Δ Project Delta δ (Sci-Fi Sandbox) - Paused

[RampantDesires]

A group of people stationed on an advanced space outpost.  Regulations prohibit cohabitation among crew, but it gets lonely in space.  Enter the Deltas.  Volunteers from nearby less technologically advanced planets.  While not slaves they are there to serve the crew in a variety of capacities from menial labor to entertainment, ALL manner of entertainment. Cultures, tempers, ideals all clash while they try to find a way to live together in this strange relatively cramped environment.





Genre - Sci-fi
Inspirations - Star Trek, Stargate, Babylon 5, BattleStar Galactica, StarShip Troopers, Firefly, every other show with a space ship that Rampant has ever watched which has gotten lumped into the 'cool spacey stuff' section of her brain.  All kinds of Brave New World references, cause why not?
GM - This girl.
Co-Gm? Actually once we get up and running we shouldn't need one.  It is almost all intercharacter relations and not GM story driving posts, so it is really just looking at character sheets and orginizational stuff which I'm usualy way on top of (<3 table code!)
Category - Non-Con Freeform Small Groups Why? I don't see it really dipping into extreme elements, and really it is more dub-con than non-con, but this section seemed to fit best. I'm waffling on the exotic part.  While I personally prefer characters to be not merely humanoid but largely HUMAN in appearance if others would like more exotic characters in the mix I'm willing to listen to popular opinion. 
Game Play - Super sandboxy with small 'mission' type events decided upon by players.
The Story Stuff - Themes include rigors of living in space, people of vastly different backgrounds and beliefs comingling, ethics and scientific experimentation.  This is not going to be a massively story driven group.  There aren't going to many NPCs and no real 'bad guys' to work against.  It is all about characters interacting with one another, some environmental challenges, and the before-mentioned kind of side missions as a vehicle  for moving character goals and ideas forward.
The Sexy Stuff -  Polyamory, Public/Semi Public scenes, Multiple Partners, possible D/s elements.  While this isn't a sex-centric game it will likely be a bit more prevalent than in many groups.  We'll use content tagging and multiple threads to keep things organized (at bare minimum Station-Public, Station-Private, The Great Beyond (locations off ship), and an OOC).  It is by no means going to be a giant non-stop orgy, there's pleanty of other fun stuff to explore, but if you absolutely hate sex in group games and hate seeing it happen in threads this one probably isn't for you.   

As per the always respect toward and communication with your co-writers is vital. 

Generic World History

In the beginning ....
...something seeded the Universe with life, spreading the genetic material which would one day evolve into humanity throughout the cosmos.

Galaxies drifted slowly apart, spreading into the blackness beyond and within most of them remarkably similar life began to evolve.

Natural extinction events eliminated some of these burgeoning lifeforms.  Wars fought with eachother however were always more deadly.  This was especially true as the maturing civilizations advanced and took to the stars; finding new and exciting ways to expand and kill people on other planets for fun and profit.

For centuries it was carnage.  Whole planets were decimated for no greater reason than they had the ill luck to be situated in between two rising super powers, or more commonly because they possessed some rare element vital to the goal of intergalactic expansion.  Carnage...

What halted the slaughter was not mercy or the development of a sense of obligation to other lives, but simple practicality.  They were wasting so many resources fighting one another for position and to acquire MORE resources that mutual destruction seemed inevitable. 

And so great treaties were forged and the Intergalactic Trade Alliance was formed.  In a new spirit of cooperation technologies were shared widely, melding and beginning a new era of enlightenment and exploration to these already advanced civilizations.  Genetic research all but wiped out disease (and also created a few new super viruses capable of wiping out billions along the way, but who's counting right?).  Faster Than Light Travel was honed, eliminating the debilitating sickness which often curtailed its use.  Neutral trade hubs sprung up in most galaxies, manned by crews of highly trained and educated citizens who monitored and even occasionally interacted with native populations.

The largest advances during this time came in the areas of cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence.  However the entirely expected happened and their newly sentient creations were quick to turn upon their masters. That war still rages to this day.  Initial safeguards keep the conflict locked into certain sectors, but it has proven to be a fruitless and expensive endeavor, especially as new and existing technologies are frequently absorbed or corrupted by the enemy.

