Building a Setting, abandoned space colony, bugs and all

[Black Jester]

This is the very first, very rough idea for a setting in a tradition of the Darkover series and even more so as a homage to Brian Stablefords Genesys trilogy (which is not widely known and perhaps not even that good but very dear to my heart).
The basic concept is a "Post SF" pseudo fantasy setting: After humans colonized a foreign world far, far away from earth, the colony has lost all contact to their star-faring ancestors and returned to a state of per-industrial or feudal society. The PCs - and most of the characters within this setting are the descendants of these original colonists who turned from advanced space travelers to "barbarians" of a clearly pre-industrial level of technology and even society.

This is also supposed to be a "reasonably exotic" setting, using elements not that often used in typical fantasy settings. There will be no Elves, or Dwarves, or Orcs. Neither the culture nor the environment will be based solely on a streamlined and grossly simplified depiction of medieval Europe. For one, I rather have Republics or Oligarchies as the go-to form of government, not necessarily democratically organized, but with a few elements of this. There will definitely be some kind of theocracy that worships the humans of old who traveled between the stars as some kind of gods or angels (and this religious organisation will be benevolent, kind and helpful).

Other staples of fantasy settings will be implemented in the setting, but usually filtered through the specific genre conventions. In truth, this is more a "medievalized" Science Fiction setting than a true Fantasy setting (even though I do not plan to go too hard on the 'science' part).
However, for the planned degree on the 'realistic to heroic' scale, it will nudge more to the verisimilitude end of the scale (even if you are super powerful and experienced, a simple guardsman who holds a handgonne or crossbow in your face will simply KILL YOU if you make a wrong move). I have not yet a fixed set of rules in my head, so I'll probably base the game on GURPS as a working concept. Maybe it will be a Gurps game, perhaps I'll change it towards something like Unisystem or something unique. For now, this assumption is mostly moot anyway, as the setting is supposed to stand on its own and should work with several systems.

For the degree of technology, I plan to use a hodge-podge of different options. The core will be clearly about medieval to early modern levels (steel, swords, plate armor…) but there will be areas that are clearly more primitive (there will be for instance, no printing press or similar simple transfer of information), others will be more advanced (I personally find the idea that something as the flow of blood was a breakthrough discovery in western medicine so hard to rely to that I assume that the setting will have a better grasp on anatomy and medicine, perhaps even to a degree that they can discuss the theory of germs). There will be much more equipment based on biotechnology than this is usually the case in a (mostly medieval) fantasy setting, i.e. 'armor or clothes' made out of living, symbiotic lichen or bioluminescent plants (or slugs) as a common source of illumination.
There is no "magic" per say. There are artifacts of the old starfarers, who certainly feel like magic to the people of the setting (but not necessarily to the players), like an apparatus that creates light without needing fire
and I want to use "biomorphed" animals (again, mostly invertebrates) and biologically grown equipment as a stable of the setting. There will be no magic healing potions, for instance, but instead healers can apply a symbiotic slug to an open wound that will stop the bleeding and accelerate the healing process.

However, there could be a good place for all kinds of psionic powers (that would for instance also explain the existence of the biomorphers and can be used to great effect to establish a few weird characters - like an insect herder whose mental power allows him to become a part of the hive of eusocial insects such as ants or bees (or something stranger, like these giant Perm dragonflies, or centipedes).
There will be no form whatsoever of divine intervention or proof of the existence of divine entities. They might exist or they might not - for the game world (and the faith of the denizens) that will not matter (actually, when the Theocracy of the old Starfarers is a major religion within the setting, their 'gods' are definitely real, but also not very divine).

I am not sure if there actually should be any other sentient "PC race" but humans and if there are any, how they should look like and behave. One option that the setting offers through the planned biomorphers would be all kinds of humanoid mutants, changed and adapted to fulfill special roles, i.e. large, strong and tough worker/warrior strains or humans specifically adjusted to certain environments (like a "aquatic" strain having webbing between fingers and toes, a thick isolating layer of subdermal fat and a massively increased ability to hold their breath). One could also use this to establish anthropomorphic animals as characters, but true to the 'road less traveled' concept I have in mind, it's more likely to see something like a cockroach person before there are any cat girls.

