Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > Roleplaying in General

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 12-21-2016, 03:29 PM   #1
vicky_molokh
GURPS FAQ Keeper
 
vicky_molokh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Small town, big politics

Greetings, all!

Rifthaven is a town built on a border between two civilizations, with the goal of becoming a centre of trade, diplomacy, scientific and cultural exchange. In some ways, it's filling a role similar to Babylon 5 and Defiance. Currently it has a very modest population of less than two thousand people, about half of them of a race that used to be isolationist but is currently trying to reach out to the outer world.

Of course, RP campaigns being what they are, things aren't going to go smoothly. Despite its small size, the town has an all-but-guaranteed potential of becoming a hotbed of politics both internal and external. (Also of espionage, but that's a separate issue.) I'm trying to come up with ideas of making it as playable and interesting as possible. And I'm starting this thread in the hopes that it may facilitate some brainstorming / exchange of ideas / result in an exchange of useful advice. And perhaps you too will find some uses for the things said by me and others.

I suppose I should note that I'm aiming for a campaign/campaign-chapter tone that is generally 'adventurer-friendly', and that has slight satirical/comedic/mildly-absurdist overtones regarding the political events, but definitely not coming anywhere near the 'laugh track' level. The campaign is only slightly cinematic, the characters are quite competent in their fields (300ish points), but their skillsets are only indirectly applicable to politics (e.g. espionage and diplomacy yes, but economics and party alliances no).

----

The starting conditions are such that the Skyless (the newly-minted term for the formerly-isolationist people who founded Rifthaven) are psychologically somewhat different from normal humans, and naturally tend towards very informal, community-oriented, self-sufficient, highly-trusting settlements with up to 200 households (though not families). But they understand that their way of doing things won't work for a mixed-race settlement, so they're trying to make a compromise form of government for it, with things like semi-direct-semi-representative democracy, and the right for the citizens to organize into districts with slightly different laws/rules/regulations. Yes, I know this sounds like the townbuilders (and the outworlders coming to live in Rifthaven) are somewhat over their heads. That's how it's supposed to be from my PoV as a GM. But the emphasis is on somewhat. I'm fully expecting complications in the campaign, but I'm not seeking a total trainwreck.

I also haven't set some of the things about how the newly-forming legal and political system works, and am hoping to get some ideas, advice and warnings before further fleshing it out. Right now, trials are defined to work on a jury-like system. Legislation is not clearly defined yet, but I'm leaning towards declaring that it mostly works on a mixed system of direct petitions plus indirect representatives (with different representatives having different voting power depending on how many citizens are currently willing to transfer their vote to supporting the representative's legislative power). The ministerial branch of the government is supposed to be made of allegedly-apolitical hired professionals (e.g. a law enforcement professional for the sheriff's office, an economist/financist for the minister of economics and/or infrastructure etc.).

----

On the internal side of things, I'm aiming to show how, from its 'official opening', the town's citizens will gradually form into factions and how those shape the life within it. The current event pushing for such a formation is a recent break-in with intent to steal some personal data and bug the apartment. The likely outcome is the creation of a single-issue 'Information Security' faction, soon to be followed by more broad-issue factions.

----

I see that my post is already quite long, so I probably should stop with the narrative and ask a few questions:
  • What else should I tell about in this thread to make it more interesting and/or make it easier to give replies?
  • What should I keep in mind while designing further events of such a campaign? Throughout my life, I've been exposed to various politics and government-structure-related articles and some books, and I am ready to read some more articles. But just like many people aren't ready to read five books of rocket science to run a campaign with spaceships, I'm not ready to read 1-5 polisci books to keep running this campaign. I'm looking for shortcuts.
  • If anybody of you ran or contemplated running a Babylon 5 / Defiance / House of Cards / Yes Minister / etc. style of campaign, what ideas do you have for such a framework? Or what over things you feel would be appropriate to share?

