Amillionrandomdigits
24-11-2008, 21:36
So, more than partly inspired by an RP I was in a while ago, it itself borrowing heavily from recognized works of fiction.
Perhaps a bit of background is in order. In the words of Chronosia:
“Its come to my attention that FT has alot more to give to the universe than we’re currently seeing. The flood of intro threads, be they amazing or slightly wanting…We need some epic RPs, some campaigns and epics to put the old RPs to shame. We need things like the Shivan War, or ESUS/GFFA war.”
Craving this lost epicness, Chron started a brainstorming thread. Boldly the cream of II FT, some other interested blokes and myself gathered to come up with the most epic RP ever.
After a page or so of mildly interesting ideas, No Endorse came up with an intriguing proposition. Apparently “massive space battles between juggernaut nations” weren’t as awesome as everyone had thought. So he proposed that we’d RP “various internal political entities vying for power in a climax/decaying civilization, with the central power trying desperately to keep its hold on everything”. We kind of elaborated on that for a few more pages, until Hyperspatial Travel decided that we had done enough talking and it was time for some RPing.
Unfortunately, the RP died.
Fortunately, I want it back.
So I C&P his idea, claim it as my own and hope nobody will notice.
---
Sometime long ago, several thousand years ago some say, man developed a means of space travel. Slowly, very slowly, man spread through the galaxy. The first fledgling colonies turned to cities as the centuries passed. Man found himself alone in the universe, with infinite space to conquer, infinite planets to settle.
From Earth the vast empire is ruled. But space travel is expensive and difficult, the physics behind not fully understood. To maintain direct rule from Earth is impossible, instead power is delegated to planetary governors. Planets enjoy large degrees of autonomy; the human realm resembles more and more a federation of independent planets. Multilateral agreements between governors become increasingly common, side-stepping the federal council on Earth. Understandably, this was seen as a problem by the politicians on Earth.
After a number of planets declared independence, a military expedition was launched. In reality it wasn’t so much of an expedition. Lone ships dropped out of hyperspace inside secessionist systems. Far from the bombastic ships seen in 20th century space operas, the Earth warships intimidated not by design but by horrendous firepower. Relativistic kill vehicles were what brought the rogue planets back to the federation. Not the use of them- save for a few instances – but the mere threat. A single ship dropping out of hyperspace inside a system, a single ship capable of obliterating an entire planet, was motivation enough to remain loyal to Earth.
But while order was restored, the fundamental problem, the cause of the secessionist movements remained; there simply was no way to directly control other planets from Earth. The independence of the planetary governors was, if you excuse the language, an historical necessity, kept in check only by the threat of excessive violence.
And then thyraza was discovered. A fine powder, light yellow in appearance, derived from a flower found only on a remote planet. When sniffed, it makes food, music and colour more enjoyable. It creates a sense of euphoria. It keens the mind. It is horribly addictive.
The upper class is the first affected. It trickles down from there. From social parties to night clubs to whore houses. Everyone uses it. It is not long before the side effects are known. While tolerance builds up slowly, it is more addictive than any previous drug. Dependence is heritable. Withdrawal symptoms end in an agonizing and inevitable death.
The supply of thyraza becomes the number one priority of the parliament on Earth, the number one priority of all humans. Without thyraza no space empire. Without thyraza, no humanity.
A number of private companies are given the exclusive right to grow, refine, transport and sell thyraza. A special planetary government is set up on the thyraza planet, given vast executive and legislative powers in order to guarantee the uninterrupted supply to the rest of the galaxy. The governor commands four war ships, a secret police, answers only to the Secretary-General on Earth and wields supreme power within the system.
At the same time Earth and the rest of humanity is in a state of political disarray. There are rumours about planetary governors being elected, instead of appointed by the council. More and more planets demand representation in the Earth parliament.
The extraordinary powers granted the thyraza planet governor, the political upheaval in the rest of the empire and the long distance spells independence for not only the governor of the thyraza planet, but the companies as well.
So the setting is this:
We have a number of companies who grow, refine and sell thyraza. We have a planetary governor whose mission it is to make sure they do so as effectively as possible. The governor is the chairman of the Thyraza Trading Cartel – the official agency through which the industry is controlled, regulated and coordinated.
