The Campaign Builder's Guild

[ic=James T. Kirk]'Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.'[/ic]

Well. Sort of. The USS Ark is not the enterprise by any stretch of the imagination. A vast, titanic ship with a carrying capacity of 6,000,000,000, it is the final, unforgivable result of humanity's drive to expand. Every alien being, every lifeform foreign to man's perception, everything considered unnatural - was brought to ground and hunted, exterminated. Only one man - an individual mysteriously known as 'Noah' - had the power and drive to act against this. The result was the disappearance of the USS Ark - the largest colony ship yet constructed - from her dry-dock in the Texas Military Refitting Spaceport, and the escape of around five and a half billion alien fugitives from camps, prison cells and indeed, from right under the noses of hunting parties.

 A New Life

For twenty years, the USS Ark has been flying merrily towards the edge of the human-infested galactic empire, almost unnoticed under her vast cloaking system. Although human fleets have followed it, they can only match its speed - meaning that so far, the Ark has not been harassed by military vessels. But things are changing. The stasis compartments that kept each species frozen have mysteriously shut down. Power failures wrack the ship, and the engines are slowing... meaning that the human fleets are catching up. Where is Noah? Is he dead? Has he abandoned them? Can they fight off the human fleets and repair the ship? These are questions that must, somehow, be answered.

 The Dream

So what is the Ark like at present? A thousand species working together in perfect harmony, coming together to help one another in a crisis? A true symbol of the sentient ability to put aside their differences and thrust towards a common aim when everything is at stake?

Well... not exactly. A sizable portion of the species have different languages, different ethnic groups and different religions even amongst themselves, and if they're not fighting one another, they can usually find some grievance against another race that they can use. The human compartment - for there is one of those - is open, and the most peacable race in the galaxy (according to the Encyclopedia Universalis, the Hyin of Dugan) will turn sour when confronted with one of those. Tensions are rising, and many of the compartments have broken down into outright warfare. The crew deck and cantina are held in the iron grip of the Tsochari, who, along with a few other similar species, have possessed most of the skeleton crew that were running the ship (meaning that they are probably the only creatures that know what might be going on).

 Magic and Psionics

Unfortunately for most passengers of the ship, the USS Ark, like all ships of its class, is equipped with a Mk 2 Leyline Reality Distortion System - effectively, a mostly-successful replication of the magical field found on certain planets (including, in a weak form, earth). This means that those trained in its usage - or in usage of similar, natural systems - can perform supernatural acts in all working areas aboard the ship. Of course, certain individuals also have mental abilities which are unrelated to magic, a wide-stretching discipline usually referred to generally as 'psionics'.

 Demons, Devils, and the Fiends of the Outer Realms

The first exploration of the Outer Reaches of the galaxy occurred only seventy-three years ago, and was conducted by the USS Simba, a scout ship considered one of the best of its kind with one of the most experienced crews. Whilst the exploration was mostly uneventful and few resources were found, a phenomenon now named the 'Kruzo Effect' or 'Kruzo Disease' was observed in detail - the appearance of apparently random computer spasms, hallucinations in the crew, random psychological breakdowns, malfunctioning of equipment and so on, although all on a relatively small scale. The most common hallucinations were of various hellish-looking beings - horned, winged, spiked, chained, they came in many varieties but they all appeared. On one occasion, three members of the crew in Hydroponics completely disappeared without trace. These manifestations are known as 'fiends', 'devils' or 'demons' in the colloquial speech of the human empire, and many other species copied this in later years, up to the present day. It seems likely that as the ship penetrates further into the so-called 'Kruzo Field' surrounding the universe, these symptoms will begin to manifest - if they haven't already.

 Robots, Androids, Cyborgs, Drones, Golems and Clockwork Men

[note]Clockwork man: Term usually used to refer to robots and other forms of artificial intelligence. Featured in several children's stories, often used as a method of scaring children (i.e. 'The clockwork men come and get children who don't go to sleep.') (Encyclopedia Galactica, page 1020523)[/note]
All of the above - among infinite other names for effectively the same base object - are names for artificial intelligence, or more specifically, that artificial intelligence found in bodies of vaguely human size and vaguely sentient levels. 'Drone' refers to a relatively unintelligent, single-task robot, 'android' to one that can pass off as a member of a sentient species (usually, but not always, a form of human), 'golem' to a creature at least partially powered by magic and 'cyborg' to a creature that also includes living tissue. Despite the legal ban on commercial usage of these beings (other than cyborgs who, provided they are 65% human, are legal with consent by the individual), there are hundreds of them aboard the ship, generally replacing crew members, although some of them act independently. Most of them, however, seem to have had some kind of memory complication in the recent past - meaning that none of those affected can remember exactly what happened before systems started to go wrong.

