More campaign ideas.
Aug. 27th, 2006 02:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreI've long wanted to do a "weird space" campaign, set somewhere where the normal rules of the universe don't apply. pocket universes, mystical spaces, places like that. I've also had a desire to combine swashbuckling, space opera, and great quests into a game. Today I've been reading through some old Sluggy Freelance story lines and rediscovered the Oceans Unmoving saga. I think this might be the thing for me.
The stories take place in Timeless Space, a region of the multiverse outside the normal flow of time. There are a couple of notable features to the parts of it we see. First of all the "surface" of the plane seems to be an endless ocean, frozen in place but still liquid. The fact that there are waves visible seems to indicate that there is some time at play, but very, very slow time. Common stories of the Oceans is that falling into them is irreversibly bad. Then there are the islands; chunks of rock floating in the sky like an old Yes album cover. They range from a few dozen meters across to extremely large. Finally there appear to be no local star, but the ambient starlight is bright enough to allow humans to see with some degree of normalcy.
While the space is itself timeless, living creatures that enter the region bring with them personal time. This is visible as a glowing aura around living things. This personal time is strongest in sapient beings, and the strength of time fields is increased with denser populations. Thus a single tree will lose time quickly and freeze, while a forest might endure for centuries.
According to the plot, timeless space was first explored by the Teknokons; robotic beings who brought many of the plants and animals to timeless space to preserve their own existence. Since most of the life seems to be Terran, it is possible that the Teknokons come from our own future. They also built the flying ships that are still used today. According to legend Teknokon One is the one ship that can travel between timeless space and the "real" universe. It's location is a mystery, and the Teknokons themselves have either long since left the region or been deactivated.
Since then many creatures from various times and races have become stranded in timeless space. Most arrive after a technological accident involving wormholes or other FTL experiments fail spectacularly, but some (such as Lady Noga) arrive deliberately by magic. At least one culture claims to have been sent to the realm by a vengeful goddess. Among the more notable non-humans are the Carib (anthropomorphic Caribou with a bad tendency to tedious expository speeches and blatant honesty), several classic Grays, and mysterious beings such as Blacksoul.
Along with these folks, it is accepted that beings best described as Gods exist. Most notable of these is Uncle Time, who appears to oversee the Oceans Unmoving and claims to be Father Time's brother. Others are possible.
The driving force in this game is not what one usually finds in RPGs.. money, power, etc., it is time. Maintaining personal time is vital. Beings frozen in time can be reanimated, but it costs a great deal of time to do so, more so for a sapient being. (In one of the first Oceans Unmoving strips, Calix picks up a frozen twig and notes to his surprise that it had gone from being gray and cold to being a normal piece of wood.) Ships plying the lanes between settlements tend to be piratical, taking captives for their time fields. Time slavery is common, from reading between the lines.
One of the more interesting concepts is the Clothos Legacy. Since density of population increases the strength of personal time fields, it is theorized that if enough sapients and support life could be gathered together it might kick-start the region into a normal time line. This is the prime motivation of Sir John Jacobs, one of the primary villains of the piece.
Technology works, and oddly doesn't seem to require recharging. The ships built by the Teknokons still work (although it is stated that you need a PhD just to get one started) and those who enter the Oceans Unmoving with energy weapons apparently don't need to reload. (I could be wrong, and somewhere there is an entire cottage industry dedicated to recharging power packs.) Whatever the cause, it appears that technology is extremely durable.
Magic also works, which makes life interesting.
So, a very interesting setting. Lots of holes (where does water come from for farming and drinking was one question that popped into my head) but for a good game of Timeless Space Opera and Piracy on the Oceans Unmoving who needs all the details? This is also a setting custom made for GURPS. There are so many plots to follow... try to find Teknokon One and escape. Foil the plots of Sir John Jacobs and his right-hand witch Lady Noga as they try to rule timeless space. Learn the secret of the Teknokons, and perhaps the secret behind the Oceans Unmoving! Cutlasses and Computers, Ho!
I'd have to kludge together some rules for personal time, and the effects of losing time, but that should be too hard (base it on mass, perhaps, with different constants for plants, animals, and sapients.)
Speak of kludges, this might work as a game using kLoOge.Werks. It would mean one hell of a lot of work, but the chance to actually game again would make it worth it.
