The Campaign Builder's Guild

I, too, have been brainstorming a sci-fantasy setting, so I'll toss out my ideas and you're welcome to them if any are interesting to you.

So, at a point in the near future, humans mastered cryosleep and sent sleeper ships to the nearest star systems to explore and colonize. One such ship crashed on a world which was inhabited by stone-age tech creatures. Humans couldn't survive in the atmosphere or on the food, and as they couldn't repare their tech easily, they died out in a few generations. But they taught this race many things, became the foundation of their mythology, and gave them a head start on their technological development.

The world itself is a planet around a red dwarf, and it orbits so close that it is tidaly locked. On the day side rages a giant hurricane. One race lives here, a religious and warlike race that worships the all seeing red eye that can be seen if you venture to the heart of the huricane and look up through the clouds. This race has metallic skin to fend off the radiation from the sun's frequent flares.

On the night side dwells a race with mutagenic properties. Their technology consists of "items" they have grown. Their weapons, armor, homes, and devices are all technically their same species. They are scientifically advanced, having had the benefit of moons and stars and planets to watch and develop astronomy and maths. They live near volcanic vents and hot springs, bastions of warmth on the cold night side.

The race that learned from the humans live primarily along the terminator, a band between the night and day side. Here there are frequent rain storms. The land is made up of many islands, most of them peninsulas of larger continents on the day or night side. This race is the most "human-like".

The fourth race is a small, batlike winged race that uses the constant high altitude winds to wander like nomads. They are incredible navigators and are well recieved amongst the other three races, facilitating trade of materials and information.

Now, this setting is designed to be more of a fantasy setting, with medeival tech and psychic powers filling the role of magic. The big foes of the setting have united the four races. You see, due to time taken for the humans to travel to this system, another hroup of humans have now arrived hundreds of thousands years later. These humans have evolved into something like grey aliens, and their callous exploration of the world has made them into an adversary. Their incredible technology makes them potent foes, and all the races can do to fight them is deal with exploration parties and disable their communications towers, as they lack the ability to directly target their ships.

I do like your base ideas. Since you have psionic/biotic powers, you could have strange limbless creatures that use minor telekinesis to manipulate objects. I really think you should go with a evolutionary/mutagenic race like the zerg that grow their technology and ships; imagine a pc whose gun is their sibling.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about habitability. If the setting is sci-fi or sci-fantasy, you can easily have atmosphere suits and other devices for living on and exploring other worlds.

Steerpike, Very interesting ideas... The Nano Swarm one gives me ideas, but not sure it'd work. I want the Blackout to be mysterious, but if a species was already space-faring they certainly would have noticed that happening so it'd be less a Blackout and more an Infestation. Still intriguing though. Much to think on.

Xeviat, thanks for the suggestions. I don't think any will really work since they seem very much a part of their own setting, but cool ideas none-the-less. Also not too sure on the Biotech Race... Doesn't really tickle my imagination. I do want another PC race but that one's just not doing it for me.

The Biotic Race is certainly a good one for a "Monster" that I've also been considering. There's a reason all the PC races are Bipedal, Bilaterally symmetrical humanoids, so any PC race would need to fall into that category for the most part. Shapes and Sizes can, of course differ quite a bit, but they should stay close to that.

What I've been doing is just combing through Google images for interesting alien designs for anything that strikes my fancy. Have yet to find another one I like yet, though.

I'm not worrying about Habitability at all, like you said, that's what Suits are for.

Quote from: Tensen01I want the Blackout to be mysterious, but if a species was already space-faring they certainly would have noticed that happening so it'd be less a Blackout and more an Infestation.

So is the idea that the Blackout happened all at once? Like, one moment, stars... the next, they're gone? I was picturing a kind of creeping darkness sweeping throughout the galaxy, but maybe it's more of a cataclysmic flip of the light-switch situation?

Quote from: Steerpike

Quote from: Tensen01I want the Blackout to be mysterious, but if a species was already space-faring they certainly would have noticed that happening so it'd be less a Blackout and more an Infestation.

So is the idea that the Blackout happened all at once? Like, one moment, stars... the next, they're gone? I was picturing a kind of creeping darkness sweeping throughout the galaxy, but maybe it's more of a cataclysmic flip of the light-switch situation?

No, it was a creeping thing, but no one knows what is was. A bunch of nano bots creating a Dyson sphere would be a pretty obvious occurrence though.

That's probably true, assuming the nano-bots can be analyzed from afar. So you're leaning towards more of a mystic/magical/preternatural exaplanation?

Quote from: Steerpike
That's probably true, assuming the nano-bots can be analyzed from afar. So you're leaning towards more of a mystic/magical/preternatural exaplanation?

Not necessarily no. I'm leaning more towards Unnatural event disguised as a natural disaster.The Blackout was engineered. The Why and Who I haven't decided on just yet. It may have been intentional or accidental, not sure.

It's a question whose answer, in game, is so far in the future that I have time to think on it, but I'd equate where I'm going to the Apocalypse in Dark Sun but with more mystery.

Working on a more detailed map, adding locations and such. Open to ideas for interesting places or odd phenomena to add.

New PC Race.