All of those shiny upgrades and replacement parts which had once been the hallmark of an elite soldier were not a liability.  People found themselves reassigned.  Taken from the middle of heat and chaos battle to sterile trade stations where diplomacy and routine were king. They flew cargo pods instead of fighter ships and wrestled with air filtration systems rather than hive minded robots.  Most of all they fought off the monotony and loneliness of being stuck there in the middle of nowhere.

Jealousy, heart ache, and irrational whim disrupted the all mighty schedule. After bloody fights and even a few cases of catastrophic self destruction upon the stations crew fraternization was outlawed.  But this was not a long term solution.  People could not live in a vacuum and air was not their only need.

And so the Delta Project was born.

The ITA had long ago decided to try and keep itself insulated from the lesser civilizations.  Interfering with their development generally did not go well for either side, building resentment, a sense of entitlement and obligation, or resulting in outright and utterly futile warfare in some cases.  People cold only appreciate what they earned and learned themselves, not what they were given. And so they cautioned prudence.  Agents were trained to deal with these more primitive peoples, to gather information and even occasionally trade without disclosing much of what went on above the in the vastness of space above them.

With much of their manpower tied up in the Synth War, and unwilling to turn to technology for fear of once again creating a bigger problem the ITA had to turn to these primitive cultures for assistance.  While slavery had been outlawed hundreds of years ago surely a careful recruitment of volunteers would be possible?  Surely with all these life-bearing planets it would be easy to find healthy men and women capable of unskilled work.  Janitorial duties, cooking meals to provide more variety than the perfectly nutritional but altogether bland protein provender generally stocked upon ships. 

And ... companionship. It was unreasonable to think that crews could keep their baser urges in check forever.  Civilians needed a safe (and largely expendable) outlet for their passions be they of the flesh or the mind. 

Flagship tests of the program proved wildly successful.  Volunteers were plentiful, the risks relatively low, and the price sometimes literally dirt cheap (really, teaching cultures the ins and outs of soil rotation could be considered a fair trade for a few of their healthy young).  Contracts were as always negotiated on a case by case basis and while not a perfect system the Delta project recently saw a wider roll out this year.  A roll out which included the ITAS Huxley among its number!

World Building Thread - Unnecessary Space Project :P

Characters will fall into one of two categories:
1) Crew - Scientists, engineers, diplomats, enforcement.  These are members of the advanced societies who have been assigned to the station.  They are generally highly trained/educated and are used to a high level of technology and standard of living.

2) Deltas - These are the volunteers who will soon be/have just arrived.  Their civilizations are more primitive.  While they are not slaves their rights and privileges are greatly reduced.  Indentured servants may be a better designation.  They do the menial labor, cleaning, cooking, maybe even attending the hydroponic farms after some initial training.  They are also expected to serve as the crew's entertainment. 

Players will be allowed to make two characters, 1 Delta and 1 Crew member.

Please feel free to post your character sheets here or PM them to me which ever makes you most comfortable.

Construction Delays Ahead Character creation is paused while some worldbuilding edits/expansion occurs.  Sorry!

[RampantDesires]

Behold! The almighty character sheet!  Please feel free to make some stylistic changes to the format (break things up, float picture the other way, add subsections or more informational sections) as long as you cover the basic information here we're good.

Name: Self explanatory, include nicknames or aliases if you'd like
Age: Pretty much always assume we're going by Earth standards/measurements because to do otherwise makes my head hurt
Gender: Male, Female, Both, Neither, no reason to limit it to binary.
Appearance: What do you look like? Clothes you typically wear, whatever details you'd like.  Please have a picture, I prefer RL face claims but realistic art is also good.
Job  - Skills: Is the best at everything ↔ Is a bumbling idiot  Please find somewhere in the middle that makes an interesting character. What job do you have (or DID you have)?
Augmentations: None is a perfectly acceptable answer.  Bionic replacements, genetic advancements/mutations.  Things that break you from the 'normal'.  Please have no more than three of these.
History: Where'd your character come from and what happened to bring them here to the Huxley. 
Personality: Pick some adjectives to describe your character.  Hopes, fears, what makes them who they are?
Sexual Preferences: Can include a link to your O/O page and a quick designation (pansexual, bi, gay/lesbian ect) but can also include specific things you're looking to explore in this group or hard limits that might be exceptions to your normal O/os or that you want emphasized.
Expectations/Requests: What do you as a writer hope to get out of this group?  Ideas for your character.  Other characters you'd like to see join up.  Random scenes/ideas you'd like to play out.
World Building: This isn't necessary but you're welcome to add details about the planet/civilization they grew up in.  I'm going to be really flexible on this, it's a vast world with room for all kinds of things.  If I do make suggestions or ask questions please take it as me being excited about the group and not trying to push you one way or another.