[Black Jester]

(Sorry for the double post, I think the whole think is a lot easier to read that way.)

Since the whole setting idea is still pretty vague I am interested in input, a few questions for you, dear reader:

1) How aware should the people of the setting of its origin? Should the whole background of "abandoned space colony" be more like a hidden fact covered by centuries of myths and legend, or should it be more common knowledge (i.e. if a PC learns the 'true history, should it be a shocking, world-shattering reveal, the affirmation of a relative common suspicion or would such a reveal be completely anticlimactic)?

2) Why do you think was the colony abandoned, what happened to the star-faring ancestors of the human settlers and how long ago did that happen? It should be at least a century or two I guess, because otherwise the "decline into barbarism" is hard to explain - if there are no other reasons for that (I actually have an idea for this, but I am not too sure if it works and I'd like to hear a few alternative options before I post mine)

3) Should there be firearms? I know, most fantasy settings avoid everything resembling a firearm as hard as they can, and only very few embrace them. However, as I can fully imagine something like a weaponized bombardier beetles (as semi-sessile hybrids worn as bracelets), the issue is not so much one of relative power, but of style. Should there be simple firearms (and I mean truly simple, more like a handgonne than a musket) within the setting? If so, how common should they be? What other early modern or medieval technologies would you consider necessary? Which ones would you like to see abandoned?'

4) Should there be psionicists/psychics in the setting and if so, how common should they be? Should every character have the ability to learn these powers (like spells in D&D) or is it something of a native gift that only few people have (like magic in Harry Potter and millions of other examples)? If they exist -how should psionics be treated or regarded (e.g. with reverence, fear, envy, hatred; are they some kind of nobility or ruling class or are they persecuted)?

5) Should there be any non-human player races and which form should they take? Would you prefer aliens, mutants, or both? If they exist, how common should they be and which social status should they have?

6) As this setting is clearly set somewhen IN THE FUTURE and the PCs and probably most of the people they know are the distant descendants of real world people. How much do you think should currently existing cultures, customs, believes and so on play a role for the setting? Would you prefer a completely blank slate or recognizable cultural traits (this can be rather overt as in AEG's Seventh Sea, or more subtle, like a group of mixed Korean and German arguing about the best way to ferment cabbage) (I hope it goes without saying that these transfers should under no circumstances be mean spirited or disrespectful.)

[TuggyNE]

This sounds a good bit like Sylvia Louise Engdahl's Children of the Star trilogy, with the notable differences of having a lot more metal to work with, and having a more decentralized society as a result of that. I strongly recommend those books as a good exploration of this sort of idea.

[Black Jester]

Yes, it is not a terribly original concept, and I am well aware of that. I am truly not trying to redefine the wheel, here, I just kind of enjoy this sort of genre (therefore any literature recommendations are appreciated) and as far as I know, there aren't any RPGs truly using this framework. Dark Sun has a few elements of it, but that is actually too apocalyptic (and to desert-y) for what I have in mind.

The issue of metal is actually kind of odd to me, but perhaps I am too enamored to put this in a story framework similar to classic Sword and Sorcery tales, and archetypes such as Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and I want my gleaming swords for that. Additionally I think that there are a few familiar elements needed to make the setting accessible and understandable and I don't want some kind of Flintstone technology with insects and mollusks instead of dinosaurs. If you use something that you consider as special is trivialized and overused, it seems to get old very soon and I don't want one of the elements I appreciate to overstay its welcome. While there is a certain place for weirdness for weirdness' sake, I'd rather have it as one element among others and not the one that overshadows the rest.

[DragGon7601]

1) How aware should the people of the setting of its origin? Should the whole background of "abandoned space colony" be more like a hidden fact covered by centuries of myths and legend, or should it be more common knowledge (i.e. if a PC learns the 'true history, should it be a shocking, world-shattering reveal, the affirmation of a relative common suspicion or would such a reveal be completely anticlimactic)?

