Brainstorming a “Kitchen Sink“ Sci-Fi campaign

[Dannyalcatraz]

Have you ever read Harry Harrison's short story "The Repairman"? It might give some flavour for the practical issues involved in maintaining interstellar travel.

No I haven’t.

 

[Fenris-77]

I had an idea once about stealing the idea of mechanical monks from Terry Pratchett and using them as the wandering Paladins (sans satire). Toss in some flavor from RS Bakker's Consult from his Second Apocalypse books, so hidden among us with 'an agenda' to inculcate some paranoia, and it seemed pretty solid. I like the idea of wandering Paladins that aren't just reflavored western gunslingers (although that idea obviously has legs too).

 

[Eyes of Nine]

...without going full-on RIFTS.

I was struck by the campaign design bug while participating in the Star Wars “Mind share” thread. I don’t want to play in or run any of the major Sci-Fi settings out there, but participating in something that echoes them could be fun.

So, for instance, while I might not want to mess around with the Clone Wars, Jedi Vs Sith, and so forth, I totally want some form of lightsaber or monofilament swords in the game. Stargates might exist, but not necessarily any of the aliens posing as gods. Other lost megastructures and tech from prior stelkar empires might pop up as well, be they from Bab5, Defiance or Larry Niven’s Known Universe.

Yes, there would be some form of sentient machines, possibly even malevolent. But a biotechnologicslly proficient race like Steven Donaldson’s Amnion might get the nod instead of the Borg of Star Trek.

What kind of elements do you think would be good to yoink from Sci-Fi movies, TV shows, comics or stories & novels?

Do you have a system you plan to use? That may (or may not) impact your choices...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Do you have a system you plan to use? That may (or may not) impact your choices...

My default is HERO. I’ve yet to find a concept I can’t model in it. That doesn’t mean it’s the system this would actually be run in. I have designed stuff in HERO and retooled it for running in other systems before to accommodate my players.

But right now, I’m not actively gaming, so falling back into my default is OK.

 

[Fenris-77]

Aargh. Mechanical Monks is Douglas Adams, not Terry Pratchett, from Adams' Dirk Gently books.. Mea Culpa. I realized it as soon as I read my post again.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One little non-Sci-fi element I definitely plan on including is to nod to the Pilgrim Adepts of MZB’s Lythande. The “paladins” will have a blue star symbol as their ”badge/ID/emblem” and their organizational name will be chosen from the names of a Class O star. Said star may even be their base of operations.

O-type star - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I think I have it: the blue supergiants Alnitak, Alnilam and the blue giant Mintaka are the stars system comprising Orion’s Belt. I think Knights of Orion has a cool ring to it. Their emblem will be a trio of blue stars in a line.

Orion has a lot of blue stars and nebulae in it, and many of the “stars“ in orion are multi-star systems. Somewhere in that area is their base of operations, but only they know where. That’s assuming it isn't mobile and/or decentralized.

Edit: perhaps Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka are names for subdivisions within the organization. Mintakan Order: command; Alnitak Order: R&D, Tech, Support; Alnilam Order: Field Agents

Loosely speaking, of course. These KoO spend a lot of time solo and far afield.

 

[aramis erak]

Original Battlestar Galactica Cylons were mostly machine with some organic parts (leaders seemed to have more organic). A similar robot race, which is powerful but not an overwhelming threat, would make a good "edge of the map" civilization. Maybe - like Star Trek's V'ger machine planet - they are chiefly seeking information.

Not quite. Per the Marvel adaptation of Saga of a Star World, the organic Cylons were all dead. The Imperious leader wore the preserved skin of an original Cylon.
The Centurions were pure machine. The IL series (including Lucifer) were implied to have some organic elements, but not stated as such.
A damaged to deactivation Cylon was repaired in one episode of the show by locals, who used it as a bully...

 

[Fenris-77]

I really like the Space Marine fortress monasteries from 40K, that could be a good way to go for the Knights of Orion. Maybe an ancient alien starship thats now the sacred trust of the order. Maybe containing one of those mechanical entities you were talking about upsteam. Or maybe the ship is the entity.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I really like the Space Marine fortress monasteries from 40K, that could be a good way to go for the Knights of Orion. Maybe an ancient alien starship thats now the sacred trust of the order. Maybe containing one of those mechanical entities you were talking about upsteam. Or maybe the ship is the entity.

Don’t know anything about Games Workshop’s stuff beyond their minis and their CCG.

Because of the nature of long distance travel in this setting, the KoO HAVE to controlled access to at least one gate, if not multiples, even if they are not technically an empire/federation, etc. If the gates are sentient members of the race that built them, perhaps they have partnered with the KoO, supplying them with refuge, tech and info. Hmmmm...IOW, sort of like the Oans & Green Lanterns.

 

[Fenris-77]

The fortress monasteries i was thinking of in particular are like massive mobile fortress ships that house the main strength of a space marine chapter, including the initiates, relics, manufactories and the like. I was picturing a sentient fortress that somehow formed the spiritual heart, if not leadership, of your knightly order. Maybe something in a repository of knowledge sentience that needed to be kept from most races, but was also used to help the Knights do ... whatever is it they do.

It would be cool if their stomping grounds were some sort of nexus of gates and relics from your lost civilization.