Code Select Expand

[float=left][img height=250 padding=10]http://www.unl.edu/physics/nophoto-man_0.png[/img][/float]

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Job  - Skills:[/b]
[b]Augmentations:[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Sexual Preferences:[/b]
[b]Expectations:[/b]
[b]World Building:[/b]

[RampantDesires]

Welcome aboard the Huxley!

Technically designated Intergalactic Trade Association Station 15B7H12 Huxley it is currently located in the Circinus system, home of 8 life-bearing worlds and currently considered a safe zone by the ITA.

The Huxley is first and foremost a trade and relay installation. With proper clearance and in emergency situations all manner of ships dock here to trade, repair, and refuel.  It also doubles as a research station.  Barring mechanical complications it is entirely self-sustaining.

The station can be operated by a crew of as few as three (many of its systems are automated) and is rated to support 150 people at maximum (assuming emergency situations and for a duration of nor more than a month).   This makes the Huxley fairly luxuriously in terms of size (for a space station that is).  Crew are afforded private quarters and there are several social areas as well as a full kitchen not to mention copious amounts of cargo space.

There are certainly worse places to be stationed.

Sample Crew Quarters:


Hydroponics:


Docking Bays:

[RampantDesires]

Annnnnd, I'm done posting.  Time to let it float off into the wild and see if any of y'all are interested!

[Relikai]

Mm interesting. Can play a male or a female for this!

[Arsene]

Oh wow, I'm super interested in this, Rampant! Happy to fill whatever gender/role we end up needing more of based on other people's interests and characters.

[HopeFox]

This looks really interesting! I've been playing a lot of Stellaris lately, and I've wanted to get into that sort of sci-fi story for a while.

I could play almost anything, but I really like the idea of playing an indentured servant from a medieval planet. Feudal societal mores and sci-fi technology? What more could I ask?

[wigglebiscuit]

Could I play a Delta whose race is inspired by some combination of Asari and Twi-lek?

[RampantDesires]

Yay lovely people! It has only been a little while but it looks like we should be good for attempted launch! 

Character sheet and creation stuff as well as setting information will be plugged into the posts at the top of the thread as I mash it out, but I'll generally be good about updating with 'hey I added this' along the way.

As of right now this is the character sheet that we're looking at:

Name: Self explanatory, include nicknames or aliases if you'd like
Age: Pretty much always assume we're going by Earth standards/measurements because to do otherwise makes my head hurt
Gender: Male, Female, Both, Neither, no reason to limit it to binary.
Appearance: What do you look like? Clothes you typically wear, whatever details you'd like.  Please have a picture, I prefer RL face claims but realistic art is also good.
Job  - Skills: Is the best at everything ↔ Is a bumbling idiot  Please find somewhere in the middle that makes an interesting character. What job do you have (or DID you have)?
Augmentations: None is a perfectly acceptable answer.  Bionic replacements, genetic advancements/mutations.  Things that break you from the 'normal'.  Please have no more than three of these.
History: Where'd your character come from and what happened to bring them here to the Huxley. 
Personality: Pick some adjectives to describe your character.  Hopes, fears, what makes them who they are?
Expectations/Requests: What do you as a writer hope to get out of this group?  Ideas for your character.  Other characters you'd like to see join up.  Random scenes/ideas you'd like to play out.
World Building: This isn't necessary but you're welcome to add details about the planet/civilization they grew up in.  I'm going to be really flexible on this, it's a vast world with room for all kinds of things.  If I do make suggestions or ask questions please take it as me being excited about the group and not trying to push you one way or another.







