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Introduction:
The history of the planet was one of death and destruction, it seemed. Originally it was a refuge for those who tried to escape as great wars erupted in various parts of the galaxy. It was a paradise of sorts, a terraformed home for those who had found no other hope. The war would soon end, it seemed, but this was a place that billions could find their permanant home in.
All they had achieved was to trap themselves. The skies lit up with the light of weaponry, the cries of death. All civilisation on the planet was extinguished. Years passed, countless dawns and sunsets. Nothing happened.
Only red stars and stellar remnants persist, yet they will faithfully give their light until the end. As will the gunfire.
In a rare moment in the dying galaxy, it seemed that a turn of fortune had taken place. The sapients who had once taken refuge on the planet banded together and formed tribes. Nations. Finally, an empire. They vowed that they would protect themselves. That it would never happen again.
Powerful figures took hold, and used the lingering memory of the old apocalypse to control the populace. They discovered the unwritten rules of psychological manipulation. Eventually, an order formed that had utter control, by intense conditioning and mind techniques, over the thoughts and feelings of the masses.
This was not to last. As space travel became a commodity, there was a mass exodus to the asteroid colonies of the inner belt and Kuiper belt. Asteroid cities were set up to house the migrating population. The government tried, but it was too late to exact control over these. However, talk of rebellion rarely became violent. The conditioning was far too deep, having been rooted in generations.
It wasn't the colonies that would be the downfall of the empire, but they would contribute. Only a few years before now, a radio telescope on one of the outer asteroids had discovered something amazing. Life! The reply was surprisingly swift. It came in the form of multi-petaton impacts on every planet. History had repeated itself.
For days it rained fire. Everywhere. Then the mop-up fleet arrived. It was a genocide on a scale unimaginable, within only weeks. We were doomed, it seemed.
Fortunately or not, it would happen that the excitable aliens would be distracted by something in a gas giant moon system. The destruction ceased, for a moment. You had survived. After weeks of scanning, they finally transmitted a signal for backup.
This would prove to be a terrible mistake. Dead empires of the past had left their legacy in many ways. Not all were merely curiosities. Entire worlds and ecosystems had emerged around construction nanites. Planets had become graveyards, testaments to the mass death that had taken place there. The wailing souls would linger, and then seek to move on.
These worlds became the nucleus of great and destructive phenonema. War machines of the past awakened and wrecked further destruction on the barren land, replicating. Asteroids were disassembled to fuel an endless crusade against all civilisation, a final and eternal war. Survivors on grim, death-struck worlds discovered dark secrets. Powerful entities emerged, from necromancers seeking immortality to dark gods of manifest suffering. Closer to home, government fleets still survived, with fanatical devotion and memetic influence, ready to fight to the death.
The backup signal was like a searchlight to these forces. Only a few days after it was sent out, a second barrage of superluminal missiles arrived. The interstellar artillery of paranoid species around the galaxy, desperate to destroy anything that may reveal them. Many of the species that contributed to this volley would have backstabbed each other with no remorse if it would keep the Damocles sword suspended for just one more moment. Yet there they were, union in the dealing of death.
More terrifying were the sightings of what was to come. The cold steel of drones seeking out the disturbance. The masses of twisted, pulsating corpses floating together in space, flickering with gloomy energies. Undescribable oddities and horrors of all kinds.
In the midst of this, is your habitat spinning bleakly in the Kuiper belt.
Hope still remains. Whispers of a powerful race of warrior plants intent on avenging our loss. Rumours of advanced technology hidden in barren moons and rusting orbital debris. They say there are entire colonies in suspended animation out in the Oort cloud, waiting for their comet to reach the inner system again. Mysteries. Why have we survived so long? This colony has not had it's spirit broken. Your survival is up to you.
If one thing will outlast you, it will be your part, in the spirit of all of us.
You:
The character sheet is quite extensive. Because character sheet length is the true measure of a game, this is a good omen.
