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[Pimp-Boy 2000]

Station Alpha-4
(Disclaimer: This fiction is not based on Shadowrun.  It is the novelized version of the intro sequence for a post-apocalyptic campaign setting I plan to run (eventually) based on the HERO system.)

You are adrift upon an ocean of utter darkness.  There is a sense of timelessness about this place... a feeling of peace; of restfulness; of a journey long since completed; of a job well done.  There has been only silence here for as long as you can remember -- a comforting silence.  A quietude that fills you with contentedness.

Yet, you are no longer fully at ease.  Underneath the veil of silence and of darkness, there is now activity.  It is unseen, unheard, but you can sense it, nonetheless.  Suddenly, you can feel it.  You experience an odd tingling sensation, which begins in your extremeties, then moves inward and upward, eventually suffusing your entire... body?  Yes.  Body.  You had not remembered, until now, that you had a body.  It is a strange thing to recollect.

Time passes, and at last, you can sense its passing.  The tingling sensation has gone away, now; instead, you ache all over.  Muscles!  That's it.  You can feel your muscles.  And the beating of your heart.  You can actually feel the blood coursing through your veins, supplying your organs with life-giving sustenance.

And now, finally, the darkness is receding, changing into a dull red color.  Colors... you had forgotten those, as well.  "This is the color I see when light passes through my eyelids", you think to yourself.

Eyes.  Eyes!  You have to open your eyes.  Eyes allow one to see, and quite suddenly, you want to see where you are.  You want to see it very well.  So you open them... slowly, and painfully.  The outer world is brilliant, and you cannot bear to look fully upon it all at once.  This process must be handled delicately, a little bit at a time.

Now your eyes are open.  You can see shapes, but they are irresolute.  Fuzzy.  Distorted.  "This is what it's like when I am looking through liquid", you think.  You realize that you are immersed in liquid.  It surrounds your body, like a womb, and seems to slip across the surface of your skin.  Skin.  Vaguely, you also realize that you are unclothed, fully naked.  Your nudity bothers you, for some reason.  You can't quite put your finger on the feeling.

And, finally, the silence, and all the comforts that come with it, is broken.  A voice speaks, and your mind whispers to you: This is the voice of Computer.  No, you correct yourself, it's the voice of the computer.  The station's computer.  "How do I know that?" you wonder.

"Temporal stasis terminated," says the computer.  "Initiating Mansassi effect and wetdown sequence.  Patients are advised to remain calm."

"Welcome back to Station Alpha-4."


Author's Note: There is more after this, but this seems like a good place to stop for now.  If someone wants to hear more, then I'll post the next piece.

[Ruski]

Continue! this is good stuff. my problem with playing post apocaliptic settings was 'how did you get there', you can only steal fallout's entry so many times...

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Pimp-Boy 2000]

Continue! this is good stuff. my problem with playing post apocaliptic settings was 'how did you get there', you can only steal fallout's entry so many times...

-RuskiFace the Pirate

My thoughts exactly.

Although the "waking up from cryosleep" idea isn't new, I've tried to put an intriguing twist on it.  Although, frankly, I can't think of many movies or games that begin with the main characters waking up from "cryosleep"... but I'm sure they are there.

I'll post more later on tonight.  (Confession: I'm typing this novelization freehand... that is to say, it's all in my head, and I'm just typing it into the forum.  It's been rolling around in my noggin for a few good years, though, and I know the game universe pretty well.  I know the beginning crawl inside and out.)

[Ruski]

cool. i'll look forward to hearing it.

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Pimp-Boy 2000]

Station Alpha-4
(Part 2).

"Welcome back to Station Alpha-4", says the computer.

