New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[Astromancer]

"The Darling Buds of May"

The Plague Wars ended the old civilization, sure they came up with new vaccines and treatments. The sudden cessation of new types of Plague in 2113 was taken as a sign that whichever nation was attacking either gave up or collapsed. But that conclusion was only arrived at generations later. But the under 40 year olds of 2113 were to few to repopulate any nation quickly enough to prevent the collapse.

But you said our population recovery was why other cultures feared and hate us. If our population recovery is helping drag the world out of the Second Dark Ages why are the other nations mad at us?

Because, our recovery might end the Second Dark Ages . Our restoration will change everything whether we, or anyone else, likes it or not. And no level of isolation can change that.

"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May." For a series of reasons, most, but not all, of which have to do with the geography of the USA, America was the last nation to fall in the collapse and the first nation to recover. The new USA has gone through the crisis and come out more democratic and egalitarian than ever before. This makes the USA genuinely terrifying to most reactionary societies around the planet.

Basically, it's a renaissance. The USA and it's very few allies are experiencing an exciting time of renewal. Other cultures are afraid that America's changes will change them, or at least inspire their people to demand change. If America can be a prosperous democracy, why can't we the people ask. The elites are terrified of any answers.

This is a Golden Age Sci Fi setting. Think of it as a cross between the Voyages of Sinbad and the Odyssey on a post-apocalyptic Earth. Many of the societies will have a "Planet of Hats" vibe. The PCs will be merchants, explorers and diplomats, going out to meet a new Earth.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

"The Darling Buds of May"

Between the demographic crisis sweeping much of the planet (did you know that the average Brazilian will be older than the average U.S. citizen before 2050 in our real world?) and the plagues, much of this world is brutally underpopulated. Between the severe underpopulation, economic chaos, and the general collapse most educational and trade systems, most of the world is a mixture of tech levels five and six. Pockets of Tech Levels seven and eight do exist. America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, all have pockets of Tech Level nine (very early TL9).

France and Sweden dominate Europe, with France as the dominant partner. Russia is mainly stone age. The Islamic lands, Subsaharan Africa, India, and China, all went through decades of famine as well as plague. These lands are still chaotic. Southeast Asia, in alliance with Australia and New Zealand (and alliance based on their desperate need for food imports) are much better off.

North America and the Antipodes are working to rebuild their economies. Most others are working on not collapsing further.

[Inky]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

"The Darling Buds of May"

The Plague Wars ended the old civilization, sure they came up with new vaccines and treatments. The sudden cessation of new types of Plague in 2113 was taken as a sign that whichever nation was attacking either gave up or collapsed. But that conclusion was only arrived at generations later. But the under 40 year olds of 2113 were to few to repopulate any nation quickly enough to prevent the collapse.

But you said our population recovery was why other cultures feared and hate us. If our population recovery is helping drag the world out of the Second Dark Ages why are the other nations mad at us?

Because, our recovery might end the Second Dark Ages . Our restoration will change everything whether we, or anyone else, likes it or not. And no level of isolation can change that.

Seems like there'd be a more straightforward reason why other cultures might fear and hate them - they'd be in pole position to rule the world, should they want to.

It might be both, of course, in countries that are dictatorships (and/or just run drastically differently from the USA in any other way, good, bad or neutral, that their population might get it into their heads was to blame for them being poorer than the USA). Especially since dictators that don't want their population siding with the USA might tell them that the USA wants to conquer their country, even if it actually doesn't. PCs might discover that the locals had some very weird and alarming ideas about them and what they were supposedly up to!

It seems more likely that, rather than being literally TL6 or whatever in terms of technical knowledge, the Tech Levels stated would just be the highest Tech Level of stuff that they have the infrastructure and resources to make. Information seems to be hard to get rid of (although it might depend how long after the disaster this is supposed to be, and if they fell low enough that printed matter was hard to come by that might make a big difference).

