Tune in to Death Planet Today!

[Superfluous Crow]

Death Planet
No matter how civilized we convince ourselves we have become, the truth is that we will always have that tiny animal within us; the one that screams for blood and craves excitement. The old civilizations of Past Earth recognized this and held their great blood sport games within the ancient arena of the magnificent Coliseum. But later we ignored our inner instincts and tried to control ourselves. Only boxers and soldiers could appease their instincts through what many wrongly call the 'Golden Age' of humanity. Thrillseekers were left with crime as their only remaining option to appease the beast. But in this enlightened future we won't ignore ourselves anymore, we won't ignore the Truth. And this is why we, Charon Incorporated, have created Death Planet.  
Death Planet is the Coliseum of the future, a giant battleground where fighters from the entire universe compete for fame and glory. Thrillseekers and mercenaries from all over the world journey to the world to enter the Game and a few exit it months or years later as wealthy public heroes. This is not only a Game for the rich and powerful. More than anything else, Death Planet is above else entertainment for the many billion citizens of the Galaxy. We here at Charon Incorporated understand the necessity of white collar jobs to maintain the peace and order of our beloved galactic society. We understand the fight of the common man. And most importantly we understand how they feel; how their inner beast screams to be released from the cubicle. And we accept it. So when you get home from your job, tune in to your favorite Death Planet team and indulge in the darker side of life. Let the Game begin.  
-   Charon Incorporated

Signing up
Anyone can sign up for a small entrance fee of a 1000 GU which covers your personal Mark III AMF hover-camera and administration costs. Each participant is required to purchase and acquire his own armaments and equipment before travelling to Death Planet. Teams can share cameras, allowing them to pay a one-time cost of 500 GU for the camera plus 500 GU's per team member for transport and administration. Transports run weekly from almost every major spaceport and travel times usually range from a week to a month. The travelers are dropped off at the administration city known as Cerberus where they are interred in a week-long training course where they are made aware of the rules and can make contacts with other participants, and they are then dropped off by Hoverbirds at random locations. Then the Game begins.

Rules
There are a few rules in the Game. You are not allowed to disable your camera or otherwise mess with it, and you are required to wear your (active) Locator Collar at all times. Transportation off the planet has to be sanctioned by Charon officials before undertaken, although the atmosphere can be freely accessed. Cerberus is a peace-zone; it's is forbidden to kill anyone in it, or take lethal action while in the zone. The brightly orange Charon maintenance workers are also off-limits. Even killing them as collateral damage can have repercussions.  Also, this is a bloodsport. Rape and torture are not allowed on camera. There are standards after all. Prisoners of war are required to answer 3 questions truthfully and then be released with an hour's headstart. Alternatively they can be left. Only active participants of the game can kill or be killed. Breaking any of these rules means that the person has gone renegade and must spend the rest of his existence as an outlaw on Death Planet. Renegades are part of the world's 'indigenous' population, acting as adversaries or allies of participants along with the criminals who are dumped on the planet.

Death Planet
Death Planet is hostile, variegated and isolated, making it the perfect planet for the Game. Virtually any type of terrain can be found on the planet, to suit any type of game, and every inch of it is filled with natural dangers, alien monsters, barbaric outlaws. The primitive indigenous population was wiped out with a genophage when Charon bought the planet. Cerberus is located on the end of a peninsula (which serves as the safe zone) on the continent of Hemator. The other continents are Algesia, Eschatol, Morbidon, Choler, Gehenna, and the polar continents of Limbo and Morbidon. The continents are scattered with Drop Points (where participants can unload loot) and Checkpoints, small safe zones where ships can pick them up and take them to Cerberus and back. Lastly, there are Event Locations, mazes and buildings designed to act as tactical positions, challenges, or trapped or guarded mazes in which trophies and equipment can be hidden.        

The Game
The Game is what all participants come to join. Its primary rewards are excitement and danger, but since this is but a reward for our subconscious, the Game can also produce rewards such as television fame and material wealth. Trophies are scattered about the Continents, and if a team can make it to a drop point with it, they claim it and can add its value in game credits to their account. Other participants can be killed for credits as well; the older and more experienced they are, the more they earn you. Very amateur or newbie participants will earn experienced teams next to no credit, so they often save their ammo for later. Team members always yield negative credits, and temporary (but official) alliances yield zero credits if broken. Lastly, the teams with the most viewers and subscribers gain extra credits. Drama and action pays off. All participants are constantly sorted by strength on immense leaderboards which can be accessed by players and viewers alike. Credits can be changed for equipment In Cerberus, or if they quit they can be converted to GU on a 1:1 basis.

Basic equipment
Nearly all equipment is allowed on Death Planet and the markets and black markets of the Galaxy are open to the soon-to-be participant. All prices featured are in Galactic Units (GU), the universal currency of the Galaxy.  