So, things to think about!  My advice would be to not start working on a sheet in earnest until I finish a little of the world building stuff.  I'll make like a list of 'things to consider' to guide both types of characters  and it'll be much easier to fill out. (I have a few more errands this morning, but should get it out this afternoon/evening, before I go to sleep again in like 14 hours :P)

Could I play a Delta whose race is inspired by some combination of Asari and Twi-lek?

My personal preference tends to be toward characters that are largely human (s'why there's the built in 'they all come from the same much much long ago stock').  It puts a base line that everyone is familiar with and then in the augmentations section you'd outline the few (one to three maximum) things that make them different. BUT if people want to play more exotic type characters I'm a flexible girl and I could easily be convinced to put it in the NC-Exotic group section opening up a wider field for characters.  That's part of the reason I opened up the interest check before I finished things up, to gather some opinions and see which direction people are leaning first.

I'm super excited that y'all are interested and I look forward to seeing where this goes!

[Lockepick]

I'm interested -- but "I am a,   gay". So I admit that my interest is likely to wane without any other M/M writers on board!

[HopeFox]

On further reflection on the setting, I now have an idea for a Delta from a Neolithic culture, strong and smart but clueless about tech, and annoyingly spiritual about mundane things. Probably female, but I can do male or some other variation if that would suit the game's balance better.

[Chrystal]

Tentative interest depending on who else joins... Yes I know that sounds dumb, but basically I need to know I'm not going to have my character sat in a corner while everyone else is having fun...

[HopeFox]

I'm sure we'll all make an effort to involve everyone! I for one look forward to my new masters and fellow slaves benevolent employers and colleagues.

Should I start making a sheet with background and some lore on my home planet? I'm keen to get my ideas out there.

[RampantDesires]

For sure we'll do our best to make sure that everyone has multiple avenues for interaction/fun/sexiness/shenanigans.  That being said I can appreciate wanting to hold off to make sure that there are characters proposed that fit what you're looking for.   Which reminds me that I probably should add a sexual preferences section to the CS. 

Absolutely feel free to share your character concepts/planets ideas.

Will go ahead and shift this from Interest to Recruitment today.

Things to consider when making Delta characters

1) Need a reason to volunteer for the program.  Some kind of penal system where this is the vastly superior choice?  Do they/their people have some kind of request 'my brother's dying, save him' 'we need more advanced water filtration systems because our planet is crap'  lots of options.  Traditionally these types of things were ignored. You can't save everyone, trying to do so is expensive, natural selection, people should be allowed to evolve and advance on their own without interference. We're lazy bastards and that sounds like work.  Ect and so forth.  Now they need something from these people and trading is more viable.  They still won't share advanced technology for the most part (they don't want more people competing for the same resources/advancing too far after all).  Generally speaking everything humans are currently capable of they'll consider the request for. 

2) Need to be suited to the task.  There is no real shortage of candidates for the program.  They have no reason to select those who are clearly going to be volatile, who don't have some kind of skill and a willingness to learn.  Deltas are there to make the lives of the Crew easier, not cause problems. That isn't to say that you have to play a submissive fall in line character.  I expect there to be some tension, some hiccups settling into the role they've been cast in, and most definitely some issues adapting to their new environment. 

- My character's a warlord on his planet known for being especially brutal toward his enemies.  He is joining up to gain access to new weapons so that he can fully subjugate his planet.
Not so much.
- My character is a former crime boss who ran afoul of the wrong people.  He volunteered for the program because they offered him immunity and a fresh start.   Who knew that fresh start included space ships!  Eventually he'll be looking for a new planet to set up shop again on, but for now he's happy to learn as much as he can about these new technologies and strange people.
Better.


Creating Crew Characters
Cybernetics - Are advanced and can be wide spread, but there's a stigma attached to them due to the Synth War plot device :P  They pretty much disqualify people from military service now (which can be why they are stationed now on the Huxley because it is located well away from combat) and are almost regarded with pity rather than 'hey cool'. 