The most terrifying example of artificial intelligence on the ship, however, is HIM 2.0, the Higher Intelligence Model (second software package). HIM is technically present everywhere, although he rarely makes an appearance. According to the most knowledgeable, HIM has suffered some kind of fault - he appears to have split into several personalities, each governing an area of the ship. Some of these personalities are benign, some malevolent, some merely insane - there is a section on Subdeck 29 where the gravity is constantly being switched on and off at apparent random - but none of them are ever willing to discuss the current state of the ship beyond basic details, and many of them never speak at all (it takes a lot of effort to even speak to the ship's computer, showing that something is wrong). The entirety of the four Bridge decks are closed off, and cannot be accessed - merely adding to the general sinister feel of the entire thing.

 The Real World

Matters are not helped aboard the ship by the presence of the Emergency Holographic Contingency Simulation Matrix, or 'XM' as it is commonly pronounced. This is effectively a system designed to, should the ship's stasis modules shut down, provide a false reality to soothe the passengers until they can be returned to stasis - hopefully without them ever realising they're trapped inside a storage space. This has only worked in certain areas - such as the Hyin module - and effectively works by finding in your brain your perfect reality and creating a simulated version in which you can happily reside. Entering this false reality is possible via several maintenance substations scattered throughout the decks, and is referred to (perhaps in some now-obscure ancient pop culture reference) as 'entering the Matrix'. It can, however, be difficult to convince those within the Matrix that they are living in a virtual reality.

How did 6,000,000,000 aliens get on board? Don't tell me they were all in Texas :-p

Why was the Ark built in the first place?

QuoteHow did 6,000,000,000 aliens get on board? Don't tell me they were all in Texas :P

>.> Deus ex machina?

No, seriously though. Effectively, most of them were teleported (sometimes out of supposedly teleport-proof cells, although not generally, because why waste that kind of cell on something nobody would ever want to rescue?) and onto various stasis-equipped shuttles where they were put into XM and Noah introduced himself (although not in the flesh, because the XM system is virtual and you can appear as anything, even a disembodied voice). Mostly believing themselves to be in some kind of heaven, they went to bed or hibernated or meditated or just relaxed enough that they could be frozen into stasis inside the pods that they were already physically inhabiting.

The Ark was one of several similar colony ships built for two main purposes by the human government. Their first purpose was to allow rapid settlement of new worlds and transit of large amounts of humans. Their second, more secretive purpose is as part of a contingency plan by the humans - should something absolutely cataclysmic happen - say some alien species more powerful than the humans appearing - large populations could be loaded onto them and sent shooting off to find new worlds to colonise.

When you mention the Tsochari, are you thinking about the bodystealers from Lords of Madness?
And i didn't get the line about humans; is every race hostile or unfriendly towards them?
Can fiends manifest as anything other than visions and symptoms? Good idea to have them exist on the edge of space as we know it. Makes them rather ominous.
I like the matrix machine! Could be very neat in-game, especially if it malfunctions.
What are the clockwork men?
I like a lot of the names btw; HIM 2.0 is just brilliant, and Mk 2 Leyline Reality Distortion system sounds pretty sweet as well.
Looking interesting so far, although the way you did magic seems slightly... unoriginal. But that might be what you are aiming for, what the hell do i know ^^

Hydroponics (the Endless Jungle)

[ic=Bob Marley]'Cause my life must be somewhere to be found -
Must be somewhere for me,
Instead of concrete jungle,
Where the living is harder.[/ic]

