powers_mods (powers_mods) wrote in powersooc, @ 2014-02-15 14:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | game history, game premise, reference |
World Information
Still very in progress but this is way better than nothing.
Setting: Stealing from Joss Whedon and Firefly all the way. Futuristic, Wild West, Steampunk sort of setting. We’re talking space travel, planets, aliens (limited encounters), colonization, recovering from civil space war, government experimentation. There are powered and non-powered individuals. Powered individuals are either in the ruling elite, controlled by the ruling elite or rebels. Most rebels and colonists are human. Powered rebels are seen as a commodity that must be controlled. If you are not of the ruling class, you can aspire to rise through the ranks through money, bribery or marriage.
Another way to attain power is to choose to become companions. The companion profession is viewed as being elite and classy. There are whorehouses on some of the colonized and fringe worlds although people in these possessions are not highly viewed. A companion can choose their clients, whores cannot.
Factions:
Core:
Hellfire Club
HFC Inner Circle
Weapon X
The Pride (status currently unknown)
Fringe:
Serenity-X
Pride - The Pride, like the elite families, works alongside but outside of the Alliance. The Pride is very Alliance connected, though. Members of their families commonly work in Weapon X and occasionally serve in the ranks of the Hellfire Club. Rather then rely on the Brotherhood, however, the Pride takes care of their own dirty work. The Pride is made up of 6 families: Hayes, Yorkes, Deans, Wilders, Minorus and Steins. Each family has their own specialty.
Fringe Worlds:
Fringe planets are harder to keep under the sway of the Alliance. There are a lot of little “kingdoms” in the black who have kept their relative freedom either through use of force, favor, disinterest from the Alliance or flat out bribery. In addition to the baby kingdoms, a lot of the Fringe worlds have begun to become colonized though some are considered more Rebellion worlds and some are decidedly funded by the Alliance. Space pirates don’t make life any easier.
Some of the Alliance funded colonies are work planets that are manned by prisoners or those who have offended the government in some way. Once the process of getting the planet has been completed, the work forces will be moved to another and real colonists will be sent.
Everything in the Fringe is limited and supply ships are often raided and the supplies auctioned off to the highest bidder.
See the planet guide for more information about established Fringe worlds.
Ships: Not everyone has their own ship. A lot of people would have to either charter a ship or rely on various Alliance transport ships. Smugglers, traders, pirates and the wealthy have ships.
Core:
Alliance:
HFC: The Hellfire Club is practically the ruling governmental faction of the Alliance although the Alliance does claim to hold rightful elections not that they’re in power. Despite this most people know that the HFC is the power behind the government. Women and men can both hold positions in the Alliance as well as in the HFC.
Examples of families who may belong to the HFC:
Braddocks
Worthingtons
Starks
Frosts
Kellers
Shaws
For the most part the actions of the Alliance and the HFC are not inherently evil. They’re just biased against those who would prefer to have their freedoms. Under the HFC and the Alliance, taxes are high and people who are deemed useful become the property of the Alliance.
All legal business must be approved through the Alliance/HFC and must pay taxes to them in order to continue their business.
Alliance funded colonies are the ones that typically prosper although the Alliance isn’t great about always sending supplies when needed and if a shipment is lost due to pirates, they don’t do much to replace the lost goods.
They have an iron hand around almost everything in the Core. The best way to stay below their grasp is to either defect to the Fringe or to the Black. The power of the Alliance is much weaker in the Fringe and non-existent in the Black although not many people want to go there.
The Core is rich and lush and verdant. The rest of the verse is just limping along.
There are a number of planets that are considered be part of the Core.
Some further information about various Alliance groups:
Hellions: Children of the HFC, high ranking families in the Alliance, the Pride, etc. are members of the Hellions Academy. For the most part these are children who are being trained to one day take their place as the leaders of the world. Children from less affluent families are frequently granted scholarships if they are shown to excel in some way, which are either be intelligence, skills or even due to powers that they possess.
Scholarship children are commonly viewed as being outsiders amoung the HFC children and treated as such. Out and out cruelty is not tolerated but there is slight snubbing. Professors and trainers are supposed to be impartial. Some scholarship students will be given small jobs at the academy to help them pay for their schooling.
Companions: One of the highest positions, other the Alliance governmental officials or a member of the HFC, that men and women can hold is that of a Companions. Companions are sanctioned and controlled by the Alliance.
Companion training is long, tedious and similar to the ancient training that a geisha would have undergone in Japan. These individuals are trained not only in the ways of intimate affection but are also classically trained in music, literature, dance and culture.
