a little simplistic? There are situations (in an imaginary gamespace, at least) where an authoritarian regime has advantages. Exploring this side could be interesting, too.
Bastards
Man, I loved Avon. He was the coolest, most stone cold, self interested bastard in sci fi. And Servalan was a fox.
Running Away
I never thought of this a goal before... I always assumed it was simply the nature of survival :)
On 8/2/2003 at 4:13pm, Troy_Costisick wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Heya Dev,
I think you have a really good start here on your setting. I really dig the "Old West" sort of feel you are trying to invoke and I am a fan of the "setting lite" idea that lets GMs fill in the blanks. Here's a suggestion to help facilitate that. As travelers enter a new planet they have to enter a sort of "customs" just like you do in an airport. Instead of it being a big line that everyone goes through, each person has to visit an Embassy of their home planet that exists on the world. Earth would have one, Mars would have one, Alpha Centari would have one, and so on. The reason each planet would need an embassy is because people from each planet have slightly different phisiologies. Gravity varies, air mixtures are different, days are longer/shorter, etc. The Embassies would provide new comers with information about how to adapt to the new world and what the local points of interest are.
Let's put that into game terms real quick. Each planet that you outline in your setting would have a photocopiable list along with it. The list would have brief, basic details about the planet such as air quality, gravity, flora, faunna, industries, criminals, justice system, points of interest, and maybe a few more. The GM could then hand out these lits to players, and they could read it quickly and learn about the world in a snap. This summarizes material for you (making it setting lite) and speeds up the rate at wich the GM can transfer knowledge to the players. Embassies could also serve as a safe house just in case.
As for the Old West theme, I'd suggest maybe adding in some colorful interstellar factions. These factions can serve as a plot device for the GM or just give some extra info on the sociology of your univers. Some suggestions include: Mad Scientists doing biological experiments on humans, Space Raiders preying on smaller cargo carriers, Secret Government Agents that make troublemakers "disapear", Secret Corporate Agents that do the same, A Cult of the Stars that believes that sacrificing people to the vacume of space brings enlightenment, Theives' Guild, Pilot's Guild, or Mercenary Guild. Those are just a few off the top of my head.
One other thing, you might also take some of the emphaisis off planets and put them on ships. How about some pleasure cruise ships or zero-G arena ships for sports. This could give PCs a break from the planet scene.
Hope these help you out some. Good luck with your setting!
Peace,
-Troy
On 8/2/2003 at 11:11pm, samdowning wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Looks like you're doing a good job on setting. Keep at it! Lots of good ideas here, and lots of great beginning concepts.
The biggest hurdle I can see is just your beginning philosophy on creating something that's novel. We all know that there is nothing new under the sun. Just realize that anything (and I mean ANYthing) that you do will be compared to something else.
"Oh, you mean like a cross between Firefly and Babylon 5?"
Although it's not a complete cross between two different things, nor is it just like any one thing, it will always be compared to something. And sometimes things that are nothing like it.
On 8/4/2003 at 5:19pm, Mike Holmes wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Very cool themes. I'm starting to get a real feel for it.
Now, how are your mechanics going to convey all this? IMO, setting does little to promote adressing these sorts of things in play (which is why it's cool to have the lite setting). So what will the system do to support these things?
Mike
On 8/5/2003 at 6:05am, Dirigible wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Inspired by Holmse's post, here are some possible ways for the mechanics to show the themes.
Families : If each character was very focused on their profession/speciality, it might promote this kind of close teamwork.
Running Away : If combat is high-lethality, avoiding it becomes desirable. Or it may motivate the players to ambush and overwhelm their foes.
On 8/6/2003 at 7:34pm, Dev wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
As for the Old West theme, I'd suggest maybe adding in some colorful interstellar factions.
Of course. <g> I have a few so far, but they're more like provincial governments. Just from play, I have a few interesting Pirate Groups / Mercenary groups coming about; I'll mine this a lot.
Of course, a rules-light setting is one where a large Mad Scientist conspiracy isn't necessary, as you might run accross a loner genemangler on some uninhabited moonbase... Perhaps some semirandomized freak generation rules, in addition to a list of thought-out factions, would help thigns along.
So what will the system do to support these things?
Ah. My inclination is to plug into an existing syste. See my cross-post:
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?p=78356#78356
But basically, I was going to write my setting in generic terms, and append statistical bits tailored to specific other systems at the end. I don't greatly want to make my own system, and I want my material slightly help a few other systems
I do see the point that the mechanic will really effect what people actually do. As Dirig suggested, simply making combat lethal and not reward "kills" can greatly encourage Running Away/Ambush tactics. (Granted, if they're using Wushu there's not so much I can do about it.)
As for the other aspects of the setting, I could try to glom in an extra layer to character creation...
FREEDOM - Identify at least one "liberty" or "freedom" you will not give up.
PUNK - Identify at least one authority / group that annoys you? Also, perhaps at least one criminal act that's in your past.
FAMILY - Identify at least one person or group your trust.
BASTARDS - Identify at least one person or group you've fucked over, on purpose.
CONSEQUENCES - The GM will keep a running track of individual's positive or negative karma, but this positive karma will devalue at a steady rate; at some threshold, force negative karma to be paid in full.
A bit flaky here, but we have an antagonistic secret karma pool, and mandatory friend/enemy/criminal record/convictions set up from the get go. Any better ideas?
If anyone is curious, I could list the systems I had in mind, but it's a touch pedantic (and of course I'd worry about hurting people's feelings that I didn't invite).
