I debated where to put this, either here or the Cepheus Engine forum, and this thread won out. It is an initial write up for the planet Vinland in the Sword Sub-sector of the Piper-Norton Out Rim Sector. I put it up on my blog, with some ideas for handling Trade Goods, and then decided to put it here to give an idea of my thoughts. This is a draft only, so do not assume that it is cast in very hard granite, but more like a changeable sandstone.
0506 Vinland C968534-3
Take the planet Vinland, in the Sword Sub-sector. It is an Agricultural planet, with a population in the hundreds of thousands and a Tech Level of 3. The planet has been settled by a mixture of Amish and Old and New Order Mennonites. Whlle the Amish and Old Order Mennonites limit their use of technology, the New Order Mennonites do make use of steam power, and all will use modern communications equipment, i.e. cell phones and walkie-talkies for emergencies. Being pacifistic, preserving life has a high priority for them. However, the planet is under the protection of the Space Vikings, and woe to be anyone who thinks that the planet population are push-overs. While they use black powder, which they can readily make on their own, their weapons do use metallic cartridges and repeaters are plentiful. Some heavier weapons are around as well, along with some armored road engines.
There is a canning planet using metal cans, along with a large number of small canning operations using Mason jars. They also make quite a lot of cheese, and smoked and salted meat products. The quality of their products is extremely high, and a brisk trade is carried on with the surrounding worlds. Their primary import needs are for metal sheeting and tin for the cannery, along with Mason jars, although many jars are recycled from the trading planets. Side Note: In Door County, Wisonsin, there are a couple of family-run farmers markets that produce an incredible amount of very high quality canned goods in Mason Jars, to the tune of several tens of tons of goods. I view the same type of operation on Vinland by your more outlying farm groups.
A couple of side notes on Vinland. One, the planetary government has retained the services of a number of Space Viking mercenaries to assist in planetary defense. On occasion, a citizen of the planet will join the policing group, while at the same time members of the policing group become planetary citizens. While strongly against using violence, if their wifes or children are threatened, the planet's population will take action, and plenty of black powder weapons are available. There is also the Space Viking force which is not at all interested in having their planetary paradise shot up. The Space Port is rated at "C". The Tech Level there is a tad higher than the rest of the planet. A satellite communication system is in use, along with space-based detection units.
Second, there is a small group of Old Order Mennonite faith healers that have demonstrated incredible abilities to heal subjects without using standard medication or medical techniques. Attempts by outside groups to kidnap one of these have been uniformly unsuccessful, either as a result of violent action being taken by the planetary populace, or by other, as yet, unexplained disasters visited on the kidnapping party. You have been warned.
The following is a really basic write-up that I did based on the SectorMaker data that produced the planet. I did make some changes, all right, more than some, and I am debating keeping the A Primary. That may change.
Hopefully, there will be no problems with naming the religious groups that have settled on the planet. If a moderator decides that there is, let me know and I will make the needed changes.
Edit Note: It looks like mentioning specific groups has survived moderation, but still watching it.
)
