New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[Willy]

If they speak of vaccines the initial TL before the zombies must been at least at TL 7.

if it is so randomly a owner of higher tech will show up and the search for "high tech" is allways a campaign seed.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one...

Long After the Trumpet

No One knows why the Dead rose and destroyed the before people. Only the oldest Elders spoke to the survivors of the rising. Most of the Zombies rotted away long ago, and the dying are restrained in their last hours to keep them from killing folk. And once they are cold they are cut up and burned. Only a few get away.

The few ancient zombies are terrifying monsters, but most zombies rot away quickly.

They say that the villages to the southwest have been given a new vaccine that prevents one from rising as a zombie. The new folks from Cali in the West, where the Elders say they once made dreams, brought the vaccine.

How do we get them to bring their wares here?

Some notes:

The Zombie apocalypse came after major disasters involving climate change and the collapse of civilization radically reduced carbon emissions. So sea level is up twenty-five feet over the present day and the Imperial Valley is a brackish lake fed by the Colorado River. Other than the whole region being wetter because it's marginally cooler, this only impacts the southwest setting because of a stronger monsoon system.

Not all ancient Zombies are seen as such. Those that either retain or regain sentience often seem like living beings. Most set themselves up as witches, wizards, shamans, or prophets of some faith or other. As there are no supernatural powers in this reality (Psi is supposed to be superscience not magic) all their "Powers" are psionic. All non-sentient ancient zombies have high levels of Psi Resistance.

As the former paragraph might have let you know, something about the Zombie Apocalypse unleashed humanity's Psionic gifts. PCs should be allowed to pick one or two of the 25 point packages in GURPS Psis. The choices should be restricted to Telepathy, ESP, Healing, or Probability Control.

Psi powers can be removed from this setting, but the nature of the Witches, etc. changes.

Berkley had prototype commercial fusors set up and running before the Zombie Apocalypse. An island of pre-disaster tech survived in that area. That is the seed from which Cali has grown. Although economic limitations keep most people in Cali living at late TL5 with large cities at TL6, the Universities are enclaves of TL8/9. As the economy improves, more people get improved tech.

Finally, Hoover Dam's floodgates were all shut during the Zombie Apocalypse. Once water started flowing over the dam it wasn't long until a total collapse. This is when the Imperial Valley became Lake Imperial.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Willy

If they speak of vaccines the initial TL before the zombies must been at least at TL 7.

if it is so randomly a owner of higher tech will show up and the search for "high tech" is allways a campaign seed.

I hope I answered your question about. And yes, a quest to the universities would be grand.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

The planet Hy-Brazail was terraformed, settled, and seemingly abandoned by Earth. The planet is lush and green, a masterpiece of the terraformer's art, but the population is only 150,000 people. There are six groups of about twenty-five thousand people each. A) Irish speakers trying to recreate ancient Ireland, B) a Chinese group seeking to build a Taoist/Anarchist society, C) an American (USA) group of settlers seeking simply to build a new life, D) a group of Parahumans seeking to build a new society of their own, culturally these parahumans are Australians, E) a group of Polynesian islanders seeking to build a modern society based on their native culture, and F) the terraforming and settlement authority and their staff and families.

Basically, there is a struggle to keep society going. Several of the groups aren't really all that able to help. The societies have non-compatible goals, so diplomacy is a major of this setting.

In many ways this setting is like a post-apocalyptic setting only without ruins or other Earthbased trimmings. Still, this is a mostly empty planet with opportunities for wilderness adventures.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

The Star Farers

This is a supers setting.. This world had supers from the 1920s on. First you had figures like the major pulp heroes, then figures like the DC Golden Age (1938-50) showed up in the late thirties, the fifties and sixties had the Marvel heroes other than the X-Men, the 70s and 80s had the DC Silver age heroes, the X-Men and the Teen Titans show up in the 90s. After the year 2000 there is a twenty year period of large numbers of superheroes but most supervillains are inactive. Then a minor Mad Scientist (a bitter Nazi who saw not only the fall of the Third Reich but the erasure of any hope for his dream of a Fourth Reich) killed the sun.

The Superhero community, once they knew the sun was dead and past saving looked for ways to help humanity escape.

Several dozen worlds out in interstellar space have been found and prepared. Humanity is being taken from the icy dying Earth to their new homes, a vast migration.

Basically, supers during a mega crisis.

The sun is slowly dimming, it's lost two percent of its brightness since 2020. The world is measurably cooler. By 2050 even Hawaii will have Antarctic temperatures. Still conspiracy theories denying the Earth's doom are everywhere. There are vast riots both of those who refuse to go and of those who demand to go NOW!

Many of these new worlds are unstable often lawless frontiers, Many people who had had power, wealth, and high-social standing, find all of these evaporating or gone. Who cares if you're the Duke of Rutland, if there is no Rutland, or England, or Great Britain, or Europe. Being a Carter of Virginia requires a Virginia. Similarly, many people who had been on the bottom of the pile find they get a chance to improve their lives. Which vastly weakens their ties to the old social order even if they remain proud of their heritage.

On the dying Earth, on the worlds struggling to be born, and in the great migration, supers are needed.

I'd suggest the PCs should be a team of troubleshooter Supers, Build the PCs on 400 points for the basic character with about 500 to 600 points of powers. Think of a Team like the BAU on Criminal Minds but with serious superpowers.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

The Nesoi starsystem was settled about seventy years earlier. All three terraformable moons of the local Hot Jupiter are being successfully transformed into habitable worlds. The system has a fairly complete industrial base, they can build anything except starships and other similarly advanced tech, although they are cutting edge in biotechnology. The University is only thirty years old but it had achieved full accreditation. There is even a small but lively arts scene. All of which makes the loss of all contact with Earth even more disturbing.