Name:
Gender:
Weapon:
Species: (humans, generally, but the planet was a refugee camp with a lot of variety, and new species have been created in experiments.. a lot)
Description:
Conditioning: (by neural and psychological torture techniques, new instincts are often inserted into the mind of someone from birth. this happens over generations, and may be a defining factor of entire species. in extreme cases, it may be, for example, a slave who survives only to serve their master. this is generally considered moral even by bleeding heart types of the day as the slave does not suffer. of course, actions by the state are considered moral even if people do suffer tremendously.)
Spacecraft Name/Type/Appearance:
Mental Flaw: (some kind of fear or response conditioned into them from birth. it may be an unusual taboo, a hypnotic code word, a phobia... unlike the normal conditioning, very few are conditioned enough to 'like' their flaws, so all characters will be trying to overcome them.)
Powers: (if necromancer)
All of those apply only if applicable of course. In the setting, characters tend to have genetic or surgical modifications or splices of some kind, for practical or cosmetic reasons. Androids and that sort of thing are kind of rare though, and even more so are hyperintelligent AIs. Some modifications are quite outlandish, and that is allowed. Many are related to conditioning, to make them more efficient at whatever task they are conditioned for.
You can start with either of these ships. While the fighter packs a punch and can get you to places quick, you can carry a lot of people and equipment in the shuttle which will aid your survival assuming.
Shuttle:
- Phased-array Pulse Laser █ 12 Kj/Pp
- 3 Railguns @ 1 kg, 2000 m/s
- Fusion Engine
- Hybrid Ramjet
- Kinetic Shield @ 0.05 T.Y. PS
- Cargo: 250,000kg
- Size: An-225
Escort Fighter:
- Phased-array Pulse Laser █ 20 Kj/Pp
- 5 Railguns @ 2 kg, 3000 m/s
- 3 Guided Missiles /w 0.2 T.Y.
- Kinetic Shield @ 0.75 T.Y. PS
- Fusion Torch █ 1.44 Kj/s
- Stellar Drive
- Advanced Thrust-Vectored Hybrid Ramjet
- Payload: 15,000kg (no bombs at the start though)
- Size: B-2 Spirit
(both are adapted to operation and even combat in aquatic environments of both water and liquid hydrocarbons)
As a writing note, the ships have incredibly high accelerations made possible by advances in fueling technologies and catalyzed fusion efficiency. This makes it necessary for the crew to be immersed in oxygenated liquid in order to dampen the acceleration and prevent blackout. After acceleration has ended they can safely emerge, although in fighters there is often a need to accelerate quickly at short notice. The liquid also has the capability to place the passengers in suspended animation. Due to the need to circulate the liquid into the lungs, it is important that life support remains uninterrupted - the chamber assists with ventilation like an iron lung.
If one of the crew is a genius engineer, they can start with a modification. These are:
Stealth Generator - The Stellar field, a field used by drives in order to create the warp bubble and prevent causality violation, can also be used to shunt away the heat signature of your craft. Leads to other drive modifications. Requires Stellar Drive.
Focus Drugs - This allows the option of releasing certain formulations into the liquid-filled cockpit (comes with a supply of pills too) that enhances your physical and mental abilities, which is indispensible in combat situations. If your character is resistant to anesthetics and other drugs, they tend to benefit less. Those who get intoxicated easily can achieve temporary hyperintelligence. Obviously, use of this leads to side affects and addictions, rarely lethal. Leads to other mind technologies. No requirements.
Body Interface - This enables tracking of the pilot's motions, down to microscopic ones in the eyes. This intuitive interface allows the pilot to control his or her ship without the need for control panels or consoles, drastically enhances the pilot's performance in all situations. Occasional malfunctions. Leads to interface technologies. No requirements.
Engine Upgrade - Doubles your available delta-v and acceleration. While the not the most exciting of modifications, it may be the one that helps your chances of survival the most. Leads to other utility technologies. No requirements.
Runes - This allows your ship to act as a focus for your powers, magnifying their extent immensely. Requires Necromancery.
Other - Suggest one and it may be considered.
For reference, here is the statistics of your asteroid habitat and a gunship. The statistics of alien craft are unknown, but from performance appear far superior.
Habitat:
- 150 Railguns @ 3 kg, 2000 m/s
- 50 Guided Missiles /w 1.6 T.Y.
