Suggestion - SciFi Co-op

[HollyKnight55]

I've read through most of the posts in this area, and I noticed they've slowed down. I hope it will be okay if I suggest something.

A Fantasy world is harder to share, with no ground rules to follow. I think if you said "Dwarves are dwarves, elves are elves, don't go ridiculous, flesh it out" then it could be interesting. The Green, for example, is a great location.

Honestly, though, I think SciFi would be easier. I'd go so far as to say it might be easier for a group to come up with a SciFi game than an individual. LOL

To start, I'd pick up D20 Future or GURPS Space. I don't own the latter, but I'm assuming it's similar to GURPS Fantasy, which gives a fantastic overview of what to think about. First you go through all the listed "things to think about", and come up with a consensus of how things are going to go.

FTL Travel? Stargates? Land gates? Jump engines? One solar system? One planet?

Psychics - yes or no? Common or uncommon?

AI or no?

blah blah

Then all this gets glued together, and the basic premise is agreed upon. I have to be honest and say I'm a fan of the "Empire on decline/fallen" concept.

Then - this is where the real "shared" part comes in - each contributor comes up with their own race! A bit of detail on the home world, physical description and abilities, philosophy, approach to life, etc... With each race coming from a different person, they should have a different (ie alien) feel.

Make it not our solar system, and say "Earth" is long lost. That way different people can have variations of humanity if they like.

Now, how to avoid power mongers? A dozen unstopable warrior races? Super mental power unbalancing type races? They have to apply to be part of some kind of Inter Galactic Council - which means the other contributors are permitted to discuss and vote whether the race should be permitted to enter the game world.

I know judging other people's work might seem harsh, but I'm a firm believer that putting something in just because somebody put work into it would result in mediocrity.

Just a suggestion, short version (have to run). Throw it out, ignore it, maybe use part of it. Whatever.

[Dredj]

Playing a few games of this game with your group should help you come up with some ideas:shock: social science fiction
This is like the ultimate sci-fi setting generator. I know you're asking for a group-think from the forum, but that game should help a lot.

This site is the best if you're looking for hard sci-fi: Atomic Rocket main page

And my input into the project is that there MUST be High Frontier space colonies: Space Settlement

[Puck]

I probably couldn't take part as writing the Green is taking up a lot of my free time, but I would suggest that instead of individual races people could make up individual worlds or planets similar to Rust's Beneath Alien Waves. That would allow for a bit of individual freedom as well as allowing other people playing BRP sci-fi to visit the world for an adventure or two. It seems like with a few different planets or star systems on the Wiki this could be a valuable resource for gamers who are gallivanting though the final fronter in search of strange new worlds.

[Ottomancer]

I am actually working on a proposal for a hard sci-fi setting for BRP (with the blessing of Chaosium), but won't have anything concrete to post for a while yet. I'll post more when I have more...

[rust]

Originally Posted by Puck

I would suggest that instead of individual races people could make up individual worlds or planets similar to Rust's Beneath Alien Waves. That would allow for a bit of individual freedom as well as allowing other people playing BRP sci-fi to visit the world for an adventure or two.

I agree, I think this would be a better approach than trying to design a com-
mon world.

And it reminds me that I have still not begun to translate my setting into Eng-
lish, and meanwhile it has grown to almost 100 pages ...

[Puck]

And it reminds me that I have still not begun to translate my setting into Eng-
lish, and meanwhile it has grown to almost 100 pages ...

I have been looking forward to this for some time. All the little hints and teasers sure makes Pharos sound interesting. If this setting ever hit the shelf (in English) I would certainly pick up a copy.

[rust]

Originally Posted by Puck

I have been looking forward to this for some time. All the little hints and teasers sure makes Pharos sound interesting. If this setting ever hit the shelf (in English) I would certainly pick up a copy.

Thank you very much !

My problem (apart from being lazy ...) is that I only have the time either to
continue to develop the setting while our group is playing it, or to translate
it.

While I hoped that the basic setting would one fine day be "complete", with
no more need for any major additions except in its ongoing timeline, the play-
ers have developed a tendency to continually explore new areas of the set-
ting - which in turn forces me to develop and detail these areas.

Ah, well, one day I will finally manage to convince them to stay at home for
a while, doing some intrigues and politics, and then I will have the time to
begin the translation ...

[Vile]

Originally Posted by Ottomancer

I am actually working on a proposal for a hard sci-fi setting for BRP (with the blessing of Chaosium), but won't have anything concrete to post for a while yet. I'll post more when I have more...

No need to look further, then!

[Dredj]

One of the things I'm thinking about for a sci-fi setting is to have 'replicators'. But they will be different from the Star Trek ones. If you've read or watched any "science behind Star Trek" stuff, then you know the replicators in Star Trek would take an ungodly amount of energy. My replicators would be set up by a star and protected by force fields. Plus, they can't make copies. They can only produce base elements of the Periodic Table from the energy emanating from the sun. Then they ship the raw material to space colonies for manufacture. Thus making any solar system self-sustaining. And any invasion into a solar system would be idealogical (religious or political--by anyone who thinks they know how to live your life better than you do) instead of economical.

As much of a fan I am of High Frontier space colonies, I wonder if groups of people living in enclosed environments wouldn't lead to some very eccentric societies

[rust]

While I think the replicators would be an interesting idea, I would not like to
have anything of that kind in my setting, because it would very much reduce
(if not eliminate entirely) the need for interstellar trade - and with it a clas-
sic science fiction adventure source.