Science Fiction Setting

[Mage of Spellford]

Hey All,

I liked the Dawning Star Milieu. Found that it was a lot of fun and kind of reminded me of some of Allen Steele's Coyote series.

M

 

[Umbran]

4: Ringworld: Kzin. Pierson's Puppeteers. Ringworld.

I've recently been re-reading the novels. I keep toying with using the Ringworld as a setting for a pseudo-fantasy game. Set it after the fall of the Pak protectors, and you have an excuse for having a whole bunch of hominid races. Set it after the superconductors fail, and what few high technology bits remain become nigh-indistinguishable from magic. You have a physical world structure weird enough to support vastly different cosmology and beliefs than you normally see.

 

[GhostShip Blue]

When I think about Ringworld specifically and the Known Space universe more broadly, I'm always struck by what a rich roleplaying experience that offers. I've never been ambitious enough to undertake it, but if I were a third party developer, I might look there for a licensing opportunity. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge all you ambitious developer types... call me if you need a contributing writer.

As for you, Umbran - if you run it, keep us abreast of how it goes.

There are countless opportunities for hominid species and all that they entail. The Ring is covered with species the Pak collected (engineered?). There are the maps of Earth, Mars, Kzin and several Louis and the rest couldn't identify. Plus the city builders, whatever the root stock for the grass giants are -

yeah, I'd play this campaign, pretty much regardless of rules. Speaking of which, how would you undertake the rules? I might be tempted to use Savage Worlds (mostly because I understand it better than FATE). This part of the discussion might need to be moved to a new thread if it continues. If it does - someone let me know please.

 

[crossmlk]

I've felt for a long time that Ringworld should be the next big project one of the mega-directors in Hollywood takes on. It has that epic feel, the storys feature plenty of mystery, adventure and sex. Like LoTR we now have the technology to make a film like this right. I'd love to see it. Larry Niven is my favorite science fiction author and his whole Known Space with a little updating would make a great RPG or Film franchise. I have the RPG books that I believe it was Chaosium put out. They've got to be collectors items by now!

 

[Nytmare]

I've felt for a long time that Ringworld should be the next big project one of the mega-directors in Hollywood takes on.

Ugh. I don't know who I'd be happy with (aka trust) to tackle a project like that.

 

[GhostShip Blue]

What Nytmare said.

 

[Badvoc]

The Third Imperium of Traveller (without the additions of the rebellion or virus from later games) is the only SF setting that has ever 'clicked' for me.

I can't put my finger on why, but there are some other SF settings I absolutely love from wider media that just don't appeal from a gaming point of view. Maybe because the original characters from the fiction are so iconic that it would feel odd to tell another story in the same universe? I don't know.

 

[Umbran]

I've felt for a long time that Ringworld should be the next big project one of the mega-directors in Hollywood takes on. It has that epic feel, the storys feature plenty of mystery, adventure and sex. Like LoTR we now have the technology to make a film like this right. I'd love to see it.

I think Ringworld has too much potential story for a short-form like a movie. It is better fodder for series or minisieries treatment, imho. Earlier this month, SyFy announced it has a Ringworld miniseries in the works.

Larry Niven is my favorite science fiction author and his whole Known Space with a little updating would make a great RPG or Film franchise.

Niven is a great idea guy, though his characterization and dialogue aren't very good, to be honest. Much of the "mystery" comes from his characters not completing their thoughts when speaking, and he frequently has dialog scenes with three and four characters and insufficient indication as to who is saying what. I wonder that editors let him get away with that.

He's at his best when in collaboration. The Niven/Pournelle Co-Dominium books (like Mote in God's Eye) are much better storytelling than what he writes alone. I think SyFy should *jump* on the Dream Park novels for development into series work - one miniseries per novel, and you get all the cheap special effects and action you want, a goodly shot of fan service, plus a murder mystery! Something for everyone!

 

[Umbran]

As for you, Umbran - if you run it, keep us abreast of how it goes.

If my current Star Wars game falls apart, it might be what I do...

There are countless opportunities for hominid species and all that they entail. The Ring is covered with species the Pak collected (engineered?). There are the maps of Earth, Mars, Kzin and several Louis and the rest couldn't identify. Plus the city builders, whatever the root stock for the grass giants are -

Spoiler (for a very old work, so that's all the warning you get!): All the hominids come from the same stock - the Pak breeders. They differentiate into the different sub-species after the fall of the Pak Protectors.

Speaking of which, how would you undertake the rules? I might be tempted to use Savage Worlds (mostly because I understand it better than FATE). This part of the discussion might need to be moved to a new thread if it continues. If it does - someone let me know please.

So far, it seems to me that FATE is at its best when the *style* of the resulting story is the primary concern - FATE seems really good at fixing your genre look-and-feel (pulp, detective noir, comic book action), and so on.

This, though, is a game where the exploration of the world is apt to be the big deal. I'd want to check out Savage Worlds for it, especially since my group is already playing classic Deadlands, so Savage Worlds wouldn't be a stretch for them. I might also see if I can do it with Alternity, just for sake of exercise - the various "magic" is really just a science FX...

 

[GhostShip Blue]

Spoiler (for a very old work, so that's all the warning you get!): All the hominids come from the same stock - the Pak breeders. They differentiate into the different sub-species after the fall of the Pak Protectors.

Been a while since I read the novels, but weren't there Bandersnatch on the Ringworld that confused Nessus and Louis? And didn't that (or something else) hint that there were other non-hominid species - and didn't they have some questions about the Grass Giants?