Prison Parallel?

[Ragitsu]

Has anyone here ever designed a parallel world for their campaign that was used solely to keep prisoners?

[William]

If you're looking for one, there's Infinity's prison parallel, Coventry.

[Ragitsu]

The logistics of keeping a planet with millions if not billions of prisoners (that aren't in stasis) running smoothly, boggles me.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

The logistics of keeping a planet with millions if not billions of prisoners (that aren't in stasis) running smoothly, boggles me.

It doesn't have to run smoothly. You can just drop them there and leave them. Presuming it is a planet that has enough resources to sustain colonists but not enough to be worth the bother of developing it with respectable settlers, it would be a great way to save taxpayer's money which can then be spent on more Massive Steller Armadas. And if they kill each other off, or starve or some such presumably the Grand Empire of Splendiferous Despotism won't miss them and it's Obstructive Bureaucrats don't even have to mark it down in a ledger. I think this sounds like a great setting.

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

It doesn't have to run smoothly. You can just drop them there and leave them. Presuming it is a planet that has enough resources to sustain colonists but not enough to be worth the bother of developing it with respectable settlers, it would be a great way to save taxpayer's money which can then be spent on more Massive Steller Armadas. And if they kill each other off, or starve or some such presumably the Grand Empire of Splendiferous Despotism won't miss them and it's Obstructive Bureaucrats don't even have to mark it down in a ledger. I think this sounds like a great setting.

Interesting. A few thoughts and questions:

What kind of crimes would one have to commit to be considered "bad" enough to be sent there? I can see murderers, but not small-time white collar criminals. Then again, the culture in charge of sending prisoners here just might!

Would prisoners of different worlds be sent here, or just those from one world? It's one thing to have those of TL 5 and below dropped off, but if someone from TL 6 and above, possibly with Eidetic/Photographic Memory and a bit of engineering skill is around...that may cause greater trouble.

Mana Level. This would almost assuredly have to be nonexistent.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

Interesting. A few thoughts and questions:

What kind of crimes would one have to commit to be considered "bad" enough to be sent there? I can see murderers, but not small-time white collar criminals. Then again, the culture in charge of sending prisoners here just might!

Would prisoners of different worlds be sent here, or just those from one world? It's one thing to have those of TL 5 and below dropped off, but if someone from TL 6 and above, possibly with Eidetic/Photographic Memory and a bit of engineering skill is around...that may cause greater trouble.

Mana Level. This would almost assuredly have to be nonexistent.

Political crimes possibly. If a certain five and a half foot doctor tries to keep his little sister from being brainwashed into a psionic death machine and gets caught. Or if a certain farmer's adopted son decides for some odd reason to rescue a sassy little princess from the clutches of the Emperor's scary looking right hand man and gets caught. Or if a certain runaway, nobleman's son tries to avenge the family by leading a jihad among space bedouins and gets captured. And if the ruler of The Empire of Splendiferous Despotism is not in a bloodthirsty mood then such a person might be sent there. That kind of thing. The Emperor might reasonably think that if one of the ships of his Mighty Armada is watching carefully enough to keep them from being rescued then he can afford to spare such folk as long as they are on the planet safe, out of the way and by the necessity of survival employed in cost-free planetary development which might later be useful to the Empire of Splendiferous Despotism. Think of it as a Space Siberia.

Prisoners from different worlds would be sent there. Unless there was a bloody revolt on one planet that yielded a disproportionate number of prisoners. I don't think the Emperor would care as long as the prisoners don't trouble him. I think he would just want them out of the way.

[trooper6]

The film No Escape with Ray Liotta follows jonathan taylor's premise, as does Escape from New York (though that isn't a prison planet). Also Alien 3.

Actually, the prison planet where they just drop off prisoners and let them fend for themselves is a pretty propular fictional setting.

You are generally left with some sort of Anarcho-libertarian dystopian gang world...where the brave hero (who is innocent/framed/an undercover cop) has got to escape....then get revenge on whoever doublecrossed him.

Who get's sent there? It depends on the society and the tone of your game.

Where the ruling planetary leaders aren't so bad, the planet could be all Inuit stylee where people go there to go on a journey of self discovery to become better people and once that happens they come back to society. Man vs. Self.

Or it could be a horribly despotic situation where people are dropped off there and it is terrible and also a reality TV show. And people get sent there for any little thing including jaywalking.

But the TL8 person isn't going to post a threat...because I don't know a TL8 person when dropped off on a place with nothing (all Survivor style) who is able to build a Spaceship. I mean, the Professor wasn't even able to build a decent boat on Gilligan's Island. And if somehow the survivors on Gilligan's Island were to be able to build a spaceship the society that is able to strand them there is more than able to shoot down the ship as it reaches orbit. But I don't see how it would ever get far.

[jason taylor]

In Dune it doubled as the training ground for the Sardaukar.

Other alternatives are as a site for horrid experiments on unfortunate prisoners.

Or as a site for a peculiar Spartan-like rite of passage. Nobleman's sons might be sent there to survive for a given amount of time.

Or the prisoners can somehow arrange an "I am Spartacus" type revolt. Though unless they can get off it is not clear how the Empire would care.

Or the heros might be trying to rescue a prisoner and smuggle him/her off the planet.

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by trooper6

But the TL8 person isn't going to post a threat...because I don't know a TL8 person when dropped off on a place with nothing (all Survivor style) who is able to build a Spaceship.

They could herald from a cinematic world...;-}.

[trooper6]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

They could herald from a cinematic world...;-}.

It would have to be beyond cinematic and move into silly if they can turn coconuts and no steel or electricity or infrastructure into a space faring ship within their lifetime.