Forge Reference Links:
Topic 78356
On 8/7/2003 at 12:40am, gobi wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Dev wrote: FREEDOM - Identify at least one "liberty" or "freedom" you will not give up.
PUNK - Identify at least one authority / group that annoys you? Also, perhaps at least one criminal act that's in your past.
All I really have to say is that I'm quite jealous I didn't think of these two bits for PUNK. Do you mind terribly if I tweak them a bit to work them into the character creation?
Aside from that, I can offer a sample "interesting location" I wrote up for a western space setting. A rickety little outpost on the edge of the asteroid belt that's so close to falling apart that ballistic weapons aren't allowed and everyone carries swords or batons while hopping around at quarter-gravity.
On 8/7/2003 at 3:29am, Dev wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
All I really have to say is that I'm quite jealous I didn't think of these two bits for PUNK. Do you mind terribly if I tweak them a bit to work them into the character creation?
Aside from that, I can offer a sample "interesting location" I wrote up for a western space setting. A rickety little outpost on the edge of the asteroid belt that's so close to falling apart that ballistic weapons aren't allowed and everyone carries swords or batons while hopping around at quarter-gravity.
Go ahead and borrow, Gobi!
Also, that's a good idea you have. Generally speaking, I'd say that ballistic weapons are legal and safe in most modern space stations, it's bad luck to fire one (given the older spacers' bad experiences with quickly depressurizing cabins). This would an interesting twist on that.
On 8/7/2003 at 3:42am, Troy_Costisick wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
Also, that's a good idea you have. Generally speaking, I'd say that ballistic weapons are legal and safe in most modern space stations, it's bad luck to fire one (given the older spacers' bad experiences with quickly depressurizing cabins). This would an interesting twist on that.
-Actually, I would have to say that most if not all space stations would ban balistic and laser type weapons. The old Babylon Project RPG talked about the type of weapons the security guys used. It was some sort of heat-plasma pistol thing that disipated when it hit a solid object. If delivered an impact and a burn to its vicitim, but when it hit a wall, the energy would just disipate and not puncture the steel bulkhead. There was a lot of techno mumbo-jumbo in it, but it served it's purpose: a) Let people have weapons on board and b) not risk depresurizing the cabin.
-Old Mechwarrior had a system that assigned a credit cost and legality level to all equipment. You might want to try something similar for your game. For instance, balistics might be highly illegal to purchase but plasm guns not so much. Could be another hook for characters if they are gun runners. /shrugg just a thought :)
Peace,
-Troy
On 8/7/2003 at 3:45am, gobi wrote:
RE: My own space setting: which fork do I take?
I actually ran a quickie session using this setting and the UA system. People really seemed to like the juxtaposition of swords in spaaaaace. There were two characters who trained a specific style of martial arts that utilized zero-g environments and so we had some fun matrix-style wall-running and extended leaps.
On 8/8/2003 at 8:09am, Dev wrote:
Mechanics...
I gave it some thought...
Your History (as a Bastard, Fugitive, and Cool Mofo)
You get to describe up to 6 "exploits" of yours - your previous adventures, which succeeded in some lucky/cool/stylish way.
For each of these, also describe either one person you fucked over (Bastard), or one incident with the Law (Fugitive). These can probably tied to the exploit.
My thinking is that the player should describe each exploit on a 3x5 inch card, and on the back write down the consequence (with the Law or an bad karma).
Your Drive (family versus liberty versus ego)
Basically, pick either a "family" represented by a person/group that you would give yourself up for, OR a notion of a liberty that you would not back down on, OR a trait of your ego that you cannot and will not help. These could be used for you (using family as an ally, using ego to amp your willpower) or against you (blackmail and worse).
Secret Mechanics
The GM should keep some stats on each character secret: Payback and Wanted. Payback represents what the karmic law of the universe "owe" you in terms of unhappy retribution. Payback is zero, +1 for each person you fucked over in your history. Actions you take may increase/decrease this number, but this value also "accrues interest" over time. As it goe shigher, the GM can arbitrarily cause worse thigns to happen to you, until an untimely death is inevitable.
Wanted (or perhaps, Bounty or Criminal Record) is a simple stat determining how badly you are wanted by various authorities. THe actual effect varies rougly depending on where you are, but in general the level allows for more frequent encounters with various security forces. Wanted should increase in value when the law has been repeatedly broken (consider "bandits on the run", with an increasingly higher reward), and will devalue after a few conseuctive turns of abstaining from illegality. Of course, at some level of illegality devaluation is impossible. Again, capture and/or an untimely end may be inevitable.
On 8/8/2003 at 1:04pm, gobi wrote:
Re: Mechanics...
You might want to look at Unknown Armies' Passions for some other interesting personality traits. They use three stimuli: Noble, Fear and Rage. Something that brings about your noble side, something that makes you piss-your-pants afraid, and something that makes you angry, respectively.
For PUNK, I'm translating this into Fight, Fuck, Flight: Something that you want to fight tooth-and-nail, something that you desire with all the greed in your soul, and something that you fear more than anything else, respectively. I'll be linking those traits into the Tweak Meter as well.
Which brings up another thing, have you considered a variant on a "sanity" system that is more short-term? As opposed to sanity, I'm thinking "composure" which would only apply to immediate responses to various stresses. This would be a way to mechanically encourage escape from combat. Something like "every minute you spend in combat results in cumulative 'violence' composure checks." If you fail, you freak out and the GM gets control for one action.