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Post by ironhold on Jun 26, 2015 22:44:26 GMT
If they truly want an African-American hero or villain in there, I say create one. Seriously, has anyone really created any new superheroes since the 1950's? We've had quite a few, actually. However, DC's editorial staff is so incompetent that "Has DC Done Something Stupid Today?" (NSFW) is now a real website and Marvel was nearly laid low during the early 2000s by similarly incompetent editorial staff. As a result, both companies have had their share of flops and failures... which include "successful characters being derailed and mangled". The third-party publishers like Image, Boom!, and Top Cow have tried to create supers of their own, but more often than not these supers are either rehashes of the classic characters or handled in such a fashion as to completely miss the point. |
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Post by ironhold on Jun 16, 2016 6:22:31 GMT
This is for a sci-fi bit I'm working on. Just looking for some feedback and advice. Thanks.
The planet where this is all set is one hyperspace jump away from one of the most critical planets in the galaxy, and so virtually everyone who's tried to invade the place has stopped over at some point. The end result is that the vast majority of the planet is either wasteland or so overrun with predatory animals that only tourists and the foolhardy (who are usually both) willingly go there. The central planetary government fell a long, long time ago, and so most of the wasteland area is now akin to something like "Fallout" or "Mad Max".
There are, however, two regions that have survived relatively intact. One region (imagine something the size of Florida and Georgia) is pretty much like a how folks in the 1970s imagined the 1990s would be. This area was a major metropolitan area, and was spared because the invading armies realized that they needed *something* left standing to actually rule over.
The other region, for the sake of argument, is called the New Nauvoo region. This region is about the size of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico put together. It was spared because it was regarded as nothing more than a mostly rural agricultural backwater, and so it's remained intact as well.
NN is neither a utopia nor a dystopia. Rather, it's a nation-state (specifically, a constitutional monarchy that is a halfway point between the US and the UK) comprised of people who tend to be realists about matters. It's become the breadbasket for the entire planet, with output being so incredible that it's able to make a good chunk of change selling agricultural products (and even basic consumer goods) to other planets. But it's not perfect, either.
Negatives
*As with Switzerland, Israel, and several other nations, if you're mentally competent then once you're a legal adult you're a member of the military reserves. You owe the government 30 years, during which you must periodically attend training and are on standby in case of an emergency. The only exceptions are for people who enter law enforcement, firefighting, or another such "critical need" job field. Reservists tend to get bottom-of-the-barrel jobs like "cook" and "clerk", leaving the regular military to handle the more technical jobs and the front-line positions; this keeps the reservists away from the bulk of it, but it also keeps them away from the spoils of war that can make or break a family's fortunes.
*Because so many people are splitting their time between their reserve duties and their day jobs, few people pursue the entertainment industry as a career. Because of this, even though the numerous television and radio stations that operate in the area all go 24 hours, much of the time is actually filled with vintage programming from the past 1000+ years. Yes, it's 30XX and people are still watching "Father Knows Best" re-runs.
*"Branding" as we know it doesn't really exist because there's so little competition for goods outside of specific industries (like the toy industry)... and because the government is quietly allowing certain companies to maintain monopolies and oligopolies in order to ensure that as few outside entities as possible can challenge the economic dominance of the region.
Positives
*The region maintains a standard of living on par with the 1990s. Even the "poorest" family is able to afford a 2 bed, 1 bath house thanks to how rich the region is, with said house having electricity, indoor plumbing, internet access, and basic appliances (refrigerator, washing machine, oven, stove, microwave, and air conditioning). Most all families have at least one personal vehicle, an AM/FM radio, a weather radio, a 12-inch television set, a subscription to the local newspaper, and a basic desktop computer. Yes, even folks out in the boonies can still use iTunes, albeit with rather slow download speeds.
*The region's constitution specifically mandates a number of rights and freedoms, meaning that even though the region is strongly religious it's still a bastion of free thought and free speech; things that might get a person arrested or even executed elsewhere in the universe are seen as nothing major. You could literally even insult the prime minister and the king to their faces and experience no legal consequences beyond "drunk and disorderly" or "trespassing" depending upon the circumstances. (However, given that we're talking about, respectively, a retired Royal Black Watch major and an accomplished giant robot pilot, doing so would likely be a bad idea.)