Possibly doubling up in positions  There are no real set in stone crew positions to fill.  So if you make a mechanical/engineering character, awesome, but I'm not going to say 'okay we have one of those no one else make one'.  We'll try to get a balanced and fun crew together, but please be okay with there not being single slots of 'critical roles' to fill.

Cross pollenation If we don't get many crew characters we'll have to have them pull double duty in some places, but in general try to focus your skill sets/position.  No "my character knows how to and indeed DOES everything on the station." Needing eachother to fuction is what makes group games fun ;)



Most people seem interested in Delta characters so far, but it is early still so we'll see how it goes.

~ Up next final character sheet and sample characters

[Relikai]

I can play a Crew member, probably a pilot or a cook  ::)

[Chrystal]

What's the rule regarding characters per player? Are we allowed one of each?

Also a suggestion: Don't limit the crew to the player characters... If you get 10 characters, make the crew five hundred, if you get 20, make the crew a thousand. That way you have room to make people just fade into the background, and the ability to bring new characters into play. I am always wary of running a game in a "limited environment" where the only people there are the player characters, because invariably between a quarter and half the players WILL drop out between submitting their character sheets and the end of the first week after the game starts!

I usually allow the creation of NPCs "on the fly" by players, for random interaction purposes, but if a NPC gets used several times by the same player they become a PC!

Thinking along the lines of someone medical for a crew character... And I have a great idea for a Delta...!

[Arsene]

I think I'd like to play a crew member - an engineer who does maintenance/repairs/fishes out your ID card when you drop it down a vent. Still undecided on their gender, but they're definitely bi/pansexual for maximum smooch potential. It's most efficient, after all. [adjusts glasses]

[Chrystal]

I think I'd like to play a crew member - an engineer who does maintenance/repairs/fishes out your ID card when you drop it down a vent. Still undecided on their gender, but they're definitely bi/pansexual for maximum smooch potential. It's most efficient, after all. [adjusts glasses]

If you make them female, you might want to consider my Beta character as an assistant? *giggles*

still a wip, but I'll PM you the picture I'm going to use if interested?

[Arsene]

If you make them female, you might want to consider my Beta character as an assistant? *giggles*

still a wip, but I'll PM you the picture I'm going to use if interested?

Hmm... yeah, I think I'll go ahead and say she's a woman for sure, just because I've been on a fun kick writing ladies lately.  ;D By all means, feel free to PM me about your character, Chrystal!

[RampantDesires]

I can play a Crew member, probably a pilot or a cook  ::)

Awesome sauce.  I'd recommend pilot.  Cooking is one of the more mundane duties I'd thought to hand off to the Deltas.  Less generic protien consumption and a finer dining experience being just one more perk of the program ;)  It is a mobile space station so generic duties might be more operations (system checks course adjustments) rather than flying (I mean it has controls and moves, but not in the traditional I'm strapped in a chair flying this bad boy way)  there are smaller craft that for sure need like full on pilots. 

What's the rule regarding characters per player? Are we allowed one of each?

Also a suggestion: Don't limit the crew to the player characters... If you get 10 characters, make the crew five hundred, if you get 20, make the crew a thousand. That way you have room to make people just fade into the background, and the ability to bring new characters into play. I am always wary of running a game in a "limited environment" where the only people there are the player characters, because invariably between a quarter and half the players WILL drop out between submitting their character sheets and the end of the first week after the game starts!

I usually allow the creation of NPCs "on the fly" by players, for random interaction purposes, but if a NPC gets used several times by the same player they become a PC!

Thinking along the lines of someone medical for a crew character... And I have a great idea for a Delta...!

Yep, one of each type of character will be allowed per writer.



I'm not super keen on the concept of a ton of background NPCs. I can be sold on a few, but I like the thought that these characters HAVE to interact because they're out there isolated in the relative blankness of space.  It is one of the reasons they're bringing in the Deltas, to satisfy a social need.  If there are already a thousand or even hundreds of people there that's not really a problem. While it is an isolated environment it isn't really a limited one. Adding and dropping characters will still be easy. It is a trade/relay hub and ships aren't uncommon. (I'll move the info over to the top of this thread, but here it is for now)

Bare Bones Setting Stuff

Welcome aboard the Huxley!

