The Aethereal Void '“ Victorian Space Steampunk and Super Science (Mercury added)

[Eclipse]

[ooc]The Aethereal Void is an Earthverse in Eclipse's Oververse. It will be posted on the wiki (located Here as well as in this thread.[/ooc][note]Having hit a stumbling block on many of my purely superheroic settings, I've decided to take a break and work on some alternate worlds. The Aethereal Void is an old idea of mine that I've decided to revisit, given new spark by reading Towel_Ninja's Arannia thread.[/note]

Space is not empty. Filled with a substance called Aether, it is far more accessible to mankind than we would ever have believed. Using Aetherships, the various nations of Earth seek to expand their colonies into space, with the various European empires establishing colonies on Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, Phaeton, and among the astralands that float between Phaeton and Mars. The gas giants remain beyond humanities reach for now. Meanwhile, the native peoples of the conquered planets are forced into servitude or fight in defiance, while tensions mount on Earth between the European nations, threatening to plunge the solar system into war. Experiments with Quintessence imbue men and women with extraordinary powers, while advanced technology plundered from the ruins of Phaeton have given humanity steam and diesel powered technology beyond belief. The year is 1903, and space has become the frontier.

[note]This is the beginning of a setting '" details will arise as people ask about topics of interest and as I figure out details. Help on historical figures and events would be greatly appreciated, since that is my largest problem. I'm also very, very interested in anything you would like to see expanded upon, be it the history of human colonization, the various races, an expansion of a certian concept - whatever you so desire.[/note]Planets:
Vulcan '" located between the sun and Mercury, Vulcan is a world of fire and ash that would be completely ignored by humans were it not for the discovery of vast reserves of crude oil beneath its ashy crust, a legacy of when it was an outer planet inhabited by life. It is spiraling slowly deeper into the sun's gravity well, and will eventually be too hot for human travel.

Mercury '" the smallest inhabitable world, Mercury is a primordial world, inhabited by fungal-like flora and strange, amoeboid fauna. The native sentient species of Mercury, termed Proteans, are amorphous creatures that assume humanoid forms around mankind, believing humans to be gods.
[spoiler]Fauna
Life on Mercury is unique in the solar system in that it does not bear any significant similarities to life on Earth. While other life forms in the solar system are recognizable to humans, with features such as a stable endo or exoskeleton, a circulatory, nervous, and endocrine system, and similar features, mercurial creatures instead fit into a whole different kingdom of life.

The basic form of mercurial life is that of an amorphous creature covered in an exceptionally elastic epidermis. Creatures with only this structure occupy the lower rings of the food chain, similar to Earth's insects. Because of their highly amorphous nature, the primary distinction between species is found in mass, feeding apparatus, environment, diet, and volatility (defined as the rate at which they shift form and their ability to control it.)

More advanced life features soft, cartilage like bones. The connecting points of these '˜bones' are disconnectable and shapeable, while the bones themselves can be repositioned on the body, meaning these creatures can rearranged themselves, forming wings for flight, arms for manipulation, claws for hunting or fighting, even wings for flight or gliding. There is no defined head among these creatures, and many do not even have a stable jaw, instead forming tubes to consume food.

The fauna that are the most disturbing to human sensibilities are vast versions of the simpler creatures, believed to be formed when a simpler creature attempted to divide to reproduce but, because of a defect, was unable to do so. Instead, it continued to expand, each division increasing its area, eventually forming a vast, fleshy plain covered in small mouths.

Flora
Mercurial flora takes the form of relatively stable structure that somewhat resembles a sea anemone on a stalk. They feed off of the smaller creatures while larger creatures feed upon them. The other form of flora on Mercury is fungal life, in the forms of molds and mushrooms and related fungus, which provide the base of the food chain, occupying the same space as plants do on Earth.

Intelligent Life
The only intelligent life on Mercury is the Aetherial_Proteans|Protean race. A shapeshifting race, Proteans consistently display six limbs and are able to mimic a humanoid form in the presence of humans, which the majority choose to do. Proteans not interacting with humans directly seem to favor a form more akin to a four legged spider, with the front two limbs being used as hands. Around people, they keep their extra limbs tucked against their backs, to make humans more comfortable. They communicate amongst themselves with shifting color patterns across their skin, but they can form vocal cords to communicate verbally and have leaned human languages with surprising ease.  

