When trying to make the 3345 setting RPG focused I had first thought to move combat from Mech centric to Warship centric. I then realized something very important. Mechs are cool. But how do I make it so players can experience all aspects of the setting. The Mary Sue super character who can do everything is unappealing. And then I realized that there was another option. Sub characters, instead of having just a single character per player have many who are all unified in purpose, like an entourage, where the primary character, ie Mech commander, or fleet Admiral and then have sub character to represent the tasks that the main character would never do.
This way a warship could be run by four players, each who have one of the main officers as characters, and then each having a sub character from each part of the ship, so a fighter pilot, a Mech pilot, a technician, an engineer, a marine etc. This allows for compelling and deep storytelling. Makes for a ton of work for the GM, having to intertwine specific encounters and having to be prepared to kill sub characters as a result of PC/NPC interaction. But handled well it could make for an excellent campaign.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Lets talk maps
When I designed the 3345 maps I decided to take an unconventional approach to how I was to make the setting, I made the map first, and built many of the setting events around it. First I broke out my trusty MS Paint program.
I made a sketch, from memory of the maps, and after considerable comparison to images I downloaded from the Internet I ended up with this.
And then I revised for about a week off and on, deciding what would work and what wouldn't. This is the result of the revisions. As you'll note some big changes are the red lines representing the attack vectors of the home world clan revenge fleets, and my re-allocation of the remains of the Capellan Confederation
I then decided to make a proper version using Inkscape, which is a program close to my heart as it does what I need, and the cost was perfect. From the image overlay you can see only a couple of changes from my final product to my initial attempts. The biggest change would be my movement of Niopps from way out into the prephary to where it really is according to the proper scale.
My next trick after getting an initial map into Inkscape, using around 20 different layers so that I could have each state on a different layer. My biggest hurdle was getting the images to scale properly, to do this I knew where Earth should be, and I just finessed the image size, with a locked scale, until I was happy with the locations of the nations capitals. The first image I used was one of the Darkages Era that I found using google image search. And as you can see much of the expansion of the houses came at the expense of prephary states, there was some heavy colonizing during some of the golden eras, especially once the interstellar shipping improved enough to allow for proper migrations.
My final stage was to place worlds, and for this I went and got my hands on a map that appears to be from 3062, again google image search payed out. I used the same techniques to align the maps as before except I had an extra layer with the Darkages map to help me out. I then did a little bit of tweaking, as there were a number of worlds that I knew I needed to survive and then I took note of some of the worlds that I killed off and decided when they were actually wiped out. I also moved Niopps from my guess to its real position making it simultaneously surrounded by the FWL but important enough to remain independent.
I then went through and built some labels, a BT style compass, and LY scale bar and then placed many of the key worlds, on a separate layer to get my final images.
As you can see it was a long process but it got the job done. My favourite picture have to be the comparison between the 3345 map and the 3062 map because it demonstrates quite clearly how much has been destroyed in the past 300 years and how much has changed.
I made a sketch, from memory of the maps, and after considerable comparison to images I downloaded from the Internet I ended up with this.
And then I revised for about a week off and on, deciding what would work and what wouldn't. This is the result of the revisions. As you'll note some big changes are the red lines representing the attack vectors of the home world clan revenge fleets, and my re-allocation of the remains of the Capellan Confederation
I then decided to make a proper version using Inkscape, which is a program close to my heart as it does what I need, and the cost was perfect. From the image overlay you can see only a couple of changes from my final product to my initial attempts. The biggest change would be my movement of Niopps from way out into the prephary to where it really is according to the proper scale.
My next trick after getting an initial map into Inkscape, using around 20 different layers so that I could have each state on a different layer. My biggest hurdle was getting the images to scale properly, to do this I knew where Earth should be, and I just finessed the image size, with a locked scale, until I was happy with the locations of the nations capitals. The first image I used was one of the Darkages Era that I found using google image search. And as you can see much of the expansion of the houses came at the expense of prephary states, there was some heavy colonizing during some of the golden eras, especially once the interstellar shipping improved enough to allow for proper migrations.