Technically designated Intergalactic Trade Association Station 15B7H12 Huxley it is currently located in the Circinus system, home of 8 life-bearing worlds and currently considered a safe zone by the ITA.

The Huxley is first and foremost a trade and relay installation. With proper clearance and in emergency situations all manner of ships dock here to trade, repair, and refuel.  It also doubles as a research station.  Barring mechanical complications it is entirely self-sustaining.

The station can be operated by a crew of as few as three (many of its systems can be automated) and is rated to support 150 people at maximum (assuming emergency situations and for a duration of nor more than a month).   This makes the Huxley fairly luxuriously in terms of size (for a space station that is).  Crew are afforded private quarters and there are several social areas as well as a full kitchen not to mention copious amounts of cargo space.

There are certainly worse places to be stationed.

Sample Crew Quarters:


Hydroponics:


Docking Bays:

I tend to dislike the 'oh hey, I've been here all the time' mid story (after the first few months of IC writing).  If it has been only been a few days in game or if you can think of a great reason to have been apart from everyone else that's fine.  'New arrivals' partway through don't have to be entirely new to the crew, it is just as easy to say 'welcome back from your resupply trip to that one place, awesome you brought another delta I need a good massage and he has nice hands ;)'

If we don't have a lot of crew to start out with we get around the 'doesn't it take a lot of people to run a space station' even a smallish one like this by relying on the automated systems line and having large parts of the place not in use (I actually like the thought of having areas blocked off because they aren't needed and then reactivated/opened up "oh we need to go check/clean/test the Whatever Level because they're sending another research team next week." Insert new characters and story angles.)

Like I said I'm down for a few NPCs, I get the need for variety and flexibility in posting and for future characters, but it'd rather they be used sparingly and not outnumber our PCs.



Female crew engineer/maintenance type- pansexual noted for Arsene
Female crew medical type - lesbian noted for Chrystal

[HopeFox]

Okay, so here's what I've got so far! I hope she'll get on well with the crew.

Alkira Gambandee

Name: Alkira Gambandee
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Appearance: Played by - unknown Himba woman. Alkira's weathered skin and rough musculature mark her as someone whose entire world is the great outdoors. She stands at 5' 7", and has long black hair woven into tight braids. Her dark brown eyes are always darting around rapidly, drinking in all of the sights around her.
Job  - Skills: Delta. Alkira has many skills relating to survival on her home planet, but cooking and handcrafts (sewing, making weapons, pottery) are the most relevant to her service on the Huxley. She isn't a warrior, but is far from helpless in combat, and is a very good climber.
Augmentations: Like all the people of her planet, Alkira has a magnetoreceptive sense. On a planet with a moderate or strong magnetic field, she can sense magnetic north, and sometimes gain a sense for large rock formations nearby. On a ship or station, she can sense the main power conduits, and smaller ones if she is close enough.
History: Alkira had a good life in the Wal'piri tribe on Tomadan. She grew up learning crafts and plant gathering from her mother, and scouting and navigation from the men of the tribe - an unusual but not dishonourable calling for a girl. She served her duties to her tribe well, and upon becoming a woman at sixteen, she gladly welcomed the advances of the strongest and most handsome men of the tribe. This led to her bearing a child at eighteen, a strong, healthy boy.
Something was wrong, though. After her pregnancy, Alkira suffered from dizziness, weakness and insatiable thirst. The Wal'piri's wise shaman recognized the curse under which she laboured, and instructed her to eat only meat in an attempt to purify herself. This kept her alive, but her condition still grew worse. As a measure of last resort, the shaman sent her to climb the Spire of the Sky People. The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was reaching the gleaming cave at the top of the spire and reciting the mystical incantation the shaman had taught her: I want to join the Delta Project.
Personality:
Curious - On Tomadan, Alkira had always wanted to see what was beyond the next horizon, and also what the other men and women in her tribe had experienced and wanted to share with her. Now she is living beyond the horizon of all horizons.
Desperate - Alkira knows that she is only alive because of the ITA and the Delta Project. She will do almost anything for the crew of the Huxley, although serious abuse may change her views.
Affectionate - Alkira is a very social creature, and forms strong emotional bonds with other people very quickly.
Sexuality: Bisexual. The Wal'piri view on sexuality is complicated, but that's what her sexuality boils down to.
Expectations: Paleolithic tribeswoman figuring out spacefaring technology! Also the change in social structure between her tribe and the Huxley should be interesting to explore. Naturally, I'm hoping she gets put to good use sexually, by multiple people and/or in a public area would be nice! I'd also like people to make good use of her other skills, like cooking and handcrafts. There's also the fact that she has a terminal illness which the ITA's technology is holding at bay, which could lead to some interesting scenes and conversations.
World Building:Tomadan is a large planet, with many wide, open savannah regions near its equator, punctuated with large plateaus and mesas. Precipitation is low, so the people of Tomadan must migrate often to find enough water, plants and animals to sustain their population. This scarcity of water has kept the tribes of Tomadan from becoming sedentary and making the jump to Neolithic life.
One unusual feature of Tomadan is its very strong magnetic field. Not only does this result in spectacular aurorae, visible almost from the equator, but it has led the people and animals of Tomadan to evolve strong magnetoreceptive senses, which they use for navigation.

