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 > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-27-2021, 11:19 AM   #2361
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
This takes an idea I've used before but it twists it off in a new direction.

The Far Frontier

The Basic setting is a TL7 Western.

It seems that during WWII someone stopped an invasion from another reality or something like that. In order to stop the invasion they had to cut a deal of some kind. It wasn't a deal with the devil, but it wasn't much better. Most of the details never came out, but the upshot was that Allied soldiers couldn't be touched by axis bullets. That, and magical roads opening up to let the allies invade Europe unseen until they got there. The downside is the USA was banished to another world.

That's why we all live on Planet Sally.

Planet Sally is fairly close to Earth in most basic ways even if the arrangement of the continents and oceans are very different. The air pressure is greater, approximately 112% of Earth normal at sea level. Which means those living less than 200 feet above sea level almost never experience sunburn. Few measurements that scientists could make would fail to show that Planet Sally isn't Earth, but atmospheric pressure is by far the most notable followed by a gravity of 0.93G.

The land/water ratio on planet Sally will be discovered to be 23/77. Less land compared to water than Earth but comparable. Most of planet Sally's land mass is divided into two rings of continents. A northern ring of seven continents called the Pleiades. And a southern ring of seven continents called the Hyades. Both rings encircle the planet and the continents are arranged in northern and southern pairs. The weird symmetry causes massive speculation. The Pleiades as a group tend toward temperate climates. The Hyades are mostly tropical or semi-tropical. All the continents are of similar size with the largest continent being only half again as large as the smallest.

The majority of the people on Planet Sally are on the continents of Maia in the Pleiades and Dione in the Hyades. These two continents come closer to each other than any others and there is an area of shallow seas and large islands between them like Indonesia or Northern Canada. Most of Maia is a large flat well watered plain much like the US Midwest. Both the east and west coasts of Maia are mountainous with multiple peninsulas. Dione is a series of long peninsulas like the island of Sulawesi. But where Sulawesi is four peninsulas Dione is a dozen and far larger than Sulawesi. Much of Dione is rainforest, but there are large grasslands and areas of temperate climate in the high mountains and plateaus.

The flora and fauna of Maia and Dione closely resemble that of the Americas, with a few exotic survivals like mammoths and giant sloths here and there. On the whole the flora and fauna of the Pleiades resembles that of Earth's Northern Hemisphere, and the flora and fauna of the Hyades resembles that of Earth's Southern hemisphere and tropics. The more isolated large islands will often have the lifeforms of the distant past.

Planet Sally has two moons. The larger moon, (which is uncannily like Earth's moon in size, orbital period, rotation, and distance from the planet) is called Polly Baker. The smaller, and more distant moon is called Ben's Kite. Ben's Kite is about the same size as 48 Doris, but it's both highly spherical in a seemingly artificial way, and a very bright object. About 35% of the surface area of Ben's Kite seems to be made of some kind of tektite glass. Again this seems highly artificial. To add to the mysteries, astronomers have found artificial structures on the surface of Polly Baker.

The star the Planet Sally Franklin orbits around is called Benjamin Franklin. It is very close to being identical with Earth's sun. However, where Sol is a single star, Benjamin Franklin is part of a trinary star system. The other two stars are called Thomas Jefferson and Tom Paine. The Two Toms, as they are called, orbit a common center of gravity and are generally around 97 light hours from each other (for comparison Pluto is normally around ten light hours from the sun). Benjamin Franklin orbits a common center of gravity with the Two Toms and generally about 190 light hours away from either of the other stars.

More later.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo

Last edited by Astromancer; 12-15-2021 at 01:31 PM.
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-08-2021, 02:55 AM   #2362
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

For those of you like the Madness Dossier, get a look at JAGS Wonderland. The ideas and structure are similar, but what's distinctive can be useful weird fun. The "disease" of experiencing reality as it actually is has tons of useful possibilities. And the idea of turning off reality itself to free humanity from its cradle/prison can be both a goal and a threat.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2021, 12:54 PM   #2363
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

Has anyone played around with the Mortal Kombat setting for RPGs? It looks like the setting might be more fun than the combats ever were.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2021, 11:04 AM   #2364
Jack Sawyer
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

I've recently been getting re-interested in the X-com series (Both the original 90s game, and the more recent Firaxis version) and the fact there are some very extensive (And creative) mods for all of them (at least using the re-made game engine for the 90s version.) The first two games (for either) both have interesting variations of 'scifi meets modern' if you like stargate/SG-1/Atlantis, X-files, or Independence Day but as you get into later games like Interceptor and Apocalypse and the lore moves into space and other areas you start getting more into cyberpunk (including things like Judge Dredd style megacities, megacorps in space and controlling everything, etc. X-com Apocalypse was big on those even with all its flaws) and some of the planned ideas get even more.. interesting (X-com gets capital ships as well as fighters like in Interceptor and at least one of the planned games had one ship get 'lost in space' and ally with another alien race against other alien tyrants...)

Some of the mods get even more interesting plot wise (space pirates lol).
Jack Sawyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2021, 12:33 PM   #2365
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
This takes an idea I've used before but it twists it off in a new direction.

The Far Frontier

The Basic setting is a TL7 Western.

It seems that during WWII someone stopped an invasion from another reality or something like that. In order to stop the invasion they had to cut a deal of some kind. It wasn't a deal with the devil, but it wasn't much better. Most of the details never came out, but the upshot was that Allied soldiers couldn't be touched by axis bullets. That, and magical roads opening up to let the allies invade Europe unseen until they got there. The downside is the USA was banished to another world.

