[Project_SN]Summary of Game/Setting

[Kilgs]

TL;DR VERSION

Creating a 2300-esque setting via VBAM (Victory By Any Means) for a modified Heavy Gear/Jovian Chronicles RPG mechanics system.

AKA... I’ve been having a blast!! Check it out!

SUMMARY

When it comes to science fiction, I used to always say that I had never found a system or setting that really made me do cartwheels. In the past few years, that has changed since I discovered 2300AD and Silhouette (Heavy Gear, Jovian Chronicles). The more hard aspects hurt my brain but provide a setting that is more imaginative and entertaining for me. I love FTL, exploration, the idea of remote colonies on their own out there, the freedom of space and expansion. The lack of truly amazing technology (beyond FTL) but advanced tech nonetheless. The importance was that the technology should never outstrip the people and their capabilities. Technology is a tool and not a plot in and of itself.

The feel I am going for is 2300AD/Heavy Gear on the planetary side and more space action like Jovian Chronicles. The combination of stutterwarp and warfare makes space rather boring for combat reasons, I wanted fleets of fighters and such as in Jovian Chronicles. Also, I like orbital colonies, stations and infrastructure that is based on those objects. So I wanted a bit more Jovian Chronicles in place complete with nomadic asteroid colonies and free traders.

I call my setting “hard-candy sci-fi” since I don’t think it really qualifies as hard science fiction and yet avoids super-tech like in Star Wars.

The primary things I wanted in my game setting:
-frontier regions and “core” regions
-its own history and feel
-controllable and limited FTL so that stellar travel is easy but subject to distance/fuel restrictions
-no FTL comms
-Small ships over large ships
-diversity of political entities, organizations, cultures
-colony politics, instability, low-intensity conflicts
-a loose framework that supports mercenary and free trader operations
-minimal aliens (none as PC’s), I like the 2300 treatment of aliens where they are distinct but want to avoid the Star Wars feel. Also, I’m not nearly as imaginative enough to create truly unique alien races ala 2300.
-Looming threats
-cluster astrography to make clusters of systems distinct regions with their own “feel”
-Powered exo-armor (Heavy Gear, not mecha)
-orbital colonization and infrastructure
-Genetic modification (2300esque not totally transhuman)
-rugged feel, like 2300 feels at the edge of the Arms.

RPG MECHANICS
I am generally discussing the construction of the setting below but will be using Heavy Gear/JC (2nd edition) for RPG mechanics. It has a robust construction system, great space combat rules, and mechanics that are far more interesting than Traveller. And hey, it still uses d6!!

I am making a Lifepath character generation system using a hybrid of 2300 (original)/Mongoose and the Silhouette system. I really like the way its looking.

I’ll post more on that later.

GREAT GAME TIE-IN
Learning that 2300AD was created by the Great Game just made me drool at the possibilities. The discovery of Victory By Any Means made it possible. Project_SN is basically a new version of the Great Game in a different setting with different entities.

Project_SN is an attempt to emulate that creative process and create a setting that has some guidance from me, as an architect, but also developed organically over time. Inspiration often strikes at odd times and places and so I figured that the slow creation of a system would inspire that creative process. That assumption has been correct. Instead of having to rely on pure creativeness for every system, event or historical progress, using this method has given me a framework on which I can build a more detailed setting. It’s still guided by me but I’ve stayed relatively true to letting the dice fall where they may as the game has progressed. It has also provided the seeds for inspiration into background, historical events and the flow of the setting.

PROJECT_SN SETTING
The setting for Project_SN was originally designed to simply be written up and used in the RPG. I had already begun work on it when I was inspired to do the Great Game version of things. I knew, in a general way, certain directions that I wanted to go but not with any definitive detail. The parameters of the setting remain the same but the overall makeup is, I’m learning, going to be vastly different.

I wanted to get away from the known space around Earth but still have the Earth connection. Essentially, a 2300-esque expansion into space but one where I was not tied to known astronomical data. Since I would be building the stellar environment through the use of Astrosynthesis and imagination, I did not want to be tied down to the NSL or anything else. For that reason, I looked into other galaxies and discovered the concept of super-clusters.