The companies wish to maximize their profits.
The governor wishes to maximize the amount of thyraza exported, as well as tax the trade as much as he can.
The only way to travel to other planets, indeed anywhere, is through hyperspace. A ship can be forcefully ‘plucked’ from hyperspace, if you have the right (military) equipment, the real space-time coordinates, the hyper space-time coordinates and the right authority.
The planetary governor is the only one who has warships.
Cloak and dagger politics ensues.
And now the rules, as written by Hyperspatial Travel:
1) No ‘exotic’ technologies. Hyperjump is the only thing that violates any scientific principle. Shields do not exist. Other methods of FTL travel do not exist. Any weapon you might think up for your NS nation does not exist.
2) This is primarily a character RP. You cannot control a massive faction of thousands of stars, because none such exists (in this incarnation, you don’t even control planets; corporate space stations at most). In a galaxy of millions of inhabited worlds, if not more, you are utterly insignificant. If you decided to embark on a ‘cleansing’ program, and destroy as many worlds as possible, you would be annihilated before you could destroy a thousandth part of humanity’s holdings, if that. The whole point is to RP intrigue, to RP without the massive fleet-slogging random-battles that plague FT. There are no special powers, no new, super-duper technologies that give you the edge (not even those Dune-inspired shapeshifters that were allowed in the original RP). The fun is in making intricate plots, and using subtlety, and intelligence, to achieve your goals, and to plot against other players, for whatever reasons you might have.
3) You can create your own faction, whether it be a single colony, a company, or a starship captain. Perhaps a company of mercenaries. Either way, what you RP is entirely up to you, provided it doesn’t violate the reality that takes hold within the game.
4) It’s all subject to my approval. I know, I didn’t write that above, but it is. I don’t want wankers and idiots spoiling this RP. For those of us who are willing to get into intricate intrigue, and three-dimensional characters, I’m more than willing to admit you. I reserve the right to kick people out at any time.
5) Other than that, jump in! If one of your characters, or factions, is annihilated, you can always create another. There is no reason to godmod your way out of things, and there’s no way to wank. If you have any ideas, or changes that could be made, throw ‘em at me!
(Oh, and before you ask – I play the planetary governor)
Perhaps a bit of background is in order. In the words of Chronosia:
“Its come to my attention that FT has alot more to give to the universe than we’re currently seeing. The flood of intro threads, be they amazing or slightly wanting…We need some epic RPs, some campaigns and epics to put the old RPs to shame. We need things like the Shivan War, or ESUS/GFFA war.”
Craving this lost epicness, Chron started a brainstorming thread. Boldly the cream of II FT, some other interested blokes and myself gathered to come up with the most epic RP ever.
After a page or so of mildly interesting ideas, No Endorse came up with an intriguing proposition. Apparently “massive space battles between juggernaut nations” weren’t as awesome as everyone had thought. So he proposed that we’d RP “various internal political entities vying for power in a climax/decaying civilization, with the central power trying desperately to keep its hold on everything”. We kind of elaborated on that for a few more pages, until Hyperspatial Travel decided that we had done enough talking and it was time for some RPing.
Unfortunately, the RP died.
Fortunately, I want it back.
So I C&P his idea, claim it as my own and hope nobody will notice.
---
Sometime long ago, several thousand years ago some say, man developed a means of space travel. Slowly, very slowly, man spread through the galaxy. The first fledgling colonies turned to cities as the centuries passed. Man found himself alone in the universe, with infinite space to conquer, infinite planets to settle.
From Earth the vast empire is ruled. But space travel is expensive and difficult, the physics behind not fully understood. To maintain direct rule from Earth is impossible, instead power is delegated to planetary governors. Planets enjoy large degrees of autonomy; the human realm resembles more and more a federation of independent planets. Multilateral agreements between governors become increasingly common, side-stepping the federal council on Earth. Understandably, this was seen as a problem by the politicians on Earth.
After a number of planets declared independence, a military expedition was launched. In reality it wasn’t so much of an expedition. Lone ships dropped out of hyperspace inside secessionist systems. Far from the bombastic ships seen in 20th century space operas, the Earth warships intimidated not by design but by horrendous firepower. Relativistic kill vehicles were what brought the rogue planets back to the federation. Not the use of them- save for a few instances – but the mere threat. A single ship dropping out of hyperspace inside a system, a single ship capable of obliterating an entire planet, was motivation enough to remain loyal to Earth.
