Anything should work. DNPCs are AOK. The Worldship has been your home for at least the past year, and for some it may have been your home your entire life. Families, Rivals, Lovers, it can all work.
Hunteds are unlikely to effect the game for a while, but this will change, so come up with something interesting and I can adapt the idea to what I already have in mind.
Pick or suggest a world / culture / environment, and work around the physical and mental requirements of successfully growing up under those conditions. A colony most likely survived the first few generations by adapting to extreme conditions through genetic manipulation. Bio-enhancement and cybernetics are also possible. For most colonies, there was a desire to look as human as possible. Over time, this was not always possible. Many gengineers enhanced twinning traits or added "litter" traits, used cloning to increase or maintain population, or developed extra-corporeal gestation techniques, so many of the colony worlds are already populous.
The majority of the people on the World ship that you all work on are exiled Terrans who wanted to have more children, or wanted to escape the restrictions of the Solarian systems. There are a few Mechanoids, but they are distrusted by most Terrans for historic reasons. Some examples of cultures and how they adapted:
-- Cyborg people ("mechanoids") who commonly blend human and machine to survive a system full of airless yet mineral rich moons. Brain in a bucket with spidery legs ... ship with a human brain...
-- Felinoid breed, the result of a mad gengineer's experiments on an isolated steppe world. They become dominant over Terran normal humans after they escape and breed like kitties...
-- Hot worlds, toxic worlds, low grav/high pressure worlds, arboreal worlds, ocean worlds, desert worlds, or anything else you can come up with.
There will be about 20 successful interstellar cultures that are significantly different enough from Terran humans to be considered different species. Some examples are the Arctusians, Spacers, Packers, and the Mechanoids -- see more information on some cultures here.
Normal stat maxima apply. I am not going to stop you if you buy a 60 strength, but I think you’ll be bored a lot. At least until you have to lift a battleship…
Average life spans are 200+ years, and there really aren’t any old people with modern medicine. This also means that you may have already had two or three professional careers in your past. On the other hand, the World ship company hires for potential as much as experience.
Vast array of possibilities. Follow the basic rule: if it is always a part of you, pay for it. If it is equipment, don’t pay for it. I am interested in seeing adaptations of humans to extreme environments. Think of what the gengineers would draw on from Earth life to survive the new environment; think of creatures that would live in the new environment that could offer survival traits to the colonists.
Genetic engineering examples:-- Spacers have a lot of life support, enhanced senses, bump for direction, absolute time sense, massive dexterity, that sort of thing.
-- Mer folk will have llife support (breath water, high pressure), Sonar, enhanced sense of smell, superior swimming.
Cybernetic enhancement can give you enhanced senses, armor, gliding (suspensors…), built in lockpick tools.
Terran Cybernetics Packages:-- Comlink 5 pts. This is your built in link to the Net and to anyone else on it. It has range limitations based on the Node you are connecting too.
-- Mnemonic Booster 5 pts. Plays as a eidetic memory, to help when you forget details.
Bio-enhancement is where the real weird changes can come into play. Terrans will not accept bio-enhancement unless there is no other medical choice. Many other cultures are weird about the practice. There are, however, a large number of deviants, much like today, who like to modify their bodies. The technology is much better, so the results are much better.
Jen put together the following skill categories for the department heads:
XO (The Trader) – Operations / Trading / Spacer Liaison
Sample skills: Bureaucratic, persuasion, languages, high society, linguist, bribery…Director of Security (Gun Captain) – Security – Intrasystem / Ground Security Force / Demolitions
Sample skills: tactics, demolitions, Fam: Small arms, KS:military history, Combat pilot: shuttles and boats…Director of Medical Affairs (Bones (It's traditional…)) – Medicine / Xeno-Medicine / Bio-Engineering / Cybernetics Technology
Director of Construction (The Boss) – Construction / De-construction
Director of Cultural Affairs (Grave robber) – Archeology / Xeno-Engineering
Director of Science (The Professor) – Geo-Sciences / General Sciences / Terraforming
Work your skills so that you understand the possible applications of your department, but you can specialize as much as you want. Create skill enhancers to apply to your specialties (advanced teaching methods and technology are prevalent).
If you are interested in military backgrounds, that is pretty easy. There is always a war somewhere between the star nations and all the other colonies. There are always pirates, and rogue Mechanoids left over from the Machine Wars. Also, the Solarians often use other people's wars to annex a system or two.
Martial Arts are bought as KS:[specific Martial Art] and levels. If the art has a weapon element, buy 8 point "all combat" levels. There are three martial arts moves you can buy:
Throw 3 pts abort normal CV and damage, target knocked down
Block/Strike 3 pts abort -2 CV, normal damage
Pins/Locks 3 pts abort follows a grab, throw, or block; +10 STR for hold;
may target limb or head. Opponent can be damaged without a roll.
Small arms 2 points per category
-- Slug Guns – Cartridge based physical RKA
-- Power Guns – Cartridge based energy RKA
-- Blasters – Pure energy EB
Unique Energy Weapons 1 point per category (we can make others if you come up with something that fits your culture)
-- Gravity weapons
-- Sonic weapons
-- Disruptors
TF: Ram ships / Hyper pocket vessels
TF: Hyper sailing vessels
TF: Hyper translating vessels
TF: Shuttles and ship's boats (all capable of entering atmosphere and landing)
TF: System ships (e.g., asteroid mining vessels)
TF: Zero G
TF: Environment suits
Zero G combat (3/2, Dex based)
PS: Spacer / ship's systems
You should collectively cover the following skills (overlapping a few is probably better):
Astrogator / Navigator
Pilot
Engineer
Enviromental technician
Feel free to ask questions!
-- Pete Good