My final stage was to place worlds, and for this I went and got my hands on a map that appears to be from 3062, again google image search payed out. I used the same techniques to align the maps as before except I had an extra layer with the Darkages map to help me out. I then did a little bit of tweaking, as there were a number of worlds that I knew I needed to survive and then I took note of some of the worlds that I killed off and decided when they were actually wiped out. I also moved Niopps from my guess to its real position making it simultaneously surrounded by the FWL but important enough to remain independent.
I then went through and built some labels, a BT style compass, and LY scale bar and then placed many of the key worlds, on a separate layer to get my final images.
As you can see it was a long process but it got the job done. My favourite picture have to be the comparison between the 3345 map and the 3062 map because it demonstrates quite clearly how much has been destroyed in the past 300 years and how much has changed.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Time Line take one
3025 3rd Succession was ends
3030 4th Succession war end
3039 War of 39 stalls
3048 Clan invasion
3067 Jihad
3080s Jihad ends, RotS formed, Comstar Amnesty,
3083-8 Clan Caste War, only Falcons remain pure? Wolf and GB revise Eugenics Policy as new cast structure is formed, Diamond Sharks Merchant Caste takeover, Raven Alliance Consummated, Clan Gene-engineering begins in earnest
3120s RotS collapses
3130s 2nd age of war begins, Bio-Mod spreads to IS Upper Class, Cybernetic Expressionism spreads
3144 Atomic Escalation
3146 Scouring of Earth
3150s Earth Conventions Adopted
3171 First Great Survey IS population at 5 trillion
3180s 5th Succession War Begins, Earth Conventions Revised, Sentience revised to include AIs and Bio-Made
3190s Pure Human Movement Begins as Trans-humanism spreads
3225 Capellan Confederation Suffers through Great Purge, Trans-humans outlawed and hunted by government, Warrior Houses Exterminated, Pure Human War Begins
3256 IS population estimated at 9 Trillion
3259 Federated Suns Declares total war on Pure Human Movement, Earth Conventions ignored
3261 House Kurita is no more. Long live the Draconis Combine,
3266 Pure Human war ends in exhaustion, a Trillion Dead
3267 Kerensky’s Revenge, 3 home world clan fleets tear into the IS, Extent of WoB genocide revealed, Trillions killed before the fleets are stopped
3271 Second Great Survey reports that IS population is 4 trillion
3275 Beginning of Dark Time, Lyran civil war, Ghost Bear Wolf War, FWL war of Unification, FS great Depression,
3290 3rd Earth Accord, Interstellar Trade Agreement
3290-3340 Golden Era
3305 Proxy War spreads throughout IS
3310 3rd Age of War Begins with the Decimation of the Lyran Navy
3345 Current Era,
3030 4th Succession war end
3039 War of 39 stalls
3048 Clan invasion
3067 Jihad
3080s Jihad ends, RotS formed, Comstar Amnesty,
3083-8 Clan Caste War, only Falcons remain pure? Wolf and GB revise Eugenics Policy as new cast structure is formed, Diamond Sharks Merchant Caste takeover, Raven Alliance Consummated, Clan Gene-engineering begins in earnest
3120s RotS collapses
3130s 2nd age of war begins, Bio-Mod spreads to IS Upper Class, Cybernetic Expressionism spreads
3144 Atomic Escalation
3146 Scouring of Earth
3150s Earth Conventions Adopted
3171 First Great Survey IS population at 5 trillion
3180s 5th Succession War Begins, Earth Conventions Revised, Sentience revised to include AIs and Bio-Made
3190s Pure Human Movement Begins as Trans-humanism spreads
3225 Capellan Confederation Suffers through Great Purge, Trans-humans outlawed and hunted by government, Warrior Houses Exterminated, Pure Human War Begins
3256 IS population estimated at 9 Trillion
3259 Federated Suns Declares total war on Pure Human Movement, Earth Conventions ignored
3261 House Kurita is no more. Long live the Draconis Combine,
3266 Pure Human war ends in exhaustion, a Trillion Dead
3267 Kerensky’s Revenge, 3 home world clan fleets tear into the IS, Extent of WoB genocide revealed, Trillions killed before the fleets are stopped
3271 Second Great Survey reports that IS population is 4 trillion
3275 Beginning of Dark Time, Lyran civil war, Ghost Bear Wolf War, FWL war of Unification, FS great Depression,
3290 3rd Earth Accord, Interstellar Trade Agreement
3290-3340 Golden Era
3305 Proxy War spreads throughout IS
3310 3rd Age of War Begins with the Decimation of the Lyran Navy
3345 Current Era,
Military Structure
In most house militaries there are three types of units. Planetary militias, provincial/regional forces and the Armies of the House Lord.