There is no shame in being a Companion or in hiring a Companion although one must never ever marry one. Companions are allowed to pick their own clients although their fees are regulated and taxed by the Alliance. A Companion who has fallen out of standing with the Alliance can no longer service anyone within the Core system or use the title of Companion. Retired Companions are expected to either become instructors or inspectors during the tests.
Some Companions have broken away from the Alliance and attempted to put together something of a community in the Fringe but these members are often considered whores.
Pride: The Pride works alongside but outside of the Alliance. The Pride is very Alliance connected, though. Members of their families commonly work in Weapon X and occasionally serve in the ranks of the Hellfire Club. The Pride takes care of their own dirty work. The Pride is made up of 6 families: Hayes, Yorkes, Deans, Wilders, Minorus and Steins. Each family has their own speciality but they are almost always seen together. It is hinted that even the Alliance and the HFC fear The Pride.
Weapon X: Becoming a member of Weapon X is another of the highest ranking positions that anyone in the Core can hope to obtain. Weapon X is a facility filled the the Core’s top scientists, doctors, inventors, etc. Any powered being who lives on a Core planet is expected to register and be examined in the Weapon X facility. Sometimes powered individuals are recruited into the ranks.
There are rumors of powered individuals being experimented on and augmented in the Weapon X laboratories as well but these stories are mostly told in the Fringe. These rumors have never been proven and very rarely acknowledged by the members of the Alliance/HFC.
Fringe:
Most of the Rebel forces scattered to the Fringe once the war was over and the Alliance had won. The remaining Rebels are not hunted down or anything of that nature. They are allowed on the Alliance planets although their reception might not always be the most welcome. A lot of the Rebel forces are viewed as being backward, backwater colonists despite the fact that more than a few of them are actually from some of the more elite families. Some of them even defected from the HFC to side with the Rebels.
There are skirmishes that arise, though a lot of these can be linked to the fact that old Rebel forces aren’t always keen on playing nice with the Alliance. a lot of them moved to the Fringe where Alliance control is weaker. Some of them have taken to more imaginative ways of making money that do, in fact, fly in the face of the law. This includes scavenging derelict Alliance ships to even occasional pirating.
Serenity-X: One of the richer planets in the Fringe is known simply Serenity-X. A number of powered and unpowered Rebels alike either call this planet home or are affiliated with it in some way. They have their own doctors and scientists. There are even a few Companions who wander in and out of their midst. Sometimes their money is made in slightly dishonorable ways.
Reavers: Space Pirates pure and simple. For the most part, they were not part of the war. They played both sides. They are regarded as one unit and do have a planet setup as a base, but they are almost entirely seen on their ships. And they have ships. Lots and lots of ship. They are not shy about stealing from anyone: Alliance, Rebels, colonists, etc. They steal and then sell the goods to the highest bidder. They will use force if necessary.
The Shepherds: Not much is known about the quasi-religious group known as the Shepherds. For the most part, they keep to themselves on their own planets, but they do occasionally take to the stars either to spread the word or when on journeys of discovery. Men and women alike can take on the role of Shepherds, and it is said that the road to becoming one with the cloth is different for each person. Of course there’s a lot you can hide under the guise of being pious.
Colonists: Without a doubt the largest group of people in the verse, especially in the Fringe, are the colonists. Depending on the planet, colonists are either everyday working men and women, hired hands of the elite families or even prison work crews sent to make planets livable before the Alliance try to colonize it. Most of the colonization efforts of the Alliance and the HFC, however, are confined to the Core planets. They rarely stray into the Fringe because it is so much harder to maintain control and most of life’s little luxuries are not readily available.
Rebel supporters tend to stick together so it is not uncommon to find planets composed mainly of Alliance minded colonists or Rebel colonists. Powered individuals are viewed with some trepidation and are often harassed or shunned, but the colonists also know that they can be a benefit in their lives, especially if they powers work well with the manual labor they endure on a daily basis.
Terra forming is expensive but is used in order to make life easier for the Core. For this reason most of the planets in the Fringe are not what anyone would consider prime real estate. Life for the colonists resembles a sort of futuristic wild west. Alliance laws are suggested but most of the planets make their own. When the Alliance is away, the colonists will play.
Members of Serenity-X do what they can as far as helping settle disputes and remaining neutral as far as the Fringe communities go, but they have enemies and friends. They have worlds where they are decidedly not welcome and worlds that depend on them, A lot of the powered colonists will chose to move to the planet rather than remain on their own worlds because it’s usually easier on them in the long run. Serenity-X is one of the richer worlds in the Fringe.
