Hard Space Redux

[willtron3030]

Do all jump drives require these Spindles? Because damn they must need a hell of a lot of tech scavengers to find them!

That's a heck of a campaign hook you have there.

Was their technology different compared to humanity's tech, like they used more esoteric tech or something?

Insert obligatory reference to Clarke's Law here.

I really wanted to have something lurking in the wings for SF/Horror adventures. As a result, my handwavium head-canon borrowed shamelessly from Charles Stross (Laundry Files), Larry Correia (Grimnoire Chronicles), and David Drake (RCN). It's never been explored very deeply in play.

Short version: Certain patterns and forms resonate with other dimensional structures, and that can be exploited for impressive effects. Grav tech and and J-Space are practical examples of that, and the easiest to discover by basic science research. Psionics can exploit the same principles for increased effect, with much greater personal risk. But... gaze into the wrong line of research, and there may be things there that gaze back.

"My" J-Space borrows some from Drake's non-sidereal space. Travel in J-Space occasionally causes vivid, and sometimes revelatory, visual hallucinations. Exits from J-Space almost always causes brief but uncomfortable tactile hallucinations for all aboard.

 

[Ulsyus]

In what sense? Cthulhutech has stuff like humanity utilizing dimensional reactors and batteries as sources of energy and means of providing antigravity literally for stuff like cars (as a source of propulsion, not for flying though the rich might have that IIRC).

I was coming at it more from the perspective of there being the Mythos out there and humanity attempting to deal with it either by capitulation or adversarially. If the Mythos are known about, are they the covert enemy that is fought unspoken by a group of stakeholders while others have joined their side for personal and/or commercial reasons? Or are they still a largely unknown and still passive, recorded only in the private journals and buried investigation diaries of a few mad or foolhardy or brave individuals who took them on in the past?

 

[wellis]

Considering jump drives here require these Spindles to be used, being built about them and all, I sort of wonder if they're almost the equivalent of lanthanum & zuchai crystals like in the OTU?

It makes me imagine the shape of jump drives here looking different. Like if you were to show an Imperial engineer from the Third Imperium one of these jump drives from Hard Space, they would find it strange.

 

[Golan2072]

That's a heck of a campaign hook you have there.

Indeed.

Short version: Certain patterns and forms resonate with other dimensional structures, and that can be exploited for impressive effects. Grav tech and and J-Space are practical examples of that, and the easiest to discover by basic science research. Psionics can exploit the same principles for increased effect, with much greater personal risk. But... gaze into the wrong line of research, and there may be things there that gaze back.

Yes, and some of the "rules" of such dimensional physics, all by themselves, violate one's mundane perception of reality; hence, the cost to sanity. The universe does not operate as it "should".

"My" J-Space borrows some from Drake's non-sidereal space. Travel in J-Space occasionally causes vivid, and sometimes revelatory, visual hallucinations. Exits from J-Space almost always causes brief but uncomfortable tactile hallucinations for all aboard.

Very appropriate for Hard Space. In my case, misjump causes sanity loss; sometimes even worse things. Gazing into jump space might also be harmful to your sanity.

 

[Golan2072]

I was coming at it more from the perspective of there being the Mythos out there and humanity attempting to deal with it either by capitulation or adversarially. If the Mythos are known about, are they the covert enemy that is fought unspoken by a group of stakeholders while others have joined their side for personal and/or commercial reasons? Or are they still a largely unknown and still passive, recorded only in the private journals and buried investigation diaries of a few mad or foolhardy or brave individuals who took them on in the past?

In Hard Space's case, the Mythos is essentially unknown to the common person. Some people encounter... Unexplainable... things in deep space or even in the dark corners of Earth. Some feel that there are dark things awakening. There are cults, of course, and dark government and corporate research. The Mythos is somewhat more exposed than in Lovecraft's initial writings - people in Hard Space know of weird alien ruins and artifacts, after all - but is still a mystery for the most part.

 

[Golan2072]

Considering jump drives here require these Spindles to be used, being built about them and all, I sort of wonder if they're almost the equivalent of lanthanum & zuchai crystals like in the OTU?

