SDN Worlds 4 Commentary Thread II

[Master_Baerne]

Anything Shroom has a hand in will look like that.

[Magister Militum]

Bah, friggin' "France surrenders" jokes are like 7 years out of date now.

Those jokes may be horribly out of date, but you can be certain that there'll be unfunny idiots like myself using and abusing them well into the future.

Bah, you're talking about the same future French who faced total societal collapse and still managed to rebuild their great empire! L'Empereur will never bow down to communist space bears, nuke happy battlestar commanders, traitorous pseudo Japanese, or, worse of all, Space Prussians! *strikes up La Marseillaise*

[Steve]

Given Timothy has protested putting that new guy by him, as it breaks his background, I wonder if it's possible to snug LoC9's Prussian Star League up against you, Magister.

[Magister Militum]

Oh, am I going to have oodles of fun with that prospect.

[Agent Sorchus]

I approve of such a move.

[Siege]

The historiologians of the Sovereignty will be doing lots of head-scratching about the historical regressiveness of space. Space France, Space Britain, Space Byzantium, Space Prussia, Space Sassanids, what the shit is it with these people? And not a Heracules in sight, dammit!

[Steve]

Could wedge him in there, though there's also the prospect of putting him in the SW quadrant.

I'm going to hold off on map changes, though, until it comes time to start cutting inactive players. So far Kuroji (Regency of the Engine), Vyraeth (United Sectors), Moby Halcyon (Cevaucen Ascendancy), and Oskuro (Orkz!) have not made a single IC post to my knowledge, at least not since game start, nor have they come to me to affirm their need for time (I do believe, IIRC, someone told me Halcyon is busy, confirm such please?). A couple others have made only a couple, but in most cases they've explained their lack of time or other factors involved. If those posted here do not explain or post by next week sometime, I think next Saturday, I'll start cutting their countries off the map.

And historical regressiveness? Wha?

[KlavoHunter]

Even if there is not an Ork player, I'd like it if they remain on the map as they are.

[Steve]

Even if there is not an Ork player, I'd like it if they remain on the map as they are.

Well, given they've been used IC, they were the one group I was going to leave regardless.

[Simon_Jester]

I also note that FoC has NOT yet relocated his empire away from sectors O2 and O3 so it doesn't butt up against the Kryptonians, as he promised... though where would we put him if we stuck him next to the French? There's not very much room in that region of space.

We could slot him in where the Regency of the Engine is now, or a little to SPACE! west of there, maybe.

I thought making terrible jokes was the whole point of this game. At least, it looks like it from some of the Shepistani posts.

Simple, Dave. Shepistan is a terrible joke by nature; adding Shroom to the mix is just gilding the lily.

"Living here really makes you need a drink."

Could wedge him in there, though there's also the prospect of putting him in the SW quadrant.

I'm going to hold off on map changes, though, until it comes time to start cutting inactive players. So far Kuroji (Regency of the Engine), Vyraeth (United Sectors), Moby Halcyon (Cevaucen Ascendancy), and Oskuro (Orkz!) have not made a single IC post to my knowledge, at least not since game start, nor have they come to me to affirm their need for time (I do believe, IIRC, someone told me Halcyon is busy, confirm such please?). A couple others have made only a couple, but in most cases they've explained their lack of time or other factors involved. If those posted here do not explain or post by next week sometime, I think next Saturday, I'll start cutting their countries off the map.

I second the request that we keep the orks unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise. Orks are good for gameplay; they give everyone someone to fight with no repercussions. Granted that NPC orks can fill the role, but if so then the NPC orks have to live somewhere. Unless there's actual harm done, I'm for leaving them there, especially since that region of space is unclaimed.

[Shroom Man 777]

I'd suggest putting him in that space South of Space Shinra, West of the Haruhiists, East of the Klavostanis, and North of the Pfhor. It's got a nice big blank spot that can fit him just rightly.


Speaking of which, I've been thinking of making a pseudo-NPC space barbarian race that raids lone worlds and stuff, not an actual nation but a group of Space Mongolian-Viking Paleo-technobarbarianators slightly reminiscent of Firefly's Reavers combined with other postapocalyptic Mad Maxian berserkers complete with swordguns and plasma rifles and rocketspears and missile-swords and fucking harpoons. For this, I need a good large far flung empty corner of the galaxy where ridiculous space fantasy can occur though. Perhaps there can be a Maelstrom of really shitty shoals, that allows a largeish patch of space to become utterly degenerate?

[Steve]

Haven't seen LoC as of late, so it's possible he just hasn't given me the "move" request. But as stated I don't want to update the map until I know for sure who's getting cut for inactivity.

[Kartr_Kana]

There's already the Expanse Shroom, why not use that especially since it could explain why there wasn't anyone past there before the Central Alliance got dropped in from a different dimension.

