
                      Topics to Think About
                      ---------------------

Hoth was an ice planet. Vulcan was a world of volcanos. Nice and
simple on the surface, but how bland and homogenous when you
consider how big planets really are. On Earth, we've got a
variety of settings, from the urban streets of New York to the
jungles of South America to the Himalayan Mountains to the vast
Sahara desert. An alien landing in the latter might conclude that
Earth is a great desert world... like Dune.

When you design your worlds as well as your overall setting,
there are lots of topics which you might want to hit. Each of
these deserves a little consideration (or perhaps even a lot).
Just think of this a short checklist in case you're stuck for
ideas.


Religion:

Religion is one of the most fundamental aspects of human society.
While some might argue that belief in the supernatural and in the
divine is dying away with advances in science and technology,
others could effectively argue the opposite: that the more we
learn about our universe, the more incredible it all seems to be.
Consider what the state of religion is in your campaign. Is there
just one God, many, or no gods at all? Do people believe in the
"soul"? If so, where do they think it comes from, and perhaps
just as importantly, where do they think it goes?

For an example of what I'm talking about, one of my cousins in
Greece came up with the following idea (she's got weird ideas,
but that's part of what makes her fun).

   We are souls who experience a number of lives. Each is
   lived in order to learn certain lessons. At the conclusion
   of this process, the soul is "mature", and it splits into
   two parts. Then the process begins anew.

Think of souls as little single-celled organisms. Here's an idea
which I came up with a few years ago (just as a disclaimer, I
think I was stoned at the time).

   God is a very, very bored mathematician. So bored is God
   that she likes to create various universes each constructed
   of natural laws. Laws are all that she creates. The rest is
   purely random. In some of these universes have evolved
   sentient life. Intrigued, God has decided to take part in
   these settings by projecting her "soul" into the beings
   living there. You are God, only you don't realize it until
   you die.

Belief structures such as these can get really wild. The trick is
that they need to be an aid toward social cohesion or they won't
last for very long (now we're talking about the natural selection
of belief structures). For instance, in the prior example, people
might be more likely to cooperate because they view the people
they dislike as near complements of themselves, perhaps part of a
former self within which the two were once entwined. In the later
example, they view the people they dislike as being of literally
the same soul but different circumstances (genetics and
upbringing), however the "realization" that they both share the
same soul is enough to get them to cooperate. Of course, what
both of these structures lack are reward/punishment mechanisms,
but that can always be added.

In short, if religion still exists in the future, it may be far
removed from the religions we know of today. Considering the
possibilities is part of science fiction.


Technology:

Of course, worlds may vary widely in technical level, however,
most likely, there will be a large grouping at some technical
mean. You need to decide what that mean is. Typical technical
categories include:

   * Materials technology: What new materials are there and what
     are their properties?
   * Energy technology: To what extent are fusion, antimatter, or
     other energy production techniques in use, and what is the
     effect on planetary industry?
   * Information technology: Is there artificial intelligence and
     how good is it? What jobs have been replaced? What has been
     the effect on society?
   * Communication technology: Are there any means of FTL
     communications?
   * Terraforming technology: How easy is it to turn a dead world
     into a living planet?
   * Nanotechnology: To what extent are microscopic robots in
     use for various engineering or medical purposes?
   * Medical technology: To what extent has disease been
     mastered, how long do people live (is non-aging possible),
     what about cybernetics, what about gene/trait selection,
     what about limb/organ regeneration, and what has been the
     overall effect on society of all this?
   * Gravitic technology: To what extent has gravity been
     harnessed in transportation and construction?
   * Warp/Jump/Hyperspace technology: How do ships get from one
     star to another, what are the energy requirements, and what
     are the special limitations and/or dangers involved?
   * Weapons technology: What are the most devastating weapons
     of the setting and how are they controlled by the powers
     that be?
   * Super technology: Are there any technical artifacts from
     ancient interstellar civilizations?


Civilization:

How civilized is your setting overall, and how civilized are
various worlds in specific? A low civilization creates unique
opportunities for characters to get away with things which they
wouldn't otherwise be able to get away with, but it can also be
confining in terms of adventuring possibilities. For instance,
one of the strong-points of Classic Traveller is that it was able
to create a setting in which thousands of widely divergent
civilizations could co-exist within a single interstellar
tapestry. The adventuring possibilities, in such a setting, were
virtually limitless. By comparison, the New Era was criticized
when it first came out for being mainly about "smash & grab"
adventures.

