The Imperial Penal System

[far-trader]

Just suggestions, pretty well thought out from the look of it and not in need of any changes unless you like them...

Re the prison transport, cheapest and safest method for this would be low berths, or if you want to go really cheap use emergency low berths, 4 for the price of 1. So you lose a few now and then to freezer burn, it's not like they were innocents.

Re the introduction to the new home, I'd add the waking cycle from the low berth, if using the em low you have an instant 'clique' for some of the new inmates, they wake up together. Then I'd update the 'shower' scene to an ultrasonic sound and ultraviolet light show...

..."Stand with your feet on the circles (shoulder width apart, lit up, made of clear air permeable glass) and arms pointing at the ceiling with hands open. Close you eyes NOW!" A bright light envelopes everything, if they didn't close their eyes they do now by reflex but will be temporarily blinded (less than a minute). A tickling sensation followed by a burning sensation and then cooling as the inmates outer skin layer of dead cells and any surface pathogens is burned off, along with all body hair (including eyebrows and lashes) and then blown off by ultrasonics and sucked up by fans. Blinking (those who can see) will see everyone looks like they have a mild all body sunburn and no hair anywhere. Note some species and examples, like Vargr, may require a pre-treatment to remove the bulk of hair before this is effective. So they will be taken aside before hand for a personal treatment and be added back to the general procedure later.

Spoiler - No player peeking!

Spoiler:

You do realize that the manacles won't detect non-verbal interaction, such as signing and writing?

Just how many digits is this number? What if you're bad at memorizing? What do other inmates call you? I think you're going to need to have this number prominently displayed somewhere as well. On the uniform and/or skin (tattoo). Maybe you should think about adding the "stripes" to the uniform and/or skin as well.

Spoiler - No player peeking!

Spoiler:

I can already see the title of the escape plan, "Blackout!" Kill the power or create an EMP and all you have to worry about are the guards and their weapons, which they've never had to use in earnest. Sounds like they'll have their assess handed to them.

 

[Renaissance Man]

Thanks for the ideas - these are great.

Definitely the low berth scene stays, though I probably won't use the emergency berths. Death in transport belies the ostensible purpose for the Kaim IV facility, which is supposedly the most humane in the Imperium because it seeks to rehabilitate offenders. Essentially it's a big skinner box/panopticon that teaches obedience/subservience to ones superiors (and exploitation of ones inferiors), hard work, and a universal fear of transgressing oppressive norms. Everything a wayward citizen needs.

As for the manacles - they provide the vocal and sub-vocal intelligence for the Warden. For the visual, it's all about cameras, cameras and more cameras.

Tattoo's are unnecessary for the prison admin since the manacle provides the prison id via rf, but as a reminder for the prisoners themselves about who they are a good idea.

The ultrasound/ultraviolet bath is definitely going in there - great idea!

As for your second spoiler - you got it exactly.

Thanks a lot FT

 

[Agemegos]

That's actually a really cool idea. It's definitely fairly cost effective, except for all the patrol cruisers hanging around to keep the pirates from springing their mates. But imagine - it's like Australia in the 19th century. A society of criminals and social rejects.

You have a very lurid idea of Australia in the 19th century. Free settlers outnumbered convicts from the mid-1820s. Transportation to New South Wales ended in 1847. There was a gold rush in 1850. Self-government in 1855. The last convicts sent to Australia were in 1867 (to Western Australia). South Australia was founded in 1834 and never did receive any convicts.

In the 1880s and 1890s Australia was the richest place in the world in terms of GDP per head, and the several colonies were social and political pioneers, early adopters of votes for all men, votes for women, printed ballots, old age pensions, child endowment, penal reform, recognition of trade unions, workingmen's compensation etc. I'm sure that that is not what you meant that your prison world to be like. I guess that you were thinking more in terms of "Australia about 1800".

 

[Merxiless]

Not to be the fly in the ointment, but I'd go with:

Your group is that of the last 4 survivors of the recent escape attempt at the prison planet of [insertnamehere]. You have a gun, 12 rounds of amnmunition, prison coveralls, a makeshift shiv, and a groundcar that is almost out of fuel.

You are 10 KM from Startown, travelling along the road, 50 km from the nearby prison, behind you.

(hand them a map). What are you doing?

If the prison is that hard core, the characters that weren't killed in Chargen, are going to likely be killed in the escape, leading to (in my mind, okay, sure):

Man, I died in Character Generation!
Man, I died in Minute 3 of adventure 1!
Man, I died going over the wall at minute 15!

Prisoners are sent there to rot, period. And they escape, yes, but often don't stay out, because they don't have the resources or skills to evade whoever is looking for them effectively.

That's how I see it.

Prison Planet comes up on ebay often. I thought that GDW did a good job with it, for what it's worth. Seems like that's where you are going with it.