Hiya.... I don't post often (if I've even posted ever, I'm not exactly sure), but I've been lurking around for a while - ever since a couple of friends suggested I get on this list. I haven't even seen a post in a long time, so I hope I'm actually still receiving them, and it's just been one of those lulls. In any case, I'm writing for a bit of advice. I've gotten it into my head to work on a new game. I'm sure it'll be simply ages in development as all I've got so far is one page scrawled in a notebook with the basic "what if" premise. I must admit, though, that I've gone and intimidated myself with the setting. I intend for it to be a sort of basic space opera kind of thing (e.g. Star Trek, Bab5, etc.). Travel to the stars. Encounters with aliens. New technology. All that fun stuff. What I'm looking for is some advice on what to world-build into this. I've gone out on the web looking for science fiction rpg's, and there seem to be precious few. They appear to be largely overwhelmed by the fantasy sites. Granted, I'm trying to stay away from anything that's from a more established setting popularized in media (those same things I mentioned above). And I haven't settled on a system to use, if I'm going to use anything beyond homegrown. I guess the real question is what sorts of topics does one need to cover in developing this sort of setting? To what level of detail does one need to define alien races and cultures? Do I need a cosmological background (as I often use in fantasy settings)? And so forth. I haven't really played in a science fiction setting myself, though I've covered a wide range of fantasy and horror RPGs over the years. I don't want to miss any areas, or gloss over anything important. I'm in a very, very, very early stage of getting started on this, so anything anyone can offer on any aspect of this would be appreciated. Thanks, Jenn ---------------------------------------------------------------- GAMERS Home Page: http://www.phoenyx.net/gamers/
> What I'm looking for is some advice on what to world-build into this. I've > gone out on the web looking for science fiction rpg's, and there seem to be > precious few. They appear to be largely overwhelmed by the fantasy sites. Some recommendations: take a look at "GURPS Space". It is a sort of "space RPG construction kit", with a lot of suggestions and information about world building. I'm personally fond of the Phoenix Sector from "GURPS Space Atlas 4"; it's a sketch of a ~20 world sector, which I've used as a setting for a Space PBEM game (currently on hiatus along with most of everything else gaming-related in my life). (You can see the web pages for this game at "http://www.sonic.net/~rknop/Omar/phoenix/".) As for system: choose one you like. I've started doing some work to supporting space opera in Fudge; you can find a preliminary version of what I'm working on at "http://www.sonic.net/~rknop/Omar/fudge/" (in PDF form). This is a first version, and will be modified, expanded, and updated *sometime*-- and it may be completely not to your tastes! But just in case it is, I point you to it. If you like GURPS, it has excellent support for space games; GURPS Space is the definitive starting point, but there are other books as well. (The two Ultra-Tech books are good, "Vehicles" and "Robots" if you can stomach (otherwise ignore them), Bio-Tech if you go in for that sort of thing.) The GURPS Traveller series may also be useful; in particular, "First In" is a great book for somebody thinking about doing space opera worldbuilding. Part of the book deals with the Traveller scout service, which may be good for inspiration but not directly useful if you aren't running a Trav game. A good fraction of the book, however, deals with creating star systems and worlds. Many people still like to use the sundry Trav systems (including the original classic Traveller from the late 1970's) as a generic engine for a space opera game. -Rob ---------------------------------------------------------------- GAMERS Home Page: http://www.phoenyx.net/gamers/
At 03:21 PM 6/8/2002, Jennifer Jackson wrote:
>Hiya....
Hey Jenn, fancy seeing you here. :)
>I don't post often (if I've even posted ever, I'm not exactly sure), but
>I've been lurking around for a while - ever since a couple of friends
>suggested I get on this list. I haven't even seen a post in a long time, so
>I hope I'm actually still receiving them, and it's just been one of those
>lulls. In any case, I'm writing for a bit of advice.
That's what we're here for.
>I've gotten it into my head to work on a new game. I'm sure it'll be simply
>ages in development as all I've got so far is one page scrawled in a
>notebook with the basic "what if" premise. I must admit, though, that I've
>gone and intimidated myself with the setting. I intend for it to be a sort
>of basic space opera kind of thing (e.g. Star Trek, Bab5, etc.). Travel to
>the stars. Encounters with aliens. New technology. All that fun stuff.
You and an SF game. Will wonders never cease. :)
>What I'm looking for is some advice on what to world-build into this. I've
>gone out on the web looking for science fiction rpg's, and there seem to be
>precious few. They appear to be largely overwhelmed by the fantasy sites.
