Reynard
aka Ian Eller
So after a bunch of soul searching and thinking about where I wanted to put my effort, I decided (since I was definitely going to be running on Fantasy Grounds) to use Savage Worlds for this campaign. I will definitely employ the various charts and stuff in Ashes Without Number to create the sandbox, but I want to use something I know and I know how to use in FG.
And this is the foundation for the setting I am using:
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The History Of Mars
Leading Up To The Apocalypse
NOTE: The following is intended to provide a foundation for the world of post apocalyptic Mars. It is okay if the players read this, but it is important to understand that the Player Characters likely know NOTHING about this history. That said, it helps create a foundation from which to build the immediate playable world of Post Apocalyptic Mars, and give players an opportunity to understand where their characters come from (even if those characters are unaware).
The Rough Timeline
The first successful manned mission to MArs occurred in the middle of the 21st century. Far from being a definitive moment that set the stage for peaceful future cooperation, it was the ignition of a new Space Race and governments and corporations both raced to be Next.
By the end of the 21st Century, there were multiple sustainable outposts on Mars. “Colonies” is too strong a word: these were permanent research stations that relied nearly completely on Earth support to continue. Backed primarily by governments and mega-corporations, these outposts represented a competition to figure out how to monetize Mars, rather than a purely scientific interest.
During this process, multiple governments and corporations relied heavily on automated, artificially intelligent (but in no way sapient) robots to prepare and maintain outpost sites. This would remain true for centuries going forward, and as you will see, would ultimately result in a sustainable Mars.
By the end of the 22nd century, Mars had become important in overall solar system development. Because of its lower gravity, Mars could lift supplies and manufactured goods into orbit cheaper than Earth. Moreover, Mars became an agricultural hub of the solar system: both underground hydroponics facilities and surface dome farms produced much of the food that sustained the Asteroid Belt and Jovian development projects. Earth was not only more expensive, but also was suffering under the ever increasing impacts of rampant climate change. Earth could barely feed its own population, let alone the solar system.
They myriad nations and corporations that operated on Mars came together in the mid 2200s with a massive project in mind: the full scale terraforming of Mars. This would be a multi-century project and require the cooperation of powerful rivals. However, those rivals on Mars understood their shared responsibility that Earth powers never could, and they ultimately banded together and dedicated themselves to the Blue Mars Project.
The Blue Mars Project would take over two and half centuries to complete. And of course there would be hiccups and difficulties, but ultimately those in power would succeed. The key to their success was the creation of an orbital, artificial magnetic field and shield against solar wind and cosmic rays. By the end of the 27th century, humans could walk naked beneath the Martian sky.
All the while, two competing philosophies of development were occurring. The first was cybernetics: some though that the best way to ensure humankind could live on Mars was to conjoin them with machines. This went through many stages, some failed and some even catastrophic, but ultimately resulted in human-machine hybrids that could operate in the inhospitable atmosphere of Mars. The other philosophy was transhumanism: the constant genetic tinkering that led to altered humans that could withstand harsh radiation, low oxygen and other Martian problems. But because of the success of the terraforming project, by the time these two systems reached fruition, Mars was transformed and safe for humankind.
Note that neither of these philosophies were limited to humankind. Apes, cetaceans and cephalopods were all uplifted and enhanced, to serve as tools and workers in the process.
In addition there was the robotic problem. Since the very beginning of the Martian project, autonomous robots had been used to first build, then maintain the infrastructure necessary for humans to live on mars. While these robots were not sentient or sapient, they were independent and self organizing. This would result in stressors between robots and humans/transhumans/cyborgs as time went on.
Despite the competition and difficulties, Mars was able to maintain its internal alliances and establish itself as the most important planet in the solar system while Earth continued to diminish in power and influence. Had everything continued apace, Mars would likely have become the true jewel in the crown of humanity. But it was not to be.
The Catastrophe
The extrasolar object later dubbed Mjolnir was first detected in the early 28th century. It was traveling at a speed unseen before. And it was aimed at earth. No one could know for certain what was happening, but most experts agreed: this was a targeted attack. It was clear that the object had been launched -- or fired -- centuries before. Had it been more recent, it might have targeted Mars. But as it was, it was aimed at Earth. Despite the combined forces of the solar system working together, including Mars, no one could stop the inevitable.
