Post by wildknight on Dec 4, 2009 6:53:43 GMT -5
(This information might seem very familiar to some of you. I'll be plugging in the d20 Future rules and giving this another go, soon)
After Exodus
The History of the Future
(Note that the people of 3008 have very little knowledge of Earth, including its history, location, etc. Much of what follows with regard to Earth, the Exodus, and the century immediately thereafter is a generalized version, subject to debate and opinion)
circa 2010; The third worldwide war erupts between world powers. It rages for roughly a decade, disrupting the world economy, reducing the world population by nearly 1/3rd, and causing untold destruction.
circa 2025: In the wake of the war the world turns to a new leader known as the ExArch (some believe that ExArch is a shortened form of Executive Archbishop, implying that the Roman Catholic Church may have, in fact, somehow taken control after the war. Scholars suggest that the position of Executive Archbishop may have been created in order to provide the world with leadership while still allowing the Pope to remain focused on spiritual matters)
circa 2150: The ExArch declares that human interference is resulting in deepening environmental problems. The only hope is to drastically reduce the human population of Earth. Project: Exodus involves the construction of 12 "world ships" which would carry 95% of Earths populace into space, never to return.
circa 2250: Project: Exodus carries the vast majority of the worlds population away from Earth aboard ships designed to travel vast distances at speeds many times the Speed of Light, with no return coordinates. Since each ship is sent in a different direction, speculation is that the beings aboard the vessels will never make contact with one another.
2400 AD: The worldship "Dragon" crashes on the inhabital world that the colonists name Lung. A military dictatorship arises rapidly and spreads to nearby worlds, terraforming them. Soon the vast space empire, known as the Dragon Free Republics, covers dozens of worlds and hundreds of outposts.
2600 AD: The Dragon Armada, commanded by Admiral Hu Pak, locates colony worlds full of human beings, and begins the process of conquering them. From these colonists, the scientists of the Dragon Free Republics confirm that at least 3 other worldships must have traveled to worlds within their reach.
3008 AD: Admiral Tylene Pak of the Dragon Armada, with permission from the Council on Lung, sets out in search of the fabled Planet Earth.
The Worldships and their people
The Twelve Worldships of Project: Exodus were named for the beasts of the Chinese Zodiac, and were launched from Earth each carrying half a billion peoples, with a maximum capacity of 1 Billion people per vessel.
Because the ships were intentionally stripped of anything that might lead the "colonists" back to Earth, including all historical records, most of what is remembered of Earth is oral tradition only, most frequently maintained by various religious organizations (who, no doubt, may have altered a number of events to reconcile with their own preferred beliefs). Some scholars speculate that none of the worldships were supposed to travel close enough to one another that their descendants would ever meet... but the rapid expansion of the Dragon Free Republic brought them into contact with desendants of three confirmed worldships, and one more suspected.
Over time, each has developed unique cultures;
The Dragon Free Republic (Worldship: Dragon): Long before their vessel reached the world they would call Lung, the people of the Worldship Dragon came under the control of a military dictator called So Han. Official records indicate that there were several riots and outbreaks of violence before So Han stepped in as savior of the survivors. He gave order to the chaos, and to this day the Dragon Free Republic is based upon his organizational structure.
Essentially a rigid caste system with warriors at the top, the DFR tests every child at the age of 12 and again at the age of 15 to determine the proper career path for them. Everyone works at whatever position they are given. Normally a Council made up only of members of the Soldier Caste rules the DFR, but during times of war (which has been a consistent state since the birth of the DFR) the highest ranking military officer has full control, leaving the Council as caretakers of the Capitol World of Lung.
The DFR also commands an enormous space-faring Navy, spear-headed by its war fleet, known as The Dragon Armada. In addition to the Armada the DFR has a pair of massive defense fleets to protect its worlds, and a large scale mobile colony-outfitting operation known as The Flotilla.
In the DFR natural reproduction has been unheard of for ages; all children are created in artificial wombs and raised in government schools.