- Kinetic Shield @ 7.63 T.Y. PS
- Fleet: A pair of gunship, and many fighters and shuttles
- Population: 5.2 million
Gunship:
- 100 Railguns (extremely high rate of fire /w explosive munitions) @ 6 kg, 7000 m/s
- Kinetic Shield /w Buffers @ 12.89 T.Y. PS
- Fusion Torch █ 6.23 Kj/s
- Stellar Drive
- Ammunition Factory
The gunship is a specialised unit with immense railgun ability, containing almost half a million tons of ammunition. You can't have one, but they are guarding the habitat and will lead any evacuation efforts.
If you don't know how to start, be an escort fighter or shuttle in one of the official evacuations, which will give you support. Evacuation 1 is to an abandoned underwater station on a Jovian moon. You can make up your own evacuation groups, codenamed whatever you like, but state the number of people, the number of fighters, and the destination (one of the stricken planets, another colony, the emptiest region of space they could find, whatever) so that I can keep track of them.
Otherwise, you can be a freelancer or lead an 'unofficial' evacuation. Feel free to encounter whatever threats you want on your way, including but not limited to aliens, pirates, robots, and necromancers. Now I've created the story the world is as much in your hands to develop as it is in mine.
People & Persons:
Aesop:
Name: Eh, he's the captain. Mind your own buisiness.
Gender: Male
Weapon: He has the mandated gun, but other than that he has a multifunction combat knife.
Species: Human
Description:
Conditioning:
Spacecraft Name/Type/Appearance: Gunship known as Phobos, for a moon which had shipyards that built the prototype, in an alien system, which was also named after a god. The design was discovered in a shipwreck in the outer part of the solar system, from beings that resemble humans and may have been related to them before the first apocalypse. In appearance, it is very utilarian and practical, with no aesthetic features at all. It almost seems to be constructed from tubes welded together. Some sections are rings with spin-gravity, others are almost totally robotic railgun platforms, mining equipment and ammunition.
Mental Flaw:
The history of the planet was one of death and destruction, it seemed. Originally it was a refuge for those who tried to escape as great wars erupted in various parts of the galaxy. It was a paradise of sorts, a terraformed home for those who had found no other hope. The war would soon end, it seemed, but this was a place that billions could find their permanant home in.
All they had achieved was to trap themselves. The skies lit up with the light of weaponry, the cries of death. All civilisation on the planet was extinguished. Years passed, countless dawns and sunsets. Nothing happened.
Only red stars and stellar remnants persist, yet they will faithfully give their light until the end. As will the gunfire.
In a rare moment in the dying galaxy, it seemed that a turn of fortune had taken place. The sapients who had once taken refuge on the planet banded together and formed tribes. Nations. Finally, an empire. They vowed that they would protect themselves. That it would never happen again.
Powerful figures took hold, and used the lingering memory of the old apocalypse to control the populace. They discovered the unwritten rules of psychological manipulation. Eventually, an order formed that had utter control, by intense conditioning and mind techniques, over the thoughts and feelings of the masses.
This was not to last. As space travel became a commodity, there was a mass exodus to the asteroid colonies of the inner belt and Kuiper belt. Asteroid cities were set up to house the migrating population. The government tried, but it was too late to exact control over these. However, talk of rebellion rarely became violent. The conditioning was far too deep, having been rooted in generations.
It wasn't the colonies that would be the downfall of the empire, but they would contribute. Only a few years before now, a radio telescope on one of the outer asteroids had discovered something amazing. Life! The reply was surprisingly swift. It came in the form of multi-petaton impacts on every planet. History had repeated itself.
For days it rained fire. Everywhere. Then the mop-up fleet arrived. It was a genocide on a scale unimaginable, within only weeks. We were doomed, it seemed.
Fortunately or not, it would happen that the excitable aliens would be distracted by something in a gas giant moon system. The destruction ceased, for a moment. You had survived. After weeks of scanning, they finally transmitted a signal for backup.