GeographyMercurial geography is odd on a few levels. First, unlike most planets, it is mostly land, with the water being pocketed in seas of scaldingly hot water. Second, it rotates extremely slowly, meaning that for most of the Mercurial year, part of the planet is in darkness, and the other half is light. The light side reaches near unbearable heat, so most human settlements are subterranean, in the vast caves that pocket Mercury. At this depth, one also finds large freshwater lakes that are at a more reasonable temperature. Every settlement features a surface settlement that can withstand the heat. These surface settlements are almost utterly abandoned during the daytime months except for a landing/takeoff strip for aethercraft.

The light/dark contrast is not as oppressive as it could be: most life on Mercury either hibernates during one cycle or migrates along with either the day or the night, and air currents keep the planet's temperature from have too stark a contrast. Instead of seasons dependent on axial tilt, Mercury's seasons (much like on Venus) are governed by its rotation, with the '˜midnight' being the depth of winter and the '˜noon' being the height of summer.[/spoiler]

Venus - A wet jungle planet, Venus is covered primarily by vast jungles between its oppressively hot seas. It is locked in a near perpetual war between an oceangoing race of cephalopodan life and the primary land creatures, reptilians that live a nomadic life. Humanity pits the two races against each other to keep them pacified, and many of the Mues and Lemurians '" the cephalopods and reptilians, respectively '" have been brought back to Earth as servants.

The Moon: Earth's solitary satellite, was the first colonized celestial body. It lacks intelligent life, instead possessing earth-like flora and arthropods ranging from insect sized to the size of a large horse as its primary life forms. The moon does the most trade of any celestial body colonized by humans, partially because of its proximity, partially because of several plants that are highly valued as spices by humans that grow here.  Many Lemurians are brought to the moon to serve as labor, while workers from India and Africa serve in the estates built by the wealthy on the moon, with villas that overlook vast crater forests being highly sought after as summer homes, or even permanent residences for wealthy merchants that operate on lunar bases.  

Mars '" A cold world scattered with the ruins of millions of years of civilization, the natives of mars have descended into shamanistic tribes that fight among glorious ruins. Four different intelligent races exist '"morlocks, atlanteans, bellonas, and nycthi '" live here, surviving as best they can in the face of human colonization.

Phaeton '" If the civilization of mars is ancient, the ruins that inhabit Phaeton are archaic. Dating back hundreds of millions of years, Phaeton is the home of the ghosts of a civilization. The mechanical Scybre, the servitors of this long dead culture, are the only creatures still inhabiting this world. They have adapted readily to human arrival, but their disturbing appearance and the graveyard nature of the world have caused humanity to give them a wide berth.

Astralands '" Located beyond Phaeton, the astralands are habitable islands scattered in a full ring around the sun. Although most lack native life beyond algae, fungus, and primitive unicellular creatures, they have proven rich in iron and other minerals. In addition, several nations have established penal colonies among the astralands, shipping the worst offenders where they cannot do any harm.

Nemesis '" not a planet, Nemesis is a brown dwarf star located deep in the Ort Cloud. Little is known about this star or it's sole satellite Nekros, but strange signals, indecipherable to humanity have been picked up emanating from that region of our solar system.

History
===Early Exploration==
In 1862, Alfred Nobel invented what may be the single most significant invention of the 19th century: the [[aetherplane]], a device that could pull itself from Earth and bring itself into the Aether beyond. Once sufficient air supply technology, developed by Thomas Edison, was created to siphon air from aether, the space race began. The first man to set foot on the moon in 1865 was Alfred Baldwin, a British explorer who literally raced pilots from France, Germany, and America to the moon. All four did land there and, the American having brought a photographer along, had their picture taken standing on the edge of a crater overlooking a jungle of trees competing with tall crimson mushrooms.

However, aetherplanes could only carry a dozen or so passengers at a time, so full colonization was difficult. The wonders those early pilots brought back, followed by pilots from Spain, Austria, and Japan, went for vast sums of money, including the shells of insects as hard as steel and with the luster of gold, plants that gave off wonderful fragrances, and a flower with a nectar that was already fermented, making it one of the finest '" and most expensive '" alcoholic beverages on Earth.

The first man to attempt to bridge the void between the Moon and Mars was the German explorer Viktor Ackerman, but his Aetherplane vanished en route, his last radio transmission saying 'It's quiet out here. If I do this again, it will not be alone.' Six months later, American explorer Brian Jordan took an expedition to Mars, and would have made it, but insufficient supplies forced them to turn back. In 1868, Brian Jordan's second expedition to Mars was launched at the same time as a British expedition by Baldwin. The Americans experienced mechanical failure halfway through, and Baldwin and his crew towed them the rest of the way '" which proved fortunate when parts from the American plane were able to repair a critical problem on the air converter on the British aetherplane. Because it was only possible as a joint effort, Jordan and Baldwin stepped onto the Martial surface at the same time, making them the first humans to set foot on another world. They returned in 1871 with Martian artifacts and sample flora, leaving the world stunned and fascinated by what were obviously the remnants of a highly advanced civilization.

