The Spark of Progress
Our existence is a flicker to the depth of time. A narrow slice to the thousands of millions of years the cosmos have existed. Only in the past few thousand years have any beings like us have come to colonize the stars. Some of which more advanced than us, others rivals to our own prosperity. All of which centered around the Orion Complex, the melting pot of civilizations and the incubator of violence.
There is no space faring civilization that is truly ancient here. There is no hundred million year old ruins or any evidence of a creator. Instead, a spark of self-awareness has rippled accross our part of the Galaxy now burns throughout the Orion Arm while the rest of the galaxy remains silent. And in the smoke and stunning array of technologies, life forms and beliefs forced into perpetual contact and chaos in one small part of the galaxy. It would seem that far from living in a galaxy oppressed by ancient beings unimaginable, we live in a galaxy where intelligence only now has appeared.
And from the human perspective, this is obvious. The last seven centuries alone has been a endless line of liberations. First the majority of humans were liberated from tyranny at the turn of the millennium. After which we were liberated from the limits of our one star among millions with the discovery of Lux. Without which our civilizations would never have existed.
Next we were liberated from the imposing legacy of Earth when the colonial powers devoured themselves in a frenzy of ravenous death nearly four centuries ago. Since that time, we have only advanced further and further, to the point where we have tools as wise as people, people enhancing themselves in the pursuit of godhood as border between life and non life becomes ever so blurred. Where the next liberation will come is impossible to say, for at the turn of the 28th century things have been ever more uncertain as tensions in the Orion Complex are on the verge of escalation.
The later liberations have been far less linear, but as part of the greater whole have inched further to the final liberation, that of total perfection. How far that perfection is remains unknown. For when civilizations can hardly last five centuries and people barely survive two even now, the engine of progress will never halt.
That is, perhaps, until we are all dead.
Here you see, is the universe within 10000 ly centered around Sol. Marked are numerous open clusters, nebulae and bright stars. You will need to access these regions to attain the most important thing for space faring society- Lux.
Without it, you have no FTL. You have no empires, explorers or traders. The stars would be forever distant and the countless worlds distant, forever unknown.
*Note: The RP will be centering around the Orion association, so this zoomed in map will be of great use:
2000 Light years from Sol
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For those confused, this is a space opera RP with rapid world building in play. Things get crudely mapped out in terms of setting expectations and species and things start moving forward.
It's a universe where in only small corner in a galaxy in the smallest slice of time, the dynamics of intelligent life clash as never ending conflict from every angle, charged by ideological fervor and further incited by the persistent need to secure bright stars for lux extraction. Alliances shift, situations remain unpredictable and can change on the whim of what actions a few individuals take.
In the future, there is not simply a clash of political powers or conflict for resources. Resource conflicts are comparatively diminished even with the tensions of lux. Instead, we have a clash of minds and beliefs familiar and alien. It is a clash of realities.
Conflict is not just ideological in the living galaxy, for the most important resource to run space faring civilizations are concentrated around bright stars and open clusters. A fact of which has lead to numerous disputes in the past and present. It has also caused for civilizations to be more spread out, often with multiple power centers around a exceptionally bright star or open cluster.
You are not obligated to make a nation here, nor are you obligated to make a species here. This RP's more or less a "make shit up as you go within reason"-type RP and we start the minute someone makes a fleshed out individual and RPs with it.
You can make multiple societies as you like, populating this vast region of space with all sorts of strange entities, cultures and beings.
There is however, a several policies in place to keep out setting breaking content. This may be a bit detailed, but such detail is needed given the vast range of possibilities that can occur in a RP like this.
General
There's some contrived limitations in this RP. That is, you can't have magic, fantasy/furry aliens or god beings (this includes god AIs).
The starting year is 2700 AD. Humans became space faring around 2170 AD as they managed to use Sirius as a stepping stone to more distant stars. A major societal collapse (on Earth, at least) around 2300 AD occurred that has critically disrupted any efforts towards the formation of a universal human empire.