Thanks in advance!
__________________
Vicky 'Molokh', GURPS FAQ and uFAQ Keeper
vicky_molokh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2016, 06:28 PM   #2
Emerald Cat
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Cincinnati, OH, USA
Default Re: Small town, big politics

Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
What should I keep in mind while designing further events of such a campaign?
I'd recommend only using 3-4 different major factions. Otherwise, it will become difficult to keep track of the different factions. That said, using one-off factions in specific adventures could be an effective way to make the world feel alive.

Is inter-player conflict a theme in your campaign? If you expect the PCs to get along, you should design the factions so that characters can belong to different factions without being at each other's throats.
Emerald Cat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2016, 07:34 PM   #3
tshiggins
 
tshiggins's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
Default Re: Small town, big politics

Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
Greetings, all!

Rifthaven is a town built on a border between two civilizations, with the goal of becoming a centre of trade, diplomacy, scientific and cultural exchange.

(SNIP)
  • What else should I tell about in this thread to make it more interesting and/or make it easier to give replies?
  • What should I keep in mind while designing further events of such a campaign? Throughout my life, I've been exposed to various politics and government-structure-related articles and some books, and I am ready to read some more articles. But just like many people aren't ready to read five books of rocket science to run a campaign with spaceships, I'm not ready to read 1-5 polisci books to keep running this campaign. I'm looking for shortcuts.
  • If anybody of you ran or contemplated running a Babylon 5 / Defiance / House of Cards / Yes Minister / etc. style of campaign, what ideas do you have for such a framework? Or what over things you feel would be appropriate to share?

Thanks in advance!
For the most part, political factions are largely driven by perceptions of self-interest -- particularly (although not limited to) economic self-interest. So, the best way to figure out factions is to figure out the economics.

Since the town has only about 2,000 people, it shouldn't have too many factions. However, because it is a small town, the differences between the factions could be quite bitter.

That said, the small population means that, for some services or professions, the town may have only one family or clan that provides it. So, to make permanent enemies of that particular family or clan is to make the that service completely unavailable, since there's nobody else who can perform that service.

As such, while the elders of different families may work very hard to "smooth over" difficulties, some of the townsfolk could have long-simmering resentments toward one another that stretch back generations. Those issues have never been resolved, because to even address them threatens to cause the old bitterness to break out into actual, harmful enmity -- and perhaps trigger a feud, or something.

(One would think that I actually lived in small town, for awhile....)

Anyway, that brings up a few questions:

1. How many different ways does the town have to earn a living? Is it primarily a farm community with some support trades and services? Or does it do enough limited business with outsiders to secure staples, which means it focuses on resource extraction or some other profession?

(I assume the former, since isolationist communities probably wouldn't trade too much, which means they probably enjoy agricultural self-sufficiency. Also, resource extraction -- mining, lumbering, etc. -- only works in an area with strong trading ties so it can enjoy relative efficiencies.)

2. Who in the town would benefit most from open trade, and would anybody suffer -- even in the short term?

3. Do the two neighboring areas have good relations with one another, or are they rivals (or even traditional enemies)?

4. Of those who favor more open trade, do some favor one neighboring nation while others favor the second? If so, why?

5. Also, if the two neighbors have tense relations, does the trade faction include members who seek strict neutrality between the two in an effort to not get mixed up in any foreign policy mess (dangerously naive), while others seek to play one neighbor against the other for the benefit of the town (dangerous, period)?

6. Why would either of the two larger neighbors give a single damn about this podunk town? Why wouldn't one or the other just decide to take it over or, alternatively, turn it into roadkill? What does the town have going for it that makes it not worth either annexation or destruction? Is it in a "shatterzone" area between the two larger nations that have tacitly decided a buffer is a good idea?
__________________
--
MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1]
"Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon.
tshiggins is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-22-2016, 02:07 AM   #4
vicky_molokh
GURPS FAQ Keeper
 
vicky_molokh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Re: Small town, big politics

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
1. How many different ways does the town have to earn a living? Is it primarily a farm community with some support trades and services? Or does it do enough limited business with outsiders to secure staples, which means it focuses on resource extraction or some other profession?
The farm was purpose-built around a clinic that sells some unique biomods to the outsiders. (The Skyless have very recently managed to get their hands on some very fancy biotech, second-best in the world, thanks to the events of the previous years of the campaign.) As a result, it has a big population of doctors, and provides their services to 'medical tourists' from the outside world. Much of the town's activity centres around providing accommodations to said 'tourists'.