It was known that the solar system's political climate was getting brutal. Europe and China were feuding with a coalition of Latin American, African, and Southeast Asian powers. The USA and most off-world colonies refused to get involved. Has the war happened? Is the war still going on? Are refugees coming? Is there anyone left to come?

For the foreseeable this star system is on its own.

Basically, a western in space. A government will need to be formed, that will be a complex fight in and of itself depending on which human groups are represented in the system. American, Iranians, Germans, the Chinese, Arabs, and Africans, all have different ideas on what is meant by "Fair and Just government." Just between the USA and Germany the idea of the basis of human rights is radically different. The American tradition holds rights are inherent in the nature of our humanity. Governments may uphold and recognize rights or fight to deny rights, but the rights are inherent a thus not the gift of the state. Society and circumstances may change and thus different aspects of our rights may be relevant, but the rights come from the people. Meanwhile, German tradition holds that rights are created by the state for the benefit of society and can be changed for the greater good of society. This alone is a vast fight, and many other groups have far different ideas.

As the GM can pick from existing Earth cultures and subcultures to people this star system multiple struggles and complex alliances can be built.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

The planet Aceso was stable and prosperous before all contact with Earth was lost. The century since the last message from Earth the nations of Aceso have become both stable and prosperous. There have even been scientific, technological, and cultural achievements. Only the infrastructure for building starships is missing and that's a matter of investment. It will likely take a century and a half of good economic growth to be able to afford such.

Meanwhile, society on Aceso is becoming more and more bitter and hostile because of the political fallout of transhumanism. Massive improvements in human genetics and genetic surgery have allowed the development of a Proteus Virus which transforms embryos and prepubescent children into transhumans and the descendants of anyone treated with the Proteus Virus into transhumans as well.

About two-thirds of the nations of Aceso forbid human genetic engineering. The remaining third encourage human genetic modification and pay for it through the national health!

The Aceso Transhumans are plus two to ST and DX and plus three to IQ and HT. The Aceso Transhumans also have Sensitive, Versatile, Intuitive Mathematician, Longevity, Extended Lifespan, and the Zero Point Traits of No Genetic Defects, No Mental Defects, No Unattractive and Early Maturity, among other traits.

Those societies that embrace Transhumanism look to make vast gains in all areas of society, culture, science, scholarship, and technology. The rest of Aceso's societies fear being left behind and perhaps ruled by inhuman tyrants.


Basically, two conflicting visions of the good which either can't or won't live with each other. The nations that embrace transhumanism tend to be on temperate and cool temperate islands, The nations that forbid transhumanism mainly cluster on the two large tropical continents, The Island nations have the better navies and air forces.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Careful studies of brain structure and health ( only made possible by TL9 imaging and scanning technologies) has shown means to enhance brain function. These improvements allow people to learn to be talented, In GURPS terms, people can learn mental advantages and unlearn mental disadvantages.

Suddenly the rich are smarter, stronger willed, and more talented than other people. As this process is cheaper and easier with young children all major nations are setting up ambitious programs to make all school children talented.

This leads to many levels of conflict. Generational, picture the stress in a high school were the Freshman class have all had the benefit or these treatments and are all smarter than the other students and the teachers too. Picture the first class of college educated kids with these advantages from the point of view of their competitors in the job market.

Class conflict is also highly likely. The wealthy already tend to see themselves as better than the rest of society, now let them buy the talents they want.

Disparities between nations will also lead to conflicts and war.

Basically, multiple types of keep the peace games or revolution games. Note: remember Talent isn't genius. Nor is it ambition.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

In 2025 aliens contact Earth and set up an Embassy in New York City. They gave humanity cheap efficient fusion technology as a greeting gift. Once they were settled in they let it be known that humanity has a high psi potential. In exchange for helping humanity to unlock their psionic gifts, they'd like the right to recruit humans for their military. Only those wanting to join up would be accepted. Being telepaths, the aliens could easily spot frauds and those being forced.

It is soon ascertained that, although the aliens have selfish motives in several areas, they genuinely want humanity to thrive and wish us well. They follow a "more flies with honey" sort of strategy and see humanity as natural and logical allies once we "mature a little" (there are serious debates on what that really means for humanity).

Any humans passing the alien's psychological evaluations can join their military. As sign up bonuses they will have some of their psi powers unlocked and their bodies reconditioned or enhanced as needed. One seventy year old quadriplegic who qualified now looks like a twenty-five year old Olympic athlete.

Basically, your near present day PCs get to join a TL12 space marines outfit and get superpowers and an improved body. Then they get to go out into the universe, meet exotic aliens, and maybe kill them. They could also end up as peacekeepers or score dates with space babes. There are many possibilities.

[Astromancer]

Try this one...

Through Gates or Horn...or Ivory?

"They say that the outsiders came from the stars or worlds that circled others stars as our world circles the sun.

They say the invaders came silently. Invading not our cities but our bodies and our dreams. Before the coming of the others humans gave birth to humans not aliens. My parents were Irish Americans, at least I'm green.

Stranger than the mutations are the strange dreams from other worlds and the unearthly lives we all now live each night. I've learned strange languages and the literatures that go with them. Strange crafts and technologies as well.

I'm some strange hybrid now. Something of neither world.

This is a cross between an alien invasion story and Lovecraft's Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath. The invasion of humanity's dreams and the grafting of Alien Racial Memories onto humanity's collective unconscious is an even more profound change than the genetic changes.

Basically, Lovecraftian horror by day and a crossover of Sword and Sorcery, Planetary Romance, and Swashbucklers at night. Freely use Lovecraft's Dreamlands both as inspiration and setting.