New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Try this one..

Deep brain scans, charting brain function in real time, begins to be a seriously useful tool both of medical diagnosis and research into the basic workings of the brain by 2027. By 2035 serious anomalies are being noticed in patients suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personalities). Some of the observed brain function patterns make no sense for human brains, even severely injured ones.

Later on, research into people who claim to be "Psychic," (in order to understand the physical basis of their delusions) found some people you really could function as clairvoyants! Working with their own brainscans they could learn how to open their own powers more fully. Later on they discovered that ritual actions aided people in more effectively using a wide range of powers.

Some of those with "powers" have realized the anomalies in the brains of some Dissociatives were alien entities attempting to take over the minds of vulnerable people. They used to call those demons.

It's now 2100, it's a new age of magic!

Basically, Transhuman space with Ritual Path/Book Magic and Alchemy that is basically Weirder Science, much Weirder. Still, anything that gives you FTL travel.

The Demons, Daemons, Djinni, Fay, Ghosts, and other less than corporeal strangeness are also back. Some want to talk, some want power.

Whether or not you throw in GURPS: Black Ops is your call. But if you do, the Greys want a talk show gig!

A good setting for the 'Path/Book Psi Powers' concept that I've been working on - basically Energy Accumulating Path/Book Magic where the cost in energy points for the ritual is equal to the cost in character points of the advantage that ritual is imitating (or possibly not equal, but the cost would still be based on the character point cost in some way).

[Kale]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

I could see this being used to create plant and animal food. With humans, I think you'd need TL10 or better for this to taste good enough to be anything but emergency human food. Although, I could see special medical cases of extreme allergies requiring this kind of food.

I'm reminded of the sludge the humans ate in the first Matrix movie when they were out in the real world...

[Astromancer]

The birth collapse came as a huge shock in 2060. It was mainly a stoke of luck that the source of the collapse was found to be an artificial virus meant to turn the immune system against any gametes produced by a human body.

Those to blame, whether Human Extinction Movement fanatics, racists bent on being the only ones to breed, or some other group, weren't caught. If anyone meant to be immune, they haven't shown up. But the problem remains.

Still, humanity had made vast improvements in bio-technology. Any human cell could be turned into a gamete and used for reproduction. The problem was that all parts of the reproductive process had to be artificial in order to get a healthy child as the virus seems to foul up the entire reproductive systems of both men and women. On the upside, all the children born from this system are fully immune to the virus that caused the plague.

This leaves those nations capable of setting up reproduction factories able to produce healthy children. Those societies and nations to poor, unstable, or corrupt, to create such factories are left going extinct. This rarely goes down well.

Basically, this is a spy versus spy world fighting for resources, control, and power. And in this case all of these are represented as children. Fragile, innocent, children needing protection.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Basically, this is a spy versus spy world fighting for resources, control, and power. And in this case all of these are represented as children. Fragile, innocent, children needing protection.

There's a TV show or movie in that.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

There's a TV show or movie in that.

I'd watch it, as long as it wasn't The Handmaid's Tale (too unpleasant a combination of ideas that make me furious or depressed); but then, I did enjoy Children of Men.

[David Johnston2]

On July 17th 2154 thousands of new "stars" light the night briefly in a dazzling display. As telescopes on the ground and in orbit swivel to get a look the astronomers are shocked to see a trans Jovian gigantic fleet accelerating toward the Earth at .7 gravities. National leaders call hasty meetings and make public announcements to try to calm the population. Meanwhile a panicky population clog roads trying to get out of cities while riots break out as people try to become instant survivalists and swarm the stores.

But as they cross the asteroid belt suddenly even more ships emerge from concealment inside "asteroids to engage the attackers in a spectacular Lensmanesque battle while some kind of massive energy cannon on the far side of the Moon blasts the invaders at long range.

Most of the newcomers are destroyed while a few escape. Meanwhile on Earth the starting gun for a new space race is fired with the United States, European Union, Russia, China, Japan and India all creating crash manned space flight programs to get to the moon and the derelicts in space. And rest assure,the new manned space vessels will be armed.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

On July 17th 2154 thousands of new "stars" light the night briefly in a dazzling display. As telescopes on the ground and in orbit swivel to get a look the astronomers are shocked to see a trans Jovian gigantic fleet accelerating toward the Earth at .7 gravities. National leaders call hasty meetings and make public announcements to try to calm the population. Meanwhile a panicky population clog roads trying to get out of cities while riots break out as people try to become instant survivalists and swarm the stores.

