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The New World - Interview @ GoHa

Discussion in 'Game/SP News & Comments' started by RPGWatch, Aug 20, 2017.

  1. RPGWatch

    RPGWatch Watching... ★ SPS Account Holder

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    [​IMG]GoHa has interviewed Vault Dweller about The New World - A Generation Ship RPG:

    Original Russian version / English version from the RPGCodex:


    1 One of the things I liked the most about AoD was the way you introduced the player to the game lore and history. Hints were scattered all around the game, sometimes requiring a couple of playthroughs to learn about a single history moment, while still questioning the sources.

    Are you planning to introduce the Ship's history and past event the same way? Or use a narrator?


    The overall setup is different, which calls for a different approach. In AoD the past was long forgotten yet still relevant to the main quest. As one of the reviews said, "it plays out like noir in that you are the detective, piecing together what really happened from differing accounts...".

    In The New World the past is neither forgotten nor relevant. If I have to draw a parallel, it would be the American Civil War. Everyone knows what happened (at least the big picture) and nobody really cares (except for the historians and reenactors) because they have bigger things to worry about: jobs, bills to pay, and things that are happening today.

    So we won't dwell on the past either and will focus on "today's problems". As for introducing the setting, we'll do it in steps to ease people into it.

    Step 1 - the old school questionnaire when you create your character:

    The Ship was launched by a neo-Christian Conglomerate dedicated to establishing a Christian colony on a distant world. Fifty thousand volunteers had boarded the ship, becoming the First Generation, the foundation of the future colony. True believers in the Mission who sacrificed much, they demanded the same obedience to the laws of the Mission and God from their children.

    Unfortunately, the generations that followed didn't have the same burning need to sacrifice and suffer for the good of the future colony. Dissatisfaction led to mutiny, mutiny to an open revolt against the perceived tyranny, the revolt to a civil war. While the mutineers succeeded in striking down the old order, they failed to eradicate it completely. The Ship had suffered extensive damage but remained operational.

    Three main factions emerged from the ashes of the old order: the Protectors of the Mission, The Brotherhood of Liberty, and the Church of the Elect. They offer different answers and different salvations to those who'd join their cause.

    You've always thoughts that:

    1.Rebelling against an established order was a mistake. It may not have been perfect but it was better than chaos that followed.
    2.The mutineers did the right thing. Why should entire generations be chained to the beliefs of their ancestors?
    3.It was God's will for the old order to fall. The mutineers were his unwitting agents who thought they acted on their own, but it was His Plan all along.
    4.The more things change the more they stay the same, so why worry about it?

    The questionnaire will define your character's beliefs and introduce the setting's key aspects and events that your character should know.

    Step 2 - in-game conversations, introducing lesser but still important aspects:

    /gun store

    "Well," says the man, scratching his stubble, "the Mutiny drained the ammunition depots pretty fast and that was what, a hundred years ago? The Ship was provisioned with weapons to secure the future colony, not to fight a civil war."

    "So there are no energy cells left?"

    "I'm sure there are a few cells left here and there, but they're worth a lot of money, so only a fool would use them to charge a gun. Fortunately, there are less fancy but still effective alternatives."

    /medical bay

    "Your organs are a product of evolution; their performance is limited by your body's natural needs. The implants don't have such limitations and the only restricting factor is how many implants you can handle."

    "What do you mean?"

    "The implants tax your body and once you hit that natural limit, your body will reject all further attempts. Few people are tough enough to handle more than five implants so choose carefully. Once an implant is in, it can't be removed without killing you."

    "Why?"

    "Suppose you get your hands on Exo-Spine. It reinforces your vertebral column and taps into your spinal cord. The machine does its work and now you're stronger and capable of feats you couldn't even dream of before. A few months later you decide that you're better off without it but the implant is connected to every vertebrae and spinal nerve. If we remove it, at best you'll be paralyzed. At worst..."

    Step 3 - key characters' intro, same as in AoD:

    Rumor has it that Captain Braxton once served a higher power, that in the days before his crisis of faith and the subsequent falling out with the Church of the Elect he was known as Faithful Gunner Jeremiah Braxton. Speculation about why he left is abundant, but as is often the case no story is more compelling than the others.

    Backed up by a few like-minded men and picking up more willing recruits along the way, Braxton left the Church behind and ended up in the Pit, a place where reliable fighting men are always in demand. Around the time of his arrival, the Brotherhood had started showing a keen interest in the Pit, eager to establish a foothold there. Braxton and his newly christened Regulators offered the good people of the Pit their services and after much debate they were hired to drive the Brotherhood's men out, which was accomplished with brutal efficiency.

    [...]​
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 20, 2017
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