Planetary militias generally by definition are made up of hard to move forces, tanks, infantry, artillery and support vehicles all make the core of a planetary militia. Mechs exist in most Militias in Battalion strength on average but they are usually hand me down designs left over from previous wars and in many cases built from battlefield salvage that is left behind when regular forces come to the rescue as the proverbial calvary charging over the hill.
The provincial or regional forces are are made up of units that owe their loyalty to a Duke, or Prince or Warlord, they can range from forces that would be embarrassing for local planetary militias to put on parade to cutting edge forces that are comparable to a House Lord's pet units. In many states the political reality is one where the Dukes are all vying to increase their domains to compete against their fellows and in the hopes of some day supplanting their lords. When the Victora Davions supplanted the Steinier-Davion line on the throne of the Federated Suns it was a shock that changed one of the fundamental balances of the Inner Sphere, but it didn't stop the Steinier-Davion line from reclaiming the throne eighty years later. Point is the regional warlords are competing for the same prize and as a consequence provide the first lines of mobile defence from foreign invasions.
The 178th Derion Regulars are a staple of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery it is made up of a Mech Regiment supported by a heavy tank division. Currently the 178th is stationed on the Federated Suns boarder yet it hasn't seen action for the last couple of years.
The Armies of the House Lord usually range between 40-60% of the size of all of their combined provincial forces. These forces are highly mobile, highly trained and well equipped they form the backbone of a State's offencive operations and reinforcement to turn back and attacking force that has been pined down by regional forces. The other aspect of a House Army is its special forces. From the Sword of Light, to the Davion Assault guards special forces are smaller then conventional forces but much more deadly.
The Davion Assault Guards with their 162 Assault Omni Mechs and supporting 972 Battle Armor troopers are a good example of a special forces unit. They have their own Warship support wing, and are fully capable of executing a super jump to anywhere they could be needed.
Planetary militias generally by definition are made up of hard to move forces, tanks, infantry, artillery and support vehicles all make the core of a planetary militia. Mechs exist in most Militias in Battalion strength on average but they are usually hand me down designs left over from previous wars and in many cases built from battlefield salvage that is left behind when regular forces come to the rescue as the proverbial calvary charging over the hill.
The provincial or regional forces are are made up of units that owe their loyalty to a Duke, or Prince or Warlord, they can range from forces that would be embarrassing for local planetary militias to put on parade to cutting edge forces that are comparable to a House Lord's pet units. In many states the political reality is one where the Dukes are all vying to increase their domains to compete against their fellows and in the hopes of some day supplanting their lords. When the Victora Davions supplanted the Steinier-Davion line on the throne of the Federated Suns it was a shock that changed one of the fundamental balances of the Inner Sphere, but it didn't stop the Steinier-Davion line from reclaiming the throne eighty years later. Point is the regional warlords are competing for the same prize and as a consequence provide the first lines of mobile defence from foreign invasions.
The 178th Derion Regulars are a staple of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery it is made up of a Mech Regiment supported by a heavy tank division. Currently the 178th is stationed on the Federated Suns boarder yet it hasn't seen action for the last couple of years.
The Armies of the House Lord usually range between 40-60% of the size of all of their combined provincial forces. These forces are highly mobile, highly trained and well equipped they form the backbone of a State's offencive operations and reinforcement to turn back and attacking force that has been pined down by regional forces. The other aspect of a House Army is its special forces. From the Sword of Light, to the Davion Assault guards special forces are smaller then conventional forces but much more deadly.