Mark III AMF Hover-Camera
The Charon-produced Mark III Automatic Multi-Field Hover-Camera is the standard camera assigned to all teams. Held airborne by a Gravity Negator, the AMF is silent, and with its patented prototype Multi-Field technology it is both adequately shielded (able to deflect most bullets and low-power explosions and even EMP blasts) and disguised behind an Adaptive Invisibility Field (AIF). The former versions of the camera had a tendency to blow the cover of hidden participants as they hovered visibly a few feet behind the location of the person they followed. So the AIF is a welcome addition to both the participants and Charon Inc. The camera is programmed to take positions that allow for possibly dramatic shots, while staying out of the view of other participants. The camera has access to different light sources and camera types (including IR and nightvision), and is equipped with a high-quality microphone and a navigator unit. A single unit costs 500 GU.

Snitch-23 Locator Collar
The Snitch-23 Locator Collar is given to all participants before entering the game and they allow Charon officials to monitor all their positions on digital maps. It has a margin of error of only 0,03 meters, making it remarkably precise for such a small device. It is also often used in real-world applications, for monitoring criminals and police, sometimes even children. The collars are magnetically sealed, and require a corresponding magnetic key to open.

Mark II Pathfinder Digi-map (Death Planet version)
The Digimap is a durable scroll of digital paper that gives a detailed view of the surrounding land. Death Planet versions of this map are designed to shroud certain areas, making them visible only after exploration. Digi-maps allow for zoom, and can be upgraded to give team locations. The digi-map can be folded without taking damage, and is water-resistant.

Weaponry
The most important tool of any participant in the Game, the weapon is what keeps him alive and earns him his fame. Many participants use odd or unique weapons, to make them stand out from the crowd.

T331 Basilisk Ray Cannon
The BRC fires electromagnetic beams that reconfigure the carbon molecules of the cells into simple chains of carbon. Basically, it turns living creatures into coal and some organic sludge. It takes some time to actually kill someone with it, but every shot is both painful and very disabling, as a single shot to the hand basically turns it into a useless lump of coal.  

EL3 Surge Sniper Rifle
The EL3 uses a weak electrolaser to make an ionized channel of air between the rifle and the target, and then discharges its two rechargeable pulse capacitors to deliver an incapacitating, and quite frequently lethal, electrical shock. The pulse has even been known to kill targets in the near vicinity, making it difficult to dodge.

EL4 Emperor Gun
Like its sibling the EL3, this gun uses an electrolaser combined with an electrical discharge. Only the EL4 is shorter range, and can keep the current going for much longer, creating a continous bolt of lightning from the handheld gun. The EL4 is less powerful than the EL3, but still packs quite a punch and is effective for more than a single shot.  

Prototype Laser Razors
The laser razors are bracer-like devices attached to the overarm which can project a thin, yet powerful, laser beam when activated. This beam cuts through most things, although it does lose power at range making it uneffective beyond 7 meters. So in practice, the user has a light-weight 7 meter long sword that cuts through everything attached to his arm, and can wave it around however he likes. They quickly run out of their (prototype) batteries though.

The Farsaw V
This magnetic propulsion-powered launcher fires Sawmotes, gyro-stabilized and computer-controlled chainsaw disks that will automatically veer towards living creatures, and can continue to dig into the opponent's body even after loss of momentum. Also, the Sawmotes are recyclable. Only downside is that Sawmotes are almost as expensive as the gun itself.  

PCSD-13 Voidshield
The Portable Controlled Singularity Device creates a field that sucks everything right in front of the user into the device where it vanishes forever. Basically it creates a very weak miniature black hole. The Device has to be held with two hands and will deactive if it can no longer identify the finger prints of the user as well as an accompanying body heat. This is obviously an extremely dangerous weapon, and few dare use it because of the sheer amounts of bravery and stupidity it would take to hold potential oblivion so close to yourself.

[LD]

So what sort of system would run this setting?
Are you familiar with the D20 spinoff game that had something to do with Xtreme sports "d20X-Treme?"? That sort of sounds like this.

[Superfluous Crow]

No, i was not. I have no idea about what system could handle this yet. This was just a fun idea that somebody had in the tavern at some point. I'm considering turning it into a sort of community project on the wiki if anybody is interested.
Otherwise this is just an over-the-top sci-fi action satire with good excuses for having dungeons, loot, random battles, and absurd monsters and races.  

[LD]

Okay, sort of like a sci-fi Serpents and Sewers, then. :)

[LD]

You could add a voting system, like American Idol.

When characters gain "XP" that is really votes from viewers back home.

Therefore XP can be earned for mugging for the camera. And good actions can be rewarded, and "bad" actions, punished... by negative votes (like the CNN election monitoring rooms where they asked 10 republicans and 10 democrats and 10 independents to sit in a room and watch the presidential debates and to adjust their attitudes on a monitor while they observed.)

