Blood Sands Campaign Setting - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Blood Sands Campaign Setting

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
tantaclaus
Jul 17, 2008 14:32:35 This was an idea for a PL6-7 d20 Future setting I had. I'm still working on the rules set for it (it will likely be an amalgam of Star Wars Saga Ed. and d20 Future), however, I may post the rules when the time comes. I guess I just want some feedback on the story/setting flavor. It's pretty bare-bones, but any feedback is welcome. Thanks!
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BLOOD SANDS CAMPAIGN SETTING

The year is 2144, Earth's citizens have expanded past the atmosphere and have new permanent colonies on Luna, Mars, Europa, and Ganymede. Recently, there has been a spike in attacks against UN Peacekeepers by the AFM. Players may choose to be UN peacekeepers or AFM liberators.

FACTIONS

United Nations- Democratic government that controls most of Earth, Luna, Europa, and Ganymede. They strain to keep the peace on Earth and all of her colonies. Based in New York City, USA, Earth.

Ares Freedom Movement- Rebellious faction based on Casca, Isidis, Mars and led by Henry Brimford. The AFM unsuccessfully tried to secede from the oppressive Earth government twice. They call themselves freedom fighters. The UN calls them terrorists. Whatever their nomenclature, they wish for Mars to be a free state, similar to the Jovian moons.

Jovian Semiautonomous Government- In 2064, the UN realized that their new Jovian Colonies could not be realistically controlled, due to its massive distance from Earth. The UN decided to elect officials to govern the pair of moons safely. The JSG was formed. They are currently overseeing robotic mining operations on Io and Callisto, as well as helping Dresden Heavy Industries construct shipyards over Ganymede.

Dresden Heavy Industries- A mining/shipbuilding corporation based in Nairobi, Kenya, Earth. Owns the Dresden Orbital Lift (DOL), and most of the ore resources on Luna. CEO is Eckhard Dresden.

Tycho Gardens- A large computer technology corporation. They supply the UN with most of their AIs, as well as designing logic matrices for many DHI robots. Recently, a UN report claims that they may be shipping body-enhancing cybernetics and nanites to the AFM.

TIMELINE

2029- First permanent residences on Luna.
2045- First permanent residences on Mars.
2050- Dresden Heavy Industries is formed and begins constructing its orbital lift.
2051- First permanent residences on Europa and Ganymede.
2055- Dresden Orbital Lift is completed.
2059- First true sentient artificial intelligence created by Tycho Gardens.
2063- Immigration boom as resources are discovered on Earth’s ‘colonies’. The first true civilians arrive on the colonies, and the first towns are formed. This continues for 60 years.
2064- UN establishes semiautonomous government to control the Jovian Moons.
2067- Elliot Dresden becomes the world’s wealthiest man.
2072- Dresden Heavy Industries complete a massive orbital space habitat over earth.
2080- Interplanetary travel booms with the introduction of the ion torch.
2100- Populations of colonies are as follows:
Earth- 10.2 billion.
Luna- 1.1 billion.
Mars- 1.5 billion.
Ganymede- 0.6 billion
Europa- 0.5 billion.
2125- Ares Freedom Movement is established and tries to peacefully to become autonomous. Attempts fail and a rebellion against UN begins rule for the first time. They are put down within two weeks.
2136-AFM attempts another coup. This time, they last almost three months.
2143-
February: The AFM threaten another rebellion, claiming to have nuclear weapons. In response, the UN blockades the planet until they affirm that they have no such weapons. The UN has had no success in capturing Henry Brimford, their leader.
November: The AFM strikes in a surprise attack, seize a UN Peacekeeper ship, the Constaninople, and take most of the crew as hostages. They confiscate all of the ship’s weapons and take them down to Casca, where they construct a base and defend it with the weapons. They threaten to execute the hostages if their demands are not met.
December: The UN sends in a counterterrorism force in, and they are swiftly repelled by cybernetically enhanced guards. In retaliation, all 45 hostages are executed.

2144-
March: AFM attacks on UN ships have become an everyday occurrence. The UN ships become better armed. The death toll rises into the thousands.
May: Elliot Dresden is assassinated by the AFM for supplying the UN with battleships. He is succeeded by his son, Eckhard Dresden.
June: The UN accuses Tycho Gardens for supplying AFM rebels with cybernetics. Tycho Gardens denies the accusation flatly.
July: AFM somehow gains control of nanite technology and is using it more and more on the battlefields of Mars and Ganymede. Again, the UN points its finger at Tycho Gardens and launches an investigation.
August: The campaign begins.
#2
azisien
Jul 17, 2008 15:48:16 I approve of this setting entirely. I'm interested in what rules you'd have cooking up. It sounds like a pretty standard monolithic UN vs. rebellious organization campaign. But then...based on how powerful the AFM seem to have become on the more recent timeline, it stands to reason they have some pretty wealthy backers (i.e. Tycho, but probably other people too).

