You are a colonist on a ship that's crash-landed on an alien world. Your character wakes up from a stasis pod with little knowledge of what happened, other than the fact that the ship was falling and everyone who wanted to live had to get inside a pod.
Most of the reading in this OP, I've realized, isn't really necessary for gameplay. It's primarily useful for a backstory. If you don't want to read it, you are welcome to sign up.
Background The Antimatter Wars of the 31st century were a series of conflicts between the colonial powers of Limbo (Venus), Dune (Mars), Viole (Ceres), Rapture (Europa), and Avalon (Neptune), against the Terrans of Earth-Luna. Earth-Luna trounced the Colonials during land invasions, but ultimately the Colonials' superior starfaring ability gave them the ultimate upper hand. The objective was simple: to secure the first shipment of antimatter sent by robotic probes from another star, first launched in the 2200's.
At the culmination of the Antimatter Wars in 3058, however, the antimatter was detonated, giving the powers no further cause for war. The conflict was ended, and a fragile peace ensued.
Earth was no longer the shining beacon it once was. Ravaged by chemical warfare, Earth-based humanity was split into two major groups: those who took refuge on the now-defunct space elevators in the sky, and those who retreated underseas. These were known as the Skylanders and the Abyssals, respectively.
There was a third group, the Orbiters, who operated the last few space elevators and maintained relations with the spacefaring civilizations of Luna and Ceres. Luna was an industrial powerhouse, once subject to Earth but later becoming the dominant Terran power, while Ceres was the last bastion of the Colonials, already in decline after decades of war.
Mars' few settlements were bombed into oblivion as retribution, for the Martians developed the bioagents that poisoned the Earth.
Venus faced industrial collapse during the Antimatter Wars, causing it to fade into obscurity.
Neptune was abandoned after the detonation of the antimatter, for the colony no longer held any strategic importance being so far from the inner system.
Europa became isolated during the wars, being connected to the outside universe by three now-collapsed tunnels in the ice.
After a century of disarray, a Cerean-Orbiter plan to unite the Skylanders and Abyssals produced a colony ship and a launch laser. The Skylanders and Abyssals both agreed to provide embryos using their existing industrial/pharmaceutical capacity.
On the colony of Ceres, there existed a great Logic Tree growing in the bed of an ancient crater known as Occator (known as the famous "bright spots" in the days of yore). This tree was soon discovered to be an artificial lifeform capable of digital logic, although its existence and its implications for extraterrestrial life was kept a secret for the centuries to come.
This logictree had grown extensively beneath the surface, and so when the first colonists arrived they hollowed out a space beneath its roots. The colony was a massive tunnel shrouded in logic crystal, initially used for rudimentary computations and experimentation.
After some time, however, it became clear that the logic crystal could be used for computation far in excess of what ordinary computers were capable of, at the time. All that was needed was an electrical input from the base of the roots to the top of the tree where they merged. Eventually, Ceres became a hotbed for artificial intelligence research, and the Ghost program was initiated.
Ghosts are machine intelligences (not necessarily artificial, for they are modeled after human neural structure) that are bound to an infant at birth using neural implants. The Ghost develops alongside the infant and mimics his neural structures, taking on human emotions, thought processes, and feelings. Ultimately the Ghost grows to become a mirror self, thinking the exact same ideas as the human, but performing arithmetic far faster. Through the use of a synchronizer, the Ghost's mental processes can be scaled down to match the symbiont's own thoughts, but when needed (such as when performing mathematical calculations) the Ghost is able to use its higher-speed substrate to assist the symbiotic. Ultimately, the Ghosts became a major facet of Cerean life, and soon Ghosts began outliving normal men. Ghosts do not develop mentally once separated from the host, so many remained as scientists, engineers, and intellectuals before succumbing to divarication and going insane. A Ghost's lifespan is regularly in the 200's. Ghosts with particularly stable neural architectures can last half a millennium.