It makes me imagine the shape of jump drives here looking different. Like if you were to show an Imperial engineer from the Third Imperium one of these jump drives from Hard Space, they would find it strange.

Yes. Strange is the intention here. And yes, this is along the lines of Zuchai crystals, albeit rarer and more dangerous to extract.

 

[wellis]

In Hard Space's case, the Mythos is essentially unknown to the common person. Some people encounter... Unexplainable... things in deep space or even in the dark corners of Earth. Some feel that there are dark things awakening. There are cults, of course, and dark government and corporate research. The Mythos is somewhat more exposed than in Lovecraft's initial writings - people in Hard Space know of weird alien ruins and artifacts, after all - but is still a mystery for the most part.

What about aliens on Earth like the shoggoths, starspawn, Cthulhu itself, etc? Are they around?

And are there other weird things like the ghouls or the whole thing with cats protecting us?

 

[Golan2072]

What about aliens on Earth like the shoggoths, starspawn, Cthulhu itself, etc? Are they around?

And are there other weird things like the ghouls or the whole thing with cats protecting us?

There are definitely Mythos creatures on hidden Earth.

As to the extent to which I will adhere to the original Lovecraftian canon, I am yet to decide on this. On one hand, this provides me with a wealth of public-domain material to work with, but on the other hand, it will require very serious research to pull out well. I'll probably end up mixing some of the existing Lovecraftian canon with some creations of my own.

 

[Golan2072]

After discussing the subject of sub-light, real-space travel in my Hard Space setting, it is time to discuss the second part of travel, and that means interstellar flight. So how does this work?

1. Interstellar travel uses the Jump Drive. The jump drive is a complex contraption manipulating an Antediluvian artifact - a Spindle - to punch a transdimensional between real space and the alien realm called Jump Space. The complexity and size of the drive determines its capability to manipulate its Spindle, hence the different jump rates.

2. A jump is approx. 7 days in length and transports the ship one parsec per jump number, as in baseline Traveller.

3. Unlike baseline Traveller jump drives, Hard Space jump drives do not require fuel, only energy input from the power plant. However, after a jump, the drive requires time to "spool" and recharge. This time is 1D days minus the attending engineer's skill, to a minimum of one day.

4. Jump drives require a gravity well on both sides. A small brown dwarf is sufficient. There are no "empty-hex jumps" or "calibration points" - you need a star on both sides.

5. Jumps can be inaccurate. The higher the ship navigator's throw when plotting the jump, the closer to its destination the ship emerges. An unlucky navigator might find their ship in the outer system, while a skilled or lucky navigator might emerge directly into orbit of the target world. Ships do not emerge within large masses or very close to them - so there is no risk of emerging inside a sun or planet.

6. Misjumps are dangerous and can result in encounters with the Unknown and insanity. This is messing with barely-understood alien technology and parallel dimensions which defy too many rules of physics. A good jump throw avoids most of the unpleasantness, but a misjump exposes the crew to all sorts of nastiness. Beware.

7. Needless to say, I'll have to create my own custom jump throw table to account for accuracy in the target system and to the lack of jump fuel.

8. I'm using Little Black Books drive TLs and letters. This means that you can reach Jump-3 at TL9 and Jump-4 at TL10. Humanity in Hard Space is at early-mid TL10. This also means that smaller ships can jump further and are faster than larger ships. Of course, this entails a small-ship universe. This also means that the only drives available are Book 2 A-H drives. The biggest jump capable ship is 1,000 displacement tons in volume. 800-ton ships may achieve Jump-2, while 600-ton ships can achieve Jump-3 and an 400-ton ship may achieve Jump-4.

9. If using Cepheus Engine drives with these TLs, ships would be different - the maximum ship tonnage becomes 1,800 tons, but the largest ship capable of Jump-3 is 500 tons in volume and you can have a Jump-2 1,000-ton ship.

10. In any case, Drives E-H are very new - Humanity reaches TL10 only 14 years ago. Before that, the largest jump-capable tonnage was 800 displacement tons, and the largest J-2 ship was 400 tons. This gave rise to the vast expansion of the third generation of colonization, with much larger tonnages at Jump-2 and better.