I'd be interested in seeing some NPC stats.
#3
tantaclaus
Jul 17, 2008 21:07:43 Thank you very much! I'm working on some AFM insurgent/freedom fighter stats right now. I plan on having a few twists in the campaign as well. Let's just say that the UN isn't telling the whole truth. They are a political organization, ultimately. ;]

I'll get some NPCs and campaign-specific weapons and equipment in here soon.
#4
azisien
Jul 18, 2008 9:12:04 To include politics on this scale in a campaign and not have them doing dark deeds in back rooms would be a serious flaw automatically. Humans are corrupt and there's no ion torch or cloning process that'll change that!

I do have a question though: Where do the PCs fit in?

And my realism quip does question the population of the Earth. Barring some disaster/unseen drop in births/huge wars, the population of Earth would be higher and the populations of the Jovian moons are surprisingly high as well. But I guess that just means there are some massive backers on these projects, so lots of money, so lots of reason to kill people/cause wars.

Also, if the UN found it so tedious to even control the government of the Jovian moons, what would be the economic value of any mining from these places? I hope gas prices have dropped in 2144. :p
#5
tantaclaus
Jul 18, 2008 14:44:41 I imagined the PCs contracting for the UN at first, but once they hit Isidis, they find out the huge sh*tstorm the UN has been covering up, and look at the rebels in a new light. Then, they make their decision from there. I envisioned this happening around 5-8th level.
I also envisioned the population of Earth stabilizing around the 2130s due to disease and small, isolated wars in third-world countries.

Also, the Jovian moons mining operations are largely self-sufficient, usually operating on a skeleton crew. The robots and tunnelers do most of the work, the human presence operates and oversees the array of mass drivers that hurl the ore to Luna, Mars, Ganymede, or to other deep-space shipyards.
I assume that if humanity has survived by 2144, they would have gotten over using oil. Anything smaller than light tug uses hydrogen fuel cells, the larger stuff uses fusion plants.

