Divided Skies: Premise and Background

[Kraven Kor]

Going to run this by you fine folks and ask, if you would, for you to review it and maybe ask some questions to help me flesh this out.

 

What I mostly need is tons and tons of questions regarding things I may or may not have thought about to flesh out the universe. Some of these ideas will likely be similar to what I would recommend for the "generic setting" thread.

 

I want as much of a backstory as possible for the players; but I don't really want to use an existing setting as I don't like players quoting canon to me in my games. I kind of like things to operate based on my imaginings, not someone elses, though obviously a lot of my ideas are st... er, borrowed

 

I'm going to attach a few "work in progress" documents here in a bit, as well.

 

The campaign will be neither "hard" nor "space opera." I want it to kind of be Galactic Champions light - lots of hard science concepts (space travel takes time, no FTL communications other than VERY limited telepathy, FTL limited to deep space travel so you can't have a fleet appear in orbit of a planet with no warning, ships in FTL transit can be detected, no hyperspace or extradimensional stuff, etc.)

 

The general concept is that humanity has only just begun to spread to the stars. Spurred on by a near-armageddon first (official) contact in 2112, we quickly discovered how to mimic the FTL drives of our newfound neighbors and began to explore and colonize space.

 

The players are to be members of a newly-formed government agency which oversees the various spacefaring nation's interstellar trades and politics (Terran Commonwealth is US, Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, and a handful of others; Russia is its own entity as is China, and later a Mormon and a Muslim colony are established.) They will essentially be a mix of Army Core of Engineers, UN Peacekeeping Forces, and Navy Seals - the do-anything team of specialists who take out terrorists, pirates, and alien threats alike, while also occasionally helping out on new world surveys or with alien artifacts and such.

 

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Some basic info:

 

The year at campaign start is around 2300. The first human colony outside our solar system was around 2050 (Alpha Centauri A), with humans now having claims to 17 systems within 40 LY of Sol. Fortunately, their are no alien species with colonies or claims closer than about 60 LY. Most colonies are terraforming colonies on worlds somewhat similar to Mars, or marginably habitable moons around Gas Giants. Only 3 or 4 are on worlds that are at all Earth-like, and only 2 of those have any extensive native life. 2 more systems are colonized outside the 40 LY zone - these being the "Neo-Mormon" colony and the Muslim colony; both groups kind of saw an opportunity to create a civilization more suitable to their beliefs and built arks to find a new home.

 

Due to no real FTL comms, having to rely on FTL couriers, the "United Terran Commonwealth" came up with an agreement amongst the other nations that each extrasolar colony would need a certain level of autonomy. As such, each nation with a stake in a system has a governer in that system and all of this is overseen by a UN-like body called the Terran Council - the players work for a branch called Terran Command; the TC Military, basically. A Russian Colony in another system ultimately answers to Russia back on earth, but is also under the purview of the Terran Council.

 

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FTL travel comes in 2 forms:

 

Our first step into deep space was the discovery that most near neighbor stars have wormholes between them; these are rarely stable, usually appearing only briefly and too dangerous to use for travel. Stars that are tidally locked or that are moving mostly along a similar path will have stable wormholes. (More on this in the docs I'll attach later.)

 

Once we discovered how to travel through a wormhole (the "Node Drive"), we made our first leap to Alpha Centauri and - as suspected - it had a world very similar to Earth though a few million years younger.

 

After a while, we discovered how to stabilize some wormholes via Jump Gates - still requires a naturally occurring wormhole, but the gate can stabilize and - to an extent - make permanent the wormholes that were previously unusable.

 

Finally, and not that long ago, we figured out how to make the drives that most other species used - "Gravitational Tunneling Drives." These create a focused gravitational field in front of a ship that basically creates a shortcut in spacetime - a tunnel in which the ship can travel. (Not going into it here, but FTL does not cause space travel - causality is preserved, and while some relativistic effects occur there is very little time dilation.)

 

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More to come, on the aliens, some history, tech, psionics, genetics, bionics, etc. Feel free to ask questions or give input on the above.

