 March 30, 2012 - 6:50am | Set up: A ship full of immigrees destined for the new Ag colony on Rupert's Hole (or another ag colony) misjumps and suffers an engineering failure stranding the passengers and crew in a system with a barely inhabitable planet. They have few choices so they make a go of establishing an ag colony on Torch and hope that they are eventually discovered. They are however discovered by pirates who extort food and supplies and take over the colony as a secret base. Overtime the pirates capture passengers and crew and dump them here to increase the workforce. Torch society has three classes: slaves captured by the pirates, farmers who are little better than slaves but are perhaps a indentured servant class with illusionary middle class status and the pirates are the top of the heap with their own pecking order among competing crews and ships. The planet is a somewhat hostile environment making running away and going "bush" problematic if not very difficult. There is dangerous fauna that will actively attempt to kill you so while the pirates don't allow the underclass any modern weapons the underclass requires some protection so that they are allowed primitive weapons- the farmers make their own black powder and mussel loading weapon and machetes are common. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 30, 2012 - 7:01am | The farming class are long time residents with the feeling of roots here so they generally accomdate the pirates. Some might like to escape back to the Frontier but many are tied to what they've built here despite the pirates. They are an opportunity for PC's to negotiate for help but could also inform on the PC's to the pirates. Slaves- obviously this class would love to escape but some are beat down and disheartened. This class is the natural allies for the PC's but there are of course informers who will rat out for extra bread or what have you. Pirates practice impressment from the native population with slaves being a good source of skilled spacers but farmers are easily controlled as their families could be harmed. There are several ships crews- as the original band fractured and fell apart and a defector brought in another pirate band so there is some politics amongst the pirates. They lord it over the under classes and compete amongst themselves. They controlled all access to modern weapons. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 March 30, 2012 - 8:09am | black powder and mussel loading weapon They shoot clams  . Auto complete got you again.The "town" will be fortified. HIgh walls, guard towers, etc to keep a watch for those dangerous fauna. The people will all live in the town and travel out during the day to do their farming. This is both for protection from the fauna and so the pirates can keep an eye on them. There may also be another outer wall around the fields. to help keep the fauna out. There will be one or two crusty old homesteaders that live outside all the protection of the town. Their home will be heavily fortified in and of itself for the same reasons the town is fortified. The pirates have tried to relocate them but they've resisted with enough force that they pirates have decided to just let them be. Maybe they produce something that the pirates want so that they haven't just been shot for non-compliance with the pirate's wishes. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
March 30, 2012 - 9:41am | Good ideas; I was thinking two settlements- one is the Old Town which compromises the oldest buildings plus some newer construction. And "Container Town" which is rough and ready slave quarter's made from shipping containers which also against a cliff face so that a bunch of small caves also form some of the shelters and there are some shanties. Pirates leave Container Town under the watchful eye of super intendants drawn from the slave population who get better food and treatment but are hated. Finally they have established a fenced landing field as a third location. Toying with the ideas of seas, rivers and lakes as major terrain features so that we get all the motiffes of old earth piracy: black powder weapons and sailing ships. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