[Towel Ninja]

Sounds like a very interesting setting, i have read through all that you have down currently and am interested in reading more. and thanks for the mention :P

i actually had the idea of linking a "mars" style planet to mine via the SkyFallen.. and you inspired me even further to wright about my world. thanks

[Eclipse]

Hey, us steampunkers have to stick together. It's great to inspire each other back and forth - I really look forward to seeing more about your setting as well. :)

[Towel Ninja]

yeah ive always loved the thought of steampunk and i have been toying around the idea with a few mini adventures i ran for my friends and i really like the element it gives the game.

Hope you ideas flow. (dont know where that came from lol...im bored xD)

[Seraph]

I don't see enough here to really comment on yet, but get us some detail on the civilizations of these planets and moons!  Who are these Scybres?  I'm picturing something like the warforged, but possibly in context leaning towards a Warhammer 40k Necrons kind of thing.  

[Eclipse]

I don't see enough here to really comment on yet, but get us some detail on the civilizations of these planets and moons!  Who are these Scybres?  I'm picturing something like the warforged, but possibly in context leaning towards a Warhammer 40k Necrons kind of thing.  

There should be quite a bit more up by tomorrow - I'm in a writing storm. :D

I don't know enough about the Necrons to comment on any similarities that may or may not exist, but the picture of warforged is somewhat off. They are humanoid in the vaguest sense...if you want a good image, the shadesteel golem captures pretty nicely what I'm imagining.

It has humanoid properties, familiar enough to make its differences that much more sharp.

[Seraph]

It looks a bit necronish, but I won't know until you post them if they are actually like necrons.  I a system similar to D&D though, they [necrons] would be ridiculously overpowered as a player race due to their ability to rebuild themselves completely after what would otherwise be killing blows.  So unless you're going for something like that, they probably aren't that similar.

[Eclipse]

It looks a bit necronish, but I won't know until you post them if they are actually like necrons.  I a system similar to D&D though, they [necrons] would be ridiculously overpowered as a player race due to their ability to rebuild themselves completely after what would otherwise be killing blows.  So unless you're going for something like that, they probably aren't that similar.

No, nothing quite like that. However, most my games use Mutants and Masterminds as the system, so something like that would be perfectly useable.

That being said, once 4E comes out, I'll give it a look and attempt to incorporate some of my settings into DnD terms - it sounds like the new way of handling racial abilities will fit more powerful monsters perfectly.

Then again, that /does/ depends on OGL satus with 4E.

[Eclipse]

...hmm...now that I try to write more about the Scybre, they are fitting less and less the flavor of the setting that I'm going for. I might transplant them somewhere else, but for now, I'll work on other alien civilizations. Sorry, SH - I need to get a better grasp on the whole before I can focus on one of the odder aspects of the setting. :(

[Seraph]

Oh well.  If they don't fit they don't fit.  You shouldn't keep them around for my sake.  I'll see what becomes of your setting in the near future, when i get to see what does fit.

[Eclipse]

Oh well.  If they don't fit they don't fit.  You shouldn't keep them around for my sake.  I'll see what becomes of your setting in the near future, when i get to see what does fit.

Still, Id like the idea, so I'm not giving up yet - at the very least, they'll appear at a later date in another a setting. I look forward to your continued reviews. I'll be posting early history of exploration in just a moment. :)

[Lmns Crn]

Oh man, this is really cool stuff! I'm gonna quote you a lot in this post, 'kay? :yumm:

Filled with a substance called Aether, it is far more accessible to mankind than we would ever have believed.

The gas giants remain beyond humanities reach for now. [/quote]Meanwhile, the native peoples of the conquered planets are forced into servitude or fight in defiance, while tensions mount on Earth between the European nations, threatening to plunge the solar system into war.[/quote]Experiments with Quintessence imbue men and women with extraordinary powers, while advanced technology plundered from the ruins of Phaeton have given humanity steam and diesel powered technology beyond belief.[/quote]more[/i] impressive than steam-powered spaceships, but you say no more about this, and I guess I lack a frame of reference for imagining what that incredible technology might be.

Vulcan '" located between the sun and Mercury, Vulcan is a world of fire and ash that would be completely ignored by humans were it not for the discovery of vast reserves of crude oil beneath its ashy crust, a legacy of when it was an outer planet inhabited by life. It is spiraling slowly deeper into the sun's gravity well, and will eventually be too hot for human travel.

