Space Western - Would like Your Input

[Solomani666]

Ex bounty hunter turn town marshal on Loneseda/Rhylanor
C86A215-7 Population 700.

Most of the population lives on an island group about the size of Hawaii.

The main town is on the largest island 50+ km from the downport linked by road and monorail. The starport has no hotel and little in the way of rest facilities and merchants, so most passers through usually make it to town.

Most citizens work for the fish/food export corporation with each employee having at least a few voting shares.

Smaller islands have independent farmers/fishermen/ranchers. The corporation only actually owns the main island.

The terrain is mostly mountains, jungle and beaches.

My working notes/ideas so far:

* Run just like an old west town.

* Extraterritoriality issues between the main character marshal and the Imperial starport marshal.

* Violent storms and flooding when Loneseda lines up with the two nearest gas giants.

* Pirates, one sea and one space operating from remote islands.

* Could use some help with the flora and fauna. I need at least 2 deadly predators, some stock animals and a riding animal.

* A sentient amphibious race living near the remotest, unsettled islands. TL-2. Some surface occasionally to use fire. They have turned most of the uplifted dolphins and will arrange for the others to have accidents should they be discovered by them and not turned..

* Trade ships from Natoko bringing rowdy/evil military types into town on a weekly basis. Trade relations are important with Natoko as a source of TL9 goods and buyers of Loneseda food products. Also because Natako could block freetrader (jump-1) traffic from getting to Loneseda. Unofficially of course.

* A few active volcanoes dot the island.

* Most get around by fuel cell powered dirt bikes and buggies or the rail that links the starport, town and 2 work farms/factories.

* Independent homesteaders have staked claims and settled many of the other islands.


Any ideas you might have to spice up this new campaign (starts tonight) will be greatly appreciated. I particularly need animal encounter ideas, some mapping software for hex maps (city and wilderness. free.), and what other features I might add to the world.

Some good characters for the townsfolk will also be helpful.

Thanks in advance.


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[DFW]

My working notes/ideas so far:

* Run just like an old west town.

Sounds good except with a Law Level of 5 you'll never have an old West town feeling. Highest LL @7 that would work would be 3.

 

[Solomani666]

My working notes/ideas so far:

* Run just like an old west town.

Sounds good except with a Law Level of 5 you'll never have an old West town feeling. Highest LL @7 that would work would be 3.

A law level of 5 allows for rifles, shotguns and pistols, but no automatic weapons. That sounds like the Old West to me.

Also, women are wavered one law level (can carry a concealed weapon) provided she wears a colored ribbon in plain site on the wrist of her gun hand.


P.S. It's typical of you to make a negative comment without contributing positively in any way or even answering the questions in the initial post.


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[zero]

Perhaps have a bartering system in the town where people can make a living, like frontiersmen?

You'll need a bar where scraps can happen and gunstores as an open legitimate business. Also, a sheriff that complains if Imperial forces come from the starport into his town and p'ing on his jurisdiction

Pirates - have them privateers working for a company or perhaps an ol' white suited tycoon that attacks their rivals. Works both on the sea and space and has some justification for their continued existence.

Animals, just roll them randomly from the animal tables, change what you dont like, keep what you do :wink:

Watch some westerns, play Red Dead Redemption (PS3 or Xbox 360), that'll give you a load of inspiration.
Filmwise, check out The Man with No Name trilogy and Shane.

 

[BP]

Haven't used this myself - but looks decent (and lots of other good tools on the site): http://www.inkwellideas.com/roleplaying_tools/hexographer/

As to animal encounters - haven't used MgT's Core rules yet, but something along the lines of alligators (faster/nocturnal hunters) might be appropriate (esp. if imported around a certain island - with the locals unaware of exact specifics, but with rumors of folk snatched at night and taken to the waters...).

Assuming there might be some water adventuring - a nasty deep water predator could be entertaining... perhaps stirred up by the TL-2 guys (maybe they place its young in harms way - in the players route).

Not an animal - but scorpion type critters could be interesting. Potent, but non-lethal paralysis can present a lot of challenges - plus could be used by some for 'fun' or on captives.

This also sounds the sort of place that an inter-system fugitive might run to and hunker down in... with higher TL and the right resources he could stay largely undetected (and be real paranoid about out of system-ers showing up).

Have Fun!

 

[Solomani666]

Perhaps have a bartering system in the town where people can make a living, like frontiersmen?

You'll need a bar where scraps can happen and gunstores as an open legitimate business. Also, a sheriff that complains if Imperial forces come from the starport into his town and p'ing on his jurisdiction

Pirates - have them privateers working for a company or perhaps an ol' white suited tycoon that attacks their rivals. Works both on the sea and space and has some justification for their continued existence.

Animals, just roll them randomly from the animal tables, change what you dont like, keep what you do :wink:

Watch some westerns, play Red Dead Redemption (PS3 or Xbox 360), that'll give you a load of inspiration.
Filmwise, check out The Man with No Name trilogy and Shane.