[Beast]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

how fast is travel between stable worm hole points?

if a ship can traverse the worm hole what about a radio signal?

 

lets say that it take a ship 1 week to go 1 parsec(3 lys approx)

and it takes a radio signal 3 days

will still need some local authority

 

the longer it takes for a reply, the more local control will be needed

the big questions are

"How unfriendly is it near the border"

"How Xenophobic are the religious colonies"(especially to other humans. Did the Taliban move out into space only to build an empire to take earth and kill all the infidels once that grew enough and did not kill them selves off )

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

how fast is travel between stable worm hole points?

if a ship can traverse the worm hole what about a radio signal?

 

Wormholes and the Tunneling drive are similar; most travel between systems is measured in days to months depending on the distance and a few other factors. Radio Signals cannot traverse - ships have to use a special drive system to not be ripped apart inside the aperture. Alpha Centauri and a few of the closer colonies can get a message back in about a day or two, systems further out are weeks away from a message being delivered.

 

Telepaths can create a mind link with someone and maintain it across nearly any distance; but as soon as they begin using that link it quickly breaks, and can't be reestablished until the two in the link are once again in the same system. Research is being done on technology to mimic this, but it will not be available in the campaign / current timeline.

 

lets say that it take a ship 1 week to go 1 parsec(3 lys approx)

and it takes a radio signal 3 days

will still need some local authority

 

the longer it takes for a reply, the more local control will be needed

 

Pretty much - most systems have a lot of autonomy and simply follow the laws of the Terran Council. Several systems will be trying to break off completely over the course of the campaign. Even the Muslim and Mormon worlds are somewhat members they just don't answer to any of the Earth-based Nations.

 

the big questions are

 

"How unfriendly is it near the border"

"How Xenophobic are the religious colonies"(especially to other humans. Did the Taliban move out into space only to build an empire to take earth and kill all the infidels once that grew enough and did not kill them selves off )

 

1. Humans have had little contact with the other species; there is a loose alliance between most races but it boils down to "leave us alone and we'll leave you along" with a few trade agreements and a few hub systems open to all member races. The border is friendly unless you try to get into another race's territory, or into uncharted areas where god knows what might await.

 

2. The "Neo-Mormons" are fairly friendly, but don't allow outsiders to venture onto the planet's surface or outside their main trading station. They still send missionaries out trying to convert people and have them move to their planet. Not much is known about conditions on the planet's surface, though the planet is pretty much a paradise world - only the missionaries ever leave the surface.

 

The Muslim world is pretty xenophobic and has little contact with the rest of humanity or the alien species we have thus far contacted. No craft are allowed into their system and other than the occasional trade ship no contact exists between them and the rest of human space; they are also much further out than any other human colony. What is known of them seems to indicate a much more secular, moderate version of Islam than the Taliban, but they are still adamant about not allowing their society to be corrupted by outsiders. Some people have came and gone from that world so we know a bit more about it than the Neo-Mormon's planet.

 

(I need to do some research on an appropriate religious preface and name for these two colonies.)

[Sundog]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

Wormholes and the Tunneling drive are similar; most travel between systems is measured in days to months depending on the distance and a few other factors. Radio Signals cannot traverse - ships have to use a special drive system to not be ripped apart inside the aperture. Alpha Centauri and a few of the closer colonies can get a message back in about a day or two, systems further out are weeks away from a message being delivered.

 

Telepaths can create a mind link with someone and maintain it across nearly any distance; but as soon as they begin using that link it quickly breaks, and can't be reestablished until the two in the link are once again in the same system. Research is being done on technology to mimic this, but it will not be available in the campaign / current timeline.

 

 

 

Pretty much - most systems have a lot of autonomy and simply follow the laws of the Terran Council. Several systems will be trying to break off completely over the course of the campaign. Even the Muslim and Mormon worlds are somewhat members they just don't answer to any of the Earth-based Nations.

 

 

 

1. Humans have had little contact with the other species; there is a loose alliance between most races but it boils down to "leave us alone and we'll leave you along" with a few trade agreements and a few hub systems open to all member races. The border is friendly unless you try to get into another race's territory, or into uncharted areas where god knows what might await.

