Brainstorming a “Kitchen Sink“ Sci-Fi campaign

[Eltab]

Who built the legacy Gates? Were they built between regional capitals? Very important worlds? Potential (future) colony worlds? Was the network "finished" or just begun or still under construction when the effort stopped?

Look up US road atlases from the 1950s to 1970s - as the Interstate Highway system was being constructed - and see what went in first, early, later, eventually.

Sol-like yellow G stars are not that common in the galaxy but M-type red dwarfs are. If the Gatebuilders came from a red-star system, their Gates may not go to anyplace a human would consider a "prime real estate" habitable world.

So like Traveller, reaching Barnard's Star turns out to be more important to human history than reaching the maybe-inhabitable planet current-era scientists think orbits Alpha Centauri.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Who built the legacy Gates? Were they built between regional capitals? Very important worlds? Potential (future) colony worlds? Was the network "finished" or just begun or still under construction when the effort stopped?

Good questions!

My initial thoughts on this are that the portal builders were an AI species of intelligent probes that also seeded certain systems with AI portals. The race that built the portal builders have (probably) died off. Nobody, including their greatest creations, knows their fate.

Subsequent species discovered the portals and use them, but do not currently have a full understanding of the technology, including that the portals are sentient.

They also do not know that the exploratory probe/portal seeders are still active, including some aimed at the great darkness beyond our galaxy’s edges. I think it would be an incredible inflection point in a campaign when the first extragalactic portal comes online...

 

[Zardnaar]

Good questions!

My initial thoughts on this are that the portal builders were an AI species of intelligent probes that also seeded certain systems with AI portals. The race that built the portal builders have (probably) died off. Nobody, including their greatest creations, knows their fate.

Subsequent species discovered the portals and use them, but do not currently have a full understanding of the technology, including that the portals are sentient.

They also do not know that the exploratory probe/portal seeders are still active, including some aimed at the great darkness beyond our galaxy’s edges. I think it would be an incredible inflection point in a campaign when the first extragalactic portal comes online...

So basically Stargate SG1?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

So basically Stargate SG1?

In terms of general transport, that’s the core idea. Not using much else from the setting, though.

 

[Zardnaar]

In terms of general transport, that’s the core idea. Not using much else from the setting, though.

They had a ship seeding more stargates and an extra galactic gate.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

They had a ship seeding more stargates and an extra galactic gate.

Did they? Could be where my mind dredged it up from, then.

 

[Zardnaar]

Did they? Could be where my mind dredged it up from, then.

IDK it's virtually impossible to be original in sci fi now.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, I definitely remember the exploratory ship in SGU, but it wasn’t a seeder.

 

[Zardnaar]

Well, I definitely remember the exploratory ship in SGU, but it wasn’t a seeder.

My bad it's been 10+ years and didn't finish SGU. Atlantis is my favorite.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Wasn’t saying you’re wrong. It’s entirely poss SG-1 or Atlantis could have also hinted at some of this stuff.

I’ll say, though, the idea of putting the portals in space only and imbedding them in asteroids is an homage to Greg Bear’s stories of The Way.