Thanks.

You led me onto several good ideas.

I think that the corporation will only do about 70% of the planets business, while the independents do the remaining 30% making them a viable threat. The pirating you refer to can be to put the independents out of business.

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[Solomani666]

Haven't used this myself - but looks decent (and lots of other good tools on the site): http://www.inkwellideas.com/roleplaying_tools/hexographer/

As to animal encounters - haven't used MgT's Core rules yet, but something along the lines of alligators (faster/nocturnal hunters) might be appropriate (esp. if imported around a certain island - with the locals unaware of exact specifics, but with rumors of folk snatched at night and taken to the waters...).

Assuming there might be some water adventuring - a nasty deep water predator could be entertaining... perhaps stirred up by the TL-2 guys (maybe they place its young in harms way - in the players route).

Not an animal - but scorpion type critters could be interesting. Potent, but non-lethal paralysis can present a lot of challenges - plus could be used by some for 'fun' or on captives.

This also sounds the sort of place that an inter-system fugitive might run to and hunker down in... with higher TL and the right resources he could stay largely undetected (and be real paranoid about out of system-ers showing up).

Have Fun!

Hexographer is awesome! Exactly what I was looking for.

Thank you!

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[Dave Chase]

My working notes/ideas so far:

* Run just like an old west town.

Sounds good except with a Law Level of 5 you'll never have an old West town feeling. Highest LL @7 that would work would be 3.

...

P.S. It's typical of you to make a negative comment without contributing positively in any way or even answering the questions in the initial post.


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Yup, sounds typical of you to be negative toward certain individuals.
Did you notice the first part of his sentence?
Sounds good ...

As for making it feel like the old west of movies, I think that playing it up in the game, will work more than the technical UWP part.

Ie, you want it to feel like the old west then design it like the old west and don't worry about what the Imperial's say its suppose to be (ie in game world not real world).

Add to it that travel by vehicle other than wagon/stagecoach will get the regulars and those born of the world looking down upon you. Something that some merchants might have to learn the hard way when trying to make deals for freight.

If you are wanting the old west in importance of economics you might consider what the beef is. Ie. what creature that has a high value of meat that offworlders want that must be driven in to town (starport) to be butchered and sold to merchants.

That would make it a strange time for those who have no idea about the 'cattle drive' if they arrived just as one was coming into town to the livestock pens.

Dave Chase

 

[Boneguard]

* Could use some help with the flora and fauna. I need at least 2 deadly predators, some stock animals and a riding animal.

* A sentient amphibious race living near the remotest, unsettled islands. TL-2. Some surface occasionally to use fire. They have turned most of the uplifted dolphins and will arrange for the others to have accidents should they be discovered by them and not turned.

Land base flora:
Trees flower, Xenofern. The Black orchid (an orchid like xeno flower with a sweet smell. Its stem when cut creates a clear liquid that is quite deadly if ingested. The Flower can be boiled to produce a deadly broth.

Fauna:
Black Howler: a Hexapod (6 members, 2 legs 4 arms) simian-like beast, screams a lot, can be agressive if cornerd. black fur.

Death leaper: A Hexapod feline-like beast, that is about the size of a jaguar. It is quite dangerous and will attack small human. It's rear legs are quite muscular allowing them to leap suprisingly long distance,

Rock snake: a small foot-long snake with shapr fang and deadly poison that shuts down the nervous system by overloading it. It is brown and is easily identifiable by the darker dots on it's back.

Carcaderon: A sea predator, it has a snake like body (averaging 45') 4 fins (2 at the 10' and 2 at the 20' mark from the tip of the nose) and a wide hammerhead-like head and a wide mouth with rows upon rows of teeth.


Ok here are what i can come up with for now.

 

[Solomani666]

* Could use some help with the flora and fauna. I need at least 2 deadly predators, some stock animals and a riding animal.

* A sentient amphibious race living near the remotest, unsettled islands. TL-2. Some surface occasionally to use fire. They have turned most of the uplifted dolphins and will arrange for the others to have accidents should they be discovered by them and not turned.

Land base flora:
Trees flower, Xenofern. The Black orchid (an orchid like xeno flower with a sweet smell. Its stem when cut creates a clear liquid that is quite deadly if ingested. The Flower can be boiled to produce a deadly broth.

Fauna:
Black Howler: a Hexapod (6 members, 2 legs 4 arms) simian-like beast, screams a lot, can be agressive if cornerd. black fur.

Death leaper: A Hexapod feline-like beast, that is about the size of a jaguar. It is quite dangerous and will attack small human. It's rear legs are quite muscular allowing them to leap suprisingly long distance,

Rock snake: a small foot-long snake with shapr fang and deadly poison that shuts down the nervous system by overloading it. It is brown and is easily identifiable by the darker dots on it's back.