The Davion Assault Guards with their 162 Assault Omni Mechs and supporting 972 Battle Armor troopers are a good example of a special forces unit. They have their own Warship support wing, and are fully capable of executing a super jump to anywhere they could be needed.
Guns on the Battlefield
In Battletech in 3075 there are dozens and dozens of weapons, special weapons, workhorse weapons, novelty weapons and shiny toy weapons. By the 3345 has arrived weaponry has simultaneously evolved and simplified.
The three most common weapons in the Inner Sphere are the Large Laser, the Medium Laser and the Auto Cannon 10.
Why those three? Well for starters the Federated Suns with their thousands of Mechs have two primary workhorse designs, the Enforcer, 3025 model, with CASE, a medium laser where the small used to be and no jump jets, and the Watchman, the 3055 model with the MGs replaced with Small Pulse Lasers. Those two Mechs represent 80% of the Federated Suns forces. The remaining 20% spread over a wide range of specialist designs from lumbering Assault Mechs to specially designed Clan Omni Mechs to equip elite forces.
Yes Clan technology, everyone has it, but it is expensive, and based around manufacturing tolerances that lean more toward hand built prototypes then to mass production. Where as a single Enforcer factory can build just over a thousand units every year, a factory may produce a hundred Clan Mechs in a single year, and sometimes less depending on material availability.
A moment for nomenclature, it's called Clan tech, even 300 years after its arrival in the Inner Sphere because it was brought by the clans, many industry members don't refer to it as Clan tech but to the common man it's Clan tech. Similar to how Band Aids are band aids no matter who makes them.
The three most common weapons in the Inner Sphere are the Large Laser, the Medium Laser and the Auto Cannon 10.
Why those three? Well for starters the Federated Suns with their thousands of Mechs have two primary workhorse designs, the Enforcer, 3025 model, with CASE, a medium laser where the small used to be and no jump jets, and the Watchman, the 3055 model with the MGs replaced with Small Pulse Lasers. Those two Mechs represent 80% of the Federated Suns forces. The remaining 20% spread over a wide range of specialist designs from lumbering Assault Mechs to specially designed Clan Omni Mechs to equip elite forces.
Yes Clan technology, everyone has it, but it is expensive, and based around manufacturing tolerances that lean more toward hand built prototypes then to mass production. Where as a single Enforcer factory can build just over a thousand units every year, a factory may produce a hundred Clan Mechs in a single year, and sometimes less depending on material availability.
A moment for nomenclature, it's called Clan tech, even 300 years after its arrival in the Inner Sphere because it was brought by the clans, many industry members don't refer to it as Clan tech but to the common man it's Clan tech. Similar to how Band Aids are band aids no matter who makes them.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Transhumanism
How far do I want to go with this?
Battletech already has cyborgs, genetic engineering, canister babies, a strong hint that universal health care is in part due to the Star League medical science involving a lot of genetic selectivity and a person's brain algorithms being used as a basis for AI.
Throw in some fan created hints of natural AI, Sybil, and many of the examples that were brought forwards during the WoB Jihad
Then lets bump the time line forwards 300 years, add in the fact that non military technology has moved forwards far enough to exceed the peak of the Star League but on a much broader scale.
What transhuman aspects should be included.
Cyborgs, everything from nanite enhanced neurons to visions of Robocop.
Gene-Engineered, Clan Elementals, longer lives, cybernetic adaptability enhancements, even specific "races"
AIs from scanned in human minds, to pure AIs to 2nd generation AIs
What you won't see:
Purely nanite built bodies.
Biotech ships.
People uploading from one body to the next.
Cylons
Right now my transhuman themes are vague. I haven't properly defined them. I want to make sure that any themes I include allow me to maintain the Battletech feel while improving the RPG opportunities. This is after all a RPG setting, because if I wanted a wargame setting I'd play any of the current Battletech eras.
Battletech already has cyborgs, genetic engineering, canister babies, a strong hint that universal health care is in part due to the Star League medical science involving a lot of genetic selectivity and a person's brain algorithms being used as a basis for AI.