The object -- roughly the size of Long Island -- struck Earth at a speed of approximately one percent of the speed of light. Earth was obliterated, snuffed out like an angry go blowing out a candle.
The destruction of Earth reverberated through the Solar system. Luna survived the impact but was suddenly untethered from its source of food and oxygen. The solar system order collapsed and panic ensued.
Mars was not immune. Despite the powers of Mars working together to ensure their survival, tension still existed. The destruction of Earth by some immensely powerful, unknowable force was too much to bear. Within a few years, all out war broke out on Mars. Missiles flew. Death reigned.
This is where those humble autonomous but mindless robots come into play. Centuries, perhaps millennia, followed the Great War that destroyed Martian civilization. But those robots, tasked since the earliest days of human habitation on the planet to support and maintain infrastructure, continued to fix things. They allowed humanity, in all its weird permutations, to survive on the Red Planet even as the Apocalypse took hold and civilization collapsed.
Now
The campaign takes place some centuries or millenia after The Catastrophe, on a Mars that is slowly but surely falling apart. Despite the best efforts of the relentless but mindless robots, terraformed Mars is collapsing. Someday, maybe not tomorrow but certainly within a few centuries, Mars will not be able to sustain life.
Player characters are the descendants of the survivors of the Catastrophe. They are humans who survived in underground arcologies, or post-human “mutants” that survived on the surface. They might be cyborgs or robots or uplifted cyber-squid. Their goal is survival, and perhaps uncovering enough about the unimaginable technological power of that terraformed Mars to perhaps save it.
On Gonzo Elements
This setting is not intended to be “hard sci-fi.” It relies on the veneer of plausibility, but the game is not intended to be beholden to known physics, chemistry or biology. There will be mutants with special powers, and impossible cyborgs, and simply the setting of post-terraformed Mars.
In the nebulous past of this setting, psychic abilities and super powers and magic, in some form or another, existed and still exist. And super-science is a thing, along with ridiculous extrapolations of known science. The goal is not to present a real or even plausible world, but one that is fun to play in but has just enough of a throughline that we can guess what might and might not make sense.
And this is the foundation for the setting I am using:
---------
The History Of Mars
Leading Up To The Apocalypse
NOTE: The following is intended to provide a foundation for the world of post apocalyptic Mars. It is okay if the players read this, but it is important to understand that the Player Characters likely know NOTHING about this history. That said, it helps create a foundation from which to build the immediate playable world of Post Apocalyptic Mars, and give players an opportunity to understand where their characters come from (even if those characters are unaware).
The Rough Timeline
The first successful manned mission to MArs occurred in the middle of the 21st century. Far from being a definitive moment that set the stage for peaceful future cooperation, it was the ignition of a new Space Race and governments and corporations both raced to be Next.
By the end of the 21st Century, there were multiple sustainable outposts on Mars. “Colonies” is too strong a word: these were permanent research stations that relied nearly completely on Earth support to continue. Backed primarily by governments and mega-corporations, these outposts represented a competition to figure out how to monetize Mars, rather than a purely scientific interest.
During this process, multiple governments and corporations relied heavily on automated, artificially intelligent (but in no way sapient) robots to prepare and maintain outpost sites. This would remain true for centuries going forward, and as you will see, would ultimately result in a sustainable Mars.
By the end of the 22nd century, Mars had become important in overall solar system development. Because of its lower gravity, Mars could lift supplies and manufactured goods into orbit cheaper than Earth. Moreover, Mars became an agricultural hub of the solar system: both underground hydroponics facilities and surface dome farms produced much of the food that sustained the Asteroid Belt and Jovian development projects. Earth was not only more expensive, but also was suffering under the ever increasing impacts of rampant climate change. Earth could barely feed its own population, let alone the solar system.
They myriad nations and corporations that operated on Mars came together in the mid 2200s with a massive project in mind: the full scale terraforming of Mars. This would be a multi-century project and require the cooperation of powerful rivals. However, those rivals on Mars understood their shared responsibility that Earth powers never could, and they ultimately banded together and dedicated themselves to the Blue Mars Project.