With Earth resting in the Virgo Supercluster, I decided that the Centaurus Supercluster was as good a location as any.

See here:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Nearsc.gif

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...s_Location_in_the_Universe_SMALLER_(JPEG).jpg

TORUS GATE
Project_SN takes place in a section of the universe distant from Earth. It is connected to the Virgo supercluster by the existence of an alien Torus Gate. A donut-shaped device kilometers wide that instantly transports anything moving through it over 120 million light-years to the Centaurus Super-Cluster. The construction, materials and science behind the Gate are unknown but humanity has dived into it.

The Centaurus region that the Gate opens up is made up of numerous sub-clusters of systems. These subclusters are in place for a few reasons:

One, I wanted to ensure that there are distinct regions which are alternately easily accessible or isolated based upon stellar routes. These same restrictions allow regions to progress in different ways so I would be able to build a region that was heavily commercial or dominated by one or two polities etc. I could build each region with a certain character integral to it.

Two, I was building the setting using Astrosynthesis and the various clusters are much easier to manage for purposes of mapping and cataloguing. Anyone who has used AS knows that building a thousand stars is something that your computer groans at and the idea of zooming around a map of that size gave me headaches. Also, with smaller clusters, I was able to build the makeup of them individually instead of having to go through star after star in a larger map to alter it to my ideas. This way, I could build a cluster that I knew was only going to have a few systems or one that was heavily populated. I could also ensure that the different clusters would have accessible routes between them. Playing with a hundred stars at a time was a lot easier than a couple thousand.

Three, I wanted to create a setting where (as I mentioned above) travel required specific routes and paths. Each cluster connects to another one by a specific means or several means. Some are large and others are small. Some are fly-through regions where no systems or value are located but they provide asteroids and barren planets for criminal outposts, orbital colonies and other setting elements.

Four, I had in mind a number of these clusters and how they connected but realized that exploration would likely go in directions other than those planned. Small clusters make it possible to add a cluster here or there.

To be continued

 

[Kilgs]

Part II, VBAM_SN Game Mechanics

Project_SN is a mildly scripted VBAM game with a host of alternate rules and certain pre-ordained events. I rebuilt the random Events table to match the kind of setting that I wanted. I added a host of civilian actions, added Crises such as plagues and recessions, secessions and did a makeover for Social and Political Events.

Earth
I’m just ignoring it. Political movements, clashes and other things will still occur but I’m only focusing on the events in the Centaurus Super-cluster. By using the AIX system, China and America could go to war but I’m not going to really run the numbers on that. Yeah, this may seem like its not very accurate but I’m not very concerned about who wins the land war in Asia except where it affects economics… I’ll be handwaving such things in the VBAM. Such as having income be reduced, fleets leave the Centaurus to return home and local conflicts be more important.

The entirety of the “game” is/will take place in the Centaurus Super-cluster or "Through The Gate."

Years/Turns
I am playing with (2) Turns per Year. I know I want to end the game after a certain point and don’t want to spend the next decade in RL getting there. Two turns a year represents the massive undertakings that scouting/surveying/colonizing actually are in this setting. So it is not uncommon for it take a year or two to scout out a new system. It also makes the timeline progress a bit more comfortably and slowly for my own purposes. I don’t want 5,000 systems when I’m done. But I do want time to pass.
-I altered many of the systems to take into 2 Turns instead of 12.
-In my current rules, I have increases to 3 turns and then 4 turns built into the Timeline. The more I play the game out though the more I think I may stay with 2 Turns.

AIX/Relationship
I’m using both the AIX/Relationship (NPC) mechanics to simulate the governments and relationships of the different polities and the Internal Politics from Stars Divided to simulate the actual politics within nations and colonies. I wanted an organic process for conflicts between nations so that I didn’t have to script specific wars or battles. Let them occur according to the random changes in Relationships and the AIX mechanics. I have some scripted events but mainly wanted to see how things progressed randomly since those are often the most interesting.

The Internal Politics system allows for governmental change, independence movements and other social phenomena that is exactly what I want to see in my setting’s progression. I am envisioning the independence of colonies into polities in their own right over time. I want to know what shape those polities will take. So the randomization of new Factions in a colony may mean it’s Religious, Social, Military etc. I put rules in place for the creation of Factions based on immigration from other locations/nations.