The Hydroponics section of the ship is effectively designed to provide oxygen, water and food to the entire vessel. [note]Atta grass: Genetically engineered moss-like plant that photosynthesises at an unnaturally high rate and produces almost everything necessary for life. A staple part of a shipman's diet, noted for its foul, fungus-like taste, its ability to turn your teeth yellowy-green and its vile smell; hence the saying 'As Atta as a shipman's mouth' and the shorter 'Atta-mouth'. (Encyclopedia Galactica, page 10053)[/note] It originally took the form of miles and miles of Atta grass, but due to neglect and a lack of enough crew to prune it correctly, many of the plants have malformed and changed, becoming something different. This has not been helped by the invasion of the Hydroponics decks by several plant-like sentient species and the escape of several non-sentient plant and animal species from the medical and scientific labs nearby. A sizable colony of monkeys, for example, now occupies Hydroponics Deck E. Water Tank 82, the largest on the ship, is now the home of Alabar, the Last Kraken.

Layout

Hydroponics is found at the front of the ship, beneath several bulkheads, storage areas and maintenance corridors. It is readily accessible from most points in the ship via (if you're willing to travel this way) ventilation shafts, all of which eventually lead back to the ventilation hub in hydroponics. It consists of five subdecks, slightly below the levels of their equivalent main decks, labelled A-E in rising order and collectively termed 'Hydroponics 1', and the water tanks which are known as 'Hydroponics 2'. The water tanks are found beneath Hydroponics 1, and stretch back a lot further into the ship. Hydroponics 1 consists almost totally of racks and racks of Atta grass descendants, most of which have malformed into something different and grown out of their set areas. The racks are run through with many corridors and crawl-spaces, as well as paths cut by their various new inhabitants, although many of these are rapidly blocked by new plant lifeforms.

 Important information

The atmosphere in decks A-D is almost totally CO2, pumped back in to feed the Atta grass, although there is enough oxygen for a human or similar lifeform to survive with laboured breathing (although life support is suggested). Deck E is more oxygen-based because all of the oxygen that the Atta grass produces is vented upwards before being spread outwards throughout the ship, and can support human life reasonably well. Gravity is at earth levels, and the Leyline system is active except in isolated spots. There has been no known contact with HIM in the Hydroponics section, and it is unknown which of his many personalities is in control here.

QuoteWhen you mention the Tsochari, are you thinking about the bodystealers from Lords of Madness?

And i didn't get the line about humans; is every race hostile or unfriendly towards them?[/quote]Can fiends manifest as anything other than visions and symptoms? Good idea to have them exist on the edge of space as we know it. Makes them rather ominous.[/quote]I like the matrix machine! Could be very neat in-game, especially if it malfunctions. [/quote]What are the clockwork men?[/quote]I like a lot of the names btw; HIM 2.0 is just brilliant, and Mk 2 Leyline Reality Distortion system sounds pretty sweet as well.[/quote]Looking interesting so far, although the way you did magic seems slightly... unoriginal. But that might be what you are aiming for, what the hell do i know ^^[/quote]

I wanted some way to get magic in without going too far away from sci-fi. I'm not sure if it works - what do you think?

Robots

[ic=Kraftwerk]We are the robots...
We are the robots...
We are the robots...[/ic]

There are several, easily differentiated types of device that come under the heading of 'robot':

 Androids (also: Replicants, Droids, Annies and Creepy Bastards)

Androids are robots designed to mimic a lifeform. The most common of these are human or humanoid, although it is possible to create replicas of any species. The less advanced (and cheaper) of these forms are easily recognisable, either by obviously-synthetic skin, jerky movements, badly-replicated forms or other signs. More advanced versions are indistinguishable by sight, smell, or even (in the case of the Replicant N2450 line of models) by comprehensive anatomical testing. They have been stigmatised in the past by humans, many of whom find their apparent humanity sinister - however, they have long formed an important part of many starship crews, serving as barmen, engineers, and in many other capacities. Androids are mostly self-aware (or at least appear to be self-aware).

 Drones (also: Repairmen, Doreens)

[note]Nanobots: Programmed robotic devices usually equal in size to a red blood cell, capable of providing, en masse, various different services including medical aid. (Encyclopedia universalis, page 2040020)[/note]Drones are not self-aware in any form. They are generally small maintenance robots, and nanobots are often included under this definition. They may be self-sustaining or connected to the ship's computer, HIM, but none of them are capable of any kind of real conversation beyond affirmatives and prerecorded messages. They are extremely common on ships of all kinds, particularly in repair roles.