However, since the town is such a convenient midpoint between the two civilizations, it is gradually becoming a centre of trade in exotic minerals and other alchemical substances mined/harvested/etc. in the skyless region.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
(I assume the former, since isolationist communities probably wouldn't trade too much, which means they probably enjoy agricultural self-sufficiency. Also, resource extraction -- mining, lumbering, etc. -- only works in an area with strong trading ties so it can enjoy relative efficiencies.)
Prior to the current events, the Skyless mostly lived self-sufficiently, focusing on aeroponic farming. However, there was always a small trickle of trade between them and the outside world, selling exotic materials and buying everyday items that are inconvenient to produce in small communities. Only a single small caste was involved in such trade, and the numbers were modest. They're picking up lately, though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
2. Who in the town would benefit most from open trade, and would anybody suffer -- even in the short term?
Presumably almost all citizens of the town would benefit from free trade, since everyone is earning a living either through trade or through providing services to those who do. However, there are Skyless factions outside the town who hold a grudge against the outside world, and there are factions in the outside world who are suspicious of the Skyless (accusations typically involve immorality, barbarism, lack of family values, mutanthood, cannibalism, and, lately, having a hidden genocidal agenda). But either seems unlikely to be a citizen of the town, with the exception of spies and long-term saboteurs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
3. Do the two neighboring areas have good relations with one another, or are they rivals (or even traditional enemies)?
It's complicated. The Outsiders generally consider[ed] the skyless region inhospitable, and didn't want it as a territory. Some of the braver Outsiders go into the skyless region in hopes of getting some exotic materials while dodging the dangerous anomalies; the Skyless tolerate them as long as they stay away from settlements and don't do any serious/long-term harm.
The Harsha are a Skyless caste that handles trade with the Outsiders, and they're typically allowed free passage in neighboring Outsider regions even without a passport . . . for a while.

There used to be some nasty history between the two areas, including religious wars (whether civil or military I haven't decided), but it was 1-2 centuries ago.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
4. Of those who favor more open trade, do some favor one neighboring nation while others favor the second? If so, why?
This is mostly a matter of origin. Since the town is only about two years old, most people self-identify with their homelands, and thus favour it.

There's a group, though, which is starting to exhibit a 'shrug, whatever' attitude. They're informally nicknamed the Red Collars, as a portmanteau of Outsider term 'Blue Collar' and the colour red (which is typically associated with the Skyless for various reasons). These are blue-collar workers that were the first arrivals into the town, and were involved in building it from the very beginning. The term primarily refers to Outsiders who have been exposed to Skyless culture while working together with them on this project, and have largely adapted to it, forming a linguistic and a cultural pidgin, and adopting some of the traditions and manners; however, to the lesser extent the term also refers to the Skyless workers who underwent the same process in the opposite direction.

They found common ground in the self-image of being honest hard workers, having a no-nonsense get-the-job-done attitude while on duty, a quality of life deprived of high luxuries, and a certain amount of disdain for opulence (how sincere the latter is is a matter of some argument).

