Faction:Martian Front - A setting outline...

Mason · November 16, 2015, 10:09:17 AM

FACTION:Martian Front

By the first half of the 3rd millenia man has colonized the solar system. The economic cost of the First Space Boom sent the old-earth powers into a recession from which they would never recover. A new world order emerged after a century of war-a totalitarian government that unified the remaining earth powers and placed the colonies under their direct control. The colonies, left to fend for themselves for nearly a century while Earth waged war, lacked any real means of military power and quickly signed a treaty with the new government. They became vassals to the regime, policed by the elite space armada known as SKYGUARD, hardened veterans of a centuries old war. Martian Factions are openly rebellious-It is the year 2891 and power is changing hands once again..

The setting is inspired by (and in no particular order):Total Recall(1990), The Red Rising Trilogy, the Red Faction Video Game series, C&C:Red Alert, Red Planet, SpaceBase 2000, Dune 2:The Battle for Arrakis(1992), Destiny, etc..etc...[/i]

Setting Information

The Fall of the United Terran Government

The United Terran Government has fallen into civil war. Two months have passed since the Air Marshals were assassinated and the government toppled. High ranking members of the ruling party quickly fell upon each other with their private armies. Feudalism has returned to Earth. SKYGUARD has yet to declare which side they will fight for and no warlord has advantage over the other. A stalemate has emerged- Meanwhile on Mars, the centuries old iron-grip of the Terran Government is slipping. An opportunity for the factions of Mars has been presented.

Future Weapons

The incredible expense of future warfare has led to different practices on the battlefield, especially in space. The cost of repairing a damaged star-cruiser is immense. Destroying a vessel is catastrophic. Almost always, the objective in space warfare is to knock out the command center of the ship and capture it for refitting and redeployment ASAP. Marines are trained specifically for ship to ship combat, and most defense weaponry on-board the bigger star-cruisers are aimed at repelling such attacks. But on Mars, the biggest concern is orbital bombardment-which even the most veteran commander is wary to authorize on civilian populations.

The weapons of future war are not pretty. Despite the advances in space travel, energy manipulation, industrial production and many other fields, warfare still remains brutal-especially on Mars. Private corporations develop tanks, artillery and aircraft, powered infantry suits and mechs. Each corporation striving to outdo each other with the latest development in shielding and energy weapons. On Mars, things are more practical and gritty. Men fight with what they have and get a hold of.

Despite the political upheaval on Earth, the solar systems economy is vibrant and stable as ever. War is good for business and the megacorporations stand to gain immense profit in the years to come. Credit transactions occur instantaneously and unregulated through the nets and the true power brokers-the megacorporations and the banks of Europa. Since the assassinations of the Terran Air Marshals, the Corporate Industrial complex has been churning out weapons continuously. Mars is arming.

Colonists

The Space Boom saw the mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of people from Earth to the other planets. The people of Mars are descendants of the first generations of colonists that left earth during that time. They are fiercely independent and proud-critical of the United Terran Government in all but open rebellion. They are hard-working, determined and rugged. Generations of life in the harsh Martian landscape has given the people of Mars a serious backbone. They are rugged, ingenious and skeptical of the megacorps, who they view as outsiders.

Mars was one of the first planets colonized. The terraforming technology the early settlers used was crude and inefficient. Terraforming is still occuring in some areas of Mars. Wilds still exist, uninhabitable areas that are rarely explored. Some factions use these areas as homebases and secret camps. Supersticious settlers claim ghosts of the first colonists haunt the wilds. Some say those ghosts haunt alien ruins. Some say those stories are a cover for secret deposits of ore, held sacred by mining families for generations.

Mars is in need of continuous terraforming-the deserts push back the tide of civilization as swiftly as it is built. Ruins of bio-domes and research stations dot the cratered landscape-a reminder of how long mankind has attempted to tame the red planet. Light-rails and super-highways cross windy deserts. Old mining complexes leave open maws like mouths facing the sky. Spaceports hug population centers. It is a mix of old and new, dead and living.

The Factions

SkyGuard

SkyGuard is the elite fighting force for the United Terran Government. Politics vary within SkyGuards ranks and has maintained the mercenary spirit its founders envisioned some 500 years ago. The UTG has held contracts with SkyGuard for centuries, but the current political upheaval on Earth and the steady economic shift in power to Jupiter (and maybe Mars) has had the leadership questioning SkyGuards future with the UTG.

Skyguard was born out of the survivors of the first Luna Wars-a half century long war fought between old Terran Governments over precious metals discovered on Earths moon. It was the first war to feature space combat and many of the fundamental principles of space combat were developed. It was also the first war ended by Orbital Bombardment. After the war, pilots, engineers and commanders from all sides organized a new faction to regulate space warfare and attempt to limit the loss of lives and prevent economic disaster. This was the beginning of Skyguard.

Masamune Space Structures (MSS)

A megacorporation from the earliest era of space exploration, MSS is revered on Earth as a sacred company with a mythical founder.MSS provides millions on Earth, Jupiter and the Asteroid Field with manufacturing jobs. MSS is expanding beyond its traditional market of space colonization infrastructure. Over the past century, MSS began purchasing land and derelict structures on Mars and in Martian orbit for refitting. It could be posturing but it would seem that Masamune has made a move for Mars.