Over time, the Ghosts began to seriously outnumber the humans on Ceres. In 2500 the split was only 80/20 human/ghost. In 2600 it was 70/30; in 2700 it was 55/45; in 2800 it was 35/65. By the fourth millenium (3000 A.D.), the Ghosts were 90% of the population--Ceres was a literal ghost town. Over time humans had fewer opportunities for employment, for education, and for raw labor, and so many became disillusioned with reality and left for the other colonies. Many experienced severe culture shock, because Ghosts only functioned where there was logic crystal.
And so the last Cerean humans--the "hosts," as they were sometimes called--began growing and selling logic crystal products to Earth and the other colonies after the war. Since there were few advanced societies left the industrial competition was limited, and so Cerean robotics became a staple across the system, and portable Ghosts flourished, although not in such numbers as to replace humans elsewhere. As Earth recovered from the Antimatter wars, Abyssals started manufacturing human-like androids implanted with the Ghosts of children whose hosts did not make it for some reason or another. The Ghosts of children never age, but once freed from the limitations of their hosts even a child-ghost can outsmart a grown man.
This system was marketed as a medical product, but over time these androids became commonplace in high-risk jobs, for their logic crystal CPU's were less susceptible to damage than human bodies, and they could be augmented with armor or integrated tools.
By the 2200's, culture on Earth had taken a drastic turn toward hedonism, and most preferred to abandon the limiting moral codes of the past. Marriage was already long gone--since 2122, women in most countries were required to have at least one "duty child" with a genetically suitable partner in order to sustain population growth, but the concept of a lifelong partnership with the goal of procreation was downright unthinkable. The colonies on the other hand, founded in 2082, still practice traditional marriage even today, founded and populated by those dissatisfied with the status quo on Earth. But most space-children were born in artificial wombs inside a centrifuge, for low gravity conditions cause birth defects and abnormalities otherwise.
Earth ceased interplanetary colonization in 2243, coinciding with the invention of the artificial womb. Most colonials returned to Earth and reintegrated with the VR culture, but the remainder refused to join for various cultural and moral reasons. The colonies were much more culturally conservative than Earth, and so the old cultures and religions flourished in space even though they survived only in isolated communities on Earth. Venus, colonized by Brazil, even became the new seat of the Papacy.
Despite the antimatter wars, most of the human population remained on Earth even after Earth was poisoned. Earth provided most of the embryos and about 50% of the initial crew, mostly Abyssals, for the Skylanders were less industrially capable and didn't contribute as much. The other 50% of the crew, however, included surviving Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, and Eastern Protestants (A long story cut short: in this timeline a lot of Americans emigrated to Asia, China's economy crashed, and India/Brazil became world powers in China's place).
Clearly, things change over time. The influence of Earth's libertine culture was overwhelming and unavoidable, so most religious and ethnic minorities sat in the background, but they survived among those in stasis. But the influence happened both ways--both Skylanders and Abyssals welcomed back the concept of marriage in the absence of VR-based online relationships.
During the prosperity, many of the originals were thawed, leading to an influx of ancient culture and a renewed interest in ancient human history. A lot of uncultured youth tried to revive old customs and traditions. One group, the Byzantophiles, led triumphs throughout the city blocks blasting purple smoke into the air and crowning a faux Roman Emperor each sleepcycle-week. Albyon was raised in the midst of all this and while it was owned directly by the Catholics, the monument was used by other groups as a meeting ground, both cultural and religious. It wasn't simply a place of worship per-se, It was a beacon of art.
This all took place on the back burner however, with regards to politics. At the forefront of society the neo-Abyssals fought a great culture war with the Skylanders, who were divided not only among societal lines but along political lines too. The Skylander traditions of freedom and libertarianism were at odds with Abyssal statism, for the Skylanders lived in highly durable towers powered by the ancient solar beamsats, with little central authority given that one could simply migrate further up the tower (some even reached space, the famous Orbiters). The Abyssals, on the other hand, could only exist with a "one city, one state" policy, as all hands had to work for the survival of the seadome. These were two strictly incompatible ideologies, polarizing society ever further until VR tech was reintroduced and "real world" politics faded out of the limelight. By no means were the debates over--they simply moved with most citizens into the virtual world, where ideologues could design entire villages to meet their preferences. Other players moved into those villages, bringing with them their ideology, and eventually the war was reignited in a far less destructive fashion.