*Orphans and those children taken into protective custody are generally given new homes within 72 hours thanks to a child services system that is a model of efficiency.
*Unemployment is virtually nonexistent, as everyone who is of sound mind has at least their reserve duties to fall back on, and if nothing else the various farms and ranches in the region could always use an extra hand.
*Every last man, woman, and child is guaranteed minimum daily rations via the government. As long as you're officially a citizen and fulfilling your obligations as such, the government won't let you go hungry no matter how dire your straits. The minimum daily per person ration consists of half a loaf of white bread, an egg, a pound of fish (usually either tilapia or tuna), a pound of poultry (usually chicken), a pound of fruit, a pound of vegetables, a half gallon of milk, a cup of oil, three servings of butter, two single-serve packets each of ketchup and mustard, a single-serving packet of mayonnaise, a multi-vitamin, and measured quantities of salt and pepper. It may not be glamorous, but it'll keep a person.
*The adult literacy rate is fixed at about 93% (the other 7% being people transitioning in from the wastelands and other areas where literacy is a luxury), and over 75% of the adult population is bi-lingual. And even your itinerant day laborer likely has an associate's degree of a handful of trade certifications going for them.
If you were living in a place like this, how well would it suit you? Would you stay, or would you take your chances settling elsewhere? Bear in mind that I noted minimums for the standard of living, meaning that if you had a decent income you could always get better.
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Post by silverdragon on Jun 16, 2016 6:34:41 GMT
What is the benefit of staying there against what is available elsewhere?..
You say one hyper-jump away from "Somewhere else", what exists in that window of hyper-jump and availability?...
Or is it that the people are limited in their off planet travel.
If the other planets in the available travel are in a worse state than this one, I would of course, stay, and try to make things better.
Otherwise, if there is a suitable planet with better conditions close by, I have already packed the suitcase....
Whats stopping me emigrating?.
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Post by ironhold on Jun 16, 2016 7:01:48 GMT
Whats stopping me emigrating?. Not a thing. You can emigrate of your own free will, although the planet in question is in an area that's been fully colonized and explored; you'd just be going from one inhabited planet to another and taking your chances along the way of being able to start over. |
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Post by mrfatso on Jun 16, 2016 9:16:57 GMT
Both areas are living on borrowed time, they just survive on the good graces of other military forces deciding that they will not destroy them, or occupy them , I want to get the hell out of dodge.
You say that one was left alone because the invading armies needed something to rule over, but what happens when one military decides it is better to offer a sorched planet policy in face of another military aggressor. Leave them no where usable to use as a logistics base could be the thinking .
The day to day reality of such ration of food is something that I have been told stories of by my Mum, it was something you could put up with thinking one day this will all be over, but living with it as a permanent feature of life would I think cause a mass exodus, unless there was a significant of reason to stay on the planet. With food rationing you would also have to think about the rationing of other products, clothing, consumer goods etc would also be affected. The entertainment industry you mention would be okay until people started to run out of things to watch it on, once equipment breaks down finding spare parts might be a problem again going back to family stories at one point there was no radio in the house as the set had broken down. It would be difficult to justify spending money on off word manufactured goods when people are living on subsistence rations.
Retired Black Watch Major and giant robot pilot, we would not be talking of a 'Battletech' background would we by any chance?
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Post by ironhold on Jun 16, 2016 18:03:28 GMT
The day to day reality of such ration of food is something that I have been told stories of by my Mum, That's the minimum, and if you qualify someone from the government will bring it your way. Beyond that, you've got your choice of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and the like. If you can afford it, you can purchase it. Basically. |
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Post by ironhold on Jun 16, 2016 18:24:15 GMT
Also, as far as the region in question goes -
In the fiction, they will eventually get invaded. Or at least, someone will try to.
Attempt #1: "We've sent mercenaries and other bandits to the planet to stir things up so that we can justify sending in a 'peacekeeping' force. We've been assured that they have little more than tanks, aging mecha, and an assortment of conventional aircraft. We're sure they'll... Wait... How did they find out what we were up to? What do you mean their actual military is quadruple our estimates? Engage them anywayyyyyyy HOW THE **** DO X-WINGS TAKE OUT A STAR DESTROYER?!"
Attempt #2: "OK. We played it sneaky the last time, and we got our heads handed back to us. This time, we're sending in a full element of Star Destroyers and support craft. We'll overwhelm them with sheer force and... WHERE THE **** DID THEY GET THOSE ANTI-SHIPPING ION CANNONS FROM?!"