All in all, I’m hoping that the randomization within a set system will create events on its own. So far, it’s not provided any major events but I can see where some of them are going. As the calendar progresses and the Events start to increase, I predict that more such stimuli will occur.

Scripted Events

MINOR EVENTS: In building a general timeline, I injected a number of events that would cause minor ripples such as “attempted military coup in North Africa” or “incident between X and Y result in -10 relationship.” These events occur in a particular year and are basically ways to keep the setting from becoming too static. These events are already in place although I add to the timeline occasionally whenever I come up with a neat idea. Since none of them are “X declares war on Y” and they only result in relationship/morale modifiers I don’t think it’s cheating.

MAJOR EVENTS: There are a few major events. These are not set in stone as to when they occur. I created random percentile odds and trigger events for them. So even I don’t know when they will actually happen.

Diplomacy
The AIX (Aggression, Integrity, Xenophobia) system uses relationships between polities. It has random flow (+/-) to Relationships as well specific triggers that cause changes. It includes treaties, approaching other nations etc. So I have a big grid for that and I’m tracking it every two years for changes.

Random Events
I built a minimal random event system to represent civilian/private exploration and settlement, create events and factors that would affect governments and politics, and deal with important people. I am implementing the Random Events slowly as colonization becomes more prevalent in the region. Each cluster will require a roll once it has a minimum of two colonies.

Tech Advancements/VBAM
I added a number of tech advancements to the VBAM system. These are based on existing rules, optional or original ones.
-The progression of spaceship construction and tech is based on Tyrel’s Tech tables available on the Groups site. I changed the Tech Advancement mechanism to allow for these alterations and created tables for progression. So an emerging stellar polity can only build rudimentary ships and must work to advance to fleet carriers and such. Special Abilities are Research projects that can then be incorporated into ship construction and prototypes.
-Using the Stars Divided Ground Military tables and Special Abilities, polities can expand their ground military effectiveness as well. I added powered armor/gears since those will be a component of the setting.
-Specific advancements such as Terraforming, certain Facilities and the like are all Research Projects.
-Additional facilities such as Orbital Colonies, Orbital Manufacturing, Mining Centers, Skyhooks, Beanstalks and other things that are a staple of this type of setting.

There is no real good way to represent a colony’s tech base in VBAM. I decided to stop trying to make one. I can handwave that based on my knowledge of the colony/polity.

Since I’m ignoring the specifics of Earth for the most part except in terms of Relationships and parent-entities, the Tech rules will really only come into play with the emerging polities within the Centaurus Supercluster. For the established polities, I just created a timeline whereby they gain “X Tech Level every 15 years” or a similar mechanic.

VBAM 2nd Edition
I know this is due out shortly and I've looked at playtest versions of the rules. They look very well-done and some of the ideas that I've added in are from those rules. Since the supplements (AIX etc) are not likely to come out soon, and I've spent lots of time getting set-up with spreadsheets, I'm just going to keep using 1st edition until further notice. Since this is really a fun little "Me" game, transitioning it with handwavium won't necessarily be an issue.

 

[Kilgs]

ASSUMPTIONS

Timeline
My calendar starts with Year 0. What year exactly is left vague. The specific determination of years in Earth reckoning always seem to bring about an argument over whether we would have accomplished X by then or if Y would have occurred.

So Year 0 stands as the starting point of the setting. It’s far from today but not so far that it is unrecognizable. In fact, it’s not so hard to determine where it falls within several decades now that I’ve been working on the history as I go along (see below).

Past History
Like many aborted attempts at settings, I began working on “What Has Gone Before” and then stopped. I needed to focus on what was going to happen and not what already did. So, I made up a list of a few general events that coincided with how I pictured the geo-political entities present at the time of Year 0. This followed a standard formula in sci-fi but I’m not ashamed of it ;-)

Past historical events will be fleshed out as they become necessary. It was enough for me to know that a nuclear exchange in Pakistan/India region led to the dissolution of one Indian nation and the formation of several. It was enough to know that China’s communism collapsed and was replaced by a government puppeteered by commercial oligarchs. The dissolution of the Russian Federation and the rise of several satellite states. The unrest in Mexico leads to a complete breakdown in order and fortified cities hold out against ambitious power blocs which strains the US/Mexican relationships. The Panama Canal was nuked which weakened the US’ activities in the Pacific. The United States entered an isolationist type mood and withdrew from active intervention in Asia, the Middle East and other locales. North Korea finally went off and nuked Japan which prompted an invasion by South Korea… etc.