[sparkletwist]

This sort of sounds like "Unreal Tournament: The RPG." :)

If it ever gets turned into a movie, Paul Verhoeven would have to direct it. ;P

[Nomadic]

And Vin Diesel would be the main character obviously.

[Superfluous Crow]

Yeah, something like that :D
and the voting system sounds pretty neat actually.

[LD]

Hmm.... For the system. ... How about the players can perform "tricks" that won't necessarily succeed, but which will gain them audience points. They have a limited number of tricks per day that they can select from a list.

Light Dragon System Example
Assassin
STR, DEX, SPEED, FORTITUDE, WILLPOWER, INT
ATTACK roll (Includes Range Precision modifiers)
DODGE roll
SKILLS
TRICKS (per day= 2+Level)
(select from a list)
Gimcrack - Can shoot accurately from double range.
Hardass - Never crack under interrogation pressure (+5 Fort, +5 Will)
Head Shot - One shot kill, right between the eyes. (Adds +4 to attack {negates penalties for Called Shot}
Recon Intel - Easier to pick out your target from a crowd. (+15 Spot; +2 Intelligence)
Slither - Escape from ropes. (Adds +10 to Escape Artist)
Stealth Slay - Come from out of nowhere to take down someone with a quick garrote. (Stealth +10, Attack +2)
Tough as Nails - Bullets bounce off you (+10 Fort)
Wonder Kill - An amazing shot, or hand-to-hand assault. (Can only use after already killed someone-Retroactive).
---
Attack System
1. Normal Attack (see DnD)
2. Called Shot (-4 attack; can specify body location- but cannot auto-kill (see 3).)
3. Vital Organ (-8 attack; Specifically hit a vital organ. Person rolls for instant death or incapacitation or bleeding death or unconsciousness.)

[Superfluous Crow]

Hmm, not a bad idea. Especially if you want to do it with d20 which would make the system design process a lot easier. It does depend on whether this would be a setting for long-running games or for one-shot games. Also, this is possibly a good game for drunk roleplaying. A quicker more visceral free-form system might fit better to that end. Especially since accomodating all the cool skills players would like to use would require a very bloated list, making it somewhat difficult to keep track of. But crazy skills are nice after all...
Also, i recently played a short indie-game where we were knights on a quest to win a princess' heart and had to not only get to the heart of the forest, but do it with style. So whenever you made a skill check you rolled two dice: one to find out whether you succeeded, and one to find out whether you did it awesomely (so yes, you could fail awesomely). This seems like a mechanic that could be implemented if changed a bit.  

On another note, consider the following scenario, you have just made your way through Maze 77, lair of the starved panther-cyborg, and you have begun dragging the valuable trophy out when another man enters the room. As the system stands, there are no consequences of shooting the guy: how should the reward system be choosed to encourage the players to hear the man out? Perhaps we should include Parley rules of some sort? (introducing the UPP-100 White Flag Hologram Projector.)

[LD]

>>"Especially since accomodating all the cool skills players would like to use would require a very bloated list, making it somewhat difficult to keep track of. But crazy skills are nice after all."
True.

The white flag thing sounds good... But on a related note, although the white flag should always work- perhaps there should be style types to determine in what circumstances different characters can earn points. This may lead to them working a bit against each other even while pursuing the same general goal.

For example-
'Anti-hero' characters gain points for doing X type of actions
'Nurturing' characters gain points for Y type of actions
"heroes" gain points for Z.

In the reality TV shows, there are different type of characters who attract viewer interest.

[Superfluous Crow]

Also, killing famous characters in boring/uninteresting ways might reduce in a loss of viewers or viewer credits as people obviously want their TV hero to exit with a bang if he is to die.
I don't know, you could probably establish some kind of alignment thing? So if people know you as the bad-ass they won't follow your feed anymore if you suddenly turn merciful and soft. That's not a bad idea.
But having a list of actions is perhaps somewhat constrictive; an alignment/reward system should be pretty fluid.

[Drizztrocks]

This looks great, I was hooked from the first paragraph. I like the idea of experience being good votes from fans, and that killing big guys should be done in fancy ways.

[Superfluous Crow]

I'm glad you like it survivorman :)

[Loch Belthadd]

for an alignment system you could borrow the fallout 3 system, where you get karma for doing good things and lose it for being evil. if there is a certain number to determine alignment, then you can decide on an alignment based on action and not words. As in you don't have the problem of a player saying "my character is an evil badass" and then the character goes and saves a burning orphanage, donates to a charity, and helps out at the local poorhouse. In this system  there are 5 alignments: very evil (<-19), evil (-10 to -19), neutral (-9 to 9), good (10 to 19), and very good (>19).