That's why we all live on Planet Sally.


.
In 1934 Seán Ceallaigh (a young Irish American) meets and becomes attuned to the "entity." During the next few years Seán is in an out of mental wards until he learns to control the connection.

In January of 1942 Seán levitates over the White House fence and enters the East Room. He levitates in the East Room until he gets an audience with FDR and a chance to aide the war effort. To prove he can be a powerful ally, Seán heals and rejuvenates FDR, Eleanor, and Harry Hopkins.

Over the next few months, FDR and Eleanor work with Seán and the entity. And invasion of Earth is averted and valuable aide is given to the Allies. However, to permanently stop the threat of alien enslavement of the Earth's people, a steep price is required. The people of Earth are fully aware that hostile aliens tried to invade the Earth, and that the Americans were instrumental in driving them off. They also know that America will have to pay a mysterious price for this.

In January of 1944 the people of the USA begin to evacuate to Planet Sally.

In January of 1945, after FDR's reelection, there is a convention to define The Emergency Ordinance (the temporary constitutional document for the duration of the emergency). As the states will cease to exist once the American people leave the Earth, a new system of organizing elections and representation will be needed. This is highly controversial but obviously necessary. FDR drives through a unicameral proportionately elected legislature.

By the end of 1945, with the American people about one third evacuated, Stalin starts to push for control of Europe and Asia. He sees the forced exit of the USA as the death knell of Capitalism and Imperialism and is determined to create a worldwide communist utopia.

Over the next five years the people of the USA evacuate the Earth. Several other nations join then. The evacuation and resettlement was facilitated by a few partially built cities built by the "entity." Most of the population was in resettlement camps which became the nucelli around which large numbers of towns and cities quickly formed.

In 1951 Seán Ceallaigh collapses. It's several months before Seán regains consciousness. Seán explains that he was overusing his powers and the Entity had simply gotten bored and left. All connection with Earth ended.

The late 1940's are a time of chaos and confusion. The Entity set up a series of railroads, power stations, camps, ports, and some other needed facilities.

The early 1950s see the society begin to take form. Large amounts of land were doled out. Vast numbers of poor farmers gained good land and enough for security. Most farmhands became farmers in their own right with their own farms. Share Croppers got farms free and clear. The Post Office's finacial services were extended into a full range of banking services effectively nationalizing all banking services. As there was no other way to provide these services there was little public protest. The Postal Banking system maintained the credit needed to operate farms.

In order to end Jim Crow, African-Americans were given their farm lands in the Islands between Maia and Dione, and on the Northern coasts of Dione. This resulted in African-Americans achieving full economic parity with White folks very quickly and Jim Crow becoming irrelevant as the Southern social order simply dissolved.

The old moneyed elites and other power players found themselves powerless because they lacked any means to sustain their power. They were bitter and unable to do anything about it. Sour relics of the pre-Exile rich were standard villains and nuisances in films and printed stories for the next forty years.

Hollywood is re-established on a peninsula on the West coast of Maia in an area of Mediterranean climate. Between the mountainous geography of the peninsula and it's position relative new strong nearby oceanic currents, the Peninsula has many pockets of microclimate. Thus giving the film studios many places to shot films that look like distant lands. Film production never really stops, but it doesn't return to normal until the early fifties.

New Hollywood is also the center of Radio production. TV is put on the back burner for decades and doesn't show up until the 1990s.

More Later....
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo

Last edited by Astromancer; 11-22-2022 at 07:40 PM.
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2021, 02:38 PM   #2366
TGLS
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

Aliens seek to turn the Earth into a resort world. To ensure negotiations proceed smoothly, they use a small group of people (the PCs) as intermediaries. They lay out their demands: nuclear disarmament, no trade barriers, anti-discrimination legislation, increased global governance, etc. They also explain what will happen if the nations of Earth refuse; a horrible plague (or some other global scale disaster) will be unleashed upon the Earth.

Unfortunately, somebody made a big mistake; the plague was released a few years ago and now it's all over and done with. Whoever was responsible for the plague decided to cover up rather than fess up to their mistake. Explaining what happened will probably have unpredictable effects.

The aliens prefer to pick representatives at random; on other worlds picking "the most important people" had disastrous outcomes. Regular people have been placed way over their heads without a clue what happens if they fail. This could be played as absurd drama or comedy with the world in the balance.
TGLS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2021, 11:51 AM   #2367
Flyndaran
Untagged
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

People are good at seeing patterns even when there aren't any. Conspiracy theories will abound on how those selected have "something" in common.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.
Flyndaran is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2022, 02:10 PM   #2368
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
People are good at seeing patterns even when there aren't any. Conspiracy theories will abound on how those selected have "something" in common.
Anything new will gain conspiracy theories in today's world. A) because people know that people out there are in fact plotting against them (however ineffectually) and B) it's nice to think some one is in charge and it isn't all chaos.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2022, 02:26 PM   #2369
Willy
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
Anything new will gain conspiracy theories in today's world. A) because people know that people out there are in fact plotting against them (however ineffectually) and B) it's nice to think some one is in charge and it isn't all chaos.
Add a C) Somebody needs to guilty and to blame for all the problems the conspiracy theorists have.
Willy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2022, 03:36 PM   #2370
Astromancer
 
Astromancer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

Quote:
Originally Posted by Willy View Post
Add a C) Somebody needs to guilty and to blame for all the problems the conspiracy theorists have.
Valid point.
__________________
Per Ardua Per Astra!


Ancora Imparo
Astromancer is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

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 03:31 AM.


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