TheHobb
March 27th, 2004, 03:28 PM
I am currently running a playtest of a strategic campaign game of my own design set in the BG universe and am incorporating a bit of roleplay as well as storytelling into it to make it as interesting as possible. I don't believe any of the players visit this forum but if you are one of them, stop reading now and never look at this thread again!
Alrighty then...
The background is based on several different sources, including my own imagination. A lot of it meshes with most of the stuff out there but I've thrown my own twist on a few things not only with regards to the campaign setup but also since things aren't likely to proceed according to accepted show history. This is basically what was handed to the players.
Colonial Background:
In the earliest days, when mankind left on the great exodus from Kobol, the embarked within great arks across the stars. Oral tradition holds, from the writings in the Book of the Word, that twelve tribes left together to find a sanctuary. A thirteenth tribe also left but they traveled their own path. It is unknown why they left. Some believe a great war was upon the lords of Kobol, others believe the planet was doomed as its star was dying.
The twelve tribes eventually found twelve planets orbiting three suns and colonized them. For reasons lost to time, they destroyed their technology and led a simple life and Kobol became a legend and a myth.
It took hundreds of years for the technology to be rediscovered in which time their cultures diverged. The Capricans retained more of the scientific learning than the others and were the first to redevelop spaceflight, while the contemplative Saggitarians focused on their philosophy, and the Gemons devoted their lives to artistic endeavors.
It took several hundred years but eventually all the tribes regained contact with each other. The cultural differences caused friction between the colonies and a series of skirmishes between them would eventually be called the Unification War. It was then that the Quorum of the Twelve would be formed and peace would finally be known amongst the colonies.
The colonies eventually developed the supra-light drive and with it the discovery of other star systems and the colonization of other worlds. It was then that they met the Hasaris, a peaceful aquatic race which they developed trade, and the Orions who were mostly traders and merchants.
It was a peaceful time for the colonies and technology advanced to the point where they developed artificial intelligence. It was to be a golden time when the robots would serve while the people could explore other pursuits. However, the colonials did not anticipate that the machines revolt against their masters. A war against the machines occured and when the machines were finally put down, a Colonial Code was passed limiting the kinds of AIs that could be programmed.
The year is approximately 6225 and peace and prosperity has finally returned to the colonies....
Cylon Background:
Nearly two hundred years ago a visitor named Diabolis came to planet Cylon. The aggressive Reptilian Cylons were fairly advanced and had recently developed artificial intelligence. They already had settlements on planets in their own system and welcomed him because he appeared as one of them. Diabolis claimed to be an ancestor of the Cylons and told tales of their once great empire thousands of yahren before their recorded history. He revitalized the Cylons' thirst for conquest and domination and influenced them to join him, for he promised them that the Cylon Empire would rise again and become the most powerful in the universe; and that their legacy would last forever.
Billions of Cylons followed Diabolis and began to think of him as a living diety for he had powers that were beyond any they had seen before. Under his guidance, they built machines of war; self-thinking and intelligent that could wage their wars for them. They quickly conquered the nearby star systems and by then nearly all of the Cylons believed that there was nothing to stop them. But Diabolis had tricked them, he promised them that their empire and their legacy would remain but in truth, the Cylons themselves would not. By making the machines intelligent and with all the traits and flaws of the living Cylons, Diabolis now had an army that followed him as feverantly as the Cylons did.
Diabolis turned the machines against the Cylons and the Dominance War began. Over a hundred years the machines systematically destroyed the Cylons and built great cities. Toward the end of the war and working in secret, a few remaining scientists built a biosphere encased in the hardest substance known to them. It could theoretically sustain life indefinately, and they called it the Sanctuary. Before entering and sealing themselves within it, they attacked in the only way they could. They had broken a primary barrier in the war machines' programming and could insert one command line into a single Centurion. Tt had to go into the circuits containing its core beliefs. They thought that eventually the command would get passed to every one of the machines as they interacted with each other but it would happen slowly. Too slowly to save their civilization.
The command they entered was "Protect the sanctuary."
Within a year, and after the last of the living Cylons outside the Sanctuary perished, the command did indeed pass through all of the machines. The machines now called themselves Cylons. The first Centurion who received the command had the voice of Diabolis enscribed on his circuits as he took the position of Imperious Leader, at which point Diabolis left them to continue on the path he had guided them to.
The year is around 6225 Colonial Time. The Cylons have expended vast resources to build the final resting place of the Sanctuary as it was now the center of their civilization. No Cylon could harm the sanctuary and it has become their most important temple to their beliefs, for it was the only thing in the universe they could not bring themselves to destroy. The spacecraft they constructed, nearly 8 maxims in diameter, was a vast city and manufacturing center, and the most powerful warship they had ever produced. It was their cathedral for the Sanctuary. The array of weapons mounted on the vast craft were intended for defense. If the sanctuary came to harm, their civilization would fall. They would have failed their core programming and beliefs.
They called the craft, the Devistar. The Colonials would call it a Super Base Star. The Cylons now turn their eye once again upon expansion...
Essentially there are three players running the Colonials and one player running the Cylons. The setup is double-blind so they do not know the location of each other nor have they had any contact at the point the game started. I'm also throwing a bit of humor here and there to keep things lively so don't be suprised if you occasionally see some silly stuff.
While I can't post the map, the Colonials's twelve planets are set up occupying two primary clusters, named the Cyrannus System and the Hetari System. The Hasari are located in another cluster called the Cosmara Archipelago, the Delphians are in the Kryllian System, and the Cylons are in the Otarsis Quadrant.