Now you can hear machinery coming to life around you, humming softly to itself, working busily and diligently at some unknown task.  Every few moments, there's a beep, or a sharp clicking sound, or a faint whirring noise.  Also, there's a hint of a grinding sound -- a sound that shouldn't be there.  And there!  A strange, buzzing, off-kilter noise that you can't identify.  It sounds like some of the machinery is... is... wearing down?  That's impossible, of course.  The cleaner nanobots constantly perform repairs on the station; at least, that's what you learned in school.  You put it out of your mind for now, because your memories are slowly returning, and that is much more interesting.

You're starting to remember a bit more about where you are, and who you are.  This place is Station Alpha-4, of course, in orbit above the planet Earth -- ah, Earth.  You had forgotten about the Earth.  A water planet, in the sweet spot of the star system, where the Sun's kiss is neither hot nor cold, but warm, if not loving.   Not that you've ever been there.  Your birthright is Station Alpha-4, the place where you spent your entire life: where you grew up, where you went to school, where you first found love...

Where you expected to die.

"Generation of the Mansassi Effect is complete, stasis fields are degenerating and will disperse presently," the computer informs you.

Before you can wonder just how long "presently" is, all of the liquid rushes away from your body, and you are left standing on a small dais of some sort.  Now, you can clearly see your surroundings.  It's a small, semicircular room, dimly lit by softly glowing green wall panels, and dominated by what appears to be a large control console on a pedestal near the far wall ahead of you.  You look to your left and right, and are shocked to see... three other naked people.  For some reason, this makes your face feel hot.  Oh, yes, now you remember: embarrassment.

You step down from the dais, but unfortunately, your leg doesn't want to hold your weight just yet, and you fall bonelessly to the floor.  Luckily, the floor has a soft, rubberlike quality, no doubt designed in anticipation of just such an occurence.  You try to cry out as you fall, but your voice is gone, too, at least for the moment.  Suddenly, you feel tired, absolutely exhausted.  You close your eyes, and know nothing more for a while.


Author's Note: Part 3 will soon be ready for postageness upon request.  Of course, at some poin the PCs will be taking over, so it can only go on so long.  

[ROOTless]

Although the "waking up from cryosleep" idea isn't new, I've tried to put an intriguing twist on it.  Although, frankly, I can't think of many movies or games that begin with the main characters waking up from "cryosleep"... but I'm sure they are there.

Futurama

[Pimp-Boy 2000]

Oh yeah!  Ha ha!

Futurama is a good show.  The comedy is subtle, though, so people will never like it as much as the Simpsons, which is more slapstick.  Personally, I prefer Futurama.

[Pimp-Boy 2000]

This is my (rough) outline and guide of how I need to build the first area of my post-apocalyptic campaign setting.  If anyone has any comments or suggestions, feel free to share them with me so I can steal the good stuff.

Also, I have no name for the campaign yet.  All I can tell you is it is both post-apoc, gritty, and (semi-) hard science.  If anyone has a name suggestion, please do share.


Station Alpha-4 Scene Outline

What is the rough sequence of Player Character goals in Station Alpha-4?

A. Wake up from temporal stasis.
B. Reorient to their surroundings and collect information about their present time and situation.
C. Collect equipment and supplies to prepare for an exodus from the station.
D. Find out how to travel from Station Alpha-4 to the Earth’s surface, and do so.

What game elements are required to facilitate accomplishment of Goal A?

1. A description of the experience of awakening from stasis, from the PCs’ point of view, to be read aloud to them.
2. Facilitate the reunion of the characters with dramatic elements.
3. A description of the temporal stasis chamber, the stasis pedestals, and the control panel.

What game elements are required to facilitate accomplishment of Goal B?

1. A visual layout of the station with notes and location descriptions for GM reference.
2. A way for the PCs to navigate around the station, likely a terminal of some kind.
3. An easily located archive of pertinent information, and a hard-to-find version with better information.
4. Sensory clues left around the station that may hint at the PCs’ current state of affairs.

What game elements are required to facilitate accomplishment of Goal C?

1. A visual layout of the station with notes and location descriptions for GM reference.
2. A way for the PCs to navigate around the station, likely a terminal of some kind.
3. Several locations with various types of equipment and armaments, and one well-hidden location that has nicer items.