The Ha'Lii (Halfling)
- Centaur-like mammalian race. Primarily agrarian society. Require a slightly Nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Fairly new to interstellar travel.
- Ha'Lii can learn to harness the Void, but do not have any Void-based societal traditions.
- Estimated Population: 850,000
- Current Homeworld: Shiir, Terris' moon



Ideas for Backgrounds (Please suggest ideas)
(In Fantasy AGE, backgrounds are basically occupations or social roles the player had before they became who they currently are. Each Background gives a choice between two Skill Foci.)

Criminal
Doctor
Law Enforcement
Miner
Mechanic
Pirate
Politician
Pilot
Scientist
Student
Soldier
Trader
Traveler

Which Halfling culture are you going to be using for those Ha'Lii? Hobbit style or modern gypsy style?

Quote from: Xeviat
Which Halfling culture are you going to be using for those Ha'Lii? Hobbit style or modern gypsy style?

My intent was Hobbit style, but I'd totally forgotten about the more nomadic gypsy style. And there's no reason they can't be combined :D

So here's my current list of Backgrounds. Since this game is basically going to be in a post-scarcity society I'm ignoring Social Classes. What I'm going to do instead is pick a number of Backgrounds that fit with each Race, so each race will have a list of available backgrounds.

Backgrounds

Academic   
Focus: Intelligence (Research) or Willpower (Memory)
Athlete         
Focus:   Strength (Might)         or   Dexterity (Acrobatics)
Bounty Hunter   
Focus:   Perception (Tracking)         or   Intelligence (Linguistics)
Diplomat      
Focus:   Communication (Diplomacy)      or   Intelligence (Cultural Lore)
Drug Lord      
Focus:   Communication (Persuasion)      or   Communication (Deception)
Engineer      
Focus:   Tech (Engineering)         or   
Explorer      
Focus:   Intelligence (Navigation)      or   Intelligence (Linguistics)
Gangster      
Focus:   Strength (Intimidation)      or   Dexterity (Shotgun)
Hacker         
Focus:   Tech (Hacking)         or   Tech (Security Systems)
Law Enforcement   
Focus:   Communication (Investigation)   or   Perception (Searching)
Media Personality   
Focus:   Communication (Performance)   or   Willpower (Morale)
Medical Personnel   
Focus:   Willpower (Morale)         or   Tech (First Aid)   
Miner         
Focus:   Tech (Demolitions)         or   Dexterity (EVA)
Pilot         
Focus:   Tech (Piloting)         or   Tech (Navigation)
Pirate         
Focus:   Strength (Intimidation)      or   Tech (Piloting)
Politician      
Focus:   Communication (Deception)      or   Communication (Leadership)
Revolutionary      
Focus:   Communication (Leadership)      or   Tech (Demolitions)
Scientist      
Focus:   Intelligence (Natural Sciences)   or   Intelligence (Research)
Scoundrel      
Focus:   Communication (Gambling)      or   Communication (Deception)
Scout         
Focus:   Intelligence (Survival)      or   Tech (Piloting)
Smuggler      
Focus:   Communication (Deception)      or   Communication (Bargaining)
Soldier         
Focus:   Perception (Assault Rifles)      or   Dexterity (Grenades)
Spy         
Focus:   Communication (Disguise)      or   Communication (Deception)
Technician      
Focus:   Tech (Combat Tech)         or   Tech Synthetics
Thief         
Focus:   Tech (Security Systems)      or   Dexterity (Sneaking)
Trader         
Focus:   Communication (Bargaining)      or   Intelligence (Evaluation)

If it's really post-scarcity, why are there bounty hunters, pirates and smugglers?

Quote from: Ghostman
If it's really post-scarcity, why are there bounty hunters, pirates and smugglers?

Why are there now? Just because a Society is Post-scarcity doesn't mean that it's completely equal and fair across the board or that everything's free, just that, theoretically  goods, services and information are universally accessible. Theoretically the US is very nearly post-scarcity, but there are still people in poverty through no fault of there own. This isn't Star Trek, which makes no sense, there is still crime and criminals and people who need something they're kept from having by other people who don't want them to have those things, or who want them for themselves.

Let's say this setting could easily be Post-Scarcity, but there are plenty of people in powerful positions who will not allow that to happen.

Anyway, I'm running into a kind of Major roadblock as I start statting out the Races and attempt to bring them into the System. Well, It's only with one race really. The Autons.

Here's the problem: I'm having trouble justifying any Auton character having a "Background" which in AGE is basically an Occupation you had before you became the Wizard/Rongue/Fighter that you are now (See a couple posts above for the list). I mean, these are artificial beings with next to no formal society, what do they need with jobs?

Let's look at the Warforged, whom I based them off of: Every single one of them was built to be a soldier. Yes, they had various types, but at the core, they were all soldiers. Then they gained sentience and now are trying to find who they are. Now, I'm not saying that's what the Autons are like, but imagine now that you had to write some backgrounds for those Warforged, they'd all end up being military and I wouldn't want that, but having them be able to be Gangsters or Politicians wouldn't make sense.

Maybe the problem is that I don't know where the Autons came from or what their function was before arriving in-system. Is this a Geth situation? Or is it a District 9 situation? So far all I know about the Autons is that they are Bio-mechanical organisms and they cannot reproduce, so every Auton there currently is are all the Autons that will ever be. They are also all unsure of their origins. Now that doesn't mean they don't remember where they were before arriving here, just that they don't know How or by Whom they were created.

So what do you think? I'm sure figuring out where they came from and how they came to be will be extremely helpful, but I am completely blanking on any ideas, and I don't want to lose the race as a PC race. Help?