Elysium Defense Contract (EDC)

The EDC is the acting police force in Elysium City, the largest metropolitan area on Mars. Corrupt and nefarious, the EDC has been in the pocket of various criminal organizations and mega-corporations alike. Loyal to the highest bidder. Public approval for the EDC is low. EDC forces are small, but effective within the city.

The Bloody Brothers

The more extreme branches of conservative Martian colonists have taken up arms against the Megacorporations and against 'collaborators' and 'traitors', mostly civilians-workers and bureaucrats in the employ of companies. The Bloody Brothers are a loosely joined faction of many different militias, pacts and native mining conglomerates with varying ideologies but allied in that they despise the Corporations.

[ooc] This is just a broad outline of a deeper setting I was hashing out on a different set of RPG boards..Critics welcome, suggestions wanted. Forgive the formatting as I'm used to a different set of codes. Thanks for reading![/ooc]

Ghostman · November 16, 2015, 12:18:23 PM

You put FACTION right into the title of the setting, so presumably that's intended to be a big deal. Are games/stories supposed to focus on a particular faction? If the goal is some kind of Game of Thrones -esque multisided conflict then I think you'll need a large number of factions.

Mason · November 16, 2015, 12:47:42 PM

Quote from: Ghostman
You put FACTION right into the title of the setting, so presumably that's intended to be a big deal. Are games/stories supposed to focus on a particular faction? If the goal is some kind of Game of Thrones -esque multisided conflict then I think you'll need a large number of factions.

It is intended for players to control a faction yes-with some sort of system built into to roll up a new faction. There are many different forces at work-and not just on Mars, this setting just happens to focus on the action there. Jupiter and Europa would be another theatre of the conflict as well as good old earth.

Rhamnousia · November 20, 2015, 09:54:22 AM

So the implication is that your good ol' First World NATO powers have all collapsed on themselves and someone took over for them as the dominant powers of a unified world government; I guess my question is that between that massive paradigm shift and generations of colonization, how culturally distinct are these future Earthlings compared to us and in turn, how different are the Martian settlers from them?

Would love to see what you have by way of other factions, especially the criminal syndicates and other merc forces.

Rose-of-Vellum · November 20, 2015, 01:57:26 PM

I'll echo, Rhamnousia: I'd like to hear more about the culture of these humans, and the relative cultural hegemony and/or diversity that exists in the UTG and Mars.

Mason · November 22, 2015, 11:27:53 PM

Quote from: Rhamnousia
..I guess my question is that between that massive paradigm shift and generations of colonization, how culturally distinct are these future Earthlings compared to us and in turn, how different are the Martian settlers from them?

Would love to see what you have by way of other factions, especially the criminal syndicates and other merc forces.

Thanks for reading Rhamnousia. Your Manticore Gardens setting is one of my favorites on these boards-

Your questions are great, really pushing me to explore and develop FACTION much more in depth. To be honest I have put exactly zero thought into how culture has developed on Earth/Mars other than a vague notion of...some settler types. I'll have to think about that. Earth is certainly a hyper capitalist nightmare what with all the corporate bullshit, and that certainly spills over to Mars and the other planets. I'll have to give this more thought. I went in writing this with the idea that, like a 80s movie I could casually graze over the larger picture of what things are like for the average man. Looks like I'll have to step it up and get some notes down.

There are certainly criminal organizations. Well-funded criminals and terrorists certainly. Many are simply clandestine divisions of the corps. doing the jobs the company would not want to be associated with.

Xeviat · December 04, 2015, 03:45:50 PM

Definitely a cool setting. Managing a faction could make for some involved and interesting gameplay. Do you have a system you're looking at using? How deadly and decisive do you envision combat to be? I'm imagining a lot of time posturing and then a quick fight once shots are fired. I do love your reasoning for why space combat would work the way it does; resources are scarce, so you don't just want to blow enemy ships to pieces, you want to salvage.

Mason · December 04, 2015, 10:52:32 PM

Quote from: Xeviat
Definitely a cool setting. Managing a faction could make for some involved and interesting gameplay. Do you have a system you're looking at using? How deadly and decisive do you envision combat to be? I'm imagining a lot of time posturing and then a quick fight once shots are fired. I do love your reasoning for why space combat would work the way it does; resources are scarce, so you don't just want to blow enemy ships to pieces, you want to salvage.

I wouldn't even know where to look for a system for this or how to go about making something really in-depth. If I was building something from scratch it would be very simple. Your spot on with combat-it's a quick, bloody affair.

Xeviat · December 05, 2015, 02:28:42 PM

Do you intend on running games in it? How fiddly of a rules system are you looking for? I recommend something with a Toughness type system, because someone can drop from almost any amount of damage. It all depends on how heroic you want the characters to be in combat, or how cautious you want them to be.

Rhamnousia · December 05, 2015, 02:37:31 PM

FATE's a pretty good system that functions on multiple levels of scale: Romance in the Air is a good example of a FATE setting that has faction management elements to it.

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Faction:Martian Front - A setting outline...

Mason

Ghostman

Mason

Rhamnousia

Rose-of-Vellum

Mason

Xeviat

Mason

Xeviat

Rhamnousia