11. In any case, far jumps mean less payload. While there is no jump fuel, ships travelling the fringe require propellant for their engines, especially when not expecting each orbital refueling.

 

[kilemall]

Ok, then do the Space Gods jump? In vessels of their own, or the spindles people find are actually fossilized internal organs of said Gods?


Is there a 'survive jump' battle much like 'The Game of Rat and Dragon'?


https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29614/29614-h/29614-h.htm

 

[BwapTED]

Reptiloids FTW!*

Though this is Cthulhu, and thus, it would be Man-Fishes or Manctopus instead :-D

___
* See #TSAO Cicek

http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/iwe.aspx

It's in the public domain.

 

[Golan2072]

I've updated the map of my Hard Space setting. The main change is the inclusion of 9 new outposts to the Trailing. These are Jump-3 from Sol, and thus, per Classic Traveller Books 2-3, the largest ship that can get there directly from Sol without a 6-jump detour in J-2 is 400 tons; the large Jump-1 ships cannot get there from sol at all. Colonization was virtually impossible before TL10 (reached 14 years ago). Today, a few tiny outposts exist in these remote stars.

HS WIP 24-8-2018 by golan2072, on Flickr

 

[Golan2072]

Ok, then do the Space Gods jump? In vessels of their own, or the spindles people find are actually fossilized internal organs of said Gods?

The Outer Gods/Great Old Ones may be natives of Jump Space, or otherwise related to it. Regarding Spindles - I have not thought of their origin yet, and I might leave their origin a mystery (ala the artifacts in Roadside Picnic).

 

[Golan2072]

http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/iwe.aspx

It's in the public domain.

Thanks for that link!

 

[Golan2072]

Thoughts on World generation

Hard Space inherits all its physical world data from Near Space. However, I am now generating the colonies' world characteristics. Below are a few notes about this.

The key to everything are the colony's Generation and the world's habitability.

1st Gen colonies are relatively heavily populated (up to several millions) and have a more elaborate and powerful administration; 3rd Gen colonies have tiny populations and are typically quite lawless, at least outside the (small) main colony town/dome/mine. 2nd Gen colonies are in between.

People prefer to live on habitable, or almost-habitable worlds; even a tainted atmosphere is vastly preferable to vacuum or an Exotic atmosphere. Unless very mineral-rich, non-habitable worlds have outposts, with small populations and typically minimal administration. Habitable or near-habitable worlds have colonies, with larger populations, and the more complex government this entails.

Note that, as in much of the "source material", Hard Space has a nearly uniform tech level across the worlds. Every sanctioned colony is TL10, though much hardware is TL9 (as TL10 is very new).

So:

Population
Outposts (regardless of generation) have a population digit of 1d3. Most non-habitable rockballs are outposts. Add DM+1 for Starport D, or DM+2 for starport C.
1st Gen colonies have a population digit of 1d3+4.
2nd Gen colonies have a population digit of 1d3+2.
3rd gen colonies have a population digit if 1d3+1.

Government
Most colonies are corporate colonies. Throw 1d6 per colony: on 1-4, this is a single corporate colony; on 5 this has multiple colonies (Gov 7); on 6 it is non-corporate (governmental or private initiative).
For non-corporate colonies, throw for government as per the Traveller (or CE) rules.

For corporate colonies, throw 1d6: 1, Gov 1; 2, Gov 3; 3, Gov 5; 4, Gov 8; 5, Gov 9; 6, Gov B.
Gov 1 - local corp focuses strictly on business and mostly ignores the bigger picture of governance. Weak governmental apparatus might be in place.
Gov 3 - local corp management runs things with little regard to those below.
Gov 5 - local corp department heads run their departments like personal fiefdoms.
Gov 8 - local corp runs a surprisingly efficient administrative apparatus with effective governance and meritocratic promotions. The corporate "ideal".
Gov 9 - local corp is a bureaucratic nightmare with poor leadership.
Gov B - local corp exec runs the place like his personal kingdom.