 

2. The "Neo-Mormons" are fairly friendly, but don't allow outsiders to venture onto the planet's surface or outside their main trading station. They still send missionaries out trying to convert people and have them move to their planet. Not much is known about conditions on the planet's surface, though the planet is pretty much a paradise world - only the missionaries ever leave the surface.

 

The Muslim world is pretty xenophobic and has little contact with the rest of humanity or the alien species we have thus far contacted. No craft are allowed into their system and other than the occasional trade ship no contact exists between them and the rest of human space; they are also much further out than any other human colony. What is known of them seems to indicate a much more secular, moderate version of Islam than the Taliban, but they are still adamant about not allowing their society to be corrupted by outsiders. Some people have came and gone from that world so we know a bit more about it than the Neo-Mormon's planet.

 

(I need to do some research on an appropriate religious preface and name for these two colonies.)

 

The obvous name for the neo-Mormon colony would be Deseret or New Deseret.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

The obvous name for the neo-Mormon colony would be Deseret or New Deseret.

 

Nova Deseret, maybe?

 

For the Muslim world, Hejira or Hegira would seem appropriate.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

Asteroid / moon mining, space colonies and orbital industries?

 

One would assume that examples of all of these exist. Also possibly an aspect that your Terran Council would have to address - in theory at least, you don't have to have an actual planet for a major population centre. TC governors may be for an entire system rather than for a specific world - this would make a lot of sense if a colonized world goes on to set up lesser colonies, habitats, etc. within its star system.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

Asteroid / moon mining, space colonies and orbital industries?

 

One would assume that examples of all of these exist. Also possibly an aspect that your Terran Council would have to address - in theory at least, you don't have to have an actual planet for a major population centre. TC governors may be for an entire system rather than for a specific world - this would make a lot of sense if a colonized world goes on to set up lesser colonies, habitats, etc. within its star system.

 

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

 

Several systems which have wormholes we use have no habitable planets and one has no planets at all, but an extensive debris disk. The hardest part to govern is that in each system, more than one of the Nations of Terra have claims, so you actually have the TC Governor as well as officials from multiple nations.

 

A lot of planets or moons in early stages of survey or terraforming only have an orbital colony with limited structures on the surface - it takes decades to properly survey a world and ensure it is viable. Geological activity, native microbial and animal life forms need to be assessed, years of cataloging stellar objects in the system to ensure the orbit is stable, no impending impacts, etc.

 

There is no inter-system mineral trade, really, any mining is done to supply the orbital or surface habitats and industry of a system - it's too expensive to ship from system to system when most every system has plentiful resources in asteroid belts and non-habitable terrestrial moons or planets. As such, mining is all but banned on habitable worlds unless certain materials can only be found there (could use some ideas on what might be found only on an earth- or mars-like world.)

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

This thread outlines a few thoughts on the origins of the campaign setting, which leads us to:

 

Aliens:

 

The “Rigellian Council” races:

 

Akashi – The Akashi are a highly advanced, water-breathing species evolved from something similar to a jellyfish. Their bodies are small – about 3 to 4 feet in length / height - translucent, with bioluminescent aspects and no skeletal structure. Six tentacle-like appendages emerge from their bulbous underbellies, though most have only seen them in their armored exoskeletons. They have no visible eyes, mouths, digestive or respiratory systems, and no central nervous system - they are very similar in biological makeup to many deep-see jellyfish of Earth. Akashi are sexless, and communicate via bioluminescent signals and telepathy – they have no vocal capabilities whatsoever. The Akashi possess incredibly advanced bio-technology, which they create and control telepathically. Their culture is nearly incomprehensible to our own, and they are very reclusive, allowing no cross-colonization of their systems and having only limited contact with the other races of the Council, despite being the dominant species. They are the oldest space-faring race of the Council, having achieved interstellar flight over 10,000 years ago. Though being the eldest of the space faring races in the known universe, they have colonized few worlds, only about 75 and those clustered in 32 star systems. It was the Akashi, for unknown reasons, who first came to Humanity’s aid during the Armageddon Incident, having long ago discovered Earth and established secret observation posts. Akashi colonize only watery worlds, preferring cool, high-pressure worlds – they are native to a planet similar to the Ganymede moon of Jupiter – liquid oceans beneath a thick layer of ice. They can exist in any high-pressure water, regardless of nearly any other aspects of a planet. They can also survive on some Gas Giants, if that Gas Giant has a water layer (few do.) All Akashi are naturally telepathic, and they are the most powerful Psionic species thus far encountered, rivaled only by the extra-dimensional Greys. Outside of watery environments, Akashi wear bulky exoskeletal armor made from an unknown material which is incredibly resilient to physical punishment, though they are somewhat more susceptible to Neural Disruptors and similar energy weapons. Akashi in their armored suits appear as luminous beings, using this bright light to make targeting them difficult for many species.

