Hi and congrats! I'm happy to have you and I hope you guys enjoy this game.
Now, before we can actually start playing, we need to decide a few things about this little world of ours. Since this is PBP, though, there's going to be a few changes.
First, we've pretty much set the game's setting and scale, the first two steps of game creation.
Setting: A Firefly-esque universe with a Roaring Twenties/Mississippi Delta vibe.
Scale: Local, though the characters travel from place to place.
Of course, we're not done just yet with this. Before we can start, we have to nail down some more concrete details. The next step is to figure out what the world's issues are. They can be things happening in the now, or they can be things that are coming up. They can be local or more global in scope as well.
While we're at it, we can also nail down some more details about the setting. Is there just one large government that rules all of humanity/the galaxy? Are there many such governments? Only a few? Are there aliens? Are humans more diverse than they are now? Do they live longer? What about AIs? Can they fit inside something that can be in the place of a human brain? (That one is me asking if I can use a certain idea I have for a scenario.) Are they human-like? Are they utterly alien and perfectly logical?
The questions above aren't meant to be the be all end all, just the start of the discussion. You could throw out something that's not even mentioned, like some humans or aliens having psychic abilities. Keep in mind that this is supposed to be fairly high level at this point, so don't get too worried about the nitty gritty.
Also, there is the matter of your ship. I'm giving you two options, since the ship is basically going to be a character of its own. The first is you can talk about what you want amongst yourselves and choose it's aspects and stunts (I'll cover those in greater detail later when we get to finishing up character creation.) The second is you let me do it and you can find out what its aspects and stunts are through gameplay.
Good luck, and I am here to answer any questions you might have.
Oh, and don't be afraid to overrule me on something. At this stage, I have as much say as you do.
I did. I just can't delete the first post or I lose the thread. :)
Sirus signing in.
As for thoughts on the ship, I prefer if tech in this universe wasn't too automated. Some automation would be required, naturally, but I'd like to feel like Sirus could rig just about any system on the ship of it came to it. Besides, lots of levers and handles are more fun than "I tap the button..."
The universe- it's more dynamic if one government doesn't rule all. I like the firefly idea of a central power and the crazy that collects at the edges. So the earth government reaches out to, say, Mars and beyond that mega-corps, splinter governments, and planetary conglomerates vie for control of resources. Food could be produced in huge hydroponic farm ships (think The Migrant Fleet from mass effect) or star bases, making then seats of power.
Just spit-ballin. :)
Hi guys! Good to be here :)
I'll think about the setting and get back to you tomorrow. I have some ideas but they're not fully formed yet.
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Thank you DM-Salsa for accepting me. I’m looking forward to trying out Fate in your setting with the other players and their characters.
To answer some of your questions, aliens would make the game more complicated. Which isn’t bad. Maybe a few of the planets have non-sapient life forms, like the Earth for most of its history. One technologically inferior (bronze age) species discovered about ten years ago? Technologically more advanced in a multi-species federation? I don’t know. Unless someone is really passionate or invested in having aliens, I’d rather just keep the game all human. Though, there is the possibility that part of the game may involve a first contact scenario.
I like the idea of AIs in the game, even something that fits into a human head.
How long has humanity been exploring other planets? If it’s been a few centuries I think there definitely would be strong cultures attached to particular planets. Humans would be more diverse. There would be new customs, religions, and languages. Even the fringes, the far planetary systems, should have some cosmopolitan areas (to give a Roaring 20’s atmosphere). Where there are governments (or ruling bodies) they should be strong hence the need for illegal activities like smuggling.
As for the aspects and stunts, I think the players discussing it and choosing them gives a greater “ownership” of the ship, as if our PCs had been using it for a while and customized it to their needs and preferences. Sirius should definitely have first say in aspects and stunts since he came with the ship.
I'll think more about psionics and other features for the game.
I'm really inexperienced with this system. In fact, I have no experience with this system. I'm not even really sure what stunts are. I read the basics on the srd, but it hasn't clicked yet. Could we maybe start with the characters then design the ship?
AI is fine. Especially if it ship has one (an illegal one?). They could exist in a spectrum from simple operations AI to highly advanced, near-human AI. Faster than human AI is just asking for a shift into Terminator.
Aliens... Maybe. On the fence on that one.
How long has humanity been exploring other planets?
At least several hundred years. Humanity had several colonies on Mars and in the Jovian and Saturnian systems as well as a couple of mining outposts in the Kuiper and Asteroid Belts before sending out the first slow boats to nearby stars. Those took several dozen years to reach their destinations. After a few colonies had been established this way, Someone figured out how to cheat Einstein and break the light-speed barrier and go FTL. Humanity has spread through the cosmos since then. I think between 700 and 1500 years of interstellar colonization preceded by 200-300 years of interplanetary colonization should work.