But as they cross the asteroid belt suddenly even more ships emerge from concealment inside "asteroids to engage the attackers in a spectacular Lensmanesque battle while some kind of massive energy cannon on the far side of the Moon blasts the invaders at long range.

Most of the newcomers are destroyed while a few escape. Meanwhile on Earth the starting gun for a new space is fired with the United States, European Union, Russia, China, Japan and India all creating crash manned space flight programs to get to the moon and the derelicts in space. And rest assure,the new manned space vessels will be armed.

It reminds me of the line about how a hanging concentrates the mind. Incentive science, learn or die.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

On July 17th 2154 thousands of new "stars" light the night briefly in a dazzling display. As telescopes on the ground and in orbit swivel to get a look the astronomers are shocked to see a trans Jovian gigantic fleet accelerating toward the Earth at .7 gravities. National leaders call hasty meetings and make public announcements to try to calm the population. Meanwhile a panicky population clog roads trying to get out of cities while riots break out as people try to become instant survivalists and swarm the stores.

But as they cross the asteroid belt suddenly even more ships emerge from concealment inside "asteroids to engage the attackers in a spectacular Lensmanesque battle while some kind of massive energy cannon on the far side of the Moon blasts the invaders at long range.

Most of the newcomers are destroyed while a few escape. Meanwhile on Earth the starting gun for a new space race is fired with the United States, European Union, Russia, China, Japan and India all creating crash manned space flight programs to get to the moon and the derelicts in space. And rest assure,the new manned space vessels will be armed.

Certainly interesting, though the implication that we don't have Moonbases and regular visits to the Moon and back in 2154 are kind of depressing. I do find myself wanting to see the background for this setting, of the time between 2020 and 2154.

[Astromancer]

The city was on a series of hills between the sea and a great bay that several large rivers flowed into. Somehow the people knew the city was named Cashel. The climate was rather wet, but basically pleasant. About three fourths of the year was springlike, with the other quarter being icy rains and a hard frost or two. The city was well built and highly attractive, in fact very lovely. The Great bay provided plenty of seafood, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, oysters, clams, and more. The farms outside the city were highly productive, and the city never lacked for food.

What disturbed the people were a few questions. How did we come to this city? Who were we before we came here? What language did I use to speak? When did I learn this new language I speak now?

Basically a ship in a bottle mystery. The city is a SchizoTech mishmash. The power generation system is TL10 fusion, the water and sewer systems are biotech marvels at tech level 11 or 12. But much of the day to day technology of the city of Cashel is a blend of Tech Levels 6 and 7. On the whole the city seems like WWII San Francisco with Sci Fi touches.

My advice is to decide the true nature of the city during gameplay. Your Players will come up with an exciting fun answer, they're RPGers after all, it's the kind of thing they do.

If you want an as written answer then. A friendly aliens using sufficiently advanced technology took recordings of the minds of large groups of humans off the Earth just before an asteroid impact that would have ended all Earth life beyond bacteria.

Other cities of equally confused people could be on the planet with the city. So exploration is a good possibility in this setting.

[Apollonian]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

The city was on a series of hills between the sea and a great bay that several large rivers flowed into. Somehow the people knew the city was named Cashel. The climate was rather wet, but basically pleasant. About three fourths of the year was springlike, with the other quarter being icy rains and a hard frost or two. The city was well built and highly attractive, in fact very lovely. The Great bay provided plenty of seafood, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, oysters, clams, and more. The farms outside the city were highly productive, and the city never lacked for food.

What disturbed the people were a few questions. How did we come to this city? Who were we before we came here? What language did I use to speak? When did I learn this new language I speak now?

Basically a ship in a bottle mystery. The city is a SchizoTech mishmash. The power generation system is TL10 fusion, the water and sewer systems are biotech marvels at tech level 11 or 12. But much of the day to day technology of the city of Cashel is a blend of Tech Levels 6 and 7. On the whole the city seems like WWII San Francisco with Sci Fi touches.

My advice is to decide the true nature of the city during gameplay. Your Players will come up with an exciting fun answer, they're RPGers after all, it's the kind of thing they do.

I like it. For extra spice, have your group watch Dark City and the Matrix first as an "unrelated movie night."