[Chrystal]

Awesome sauce.  I'd recommend pilot.  Cooking is one of the more mundane duties I'd thought to hand off to the Deltas.  Less generic protien consumption and a finer dining experience being just one more perk of the program ;)  It is a mobile space station so generic duties might be more operations (system checks course adjustments) rather than flying (I mean it has controls and moves, but not in the traditional I'm strapped in a chair flying this bad boy way)  there are smaller craft that for sure need like full on pilots. 

Yep, one of each type of character will be allowed per writer.



I'm not super keen on the concept of a ton of background NPCs. I can be sold on a few, but I like the thought that these characters HAVE to interact because they're out there isolated in the relative blankness of space.  It is one of the reasons they're bringing in the Deltas, to satisfy a social need.  If there are already a thousand or even hundreds of people there that's not really a problem. While it is an isolated environment it isn't really a limited one. Adding and dropping characters will still be easy. It is a trade/relay hub and ships aren't uncommon. (I'll move the info over to the top of this thread, but here it is for now)

I tend to dislike the 'oh hey, I've been here all the time' mid story (after the first few months of IC writing).  If it has been only been a few days in game or if you can think of a great reason to have been apart from everyone else that's fine.  'New arrivals' partway through don't have to be entirely new to the crew, it is just as easy to say 'welcome back from your resupply trip to that one place, awesome you brought another delta I need a good massage and he has nice hands ;)'

If we don't have a lot of crew to start out with we get around the 'doesn't it take a lot of people to run a space station' even a smallish one like this by relying on the automated systems line and having large parts of the place not in use (I actually like the thought of having areas blocked off because they aren't needed and then reactivated/opened up "oh we need to go check/clean/test the Whatever Level because they're sending another research team next week." Insert new characters and story angles.)

Like I said I'm down for a few NPCs, I get the need for variety and flexibility in posting and for future characters, but it'd rather they be used sparingly and not outnumber our PCs.

Okay, fine by me. As long as you also have an "exit strategy" for players who drop out...

[Hob]

Okay, fine by me. As long as you also have an "exit strategy" for players who drop out...

Isn't that what air locks are for? *grins*

Tentative interest at the moment. I prefer playing submissive males, and I'd rather like to be sure there's a compatible partner to pair with before I get my hopes up. Ideas include either a submissive DELTA who was "volunteered" by his people or one of the Crew who finds himself under the thumb of a willful Delta (they're primitive. That doesn't mean they're dumb!)

[Dashenka]

I like this kinda stuff :D

Question though, the Delta are kinda like the slaves and submissives and the Crew are the smart and in control types?


Can that change? Like a very self aware and confident Delta vs a not so confident Crew? The crew might even leak some technology about the ship to said Delta?

Is that something that would be allowed?

[Chrystal]

Heh... Airlocks. I just got a PM from someone entirely unrelated (or at least so I assume) about airlocks... LOL!

So, I have sent my Delta character sheet to RD...

Now to do the crew member...