On the other hand, it seems like sometimes societies just seem to lose sight of, or actively turn their backs on, a scientifically established fact for some reason - like how some sections of the American far right currently seem to be being about quite a lot of things. If that happened to one of these countries, it might happen that one generation don't believe a thing, and therefore don't teach it to their children, and the next generation don't even know it.
(For instance, they might think that some branch of technology was to blame for part of their current troubles, or that it had promised to solve them and had failed. Doesn't have to be true, so long as it's hard enough to falsify that they might plausibly think it was).
If a GM wanted a scientific fable, that could be magnified into a country that, for better or worse or some combination of those things, had lost the idea of computers, or the germ theory - or writing!
There's still the question of why they wouldn't have any written records of how to do this stuff. But one plausible excuse for that might be that by the time of the disaster it was mostly digital media, which had since been re-used and/or stopped working, rather than printed books. Another might be that during the disaster they'd been short of fuel, and since nobody liked those books anyway...

The title seems oddly glum compared to the premise? It seems like the "reactionary societies" are being cast as the bad guys but also compared to the "darling buds of May". Or is it the USA's ideas of rebuilding the world that are going to be shaken, on contact with their neighbours? :-D

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Inky

Seems like there'd be a more straightforward reason why other cultures might fear and hate them - they'd be in pole position to rule the world, should they want to.

The simple power imbalance is enough. Nations have gone to war simply because they thought a neighbor might become to powerful.

It might be both, of course, in countries that are dictatorships (and/or just run drastically differently from the USA in any other way, good, bad or neutral, that their population might get it into their heads was to blame for them being poorer than the USA).

France, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries had a traditional anti American stance based on fear of cultural contamination from America. Even when we were allies. Having any nation, even a mainly friendly one, be overwhelmingly powerful breeds resentment. The illusion/delusion that a nation is a potential threat also disrupts.

Especially since dictators that don't want their population siding with the USA might tell them that the USA wants to conquer their country, even if it actually doesn't. PCs might discover that the locals had some very weird and alarming ideas about them and what they were supposedly up to!

From what I've read about contemporary Islamic societies, this is pretty much what's going on. The Soviet Union followed a similar playbook.

It seems more likely that, rather than being literally TL6 or whatever in terms of technical knowledge, the Tech Levels stated would just be the highest Tech Level of stuff that they have the infrastructure and resources to make. Information seems to be hard to get rid of (although it might depend how long after the disaster this is supposed to be, and if they fell low enough that printed matter was hard to come by that might make a big difference).

Economic reasons dominate that. The old infrastructure has deteriorated. The vital trade networks are gone. The educational systems are in chaos or collapse. And food and agriculture are messed up bad.
There are pockets of the old technology. Example: rulers do their best to maintain at least one good hospital for themselves and their close allies.

On the other hand, it seems like sometimes societies just seem to lose sight of, or actively turn their backs on, a scientifically established fact for some reason - like how some sections of the American far right currently seem to be being about quite a lot of things. If that happened to one of these countries, it might happen that one generation don't believe a thing, and therefore don't teach it to their children, and the next generation don't even know it.
(For instance, they might think that some branch of technology was to blame for part of their current troubles, or that it had promised to solve them and had failed. Doesn't have to be true, so long as it's hard enough to falsify that they might plausibly think it was).

Some would think that way. For others, lacking the resources to restore technology, it might be "sour grapes."

If a GM wanted a scientific fable, that could be magnified into a country that, for better or worse or some combination of those things, had lost the idea of computers, or the germ theory - or writing!
There's still the question of why they wouldn't have any written records of how to do this stuff. But one plausible excuse for that might be that by the time of the disaster it was mostly digital media, which had since been re-used and/or stopped working, rather than printed books. Another might be that during the disaster they'd been short of fuel, and since nobody liked those books anyway...