Please note: With very few exceptions, characters can be part of any of the above mentioned factions. The only characters who have story determined roles are NPCs. Members of the Runaways (the Pride’s children) can be broken out of the world their parents are a part of although they are also more than welcome to stay. Characters can also be escaped members of the Weapon X program (as WX and the Pride do experiment on powered individuals in particular in an attempt to make them more desirable and helpful to the Alliance. If these experiments happened to escape, they would be pursued. Being a captive means that you may get aid from or even be betrayed by other players and this should be kept in mind. Mutants that are viewed as being too dangerous may also be hunted down and taken into custody for “the good of the Core.”
Certain types of powers are more desirable than others. Healers, teleporters, telepaths, technopaths and phasers are extremely sought after by the HFC and the Alliance and can typically make a very good place for themselves in society by choosing to be part of the Alliance and their forces.
Time travel and cloning are both possible, but they are not well known. They also require an enormous amount of energy and, as such, are not commonly used.
Possible plot lines:
Brood - exploration of the Fringe or even Fringe elements beginning to work their way into Alliance space. This could easily involve all the factions and become a major story arc/plot thrust. Brood slowly starts edging into Alliance space from the Fringe and there can be spotty encounters with travelers/smugglers/cargo ships, etc. Main Alliance group things they’re just space rumors until they reach the edges of Alliance space. This could actually be a catalyst to pull the various and sundry groups together and could very easily span months of game play.
Weapon X - Everything is definitely not as peachy as it seems with Weapon X. Most of the time it is just as simple as going to the doctor for a check up but there are people who disappear. Or at least there are rumors of people who disappear. None of these claims are ever substantiated and the powers that be, the HFC and the Pride, both deny the claims and point out that most of the people reported missing are known to live on the edges of society and may well have just wandered out into the Fringe or had one of their illicit activities run amok. But they are true. The scientists are conducting experiments on the “undesirables” of society. These experiments include: power augmentation, biological warfare, super solider programs, etc. This could come to light in a number of different ways and could lead to a major war if things went the wrong way. These actions are not known or condoned by the HFC, but they are overseen by the Pride. This could result in a split within the Core worlds.
Muderworld - Murderworld is a Fringe planet that is owned and operated by a rich, eccentric individual who calls himself Arcade. Parents will often use him as a sort of boogeyman figure as in “If you don’t behave, Arcade might come and get you.” The truth is much grislier than anyone could actually imagine. Arcade has created an entire world that is built like a labyrinth where everything and anyone on the world could potentially kill you. And he’s not always happy just waiting for people to stray into his domain. Sometimes he does send his lackeys out looking for new competitors. The HFC and the Pride both know about Murderworld. As it is outside of their domain, the HFC looks the other way. The Pride, however, will actively send their enemies there on occasion. It’s also rumored that Arcade does not age and was an experiment of Weapon X that either went terribly wrong or terribly right depending on your point of view. Whichever way this is not your ideal vacation spot.
Phoenix Force/Roma/Otherworld - These are all space fables, though they’re on the lighter end of the spectrum when compared to Arcade and his Muderworld. Roma and Otherworld do exist, though they’re both located way out in the Fringe, past the black, where even the Brood don’t go. Getting to their region of space would take a while even with a lightspeed drive. Even then the shields would make it difficult to locate. Legend has it, though, that even century Roma picks someone to be the guardian of Otherworld and the universe itself.
The Phoenix Force on the other hand does not have a set location. It exists wherever it wants to although it prefers the very outer reaches of the Fringe. The PF has attempted to make contact with inhabited planets before with disastrous results so now it spends most of its time in self-imposed exile flying among the stars. The PF has never bonded with a living being or even been compelled to. The legend behind it is that, if encountered, the PF must bestow one wish on any who see it. The other half of this legend is to be careful what you wish for and to be very specific in what you desire. The PF is literal so you one cannot leave anything implied or assumed or you might find yourself quite a bit worse for wear.
Shi’ar - The Shi’ar are thus far unknown to the HFC or to the Fringe planets. They are a race from a close star system that is outside the Fringe. They are primarily a peaceful race and over the last few centuries they have become rather isolationist. The earlier Shi’ar rulers were only interested in expanding their empire, which is one of the reasons why the Shi’ar empire currently stretches across most of their galaxy. There are approximately three thousand planets included in the Shi’ar empire. These are comprised of a number of different races. The Shi’ar ruling class is in charge of the entire empire.
There are insurgent in the empire who believe that the Shi’ar people should still be expanding the ranks of the empire through conquest. This faction is rather small but it is an ever present danger to the current ruler. In fact it is because of this that several members of the royal family have been banished to various planets in the Fringe. Whenever possible the Shi’ar prefer to exile rather than put to death. This may end up being their downfall, especially where these royal insurgents are concerned. Members of the exiled Shi’ar may, indeed, be working with the Pride.