There could totally be a Cloud City on Venus and mines on Mercury at that point.
True, but Venus' atmosphere is rather toxic and acidic. AS for Mercury, I'm not sure what would be there that you couldn't get more easily from the asteroids further out. Well, there could be solar power generation plants that send power out-system via microwave, but that's not really mining.
That said, that may be splitting hairs a bit too much.
Also, we can certainly do characters first then the ship. We just need to get this part done then we can talk about How the crew met and your first job together.
Venus is acidic, yes, but it's Sulfuric Acid, meaning a layer of glass or other non-reactive material is all that's needed for the lower hull of a Cloud City.
Anyway, that's kinda beside the point. The main concern to a population like the one you're describing would be food and water. Are there star trek style replicators?
Edit: I kinda prefer the Quarian Live Ship idea I linked above. :)
I would think not. For those to work, you'd need far, far more energy than if you just had a hydroponics section. As for water, I was thinking that the habitable areas of a ship would be surrounded by water tanks. Most of the ship would be unpressurized, so Sirus' engineering section would be a machine and electronics shop near an airlock.
Indeed, that was my thought too. He could even have small drones for repairs in cramped depressurized areas controlled by VR. In fact, we could say that Sirus normally operates with augmented reality/ VR gear so he has a constant eye on the dozen or so systems that are ever on the edge of failure.
Hey all, thanks for the accept over to here. Will be back to comment on some of my opinions in a bit. Ready for this to start rolling! As a note I'm very familiar with the Fate system so I'm willing to help anyone having issues :)
Edit:
Aliens: I'd prefer all humans personally, but am not opposed to aliens.
AI: Sure
Governments: I'd prefer a large Empire-esque government with a few loose governments along the fringes. I also like the Quarian Fleet idea.
As for the aspects and stunts, I think the players discussing it and choosing them gives a greater “ownership” of the ship, as if our PCs had been using it for a while and customized it to their needs and preferences. Sirius should definitely have first say in aspects and stunts since he came with the ship.
If we're building the ship I say we just rip off the ship aspects rules from the Aether Sea Aether Sea Sourcebook
TLDR, in addition to a High Concept and a Trouble, each character has a Ship Aspect ex: Skin like Steel, Wired for VR, Heart of Gold, etc that they share with the ship. This makes the ship have equal representation for each character.
Okay, so it looks like you guys want to "build" the ship, so we'll get to that after we are done with the Phase Trio (where you'll choose your three other aspects and detail how you joined this motley crew.) While I do think the Aether Sea idea is interesting, I'd rather not complicate things any more than I am going to be already. Not to say that I don't want you guys tied to the ship.
Governments: So, it seems like you guys are leaning more towards a few very powerful governments and some smaller nations and confederacies. I also like the idea of a group of people being space nomads, but I hope you'll forgive me if I avoid driven out by your own creations thing. Saberhagen did it, BSG did it, NuBSG did it, and Mass Effect did it. I actually have a group that would be perfect for that role.
AI: This one seems to be a yes, but not too powerful, which is fine with me.
Aliens: This one seems to be a no, but what about genetically modified humans? Do you think, if they are in this setting, that they'd be seen as superior or inferior? Would they see themselves as superior or the same?
Oh. and who's going to be the captain of this crew?
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Hi everyone!
(Weekends are bad for me. ^_^)
Yes, fully concur with the conclusions reached. Aliens bad, AI good, but AI that makes humans obsolete bad.
For governments, of course we need some over-arcing evil empire upon which to work the edges, but just because government A is large, doesn't mean that there couldn't be interesting things going on between governments B & C. (Think pre-1910 Europe.)
I vote for Aurora as Captain. ^_^
Checking in with Valerie Hills, a smooth-talking, fast-thinking, silver-tongued smuggler. She might be a good candidate for captain, being a heavy face type, but she's also likely to put her foot in it often.
I vote yes to AIs, no to aliens in general (occasional appearances by races other than humans could work, but I don't want Star Wars in my Firefly), and a big yes to everyone being tied to the ship. In the same way Serenity was like the tenth member of the crew, we should all have some kind of connection with our residence and transport.
Okay, as was pointed out in a PM to me, I probably should rephrase the question about humans that have had genetic modifications.
So that said, here's the questions I did such a botch job of asking.
1. Are there humans that have genetic modifications?
2. Why were they modified?
3. How does the rest of humanity see them? Or, better yet, how do the different governments see them?
4. Are there any significant events tied to the past that humans with genetic modifications caused or were involved in?
Also, we still need to nail down the troubles you guys are going to be dealing with, but I guess that will come as we flesh things out.
@Delgar: Just to clarify, the troubles can be seen as things that tie the different adventures together, right? That was my read on it, but I wanted to check with someone that's played Fate before.