Assume a general unraveling of stability in the very near future. Environmental damage, population pressure, territorial ambitions and the like caused several decades of general mayhem on the planet Earth. Some nations rose, others fell, and still others retreated from a global stage.

It was important that the UN lose influence and authority during these decades such that it is a weaker organization when it is reformed.

Polities/Nations
I created the polities, the powers of the day, through simple daydreaming, input from other products (2300 and Jovian Chronicles) and some Wikipedia reading on independence movements. The events which lead up to the formation of these polities was not important as I discuss below. The list was made up prior to the imagining of any history so some of it gets written and rewritten. It’s not important how some government came into power… until it becomes important.

A fun exercise has been the light but continuous research into countries and possible conflicts. It’s been informative and results in changes to the timeline from time to time.

But the main polities were designed prior to the beginning of the game and are largely recognizable. Some of them are even existent in other sci-fi games or novels, even 2300AD. This is not so much copycatting as it is seeing the same possibilities that others did… okay, some of it is copy-catting!

The different polities enter the Centaurus Super-Cluster in different ways and for different reasons. The prominent polities are: United Nations, British Commonwealth, America (USA), Brazilia/Amazonia, Canadian United Provinces, Quebec, East Indian States, Egypt, China, Rhine Collective, Ural Federation, France, Brazil, Baltic Confederacy, Central Asian Republic (Persia), Turkish Union, Maharashtra, Korean Union, Sukhotai, Russian Federation and others…

I spaced them out so I didn’t have to deal with a couple dozen polities as I was learning/fashioning the rules. By establishing a timeline of when they become players in the Centaurus, I have been able to ease into the system rules/mechanics.

 

[Kilgs]

WHAT IS THIS?
As I said, I’ve been having fun doing all this stuff instead of just sitting around and writing up a fully-formed setting. I’ve been reading all the sci-fi I can get my hands on, reading up on space stuff, and doing fun stuff. So I thought I’d write to everyone about it.

There will be a few threads.

Summary Thread
This is it! I’ll just write the basic information and developments here. It’s a place to discuss concepts, developments and answer questions if there are ever any.

StoryBook

The next thread which I will be getting around to sometime is the StoryBook. Basically, I loved this idea from Heavy Gear where they published a book that collated news reports, correspondence and mini-stories that followed characters for every year in the game universe. It advanced the storyline and really got you into the setting. It also provided the opportunity to expand on the setting and small details without putting huge blocks of text. So I decided to do something similar.

I’m being OCD in keeping track of events that happen every turn. Then I’m turning around and writing up in-game reports, correspondence and stories for the events that happen in the VBAM/Setting Creation game. It’s been really fun although kind of time-consuming what with all the activity. So I generally just highlight things.

I’ve also been storing video images of the Astrosynthesis map and how it has changed every 5-10 years. I’ll post those in the Storybook thread also.

Think of it as a historical supplement without all the heavy textbook reading.

Mechanics
This thread will go over the RPG, and maybe, the VBAM mechanics that I’m using. This thread will be awhile since the RPG is primarily done (as its basically Heavy Gear/JC) but I’m working on a different character generation idea. Something more familiar to the fun aspects of Traveller terms. So this thread won’t show up for awhile…

That’s about it for now. So let’s get back to summaries!

TECH SUMMARY
Technology is a mixture of the familiar and the advanced. I’m not going to discuss technology too much simply because the passage of time and other influences will result in a staggered advancement. Basically, I’m doing the pre-history of the setting so I’m not going to get into what technology was like in a timeline that I won’t be playing in. So there may be some overlap or jumping around since my main goal is to get THE RPG SETTING.

So most discussions below reference the technology that we will end up with. Some of them are already in place and will become more prevalent in the years to come.