Why would you have priests to the "humans of old" if they were just like you? They must be gods/godlike if you want people to worship them. Knowing the truth would not help this so it should be hidden, there maybe those who know but they are said to be crazy.



2) Why do you think was the colony abandoned, what happened to the star-faring ancestors of the human settlers and how long ago did that happen? It should be at least a century or two I guess, because otherwise the "decline into barbarism" is hard to explain - if there are no other reasons for that (I actually have an idea for this, but I am not too sure if it works and I'd like to hear a few alternative options before I post mine)

They brought something from the planet, it brought friends. :smalleek: Maybe it was pregnant, or maybe this is how we found out psionics; It telepathically communicated the location of the station to its friends and they tele-ported aboard. Ether way the kids were evacuated and the adults sent with them died one by one protecting the kids and leaving with what little knowledge they could. It wasn't enough to get them to the knowledge level needed to build the station but it was enough to survive their new home.

Some of the kids believed to the day they died that they would be rescued and taken back to the paradise in the sky (the station)... This is the origin of their theocracy. The children were not allowed into the labs, only the outer indoor areas of the surface base. The surface base(s) now serves as the grand temple(s). Going into the inner sanctum (the labs) is forbidden, just as it was for the first kids. The surface base(s) were the original evac point(s).


3) Should there be firearms? I know, most fantasy settings avoid everything resembling a firearm as hard as they can, and only very few embrace them. However, as I can fully imagine something like a weaponized bombardier beetles (as semi-sessile hybrids worn as bracelets), the issue is not so much one of relative power, but of style. Should there be simple firearms (and I mean truly simple, more like a handgonne than a musket) within the setting? If so, how common should they be? What other early modern or medieval technologies would you consider necessary? Which ones would you like to see abandoned?'

Before they died the adults could have made such life forms, the slugs reproduce off spring but new ones can't be made due to lack of knowledge. Rare mutations in the bugs/slugs and breeding can provide expensive upgrades but that is all.



4) Should there be psionicists/psychics in the setting and if so, how common should they be? Should every character have the ability to learn these powers (like spells in D&D) or is it something of a native gift that only few people have (like magic in Harry Potter and millions of other examples)? If they exist -how should psionics be treated or regarded (e.g. with reverence, fear, envy, hatred; are they some kind of nobility or ruling class or are they persecuted)?

I like the idea of Psionics and it explains how the station was over run if this was their first in counter with it. As to how they're treated that is up to you. Either they're the ones created to save them or they are seen as having the powers (being apart of) those who banished them to the surface.



5) Should there be any non-human player races and which form should they take? Would you prefer aliens, mutants, or both? If they exist, how common should they be and which social status should they have?

If aliens or mutants exist I wouldn't want to know at the start of the game, they would be the unknown enemy the PC have to overcome (the adults didn't want to scare them so they didn't give them the full info). Mutants could be the bi-product of the rushed attempts to give the Kids psionic powers to fight off the aliens. The aliens could have been the ones to take the station, they played dumb till they seen an opening to strike! They wouldn't know what to do with the station, but they could be working it out!



6) As this setting is clearly set somewhen IN THE FUTURE and the PCs and probably most of the people they know are the distant descendants of real world people. How much do you think should currently existing cultures, customs, believes and so on play a role for the setting? Would you prefer a completely blank slate or recognizable cultural traits (this can be rather overt as in AEG's Seventh Sea, or more subtle, like a group of mixed Korean and German arguing about the best way to ferment cabbage) (I hope it goes without saying that these transfers should under no circumstances be mean spirited or disrespectful.)

As I favour kids surviving cultural traits would have been less ingrained, so a blank slate would be more fitting. However this doesn't men that there was/is only one evac point, If there has been more than one site for awhile now; then they may have developed different cultures. The less early contact between them the more this would be the case.

[Mutazoia]

This sounds a good bit like Sylvia Louise Engdahl's Children of the Star trilogy, with the notable differences of having a lot more metal to work with, and having a more decentralized society as a result of that. I strongly recommend those books as a good exploration of this sort of idea.