I suppose I should add all of this stuff in the overview. ;D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 tantaclaus Jul 17, 2008 14:32:35	This was an idea for a PL6-7 d20 Future setting I had. I'm still working on the rules set for it (it will likely be an amalgam of Star Wars Saga Ed. and d20 Future), however, I may post the rules when the time comes. I guess I just want some feedback on the story/setting flavor. It's pretty bare-bones, but any feedback is welcome. Thanks! ________________________________ BLOOD SANDS CAMPAIGN SETTING The year is 2144, Earth's citizens have expanded past the atmosphere and have new permanent colonies on Luna, Mars, Europa, and Ganymede. Recently, there has been a spike in attacks against UN Peacekeepers by the AFM. Players may choose to be UN peacekeepers or AFM liberators. FACTIONS United Nations- Democratic government that controls most of Earth, Luna, Europa, and Ganymede. They strain to keep the peace on Earth and all of her colonies. Based in New York City, USA, Earth. Ares Freedom Movement- Rebellious faction based on Casca, Isidis, Mars and led by Henry Brimford. The AFM unsuccessfully tried to secede from the oppressive Earth government twice. They call themselves freedom fighters. The UN calls them terrorists. Whatever their nomenclature, they wish for Mars to be a free state, similar to the Jovian moons. Jovian Semiautonomous Government- In 2064, the UN realized that their new Jovian Colonies could not be realistically controlled, due to its massive distance from Earth. The UN decided to elect officials to govern the pair of moons safely. The JSG was formed. They are currently overseeing robotic mining operations on Io and Callisto, as well as helping Dresden Heavy Industries construct shipyards over Ganymede. Dresden Heavy Industries- A mining/shipbuilding corporation based in Nairobi, Kenya, Earth. Owns the Dresden Orbital Lift (DOL), and most of the ore resources on Luna. CEO is Eckhard Dresden. Tycho Gardens- A large computer technology corporation. They supply the UN with most of their AIs, as well as designing logic matrices for many DHI robots. Recently, a UN report claims that they may be shipping body-enhancing cybernetics and nanites to the AFM. TIMELINE 2029- First permanent residences on Luna. 2045- First permanent residences on Mars. 2050- Dresden Heavy Industries is formed and begins constructing its orbital lift. 2051- First permanent residences on Europa and Ganymede. 2055- Dresden Orbital Lift is completed. 2059- First true sentient artificial intelligence created by Tycho Gardens. 2063- Immigration boom as resources are discovered on Earth’s ‘colonies’. The first true civilians arrive on the colonies, and the first towns are formed. This continues for 60 years. 2064- UN establishes semiautonomous government to control the Jovian Moons. 2067- Elliot Dresden becomes the world’s wealthiest man. 2072- Dresden Heavy Industries complete a massive orbital space habitat over earth. 2080- Interplanetary travel booms with the introduction of the ion torch. 2100- Populations of colonies are as follows: Earth- 10.2 billion. Luna- 1.1 billion. Mars- 1.5 billion. Ganymede- 0.6 billion Europa- 0.5 billion. 2125- Ares Freedom Movement is established and tries to peacefully to become autonomous. Attempts fail and a rebellion against UN begins rule for the first time. They are put down within two weeks. 2136-AFM attempts another coup. This time, they last almost three months. 2143- February: The AFM threaten another rebellion, claiming to have nuclear weapons. In response, the UN blockades the planet until they affirm that they have no such weapons. The UN has had no success in capturing Henry Brimford, their leader. November: The AFM strikes in a surprise attack, seize a UN Peacekeeper ship, the Constaninople, and take most of the crew as hostages. They confiscate all of the ship’s weapons and take them down to Casca, where they construct a base and defend it with the weapons. They threaten to execute the hostages if their demands are not met. December: The UN sends in a counterterrorism force in, and they are swiftly repelled by cybernetically enhanced guards. In retaliation, all 45 hostages are executed. 2144- March: AFM attacks on UN ships have become an everyday occurrence. The UN ships become better armed. The death toll rises into the thousands. May: Elliot Dresden is assassinated by the AFM for supplying the UN with battleships. He is succeeded by his son, Eckhard Dresden. June: The UN accuses Tycho Gardens for supplying AFM rebels with cybernetics. Tycho Gardens denies the accusation flatly. July: AFM somehow gains control of nanite technology and is using it more and more on the battlefields of Mars and Ganymede. Again, the UN points its finger at Tycho Gardens and launches an investigation. August: The campaign begins.
#2 azisien Jul 17, 2008 15:48:16	I approve of this setting entirely. I'm interested in what rules you'd have cooking up. It sounds like a pretty standard monolithic UN vs. rebellious organization campaign. But then...based on how powerful the AFM seem to have become on the more recent timeline, it stands to reason they have some pretty wealthy backers (i.e. Tycho, but probably other people too). I'd be interested in seeing some NPC stats.
#3 tantaclaus Jul 17, 2008 21:07:43	Thank you very much! I'm working on some AFM insurgent/freedom fighter stats right now. I plan on having a few twists in the campaign as well. Let's just say that the UN isn't telling the whole truth. They are a political organization, ultimately. ;] I'll get some NPCs and campaign-specific weapons and equipment in here soon.
#4 azisien Jul 18, 2008 9:12:04	To include politics on this scale in a campaign and not have them doing dark deeds in back rooms would be a serious flaw automatically. Humans are corrupt and there's no ion torch or cloning process that'll change that! I do have a question though: Where do the PCs fit in? And my realism quip does question the population of the Earth. Barring some disaster/unseen drop in births/huge wars, the population of Earth would be higher and the populations of the Jovian moons are surprisingly high as well. But I guess that just means there are some massive backers on these projects, so lots of money, so lots of reason to kill people/cause wars. Also, if the UN found it so tedious to even control the government of the Jovian moons, what would be the economic value of any mining from these places? I hope gas prices have dropped in 2144. :p
#5 tantaclaus Jul 18, 2008 14:44:41	I imagined the PCs contracting for the UN at first, but once they hit Isidis, they find out the huge sh*tstorm the UN has been covering up, and look at the rebels in a new light. Then, they make their decision from there. I envisioned this happening around 5-8th level. I also envisioned the population of Earth stabilizing around the 2130s due to disease and small, isolated wars in third-world countries. Also, the Jovian moons mining operations are largely self-sufficient, usually operating on a skeleton crew. The robots and tunnelers do most of the work, the human presence operates and oversees the array of mass drivers that hurl the ore to Luna, Mars, Ganymede, or to other deep-space shipyards. I assume that if humanity has survived by 2144, they would have gotten over using oil. Anything smaller than light tug uses hydrogen fuel cells, the larger stuff uses fusion plants. I suppose I should add all of this stuff in the overview. ;D