GRAVITY
Originally conceived, there is no anti-gravity/contragrav much like in 2300/JC/HG. First of all, it’s a major trope of the genre and makes space actions far more interesting/unique than just running around in space on your own two feet. Jovian Chronicles has great mechanics for it and so it remains.

However, there are/will be a couple exceptions…[fn1]

There is no anti-gravity but we can generate small fields that can ‘penetrate’ gravity through experimentation with the Alcubierre. So vessels still require reaction mass to function in systems and to take off from planetary bodies. However, these localized ‘planes’ of gravity are known as Gravity Sheaths and make atmospheric entry more accessible. Gravity Sheaths can bore through gravity wells and reduce the planetary pull. This makes take-off easier but by no means accessible to all since such sheaths are expensive and fairly new. The Sheath wraps around a vessel as it enters into a planetary atmosphere and guides or sloughs off the gravitational energy away from the vessel. This is not a complete process and the size of sheath generator determines the reduction (usually between 1-20%). Gravity Sheaths will not be available until the timeline reaches that particular point.

There is also a pretty cool effect in that, with a sheath engaged, the vessel can basically hydroplane. This allows takeoff and landing from water bodies in a huge spray! (Hey I liked the mental visual!)
Most planets interact with vessels through orbital transfer stations and beanstalks/space elevators.

[fn1: In addition, I’m toying with generated gravity while under the effect of the AF Drive. The main reason… I love deckplans and many of them are based on anti-gravity. I don’t want to throw in complete AG for reasons noted above but since this RPG is likely to be played online, I find deckplans incredibly useful for getting folks into the game.
The Gravity Sheath idea is not in place at this time… it will be invented a couple decades from VBAM game start.]

Vessels, stations and orbital colonies cannot generate their own gravity and so require spinning habitat sections and other methods to obtain micro-gravity. Orbital colonies are based on O’Neill and Robinson designs.

Energy weapons are more rare due to their high cost and power requirements. The miniaturization of power sources is less effective than in standard JC but will end up being closer to 2300. Generally, space vessels are the most common carriers of these items in a much larger form. The use of large fusion plants makes payload replenishment very economical. Military vehicles/armor will also end up utilizing energy weapons. Personal energy weapons are commonly used in vacuum units (marines/navy) and in heavily-equipped units along with exos. (see below).

Projectile weapons (binary propellant), gauss, and gyroc (rocket-assisted) weaponry are the more common armaments seen on battlefields. The reason for this will be manifold but, in the end setting, the production and maintenance of these types of weapons requires a lower tech base and is easier to support on distant planets. Frankly, the laser rifle might be pretty fancy but if the nearest fusion charging station is 80km away, you’re likely to end up blasting away with trusty 4mm assault rifle. The more obvious advances will be made such as liquid binary propellant, solid-state gel and fancy ammunition. Explosives also will benefit from miniaturization and advances.

A large difference will be the use of Exo-Suits (Exos, Frames, Heavy Gears). Obviously, this will be a mainstay of the setting since I wanted to incorporate the prevalence of these units much like in the Heavy Gear setting. Powered armor, descended from exo-suits used by explorers and industry, have become extremely common. These powered suits stand from 3-5m tall and can function in environments hostile to life. The need for infantry is more prevalent than ever before given the amount of real estate so exos, as they are called, are utilized in many areas. As colonies tend to have smaller populations, the existence of a standing army is rare, and a squad of exos can bring as much power as twice the number of tanks with far more versatility and for less cost. These will NOT be a mecha and remain small to retain some of their key advantages (transportation, agility etc). Larger versions do exist but are slow, ponderous and used as artillery or missile platforms. In Heavy Gear, they are referred to as “Striders.”

Vectored Thrust and air-skirt vehicles are the most common all-terrain vehicles. But they are mostly useless on planets lacking an atmosphere or possessing a thin atmosphere. Again, another reason why exos are so popular since they can be direct-landed into hostile environments.

Aircraft will mirror HG/JC/2300 with an emphasis on vectored/direct thrust in military applications. The varied nature of worlds and atmospheres will also bring back dirigibles, ultra-lights and personal gyro units.

Coming up... Future Tech!

 

[Kilgs]

WARNING... I am not a scientist or even remotely qualified to spell the word. Don't judge my made-up setting. It works!