[Steve]

There's already the Expanse Shroom, why not use that especially since it could explain why there wasn't anyone past there before the Central Alliance got dropped in from a different dimension.

I already told him that.

I'm actually working under the concept that the Expanse used to take up the entire northwestern bit, above the Commune, until the CA came in.

[Agent Sorchus]

There's already the Expanse Shroom, why not use that especially since it could explain why there wasn't anyone past there before the Central Alliance got dropped in from a different dimension.

I already told him that.

I'm actually working under the concept that the Expanse used to take up the entire northwestern bit, above the Commune, until the CA came in.

I was working with the assumption that the expanse is relatively barren, and while it wouldn't be to much of a stretch I would try to keep it very small, possibly smaller than pendleton. Still it looks to me to be the best location, with only M24 even coming close.

I would be fine with it, but ask that shroom give me a little bit more of an idea of what he envisions.

[Simon_Jester]

Shroom, I like the "Freedom Beef" piece. It's not so heavily salted with wacked out SHROOMANIA as the others, and that lets you do a bit more subtlety.

[Shroom Man 777]

Thanks, it's one of those things I recycled from eons ago (back when I was fifteens, sixteens, very youngs!).

Looking again, the Expanse does look pretty good. Scorchus, man.

Here is the PM I sent Scorchus. An outline of my proposed CONNOLTIANS, which was a race I created together with a good friend ages ago.

The idea is a bunch of quasi-nomadic space-Viking space-Mongol space-barbarian space-raiders. They don't form a centralized nation, and a good comparison could be made to Orks, human Orks, in a way. Their general aesthetic is that of a postapocalyptic paleotechnobarbarian berserker armed with goddamn swordguns and plasma rifles and rocket-spears and harpoons and missile-swords and shit, with fuckoff axes and metal grafted into their bones, and copious amounts of STEROIDS to make them more warriorly, and all manner and forms of subhuman mongrels and deformagrotesquetitudes amongst their ranks - including freakish androgynous albinos, subhuman subterranean Morlock hordes grown in Inbreeding Pits, and deranged pseudo-oriental ronin tribes, though the majority of the populace are more like pre-Roman European barbarian nations and shit with a look reminiscent to rejects from Mad Max or something. With armors adorned with horns and furs and pelts and leathers and all that shit.

Their basic modus operandi is invading and conquering defenseless single worlds and subjugating them. For a few years, maybe decades, they enslave populaces or recruit the worst elements of those societies into their warband, while depleting planetary resources utterly to prepare for their next invasion. Crusat. Then they blast off into space in their massive Fists of War and proceed to invade and conquer and kill some other hapless worlds. They are nomadic to avoid destruction at the hands of great powers, but should a targeted world be defended enough, then the Connoltians will relish in a battle worthy of a song.

Imagine, their elites are called Grand Axes - for they wield huge fuckoff adamantine axes and have wrist-magnums strapped to their forearms. They are nigh superhuman, with steel grafted into their bones in a horrific process. As their final rite of initiation, they go to the frost world of Albion and stand atop its icy peaks, then with a war cry they are made to JUMP OFF THE MOUNTAIN! Why? Because there are DRAGONS on that planet, and they must KILL ONE WITH THEIR AXE! WHILE FALLING A THOUSAND MILLION FEET IN THE AIR OFF MOUNT DANGEROUS!

This is the kind of shit I'm talking about!

Think Reavers from Firefly, combine them with historic barbarians, and those postapocalyptic radiers from the MAD MAX movies, add some spaceships and shit, and viola! Throw in the OBSCENITIES of the Persians from the Goddamn Generalissimo Frank Miller's 300 with people who have swords for arms, crazed Uruk-hai Immortals, elephant-monstrosities and shit, and it is complete! Haha!

(I think their origins lie in some ancient bygone but once-magnificent nation that dispatched an underclass of space miners to the far regions of space, to mine asteroids and moons for resources. These disenfranchised subhumans did their mining with great extraction-ships, self-sufficient things that could mine and manufacture raw materials. These guys are disgruntled at their lords and masters, they are forced to live in their mining ships for their entire lives in a form of spaceship-serfdom. Their attempts at uprising are beat down ferociously. However, they end up coming into contact with a group of nomadic space barbarians who conquer them and absorb them into their war-tribe, treating them much better then their masters. )

(Nomadic Space Mongols combined with Nomadic Self-Sufficient Space and DISGRUNTLED Miners = WIN and the Mongols use their resources to lead them on a war against their masters. This war is a savage one, and the uppity lords and masters end up getting killed off - along with their entire planet! The decimation of their home worlds leads them to wander in space, conquering planets before likewise depleting them with those mining-machines, and seeking new conquests after conquests. As they do so, the traditions of the Space Mongols are upheld and they likewise recruit - forcibly or otherwise - the people they subjugate, teaching them their warrior ways to perpetuate their eternal battle of the stars!)

