A Bit of History
Well, gentle readers, it isn't at all. There is a simple conceit in the study of history that a person must know the past to understand the present and predict the future. Thus, in at least the predictive aspects, sci-fi is as much about the past as it is the future. Good sci-fi makes a comment on society and technology, as well as having flashing laser swords and what-not (is it just me or shouldn't something called a saber be curved). Even beyond the predictive modeling aspect, history is a great resource for inspiration when running or playing in sci-fi games. When writing Interplanetary a certain amount of my inspiration came from the history of the US Cavalry on the Great Plains during the mid to late 19th Century. REDACTED has a definite theme in some parts concerning colonialism and its effects, and what the heroes are going to do about it as they see the worst happening right in front of them. Even stretching the definitions of 'influence' a bit, in the upcoming Freemarket campaign I'll be playing in, my character is a Captain (i.e. priest) in the Church of Piratacism, Reformed. From his robo-parrot on down to his shoes he dresses like a caricature of an early 17th Century pirate.
This month we are going to look at two sci-fi settings that draw heavily upon history as a source of inspiration. In Victorians in Space we look at a model that can be used for any time period to create a sci-fi setting that is also a historical one. Neubo presents a colony world as the Wild West (in fact, colonies as the wild west are the most common sci-fi historical trope there is). Other historical periods have been made into sci-fi as well, such as the age of sail (nearly every ship based setting) and the European Middle-Ages (Fading Suns being the best RPG example).
Victorians in Space
For this campaign let us assume that aliens have visited the Earth in the past, in the far past. They were of a level of technology far advanced of anything we moderns could imagine. Although they are long gone, they have left behind some of their technology. Amongst these items was a means to travel across the gulf between solar systems, a means that people of lesser scientific accomplishments could operate.
For our example, this item is a metal device roughly thirty feet on a side. This booth opens on one side; the entire side opens thus allowing for easy entry of even large objects. Inside it is empty save for the wall opposite the door. Set into that wall at a height of seven feet above the floor are four dials, each with twenty positions they can be turned to, and a lever. Dial in a setting, pull the lever, and you are transported to another location in time and/ or space. That's right, it's a teleportation both and a time machine (the time machine part is optional, but I really like it). By my calculations the device has 160,000 possible settings between the four dials, which is a lot of options as far as where to go. Power comes from some unheard of cosmic energy, and the devices are self powered. Finally, if two cargos are headed to the same device, or the destination device is already in use, a failsafe places the cargos in a sort of limbo, which any passengers have no recollection off, until an opening appears. This means that the device can be secured by simply putting something inside it. The device can be moved, though it is far heavier than one would expect, thus allowing it to be resituated where it does the most good. The settings don't point to a specific locale, they point to an individual device, thus relocating the device doesn't change anything. Place several devices on Earth, at least one per continent.
You can set this during any time period you want. The first big question is how recent was the discovery. One option is to have the PCs discover it and watch the hilarity ensue. I would prefer that the device be found within the past decade, thus allowing for some of the social and cultural, as well as geopolitical changes, to take effect. My only caveat is not to introduce this into an ongoing campaign, as the device is a literal game changer.
There are several good options as far as time period for the device. My first through would be the 1880's, smack down in the middle of the Victorian Era. Choose your favorite country from that time, and they find the first device. Once it is understood and other devices are found on Earth, either through accessing them from the first device or from people hunting them down in the back corners of the planet, it is off to the stars (or through time as well). You get to have red-coated troops, cowboys, monocled gentleman, and your favorite Sir Richard Burton pastiches heading off into the unknown on other worlds. For any era I would place enough devices so that all the major players on the world scene have one, plus a few more that allow for mad scientists, revolutionaries, and wealthy patrons to have their own devices.