The DFR is ruthless, conquering through violence any occupied world they come across. The DFR are the only humans to encounter advanced alien life forms... twice they have encountered primitive sapient beings, and in both instances they have eliminated the entire populace within months.
**************************************************
The Garou (Worldship: Dog). Though by no means an equal of the DFR, the Garou are to be feared militarily. Legend tells that their worldship broke up upon crashing on destination world, killing the vast majority of their people. Without terraforming equipment, the few survivors were forced to survive in the harsh wilds of the world they had landed on. There they learned to live in Wolfpack-like family groups, moving and hunting together.
Unlike the DFR military, which relies on brute strength and numbers, the Garou operate in a series of tiny special forces-like cells. They have no unified command structure, but they do meet regularly to exchange information.
The Garou are unconcerned with the DFR expansion; they are not attached to any specific worlds and go where the hunt takes them. Garou have difficulty relating to other humans, and when separated from their own, they try to create a pack-structure with whomever they are with. They associate almost all aspects of their lives to hunting.
***************************************************
The Colonies (Worldship: Snake). Peaceful explorers, scientists, and philosophers, the loose-knit series of worlds known as The Colonies have only recently come into contact with the DFR, and are still attempting to find ways to reason with them while they build previously unnecessary defense fleets.
The Colonies have the highest overall level of technology, including fully sapient, self-replicating machines known as Golems. Due to their incredible technology, the people of the Colonies have enjoyed lives without war, disease, or suffering for many generations... though their contact with the DFR has recently changed that.
Beneath the seemingly utopian surface, however, The Colonies have many questionable aspects. Though the Golems are fully self-aware and even able to construct their own "offspring", they have the status of possessions in The Colonies, and they labor incessantly so that the people never need do any labor themselves.
*************************************************
The Apes (Worldship: Monkey). Nothing more than scattered colonists and citizens of worlds occupied by the DFR or The Colonies, the people descended from the Worldship Monkey still identify themselves as such. They value freedom above all else, and have been known to be rabble rousers when they feel their freedom is being abused.
The Apes have created multiple martial arts systems even though the majority of their people are complete pacifists, and psychics are common amongst them; far more so than in any other population.
**************************************************
The Others; No one knows what has become of the colonists from Worldships Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Horse, Sheep, Rooster, and Pig. Given the size of space and the number of things that could go wrong on a technological vessel the size of a Worldship, it may be that none of them are anywhere near the other worldships.
However, the DFR have encountered strange beings at the edges of their territory. They have never seen the pilots, but the vessels use technology vastly superior to anything in the DFR or even The Colonies. So far, these “strangers” have yet to prove aggressive. DFR leaders are confident that they are yet another lost branch of the human race.
Technology and Equipment
Space Faring
The world of After Exodus is about space-faring cultures. The people of 3008 don't vacation on other continents; they vacation on other planets. Space vessels take a wide variety of shapes and forms, from the functional, box-like ships of the DFR, to the artistically crafted and delicate vessels of the Colonies.
Arguably the most important discovery in all of history is faster-than-light travel. It enabled humanity to leave Earth, and now enables them to travel extensively. There are actually currently three means of faster-than-light travel.
The Jump Drive: The first FTL technology, developed almost 1,000 years ago on Earth. It involves a massive self-recharging engine known as a Jump Drive. A Jump Drive can carry a vessel from the vicinity of any star to the vicinity of any other star almost instantaneously. The major limitations of Jump Drives are their size (the smallest of them weigh nearly 200 tons and are the size of a two story building) and their required proximity to stars. Travel from a given star to the nearest world could take years at sub-light speeds.
The Ring Gate: Ring Gates are massive rings that float in space (usually near planets or space stations) and allow two-way travel to and from any Ring Gate that shares the same "network." Ring Gate travel is nearly instantaneous, but the construction of Ring Gates requires enormous expenditure of resources, extremely skilled labor, and a minimum of five years.
Temporal De-stabilization Unit: The newest FTL technology, TDU's are compact enough to be placed inside medium sized vessels, and can travel to and from any coordinates in space. The down side is that TDU's do not travel nearly as fast as Jump Drives or Ring Gates, and there is some degree of risk due to their method of operation. A TDU effectively "unsticks" the attached vessel from time, allowing it to pass seamlessly from place to place. TDU travel is still very rapid; one could travel from one end of DFR space to the other in a matter of weeks.