 

Argoth – Argoth are a mammalian species native to a planet much colder than Earth. They are the most recent race of the Council, besides humans, to achieve interstellar travel. Argoth stand about 7 to 8 feet tall, with short legs and long, powerful arms. They are somewhat simian, and typically walk on all four limbs. They have dexterous digits on both hands and feet, and generally use the smaller lower limbs for fine manipulation, and the more powerful arms for locomotion. They have bluish-white skin covered in mottled white to grey-ish yellow fur, with four eyes – two larger, forward facing eyes and two smaller eyes set on the sides of their head, giving them nearly 360 degree vision. They have dense body masses, native to a world with higher gravity than Earth, and are several orders of magnitude stronger than humans. The Argoth are a volatile race, still fighting amongst themselves and constantly involved over the years in many conflicts with species within the council (though these conflicts are resolved) and beyond. Their culture values honor and honesty which has made them stalwart proponents of the Council, now that their initial aggressions were put down. Argothians acquired space travel around 750 years ago, having had no previous contact with other species. Argothian technology is quite advanced for their relative youth in galactic terms, and their warships are generally at the head of any joint Council operations.

 

Tau’Shi – The Tau’Shi are an Arthropodal species, though they share some similarities to both reptiles and insects. They are similar in size to humans, but have nearly three times our mass due to their thick, chitinous exoskeletons. They have two large limbs with thin pincers, about 14 smaller limbs surrounding their mouths and on their chest, which are used for manipulation of tools and technology, and then 8 to 12 short legs (there is cultural significance to having more legs, and males with more legs often have the most mating potential.) The Tau’Shi are the most difficult of the Council races, frequently disputing system claims as they have more colonized systems – over 300 - than any other council species and have an incredibly rapid breeding rate, thus constantly seeking new worlds. However, they are the most distant territory from Terran space, so Humans have thus far had no conflicts with them. The Tau’Shi achieved interstellar travel about 2,700 years ago, and it was a war with the Argothians that resulted in the formation of the Rigellian Council some 600 years ago. Tau’Shi can inhabit nearly any planet which has oxygen present, and can survive in almost any environment with liquid or gaseous oxygen. They seem unaffected by radiation, high or low pressure, and are nearly immune to all biological threats from virii to bacteria to toxins. Tau’Shi spacecraft are somewhat low-tech, though they have drive systems capable of creating short-range temporary wormholes and build massive, thickly armored ships.

 

G’lhek – The G’lhek are a "partially silicon based" life form, the only such life form Humans have directly encountered - they have siliceous exoskeletons around their more familiar carbon based internal organs. They are small creatures, only about 2 feet in diameter, with 12 identical limbs in a radial configuration around their ovoid bodies. Their “head” is in the center of their torso, which sensitive antennae which they rely on over their less-sensitive eyes. G’lhek are crystalline in appearance, covered in flexible crystalline-scaled spines which have nematocysts that are lethal to most other carbon-based life forms. They can also shoot these spines a short distance. G’lhek are native to a high pressure gas giant, and have colonized about 50 planets since achieving interstellar travel about 1,000 years ago. There are some talks between G’lhek and Humans for cross-colonization of systems – G’lhek only colonize hot gas giants and have little use for terrestrial worlds beyond mineral needs, and in addition are our closest neighbors. G’lhek, despite their seemingly toxic and alien nature, are not aggressive and have sought friendship with many species within the Council and beyond. Their technology has advanced at a rapid rate, and next to the biotech of the Akashi are the most advanced species of the Council. Despite their friendly nature, they have fought – and won – a number of wars with several species that humans have had little to no contact with. They joined the Council when the Akashi stepped in to one of their conflicts and talked the G’lhek out of eradicating a particularly aggressive race called the Kurin, who humans have yet to encounter. The Kurin are a race of amphibian-like creatures who also inhabit Gas Giant planets. G’lhek are incredibly sensitive to most energy based weapons, and prefer to avoid direct combat, instead using their advanced technology – drones, robots, and heavily armed starships.

