Far Away is my attempt to mix together the tried and true Traveller RPG with one of the longest running, if not the longest running, science fiction series in the world, Perry Rhodan.
I want to capture the scale and scope of Perry Rhodan, but have to figure out how to carry over certain concepts from Perry Rhodam, which works in scales of millions or even in some rare cases, billions of light years with Traveller which works in scales of no more than 20 light years at a time. How do you work out not just the game mechanics but also the feel of the game?
One thing I like to do is consider not the places in the game, but the people. People are the core of a good RPG. Rules come and go, settings rise and fall, there may be 1,000 or 10,000,000 stars to visit, but the one thing that consistently draws you to THAT planet or THAT star system or THAT space station are not necessarily the places themselves, but the unique individuals who live there.
Things I want to incorporate into my Far Away setting are:
1. Transit Drive, going from Jump-6 to 100 to 5,000 light years.
2. Weapon Ranges, which can be as much as several light minutes or hours.
3. Sandbox, having millions of stars inreach.
4. Psionics, not hated or feared institutionally.
5. Technology, the highest in Traveller is usually 15, and also in Far Away, but some things at TL 9 in Far Away are much more.. powerful, than at TL 9 in Traveller. There is a good reason for that, and based on one of the only things in my setting that I am keeping as close to the vest as possible. Sort of an end-game reveal, as it were.
6. Industrial grit, how dirty is my setting, is it like Alien, or is it like Star Trek: TNG with nary a speck of dust to be found?
So, lots of ideas, I'll post a summary of the techie side of the setting, and some summaries of the major Polities scattered across the (EGA) Explored Galactic Arm.
Till next time.
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