I will reply to this thread as events occur with excerpts from both my own input into the game as well as the players.'
Todd
Alrighty then...
The background is based on several different sources, including my own imagination. A lot of it meshes with most of the stuff out there but I've thrown my own twist on a few things not only with regards to the campaign setup but also since things aren't likely to proceed according to accepted show history. This is basically what was handed to the players.
Colonial Background:
In the earliest days, when mankind left on the great exodus from Kobol, the embarked within great arks across the stars. Oral tradition holds, from the writings in the Book of the Word, that twelve tribes left together to find a sanctuary. A thirteenth tribe also left but they traveled their own path. It is unknown why they left. Some believe a great war was upon the lords of Kobol, others believe the planet was doomed as its star was dying.
The twelve tribes eventually found twelve planets orbiting three suns and colonized them. For reasons lost to time, they destroyed their technology and led a simple life and Kobol became a legend and a myth.
It took hundreds of years for the technology to be rediscovered in which time their cultures diverged. The Capricans retained more of the scientific learning than the others and were the first to redevelop spaceflight, while the contemplative Saggitarians focused on their philosophy, and the Gemons devoted their lives to artistic endeavors.
It took several hundred years but eventually all the tribes regained contact with each other. The cultural differences caused friction between the colonies and a series of skirmishes between them would eventually be called the Unification War. It was then that the Quorum of the Twelve would be formed and peace would finally be known amongst the colonies.
The colonies eventually developed the supra-light drive and with it the discovery of other star systems and the colonization of other worlds. It was then that they met the Hasaris, a peaceful aquatic race which they developed trade, and the Orions who were mostly traders and merchants.
It was a peaceful time for the colonies and technology advanced to the point where they developed artificial intelligence. It was to be a golden time when the robots would serve while the people could explore other pursuits. However, the colonials did not anticipate that the machines revolt against their masters. A war against the machines occured and when the machines were finally put down, a Colonial Code was passed limiting the kinds of AIs that could be programmed.
The year is approximately 6225 and peace and prosperity has finally returned to the colonies....
Cylon Background:
Nearly two hundred years ago a visitor named Diabolis came to planet Cylon. The aggressive Reptilian Cylons were fairly advanced and had recently developed artificial intelligence. They already had settlements on planets in their own system and welcomed him because he appeared as one of them. Diabolis claimed to be an ancestor of the Cylons and told tales of their once great empire thousands of yahren before their recorded history. He revitalized the Cylons' thirst for conquest and domination and influenced them to join him, for he promised them that the Cylon Empire would rise again and become the most powerful in the universe; and that their legacy would last forever.
Billions of Cylons followed Diabolis and began to think of him as a living diety for he had powers that were beyond any they had seen before. Under his guidance, they built machines of war; self-thinking and intelligent that could wage their wars for them. They quickly conquered the nearby star systems and by then nearly all of the Cylons believed that there was nothing to stop them. But Diabolis had tricked them, he promised them that their empire and their legacy would remain but in truth, the Cylons themselves would not. By making the machines intelligent and with all the traits and flaws of the living Cylons, Diabolis now had an army that followed him as feverantly as the Cylons did.
Diabolis turned the machines against the Cylons and the Dominance War began. Over a hundred years the machines systematically destroyed the Cylons and built great cities. Toward the end of the war and working in secret, a few remaining scientists built a biosphere encased in the hardest substance known to them. It could theoretically sustain life indefinately, and they called it the Sanctuary. Before entering and sealing themselves within it, they attacked in the only way they could. They had broken a primary barrier in the war machines' programming and could insert one command line into a single Centurion. Tt had to go into the circuits containing its core beliefs. They thought that eventually the command would get passed to every one of the machines as they interacted with each other but it would happen slowly. Too slowly to save their civilization.
The command they entered was "Protect the sanctuary."
Within a year, and after the last of the living Cylons outside the Sanctuary perished, the command did indeed pass through all of the machines. The machines now called themselves Cylons. The first Centurion who received the command had the voice of Diabolis enscribed on his circuits as he took the position of Imperious Leader, at which point Diabolis left them to continue on the path he had guided them to.
The year is around 6225 Colonial Time. The Cylons have expended vast resources to build the final resting place of the Sanctuary as it was now the center of their civilization. No Cylon could harm the sanctuary and it has become their most important temple to their beliefs, for it was the only thing in the universe they could not bring themselves to destroy. The spacecraft they constructed, nearly 8 maxims in diameter, was a vast city and manufacturing center, and the most powerful warship they had ever produced. It was their cathedral for the Sanctuary. The array of weapons mounted on the vast craft were intended for defense. If the sanctuary came to harm, their civilization would fall. They would have failed their core programming and beliefs.
They called the craft, the Devistar. The Colonials would call it a Super Base Star. The Cylons now turn their eye once again upon expansion...
Essentially there are three players running the Colonials and one player running the Cylons. The setup is double-blind so they do not know the location of each other nor have they had any contact at the point the game started. I'm also throwing a bit of humor here and there to keep things lively so don't be suprised if you occasionally see some silly stuff.
While I can't post the map, the Colonials's twelve planets are set up occupying two primary clusters, named the Cyrannus System and the Hetari System. The Hasari are located in another cluster called the Cosmara Archipelago, the Delphians are in the Kryllian System, and the Cylons are in the Otarsis Quadrant.
I will reply to this thread as events occur with excerpts from both my own input into the game as well as the players.'
Todd