 

Xillik – The Xillik are the most similar species in the Council to humans, and also one of the most recent entrants. Xillik stand about 5 feet tall, have slender, hairless bodies and large, dark eyes. Their heads are larger than humans’, with no visible ears or nose – they hear using their sensitive skin, and their porous skin is highly sensitive giving them acute perception of air composition and vibrations. Their arms have three long, slender fingers tipped with suction-cups. They have no elongated bones, instead having dozens of joints in every limb and digit, making them incredibly dexterous and able to contort their bodies into impossible poses. Their skin also has chameleon-like properties. Xillik technology is about on par with that of Humans, though their drive technology is quite a bit ahead of ours – in fact many council species have adapted their drives, which are somewhat similar to our Tunneling drives but can be used in much closer proximities to gravitational fields (though still requiring entry and exit far from planetary bodies or the inner sections of a system.) Xillik achieved interstellar travel about 1200 years ago, and were in contact with the Akashi before that, due to encounters with the D’hrek over their own history.

 

Though these Council races all inhabit areas of space relatively close to our own “neighborhood,” there are several other species that have not joined. Some of these species still have more or less peaceful relations with their neighbors, others are highly aggressive but have been largely contained by cooperative efforts amongst the Council races. Many of these species still have dealings with the Council itself or at least trade agreements.

 

The Kurin, mentioned above, are a species of somewhat amphibian creatures, native to Gas Giants. They are massive beings, ranging from 10 to 30 meters in length. They have large, elongated heads with a four-part, toothy jaw. They have 4 arms, and no legs, instead swimming in the dense atmospheres of their preferred planets using four flexible membranes which fold out from their tails. They had a lengthy conflict with the Tau’Shi, but suffered heavy losses and have not played a major role in galactic events since. Humans have yet to encounter them. Kurin have incredibly long lifespans, living for several thousand years. They achieved interstellar flight about 800 years ago; their technology is very limited, they don’t even have the ability to use wormholes, they instead are much more resistant to gravitational forces and can withstand much higher rates of acceleration. They travel from system to system using massive ships with more traditional propulsion, taking years to reach their destination and having only colonized about 15 systems.

 

Arak are another vaguely humanoid species, of saurian descent. They walk semi-erect on multi-jointed legs with reversed knees and stand about 3 meters tall. They have 4 arms, two larger, powerful limbs which emerge from their backs – possibly vestigial wings – and two shorter, three-fingered arms which emerge from their chests. They have large heads with powerful, toothy jaws and large eyes. Their skin is thickly scaled, and they are much stronger than Humans and even Argoth. Arak are highly aggressive and war-like, though they have several times been repelled by various Council species and generally steer clear. Humans have had a few run-ins with Arak raiders, the Arak having hundreds of factions and rogue elements strewn about the galaxy. Arak achieved interstellar flight about 600 years ago, though their internal conflicts have prevented them from becoming a major force in the galaxy. Arak technology is only slightly more advanced than our own, but they have stolen a lot of technology from other species.