The Blue Mars Project would take over two and half centuries to complete. And of course there would be hiccups and difficulties, but ultimately those in power would succeed. The key to their success was the creation of an orbital, artificial magnetic field and shield against solar wind and cosmic rays. By the end of the 27th century, humans could walk naked beneath the Martian sky.
All the while, two competing philosophies of development were occurring. The first was cybernetics: some though that the best way to ensure humankind could live on Mars was to conjoin them with machines. This went through many stages, some failed and some even catastrophic, but ultimately resulted in human-machine hybrids that could operate in the inhospitable atmosphere of Mars. The other philosophy was transhumanism: the constant genetic tinkering that led to altered humans that could withstand harsh radiation, low oxygen and other Martian problems. But because of the success of the terraforming project, by the time these two systems reached fruition, Mars was transformed and safe for humankind.
Note that neither of these philosophies were limited to humankind. Apes, cetaceans and cephalopods were all uplifted and enhanced, to serve as tools and workers in the process.
In addition there was the robotic problem. Since the very beginning of the Martian project, autonomous robots had been used to first build, then maintain the infrastructure necessary for humans to live on mars. While these robots were not sentient or sapient, they were independent and self organizing. This would result in stressors between robots and humans/transhumans/cyborgs as time went on.
Despite the competition and difficulties, Mars was able to maintain its internal alliances and establish itself as the most important planet in the solar system while Earth continued to diminish in power and influence. Had everything continued apace, Mars would likely have become the true jewel in the crown of humanity. But it was not to be.
The Catastrophe
The extrasolar object later dubbed Mjolnir was first detected in the early 28th century. It was traveling at a speed unseen before. And it was aimed at earth. No one could know for certain what was happening, but most experts agreed: this was a targeted attack. It was clear that the object had been launched -- or fired -- centuries before. Had it been more recent, it might have targeted Mars. But as it was, it was aimed at Earth. Despite the combined forces of the solar system working together, including Mars, no one could stop the inevitable.
The object -- roughly the size of Long Island -- struck Earth at a speed of approximately one percent of the speed of light. Earth was obliterated, snuffed out like an angry go blowing out a candle.
The destruction of Earth reverberated through the Solar system. Luna survived the impact but was suddenly untethered from its source of food and oxygen. The solar system order collapsed and panic ensued.
Mars was not immune. Despite the powers of Mars working together to ensure their survival, tension still existed. The destruction of Earth by some immensely powerful, unknowable force was too much to bear. Within a few years, all out war broke out on Mars. Missiles flew. Death reigned.
This is where those humble autonomous but mindless robots come into play. Centuries, perhaps millennia, followed the Great War that destroyed Martian civilization. But those robots, tasked since the earliest days of human habitation on the planet to support and maintain infrastructure, continued to fix things. They allowed humanity, in all its weird permutations, to survive on the Red Planet even as the Apocalypse took hold and civilization collapsed.
Now
The campaign takes place some centuries or millenia after The Catastrophe, on a Mars that is slowly but surely falling apart. Despite the best efforts of the relentless but mindless robots, terraformed Mars is collapsing. Someday, maybe not tomorrow but certainly within a few centuries, Mars will not be able to sustain life.
Player characters are the descendants of the survivors of the Catastrophe. They are humans who survived in underground arcologies, or post-human “mutants” that survived on the surface. They might be cyborgs or robots or uplifted cyber-squid. Their goal is survival, and perhaps uncovering enough about the unimaginable technological power of that terraformed Mars to perhaps save it.
On Gonzo Elements
This setting is not intended to be “hard sci-fi.” It relies on the veneer of plausibility, but the game is not intended to be beholden to known physics, chemistry or biology. There will be mutants with special powers, and impossible cyborgs, and simply the setting of post-terraformed Mars.
In the nebulous past of this setting, psychic abilities and super powers and magic, in some form or another, existed and still exist. And super-science is a thing, along with ridiculous extrapolations of known science. The goal is not to present a real or even plausible world, but one that is fun to play in but has just enough of a throughline that we can guess what might and might not make sense.