Vessels: Despite the near infinite variety of vessels, they are generally taken in a few broad classifications.
Worldships: The twelve great colony ships that (according to legend) launched from Earth were massive in size, far larger than anything in production today. They held little in the way of offensive or defensive weapons.
Capitol Ships: The largest vessels, used almost exclusively for warfare. The majority of these are in the DFR Navy, though The Colonies have a few research vessels of this size, and The Garou have stolen a handful of DFR warships. Vessels of this size carry the best weapons and armor available (Colony Vessels typically only possess defensive weapons), including Point Defense weapons, enormous rail guns, and powerful energy shields. The minimum crew compliment for a Capitol Vessel is roughly 75; anything smaller falls under the category of Transport Vessels.
Transport Vessels: Despite the name, this class includes the largest number of warships, though they lack the armament of Capitol Vessels, these ships are smaller, much more maneuverable, and capable of tactical strikes. Transport Vessels carry exclusively energy weapons, and tend to rely on armor rather than energy shielding. Transport Vessels still require a fairly large crew (at least a dozen)
Personal Vessels: Even smaller than Transports, this is the class of vehicle that those wealthy enough to own private space transport typically have. Personal vessels usually only require one or two people to pilot them, but may carry as many as two dozen passengers comfortably (depending on size). Personal Vessels usually have no weapons, and generally do not have a powerful enough engine to support energy shielding or a TDU, forcing them to rely on Ring Gates or larger Jump Drive enabled vessels.
Fighter Craft: Not really a class of vehicle so much as a specialized purpose, fighter craft are common in the DFR and amongst the Garou. These vehicles are small (slightly larger than a modern fighter jet), and are usually crewed by 1, but no more than 4. Fighter Craft are heavily armed, carrying both energy weapons and high-powered missile-like devices, and almost always have energy shielding. Some Fighter Craft carry stealth devices as well, making them extraordinarily lethal.
After Exodus
The History of the Future
(Note that the people of 3008 have very little knowledge of Earth, including its history, location, etc. Much of what follows with regard to Earth, the Exodus, and the century immediately thereafter is a generalized version, subject to debate and opinion)
circa 2010; The third worldwide war erupts between world powers. It rages for roughly a decade, disrupting the world economy, reducing the world population by nearly 1/3rd, and causing untold destruction.
circa 2025: In the wake of the war the world turns to a new leader known as the ExArch (some believe that ExArch is a shortened form of Executive Archbishop, implying that the Roman Catholic Church may have, in fact, somehow taken control after the war. Scholars suggest that the position of Executive Archbishop may have been created in order to provide the world with leadership while still allowing the Pope to remain focused on spiritual matters)
circa 2150: The ExArch declares that human interference is resulting in deepening environmental problems. The only hope is to drastically reduce the human population of Earth. Project: Exodus involves the construction of 12 "world ships" which would carry 95% of Earths populace into space, never to return.
circa 2250: Project: Exodus carries the vast majority of the worlds population away from Earth aboard ships designed to travel vast distances at speeds many times the Speed of Light, with no return coordinates. Since each ship is sent in a different direction, speculation is that the beings aboard the vessels will never make contact with one another.
2400 AD: The worldship "Dragon" crashes on the inhabital world that the colonists name Lung. A military dictatorship arises rapidly and spreads to nearby worlds, terraforming them. Soon the vast space empire, known as the Dragon Free Republics, covers dozens of worlds and hundreds of outposts.
2600 AD: The Dragon Armada, commanded by Admiral Hu Pak, locates colony worlds full of human beings, and begins the process of conquering them. From these colonists, the scientists of the Dragon Free Republics confirm that at least 3 other worldships must have traveled to worlds within their reach.
3008 AD: Admiral Tylene Pak of the Dragon Armada, with permission from the Council on Lung, sets out in search of the fabled Planet Earth.
