New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[PTTG]

Cloning and neural structure imaging have cured mortality. When you die, you get a new clone activated from your latest backup. Society has stabilized, and the economy is booming because skilled workers stay skilled and the "dross" of society died out of old age.

All of which means it really sucks when you didn't actually die. 'Spinoffs' are rare; it takes pretty unusual situations to get someone marked as dead without a confirmed corpse, but it does happen.

PCs could be spinoffs trying to survive in a world which generally doesn't recognize their status and doesn't know how to deal with them, or they could be counter-spin agents, sent to fight a cell of underground spinoff terrorists.

[David Johnston2]

A "Star Wars" setting where the Jedi are closer to their original concept as space samurai. There is no Jedi organization. Most of them are just sworn retainers to nobles with a few ronin types who wander around picking up mercenary odd jobs.

[Flyndaran]

Star Wars setting where the movies are all terrorist propaganda.
The empire isn't perfect, but it is a legitimate government that's still better than a monarchy or cult of personality to one family.

Force powers exist, but aren't ever as extreme, and don't require rigid ideology to maintain. "Either you're one of us and a Jedi, or go batsh*t evil and become a Sith" is just more propaganda.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Star Wars setting where the movies are all terrorist propaganda.
The empire isn't perfect, but it is a legitimate government that's still better than a monarchy or cult of personality to one family.

Force powers exist, but aren't ever as extreme, and don't require rigid ideology to maintain. "Either you're one of us and a Jedi, or go batsh*t evil and become a Sith" is just more propaganda.

Isn't the Empire an autocracy anyway? How is that better then a monarchy(which word in any case varies in concept from a monarch being little more then a secular high priest of a de facto republic to one where a monarch makes statues to brag of his war crimes).

[PTTG]

The Emperor needs to be the recognized authority figure in order to act as the focus for the collective psionic gestalt. Aside from that semi-spirtual aspect, he's actually a figurehead.

In the rebel propaganda, he's said to use "battle meditation" to basically mind-control the troops. Really it's actually a defensive measure against rebel psionics.

I for one want a space-opera setting without psionics for once.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by PTTG

I for one want a space-opera setting without psionics for once.

Here you go. No psionics, real star maps, lots of politics, TL11^, no aliens as yet.

[doctorevilbrain]

A cult of personality to one family? Vader is part of the Skywalker family too. Just because he works for the empire, it doesn't change that. Episodes 4-6 were all about a feud in the Skywalker family.

[Astromancer]

How the "Empire" works and how planetary government works need not be the same. Anakin was a slave under the old republic. What if the Empire outlawed slavery and required planetary governments to be actual democracies.

We sentimentalised the South's rebellion for more than a century. What if the Jedi in this alternate Star Wars are fighting for slavery, religious intolerance, and aristocratic privilege?

[warellis]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

How the "Empire" works and how planetary government works need not be the same. Anakin was a slave under the old republic. What if the Empire outlawed slavery and required planetary governments to be actual democracies.

We sentimentalised the South's rebellion for more than a century. What if the Jedi in this alternate Star Wars are fighting for slavery, religious intolerance, and aristocratic privilege?

Tatooine was outside of the Republic's jurisdiction, to the point that "Republic credits" apparently weren't acceptable there. IIRC it was under Hutt jurisdiction.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by warellis

Tatooine was outside of the Republic's jurisdiction, to the point that "Republic credits" apparently weren't acceptable there. IIRC it was under Hutt jurisdiction.

My mistake. Still, much of what I said still holds. Bad guys normally see themselves as champions of virtue. Just look at the Nazis. There are reasons we "Hate those guys."