-Nate
A Question of Style—Star Wars vs. Star
Trek, or Something In-Between
In planning a space fantasy campaign, a GM can look to
two great sources of inspiration: the franchises of movies, TV shows,
novels, comics, etc. for Star Wars and Star Trek. For
one thing, the sheer mass of material for each of these titles
should provide plenty of ideas. For another, the differences between
the two represent different theories in campaign design.
Star Wars: One Overarching Plot
A rebellion against an evil Galactic Empire drives the
plot in the original movie trilogy. What is more, most of the early
spinoff material focuses on that conflict as well. (This can be
compared to the “Adventure Path” model that has been so
successfully utilized by Paizo Publishing, where the scenarios in a
campaign are driven by one primary plotline.) While fighting in the
interplanetary Civil War, of course, the heroes do visit distinctly
different planets and interact with their inhabitants, but that's not
really the focus of the adventures.
In a campaign such as this, the focus could be a plot
by an alien species such as the formians to conquer Known Space, the
quest for an artifact that can destroy worlds, the establishment and
operation of a settlement in aetherspace, or something similar. An
advantage of this model is that it provides a sense of cohesion to a
campaign; a challenge is that it can be hard to develop one main plot
slowly over numerous adventures.
Star Trek:
New Discoveries Each and Every Day
The introduction to the first TV series summarizes this
style nicely: “...to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new
life and new civilizations...” etc. In this case, individual
adventures focus on interacting with these unique environments, and
many of the conflicts in them stem from cultural differences. In this
case, the crew of the aethership have some kind of mission; this
might include exploration, trade, military functions or the like.
In a campaign such as this, the focus might be on
acquiring and selling cargoes from one world to the next, spreading
the teachings of a religious faith, gaining and recording knowledge
of the new worlds in question, implementing the will of a sovereign
ruler, or the like. An advantage for this type of campaign is that it
allows the GM tremendous flexibility in planning adventures, but a
disadvantage is that it can be hard to create a sense of impetus from
one session to another.
Something
In-Between: Firefly and Serenity
The most likely solution for a space fantasy campaign is
that the GM chooses a path in the middle of these poles. A good
example of this is the TV series Firefly, taken together with
the movie Serenity. In the dozen or so episodes of the prior,
the character are just regular people traveling the galaxy and trying
to make a living. Wherever they go, they run into new and interesting
characters, along with conflicts to face. There are recurring
characters, however, along with a couple of plot elements—the
mystery of the Reavers and the Alliance's problem with River—that
are gradually developed.
“Back on my
homeworld, individuals, organizations and even nations fought over
the limited resources they saw around them. Those of us who've
learned the secret of aetherial travel know that the galaxy's
resources are almost unlimited. Of course, that doesn't mean we're
sharing the secret.”
-Luciano
Reda, human merchant prince
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Worlds Building Revisited: Alien Civilizations and
Cultures
A previous article discussed how to work different and
interesting kinds of worlds into space fantasy adventures. Just as
important, however, are the beings who inhabit those worlds, and the
societies in which they live. When creating new civilizations and
cultures for a campaign setting, the GM would do well to consider the
following factors.
Start
with Species
The
most important point to consider, of course, is the species that
inhabit(s) the planet in question. As mentioned previously, space
fantasy campaigns provide an excellent chance to introduce strange
new entities; the characteristics of those creatures go a long way
toward providing the nuances of how they organize themselves and
interact with each other.
Take,
for example, the formians from Bestiary
4. They are instectoid
creatures, and thus their society has many of the qualities of bug
colonies. They are unthinkingly loyal to their queen, and tend to
live in large communal complexes. Any kind of armed forces they have
are more for protecting against outsiders than for enforcing their
own laws amongst themselves. Of course, if the planet in question
also has slaves toiling away for their formian masters, then their
could be pockets of escapees who live freely but in constant danger.
If one or more formians ever rejected the queen's authority, however,
that could make for a distinctly different settlement. There, too, if
two queens went to war, then the preparations of each colony for
battle provide another important detail.
The
arborlings—creatures from a supplement published by Clockwork
Gnome—on the other hand, are sentient plant creatures. On a world
that has plenty of soil, moisture and sunlight, they don't need to
compete for material goods. One can imagine a fairly idyllic, sylvan
planet with very little in the way of government or law enforcement,
but periodically the arborlings gather to discuss the health of the
forest and share news. Should there be competitors for the forests'
resources, however, more organization might be required.
What
Kind of World?
A
previous article discussed the many varieties of planets depending on
their type, temperature and other features. Those details also impact
how inhabitants live on such worlds, and thus the structures of their
society. For example, on a hot planet close to its sun, the locals
might be forced to live underground in order to avoid the heat. In
such cases, a subterranean lake might be the center of the major
settlements. Similarly, on a cold world the locals could live next to
volcanic vents in order to benefit from the heat that they provide.
Fungus could become an important foodsource. On a planet covered with
water, transportation via ship would be invaluable. If it's also a
cold planet, then sailing ships might be replaced by ones with
runners for maneuvering on the ice. Aetherships would be a necessity
on a gas giant, where traveling between sky citadels is the primary
traffic.
With
this in mind, the GM should also scan through the Bestiary
books and decide what else lives on the planet in question. Which
monsters are appropriate to the environment? Are there any unexpected
surprises lurking in the corners of the world? In addition to
determining what kinds of random encounters travelers might have on
these worlds, this can provide inspiration for developing a world's
history (see below).
These
details also help determine which commodities are readily available
and which are scarce, thereby establishing imports and exports. Many
foodstuffs could be rare and exotic (and thus valuable) on worlds
that don't have the climate or conditions for growing them. That's
not the case on a temperate, sylvan world. A hot planet might have an
overabundance of valuable metal ores, but would pay good money for
fresh drinking water.
Pick
Technology and Magic Level
The
default technology level for most standard fantasy campaigns is
somewhere between medieval and Renaissance. Moreover, magic is
relatively common, as long as one has the money, the connections or
the natural ability. Traveling from world to world provides a chance
to introduce planets with different degrees of advancement in both
these categories, however. For example, one might have a society that
has come no further than nomadic hunter-gatherers, while a second
could have achieved something akin to steampunk. At the same time,
magic could be virtually unknown on one world, and therefore viewed
with awe, greed or fear; on another it might be so commonplace as
almost to lose its value. Needless to say, these factors can have a
huge impact on how the PC's interact with the inhabitants of these
worlds, and perhaps even more long-term influence once the characters
have visited them.
Making
History
Every
world should have its own history, even if it's just a rough sketch
for which details can be filled in later. What are the recent events
that have taken place on it? This could include:
- Wars between power groups
- Changes in a dynasty of kings and/or queens
- Some kind or rebellion against authority
- Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, meteor showers, or fires
- Famine
- Plague
- An outbreak of piracy
- A major magical or technological discovery
These factors can all influence the local political
landscape, and have further influence if the PC's are looking to buy
or sell goods on the planet in question.
Connections
to Other Worlds
Finally,
does this world have established connections to other planets? It's
important to know whether or not the planetary population is aware of
aetherial travel. PC's venturing into uncharted space could be the
first offworlders to visit a planet, or it could be a known and
accepted occurrence.
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Inspiration
GM's
seeking inspiration for a space fantasy campaign can look to these
sources, too.
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