So now a poll
[Poll #808124]
The stories take place in Timeless Space, a region of the multiverse outside the normal flow of time. There are a couple of notable features to the parts of it we see. First of all the "surface" of the plane seems to be an endless ocean, frozen in place but still liquid. The fact that there are waves visible seems to indicate that there is some time at play, but very, very slow time. Common stories of the Oceans is that falling into them is irreversibly bad. Then there are the islands; chunks of rock floating in the sky like an old Yes album cover. They range from a few dozen meters across to extremely large. Finally there appear to be no local star, but the ambient starlight is bright enough to allow humans to see with some degree of normalcy.
While the space is itself timeless, living creatures that enter the region bring with them personal time. This is visible as a glowing aura around living things. This personal time is strongest in sapient beings, and the strength of time fields is increased with denser populations. Thus a single tree will lose time quickly and freeze, while a forest might endure for centuries.
According to the plot, timeless space was first explored by the Teknokons; robotic beings who brought many of the plants and animals to timeless space to preserve their own existence. Since most of the life seems to be Terran, it is possible that the Teknokons come from our own future. They also built the flying ships that are still used today. According to legend Teknokon One is the one ship that can travel between timeless space and the "real" universe. It's location is a mystery, and the Teknokons themselves have either long since left the region or been deactivated.
Since then many creatures from various times and races have become stranded in timeless space. Most arrive after a technological accident involving wormholes or other FTL experiments fail spectacularly, but some (such as Lady Noga) arrive deliberately by magic. At least one culture claims to have been sent to the realm by a vengeful goddess. Among the more notable non-humans are the Carib (anthropomorphic Caribou with a bad tendency to tedious expository speeches and blatant honesty), several classic Grays, and mysterious beings such as Blacksoul.
Along with these folks, it is accepted that beings best described as Gods exist. Most notable of these is Uncle Time, who appears to oversee the Oceans Unmoving and claims to be Father Time's brother. Others are possible.
The driving force in this game is not what one usually finds in RPGs.. money, power, etc., it is time. Maintaining personal time is vital. Beings frozen in time can be reanimated, but it costs a great deal of time to do so, more so for a sapient being. (In one of the first Oceans Unmoving strips, Calix picks up a frozen twig and notes to his surprise that it had gone from being gray and cold to being a normal piece of wood.) Ships plying the lanes between settlements tend to be piratical, taking captives for their time fields. Time slavery is common, from reading between the lines.
One of the more interesting concepts is the Clothos Legacy. Since density of population increases the strength of personal time fields, it is theorized that if enough sapients and support life could be gathered together it might kick-start the region into a normal time line. This is the prime motivation of Sir John Jacobs, one of the primary villains of the piece.
Technology works, and oddly doesn't seem to require recharging. The ships built by the Teknokons still work (although it is stated that you need a PhD just to get one started) and those who enter the Oceans Unmoving with energy weapons apparently don't need to reload. (I could be wrong, and somewhere there is an entire cottage industry dedicated to recharging power packs.) Whatever the cause, it appears that technology is extremely durable.
Magic also works, which makes life interesting.
So, a very interesting setting. Lots of holes (where does water come from for farming and drinking was one question that popped into my head) but for a good game of Timeless Space Opera and Piracy on the Oceans Unmoving who needs all the details? This is also a setting custom made for GURPS. There are so many plots to follow... try to find Teknokon One and escape. Foil the plots of Sir John Jacobs and his right-hand witch Lady Noga as they try to rule timeless space. Learn the secret of the Teknokons, and perhaps the secret behind the Oceans Unmoving! Cutlasses and Computers, Ho!
I'd have to kludge together some rules for personal time, and the effects of losing time, but that should be too hard (base it on mass, perhaps, with different constants for plants, animals, and sapients.)
Speak of kludges, this might work as a game using kLoOge.Werks. It would mean one hell of a lot of work, but the chance to actually game again would make it worth it.
So now a poll
[Poll #808124]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 28 Aug 2006 02:01 (UTC)Also, while I think OUM would make a good setting, I have yet to get over my basic loathing of Gurps, and suggest another point based system, honestly. ;)
Not that I'd have time to play, but I wanted the poll to be filled out properly. :)
no subject
Date: 28 Aug 2006 02:53 (UTC)