Throw in some fan created hints of natural AI, Sybil, and many of the examples that were brought forwards during the WoB Jihad
Then lets bump the time line forwards 300 years, add in the fact that non military technology has moved forwards far enough to exceed the peak of the Star League but on a much broader scale.
What transhuman aspects should be included.
Cyborgs, everything from nanite enhanced neurons to visions of Robocop.
Gene-Engineered, Clan Elementals, longer lives, cybernetic adaptability enhancements, even specific "races"
AIs from scanned in human minds, to pure AIs to 2nd generation AIs
What you won't see:
Purely nanite built bodies.
Biotech ships.
People uploading from one body to the next.
Cylons
Right now my transhuman themes are vague. I haven't properly defined them. I want to make sure that any themes I include allow me to maintain the Battletech feel while improving the RPG opportunities. This is after all a RPG setting, because if I wanted a wargame setting I'd play any of the current Battletech eras.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Jump Drives
In the regular BT fiction and setting there are three types of KF drives.
The first we were introduced to was the Jumpship, a paired down drive that ate up 95% of a Jumpship's mass.
However the first to be invented was the compact core, eating up only 45.25% of a ship's mass, leaving room for cavernous cargo bays, transit drives, crew quarters, armor and weaponry.
The last type is the subcompact core which weighs 50% of a ships mass and is far far more expensive then a normal drive (16x) and it can't have any docking collars. The only advantage is that it can be built small.
Of course all of the drives can jump 30ly and they can all be supplemented by a single lithium fusion battery which allows for a second immediate jump, without having to first spend a week recharging the KF Core. Of course then the ship must rechage both the battery and core, usually sequentially, but concurrently is possible using the fusion charging rules, so at a cost of fuel.
However the Jihad introduced a permutation to the equation, the super jump, which works for any lithium fusion equipped vessel. By bypassing all rational safety equipment, the ship jumps while jumping, the range is technically unlimited, but practically limited to around 900 LY. The Jihad Hot Spot 3076 implies that it is an accuracy issue, so jumping 15,000 ly away and then slow boating to the nearest star may be an option. Especially if targeting denser clusters of stars.
There are two other drives available to chose from, Interstellar Players had the reusable super jump drive, with a 120 ly range, but it was only available on a Jumpship, and it was stuck with a drive mass increase to 96.9 percent of the ships mass, meaning that a Lithium fusion battery version would be impossible. And the drive could suffer damage after every jump and to throw napalm into the wound the would risk damage when making a sub 30ly jump. So even when behaving like a normal Jumpship it was just as frail when making a super jump.
The last drive is the colony drive, little is known about it other then the fact that it could only make 12ly jumps. I would suppose that it was not compatible with docking collars and lithium fusion batteries and that it took up more mass then a conventional compact core. But I would give it one advantage, I would make it take half the time to charge.
There is one more drive, but it's details are a mystery, it is called the Manassas drive, named after the Aegis Class Cruiser that was lost in time after a failed jump. It was also rumoured to have an expanded jump range, it could have been 40ly, with no side effects, or 120ly like the safe super drive or just a regular one shot no safety features KF LiFi drive combo that the WoB stumbled over. Or it could have been more or less then those things.
What is important to note is that by 3345 KF technology has been perfected in many ways. A super jump diode network has been developed allowing ships to save their KF drives when making a super jump (LiFi Battery is still fried) a micro jump controller has been developed that allows a ship to jump within a solar system (3ly) while only using 10-60% of the stored drive charge and a time skip technology has been developed because of the Manassas drive.
Another improvement is the reintroduction in the colony drive, for 50% of the ships mass, and jumping at twice the rate. Also the micro jump controller is included in the drive's weight and it only consumes a third of the drives charge when jumping, instead of the variable rate from more conventional drives.
A final improvement is in the subcompact core technology, even though it is limited to 50,000 tons in mass it can now be installed in pretty much any type of vessel to a minimum of 200 tons. Meaning jump capable small craft exist. And they have been known to use all types of advanced KF drive technology.