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
5. Also, if the two neighbors have tense relations, does the trade faction include members who seek strict neutrality between the two in an effort to not get mixed up in any foreign policy mess (dangerously naive), while others seek to play one neighbor against the other for the benefit of the town (dangerous, period)?
The members of the former Harsha faction who became citizens of Rifthaven (and the normal Harsha who drive into town) tend to firmly side with the Skyless, though a significant fraction of the former are idealists who hope to see true friendly coexistence. The Outsider merchants are probably most likely to be in it for the money first and foremost, which would probably mean "neutral as long as it is safe and profitable", though I'm not ruling out exceptions.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
6. Why would either of the two larger neighbors give a single damn about this podunk town? Why wouldn't one or the other just decide to take it over or, alternatively, turn it into roadkill? What does the town have going for it that makes it not worth either annexation or destruction? Is it in a "shatterzone" area between the two larger nations that have tacitly decided a buffer is a good idea?
The town is on the edge of the Alienation Zone - a region where the laws of physics and biology become weird and alien. The Skyless are much better adapted at operating in this region, so taking it over would be complicated for the Outsiders (not impossible, but very straining). The town's construction was financed by the Skyless with the goal of becoming a nexus point between two civilizations; the town is made to be open and (somewhat) encouraging to Outsiders on purpose. It's just that such openness is unlikely to result in things going smoothy.

In general, the incentives for letting it be are enjoying a moderate success: it does make trade in alchemical exotics more convenient, and it does provide access to some neat biotech for the rich people willing to take the trip a few miles into the AZ. Also, taking it over would likely destroy those benefits.
__________________
Vicky 'Molokh', GURPS FAQ and uFAQ Keeper
vicky_molokh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-22-2016, 10:16 AM   #5
jason taylor
 
jason taylor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon
Default Re: Small town, big politics

Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
Greetings, all!

Rifthaven is a town built on a border between two civilizations, with the goal of becoming a centre of trade, diplomacy, scientific and cultural exchange. In some ways, it's filling a role similar to Babylon 5 and Defiance. Currently it has a very modest population of less than two thousand people, about half of them of a race that used to be isolationist but is currently trying to reach out to the outer world.

Of course, RP campaigns being what they are, things aren't going to go smoothly. Despite its small size, the town has an all-but-guaranteed potential of becoming a hotbed of politics both internal and external. (Also of espionage, but that's a separate issue.) I'm trying to come up with ideas of making it as playable and interesting as possible. And I'm starting this thread in the hopes that it may facilitate some brainstorming / exchange of ideas / result in an exchange of useful advice. And perhaps you too will find some uses for the things said by me and others.

I suppose I should note that I'm aiming for a campaign/campaign-chapter tone that is generally 'adventurer-friendly', and that has slight satirical/comedic/mildly-absurdist overtones regarding the political events, but definitely not coming anywhere near the 'laugh track' level. The campaign is only slightly cinematic, the characters are quite competent in their fields (300ish points), but their skillsets are only indirectly applicable to politics (e.g. espionage and diplomacy yes, but economics and party alliances no).

----

The starting conditions are such that the Skyless (the newly-minted term for the formerly-isolationist people who founded Rifthaven) are psychologically somewhat different from normal humans, and naturally tend towards very informal, community-oriented, self-sufficient, highly-trusting settlements with up to 200 households (though not families). But they understand that their way of doing things won't work for a mixed-race settlement, so they're trying to make a compromise form of government for it, with things like semi-direct-semi-representative democracy, and the right for the citizens to organize into districts with slightly different laws/rules/regulations. Yes, I know this sounds like the townbuilders (and the outworlders coming to live in Rifthaven) are somewhat over their heads. That's how it's supposed to be from my PoV as a GM. But the emphasis is on somewhat. I'm fully expecting complications in the campaign, but I'm not seeking a total trainwreck.

I also haven't set some of the things about how the newly-forming legal and political system works, and am hoping to get some ideas, advice and warnings before further fleshing it out. Right now, trials are defined to work on a jury-like system. Legislation is not clearly defined yet, but I'm leaning towards declaring that it mostly works on a mixed system of direct petitions plus indirect representatives (with different representatives having different voting power depending on how many citizens are currently willing to transfer their vote to supporting the representative's legislative power). The ministerial branch of the government is supposed to be made of allegedly-apolitical hired professionals (e.g. a law enforcement professional for the sheriff's office, an economist/financist for the minister of economics and/or infrastructure etc.).

----

On the internal side of things, I'm aiming to show how, from its 'official opening', the town's citizens will gradually form into factions and how those shape the life within it. The current event pushing for such a formation is a recent break-in with intent to steal some personal data and bug the apartment. The likely outcome is the creation of a single-issue 'Information Security' faction, soon to be followed by more broad-issue factions.