This would prove to be a terrible mistake. Dead empires of the past had left their legacy in many ways. Not all were merely curiosities. Entire worlds and ecosystems had emerged around construction nanites. Planets had become graveyards, testaments to the mass death that had taken place there. The wailing souls would linger, and then seek to move on.
These worlds became the nucleus of great and destructive phenonema. War machines of the past awakened and wrecked further destruction on the barren land, replicating. Asteroids were disassembled to fuel an endless crusade against all civilisation, a final and eternal war. Survivors on grim, death-struck worlds discovered dark secrets. Powerful entities emerged, from necromancers seeking immortality to dark gods of manifest suffering. Closer to home, government fleets still survived, with fanatical devotion and memetic influence, ready to fight to the death.
The backup signal was like a searchlight to these forces. Only a few days after it was sent out, a second barrage of superluminal missiles arrived. The interstellar artillery of paranoid species around the galaxy, desperate to destroy anything that may reveal them. Many of the species that contributed to this volley would have backstabbed each other with no remorse if it would keep the Damocles sword suspended for just one more moment. Yet there they were, union in the dealing of death.
More terrifying were the sightings of what was to come. The cold steel of drones seeking out the disturbance. The masses of twisted, pulsating corpses floating together in space, flickering with gloomy energies. Undescribable oddities and horrors of all kinds.
In the midst of this, is your habitat spinning bleakly in the Kuiper belt.
Hope still remains. Whispers of a powerful race of warrior plants intent on avenging our loss. Rumours of advanced technology hidden in barren moons and rusting orbital debris. They say there are entire colonies in suspended animation out in the Oort cloud, waiting for their comet to reach the inner system again. Mysteries. Why have we survived so long? This colony has not had it's spirit broken. Your survival is up to you.
If one thing will outlast you, it will be your part, in the spirit of all of us.
You:
The character sheet is quite extensive. Because character sheet length is the true measure of a game, this is a good omen.
Name:
Gender:
Weapon:
Species: (humans, generally, but the planet was a refugee camp with a lot of variety, and new species have been created in experiments.. a lot)
Description:
Conditioning: (by neural and psychological torture techniques, new instincts are often inserted into the mind of someone from birth. this happens over generations, and may be a defining factor of entire species. in extreme cases, it may be, for example, a slave who survives only to serve their master. this is generally considered moral even by bleeding heart types of the day as the slave does not suffer. of course, actions by the state are considered moral even if people do suffer tremendously.)
Spacecraft Name/Type/Appearance:
Mental Flaw: (some kind of fear or response conditioned into them from birth. it may be an unusual taboo, a hypnotic code word, a phobia... unlike the normal conditioning, very few are conditioned enough to 'like' their flaws, so all characters will be trying to overcome them.)
Powers: (if necromancer)
All of those apply only if applicable of course. In the setting, characters tend to have genetic or surgical modifications or splices of some kind, for practical or cosmetic reasons. Androids and that sort of thing are kind of rare though, and even more so are hyperintelligent AIs. Some modifications are quite outlandish, and that is allowed. Many are related to conditioning, to make them more efficient at whatever task they are conditioned for.
You can start with either of these ships. While the fighter packs a punch and can get you to places quick, you can carry a lot of people and equipment in the shuttle which will aid your survival assuming.
Shuttle:
- Phased-array Pulse Laser █ 12 Kj/Pp
- 3 Railguns @ 1 kg, 2000 m/s
- Fusion Engine
- Hybrid Ramjet
- Kinetic Shield @ 0.05 T.Y. PS
- Cargo: 250,000kg
- Size: An-225
Escort Fighter:
- Phased-array Pulse Laser █ 20 Kj/Pp
- 5 Railguns @ 2 kg, 3000 m/s
- 3 Guided Missiles /w 0.2 T.Y.
