Eric (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
overbringer) wrote2020-08-14 09:56 pm
overbringer) wrote2020-08-14 09:56 pm
Welcome to Kepler-186
Kepler 186 is a star in the 11th blinkgate ring, some 26 light years from Phou Bia Station. It was colonized during the expansion of Union under SecComm. When SecComm lost power, Union abandoned the Kepler system, and they had to struggle on on their own for centuries afterwards. It was only reason the Union returned, under the rule of the Third Committee. Kepler is being reintegrated into Union, but it is a slow process that has been going on for years, and will probably not be finished for decades yet.
The Kepler system has 6 terrestrial worlds in it, most of which are far too close to the sun to support life. Only the outermost, Kepler-186f, is heavily inhabited. It is a large, arid world (compared to Earth) that none the less is home to hundreds of millions. The people of 186f (or, as they call it, Vanheim) were always relatively poor until the blinkgate opened up, and suddenly the 6 uninhabited rocky wastelands became a perfect location for a vast mining empire of mineral goods that could be sold to hundreds of other planets. As a result some of the Keplerians became fabulously wealthy, and access to modern technology reshaped the entirety of their society within a few short decades. Today, Vanheim is pockmarketed with glittering metropolises. The largest, Brahe, is even the home of an orbital elevator, giving all citizens easy access to space and the rest of Union, if they so please.
"Citizens" is something of a loaded word, though. It was the leaders of the great houses of Vanheim who owned the mining rights to the inner planets, and they are a bit out of touch. They have established some changes to the local laws to take into account access to the new technology offered by the Union Administrator who had moved into the system to help facilitate Kepler's reintegration. Now, all citizens must, by law, have universal access to the omninet. That means neural implants, which are still something of a luxury item that the vast majority of the inhabitants of Vanheim can't afford. It's created something of a stratification of their society. Citizens live in clouds of data and social media, constantly interacting with a vast digital world only they can see as they vote on matters of state that are suddenly moving far too fast to wait for people who have to actually send in a ballot or go to a voting booth.
These days, citizens are a relatively small and privileged elite, who rarely put more than cursory effort into navigating the physical world, as they are so invested in their shiny new digital world. Non-citizens watch them stumble about, barely paying attention to where they're going, and can only imagine what their world is like. They have taken to calling citizens "Sleepwalkers", or, if they're feeling uncharitable, "Zombies." Fortunately,
OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES OF THE KEPLER-186 SYSTEM
- On Kepler-186e, Smith-Shimano Corp has built a rather large research/production facility. They're very picky about who they let see what they're doing, but they SEEM to be following all local laws, and don't seem to be bothering anyone. That and the fact that they are bringing a LOT of manna into the system has made them relatively well liked neighbors. Keplre-186e is technically a planet you can live on, but 99% of the planet's surface is dry desert, with only a few bugs and plants as native life.
- BEYOND Kepler-186f is a huge asteroid field, full of rocks and comets and even a few dwarf planets. Piracy is a growing problem in the Kepler system, and there are several known pirate forces that their homes in this area. It has, fortunately for you, also made their an increasing need for freelancers, who can usually find work guarding mining operations and ore shipments from raiders.
- Kepler-186g is a gas-giant far beyond the asteroid cloud. It once had a few observation and research stations on it, but these have long since been abandoned as rising piracy made it harder and harder to keep them supplied. Some astronomers claim they have seen activity out there, but so far no one has had the time, energy, or interest to investigate some pirates dismantling old space stations.
SO WHAT IS ALL THIS ABOUT?
the Kepler-186 system is going to be the theater in which a tabletop campaign set in the LANCER universe takes place. It will be run by me and be played on Roll20.net. My current plan is thus:
1: Run a short one or two session adventure about taking on a space pirate base in the asteroid field in which we all collectively figure out how to play Lancer.
2: Once that is done, there will be a hiatus while I work more shit out
3: A much larger and more epic adventure will take place, starting one year later in the same setting. Players may keep their characters from the first adventure, or introduce new ones if they feel so inclined.
4: Robots will blow up other robots.
WHAT I NEED FROM YOU:
Express interest to me by filling this out.
This campaign probably won't start until after either Disgaea Valor 2 or Project Lorica finishes, so don't worry about availability yet.
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A question: What is the Vibe of Kepler for people who are looking to visit from out of the system? Do they know about the heavy class stratification, or is that something that's kept a relative secret?
A rumor: The neural implants that Citizens get aren't nearly as secure as people think they are, and there are rumors about hacker groups vaguely tied with HORUS that are working on exploits.
Character concepts:
> Former smuggler turned friendly local merchant. Wide smile, knows everyone, has a record that is Way Too Clean To Be Real. [Mech of Choice: SSC Death's Head]
> One of the aforementioned hackers, who sees the neural net of Kepler as a gold mine of data and influence just waiting for the first person to claim it. [Mech of Choice: HORUS Pegasus]
Meme at me:
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