I would say that human genetic modification was a thing in the past, but has been abandoned by the general population. As with most things, serious unforseen complications came with the advent of widespread gene splicing varying from infertility to social discrimination to Spontaneous Genetic Collapse.
The government will sometimes use genetically modified shock troops, but these units typically die soon after deployment. They tend to be modified well beyond sustainable levels and die due to genetic instability and SGC as a direct result.
Significant events of the past include several Spliced celebrities suffering from very public SGC's and a short but bloody Eugenics War.
On the positive side, most genetic disorders were wiped out in the early years of Splicing, so there are drastically fewer incidents of purely genetic disease.
My two cents. :)
I vote for Aurora as Captain. ^_^
Noreen would definitely not want to be Captain. Based on general character concepts, I'd say that Aurora, Tavid, or Anton would make the most sense as Captain.
While that would be hilarious Aurora wouldn’t want the job. I vote for Anton, he speaks Aurora’s language. ;)
Governments: So, it seems like you guys are leaning more towards a few very powerful governments and some smaller nations and confederacies.AI: This one seems to be a yes, but not too powerful, which is fine with me.
I vote for both of these.
Aliens Hmm. We could have them exist but not be an everyday occurrence? Humans have made contact but it’s a recent thing and it’s still in the diplomacy stage. It would certainly stir the pot.
What about genetically modified humans? Do you think, if they are in this setting, that they'd be seen as superior or inferior? Would they see themselves as superior or the same?
<insert KAAAAHN joke>
I think there would be people on either sides of the divide. Some people think it’s good, some people think it’s bad. Some modified humans see themselves as superior, some see themselves as freaks.
I don’t know if anyone watched Almost Human but I really liked what they did. The wealthy had their children modified in the womb to correct defects and give them better health/intelligence/strength/looks/whatever. I like this because it makes them rare and expensive.
Part of the 1920’s was the economic boom. At least it was is America (I know we have an Aussie in here too ;D ). If you have a large chunk of the population who can now afford things like Genetic Modification that’s going to lead to all sorts of fun.
Ship When it comes to the ship I think it shouldn’t be too automated. I don’t want anyone to feel like their job is to just stand there and push a button. I always liked the more manual starships. Ones like the Nostromo or Serenity.
Aurora’s going to take over a small space for herself. Sort of like a rabbit building a burrow. A weird, shiny burrow.
The trouble is separate from the three aspects you gain from the phase Trio.
I'm going back and forth on genetically modified humans to be for the super rich or Sirus' idea.
Dr. Newgen is not a candidate for the Captain's chair. He will however insist that he is obviously in charge since he's the smartest (in his opinion at least).
Sirus doesn't care who the captain is until they muck something in the ship up. Then he starts caring so he can find and berate them on how important a working ship is.
If anyone has read the All Guardsmen Party, Sirus is partially based on Ol' Bill. Other inspiration includes Scotty from Star Trek and that old guy who guards his lawn with a shotgun.
Okay, I think I may have made things a little too broad here, so let's focus things a bit.
What kinds of problems do you want to be tackling as you go about your business?
Perhaps a local governor is giving you trouble. Maybe a small time crime boss is looking to expand and has his eyes on you and your ship. It can be something along these lines or something totally different, like fleeing a crazed lover constantly. It doesn't have to be specific at the moment, so it can be very general.
Is this for each of us, or the crew in general. I'm not saying that the entire crew can't be fleeing the same lover, but...
Well, the tone is supposed to be more on the humorous side. :D
This is supposed to be general, problems that all of you face in the world. Of course, problems can change or be resolved, and at that point, I'll be adding new troubles in the way.
Sirus main trouble: equipment and parts. He may be the best duct tape mechanic out there, but that doesn't mean he doesn't appreciate the appropriate equipment when he can get it.
Secondary trouble: people are idiots. Lack of formal training means he knows how to fix just about anything, but not the why of how it works.
Those are more like aspects to your character. The Troubles are supposed to affect the group as a whole. (That said I could totally see Sirus having those aspects.)
hmmm. Maybe I should read the book again. Let's try: Stealth and speed are getting harder and harder to do, especially with that new active scanning tech the <central government> just developed. Running blockades is even more risky now as Silent Running is no guarantee of success.
(I envision Silent Running to be similar to the Normandy's. Ya, I'm a mass effect geek. But I'm just borrowing the parts about heat generation. In order to go unnoticed, ships, not just ours, absorb all emissions and drift like an asteroid or comet. This can only last a short time before the heat and, depending on the power core fuel, radiation literally cooks the crew alive. Some ships are better at this than others. Specialized military grade tech can enable several hours or even days of Silent Running.)