Up next, the HPG hyper-grid.
The first we were introduced to was the Jumpship, a paired down drive that ate up 95% of a Jumpship's mass.
However the first to be invented was the compact core, eating up only 45.25% of a ship's mass, leaving room for cavernous cargo bays, transit drives, crew quarters, armor and weaponry.
The last type is the subcompact core which weighs 50% of a ships mass and is far far more expensive then a normal drive (16x) and it can't have any docking collars. The only advantage is that it can be built small.
Of course all of the drives can jump 30ly and they can all be supplemented by a single lithium fusion battery which allows for a second immediate jump, without having to first spend a week recharging the KF Core. Of course then the ship must rechage both the battery and core, usually sequentially, but concurrently is possible using the fusion charging rules, so at a cost of fuel.
However the Jihad introduced a permutation to the equation, the super jump, which works for any lithium fusion equipped vessel. By bypassing all rational safety equipment, the ship jumps while jumping, the range is technically unlimited, but practically limited to around 900 LY. The Jihad Hot Spot 3076 implies that it is an accuracy issue, so jumping 15,000 ly away and then slow boating to the nearest star may be an option. Especially if targeting denser clusters of stars.
There are two other drives available to chose from, Interstellar Players had the reusable super jump drive, with a 120 ly range, but it was only available on a Jumpship, and it was stuck with a drive mass increase to 96.9 percent of the ships mass, meaning that a Lithium fusion battery version would be impossible. And the drive could suffer damage after every jump and to throw napalm into the wound the would risk damage when making a sub 30ly jump. So even when behaving like a normal Jumpship it was just as frail when making a super jump.
The last drive is the colony drive, little is known about it other then the fact that it could only make 12ly jumps. I would suppose that it was not compatible with docking collars and lithium fusion batteries and that it took up more mass then a conventional compact core. But I would give it one advantage, I would make it take half the time to charge.
There is one more drive, but it's details are a mystery, it is called the Manassas drive, named after the Aegis Class Cruiser that was lost in time after a failed jump. It was also rumoured to have an expanded jump range, it could have been 40ly, with no side effects, or 120ly like the safe super drive or just a regular one shot no safety features KF LiFi drive combo that the WoB stumbled over. Or it could have been more or less then those things.
What is important to note is that by 3345 KF technology has been perfected in many ways. A super jump diode network has been developed allowing ships to save their KF drives when making a super jump (LiFi Battery is still fried) a micro jump controller has been developed that allows a ship to jump within a solar system (3ly) while only using 10-60% of the stored drive charge and a time skip technology has been developed because of the Manassas drive.
Another improvement is the reintroduction in the colony drive, for 50% of the ships mass, and jumping at twice the rate. Also the micro jump controller is included in the drive's weight and it only consumes a third of the drives charge when jumping, instead of the variable rate from more conventional drives.
A final improvement is in the subcompact core technology, even though it is limited to 50,000 tons in mass it can now be installed in pretty much any type of vessel to a minimum of 200 tons. Meaning jump capable small craft exist. And they have been known to use all types of advanced KF drive technology.
Up next, the HPG hyper-grid.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Battletech 3345 differences?
First let me say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the current Battletech time line, currently sitting at 3075, or with the Canonical Dark Ages time line, sitting around 3120ish, I just want to have a game for my players that is Battletech but different. That being said when I bumped the time line forwards I did my best to avoid countering established BT facts, and I have taken a lot of liberty to independently incorporate many of the fan created information into my game, most notably the transhumanism trend that was first established in the Nogoverse and then expanded upon in the 5th succession war setting.
I have in many ways taken what has been developed and added in a century of my own plot twists to make the setting that I enjoy.
The biggest single change that I have made is that I consider the 3345 setting to be a RPG setting and I will be doing my best to ensure that my changes are best to reflect that no matter the military scale everything will exist to allow for a player group to be in control.
The second change I have decided to implement is a further development of transhumanism and the repercussions that it entails. Technology has moved forwards in this setting, not military technology exactly but overall technology. Cybernetics are now common place, the genetic engineering of the upper class is now standard. Where in 3025 populations lived to over a hundred, because of genetic fiddling that took place centuries before now specific demographics can push the bicentennial mark.