FUTURE TECH
All extremely advanced technology is going to be curtailed. I’ll get into the reasons later but assume that some major tragedies due to cloning (slavery, organ harvesting, military applications), nano-tech (disasters) and AI (gone rogue) have placed limits on these technologies. Inventors, companies, governments and individuals are watched extremely closely for proscribed activities and retribution has come from many places with devastating results. Mankind has flirted with nano-war and bio-war to its own dismay and decided that such things are best left alone.

[NOTE: I’ll discuss this more later]

Robotics and cybernetics have advanced but AI is going to be limited. The more accurate term would be that “weak AI” abounds but there are very strong cultural/legal issues surrounding actual Artificial General Intelligence. Robotics and cybernetics will be advanced to the point of cybernetic prostheses and implants being a common sight especially in military veterans. The continued expansion of this field will benefit medicine, industry and (clearly) the military.

Hacking/Netrunning… I haven’t really gotten too into this. Jovian Chronicles has a pretty basic hacking system that I think will suffice. Virtual projections into the ‘Net’ are likely to be available but sporadic due to the questionable utility of it. In addition, the quality of Internet environs or resources is going to be seriously limited by the lack of FTL comms. I’m looking into an adaptation of the Alternity ‘shadow’ concept… basically a hacker’s ‘weak AI’ is sent by data-packet to another system, does its job, then returns with the results. But the whole “bio-feedback” concept common to cyberpunk is not really in play so hacking is just more advanced and prettier than it is now. Obviously, due to the digitalization of the human race, the opportunities on what to hack, why and for become far greater.

DNA/genetic manipulation serves a number of purposes. From modifying individuals to high-gravity worlds, to zero-gravity endurance, and environmental safeguards, the use of DNAM/Gmods is commonplace but research is limited as indicated below. Even so, the established methods of manipulation are public and common. Basic modification has been around for a long time and established parameters make it available to the public. Medical technology allows replacement of limbs through cybernetics or ‘budding’; the lengthy regrowth of organic materials cloned from the owner. The creation of superior organs has a bad image due to the use of portions of cloning technology.

The leaps in medicine have also caused an increase in human lifespan. Obviously, on the far end of civilization you have the same brutally short lifespans due to violence, disease, starvation and other means. This setting has all of that in spades plus constant warfare, endemic crime/corruption, unsupported colonies, alien viruses etc. But, if you survive all of that, the average lifespan has moved upwards from seventies… It will continue to move upwards slowly but I envision a 3:4 ratio. Essentially, someone who is forty years old sidereal is the equivalent of a thirty-year old today.

FTL SUMMARY
FTL has been in humanity’s hands for a few decades. The stars around Sol have been explored and several planets have been found to be hospitable. The expansion into the stars has been restricted, until recently, to those polities who restored their space programs. I call it the AF drive (Alcubierre-Firak). It’s a gravity engine that causes a vessel to surf on gravity wave.

In the VBAM game, there won’t be too many noticeable changes but there will be several ‘generations’ of drives that will improve speed and such. In the beginning of the VBAM game, it will be noticeable that ships take weeks and months to make trips. Mainly this is because I only want to 2 turns per year and not have to track 12 moves per turn.

The Alcubierre-Firak gravity drive builds a wave of gravity that the vessel “surfs” on or is carried on/within (depends on the physicist explaining it), achieving speeds greater than light. The size and speed of the wave is proportional to the size of the vessel. The wave is dependent on mass and the projection of mass. As such, the smaller vessels can more efficiently use the wave and obtain greater speeds. But with the size and intensity of the wave being dependent on mass, the smaller ships are limited in distance. A larger vessel generates a wave that lasts longer and can travel further distances. These waves are generated by gravity capacitors that replicate stored gravity. A capacitor must be charged within a planetary body’s gravity well after being used. This requires stellar routes to hop from system to system within their range. Intrasystem use of the drive is extremely dangerous as meeting another gravity source resembles a bug meeting a windshield.

[NOTE: I’m working on a version for intrasystem use to speed up transit between planets but am trying to avoid its use for combat. I may end up handwaving it. The use of particle engines makes it sometimes faster to jump out of a system and then back in to a different planetary body…which seems kinda stupid. Work in progress.]