Their enemies call them 'Cunts'.

Cunts aside, they are actually vicious savages and in their steroid-induced ragefits, in the middle of the fight they can be heard screaming "KILL THEM ALL!" while stabbing people in the face with bayonets soaked in burning gasoline. They have guns that shoot swords. Swordguns. And plasma rifles.

[Simon_Jester]

I dunno. I mean, we already have orks.

Maybe these guys are a relatively localized problem, with only a few scattered enclaves throughout space, in relatively lawless and under-patrolled areas?

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Regarding FREEDOM BEEF, lies! Lies and slander! Haruhiist fried chicken joints don't use those genetically-engineered centipede-chickens! At least not as much as they used to, at any rate. Most fried chicken in the Holy Empire really is made from authentic Earth chicken, though some of the cheaper and less reputable franchises still use the genetically-engineered centipede-chickens to cut down on costs.

In other news, I've also been thinking of introducing an NPC faction of my own. While the basic concept I've thought up is nowhere near as outlandish and over-the-top as Shroom's Connoltians (why am I also thinking of Khorne cultists and Fallout raiders in addition to Reavers, Mad Max, and 300 Persians?), it could easily have the potential to achieve similar greatness; basically, it's just a bastardized mashup of Belka from Ace Combat and Belka from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Crazy awesome starfighter aces and psionically-endowed lolis, all hiding out somewhere between the Koprulu territories and the Holy Empire of Haruhi Suzumiya, doing mercenary work (all a means to an end) while they watch and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike against the galaxy that has wronged them. Grey Men! Wolkenritter! Demon Lords of the Round Table! White Devils!

[Agent Sorchus]

Simon, while these people are definitely similar to Orkz in that they are a bunch of raiders, I think they should be played up to the underclass downtrodden barbarian that rather than the for fun soccer hooligan Orkz. Make them a little more tragic by being less alien than the Orkz.

Below is my reply


Well shroom, I would don't think there is as many smaller planet colonies in the expanse as in Wild space or the Outback, but I do think they could be made to work. The only hard part is to have oppressed workers so close to the Commune, while not getting help from the commune.

Here is the ever so slight addendum I have to them. There Original Planet would have been in near the Centrality space, but since they have abandoned it there is no problem with it's removal from the Universe thanks to the power of Q. While The Expanse is really barren and holds very few outposts that aren't Ork or science stations, the Cunts use it as a place to wait out a great powers wrath, while actually raiding far from this hidout. To answer the Commune question, the one of the difficulties that the workers always had was raids by the commune that were supposed to liberate them, but never actually did more than take a few thousand and make it harder to get their quotas and get mauled by their corporate masters.

Yes this should work nicely.

[Shroom Man 777]

Scorchus, let's just chat in this thread.

Well shroom, I would don't think there is as many smaller planet colonies in the expanse as in Wild space or the Outback, but I do think they could be made to work. The only hard part is to have oppressed workers so close to the Commune, while not getting help from the commune.

We could solve it by having the original uprising happen in ancient history (I intended that), like a hundred thousand years ago when the stars were young, in the Age of Obscurity!

Here is the ever so slight addendum I have to them. There Original Planet would have been in near the Centrality space, but since they have abandoned it there is no problem with it's removal from the Universe thanks to the power of Q. While The Expanse is really barren and holds very few outposts that aren't Ork or science stations, the Cunts use it as a place to wait out a great powers wrath, while actually raiding far from this hidout.

Perhaps the original planet wasn't even in the Expanse. They just hide in the Expanse, and in other shoal spaces, and do raids anywhere in the galaxy that's sufficiently in the furthest of fringes.

To answer the Commune question, the one of the difficulties that the workers always had was raids by the commune that were supposed to liberate them, but never actually did more than take a few thousand and make it harder to get their quotas and get mauled by their corporate masters.

I think the Connoltians came to be before the Commune. Or stuff happened too far away from them, or in such a time or place that nobody knew what happened until the first Connoltian raiding party started throwing harpoons at people's faces.

Yes this should work nicely.

Simon, while these people are definitely similar to Orkz in that they are a bunch of raiders, I think they should be played up to the underclass downtrodden barbarian that rather than the for fun soccer hooligan Orkz. Make them a little more tragic by being less alien than the Orkz.

Either tragic, or savage, or something. I was thinking of the weirdo sci-fantasy aspect of it, so we can write obscene stories. They will be different from just a bunch of greenskins going "WAAAGH!" for sure.

I dunno. I mean, we already have orks.

Maybe these guys are a relatively localized problem, with only a few scattered enclaves throughout space, in relatively lawless and under-patrolled areas?