The Worldships and their people
The Twelve Worldships of Project: Exodus were named for the beasts of the Chinese Zodiac, and were launched from Earth each carrying half a billion peoples, with a maximum capacity of 1 Billion people per vessel.
Because the ships were intentionally stripped of anything that might lead the "colonists" back to Earth, including all historical records, most of what is remembered of Earth is oral tradition only, most frequently maintained by various religious organizations (who, no doubt, may have altered a number of events to reconcile with their own preferred beliefs). Some scholars speculate that none of the worldships were supposed to travel close enough to one another that their descendants would ever meet... but the rapid expansion of the Dragon Free Republic brought them into contact with desendants of three confirmed worldships, and one more suspected.
Over time, each has developed unique cultures;
The Dragon Free Republic (Worldship: Dragon): Long before their vessel reached the world they would call Lung, the people of the Worldship Dragon came under the control of a military dictator called So Han. Official records indicate that there were several riots and outbreaks of violence before So Han stepped in as savior of the survivors. He gave order to the chaos, and to this day the Dragon Free Republic is based upon his organizational structure.
Essentially a rigid caste system with warriors at the top, the DFR tests every child at the age of 12 and again at the age of 15 to determine the proper career path for them. Everyone works at whatever position they are given. Normally a Council made up only of members of the Soldier Caste rules the DFR, but during times of war (which has been a consistent state since the birth of the DFR) the highest ranking military officer has full control, leaving the Council as caretakers of the Capitol World of Lung.
The DFR also commands an enormous space-faring Navy, spear-headed by its war fleet, known as The Dragon Armada. In addition to the Armada the DFR has a pair of massive defense fleets to protect its worlds, and a large scale mobile colony-outfitting operation known as The Flotilla.
In the DFR natural reproduction has been unheard of for ages; all children are created in artificial wombs and raised in government schools.
The DFR is ruthless, conquering through violence any occupied world they come across. The DFR are the only humans to encounter advanced alien life forms... twice they have encountered primitive sapient beings, and in both instances they have eliminated the entire populace within months.
**************************************************
The Garou (Worldship: Dog). Though by no means an equal of the DFR, the Garou are to be feared militarily. Legend tells that their worldship broke up upon crashing on destination world, killing the vast majority of their people. Without terraforming equipment, the few survivors were forced to survive in the harsh wilds of the world they had landed on. There they learned to live in Wolfpack-like family groups, moving and hunting together.
Unlike the DFR military, which relies on brute strength and numbers, the Garou operate in a series of tiny special forces-like cells. They have no unified command structure, but they do meet regularly to exchange information.
The Garou are unconcerned with the DFR expansion; they are not attached to any specific worlds and go where the hunt takes them. Garou have difficulty relating to other humans, and when separated from their own, they try to create a pack-structure with whomever they are with. They associate almost all aspects of their lives to hunting.
***************************************************
The Colonies (Worldship: Snake). Peaceful explorers, scientists, and philosophers, the loose-knit series of worlds known as The Colonies have only recently come into contact with the DFR, and are still attempting to find ways to reason with them while they build previously unnecessary defense fleets.
The Colonies have the highest overall level of technology, including fully sapient, self-replicating machines known as Golems. Due to their incredible technology, the people of the Colonies have enjoyed lives without war, disease, or suffering for many generations... though their contact with the DFR has recently changed that.
Beneath the seemingly utopian surface, however, The Colonies have many questionable aspects. Though the Golems are fully self-aware and even able to construct their own "offspring", they have the status of possessions in The Colonies, and they labor incessantly so that the people never need do any labor themselves.
*************************************************
The Apes (Worldship: Monkey). Nothing more than scattered colonists and citizens of worlds occupied by the DFR or The Colonies, the people descended from the Worldship Monkey still identify themselves as such. They value freedom above all else, and have been known to be rabble rousers when they feel their freedom is being abused.
The Apes have created multiple martial arts systems even though the majority of their people are complete pacifists, and psychics are common amongst them; far more so than in any other population.