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I like Sirus' idea, but opposite: A new hyper-Stealth technology is in development, (there are rumors that this is a gift from aliens, but we've not found any aliens yet, so that of course is ridiculous) and factors from all over the 'Verse are competing to get to it. The Sweet Doomed Angel and her crew have been hired by agents from IntelLIcorp to track down a shipment of Einsteinium-181, rumored to be badly needed by the developing Stealth tech. But they won't be the only ones looking for it....
For Troubles, I can't help but gravitate toward the Serenity theme, but we can angle it more toward the flavor of Shadowrun for variety. Ya, there's one big government, and they are cracking down on stuff for the sake of power, and we mainly look to facilitate "trade" along the edges as Everyone Else tries to get by unfair tariffs and restrictions.
Of -course- as civil war is brewing. Could be an alliance of periphery powers, could be one side of the Empire wasn't to secede.
I'm gonna keep hitting the Shadowrun button for gene-mods: Gene-mods are widespread but costly. A line is drawn down economic class and the gauge of "good enough" is measured by how much you've paid your doc to trick your meat out. Of course there's a race to outpace the competition. Of course there's money to be had if and edge can be provided. Of course there will be collateral damage.... ]=-}
For the good Docter there's probably no shortage of people that he's ticked off from his various experiments. As for the crew as a whole, what if there was a certain government/military official that we messed up with and ruined his career, now he's after us for revenge.
If any hyper-stealth was developed, of course the government would be developing enhanced sensors. We can have our conflict and eat it too!
I can get behind expensive gene mods. Has a GATTACA feel.
As for the crew as a whole, what if there was a certain government/military official that we messed up with and ruined his career, now he's after us for revenge.
I can +1 this too.
As for the crew as a whole, what if there was a certain government/military official that we messed up with and ruined his career, now he's after us for revenge.I can +1 this too.
This fits Aurora. Exposing lies and deception is near and dear to her heart. And her diplomatic skills are horrible. She'll insult or offend someone and have no idea how she did it. Diplomacy is not her forte.
We should probably write up these character traits in our alias profiles. Is there a standard of formatting for that?
The typical setup for Aspects is:
High Concept
Trouble
Aspect
Aspect
Aspect
The last three are created through the Phase Trio, I don't know whether the GM wants to do that or not however.
I do, but I'm also okay with coming up with them as we work through the world. There have been a few good ones.
I particularly like "Best Duct-tape Mechanic" as an aspect lol.
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Oh, I just wanted to put in my 2-cents about how tech-heavy the feel is. I think this is what we agreed on, but I just wanted to say that I like what the game FTL did. In FTL, if no one is at a system, it works and you can give it commands remotely, but if someone is there at the system, even untrained, it works better, and if the person has training, it works yet even more betterer. I like that because then, during a space-chase/fight scene, everyone can feel like they're doing something, not just the pilot and maybe a tech. Everyone can have their choice of pilot/shields/weapons/different weapon/yet a different weapon/engines/damage control or some other option.
I like that.
And thanks for the vote of confidence in my duct tape. :)
I'm thinking the Dr. should be more of a Physicist and Biologist then a techy as that might step on some toes. Gonna try to steer him more towards mad science abominations or explosions then fixy/building things. Perhaps a medical/Biology/Xenobiology degree so he can be the ships medic. Don't know if that role has already been filled. I might go with generic SCIENCE! as the character's specilization. Kinda want a Wampa-like manservant/lab assistant that's a pacifist and waers a monocle.
Anyways, waiting for a few more people to post some ideas.
Woah, slow down there, folks. I can't keep track of all this! :/
Sorry. I really get into this kind of thing.
Not trying to cramp your fun. I'm just finding it hard to process all this information at once! :P
I'm just spitballing and seeing what sticks. I'm not even sure what all the game terms mean yet. :P
I'm just spitballing and seeing what sticks. I'm not even sure what all the game terms mean yet. :P
That's the best way to learn Fate!
Typical problems: I like the suggested idea about a recurring official or bureaucrat after revenge.
There could be another smuggler crew that are strong competitors who often bid on the same jobs. A rivalry based more on taunting and outperforming the other ship rather than violence (or at least lethal violence).
Problems could arise based upon what we’re transporting. Bounty hunters after the people we are relocating. Thieves after the unique, rare X we’ve been tasked to getting to Y.
Since it’s space there should be elements every once in a while dealing with life in space like microgravity and depressurization (even slow leaks).
A question, who owns the ship? It doesn’t have to be the captain after all. If it is an NPC I think having him or her give us free reign so long as we meet expected profits (or whatever else might be in the terms of contract) is the best scenario.
Finally maybe it’s not too important, but how did we want FTL travel to work? Is it like we can get from any place to any place at the same speed? Or is it more like the structure of the galaxy (and dark matter?) influences hyperspace travel -- much like the difference between traveling across a flat prairie and a mountain pass.