Easterner9504
SOC-13
Holes
Four years and no new worlds! Surely some evil GM's have created new dystopias.
Four years and no new worlds! Surely some evil GM's have created new dystopias.
Hellholes of the Third Imperium
- Thread starter captainjack
- Start date
I need to learn more about Traveller. I have been tempted by a thought of a Traveller scout ship finding a TL 3 planet, with odd things going on. The inhabitants, of course no starships, don't realize how odd things really are.
But my imagination fails at that point. Maybe in June, after I move, I'll have time to work on it. One of my sisters ran a 'Chill' rpg game sessions for a while. So I'll ask her to assist.
But my imagination fails at that point. Maybe in June, after I move, I'll have time to work on it. One of my sisters ran a 'Chill' rpg game sessions for a while. So I'll ask her to assist.
What a fantastic resource CaptainJack. I've been reading through your Hellholes for days now. Pure Magic thank you for your creativity.
How did it go with Permia? Did you ever get a chance to run it?
Nonespecial
SOC-4
I haven't read through this yet (I have only read the first page) but one thing I've found when generating my very own entire sector is there is actually great joy to be had in building subsectors entirely randomly and seeing what the results turn out like. I've done this before with CT (only one subsector though - by hand) but I've been using online resources to build out T5 sectors and then basically rummaging through the generated data. For the most part I've kept what has been generated and only made a few tweaks here and there. A huge part of the fun of this game to me is simply building out the different systems, analyzing the results, and then coming up with creative ways of explaining why they are that way. I think I end up with much better overall results that way as my imagination *has* to be sparked to logically (or creatively) deduce why these systems are found in the state they are.
During my time doing this I wanted to add a few ideas that might help others doing something similar to me:
1) Don't forget that just because the planet "looks" the way it does currently doesn't mean that it was this way earlier in the planet's history. Perhaps the atmosphere became corrosive due to some new manufacturing processes and the government running the planet was too corrupt (or bribed) to do anything about it? Maybe a low water planet with a large population had more water but they literally have used up most of the planet's water supply? In other words, just because your rolled up planet shows it has ridiculous stats that should not at all support some high population means the population necessarily grew that size under those same conditions.
2) What about the other side of the coin? Why would a planet that should support a perfectly good sized population (such as a A787000) not have anyone living there? And how could it even have a starport? Well, perhaps the planet was recently terraformed, the starport was constructed in orbit around the planet, and just because the census shows no population currently there really are some colonists on the planet and the census is wrong? Maybe the planet had a population but they all died due to some horrible accident, disease, or some nature predator that is so vile that nobody wants to live there and maybe should be red zoned? If it is a dieback world and has a TL greater than 0 then perhaps it had a population but everyone died off mysteriously? Maybe the threat still exists on the planet that the PC's could encounter if raiding it for salvage? Maybe the inhabitants went crazy and killed each other off down to the last person? Or just maybe perhaps the planet is under contention from multiple governments who have all agreed not to settle the world at all until they come to an agreement? Maybe the government (or a corporation) is up to no good and wants to scare away new colonists so the world now has a reputation for being "haunted"? (Sure - a whole planet "haunted" - this is Traveller - why not?)
Anyway - my recommendation if you are building your own systems is to NOT fudge the dice too much - leave them alone and instead just start thinking about how could such a situation exist? And don't forget about natural (and man-made) disasters and areas in our own world. For example, nuclear accidents have rendered entire cities (or sections) unlivable. In Traveller I'm sure an entire planet or even an entire system could be made uninhabitable (or made much more difficult to inhabit anyway) - after all, higher technology could lead to even greater mistakes.
Just my two cents. Hope this wasn't a waste of time to people having difficulty coming up with reasonable explanations of how worlds got to be how they are. I've reached the point with my own created worlds that I am starting to find it more difficult coming up with ways to differentiate all the Garden and other "nice" worlds from each other - its harder for me now!
During my time doing this I wanted to add a few ideas that might help others doing something similar to me:
1) Don't forget that just because the planet "looks" the way it does currently doesn't mean that it was this way earlier in the planet's history. Perhaps the atmosphere became corrosive due to some new manufacturing processes and the government running the planet was too corrupt (or bribed) to do anything about it? Maybe a low water planet with a large population had more water but they literally have used up most of the planet's water supply? In other words, just because your rolled up planet shows it has ridiculous stats that should not at all support some high population means the population necessarily grew that size under those same conditions.
2) What about the other side of the coin? Why would a planet that should support a perfectly good sized population (such as a A787000) not have anyone living there? And how could it even have a starport? Well, perhaps the planet was recently terraformed, the starport was constructed in orbit around the planet, and just because the census shows no population currently there really are some colonists on the planet and the census is wrong? Maybe the planet had a population but they all died due to some horrible accident, disease, or some nature predator that is so vile that nobody wants to live there and maybe should be red zoned? If it is a dieback world and has a TL greater than 0 then perhaps it had a population but everyone died off mysteriously? Maybe the threat still exists on the planet that the PC's could encounter if raiding it for salvage? Maybe the inhabitants went crazy and killed each other off down to the last person? Or just maybe perhaps the planet is under contention from multiple governments who have all agreed not to settle the world at all until they come to an agreement? Maybe the government (or a corporation) is up to no good and wants to scare away new colonists so the world now has a reputation for being "haunted"? (Sure - a whole planet "haunted" - this is Traveller - why not?)