 Holograms (also: Glass men, Hollies, Simulacra)

Holograms are virtual projections of varying levels of realism. Most consist of a small holounit equipped with some kind of propulsion to keep it hovering, capable of projecting varying images. Most holograms contain the programming for only one image, although they can deactivate it at will. Older holograms are often fuzzy-looking, colourless, or make humming or whirring noises emitted from their engines, whilst newer holograms can be indistinguishable from regular humans. Whilst newer holograms tend to have spacial awareness programming, older holograms sometimes walk or put body parts through solid objects, rather ruining their realism.

 Cyborgs (also: Borgs, Metalmen, Redeyes)

[note]22.1: As for those referred to as 'Cyborgs', implantation is declared by this court, sovereign and whole, to be legal and proper provided the human retains 65% biological tissue and any implantation had the consent of the individual or a responsible governmental official. (Galactic Lawbook: Biomechanics Clause 22)[/note]
Cyborgs are part-organic, part-robotic creatures. Whilst technically, any individual with an implant link counts as a Cyborg, the term is usually used for those who have large amounts of visible implantation. Cyborghood tends to attract a certain sort of person - the kind of person who in modern-day earth would take dubiously legal steroids in an attempt to increase their strength - and so Cyborgs are both feared and mocked by human society. There are not very many Cyborgs aboard the Ark, although the number is growing because of the vast amount of stored Cyborg parts and resources with which to make new parts found in various compartments. Cyborgs generally retain an organic brain; although it is theoretically possible to download your personality into a better, biotechnological equivalent, this tends to result in certain personality disorders and is usually avoided.

Mark 7 Universal Translation Device (now with even MORE languages!)

[ic=Coldplay]It feels like they're talking in a language I don't speak...
And they're talking it to me.[/ic]

[note]Universal: The modern creole language of the Human Empire, which developed from a pidgin with its roots in modern American dialects. Spoken as a first or second language by most humans. (Encyclopedia Universalis, page 108,012,200,587)[/note] Happily, language is rarely a problem aboard the USS Ark. Most individuals are equipped with one of the various UTD implant models - the product of a highly ambitious product which uses a vast internal lexicon to attempt to (and usually successfully) translate anything said into Universal. Although this generally results in comprehensible basic speech, the device tends to directly translate many idioms, particularly in less extensively covered languages. This has resulted in Universal being spiced with many foreign and even alien idioms and turns of phrase. Universal phrases, for the purpose of this document, will be translated into English. There are a few languages which the translator cannot cope with at all - highly idiomatic or contextual languages, sign language (although a project is developing a sign language version implanted into the eye) and any language that relies on media other than sound. Furthermore, intonations and emotions are lost in translation - the translator speaks with a pleasant, yet obviously pre-recorded and somewhat jerky female voice.

I am going to enjoy reading more about this setting when I get home!

I love the idea of the sentient ship computer being afflicted with multiple personality disorder but I have to ask, how malevolent are some of the personalities?

How big is the USS Ark? To hold 6 billion people, even in cramped quarters, it would have to be massive.

Why is it called USS Ark? What does it stand for? United States Ship? United Species Ship? United Sentients Ship?

I wish to hear more about this Kruzo Field!

Quote from: Elemental_ElfI am going to enjoy reading more about this setting when I get home!

I love the idea of the sentient ship computer being afflicted with multiple personality disorder but I have to ask, how malevolent are some of the personalities? [/quote]How big is the USS Ark? To hold 6 billion people, even in cramped quarters, it would have to be massive. [/quote]Why is it called USS Ark? What does it stand for? United States Ship? United Species Ship? United Sentients Ship? [/quote]I wish to heard more about this Kruzo Field! [/quote]

Righto. :P

The whole 'robots' section made me smile.  Starting with the quote.
How small are the hologram projectors?

How do we avoid the typical issues with the Creepy Bastards self awareness?  Any secret societies of human haters?

Quote from: Lord VreegThe whole 'robots' section made me smile.  Starting with the quote.
How small are the hologram projectors?