----

I see that my post is already quite long, so I probably should stop with the narrative and ask a few questions:
  • What else should I tell about in this thread to make it more interesting and/or make it easier to give replies?
  • What should I keep in mind while designing further events of such a campaign? Throughout my life, I've been exposed to various politics and government-structure-related articles and some books, and I am ready to read some more articles. But just like many people aren't ready to read five books of rocket science to run a campaign with spaceships, I'm not ready to read 1-5 polisci books to keep running this campaign. I'm looking for shortcuts.
  • If anybody of you ran or contemplated running a Babylon 5 / Defiance / House of Cards / Yes Minister / etc. style of campaign, what ideas do you have for such a framework? Or what over things you feel would be appropriate to share?

Thanks in advance!
Some of these are repeats of course:

Might I suggest finding historical analogues for your office titles? For instance I use "Doge" for a cities Constitutional Monarch(and Archducca for one of the titles of the constitutional monarch of the whole commonwealth).

In what way are they different from humans? It is hard to tell how their government will work.

What sort of environment do they live in?

What is their TL?

What is the economy? A society is not quite defined by what it eats or how it acquires it but it is one indicator.

Be careful about importing political issues you are familiar with. When you do you are in danger of importing your own prejudices. And more importantly everyone else's. I have noticed that with a lot of otherwise good modern Sci Fi, that to much is an imitation of the politics of whatever decade the writer is living in. Unless he just wants to refight World War II again.

Please define "household" better. Unless you are just thinking of an aristocratic class 200 households and 2000 individuals seems far to little to work with. By comparison Medieval Genoa had dozens of Alberghi which would be far more then two hundred individual households and certainly more then 2000 people. Your town might not even be survivable if it intends to become a great crossroads. Babylon 5 or DS9 would hardly be functional at 2000 people.

There should be factions of foreigners as well as homebodies. Maybe a merchant quarter.

It is a good idea to focus on a theme, perhaps a single crises, otherwise the campaign will dissipate itself. Possibilities include a blood feud between factions, a large diplomatic convention(this allows for lots of chrome including feasts, intellectual and athletic contests, and whatever cultural things are associated). Perhaps a long-running war between empires is ending and the loose ends have to be tied up. Or there is an important assassination and the killer has to be found. Or a new economic project is in the works. Elections for governmental and other offices(guilds for instance) are an idea.

What is the art and culture like?

Use Starports. Also use Glisten. Tredroy is another possibility. Even Granicus has some ideas. Vorkosigan Saga is much about politics.

B5 and DS9 are good inspirations. Another one you did not consider is Godfather. The cynicism can grate but the picture of traditional Italian tribalism as well as being operatic is a useful one for a political campaign.
__________________
"The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison

Last edited by jason taylor; 12-22-2016 at 10:30 AM.
jason taylor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-22-2016, 10:43 AM   #6
jason taylor
 
jason taylor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon
Default Re: Small town, big politics

If your town is that small but still more or less sovereign it exists in a position that the big boys have to indulge it. In other words it is off the grid. Politics is likely to be quite petty: issues like road tolls to the nearest robber baron(and whether these are to be paid in silver or lead) are important. The issues of big empires are not except how they impinge(think of the town in Good, Bad, and Ugly that couldn't decide if it was Federal or Confederate).
__________________
"The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison
jason taylor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-22-2016, 11:28 AM   #7
ericthered
Hero of Democracy
 
ericthered's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
Default Re: Small town, big politics

Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
If your town is that small but still more or less sovereign it exists in a position that the big boys have to indulge it. In other words it is off the grid. Politics is likely to be quite petty: issues like road tolls to the nearest robber baron(and whether these are to be paid in silver or lead) are important. The issues of big empires are not except how they impinge(think of the town in Good, Bad, and Ugly that couldn't decide if it was Federal or Confederate).
Not to mention a disdain for the local big players is likely. You don't stay unaligned by gushing over the big boys.

