I posted a similiar idea to this over a year ago on the SJG forums - but now I can't find it.
Here's the thought:
Could you do a campaign setting centrered around a place like DEADWOOD of the HBO series "Deadwood" - except this town or place is in outer space??
Maybe on a large asteroid ?
Or even someplace like Mars?
Moons in the Alpha Centauri system maybe?
An off the main spacelanes place in the 'Verse of "Firefly" maybe??
Same idea ...but more humorous, like the town of "No-Name City" from the movie Musical PAINT YOUR WAGON.
Maybe Asteroid miners or Belters need Courtesans and loose women to keep them company and they hijack a long range shuttle....
- Ed C.
Now I remember!!! The SJG thread I did this I asked this idea in relation to the TRAVELLER Universe...
One concept I've always fiddled with in practically every Sci-Fi RPG I've run is the idea of some really freaking ancient space station, dating to before any known civilization, that has been built up in a crazy patchwork of construction and add-ons from one galactic civilization to the next, that's basically a wild kind of shithole of a place by the time it gets to the campaign's time, a free-for-all place on the fringes of the galactic civilization with lots of secrets and groups operating on it.
One of the main variants I did of this was a game I ran of Over the Edge where Al-amarja was this space station, instead of being an island on earth as the default of the setting. It was very cool.
RPGPundit
Quote from: KoltarCould you do a campaign setting centrered around a place like DEADWOOD of the HBO series "Deadwood" - except this town or place is in outer space??
Yes, In the mid 90's I played in a cool game inspired by Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine. The PC's were a salvage team, the roid city 'Asylum' was on the borders of alien territory and the administrators (a crime cartel) had a non-alignment pact with both regions. There were bounty hunters, crabby old belters, privateers, spies, exiles. Cliches are great when you've got a bunch of new players - they know the archetypes and stereotypical situations. So then it's cool when you mess with the cliches.
The system we used was a lot like the GBBS (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?p=7697064).
The way I see a frontier is a frontier, regardless of the timeline. So, sure, you can have Deadwood-like communities in your sci-fi setting. In fact, I prefer to have gritty frontiers in my sci-fi. Here's just one sample from Shebang:
"The Border District is the most lawless district on Mars. Very few humans live here - unless you consider muties human. There are a number of ruin sites in the district, but several lie extremely close to the Burn.
The sites closest to the Burn are very promising and, despite the danger, the prospect of unearthing hidden wealth attracts daring scavenging teams.
There are a number of very small mining operations in the Border District. Most of them are fairly primitive;the miners work with hand tools and rely on teams of mutie mules or oxen to lug ore. A handful of backwater towns cater to the miners, with stores carrying provisions and saloons carrying booze, card tables, and loose women.
Muties (of the humanoid kind) are problematic in the Border District. They live in bands, following primitive tribal lines, and rove the district in search of suitable prey. Occasionally, they raid the towns and mining camps. Outside of every community, signs are posted that state - No Muties! All Muties will be shot!
When muties aren't preying on humans, they war among themselves. Most of the clashes are over select ruin sites, sites where the muites love to hang out.
The Border District is plagued with pockets of radiation , which are seldom clearly marked. Even when warning signs are erected, muties come along and knock them down. Close to the Burn, plants are mutated and deformed. Strange animals lurk in the foilage, rut in the twisted bracken, and squabble around polluted pools of water. Some of these animals are dangerous and will attack humans, even without provocation."
Quote from: RPGPunditOne concept I've always fiddled with in practically every Sci-Fi RPG I've run is the idea of some really freaking ancient space station, dating to before any known civilization, that has been built up in a crazy patchwork of construction and add-ons from one galactic civilization to the next, that's basically a wild kind of shithole of a place by the time it gets to the campaign's time, a free-for-all place on the fringes of the galactic civilization with lots of secrets and groups operating on it.
Hm, that reminds me of Central City from the French comic book series, Valérian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val%C3%A9rian_and_Laureline).
Quote from: KoltarMaybe Asteroid miners or Belters need Courtesans and loose women to keep them company and they hijack a long range shuttle....
You'd need to have something more than just an open frontier. There would have to be some valuable natural close by, and there would have to be some reason a major mining organization didn't just swoop in to exploit it (territorial dispute, dangerous conditions, a preserve under the protection of a galactic power, etc.). I'd probably try to come up with something more sci-fi than mineral mining. The spice mines on Kessel (Star Wars) come to mind as does a grittier version of Bespin. PIG's HardNova has a semisentient race called "gillies" (I think) that have this telepathic gland you can extract (killing the creature) in order to make a mind trip drug. Something like that would support the overall dark tone of Deadwood.
Pete