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Our RPG we have going is all fine and well, but I was thinking of making a new one, partly for those people who don't feel they really fit in with the marathon mumbo jumbo and stuff.
So this is the idea, this topic is wholly devoted to crazy and wacky ideas for a new RPG universe. It isn't Ares, Marathon, SETR, Starlance, or really anything based, it's just a hand-crafted one unique for his particular RPG.
Well, submit your ideas please. It could be for one race, the socia-political climate of this new universe, current science, other stuff like that. But fun comes from strange and unusual situations!
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Here's an interesting idea: the galaxy is extremely new and volatile, and ftl space travel is very risky because of, erm, gravitic disturbances. This makes wars in the RPG very difficult to carry out and most races try and maintain some modicum of peace.
how 'bout not
------------------ Time is the best teacher, yet it kills all of it's students.
Well I guess there's no better time to ask... Slug, could you please not enter this RPG under any circumstances?
About why I'm doing this: I don't really like how my old RPG is turning out. That's just my opinion, it's not really my creation anymore. I'm willing to start another one if there's sufficient interest. This is the only idea I think that hasn't been tried before. Well I hope you all like it.. if not, I will try and do my best not be embarrassed.
I see
Another possiblity (most likely not compatable) is to set the RPG in a gigantic empire that's been around since before anyone can remeber, but is now decaying due to internal problems. Of course, everyone wants a peice. This is where conflict comes in.
I kinda like this idea, then again, I'm using it ELSEWHERE?. What do you think?
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Jager
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Sounds nice! (this is l33t hax0red between a GR conversation)
'Decaying roman empire in space' I like it, alot of fun. Every opressed group imaginable wants either a chance to strike back, a piece of the pie, or both. It's even more fun when a caste system has been in place so long, the casts are now diverged species. Some slave races, the administration is mainly a single race of varying 'ruling' classes. There might be a "military" caste that either gets special treatment or is controled biologically (eg addiction to something only rulers can supply) there's could even be a journalist caste/species, merchants, mercenaries, really wierd intell department (morphing, telepathic and all that). The intelligence caste can hypnotise you and stuff a little although it doesn't work on the millitary caste or the upper level of leaders. And perhaps what formed the empire was a war with another galaxial invader millions of years ag. There needs to be AT LEAST one conspiracy afoot. How about, to maintain order the administration moves it's forces back into the core worlds, and all the other races fend for themselves against encroaching barbarism, that's kind of copying too much off Foundation. Mb, the military and psionic factions have been forseeing this for a while, and have begun gathering forces? The psionics need to hire mercenareies because they can't control military, the military cannot fight psionics because the administration needs to give orders. Perhaps because they are decaying, they need AI's to run some of the empire, and don't have the science any more to prevent AI's from going nuts.
Food for thought.
Interesting... And eirily familiar; I've been doing a lot of thinking about caste systems becoming divergant species lately. One could maybe arise from our socio-econimic class system. It would be Brave New World brought to a freakish extreme. So why not have this be an ite of background? Our story's species is the extremely distant human races (now plural because of the catse system).
If it's not too much more, I'd like to tag on an explaination for the fall of the civilization:
There are three things we have to bear in mind about the evolution of governments in human history: 1) Bigger and more advanced societies follow different rules and paths than those of smaller and simpler ones, 2) Societies don't change unless they have to, and 3) A megalocratic system always crumbles. Thus we can say that the galactic empire fell because it was built from a government system designed to manage only one solar system.
With this we get sort of a wierd combination of Brave New World and the Foundation trilogy. Sounds like a good frame to build on IMHO, but these are of course just suggestions.
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(This message has been edited by Sargatanus (edited 12-11-2001).)
Sounds nice. I wonder what sort of technology the empire will have... I think perhaps a more primitive approach would be best.
-Main weapons of the era. Atomic-based missiles/torpedoes, not necessarily atom-blast, but perhaps lasers or plasma vents using atomic power. Like the Ishiman cruiser's fusion pulse is not an atomic bomb, but is based on atomic (fusion) power.
-Defenses. Not sure what to put here, but I think shields are generally overused. Perhaps missile cluster screens, and (borrowed from Hyperiums) Stasis fields. A stasis field around a ship would be used to slow all incoming weapons except light. As an offset, light weapons (lasers) might be extremely weak, but atomic weapons very very poweful. Disabling a ships stasis generator (let us say it has to be vulnerable) would be the first order of business.
Ships: People should make up the kinds of ships they want there faction to have...
Otherwise, warp technology is a little overused as well. I think instead, the ships in this RPG could use a type of travel burrowed again from Foundation and Dune. The 'jump' as it were, no intervening distance is crossed, the ships merely appear on one star and then on another. The chances of a successful jump are drastically increased the farther you are from a gravitic field, and also the computer that is used to calculate the jump. Travel would be composed of many jumps, around gravitic disturbances (stars, novas, bh's).
Medical: Medical technology in the empire would have been good, but is now decaying. Let us use some possibilities from current science and assume that cloning and genetic modification's are common phenomenon. There would be atleast a few societies for purifying the genetic code (eugenists) and others against genetic modification altogether.
Social: People would interact with other sub-species on a daily basis, but feel higher loyalty to their own caste.
Well I think that's enough ranting from me... any suggestions/contributions are of course, welcome.
I suppose I'll add a little more to the caste system. Plato's Republic gives us the basic timarchy (caste society). It's pretty rudimentary but surprisingly realistic. Instead of paining myself to create my own, I'll build off of Plato's.
Let's start at the top and work our way down, shall we?