Minor resource disputes are the most common in this sort of situation. Water rights. Whether or not agents of the Big Baron to the west can use the toll road for free. Who gets to hunt in the woods.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic

Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog

Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!
ericthered is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 12-22-2016, 01:43 PM   #8
jason taylor
 
jason taylor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon
Default Re: Small town, big politics

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
Not to mention a disdain for the local big players is likely. You don't stay unaligned by gushing over the big boys.

Minor resource disputes are the most common in this sort of situation. Water rights. Whether or not agents of the Big Baron to the west can use the toll road for free. Who gets to hunt in the woods.
In old Kuwait, the Al-Sabahs got the Emirate and the other tribes got the business. The big issue was haggling with bedouin for caravan transit fees. Once in a while a big clan war in the desert would involve them(in the 1890's the big native players were the Sauds, the Rashids, and the Husseinis) but those were usually a year or so before everyone got tired of it and in any case no desert prince had siege guns. The Turks and the British did but their main interest was secondary; the Turks wished to maintain their nominal overlordship and have connections to the sea and the pearls naturally enough while the British wished to curb Red Sea piracy. And neither could afford a permanent presence way out in the desert.

That is an example of what politics of the kind described are like. Local issues are paramount while intrigues of the Great are interesting and colorful but rather peripheral-from both the point of view of the Great Powers and from that of the locals, although for different reasons.
__________________
"The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison

Last edited by jason taylor; 12-22-2016 at 01:47 PM.
jason taylor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-23-2016, 02:31 AM   #9
vicky_molokh
GURPS FAQ Keeper
 
vicky_molokh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Re: Small town, big politics

Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
In what way are they different from humans? It is hard to tell how their government will work.
Of the relevant things, they have greater randomized variation of Dis/Advantages, including Exotic ones. Significantly, there's a percentage of the population with Intuitive Mathematician and often Eidetic Memory, which play a significant role in handling numbers-heavy systems (like finances!). Overall, they tend to be bad at lying, slightly unimaginative, and quite chummy, one might dare say collectivist.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
What sort of environment do they live in?
Climate between temperate and slightly northern. The surrounding wilderness is biodiverse, with lots of grasses and bushes and stuff, but lacks big animals and lacks trees. There's a lake near the town. The surrounding ecosystem is slightly weird (and very slightly more poisonous/venomous than the outside world) and generally thriving.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
What is their TL?
TL6+3^, retarded in aerospace and some less significant areas, advanced in force fields and weird radiation research, and currently making a big step forward in biotech.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
What is the economy? A society is not quite defined by what it eats or how it acquires it but it is one indicator.
Food is imported to the city both from the outside world and from other Skyless settlements. The economy of the town is primarily about medical services (and all the infrastructure needed for either the services themselves or for accommodating the clients and employees), secondly trade in things going into/out of the skyless region.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
Please define "household" better. Unless you are just thinking of an aristocratic class 200 households and 2000 individuals seems far to little to work with. By comparison Medieval Genoa had dozens of Alberghi which would be far more then two hundred individual households and certainly more then 2000 people. Your town might not even be survivable if it intends to become a great crossroads. Babylon 5 or DS9 would hardly be functional at 2000 people.
A household is generally defined by the Skyless as a single mobile cabin housing four people on average. These may be friends, romantically involved, siblings or neither of those. Some households instead consist of 2 teachers/nannies on average, and some number of children.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
There should be factions of foreigners as well as homebodies. Maybe a merchant quarter.
Merchants are likely to form a faction soon.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
What is the art and culture like?
For the Skyless, art is often minimalistic in terms of resources required. There's no filmmaking. Music is mostly synthesized/electronic, or done on low-maintenance instruments. Visual art tends to be in the form of paintjobs on vehicles, and of makeup patterns. The rest tends to be in digital form (e.g. no dead tree books).
__________________
Vicky 'Molokh', GURPS FAQ and uFAQ Keeper
vicky_molokh is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
babylon 5, city stats, defiance, politics

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:49 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.