**************************************************
The Others; No one knows what has become of the colonists from Worldships Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Horse, Sheep, Rooster, and Pig. Given the size of space and the number of things that could go wrong on a technological vessel the size of a Worldship, it may be that none of them are anywhere near the other worldships.
However, the DFR have encountered strange beings at the edges of their territory. They have never seen the pilots, but the vessels use technology vastly superior to anything in the DFR or even The Colonies. So far, these “strangers” have yet to prove aggressive. DFR leaders are confident that they are yet another lost branch of the human race.
Technology and Equipment
Space Faring
The world of After Exodus is about space-faring cultures. The people of 3008 don't vacation on other continents; they vacation on other planets. Space vessels take a wide variety of shapes and forms, from the functional, box-like ships of the DFR, to the artistically crafted and delicate vessels of the Colonies.
Arguably the most important discovery in all of history is faster-than-light travel. It enabled humanity to leave Earth, and now enables them to travel extensively. There are actually currently three means of faster-than-light travel.
The Jump Drive: The first FTL technology, developed almost 1,000 years ago on Earth. It involves a massive self-recharging engine known as a Jump Drive. A Jump Drive can carry a vessel from the vicinity of any star to the vicinity of any other star almost instantaneously. The major limitations of Jump Drives are their size (the smallest of them weigh nearly 200 tons and are the size of a two story building) and their required proximity to stars. Travel from a given star to the nearest world could take years at sub-light speeds.
The Ring Gate: Ring Gates are massive rings that float in space (usually near planets or space stations) and allow two-way travel to and from any Ring Gate that shares the same "network." Ring Gate travel is nearly instantaneous, but the construction of Ring Gates requires enormous expenditure of resources, extremely skilled labor, and a minimum of five years.
Temporal De-stabilization Unit: The newest FTL technology, TDU's are compact enough to be placed inside medium sized vessels, and can travel to and from any coordinates in space. The down side is that TDU's do not travel nearly as fast as Jump Drives or Ring Gates, and there is some degree of risk due to their method of operation. A TDU effectively "unsticks" the attached vessel from time, allowing it to pass seamlessly from place to place. TDU travel is still very rapid; one could travel from one end of DFR space to the other in a matter of weeks.
Vessels: Despite the near infinite variety of vessels, they are generally taken in a few broad classifications.
Worldships: The twelve great colony ships that (according to legend) launched from Earth were massive in size, far larger than anything in production today. They held little in the way of offensive or defensive weapons.
Capitol Ships: The largest vessels, used almost exclusively for warfare. The majority of these are in the DFR Navy, though The Colonies have a few research vessels of this size, and The Garou have stolen a handful of DFR warships. Vessels of this size carry the best weapons and armor available (Colony Vessels typically only possess defensive weapons), including Point Defense weapons, enormous rail guns, and powerful energy shields. The minimum crew compliment for a Capitol Vessel is roughly 75; anything smaller falls under the category of Transport Vessels.
Transport Vessels: Despite the name, this class includes the largest number of warships, though they lack the armament of Capitol Vessels, these ships are smaller, much more maneuverable, and capable of tactical strikes. Transport Vessels carry exclusively energy weapons, and tend to rely on armor rather than energy shielding. Transport Vessels still require a fairly large crew (at least a dozen)
Personal Vessels: Even smaller than Transports, this is the class of vehicle that those wealthy enough to own private space transport typically have. Personal vessels usually only require one or two people to pilot them, but may carry as many as two dozen passengers comfortably (depending on size). Personal Vessels usually have no weapons, and generally do not have a powerful enough engine to support energy shielding or a TDU, forcing them to rely on Ring Gates or larger Jump Drive enabled vessels.
Fighter Craft: Not really a class of vehicle so much as a specialized purpose, fighter craft are common in the DFR and amongst the Garou. These vehicles are small (slightly larger than a modern fighter jet), and are usually crewed by 1, but no more than 4. Fighter Craft are heavily armed, carrying both energy weapons and high-powered missile-like devices, and almost always have energy shielding. Some Fighter Craft carry stealth devices as well, making them extraordinarily lethal.