Attempt #3: "OK. The 'Zenith' hyperspace fold point is untenable. If we send forces in there, we'll lose another dozen Star Destroyers. So, we'll come in via the 'Nadir' hyperspace fold point and... WHEN THE **** DID THEY SET OUT SPACE MINES?!"
Attempt #4: "OK. We've officially lost 25 Star Destroyers trying to take one single planet. But the Emperor wants the planet taken anyway, so we'll just blitz them with everything we've got and... What do you mean the best you can offer me is second-line garrison soldiers? Look, I know we lost a lot of front-line soldiers on the last few attempts, but do you really mean to tell me that the soldiers who are supposed to be occupying the place will have to invade it instead?"
Attempt #5: "OK, that went about as well as I expected. Let's see if we can scrape together enough forces for one last try and... wait... THEY'RE INVADING US?! WITH OUR OWN SALVAGED STAR DESTROYERS?!"
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Post by mrfatso on Jun 16, 2016 18:58:24 GMT
The day to day reality of such ration of food is something that I have been told stories of by my Mum, That's the minimum, and if you qualify someone from the government will bring it your way. Beyond that, you've got your choice of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and the like. If you can afford it, you can purchase it. Basically. During WW2 certain food stuffs were off ration like fish, but the price for such items went up a lot. |
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Post by ironhold on Jun 16, 2016 21:32:39 GMT
That's the minimum, and if you qualify someone from the government will bring it your way. Beyond that, you've got your choice of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and the like. If you can afford it, you can purchase it. Basically. During WW2 certain food stuffs were off ration like fish, but the price for such items went up a lot. I'm talking more like what you can do nowadays and get what you want for a reasonable price. |
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Post by the light works on Jun 17, 2016 1:58:16 GMT
That's the minimum, and if you qualify someone from the government will bring it your way. Beyond that, you've got your choice of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and the like. If you can afford it, you can purchase it. Basically. During WW2 certain food stuffs were off ration like fish, but the price for such items went up a lot. mind you this is not rations as in "this is how much you're allowed" this is rations as in "here's your basics, did you want to buy something as well?" for my own analysis, if it is a situation wherein the other people feel it's not worth the effort to try to take over, then it is probably a relatively stable situation. having the economy work well enough that even po' folks aren't going hungry and everybody who wants a job has one is better than a lot of the planet we're on. |
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Post by silverdragon on Jun 18, 2016 6:45:55 GMT
The day to day reality of such ration of food is something that I have been told stories of by my Mum, That's the minimum, and if you qualify someone from the government will bring it your way. Beyond that, you've got your choice of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and the like. If you can afford it, you can purchase it. Ration food was still sort of around when I was very young... certain things were still hard to get on rations. I have my families ration books "somewhere", not a single stamp was ever used, for its intended purpose... some were traded to get certain items not on the list, like I need that, so if I give you extra ration stamps for something else, is it a deal?.." In the area they lived, it was "Barter", my Grandfather kept chickens, which he traded for Butter and dairy, he also kept Pigs, which provided meat, and swap a leg for a leg and get Lamb,, or beef, or whatever, sugar came from Honey, but no one had sweet teeth at that time, and clothing was the wool from sheep. Swap wool for cotton... jumper for shirt... Or make do and mend. Which is where I get my ability to take things apart and fix the insides from.... Black market?.. No. It was a "What big brother dont know, he dont worry about". |
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Post by Cybermortis on Jun 21, 2016 0:52:01 GMT
Observation; It would make more sense if the planet used to be the only route to an important planet. Only for the importance of that planet to have declined or for technology to have advanced to the point that this particular planet no longer has to be a stop off for invading forces. (Simply having better jump technology would explain the latter)
This would leave this world in an interesting position, as its economy would presumably have been based around the military forces you would not unreasonably expect have been stationed there. Only for those forces to have been largely removed. This would have destroyed the planets original economic structure causing widespread chaos, and would explain why there is no real single planetary government. You would also expect a lot of military hardware and personal to have ended up being left there when the ability to bypass this planet resulted in the units stationed there either being recalled at short notice and/or left behind in the confusion. (It would also explain the state of the planet as the invaders would most likely have turned around and hit the forces remaining or retreating to this world. Orbital bombardment probably took out the major military bases and wrecked the ecosystem. This would leave your remaining cities as actually having been rather minor towns at one point, with architecture being a mixture of the original pre-bombardment buildings and newer cruder buildings.)