How do we avoid the typical issues with the Creepy Bastards self awareness?  Any secret societies of human haters?[/quote]

Are there any compartments that had weird experiments that were going to be used in them? Things such as mutagens, or halucinegenic gases or anything of that sort? Seems to me that the human government is pretty immoral and would do that sort of testing if it felt like it.

Quote from: Loch BelthaddAre there any compartments that had weird experiments that were going to be used in them? Things such as mutagens, or halucinegenic gases or anything of that sort? Seems to me that the human government is pretty immoral and would do that sort of testing if it felt like it.

Hmm. Possibly some stasis cells - the brig, for example. However, this ship was designed for humans, and generally speaking, the government are moral when it comes to humans. They justify their policies by using them on non-humans. The captain could release such gases into compartments if desired, however - in case of a mutiny for example. Since there is no captain, this is left in the hands of the ship's trustworthy computer, HIM 2.0, currently suffering from a minor bout of multiple personality disorder possibly brought on by the mechanical equivalent of demonic possession. Isn't life great?

I would like to ask - what system d'you think I should use for this? D20 has its advantages, especially if I'm going to use fantasy races, but on the other hand, I could have customisable alien races. Of course, I could do both. But y'know. :P

The Kruzo Effect

[ic=Axel Rudi Pell (apparently)]We're losing our minds
Losing (our) souls
Who will restrain
Who can't let go

We're riding on, on the edge of the world
We're riding on, on the edge of the world[/ic]

The galaxy is finite, bounded on all sides by the Outer Reaches. Beyond the galaxy lies... what? More galaxies, so the scientists tell us. The Hyin, who are supposedly greatly given to storytelling, describe those further lights beyond the borders of the place we reside as 'the lights of the deep', a kind of spacefaring equivalent of the Will o' Wisp, a natural phenomenon once believed to be a dark spirit leading those lost abroad late at night into the swamps from which he came. Is this true? Who knows? We do not. But it is possible that, eventually, those who call the Ark - no matter how reluctantly - their home will reach another galaxy. And then we shall see what we shall see.

That is, if our eyes (or even we) survive the trip.

Roughly seventy-three years ago, the best scouting ship in the fleet - the USS Simba - set out on a long-distance mission to explore the Outer Reaches. Code-named 'Mission Will-o-Wisp' by some pessimistic mission controller with a morbid sense of humour, the Simba was expected to take a short trip, possibly discovering some useful resources. The mission - intended to last the average three-month tour of duty - went on for three years. According to the Captain - later court-martialled along with most of his administrative staff for gross errors of judgement and repeated disobedience - minor systems began to fail before they even reached the official border of the Outer Reaches. Once within the border, other systems - including, supposedly, the engines - began to act erratically. More unfortunately, so did many of the crew. Hallucinations of various horrific creatures - horned, tailed, or sometimes merely the stereotypical portrayal of an alien found in Earth propaganda - plagued first the superstitious and then more and more people, as did paranoia and schizophrenia, although these symptoms, like everything else, appeared erratically.

The ship's science officer (since unfortunately medically sectioned and confined to an institution on completely unrelated grounds), a man named Zimon Kruzo, performed an extremely detailed study of these effects, resulting in the modern terms 'Kruzo Effect' and 'Kruzo Circle' (the latter referring to the Outer Reaches themselves). His papers described one particularly horrifying incident - the loss without trace of three Hydroponics crew members, and the later discovery of one man dead in bed, his head twisted around three-hundred and sixty degrees, with the autopsy suggesting he was murdered during sexual activity. Both of these events were later blamed on the first mate, one Aleisha Yumat, although she has never admitted her guilt in either of these crimes, nor have the bodies of the three missing crew members been found. The evidence pointing towards her was, in fact, mostly circumstantial - she was found to have opened an airlock near Hydroponics shortly after the men's disappearance, and a message was found on her personal computer terminal:

Quote from: #ff0000
wearethechaosinthestormwearecomingwearethefacesinthedarknesswearecoming
wearethescreaminginyourheadwearecomingwearethemidnightattheedgeoftheuni
versewearecomingforallofyouFEARUS [/color]

This writing - apparently written by someone with no comprehension of the use of spaces - was used as evidence in the trial and has become the most common symbol of the Kruzo Effect. Quotes are even found on counter-culture clothing, although tasteful society does not appreciate them.