Mercury '" the smallest inhabitable world, Mercury is a primordial world, inhabited by fungal-like flora and strange, amoeboid fauna. The native sentient species of Mercury, termed Proteans, are amorphous creatures that assume humanoid forms around mankind, believing humans to be gods.[/quote]The Moon: Earth's solitary satellite, was the first colonized celestial body. It lacks intelligent life, instead possessing earth-like flora and arthropods ranging from insect sized to the size of a large horse as its primary life forms. The moon does the most trade of any celestial body colonized by humans, partially because of its proximity, partially because of several plants that are highly valued as spices by humans that grow here. Many Lemurians are brought to the moon to serve as labor, while workers from India and Africa serve in the estates built by the wealthy on the moon, with villas that overlook vast crater forests being highly sought after as summer homes, or even permanent residences for wealthy merchants that operate on lunar bases.[/quote]partially because of several plants that are highly valued as spices by humans that grow here. [/quote]partially because of several native spices which humans highly value.[/quote]Phaeton '" If the civilization of mars is ancient, the ruins that inhabit Phaeton are archaic. Dating back hundreds of millions of years, Phaeton is the home of the ghosts of a civilization. The mechanical Scybre, the servitors of this long dead culture, are the only creatures still inhabiting this world. They have adapted readily to human arrival, but their disturbing appearance and the graveyard nature of the world have caused humanity to give them a wide berth.[/quote]Nemesis '" not a planet, Nemesis is a brown dwarf star located deep in the Ort Cloud. Little is known about this star or it's sole satellite Nekros, but strange signals, indecipherable to humanity have been picked up emanating from that region of our solar system.[/quote]Spooky! I assume Nemesis, due to its position, is not meant as a place for players to explore, but as a source for creepy antagonistic forces? Could you tell us more about the threat Nemesis and Nekros pose?

[Wensleydale]

Hrm, I'm interested in Aetherplanes. Has anyone developed larger Aetherplanes yet? Is it possible? Are there plans to create any kind of 'Aether Station', heh?

It also seems slightly strange for two reasons. In the first part, you make it seem like there's a struggle for offworld territory. In the second, you make it sound more like our actual attempts for the moon and explorations to the north pole, where major powers help one another.

[Eclipse]

including the shells of insects as hard as steel and with the luster of gold, plants that gave off wonderful fragrances, and a flower with a nectar that was already fermented, making it one of the finest '" and most expensive '" alcoholic beverages on Earth.

Hrm, I'm interested in Aetherplanes. Has anyone developed larger Aetherplanes yet? Is it possible? Are there plans to create any kind of 'Aether Station', heh?[/quote]It also seems slightly strange for two reasons. In the first part, you make it seem like there's a struggle for offworld territory. In the second, you make it sound more like our actual attempts for the moon and explorations to the north pole, where major powers help one another.[/quote]

Early exploration does have that cooperative spirit of lunar and artic expeditions, and many explorers retain that view (such as the recent attempt at Jovian exploration). However, once Aetherships were developed and colonialism started, cooperation broke down as compitetion for resources and land (and labor in the form of aliens) accelerated.

EDIT: Removed a section where I said America being imperialistic at that time period was a change from the real world, which a friend of mine pointed out was just silly.

[Seraph]

Nemesis is an actually hypothetical star, one that was created to explain the periodical extinctions Earth has. In Aetherial Void, it is the source of cataclysm. It is responsible for Vulcan's decaying orbit, and it is referenced in the myths of both Martian cultures and the Scybre as a dangerous force. As an interesting note, despite their age, neither Martian cultures nor the Phaetonians ever developed beyond diesel and aetherial technology '" possibly the result of Nemesis's influence. If so, human civilization may soon be threatened by forces from that dead star.

It is the source of death. If Lovecraftian horrors are wanted in an Aetherial game, this is where they come from. It is possible they are already in our solar system, living among the outer gas giants and in the inner ort cloud, or they could stay among their home planet, manipulating people through visions. They /have/ visited our solar system before, and ruins of their influence can be found among the astralands '" which many believe are the remnants of a planet they conquered and then, in their madness, destroyed.

I'm in ur solar system, stealin ur planets!

Very creepy though, I like it.  Not sure how the PCs would be able to handle an adventure where the BBEG is a star . . .  But hey, seems like the generic destructive forces could be worked in creative ways, driving the local inhabitants mad, maybe even giving destructive powers and mad brainwashed schemes of destruction to some poor victims-turned-villains. . .