What civilization level you choose has a lot to do with what sort
of mood you are trying to create, however, if you focus
exclusively on mood, you can end up limiting the types of
adventures which will work in the setting.


Politics:

Is humanity (or the dominant PC race) wrapped up in a single
empire or republic or confederation of states? Or are there many
small and independent nations, each with their own governments
and rulers who answer to no one save themselves and their
respective populations? Are there any lingering tensions or good
feelings between neighboring nations over particularly noteworthy
incidents in history, either ancient or recent?

    Tip from John Novak (jsn@cegt201.bradley.edu):

    No matter what the precise nature of your political setup
    always try to include _two_ dimensions of political swing.
    If there's only one spectrum, things get boring pretty
    quickly, because you can always figure out who wants what,
    and which side they're likely to be on. But include two
    dimensions, and you can have shifting alliances, temporary
    coalitions, and manipulations behind the scenes causing
    strange bedfellows.


Alien Races:

Which are the most dominant races? How well do they get along?
Have they warred with each other in the past? Do they share
similar goals and similar forms of government, or is co-existence
not an option? Do they keep to their own countries, or do they
mix freely within single states? Are there any lingering tensions
or good feelings between specific racial groups over particularly
noteworthy incidents in history, either ancient or recent?


Economics:

What is the most accepted form of currency? Does it have any
physical manifestation (ala Star Trek's Latinum Bars) or is it
purely conceptual (Traveller's Credits). Are there any unusual
forms of currency? Does each world have its own planetary
currency? Is there an interstellar stock exchange and, if so,
where is it located (assuming it even has a central location)?
How does the government keep people from counterfeiting? How
powerful are the businesses (i.e. megacorporations) and the
banks? To what extent do they hold the strings of power?




                        Creative Methods
                        ----------------

Sometimes, particularly when starting a new world, a city, or
even a starport, the brain just gets clotted. You have so many
ideas, you just don't know where to begin. Here are some methods
which will hopefully help you take that first step of getting
your ideas down on paper, and they might also help to get the
creative juices flowing when you find yourself running short of
ideas.


Web it Out:

Start with the name of a place such as a new world you are
creating. Circle it in the center of a large piece of paper.
Think of some aspects (the starport, corporate strongholds, major
cities, natural resources). It helps to think of names as you go
along (you might want to generate a random list beforehand). For
the major cities, create various locations around them (museum of
antiquities, university of technical studies, etc). Repeat the
process through several iterations, creating the names of the
important NPCs for each area. Draw lines between NPCs and
establish relationships. Once the relationships are in place,
adventure opportunities should become more apparent.

      Some possible relationships between important NPCs:
       1) Owes Favor             6) Revenge-Hatred
       2) Secret Infatuation     7) Spurned Love
       3) Mutual Backscratching  8) Mutual Backstabbing
       4) Mutual Secret          9) Blackmail
       5) Family Relation        10) Family Feud


Roll up Some History:

Remember, also, that worlds are not static, frozen in time where
nothing ever happens. Every society is likely to have its own
unique history. It may be worth it to you to generate a few
random events if you need some inspiration:

      Some Possible Random Events:
   1d6
    1   Event from on High (caused by the actions of important
           characters on the interstellar stage)
      1d4
       1  Punishment
       2  Technical Aid
       3  Orders
       4  Economic Aid
    2   War
      1d4
       1  Against Aliens
       2  Against Pirates
       3  Against Another World
       4  Civil War
    3   Recent or Recurrent Natural Disasters
      1d6
       1  Quake
       2  Tornado
       3  Flood
       4  Meteorite
       5  Fire
       6  Plague/Famine
    4   Major Construction
      2d4
       2  Majestic City
       3  Transportation system
       4  Top-notch University
       5  High-tech Library
       6  Amazing Cathedral
       7  Power generation system
       8  Make up something weird
    5   Religious Upheaval
      1d4
       1  Religious Assassination
       2  Religious Coup
       3  Strange Religious Edict
       4  Holy War
    6   Political Upheaval
      1d6
       1  Political Assassination
       2  Military Coup
       3  Strange Political Edict
       4  Riots
       5  Slave/Workers Rebellion
       6  Civil War