There would be scope to have miniature 'kingdoms' outside the cities. Where life is hard and having a bigger gun, or armored vehicles, can put you in charge. Likewise this would allow for an interesting mixture of technologies, from groups armed with bows to those who managed to find and control military bunkers that were not destroyed. (The biggest and most powerful guns would be held by the cities, explaining why they are able to exist...while at the same time there would always be the risk that some group out in the 'wastes' might stumble across weapons or technology that could threaten them. For an RPG setting this gives you a valid reason for a group to be sent out of the city to recover or destroy such technology. And the option of presenting a group with the question as to if the 'barbarians' might not actually make for more enlightened rulers than the existing 'nobility' in the cities. Are the nobility really doing what is right for the populace? Or are they really just interested in holding onto their own power?)
Set this a generation or so after the 'bombardment', at which point civilization has had a chance to recover but is still trying to find ways to prosper anew, and you get a very interesting setting. You could do a straightforward war story, a political thriller, a Fallout type game, a save the world story or even barbarians discovering that the world contains far more wonders than they realized. Lots of scope there I'd say. Enough to cover any type of story you could wish for...hell you could even have a dungeon crawl if a group is sent to investigate the remains of an old military base. Only to discover the defenses are still active...and might not have been there to stop people from getting in. Maybe they were there to stop something from getting out....
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Post by the light works on Jun 21, 2016 5:19:58 GMT
Observation; It would make more sense if the planet used to be the only route to an important planet. Only for the importance of that planet to have declined or for technology to have advanced to the point that this particular planet no longer has to be a stop off for invading forces. (Simply having better jump technology would explain the latter) This would leave this world in an interesting position, as its economy would presumably have been based around the military forces you would not unreasonably expect have been stationed there. Only for those forces to have been largely removed. This would have destroyed the planets original economic structure causing widespread chaos, and would explain why there is no real single planetary government. You would also expect a lot of military hardware and personal to have ended up being left there when the ability to bypass this planet resulted in the units stationed there either being recalled at short notice and/or left behind in the confusion. (It would also explain the state of the planet as the invaders would most likely have turned around and hit the forces remaining or retreating to this world. Orbital bombardment probably took out the major military bases and wrecked the ecosystem. This would leave your remaining cities as actually having been rather minor towns at one point, with architecture being a mixture of the original pre-bombardment buildings and newer cruder buildings.) There would be scope to have miniature 'kingdoms' outside the cities. Where life is hard and having a bigger gun, or armored vehicles, can put you in charge. Likewise this would allow for an interesting mixture of technologies, from groups armed with bows to those who managed to find and control military bunkers that were not destroyed. (The biggest and most powerful guns would be held by the cities, explaining why they are able to exist...while at the same time there would always be the risk that some group out in the 'wastes' might stumble across weapons or technology that could threaten them. For an RPG setting this gives you a valid reason for a group to be sent out of the city to recover or destroy such technology. And the option of presenting a group with the question as to if the 'barbarians' might not actually make for more enlightened rulers than the existing 'nobility' in the cities. Are the nobility really doing what is right for the populace? Or are they really just interested in holding onto their own power?) Set this a generation or so after the 'bombardment', at which point civilization has had a chance to recover but is still trying to find ways to prosper anew, and you get a very interesting setting. You could do a straightforward war story, a political thriller, a Fallout type game, a save the world story or even barbarians discovering that the world contains far more wonders than they realized. Lots of scope there I'd say. Enough to cover any type of story you could wish for...hell you could even have a dungeon crawl if a group is sent to investigate the remains of an old military base. Only to discover the defenses are still active...and might not have been there to stop people from getting in. Maybe they were there to stop something from getting out.... another option would be to skip the scorched earth departure, and leave the planet with way more topheavy infrastructure than it needs. some administrators might opt to keep the infrastructure at all costs, while others might abandon what they didn't need and take advantage of the rest. mechanized agriculture meant for a large military population could easily produce such an abundance of food for the remnant that food security is the societal norm. an abundance of surplus housing would mean plenty of space for all. |
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Post by silverdragon on Jun 22, 2016 6:29:08 GMT
Add in to the good suggestions above, somthing along the lines of a "This planet used to be great" atmosphere, and certain characters trying to make it great again, by various means, some that work and some that dont, and you have an infrastructure that allows the remaining population to have a back-story as to why they are staying on and trying to rebuild?...