Having the records/information isn't the same as having the resources. The North American continent is uniquely rich in a balanced set of resources. The American people often get ahead simply because they are less hindered in their actions.

The title seems oddly glum compared to the premise? It seems like the "reactionary societies" are being cast as the bad guys but also compared to the "darling buds of May". Or is it the USA's ideas of rebuilding the world that are going to be shaken, on contact with their neighbours? :-D

Thank you. I try to make all my titles ambiguous in that way. A touch of irony.

The Americans want a Renaissance for the world. They aren't thinking about how that would be defined or received elsewhere. Because the American nation is undergoing a Renaissance they are positive about themselves and their future.

Historically, change brought from outside, even the most beneficial and welcomed changes, come with consequences. Those are the top of a social structure of any kind, rarely see big changes as a good thing. And most of the world's cultures associate the Renaissance with the Age of Exploration and the Colonial Empires that followed it. Even if the USA in this world is a perfect rose of virtue, many others would have strong motivations to rip it apart.

[Astromancer]

The Castle of the Border

This is basically a Golden Age Sci Fi set up. A long lost human colony has been found. The PCs are members of the various peoples descended from the lost colony ship. As this is a Golden Age Sci Fi setting the lost colony ship crashed on a world with a healthy ecosystem and the human colonists survived, and so did the ecosystem.

The colony ship came to grief while flying in hyperspace. This caused a time-jump backwards in time. So, although the colony ship has only been lost for seven years, the colony ship crashed on this world thirty-five hundred years ago.

The PCs are locals. They are aware of the fact of higher technology, but know nothing of the details. The recent scout base/anthropological exploration center is a boon. A chance to relearn the skills of the ancestors. The problem is that, as test subjects, they are to be studied, not taught.

The anthropologists want to study primitive humans. If you try to do that on Earth, you either have to go to a museum or interview people about long dead relatives that neither they nor you ever met. There is no way the anthropologists want the locals to regain technology.

Basically, it's a struggle to steal knowledge or keep it from being stolen. Thief/Spy skills will be the main focus.

[Astromancer]

"Try to Remember that kind of September..."

This is a science fantasy idea that rifts off certain of the works of H. Beam Piper. Piper wrote some stories involving the concept of voluntary reincarnation, and assumed we had the power to select our parents, but most people couldn't keep their minds focused while disincorporated long enough to make good choices.

In this world Reincarnation has become a proven scientific fact. Recent treatments allow individuals to remember past lives. (This is a great reason to buy the Racial Memory advantage, many skills that would be wildly out of place in the modern world our allowable this way.)

Recently, scholars have discovered that individuals who had their past life memories reawakened are far more conscious and aware between lives. They can choose the bodies they wish to reincarnate in and prevent others from challenging this fairly easily. Result, death becomes an easy means to ditch debts and gain advantages.

Society is already shaken by the introduction of proof of reincarnation. The courts are crammed with suits for return of property from other lives. Murder victims are out for revenge. Death no longer wipes any slates clean. Without forgetting, forgiveness is dying.

Add in voluntary choice of reincarnation and suddenly both society and families are radically transformed.

This can be used in several ways.

Cyberpunk Horror seems obvious.

In a Post-Apocalyptic setting this allows the PCs to be both hard-bitten survivors of the new world, while at the same time being people from the past exploring the world after their time.

[Astromancer]

"A Traveler from an Antique Land."

Why are the Rill so picky. We broke away from their empire. If it's as old as they say, we couldn't have been the first

Oh we weren't the first. But they have a mythology that they never lost a war. Like the early 20th century Japanese.

So they've tricked themselves into thinking we've done the impossible?

Pretty much. It's useful in that it prevents them from thinking things through. But it also means they massively despise us. Remember, they think they have a civilizing mission.

So he's going to keep lecturing us on everything?

It helps to keep them from learning anything about us that could aid a reconquest.

The Rill Empire was about fifty thousand years old when Humanity developed its first writing systems. They conquered humanity, for a short time. Humanity broke free.