>Granted, I'm trying to stay away from anything that's from a more
>established setting popularized in media (those same things I mentioned
>above). And I haven't settled on a system to use, if I'm going to use
>anything beyond homegrown. I guess the real question is what sorts of
>topics does one need to cover in developing this sort of setting?
A lot of that will depend on what will happen in the game. If the players
are world-bound or at least have no control over what worlds they visit,
then you only need to develop those worlds in detail and any other ones can
be sketchy. Also, if this is a "Space Opera" type game, most worlds will
fit a stereotype, such as "Jungle World" or "Desert World" or "City
World". Think Star Wars. If this is more "realistic SF", then each world
will have a variety of places and types and becomes more involved to create.
>To what level of detail does one need to define alien races and cultures?
Again, that will depend on how much interaction with the PCs they will
have. Especially if the PCs can *be* non-humans. Races they will only see
or interact with briefly (only one or two exchanges, none of any real
significance) can be left undeveloped, ones that they deal with constantly
(especially in opposition) should be more heavily developed.
>Do I need a cosmological background (as I often use in fantasy settings)?
That depends. Usually, no. But alien races frequently have alien
religions (usually plural per race) as part of their cultures (unless you
decide that all "advanced" races reach a sort-of "generalized enlightened
self-interest" and discard most of their religions).
>And so forth. I haven't really played in a science fiction setting myself,
>though I've covered a wide range of fantasy and horror RPGs over the years. I
>don't want to miss any areas, or gloss over anything important.
Some people say that SF is just like fantasy with different set
dressing. And it can be done that way. But it can also be a completely
different type of game. It all depends on what you and your players want
it to be.
>I'm in a very, very, very early stage of getting started on this, so
>anything anyone can offer on any aspect of this would be appreciated.
And I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
--
Michael Feldhusen mike_f@io.com
http://www.io.com/~mike_f/
----------------------------------------------------------------
GAMERS Home Page: http://www.phoenyx.net/gamers/
Ah! My favourite setting! In truth you don't need really any more prepared stuff than you do for any other genre. The things I always want to know about are: 1: What is the FTL drive like and when can you or can't you do it? 2: Is ship to ship interaction possible while FTL? 2a: What are the standard ship-ship weapons? 3: How do you transfer between spaceships and planets? Standard questions for all campaigns: 1: What is the "common bond" for the party? 2: Proportion of "Action" scenes to "Story" scenes... (Makes a huge difference to what sort of character I design!) 3: Any unusual technologies? 3a: Are mental powers in play? 3b: Given that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, does one use technobable or arcanobable when talking about special effects? 3c: Which other parts of my science background knowledge do I have to switch off? 4: What is the status of religions? 4a: Regardless of what any given race believes, is the game universe monotheistic, polytheistic or atheistic? 4b: If deities exist how prone are they to intervene? 5: What are the norms for combat? 5a: What is the standard melee weapon? 5b: What is the standard ranged weapon? (5c: What is the life expectancy of any NPC wearing a red shirt? come to think of it, don't bother - we all know it is one scenario...) 6: Social level / government? (Just one or two words will do...) 6a: Crime level? 6b: Wealth level? 6c: Personal freedom? One can be Sci-fi and be: High Action - as in Star Wars Story - as in Star Trek Technology can be: Very different - as in Star Wars Well developed from our own - as in Star Trek Recently developed from our own - as in Blake's 7 Jules Verne was right... Alchemy was right... Wands and Spellbooks... Religion can be: Left out - as in Star Trek Vague - as in Star Wars The whole point - as in C. S. Lewis Mental powers are: common / rare / very rare / non-existant Cybernetics are: common / rare / very rare / non-existant Computers are: Minds (as in Ian M. Banks) / AI / much as now / as in (era) / mechanical / none Money can be important or, as in Star Trek, abolished. The "good guys" are... * the government - as in Star Trek * the resistance - as in Star Wars (IV to VI era) * whoever sponsors the party - usually a secret organisation * the party - as in Farscape & Dr. Who The "threat" is... * the government - as in Star Wars (IV to VI era) * various enemy races - as in Star Trek (TOS era) & Dr. Who * whoever opposes the sponsors - usually another secret organisation * someone who wants to kill the party for some or no good reason * the environment Of course the boundary between Sci-Fi and Fantasy gets blured. Consider "Saphire & Steel", "The Tomorrow People" and most of Gerry Anderson's C21 productions, and what of "Dune"? There is so much you can do! You don't need to define all that much in detail, but you do need to know what is possible, what is impossible, where the party start and what is their first big problem. Everything else can wait on what the party does. Rgds, Michael. ---------------------------------------------------------------- GAMERS Home Page: http://www.phoenyx.net/gamers/