Due to the gravity well of stars, there is a minimum safe distance that is sometimes outside the habitable zone for planets. But a vessel can only recharge off a solid body with a gravity well (no stars). The level of gravity determines the speed of recharge. So a vessel would transfer into a system at the outer reaches, move under reaction mass (particle engines) to a planetary body, get into orbit and recharge their capacitors, head back out and engage their drive to continue moving.

This also makes cold distant objects valuable and a place for stations, orbital colonies and the like. By transiting into the extant regions of a system, a vessel can dock with an orbital colony near a “Pluto” and recharge their coils without having to spend time in-system. This is the preferred route for merchant/trader lines. It also creates interesting locations in the outskirts. The drawback being that such planets often do not have strong gravity wells.
By the time that the RPG setting comes around, we will be at the following basic speeds. A small trader can reach speeds of up to 0.5LY per 10hrs with a maximum range of around 5LY. Larger vessels average around 0.15LY or slower but can reach stars up to 8LY away. Theoretically further but the largest ships projected are around 8LY.

So a small vessel can reach a star up to 3LY in about 3-4 days. The larger vessel could reach it in about 12-18 days. To travel to a system approximately eight LY away, the smaller vessel would need to make three separate jumps and recharge at each one. The larger vessel can do it in two jumps but it takes longer to recharge the capacitors and it travels at a slower speed. So there is a preference for smaller vessels unless transporting large amounts of goods/persons. Large vessels, grav-tenders, also exist as ‘carriers’ to propel smaller vessels over gaps in routes that exceed their range.

SPACESHIPS
I’m not going to talk too much about spaceships here. Since there are two kinds (VBAM and RPG), I’ll go into detail as needed throughout this. I’m using Jovian Chronicles as the mechanics system so assume all things are generally as in those books. I envision several main things with ships…

In the beginning, we will see the majority of ship in national hands. As time goes on, more and more individuals will gain access to these vessels as they enter into the market after decommissioning and the technology becomes more available. As noted, FTL-AF drives require a rare element so the access to more and more of that element will also lower the cost point.

Also, as conflicts in space grow in quantity and size, the mobilization of polities to bring their navies up to muster, followed by corporations, criminal elements and others will put more and more hulls into production. Once conflicts wind up, I envision a period of decommissioning that will make basic hulls/FTL vessels available on the auction block as polities strip the older models as well as the surplus equipment from their budgets. This will result in more and more ships in private hands as time goes on. As noted above, the AF drive is far more efficient in smaller sizes so those vessels will be more common.

I’ll discuss this more in a RPG mechanics thread later on.

 

[aramis]

Your "gravity sheath" is just TNE Contragrav, albeit at about 1/5 the efficiency. (TNE uses 98%.)

 

[SpaceBadger]

All sounds very interesting and the kind of game universe I'd like to play or GM in. Looking forward to the "Storybook" thread for more concrete examples of how your method is working on building the history/astrography.

 

[Kilgs]

I'll be putting the Storybook thread up soon. It's a funky animal because its not set in stone. As events/moves happen in the game year, I add entries. Sometimes they're detailed but sometimes they're just one-liners as placeholders. Then I go back and fill them in when I'm feeling inspired. Not everything is connected since it is, in some places, just a listing of what occurred.

In addition, I have a few consistent plotlines but... I'm not sure I'm going to stick with them. One of them was in the original idea but the more I work through it the more I realize its kinda science fantasy. I don't have to approach it for a couple decades so I'm not worrying about it now.

Don't get your hopes up too high. It's not the most original stuff since I've read all the same books everyone else has ;-) Just a fun thing to do as I go along.

Also, it's the last thing I do since its pretty time-consuming. I've made it through 26 years of game at this point. But the story logs lag further behind. So updates will only happen every week or so to keep me sane and avoid this turning into work.

 

[epicenter00]

Hacking/Netrunning… I haven’t really gotten too into this. Jovian Chronicles has a pretty basic hacking system that I think will suffice.

The less obstructive and quicker a "hacking" system is, the better. The minigame "netrunning" of Cyberpunk and Shadowrun and similar games were the worst things ever made.