On FTL
The FTl in this universe is based around Lux, or exotic matter as you may call it. Lux is generated from stars. Bright stars yield more lux and the more luminous the star, the more lux it yields. Red dwarves are screwed by this system, for even our sun is considered a lux poor star. Exploratory FTL (warp drive, jump drive, etc.) and Structural FTL (worm holes, jump gates, etc.) are both limited by lux. Exploratory FTL uses Lux every jump while Structural FTL constantly consumes Lux to keep their systems open. To sustain your civ, you will need to a interstellar system of lux extraction and distribution using brighter stars in the galaxy.
There's two limitations on FTL. Slipsace/subspace FTL systems are impossible with Lux as are FTL comm systems (therefore spaceships are needed to relay information).
On Aliens
With aliens, the fermi-paradox is addressed by having the most ancient space faring alien civilizations only be around the age of Egyptians.
When it comes to alien design, try to make them actually alien. Having a shape/design somewhat like humans is fine, but consider at least attempting to give them multiple traits that set them apart from humans in general such as trying out a alien moral system. I limit aliens from being human-likes and humanized earth animals as a way to enforce creativity with alien designs to some level. If you aren't good with making your own alien species (or simply don't want to spend your time on making aliens), consider playing with other aliens that exist or using humans. This is allowed because all species are public domain, unless there's some major limitation as to why.
Since this is space opera, yes you can eat alien critters provided they aren't alien to the point they are cyrophiles or breathe chlorine or some other prohibitive trait (you try eating a creature whose blood is anti-freeze). On even earth-like alien planets consider breathers and some way to support yourself on worlds with punishing gravity wells.
Biologically i'm somewhat liberal on "what's allowed" since this really is a softer sci-fi setting, but please don't make a alien that can reproduce with a human.
I prefer strange aliens on the whole, making strange alien life forms is encouraged here.
OOC
Feel free to do what you want in the OOC. I do not hold responsibility for if a mod bans you. You do not need to be part of this RP to speak in the OOC.
On technology
This is the hard part, for in a RP all about technological progress a vast array of tech is available. The limits on tech come down to the following:
1. Does your tech give you god-like traits (like being able to erase reality or implode stars)?
2. Does the tech grant you absolute immortality?
3. Does this tech give you infinite materials/energy?
If any of the following, drop that tech.
For alien players, think of what technologies your species would want to have given their biology and culture. Trying out very different tech paths from humans is encouraged.
On Astronomy
I expect a degree of astronomical accuracy in that real astronomy is used in this RP. You're allowed to go esoteric with planets, but please don't make any flagrant violations of reality like a terrestrial planet the size of Jupiter. Know your main sequence star types and watch some videos on exoplanets. Make use of real stars in some cases, make use of the map and look at the properties of the star. If you have a real exoplanet you want to detail out, go ahead.
If you want me to, I will go in and find a place for your content if you can't think of any place.
Consult constellation maps and the universe atlas maps to get a idea of where you are. also consider downloading space engine to get a good 3D perspective of everything.
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This RP has elements that are far more world building than NRP, which is why I place it here instead of NRP. A titan pad is likely going to be put to use here.
Here's the sheet format for any content
Name:
Info:
Other:
For places, draw a place on the map and/or specify a celestial object for me (the map has some named, wiki up some if you want).
Here's more detailed apps. Faction apps omitted in order to enforce the world building parts of the RP.
Location app;
Name:
Location:
Info:
Other:
Star System App;
Name/Designation of star:
Name:
Moons: (state names of large moons or important moons if desired)
Description:
Make as many planets as you want, order them by distance from the parent star.
Other:
Character app;
Name:
Classification: (human, a AI, a alien? Other? What would you classify your character as?)
Appearance:
Bio:
Other:
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Being Accepted for IC
In order to post, you need to PM me your first IC post. If accepted, you are free to post as you wish.
Also, add contributions to the pad:
The pad
Credits for images used:
-Futuristic City Matte
-Universe Atlas Map
Any questions?