I have also decided to perfect some technologies, K-F Drives being the most immediate improvement that I have decided upon, but these improvements do not mean that construction rules will be changed, just the implementation of the technology, so in effect what was considered to be miraculous in 3075 is now routine, but what was impossible in 3075 is still impossible.
New technology that I have decided upon is anti-matter, but this is not startrek antimatter this is some lethal and dangerous stuff, scalable to warships and the largest of dropships, and of course the most fearsome of weaponry, antimatter is bad, but powerful.
If you see the post below the map has changed, since the Darkages there have been a number of fearsome wars that have spread across the inner sphere, some being relatively bloodless and others leaving the massive black areas where entire worlds have been scoured barren.
Even Earth, now I will admit the scouring of Earth is a back story that originated with the 5th succession war setting but I liked it, and expanded upon it to help explain why some technologies are simply not used when it comes to war.
A weapon unused? Defined by the Earth Conventions, which trace their ancestry to the Ares Conventions before them, and even to Geneva before that outlaw certain technology. Simple things such as Atomics being deployed in atmospheres, to biological and chemical weaponry, to the development of grey goo nanotics and of course my aforementioned antimatter technology.
Antimatter which can double a ships acceleration and charge a KF core in hours and can also burn the life from a hemisphere if unleashed accidentally. Wikipedia estimates that on kg of antimatter would be as destructive as a 20 megaton nuclear warhead, imagine what tons of antimatter could do when released above a world.
There is more to describe, close to 300 years of history to list, cultural shifts of populations, and countless ideas to demonstrate.
After all I did murder the Capellan Confederation, and I have to justify that, or at least explain it.
I have in many ways taken what has been developed and added in a century of my own plot twists to make the setting that I enjoy.
The biggest single change that I have made is that I consider the 3345 setting to be a RPG setting and I will be doing my best to ensure that my changes are best to reflect that no matter the military scale everything will exist to allow for a player group to be in control.
The second change I have decided to implement is a further development of transhumanism and the repercussions that it entails. Technology has moved forwards in this setting, not military technology exactly but overall technology. Cybernetics are now common place, the genetic engineering of the upper class is now standard. Where in 3025 populations lived to over a hundred, because of genetic fiddling that took place centuries before now specific demographics can push the bicentennial mark.
I have also decided to perfect some technologies, K-F Drives being the most immediate improvement that I have decided upon, but these improvements do not mean that construction rules will be changed, just the implementation of the technology, so in effect what was considered to be miraculous in 3075 is now routine, but what was impossible in 3075 is still impossible.
New technology that I have decided upon is anti-matter, but this is not startrek antimatter this is some lethal and dangerous stuff, scalable to warships and the largest of dropships, and of course the most fearsome of weaponry, antimatter is bad, but powerful.
If you see the post below the map has changed, since the Darkages there have been a number of fearsome wars that have spread across the inner sphere, some being relatively bloodless and others leaving the massive black areas where entire worlds have been scoured barren.
Even Earth, now I will admit the scouring of Earth is a back story that originated with the 5th succession war setting but I liked it, and expanded upon it to help explain why some technologies are simply not used when it comes to war.
A weapon unused? Defined by the Earth Conventions, which trace their ancestry to the Ares Conventions before them, and even to Geneva before that outlaw certain technology. Simple things such as Atomics being deployed in atmospheres, to biological and chemical weaponry, to the development of grey goo nanotics and of course my aforementioned antimatter technology.
Antimatter which can double a ships acceleration and charge a KF core in hours and can also burn the life from a hemisphere if unleashed accidentally. Wikipedia estimates that on kg of antimatter would be as destructive as a 20 megaton nuclear warhead, imagine what tons of antimatter could do when released above a world.
There is more to describe, close to 300 years of history to list, cultural shifts of populations, and countless ideas to demonstrate.
After all I did murder the Capellan Confederation, and I have to justify that, or at least explain it.
Monday, March 9, 2009
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