Is this helping Ironhold?.. I think between us we have some good ideas so far?...
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Post by ironhold on Jun 22, 2016 7:22:56 GMT
Add in to the good suggestions above, somthing along the lines of a "This planet used to be great" atmosphere, and certain characters trying to make it great again, by various means, some that work and some that dont, and you have an infrastructure that allows the remaining population to have a back-story as to why they are staying on and trying to rebuild?... Is this helping Ironhold?.. I think between us we have some good ideas so far?... Yeah. Just been busy IRL. Thanks. edit - What I was looking at is that the region in question is slowly looking to push beyond its borders and reclaim the wastelands as its population of able-bodied individuals allows for it to do so. Most of the reclamation efforts will center on getting new colonies of people going to work what's left of the arable land outside the borders, but there are also those who will be tasked with convincing existing population centers to join the cause, those who will be tasked with chasing off bandit groups, and those who are simply tasked with recovering what resources can be recovered. It's a long slog, but they've got the resources to do it barring the population to spare for a large-scale effort. As one of the characters notes, it would take the population going up by 20% overnight just to have a positive unemployment number. The ultimate, long-term goal is that once enough of the planet is put back together, they can take the banner of a former space nation and carry it to other planets that are torn up, the idea being to resurrect the nation in question so that the other planets aren't also left flapping in the breeze. |
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Post by mrfatso on Jun 22, 2016 14:19:24 GMT
Going back to the point of it being Battletech like, I hope you take note of what happened between FASA and the rights holders of the Macross anime series. And make sure that you avoid the rights holders to Battletechs IP. That might mean avoiding calling your character a Major in the Black Watch in relation to piloting a giant robot, and making sure the technologies that you use do not resemble theirs too much.
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Post by Cybermortis on Jun 22, 2016 19:39:53 GMT
I suspect that a 'Battletech' feel would revolve around a military elite divided into warring/competing states who's level of technology has declined. Even a more enlighted and democratic government would need to maintain a strong military to protect itself in this context.
A declining or smaller population than the world once possessed raises interesting scenarios and situations.
To start with a smaller population means that the major (surviving) urban areas are going to be under populated. While this means no shortage of housing it also means that areas of the original city are going to end up effectively unpopulated. Think parts of modern day Detroit.
At best this means large sections of the old city becoming reclaimed to some degree by nature (Think like the City of Chonobal (sp?)), but is also likely to include people who for one reason or another would rather not live or work in the more populated area. While not all of these people are going to be bad, most would simply be trying to survive, others are going to be criminals and gangs of various moral alignments (some gangs are simply trying to survive).
As this area would be right next to the main 'city' its not an area the governments can fully ignore. But at the same time the low population would make reclaiming/controlling those areas difficult at best. So it is likely that the area 'outside the wall', or the slums depending on the term used locally, would potentially be a source of labor for those who would like some type of work done 'off the books'. It would also be patrolled, but again not heavily due to the low population that can be drawn on. In such a case you might end up with such patrols being conducted by a group similar to the Judges in Judge Dreads universe; Small groups, or even individuals, of well equipped elite 'police' doing what they can to enforce some level of control in that area.
Such a group would be ideal for a group of PC's starting out. The nature of their job gives them some military type hardware...nothing equal to the real military in the city but considerably more than the average person out there. It also gives them local support from a reasonably well equipped force, should they bite off more than they can handle when starting out.
Longer term such a group would be the logical choice for expanding the boarders and scouting the surrounding lands, since their job would require a degree of autonomy and independent thought that more traditionally trained military personal might lack. Plus a need to be practical in regards the idea of the lesser of two evils makes them better suited to deciding if any groups they run into should be considered potential allies or threats.
Another aspect here is that such a group would probably be willing to work with those in the outer areas, those that most in the cities might consider more or less worthless or plain stupid. So not all the PC's need to actually be members of the group itself, but those who have skills that have proved useful enough to warrant hiring for jobs. They would most likely also be more tolerant of working with true outsiders, say some random NPC or PC who's come in from the 'Wastes' with news that is serious/important enough to investigate further. Allowing a group to consist of individuals from different backgrounds.