But while order was restored, the fundamental problem, the cause of the secessionist movements remained; there simply was no way to directly control other planets from Earth. The independence of the planetary governors was, if you excuse the language, an historical necessity, kept in check only by the threat of excessive violence.
And then thyraza was discovered. A fine powder, light yellow in appearance, derived from a flower found only on a remote planet. When sniffed, it makes food, music and colour more enjoyable. It creates a sense of euphoria. It keens the mind. It is horribly addictive.
The upper class is the first affected. It trickles down from there. From social parties to night clubs to whore houses. Everyone uses it. It is not long before the side effects are known. While tolerance builds up slowly, it is more addictive than any previous drug. Dependence is heritable. Withdrawal symptoms end in an agonizing and inevitable death.
The supply of thyraza becomes the number one priority of the parliament on Earth, the number one priority of all humans. Without thyraza no space empire. Without thyraza, no humanity.
A number of private companies are given the exclusive right to grow, refine, transport and sell thyraza. A special planetary government is set up on the thyraza planet, given vast executive and legislative powers in order to guarantee the uninterrupted supply to the rest of the galaxy. The governor commands four war ships, a secret police, answers only to the Secretary-General on Earth and wields supreme power within the system.
At the same time Earth and the rest of humanity is in a state of political disarray. There are rumours about planetary governors being elected, instead of appointed by the council. More and more planets demand representation in the Earth parliament.
The extraordinary powers granted the thyraza planet governor, the political upheaval in the rest of the empire and the long distance spells independence for not only the governor of the thyraza planet, but the companies as well.
So the setting is this:
We have a number of companies who grow, refine and sell thyraza. We have a planetary governor whose mission it is to make sure they do so as effectively as possible. The governor is the chairman of the Thyraza Trading Cartel – the official agency through which the industry is controlled, regulated and coordinated.
The companies wish to maximize their profits.
The governor wishes to maximize the amount of thyraza exported, as well as tax the trade as much as he can.
The only way to travel to other planets, indeed anywhere, is through hyperspace. A ship can be forcefully ‘plucked’ from hyperspace, if you have the right (military) equipment, the real space-time coordinates, the hyper space-time coordinates and the right authority.
The planetary governor is the only one who has warships.
Cloak and dagger politics ensues.
And now the rules, as written by Hyperspatial Travel:
1) No ‘exotic’ technologies. Hyperjump is the only thing that violates any scientific principle. Shields do not exist. Other methods of FTL travel do not exist. Any weapon you might think up for your NS nation does not exist.
2) This is primarily a character RP. You cannot control a massive faction of thousands of stars, because none such exists (in this incarnation, you don’t even control planets; corporate space stations at most). In a galaxy of millions of inhabited worlds, if not more, you are utterly insignificant. If you decided to embark on a ‘cleansing’ program, and destroy as many worlds as possible, you would be annihilated before you could destroy a thousandth part of humanity’s holdings, if that. The whole point is to RP intrigue, to RP without the massive fleet-slogging random-battles that plague FT. There are no special powers, no new, super-duper technologies that give you the edge (not even those Dune-inspired shapeshifters that were allowed in the original RP). The fun is in making intricate plots, and using subtlety, and intelligence, to achieve your goals, and to plot against other players, for whatever reasons you might have.
3) You can create your own faction, whether it be a single colony, a company, or a starship captain. Perhaps a company of mercenaries. Either way, what you RP is entirely up to you, provided it doesn’t violate the reality that takes hold within the game.
4) It’s all subject to my approval. I know, I didn’t write that above, but it is. I don’t want wankers and idiots spoiling this RP. For those of us who are willing to get into intricate intrigue, and three-dimensional characters, I’m more than willing to admit you. I reserve the right to kick people out at any time.
5) Other than that, jump in! If one of your characters, or factions, is annihilated, you can always create another. There is no reason to godmod your way out of things, and there’s no way to wank. If you have any ideas, or changes that could be made, throw ‘em at me!
(Oh, and before you ask – I play the planetary governor)