I was thinking along the lines of Ann McAffery's Pern novels my self...but then I just finished re-reading a couple so they're on the brain a bit atm lol

[Black Jester]

First Things First: We (and wit we I mean: mostly me with a bit of feedback and additional input from a few people I know) will write a unique, new system for this, which is not going to be super spectacular and incredibly awesome (read: gimmicky and either overtly abstract or needlessly complicated), but a rather simple and streamlined game using one identical mechanism for all task resolutions. It will include a life-path based character creation system and will not be bothered with the constraints of an impossible concept like balancing.
the game will include a community generation system to quickly build small villages and regional towns similar to characters to include a second level of play, more oriented towards community gaming and a bit of economic simulation (similar to the rules for manors in Pendragon or the Noble Houses in Song and Ice and Fire RPG, only with a stronger community bend and as a concept for the whole group, not a single PC). it is entirely possible that the game will take place on two levels, one with the PCs as adventurers or individuals and one were the players have to run their small community and make it prosper.

Some small Setting Facts: the Planet will be called Hope or some variation of it; it will have a rather warm climate somewhat variating between arid and warm climate and more tropical one, with only rather small moderate or cold climate zones. Compared to Earth, the land masses are somewhat smaller. The main focus will be on one small continent (or really large island) on the southern hemisphere for now (come to think of, that sounds a lot like Australia), the other two (or three, my mapmaker wasn't sure about that one yet) will be described more vaguely.
Population density varies but is overall rather low. With the exception of a handful of larger cities, the vast majority of people live in rather small rural communities. The vast, vast majority of people are basically farmers and live from agriculture.
On a political site there will be about 10 or so larger entities that count as governments and quite a few smaller, independent communities and city states. These larger realms will differ significantly and have mostly unique cultural norms and mores. These include the aforementioned Theocracy, a loose alliance of small principalities allied by their hope for continued independence, at least three feudal kingdoms (one of which is basically a rebellious part of the other), a Republic inspired by Roman law, a powerful aristocratic republic based very roughly on the Polish-Lithuanian Union), a classic tyranny run by a powerful oligarch, a more meritocratic republic run by a wise council of scholars (the closest thing to an actual 'evil kingdom' this game has), Soviets, a nomadic culture of psionicists traveling together with the beasts they bond to themselves (don't think Mongols, think "Swarm". And Mongols, because Mongols are absolutely great people), an open Psionocracy (a country ruled by a psionic elite), a hidden psionocracy masquerading as a Bureaucracy (very roughly based on Imperial China) and,
of course, a small strictly isolationist community that still has access to a significantly higher level of technology.
The various communities will differ significantly from their cultural outlook and social function, world view and prosperity levels; a significantly smaller and more streamlined set of the included creation rules for communities will allow to create small communities with a somewhat consistent infrastructure on the fly (this, by the way include a fast forward random NPC creator).




Why would you have priests to the "humans of old" if they were just like you? They must be gods/godlike if you want people to worship them. Knowing the truth would not help this so it should be hidden, there maybe those who know but they are said to be crazy.

There are so many forms of persona cults, I can easily create a religion (in the broadest meaning) based around the starfarers being humans, but exceptionally so and worthy of worship and praise, especially by including something like a mystery cult element to it. I could name a few real life examples for religions (in the broadest meaning) with concepts like these, but that would probably violate the board rules.





They brought something from the planet, it brought friends. :smalleek: Maybe it was pregnant, or maybe this is how we found out psionics; It telepathically communicated the location of the station to its friends and they tele-ported aboard. Ether way the kids were evacuated and the adults sent with them died one by one protecting the kids and leaving with what little knowledge they could. It wasn't enough to get them to the knowledge level needed to build the station but it was enough to survive their new home.

I am not entirely sure I understand your notion, but the idea that at some point during the Fall (working title), the adults disappeared for one reason or another and just left a number of abandoned adolescents behind. It would explain the massive loss of skills and knowledge for the event. I'll probably use that.