At the top of the pyramid we have the Master caste (for lack of a better name). Early on in it's development the best of human genetics worm their way into the ruling class and blossom. Eugenic morals and beliefs have always been more prevelant in rich people. This would be further aided by the advancing genetics market, allowing one's genes to be tweaked, and later on replaced. As technology progressed, cybernetics make their way onto the comercial market. Of course, this sort of technology and the procedures to install it would be hideuosly expensive and only available to the extremely wealthy. Give this trend a few hundred years and the ruling class are a superhuman amalgam of man and machine free from the constraints of an aging body. With all these resources at their disposal, the Master Caste would be the pinacles of physical beauty, atheleticism, inteligence, and just about every sort of human attribute ad naseum. This isn't to say that they would be without fault. Materialims would run rampant among the Masters. Everyone of them would have their own treasure trove, every part of which is disposable. To them everything is a comodity and nothing is sacred. For example, starting a family would require no more than a visit to a designer baby parlor. With this sort of materialism comes obscene greed, and with greed comes conflicts over just about every social schism imaginable. This would be one of the leading factors for the Fall. Enough on them for now.
The next rung down is the Guardian Caste. These are the super hero's of civilization: Soldiers, police, rescuers, etc. This caste would enjoy just about all the physical benefits of the Master Caste (top genetics, cybernetics), with one exception; This Caste would have been created by the master caste, and thus would have limited free will. They follow the orders of their commanding officers and superior officials to the fullest extent of their abilities and without question.
Then we move down to the Logistics Caste. Today's data entry nerds, systems administrators, cubical slaves, accountants and their contemporaries are the ancestors of this group. Just plain old human genetics here, and nothing fancy like cybernetics. Only excelent clerks bred for centuries to punch numbers and file records.
On a slightly lower level than the Logicians is the Artisan Caste. Here is where we find the galaxy's craftsmen, artists, drivers, and every other average joe. This is the largest caste, composing about 60% of the galactic population. It is comparatively as diverse and dynamic as todays general public.
And finaly at the bottom of the social structure is the Labor Caste. This group does all of the work that is excessively dirty, dangerous, and exhausting. All of the Laborers are genejacks; genetically altered to work as hard as possible for as long as possible. Their work is their life. They are incapable of forming a personality, interacting socially, conceiving emotion, or feeling pain. Their job is all they know.
This again, can be built on and altered. But for now it's a good working guidline.
Interesting concept, but would anyone actually play it?
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Originally posted by Slug: **Interesting concept, but would anyone actually play it?
**
Why not?
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Light weapons should be REAL lasers. They work byt burning through stuff. At close range, these would be devastating, but you'd need to keep the laser on the same spot for long enough to blast holes and such. These would be aimed by mirrors and such. Probably very effective as point defense guns (this has been proven back in the sixties, though powerful lasers were big back then) but you'd need mighty powerful lasers to blast a hole in a ship from anything more than a few hundred kilometers. Railguns and missiles/torpedoes would be king at range. Plasma vents would be too finniky. The plasma would diffuse too quickly and not have enough kinetic energy to do much.
Also, I'd say that space battles should be SLOW. capitol ships are heavy, and require a lot of power to move them around. Once a large ship has committed to a course, good luck pointing it somewhere else, espescially if fuel is a concern. Thrust to weight ratios on anything bigger than a corvette should be tiny.
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Originally posted by Captain Pharris: **Probably very effective as point defense guns (this has been proven back in the sixties, though powerful lasers were big back then) but you'd need mighty powerful lasers to blast a hole in a ship from anything more than a few hundred kilometers.
There is nothing to diffuse the light energy in space.
Railguns and missiles/torpedoes would be king at range. Plasma vents would be too finniky. The plasma would diffuse too quickly and not have enough kinetic energy to do much.
One thing most people overlook about lasers is that they have NO stopping power. Sure you can scorch a hole through something, but since lasers have no impact the target is going to keep on moving. A plasma stream on the other hand, would have a tremendous impact effect since it's hitting it's target with a high temperature gas moving at nearly the speed of light. One could work by fusing hydrogen in a chamber (prefferably by pressure but any method will do), and aligning the trajectory of the atoms with the photons of a laser. The effect produced on firing would be a lethal spray of fusing hydrogen. At short range this would crumple an enemy ship (and most likely detonating anything remotely volatile abourd it), and at long range it would be like spraying the enemy ship with a solar flare. Range would be severely limited with a plasma beam though, as the beam disipates. Thus lasers would probably find their way as medium range weapons with plasma beams to cover point defense and close in assaults.
Would plasma be affected by stasis fields?
I would assume so. Well, partially anyway. See, a plasma laser has three types of damage to it; light, heat and impact. We've already agreed that light can penetrate a stasis field so there would be damage from that. The matter componant probably wouldn't make it through so the heat would have no effect, but there would still be a great amount of impact damage at close range.
Yes, the plasma beam would make a formidable weapon, perhaps for close-range interceptors or other attack craft? For pd, using plasma weapons might be a bit overkill... The volatile composition of the beam would detonate incoming missiles and destroy the containment field controls/breach the reactor of a torpedoe. Lasers would be able to target the controlling mechanisms with great accuracy. I expect that, with the stasis field is down, a plasma cloud/sreen could be deployed around a ship, making it very hard for projectiles to enter/leave without blowing up.
To all about the stasis fields; it is not a true stasis field in the sense of the word 'stasis'. It creates a time dilation (someone please suggest a relevant technology :)) effect around a ship. The range of the stasis field would depend on the size of the generator. It would be useless if it effected the insides of a ship, so it must be projected outside, from outside.
xyz
Actually, powerful lasers do have stopping power. Way back when they were making star wars they made lasers so powerful that they actually imparted kinetic energy onto the thing that they hit. I also think it had to do with combusting the surface of the object, creating backwards force.
Missiles would be long ranged. They wouldn't need much fuel as all they'd need to do is small bursts until their final "Ramming Speed" phase of their flight.