- Kinetic Shield @ 0.75 T.Y. PS
- Fusion Torch █ 1.44 Kj/s
- Stellar Drive
- Advanced Thrust-Vectored Hybrid Ramjet
- Payload: 15,000kg (no bombs at the start though)
- Size: B-2 Spirit
(both are adapted to operation and even combat in aquatic environments of both water and liquid hydrocarbons)
As a writing note, the ships have incredibly high accelerations made possible by advances in fueling technologies and catalyzed fusion efficiency. This makes it necessary for the crew to be immersed in oxygenated liquid in order to dampen the acceleration and prevent blackout. After acceleration has ended they can safely emerge, although in fighters there is often a need to accelerate quickly at short notice. The liquid also has the capability to place the passengers in suspended animation. Due to the need to circulate the liquid into the lungs, it is important that life support remains uninterrupted - the chamber assists with ventilation like an iron lung.
If one of the crew is a genius engineer, they can start with a modification. These are:
Stealth Generator - The Stellar field, a field used by drives in order to create the warp bubble and prevent causality violation, can also be used to shunt away the heat signature of your craft. Leads to other drive modifications. Requires Stellar Drive.
Focus Drugs - This allows the option of releasing certain formulations into the liquid-filled cockpit (comes with a supply of pills too) that enhances your physical and mental abilities, which is indispensible in combat situations. If your character is resistant to anesthetics and other drugs, they tend to benefit less. Those who get intoxicated easily can achieve temporary hyperintelligence. Obviously, use of this leads to side affects and addictions, rarely lethal. Leads to other mind technologies. No requirements.
Body Interface - This enables tracking of the pilot's motions, down to microscopic ones in the eyes. This intuitive interface allows the pilot to control his or her ship without the need for control panels or consoles, drastically enhances the pilot's performance in all situations. Occasional malfunctions. Leads to interface technologies. No requirements.
Engine Upgrade - Doubles your available delta-v and acceleration. While the not the most exciting of modifications, it may be the one that helps your chances of survival the most. Leads to other utility technologies. No requirements.
Runes - This allows your ship to act as a focus for your powers, magnifying their extent immensely. Requires Necromancery.
Other - Suggest one and it may be considered.
For reference, here is the statistics of your asteroid habitat and a gunship. The statistics of alien craft are unknown, but from performance appear far superior.
Habitat:
- 150 Railguns @ 3 kg, 2000 m/s
- 50 Guided Missiles /w 1.6 T.Y.
- Kinetic Shield @ 7.63 T.Y. PS
- Fleet: A pair of gunship, and many fighters and shuttles
- Population: 5.2 million
Gunship:
- 100 Railguns (extremely high rate of fire /w explosive munitions) @ 6 kg, 7000 m/s
- Kinetic Shield /w Buffers @ 12.89 T.Y. PS
- Fusion Torch █ 6.23 Kj/s
- Stellar Drive
- Ammunition Factory
The gunship is a specialised unit with immense railgun ability, containing almost half a million tons of ammunition. You can't have one, but they are guarding the habitat and will lead any evacuation efforts.
If you don't know how to start, be an escort fighter or shuttle in one of the official evacuations, which will give you support. Evacuation 1 is to an abandoned underwater station on a Jovian moon. You can make up your own evacuation groups, codenamed whatever you like, but state the number of people, the number of fighters, and the destination (one of the stricken planets, another colony, the emptiest region of space they could find, whatever) so that I can keep track of them.
Otherwise, you can be a freelancer or lead an 'unofficial' evacuation. Feel free to encounter whatever threats you want on your way, including but not limited to aliens, pirates, robots, and necromancers. Now I've created the story the world is as much in your hands to develop as it is in mine.
People & Persons:
Aesop:
Name: Eh, he's the captain. Mind your own buisiness.
Gender: Male
Weapon: He has the mandated gun, but other than that he has a multifunction combat knife.
Species: Human
Description:
Conditioning:
Spacecraft Name/Type/Appearance: Gunship known as Phobos, for a moon which had shipyards that built the prototype, in an alien system, which was also named after a god. The design was discovered in a shipwreck in the outer part of the solar system, from beings that resemble humans and may have been related to them before the first apocalypse. In appearance, it is very utilarian and practical, with no aesthetic features at all. It almost seems to be constructed from tubes welded together. Some sections are rings with spin-gravity, others are almost totally robotic railgun platforms, mining equipment and ammunition.
Mental Flaw:
Last edited by Aesop on Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:57 pm; edited 9 times in total