The Decadence led to increased oversight from the elders, who froze any popular figures in the "real world" that could potentially cause instability. The virtual world made citizens easier control, and groups that rejected the VR culture were forcibly put into stasis as a result. The historical enthusiasts were the first to go, for they blamed all the problems of the modern world and the eradication of past culture on the VR culture. The religious were next, for their loyalty was not directed toward the state. As resources dwindled, VR addicts were also frozen and replaced with "blank slates" from the pre-prosperous eras, the ones who lacked any sort of cultural identity and were less likely to rebel, but were still willing to help maintain the ship.
See
one of my old RtD's for a similar though non-canonical backstory.
The Plot The Generation Colony Ship
Einstein's Cross arrived at its destination in 3920±10 A.D, although due to time dilation effects only about three hundred of the journey's six-hundred year were felt.
Deceleration from the voyage was performed by a braking laser sent and constructed centuries in advance. The laser was built from a crystal sent along with the initial drone package, while the rest of the materials and solar arrays were constructed out of in-system materials. The in-system manufactories have since gone defunct, as has the laser. After all, they were only designed to last precisely the length of time needed to ensure arrival.
The target world was a habitable terra named Antila, in binary orbit with a white gas dwarf known as Thule. The system's sun was a G-class sun with a curious ring system, formed recently from the breakup of a silicate planet.
The ship only carried with it what was seen as necessary for survival. Manufactories and supplies for colonization were sent, but these were only an insignificant part of her payload. The largest portion came from the fuel she carried for interplanetary flight and orbital adjustment. Half her mass being fuel, Einstein's Cross could only afford to enter orbit with Antila and maintain it for so long. Once the colony was set she was doomed to de-orbit and fragment in the atmosphere, landing in pieces.
Unfortunately, Einstein's Cross found herself stranded in orbit for quite some time. The planet was shrouded in jet black clouds filled with shards of volcanic glass, and so the colonists first built probes to scout the surface. When these failed, they tried again, and again, but ultimately no safe landing sites for the first expedition could be documented before disaster struck.
The combination of perturbations from Thule and the Ringed Sun made Einstein's Cross' orbit more and more eccentric as time went on. Once she scraped the top of the atmosphere, she experienced runaway momentum losses and so began her final descent into the black clouds of Antila.
Her designers had planned for the crash, and her surface was coated in heat resistant panels. She would survive atmospheric reentry.
Her various pieces and modules, however, could not stay attached or they would be torn apart by aerodynamic forces. She had to be scuttled and each part would touchdown--with far greater weight than planned--on its own. Burdened with hundreds of colonists,
Einstein's Cross filled the sky with hundreds of blazing flares on the night she fell, and few were expected to survive.
You are one of the survivors.
Additional Info was divided into eight Sectors, each with populations of their own tasked with maintaining an artificial biosphere and ensuring genetic stability.
Greenheart started with an initial Ten, five male, five female. Together they raised hundreds of embryos from cold storage, which raised children of their own after they were capable. At the end of the journey the population was two thousand total on this sector alone. The thaws worked to maintain the ship, earning themselves slumber time until the landing. Ultimately about 60% of the roughly 16000 colonists on Crash Night were born during the first century of the voyage, the rest born on later centuries as birthrates slowed and supply limits were reached.
Colonists were periodically thawed for their important skills or experience. Additionally, there were three major eras that took place aboard the ship.
*P.L stands for Post Launch
The Elders (<0 P.L), <<1% of population
The elders were mostly scientists either sent on the initial voyage or otherwise those who migrated from other Sectors. They grew up in the pre-colony ship Era after Earth was ravaged. They still retain some old, bitter rivalries between the other nationalities, even though this colony ship was a joint effort. Einstein's Cross was the product of both Skylander and Abyssal engineering.