Law
1st Generation - law is 1d6+Gov-2 for a minimum of 1 (sanctioned colonies always have some law).
2nd Generation - law is 1d6+Gov-4 for a minimum of 1.
2nd Generation - law is 1d6+Gov-5 for a minimum of 1.

 

[Whipsnade]

Does purple on the map indicate "Exotic" for atmosphere and/or ocean?

 

[Golan2072]

Does purple on the map indicate "Exotic" for atmosphere and/or ocean?

Exotic fluid ocean.

 

[Whipsnade]

Thanks!

 

[Diveguy]

Hard Space inherits all its physical world data from Near Space. However, I am now generating the colonies' world characteristics. Below are a few notes about this.

The key to everything are the colony's Generation and the world's habitability.

1st Gen colonies are relatively heavily populated (up to several millions) and have a more elaborate and powerful administration; 3rd Gen colonies have tiny populations and are typically quite lawless, at least outside the (small) main colony town/dome/mine. 2nd Gen colonies are in between.

People prefer to live on habitable, or almost-habitable worlds; even a tainted atmosphere is vastly preferable to vacuum or an Exotic atmosphere. Unless very mineral-rich, non-habitable worlds have outposts, with small populations and typically minimal administration. Habitable or near-habitable worlds have colonies, with larger populations, and the more complex government this entails.

Note that, as in much of the "source material", Hard Space has a nearly uniform tech level across the worlds. Every sanctioned colony is TL10, though much hardware is TL9 (as TL10 is very new).

So:

Population
Outposts (regardless of generation) have a population digit of 1d3. Most non-habitable rockballs are outposts. Add DM+1 for Starport D, or DM+2 for starport C.
1st Gen colonies have a population digit of 1d3+4.
2nd Gen colonies have a population digit of 1d3+2.
3rd gen colonies have a population digit if 1d3+1.

Government
Most colonies are corporate colonies. Throw 1d6 per colony: on 1-4, this is a single corporate colony; on 5 this has multiple colonies (Gov 7); on 6 it is non-corporate (governmental or private initiative).
For non-corporate colonies, throw for government as per the Traveller (or CE) rules.

For corporate colonies, throw 1d6: 1, Gov 1; 2, Gov 3; 3, Gov 5; 4, Gov 8; 5, Gov 9; 6, Gov B.
Gov 1 - local corp focuses strictly on business and mostly ignores the bigger picture of governance. Weak governmental apparatus might be in place.
Gov 3 - local corp management runs things with little regard to those below.
Gov 5 - local corp department heads run their departments like personal fiefdoms.
Gov 8 - local corp runs a surprisingly efficient administrative apparatus with effective governance and meritocratic promotions. The corporate "ideal".
Gov 9 - local corp is a bureaucratic nightmare with poor leadership.
Gov B - local corp exec runs the place like his personal kingdom.

Law
1st Generation - law is 1d6+Gov-2 for a minimum of 1 (sanctioned colonies always have some law).
2nd Generation - law is 1d6+Gov-4 for a minimum of 1.
2nd Generation - law is 1d6+Gov-5 for a minimum of 1.

Dang - I like the corporate/government colony roll and breakdown list. Good way of doing that I may have to poach from you sir.

Thanks.

 

[Ulsyus]

So:

Population
Outposts (regardless of generation) have a population digit of 1d3. Most non-habitable rockballs are outposts. Add DM+1 for Starport D, or DM+2 for starport C.
1st Gen colonies have a population digit of 1d3+4.
2nd Gen colonies have a population digit of 1d3+2.
3rd gen colonies have a population digit if 1d3+1.

Government
Most colonies are corporate colonies. Throw 1d6 per colony: on 1-4, this is a single corporate colony; on 5 this has multiple colonies (Gov 7); on 6 it is non-corporate (governmental or private initiative).
For non-corporate colonies, throw for government as per the Traveller (or CE) rules.

...etc...

If it's your setting, are these the mechanics you used when developing the worlds, or did you just use these as a guide for the highest, lowest and mean scores for you to work within while you crafted things to be as you envisaged them?