What game elements are required to facilitate accomplishment of Goal D?

1. Collect information in the manner described above, from terminal archives.
2. Decide whether to take an escape pod, or if it is feasible to take the last spacecraft docked with the station.
3. Utilize a space vessel to travel from the Station to the planet Earth.

General: Fluff and Flavor

Be sure to include detailed and interesting descriptions of some of the non-mission-essential locations and items on the station.  Be sure to carefully describe aspects of the station that stand out in the PCs’ minds and make it feel unique.  Give them something to remember the station by.

[APOCALYPSE]

Oh yeah!  Ha ha!

Futurama is a good show.  The comedy is subtle, though, so people will never like it as much as the Simpsons, which is more slapstick.  Personally, I prefer Futurama.

There are quite a few Futurama fans around here. I think which is why so many of us get along to matter where and when we are because we all seem to have similar tastes...after all, we all post on a Shadowrun board known as the ALMIGHTY PUB.

[Pimp-Boy 2000]

Similar tastes?

You mean like Happy Cakes?  

I agree.  Well, obviously role players and gamers share some interests.  Especially if they are all interested in a specific genre.

[Ruski]

So, what sort of equipment will the PC's start off with? laser guns? clubs? if they can hardly remember how to walk, how are they going to know how to use thease weapons? what game system did they use to 'roll up' their char's? is piloting the craft from the station to the surface going to be a 'rolling' thing or a 'naration' thing. I.E., will they be able to drive the escape pod arround on the ground and go back into space once they are down there, or are they just going to start walking after crashing on the earth's unforgiving surface?

-RuskIFace the Pirate

[Pimp-Boy 2000]

Well, that's complicated.  Since they are on a futuristic space station, they will begin with some nice energy weapons, for which ammo no longer exists planetside, unfortunately.

Although they can hardly walk, these adverse effects will wear off soon, and they will be able to begin exploring the station.

They'll be rolled up using the HERO system; and that system allows for near any type of character.

If they take the escape pod, they are going to land either a.) in the middle of a city I am currently working on, or b.) in the wasteland.  The escape pod will no longer function once it has been used to reach the planet.

No rolls will be required for the pod, but if they take the ship, they will merely have to roleplay it differently, and in a more challenging fashion.  No one will probably have the "pilot" skill in this game, since the arc takes place almost exclusively planetside and working vehicles are really hard to find.

If they take the space ship, they will have a few choices for where to land, and they will be able to return to the ship later.  Using it to get around the planet is implausible, however, as atmosphere severely accelerates the amount of fuel the ship consumes.  Perhaps is they find another space station's location later, they will use the ship again to return to it.  There also might be a few more ships lying around... somewhere.

And yeah, basically they land and start walking.

[Ruski]

how do you work skills? that was always my bigest problem in rollplaying people with no memories, the two extremes being 'you know NOTHIN!, and can't do anything', to 'Whatever you do first, that's where you skills are. it'll suck later on, but starts out cakewalk.' and depending on what the PC's know about the world, they tend to pick up either 'cheater' or 'compleatly worthless' skills.

"i put all of my dice into the sailing skill! he is a master of the ocean!"
(then spending the entire time in the desert, with clowdy skys)

"I am the master of wasteland survival. my body naturally converts radiation into a unique healing ability"
(then spending the mission with a constantly regenerating charichter who laughs at everyone else's reliance on water to survive.)

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Pimp-Boy 2000]

They will fully recover most of their memories and all of their skills after they bounce back from being placed in temporal stasis.  Their skills will have already been decided and fleshed out during character creation, and they will have been selected with the character's concept and the setting's skill priorities firmly in mind (no munchkins, please )

Does that answer that question or do I need to be more clear?

[Ruski]

Nah, that's cool.

Now I just need to look at the hero system.

-RuskiFace the Pirate