 

Ch'sme are an insectoid species, and our closest non-Council neighbors. They are much smaller than humans, about 1 foot in diameter and 2 to 3 feet long, having six limbs in a radial configuration around a spider-like bulbous body. Each limb ends in dozens of dexterous, spine-like digits, which they can use to grip nearly any surface. Their heads can retract into their armored thorax, and their mouths are powerful 4-part mandibles. They have a vestigial stinger, though they have evolved to where they no longer produce venom they can still use the stinger as a potent weapon. Ch’kthan can communicate chemically, like ants, though they primarily communicate in a language of clicks and hisses and complex body language. While not overly aggressive, they have little ability to communicate with other species and are very defensive, seeing any other life form as a threat. They generally avoid contact with other species; most such meetings end violently.

 

These are the only species humans have either encountered or attained any detailed information on. There are a few dozen other species that the Council races have contact with or whom they have at least encountered, mostly in farther reaches of the Galaxy, or species who have yet to achieve interstellar travel.

 

There are two more "known" species, though little is known about them. These are the D’hrek, and the “Greys” (whom the Council call Thiss, the Tau'shi name for the species.)

 

The D’hrek are the demonic beings who the Akashi drove from Earth, and the Akashi have had many encounters with them on other planets. The D’hrek invade primitive cultures, their motives are not completely understood but it is clear they have some drive to enslave non spacefaring species. D'hrek are impossible to describe, any witnesses to them can't agree on their size or form; only their black-red color is consistent from account to account. It is unknown where the D'hrek come from, but they have the ability to create portals allowing them to travel directly to a planet's surface - these portals used devices built at the destination, and the D'hrek are very much able to infiltrate primitive cultures somehow; on Earth, they had human followers build the devices enabling them to attempt two invasions.

 

The Greys are even more mysterious – even the Akashi have no ability to detect or communicate with them. Common belief is that they come from some distant place - or even another dimension - to observe and experiment with various sentient and non-sentient beings. Greys - or Thiss - have never been known to make any overtly aggressive actions, none of the beings who have encountered them have been harmed or killed, though many show signs of incredibly advanced surgical procedures being performed on them. The Akashi know that the Greys have powerful telepathic abilities, even more powerful than their own, and nothing is known of their technology. Some creatures have returned from encounters with tiny objects implanted with them which cannot be removed without killing the host. Those removed offer no details on their purpose or construction.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

There is no inter-system mineral trade' date=' really, any mining is done to supply the orbital or surface habitats and industry of a system - it's too expensive to ship from system to system when most every system has plentiful resources in asteroid belts and non-habitable terrestrial moons or planets.[/quote']

 

Yes, that makes sense. In this case, interstellar trade may emphasize things like technology (eg, shipping in those tools necessary to get a world's / system's industrial base up and running) and low-bulk luxury goods (OK, a world may be largely self-sufficient, but there is a likelihood that some places may be phenomenally better than others at producing certain "optional" items - spices, grog, fancy textiles, craftware, etc.).

 

If you haven't seen it already, you might want to check out this article about interstellar trade, written by a good friend of mine -

 

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~iandl57/trade.html

 

As such' date=' mining is all but banned on habitable worlds unless certain materials can only be found there (could use some ideas on what might be found only on an earth- or mars-like world.) [/quote']

 

Not completely sure, but really heavy elements (like the transuranics) may be hard to get in space, and easier to find on / in a relatively dense world like Earth.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

How different would things be in my slow-FTL / limited colonies setting compared to the Traveller setting? Most of my colonies are still far from total self-sufficiency. In fact I would think only one or two of them are even "in the green" as far as being able to export anything in return for the massive import of technology and labor.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

How different would things be in my slow-FTL / limited colonies setting compared to the Traveller setting? Most of my colonies are still far from total self-sufficiency. In fact I would think only one or two of them are even "in the green" as far as being able to export anything in return for the massive import of technology and labor.

 

Good question. Simple answer = Somewhat, but not necessarily as different as you might think.

 

For a start, the situation you outline would seem to favour "tramp freighters" a la Traveller's Free Traders, rather than gigantic bulk cargo carriers. Think relatively small agile ships with flexible scheduling and carrying diverse cargoes, and able to cope with various situations - eg, loading cargo from a high-tech starport, and then offloading somewhere not so technological, or even downright hostile.