A system where the netrunner starts doing something and it becomes a two person game with the GM and the netrunner while everyone else wanders off to play the Xbox or goes out to pizza?

Worst idea, ever.

From a computer security point of view, the whole idea of these "defensive walls" being knocked down through some sort of "assault" is really dodgy anyway. Be it portscanning or rapidly trying passwords or some futuristic equivalent, I don't think a security system is going to passively sit around while programs attach to them puzzle them out.

As for the other desperate attempts to make hackers useful, such as the "hacker" being able to control remote control trucks or taxis? Seriously, nobody would use something that insecure. People attaching computers to their brains that allow someone with a computer to turn them into zombies? Yeaaaah, right.

I'm all for futuretech, but these traditional "problems" of computer tech always sound so desperately luddite to me.

 

[Kilgs]

The less obstructive and quicker a "hacking" system is, the better. The minigame "netrunning" of Cyberpunk and Shadowrun and similar games were the worst things ever made.

A system where the netrunner starts doing something and it becomes a two person game with the GM and the netrunner while everyone else wanders off to play the Xbox or goes out to pizza?

Worst idea, ever.

Agreed. Anything that is sure to split the party is not a good idea. I'll admit I like it in theory but have never seen it work to any real effect.

I think one of the precepts of Traveller is the best rule in science fiction. Technology is not a substitute for good adventuring. People are interesting, tools are not. It's important. IMO, the most important thing to keep in mind.

 

[Kilgs]

Interesting stuff.

Would it be possible to produce a Too Long, Didn't Read version? Because I'm interested in VBAM, I'd like to see the actual VBAM gameplay. You know, things like Rolled X and chose Y, so Z occurred.

I really don't want to have to wade through all the POV, journal entry, news story, fan-fic, fluff.

The fact is I'm only at Year 25 so I don't know where everything is going to go. As indicated, I have some set points but not everything. I am planning to upload spreadsheets to the VBAM Yahoo Groups but they won't be filled with info.

I'm not keeping track of dice rolls or anything like that. I do keep track of events that occur for each polity during the year in a Timeline section. I have snapshot excel sheets every 5years (Commonwealth_10, Commonwealth_15) and you can see some orders there. But I don't think that's the granularity you're looking for.

I can provide you with files. I have Excel sheets for the following:
-Each polity including a Summary/Systems/Assets/AvailableUnits/Officers/OrdersTurn1-2/Timeline/Internal Politics/Relationships/Diplomacy
-SystemCatalog (Every 10 years)
-Independent Colonies
-Random Events
-Price Lists

I can post screenshots of excel sheets?

The only real dice rolls at this point have been Scouting and Diplomacy/Relationships. Since everyone is nice and sharing at this point in the timeline there haven't been many Intel missions... since it's kinda odd to do Intel missions against yourself ;-)

 

[Kilgs]

Sorry for the delay. I'm stuck on one of the entries for the next year and I've let it delay the whole thing ;-) It's a timing issue. Should be up soon.

 

[LiNeNoiSe]

Wish I could find a cheap copy of VBAM-JC. Looks like it'd work a whole lot better than PE for a GG2.

 

[Kilgs]

VBAM-JC is not what you want. It's a specific hack of the VBAM system for the Jovian Chronicles setting.

Just get the regular VBAM books, JC didn't add much more to the rules (for my purposes) than guidelines on orbital colonies. It can also mesh with a JC tabletop game (Lightning Strike) but few things other than that were of much use in a non-JC setting.

As I mentioned in other posts, VBAM is almost PERFECT for a GG scenario. Which is essentially what this project is.

Check out the Companion for Non-Player Entities and Relationships for sure. The Menagerie adds customization/government packages to factions. It's all right there.

2nd edition has been prophesied for some time. I'd go with 1st edition. Just tweak it the way you want. So far, 2nd edition is vaporware.

 

[LiNeNoiSe]

Thanks for the info on the JC version. I was interested in it for two reasons. One, I wanted my GG to end up sort of like JC w/o a nuclear war. Two, I'm lazy. I'm already familiar with JC. I didn't want to wade through a bunch of rules for VBAM's default universe. Make that three reasons. I'm also cheap/poor.