Low population has another effect, in that clearly no 'City State' would be able to field massive armies. This would make the standing military forces small but elite. With the proviso that no one would really be able to afford to lose such troops. As such direct military conflicts would be avoided where possible, with conflicts being either fought in the political arena or through proxies. (*Barbarians* from out of the wastes). This would certainly give the world a BattleTech feel.
Depending on the amount of threat around the cities, or perceived threat, either at the start of the story or when the new government was being formed. It might also be that all able bodied citizens may be required to either serve in the military or undergo basic military training so they can help defend the city in a crisis. This would mean everyone would have at least a fair amount of weapons training, and probably own a gun or two. Even cities that only have to deal with the local wildlife are likely to have a very high percentage of gun ownership. Even democratic societies might require military service in order to have the right to vote. (Ancient Athens required landowners to be ready to defend the city, with the individuals being responsible for obtaining their own arms and armor). So 'peaceful' might be a relative term to use...as might 'good'.
Such a drastic population drop would have to be due to a mixture of events. Military forces being removed from the world, Forces remaining being destroyed; although full scale planetary bombardment would likely have demolished the cities first so a more restrained bombardment or one that was cut short for some reason is more likely and people simply leaving as the economy fell apart. The latter might also have resulted in all but a handful of spaceships having left. And those that do having been left behind because they were broken. That could work into a longer campaign, since if the intention is to go back into space they will either need to build their own ships or figure out how to repair those that were left. (Lack of space travel would also explain why no one has bothered them in recent years...basically no one knows they are there. It would also allow you to hold off on deciding what awaits PC's out there, since they would have no knowledge of that until they went and looked for themselves.)
It is even possible that exactly what happened to cause the 'fall' is unknown, or there are conflicting stories from different areas. Knowing what happened might be important, as it might allow for a better understanding as to the challenges that await in rebuilding. (Its one thing to realize that a huge chunk of the population left. Another to discover someone dumped a lot of nukes onto parts of the planet and you have to wait a few thousand years before that land can be used again.)
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Post by ironhold on Jun 22, 2016 21:06:42 GMT
Going back to the point of it being Battletech like, I hope you take note of what happened between FASA and the rights holders of the Macross anime series. And make sure that you avoid the rights holders to Battletechs IP. That might mean avoiding calling your character a Major in the Black Watch in relation to piloting a giant robot, and making sure the technologies that you use do not resemble theirs too much. Actually, since the Royal Black Watch is a real-life military outfit, even if I *did* use them literally there's not much that can be done about it. It'd be like saying that the Green Berets are out there as well. |
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Post by the light works on Jun 23, 2016 0:03:43 GMT
occurs to me that the direction cyber and I are leaning is the planetary equivalent of a ghost town. - or a nearly-so ghost town. the mine plays out, or the railroad moves on, and the major players all pack up and leave, leaving the homesteaders, the old timer with noplace better to go and the random drifters.
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Post by Cybermortis on Jun 23, 2016 2:58:44 GMT
More or less yes. A world that was heavily populated in the not to distant past but unexpectedly lost a large number of its population has far more potential for interesting stories taken from various places than a world in which the population gradually declined. The sudden shock and chaos would mean that the inhabitants wouldn't have had a chance to move important (or dangerous) items or goods elsewhere. So god knows what someone could stumble across. Plus locations might have been partly stripped, or items moved elsewhere so simply looking at old records might not be all that helpful.
You could easily do a western type story, the ranchers fighting against the expansion of the cities a frontier lawman trying to bring some sort of order to a wild countryside. You could do pure military, with a special forces team being sent in to weaken or just destroy an enemy force. A Star Trek type story, with well meaning do gooders exploring and trying to bring peace without bloodshed or violence but being faced with moral dilemmas in the process. Or stories where the city government's will do anything to hold onto what might be a tenuous grip on power, including trying to eliminate those who ask to many questions or who might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
From a writing prospective this also means that you don't have to actually work out much detail beyond the area the PCs are in. And can make a lot if stuff up on the fly to fit the needs of the plot, or just for fun. Want to have a group of peaceful settlers who worship a giant rat? It's a strange and large world, why couldn't such a group exist if the rat in question turned out to be an old AI with an unfortunate screen saver....
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