Now the Rill Empire is humiliated that these upstarts reverse engineered some key Rill technology and Improved it! That is not supposed to be possible.

Meanwhile, throughout the many realms of the empire long conquered peoples test their chains.

Basically, upstart humans versus the galactic empire. Swashbuckling Space Opera. The Rill are highly intelligent, moreso than humans in fact. However, the Rill have become Hidebound . The Rill educational theocrats have drummed creativity out of the Rill species. It would take a total cultural collapse to bring creativity back.

Psionics, Force Swords, Space Martial Arts ala Jedi, bring it all on.

[Astromancer]

Red, White, and decidedly Blue

The course of the nineteen twenties was very much determined by the fact that only three nations had useful sources of Hyperium. The United States, the United Kingdom, and France. At first it seemed that the rise of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia might cause another continental war. But when the French showed how easily they could drop rocks on enemy cities and kill them in one blow, both those nations, as well as Italy and Japan, became more circumspect in their behavior.


It's the distant future of 2021AD. The wonder metal Hyperium has made space flight easier than Airship flight and a lot more profitable. France, Britain, and America, have claimed vast extraterrestrial territories. Britain and France call their territories empires. America chooses only worlds without intelligent life The French and British extraterrestrial empires are wealthy exotic places. Meanwhile, America's extraterrestrial territories have a frontier feel.

Basically, it's a Golden Age Sci Fi set up. The American planets are pretty much transitional takes on the Wild West, a few worlds in the American sphere have left the Wild West phase behind. Others are on the verge of becoming Wild. The French and British empires have that exotic "East of Suez" vibe. Although the ideas of nationalism and anti colonialism are beginning to show up.

This is an adventure setting. A Tech Level 6+3^ take on 19th century adventure yarns. Hyperium allows fast interstellar travel suiting a Golden Age Sci Fi yarn.

Both the USA and France allow freer immigration to their colonies/settlements than to their mainland. Consequently the populations of France Outreterre resemble the non Arab population of Algeria in the 1930s. Whereas the American settlements have large numbers of immigrants much like the 19th century West or late 19th century American cities.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Inky

PCs might discover that the locals had some very weird and alarming ideas about them and what they were supposedly up to!

As an aside, I can't help but think of the anime Vandread. That's chock full of "Planet of Hats" worlds (eventually revealed to have been purposefully setup that way); the planets the main characters come from, Taraak and Mejere (two habitable planets in the same system) have the peculiar traits that Taraak is populated entirely by men, Mejere entirely by women. Due to the propoganda from each side, the male characters are initially convinced the women intend to harvest and eat their livers, while the female characters are convinced the men are barbarians who carry a huge number of deadly, communicable diseases (to the extent that, when the Mejerean pirates board the Taraakan ship, they do so wearing what amount to combat hazmat suits).

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Red, White, and decidedly Blue

Are you envisioning there being a large number of habitable worlds in our solar system that the three "Hyperian Nations" have colonized, other solar systems being markedly closer than in our world, or Hyperium enabling FTL travel?

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Varyon

As an aside, I can't help but think of the anime Vandread. That's chock full of "Planet of Hats" worlds (eventually revealed to have been purposefully setup that way); the planets the main characters come from, Taraak and Mejere (two habitable planets in the same system) have the peculiar traits that Taraak is populated entirely by men, Mejere entirely by women. Due to the propoganda from each side, the male characters are initially convinced the women intend to harvest and eat their livers, while the female characters are convinced the men are barbarians who carry a huge number of deadly, communicable diseases (to the extent that, when the Mejerean pirates board the Taraakan ship, they do so wearing what amount to combat hazmat suits).

Are you envisioning there being a large number of habitable worlds in our solar system that the three "Hyperian Nations" have colonized, other solar systems being markedly closer than in our world, or Hyperium enabling FTL travel?

I amended my text.