The Tribulation (0-100 P.L), 60% of population
The first generation of colonists were raised in hardship as Greenheart's biosphere almost collapsed due to a lack of maintainence. This era saw the three of the Ten die, along with almost half of all children born in the first half of the century. Stasis was not afforded for most of them until society stabilized near the end, so those who remember the horrors are few and far in between, mostly elderly. This generation lived through into the later eras, but many of them remember the struggles of the past.
The Prosperity (100-200 P.L), 30% of population
During the middle century of the voyage, the colonist's focus shifted from establishing a society to maintaining one. This generation saw peace and prosperity and the differentiation of Archimedian culture, leading to the rise of various distinct groups. Some organized themselves along nostalgic lines, aligning themselves with the old colonies on Ceres and Neptune, for example. Others went even further and adopted old cultures and institutions. The most direct manifestation of this trend was Albyon Cathedral, a neo-Gothic church built in 139 and shared by religious minorities aboard the ship.
The Decadence (200-Crash P.L), 10% of population
This generation was born after the ship's life support reached full capacity and strict limits were set on childbirths. The colonists faced no difficulties during the first half of this era and turned to personal pursuits such as art and entertainment. VR equipment from the third millenium was reintroduced, precipitating the rise of a sector-wide virtual world: effectively an MMORPG on a large scale. About 80% of the population during the first half of the era participated in this, much to the detriment of Greenheart Sector's biosphere and all the systems that required constant maintainence. The ship fell into disrepair, prompting the formation of a Sector Council and the forced closure of the virtual world. Most colonists were forcibly put into stasis, leaving just two dozen awake on crash day, who also entered stasis before impact.
Greenheart sector broke up in the middle of the fall, sending most of her precious stasis pods falling with parachutes, but lacking heatshields. The number that survived is uncertain, but there are inevitably quite a few scattered across the surface.
Mechanics Mechanics are the usual, with a d6 for actions:
[1]: Bad overshoot (You fail, along with an unintended effect)
[2]: Failure
[3]: Slightly Successful
[4]: Mostly Successful
[5]: Success
[6]: Good Overshoot (You succeed, but have an unintended effect)
You may queue as many actions as you like, but I'll stop in the middle of them if further input is required.
Attacks are coupled with a defense roll and an evasion roll by the enemy. The results may vary based on the situation, but weapons have two main statistics: Power and Accuracy.
Power: The amount the defense roll must be equal to or greater than to block the attack. Blocking an attack just barely results in damage taken, but blocking by a large margin guarantees safety.
Accuracy: The amount the evasion roll must be equal to or greater than to disregard the attack entirely. Just barely evading will result in reduced damage taken rather than all-out avoiding the attack.
In general, evasion is better than defense as it disregards defense entirely if it succeeds. Evasion is, however, more difficult to come by and is more readily affected by in-combat modifiers such as being pinned or ambushed.
Unarmed combat has 3/3 Power/Evasion cost.
Bonuses to actions will be provided by "traits," listed on your character status. While you do not start with any traits, you will receive a "Miniquest" when you roll a
base 5. The quest will have a certain requirement based on the type of action, and will award you a trait if you succeed.
To sign up, simply fill out the sheet below.
Your character will wake up unconscious at a crash site inside a stasis pod.
[b]Name: [/b]
[b]Age: [/b](Biological age spent out of stasis + Date of birth on the ship, generally 0-300 Post Launch)
[b]Appearance: [/b]
[b]Description: [/b](backstory, preferred duties, etc)
Don't worry too much about balance. Most progression will be gear-based and trait-based, and as such you won't start with any traits unless they are necessary from the bio (for example: someone who is disabled).
I'll pick six players after some time. There will be a waitlist in case someone likes the setting and one of the characters dies (or, more commonly, a player drops out).
Author
Topic: Blind Fate - Turn 42 (Updated 2/24) (Read 48966 times)