 

On the face of it, the cargo trade MIGHT seem fairly one-sided at first - valuable stuff being exported out to the boonies and not much coming back. That's OK, there are rough equivalents in the present, just consider bulk carriers (oil, ore, gas, etc.) which may be empty for a big chunk of their travel time. Offload whatever they are built to carry then go back to load up again, enough money is made overall to pay for running "in ballast".

 

But, I don't think the interstellar trade will be quite that one-sided, even at the very beginning. The inbound freighters may be travelling fairly light at first, but there will still be stuff to go back - mail, personnel returning to Earth for visits (or because their contracts have wound up, they've made their money and they just wanna go home), items of interest being sent in for study, samples of local goods being sent in for market research, government paperwork (or whatever medium is used by then for admin), equipment being returned because it failed its warranty, and so on.

 

In any case, I am certain that merchant skippers would work hard to find something to ship back. Anything. Empty holds yield no extra profit so, at the very least, they are going to load up with funny rocks that might look nice in somebody's rock garden on Earth, or something comparably bizarre. Just on the off chance. Not that it will stay like that for too long - there are a crapload of people who crave profit, and a crapload of people who crave the rare, exotic and unusual (or even just the insanely cheap!). With those groups around, trade is inevitable.

[Ryjrunr]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

(I need to do some research on an appropriate religious preface and name for these two colonies.)

 

did you mean religious practice?

 

the muslim world will have a problem with the direction of mecca, the direction of prayer the world will rotate and revolve so the direction will change constantly

 

you could put mosques on turntables but i don't think that's going to work

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

did you mean religious practice?

 

the muslim world will have a problem with the direction of mecca, the direction of prayer the world will rotate and revolve so the direction will change constantly

 

you could put mosques on turntables but i don't think that's going to work

 

So, maybe they incorporate some functions of an astronomical observatory. Plenty of historical precedent for combining places of worship with stargazing.

[Ryjrunr]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

So' date=' maybe they incorporate some functions of an astronomical observatory. Plenty of historical precedent for combining places of worship with stargazing.[/quote']

 

could be but i don't think that is part of the heritage of Islam

[Sundog]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

Alternatively, it's possible they've reformed to the point of deciding there is a "spiritual centre" on each world, which they face and go on Hajj to. That could also give you tensions between "Orthodox" (must face Mecca) and "Reformed" factions.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

could be but i don't think that is part of the heritage of Islam

 

Maybe not. But history has a fair few Islamic astronomers in it - AND we are supposedly talking about a direction that one (or more) branches of that particular faith might take centuries from now on other worlds.

 

Just how recognizable would certain branches of any of the known faiths be by then?

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

I plan to make them fairly recognizable, though not key to the campaign.

 

The "apocalyptic" Christian faiths will all be believing they are in the "thousand year reign" of Jesus, or some similar interpretation that implies Armageddon has already come and passed. Some will believe that this is all a trick, and that we are actually still in the middle of the war against Satan, though these will be the minority. Most will believe that the Akashi are the "hosts of heaven" from the Revelations texts.

 

I don't know enough about Islamic prophecy or belief to really give much detail to the Muslim colony, but I intend to have them be very xenophobic and reclusive, while also still generating a fair number of fanatics who come to harass the larger world (and thus the players.)

 

The Mormons will basically believe that - if I'm remembering their beliefs correctly - Nova Deseret is their promise land and they are intended to go and convert all the worlds of the galaxy to their faith. (I seem to recall something about Mormons and "levels of heaven" or some such and how they believe they might be given whole worlds to rule over after the tribulations or whatever.)

[Clonus]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

could be but i don't think that is part of the heritage of Islam

 

Neither is interstellar travel. People adapt. Odds are good, though, that they'd consider praying up at the sky to be sufficient.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

Neither is interstellar travel. People adapt. Odds are good' date=' though, that they'd consider praying up at the sky to be sufficient.[/quote']

 

Most of them, anyhow. In any group, you will always find a few nutters - usually the ultra-conservatives, but the ultra-progressives can also be scary.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Divided Skies: Premise and Background

 

Yup - I have an acquaintance, who is ultra-liberal, who has seriously advocated a "license to breed" program