Peachy00Keen
Big Dryad Energy
Staff member
Space Ranger
Moderator
Virtuoso
Inner Sanctum Nobility
♔ Champion ♔
For my requirements/preferences, please take a look at my main request thread.
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______________I absolutely adore stories set in a low-high tech western setting, usually through the lens of colonization after the ravaging of Earth. The Outer Worlds, Cowboy Bebop, and Firefly/Serenity are some of my favorite examples to use for setting the tone. I'm looking to create a world that blends those universes into something new and unique while still maintaining that sense of wild adventure and unbridled "freedom" guarded by rough, tough, overseers. Illicit dealings are the norm, but that doesn't make them any safer to run. The world is unfair and the punishments are severe. Cultures are blended and roles are shuffled. The "how," "where," and if we please, "why" are up to us to determine.
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_____________________________________________For my space western setting, I think I'd like to do something along the lines of Firefly for how we got to where we're jumping in: Earth got used up and people fled the system in search of a place to live. They settle down in a new system and people are provided with the basics to start their new lives. From there, I'd like to deviate and instead of having an Alliance-like governance, I'd like to take a more Cowboy Bebop approach where the worlds settled and crime syndicates became the true hands of power, with each world run by its own and with interplanetary alliances determined by the syndicates. Some worlds are better off than others, and most of them are fairly rural and poor with one or two main cities.
Tech is analog and kind of clunky, but we can fly and travel at high speeds between planets in the system (which itself has many places to stop, from asteroids to moons to actual planets). Most worlds have already been terraformed and settled, but some remain largely unaltered and make a haven for rogue criminals who ally themselves with none of the major syndicates.
Our characters would likely be smugglers running cargo, people, and whatever else it takes to pay the bills (very much in the style of Firefly and Bebop). I'd likely have at least one of us play two characters, ideally both of us. The other crew members don't have to come into play right away. I'll run a pilot as an NPC who will stay on the ship most of the time (and who will hopefully not become a leaf on the wind anytime soon). The crew will be fairly small, the vessel will be kind of a clunker, and our story will likely take us from one job to the next with downtime for slice of life in between. I'm more than happy to play multiple characters so that we have plenty of opportunities to interact with other beings in the world.
Here's some art for inspiration
A series of outposts:
A view of one of the largest cities in the system:
A place like this would be riddled with crime, but it would also provide prime hunting grounds for new jobs, supplies, and other commodities not easily found on the poorer worlds. Some people from the other worlds might seek passage to a city like this, or perhaps town leaders would require goods to be transported from a city like this to their tiny outskirts towns. This city could be the capital of the system, and as a result, it could also be the location of a sort of parliament of syndicate representatives -- the closest thing to an actual government that this system knows.
Traveling to a city like this would potentially become dangerous if you crossed the wrong people. You, your ship, and your crew could be marked for capture, which would make coming and going undetected far more difficult. Just because the system is run by criminals doesn't mean that there's no law. On the contrary, it's called "organized crime" for a very good reason. The stakes for breaking their laws is far higher. There's no due process on the frontier. You screw up, you pay with your life (or worse).
A ship gateway:
Not necessarily something we'll see or use in-universe, but it gives a good visual for the kind of tech I'm looking to work with. Big, hulking ships and clunky structures without a clean contour in sight. Function over form is the way of things out on the frontier. We don't have time for filigree. Don't have the resources either. If it works, good, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Good mechanics are hard to find, but when you do find one, they're worth more than anything besides a doctor.
Ships come in all shapes and sizes from massive transports to tiny shuttles. Cargo ships of every make, model, size, and state of disrepair can be found across the system. Whether you're hauling people, products, livestock, or other goods, you need somewhere to store it. Different ships hold different cargo. Don't burden yourself with fueling a massive kine hauler if you're just moving foodstuffs. Likewise, don't try to transport drugs in a personnel carrier. If you get boarded, whether by a nosy search party or pirates, you need to be prepared for the worst.
If this idea appeals to you and you're up for some worldbuilding fun, PM me. Please do not reply to this thread.
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