I would place around thirty to forty devices on Earth. This is enough to go around and have a massive effect on society. Although the size and number of the devices will not destroy normal transportation networks, they will severely impact on them. Unless the devices are gathered at one point, you wouldn't want to use up the time needed to constantly reload the device and ship large, bulky, or low profit cargo. However, people, small but valuable items, and of course the military, will all be shipped with regularity. New York to London is just a few minutes as they load the device and the attendant dials the address. However, there is a limit to the amount of cargo that can be shipped at once, at most 27,000 cubic feet minus the attendant. The very wealthy will have their own devices, heavily guarded and secured of course, as both status symbols and to allow them to return to the capital from their country estates in mere moments. Of course you can do this with other historical periods, from prehistoric to even Imperial Rome. How about vikings in space? Warring States era China would be interesting, though to be true to the source material you should probably keep all the terrestrial devices in the Middle Kingdom (as it's the only important kingdom on Earth, you understand). Imagine the world wars changed by the discovery and implementation of the device early in the war. How about an Elizabethan Era game where there are only four devices, one in London, one in Madrid, one in Teotihuac‡n, and one at the confluence of the Ohio and the Wabash (or just north of their, heh, heh)?
Neubo
Neu Bayern is a colony orbiting the star Beta Sigma 10, approximately ten thousand light years from Terra. The Third Teutonic Empire, the major interstellar power at that time, founded it in the 2960's. Following the end of the Teutonic-Texicano-Hindi Wars nearly fifty years ago, ownership of the colony passed from the Third Teutonic Empire to the Texican Confederated Republic. In that time hordes of Texican immigrants have changed the nature of the colony, even going so far as to rename it Neubo, a name much more pronounceable in the Texican mouth.
Neubo is drier and warmer than Terra, and has less tectonic activity. Most of the planet is semi-arid to arid grasslands, with a few forests along the waterways and in the rare mountains. This vast flat plains are the planet's greatest resource, for the core planets of the interstellar civilizations do not produce enough high quality food for themselves, forcing most of their populations to subsist on recycled food and vat grown algae. Those with means desire real food, and especially real meat, and thus cattle were genetically engineered in the early days of the colony in order to allow them to feed off the native grasses. Ranching is the main business of Neubo, and largely the only productive industry outside of the starport. The starport, located at Nuvo Galveston (formerly Neu MŸnchen), is ringed by factories that turn the cattle into a variety of marketable and cheaply transported products. These factories are little more than sweatshops, and make Upton Sinclair's The Jungle look tame. A constant issue in the colony is that the factories are owned by powerful German speaking families, known locally as junkers, and many of the workers are Texican speaking immigrants. A similar situation is found in the Wildnis on the many ranches that dot the prairie.
Out in the Wildnis is where the adventure is (and possibly the flavor). Here are not just the ranches, but the farms that grow food for the colony's population, the small towns that serve ranchers and farmers, and in the more mountainous areas the few scattered prospectors and mine towns, none of which can seem to turn a large enough profit to interest off-world investment. Monorail lines link all these settlements as its too expensive to fly a ship out to load up a cargo of heavy steers. Ranches outside of the monorail system must drive their herds to a rail terminus, though this is decreasing as a viable means of moving stock in favor of expanding the colony's rail network. These drives are largely conducted from horseback, horses being cheaper (they are locally 'manufactured'), cheaper to maintain (they need no off-world heavy industry to make spare parts), and like the common solar powered vehicles can be sustained off the local energy sources.
Naturally, there are natives on Neubo, an indigenous sophont who was just entering their own Neolithic revolution when the first ships came from the sky. These aliens, known locally as the Graufell, have suffered greatly due to the colonization of their world. Whole cultures have been destroyed, others displaced, and comprise some of the most pathetic of the working poor of Nuvo Galveston. Conflicts are common in the Wildnis, especially on the edge of settled areas. Naturally, the Graufell have managed to develop a horse based culture over the past century.
That is it for this month, next month is GenCon and a second helping of Mysteries of Indianapolis, this time looking at some local urban legends, weird historical facts, and sights to see if you are tired of the convention hall. If you are lucky enough to be attending the best four days in gaming, there are still a few tickets available for my events (though with pre-registration closing you may need to get generics). My seminar, A Bit of History Roundtable, has plenty of room for more participants who want to discuss history and role-playing. There are two tickets left for "Spring Rites" an introductory event to the Northlands Saga from yours truly and Frog God Games, though they are not for the same session. Finally, there are three tickets, perfect for a small gaming group, to one of the Interplanetary events, "Terror on New Cumberland", if you are in the mood for some sci-fi. Look for me at the Big Show, I'll be the bespectacled middle aged guy with a goatee, wearing a black t-shirt with some sort of geeky reference on it, you can't miss me.