Yes, these guys will NOT be a huge nation. The various Connoltian tribes are bound to their Fists of War ships and mostly stick to attacking outlying colonies in the shoals and Wild Space regions, to avoid being annihilated by nations and stuff. If war does break out, they will relish a good fight, but mostly these Connoltians will be doing shit so far away that the layman will just hear of them as tall tales and weirdo stories told by spacers.

They will harken back to the bygone days of crazy space adventures.

[Shroom Man 777]

In other news, I've also been thinking of introducing an NPC faction of my own. While the basic concept I've thought up is nowhere near as outlandish and over-the-top as Shroom's Connoltians (why am I also thinking of Khorne cultists and Fallout raiders in addition to Reavers, Mad Max, and 300 Persians?), it could easily have the potential to achieve similar greatness; basically, it's just a bastardized mashup of Belka from Ace Combat and Belka from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Crazy awesome starfighter aces and psionically-endowed lolis, all hiding out somewhere between the Koprulu territories and the Holy Empire of Haruhi Suzumiya, doing mercenary work (all a means to an end) while they watch and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike against the galaxy that has wronged them. Grey Men! Wolkenritter! Demon Lords of the Round Table! White Devils!

DANCE WITH THE ANGELS! YO BOOBY! MOBIUS ONE! FOX TWO! BREAK! SKY EYE! YO BUDDY, STILL ALIVE?

I like this.

Come on, it's brilliant. Psionically-endowed lolis makes me think of animu girls using TK to make their breasts bigger or bouncier or more gravity-defying.

[Agent Sorchus]

Scorchus, let's just chat in this thread.

Well shroom, I would don't think there is as many smaller planet colonies in the expanse as in Wild space or the Outback, but I do think they could be made to work. The only hard part is to have oppressed workers so close to the Commune, while not getting help from the commune.

We could solve it by having the original uprising happen in ancient history (I intended that), like a hundred thousand years ago when the stars were young, in the Age of Obscurity!

Hehehe. So these guys might be related to whoever set up the Collectors? That would be interesting, but it relates to my problems with setting these guys so far back. Namely that we only have the Orkz and the Collectors that might date back that far.

Here is the ever so slight addendum I have to them. There Original Planet would have been in near the Centrality space, but since they have abandoned it there is no problem with it's removal from the Universe thanks to the power of Q. While The Expanse is really barren and holds very few outposts that aren't Ork or science stations, the Cunts use it as a place to wait out a great powers wrath, while actually raiding far from this hideout.

Perhaps the original planet wasn't even in the Expanse. They just hide in the Expanse, and in other shoal spaces, and do raids anywhere in the galaxy that's sufficiently in the furthest of fringes.

Yes this works as it should.

To answer the Commune question, the one of the difficulties that the workers always had was raids by the commune that were supposed to liberate them, but never actually did more than take a few thousand and make it harder to get their quotas and get mauled by their corporate masters.

I think the Connoltians came to be before the Commune. Or stuff happened too far away from them, or in such a time or place that nobody knew what happened until the first Connoltian raiding party started throwing harpoons at people's faces.

I would rather know who caused this in the first place rather than setting it up in such a way that we have nothing that we can work into the story with. And as such it would work best if they are somewhat modern. Of course they don't have to be a new thing.

Simon, while these people are definitely similar to Orkz in that they are a bunch of raiders, I think they should be played up to the underclass downtrodden barbarian that rather than the for fun soccer hooligan Orkz. Make them a little more tragic by being less alien than the Orkz.

Either tragic, or savage, or something. I was thinking of the weirdo sci-fantasy aspect of it, so we can write obscene stories. They will be different from just a bunch of greenskins going "WAAAGH!" for sure.

Definitely should be both Tragic and savage. Nothing else works as nicely. Over the top Savagery, but subtle tragedy in every aspect of their society.

[Shroom Man 777]

Hehehe. So these guys might be related to whoever set up the Collectors? That would be interesting, but it relates to my problems with setting these guys so far back. Namely that we only have the Orkz and the Collectors that might date back that far.

Okay, maybe not that ancient.

I would rather know who caused this in the first place rather than setting it up in such a way that we have nothing that we can work into the story with. And as such it would work best if they are somewhat modern. Of course they don't have to be a new thing.

I'd like to think they came to be hundreds of years ago. Say sometime in the 2500s-2900s?

[Simon_Jester]

I'd say the period 2700-3000. By that point, the hyperspace-faring interstellar powers exist in recognizable form (most of them, anyway), and there's enough interstellar travel for isolated space miners to be plausible... but it's also a relatively lawless era, with the ratio of force to space being low: human space covers plenty of territory, but lots of it is still unclaimed, undeveloped, or unorganized.