Carcaderon: A sea predator, it has a snake like body (averaging 45') 4 fins (2 at the 10' and 2 at the 20' mark from the tip of the nose) and a wide hammerhead-like head and a wide mouth with rows upon rows of teeth.


Ok here are what i can come up with for now.

Thank you. I will definitely be using at least 3 of these

I think that hexapods will be the norm for the planet.

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[Boneguard]

You are welcome.

I was trying to give them a 'theme' and hexapods was a good one to pick up.

You could also have hexapod gazelle-like creature. some birds, a boar like creature, a seal like creature, a whale like creature, some kind of giant anemonae, a water scorpion.

There aren't too detailed but it could help.

 

[BP]

...Hexographer is awesome! Exactly what I was looking for.

Thank you!

Good to hear - figured that might work best given your pending game...

BTW: I usually use Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/), but that is more of a learning curve and probably even more time depending on the desired map.

Enjoy your game!

 

[Solomani666]

...Hexographer is awesome! Exactly what I was looking for.

Thank you!

Good to hear - figured that might work best given your pending game...

BTW: I usually use Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/), but that is more of a learning curve and probably even more time depending on the desired map.

Enjoy your game!

Know of any good (free) programs for drawing a town on a square grid map?


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[daryen]

Considering that this is a waterworld, I would expect the land lifeforms to be fairly primitive or completely imported. (Basically, the imports just push out the original primtive forms.) So, if you want some 'familiar' animals, whether horses, goats, or ponii, you have perfect excuses for it.

On the other hand, the marine life should be wild and wildly varied. I'd want to use some pre-historical ecosystems as inspiration, possibly even the pre-fish ones. Alternatively, don't miss the opportunity for some mega-fauna predators. Like the giant marine dinosaurs or giant sharks or squids. (Obviously, not exactly, but inspired by them.) But the marine environment should be just wild.

 

[DFW]

A law level of 5 allows for rifles, shotguns and pistols, but no automatic weapons. That sounds like the Old West to me..

Nope. LL 5 = no personal concealable firearms. Just for info, a pistol falls under the category of personally concealable firearms.

 

[DFW]

P.S. It's typical of you to make a negative comment without contributing positively in any way or even answering the questions in the initial post.


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Hey A-hole. My FIRST comment was that I liked it except for the LL.

You're a born troll.

 

[zero]

What Government type is this world (cant be bothered to find my Trav Core and check)??

I generally only worry about what a law level allows if that thing is part of contraband. If weapons arent contraband (I cant see a western world with that gov type btw) then it doesnt matter what the Law Level allows.

 

[BP]

Know of any good (free) programs for drawing a town on a square grid map?

Sorry, not anything specifically tailored to RPGs...

The afore-mentioned Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org) can do great ones - its free and multi-platform, but there is a learning curve for most folks.

If you are on windows - there is a very easy to use, free Visio-like program (much simpler) that I've used before (for simple geometry style maps) but I don't recall the name at the moment...

Google Sketchup (free version) would actually be great for this sort of thing... using a top down view it would be 2D and one simply uses rectangles and circles (Arcs) to draw... then it can easily go to 3D using the push/pull tool (and things like trees, people and starships can easily be imported from the web).

Most others I know of are too unstable/buggy to recommend (even Sketchup needs frequent saves) and more complicated to use - like Dia or Gimp.

MS Paint and Paint.NET could also be used - if you are ok with non-vector approach (Paint.NET has layers and some vector features).

BTW: That Inkwell site also has a random town generator you could overlay a grid on - its not real sci-fi looking, but its not bad for the sort of campaign you've described.

 

[Solomani666]

What Government type is this world (cant be bothered to find my Trav Core and check)??

I generally only worry about what a law level allows if that thing is part of contraband. If weapons arent contraband (I cant see a western world with that gov type btw) then it doesnt matter what the Law Level allows.

Corporate.

I've decided that the workers will own shares totaling 55% of the stock, and a few white suits will own the rest. The white suits will own enough to pass anything they want provided the workers really aren't against it. If they get greedy, then some coercion might take place leading to another adventure.

MTU: Two of the white suits died (a married couple) and willed that their shares be distributed to the workers. Hence the white suits lost majority control.

Law Level 5. Basically all handguns and rifles are legal except automatic weapons and holdout weapons. Women are allowed to carry holdout weapons provided they wear a ribbon (in plain site) on their wrist.

With the above exception, all side arms have to be carried holstered and in plain site.


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[DFW]

Law Level 5. Basically all handguns and rifles are legal except automatic weapons and holdout weapons. Women are allowed to carry holdout weapons provided they wear a ribbon (in plain site) on their wrist.

Nope.

Law Level 5 Weapons Prohibited:

Personal concealable weapons.

But, you can use House Rules to change the definitions of the UWP's. It's your game.