Anyway - my recommendation if you are building your own systems is to NOT fudge the dice too much - leave them alone and instead just start thinking about how could such a situation exist? And don't forget about natural (and man-made) disasters and areas in our own world. For example, nuclear accidents have rendered entire cities (or sections) unlivable. In Traveller I'm sure an entire planet or even an entire system could be made uninhabitable (or made much more difficult to inhabit anyway) - after all, higher technology could lead to even greater mistakes.
Just my two cents. Hope this wasn't a waste of time to people having difficulty coming up with reasonable explanations of how worlds got to be how they are. I've reached the point with my own created worlds that I am starting to find it more difficult coming up with ways to differentiate all the Garden and other "nice" worlds from each other - its harder for me now!
A gerontocracy... each city has a council of the oldest 21 citizens. The only ways off the council are death or depersonhood... Council members are required to record when 2 or more are present in the same room or outside on the same block; all those are available for review at any time.
By death, it can be deletion of personality or the self administration of lethal injection.
Depersonhood results in a brand and tattoo on the forehead, as well as tattoos on the eyelids. Further, a microchip is implanted. Non-persons get nutritious kibble, safe and adequate water, a capsule berth, and may do day labor; stable labor, engaging in contract, owning property, using public transit, participating in the annual review vote,
Once a year, the public are asked to vote on each council member, via ranked preference single transferable vote, between "continue," "deperson," or "death." Sentence will be carried out 10 days after the election...
The crimes that merit death, besides losing the election badly, include Premeditated murder; violent, drugged, or coercive sexual assault; slander, libel, or defamation of anyone not on the council; torture of a person or animal; abandoning one's governmental post, bribe receiving, or fraud when in public safety or medicine; flight to avoid prosecution.
Anything else is handled by Weregeld. (Life price is expected remaining lifespan at current wage; minimum is 10 years, and 10 hours/week at minimum wage for the unemployed. Anything else is by full cost of remediation.)
Trial is by high autonomous software judges.
Note that lethal injection is always the decision of the condemned; a phlebotomist places a veinous catheter, a pharmacist prepares an autoinjector with a 2×LD100 dose of IV poison; it's the condemned's choice of narcotic, neurotoxin, hemotoxin, paralytic, or an oxygenation inhibitor (IV suffocation!). They are given 24 hours to use the autoinjector; if they don't, they'll be sedated for brainwipe.
Brainwiped individuals either get a respected murdered person's recorded personality overlay, or get a simple overlay for manual labor - usually cleaning of public spaces; some are moved into the fire services as in-structure search and rescue specialists.
All brainwiped persons installed/trained personalities are aware they are in a wiped body - the manual laborers are also set not to care.
By death, it can be deletion of personality or the self administration of lethal injection.
Depersonhood results in a brand and tattoo on the forehead, as well as tattoos on the eyelids. Further, a microchip is implanted. Non-persons get nutritious kibble, safe and adequate water, a capsule berth, and may do day labor; stable labor, engaging in contract, owning property, using public transit, participating in the annual review vote,
Once a year, the public are asked to vote on each council member, via ranked preference single transferable vote, between "continue," "deperson," or "death." Sentence will be carried out 10 days after the election...
The crimes that merit death, besides losing the election badly, include Premeditated murder; violent, drugged, or coercive sexual assault; slander, libel, or defamation of anyone not on the council; torture of a person or animal; abandoning one's governmental post, bribe receiving, or fraud when in public safety or medicine; flight to avoid prosecution.
Anything else is handled by Weregeld. (Life price is expected remaining lifespan at current wage; minimum is 10 years, and 10 hours/week at minimum wage for the unemployed. Anything else is by full cost of remediation.)
Trial is by high autonomous software judges.
Note that lethal injection is always the decision of the condemned; a phlebotomist places a veinous catheter, a pharmacist prepares an autoinjector with a 2×LD100 dose of IV poison; it's the condemned's choice of narcotic, neurotoxin, hemotoxin, paralytic, or an oxygenation inhibitor (IV suffocation!). They are given 24 hours to use the autoinjector; if they don't, they'll be sedated for brainwipe.
Brainwiped individuals either get a respected murdered person's recorded personality overlay, or get a simple overlay for manual labor - usually cleaning of public spaces; some are moved into the fire services as in-structure search and rescue specialists.
All brainwiped persons installed/trained personalities are aware they are in a wiped body - the manual laborers are also set not to care.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
I had a try at that.
One province's electorate was only made up of those past retirement age, permanent residency permitted to those just preretirement.
Guest workers get restricted visas.
Tourism is permitted.
Laws apply equally to everyone, though non electorate offenders can get exiled, even permanently.
One province's electorate was only made up of those past retirement age, permanent residency permitted to those just preretirement.
Guest workers get restricted visas.
Tourism is permitted.
Laws apply equally to everyone, though non electorate offenders can get exiled, even permanently.
I always liked this thread, and the counterpart on the MgP forums.
Good to see that @captainjack is still visiting the forums here, he's interesting.
Good to see that @captainjack is still visiting the forums here, he's interesting.
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